>>23164123
"Uh, right, okay. The elf over there is Kelaris, the gryphon is Ariana, then there was the princeps Andalus and the Or... uh, Lyra who just went inside, then this is-"
"You forgot me." Tannis said, huffing and putting her hands on her hips.
"And this is Tannis. She's a maenad."
"You mean she's one of those, uh, shapeshifters who run around in packs and attack men?"
"She doesn't do that, but yeah. Then... this is Abel."
Thor gave you a look, as if appraising you, then held out a clawed hand.
"Hello." He said, with a nod. "My name is Thor."

>>23164129
"Hello, Thor."
Shake his hand.

>>23164129
Trade grips with him, "A pleasure to finally meet you. I was originally going to be delivering supplies to your camp when we all got ambushed by ghouls and order knights. Cass, Ariana and I wound up escaping together and we've been helping each other out ever since."

>>23164129
"Glad to see another survivor of that unfortunate business."

>>23164129
"Pleased to finally meet you, Thor. How did you end up here?"

>>23164129
"Good to meet you, Thor. Glad to hear you're okay."

"What Cass isn't telling you because she's worried about your reaction is that Lyra is part of a faction in the Order that's trying to cut back the ... copious ... excesses of the majority.

"Pleased to finally meet you, Thor." You say. "I was originally going to be delivering supplies to your camp when we all got ambushed by ghouls and order knights. Cass, Ariana and I wound up escaping together and we've been helping eachother out ever since."
"Glad to hear she wasn't alone." He said.
"How did you end up here?"
"I ran into a cave in the mountains, hid there for some time, and then went to Garamon. It turned out that it was absolutely covered in maenads, and apparently they were fighting against the order. I went with a strange blacksmith as he went west to Ambeway, then when he went north to Neras, I decided to go to Skiitara instead. I ended up here, taking this post to earn money."
"What Cass isn't telling you because she's worried about your reaction is that Lyra is part of a faction in the Order that's trying to cut back the ... copious ... excesses of the majority."
"It *did* look like she was wearing order armor." Thor said. "Sandy, do you trust her?"
"Of course." Cass said.
"Then I will too." He said, and shrugged.
The other Guard gave him a look, then simply sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back on the doorframe. It seemed the other guard didn't mind you loitering there.

>>23164310
"Do you two want some time alone?"

>>23164310
"How long have you been here, Thor?"

>>23164310
I think I've met that blacksmith. It's good to know that he actually does travel, instead of just arrive.

So I guess you really like swamps, then.

"I think I've met that blacksmith." You say. "It's good to know that he actually does travel, instead of just arrive."
He nodded. "Sandy's spear looks like he's the one that made it." He said.
"How long have you been here, Thor?"
"A few weeks." He said. "Not long. I'm still... reeling. Have you found anyone else, Sandy?"
"... I found the person who told the knights where we were." Cass said, her voice low. "It took some time for me to learn the truth."
"... Oh." He said, his voice going flat. "Who was it?"
"Hannah." Cass said.
He was silent for a time, and then nodded.
"There was always something... empty about her." He said- and you notice the way he said 'was'. He was under no allusions about what had happened to her.
"Do you two want some time alone?"
"Yes." Cass said immediately.
"Once I'm off shift, I'll come have a real talk with you, Sandy." Thor said, and ruffled her hair.
"Okay. I'll have a few things to talk to you about, then." Cass said, and gave him a kiss on the corner of the mouth.
He nodded, and gave her a grin.

>>23164505
Feign mock disgust, and let's head inside.

"Pleasure to meet you, Thor."

Keep an eye out for any scroll rooms or libraries or such.

>>23164505
Let's go find Andalus or someone who can direct us to the library.

We were looking for a scroll with Vermilion written on it, right?

"Cass, we might need to retrieve something from the lake. How deep can trolls swim?"

>>23164505
Head on inside. "So, it's Sandy now? How'd you get that name?"

>>23164605
Cas-SAND-ra.

>>23164505
Let's just chuckle and head inside, then.

"Pleasure to meet you, Thor." You say, and he gave you a nod, slipping his helmet back on, as you entered the monastary proper.
"So, it's Sandy now?" You ask. "How'd you get that name?"
Cass went red. "Well, when we were kids, he said that since everyone calls me Cass, someone should call me the 'sandra part' in order to balance things out. He never grew out of it."

You nod, and continue walking. "Cass, we might need to retrieve something from the lake. How deep can trolls swim?"
"If it's freshwater, I can breathe down there." She said. "If I really focus."

Eventually, you make your way through the hallway, and find a large, warm room, with a fireplace on one side, and bookshelves covering the walls- not as large as the one in sanctuary, but almost- and dust covered the furnature.
"Elves, elves..." Andalus said, looking through the bookcases.
He turned to you, and gave you a nod, adjusting his eyepatch. "By the way, I forgot to ask if you're looking for anything."

>>23164705
"I think there's meant to be an old scroll with 'Vermilion' written on it. Where would I find something like that?"

>>23164705
"A scroll that says Vermillion on it.

Also any information on Forged, Angels, and 'the Divine' would be helpful."

"I think there's meant to be an old scroll with 'Vermillion' written on it." You say. "Where would I find something like that?"
"Hm..." He said, hand on his chin as he started rubbing it. "Scrolls... The only place where a scroll is that I can think of is the archives. But that place is easy to get lost in."
"Abel never gets lost." Lyra called out from the chair she was sitting on, book in hand- something in skiitaran, it looked. "He'll be fine."
"Also, any information on Forged, Angels, and 'the Divine' would be helpful."
"I can look through the books up here for it." He said, and pointed you to a hallway. "Down there and to the left- down the stairs- is the entrance to the archives. It's old, and nobody's been down there for years."

>>23164799
"Alright. Thanks, Andalus."

Archive exploring, let's do this.

"Alright. Thanks, Andalus."
"Tis no problem." He said, and nodded.
As you walk down the hallway, you hear Cass asking if there was anything on trolls, in English, while Tannis simply followed you, hand on your shoulder so she didn't get lost, as you walked through the stone hallway.

Eventually, you found a set of stairs down, which you took, taking a lit torch off the wall so that you didn't get lost in the dark.
"You're looking for the spirit's name." Tannis said. "I have a weird feeling about that. Why are you?"

>>23164799
Thanks, friend.

Head on down.

>>23164855
"It's a surprise."

"A good one though, so don't worry."

>>23164855
"She talked to me about something when we danced that night. I'm looking into it. It'll be a surprise."

>>23164855
"I'm not sure. She made it sound important, though."

>>23164855
Do we actually know what the scroll contains or what it does?

>>23164855
"I don't know exactly, but every time I've gotten word from one of the spirits thusfar, it's been useful."

>>23164907
Nope! Just that it's good for Tannis, whatever it is. Assuming we can trust the embodiment of wind.

"She talked to me about something when we danced that night." You say. "I'm looking into it. It'll be a surprise."
"... Okay." She said. "It makes me feel really strange, though..."

You continue walking through the musty halls, shelves and books set into the walls of the underground tunnel, the archives, and eventually you had a feeling. You knew, knew more than your eyes could've told you, exactly where the scroll was. You stopped in place, torch in hand, and reached for a small, low chest set into the wall next to the old, musty books, and then you reached for the chest- and it was locked.
The scroll was inside, you Knew.
And then, as you were looking for the key, there was a click as the chest unlocked itself.

Tannis took a step back as the wind blew, making your torch flicker, as the chest opened itself.

Laying inside was a massive scroll, alien runes covering the inside and outside, and as plainly as the day, you could see Vermillion's name, written on the ribbon holding the scroll shut.

That's when you noticed that the symbols on the scroll were identical to those written on florin-
And those written on a witches' mirror.

>>23164978
"I think this is quite important."

>>23164978
Look at Tannis and Grin.
"Surprise."

>>23164978
"Okay, this is *way* more important than I thought it was. You're right to feel weird about it, Tannis. But...I don't feel like it's inherently dangerous, and I'm usually pretty good about sensing that sort of thing."

>>23164978
"Well, ain't that something. Looks like it wants us to open it and take a look."

>>23164978
We should explain to tannis that the spirit pointed us to it when we asked what we could do for her.

>>23164978
Tap the scroll and see if anything happens.

>>23164978
Well, that's...kind of worrisome, actually. I would feel much, much better about this if we could read those symbols.

"Okay, this is *way* more important than I thought it was." You said, and turn to Tannis. "You're right to feel weird about it. But... I don't feel like it's inherently dangerous, and I'm usually pretty good about sensing that sort of thing."
"Then... Can you read it?" She asked. "Or, uh, what is it?"
"Looks like it wants us to open it and take a look." You say, and pull at the ribbon.

When the paper unfurled, the tattoo on your arm went numb. It wasn't Important here, you knew.

Tannis hid behind you, as you heard the sound of howling wind surrounding you, the torch flickering. It suddenly went out, and you were plunged into darkness, your hair blowing back from the wind. You heard nothing but howling for a few moments, before the wind suddenly stopped.
The runes on the unfurled scroll started shimmering, gleaming, flowing with light and wind-

And you saw, plainly as day, a Spell. A pact, with terms and words you didn't understand. A pact with Vermillion, Breath of the Wind, swearing her to keep up her side of a bargain, her side of a boon that was promised generations ago, to your ancestor... All you had to do was speak the words...
"It's dark." Tannis said, and you realized that she couldn't see the gleaming runes.

>>23165138
"It's okay Tannis, I'm trying to read, plenty of light for me."

Try to read the contract a bit closer, see if we can tease out exactly what our ancestor gave her, and what we're getting from this.

>>23165138
Take it to Andalus, immediately. If he can't read ancient Skiitaran, he'll know someone who can.

>>23165138
Is there anything at all to indicate what her side of the bargain IS? Or what ours/our ancestor's is, for that matter?

>>23165138
Well if the bargain was already made, let's do it.
But first, let's see if we can find out what our side of the bargain is supposed to be.

>>23165138
Hold Tannis' hand.

"The breath of wind said that this would help your Meanad nature, but I'm not sure exactly how. Do you want me to do this?"

>>23165138
Nah nah nah nah.

Let's at least -try- to pick out key terms, especially on what the boon could be.

"It's okay, Tannis." You say, and reassure her with a hand on her shoulder. "I'm trying to read. Plenty of light for me."

You peer closer, looking more deeply into the Spell, trying to pry apart the threads in your mind to understand what it meant-
And then you heard the spirit of wind whispering in your ear.
"Your mother's, mother's, mother's, father's father, mothers, father's, mother's father once made this deal with me." She whispered. "The first magus found all us wild spirits, lost within the aether, the thing you think of as the Divine, and brought us forth. This is what we owe him. We owe him our entire existence, and everything we can do. Our boons are kept in scrolls, throughout the entire world."

You look back, but didn't see her.
"How can you read in the dark?" Tannis asked. "It's really dark. Even my night eyes can't see anything."

You look closer, and then it makes sense. To speak the spell would mean... seperating Tannis from her Moon. It would be as if the moon was always waning for her. Her moon would never be New, and her instincts would never go wild.

>>23165270
Would that affect her ability to transform and her healing, or just her instincts?

>>23165270
Would that fuck up her healing and transformations?

"It's not dark for me right now. I'll explain later."

>>23165270
>>23165290

Would it apply to all maenads, for that matter? And is that the only thing it would do?

>>23165270
"...Tannis, this scroll, it's magic. It says it'll free you from your compulsions when the moon is New, but, I think it'll lower your healing."

"Do you want this?"

>>23165270
Heh, so Dad's side was the adventurers, and Mum's side was the playing with spirits type.

"It's a spell, tannis. I can pull you away from the Moon, you'll not be overcome at New Moon, but you'll lose whatever good it did for you."

"Do you want me to cast it?"

Always waning means it's always close to the new moon, meaning her abilities will be at full strength.
Never New means no instincts to worry about.
No downsides whatsoever.

>>23165338
>>23165322
Guys you're wrong, it'll always be a waning moon for her, which means she'll always be at her best.

>>23165270
"Tannis, I can stop your instincts with this. Your moon will always be Waning, but never New. Do you want that?"

>>23165391
then let's fucking cast that shit. No downside is amazing.

"It's not dark for me right now." You say. "I'll explain later."

Of course, that wasn't all. You looked closer, more deeply into the spell, losing yourself among the glistening runes and breaths of wind. Her healing would be weaker during New Moon, of course- but not as weak as if it were full moon, or if the moon was waxing.

The words eternally burn their way into your mind as you look away, and you knew, forever, you could speak these words to any Maenad, and the spirit of wind would obey, and will obey your child, or your children's children, until the end of your bloodline. The boon was yours, now, to speak as you will.

"It's a spell, Tannis. This scroll... It's magic." You say. "It says it will... free you from your compulsions when the moon is New." You say.
"But... it'll lower your healing."
Tannis was silent for a long while.
"Will I be able to change shape?" She asked.
"Yes." You say, certain of it. "Do you want this?"

"I..." She said. "I... Yes. Yes I do. I want myself to be mine again."

>>23165411
Then say dem words!

>>23165411
Speak that shit, yo.

>>23165411
Hold her hand, and say the magic words!

>>23165411
Do eet.

Does it reference any other scrolls as well?

>>23165411
"Then it shall be done. I'm glad I could do this for you Tannis.

As long as I or my bloodline lives we will be able to do this for you, your children, or any other Maenads who desire this."

You nod, and then take Tannis's hand in yours, and Speak. A musical language in no tongue spoken by man falls from your lips, pooling to the ground, swirling around Tannis. You feel her claws inadvertently dig into your hand as her entire body tenses, and the fur on her tail puffs up, her back arching.

"For you, son of David, I complete this boon." Vermillion says, and Tannis's eyes roll into the back of her head as she yowls.

Tannis collapses into unconsciousness, and the wind stops. The glowing stops.

You're simply standing in a dark room, an unconscious maenad leaning on you, a scroll not far from your feet.

You light your torch again, and the scroll is simply sitting open, covered in those alien runes that you still don't know how to read, waiting for another unlearned Magus to arrive.
"Be free, my daughter." you hear Vermillion whisper, her voice full of compassion.

>>23165512
We know the spell, let's roll that scroll up, put it back away, princess carry Tannis, and keep on looking for scrolls and the like that are relevant to our situation.

>>23165512
We should take the scroll if we can.

>>23165512
Put the scroll back in the box.

Then carry Tannis upstairs.

Maybe we should take the box and get Ariana to mail it to sanctuary?

>>23165512
Let's put the scroll away, then, and carry Tannis back upstairs.

>>23165512
Pack the scroll back in the box, poke around the archives for anything else interesting, maybe on cold iron, that's what Andalus was looking for, wasn't it?

You roll the scroll up, retying the ribbon, and put it back into the chest, where it clicked locked when you closed it. You pick Tannis up in your arms, and make your way toward the exit of the Archives.
"Did you find everything okay?" Andalus asked. "Mine own experiences with the archives did not end well, let me tell thou."

You walked back into the largest room, where Cass and Thor were talking in the corner, their tails and fingers intertwined, while Lyra continued reading her book, eying Andalus every now and then. Andalus, for his part, had a small pile of books on a nearby table for you.
"Is Tannis harmed? Or did she simply fall to sleep?" Andalus asked, with a chuckle. "It seems to suit her character to do the latter, I must admit."

>>23165652
"The Latter, but not by her own compulsion. I found a magic scroll back there, part of a boon made by the spirit of wind to an ancestor of mine. One that freed her of compulsions."

>>23165652
More Prophecy, I'm afraid. She'll be fine when she wakes up.

Did you find anything?

>>23165652
"It was fine for me. Did you find everything you were looking for? You were researching cold-iron, weren't you?"

>>23165652
"She's just asleep. It has to do with Spirits."

>>23165678
don't say this
>>23165688
this

"More prophecy, I'm afraid." You say. "She's just asleep. She'll be fine when she wakes up."
"Tis a good thing, then." He said, with a nod.
"Did you find anything?"
"Nothing on Garethiel, I am afraid." he said. "I did find a book about the Divine, and one on the Forged, but none of angels, currently. I do not know what they are, either, sadly."

You set Tannis down on a cushioned chair, where her sleeping form suddenly turned into a cat, curling up. You look to Cass and Thor, and the Spell hiding in your mind told you that the trolls were the only thing it could not separate, as trolls have no moon of their own. Werecreatures, and maenads could be separated, but trolls... Trolls were special.

>>23165782
So it works with everything moon-related. That's pretty cool.

"I'd offer to help look, but I can't read Skiitaran"

>>23165782
Scritch the kitty's ears.

Look at the book of forged.

"Angels are something not quite of this world, and there are a few of them, but only one."

"All rather 'sensible' really."

>>23165782
Pet the kitty. So we have a moon separation beam.

Think to ourself, wonder why trolls are special.

"Angels aren't of this world. There is only one of it, but it has shards of itself scattered about, if my understanding of the Divine is correct they are very closely linked to it, they can bring thoughts not of this world into reality here. It's complicated."

You sit down next to Tannis, and start scratching her ears as you crack open the book on Forged. It was in english, surprisingly, but it was otherwise identical to the book you'd 'read' in Sanctuary, even with the same symbols and such. reading through, it was just a scholar's paper on how the Forged work, and various ways to destroy or deactivate them, and his own (incorrect, you knew) hypothesis on how the wax cylinders that made up their minds worked. You gained almost no knowledge, skimming the book, petting Tannis.
"Angels aren't of this world." You say. "There is only one of it, but it has shards of itself scattered about. If my understanding of the Divine is correct, they are very closely linked to it. They can bring thoughts not of this world into reality here. It's complicated."
"Tis complicated just by sound." He said, and chuckled, as you puzzled through the strange way he spoke. "I shall continue looking."
"I'd offer to help, but I can't read Skiitaran."
"Your sister seems to be able to." Andalus noted.
"That's because I'm much smarter than Abel is." Lyra said, giving you a teasing grin.

>>23165932
More learned, I believe. I doubt you could find a meal for 5 in a swamp.

>>23165932
"What were you heading here for originally, Andalus?"

>>23165932
Ditch that book, and read the one about the Divine.

If it's in Skiitaran, stare at it until it gives up it's secrets out of fear.

>>23165932
"No argument. Your judgement could use some work, though."

Also, yeah, let's read up on the Divine.

>>23165932
"Lyra, I made you new fingers. I might not be good with languages or fancy intellectual stuff, but I have plenty of other skills. Like living off the land and making explosives."

Skim through it a bit more, then switch to the book on the Divine. Keep on petting the kitty.

"More learned, I believe." You say. "I doubt you could find a meal for five in a swamp."
"Well, that's because..." She said, and trailed off. "That's because you're insane, Abel."
She gave you another grin.
"What were you heading here for originally, Andalus?"
"Cold iron." He said. "Tis a rather strange substance. When it is... shall we say, 'cold' enough, it pulls itself toward other metals. That is some well known phenomena." He said. "But none have used copper to bind orichalicum to it. When that is done properly, it the pulling sensation seems to be amplified many times, as the cold iron gets... 'colder'. I must know if others have done the same experiment. But that is less important than Garethiel."

You set the book on the Forged down, and pull up the one on the Divine. And oh spirits, it was written in english, but... it was more garbled than Andalus's speaking. You'd need to put a lot more focus into it to read it properly.

>>23166046
"Science is always a good thing, but ancient Fae queens helping destroy civilization is more important."

Then read that book and shut out everything else.

>>23166046
What does orichalicum do? I know it's used in the forged, but that's about it.

>>23166119
it appears to be a metallic natural battery, which would explain the oricalcum and copper, he's talking bout an electro-magnet.

"What does Orichalicum do?" You ask. "I know it's used in the forged, but that's about it."
"Tis simple." He said. "Tis a crystalline disc that contains a glowing, gleaming fluid, that whirls at an incredible speed. Some process I don't quite understand, turns that speed into lightning power, that heats water inside of the body of a Forged, and that water twists a turbine. It's rather more complex than that, but I don't quite know how the machine works."

An ancient, long-forgotten term burst into your mind.
A Power Core.
Orichalicum disks were power cores.

>>23166046
>>23166169
>>23166190
sky does has a gauss rifle, lets even the odds

>>23166190
"But that...that shouldn't exist naturally."

>>23166190
"Wait, then where did the free cities get them?"

That's it, I'm rereading NFCQ.

>>23166190
That's way way more Wrong then gunpowder.

>>23166232
>"But that...that shouldn't exist naturally."
no it's more the tech shouldn't exist yet

>>23166277
But that's exactly what I'm saying.

>>23166190
"That shouldn't exist. That isn't right, that cheating fucking bastard. You wouldn't understand how it works, no one here does, it would take hundreds of years of technological advancement to get close to it. And that's taking into account the exponential growth of technology."

>>23166190
>Ib4 this is a video game Dave and Amy are running on her QC, and the cheating is bullshit magic hacking.

>>23166329
No forged were made, man. They've all just been 'awoken'. So yeah, there is some serious lost technology hanging around.

"But that... that shouldn't exist naturally." You say. "Where did the free cities get them?"
"... You don't know?" Andalus asked, his eyebrows met. "Tis said that a stranger from another land arrived in the serf cities during the rebellion, and created hundreds of Forged in a single day.
Someting felt... wrong. More Wrong than gunpowder. Your head pounded, and the book on the Divine lay completely forgotten.
Cold iron... Gunpowder... Firearms... Power cores...
And Hannah said there was a Gauss rifle...
Knowledge burst into your mind, and with it, came dread. You never thought to ask Stirge what happened to the shard inside of Hannah if she were killed.

After all, when you killed Dirae and Sky, they always came back.

You hear the sound of something smashing, as a small, magnetic needle shot through the window with a high pitched whistle, and you heard the sound of crunching trees.

The second guard crashed into the room.
"Forged!" He said. "They're headed this way, and it looks like there's someone going into the lake!"

>>23166367
"We need to get what's under the lake before they do!"

>>23166367
Get to the fucking lake, we can't let them have the spear.

>>23166367
"Cass, go! Thor, can you do the water breathing thing?"

>>23166367
"Cass, Thor, get to the lake, find the spear before they do!"

"Everyone else, we try to stop the forged, Stay out of sight from the trees, Sky has a powerful gun."

Get a look at that needle.

I wonder if that spell would let us fuck up a fairy's air powers.

>>23166416
* Sky has a powerful gun that shoots cold iron.

Captcha ate the edit.

>>23166367
"Tell everyone to stay away from open ground and windows. There's things worse than Forged, for the moment."

quick escalate the cheating, invent plasma weapons and power shields

>>23166459
>"Tell everyone to stay away from open ground and windows. There's things worse than Forged, for the moment."
pry sky can't see through walls

>>23166516
Hopefully she hasn't cheated up an x-ray scope. That'd suck.

"Cass, go!" You say, and get to your feet. "Thor, can you do the water breathing thing?"
"I can."
"Get to the lake, find the spear before they do."
"Right away." Cass said, and started running. Thor looked from you to her, and then followed.
"Everyone else, we try to stop the Forged. Stay out of sight from the trees, Sky has a powerful gun that shoots cold iron."
"Yessir." Lyra said, and twirled her sword.
"You are the leader of this adventuring party, after all." Andalus said, cocking his crossbow and loading a roll of bolts into it.

Tannis simply rolled onto her back, and stretched, still sleeping.
"There are things worse than Forged, at the moment." You say, and look to the needle stuck into the wall. With a touch, a word burst into your mind.
It was monomolecular.

You hear Kelaris call out a battlecry, and the sound of shearing metal outside, as a gryphon screeched.

Andalus, next to you, looked at the needle.
"Cold iron... Hm." He said.

The three of you made your way outside, and you saw Dirae standing down the road, flanked on both sides by two Forged. Kelaris was fighting three forged, adroitly dodging their tail strikes and returning blows with his blade, while Cass and Thor dove into the water.
"Hii, Abel!" Dirae called, grinning, and waved. Then she pulled the Gauss Rifle out of her bag, and it started whistling.

Rolled 17

>>23166548
Teleport behind her and shoot her with whatever's loaded in the rifle. Flechette rounds, hopefully.

Rolled 48

>>23166548
Shoot it out of her hands. Or possibly her, I suppose. Probably her.

>>23166548
TELEFRAG TIME, BITCH!

Rolled 91

>>23166548
Quickdraw!

Rolled 7

>>23166548
Teleslash her

Rolled 30

>>23166548
"You cheating bastard."

Teleport, blow her head off with our rifle.

Rolled 66

>>23166573
2nded

>>23166636
Only with new sword.

>>23166573
I would like to support this plan if the roll of 91 is used.

Also teleport back, if possible.

Lyra raised her crossbow- but fumbled it, as it fell out of her hands- she wasn't used to her fingers yet.
The gauss needle shot right by your head, and you felt a piercing pain in your ear- she'd hardly missed you.
"Let's play!" Dirae said again, grinning.

"You cheating bastard." you say, and with a fling of your wrist, wyvern flipped into your hand. The great, crystal sword appeared hovering over your hand, and you grabbed your rifle with your other hand, as you dove forward through space.

Skidding behind Dirae, you point the rifle at her and pull the trigger, slamming two slugs into her back. She fell forward, dead...

And then her wounds decompiled and recompiled as unblemished skin, perfectly unharmed.

She lurched to her feet again, and turned toward you, smiling.
"Sky's not playing anymore." She said with a smile, as the gauss rifle in her hands decompiled. "She intends to live until the end of the world."

What recompiled in her hands was a long axe, much too large for a girl of Dirae's size to wield, as more Forged came out of the marsh, lurching toward Vigil proper, where your friends were fighting. Now, it was just you and Dirae.

And, of course, looming behind you, you felt the Wyvern, hungry.

>>23166695
Feed Direa to the Wyvern.

Rolled 77

>>23166695
"fuck off slutguts."

Slash the fuck out of her

Rolled 38

>>23166695
Let's see how an angelic shard deals with a spirit.

Rolled 11

>>23166695
Slash her arm, get the gauss gun

Rolled 87

>>23166695
Stab her with Wyvern, maybe that will sate it's hunger a little.

"I'm sure Sky can live a bit longer without you."

We just have to capture her, I suppose, if she can't die.

>>23166695
"Quite the job you did on Hannah, infecting her mind with your madness."

"Fuck off, slutguts." You snarl, and warp through space again, your arm blurring as you slashed her in half, blood seeping from her torso.
Wyvern came closer to you, though the blood sated it, somewhat, but you knew that the moment it touched your back, it would turn on you.
"I'm sure Sky can just live a bit longer without you." You say, as Dirae's wound decompiled.

That's when you noticed that when she was recompiling- she didn't move at all, perfectly frozen.
"She needs me!" Dirae said, grinning, as she slammed the head of the axe down next to you. You skipped out of the way. How was the shard so *strong*?

"Quite the job you did on Hannah, infecting her mind with your madness." You say.
"Well, she didn't have *any* emotions without me, and Sky wanted her!" Dirae claimed, and swung the enormous axe just over your head, as you ducked. "We needed to be able to turn her on you, but she didn't *care* that you killed her mother until I gave her part of me!"

Rolled 76

>>23166820
"Dirae pls go"

Rolled 84

>>23166820
Next time she recompiles, jam something in the wound/stump.

Rolled 19

>>23166820
Shoot her with a gun, then stab her with the Avatar when she's recompiling.

"Why would anyone need you? You're just an insane lady with little left but bloodlust."

>>23166820
New plan. Injure her so she has to decompile/recompile and then either stick Wyvern in the wound before it can recompile or separate the bits (if dismembered)

Rolled 30

>>23166820
Can we use the other sword? The Avatar one? That might kill her for good if we chop her head off or something.

Or rip out her spine. That'd be cool too.

Rolled 51

>>23166820
Attack the shard with ares/rogue, see into the mirror.

>>23166820
Stab with wyvern.
Stab with Avatar.
Smash head in with Hammer.

>>23166885
I don't think we should use wyvern more then we have to, we should save a use for Sky when she gets here.

Not a flaming troll or anything, but I hate your writing style OP.
Just thought you might need someone to tell you that. I think it's horrible, but since others seem to like it, I suppose it's only me.

>>23166914
You should probably specify what exactly you dislike about it.

>>23166914
What about it do you dislike? I'm genuinely curious.

>>23166939

You answered extremely fast, what the fuck.

>>23166897
Man, do you know how many times we tried to kill Gabe with that sword?

>>23166951
I have an auto updater and can type fast.

>>23166914
>Well, feedback is always good. It'd probably help me a lot if you told me why- constructive criticism is always better than just plain criticism, after all. It might even be better if you wanted to talk to me on IRC about it, if you don't want to make a big deal in thread. I'm Exabyte on Rizon, as well, and you should be able to send me a personal message.

"Why would anyone need you?" you ask. "You're just an insane lady with little left but bloodlust."
"That's because I'm.... disiiiiiiillled." She said, grinning.
You took the chance to slash off her weapon arm, and after the wound decompiled- when there was nothing but that black void- you stabbed the Avatar into the stump.

She twitched, strange squares of light- not cubes, not three-dimensional symbols, but *squares*, perfectly flat, started appearing from the stump, from multiple attempts to recompile her arm.

Finally, she blinked out of existence with a flash, the sword falling to the ground. Critical Error.

>>23166987
"Hah. Dumb bitch."
Let's go down to the lake.

Rolled 44

>>23166987
Grab the sword. Load the rifle with the slugs and run back to the main compound.

Any forged get in the way, shoot them in the head.

Rolled 62

>>23166987
Get back to the forged, take a few shots with the Sanctis rifle as we run. Try to get them off Ariana if she's having trouble, she's the least competent fighter, and I don't want to have to deal with two soultorn.

>>23166987
"Fucking cheaters."

Get our sword back, hold off the forged, make sure they don't hit Ariana too bad, use the Rifle, aim for their weak points for massive damage.

>>23166987
>Every day i'm leaning more to this all being a video game...

Rolled 52

>>23166987
Blast any nearby forged.

>>23166987

I'm not familiar with your story or setting, but it gives me a very, very strong anime flavor. The characters seem extremely exaggerated and cheesy. Besides that, the fact that you put a comma after every addition disturbs me greatly.

" just over your head, as you ducked." The comma there is quite uneccessary and interrupts the flow. It's also unpleasant to read.

I may be going over the top, but as I said, it vexes only me.

>>23167078
The recompile sequence makes me think of the borderland revival sequence, too.

>>23167085
>You're right, I do need to cut down on commas. I also need to use hyphens less. I'm not sure I agree with the characters being cheesy or 'anime', though.

You snatch the sword from the ground, and rush toward the lake. One of the two forged turn to you, but your rifle was already in hand as you slammed a shell into it. You were already past it before it finished collapsing.

Looking to the sky, you see Ariana soaring around, simply flying in circles, keeping an eye on everyone. Lyra was slashing directly through heavy brass plates, shield in hand. Finally, Kelaris was blurring around the three he couldn't quite kill, slowly chipping away their armor.

You reach Andalus at the edge of the lake, where he knelt and was shooting bolts at the Forged, keeping them out of it, while Cass and Thor were swimming, looking for... something.
"Abel, we are soon to be in trouble." Andalus said. "Mine bolts are running low."

>>23167085
I've never really gotten the anime impression from it before, but now that you mention it...it does kinda feel a bit like One Piece. Granted, I really like One Piece, so that's probably why it doesn't bother me at all. Still, I can understand why others wouldn't care for it.

On the other hand, this is 4chan. We are all weeaboo here.

As to the commas, I think that's partially my fault when I encouraged Exa to use more commas early on.

>>23167212
Hand him the revolver.
"Here. There's four shots in it, use both hands, it has a strong recoil because of the explosion,. Just point and pull."

>>23167212
Throw him a handful of arrows from our quiver.

>>23167212

"On the other hand, this is 4chan. We are all weeaboo here."

That's the biggest myth since vikings wore horns. I can assure you, 70% of 4channers despise anime.

>>23167212

You're a decent writer and I can say a few inches above me but those commas destroy the secrets beyond the text. In any case, good luck with the threads. I'll lurk for a bit and then take my leave.

Rolled 32

>>23167212
Didn't we tell Kelaris where their weak spots are? Can we yell to him where to focus?

Give Andalus a few of our arrows, maybe even a dragon one. Then run to the lake and start cutting up forged.

>>23167299
I say this sincerely with no sarcasm: Thank you for not being a dick about it.

You hand him your arrows- but he shook his head.
"They will shatter." He said.
So instead, you bring up your revolver and give it to him.
"Here. There's four shots in it. Use both hands. Just point and pull."
He nodded, and still kneeling, pulled the trigger.

The resulting explosion made his arms jerk back- but the Forged he was aiming at collapsed, and the lake was clear for now.

Behind you, Lyra had finally disabled the second of her Forged, and Kelaris had de-tailed two of the great scorpion robots.

Thor bursts out of the water, breathing deeply; his head, shoulders, and tail trollish and finned.

And in his hand? A rusted, angular spear- one you recognized.

You hear a loud, angry screech. Whirling about, you see Sky, standing on a fallen tree, a rifle in hand.
"You won't kill me, you *bastard*!" Sky called, and brought up the Gauss Rifle.

Rolled 27

>>23167212
Since there's only been one roll so far, I'll deploy a second.

Rolled 39

>>23167368
"GET IN THE WATER!"

Charge her.

Rolled 74

>>23167368
Teleport over and cut her hands off.
"Funny, Dirae said the same thing."

Rolled 54

>>23167368
Rape her tenderly!
Wait, no. Sorry. I mean, teleport with our sword, slice, shove sword in decompiled part.
The dragon is going to be hungry.

Rolled 37

>>23167368
I'd like to shoot her.

If she has time to fire though, teleport and knock her over.

Rolled 29

>>23167368
Teleport, chop her hands off with Wyvern, stab her with our other sword.

Rolled 77

>>23167368
Let's not teleport, that'll make Wyvern nom us.

Why don't we dodge and stick an arrow in Sky's eyeball.

Guysguysguys

Can we NOT use the water sword anymore today? She's going to kill us if we overuse it, remember?

Rolled 63

>>23167453
An arrow will take a lot longer to reach her though.
If we can manage it though, I'll vote for it.

>>23167465
>>23167453
These are excellent points. Let's please not use it more than we absolutely need to.

Rolled 76

>>23167465
Do we have a guesstimation of how many uses we have left? It's probably more if we actually stab people with it, but we need to be closer to ensure that can happen.

You put a hand on Wyvern, and you teleport forward, blade in hand-

Too late to see that she wasn't pointing at you. She was pointing at Andalus.

Then she pulled the trigger, and Thor stepped in the way.
The needle slammed into his chest, knocking him back and into Andalus, but the needle didn't go through.
You slash off her hands with a single blow, and then stab her with your other blade, into the stumps.

She didn't even try to decompile/recompile her hands. She just gave you a Look, and then she and the Gauss Rifle vanished, leaving the sword clattering to the ground.

"Thor!" You hear Cass call, splashing out of the water and rushing to him.

Wyvern loomed closer behind you, but wasn't quite touching you yet- though next time you teleported, you knew it would be.

>>23167500
Fuck, cold iron beats trolls.

Get to them and see if we can help any. With luck she didn't hit anything he can't live without.

>>23167500
Okay, let's not go teleporting any more.

Let's go to Thor and help remove that needle, he can't heal with it in him. He's a tough one though, it probably didn't kill him quite like that.

>>23167500
Go to Thor.
"It's cold iron. It needs to come out."

Rolled 79

>>23167500
If it didn't go through, then it's stuck in him.

See if we can grab a power core and whatever else we need to make a super-strong magnet to pull it out of his chest.

Rolled 80

>>23167500
Call forth modern medical techniques fix Thor.

Rolled 83

>>23167500
Oooh. That's gotta be bad.

Rolling for medical, I suppose.

>>23167553 be careful of traps on the forged, though.

>>23167553
Maybe we can make a device that will create an opposite magnetic field in his chest, so he won't die from it.

Isn't teleportation usually instant? The concept of teleporting and being 'too late' would mean we would never have been able to stop it to begin with...

File: 1360879985716.jpg-(25 KB, 729x451, fucking_magnets.jpg)

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>>23167629
>create an opposite magnetic field

>>23167649
It's usually significantly faster than moving the interposing distance normally. Not necessarily instant.

>>23167500
>Then she pulled the trigger, and Thor stepped in the way.
>The needle slammed into his chest, knocking him back and into Andalus, but the needle didn't go through.
dudes hard core,tanks a monomolecular Gauss Round with no cover, at a short range and it fails to over-penetrate him.

>>23167649
Too late to realise that it wouldn't interrupt her shot, since she wasn't aiming at us anyway.

>>23167684
Trolls must be very dense, at a molecular level.

>>23167649
1 grab crystal
2 will self away
3 appear instantly
4 get bearings
5 swing weapon

All of these things take tiny amounts of time that add up to be a little bit longer than
1 Pull trigger
2 Lose hands

Rolled 91

>>23167553
Cass will be strong enough to get it out.

>>23167691
Whether she was aiming for us or not, to interrupt her shot we would need to teleport and stab her. Realizing she was aiming at us or someone else doesn't particularly matter.

You rush around the Lake, to where Thor was lying, the needle stuck in his chest.
"It's cold iron." you say. "It needs to come out."
Andalus was quiet, his face pale- he was shocked, entirely, looking down at the changeling guard.
"Thor." Cass sobbed.

You grabbed Andalus' fallen crossbow, and pull out the Orichalicum- no, the power core- and then you knelt near him, and pressed it up against one of the crossbow's blue steel components. The cobalt in the alloy magnetized, and the needle quivered- and then...

Tore itself out of his body, already healing.

As you hold the power core against the bow of the crossbow, you feel it trembling under your hand, getting warmer, and warmer.

Thor coughed- the needle had gone straight into his lung, but... miraculously, the wound healed, and his paroxysm of coughing stopped.

He took a deep breath.
"Ugh." He said, eloquently. "Regeneration is fun."

Then he sat up. "So, everyone okay?" He asked, and Andalus almost tackled him with a hug.
"You saved my life, Thor." He said. "Thank you."
"It's my job." Thor responded, and shrugged.

>>23167718
It's cold iron you idiot, she can't touch it anymore than he can.

>>23167727
Throw power core into lake.

>>23167742
Uh no, that one belongs to Andalus.

Rolled 39

>>23167727
Put the core back in place. If it keeps getting hotter, throw is into the lake or wherever is devoid of people.

>>23167756
It's also overloading.
Andalus can get a new, less explodey one.

>>23167727
"I'll fix the crossbow later, Is everyone else alright?"

Rolled 18

>>23167781
Do we need to roll for throw or will 39 be good enough?

>>23167788
It's only doing that because we're touching it directly to the cobalt like that. Cobalt is a ferrous metal.

You pull the power core away from the metal. It instantly stopped heating, and you dunked it in the lake for a time letting it cool completely, before locking it back into place.
"Is everyone alright?"
"All fine here." Lyra said, sweating- there was a deep scratch in her armor where a tail jab had barely deflected, and Kelaris was simply panting, sitting on his pile of feeble, twitching Forged.
"Next time, please order Gearworks to join the battle." Kelaris said, sitting there as a leg twitched here or there.
"I'm- I'm okay." Andalus said, and handed you the revolver again.

Cass was too busy kissing Thor to respond, her tail whipping this way and that.

>>23167727
If we can, get the needle off the core. If not, it would probably be a good idea to ditch the core. And then we should cannibalize the disabled Forged as best we can.

>Our boons are kept in scrolls, throughout the entire world
if we have time we should look in to that

Rolled 40

>>23167850
And rather radioactivve, back in the case it goes.

>>23167889
Empty out the spent casings.

"I didn't think it was within earshot. Do you want me to give you modpowers for it?"

Rolled 95

>>23167889
Whwres ariana?

>>23167889
Yeah I would like to see if we can salvage any of those Forged to possibly make a few of our own....or a Forged power suit...nvm I know we have no knowledge of that.

Rolled 76

>>23167889
I think we should start praying to the water god and Wyvern every night, from now on.

>>23167966
Oh Water Goddess, I will offer you 1000 cookies if you stop that serpent thing from 'noming on my butt.

"I didn't think it was within earshot." You say. He gestured a thumb to Gearworks, which was sitting next to the wagon.

"'Tis the spear, is it?" Andalus said, looking over the rusted, angular spear. It was identical to the mural, and apparently, Hannah's interrogation had worked. You had it.
"To think, a prophesied weapon was near my second home for so long..." He said, reaching out toward it.

The closer his hand got to it, the more your sword quivered, vibrating, and your body tensed involuntarily

>>23168002
"I can feel it. Take it, Andalus."

>>23168002
"One moment Andalus, this should be given with ceremony, I think."

>>23168002
"Andalus, would you mind if I showed some ceremony for this? It's not often that you get to give someone a weapon destined to help end a great evil."

Give him the spear with all possible ceremony and aplomb.

>>23168002
"I think it's only going to get worse from here on. You all ready?"

Rolled 29

>>23168021
>>23168050
>>23168026
Dont give it to him yet, I thought crios was the seer. Anyways see what ares/rogue have to say.

>>23168002
"I'm not sure what's happening. The Sword is shaking, so it might not yet be time."

>>23168092
Crios gets the hammer.

>>23168092
Crios is the Sentry.

>>23168092
Ciros is the Sentry, Andalus is the Seer.

Too many esses, methinks.

Rolled 63

>>23168123
Oh, when did we figure out he was the seer?

>>23168155
Well, it didn't shake for Thor and they're the two that qualify for "man met in Skiitara who's not a warlock"

>>23168155
I can't quite remember, but when we found out he only had one eye and insatiable curiosity I was convinced.

"One moment, Andalus." You say, and he pulled his hand away. "This should be given with ceremony, I think."

You pick up the spear, and it gave you the same feeling as it did when you held the hammer. In both hands you twirled it.

"I think it's only going to get worse from here on." You say. "You all ready?"

"Gareth is going to *die*." Kelaris said. "I am ready."
"Ready." Cass said, and Thor nodded, his arm around her- their tails intertwined, of course.

Ariana landed down next to you, and nodded, apparently unharmed.

You held out the spear- and the world, and everything within it and around it, everything but you, the sword, the spear, and Andalus... melted away, into darkness. Decompiled. Empty.

Andalus knelt, and he took the spear.

Cadmium Telluride wings sprouted from his back, as his eyes burned sky blue, burned the color of his cobalt equipment.

Behind him, instead of a witches' mirror, you saw something... amazing. An enormous, obsidian tower, great claws gripping onto a golden eye soaring in the sky, smoke billowing out around the base.

The Seer took up the Spear, and the seed became the Overseer.

And then you were in reality again, and the sword on your hip felt strange.
The spear, for it's part... was gone. It had entirely vanished.
"... What was that? What happened?" Cass asked.

"The key unlocked the seer." Andalus said, quietly. "I'm not important. Mine job was simply to... carry the Seed. I do not know how I know this, but I do."

>>23168209
"Believe me, I know the feeling."

>>23168209
"Yeah. That happens a lot."

>>23168209
"It's a thing. You get used to it."

>>23168209
"Same way any of us know anything we have no real way of knowing I guess.
I'm a little bothered that I'm getting used to that."

>>23168209
Hold the Sword.

What feels different about it

>>23168209
No way, you are important. It's your actions that determine things now.

Never stop being yourself.

>>23168209
"You get used to it.

Also, you might be solar powered now. Just so you know."

Rolled 56

>>23168209
Talk to sword, its been like 10 threads since we last did.

Be all like, hey ares/rogue mind giving some insight?

"Same way any of us know anything that we have no real way of knowing, I guess." You say, and take the sword in hand. "I'm a little bothered that I'm getting used to that."
He sighed, and got to his feet, rolling his shoulders. "I was certain that I had wings or something, now. I could swear..."

Then the sword in your hands suddenly became a spear. You focused, and it turned back into a sword.

Even stranger, when you held the spear, you knew how to use it.
"Ares, Rogue? Mind giving me some insight?"
<We're simply spectating, now. There's no reason to meddle.> Rogue said.

"That's... not normal. That's not even magic." Ariana said, looking at your spear- that became a sword, as you willed.

>>23168286
We talk to the sword in private, though, no sense convincing our new companions we're mad.

>>23168320
"Coss' it's magic. It isn't mundane."

>>23168320
"I don't even think there's a word for what this is. Other than weird."

turn to Andalus, "I saw them too. They convert sunlight to usable energy. Don't ask me how the hell I know that."

>>23168320
But I know you love meddling.

>>23168320
"Shit. Is there anywhere to get a stiff drink round here?"

>>23168320
"You did have wings Andalus. They turn sunlight into lightning power, they're made from Cadmium and Telluride as part of photovoltaic solar cells.

Don't ask how I know this, I just do.

And Ariana, I stopped wondering what flavor of weird this thing was a long time ago."

Hey guys, didn't Daedalus call himself the Overseer more than once?

>>23168377
>>23168344
Too complicated. Let's just settle for a "I saw them too."

>>23168385
http://archive.foolz.us/tg/search/text/Overseer/tripcode/%21SIL6URyblU/

He sure did.

>>23168397
And he was on a satellite. That would have solar panels on it, stretched out like wings.

...goddamnit Exa.

>>23168423
huh. What was that message we got just the other thread that was like something Daedalus said?

"I don't think there's a word for what this is." You say. "I stopped wondering what flavor of weird this thing was a long time ago."
Andalus sighed. You meet his eyes, and nod.
"I saw them too. Is there anywhere to get a stiff drink around here?"

Some time later, your head was fuzzy, as you were sitting at a great table inside of Vigil, with Cass and Thor on one side, then Andalus and Tannis on the other, all of you drinking.
"An' then-" Tannis was saying, her head lolling on the table. "We let her out. Like that. Then she made us do things."

You sit there, and look at Andalus. Something about him... was strange.
Very strange.

And then you recognized him, recognized that great tower.
His name was unspeakable here, unknown, but you knew it.
His name was DAEDALUS.

>>23168446
"Knowledge which begets power" or something like that.

GG, this is just a video game that Dave's playing to kill time.

>>23168468
Extremely drunkenly "Hey Andalus, I know your real name but I can't say it, because it doesn't exist. But you're a giant ball of metal and electricity circling the world and eating sunlight and distributing information.

Or I've had far too much to drink."

File: 1360882909959.gif-(1.28 MB, 272x204, Cheeese.gif)

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>>23168468
So wait, does that mean he's an angel too? Are we angel bros?

>>23168516
Nah.

>>23168468
Let's go find a forge and do drunk-forging.

>>23168516
But we're not an angel, anon.

>>23168468
Pull Tannis into a hug. "I'ma gonna pet you now."

>>23168516
the sword is the angel not us

You pull Tannis into a hug.
"I'ma gonna pet you, now." You say, and start petting her, as she leaned into you, rubbing her cheeks against you, her ears twitching.
"Tannis, I'm curious." Cass suddenly said, giggling to herself. "Can.. can you only change partway?"
"Mhm!" Tannis said, and her hands suddenly turned into enormous cat paws, wiggling her pads.
"Do the tongue!" Cass said, and Tannis stuck out her tongue- it was bristled.
"Uh... what about your fur? Can you have fur but be human?"
"Yep!" Tannis said, giggling, and suddenly she was entirely covered with fur.

>>23168550
Man, it's like The Elder Scrolls lore. We're not TALOS but we are sufficiently like TALOS that for all intents and purposes we subsume his identity.

>>23168613
"This is weird, but I like it. It's a good weird."

>>23168613
"Tannis. This. Is. AMAZING."

>>23168613
"That's hella creepy."

>>23168613
"Cass, this isn't a fetish thing is it?"

>>23168638
Y'know come to think of it, I did talk Exa's ear off a whole lot about Morrwind lore right before this quest...

>>23168613
"Too furry for me."

>>23168613
"You're so soft. You're the best kitty. Why have you never done this before?

Tannis, can Cass pet you as well?"

>>23168613
I like you best when you fit into my lap. That's best for petting.

>>23168613
Where is ariana?

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>>23168655
Good job, N'wah. No seriously, I love Morrowind lore. Fuck yeah.

"That's hella creepy." You say.
"I'm not creepy!" Tannis said, taking her own mug in her paws as she started flicking her tongue into it, drinking the alcohol in it with her bristled tongue.
"I like you best when you fit into my lap. That's best for petting."
"I know." Tannis said, between sips. "I like being tiny when I'm petted. Except when Isavla is the one petting me. Well... it's more like grooming, since she uses her tongue."

Cass coughed out her own drink, and Thor started rubbing her back.

Andalus just lay his head down on the table, staring at his mug.

"Reality bites." He said, suddenly. "There's too many things we don't know about it."

>>23168731
"Isn't your job to find out more?"

>>23168731
But we figure it out, and write it down for our children, and so we learn more over time.

We'll go see Isavla again when we're done here.
Give her ear rubs.

>>23168731
"That's pretty much how it's been for me since all this business started. You've got to wait for it to come to you, unfortunately."

>>23168731
Pet the kitty.

"Don't I know it. I once spent 10 minutes not existing, that was weird. At times I've not been sure if I'm real, the world is real, or if anything is real, and I'm still not convinced either way.

It's a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, covered in confusion.

But we'll unwrap it, eventually."

>>23168731
mo' dranks.

Rolled 18

>>23168731
We know our next stop though. Bring the hammer to Crios.

"don't I know it." You say, and start scratching Tannis's ears. "I once spent ten minutes not existing. That was weird. At times, I've not been sure if I was real, the world is real, or anything is real, and I'm still not convinced either way. It's a mystery wrapped in an enigma, covered in confusion."
"For sure." Andalus said, and you took a deep drink.
"We know our next stop, though. Bring the hammer to Crios."
"And where is this Crios?" Andalus asked.
"Bastion, prolly." Cass said.
"So you're saying we're going to need to go through all of the Forged-taken cities?" Andalus asked. "That's not going to be easy."

Rolled 29

>>23168871
"Maybe we can circle around to the north. Go around."

Try and get Tannis to start a low purr, but not get her further then that. That always tends to end badly

>>23168871
"No, it's not."

"That's why we're going to arm up. There's gotta be a smith in this place."

>>23168871
Keep on petting.

"Nothing worth doing ever is. And I'm probably one of the best woodsmen you'll meet, we can avoid a lot of stuff and cut through the wilderness."

>>23168871
No but, at least we have a Gryphon.

>>23168871
"We could always take a ship."

"Nothing worth doing ever is." You say, itching Tannis's ear as she started purring. "And I'm probably one of the best woodsmen you'll meet. we can avoid a lot of stuff and cut through the wilderness. Or we could take a ship."
"A ship would be a good idea." Andalus said, taking another drink.
"But last time we did, Sky smashed it." Cass said. "We ended up having to ride home on the First Kraken. They kept trying to get me to sing."
"But you sing super prettily." Thor said. "You should sing."
"No."
"Sing."
"No."
"Sing."
Cass just sighed, and put her head in her hands.

>>23169050
"SING!"

Use drunken command voice.

Rolled 65

>>23169050
Break into rowdy tavern song!

Rolling for sing!

Rolled 33

>>23169050
Do you have a map of the region where Bastion is? I don't have any information about that.

"I'll sing if you do."

>>23169080
WUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUBWUB

Rolled 14

>>23169050
"There's no way it can be worse than Scylla."

Rolled 39

>>23169050
Let's get black-out drunk.

>>23169050
"SING! SING! SING! SING!" Loudly chant SING until she relents. Then sing long with her, completely on key. Break into song, sing and dance the night away.

File: 1360885087337.png-(488 KB, 1028x1028, Region 10 Complete.png)

488 KB PNG

>>23169106
>You can usually find the maps in the synopsis, but Bastion is south-east, near Angvard.

"Sing!" You say.
"No!" she responded, and hit you.
"I'll sing if you do!" You say.
"I'll sing if you do!" Thor said, and he shot you a grin.
"Fiiine." She said, and closed her eyes.

Cass... was not a good singer. A boisterous singer, a singer full of heart, but she wasn't very eloquent. She was, however, good at bawdy tavern songs. You and Thor joined in, singing and drinking for the next few hours, arms slung over one another's shoulders, swaying from side to side.

Laying in one of Vigil's guest rooms, late at night, you feel something warm curling up next to you. Looking under the blanket, you see Tannis there, curling up next to you, entirely human.
Your head and tongue still rather fuzzy, you're surprised when she spoke up.
"Abel, you can rub my belly if you want."

>>23169264
Slur out
"Tori'd probably kill me if I did."

Rolled 81

>>23169264
"Tori would be mad, and probably burn you a bit."

>>23169264
I.. I'd like to, Tannis, But I don't think Tori would let me.

You can sleep here though, if you want to be warm.

>>23169264
Pretend to be asleep. Snore loudly.

>>23169264
Rub her belly, head and ears. Get her purring.

>>23169264
Pat her on the head, "That sounds nice, Tannis, but I don't think Tori would like that. Sorry."

>>23169264
"Tori would kill me and set my soul on fire, and be justified in doing so.

I doubt we can convince her otherwise, and I do love Astora, you can talk it over with her if you really want, but don't expect anything to come of it.

But we can still cuddle."

Hug her close, pet her head a bit, get some sleep.

>>23169348
>>23169319
Maybe she can talk to tori, and 'befrend' her as well.

>>23169386
Perhaps, but we can't very well do that right now.

>>23169386
That's the idea.

"I... I'd like to, Tannis." You say, and she freezes. "But I don't think Tori would let me. You can sleep here, though, if you want to be warm."
She went quiet for a time... and then climbed out from under your blanket.
"No, it's okay." She said, her voice very small, and mildly cold. "I'm not tired."
She made her way to the door, and looked back as if to say something... but then left the guest room, turning into a cat as the door closed.

You wake up to someone knocking on the door, and your head is buzzing. You know, more than anything you've ever known, what the buzzing sound is- your skull is currently filled with bees.
The knock comes again.

>>23169264
Could we go straight east, past Celesthem and cut across/through the mountains to the Vale or Sardin? That could skip a lot of Forged.

>>23169502
"Who is it? What do you want?"

>>23169502
Grab hold of the sword, it sometimes clears the head.

Crack the door open and have a look.

And damnit, find Tannis and give that sad cat a hug.

>>23169502
Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but make sure we have the revolver in hand just in case.

Go over and open it.

>>23169502
Equip sword, check clothes, "Yeah?"

>Are the grey bits on the map Skitarra or mountains?

>>23169550
Some o This

>>23169553
The grey is mountains

You grab ahold of the sword, but it doesn't help your buzzing headache. You make sure you had pants on.
"Who is it?" You ask. "What do you want?"
"It's me." Ariana's warbling gryphon voice comes. "Doors are tricky, come open it."

You make your way to the door and open it, and she's holding a small box in her beak, with a note on it.
"Another thing from Astora." She said, obviously tired. "Dunno what's in it."
She dropped it into your hand, and then walked away, back to the corner of the hallway, where her familiar curled up.

You look down to the box- it had a note on it. You pull it open, and it simply says the following- as well as smelling something like the red fruit Astora grew in the atrium.

>Thinking of you!
> - Astora

Then you open the box... and inside is the small red silk undergarment that a wisp had once illused.