"...What?" the spitfire looked at you as if you were losing it. "I've never heard of Gnome related mana apparitions being described as curious. Are you sure they were golems?"

"They weren't golems," You admit, "But I'm not sure what else to call them. They emerged from the trees, so I don't think they're even part of Gnome. By the time I got away, they had already seemed to have started picking up words." Rinnier glanced back towards the window, her desire to look out blatantly showing, but she hesitated. "Mana doesn't..." She started, "Are you sure it was even a Mana?"

You shake your head, letting her wrist go as you start to brush some of the stray leaves from your hair delicately. "No, I don't know what they were. Look, get Asche inside and... You said the food had been ready for an hour? Has Kara returned?"

"She came back not long after the meat started cooking." she explained irritatedly, "Just fell out of the sky and landed right next to Asche. I have no idea how she managed it, but I nearly screamed."

Well it was good that she was back, but where had she been? And what was with that kind of entrance? "Get all of them inside, we still need to finish up these plans for dealing with Roderik." Really all you had left to do was talk to Kara about where she was going; You weren't certain if you trusted her enough to have her pull double duty between you and Asche. Rinnier hummed in acknowledgement after a moment, her glance still straying towards the window contemplatively. "I'll go get them, but I don't appreciate you ordering me around like your maid." she mumbled, "Just this last time, you hear me? Even my patience has its limits."

You don't respond, or rather she left before you had a chance to respond, and you're left looking between Ari and the door behind you tiredly. You offer her your hand, helping the timid Testament to her feet, and start moving to meet with the others.

With everyone gathered, you indulge in your first bite of food in the last two days by tearing into the cooked meat. It wasn't nearly as succulent as you were used to, and it tasted unexpectedly gamy, but it was food all the same. Kara had evidently already eaten her share, an entire haunch of... something.

You looked between your assembled Testaments and Asche, deciding where to start.

>Where was Kara?
>The woods are haunted.
>Back to planning your trip.
>Other? (write-in)

>>40689736
>>Where was Kara?
>The woods are haunted.

Wow Riz you're spoiling us.

>>40689736
>Back to planning your trip.

There's no problem outside. Absolutely nothing is wrong. We're not panicking, I swear.

>>40689736
>Where was Kara?
Kara might have some insight to the Oaken'Rues, like she did with the Oakenbear.

Also, found a summary of the last thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FjWe31S_0g

Previous Threads:
https://archive.moe/tg/search/tripcode/!y56qKWqxyc/results/thread/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=valen+quest

Where things are said:
https://twitter.com/Riz_QM

Pastebin Stuff:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs

Misc notes:For breakfast I had a choice between blueberry poptarts and french vanilla protein shake. I have a blender, so I chose both. I regret this decision.

I got told that 16+ hour threads are scaring people off. I'm not really sure how to address that. So in the meantime, have more 16+ hour threads while I think about it. Your thoughts are welcome on the matter.

>>40689736
>Where was Kara?
>Back to planning your trip.

>>40689766
>>40689806
>>40689921
Where'd Kara get to, anyway?

>>40689766
Shit's in the woods, we're not happy about it.

>>40689770
>>40689921
But Roderik takes precedence, so on we go.

Writing!

>>40689736
"Fell out of the sky" makes me think she may have also been climbing around in the canopy, so I'm maybe just a little bit worried that there are going to be a couple dryads wandering around out there who will have taken their formative social cues from Kara.

Which is mildly horrifying.

>>40689814
I didn't really mean to say that it's scaring people off necessarily, but rather that running over such a long stretch of time means the density of the playerbase is going to spread itself out and hit pockets of variability over that time as well.

"Where were you, Kara?" Your plans with Roderik could wait until you had settled this first. From the first moment you let her out of that wagon, you had been concerned that she would just wander off if you left her to her own devices without supervision. This concern had so far turned out to be well founded, considering that all of the two times she had not had someone actively watching her, you either woke up to the results of her hunt, or woke up to her completely missing for over half the day. You've a good mind at this point to find a leash to attach to that collar of hers and keep her tied to your arm if it meant this behaviour could be curbed.

Unfortunately, you're relatively certain she would just drag you along for the ride. Or drag the furniture you tie her to along. If you were being honest with yourself, you're not unconvinced that she wouldn't just uproot an entire tree and walk off with that as well; The only thing keeping her here was an agreement between you regarding trust and curiosity, as far as you knew.

She had come back both times, which was a mild comfort, but you didn't know if that would keep happening.

"Sleepin' mostly." Kara yawned lazily. Her slave garb, already rather worn, now resembled a forcibly punctured and ripped series of rags that had been haphazardly thrown over her. If she minded, the demihuman didn't feel like showing it... Though you suppose that this just reinforced your concern that she'd walk around without it just as soon as she would with it. "Smelled food, so I came down."

"Came down... From the canopy?" You hedge with a tinge of nervousness. The last thing you wanted was to run into more of those wood-golems who had decided to copy Kara. That was a recipie for disaster, no matter how you look at it. "Nah, th'roof."

Rinnier and you shared a moment of comradery as you joined forces to deadpan at the lazy demihuman.

"The roof?" You repeat flatly, receiving a nod as the demihuman's tail flopped about contentedly. "Why the roof? How did you even get up there?"

"'Figured it would be warm, so I jumped up-"

"-And then jumped down when you smelled food." You conclude exasperatedly, running one hand down your face as you bit back the urge to groan. The gentle 'paft paft' tempo of her tail picking up briefly as she chirped in agreement. She had been sleeping on the roof literally all morning. Just what was she supposed to be? You find yourself wishing your demihuman Testament would just pick a stereotype and stick with it. "It didn't occur to you to just... Stay on the ground? Sleep inside?"

"Warmer up top." she shrugged shamelessly, as if that explained everything.

Off to the side, you sympathized with Rinnier's growing desire to simply strangle Kara and be done with it. It could have been worse, you rationalize, if you had spent all day physically looking for her instead of just trying to lure her back, but the principle of the matter remained. "We'll go over that later," you forge ahead before the thought gets you too frustrated. "Kara, we're splitting into groups in order to try and deal with the Attendant from back in town." Her attention perks up at that.

"Y'want me ta kill him?" she asked bluntly, reiterating the same offer from in town.

"No, we're not going to kill him." You sigh, "We're looking for a way to get into contact with my cousin so he can help us resolve this. We're following two leads, one back in Carona and one elsewhere."

"So whatcha need me for?" The amber eyed demihuman tilted her head in confusion, "We goin' back ta the Carona place?"

>You're going to take Asche there, yes.
>No, you're going to take Rinnier, Ari and I somewhere else.
>...Can she do both? Can you TRUST her to do both?
>Other? (write-in)

>>40690065
>Took their social cues from Kara
Photosynthesis has never had a higher priority in anything's life until that exact moment.

We would be reaching Lizard levels of basking, which is more than any living thing has a right to achieve.

>>40690482
>>You're going to take Asche there, yes.
>>40690530
You read RE:Lizard quest? and I know you read Snakecatcher. Good taste Riz.

>>40690482
>You're going to take Asche there, yes.

>>40690482
>>...Can she do both? Can you TRUST her to do both?

>>40655533
>"Or what if she took Asche, and then came back on her own to get us while Asche handled things in Carona?"
This would be the most ideal option, though it would be an issue if she just decided to take a detour. This option won't win anyway.

>>40690482
>No, you're going to take Rinnier, Ari and I somewhere else
Can't be sending Kara back there without us to keep her from killing them all.

>>40690569
>>40690636
Taking Asche!

>>40690688
Like hell I'm walking alone through the woods after that.

>>40690645
You might feel a little guilty about the Karamobile.

Writing!

"You are," you correct her, "With Asche. I'm travelling out to try and find my cousin directly, but I'll have Rinnier and Ari with me already." Kara blinks, glancing around at the assembled before settling her eyes on your timid Testament as she gingerly attempted to nibble off a strip of meat. She was rather studiously trying to eat it, enough so that it took her several seconds before she realized that people had started to pay attention to her.

"Fue?!" what came out of her wasn't so much a word as it was a startled squeak before she quickly started shifting her eyes between the rest of you, trying to find out why she was suddenly the center of attention. "At any rate, I'm more concerned about having Asche make the trip alone than anything else. Rinnier and I can probably handle ourselves, so I'm sending you to look after her." Kara curiously stares at Ari a little longer before humming in acknowledgement and returning to her own remaining snack.

"'Kay." she seemed to accept the role easily, and for a moment you wondered if this was really the best idea. Sending Kara back to Carona after that fiasco was probably asking for trouble if you weren't subtle enough about it, and Kara wasn't in subtle in any sense of the word. "Just... Stay out of trouble and listen to Asche." You conclude lamely as Kara starts scratching the side of her head distractedly. "'Kaaay."

Confidence falling, but it's the best you got for now.

"Irue are you sure we should be splitting up?" Rinnier intercedes doubtfully. "After what you told me, you still want us to walk to your cousin's? We don't even know if he's still there or not." That was another concern, and while you've got the feeling at least a little of the objection is rooted in her disapproval of having to actually walk, she made a good point. You were about to take Ari back out into the woods you just exited at high speeds in order to escape an unknown inhabitant that had seemed unnaturally interested in you.

If anyone could be counted on to deal with that kind of thing, it would have been Kara; If she didn't scare them off, you've little doubt that ridiculous Testament could smash them into kindling without much effort. That's not even touching on the fact that you doubted they'd even be able to catch up to her kind of speed.

... But more than ever, that exact reason is part of why you decided to send Kara with Asche. You didn't want to think about what would happen if they ran into her and she had nothing to back her up. Would they even learn anything from Asche? You look towards your maid-secretary, trying to imagine the results of one of those wood-golems trying to pick up mannerisms from Asche.

The entire experience just seems like it would be frustrating. You shake your head as Asche stares back at you, the minute signs of her attention on you letting you know that she was waiting for some kind of request- It was probably the closest thing to curiosity you could discern from her. "We don't have much of a choice." you break eye contact with Asche and resume planning, shaking the notion of a wood-golem of Asche getting into a staring contest with the original from your mind. "We're on a time limit, so we've got to move quickly. You and I together should be able to handle them if they show up, right?"

Honestly you have no idea. You hadn't tried to fight them last time, so besides being made of wood and subject to some strange whim, you have no idea how tough or dangerous they really were. Given your experience with the Oakenbear on your way to Carona, you weren't keen to find out, either. Rinnier's set jaw told you exactly what she thought of that notion as well, but she seemed to at least agree that you were working on a time limit. Neither of you were exactly happy about this arrangement, but you'd have to make it work.

With that, the planning and breakfast concluded. It was nearly midday, and there were still some arrangements to be made, so you'd be leaving tomorrow.

That said, how to spend your first, and only, night back at home?

>Talk to Rinnier in the Library.
>Talk to Kara before the trip.
>Talk to Ari about something? (write-in)
>Talk to Asche.
>Take time to yourself. (write-in)

>>40691098
>Talk to Kara before the trip.

Be a good girl, and if anyone tries to hurt Ashe hurt them first.

>>40691098
>>Talk to Rinnier in the Library.
>Talk to Kara before the trip.
>Talk to Asche.
Have Asche rig up a whitsle for Kara.

>>40691098
>Talk to Kara before the trip.
>Talk to Rinnier in the Library.
>Take time to yourself - practice punching the shit out of something

In order of preference.

>>40691098
>>Talk to Rinnier in the Library.
She's our backup on our enthusiastic walk through the woods. We need to start collaborating with her instead of just ordering her around and expecting respect.

>>40691133
>>40691121
>>40691120
Talking to Kara

>>40691121
>>40691133
>>40691231
Talking to Rinnier

>>40691121
Asche time.

>>40691133
This fist of mine... doesn't really glow at all.

Writing!

File: ss (2015-06-19 at 01.33.05).png (5 KB, 523x219)

5 KB PNG

I've been attempting to drawfag since thread 5 and it's not working help

You decide to hunt down Kara first. The demihuman isn't terribly hard to find, given that you had managed to convince her to pick out a place in the house to stay that wasn't explicitly your room. You weren't a fan of people being in your room, and having woken up with all of three people besides yourself was enough to last a life time for you. Getting Kara out was relatively easy enough, especially once you explained this house came equipped with fireplaces. She had caught onto the notion much faster than you expected, though you couldn't help but feel that she may have just taken the words 'fire' and 'place' and jumped to a conclusion that was close enough to the idea to be dangerously wrong.

Regardless of which it turned out to be, you now had Kara living on the exact opposite side of the house from Rinnier for obvious reasons. You weren't entirely sure on what the radius was for fire in general to decide it wanted to be literally anywhere else, but it seemed to be doing fine for the moment. You'd need to talk to Rinnier later about where Kara was, so she didn't accidentally wander over there and... Set the house on fire? You're not sure if the apparitions were caused explicitly by Rinnier, but it wasn't a good idea regardless.

That said, the sight of Kara enthusiastically sprawled across a rug in front of a fireplace that was only just containing a wall of flame from the haphazardly stacked wood logs was a bit relieving. You'd probably need to have Asche take a look and see if that chimney could even handle that kind of load, but it was better than always having to wonder where the demihuman had gotten off to.

You knock on the edge of the entry, as the room wasn't a bedroom so much as a sitting room had been repurposed into an office that later became a...

The point was, it didn't actually have a door.

"Whatcha' want?" Kara tilted her head back to you with a lazy smile, her tail beating out a steady paft'ing rhythm on the rug.

>About the trip to Carona...
>About Asche...
>About the wood golems...
>About you wandering off...
>You've taken a liking to fire, huh?
>Are you okay after that fight in Carona?
>Other? (write-in)

>>40691404
It will be treasured, regardless.

>>40691523
>You've taken a liking to fire, huh?
>About the wood golems...

Odds are Kara knows about that shit in some manner, even if she's not the most enlightening subject.

>>40691639
This stuff.

Writing!

"I didn't think you'd be the fire type." You admit with a smile, taking her acknowledgement as permission to wander further into the room. You didn't get too close to her though, preferring to stop a little ways back where the waves of heat radiating from the fire weren't prickling at your skin. You can only imagine how the demihuman managed to handle just laying that close...

"I wasn't." She sits up, turning towards you in a relax crossed-legged manner. "Didn't know how ta' make it, 'till you showed me." You remember that she had been completely content to just eat the dog raw back in Carona, so you suppose the revelation that Kara hadn't even known how to make a fire wasn't too surprising. Even if she evidently had a preference for hunting, she never needed to cook what she killed. "I guess being a slave, you never really needed to ward off animals either..." you wonder aloud.

"Mos' things tend to lemme'be." Kara yawned, her sharp teeth glinting in the firelight before they were once more mostly obscured by a lazy smile. "An' its harder ta' see at night with it, so I didn' really need it."

You file away that bit about her nightvision and lean forward onto a wooden couch that had miraculously been left out of Kara's irreverent shoving of everything else in the room to a corner to clear space for... Whatever it was she did. "Speaking of stuff that leaves you alone, do you know anything about wood golems?" Your memory flashes back to the oakenbear and Kara's apparent familiarity with it as she wrestled it into submission. "Wha's a golem?" Kara tilted her head, half-lidded eyes hazily drifting around your general direction.

"It's... Well they're apparitions of Gnome, like the blaze apparitions you saw in the kitchen, but made of earth instead of fire. Kind of like statues, or sculptures, usually." You explain briefly, "A wood-golem would be... I guess an Oakenbear?" It made sense in retrospect, actually. "Can you tell me about those?"

"Nah."

Your smile wilts a little, "Why?"

"I don' really know much 'bout em. Can hunt 'em, but jus' mostly stuff I heard from handlers." She explained vaguely, one hand waving through the air animatedly as if it would help you understand what she was telling you. "Like, they jus' come back if ya bury 'em, right? 'Cause they're jus' trees, really."
Both hands were in the air now as her tail flopped back and forth and she visibly strained to try and remember things. "Trees 'at got a taste for flesh, right? Roots near buryplaces, or battles, or territory fights. That kinda thing, lots of bodies an' blood, makes the trees go weird an' all."

"Not really a bear, think I told ya 'bout that. Jus' look like one, ye? It's big, real big, decent for scar-.. sava-"

"Scavenging?"

"Yeah, 'at." Kara nods appreciatively, "Lets 'em travel, dig stuff up. Big 'nough to kill an' carry."

You listen to her recant the bits and pieces she could remember, trying to put it together in your head.

>Do they come in not-bear forms?
>You hunt them often?
>Where could I find more information?
>Can you track them?

>>40691981
>Do they come in not-bear forms?
>Can you track them?

Kara wouldn't know shit about option 3, and 2 doesn't gain us much.

>>40691981
>Can you track them?
...Also, if they don't stay dead, maybe we should do something about the formerly animated bear ass on our fucking lawn.

>>40691981
>Do they come in not-bear forms?

>>40692042
>>40692112
Can they be things besides bears?

>>40692042
>>40692084
And can you track them?

Writing!

"Do they have to be bears?" You ask dubiously, thinking back to the wood-golems you encountered earlier that day. You're not sure if they had a taste for flesh exactly, but one of them had deliberately cut open your finger. The idea that you had been all but petting what was essentially an oakenbear put the entire situation in a whole new light.

Kara shrugged, "I dunno, I guss not? If they're not a bear, they're not an oakenbear, right? They'd be an oaken...somethin. Oakenwolf? Prolly." You shake your head, "Do oakenwolves exist? I'd rather not run into a pack of those things."

"Don't think so." Kara rejects her own idea pretty much instantly, "Only ever 'heard about 'em bein bears. Dunno why, but tha's how it is."

You hum thoughtfully. So either it wasn't an oakenbear, or you had run into a new kind of oaken....Irue. You're not sure you like the idea of copies of yourself roaming the forest seeking flesh. You didn't like the idea of wooden bears wandering the forest specifically to kill things, but this was different. This was closer to home. This was personal. Of course, there was always the possibility that this was normal and Kara just didn't know.

She wasn't exactly a scholar on it. Or anything, for that matter. Large portions of what should have been common sense just didn't seem to exist to the demihuman, like it she decided it didn't apply to her so she skipped learning it.

"So can you track them?" You shift topics, "Your nose is pretty amazing, so I guess you smell them out?"

"It's not that easy." she shakes her head, "They're trees, ye? They smell like trees. Unless they've eaten a bunch, it just smells like tree to me." She shrugs, wrinkling her nose in what you guess to be annoyance. "Once they start eatin' though, it gets easier. I can follow the scent of kill, and if they're real old, tha's all they smell like. Bad kill."

"You gonna try hunting some Oakenbear while you're out?" Kara finally poses her own question, watching you a bit more attentively. "Ya' never did tell me if ya' could hunt or not."

"I'd rather not." you deadpan, "I don't even know how you kill one, hunting it seems like a generally bad idea." Kara smiles brightly, leaning forward as her tail starts going. "If ya' knew, would ya go hunt 'em? I can tell ya', it's pretty easy." Her attention level shot up suddenly as her slitted eyes shimmered in excitement under the firelight. "If I tell ya, we can go huntin', ye? Gotta promise."

You have to admit, the offer was interesting. Knowing how to kill them would probably make running into one a lot more manageable. You'd even go so far as to say bearable, but then you would need to kill yourself. So you won't.

You won't go that far.

On the other hand, promising Kara anything might be a bad idea. Hunting seemed innocuous enough, but as a Valen, you weren't the type who would go back on their word. End of story - If you actually promised, you'd be stuck doing it. You have no idea what kind of game someone like Kara even considered 'hunting', or for how long.

...But could you really afford to not know when it would just be Rinnier and you with Ari?

>Fine, you promise. This is important.
>You can maybe find it in the library later, so you'll pass.
>Why do you want to go hunting so much? We have food.
>Order her to tell you, you can't play games with things like this.

>>40692443
>You'd even go so far as to say bearable, but then you would need to kill yourself.
I hope you're beary pre-beared for an unbearable bear of a situation!

>Ask her what she means by hunting first, want to make sure we're not hunting humans.

>>40692482
Well that's it, we went that far, thread over, Irue is kill

>>40692502
Next time on Valen Quest: Ari becomes the protag!

Absolutely nothing could go wrong, right?

>>40692443
>Fine, you promise. This is important.

>>40692519
You are Ari Valen, and you are panicking.

>>40692443
>Fine, you promise. This is important

Inb4 we are slowly becoming the child our aunt dreamt of when she bore her son

>>40692523
>>40692546
She'll get her promise, it can't be that bad.

>>40692482
We agreed not to go that far, anon.

Writing!

>>40692519
>>40692541
Is this a request for an Ari write-up?

"Before that, what exactly do you consider hunting?" You hedge cautiously, the temptation of learning how to handle Oakenbears being too tempting to ignore. "Y'know, jus'... huntin' stuff, I guess?" Kara explains vaguely, one hand waving idly through the air to try and help elucidate her point as her brows furrow, "Food an'..." Her lazy smile falters slightly, but the way her tail had begun to slow down was much more telling as the demihuman seemed to trail off in... disappointment? Frustration? "...food, I guess. Different foodstuffs. Wolf, maybe?"

You don't think hunting wolves was a common practice exactly, but it wasn't too outlandish. Honestly this was a lot better than you had expected from someone who wrestled a living carnivore tree-bear into submission with her bare hands.

"Alright, as long as it's not humans or anything, I promise I'll go hunting with you some time."

The words alone brought life back to the demihuman as her tail rapidly started to beat back and forth. "A'ight! You promised, we'll do it, ye?" She leaned forward excitedly, and you can't help but think this was probably a good answer for the seemingly lazy Testament. "So, to kill an Oakenbear, ya' just break it till it stops! Punch it real hard, 'an stuff."

You keep a straight face as Kara reveals her secret to killing Oakenbears, her tail wagging happily as she shares the information with you and starts to explain how easy it was once you got the hang of it. You thank her, idly remembering you had promised to go hunting with her for this, and mechanically leave the room with an absent good night to the perfectly content demihuman as she returned to her fireplace.

Of course that was her answer to killing Oakenbears. That was probably her answer to killing anything. She had killed the blaze apparition by dropping a table on it, after all. Hell, hadn't you killed one by punching it? Wasn't that the same thing? Yeah. Yeah, it was.

Forgive me, Luna. Please don't cry.

"Irue?" Rinnier glances up at you as you enter the library, "... are you okay?" Even now she was pouring over a number of books on conjuration, some of them you recognize from earlier. "It wasn't those things again, was it? Have you figured out what they might have been?" You noticed her starting to tense as she spoke, and you idly shook your head before dropping down into a chair across from her.

"No, it had nothing to do with them. I was talking with Kara earlier, and..." You trail off, a wry smile crossing your face.

>I did something stupid, it's not important.
>I might have learned something, I'm not sure.
>It doesn't matter, what are you reading?
>We leave tomorrow. Do you have any thoughts?
>Other? (write-in)

>>40692780
>I might have learned something, I'm not sure.

>We leave tomorrow. Do you have any thoughts?

>>40692780
>I might have learned something, I'm not sure.
>We leave tomorrow. Do you have any thoughts?

>>40692780
>>I might have learned something, I'm not sure.
>>It doesn't matter, what are you reading?
She was reading those books on conjuration before, too. What's she been up to?

>>40692797
>>40692799
>>40692803
maybe I learned something.

>>40692797
>>40692799
We're leaving tomorrow, thoughts?

>>40692803
Find anything interesting?

Writing!

"I might have learned something, I'm not really sure." You admit tiredly. "There are these in this area called Oakenbear..." You explain the concept to Rinnier as she puts aside her book. "So your trees just... Secretly eat your dead, and then put together a manifestation of their bloodlust in order to trap people and animals in a labyrinth of terror before consuming them for the sheer purpose of contributing to the twisted death count before carrying the corpses in its gullet until the corporeal avatar reeks of the desecrated?" she sums up flatly, looking at you with no small amount of fascinated horror.

"Well... When you say it like that, it sounds kind of bad." You admit vaguely. "You've probably got worse stuff in the desert somewhere."

"The desert does not actively attempt to devour all living creatures upon its sands in a mindless hunger." she replied shortly, "You live in a forest, Irue. You are surrounded by things that evidently hate the fact you, and anything else, draw breath. Nothing in the desert is worse than this."

"Giant sandworms?" You try curiously, "Sandstorms stripping flesh from bone? Garuda?"

"The sandworms are docile, the sandstorms are simply weather, and the Garuda hunt to feed themselves." She denied each account, "The closest thing to these Oakenbear we have is simply the Antlion, and it has the common decency to not roam." You frown at that, unwilling to concede the point. "Well I mean the Oakenbear aren't that big of a problem, really. Kara killed one on the way to Carona, she seemed to treat it pretty casually."

"She... That carving in the front yard, it's from an Oakenbear, isn't it?" Rinnier's eyes widened, "The demihuman is not a reliable source of severity, Irue! She broke one in half and carried its entire ass through the forest, presumably with you in the other arm. I refuse to accept her opinion on how dangerous something is, or is not, and you would do well to temper your acknowledgement of it as well."

Yeah, that was fair. You had just promised away a hunting trip to her in exchange for the advice to casually just punch a wooden bear into submission, after all. You really didn't have any way to refute Rinnier's points about that, right now. "Well... At any rate, she's only ever heard of them being bears, but it wouldn't be odd if she just didn't know, so in the end I'm not sure if I learned anything useful about those wood-golems or not." you continue with a shake of your head. "They kind of remind me of the Oakenbear, but there were too many things different for me to be sure."

"Too much missing information..." Rinnier agreed with a frown mirroring your own. "That in mind, you are still set on us leaving tomorrow?"

"Yeah. We're on a race against time with Roderik, and I'm not even sure if we'll be able to find anything on him in the first place." You lean forward and interlace your fingers in thought. "It would probably be enough if we did, and no one has gotten somewhere without doing something they weren't proud of, but I don't know what we'll find."

The two of you drift into silence, either unwilling, or uninterested in sharing further thoughts on that topic.

"You'll be coming with Ari and I to my dear cousin Caylen's residence." You finally change the topic, "Even if he's not there, noble estate doesn't exactly go unused. There may be other families there, or-"

"-It could have been repurposed for an event of some sort, yes. I am aware of the practices of nobility." Rinnier gave you flat look as she groaned, "Do remember who I am, yes? Rinnier Suriah Lamandra, first princess of Teranford's royal family." She drew herself up, and you're reminded just how adroitly she had managed to make her presence known back in the cart, even clad in a slave's garb. "I am no ignorant slave or demihuman for you to explain every little thing to."

"What about the Oakenbears?"

"That is different." She noted primly, "Do not look down on me, simply because I am a foreigner." You blink at that, the fact you knew intellectually now occurring to you a bit more readily. Rinnier was royalty - Not your royalty, of course, but of another country. She was the former princess of Teranford, which meant she really was a foreigner. As she had been clad in the same generic slave garb as the rest, and spoke so fluently, you really hadn't stopped to think about it any further than that.

>Apologize, you hadn't really considered that.
>You haven't treated her that badly, have you?
>She's been just as much of a bitch, despite being a foreigner at that.
>You explain things BECAUSE she's a foreigner!
>Silently accept it, change the topic - Ideas about what to if Caylen isn't there.

>>40693195
>You explain things BECAUSE she's a foreigner!

>>40693195
>>Apologize, you hadn't really considered that.
We've been ignoring the fact that she's on our level or even higher, mentally speaking, despite being a slave. We have charisma and all, but without additional expertise like hers at our back it means very little.

>>40693195
>You explain things BECAUSE she's a foreigner!
Hopefully a bit gentler then that implies, pointing out that we can't be sure about how many differences there are between our two cultures - it's better to be infuriating and telling you things that you already know then it is to not tell you and potentially let you look like an idiot. And frankly that would be a slight on ourselves too as with Rinnier being our Testament she's part of the House Valen.

>>40693200
>>40693269
but you're a foreigner, so...

>>40693262
Sorry.

Writing!

>>40693200
>>40693269
>>You explain things BECAUSE she's a foreigner!
>>40693195
>you really hadn't stopped to think about it any further than that.
So are we just flat-out lying to her?

>>40693315
Yes.

"I don't mean to be condescending, but because you're a foreigner, I don't know what you might not know." You reply smoothly, adapting on the fly to try and soothe some of the spitfire's ruffled feathers. "I understand it must be irritating, but I would rather you know what you're getting into, than just assume you'll be okay and accidentally let you make a fool of yourself when I could have helped."

You lean back, keeping steady eye contact with the princess as you spoke. Glancing aside now would be an implication of dishonesty, and more than ever you needed her to believe the sincerity in your words. To be honest, you honestly hadn't thought of any of this until this exact moment, but if it could retroactively fit your actions and leave you coming out of it all in a positive light, then you were more than willing to claim it had been on your mind since day one. One hand slipped to the side and quickly turned palm up, one of the more common methods of entreating someone; The abruptness of the motion, coupled with your carefully schooled expression and eye contact implying a fervent attempt to explain a misunderstanding, a request for the other party to believe you.

"Whether you like it or not, you are part of my Testament, Rinnier. Like Kara, that means you're House Valen as far as both the law, and I, am concerned. Anything you do, or say, reflects on me and is considered sanctioned by me. I refuse to let anyone I'm responsible for just walk blindly into something."

Rinnier's face softened slightly, but she remained unwilling to simply allow you to talk your way out of this. She broke eye contact briefly, glancing aside - to her left, you note with a measure of triumph - and shifts her weight in the wooden chair. What you had said had struck a chord in her, as she herself began to think back and line up those words with your actions in a testing manner.

Her hands twitched slightly on the table, unsure as to whether to curl her fingers and remain forward - A sign of refusal, or aggression - or to take the more lenient path and retreat flatly. You knew, before she opened her mouth, the route she was about to take.

"Be that as it may, you have not shown me near enough respect for my station!"

Not quite one or the other, she held a loose fist closer to her as she once more locked eyes with you stubbornly.

"Time and time again, you have disregarded or attempted to order me about. Do not forget that I am only consenting to this ridiculous situation because of your promise to help me in regards to my country. While I am willing to aid you how I can, you are not my superior - We are partners in this, do you understand? I expect to be treated as such, not... Some convenient aid to be sent about and ignored!"

>She makes it sound like you're a tyrant.
>Then what would she like to talk about?
>Apologize for your failings so far, you'll keep it in mind going forward.
>Don't you regularly call me an idiot, too? You're not innocent in all this!
>You ARE her superior. She's your Testament, whether she likes it or not.

>>40693470
>>Apologize for your failings so far, you'll keep it in mind going forward.
>>Then what would she like to talk about?

>>40693470
>Apologize for your failings so far, you'll keep it in mind going forward.
>Don't you regularly call me an idiot, too? You're not innocent in all this!

>>40693502
>>40693543
We're sorry. Again.

>>40693543
But you call me an idiot too, so screw you.

>>40693502
So what are you concerned about? we'll talk about it now.

"I'll keep it in mind." You accept the accusation blandly while nodding slowly, "I admit that I've been rougher in handling you than I should have, partially because of how hectic everything has been, however..." and that is where your allowance ends. "You've regularly insulted me and called me an idiot for my decisions as well. If it's equality and respect you want, then shouldn't I deserve the same? We're partners, after all."

You stare each other down in silence for several long minutes before Rinnier finally breaks the silence.

"You're right. I may have been unfair in my judgement of you as well, and perhaps have spoken out of turn." She closes her eyes, lips spreading into a thin, restrained line. "I apologize for having called you an idiot when you returned from Carona after having picked a fight with the town guard immediately after getting healed." You open your mouth to object, but she holds her hand up quickly and continues in a steady voice. "I also apologize for calling you an idiot when you attempted to punch a pair of living flames into submission rather than simply flee, or douse them."

"I successfully punched one into submission! And they were apparitions of an oil fire, the water would have made it worse!"

She nods in acceptance, "Yes, that is why I apologized. It was certainly the most correct action you could have taken, and you devoted more thought to it than I had given you credit for. As I have mostly spent my life merely coaxing flame into existence at my whim, I was admittedly ignorant on what the effects of adding water to them would have done. The royal family of Teranford had little need for lower-born fire tending methods, so my actions were in error."

You narrow your eyes at the former-princess across from you, even as she calmly meets your ire as if she had found some measure of inner peace in her actions. She bowed her head, continuing in a more solemn tone. "It is a little late, but thank you. In thinking back, you leapt to protect me at the time, despite our tumultuous start."

When she finally meets your eyes again, there's only sincerity. "You have done a great many objectively stupid things in the short period of time I've known you, but each time has been in an awkward attempt to protect one of us - your Testament. I will not rescind my statement that you make stupid choices, but it is wrong of me to call you an idiot when it is us you are making them for."

You... You're not really sure how to accept this. You fidget a little in your seat, and this time its you who averts your eyes. You're relatively certain she hadn't actually apologized for calling you stupid, but...

"The guards were justified." You mutter stubbornly.

"Yes." she agreed easily, offering no further comment beyond that single syllable.

The two of you sat through another ensuing silence, this one slightly more uncomfortable for you as you your mind worked out where to go from here. "Then... Going forward," you start eventually, "What are your concerns about the upcoming trip? We can discuss things now."

"In that regard..." she starts thoughtfully.

>About those wood-golems.
>About these Oakenbears.
>About Ari.
>About the travel time.
>About bandits.
>About more mundane forest hazards.

>>40693749
>About bandits

>>40693749
>About Ari.
>About those wood-golems.
>About the travel time.

In that order if possible.

>>40693749
>>About bandits.
The more eldritch parts of the woods boil down to "avoid at all costs." Bandits are somewhat trickier - they might sneak up and surround us, with a motive.

>>40693772
>>40693813
About those bandits!

>>40693789
All of these get one vote. Whew, I'll see what I can do.

Writing!

"Bandits?" You ask for clarification, trying to think back to anything you could remember regarding them or their activity in the area. Unsurprisingly, you remembered exactly nothing - You had only recently ever left the house, and hadn't exactly had the ability to eavesdrop in Carona. You're completely at a loss there. Were there even bandits in these woods? You couldn't imagine anyone willingly making their home in this forest after some of the things you had seen recently.

...Anyone but Kara, but as Rinnier pointed out, she was not an acceptable example of normalcy in any sense.

"Yes, from the map earlier, I understand that this area is something of a privately owned territory for your house?" Rinnier explains, reaching for a curled up scroll, "While that discourages most banditry in my experience, it does open up more concerning possibilities."

"Like?" You query, leaning forward as the spitfire unfurled it to reveal the map you had been using earlier that day. She weighted down the edges of the map with some of the surrounding books, dropping her finger on Carona. "This town isn't very big, is it?" she asked briefly, "I'm not sure how out of date this map is, exactly." You think back to your time in Carona. You didn't have a huge frame of reference for what constituted a 'big' town, but you didn't think it was too massive. It was something you'd still describe as a town, rather than a city. You told her as much, eliciting a shallow nod as she continued uninterrupted. "I've been studying the map since we dispersed this morning, between my studies. If I can use Carona's size as any indication, we're pretty far out in the wilderness. Even though it's noble owned-" She shakes her head, "No, especially BECAUSE it's noble owned, there's a real chance that if we do encounter a bandit group, it will be an entire troupe that came here specifically with the intent to accost nobles and their escort."

You nod a little unsurely, thinking back to the last 10 years or so you had lived here without so much as being bothered. If there were really that many out there, and that armed, shouldn't they have attacked at some point already?

"Why?" Rinnier asked, stopping to look at you, "You were a child, and your only staff was the maid. There's nothing of value in this house."

"I'm the heir to House Valen." You riposte immediately, "If they held me for ransom, I am the potentially the most valuable-"

"To who?" She interrupts you bluntly, staring at you with an uncompromising certainty. "Last I heard from Teranford, Clara and Byrn Valen are the heads of House Valen. Their son Caylen, I presume this to be the same cousin Caylen you are aiming to seek out, is in the area as well by your word. Between a reclusive heir, and the actual son to the current heads, who is more valuable to a militant group of rogues for extortion?"

Your mouth opens, but no reply issues forth. You finally concede the point, even if uneasily, that you Caylen was more promising target in this regard. "So you're saying that the bandits may be out there waiting for Caylen?" Your eyes narrowing as Rinnier continues to trace specific routes and point out landmarks on the map. "That's one possibility. Another being that they are waiting for someone to approach his residence."

"I don't follow?" You blink, trying to piece together the leap in logic. "If they're after Caylen, why would they give themselves away by attacking travellers?"

"Not just travellers, noble travellers." Rinnier corrected pointedly, "And not simply those either - Ones that have travelled out this far into the wilderness, and are en route to Caylen's residence. That kind of effort means that they either have business with your cousin, or they know him personally. If they know him personally, then..." She trails off as understanding begins to dawn.

"Then they can take them hostage and use them as leverage to get to Caylen." You complete, earning a small, approving smile from Rinnier. "Then just taking the road would put us directly in their line of sight..."

"If they're out there?" Rinnier confirmed, "Undoubtedly. It's one of the problems I've been trying to look over, but given we don't know what may be in the woods themselves, I'm not sure if its worth taking the risk of an alternate route in order to avoid a group we don't know exists, or not." She licks her lips, eyes scanning the map quickly, "We have an advantage in that we've got smaller numbers. If we do take an alternate route, it'll be much easier to avoid a potential ambush entirely... But much-"

"-Harder to deal with the forest dangers." You complete soberly.

>We'll take the main road and take the risk. As a hostage, they won't kill us and will take us to Caylen.
>We'll take an alternate route through the woods. We can't take the risk of getting caught up in that.
>What if Caylen's not even there anymore?
>What do you suggest?
>You've put a lot of thought into this.

>>40694025
>What if Caylen's not even there anymore?
>What do you suggest?
>You've put a lot of thought into this.

>>40694025
>>You've put a lot of thought into this.
>>What do you suggest?
Give her a chance to speak her mind. We can always disagree if we really need to.

>>40694068
>>40694076
You put a lot of thought into this.

>>40694068
>>40694076
So what do you suggest?

>>40694068
And what if Caylen isn't even there?

Writing!

"You've put a lot of thought into this." you murmur, a little in awe at what she had laid out in front of you. "I didn't expect you to be this thorough."

"Did you take my complaints purely to be about having to walk?" Rinnier laughed, "Things like this were often issues that my family and I had to take into account and work around in the desert. Banditry was common in the outer reaches of society there due to scarcity of various resources, such as water and pliable farmland."

"I see..." Your eyes remained on the map, but your thoughts were growing distant. This is what royalty considered a given skill? Considerations you hadn't even thought to make had been outlined and weighed in the space of a day, while you were out climbing a tree. You had just discovered that your dear cousin Caylen was, evidently, more valuable a target than you were - Which is why, for all you knew, you had lived in a forest of heavily armed bandits for ten years and not once been touched.

They had ignored you.

No, you shook your head, they may not have been there in the first place. You were probably just over thinking this, no thanks to the stress you'd been under lately. "What do you suggest, then?" You finally ask, not seeing a way through this that didn't take a risk in one direction or the other. You break your attention away from the map and look towards Rinnier as you shrugged an uncomfortable weight from your shoulders. "We're running on a time limit, and the road is likely the shortest method to Caylen. If there are bandits, we'd be easy game for them, though... And there's no guarantee that Ari would be okay through that."

Rinnier scowled as she nodded, "But if we take a route through the woods, it'll take longer." She continued, "We run the risk of that Oakenbear monstrosity, running into more of those bizarre wood-golems, or running afoul of more mundane dangers such as wolves, or simply getting lost."

She shook her head slightly, crimson tresses undulating lightly in the wake of her rejection. "Ideally I would have had the demihuman with us. I don't know her exact capabilities, but she may have been able to help us avoid potential traps, as well as ward off predators." Your lips twisted downward, "That would-"

"-Leave your maid alone, I know." Rinnier sighed, cutting you off before you could get started. "This situation isn't ideal, no matter how you distribute us. I understand your decision to send the demihuman with your maid, I can't say I wouldn't want to do the same in your position, but... It leaves us with difficult choices." She finishes. "If the bandits capture us, they'll likely take us to your cousin as a hostage, or take us to whatever base they've set up in the woods and send proof of capture to draw him out of his element." She curled a finger down as she spoke, "At that point it's relying entirely on how well Caylen would react, and how adequately equipped he is to respond, compared to how prepared the bandits are."

"I... Have problems thinking of Caylen as particularly reliable in matters like that." You admit uneasily.

"Then comes what we can manage ourselves depending on what they do. If Ari were not going with us, I would at least wager a chance of us being able to perhaps slip free once captured- A small chance, but one all the same." She sighed, another finger curling, "Her presence is a hindrance. We can't expect to fight or escape when we're constantly having to keep her safe and up to speed." You wince, accepting the harsh truth that Ari was effectively a burden regardless of what route you took. The alternative, however, was leaving her here alone... Which wasn't something you were willing to do. The psychological damage might end up being worse than the physical danger of her coming along.

It had taken you several hours before she had fallen asleep back in your room in order for you to finally slip away and move freely.

You probably needed to be back before she woke up, or... Well, you needed to be back. A small, traitorous part of your mind asked exactly how this was different from how Kara had jetted out on a hunt after you fell asleep, but that mutinous thought was studiously ignored. The circumstances were different entirely - This was your house, for one. And you were coming back, anyway. She was asleep, she wouldn't know in the morning.

"Really the choice comes down to Ari." Rinnier concluded unhappily, "We don't know what we'll encounter either way, but can we handle her more effectively against the forest, or with bandits?"

"...And what if Caylen isn't there?" You finally ask, the one assumption that hadn't been mentioned yet.

"Then we just wasted roughly a month's worth of walking there and back empty handed."

>Take the forest route
>Take the road
>Other? (write-in)

>>40694328
>>Take the road

>>40694328
>Take the forest route
The bandits would probably take advantage of Ari being the weak link in our party.

>>40694328
>Take the forest route
Muscle Mage Training Montage when?

>>40694430
We're on the road, time is of the essence.

>>40694440
>>40694456
into the woods, we can't afford to look after Ari through bandits.

Writing!

>>40694456
We don't have a mana's blessing so never.

"... We can't afford to run into bandits." You finally decide, "Not with Ari. There's no guarantee they'll keep us together, and if she breaks down then there's no telling what they'll do in response."

Rinnier hummed in reluctant agreement, "Then we'll take an alternate route through the woods. Hopefully the three of us can scare off predators en route." Rinnier scanned the map one final time before pushing the books off and rolling back up. "I'll look over the possible routes tonight, hopefully I'll have something plotted out by tomorrow." You watch her set the map aside, a twing of anxiety welling up in you as the decision was made and you realized there wasn't any going back from here.

"...About Ari." You start, catching Rinnier's attention before she could stray too far. "How do you think we should handle her?" All of the previous planning had ultimately settled on 'whichever will be less troublesome with Ari', and you were forced to acknowledge just how much more difficult that was liable to be just by bringing her along. "You saw her earlier, she can't be left alone as she is."

"She can be left alone." Rinnier shook her head, fixing you with a hard stare, "We both know what it will do to her, but it's not something that can't be done. Whether it's worth making this easier or not, or if leaving her is preferable to taking her, there are dangers on both sides that I'm not in a position to take a stance on regardless."

"That's why I'm asking. Assuming she does come with us, how do you think we can handle this the easiest?" you pressed the issue a little more forcefully. If you were going to hear out Rinnier's concerns, then now was the time to do it.

The former-princess bit her lip as she stared back down at the table, brows knit deeply in thought. "If we want to make time, it would be best if we traded off carrying her..." she began slowly, "If she slept through the day, then maybe she could be useful at night as a watch to wake us up. That would help us get some sleep, as well." Rinnier looked up at you and shook her head. "It be hard on her mentally, but it'd be the least burdensome for us. I don't know if we can afford the time it would take slowing us down to simply help her walk the entire way there."

But if you just carried her everywhere, you doubted it'd be doing Ari any favors regarding her ability to walk in general. She needed to get back on her feet if she wanted to ever be self-sufficient, in more ways than one... Still, Rinnier made valid points.

"Do you have any ideas if we run into those wood golems again?" You move forward, catching another issue that Rinnier had showed concern over.

"Honestly, you're the only one who's had any experience with them." Rinnier said after a moment, "Besides being a little disturbing, and generally unknown, they didn't seem to have been expressly malicious towards you?"

"They seemed more... Curious than anything, I guess. Except for the one that bit me, but I'm not even sure what that was about." The entire incident left you disturbed.

"Then we just try to ignore them and keep moving as quickly as possible unless something changes." Rinnier shrugged, "I don't like it, I'm not saying its the best idea, but I don't think we can do much else about it."

>You're done here, then. (fast-forward to the next day)
>Before I go... (write-in last topic?)

>>40694715
How to phrase this without being insulting, how should we handle camp and cooking fires?

>>40694715
>You're done here, then. (fast-forward to the next day)

>>40694736
What are you trying to say, anon?
Why would we possibly have problems with that?

>>40694737
And off we go.

Writing!

"Ah, one last thing." You snap your fingers just before you start to walk away. "How are we..." You look back at Rinnier and your question trails off as she tilts her head at you curiously. "Hmm?" You stare blankly, unable to come up with a way to broach this topic without potentially offending the spitfire you had just recently slipped into a 'not explicitly bad' status quo with. On the other hand, this was kind of important considering how long you would be travelling.

"We're going to be going through the woods for a while." You start after some thought, drawing a nod from Rinnier. "So we'll probably need to cook things out there, right?"

"Probably." Rinnier acknowledged, "Can you not hunt? I've some experience from my brothers, but it is limited mostly to the desert." She seemed to consider that for a moment before shaking her head with a small, optimistic grin. "Well, I'm sure we can manage."

Why did everyone but you know how to hunt? No, that wasn't the point here. "We'll be okay there, but I mean what about at night, when it gets colder? Or when we set camp?" You try to hint towards it gently.

"...Oh, you've probably never gone camping before, have you?" Rinnier gasped softly in understanding. "It isn't terribly difficult, as long as you can find water. The land tends to be mostly self-sustaining."

"The fires." You finally blurt out, forcing her to blink in confusion. "How are we going to handle the fires?"

"We'll just ma-" She stopped, finally realizing your meaning. "We'll... I'll figure something out." She answered quietly as her shoulders slumped. "Good night, Irue."

"...Good night, Rinnier." You reply softly, slipping out of the library.

You'd enjoy your sleep that night, extra company not-withstanding, as finally being back in your bed after your trip to Carona - With the relish that would also likely be your last night in your bed for some time.

The next morning gave you time to slip away from Ari before she woke and take the last hot bath you'd have for some time. You were dressed and ready by the time you returned to your room to rouse the softly breathing Testament from her sleep. Her blurry eyes quickly shooting open as you shook her shoulder. "Come on, get up. We're leaving today." The words were enough to get her moving properly, and you met the rest of your household for breakfast. Cooked meat was all that was on the menu, the gamy taste still strong in the seared flesh through whatever spices Asche had managed to scavenge from the ruined kitchen.

Breakfast was a relatively quiet affair as everyone prepared themselves to set off, as Rinnier quietly adjusted a cloth of something or other tied onto a sturdy stick that looked to be roughly your height. Peeking through the tips of the cloth she had likely appropriated from some room of the house, you noticed a rolled scroll that you assumed to be the map from last night, as well as different rolls of cloth - Some of which she had withdrew earlier to wrap up several portions of breakfast into before replacing it firmly into the pack. You were sure there were other things tucked away, just as Rinnier had spent part of the morning to drop by and give you advice on things to take - "Travel light, but bring essential things. It's going to be pretty long" - you had no doubt she brought as much of it herself as she could.

Which brought you to the final note of the morning. The clothes are not properly fitting, but you had broke out different pieces of your own wardrobe for Ari and Rinnier. It was one thing for them to be still wearing their slave garb in the house, a failure on your part that you had ended up without the ability to resolve properly while in Carona, but for a trip like this, it was unacceptable entirely.

Ari found the entirety of the cloth to be some manner of wondrous gift, even if most of it was too big for her in one way or another. It had taken a great many stray strips of cloth to tie off her outfit in order to prevent it from shifting and falling at a whim, but in the end she had real clothes for... Likely the first time in over ten years. Granted they were your clothes, but the shine of awe in her eyes as she even now ran her hands gingerly along the sleeves told you that she had immediately designated the throw away, ill fitting clothes as her greatest treasure.

You tried not to wince, realizing that moments like that should have been reserved for real gifts, not just tools of necessity. No matter how happy she seemed, you feel as if you had done something wrong in letting her go this long without giving her something. Anything.

Rinnier on the other hand had more... Difficult problems to solve. It had only taken a few moments before both of you realized that she was going to have an ill fit in your clothes for entirely different reasons, in entirely different directions.

"It's... a little tight."

That's not a little, Rinnier.

She had managed to salvage something, but she took the clothes for what they were worth - necessary tools for the upcoming trip. She didn't seem particularly happy or interested in them beyond that, and you suppose that to a princess, even if they were a step up from slave garb, they were still probably a little sub-par.

For her part, Kara was the same as usual. You weren't aware how pleased you would be when you woke up to discover she hadn't burned down the house in her sleep, but you were! You were very pleased.

"Well, I guess this is it for a while, then." You say, looking between the assembled the household. Asche's blank expression remained riveted on you, a ghost of a frown just barely noticeable on her face as she watched you attentively.

Kara had flashed you a lazy smile, reminding you about your promise to go hunting later; You wonder if she even knew how long it'd be before you saw each other again. "Listen to Asche." You tell her as sternly as you can, "Make sure she's safe, understand? If someone is going to hurt her, you hurt them first."

"'Kay." Kara scooped Asche up by the back of her clothes, holding Asche up to head level with her easily - The maid's expression unshifting even as she was lifted up so unceremoniously. "We're off!" You watch the two of them hop down the stairs and get moving along the road before actually hearing the exact moment Kara took off, a small explosion of dirt screaming into the sky from her propulsion point. It was really something seeing her take off from this angle, rather than being on the demihuman's back when it happened.

"She's a monster..." Rinnier muttered dully, watching the demihuman's figure fade into the distance rapidly before turning to you. "Well, let's get going I guess. I've got a route planned out, so it shouldn't be too rough on us." She hefted her stick, cloth tied off to the top of it as she prepared to set off. "Ah, thanks for this by the way." She smiled, letting the stick just big enough to wrap her hand around comfortably hang at an angle from her grip, "It's pretty strong, so I'll make good use of it."

>Oh, sure. No problem.
>I thought it'd be useful for you.
>[Unease Intensifies Quietly]
>...Where did you find that?

ALSO

>Ari, you're walking. We'll be moving a little fast, so try to keep up.
>Hop on, Ari. We're making tracks.

>>40695258
>I thought it'd be useful for you.
>Hop on, Ari. We're making tracks.

>>40695258
>>I thought it'd be useful for you.
>>[Unease Intensifies Quietly]

>Hop on, Ari. We're making tracks.

>>40695258
>>[Unease Intensifies Quietly]
We didn't... that isn't...
You know what, whatever. Maybe they aren't so bad?

Anyway,
>>Hop on, Ari. We're making tracks.

File: ValEnd.gif (1023 KB, 500x281)

1023 KB GIF

>>40695297
>>40695399
I thought it'd be useful.

>>40695399
>>40695406
The trojan horse was a gift as well, should you really trust them?

>>40695297
>>40695399
>>40695406
Lets get moving Ari.
____________

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

Next thread won't be until sometime after Saturday.
I've got roughly 3 threads worth of upkeep to go back through and take care of.

I'll lurk the thread for a bit to try and answer some questions if I can.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

>>40695452
So what do our testaments and Asche think about us?

>>40695498
Well, the pastebin should give you the answer for Kara.

Asche thinks in ways beyond mere mortals as she silently judges your every action through eternal aeons of loyalty and concern.

Rinnier thought you were an incompetent idiot.
She now knows you are an incompetent idiot, but with a good heart and an uncanny ability to come out on top.

Ari certainly thinks about you.

I'm purposefully a little vague or esoteric in some of these. Whenever write-ups centered around that character come up, you can probably expect some new insight into their thoughts and opinions of Irue.