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>>25491030
Last thread we had just spied on the Count for a while. I still feel that we should be extra cautious and look for all indications of a daemon being present before we do anything at all. First let's see if Mari has learned anything interesting yet despite the short amount of time passed. Then we should also do some recon ourselves with a focus on local religion, superstition, and rumors of anything that sounds supernatural.

Oh also, last night you left just before I could ask my question. Reposting:
Is our wound affecting our ability to use powers, as in making it harder for us to focus or harming our stamina? Or is it only hurting our physical ability?

>>25491244

Your stamina is much worse until the wound heals, yes, so definitely avoid any confrontations. Your focus is fine, though. The pain is irritating, but not debilitating, and you've muscled through this sort of thing before. That said, avoid reopening the wound, it could make things worse.

>>25491185

Mari has reluctantly found herself a room at the local inn, splurging for a room with a lockable chest so that she can stash her heavier armaments there. Since then she's been worried that the innkeeper might take them, since he's providing the chest and probably knows how to open it, but better to lose some sweet gear than to be arrested for walking around so heavily armed.

Mari hasn't had much time to scout out for unusual behavior in the city, in that she's mostly been familiarizing herself with how to not get caught by the ubiquitous guards. Turns out, if you aren't a noble or a merchant, pretty much everything can be punished with anything from a slap on the wrist to execution depending almost entirely on the present mood of the bailiff. She has discovered there are no Rats in this city.

Your own scouting of the city finds that there's a half-dozen churches dedicated to as many gods in the town, and none of them have any particular importance to the townspeople. The Red Queen and Razag share a temple, and Koril has one as well. There's also a temple to your friend Tempus, with a phoenix on his shoulder, presumably Antilan (though the clergy don't name him).

The rest are daemons you don't know (or else they aren't daemons at all, but not bloody likely). There's a woman with a blindfold and wings called Invess, a man whose torso is supported by four arms in place of legs, some kind of god of retribution named Viscus, and Doppel, the spirit of a thousand masks, who is a god of both joy and deceit.

>>25491678
Is this a wat do?

>>25491770
I'll assume it is. If it's still daytime, I think it might be wise to just wander around town trying to overhear conversations about whatever rumors are going around the area. Anything supernatural happening could probably get passed around as a rumor for quite a bit, even if not taken completely serious by the townspeople, so it could be a good way to try to find out if anyone else is here.

>>25492058
Right, I was just typing something along the same vein. To make sure we're utilizing Mari tell her to also ask around about Whisper City (To the right people though). We could use any info even if it's tall tales.

>>25492058
Oh I forgot to point it out, but it's probably better to do so OUT of shadow form. It's not like we stick out particularly in this environment.

>>25492058

You listen in on the local gossip. It seems that there has indeed been some strange activity at night. There's a man stalking the night whose face is a single, massive eye, they say, but the town guard can find no trace of him when they go hunting at night.

There's plenty of people willing to indulge Mari's curiosity. Bored servants have loose lips and it's usually pretty easy to sneak into the kitchens or some other non-vital part of a castle, particularly when you're thirteen. Mari's still registering to harmless as most people, though she's growing in more than just magical power.

Regardless, by the end of the day Mari has found all kinds of rumors about Whisper City. The woods nearby are filled with ghosts and monsters, they say. While gathering up rumors, she finds over a dozen different descriptions of various monsters, including four of the five daemons who ambushed you at the cove (the statue daemon is the one missing).

Rumors are abundant. The gods do battle with a demon in the woods. A demon in the woods can take the form of the gods. They aren't actually the gods at all, they're just of the same race. The gods are punishing Margell for their disloyalty to the true king (followed immediately by an argument over which one is the true king). And so on.

>wat do?

>>25492294
It's Ivan time! Did the rumors about the hit squad include where and when they were sighted? The woods? If it isn't from the last few days, they've probably been hitting daemons there. Ones from Night, by the sound of it.

>>25492367
Which means we could either take this time to pull Sholta over to our side while they are distracted, or go and help them out. Which to do...

>>25492367

The rumors are all third-hand information. Their details are usually non-existent (just "in the haunted woods") or else entirely unreliable. Villages they refer to could be misplaced, entirely unrelated to the events they're referring to, or entirely non-existent. Likewise all depictions of individual sightings could be completely fabricated.

>>25492406
If they've been operating in the area for a while, it's hard to say how many are left to be helped. And even more uncertain how much we can help while we're wounded. It sounds like Ivan is here NOW though, and even if he moves at night there's a chance he's spotted us already. I'm suddenly very glad about refraining from use of suggestions.

>>25492491
In the woods is good enough for me. That makes it more likely that they were hunting Nights in there before being relocated to our case. It's a shame we don't know how recent those sightings are, but I think it's likely that they'd be in the area again. Because where would we go aside from here?

I'm thinking we have time for some extra carefulness, so let's do some nightstalking, try to find Ivan and see what he's up to. If he's warding the place, or just stalking around, if he's on to us already... We have the advantage when it comes to being Unnoticed, even more so at night. So let's try to find him and observe him.

I'd also really love to stick something through his skull, but let's not. For now at least.

Also warn Mari that the guy from Westercoast is probably in town looking for us, though he shouldn't know what SHE looks like, he definitely knows us. She should stay awake and alert through the night, ready to defend herself and run for help.

>>25492745
Yeah, this for sure. Good points, if we can manage to surprise attack Ivan once we're healthy we should. However, it's likely he's gotten word from Tempus now and is probably paranoid.

>>25492745
>>25492853

You begin stalking the night, making liberal use of Unnoticed to prevent yourself from being snuck up on. Eventually, you manage to locate Ivan, nimbly climbing about rooftops, latching onto walls and peering inside windows, like a spider with four limbs and his one massive eye. He hasn't noticed you, but his search patterns are straightforward: Inns, taverns, prisons, and people known to accept a guest or two for a price. He's looking for itinerants, most likely, but he doesn't know what Mari looks like. Is he looking for someone else? Or does he have some way of identifying her with Clarity?

In any case, he's looking, and on the occasion that the guards do see him (they're all over this city, after all) they don't sound an alarm, just turn white and look the other way.

>wat do?

>>25493300
Keep shadowing him. I want to see where he hides in the day. Plus, I'm not sure what it looks like when he makes wards, but this doesn't sound like it. That's comforting.

>>25493300
Looks like he's awfully vulnerable while skulking about. Might be worth it to have Mari tag along and off the fucker, but the temptation is too strong to not be a bad idea.

>>25493403
So yeah, let's see where he runs off to during the daytime. It'll be interesting to see if he reports to Tempus or something.

>>25493441
That would be quite the experience for her, sticking a sword in a daemon. But not now. Definitely not now.

>>25493403

He crawls through one inn after the other. This region being reasonably prosperous and well-protected, it gets more trade than it deserves being that it's now a dead-end, but nevertheless it's not long before he ends up heading towards the inn where Mari is staying. He moves from one window to the other, jimmying latches and opening shutters to peer inside at those sleeping inside.

When he approaches Mari's room and manages to get the shutters open, and then ducks out of the way as an arrow flies out of the room. Ivan climbs up onto the roof, waiting for a moment, and then moves on to the next window, not bothering to take another look inside at Mari.

>wat do?

>>25493846
Neat, someone's definitely awake. Too bad he managed to get out of the way, but then, that would have been cheap. He moved on, so he might be looking for someone else. Let's keep following, we still don't know where he'll go once he's done.

>>25493998
Right, we did want to find out where he goes during the daytime. We'll have to complement Mari later for her vigilance.

>>25494053
And of course thank her for not killing him. Clearly she knows how much it would upset us if we didn't get to gloat when we take him down. But for down, stalking. Do NOT follow him into any buildings or similar though. Paranoia is at maximum.

...Do go on.

>>25494380
Twirly's probably writing up the next part now. He generally doesn't disappear without leaving a note. Just gotta be patient.

>>25493998

You follow Ivan as he makes his rounds for several more hours. It's only about an hour before dawn when he slips into the Count's tower in the heart of the city, climbing spiderlike up the walls and walking straight past the guards, who continue to ignore him as he heads inside the castle itself.

The captain of the guard is waking himself up early and preparing to leave the castle to go about his duties in town when Ivan finds him. "A young girl in the Drunken Goat," he says, "heavily armed. Golgothan weapons and armor. Bring her to me."

"As you wish," the guard captain says, clearly intimidated by the creature, and then heads out the door. Ivan departs in a different direction.

>wat do?

>>25494630
Interesting. Managed to put himself in charge here already? The place is supposed to be neutral. First however, we're getting back to Mari at max speed (out of shadow form once we're away from the castle, no time for jumping between shadows) and moving her out of there. No way Ivan is getting her.

>>25494630
Get back to Mari, we can beat the guards if we're quick. Then have her head for the furthest gate out of the city. She's better off surviving in the countryside.

>>25494843
The not at all very friendly sounding countryside, you mean. With the "monsters" and shit prowling it. I guess it's better than a city full of guards taking order from Ivan, but damn. This entire area is hot.

>>25494923
I'd rather her take her chances in an environment that -might- be full of hostiles that she knows her way around like a goddamn ninja than an environment that -is- full of potential hostiles and she cant maneuver in without suspicion.

>>25494941
Getting out of the gates may not be much easier that getting in. It should be a little while before the streets become unsafe, but trying to pass through the gates alone might be bad. Best take some time to "get a lift" again, don't you think?

>>25494963
If there's a convenient opportunity to do so, yes. But we might not have the luxury of having time to do so.

>>25494992
Maybe, maybe not. Travelers usually leave town first thing in the morning, right? Should be an opportunity, and getting an actual description of her, and getting it out to the guards doesn't happen instantly. This isn't The Elder Scrolls.

>>25494923

There's plenty of countryside that isn't infested with ghosts and demons and stuff. It's only near the border with Whisper City that things go creepy.

>>25495056
Oh, and we also have Hidden Party. If we keep an eye out all the time and tell her to stand still anytime we see anything looking like a search squad that should afford her some extra safety. It may not be invisibility, but it's been pretty effective in the past.

>>25495071
Yea. And then they'll move here to search for her.

What was the ETA on Girdin, again?

>>25495186

Girdin is showing up in about six days, so you should probably be leaving to meet him in three. If you leave after four days (giving yourself two days to get there), you might be able to make it if you really push.

>>25495379
Alright, that's still time to do something. Can't quite decide yet what to do here, now that we know Ivan has placed himself in a position of power. Somehow. Is he using talents to do so, is the captain of the guard loyal to Golgoth, is the count loyal to Golgoth, does he have more daemons with him, under him or above him. So much we still don't know, and so reluctant to walk in there to find out. If we get busted inside a tower, that's really hard to escape from.
Still, for now get to Mari at our fastest pace, then get her out of here as quickly and quietly as possible.

>>25495462
My first guess would've been some Majesty perhaps, but the fact that the captain was intimidated suggests otherwise.

>>25494843
>>25494923

You head back to Mari and manage to find her, exhausted from having stayed up through the night. Apparently her daemon-esqueness does not extend to being able to stay up forever, but adrenaline can do wonderful things for a mortal's ability to stay awake.

The merchants are moving out of the city in large numbers. It's not even uncommon for someone to pay a caravan to allow you to tag along; it's profitable for the merchant and the passenger benefits from a significant escort for much cheaper than hiring their own. It's more difficult to explain why a young girl would be moving OUT of a protected city, but Mari hands over enough money to make the merchant not care. Outgoing caravans are hardly ever searched, so she's able to slip out of the city unnoticed and a solid hour ahead of when her description has circulated throughout the town guard.

>now what?

>>25495462
An even more daring thought, if Ivan continues to prowl the night, we could attempt to assassinate him with the help of Mari. This is of course risky as fuck, but we do have Hidden Party to help give us the jump on him, and unless he's jumped up in rank or acquired a power to protect him from delusions since last (doubtful), or that he's already warded the entire city (possible, we don't really know how difficult this is for him) he should be vulnerable. If we can pull it off, it should make the city a little safer. And then a lot less safe afterwards.

>>25495570
Well personally I consider the entire area dangerous right now. Get an hour or so between her and the city, find a place she can be relatively hidden and let her get a rest while we watch over her. Once she's rested up she can stay mobile and on guard and we can return to do some solo spywork.

>>25495570
>>25495584
Well with the advent of Mari getting out of the city, I'd say that idea goes out the window anon. Oh well, we can have our revenge another time.

For now, let's get her to a relatively safe place in the countryside that isn't in plain sight. Tell her to fend for herself and be extremely cautious if she runs into a Daemon. With the city potentially in Ivan's pocket, we're probably better off doing a cursory investigation of the cursed woods then returning to fetch Girdin.

>>25495645
Not necessarily. We could sneak her back in and lay very low (hidden party) until nighttime. We're not up for combat ourselves, but hiding her shouldn't be too exhausting, right?

>>25495678
That depends on if Unnoticed requires a constant power draw or not. Also, Ivan has Clarity (We're pretty sure at least) so he may be able to spot us if he thinks something is up.

Can you clarify if Unnoticed is a "turn on and you're good" power, or "slowly drains" power?

>>25495728
I don't remember any indication of him having clarity aside from the fact that he has a big eye. And that doesn't have to mean anything.

>>25495728
>>25495747
But at least hopefully we can agree that Mari deserves some rest, as well as a "good job with that arrow. You almost scored a kill on a daemon all on your own." Right?

Daytime isn't as valuable anyways.

"Someone post this in the thread for me, I need to go now. It's urgent and I may or may not be back later. Sorry." - TM via Skype Group.

Sorry folks, just thought I'd relay the message.

>>25495945

Cool, thanks for that. I am back now and ready to continue if there's anyone still around.

>>25495641
Supporting this plan of action still.

Make sure to tell her we aren't mad, but that WAS Ivan she just shot at. If she had used any of her powers she might have been captured or killed.

>>25498373
Also TM I have some questions:

1. Can Unnoticed work while someone's drawing back a bow?
2. Does the paralysis delusion have a chance of failing if the person under its effects is being harmed?

>>25498437

Any motion will cancel the Unnoticed power, including drawing a bow, and the paralysis delusion might fail in that someone might flinch involuntarily, but they can't consciously move themselves away.

>>25495641

A few miles out you part ways with the caravan and hole Mari up in an obscure campsite well off the beaten path. She should be able to take care of herself out here until winter comes, at least unless a daemon with tracking Talents (or even just a few hundred years of training in mundane tracking) comes poking around. Count Visin probably has enough men to find her too, if Ivan has enough power over him to order a massive manhunt.

In any case, Mari is safe barring extreme circumstances and you return to the city. Ivan was last seen somewhere in the castle, but you have no idea where he is now. Where do you plan to scout around?

>>25495728

Unnoticed, once activated, basically lasts forever. It might fail if you're dizzy with exhaustion/bloodloss and will always fail if you get knocked unconscious, but as a general rule you turn it on and there's no further drain.

>wat do?

>>25499131
Let's scout out the tower if we can, being EXTREMELY careful not to be seen. Don't take unnecessary risks. Once we finish getting an idea of what's going on there, we camp the gates and see if the guards are under orders to look for someone matching Mari's description.

>>25499187

You spend a long time scouting the tower. The good news is, it's slim enough on windows that there's plenty of shadows to hide in. The bad news, however, is that this place is the most well-guarded building in the most well-guarded city you've ever seen.

You see no sign of Ivan anywhere, and after the better part of a day you've been into almost every room in the castle. Some of them, however, are shut tight and aren't visited all day. If Ivan is still in the building, he's in one of those. On the other hand, they might just be unused rooms.

In any case, there's nothing else unusual going on. Servants gossip about who's sleeping with who and tell crazy stories about Golgothan dragons, which do not appear in the reports from the frontlines given by the spymaster to Count Visin. Ommos City itself has fallen, the spies say, when Golgoth breached the north wall and stormed the rest of the fortifications. Vigoth is now the last bastion of Ommosian resistance, and Kestis and Gigan are hammering as hard as they can, fearing that Golgothan "reinforcements" might take the city out from underneath them. By now the battle may have already been decided, but there's no word of what might have happened. No one, anywhere, mentions Ivan or anything like him.

>wat do?

>>25499597
We linger by the gates and see if the guards are searching more travelers or checking around for Mari's description. We need to confirm that they are not acticely searching for her. Then, we spend the night carefully tracking Ivan and see if he does his usual rounds. Keep an eye out for if he crosses any areas that would be ideal for an ambush. Preferrably ones that aren't often patrolled by guards.

>>25499763

And suddenly I am exhausted. I don't even know why, but I'll just respond to this and then ditch out.

The guards are indeed searching around for those fitting Mari's description, although no one in the castle is talking about it. Looks like the captain of the guard just went on a manhunt without bothering to notify the Count. You're not really sure whether or not he's supposed to be doing that.

That night, there's no sign of Ivan. Last time it only took about an hour to track him down, seeing as while he is reasonably stealthy, he's no expert the way you are, and he doesn't have any Talents to help (really, the only reason it took the hour to begin with is because of how big an area you have to search). This time, though, no luck all night. Maybe you just got spectacularly unlucky, and maybe he had invisibility or something up his sleeve and he just wasn't using it until now...But more likely, he's just not looking anymore.

Did he find what he wanted?

In any case, exhausted all of the sudden, quest will be running tomorrow...Sometime. Follow @MCJohnnyQuest on twitter so you'll receive the tweet that announce the start of the quest.

>see you then