It takes another twenty minutes or so of brisk walking, the lanterns lining the path dull and inert in the quickening daylight, until you finally find the home of Julius. The building is made of simple wood, and the land around it is barren of even grass. Scorch marks and strange unexplainable patches of cold line the area leading up to the building and you nod realizing why it is he tends to stay away from the village and prefers the solitude. Unlike you who and your former teacher who felt being fully surrounded by nature was necessary to stay in tuned with the natural world, used to the sounds and smells of nature which would allow you to detect when something was wrong, the sounds certain birds make when a predator is close by for example, he distanced himself out of necessity. If a gout of flame goes wrong out here then the worse that might happen are you get some very burned ground, in town a miscast spell could burn the whole village to the ground.

You make your way up to the largish building and knock on the thick wooden door. No one answers so you knock again a little louder and finally you begin to hear several locks coming undone. It takes a few moments but eventually the door opens a crack and you see the wrinkled face of Julius. He scowls as you stand there and glances about before saying "It's you, boy. What do you want?"

You decide to ignore the wheezing venom in his tone. No sense in getting angry at the bitter old man. "Good morning." You offer, well aware it is closer to noon but deciding to at least have some false cheer in your tone. "I need to talk to you about Thomas."
(cont)

He narrows his eyes even further, his face looking like an ill fitting bag in a way before slowly opening the door and stepping out. "Alright, what about my apprentice do you need to talk about?"

You ignore he doesn't want you in his home. "Rather, more of a warning. Thomas was acting rather erratically at the market today. I am afraid he will likely do something rather foolish and felt you should be aware."

He lets a small sense of smug satisfaction cross his features. "The most important concept for mages is self control. While you may not understand this yourself, Thomas has undergone countless mental training exercises in order to withstand any provocation and is able to keep himself in check. Even those Crispin thugs would be hard pressed to make him so much as cause a spark."

Of course, mages can't be wrong or out of control, because they are just such a better class of people. You let out a sigh as Julius turns to leave into his home. "Now, if you will excuse me, some of us are quite busy filling the hole your master left when he-" He starts but you interrupt.

"While it is true that Thomas and yourself have expert control of yourselves, I am afraid that this isn't something Thomas will be able to control for a good many years. Something that is, simply put, impossibly illogical." You say and Julius pauses before he can put his foot in the door. Feeling you have his attention you continue. "Thomas seems smitten by Fulvia, a serving girl at the local tavern," You omit her other job. "And was behaving oddly. He asked me to look through my summoning books. When denied and told marriage was perhaps not the best idea he lost control of his abilities and made a wind storm in the village market."
(cont)

He turns back to look at you with a narrowed gaze then coughs. "I see. Yes, a boy his age would be interested in those sorts of things. Damn fool boy. I'll take care of it." He tells you before stepping into his home for a few moments, grabbing his robe and a thick staff covered in countless symbols most of which you can't even start to describe, and then steps out.

He gives you an uncomfortable gaze before muttering something under his breath and your arm hair tingles a bit as the air becomes more alive and then you hear all his locks slam closed at once. "Where is he then?" He demands and you shake your head.

"He ran off after he had his small accident. Then I came to you to tell you what had happened." You explain and he scoffs before walking off towards the village, his staff slamming down a bit harder than you think is necessary.

Seems you managed to set Julius after Thomas. As cranky as the old bastard is, you do think he favors the boy so you could probably leave it to him.

[]Go with Julius and help him, despite the fact he will likely protest against it.
[]Look for Thomas on your own.
[]Back home.
[]Go see someone in town
[]Go into the eastern woods.
[]Into the southern woods.
[]Other, please specify

>>28786254
I'm on my phone op so I might not be able to roll, but here is hoping the others come

Character sheet.

Name:Delarus Hune
Race: human
Age: 15
Gender:Male
occupation: Ranger

Vitae: 8
Cordis: 7

Equipment:
Hunter's leathers
Raelon Fur cloak(Enchanted)
10 Steel arrows
3 Burn arrows
2 Impact arrows
1 Garuk tusk poison arrow
3 days worth of food(Dried meat)
Waterskin(full)
Bow
Lure and snares (3)
7lbs flame salts(In cabin)

Contracts:
None

Missions:
Discover the true events of your master's death
Perform general ranger duties
Harvest herbs in southern woods for Vistilia

Skills:
Archery 4
Trap making 2
Enchantment 1
Potion: 1
Horseback riding: 3
Swordsmanship: 2
Cooking: 2
Flute playing: 2

Feats:
Ritual magic(Human)
Called Shot(Able to target specific body parts or items when firing in range)
Disenchant(Able to pull a cordis from an enchanted item and put it in something else)
Skilled explorer(You are generally able to get better search results when exploring somewhere)

Spells:
Binding(Able to bind the remains of an animal, monster, spirit, or person y turning their cordis into a physical gem which can be harvested)

Cordis:(none set)
Spined ravager
Jumping Sytherian wyrm

>>28786384
[]Go into the eastern woods.

Get more power gem things.

>>28786384
get book back from mountains.
if we already have it then let's go meet that lake spirit we keep dreaming about.

>>28786436
>Southern woods

Get those herbs.

>>28786509
You do have the book. You just forgot to take the book from the cabin about the mountains with you to there.

>>28786384

Let's grab those herbs we need, then check out the lake spirit after.

Do those coil spring boots let us land from long falls without injury?

>>28786570
ah that part confused me.
it probably common knowledge we would read about the forest before setting out, right?
ALso is the spirit in the east forest.

>>28786611
I want to save the south eoids for later when we have more soul gems since our master died down there and we don't need the herbs right away.

>>28786611
Yes, as long as you land on your feet they cushion your fall. You don't know the exact limits of how far it cushions the landing, but it is safe to say you can at least land from the apex of the jump without risk.

>>28786635
She is in a glade east of town, not particularly far out but yes part of the eastern forest.

>>28786384
>[X]Go into the eastern woods

Seems searching the eastern woods wins it. If you want to put a cordis into something then please make your choice while I write this up.

Also 1d20+2 if you would be so kind.

Rolled 1 + 2

>>28786746

Rolled 11 + 2

>>28786746

>>28786746
Put the spined ravager cordis in the bow.

Rolled 4 + 2

>>28786746

Longshot bow and spring boots?

Rolled 11 + 2

>>28786768
For fucks sake keep that luck for the other soul gem quest.they keep getting nat 1s its not even funny anymore.

>>28786823
Soul Gem quest?

>>28786855
called soulquest, run by soulQM

Rolled 3 + 2

>>28786893
>>28786855
They got nat 1s out the ass and the way it handlesssouls is similar to this one.

You make your way back to your cabin and strap into your leathers. Your wrapped thigh hurts a little, so you put redress it, put some numbing herbs on it, and then slide your equipment on. It shouldn't pose any particular problem, the spine not damaging anything too important, and likely any scar it leaves will be faint. You grab your Cordis and mutter a few faint words causing the spined ravager cordis to be put in your bow and you put the wyrm cordis in the boots. You eat some plant matter and make sure your body has little to no scent before leaving a note on your door which says "out, and without anything particularly valuable inside."

You walk down the path towards the Eastern woods, curios at what you can find there. You pull out the small journal which your master detailed the monsters an animals in the woods with and note the things to look out for as you slowly get used to measuring your steps once more. "Devourers are large burrowing bird like creatures which snap up and eat an unaware passerby. Keep an eye out for a beak like protrusion on the ground, and be aware that they travel in packs(swarms? Herds?) so where you see one of them you will see more." You figure that is the most dangerous thing to look out for so you make note of it and put the book away before continuing your journey.

You keep an eye out for the glade you heard about and make careful steps to follow the directions, but somewhere along the way you get turned around and end up back at town. You swear before trying again and this time find yourself on the side of the lake, a few of the fishermen giving you a curious glance. You try a third time and end up in the southern portion of the eastern woods. You walk over the fallen trees and realize you are a bit lost. You swear as you pull out your quill shot bow and start taking careful steps through the woods.
(cont)

It is late afternoon by the time you manage to get to where you are vaguely aware of where you are and you start making your way back to town when a voice calls out to you.

"Help me!" It asks and you look around for the source.

You follow the cries for help and the moans of agony to a small clearing in the forest. In the center of it you see a humanoid form buried in the ground from the waist up. You remember the stories of the Devourerers and look around for beak like protrusions but see none and thus make your way over to the form quickly. They are thin, with their face on the ground and obscuring their features. They seem pale with perhaps a violet tint in the dim light and are naked. Their long hair falls forward over their face and back. You furrow your brow in confusion and just then the driders attack.

Your foot gets caught in a snare. You get pulled up into the treeline by your foot and you feel the blood rush to your head as the sudden snap rips your bow from your hands and lets it fall to the ground from temporarily limp fingers. You are pulled up into one of the large trees and you see the human form unburry itself below and reveal a spider like lower body attached at about where the waist is. You swear as several other dark forms fall from threads in the trees around you.

"Help me!" The drider on the ground cries out again as it looks towards you and you see it for the first time.
(cont)

Skin stretched too thin, the drider's human portion would not be able to stand up to close scrutiny. The eyes are narrow slits on the head filled with pure black and their mouths spread wide to reveal rows of teeth with sickly green poison drooling out in thin rivers which pool on the ground below them. Their torso is lithe, or perhaps sleek, and you see thick strong chitin lining the lower spider portion of the monster. You glance around and see the bodies of the other driders are holding crude stone weapons. You look down at where your bow fell and swear as you draw your saber and take a few swipes at the silken rope which binds you, but it seems very stretchy and difficult to chop through. You see at least two more coming from the trees towards you while the last one starts climbing up the trunk of the tree you are hanging from to get you, all the while crying out "Help me."

"Note to self." You mutter as you look around you. "Driders can burrow and evidently mimic human voice."

You resolve to make a detailed note of this in the journals when you make your escape. If you make your escape.

Seems you fell into a trap by a group of driders and are currently hanging upside down from a tree as they approach.

How should you fight?
[]Saw your way through the silk and get your bow when you fall, then lay into them with arrows.
[]Fight upside down here, you can't risk having them catch you on the ground if you fall.
[]Other, please specify

Please roll 1d20 for using your sword.

Rolled 17

>>28787296
>[]Saw your way through the silk and get your bow when you fall, then lay into them with arrows.

Rolled 16

>>28787296
saw out of silk
recover bow
lay waste to spider freaks

Rolled 5

>>28787296
Fight upside down

Rolled 8

>>28787296
[]Saw your way through the silk and get your bow when you fall, then lay into them with arrows.

>>28787296
Looks like our Luck for encounters hasn't change at all.

On our first outing for herbs we wake up a wyvern on our way to get salamander salts we get ambushed by a predator and now we get trapped by a drider.

Atleast our combat luck is high since we manged to kill the last two encounters with only a bit of difficulty and it is making us stronger.

You look at the large stone weapons, then down to your own blade, and swear. As nice as a weapon it is, it is not made to deal with this, or you at least have no idea how to manage to deal with it. You strain your abdominal muscles and pull yourself up high enough to wrap your hands onto the silk rope. You grip it tight and pull it in order to make it taunt before you start sawing. You ignore the sounds of the spider like monsters getting close and keep sawing away at the rope. You feel your face heat up as the exhaustion nearly takes you, sweat pouring down your face as both the awkward position and difficult effort start to take their toll. You think you feel a too slender hand reach into your hair when the rope cuts. You hold on half a second more as you put your feet under you and then let go, panic nearly taking you as a few strands of hair get pulled out by the drider who was behind you.

You have to resist the urge to tuck yourself into a roll as you had been trained to, remembering the boot's ability from when you tested it, and hope you are right as to one of their effects. Your feet slam into the ground and you feel panic take you for just a moment as you feel a small force start to wind it's way up your body, but then the boots seem to work as the rest of it is absorbed by them. You run over to your bow and hear a strange hissing sound which makes you duck into a roll on instinct. You hear something smack into the tree on the opposite side of the driders just ahead of you as you roll over your bow, grab it and nock an arrow.
(cont)

You glance back at the tree and see a thick glob of sticky webbing coating it and count yourself lucky that you rolled when you did. The three driders in your vision let out a spit of hate as they climb down quickly, evidently taking more time to stop in between the top and bottom like they were with you than it takes to stop in mid air to collect their prey. You pull back the arrow and let it fly, however your steel bounces off and away from the solid chitin guarding the spider like lower body.

One of them holding what looks like an axe or hammer made of broken rock charges towards you and you run in the opposite direction, your lower speed making you worry slightly. You nock a second arrow as you run and then get an idea. You run over to the large tree at the edge of the clearing and kick off of it. You rocket back and duck low as you hope your idea is a good one and are rewarded as you slide under the charging drider's body. He takes a swipe at you as you move but you are luckily moving faster than he thought, and slider on the grass in between the large spider creature's legs. You shoot up quickly, remembering the crude drawing of driders you saw in one of your master's journals, and take aim at a spot on the creature's body you remember isn't covered in the thick chitin. You fire and the arrow digs deeply into the creature's chest.
(cont)

You have no time to celebrate your victory however as a second drider charges you. You kick off the ground and narrowly go over the beasts head, earning you a cut on the side as the beast stabs at you and you note you didn't seem to have as much force as before.

KNOWLEDGE GAIN: The spring boots seem to hold a certain amount of energy normally, but they need kinetic force from the outside in order to go beyond what they naturally have. Unknown how much force it can hold.

You take a shot at the creature as you land behind it and fire an arrow at what you are sure is an unprotected spot on the humanoid torso, but the beast lowers itself and takes it to a plate under the humanoid skin.

Please roll 1d20+4 for continuing combat or 1d20 if you just want to run.

Rolled 17 + 4

>>28787834

Rolled 8

>>28787834

Rolled 14 + 4

>>28787834
rolling to attack get some distance and use our long bow to snipe them a far.

Rolled 1 + 4

>>28787834

>>28787972
OP, does this one count for fighting?

>>28787972
ah fuck

>>28788001
>>28787972
>>28788017
I do best of first three rolls with the most voted for action barring criticals within those first three.

The one came after the first three so it does not count.

Rolled 11 + 4

>>28788043
oh thank god, I don't get lynched

>>28788043
Yes thank you

You glance towards the trees and make a quick calculation. Even if you were to run these driders are fast, far faster than you are. Within the woods you have only the two legs, and you already saw how impossibly dexterous they seemed to be with their eight. Plus, you remember your master saying they are the best in the area at trap laying, and the secret to good traps is having redundancy after redundancy. Likely the whole clearing is like that. Easy to get in yet hard to get out. You shift your weight and count your arrows, only about eight of the steel left. You dash back towards the edge of the clearing as the two driders on the ground turn to charge again.

You wight the pros and cons of your decision and draw an impact arrow from your quiver, the different texture of the fletching making it easy to note. You draw back the enchanted arrow and take a knee as the lead drider leaps towards you. You fire the arrow straight into the creature's torso.

once more, like the hammer of a furious giant the arrow slams into the creature. The chitin plating covering the creature's chest prevents the arrows from properly piercing, but the impact shatters the chitin and you can see the middle of the creature's chest get smashed away. You pull out a steel arrow and ready it as the second drider pauses. That pause is all you need.

You stand and fire several arrows towards the creature, taking measured steps as you fire. The beast tried to raise it's arms, which allows you to dash forward and fire an arrow from under it, taking it's heart. It sputters and falls over. You look up into the trees for the final drider but don't see it. You stand in the middle of the clearing and continue to keep your eyes focused on the high limbs and the dark shadows but either the creature is too well hidden or the beast has already fled when it decided that it could not take you easily.
(cont)

You nod, satisfied and start to perform the ritual on the drider corpses, but frown as you lean over and check them. Dead, both of them. You shrug and take a moment or two to inspect your damage. The cut on your side is not too deep, but you take extra care to dress it and rub your leathers in ash and herbs to hide the smell of the blood. You don't want anything in the woods thinking you are an easy meal.

You look over the bodies and realize you have no idea what they have on their bodies which might be useful, so with a slightly heavy heart you make your way out of the woods towards town. Your side burns as the herbs work to mask your scent but you ignore it and press on towards home even harder. You keep your wits about you as you move and make sure to arm your traps around your home when you finally catch sight of the cabin, the lone drider who supposedly ran off making you feel somewhat nervous. You make your way inside after taking down your sign and sigh.

You open up the journal to the section on driders and make some notes about their abilities before cooking a meal and thinking to yourself. The later afternoon light plays merry with your cabin and you realize just how unprepared you were.

From the looks of things those driders were young, pushed into the very edged of their territory by the larger, more powerful members of their species. If you had more knowledge of them, you would have perhaps had an easier time, but they were still very strong. And the whole of the southern woods is full of those things.

You shudder at the thought.

You eat some soup before deciding what to do.

[]Into town to see some one.
[]Go into the eastern woods to try and find the glade again, it is supposed to be a stones throw from the village
[]Go into the southern woods.
[]Rest up.
[]Other, please specify

>>28788850
[]Go into the eastern woods

>>28788850

Retrieve arrows, see if we can find the glade

>>28788850
east woods for the glade

>>28788850
[X]Go into the eastern woods to try and find the glade again, it is supposed to be a stones throw from the village

>>28788915
Right, retrieve arrows

>>28788850
[]Go into the southern woods.

Still need to get those herbs.

Please roll 1d20+2 for searching for the glade.

Rolled 4 + 2

>>28789027

Rolled 14 + 2

>>28789027
lets see who we get this time

Rolled 9 + 2

>>28789027
ok

>>28789037
wren plz

You realize you are burning through arrows far faster than you anticipated, so you remove your leathers and soak your chest portion in a mix to remove the blood, before washing and then making your way towards town. You keep your bow sling over your shoulder and your saber on a sheath at your side as you go into town.

Still feeling nervous you step as lightly as you can until you are comforted slightly by one of the vanguards patrols. You nod to them as you walk normally into town and make a small beeline towards the blacksmith. "Oh, Delarus! What ye be wantin some help with?"

"Hello Urik. I was wondering how many of those arrows you had made for me." You say and he nods rooting around in a large pile of what you assume to be scraps or failure. He pulls out two quivers after a moment of rooting around and hands them to you.

"Not managed to get all'o em done, what with every fool farmer and his dog needin their tools sharpened, but I'll get the rest of em done sure as sure." He says.

GET: 54 Arrows

"Thank you." You say adjusting the arrows so they will sit comfortably on your shoulder. "Where is Dianna at?"
(cont)

"Fool girl is spending her night with Fulvia workin to get everything set up proper for the festival. Told her she can get some of the other villagers to help, but she says they have enough work as is. Bah." He shrugs waving a hand idly.

You nod your thanks to him before setting off towards your cabin. You put the arrows away and select enough to fill your quiver with twenty before looking at your leathers. The blood is still on the outside edge of your leather, so you set it back into the small pool of herbs you use to leech blood from your gear and put on your cloak and boots. You look over yourself in a mirror and adjust your gear so you look at least slightly presentable in the outfit before leaving the cabin once more and making your way into the eastern woods.

You follow the path towards the glade and discover after following the instructions perfectly you somehow managed to get to the western half of town. You glare at the woods and stalk over to the path to the east again and this time stop every couple of feet. You find with some amazement when you freeze in your tracks every few steps you are facing a direction you did not plan on. You extend your senses and feel a soft tingling of magic in the air. Totally different than the overpowered way Thomas uses it and vastly different than the insanely calculated and difficult method Julius favors. Rather, it is like the forest itself is purposely, and subtly, changing your direction, encouraging you to take small detours or showing you shortcuts which will in fact be in the totally wrong direction.
(cont)

It takes a while, you constantly stopping and readjusting your course due to the crafty illusions, but you finally see a clearing which you step into. All around you, you hear the sound of birds and animals, the forest practically singing with music and power. You walk over to the rim of the pool of water in the center of it and look in. Pure, deep, clear water sparkles as the near total sunset casts an auburn splay across the surface. You see yourself in it, but nothing else.

You walk the perimeter of the pool and can't help but feel like you are being observed. You frown as you look around the glade and in the darkening woods you see strange lights twinkle and sparkle in the shadows. You get closer to one to try and see it, but when you get close the lights seem to decide the other side of the glade is the best place to be, thus preventing you from getting a good look at them. On a hunch you get an arrow and draw it back, your vision swimming as it focuses in on one of the lights and while it is too bright to make out perfectly, you believe you see small humanoid forms within the lights, constantly swimming and dancing around. You put the arrow away as you think that any smart creature might find it offensive you having an arrow drawn and pointed at it.

You have discovered "Lilly's Glade". Gain a bonus when searching for it from now on.

There is no one here and it is becoming late evening. What do you want to do?
[]Back to town to see someone
[]To your cabin
[]Stay in the glade and do something(what?)
[]Other, please specify

>>28789595
>[]Stay in the glade and do something(what?)
Greet the little guys

>>28789595
>[]Back to town to see someone
Let's see what Dianna is up to

Next post may take a little while. Have to take care of some stuff.

>>28789700
seconding, looks like no one is in at the glade right now

>>28789595
Can we try playing our flute?

>>28790445

Might as well give it a try. One of the perks was that our flute was better at attracting spirits and whatnot

You shrug to yourself and decide the nymph, Lilly, just isn't home, and you make your way back to town. The feeling of some one watching you does not fade until you get close to the village, but it is fairly easy to make it back. You wander the pathways leading outside of town and eventually find yourself standing outside the tavern. You frown as you walk in and you notice several strange things.

One, the tavern isn't full of rowdy old men and farmers just killing time and their minds while they wait for the harvest. Two, the decorations and tables and the like are flipped around and turned on their heads, leaving a lovely trail of devastation which continues on outside. Three Fulvia is holding a rag over her face and her clothes seem to be in disrepair, and four Dianna is scrubbing up something which looks like blood on the ground. You look around at the devastation as Dianna looks up and you notice Fulvia brightens slightly.

"Hello Delarus, it's nice to see you." Fulvia smiles and you feel a small tinge of gilt start hanging over you.

"Hey Fulvia, Dianna, this is an interesting theme you have for the Harvest Fair. 'A forest manticore had a bit too much to drink?'" You offer and while Fulvia giggles, raising her free hand slightly to cover her mouth Dianna scowls.

"Thomas came in here and made a scene." She explains and you feel like some one slapped you.

You nod and glance around at the devastation, the finely cut falls and the small scorch marks here and there on the tables. "What happened?"

Fulvia shrugs. "He came in here upset about something and told me we were running away together. I told him it was sweet, but I had no intentions of leaving quite yet, nor did I plan on leaving with him. He did not take it well." She explains and you focus very hard at her face and not her torn clothes.
(cont)

She takes it as a sign of something and walks behind the counter, grabs an apron, and puts it on. You see a large red and black mark on the side of her face, like some one hit her with a burning hammer or orb of some sort, but fortunately it doesn't look like it will leave a scar.

"I tried to get him to calm down, but he just got more pissed. That's when the magic happened, things started getting cut up, wind and fire were blowing everywhere and Thomas just grabs Fulvia and starts calling her a, well you know, said the rumors about her being a you know were true and that she was an impure, uh-" Dianna starts and Fulvia finishes adjusting the apron.

"Whore. He called me a village whore and said if every man could have a go with me he should too. That I owed it to him for all the time he spent pining for me. Said that if I was going to bend over for Atraxion then I should bend over for him. Asked how he could have thought to ever ask me to marry him." She smiles and sits back down, keeping the wet cloth to her face. "He didn't mean it, was just angry about something. Magic can do that remember." She offers and Dianna scowls.

"Man was out of line. So Fulvia resists and this weird light hits her. Then we sort of drove him off." Dianna offers while picking up a small piece of wood.

"You hit him with a bar stool." Fulvia offers and Dianna shrugs.

"Man was out of line. What did you say to him anyway, couldn't hear when the wind was going all over the place." Dianna asks.

"I turned down his offer to be married, in so many words." She explains and you can't help but notice she looks a bit sad.
(cont)

"Well, he fell over bleeding and the magic stopped flying about. Then he staggered his ass out of here and we started cleaning up. The vanguard came by but-" Dianna shakes her head.

"I didn't want Thomas to get into too much trouble. Dominic has it out for him and I think Dianna hitting him with a stool is punishment enough. Still, it will be hard work getting everything back in order." She sighs and looks around the room.

"Yeah, having just us working on things would be pretty hard, and with the other villagers all busy with the harvest coming up I don't feel right asking them, although." Dianna casts a glance your way.

"I do have work of my own you know. Herb collecting, monster extermination, exploration, the whole mystic part too which I don't even know where to start with." You say glancing at Fulvia as she gives you a gentle smile, you remembering the other red marks you saw on her before.

"Just in between your duties, when you aren't too hurt from the other jobs you have to pull." Dianna asks and you sigh.

What do you say and do?
[]If I have the time
[]No, I just won't be able to

Then
[]Back to your house
[]Stick around and help clean up
[]Go find Thomas
[]Ask them something
[]Back to the spring
[]Other, please specify

>>28791399
>[]If I have the time
[]Go find Thomas

>>28791399
>if I have time

>Go find thomas

>>28791399
>[]If I have the time

>[]Stick around and help clean up

You sigh as you look at their hopeful faces. Despite you putting your distance to them these last few years they were still trying to be friends. Plus you feel like you may have had a small part in this. You nod and see the two of them brighten. "Yeah, if I have the time I will. I can't make any solid days for it, but I should eventually get the time." You promise, this time actually meaning it.

Fulvia stand up and walks the few feet over to where you are standing. She wraps her arms around you and you go tense. "Thank you Dularus" She says.

You feel her press her body into you, a warm soft thing, and smell the subtle scent of flowers of some sort wafting up from her. It takes you a minute before you put your hands on the woman's shoulders and push her back, feeling your face flush. You try to remind yourself how many others she has probably held like that and how much of a calculated move it is, but it still feels nice. You remove your hands from her shoulders before glancing at Dianna who raises her eyebrow.

"I ain't hugging you." She explains.

You look down at the trail left by Thomas and you follow it out the door. You say your farewells and start tracking Thomas, his drunken stumbling easy enough for you to follow and you worry slightly that he has a concussion as you find a few places where he fell over. It takes you a bit but you eventually find his trail leads to the western woods. You frown as you pick up your pace, but you don't have to go far.

You see Thomas sitting against a tree, drinking from a flask of what you are pretty sure isn't water.
(cont)

You walk over to him carefully, silently cursing yourself for not having your leathers in case he turns out to have become an evil mage. "Didn't mean to hurt her." He says as you approach and you finally notice there seems to have been a circular pool of magic around him, likely to warn him if something gets close. "Just my power started rushing out. I got mad and the magic latched onto it. Didn't mean to hurt her." He explains.

"I know." You offer and sit down near him, looking out into the dark woods.

"Just I got so mad. I liked her for so long and it was all a lie, you know? She said it was true. Told me it was true and you tried to warn me." He sighs taking a drink from the skin. ""Didn't hurt Dianna did I?" He asks glancing over to you, and you see his irises are glowing with a weird light.

"Nah, she is fine. Fulvia was worried about you, you know." You say and look around. "Why did you come out here?"

"Didn't want to vanguard to find me. Didn't want nobody to really find me. Just wanted to sit and have a think. They'll lock me in irons for this, wanted to have a- a moment." He says and you nod.

"They didn't tell the vanguard. Said you getting brained with a bar stool was punishment enough." You explain and he laughs, coughing a bit as the burning drink makes its way down his throat.

"Heavy punishment." He says, wiping away a small glitter in his eye.

"Thought Julius would be looking for you. Figured he would have caught you before you did anything too stupid." You say and he smiles a little.

"He tried to find me by my magic. I sent out decoys and he has been following them around all day. Mages rely too much on magic to solve all their problems. Makes them blind some times." He explains.

"Still, pretty shitty the way you trashed the tavern and all the decorations." You say and he winces.

"Yeah." He agrees.

"You could go back there. Maybe try to woo her. Maybe make it up to her and Dianna and-" You start but he shakes his head.
(cont)

"I can't. I mean, knowing she has been with, with others just makes it-" He narrows his eyes and looks up. "No, I don't think I am mad about that. It's more like, I had this idea of her right? I was so close and was sure I knew who she was and what sort of person she was, but then I find out it was all a lie. I fell in love with a lie and I just couldn't do anything about it. Then things just sort of went white and- and-" He shakes his head.

"Then you got hit with a bar stool." You finish the thought for him.

"Then I got hit with a bar stool." He confirms.

"You going to go back and talk to her about it? Maybe try to mend bridges?" You ask.

He nods after a moment. "Yeah, one day. Not today or tomorrow but I think, maybe, I should try and get myself under control more before I try and deal with them. This time I was lucky that Dianna was there to stop me but it could have been bad. It could have been really bad."

You nod and scratch your head. "Julius will be mad." You say and he flinches a little. "Julius will be really mad." You continue as if you hadn't seen the flinch. "But I am pretty sure he will take you back if you are honest and sincere about it. He hates pretty much everyone but thinks mages need to be respected."
(cont)

"Yeah. I think I am just going to sit out here for a while, if that's cool with you. I got my stuff under control with magic, more or less." He says.

You look around the woods, the silence of animals and the general darkness making you feel more noticeable than you are used to when you are out here. "What if a monster shows?" You ask.

In response he raises his free hand and you see small bolts of lightning curls around it, illuminating the whole area in a dull white glow. "Rangers know how to hide and sneak in the woods. Mages don't need to be so subtle. I have wards and charms up and about in case something shows, and if anything does I will annihilate that part of the forest. I should be fine." He explains.

Well, now what?
[]Back to your home, it is getting late.
[]Take Thomas back to town, he is too drunk to be casting
[]Take Thomas back to your Cabin
[]Back to town yourself and see someone
[]Other, please specify

>>28792044
>[]Take Thomas back to your Cabin

>>28792044
>[]Take Thomas back to your Cabin

>>28792044
>[]Back to your home, it is getting late.

>>28792044
>[]Back to your home, it is getting late.

You stand up and pull him up by his collar. "Come on, you can sleep it off in my cabin."

"Nah, I am good, I am a super strong mage! I can- I can explode things." He says and as if to prove it draws in a huge surge of magic and launches a bold of lightning at a tree.

Your ears ring as your vision becomes clouded with spots you hurriedly blink away just in time to see the tree land behind you.

"Eat shit trees. Thinking- Thinking you're better than us." Thomas mumbles.

You drag him back to your cabin, his drunken weight making you break into a sweat in the cold night air. He is sawing logs steadily as you make your way to your cabin, taking the time to set several of the traps back up as you go. You open your door, set him on the bed, and start making up the fire. You ponder the days events, and decide that it was profitable to discover exactly what the Driders were capable of.

You will have to go into the southern forest one day soon, and knowing what they can do is better than not. Plus, you managed to get more arrows and prevent Thomas from doing any permanent harm. Then again you got roped into helping with the festival decorations, and if you don't help Dianna will go up to your cabin and drag you down there herself.

You use ash of rosemary to clean your teeth before grabbing your cloak and curing into a corner, adjusting yourself so that you manage to keep weight off your leg and side.

You hope for a dreamless sleep, and are unrewarded.
(cont)

"-how come no one else can come up and see you?" You ask and the girl smiles.

She swims over to where you sit and places her arms folded on the edge, resting her head on them while sighing. "People can only get here if they make it through my tricks. I do not particularly like visitors, they always want something, or are rude. The only other people that make it this far are that annoying Mage who keeps trying to kill me in order to go after Ms. Solanaceae or that old man who keeps trying to swim with me. I keep telling him that he isn't invited but," She lets out a sigh before drifting back into the pool. "Men never listen."

"If they can make it here, then how do you hide?" You ask kicking your feet in the water while you continue drawing on the paper.

"I dive under of course. From under the water I can see everything that goes on in here and decide if I want to come out. I am not human so I do not need to breathe." She explains and you nod understanding.

You finish the last of your drawing and smile as you present it to her, showing you and hr holding hands swimming in the water. "Here! You can have this!" You say.

She swims over and places a delicate finger on the edge of the paper. You are afraid it will get wet, but the paper seems to ignore the water as she looks it over. She spends a great while making a humming sound while examining it then offers you a smile, so easy to get from her, and a small peck on the cheek which fills you with sunshine.

"I shall treasure it." She offers.

It is then an arrow flies out from the woods and slams into her chest, spilling too perfect blue blood into the pool of water. She lets out a scream as the arrow digs in deep and stepping out of the woods is a man with grave eyes and a beautiful bow in his hands.
(cont)

You awaken to find Thomas standing over your cooking pot. You reflexively grab your bow and nearly nock and arrow but then blink the weariness away, remembering what happened last night.

"Hey, sorry, did I wake you? Seemed you were having a bad dream. I, uh, made stew?" He offers and you look over the place.

You give him a sleepy thanks and perform your morning duties before sitting down.

"So, what are you planning on doing today?" He asks and you ponder the question.

[]Go help Fulvia fix up the tavern.
[]Into the southern woods after I mend my equipment
[]Going to go check out a glade
[]Going to try and meet the guardian of the eastern woods.
[]Other, please specify

>>28792565
>[]Go help Fulvia fix up the tavern.

>>28792565
[]Go help Fulvia fix up the tavern.

we did promise so might as well fulfill it quickly so that we can go on our business later without any distraction.

>>28792565
>[]Go help Fulvia fix up the tavern.

>>28792565

>Help Fulvia fix up the tavern.

You take a bite of the stew, not as good as you can make it but passible. "I will probably go help Fulvia and Dianna fix up the tavern. I said I would if I have the time and I figure if I start out early I can." You say and Thomas nods looking guilty. "How about you?"

"Back to my master's." He sighs looking at the mostly empty pouch of mushroom wine, the psychodelic and alcoholic drink favored by his master. "I should probably just face the music now while I can, get my shit together, then, I dunno, think about this Fulvia thing."

You nod and eat in silence, not an uncomfortable one, just the silence of men a planning their day. You walk with Thomas halfway to town and split up there before making your way towards the city proper. You give pleasant nods towards the villagers as you walk into the tavern, Dianna already working while Fulvia is nowhere to be seen. You give her a nod, a small level of relief filling your chest, before stepping inside.

"Hello there Dianna." You offer.

Her smile nearly takes her ears as she sets down the pale of water and walks over to you. She weakly hits your shoulder and says "So you decided it was in your best interest to come see me? I was about to go up there and drag you down here myself."

"Well, wouldn't want the twelve to see that. Where can I help?" You ask and she points out some destruction and you get to work.

You work in silence for a few moments before Dianna asks "Say, why did you stop hanging out with us?"

"Ranger training was hard. Had to stay focused on that." You reply, the same excuse you always had.

"True, your training took a lot of time, but during your errands in the village you seemed like you were avoiding us. Even when you more or less finished your work and got a cabin of your own you still spent your days locked up in there." She says and you hear her walk over and start picking up some debris around you.
(cont)

You say nothing as she works and takes that as a sign to continue. "Did you not really like us? Was it because Thomas started getting on with his mage stuff that made you uncomfortable?" She asks and you shake your head.

"Nothing of the sort, though it was funny watching him make stuff explode on accident. Not as much this time I suppose." You reply trying to change the subject

"Then was it because I started training with the vanguard? Became better at you with a blade? Or because my hate of the Crispins went from pure hate to just mild loathing?" She asks and you smile a little, shaking your head again.

"Then I guess'n it was because the time you saw Fulvia whorin herself." She finishes and you turn to look at her.

She is staring at you with a strange look and then nods. "Yeah, guessin it was so."

"You, uh, I mean, you knew?" You say and she nods.

"Yup. First time I think she did something like that was-" She pauses as she narrows her eyes. "Dominic Crispin took my toy sword about five or six years back. She said she would take her pants off and let them see if he gave it back and got the sword back." She shakes her head. "Told me you saw her on the night of Atraxion."

You feel your face flush as she says it. "That was, well, we drifted apart some before then. That just sort of made it weird enough to be more permanent." You say and she nods slowly as if getting it.

"You could have talked to her." She says then wrinkles her nose. "Maybe not. You do live alone in a cabin away from the rest of the world. Hermits ain't too good at talking that sort of thing out."

"Please, I great conversation out of driders and Flame Salamanders." You say, but the joke comes out weaker than you want it to.
(cont)

She shakes her head then puts a hand on your shoulder. "I ain't sayin' I totally approve, but she has her circumstances. You still come around a bit after knowing, and she wants you to be her friend still despite you avoiding her. She won't say nothing, figurin you got to do what's right by you but I ain't that nice. Sack up." She tells you patting your shoulder roughly as Fulvia walks into the room from the kitchen area.

"Oh, Delarus. You came!" She smile and holds up the pitcher of clear fresh squeezed lemonade and the three glasses. "Just in time. Ready to work?"

You notice that her face is covered in make up to cover the wound and you can see the black blotchy outlines of a bruise.

"Of course" You say grabbing a glass and giving your best smile. Time to sack up, you guess.

Here seems like an okay place to stop, so why don't we call it here? I am still around for questions/concerns/comments.

Should I do a congrats screen?

Congrats! You handled the Thomas path very, very well!

Congrats! You are now more aware of driders and will be ready for their trickery should you fight again!

Congrats! You found the glade! Now to find the nymph

>>28793244
nice.

>>28793244
remind me, how do we increase skills?

>>28793306
Through use or via training.

>>28793329
and spells we get from tomes and spellbooks?

>>28793306
You mostly use archery, but your archery is already pretty good, so it is slow going. They are improving however.
>>28793360
Yes, or have some one teach you. Thomas may be a good source for that since Julius sort of doesn't like you.

>>28793397
is there a maximum level for skills?

also, is it possible to open up relationship routes?

>>28793417
In theory 10 is your max level using human means. Beyond that you will have to use magic or gods to buff yourself.

For example you could get archery to 10, then have a spell which improves it beyond human and get it up to 11 or 12.

And what do you mean relationship routes?

>>28793447
pursuing possible relationships with people in the village.

>>28793478
You mean romance? Certainly it is possible, though I do not intend for it to be the focus of the quest.

General knowledge time? General knowledge time. Common Origin Effect: If you use a cordis of an animal on an object made from the same sort of animal it has a much greater effect. if you were to make a bow of Sytharian Jumping Wyrm and use that Cordis with it, then you will get a stronger effect. This is not always the case, but is usually.

>>28793502
would we have to roll dice to see if there is an effect?

>>28793510
For romance? No, not really. You have been reestablishing friendships already and not requiring a roll.

If I ask you to roll during the pursuit of romance they are either a monster trying to eat your soul through love or something horrible is about to happen. But just talking and the like generally won't require such things.

>>28793526
No, the cordis

>>28793536
Oh, for the common origin effect? No, either it works as intended or it doesn't.

>>28793561
alright. I got to sleep. see you some other time. I like where the quest is going.

>>28793575
Thanks for playing