>>41418731
You wake slowly, your eyes crusted together and heavy. You can’t move and for a moment it feels like something is pressing over you but the sensation passes and you realize you are merely adrift in the most comfortable bed you’ve ever slept in.
Right, that makes sense. You’re in the apartment that you got trapped in after...oh. Oh right. All of that happened. That was real.

It feels strangely distant now in your memories, as if it was done by hands other than yours. Your memory skips over most of that and you permit it to do so gladly. You sit up, yawning and feeling refreshed despite yourself. You’re naked, your clothes lying in a rumpled heap on the floor beside the bed. That makes sense you suppose. Did you fall asleep in the bath?

You’re pretty sure you know who must have dragged you out and put you here to sleep the rest of the night away. You turn, expecting to see Hiss somewhere. But she isn’t. You are alone.

> The last thing you want to be right now is awake. Go back to sleep.

> Call out.

> Wasn’t there something you were supposed to do when you woke up?

> Get up and make sure everything is alright in the rest of your rooms.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41418737
> Call out.
> Wasn’t there something you were supposed to do when you woke up?

>>41418737
> Wasn’t there something you were supposed to do when you woke up?
> Get up and make sure everything is alright in the rest of your rooms.

>>41418737
>> Call out.

>>41418737
> Get up and make sure everything is alright in the rest of your rooms.

>>41418737
> Wasn’t there something you were supposed to do when you woke up?

Let's try to keep the angry rants to a minimum today

> Wasn’t there something you were supposed to do when you woke up?

You lie in bed for several more minutes pondering before a sudden thought gets you stumbling out. Oh shit! Don't you have to pray or some bullshit?
There's a small shrine in the corner of the bedroom, one that you don't remember seeing earlier. It's just a small table at knee-height covered in dying flowers, a painted portrait of several beautiful men and women being encircled by a huge brown snake.

Not sure exactly what to do with it, you kneel down and place your hands on the table while you aimlessly pray, directing a plea to a constrictor that you've never met before.
And then what? Is there something you're supposed to be praying for? Or is this just all to appease their vanity?

-There are many prayers this morning-

You jump, interrupted by the small spider floating in through the doorway.

> Ask Rock about the prayer

> Ask Rock about last night.

> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.

> Pet Rock.

> You really need to go eat.

> Brew

> Other

>>41419021
> Ask Rock about the prayer
> Ask Rock about last night.
> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.
> Pet Rock.
>Remember we're supposed to pray to the lady of this demense

>>41419021
> Ask Rock about the prayer
> Ask Rock about last night.
> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.
> Pet Rock.

>>41419021
> Ask Rock about last night.
> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.
> Pet Rock.

>>41419021
> Ask Rock about the prayer
> Ask Rock about last night.
> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.

>>41419021
> Ask Rock about the prayer
> Ask Rock about last night.
> Ask Rock about where Hiss is.
> Pet Rock.
Are we still disguised and can we still speak quedeshi?

>>41419151
I think both the effects have worn off by now.

>Ask everything.
>Pet Rock

"What's the issue with these prayers anyway? I don't think snakes can answer them like you can. Are they just a vanity thing or what?"
You are surprised by your own voice when you speak. It sounds low and gravelly, hurting your throat. Maybe you didn't get as much sleep as you thought.

-I am not informed on the matter of this snake in particular-

"Right."

-But I believe it is to reaffirm her status and to keep track of you. It is possible to discern the emotional states of anyone praying to you-

You stop. Your emotional state? Does that mean that she might know?
"So am I in trouble?"

-I do not believe so. Your prayer did not feel distressed. Merely tired.-

It might be just your imagination but the little spirit somehow manages to sound disapproving of this. It's almost certainly just your imagination however since Rock's 'voice' never changes from its usual icy monotone.
You find yourself taking the bait anyway.
"Are you implying that I should still be a wreck? I can't do that forever, you know."

-Nor should you. All the ill-feeling in the world would have zero effect in changing what is already done.-

You lean against the wall with a sigh, sliding downwards until you're sitting down.
"So should I be feeling it or not? Because right now..."
There's disgust and horror but all somewhat muted, as if your mind was turned away from yesterday's events, refusing to acknowledge them.

-I cannot say.-
Rock alights on your open palm and you reach out with your other hand, scratching her minuscule head with a finger. The spirit is intangible but you do it anyway as she radiates a gentle warmth.
-To dwell on it may be unwise but who else would remember the dead? Nobody else knows.-

"You...you think that I did something awful last night don't you?"

-I know it. But my opinion of you has not changed. You may be temporarily afflicted, particularly so by the company you choose to keep but I believe you to be of moral worth.-

"You do?"
1/2

>>41419439
Rock is best girl

>>41419439
-I believe this. I think your biggest problem is that you do not.-

"What does that even mean?"

-You spend too much time with people who would tell you that nothing is worth anything, least of all your purity. You protest them but you have still let you convince you-

"Let's not beat around the bush here. You're talking about Hiss."

-She is one, yes. She loves you but her love is far more dangerous than her hate. It is out of love that she does her best to transform you, to make you something that you are not. She hurts you because she thinks it makes you stronger-

"And you don't think it will?"

-I am ambivalent. It will make you a stronger human. I do not think it would make you a stronger Cennen.-

"Bah," you say softly, petting the spirit. "You can't say anything straight, can you?"

-I see the straight path. It is the mortal world that is twisted-

You sit with Rock for a few minutes before saying anything else.
"So, where is she anyway?"

-Who?-

"Hiss. I couldn't help but notice that she's absent."

-She appeared distressed when she found you in the bath. She dragged you to the bed and she tried to eat your soul-

You freeze.
"What?"

-I believe that was her intention. The snake attempted to bite your memories repeatedly but only froze herself. She then retired to the study and began reading, after which she attempted several times to kill me. She then left and told me not to tell you what she was doing.-

She tried to bite you? Was she trying to eat away last night from your memories? And what the fuck is she doing now?
"Where is she?"

-I don't know. She wanted you to remain here. She was distressed.-

> Run to the door and demand to be let out.

> Blow the door open.

> Woah hold on. Eat first.

> Just stay here and wait.

> Brew something to help

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41419702
> Woah hold on. Eat first.
> Use Potion (Specify)
Soulsight brew

>>41419151
Both effects have worn off by now.

Also sorry about the delay on that update, I just felt really slow for some reason.

>>41419702
>> Woah hold on. Eat first.
Rock I am going to eat first and then I will tackle this. Thank you for telling me.

>>41419702
Soulsight brew
alteration brew for disguise

>>41419702
> Blow the door open.

>>41419702
> Woah hold on. Eat first.
> Thank Rock for telling us.

She knows she can't eat our memories. So there must've been something very grave to push her to trying it, several times as well. Maybe she needed a potion and was trying to access our alchemical knowledge, hence the reading after she failed.
Then she attacked Rock...
What if there was something wrong with Dhinapreet's soul?

> Drink soulsight.

>>41419702
Ask how long she's been gone.

>>41419900
She knew we felt really bad about it so she thought it would be worth a try to take our memory. She probably attacked rock out of frustration or she knew rock made us feel worse about it or something

>>41419968
That is possible, but i don't see her bashing her head against the bane, which she knows she can't break, just to make Cennen feel better. And what was did she do in the studio? We should go check it out, see what she was reading.
Attacking rock sounds like her, but she said she seemed distressed, not angered, though that might be Rock grouping the terms.

>Eat first
>Soulsight

You almost want to go do something immediately, to escape and then what? How would you find her? You could pray but that would only alert every nearby snake. No, you need to think this through.
"Thanks Rock."

-For what?-

"You didn't have to tell me."

-That is technically accurate.-

You get to your feet and get dressed. Your alteration potion has worn off but you're not sure if you need to reapply it just yet. Tanni knows you're not Quedeshi after all.

Out on the table waiting for you is some sort of bread, a thin circular baked thing coated with pulped and pickled fruit. It tastes alright, you suppose. Not entirely to your taste.
The 'bread' is not actually bread at all, you decide, since it seems to be made out of potato, lentils, spices and a few other ingredients you cannot identify.

And to top it all off, a Soulsight brew. You drink it down and let the world around you change. You can feel Rock beside you, a warm presence with a hole where her heart should be.

And beyond...Human souls outside the door. There's one guard standing outside, they must have a key. People are roaming the corridors, most of them moving with purpose. But wherever you are now, it's too large! You can't see Hiss or the constrictor, no snake souls at all.
But you can feel the injured souls. There's too many of them, lingering on the edges of your 'vision'. Souls with gaping holes bored into them, ones that make Oster look healthy. They meander about pleasantly and without purpose. They seem to be corralled into one place, something that is a little worrying. What could that be? A feeding ground?

You're starting to feel a little dizzy.

> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.

> No, you can turn it off now before you feel too sick.

>>41420255
> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.

>>41420255
>> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.
get gud

>>41420255
>> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.

>>41420255
> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.
Come on cennen souls are your thing

>>41420255
> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.
Just a little more, we have regeneration brews for later.
Are the people in the corral the only ones eaten?
Do we see Oster and Aash?

>> Keep the soulsight on. You need the practice.

No, you need to keep it on. Isn't this supposed to be your specialty after all? You'll need to get used to this sooner or later, it might as well be now.

You widen your eyes and keep staring through the walls, doing your best to inspect every soul that flits by. You can't find Oster or Aashenpreet anywhere and you're pretty sure of that because their souls are quite distinctive.

Are there any other devoured people besides those in the 'corral'? Not as far as you can tell. To be honest, the number of damaged souls you can see is quite small. You sort of expected more. Maybe the lady of this demesne is finicky with her tastes.

It's starting to hurt now, a straining deep behind your eyeballs but you keep it up anyway and you are rewarded for it. Something stirs at the very edge of your perception, several hundred feet away.
It's a small group of human souls, each one moving with the others in perfect harmony. Ishmin? And in the middle of them, one of the most beautiful souls you have ever seen. It is like a jewel, a glimmering thing older than any human soul should be. Its age lends it splendor and its jewel-like glitter comes from the dozens of faces around it, a different screaming face for each facet.
It is without a doubt, a snake.

And it is moving swiftly and in the direction of your apartment.

> Stay where you are. Best to not look suspicious.

> Brew something to prepare yourself (Specify)

> Go sit in the study.

> Go to the bathroom and pretend to be taking a bath and thus not immediately available.

> Ask Rock for help.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41420541
> Use Potion (Specify)
Soul guise
> Ask rock to hide

>>41420612
>>41420541
This

>>41420541
Make a knockout brew

>>41420663
This plus shrink it with a collapsibility brew and conceal it somewhere on our person

>>41420541
We need a way to speak with her that doesn't include her trying to put us into a trance. Drink a soul guise and use bloodkin to communicate with her if she doesn't speak teln. Or just ask her to make one of her ishmin drink our word theft brew

>>41420765
Word theft is better, bloodkin could hurt her.

>>41420821
It's safe if we have a soul guise but she's not likely to accept a brew from us

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Looks like a tie between concealing a Knockout brew or just using Soul Guise. Odds the former, evens the latter.
And sorry again about my speed today, I feel really sluggish and groggy.

>>41420864
are they mutually exclusive ?

>>41420864
No worries. 15-30 minutes between updates is still pretty damn fast

>>41420864
No problem, Ouro.
Does this mean we just do the knockout or we do both?

>>41420917
Not really but soul guise is kinda pointless in this situation. Snakes can't see souls

>>41420993
She could sense our bane if she tried to put us in a trance.

>>41421042
Right. Soul guise won't change that.

>Make a Knockout Brew and conceal it with a collapsible potion.

You brew up a knockout potion as quick as you can, your flickering soulsight informing you that the serpent is approaching with alarming speed. There can no longer be any doubt, she's heading directly for you.
You'd hoped to do something more than just this but there's no time! You pour the Collapsible brew on your newly minted Knockout Brew, letting it shrink to the size of a coin.

"Rock," you hiss. "Hide somewhere!"

She doesn't question you, drifting back into the study.
Moments later, you hear a knock on the door. Your soulsight is gone, faded beyond use. You hear a key turning in the lock, something clicking as you stand up.

The door opens to reveal Tanni's masked face, the Vtriya stepping confidently into the room while her Ishmin wait outside. And behind her...is nothing. Where's the constrictor she's supposed to be serving?

She says something, her mellifluous voice tinged with amusement. But you can't understand her.

> Throw the Knockout Brew! Now!

> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.

> Pray.

> Prostrate yourself.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41421107
> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.

>>41421107
> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.

>>41421107
> Prostrate yourself.
> Pray.
> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.

>>41421107
> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.
Praying might be a bad idea, it seems like she's trying to conceal the fact that she's a constrictor

>>41421107
> Throw the Knockout Brew! Now!
It's nobbling time! I'm just gonna assume that she's the constrictor in disguise

>>41421193
Good thinking anon.
>>41421222
We can do that any time we want, we should hear her out first.

> Indicate that you need to get a brew to speak Quedeshi properly.

You do your best to show that you can't speak properly and that you need to use the Wordtheft Brew to speak correctly. You back this up with what little Quedeshi you actually do know, enough to say that you can't speak it.

Tanni strides forward, standing disconcertingly close. As before with the palanquin, she doesn't seem afraid of being alone with you at all. Not that you'd object to being alone with her either...
You do your best to drive such thoughts out of your mind. It's not possible to be this distracting while wearing such a formless and heavy outfit, surely?
She says something else, her voice warm and safe before reaching out and brushing a gloved hand against your cheek. Your knees nearly buckle and you're forced to retreat, holding the Wordtheft between you almost like a shield.

Still, she seems to divine your intentions with the brew, signalling for one of her Ishmin to come forward and drink it. And from there, it is only a matter of you also taking a sip and your knowledge of Quedeshi restores itself.

"Good morning, Cennen."

You bow, repeating the greeting back to her.

"You had a lot of fun last night, or so I've been told. You seem to have taken quite a liking to Dhinapreet."

You freeze despite yourself, the memories rushing back by her call.

Tanni stops, noticing your reaction.
"Is something wrong? You don't like hearing her name? Dhinapreet? You've done something that you regret?"

Sweat forms on your brow as she reads into your every movement. What can you even do?

And then she laughs, making you relax despite yourself.
"I understand. You took her last night and now you hate yourself for betraying your lover. Well don't worry about any of that, I'm sure she'll forgive you."
Luckily, she seems to have drawn the wrong conclusion. And her promise of forgiveness seems to wash away all the pain, the regret of last night.
1/2

>>41421594
Her voice is soothing and despite her mask and her bulky robes it makes you feel safe to be with her. And there's a way that she presents herself somehow, a sensuality entirely disconnected from her bodily appearance that causes your own body to react unwillingly.

"Is something wrong?"
Her tone is coy and playful but she stops a moment later.
"Where is Dhinapreet?"

Your instinctual reaction to that, to glance around as if her corpse or her ghost would haunt you still, causes her to step back.
"What have you done?"

> Beg forgiveness.

> Confess.

> Tell her about Hiss.

> It's too dangerous to talk any further. Try to nobble her.

> Try to lie.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41421740
> It's too dangerous to talk any further. Try to nobble her.

>>41421814
Dude, we're surrounded by Ishmin and the constrictor is here. Plus, we don't know where anyone else is.

>>41421740
> Try to lie.
I hurt her accidentally, I thought since she wasn't here she went to seek attention. If you don't know where she is......

>>41421740
> Confess.
I killed her.
The truth, how we feel it. We should sound convincing enough.

>>41421740
Tell her we haven't seen her since last night. It's true.

>>41421886
She is the constrictor

>>41421910
No, Hiss might barge in any second looking as her.
"I hurt her and she left, I don't know where she is"

>>41421932
>assuming
the Constrictor could have good invisibility like Aash and the Ishmin point still stands.

>>41421918
This.

>>41421948
It's definitely a safe assumption.

>>41421980
It is, however, we should still hold on on the nobble option.

>Half-truth

You need to get away from her. It isn't magic or anything soul-related but there's something about Tanni that repeatedly keeps you off-guard.
You wonder if Hiss felt the same way when she was talking to Tash at the ball.

And yet you're not sure if you can lie to her, not when you're this close. You can only tell her truth. But not all the truth.
"I...I haven't seen her since last night. I hurt her and she left, I don't know where she is."
You let your emotions rise to the forefront, doing your best to lend legitimacy to your words.

And it seems to work, at least for now. The masked face nods.
"At least you feel guilty about it. But fear not, they're just slaves. Slaves of lesser value than you. And it is for your value that I have come to collect you today."

"Are you taking me to your lady?"
You're getting pretty suspicious about the constrictor's relation to her 'Vtriya' but you do your best to let your nerves override it.

"Our lady," she corrects you. "And no, she will not see you yet. You have not proven yourself worthy."

"Then what?"

"Isn't it obvious? It is time for you to prove that worth today."
She walks away, turning her back to you as she goes to rejoin her Ishmin.
"Follow."

> Do as she says.

> Use the Knockout Brew.

> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.

> "No. Where are my friends?"

> Other

>>41422071
> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.

>>41422071
>> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.
>May I see m friends after the tests?

>>41422071
> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.
> Where are my friends?

>>41422071
> Use the Knockout Brew.

>>41422071
> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.
If she tries to have an Ishmin do it, tell her some of our most volatile reagents and potions might be dangerous and must be handled with care. Which is true.

Would it really be so bad if they found out we had a spirit friend? Everybody loves spirits here.

> "Uh hold on, I need to pack my things from the study." Go get Rock and put her in the pack.

"Sure, just wait a moment. I have to pack my things from the study."
You start to walk towards the study but stop when Tanni turns and starts keeping pace with it.

"No need, I can send an Ishmin to secure it for you."

Shit.
"Some of our most volatile reagents and potions can be dangerous and must be handled with care."
This is true so hopefully she buys it.

"That sounds very dangerous," she says lightly. Is she mocking you? "I would very much like to see these dangerous brews. Consider it part of proving your worth."
Is she onto you?

Either way, you don't actually have any brews in the study! The only thing in there is Rock which is something you don't particularly want Tanni to know about. What do you do now?

> "Sure." Let her come into the study with you and then try to nobble her since she'll be out of sight.

> "Actually, they're in my pack. I forgot, sorry."

> Pretend to drop your pack and roll the miniature potion you're concealing into the study while she's hopefully distracted.

> Tell her about Rock.

> Other

>>41422320
> Tell her about Rock.

>>41422320
>> Pretend to drop your pack and roll the miniature potion you're concealing into the study while she's hopefully distracted.

>>41422320
> "Actually, they're in my pack. I forgot, sorry."
Dammit!
I'm afraid to ask what's her perception level

>>41422320
> Tell her about Rock.
If her eyes are sharp enough to discern the exact meaning of our body language then misdirection might not work so well

>>41422370
>>41422417
Guys a spirit, really wantto reveal that? instant death.

>>41422451
Their culture loves spirits.

>>41422320
> "Actually, they're in my pack. I forgot, sorry."

>>41422476
But she'd think we'd enslaved one. Or trespassed in Aashmid's domain.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

Looks like a tie between spilling the beans and trying to claim that they're actually in your pack. Odds for the former, evens the latter.

>>41422451
Having rock will either make us an actual saint, or the bigger heretic this side of the sea and will get us killed.
It's a pretty risky move.
>>41422510
Which doesn't matter because the dice saved us the trouble.

>>41422533
I think the fact that we're good friends with rock would help a lot

>>41422533
I think aash would have reacted differently if it was heretical. She's a priestess.

>>41422567
She's also a heretic and very very far out of the loop.

>>41422533
What's risky is lying to Tanni. She's gonna get suspicious and look in the room herself.
>>41422579
She's not a heretic.

>>41422596
She broke commandment, she's slated to be flayed alive.

>>41422610
That has nothing to do with her opinion of spirits.

> "Actually, they're in my pack. I forgot, sorry."

You can't let her see Rock. Sure, Aashenpreet loves the spirit but she's a priestess and a devout one at that. You can't imagine that faith gets one far in the invisible courts.
"Uh, actually," you say, acting as if a thought just struck you, "turns out they're still in my pack. I packed them up earlier, I just forgot about it. Sorry."
You sound like a fucking liar.

Tanni just stares at you and then opens the door to the study. There's....There's nothing in there. Where did Rock go?
"Very well. Then follow me."
The tone in her voice is still amused but carrying an edge with it, one that tells you that she knows something is wrong and is choosing to merely tolerate it for now. And if something like that is showing in your tone, it's because she wants you to hear it. So which way does she want you to act?

For now, you just bow your head and follow her out of your apartments and into the corridor. You look around as you exit, wondering how the layout of this place could possible wor-

An Ishmin grabs you from behind, stilling your arms instantly as another jams a sack over your head. You do your best to not drop the concealed Knockout brew as you hear Tanni speak.
"You are not yet blessed yet by our mistress so for now, you will walk among the halls of night."

The Ishmin form up around you and march you forward, not letting you to do anything else, each Ishmin adjusting perfectly to any motion you take.
You don't know how long you are forced to walk. Twenty minutes? Half an hour? Throughout you are pushed forward and back, turned around and sent in loops. There's no way you'd be able to remember the way you'd taken now. Maybe Oster could but not you.

You are sat down onto what feels like a wooden chair, your pack pushed into your hands. You are sitting in a small room, your set before a bench filled with glass flasks and equipment. It's an alchemical lab!
1/2

>>41422642
Not as good as the one that Master Yolan had but you could brew all kinds of things with this sort of equipment!

You hear Tanni's voice from somewhere behind you. You can't see her.
"As long as you keep acceptable behavior, you will be allowed access to this. After our mistress gives you her blessing, it is yours. But first, she has asked me to pass three trials upon you to test your skill and devotion."

Three trials? The words bring up images of hollering skeletons and you can't help but grin. You wonder what the Melach are even doing these days?

"The first involves this lab. You must create a brew that upon being imbibed will cause a deep love and obedience in the drinker, even if it is temporary. If you attempt to escape or use a potion, the Ishmin will kill you. You have three hours."
You hear the door close behind you, leaving you alone with just an alchemical lab and a solitary Ishmin for company.

> Try to brew as she suggests.

> Brew something else instead while you have access, the Ishmin won't know.

> Read through your books.

> Try to use a potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41422718
> Read through your books.
Use the love potion recipe from our journeyman book

I feel that the next test will be using the potion on ourselves to make us completely devoted to our lady for a while.

>>41422642
>You are not yet blessed yet

uuuuuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRGH

>>41422718
>> Read through your books.
>>41422754
this more or less. Try to make the duration as short as possible or failing that, make us personally immune.

>>41422718
> Try to brew as she suggests.
> First make one that reverses the effects of it, pretend it was a screw up and keep it

>>41422784
This. Use the recipe in our book as a base

Later we could combine this with bloodkin to make a direct mind control brew.

>>41422718
> Read through your books.

>> Read through your books.

You grab your Journeyman manuals from your pack and start leafing through them, the Ishmin watching you all the while.

What Tanni described sounds very similar to a Minor Love Potion, a recipe in one of the manuals. Manuals that the Ishmin behind you can't fucking read.

But you could do so much better than that. If you want to actually impress her you could probably have a decent stab at making something approaching a Major Love Potion, particularly if you're planning on using it to maybe escape.

But what if she uses it on you or to some other end that you wouldn't appreciate? Surely then you would be best advised to keep it in the Minor version or try to change it on the fly to be weaker or selective. But then, if she's NOT planning on using it on you then such a weak brew will not endear yourself in her eyes.

Choices, choices.

> Just make the Minor Love Potion, straight from the books.

> Try to experiment into a Major Love Potion.

> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.

> Try to experiment into a love potion that doesn't affect you. A selective poison might be useful as a base there but you don't know that one either, you'd have to come up with both on the fly!

> Mix in another brew you know for a desired effect (Specify)

> Mix in some snake reagents. You have an idea...

> Other

>>41422872
Man, soul alchemy...

>>41422896
>> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.

>>41422896
> Try to experiment into a Major Love Potion.
> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.

>>41422896
> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.
If they discover us we can say it is standard practice to prepare an anthithesis of what we're brewing, for safety. TIt's a stretch, but she didn't tell us to brew only the love potion, and we wouldn't be trying to escape.

>>41422896
> Try to experiment into a Major Love Potion.
> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.

>>41422896
Does Cennen actually have an idea for a snake ingredient brew or does it need a write in?

>>41422896
> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.
> Try to experiment into a love potion that doesn't affect you. A selective poison might be useful as a base there but you don't know that one either, you'd have to come up with both on the fly!
If we make it soul related then we could dispel it with Soulmender or it wouldn't work on us due to spiritbane. Call it soulmate brew

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>41422986
Said 'idea' is actually just leading into another paragraph of voteable options (Snake scales, Snake blood etc) with descriptions of what it might make.
The point is moot right now because it seems to be a tie between Minor potion + antidote or Major potion + antidote. Odds for the former, evens the latter.

>>41423042
I was waiting for your response to vote. I guess I'll back the major love potion but it's probably too late

> Pretend to screw up and make some defective brews but one of them is secretly an antidote. Or at least, you hope it'll work as an antidote.

Well, at least you have plenty of time with the three hours she's given you. If you were deadset on impressing her you'd try to do it as quickly as possible but you aren't too fussed in that regard right now.
It really helps that she isn't present, allowing your thoughts to be clear and unsullied.

Two and a half hours later, the door opens and two Ishmin walk in, Tanni standing behind them.
You bow and close your books. Behind you on your desk is a functional Minor Love Potion. Mastering that brew had been the easy part. The real effects of your work lie in the several bottles next to it, dull and apparently defective. This SHOULD work as an antidote to such effects.

Tanni looks at you while the Ishmin collect the Love Potion and pass it to her. Her eyes flick over the other bottles that you are sliding into your pack.
"Oh, those?" you say. "They're defective. But waste not, want not."
That saying doesn't work at all in Quedeshi.

Roll 1d100

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>41423187

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>41423187

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>41423187

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>41423187

>>41423211
Geez. Why do we always get 90+ rolls?

>>41423226
Because we sacrifice so many decision to the dice gods.

>>41423226
It's because the frequent ties appease the Dice Gods or so I'm told.

Going with this: >>41423211

>>41423249
>>41423235
I'm starting to think that theory has some merit.

>>41423270
The bad rolls will come at the end

>>41423211
Tanni seems to believe you, at least for now so you get to keep your antidote. Now, will she force you to drink it?

You tense and she laughs, forcing you to relax.
"Afraid?"
You feel heat build in your cheeks, reflexive shame as if you were five year old.
"Well have no fear. This isn't for you. Take him."

The Ishmin stuffs a bag over your head again before you can react and you let yourself be marched off. You don't even try to remember the way this time as they spin you around to destroy your sense of direction.

When they rip the sack off of your head again, you find yourself in a dark room lit only by a single flickering torch.
It's a strange room, the walls and roof are gray stone but the floor is soft earth that moulds itself around your feet. The room itself is empty save for a large wooden box, a rectangular container nearly as long as yourself.
"Your task lies within."

You are pushed forward onto your knees in the dirt as the stone door is rolled shut behind you.
It smells awful in here. Some sort of acidic stench clings to the air, flooding your nostrils.

> Open the box.

> Throw something at the box.

> You don't know what you're supposed to be doing here but you can use this time to brew.

> Call out for help.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41423406
> You don't know what you're supposed to be doing here but you can use this time to brew.

>>41423406
> You don't know what you're supposed to be doing here but you can use this time to brew.

>>41423406
> Open the box.
Have the knockout brew ready I guess?

>>41423406
> Open the box.
Drink a regen brew first, I'm worried about the acid smell.

>>41423406
>> Use Potion (Specify)
brew up another soulsight ( we are gonna get really good with that potion)

>>41423406
Let's hope it's not someone we knew.
> Open the box.
With knockout ready.

>>41423517
This, we could see if some kind of creature is inside the box and double check Tanni's soul

>>41423517
I'm kind of worried it'll start fucking with our eyes if we use it too much. Though it would be cool if repeated exposure gave us a weaker version of soulsight permanently.

>>41423662
We grew back a scorched eye with healing potions

> Open the box.

You cautiously slide the box open, keeping your knockout brew ready as you do so. It's shaped suspiciously like some sort of coffin. It isn't a corpse, is it? What would that even do?

The lid slides off and you instinctively recoil as you behold the writhing mass within. Bugs? The box is filled with squirming insects. Wingless black bugs with segmented and armored bodies, each one the size of your pointer finger with a set of vicious pincers.
When you open the box and let the light of the torch in, they all fall still at the same time. And then they turn to face you in a complete synchronicity.

You're already throwing the Knockout flask but the bugs are moving, no, LEAPING. The ones closest to you throw themselves into the air, easily reaching face height.
Will your potion will take effect in time?

Roll 1d100. Highest of the first three rolls.

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>41423751
Fuck I suspected that's what it was

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>41423751
Ishmin cages, hence why I wanted to brew assholes!

>>41423751

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>41423751

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>41423751
shiiit

>>41423763
We're going to need some healing potions...

>>41423763
>>41423772
>>41423782
The dice gods have forsaken us... 66 isn't awful though. We'll probably only be missing a few chunks by the time it works

>>41423797
>>41423799
This is why we should have brewed some shit up ahead of time, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Seriously guys we had no time limit for this.

>>41423797
We should have thrown it before we opened the box. Maybe we can capture one and use beast master brew on it though? Shove one in a bottle for now.

>>41423814
Do we have one though?

>>41423811
What were you gonna brew to help with this?

>>41423821
Yes.

>>41423825
Incendiaries, high power poison mist cloud, a basic insect repellant?

>>41423825
We could have checked the cage with soulsight. Then we could have set it on fire, or slipped in a poison brew

>>41423811
There were more votes to brew than to open it

>>41423838
We could spray it. The ishmin should be far more succeptible to it than the bunyip

>>41423863
Shit you're right. A couple guys just voted kinda strangely.

Oi Ouro we didn't actually vote for this

>>41423763
The Ishmin, for that is what you can only assume they are fast and they are not particularly merciful. The Knockout brew smashes into the box, immediately inundating most of the small swarm but the leaping vanguard are already clear of the initial burst.

You raise your arm in vain, trying to bat them away but those that you hit just latch onto your limb instead. And they waste no time in biting, their pincers piercing your sleeve like it was nothing and causing enough pain to send you to your knees.
Blood is running down your arm.

A few have landed on your chest and you actually manage to shake them off before they can orient themselves, even as the pain in your arm forces you to the ground.

And then you feel the pitter-patter of tiny feet on your face. It starts in your left cheek, gouging its way up while you flop helplessly on the ground. You see is it advances up, a pair of pincers closing towards your left eye...

...And then the knockout cloud has finally spread far enough that it curls up and rolls off your face. There's blood. There's blood on the floor beside where you are lying down. You can't see it but there's something on your face that won't stop bleeding.
You roll, crushing what sleeping bugs are you still on you to a pulp. Shit, they smell even worse like that, their acidic smell clogging the air.

You suck in air in a ragged gasp, tears streaming down your eyes as you curl up in the dirt.
You get to your knees, your arms wobbling uselessly. They're bloody, hunks bitten right out of the flesh. And it won't stop hurting. There must be something in the bite, there has to be.
Maybe this is what you deserve.

You down the antivenom from your pack, letting it soothe whatever pain-inducing toxin they left in you.
It helps a little. Not enough.

> Brew

> Stamp on the Ishmin while they're asleep.

> Call for help.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>41423863
>>41423920

I count three votes for opening, two votes to brew, two votes to use a potion.

>>41423938
I voted to make and drink a soulsight brew

>>41423863
2 for brewing 3 for opening 3 for using soulsight first.

>>41423866
Except we'd only get a fraction of the hive.

>>41423920
too late. Once it's written no going back.

>>41423928
>Shut the box, use a heal all. Stamp on the sleeping ones outside, then brew.

>>41423928
Put a few of them into one bottle, drink a regen and heal all while stomping the rest

>>41423938
We had to brew a soulsight before we drank it.

>>41423928
> Soulsight

> See if we can knobble some bugs as reagents.

>>41423928
>Heal
>Nobble as many as you can for brewing

Oh goddamnit.

>>41424002
This really fucked us over m8

>>41423947
> Close the cage
> Spray poison on the sleeping Ishmin
> Brew.
> A heal all. Use the dead Ishmin to breq a more specialised antivenom.

Alternatively, if the effect of the venom is to fast, just

> Call for help.

>>41424010
Yeah no kidding. I should have read better when I was counting. But on the other hand, why the fuck was it under Use Potion instead of Brew, that's why I read it wrong in the first place!
These have been some fine fucking days for threads, haven't they?

>>41424026
How do you feel about miniature retcons?

>>41423928
> Call for help.

>>41424026
>>41424040
I say we roll with it.

>>41424064
I'd really rather not. That would have gone so much better. Now we're all fucked up and hiss is gonna go postal if she sees us

>>41424026
>>41424040
>>41424076
Amina fucked up the format and are trying to weasel out of it. Roll with it.

>>41424090
I guess i assumed that ouro actually reads our entire votes

>>41424107
Well one of the votes was ambiguous and you mislabeled hard. Seriously there a reason votes follow a format.

>>41424121
I was the guy who seconded the vote. Brewing was implied for the soulsight brew since we didn't have one and the anon even said so in his vote.

Yes. This hurt us, but we aren't dead yet. Let's just deal and move on from here. Ouro is a human too, this was just a human mistake.

>>41424147
Still did not follow the format. Honestly not that hard to copy paste brew the say soul sight.

>>41424157
We're both at fault but it's not too late to fix it.

>>41424157
Ouro is a snake, it's why hes so weak to the cold

>>41424157
If hiss finds out we were put in a room with ishmin she's gonna freak out and murder people

>>41424205
Only if we died, have some faith in her and Cennen for that matter.

>>41424170
Um... I'm not the anon you think I am. I just made it into the thread. All I was saying is that we can come back from this. We've come back from worse before.
Also that Ouro is a hooman bean so cut Ouro some slack.

>>41424227
When I said both I meant both the players and ouro

>>41424224
I have faith that she will get very upset when she sees how fucked up we are

>>41424232
My mistake, then! Apologies.

> Fuck

The pain now soothed at least a little, you scramble through the pack searching for a heal-all. You drink the whole bottle down without a pause, trying to stop the bleeding.

Why did you just open the box? Why didn't you brew up a soulsight or something? In hindsight, it all seems so clear. Hell, you even had the idea before you went and opened the box. And what a mistake that turned out to be. It would have made so much more sense for you to have used that.
If everyone's life is a story, yours is written by an idiot.

But maybe you deserve it. Maybe that's why you did something so monumentally stupid without thinking. A subconscious desire to throw yourself into harm, anything to make you feel better about what you did to an innocent.
Or maybe your life just teeters on the whim of a cosmic retard, who can say?

You realize that you are only thinking all of this dumb shit because you are blacking out.

>....

>>41424258
No doubt, but by now she probably has the self control to do something stupid that will get us all killed.

>>41424285
Ok now I'm mad

>>41424297
The 'cosmic retard', if it wasn't clear, is me.

>>41423928
> Stamp on the Ishmin while they're asleep
> Use both Heal-Alls
> Brew
Use Ishmin as a reagent to see what we can do.

>>41424285
You are now Hiss.

Your part-time lover/part-time servant/full-time pain in the ass just did something stupid. You can FEEL it. You couldn't at first, but over the course of this journey, you like to think you have developed a sixth sense specifically for when he does something you will disapprove of.

And oh, how you disapprove of whatever he just did.

File: 6a010534fc2425970b011570f(...).jpg (69 KB, 420x402)

69 KB JPG

>>41424297
don't be, anon

>>41424304
We voted to nobble some ishmin this time.

>>41424304
You could have rewritten it instead of just talking shit about yourself

>>41424304
So I'm guessing this means we fail our trials?

>>41424376
Probably. We're fucked.

>>41424285
Your eyes flutter open, the world swimming around you.
"I suppose in hindsight, the last trial can wait."

You are sitting down on a small couch. It is red and richly embroidered while across from you is Tanni sitting on her own chair. Standing next to her is one of her Ishmin, currently holding a two ceramic mugs and a teapot instead of a sword. The image is so strange you almost laugh right then and there but you manage to hold it in.

Well that and because you feel like complete shit. That helps too.

"I must admit," Tanni said. "That did not go the way I had planned. And I feel a little culpable."
A little?
"I hope you accept this gift."

She slides over a small wooden box, one filled with dead and broken Ishmin bugs. Is this a joke? Why the fuck would she lock you in with them anyway?

"I assume you can use them for something alchemical. I really do feel bad."

"Mrnrnrngh," you say. It's probably because of the pain but her charm has none of its usual impact.

"I will give you what you seek as well," she says. "But first, this should help the pain."

The Ishmin pours you each a mug of thick brown tea. You have to admit, it smells pretty good.
Before anything can be done however, a second Ishmin enters the room and whispers something into Tanni's ear. She flinches.
"Forgive me once more, there is business I must look to. Stay here."

She departs from the room, both of her Ishmin leaving with her. The door locks behind them.

> Just sit and wait.

> Brew.

> Inspect self.

> Drink the tea.

> Switch the mugs around.

> Other

>>41424403
> Brew.
> Inspect self.

>>41424403
> Inspect self.
> Inspect tea.
> Inspect Ishmin.
> Brew and drink a healing potion

>>41424403
> Brew.
Hella healing potions. Maybe even make a healing salve to apply directly to the wounds
> Inspect self.
motivation to vote is dwindling

>>41424403
> Switch the mugs around.

Just for giggles. Regardless, if the pain helps us resist her charms then it is useful.

> brew

Collapsible potion, get some bug bombs ready, and maybe a poison cloud one if possible using our venom.

>>41424403
>> Brew.
Identification potion. Then inspect the tea.

>>41424403
Use an identification brew and check out the tea
try that healing salve idea
BREW and drink a soulsight brew to try to figure out what's going on

>>41424403
> Inspect self.
> Brew.
Heal-All to replenish our stock
> Inspect Tea.

We might as well check out the qualities of the ishmin with our identification brew while we're at it

>>41424442
>motivation to vote is dwindling

Fair enough, so's my motivation to write. At this point I think I've hit that feedback loop where writing badly makes me feel bad makes me write worse etc, a feeling I am all too familiar with thanks to the Taldenral Ball.
I think I will do the same thing I did back then too, which is to sleep for a few days straight until I've reignited my love for Quest.
Come to think of it, the ball was a two-part thread shitathon too, the similarities are uncanny.
Someone else can archive the thread if they want.

>>41424592
Don't let a single honest mistake and a few butthurt anons ruin it for you. I hope you start again soon. I guess I'll archive it if you're really not willing to

Sorry but I think it is for the best that when I recognize that something isn't going to turn out well, I just don't do it rather than press onward.

>>41424637
Why are you so opposed to rewriting that small section?

>>41424637
Thanks for running.

>>41424637
I wasn't here long, but it was a good read. Take it easy, Ouro. Hope you find your joy soon.

>>41424637
Thanks for running