>>40284829
>[ ] “I can't accept that.” Shove her away from you and run for your brother.
Of course you're on time on convention day. Gotta do this from my phone now.

>>40284829

[X] “I'm sorry.” Gently pull her arms away from you.

We need to get Judi away from Morning Star somehow.

>>40284829
>[x] “I'm sorry.” Gently pull her arms away from you.

Ask her if she really needs to try to stop us. She knows what they're doing to Zachary is wrong, trying to arrest him on trumped up charges. That's not justice at all, that's political convenience at best. Did she join up with Morning Star to help protect citizens, or to join up with people who'd throw someone in jail for convenience's sake?

>>40285017
>>40284914
And just narrowly is the tie broken.

[+1 Throwing Knife Thrown At You]

>>40284829
>[ ] “I can't accept that.” Shove her away from you and run for your brother.

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>>40285076
“I'm sorry.” You say.

You grasp her arms and pull them from around you.

She violently shakes her head. “Please!” She cries, “Please, don't!”

“It will be okay.” You reassure her.

“No...”

You hold her shoulders to keep her in place and take a step back. “Just tell them I stunned you or something.”

You let go of her and briskly walk to your brother. You cast heal on the poor bastard, but your might heal does barely anything to revive his humongous pool of HP.

You feel a pain in your side and a “500” appears in big, bold, red letters.

You feel your side and retrieve from it a throwing knife that dissipates into nothing.

“A-Ambrosis of the <1st Panzer Division>,” Comes the voice of Judicature, “I-I hereby place you under arrest for assisting a wanted criminal in... In his attempt to evade the authorities.

You look to the trembling mass that is your lover, then to the mess that is your brother.

[ ] Pocket Sand Judicature and then leave with your brother.
[ ] Ignore Judi and just carry your brother to safety.
[ ] Initiate combat with Judicature.
[ ] Other.

>>40285403
>[ ] Pocket Sand Judicature and then leave with your brother.
Can't carry him and fight, we'll get us both killed.

>>40285403
>carry your brother to safety.
>"Do you even understand what they'll do to Vertigo, not for being a bad person, but for being a STUPID person!?
how old is Vertigo again?

also, I just woke up, and slightly incoherent. Is there someone more competent able to calmly explain how Morning Star are NOT authorities? Peacekeepers, maybe, but not authorities.

>>40285542
>how old is Vertigo again?
18ish

>>40285542
>>40285467
Goin' with both.

[+1 Wanted Rating]

>>40285619
hmm, thanks.

>>40285542
seriously? nobody? Not even anybody ranting about how American laws hold no jurisdiction here, nor has Morning Star the right to enforce them even if they were?

>>40285542
>>40285780

Not quite sure what you mean. But the way I see it:

They're not really a part of the game world as authorities. That belongs to the pre-established Landers and their rulers, since they were here first and are firmly established. There's separate Lander factions for governing the Landers who are the natives to this world. For example: Mother Spider and her followers are the authorities in Pueblo, and they decide what flies or what doesn't. They've lived in Pueblo for a really long time and probably have a lot of generations of descendents there, and have a lot of previous history elsewhere.

Players are not natives since they only really were virtual tourists here interacting through avatars up until the Event. Thus, it would be arguable that since Players only really carry out services and haven't lived there for as long a time, they lack any sort of legitimacy. For the longest time, they were essentially humanoid robots that carried out essential services for Landers and did really fucking weird rituals that no Lander could comprehend.

Morning Star, being a player-founded organization, is a collection of like-minded individuals who want to impose their brand of order on the game world. This includes doling out punishments and deciding what is right and wrong. While they may think they're in the right, they're only imposing values that they've adopting from their RL personas into this new world. This might overlap with some existing Lander laws and such, but since none of the RL countries exist in this world, they're really just acting as a huge group of vigilantes since they lack any official backing from the Lander-established governments. They're probably not acting any different from any of the other various guilds here, just that it happens that they have a coherent agenda and some muscle to back it up.

>>40285885
>Not quite sure what you mean
well I did say I'm slightly incoherent on account of just waking up.

but yeah, they aren't the police, nor the authorities.

The way I see it, Morning Star is a hybrid between wild west style frontier law and fascist dictatorship, seemingly without being aware of it themselves.

>>40285885
Those are certianly good points.

This also makes me wonder if Morningstar has had any confrontations with local Lander authorities/leaders. If they haven't, it certainly feels like it won't be long till they do.

>>40286124

I'd guess that the smaller city-states are scared of them or assessing the situation.

The bigger boys are probably going "how quaint, let's see how they act so we can manipulate them like every other strong champion that's popped up every 1500 years or so."

>>40285403
[ ] Pocket Sand Judicature and then leave with your brother.

>>40286124
If Morningstar got BTFO by a confederation of nobles who were sick of their shit, I'd be a happy man.

I love landers.

>>40286355
So does the Morningstar. The only actions they've taken in this story were to go after players pking and players attacking landers.

>>40286047
To their benefit they are doing what they can to stop lander deaths and abuse.

>>40286388

They also want to spread their influence throughout the world and aren't afraid of stepping on people to make that happen, regardless of whether said people deserve it or not.

Most recent example: Vertigo.

>>40286388
Well by that same reasoning they might start playing world police in lander politics, intervening in natural wars and pissing people off.

>>40286428
Kids are goung to be ducks refardless. A restructuring in their organization isn't far off in all likelihood to deal with those kinds if issues.

>>40286454
It's a big leap to say Morningstar wulk start policing internal lander issues because they police player violence.

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>>40285738
“Do you even understand what they'll do to him!?” You shout, “Not for being a monster, but for being an idiot!?”

“That's for the court to decide!” She shouts back.

“What court!? Your court!? The <Morning Star>'s court!? The people who are trying to hang a man for eternity based on hearsay and circumstantial evidence!?”

“If... If he's innocent, the Judges will see that!”

“What Judges!? You mean someone like Montgomery!? The guy who is trying to do anything, even lie to his own guild, just to pretend like he can keep order in Big Apple!?”

“There are other Judges!”

“And are any of them not in <Morning Star>!?”

She goes quiet.

You kneel and lift your brother's body over your shoulder. He's surprisingly light, but perhaps it is his lack of armor that would cause such a thing.

“Stop!”

You glance to Judi and extend one arm. “Argent Chain.”

A chain of light appears and wraps around the blonde woman's face. It explodes into a bright light.

Knives go flying all over and you simply walk through the storm unaccosted. You know Judicature will be able to find you, you're on her friend list after all, and that arrow will point her right to you.

You'll probably cast Return Home after placing him somewhere safe to keep yourself from leading them right to him, but the real question is where to put him.

You vaguely remember seeing a cave not too far away, but that might be too obvious.

You could probably venture out farther to see if you find something less conspicuous, but that would give the <Morning Star> more time to catch up to you.

[ ] Go for the sure spot and pray they don't look there.
[ ] Go long and pray you find something good.
[ ] Other.

>>40286480

I agree with your first point. Assholes are gonna be assholes because now they've actually adopted their in-game character. But it's one thing to smack down fucktards and keep them from acting out their power fantasies on Landers and other players, and it's another thing entirely to make an innocent person a scapegoat for whatever reason (maybe in Vertigo's case, it was to gain leverage over his guild). That shit is just the worst kind of politics around.

>>40286574
Which is part of the reason they want the transports. Much harder to act against policy when other people can come after you quickly.

>>40286555
Let's ask the underwear merchant to stash him in her fabrics for now.

>>40286555
>[ ] Go long and pray you find something good.

>>40286555
>[ ] Go long and pray you find something good

>>40286555
>[x] Go long and pray you find something good.

>>40286555
Is the star water crater a good hiding spot?

>>40286555
>[ ] Go long and pray you find something good.

>>40286740
>>40286708
>>40286680
>>40286670
[+1 Going Long]

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>>40286821
You decide to get as far away from the Manifest Destiny as possible. No doubt there will be <Morning Star> all over the damn thing by the end of the day, just waiting for a moment to catch your brother.

You start running. You push past rocks and shrubs. Leaping over small boulders and fording a narrow river. You come to a tiny valley formed between two plateaus. Or perhaps it was a single plateau that was cut in two. You can barely squeeze yourself and your brother in between the rock faces. You get as far as you can before you finally place your brother down.

You flail your hammer about to break off what little of the stone as you can and cover your brother in them, just for some extra camouflage.

You have to shimmy your way out of the mess you made, but when you do, you look back to see what looks to be nothing.

That should do, but perhaps you should ask for a bit more help...

[ ] Pray for the safety of your brother. Then cast Return Home.
[ ] Just cast Return Home. That one time was just a fluke.
[ ] Other.

>>40287175
[ ] Pray for the safety of your brother. Then cast Return Home.

Could someone remind me what Ambrosis and Judi's respective stats and skillsets are? It's been a while since intensive combat was a part of this quest.

>>40287175
>[ ] Pray for the safety of your brother. Then cast Return Home.
>[ ] Other.
Leave him a brief note telling him what's going on and asking him to call you the moment he comes to.

>>40287175
>Pray for his safety, then cast Return Home

The longer we can stall, the better a chance he has to escape.

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>>40287207
See chart related for class descriptions.

Ambrosis is a Cleric.

Vertigo is a Monk.

I dunno what Judi is. It's been a while.

>>40287175
>Message Vertigo a quick explanation
>Use up all our healing/buff skills, but don't wait for cooldown
>Return Home

>>40287320
I wanna say she is a Swashbuckler... If I recall correctly

>>40287207
Ambrosis
HP: 36/36
MP: 32/32
Resistances:
Physical: 40% (Takes 60%)
Elemental: 25% (Takes 75%)
Dodge: 3 (10% Dodge)

Judicature
HP: 44/44
MP: 38/38
Resistances:
Physical: 30% (Takes 70%)
Elemental: 20% (Takes 80%)
Dodge: 4 (15% Dodge)

>>40287320
Swashbuckler.

>>40287205
>>40287255
>>40287266
>>40287458
Gonna combine all of these.

[-50% current MP]
[+1 Religiousness]

>>40287475
What were our levels again?

>>40287320
It's worth mentioning that some classes are only available in some regions. For example Samurai Japan only. Also I think Vertigo was stated to be a Brawler rather than a Monk, which would be pretty much the same thing except a bunch of skill names are changed.

>>40287681
Ambrosis Level 40 Cleric [Level 50 Engineer(Mechanic)] <1st Panzer Division>

Judicature Level 43 Swashbuckler [Level 86 Cavalier] <Morning Star>

Shit, I'm late to the discussion, but don't forget that there have been other landers that have disappeared, not just the one Zachery witnessed being killed. This might mean that we can show that it wasn't our brother that killed them.

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>>40287563
You blow all your cooldowns bursting up your brother's HP as far as you can. You throw down Angel's Whisper on top of him as a small HoT, cast Heal, Reactive Heal, and then smack the cliff face with a Healing Forge. You've barely healed 10% of his max HP with all of that, but you suppose you are content with that for now.

You think back to that night Lilac was kidnapped. It was probably just coincidence, but part of you wants to do it, just in case.

You kneel down and pray.

You're not quite sure to who or to what you pray to, or if you are praying to anything at all, but you just wish that someone or something out there hears your want to keep your brother safe, and that it wants to help.

You stand up and then cast Return Home.

In a flash of light you find yourself just outside of the city gates of Pueblo. It does not take long for you to realize you are surrounded by <Morning Star>. You look around at the sea of cowboy hats.

[ ] “Whelp, you caught me.” Put your hands up.
[ ] “Fuck the police!” Run away.
[ ] Very calmly walk into the city.
[ ] Other.

>>40287987
>[ ] Very calmly walk into the city.
The lever-god will surely protect us.

>>40287987
>[X] Very calmly walk into the city.

>>40287987
>[x] Very calmly walk into the city.

We complied with Brimstone...mostly. Unless Judi ratted on us we should be in the clear. Probably not a good idea to stand outside the city either.

File: haters.gif (2.09 MB, 375x471)

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>>40287987
>[ ] Very calmly walk into the city.

>>40287987
[X] Very calmly walk into the city.

>>40287987
>[ ] Very calmly walk into the city.

>>40288107
>>40288083
>>40288080
>>40288077
>>40288063
>>40288134
[+1 Calm]
I wonder what the Dice Gods think of your prayer.

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>40288165
I must have done that wrong...

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>>40288183

>>40288183
sure is religious today

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>>40288183

Cake-aku doory

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>>40288165
You look around at all of the wannabe cowboys and then very calmly walk into the city of Pueblo.

All of the soldiers run past you, most likely going about their man hunt for your brother. You did your best to hide him, so it's up to fate at this point.

After the third group of <Morning Star>, you begin to wonder just how desperate they are to catch your brother.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and turn to see a giant suit of armor standing over you. It is TheRook, that Guardian from the meeting you had with the <Morning Star> higher ups. What was this man again? High Officer of the West or something like that.

A deep voice booms from the metal inclosure. “Where is Vertigo?”

“I don't know.” You respond.

“How do you not know?” TheRook inquires.

“He ran away and I didn't see where to.” You reply.

“Then where does it say he is in your friends list?”

[ ] “Somewhere in the desert.”
[ ] “Big Apple.”
[ ] “France.”
[ ] “None of your business.”
[ ] Other.

>>40288700
How about we say he removed us so we cant see?

>>40288700
>[ ] “Big Apple?”
Proceed to wonder how the shit did he (not) get here so fast.

>>40288700
>[ ] “Somewhere in the desert.”

>>40288700

I think I'll support this: >>40288746

>>40288700
>He isn't a friend.
He's family.

>>40288700
>[ ] “Somewhere in the desert"
Then point west if he asks which directions (unless that's actually towards him, then point elsewhere)

>>40288700
>>40288746
Supporting this.

>>40288700
>[x] “None of your business.”

>>40288891
>>40288819
>>40288746
>>40288834
>>40288834
[+1 Not Technically Lying]

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>>40288965
“He isn't one of my friends.” You respond.

“You would have me believe your own brother is not on your friends list?” The iron man bellows back.

“And you would have me believe that my idiot of a brother is somehow capable of murder.” You say back. “I suppose we both have to start believing in strange things.”

The metal monolith stays silent for a moment, and then responds with, “So be it.” He turns and leaves out the main gate.

The remaining troops all slowly form ranks and head out of the main gates. When the streets are finally empty of <Morning Star>, the stars begin to show themselves. Today has been a strange day. First you built an electrolyze, then you sent Lilac to bed, then you farmed for mats, then you invented butchery, and now your brother is on the run from the <Morning Star>.

You'd ask if they day could get any worse, but you know that such a question is always answered with Yes, and proceeded by proof of how much worse things could get.

Perhaps now is a good time to just go to sleep.

You walk into the inn to see Lilac on a stool at the bar. She drinks from a mug and gives you a little wave. “You okay?” She asks.

[ ] “Yeah.” Just go to sleep.
[ ] “Not really.” Go to sleep.
[ ] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”
[ ] Other.

>>40289399
>[x] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”

>>40289399
>[ ] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”
>So Judi and I are through and I'll probably be on the run from the Morningstar with my brother ina few hours.

>>40289399
[ ] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”
>So Judi and I are probably done.

>>40289399
>[ ] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”

>>40289399
>[x] Sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.”

>>40289399
>"My brother is an idiot."
>"Judi is an idiot, but for different reasons."
>"I gotta support my brother, and having the Morning Stars breath down our backs may make the airship a little difficult to do."

>>40289614
>>40289607
>>40289570
>>40289506
>>40289458
>>40289631
[+1 Conversation]
[+1 Drinking]

I think we're gunna have to form a new police order, one that isn't about subjugating to suffocation for an extremely long periods of time.

Call it, Order of the Levers.

>>40289675
GLORIOUS

>>40289666
Don't forget to mention the link between MP and mental exhaustion.

>>40289675
>Order of Levers

Why does that remind me of a gallows lever?

>>40289675
This, I pledge me levers to it.

>>40289675
>Order of the Levers? More like Order of the LEAVERS!
you know someone is going to say that, at some point.

HELLO
...
Hello
...
hello

>>40291062
We just have to wait, friend. Wait and have faith.

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>>40289666
You sit down and order a drink. “My brother is an idiot.” You inform her. “Judi's also an idiot, but for a different reason.”

“What did they do?” She asks before taking another sip of her drink.

“My brother is wanted by the <Morning Star> for being an idiot, and Judicature was the one that led them to him. On top of that when...” You look around and notice some <Morning Star> in the tavern with you. You clear your throat before continuing, “When he was escaping she tried to stop him.”

A mug is placed in front of you and you start to down the contents.

“So, what is he wanted for?” She asks.

“Murder of a Lander.” You finish your drink before continuing. “The only thing is, the Lander was killed by a different Lander, but the murderer said it was my brother and they believe him, but not my brother. It's a trumped up charge they're using to try and scare the actual Adventurers killing Landers.” You motion towards the barkeep to keep the booze coming.

“And what does Judi think about all of this?”

“She thinks that we should trust in their court system or whatever, but...” A new mug is placed in front of you and you down it without continuing.

“But the lazy detectives are running the courthouse?”

You slam the mug on the bar and let out a sigh. “Exactly.”

“Does Judi understand that?”

“I don't think so.” You respond, “Or at the very least she doesn't want to believe it.”

“Do you want me to talk to her?”

“Nah.” You respond as another mug comes your way. “I'd rather get drunk and bitch about it for a while.”

Lilac rolls her eyes. “Oh, yes, because that's healthy.”

“Healthier than yelling at her.”

>>40291265
“You could also just talk to her like an adult.”

“There really isn't a 'Talking like an adult' to be found in 'selling your brother out to tyrants that like to play cowboy.'”

“She probably thought she was doing the right thing.”

“Am I going to need to yell at you now?”

“Look, I put a lot of work into getting you two together.”

“Says the woman who kissed me while she was naked.”

“I wasn't naked.” She takes a sip from her mug. “I still had a bed sheet on. Also, I was very vulnerable.”

“Oh, my sincerest apologies, I should have known trying to cheer you up would lead to you kissing me.”

“Well, as long as you admit it was your fault, I suppose I can't be angry.” She finishes off her mug and looks to the barkeep. “Another, please.”

“So, what should I do, then?”

“Find her, apologize, and then forgive her.”

“Why would I apologize if I didn't do anything?”

“Because I gave up a slice of pizza to put you two together and I'd rather see my investments pay off.”

“Ah, so now I'm a business investment.”

“An emotional investment!” She corrects, “Matchmaker Rouge, Queen of Shipping is never wrong.” She takes a sip of a new drink. “Until she is.”

“Queen of Shipping? Really?”

“Well, I have a perfect record is legendary amongst the <Sweet Cake>.”

“And how many couples are on this record of yours?”

She puts the mug to her mouth and looks away from you. “One...”

>>40291278
>I have a perfect record THAT is legendary amongst

You laugh.

“Well, they got married, so that has to count for something!” She puts her mug down. “I'm not letting my perfect record be tarnished by some small squabble!”

“Trying to arrest my brother is a small squabble...”

“When you two are married, you'll look back and laugh!”

“You, madam, have far more faith in this relationship than I do.”

“Someone has to have faith in my perfect record, right?”

You sigh.

[ ] “I think I'll get some sleep before talking to her.” Go to sleep.
[ ] “I'm going to go find where Judi went to.” Go talk to Judicature.
[ ] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.
[ ] Other.

>>40291299
>“I'm going to go find where Judi went to.” Go talk to Judicature.

>>40291299
>[x] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.

>>40291299
[ ] “I'm going to go find where Judi went to.” Go talk to Judicature

>>40291299
[ ] “I think I'll get some sleep before talking to her.” Go to sleep.
Or
[ ] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.

>>40291299
>"You talk to her first. I need to research what laws ARE actually enforced by pueblo."

>>40291299
>[ ] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.
Potential breakups or emotionally charged makeups are all the more volatile when booze is involved. Just stay here and keep talking, deal with it come morning after sleeping it off.

>>40291299

If Canis isn't too busy, maybe we could talk to him about it? I mean, he's currently seeking out or has found Aideen, right? He might know how we feel about this.

>>40291299
>[ ] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.

>>40291299
>[ ] “I don't know. I think I'd rather just drink until I pass out.” Keep drinking with Lilac.
This entire relationship is going to fall apart isn't it?

>>40291502
It already has.

>trusts Morning Star more than us
>went behind our back to rat out our brother
>knew that criminals prosecuted by Morning Star are tortured indefinitely, still went through with it
>literally tried to kill us after keeping us from helping Zach failed

Why do we want to make up with her again?

>>40291299
>[ ] “I'm going to go find where Judi went to.” Go talk to Judicature.

>>40291334
>>40291401
>>40291414
>>40291502
[+1 Drunken Ranting]

>>40291538
Yeah, speaking realistically, I wouldn't expect any relationship to survive the scale of literal backstabbing Judi pulled here.

>>40291640
Eh, its a work in fiction, there are plenty of written stories where people got back together when things like this happened. We just need to unbrainwash her and remove the cowboys.

>>40291538
>>40291640

It's not like she gleefully did it. It was clearly tearing her apart, despite the choice she made in the end.

Besides, she's been a part of Morning Star a lot longer than she's known Ambrosis. While they have feelings for each other, it's hard to turn your back on an organization that you've been a part of for so long and that's been good to her. And that's probably been filling a need for friendship and companionship that she sorely needed at that point. Also, remember how important Judi was to Morning Star during the argument to ship her to Big Apple? If she's that important of a figurehead to them, you can bet that they've been sheltering her or otherwise feeding her mumbo-jumbo to keep her believing in the cause. While this is probably not on the level that cults do it, Morning Star probably still knows how to make people into useful idiots. This is extremely effective on people lacking in social graces or who are lonely. Which, given how awkward Judi acted initially, is probably the case.

She's just beginning to learn or realize the ugly side of Morning Star. There's been this incident that's affected a good person close to her, and there's very little way to justify it as a good thing.

>>40291299
>[X] “I'm going to go find where Judi went to.” Go talk to Judicature.
I just came up with an argument about why Morning Star is wrong about this. Basically, persecuting Zachery has the opposite effect of making an example of those who would kill landers. If Switch Liquor can just sacrifice one of its members, and a disgruntled one at that, rather than being a deterrent, it becomes a cost of doing business.

>>40291784
The problem is that this fiasco wasn't a result of brainwashing as best as we can tell. Judi seems to sincerely believe in Morning Star and it's ideals, to the point where she clearly prioritizes their objectives over her relationship with Ambrosis.

>>40291538
>trusts Morning Star more than us
I think that's more of before us, they were her only security blanket here. Like a family. Would you not find it at least a little hard to completely turn your back on those who gave you what you felt was a place to belong to, no?

>went behind our back to rat out our brother
Pretty sure that report was written before our brothers fiasco came to light. So that really isn't her own fault.

>knew that criminals prosecuted by Morning Star are tortured indefinitely, still went through with it
To be fair, I like to believe others before now were actually those who committed such crimes. But this situation is still messed up as is.

>literally tried to kill us after keeping us from helping Zach failed
If you consider one throwing dagger as her attempt to kill us, I find that hilarious. If she really wanted to kill us, she wouldn't have been in such a sad state during it.

>>40291957
>If you consider one throwing dagger as her attempt to kill us, I find that hilarious.

She started spamming daggers in all directions after we blinded her. Pretty sure that's beyond a "warning shot".

>>40292013

Because she was in such a rational state of mind and also not having a burning light chain around her eyes without any warning, right?

>>40291784
>>40291851
It amuses me that people are trying to explain Judi's actions by making the Morning Star into some kind of cult. They are nothing of the sort, at least no more than any sort of political organization with any sort of ideals are.

They are vigilantes attempting to become tyrants, but they haven't done anything to force their members to change their point of view. Everyone we've seen who's in the guild believes in what they're doing and how they're going about it, and naturally would refrain from turning against Morning Star and dedicating themselves to destroying it over an unfortunate conflict of interests.

Judi clearly falls into this category. She arranged the entire arrest behind our backs knowing what it lead to the whole time, despite knowing Vertigo's story and his relationship with us. No effort to let us know what was about to happen was made, if anything she would've tried hard to keep it a secret. She is an agent of law and order (in her eyes) first and foremost, and our lover second. Not saying she doesn't care about the later, but it clearly takes a backseat to her guild.

>>40292055
>without any warning
She instigated the fight m8. With a literal knife in the back.

>>40292204

I explicitly said that they weren't a cult. But even secular organizations have their own share of zealous followers, and will probably try to put a hard spin on negative events so their own membership doesn't realize "Holy shit, this is some messed up stuff right here. Why aren't I leaving this place as soon as I can?"

People who lack something to identify with can latch onto things and defend it with a surprising amount of defiance, even in the face of overwhelming evidence.

>>40292204
>She arranged the entire arrest behind our backs
That's bullshit. She didn't set up shit

>>40292353
My bad for phrasing it poorly. She didn't write out the arrest warrants sure, but I have a hard time believing that she wasn't aware that Morning Star were out to arrest him until they showed up at the landship. At the very least they would have had to inform her that they were taking him into custody prior to the actual arrest, all law enforcement agencies act under such guidelines. That she didn't tell us or make any attempt to inform us, even when they explicitly lied to Ambrose about their intent, makes her complicit in the act.

>>40292591
That's the thing. Up till right before they were going to arrest him, she didn't know her orders. She was only Informed just before they said they were going to arrest him. Shepherd even said so last thread

>>40292283
Point being, from what we've seen they've made no attempt to cover up the truth or put a spin on it. Morning Star has always worn their intentions and their actions on their sleeves, and hides nothing from their members. To the entire guild, this is simply a matter of law and order, crime and punishment. Judi was aware of what was happening and to her perspective her position was like that of a sheriff being ordered to arrest the brother of the man she had (quite recently) fallen in love with. Sure it was a conflict of interests, and it was going to wreck havoc on her relationship, but protecting and serving the public good can't be ignored because of it. If I was a cop and I found that my gf's sister was accused of a murder she claimed not to have committed, I'd still have to bring her in, because that's my duty. That's what Judi seems to think about this.

This Judi bickering is a little premature, we still need to see if she actually reported us for aiding Vertigo.

>>40292815
Dat paladin life.

LG worst alignment.

>>40292923

NG a best.

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>>40291572
“I don't know. I think I'd rather just drunk until I pass out.” You empty another flagon into your stomach. “Having that kind of conversation while drunk will definitely be disastrous.”

“Nonsense!” Lilac responds, “Being drunk is the best time to have that kind of conversation!”

“No. When you're drunk you say dumb shit that you don't mean.”

“Hey!” She protests, “Who's the matchmaker here?”

“Not you if your advice is get drunk and go have an argument with your girlfriend.”

“See, that's where you're not listening. You don't go have an argument, you go apologize and have kinky makeup sex.”

“Pfft. And what would that entail in your mind, dare I ask?”

“Oh, well, you show up and you say, 'I'm sorry, baby, I don't know what I was thinking. I love you so much and now I realize how wrong I was.' And that's when you take your pants off!”

“Take my pants off. Just like that. And you think Judi would appreciate that?”

“It'd work on me.” She replies before finishing off another stein. “Anyways so that's when you start kissin' her all over, and she's saying 'No, no, I don't forgive you...' But she does, it's just that she doesn't want to say it. And that's when you taker HER pants off. And while she's all 'Oh, I'm so embarrassed standing here naked!' You pick her up and start fucking the shit out of her!” She makes hand gestures for emphasis.

You stare at the dwarf in silence.

“I don't mean literally fuck the shit out of her!” She yells, “That's unhygienic.” She drinks from a new mug of beer before continuing. “So, anyways, you just start plowing into her until she can't think about anything other than what she can feel and she just gets to forget about all the troubles while feeling warm and safe in your arms.” She sighs and a bitter sweet smile forms on her face.

>>40293189
“I really don't think that'd work for the kinds of things Judi's into.”

“It'd work on me.” She glances over to you while consuming some more drink.

“I had a feeling.” You say with a laugh.

She sighs, “Can't you just go kiss and make up? I have a perfect record to keep!”

“I don't think keeping someone's perfect record is a good reason to stay in a relationship.”

“You're only saying that because you don't have a perfect record at stake.”

“No, I'd just rather not be in a relationship where my partner hasn't literally stabbed me in the back. Well... side. You know what I mean.”

“Pfft!” She laughs, “She stabbed you!? What did you do!?”

You look to see if the <Morning Star> are still there. They are.

“I'd rather not talk about it.” You respond.

“Did you cheat on her!?” The dwarf is utterly shocked, “Who's this lady that ruined my perfect score!?”

“There was no lady!” You shout. “It... It has to do with my brother.”

“Did you fuck your brother!?”

“No!”

“Oh. I see. HE was the man.”

“God damn it, Lilac!”

She starts laughing. “I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll listen for real now!” A couple giggles still escapes her attempt at a poker face.

You sigh and whisper, “Forget it. I can't even discuss it here with the Cowboys around.”

“That's silly!” The dwarf then spins around on her stool before grasping the bar counter in front of her. “I'm dizzy now.” She looks to you and holds up two fingers close to her chest and then points to her hat.

You raise an eyebrow.

She mouths the words Two still here.

You sigh.

“We could go back to my room.” She says, “If you want.”

[ ] “Okay.” You need SOMEONE to know what actually happened today, might as well be Lilac.
[ ] “No, no. I'm gonna go to sleep.” Go get some sleep.
[ ] “Actually, I think I'll try to find Judi.” Go find Judi and hope she doesn't have an arrest warrant out for you.
[ ] Other.

>>40293210
[X] Other.
Hey Lilac, 'I'm sorry, baby, I don't know what I was thinking. I love you so much and now I realize how wrong I was'

>>40293210
>[ ] “Okay.” You need SOMEONE to know what actually happened today, might as well be Lilac.
>"Do you want a bucket?" Make more small-talk to deflect suspicion.

>>40293210
>[ ] “Actually, I think I'll try to find Judi.” Go find Judi and hope she doesn't have an arrest warrant out for you.

>>40293210
>[ ] “Okay.” You need SOMEONE to know what actually happened today, might as well be Lilac.
The boon here is that she may very well not remember this in the morning, which would keep this a secret.

Or, at the very least get her to her bed, she I don't think she'd make it on her own in her current state. And make sure a bucket's nearby while we're at it.

>>40293210
>[x] “Okay.” You need SOMEONE to know what actually happened today, might as well be Lilac.

>>40293210
[ ] “Actually, I think I'll try to find Judi.” Go find Judi and hope she doesn't have an arrest warrant out for you.
[ ] Other.
If I don't send you a message that everything is fine, assume I'm in need of assistance.

>>40293327
>Assuming that Lilac would be able to provide assistance
>Assuming she would be coherent enough to send someone else to do it
>Assuming she wouldn't be passed the fuck out in less than 15 mins
Kek.

>>40293323
>>40293319
>>40293278
[+1 Drunk Ramblings in Lilac's Room]

>>40293210
>[ ] “Okay.” You need SOMEONE to know what actually happened today, might as well be Lilac.
We must make the wrong choice as we are inebriated. This is most definitely the wrong choice.

>>40293378
She's sober enough to tell how many Morning Stars there are from a quick spin, and she didn't puke immediately after it, she should be able to hold a conversation.

>>40293617
It's easy to forget she is an actual dwarf.

Instead of bitching and moaning, why don't we become a lawyer?

>>40293975
We like flipping levers too much to change our subclass.

>>40294037
So when do we contruct a lever-based reality hacker and buff ourself up so much that we could take an entire Royal Guard platoon at once?

>>40294108
When we figure out how to attach levers to our character sheet and push ourselves past the level cap. I think it should be doable. Might take a bunch of levers though.

>>40294157
Mmm, iirc Royal Guard are mechanically just regular landers with levels somewhere in the 90-110 range and the ability to teleport within the boundaries of a city.
So level 120 ought to do it.

>>40294201
Why not just 255 or 999 or whatever the limit is in the programming? Just say fuck it and go full power.

>>40294532
Good point, actually.
Grant ourself the title 'Omnissiah', and start a religion with ourself as machine god.

>>40294108
>>40294157
>>40294532
>>40294555
we're back to full LEVERS again?

Assuming we could put a lever on a level or stat, we would switch it between 0(probably very bad, no matter the stat) and either 1(fuck that's bad) or some random 5 digit number(omnissiah)

>>40294630
Stress induces lever madness. This shit that's been going down? Yeah that's stressful.

>>40294630
Sounds like you need to understand the concept of levers.

There are basic levers with three states - 0, all the way in one direction, 1, all the way in other direction, or 2, somewhere inbetween.

To achieve godhood, deityhood or whatever we need to create an omnilever, a lever with at least a thousand of states. This means at least 999 sides. Oh, and I guess it needs to not look like a fucking wreck on top of that.

>>40294855

Hmm, sounds like it might be easier to find a way to access the debug console in that case.

>>40294855
We will need an entire temple to the perfection of the ideal of levelhood to accomplish that.

>>40294903
I actually had an idea about making a ripoff of the Clockwork City of Sotha Sil, only instead of clockwork we use levers.

>>40294937
Fund it. Ideally with money embezzled from the Morning Stars.

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>>40293459
“Okay.” You say.

You need to think of an excuse to go to her room, but what could you say to make it not seems suspicious. You're both pretty drunk. Maybe go grab a bucket for vomit or something? Yeah that could work.

Lilac grabs your and says, “Come on, I need to teach you my secret to always being forgiven for saying something stupid!”

“What?”

“How else are you going to win Judi back?” She hops off the stool and starts dragging you off upstairs. “I'm not going to let your antics ruin my perfect record!”

You turn around to see the two <Morning Star> get up from their table and leave. If you were a paranoid man, you'd think they were waiting for you to leave. How peculiar.

It doesn't take long for you two to reach her room, and upon the door closing, Lilac shouts, “So what happened!?”

You sigh. “So, the three baddest motherfuckers from <Morning Star> showed up and tried to take out my brother and he killed them all.”

“How'd he do that!?”

“They dragged him into the sky so he knocked them off their flying mounts and fall damage took them out. More or less.” You paraphrase what happened because that part isn't very important.

“Ah. That was smart of him.”

“So, anyways, by the end of it he has almost no health, almost no MP, and he collapses.” You pause, “Also, I think a lack of MP and exhaustion are somehow linked.”

Lilac ponders for a moment. “Maybe. So, then what happened?”

“Well, I went to go and help him, but Judi stopped me.”

“Is that when she stabbed you?”

“No, she just held onto me and told me just to leave my brother to die.”

“Oh.” She pauses. “Then what happened?”

“Well, I pulled her off of me, told her it was going to be okay, then went to help my brother. That's when she threw the knife at me.”

>>40294937
Actually, I wonder what happens if we attach a lever to a cog? Does it make that cog spin?
If it does then we're in for a hell of a ride

>>40294976
“And stabbed you in the back.”

“Side.” You correct, “But metaphorically, yes, that's when I was stabbed in the back.”

“So what did she say?”

“She said she was going to arrest me for...” You try to remember how it was phrased, “Assisting a wanted criminal in evading the authorities.”

“And by the authorities she meant the <Morning Star>.”

“Right.”

Lilac sighs. “I don't suppose you can just... get over it?”

“Oh, yeah, just get over it. Hey Judi, sorry that I got angry at you for ATTEMPTING TO PUT THE ONLY FAMILY I HAVE HERE INTO A WORLD OF CONSTANT TORTURE!”

Lilac winces at your yelling. “Okay, okay, I get it.” She sighs once more. “But... just try seeing if from her perspective. To her, the <Morning Star> are the good guys. The police of this world. And they think your brother is a murderer. It is her responsibility to arrest him. It is her responsibility to get someone they think is a murderer off the streets.”

“If she was so concerned with him, why didn't she just him him while he was down? She could have just tossed one dagger into him and poof! He'd be back at the Cathedral where the <Morning Star> were probably waiting for him!”

She offers a shrug. “Maybe she knew you'd try to help him, and her main concern was making sure you didn't become a criminal by trying to help him? Maybe her main concern wasn't arresting your brother, but saving you from the <Morning Star>?”

“If that's true, why did she try to arrest me?”

“Did she try to or did you just misinterpret it that way?”

“No, no. She said the words 'you are under arrest' I remember that part quite distinctly.”

“Is it possible she was just trying to intimidate you?”

“Well that'd be pretty dumb of her to do seeing as that's the reason the cowboys are after my brother!”

“I thought they were after him for murder.”

>>40294991
“The actual murderer said that my brother intimidated him into doing it. And 'Oh, I'm just a sweet little Lander, I'd never lie! Teehee!' I can't believe they'd fall for that shit.”

“Well...” She pauses. “What if you actually give him over to the <Morning Star> and-”

“Are you insane!?”

“Hold on! Let me explain! You hand him over, he gets his day in court, and if things go south we just plow the Manifest Destiny into the hanging tree and rescue your brother before they can even stop us. I mean, we could also rescue whoever else is on that tree and get an ever larger crew. We could go to every hanging tree and try that. We could be the Hanging-Tree Banditos!”

You do not find her joke very amusing. “I'd rather we just skip the middle man and not have him arrested in the first place.”

“But just think of how cool the jolly-roger on our land-ships would look!”

You continue to stare at her disapprovingly.

>>40295013
“Okay. I'll stop.” Lilac furrows her brow in thought for quite a while. You are about to interrupt the silence when she suddenly proclaims, “I've got it! What if you told her you were going to try and help your brother, but then your brother said,” She suddenly sweeps into a sequence of very dramatic poses. “No! I cannot allow you to do this for me! What you are doing will drive a wedge between you and your one true love! Because of this I must force you to leave me here, in the desert!” She straightens up . “And that's when you said,” She goes back to her dramatic poses. “No, brother, I cannot leave you alone, here, in the desert! You are my only brother and I love you too much to let you face your crimes alone!” She looks to you. “And that's when he punched you and said, 'I know, brother, but I love you too much to let you throw your life away like this!' And that's when you two went separate ways, so you didn't even REALLY help him.”

“You know...” You comment, “Siblings don't refer to each other as Brother.”

“They do when they're being dramatic!”

“And do you really think Judi would believe that?”

“I think she'd WANT to believe it, and that's good enough.”

You take some time to think.

[ ] “I'm going to go find Judi.” Go talk to Judi, if you don't get arrested first.
[ ] “I'll try that in the morning.” Go to sleep.
[ ] Other.

>>40295029
>[x] “I'm going to go find Judi.” Go talk to Judi, if you don't get arrested first.

>>40295029
>[ ] Other.
"I'll try it in the morning" then go to the landship and sleep there. The MorningStar guys are at the very least stalking us and I want to be inside our multiple tons of armor and weaponry should they decide to move against us.

>>40295029
>[ ] “I'm going to go find Judi.” Go talk to Judi, if you don't get arrested first.

>>40295029
>"The whole thing is dumb in the first place. Morning Star are retards who think they have a right to punish murder of landers with not just imprisonment but endless torture and she got caught up on the wrong side of the entire thing."
>"I'm gonna pull the whole thing down. I'm gonna bring the whole fucking diseased, corrupt temple down on their heads. It's gonna be biblical."

>>40295029
>[ ] Other

That's not quite crazy enough to work! It's just plain crazy!

I still think we should call Canis and ask him for advice on this. He's our other bro that isn't a biological bro, but still our bro.

>>40295113
>>40295074
[+1 Convenience]

>>40295029
>[ ] “I'll try that in the morning.” Go to sleep.

>>40295029
>[ ] “I'll try that in the morning.” Go to sleep.

>>40295254
>>40295277
This is what peeves me about this quest. TinyShep spends two hours writing his posts, and gives us a 10 minute window to reply to it. A lot of input and votes just get thrown out the window because of that alone.

>>40295301
When I kept the window open longer people went apeshit over accusing one another of samefagging.

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>>40295137
A most excellent film.

>>40295328
I like the small window

>>40295328
Was the vote about waifus? Because I guarantee you anons will always make allegations like that when waifus are involved.

>>40295465
>Was the vote about waifus?
It's always about waifus.

The waifu wars never end.

Ever

>>40295489

Waifu wars are for laifu, man.

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>>40295219
“I'm going to go find Judi.” You say. You need to talk to her whether you like it or not, and there is no time like the present.

Just as you turn to the door, it opens to reveal Judicature wiping her eyes with her chainmail's sleeve.

“Lilac!” She cries, “I've ruined everything!”

“What's wrong Judi!?” The dwarf climbs up onto her bed and stands, arms open.

The Swashbuckler runs into the dwarf's arms. “Ambrosis has become a criminal!” She laments, “And he hates me now! And I couldn't arrest him! And, and...”

“I'm sure it's not that bad!” The sorceress responds, “It was just a misunderstanding.”

Judi looks up to Lilac. “You think so?”

“I know s-” The dwarf stops. “Judi, which is your face all cut up?”

“Because chainmail can't wipe away tears!” She then buries her face into the dwarf's robes. You wonder if she relies that much on Lilac's emotional support, or if she's just using her as a tissue.

The dwarf shakes her head. “Come on Judi, it's not that big of a deal. It was just a misunderstanding.”

“How do you know?”

“Because Ambrosis told me the whole story!” Lilac then regales Judi the overly dramatic tale of you and your brother going separate ways, which never happened.

“But... Was telling he the truth?”

“Why don't you ask him yourself?” Lilac points to you, and you are quite surprised that Judicature didn't realize sooner.

You give the blonde a small wave when she looks.

“H-how long have you been there!?” Judicature is quite surprised.

“The entire time.” You respond.

“So...” Judi asks, “Is that was really happened between you and your brother?”

[ ] “Yeah. Completely true.” A white lie isn't bad.
[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.
[ ] Other.

>>40295696
>[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

>>40295696
>[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

>>40295696
>[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

>>40295696
>[x] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

>>40295696
>[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

>>40295696
>[ ] “No, she just made that up to make you feel better.” Honesty is the best policy.

This isn't an anime or some kind of shoujo VN.

>>40295793
>>40295781
>>40295735
>>40295724
>>40295719
>>40295801

[+1 Honesty]
[+1 Smack over the Head]

TinyShep, please tell me things will work out with Judi.

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>>40295895

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>>40295895
You do realize this is TinyShep you're talking about, right?

>>40295915
He had it work out when we were in a massive fight with Lilac where we were both pissed at each other.
And frankly this has been incredibly depressing.

>>40295931
>this has been incredibly depressing.
What parts of it do you find so saddening?

>>40295953
How this whole Judi thing went down, it looks like it's going to ruin the relationship.
I'd prefer if it didn't happen, since I bet there are some who'd vote against her out of spite now.

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>>40295976
>out of spite
>implying it's not in character for us to be mad at her for wanting to hang our brother

>>40295931
How has this been depressing? And I'm amazed that anyone has been surprised by this in retrospect. Every single female character with a love life or the prospect of one has done something treacherous or sneaky in this quest. Lilac lied to us, Canis' gal was a ninja spy sent to seduce him, and even King sold Vertigo out to the Morning Stars to cover her ass. Bitches ain't shit but hoes and tricks.

>>40296006
>Every single character has done something treacherous or sneaky in this quest, except Canis because he is best bro.
Fixed that for you.

>>40296006
Can we fuck over King somehow?
I'd love for her to be tortured instead.
Preferably while gagged so we can mock her without her being able to say anything back for closure.

>>40296174
We can expose how to make food with taste.

>>40296174
Honestly she's already fucked herself over. She lost Vertigo. He's not gonna trust her after this. Anything we did would probably be nothing in comparison to how she has just made herself feel. She claimed to be in love, and just sold him up the river, for what? Profit? And brought more chaos to the Big Apple. Can't throw money at chaos and hope it'll go away. No. She's brought enough misery that all we have to do is met with her, and then leave. Specificly with our brother. That's worse than any physical torture we could think of. We should pity her, for the foolishness she has brought on herself.

>>40296304
Oh fuck that noise.
No, King isn't getting away with "yeah CLEARLY your consciousness will punish you for this, no need to do worse".

>>40296218
...Someone remind me, do we have King's number? Because then we can taunt her about how we know and soon everyone will know... all in exchange for giving us King, perhaps.

>>40296338
Look at how obsessively she cared about our brother before. She learns he hates her forever? We don't have to lift a finger. She'll throw herself off a roof every hour on the hour.

>>40296359
Yeah-huh.
Something tells me she didn't really care, she just wanted someone that could get her off.

>>40296338
You never know, for all we know MorningStar could've extracted her confession under duress. I mean, they are not at all against using torture as a means of punishment.

>>40296375
Or maybe she thought turning him in would clear up the whole misunderstanding with the murder and shit. Maybe this has all been one big misunderstanding. I wouldn't put it above the shepmeister...

>>40296390
So, what. You think that the Morning Star operatives there pressured/tortured her or guild members till she sold our brother out? If they did, that'd be serious shit from them. And it'd probably ruin their reputation for the entire server, and every other server on the planet. I can't imagine them doing it without being desperate. Like, the Big Apple's gonna become the big apple splattered across the floor by a semi truck, and nothing will grow there for four generations bad.

>>40296409
Eh, maybe not torture, but they certainly would have twisted her arm politically. They already obtained all the evidence they needed and possibly threatened her with arrest as an accomplice if she interfered at all.

In any case we don't have her side of the story, so there's no point in jumping to conclusions just yet.

I think it's important to ask here whether Judi knows that we really DO think that Morning Star's procedures are bullshit, rather than just protecting our brother.

and we ask for her reasons in turn.

So...anyone wanna take bets that Shep has passed out on his keyboard again?

>>40295818
“No.” You say, “She just made that up to make you feel better.”

“Oh.” Judi looks completely disheartened.

“Ambrosis!” Lilac shouts, “What are you doing!?”

“Being honest.” You reply, “How could she trust me if I'm not honest?”

“How could she trust you if you're a criminal!?”

“Maybe if she didn't follow a guild of tyrants she wouldn't see me as a criminal.”

Judicature stands and points at you. “Ambrosis, guild master of <1st Panzer Division>, I hereby place you under arre-” Judi's words are suddenly interrupted by a blow to the head by Lilac's staff. A red 1 floats up from her head.

“Bad Judi!” Lilac scolds, “No arresting in my room!”

“Fine.” You say, “I'll just go outside and you can just arrest me there, seeing as that's what you want to-” Your words are cut off a blow to the back of your head.

“Bad Ambrosis! No antagonizing in my room!”

“Then I'll leave!” You shout. You go to the door, but as soon as you turn the handle, a menu pops up informing you that you do not have permission to open this door.

“No!” Lilac hits you again, “No one leaves until this is sorted out!”

“Stop hitting me!” You protest.

Lilac hits you again. “I will basic attack you all day if I have to!”

“Night.” Judi corrects her.

“That too!” Lilac hits Judi over the head.

“She's gone mad.” You say to no one in particular.

“Alright you two...” The sorceress looks between the two of you. “You're going to start talking about why you're so angry.”

“I'm not angry.” The Swashbuckler meekly responds.

“I'm angry because my brother is being arrested for something he didn't even do!” You shout, “And when I try to help him, my own girlfriend tries to kill me!”

“I didn't want to!” The Cavalier cries, “I didn't want to but I had to!”

“Why, because Brimstone told you to?”

“Yes!”

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>>40296704
You throw up your hands, “And that's it!? That's all it takes? Oh, Judicature, I need you to burn down this orphanage, don't ask why, Brimstone told you to do it!”

“It's not like that!”

“You just said it was like that!” You turn to Lilac. “Didn't she literally just say it was like that not ten seconds ago!?”

Lilac bops you on the head for 1 damage.

“Please... stop.” Judicature starts weeping again.

Lilac bops her too. “Act like a woman, Judi, not a preteen.”

“O-okay.” Judi tries to moves hands towards her face, but does not wipe her tears away. The metal gloves certainly do her no favors.

You sigh and outstretch a part of your priestly robes that stick out from your armor. “Here.”

“Thank you.” Judi responds. She wipes her tears away with your robes.

You take a deep breath. “If it's not like that, then what is it like?”

“I did it because I knew Brimstone believed it, and I trust him. It's my duty to help make this server safe.”

“And you'd put that above me?”

“Yes!” She pauses. “I put it above me, above my own happiness, above everything, because doing the right thing is more important than anything else in the world. Even if you leave me, even if you hate me, doing the right thing will still be more important.”

“If you want to do the right thing, then why not help my brother and arrest that Outis guy!?”

“Because... Because I don't think it's the Lander's fault.”

“How could it not be the Lander's fault!? He's the one who stabbed the guy in the first place!”

“He only did that because he was afraid.”

“How do you know!? You don't know! You couldn't know because you weren't there!”

Lilac hits you.

“Stop that!” You shout at the dwarf.

“Calm down.” The sorceress commands.

>>40296712
You take a deep breath. “Why are you so certain that my brother should hang?”

“I'm not.” Judi responds, “I am saying he needs his day in court. The Judge would determine if he was guilty or not, but every day he runs is another day he looks more suspicious!”

“And what happens if the entire thing is a sham? What if they just throw him onto the gallows because finding him guilty is easier than finding who's really responsible!?”

“If he's strung up for nothing, then... Then I'll do everything I can to fix it. I'll rescue Zachery, I'll bring everyone involved to justice, and shut the entire system down.”

“Judi, I... I know you mean that, but we're not even past half way to max level. You can imagine walking up to the hanging-tree and rescuing people all you want, but one person looks at your crooked and you'll be dead.”

“I... I can be very persistent.”

“Hanging-Tree Banditos!” Lilac interrupts, “We'll do a drive-by rescue!”

You roll your eyes. “And every <Morning Star> on the server will be on the look out for a land-galleon and will probably mark is as kill on sight.”

“We...” Judi begins a thought, but then shakes her head. “Never mind.”

“No, what is it?” You ask.

“If... If and ONLY if it turns out the courts are corrupt we could... Again, only if the courts are-”

Lilac hits her. “Spit it out!”

“Every PKer guild hates the <Morning Star> with a passion, doubly so now because of the... hanging situation.” She pauses. “We could, theoretically, band them together under the banner of taking down the <Morning Star>. I-i-if and only if it turns out the courts are corrupt.”

>>40296718
“If they could do that, why haven't they done so already?” You inquire.

“A lot of them are probably afraid, not just of the <Morning Star>, but also each other. Most PK guilds don't grow larger than twenty people, and the massive ones collapsed under their own weight after the databasing...” She pauses. “With some help.”

“And what would we do to make them overcome that fear?”

“Well, although PK guilds outnumber PKK guilds on the server three to one, the PK guilds are extremely unorganized and don't work with each other. If we can just show them what they could do when they work together, we'll have a force more powerful than <Deadly Deadly Bees> was back in its heyday.”

[ ] “Fine. I'm putting my trust you, Judi.” Turn your brother over.
[ ] “We can do that if he gets caught, but I won't help the <Morning Star> catch him.”
[ ] Other.

>>40296718
>“Every PKer guild hates the <Morning Star> with a passion, doubly so now because of the... hanging situation.” She pauses. “We could, theoretically, band them together under the banner of taking down the <Morning Star>. I-i-if and only if it turns out the courts are corrupt.”
...Damn, Judi, that's brilliant.

>>40296724
>[ ] “We can do that if he gets caught, but I won't help the <Morning Star> catch him.”
[ ] Other.
We should call King and ask her about how the investigation was conducted.

>>40296724
>[ ] “Fine. I'm putting my trust you, Judi.” Turn your brother over.
I'm leaning towards this now.
Because, well, it seems like we've got a workable plan.

>>40296724
[ ] “Fine. I'm putting my trust you, Judi.” Turn your brother over.

>>40296751
This

>>40296738
Dude, that is literally the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about how one would overthrow MorningStar. That's the most obvious way of rallying an army to overthrow them.

>>40296724
>[ ] “Fine. I'm putting my trust you, Judi.” Turn your brother over.

>>40296724
>[x] “We can do that if he gets caught, but I won't help the <Morning Star> catch him.”

Probably not a good idea to actively try to backstab our brother if our fallback plan makes things worse for (almost) everyone. Besides, fuck Brimstone, we trusted him and he still fucked us over.

>>40296724
>[ ] “We can do that if he gets caught, but I won't help the <Morning Star> catch him.”
>Other
and how do YOU feel about the hanging situation?

>I don't trust Brimstone. Everything he's asked for BEFORE arresting my brother was already pushing it.
leave that hanging

>>40296826
You sir, I like your style.

>>40296751
>>40296757
>>40296786

>>40296775
>>40296753
>>40296756

3 to 3~!?

Certainly the Dice Gods know th-

>>40296826
Oh, fine, ruin my fun why don't you?

[+1 Backup Plan]
[+1 Technically Not Illegal]

when the morning stars asked us where vertigo was, we should have told them We put him into a fairy ring since nobody has any clue how they work right now

>>40297075
Uhh...remind me how those work again?

>>40297107
http://lh.oksub.me/wiki/Fairy_Ring

>>40297075
>>40297107
>>40297119
With this, it isn't hard to believe the location changed in the intermediate time and we very well could have pulled off France
Wish I had been here for that vote(and votes involving best girl) curse my sleep schedule

>>40297119
Does Ambrosis even know about these things? In any case, if we voted for it they still would have asked for us to give them his location via friend list.

>>40297202
They were around before the databasing, now we just don't have internet access to the charts of where each one will go when.

>>40297202
Ambrosis was a mid level player before the databasing, with a higher level brother, he probably would have used them or at least heard of them
If they asked where he was, just say france, with a 1 hour time window for destinations, it is believable it would change in the mean time

...Okay has Shep passed out this time?

>>40297892
No, but this will be the last post so don't feel bad about bailing out and catching an archive. It will be very, very long post, though.

Still writing.

>>40297906
Your dedication continues to impress, Shep.

>>40298039
>>40297906
As expected of based shep
The amazing dedication you put into every thread is why you are my favorite qm

File: Snowy Park at Night.jpg (117 KB, 500x375)

117 KB JPG

>>40296852
“We can do that if he gets caught.” You say, “But I won't help the <Morning Star> catch him.”

Judi shakes her head. “But the longer he's on the run-!”

“I know, but certainly your judge would understand anyone would be afraid of a group of people who have hanging-trees in every major city.”

“I... suppose.”

“Besides, it's not illegal to not help the police.”

“But it is illegal to help a criminal.” Judi gives you a wary look.

Lilac smacks Judi with her staff. “No! Bad Judi! Everything was fine!”

“I... I'm sorry.” Judi relents.

“Can we leave now?” You ask the dwarf.

“Not until you KISS and make up.” The sorceress answers, “You're missing the most important part.”

You and Judi's eyes meet.

She turns away from you, blushing. “B-but... that's embarrassing... in front of friends.”

You take a step toward Judi. She looks up to you and gives you a quick peck.

“You call that a kiss!?” Lilac yells.

“I agree with the dwarf.” You say, “That was hardly a kiss.”

“Y-yeah, w-well...” Judi if flustered, “Fine!” She grabs a hold of you and drags you forward into a deep kiss.

The two of you kiss for quite a while before Lilac starts thwacking both of you. “Break it up! You're free to go! Now get out of my room!”

The tiny woman pushes the two of you out of the room and into the hallway.

When the door closes behind the two of you, Judicature gets quite close. “So... I suppose we should head to bed. Together.”

You want to say yes, but there is something else you need to do first. “I'm sorry, I need to call someone first real fast.”

“Your brother?” She asks.

“No,” You respond, “His girlfriend.”

“King? Why?”

>>40298368
“I just need to... confirm some things.”

You look around and decide to have this conversation in your room where no <Morning Star> might hear you.

Inside your room, you open up the friends list. You glance at your brother and see he is still somewhere in the desert, much to your relief. Scrolling past him you click on KingAzebo and hit call.

RING

RING

RING

RING

RI-

A weary voice answers. “Hello?”

“King?” You respond.

“Zachery!? Whe- ow. Where are you!? Are you-”

“Umm... Wrong... Wrong brother.”

“Hu- Oh. Anthony.”

“Just call me Ambrosis, please.”

“Oh, yes, of course, Ambrosis, what can I do for you.” She seems to have shifted into a very professional tone.

“The <Morning Star> recently investigated your guild. Describe what happened for me.”

There is a long silence.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes. I am simply considering your business offer.”

“What business offer? What are you talking about?”

“Well, I feel like we should get to know each other better before I commit my guild to such a large order. What is something you'd like to discuss, because I must say that a discussion of philosophy and literature are my most beloved pastimes.”

“You realize you're in a call with me, right? Like, there's someone on the line with you. You hear that voice in your head? That's not schizophrenia, that's me! Well, I suppose the voices a schizophrenic person hears would also say that, but I'm real!”

“Well, I must say I do not know anything about the history of Montezuma.”

“Who the fuck brought up Montez- IS THIS THING ON!?” Judicature looks quite concerned, but you reassure her with a “It's okay.”

You hear a disgruntled sigh. “No, I don't know the history behind Montezuma's revenge.”

>>40298379
“What? He got his ass kicked by Spaniards? What is going on with you!?”

She sounds frustrated. “Ah, yes, of course. A poop joke.”

This isn't working. “Are you even talking to me!?”

She laughs. “Yes, yes, of course.”

“Was... Was that to me... or...?”

“Yes! That is EXACTLY how I felt about it.”

“If you're talking to me, mention something that has to do with levers.”

There is a slight pause and then, “That reminds me of a conversation I had with someone. You see, we were discussing the intricacies of levers, and how alone they accomplish nothing, but when placed together in the context of other systems, can create the means by which a person may control a system. In short, without the lever, the system is useless, but without the system, the lever is useless.”

“Okay. So you're talking to me.”

“Yes, yes! A million times, yes! I agree with that statement to such a degree that I can no longer fathom a negative!”

“And why aren't you... talking normally?”

“I would rather we don't switch our conversation back to Cortez and Montezuma. My master's thesis was on fecopoetics by Chaucer, so another joke like that just feel so poorly formed in comparison.”

“Did... Did you just say you wrote a master's thesis on poop jokes?”

“Medieval poop jokes. They sound far classier than our modern day poop jokes, but they are essentially the exact same.”

“Wait. What was that about Montezuma? What about Montezuma? Cortez was the conquistador...”

“If I admit that Montezuma's Revenge is the...” She groans, “most funny form of poop, will we finally be able to leave the subject for good?”

It finally clicked in your head. Montezuma was held hostage in his palace by the conquistadors. “Is... uhh.. Is Cortez in the room with you?”

>>40298368
The fuck? We're just going to forgive her for her betrayal just like that? Because Lilac LITERALLY shoved her into our face? What the hell Shep, you could've at least asked for a fucking vote.

>>40298388
“Yes! You win! I agree! Montezuma's Revenge is the funniest poop. Now can this subject finally die?”

“Who is Cortez? Can you give me any kind of hint? Is his name literally Cortez?”

“No, no, medieval poop jokes are very much a cut above those.”

“Can you give me some kind of hint? Who are the conquistadors?”

“I will agree, watching the sun rise is a very bittersweet feeling. Knowing you've conquered the night, but at the same time realizing the morning has come and you are still awake.”

“Wha? Sun rise? Night? Morning? Morning... Sun? <Morning Star>!? The <Morning Star> are behind this!?”

“Mm... Not quite. Me and my family used to watch the sunrise when I was little, back when we used to camp.”

“Camp... Campers? Camp...ions? Champions!? The world PvP champions have taken over your HQ!”

“Uh... no. My family never did those kinds of things together. I guess we were all introverts at heart.”

“Family? Wait... You mentioned something like that before... <The Family>? That guild that was trying to get huge?”

“Ohhhh! Bingo! I hated bingo.”

“So... <The Family> are... watching the <Morning Star> who are watching you?”

“I'm not the kind of person who can just watch, I'm more of the kind of person who has to control things. You know what I mean?”

“<The Family> are controlling the <Morning Star>, who are controlling you?”

“That sounds more my style, yeah.”

“And is that... the entire <Morning Star> they have control over?”

“It's a local thing, unfortunately.”

“I see. And how many are in the guild hall with you?”

“Well, if we're moving on to business I'll need to get my notes. You caught me while I was in bed, so I was not very well prepared.”

>>40298411
“Well, can you at least tell me if it is <Morning Star> there or <The Family>?”

“Oh, the first definitely. It may only be a business day away, but we can get you what you need by then.”

“I see. So how many of them are there?”

“Oh, we could send that to you in a nice twelve cubit box. Very stylish.”

“Twelve? There's only twelve!? Aren't you guys fucking raiders!? I saw Zachery literally take out the top three <Morning Star> solo! Seriously, though, King, you should have seen it, it was amazing.”

“Oh, well, we can take those boxes at any time, but the problem is delivery outside the city is more or less impossible. If we allowed for that we would have more orders than we could possibly deliver.”

“I see. Is it possible that you can just kick everyone out via guild hall commands and then just... wait it out, I suppose?”

“Well, our food storage is actually very small due to the constant pace at which we run out of food. We barely even use the storage at the rate customers are coming in. Generally anything that is gathered goes straight to the kitchen and right into our meals.”

“Can't you... I don't know, use magic or something to make a quick growing farm or something?”

“Many people have tried all sorts of magic and such to try and suss out the secret of our food, but no one has ever succeeded. You are more than welcome to try, but we both know that food is going into your mouth before you even think to put it under the microscope.”

You try to think of what else could be done, but you can't think of a single thing. “I... I don't know what you can do. Have you tried leaving?”

“As I've already said, delivery outside of Big Apple is impossible right now. We might be opening up a new branch in Brotherhood some time in the future, but it is unlikely.”

>>40298420
You stay silent. You have no idea what else to say.

“Oh!” King continues, “Those orders were for your brother? Well, tell him I miss his patronage very much. It was certainly something to look forward to every day.”

“Okay. I'll tell him that.”

“Well, thank you very much for saying that! Is there anything else we can help you with?”

You shake your head, not sure what to say. “How are you holding up?”

There is a long pause. “Have you heard of the pathetic fallacy?”

“Uh... no.”

“Well, the pathetic fallacy was the idea that the attributing of natural phenomenon to certain emotions was fallacious. For example, the association of sadness with rain. In actuality, we imbue our perception of the phenomenon with our emotions rather than the actual phenomenon itself.”

“I see...”

“Snow, in my opinion, is the best example of this because soft falling snow can be interpreted in so many ways that it almost acts as a mirror. When one is calm, the snow falls with a graceful calmness. When one is happy, you see the beauty of the snow covered trees and paths. Truly snow is the ultimate form of pathetic fallacy, and yet it is hardly used. It truly is a shame.”

“And how does the snow look, King?”

“Bleak.”

END SESSION.

>>40298430
Okay, so what I garner from this is that Morning Star have seized Swiss Lichor as hostages? I'm have a bit of trouble figuring out what King is saying in her code here.

But seriously Shep, are you really just going to continue the whole relationship with Judi like nothing happened? Because that is strikes me as completely absurd given the Ambrose's position and what he's been through/.

>>40298491
>the Ambrose's position and what he's been through/.
Define these for me, as I am too tired to think good.

>>40298430
Does our brother know that running to Big Apple is a suicide trip?

>>40298491
From what I can gather...
The Family has infiltrated Morning Star, and is using them to fuck with King's guild.

>>40298537
Not yet.

Well, I'm glad to see things are slowly starting to work with Judi again...

>>40298430
>>40298420
Okay, this is heavy stuff, and I'm sure EVERYONE is tired now. Next thread may require a short bullet list of everything.

But uh, fuck, I'm not sure when we should tell Vertigo about this. Or how we're going to take this up with Brimstone(Because Judi WILL try, we can't stop her)

>>40298586
>Next thread may require a short bullet list of everything.
I will make this happen.

>>40298513
What exactly are you asking me to define? I was referring to the general fact that she turned on him when he was out to help his brother. Not saying she didn't have reasonable justification, or that she was in the wrong, but most people in a committed relationship can just forget something like that like it never happened.

The way you've written it, it sounds to me like they actually fought LESS over it than when Lilac thought Ambrosis dissed her engineering skills. The Lilac seemed to completely fix their relationship by twisting their arms until they kissed just makes it seem so less believable.
She basically fixed everything by just whacking them over the head and going 'okay now kiiissss~'. That was far cleaner and simpler a conclusion to their fight than there was any right to be, considering the gravity of what went down.

>>40298612
I'll agree that the Lilac thing was a bit too silly for what it was, but it kinda just turned out that way. Could have been the lack of sleep.

Lilac best girl!
Thanks for running shep! Reading LHQ Has got to be one of the best ways to start my morning!
In all honesty, I was hoping for drunk dwarfing shenanigans, but what we got was pretty good to.

Things aren't looking good in big apple, at this point. Maybe it is about time that we should release the secret of food in a public place,like a bulletin board in the guild hall, (so people don't know it was us), but everyone can see it and msg their friends. It's not to far fetched that someone else would figure it out after all this time. Perhaps it would ease the situation for them up north.

Also starting to think We need to do some grinding, with Morningstar breathing down our necks, things might get dangerous, and a team of lol 80s would be a lot better off than one 90 and a bunch of scrubs

Thanks again for running!

>>40298702
A bit too silly is understatement. It was farcical to the point of disbelief. If your lack of sleep is affecting your writing of character defining moments such as these, you ought to consider calling it a night a using it as an opener for the next thread, quality is worth the waiting for.

In regards to the rest of my post, are you planning on just resuming the relationship as it was, with no impact on how Judi and Ambrosis treat each other?

>>40298803
Ambrosis is pretty drunk, whereas lilac didn't seem to drunk considering she could spin like that earlier, she used that to get him to make up with Judi- for now... he might put more deep thought into it and change his mind later.
Lilac is trying really hard to support them, probably because she didn't want either of them doing something stupid with high emotions and alcohol involved that they would regret later

>>40298702
Just a guess, but do you always write Lilac when you're in nosleep mode for maximum nosleep experience?

>>40298612

I think it's more that Lilac cut off potential arguing so they could go forward with their conversation instead of getting bogged down in accusations. Ambrosis seems to have calmed down after discovering that Judi is apparently willing to piece together a plan to take down her guild if things don't turn out well for Vertigo due to potential corruption in her guild.

>>40298612

It was also pointed out that Judi could've just threw a knife at Vertigo after the fight and thus forced him to Rez in a heavily controlled Morning Star area if she really wanted to. She did extremely reluctantly comply with orders, but she also didn't do everything in her power to apprehend Vertigo.

>>40299106
Certainly. But their feelings for one another are definitely going to be complicated at this point thanks to their disagreements and conflict of interest. They clearly have a lot of affection for one another sure, but there should be no small amount of hurt there as well for both of them. It's just that Lilac cutting them off like this seems like such a cop out for character development. They say what is on their minds, Lilac hits them on the head, and presto, things are back to normal again. She just sort sweeps all the hurt feelings and broken hearts under the rug and fixes everything that way. It's just a cop out as far as I'm concerned, it's like Shep was just too sleep deprived and afraid of a shitstorm, so he just shoehorned the entire argument and resolution into a single post.

I'm not going to lie, I feel cheated.

>>40299208
There will definitely be an issue of trust after this. A HUGE issue of trust. Fighting the urge to not stalk them huge.

>>40299208

I can see what you mean. I could see Ambrosis being mollified but still more than a bit miffed after what happened, unless his rational lever brain has a firm grasp over his emotions.

Although I guess we could have Ambrosis could still be a bit sore over what happened in the next thread.

>>40299318
This too. This is definitely a rocky patch that'll require some working out so long as the plot thread persists. Lilac prevented a shouting match, but she hasn't healed over all the wounds and stuff.

>>40299208

Anon, wouldn't you like to see how hatefugging your waifu feels like someday?

So, when are we going to build up our naval and air forces for the inevitable NA/SA joint invasion of Japan?