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>/qst/ Thread Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Beyond%20the%20Gate
>QM Twitter: twitter.com/SmileytheQM
>General Info (Incomplete): http://pastebin.com/ffH25ciB

You, Madelaine, Derrick, Emi, and Ava spend the next hour or so hanging out and talking about nothing in particular. Until the door bursts open, and in comes Meyu.

"Ah, I see the kids are all here" Meyu says.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Madelaine asks.

Meyu steps in and stretches out his back. "Ran into an old friend" He says. "She wanted to have a drink, 'cause she was down about getting her partner fired and-... hang on"
"What?" Madelaine asks.

Meyu points at Ava. "That's not the She-demon" Meyu says. "Where the hell is she?"

"Yuu let her go somewhere up north" Madelaine says.

Meyu turns to you, looking thoroughly unimpressed... "Did he now?" He asks. "Well let's hope he had a very good reason for doing that..."

>Prepare to be disappointed

>Do I really need one?

>She asked nicely

>Other
>>
>>1503577
>She asked nicely
>>
>>1503577
>Other
>It was in accordance with the prophecy.
>>
>>1503577
>Other
>"She went an entire day without sarcasm. An entire day! She had to be someone else!"
>>
>writing
>>
Welcome back, Smiley! Busy week?
>>
"It was in accordance with the prophecy" You say, in a sagely manner. "The sage spoke 'when the demon goeth an entire day without being a sarcastic jerk, she must be set free'"

"I feel like you're not taking this seriously..." Meyu says.
"I am. I waas just making a joke" You say. "She asked nicely, and given the circumstances I decided that I should let her go"

"Given the circumstances?" Meyu asks. "There are no circumstances that could merit letting that thing go"

You scowl. "That 'thing' is a person" You say. "I know you might not have liked her very much, but I'd rather you not insult her like that"

Meyu eyes you down, and for a moment things get tense...

*Chirp*

You both turn to Ava, who covers her mouth in embarrassment.

"What was that?" You ask.
"I got nervous!" She says.

Meyu sighs. "Well, it's good to see that you're willing to defend your decision" He says. "I'll let it be for now, but just remember that it may be the last thing you ever regret..."
"It'll be fine" You say.

"So who's the bird?" He asks.

>I have an apprentice now

>She's Cheska's replacement

>Other
>>
>>1503679
>I have an apprentice now
>>
>>1503679
>I have an apprentice now

>She's Cheska's replacement
>>
>>1503679
>>I have an apprentice now
>>
>>1503679
>>Other
Was the friend you were having a drink with a raven? Cause this is her former partner and now my apprentice and sidekick in crime!
>>
>>1503697
Huh I didn't even realize this might be the case.
>>
>writing

>>1503675
Very.
>>
You put a hand on Ava's head. "She's my apprentice now" You say. "I have to keep her around and teach her to focus, as punishment for letting Cheska go"

"The Commander gave you an apprentice as punishment?" Meyu asks. "She looks kinda young. Where'd you get her?"
"Up north" You say. "She's one of the scouts that Cheska and I saved from the Legion"

Meyu raises an eyebrow, then throws his head back in laughter.

You turn to Derrick. "Did I say something weird?" You ask.
"No..." Meyu says. "It's just- I was just drinkin' with the other one"
"You know Jane?" You ask.
"Her and I go back a little ways" Meyu says. "And I guess this means she was wrong about getting her partner fired..."

"She was worried?" Ava asks.
"Yeah" Meyu says. "Might've been the drink talking, but she seemed pretty broken up about it"

>That sucks...

>We should go see her

>Other
>>
>>1503781
>We should go see her
>>
>>1503781
>>We should go see her
>>
>>1503781
>We should go see her
>>
>writing
>>
"If she's that broken up about it, then we should go see her" You say. "Right Ava?"

Ava turns her head and puffs out her cheeks.

"Come on, don't be like that" You say.
"She said a lot of mean stuff in that letter" Ava says.
"Then you can confront her about that stuff" You say. "Come on"

...

"If I have to drag you, I will" You say.

Ava finally gets up, dragging her feet and grumbling as she walks over to you.

"Alright" You say with a smile, as you ruffle Ava's feathery hair. "Where was this place, Meyu?"
"It's a bar, so they don't really like it when youngsters come in..." Meyu says. "But the front is covered, so I can bring her out"
"Thanks" You say. "Let's go"

>1/2
>>
"Okay, I needed Meyu... why did you come along?" You ask Madelaine, as the 3 of you wait for Meyu to bring Jane out.
"Boredom" Madelaine says. "I've been in that room for a while, so I could also use some fresh air... even if it is rainy"

You chuckle. "Good thing Meyu can stop the rain, like Emi" You say. "Who knew so many types of magic could also be used as umbrellas?"
"I could do it too, with some practice" Madelaine says. "So could you, actually"

You turn over to Ava. Her hair is orange, her wings are crossed, and she's grumbling still...

"Alright, what's got you so angry?" You ask.
"Why did you make me come?" She asks.
"Because I think this will be good for both of you" You say.
"How will it be good for me?" She asks.

"If you're angry with Jane, you should confront her" You say. "Holding all of that in is a good way of turning your hair orange permanently"
Ava tilts her head.

"I mean you'll be angry all the time" You say. "But if you get it off your chest now, it's done with and you can both move on"

"I guess..." She says "But... what if she actually never liked me?"
"She wouldn't have been crying about getting you fired if she didn't like you" You say. "But talking it over with me solves nothing... what the heck is taking Meyu so long?"

>Go in and see

>Stay here and wait

>Other
>>
>>1503938
>>Stay here and wait
...for now. But if she doesn't come soon then one of us is going to have to go inside.
>>
>>1503938
>Go in and see
If there's one minor who probably gets a pass on underage drinking, it'd be Yuu, after all. Plus, I don't know if we can trust Meyu to not go "Well, just one drink", and maybe there's a bar fight!
>>
>>1503938
>>Go in and see
>>
>>1503938
>>Go in and see
>>
>>1503938
>Go in and see
>>
>writing
>>
"Knowing him, it could be any number of things..." Madelaine says.
"I'm gonna go in and look" You say.
"You sure that's a good idea?" Madelaine asks.

You shrug, as you head for the door.

"You seem so confident... what could go wrong?" Madelaine asks.
"Don't say that. Never say that" You say. "Saying 'what could go wrong' is just inviting all sorts of things to go wrong"
"Just go, before something does go wrong" Madelaine says.

You poke your tongue out at her, and head inside.

This place smells kind of weird. Sort of an odd mix between sweat and alcohol. Most of these people look pretty mean, and to the average person they might seem intimidating.

But you walk right past them with confidence, heading over to where you see Meyu and Jane at the bar.

It looks like Jane is crying, and Meyu is trying to coax her out. You can probably help with that...

Unfortunately before you can reach them, someone gets up and blocks your path. You stop in front of him and stare him down.

"This place don't serve demons" He says.
"I'll let you know if I see one" You say, as you step past him.

He puts a hand on your shoulder and squeezes it hard. "I see one right now"

>Do you have any idea who I am?

>Move the hand or lose it

>Call out to Meyu

>Other
>>
>>1504062
>>Do you have any idea who I am?

>>Move the hand or lose it
>>
>>1504062
>>Call out to Meyu
>Other
Just walk outside. It isn't worth a fight in a crowded building. If he wants to follow you out though, different story.
>>
>>1504062
>Do you have any idea who I am?
>Move the hand or lose it
"You want to fuck off before you lose something important."
>>
>>1504093
This
>>
>>1504093
Seconding
>>
I'm pretty sure "Do you have any idea who I am?" Is pretty high up on this list of things not to say to a drunk.

We need to defuse the situation, not set it off.
>>
>>1504062
>I've killed more demons than you've ever seen.
>>
>writing
>>
>>1504130
Good one. Seconding.
>>
You poke your head around him. "Oi! Meyu!" You call out.

Meyu turns, and lets out a sigh as he gets up and heads over.

The man turns to Meyu as he approaches. "You know this demon?" He asks.
"Get your friggin hand off him you moron. Today alone this boy's probably downed more demons than you have drinks" Meyu says.

"He doesn't look like much to me" The man says, as he lets you go.
"The best never do. You're lucky your hand's still attached to your wrist" Meyu says.

"Hang on, I recognize him!" Someone on the other side of the bar shouts. "He's the one who fought off Carthac when the Legion came in here!"
"Oh shit, you're right!" Someone else says.

The bar erupts into conversation, mostly about you... and a lot of it is very exaggerated...

"I hear he took Carthac's spears for fun

Well, except for that bit...

"And he kept a demon chained to him, just to warn the others off"

And Cheska wasn't quite chained to you, but she was tethered...

"No, no. I heard he shagged her so well she turned good"

... what exactly is shagging? And if it can turn a demon good, why didn't you try it?

"Now look what you did" Meyu says. "I thought I told you to wait outside"
"You took too long and I got bored" You say.
"Go back out, it'll only be a little while longer" Meyu says. "It's taking some convincing"

>You sure I can't help?

>What is shagging?

>Alright

>Other
>>
>>1504227
>>What is shagging?
Oh Yuu
>>
>>1504233
>What is shagging?
>>
>>1504227
>Excuse me fellow bar patrons, what is shagging and how does it turn demons good?
>>
>>1504227
Wait...this is a place to get drinks, right? And we were told that a lot of people would want to get us drinks for what we'd done when we first got on an airship, right? Maybe we can work this into some drinks we've never tried before! Last time we tried a new drink, we discovered chocolate milk, so I can see no way this could go wrong.
>>
>writing
>>
"One question" You say. "What's shagging, and how could it help turn Cheska back to normal?"

Meyu looks like he wants to say something, but bites it back. "That... is a lesson for another time" He says. "Go on now, before someone tries to get you a drink. You drunk is the last thing I want to see"
"I can't try it?" You ask.

"You're a bit too young" He says. "Tell you what. When you're old enough, I'll buy your first drink personally"
"Works for me" You say. "Hurry up, though. It's cold out there"
"You don't feel the cold" Meyu says.
"Madelaine and Ava do" You say.
Meyu nods. "I could use that... maybe guilt Jane into coming out" He says. "Oh, poor Ava's sittin' out there in the rain"

"Uhh... you're welcome?" You say.

Meyu waves you off, and you head out. Somehow you manage to get out without anyone noticing...

"So what went wrong?" Madelaine asks, as you get back outside.

>Nothing

>Do you know what shagging is?

>Almost had to fight some guy

>Somehow everyone knows me

>Other
>>
>>1504361
>Nothing

>Do you know what shagging is?
>>
>>1504361
>Somehow everyone knows me

>Do you know what shagging is?
"If you do, can you show me? I'm a visual learner."
>>
>>1504361
>>Almost had to fight some guy
But then...
>>Somehow everyone knows me
But most of what they know is wrong...
>>
>>1504361
>Can you teach me about shagging?
>>
>>1504401
Anon pls
>>
>>1504361
>>Do you know what shagging is?

>>Somehow everyone knows me
>>
so smiley, how has your week been?
>>
>writing
>>
>>1504361
>Do you know what shagging is?
>>
"Almost had to fight some dude, but apparently half the people in there know about me" You say. "Well... sort of"
"Sort of?" Madelaine asks.
"Their versions of events were a little different than mine" You say. "Like... do you know what shagging is?"

Ava starts to giggle, but Madelaine looks confused. "It's not something I've come across, no..." She says.

Ava giggles more, and you turn to her.

"Do you know?" You ask.

Ava covers her mouth and shakes her head.

"Well anyway, somebody said something along the lines of 'I shagged Cheska so well she turned good'..." You say. "Which is why I'm curious... if shagging can save Cheska-"

Ava bursts out laughing, falling onto her back and rolling around.

"Okay, she definitely knows..." Madelaine says.

>1/2
>>
"Oh, it's just sex then..." You say. "Why have a different word for it?"

Ava shrugs. "There's lots of different words for it" She says. "You can ask Jane when she comes out. She knows 'em all"

"I guess that rules it out as a way to save your friend" Madelaine says.
"Maybe not... it could be worth a try" You say. "Maybe next time I see her..."

Madelaine raises an eyebrow. "Seriously?" She asks.

"I'm kidding, jeez" You say. "If it were that simple, I'm sure other demons would have been cured before"
"Why do you want to fix this Cheska person?" Ava asks.

"Because she's a friend, and she doesn't like being a demon" You say. "That's reason enough for me"

"Are you always helpful like that?" She asks.

>I'm helping you now, aren't I?

>I have to sleep sometimes

>Pretty much, yeah

>Other
>>
>>1504569
>>I'm helping you now, aren't I?
But,
>>I have to sleep sometimes
>>
>>1504569
>>Pretty much, yeah
but
>>I have to sleep sometimes
>>
>>1504569
>I'm helping you now, aren't I?

>I have to sleep sometimes
>>
>>1504592
This
>>
>>1504569
>So many have helped me get to where I am, only feels right to give in return
>>
>writing
>>
"I'm doing it right now, aren't I?" You ask. "I try to help people whenever I can, since a lot of people have done the same for me"
"But... all the time?" Ava asks.
"Not all the time, I do have to sleep and I can't help anyone then" You say.

"Not true. You used to let Emi coil around you to keep warm" Madelaine says. "That counts as helping someone in your sleep"
"That was for me too. It was like falling asleep in a really big hug" You say.

"You mean the Emi I just met?" Ava asks.
"Yeah" You say.
"Huh... were you two a thing?" She asks.
"What kind of thing?" You ask.
"You know... a thing" She says.

...

>Yes?

>Please explain

>Other
>>
File: Please do.jpg (36 KB, 649x536)
36 KB
36 KB JPG
>>1504723
>>Please explain
Time to Shirou up this bitch.
>>
>>1504723
>>Please explain
Crank the density up to 11!
>>
>>1504723
>>Please explain
> Everyone is technically a thing but i don't think that's what you mean
>>
>>1504723
this >>1504735
>>
>>1504723
>Touching her tail? I do that with lots of girls.
>>
>>1504735
>>1504746
Seconding
>>
>>1504723
>Please explain
>>
>writing
>>
"Please explain" You say. "I mean, everyone is technically a thing... but I don't think that's what you mean"
"A thing... like... a couple" She says. "Boyfriend and girlfriend"
"Oh, no" You say.

"So the two of you just slept together?" Ava asks. "Huh..."
"Yeah" You say. "Emi's a bit like a big sister to me even though we're not actually related, y'know?"

"I think I get it" She says.

"But now that I mention it, my mom's not actually related to me either..." You say.

As you ponder this, Meyu finally comes back out with Jane. He's actually supporting Jane, who looks like she's having some trouble standing...

"Ava! I'm so sorry!" Jane says, half rushing to and half collapsing into Ava as she stats sobbing. "I thought you'd be better off out of the field, but I was too harsh in my report and you got fired!"

"I didn't get fired..." Ava says. "How much have you had to drink?"

Jane keeps sobbing, and Ava looks to you for help...

>Help her out

>You're on your own

>Other
>>
>>1504866
>Determined look and Thumbs up

She has this
>>
>>1504866
>Help her out
We kind of talked ourselves into it a few choices ago I think.
>>
>>1504904
This
>>
>>1504866
>>Help her out
We did say we help people
>>
>>1504866
>Help her out
>>
>writing
>>
>>1504866
>>Help her out
>>
You roll your eyes and step forward. "Alright, give her some breathing room" You say, as you try to lever Jane off of Ava.

Jane looks up. "Oh, hello again" She says.
"Heya" You say.

Jane really can't stand on her own, so you sit her down.

"You didn't get Ava fired. She works with me now, as an apprentice of sorts" You say. "I'm supposed to use what I know about the mageblade to teach her to control her feathers"

"So she didn't get fired..." Jane says with a smile of relief. "In fact, that actually sounds like a better gig than mine..."

"If you're so relieved, how come you said all those mean things about me?" Ava asks.
"I wasn't being mean" Jane says. "You're not cut out for field work. I needed to convince Altea to take you out of the field, and put you somewhere else"
"'Has the attention span of a fish, only thinks she can stay camouflaged, constantly making noise'..." Ava says. "Sounded like the kind of stuff you'd say about someone you hate"

"Alright, look. I was pretty angry when I wrote that, and I was definitely harsher than I should have been..." She says. "But I don't hate you. I'd always laugh when a squirrel would get the jump on you, smile when you were happy, do my best to keep you on track... you've always been like a little sister to me. I just wanted to see you go somewhere safe"

>Well she's in good hands

>I've got some bad news...

>Other
>>
>>1505112
>>Well she's in good hands
>>
>writing
>>
>>1505112
>See everyone, there ARE people who have faith in me.
>>
"Well she's in good hands" You say, putting a hand on Ava's head. "I promise to take good care of her"

Jane smiles. "Quite the jump, from being a mostly-useless scout to being the pirnce's apprentice" She says.
"He doesn't act very princely" Ava says.
"That's good to hear. A real prince would never be able to put up with you..." Jane says.

Ava puffs out her cheeks.

You laugh for a second, then stop. "Hang on, I am a real prince" You say.
"Keep telling yourself that" Madelaine says.

Jane and Ava both giggle, and Jane goes over to hug Ava again.

"I'm sorry I said all those mean things about you" Jane says.
"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble..." Ava says, as she hugs Jane back.

The two of them stay like that for a while, and you look on in silence. But then Jane lets go and stands up.

"Now, you take care of yourself" Jane says. "And don't cause Yuu any trouble, alright?"
"I make no promises" Ava says.
"Al. Right?" Jane asks again.
Ava lets out a 'teenage girl' sort of sigh. "Fine..." She says.

"Excellent!" Jane says. "Now, I believe Meyu here owes me a drink"
"You've had enough to drink" Meyu says.
"I'll tell you when I've had enough to drink" Jane says.

>Can I have a drink?

>Head back to the inn

>Told you things would work out

>Other
>>
>>1505296
>>Can I have a drink?
>inb4 no
>>
>>1505296
>>Can I have a drink?
>>
>>1505296
>Head back to the inn
We should probably write a quick letter to Fran about what happened with Cheska
>>
>writing
>>
"Can I have a drink?" You ask.
"Sure, why no-" Jane begins.

"I already said no" Meyu says, cutting her off. "Now get back to the inn, ya lunatic"
"Fiiiiine" You say. "See you back at the inn. Try not to stay out too late"

Meyu waves you off, and heads back inside with Jane.

"Feel better?" You ask Ava, once the adults are gone.
"A little..." She says.
"Turns out Jane cares for you after all" You say. "And you were mad at her"
"I get it" She says. "Can we go?"

"Yeah, let's just-" You turn to leave, and almost walk right out into the pouring rain. "Oh yeah..."
"Should I go get Meyu?" Madelaine asks.

>Nah, I've got this

>Yes please

>Other
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>1505413
>Nah, I've got this
Rolling for Mary Poppins Umbrella
>>
Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>1505413
>Nah, I've got this

We've got this anons
>>
>>1505413
>>1505418
Well...it's not going to look very Mary Poppins...
>>
Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>1505413
>Nah, I've got this
one last shot!
>>
>writing

Good thing I wasn't asking for rolls...
>>
"Nah, I've got this" You say, as you pull out your mageblade.

Madelaine looks on curiously, as you activate it and stretch the tip out into a disc...

"Ta-da!" You say.
"That is... waaaay too small" She says. "It has to fit 3 of us, remember?"

"Hrmm... maybe if I..." You say, as you widen the disc a little more... "There, how's that?"
"Still too small..." Madelaine says.
"Dangit..." You say, as you widen the disc even more. "How's that?"
"Eh, it'll do" She says. "Let's go before the wind picks up and makes your umbrella useless"

With your mageblade over your head, the 3 of you head out. It does a prety good job of keeping you dry, though you do still get hit with the occasional raindrop... but that's fine, as long as you're not getting soaked.

"I still think it's weird that so many people have heard of me..." You say.
"You've done some crazy stuff, nevermind being a prince. Those things draw attention" Madelaine says.
"But most of those stories weren't even right" You say. "They said that I fought off the Legion here, when all I did was keep Carthac's spear in my chest until the Hunters showed up"

"Wouldn't that hurt... like a lot?" Ava asks.
"Oh, it absolutely did" You say. "It also bled quite a bit, which made me glad I was wearing red... but it got the job done"
"So I was right" Madelaine says with a cocky smile. "You didn't actually fight off Carthac that time"

>I did still fight him...

>I was doing well until he stabbed me

>I guess so...

>Other
>>
>>1505553
>>I was doing well until he stabbed me
>>
>>1505553
>>I was doing well until he stabbed me
>>
>>1505553
>I was doing well until he stabbed me
>>
>>1505553
>I was doing well until he stabbed me
>>
>writing
>>
"I was doing well until he stabbed me" You say. "I mean, I couldn't actually make my mageblade all that sharp back then, so I wasn't about to actually beat him. But I was doing well"

"That was an awfully long-winded way of saying 'you were right'" Madelaine says.
"Given enough time I could've worn him down..." You say.
"Come on" Madelaine says. "Just admit it"

"I will admit nothing" You say.

Madelaine laughs in self satisfaction. "It's okay" She says. "You can't win every fight"

You turn to her, ready to bite back, when Ava sqwuaking distracts you. Whatever caused the sqwuak makes her flap her wings and jump closer to you.

"What was that?" You ask.
"A rain drop just nailed me in the back of the neck" She says.
"Oooo... I hate it when that happens" Madelaine says.

You turn to her and smile.

"Don't you dare" She says. "If you try to leave me in the rain, I will wake you up tomorrow with a bucket of ice water"
"Wasn't gonna..." You say.
"Good" Madelaine says.

>1/2
>>
"Heyo" You say, as you enter your room at the inn. You see Derrick and Emi at the table, playing some sort of card game. There's a mug of something steaming in front of each of them.

"Hey" Derrick says. "How'd it go?"

"It went well" You say. "Jane was so broken up about this whole thing that she burst out into tears"
"She cried because she was drunk" Ava says. "She always cries when she's drunk"

...

"It still went well" You say.
"I figured" Derrick says. "And how are you feeling?"
"A little better... I guess" Ava says. "It was nice to know that she doesn't hate me..."
"Good to hear" Derrick says.

"How are things here?" You ask.
"Cozy" Emi says. "There's something to be said about being indoors during a rainstorm, knowing you don't have to go out into it"

"I wouldn't know that feeling..." You say.
"Well you don't have to go back out there now" Emi says.

>What are you playing?

>Is that coffee?

>Other
>>
>>1505716
>>Is that coffee?
>>
>>1505716
>>Is that coffee?
>>
>>1505716
>What are you playing?
>>
>>1505730
if they dont know what coffee is we can become filthy rich
>>
>>1505716
>>Is that coffee?
>>
>writing

>>1505733
They know about coffee. Katherine gave you some at Hella's.
>>
"What are you guys playing?" You ask.

"Lowfield" Emi says. "Well... Derrick's playing. I'm getting beat"
"You're not doing that badly..." Derrick says.
"You're like... 50 points under me..." Emi says.

"Isn't that good for Emi?" You ask. "Higher points means she's winning, right?"
"Not in lowfield" Derrick says.
"Oh..." You say. "Is that coffee?"
"Cocoa" Derricks says.

You tilt your head. "What does it taste like?" You ask.
"It tastes sort of chocolate-y" Derrick says. "They're selling it downstairs, if you want some"

"I do like chocolate..." You say.

>Go get some

>Some other time

>I should sleep

>Other
>>
>>1505828
>Some other time
>Have you guys heard of Blackjack?
>>
>>1505828
>>Go get some
>>
>>1505828
>Go get some
>Contemplate it has been some time since cuddling with snake.
>>
>>1505828
>>Go get some
>>
>writing
>>
>>1505828
>>Go get some
>>Contemplate it has been some time since cuddling with snake.
>>Have you guys heard of Blackjack?
>>
>writing
>>
>>1505934
Did not mean to post that twice.
>>
"I'm gonna go get some" You say.
"Bring some back for me" Madelaine says.
"Me too!" Ava says.

"Okay" You say, as you head out.

As you're halfway down the stairs, it occurs to you that you should've voiced some complaint about being treated like a servant...

If anything, they should be getting you cocoa. Not the other way around.

...

Ah, screw it. You're already most of the way there.

Down on the ground floor, there is indeed someone welling hot cocoa. You have no idea how you never noticed this before... probably because you weren't looking. You go up to the Canid woman and buy 3 mugs from her.

As she hands them to you, it occurs to you that you have no way of reliably holding 3 mugs... maybe you could fashion your mageblade into some sort of-

"You look like you could use a hand" Someone behind you says. The voice is feminine, and familiar...
"Exactly one more" You say. "Kinda makes me envy the Grand Inquisitor a little less... hideous creature that he was"

"I can lend you one, if you want" She says.
You turn to face her. "That would be much appreciated-... Caiah?"

...

It is Caiah. At least you think it is. You've never seen her without armor on before...

"Long time no see" She says.
>>
That's all for tonight!

Next thread will be on Monday, and I should have much more time to run this week.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time.
>>
>>1506000
Thanks for running Smiley
>>
>>1506000
Thanks for Running Smiley
>>
>>1505996
I wonder if Caiah is waifuable
>>
>>1506019
He said every single girl is waifuable. I'm pulling for old widow nine tails myself now. Not just because of tails, but because I think she is a good match.
>>
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>>1506063
Good tastes, anon
>>
>>1506063
Caiah is pretty much the only exception to that rule. Sorry guys.

>>1506103
Interesting picture, but Namaki doesn't actually look all that old. If you didn't know that she was 350, you would say she looked to be in her late 20's-mid 30's
>>
>>1506063
What I really liked between her and Yuu is she has a lot of accrued knowledge about this world, and she was always picking up new skills. Yuu has a lot of alien knowledge but not a lot of present experience. They fill in each others weaknesses I think in a way the other girls don't. Also there just has to be a way to turn into the master illusionist + master illusion resistance into some great combination.

That's not to say the other girls are bad by any means, I just feel a lot more inclined to go this route. She sort of seems like the VN route that opens up after you complete all the others. The one that's nonstandard but very interesting.
>>
>>1506154
She'd definitely be a great partner in battle. She'd be able to use her strongest illusions without excluding any targets, and yuu would be just fine and be able to act normally and unaffected. Just tear through the enemy while they're distracted and unable to perceive reality.
>>
>>1506164
Yeah. I really hope she returns to the plot long enough for people to remember her before we go off gallivanting to towers far away. At minimum we ought to be able to agree she'd be top tier adventuring companion.
>>
>>1506176
I fully agree. Namaki is a top-tier waifu and battle partner to have.

I thought I was the only one on the namaki train before today
>>
>>1506184
I've been here since game start and I will be with you until the end, comrade.
>>
You blink in surprise. You don't think you've ever seen her without her armor. She looks surprisingly casual without it...

...

Her clothes are strange, and you don't think you've ever seen anything like them. She wears skin-tight black pants, a white shirt that stops with a frill just below her shoulders, and another black sleeveless shirt under that. Her hair is down as well, when you're used to seeing her with a ponytail.

"What are you doing here?" You ask.

She raises her eyebrow. "At this inn, or in Sherton?" She asks.
"Uhh... both. In that order" You say.
"Well I believe I'm at this inn for the same reason you are" She says. "Assuming you're here to stay the night and take shelter from the rain"

"I am" You say.

"And as for Sherton, I'm not staying long" She says. "I'll be leaving first thing in the morning"
"Where to?" You ask.
"Leon" She says. "There's someone there that I must speak with"

"You sure that's a good idea? Security's bound to be tight over there" You say.
Caiah frowns, as though that did not occur to her. "I should be fine" She says with a shrug. "I've got plans A through E worked out"
"And if those don't work?" You ask.
"Then I draw my sword and hope for the best" She says.

>Would that be plan F?

>Who are you going to see?

>Let me know what works. I may try it myself

>Other
>>
>>1514833
>Who are you going to see?
>>
>>1514833
>>Would that be plan F?
>>
>Who are you going to see?

>Let me know what works. I may try it myself
>>
>writing
>>
"Would that be plan F?" You ask.
"Nah, it's not a plan" She says. "It's just what happens when the plan fails"
"How often do you have to fall back on it?" You ask.

"More often than I like" She says. "I've been considering making it plan A for a while now, just to save myself time and effort"
"I usually skip planning and go straight to pulling out my sword" You say.

Caiah smiles, and lightly punches your arm "Yuu" She says. "That's a good way to get yourself killed"
"Yeah, I've been workin' on that" You say. "The uhh... planning bit, not getting killed"

Caiah laughs.

"So who are you going to see?" You ask.
"There's a scholar there... as far as I know he's the only one who can help me track Terry down" She says.

"You lose track of him after he went through that portal?" You ask.

Caiah looks at you wide-eyed for a moment.

"I mean, you did go through after him... but I don't know how those things work" You say.

She lets out a relieved sigh. "Yeah, I lost track of him" She says. "But I know he's here... I just need to talk to someone who can help me find him"
"Thus the scholar?" You ask.
"Thus the scholar" She says.

>What's his name?

>You look good without your armor

>Want some cocoa?

>Other
>>
>>1514975
>What's his name?
>>
>>1514975
>Want some cocoa?
>We could talk until the rain lets up.
>>
>writing
>>
>>1514975
>>Want some cocoa?
>>
"What's his name?" You ask.
"Uhh... shit..." She says. "I can never pronounce it right... Stonk? No... ston-"
"Stoencht?" You ask.
"That's the one" She says. "If memory serves, he's working on something similar to what Terry uses to cut his rifts. With any luck, he should be able to help find where Terry's exit was, and I can go from there"

"Cool. I was going to go talk to him once I got to Leon as well" You say. "For a different reason, though"
"Still curious about what you are?" She asks.
"Pretty much, yeah" You say. "I've learned a lot more, but every time I answer one question, I get two more..."
"You'll get there" She says.

She smiles at you, and you smile back.

"Want some cocoa?" You ask.
"Sure... but weren't you going to bring those other mugs somewhere?" She asks.

You shrug. "Ava and Madelaine can wait a while" You say.
Caiah laughs. "Well then I'd love some" She says.

>1/2
>>
You get another mug for Caiah, and the two of you go sit by the window. You can't see as much as usual through the water coating it, but the sound of the rain gives a nice atmosphere.

"Where is your armor anyway?" You ask.
"Up in my room" She says. "I can't wear it all the time"
"I've never seen you without it before" You say.

Caiah raises an eyebrow, as she takes a sip. "You've never seen me when I didn't need it then" She says.
"That's true... you've always been chasing Terry" You say. "Still, I think you look good without it on"

"Hmmm? Trying to flirt with me, are you?" She asks.
"Not really, just making a statement" You say. "It I were flirting, I'd be saying it jokingly... at least according to Stella's dictionary"

"Stella a friend of yours?" She asks.
"Yeah, she's a Leprid who works for the guild" You say.
"Ah, that explains the flirting" She says. "Every hall's got that sign..."
"Even where you're from?" You ask.
"Especially where I'm from" She says. "But that's a subject or another time"

>Ask her about pure demons

>So they have hunters where you're from?

>Ask if she wants to meet your friends

>Other
>>
>>1515100
>>Ask her about pure demons
>>
>>1515100
>Ask her about pure demons
>Ask if she wants to meet your friends
>>
>writing
>>
"Alright then... is there anything you can tell me about Pure Demons?" You ask. "I met a woman in Otuna who said some interesting things..."
"Was that woman the Lady of Otuna?" She asks.

"Yeah, Namaki is her name" You say.
Caiah nods. "I've heard some interesting things about her..." She says. "Go on. What did she say?"
"I always thought of pure demons as not having a sin, but apparently that was wrong" You say. "Namaki called it the 'sin of sacrifice', and said that it's not bad enough to destroy the heart"

"But if the heart were removed, that would trigger the transformation" She says. "I believe there's a bit more to it than that, otherwise we wouldn't lose all of our mana in the process"
"I guess so... but is that right? The whole sacrifice thing?" You ask.

She nods.

"So does that mean I'll be doing this for my whole life? Sacrificing myself for others?" You ask.
"It's like she said, it's not a bad sin" Caiah says, as she takes another sip. "There is such a thing as a 'little' sacrifice, so I don't think it could ever keep you from being happy... at least I hope it can't..."

Caiah looks down. It's easy to forget that she's in the same boat as you, when you're usually the only Pure Demon around...

But before you can say anything to cheer her up, Coral flies up to you.

"Heya" You say to the little sprite. "What brings you down here?"

Coral tugs on your sleeve and points up the stairs.

"Are they waiting for me?" You ask.

Coral nods.

"I guess I have delayed a bit..." You say, turning back to Caiah. "Wanna come meet my friends?"
"I see no reason why not" She says.

>Head up now

>Introduce Coral to Caiah

>Other
>>
>>1515180
>Introduce Coral to Caiah
Best girl needs more screentime.
>>
>>1515180
>Introduce Coral to Caiah
>Ask about her situation and compare stories
>>
>>1515180
>Introduce Coral to Caiah
>>
>>1515180
>>Introduce Coral to Caiah
>>
>writing
>>
"Oh yeah, I don't think I've introduced you" You say. "Caiah, this is Coral"

Coral turns and waves with a big smile. Caiah smiles back.

"Oh... she's precious" Caiah says. "How long ago did you make her?"
"I made her on my birthday" You say. "Go say hi"

Caiah holds out a hand for Coral to land on, and Coral floats over to it. Caiah then strokes Coral's hair.

"Is it okay if I feed her?" Caiah asks.
"Go ahead" You say.

Caiah's fingers start to glow red, and Coral looks down at them curiously. She then s=turns to you, and points at Caiah with a smile.

"Yeah, Caiah can give you energy too" You say
"Better watch out, Yuu. She might end up liking me more than you" Caiah says.
"That's impossible" You say. "I'm very likeable. Right Coral?"

Coral looks at you in confusion, then points at Caiah again with a smile.

Caiah laughs. "Don't worry, I won't try to take her from you" She says. "Come on, your friends are still waiting"

>1/2
>>
You and Caiah head back upstairs with a mugc of cocoa in each hand, and Coral sits on Caiah's shoulder.

When you reach the door, you find it closed... and your hands are full.

"I did not consider this" You say. "Coral, would you mind knocking on the door for me?"

Coral stands up, salutes, flies up to the door, and knocks on it as hard as she can... which isn't all that hard...

But it does get someone's attention, as the door opens to reveal Emi on the other side.

"Uhh... what is Coral doing?" Emi asks.
"Her best" You reply. "Right Coral?"

Coral continues knocking on the door, despite it already being open.

"Coral you can stop knocking now..." You say.

Coral perks up and looks around, just now realizing that the door has opened. She wipes her brow on her forearm, and gives you a thumb's up.

...

"Emi can you give Coral a thumb's up for me? My hands are full" You say.
"O-okay..." Emi says, returning Coral's gesture.

Coral smiles and flies back to her spot on Caiah's shoulder.

"Oh, goodness" Emi says. "Sorry miss, I didn't see you there"
"Not a problem" Caiah says.
"Who is this?" Emi asks.

>Remember that shield lady I told you about?

>Bring her inside first

>She's Caiah

>Other
>>
>>1515286
>Bring her inside first
>She's Caiah
>>
>>1515286
>Bring her inside first

>She's Caiah
>>
>>1515286
>Bring her inside first.
>She's Caiah.
>>
>writing
>>
"Hang on, let's go inside so I don't have to introduce her 5 times" You say.

Emi looks mildly concerned, but slithers back to let the two of you in.

"Oh, Yuu. What the hell took you so lo- whoa" Madelaine says. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Caiah" You say. "Caiah, these are my friends Emi and Madelaine, and my apprentice Ava"

"Nice to meet you" Caiah says.

...

"Where's Derrick?" You ask.
"In the washroom, he should be out any time now" Madelaine says.

Right on cue, Derrick steps out from a door to the side of the room. Caiah stares at him wide-eyed.

"Uhh... hello" Derrick says.

"There he is! Derrick, this is Caiah" You say.
"Oh, awesome!" Derrick says. "She's real"

You frown. "What do you mean 'she's real'?" You ask. "Why wouldn't she be real?"
"Oh well... Ilica and I sort of had a bet going" Derrick says. "She thought that you made her up, and bet me 20 silver that she was right"

"You guys bet on this?" You ask.
"To be fair, it was a pretty farfetched story at the time" Derrick says. "Given that no one else had seen Caiah... and to be honest I was starting to think she might be right, after what happened at the stronghold..."

>Your faith in me is staggering

>Any other bets I should know about?

>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet

>Other
>>
>>1515375
>Your faith in me is staggering
>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet

Slow night
Also is anyone else having issues witch captcha or is that just me?
>>
>>1515375
>>Your faith in me is staggering

>>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet
>>
>>1515375
>Any other bets I should know about?

>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet
>>
>>1515375
>Your faith in me is staggering
>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet

>>1515386
Not me
>>
>>1515375
>>Any other bets I should know about?
>>Ask why Caiah is being so quiet
>>
>writing
>>
"Your faith in me is staggering..." You say sarcastically.
"What? Come on man" He says. "I mean, it gained some credibility when we ran into Terry at Mortifas, but otherwise it was really hard to believe a lot of the things you said about her"

"This is ridiculous, right Caiah?" You ask "...Caiah?"

Caiah shakes her head. "Sorry, I was kinda lost in thought for a second there" She says. "I can kind of understand where he's coming from. It'd be hard for me to believe that another pure demon popped up, helped you out, and left"

You frown. "Come on, you're supposed to be helping me out here" You say.
"I'm just looking at it rationally" She says.
"Watch out Caiah, I don't think the word 'rational' exists in Yuu's vocabulary" Madelaine says.

"It does so" You reply. "You wanna be a little nicer? I did go get you cocoa..."
"Fine... but I can still be a little mean, because you took a long time to bring it up" Madelaine says. "Is it still warm?"
"Yes" You say, as you hand the mug to Madelaine.
"Heyyy, where's mine?" Ava asks.
"Caiah has it. Here" You say, taking the full mug from Caiah and turning to Ava.
...

She doesn't have hands...

>How are you going to hold this?

>Put it down on the table

>Hand it to her and see what she does

>Other
>>
>>1515460
>Do you want me to hold it for you while you drink it?
>>
>>1515460
>>Hand it to her and see what she does
>>
>>1515460
>Hand it to her and see what she does
>>
>>1515460
>Hand it to her and see what she does
>>
>writing
>>
You reach out and hand the mug to her.

"Oh, wait" She says, as she hops over to a chair and sits down. Then she lifts up one of her feet. "Okay, now give it to me"

You put the mug in her... foot... and she brings it up to take a sip. "Ahh... chocolatey" She says.
"You have a surprising amount of co-ordination with your feet" You say.
"Of course I do!" Ava says. "I do everything with them: write, eat... everything!"
"You ran out of examples, didn't you?" You ask.
"Not important!" Ava says.

You chuckle and ruffle her hair, before turning back to Caiah. She's now talking to the others.

"So you're another Pure Demon..." Derrick says. "Do you remember how it happened to you? The uhh... heart taking?"
"I won't really go into detail, but as I was sacrificing my own life for another's, my heart was taken" Caiah says. "I believe that's how it happened for Yuu as well"

"Namaki said something like that" Derrick says. "Can you tell us anything about this Terry guy?"

>Alright guys, no need to bombard her with questions

>Sit and listen

>Other
>>
>>1515536
>>Sit and listen
>>
>>1515536

>Sit and listen
>>
>writing
>>
You sit down next to Ava, and listen to the conversation.

"He's... strange" Caiah says. "I have to stop him, because he is going to do something terrible if I don't... but the strange thing is that along the way he ignores every opportunity to do something terrible..."

"He did kinda try to murder all the hunters at Mortifas..." Derrick says.
"He also told us how much time we had to stop it, and just kinda left us to it..." You say. "If he really wanted to kill all the hunters, he'd've just killed us too"

"Alright, what about giving the Inquisition the ritual?" Derrick asks.
"In the end, nothing of value was lost" You say. "But I guess people could've been hurt..."

"You get what I mean, though" Caiah says.
"I guess I do..." Derrick says. "So what's his game? What is he actually trying to accomplish?"
"I honestly have no clue" Caiah says. "Which is why I'm after him, and the sooner I get to Leon, the sooner I can track him down..."

"You know Leon won't be easy to get into..." Derrick says.
"Yuu mentioned as much" Caiah says. "But I can manage"

>Ask if she's from the other world, like you

>Ask why she hasn't just asked Terry about his plans

>Other
>>
>>1515623
>Ask if she's from the other world, like you
>>
>>1515623
>Ask why she hasn't just asked Terry about his plans
>>
>>1515623
>>Ask if she's from the other world, like you
>>Ask why she hasn't just asked Terry about his plans
>>
>>1515623
>Mention Terry's plans to "train" you that you eavesdropped on
>>
>>1515635
>>1515644
I will add this on. Perhaps suggest he's allowing her to follow.
>>
>>1515623
>Ask why she hasn't just asked Terry about his plans

>>1515644
Ill add this too
>>
>writing

>>1515644
Caiah was there for that bit.
>>
"Have you asked Terry what his plans are?" You ask.
"Dozens of times" Caiah says. "The answer is always either a snobby 'all in good time' or some cryptic bullshit..."

"There was that bit about setting things up for me at the Stronghold" You say.

"What thing?" She asks.
"Right... you weren't listening at the door..." You say. "He was raving to the Grand Inquisitor about how he had the whole thing planned out to I guess... challenge me? Either way, he was pretty pissed that Arlen messed it up"

"That's... very strange" Caiah says. "Maybe I'll ask him about it when I find him, so he can brush it off like he usually does..."

"I have a question" Madelaine says.

Caiah turns to Madelaine, waiting for her to continue.

"Are you from the other world, like us?" Madelaine asks.
"Other world...?" Caiah asks. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you're regular, like me" Madelaine says. "No tail, normal ears, no wings, no nothing... so are you from where I came from?"

"Ah... no, I don't believe so" Caiah says.
"So how come you're like that?" Madelaine asks.
"It's difficult to explain" Caiah says. "All I can say is that I'm not really from around here..."

"You came here through that black portal thing, right?" You ask.
"I did" Caiah says. "And it's the reason why I have to make sure I find Terry as quickly as possible... because I'm stranded if he leaves without me"

"Well if you ever need help..."
"I'll be sure to call on you" Caiah says. "Thank you"
"Don't thank me. You've saved my butt enough times, I figure I owe you at least one by now..." You say.

"3 by my count" Derrick says.
"There. I owe you three" You say. "Like a genie"
"A... what?" Derrick asks.

"Like a... person who owes you three things..." You say. "Genie works better"
>>
That's all for tonight!

Next thread will likely be either tomorrow or Wednesday.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time!
>>
>>1515720
Thanks for Running Smiley
>>
>>1515720
Thanks for running Smiley
>>
You spend the next hour so or just talking with Caiah. She seems very interested in your story, short as it may be...

"... but then Flit nailed him in the head with an arrow. I wasn't sure whether I should've been mad at her for stealing my kill, or impressed that she could hit such a small target from so far away" You say.

"Flit is the Elf, right?" Caiah asks. She sits across from you at the table, stroking Cora's hair as you talk. She seems to like the little sprite almost as much as you do.
"Yeah. The one with the soft hair" You say.
"I hear that most Elves are skilled archers" Caiah says. "Though I've never met one myself"
"Well, when I tried my hand at archery she showed me up so thoroughly that I don't think I'll go back" You say. "So even if most elves aren't all that good, Flit is excellent"

Before either of you can continue, Madelaine interrupts.

"So are either of you planning on going to bed any time soon? Because it's getting a little late..." She says.

You look around to see that Ava is asleep in her chair, Derrick is standong over by the door, and both Madelaine and Emi are in their pajamas...

>I guess we could take this elsewhere

>I should go sleep

>How long has the bird been sleeping?

>Other
>>
>>1528484
>>I guess we could take this elsewhere
Give how little we get to see of her at infrequent times, I want to spend as much time getting information out of her as possible.
>>
>>1528484
>>I guess we could take this elsewhere
>>
>writing
>>
"I guess we could take this elsewhere" You say.
"Not going to bed?" Derrick asks. "You know tomorrow's probably gonna be busy..."
"I'll deal" You say, as you turn to Caiah. "To the lobby?"

"For a while, sure" Caiah says. "It's not too late, but I also have to sleep sometime"

You help Emi by waking Ava so she can get ready for bed, and then head out with Caiah and Derrick.

"Here" Derrick says, as he tosses you a key. "Don't be too loud coming in"
"I'll be quiet as a mouse" You say.
Derrick chuckles. "I've caught Pip sneaking around before. You may need to do better than that" He says. "Good night, man"
"Sleep well" You reply.

You and Caiah head down to the lobby and sit down by the window again.

"Rain's still going..." You say
"It's quite the storm" She replies. "If it keeps up like this, you may find yourself marching on Contique in it"

You look out the window. "I might need goggles" You say.
"I'm sure you could get them somewhere" She says.

You lean back and turn to her. She still has Coral in her hand...

>Ask why she likes Coral so much

>Tell her about your other-world theory

>Ask her about herself

>Other
>>
>>1528594
>>Ask why she likes Coral so much

>>Tell her about your other-world theory
>>
>>1528594
>Tell her about your other-world theory
>>
>writing
>>
"You seem really fond of Coral" You say.
"Ah, she's a big sweety" Caiah says. "I had a similar sprite back home, so Coral is quite familiar"


"You had a chaos sprite?" You ask.
"Oh, no" Caiah says. "Similar in attitude, not makeup"
"Where is that sprite now?" You ask.

Caiah smiles. "I left her in the care of my boyfriend" She says.
"You have a boyfriend?" You ask. "Is he a knight like you?"
"Sort of" She says. "He's more at home in a workshop than he is on a battlefield, but he does pretty well in both"

"Is he a... builder?" You ask.
"More of a tinkerer" She says. "He likes to build gadgets and test them in the field. Some of them work, some of them... don't"
"He sounds cool" You say. "How come he's not travelling with you?"
"He had some pretty good reasons..." Caiah says. "But enough about that, my story is actuall pretty droll... what happened after you-... uhh, Flit beat the Grand Inquisitor?"

"For the record, I was winning when she shot him" You say. "But that's beside the point... we figured we'd spend the night there, and Cheska and I went hunting for secrets..."

>1/2
>>
"Do you still have that book?" Caiah asks.
"Yeah, it's in with my other things, along with the Inquisitor's notes" You say.

"I'm surprised you managed to get all of that, just from the scraps of info you had" Caiah says.
"They may have been scraps, but they all fit together pretty well" You say. "Do you think I'm right?"

"I believe you may be onto something" Caiah says. "Keep at it, there's bound to be more to this mystery"
"Any idea where to look?" You ask.

"As you said, the ruins would be a good starting point, when you can actually get to them" She says.
"That shouldn't be long now" You say. "The Howling Tower is so close, I can hear it"

...

"You know... because we can hear the wind from the storm?" You ask.
"I got it" Caiah says.
"Oh..." You say. "Yeah that wasn't a very good joke in the first place"

>Ask if she knows where the other ruins are

>Ask if she's been anywhere interesting

>Other
>>
>>1528760
>Ask if she's been anywhere interesting
>>
>>1528760
>>Ask if she knows where the other ruins are
Hey smiley, in terms of power how strong can Yu and the enemies get in the end game, are we going to have to worry about people who can level an entire bullring in one swing of a sword?
>>
>>1528760
>>Ask if she knows where the other ruins are
>>
>writing
>>
File: Updated mep.jpg (374 KB, 2458x1303)
374 KB
374 KB JPG
"So I was wondering..." You say. "You wouldn't happen to know where any of the ruins are, would you?"
"Depends on which ones you already know" She says.

You reach into your back pocket and pull out your map. "I've got these 5, but I don't know the others" You say.

"Rising Mountain, Shining Spire, Howling Tower, Seeping Pit, Flowing Pools..." She says. "Hand me a pen"

You pull a pen out of your pocket and give it to her. Caiah immediately goes to work.

"I can give you... the... Treeborn cradle... and... the... Unbroken Pyramid" Caiah says, as she adds 2 new spots to your map.

"Neat. Thanks" You say. "Have you ever been to these?"
"Not myself, but I knew people who'd gone" She says. "The Unbroken Pyramid is pretty straightforward. That area gets a lot of earthquakes, and the building has stood through them for over a thousand years"
"Neat" You say. "What about the cradle?"

"That place is made entirely of plants" She says. "As far as I know there are no truly 'manmade' buildings. Everything is formed from living wood"

"Made by... nature mages?" You ask.
"That's the assumption, yeah" She says.
"Any idea where the lightning ruins might be?" You ask.

"Afraid not" She says. "There's bound to be someone who knows, though. Just ask around"

>1/2
>>
>>1528854
Any chance we could get a key added to map at some point? I'm losing track.
>>
"Have you ever been to any of these ruins?" You ask.
"Nope" She says. "Never really interested me. Up until now they've just been ruins after all"
"Oh..." You say. "Have you been anywhere interesting then?"

"Well... when I was younger I used to round up all of my friends, and we'd go exploring in the ruins of this old castle" She says. "The story went that it was the place where an evil king ruled over the land, until a hero came and got rid of hi, nearly destroying the place in the process"

"Sounds like it would've been quite the fight" You say.
"It must've been" She says. "There were signs of battle through the whole castle... I remember there being holes everywhere, burn marks and scratches all around the walls... and that was just the parts that you could get into, the rest of the castle was completely totaled"

"Why not get rid of it?" You ask.

Caiah shrugs. "Maybe they figured it'd just collapse on it's own one day" She says.

>Ever find anything cool in there?

>Tell me more about the fight

>Just the castle? No where else cool?

>Other
>>
>>1528897
>>Ever find anything cool in there?
>>
>>1528897
>>Ever find anything cool in there?

>>Tell me more about the fight
>>
>>1528897
>Ever find anything cool in there?
>Can people really do that kind of damage?
>>
>>1528918
this gets my vote
>>
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>>1528769
Yes.

>>1528893
Mep.

>writing
>>
"Ever find anything cool in there?" You ask.
"I didn't but Demitri- that's my boyfriend -found the Hero's old weapon" Caiah says.
"That sounds cool" You say. "What did he do with it?"

"Fixed it up and gave it to the hero's ancestors" She says. "We all thought it was cool, but we were kids, not thieves"

"That was nice of him" You say. "I'm still kinda surprised that a fight like that could level half a castle"

"And leave some nice craters in the nearby hills" Caiah says.
"Can one person really have that much power?" You ask.

Caiah pokes your forehead. "Says the boy who brought an entire building down on his head" She says.
"That wasn't just me though, I was channeling the Chaos Engine" You say.

"Well think of it this way: A high powered destructive natured spell could level most of this inn" She says. "These two fighters were masters of their craft going all out while trying not to bring the entire building down with them still inside. Once they got outside, they started leaving craters"

"Could I become that strong?" You ask.
"You've got a lot of potential" She says. "I'm certain that with practice, you could be casually levelling buildings in no time"
"I don't think I want to do that..." You say. "It sounds messy"

Caiah laughs.

>Anything else you want to talk to her about?
>>
>>1528944
Thanks, that really helps. Huh, so Flowing Pools looks like it's in the Bermuda Triangle and Rising Mountain is Rome? Can't really think of anything particularly notable about others at first glance, though seeing one in Bermuda Triangle makes me wonder if there are otherworld gates present.
>>
>>1528993
>Anything she can tell us about how the chaotics seem to have their own elements and how they might differ from mana users? Is it just chance that it seems like Terry, her, and Yuu all seem to be different elements?
>>
>>1529001
Still gonna say Seeping Pit is probably gonna suck the most cause the Not!Amazon
>>
>>1529012
I'll second this

>>1528993
>the hero's ancestors
Let's do the time warp, again.
>>
>>1529001
Flowing Pools are in the Bahamas. Most of the ruins are in geographically significant places, like the Unbroken Pyramid sitting next to an active fault line.

>>1529022
The Not!Amazon is also swarming with Elves. Have fun.

>writing
>>
>>1529046
time to practice our Elf seduction skills then
>>
>>1529041
Descendants. I meant Descendants.
For whatever reason I get those 2 mixed up sometimes.
>>
know this is out of the blue but smiley, just want you to know that I really love your quest, you have one of very few quests that I read on this site, keep up the good work
>>
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>>1529111

>Captcha: Select all squares with vehicles
>Shows a picture of a graveyard.
>...
>>
>>1529130
I really hate some of these checks, like the ones where you have to click around something to make a shape using lines and one mis click fucks it all up or the ones where you click and you have to keep clicking every image of a certain things is gone.
>>
>>1529130
>>1529157
Enable Legacy Captcha.
>>
"Another question" You say. "What's up with our elements? I asked this last time, but we didn't really get to talk about it" You say.

"Well, you know my 'element' by now..." Caiah says. She holds her hand over the table, causing it to bend upwards. "I was an earth mage before I was turned into a Pure Demon, so I believe this is something akin to Earth Soul..."

"Any idea what mine is?" You ask. "I don't actually know my old element"
"Just listen to your 'heart'" She says.

You stare at her for a few seconds. "There's an obvious problem with that, that I feel I shouldn't have to mention at this point"

Caiah rolls her eyes, and grabs your head. "Just listen" She says, as she pulls your head into her chest.

For a moment you're surprised, but thankfully that moment passes without anything awkward happening... You press your ear to her chest, and listen.

"It sounds kinda like... rumbling" You say.
"It's the sound of the earth" She says.
"I get it now..." You say. "People keep telling me that my heart sounds like a river"

"So your element was water" She says. "Water magic is somewhat unique, as it is able to turn energy- mana -into something physical: water... That is probably the same thing that Water Soul does"

"Takes energy and makes it physical?" You ask.
"Precisely" She says.

"Earth magic doesn't do that?" You ask.
"Earth mages can move the earth, but they cannot create new earth" She says. "Every rock they throw comes from somewhere, just like how I can only manipulate what's already there"

So your "element" is turning energy into something physical... you can work with that...

As you ponder the possibilities, you realize that your head is still pressed against Caiah's 'heart'... The sound of it is actually sort of relaxing...

>I could sleep here

>Any idea what Terry is?

>Does Coral have an element?

>Other
>>
>>1529203
>I could sleep here
>Any idea what Terry is?
>>
>>1529203
>Any idea what Terry is?
>Does Coral have an element? Is there a reason you and Terry haven't made chaos sprites?
>>
>>1529203
>>I could sleep here
>>
>>1529169
I don't mind the new captcha, it just has its funny moments.

It also seemed semi-sentient at times. I think it was rooting for Claire back in Blood Moon, as every time I was writing about her, the captcha had something to do with wheelchairs.
>>
>>1529203
>>Any idea what Terry is?
> Do you know how to get my element to interact with souls, I didn't know magic before becoming a pure demon?
>>
>writing
>>
>>1529228
>Blood Moon
When are you going to do that redux, anyways?
>>
"I could sleep here" You say.

"I've been told that it's a relaxing sound" She says.
"People tell me the same thing" You say, as you pull away.
"Must be a pure demon thing" She says.
"Speaking of that, do you know what Terry's element is?" You ask.

"From what I've seen, I think it's the same as yours" She says. "At least, I think it is... Even now his mastery over Soul goes far beyond mine"
"Think you'll catch up?" You ask.

"I don't think I have a choice..." She says.

"What about Coral?" You ask. "Does she have an element?"

You look down to see Coral asleep in Caiah's free hand.

"I don't believe sprites get elements" She says. "But if she did, she would probably have yours... you did create her, after all"
"That makes sense" You say, as you lean over and gently poke the sleeping sprite. "We should probably get to bed, though"

"That's what I'm thinkin'" She says. "I get the feeling both of us will have long days ahead of us"
"Will you come see me before you leave?" You ask.

"I was just about to ask you about that" She says. "Would it be okay if I borrowed Coral for the night? That way I can send her to you when I'm getting ready to go"

Caiah must see the apprehension on your face, because she continues:

"Relax, I'm not gonna keep her. And I promise to take good care of her for the night" Caiah says. "Please?"

>I guess so

>I'd rather not...

>Other
>>
>>1529311
>I guess so
>>
>>1529311
>>I guess so
>>
>writing
>>
"If it's for one night, I guess she can sleep over..." You say. "Just make sure I get her back in the morning"

You poke Coral a little harder to wake her up.

"Hear that, Coral? You'll be staying with Caiah tonight" You say.

Coral rubs her eyes, sits up, and gives a tired salute.

"Thank you!" Caiah says. "This actually kind of means a lot to me..."
"Because she reminds you of your old sprite?" You ask.

Caiah nods. "It'll be like home..." She says, looking less than happy.

"Anything I can do to help a friend" You say. "I did say I owe you a few, after all"
"You did" She says.

The two of you make your way back upstairs, separating when you reach your room.

"Thanks again, Yuu" She says.
"Don't mention it" You say. "It was nice to finally get a chance to sit down and talk to you. We should do this again... if we get the chance"
"Unlikely, but it's something to strive for" Caiah says. "Goodnight, Yuu"
"Goodnight Caiah" You say, as you turn to go into your room.

Just as you're turning away, you catch Coral puffing out her cheeks.

"And Goodnight Coral" You say.

Coral smiles contentedly, and you head inside.

Derrick is already asleep, so you throw on your pajamas and flop down on the other bed.

"What happened to 'quiet as a mouse'?" Derrick asks.
"I gave up on that when you said they weren't all that quiet" You reply.

Derrick lets out a tired chuckle as he rolls over, and you tuck yourself in and close your eyes...
>>
That's all for tonight!

Next thread will be on Monday, as I'm busy this weekend.

I also wanted to know how you guys would like it if I just added a longer-than-usual postto the thread on days that I can't run, as opposed to not putting anything out at all.

I ask because I've got a bunch of big events on the horizon, and I don't want to take another long break from questing. This would give me a way to continue the story when I don't have 4-5 hours for a proper run.

Of course, I'll still do proper runs when I get the chance. Let me know what you guys think.
>>
>>1529466
I would rather you post something than post nothing it all.
>>
>>1529466
Sounds like a good idea honestly
>>
>>1529466
That sounds fine, though perhaps give us longer to respond if necessary. Some of us don't always make it right when you start.
>>
>>1529493
I'd keep the polls open for about 3-4 hours, since there's no urgency to continue.

I'll do a test post like this over the weekend to see how/if it works, since I won't be able to run.
>>
>>1529466
Im down for that
>>
>>1529560
THP has been doing quests this way for a long time now and its worked well for them, don't see why it wouldn't work for you as well.




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