[a / b / c / d / e / f / g / gif / h / hr / k / m / o / p / r / s / t / u / v / vg / w / wg] [i / ic] [r9k] [cm / hm / y] [3 / adv / an / cgl / ck / co / diy / fa / fit / hc / int / jp / lit / mlp / mu / n / po / pol / sci / soc / sp / tg / toy / trv / tv / vp / x] [rs] [status / ? / @] [Settings] [Home]
Board:  
Settings   Home
4chan
/tg/ - Traditional Games


File: 1366411192431.png-(403 KB, 610x900, Ssen_Ranseur.png)
403 KB
403 KB PNG
You are Ssen, a Lamia raised by a human Paladin who adopted you after killing the ones who birthed you. You are grown now, and Father has passed on. After a great deal of work, you have become a Paladin like your Father, and now take up his duties.

You are accompanied by your best friend from childhood, the insect druid Tricia; Mage, a magic user who ran away from his family of cannibal raiders known as the Ghouls (Yes, his name is Mage. It was his idea); Persephone, a 22-year old thief/ex-guerllia fighter (She goes by Peri), and Mari, a 13-year old prodigy scholar/now sniper, who has her mind and soul trapped within Peri's body; and Lea, a deeply religious musician/martial artist, trained by her father, a famous trainer for arena fighters, she's covered from her mouth down in bandages to hide the horrific state her body has become thanks to the 'cures' that saved her from cancer.

Your journey continues...

Opening theme song (NEW for Season 2!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5si7w3uS9tU

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Lamia%20Quest

1d4 chan page: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:Lamia_Daughter_Quest
>>
Your conversations with Old One were interrupted by one of the Dramatae's Passion minions and an army of thugs. The Passion this time was Sally Albread, the raider trainer from First Stone Hall, who apparently survived the riot.

After a long battle, you managed to turn the great entrance hall into a blood soaked arena of broken bodies and shattered masks. Old One was very impressed.

But to the victors go the spoils, and despite the masked forces of the Dramatae not carrying any money on them, there was a much bigger prize. The Lightbringers themselves, brought here to 'slay a dragon' and 'destroy the evil coins that were sowing doubt and mistrust throughout the kingdom.' Naturally that plan has been, once more, derailed.

So now it's time for tea, sweetbread, and talk as you enlighten Ava, the Girl, on what has been happening to her life. Meanwhile, the Boy, Adahn, sulks outside.
>>
do you have the stuff i posted last time or should I troll the archive for it?

Also if anyone else wants to add on to it I'm not quite sure how to wrap it up. What do we want her and Adahn to do exactly?
>>
>>24343239
So is this kid just gonna stew in his own impotence for an hour or two while we have fun? Man, he gets more and more more stupid every time we meet him...
>>
>>24343290
Go ahead and look it up, maybe rewrite it a little if you want to decide to focus on the message you're trying to send to her.

Oh, and before I forget.

Ava: When playing, be sure to play in a brightly lit room, and not sit so near to the screen!
Adahn: Whatever.
>>
Oh man, the lamia quest! On a friday!

Time to settle in and enjoy. I might go make some snacks.
>>
>>24343335
We should really send someone out to get him. Tell him it's cold.
>>
>>24343419

Yes. Someone. She should offer to "warm him up"
>>
>>24343419
>>24343476
Nah, leave him out there for now. We're trying to talk to Ava, and he'll interfere.

I don't know how many "whatever"'s I can stand in one conversation.
>>
>>24343526
Agreed. Let the kid sit out there until he comes sulking back in to warm his ass back up.
>>
This might just be paranoia talking, but does anyone else find it kind of weird that the Dramatae expected Passion/Sally Albrwhatever along with 9 other upjumped conscripts to kill the Old One? From what we saw from the last fight, the dragon was able to kill 3-4 of them effortlessly with his firebreath. While you could make a case for them being unprepared due to fighting off Ssen and Co., it seems a little fishy that three all-powerful mages would send an unproven underling along with some cannon fodder to go take care of a legendary creature. Especially when Passion/Sally claimed that the Dramatae were more willing to get their hands dirty in progressing the Lightbringer story.
>>
>>24343569

It might pay to have someone go out there and make sure he doesn't get picked up by harpies or trip and impale himself on his own hair.
>>
>>24343586
yes. They are delivering the lightbringers to us on purpose.

The key here is whether or not we are playing into their xanatos gambit or foiling it.
>>
>>24343290
We want them to settle down and get out of combat or, at least, go about it sensibly.

Get some good armor, a reasonable sword, get that hair out of your eyes, wear some flat heeled shoes, check your healing potions...
>>
>>24343586
I think the dramatae might just be getting kind of desperate.

I mean, Sally Albread, as Passion, really now.

I think it was the Lightbringers who were supposed to fight the Dragon, Sally and co. were just supposed to murder the dragon's attendants while he was trapped.
>>
>>24343621

Perhaps their plan is to make Citadel much more interested in hearing the tale of the Serpent Paladin? If they care more for preserving the status quo than anything else, then they could be setting themselves up as the ultimate villains of the story, with some other hitherto unseen plans to get successors once this cycle has completed.
>>
>>24343665
My theory is they are transferring the "lightbringerdom" to us, and will then arrange a way for us to sacrifice ourselves for the greater good later on.
>>
>>24343621
If that's the case then it is really simple. They expect us to try to subvert the lightbringers so they can come up with a way to make us out to be the great evil the lightbringers sacrifice themselves to kill. I think we should let them draw their own conclusions rather than explain everything and sound like a madman.
>>
>>24343683
I think we've done that already with Ava. The question is Whatever-kid will listen to any of it or not.

At least Ava should be down the path to questioning this crap now.
>>
(super long posts coming)

I was lucky. I encountered someone who knew of the evil we faced. Who had fought its servants and lost, but survived. She told me a great many things. But the most important was that the story of the Lightbringers wasn't one of good triumphing over evil. It was one of sacrifice. The darkness uses the souls and bodies of those Lightbringers who die to further its goals.

She also told me more of its servants, of the Dramatae. Who would do anything to see the Lightbringers repeat that old story. We journied from Stone Hall to Citadel and saw first hand the evil. Its hard to understand really. But In Citadel everything is too perfect. Until you peel away the layers and see the rot. I had to do everything in my power to see good men not be executed. I saw a girl nearly driven mad because she would not conform. My friends for a time were nothing more then parodies of themselves.

When I learned of this, as I took my mantle of paladinhood I vowed to end that darkness. But I had no idea how. That is why I came here, to the Dark Peaks. To learn more about the evil and how to stop it. And that is why we've run into you twice. First by accident, the second time by design of the Dramatae.
>>
When I learned of this, as I took my mantle of paladinhood I vowed to end that darkness. But I had no idea how. That is why I came here, to the Dark Peaks. To learn more about the evil and how to stop it.

On our journey here we encountered you for the first time. And we realized just how used you were. How helpless you were against the puppet masters. We gave you the medallion of His Light to hopefully help you resist them. And in doing that earned their ire. We then met Them for the first time. They wear the masks of the Dramatae. Tragedy, Comedy... and Peace. They were so powerful. They could freeze me and my friends with a gesture. They could stop time and manipulate people like characters in a storybook.

I think they meant to frighten us from our path, or send us chasing ghosts. But we preservered, and in Bronze Peak we triumphed over them. They were seeking someone to fill another Mask, one of Rage and we stopped them. They can be beaten, though it was through words and cunning, not strength that did so.
>>
Then we journied here, our true goal in these mountains. We sought knowledge. From the Old One. The greatest of Dragons who lived before Citadel itself. Who saw something like this darkness before. We learned of the weapon that was used to defeat it. The nature of its servants.

Then those attacked with you in tow. I still do not know why exactly. We defeated them, and here we sit. A paladin and girl groomed to see her lover die. But that story doesn't have to come to pass. We can change it.

You have two options Ava. You can go home. I will escort you there myself. And bless you and your family with a wish for peace and long life. Or you can help fight these servants, and the master they serve. It will hard. My father tried, as did the one I mentioned who told me of the evil. It has been fought in the shadows for seven ages. And not once has the evil been defeated. I cannot promise a happily ever after if you come with us. But I will do my damnest to try. Light willing. Either way those who caused your life to become that story will not see it complete. They will have to find another Lightbringer to fill the gap... if they can.
>>
>>24343742
>>24343757
We just said we weren't going to out and out reveal it yet.
>>
>>24343775
we were on the path last thread. We had just revealed that her story mimics that of the Lightbringer story exactly.
>>
>>24343775
>>24343817
yeah, we were pretty much on that path.

Maybe we should give pauses for her to put it together herself, but whatever.
>>
>>24343775

Yeah, I'm a bit worried that the Dramatae may be expecting us to go full-on paladin stereotype and attempt to liberate them ourselves. Which would run the risk of having the Dawnchasers join the Lightbringer "faction" and attempt to dispose of the Dramatae, which may satisfy Citadel's thirst for a good story. Even if the Dawnchasers don't die and ensure that the Lightbringers live good lives, this is a technical defeat. Unless Citadel can somehow mature from this.

A harsher, but safer move might be to have the Lightbringers question their own role in the story without explicitly revealing anything else. That may lead to more waffling, which gives the Dawnchasers time to act.
>>
>>24343817
Gotta say, at this point I'm not sure what good it would do to clam up regarding it; we've already said too much to avoid the dramatae getting pissed (assuming they weren't planning this), and it must be obvious to the girl that there's more to it than 'you randomly became the lightbringers', at the very least from how much we know and the fact that we keep popping up next to them.
>>
>>24343872
Too much paranoia. Only way to win against the Dramatae is not to play their game. The only way to make sure they lose is to destroy the game.
>>
>>24343872
>>24343899
Honestly, I think us setting the Dramatae up as the Shapers of Darkness might not be a bad idea...Especially since Citadel expects the Shapers to always lose.
>>
>>24343872
>>24343899
Actually, our stated goal is to modify the game into one which doesn't require blood sacrifice or such extensive mind control. If it breaks while we try to do that, well, plan B accomplished.
>>
>ah crap, missed the first part First this

"Now, what happens at the end of every one of these stories?"

(insert response here.)

It didn't happen this time, because there was something different. Myself and my friends. We interfered with your budding Shaper of Darkness. Though we didn't know it at the time. Did you here of the Wasp Witch of Purple Sands? She was to be your villian, an easy challenge to overcome and die to. But thanks to us defeating her those orchestrating your story needed something else.

And thus the Fell King. But because the storytellers were rushed they botched it. He was too strong, his daughter too cunning. She poisoned your healing potions and he killed your friends. And you fled. The story unravelled. It was only chance that we were there to clean up the pieces.

When we encountered the Fell King he was little better then a puppet, reciting the lines ment for you and your companions. That was when WE realized something was wrong. And I knew I had to do something about it. Something that could cause ALL the ghouls to rise up and slaughter a city must be stopped.

>these these
>>24343742
>>24343757
>>24343770
>>
>>24343945
that makes a lot more sense now.
>>
>>24343742
"I was lucky. I encountered someone who knew of the evil we faced. Who had fought its servants and lost, but survived. She told me a great many things. But the most important was that the story of the Lightbringers wasn't one of good triumphing over evil. It was one of sacrifice. The Darkness uses the souls and bodies of those Lightbringers who die to further its goals.

"She also told me more of its servants, of the Dramatae. Who would do anything to see the Lightbringers repeat that old story. We journied from Stone Hall to Citadel and saw first hand the evil. Its hard to understand really. But In Citadel everything is too perfect. Until you peel away the layers and see the rot. I had to do everything in my power to see good men not be executed. I saw a girl nearly driven mad because she would not conform. My friends for a time were nothing more then parodies of themselves.

"When I learned of this, as I took my mantle of paladinhood I vowed to end that darkness. But I had no idea how. That is why I came here, to the Dark Peaks. To learn more about the evil and how to stop it. And that is why we've run into you twice. First by accident, the second time by design of the Dramatae.

"When I learned of this, as I took my mantle of paladinhood I vowed to end that darkness. But I had no idea how. That is why I came here, to the Dark Peaks. To learn more about the evil and how to stop it.

"On our journey here we encountered you for the first time. And we realized just how used you were. How helpless you were against the puppet masters. We gave you the medallion of His Light to hopefully help you resist them. And in doing that earned their ire. We then met Them for the first time. They wear the masks of the Dramatae. Tragedy, Comedy and Peace. They were so powerful. They could freeze me and my friends with a gesture. They could stop time and manipulate people like characters in a storybook."

"Why? How?" Ava asks.
>>
>>24343969
>>24343945
gag blastit
>>
sorry echo, my fault!
>>
>>24343993
Redaeth_Bedelia_Fucks_It_Up_Again.cbr
>>
>>24343993
Oh well, could have been worse.

I'm too tired to come up with responses myself, so any effort is appreciated.
>>
>>24344056
generally I write it all cold. this time I was editting from a notepad and the word limit screwed me over.
>>
"I think they meant to frighten us from our path, or send us chasing ghosts. But we preservered, and in Bronze Peak we triumphed over them. They were seeking someone to fill another Mask, one of Rage and we stopped them. They can be beaten, though it was through words and cunning, not strength that did so."

"Then we journied here, our true goal in these mountains. We sought knowledge. From the Old One. The greatest of Dragons who lived before Citadel itself. Who saw something like this darkness before. We learned of the weapon that was used to defeat it. The nature of its servants.

Then those attacked, with you in tow. I still do not know why exactly. We defeated them, and here we sit. A paladin and girl groomed to see her lover die. But that story doesn't have to come to pass. We can change it.

"We changed it before with the first challenge the Dramatae tried to put in your way. Did you hear of Purple Sands? That was us, upsetting their plans. She was to be your first villain, but due to us upsetting things, they went with something else.

"And thus the Fell King. But they botched it. His forces were too strong for just five people, and his daughter too cunning. You lost, and you fled. The story unravelled, and we cleaned up the pieces.

"When we encountered the Fell King he was a puppet, reciting the lines meant for you and your companions. That was when WE realized something was wrong. And I knew I had to do something about it.

"But Ava, for the first time in a long while, you have a choice. You can go home. I'll escort you there myself. Or you can help fight these servants, and their master. It will hard. My father, and others, tried, but not once has the evil been defeated. I cannot promise a happily ever after if you come with us. But I will do my damnest to try. Those who caused your life to become that story will not see it complete."

"Why me?" She asks quietly. "Why'd they pick me for this?"
>>
>>24344098
That's something only they could answer.
>>
>>24344098
>>24344134
I would prefer to modulate this dialogue:

"A very good question. I hope to pose it to them in person."
>>
>>24344098
"Because you were convenient. You'd have to ask them to be sure, but I'd imagine any girl with a similar background to yours could have been chosen just as easily. The Dramatae don't seem to particularly care about their chess-pieces; they pick from a list of necessary traits, and run the show themselves from there, not giving you any chance to disrupt their ideal story. When they can decide what you do and don't do, what use have they for a person or individual, rather than a blank piece on the board?

But of course, no-one is actually a blank canvas for them to paint on. They may wish it were so, and do their best to make things that way, but there's always the margin of error."

Think we should mention our suspicions re. the lightbringers dropping in our laps (seriously no reason why a Passion would drag the lightbringers to us otherwise).
>>
http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/69825.html#70073
>Since I always miss the threads I'll post here.

>Next time we should tell Adahn and Ava that we can teleport them back to Bronze Peak. We should also tell them of the risks of either that or the trek back on foot. We would have had to fight a lot of harpies and there are only the two of them. Unless they've seriously leveled up (which I doubt) they could have some problems. On the other hand it might delay them and buy us time to get other shit done.

>Adahn has some serious issues to work out regarding Ssen. She stole his thunder and he has to find a way to deal with us being his equivilant of Gary Oak.
"So you didn't save Stone Hall, so what? If I hadn't stepped in it would have been someone else. Another paladin maybe, or some other adventurer, and you'd be just as angry with them. Everyone screws up some time, even when they've done everything right. Are you going to let that define who you are?"

>I suggest that Ssen or Peri spar with him, see what he's got and if possible help him improve. If he pulls his "Whatever" bullshit we'll need to call him out.
>>
>>24344244
>we fight him, we get all nat 1s, he gets all nat 20s

>CITADEEEEEEEEEL!
>>
>>24344257
that might make him feel better about himself.
>>
>>24344244
>ssen is his equivalent of gary oak

Oh my god. That's entirely accurate.

What does this mean in this situation? We'll defeat the great evil, only for him to show up and defeat the... greaterer evil?
>>
>>24344098
"Honestly, I don't know. It was likely an act of opportunity. You were likely just the most convenient target for them. I'm sorry, but that's how they treat human lives, as resources."
>>
"A very good question. I hope to pose it to them in person." You say. "But, it might have been because you were convenient. You'd have to ask them to be sure, but I'd imagine any girl with a similar background to yours could have been chosen just as easily. The Dramatae don't seem to particularly care about their chess-pieces; they pick from a list of necessary traits, and run the show themselves from there, not giving you any chance to disrupt their ideal story. When they can decide what you do and don't do, what use have they for a person or individual, rather than a blank piece on the board?

"But of course, no-one is actually a blank canvas for them to paint on. They may wish it were so, and do their best to make things that way, but there's always the margin of error."

Ava sighs. She looks into her tea for a long, long time. "I...I need some time to think. I can't leave Adahn alone. He needs me. But, if what you're saying is true, then I'm going to try to stop this. I don't want to do this, I don't like adventuring, I don't like fighting...I thought I would, but then you actually GET hit in the face or stabbed, or you see what happens when someone else gets stabbed in the guts...it's the smell that's the worst."

Paul nods. "That area is the location of the large intestine, where fecal matter and waste it kept. It is a little striking, that is why you aim for the upper chest, or ideally under the armpits. That are the areas of the humanoid body where it is easiest to land a fatal blow."

Ava closes her eyes and shakes her head. "They NEVER mention that in the stories." She sighs and drinks her tea. "I don't think Adahn likes it either, but he doesn't want to say it. He...I don't know what he wants anymore. That loss..."
>>
>>24344341
It means our girth cannot be ignored.
>>
>>24344341
>>24344372
It means that we get all the bitches and a cushy job in a nice town while he becomes a hobo living in a mountain.
>>
>>24344414
That does sound nice.
>>
>>24344369
"I understand, but the Dramatae's reach and speed is terrifying. Honestly, I believe it's quite likely they are watching us as we speak, and may well be preparing to teleport into this room and retaliate to our derailing of their story. I think it would be best if we could bring Adahn in here. We'll give you privacy to think or talk it out with him, but I don't like the idea of leaving their victims alone on the road for even a second."
>>
>>24344369
"Battle's a gruesome thing. My least favorite part of the job. Not many are cut out for it, and the process of being cut for it is terribly unpleasant. I won't decide for you, but I do offer an escort to your town, if you so desire."

>>24344453
I like this too, maybe stick that after or before.
>>
>>24344369
>paul is up and talking
Holy shit. How is he so tough? Are we that tough?

Is this what it looks like when Ssen gets up from being stabbed five times?
>>
>>24344601
"Battle's a gruesome thing. My least favorite part of the job. Not many are cut out for it, and the process of being cut for it is terribly unpleasant. I won't decide for you, but I do offer an escort to your town, if you so desire.

"But the Dramatae's reach and speed is terrifying. Honestly, I believe it's quite likely they are watching us as we speak, and may well be preparing to teleport into this room and retaliate to our derailing of their story. I think it would be best if we could bring Adahn in here. We'll give you privacy to think or talk it out with him, but I don't like the idea of leaving their victims alone on the road for even a second."

"No. I'm ready." She nods. "Lets go talk to him." She gets up from the table. "What should I say to him? I know he's not going to listen to you."

>>24344632
Paul is sitting at the table, extensively bandages and medicated with potions. He's capable of talk, but don't ask him to fly, much less fight, for a while.
>>
>>24344688
"Tell him the truth. Nothing so surely crumbles the walls we build in our own mind like the cold ring of reality."
>>
>>24344688
>getting "whatever" to listen to exposition
"How would he respond to the truth? Would he listen? I also want to tell him that he should try not to dwell on what happened in stonewall- lost comrades wound even the strongest, and he shouldn't torture himself with blame."
>>
>>24344688
tell him its a lie, the entire thing. the prophesy, the sage, all of it. then explain the details. how the Lightbringers are a story that is MADE to happen. And his town died for that reason only. He doesn't have to wander. He doesn't have to fight. He can find peace elsewhere.
>>
>>24344792
This is a good point we may want to use if he seems not to be buying it.
"The reason you were driven back at Stone Hall is because you were being driven by the Dramatae. But words are wind and prophecy is bunk. You make your own destiny, Adahn. Knowing now how you've been manipulated, the next steps are yours to choose.
>>
>>24344726
"Tell him the truth. Nothing so surely crumbles the walls we build in our own mind like the cold ring of reality."

"I suppose." She goes to the door and motions for you to wait there. "Adahn? Can I have a word?"

"Whatever."

She goes outside.

"She's not going to leave him." Lea says. She's standing a little behind you. "She's convinced herself that he needs her, or she can't do better, or that she loves him, or one of any number of reasons." She sighs. "And whenever it looks like she MIGHT get the courage, he'll put on a show of how weak and helpless he is without her, and then they'll probably have sex, and then he'll got back to 'whatever-ing' and grinding her life down to the nub." Lea sighs.

"You?" Peri asks.

"My mother...and me." She sighed. "My father was skilled, a great fighter, and a good man...didn't make him a kind one. Never laid a hand on either of us, but there's more than one way to chain someone." She sighed.
>>
>>24344855
"I'm not going to claim to be an expert on romance, or difficult relationships or anything like that. I hope maybe they can be better people, but that's always up to them. Maybe smack him upside the head occasionally if he gets too 'whatever'."
>>
If he wont listen maybe offer to fight him.
>>24344244
One of us face off against him and try to talk to him while practicing. Or we could try to piss him of with the truth.

intentionally piss him off
>>
>>24345085
Eh, if he's feeling angry or anything like that we could offer a spar. I'd like to spar with him, at some point, but maybe in a more positive context.
>>
>>24345152
>but maybe in a more positive context.
Probably a good idea.
>>
>>24344994
"I'm not going to claim to be an expert on romance, or difficult relationships or anything like that. I hope maybe they can be better people, but that's always up to them. Maybe smack him upside the head occasionally if he gets too 'whatever'."

"Agreed." Lea says. She sighs. "Idiot probably doesn't even realize it himself. They never really do." She shrugs.

You wait a bit more.

"Taking a bit." Mari says.

"I don't hear shouting." Lea says.

"That a good thing?" Mari asks.

Peri and Lea both shake their heads. "Come on."

You go outside. Ava is on the ground. She has a dagger in her stomach.

"No!" Lea says. "TRICIA GET OVER HERE! BRING POTIONS AND YOUR SICKLE!"

Ava's head slowly lifts and she looks at you. "Took...him...Mask." She whispers. Her hands glow blue and she touches the side of your face. Your head swims and you see.

- - -
"Adhan." Ava asks as she comes outside. "We need to talk."

"-overed in blood with, dead bodies everywhere." Adhan is talking. "I...I don't know what to do! The book said that the evil dragon and his evil coins were helpless against the might of the Lightbringers. That we were fated to stop them."

"And you were." A voice says. Ava moves into view. It's Peace, a flickering shuddery illusion of the person, but you know that voice. "The spell was to take you to the lair, and then you would have faced the dragon, and with your power, you would have won. What caused this?"

"It was that lamia monster! She's covered in blood, and her freak friends are helping this harpy, and there's this old lady with kids...and...and I don't know Great Sage! This isn't what the book said would happen!" He gasps. "This is all wrong again. I'm supposed to slay the dragon, aren't I?"

"The serpent...you know what I have told you about her." Peace says.

"Don't trust her. She's part of the evil that's seeping into the Paladin order, I don't...why don't you just have me fight her? Or she seems intelligent, can't I just talk to her?"

(continued)
>>
>>24345247
>He expresses desire to talk
Fuck son, now I just feel bad.
>>
>>24345247
And this is why we should never leave any of the Lightbringers alone ever.
>>
>>24345272
I feel ... indifferent.

Mostly because I question the way he'll speak in that talk should it ever come to pass.
>>
>>24345305
Why not? There's only 1 left. It's obvious Ava is a 'traitorous wench' now.
>>
>>24345306
it's better than we've been dealing with, more often than not. I'm content with it.
>>
will her to heal. your a dragon so do it. your flesh is pure. you have been called such by the Old One himself. prove it.
>>
(lay on hands?)
>>
>>24345429
what?

We have extra healing potions. Let's just give her one.
>>
>>24345247
"NO!" Peace snaps. Wow that was loud for her. "You must NOT get too close to the lamia! Every part of her is poison, and until you have truly gained the power of Citadel, you CANNOT face her and live. This is...how did she get past Father?" Peace mutters. "She should be frozen and dead in despair!"

(Thank you, Ted.)

"Sage?"

"Nothing...you must find a way to escape. This is too dangerous for you here. There are two more places where you can reclaim the power, and then move on the Shaper of Darkness that is leeching the joy from Citadel...as well as purify the corruption that has infected our land. It is your destiny."

"Adahn," Ava says. "No...don't. Don't listen to him."

"Ava?!" He spins around. "Ava, the Great Sage has told us that we're in terrible danger, we have to run. See if there's a way out from here, and..."

"No. Adhan. I'm done. No more fighting, no more grave robbing, no more combat. I'm /tired/ Adahn, and Ssen and the others have told me what's really going on." She points at Peace. "That thing has been playing us. IT'S the reason why our lives were ruined, and it's been behind everything."

Peace exhales. "No...she's lost. This is...no...she has been lost to the Serpent and her poison. You must flee, Lightbringer."

"Ava...how...don't you...don't you CARE about what's happening to the world? How people are being turned into joyless zombies, how the Paladins have been corrupted and tuned into mindless zealots? That monsters run wild and a madman sits upon the throne of Stone Hall?"

"Adhan, please. Listen to yourself, and hear me when I say this...even if that was all true, I don't want to be the one who fights it."

"You don't get a CHOICE!" Peace snaps.

"Yes. I. Do." Ava says. "I'm not turning my back, or running away. If what the Sage says is true, then there must be others out there fighting, just like they fought in Stone Hall. I'll help, but my way, and that's NOT by fighting! I'm going home to Hollowshade, Adhan."

(continue)
>>
>>24345429
We might be able to use The Old one's blood. Let him know that we need it to heal the lightbringer girl, to save what could be the biggest thorn in the Dramatae's side yet. Make sure he knows this would fuck up their plans terribly.
>>
>>24345457
Lets save that for after attempting a potion.
>>
>>24345445
Yeah, Ava! You tell that bent!

Now what happens to Adhan.
>>
>>24345457
>>24345429
old one specifically told us not to use our blood to heal, since that won't work and might make them worse.

A healing potion is our best, most economical choice. unless we used them ALL on paul, in which case nooooo.
>>
>>24345514
I said the old one's blood. Lamia blood won't work but pure dragon blood will.
>>
>>24345514
Not our blood, his blood is different.
>>
>>24345478
This. If she's been poisoned, which doesn't seem to be the case at first glance, then we could ask the Old One or consider risking the use of our own blood if he refuses. Until then healing potion or Tricia's healing.
>>
I wasn't talking about using our blood, I was talking about using dragon magic. though I don't know exactly how it works but it is apparently will based. A Dragon does not ask their magic to do something. They demand it.
>>
>>24345445
"Ava, no..." He gasps. You can see it on his face. He's gobsmacked, and heartbroken. "I can't...I can't do this without you. I love you! Don't you...don't you love me?"

Ava pauses for a long while. "I don't know. I'm happy to find out, if you'll come with me. Let's go inside, talk to Ssen and the others. They'll explain what's been going on, and what THAT thing really is." She points at Peace.

"Ava, I saved your life. You're...you were my first. We're supposed to be together. 'To be one in the stars!' Like they said, I...I need you!"

Ava goes up to Adhan and takes his hands. She smiles at him. "And I thank you, but this life isn't what I want to have. I want to know who you are, Adhan."

"I'm a Lightbringer!"

"No, Adhan. You're you...please, walk away from this and find out what that is!" She squeezes her hands. "Maybe we are meant to be together, but I want to find out for myself."

Adhan takes a step back. Tears running down his face, shaking his head. "I...I don't...the Lightbringer is the most important person in the world!"

"You know what you must do, Lightbringer." Peace says. There's a flare of that black-purple light from their hands. "Don't think about it. This next impulse is the only thing, and it's the right one. You HAVE no other thought!" Peace's voice has a little bit of a reverb.

Adhan moves quickly. Ava gasps in surprise, and staggers back.

Adhan takes a few steps back. He shakes his head. "No...no...oh, what have I done?"

"What you must..." Peace says. "Hurry, go this way, if you can reach this point..." Peace points and there's a flare of light down the mountain trail. "I can reach you with my power and return you to safety, but you must run."

"Ava..."

"You are the Lightpringer, you will bring the world to Paradise...you must not let a woman's babbling come between you and your destiny." Peace says. "She said she didn't love you anymore, anyway."

"Ava...forgive me." Adahn says as he runs off into the cold and the snow.
- - -
>>
>>24345630
>Lightpringer
Not sure if intentional or someone scratched the disc.
>>
>>24345630
>"You are the Lightpringer, you will bring the world to Paradise...you must not let a woman's babbling come between you and your destiny." Peace says. "She said she didn't love you anymore, anyway."

Because we needed *more* reasons for Peace to die...
>>
fool boy, she said she wanted to find out if she loved you without their influence.
>>
>>24345630
Anyone else getting flashbacks to the brainwashed kid from New Stone Hall?
>>
>>24345630
You take Ava inside, and put her on the table. Tricia has already used her pollen, and (Eight to start, One to Grace, one to Paul) you pour one healing potion down her throat, and pour another on the wound. Mage even uses ghoul magic to boost the troll blood inside the potions as well.

"Shit..." Tricia says. "She's going pale."

"Poison?" Lea asks.

"Maybe, but healing potions can't fix an organ that's been damaged so badly that it starts to fail even after regenerating, or if it cracked a bone and her marrow poisoning her."

"How much time do we have?" Mari asks.

"Hour, max." Tricia says. "We need to get her to Cups for the high powered stuff."

"We could use Ted's teleport?"

"Risky." Ted says. "It's hard on a body even in perfect health. If she's going into shock, I don't want to know what could happen."
>>
>>24345721
"Grace, is there anything you could do? If not, I might have to try a sprint to town. Carrying her won't be so hard. Think the cups could stabilize her?"
>>
>>24345721
Tell the Old one. Explain it like in: >>24345457
>>
Remember what was stated.
Dragon Magic is all about willpower. The Dragon does not ask something to lend it power. The Dragon IS power. It tells its magic to do something. And the magic obeys.

Be the Dragon. Heal her.
>>
>>24345721
Carry her in to see Old One, and ask his help in saving her. Don't specify *how*; we made that mistake last time. Just ask for help.
>>
>>24345788
do this, then if he has nothing he can do, sprint back with her while doing this
>>24345774
modified to just keeping her alive. Not doing miracles yet.

Sound like a good composite plan?
>>
>>24345788
Good point.
>>
(can we at least try to heal ourselves before relying on the tempermental old dragon?)
>>
>>24345721
>>24345774
Place hands over afflicted area, put on best srsface and Paladin Command Voice "HEAL!"
>>
>>24345771
>>24345806
There's no possible way we can sprint back to town within an hour without using the teleport.

>>24345813
Sure, it can't hurt to try.
>>
>>24345813
Probably not a good idea in this context. We don't know the first thing about using our magic and now is not the time to wing it and try learning.
>>
>>24345813
Might as well, but we don't have a lot of time to try it.

Otherwise this.
>>24345806
>>
>>24345827
that's what I meant. Teleport. I think it'll be fine.

Also those are both me, so don't doublevote me. I am now taking up a name to represent this.
>>
>>24345833
It's Dragon Magic, bro. It's just forcefully imposing your will on the world so hard it bends over and obeys.
>>
>>24345867
Yeah but we don't know what to demand, is my point.
>>
>>24345811
>>24345806
>>24345788

You scoop her up into her arms and go to the doors. "Open them!" You snap. Ted and Grace pull them open without a word.

Old One opens an eye. "What is this?" He asks.

"Old One, I need your help in saving this one." You say as you lie her down on the warm stones. "She is a victim of the Dramatae, and her living would be a giant blow to their plans."

Old One looks at Ava. He sniffs her. "Her body is weak and is failing her. There is also the stench of corruption all along her body. She is less human and more puppet. Death would be kinder." Old One says. "But you would have me give what is the most valued to Dragons by all, you ask for something that you yourself will never have. Dragon Blood is LIFE and it is ME...even if this were to harm my foes...is it not a wound you or I could not equal with OUR might ALONE? Or why do you not go to your OTHER Dragon, The Light, and have THEIR blood be used?"
>>
>>24345867

Ehhhh, we're not really a dragon, though. Just with some distant ancestry. I don't think the world is going to roll over and do tricks for us.
>>
>>24345918
"Allright then, no fancy dragon healing magic, got it. Gotta run."

Assuming we're all of the plan to run through the teleport?

What is the fast version of "slither"?
>>
>>24345937
>I don't think the world is going to roll over and do tricks for us.
And neither will an ancient Dragon it seems.
>>
>>24345918
"I did not come here to ask you for blood, or to dictate a solution rather than a problem; I will not make that mistake again. I came to ask if there was anything you could think of that could save her. Your book spoke of powerful dragon magic that could even raise the dead; surely one still living would be well within your capabilities? Or, tell me how to do so and I'll do it myself, whatever the cost.

She has less than an hour to live, she may not survive the teleport back to Bronze Peak, and I'm appealing to your ingenuity for some way that she might live."
>>
>>24346003
Seconding this.
>>
>>24346003
this works, if we still have our composure.
>>
Teleport should still be last resort. If we can't talk him into doing so we should still try healing ourselves.
>>
>>24345918
"Because The Light cannot bleed; but that is beside the point.

Old one, I propose not that we save this girl as a blow against the Dramate in lieu of a greater harm we may visit upon their designs. I intend to save this girl and wound them in every other way possible. We must take EVERYTHING from them. We must undo them at EVERY turn. We MUST take every CRUMB from their hoard. It is the only way to teach them how terribly WRONG they have been in seeking to steal from you."

Caps near end because speaking with the fervor of an enraged dragon.
>>
>>24346003
>whatever the cost.
Please leave out this. Remember dragon. As much as I want to save Ava, I don't want us getting fucked over because of wordings.
>>
>>24346071
Seconding this.
>>
>>24346079
>>24346003
yes, skip whatever the cost. Just "and I'll do it myself."
>>
>>24346071
We will crush them, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentation of... whatever they've got.
>>
>>24346079
Here.

>>24346071
Really like this one more.
>>
>>24346071
Sounds good. I'd change "from you" to "from us", and follow it with the explanation from
>>24346003
lest he still think we're asking for blood.
>>
>>24346003
"I did not come here to ask you for blood, or to dictate a solution rather than a problem; I will not make that mistake again. I came to ask if there was anything you could think of that could save her. Your book spoke of powerful dragon magic that could even raise the dead; surely one still living would be well within your capabilities? Or, tell me how to do so and I'll do it myself, whatever the cost.

"She has less than an hour to live, she may not survive the teleport back to Bronze Peak, and I'm appealing to your ingenuity for some way that she might live."

Old One closes his eye, and then opens it. "There is one way. She is filled with magic, and changes, and an assortment of other alterations. Your blood holds the poisons of the Leviathans locked within it. A drop on her tongue, and I will unlock them. They would burn away all that she was NOT and bring her back to what she WAS. That would save her life."

Ava opens her eyes and looks at you. She shakes her head. "No...I don't..." She swallows. "I don't want to be that plain, brown haired, small, plain, boring, Lilly." She swallows. "I don't like this, but I want to still be Ava. It's okay... " She sniffs. "I've lost Adhan anyway...I knew we could make it work but..." She sheds tears. "He wont love me if I'm a nothing again. I can't save him if I'm not Ava. Please, don't kill Ava...I hate Lilly."

Old One humphs. "Do not listen to that NOTHING. You are a DRAGON. YOUR will is greater than ALL. YOU decided what people DO. YOURS is the ONLY choice."
>>
>>24346187
Unless we're gonna retcon for >>24346071,
then we shall save her. Her reasons for thinking she wants to die are delusional and shallow. She's a good kid and she deserves life but is so mixed up right now, she doesn't know what she wants.
>>
>>24346187
Oh man, this is a tough one.

Echo, how far is it from ted's house to the cup's guild? assuming we went as fast as possible?
>>
>>24346187
If we don't Ava dies anyway.

So long as you're alive, at least you're not dead.
>>
>>24346187
To Ava/Lilly: "Think how the stories of the Lightbringers always end. Is that what you want, to sacrifice yourself for a story that isn't even true? It only takes a storybook hero to sacrifice themselves for a cause. That isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is choosing to live, when the alternative starts to seem appealing.

Let me tell you a story I like far better than those. A Paladin went up against Peace and the other Dramatae, wielding a weapon made from the fragments of the First Lantern. But those fragments had been corrupted, and he failed, at great cost. He survived, but could not bring himself to keep fighting. Yet he still came back to his home, and went on to raise a family. And without him, I wouldn't be here today; he was my father.

Ava, Lilly, live by whatever name you wish, but choose to live. If Adahn truly loves you, he'll love you in any form."
>>
>>24346187
"So you don't want to go back to who you were? Deal with it. If you want to save Adahn, do it with your own two hands, as yourself, not with this false mask you wear. Besides..." Smile. "...If you're a real person beneath this false identity, what about him? Don't you want to meet the real him?"
>>
>>24346258
>Echo, how far is it from ted's house to the cup's guild? assuming we went as fast as possible?

Close enough, if Ava survives the teleport. You can make it and she can be saved as Ava.
>>
>>24346281
this sounds best. Then heal her.
>>
>>24346285
>>24346281
Can we combine these? I like the eloquence of Stitcher's, but the thing about how Adahn's probably a 'normal' person beneath his identity is too good to pass up.
>>
>>24346187
"Don't you get it? You've always been Lilly, and nothing can change that."
>>
>>24346187

Better to live as yourself, than die as something you were made into.
>>
>>24346281

"You've always been Lilly, and nothing can change that. Think how the stories of the Lightbringers always end. Is that what you want, to sacrifice yourself for a story that isn't even true? It only takes a storybook hero to sacrifice themselves for a cause. That isn't the hardest part. The hardest part is choosing to live, when the alternative starts to seem appealing.

"Let me tell you a story I like far better than those. A Paladin went up against Peace and the other Dramatae, wielding a weapon made from the fragments of the First Lantern. But those fragments had been corrupted, and he failed, at great cost. He survived, but could not bring himself to keep fighting. Yet he still came back to his home, and went on to raise a family. And without him, I wouldn't be here today; he was my father.

"Ava, Lilly, live by whatever name you wish, but choose to live. If Adahn truly loves you, he'll love you in any form.

"If you want to save Adahn, do it with your own two hands, as yourself, not with this false mask you wear. Besides..." Smile. "...If you're a real person beneath this false identity, what about him? Don't you want to meet the real him?"

Ava closes her eyes, and clenches her fists. She grits her teeth but relaxes her mouth, so you can open it.

She's not going to give you permission. She can't bring herself to take that step. But she isn't going to resist you if you do it. She wants you to make the choice for her, so she doesn't have to blame herself.
>>
>>24346436
Purge heretical Dramatae bullshit. Oh, and the wounds too.
>>
File: 1366423319745.jpg-(28 KB, 680x383, 1356921716881.jpg)
28 KB
28 KB JPG
>>24346436
>She isn't going to resist
She wants it.

Give her the Dragon-Leviathan blood
>>
Thats enough permission for me. poke ourselves on Beacon.
>>
>>24346436
"Then let it be done. I'm sorry."
>>24346474
does poking ourself with the beacon give a charge? I'd laugh.
>>
>>24346474
>She's not resisting, she must want it!
Geez, you rapist.
>>
File: 1366423518688.jpg-(20 KB, 600x404, brightslap.jpg)
20 KB
20 KB JPG
>>24346436

For crying out loud, this is the one time she has the opportunity to take charge of her life and she PASSES THE BUCK?
>>
>>24346436
"No. I'm not going to make this decision for you, Lilly. You have to do it. YOU have to take charge of YOUR OWN life, not let others dictate what you want."
>>
File: 1366423612542.jpg-(Spoiler Image, 43 KB, 400x300)
Spoiler Image, 43 KB
43 KB JPG
>>24346513
She has bitch dependancy syndrome.
>>
>>24346535
Seconding this.
>>
>>24346539
Amen.
>>
>>24346535

Thirding.

It's one thing to save people who do not have the means to do it themselves. But to pour all the responsibility of a hard choice upon someone else just so that you can blame that person for everything that happens afterwards is just being a dick.
>>
>>24346535
Thirded.
>>
>>24346535
I am gonna second this and cancel my previous, pro-act-right-now vote. If it's not too late.
>>
>>24346535
Agreeing with this.

SHE needs to pick not us, not the dragon, not even the Light, HER. Fucking stupid ass bitch.
>>
>>24346513

It might not be COMPLETELY her fault. Old One described her as being a puppet, as being changed. Altered by the Dramatae's magic, she may not be able to take a stand for herself.
>>
>>24346573
She showed some backbone here >>24345445

She needs to show it again
>>
File: 1366423957996.jpg-(141 KB, 617x425, reasonwithyourbrother.jpg)
141 KB
141 KB JPG
>>24346535
If she doesn't listen to this, then pic related.
>>
>>24346609
Punch her until she says yes?
>>
>>24346436
>>24346584
This.

"You showed incredible strength when you faced Peace and Adahn, stood up to all the lies you'd been fed and demanded the truth. I can't make this decision for you. That's what the Dramatae, the so-called Sages, have been doing for you all your life. If you want to live, then make your choice."
>>
>>24346535
"No. I'm not going to make this decision for you, Lilly. You have to do it. YOU have to take charge of YOUR OWN life, not let others dictate what you want."

She's crying and shakes her head. "I can't! I can't...I wont...Ava's brave, Ava can stand up to people, and Ava's the one who can deal with this. Lilly's weak, afraid, ugly...please." She swallows. "I'll risk the teleport, but don't make me take away the only good thing that's come out of this!"
>>
>>24346652
Alright, that's the best we're getting. Load her up, lets go.
>>
>>24346436
(I'm picturing Old One just kinda resting his head on his forelegs here, staring at the Little Dragon while she demonstrates her most important skill as a Paladin.)
>>
File: 1366424282007.jpg-(407 KB, 1600x1200, gundam-slap.jpg)
407 KB
407 KB JPG
>>24346652
Its time.
>>
>>24346711
We probably shouldn't slap someone who's dying.
>>
>>24346624
Or no.

She has to make SOME sort of decision.
>>
>>24346711
No, none of that.
Girl's been through enough abuse as it is.
>>
>>24346652
"We're not going anywhere or doing anything until you say yes, or you say no."
>>
>>24346652
AVA IS A LIE.
>>
>>24346652
"No! Ava, you have control of your own life! You can make Lilly just as good, or BETTER than Ava if you just had the Light damned testicular fortitude to try! Now tell me in no uncertain terms what you want!" I just really wanted to say testicular fortitude.
>>
>>24346652
Save her, this way, the sure way. Her decision-making skills are SHOT right now. Deal with the other consequences later.
>>
>>24346652
"Where do you think Ava's strength came from? You've been Ava the whole time. You had a mission to complete, and that made you feel like you had a purpose; for that, you could feel like something more, act with confidence. You're right, that was one of the few good things to come out of all this, but that's because it wasn't a fake; that was you, the whole time.

That confidence isn't going anywhere unless you let it. Ava, Lilly, they're the same person. They always have been.

Make your choice, right now. Don't leave it to someone else, not me, and not fate."
>>
>>24346767
Testicular fortitude is a great phrase. So versatile.
>>
>>24346790
Should say: "not me, not Peace, and not fate."
>>
>>24346652
We're forgetting something important, here, by the way. She still has that medallion, right?
>>
Rolled 2

>>24346790
"You can make Lilly just as good, or BETTER than Ava if you just had the Darkness-be-damned testicular fortitude to try!
Where do you think Ava's strength came from? You've been Ava the whole time. You had a mission to complete, and that made you feel like you had a purpose; for that, you could feel like something more, act with confidence. You're right, that was one of the few good things to come out of all this, but that's because it wasn't a fake; that was you, the whole time.

That confidence isn't going anywhere unless you let it. Ava, Lilly, they're the same person. They always have been.

Make your choice, right now. Don't leave it to someone else, not me, not Peace, and not fate. Now tell me in no uncertain terms what you want!"
>>
>>24346866
"I'd rather be dead than be Lilly...but I don't want to die." She says. "I choose the Teleport spell."
>>
damnit dice.

alright. to the teleporter
>>
>>24346884
Well shit, guess she's going to look like some freakish tittymonster forever.

Fire up the Teleport.
>>
>>24346884
"Fine. At least it's your choice. Let's go."

"And thank you, Old One."
>>
>>24346884
Goddamnit, if she wasn't dying I'd slap her so hard.
>>
>>24346884
This bitch needs a good slap, but fine. Lets get her on the teleporter.
>>
>>24346884
Stupid girl ...

"Thank you, Old One.

"TED! Get that teleport spell ready NOW!"
>>
>>24346884
I can't say I'm not deeply tempted to do it anyway, but what kind of person would we be if we're fighting so hard to let people make their own choices and then take that away from them when they don't choose what we think they should, even if it's what's best for them. We're not Citadel.

I *am* curious what the odds were of her making the sensible choice there.
>>
>>24346979
ya knowing what kinda chances we had of convincing her to do what we wanted would be nice
>>
>>24346979
You'd think low would be good in this case since its a social defense against our arguement, but alas.
>>
>>24346866
I assume that rerolls are only usable on our own choices, and not someone else's? (It'd feel a bit like cheating the plot otherwise, but I have to ask.)
>>
>>24346884
Let's get running.

Bring an extra healing potion. If the motion worstens her condition, it can bring her back to dying. Maybe.
>>
>>24346979
>I *am* curious what the odds were of her making the sensible choice there.
50%, 1 would be she picks death. /tg/ diiiiice!

You look at her and sigh.

"Fine. At least it's your choice. Let's go. And thank you, Old One."

Old One just closes his eye at you. You get the feeling that you've disappointed him somewhat. "Take the coins with you, return to me when you have shown your dragon blood has emerged again Beautiful One.

"TED! Get that teleport spell ready NOW!"

Ted and Mage are on it, prepping everything. The others are getting the coins into the barrels and rolling them into the circle There's four barrels and they weight about as much as a full keg of wine. You could have made it two, but no way you could have carried those.

"Just you, the Girl, and one more person first." Ted says. "Then I'll send the others through with the barrels. Who's going with you?"
>>
>>24347078
>Old One just closes his eye at you. You get the feeling that you've disappointed him somewhat. "Take the coins with you, return to me when you have shown your dragon blood has emerged again Beautiful One.

That hurts, but this is one time that the dragon ego isn't necessarily right.

>>24347078
Whoever has the most skill in healing to help keep her stable.
>>
>>24347078
Awwww, we're not Little Dragon anymore...
>>
>>24347078
(Also, I thought he specifically said that he'd keep them here until we un-corrupted them? Did he suddenly change his mind just because we seemed less like Little Dragon to him? Seems kinda unrelated.)
>>
>>24347078
"Lea. You mind?" Lea's probably the most physically fit of our party. Plus she probably has decent medic skills. Tricia would be second choice if anyone else.
>>
>>24347078
Lea's fastest, right? I mean over long distances?

She not might be able to carry her the fastest like us, but she can sprint ahead and get the conclave prepped. Right?
>>
>>24347121
And some how I don't care.

>>24347109
>>24347078
>Whoever has the most skill in healing to help keep her stable.
This.
>>
>>24347124
Yeah, asking permission from our lessers isn't Dragon enough for him. Note that he called us "Beautiful One" again.
>pride ordbyst
Oh captcha...
>>
>>24347109
>Whoever has the most skill in healing to help keep her stable.
Thirded
>>
>>24346866
I still reckon we should have used our reroll here.
>>
>>24347150
True enough. And any other time, I might have said that she really did just need someone else to lend her strength. But we're fighting an enemy that makes people's lives idyllic at the cost of taking away their choices; it'd be far too hypocritical for us to do the same.
>>
>>24347192
If we could, I'd agree. But we've only been allowed to use rerolls on our own rolls, which I think makes more sense; we're affecting our own abilities, not the way the world turns out.
>>
>>24347124
>(Also, I thought he specifically said that he'd keep them here until we un-corrupted them? Did he suddenly change his mind just because we seemed less like Little Dragon to him? Seems kinda unrelated.)
He doesn't want you just coming back. He doesn't want to see you any more. So he's getting rid of the excuse you (or he) might use to have you visit.

"Lea. You're with me." You say.

Lea grabs the healing potion satchel.

"I juiced them up, so that they should be stronger." Mage says. "Can I go on record that this isn't the smartest thing we've ever done, and I mean that seriously and not just by our standards."

"We are aware." Lea says. She glares at Ava. "If this kills you, you will have a LONG journey ahead of you."

You're all ready to go. You nod at Ted and he and Mage start to chant. The circle goes bright, adnt here's a feeling of being tossed in five directions at once. Ava jerks and shudders and cries out in pain as you hold onto her.

Roll 1d10, lower is better.
>>
Rolled 3

>>24347230
>>
Rolled 6

>>24347230
>>
Rolled 4

>>24347230
Oh shiiiiit.
>>
Rolled 1

>>24347230
>in during 10
>>
Rolled 2

>>24347230
Citadel.
>>
>>24347245
Omg /tg/ dice actually delivered.
>>
Rolled 3

>>24347258
Or are they just warming up to flub us on a d20?
>roll related.
>>
>>24347230
>He doesn't want you just coming back. He doesn't want to see you any more. So he's getting rid of the excuse you (or he) might use to have you visit.
Echo, you are the master of the gutpunch-by-proxy.
>>
(we should have tried Dragon Magic...)
>>
>>24347230
We'll still make plans to come back some day right?


.. right?

I wonder how granny and this old coot would interact
>>
>>24347305
We did try. And we got asked not to.
>>
>>24347313
That was leviathan poison
>>
File: 1366426401748.jpg-(189 KB, 646x900, factor_harmonium_tonat_shar.jpg)
189 KB
189 KB JPG
>>24347198

Although I hear there are some other options for Paladins who think that freedom is a little bit too much for some people.
>>
Hey guys, this whole situation has me thinking. Does Ssen *really* have the balls to get rid of Citadel? So far we've just smoothed over the obvious rocking-of-the-boat caused by our actions of forcing The Truth onto Citadel and it's people but the one time it looks us in the face we pussy out? Old One is right, we're no Dragon. We're a fool who dropped an entire egg carton and is afraid to break one more.
>>
>>24347368
wut
>>
We should have just done it. Of course she's too brainwashed to even CONSIDER the fact that MAYBE her life might be better if she weren't the meat puppet that Peace made her into. Of course she'd make this choice.
>>
>>24347368
but right now we are taking the action that might break an egg

RIGHT NOW
>>
>>24347377
We broke plenty of people's livelyhoods by forcibly removing Citadel's influence from their lives. Why is Ava special?
>>
What the flying fuck. I come back to this? This isn't a case of making a choice on her part. This is a fucking case of exactly what we did in Stone Hall. Its not fucking pretty, its a choice of giving them the ability to fucking get a clear perspective on things. All she has to fucking relate to is a boring citadel influence complacency compared to the semi interesting citadel lightbringer induced complacency. People will fucking stick to old familiarity no matter how fucking bad it is. It is our job to show them another way.
Not to mention the fact as I said earlier, its fucking citadel magic in her, she is now a latent vulnerability if she does live.
>>
>>24347406
yup, I kinda agree.
>>
>>24347406
We shouldn't have given her the choice, she wasn't going to resist man. Shoulda just forced our Leviathan down her throat.
>>
>>24347406
I think people swayed votes by saying she had the balls to talk down peace and adahn

oh well

Things happen when you make decisions.

I wonder what would have happened if she accepted to turn back to lily, would Old Man Dragon still be disappoint?
>>
Wait, so if nobody thinks this was a good idea, why did it fucking happen?
>>
>>24347456
>>24347471
That is what I am fucking saying I just find it funny that the one time that Echo actually waits for the wave of second guessing is the one time it actually fucked it up.
>>24347475
Wave of Me-tooists supporting a shitty dialogue write in, because all dialogue write ins are always voted in.
>>
>>24347434
>>24347406
This might have been one of our failings. We don't always succeed.
>>24347399
I think you might have discovered a conflict in our philosophy between allowing choice and removing citadel to allow choice.

Many would choose citadel. What should we do with them? We've never addressed this other than stabbing the ones who've tried to stab us.
>>
>>24347434
>>24347406

That's one way of looking at it.

But it was also a chance to show that Citadel's influence could be willingly broken by one person who stood to benefit significantly from its continued influence. It's one thing to force a person into a hard outcome, but it's another thing entirely to have them see what looms on the other side and take the dive anyway.
>>
>>24347456
>>24347471
>>24347475
At this point:
>>24346187
we could have just decided we needed to be strong on her behalf, and done it. But once we went down the road of offering her the choice, which a pile of people did want to do, we couldn't turn back from it when she decided otherwise; we could only try to convince her.
>>
>>24347245
The light fades and you're back in Ted's basement. Ava coughs a little and it's pure blood, but she's alive and still holding on.

"Come on!" Lea says taking Ava as it's easier for Lea to go up the ladder with a body. You pull yourself up and slither after Lea and catch up to her. You reach the Cups, and the healers take Ava inside. They assure you that she's going to be 'just fine' but that there might be some 'lingering issues.'

"Well..." Lea sighs as the two of you go back to Ted's. "You can't stop people from being foolish. Isn't that what we're fighting for?"

You pass a group of people, it's a familiar sight from Stone Hall. People are shouting and arguing. Jeremy turning his free loans into an actual bank has caused a lot of people to flip out. Mostly because a lot of people can't afford to pay other people, that also includes people looking the other way about some things, and paying off unhappy people. So now there's shouting about unions, strikes at the mines, and the counter-reaction to things like that. Balles people are making sure that there's no violence, and have arrested some goon squads, but the problem is still growing, because Jeremy's got an 'Hang me for a lion, if not a cat' mindset, and is seeing his financial reform all the way to the end...despite his pleasant whorehouse now covered in graffiti, thrown stones, and vegetables.

"This is our prize, isn't it?" Lea says. "We are going to make a lot of people very unhappy, and a lot of innocent people will suffer."
>>
>>24347456
The intial "giving her the choice" wasn't so bad [even its probably the reason we lost favor with the old one], we definitely got stuck between a rock and a hard place when she picked the ava decision.

Be like citadel and force it on her anyway and earn her resentment..? or...?

I kinda wish we just teleported to begin with

>>24347475
Goons

Makers of
> Lick the Soul gem

and who could ever forget

> get fucked
>>
>>24347456
Damn it, I can't think of this situation in any way other than throat rape now.
>>
>>24347389
I agree
>>
>>24347544
Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time, remembering our past actions of allowing choice.

Then I remembered our past actions of ousting citadel influence, after people pointed it out.
>>
>>24347531
aww shit I forgot about Jeremy's shenanigans

Today isn't Ssen's day apparently
>>
>>24347508
Except she didn't see what loomed on the other side at all. One conversation is not the other side. Especially when we didn't even explain the full nature of Citadel to her. But no, we fucking go ahead and go of what she fucking said in a state that can hardly be said to be lucid when the very reason we came up here was to force people to be lucid to save them.
>>24347568
Had I not been in the shower after saying DO IT when she fucking gave up her right to chose I would have, but no.
>>
>>24347549
Don't forget it'd also involve poisonous substances and blood. Anyway,>>24347475
because we had 3 votes for forcing it, someone posted a dialogue telling her to make a choice instead, dialogue gets support, gets chosen. Now stuck between rock and hard place because she didn't pick Truth.
>>
>>24347531
"The times of plenty may be ending. We'll need new ways of doing things.

Who knew the keystone of this entire place's economy was a single brothel?"
>>
>>24347531
"Nobody said change was going to be easy or everyone was going to be happy with it.

"The most we can do lay out their choices ...

"Light only knows how bad it will be when Citadel goes."
>>
I wonder if this shitstorm would have been worse had she chosen death and died on the spot
>>
wait your right, 3 votes of do it should have locked it in. Thats been the rule for a while.
>>
>>24347587
Well, let's roll with it regardless. We're gonna have one of our less pleasant days.

And that vampire next! We have to waterboard her with pig blood!
>>
>>24347645
It really should have. I'm wondering why it didn't in that case. I feel like the nature of the game has been changed after you come back from fucking halftime.
>>
>>24347531
Have a long silence in contemplative thought. "Yeah, I guess it is. Everything comes at a price... Is it worth it? No, it's too late to worry about silly things like that now, isn't it? It has to be worth it, we will MAKE it so. Too much blood has been spilled for it not to be..."
>>
>>24347531
You know, if the Dramatae weren't destroying people's lives and livelihoods in their little farce, I'd be willing to say fuck it. Because the Lightbringers are beyond rational thought, and the emo douche seems like a complete asshole to boot.

But they're willing to destroy towns and cities just to give the Lightbringers something to do, and they're not going to stop until we kill them all. In terms of innocents suffering, these idiots will get over it. If not this generation than the next. But with the Dramatae, it'll never end.
>>
>>24347665
uh oh.
>>
>>24347652
I'm still curious to when "Beautiful One, I am disappoint" was locked in

was it our giving her the choice or her picking to remain as Ava?
>>
>>24347711
Oh yes. Crippling self doubt now that the fruit of our 'liberation' has come to stare us in the face once more. :3
>>
I find it disturbing that I am agreeing with Redaeth here. That is not something I usually do.
>>
Ssen:

Sleep poorly that night.
>>
Anyone feel like checking up on Jeremy post-"STOP TRYING TO MAKE EVERYONE LIKE YOU"

got yelled into his head for hours would have prevented this?

trying pull discussion away from -that- even if I didn't vote for it
>>
>>24347731
It was either at >>24346187
or the very next post. I assume the second one was the last straw though.
>>
>>24347731

I think it was the point where we insisted that Ava makes the call, and not Ssen deciding for her.

>Old One humphs. "Do not listen to that NOTHING. You are a DRAGON. YOUR will is greater than ALL. YOU decided what people DO. YOURS is the ONLY choice."

Even if she chose to become Lily once more, the Old One probably would not have liked that we gave a choice rather than imposing our will, even if that will is to have that one person make a call and not dump responsibility on you.
>>
>>24347531
>"This is our prize, isn't it?" Lea says. "We are going to make a lot of people very unhappy, and a lot of innocent people will suffer."

In an effort to reflect our conflicted wishes into the plot:

"It's sad; I was so tempted to just make the choice for her, help her live on as she once was, burning away the Lightbringer corruption with Old One's help. It certainly would have been the Dragon thing to do, to put my own will above others and assume I knew best. Might even have been the Paladin thing to do. But at that moment, all I could think of was that it seemed like the Citadel thing to do."
>>
>>24347731
We didn't MAKE her do the smart thing, nor could we CONVINCE her to do it. We failed twice.
>>
>>24347669
This. Citadel can stay, but the Dramatae and their insane bullshit have to go.

I don't care if it means we have to take their jobs afterwards, Peace and her cronies are total fucking nutjobs and cannot be allowed to continue.
>>
>>24347798
At that point, if it hadn't been a distraction from saving Ava, I would have been tempted to respond to Old One and ask him if that was what made the Dark One and Citadel like Dragons, imposing their will on others. Dark One because it wanted power, and Citadel because it thought it knew best.
>>
>>24347828
no just know taking their jobs afterwards means they win
>>
>>24347798
This leads to a question I've been meaning to ask.

Remember how it said, in the biology book, that lamias used pherimones in hunting, perhaps? Remember how focused dragon biology is on producing servants and those mutually linked to dragons?

What if we are influencing our friends via more sinister means than we are aware of to do what they are doing? If we gave them breath masks for a few weeks, would they start disagreeing more? Maybe not even want to go with us?
>>
>>24347818
We MADE her choose for HERSELF. If she was too WEAK to make the RIGHT decision, she was too WEAK for us to bother with.
>>
>>24347786
I don't think we should pull discussion from it since it broke the 3 agree-locking that has been pretty much agreed on since quest start. Only time it hasn't is when a write in has the same gist, but is either a wall or particularly witty dialogue, and in both cases are still in line with the original locked in thing. I think a deviation from this was arbitrary.
>>
>>24347855
Does it really? Even if it puts us in a position to change Citadel into something not utterly insane?
>>
>>24347834
Yeah I had wanted to make a write-in to say something to the old one before leaving but we were already out of there in the narration

maybe we can leave him a letter or something, Force ted to dictate it out if he's too proud to read it
>>
While the city may be tearing itself apart we shouldn't expect a delay on our Vamp's execution. If anything the dwarf in charge may be even more inclined to carry it out on time to free up guards needed elsewhere.
Find and buy a domesticated pig ASAP.
>>
>>24347856
That's an ugly thought ...
>>
>>24347860
That almost makes sense, in a twisted way. It was *her* will to make it *our* fault. It was *our* will to make it *her* choice.

Too bad Old One didn't see it that way.

But honestly, I suspect we lost some respect in Old One's eyes the moment we ran to him to solve the problem.

>>24347885
This. But just find a butcher and see if we can get the blood in quantity. Cut out the middle-pig.
>>
>>24347669

One of the better scenarios is that Citadel grows up and matures to become benevolent land-god-entity-thing. Which will hopefully include graudally decreasing its influence and will upon the world, instead opting to use that same influence to help the people grow as a civilization rather than the whole "Brave New World" schtick where it keeps the people pacified by keeping them busy with bread & circuses.
>>
>>24347874
okay, fair enough. We've already progressed like two scenes though, so please don't call for a retcon on the last like hour and a half.
>>
>>24347623
"Yeah, I guess it is. Everything comes at a price... Is it worth it? No, it's too late to worry about silly things like that now, isn't it? It has to be worth it, we will MAKE it so. Too much blood has been spilled for it not to be...but, the times of plenty may be ending. We'll need new ways of doing things.

"The most we can do lay out their choices ...Light only knows how bad it will be when Citadel goes."

Lea shudders. "Half the city is just kept standing by magic."

You shake your head and wave your hand. One crisis at a time. "Who knew the keystone of this entire place's economy was a single brothel?"

"More like a man who thought that he could be liked if he kept giving people money." Lea sighs. "We should go get the others, and then deal with the vampire."

The coins are collected, and kept at Ted's. He's only using it as a way station when he makes grocery runs, so in the meantime, you guys can use it as a base, and a place to sleep.

Balles' paperwork on his desk and his minions is growing all around him. You can see cracks in his world of perfect order, but he seems to be holding strong. The pig blood idea is one that causes him to slap his face.

"Of course!" He says. "Staves always has a supply of it, and there's always been a period of heavy lethargy and rationality when a vampire has fed excessively."

"Why does Staves keep a lot of pig blood on hand, readily?" Peri asks.

"Blood's useful in countless spells and studies." Mari says. "Having pig blood around is just sensible for your blood needs, and far less gross or difficult to get."

Helen is fed in a way that's...more than a little upsetting to you. They can't risk her breaking free, so they shackle her down and chain her to a stone table. Then they force a funnel down onto her throat and start pouring the blood in. She obviously chokes enough to cause the sides of her mouth to overflow, as well as bubble to gurgle up in the funnel's bowl, but the occuli keep on pouring.

(continued)
>>
>>24347860
If we can't exercise our will over the weak, then what good are we? And make no mistake, making the decision for her is the same as convincing her. It's ultimately ensuring that OUR will is what decides her actions.

And we failed. Twice.
>>
>>24347878
pretty sure it would make us Citadel's pets
>>
>>24347880
>maybe we can leave him a letter or something, Force ted to dictate it out if he's too proud to read it

You want to play passive-aggressive with a dragon?
>>
>>24347874
He already wrote the update though, and I'm certain there hasn't been an retcon in this story yet

it'd still be nice to get echo's thoughts on it though

I feel like retcon would be a cop-out at this point, but first to three clause was broken...
>>
>>24347925
There is EXERCISING our will, and there is TESTING others to see if they are WORTHY of our efforts.
>>
>>24347926
We honestly don't know what the relationship between Peace and Citadel is at this point. Either one could be in control.
>>
>>24347918
Its the same arbitrary heavy handedness that happened with the arrow. I remember the fit that was raised then too.
>>24347938
I'm surprised he hasn't commented on it. He usually at least acknowledges grievances.
I'm becoming the resident bitchfester but fuck man, I am not happy. Especially in something I had no say in.
>>
>>24347976
I am starting to think Peace is Citadel's avatar
>>
I hope picking Ava over Lily will bear fruit in the future...

If this ends up punching us in the gut, the shitstorm will be legendary
>>
>>24347938
First to three was only ever a thing in battles with fast action choices that individually didn't deeply matter to the plot. The rule outside of battle has always been that we keep discussing it until Echo posts, and whatever seems to have the most combination of support and eloquence wins. Otherwise, the options that take longer to write up will always tend to lose out even when more people end up wanting them.

In any case, I'm inclined to take the in-plot gut punch and move on.
>>
holy crap, Im late for one session and we both have someone nearly die and lose the respect of Old One.
>>
>>24347923
Eventually the red eyes of a vampire slowly begin to clear and Helen stops struggling against the chains and shackles.

"Enough." Balles says, and the funnel is ripped out of her mouth.

Helen turns her head and vomits some of the black blood up, causing it to stain the floor. She then starts to sob for a while. Finally she stops to regain her breath.

"Please...no more...it's cold, and horrible." She says. Finally there's proof of sanity in those eyes of hers. "I'm sorry...please...no more. I'll tell you anything...no more."

Balles nods at you. She is your prisoner. You may proceed.
>>
>>24348037
"Tell us what happened after you left Jeremy's place, up until you met Trivalon."
>>
>>24348067
(Or "Passion", if she doesn't recognize the name "Trivalon".)
>>
>>24348018

I'm beginning to think that most of the grief is over losing the Old One's respect more than anything else (and maybe one-upping smug Ted). Which is perfectly understandable, since he may have been a strong ally in the future (and Ted is a real dickwad).
>>
>>24348029
This was it. I knew there were going to be some really quick 'do it' votes, but I also knew that there were going to be people writing out long arguments. So I waited for the longer ones, and the longer ones were really good and very in-character for what you've guys made Ssen into.
>>
>>24347960
Why bother testing? Assume that NOBODY is worth our efforts until they SHOW us otherwise, through their OWN efforts. If they need to be TESTED, then they are already unworthy.
>>
>>24348029
> that feel when I see this AND I see that one of the 3 voters votechanged to the dialogue

oh well

I hope we can be a little dragon in the future
although loss of the Dragon's Gaze/Respect means we've opened ourselves to Leviathans if we ever meet any sane ones in the future

KEEP THAT IN MIND FOLKS, ITS A POSITIVE RESULT OF OUR ACTIONS

should probably check one of the bear shrine books for a leviathan book.
>>
>>24348067
>>24348076
I thought it was Peace that turned them into vamps and Passion merely controlled them after that.
>>
>>24347976
I get this weird feeling that Peace is like Yubaba, and Citadel is like a giant mentally stunted baby she keeps pacified with pretty toys.
>>
>>24348037
Learning a lesson from our time with the kid in Stone Hall's prison, let's *not* make it clear to her what password answer will get her out of this. Let's just get the whole story from her.

>>24348082
Yeah. I think it's a sign of how good this quest has become that the consequences of our actions have us second-guessing so much. I'd like to think Ssen has this much internal conflict, too.

>>24348118
Might well be, but we want to know the whole story, not just the answer to the one question that might get Helen off the hook.
>>
>>24348095
She had already SHOWN that she had PROMISE when she stood up to Peace. That PROMISE could have been either MUTED by the external influence clouding her mind, or it could have OVERCOME it. The only way to know for sure was to TEST.
>>
>>24348087
Except it isn't because the very fucking reason we went to dark peaks was to make sure someone was lucid when we fucking talked to them, something that someone that is stabbed in the gut and high on citadel magic. In fact we've rarely if ever been the one looking over someone else dying, its usually us. So how is it in keeping when it is contradictory to the short term goal we were doing in tandem?
>>
You want to be the Little Dragon again? Deliver Old One what he wants. Dragons show respect to strength, and that's just one, two, or three severed heads away.
>>
File: 1366428768169.jpg-(22 KB, 281x441, vhailor.jpg)
22 KB
22 KB JPG
>>24348087
>>24348141

Ideological evolution! Which path will Ssen take? Only time will tell.
>>
>>24348148
Heh. I foresee some Tragedy or Comedy in our future.
>>
>>24348037
"Sorry about that. I don't mean for this to be more unpleasant than it has to be."
then this
>>24348067
>>
>>24348148
yeah, honestly. Nothing has been damaged here that can't be solved by murdering citadel harder.

except the economic crisis
>>
The thought occurs to me, by the way, that even if we'd picked to use the Leviathan blood, there'd probably still have been at least one roll involved. And *that* roll might have had an even less pleasant failure.

Standard problem with choices that leads people to second-guess them: you can see all the consequences of the choice you made, and only the first-level consequences of the choice you didn't, so making a different choice in the past often seems much better than it would have been.
>>
>>24348082
this is probably true

>>24348037
this is kinda... kinky
Ask for testimony of the last few weeks, nothing more nothing less

>>24348148
Oh boy this sounds like an adventure thanks for the re-affirmation we can get it back... and for the information on the voting process
>>
>>24348141
>sign of a good quest
We've been eerily cohesive up until this point by the standards of the quests I frequent, given the nature of the decisions we make.
>>
>>24347856
can I draw attention to this once more?

Am I just being paranoid, or could we be pherimone influencing our friends? Is that important?
>>
>>24348267
She is a latent vulnerability, its like having a drugged up dramatae in our basement having an imminent system purge. I'd honestly rather her dead than tainted in this case.
>>
>>24348284
It's because /tg/ wants to be the Paladin but cannot into Hard Choices. Why do you think we have so many threads about Paladins falling?
>>
>>24348319

A sudden influx of very poor footwear and roads in constant disrepair?
>>
>>24348087
I respectfully disagree.

Sometimes the immediate decisions are the correct ones. The longer you think about it, the more likely you are to second-guess yourself. That is what happened here. Instead of freeing her from the utter lie that Peace had made her life into, and giving her a chance to be free of all this bullshit, people piled onto the idea that "making her choose" was better.

Isn't Truth something the Caligo Clarus is supposed to be about? Is letting the brainwashing victim choose the lies over the truth really what Ssen would do?
>>
>>24348313
I really doubt this unless the pheromones are just keeping Citadel from driving them nuts. Those few months after taking the arrow for His Royal Audaciousness should be testament to that. We managed to get everyone back to their senses rather quickly, far too quickly for it to be some passive enthrallment.
>>
>>24348284
Yeah, we seem to have a really coherent picture of what it means to be a decent Paladin, of the non-Lawful-Stupid non-Immovable-Rod variety. Plus, we typically get pretty good results from our efforts at diplomacy and similar; we're collectively a very Pavlovian Paladin.

But we've had some pretty impressive disagreements in the past as well. For instance, the kid in Stone Hall, and Helen; there's always a pretty vocal contingent with relatively low bounds on forgiveness in this life as opposed to the next.

In any case, it's definitely the most interesting and engaging quest I've ever been in or read.
>>
>>24348374
Given how conflicted I am about it:

Yes, obviously, it happened, but she has no idea if it was the right thing.

She may be seriously doubting it now in fact.
>>
If Ava says she wants to come with us to save Adahn...

"No. You made your choice when you wanted to stay as Ava, to take the easy way out, to remain part of the Lightbringer's doomed story. You honestly think you can save your little fairytale boyfriend as you are? Face the facts - you're going to get close to him, and you're just going to get sucked back into the story again. You're a liability, Ava - and you chose to be one the instant you couldn't bear to go without Peace's slave collar. If you came with us while still wearing the chains of the Dramatae you could have your will snatched away from you again at any moment."

"I'm sorry, Ava, but you made the wrong choice. Its game over. If you don't want to start helping Adahn walk to his death again I advise you to find a nice, deep hole to hide in, because if the Dramatae find you, its not going to be pleasant."
>>
>>24348406
> dumping the investment that cost us Dragon Respect and burdened us with lugging this cursed coins around
> potentially opening us to backstabbing when this bitch eventually gets manipulated OFF-SCREEN

please.

No.
>>
>>24348397
This is why Paladin orders have a creed or a set f oaths. It helps you make the "tough calls" in a manner that is at least internally consistent.

Make no mistake, I'm not conflicted about it. This entire crusade is about undoing the web of lies and manipulation that the Dramatae have spun. And in this case, as a group, we chose to let Ava go on living the lie.
>>
>>24348067
"Sorry about that. I don't mean for this to be more unpleasant than it has to be. Now, tell us what happened after you left Jeremy's place, up until you met Trivalon."

"I...I was so angry at Jeremy. I loved him, I love him...I wanted to show him that I'm still good for the parlor. I can still make him smile and be happy. I know how to make people laugh, and then he comes over, and everyone's happy and everyone likes Jeremy and then he's happy and he loves me." She frowns. "So, I COULDN'T leave the parlor. I had some money saved up, and I thought I'd do a little off the books work and go get some surgery to be young again, Jeremy's the best, but there are other people here who know how to make people pretty.

"That's when Trivalon came to me. He showed me the other sisters, the other girls that had run off. They were so beautiful, and he said that I could be like it too...I said no. I didn't want to be an insane vampire! I couldn't...so I ran, and I found out that it's hard to get money, and surgery was expensive. I was sad...and I remember getting some blue-smoke, and getting high as I cried and cried...and then Trivalon was back there...and he made so much sense." She sobs. "And I said yes."

Balles sags with relief. "Blue-smoke is a known mind-altering substance. We can say that she has 'womanly moods,' couple that with the blue-smoke, add Trivalon's testimony." He nods. "It's enough. She'll still be sent to the asylum, but she'll be on the cure list." He says.

"No." Helen says. "I...I've killed people. I've become a vampire, and I've done...I've done horrible things." She sobs. "Children." She shakes her head. "I would like to give a full confession...and then be allowed a chance to redeem myself on the Journey. I don't...I know I do stupid things when I get in my moods. I don't think I can't stop myself from hurting others again...and I can't keep gorging myself on this pig blood. It's evil...and I'm so very very tired...please."
>>
>>24348087
Echo, can I ask why in this case you chose to ignore the quick stuff in this case, when other people have made longer quotes and posts only to be cut off because you went with the first write in, I've seen at least two cases of this. I can see where complaints are coming from.
>>
>>24348493
"I'm listening."
>>
>>24348468
Its a lead-in to guilt-tripping her into changing her mind. Its essentially forcing a second choice - not between Ava and Ellen, but between Ava and Adahn.
>>
>>24348493
Balles looks at you. "She's your prisoner. It's your call."

"This has been a bitch of a day." Mage says.
>>
>>24348493
"If you'd like me to take your confession, I can.

Paladin Balles, could you give us some time, please?"

(Not giving up on convincing her to live, but for now let's take her confession.)
>>
>>24348514
This.
>>
>>24348503
Because then I get people mad at me for going with the quick stuff and ignoring the other stuff.
>>
>>24348520
I still don't like the idea of having this bitch out of our sight, if we didn't have business with helen I'd want to be at Cups right now
>>
>>24348503
Bro it's done. We made our choice, (I did vote to do it immediately but that's beside the point) let's just roll with it. Stuff happens, even Paladins make mistakes. Besides, it's a good moment of choice for Ssen. Is she really ready to see this all through to the end?
>>
>>24348554
You're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place right now man, better to just move along, you even gave us a PSA on how you bias your votes

I do think calling votes before writing would help but
whatever.
>>
>>24348493
"Well, I went through all this effort to give you the choice. I'll listen."

I hope the light's redemption is real.
>>
>>24348571
This isn't the first time I've had shit like this happen nor the second. Case in point. Kitty Hawk Its somewhat of a sore point with me.
>>
>>24348032

(300+ posts and in autosage. Mind doing that thing you do?)
>>
>>24348623
Its not like we have to give up here. As >>24348520 put it we could easily try to force a second choice by pointing out how 'Ava' will be a lot more of a liability in the quest to save Adahn than 'Ellen' will be.
>>
>>24348554
Yeah, in the end I think for any decisions that have notable consequences (i.e. not which particular ordinary non-game-changing move we use in a battle), I'd rather we have a chance to lay out and talk through a pile of options, build a rough consensus around one or more, and then leave it up to Echo to turn it into something awesome. And it's always awesome, whether it's our moment to shine or an awe-inspiring kick in the tail that riles us up. Good or bad, either way we keep caring what happens, and that means it's awesome.

Let's just move on. We've got some Dramatae with their heads far too attached for our taste.
>>
>>24348623
Kitty hawk?, I'd also agree but the real problem is people bandwagon a choice without further consideration + without votes being called you never know when a vote is "locked" although both of those are more of a /tg/ problem than a lamia quest problem
>>
>>24348671
The Strike Witches 89 battleship that was destroyed because we were focusing on the target we had been equipped and ordered to kill.
>>
>>24348710
>battleship
>Kitty Hawk
>battleship

Would you like to try again?
>>
>>24348541
"If you'd like me to take your confession, I can.

Paladin Balles, could you give us some time, please? Some of you, go keep an eye on Ava. She made her choice, but we have to live with it."

Balles nods and leaves the room, along with the others.

You turn to Helen. "I'm listening."

"I've always done stupid things when I get into one of my moods. One day I was walking by and I saw this girl at a fruit stand. She wasn't doing anything, but I just suddenly wanted to hit her...and I did. I hit her and ran, and it felt so incredibly good...I confessed to that before. And I've hurt myself or others when I feel sad, like how I just couldn't get out of bed...or felt that if I smashed one of Jeremy's nicer pots then i would feel better." She sniffed. "I killed about eight goats from the shrine. And Trivalon he took me to these places. One was this large house in the middle of the fields, and the other was this garden place. It was at night, of course. There...I watched as these masked people did...the strangest things. These exotic foods that they would eat with just their hands, all the sex, they'd gamble or play games and then...then they'd bring out the shows. People would fist fight to the death for them...or..." She shudders. "They took a living man, and me and the sisters killed him, butchered him, cooked him, and ate him...the Passions and the Dramatae had samples." She looks sick. "They called it 'enjoying the fruits of their labor.' They talk about Citadel constantly...and I loved those parties...I felt like I was walking on a cloud...and I was SANE then. I don't know why...but I was sane." She sobs. "I drank the blood of a four year old. You can't forget that! I can't forgive myself for that! They laughed and applauded! I bowed...oh by his Light." She breaks down sobbing again.
>>
>>24348654
I certainly don't think it's the last time we'll have a chance to influence Ava. And it wouldn't surprise me if she eventually chose to live on as Lilly. Leviathan blood isn't the only way that can happen. She still has a medallion, we still have quite a lot of power to cast out Citadel's influence, and if nothing else we plan on killing the one who made her that way.
>>
>>24348710
oh

I couldn't really get into any of the 89 SW quests
Doesn't quite have that same feel that the intial, sub witches, tank witches, or even crimson had.

I think it was the lack of WWII that or Aliens that put me off
>>
>>24348740
Its a ship, who cares.
>>
>>24348776
Put a hand on her shoulder, but don't say anything as long as she's continuing to confess.

But boy do I have some words for her when she's done.
>>
>>24348788
There is world of difference between a carrier and a battleship, son.

>>24348776
Does she have more to say?
>>
>>24348776
This smells of the anti-citidel [I can't believe I forgot already, but sure as hell not cross-referencing right now when speed matters during vote time]

Try to calm her down and beckon her to continue
>>
File: 1366430813640.gif-(10 KB, 116x119, 1360155159339.gif)
10 KB
10 KB GIF
>>24348776
>All that fucked up shit
>Cannibalism
>Killing children
Yeah that settles it.

No matter what the Dramatae have to die.
>>
>>24348776
>>24348807
I, too, agree with physical contact. I was going to say hug, but it might be a bad idea to hug vampires.
>>
>>24348848
The Dark One, the Dragon who Was of Shadow?
>>
File: 1366430893147.jpg-(Spoiler Image, 46 KB, 543x789)
Spoiler Image, 46 KB
46 KB JPG
>>24348788
Carrier. Thousands of people lost because anon bandwagon'ed it up.
Now imagine being one who voted in a way that could have prevented that? And then having the author confirm it.
>>
>>24348849
You forgot
> Cannibalizing Children

I wonder how Isen and company are doing right about now...... I wouldn't be opposed to a sidequest to lighten the mood

>>24348872
Yeah, that guy
>>
>>24348893
>I wonder how Isen and company are doing right about now...... I wouldn't be opposed to a sidequest to lighten the mood

I think we're likely to head back to Stone Hall as our next stop, before chasing down the leads Old One gave us. We did promise Quentin and his sister an escort there, after all.
>>
>>24348807
"I liked feeling good, and as long as I went with it...did what they wanted to. You know I thought I was in the right a lot of the time. I was one of the Shadow Sisters, I hunted down people who were rough to my friends back in the house, and I tore them to pieces. They were wrong, they hurt, and left bruises, and thought that we were just things...but I still killed them, and it felt so...amazing." She gasps. "I never asked why, never bother to think about why Trivalon wanted this gathered or that obtained, but...I did it. I did it...and I don't want to live with it. I don't even feel sorry about my legs. I just...me being cured seems like a waste. I want there to be punishment. I want there to be a consequence for everything that I've done. I want to hurt...I want to hurt." She sobs again. "It feels better sometimes when I hurt."
>>
>>24348872
He's bias to this sort of thing right? Revelry and giving into your Carnal Desires, vices, what feels good etc
>>
>>24348929
Still not saying anything until she's done confessing, but I think we've got to make it clear to her that the hurting she feels now *is* a consequence far more severe than just giving up. And there are more mental problems in this world than just vampirism. Death is the easy path, here; why should she get off easy.

She still didn't kill anyone *before* becoming a vampire. That counts for something, here.
>>
>>24348929
My god, my poor tender morals

Whadda I do with this crazy mixed up old lady
>>
>>24348929

I'm beginning to think that she's suffering from much more than vampirism, at this point. Perhaps she was not the most stable person to start off with, which made her a person of interest to Trivalon.
>>
>>24348929
I'm starting to think we should send her to the psych ward anyway at this point

Bipolarity
Sociopathy
Grandeur-ism
Sado[?]-Masochism

But fuck, if we want to knock some sense into Jeremy, we need Helen

wait a second... could we shoehorn getting Jeremy back to his old self despite whatshername yelling the shit out of him and the whole town being a dick to him [and him retaliating by being a hard jew]?

Bright Slap right to her face right now for "hurting", then give her our piece, and then suggest that as her way to repent?
>>
>>24349036
wait until she is done, and then maybe slap her.
>>
>>24348929
She sniffs. "That's why I want to accept my punishment, and go on my Journey. I know it will take a long time, but I deserve it...and I don't want to hurt any more people. I've been a failure as a person, and I was a monster. I still am." She sniffs. "Thus I confess."

She's done.
>>
>>24349036
Oh, she absolutely needs a trip to the psych ward. That's the point. We don't kill crazy people for being crazy. We help them. Maybe she could become sane again one day, maybe she couldn't; maybe she'll get out and do something stupid again, maybe she'll jump off a bridge, or just maybe she might become a better person for what she's gone through.

Rough sketch of some dialogue for when she's done confessing: we give her a hint of what we just went through trying to find a cure for her or a way for her to become sane enough to have a rational conversation with. We just had a conversation with a dragon about the Light, and he was shocked that it let us live after we made mistakes. We told him that it did because we *learn* from our mistakes, and if we just died when we made them then how do we learn?
>>
>>24349085
>I've been a failure as a person, and I was a monster.

And now she's really pushing our buttons.
>>
>>24349085
What is this "Journey"? Does that mean "kick ass and take names for His Light" or is the afterlife for wicked people?
>>
>>24349085
"Your punishment isn't over yet, old woman. There is one person who needs your help, desperately. Someone you care about."
>>
>>24348929
I say we let her live, it's possibly the cruelest thing to do, but it's the only way she can redeem herself.
>>
>>24349128
The Journey is something everyone faces after they die, for those who were good it is a short experience before they join the Light. For those who were evil they may wander off the path and get lost for eternity.
>>
>>24349128
when you die you travel through the darkness until you reach His Light. That is the journey
>>
>>24349141
This. Jeremy seems to be in a bad place at the moment, and Helen is our best chance to get him to snap out of it.
>>
>>24349128
the journey is your trip to whatever afterlife there is.
The afterlife itself is nondescript and may be either nirvhanna, everythingness, a heaven, sitting at the side of the creator, or several other interperetations.

The journey itself is an examining of all of your greatest mistakes and sins in life. It is longer for people who have sinned more. Pleasant and short for good people. Occasionally someone is so misguided that they follow false lights, and ignore the journey entirely.

This is the extent that I know.
>>
>>24349036

The whole Jeremy situation bears some investigation in itself, though. Things start to become more "real" once Citadel's grip on things weaken. Seeing all the outstanding debts he had out there combined with Rachel's less-than-angelic monetary motivations, he might have decided that there was simply way too much money out there for any sane person to ignore. It was said earlier that he's not being a dick about it, he's set up reasonable payment plans.

But it might be that everyone is getting real antsy due to having to pay Jeremy back, and suffering the consequences of irresponsible borrowing and spending.
>>
>>24349176
Either way, I think having Helen around to give him a slap of the old ways would be beneficial

He's probably a bit jaded now after everything that has been happening to him honestly

we should make a pastebin of all the important stuff eventually, having to dig through the back of my head and shifting through old threads with a sense of urgency doesn't feel right...
>>
>>24349267
Indeed. The poor man needs closure, and Helen is the only one that could give it to him.
>>
>>24349085
"If you truly wish it, then it will be death. But I will tell you true- if you truly want hurt, if you truly want to suffer, you would live with it. You would bear the weight."

All I can think of.
>>
>>24349085
"As one monster to another..."
I'm not sure where to go after this, but I think it's a good phrase to open with.
>>
>>24349141
>>24349303
a little of this and that

I'm not sure of the wording on "old woman" but... she did push some of buttons.. and we're possibly in a bad sort of mood if all the discussion in here is Ssen's internalized brooding and self-doubt

but we gotta act paladin like during a confession damnit
>>
"I cannot accept you as monster. Otherwise I would have to accept I am one as well.

"And your only failings as a person was one moment of weakness. We all have those times. It's how we pick ourselves that matters.

"Know there will be consequences and punishment for your actions but not one that leads to the end of an axe or rope.

"The Light can forgive a great many things ... yet how you can atone for yourself, only you can decide."


That's what I came up with not confident in it though ...
>>
>>24349085
(with some inspiration from
>>24349327
>>24349348
)

"Helen. The Light has an incredible capacity for forgiveness, and in this world or the next you can yet redeem yourself in its eyes. Your actions have consequences indeed, and right now while you're sated and sane, you're feeling the pain of those consequences. You said you thought it should hurt, and you're right, it should. Forgiveness isn't forgetting, and you'll never forget what you've done even if you can grow to forgive yourself as the Light already does.

Let me tell you a story, Helen, as one "monster" to another. And like a confession, I'd ask you to keep this one to yourself. When I first learned of how Trivalon controlled you, I realized that there was no way to get the real story of what happened unless you could rise above the vampirism, at least temporarily. I filed an appeal on your behalf, even though that meant I'd have to execute you myself if you were guilty. We spent three days traveling to Dark Peaks in an effort to find a dragon, all to find some kind of cure or suppression for vampirism. I had a most fascinating conversation, teaching a Dragon about the nature of the Light. I told it about how I've made mistakes in the past, and he seemed shocked that such a powerful force would allow me to live after making a mistake. I told him that living allows us to learn from our mistakes.

I say this not to make you feel more guilty, but to impress upon you that choosing death is the easy road. Choosing to live, that's the hard one.

Balles put your life in my hands, both in your sentencing and in carrying it out if it comes to that. You're asking me to choose for you to die. But if it's up to me, I'd choose for you to live with what you've done. I can't accept that you're a monster, because I'd have to accept that I'm a monster too.
(continued)
>>
>>24349372
a bit longwinded for my tastes. I like brevity and wit. I wish I had some for right now.
>>
>>24349372
Nobody's saying there won't be consequences. Vampirism isn't the only mental illness in this world; you said yourself that you had some awful impulses and sometimes acted on them. But we don't kill people for that.

And right now, there's more at stake here than just your own life. There's someone else who had their world turned upside-down in part because of what you did, just as he among others contributed to turning your world upside-down. He almost chose to become a monster, and take revenge on others, in ways that would make your time as a Shadow Sister look like a Paladin's justice.

Live, Helen. Talk to Jeremy for a bit, enjoy a stay at one of our fine mental facilities, and know right now in this moment of sanity that you'll be sane again one day; you'll be cured of vampirism and whatever else. You have the will to do it.

A moment of weakness was all it took to become a vampire.

A moment of strength is all it takes now."
>>
>>24349448
(And just to be clear, this isn't us offering her a choice. Unlike Ava, Helen's life really is in our hands, for good or ill. We're choosing the right punishment, and it isn't a momentary pain in the neck and a journey of redemption in the next life.)
>>
>>24349490
Indeed.

The only real choice we have here is to send her to a mental ward.
>>
>>24349413
I'm all for brevity when it works. I don't see any way to talk her into living in just a few words, but I'd really love to see it.
>>
>>24349372
"Helen. The Light has an incredible capacity for forgiveness, and in this world or the next you can yet redeem yourself in its eyes. Your actions have consequences indeed, and right now while you're sated and sane, you're feeling the pain of those consequences. You said you thought it should hurt, and you're right, it should. You have to shoulder that weight. However, forgiveness isn't forgetting, and you'll never forget what you've done even if you can grow to forgive yourself as the Light already does.

"Let me tell you a story, Helen, as one "monster" to another. And like a confession, I'd ask you to keep this one to yourself. When I first learned of how Trivalon controlled you, I realized that there was no way to get the real story of what happened unless you could rise above the vampirism, at least temporarily. I filed an appeal on your behalf, even though that meant I'd have to execute you myself if you were guilty. We spent three days traveling to Dark Peaks in an effort to find a dragon, all to find some kind of cure or suppression for vampirism. I had a most fascinating conversation, teaching a Dragon about the nature of the Light. I told it about how I've made mistakes in the past, and he seemed shocked that such a powerful force would allow me to live after making a mistake. I told him that living allows us to learn from our mistakes.

"I say this not to make you feel more guilty, but to impress upon you that choosing death is the easy road. Choosing to live, that's the hard one.

"Balles put your life in my hands, both in your sentencing and in carrying it out if it comes to that. You're asking me to choose for you to die. But if it's up to me, I'd choose for you to live with what you've done. I can't accept that you're a monster, because I'd have to accept that I'm a monster too."

"But...but I've killed innocent people!"
>>
>>24349532
Me too.
>>
>>24349448
"Nobody's saying there won't be consequences. Vampirism isn't the only mental illness in this world; you said yourself that you had some awful impulses and sometimes acted on them. But we don't kill people for that.

"And right now, there's more at stake here than just your own life. There's someone else who had their world turned upside-down in part because of what you did, just as he among others contributed to turning your world upside-down. He almost chose to become a monster, and take revenge on others, in ways that would make your time as a Shadow Sister look like a Paladin's justice.

"Live, Helen. Talk to Jeremy for a bit, enjoy a stay at one of our fine mental facilities, and know right now in this moment of sanity that you'll be sane again one day; you'll be cured of vampirism and whatever else. You have the will to do it.

"A moment of weakness was all it took to become a vampire.

"A moment of strength is all it takes now."

Helen closes her eyes. "Do I have to gorge myself on that horrible pig blood again?" It's a question she knows the answer to already, but she's made her choice.
>>
>>24349596
>Helen closes her eyes. "Do I have to gorge myself on that horrible pig blood again?" It's a question she knows the answer to already, but she's made her choice.

"No, Helen. We've already taken your testimony; Paladin Balles and I both heard it, and that should be more than enough. You'll probably have to continue drinking it or something like it to stay alive until the cure becomes available, but you won't have to gorge yourself again. Not that that's the most unpleasant thing you have ahead."
>>
>>24349596
"Indeed so. I honestly have no idea how long the pig blood works for. Sorry about how unpleasant it is, but hey, paying for your actions and all that. Right?"
>>
>>24349657
I thought we would have to again for her to talk to sandover

that's the plan, right? Now? One more gorging for a talk and goodbye to sandover?
>>
>>24349696
I think we can manage to find him and bring him back in a handful of minutes; even with a vampire's metabolism a full stomach of blood can't go away *that* fast. Remember the goats the three of them ate, and how they still looked warm when they attacked us?
>>
>>24349596
Some dialogue I had prepared in response to "But...but I've killed innocent people!", in case it becomes useful in the near future: "Do you think I haven't? I've made choices that led to people dying, and not all of them deserved to die. Some of those choices I'd make again, even though I'll forever regret the consequences."
>>
>>24349596
"Once more I think, to say your goodbye to Jeremy until you can return."

"You will still have to dine on it for a while though, until it is your turn to be cured, but I don't think you will need to gorge again."

(ignore the once more if Jeremy is nearby and he can talk to her now)
>>
>>24349676
"Well, I honestly have no idea how long the pig blood works for. Sorry about how unpleasant it is, but take it as a start to paying for your actions.

"We've already taken your testimony; Paladin Balles and I both heard it. You'll probably have to continue drinking it or something like it to stay alive until the cure becomes available. Not that that's the most unpleasant thing you have ahead."

She nods. "Alright...do you really think that I can get better? I mean, after I'm cured of vampirism? I'm crazy, aren't I? Can I ever be cured of that?"
>>
>>24349596
When we or someone else run to get Jeremy, we need to take a moment and warn him about what an obsession with beauty can lead to, and the consequences of some of his own actions. He needs to go in with that on his mind.
>>
>>24349817
>She nods. "Alright...do you really think that I can get better? I mean, after I'm cured of vampirism? I'm crazy, aren't I? Can I ever be cured of that?"

"Do you want to be? That's the first step on a very long road."

Didn't mean it this way while writing that, but now I can't get it out of my head:

Hi, I'm Helen, and I was a vampire.

Hi, Helen!
>>
>>24349817
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. That part is up to you."

These words could crush her or give her something to strive for in life. I don't know which.
>>
>>24349817

Changing one's nature is never a simple thing. But with the professionals at the Asylum, the journey may become easier. So long as you keep to the path and never lose sight of your goal, anything is possible.
>>
>>24349864
"The impulses won't go away; we all get those. I've been tempted to just kill people sometimes for what they've done, and I almost have sometimes. And I'd be shocked if Paladin Balles hasn't at least once thought about just shoving over a stack of paperwork.

But learning to resist them? That you can do.
>>
>>24349817
"We're all a little crazy, Helen.

"But there's people that can help through your problems. Help you make better decisions in life. Just keep believing you can come through this and you will."
>>
>>24349910

BAY-elS
>>
>>24349910
Ssen: Edit out any instance in which you might want to admit you wanted to eat somebody.

Because you totally didn't.

Nope.
>>
>>24349897
"Changing one's nature is never a simple thing. But with the professionals at the Asylum, the journey may become easier. So long as you keep to the path and never lose sight of your goal, anything is possible. Wanting to be is the first step on a very long road."

"The impulses won't go away; we all get those. I've been tempted to just kill people sometimes for what they've done, and I almost have sometimes. And I'd be shocked if Paladin Balles hasn't at least once thought about just shoving over a stack of paperwork.

"But learning to resist them? That you can do. Anyway, we're all a little crazy, Helen."

Helen sniffs. "Thank you, Paladin."

Tricia and Peri/Mari are waiting for you above in the Occuli HQ.

"Look who's here." Peri says, she pointing across the room. It's Quentin and Jeremy.
>>
>>24350072
Jeremy I understand, but quentin? Either way, we need to get jeremy in to see helen as soon as possible.
>>
>>24350072
>Helen sniffs. "Thank you, Paladin."

Ssen: Savor the little victories like this. They'll help you not want to kill people as much.

Other than a certain three mask-wearers...

> "Look who's here." Peri says, she pointing across the room. It's Quentin and Jeremy.

"Jeremy, we've managed to get Helen a stay of execution in favor of a stay in the Asylum. She's got a long road ahead of her, but she and you would both benefit from a conversation. She's sane right now; we force-fed her pigs blood to bring her mind back for a time.

I've already taken her confession, but right now she needs a friendly face. Remember, she did a lot of terrible things while she was a vampire, but as a human the only thing she did was falter in a moment of weakness. And you might do well to listen to what led her to that moment."
>>
>>24350133
Oh, and "Peri, Mari, would you please keep an eye on Helen for the moment, and call the guards in the moment the pig's blood wears off?"
>>
>>24350133
"Alright, so you'll be there tomorrow to help with the eviction?" Jeremy asks the Occuli.

"Shame," Quentin says. "I liked that beer hall."

"There's four more." Jeremy says.

"Two, we're closing down two others next week." Quentin says.

"What? I thought Rica signed off on the new payment plan!" Jeremy says.

"She did, that's why we're only closing two and not three." Quentin says. "You know, you're still being too damn nice. I bet you anything that after three months, half of these people wont have paid up."

Quentin sighs and looks pained. "I know, but you saw the numbers. If we don't do this..."

"I know, I know, bankrupt in two and a half months." Quentin says. "Can't believe Rachel's making me do this." He mutters as he signs on the line. "You know there's never been another bank in all of Citadel Kingdom?"

"Well, Change is inevitab-Paladin Ssen!" Jeremy says. "Hello."

"Paladin." Quentin sighs. "Here to see the new tyrants?"

"I'm actually here to talk about Helen." You say.

"You have news?" Jeremy says. "Please tell me it's good."

"Jeremy, we've managed to get Helen a stay of execution in favor of a stay in the Asylum. She's got a long road ahead of her, but she and you would both benefit from a conversation. She's sane right now; we force-fed her pigs blood to bring her mind back for a time.

"I've already taken her confession, but right now she needs a friendly face. Remember, she did a lot of terrible things while she was a vampire, but as a human the only thing she did was falter in a moment of weakness. And you might do well to listen to what led her to that moment."

Jeremy is stunned by the news and then he hugs you. "Oh, thank you! Can I go speak to her now? Wonderful! Thank you thank you!" He dashes off with one of the Occuli.

"Peri, Mari. Keep an eye on Helen and make sure the guards are there to bring her back when the pig blood wears off."

"Got it." She nods and takes off after Jeremy.
>>
>>24350283
w-what?
>>
>>24350305
"Huh," Quentin says. "Sounds like you've been almost as busy as us." He sighs. "Never thought I'd say this...but...thank you for not enacting bloody vengeance upon Jeremy."

Tricia looks at the long list of numbers. "What is this all about?"

"Short version?" Quentin says. "Bronze Peak is broke...sort of."
>>
>>24350308
Wrong thread. That's what happens when you're playing Skyrim AND following three threads at the same time.
>>
>>24350305
"So, Quentin. While they're having their moment, can you fill me in? Apparently lots of people are angry, and businesses are closing?"
>>
>>24350283
Okay ...
>>
>>24350328
"Broke? The whole town? And they've just not noticed until now?"
>>
>>24350328
"How bad is it really?"
>>
>>24350305
>Quentin sighs and looks pained. "I know, but you saw the numbers. If we don't do this..."
I think this one was supposed to be Jeremy, given that the line it responds to is from Quentin?
>>
>>24350328

I'm guessing this has something to do with years upon years of borrowing and assuming that nobody would ever have to pay anything back.
>>
>>24350308
Accidental cross-species incest is creepy, apparently. Seems pretty self-evident to me.

>>24350328
"How can the whole town be broke? I haven't heard of any hardship here."
>>
>>24350359
This, and "How can it be 'sorta' broke?"
>>
>>24350359
"Broke? The whole town? And they've just not noticed until now?" You ask.

"Apparently not." Quentin says shrugging. "No one really questions where the money comes from as long as they get it. Not until the piper comes calling."

"How bad is it, really?"

"Bad. Really bad. Rachel's not a number wiz, neither am I or Sandover, but if we could figure it out..." He shakes his head.

"How can the whole town be broke? I haven't heard of any hardship here."

"Four mining companies here have had NO production in months, but are still pulling down full salaries. We have five beer halls, and only two of them have been open for more than two days a week, yet still require supplies and funding. Basically, we have no trade. At all. Any goods that we've sold to the merchant caravans were goods that we've bought from other caravans. The only income we've gotten, that hasn't just been circulated around ourselves, has been from Jeremy's businesses, his whorehouse, his surgeries, selling his techniques and teaching them to Cups, and Jeremy's been covering the loans of the rest of the city. If it keeps going like this, Jeremy's going to run out of money, and then the whole city is going to collapse." Quentin says. "So we're doing the only thing we can do, cashing in our markers, and trying to save what's left and letting the bad stuff collapse." Quentin shakes his head. "Needless to say, we're not popular anymore...but at least Jeremy made me and Rachel partners in this new bank of his."
>>
>>24350511
"That's insane! No industry at all, not even the forges? A shame. What are the chances of finding new veins of minerals? Failing that, what does this mountain have to offer as a good?

Without something to make money, everything will fall. Not just the bad stuff."
>>
>>24350511
"Does Balles know? Are you working with him? I mean, if a town can be saved by paperwork alone, there's no other Paladin I'd want for the job. But something tells me that won't be enough, will it?

What miracle would have to happen to turn this around? It sounds like on the one hand there are more people than there is real work, and on the other hand there's not enough production of useful goods, or possibly just not enough external demand for them. It's like all the pieces are there, just all in the wrong place. Right?"
>>
>>24350573
"That's insane! No industry at all, not even the forges? A shame. What are the chances of finding new veins of minerals? Failing that, what does this mountain have to offer as a good?

Without something to make money, everything will fall. Not just the bad stuff."

"We know, thankfully the mines that are still good are good. Also, the forges can stop being a money pit....provided that we shut down a few. Also, the reason nothing come out is because there's been so much under the table selling of goods and weapons so people can cover personal debts." Quentin says. "We're doing our best to collect them, but the numbers are starting to get insane. We've got Balles' people working on it with us, but..." He shakes his head. "We just can't make money appear out of thin air."

No, but you think SOMEthing could...but with Jeremy and Quentin pulling the curtain up on the sham, it probably wont do it any more out of spite.

"You know..." Tricia says. "I got this stupid idea Ssen." She smiles. "Our kind of stupid."
>>
>>24350628
"Is it a bake sale?"
>>
>>24350628
>"You know..." Tricia says. "I got this stupid idea Ssen." She smiles. "Our kind of stupid."

Hug Tricia. "Excellent, I was hoping for some good news like that."
>>
>>24350628
"I like it already but tell me the details anyways."
>>
>>24350628
I'm imagining some kind of trade arrangement between Stone Hall and Bronze Peak, since they seem to have somewhat complementary problems.
>>
>>24350691
But that's not our kind of stupid idea.
>>
>>24350628

"Tricia, I'm going to level with you. I don't think I have in me to ferry people around town on my tail all day."
>>
>>24350674
You hug Tricia. "Excellent, I was hoping for some good news like that."

"Well, the pieces are all here right?" Tricia says. "I mean, the only problem is figuring out where the money needs to go? It's just that the numbers have gotten out of control right?"

"Yes, even Balles' people are starting to get buried. False accounts, loans to cover loans that cover loans that cover the FIRST loan. It's a nightmare." Quentin says.

"Well, there's a thing that can help us with this." Tricia says.

"So, what? A bake sale?" You ask.

"No, she's in Stone Hall."
>>
>>24350707
Heh. "OK, Tricia, but where will we get a tutu at this hour?"
>>
>>24350628
>Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

That's great Tricia, but how are we going to convince the harpies to form an air-mail company?
>>
Ssen: Don't know that much about economics it turns out.

Oh well, you can learn as you go.
>>
I dunno Tricia, I don't think the people will be into it if we hosted an all star circus.
>>
>>24350717
>"No, she's in Stone Hall."

Hmmm. The only person I can think of who seems likely is Princess Mumei.
>>
>>24350717
"But that's not a stupid idea. That's a good idea, a smart one.

"You're not very good at this stupid idea thing are you? Ah well. Still love you. Yeah we should see if she can help us out again."
>>
>>24350717
"Who? I don't recall any of them boasting being particularly good at bookkeeping. Did they?"
>>
>>24350801
can you fill me in on who she's going to contact? I can't remember in the slightest.
>>
>>24350788
Actually, this is making more and more sense, after her story of "how the First Flyers fed an entire flock with but a single seed". And Mumei is good with "figure-books".
>>
>>24350832
The bird chick. She helped with stone halls book keeping.
>>
>>24350818
>>24350832
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23914843/#p23920266
>>
>>24350801
Seconding this; definitely *not* a stupid idea in the slightest.
>>
>>24350788
"Princess Mumei?" You say.

"Right, remember? Isen and Avery were relying on her like crazy. She's great with numbers." Tricia says.

"Doesn't matter how great she is." Quentin says. "We need multiple people, and someone to help enforce this, cause we're stretching the Occuli thin as it is. The bodyguards Jeremy bought for his own security have already stopped two attacks on us."

"Which comes to the crazy part." Tricia says. "We need people who are imposing, good with numbers, and apparently can work for cheap." She grins at you. "We already polluted one town with monsters, why not go two for two?"
>>
>>24350865
Oh wow.

Paul is going to be in paradise.
>>
>>24350865
OH LIGHT. I was only making a Pinky and the Brain joke about the harpies, but she was ACTUALLY THINKING about the harpies.

Time to collect the not-corrupted birds.
>>
>>24350850
>>24350844
oh shit I just sort of glossed over that while reading. I need to pay more attention to the special talents of people.
>>
>>24350865
"Well, that's the best idea I've heard all day. Quentin, you don't hate harpies, right? Right. good. Glad you think so. It's decided then. We'll work out the details as we go along."
>>
>>24350915
"You know, I was going to give you a chiding for your plan being too sensible, but that's right up our alley. Quentin, you don't hate harpies that much, right? good. I knew it, it's settled. But where will we find enough to solve the problem? There are those outcast from the peaks, but maybe more elsewhere?"

"Wait wha-" Quentin starts to say, but Tricia is off and running.

"Well, I figure we start with them, and then branch out. They have to know more who are somewhat sane." She says. "Plus, we don't know how many we're talking about. All we met was one person...we're probably going to need the book from the Bear Shrine...actually probably all of them." She says. "We'll also need Mumei. The Phoenix Empire is all about birds, they HAVE to know something about harpies. They have lamias and nagas overt here as well."
>>
>>24351004
oh, sorry I deleted that echo. I just thought it was... clumsily worded.
>>
>>24351004
"Quentin, I assume that you and Rachel don't plan to leave Bronze Peak for Stone Hall permanently anymore, but would you mind heading there with us for a day or so? You can start explaining the accounting details to Princess Mumei on the way back; she knows bookkeeping like Balles knows paperwork."
>>
>>24351004
>>24351073
"Quentin, I assume that you and Rachel don't plan to leave Bronze Peak for Stone Hall permanently anymore, but would you mind heading there with us for a day or so? You can start explaining the accounting details to Princess Mumei on the way back; she knows bookkeeping like Balles knows paperwork."

"Uhh, sure, but getting back to the Harpies..." Quentin says.

"It's a great plan. Thanks for helping us come up with the idea!" Tricia says. "Oh, hey! Mage, over here!"

Mage has entered the door, he comes over. "Hey, so...good news over here I hope." He says.

"We're going to bring a flock of Harpies to live here." Tricia says. "Quentin thinks it's a great idea."

"Now hold on a mom-"

"Great, so usual Dawnchaser Plan. Wonderful. How're things with the vampire girl?" He asks you.
>>
>>24351004
"Very good. we have people who can read all the books, theoretically. Mumei shouldn't be a problem either, and she might help us with the diplomacy in addition to the papers. I'm looking forward to the trip to stone hall. travelling's the most calm it gets for us."
>>
>>24351105
>"Great, so usual Dawnchaser Plan. Wonderful. How're things with the vampire girl?" He asks you.

"She has a long journey back to the Light ahead of her, but she'll be taking it in this life, not just in the next."
>>
>>24351105
"It will be long road for her but with some help she should see better days."
>>
>>24351105
It occurs to me to wonder: what are the odds that Paul or one of the other harpies speaks Phoenix Tongue, or that Mumei speaks Harpy?
>>
>>24351105
>pinning it on quentin
oh man, I am audibly chortling.
>>
>>24351105

seriously though, how much is Paul gonna love this. So much to count. Can we have a side quest, Paul, Harpy accountant quest!
>>
>>24351105

Well, turns out that she was kind of already in a fragile mental state before the whole vampirism thing. Trivalon just got her hopped up on depression and drugs before "persuading" her to become a vampire, and the rest of the Dramatae made it much worse through unholy genocidal orgies (don't ask). She'll be committed to the Asylum to wait for a Vampire cure, as well as being treated for any issues she might have had beforehand.

Huh. Whatever happened to Trivalon anyhow?
>>
>>24351105
>>24351158
And whether they can communicate or not:
"Mage, do you think you could pull off another of your Rosetta Devices?"
>>
>>24351204
we need to buy some vodka and talk to him before we go is what happened to him.
>>
>>24351105
>"We're going to bring a flock of Harpies to live here." Tricia says. "Quentin thinks it's a great idea."

>"Now hold on a mom-"
I loled.

>>24351184
>seriously though, how much is Paul gonna love this. So much to count. Can we have a side quest, Paul, Harpy accountant quest!
And then half the women from Jeremy's place start hitting on him...
>>
>>24351143
"She has a long journey back to the Light ahead of her, but she'll be taking it in this life, not just in the next.

"As for the Roc Book, we have people who can read all the books, theoretically. Mumei shouldn't be a problem either, and she might help us with the diplomacy in addition to the papers. I'm looking forward to the trip to stone hall. Traveling's the most calm it gets for us."

"No kidding." Mage says.

"Look, about living with harpies, I think we need to tal-"

"Yeah, well...when we aren't traveling through mountains of death." Tricia says. "So, why are you here, Mage?"

"Well, it's about Ava. She's out of surgery, and she's going to live but..." He shakes his head. "There were some complications due to the internal damage from her wounds and the teleport. You might need Peri to talk to her."

"Huh why?" Tricia says.

"You might NEED Peri to talk to her."

"Oh, OH, ohhhhhh, ohh, poor Ava." Tricia sighs. "Anything else?"

"A host of things." Mage shakes his head. "The doctors say 30, 40 years at most...organ damage."

"Terrible, now can we please talk about where these bird cr-"

"That's awful." Tricia said. "How's she taking it?"

"She blames herself." He shakes his head. "She said that she's afraid, and that she's not sure if a short life as Ava is better than a longer life as Lilly." Mage shrugged. "I'm not the confession guy, so I just asked her to wait for you to come talk to her." He points at you.

"So you bailed on her? Nice, really nice Mage." Tricia says.

"The harpies aren't really going to be inside the mount-"

"I didn't bail. I came to get you, Ssen, and Lea's with her, anyway." Mage says. "Anyway, that's what I'm here for. Ava needs to talk to you."
>>
>>24351334
We should really think about setting up those teleport stones in all the major cities.
>>
>>24351356
>setting up teleport stones in cities
And there goes travel time, our only reprieve.
>>
>>24351372
Shit, good point...
>>
>>24351356
but then we dont have our peaceful travel time between the dark hells the cities have been.

i would pass, hell just say its too expensive/rare components or something, I actually enjoy the breaks we have traveling between places.
>>
>>24351334
>"You might NEED Peri to talk to her."

Ah. That's sad, but at least she's alive.

>"I didn't bail. I came to get you, Ssen, and Lea's with her, anyway." Mage says. "Anyway, that's what I'm here for. Ava needs to talk to you."

"OK, let me get Peri and Mari, and we'll head there now."

Then check in with Peri and Mari, get them to tag in one of the guards in their place, and head over to Cups.
>>
>>24351334
"What a shame. I'll head off to talk to her. And Quentin, you'll love your new harpy neighbors. They're all about counting. All about it!"
>>
>>24351356
>>24351372
>>24351392

We shall call this secret network of Ssen-teleporters...

The Serpent Road

If anyone gets this one, I'll be shocked.
>>
>>24351458
...Dragon Ball?
>>
>>24351477
That's what I was thinking also.
>>
>>24351458
>>24351477
either that or the underground railroad.
>>
File: 1366439758329.gif-(892 KB, 240x192, homercastsfire1.gif)
892 KB
892 KB GIF
>>24351458
>>
>>24351491
Yeah, but that's fairly well known.
>>
>>24351477
>>24351488
Final Fantasy 4
>>
>>24351334
>"A host of things." Mage shakes his head. "The doctors say 30, 40 years at most...organ damage."
>she's not sure if a short life as Ava is better than a longer life as Lilly

What is the average human lifespan in this world, roughly?
>>
>>24351627
>What is the average human lifespan in this world, roughly?

With Citadel...85, give or take a decade.

Without...well...we'll see.

Oh, and Ava's 19.
>>
>>24351676
well, I think we're going to go talk to peri/meri, get them, replace the guard on hannah perhaps, and talk to ava next.
>>
How old were we ourselves? I keep thinking 18 for some reason.
>>
>>24351742
I think so.
>>
>>24351399
"OK, let me get Peri and Mari, and we'll head there now."

You actually meet Peri/Mari on the way down to the cells. Jeremy's with them, they had a good, long, private, talk and Helen's in a much calmer, better place. She's also agreeing giving the Occuli all she can remember about her actions and the Dramatae...after she rests, she's emotionally drained and needs a dosage of pig blood.

Jeremy looks saddened, but better. That is until Quentin comes up to him and tells him what your latest Dawnchaser Plan is.

"Uhh, Ssen if we could have a word wit-"

"Peri, Mari. We're heading over to Cups to see Ava." You say.

"Something up?" They ask.

"We'll tell you on the way." You say. "Anyway, we need to get moving. Quentin, Jeremy, thanks, keep up the good work, and I'm sure you'll love your new harpy neighbors. They're all about counting!" You four/five head off to Cups leaving the pair just standing there, slightly stammering and wondering what in all of the Myriad Darknesses just happened?

"Huh," Peri says, when Mage tells her what Ava's condition is. "That's...yeah..." She sighs. "Don't know how much help I can be." She shrugs. "It's not like I..." She shakes her head. "I'll talk to her."

You arrive and go to Ava's room. Lea is there outside, she nods at your approach. "You got Peri too...that's good." She sighs. "Did Helen's case go better?"

"Yes." Tricia says. "She's better and she's going to not be executed or jailed...just a long road to recovery."

"Oh thank His Mercy." Lea says. "Though I suppose law of averages says that at least ONE troubled soul we try to reach should be placed back upon the path."

"What about me?" Peri says.

"You aren't a troubled soul." Lea says. "You are a Dawnchaser, which mean your soul is completely out of her mind and, more often than not, charging towards the foulest pit of Darkness it can find in a game of chicken!"

A pause.

"Yeah, fair point." Peri says. She sighs and looks at you. "So...you want to go in first?"
>>
>>24351834
>"Yeah, fair point." Peri says. She sighs and looks at you. "So...you want to go in first?"

"No, I've had enough private conversations for one day, unless she needs confession for some reason. I think I'd like you there too."
>>
>>24351855
(Unless Ava was specifically requesting Ssen alone.)
>>
>>24351834
"No, I was told I'd NEED you to talk to her. I don't know what that means, but come on in."
>>
>>24351887
We know exactly what that means. Remember what Donovan did to Peri?
>>
>>24351905
ooooooh

man I'm just not picking up on anything today.
>>
>>24351855
"No, I've had enough private conversations for one day, unless she needs confession for some reason. I think I'd like you there too."

"Okay, I have no idea what to say though." Peri says. "Kiddo, you've switched off right? Yeah...she's taking a rest."

You go inside the room. Ava in a regular looking night slip. It looks like someone in Cups finally gave her real clothes. She's looking at a small crystalline sculpture of spheres in the corner of the room.

"So..." She says. "I suppose..." She takes a deep breath, you see she's trying not to cry...again. "I suppose you're going to say that this is all my fault, or that I deserve this. Well? Something about how this was my choice, and it was the wrong one, so now I have to suffer for it?" She asks. She's really really close to breaking down, and she's masking it as best she can by being angry with Miss High-And-Mighty Paladin Serpent.
>>
>>24351953
Coil up near her.
"It's unfortunate. I'm sorry things didn't turn out better. How are you holding up?"
>>
>>24351953
"Nobody deserves this."
Then:
>>24352019
This. I don't think it's the time for speechifying yet, and certainly not words of wisdom; she's had quite enough of that for a moment, and right now she needs some comfort.

Some text I was writing up, but I don't think it fits the mood, at least not yet: "Nobody deserves this. You made a choice, but it doesn't mean you wanted this to happen, and you've done nothing to deserve suffering. I don't know how well the other choice would have turned out, either; somehow I doubt that the poison of a Leviathan is a gentle thing. But what kind of hypocrite would I be, if I fought against Citadel trying to take people's choices away from them and its trying to do what it thinks best, and then acted like a Dragon and imposed my will on you?"

> She's looking at a small crystalline sculpture of spheres in the corner of the room.

Yeah, that's so not going to survive this conversation
>>
>>24351953
"I'm not here to judge you. None of us are.

"All I can do offer my condolences. Nobody truly drives anything like this ...

"If you need anything, please let us know. Be it just someone to talk or just getting something better than Cups food."
>>
>>24352019
You coil up next to her, most of you hanging off of the bed. "It's unfortunate. I'm sorry things didn't turn out better. How are you holding up?"

"I'm dying. I've lost Adhan. I'm...I'm..."

"Sterile." Peri says. "We know." She takes her hand and squeezes it. "I know."

"What do you..." Ava sees the look in Peri's eyes. "Oh. How...how do you? I mean, I never thought about it until...until now that I can't...I just..."

Peri squeezes it. "I know, and it's awful...but I'm told there are ways. Ssen and Tricia say they have a way to have a child together. I figure if they can pull THAT off then...well...maybe there's hope. But...but yeah...it's an awful feeling, and I'm sorry that there's someone else who feels it."

She sniffs. "What do I do now?"
>>
>>24351953
It wasn't the wrong choice. It was YOUR choice. Yes, I would have preferred if you had chosen differently, but I am not you. I have not had your life. I only have an outsiders perspective. More important than me telling you what choice to make, is you making the choice. Your life is your own to do with as you wish. From this moment on, you are no longer under any obligation other than what you choose to bear.
>>
>>24352140
"Recuperate some. Then, when you're feeling well enough, you'll get up and start living."
>>
>>24352185
I'm going to add onto this, since it's my own post and I'm allowed if there's still time.

"Maybe, once you get up, you'll still want to get on back to your town? Or stone hall, I suppose, we're going there too."
>>
>>24352145
I really like the latter half of this as a response to her current question:
>I have not had your life. I only have an outsiders perspective. More important than me telling you what choice to make, is you making the choice. Your life is your own to do with as you wish. From this moment on, you are no longer under any obligation other than what you choose to bear.

"Your life is not someone else's story, and you no longer need to sacrifice yourself on the altar of the Lightbringers. What do you want to do? You could fight on, in any number of ways. You could find Adahn, and prove Peace wrong. Or you could go home, or make a home for yourself in any number of places.

Do you still have the medallion that Lea gave you?"
>>
>>24352185
"Well, first, you recuperate some. Then, when you're feeling well enough, you'll get up and start living. Maybe, go back to your town? Or Stone Hall? We're going there."

She shrugs and pulls away from the both of you.

"I have not had your life. I only have an outsiders perspective. More important than me telling you what choice to make, is you making the choice. Your life is your own to do with as you wish. From this moment on, you are no longer under any obligation other than what you choose to bear.

"Your life is not someone else's story, and you no longer need to sacrifice yourself on the altar of the Lightbringers. What do you want to do? You could fight on, in any number of ways. You could find Adahn, and prove Peace wrong. Or you could go home, or make a home for yourself in any number of places.

"Do you still have the medallion that Lea gave you?"

She nods and fumbles around in her pile of things on the side table and holds it out. "Does she want it back?"
>>
>>24352312
"I think you might need it more right now- though I'm glad you held onto it. It's valuable to us."
>>
>>24352312
Press it back into her hands, and shake your head no. "It was a gift, Ava. Lea has another symbol to use. Have you seen that design before, and what it means? It's a symbol of my Paladin order, charged with bringing Light to the Darkness, because that's where it's needed most. That can mean fighting when necessary, but that's not the hard part. Sometimes it just means living, and brightening other people's lives when they need it. It can be nice to live for a purpose, to have a mission; just let it be *your* mission, and not anyone else's.

What do you want to do most? Not what you think you *should* do, to make other people happy; what do you *want* to do, what would make you happy?"
>>
>>24352461
(Actually, drop the use of her name; she's having enough identity problems without us reinforcing one or the other.)
>>
>>24352461
"I'm glad you held onto it, but keep it. It was a gift, Ava. Lea has another symbol to use. Have you seen that design before, and what it means? It's a symbol of my Paladin order, the Caligo Clarus. We are charged with bringing Light to the Darkness, because that's where it's needed most. That can mean fighting when necessary, but that's not the hard part. Sometimes it just means living, and brightening other people's lives when they need it. It can be nice to live for a purpose, to have a mission; just let it be *your* mission, and not anyone else's.

"What do you want to do most? Not what you think you *should* do, to make other people happy; what do you *want* to do, what would make you happy?"

She just stares for a moment and then blushes and looks away. "It's stupid."
>>
>>24352516
Oh god damn it. THIS conversation.
"Come oon, don't say that."
>>
>>24352516
"Well, do tell. stupid ideas are our bread and butter."
>>
>>24352516
Laugh a little.

"Trust me nothing we like more than stupid. So what is it?"
>>
>>24352516
>She just stares for a moment and then blushes and looks away. "It's stupid."

Smile broadly. "You should hear some of our plans. We're about to bring a bunch of harpies to Bronze Peak to act as accountants and guards. We live on stupid ideas."
>>
>>24352516
We're used to stupid. Trust me.
>>
>>24352570
yes. laugh first, regardless of what else.

This is hilarious fate.
>>
>>24352516
laugh hard

"five gold says our plans make yours like completely sane by comparison."

and then tell her some of ours after she tells hers.
>>
>>24352623
look* not like...
>>
>>24352623
Heh, nice. Some reminiscing with her would be fun, in any case.
>>
>>24352556
"Come on, don't say that." You say, laughing. "Nothing we like more than stupid ideas."

Peri hides it by looking at the sculpture, but you KNOW she's rolling her eyes.

"But stupid ideas are our bread and butter. Our latest is to bring Harpies to Bronze Peak to act as accountants and guards. "

Ava laughs. "Seriously?"

"And that's one we've thought out." Peri says.

She sighs and then points at her hair. "I did this. The color too."

"You did your own hair?" Peri asks. "How?"

"A couple of mirrors and a lot of patience." She says. "But...I don't..." She fidgets. "I don't know."
>>
>>24352623
Bonus: depending on what her plan *is*, we might just pull out five gold and hand it to her, wordlessly.
>>
>>24352693
Hairstylist? I guess she could apprentice under Jeremy...
>>
>>24352693
>>24352730
I thought Jeremy was a tailor? But is sandover still in his old business, even though he started a bank? If so, they might need a hairstylist.
>>
>>24352693
>>24352623
"Are you kidding?" Peri says. "Being a barber surgeon's sane compared to our plans of melting mountains, taking confession from terrorists, talking to Dragons, my personal favorite is how we took a boar and a tarp up the mountain using Ssen as a rope."

"But I hate blood, and all that other things that barber surgeons do...I just like making hair pretty." She sighs. "It's stupid and vain, and...and how I got here."
>>
>>24352743
"Making someone happy with their hair could make all the difference in the world. It's the little things that matter."
>>
>>24352743
"Well, perhaps you can get by with just the Barber part. You're really good at it, I'm sure plenty of people will be i terested.
>>
>>24352743
I am taking an excuse from this thread to go educate myself on medieval medicine, which apparently was what barbers did according to wikipedia.

Back in a few minutes.
>>
>>24352805
Same.
>>
>>24352785
>me again
>interested"
Holy crap I hate this keyboard.
>>
File: 1366444363353.gif-(948 KB, 268x325, 1364195345876.gif)
948 KB
948 KB GIF
>>24352805
>>24352818
>Medieval Medicine
>Chirurgery
>No Anesthetic
>>
>>24352743
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24016922/#p24024062
> She also has ridiculously long hair that's dyed blue. Yeah, you and Lea have long hair, but there's a reason you tie it up out of the way. That's just asking for a snag or a pull or something bad.

"It's not stupid, and it's not vain. Remind me to introduce you to our friend Isen if you want to recalibrate your scale for vain.

You don't have to do the surgeon thing; I think there's a market for someone who just does hair. We'd be happy to help you get started, perhaps here in Bronze Peak with Jeremy, or back in Stone Hall with a tailor named Gregory. Or would you prefer to head back home, like you said before?

And I don't know about the others, but I'd be happy to have some help with my hair; it's never been quite right since I got shot with Glass Scorpion venom. We'd be happy to point people in your direction; for some reason, people seem to want to look like the Dawnchasers or whatever title we're going by these days."
>>
>>24352805
Okay, so apparently they were the defacto surgeons and dentists of the day in addition to cutting hair. Fascinating.

Aaaanyways.
>>24352743
"Well, just doing hair isn't the most practical of businesses, but there are some ways we could go about it. You could try working as a specialist, fixing the hair of nobles and the injured, but that would rely on the winds of fate a bit much. If this hubbub about moneylending settles down, we could try offering a low price for a quick, good haircut. And we could always talk to sandover- perhaps a barber would be good for his business? he probably already has one. Hm.

Well, it's not the craziest plan, we just have to figure out how to get there."
>>
>>24352934
yeah, doesn't our hair canonically have big ol' white tips from that time we had white hair and grew it out?
>>
>>24352958
Yup. Not to mention after the adventures we've just gone through it almost certainly looks ragged.
>>
>>24352971
Ssen's hair strands probably remind her of her tongue. Forked.
>>
>>24352890
ugh I know fuck. Though it would be good if she eventually learned to do it anyway, but I think it's good if anyone takes up medicine legitimately.
>>
>>24353008
And her skin. Scaly and shed.
>>
>>24352958
>yeah, doesn't our hair canonically have big ol' white tips from that time we had white hair and grew it out?
I guess her hair really does have a bit of light in the darkness.
>>
>>24353018
>>24353118
I bet as Ssen ages, she will use more and more puns.

In 500 years, you'll be hard pressed to get a response from her that isn't made of limerick and puns.
>>
>>24352934
"It's not stupid, and it's not vain. Remind me to introduce you to our friend Isen if you want to recalibrate your scale for vain.

"Well, just doing hair isn't the most practical of businesses, but there are some ways we could go about it. You could try working as a specialist, fixing the hair of nobles and the injured, but that would rely on the winds of fate a bit much. If this hubbub about moneylending settles down, we could try offering a low price for a quick, good haircut. And we could always talk to Sandover, perhaps a barber would be good for his business? He probably already has one. Hm. Or you could try to start up in Stone Hall, we know a tailor and the people in charge." You shudder as always at the thought of Isen being put in a position of responsibility.

"I mean, it's not the craziest plan we've done, but, eh, we'll do it anyway." You smile at her.

"And I don't know about the others, but I'd be happy to have some help with my hair; it's never been quite right since I got shot with Glass Scorpion venom. We'd be happy to point people in your direction; for some reason, people want to look like the Dawnchasers or whatever title we're going by these days."

"The crazy idiots who ruin cities by mere presence?" Peri says.

Ava smiles and touches your hair. "It's not that bad. I'll need some roots, leaves, clay, and a few other things to make a nice dye for it. Also, braid or pony tail aren't your only options." She smiles. "But, you mean it? You'll help me?"

"It's what we do," Peri says. "But even if the leeches and bloodletting isn't your thing, you could try some medicine. You're good with dyes, judging my your hair, poultices aren't THAT complicated."

She shrugs. "I...don't like to think about people dying." She shivers. "No more." She yawns. "I'm tired...thank you, Paladin Serpent." She hugs you. There are tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry I failed you earlier, I'll do better next time."
>>
>>24353165
"Well, that's what failures are for. That you learned that makes this one of the brighter points of my day. Rest well."
>>
>>24353140
So, our next title is the Pun-nisher?
>>
>>24353165
You didn't fail. You tried to do the right thing and got stabbed for your trouble. I can relate...
>>
>>24353214
Maybe not our next, but somewhere down the line we'll become known for it.
>>
>>24353256
she thinks she failed with her decision to not be cured by dragon magic.

Which is a failing if she thinks it is. she's dealing with it.
>>
>>24353165
Hug back. "Its okay, and I know you will. It won't be easy, but your life should be better without your mind being poisoned. Rest well.
>>
>>24353361
This sounds good.
>>
>>24353140
There once was a serpent named Ssen,
whose punning got under your skin.
With diplomacy, flair,
and a Paladin Glare,
And crazy ideas for the win.
>>
>>24353383
Ssen will be a much more fun/annoying granny than granny.
>>
>>24353165
No she wont but as long as we can keep Citadel off of her it will be ok.
>>
You hug her back. You even use a bit of your tail in this one. She sobs a bit but regains herself. You relax and look at her. "Its okay, and I know you will. That's what failures are for. That you learned that makes this one of the brighter points of my day. Your mind is free, and you now have a chance to make your life better. Or at the very least, yours. Rest well."

She nods and falls back into her bed. The two of you leave.

"She's okay?" Mage asks.

Peri shakes her head. "Not by a long shot, but she's on the path...and frankly we need to point her in your direction, quickly."

"Huh?"

"What DO you do mage, get a bowl and a dagger and just carve your hair off like that?"

"No. That's stupid...Tricia does it."

"So many answered questions with that." Peri says.

"HEY!" Tricia says. "He looks fine! You never say bad things about MY hair!"

"Because YOU have things in there that can BITE me!" Peri says.

Lea comes up to you. "So, while the others are being four year olds again, what are we doing next? Tricia told me the plan, we going back to Old One's mountain to get the harpies, down to Stone Hall to get the Princess, or are we going on the offensive with those leads about the Dramatae?"
>>
>>24353460
"Stone Hall and Harpies first, wouldnt sit well with me to leave the city in such a mess after we went through all the trouble to break it from Citadel's grasp."
>>
>>24353460
>Tricia told me the plan, we going back to Old One's mountain to get the harpies, down to Stone Hall to get the Princess, or are we going on the offensive with those leads about the Dramatae?

"All of the above, I think. While we're here, we should probably start by introducing Paul to Quentin and Jeremy, giving him more counting than he knows what to do with, and asking him to talk to his friends. Stone Hall is a day's journey away, so we could head there next and get Mumei. And then we start chasing down some of those leads; I promised Old One some heads, and after today I'm even more in a mood to deliver."
>>
>>24353460
"Going on the offence may wait a while. I think we were all stabbed up a bit back there, not just her. How long do you think it will be before everyone can travel? I wonder if anyone still wants to come with us, too."
>>
>>24353460
oh peri, tricia, and mage. You guys crack me up.
>>
>>24353516
Specific leads we might want to chase down: finding Holting of the Bear Tribe, talking to the elves and learning about the fey that betrayed them to Peace (Thistleblossom perhaps?), helping Mari and Peri enact the idea Old One gave them for how to stay sane, making a potion from merfolk jelly to protect our minds, getting information from the other three books (or letting others do it for us), figuring out more about the bonding ritual (what we've done with Mage and what we may yet do with Tricia)...
>>
>>24353509
"Stone Hall and Harpies first, wouldnt sit well with me to leave the city in such a mess after we went through all the trouble to break it from Citadel's grasp."

"Agreed, but if we leave and come back to find another shanty town of malcontents camped outside," Lea says. "I say we jump straight to Mage dumping a mountain on them."

"How long do you think it will be before everyone can travel? I wonder if anyone still wants to come with us, too."

"Give everyone a day or two, help out with keeping the peace in the meantime." Lea says.

"Then, while we're here waiting for everyone to recover, we should probably start by introducing Paul to Quentin and Jeremy, giving him more counting than he knows what to do with, and asking him to talk to his friends. Stone Hall is a day's journey away, so we could head there next and get Mumei. And then we start chasing down some of those leads; I promised Old One some heads, and after today I'm even more in a mood to deliver."

"They say His Light is one of infinite kindness, forgiveness, and compassion. That all who seek it can be given His Blessing and be at peace." Lea said. "That being said, I think that when we find these people we show them the extent of our Righteous Wrath...preferably one that ends with a crater, fires, and multiple missing limbs."

"Amen." The others say.
>>
>>24353509
Yes, we can't leave before the situation is stabilized; if we do Peace might find some more willing converts (Please help me, I will do ANYTHING if you make this better).
>>
>>24353577
Let's do holt while we're still here.

And we need to have a nice TALK with our friends about the bonding ritual. and mage. in fact.

"Mage, can I borrow you for a while? I need you to help me test something. Give me like, a slap, or pinch me. Just to test."
>>
Tricia: Next time on Lamia Quest, we have a little peace and quiet as we go to Stone Hall to get Princess Mumei to help with out economic reforms.
Mage: You think we're going to get in trouble for having the Asian girl be good with numbers?
Peri: She isn't Asian, she's Phoenix Empire.
Mage: Suuuuurrrrrrrre she is.
Mari: It was an unfortunate application of character traits that was made without consideration of implications.
Mage: So, EG was just being stupid, not racist.
Peri: Like he usually is.
Lea: A-HEM...we also try to have the Harpies join society, and get further in our plans to screw with the Dramatae.
Tricia: Tragedy's tomorrow, Comedy's tonight!
Mari: Not everyone will get that.
Tricia: Well then they need to see more musicals.
Lea: Next thread will be April 21st 2-4pm PST (Maybe earlier if EG doesn't sleep in, lazy ass.)
Dawnchasers: May His Light Be With You!
>>
>>24353606
See you tomorrow echo, great thread, but I was getting kind of worn out at the end. I think other people were too.

All that TOUGH DECISION at the beginning sort of harrowed us.
>>
>>24353599
He's not here; he's a grain baron near Citadel.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24080955/#p24082713
>"Yes, Mariana Glenn is related to Lady Glenn, but she isn't here. I don't want any trouble from Sandover, or from Lord Holting."

>"Hold up." Mari says. "Lord Holting? As in Darius Holting?"

>"Yes, he's Lady Glenn's cousin."

>"Yeah, I know who he is." Mari says. "He's the guy who owns half of the crops that feed Citadel. I went over to his estate when I was seven for a party once. I knew we were related."

>"Well, he's the executor of her estate. He's the one who's been pay-asking the Occuli and the investigating Paladins and the Guilds to keep this whole matter of her death quiet."

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24080955/#p24082796
>"Perhaps we should visit this Lord Holting also."

>"He lives in an estate that's between White Tree and Citadel." Mari pauses.
>>
>>24353606
Thanks for the thread and see you then.

>>24353628
I like them shapes Ssen more. Hardens our own resolve to murder the fuck out of a few people.

All I have to say though is just don't over do it. This was good and fun but we get another thread like this I'll burn out ...
>>
>>24353606
Another great thread Echo, see you on Sunday.
>>
>>24353606
>Tricia: Tragedy's tomorrow, Comedy's tonight!
>Mari: Not everyone will get that.

Next time, a funny thing happened on the way to Stone Hall...

Very well played Echo; thank you again.

>>24353666
Yeah, I like the ups and downs, but we could definitely use another shining Paladin moment.
>>
>>24353666
see, he can do another thread likes this. that's fine.

but some comedic relief would not be amiss. We need Isen to bother us into going to the beach again.
>>
>>24353699
we technically accomplished our objectives and more that outing. Literally every one was a moderate or complete success.

And yet we feel terrible.
>>
>>24353699
Don't worry, heavy drama bit is done. Nothing but fun times with the slightly-loopy harpies and when you hit Stone Hall, it's never too sad when Isen is present. Plus, some more daww with Tricia.
>>
>>24353706
My problem is if you chain too many together they lose their effect on the story and it can cause some players to snap.

I can think of one quest that had one too many plot twist that caused a hell of a mess ...

Just like to avoid that is all I'm saying.
>>
>>24353730
yeah, honestly I think the reason we're getting so harrowed is because we need Isen around. He's a real mood lightener.

Also he would have LOVED to see that dragon.
>>
>>24353734
that's what I'm saying. They can happen, and have their effect...

but we need to have some off days. A hunting trip with Ssen. Some silliness with the harpies. Good times with tricia and Clang. Isen and us jibing each other.

also, an awkward conversation about flesh and dragon rites now that all our team know what's up.
>>
>>24353715
Yup. It hurt because we were all so happy about being "Little Dragon". But it's the kind of terrible feeling that makes us fight that much harder for the next victory. We're getting as much forging of character as Ssen, here.

>>24353730
Looking forward to it.
>>
>>24353748
And you know everyone's personal issues should they wish to talk about them ... man that peak was a bit of eye opener. Though I agree so damn much with Lea little snapping, at the start, she had.
>>
>>24353773
>>24353771
Consider a ritual for our eventual serpenguard, which I am absolutely sure we will have one day.

Forging themselves in the hateful fires of dark peaks. something to think about.
>>
>>24353748
>also, an awkward conversation about flesh and dragon rites now that all our team know what's up.

That should be entertaining.

>>24353773
>And you know everyone's personal issues should they wish to talk about them ... man that peak was a bit of eye opener.
Yeah, I don't think that's the last we'll hear of those conversations.

I suspect the bits with Tricia, at least, may come up in our d'awww moment with her next time.
>>
>>24353835
Man tricia, you have some valid complaints.

Afraid you won't be able to find anyone better than Ssen? Honey. Look around. There's not much better.
>>
>>24353851
>Afraid you won't be able to find anyone better than Ssen? Honey. Look around. There's not much better.

And on the flip side, they seem pretty much perfect for each other. I don't think Ssen'll be looking for better, either.
>>
>>24353903
well, I'm going to sleep, but I'm gonna say what I've been saying for many threads now.

Isen is a possibility.
>>
>>24353928
Never. That ego. Never.

Also, it be fucked up towards Tara.



Delete Post [File Only] Password
Style
[a / b / c / d / e / f / g / gif / h / hr / k / m / o / p / r / s / t / u / v / vg / vr / w / wg] [i / ic] [r9k] [s4s] [cm / hm / lgbt / y] [3 / adv / an / asp / cgl / ck / co / diy / fa / fit / gd / hc / int / jp / lit / mlp / mu / n / out / po / pol / sci / soc / sp / tg / toy / trv / tv / vp / wsg / x] [rs] [status / q / @] [Settings] [Home]
[Disable Mobile View / Use Desktop Site]

[Enable Mobile View / Use Mobile Site]

- futaba + yotsuba -
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective parties. Images uploaded are the responsibility of the Poster. Comments are owned by the Poster.