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You're really not so certain about all of this.

Une's been in the group for all of a couple days, and already she's being sent on a mission with you and Leigh. You're just... Going to keep your mutual distances, though. For all that's wrong with her, you're reasonably confident she won't start any shit. If anything, you're more worried about Leigh making your opinions very clear.

"Ah," Kneil says to your new coworker's Bael as Une brings it out, "is this thing tame? My man here and I once encountered a settlement in the Noba-Tordo border mountains that rode wild bael..."

"What're you asking questions for, pretty boy?" Une asks him somewhat snappily.

"My man means no disrespect," Tomnus explains, "he is simply in awe of your unusual mount, and wished share an anecdote about it."

"You talk funny," Une remarks in return.

"...so we do!" The friends both say at once, sharing laughter.

Yone, chuckling while standing by Calof, asks the three of you, "aren't they just a riot?"

Calof just sort of blinks in response, not sure what to say.

Yancy and Yulea are still getting their horses ready, as an aside.

>A. Hilarious (sarcastic)
>B. Hilarious (not sarcastic)
>C. You guess?
>D. Not your style of humor
>E. Write-in response
>F. Be silent

>>43830436
Vote time renewed.

>>43830436
>D. Not your style of humor

>>43830436
>A. Hilarious (sarcastic)
>D. Not your style of humor

>>43830436
>A. Hilarious (sarcastic)

>>43830755
>>43830863
You look between Calof and Leigh, saying rather dryly, "Hilarious. Yeah, though, not really my type of humor."

You share indifferent looks of slight confusion until Yancy and Yulea show up.

"Alright, sorry for the holdup!" Yulea says on their behalf.

As you all set off, Irene's last words to you before leaving the building (it was... only a few minutes ago, actually) echo in your head.

"If an age of piracy kills legitimate sea trade again, it's going to be a lot harder to find this stuff," Irene says about the bitter, caffeine-loaded beans you've grown so fond of in a short time, "so if an opportunity presents itself to take down this Dory daughter, think of the greater good." You shared a laugh over this, before she continued, "but seriously, unsafe seas returning would be a socioeconomic disaster, and I'm surprised nobody is cracking down on Helena. Marrius' grandfather fought hard to make Ulir a reputable place to live, and it takes more than 25 years to kill a poor national reputation as it is."

But enough reflecting on parting words. You've got a port to get to!

>A. Spend time with someone (specify who, topic preferred but not required)
>B. Think about things (specify topic)
>C. Skip all of that business

>>43830931
>A. Spend time with someone
Yuela and Yone

>>43831143
"I still can't believe you haven't given up this bullshit!" Yancy storms away from Yone, leaving Yulea behind to look... Less than pleased at him.

You consider going after your friend, but figure that she needs space you can't particularly give right now. Instead, you take your time with Yulea and Yone.

Yone sighs. "I mean... Really, what am I doing wrong, Yulea?"

Even the patient and friendly Yulea looks tried by these foolish shenanigans. "Look, Yone, when I said 'she isn't interested in you,' I didn't mean your personality."

"Oh, so she's not interested in short priests?" Yone asks, sounding a bit offended.

"In... A matter of speaking, you're... Not wrong?" Yulea says, seeing you. "You get what I mean, right, Lloyd?"

"What?" Yone asks. "Seriously, what is the issue here?"

>A. Leave you out of this
>B. Suggest something (specify)
>C. Because he's a cocky little shit?
>D. No clue
>E. Write-in

>>43831313
>A. Leave you out of this

>>43831448
"Uh, I'd rather just... Stay out of this..."

Yulea nods. "That's fair. See, though, Yone? Being put on the spot like this is unpleasant, and Yancy will never be interested in you!" She tries to sound friendly when she says it, which... Naturally makes it come off as even shadier than it might have already. "So I suggest accepting it and just leaving her alone for the rest of... Always."

"Jealous much?" Yone asks, "but... Whatever. You scare me, honestly."

"That's the best thing I could possibly hear on the topic!" Yulea responds. "I don't think you're a bad guy, Yone, but... You really need to understand when you're bothering people!"

He nods. "Yeah, I know... It's hard to take a hint sometimes, even if it's threatening to shove a lance through your face."

"Oh, I wouldn't go THAT far," Yulea says.

"...reassuring." Yone sighs. "Look, I just... I know I'm all I'm not cracked up to be. And I know you must not think that much of me with how I am to your best friend, so... Yeah, thanks for being patient, is all."

With that, he leaves to put some things back away, the group's break to travel coming to a close.

Yulea lets out an exhausted sigh. "I... Really cannot stand that guy. I know you agree, and I meant what I said about thinking he's not bad at his core, but... It's still harder and harder to be nice to him."

>A. He's worse company than Une
>B. He's warming up to you
>C. You're as fond of him as ever (read: not very)
>D. Nah, he's pretty great
>E. No comment.
>F. Write-in response

>>43831633
>C. You're as fond of him as ever (read: not very)

>>43831669
"I mean, Leigh kinda tricked me into feeling bad for him when he confronted us all the way back up in the mountains, but... Yeah, never once been fond of the guy."

Yulea sighs. "And he's just... Awful for Yancy's anxiety issues. If he was only chatting my ear off, I'd be perfectly fine with him, but bothering Yancy is where I draw the line... And promptly do nothing about it besides try to be polite and professional."

"See, though, people don't expect me to be Mr. Nice Guy, and we're roommates so... I can pull pranks on him all the time. Lemme know if you ever have any good ideas you don't wanna take credit for in the name of keeping the peace."

Yulea snickers. "I'll keep that in mind."

Oh, boy, now he's talking to Leigh. You vaguely make something out about "wanting to be really strong" and "feeling less like an outcast for being a little guy," and you can just tell she's eating it all up. Probably even offering to train him in their off-time or refer him to a gym or something.

>A. Intervene
>B. Say more to Yulea
>C. Go talk to someone else (specify)
>D. Let this be. If Leigh can tolerate him, let her.
>E. Write-in

>>43831825
>D. Let this be. If Leigh can tolerate him, let her.

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>>43831986
You opt to ignore this and just carry on with what you're doing. Worst-case scenario, he pisses off Leigh, which both a) validates your resentment in her eyes, and b) is hilarious for whatever happens to Yone. Best-case scenario, he's less awful for the experience.

When Yancy calms down, she rejoins you and Yulea, and the three of you mostly engage in small talk, joined briefly by Calof when he decides to thank you for helping Irene decide to make the coolness-enchanted rings standard-issue.

"...so I tell her, like hell it's worth 1,000 gold to-" Yancy is cut off mid-anecdote by an arrow soaring just past her nose. She approaches its direction suspiciously, glares downward into an odd bush.

"Hah! That was a warning shot," the bush says, "for I am a moment's time away from calling my crew to attack your-"

He doesn't even finish his sentence. Yancy, cleaning off her sword, turns around and says. "Robbers nearby. Seems like they've got less skill than the sand they're hiding in. Figure they're hiding in... that direction."

"Oh, don't go alone, anyway," Yulea says. "Let me follow!"

It looks like this will be a negligible roadblock at worst, thanks to Yancy spotting their trap. You could probably just kick back for the hour or two you figure it'll take to drive them away.

>A. Yep, just do nothing until it passes
>B. Hang around until it passes
>C. Go along with them anyway
>D. Write-in

>>43832209
>C. Go along with them anyway

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>>43832255
You consider staying behind, and do at first, but... Reconsider pretty quickly, considering how immediately your magically-attuned legs can catch up in the sand.

"Godspeed, my friends!" Tomnus calls out, "your heroics will be the stuff of songs!"

Kneil adds, "literally. I'm penning a ballad of me and Tomnus' every quest."

"Ah, what the hell?" Une adds, mounting her bael and coming after you. "Maybe they've got some loot on 'em."

You and Une are a bit late to the party, yes, but not hopelessly so. A man with an axe gets a little close for comfort to Yulea, but he's cut down pretty quickly. "Well, maybe I don't want to pretend to be nice to assholes just because they're 'fragile!'"

"I didn't say you had to be nice! I was saying that you need to be the one to tell him exactly how you feel! Don't just storm off next time he does it..." Yulea responds as she snaps a javelin out of the air and waves it intimidatingly at its owner until she flees.

"Look, I didn't come out here to talk about that dick. I came here so I could talk with you out of the company of OUR company, and of similar importance, making sure bandits don't kill or rob us!"

You and Une stare blankly at the conversation, turning your heads towards a fellow wielding fire and a sword with a rather magnificent beard and menacing eyepatch. He too looks rather awkwardly at you both, a confused expression on the face of several lackey brigands backing away.

"I don't rob people to overhear their personal drama..." The man says. "You two! You two look 'right to business! Your money or your life!"

Une rolls her eye and rides towards the man, brandishing a Killer Lance.

>A. Steal her kill
>B. Let her have this one
>C. Interrupt Yancy and Yulea
>D. Write-in response
>E. Turn back and rejoin the main group

>>43832405
>A. Steal her kill
MAXIMUM PETTINESS!

>>43832455
A bit of Nosferatu goes a long way, and you strike the Mage Fighter right before Une can.

He collapses out of the way of her strike, and you can tell by her look of confusion and rubbing her eyepatch that she initially blames her shot depth perception... Only to turn around and notice your grin.

"...that's actually pretty funny," she says while looting a dead mage-bandit-leader's corpse. "Oh, and he had a Guiding Ring, too... Glad I was so close by to swipe up this valuable piece," she says, showing off the item known to be integral in the promotion of a magic user.

You get the feeling that you won't be getting it from her without dropping far more dough than you're willing to. You're not quite ready for a class change anyway, honestly.

"-and why do you keep trying to get in the way, get the last shot in in a fight? You know we're a team, and you don't need to impress me, Yancy."

Yancy and Yulea's voices quiet down a bit. Une looks between you and them, saying, "bandits are all dead. Not much point sticking around unless you want front-row tickets to this melo-"

"Because I'm never going to be good enough for you, Yulea!"

"-drama." Une says.

It's a comical wonder in and of itself that the girls haven't acknowledged your existence yet. How can they not hear you?

>A. Yeah, let's just head right back now
>B. Stick around for some reason

>>43832681
>A. Yeah, let's just head right back now
Tell them we're heading back.

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>>43832756
"Uh, we're... Headi-" As she rides by, Une throws a hand over your mouth as your voice starts to raise.

"You'll make it weird if you interrupt, and I don't need to make it weird after less than a week on the job."

You nod and she rides away, leaving you to return.

"Ah, you're back!" Tomnus says, "but where did Yancy and Yulea vanish to?"

Une is quick to respond, in a completely neutral tone, "yeah, had to feed 'em to bears. Gruesome stuff."

"This one's a dry wit to her." Kneil laughs a bit.

No one else does, though Calof lets out a "heh."

You explain, "they had to just... Search the area, a bit more." You know how embarrassing it is to know that people know about your personal drama, and choose not to subject them to that.

From your position, you notice the ends of Une's mouth curl upwards slightly, with amusement or approval you can't tell.

You wait a few minutes longer before Yancy and Yulea return, and politely never mention this interlude again. You're certain it was of great personal significance, but not to you.

>A. Spend time with someone more (specify)
>B. Arrive in the port town

>>43832930
Voting time renewed.

>>43832930
>B. Arrive in the port town
I'm getting a lot of turkeys in the captcha today.

>>43832930
>B. Arrive in the port town

>>43833235
Gobble gobble.

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>>43833261
Shit! They're in the thread too!

>>43833235
>>43833261
You arrive in port town, and from there Tomnus leads the pack.

"Ah," he says, "our boat should be right... Around..."

"There, Tomnus?" Kneil asks, pointing out a boat. "It reads 'The Intelligent System...' Odd name for an ordinary boat, I still say. Hard to put into a poem properly..."

"Ah, yes... Good eye, Kneil!" Tomnus pats Kneil on the back.

"Never been out at sea before," Yone says excitedly to Tomnus as the group approaches the boat.

"Ah, you'll love it, I'm certain. Far stretch from the mountain ranges you speak of, but still a beauty..." (Let the record show that Yone was sick the most out of anyone onboard the boat) A captain with no particular defining characteristics approaches, and Tomnus heads over to the docks to greet her along with Kneil.

"Ah, Captain Impostor!" He says, greeting her, "these are the mercenaries I spoke of. Surely our cargo will be well-protected by the trusted members of Marrius' Crew."

"'Captain Impostor?'" Leigh whispers skeptically.

Calof responds from above you both, "yeah, it's a pretty distinguished Vautou name. This captain, I've heard of her. Her grandmother was actually a Vautou chief, until... Well, until what used to be the usual manner of succession ran its course."

"Oh? What's that?"

Calof cringes. "Duel to the death. Britt Impostor lasted all of a week before being... 'overthrown,' people fought dirty because intermarriage with outsiders was scandalous at the time."

"That sounds made up," Leigh complains.

"Very observant," Calof says with a grin. At you and Leigh's silence, he continues, "what? Can't joke?"

>A. That was just misinformation
>B. That was pretty funny
>C. You get it. Just don't think it's amusing
>D. ...
>E. Write-in

>>43833496
>D. ...

>>43833545
You and Leigh respond with further silence.

"...well, the 'fight to the death for leadership' thing was true for the longest time. Then a Deadlord took over our whole culture, led us into this disastrously awful and short war because she was bored... Deposed her and had our new leader surrender on the eve of the first battle."

"That still doesn't explain why the Captain is named Captain Impostor."

"Yeah, no clue there. It's the kind of name that's so outlandishly sinister that you just trust it, you know? Sorta like my therapist, Bloodstroke the Hotheaded."

"...you have a therapist?"

"Well, meetings have been a bit sparse lately, but my cousin died about 14 months back, and I was... Really in a funk for awhile."

"Their name isn't really Bloodstroke the Hotheaded," Leigh responds.

"His dad gave him the name when they migrated here from pirate-torn Ulir some... 50 years ago. He knows how it sounds, but his dad said he needed a name as fearless as he would be, to show they could make it on the mainland... He wouldn't change it for the world."

You're not sure if he's joking or not, but you can certainly applaud the worldbuilding he's surrounded this jest with if he is.

"Uh, hey," Calof says next, directing your attention onto the ship, "you know those ladies up there?"

You see Rema and Colleen waving at you and Leigh from onboard the ship, in uniform suggesting membership of the crew.

>A. Yep
>B. They were your last clients
>C. Why does he care

And...

>D. Wave back
>E. Come aboard and greet them!
>F. Write-in
>G. Don't respond to them

>>43833677
>B. They were your last clients
>D. Wave back

>>43833677
>B. They were your last clients
>D. Wave back

>>43833727
>>43833757
"That was our last two clients, Colleen and Rema," Leigh says, beating you to the punch by a single breath.

"Guess Lyeim did mention his sisters worked on a ship... Coincidences, huh?"

You and Leigh wave back.

Once everyone's come aboard, you take a moment to say hi to them both.

"Small world, right?" Rema says with amusement. "How's Lyeim holding up?"

"Great, actually!" Leigh says. "Him and I have... Differences, when it comes to the way we apply Marrius' training onto our own styles, but he's definitely coming along as a warrior."

"So," Colleen says, adjusting her own glasses, "w-were you going to introduce us to the rest of the mercenaries with you?"

You do so. Yone manages not to embarrass himself once throughout, Rema says something you don't quite overhear, causing Yancy to grow flustered and Yulea defensive, Calof is... Calof, and surprisingly enough Une and her bael get an enthusiastic reaction from Rema.

"So you just... Ride a bael around?"

"Yep," Une says, patting it proudly, lovingly, "this baby's gotten me a lot of bounties over the years. That's right," she says, turning towards the bael in unembarrassed, blatant baby talk, "you've gotten mommy so many criminals. Who's made her rich? That's right, you have..."

Colleen smiles slightly at the sight. "She... is a pretty cute spider... Very well-behaved, too."

>A. Cute?
>B. Definitely
>C. It's a spider.
>D. Get uncomfortable
>E. Write-in
>F. No reaction

>>43833917
>>C. It's a spider.

>>43833963
"It's... a spider."

Colleen's cheeks puff, and she looks rather indignant. "It's a CUTE spider."

Une nods. "These sisters, they've got good heads on their shoulders."

After that, Une's bael starts to crawl around the boat's various walls, floors, ceilings, all that sorts of thing.

Yone is so terrified of encountering the spider that he almost never goes belowdecks alone, which is fine and dandy considering how seasick he's been getting. Captain Impostor can't stand an unclean ship.

Calof is primarily flying around, keeping watch alongside the two or three other winged crew members.

Une and a transformed Rema can be found arm-wrestling in the galley, while Colleen is being entertained by the anecdotes of Tomnus and Kneil. Yancy and Yulea are spending much of their time together, though currently Yulea is half-discussing baking recipes with the ship's cooks, while Yancy is trying to take in some fresh seaside air with Leigh.

>A. Spend time with someone (specify)
>B. Skip to the next major event

>>43834175
>A. Spend time with someone (Leigh)

>>43834407
"So... Yeah, getting it off my chest helped a lot," Yancy says to Leigh as you're approaching.

She smiles. "Well, I wish you the best of luck. Just remember that this isn't the endpoint. No, this is... Just the beginning, really."

Yancy nods. "Anyway, Yulea was gonna arm-wrestle whoever won out of Une and Rema, so I can't miss that!"

Leigh nods. "Alright, have fun. I'm gonna get a bit more fresh air."

Seeing an opportunity to enter into the conversation, you approach, though the opportunity to speak with Yancy is gone.

Noticing you, Leigh inhales through her nose, exhaling through her mouth and smiling. "I know we've never been out at sea like this before, but... This sea scent, this view of the water, islands in the distance... I feel very much at peace."

How's the ocean make you feel, Lloyd?

>A. Sick
>B. Indifferent
>C. Adventurous
>D. Refreshing
>E. Write-in
>F. Like reaching land faster

>>43834565
>D. Refreshing
Nothing like a cool ocean breeze to clear a man's worries away.

>>43834598
"Honestly, the sight of all this ocean, the sound of waves and birds, this... Salty scent that lingers in my mouth and becomes a taste, even this blasted humidity... It's refreshing."

Leigh nods, holding out her hand as you stand by her side. "I'm glad we're here, Lloyd."

"Me too, Leigh." You accept her hand. "None of this... We couldn't have experienced any of this in Tordo."

You and Leigh simply smile and enjoy the view and one another's company for awhile, though the mood is eventually soured by the sound of Yone hurling.

Leigh rolls her eyes, smiling. "I've got him. You make up for all the sleep you haven't been getting, Mr. Lab Rat!"

You part ways.

The delivery goes off without a hitch, surprisingly enough, putting you at 12,350 gold saved up (you'd end up spending some of your prior 11,000 in the time offscreen on small luxuries and reupholstering your tomes).

Your company members, Tomnus, Kneil, Colleen, and Rema are celebrating a job perfectly done in a tavern.

"Here I was hoping we could cash in on some pirate corpses when we reached port..." Une reflects over her booze.

"H-hey," Colleen replies, "we're not all... F-former bounty hunters. I for one am happy we haven't been attacked!"

"While smooth sailing isn't the stuff of songs," Kneil muses, "I could certainly make it so!"

"Regardless, your help is appreciated and compensated as promised," Tomnus says. "It certainly worked for Captain Impostor's crew's peace of mind."

>A. This is a bit of an anticlimax
>B. You're glad nothing happened
>C. Is it safe to say nothing's happened just yet?
>D. Either way, you're paid, so this is fine.
>E. Write-in

>>43834861
Er... Time limit renewed.

>>43834861
>C. Is it safe to say nothing's happened just yet?

>>43835079
"Well, I mean, we're not out of the woods quite yet..." You say, downing a coffee (you're not a drinks man, but Irene's made you weak for this stuff in particular). Knowingly, you say, "I mean, we are still in the archipelago..."

Literally on cue (as in, his new potential team member, a blonde islander pegasus knight named Sheena, pulled you aside to tell you to say something to this effect), Marrius opens the door to the tavern.

"Marrius, hey!" Leigh says.

"Captain!" Yone says, voice cracking, much to the amusement of Sheena sitting at a table near him and Calof, who just sips his own choice in beverage.

"As long as everyone is here," Marrius says over the impressed noises of the named characters, "there's this island just off of the coast, home to a woman named Helena. Would anyone care to help me come along, run some errands for my grandfather while we're in the area?"
>To be continued next thread
Yeah, I could probably do a little more with his grand debut, but today/tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I don't want to be exhausted then in particular. Tune in Friday (hopefully) for the second thread to end in the number 4.

Thanks for playing, all of you. As always, update twitter's @qmgrandflocto, you can shoot us questions any time at http://ask.fm/qmgrandflocto (no one ever seems to), and I'll be around in-thread to chat for a little while.

>>43835236
Thanks for running, and have a happy Thanksgiving!

>>43835258
You too, anon. Thanks for playing.

Here's hoping pirate's fortress is all I've built it up to be. I certainly plan on some pretty major events occurring there.

if anybody still there can u guys give me an overview of the style, systems and ways of magic in the entire fire emblem franchise. please separate them if they differ between games