>>40823697
The sun dips lower in the sky, dropping from its zenith to afternoon. An unpleasantly hot afternoon at that, despite the cool breeze coming in from behind the wagon. You blink the sweat out of your eyes and groan, for while the heat is less oppressive than it was a few hours back it’s still nothing to enjoy. You’d complain about it but you know that you won’t find any sympathy here.
Hiss is enduring the heat carelessly with every sign of enjoyment and Ash doesn’t even seem to notice. The only one who might understand is Oster and he isn’t talking.

You take a small swig from your waterskin and sigh.
“Can’t we find some shade and settle there until it cools down a little?”

Hiss looks at you strangely, as if entirely unaware of your private suffering.
“Oh man up, Cennen. Aashenpreet says there’s a town along here and I want to get there before dark.”

You blink. Hiss hasn’t ever been particularly enamoured of towns before. Almost the opposite in fact.
“For what? Why do we have to be there?”

“‘Cause it’s going to get cold, idiot and I’d rather be indoors by a fire. I’m not sure if you recall but you very nearly froze me to death last night.”

“I thought we were past that,” you mutter. “You said it didn’t matter.”

“We are past it for as long as it is convenient for me to be past it. The fact that I’ve gotten used to your fool ideas doesn’t somehow justify them.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”
You don’t have the energy to argue right now, particularly against Hiss.

“Aren’t you keeping yourself occupied with your alchemy mess anyway? That’ll keep your mind off the heat. Actually, why don’t you just brew up a potion that lets you deal with it?”

“It’s not that easy,” you grumble, ending the conversation.

1/?

>>40823706
But you haven’t exactly been idle today either. You've been spending the day sitting in the back of the wagon with Aashenpreet, playing cards and doing your best to improve your grasp of the language.

"I'm not sure how to translate these terms," Aashenpreet says as she holds up a Tash card, the card as brightly painted and detailed as a portrait, each thick card a scene portrayed.
"But to put it simply, the aim is to trade ...fates? Destinies? No, I think fate is the word."

"Fate?"
You look at your hand, mostly perplexed.
"Is that what Tash is?"

Aashenpreet nods.
"Exactly! The word Tash is said to be from a very archaic dialect centuries ago in Qesh. It means your fate or more literally your journey's destination. And that's what the game Tash is about. We all have a hand and each card represents different acts and symbols that make up your combined fate. The aim of the game is to eliminate as many undesirable elements from your fate as possible while making the best prophecy for yourself. So you can draw more cards from the pool, dump cards into the pool, buy a draw from the deck and trade cards with other players, provided that the player is upstream because you can only exchange cards downstream when you've...."

There is a lot to be learned about Tash apparently, a game Aashenpreet introduced to you as something she used to play a lot with her fellow priestesses. It's apparently very popular with the shrines and the Compact House or something? You're not sure. You also don’t know how she played it without arms but you feel it might be impolite to ask.
What you are sure of is that it is a very complicated game and you have no idea what any of the cards mean.

You point this out and Aashenpreet frowns.
"But you can just read the insignia at the top!"

You stare at her until she blushes, dropping her eyes.
"Oh...yes, I forgot about that. Well I'll help you with that."

2/?

>>40823727
After that the card game was more or less forgotten, save as the origin for Aashenpreet's attempted lesson in Quedeshi.

By the time Oster calls for a halt and tells you that you must be nearing the town, she's taught you a few more basic terms and given you a much better grasp of grammar and sentence ordering. Just this alone helps improve the basic understanding that Tash himself gave you back on the ship. You feel like you could at least make your demands known now, even if you sound like an infant and you can sort of understand Quedeshi when spoken to you, provided it is spoken slowly and in a very simplistic manner.

Hiss tests you for a few minutes, laughing as she first feeds you basic statements to decipher and then immediately ramps up to ludicrously complex paragraphs.
"To be honest Cennen, I'm not sure how you can be so bad at this!"

"Not all of us can just eat the language out of someone's head Hiss."

"Then make a potion that does that!"

Oster stops the wagon entirely before Hiss can reply.
"So," he starts. "How are we going to go about this? Disguises or no?"

The matter requires a little more thought than you initially deemed it. No disguises makes you stand out immediately of course and will spread rumours but if you go in disguised as Quedeshi and have your disguises ruined halfway through, you’d look even worse.

“It has to be disguises obviously,” Hiss scoffs. “We all can do that, can’t we?”

Aashenpreet nods, gathering up the cards as Oster pulls out a leering Quedeshi mask from beside him. As for yourself, you have multiple ways to avoid detection. But which do you want to do?
3/4

>>40823744
> Alteration Brew. Easy to make and only requires shed snakeskin, your own invention. Can only change superficial features and lasts for half an hour before needing to be reapplied.

> Shapestealer Brew. Another of your own inventions, could be used to copy a shape created by either Hiss or Aashenpreet. Lasts for a full day but hasn’t been tested.

> Shapeshifter Brew. Master Yolan’s invention, able to completely alter all physical principles and can turn anything into anything else. Absolutely undetectable. But you only have one dose left and you sure as hell can’t recreate it!

> Souldrift Brew. Disguise is for chumps. You’ll leave your body behind and just follow them in an invisible soulform. But it would need to be frequently reapplied and you can’t interact with much.

> Eugene’s Concoction: This doesn’t disguise you as much as it /hides/ you, at the cost of making you a lot more powerless. Not to mention you only have two of these things left. But it is an option.

> Stay behind with the wagon.

> Other

>>40823757
> Shapestealer Brew. Another of your own inventions, could be used to copy a shape created by either Hiss or Aashenpreet. Lasts for a full day but hasn’t been tested.

>>40823757
> Alteration Brew. Easy to make and only requires shed snakeskin, your own invention. Can only change superficial features and lasts for half an hour before needing to be reapplied.

>>40823757
> Shapestealer Brew. Another of your own inventions, could be used to copy a shape created by either Hiss or Aashenpreet. Lasts for a full day but hasn’t been tested.
We should try to copy one of hiss's forms, if it doesn't work and we end up stuck in snake form at least we could be carried in a bag

> Shapestealer Brew. Another of your own inventions, could be used to copy a shape created by either Hiss or Aashenpreet. Lasts for a full day but hasn’t been tested.

You open up your trusty pack and search through it for the flask of Shapestealer Brew that you had cooked up last night. It's a strange potion, one that depends on the usually antithetical-to-alchemy soul and the links thereof. As such, it works in a somewhat otherworldly fashion, allowing you to copy the shape of anyone else who has drunk from it.
And unlike the Bloodkin, it won't freeze the other party solid! Or so you hope.

"Hey Ash, can you take up the shape of that sweeper back in Lombai? I'll just copy his shape, he looked pretty ordinary."

Aashenpreet looks down.
"I don't think I can. But I can make someone who looks like him?"

You nod. That's right, only Hiss can make perfect replicas of people. The albino isn't anywhere that advanced.
"That'll do, thanks."
You hold the bottle up to her only to get shouldered aside by an irresistible force.

"Oi," Hiss cries as she pushes you out of the way.
"Why are you using her? Her disguises suck! Look at her, she can't even keep the white out of her hair."

"But you're always missing an eye," Aashenpreet protests but falls silent after Hiss stares her down.

> Borrow from Hiss.

> Borrow from Aashenpreet.

> "Fine, I'll just do something else."

>>40824007
>> "Fine, I'll just do something else."

>>40824007
> Borrow from Hiss

>>40824007
> Borrow from Hiss.

> Borrow from Hiss

You shrug. Man and to think that Hiss had given you a lecture on jealousy and disrespect back on the boat. Doesn't the same apply to her?
This probably isn't the best time to bring it up though.
"She's right about one thing though, aren't we going to look pretty weird if we're both missing an eye?"

"We'll figure something out. Don't worry about it."
Hiss collapses in upon herself as her usual human form dissolves and is replaced by a five-foot long snake which immediately coils and moults, shedding a snakeskin which you automatically put in your pack as she takes up the form of a slim Quedeshi man with a ragged black beard and a missing eye.
"This is fine, right? Now pass me the bottle already so I can change back."

You've talked about this before. For whatever reason, Hiss seems much more comfortable in a feminine body than a masculine one. Hewing to their natural gender is probably comforting for all snakes really.
Hiss drinks from the battle and then passes it back, already changing back into a snake as she does so. By the time you've raised the brew to your lips and started drinking, she's reformed as a one-eyed Quedeshi woman.

You drink, making a face at the thick taste of blood as it splashes across your tongue. It runs down your throat and unlike the Bloodkin, does not freeze solid.
Instead you feel a strange warmth spread out from your stomach and into the rest of the body, spreading outwards with each heartbeat. It's very tingly.

"Well, is it working?"
That's what you try to say anyway. But there's something wrong with your throat! No, there's something wrong with your tongue! And your teeth. And everything else.

One of your eyes closes and devours itself as you suddenly stumble, Hiss and Aashenpreet looming over you and growing still. Are you getting smaller? Why?
Your vision goes blurry and the last thing you see is Hiss' face screwed up in an expression of utmost disgust.

> ...

>>40824306
Well fuck.

>>40824339
>>40824306
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! I knew that would happen even told everyone it would, but no one believed me.

>>40824358
We've really been fucking up with the brew lately

>>40824306
>>40824306
>...

When you wake it is only one eye that opens. You're lying on something wooden. The wagon? It must be much bigger than you remember.
But the wood feels strange. It's touching you yet not touching you, rubbing against black scales.

You can't move your legs. Or your arms. Or anything!
Everything is blurred and indistinct, a world of shifted colors and tastes. Your tongue flickers out, bringing detail to the world around you. Your forked tongue.

Ah fuck. The Shapestealer Brew, it still uses the soul link doesn't it? And depite whatever form she takes, in her soul Hiss is only ever one thing.
A snake.

You try to slither forward but you can only manage a twitch. How the hell do they do this with just muscle alone? You remember that Hiss had to learn how to walk but that never bothered her that much, she already had several souls to teach her. You're not so lucky and so you can't even move on your own yet.

But as a shadow suddenly looms over you, you realize that might be the least of your problems.
Hiss grabs you the by the back of your head, the exact same hold that you had first nobbled her with back in the forest.
She lifts you to eye-height, lining you up her own slit pupil.
"What the hell are you doing! Change back!"

She shakes you vigorously, rattling you around. You find yourself baring fangs that you don't even know how to use.
But you can't change back and you can't tell her this or talk to her.
"How dare you! Those are MY colors!"

She shakes you further, threatening to break your elongated ribcage with her crushing grip.
"This is your worst presumption yet! You dare mock my lineage?"

No Hiss, you idiot, why would she think that you chose this? But you can't tell her anything and you can't move and in the end you're helpless to avoid her throwing you into your own pack and tying it back up, trapping you in darkness.

1/2

>>40824470
2/2

Welp, this is a little more ironic than you really wanted. What can you even do in here?

> Just stay still for now.

> Pray!

> Hiss loudly and writhe around until someone lets you out.

> Bite a potion.

> See if you can gnaw a hole through the pack.

> Other

>>40824481
> Bite a potion.
souldrift

>>40824481
> Pray!
> Hiss loudly and writhe around until someone lets you out.

>>40824532
wouldn't unshapechange us.

>>40824532
This

>>40824543
we don't really want to change back right now anyway. at least this way we could see whats going on around us or even scout ahead

>>40824569
And how would it help us? We'd have a very limited time of use since our spriritbane cuts it down to a few minutes of sue and we'd not be able to communicate with them.

>>40824586
We might still be able to pray while in soul form

>>40824481
>> Pray!

>>40824602
and? What good would using a super rare and hard to replace potion do for us really?

Rolled 6 (1d6)

Alright, looks like a tie between biting a Souldrift potion open and just praying for help. Odds for the former, evens the latter.

>>40824684
>Pray!

You shift uneasily, still trying to figure locomotion for what is essentially one long string of muscle and a mouth. You're pressed up and contorted against a mass of books, potions and various miscellany and for a moment you consider trying to find an appropriate potion and getting it open. But that might take ages and you have a much more immediate option.
It's not one that you like using, in fact you've been trying to keep it to a minimum lately since you're in a country where there might be all kinds of things that can hear it.
But prayer might be your only hope here.

You focus your thoughts and send them outward in a plea for help, praying that you didn't take this form on purpose and that you can't change it back without help.
You know that Hiss will hear it and Aashenpreet probably will too. And there really shouldn't be any other snakes around right here and now.

And yet there is no response.
Undaunted, you keep it up for several minutes more before the pack is opened and light floods over you once more.
You try to move but someone just picks you up by your tail, letting your head swing over the dust. It's Hiss.

"Wow," you hear Aashenpreet say. "He really does have your colors. Same belly and all."

Hiss doesn't say anything in response but her arm lowers and your head strikes the ground. Not painfully but hardly gentle either.
"What do you want?"

> Ask for help in getting human form back.

> Just let me out of the pack, please?

> Ask her to pass you a potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40824789
I really did not mean to do this. I fucked up ok? Can you pass me the dispellation book in my pack so I can study it?

>>40824789
Hey Ouro does this brew also deactivate after we fall asleep or become unconscious?

>>40824789

> Just let me out of the pack, please?
>I didn't know this would happen! I'm sorry! It will wear off in a day!

This is going to be so much fun!

>>40824858
You're not sure. It's a brew that is powered by ~soul mechanics~ which means that it's at least a hop, skip and a jump away from regular alchemy rules.
Just like Souldrift and Dream Oil, it's the harbinger of a whole new field.

>>40824789
> Ask for help in getting human form back.

>>40824789
> Ask for help in getting human form back.
If we can't we can always just go back in the pack

Since this potion works with the soul, doesn't that mean it should replicate Hiss better than just a shapeshifting potion?

>>40824789
Try really hard to use the snake's natural shapeshifting ability

> Ask for help in getting human form back.

You pray desperately, feeling faintly sick as Hiss continues to swing you around. Can snakes get sick? That's news to you.
Your prayer includes several apologies along with it, just for good measure.

She doesn't let go of you, the world swinging around in a chaotic blur that stops you from distinguishing anything.
But as if from a great distance you hear Aashenpreet arguing on your behalf.
"He said he was sorry! Can't we help him?"

"Absolutely not," Hiss replies. "He's really gone too far this time. You know what happened to the last person who disrespected my parentage like this, Cennen?"
She stops swinging you around but doesn't let go of your tail.
"Of course you know. That was the Snakecatcher. And he at least had the excuse of being a freak. What's yours Cennen? Did you think just because you can fuck me that you're part of the family now?"

"He did it as an accident! And don't you want to help him, then he won't be doing this anymore? Though I don't understand why you care so much about just some co-"

"Shut up. And helping him does nothing know, it's already happened. We can't make this not have happened, the best we can do is punish any human so foolish enough to try!"

She drops you on the ground with a small thwack. She then almost throws the pack at you, dropping potions and books to and fro around you. You curl up miserably, each book threatening to crush your head.
"Look Cennen, here's your cauldron and your books! Why don't you brew something to get out of this? Go on, I'll wait."

Fuck, she's having fun with this. She's passed through her initial burst of anger and reached the stage where she gets gleefully vindictive about it.
She knows as well as you that you can't fucking brew without arms!

Can you?

> Try to brew something regardless.

> Read through the books.

> Bite one of the potions.

> Bite Hiss.

> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>40825115
> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.
failing that
Read the dispel potion book we have.

>>40825115
> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.
> Try to brew something regardless.

Time to see if snakes are better alchemists

>>40825115
> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.
Try to shapeshift into our old quedeshi disguise

>>40825115
>>40825165
This. More than a physical copy, the potion must have turned us into some kind of soul clone of Hiss, meaning we get all of her skills

>>40825115
> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.

> Reach inward and use whatever comes naturally.

You hiss reproachfully and coil up, thinking hard. There has to be some way out of this, something you're not thinking of.
You look within yourself for a moment, searching for anything useful. A way to move or to bite or to...

There is something else in here. Something that seems to be coming naturally to you now! It's like a catch inside your mind that you can latch onto, a path that has been cleared hundreds of times in the past.
You don't know how to do it but you just follow it, letting what comes naturally happen.

You feel yourself swell, your scales becoming tighter and tighter before peeling off entirely as you shoot upwards and transform under a shroud of snakeskin.
You become human once more, displacing the books and the cauldron and pushing them aside! You did it! You actually did it!

You try to get up, feeling oddly top-heavy. Hold on, something doesn't feel right. You're wearing black trousers and a red tunic, a black jacket over the top. And...and..and
Oh dear. Of course there was only going to be one shape that came easiest, it would have been the one that Hiss had used over and over again.

You look up at them, noting that Aashenpreet looks extremely confused and that Oster is looking away.
Hiss just purses her lips.
"I can't believe it but I think I'm actually even more offended now."

> Wrong way! Back to snake for now.

> This'll do. Start brewing.

> Apologize.

> Ask Hiss to apologize for her frankly appalling behavior.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Drink a potion (Specify)

> Other

>>40825434
>> This'll do. Start brewing.
It's what I had I'm going to brew now so I can fix this.

>>40825434
> This'll do. Start brewing.
GET BACK TO NORMAL ASAP

>>40825434
> Apologize.
Tell her soul related alchemy is weird and that it's an entirely unknown field of alchemy
> This'll do. Start brewing.
I wonder if our brews will be amazing now since we're technically a magical being. Also this is a good chance to collect some of our own snake blood for future brews

>>40825434
> This'll do. Start brewing.
> Ask Hiss to apologize for her frankly appalling behavior.
I didn't know this would happen, I said I was sorry (many times) and YOU were the one who wanted me to take your form!

Seriously, she was being a cunt. Let her do whatever she wants, we need to get this out of our chest

>>40825434
Drink an alteration brew to look like a Quedeshi woman for now I guess. Then try to make a more powerful shapeshifting brew since we've gotten a bit better at brewing lately

>>40825576
True shapeshifting is master level sadly.

I wonder if we could eat someone's soul now. We should also see if we have her enhanced strength

>>40825602
This. It will piss her off even more but I don't give a fuck, she can deal with it.

>>40825602
No we definitely have it, it's not even worth checking really

>>40825600
Yeah but surely we could make something better than a 30 minute alteration brew by now

> This'll do. Start brewing.

You ignore Hiss' protestations as you sit over your cauldron and start messing around. You can actually use your own blood for a proper ingredient now and everything!
"Look Hiss, you were the one who wanted me to test it with you. Just let me brew and I'll fix it."

"We can't go anywhere without you making it weird," she says, crossing her arms and turning away.

You start brewing, a little surprised to note that alchemy seems as natural to you as ever. Maybe even a little stronger?

> Just use an Alteration Brew for now.

> Experiment and make something new to fix your problem.

> Try to make some more Shapestealer.

> Other (Specify)

>>40825681
> Experiment and make something new to fix your problem.
Read the recipe for the shapeshifter brew.

>>40825681
> Experiment and make something new to fix your problem.
Well show her how snakes are better alchemists, give her some pride at least.

>>40825681
>>40825691
This and
> Try to make some more Shapestealer.

Dissapointed we weren't more harsh with Hiss. I think she was really out of line here and she's long due a good scolding.

>>40825681
> Experiment and make something new to fix your problem.
Fill a bottle with our own snakeblood to use for brews later too

>>40825736
I would have gone for it had more votes supported it than just the one.

>>40825736
Can you really blame her? I'm frustrated by our alchemy screw ups lately too

>>40825736
It was a lose lose thing to me. She keep being a bitch after we fix this up then we'll scold her.

>>40825769
Our alchemy works fine. Soulkin failed because of our Bane and the shapestealer is awesome. Hiss was right to get offended, but she took it too far.
>>40825813
I think we could reach her. She's suposed to care about us and what we say and feel should matter to her.

>>40825900
>I think we could reach her. She's suposed to care about us and what we say and feel should matter to her.

The higher her rank in princess had gotten the less that is true and the more self important she's become.

> Experiment and make something new to fix your problem.

You let her protestations fall away as you focus on your work, letting your own snake blood drip into the cauldron with one hand and shoveling in your own broken up shed skin with the other.
Snake blood for the soul, that mystic power beyond your realm. Snakeskin for transformation, the power for change.

A strange thought occurs to you as you start to brew, sparks flickering the nascent brew beneath your fingertips.
Was this really such a screw-up? Hiss certainly seemed to think so and for a while you did too but just think about it! You have truly crossed some sort of line here, bounded across it while previous attempts like Souldrift or Dream Oil were content to merely toe it. This is a whole new field of alchemy, snake reagents making something possible that could never have been dreamed of, bringing life to what was once only Tolemaic myth.
And what else could do this? Could Hiss even do a fraction of this with her own natural ability? You really doubt it. She is only a devourer and hoarder of souls, a greedy thing that holds them to her and uses them and strips them to nothing.
But you can do more than that, you can hold it and transform it. Or more accurately, your alchemy can. Lead into gold? Bah, that's nothing! Only you can transform souls, moulding and transmuting humanity itself to what you see fit. This is a paradigm shift and you sit astride of it, with blood in one hand and snakeskin in the other.

For one moment of crystal clarity, everything seems to slide to a stop. You exist alone, currently both man and woman, a transitive being perched atop a mountain of burgeoning understanding and enlightenment.
Souls are queer and difficult to understand. But that doesn't mean that you can't master them, that you can't make them heed your call.
Your feet have been set on this road for a long time, even before you first mixed your first Souldrift on the road to Taldenral.
1/2

>>40826045
IT"S HAPPENING!

>>40826045
2/2
Was it not Hiss herself who taught you the power of the soul, when she bit at you and wounded your soul forever? A wound that has only frozen with Bane, one growing ever-wider.
Perhaps enlightenment has been scarred into you all this time and you only had to realize it.

Is this not the truest and purest form of alchemy and are not you, a being of two souls and winter's Bane, the truest master of it?

> Attain mastery.

> Stop brewing.

>>40826119
> Attain mastery.

>>40826119
> Attain mastery.
Yes, I can get behind transformation instead of destruction.

>>40826119
> Attain mastery.

>>40826119
> Attain mastery.

>>40826119
> Attain mastery.
Maybe we could even make soul-related brews without needing snake blood with this mastery

I wonder could we bypass spirit and go straight to angel or higher with this mastery?

>>40826357
What are you even talking about?

>>40826119
> Attain mastery

>>40826357
Fuck yeah we could

>>40826005
Point taken

>>40826370
Cennen using his alchemy to hit deity tier power is what I was saying. Bet that's what did Tolemy in. Made a transcendence potion and became ultra powerful.

>>40826415
For some time now I've had the slight suspicion that the serpent king is not going to be the final boss

>>40826476
I share your suspicion anon.

Inb4 one of the spirit potions lets us shoot frost from our finger tips.

> Attain mastery.

You open your eyes, being entirely unaware that you had ever closed them. You feel...you feel...more or less the same to be honest.
But your reach has been extended vastly.

You look down at the cauldron next to you, the brew finished while you hadn't even been thinking about it. The liquid is red and dull, save where tiny sparks dance within it. The true mark of magic pushed into a brew. And not Hiss' magic or Eugene's magic or even Master Yolan's magic. Your magic. Your Art has advanced to the point where you leave the mundane parts of alchemy behind and can take the first step onto mastery.

You already know what this potion is. It's the Soulmender Flask, a potion that doesn't change the soul so to speak (or else it would strike your Bane) but it should slush around it and remove any connections currently driven in. It shouldn't remove the wish-bond, you don't think.

You drink it and you momentarily black out for a moment, your form shimmering with refracted light before you become Cennen once more.
Holy shit. It works, it really works. You're a master!

Not everyone is so impressed, unfortunately. None of your companions possess the alchemical knowledge to inform them just how miraculous your new brew is.

Hiss yawns.
"Neat. I'm willing to forgive you if you never do that again."

Oster puts on his mask, letting his own form and face change.
"Now, if that's all taken care of," he says in a new Quedeshi accent, "can we head to the village? The sun is falling."

> "Er, sure I guess." Just that is fine for now.

> Travel with them but you really need to talk to Hiss about what is okay and what isn't. Her, forgive you? It should be the other way round!

> "Oh come on guys! Can't you gasp or be awed or something?"

> "You guys go on ahead, I'll just stay with the wagon." You've got no time for that, you need to be experimenting pronto!

> "You know Hiss, you put a lot of stock in the royal lineage for an attempted-regicide."

> Other

>>40826639
> "You know Hiss, you put a lot of stock in the royal lineage for an attempted-regicide."
Oh by the way I attained alchemic mastery.

>>40826639
> "Er, sure I guess." Just that is fine for now.
Switch to quedeshi form with an alteration brew. We can experiment more once we get a place to sleep

>>40826639
> "Er, sure I guess." Just that is fine for now.
Tell her that while that might have seemed totally pointless we've actually mastered soul related alchemy

>>40826639
> Travel with them but you really need to talk to Hiss about what is okay and what isn't. Her, forgive you? It should be the other way round!
> "You know Hiss, you put a lot of stock in the royal lineage for an attempted-regicide."
> "You guys go on ahead, I'll just stay with the wagon." You've got no time for that, you need to be experimenting pronto!

Guys, what if we managed to repliacte the wish bond effect with a potion?

>>40826738
Anon that is terrifying. BRILLIANT but terrifying. Let's try!

>>40826639
> "Er, sure I guess." Just that is fine for now.
I really don't want to start drama right now

>>40826806
If not now when? Hiss will keep walking all over us at this rate.

>>40826836
It doesn't really bother me

>>40826738
>>40826639
I'll give this a shot.

>>40826850
Really? Come on! This is not healthy.

>>40826850
So when she drops us to start fucking other men and won't let us do the same cause we're HERS you won't mind? Her ego is ballooning out of control anon we need to let some of the air out of it.

>>40826877
>So when she drops us to start fucking other men
NTR outta fucking nowhere

>>40826877
Dude youre making some baseless assumptions right now

>>40826906
Common for snakes to have multiple concubines and partners. Her monogamy is unusual for them. We don't remind her we're supposed to be partners she's going to fuck us in every unpleasant sense of the word.

>>40826877
It's not about that. She just gave us a load of shit because something that SHE wanted went wrong, and in her eyes Cennen's the one at fault here. That isn't fair and we shouldn't let it pass just like that

>>40826947
She's already said she won't do that sort of thing. You're suddenly not trusting hiss at all again and it's really annoying

Rolled 3 (1d6)

Looks like a tie between >>40826738 and just going along with for now. Odds the former, evens the latter.

>>40826966
We are at fault m8 it was our untested brew that did all this. She just got a bit too angry for a strange reason

>>40827148
She beat, insulted and shoved us in our pack for accidentally taking her form. I get she was offended by that but this was too much.

>>40827148
>>40827233
Nearly crushed our skull too.

>>40826992

You stand up, downing an Alteration Brew to change your features to a bland and unassuming Quedeshi man, pulling the vetti back on to complete the disguise.
And with that, the wagon moves forward once more as normal though Hiss still looks more than a little miffed. Well so are you, really.
Just think about it, she just did her best to torment you because something that SHE suggested had gone wrong and somehow it was your fault? You can't let that pass. This isn't supposed to be this way.

"You know Hiss, you put a lot of stock into the royal lineage for a wannabe regicide."

Aashenpreet is suddenly occupying the other side of the wagon as Hiss' eyebrow raises.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that correctly. What did you say? It didn't sound like an apology."
Her voice is sickly sweet and cold.

"Oh, I think you heard me. And I'm not going to apologize either."
Her brow furrows and you keep on speaking to preempt her.
"You got way out of line there, Hiss. I was doing what you wanted me to do and suddenly it's my fault? I know this isn't an equal partnership but I need at least some respect here. And you're breaking your promise!"

Her anger vanishes, not vanquished but momentarily replaced by confusion.
"Eh?"

"Don't you remember back in Taldenral? We said we'd put this stuff behind us."

She stiffens as if struck by lightning.
"That's...that's not the same. And besides, didn't I tell you then that I was going to bite you?"

You sigh.
"Yes, you did. But you also said that I was going to bite you. And that that's just who we are. The only thing we can do is toughen our scales and bear it, etc etc. And you know what Hiss? I think I've done a pretty good job of toughening up and letting what you do slide off my back since then. But when have you done the same?"

"I've forgiven you loads of times," she starts, but her voice is weak and almost faltering.
1/2

>>40827277
2/2

And there it is. You know that she cares for you, maybe even loves you. And vice versa, more's the shame. Never before have you felt so trapped by this, entangled in a relationship that's slowly and steadily sinking ever further down. But the same applies to her and you know she can't willfully ignore the truth.
She doesn't want to hurt you, but she is who she is and what she is is a snake. And not just any snake but an immature insecure snake with a chip on her shoulder that's bigger than her. She hurts everything around her and bites and bites and her love for you doesn't stop that, it only makes her feel bad once her fangs are already in you. Haven't the two of you been here before?

"That's not how it is," she says. "I just got angry. I don't want to do all of that but I get angry and I have...accidents. I do wrong things."

"You've told me that at least twice before. And I'm not sure if I buy it. I get angry too Hiss but I don't take it out on you."

"Then harden your scales, Cennen. Because it's true and I won't stop. I'll never stop biting you."
Her voice is dull, taking on vague tinges of self-pity, that most pathetic and self-aggrandizing of emotions.

"Then at least don't get so offended when I bite you back."

She laughs suddenly, a rushed little giggle.
"This isn't how things are supposed to be, are they?"

"Pardon?"

"I remember looking at that Arlinton woman's memories, I forget her name. She and her husband really loved each other. And I think...back when we first started this, I think I thought I had the same sort of expectations. I'm not supposed to hurt you."

You shrug, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah, that'd be nice. But maybe baby steps is the way to go, Hiss."

She sits there for a few minutes more, Aashenpreet and Oster doing their best not to intrude.
"Yes. I'm ssssorry," she drags the word as if she has to spit it.
2/3

>>40827555
3/3

"But it's a little too late for you Cennen. My venom's already in your blood and you're probably going to die because of me one day. And that is...that is fine to some extent, that is good. But you swore yourself to me, you're my responsibility and I haven't been treating you right."

You nod, feeling like that's the best you're going to get out of her right now. But what good are these words in the future, when she's biting you again?

"I punched you pretty hard yesterday," Hiss says, almost conversationally.
"You can punch me back. If you want. If that makes it better."
She pulls a face and shuts her eyes, waiting for it.

> Punch her.

> Poke her. "Fuck off, I'm not going to do that. Just stop being so dramatic in the future."

> Leave her and go back to brewing.

> Kiss her.

> "It wouldn't do much good. I think I love you."

> "This isn't some mystical flaw in your nature you know, this is you as a person and you can't just pretend that you can't fix it forever."

> Other

>>40827643
> Poke her. "Fuck off, I'm not going to do that. Just stop being so dramatic in the future."
>> Kiss her.
> Leave her and go back to brewing.

>>40827643
> "It wouldn't do much good. I think I love you."
> Kiss her.

>>40827643
>> Kiss her.
We've got our own ways of biting back, thank you very much.

>>40827643
>Poke her. "Fuck off, I'm not going to do that. Just stop being so dramatic in the future."
>Kiss her

>>40827643
>> Poke her. "Fuck off, I'm not going to do that. Just stop being so dramatic in the future."
> Kiss her.

>>40827643
> "It wouldn't do much good. I think I love you."
> Kiss her.
> "This isn't some mystical flaw in your nature you know, this is you as a person and you can't just pretend that you can't fix it forever."

>>40827643
> "It wouldn't do much good. I think I love you."
> Kiss her.

>>40827643
> Poke her. "Fuck off, I'm not going to do that. Just stop being so dramatic in the future."
> Kiss her.
> Leave her and go back to brewing.

She is who she is and that's why we love her, only she sometimes gets a little overboard...

Well, that was nice, now lets get to work on that wishbond potion.

>>40827643
> "It wouldn't do much good. I think I love you."
> Kiss her.

>>40827712
didn't we learn it kind of was when we became a dragon

>>40827818
Yeah, I think that option is a rathr dickish thing for Cennen to say. Since Hiss is not human their relationship can't be expected to be the same as a relationship between humans.

>>40827818
Thing is she isn't a dragon so the issue is learned not natural. Especially considering the other snake we've met. Granted I agree saying it to her now is a bad idea.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Looks like another tie. Odds for being lovey-doey, evens for telling her to stop being so dramatic.

>>40827988

She keeps her eyes closed as you lean in, your hand raised. And then you sigh and kiss her instead. She's surprisingly warm, tasting like blood and poison. You dodge back a moment later to avoid a fang sprouting out in surprise, taking a restoration potion to clean out your mouth before any venom gets hold.
She reddens almost imperceptibly.
"That's...that's not what I meant."

"Come to think of it, biting isn't very fun. I prefer this. And trying to hit you wouldn't do much good, I think I love you."

She shuts her mouth at your last words.
"Y-yeah. I know."

You can't help but await the proper reply, for her to say that she loves you back. But she just turns her head away.

> Push the issue.

> Just sit with her.

> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>40828200
> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.

>>40828200
> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.

>>40828200
> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.
Tell them that we've reached mastery and show off a little

>>40828200
>> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.

>>40828200
> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.
Make sure to stop brewing stuff once we're in the village, we should probably keep our alchemy a secret if we're trying to go unnoticed.

>>40828200
> Just sit with her.

> Nah, it's time to get brewing. You're a goddamn Master Alchemist, even if nobody else appreciates that.

Well, uh, alright. You suppose she'll cross that bridge herself when she wants to. You get up awkwardly and go sit by yourself at the back.

You don't have much time before you reach this settlement, so you'll only have time for one thing and it'll be rushed.
What do you want to try?

> Study Alchemy & Anti-Magick and see if you can bone up on dispel potions.

> Try to improve your Healing potions.

> Look through your Journeyman books so you have a stronger base for your Master-tier shenanigans.

> Try for a potion that makes wish-bonds.

> Try to upgrade your Soulmender Flask.

> Try to upgrade one of your Journeyman brews (Specify)

> Mix up some shit and see what happens.

> Other

>>40828392
> Try for a potion that makes wish-bonds.
Nothing good will come from this knowledge, but you cant stop science!

>>40828392
> Try to improve your Healing potions.
Heal her eye first.
then wish bonds.

>>40828392
Snake blood plus explosive flask. The next spirit we see is fucked

>>40828392
> Try to upgrade your Soulmender Flask.
Add some venom and make it a soulrend flask. Or maybe just snake venom and snake blood combined

>>40828445
>>40828494
>>40828544
You do realize we can heal Hiss' eye now right?

>>40828392
> Try to improve your Healing potions.
I'm confused, since we copied her soul is her soul itself missing an eye?

>>40828555
OR we could do it later and do some soul related stuff now.

>>40828580
I was thinking since we copied her soul and her eye was still gone, we could somehow use a brew to heal her soul and then let her body copy it, since healing it normally would be pretty tough

>>40828567
No, but you copied her shape as well and it most certainly is.

>>40828567
>>40828606

I think that without the Bane our soul would have also copied Hiss' so that we would have effectively become the same person as her.
As for the eye, I think that's a pretty big change, much like aging, enough to modify her soul, maybe?

>>40828580
Healing her eye is actually a really good idea considering that's the easiest way for anyone to find out who she really is while she's disguised

>>40828645
I don't know. Technically we regenerated our own eye after we switched back to our own form so maybe we could use something related to that to heal her eye

I just realized that we've finally gotten our brews to look more appealing now that we're a master. Hiss will be happy that we finally improved their looks like she asked

>>40828392
Additionaly, we should research a way to dispel the wish bond

>>40828770
Why? All we have to do is make a few wishes when we want to dispel it

>>40828782
Yeah, but what if we want to release a snake bound to another?

>>40828802
Doesn't work that way. Only humans can hold bonds.

>>40828820
I meant another human

>>40828802
It might be worth looking into. I just realized that another human might be able to capture hiss someday. I'm glad that nobody in quedesh knows about wishbonds

Sorry guys, I was going to do quite a few more posts to cap this off but work just called in and they want me a few hours early. I get paid extra so I don't exactly want to say no so I'll just archive this and leave it at that.
I'll do 34.5 tomorrow most likely, check the twitter, etc etc etc.

>>40828820
Correct. You'd be in a world of trouble if snakes could extort other snakes for wishes, because Hiss captured you literally just this thread.

>>40828844
Actually that was a discarded plotpoint I was going to use in Melire, with the Mayor's ace-in-the-hole being that he could exert control over Hiss due to his guardsman capturing her and that transferring up.
In the end I decided that the wish-bond doesn't work that way and had him talk to a Gray Sister to summon a spirit instead.

>>40828899
Thanks for running!

>>40828899
Thanks for running!

A bond-dispel potion is still pretty useful to have around, just in case. Also a nice present to Hiss.

>>40828964
I bet it would be easy to modify the Soulmender brew to make it dispel wishbonds