The Corporal leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. His fingers steeple in front of him as he speaks, and you note that his demeanor changes rapidly as the subject of business is broached.

"I will tell you what I told your elders, Totemist. To be perfectly frank, our land is starved of metals such as iron and copper, and those who we have previously traded with have begun to make unreasonable demands of us in exchange for a continued flow of raw materials. The mountains here are, if your claims are correct, very rich indeed in those resources which we require. Eluneia would be willing to pave a road from our capital, as far as the borders of the swamp where you last encountered us, if we could establish a contract with your village ensuring shipments every year of metal ores to us."

"And our village would handle the construction of the road from here to your midpoint?"

He nods. "That is correct."

> Negotiate for the Eluneians to do more for Grisoch.
> Ask the volume of metals required.
> Ask about Eluneia.
> Accept the Corporal's proposal.
> Other

1st for Totemist

>>35050909
>> Ask about Eluneia.
> Ask the volume of metals required.
Why would they need that much ores? Besides waging wars.

---
You are Osyki, journeyman Totemist and first line of defense for your village against the rabid Behemoths wandering the land. Your master, the previous Totemist, fell in a battle against a terrible Behemoth, leaving the duty of defending your settlement to you. After successfully negotiating a truce between the Iron General and the Stone Emperor, you have returned to your village with Saeri to find a number of tasks awaiting you. Currently, you are negotiating with an Elunian representative to connect your village to the outside world.

[[Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=totem

Plot Summary (Current up to thread XLV): http://pastebin.com/pUvgvAGf

The Cast Thus Far / Binder's Log: http://pastebin.com/tRq3dSne

Quest Twitter: @TotemistQuest]]

>>35050795
HELL YES, Finally caught Totemist live!
Just curious Diarca, are you still interested in any monster, etc suggestions?

>>35050795
reminder to link on twitter

>>35050909
> Ask the volume of metals required.
> Ask about Eluneia.

>>35050909
> Ask about Eluneia.
> Other: Gauge the village's ability to help with the road

I don't like this. We're getting a link for more trade between their capitol and our village in exchange for a perpetual supply of resources. Contract renegotiation will suck shit if this unknown civilization has more soldiers than us.
We'd have to have something amazingly good to this Eluneia, beside the ores, to prevent all the money flowing out of our village.

Also Totemist Quest Woooh!

>>35050909
also, get a time limit to that mineral trade,
never ever give perpetuity agreements they will fuck you over

About to head in to work, so ill be missing most of the quest, but good luck guys.

>>35050909
> Ask about Eluneia.
What can they give us in returns other than money or a knife in our back?
Who are those trade partners they'd rather not do business with? Won't that put our village at risk since we'd be taking their jobs?
Our village is small, and consanguinity might be a problem if we'd stay isolated for far too long, would they allow people to move to and from the villlage if they so wishes?
> Ask the volume of metals required.
We also could trade in some monster mats that can be easily crafted/used.
Also while the mountains are rich with minerals, it's the Emperor's property, if he decides we've taken enough of stuff for the year we won't force the issue and give them what we managed to get, and nothing else. Wouldn't do us any good to piss off the guy after all.

AWW SHIT

TIME FOR TOTEMIST QUEST

>>35050909
> Ask about Eluneia.
> Ask the volume of metals required.
> Other

Ask about how Eluneia deals with spirits, monsters, and the like. If they have anything similar to Totemists. Also ask what Eluneia produces.

Ask about their former trade partners, and said unreasonable demands.

Bring up how we'll have to negotiate something with Sylvia and the Swamp Mother for this.


Not right yet, but we should think about how we're going to tell people that another city is settling nearby in somewhere around 1-2 months. I'm thinking we tell the Elders privately before we tell the Corporal about it.

"I'm curious," you say to the Corporal, leaning back in your seat. "What volume of metal are we talking about shipping, Corporal Rime? Our village has its needs, too, and the exchange at the moment seems to be a little one-sided."

Elder Mayhew nods. "You'll have us pave the dangerous paths of the road, negotiate for the permission to walk it, then use it to drain our resources. For what? A chance to make contact with your people? You'll forgive me for saying, Corporal, but that is incredibly self-important."

Rime raises an eyebrow at that, tapping his chin. "Our leader has decreed a need for metal to bolster our military strength. He has suspicions that our enemies are massing themselves to declare war. He has no interest in conflict, but should it arise, he wishes to be prepared for it. As to the volume: that can be negotiated. Ideally, we would begin with something around sixty percent of your output, to prove the richness of your mines. Then wean off as our need decreases."

"And if we provided for you, would we not be a part of that? I have no interest in embroiling our land in needless conflict," Haine interjects."

"Your settlement is remote enough that you should be far out of the way of any potential conflicts, Elder," Rime says reassuringly. "What I am offering your people is the opportunity to gain new lifeblood. I'm sure many people from Eluneia would love to come and settle in such a lush forested region, and work together with your people in the mines. In exchange for your metals, we would be more than happy to trade food and perhaps precious gemstones."
(Cont.)

"Our harvests are secure," you say, shaking your head. "We provide for ourselves quite sufficiently. What can you offer us that we cannot make for ourselves?"

There is a moment's silence while Rime considers that. After a time, he nods. "Technology," he says. "You have the precursors of some of our abilities here, but given a partnership between our peoples, we could teach you better techniques for farming, introduce you to devices that would make the lives of people in your village more comfortable."

> Negotiate the time of this contract.
> Negotiate for more from Eluneia.
> Reject the Corporal's proposal, but negotiate for a road.
> Reject the Corporal's proposal.
> Accept the Corporal's proposal.
> Other

>>35051639
>> Negotiate the time of this contract.
If we're going to accept, might as well take the time.

>>35051639
Dis nigga serious?
I don't want to reject it outright, but the guy needs to get some serious common sense bashing.
Poor Osyki, I'm sure he'd rather fight something to the death than having more negotiation on his plate right now.

>>35051639
> Negotiate for more from Eluneia.
That's not enough, and seriously 60%?
I wouldn't be surprised if he start calling us degenerate.

>>35051639
Negotiate the time, technological advances are nice, but we cannot be obligated to them forever just for better farming equipment

>>35051639
Offer totems for the safe travel on the roads.

>>35051767
I'd rather do that as an optional service of a sort.

>>35051779
There is still the fast travel totem that we could offer.

>>35051639
> Negotiate for more from Eluneia.
A proper library, maybe a doctor.
Some crafters, a few more farmers with their tools. Teachers for the children.

>>35051816
Don't "offer" it's the word that's bugging me lol.

>>35051639
On mobile at the moment, so I'll join in once I get home, but I don't like this at all. Way too much for very little in return, vague promises, a war we will undoubtably get caught up in, Pointsmar is moving soon, and a dozen other small things. Also, I just straight up don't trust a bigger city we know nothing about to not try and take advantage of us. We should tread very cautiously here.

Ask they reciprocate, and let us see the city and judge if it's a deal worth doing or something.

>>35051728
>>35051759
>>35051761
>>35051833
Thank god for Totemist anons, I feel safe leaving things in your hands until I can get to my computer.

After all these negotiation threads, I hope Osyki gets a diplomatic bonus or some kind of silver toungue feat

>>35051639
> Other
Ask for further details. We're always eager to improve the lives of our people, but this is a bit too vague.

>>35050795
Still hard to believe this is back, scrolling through the catalogue and seeing the picture was a shock. Sorry I can't participate Diarca, but it's great to see you again.

>>35051639
> Negotiate for more from Eluneia.
That's just not enough.

>>35052049
I know right? I secretly hope that Predator Quest will return as well....right?

>>35051639
> Negotiate for more from Eluneia.

Technology is a good start, but we should try to get books, and skilled tradesmen and craftsmen for professions we don't have. We want to be able to make, understand, and improve the tech, not just use it.

Bring up the other natural resources we have available, namely monster parts and plants which have varied uses, that will be available for trade. And that our magical/spiritual knowledge which it may or may not be more extensive than theirs, it certainly is different seeing as they don't have any Totemists, so Eluneia will potentially be getting useful knowledge and "tech" out of this.

>>35051639
If he can only offer some nebulous might-be-immigrants and "better" farming equipment, he is definitely not getting 60% output. Maybe some minuscule amount when we receive the equipment (and some comparatively significant amount for useful settlers) and then a second and larger amount after we determine if we can use them well enough to be worth the trouble.

He knows, from his observations of the village, that we can back up our output side of the deal, after all. But we need something vastly more substantial and concrete to be satisfied with, say, anything more than ~10% of our output.

>>35052176
I would also add that they could hunt some of the monsters if hunting foxes and shit is becoming boring to them, I'd like to see them face a pissed of Bone Warden.

>>35052120
Stranger things have happened. Dead King Quest coming back for one. Personally I hope to someday see Karban return. Pred Quest is completely possible by comparison.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to archive binging Totemist again (during W2 loading screens, heh).

"Corporal Rime, that is a vague promise at best," you say with a shrug. "Sixty percent of a precious resource for hazy promises of quality of life is not a deal I think any of us would be comfortable accepting. If knowledge is what you're offering, I'd like at least something resembling a proper library installed here, and if you're offering immigrants we'll have need of skilled farmers to compensate for the increase in population."

Haine gives you a small nod. He's impressed by the thought you've put into this.

"If your people were willing to pick up more of the slack in paving the road, I would be willing to negotiate for safe passage while walking on it. Perhaps even install totems to ease a traveler's journey. But it's as Elder Mayhew said. I'll not do all of the heavy lifting for your people, then be appeased with vagaries."

Rime, to his credit, has the sense to know when he's beaten. He dabs at his mouth again. "I understand. Do keep in mind that, as this is mostly an exploratory mission, I am limited in the resources I am allowed to offer you. If you like, I can take your counter-offer back to the crown and see if I can't renegotiate this on your behalf."

You nod. "I'd like that. If possible, I'd like to come to Eluneia at some point as well, and see what your civilization has to offer to us."

"Border control is strict at the moment, Totemist, but I'll see what I can do."

> Allow the Corporal to renegotiate for you. (What terms?)
> Accompany the Corporal to negotiate for yourself. (When will you leave?)
> Reject the Corporal's proposal altogether.
> Other.

>>35051639
> Other: Jurisdiction issue
"I'm sorry, but the ore of those mountains is probably property of the Stone Emperor so this whole thing is rather premature. We can eat the up-front costs of the mine as long as there will be a market for these ores, but first we need to consult and compensate the appropriate Spirits. "
Then wine and dine him to show no hard feelings.

>>35052262
> Accompany the Corporal to negotiate for yourself. (When will you leave?)
a week or two? time to train our guys a bit more/spend time with our girls/ debrief with Sylvana and the Emperor

>>35052265
No, we made a deal for the ore. I don't blame you for not remembering, it was a while ago, but part of our pact as the Knight of Stone included mining rights for our people. That ore is ours, we just have to dig it up.

>>35052321
They don't know that, we could trick them into paying "fees" or something, though our resident spear spirit would be up in arms at the greed we'd be displaying

>>35052353
yeah so we proabably shouldn't do that. Being disliked by our most powerful spirit especially if it already doesn't like us is a bad idea.

>>35052321
Oh shit, my bad.

This reminds me, we are going to have to talk to the Lord Restrained eventually and maybe we should take care of that before leaving for this new land.

We could also offer an introduction to the new spirit and his town.

>>35052454
not yet.

>>35052262
> Other.
Make one of the spirit world beacons that we found diagrams to in the achievement chest. The ones that let you home in on them when doing a spirit world journey for faster and safer travel. Give him it along with some simple communication method. Maybe get Boand to help use with that. Then when he's gotten approval for us to enter Eluneia we'll fly on over.

>>35052262
> Accompany the Corporal to negotiate for yourself. (When will you leave?)

I'm thinking 3-5 days, that should be enough to check in with Boa on how things are going with the Spirits, chat with the Emperor, and spend some time training our apprentices.

And getting back should be pretty quick since we have the Drake.

>>35052262
Too much to do now to go with him, maybe later. Allow him to renegotiate. Less time, more resources for us. A library would be a great idea.

>>35052537
As I recall we need to check in with the Mother of the Swamp. She had something she wanted to talk to us about. At least it will be easier to get to her palace this time. We can fly now, so all the obstacles from last time can be bypassed easily. And we have spirits powerful enough that we can enter the spirit world without difficulty. Hell, we just did it this morning.

"Do what you can, then. If you can get permission for me to come, then I'll make the journey and negotiate on our behalf. If not, we'll have to leave the matter to you." You take a bite off of your plate, thinking while you chew. "How long will you be before you depart?"

"I'll likely move on in the morning, unless you have a need for me to stay longer."

You shake your head. "No, that will be fine. I'll send you to Eluneia with a few trinkets that should ease my travel there, given permission to do so. I have too many obligations here to accompany you immediately, but I'll join you when I can."

"Aye, Totemist," he says after a sip from his mug. "That'll do just fine."

You spend the rest of the dinner learning about Eluneia. An empire, you learn, not a simple city but a collection of them scattered across the hilled plains to the southwest of you. Ruled by an Emperor, guarded by the Knights of Argent, whom you met earlier. From the stories Rime tells you it seems that they have a brand of magic entirely unlike Totemistry, though specifics are difficult to get out of the man.

After dinner, you...

> Check in on Elana and Saeri.
> Return to the workshop to experiment.
> Return to the workshop to rest.
> Head out to Boand's spring.
> Climb to the Stone Emperor's thone.
> Other

>>35052703
> Climb to the Stone Emperor's thone.
> Check in on Elana and Saeri.
> Return to the workshop to experiment.
Go to Boand's in the morning

>>35052703
> Return to the workshop to rest.
we've been doing way too much work I think it's time for us to rest a little.

>>35052703
> Check in on Elana and Saeri.

Let's see how much our reputation as a badass Totemist has suffered in our absence. And see about bringing Saeri to talk to the Elders, they ought to hear about Pointsmar moving in.

After that we can return to the workshop, get some experimentation time in, and spend time with our apprentices if they're around.

>>35052703
> Check in on Elana and Saeri.
> Return to the workshop to rest
No need to rush, with what weve done already. We still have another apprentice to check up on as well.

>>35052703
> Return to the workshop to rest.
Totemist needs sleep now. And to say hello to Terra. If we don't greet her soon she'll have gotten through the entire book. And then she's force us to honor Quinn's deal and teach her things she's really not ready for yet.

>>35053078
That deal was for until Quinn went back, not until Osyki came back.

>>35053224
Well thank god for that.

You bid the Elders farewell that night with a full belly and a good feeling about the talks. You'll meet Rime by the gate tomorrow before he departs--for now, you've got some well-earned rest to catch up on.

You fish Amal's amber charm from your shirt as you walk down the main thoroughfare, calling the shimmering prism into being. "Amal, let Saeri and Elana know that I'll catch up with them tomorrow, please," you tell him. Despite the fact that the night is young, the wear of the past few days presses heavy on your shoulders. You'll make the totem for the Corporal to take, and then you'll sleep a few hours of blessed, uninterrupted sleep.

At least, you hope so.

When you return to the Workshop, Quinn is absent. Terra is curled up on your bed, Ayren's treatise on the mechanics of cross-veil energy exchange open next to her head. She's snoozing softly. You lean down, shaking her gently. When she comes to her senses, she grins up at you.

"Twenty pages," she says confidently. "And then I got tripped up by the..." she consults the book. "The chapter on intra-veil thermal energy exchange." She pronounces the words as if they're a foreign language. You suppose they might as well be. "You owe me twenty questions."

You nod, stifling a yawn. "Later, little one. I need to sleep."

She gives you a curt nod, moving to the library. The bed in there is the one Ayren used to bunk in. You suppose there's no harm letting Terra take it for the evening. When she moves in properly to begin her solid apprenticeship, you'll have to renegotiate sleeping arrangements.

But for now, the only thing that fills your mind is blissful dark.
(cont.)

You awaken half-expecting the smell of smoke or the screams of the innocent, but your rest has been, for once, entirely uninterrupted. You sit up, letting out a soft sigh as your back pops from the motion. The sun is just beginning to filter in through the curtains-- you have a few hours yet before the Corporal departs, plenty time enough to make that guidance totem and attend to something else besides. Swinging your legs out of bed, you set a few leaves of tea boiling before getting down to business.

By the time the totem is complete, the sun is resting merrily over the mountains. It's morning yet, but the village is by and large awake. For once, you've an entire day ahead of you.

> Say good morning to the girls.
> Head for the mountains.
> Head for the spring.
> Experiment with your new focus.
> Other.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.
> Head for the spring.
Bring them with you.
>oooh catfight

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.

And if we find ourself with extra time then go to the spring and chat with Boa.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.
> Experiment with your new focus

Can we do both? Elana might like to hear how we totally kicked the ass of a deep dwelling monster, and Saeri will probably be interested in what shit we can make from it's corpse.

>>35053671
> Experiment with your new focus.

Let's see what we can get out of the Siren's heart. Try it out in a mask to start, if we don't have a mask then get one, it seems like a useful place for bindings.

>>35053671
>> Say good morning to the girls.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.
Business before pleasure. Yes, interacting with people he likes is business, while messing with totems is pleasure. Osyki's life has been somewhat reversed the last few days.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.
Since we want to introduce Saeri to the Elders, head out to say good morning to the girls first. Elana will have to head out to her morning herb-collection, so while she's doing that, we can see the Colonel off and then introduce Saeri to the Elders.

So I think we should add "cleanse spirits of General's victims" to the task list. I think that's why Osyki had that bad dream when he was in Pointsmar, because even if the General's trying to reform there's still spiritual remnants of when he was blatantly evil. We should do something about them when we eventually get around to cleansing the northern lands. Probably not going to be dealt with for a while, but it should get done at some point. I'm not comfortable having a spiritually-drained wasteland right across the mountains from our home.

>>35053913
Sounds good to me. Maybe have her switch to her armor for when she's around the Corporal, though. We said we're fine with her being herself, but we don't necessarily want Eluneia to know about our other new neighbors.

You take a few minutes to dress and fix your hair in the slightly-cracked handmirror resting on the workbench. You leave all but your usual trio of totems unbound, and leave Modi Magni propped in the corner of the room as you head for the Healer's hut. It's nice, not needing to carry your ultimate instrument of death-dealing on you at all times.

When you knock on the door to the healer's hut, there is a momentary commotion from inside. The door cracks, and Saeri peers through. When she sees you, she opens the door wide.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up, sleepy-head," she says affectionately. Taking you by the arm, she pulls you inside. "Elana went out to gather blooms in the forest. She's a very dedicated girl, you know."

You glance around. The building seems to be empty, save for the two of you. Saeri catches your eye. "The healer's in the back, doing some refining on a tincture," she explains. With a lowered voice, she adds, "What a dour woman. She's got a face that puts the General's to shame."

You can't help but snort.

"Elana will be back in a while," she says, reclining on one of the beds that line the hut. "I can probably stick around for the rest of the day before I depart. What's the plan?"

> Free.

>>35054013
No Saeri-Corporal interaction at all, I want Pointsmar to be an ace in the hole we can bring up if needed, so the simplest thing to do is just keep them out of contact.

>>35054123
Experiment with the new focus until Elana comes back, then visit either the mountain springs or Boand.

>>35054123
Could take her to the elders, or have a small breakfast with her and Rora/Quinn/Tera

>>35054145
Yeah, you're right, that's a smarter idea. Okay, then.

>>35054123
Introduce her to the Elders, while avoiding her coming into contact with Rhime. Afterwards, take her to meet Terra, maybe we can foist off some of the 20 questions to Saeri.

>>35054123
"Breakfast I suppose, and telling the Elders that a city is going to be moving in nearby, they probably ought to know about that.

Other than that, I'm not sure yet, it's been a while since I've had this much free time. If nothing interrupts I'll probably spend some time assuaging my apprentice's curiosity."

You sit on the bed beside her, gesturing toward the window. "Well, if you'd like to get acquainted with the village Elders, I should probably tell them at some point that a city is going to be moving in next door. You know. Little things."

She giggles, and waves you on.

"After that? I'll likely spend some time experimenting with my new focus until Elana returns. Then, perhaps, I'll bring you to visit a spirit friend of mine in a spring outside the village. I think you might like her."

She nods, her legs dangling over the side of the bed. "That sounds good to me. Shall we?"

You offer her your arm, which she takes with a delicate hand, and the two of you head out of the Healer's hut and toward the elders'.

You draw perhaps even more attention on your way through town today than you did yesterday. People stop and stare as Saeri marches past them with an expression of curious serenity on her face. If you keep this up, you might find yourself with something of a reputation.

Only elder Haine is present when you knock at the door of their meeting house. He gives you a nod, then pulls an elaborate bow to Saeri, which earns him a chuckle and a curtsy.

"Pleasure to meet you, young lady. Come in, come in."

You take your seats at the table.

How do you want to handle breaking this news?

> Free.

>>35054123
Ask what she and Elana have been up to

>>35054675
"My apologies in advance, Elders, I know that I keep bringing new complications every time I visit. But I'd like to introduce to you Saeri, ambassador of the city of Pointsmar and envoy of the Iron General. My recent travels were at the behest of the Stone Emperor, the spirit of the Ikrin peaks, who feared the possibility of conflict with the courts of the north. If necessary, I was to battle and slay their ruler, a powerful iron spirit, and thereby destroy the threat to the Emperor. Fortunately, I was able to arrange a peaceful solution, due in no small part to Saeri's actions. However, while this prevents a great deal of bloodshed, it leaves us with a new situation to deal with. The terms of the agreement were that the General would not move upon the Emperor's throne in return for allowing his people passage through the Ikrins into more fertile lands. As such, we will soon find ourselves with neighbors. The proposed relocation site for Pointsmar places it well outside our own territory, but near enough that interaction will be inevitable. I have brought Saeri here so that we might discuss how to manage this change and avoid any serious issues."

>>35055052
>And then Somnius opened a hole under our feet.
Anyway try to keep it short or shorter than that.
>She's the Embassador from Pointsmar.
>She helped us reach the city faster.
>We invited her to discuss things with the elders.
>We consider her a good friend.

>>35053671
> Say good morning to the girls.

>>35055131
I go overboard some times. That "Free" indicator, how it tempts me. I'm sorry for my weakness.

>>35055225
It's ok, just remember that monologuing kills bad guys, it doesn't stop good guys from getting killed either.

>>35055281
I know. I just feel like we've got a lot to go over. So much has happened and I just want to talk about it all. Though Osyki in general has been very busy. How long has it been since he assumed the role of Totemist? I think it's been less than a month, all together.

>>35055321
didn't he give Thane his first donation of blood a bit before going to Pointsmar, that would be 4 to 6/8 weeks at most being a Totemist?

>>35054675
"I'd like to introduce you to Saeri, a friend of mind in a similar line of work. She's the ambassador from the city of Pointsmar, and envoy of the Iron General.

In about a month's time Pointsmar will relocate to a stretch of land nearby and we'll find ourselves with a rather industrious and advanced neighbor."

While we're home, we should inquire about getting a mask. The design shouldn't matter too much, as it'll (hopefully) spend most of the time bound.

>>35055501
That you?
>>35055052
If so, that's much better. No need to go all wordly when talking to our villagers. It's our people after all.

You chuckle nervously. Were it anyone but Haine that might have slipped by, but this man has known you since your birth, more or less. He raises an eyebrow, and you lean forward.

"Elder, Saeri is an ambassador as well--not from Eluneia, but from Pointsmar, the city beyond the Ikrin peaks. I traveled to her land to resolve a spiritual quarrel, and she has proven instrumental in my dealings with the spirits there, as well as my speedy return."

Saeri nods, leaning her chin on the heel of one hand. Haine gives her an impressed look, and she winks at him.

"She is here to survey the land and learn more of Grisoch, since in the very near future... her city will be coming to rest not a long way off from our own."

That gets Haine's attention. "An exodus?"

"Not quite. The entire city of Pointsmar is built on a mobile platoform," you explain. "The General who rules it will be moving his operation over the peaks and settling to the northwest of us. Since there will inevitably be contact between our cities, I brought Saeri to get the lay of the land."

Haine is, for the first time in living memory, utterly speechless. He looks between you and Saeri a few times, then shakes his head and fetches a pipe from the mantle.

"Welcome to Grisoch, young lady," he says between a few puffs."I wish you had told me this before we wasted time entertaining that fop last night, Osyki. Anyone with the resources to move a city will be an interesting trade partner indeed."

> Chat with the Elder until Elana returns.
> (Optional) Send Amal to deliver the totem to Rime
> (Optional) Deliver the totem to Rime yourself.
> Leave to experiment with new Foci until Elana returns.
> Head out into the forest to meet up with Elana.
> Other.

>>35055543
I'd rather not have it constantly bound, given my assumptions about what abilities a mask would confer. Masks are identities. Binding a spirit to one and putting it on should transform you. I'd expect that binding Cordia to a mask would turn you into living stone, or binding the Skyscythe Drake would give you the traits of a flying apex predator. Stuff like that. It would definitely be cool, and I'd like to use it a lot, but not all the time. Hard to interact with most people when you're not entirely human. Might help with negotiating with spirits, though. I can see some spirits being more willing to talk to someone made of lightning and shadow.

>>35055644
> (Optional) Send Amal to deliver the totem to Rime
> Leave to experiment with new Foci until Elana returns
Let's show it off to Terra. Oh and maybe teach her stuff too

>>35055644
> (Optional) Deliver the totem to Rime yourself.
i'd b be rude not to

>>35055644
> (Optional) Deliver the totem to Rime yourself.
> Chat with the Elder until Elana returns.
Ask them if they need you here to discuss things at least.
> Leave to experiment with new Foci until Elana returns.

>>35055644
> Chat with the Elder until Elana returns.
> (Optional) Deliver the totem to Rime yourself.
Hop out for a little bit to deliver it, then return to the conversation. Also, apologize to Haine for not saying something sooner, but explain that we didn't want to risk Rime learning about it.

>>35055644
"Unfortunately, Elder, I didn't have the time nor the opportunity to bring it up with up without Rime present. I figured it would be better to keep Pointsmar's existence a secret for now than to hurry an introduction and give away one of our aces for no benefit."

>>35055671
Those are valid points, >>35055543 was my attempt to head off an argument about possible mask designs.

>>35055644
> Chat with the Elder until Elana returns.

"I figured it was best not to tell Rime until we had decided how to best disclose this to Eluneia. Even with new neighbor they'll still have stuff we want."

Also spend some time answering Saeri's questions about Grisoch, and talking about future relations with the two of them.

> (Optional) Deliver the totem to Rime yourself.

It'd be impolite not to.

As Haine questions Saeri about Pointsmar (He seems stuck on the idea of a mobile city. You can't imagine why.) you excuse yourself. You tell Saeri to meet you at your workshop when the two finish their conversation, then head that way yourself.

Quinn is back when you return, reading to Terra out of the Greater Almanac of Spirits.

"It is as of yet unknown what causes an Avatar to come into being. Some theorize that a limited number of this incarnations exist, and have from the beginning of time. Others postulate that particularly poignant examples of an Avatar's core concept can spontaneously generate a new spirit, or cause a current spirit to undergo a sort of spiritual fission--eh? Oh, hey Osyki."

Terra waves at you, skipping to stand beside you as you collect your spear and the totem for the Corporal.

"Hey, hey Osyki," she says, tugging at the hem of your tunic. "Have you ever met an avatar?"

> Yes, and I hope that you never do.
> Yes, he's one of my closest allies.
> No, I haven't. (Lie)
> Isn't this lesson a little advanced for you?
> Other.

>>35055969
> Yes, he's one of my closest allies

>>35055969
> Other.
"Yes, but not any of the nice ones."

>>35055969
"Yes, but not any of the nice ones."

>>35055969
> Yes, he's one of my closest allies.

"He isn't a nice spirit, but he can be reasoned with and our goals often align."

>>35056022
I'll second this

>>35055969
Ask Quinn to finish that passage, let him know about the General and whatnot, and suggest we may have a proto-Avatar moving into the neighborhood.

You nod, one hand ruffling her hair while the other fastens the ties on your pack. "I have," you say. "But not any of the nice ones."

Terra's face falls for a moment. "Are there any nice ones?" she asks, almost hesitantly. Her eyes are downcast, and you can see her hand wrapped around the Sun Charm you helped her make. You squat down to sit on her level, patting her shoulder.

"I'm sure there are. Spirits are like people. Some are good, and some are bad. They all have things that they want, and things that they need, and sometimes those aren't the same at all. My best advice for dealing with spirits, avatars or otherwise, is to treat them with respect and a little bit of caution until you know them better. Just like people."

Your words echo in your mind, slowly morphing to a deeper tone.

"People can be cruel, Osyki," he had said as he bandaged the arrow-wound in his arm. The projectile sat in front of him on the bench, barbed and still stained crimson with his blood. "They panic and lash out, and they grow fearful of that which they do not understand. Just remember, in those dark times: Every life is precious." He had turned to you, ruffling your hair. "So be careful, alright?"

You sigh, running your hand through your hair. Quinn rises slowly from his seat. "Going out?"

"Only as far as the gate," you tell him. "I have a totem to deliver. After that I'll be back, maybe do some more experimentation."

He smiles. "How about a friendly spar, then? I found a new binding that I'd like to show you for the Spine."

> Sure.
> Not today, Quinn.
> I'll try not to hurt you, I suppose.

>>35056368
He certainly does seem to be shooting for becoming an avatar of Industry, doesn't he?

>>35056391
> Sure.

>>35056391
>Sure
I feel a bit hesitant about experimenting with new things vs Quinn.

>>35056391
> Sure.
"Oh, I see. Pretty new girl comes to town and you decide you want to show off."

>>35056391
> Sure

>>35056501
This. x1000

>>35056391
>> Sure.
AW YISS MOTHA FUCKA FIRST TIME INNA LIVE TOTEMIST QUEST

>>35056391
> Sure.
As long as we don't use the Siren Heart or Razor Wing on him. Those are nasty foci.

With a smirk you shoulder your pack, canting your head to one side. "Oh, I see," you say as you put your spear against your shoulder. "Pretty new girl comes into town and you decide that you want to show off."

Describing the faces Quinn makes is an interesting conundrum. You eventually settle on 'delightedly outraged' as a decent midpoint. "T-that's not it at all," he lies badly. "I just want to make sure you're still in top form after your trip. What if the forest decided to vomit a pack of angry wyrms at us again?"

You actually snort at that, heading for the door. As you leave, you hear him mutter, "Honestly, the way she fawns over you, that'd be pointless anyway."

Fawns over you? She does? You don't think that's right.

The Corporal standing next to the gates when you arrive, his posture immaculately straight. He gives you a clipped nod as you approach. You note that he's clad in a more polished, embellished version of the plate mail the soldiers from the canyon were wearing, replete with a small crescent moon insignia on his pauldron.

"Corporal," you say, giving him a bow. He returns the gesture with a little difficulty. "Thanks for waiting. I'd appreciate you taking this with you."

You hand over the smooth egg shape of the beacon totem to him. He gives it a cursory examination, then tucks it into his belt pouch.

"It will let me find my way," you explain. "Do you have a way to contact me when you have an answer?"

He nods. "I'll send a message by hawk."

"Be sure to send it to the gates and no further," you warn him. "Some wards in the walls might not take kindly to your bird."

"I'll keep that in mind. Until then, Totemist," he says. One more salute and he's off, broad back retreating down the shaded forest path.

> Collect Saeri, then spar.
> Wait for Saeri, then spar.
> Experiment for a while. (While you wait?)
> Other.

>>35056814
> Experiment for a while. (While you wait?)
Yes. Let's see what the Siren's Heart can do.

>>35056814
>>35056862
This

>>35056814
>>35056862
This sounds just fine, though considering what we got it from we'll want to have some empty space to practice in, just to be safe.

>>35056862
Preferably away from anything flammable

>>35056998
Reverse that, try binding it to a spear or to a quiver.

>>35057020
>>35056862
The bow sounds like a good bet.
Or a gem, I think we have a bunch of those left?
Didnt we have a belt at some point as well?

>>35057020
Or just to the bow, seeing how it transforms any arrows it launches. Though I'm not sure how it would work with the Siren Heart. The Deep Siren wasn't just fire, it was absorption and channeling energy. Maybe a Deep Siren bow would shoot arrows that absorb all the local heat, freezing the target, then release the energy like a bomb for a one-two punch?

>>35056862
Seconded
try it out with all of our weapons and armors

>>35056862
Ooh, also try Binding the drakes wing to the ritual knife

>>35057091
I was thinking of it effecting the arrows instead of the bow.

We should also try binding the Wing to a pair of gloves/grieves.

[[By the time you make your way back to your workshop, you'll have enough time for approximately four binds before Saeri arrives. What would you like to try in that time?]]

>>35057143
Bow, armor, knife

>>35057143
What's our current load out?

>>35057143
>Deep Siren to Bow

>Deep Siren to Armor

>Deep Siren to Gloves (technically we did this one already, but we didn't get a chance to try it out)

>Skyscythe Drake to Gloves

>>35057193
Our standard three: shadow cloak, earth gloves, lightning boots.

>>35057143
All for Siren's Heart. Bow, Amulet, Helmet or Hat, and Sword.

>>35057223
Have we tested siren's or drake's on our boots?

>>35057197
can we try on of the spirits on our ritual knife
also, really dig >>35055671 this guys ideas on what should happen if we bind a mask. would be fucking bodacious to have semi-spirit identity when wearing a mask

>>35057244
The Drake lets us build up a charge by running that we can then use to fly with incredible agility. It's more responsive than Edge of Dawn but less convenient to use.

>>35057143
Sirens Heart: Bow, Gloves
Drake: Knife, Belt

>>35057244
The Drake gives us

>Boots: Radiant Orbit: Charge the boots by running. Expend the charge to erupt into perfectly controlled, euphoric flight.

We haven't tested the Siren Heart on footwear, though considering that most of the time we use Cloudwalker's Stride for our boot slot I'm not really in a hurry to test it out there instead of somewhere else.

>>35057293
In a way I almost resent how useful Cloudwalker's Stride is. It's definitely one of our best totems. But it keeps us from doing alternate bindings with the boots or Elder Turtle. Makes me wish we could somehow wear multiple pairs of boots at once.

Oh hey this is an excellent time to say this

Guys we should teach Terra the ritual of cleansing (the one we have probably been forgetting to do every day ) and make it her duty now.

IIRC it's not a difficult task, and a bit of ritual should do her good

(unless this secretly requires huge reserves or something)

We haven't really ventured much into leg wear since raptor hide. Drake on legwear?

>>35057322
>inb4 Nocture's embrace on our socks

>>35057347
I just assumed Osyki was doing it off-camera. But yeah, Terra should take that over. We have an apprentice now, let's make her do the scutwork.

>>35057347
I totally assumed that Osyki made Quinn do it, first thing he did when Quinn was officially made Osyki's student, as well as all the other necessary but tedious periodic things a Totemist (or apprentice) needs to do.

[[Alright. Voting end, writing now.]]

I have never been so excited to see a quest start again. I nearly incapacitated Quinn with a 100 last time we sparred. Let us see if luck holds true.

Also if we are experimenting on legware I feel the loin cloth department hasn't really been explored.

>>35057491
Dude do you really want a spirit in our underwear?

>>35057522
I mean we are going to run out of other places to put spirits and given how fast we seem to gather them...

On your way back to the workshop, you stop into the Carpenter's. The man himself is out, but his dark-haired apprentice agrees to make you a mask. "As featureless as possible," you specify. "A wooden ovoid with some eye holes would be perfect."

When you arrive at the testing grounds behind your workshop, Quinn is already there. His mace is unbound, for the moment, and his Cloud Swallow chips every so often from his shoulder as he runs through clearly familiar drills and forms with the heavy metal weapon. You watch him for a moment before diving into your workshop. When Terra sees you gathering equipment, she excited places a bookmark into the Almanac and follows you outside.

You pull the Siren's Heart from your pocket. The thumb-sized ruby glows with an inner light, warming your palm in steady, pulsing waves. You pull your bow from the pile of possibilities, looking it over. You don't -think- that binding has any effect on the durability of a conduit, but proper equipment maintenance was a lesson Ayren hammered into your head from day one. You'll have to see about getting the smith to re-polish some of the wood--it's beginning to fade in places around the grip.

You press the gemstone to the bow's arm, chanting the litany of unification. The flash of light that accompanies the binding is tinged with a wave of scorching heat. When you open your eyes, the weapon in your hand has morphed considerably.

(cont.)

The arms of the bow are coated in the dark chitin of a deep siren, spiking outward in regular arcs. Each arm terminates in a bladed protrusion, such that you need hold the bow carefully to avoid accidentally cutting yourself. The grip is molded in dark leather, and a deep red glow emanates from between the overlapping chitin plates.

You turn to face the outskirts. Quinn and Terra both watch as you pull the string of the bow. As the line of dark thread advances toward your cheek, you feel a chill run down your spine. A line of frost forms on your gloves, and you can hear the grass around your feet crackling with the weight of sudden ice. You take careful aim at a pockmarked boulder at the edge of the field, then fire.

The noise is the first thing you notice, a high sound like the Siren's trill cast at double the speed. The projectile which arcs from the bow's tip is less an arrow and more a ray, a needle-thin lance of tomato red luminescence. The ice underfoot melts in an instant from the outpouring of heat, and you flinch as the boulder half melts, half explodes as the beam impacts it with a thunderous sound. When the rubble clears, you can see glowing slag around a much reduced rock cooling in the autumn air.

[[Binding Discovered: Song of the Deep. Fires projectiles of molten heat absorbed from the bow-wielder's standing position. Highly destructive.]]

Quinn is white as a sheet as you lower the bow. Your firing arm is drenched in what you assume to be flash-melted ice.
(cont.)

>>35057624
damn son, definitely have Song of the Deep as a go to weapon when all out destruction is needed

>>35057624
GIT GUD SHARD

>>35057624
Does this drain heat from us as well?

>>35057654
And it did all that with just the ambient heat of a summer day. What do you think we could do if we were using it somewhere much hotter? I think I know how we could destroy the Grand Forge if helping the General turns out to be a bad idea.

>>35057624
>Quinn is white as a sheet
Top Kek. I'd have loved a sling instead where we lob bombs of thermal energy.

>>35057688
I like the way you think. Do any of our other binds produce heat?

>>35057678
Even if it doesnt, if it's draining heat from everything around us, then it might as well.

>>35057624
Looks like we found us an anti-armor weapon.

>>35057678
or anyone around us?

>>35057701
I remember that the totem created by binding the Plate Wurm to our gloves produces a lot of heat as a by-product of its use. So that could work. And I suppose our lightning totems all produce heat, too.

>>35057695
A sling actually might end up being something better, since Slings launch stones, the Siren was deep underground creature, and its focus takes the form of a gemstone...
An amulet might work too.

"Don't worry!" you call over to him. "I think I'll leave this one sidelined when we have our match."

He nods unsteadily.

Unbinding the Siren's Heart leaves another ring of ice spiraling up the arm of your bow, as if it had leeched the latent heat from its conduit. You press the gem to your gloves again, tapping your spiritual reserves to fuse focus and conduit into a seamless whole. As the [Fist of the Mantle] forms around your hands once more you take a healthy step out of the drenched ring you currently occupy. Too much more of that and you'll end up flooding the field. Or burning it to the ground. Or both.

It takes some experimentation, but you finally discover a trigger. Wandering carefully to the ruined remains of the boulder, you clench your fists and plunge them into the slagged remains of the rock. It's a gamble that pays off--not only are you unharmed at large by the scorching heat, but the gems on the back of your palms seem to suck the fire right out of the stone. This has the unfortunate side-effect of leaving your hands trapped in cooled rock, but a brief struggle solves that problem, too: a pulse runs through your gloves and your gauntlets are the ones that glow with intense fire, melting through the rock all over again. The gems are ablaze with incandescent light as you pull them from the stone. On instinct you throw a punch and watch as a wave of superheated air blackens the grass for a few yards in front of you.

Even you start to sweat a little at that.

>[[Binding Discovered: Fist of the Mantle. Absorbs intense heat, then vents it through superheated surface and waves of scorching air.]]

(cont.)

>>35057760
>>35057695
So a sling next?

>>35057760
I'm kind of disappointed the Heart petrified. I was hoping for something more rubbery. What's the point of using organs if they just turn into gems?

>>35057624
LASER BOW. WE HAVE A BLOODY LASER BOW! MY DICK IS NOW DIAMONDS AT THIS.

>>35057781

And Quinn wants to spar with us. For fun. And I thought we were the crazy one.

>>35057781
Sounds pretty conditional. Still, glad to know about it, might synch up with something else down the line.

File: 57.jpg (95 KB, 640x512)

95 KB JPG

GUYS WHAT IF WE PUT IT IN OUR MASK???

>>35057830
Im still surprised he's so down on himself, comparing himself to us. He could probably end up a better fighter if he keeps up with it, he's used to fighting things stronger then him. We've just got a better pool of tricks to abuse.

>>35057859
We just put in the order, It'll be at least a day before it's ready

>>35057837
The Magus liked fire attacks. Could be useful for defending against them. Though those were some sort of weird shadow magic fire, so it might not count.

>>35057859
We don't have a mask yet. We just ordered it. Wait a bit, then we can try out transformations.

>>35057781
>>35057786
Gloves are ridiculous. Geez.

>>35057837
We can safely cool insanely hot items with no harm to us. It's not conditional, more borderline awesome.

>>35057786
I say we skip over and drake with other stuff.

While we wait, ideas for rules / bindings for the upcoming spar? Remember, we don't want to kill our apprentice.

>>35057871
I don't know how much exposure Quinn had to our training with our master. If he didn't see much of the intense work we did it might be a matter of not understanding our absurd growth once we were on our own.

>>35057878
>>35057877
I realize that we just put the order in, just thought of lasers and masks and Lazer Bear came into my head

>>35057888
Indeed. Against any fire breathing foe and a proper shield, we can vent the heat away from the shield and basically make a fire proof barrier that ALSO allows us to counter with the absorbed flames.

>>35057871
The fact that he can compare to us even a bit is pretty awesome. We had over a decade to develop our spiritual powers under the tutelage of a man strong enough to slay gods. Quinn has been doing this for about a week. He's got nothing to be ashamed of, when you take that into consideration.

>>35057917
Lazor mask would be cool, although I wonder what It'll do to the face of the mask. Most of the things we killed didn't have pretty faces.

>>35057896
Perhaps use our most defensive type of gear and let him see what he can do again

We also don't want to accidentally get our skull bashed in

We could potentially use the earth gloves and trade attack and defense to see how he handles his binding

>>35057956
I thought we'd pretty much only be using Thane and Amal for the mask.

Maybe the drake wing
Nothing else feels right

You pull the Heart from your gloves after stomping out the two or three small fires the expulsion of volcanic heat caused in the dried grass from your previous experiment. Terra scampers off, and when she returns it's with a pair of filled water buckets.

"From Boa," she explains. "Just in case."

"Good thinking," Quinn mutters.

Your focus is on a worrying fact: the heated pulses that the Heart emits seem to have grown stronger over the past two bindings. It's now warm enough to be felt through your thick gloves. Resolving to keep a close eye on it but unwilling to stop, you enlist Terra's aid in donning your chain shirt. With that done, you press the gem to your heart.

This, it turns out, may be a mistake.

The wave of searing heat that wraps you is, for a moment, suffocating and blinding all at once. You hear a slight hiss as you struggle to force your eyes open. When you do, through a hazy red filter, you see Terra staring at you wide-eyed, an empty bucket in her hands and a haze of steam around the both of you. Your chainmail has shifted to a surprisingly flexible shirt of black chitin. You can see the Siren's Heart-- or is it your own?-- beating in pulses of red light through the armor's minute gaps. All around you is a bubble of dull red, a man-sized marble of whirling, scalding heat. When you extend your hand (away from the apprentices, safety first,) the bubble boils outward, venting heated gas in a tight plume. While impressive, you find yourself forced to unbind the gem, and quickly-- the suffocating air is just too much to bear without some sort of protection for your lungs.

>[[Binding Discovered: Heart Aflame. Wraps the bearer in an orb of intense heat, directed by movements of the arms.]]

When you unbind the heart, it's akin to holding an ember.

> Please vote again for the final bind before Saeri arrives.

I need to see Siren's on a spiked shield.

>>35057961
We might want to ask him what he wants if he wants to test a specific thing. If it boosts his mobility we could play tag, if he wants to attack we defend, and so on.

>>35057975
I want to try the Skyscythe Drake. We could be some sort of awesome dragon man. Modi would hate it, but it would be so cool.

>>35057975
Cordia mask would be cool just to see what happens.

>>35057976
I say no more with the heart until it cools down. Don't want to cause a problem just yet. Have we tried binding Amal to any personal gear? That could be cool to see what he does in a weapon.

>>35057976
Skyscythe Drake in armor.

>>35057976
Let's give the Heart a rest, it's been getting hotter and that worries me.

Let's try out the Skyscythe Drake on our pants.

>>35058013
I think it's been established that Amal's main contribution to a totem would be to provide his intelligence. So he wouldn't make for a good weapon, but he's great for helping us with research by binding to a book. Possibly we could bind him to a lens and get a heads up display as a result.

>>35058013
We haven't mostly due to him being more of an assistant and not lacking choices for more potent bindings. It would be interesting to see how he and Tryd affect bindings.

>>35058068
Most likely, but a bow that could target weaknesses could be neat. Mostly I just don't think we have ever tried.

>>35058057
>Let's try out the Skyscythe Drake on our pants.
This. Not enough leg gear in our bind list.

Also we need to find some sound foci or an eye foci.

>>35057976
some foci that havn't had many tests are: Fanged Stalker, Swamp Ykree, & Razor Wing.

sidenote: Diarca, I've noticed the Siren's heart isn't in the Binder's Log yet.

>>35058136
We have a focus for sound, it's the Crystal Scale from the Plate Wurm.

>>35057976
BOA, HITODAMA FORM

OVERSOUL IN
CHAIN VEST

>>35058068
Why did I had this vision of Amal going "Hey listen! Your health is low Osyki, do you have any potions or food!" "Osyki! Try to get your combat multiplier even higher!"

For sparing in hardmode, we could use the Hunter Vision (heat-vision amulet)

...hey guys, what do you think would happen if we put Amal in Boa's pearl

>>35058199
I think Amal is smart enough not to try that.

>>35058207
No. I'd rather not mess with gifts we have received.

>>35058207
I don't think he'd fit. There's already a fraction of Boa's essence in there, adding a second spirit would cause problems. Besides, it's too valuable to risk in experimentation.

>>35058220
Not saying we should, just a thought experiment

Question: do we have to bind spirits to things carried on our person? Is there a size limit to the binding object?
Because we could build an airship.

Guys we've moved away from more esoteric/abstract binds ( e.g. Heart of Darkness (bone warden + Fruit). We should try to fit in some time into out schedule to do some interesting binds with less battle oriented stuff.

>>35058311
If we ever have time without some huge crisis crushing us that would be a very good idea. Even just binding stuff to more tools would be interesting.

Also we should Mirror of True Sight Saeri at some point. Just saying.

>>35058355
Do we still have the mirror option since we upgraded Cordia?

>>35058279
In theory, no. In practice, we don't have enough experience to try it yet. We did have a plan at one point to eventually bind Cordia into the village itself, turning her into a sort of genius loci to protect it. I like that idea. It would lose us a valuable tool, but it would provide an extra layer of defense for the town and also let her interact with people as she wanted. I think it's worth it. And imagine the legacy we'd be leaving. I can see a far future of the setting where Grisoch is a more major settlement with much larger population, and Cordia is still there as a guardian spirit of the city.

>>35058355
Mirror of True Sight is gone. We lost it when Cordia evolved to an Earth Warden and lost her undead aspects. These days binding her to a mirror makes a shield that reflects any attack. We're fine, though, we can see into the spirit realm on our own now.

>>35058363
Shit, I don't think so. Gnome Guard still has unknown properties. We probably should mess with it in this fight. It's a good chance to check it out.

>>35058392
We know what Gnome Guard does. It's a shield drone. Whenever something attacks us it flies to intercept the blow and reflects the force back at the attacker. We tested it with Quinn, then used it fighting the Skyscythe Drake pack.

>>35058387
Wouldn't a spirit we bound dissipate when we died? Unless of course we ascend to the point of binding things in the same way as Modi. We should ask Boa if it would be possible to give a spirit a domain, essentially freeing them.

With the Heart too overheated to reasonably try in any more experiments, you turn to your Razor Wing. The stone blade gleams dully in the noontime light. You twirl it in your hand for a moment, debating. What would be best? Deciding to try something a touch unorthodox, you press the wing to the leg of your trousers and chant the litany of binding. When the brilliant flash of gold fades from your vision...

Well, it wasn't what you expected.

Your pants have changed, melded with the spirit of the drake. A long skirt of armored stone plates, like those that run along the back of the Skyscythe drake's back, flow down and around the scaled trousers girding your legs. You make to shift to the left, and nearly unbalance yourself when you find your body gliding smoothly over the surface of the ground. A few minutes of experimentation allows you a basic grasp of the strange mode of movement.

>[[Binding Discovered: Bulwark Aurum. Rapid movements allow the user to glide across horizontal and vertical surfaces. Provides good protection for the lower body.]]

You backflip out of a glide up the side of the hut. As you land, you catch sight of Saeri watching you with marked interest. She's kneeling before Terra, likely in the process of introducing herself. How does someone in a shimmering dress sneak so well?

"Interesting garb, Totemist," she says with a wry smile as you skate across the ground toward her. "Your Elder is a very kind man, and a shameless flirt."

> Free.

>>35058423
>Mirror: Gnome Guard. An orbiting sheet of metal to deflect attacks. Further properties unknown.

From the Binder's Log pastebin. Says other stuff is possible. Unless it's out of date.

>>35058445
So we can defy gravity now if there's a vertical surface?

As for what to respond, let's go with something disarming to see how she reacts. Something along the lines of "Can't blame anyone with you involved."? I don't know.

>>35058445
"His kindness is certainly something I have noticed. The flirting however I have not yet come across. "

Oh yeah, we Rick Dom now.

>>35058445
"That he is. You should see his reaction to meeting female spirits, it's hilarious. So, what did he want to ask you?"

>>35058432
The spirits Ayren binds don't. I think we could do a permanent bind if we got skilled enough. Maybe the scroll detailing how to do it is in the chest of achievements. We need to unlock more of them.

>>35058516
That would be another good thing to do. Assuming the world stops ending constantly/we get better at figuring out what needs to be dealt with now as opposed to later.

>>35058445
So, I think this should be our totem for when we spar with Quinn. I like these pants. It would make for some interesting fighting to be zooming all over the place.

Something's been bugging me for awhile and I finally realized what it is. The Deep Siren reminds me of Ramiel....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U44kv1WwAf0

And looks like the Heart of the Siren has replaced Cordia in the 'really freaky, but effective Totems' category...

>>35058445
Those pants are pretty bitching, but I still prefer having the Raptor spirit bound to them.
also, we need a belt, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, charms and all sorts of other accesories so we can have more bind possibilites. Lets go full bohemian/gypsy with it and cover ourselves in clothes

>>35058613
I like that. I was trying to think up what the scream it makes would sound like, but I hadn't thought to compare it to Ramiel. Neat. I will now be imagining that every time we fire a shot from the Song of the Deep.

Just made a quick and dirty Excel file detailing all the Foci and Binds so far. The only thing we try out with almost every Foci is the bow (except we forgot to try the bow with Crystal Scale foci).

I'll probably work on this throughout the week and make it at least serviceable for finding missing binds.

Right now honestly I think would be a good time to start doing research. We don't have any issues that need to be resolved right away. Or at the very least they could wait a few days. We are known as the prepared and we seem to be rushing around a fair bit.

>>35058750
True. We've got a little free time right now, let's get prepared for whatever we next face. Maybe look for any notes Ayren left behind on the Magus. Or just finally organizing everything in the library, that place is a mess.

>>35058750
Seconded. Lets just spend a couple of days, binding our shit, making new totems, researching Aryns library and talking to some spirits. The proverbial beach episode. Little bit of downtime

>>35058445
"And charming enough that you aren't actually complaining. Sharp as a razor too, I've learned a lot from him.

As for the pants, they aren't all that strange, you just missed my armor encasing me in a pyre of fire."


I wonder if we could glide on ceilings or anything like that with these, this demands experimentation.

You nod, sliding to a stop in front of her. The trick, you have learned, is to take a short step whenever you want to stop moving. It's an interesting combination of long and short strides. Given proper practice, and combined with Cloudwalker's Stride, this could lead to unparalleled mobility in combat.

"His kindness is certainly something that I have noticed. The flirting, not so much," you say with a shrug, as if to say 'I can't imagine why'. Saeri puts a hand up to her mouth, giggling. As she does, you shrug. "Although I can hardly blame him given who he was talking to."

Her laughter takes on a decidedly embarrassed tinge, and her looks away to hide the slowly growing red in her cheeks. Behind Saeri, Quinn gestures to you in an obvious 'I told you so' manner. You slide past her to stand before him, hands on your hips.

"So," you say, "What's it to be? Touch-tag? You attack, and I defend?"

Quinn shakes his head. "No, Osyki. You won't be fighting -me-. Why don't you scoot on over to the far side of the field and prepare yourself? I think you'll like this."

Confused but excited, you do as he asks. He seems to be giving you a moment to prepare as he rummages in his bag for something.

> Swap around bindings.
> Speak with Saeri while he prepares.
> Other.

>>35058814
I think we need to start binding Amal to more books to try and create an index of sorts. Probably want to draft Quinn and Terra into a project of that scope though.

>>35058849
I say this is the perfect time to practice using both of our major mobility items.

>>35058849
I think we're good.

>>35058849
> Speak with Saeri while he prepares.
We've got Bulwark Aurum and Cloudwalker's Stride on right now, and if I'm right those are the totems we'll most need. I think we're good. Let's talk to Saeri about what Heine had to ask her about.

>>35058849
Lets keep the bulwark and cloudwalkers, Also lets grab Cordia in gauntlets.

>>35058849
> Swap around bindings.
Have we got cloud walkers out?
Get them

>>35058920
Let's bind Crystal Scale to the bow! Let's finish at least have everything tested on the bow!

>>35058959
No, let's not. If I'm right we're about to have a kung-fu fight with a dinosaur skeleton, let's not sully it by using ranged weapons.

>>35058986
Fine. Then let's grab Raptor Bone to the Cloak.

>>35059022
Or the knife.

>Current Loadout:
Cloak: Nocturne's Embrace
Gloves: Obsidian Touch
Pants: Bulwark Aurum
Boots: Cloudwalker's Stride

You feel sufficiently prepared. Saeri comes to stand beside you, her cheeks still tinged crimson. You fold your arms as Quinn draws his Raptor Spine focus, crouching down to meld it with... something behind his pack. His brow is furrowed in concentration.

"Is this something you do often?" She asks you. "Spar with these destructive powers?"

"We try to avoid being actively harmful to one another," you say. "But sometimes there's no substitute for training against a live opponent with a new ability. We're both still alive and kicking, so I think it speaks for itself."

She shrugs. "Small wonder Elana is so busy." Her eyes turn downcast, and you move to look at her more fully.

"Is everything alright?" you ask. Your arms, folded at your chest, slowly drop to allow a hand to rest on her shoulder. She looks up at you nodding, though her eyes say differently.

"I'm fine, Osyki," she says with a transparent smile. "Anyway, you had better pay attention.~"

"Wh-"

Your question isn't even half-formed when a terrible screech echoes across the field. You whirl, spear in hand to parry the massive bone scythe that arcs toward your armored chest. It takes you a moment to register that a fully grown Alpha Raptor stands before you, recoiling and whirling its tail at you even as it readies another pounce. Its skin shimmers, translucent, and beneath you can see crude joints of wood and metal. A cluster of long, glowing lines connect its limbs to a wooden control in Quinn's hand.

He made a Raptor bind out of a carved wooden puppet. That... you have to hand it to him for creativity.

You'll hand it to him when you win.

> 1d100 and suggestions.

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>35059039
Keep distance and test the ability to control it

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>35059039
Obsidian Glove that Raptor in the joints.

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>35059039
Let's test his control over it, first. Try zooming around the battlefield to see how quickly he can respond.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>35059039

Use our mobility to stay out of it's range,
Make drill runs from the side with obsidians touch to carve out it's form. Get the joints.

If that fails then see if you can't sever those lines.
It's a glowing weakpoint

>>35059092
If all fails twice....well it does have another glowing weakpoint, being him.

It would be wise to impress that upon him.

>>35059069
Thank you Based God.

>>35059122
Very good point. Especially if his movement is limited when controlling it. I say take to the sky and get some distance.

>>35059039
>>He made a Raptor bind out of a carved wooden puppet. That... you have to hand it to him for creativity.
THIS GLORIOUS MOTHERFUCKER. I from this point on will not accept any of Quinn Self-deprecation, because this is goddamn genius.

>>35059039
See if we can use the Raptor as a surface for Bulwark Aurum that we can glide up. If we can do that we can take advantage of it having a hard time swinging at something on its back.

Keep it mind that it's a puppet and limbs very well may be able to bend backwards.

Also, Quinn is one clever guy, I think he grabbed the raptor's spine which is pretty much the perfect focus for this.

>>35059039
Ok. This? This is a amazing idea. Rather than fight directly when he can only control one focus, he basically makes a summon and have THAT fight for him! That could really give him a hand in combat AND survivability, plus a better puppet could mean a better summon. Very nice.

As Saeri retreats to a safe distance, you decide that you'll have none of this "being hit twice" nonsense if you can help it. You take a long, rapid step back, sending yourself gliding away from the raptor similacrum as it lunges toward you again. You roll your hips to the left and skim sideways along the ground, opening a bit of breathing room as the beast turns to pursue you. Quinn has his eyes locked on you, fingers twisting at the control in his hand, but the response time of the raptor seems a touch sluggish, as if there's some delay between a command on the control and the raptor's reaction. You press this advantage clenching your fist as you dash in a long elliptical loop toward the Alpha's exposed flank.

Spikes of black rock jut from your knuckles as you punch outward once, twice, scoring powerful blows against the raptor's side. The gossamer skin over the joints ruptures where you strike, and the wooden frame within cracks, but the barbed punches don't have nearly the effect you thought they would. As the filmy skin of light heals over the wounds the Alpha whirls, and you have to put your arms up to deflect a punishing sweep from the beast's tail. Even so, it's enough to send you sliding back a few meters, skimming on your Bulwark's ethereal wings.

You lean forward, slowing yourself to a stop. This will call for some creativity. Quinn quickly moves to interpose the Raptor between himself and your position, then sends it surging forward to attack once more.

> 1d100, suggestions.

>>35059039
What if he bind a Rock Turtle to a puppet? That'd be one of the best village defender ever.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>35059218
Leap up and over the puppet to attack him. With the delay it shouldn't be able to get us in time. Hopefully we can subdue him before he responds.

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>35059218
Try to use Nocturne's Embrace to disapear and flank Quinn.

File: Binds.png (30 KB, 1249x327)

30 KB PNG

Rolled 97 (1d100)

Planning on making this with HTML to make it interactive and on hover give the descriptions of the binds.

>>35059218
Let's grab a steady advantage, let's obscure Quinn's vision of the battle field by either kicking up some dirt or interrupting his line of sight with some Nocturne's Embrace Shadowmelding.

>>35059218
L-

>>35059271
That, lets do that

>>35059271

[[This is excellent. The chart, I mean. The roll, too, but mostly the chart. Bonus points.]]

>>35059271
>97
Sorry Quinn

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>35059218
Lightning boots.

Try to bait Quinn into doing a tail swing, dodge it, and hit a joint with a Bulwark Aurum enhanced lightning kick, enough to throw the puppet off balance for long enough to go after Quinn.

And maybe the electricity will channel back to Quinn and give him a zap.

File: Can you feel the thunder.gif (734 KB, 360x225)

734 KB GIF

>>35059271
Nice

>>35059271
Nice! As a stopgap until you get the HTML up, you could throw it up on Google Drive.

The idea of forcing you to fight a construct that likely never tires while Quinn sits comfortably on the sidelines is a clever one. He's certainly making the most of his limited reserves of stamina, both spiritual and physical, by siccing this monstrous puppet on you. Still, the Alpha's actions rely entirely on Quinn's senses. While a normal raptor might be able to hunt by scent, you doubt Quinn's nose can keep up with your next trick.

The autumn sun is high overhead, so you have limited shadow real estate to make use of. Still, there are plenty of trees and boulders still standing in your battle-scarred practice field. You duck under a sweeping claw from the puppet, then dash past it to dive toward Quinn--or so it seems. As you roll beneath the shadow of the three before you, a quick step brings you to an abrupt halt. Nocturne's Embrace melds you seamlessly into the tree's shadow, hiding you from sight. You hear Quinn give a muffled curse and Terra let out a gasp of surprise as you suddenly erupt back the way you came, flipping through the air on a line of lightning to deliver a Cloudwalker kick to the raptor's side.

The puppet handles energy with significantly less grace than it did your physical assault. The crackling lightning that washes over the puppet seems to disrupt its filmy skin, in turn dampening Quinn's control over his puppet. With the simulacrum flying through the air and temporarily disabled you dash toward Quinn.

Of course, he still has one hand free. A hand that's bringing a heavy iron orb around to counter your reckless charge. You slam one hand into the ground, arresting your momentum just shy of a -sweeping- blow from his mace. You can feel the hood of your cloak ruffle from the passage of the weapon as it flies past your chest. Your spired knuckles kick up a cloud of dust as you screech to a halt, obscuring your vision. Quinn, of course, is in the same boat, though you see the glowing wires of his puppet control jerk toward him unsteadily.

> 1d100+5 for the decisive blow!

Rolled 46 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059488

Rolled 62 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059488

>>35059473
Circle around and grab him from behind
Kirby suplex

It is time, Quinn, to face your destiny

Rolled 40 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059488
Let's go.

Rolled 93 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059488

Rolled 76 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059488
Boot to the face!

Rolled 47 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>35059500
forgot the dice part of my dice

File: MotherFuckingSabin.gif (103 KB, 489x479)

103 KB GIF

>>35059500
"Tell me Quinn - have you ever been suplexed?"

Make Sabin proud Osyki!

In the momentary confusion of the whirling dustcloud, you dart toward the terminus of those glowing lines flying above your head. Nocturne's Embrace renders you effectively invisible in the cloud of whirling dust, revealing only a scrap of darkness here and there where a shaft of sunlight manages to pierce the artificial gloom. Quinn stands ready, his mace raised high, his control pulled urgently toward his chest. His shoulders are tensed, his stance wide-- he is ready, his entire focus poured into the next moment, ready to make that decisive strike to end the battle.

Unfortunately, he's facing entirely the wrong way.

He lets out a yelp of surprise as you encircle him in your arms, already rotating your center of mass up, back, and away. As his feet lift from the ground, you see a shape parting the gloom. It takes a moment for your brain to register the blot of darkness advancing toward you, and in that moment the Alpha Raptor crashes into the both of you. Your Bulwark kicks into immediate effect, sending all three of you sliding out of the dust cloud and into plain sight.

The suplex, however, is a tenacious maneuver. Once begun, it cannot be stopped.

The added weight translates into less a suplex and more a full-body flip, the raptor and Quinn's combined weight enough to flip your a full hundred and eighty degrees vertically. The practical upshot of this complicated physics equation is a flying suplex, ending in both Quinn and the Raptor eating approximately a meter of dirt as your bearhug slams them both into the ground. Your arm muscles flex, and you flip away from the tangled mass of wood and limbs to land nimbly in a three-point crouch a few feet away.

From the end of the long trench the Raptor's crash landing has dug, you hear a small "Fuck."

Shortly thereafter, applause from the sidelines.

> Free.

>>35059702
Go help Quinn up and compliment him on his puppet binding. That was seriously a cool idea

File: VIVA.gif (2 KB, 50x50)

2 KB GIF

>>35059702
Heck yes it worked

Bow to the sidelines, help up Quinn
"Are you ok Quinn? That last step was a doozy"

>>35059702
You've got to teach ME, how to do a puppet binding. That's an awesome idea.

>>35059702
Praise Quinn's ingenuity in creating unique binds. Raptor Puppets? With more practice this could be amazing!

Contemplate a puppet Razor Wing to fly everywhere.

>>35059702
Check that Quinn's okay, then compliment him on thinking up such a creative use of his focus. Ask him for details, give him a chance to strut his stuff by explaining the concept. We may have won the bout, but in terms of clever totemism he is the superior today.

>>35059702
Help him up, make sure he's alright.
Then congratulate him for being a bloody genius with his focus, We literally could not have had a better idea.
Maybe if he made a raptor hand puppet, maybe out of raptor leather, he might get something similar that even fixes the sensory issue.

>>35059767
maybe a saddle.
Or, better idea, a large kite

>>35059702
"Quinn, that was probably the coolest binding I've seen. I never would've thought of attaching the spine to a puppet."

Help Quinn up, give our audience a bow. Laugh about suplexing a raptor.

>>35059702
If he gets at all sullen at his loss, remind him that it took us four totems to beat what he was doing with just one. That's some seriously good work.

That's gonna make one hell of a team, I kind of feel bad for whatever monster that decide to attack the village.

You rise from your crouch, straighten, and bow to the applause from the sidelines. Terra, Saeri, and Elana all give you approving nods as you rise from your gracious acceptance. You stifle a groan as best you can as a vertebra in your back pops. That.. that can probably stay off of the highlight reel.

As you approach the crater there is a flash of light. When you peer over the side, Quinn lies with one arm over his face. A small wooden doll, roughly cut into the shape of a raptor with hinge joints is clasped in his hand. His mace is half-buried by his side. You reach a hand down, taking the hand shielding his face from the world and using it to pull him to his feet.

"That was incredible!" you explode before he can get a word in edgewise. "How did you come up with that? A puppet! I would never have thought to invest a spirit back into a shape it already knew, spirits above!" You clap him on the back, and despite himself he sports a small smile. "Took me four foci to keep up with you one. That, my Cotemist, is the kind of ingenuity that I'm going to need when all I've managed to bind is a dozen spirits to my bow over and over again."

Terra joins your chorus of praise as soon as you reach the group of girls on the sidelines, tugging on the hem of Quinn's shirt and reaching for the puppet. He seems like he's not sure whether he's won or lost, which is precisely what you were aiming for.

"Not the most graceful victory, but highly entertaining," Saeri tells you with a laugh. Any trace of her earlier hesitance or melancholy has vanished. "Well fought."

"I'm going to have to stop training him," you complain as you shake dirt out of your hair. "He's going to show me up at this rate."

> Retire inside for some relaxation with the group.
> Continue testing new bindings.
> Ask Quinn to show you the complex mechanics of his puppet bind.
> Let Quinn bask in his victory (?) and head for the mountain/spring/forest.
> Other

>>35059968
> Let Quinn bask in his victory (?) and head for the spring.

We could use a chance to relax in the water. Talking to Boa is nice as well.

If Quinn and Terra choose to come with talk to them some about how Terra's training and learning has been going. And tell Saeri about some of the more amusing, and/or embarassing, stories we have from experimenting with Foci or sparring.

>>35059968
Let's ask him to write a report on the puppet bindings to make sure it's cemented into the history of Totemism. Then Bind the crystal scale with the bow! then go off and commit major misunderstandings everywhere.

>>35059968
> Ask Quinn to show you the complex mechanics of his puppet bind.
> Let Quinn bask in his victory (?) and head for the mountain/spring/forest.
Bring him with us, time for him to sharpen his mind on the diplomatic side of the job.

>>35059968
> Retire inside for some relaxation with the group.

>>35059968
> Retire inside for some relaxation with the group.

>>35059968
>Tell Qiunn he'll have to show you the complex mechanics of his puppet bind
>Let Quinn bask in his victory and head for the spring
we racked quite a bit of time with Boa over the journey.

>>35060047
that sounds like something our master would have had us do. We'are more hands-on than that.

>>35059968
>Let Quinn bask in his victory (?) and head for the spring.
We did say we'd let Saeri meet Boa

Let's learn about the puppet trick will work with any other raptor foci or if it has to be the spine. If so then let's infer it's either structural (bones > spine) or representative (Spine > Nervous system > Control). Either way it'll be more structural so more foci = better puppet or brain = best puppet foci.

>>35059968

> let quinn bask in his victory

Oh wait guys, what are we bringing Boa?

While binding things to huge objects is still out of our reach, I wonder how something medium-sized would work? Like, say, a table or chair or bed? other furniture?

Maybe we could use some aspects of his puppet binding to work towards making our earth spirit whose name I forgot the guardian spirit of our village.

>>35060283
A mannequin made from stone perhaps?

>>35060272
She likes trinkets, but we don't exactly have a bunch of those lying around, nor does anyone in the village really made them...

>>35060272
Did we bring back anything from the iron tyrants place. Forgot the namw

>>35060272
We still have some precious stones lying around. The Elder Turtle was loaded with them. Which makes me wonder if there's some semi-mythical "Rock Turtle Graveyard" full of their gem-encrusted skeletons. Probably not, I imagine Bone Wardens would get to them first, but it would be interesting if miners passed around rumors of it.

You retreat from the group to let Quinn bask in the adulation for a short while. Leaning against the wall of your workshop, you tip your head skyward and close your eyes. The sounds of your friends is the most prevalent one, of course, Elana's soft, lilting tone, Saeri's melodious laughter, Terra's awed exclamations. Every so often, Quinn's low, embarrassed chuckle manages to break through the wall of sound the three generate. Past them, the sound of the wind through the boughs of the woods filters into your senses. Soft background chatter, the sound of a healthy village at work, seems almost a backdrop. The air smells of autumn approaching, with the fields ripe for harvest and the faintest tinge of a chill in the air.

The sun shining on your closed eyelids completes the moment. For the first time in perhaps a month, you are utterly at peace. It's a wash of cathartic emotions that wells up in you, a kind of quiet joy at the thought of so many jobs well done, and so many shining stars in your future to navigate to.

When you open your eyes, the talking has died down to normal conversational volume. You merge with the group again, nodding toward the gate.

"I was going to introduce Saeri to Boand at her spring," you say in a lull in the conversation. "Would any of you like to join us?"

Quinn nods his assent, and after a moment Elana does too. Terra, surprisingly, shakes her head. When confronted with your questioning look, she shrugs. "I wanna read more in the big book," she says, hefting the Almanac. "And I don't want it to get wet."

You stop into the workshop to select a gift for Boand's advisory capacity. After a short while of hunting, you manage to turn up a particularly lovely sapphire from your dwindling bag of Rock Turtle spoils. It will have to do.

(cont.)

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" you ask Terra. "You can read by the side of the pool, if you like."

She points to Quinn, shaking her head. "He splashes when he swims."

And that is the end of that.

The four of you depart as the sun begins to lose height from its apex. The forest paths, once menacing, hold very little danger for the combined skills of you and your companions. You imagine that you alone put off enough spiritual pressure at this point to give any predators that would roam this close to the village pause. As such, you find yourself at Boand's pond unmolested and in high spirits.

Evidently having heard you approach, the water spirit is waiting for you at the side of the pool. Her smile is wide and easy as the watches your party approach.

"Good afternoon, Totemist," she says with a wink. "Welcome home."

"Thank you, Boand," you say, tossing her the gem. She catches it with a delighted noise, turning it over in her hands. The color of it matches her eyes and hair near perfectly. "It's good to be back. Allow me to introduce Saeri, ambassador from beyond the mountains."

Saeri gives Boa a small curtsy. The spirit inclines her head at your ally, looking her over appraisingly.

"Would you all care to join me for a swim?" she offers.

> Certainly.
> No, thank you.
> Maybe later. Let's talk about... (write-in).
> Other.

>>35060435
>Certainly.
Did we have anything special to talk about?

I know forest lady wants to see us as soon as possible, but frankly she can wait till Saeri leaves.

>>35060435
> certainly
have to talk to forest queen (forgetting everyones names) about the road later, but that can wait until saeri leaves

>>35060435
> Certainly.

Let's take it easy for now, and give Elana and Saeri a chance to leer at wet Totemists.

Also, catch up on local spiritual politics, ask Boa if anything has changed since we were out, also ask see she's enjoying spending time in town.

>>35060435
>>35060486
everything here sounds good.

You stick your spear point-first into the earth, shrugging your pack from your shoulders. "If we didn't want to swim, would we have come all the way here from the village?" you ask rhetorically. Boand grins as you kick off your boots, strip your shirt, and dive into the water. The spring is exactly as refreshing and pleasant as you remember it being. You see Boa's tail kick from below the water, and in a moment she's swimming along the bottom of the pond with you. The sapphire, you note, is already fixed into a necklace that hangs just so to accentuate her unhidden bust. Never let it be said that a spirit has shame.

Another splash heralds Quinn's arrival into the pool. Shortly thereafter, Saeri lowers herself gently into the water. She's foregone the sparkling gown and armored gauntlet in favor of a short top and small shorts, both made of the same sparkling fabric as her usual gown. The crystal usually installed in the back of her gauntlet sparkles on a bracelet on her wrist, instead. Only seconds behind her, Elana dives into the pool with her usual poise.

You're not sure if it's just a trick of the light, but Boa seems to be positively glowing.

> Relax with Saeri / Elana / Quinn in particular
> Challenge S / E / Q to a race
> Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim
> Call for Sylviannis
> Other

Diarca, I remember you saying that it would be possible for us to have more than just Terra as our apprentice, and we could apprentice the other two children from before.
Is this possibility going to appear soon or are we going to have to wait?

>>35060644
> Relax with Saeri.
Swiggity swooty ima commin for da booty

>>35060644
> Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim
Sylviannis as well but let's give Boa some quality time before talking about our job.

>>35060644
>> Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim

>>35060644
> Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim
Thank her for her help, then ask her for her advice on how to establish our own intelligence network. I don't want to cut her out of the loop, she'll still be our go-to advisory sounding board. But the situation with Pointsmar has driven home the fact that our knowledge of the outside world is lacking. We need to be better prepared before we go off on a journey like that again. Does she have any advice on how to best gather information? Enlist some minor spirits, maybe?

>>35060759
2nd

>>35060644
> Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim

Catch up with her personally, see how she's been and what she's been up to, then ask about recent local events, get her thoughts on how relations with Grisoch are going.

And try to relax some with Saeri, maybe challenge her to a race if she doesn't look like she's having enough fun.

>>35060644
>Talk shop with Boa while your friends swim
Lets not go for the Saeri booty too hard, anon.

We already have a waifu and it would not do to end mixed signals

>>35060657

[[I don't recall saying that explicitly anon, though it's not outside the realm of possibility. Can you refer me to the thread?]]

As your friends make lazy laps around the pool, you lounge near the waterfall with Boa. It's no trick of the light, you see once you're out of the water. She actually is glowing, exuding a soft sea-green radiance from her hair, eyes, and tail. It wouldn't do to have her catch you staring, though, so you write it off as a quirk of her nature and press on.

"Thank you for your help, Boa," you begin as the two of you watch Saeri and Elana dunk Quinn in tandem. "You've been instrumental to my success in keeping bloodshed from occurring thus far."

She nods, as if she's perfectly aware of that fact. "You're welcome, Osyki. In your own way, you make better use of my services than you master ever did, you know." She grins, allowing that bit of innuendo to hang in the air before continuing. "He thought he had the whole world under a magnifying lens. A bit of humility might've suited him. You wear it well."

You hum thoughtfully at that. Your recent victory doesn't seem all that humble from your point of view. "We need to embrace that attitude, I think," you say. "I plan on never underestimating a situation again, if I can avoid it. Is there a way we could add to your range of information, maybe expand your influence? I need eyes and ears in the world. I'm tired of flying blind."

(cont.)

>>35060759
Maybe instead of creating our own, we could expand hers? for a negotiated price, of course/ I don't relish the though of managing an information net.

She bats you with her tail under the water. "All this talk of promoting me through the ranks, and nary a lascivious glance. You're almost too good, you know?" She shrugs, sending a cascade of cerulean hair over her shoulder. "We could recruit outside spirits to report to me, but short of digging more trenches and connecting them to my pond there isn't a quick way to expand my influence. Sylvia likes me, she owed me at least the river to your village, but I think she might object to me taking up that much real estate."

"How are you enjoying your time in the village, by the way?"

She shrugs. "It's different. Most people there are still afraid to talk to me unsupervised, I think, but being able to make conversation with mortals has its charm. The expanded range of motion doesn't hurt, either."

You think you understand. Until recently, you thought you might be trapped in your village until you were going gray.

"She's cute," Boa says, gesturing again with her tail beneath the water. Saeri bobs in the direction she's indicated. "Quite the looker, even. Brimming with spiritual energy, too. I think I'm getting a contact high just being around her." That would explain the light show. "Is she a permanent addition to your ranks? Because I could see your little brunette getting jealous of that -very- quickly."

> I'd like her to be, but we'll see.
> I don't think so. She has work elsewhere.
> You would have to ask her.
> Let's change the subject, please.
> Other.

>>35060964
> I don't think so. She has work elsewhere.
Let's play dense

>>35060964
>You would have to ask her.
And add some proper innuendo to drive the point home: that we're interested but are not admitting anything to her - yet.

>>35060964
>She's a powerful alley and pleasant to be around, but
>> I don't think so. She has work elsewhere.

>>35060964
>I don't think so. She has work elsewhere.

'but secretly not very, we'd like her to be.

>>35061007
I don't know, there's still just so much that we don't know about her.

>>35060964
"I can hardly disagree with you, on all points, thankfully they seem to have formed a truce around their mutual habit of teasing me. I can only pray that the detente holds, I'm enjoying this brief period of peace in my life.

While I enjoy Saeri's company, she has her own obligations to care for. And I can't really predict what the future will hold."

>>35060940
I thought it was discussed inTotemist Quest XXII because of the support for the other candidates. If it's a possibility then I'm happy.

>>35061103
Yeah that works.

You watch Saeri float by herself, lounging on her back in the clear, crystalline water. Quinn and Elana are talking comfortably with one another. The expression on your face can best be described as 'dubious'. Still, Boa's insistent stare demands an answer, or you're sure she'll make a scene for the hell of it.

"I don't know," you say with a shrug. "I don't think so. She's an ambassador and an emissary for the Iron. She's got work to do there, and she takes her obligations very seriously."

"...But?" Boa prompts you, looking amused.

"...But, I wouldn't mind having her around," you admit. "She and Elana get along better than I could have imagined, and she's a powerful ally. Pleasant to be around, well-spoken, versed in dealing with spirits." You shrug. "Who knows what the future holds, Boa?"

"Maybe you two will get to spend some quality time together once her base of operations is a little closer to home," the water spirit says with a wry smile. You pointedly ignore the implication there, resigning yourself to another shrug.

"All I know is, for the first time since the funeral, I feel really at peace," you tell Boa. Her eyes soften, and she nods. "I'd like to hold on to that for as long as possible. My life can't always be one emergency after the other."

"Just make sure you don't go soft, Osyki," she says with a wink. "Can't be relying on beautiful women like us to bail you out all the time."

You snap your fingers, grimacing. "Well, there goes that plan."

> Towel off and head back to the village
> Spend some more time in the spring (With someone in particular?)
> Call for Sylvia
> Other

>>35061317
>Towel off and head back to the village
We should probably check in with the Stone Emperor as well.

>>35061317
> Spend some more time in the spring (With someone in particular?)

Spend some time relaxing with Saeri before we go.

>>35061317
>> Towel off and head back to the village

>>35061317
>> Call for Sylvia
might as well get this done

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[[Starting to nod off, folks. Going to cut things here for the night. Expect next quest on Friday at the usual time, and as always, thanks for playing!

>>35051002
As a note, I am always open to suggestions, monster or otherwise. Hit me up on twitter or on the IRC.

Good night!]]

Alright so now that the quest is over I have some ideas on what's going to happen with our relations with Eluneia.

In my opinion. It's going to be very likely that they're going to be building a road for a variety of reasons, one of them being that we can provide rich ores from the mountains (at the kings behest, bringing some extra 'tribute' will no doubt make him divulge more).

The second reason is the remote, and fertile location of our village. There is a lot of places to simply farm once the monsters are away and we could earn more money by selling cheap cash crops to them.

The third reason is the remoteness itself. If by any chance our village joins the Moon Empire, our village could be turned into a well fortified outpost or fortress protected by the forest and defensive totems.

Now these are all well and good, but there's going to be problems:

Mass Immigration: The Corporal told us they need ores and metals to make swords and armor for their men to put on a show about some border disputes, whatever. Despite them saying they don't want to fight, people will still get scared and once word gets out about a remote village in the middle of nowhere allowing the construction of a safe road for trade. We can expect a lot of people who want to get away from the possible conflict to come to our village and stake their claims which can be an equally good thing and bad thing.

The other problem is that along those immigrants will be pilgrims and priests. These people worship the moon and no doubt there'll be temples and stuff dedicated to it/him/her. The religious folk will no doubt request or build their own chapels dedicated to the moon, and that may apply some cultural strain with the original inhabitants. I'm not sure what our village stands with religion, but I think that the people don't worship but simply respect the spirits that guard them.

The final problem could come beyond our borders. If there is a Moon Empire, there could be a Sun Empire.

1/?