>>40722598
You grumble under your breath as you keep getting changed. Your alteration brew has already done all of the heavy-lifting in making you look Quedeshi, now it’s just up to you to look the part and right now that seems to involve getting your pants off and wearing the vetti.
Admittedly, you’d feel a lot better about it if Aashenpreet wasn’t right here watching you.

Oh, you can’t see her but you know she’s there. She’s becoming quite adept at the camouflage Art that you gave her. She’s a blur, a discoloration on the wall beside you as you crouch behind a wagon.
“You’ve caused me a lot of trouble, you know.”

“Oh, I’ve caused you trouble? That must be so awful! I’m so sorry that I inconvenienced you while you DEFILED ME!”

“Ssh!”
Shit, that was almost too loud.
“Look, can we talk about this later? We’ll hash it out then when we’re not all in danger of being murdered. Doesn’t this guy want to kill you?”

“Attaraan won’t kill me,” Aashenpreet says quietly. “But it would hurt a lot.”

You pull the vetti on, doing your clumsy best to tie it around you.
“Huh, I thought you said he wanted to take your skin off.”
Has she been lying to you this entire time just to get your sympathies?

“I did say that. I don’t believe I ever mentioned that I would die in the process.”

You stop to think about just how that work.
“Wait, so woul-”

“You would sleep easier not knowing the details. You should have told me that Attaraan was coming, I would have warned you!”

“Warned me of what?”

“Not to speak to him. I’ve only met him once, while in my duties as a shrine attendant and his as a suzerain of the Compact House, but that was enough to confirm the rumours!”

“Rumours? Go on.”

“He is...I’m not sure of the word for this in your language? Cruel? No. A..A person who enjoys pain.”

You think for a few moments before stumbling upon the correct term.
“You mean a sadist.”

1/2

>>40722616
2/2

“Maybe? Oh, you should have told me he had come! The reason he’s a suzerain in the first place instead of being in some proper court, they say, is because he doesn’t take anything seriously. You can’t speak with him because he never argues in good faith. He just coils around people, trying to invite people to bite him so that he can bite back. Why do you think he got that name? He’s never doing anything more than spoiling for a fight, looking for an excuse.”

You mull that over for a few moments.
“Well, you’re too late Ash. Hiss has already spoken with him. That was uh, shortly before I apparently got arrested.”
You stop as a thought strikes you. Has this all just been some way of provoking Hiss? And if that’s true then what else is he doing? Shit.

“We need to go,” you say. “Now.”


> Sneak back to the compound through the front entrance.

> Sneak around the back and try to find a window.

> Mingle in the caravan to see if you can find out what’s going on.

> Seek out Attaraan.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make wish (Specify)

>>40722637
> Sneak back to the compound through the front entrance.

>>40722637
>> Seek out Attaraan.

>>40722637
>> Mingle in the caravan to see if you can find out what’s going on.

>>40722637
> Mingle in the caravan to see if you can find out what’s going on
How long does our alteration brew last?

>>40722835
Nevermind, I checked the pastebin and it's about 30 minutes.

>>40722835
30 minutes.

>>40722871
Could we give aashenpreet the necklace we nobbled so she could disguise herself as a Quedeshi and walk with us?

>>40722906
Probably a bad idea, since we've known snake-related folks to "see" Hiss through her human form.

>>40722938
We won't have a clue what's going on since we don't speak Quedeshi, she needs to be nearby to help us figure out what's going on

>>40722977
Well yeah, but we have been given no reason to think they can see through her wish-granted camouflage, so I assumed that'd be the way she would be accompanying us.

> Mingle in the caravan to see if you can find out what’s going on

It's probably for the best not to be rash right now. You need to know more before you do anything stupid. You have to watch and learn and think of a plan and THEN do something stupid.
You sidle out from behind the wagon, Aashenpreet following you as a barely perceptible shade.
"Can you translate for me?," you mumble out of the corners of your mouth.

"I don't have a choice, do I?"
Oh fantastic, she's sulking again. You think you prefer her when she's panicked or the like, the moment she remembers the wish-bond she just clamps up.

But nevertheless you hear her voice whisper in your ear as quietly as she can as you walk through the chaos of the caravan.
"They're looking for you, something about you striking Laldeep? Did you hurt Laldeep?"

You nod slightly and get only a despairing squeak in response. Nobody seems to be paying attention to you as you wander on.

"I...I...they had you at an Ishmin-trap? They have one of those here? In a city?"
Aashenpreet's voice rises, causing a passing servant to look at you strangely but you just keep on walking as fast as you can, doing your best to keep your face relaxed.

You rub your nose, using your hand to obscure your mouth as you speak.
"What the fuck is an Ishmin-trap? You mean those guys holding me? That wasn't anything special that was just an arrest."

"No uh, um. Look. Where were they holding you? Can you take me there? I need to see."

> Guide her back to that strange covered wagon.

> That's way too dangerous! Ask her to just tell you.

> "I'm sure it doesn't matter right now." Just keep going.

> "Ishmin? Those are just the faceless guys right?"

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40723121
>> "I'm sure it doesn't matter right now." Just keep going.

>>40723121
>> "Ishmin? Those are just the faceless guys right?"
> That's way too dangerous! Ask her to just tell you.
My potions are limited, if we get caught I'd have to use something lethal. If you really must see it I'll take you there but odds are we'd be in deep shit.

>>40723121
> Guide her back to that strange covered wagon.
Or just tell her about the rope and long stick they wanted to use on us

>>40723121
> That's way too dangerous! Ask her to just tell you.
> Other
After we know why it's noteworthy that they brought one here/why she's so worried about it, we can figure out whether or not it's worth the risk of returning to the wagon to let her confirm it by sight.

>>40723121
> Guide her back to that strange covered wagon.
Does Cennen have a rough estimate of how much time he has left with his disguise?

>>40723218
Don't worry, Cennen isn't going to dally out for longer than he knows he can last unless forced to.
It's been five minutes so far.

>>40723166
>>40723200
It's really not that dangerous guys we have a perfect disguise

>>40723332
Perfect minus our shitty quedeshi speak. Also it will fail within an hour.

>>40723332
We're disguised as a random Quedeshi citizen. I'm not sure that gives us a reasonable excuse to loiter around and poke at a Constrictor's caravan. And if called out on it, we can't even genuflect and then scurry off properly because we're fairly shit at the language.

>>40723371
There's no need for us to speak

Rolled 3 (1d6)

It looks like it's time for the old standby, the tie! Odds for askings, Evens for going back.

>tfw my fellow players are pussies

>>40723496
Have you been reading the quest? Every time Cennen does something reckless or stupid in the YOLO vein it bites him hard, sometimes literally.

>>40723523
That doesn't mean we should never take risks

>>40723543
Yes, but taking avoidable risks is stupid.

>>40723543
This wasn't even that risky

>>40723523
You idiots probably shouldn't have gotten us ino a relationship with poison incarnate but that ship has sailed, we do need to avoid blatent trap options (although there was no way not to anger that guy, we probably did minimal damage with hiss before we got ourselves into shit (thankfully that mostly reflects on us and not anyone else)

>>40723569
Hey I voted against waifuing the shitty hateful serpent that'd kill us on a whim, but nooooo first girl always wins and anons will waifu anything with tits.

>>40723569
>>40723604
You're both idiots if you don't think a hiss romance was the main premise of this quest from the beginning

Holy shit, relax.

>>40723564
Not if we stand to gain something from risking it

>>40723628
Ouro Said it wasn't. Anons wanted to fuck something female(despite the fact it's all ftb and Hiss will kill us one day either through active hate or neglectful forgetfulness) so they waifu'd her. If the MC was female and the snake male we'd be knee deep in yuri by now,.

> That's way too dangerous! Ask her to just tell you.

Hell no, you're risking a lot even just poking around the edges of the caravan right now. You're not going to return to the scene of the crime! Or at least, not without good reason.
"No, I'm not going back there. Just tell me what it is."

"It's an Ishmin-trap!"

That's less than informative.
"No, I get that. But what is an Ishmin-trap? Ishmin is just the names of those faceless guys right?"

Aashenpreet does her best to stay quiet this time, despite sounding quite aggravated.
"And where do you think they got that name from?"

"I don't know," you whisper. "Everything here is named weirdly."

"No they're not! And you're named Cennen!"

"What's wrong with Cennen? That's a good name!"

"Fine. But the name 'Ishmin' didn't just spring up nowhere. It's the name of a creature and the faceless soldiers are named after them. An Ishmin-Trap is a wagon filled with Ismin, TRUE Ishmin."

"...Right?"
You're not sure where she's going with this.

"You can't take something like that into a city! I can't believe even Attaraan would do this, if the creatures got out there would be chaos."

An idea begins to form.
"What sort of chaos, exactly?"

Aashenpreet is silent.
"No. Don't do that."

> Go check out the Trap.

> "Just how many of these things would be in there anyway?"

> Take her word that it'd be a bad idea and keep moving on.

> "And this is a proper execution method for you people?"

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make Wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40723773
> "Just how many of these things would be in there anyway?"
> Take her word that it'd be a bad idea and keep moving on.
> "And this is a proper execution method for you people?"
I will point out if thing get bad enough I will turn into a dragon again, a full size one instead of a half grown one. I would imagine that'd be worse.

>>40723773
> "Just how many of these things would be in there anyway?"

>>40723773
>> Go check out the Trap.

>>40723820
This has to be about a dozen forms of heresy here.

>>40724022
So? She already knows we can turn into one. Very few people can speak our tongue. Who cares?

>>40723773
>and this is a proper execution method for you people?

I've been on 4chan long enough to know a trap when I see one. Both meanings implied.

>>40723773
> Go check out the Trap.

>>40724061
I meant if we do that the entire country will hate us. If we kill him or hiss kills him it won't be as bad and can be politically played off.

>>40723955
>>40724089
Are you retarded? If we do that we'll get caught and then royally fuck up the city or get dead or not and likely get dead regardless we gain nothing from this.

>>40724112
Pretty sure Dragon would leave no survivors. at least none who could ID us.

>>40723773
> Go check out the Trap.

>>40723955
>>40724089
>>40724192
samefag stop.

>>40724207
>implying

>>40724123
>we gain nothing from this.
Except attaraan would be fucked if they got out and caused havoc

>>40724224
all roughly 5 minutes apart, all for a stupid vote after someone whined about players being pussies.

>>40724249
As would the city and us.

>>40724123
Dragons are
Extinct and we are weird foreigners with exotic magic (alchemy is exotic here) who do you think they will blame?

>>40724351
Anon if we're about to get killed anyways, you're advocating letting it happen?

>>40724375
No, I'm advocating avoiding the nuclear option as much as possible.

>>40724375
Relax nigga we're not about to be killed. Take your negativity to a different quest, we're generally civil towards each other here

>>40724421
Like I said it was a If it gets bad enough thing. Re read the post.

>>40724422
Until someone makes a stupid choice, which is at times every vote.

> Go check out the Trap.

You start walking deeper into the caravan, trying to retrace your steps to find the sealed wagon once more. You do your best to avoid scrutiny and fortunately everyone seems occupied right now.
"No! What are you doing?"

"Relax Ash, I'm just going to have a look. Isn't that what you wanted in the first place? I'm not going to do anything."
Yet.

You worm your way back to the covered wagon, one that has somehow been left unattended in the chaos. The doors are still sealed, barred to stop anything from getting out.
Now that you look at it again, you're starting to have your doubts. The wagon isn't that big, how many dangerous monsters could it possibly hold?

"Is that it?," Aashenpreet whispers. "That could hold hundreds of them. Thousands!"

You stop.
"Hold on a moment. How would so many monsters fit in there?"

"Uh, just what are you imagining an Ishmin is? Each one is the size of your finger or smaller."

"Oh."
That sounds a lot less scary actually.
"So why be so worried then?"

"Because they swarm! The Ishmin take their name from them because they are as one mind, a hive of natural soldiers that seek only to expand. An individual Ishmin is pathetic but the swarm can kill anything. And if they got out into the city they could go to ground and you'd never get rid of all of them!"

You do your best not to look nonplussed.
"And you people use them as an execution method?"

"What do you mean, you people? And no, it's a really stupid thing to do. But tying people above their hives or within a portable hive like this one...It's really more of something you hear about in stories, we're more civilized than that now. Though I suppose Attaraan didn't get the memo."

You ponder the Trap for a few seconds more.
"Maybe it's a bluff."

"Pardon?"

"Well, you make them sound pretty famous. Maybe he's got this up to wig people out. Why else would it be unguarded now?"
You can't help but wonder what sort of alchemical properties these beasties might have.

>>40724489
2/2

"It's not worth the risk."

You tap your foot lightly. What would Hiss do in this situation? Oh of course. She'd tip the wagon over probably.

> See if you can get just a peek, a squiz inside to confirm.

> Try to grab just one from the wagon.

> Set the wagon on fire. This should cause chaos while hopefully killing all of the actual monsters.

> Open the wagon and run. You could use some proper chaos right about now.

> "You know what Ash, I'll take your word for it." Do not meddle.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40724567
> Set the wagon on fire. This should cause chaos while hopefully killing all of the actual monsters.

>>40724567
>> Try to grab just one from the wagon.

>>40724567
> Open the wagon and run. You could use some proper chaos right about now.
Do we still have added strength from the potency brew?

>>40724637
Yes.

>>40724637
Wouldn't help us much against a swarm of insects.

>>40724567
> Open the wagon and run. You could use some proper chaos right about now.
Attaraan would be so fucked if these things were set loose on his watch

>>40724567
> "You know what Ash, I'll take your word for it." Do not meddle.

Before we do anything, can't we just, like put an ear to the door or something?
if we hear lots of somethings, leave it?

>>40724567
>use potion (beast master)
my god, we can tame an entire hive mind.

>>40724655
It would help us run away very quickly

>>40724680
...this seems interesting.

>>40724668
And if anyone found out we did it we'd be dead. I don't trust our disguise enough to hold up if he sees us. And Aashenpreet is very noticeable right now.

>>40724682
Not quickly enough.

>>40724680
>>40724691
We'd have to dose them all multiple times, Not feasible.

>>40724680
Do this and then
> Open the wagon and run. You could use some proper chaos right about now.
Hopefully one dose would be enough to at least keep them from chasing us

Well guess it's time for Cennen to become as bad as Hiss.

Can someone tell me what the draw is for (potentially) totally destroying the city?

>>40724759
I've said it several times, attaraan would get in heaps of trouble for having these things in a city and letting them run wild

>>40724759
The idea that Cennen has is that it'd let him, Hiss and assorted others bugger off without being bothered by Attaraan ever again.

>>40724759
Anons are idiots and apparently want Cennen to be a total monster like Hiss. They think it'd be great and the plan will work flawlessly(it never does) and they are ignoring the massive collateral damage even if we do get away without dying.

>>40724786
But he didn't let them out and could easily point the blame at

a. The foreign human with strange magic
b. The barbarous serpent princess
c. The rogue serpent priestess desperate for an opening to escape.

>>40724826
He shouldn't even have these things in a city though, the other constrictors will be pissed at him

>>40724790
bugger off... into the desert?
Also, I'm pretty sure straight up killing him would get us in less trouble than releasing this plague on the entire city!

>>40724567
If we're not going to try and sneakily turn them to our side via alchemy so we can get them to eat Attaraan as a piranha-monster petard hoist, I'd prefer
> Set the wagon on fire. This should cause chaos while hopefully killing all of the actual monsters.
to siccing them on the whole city.

>>40724872
They'd be pissed at us more, because if he didn't let them out one of us had too. Simple critical thinking, which most constrictors are capable of. Yes he'd be in trouble, but we'd be hunted. This is a bait option.

>>40724876
No one will know it's us. We look like a Quedeshi right now

>>40724876
I never said whether it was the best idea or not.

>>40724930
and? What Quedeshi would have the means motive or power to do this? None of them. It had to be a snake or snake servant. Rather narrow list that is.

>>40724872
How do we know he doesn't have permission from his higher ups for using this weapon on the potentially dangerous foreigners?

>>40724887
while a somewhat better idea, we have absolutely no idea if these Extremely Dangerous magical creatures are even harmed by fire!

>>40724930
anybody would soon realise the alchemist close to being tortured might try to get revenge!

>>40724930
Aashenpreet knows it's us, and she is very obviously opposed to this course of action. If we ever let the wishbond slip, it's entirely possible she will be willing to throw us under the bus for setting a historical torture method loose on an unexpecting populous just to get one guy to fuck off.

>>40725019
Likely even given how much she dislikes us.

ITT anons do something fucking stupid and get us hunted by an entire nation as well as kill an entire city.

Could we have a re-vote, or something?
Can cuddles desperately try to stop us while telling us what would bloody happen, giving us another chance to reflect on our options?

> Open the wagon and run. You could use some proper chaos right about now.

You sneak closer to the wagon, Aashenpreet tailing you the entire way.
"No...you're not actually going to do it are you? That's insane!"

It is sort of insane now that you think about it. But it's also what Hiss would probably want you to do. And as for the people in the caravan and the city as a whole?
Well, you try not to think about that. You're already a murderer.

You reach out to slide the bar back only to stop as something invisible wraps itself around your arm!
Aashenpreet's camouflage fades away as she renders herself visible by action. She's a strange-looking girl right now, one rendered almost piebald by shifting and discolored skin. Her mouth is filled with jagged sawteeth and she's panting, as if she'd just run ten miles.

"Don't you dare. I won't let you!"

You try to push forward but even with the Potence potion still active, Aashenpreet's native strength is just enough to cancel you out as she pulls your arm back.
"What about the people in Lombai? Aren't you a human? You're supposed to care about them aren't you?"

> "You don't know a lot about humans do you?"

> Try to push her off and open it anyway.

> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?

> "What are you doing? Do you want us to be seen?"

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40725143
Nope we're about to kill off an entire city, likely have a mental break down and get Hiss and ourselves hunted by an entire nation for the rest of our short lives. Going dragon would have been less painful.

>>40725179
>> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?
> "What are you doing? Do you want us to be seen?"
Guys Ouro is giving us a second chance take the god damn hint.

>>40725179
> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?

>>40725179
> "You don't know a lot about humans do you?"
> Try to push her off and open it anyway.

>>40725179
> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?

>>40725179
> "You don't know a lot about humans do you?"
Even if this was a stupid reason to have to bring it up, we may as well let her know that she may have a slightly idealistic view of our species that it would benefit her to be aware of.

Going to reaffirm my preferred course of action in >>40724691
>>40724887

>>40725179
> Try to push her off and open it anyway.

>>40725179
>> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?
You know, for once we should probably not do this.

>>40725179
> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?

Sorry about the delay, I had to take a call.

> Let her pull you away. What were you thinking?

For a moment you nearly try to fight her or to wish her off, to pull down that bar anyway. It would be the perfect distraction for all of you to leave and to make sure that Attaraan never bothered any of you ever again. Hiss would do it. You don't think she'd even hesitate.
But you aren't Hiss. Not yet.

What were you about to do? Condemn thousands of people you've never even met to death? Men and women and children, most of which had nothing to do with this. You were wrong. You might be a murderer but you're not...whatever this would make you. And you're not sure if you ever want to be that but the fact that you came so close to without sparing nary a thought for those who would be caught in the crossfire scares you a little. Is that the kind of person you're going to become?

You let yourself relax and Aashenpreet nearly hauls you off your feet as she drags you away.
"Have I misjudged you?"
She sounds odd, a little wistful perhaps?

"Pardon?"

"What you've done to me aside, if that's even possible, I always thought you were kind. You patted me and you fought the monster so I didn't have to. You always seemed at least a little virtuous, for a barbarian at least. But I guess I'm no good at judging people."

"Eh? I'm letting you pull me away, aren't I? I'm not going to do it."

"But stil-"
Aashenpreet is interrupted by somebody shouting at you in Quedeshi. You don't understand but you can hear the tone loud and clear. Aggressive and inquisitive, an interrogation.
Two of the white-garbed servants are beckoning at Aashenpreet and you as she drags you away from the Ishmin Trap.

> Run!

> Try to explain yourselves. Running would just confirm their suspicions.

> Attack them.

> Use a potion to help resolve this (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40725921
>> Try to explain yourselves. Running would just confirm their suspicions.
and if that fails
Rumpleskin

>>40725921
> Try to explain yourselves. Running would just confirm their suspicions.

>>40725921
> Run!

>>40725921
> Try to explain yourselves. Running would just confirm their suspicions.

These are Tesh's guys

>>40725921
> Run!
We'll be found out if we try to speak to them

>>40726030
>>40726058
>>40726116
inb4 we speak Teln to the Quedeshi soldiers.

We are absolutely unable to explain anything with our current knowledge of quedeshi. We would be suspicious as fuck looking like a Quedeshi without knowing their language

>>40726194
Cuddles can say we're her retarded brother.

>>40725921
> Run!

>>40726217
She's in her white person form right now, it will be even more suspicious than running

>>40725921
> Run!
Something tells me that pretending that we're a mute and she's just a regular ol' sawmouthed lady with vitiligo and we're taking a stroll by the scenic horrible monster carriage isn't going to fly.

>>40726194
well, we have a few choices.
is cuddles visible? pretent to be some kind of servant, forbidden from speaking.

if not, maybe we could feign a heart attack, or something?

Then again, if they start drawing their swords, we can chuck a grenade at them.

>>40725921
> Run!

>>40726175
>>40726194

Attaraan's Ishmin wear red, the other Ishmin in town that we know of are Tesh's. They're probably looking for us

>>40726084
>>40726127
>>40726226
>>40726285
>>40726317
White are Tashs guy you idiots.

>>40726311
Yes she's visible. And she looks really weird, like she's obviously the human version of an albino snake
>>40726323
These aren't ishmin, these are attaraans servants

>>40725921
>> Try to explain yourselves. Running would just confirm their suspicions.

>>40726341
You're the one being an idiot here m8

>>40726387
No you are lack of reading comprehension.

>>40726341
>>40726397
>Instead you are walked out to the caravan and stopped right in front of the doors of the huge temple-wagon. The Ishmin behind you kicks you in the back of the knees, making you kneel unwillingly with a stab of sudden pain.

>The doors creak open, each one pulled [by] a white-clothed servant and a man steps out. A really, really tall man. You don't need anything else to know what he is.

This was literally one thread ago. .5 threads ago.

> Run!

You nod politely as if acquiescing to whatever request they're making and then turn around and start running. Come to think of it, you've had a lot of practice at this exact sort of situation. The trick is to never look back until you've already sprinted a good distance. Where you're running to isn't always important but what you're running from always is so never stop.
Aashenpreet is behind you and she's managing to keep up for now but she's not doing well. There's no way she's well-practiced enough with a human body to keep up the pace and furthermore, snakes aren't great runners. Hiss has gotten pretty good at it but only because of practice. You can see the python already start to slow before you've even cleared the caravan.

> Just leave her! She'll be fine.

> See if you can carry her with the Potence.

> Slow down enough so that she can keep up.

> Use a Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40726446
> See if you can carry her with the Potence.
Tell her to become invisible on our back

>>40726446
> See if you can carry her with the Potence.
GO invisible and serpent form Cuddles.

>>40726446
> See if you can carry her with the Potence.

>>40726446
>> See if you can carry her with the Potence.

>>40726323
Sorry, this is one of those places I think where the stripped-down style can bite me in the tail. These guys aren't Ishmin of any kind, I'd say so if they were. They're just servants and Attaraan has a very 'white' theme.
His inner chamber is stark and mostly white, he himself wears white and the servants that attend to him dress similarly. Sorry if that was unclear. I'll try to be more up front in the future.

>>40726469
Her serpent form is huge though. Human form would be much easier to carry
>>40726486
It's not your fault Ouro, it's completely obvious for anyone paying attention

>>40726446
> See if you can carry her with the Potence.
Might as well leverage our alchemic strength while we've still got it. If it wears out midway, at least she'll have had a bit of reprieve from running for a while so she may have gathered her strength enough to do the final leg of the escape on her own two.

>>40726469
Unlike with Hiss, I'm not sure that her entering her serpent form would actually help at all.

>>40726504
>>40726528
Serpent would be easier to distribute the weight.

>>40726446
> See if you can carry her with the Potence.

>>40726537
That is absolutely not true. She's like 20 feet long in snake form

>>40726537
>An albino python without human form, roughly twenty feet long.
There's no way this is going to help, no matter how well-distributed the weight is. Anacondas are around this size, and they weigh like 500lbs.

>>40726537
I suppose I shouldn't expect the guy trying to force the name "Cuddles" to be very smart

>>40726486
Don't worry man, >>40726504 is right. I'm not alone and i'm sorta distracted.

Let's go with >>40726463

> See if you can carry her with the Potence.

You slow just enough for her to pass you before reaching out and lifting her by the scruff of her neck and levering her over your shoulder.
"Haagh!"
You feel her curved teeth dig into the skin of your back just a little before she stops and you wince. Ah damn, that's probably broken the skin. At least she isn't venomous.
"Alright calm down and come on, you're a little too cold-blooded for running right now."

She doesn't struggle but she does wiggle around a lot, a seemingly natural response to try and curl around you. Fortunately the human body is much less flexible than a python so basically nothing happens.
"Don't turn back to a snake unless you want me to drag you."

"Sorry."

After judging that you've built up a good amount of distance you dart into an alleyway. You should be able to lose them in here.
The alleyway is a dead-end, a tiny corridor of buildings stoppered up entirely by a wall. Nuts.

> Run back out of the alleyway. You should still have time to do this but it will lose you a lot of your lead.

> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

> Try to climb the wall.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40726909
>> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

>>40726909
> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

>>40726909
> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

>>40726909
>> Use Potion (Glue/sticky potion)
> Try to climb the wall.
It worked in the simpsons movie and it'll work here!

>>40727002
We don't know how to make that one

>>40727029
Awww

This was undoubtedly the worst option we could pick anyway

>>40727041
Yeah.. I mean wouldn't we just be gluing ourselves to the wall?

>>40726909
> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

>>40727041
For future reference all of our learned recipes are listed in the party pastebin

> Dart in through one of the doors or windows of the buildings facing into the alleyway. Unless you run into someone that should be pretty easy.

You rush down the side of the alleyway, trying door after door until you find one that opens. You throw yourself inside and shut it behind you, Aashenpreet hissing as you nearly whack her into a wall.
"You can put me down now! Please?"

You set her down as you survey your surroundings. You're in a dark room filled with shelves stacked high with sacks. Some sort of storage room or warehouse perhaps? But why would it be open? How do they keep people from stealing stuff?

"Uh?"
You turn around and see a young man in a vetti, nearly the same age as you. He's holding a broom, one with a very short handle and spun together from what looks like very long grass.
Shit, do you have a potion for this?

Aashenpreet locks eyes with him and he slumps over, the python jumping forward the catch him before he hits the ground.

"Oh right," you say. "I sort of forgot you could do that. Are you going to eat his memories of us?"

She looks disgusted.
"And befoul myself even more? I'm supposed to be pure!"

> "Yeah but you're not and you need to eat more memories anyway."

> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."

> Respect her wishes.

> Show her the locket while you're here.

> Use a potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40727300
> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."
> Show her the locket while you're here.

>>40727300
> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."
> Show her the locket while you're here.
If he tells anyone about an albino girl who hypnotized him we're all fucked

>>40727300
>> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."
> Show her the locket while you're here.

>>40727300
> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."
To be honest your disguise makes it fairly obvious who you really are
> Show her the locket while you're here.

>>40727300
>> Respect her wishes.
>> Show her the locket while you're here.

>>40727300
>"It's safer for both him and us in the long run.
>"Befouling is in the eyes of the beholder!"
We have such a silver tongue don't we.

> "It's safer for both him and us in the long run."
> Show her the locket while you're here.

"I know but it'll be safer for us all in the long run. Particularly for him. Think about it, what happens if he tells anyone about this and Attaraan finds out?"
She bites her lip, her teeth mercifully human once again.
"And besides," you continue. "You need some memories in you that aren't Hiss-related. She's told me that soul fragments are pretty essential for making proper forms and it's not like you can go around looking like THAT all the time."

"What's wrong with this body?"

You don't answer that, you just stare until she looks away.
"Alright, it's a little...patchy. But why besmirch my purity further? We can't be touched by human souls, that's just how it is!"

You reach out and put your hand on her arm.
"Well a human's touching you right now, innit? And like you said, you're already wishbound."

"A temporary defilement," she stammers. "But to take part of his soul into my own, even just a few minutes of memories...that lasts forever!"

"Not really. I can wish it out of you with my final wish if you want."

Her eyes widen.
"Y-you can?"

"Yeah no worries. I already had Hiss spit out a bunch of Melach, it's fine. And you better hurry about it, I think he's waking up."

Aashenpreet's face crumples as she considers her situation, one with no option that makes her feel good. And then her face is gone as she rips apart her human skin, a massive yellow python landing on the ground with an oddly comical thwack.
Damn, you'd forgotten just how huge she is in her true form. You were carrying that?

She slithers past you and drops her head onto the slumbering boy's chest, locking pale red eyes with his face.

"See, now you're getting it. To be honest, I don't put much stock in this 'purity' stuff. Befouling is in the eyes of the beholder. Eh? Eh?"

She doesn't seem to think much of your joke so you just pull the locket out from your pack and drop it next to her.
1/2

>>40727916
2/2

"Here, consider this a gift. You won't believe how close I came to nearly dying just to get this."
But then again, that could sum up a lot of what you do couldn't it?

You squat down beside the boy, absent-mindedly stroking Aashenpreet's head as she stares at him.
And then you wait.

And wait.

And wait.

It's been nearly ten minutes and neither Aashenpreet or her unfortunate victim have moved. Now, you know that you can't expect her to be as good as Hiss but the princess could scoop out an entire soul in seconds, so what's taking her so long?
She hasn't gotten caught up or messed something up has she?

> Pull her away from him.

> Just wait.

> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her.

> Use a potion on her (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40728015
Has our disguise worn off yet?

>>40728015
>> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her
Come on Aashenpreet, you can do this. I have faith in your abilities.
if it doesn't do anything
> Pull her away from him.

>>40728015
>> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her.
Constrictors take a long time to digest, I suppose. Let her process.

>>40728015
> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her.

>>40728015
> Pull her away from him.
There's no way it should take that long to eat the most recent few seconds of his memory

>>40728015
> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her.
Ain't no "might" about it. I'd bet that soul realms are a bit of a trip if it's your first time poking around in there.

We've still got a dose of Souldrift lying around in case she actually got stuck, since I suspect that would be our best option for getting her disentangled from the poor guy.

>>40728138
I think the introspection potion would be more useful in this situation. But I think it would also knock her out for a while

>>40728160
It might, yes, but that'd also leave us having to lug her around in serpent form while trying to make our way back to Hiss to let her know what Attaraan was up to and his probably intentions in doing so.

If all we need in the short term is to help her get her own consciousness out from where it's digging around in his mind so she can go back into her own body, going the whole nine yards into the snake-Dreamtime seems a little over the top.

That, and I don't think we've got a dose of that on hand.

>>40728245
Yeah we have a dose on hand. Check the inventory pastebin

>>40728501
I meant the one he was talking about (Dream Oil), not Souldrift. I did remember to make sure whether or not we had a dose of Souldrift beforehand, yeah.

>>40728501
Oh, I see. It's LABELED "introspection potion" in the inventory pastebin. Gotcha. Guess I'm just sticking to my other reasoning as to why.

> She might be freaking out. Try to encourage her.

Well dang, she might be freaking out about all of this. It's one to say that you can do it, another to actually do so. And you're willing to bet that looking at someone's soul and memories might be a bit disorienting if it's your first time.
Though you were Hiss' first time too and she caught on way too quickly.

"Uh, you can do it! There's nothing wrong with you and um..."
How exactly do you encourage someone to do this?
"Yeah. Just believe in yourself. There's no reason why you shouldn't."
It feels all a bit halfhearted in the end, even though that wasn't your intention.

But it actually seems to have some sort of effect as Aashenpreet perks up, slithering off the boy.
The giant constrictor promptly curls up and starts bulging from within, the outer layer of her skin growing translucent as she slowly shucks it off.
Soon enough, you are left with a twenty foot long coil of empty snakeskin and a woman sitting in the middle of it.

She's a young Quedeshi woman wearing some sort of embroidered drape wrapped around her waist and and up along ending over her one shoulder, an orange blouse and undercoat underneath it.
She's wearing slippers which doesn't strike you as very practical and her wispy graying hair is bound into a bun. Well, graying is the wrong word for it but she does have an unusual amount of white hairs sprouting up when all the Quedeshi you've seen so far have been uniformly black-haired. It probably doesn't matter.

"Well, uh, you feeling alright?"

She doesn't reply for a long moment.
"I took it all."

"Pardon?"

"When I reached in, I didn't know what to do. And it tasted so good..."

You gingerly step back and bend over the lad, peeling back his eyelids. His eyes stare back at you, blank and completely vacant.
Anything that ever lived behind those eyes has been scooped out forever.

1/2

>>40728601
Welp, we've created a monster, again...

>>40728601
2/2
Aashenpreet doesn't seem to be taking it well.
"Get it out of me. Get it out of me! It's too much, I don't want it!"

"Hold on, I can't burn a wish right now. And besides, I can only make you vomit it up. There's no returning it back to him."

"I don't care about him!," she snaps. "It's too heavy, it's too much! Get it out!"

> No, she needs it to act human. Tell her to just do her best for now.

> Wish for her to vomit it up.

> "This is entirely your fault. You did this to him."

> "You should probably get used to the feeling."

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40728682
>> "This is entirely your fault. You did this to him."

>>40728682
Aashenpreet, you're going to need to learn control one way or another. DO you want to make this mistake again? It is horrible, I understand, truly I do, but sometimes to do thr right thing, or to even survive, requires horrible things. Proceed to tell her about us saving the girl in that spirit village from being raped and how we threw up.

>>40728682
> No, she needs it to act human. Tell her to just do her best for now.
>>40728759
She just said that she doesn't care about killing him at all. She just doesn't like the feeling of having a soul inside her

>>40728682
>> Wish for her to vomit it up.
We are just awful.

>>40728781
I know but the feeling for us was about the same as keeping him in is for her. It's also an allegory for doing bad things for the right reasons.

>>40728682
> No, she needs it to act human. Tell her to just do her best for now.
This is part of what it means to be a snake. You'll need it if you want to survive

>>40728601
>Tell her to just do her best for now.
She sat down at the table and ate the entire feast. Yes, this is bad. Yes, it is uncomfortable. Yes, she should take this discomfort to heart and learn from it so she never has to repeat it again once it has passed.

But if all you learn from the experience is "food is bad for you", you are doing yourself a huge disservice.

>>40728682
>>40728918
Actually, can we attempt to slip the 'dead' guy a small amount of Souldrift Brew, just to see how Aashenpreet reacts? If it stirs, we might be able to return him him out WITHOUT wasting a wish, and allow her to try one more time having learned from the experience.

Constrictors eat their prey whole, after all.

>>40728960
All souldrift does is separate the soul from its living body. It won't do shit to a dead body that's already missing its soul

>>40728992
I'm only mentioning it because this is an extraordinarily recent death, and rather than having been picked apart, it seems she just consumed his soul in its entirety.

If his soul is still intact, it is worth experimenting just so we can broaden our conception of what the brew is actually capable of.

>>40728960
Souldrift Brew, by definition, has no effect on something without a soul.

>>40728992
Though I will say, it's not a 'dead' body. Someone without a soul still breathes and has a heart-beat, they're just a braindead vegetable until they die of thirst/starvation.

>>40729035
I'm about to eat by the way so I might be a while on this next one.

>>40729082
>I'm about to eat by the way
Too soon.

>Tell her to just do her best for now.

"Sorry Ash, but I don't think you can really blame me for this one. He gave you a bowl and you insisted on emptying the larder."

She hisses at you but says nothing.

"Oh come on. Yeah, this is bad. Yeah it makes you feel uncomfortable. But at least you CAN feel, this poor bastard's never going to feel anything ever again. I think you can handle holding onto it at least for now."

"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" she says wearily. "I've just traded one life of slavery for another, with someone to befoul and degrade me as much as they please."

You're not even going to dignify that with a direct answer.
"We're all degraded, really. And this is part of what it means to be a snake. Like it or lump it, it's sort of who you are."

"What do you mean, 'we're all degraded'?"

You shrug, trying to think of an answer.
"Well that's just, uh, life isn't it? Nobody comes away clean. You live long enough, you're going to be disgraced or maimed or whatever. There's no state of grace or purity anywhere I don't think, or at least..."
You think back along your travels. How often have you seen anything untainted? Or even anything that truly changed for the better?
"If there is one, I haven't seen it. I think that's just the way the world works. Things fall down and people suck at putting them back up again. The best you can do is to live with it."

"Says the man without faith."

"Oi, there's no need for that. I have faith. Just not in the Creator."

"What else is worth putting faith in? You can't tell me that you believe in the 'better nature of humanity' or whatever, not after that."

"Nah, I don't know what I believe about humanity. It's probably not my place to have those thoughts anyway. But I have faith in ...uh, alchemy I guess. That in the long run, my work and my brews will build more things up than they tear them down. I don't have any proof for that but it lets me sleep at night I suppose."
You nod.
1/2

>>40729821
2/2

"And I have faith in the princess, of course. More than anything else. We're going somewhere together and while I don't know where that is or whose hands are on the reins, I have to believe that she'll lead us to glory. And even if she didn't, I'd be happy with that."

Aashenpreet scoffs, obviously uncomfortable.
"You forget what I have seen. She doesn't treat you very well. Hardly someone to have faith in."

"You know, for as much as you go on about it, I don't think you understand faith very well."

Well that's that for today I think. Thread's been archived and I've eaten too much to feel like doing anything anymore. Besides, that seemed like a natural point to end.

I'll run tomorrow most likely at the usual time, skipping forward a bit to where you've all left Lombai since you basically defused what was left of the situation in this thread and Hiss' newly increased Princess skill took care of what was going on offscreen anyway.

I hope you guys had fun and as always, feel free to tell me if you're not and why.

>>40730113
Can we get a little of what she did in text? Also how freaked/pissed is Aashenpreet?

>>40729979
>"You know, for as much as you go on about it, I don't think you understand faith very well."
Hear that, snake? You're on notice.

>>40730113
>I've eaten too much
TOO SOON.

Kind of agree with >>40730259 that it would be worth covering, since this doesn't seem like a simple situation to fix at a glance.

>>40730259
>>40730306

That's fair. I'll handle a bit of that next thread then. But for now I sleep.