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>>37614891

Talrith turns back to you. “But you have clearly done harm to the inhabitants of this world, and I sense that your duty to your party would see this world destroyed if it meant returning to your own.”

He continues. “My duty is to protect this piece, to see to its upkeep and to keep it from harm. It was another’s before me and so on, as it has been for countless eons. We are imperfect creations set forth to do the will of a perfect being; passengers on a sinking ship in an eternal ocean.”

He takes another step forward. “So quick to pass judgment, tell me, Ed. If it were you in my place, would you not do whatever you could to honor your duty?”

Your mind jumps to see the world from his perspective. To understand the immense weight of duty that he feels, you ponder for many moments. Your hands clench around your sword.

>Agree, concede that he did what he could.

>Disagree, his actions were evil, and in conflict of what the sorceress would want.

>Stab the crystal embedded into his chest.

>Write in

>>37614915
>Disagree, his actions were evil, and in conflict of what the sorceress would want.
He could have found another way.

>>37615301
>Writing
I will cut it short if it remains only one player.

>>37615370
I'm hoping my presence will draw in some lurkers who didn't want to make the first post.

>>37615370

You lower your sword. “No, your actions were evil and they bring no honor to you or the sorceress.” You gesture back to Autumn. “Our group only fought to ensure our survival.”

You close your eyes and pause for a brief moment. It would indeed be easier to simply fight until we get what we want, but it wouldn’t be right.” You reopen your eyes, and look directly at Talrith. “You could have found another way.”

A light chuckle, completely different from any laughter you’ve heard from him prior, now fills the room. “You are a fool, Ed.”

You sigh. “So I’ve been told, numerous times.”

He looks back to the statue of the faceless female. “If only I kept some of my foolishness, things wouldn’t be any different, but at the same time…” He clenches his hand in front of his face. “Everything would be better.”

He reopens his hand. “I’m so tired. So damn tired.” He sighs deeply and turns back to you. “You’ve beaten me, but I will ask you for a favor regardless.”

“I’m listening.” You respond, careful not to make any promises just yet.
[1/2]

>>37616105

Talrith inhales and exhales deeply. “My duty remains until the end of this world…” He looks at you for a brief moment. “Or the end of me.” He continues. “While it would serve your chances of success better if you were to kill me, I ask you to let me live to keep watch over this piece.”

“Serve us better?” You inquire.

Talrith laughs slightly. “Straight to business, I see." He continues. "You are more than well aware of the powers that are present in a warden and how one must acquire them.” He gazes into the distance of the void. “But I know of no other in this piece ready to become warden should I be killed.”

The choice silences you, as you ruminate over the consequences.

He senses your conflict. “Know that I would not blame you if you choose to kill me. I have been ready for a long time now, but my duty remains, as does yours.”

If what he says is true, killing him would likely send this piece into disorder, but if it means increasing your chance of survival, should you really pass on it?

>Let him live.

>Take his life.

>Consult with Autumn.

>Write in.

>>37616129
>Consult with Autumn and also Talrith
What does he mean by that? Will he continue trying to kill us with illusion bullshit or what?

>>37616129
>Consult with Autumn

>>37616193
>>37616483
>Writing~

>>37616129
>Consult with Autumn.
Sorry I'm late Auri.

>>37616548
No problem at all!

>>37616517

“You have to understand that I’m wary about this whole thing.” You start. “What guarantee do we have that you won’t continue to inflict your illusions upon us?”

“I have no guarantee other than my own word. I will not.” He responds simply and continues. “There are other duties I have as a warden to maintain a piece other than fighting, especially now as the world is falling apart from the inside.” He sighs. “There’s no more I can say to allay your concerns.”

You’re silent for the moment, mulling over his words. “Autumn, what do you think about all of this?” You turn to look at her.

She looks up in thought merely to collect her words, she’s clearly already made up her mind. “Kill him. Sounds like he kinda wants you to do it, and we’ll benefit from it. Win-win for the both of us, I’d say.” She flicks her head to one side.

“Her mind is focused like a warriors, but what she says is true. While I wish to continue being warden of this piece, it would be a lie to say that I don’t partly wish to rest.” He stops to reflect on what he said. “The decision is up to you now, Ed.” Talrith turns to take in the details of the statue, in case it’s his last time.

Now you know where they both stand on the matter. Your mind is in conflict, but a decision must be made, and it’s your to make.

>Let him live.

>Take his life.

>Write in

>>37616909
>Take his life.
Gotta get that loot.

>>37616909
>Let him live.

>>37616909
>Take his life.

I don't care about loot, but if we're at less risk this way...

>>37616976
>>37617031
>Writing

>>37617096
You raise your sword which serves well enough as your answer. “I’m sorry, but I will not take the risk.”

“Just as well.” Talrith responds without taking his eyes off the faceless statue. “A few words of warning, Ed.” His tone is serious and heavy. “My illusions are not spawned from my imagination, but from the creations of another warden.” He looks to the staff on the ground next to him. “A small bit of it would suffice in getting into the next piece.”

“Thanks for the warning.” You reply and walk towards him, ready to finish this whole thing.

He turns his head slightly to watch you approach. “If you would grant this warden one favor, don’t use Hugoth’s sword to kill me.” His tone lightens. “I still have some pride you know.”

You acquiesce and sheath Hugoth’s sword and pull out your old sword for the task.

He kneels to the ground, with gaze turned to the statue in front of him. “Through the chest.” He informs you quietly.

You nod without him seeing you and carefully take aim. For all the trouble this one man caused you, his end will be quiet and quick.

You thrust your sword into his chest.

The sensation of breaking through glass reverberates from your sword and into your arm. Talrith lets out a small choked breath, and all it quiet. You pull out your sword and Talrith collapses to the ground, unceremoniously.

A brilliant light of a pale yellow color begins to coalesce just a few feet over the fallen warden’s body. The whole void is engulfed in the light as it grows brighter and brighter, forcing you to shield your eyes. A high pitch hissing sound grows louder and louder, and just as it becomes unbearable, it ends in a clink.

[1/?]

>>37618306

You open your eyes in time to see a large portion of the pale yellow light shoot out the entrance of the room, and the rest crystalize and drop to the ground.

Nothing remains of the warden Talrith besides the robes on the ground, his staff, and the small pale yellow crystal. The legacy of his service, now easily overlooked.

You reach down to pick up the crystal as Autumn does the same with the staff.

“I guess here, huh?” Autumn says with a cheerful note on her voice.

Before you have a chance to respond, the ground underneath you begins to rumble, causing the statues to collapse to the ground.

Autumn sighs. “Should have seen this coming.”

You see that it’s more than this room that’s beginning to fall apart, as you look out the entrance. The fortress is falling apart without the aid of Talrith’s magic, a fate that probably would have befallen it many years ago.

“Let’s go.” You call out to Autumn and run to exit the fortress.

Chunks of the fortress’s walls and roof begin to collapse all around you, sending dust and debris flying through the air. The grotto, the gallery, the empty rooms, none are free from this fate.
[2/4]

>>37618346

Without the encumbrance of sneaking, you and Autumn make it through the fortress with great haste, and quickly make it to the fork in between the paths.

The large windows on the untaken path burst open flooding the hall with sunlight. Your gaze turns to the path and you stop running.

Autumn notices only a few moments later and stops to call back to you. “ED! We need to go now!”

The whole ground shakes violently as large portions of the roof collapse behind you. In the final room at the end of the hall you see the feet of a colossal statue, its sheer existence calls out to you like the portrait in the gallery.

You want to go investigate, but almost every fiber in your being is telling you otherwise.

“You’ll die!” Autumn calls to you desperately.

There’s no denying that’s almost a guarantee. Without great luck you will die there. It’s too late, so you tear yourself from the idea and run out the fortress with Autumn, leaving the fortress and its secrets behind.

[3/4]

>>37618380

“What should we do with them?” Vi asks as she lies in the healing moss you brought her.

“I’m not entirely sure right now.” You respond looking at the pale yellow crystal and the staff acquired from Talrith.

Your group rests far from the rubble of the fortress. The sun is high in the sky, and in the maze of towering rocks, nothing seems any different now that the warden has died.

“We could hold on to them both, in case we come across that merchant again.” Vi suggests.

You consider the possibility as you stare at your group. Erin sits quietly next to you, simply listening to the conversation you’re having with Vi. Autumn and Cecilia are tending to the pup who seems to be in much better health than yesterday, and Cecilia’s wounds are all healed thanks to moss that Autumn gave her.

The prospect of what to do with the items remains to be decided. The staff, of course, can be used and then sold later. But the matter of the small pale yellow crystal remains to be decided.

>Hold onto the crystal for now.

>Give the crystal to Erin.

>Write in

>>37618396
>Give the crystal to Erin.

>>37618396

>Write in
Erin how will it affect you? Will it give you the ability to casts illusions or just make your ice magic stronger? He did say his illusions came not from his imagination but from the creations of another guardian.

>>37618396
Holy update.
>Give the crystal to Erin.
Lets hope she's not evil and were making her more powerful

>>37618508
When he said that it did not come from his imagination, he meant that he saw them previously and decided to use them for his illusions. Basically he was saying that he couldn't come up with something so horrifying himself.

>>37618558
Then cut that part out. I still want to know how it'd interact with her magic.

>>37618558
Spooky, that means fun times for the next piece?

>>37618586
Okay~ I'll write something quick and then pose the question again.
>Writing

>>37618652
Much obliged. Ed asking is very much in character with how out of depth he is.

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>>37618652

You hold the crystal in your hand and turn to Erin. Her piercing blue eyes are a pleasant sight after the whole ordeal with the fortress.

You smile at her quizzical look. “I’m thinking about giving this to you, since it would serve you the most, but I’m not sure what effects it will have.” You hold the pale yellow crystal to your eye. “As far as I know it’s some sort of illusion magic.”

Erin’s eyes analyze the crystal in front of you for a long time and then she finally turns back to you. “It’s not just illusion magic, I think.” She starts softly. Her brow furrows. “It’s hard to explain exactly, but it goes beyond that. It’s…” She thinks for the right word for a moment. “Manipulative.”

Her gaze turns back to you to check if you understood her.

“Manipulative.” You repeat to yourself and Erin nods.

You’re not exactly sure how that translate to magic use other than what you’ve seen, but Erin seems confident and letting her have it would probably be the best way to find out.

>Give the crystal to Erin.

>Hold onto the crystal for now.

>Write in.

>>37618879
>Give the crystal to Erin
In for a penny in for a pound

>>37618879

>Give the crystal to Erin.

>>37618879
>Hold onto the crystal for now.

>>37618954
>>37618981
>Writing

>>37619092

Without another word you gently grab Erin’s arm and then place the small crystal in her hand.

“It’s yours to do what you want with it.” You comment after closing her hand around it.

Her eyes glimmer at the thought and you’re quite sure what she plans on doing with it, and without any hesitation, Erin consumes the crystal.

You know not to expect any visible change, but you still closely examine for any effects, to which Erin gives a challenging stare back at you. The result is both of you bursting into laughter, hers much more reserved than your own, but you’re glad that she hasn’t changed.

“That’s not a terrible idea at all.” Vi says dismissively as she pulls the moss off her body and then flies away to nearby rock to deal with her itchiness.

The sun is tells you it’s barely the afternoon. You plan on moving on to the northern border of the piece, but you figure there’s still time to rest for a bit longer and still make decent progress today. But what to do with that time?

>Check up on Vi and her injuries.

>Chat with Cecilia and Autumn.

>Continue talking to Erin.

>Move on right now.

>Write in.

>>37619671
>Move on right now.
Got me curious about that next piece now.

>>37619671

>Move on right now.
But ask Erin why she ate it.

>>37619671
>Check up on Vi and her injuries.
Make sure she's able to keep up.

>>37619770
Doesn't she eat it to gain the powers or do you mean why she chose to gain those powers?

>>37619744
>>37619770
>Writing

>>37619887

No time to waste. You stand up, brush the sand off your clothes, and then offer a hand to help Erin up, which she accepts.

“Any reason why you chose to consume it?” You ask her as she brushes her robes clean and examines her pale exposed legs for any sand.

She finishes wiping her robes and then turns to you. “You said that we have to be strong.” She answers.

“Fair enough.” You take a quick look at your group and are thankful that it’s still fully intact. “Let’s go.”

~

The wind whips the sand dunes, carving them into asymmetrical shapes of their fancy. A small sapling blows past you towards your destination, over a large dune your group is in the midst of climbing, and then out of sight. The new wind blows unpleasantly coarse sand into your group and the progress is slower.

“Great.” Vi says from her perch on your shoulder and blows the hair out of her face. “Don’t you dare lose your balance, you hear me?” She yells as she covers her face from a particularly strong gust.

You briefly consider pretending to lose your balance, but with this wind, faking might lead to actual falling.

Once you make it to the top of the dune, you spot a valley carved in between two immense rock formations.

“There!” You point and yell out to your group, eager to travel without the wind buffeting you.

The effects of the wind are diminished as you enter the valley. Only the howling sound of the wind behind you remains as you travel through the shadowy valley.
[1/2]

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>>37620556

“Good to be out of that mess.” Autumn comments cheerfully as she looks up at the valley walls.

Some pebbles tumble here and there but other than that, it seems safe from falling hazards.

Vi shakes her hair free of sand as your groups make your way through. “One thing I will say about the warden is that he…” She pauses. “Ed stop!” She whispers seriously.

Your hand tightens around your sword as Vi flies back to perch on Cecilia.

A large purple creature menacingly crawls out of cave carved into the rock wall. It makes a chittering sound as it flexes its jaws. Its large limbs impact with the ground hard and it sports immense claws. It wants to hunt you, but seems wary about the small bit of sun in the valley.

You immediately unsheathe your sword and think about how to deal with the creature.

Assign Ed, Autumn, and/or Erin to one or more of the following.

>Fight the creature.

>Cover retreat.

>Full on retreat.

>Write in.

>>37620587
Erin
>Cover retreat.
Autumn
>Full on retreat.
Incase we run into another beastie
Ed
>Fight the creature.
It comes we kill it.

>>37620587
>Write in.
Ed and Autumn cover as Erin uses her new magic to scare it.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>37620643
>>37620673
Rolling for winner.

>>37620749
Roll 2d20 for Ed and Erin respectively, best of three.

Rolled 12, 5 = 17 (2d20)

>>37620767
C'mon....

Rolled 5, 16 = 21 (2d20)

>>37620767

>>37620789
>>37620906
Guess I'll go with these two for the sake of time.
>12, 16
>Writing

Rolled 15, 12 = 27 (2d20)

>>37620767
Sorry internet cut out.

>>37620944

Without another thought you step forward and begin giving out your orders. “Autumn, get Cecilia and Vi out of the valley.” You turn to Erin who’s at your side. “Cover their retreat.”

In these cases your word has become law, and your group quickly springs into action because of it. At the same moment the beast charges at you. You wait for it to approach, keeping an eye on the dangerous claws.

The creature closes the distance with great speed and swipes at you with its claws in a great arc in front of it. You slightly underestimated the amount of range it has and are forced to stumble back, losing your footing. It stabs at you, and you barely roll out of the way, its immense force leaves a large imprint in the ground.

You regain your footing just as the beast towers directly over you. The acrid smell burns your nostrils and you can hear and see its heavy breathing. It scratches at the ground with its front claws, which you quickly dodge. You push forward and punish its miss by slicing through one of its hind limbs, sending brown blood pouring from the stump.

The creature screeches in agony and rolls on the ground, before crashing into you, you block with your sword, but it stills sends you flying several feet from the impact.
[1/2]

>>37621441

It recovers before you, but decides to ignore you and charges after your fleeing group, clumsily, dragging its injured self through the sand. Seeing this, Erin begins to focus on the creature without making any of her usual casting motions. Only her piercing blue eyes bore into the creature as it continues toward her.

Suddenly it stops right in its tracks and begins to claw at its own body, piercing it over and over again. Erin’s spell has sent it into a frenzy with itself as the target, large amounts of its innards spill onto the ground as a result. It’s a gruesome self-inflicted death.

The creature wallows is agony for many moments, soon the battle will be done.

A single arrow flies through the air and lands right in the back of the beasts head stopping it for good.

You turn to find the source of the arrow, and only see pebbles dropping from a large rock where the archer was likely perched. But from behind the rock is the silhouette of an approaching figure.

~

Okay, that's where I'm going to end it for today. As always thank you very much to everyone that played today! I can only respond to one round of questions and comments today, so please feel free to leave them in the thread.

If not, then I hope to see you again next time.

>>37621484
What'd we miss in the fortress? We're still n the desert right? Is the Archer an outsider like us?

>>37621484
Thanks for running auri!
Is the archer a new companion?

>>37621484
Thanks for running! Looks like Erin got some strong illusion powers from that crystal.

>>37621534
What was missed in the fortress is unfortunately buried forever underneath the rubble. Yes you are still in the desert, I will make a point of transitioning to a new piece. It's more than likely that the archer is an outsider like you, but strange things are possible in strange worlds.
>>37621547
You're very welcome! That remains to be seen.
>>37621607
You're also very welcome! Manipulative power as she would say. The more harm a creature can do to others, the more harm it can do to itself.


Okay that's unfortunately where I have to step out for today. If you have more questions, please, please keep them around for next thread.
I hope you all have a good day/night, and hope to see you again next time!

>(Twitter)
https://twitter.com/QM_Auri
>(Previous threads)
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=otherworldly+arboretum

>>37621695
Thanks for running lets do this again soon!