File: whycantiholdallthisadventure.jpg (156 KB, 1000x700)

156 KB JPG

Character and setting info: http://pastebin.com/u/MagicalPrincess
Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Start+Over+Quest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MagicalMarquise
Ask.fm: http://ask.fm/MagicalMarquise
Collection of character descriptions (WIP, courtesy of anon): http://pastebin.com/pzYffs0R

>>41648934
>Look for Tahenohan.
Where's the elfbutt?

Start over time! Hope you had a good week MP!

>>41648934
>Go pay Bryld a visit.
Searching for Tahe sounds like an exercise in frustration.

>>41648934
>>Go pay Bryld a visit.

>>41648934
>Gossip with the volunteers.
Hell yeah, best quest time!

>>41648934
>>Look for Tahenohan.

File: 1387219280549.jpg (59 KB, 863x485)

59 KB JPG

Seems like someone will have to decide whether she likes Bryld or Tahenohan more!

Or just break the tie, you know

>>41648934
>>Go pay Bryld a visit.
Tahe will find us. Maybe.

>>41649170
Of course she will!
Or we can ask Bryld where she's at.

Time to see if Lillith can face the butts after fucking someone else!

>>41649256
...what?

Deciding you want to see how your work is progressing you decide to go pay Bryld a visit. You last left her at the governor's house (or at least that's how he insists being called, but everyone just calls him “mayor” and refers to the building as the “town hall”, much to his annoyance) where she had all the space she could use in order to make her map.

The place is a lot cleaner and in order than last time you visited; then again last time it was pretty much an improvised barricade, hastily fortified against an undead horde that never came. They were quite quick with the clean-up, you have to admit, and you kind of suspect the mayor being annoying had plenty to contribute to such an effect.

There still are some volunteers milling about, mostly because it is nonetheless a headquarter of sorts for the populace as a whole, and after asking a single question about Bryld the cartographer you get pointed in the right direction. It seems like nobody missed her being a cartographer, meaning she's been busy. Very busy, from the few comments you've heard.

And you do find her sitting in front of the largest desk she could find, nose deep in parchments, pieces of paper, inkwells and rulers, as well as a compass. From what you can see from a distance, she's making a relatively detailed version, well past a rough draft, to the point she's added a bit of colour, even if just in green and brown to pinpoint the thicker parts of a jungle and various hills.

You have to pretty much put yourself in front of her before her ears twitch and she raises her head in surprise. “Oh!”, she immediately relaxes when she sees you, “It's you, Lillith. I'm sorry, I've been a bit busy and I lost track of time; I'll find some time to make breakfast with you if you want...”.

She sounds very distraught.

>”But it's past noon...”.
>”How's the map coming?”.
>”Are you okay?”.
>”Anything happen while I was gone?”.
>Other?

>>41649289
What?

>>41649304
>”But it's past noon...”.
>”Are you okay?”.

>>41649304
>”Are you okay?”.
>”But it's past noon...”.

>>41649304
>>”Are you okay?”.
She's either been bothered too much by Tahe or not bothered enough.

>>41649304
>”Anything happen while I was gone?”.

>>41649304
>”Are you okay?”.
>”How's the map coming?”.
She sounds pretty stressed.

You've seen people in her situation before. You guess you learn something new about everyone after a while, and pretty much living together just speeds this process up.

She's talking about breakfast even though it's past noon, and she has a couple more parchments beneath her, meaning that she made more than just one rough draft and this is probably the second time she's making a proper copy of the map she wants to hand the Duke, checking distances every so often with her ruler and making sure they match with the compass according to her own calculations and estimates.

Considering the volunteers immediately knew who you were talking about when you mentioned “cartographer” and the way they talked about her, you guess Bryld must be quite a workaholic. You wonder if she even ate properly.

“Bryld”, you try to get her attention, “It's past noon, it's no time for breakfast”.

“Yes, I know, just let me finish here and I'll be there”, and she takes the ruler again to be absolutely certain the distance between the hills is perfect. She clearly wasn't listening.

“Bryld”, you call her again, “Are you okay? Have you been eating properly?”.

“Ah, yes. Not today but I will. Really just a moment more I need to make sure this is-”.

“Bryld”, you insist, putting a little more determination in your voice, and you finally get her to raise her head. She looks a little lost, as if she doesn't understand why she's being distracted.

“Bryld, why don't you put the map down for a moment and come out? You need to eat something, how are you going to make a map worthy of the Duke's attention if you're undernourished?”, you try to explain her. At that point, she seems to get it and puts her brush down, then rubs her eyes.

>”Does this happen often?”.
>”Are you at least satisfied of your work?”.
>”You work fast, good job”.
>”You should take your time, there's no reason to be that hasty”.
>”Let's go get something to eat”.
>Other?

>>41649532
>>”Does this happen often?”.

>>41649532
>”Are you at least satisfied of your work?”.
>”Let's go get something to eat”.

>>41649532
>”Let's go get something to eat”.
>”Does this happen often?”.
Take care of yourself, Bryld!

>>41649532
>”You work fast, good job”.
Workaholic bunny, how cute.

>>41649532
>>”Let's go get something to eat”.
>>”Does this happen often?”.
Bunnybutt needs a waifu to take care of her. Or a husbando. Or both.

“Does this happen often?”, you can't complain about the results, but you wonder just how she might reduce herself if left unchecked for long. It's no surprise she wanted to leave and has come all this way despite being a shy and somewhat cowardly type of person, even she must realize that when she gets absorbed into her work she becomes quite literally lost.

She also has no real concrete answer to give aside from some insecure babbling, and you see her eyes are somewhat tired and distraught still, so you resolve to just shake your head, take her arm and go “Nevermind that, let's get you something to eat”.

Despite her very weak protests about being actually fine, Bryld provides no actual resistance to your pull and you leave her work behind, quite secure that it will be left untouched since, at least from what you gather, people have respect for her dedication.

You shift your grasp from her arm to her hand because you don't want to look like you're forcibly pulling her, and yet you also want to make sure she doesn't collapse because she just forgot to eat for two days straight.

Fortunately you manage to secure something for her. There was some turkey stew with purple peas, some kind of vegetable that grows inside what look like long and dry red peppers and has a kind of sweet and sour taste; it was also soaked in grapefruit juice, and there's actually some slices too amongst the meat. There's also some spices that look like sage here and there.

It tastes fresh, and the leftovers were going to be turned into meatloaf until you came along. You guess there won't be as much meatloaf for dinner.

Bryld blinks, she looks at the food as if though she forgot what it was, but that just reminds her that she was actually hungry.

>”Did anything happen while I was gone?”.
>”Have you seen Tahenohan?”.
>”How's the map coming?”.
>”Would you feel like departing for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.
>Other?

>>41649907
>”How's the map coming?”.
>”Have you seen Tahenohan?”.

>>41649907
>”How's the map coming?”.
>”Did anything happen while I was gone?”.

>>41649907
>”How's the map coming?”.
>”Would you feel like departing for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41649907
>”Did anything happen while I was gone?”.
>”Have you seen Tahenohan?”.

“So how is the map coming?”, you ask as you savour the turkey. It tastes wild past the freshness, the meat is a little harder and thinner than that of domestic poultry but quite more savoury. There's not much in the way of bread unfortunately but there is cornmean mush you can use instead.

“Mh? Oh! The map! It's coming out quite well but I'm not very satisfied”, Bryld admits, “Like I realized once we came back that I should have checked the outer perimeter's distances and got a few more landmarks to be perfectly sure about how deep into the jungle we've been, I'm afraid I'll be approximating too much. I don't know, maybe I should do the map over again? Or try and paint the trees and hills differently so the distance miscalculations aren't that obvious? Or do you think the Duke will want me to go and correct-”.

“Bryld”, you stop her, as she's not quite hyperventilating but she was growing more and more nervous at each passing word, “Calm down”.

She does try and calm down, slumping slightly on her impromptu stool. The many long tables have been fashioned out of local wood and aren't the sturdiest specimen you've dined on, but at least they're usable and allow the village to share lunch together.

“I'm sorry, I- I don't know what gets into me, I'm trying to do my best, but this is the first time I'm working directly for nobility, I've never done it, I don't know what they'll think of me, I-”.

“Relax, Bryld”, you really need to change the subject, “Have you seen Tahenohan lately?”.

The ruse works and the bunnygirl is distracted from her own worries, at least for a moment, “Uhm... She's come to visit me often. Sometimes... She's come to visit me but I forgot where she is not. I think she told me. Did she?”.

Great.

>”Want to go look for her together?”.
>”How long do you need to finish your map?”.
>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.
>”You need to rest, take the rest of today off”.
>Other?

>>41650230
>”How long do you need to finish your map?”.

>>41650230
>”Want to go look for her together?”.
She needs a break for a bit.

>>41650230
>”Want to go look for her together?”.

>>41650230
>”Want to go look for her together?”.
Sure.

Might be tough to get her to Reboldeux at this rate, oh well.

>>41650230
>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41650230
>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41650230
>>”You need to rest, take the rest of today off”.
Bunnybutt needs rest and molestation. Relaxation.

“Would you like to go look for her together?”, you offer her, “Besides, you need to take a break and get some fresh air”.

Bryld grudgingly nods, you can see she's still a little out of it, as if she has difficulties focusing. She keeps blinking and getting lost in thought and sometimes she just looks a little tired. You wonder how long she's been stuck to that chair. You wonder if she slept on her own maps and resumed working as soon as she woke up. You might have to ask the volunteers about it but seeing the state she's in you wouldn't put it past her.

You finish eating and find yourself quite satisfied. Bryld too seems to look better, her bunny ears a little more tense and alert, or at least not as droopy as they were before. You've been through rough times yourself and know how important proper nutrition is, especially to the travelling and adventuring sort, and you're not surprised in the slightest to see that a simple meal made her feel better already, though it will take until tomorrow for her body to properly be considered “fine”.

When you're both ready, you stand up and wonder where you're going to be looking for Tahenohan, since neither of you have any idea where she might be. Bryld gave you the hint that the necromancer did tell her, but she forgot.

“Speaking of which”, you ask while you're at it, “Would you be willing to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

“T-tomorrow?”, she asks with a hint of distress, “I-I don't know if I'll be ready, the maps...”.

“They look fine to me”, you say, if anything because if you don't try and reassure her she'll never feel done and will fill eight more parchments after three days straight of work without sleeping nor eating. Or something.

“I-If you say so...”, she barely concedes.

Now, where to look for Tahenohan?

>She's at Agnes' place, for sure.
>She's at your place, where else?
>She's in the outskirts, of course.
>She's where she buried the skeletons, you silly hat.
>Other?

>>41650562
>>She's where she buried the skeletons, you silly hat.
Tahe is like a dog: they always return to the scene of the crime.

>>41650562
>She's where she buried the skeletons, you silly hat.
Oh us!

>>41650562
>She's where she buried the skeletons, you silly hat.

Probably.

>>41650562
Has she even slept the past 24 hours? She needs some I'm sure! Her work is going great anyway!
>She's at your place, where else?

>>41650562
>She's in the outskirts, of course.

If you know Tahenohan well, she's going to be doing something silly, unpredictable and most likely very dangerous or contrary to common sense, or maybe something that will get her misunderstood and mistrusted. After all, she's not only a half-elf and a necromancer, but also a barbarian from distant western lands.

You therefore bring Bryld to where the three of you buried three skeleton warriors under the pelting rain when you made it back from your first adventure in the jungle. You are completely and utterly unsurprised to hear someone whistling a merry tune before you even turn around the plants and bushes to see a short, wild-haired half-elf with a shovel digging up a skeleton with the help of two more skeletons with shovels.

As the last member of the macabre party emerges from the soil, the half-elf turns in your direction, makes a super manic smile, and rushes towards you, haphazardly tossing the shovel away, which flies in a weird arc, “Lillith!”, she calls as she extends her arms upwards and diagonally while she stomps to a halt, “Praise the sun!”.

A quick glance at Bryld reveals you're not the only one surprised at this show. She certainly isn't a worshipper of the Sunchild, so this comes quite out of the blue.

“Er... Praise the sun?”, you think that's how you're supposed to answer. You don't really know, but you hope, “What's this about?”.

“Eh? Did you miss them?”, she wonders with but a hint of disappointment in her voice, clearly not shown in her manic expression, “There were three paladins of Solaire that passed through town this morning. They greeted the sun at dawn and everyone was looking in awe”.

“Really?”, Bryld blinks. So you weren't the only one to have missed them.

>”What were they doing?”.
>”Where were they going?”.
>”Scratch that, what are YOU doing?”.
>”Did anything else happen while I was gone?”.
>Other?

>>41650882
>>”What were they doing?”.
>>”Where were they going?”.

So grossly incandescent. Those knights.

>>41650882
>”What were they doing?”.
Dark Souls pls go

>>41650882
>”Where were they going?”.
>”Scratch that, what are YOU doing?”.
Watch out for bugs.

File: praise the harpy.jpg (298 KB, 2133x1200)

298 KB JPG

>>41650882
>>”Scratch that, what are YOU doing?”.
>>Pat the elf
Praise the sun!

>>41650882
>”What were they doing?”.
>”Where were they going?”.
Dark Souls pls stay
Not that Lillith would last very long.

>>41650882
>”What were they doing?”.
>”Scratch that, what are YOU doing?”.

“What were they doing?”, you don't know much about that cult, as it's not the kind of religion you've been much in touch with. You've only heard about greeting the sun and the fact the devouts are quite into sculpting their bodies, but that's about it. You have no idea why three such knights would be doing out there. Then again, why else would you be in the Shadow Marches if not for the Reconquista?

“Oh, moving on to Maner, this was just a milestone on their way”, she shrugs, “And showing off their sculpted, muscled, sweaty tanned bodies I guess. Or at least that's what everyone woke up early to witness”.

“I see”, that's quite a simple explanation, and a very credible, realistic one, “So they were just travelling?”.

“I don't think the're building a temple here, not many people to praise the sun with. I guess Maner has much much more”, she offers a bright smile, “And get people to wake up earlier in the morning, too”.

“Okay, and... What are YOU doing?”, you can't help but wonder, looking at the three skeletons that are trying to get themselves clean, to little effect.

“Oh, I was just doing some maintenance and a better analysis of their bone structure and whether they need repair or osteomodulation. Speaking of which I really should get a refill of chalk. Oh, and a bucket and some water. And soap, too”, she explains, looking at the quite dirty skeletons, “Hm... Maybe I should give them some better armour too, that equipment sure looks old”.

That's because it most likely is. You're no armour expert but it looks quite used and ancient simply from the wear. You suppose Agnes would be able to tell you more about the equipment itself, but you don't think it's a good idea to bring undead in town, even if they're under control.

>”Do you need help?”.
>”What do you intend to do with them?”.
>”You're not thinking of taking them with you, are you?”.
>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.
>Other?

>>41651207
Half-elves gonna half-elf.

>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41651207
>”What do you intend to do with them?”.
>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41651207
>”What do you intend to do with them?”.
>”You're thinking of taking them with you, aren't you?”.

>>41651207
>>”What do you intend to do with them?”.
>>”Would you be ready to leave for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

>>41651207
>”Do you need help?”.
>”What do you intend to do with them?”.
Anything for spooky elf.

>>41651207
>>”Do you need help?”.
>>”What do you intend to do with them?”.

“What do you intend to do with them?”, she clearly has something in that partly elven mind of hers, or she wouldn't have bothered to raise them from their improvised graves. It's kind of weird to see someone so calmly and methodically cleaning undead skeleton warriors with a rag, especially considering all the outrage and panic that happened when the mere news of something like that happening came around. Just further proof of how being a magic user, a necromancer in particular, paints the whole world in completely different colours.

“Make them clean, give them better equipment. Back in my place there were some suits of armour that looked really cool; knights in Aquilonia had those beakie helms with colourful crests and they looked just so pretty, I want to give them to my skeletons too”, she looks quite gleeful at the mere thought, even though you presume that full suits of armour would cost more than what all of you collectively own, and no matter how well the Duke will pay for your work, it won't be enough to commission armour for those skeletons.

Besides, how do skeletons even put armour on? You don't know what sort of clothes would suit you if you were literally nothing but bones, you can't imagine armour being that much easier to don.

“Are you...”, you begin, wondering whether you should ask or not, and then you think of corner saving yourself by asking the more pressing question, “... Okay with leaving for Reboldeux tomorrow?”.

“Tomorrow? Sure!”, she smiles, “It's not like I have much to do here that I can't do anywhere else. Especially getting more chalk, I really need to visit Reboldeux for that, don't think they have much here. Maybe in Maner? Hey Lillith, when are we going to visit Maner?”.

>”We'll visit Maner when we're done with Reboldeux”.
>”I don't know yet”.
>”I think we'll stay in New Royo for quite a while, actually”.
>”You're NOT thinking of bringing the skeletons with you, are you?”.
>Other?

>>41651508
>>”I don't know yet”.

It's fairly considerate for her to ask if we have plans actually. Considering her whimsical nature.

>>41651508
>”We'll visit Maner when we're done with Reboldeux”.

>>41651508
>”I don't know yet”.
>”You're NOT thinking of bringing the skeletons with you, are you?”.
Tahe pls

>>41651508
>”I don't know yet”.
Sorry Tahe!

>>41651508
>>”I don't know yet”.
>>”You're NOT thinking of bringing the skeletons with you, are you?”.
Keep them outside, at least.

>>41651508
>”We'll visit Maner when we're done with Reboldeux”.

“I don't know yet”, you admit, it will all depend on whether your friends are coming this way or not, on what Yomi told them (assuming he did what he promised) and on what you'll have to do after you hand the Duke the map your cartographer masterfully crafted. While you said it was great, you have to admit it was great for someone who's been out in the wilderness for a while and then drew a map in two days, of course there's much more intricate, better painted and drawn maps out there, but you're sure that if Bryld had two weeks instead of two days to work on it, she'd be able to craft something equally good.

But you're not to bring back something nice-looking, you're to provide something useful. Nobody has maps of the Shadow Marches yet, you'll be the first. And then you'll have to go all the way to Maner anyways because apparently you'll have to work under the Marquise after this.

That's not your main concern right now, however. That would be the three skeleton warriors that Tahenohan is merrily cleaning from all the dirt, as if she's expecting to put them on display or something. “You're not thinking of bringing them with us, are you?”.

“Why?”, she coos.

You massage the bridge of your nose. You don't even know where to begin, Bryld doesn't even know what to say either. She's been nearly hiding behind you all this time, as if she didn't trust the armed and dangerous undead ready to take the life from you at any moment. Sure, Tahenohan is controlling them, but would you trust the control a half-elf has over the unlife of others? Or anything at all?

Bryld may be a scaredy bunny, but she trusts both of you. The average commoner would just panic.

>”No, people will panic”.
>”No, we don't want to be accused to be behind the undead outbreak”.
>”No, we have a reputation to uphold or we won't be able to explore any more”.
>”No, we'll be attacked along with the skeletons”.
>”No, they're dangerous”.
>”No”.
>Other?

>>41651880
>"Alright. But you will have to do something nice for us."

>>41651880
>>”No, we don't want to be accused to be behind the undead outbreak”.

>>41651880
>"Look, if anyone sees them they're gonna panic. How are you planning to prevent them from being hunted down by knights or vigilantes, implicating us in some nefarious plot or another in the process?"

>>41651880
>"Do you have any experience bringing skeletons around with you? I can't imagine most people would react well Tahe."

>>41651880
This:

>>41651918

“No”, you're quite sure that's what you want to say, but not as certain on how to articulate, “Look, there's a ton of problems if you bring skeletons around: for one, people will panic, for another, we'll be suspected or outright accused of being behind the outbreak and then-”.

“Kukukuku!”, she chuckles in an extremely confident manner, “I know what you're trying to say, and that is why I'm going to tell you I've already thought about that”.

You shiver. You and Bryld both.

“We're going to enclose them in full armour, from skull to toe!”, she promptly announces, “That way, nobody will know they're skeletons!”.

A small part of you, from that part of your head where you usually put all the non-compliant thoughts, tells you that you had to expect something like this and it's your fault if you haven't.

“But”, you point out, “How are you going to find full sets of armour? I don't think they just sell them, you'll have to have them made in Reboldeux, assuming they even make them. They'll most likely need to be imported. And even if we could, we don't have the money to afford them”.

“Ah, but that's not a problem”, she smiles, “My master and I used to do this all the time. What you need to do is just find some bad guys in heavy armour to kill and loot their cold bodies. Or better yet, raise them as skeletons so they already have fitting armour!”.

She is so thoroughly convinced of what she says, it so brutally reminds you of how barbaric her homeland is.

“Oh, and once you do that once, it gets easier”, she insists, “Because then you have skeletons in heavy armours to kill other people with, which in turn gives you more skeletons, it's genius!”.

Bryld is grasping your shirt from behind and staring with a mixture of disbelief and horror.

>”You can't just wantonly murder people”.
>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.
>”That will lead to even worse problems”.
>”Can't you just leave them here?”.
>Other?

>>41652341
>>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.

>>41652341
>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.

And even then.

>”You can't just wantonly murder people”.

>>41652341
>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.
Tahe...

>>41652341
>>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”
Can we lightly thump her forehead? She's being a silly.

>>41652341
>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.
>"Look, maybe you'll find or be able to buy some armor for them at some point. Until then, they're staying. Alright?"

>>41652436
Yeah, forehead-boop is in order.

>>41652341
>”What bad guys in heavy armour?”.

You take advantage of your height to give Tahenohan a well-deserved bop on the head. You cannot allow this kind of elf logic to go unchecked, no matter just how violent and barbaric her homeland and uprising were.

“Tahe, I don't even know where to begin”, you claim, but you actually have an idea, “For one, what bad guys in heavy armour? You don't just find those around the corner”, and good thing you don't, it would make your travels much more complicated and dangerous, “And even if there were, you can't just wantonly murder people. Besides, just buying armour would be a more realistic prospect, and we still aren't able to do that”.

Massaging her head, Tahenohan looks quite crestfallen at the revelation, “Aaaaah... I guess you just don't do this kind of thing here, do you? Sometimes, I wonder if you people from Rune know how to have fun”.

Even Bryld sighs at that statement. At least she's starting to get used to just how Tahenohan is, which is good because there's not much you can do about it.

“Look, how about you just leave the skeletons here for the time being?”, you offer, “When, and if, we manage to get our hands on some suits of full armour, we'll come back and unearth them again. There's no problems keeping them buried indefinitely, right?”.

“There's no problems, no”, she's long since stopped massaging her head, already past such an experience and into a new world of half-elven wonder, “Hey, think we can convince people in Maner to let me build a skeleton regiment? I've always wanted to command one!”.

You have to seriously start wondering what goes on in her head. Well, it's actually not unusual for people to want pursuing military careers, and she's simply suggesting wanting to do something similar. Just with magically animated undead warriors.

… You really need to stop or you'll turn into an elf.

>”Anything ELSE you need to take care of?”.
>”By the way, here's what I found out last night...”.
>Other?

>>41652736
>”By the way, here's what I found out last night...”.
Better to override her insanity with tales of our own.

>>41652736
>>”By the way, here's what I found out last night...”.

'Streya really likes the D. That's what we learned, right?

>>41652736
>>”By the way, here's what I found out last night...”.
Tahe is like dogs: they'll suss out the lewdness.

>>41652736
>”Anything ELSE you need to take care of?”.

>>41652736
>”By the way, here's what I found out last night...”.

You have to change the topic or you'll get the silly too. Better be the calm and collected leader you're supposed to be and drive your fellows into being more focused on the task at hand. “By the way”, you then say, “Here's what I found last night while I was away with Astreya...”.

And you tell Bryld and Tahenohan about what you've found out, which actually isn't much. Susanna and the arachne are all more than fine and you've located that the source of the necromantic magic was far to the North. You vaguely remember the direction and tell both of your friends, hoping that Bryld will get a vague idea of where it is in a hypothetical map that may or may not be in her head, and that Tahenohan will get an idea of what's going on on the magic side of things.

“Considering the size of the map I've drawn and the guessed distance”, Bryld claims, “The point of origin was really far away. From what I gather, Maner is at one day of travel from here, meaning that it's at least two from Maner to there, and that's assuming you know the way”.

“I can guess that the spell either lost power or not every undead raised was under the control of the original caster”, is Tahenohan's contribution, “But I'm sure Astreya already figured this out herself. I don't know how familiar she is with necromancy but I am, and I can assure you that if I used a spell like that, no matter what sort of catalyst I'd have used, I wouldn't be able to control every single skeleton I raised that way”.

“Why is that?”, you wonder.

“There's a limit to how much you can control”, she explains, “And besides, if you use a catalyst to help you raise them, it doesn't mean you're also controlling them. You do both at the same time when you're casting in person, but the three I found were without master, and I'm sure others are just wandering around aimlessly”.

>”So, no danger?”.
>”Anything you think I should rely to Astreya?”.
>”Bryld, should we warn Maner?”.
>Other?

>>41653218
>>”Anything you think I should relay to Astreya?”.

>>41653218
>>”So, no danger?”.

>>41653218
>”Anything you think I should rely to Astreya?”.

>>41653218
>”Bryld, should we warn Maner?”.

>>41653218
>”So, no danger?”.

“Is there anything you think I should rely to Astreya?”, you check with Tahenohan just to be sure; Astreya does give the idea of being a powerful, ancient and competent wizard, but you don't know how this works, it might just be something out of her field of expertise.

“Nah”, Tahenohan shrugs, “I'd be telling her nothing that she doesn't already know. Besides, we know way too little to make more than just wild speculations. We don't even know who did this or why. It's even possible it's some kind of automated mechanism or self-aware magical item that did this on its own”.

“That... Is possible?”, you wonder. It wounds wild and quite out there but then again she's talking like she knows what she means, like a professional, and that doesn't happen often.

“It's very out there and much of a wild speculation, I'm almost sure it was actually someone activating a catalyst”, she confirms with a manic grin, “But everything's possible. It just shows how little we know”.

You're not sure what to make of this, except maybe listen to Tahenohan and not bother relay Astreya anything, “So... No danger?”.

“Not that I can see”, she shrugs, “Well, there may be a fully armed and organized army of undead marching on our positions right now but again, wild speculations and so on”.

You have to admit Bryld isn't the only one that got paler at the extremely casual and nonchalant mention of undead armies marching to murder every living being on their path to Reboldeux. You can only hope that Tahenohan is just joking or making a speculation as wild as she claims she is.

You look at both Bryld and Tahenohan and decide you've had quite enough of this kind of talk that isn't really getting anywhere. You probably should get ready to leave, maybe warn someone that you'll be gone for a while, it's something people do, and it will help you get in the community.

>Tell Agnes.
>Tell Octavius.
>Tell Astreya.
>Tell the volunteers.
>Tell the villagers.
>Other?

>>41653652
>Tell Agnes.
She'll know if it's worth doing anything with.

>>41653652
>Tell Agnes.
>Tell Astreya.

>>41653652
>Tell Agnes.
>Tell Astreya.

>>41653652
>>Tell Agnes.
>>Tell Astreya.

You figure Agnes would be the best person to tell about your absence. For one because you know she'll appreciate your visit, and for another because she is the de-facto authority figure here; while she might not have political pull, you're more than certain that if any sort of danger or emergency will befall New Royo, she'll be the one that will take command and lead the defense, rescue, response or whatever it is that needs to be done, and most certainly not Octavius.

You're also going to tell Astreya later because you've just finished reasoning you need to stick closer to her and not be a stranger, that and she's still a very powerful magic user and someone that needs to be kept informed of everything that happens that might result in being a danger to her, the population or the monsters living out there.

But first, you pay Agnes a visit. You find her at the training fields, which are quite grassy as they only bothered to put some poles and sacks packed with dust and sand to act as training dummies. However, since they tend to break relatively often, they have switched to presumably empty barrels, even though that means all their imaginary targets that don't fight back will have a strangely low profile.

And you still see several volunteers fail to accomplish much with their spears. You don't have any combat training yourself, and you're sure you can just snatch these weapons from them and, just, SHOW them.

“Ah, you'll be leaving again?”, Agnes comments once you've explained the situation to her, “Well that's a pity, I hope you'll come back soon, though, if I get another shipment of tea I have some sweets I want you to try next time...”.

And she gives you a sincere and very happy smile, of someone that really looks forward to be in your company again.

>”Thank you”, and leave before it's too late.
>”Is everything alright? Did anything happen?”.
>”Why are the volunteers so incompetent?”.
>Other?

>>41654074
>”Is everything alright? Did anything happen?”.

>>41654074
>>”Thank you”, and leave before it's too late.

>>41654074
>”Is everything alright? Did anything happen?”.
We didn't see Agnes enough! And now we're gonna leave! Waaah!

>>41654074
>”Thank you”, and leave before it's too late.

>>41654074
>>”Is everything alright? Did anything happen?”.

“Is everything alright? Did anything happen while I was away?”, it pays to ask because she's bound to be the one that has the best idea of New Royo's security, along with that of the surrounding lands.

“Not much”, Agnes gives a simple shrug, keeping an eye on the volunteers busy with their training. Their varying levels of incompetence are painful to watch and it's amazing how she can keep such a straight face, her twintails sliding slowly across her shiny, decorated armour as she moves her head. She's not tremendously shorter than you are, but it's enough to be a noticeable difference, “I'm still keeping the patrols active because I really don't want to be surprised by wandering undead, no matter how unlikely the chance that it will happen. I still have the volunteers keep watch throughout the night and send groups to patrol the outskirts with lanterns and bells. So far, nothing happened and I hope it will stay that way”.

Her words reassure you, not because it's further confirmation that the threat was initially overrated, but because she's ready for the worst even though it's unlikely it will ever happen. “I would send patrols along the way to Maner and Reboldeux but I'm lacking the manpower. These people are still too inexperienced for such a task, and there's not enough resting places. As soon as the colonists will resume coming we'll have to organize them to build more villages along the way, so that you can walk half a day and find a settlement of some sort, to rest and everything. Having inns and guardposts not so thinly spread out will make patrolling easier, and give us better control of the land”.

She then looks up at you, rubbing her chin, “Say, after you come back from Reboldeux, will you do me a favour? I really need someone to give that letter and you look like a trustworthy person”.

>”Of course”.
>”I'll have to decline”.
>”Are you sure the Marquise will let me in his or her presence?”.
>Other?

>>41654514
>”Of course”.

>>41654514
>”Of course”.
Naturally!

>>41654514
>>”Of course”.

>>41654514
>”Of course”.
Do we even know when we're coming back? Ah well.

“I'd be glad to”, you assure her.

“Good!”, and she gives you a bright smile, “I'm glad I can count on you. I'd go myself but I'm kind of busy here and I would like to set up an actual training camp for further recruits that come this way, before they reach Maner. I can't let people completely green and without training clog up a camp that's already quite full of civilians and non combatants, the royal army needs to be able to manoeuvre properly and I intend to help make that possible even with a potential influx of recruits”.

Meanwhile, Tahenohan stops staring at the training, turns and tugs on Agnes' armoured elbow, “Hey, hey captain. Why are these volunteers so painfully terrible at their job?”.

A moment of silence follows. A moment of cold silence, which actually feels cold despite the relentless tropical heat.

“Oh, come on, what are you talking about?”, Agness blissfully laughs it off, “They're learning! Sure, some people are taking more than others but that's good, everyone has their times. You know, I took quite a while to learn what I now know, too, and yet here I am. I'm sure they will all be fine, they just need to train more”.

“I've just seen three people get injured by fighting inanimate barrels and that girl over there isn't even pretending she's practicing”.

“Trust me, I am an expert on the matter, I know they'll be fine”.

Somehow, you can't bring yourself to trust Agnes' smile this time, and Tahenohan looking so befuddled is an extremely odd sight to behold, mostly because you're pretty sure you've made the exact same face at her antics more than once. Heck, it hasn't been long since she suggested finding bad guys in heavy armour to murder so you could loot them and outfit your skeleton warriors.

You wonder if Agnes... Nope, her ears absolutely aren't pointed.

Maybe you should also advise the Marquise to send a proper trainer to New Royo when you'll actually get around to do that. Just to be on the safe side.

File: 1373592467696.jpg (49 KB, 400x298)

49 KB JPG

And this is it for Episode 37!

Thank you for participating. I'll be seeing you next Monday if everything goes well, but check the Twitter as always to be sure.

Soon, we'll be visiting Reboldeux again, it will seem... How will hitting the road feel like, I wonder?

>>41654890
Ah, thanks for running! It was fun!
I admit I expected Tahe to have a lewdness detector, but this is probably for the best.

>>41654890
Thanks for writing

>>41654846
I want to give Agnes a hug. She's obviously deluding herself.

>>41654904
The skeletons interfered.

>>41655013
Damn skeletons!

>>41655013
Well, Tahe also wanted to get boned. She can't help it!

>>41655131
She could ask Lillith for help!

>>41655162
She's obviously saving Lillith to be used as her secret weapon against the bunnybutt's virtue.

>>41655228
How devious...