>>44395675
Your carriage trundles into Melire in the darkness, illuminated only by street lanterns and the pale horizon light of the predawn sun. You are not hindered by the guards and indeed, there seem to be much less of them than usual. One of them warns you that while this part of the city looked nice enough, you best not head into the lower districts.
Melire had gone for years without their Duke but now having gone so long without his chosen steward, it was beginning to eat itself. Just how many people were jockeying for position now, each one looking to gain power? And you know for a fact that Hiss’ agents are already here and doing their best to incite the commonfolk and the nobility alike. Melire’s unrest will remain until someone finally claws themselves to power or until order is imposed from without, either by the hand of the High King or the Serpent Queen. And one of those is much closer than the other.

You yawn as you look out the window, having gone the entire night without sleep after the bandit incident. You don’t feel so good. Your companions on the other hand...Zigzag fell asleep a long time ago, still curled up on the floor. Aashenpreet is snoring on the seat opposite yours. She’s surprisingly loud.
The driver raps on the carriage, waking neither of them up.
“Oi mate, where do you want it? I’m not going into anyplace with the riots.”


>Ask him to just take you straight to your clients. You can handle them now.

>You’re tired and you don’t look so good. Ask him to take you to an inn. You don’t have any signets but you’ll work something out.

>Ask him to take you to an alchemy shop. Get some more work done.

>Ask him to take you to the Potions College, you’ve never actually been.

>Ask him to take you to Master Yolan’s apartment. He might put you up for the night for free.

>Ask him to take you to the Duke’s old mansion. You’ve been there plenty of times already.

>Other

>>44395684
>>You’re tired and you don’t look so good. Ask him to take you to an inn. You don’t have any signets but you’ll work something out.

>>44395684
>You’re tired and you don’t look so good. Ask him to take you to an inn. You don’t have any signets but you’ll work something out.

>>44395684
Wouldn't a restoration brew help in this situation?

>>44395684
>You’re tired and you don’t look so good. Ask him to take you to an inn. You don’t have any signets but you’ll work something out.

>>44395766
You'll be chugging one if you decide to just head there immediately.

>>44395684
>Ask him to just take you straight to your clients. You can handle them now.

>You’re tired and you don’t look so good. Ask him to take you to an inn. You don’t have any signets but you’ll work something out.

You consider just whipping up a restoration brew, that'd take care of your sleepiness for sure. You still wouldn't look great however and you'd still have the Zigzag problem.
Aashenpreet would probably make a fine partner for your work but having a half-drunk Zigzag around would only inspire a lot of questions. Could you just leave her in the carriage?

Aw hell it's not like you're on a time limit. Or if you are, it's not one you're aware of. And in the end nothing beats a good sleep. You knock back and ask him to take you to an affordable inn.

This wakes Aashenpreet up and she promptly presses her face up against the window.
"Is this Melire?"

"Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. It's just all so exotic! What are those for?"

You spend the rest of the short trip fielding her questions about perfectly mundane objects and buildings.
The coach stops outside an inn named The Duck's Teeth which certainly looks fine enough from the outside. Aashenpreet carries Zigzag out while the coachman coughs.
"I understand I was owed a reward for all this. Particularly for keeping quiet and all."

>Give him some of your gold.

>Promise to pay him later.

>Give him a potion (Specify)

>Brew him a potion (Specify)
'
>You don't owe him anything.

>Other

>>44395959
>>Give him a potion (Specify)
Heal-All. Worth its weight in gold nearly.

>>44395959
>Give him some of your gold.
or
>Brew him a potion (Specify)
Heal Alls

>>44395959
>Give him some of your gold.
Not a whole lot though

>>44395959
>You don't owe him anything.
Why do we even need to buy his silence? The bandit attack?

>Gold

You doubt that him talking about what happened this night would do much damage but why be frugal? And if it actually meant something then Hiss would probably get extremely mad. No thanks.

You pull out the small sack of gold that Tanni gave you and toss him a few coins, enjoying the gasp as he realizes what they are.
"Is that-"

"Yep. Pure."
Which makes them a far cry from actual signet coins which have roughly the same amount of gold in them as dirt.
"Feel free to get them checked if you doubt them, I'll still be here."

"Nah mate, that's all good. All good."

You and Aashenpreet enter the inn, the building already open and the innkeeper awake. He raises an eyebrow at Aash carrying Zigzag but he doesn't say anything about it. You imagine he sees a lot weirder.

"Just one room thanks. Probably for just the day but I'll arrange something if we need it any longer."

You pay him in gold also, no doubt coming off as quite suspicious in the process. You should probably get this stuff converted to signets at some point.
But despite your lack of legal tender, the innkeeper is more than willing to accept the few coins you pass him, his eyes fixed on the sack as you put it back in your pack.

He gives you a key and shows you to an upstairs room, a pretty basic one at that. Aashenpreet dumps Zigzag on the ground and yawns.
"So what are we doing now?"

> "I'm going to sleep, that's what. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble."

>"Just dropping you off. I'm going to down a few brews and then head off to where I'm supposed to go. Can you watch Zigzag for me?"

>"Let's just leave Zigzag here and go already."

>Brew.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Other

>>44396277
>> "I'm going to sleep, that's what. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble."

>>44396277
> "I'm going to sleep, that's what. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble."

>>44396277
>"Just dropping you off. I'm going to down a few brews and then head off to where I'm supposed to go. Can you watch Zigzag for me?"
Make sure we look presentable first

File: alsohiss.jpg (423 KB, 831x1102)

423 KB JPG

Calling for sleep. Writan'

>>44396277
> "I'm going to sleep, that's what. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble."
She can't attack anyone right now so just use your strength to keep her in the room.

> "I'm going to sleep, that's what. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble."

"Well I don't know about you but I'm going to sleep. Make sure Zigzag doesn't get into trouble, alright?"

You set your pack down and lie down, tugging the blankets around yourself. The nights have been getting colder lately.
There's only one bed but that should be fine, Zigzag and Aash have already slept a little. And even if they need more both of them should be fine with sleeping on the floor.

You drift off almost immediately.

...

Sometime later, the door creaks open.
>Roll a 1d100. The highest of the first 3 accepted.

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>44396482

Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>44396482
fuckin thieves

>>44396533
Oh shit

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>44396482

>>44396533
Damn. Nice roll.

>>44396533
Cennen is not only awake, He's up, pointing his caster at the door and it's loaded with a snake breaker.

>>44396533
>100

You wake instantly when you hear the door, your eyes snapping open.
Is Zigzag escaping?
It's well into the day outside so you know you've slept for a pretty long time, the first good night's sleep you've had in a long time considering your constant experimenting. You feel fantastic.

You locate Zigzag on the floor, clutching a snoring Aashenpreet for warmth. She's not going anywhere. Then who could open the door? Wasn't it locked?

You keep yourself as still as possible as the door slowly opens, a burly arm creeping through the gap. It's the innkeeper. What the fuck does he think he's doing? Is he actually a member of the conspiracy Snouty told you about? How did he know you'd come here?

The innkeeper pads in with surprising stealth and starts to reach for your pack. Oh, it's probably not a conspiracy thing at all. Just a result of flashing real gold around.
He hasn't noticed that you're awake.

>Call out to wake the others.

>"Excuse me."

>Tackle him.

>Keep pretending to be asleep and wait.

>Pretend to be on the verge of waking up.

>Other

>>44396663
>Tackle him.
NOT TODAY CRIMINAL SCUM

>>44396663
>"Excuse me."
Reaching into an Alchemist's pack is a horrible idea. You could hurt yourself, not to mention make me angry.

>>44396663
>>44396700
Support.

>>44396700
What if he panics and tries to use a brew on us? Better not let him know about them.

>>44396663
Seconding >>44396700

>>44396663
>Tackle him.

>>44396693
>>44396761
>tackling him around a pack full of breakable gear

>>44396775
>telling him about the dangerous brews in the pack he's currently reaching into and assuming he won't try to use them against us

>"Excuse me."

"Excuse me, reaching into an alchemist's pack is a horrible idea. You might hurt yourself."
His eyes widen but you're already moving, snatching the pack back from him before he can do anything. Good thing you're so damn awake, he didn't even see it coming.
"Some of this stuff could really hurt you. You need to be more careful."

The innkeeper backs up a little, sudden sweat lining his brow.
"Alchemist? I'm sorry sir, there's been some misunderstanding. I was just coming to clean the empty rooms and I must have gotten the wrong door."


>Humor his obvious lie and let him leave.

>Wake up your companions and ask them what you should do with him.

>"If you wanted more gold, you only had to ask. I'd gladly pay handsomely for a test subject."

>"Really, what were you planning here? Did you think I'd wake up and NOT notice that my gold is missing?"

>Take out the Caster.

>Give him another gold coin.

>Ask for your previous gold back. "Good thing we're staying here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"

>Nobble.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Other

>>44396895
>Ask for your previous gold back. "Good thing we're staying here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"
If you don't want to be known as the innkeeper who steal from his clients of course

>>44396895
>"If you wanted more gold, you only had to ask. I'd gladly pay handsomely for a test subject."

>>44396895
>>"If you wanted more gold, you only had to ask. I'd gladly pay handsomely for a test subject."

>>44396895
>Ask for your previous gold back. "Good thing we're staying here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"

>>44396942
>>44396948
We don't need one at all though.

>>44396965
It's to scare him off, duh.

>>44396895
>Ask for your previous gold back. "Good thing we're staying here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"

>>44396965
Its to frighten him. I really doubt he is so desperate for money he would volunteer to be a test subject for an alchemist of unknown repute.

I feel like we should stop telling everyone we're an alchemist for no good reason since we're here to arrange a shady secret deal with our alchemy

>>44396895
You're here to clean? I don't mind, please continue. Clean our sword while staring at him as he cleans.

>Ask for your previous gold back. "Good thing we're staying here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"

You don't bother dignifying that pitiful lie by acknowledging it. You just stand up and stare him down, using your superior height to your advantage.
"Give me back the gold I paid you before."
He wordlessly fumbles with his pouch until he passes you back the gold coins. You snatch them back off of him.
"Man, it's a good thing you're letting us stay here out of the goodness of your heart, huh?"

He's sweating quite a bit.
"Yes, of course. Stay here as long as you want."

"Maybe I'll even keep my mouth shut about your little habits. You don't want to be known as an innkeeper who steals from his customers, do you?"

"No, definitely not."
He almost trips over his own words.
"It's just that it's been a bad week with the rio-"

"I don't care. Get going and be happy that you woke me up instead of my companions. It could have been much worse."

He backs out of the room with great haste, prompting an unwilling smile from you. That went pretty well though you suppose you shouldn't linger here for more than another night.

You're well and truly awake now anyway, you couldn't go back to bed if you tried. It's time to get to work.


>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.

>You don't need to waste time on that, just leave.

>Brew.

>Tell Zigzag that the innkeeper is fair game if he comes in uninvited again.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Other

>>44397218
>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.

>Tell Zigzag that the innkeeper is fair game if he comes in uninvited again.

>>44397218
>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.
Gotta give a good impression. Shave if possible.

>>44397218
>>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.

>>44397218
>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.
>>44397246
Cennen's probably got a full beard by now if he can actually grow one

>>44397218
>You don't need to waste time on that, just leave.
Should we bring the snakes with us or not? Kind of a hard decision.

>>44397275
Cennen remembers to shave every week or so so he usually doesn't get further than looking messy and disreputable.

>>44397298
They're both gonna need a soul guise because I'm paranoid about Seers. If we left them behind Zigzag couldn't do anything too bad except cause a scene or destroy property.

>Tell the innkeeper to get a bath up here, it's time to get ready.

You call the innkeeper back, feeling just a little sheepish on doing so after having just sent him off. And before long he's dragged a large wooden tub into your room and started filling it with buckets of hot water.
"There's a room downstairs where you can do this," he puffs. "Getting all of this up here is wasteful."

"That's nice."

You wait for him to leave before stripping off and getting in, enjoying the sensation. You don't get to enjoy these nearly often enough.

Aashenpreet and Zigzag wake up when you're nearly finished, Zigzag still bleary and half-drunk from the large dose of Oil you gave her. Aashenpreet doesn't blink an eye at your nudity, you suppose she's seen much worse. In light of that it doesn't feel worth it to get embarrassed.
"Getting ready to leave, are you?"

"Yeah, I'm nearly done. Just give me a moment."
You do your best to shave and for a moment nearly consider asking Aash to help you with it. But what would she know?
"Feel free to use this once I'm done with it, it should still be good for a few more."

"I think I'll pass," she says. "It's a bit too hot for my liking."

"What's the problem, don't you like heat?"

"You know I do and that's exactly the problem."

"Oh right."
You'd nearly forgotten about that. Zigzag drunkenly presses herself against the side of the tub, letting her arms sink into the hot water right next to you. You push her out.
"You can have it in a moment Zig, just let me finish."
A few minutes later and you reluctantly drag yourself out, toweling yourself off while Aashenpreet passes you your clothes. They're good clothes too, the ones Hiss gave you for this task.
"Well, I'm off."

"Right. Where are we going?"

We?
Crap, what are you going to do about Aash and Zigzag? You wouldn't mind Aashenpreet coming with you but how would you ever explain away Zigzag?
1/2

>>44397579
Should you just lock Zigzag in this room unattended and hope nothing too bad happens? Or should you ask Aashenpreet to watch over her and face your task alone?

>You're all going. You'll figure something out.

>Lock Zigzag in the room and tell her not to leave before you and Aash depart.

>Ask Aash if she minds babysitting Zigzag here while you're gone.

>Brew up some Snake Oil to help keep Zigzag complacent.

>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Make a wish (Specify)

>Other

>>44397613
>Brew up some Snake Oil to help keep Zigzag complacent.
>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.

>>44397613
seconding
>>44397644

>>44397613
>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.
Promis her oil after. Might need her for defense.

>>44397613
>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.
Really think we should cut back on oil use

>>44397613
>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.

>>44397613
>You're all going. You'll figure something out.
Give them both soulguises.

Sorry about the delay, I'm starting to feel pretty shitty all of a sudden.

>Try to get Zigzag back into your pack.

"Yeah, we're all going. But we're going to have to do something about Ziggy."

Zigzag is still trying to get into the unattended bath, tugging at her clothes with vague motions indicating only a half-remembered understanding of what she's supposed to do with it.
You open up your pack and wave her over.
"Alright get back into your real shape and climb in. Come on."

She doesn't answer.
"Come on," you repeat. "I'll give you some oil later."

"Nnngh," she groans. "I can eat more gunk in this body. It's hungrier, I like it."

"Well there won't be any oil until you've changed shapes anyway!"

"Mmmmrrn," she moans and does nothing.

It takes nearly ten minutes of cajoling and promising to get her to revert and you slip the black snake into your pack.
Her addiction seems to be inspiring a strange attachment to her human body, the only form she has that can ingest more than a small amount of Snake Oil. She's told you before that her worries keep her in it, even when she wants to change back. She's not happy.

But you try not to let that bother you as you all depart from the inn, making your way through town towards the address Hiss gave you.

And even though you're in the fancier parts of town, you can see the tension rising beneath the skin of the city. Prices are up, alchemists are leaving town. People have guarded expressions and you don't see nearly as many guards on the street as you once did. Everybody is uncertain and more than a little afraid.

You find Jefford and Sons in a high-class street, a stylish stone building with a domed roof. You double-check to make sure that you are indeed at their administrative offices and not their bank, your 'clients' being both bankers and merchant-lords alike.
And here you are with a proposal for them.

You walk in, Aashenpreet just behind you and you find yourself in a small and immaculate waiting room.
1/2

>>44397985
Through small interior windows you can look out into the great room beyond, a massive chamber filled with desks and lecterns. Men and even a few women of various ages are bent over them with pens and pencils. Some of them are counting coins or cataloging small collections of items but most of them seem to be dealing in paper. Lots and lots of paper, great stacks of it being passed around from desk to desk in constant motion. Some of it even seems to be in print!
Do they spend a ludicrous amount of money on hiring time from the free printing presses you wonder or do they actually own one somewhere down in the basement? Either way, it's extravagant in a way that meaningless luxuries can't compare to.
And from what you can see, the giant accounting chamber is mostly empty of signets or gold. This is the trade and collection of the IDEA of money, intangible numbers and slips of paper that somehow carry a greater worth than any physical coin.

A very pretty woman guides you to a seat in the waiting room, telling you that Mr Jefford will be informed of your arrival shortly.

You and Aashenpreet sit silently as you wait, well aware of the secretary and the three guards eyeing you. The guards here aren't too different from the city guard but their breastplates are much more polished and you wouldn't be surprised if they were a good deal more disciplined.
You don't have much you want to say in front of them.

And then, as you are waiting, you suddenly become aware of your pack starting to wiggle. Zigzag wants out.

>She can stay in there.

>Ask to use the lavatory.

>Let Zigzag out, try and pass her off as an exotic pet or alchemical thing.

>Ask if you can take a small tour since you will be investing so much.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Other

>>44398095
>Ask to use the lavatory.

>>44398095
>Ask to use the lavatory.
Guess we'll need to drug her after all. Leave her conscious if possible.

>>44398095
>Let Zigzag out, try and pass her off as an exotic pet or alchemical thing.
Put her in our shirt with her head poking out of our collar so she stays warm and docile

>>44398095
>Ask to use the lavatory.
Zigzag is such a pain in the ass

File: ihavereplacedyourchild.jpg (68 KB, 450x546)

68 KB JPG

Ugh, I'm sorry guys but I feel awful right now. I don't know what it is. I might come back later, I probably won't. If someone could archive it for me that'd be fantastic.
Maybe it's just post christmas lethargy, I dunno.

>>44398314
Thanks for running Ouro, hope you feel better.

>>44398314
Archived. Get well soon Ouro.

>>44398314
Bummer. Thanks for running.

Can we turn this into a snake pic dump for Ouro to use?

>>44398393
Post 'em if ya got 'em