>>27679467
((Archives are located at http://archive.foolz.us/tg/search/subject/monsterhearts%20quest/type/op/order/asc/
and also at
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Ask Miranda about Fae shit and make Jill listen. It's her world now, too.

>>27679467
First, we need to know if Jill simply getting the Corruptor's heart, rather than landing the killing blow, is enough to fulfill her geas.

Second, we need to ask Miranda a bit about the Spring Court, and what problems Avril might have with her father.
Also, if the Spring Court is having some financial issues.

>>27679467
"We'd have heard about it if Mrs. White had been picked up by the police, so either she's been vanished by an unknown party for sinistre purposes, or she's vanished herself for her own sinistre purposes. Okay.

Who might take her? The Corrupter, the Winter King, maybe Cass but I highly doubt it, or a new player. Assume it's not a new player for now- no sense adding new elements when old ones are sufficient explanation. So. Corrupter or Winter King. Cass and I are on good enough terms right now that I don't think she'd pull something like this. Of the two, the Winter King is known for disappearing corpses, not people. The Corrupter is more likely, then. Ajani and I are storming one of its bases later tonight, so if it's taken her, we have a good chance of finding her. That possibility asside, she might have taken off on her own. This seems most likely. Her daughter is breaking away from her control and hasn't been home in days, and the polie have been sniffing around. I wouldn't want to be findable either. Miranda, assuming she hasn't been kidnapped, do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

>>27679663
I'd also like to point out that Jill reported that Avril has been acting a little strange recently.
Considering that little display of Avril's Darkest Self we had, we also need to consider that Avril might have been behind Margaret's disappearance. Or maybe Avril's father, who went to a lot of trouble to get a powerful telekinetic as his daughter's bodyguard, and doesn't appreciate having his investment messed around with.

>>27679720
That's actually a good point. We should inquire further with Miranda, who will know more about the King and his court than we do. We obviously have no time tonight to talk to Avril herself, but her reaction when we break the news of Jill's mom's disappearance will be telling.

>>27679503
>>27679659
>>27679663
>>27679720
>>27679780
((Okay, pumping Miranda for information is go. Writing.))

>>27679973
((Dammit, 4chan.))

>>27679477
Guys, I feel like we should take some time alone with Avril when we get the chance. Maybe go on a date with her to where we first met and get her even wetter for us than she was last time.
Why you ask?

If you look at threads 29 and 30, its quite clear that Avril has a problem with us still. Her darkest self practically names us as a source of pain in her life. Plus, she seems much more attached and devoted to Jill then she does us now days. She's gotten out from under our thumb and, worse than that, she seems to be musing with trying to bind us.

I think we need to deal with this.

>>27680297
I'm in complete agreement with you.
It's just that, the Corruptor is a time-sensitive issue where we won't be able to get its defenses this low this easily if we miss it, and it helps cement several other minions to us.

The Dance is only about a week off; we should pencil in this date with Avril to occur before then.

>>27680416
Excellent. Also, we have to work in playing with someone's mind at some rate. Also, we must look into the three threads of magic we passively feast on. And get Avril back under our thumb. I think we should be able to do it; we did it before and we are much, much stronger now.

>>27680458
The mind-breaking needs to be done on someone who is an avowed enemy of us, someone like Jason.
The reason is, if we do it to someone who has done us no wrong, and Avril or the Spring Court finds out about it, it'll open up another whole can of worms regarding free-will, no binding, and doing harm to mortals.

But if we do it to Jason, then it's not mind-breaking an innocent bystander, it's punishing someone who has wronged us, and fits neatly into Fae morality as an acceptable action.

>>27680495
No, I suggest a normal human first. Most certainly not Avril; don't crap where you eat. Ideally, no one would ever find out about our test dummy.

For Avril, it should be something like what we had with her in the beginning. Or maybe a bit stronger...

>>27680522
The problem with a human is that the police are on heightened alert with the disappearances lately.
And while they won't look for a supernatural cause, Ajani and his Hunters will. Especially with Gloria, which could be a problem.

At the very least, if we must use a human, do it to a homeless bum 2 towns over who won't be missed.

>>27680546
Not two towns over. And we could always make them kill themselves...Maybe have Isabella find someone for us?

>>27680573
No, bad idea. Okay! New plan. We find a normal, average person (must be average. A bum may have a weaker will and one of Isabella's toys certainly will.) Then, we play with their mind for a bit and when we're done, tell them to forget everything that happened or to forget everything that happened until we say a command phrase, in which case they become our slave again.

Or...Or, we make them think they were raped by Jason/insertenemyhere. Raped by him after he dragged her/him into the sewers. It'll cause hassle for him at the least.

“Okay, Miranda. We’ll find Jill’s mother, but can I ask you a few other things first?”

Miranda glances over at Jill, who clutches your hand tightly, and then back at you. “Okay. What do you want to know?”

“We need to fill Jill in on the Spring Court. Can you summarise it for her, list off anything important she needs to know?”

Miranda blinks. “Summarise? Fae politics? Not in less than a few days, really. There’s too much. I can sum up, though. Pretty much everyone at the higher levels is out to get pretty much everyone else. There’s constant jockeying for power and status. Everyone lower down is out to get everyone else too, but they’re also used and manipulated by those who outrank them in complicated centuries-long plots to weaken the supporters of other high-ranking nobles. Be polite and respectful to everyone, regardless of their actual rank, but not *too* respectful or they’ll think they can manipulate you. Never lie, but tell the truth in that special Fae manner where you only imply what you really mean - if you come straight out and say something, they’ll assume it’s a trick. Everyone else around you will be doing the same, so pay attention to *exactly* what they say and how they say it. And be extremely careful with your own words. A lot of Fae will happily take anything you say as a binding oath or a challenge to a duel. I think that’s all the key survival tips, but there’s probably more that I’m missing.”

“I talked to a tailor, he mentioned something about the Court being slow to pay up. Is the Spring Court in financial trouble?”

Miranda laughs. “Courts are never in financial trouble, Chris. If you owe a bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem; if a king owes a bank a million pounds, the bank has a problem. The Spring Court’s treasurers are just lazy, that’s all. They’re slow to pay their invoices because paying an invoice isn’t nearly as fun as fucking the nearest nymph.”

((Cont.))

>>27680681
“Okay. One other thing. Margaret might have taken off on her own - her daughter’s breaking away from her control, the police are sniffing around, I wouldn’t want to be findable either in those circumstances. Assuming she hasn’t been kidnapped, do you have any idea where she might have gone?”

Miranda frowns and furrows her brow. “I’m not sure, really. That house used to be our parents’ place; it’s not like she has another home to go to, or friends to stay with. She might have gone looking for a church, I know there’s a few in town. She never used to go to a church, though - no pastor would preach some of the stuff she believed. Maybe she went to the police to try and get them to bring Jill home, and they locked her up for a bit?” She sounds doubtful, and shrugs. “I haven’t talked to Margaret in almost ten years. I don’t know her as well as I used to.”

Well, you have a few possible leads, and some ideas of your own. Time is ticking on until you need to meet Ajani, though. Where do you want to go?

[]Look at the local churches
[]Talk to the police. At the very least you could file a missing person report, maybe?
[]Prepare to meet Ajani and storm the Corrupter’s base. It may well have taken her.
[]Head into the deep woods and look for the Spring Court
[]Other

>>27680692
>[x]Prepare to meet Ajani and storm the Corrupter’s base. It may well have taken her.
[x] Other
Prepare Jill to get the Corruptor's heart. Remember the geas she's under; ask Miranda if Jill needs to be the one to get the heart or not.
And get the things we need to cut the Corruptor open safely.

>>27680692
Tell Miranda to check the churches and we can head with Anji to the base? Best to deal with known unknowns then unknowns unknowns, y'know?

[]Prepare to meet Ajani and storm the Corrupter’s base.

Don't have the time to worry about her right now. There's stuff in need of being killed.

>>27680762
>>27680796
>>27680855
((Writing))

>>27680926
"Okay. Miranda, can you go check out some churches, then? I need to go deal with a demon. Oh, and Jill's under a geas to deliver its heart to the King of the Spring Court, does that mean she has to kill the demon herself?"

Miranda sighs. "Pay attention to exactly what the Fae say, as I just told you. The King made the wording of his geases pretty public; Jill has to bring him the heart of the Corrupter. Not cut it out herself, not kill the Corrupter, just bring the heart to him. You could carry it all the way to the King's throne, hand it to Jill, and have her hand it off to the King, and she'd still be fulfilling her oath. The third geas is the one he's actually concerned about, and he worded that one fairly well - 'to the end of your days' and not 'to the end of your life'. I think he pretty much expected you and Avril to do the heavy lifting on killing the demon and the other King."

"Well, we don't actually have to kill the Winter King, just steal his crown."

Miranda chuckles. "Just steal the seat of his power and the symbol of his authority. Without killing him. It's not like he takes it off and puts it down. Anyway. You've got a demon to fight, you said?"

"Yeah. I just need to grab a few things first..."

You promise your mother that you won't stay out *too* late with your friends, and don't mention the large, clear glass jam jar and thick rubber gloves you've borrowed from the kitchen. You're not sure how big a demon's heart actually is, but it's a pretty big jam jar. You also don't mention the small silvery dagger you've retrieved from your room and tucked into the small of your back.

You're nice and early to the meeting point, and you've come with supplies. More rubber gloves, some bottles of water to dilute the acid, and a new carving knife that will hopefully last long enough to get you to the heart.

Are there any other preparations you want to make before you meet up with the others and head down into the sewers?

>>27681239
SHould we see if we can get back up from anyone else such as Zack or Isa? Not Avril and Misami; I doubt the Hunters know they are monsters.

Also, get the Man ready to roll.

>>27681239
Maybe let them know we need the heart? We don't want Gloria going stab-happy and cutting it into little pieces if we have to turn it over the king. Although I'm not sure how we're going to justify wanting it.

The other thing I think we should keep in mind is to warn the king when we turn the heart over. If its influence is as insidious as has been intimated, we don't want it to serve as a sort of trojan heart or to begin corrupting the court from within.

>>27681313
Tell them the Heart can help you in a deal with the Fae. Let them infer that it can help with the Winter King; its not technically a lie after all.

>>27681309
>>27681313
>>27681393
((Okay, writing now.))

>>27681559
You ponder calling for backup. Zack still seems to be under a bit of suspicion by Ajani, and he's been working very hard *not* to transform. Isabella isn't exactly a frontline fighter. Then you remember that you have all the backup you need with you already.

"That's damn right, partner. Any jumped-up little beast that thinks it can exploit *me* as a power source needs to be taught a proper lesson."

The Man in the White Suit appears to be singularly unconcerned about the Corrupter's threat.

"Well, of course. Even if this thing was a real demon, I could rip it to pieces blindfolded and standing on my head. It's a threat to your friends, sure. If you do something stupid and don't follow my advice when I give it, it might even be a threat to you. But in terms of threats to *me* it's about as dangerous as a speck of dirt on my shoe."

Wait, but you say you are me. Isn't something that's a threat to me also a threat to you?

"That's kinda complicated, kid. You don't really need to worry too much about the fine details. You're me, which means I'm also you, but you don't actually encompass me... look, when I say you shouldn't worry about the fine details, what I mean is that you *can't* worry about the fine details. You're just not set up to understand what's really going on behind the scenes. Just trust me, and do as you're told, and everyone benefits. You, me, your friends, the whole of the world. And right now, what you're told to do is to go kick that slimy vermin's ass."

Well, you guess you can't argue with that. Or you could, but Ajani and Gloria just showed up, Gloria toting a large backpack presumably filled with bottles of holy water, and Ajani carrying his bag of weapons. Esther, Louie and James show up shortly after, each looking nervous but determined.

"All right, Chris," says Ajani, "this was your idea, so how do you want to play this? Are we going to split up and search, or clump together into a stronger force that's also less stealthy?"

>>27681895

"I think we're better together. Splitting the party is too dangerous, and there is the risk of getting lost as well."

Then inform them of where we expect to find the demon and head off.

>>27681895
"Unless one of you has a map of the sewers or a really big ball of twine, getting lost is an issue. Once we find the Corrupter, it'll probably get hot fast, so we don't want to stumble onto it in small groups, either. As much as I loathe losing the element of stealth, I think it's safer all around. Once we've beat this thing up, if we still haven't found what we're looking for we can split up to search more efficiently.

One other thing- when this monster goes down, I'm cutting out its heart and putting it in a jar. It's non-negotiable- there are people who want proof of the thing's death, and the heart was the stipulated form."

>>27681970
>>27682010
((Writing.))

>>27681895
>You're me, which means I'm also you, but you don't actually encompass me.

This phrasing is odd it sounds like we are like a gate or crossover, and where him and us overlap he can influence the real world. like he is a much bigger entity on a separate plane but he needs or at least finds us useful to access this plane. If that makes sense?

>>27682293

Something like The Man is 75% Chris.

>>27682293
Sounds to me like Chris is Jesus, and the Man in the White Suit is God the Father.

>>27682447
I kept reading that as "Christ is Jesus", and thinking "sure, but why are we talking about him?"

>>27682081
"Uh, Ajani, do we have a map of the sewers?"

Ajani glances over at Esther, who shakes her head. "Insufficient time," she adds.

"I guess not. We can map them as we go, can't we?"

"Still, if we split up people are going to get lost. And once we find the Corrupter it'll get hot fast, so we'll need everyone. I think it's safer all around if we don't split the party."

Ajani nods sagely. "Right, right, absolutely. I, uh, I agree with Chris's assessment of the situation. We'll stick together, find this thing and hit it hard."

"One other thing: once we take this thing down, I need to cut out its heart. I've got a jar to put it in, which we can fill up with holy water to keep it suppressed."

Ajani raises an eyebrow at this. "Its heart? What the hell would you want with a demon's heart? That sounds like something pretty dangerous to carry around."

Esther steps forward, clearing her throat. "The heart of a being such as a demon is the seat of its essence and the core of its being - the physical-spiritual equivalent of a human soul. It is the immortal portion of the demon - uncontained, or allowed to spill out into the surrounding sewers, it would eventually re-form the demon. Proper containment will permanently remove the demonic threat."

Even Gloria seems somewhat mollified, and she simply looks at you, looks at the jar and then nods brusquely.

"All right," Ajani says, "let's move out."


Trudging through sewer tunnels, even ones that are fairly large and non-cramped, is both boring and unpleasant. There's been no trouble yet, although Gloria and Ajani have their swords out just in case. You're a little way behind them, with Louie and James sandwiched between you and Esther, who's bringing up the rear with a rather nasty-looking heavy leather whip of some sort.

((Cont.))

>>27682693
The first thing you know of the ambush is Gloria flinging herself forward at a side tunnel, her white coat billowing out behind her. There's a few loud, sharp cracks, like fireworks going off, and then suddenly the whole tunnel is lit brightly as Gloria's sword comes down, blazing with flame, and slices the man's gun clean in half. In the light of the sword you get a good look at your ambusher - a well-muscled guy, like a bouncer or a bodyguard, dressed in black clothing. Gloria brings her sword round and flicks it upwards, and the man’s body falls apart, sliced in two from hip to shoulder. A moment's pause, and then the rest of them are on you, trying to grab hostages to shield them from the deadly sword. Esther drives two of them back with her whip long enough for you to dart in and cripple them with your dagger, slicing at knees and elbows. One man points a small pistol at you, and you instinctively spin under it, snarling in contempt as you bring your dagger up to slam it into his wrist. Your added speed and strength are definitely helping - these guys are obviously trained fighters, but between you and Gloria you’re going through them like a knife through butter.

You pause, breathing heavily. Your attackers are driven off or dead. Gloria is laughing softly. Then her laugh suddenly stops with a choked cry. You turn and see her hugging Ajani. There’s a deep red stain on his shirt.

You step closer, fearing the worst, but Ajani moves to hug her back. As you get a better look, you can see that he must have caught a stray bullet in one arm. It’s unlikely to be fatal, but he’s probably broken his arm at the very least: he needs medical attention.

[]Head back to the surface as a group, and call an ambulance.
[]Send the weaker fighters back with Ajani, and press on with just you and Gloria.
[]Push on. Ajani can come with you - he’s not about to die on you, and he can go to hospital once the demon’s dead.
[]Other

>>27682736
Consult with Ajani.

"You need to back topside, or are you okay to come with us. We can send you up with James and Louie, if it's bad."

>>27682736
>[]Other

[x] Ajani can stay if he wants to, but has to avoid battle and stay back. Other wise, send him and the weaker fighters back to the surface, and presson with just you and Gloria.

>>27682779
>>27682938
((Writing.))

>>27682736

Oh, I know!

[x] "Ajani, you need to get your arm fixed. Either you go back, or stay behind and avoid fights...but i'd rather you went back, sorry. The sewers aren't a good place to be in with an open wound too, you can get an infection easily."
-[x] Then ask James if he could escort Ajani back.

>>27682938
>>27683082

Is me, btw. I was going to delete >>27682938, but I figure that posting my new idea first would be better...

>>27683055
You crouch down as the others gather round, all taking a look at Ajani's arm. Esther takes your dagger and carefully cuts his shirt away from the wound, revealing a fairly substantial hole punched clean through his arm. Louie goes deathly pale.

Esther carefully inspects Ajani's injury, fending off James' worried attempts to help out. "He'll live," she pronounces after a moment, "but he's not doing any fighting today, not if he wants to stay conscious and avoid bleeding out. He needs an ambulance, really."

Ajani struggles to his feet, pale and sweating. "Don't count me out yet," he declares. "As long as I'm standing, I'll keep fighting the forces of darkness."

Gloria looks like she's about to swoon. Esther simply reaches out and taps Ajani lightly on the forehead, and he starts to wobble on his feet.

"That's what I thought," she says. "If you keep acting like a macho idiot then you're not *going* to be standing much longer. You need medical attention."

Ajani looks disappointed, but nods his head carefully. James practically skips forward and gently supports Ajani's other arm, bearing up some of his weight. Louie nervously picks up Ajani's sword, and Esther turns to look at you.

"Chris? Ajani let you handle strategy planning earlier. What do you intend to do now?"

You think for a moment, then take your dagger back from Esther, leaving her with only her long, cylindrical whip. "I'm willing to keep going. Gloria and I should be able to take care of this demon fairly easily."

Gloria eyes you suspiciously, but says nothing, and Esther nods. "Very well, then. We will wait for the two of you at the entrance. Good hunting." She raises her whip and salutes you, and you carefully return the salute.

((Cont.))

>>27683769
Gloria leaves the flames on her sword burning, the flickering light keeping the tunnels well-lit to warn of any further ambushes. The two of you move forward in silence, keeping a good pace. After a few minutes’ more walking, you reach out a hand and tap Gloria’s shoulder, then point her to one of the side tunnels. A small trickle of black goop is running out of the end of the tunnel. It looks like nothing else you’ve seen while you’ve been down here - you almost feel sick just looking at it. That must be the right tunnel.

Gloria walks along one side of the tunnel while you walk along the other, the two of you carefully avoiding any contact with the black goop. It’s probably acidic as well as nauseating, or just horrible to step in. The tunnel soon widens out into a small, round room with a large pool in the middle. You suspect that normally the pool would be full of water - instead it’s filled with the same block goop. In the centre of the pool is a creature that looks like a horrific cross between a slug, a centipede, and a maggot.

In total, the thing is probably nine or ten feet long, although a good portion of it is buried under the disgusting goo. Its wormlike form is topped by three short, hooked tentacles or mouthparts, and a little way below them you see a random-looking arrangement of insectile arms, multi-jointed and tipped with tiny many-fingered hands or cruel-looking blades. Further down, just protruding above the slime, are a set of writhing tentacles, long, prehensile and suckered like an octopus’. This can only be the Corrupter.

Gloria raises her blade and charges, almost screaming with her battle-cry. Some of the bladed arms rise up to meet her, parrying and striking and forcing her quickly on the defensive. You need to do something.

“My time to shine,” whispers the voice in the back of your head. “Let me take this little slimeball to pieces. Don’t worry, I’ll leave you his heart.”

>>27683789
What do you want to do?

[]Support Gloria. Move in close to her and try to make an opening for her to strike.
[]Get round behind the Corrupter and try to distract it. It has to be flankable, right?
[]Let the Man do what he does best
[]Other

>>27683831
[x] Other
We've still got that Holy Water and Purified Water, right?
Throw the stuff directly onto the Corruptor.

As much as I want to get Gloria out of the way now, we still need her for taking on the Winter King.

>>27683831
Let the man do as he does, though request that we keep Gloria alive and functionally the same.

>>27683901
This. While the Man is helpful, I still don't fully trust him.

>>27683831
((Okay, seeing as how it's gone 2am and thanks to a certain (awesome) someone and their quest I didn't get to bed until gone 5am last night, I'm going to have to call things here. Voting will continue for the usual time period and the next thread will open with the most voted action. Questions, comments, etc below as usual. Next thread Tuesday as usual.))

>>27683831
>[]Support Gloria. Move in close to her and try to make an opening for her to strike

Support Gloria, of course. That will make her trust Chris more. And inevitably force her to be the Corrupter's focus. And then, we do our thing

>>27683967
Goodnight boss.

Also, if Apollo is indeed a Hollow as suggested last thread, It posit that he'll be a robot made of old rocketship parts.

Probably unrelated to whatever is going on.
We should totally spend a little time with our family sometime soon. Get them fleshed out as characters a bit. Maybe update them on the situation with us, Avril, and Jill.

>>27683929
This. We know his methods are effective, but occasionally a bit over the top. As long as we keep Gloria alive, the side effects won't be too much of an issue.

>Not diluting some bleach in water and bringing it along to the ACID demon fight.
>Not knowing what a neutralization reaction is.
What do they teach us in that school?

>>27684165
>Adding acid to bleach
Oh, so you want to release deadly deadly chlorine gas into a confined space like a sewer?

>>27684183
Well, if we want Ajani and co. alive, then no. I'm pretty sure we could survive that though...

>>27684097
>>27683929
The Man also has a distressing tendency to not tell us what his course of action will entail.
So I kind of doubt that the display of power that he makes will be ignored by Gloria.

>>27684214
>I'm pretty sure we could survive that though...
We still need to breath, eat, and drink, even with our undead nature.
Not showing up on IR scans seems to be the extent of what our undead status gets us.

>>27684165
>>27684183
((You could probably have brought along a slightly less deadly base if a) you'd thought of it, b) you were certain that it was an acid you'd be dealing with, or even just something that follows the normal laws of chemistry at all. That's no longer a guarantee when you're dealing with magical beings.))

>>27684286
>even just something that follows the normal laws of chemistry at all
So would purified bottle spring water affect magical poison beings negatively?
What brand would have the most effect?

>>27684454
>Purified spring water.
Not pure enough. Would need to be deionized H2O probably.