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>Cont' from Chapter 1: Myrthterrah

Felim

As many in TeeGee already know, it was the Felim that came to save the Outrealmers who would go on to found the Knights Harem, and as such, this nation has enjoyed a close relationship with the Felim of all sorts. Unlike other faiths, the Felim lack a central hierarchy to their religion, in part due to half of their people’s nomadic nature. As such, a wedding ceremony can be presided over by literally anyone as long as they know the service. Clan and tribe elders are preferred, but it is not uncommon to see family, friends, or in the case of an elopement, complete strangers to give the ceremony for a young couple.

The ceremony begins with the affianced couple together in an outdoor area surrounded on all sides by whatever friends and family are invited. The two give their vows at the same time, speaking in unison and looking into each other’s eyes. These vows tend to be themed on the river They then both drink water from a running source. Traditionally, this water is gathered from the Nine Sacred Rivers, however, any running source of water, such as a river or stream, is acceptable. Some Felim traders have even taken water from Mirthan built aqueducts.

>>22049434
After the ceremony there is the traditional feast, a large pot-luck by tribe coming together, involving even those who were not invited to the ceremony. Gifts are popular as well, but out of all of them, the most important is the Rumah Pertama, or “First Home”. For nomadic Felim, this is a tent to be used for the new couple to grow their family in, set up on a hill a short ways off for privacy on their first night as a married couple. For more settled Felim, the Rumah Pertama might be an individual house or an addition for the couple on one of the parents’ abode. Typically, this is paid for by the parents of the couple, but in the event that the parents are not wealthy enough to, or are otherwise absent, the community pitches together.

Due to the higher ratio of female to male Felim (somewhere around 2:1, though there have been reports of higher and lower in different communities), polygamy is relatively common, though still not the norm. Felim culturally tend to favor deep, personal relationships, so monogamy has a cultural appeal for the Felim that polygamy cannot match. Often it’s the wealthier males of the tribe that take on more than one wife. This is not necessarily out of desire or power, but their ability (and thus responsibility to the community) to do so. Even so, such a union must be accepted by the other woman (or women) involved in the ceremony, and often they take part as a third voice in the proceedings.

>>22049448
Thanks to the low barrier of entry and the acceptance of polygamous practices, the Felim wedding ceremony enjoys a good deal of popularity in TeeGee. In fact, the State standard secular marriage ceremony is essentially the Felim ceremony, just with the names of the Divines replaced with whatever other deities the couple wishes to swear their vows under.

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>>22049448

Kanin

To say the Kanin are not very in touch with their spiritual side is partly false. They too have myths and beliefs that are related to courtship and love. The central theme of their union is the the acceptance and the sharing oneself with their partners to become greater as a whole. There are many variations on the myth of the Princess of the Moon who counterbalanced the evil of her lover. Whether said mythological figure was unwilling when she wed is still disputed. The effect her myth has on contemporary Kanin is loyalty to their partner. This is part of their societal norm.

The traditional Kanin wedding ceremony is a typically loud but quick affair. The couple declare, at the top of their lungs, their union to each other in the name of the Sun, if it is daytime, or the Moon, if it is night. The ceremony requires only one witness but usually family and friends will be in attendance. The couple then exchange personal effects to symbolise their willingness to share and their dedication. These personal effects are generally items of sentimental value but can also be teeth or weapons as Kanin females do not shy away from battle much like their Princess of the Sun.

>>22049508
Theoretically it is possible that Kanins may wed on the field of battle itself and there are stories of it but most weddings occur during times of peace. If you are to be one of the participants of the wedding, ensure that you have prepared a suitable item beforehand or you may risk receiving unneeded dental surgery.

Most weddings also take place outdoors and if possible, on the highest geographical point nearby. This could be atop a tower or atop a pile of enemies with the goal of broadcasting the union as far and wide as possible outside the presence of the witness. Which is also why some couples prefer to declare their vows at night. Due to the Kanin language these vows are often times mistaken as random howling and barking. As long as both couple and witness understand the language in which the declaration is made, what others hear is of no relevance to them.

There is strictly nothing forbidding polygamous unions, however they remain rare in the Snarletooth Isles, oft considered within the realm of antiquity. Within TeeGee, where polygamy is more common, the terms of the union vary wildly depending on those involved.

>>22049518
What the newlyweds do after the ceremony is entirely dependent on the couple. Some retreat to privacy to enjoy each other’s company, some celebrate with feasts either with the help or because of the witnesses. As a witness to a Kanin ceremony it is important to try and anticipate beforehand, if it cannot be determined, what the couple would most likely do after the ceremony. If they wish to spend time in private, it is perhaps best to offer a small gift, whether in spoken word or otherwise. Sometimes the witnesses conspire together to throw a feast together, even without the couple knowing. To turn down gifts is considered rude as the gift symbolises support for the union.

Overall, the ceremony is popular in TeeGee as a secular marriage. As the Kanin do not hold any gods the ceremony is well suited for couples who do not have a set opinion on any of the gods, and enjoy shouting their love from the tops of mountains or Castle Waifu, as is oft the case.

TBC

>>22049534
And remember the reason Kanin have no gods is because they killed their god.

>>22049634
Jesus was killed, and people still worship him.

>>22049646
Jesus walked it off. Their guy not so much

>>22049634
Very Klingon.

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>>22050083
They won't be quoting Shakespeare though.

If you've been (very) observant, you might've noticed a short post I made about a week ago asking for a title for a hypothetical Teegee video game. Well, here's the result. I won't be using Olin's name for this as it isn't appropriate, so the rest of the posts will be under a different name.

Anyway, prepare yourselves for Teegee: Wizards, Wars, and Romance! (Credit goes to Tanash for helping me come up with the name.)

>>22053456
So, just recently I got Teegee: Wizards, Wars, and Romance. For those of you on the fence; get this game. It’s utterly fantastic, and I’d recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. But in case you don’t know what it is in the first place, I’d describe it as being a bit like XCOM, but you only directly control one character.

First, character creation. I didn’t want to make myself, and I wasn’t feeling too creative at the moment. Picking the name of Sir Ma’am, I hit random and hoped for the best. I found myself controlling a fat, middle-aged, balding man in a Hawaiian t-shirt and shorts. The Hard Months are watered down so the newbies don’t get scared off, but you wouldn’t know that when you can’t outrun a hedgehog.

Shaping up wasn’t an option, so I relied on traps to get my dinners. Before I knew it, the Hard Months were over. The Felim found us some time in Sun’s Dawn, and I finally got a chance to fuck around without having to fear for my character’s life every step of the way. No waifu yet, but one of the shopkeepers might be a good choice.

>>22053461
So, one of the features of the game is random events. I can assume these were put in to prevent metagaming, but they do more than that. They can make things... interesting. In canon, the Orks sieged the castle in 4 AA. So imagine my surprise when we get invaded a year early.

By fucking vampires.

I got the option to take what I could and leave, or stay and fight. Obviously, I stayed. Pretty much the only thing Sir Ma’am is good at is ambushes, so I set up as many traps as I could. As it turns out, vampires don’t take too kindly to razor wires and explosive runes.

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>>22053468
Ever had one of those special NPCs in a game? For example, Boone in New Vegas, or that one bastard in XCOM who can pop a Sectoid from halfway across the map. The one guy you can always trust to save your ass. Well, I have one of those. Dungeon crawling is very profitable, but Sir Ma’am wasn’t going to survive without a lot of cleverness and some backup. A male Felim mercenary became my Boone, clearing dungeon after dungeon with me barely having to lift a finger.

And then he confessed his love.

Now, you can outright reject an NPC’s advances. But that makes them less effective. And no matter how you put it, accepting was the tactically logical choice. And so, Sir Ma’am is now gay.

After a while though, I started to lose interest in the character. Not for any in-story reason, it was just too damn easy. But at the same time, I’d invested so much into Sir Ma’am and his partner in crime/bed. So, I cranked the difficulty up. Way up.

Dungeons became bigger, their inhabitants got smarter, and the dynamic duo bested them all the same. And then I got hit by another random event. Mirthterrah and the Elvish kingdoms decided to have a war. If you know anything about the geography of the region, you can see why this is a very, very bad thing.

This is where I am now. I’m scared to load that save.

>>22053475
So, thoughts? Is this something I should continue? What did you like about it?

As a side note, I have more Olin stuff coming soon. Expect it up some time today.

Also, since you guys are so awesome I'm giving away a copy of Payday: The Heist to the first person to give me their Steam contact info. Any takers?

>>22053493
Generous offer, but I've already got a big enough backlog of Steam games I still have to beat, Farcry 3 being priority atm.

As for the game's story...interesting, and it does sound like something I'd have done, minus reliance on friendly AI's anyway. I've learned not to trust them in most games.

>>22053493
I know some people who play that, so drop it my way.
>http://steamcommunity.com/id/doomed1

As for the game thing, it's great for a sort of side idea, but I'm not sure if it would roll so well as a continuation. Food for thought more than something to actually try. I honestly always thought of it as something that would be awesome as a Skyrim mod, rather than some sort of SRPG type game. A full on party system would be great for clearing dungeons and the dialog system would be sufficient to create dialog trees where you can romance or bro it up. Choose to be a warrior, adventurer, diplomat, Blade, or even a trader or a farmer with some elements of Recettear and Harvest Moon/Rune Factory in the system.

>>22055515
That would actually be kinda awesome.

All right then, since I got the holiday stuff out of my system for the moment, it's time to move on to bigger and better things...I'm thinking a bit more on that armor I found.

>>22055515
>Skyrim

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Bump? Is anyone there?

>>22060103
Yep, will have a little something soon

>>22060103
Workin' on a bunch of stuff. I promised a few days ago that I'd have it done today, and I'd planned to get it done last night.

However, I am a master procrastinator. I've still got a good deal left to do, but I should have it ready and posted before the day's done.

Anyway, have a sample.

Oh, and this has pretty much nothing to do with the rest of the stuff I'm working on. Just a little side thing I came up with.

>>22060244
“So, let me get this straight. In your dream, you were spirited away to a fantasy world with a bunch of other fa/tg/uys, and you married Professor Bridges.”

“We shared a wife.”

“Right, Cerran.”

“Dude, you have a messed up mind.”

“We established that long ago, Paul.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It felt real, though. Not like a normal dream.”

“Well, you can dwell on that bit of solipsism later. You’ve got a class in twenty minutes.”

----

And then I woke up. I’m fairly certain that my dreams are fucking with me.

>>22060274
Fuck, I meant to use Wilhem's name for that post.

>>22060103
Moving sucks. Probably won't have anything new until after Monday, and from there, probably not til after next week since next week is finals. And then after that it's with family for Christmas, though I will have time for writing since I'll be out in da woods. Winter woods would probably make for some good inspiration too~

>>22060127
On the first day of XXXMas Lilly came to me. In the kitchen to be exact, as I was making up some irish coffee.

“I was thinking, we always celebrate Catmas the same boring way. I want to spice things up.”

I felt something in my soul cringe for a second, no wait that was just the Thai food from the night before. I hate Thai food, you learn something new everyday. I put down the bottle and turned to look at Lilly.

“Bit nipply out this morning.” I said feeling rather hungry all of a sudden. Lilly was wearing one of her home only outfits, and concerning the stuff she wore out, you can see what this means.

“Oh, this old thing.” Lilly said, stretching and also nearly putting my eye out.

“Meina was worried worried when you didn’t come to bed last night.”

“She knows I don’t sleep all that much.”

“Bed and sleep are not the same. She was worried there was something horribly wrong with you.”

“I was busy, planning.” Lilly said, her eyes full of her unique mix of predator hunger, sheer happiness, and love and lust. I had once described that look to a fellow knight as the look that gave me a massive fear bonner.

“Hold me.” I said in mock fear.

“I’m going to do FAR more than that love.” Lilly said sensually. Every word sent goosebumps running across my skin. “Did you happen to look in the living room yet?”

“No, why is there some horribly embarrassing and awkward trap in there?” I said flashing back to one time when there had been.

>>22061331

“Nooooo.” She said cutely, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me out of my seat and down the hall to the living room. Lilly had already grabbed Meina as she lay sleepily on one of the couches. Vulistein was sitting regally as ever in one of the chairs with a book on philosophy in hand. In one corner was a massive 20 foot christmas tree. My family had always gone big when it came to trees (Biggest ever was 21 feet) and I had no intention of ending that tradition. But the thing that caught my eye (Room full of three beautiful women barely clothed, what does that say about me) was that over the fireplace where three boxes, each with 25 little drawers. The one in the middle had my name on it, the one to the right Vulstien’s, and the other Meina’s.

“Lilly, you made advent calendars?” I said more to myself than to her.

“Yeah I saw some at a store, but the ones they had were so borrrrrinnnngggg. I mean I like chocolate as much as the next girl, but I just felt like we needed something more. After all this is Vulstin’s first Catmas with us.”

That sent me back into flashback town. It was almost a year ago when she came to stay with us. It was an odd relationship to say the least. Lilly, Meina, and Myself had all made it clear to her that if she wanted to be she was part of the family. She had always responded with something about not being ready or deserving and so on. But she had ended up becoming a maid and also a mistress, I still don’t get that. Women, I swear there is no understanding them.

>>22061342


The whole mistress thing had come about one day while I was out dealing with the council, apparently Meina and Vulstien were doing housework and this had somehow turned into a tickle fight which in turn devolved into lesbian sex. Then things just took off from there and thats how a soul searching war angel maid became the newest member of our family, even if she didn’t think she was deserving or whatever. Side note getting into a tickle fight with a person with six arms is a bad idea if you don’t like losing.

“What fresh hell have you created this time.” Vulstien said putting her book down.

“You’ll love it, its a bunch of self discovery crap through my favorite pastime. So who wants to go down the rabbit hole with me first?”

“Jim.” Meina and Vulstin said at the same time.

“Of course.” I sighed, walking up to the calendar and opening the drawer numbered one. Inside was a black slip of paper. I pulled it out and unfolded it. In hot pink lettering it read, “Secret Fantasy Fucklist.” I turned to Lilly who was practically standing on my back, so when I turned around we were about as close as two could possible get. “Lilly didn’t we do this already. Marilyn, Audrey, Dolly, and so on?”

Lilly wrapped her arms around me, entwining the two of us. “Silly, that was the normal one. The secret list is the one that you would never admit to, some not even to yourself.” And then she flung across the room, I slammed into a empty waiting chair. Teaching Lilly martial arts sometimes seemed to be an unwise move, more so when she used it to manhandle me. Not that I would really complain.

>>22061349
“Wait hold on a sec. If some I won’t even admit to myself how did you find out?” I said as Lilly stalked her way over.

Lilly sighed, “You are really slow when all that blood leaves your brain. I asked your subconscious while you were asleep.”

“I figured, I was just facilitating dialog for the audience.” I nodded my head at Meina and then Vulstien.

“Oh, don’t stop on my account. This gives me the chance to psychoanalyze the great GeartHeart and see what Freud and Jung would say about you.” Vulstien said, smiling sweetly.

“I know your reading in the order it happened, but with time most people decided that Jung and Freud were full of shit.”

“I’ll get to that when I get to that. One day at a time.” She said turning a page.

“And you know me, I like watching Lilly make people squirm.” Meina chimed in, she was starting to look better. She was very emotional, and her worries took a lot out of her at times.

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>>22061358
That thought bounced around in my head a few times, just a bunch of crazy broken people trying to live together. I shifted from my messy landing position, and started trying to look like a badass. “Well then let the games begin.”

Lilly’s eyes flashed and she was surrounded by pink smoke. Out from the smoke stepped a... female version of Kamina?

“Who the hell do you think I am!” And then she tackled me. Long story short, there was much fucking and shape changing. Vulstien and Meina had more than a few laughs at my expense. Course they got theirs’ also. Which was sweet. But that is a story for some other time.

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>>22061342
...Where'd an angel from a parallel world get entire books on Freudian psychology?

>>22063396
They were probably saved on someone's Kindle when they got Shanghai'd. Olin and co. have been doing a lot of work to transcribe anything and everything they can.

Oh, and incoming writefaggotry.

These nine long months are finally over; Cerran’s finally given birth. Part of me doesn’t entirely believe that I’m a father now, other parts are equally horrified, mystified, and overjoyed at the thought. Not only will two little versions of me be running around my lab, but it’ll be my responsibility to raise the little buggers. I mean, I’ve taught before. I’ve been teaching classes for years. But my students can usually vocalize beyond WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Oh, yes. That will be a problem in the future. You see, I’m a high-functioning autistic. It doesn’t affect my life that much, but one thing autistics universally hate are LOUD NOISES. Indeed, my patience will be tested. But in the end, it’ll be worth it.

I hope.

>>22063627
As I’ve said elsewhere, I used to consider my journey in life to be over and my purpose to help others on their way. While I rescinded the policy some time ago, it seems I will be taking the role up again. I admit; I’ve never been very good with kids. Regardless, I will fulfill my duty as a parent.

We don’t actually know who the father is, mind. Wilhelm’s the more likely candidate, so we’re assuming it’s him. I don’t think it matters all that much, to be honest. He’s better for the role, and so it is his. But as they say, no plan survives first contact with the enemy. What will happen remains to be seen.

>>22063634
When I was younger, I fled the home of my foster parents. They did everything they could to care for me, but for some reason I never felt at home there. I’m not sure why, but they didn’t feel like family. In retrospect it was a horrible decision to leave them, but that’s in the past now.

My point is that Olin and Wilhelm are my family now. And now, two more will join us. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure they get brought up well, and that they don’t repeat my mistakes.

Come to think of it, I never apologized to my parents for leaving the way I did. A trip to the Snarletooth Isles may be in order.

Oh, and none of us can come up with good names for the children. It’s something that will be staying with them for life; not exactly something you can decide on a whim.

This is universally agreed to be the gayest thing since gay came to gaytown, and yet you persist in shitting up the board. Why?

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Writing may be a bit more productive if I can pull myself away from Farcry...and not be up at 5 in the morning...

Oh well, sunlight maggot tim-wait a second, that gives me an idea! A new monster to run across exploring tombs and what not.

There is now way this carefully laid plan could go wrong.

Alright, TeeGee, let's talk about TEXTILES. We already have silk, but what about synthetics? Would we recreate Rayon or Nylon?

Actually, if we could remake Nylon, that's a thermoplastic. Would have some interesting consequences for what we make. There's dice production right there! Maybe a later addition?

So are we going to have rugged, cotton/nylon blend outfits or are we only going to have comfortable cotton/silk blends? It's less a question of CAN we, but rather SHOULD we.

>>22064677
Unless we have petrol, there's no plastics as far as I can recall. I doubt ANY of us have the background for making bio-plastics.

>>22064677
Silk, frostweave, cotton, flax, and possibly satin are the only ones I know of.

Synthetics take a bit more chemical know-how than I possess.

>>22061358
I thought Jung was one of those who were accepted and it was just Freud who was full of shit. What are the problems with his theories? (Note: This is a curiosity, not an accusation. Text leads little to tone of sentences.)

>>22064729
Yeah, my bad, for some reason I wasn't reading the chemistry clearly. Bioplastics would basically just be making plastics out of organic oils like corn oil (which makes ethanol).

>>22064898
Jung and Freud were soon outdated by modern psychology, with revivals to psychoanalysis with figures such as Jacques Lacan. Within lit theory, Lacan is really the last big figure, but Jungian ideas are being reassessed with the exploration of post modernism and database theory, though if anything, Jung was always called something of a nutter because of his "combined consciousness" theory and other metaphysics based ideas.

>>22064729
Oh ye of little faith. While I don't have any experiences with such, I've met a lot of people in biology who are almost certainly /tg/ posters, and many have worked in creating biofuels and biodiesel from alternative plant types.

>>22064963
I obviously need to read more on psychology then. I do enjoy some of his ideas on literature archetypes, but psych isn't my field. Also, what is post modernism? I've been trying to understand for a while, and best I can figure it's an idea that everything is subjective.

>>22065036
>Oh ye of little faith. While I don't have any experiences with such, I've met a lot of people in biology who are almost certainly /tg/ posters, and many have worked in creating biofuels and biodiesel from alternative plant types.

LOTTA trial and error there though. And I'm pretty sure it requires other synthetic processes we simply do not have.

>>22065036
Post-modernism has been called alot of things, but within lit theory, it's a perspective. One that views the "meta" of a work as equal parts with the narrative. Basically, Modernism saw the narrative as a single cohesive, indivisible thing which was spawned from the Grand Narrative of our individual cultures. Postmodernism doesn't see this so much as a single thing, but many parts that make up a whole, a Grand Nonnarrative if you will. This is the basis of database theory. Look up a theorist named Hiroki Azuma. He does alot of very fascinating work on Japanese Otaku culture, and he explains this sort of thing in better depth than I can here.

The tl;dr version is that Modernism sees a narrative as one thing: a narrative. Postmodernism sees a narrative as its parts: the Hero, the Journey, the Villain, the Struggle, and most theory that spawns from that perspective seeks to classify the elements together to better understand literature and build a macrocosmic argument from breaking the narrative down on a microcosmic level. That's actually not much shorter or simpler... Oh well.

so while talking about what stuff we have, what type of bow do our troops use

>>22065248
I'm voting composite short bows. Suckers are the carbines of the middle ages.

>>22065248
You, Shut it. No bow talk.

>>22065194
Write some slice of life/smut get more response on Psychology. /tg/ never change.

>>22065248
Whatever bow that suits their fancy, provided a minimum power of 60lbs and the ability to hold the draw. The popular choice is a compound bow due to its ease of use, accuracy, and high power, but there are plenty of chaps that swear by their longbow.

I've got a bunch more writefaggotry ready, but I don't want to crowd the thread. Am I free to go ahead, or should I wait?

>>22066501
You had like, three posts. Don't worry about it. Worry about posting entire, feature length stories back to back first.

>>22066501
Go for it. Just meter it.

>>22066536
According to Google Docs, my next story is over a thousand words.

Oh well, postan. Any paragraph in greentext is an annotation from Olin.

As usual, tell me if anything seems off.

----

>I realized that I’d neglected to include some of Cerran’s earlier writings. This should give you a sense of how she’s matured over the years. Some bits are a bit embarrassing for me, but I felt they were worth including.

I left home. I took a raft and went to the mainland. I’m not coming back.

I’m scared. I’m glad to get away from there, but I’m scared. I don’t know this place. I want to go back. Back home. But I did this to prove that I don’t need them. Artair, Ceana, and everyone else. They’re the closest I’ve ever had to a family, but I never felt like I belonged there. So I left.

And now I’m scared, and I don’t know what to do. But I can’t go home now, not after what I did. I don’t know how to get back anyway.

(Since this is all Cerran's writing, I should use this name for now.)

>>22066633
I met a trade caravan today, they said they’re going to a place called Tiji. It seems like a great place, but I feel a little intimidated. Still, it’s better than sleeping under a rock.

----

This place is wonderful. No, it’s better than that. It’s perfect. I can live here.

Oh, and apparently it’s spelled “Teegee”.

----

Fifth job so far, this is the only one that’s actually interested me. The work itself (transcribing, editing, sorting) is pretty dull, but I’ve never seen anything like this thing they have me using. It’s called a “Kindle”, though it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with burning or firewood. It must be magic, but they say it isn’t.

The people here are nice, but that’s pretty normal for Teegee. I like the lectures Olin gives, though. Never thought history could be so interesting, but I’m always willing to learn new things.

Oh, and the books I’m transcribing are always fun to read. I probably don’t get all the jokes and references, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying them. (Trillian and Rincewind are my favorite characters so far.)

>>22066641
Olin’s writing a book about Teegee. Well, a book about the people here. He’s taking anecdotes from whoever he thinks might be interesting, and writes them down. And it’s my job to edit it. Olin’s a good writer, but something tells me this project of his won’t be finished for a while.

Oh well, more work for me.

----

Olin wrote a bit about himself in that book of his. Guess he does have an ego, after all. Oh, and he mentioned me. Not by name, but it’s pretty obvious who he’s talking about. He thinks I have a crush on him for some reason. It sounded silly at first, but the more I thought about it the more it made sense.

Well, I’ve never been one to second-guess myself. I’m gonna go kiss him.

----

He used his annotations to respond this time. I’m not sure how to describe it, so I’m just going to copypaste.

-

Two days after I wrote this, the girl in question approached me and quite suddenly kissed me on the lips. She was gone before I could recombobulate. I know you’ll come across this as part of your editing duties, Cerran. And while I feel that I would make a horrible partner, I could use some company from time to time.

-

Success?

>>22066647
We’ve been together for months now, but you wouldn’t know it by the way Olin acts. Still, I’ve learned not to push him. He likes to take things at his own pace, and can be damn stubborn if he doesn’t want to do something.

I’m going to have to be sneaky about this. I will break him out of his shell, bit by bit.

>That explains a lot, really.

----

Even if I am Olin’s waifu, (he hates the term for some reason, dunno why) I’m still his assistant. Today, he’s asked me to pay a visit to The Hole and write something up on them. This should be interesting.

Oh, and apparently I should avoid bringing up the automatic shovel launcher. Whatever that is.

>>22066654
The Hole is not an easy place to find. It’s below the castle, that much you can figure out. But if you didn’t know it, you’d assume the door to the place leads to a janitor’s closet. Needless to say, I didn’t find it on my own.

A young man with what appears to be a burn scar on his cheek found me wandering around the halls, and asked me if I was lost. When I mentioned that I was looking for The Hole, he immediately perked up.

“Ah, you’re the one Olin sent. Come on, there’s lots to see.”

I nod and follow.

“Funny thing, this place used to be a dungeon. Real cramped. Until we knocked some of the walls out, anyway. Still stuffy, though. But we found a secret entrance into the catacombs, that opened things up. Literally and metaphorically. Knocked down a few more walls, added in a few new supports, and suddenly we had a lot of space to work with. Hell, we’re still expanding.”

I had to stop him for a second so I could finish writing down what he was saying. He seemed slightly disappointed. He perked right back up after I told him to continue, though.

“Anyway, we have a bunch of projects going on right now. Those guys over there are working on engines, for example. And the ones in that room over there are working on magically hardened metals.”

I asked him about any completed projects.

“We don’t have many of those. There’s always something that can be improved, so people are hesitant to call something finished.”

“What about the automatic shove-”

The sounds of hammering and machinery stop, and suddenly every pair of eyes in the room is looking at me.

“Sorry?”

Most of them go back to work, but I can still feel a few death glares aimed at me. I think I’ll finish this report once I get back.

----

>A bit on the long side, but I felt it provided some context.

>>22066656
And that's that. There's one more thing on the way, but it's not finished yet.

>>22066673
Seems the shovel launchers really were a sore spot for them.

Interesting bit non the less.

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I got a question for our brave knights.

Can a woman (Whether human or monster) become a knight? Sorry, no past experience with the threads, just beginning to read up on it all and gain interest.

Have a pic of a fine bitch to assuage any anger.

>>22069198
They can. We had one Mirthterrian nobleman's daughter try to join, but her father threw a fit. We have a number of others running around too though.

>>22069220
Happy days. I've been contemplating doing some writing of my own for a female knight and her (mis)adventures.

>>22069233
By all means. We're always welcoming new writers.

>>22069249
Is there a group somewhere I can shoot some questions so I don't derp up established canon?

>>22069323
There's the wiki page in the OP for a general summary, for anything more specific there's usually some one hanging around here who can answer any other questions you have.

>>22069359
Yeah, I just haven't grasped alot of the info yet, like my question about female and monstergirl knights.

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>>22069379
Would be helpful if you wrote it in google docs, that way someone can fact(cannon?) check for you in real time.

That would be the easiest way without reading through 40+ threads.

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>>22070347
That's good advice, thanks. I've started a little bit, and hopefully I'll have something by the time the next thread rolls around ('cause I'm a bit of a lazy writer, to be honest.)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWeXBYe-e6DUBJfRldnVQjTAE6CwKw5pEkcWYbccpek/edit

Is anyone still there?

>>22073320
For a little while longer, yeah.

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Did I ever catch the perp? Of course I did. He was hiding in plain sight. Holed up in a clerical library converted from an old tower it was the last place I’d have looked. I bet he was expecting the Inquisition to bust down his door if he was hiding anywhere else. Still Sister Miriam’s visions were as accurate as always, not that I ever doubted them in the first place.

Miriam? Yes, she’s alive and well though at the time she was recovering from her mental exertion. The Inquisitor, however, had tagged along. Or rather, it was the other way around. The good Inquisitor had dragged me physically out of the room as soon as we got the lead.

Well it wasn’t fully reliable. It was where the poison was mixed but it was better than nothing. Did I ever find out what the poison was? Yes in fact, from the symptoms alone it was probably thallium but I’m no toxicologist. Prez sniffed it out as soon as we entered the tower. I suppose Pandacats can smell things that we can’t.

We were almost at the top of the tower when the Inquisitor spoke about how useful Prez had been and was probably going to look for a Pandacat when all was said and done. Of course Prez had taken offense to that. He danced his thoughts out saying how Pandacats are allies of justice and giving Lamarr the whole spiel. It was there that I learned the good Inquisitor had chosen his path over the path of a Paladin. I think I shouldn’t have put more oil on the fire.

>>22073810
What did I say? Well I think you know me well enough by now. I told him if he stopped threatening torture at every turn he’d probably make a great Paladin. He replied that if wasn’t so cheeky I’d make a great Inquisitor. That was pretty funny though. I mean his delivery was so deadpan you could swear it wasn’t serious at all.

Coming back to almost-Paladin Lamarr, he wasn’t gasping for breath after climbing thirty flights of goddamned stairs. I was and I could tell you I felt like I was dying for breath. Prez of course caught on to another scent and he told me that at the top was a mist of poison that hung between the very top floor and where we were now. Poison resistance was probably one of the perks of the Paladin training I suppose. Which also explained why Miriam fell ill and he didn’t.

Miriam was his target all along though. Would you believe it, it was the same guy from the Book of D’regs incident. I honestly couldn’t. At least not until I recognised how indescribable he was. Must have been that strange cloak of his. We didn’t go in without a plan though. There were two staircases so I earned myself the inglorious duty of being the bait.

>>22073818
So anyway, the perp was sitting all tied up and Prez just jumps into his lap and slaps him for every question Lamarr asks and when he doesn’t answer. It’s almost like a cartoon you know. Didn’t get much out of him though. He admitted to being behind the poisoning and the Book of D’Regs incident. The book? It wasn’t with him. I have a feeling I’ll hearing more about it down the road but that’s pretty much my winter in a nutshell. So what have you been up to Bhikkhu, or should I say, Khru Thai?

---

See you next time chaps when I will have speech for Gearheart to ruin.

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Have you ever had blood drawn? Being fed upon feels rather similar, albeit I found myself unable to move. I'm still unsure whether it was psychological or some sort of biotoxin.
I had Sera stand next to us during the first few feedings with a crossbow in case things got out of hand. The safe word, were I able to use it, was pumpkin. Still, soon we were easy enough for her not to be aiming down the weapon, then at her side, then with it lying on a table. The first time, though, my knees felt weak as Victoria finished eating, letting out a small breath for air.
She said softly into my ear, the first time, “That taste... I can feel it; you really do want to help everybody, don't you? Even an undead blood drinker.” as she pressed a cloth to my wound.

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>>22076738
Sera, of course, was initially opposed to the idea. It was only after quite a bit of debate and reason that she allowed it, and was also the one who suggested she hold a crossbow during the feeding time. Nonetheless, she too warmed up quickly; Victoria was rather charismatic.

Adapting to life with a vampire housemate was... interesting. Victoria slept in a coffin in the basement, but proved herself to be well mannered and sociable. She had an interest in philosophy; it was often brought up whether I was prey or a provider. The three of us also started discussing foreign politics, though it usually amounted to agreeing that most Myrthterrans were cock nozzles.

She was also, obviously, a night owl, heading out regularly. The vampiress apparently enjoyed Teegeeian theater, finding our retelling of 40K novels and anime silly, yet entertaining. The conflicting sleep cycles, combined with her charm and need to regularly talk to us made her feel more like a house guest, and life soon resembled some new form of normality for my growing family.

>>22073834
....Yay? Wait do you mean a speech, or do you mean my stilted way with words influencing my characters therefore ruining your story, or both?

>>22076758
As usual you make up for what you lack in length with being able to convey a whole story in a handful of of paragraphs. But I think hearing more about Sera would be good.

I need some reminders on dueling rules and what I can use as an excuse to start a duel in Mirthterrah. Anyone able to help? Or has this been mostly left open?

>>22079806
They insult your honer, tell them that then challenge them to a dual, easy. As for rules you tend to talk those terms out with the other duelist.

>>22079824
Loose enough to work with then.

>>22079806
Their duels are conducted similarly to early Rennasance duels, so someone gets insulted enough to challenge you and from there, seconds are appointed as go betweens, parameters are set, and then the fight is had, until whatever victory condition was set during the negotiations is met.

>>22079824
I will show him just how effective my honer is! It has honed by blade to a fine edge with which I shall slice him to ribbons! I challenge him to a dual! A dual what, you ask? Why, a dual duel of course! I shall wield my sword and honer; what better weapon to dispatch this fool?!

>>22079824
>challenge them to a dual
A dual what?

>>22079869
Too slow!
>>22079862

>>22079869
A dual duel duel, in the shadow realm for your soul. Something about card games on motorcycles.

>>22079895
Just as long as I can use Monster Reborn.

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>>22079895

>>22079912
Only one

>>22079926
You must not have watched enough shows about children's card games. There is only one option... the show gets censored and people don't die horrible painful pointless deaths.

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>>22079869
Do I really need to say it.

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>>22079960
Meh, had me excited there for a second.

>>22080010
...Or we could use chainsaws, explosives, poisons, and a bunch of other things to make the stakes high and have the loser die at best. Oh, also dark magic, so much dark magic.

File: 1355728215015.jpg-(62 KB, 250x275, TV question.jpg)

Hey guys, what's going on-

>Wedding Customs
Uh huh

>Bows
My stance is if you want a good bowman, start with their parents.

>Olin, Gearheart, Thai and Alaric write stories
Good, good.

>"Duelling"
...that's beginning to sound less like a friendly affair and more an excuse to straight up murder someone. Tell me, do you always have issues with authority figures?

Back to writing. And cross-stitch, which is surprisingly addictive.

>>22080000
gold rare pig disgusting

>>22080074
Yes, but this one takes the attractive children of his serfs as concubines. I'm feeling that it isn't true love, just dickery.

File: 1355728481220.gif-(1.27 MB, 300x225, 1328941561047.gif)

>>22080042
Also, I recommend utilizing that pit of filth I ran across looking for Queelana. Build a platform over that and see who passes out from the smell first.

>>22080084
A quick Judgement of Anubis would take care of that...and how do I remember these cards 7 years after the fact?

>>22080126
Oh, your the guy who was talking about killing the noble who took the kids as concubines back like two threads ago. I wish you luck on ye quest.

>>22080134
Your a nerd and here forever remember. One of us, one of us. And so on.

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>>22080134
he's bitching about the rarity of the card, not the card itself, also judgement of anubus is shit

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>>22080162
I work in tech control, so that's a given I suppose.

>>22080126
I'd have gone for something a little less obvious, but I guess that works

>>22080074
>Tell me, do you always have issues with authority figures?

Wait hold on, were you talking to me?

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>>22080200
Space Typhoon was a 1 per deck card, so I had to use something else, especially once I ran out of dust tornadoes.

Then again, I played an invincible fortress deck.

On something more related, I found a good picture for the last time someone pissed of the nobility.

>>22080200
>ultra book of moon instead of super

what a pleb

>>22080162
Not killing, just hurting. Too many political consequences otherwise, and he probably already hates us. I intend to bait him.

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More added to the Tales of Ser Morgana the Touched
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWeXBYe-e6DUBJfRldnVQjTAE6CwKw5pEkcWYbccpek/edit

Shield related.

bump

>>22081923
Well I feel rankled. Why is it so many new writers likes to mess with Succubi. At least this one wasn't named Lily like the last one.

>>22085043
Well, there are more than a few of them out there, so why shouldn't someone else include them?

Besides, they're more...familiar than some of the other things we have.

>>22086971
Well simply put, I have no problem if they can explain why the Succubus is there. See its like Drow and Drizzit. Soon all Succubi will be good fighting the evil ones and so on. I have no problem with other people including them, what I do have a problem with is people just throwing them in without thought for how the Succubus got there. So in short, a wizard having a succubus as a wife steps on my toes, and makes everything I have done with Lilly trying to go good pointless.

Its like if someone took Clover's Family and had a squidhead as a waifu and gave no thought to how it happened. SO you might see why I feel slightly put out if you look at it like that.

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>>22087118
Yes, succubi tend to be more of a springboard character than most, along with elves and catgirls. Then again, aren't all of our elves 'technically' the good ones fighting the evil ones?

>squidhead waifu
>implying they walk around with squidheads
>implying they don't look like pic related
>implying you even have a shot at them

>>22089636
As usual you make a good point about the elves.

On the squidheads, it would be odd if they were walking about with squidheads and other wise acting out of character. Which is my point.

>>22089636
That's lolmoe Nyarlathotep, Saya, but who's in the middle?

File: 1355789035260.jpg-(32 KB, 640x361, 1355642299801.jpg)

>The following was written in a trio of letters sent to Artorias, Gearheart, and Lem Fearghaile, dated 6AA

Dear comrades,
Due to a hilarious situation I have entered, I will need the three of you to go to my house every few evenings, and make sure that I and Sera are still alive as a cautionary measure. You will possibly be greeted by a pale blonde woman. If she attempts to get you to leave, please insist that you enter the house anyways. Be sure to see me with your own eyes.
From,
Alaric

P.S. Bring some swords or something; I don't know how dangerous this woman is.
P.P.S. Do not let Gearheart blow the roof off my house in an attempt to flood it with sunlight, because I'm likely still alive and would like my home in one piece.

>>22090032
http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1164832

You can enable Google image search and IQDB buttons in your settings.

>>22090155
Dear fellow Knight,

More than happy to help out, hilarious situations are entertaining. As for me blowing up your house, you need not worry, I have collected two days worth of sunlight in a bottle. Also Lilly would like to make it known that she gives "it" about four months, and that she has 30 gold ridding on us interrupting you and Sera amidst the act.

James GearHeart-

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Bump?

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>>22092327
I see your thing with pizza and raise you a sexy girl with pizza

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>>22092587
>And so began the sexy pizza wars of 2012

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>>22092694
And so they end.

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>>22092796
Only to start up again by a disgruntled politician

>>22093101
And then ended by a disapproving look from Queen Margherita of Naples.

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>>22093374
Forget the picture

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>>22092694
Sure ended fast there, are you even trying?

>>22093386

Eww, come on man, not everyone's into BBP.

Get some pix of some delicious, sexy, slimcrusts.

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>>22094251
Must I really? It's late.

>>22095256
Let's not fill up the thread with sexual pizza pics so fast. Last thing I want is more fuel for the nofun samefags.

Anyway, do we have rules on vampiric feeding on non-sapient races, such as cows or pigs and if that's a suitable substitute for feeding on sapient blood? I mean, sounds like a pint of pigs blood a day beats a pint of human blood twice a week when you also have to adventure. That shit makes you anemic.

>>22095382
Uh, Fluffy covered that in the In Search of Bats story. Human takes less and gives powers. Animal not so much.

>>22095382
I was going for a pint of human daily; that's the rate at which an average human produces it. As for how to keep her fed while adventuring, I was going to cover that soon enough.

>>22095639
Which reminds me! We have ice magic, correct?

>>22095726
I would assume so.

>>22095639
That's gonna seriously compromise Al's ability to do anything though. Have you ever given blood? You don't actually recover all your red blood cells for a month afterwards. Daily feedings of 1 pint per day will make Al very anemic VERY fast. And that's deadly for an adventurer.

>>22095800
Two options, magic or she doesn't need a pint a day. Or both.

>>22095844
Just borrow Jim's maid.

>>22095857
Yes or borrow Vulstien, who bleeds like a character from a bad Japanese (Cartoon, Video game, book, story thing.). Think No More Heros and MadWorld and your on the right track.

>>22095884
Also, Angel blood supposedly works better than human, same goes for dragon.

>>22095884
Or Killer 7. All the things in that game are made of blood, even the guns were made of blood.

>>22095844
If you could just magic blood out of nowhere, vampires wouldn't need to feed on the living, and thus makes the whole reason why they're a threat kind of lame. It has to be more often than red blood cell refresh rate can provide and have a normal life. While feeding is a very... intimate thing that can make the relationship that much deeper, it's also something that could get Al killed in the long run. All things in moderation and all that.

>>22096942
I was just thinking maybe for some reason he has a freaky fast blood cell regeneration. I didn't bulling an evil jesus and turning water to blood.

>>22097025
I have no clue what I just typed.

I didn't mean doing an evil jesus and turning water to blood.

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>>22097047
Changed the succy in my story to a rival lamia, it wasn't -that- important it was just a cardboard cut out for the situation, evil lady with evil master etc.

Have some driders.

>>22097674
Thank you and sorry for making a deal out of it.

>>22097738
If I was aware of it being a big deal I wouldn't have done it. On that note, writing some more about a skirmish between the dwarves and the Felim over religious artifacts.

>>22097793
>skirmish between Dwarves and Felim. Over Religion.

I'm not certain they would ever do that. Ever. Mirthterrah and the Dwarves, maybe, but pretty much every valuable Felim holy artifact is in the Jungles (besides small, disposable shrines and statues) and they don't tend to have any desire to hold onto Dwarven ones.

>>22098018
Who would they be more likely to war with, because the original idea was for her to end up with a male addition to her not harem.

>>22098064
Are you asking about the Dwarves, or the Felim?

>>22098306
I just decided to make it splinter groups. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pWeXBYe-e6DUBJfRldnVQjTAE6CwKw5pEkcWYbccpek/edit

For some new lulz, hopefully.

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>>mfw inspiration strikes me just before I have to be back at work.

bumo

Which is like a bump, but a reminder that I'm still relevant to these threads, dammit.

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Maybe it's time to drag Bethany or Melina back into the spotlight. Don't think one of them wants to come quietly though.

>>22098338
You're missing something here. The Felim are NOT warlike. The Dwarves give very few shits as to what happens out of their mountains. Worst that could happen would be a minor trade disagreement and that would be words, not swords. This was what Jim was talking about earlier about understanding cause and effect. Things don't just happen because you want them to, there has to be a reason behind it. There is no reason for this to happen, even between splinter groups. Make sense?

>>22102541
Cause and effect, the reason why I'm writing the Boss story for the F v. MK war.

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>>22096942
>>22096022
>>22095995
>>22095884
>>22095857
>>22095844
>>22095800
Crap, this flew right past me. I have the going away part figured out, but anemia... Alright, I'm thinking we craft a ring of regeneration to prevent/cure anemia, probably made for Al after people notice he's getting anemia. Sound good?

>>22103546
Again, if magic was that easy and consistent, the Vampires would never have a problem. I have an idea that would fit Al pretty well though, and you might find it amusing. Send me an email and I can set up the doc.

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>>22103546
Ring of Red coming up. Lilly says a more vampirc looking ring would be better as it would mark you as the Victoria's blood bitch. Something to think about, as in a way its a Gothic wedding ring.

>>22103611
This is really getting more complicated than it has to be...

>>22103634
Nonsense, magic rings are always fun. But yes the better solution would be some kind of bank.

>>22103634
Well, keep in mind I already have a ring that acts as a 2-way power conduit between me and a greater demon.

>>22103602
Expect it in a sec.

>>22103611
...Lemme see what Lem's idea is real quick, and I'll get back to you.

>>22103671
Your one of them ring wizards, from 3ed I think it was.

>>22103683
Not too familiar with those. It manifests as her getting power from whatever I kill and in exchange she gives me some of that power back if I need it...and then she send me after her siblings, but overall it's not a bad deal.

>>22103770
Demons and soul magic it sounds like.

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>>22103789
I did pick up a bit of soul magic from her recently, so yeah, sounds about right.

It's a rough balance to keep.

>>22103932
So then Artorias, Lem, and Clover. It is time for the story of the Baron that never was, provided that you three still want to do the joint story where Artorias and Yankee stop an assassination.

>>22104973
Oh? I'm still game...I just have to go to sleep for now though. It's almost midnight.

>>22105072
Ok then tomorrow when your free.

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>>22105201
Hint for whats coming up in the ongoing stories of Boss and Friends.

>>22105880
Hey Gearheart, ready to ruin a speech?

>>22106221
You know it.

>>22106240
You should now have access to the doc.

>>22053456
some one should actually make this game

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It had been about a week after the Librarian had discovered hubby’s journal. It was the complete second volume and I was told the end of it was in Lem’s words “troubling.” Being that hubby was on his usual research trips, I wasn’t that worried. He told me before he left that his Goddes of Hope will ensure his return. However, I had decided it was best not to inform Adelaide of this because he never did tell me in what condition he would return. I fear that she will be impulsive as always, grab her weapon and rush out despite the baby.

While cleaning out hubby’s office, Sir GearHeart popped by. He was one of hubby’s “colleagues” but I’m pretty sure that’s hubby’s way of saying he was a friend. I had completely forgotten that GearHeart had promised to deliver a manuscript of his next volume as a birthday present for hubby though he missed the deadline by a few weeks. I didn’t hold it against him though but I thought he had forgotten about that given hubby’s supposed troubles.

“I suppose a bit late is better than never GearHeart,” I mused as I ordered the bookshelves.

“Sorry Cynthia, the closing ran a bit long and I tend to drag on there. Need any help?”

“Why yes, if you could gather up some of the documents,” I replied, pointing and the ones under his feet.

“Right’O.” Jim said kneeling to pick up some scattered papers. “Odd, Thai doesn’t seem to be one for messes. Always struck as a guy who wouldn't be able to stand clutter of any kind.”

>>22108155
“He tries his best but he likes to keep everything within arms reach, or so he tells me,” I returned to the desk, “You can see how well that ended.”

“Hmm, yes. also didn’t throw away his napkins, hate it when people do that. The worst is when they blow their nose in it then leave it just sitting around.” Jim said picking a napkin out from the pile of papers he had gathered. “Well its not snot. Looks like, I can’t read this. Smeared and his handwriting is a mess. Want you think?” Jim said handing it to her.

“He likes to reuse things,” I answered before Jim handed me some of hubby’s refuse, “What have you got there GearHeart? Looks like his native script, I can decipher some of it. It’s referencing something important and the desk, can you have a look?”

Jim and I started searching the desk. I was going through the drawers, the desktop having been cleared in short order. Jim just looked under the desk.

“Found something,” Jim said pulling an envelope out, “Classic hiding spot. Would Thai trap it?”

“I don’t think hubby hid it. It must have fallen and he was too lazy to get it,” I replied, “He isn’t a mage and all he enchants is his journal of his.”

“Well then its not trapped, but implying magic is the only way to get something done. Some kind of toxic dust would do the trick.”

>>22108172
I took a generous step away from GearHeart. Mages and I have never really been comfortable with each other. Which is strange because I believe GearHeart was a sensate or something like that anyway.

“Right well then cross your fingers Cynthia.” Jim said, opening the envelope and dumping the contents on the desk. Out fluttered another napkin, “Well no booms, dooms, or poison. So that’s refreshing.”

“Yes, indeed,” I picked up the napkin.

The text was legible but it wasn’t in a language I could understand despite the alphabet. I handed it over to GearHeart for his opinion.

“Ah, French the flowery language of love. Hmm, speech for the opening day it looks like. But I could be wrong, its been... Five years since I spoke a word of French.”

“French is an Outrealmer language if I remember correctly, he spoke it when,” I paused, ”Well that’s not important right now. Do you know when hubby will be back, did Lem tell you anything?”

Jim put a hand to his head and looked like he was thinking hard. “About Thai, not much. Lem tends to play things close to the vest. Word is he was doing some academic exchange with some church guy.”

“Well then, perhaps you should keep it for now,” I suggested, “If hubby misses this opening day you speak of then maybe you can give the speech in his place.”

>>22108188
“Sure, no big deal, gave... well not alot but more than a few speeches in my time. But lets hope Thai shows up before such time. He has a much more teachery personality.” Jim started out the door. But turned at the last second. “You know, if you need anything, me and the girls are always up to help out Cynthia.” And like that Jim vanished. As in a puff of smoke.

Several weeks later, GearHeart really did have to give that speech. I wonder sometimes to myself, what the original speech was like.

>>22108188
“Hello, people, would be students I mean. What was the word that Thai used again? Oh well don’t matter, he can indoctrinate you all with his odd names later. My name is Jim GearHeart. Thai was unable to be here to give this speech, and well since I found it, it fell to me to give it to you all. Myself and the rest of the deans and the faculty would like to welcome you to the What university. We are gathered here today to... wrong speech, you all are the first and best of the coming generation. The first of the first to attend this here school, and no matter who you are or where you are from you will all be stuck with each other for the next four years. Longer for some of you though, not shorter though, Thai has a zero quitters policy in place, see on the first day you already learned your first lesson. Read the damn contract people.

“Anyway, Here all students are equal, whether you be like a dog or like a cat, whether you be from a family of pirates or of church goers. Baring unfortunate circumstances all of you should hopefully be in the graduating class of 7 A.A. Just remember its is study you are here to do, not fighting and quarreling. But if anyone wants to give it a go, you're going to be ending up in a boxing match, and if you cause too much trouble you end up fighting me. You don’t want that, I boxed a dragon.

>>22108211
“Back on topic, Here we will strive to instill you with information and knowledge while getting rid of stupidity, ignorance, and bias. I will not lie, your life here will be different and difficult. Learning to kill bandits by the road is one thing, it is a whole other ball of wax learning to be receptive to new ideas and info. Make no mistake, you will be challenged. Whether by your teachers or by yourself, mostly by yourself no doubt, it is how you will learn.

“Fear, for while many of us know what we are doing there are some who do not. Wait no, I meant to say, Fear not, for many of us standing here on this stage have gone through this before, some of us might not be able to remember it though to copious amounts of alcohol and women. By the way, my advice, do not do that. Us professors will always be there to aid you along, seriously we made all the mistakes already. Ask us first so you don’t have to. Sure it sounds fun but then you wake up in the desert wearing women clothes with no clue how you got there. Our doors, especially Thai’s when he gets back, will always be open for a student in need of counsel. And remember, you are all in this together so maybe our help is not needed at all when you have classmates so closeby. Unless they happen to be raging Hoserbeasts. In which case you may want to stay clear of them.

“But seriously, good luck with your studies and if you need to hide a body, come find me.”

>>22108231
And then Jim jumped off the front of the stage and walked out of the building.
---
Until next time chaps.

>>22108155
You know the upside down Wat is oddly fitting.

Bump

So then, if no one is busy who wants to see my failed attempt of making a species list?

>>22113633
Sure why not.

>>22113633
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TOUqMOo5tFsIriGn8PYwcHcn-O6iyup5c7McdOGN1T4/edit

I warn you beforehand, I think nothing will make sense to you lot.

>>22113876
change the acsses its blocked.

>>22113919
Fixed, try refreshing

Bump

File: 1355933924333.jpg-(126 KB, 413x718, 1347885899534.jpg)

Finally done with work! Time for some writing.

File: 1355952180882.jpg-(30 KB, 305x312, 1331718189619.jpg)

Five hour bump

>>22121963
If Clover was awake I would try and get us started on those colabs.

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>>just a quick bit today. Land nav sucks in 30 degree weather, btw

“Gods, I forgot this stuff was so damn heavy,” the knight complained as he was moving doing range of motion tests with his new set of armor. “How much of that red metal did you add to this?”

“No more and not less than I needed to,” replied the dwarf, making a few notes on some parchment. “You did want it red, after all, and I haven’t even added the cape yet.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” Artorias replied, doing a few more motions. “The fitting seems good, at least.”

“You got lucky,” said the dwarf, “I didn't have to change much with the armor’s shape, but it was bothersome to patch the mail. Any issues with the padding?”

“Just that it feels like it could double for a deep winter coat,” he said. “I’m sweating bullets just from moving around a bit.”

“Well, best I can tell you is just don’t move with it on,” he said. “Now then, the payment?”

“Of course,” said the knight. “I’ll have it delivered to your room at the inn later. I assume you know not to tell anyone of this, correct?”

“ Shouldn't be too hard,” he said. “How many people are gonna believe one of your people killed something with armor like that?”

>>22122364
Hey you still alive? Clover was wondering if now would work.

>>22123982
Bump like the fist of the north star

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Where is everyone?

>>22128669
Most likely doing IRL stuff, no one is in one place forever... unless they live under a rock.

>>22128757
Or if they're just a lazy NEET like me. On the plus side, you might get some drawfaggotry from me in the near-ish future. (Maybe.)

>>22129713
I'm all over the place, and working on Boss stories.

>>22130817
I am back in my document, trying to spruce up the newly dubbed Grecia. Those who want to join, just go to link in previous post.

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>>22123982
Yeah, sorry, that was about the time I usually go to sleep during the week.

>>22132291
Hmmm. It may be difficult scheduling this.

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>>22132337
Friday night sound good? No better way to wait on the end of the world.

>>22133164
It will be for me, the end of the world can blow me though. I have lived through countless one more I can handle, this ain't even y2k.

"The Aristocrats: the latest novel from the mind of James L. GearHeart! This thrilling tale will have out of your seat and pants from the first page! Based on a true story."

Just something I randomly thought of.

bump

>>22134018
Sure why not, someone was talking about a play based on GearHeart and others.

>>22136795
I can only imagine how that one would go.

I'd have to throw Karrigan in saying “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”

Why? Because screw it, merchants are awesome and I need an excuse to throw biblical quotes out every so often and Revelations is a fun one since almost nobody takes it seriously.

>>22136917
The play was a court room battle musical satire about something, can't remember what. It was Clover's idea. But sadly enough that would probably fit in easily.

>>22136972
Oh God, what have I started?

>>22137168
Actually Clover said that two days ago, so he beat you to it, but I understand the sentiment. On a side note I have a perfect story for the The Aristocrats. It all starts when a would be squire is assigned to Liam CogPump while he was out of town and what follows is...

I wonder...what would be a good way to silently slip into the cover of a new identity?

Just disappear and change gear?

Go out on a convoy and stage an "ambush" to disappear during the confusion?

Or just be boring, say I'm off to find another ruin near X and just change on the way?

Trying to get some ideas going for the time being.

>>22138762
Wait your plotting to assume a new identity... Why?

On a diffrent note, who owened the Rogue Trader again. I could have swore it was Alaric.

>>22139377
Nobody as I recall. Just happened to be the right name at the right time.

>>22139421
Well if thats true, I can create a owner then.

>>22139377
Plans within plans. All will come to fruition in time, and I when it does there will come a reckoning.

>>22139452
I vote Old Man Smithers

>>22139467
.... Maybe, just maybe. I was thinking along the lines of a grisly old pirate looking guy.

>>22139485
I read, 'Girlish old pirate guy'.

>>22139521
So he should be a spoony bard? I can still work with that. It will be fabulous

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>>22139521
Dear god, the Rogue Trafer is owned by an elf?

>>22139570
That might be trickier

>>22139570
Ok heres what I got. There was an older Outrealmer by the name Nate Smithers. During the surprise attack on the elves he jumped a female elven mage causing her to lose control of her magic. She "killed" Nate but later found out that they had mentally merged together and now they shared her body, with her mostly at the steering wheel. She gave up on living as an elf and they opened the Rogue Trader. Likes like the pic you posted. You can imagine the chaos that would result.

>>22139981
That's very interesting.

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>>22139981

>>22140191
Not sure if thats a good reaction or a bad one.

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>>22140253
A clearer one then

>>22140287
Good.

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>>22139981
What an interesting idea...

>>22140336
Never claimed it was original, though I do not know what else would be like it. I take it Birdy the Mighty is?

>>22140367
Interesting that you jumped immediately to originality in response to an innocent reaction image...but I'm a paranoid bastard. Your idea is quite similar, aye.

>>22140418
I'm also a paranoid bastard, hence the immediately jumping to that. So heres to paranoia the game where everything really is out to get you.

>>22140287
Hey Art, are you there also what timezone you in. Clover is up and so am I now would be a good time.

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>>22141774

>>22139981
Actually, there's some interesting things you could do with this character. Smithers assumed he'd die around 80, but now he's in the body of an elf. Now he gets to live for hundreds (if not thousands) of years, even if he's just renting the body.

What might be his reaction when he realizes this? How does he come to accept it?

And on a tangent, Birdy the Mighty: Decode was a great show. Good characters, strong sense of continuity, and didn't pull punches. The OVA is worth watch as well, but it doesn't share much other than the premise and some characters.

>>22144383
Yep there is a lot of interesting stufff you could do, thats why I picked it.

>>22144383
But wouldn't two minds in the same body be some sort of abomination?

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>>22145844
whes don't thinks so precious

>>22145844
Yes it would, implying thats a problem. This ain't eragon. Abominations are everywhere.

>>22145844
that depends largely on how well the two can learn to get along

>>22145909
This guy, he sharp. They will learn after much shenanigans.

>>22145895
It'd also be comedy gold.

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>>22145940
you are now imagining a female elf having an argument with herself constantly while serving patrons at a bar.
> No, I dont like the stuff you buy. The clothes you buy are for men.
>Do I look like a male to you?
>Oh well EXCUSE me!! Do WE look like a male.
>Im saying you should let me pick the clothes out from now on.
>What do you mean Im picky and I take to long?
>You always want to drink mead and hang out with the guys.
>>22146269
Pic realated

>>22146311
Well you wrote that section for me so thanks for that.

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Well, here's to the end of the world

>>22148539
Yay

It the world ends I'll be glad because this shit will finally stop being posted on /tg/

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Does everyone want to know what I've been up to?

Turns out the Boss wanted some help writing his memoirs down, so I thought to help out with his flashback, the panicked stumble down memory lane.

All's not right, and the winter is coming...

Weeks ago, but not many...

Frank sat at his desk writing his memoirs. Business had been going good, sides from that little hiccup with Piko getting dark magiced everything was an Ace on the Line. But he could feel it in his bones, well his chest would be more accurate. His heart was sputtering along like a single stroke engine running out of gas. He knew the black lady well enough to know her icy touch, and he knew it was drawing ever nearer.

Wyona came in, letting her hair down. She fell backwards onto the bed letting out a soft sight. Frank knew that sigh, it was the come to bed now one. So he put the papers back in their hidden compartment. He spied a letter in the compartment, one that was not supposed to be there. He plucked it from its resting place and flicked the letter open. There were two maps, a perfect sketch drawing of a person, some printed text, and a bronze key attached by means of some wax. The text read, “We require your services directed towards a certain individual” and had a arrow pointing to the picture.

Frank put the letter back, he would worry about that in the morning. “Fucking magic,” he swore softly so as that Wyona would not hear. He got up from his chair and made his way to the bed.

>>22148601
Jokes on you anon I'm in me bunker. Even if the world ends the story will go on.

>>22148626
The next morning, he had Abe and Jez head out to check the map that went with the key. They found 12 grain sacks full of gold disks in a storeroom in an empty warehouse. Something felt off about the whole thing, so the gold was checked and, well, it was as good as gold. So Jez sent the Teegee Shadow out to contact Manwell for this hit. North to the township of Fisher Springs. Bob’s scouting skills would not be needed it seemed as there was a pretty good layout of the targets routine included.

At the same time the Myrthterra Shadow had been stopped by a hooded figure.

“Speak your piece mortal.” It said in a voice that was like a chainsaw fucking a chalkboard.

“The word is you like to make deals. I need someone to handle a wedding.”

“I do not perform ceremonies or entertain.”

“I want you to kill the bride and groom. Come next spring in the city of Navero, Lady Ranier Jenall will be marrying Sir Jean Jora the fourth. I want this done on the day of the wedding.”

“Do you know my price?”

“Know your price? I will do better. Four wagons of gold are waiting for you in your home under the city as we speak.”

“The contract is sealed O’ Jealous King. May your reign go long and our deals be prosperous.” And like that the Shadow was gone. Leaving the young ruler standing there in shock.

>>22148634
Manwell had been flying for some time when he finally neared the seaside village of Fisher Springs, a place where it was said the fish jumped (or springed) out of the water. The place did a brisk trade in lumber and seafood, famed for the quality and pine freshness of the goods they produced. The men were hardy and the women were svelte. None of this mattered to Manwell. He was here for a different sort of business. Murder business.

He was already nearing the end of his journey, as the veritable sea of trees below began to petre out, switching to glided flight as he checked the target once more. No name given, just a face and a place. He was not one for human, or indeed, surfacer politics, being part of a race that for the most part migrated on scavenging. But even he might think it odd if he knew this man had no strong ties to the human nations of Myrthterra or the coalition that the Free Kingdoms were forming, a break in the pattern that the Boss had planned his hits. Instead, he put the time he had to memorising the route the target would take.

>>22148646
Letting out a small click of annoyance at being forced to use his eyesight instead of echolocation, he was surprised to find that the the picture had jumped off of the the paper and now was a 3d illusion. He was so surprised that he nearly dropped the paper. He fumbled and regained his grip on it, and then took in the image. It was a kind of creepy looking guy, with a face not even a mother could love. Eyes spaced too far apart, beaked nose and a grin slightly too wide for his face. And a ridiculous hat. The fact that the image reacted to the click was somewhat unnerving. But, magic, never know what the hells going to happen. Brisk northerly winds caused him to shiver slightly, promising a harsh winter for everyone in the land. Eurona, that was the name of the continent. But most races thought of themselves first, and the whole last, so it didn’t see much use other than in old maps.

He had just entered the airspace over the town, lots of thatched roofed buildings and a bell tower or two, when he spotted the man’s ridiculous hat. A horrible statement to the world that this man was uncaring of what others thought, even birds were not spared the hideous sight. Manwell pulled up and went into a spin, he drew his rifle from its holster and as he started to level out, he lined up the shot and took it.

>>22148651
Strong winds and distance were usually taken into account, Manwell didn’t snipe where most creatures would spot, and the sound was muffled by distance and clouds. Usually he would circle about to confirm the target, and start flying home, none worse for the wear. But the brisk northerly put a stop to that, angling the path of the round and causing the shot to miss the target and ricochet off the wall nearby. The walking nobleman hunched down, and soon broke into a run even as Manwell ejected the spent cartridge and chambered a new one. The peasantry all started to mill about, adding confusion to the top down view and giving Manwell no clean shot.

Manwell leaned into a wind current that was curving around a bit, he rode it and slingshotted out, causing him to quickly gain on the running man that was breaking away from the scene. His garish hat sticking out like a sore thumb. Manwell dived down bringing himself with in a yard of the ground and put a hole clean through the guys head, making a ragged meatball sized hole where his face used to be, through and through. He quickly put the gun back in it’s place and started to gain altitude. Panicky fishermen and villagers ran about like chickens with their heads cut off, some of the bolder ones threw fishing spears or tridents at the fleeing bat.

>>22148657
Manwell dodged the thrown projectiles easily enough and was about over the middle of the township, making his way out by blending in with a flock of startled birds. A less than cooperative target, but not something that anyone would believe. After all, large bats just don’t fly out of nowhere in the blink of day and spit death at people. He let himself smile as he began approaching the town limits.

*Ong*

Then a bell began to toll. Seemingly shaking the whole world with each strike of the clapper.

It was not an important noise, or a particularly loud one, some would say it kicked other noises out of line, perhaps one of the villagers warned their priests they were being attacked and started rallying the people to action. But the first tone felled every bird around the assassin, and he stumbled in his own flight through the sky. As he tracked the tumbling birds in their plummet, he could see that each and every once frightened villager had stopped in their paths, heads turned almost as if they were looking at him.

Quickening his escape, he corrected his erratic flight and began clicking out to the tree line, checking to see if there were any surprises they could think of.

*Ong*

What was he doing again? Why was the ground steadily approaching him? Why had his wings locked up? Quickly remembering he could fly, Manwell flapped hard and pulled up before crashing into a particularly bored looking cow.

>>22148669
Looking back, he realised that he had somehow flown towards the village while disorientated, and was in the centre of one of the pastures.

Manwell pulled himself from the ground, everything hurt, cows are deceptively solid. He could hear/see villagers coming his way. The line of trees off in the distance tempted him, if he could reach the forest he would be home free. No man or elf could track a Chironen that didn’t want to be found. He started to run and flap his wings, with a leap he was back in the air, zipping towards the trees.

Once more the bell did toll.

*Ong*

Manwell’s course went queer and his vision blurred, but he managed to stay in the air. At first he didn’t even notice the needles sticking in his skin. But when he saw a tree shoot a large batch at him head on he sure as hell saw it. He tried to make himself as small as possible and keep his head down. Realising that it was like trying to dodge water while swimming in the ocean, he gave up in going the direction of the forest.

Manwell did a barrel roll bringing him about in the other direction. Heading to the wharf, the sea was calm and looked like there was no means for the villagers to get at him. Yes, that’s what it was, the villagers were hiding in the trees with dart guns, he thought to himself trying to explain away the trees.

He was just breaking the surf as the bell rung out.

>>22148673
*Ong*

Manwell once again lost track of time and place he found himself in a violent storm that had brewed from nowhere, sending water all about, nevermind that Manwell was near a hundred feet up. Fish were charging at him mid air, vicious things with more teeth than should fit. Biting into his skin and tearing at his flesh. He went into a corkscrew to try and shake them off. That just made them gnash all the more.

When a crack of thunder pealed and a bolt of lightning struck, frying him and the fish mid flight.

As he fell, sparks still jumping from the rifle and muscles spasming from the impact of the bolt, he swore he could hear voices on the edge of his mind.

Seeking him.

>breaker breaker, target is now approaching anvil, please advise, over

Mocking him.

>pull a memory lane, if we can’t kill him, we sure will send back a time bomb

Whispering to him.

>roger that, sweet dreams young prince

Manwell blacked out for a moment, no longer caring about anything. Why bother trying to escape, did he have anything to live for? His clan had no care for him-

>nope

-his parents were DEEAAD-

>cry me a river

-his boss was probably a demon-

>aren’t they all

-but there was her.

>bingo.

-She was the girl of his dreams, always had been. Her constant high spirits always brought a smile to his face and brightened his day. Her deep eyes, her hair, the way she flew in the night. He would be the prince to her princess, and they would be happy together-

*Ong*

>>22148680
-But then that Out world bastard of a builder swooped in and snatched her up. What kind of place was an earth anyway?

Hetros the great builder, friend of the Chironen, great man of Teegee, friend to all, and a massive woman stealing cock blocking wood pushing cuckolding dick.

His Boss, that coward who used ghosts as puppets, promised his death. Two years and who knows how many hits later and that man was still alive. Alive and prosperous, living with the love of His life and giving her children while he hid in shadows and obeyed the whims of some twisted freak. Killing men from places he cared nothing about, for men he cared nothing about.

Did he kill for the money? Money couldn’t buy what he wanted. Did he kill for the show of it? Seeing noblemen die from a distance was nothing compared to what he would feel when he would end that man’s life. Did he kill in preparation? He was long ready to kill.

Manwell was cheated. Cheated of love, of life, and now, of revenge. And that made him mad.

The only thing keeping him fighting, the one thing that would make him happy. Taken. Taken by that man, every night for who knows how long. Taking what was his. Tainting what was his.

He had to live. He had to live to see Jistin Hetros DIE!

Manwell’s eyes snapped open bulging with rage and teeth gnashing.

>wake up and smell the blood, Mr Bat

>>22148692
The Chironen span round, and with great strain, pulled out of the swan dive his blackout put him in, missing the church spire by mere heartbeats. The storm was now in full throttle, lightning flashing down with thunder and heavy sheets of rain pelting the village. Waves crashed against shores, boats were smashed against wharfs. And a single airborne figure was doing his best to outrun the storm.

He ignored the voices, they would just distract him-

>breaker breaker, bomb is primed and making a getaway, please advise

-His path would not be stopped, not by bullets or bells-

>break pursuit, we have incoming

-or...giant flying jellyfish?

In the darkest clouds of the storm, Manwell could spy a large...thing lit by flashes of lightning. It looked like one of the Out Worlders hot air balloons, but with thick, whiplike appendages, covered in a viscous clearish goo, trailing from it. The thunder was drawing closer, but began sounding more rhythmic. Was it the sound of bells? No, not bells, but drumbeats! Manwell dived out of the way as he was nearly speared by the prow of a sleek silver trireme, helmed by sharp sailors of light so bright that it hurt to see. He glided about the rows of oars as they struck the air in time to the drums, only giving it more attention as the impossible ship rammed into the cloud-veiled object, warriors swinging from ropes only to be snatched by-

>>22148699
*Ong*

-No! Not now! Manwell spiralled out of the sky, leaving the surreal sight behind, straight towards the ground below. The village was in uproar, he could FEEL the chaos coming from it. Seeing the raindrops fall side by side, he made a decision and pulled himself into a powerdive. Blooms of fire would erupt erratically and sparkling light filled the air the closer he got to ground. Closer, closer, he sped towards the village, each length bringing the bat nearer to the insanity breaking out. His goggles cracked and rain splattered, his earplugs fallen out and lost, he bear full witness to the events.

Raincoated peasants armed with tridents and nets fought swordsmen of shining light and blistering frost. Fishermen in their rain slick seacloaks whipped out poles with chains of barbed wire and hooks at shambling beasts of white fur and black flesh. Swarms of flying teeth and scale whirled about clouds of fairy warriors no bigger than a man’s palm. Massive scrap armored trolls collided heads and traded blows with titanous crab skinned men armed with anchors. Huge tears in the air and ground opened up to expel tentacles as thick as an ox to grapple and rip at waifish gowned girls, who danced about and spat needles of ice from frostbitten staves.

Manwell pulled out of his dive, twisting and turning through the combat, dodging the occasional arrow of frost or chained gutting hook.

>>22148709
The attention of both battling parties was on each other, what would they care for another figure in the fray. His speed put him on par with the fastest of arrows, no one could hope to stop his escape. No one and nothi-

*Ong*

-annd now everything’s on fire. Despite it raining, things did apparently conspire to make it worse for Manwell’s life, he noted absentmindedly while his fur and harness burned. Turning the spiral of his into a barrel roll, Manwell angled for the forest once more. On the fly over earlier he spotted a river, once he reached it he could follow it to civilisation and some form of sanity. Already reaching the pastures once more, his speedy flight only noted by the still bored cows, the bat assassin was making a swift getaway from the war front.

It appeared that the forest was emptied of dart spitting villagers, no doubt they left when the things began their assault in earnest, so the flight through the trees was silent save for the roar of the battle behind him. Silent save for the creaking of the trees. The rather loud creaking of the trees. The steadily approaching creaking of the trees.

Manwell hastily span around a branched that lurched forward with a thump, only for another pine scented limb to smack him across the head.

Trees couldn’t move on their own, everyone knew that, he thought to himself, yes, I’ve just been addled by lightning strike, that’s why I ran into a branch.

>>22148717
That line of thought was put to an end when he breached a clearing and saw an entire orchard of pine moving towards him. Rather, moving towards the village of Fisher Springs. He twisted and turned around the moving greenery, hoping to soar above the march to clearer skies when a frost covered fist of wood scraped him out of the air. Manwell caught a glimpse of piercing white eyes, a mouth of jagged bark twisted in a knowing smile, before a deafening roar shook his mind. A faint ringing clouded his vision, eyes screwed shut while he was battered to and fro the moving trees, until he felt a sensation of coolness and running water.

The battered and beaten Chironen had landed in the river, who’s gentle stream was steadily but surely dragging him away from the madness. His eyes filling with blood from a cut on his head, his once whole wings twisted and in tatters, keeping awake was the last thing on his mind. His last thought was that of seeing riders burst through the thickets, but what horsemen could ride without heads?

===

Sometime later, a bend in the river dislodged its bedraggled passenger, a wreck of what might have been a man, or some beast caught in a rapid. Let us pause on this scene, and ponder on the nature of the wild, and how cruel it can be, especially with the coming of winter so swiftly approaching the northern territories. Naught but silence in the air, and the sound of-

>>22148723
*Ong*

Eyes snapped open, and pupils shrank in anger. The bat assassin untangled himself from the bramble that carried him downriver, having caught hold of it when he was in the drink. His muscles ached, he was sure his bones were broken and the sound of bells was carried in his ears. But awake and angry, he had a purpose.

Manwell had been drifting for some time when he finally cleared the forested village of Fisher Springs, a place where it was said men waited (or fished) for Spring. The place did a swift trade in furniture and pelts, famed for the mint and winter likeness of the goods they produced. The men were sharp and the women were graceful. None of this mattered to Manwell. He was leaving for a different sort of business. Murder business.

===

Later the very day of the hit, as Frank was sitting down to work once more at his memoirs he found another letter on his desk, hidden beneath some paperwork.

“Fuck Mothering Magic Sparkles Flying Faggots of Reality Haxing ASSHOLES. I get the best damn anti magic and wards money can buy, then I go and get the best only threats from dangerous people can buy, and its still FUCKING useless!”

From the other room Wyona’s voice rang out. “Frank, calm, remember, calm.” Within seconds she was in the room. “What is it?”

Frank sighed, “Magic haxing the world sending stuff through the wards.” He said waving the letter in the air.

>>22148748
Wyona put a hand to Frank’s face. “Dear, calm down. That came in the mail today. I put it on your desk. It must have just gotten mixed up in your papers.”

Frank visibly relaxed at that. “That... that’s good. Much better in fact. I was worried, well, that someone was getting past the wards.”

“Why would you think that?”

“...Just enemies, you know.”

“Yeah, your business sure has a lot of competition these days.”

“Never thought it would.”

“Is it bad enough,” She said nodding to the letter, “to call my family? Just got a letter from them, saying that there hasn’t been enough head bashing of late. Too much peace, what with that new guy screwing with everything.”

“Nah, least not yet. Vaguely threatening letters are not something to go breaking skulls over.”

“But they are enough for you to kill yourself over?” Wyona said in a tone of voice that only a woman could pull off that leaves men trying to figure out just what it meant.

So Frank did the logical thing and redirected. “You know, its been sometime since little Carlella was born. Cute little girl ain’t she?”

Wyona sat down on the bed next to the desk. “She is, people say she looks like me. Something on your mind Cheese Dick?”

“Only how much fun it would be to make you suffer, and that another little bug running about would be nice, what you think Baby Oven?”

In response Wyona pulled Frank on to her.

The next morning, before Wyona woke Frank was reading through the letter, not much to it, it read-

>>22148759
“Satisfactory payment for a satisfactory job.” And had another key and map to a warehouse closet. Later in the day he sent out Jake and Piko to check out the warehouse. They turned up six more bags of gold discs. The general consensus was that someone must have really hated the target.

==

Two weeks, three days after the Fisher Spring Incident:

TeeGee, city of many races. A mixing pot of culture and lifestyles, due to the ever welcoming nature of the citizens, nearly all colours and creeds could be found in its walls. But beneath the lit streets and paved roads lay what might be leagues of unexplored caves and catacombs, shifting dungeons and underground posts. One such nook of the cave systems was haunted by a particularly dark spectre. The Shadow waited, inactive, until frantic, no, determined clacks of claw on stone could be heard approaching.

Manwell scittered around the bend, feet scraping as he headed straight towards the Shadow’s waiting form, looking as if was burnt by the flames of Hell itself. His wing skin torn to scraps, splints and bandage wraps all over his body, and a horribly forced grin covered the unburnt remains of his face.

“There’s my favorite disappearing demon thing! Did ya miss your old buddy Manny?”

The Shadow turned a ghostly head towards the oncoming bat, eyes flaring up in recognition, “It seems you were successful in Fisher Springs-”

>>22148772
“The time of tide and tine is over! The coming of winter brings the coming of winter, the cold ones rise as the old ones fall! The forest is coming to town, and it brings-” here Manwell stopped his tirade, eyes unfocusing slightly and refocusing, “-Can’t you hear it? The bells the bells the Bells! The neverending tolling, who are they calling, who are they stalling...”

At this point, the crazed assassin realised that his audience hadn’t answered in a while. Without looking at the cloaked and veiled people, he unslung the rifle with one arm and pointed it straight at the Shadow’s face. “Where! Is! Jistin! Hetros! I’m collecting on my promise and I want it done now!”

Few things can make magical puppets, such as the Shadow, break free of their strings and form a mind of their own. This bombardment of rage and madness and the sheer amount of other magic that had bombarded the Shadow was enough to form a primitive self-awareness, and knowledge that if this ranting bat-man wasn’t out of its presence, bad things would happen. It went back to the time and trial honoured tactic of complete and total... indifference.

“So it seems your last assignment left you... broken.”

“Broken, no, just sick. I think it was the food I had on the way back. Raw bloody meat, yecch. The scenery was nothing to write about either, all that cold and and wood and-” unfocus, refocus, “-Stop changing the topic!”

>>22148780
“The... Architect, will be out working all alone in two days time, up high on the waterways. Out of sight of the... people. The shot is yours, just like you always wanted, take it. I will cover the ressst.”

“Shoot him now? Are you out of your mind!” here Manwell flipped the gun over his shoulder, wincing slightly, “I will not give the wintery ones the satisfaction of more death in their time!”

“Then what is your... flavor of revenge?”

“Flavour? Yes, that sounds appetizing... His throat in my teeth, his heart in my hands... The Bells ringing a dirge- The Bells the Bells the *onging* Bells!” Manwell began to pace about. “When do I kill, when don’t I kill” He turned on a dime and looked straight through the Shadow.

“Exactly who do you represent, bedsheet? I want to meet them.”

“Represent? I represent no one. You.. are more damaged than you appear.”

“Oh? I’m sorry, I thought you heard. I don’t like the way you ARE LYING TO ME!”

Manwell kicked over a nearby crate, scattering bits of decayed wood everywhere. The Shadow idly wondered where it came from. The mad bat turned back to the Shadow, “I don’t need your help, your hand holding pity anymore! I’ll kill who I damn well want, WHEN I damn well want”

“Very well, the contract is... broken, as are you. Go and do as you will, I tire, of your incessant ramblings.”

Manwell faced the transparent figure, taking loping steps backwards, “Oh I will, bedsheet. Unlike some people I know, I will”

>>22148789
His eyes, mad and gleaming, were the last to fade into the darkness.

The Shadow hovered about slightly, before wondering, when did I start referring to myself in the first person this much. The answer, he found, was almost always.

A bullet flew through the air passing clean through the Shadow’s head, causing nothing but a slight wisp of darkness to break off from the back of the head, that shortly reformed. The Shadow began to cackle the mad laugh of a demon. He grew more monstrous, quickly filling the room with shadowy tendrils and fiery eyes. “Cute trick. Hey kids, want to see a dead body?” It said in a voice like a chainsaw cutting through a chalkboard.

“Oh, What the ONG! I just left that village!” Manny threw up his hands and holstered the rifle, walking away. “Now I have to get a priest, where am I going to find a priest at this time of day...”

“iN hElL.” The Shadow said moving in closer.

“Been there, done that, flew out like one of the Earth bats” the bat responded flippantly, “Besides, crack a cough sweet or something, if you can’t fix your eyes”

“No, seriously, where else do child molesters go when they die?”

“I dunno, thought you knew” a bell seemed to go off in the Chironen’s twisted mind, “Why don’t we find out together?

“There’s a priest of the Iron and one of the Mountain sharing drinks at the library at the moment.”

Both madman and monster, no one could say which, walked down the tunnels together, “You know Shady, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship...”

“As long as you say nothing of destiny.”

===

Around lunch time of the same day, Jez brought the news of Manwell’s state of being and the Shadows glitch up. Needless to say Boss was not happy, but with the recent outbreak he knew he had to keep calm.

“So what should I do about Manwell and the Shadow?”

“Let them be, for now they could prove useful, but activate a replacement shadow, and keep an eye on the ‘free’ one.”

“Got it Boss.”

>>22148823
And then Frank went home, drank heavily and spent the whole time within inches of Wyona. She quickly noted this odd behavior.

“Its too early for you to be having sympathy symptoms. What’s got you down?”

“I got used like a pawn, jumped like a checker, tapped like a land card.”

Wyona barely was able to stifle a giggle at tapped. “Sorry, so you got played at work?”

“Yeah, sucks. I feel like someone elses plaything.”

“Well you are, we all are. Dancing to the will of higher powers. So what you going to do about it?”

“Can’t do what you're suggesting, don’t even know who screwed me.”

“No one screws you but me, you just got beat in a skirmish, you’ll get them in the war. Now how about a nice hot bath with me?”

“Well Fishy, you sure know how to bring a smile to my face, and little me.”

“Well then time to make you my bitch Sissyboy.”

Though Frank felt like crap, felt like he had been used like a cheap whore, Wyona soon had him back to feeling like the Boss he was.

When he heard what happened to Jacko, he needed to remember that feeling.