>>37801389

As you continue to travel, the light string music, that seems to originate from the ground itself, picks up a more cheerful note.

Cecilia hums to the new music whilst frolicking in the flowers themselves; her pale green dress chases her legs as she runs, she’s clearly the most pleased by this piece.

The cobblestone path that you’ve been walking on leads you to an immense hedge wall, from which striking red flowers bloom. The flowers are excessively large, and would have to be carried by two hands.

In the distance, a young woman diligently prunes the hedge wall with a large curved blade. A large white sun hat hides most of her features, and an elegantly tailored dress trails after her as she walks. The closer you get to her, the less detail you can make out of her, as with each step it seems that the sun itself is enveloping her in its brightness.

By the times you’re only a few feet away, she’s a blurred shadow, standing against the brightness
.
She takes her time to stop pruning and eventually turns to you. “Ah, care to join me for some tea?” A light sweet voice asks you.

>Accept.

>Decline.

>Write in

>>37801416
>Accept.
Let's not be pussies, she seems legit.

>>37801416
>Accept
Maybe this time things will work out?

>>37801473
>>37801560
Straight into things from the the start, sounds fun!
>Writing

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>>37801621

The thought of refusal doesn’t even cross your mind. “Absolutely.” You answer and turn to see that your group wholeheartedly agrees with your statement.
The shadowy young woman elicits a small laugh. “Follow me.” Her sundress swirls softly around her as she turns to lead your group.

Without any conscious thought, the muscles in your legs immediately seem compelled to follow her and begin moving to do so. The upper part of your body is jerked along at the harsh start, but soon falls into line.

Your group dutifully follows the young woman past the large hedge wall of flowers and toward a singular gazebo sitting among a bed of flowers.

“Please, sit. I’ll be right back with the tea.” The young woman gestures to the stone benches surrounding a table in the gazebo.

Your group is completely silent while waiting for the young woman to return. The complete rigidity and silence of which your group sits might seem eerie to some, but for the moment, you are completely serene.

You finally feel the need to adjust yourself, causing your hand to brush against the underside of the table your group currently sits around. Brownish red flakes scrape onto your hand, which you shake off as quickly as they were stained on.

Suddenly a teacup is set in front of you. You don’t remember the young woman returning, so perhaps you were caught in a daydream. The sight of her still remains clouded.

The shadowy figure settles in her seat directly across from you. “Please, drink.” She instructs warmly.

Your hand reaches for the luxurious porcelain cup filled with slowly steaming tea. You cloudily think that since you already agreed to it, not drinking it now would be simply rude.

>Drink

>Don’t drink.

>Write in

>>37802269
>Uuuh, check out the underside of that table first. She doesn't seem so legit anymore.

>>37802269
Sip your tea like a refined gentleman, very, very slowly. Try to get the other s to do the same. Get someone to check under the table too.

>>37802269
>Drink
No sense in being rude, right?

>>37802422
>>37802472
Writing

>>37802520

You begin to lift the cup to your lips and for a brief moment, you doubt your host’s intentions. The cup shakily reaches your mouth and you begin sipping the warm liquid. The taste has a subtle sweetness to it, like some honey was added, it’s refreshing and quite appetizing.

You breathe and then take another sip, your suddenly tongue detects small flecks of left over tea leaves or some other small object, but you swallow just as you notice.

The entirety of your group does the same, some sipping more than others, but all drink the same. Even a small cup was prepared for Vi’s use, the fairy downing her drink completely. An extra cup sits to the right of the young woman, you’re unsure of its purpose, but it was carefully placed and is the only cup to match the one your host drinks from.

The young woman laughs softly once again and turns to the young mage sitting next to you. “Do you like the taste, Erin?”

Erin promptly nods her approval, and then daintily lifts the cup to take another sip.

[1/2]

>>37803286

A small pang of panic comes over you as you wonder how she knew Erin’s name. Your thoughts feel foggy, as if you were just awoken from a deep sleep.
You lower your head and shut your eyes tightly to try to regain focus.

The young woman continues to talk. “That’s quite the cute pet you have there, Cecilia. Can I see him?”

The conversation becomes unintelligible as you strain to focus. You remember the powder that rubbed off on you earlier, and then proceed to scrape the underside of the table with your finger. More of the brown-red substance rubs off on you, and then you realize that you’ve seen this before many times.

“Is something wrong, Ed?” The young woman’s soft voice suddenly comes clear and you quickly open your eyes.

Your mind races at the question, there is clear and apparent wrong with the situation, but something inherent and unclear is off as well. You keep repeating one word in your mind, lest you lose it in the cloudiness. Blood.

>Deny.

>Ask her how she knows your group.

>Ask her about the blood.

>Write in.

>>37803306
>Ask her how she knows your group
We never gave you our names.
Move back from the table. This is a trap.

>>37803306
>Ask her how she knows your group.
Get out of there as soon as possible.

>>37803306
>Deny.
Nothing is wrong.

>>37803340
>>37803452
>Writing~

>>37803521

>Write in.
You quell your panic, and try to focus your mind. “Not to be rude, but how do you know our names? We never introduced ourselves.”

The young woman lets out a note of amusement. “It would be remiss for a warden not to know of you and your group, Ed.”

You immediately reach for your sword only to be stopped by a single firm word from this warden. “Don’t”

She continues in her normal soft tone. “That, would be very rude of you, Ed. Please, sit.”

Every fiber of your being is trying to resist and leave, but her words seem absolute in your mind. You comply.

“In case you can’t tell, I am in control here.” The warden takes one final sip of her tea before placing it down on the table. “And you made it so easy.” She taps the teacup with two of her fingers.

The sweet taste of the tea still lingers in your mouth, who knows what she may have done to it.

She sighs. “I have watched over this piece since the inception of this world, Ed.” She stares off into one of her many flower gardens. “So many would-be heroes have come here through the eons, many having killed one or both of the lesser wardens. But all end here.”

You look at the rest of your group and all seem unfazed by what this warden is telling you, they all seem to be in a cloudy state of absolute obedience.

[1/2]

>>37804404

“I know that this world is falling apart at the seams, and I care not. Now there only remains one thing I care for.” She holds up two fingers but quickly switches to one, which beckons at Autumn. “Come here, Autumn.”

Autumn promptly stands and walks next to the warden. The warden produces the large curved blade of which she was pruning the flowers with. The warden holds her blade to the inside of Autumn’s long athletic thigh, who does absolutely nothing to resist.

You try with all your will to stand and pull out your sword, you feel even your eyes strain to resist, but you remain diligently seated, like the rest of your group.
The strange obscuring aura around the warden seems to lighten and you can make out a grin and her sandy brown hair. “What do you think, Ed? I’ll only do it if you say so.”

The word no screams in your mind over and over again. Your eyes race for anything that will get you out of this situation but you see nothing. Your heart thunders in your chest like never before. A word you desperately don’t want to say forms at your lips and you still fight to resist it. You fear that any word you utter will not come out your own.

>"No."

>Write in.

>>37804443
Say nothing, she won't do it if you don't speak.

>>37804443
>>37804574
Putting my vote behind this because I've got nothing

Here's hoping i'm right!

>>37804574
>>37804669
>Writing.

Im beating myself up because I fucking agreed follow her and to drink the tea.
We had so many outs

>>37804796
Yup I got here after we accepted.

>>37804796
I get following her, I voted for that too. But drinking? Cmon man, we had the creepy mind control vibes and the flecks on the bottom of the table as hints. Why would you ignore hints Auri worked so hard to put in like that?

>>37805062
I was hoping for another companion...

>>37805128
With that super magic aura and the fact we couldn't see her? Plus teleporting cups of tea? You do realize FAE garden right? I bet she has pointy ears.

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>>37804740
Your eyes remain glued to the scene. You want to scream out for her to stop, but you don’t trust yourself to say anything other than yes. Your teeth dig into your lips, and soon the sweet aftertaste of the tea is replaced by the salty and metallic taste of your own blood.

The warden’s wild grin soon fades into a gentle smile. “So be it. No sense in rushing anything.” She removes the blade from Autumn’s thigh who promptly returns to her seat as if nothing happened.

Absolute dread washes over you, never before have you been so helplessly at the control of another.

She perfectly perceives your thoughts. “Don’t worry, your minds will be your own soon enough. It’s just more fun this way.” Her smiles widens and the full sight of her face becomes clear.

Her face, framed by her sandy brown hair, is strikingly beautiful, and confusingly you think that the image may already have existed in your mind in some way.
She continues. “Since you’ve proven yourself to be unremarkable, I’ll make you the same deal that I make everyone that comes through here.”

The warden crosses her legs and brushes her hair out her face. “Make it through three nights in this piece, and I will unlock the passageway to the next piece.”
You can only guess what she may have in store for you those nights. “Just that?” You carefully ask.

“Just that.” She nods with a gentle smile. “Or, since I’m in a good mood right now, allow me to propose something else.”

[1/2]

>>37805729

You nod for her to continue.

“Kill any one of your companions, of course the dog doesn’t count." She laughs and then continues. "Kill any one right now, with this...” She holds up her curved blade once again. “And I’ll let the rest of you go, right now.”

The proposal shocks you, and what shocks you even more is that in the deepest reaches of your mind, you may be considering it. No, it can’t be done, everyone here is your friend. Could it be the safer option, could what Reina told you earlier be avoided? Just what exactly is your duty as a leader? Is she even telling the truth?

The warden folds her hands behind her back. “I see the seeds of conflict barely sprouting. Allow me to water them with the knowledge that no one, other than you, will remember that person. If not, then we will most certainly have fun these next few days.”

>Refuse

>Write in.

>>37805764
>Refuse
For such a fair face you have such a dark heart. I refuse Fae one.

>>37805764
uuuugh
I kinda wanna kill Vi
she sure is annoying
Maybe we can joke about that before refusing

>>37805764
>Refuse

>>37805764
>Refuse.
If we die in the next few nights then so be it. I'm not going to kill one of our group members off.
>>37805824
I wonder if the guy who wanted Vi as waifu is still around because this is hilarious.

Okay, looks like we're going to refuse. But, but if you guys had to pick someone who would it be?
My vote would be Cecilia

>>37805819
>>37805843
>>37805875
>Writing

>>37805985
You don’t allow those seeds to take any form of root. “I refuse. I will not kill any of them.”

She nods at your response. “Let’s not speak so soon, Ed. But alright, the deal is off the table.” She laughs turns to her right as if she expected something to be there.

She quickly stands instead and looks at the sky. “Well, Ed, you have a few more hours until nightfall, so rest up.” She begins to put on her sunhat again. “We’ll have tea again tomorrow if you make it through the night.”

“It would be rude of you not to introduce yourself, don’t you think?” You tell her confidently, putting on a show for your group.

She giggles lightly. “I’ll introduce myself if you manage to defeat me.” Her smile widens. “But I wouldn’t count on it if I were you.”

“Until nighttime then.” You give your response.

“Until then, Ed.” She begins to walk away. “There’s so much pruning to do today…”

You patiently sit at the table waiting for your group to recover. You close your eyes in thought, this warden is clearly different than the others. While barely even trying, she got the upper hand on you, you doubt that a brute force tactic will work on her. You will have to find another way to beat her, if this endurance test doesn’t work out.

Your thoughts are interrupted as the sound of Erin quietly vomiting and Autumn loudly cursing flows into your ears. The ever present string music floats in the background, this time taking on a haughtier air, if that were possible.
[1/2]

>>37806973
~
You dragged your party away from the gazebo and decided to set up camp underneath a large bridge.

“Ed, what are we going to do?” Vi asks desperately in a tone she rarely ever uses.

The words hardly even register as you look at the state of your group and you shake your head.

“Pull yourself together, you idiot!” She whispers violently in your ear.

You turn to her and without any hesitation, you stand. “We will beat her. Every warden has their weakness, I’m sure.” The visage of her flawless smile forms in your mind.

“Since she threatened us harm, she will be defeated. We've done it before, and we will do it again.” You announce to your group, trying to disregard the insidious words she spoke so gently.

The sun begins to slip past the horizon, and with it grows your gnawing primal fear for the night. If she truly meant everything that she said, this night will likely haunt you for the rest of your life.

~

>>37807025
Okay, unfortunately I will have to cut it short for today since I started later. Thank you very much to everyone that played! As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the thread.

If not, then I hope you a good day/night, I hope to see you again next thread!

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

>>37807061
Does iron protect against magic Auri?

>>37807061
Thanks for running auri. Are we approaching the end of the quest, because things feel very serious now.

>>37807083
Iron wouldn't protect against magic much, but something intended for a biological target wouldn't work on iron.
>>37807143
You're very welcome! I can't say for certain where the end of the quest will be, but the "end goal" is quickly approaching.

>>37807061
Thanks for running!

>>37807193
You're also very welcome!

>>37807224
Thanks for running!

>>37807277
You're very welcome!


Also, I'm finally going to try to run another separate quest sometime later this week, so wish me luck. Until next time, everyone!