>Current objectives:
-Stay alive.
-Keep the skeleton-key safe
>[X] Find your way back to the crossroads.
-Liberate Earth
-Put an end to the war.
-Put an end to the Corruption

>Current inventory
-1 KV-09 Combination assault blade/energy pistol. Modified with the Void Knight Shield
-1 Screwdriver
-1 Adjustable wrench
-Various spare parts
-A pouch of gold coins
-Another pouch with 17 "Calling Crystals"
-5/10 light travel rations
-5/10 full oil can
-5/10 bandages
-A skeleton-key

>Current energy stored
-1 Aether tank
-2 Void tanks
-3 Apotropeia tanks
-0 empty tanks
-Support tank-Void (12/12 full)
-Weapon-Empty
-12 EP per tank

>Calling Crystal contacts
-Jodo, chief of Yujun village (Palia)
-Rose, interplanetary drifter (Currently on Braghendire)
-Jax, Hecatun Way Knight (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Parin, Hecatun Way Knight Trainee (Currently on The Crossroads)
-Winnow, Veeka Spirit Singer (Bray)

>Current known techniques
-Blade Wave (cost:5 EP)
-Charge Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Scatter Shot (cost:3 EP)
-Close Lesser wound (cost:1 EP)
-Close Moderate wound (cost:3 EP)
-Repulse (cost:2 EP)
-Repulsor Blast (cost:3 EP
-Reflection Field (cost: 7 EP)

Alien council meetings and Human council meetings have a lot in common. They’re both very long, very boring, and full of very old people who are very good at saying nothing of importance throughout the whole ordeal. The only saving grace was that Parin, sitting at the head of her house’s ‘section’, was very much aware of these facts. Thanks to her, the little meeting sped right along.

It still took 4 hours, but apparently that’s considered ‘fast’…

The meeting essentially came down to an introduction as well as a progress report, along with some debate about whether or not you got to keep the shield. You told them about where you had been, as well as your plan to stymy the Corrupter’s plan.

Apparently this was all supposed to take place when you arrived on the Crossroads the first time. You’re lucky Nosim sent you away, as the ‘debate’ about whether or not you keep the shield would not have ended well back then. As for now, you’ve proven yourself enough times that the council is willing to allow you to continue your service.

With the meeting finally adjourned, the council members; including Parin, all take their leave. Except for Nosim.

“If you have a moment, I’d like to speak to you in private…” He says. The way he said it, it sounds relatively serious…

>[ ] Okay.

>[ ] Maybe some other time.

Rolled 1, 1, 7 = 9

>>31853751
do it

>>31853751

Let's hear him out.

>>31853751
> okay

“I don’t see why not…” You say. You aren’t exactly sure why he sounds so serious, but you go along with it.

“Good, follow me.” He says.

Nosim leads you through the halls of the Milestone, taking several turns and going up a few staircases before entering a small office-like room.

“Hang on, I know this place.” You say.

“Yes, this is the room that Achillea took you to when you were here the first time. This room is my ‘office’, though I don’t spend much time here. As such my dear granddaughter tends to lay claim to it whenever I’m not around.” Nosim says. He takes a seat behind the large table, and motions for you to sit opposite him.

“So, what’s the deal?” You ask.

“As an outsider to our order, and strangely, to the universe in general. I’m curious, what are your thoughts on the state of things?” He asks, folding his hands upon the table and scrutinizing you.

“Well, I picked a hell of a time to become a tourist. The whole place seems to be falling apart.” You say.

“Well, not much to be done about that now. Not until we’ve found a more… concrete solution. Allow me to rephrase: How does the rest of the universe compare to your home?” He asks.

>[ ] About the same.

>[ ] Dodge the question.

>[ ] Why do you want to know?

>>31854702
>[ ] Why do you want to know?
Compare how?
Sociologically? Technologically? Have to give us something to work with here.

>>31854783
This

>>31854702
>>[ ] Why do you want to know?
am curious as to what he is getting at here
honestly

>>31854783
Anyway, on that note, there seems to be...a lot LESS of everyone else, as far as we can see. if there were as many of the other races as there were humans, I feel like the population density would be higher.
And their society seem slightly less advanced? that could just be the semi-medieval trappings though.

You raise your eyebrow. Not really a difficult maneuver, as only your right eyebrow actually goes up. “Why do you want to know?” You ask.

“Because you’ve been dodging the question. The only thing you told the council about it is the lack of any sort of magic there, and the obvious fact that you can replace limbs with machines. This is enough to satisfy a normal person’s curiosity Logan, but I’m not convinced. I want to know about your world, Void Knight. I-…” He stops talking for a moment, looking downcast. “I want to know about… the place where my daughter died…”

>[ ] Bare minimum

>[ ] Tell him about the AI.

>[ ] Other.

>>31855164
how does one sum up the entirety of an entire world into a single explanation... then the ai

>>31855164
Tell him about the ai.

See if we can convince him to help us take our world back. Then we go to oz and do the same.

Then we go back to earth, with an army of alien knoghts, wizards and dragons.

The ai will grow legs, put on pants, and then shit those pants.

>>31855164
>Tell him about AI
To do this, we have to explain things about Earth.
This guy's been awesome to us, he's worth confiding in. Plus, alien invasion = Pretty damn sweet.

You think for a moment. How to describe your entire world in a way that doesn’t involve falling back on the usual ‘no magic’ and ‘mechanical limbs’ deal.

“Well, in some ways it’s a lot like the rest of the universe…” You say.

“That’s… vague. How so?” Nosim asks.

“Well, it’s kind of gone to shit as well…” You tell him about the AI, and your role in the resistance and how it eventually failed. “… So I jumped off the ledge and used my shield to ‘block’ the ground. It worked… kind of, I got knocked out for a little bit. But when I came to, Thitu was there. That’s when she gave me the shield, and you know the rest.”

“That is… I believe I understand why you avoided telling this tale. To see loved ones and comrades killed is one thing, but to have them turned against you…” He trails off.

“I deal with it. I’m still trying to decide if I should go back or not. On one hand, there’s a lot of things that I’m uncertain about. On the other, I think that having my people fighting alongside me would be very helpful.” You say.

“Well, I suppose moral-wise it would definitely boost your spirits. But why bring them into the fray? From what you’ve told me your people have already been at war for the last 4 years.” Nosim says.

>[ ] Tell him about your Corruption immunity

>[ ] Make something up.

>>31855896
>Corruption immunity
Gotta be straight with this guy. Also...
>Humanity, FUCK YEAH

>>31855896
Humanity is pretty much always at war with something, dont sugarcoat it
>[ ] Tell him about your Corruption immunity

“I may not have been entirely honest with you yesterday…” You say, scratching the back of your head.

“About what?” Nosim asks.

“When I told you I sucked the Void out of myself. Clearly it’s a process that works, but I never required it. The Void only poses a danger of Corruption to ‘Aetherian’ beings, as the Corruption is a reaction between Aether and Void.” You say.

Nosim understands where you’re going, and continues for you. “No Aether, no Corruption. You’ve come quite a ways, 2 weeks ago you didn’t even know what those were.” He says.

“Well, the people back home still don’t know. I’m willing to bet that they’re all like me, which is why I want them around. Best case scenario, the engines of war start humming and all the guns get pointed at the Corruption. At the very least, some percentage of the population will want to see new worlds. And even a very small percentage will be a lot.” You say.

Nosim furrows his brow. “Just how many humans are there?” He asks.

“4 years ago, there was about 9 billion of us. That number probably hasn’t changed all that much.” You say.

Nosim looks absolutely shocked. “9 billion? That’s… That’s 9 times the number of Hecatun. How the hell do you fit all those people onto one world?”

“By building in 3d. The area that I found Thitu in was a massive underground housing area, and overtop of it there are buildings 100 stories high, built for the same purpose.” You say.

“That sounds… impressive. If you choose to return there, I’d very much like to see it. Which raises another question: When do you plan on returning to liberate your people?” He asks.

>[ ] ASAP

>[ ] Once I’ve raised enough support.

>[ ] Maybe never…

>>31856487
Once I've raised enough support.

Dragons, wizards, knights, etc.

>>31856487
>[ ] Once I’ve raised enough support.
Enough to absolutely destroy that damn A.I.

>>31856531
BY THE GODS, THIS

>writing

“I’d need more support. Theoretically, if everything is the way I left it, I could rift in right at the AI’s front door, knock it in and destroy its central processer. But it’s been at least a year since the last time I was there. If the defenses have been improved at all, rifting in there could be a very, VERY bad idea.” You say.

“So, how do you plan on getting more support?” Nosim asks, stroking his beard.

“Well, I left this bit out of the council meeting, but I’ve got a friend who’s going around collecting allies. He plans to raise an army of Runecasters, Weavers and Dragons to fight the Corruption. I was going to see if I could put him in touch with you guys, since you fell under the ‘anti-corruption’ group. But I’m positive that any anti-Corruption army would want the guys who are immune to it.” You explain.

“You seem to have thought about this.” Nosim says.

“I’ve had 2 weeks to consider my options.” You say.

“Well then, you’ll be wanting to contact your friend, no doubt. But one last thing before you’re dismissed.” Nosim leans forward, his expression becoming stern. “Parin is not my blood, but I care for her all the same. I’d like to know what your intentions with her are.”

>[ ] How does everyone know about that?!?

>[ ] Not sure… (Hannah)

>[ ] Nothing but the purest.

>>31857066
First
> How does everyone know about that?!?

Because seriously, everyone knows!
Then
> not sure

>>31857066
Wasn't it implied they had strong scents?
In any case, we would never take advantage of her. We care for her. She seems to have made us calm down, a bit.

>>31857066
Not sure.. we have known her what...3 days?

>>31857199
>How does everyone know about that...?
Anyhow, Logan's feelings don't seem to be wishy-washy when it comes to her. They're both drawn to each other, from what we've seen. In any case...
>If you're implying that I have any intention of doing her harm, I would challenge you to FISTICUFFS, my good sir.

>writing

>>31857155
This too

>>31857066
"I'll admit, we've... gotten close, since we met. I'm not sure how any of this crazy shit is gonna turn out, or what'll happen to her, or me. I don't plan on letting anything happen to her though." FOR SERIOUS, G

“Okay, that’s 3 times now that someone’s known about that. Zeshua knew, Jax knew, and now you. How the fuck?” You say.

Nosim taps his nose. “We can smell it. More importantly, we can smell you. You are rather… unique, when it comes to the senses. But back to my point.” He says, looking at you expectantly.

You sigh and slump into your chair, running your left hand back through your hair. “I honestly have no fucking clue. Some recent information has cast some-“ You pause, searching for a better word than ‘doubts’. Unsuccessful, you continue. “-doubts onto my mind. Something that I thought was certain has become… less so. If I want to solve this problem though, I need to go back to Earth.”

Nosim looks unsatisfied.

“But rest assured, I would never intentionally do anything to hurt Parin.” You say.

Nosim smiles. “And I will hold you to that. But right now we both have work to do. I need to convince the council that your plan is a good one. And you need to do the same thing with your friend. But first, visit the armory. I believe that there is something for you there.” He says, before making a ‘shoo’ motion with his hand.

>[ ] Go to the armory.

>[ ] Call Rose.

>[ ] Go to Braghendire.

>>31857815
Call rose on the way to the armory.

>>31857875
Aye.

>writing

>>31857875
valance not disagree

After asking Nosim where the armory is and how to get there, you bid him adieux.

Like many of the places in the Milestone, it is all the way on the other side. Strange how nothing seems to be close to anything in this building. The walk is going to take you a minute, so you pull out your calling crystal and contact Rose.

“H-hello?” Rose says. It seems like ‘timid greetings’ is just her way of answering your calls.

“Yo! I was hoping to come by and discuss something with Oz, do you guys have a minute?” You ask.

“Yeah, we’re on Dergrume right now looking after Savvi.” She says.

“Okay, I’ll contact you again in a minute. One thing I have to deal with over here before I go there.” You say, before saying ‘bye’ out of courtesy and ending the call.

You arrive at the armory shortly after. The room is large, lined wall-to-wall with all manner of medieval armor and weaponry. At the entrance to the room and older looking Hecatun with light-blue skin and horns that come forward out of his head before curving slowly back around his head. “Ah, Dengrel said you’d be coming. What you’re looking for is in the chest over there.” He says, pointing to an ornate red wooden chest.

You thank the old Hecatun and make your way to the chest. Inside there’s a neatly lain pile of black-and-gold armor.

“They had wayknights searching far and wide for those. We found most of the pieces, the rest you’ll have to get yourself.” The old Hecatun says.

>[ ] Put it on here.

>[ ] Do this elsewhere.

>>31858478
Slam it all on and get going.

>>31858478
Holy shit, I thought you had died. Didn't realize your quest was still running.
And yes, I think we should put it all on right now.

>>31858478
>[ ] Put it on here.

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>>31858478
OH HELL YEAH

>writing

No sense in delaying this. Besides, you’re pretty excited to try this stuff out.

It takes a minute to get it all on, but the result is worth the wait. Like the other pieces, they all seem to ‘modernize’ when you put them on. Unlike the rest of the pieces, some of these go on your mechanical bits. When you put those on they integrate directly into the structure, bulking your limbs up a bit and enhancing their capabilities.

When Vicky does a rundown of your new parts, you learn that you have 3 new energy tanks on your upper left arm, a breathing mask that attaches to your face, and jets under your feet. Now, you have no way of controlling yourself in any way, shape or form in midair, so the jets will have to be ‘emergencies only’. The armor on your arm seems to have integrated the brace from the KV, becoming an assist mechanism and lightening the load that heavy blade puts on your arm.

The only places you’re missing armor now are your head, your left forearm (which is metal anyway), your upper back, and your crotch.

Looking at yourself in a full length mirror at the back of the armory, you definitely look… professional. Before you had the look of someone who picked up scraps of armor and whatever clothing they could find and decided to jump into the fray. Now, your legs are pumped up and fully armored, the shorts you were wearing are only slightly visible in the area around your crotch. You look every bit the part of the ‘power armored soldier’. Except for your head, upper back, and crotch.

But you can deal with that.

>[ ] Go to Dergrume

>[ ] Call Rose again

>>31859219
>>[ ] call rose since we do not know where on the planet there are...we know of at least 2 cities

>>31859219
Call

>writing

Now that you’re all suited up, it’s time to get back to business.

You pull your crystal back out and send Rose a simple message asking her to open a connection for you. The reply comes simply as the connection you asked for, and you go on through.

Out in the Void, an idea comes to you…

<Could I use my jets to make this go faster?
>Yes.

That… That was the coolest thing you’ve heard all day. You immediately engage the boosters in your feet, and you can feel yourself accelerating through the strange null space. It’ll definitely be nice to speed up your trips through the Void.

You cut the jets once you feel your blade enter Dergrume, and land gracefully in a familiar room. Oz, it seems, is a creature of habit. This room is the same room you met him in.

“Welcome back Logan. Di-“ You hear Oz say from another room, before he comes in and sees you. “Woah, where did all that come from?”

>[ ] Void Knight armor, the Wayknights gave it to me.

>[ ] I’ve been busy.

>>31859753
>>[ ] I’ve been busy.
let them wonder lets have some mystery about us

>>31859753
Present from the wayknights.

Use that to segue into talking about earth

>>31859804
>Been busy

>writing

“I’ve been busy.” You say, bringing the skeleton key out of your pack. “I did manage to procure this, though.”

Oz walks over and examines the bone more closely. “I don’t even need my sight to know who this came from. It belonged to a man named Gabron, very hard man. He’s been out travelling his entire life, the same way Rose has. But where Rose is timid, he was bold. Where did you find this?” He asks.

“That’s where it gets complicated…” You say. You relay the tale of the Runeseekers and the portals they had been opening.

“Rulers of scrap, huh?” He says, walking to the window and looking out at the dark streets of Hovum. “This will require investigation. I’ve heard tales of the ancient Runecasters that created the gates-“

“Hold up. These other guys are the ones who created the gates?” You say.

“I don’t know. I know what you’re thinking though, and that’s certainly something I’ll be looking into.” He says, looking off into the distance. He looks… tired.

>[ ] Tell him about Earth.

>[ ] Ask him about Savvi

>[ ] Ask him about the dragons.

>>31860352
>Savvi.
She and him seemed pretty close, and she got torn up BAD.

>>31860352
Savvi

Then earth

>writing

“So how’s Savvi doing?” You ask.

Oz twitches at the sound of her name, turning around to face you and leaning against the window. “She’s… improving. After she fought Kalki it was a bloody mess. If it were anyone else, she would be dead. But as a Weaver, she has to have a strong will. She also has a wellspring of energy within her, for which that will is required. If one loses their discipline, the energy erupts like a bursting dam. The strain on her mind has been growing, though. We do our best to keep her comfortable until she’s in better shape, but in the end it’s all in her hands…” He says, an obvious tension in his voice.

Oz seems like the kind of guy who doesn’t enjoy the sidelines. You know the feeling of seeing the people you care for suffer, while you can do nothing to help them. But Oz seems to be coping.

“I can see why you were so gung-ho about going after the Kalkarri.” You say.

“Oh, believe me. Kalki will pay for what transpired on Aklabra. As I said before, I do not enjoy being played for a fool. He approached my people under a false banner of cooperation and trust, then betrayed that trust by nearly destroying my home. However, the Corruption is a far greater threat. For the sake of the universe at large, I will suffer Kalki’s existence for a time.” He says, anger seeping into his voice.

“Speaking of the Corruption, I’ve picked up a few leads on that.” You tell him about your immunity, and the possibility that all Humans are the same.

“Fascinating… As I know, creatures with stronger connections to the Aether; Dragons, Weavers, etc. are all more easily Corrupted. I never considered that it might work both ways…” He says, muttering unintelligibly to himself for a moment. “And you say that all we have to do to get your people on our side is break some little machine?”

>[ ] Not exactly…

>[ ] Yes.

>[ ] I’m not really sure…

>>31860834
>[ ] Not exactly…

Man, this is probably how other [people felt when they were explaining Magic stuff to us.

>>31860834
>I'm not really sure...
Depends on how much back up.
Wizards, monks, dragon hunters, and dragons, though? We'll definitely do some damage.

>>31860952
>>31860834
this one

>writing

You sigh. “You have no idea what a computer is, do you?”

“Well… no.” Oz says.

“So an AI, an artificial intelligence, is a completely foreign concept.” You say.

Oz sighs. “Yes, I get your point.”

“I think I understand what it was like for the people who tried to explain magic to me. I may have to go around and make some apologies…” You say. Then you explain the basic principle of a computer to him, with electrical signals and binary code.

Oz sits rapt through the whole explanation. “Fascinating… And these things can make thousands of calcualtions, store information permanently, and even be intelligent?”

“Basically. New CPUs are a fair bit more advanced than what I just described, and neural interface implants are the most advanced among them. In order to interact with the human brain, they basically had to reinvent the computer. I’d explain version 2, but that’s where it gets complicated.” You say.

“So what’s stopping you from going in there and blowing it up yourself?” Oz asks.

“Uncertainties… For one, I don’t know if the defenses around the core have been advanced at all since I almost got in a year ago. Two, I have no idea what will happen if I destroy the AI. It could set everyone free, or it could shut their brains down and kill them.” You say, rubbing your temple.

“Hang on, didn’t you say that you had tried to destroy it before?” Oz asks.

“A year ago. It was an acceptable risk back then because there were still unplugged humans left. Now I’m not so sure. There could still be a resistance, or it could just be me.” You say.

>Continued

>>31861311
“So how does having more forces work around this?” Oz asks.

“Simple, if destroying it is the cause of this uncertainty, we don’t.”

“Sorry, what?” Oz asks.

“We don’t destroy it. We make it shut itself down. We tell it that if it doesn’t, we’ll paint the Earth red. If it’s even half as smart as it should be, it’ll shut itself down to stop the bloodshed.” You say.

“And if it doesn’t?”

“Then we go ahead and destroy it.” You say. “Either way, I want it gone.”

>End of Chapter 25

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>That's all for tonight folks!

>Next thread will be up on the twitter an hour before it starts.

>As always I'll be sticking around to answer questions.

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>>31861343

Cheers for the thread, OPs! Keep being awesome!

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>>31861522
Very retro, and very relevant. Kudos!

>>31861591
Well, sleep beckons. I think Dizzy forgot to archive the thread, in his tiredness. In any case, have a good night all, until next time!

This was a good one.