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For newcomers, this Quest is based on Animal Crossing, with elements taken from Rune Factory and elements that are completely original. The protagonist is named Leo, and he's mayor of Whiteport, whose map is attached here.

As always, there is a 20 minute voting period after every post (except the OP, which gets as long as it needs), but if you barely miss the window I'll probably count it anyways.

Town Citizens, for reference: http://pastebin.com/7Ke76Vw4

>>41776054
>Go to the Plaza
Let's survey the new construction.

>>41776054
>Go to the Plaza

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Well, you may as well head to the Plaza to check out the new developments.

The first thing you notice, of course, is the dirt path linking your house to the Plaza. It isn’t the cobblestone path it will be when it’s finished, but it’s at least a start. At the Plaza, you can see the lamp post where you asked for it to be, though obviously unlit since it’s day time. You decide to update your map with the new developments.

All around the Plaza, shops are opening up. Flint is already hard at work at his Forge, and Nook’s Cranny looks almost as though it never closed. You wave to Theo as he unlocks his shop’s door, and a quick look with your Earth Magic confirms that Medara and Shelby are already working in their respective places of work. Maybe you should go get breakfast?

What will you do?

>Go to Shelby’s
>Go to Hops
>Go to Nook’s Cranny
>Go to the Smithy
>Go to the Clothes Shop
>Go somewhere else
>Other

>>41776845
>Go to Shelby’s
Then we'll check out the clothes store.

>>41776845
>Go to Hops
Don't we have a tab to pay off?

>>41776845
>>Go to Shelby’s
>>Go to Hops
>>Go to the Clothes Shop
I think that's a good start before we go for another round of fishing/digging.

Shelby’s for breakfast, you decide, then you can see about other things. Like paying off that tab that you almost forgot about.

Shelby’s is pretty empty now. You’re pretty sure most of the town has breakfast earlier than you, so that makes sense. The only one here is Shelby herself, who seems to be getting ready to leave. “Hey Shelby,” you call out as you enter.

Shelby gives you a wave. “Hey there, Mayor. Are you here for breakfast?”

“Yeah,” you say. “I guess most people come earlier than this, huh?”

“Don’t worry mayor, you’ll get used to the country schedule soon enough,” says Shelby. “So, what can I get you? I’ve got some fresh fruit pancakes if you want them, as well as some yogurt. Just 300 Bells.”

You nod. “That sounds great, Shelby.” You pass over the bells, then wait as she prepares your food. “So are you heading somewhere?”

Shelby nods. “Yeah, I’ve got to get a meal to Sapphire. She doesn’t really come out much, so I have to bring the food to her instead. Don’t worry, she pays me for the extra work. She’s just in a world of her own, most of the time.” She hands over your plate, along with a clay bowl. “Here you go, Mayor. Just leave the things here when you go.”

You nod, and sit down to eat, though you’re still a bit curious about where Shelby is going. As you eat, you consider your next option.

>Go to Hops to pay off your tab
>Visit the Clothes store
>Visit the Smith
>Go to Nook’s Cranny
>Visit Sapphire
>Go to Town Hall

>>41777717
>>41777602

>>41777717
>Go to Hops to pay off your tab

You finish up and head to Hops, where Medara is pouring coffee for a variety of tired looking villagers. You recognize Pepper from yesterday, but there’s also Odwin, and a male bat.

“Odwin, you’re saying he just… found these bones? Without using any tools or sensors? Preposterous!” It looks like the bat is talking to Odwin, and from the sound of things, you know what they’re talking about.

Odwin shakes his head. “I’m telling you, Blaine, he’s got an instinct! Sometimes life is more than just science and numbers, you know.”

Beside him, Pepper barks out a laugh. “Believe me, Odwin. I know exactly what life is, and science and numbers describes it pretty well.” She falls silent, staring into her coffee. “I… Could I have another, Medara?”

Medara nods, pouring her more coffee. She then looks up, noticing you. “Oh hey, Mayor. I assume you’re here to pay off your tab.”

“Ah, yeah,” you say, walking in. You notice that all three of the Villagers are watching you as you walk up to Medara. You do your best to ignore them as you hand over 200 Bells to Medara. “Here you go. This should cover it, right?”

“Yes, this should be enough,” Medara says as she takes the Bells. “If that’s all, then-”

Suddenly, the Bat cuts her off. “Say, you there,” you turn to see him staring at you. “That spear on your back… I assume you helped my lazy assistant out yesterday, hmm?” Ah, this would be Dr. Noir then.

“Yeah, I did,” you say. “And it’s Leo, the mayor. Do you want the spear back?”

He shakes his head. “No, you keep it. I’ve got plenty of spares, and the more people who have a weapon, the better.” The other two shake their heads at him. ”These two refuse my help, but I’m telling you, something dark is coming, and we’d best all be prepared lest the darkness overcome us!”

Odwin gives him a look, then turns to you. “Don’t worry, Mayor. Blaine can a bit odd occasionally, but he’s sharp as a knife and helps out when he’s needed. You go on with your day, alright?”

You nod, departing Hops. As you go, though, you notice the three of them go back to whispering. Well, that’s a bit odd, but hopefully nothing too dangerous.

What now?

>Go to the Clothes store
>Go to Nook’s Cranny
>Go to the Smithy
>Go somewhere else
>Other [Write in]

((Sorry for the slow updates. There's been some unexpected interruptions today, so updates will be a bit slower than usual, but I'll still try to get as much done as I can.))

>>41778870
>Go to the Clothes store

>>41778870
>>41777745
Time for me to bow out for a few hours.

>>41778870
>Go to the Clothes store

>>41778870
>>Go to the Clothes store

The clothes store is the only place you haven’t been yet, so you figure you should probably check in there. You spot Flint resting at his forge on the way. He seems calmer today, maybe you could properly talk to him now.

As you enter the clothes shop, a little bell over the door chimes. “Welcome!” calls a familiar voice from inside. As you enter, you see that the shop is stocked with various of shirts, hats, dresses, pants, and even accessories and umbrellas. Theo is standing behind the counter, and behind him you can see a door to where Morrigan presumably works.

“Oh, it’s Leo,” says Theo cheerfully. “I was wondering when you were going to drop by. Do you want me to give you a tour of the shop, or will you be alright on your own?”

You shrug. “I can probably find my way around, but you can probably give me a better explanation than I could.”

Theo nods, coming out to show you around. “Well, here we have our summer shirts…” To give some credit to Theo, he does make the explanation fairly interesting, but you find it a bit difficult to pay attention to his words. Unbidden, your dream from last night rises into your mind. Jet Fashion...

“Say, Theo,” you say, “do you have any designer clothing here? Maybe by Jet Fashion?”

Theo gives you an odd look. “No, I… can’t say we do. We make all our clothing in house here, but if you wanted us to import some-”

“No,” you say. “That’s… it’s fine. You go on. I, uh, liked those pants.”

Theo looks over to where you’re pointing, and grins. “Well, that’s actually a part of our autumn collection, but perhaps we could refit it for summer, if you’d like?”

You pause for a moment. “I’ll… think about it, Theo. I’m sorry, but I need to get going. I’ll see you next time, okay?” With that, you leave. You hope you didn’t offend Theo too much, but you can’t stay here. Not now, anyways.

Outside, the summer sun beats down, and you’re once again back in Whiteport. You sigh, letting yourself relax. Standing back up, it’s time to move on.

What do you do?

>Go to Town Hall
>Go to Nook’s Cranny
>Go to the Smithy
>Go to the Farm
>Other [Write in]

>>41780135
>>Go to Town Hall
Pay of dat bill

>>41780135
>Go to Town Hall

At Town Hall, Poppy is sitting at her seat in the Post Office, like usual.

“How’s it going, Poppy,” you say as you enter.

“Oh Mayor!” Poppy seems excited. “Flint has reported a job complete with the lamp post, and Velour says that she’s still working on the road, but will have in completed by tonight!”

You nod. “That all sounds good. Thanks, Poppy. By the way, I was thinking of starting to pay off my home loan. How should I go about doing that?”

“Ah, well that’s fairly simple,” says Poppy. “You see, when you purchased a house, the money was charged to the Town itself, so its not so much your debt as it is the town’s debt.”

That… doesn’t sound super good? “Uh, Poppy, what does that mean for the town? I mean, is my debt causing people to suffer?”

Poppy shakes her head. “The town being in debt isn’t too big of an issue, since for the most part our Town Hall doesn’t really collect much revenue, nor do we have to pay for much. Residents here in Whiteport don’t pay taxes or land fees, and in return they agree to do their part in maintaining the town. Really, the Town Hall is more of a way to organize the villagers and make sure people receive the help they need than a regular governing office. Really, what this all means is that we don’t really spend or receive much here in the town hall, so its not as though being in debt is hurting anyone.”

You consider this. You’re pretty sure that normally, there’s a bunch of things a town’s government has to do, but from the sounds of it, most of those things are covered pretty well by the citizens themselves. “What about the museum?” you ask.

Poppy nods. “The museum is owned by the town,” she says, “but our previous Mayor decided that all Whiteport citizens should be given free admission to the museum. Normally we might be able to gain some revenue from outsiders coming to see the museum, but…” Poppy sighs. “Our museum has been empty for some time. You should probably ask Odwin, the museum curator, if you want to know why.”

“I already know, actually,” you say. “I visited yesterday. I think I might try to find some things to display in the museum, maybe attract some visitors?”

“Oh, that would be wonderful,” says Poppy, clapping her hooves together. “If our Museum can gain renown, we might be able to bring some revenue for the Town! And if that happens, our options for expansion won’t be limited by what our villagers can do anymore.”

You nod. “For now, though, I’m just interested in paying back the loan. Is it possible for me to directly pay it back?”

“Oh, that’s fine,” says Poppy. “If you want to deposit money directly into the Town Account, you can just give it to me, and I’ll make sure it’s deposited right away. We don’t have a bank here in Whiteport, so I’m acting as the bank as well. Don’t worry, Mayor, I’ll make sure nothing happens to your Bells!”

You smile. You’re reminded again how small a town this is, but for now at least you’ve figured out how to deal with the debt issue. What will you do?

>Deposit some Bells into the Town Account [Write an amount]
>Talk to Poppy about Town Development
>Talk to Poppy about something else [Write in]
>Head up to your office
>Go somewhere else
>Other [Write in]

>>41781417
>Deposit some Bells into the Town Account [Write an amount]
10,000 bells. Nice flat number.
>Talk to Poppy about something else [Write in]
What's public opinion of the mayor so far? What was Whiteport like before I came?

It’s most of the money you have left, but you’re sure you’ll be able to make more later. “Could you deposit these 10,000 Bells, Poppy?” you say, passing her the bag.

“Can do, Mayor.” Poppy puts the bag away behind the counter, then sits back up. “I’ll make the final deposit later. Is there anything else?”

“Yeah.” You’re a bit worried about this one. “What’s the public opinion of my time as Mayor so far? Is it bad? Good? For that matter, what was the town like before I arrived?”

“Well,” says Poppy, “For the issue of how people feel, you could probably either ask them directly, or check the requests box in your office. As far as I can tell, though, people seem mostly alright with you, though you haven’t really been here long enough to tell. As for how the town was before you arrived…” Poppy thinks about this for a moment. “Well just before you arrived, it was more or less the same. I was acting as mayor, but I didn’t really do much, so people mostly went about their normal business. Before that, though…” Poppy sighs. “Our previous Mayor was a very enthusiastic fellow, who spent most of his time either going around town helping our residents, or planning festivals. He would declare a festival of some sort almost every week, sometimes even twice a week, and those festivals are really what brought our town together. If it weren’t for him, we probably wouldn’t have nearly as strong a sense of town community. He really was a good mayor, who gave his all for the sake of the town.”

Oh. You’ve been hearing bits and pieces about the previous mayor, but this is the first time someone’s spoken so openly about him. “Can I ask, what happened to him? I mean, is he…”

Poppy shakes her head. “Oh, goodness no. Our former mayor is merely retired, and has gone to live with his sons. He was getting quite old, and he kept forgetting whether he’d run a festival or not! That’s not to say the week of Christmas wasn’t fun, but when it got close to a month, we knew we had to do something.”

Well, that explains a few things, though you wish this previous mayor had left some notes to help you out. “Thanks, Poppy.” Suddenly, you have a thought. “So Poppy, if I wanted to organize a festival, what should I do?”

“Oh, a festival?” Poppy asks. “For that you’ll want to use the Event Planner, up in your office. Any sort of festival will need a bit of advance preparation, and will probably cost a few bells to set up, unless you do it all yourself.”

You nod. “Alright, I’ll keep that in mind.” With that explanation heard, and your pockets quite a bit emptier, you suppose you should probably figure out what you want to do with the day.

What will you do?

>Talk to Poppy [Write in]
>Head up to your Office
>Go somewhere in town [Select a place]
>Visit one of the citizens’ houses [Select a citizen]
>Other [Write in]

>>41782336
>Head up to your Office
Get a feel for current events and any pressing matters we need to attend to. Afterwards, let's go exploring.

>>41782361
This

>>41782361
Third.

You figure you should probably actually go up to your office at some point, so you bid goodbye to Poppy, and head upstairs. On the second floor there’s a line of doors, presumably for various ministers or something. All of them are empty, so you just head all the way to the end, where the Mayor’s office is.

The first word that occurs to you when you arrive is “busy”. From what you can tell, the previous Mayor wasn’t too good at the whole organization thing, and nobody thought to clean out his office when he retired. There’s charts and graphs all over the desk, calendars pinned up on the walls, and a rolodex full of names is lying on its side, the cards scattered all over the place. As you enter, a good deal of dust gets kicked into the air, sending you into a coughing fit for the second time today. Moving quickly to the opposite wall you open the window wide, but suddenly a gust of wind picks up, sending the papers and charts flying around the room.

“No! No no no no no!” You quickly try to grab as many pieces of paper as you can, rushing around the room while the window panes flap with the current.

“Are you alright up there Mayor?” comes Poppy’s voice from below. You quickly rush to bolt the windows shut again before responding.

“I’m fine, Poppy. Just, you know, a bit of spring cleaning!” You groan at your joke, and turn to survey the damage. One look tells you that almost a quarter of the items in the room have been blown away, to who knows where. You sigh. Just great.

First things first, the Event Planner. The binder itself is relatively undamaged, but it looks like a good few pages have gone missing. Whether to the wind, or someone having taken them, you don’t know. One look, though, and you can see how much care went into this planner. Every day is marked, with either an untidy scribble or a colorful stamp. Every time there was an event in the future, the former mayor must have circled the date ten times to make sure he wouldn’t forget. He may have been forgetful in his older years, but you can tell that he fought it, all for the sake of Whiteport. A quick look tells you that the present and immediate future pages have disappeared, starting from the beginning of this year, and extending until January of the next. You could probably get some replacement pages from Poppy, but… You turn to the next item.

The rolodex of numbers has almost completely disappeared. Only a few numbers remain, but you aren’t sure who they are, given that they’re quite vaguely labelled with “Bugs”, and “Ice”. You put those cards away for later. Given that the cards were laminated, it shouldn’t be hard to spot one of these cards if you find it, but you have no idea how far the wind could have carried them.

As for the suggestion box, it’s surprisingly unharmed. It looks like for all the wind did, it couldn’t quite lift up an entire wooden box. You check inside, and are relieved to see that the notes inside are unharmed as well. You decide to pull them out, and give them a quick read.

The first is from Poppy. “Hi there, Mayor Leo. I hope you don’t mind that I put something in here already. I just want to say, thank you so much for becoming our mayor. I’m sure you’ll do great, and I hope I can encourage you just like you encouraged me.”

You smile, and put that one back. The next is from Tam. “Hey, Mayor. I’m super glad that you’re our new mayor now, and I hope that you come to my shop lots, yes! I hope fortune smiles upon you in your new job, Mayor.”

You’re pretty sure you know what’s up by now, but you decide to look at the next one all the same. “Hey, Mayor. It’s me, Flint. I’m… really sorry about how I treated you earlier today. I just don’t want to let you get hurt because of me. I hope that we can be friends, Leo.”

The other notes are pretty much in the same vein, although you’re not so sure what’s going on with Sapphire or Morris’s notes. Maybe you should go visit them? Regardless, as you put the notes back into the box, you feel a sudden resurgence of energy. So what if you’re not actually trained to be a mayor? So what if you’re more suited to fighting than leading? Your people believe in you, and that’s all you really need.

What will you do?

>Go. Be the Mayor. Lead your people.

You’re prepared to do exactly that.

No seriously though, what will you do?

>Go somewhere in town [Where?]
>Go visit someone [Who?]
>Other [Write in]

>>41783575
>Go visit someone [Who?]
Flint. Thank him for putting up the lamp.

>>41783575
>Go to the fishing shop, see if we can afford that cooler so we can keep our fish fresh for selling them/alive for donations

Thanking Flint, you decide, is probably a good first order of business. After that highly emotional letter he left in your suggestion box, you should probably let him know that you appreciate his work. The smithy isn’t too far away, of course (nothing in this town really is), but all the same you’re glad for the new path Velour has installed. It’s much easier on your bare feet as well.

Hold on, that’s something you’ve just realized. You’ve been walking barefoot everywhere, so haven’t you been tracking dirt into people’s shops? You pick up your foot to look at it, and are surprised to find it completely clean. It’s, well to be honest now it seems kind of obvious, but it’s like the dirt just isn’t sticking to your feet. Earth Magic, of course. Setting your foot down again, you continue down the path.

Flint’s not readily visible again, but a quick Earth Magic check tells you that he’s inside the building proper, where he probably actually sells the things he makes. You note that the door chimes as you enter, similar to Theo’s clothes shop. Quite a nice little tune as well.

Flint looks up as you enter, seemingly surprised. “Oh, hello Mayor,” he says, “I’ve, um, gotten the lamp post built, so if there’s anything else you need-”

“Flint,” you say, “I’d just like to thank you for everything you’ve done. Not just the lamp post either, which I’m sure you put a lot of effort into making the best it could be.” Flint looks a bit embarrassed, but you go on. “More than that, for saving me in the forge. I’m not sure what would have happened if I’d been burnt, and you’re right, I probably should have waited outside. So thanks, Flint. I’d be honored to be your friend.”

“Ah, yeah,” Flint says, scratching his nose while looking off to the side. “The other guys wanted to get together some sort of welcoming message for you, so I just wrote that, but I’m really glad you want to be friends. It’s an honor, really.”

You nod. It seems like that’s that, for now.

“Well then, Flint, I might need your help some more in the future, so I hope you don’t mind if I rely on you some more, alright?”

Flint grins. “Yeah yeah. Why don’t you learn some blacksmithing yourself, maybe you’ll be able to make your own street lights.”

“You know, I think I might,” you say. There was that metalsmithing hammer from Tam’s, and Flint would probably be willing to teach you as well. “Would you help me out?”

Flint seems a bit surprised that you accepted, but nods. “Yeah, sure. Just come here when I’m not busy, I’ll give you a few pointers.”

“Thanks, Flint,” you say, then with a chime you head back out.

----------

“Kaluga,” you say, walking into the shop, “are you in here?”

“Yes, Mayor Leo,” calls a voice from the back. You head further in and see Kaluga resting behind the counter. “What is it that you need?”

You look around, trying to find what you’re looking for. “You know how you said I should get an icebox to keep my fish fresh? Where can I get one of those?”

Kaluga raises a fin to point at a spot near the back. You head over there, and find a few boxes stacked up. “You will probably want the red one,” Kaluga calls from the counter. “It is both functional, and not so expensive. It will do, for now.”

You nod, grabbing that box and bringing it up to the front desk. “So how much is it?”

Kaluga nods towards the price tag. “This box is a mere 700 Bells. It will not hold as many fish as one of the larger boxes might, but with space for about 30 fish, you will likely find it difficult to fill, for now.” You hand over the bells, leaving you with just 1000 remaining. “Make sure that you fill it with ice first, Mayor, as without ice, it is merely a box.” You’re not sure, given how hard it is to read Kaluga’s expressions, but you think that was a joke.

“Thank, Kaluga,” you say, putting the box away. With that, you’re ready to face the day, with only 1000 Bells in your pocket, but a cornucopia of opportunities before you.

[End of Session 5]

Sorry for the slow updates today, I had some unexpected trouble earlier, but I hope I made up for it with quality (at least near the end).

As always, Q&A if anyone wants to stick around, and if not, the next thread will probably be on the 11th, 4:30 PST, but follow my QM Twitter for the most accurate information.