>>27261895
>>[x] Reminisce.

>>27261895

>Reminisce.

on our way to Cromwell, let's see how he's doing with his research.

Walking through the village, you look up to Cromwell's tower. Lights are visible from inside, so you're pretty sure Cromwell's working on something inside.
While you walk, you think... About old battles.

===
Your name at the time was Tallin Kuwait. The place was Nystara. Precisely, underneath the ocean- the Pure Web, they call it. Great constructs of glass, pure air for non-mutant humans, where the ruling class survives. Domes spanned the lake floor, all of them so enormous as to defy belief. Each dome itself was the size of a city block back at the capital
You looked down at your note and your given equipment.

>Objective: Either kill or kidnap the nobleman Baelas. He can be found at the third dome, top level.
>Equipment: Pushblade, Electric Sling.

The blade itself is pretty normal guardsman wear. A thick set of plate armor reaching up to your shoulder, with a long, pointed blade sticking out of the top of your forearm. Punch a foe, and the blade focuses all that force to a point. Rather good for parrying, in your opinion.
Then you looked at the second weapon. It was a long rifle, like a musket- but cables covered the thing, leading to a battery set into the back. You don't quite know how it works, but you do know that they're rare... Very rare.
Your employers gave you quite an awesome weapon this time.

You look out at the third dome... you can see it from here, through the water. It's large, but it only has three tiered levels. The lower two were relatively high class, with guards and police... while the very top level was much more heavily guarded. Pureblooded nystarans patrolled, their white coats perfectly clean. It looked like none of them have close-range weapons- instead they have simple lelan muskets. Nothing special.
You closed your equipment container again, donned your own white coat, and walked up to the second floor. The third, however, was accessable only by an elevator and a single set of stairs, two guards standing at each.
>What did you do?

>>27262268
Got close to the guards, knocked them out.

>>27262268

we knocked the guards out, no need for needless bloodshed, we tied blindfolded and hid them on the stairs they were guarding. (assuming it is a spiral staircase.)

then we went up.

>>27262295
This, except try to bluff your way inside first. We look like a third-level guard, so perhaps we can say we were simply doing an errand for a higher-up. You aren't sure exactly who, but he threatened to bump you down to the lower levels if you didn't deliver some documents quick.

>>27262268
You know what would be also cool? If we wrenched open the elevator doors and climbed the cable up so no one knew we were coming as well.

Slinging the case with your weapons on your back, you strode toward the stairs. You gave both guards a nod, a cheery smile, and walked past.
<Sir?> One said.
<I'm supposed to do an errand for a superior.> You said. <I'm not sure exactly who.>
<How wouldn't you know who?> The guard asked.
<Well...> You say, and sigh. You raise the case. <He threatened to bump me down to the lower levels if I didn't deliver this quickly.>
He squints at you.
<... I don't think we hire kystar->
You slammed your case against the back of his head. He collapsed. The other guard gasped and raised his weapon, but you're without hesitation. You knocked the gun away and slid behind him, wrapping your arm around his neck.
You're not a fan of killing people this far into your career. If you just knock them out, people tend to end up sending assassins less.
The man struggled, jamming his elbow into your lower chest hard. Seemed he was aiming for the solar plexus. You shifted your balance, and he kicked at your knee, attempting to break it. He was going for the vital points, now that you look back at it.

>Roll submission hold! Mediocre skill! Medium difficulty!

Rolled 93

>>27262436

shhhh, shhhh, no tears, only sleep.

>>27262461
WE GOT DIS.
No one else should roll.

Rolled 71

>>27262474
Except that's not how it works, friend.

Rolled 66

>>27262436

>>27262474

except Exa needs 3 rolls to make a decision.

>>27262474
>The rolling system I use actually uses three different d100 rolls. A large part of this quest is that I'm experimenting with a more rigid system, rather than just going by whim as I usually do. When I finish this quest (Or if it ends up dying), I'll have refined it enough to give out.
>DC: 50. Superb Success!

Effortlessly, you held the guard until he stops struggling. He slowed, and then stoped, unconscious. Carefully, you slung both of their unconscious bodies on your shoulders. You carried them up the stairs the rest of the way.

The top floor reminded you plenty more of a city block, complete with multiple buildings and alleyways between. There seemed to be more guards patrolling up above, so you waited until nobody was looking before diving into one of them. The 'alleyway' was clean, which was rather jarring to you at the time, but you had more things to do. You took the guards' belts and tied them up with them, gagging them with their own coats. You took one of the guards' hats, a simple cotton thing, and pulled it low over your face. You remember thinking that even if the patrolling guards see you, they shouldn't notice that you're not actually working here.
You check your note again. Seemed your target should be in the building to the east of the level...

You walked east and entered the building, simply walking past two of the guards. They didn't even notice you, unlike the ones at the stairs.
<I'm here to meet with the nobleman Baelas.> You tell the secretary, falsifying a nystaran accent.
<I- I'm not sure, do you have an appointment?> She asked. She seemed to recognize something's wrong. You figure it's your skin- they assume you're a mutant or something.
Someone walks out of the nobleman's room. He was wearing a suit, his skin pale blue and eyes violet. He had a badge on his chest that labelled him as your target.
<Oh, Shirley, remember to->
He noticed you.

>What did you do then? Did you kill him on the spot? Or capture him?

>>27262639
>Capture him
Probably pays more alive.

>>27262639

We captured him and tried to keep the secretary silent.

>>27262639
Captured him and made sure the Secretary didn't tell anyone
Not violently though

>>27262737
Yeah, this.

Threw something at the secretary to knock her out whilst we chased after target maybe?

What you did was simple.
You slipped a knife out of your coat, slid up and behind the nobleman, and held the knife to his throat.
Neither of them were combatants. It was easy to unnerve the secretary into not telling anyone. Easy to talk the nobleman to accompany you, telling his own guards that you were his escort.
Easier to get paid at the end.

You don't quite remember what happened after that.
You're sure the nobleman in question hired you, once, to take his daughter topside and all the way to lelan.
But what you do remember is this-
After the cultists. After Adrienne- you hadn't killed a single human being.
And you're not sure you intend to.

>Due to the way you did things, back then, You are now Skilled in medicine and when it comes to helping or protecting people.

===

You make your way to the tower, knock on the door, and Cromwell answers immediately.
"Yes?" He asks. He looks like he's only recently woken up. "Come in, come in."

When you enter, you see that both golem cores are held up by strange racks, and that a long red poking tool is sitting between them. Your spine tingles in a strange, familiar way when you go near the tool to sit down in your regular seat.

>>27262824

"So how is the progress on the golems? anything else you need me to keep an eye out for?"

>>27262824
How's things? Any luck with the portal runes? Anything interesting about the golem cores? Here, take a look at this new gauntlet, maybe it'll give you some ideas?

"So how is progress on the golems?"
"It's going well, well indeed." He says. "I'm working on trying to modify the cores directly, now. I've made leaps and bounds of progress. I can most certainly convert any cores to recognize villagers as friendly if you bring them to me."
"What about the portal runes?"
"I'm still working on those. They're incredibly complex." He says. "And it seems like most of the runes are referencing others, but I can't find those others..."
"Can you take a look at this, as well?" You ask, and hold out your newer gauntlet. "Maybe it'll give you some ideas?"
"Maybe." He says and looks closely at the gauntlet. He twists it over, and pries up some of the silver plating on the outside. He spends some time eying the gauntlet.
"... This is similar to the golem cores, in an important way." He says. "It... thinks."
You blink.
"Well, deducts. It doesn't think like a person, but it takes certain inputs and processes it into a way it can understand. And then, in the case of the golems, they figure out what to do based on what was inputted. I'm running into problems trying to get them to understand the spoken word."

>>27262976
Maybe you need an external tool, like the gauntlet, to translate spoken orders into runes they recognize? Can we test that?

>>27262976

"I can use this to identify who made an individual Remnant and how far it has (decayed/decomposed I forgot the word). It was given to me by a Remnant with a strange rune engraved in to it's head."

show Cromwell the rune we saw on that guy's head.

"Maybe you need an need an external tool, like the gauntlet, to translate spoken orders into runes they recognize? Can we test that?"
"There's no way to test that right now." He says. "I'd need a suitable gauntlet, and yours isn't."

You explain what the gauntlet in question does, and Cromwell nods.
"-was given to me by a Remnant with a strange rune engraved into its head." You say, and scribble the rune down, showing it to Cromwell.
He stares at it for some time, jotting down notes.
"And here it is again." He says. "These marks reference a rune that isn't there. Same with the remnant creating rune. These reference runes and glyphs that isn't there either. It's like it's... doing... it..."

His eyes widen.
"Remotely."

He turns to the desk and pulls out the portal runes, taking close looks at them.
"I think I know why these are so impossible to figure out. It's because these aren't *all* the runes. Somewhere, there are the rest of them. That could be how someone controlled the remnant from afar, like you said."

>>27263193
"So we've got one half and the rest are floating in the world somewhere?"

Let's leave him to his work. We should probably figure out what we want to do with the evil wizard lady in the temple.

>>27263193

"Something like a puppeteer?"

let's practice our Kystaran and go through the documents we took with us.

>>27263269

we're not really sure she is, we need to investigate it a little further.

>>27263308
I dunno, it seems like there's no way to prove she is, and if we were to go into her portal and ask her I'm pretty sure she'd fry us.

"Something like a puppeteer?"
"That seems likely, yes. The rune on the remnant's forehead is 'control'. It just doesn't have an input anywhere- so the input needs to be somewhere else."

"So we've got one half and the rest are floating in the world somewhere?"
"Not somewhere." He says. "I'm not even sure if I'm right about it being remotely. but it's the only thing that would make sense. The portal simply wouldn't do anything except explode as it is."
You nod.
"I'll see if I can look through the records I brought from the academy to read up on any theoretical remote runes. I'll come to you if I learn something important." He says. "And bring me any golem cores if you want them converted."

You nod.
"May I use one of your tables and lamps?"
"Certainly, go ahead." He says, sweeping the debris off of one of the tables. Then he lit the lamp. "Use it as you will."
You sit, and heft the piles of documents you'd taken from the town hall.
And now you get to puzzle out kystaran. You've learned a bit through osmosis and a lot through Ann, but this will definitely be harder than the code-cracking session from earlier.

>Roll Kystaran! Unskilled, Difficult!

Rolled 96

>>27263450

reading!

Rolled 58

>>27263450

Rolled 9

>>27263450
BRAIN POWER

Rolled 3

>>27263450

one more for the road.

Rolled 52

>>27263511
>>27263513
Oh god it just keeps getting worse

>DC: 55. Barely succeeded.

You grind your teeth, reading through gibberish scribings across the paper, slowly trying to work out how to read it. With a bunch of paper Cromwell gives you, you start scrawling out the symbols and their meanings, learning as you read and reading as you learn. Every now and then, Cromwell looks over your shoulder and points out a few things- that a certain word is pronounced a certain way, or that this symbol also has a second meaning. With some work and a major headache, you've translated some of the pages.
What you do read sounds like a transcript of a war meeting. No names you recognize show up. Half of the group is missing, it seems, and the remainders are arguing about the Lelan coming to conquer them. Some make calls to summon the wizards, but others say that the runes work well enough to protect them.

One woman mentions that a particular wizard told her of a strange, powerful rune they could use to create a wall, to surround the entire country. That he was working on making it.
But, she says, as the transcriber notes she's pale, there will need to be a sacrifice to create the rune. A large one.

"It's late." Cromwell says. You look out the window, and the sun's already down. Your eyes are aching from staring at the wavering, confusing runes for hours, and your stomach growls. "Even you intend on pulling an all-nighter like I do, it'll be smart to get some food."

>>27263619
Let's go see what Miriam has on the menu today.

>>27263619

"evening already? time really flies when you're being all scholarly."

let's go get some food.

so we know Tarda introduced the large rune but that's hardly evidence enough that she went ahead with it.

>>27263619
Well, we have enough to tell us that the puppeteer is lying about the chick in the crypt.

"Evening already?" You ask. "Time flies when you're being scholarly."
"Indeed." He responds. You look over the translation once more, making sure you hadn't made any mistakes. The woman who suggested the rune was nobody you knew of, but she very definitively said the masculine form of 'wizard'. They were male, whoever suggested the rune.
Then with a sigh, you get up and make your way out to the tavern. When you get there, Leroy is snoring, head down on the table.
His drool is sizzling, slowly eating through the table. No wonder there's so much charred wood on the edges of the table. Mal is writing something on paper, munching on some mushrooms, and Dalton is in the corner of the tavern, eating with Ann.
"Welcome back." Miriam says. "What'd you like today?"

>>27263817
"Chef's special, if you please."

>>27263817

"whatever you are currently cooking or the recommended menu."

I suggest having Dalton check out that armor we found, maybe he can alter it to fit us better.

"Whatever you're making." you say. "Or chef's special."
"Hoho, chef's special?" She asks. "I'm no proper chef, so I'll just make you whatever."
"Thank you." You say, and take a seat at the table. Eventually, Miriam gives you your own plate and shakes Leroy awake. The mutant rubs at his eyes, then thanks her in Nysta. Next she takes two more plates- one for him and one for herself.
The three of you, mostly silent, sit there and eat.
"Seems you were out during the day today." Miriam says.
"Now it seems I have too much crops, now that the wyverns aren't stealing them." Leroy says. "So I basically have no choice but to give a lot of it away."
"The caravan should be here in a few days. I'm sure he'll have space to take more than extra." Miriam says.
You're not sure- at least, not combined with yours and Mal's treasure. But you simply eat. Lots of mushrooms and eggs, it looks.

>>27264019
"Have you tried growing any other things Leroy?"

>>27264019

"maybe I should have left some of them alive."

I think we should only sell a bit of the treasure to the caravan, if we dump everything Leroy won't get much.

we don't have much else to spend all that dosh on anyway.

"Maybe I should have left some of them alive." You say.
"No, no, I'm very thankful that you got rid of all of them. If any had lived, they'd just make a new nest or tell their plan to other wyverns. I'd have a new flock attacking me in a matter of days."
"Have you tried growing other things, Leroy?"
"I have, but I had to work the fields. It's too much time in the sun for me, and it gets uncomfortable. I think all that time exacerbated my condition." He says. "The sun in my eyes isn't good for me."
"I told you that you should keep them covered. Even at night." Miriam says.
"Then I can't see." He says. "At all. And I have to echolocate."
"Your eyes won't recover." She responds. "At all. You'll just make the damage more permenant."
Leroy hmphed and started to eat, each side of his jaw chewing at a different time.

>>27264201
Damn, that sucks. Is it a natural thing or because of some damage done to his eyes from a fight/event?

>>27264201

"you should take that to heart, being able to see is really useful."

and before Miriam can tell us we're going to get ourselves killed change the subject to the delicious food.

finish up and then ask Dalton if he could take a look at a piece of armor we found.

>>27264269

his eyes are sensitive to light, he spends time working during the day, it's like he's staring in the general direction of the sun on every given sunny moment.

>>27264306
Damn, that sucks.

>>27264201
"What if you got a pair of glasses and replaced the lenses with really dark glass?"

"Damn, that sucks. Is it... natural? Or something that happened?"
"Natural. My 'father' was, um, feral." The mutant says. You try not to dwell on the circumstances of his birth. Normally the children of ferals were feral themselves. "He didn't have eyes, so I'm lucky I can see at all. The problem is that I'm not suited to seeing. The brighter things are, the more my eyes... degrade. They heal, though."
"What if you got a pair of dark glasses?" You ask.
"I used to own a pair. They were useful, but they broke. I've been trying to get my hands on a pair since."
You nod. "You should take her advice to heart. Being able to see is really useful."
"I know, I know." He says, and wraps his head with cloth.
"Note to self." Miriam says. "Patients actually listen to me if I find someone else to agree with my recommendations. Hey, Leroy, Tell the man here-"
"This is really good." You say. "I like the texture of the mushrooms when mixed with the egg."
Miriam sighs, and frowns. You pleasantly chow down.

"Is there any chance you could take a look at some armor I found in the city?" You ask Dalton, your meal done. Ann has already run ahead- but you notice she's wearing the pendant you gave her.
"It's late, now." He says. "Perhaps in the morning, when I have light to see by."
Then he pauses.
"It sounds like you've been taking care of Ann." He says. His tone is very, very neutral.

>>27264392
"Yes, I have. She's been helping me understand Kystaran a lot recently."

>>27264392

"She has been very helpful, learning me how to read and write Kystaran and I figured a little something as a thank you would be appropriate... She was also miffed about Bruno/Gareth tagging along with me when I went out."

I do hope we're not heading towards a bad misunderstanding.

>>27264392
It's not often I get to put a smile on someone's face you know.

"She's been very helpful." You say. "Teaching me how to read and write Kystaran. She was also a bit miffed about Bruno... or, well, Gareth tagging along with me when I went out. I figured something as a thank you would be appropriate. It's not often I get to put a smile on someone's face."
He thought some more, and then nodded. "I'll take a look at your armor in the morning." He says.

===
You don't dream that night.
===

"It's rather terrible armor." Dalton says. It's early morning, the sun dancing on the horizon. Your eyes are still bleary from sleep, but Dalton seems to get up long before sunrise. "It's rusted, too tight, and the chain is cracked in several locations. It'd be almost a waste to try to repair it. I can refit it for you free of charge, though."
Mal stands next to you, wordlessly. He's been acting weird this morning, thinking hard about something. But for some reason he's been following you.
"Then again, the carriage that comes by in a few days should have better armor for you. Though that will be worth a few hundred coins if you want to buy it." Dalton says.

>>27264662
Not much point if the armor is in poor condition. It'll probably just slow us down. Weren't we getting guardsman armor delivered?

Let's find a quiet spot and ask Mal what's up.

>>27264662

"thanks for confirming my fears, it looks like it used to be fairly good."

might as well stash it and focus on other things. recharge our sling while we're there

let's ask Mal what's on his mind when we get a moment alone with him.

>I get the feeling that there is more to this armor than meets the eye.

>>27264876
We should wear the armor when we raid that trapped corridor in the town hall.

"No point in refitting it if it's in such poor condition." You say, and refill your sling. "It will just slow me down. Thank you."
"Not a problem." He says. You carry the armor back to the wagon, and stuff it into the back.
<Hey, Mal.> You say, and climb onto the wagon.
<Hm?> He asks.
<What's on your mind?>
<... A few things.> He says, quietly. <Apparently I'm supposed to hire someone to help my sister. But I'm not sure what I can do around here. I might have to go to the capital to get in contact with him.>

>>27264961
<Who are you hiring? Do you have a name?>

>>27264961
When, and how long do you think you'll be gone for?

<Who are you hiring? Do you have a name?>
<I'm supposed to find one of the 'Armatal' mercenaries.> He says. <My sister gave me a list, but there's one she mentioned in particular. The one who gave me my scar.>
Armatal. Your employers. The title of the highest chain of command.
<I'm somehow supposed to hire him into destroying the palace. I just don't know where to start... And I don't know the language. So I'm stressing.> He says. <I don't think you'd know where to find this E.E character, though.>
You twitch involuntarily, your eyes widening.

>>27265104
I would, because he's the one paying me to be here.

>>27265104
<That's a hell of a coincidence. E.E. is my employer.>

>>27265104
"Uhh...that's my boss actually. He's not exactly a pleasant man."

<I would.> You say. <That's one hell of a coincidence. E.E. is my direct superior.>
He meets your eyes warily. <Seems like your people and mine have clashed more than once.>
<Seems so.>

Then he sighs, and lays his head on a particularly large statue of a jabberwocky.
<He's... not exactly a pleasant man.>
<I know.> He says. <He pushed a fire poker through my chest when I was twelve years old. Then killed my father, stepmother, and devastated our palace. I was a chief's son no longer. He was hired, so I don't blame him, but... I'm not quite happy about the idea of hiring him.>

>>27265383
<That's rough.>

I'd suggest hiring us instead but we're kind of occupied with the current job aren't we?

>>27265383
<"On a personal level, I detest him. Too gleefully violent. But I'm not working for him on a personal level, I'm doing so on a professional level. I don't like it, but I don't have to.">

>>27265383
<"No, you really probably should blame him. He's like that.">

<No, you really probably should blame him. He's like that.> You say. <On a personal level, I... detest him.>
You have trouble keeping the snarl out of your voice. <But I'm not working for him on a personal level. I'm doing so on a professional level. I don't like it, but I don't have to.>
Mal says, and sighs. <But if he's the best, I don't have a choice. So you know how to contact him?>
You nod.
<Would he hurt my sister if they met?>
You think about it. He is gleefully violent, but if she's his contact...
<It should be fine.> You say.
<How much would I need to pay?>
<If it's killing work... probably not much.> You say. <Especially if it's high profile.>
<Chieftan Celadon is certainly high profile.> He says and eyes the treasure pile. <... Good thing I got all of this. Well, half of this. Would it be smarter to simply give him my request and money, or ask him to come here so we can discuss things?>

>[] Recommend Mal send the money and request to E.E. personally. The man may be the most horrifying being you've ever met, but he has honor.
>[] Recommend Mal request that E.E. come here to discuss the job. It's always good to meet a client and set rules first of all.
>[] Tell Mal to hire someone else. E.E. is like a storm in a bottle- you don't want to let it out, even against your foes.
>[] Have him hire you instead. Your current job is a long-term posting, so even a few weeks break to Galdia won't be much of a problem.
>[] Other?

>>27265675
>>[x] Recommend Mal request that E.E. come here to discuss the job. It's always good to meet a client and set rules first of all.

At least we can give him a rundown of all the shit that's happening here.

>>27265675
>[X] Have him hire you instead. Your current job is a long-term posting, so even a few weeks break to Galdia won't be much of a problem.

Or

>[X] Recommend Mal request that E.E. come here to discuss the job. It's always good to meet a client and set rules first of all.

>>27265675
Perhaps we should put in the request, mention that we have a job he might be interested in. Let EE come back to us for more details.

>>27265675
>[] Have him hire you instead. Your current job is a long-term posting, so even a few weeks break to Galdia won't be much of a problem.

>>27265675
>[] Have him hire you instead. Your current job is a long-term posting, so even a few weeks break to Galdia won't be much of a problem.

>>27265765
Yeah, this. Let's act as an intermediary between our Bro and EE. If he's interested, he can come to us and Mal can explain the job in person.

>>27265743
>>27265768
>>27265787
Isn't the job to go off and burn a palace and kill everyone inside?
I didn't think we were into that sort of thing.

>>27265843
Yeah. Seems a bit OOC

>>27265843
It's like Dishonored, there is always another way.

>>27265843
Right, shit. Forgot we hadn't killed anyone in a long ass time.

You pause a moment, and think. You have a few options, but two compete foremost in your mind. You can serve as an intermediary- as E.E. doesn't know a lot of galdian- or...
You could take the job. Kill the galdian equivalent to part of the royal family. Kill someone. For the first time in nearly seven or eight years.
With a gulp, you force down the shivers.
You're starting to see Mal as a friend, but you're not sure you'll break your taboo. Not yet. Not if you don't need to.

<Maybe I could put in a request for him to come here. I can tell him there's a job he might be interested in.>
<You'd do that?> He asks.
<For whatever reason, E.E's taken a liking to me.> You lie. It isn't 'for whatever reason'. There's a very good reason for it. <If it's a job I recommend, he might even ask less money than normal.>
<Alright.> He says and shoots you a grin, clapping your shoulder. <Thanks, bro. I owe you.>
You nod.
<... Wait. Why'd you sign the bottom T.G?> He asks, looking at the letter you're writing. It's in Lelan, and coded beside, but that part's obvious.
<It's my own name.> You say. <One of them, anyway.>
<Right, right.>
The letter written, you fold and pocket it. Now you simply need to wait for the caravan to arrive... but you're not sure what day it will.
<Anyway.> He says. <What's the plan for today? Any more treasure hunting, or are we going to play it cool?>

>>27265973
<I was thinking of having Steve fly me back to the town hall, and braving the trap hallway. Maybe if we get some bolts from Dalton, we can even trigger some of the traps early.>

>>27265973
We are going to hunt treasure!

But the city is too far away, if we have to be back each day for the caravan. Perhaps there is something else nearby.

Could Mal ride with Steve and have a scout around? Perhaps there's a town or a watchtower or a farm nearby?

Going into the bottom of the temple is also an option.

<We're going to hunt treasure!> You say. <But the city is too far away...>
<Hmm....>
<Perhaps there's something else nearby. One of us can ride with Steve and have a scout around.>
<Well, I can't control Steve.> Mal says. <It'd be smarter if he lifted you instead of me. I don't want to be dropped.>
<Alright.> You say. <It won't take long.>

You drop most of your belongings, to lighten your burden, and turn to steve.
<Grab ahold of me carefully. Carry me into the air.> You say, testing out your recently-learned kystaran.

Steve's eyes glimmered red, and he took you far, far into the sky. You tell him to stop when you get high enough. From your vantage point, you keep an eye out...

>Roll Perception! Skilled! DC: Difficult! SPECIAL DC: Impossible!

Rolled 72

>>27266216
Cmon, eyeballs.

Rolled 97

>>27266216
Unfair DCs!

Rolled 53

>>27266216
Well, shitballs

Rolled 93

>>27266216
C'mon nat 100!

Rolled 37

>>27266270
We're pretty unlucky in this. Not a single 100 so far.

>>27266250
>DC: 70. Success!

You're aloft in the air, staring down at the village around. From here you can see the city in the distance, spiralling towers upward. From here you can see various lone houses, cabins, chopped down trees. A jackalope rampaging not far away. A small crater where the wyvern nest was. All of the kystaran wilderness was available to you. You made note of all these locations, eyes staring downward for anything notable...
And then you see something. Something rather large, to the south. Past the river, past the ridge, and behind a large rocky hill... Was a destroyed fortress. Ruins, collapsed eons ago. You could see, not remnants, but strange flickering, humanoid creatures walking around. None of them seem to notice you, fortunately. Some are orange, some are blue, and a particularly strange one is pure white.
None of them are walking, you notice. Despite being humanoid, they're... levitating. Drifting.

>SPECIAL DC: 95! Success!
Your spine tingles, and you sense something strange. Something alien. Something... wrong. Your Remnant gauntlet buzzes, despite the fact that you're not touching anything, and you look around for what's causing it. Magic?
>Continued.

>>27266509


Your eyes scan the countryside, and in the forest, too close to the village for comfort, you see something that fills you with revulsion.
A shadowy, pulsing thing. Something that reminds you of a remnant- and not in a good way. It reminds you of the mutants, the degraded, filthy ones that mobbed you. The pulsing thing thumps, swelling for a moment, and returns to normal... And does it again. And again.

In the forest, sitting in a small clearing, is an enormous distended heart the size of a building. It pulses. quaking.
Red glyphs cover its surface, constantly shifting and muting, mutating.

And as you watch, something climbs out of it, shifting through the shadowy material as if it were water. One of the small, degraded mutants. And then another, and a third. Finally... a ball-of-arms creature starts crawling its way out, slowly.

>End of session!
>My twitter is at @futureexabyte
>The IRC is #Exabyte on Rizon.
>Also, I'm allowing a special vote! Because there hasn't been a single valid nat100, I'm allowing you all a choice! Would you like me to...
>[] Count all nat100s and nat1s within the first THREE rolls? This is the setting we're at now.
>[] Count all nat100s and nat1s within the first FIVE rolls? This will allow more chances for normally non-valid roles to have an effect!
>[] Count all nat100s and nat1s without limit? This will mean that all crits and critfails will be counted. This could be good... but it's also a high chance of being bad as well.

>>27266542
I have no opinion!

Rolled 49

>>27266542
I'd say go for 5, which allows me to still do things occasionally if I am late in posting.

Thanks for running, exa!

>>27266542
I say 5. That will nip any "roll until it's 100" attempts in the bud.

>>27266565
Likewise.
>>27266542
I feel like we've absolutely missed nearly every plot hook thrown at us. Not going down the trap hallway, ignoring the Tarda vs Kaedri conflict, etc. Have we?

>>27266605
Well, you also went all the way down into the temple just to walk out again, which got me a little irritated. But you aren't missing as many plot hooks as you'd think. So far, most of the plot hooks have been primarily foreshadowing and getting you into the Wanderer's backstory.

Fun fact; All of the MC options had their own different backstories. The Tarda vs Kaedri conflict would never have shown up if you'd never chosen the Wanderer. Also, I've been reusing unused or rejected MC ideas as NPCs. Leroy was The Mutant, Mal was The Assassin, and Cromwell was The Scholar.

>>27266657
Ah, that's better than I thought it would be. I think my concerns stem from Tarda vs Kaedri, where it seems like doing nothing at all is the best thing to do.

>>27266605
I want to take all these risks, but I am never around for the first half of the threads. /tg/ can be so boring sometimes.

>>27266893
Don't worry, anon. I'll make sure to make things EXCITING in future, even at the detriment of our own health.

>>27266542
Alright, it's been thirty minutes. I suppose that's enough time to vote.
>Crit range is now 5 rolls. This functions with both natural 100s and natural 1s. Good luck!

>>27266893
I'd have changed my time schedule by now, but some people show up in the mornings and end up having to sleep about halfway through the thread. It'd be cruel to push schedules forward so that they're unable to participate at all.

>>27266905
Keep in mind, you guys have lots of choices. The quest is largely a sandbox. If you wanted to say 'fuck my job I'm going home', then you can go to lelan. Or you can settle down and start building a house if you wanted. I won't stop you. Unless it gets boring. Then I'll throw Plot at you until it's no longer boring.

>>27267083
It's not bad choices I'm afraid of, it's non-choices. Sitting about doing nothing, or ignoring hooks.

I just want to dungeon delve and find cool loot!

>>27267083
To be frank, it feels like we're moving fucking glacially, simply because of backing out of things. Perfect example would be the portal in the basement.

>>27267141
Perhaps if we felt more prepared, we'd be more willing to risk things? The writing does make it seem like things are bigger risks then they turn out to be, and things like a lack of armor or a 10 ft pole ward us off.

>>27267174
That'd definitely help. Personally I want to figure out what happened, but it seems like any time we come to a dangerous juncture, people just vote to back out.

>>27267216
And by 'what happened', I mean the general mysteries of the populous disappearing.