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Character and setting info: http://pastebin.com/u/MagicalPrincess
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Start+Over+Quest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagicalMarquise
Ask.fm: http://ask.fm/MagicalMarquise
Collection of character descriptions (WIP, courtesy of anon): http://pastebin.com/pzYffs0R

>>39417319
>”Can you fight them?”.

>>39417319
>”Do you think panic will still spread?”.
>”Who do you think is behind this?”.

>>39417319

>"Who can solve this problem?"

Let her tell us who she think can help

>"Do you think the Reconquista will stop?"
>"who do you think is behind this"

"Who do you think is behind this?", you wonder. There must be a plan, this isn't the sort of event that just happens.

Unfortunately, Astreya just shrugs, "I have no idea, I can make an educated guess and say it's someone who lived here since before the Reconquista and isn't taking it kindly about the new guests. We had to expect this kind of resistance too, but I'm afraid I can't name a specific culprit, I wouldn't know of any".

"Do you think panic will spread? Will the Reconquista stop?".

"Stop? No...", she frowns slightly, pausing with her gaze lost in the void for a few moments, "I don't think the Reconquista will stop, but if panic is left unchecked, or propaganda and doomsaying spreads...".

The warm aroma of coffee draws closer until it's right in front of your very nostrils as Yomi carries a small silver tray to the table, with three cups full of coffee with a peculiar brown tint. Astreya thanks him dearly and immediately takes one for herself, though she waits before sipping, which you can understand since you feel its heat on the tip of your nose, meaning drinking it right now would scorch your tongue.

"Can you fight these undead?", you wonder.

"If they're all like the few skeletons I found? Why, yes", she chuckles, "They barely counted as target practice, though I heard a more organized and meaningful force clashed against the royal army in Maner...".

"Who can solve this problem? Something has to be done".

Astreya pauses, giving the question some thought, "Stopping the undead legions? Leave that to the royal army. As for confronting the culprit? I would leave that to them, too", she sighs, "If you want to help, you can just keep being optimistic, but you should still keep an eye out, you never know when you could encounter some wandering undead".

Tahenohan’s face clearly says she wouldn’t mind finding some more skeletons.

>”What did you hear from Maner?”.
>”About the monsters...”.
>”What about Agnes and her brigade?”.
>Other?

>>39417490
>>”What about Agnes and her brigade?”.

>>39417490
>”What did you hear from Maner?”.
>”About the monsters...”.

>>39417490

>”What about Agnes and her brigade?”

"What did you hear from Maner?", you wonder.

"Oh, they fought some actual army of undead, but I don't know for sure, I've been too busy around here. We got the news from an explorer, Afra was her name if I recall correctly, I think she's heading back to Reboldeux to check on their supply line or something", she smiles, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying much attention, I had a lot on my mind".

"What about Agnes and her brigade? Can they help?".

"Agnes is a capable fighter, unfortunately her volunteers are... Well...", she looks around, then forces herself to keep her smile, "Let us just say that they are not exactly prepared for a full scale war. She loves their enthusiasm, and so do I, but they probably shouldn't be in the front line, that's what I'm saying".

"Oh, there's something you should know about the monsters in this area...", you then decide to explain what you discovered in the course of your recent explorations, recounting about the monsters you've found and fraternized with in the past week or so, their troubles and tribulations, and how they too are stuck in a neighbourhood full of wandering undead.

Maybe it's thanks to the coffee, but once you get into this topic Astreya seems much more awake and focused than before, and you no longer get the feeling she might doze off and go back to sleep any moment.

When you're finished recounting what you found, she gives the matter a bit of thought before asking "What would you like to do with them? Susanna and the others, I mean".

>”We should leave them be for the time being, this isn’t the right time to have them socialize”.
>”We should go see them together, it’s important that they get to know someone like you”.
>”We should help them with the undead outbreak problem, we must protect their well-being”.
>”We should have somebody join them, we can’t leave them alone”.
>”We should convince them to come here, they can’t stay alone forever, especially not in times like these”.
>Other?

>>39417700
>”We should help them with the undead outbreak problem, we must protect their well-being”.
>”We should go see them together, it’s important that they get to know someone like you”.
+
Offer them aid.
Maybe try and use Tahenohan + Agnes Brigade + Susanna + Harpy Scouts to attempt to purge the undead around? That way they can build up a companionship and it'll prevent anyone from utilizing the dead against all of us.

>>39417700
>>”We should go see them together, it’s important that they get to know someone like you”.

>>39417700
>”We should go see them together, it’s important that they get to know someone like you”.
>”We should help them with the undead outbreak problem, we must protect their well-being”.
>>39417729
>harpy
>scouts
anon pls

>”We should help them with the undead outbreak problem, we must protect their well-being”.
>”We should go see them together, it’s important that they get to know someone like you”.

"We must make sure they're safe and sound, we can't leave them alone in this undead outbreak, no matter how disappointing it is", you explain Astreya, who is paying attention to all you're saying, "We should go see them together, I've told them about you and I think you're an important figure for them to meet in person".

Astreya nods, "I see. Do you suppose they need help facing the threat?".

You stop and consider for a moment. You have no idea how actually strong they are in a fight, but other than their impressive size and equally ludicrous strength, you remember Leiana had something that looked like a magic sword and Susanna had magic, assuming that her sword that could fell trees wasn't enough.

"I think they're strong enough to handle themselves", you confess, "But all of them have very valid reasons to not trust us humans and very bad memories of us. Helping them out will give the message that we care for their well-being and are willing to risk to ensure it, I think we need to give this to them if we want to gain their trust".

The wizard just stares at you for a moment, then smiles, "As expected of a priestess of Ishtar".

"She just wants to look good so she can fuck them silly later", Yomi adds from behind you.

“Actually”, Tahenohan adds, “At least one of the spidergirls would fuck her silly even if she did nothing to look good. I don’t know about the other, but I think she’s kind of a hate-then-love person, just like Jure. What’s the word for that...”.

"I'd like to bring you with me, but there's not much room on my magic staff for that kind of quick travel", Astreya looks you up and down a few times, "I could take you as a passenger and have Yomi fly behind us, but nobody else. Would you be okay if we left tonight? My spell only works when the sun is down".

>"Yes, I'm ready to leave tonight".
>"I have some things to take care of, can we leave another day?".
>"I think it's better if you go on your own".
>Other?

>>39417880
>>"Yes, I'm ready to leave tonight".

>>39417880
>>>"Yes, I'm ready to leave tonight".

>>39417880


>"Yes, I'm ready to leave tonight".

"Yes, I'll come with you tonight", you assure her.

"Aww, I wanted to come too", Tahenohan goes, but Astreya gives her an understanding smile, "I'm sorry, I can't really carry more than one person".

You wonder how long it will take, however, it's been a couple days on spiderback and Leiana was faster than you could possibly hope of ever being on foot. You explain Astreya where you need to go, and idly wonder how far that will look on the map Bryld is going to make, hopefully, in these days.

"We'll get there in no time, don't worry", she reassures you with a smile, "Even if we don't have enough night time left for the return trip, we can stay at their place, I suppose? You described them as quite friendly".

"They are", you confirm. They've been with you, at least, although you probably have some divine buffer giving you an edge when dealing with monster people. That or you're just so charismatic that no woman can resist you.

"Hey, Lillith", Tahenohan asks, idly kicking her legs since she finished her coffee long ago thanks to her fire-proof tongue or something to that effect, "What about the Exploration Charter? Shouldn't we report back once Bryld is done with her map?".

Now that you think of it she still needs some time to actually produce it.

Actually, now that you think of it further, you're not sure you'll get many other people wanting to take an Exploration Charter, what with the undead outbreak and the news of fighting at Maner. And nobody was taking them already. You’d have what practically amounts to a monopoly on exploration efforts in the Shadow Marches if you were to continue this line of work.

Then again, this work might just as well end you any day in which your luck runs out or you encounter something that isn’t very friendly at all.

>”We’ll report back as soon as I’m done with this”.
>”Actually, let’s go ask Bryld how she’s doing on the map”.
>”Why don’t you go ahead while I take care of this situation?”.
>Other?

>>39418085
>>”Actually, let’s go ask Bryld how she’s doing on the map”.
Considering the military will have interest, it's likely that charter will be invaluable.

>”Actually, let’s go ask Bryld how she’s doing on the map”.

>>39418085
>”Why don’t you go ahead while I take care of this situation?”.

"We should go and ask Bryld how she's doing, yes", you presume she'll have woken up by now. Maybe Agnes will have, too, but then again you have no idea just when she went to sleep, and according to what that old volunteer said she's been patrolling until very late for a few days, "I don't even know how long it takes to draw a proper map".

"I don't know", Tahenohan shrugs, "Maybe she also needs proper spaces and instruments, most precision things do. Maps need to be accurate, right?".

"They would be useless if they weren't, and we're not going to get paid if they aren't. We might actually be jailed or worse if we try and give them an incorrect map", which is something you would really, really like to avoid.

"Actually", Astreya intervenes, "Shouldn't you refer to the marquise now that there's one? I don't understand human politics very well, but wouldn't you need to go to Maner now?".

"Our contract is with the duke of Reboldeux", you explain, "I think we should report to him for our current findings, and then get a new charter at Maner?".

Astreya frowns, looking like she doesn't actually have an idea of how any of this works, "I'm sorry, I have no idea how any of this works".

"She's like this with everything", Yomi helpfully adds, "Except in front of cocks".

“Well, we’re going to leave now, I’ll see you again this evening”, you tell Astreya as you get up, “Thanks for the coffee”.

“You’re welcome”, she gives you a kind smile, “Come back after the sun went down and we’ll be ready to go”.

Once outside, you’re back in the usual sunny and hot tropical village that is New Royo, so bright and peaceful that you would never guess there’s wandering undead out there somewhere. Or maybe there aren’t, it’s such an annoying situation.

Tahenohan stretches out, making some weird, subtle noises as she does so.

>Check on Agnes, see if she’s awake.
>Check on Bryld, see if she’s awake.
>Check out the village, see what’s going on.
>Other?

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I had forgotten how lazy SatAM sessions could get.

I'm sorry this isn't a good time for you, I can finish in a few more posts and we can leave important stuff for Episode 29.

>>39418271
Eh? What do you mean?

>>39418085

>Let's go ask Byrld

> At this point, we're probably the only ones left in the race. We need to take advantage of the situation.

If we can manage this monopoly, it would be very good for us.

>>39418286
>>39418255
I'll second that

>>39418255
>>Check on Bryld, see if she’s awake.
>>39418271
It's good.

>>39418271
I'm fine, but it seems as if you have a very american audience and they are all sleeping.
>>39418255
Check on Bryld, see if she’s awake.

>>39418255
>Go bully the bunnybutt

>>39418311
>Bully
No.

>>39418271
I'm fine with delaying it~

Just don't erase the progress we've gotten in this thread.

>>39418335
But she's so cute when she's flustered.

You decide to head back to the town hall and see if Bryld is awake. You're kind of surprised to see that when you're back there, almost all of the stuff that littered the entirety of the place is gone; either everyone is very frugal or they brought just their basic needs, which now that you think about it is what settlers come with and not much else.

There's still quite a bit of traffic but it's mostly volunteers packing supplies and moving weapons around, again bringing them out of the town hall and spreading it out through the village or wherever they keep them stowed. And even though you only vaguely remember the mayor's face, you're pretty sure you haven't seen him around at all.

You find Bryld to be very much awake and with most of her goods spread over a tidied-up table where you found the volunteers last night, helping manage everyone taking refuge in the building. She seems to be already at work on her map, at least judging by the amount of pencils, rulers and the compass she's using to check distances.

She doesn't even notice you are there until you greet there, at which point she almost looks surprised at seeing you. "Oh, hello. I'm sorry I was deep in thought and didn't notice you".

"Are you already at work?", you don't know how far in she is, but it seems like she's handling herself.

"Yes, well, I have to start from somewhere. We've seen enough to make good speculations about the lay of the land, even if we haven't personally and thoroughly checked the inner jungle for landmarks", she explains, "But that's enough for not getting lost as long as you have a compass with you".

She keeps talking while she talks, deeply focused despite she was sleeping until about an hour ago. Her slender fingers move with meaningful precision.

>”How long will it take to have a complete map?”.
>”Would you rather move to Reboldeux?”.
>”Would you rather move to Maner?”.
>”Do you want to continue exploring despite the wandering undead?”.
>Other?

>>39418366
>”How long will it take to have a complete map?”.
>”Would you rather move to Reboldeux?”.
>”Would you rather move to Maner?”.
>”Do you want to continue exploring despite the wandering undead?”.

..Sorry, but I'm curious about it all.

>>39418366
>”How long will it take to have a complete map?”.
>”Do you want to continue exploring despite the wandering undead?”.

>>39418366
[x] >>39418375

Yep. Can't see a reason not to go for infodumps.

>>39418375
Yup... Gotta second

"Are you okay with working here?", you ask, "Wouldn't you rather be in Reboldeux? Or... Maybe Maner?".

Bryld doesn't answer at first, busy finishing up some notes above lines, likely distances between points, but when she's done doing so she stops, as if considering your proposals. "I... I don't suppose the mayor will let me stay here?", she asks you with a dubious look, "I don't really need much more than a peaceful place and a large table, and this desk is... Well, good enough for me, though... I guess he won't let me use it? I don't know".

"So you could even stay here?", you ask her.

"I could... Not that I wouldn't rather be somewhere that has walls and where skeletons won't sneak up on me while I'm sleeping, but... That won't happen here?", she gives you a nervous smile, "... Right?".

You graciously change the topic, "How long will it take to make a map?".

"Uhm... It depends", she frowns, "I want it to be as precise as I can make it, so I'd rather have no less than a couple full days for a working one. Then if you want to add fancy colours and nice, artistic representations of mountains and towns and landmarks and draw exotic creatures in the lake and around the place... Well...".

"I see", you suppose that a super fancy map would take longer than that, "So, a couple days? We'll have to give something good enough for the duke, since apparently we'll be referring to the marquise for our next explorations. If... You're still okay with doing them".

Bryld actually stops working for a moment, frozen in thought at your last sentence. She then offers a somewhat forced smile, "Let's... Just finish this one for now, then we'll talk about other jobs, okay?".

>”Okay”.
>”I actually want to know if you’ll be with me in my next travel”.
>”I don’t want to explore any longer, so I wanted to know if that’s okay with you”.
>”I want to know if you’re okay with more exploration, because I’ll quit it if you’re not”.
>Other?

We could get a second contract with the marquise and get payed twice

>>39418454
>>”Okay”.

>>39418454
>>”Okay”.

>>39418454
>”Okay”.
Shit, I'm late. Stupid early starts.

>>39418454
>”Okay”.
>Hug and stroke bunny ears

>>39418454
>"Okay."

>>39418454
>”I actually want to know if you’ll be with me in my next travel”.
Bunnybutt...

>>39418455
Rolling in the bling?

"Okay", you just tell her, giving her a comforting smile and patting her head, "We'll do this job and then see".

"Okay", she answers with a relieved smile, "I'm sorry, when I get focused on something I find it difficult to think about... Everything else, I guess I'm rather single-minded". She then looks down at her work, it's still in the very early stages and you only see some vague outlines, some lines and notes about distances and sizes, all in pencil. It's clearly just a draft, "I also have to confess I'm feeling a bit of pressure, I usually just copied other maps, this is the first time I'm making one of my own. And... It's for a duke", she takes a deep breath, "If I screw something up...".

"I think he'll be happy enough to just have one map, considering how unpopular charters are", you're not really sure about that but you have to say something comforting, she may be single-minded but she also gets worried exceedingly easily.

"At least the rulers here don't impale people on whims and hang their heads outside of their houses with a candle in their mouths to act as lanterns", and then Tahenohan comes and Bryld turns instantly pale.

"I'm sure the duke won't do that", you quickly say, "By the way Bryld, tonight I'll be leaving with Astreya to check on our friends that live East. We should be back by sunrise, or tomorrow night at worse".

"I... See", she welcomes the change of topic at least, "It's okay, I'll need some time to focus on this work, I want to make sure it’s as good as it can be, even if jungles are confusing".

"Meanwhile I can convince the mayor to let her stay here!", Tahenohan offers, her manic smile plastered on and her eyes glinting with odd intentions.

>Let Tahenohan do the talking, she can handle herself.
>Let Tahenohan do the talking but stay with her, just to be sure.
>Go and convince the mayor yourself.
>Suggest Bryld to move somewhere else instead (where?).
>Other?

>>39418616
>Let Tahenohan do the talking but stay with her, just to be sure.
Tahe pls

>>39418616
>Let Tahenohan do the talking but stay with her, just to be sure.

>>39418616
>Suggest Bryld to move somewhere else instead (where?).
Astreya's house.

The demon may asshole, but its ensured safety with luxury.

>>39418616
>Go and convince the mayor yourself.

>>39418616
Atually, think I'll go with this anon:
>>39418650

Just suggest she gets some cotton wadding for her ears.

>>39418650
Somehow I don't see her managing to live with Yomi very comfortably. Also it's kinda assholish to suggest before asking Astreya.

>>39418650
I really don't think that's a good idea.
I also don't want to suggest her moving in with Agnes because she'll get lesbian'd pretty quickly.

>>39418674
>I also don't want to suggest her moving in with Agnes because she'll get lesbian'd pretty quickly.
I hear that's lethal anon.

>>39418667
I don't either, really. But I'd prefer them be safe.

>>39418686
I don't see how she's so much more safe living with Astreya than just in the village. Pretty sure the danger of heart-attack or suicide from dealing with Yomi would outweigh any other threats anyway.
Ideally she should come back with us of course ;_;

>>39418616
>>Let Tahenohan do the talking, she can handle herself.

>>39418701
The move is just for now though, anon. Until the work's done

>>39418674

what, Agnes is interested in fluffy bunny?

>>39418724
>implying anyone WOULDN'T be interested in fluffy bunny

>>39418724
Pretty sure Agnes is interested in girls. Not sure about Bunnybutt in particular though.

I wonder when we'll start seeing male characters again

>>39418724
VERY interested.

>>39418738
What do you mean anon, we just saw Yomi and now we're coming up to the mayor!
The mayor was male right? Fuck if I remember.

>>39418738
Yomi is male character.

>>39418752
>>39418753
Yomi's a girl when he has a skirt on!

>>39418763
Well then all the ladies are male when they have pants on, so I don't see the problem!

You give Tahenohan a long look, trying to tell what she's thinking, but if there's one thing you can be sure of is that it doesn't matter how good you think you are at reading people, half-elves are only half people, so you can't expect to get more than just a vague idea of what she has in mind.

And all that you read in her eyes is FUN.

"Okay", you concede her, "Let's go look for him, then", implying you'll be going with her, because you still don't know what she might say, "You keep working here, don't worry, we'll get this sorted out", you tell Bryld as you set off to find the mayor.

You have no idea where he is, and there's not many people to ask around, which puts you in a kind of difficult situation. Fortunately, Tahenohan does not let this deter from her fighting spirit and she just starts opening doors at random calling "MAYOR? MAYOR? WHERE ARE YOU?", until she goes upstairs and finds a door that is locked.

She immediately starts knocking, manic look on her face as she gleefully anticipates what's going to come next. If you were on the other side of the door, you're pretty sure you'd have opened it by now, if anything to hit whomever was on the other side with a pillow, assuming you were in a good mood.

Eventually, the door does open and you do remember the man who opened up as the mayor, yes. Octavius Proust, a rather fat man with disheveled bed hair and the looks of someone who planned to stay locked up all day and was thrown out of bed for no good reason, "What? What is it?", he asks, clearly irritated.

"Hi!", Tahenohan goes, "Since it's just you there you don't need the whole place for yourself, right?".

You have to make use of your willpower to not facepalm.

>”She meant to ask if you could allow a guest to stay for a couple days”.
>”Please disregard her, sorry, we’re leaving”.
>”Well, the town hall is pretty large and empty right now...”.
>Don’t say anything, see where this goes.
>Other?

>>39418813
>>Don’t say anything, see where this goes.

>>39418813
>”Well, the town hall is pretty large and empty right now...”.
Go with it, Tahe is a genius.

>>39418813
>”She meant to ask if you could allow a guest to stay for a couple days”.

>>39418813
>>”She meant to ask if you could allow a guest to stay for a couple days”.

>>39418813
>”Please disregard her, sorry, we’re leaving”.
Tahe is like a kitten, cute most of the time but sometimes you have to pick her up by the neck and remove her from the situation or people get annoyed.

>>39418813
>”She meant to ask if you could allow a guest to stay for a couple days”.

>>39418813
>Don’t say anything, see where this goes.

"What she means to say", you intervene, hoping that he won't be too mad, "Is that we would like to ask if you could hold a guest for a couple days. She needs enough space and peace to work and you do have a desk that seems to suit her needs quite well".

Octavius looks between the two of you and can't seem to decide whom he doesn't want to see the most; he has the kind of red-faced look one gets when he gets flustered over something. It's likely he's also just angry or maybe hasn't slept much in the past days.

"I've welcomed plenty of guests lately", he doesn't seem to be very happy about it, especially from how he pronounced "guests", "Are you not satisfied yet? This is supposed to be a town hall not everyone's refuge".

"It was just a temporary accommodation, nearly everyone has moved out by now, including the volunteers", you explain, "It's just a matter of a couple days".

"A couple days is what it will take to clean up the mess those volunteers made of the place, turning it into some kind of impromptu fort", he pronounced "volunteers" the same way he pronounced "guests".

"Well who cares", Tahenohan goes, with a shrug, "It's all fine now. So can she stay?".

"Why you-".

"It's only one person, only one room and only for a couple days", you remind him, "Please, we really need it, we cannot leave the duke disappointed".

The mention of such a figure makes the man stop and abandon his fluster almost immediately. He grudgingly ponders and, in the end, grunts something like "Fine, but only for this time" before slamming the door closed.

"YAY!", Tahenohan goes, throwing her arms up with glee.

“Well, it’s good that Bryld was allowed to stay”, you concede, “We’ll be leaving this town when she’s done in any case”.

“Yeah”, the half-elf nods, “Not that I’d want to stay under a self-absorbed egoist who built a stupid town hall before necessities and doesn’t want to share it with anyone more than is absolutely necessary”.

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And this is it for Episode 28. I really should cook up lunch now.

Thank you for participating even though it was saturday morning, stay tuned on Twitter for our next appointment!

>>39419004
Thanks for running! I only made it the last hour but it was fun.

>>39418993
>“Yeah”, the half-elf nods, “Not that I’d want to stay under a self-absorbed egoist who built a stupid town hall before necessities and doesn’t want to share it with anyone more than is absolutely necessary”.
As blunt as a Warhammer and piercing as a spear. Goddamn you're a best.

>>39419004
And thank you for running best quest too.

>>39419004

Thank for running!

>>39419004
Thanks for writing.

>>39419004
Fuck, thread is over so soon? Fucking sleep...
Thanks for the thread anyway, looking forward to the next one.

>>39418993
Tahe, Tahe please.
This is why we love her.