You aren't particularly in a chatty mood for much of the rest of your travel time towards Tarvos Valley. You engage in some idle chit-chat here and there, sure, but a lot's on your mind.

One of said incidents of idle chit-chat involve Lyeim.

The half-garou muses in your general vicinity, "haven't been home in awhile... Man, hope I'll be able to say hey to everyone at some point. I get it if we're gonna be too busy, but..."

"Mhm," you reply in a disgruntled, half-minding sort of tone.

"Uh, hey, you've been down like this all trip, Lloyd. I mean, you're... Not really defined by your shining smile, but are you trying to fill in for Yancy's sad and angry gap or something?"

Why do people keep becoming your buddies so fast?

>A. Why does he care
>B. Unload your relationship dilemma onto this guy
>C. You're fine
>D. None of his business
>E. Write-in
>F. Talk to someone else instead (specify among party members)

>>43582392
>C. You're fine

>>43582402
"I'm fine, Lyeim. Keep rambling about your family."

"Rambling?"

"You... Know what I meant. I dunno, maybe it'll distract me."

Lyeim nods, still a bit wary of your word choice, but apparently happy to discuss his multiple siblings.

"So there's Romulus, he's... The oldest by... Not even a second. Anyway, he likes to lord that over us, and he's all proud and stuff... Mom says he's a lot like aunt Ahua used to be. Then, uh, Tobias. He's... A bit of a traveling artist, you can call him, but... Yeah, we all know he's a bit out there. Great guy, though. And he has this gift for music. Rema, she's... She certainly acted like top dog when we were all little. Picked on me and Colleen a bit, but she really didn't do anything bad. Colleen, though, she's... Quiet. I never liked to impose on her privacy. Both of them, they've been working on a ship out there in the Ulir Archipelago. And then you get to uncle Vaga and more cousins from him than I can think of at the moment, and I think aunt Ahua had kids but I don't know for sure? Never met them if she did. And then, uh, dad never really had much family, but there's uncle Mitch! He has some really cool botanical work if you're ever in Rakche."

You're... Certainly a bit overwhelmed by the short version of his talk about his family.

>A. Talk to someone else (specify who, topic preferred)
>B. Skip to a major event
>C. Say something more to Lyeim (write-in)

>>43582641
Yeah, time renewed.

Guh, I know this is kind of a lame start. I am hoping to get into the action before long at all.

>>43582641
>C. Say something more to Lyeim (Inquire further about Mitch's botanical work)

>>43582641
>>43582641
>A. Talk to someone else (specify who, topic preferred)
Let's get to know Gonzo a bit better

>>43582853
Sounds good.

File: Archmogall.gif (15 KB, 45x47)

15 KB GIF

>>43582853
"So, uh... Botanical work?"

"Yeah, it's... He's bred this really cool new type of flower into existence, he's got the best garden on the continent, bar none, he's working with some mages to develop and improve the growth, preservation of fruits and vegetables and the like... I don't really know the details, but apparently it might turn out very promising a, uh... Few years down the line."

"Very cool, very cool."

"Yeah."

After that, your discussion primarily turns to idle small talk.

The rest of your trip to Tarvos Valley is... Well, not boring, but you don't do all that much. Leigh stops being mad at you at some point, and you decide to put off questioning the purpose of your relationship. Best to save that for a rainy day when you need something to foul the mood.

At one point, you see her and Lyeim sparring under the watchful eye and advisory mouth of Marrius. You catch Yvette's eye, observing this go down in the distance, but say nothing.

Another day, you walk in on Ansi, chatting up the still-slightly-apprehensive but still upbeat Jolie. "I've... Made some enemies, here in Tarvos Valley. It's hard to come back, but for the sake-"

You literally see a floating eye materialize behind a tree behind Jolie, which then floats out into the open.

"Oh, what in heaven is that?!" With that, Ansi lifts up his Shine tome... But Jolie is quick to turn around, ready her Iron Lance and try to pike the damn thing herself. It swerves out of the way of this, and thus out of the way of Ansi's light magic, and then, dramatically...

It blinks with disinterest.

"Stand aside, Jolie," Ansi says, "an Arch Mogall such as this... I haven't seen monsters in the wild since I left the valley. It's hideously dangerous." He shoots the Mogall a "what the hell, man?" look when Jolie looks back at it.

"Is it? Well, then, it's probably good practice!"

>A. Tell her he summoned it
>B. Sit back and watch all this
>C. Attack the thing yourself
>D. Play along for Ansi
>E. Write-in

>>43583090
>B. Sit back and watch all this

>>43583090
>B. Sit back and watch all this

>>43583090
>B. Sit back and watch all this

File: Arch_mogallGBAIcon.gif (2 KB, 76x68)

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>>43583185
>>43583237
>>43583241
You just grin and watch the fireworks.

"I've got you now!" Jolie exclaims, attacking the monster again... Failing to hit it again... Sending it just out of the way of Ansi again.

"Grh... Jolie, really, I've fought this sort of thing before. They have some... Innate dark magic powers, so my own light magic is even better than my own summoning technique for taking down a single one. I just... Need to get a good shot in!"

"Hey, it's part of a soldier's job to protect people against monsters and undead! If you're a mage, stay at a range, I like to say."

Eventually, the summoned Arch Mogall grows tired of Ansi's shenanigans, flying away. It passes your general direction and blinks, staring you down, before just sort of stopping and looking around.

"H-hey! What's it..."

"I think I scared it off." Dropping her lance, Jolie smiles, grabs her bicep, and curls her right arm up with a confident grin.

"Well, then... I guess that means we make a good team," Ansi says, getting over his bewilderment and grinning.

"It's... Not attacking Lloyd at all."

Ansi seems to have forgotten about putting the Mogall away, and it just glances around idly a few more times, hovering around in place.

>A. Reveal the truth
>B. Spin this for Ansi's sake (specification requested, but I do have an idea)
>C. Leave
>D. Kill the damn thing
>E. Write-in
>F. Stand in silence

>>43583346
>D. Kill the damn thing
Must have been some sort of hypnosis!

>>43583346
>D. Kill the damn thing
Best not to scare other people with it

>>43583346
>Pet the eyeball monster
I've always thought Mogalls were kinda adorable.

>>43583469
>>43583482
>>43583522
"It, uh, must've been... Trying to hypnotize me!" You raise your Nosferatu tome, feeling like making a show out of this... And then the thing barely seems affected.

But hey, your hangnail was healed by the health-sapping...

...and now it's attacking you back.

The word "shit," leaving Ansi's mouth, is the last thing you hear before blacking out.

You wake up to Ansi, whispering to you, "I told it not to hurt me or Jolie, whatever it did... Then you went ahead and attacked it, not being a part of the plan."

The Mogall is still floating around idly.

"As far as Jolie knows, I tamed it because I'm that cool. Don't piss it off and you should be fine, just like dealing with real animals."

You nod. You're thankful for the sheer potential of healing staves in this moment. In fact, you're able to stand up just fine a moment later. "How long was I out?"

"Five minutes. Taking one for me like that, though..." He frowns. "Don't expect any favors in return."

You sigh and nod, instead testing your luck by petting the eyeball monster. It doesn't seem to mind.

Jolie stands around nearby, the skeptical look on her freckled face saying enough about how wowed she actually is.

>A. Leave the scene
>B. Say something to someone (specify)
>C. Stand around silently
>D. Look for someone else (again, specify)
>E. Write-in

>>43583584
>A

>>43583584
>A. Leave the scene

>>43583640
>>43583708
You leave the scene.

Traveling through a mountain range to get into Tarvos Valley is pretty nice, all things considered.

Nobody ever gets rid of that Mogall, and there's the odd attack by giant spiders and the like, but they're all easier dealt with than Ansi's insanely resilient floating eye monster (or maybe Dark Magic just doesn't work on it. Yeah, that's probably it).

"This is a mountain pass used by Ahua and her followers 25 years ago. If you travel along it enough, you'll find that it leads right up to the old garou village," Lyeim explains at one point to you and Gonzo. Jolie jumps in with much more information about the Neir front of that one war, seeming more interested in flexing her trivia knowhow than actually educating anyone.

Cargia challenges Marrius to a friendly duel one evening and loses. Marrius attributes it to his opponent's refusal to switch to a more suitable weapon, but Cargia declines a rematch with his opponent also using axes. "If I can't beat him at his best with my best, then I won't settle for less for my pride's sake."

Shea is... Around, you think? A lot of the time, she's reading over some stuff she insists you're not allowed to know about or talking to one of Yvette or her brother.

You're about a quarter of a day away from Dagda village, where you're supposed to meet this Jay guy, as of this particular morning. Leigh's just gone off for some more training with Lyeim and Marrius.

The Mogall flies around idly, only slightly worse at keeping up a conversation than Gonzo.

>A. Spend time with someone (specify)
>B. Don't bother. Skip to getting there

>>43583767
Ask Joli what she thinks about Ansi (in a discreet way?)

>>43583809
You end up primarily hanging around Jolie, Ansi apparently having gone on ahead with Cargia, Yancy, and Yulea, on the prince's behalf (Shea insisted he not go alone).

"Yeah, sorry about... You getting knocked out on my behalf, by the way. Haven't had much of a chance to talk about that."

"No, it's fine. About time I got hurt on the job."

Jolie chuckles. "Anyway, yeah, that was... He's certainly trying to be my hero, isn't he?"

"Right, so that means I don't need to be the one to bring that up."

"Guess not!" She clears her throat, "I mean, I'm... Flattered, and all, but... I can't help but feel uncomfortable with all this effort he's putting in. I guess he seems... Not that bad, like he's really trying to be nicer."

"Just around you."

She nods. "I figured. He needs to be... Better in general."

When your lot gets to Dagda later that day, Shea is approached by a tall, balding man.

"Y-your highness..." He says in a voice that's very naturally nervous. "It is... Really, it's an honor for you to be here for this. I mean, tomorrow's a really big day for people, and to know that you're helping these mercenaries protect us..."

"Introductions before flattery, please," she says with a bit of an amused smile.

"O-oh, right, of course... I'm, uh... I'm Jay, the, uh... I wrote to Marrius' Group..." He looks at her elderly retainer. "Ah, Lady Yvette, you, uh... H-haven't changed a bit..." A man of similar build to Jay approaches from inside the town. "Ah, yes, this is... My, er, my cousin..." He clears his throat, looking in Marrius' direction. "Marrius, sir, do you mind if he shows your men around town? He did so for the ones who came with Prince Cargia, so..."

"Don't mind at all, Jay. Come, let's talk of other things. You mentioned that Reese is in town?"

Yvette, Marrius, and Shea leave with Jay, leaving you with his cousin.

>A. Stick to the tour
>B. Search for Yancy/Yulea
>C. Search for Ansi
>D. Search for Cargia
>E. Write-in?

>>43584099
>A

>>43584099
>A. Stick to the tour

>>43584156
>>43584208
You're shown around the town. It's a small place, all in all, and you don't really have all that much to say about it.

You and Leigh end up meeting up with Yulea for dinner in a rather ordinary tavern.

"Yancy hasn't seen her mom in awhile, so I figured it'd be better to give them time to catch up!" She explains. "Jay and his cousin's houses are pretty big, a lot of room for guests to be in town for a few days..." She frowns. "Okay, that big eyeball keeps looking at us through the window."

A woman who had been sitting alone until now glances at the window, saying something to herself along the lines of "so he's still kicking, huh?"

"Uh, I'm sorry... Who are you, exactly?" Leigh asks the lady.

She doesn't say anything. Her features bar black hair are obscured by, well, looking away from everyone.

>A. Ask her yourself
>B. Encourage Leigh to speak a bit louder
>C. Does Yulea know what's up?
>D. Write-in
>E. Silence
>F. Leave her alone, guys

>>43584295
>A. Ask her yourself

>>43584295
>A. Ask her yourself

>>43584295
>A. Ask her yourself

>>43584405
>>43584483
>>43584495
"Excuse me, miss, we were asking you a question!" You say.

The long-haired woman, clad in reddish light armor, pale and fairly muscular, responds, "your point?"

"My point is, you look at something our coworker created and laugh about how he's still alive."

"Oh, so you're one of those mercenaries Ansi's fallen in with. Name's Une. See, back when he and I were partners, he was fond of keeping floating eyes around like that. With how he can be, I was just pleasantly surprised nobody'd killed him yet."

"So that's the first thing that comes to your mind? 'Oh, he isn't dead?'" Yulea asks with a visible frown.

"Didn't you just run into him the other week? He said he ran into an old bounty hunting partner."

"And that was... half the continent away. Why are you all the way here now?" Leigh finishes.

"..." Une downs whatever was in her glass in an instant, slamming it on the table. "How much do you really know about Ansi, anyway?"

>A. Don't change the subject
>B. Enough!
>C. Not much
>D. Alright, drop the subject
>E. Write-in
>F. Silence. Let the girls handle this one

>>43584534
>A. Don't change the subject

>>43584534
>A. Don't change the subject

>>43584534
>A. Don't change the subject

>>43584618
>>43584673
>>43584701
"Don't change the subject. We're not here for a history lesson, Une."

"Something's happening to him, isn't it?!" Leigh adds.

She doesn't say anything.

"Could you please answer us, miss?" Yulea asks politely, albeit approaching her table and slamming her hands down. "We're sort of anticipating a lot of dracozombies, and apparently Ansi is good for countering that!"

"Didn't think it was even a little weird that they explicitly mentioned summoners in the letter? That was my... Associate's idea."

"Associate? Where?" Yulea's smile twitches slightly downward.

Une sighs. "See, now I can't exactly answer that."

"Er, mind if we take this outside, Une?" Yulea asks politely.

"Is that supposed to intimidate me?"

Smiling widely with her eyes closed, she responds, "it typically does!"

Une groans. "I'll humor you."

You and Leigh share uncertain glances and follow them.

"So... I take it you're only going to respond to violence?"

In turn, Une responds, "since I don't feel like killing you over that guy's head, no weapons. Just land a single hit on me, and maybe I'll think about-"

Yulea's fist swings forward... And is promptly caught by Une, who tosses her to the ground, albeit with some strain.

"Grh... Heavier than you look."

"Me next, then," Leigh insists.

>A. We don't have time for this! (presumably because of impending dracozombies)
>B. What the hell is going on
>C. Find Marrius
>D. Just look for him yourselves
>E. Write-in
>F. Do nothing

>>43584748
Time renewed, unless this post is beaten to the punch.

>>43584748
>A. We don't have time for this! (presumably because of impending dracozombies)
>C. Find Marrius

File: Bael.gif (31 KB, 102x71)

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>>43584939
"Look, we don't have time for these feats of strength. Whatever Ansi's worth to you, what's it gonna matter when a Dracozombie's... Killing you, however they do that?"

She closes her eyes. "Fine, you're right. Clint's not unreasonable either, so let's see if we can't talk him down."

"Uh, someone should really tell Marrius and the rest what's happening."

"I'll do it..." Yulea answers you, straining to get up. "Gonna need someone to heal me anyway, so... Go on ahead."

"Clint's pretty big on style, so he's challenging him in the middle of Orsin's ruins. I was supposed to shy people away if they asked, but..." She steps over to a large spider creature, climbing onto its back. "But dying's not exactly priority number one."

Gonzo approaches from nearby. "Whoa, hey, what is going on over here?"

Leigh answers immediately. "Ansi's gotten himself into trouble. That's all that matters."

"Well, four folks are better than three if you're goin' out looking for him."

And without another word, Gonzo was accompanying you.

"'course," Une says to you and Leigh as you travel alongside her and her bael, "after the dust has cleared and we're safe from zombies, it'll be back to plan A."

>A. Fair enough
>B. You won't stop her
>C. You will stop them when that happens
>D. Attack her now. The three of you can get to Orsin from here without help
>E. Silence
>F. Write-in

>>43585042
>A. Fair enough

>A. Fair enough

>>43585109
>>43585118
Sorry the post is taking awhile. I assure you that it is in the works. Grandflaw has wanted to do this part in particular since before the thread began, so I'm sure he's just making sure it's as good as possible.

He is rather particular about things when he's the one writing, which is why he usually doesn't feel like posting.

>>43585288
Apparently, there are also some technical difficulties on his end (aren't computers beautiful?), but he assures you it's coming.

>>43585288
>>43585312
No rush

>>43585312
>>43585341
...and now some IRL business has left him needing to drop the post (he didn't say what, but I know that it must be somewhat serious for him to drop this). I'm picking up what he's written and making sure shit continues, though.

>>43585288
>>43585312
>>43585365
Haha, sorry about this all folks. It's not like me not making a post is anything new, though.

>>43585365
>>43585422
No worries. Looking forward to the post whenever it comes.

You reply to Une simply, "Fair enough."

Leigh looks a little uncertain for a few moments, but seems to focus on the task at hand.

Continuing forward, you all carry on in silence, aside from Gonzo (ironically enough) coughing a bit.

You approach what appears to be the dilapidated remains of a village, only a few buildings still standing.

In the center of town, Ansi and a tall, bearded fellow in a hat with an interesting brim face each other, the latter with a bow in his hands. A horse stands around nearby, presumably belonging to the man you don't recognize.

"Got a lot of nerve coming back to Tarvos Valley after all you've done."

"Were you honestly waiting for an audience to say all that?"

"...wait, people're here?" He starts to turn and look back before stopping, jerking his head back firmly towards Ansi. You feel like he saw you anyway. "Nice try, pal. Une ain't letting anyone through here until we're done."

"And you're honestly going to trust her."

"...hell no. I'm just figuring that taking my eyes off you is the worse idea here."

>A. Now really isn't the time, guys
>B. Attack Clint(?)
>C. Be silent
>D. Say something more (specify)
>E. Write-in

>>43585490
>A. Now really isn't the time, guys

>>43585490
>A. Now really isn't the time, guys
Dracozombies, they are both dragons AND zombies. We got bigger fish to fry.

File: DracozombieGBAIcon.gif (2 KB, 78x68)

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>>43585527
>>43585528
"Uh, guys, this... Really isn't the time. You can have your huge battle after the Dracozombies are dealt with, alright?"

"And let this guy snake away like some kinda coward? Run off again, get outta the valley where there ain't a price on his head? He ain't helping nobody now that he knows I'm after him."

Clint pulls back his bow.

Ansi lifts up his tome.

Une shrugs and says, "it was worth a shot, I guess."

Leigh balls up her fists. "You guys, just... Grh..." She looks at you. "I dunno what to do here. We still don't actually know what Ansi did, but he's our comrade, but... He's a bad person, and... But he's helpful, but... If he just ran away again without fighting afterwards... I don't know what to do!"

Gonzo takes to skirting around the perimeter of the village on his own.

>A. Attack Clint
>B. Attack Ansi
>C. Attack Une
>D. Invoke the name of Jolie
>E. Go with Gonzo
>F. Write-in idea

And what do you tell Leigh to do?

>H. Attack Clint
>I. Attack Ansi
>J. Attack Une
>K. Try to talk things down
>L. Go with Gonzo
>M. Write-in suggestion

>>43585612
Whoop, ignore the Dracozombie. My original intent was that they'd show up in this post, but then they... Didn't, and I forgot to remove the picture.

Also, I appear to have skipped the letter G.

>>43585612
>A. Attack Clint
>H

Right now, he's our ally, he can explain after

File: Prayer_Sword_(Artwork).png (166 KB, 402x984)

166 KB PNG

>>43585670
"For now," you whisper, "let's just go at the bounty hunter." Leigh reluctantly nods and you open up Nosferatu. She draws her Miracle Sword. You begin to immerse yourself in casting something you've only used once before. Leigh begins to step forward, glancing back at you.

Her eyes widen and she doubles back, shoving you down. Une's Bael and the woman herself (with an Iron Lance) both strike where you once stood, where Leigh now does.

Her Miracle Sword glows a soothing green, the aura surrounding her as Une and her mount pull away.

"Sorry about that," she says, not at all apologetically. "See, it's kind of in poor taste to let someone kill your partner when he asked not to let anyone interfere."

Leigh, shuddering and bloody but saved by the power of her sword, glares angrily at Une, taking another step forward, grasping her weapon... And then collapsing again.

"Bael can secrete a sort of venom from their legs," she explains as you hurry to open up a vulnerary. "She'll be out for a little while, assuming she isn't already dead."

Gods, no, she can't be... Okay good, it's going down anyway.

Ansi and Clint, who until this point had been trading unsuccessful blows with their standard weapons, are distracted by Gonzo shouting "we've got company!"

Une looks at you two. "If only you'd waited a couple seconds more..."

>To be continued next thread
Yeah, I know, this is literally the most harrowing place to cut it off, but... Any later and it would risk cutting into the actual fights. Since I feel like someone's gonna say it, no, Leigh isn't dead. Would have died if she didn't have her special sword, but that's... Sort of why she got it at all. She knows she has a habit of doing things like this. As for if she'll stay alive... I would hope so, since we've planned a lot around her sticking around.

Thanks for playing, all of you. As always, you can find us @qmgrandflocto on Twitter, through http://ask.fm/qmgrandflocto, and talk in-thread for awhile.

And also no, this wasn't guaranteed to happen. Leigh could have just as easily not gotten hurt.

>>43585822
Well that fucking sucks.
Better not be dead

>>43585960
She's out of commission, but can be kept alive.

Does make things more difficult, though.

>>43585997
So basically, chapter 7's gonna be you, Gonezo, Ansi, Une, and Clint protecting Leigh and fighting Dracozombies off until Yulea manages to get more people onto the scene.