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You're expecting this city to be invaded soon, which is why you were called here to the first place, and now a stupid misunderstanding has you arrested.

You're not even entirely certain what you're being arrested FOR, but this Sir Gerfried seems awfully intent on making sure you're thoroughly checked out.

"Is this... Normal?" You ask the Anna in charge of this shop.

In response, she faux-enthusiastically says, "well, it's not really my place to judge! I'd suggest not saying too much more to them unless you REALLY know what you're doing, though, newcomer~."

"Quit it, vendor," Gerfried responds.

After the Malvan archer shows up with more guards just like she was asked, Gerfried has them haul you to the House of Odo. "Easy, I'm coming quietly!" You say to little avail as you walk with them.

Unless you can figure something out REALLY fast, this may be awhile. There's probably SOMETHING you can say, but what?

>A. Be somebody else for awhile
>B. Just go along with this
>C. Say something (specify)

>>45565358
>B. Just go along with this

>>45565431
Ugh, whatever. That Anna gave you advice, which Gerfried notes on the way to House. "That redhead back there makes a good point. Saying about the law around here is 'Only a fool vouches for himself.'"

You nod, noting that.

"'course, there are folks dressed in gaudy outfits who like to follow patrols around the city, just waiting for someone to be arrested... Fancy themselves masters of arguing someone's case just because they've been appointed to."

A guard nudges your shoulder, nodding her head towards someone following the group. "Don't look now, but we got one of those right now. You'll get a chance to talk to her in the House after we're done processing things here."

Another couple hours pass, sitting in some room in the basement of the House of Odo, before a guard announces that you've got a visitor.

Hauled off to another room after that, with a small table in the center and guards on either side, a black-haired woman in turquoise robes, with a big, fake smile plastered on her face, quite obviously covered in more makeup than is probably necessary. In a cheery tone, she says, "some introduction to the city, huh?"

Something about her voice and appearance strike you as vaguely familiar, but you figure she just has one of those faces.

Seemingly offering a hand but actually flashing some sort of brooch before fastening it to her robes, she says, "Limin's my name. I'm what's known as an Advocate in terms of Odo law." Her expression becoming a tad more serious, but tone no less professionally friendly, she goes on about her job briefly says, "now... Since I'm to be arguing your case before the Order, hearing as much of the truth about what's gone on would be mutually beneficial."

>A. Relay your experience
>B. Ask if you know her from somewhere
>C. Say nothing
>D. Write-in response

>>45565973
>A. Relay your experience
>B. Ask if you know her from somewhere

>>45566071
"Alright, so... See, I'm with this crew of mercenaries, and we work for Zlatan..." You start, going into the finer details of your day. "...and, yeah, I have an Outrealm counterpart, but they wouldn't hear anything about that."

"So between Zlatan and the fact that Outrealms are known to exist... I could get charges against you dropped within a few hours!" Her wide smile returns.

"What am I... Being charged with, exactly?" You ask.

She groans. "'Suspicion,' they call it. In short..." Her expression turns a bit more serious. "It's something they charge people with if an Order guard or officer or something deems their actions signs of possible betrayal or espionage, which can hold until they find some way to justify their suspicion. The terms of what define it are... Extremely vague, though, so it's depressingly common that people just end up unlucky." And another smile. "That's why people like me exist, though!"

"Right, like you... Changing the subject a moment, do I know you from somewhere, Limin?" You squint a bit, leaning slightly. Damned nearsightedness.

"You're not from Tordo, by any chance, are you? Perhaps a settlement a far ways North of Heim?"

"...yes, actually! Are you... I-I could've sworn Leigh and I were the only..."

"Well, I'm from a destroyed settlement up North myself... Now's not the time for talking about this, though!" She stretches a bit, standing and adjusting her brooch, polishing it slightly. "We can figure sort out past business later. For now, though, unless you had something else to say, I should probably track down your client so the two of us can sort this whole mess out."

>A. No further questions
>B. Write-in response

>>45566579
>A. No further questions

>>45566579
Heh, I feel like I accidentally implied Lloyd's retelling at the start of the post was much shorter than it was.

It wasn't, of course. Time passed between those quotes.

>>45566619
"Er... Nothing, no. I won't stop you."

Limin nods and bids you farewell.

You're brought back to that holding area in the basement, have a brief chat with the guards about nothing relevant to your case.

Apparently, this building does triple-duty as a detention center, a government building, and a courthouse, and as such is one of the most secure places in all of Odo.

"Not sure why we don't build someplace else to hold criminals like you," he remarks. "Hell, why not just turn the former embassy into one? How long would it take to install some bars to a few rooms?"

"It's... Used for high-priority guests."

"Then why don't we cut the crap and turn it back into an embassy?!" He shakes his head. "Damn Order needs to make up their minds..."

About... Maybe an hour later? Yeah, about an hour. Anyway, a frowning Gerfried and Regula, accompanied by Limin and Zlatan, both looking confident, step into the holding area, looking into your room. The sky-blue clad commander says, "alright, you're free to go."

Clutching her arm with embarrassment, Regula says, "I... Probably should have noted the scar along your counterpart's neck."

Gerfried, looking as though swallowing his pride does not come easy, clears his throat as you're let go. "I would like to formally apologize on behalf of the Order for any... Inconvenience we may have caused you."

>A. Forgive him
>B. Forgive him (lie)
>C. Dude needs to chill
>D. Write-in response
>E. Say nothing

>>45566937
>A. Forgive him

>>45566981
"It's... No problem, honestly."

"We are at civil war, yes?" Zlatan says. "Meaning sometimes we cannot trust our own neighbors, much less outsiders."

Limin frowns. "This distrust is going to end up eating people alive..."

"Not saying I agree with the sentiments, just that I understand them, yes!" Zlatan says.

"I was about to say... First time I see you in months, you start saying that nonsense."

"Fraternize on your own time," Gerfried says. "Right now, none of you have business being here."

And so, just like that, you're kicked out into the evening.

"Apologies about that kerfuffle, yes," Zlatan says as you, him, and Limin wander the streets. "But that is about what Advocates are for! Especially brilliant snow-geniuses such as Limin here, yes."

Limin laughs a bit harder than that quip might have warranted. "Oh, you're too much..."

"Anyway..." Zlatan says, "the rest of Marrius' Group is put up at the former embassy, yes, but... Maybe I might treat you for your troubled time? I know a nice eatery, yes."

You don't really... NEED to eat food, but you're not certain whether Zlatan knows that about Wampyr.

>A. Accept
>B. Decline
>C. Say nothing
>D. Write-in response

>>45567236
>A. Accept

>>45567500
"Er... Sure."

Zlatan and Limin show you someplace, a high-end looking sort of restaurant, adorned with expensive rugs, paintings, VERY comfortable music playing from you're not sure where (it SEEMS to be coming from a fellow with an odd haircut standing near the bar, though)... A general aura of class, basically.

"Zlatan..." A man says, "it has been awhile! Good to see you and Limin again!" He looks over at you. "And who is your pale friend?"

"This is Lloyd, a mercenary under me. He is a... Special person. Good to be back it is, though, yes... Er, is anyone using the VIP dining room?"

The man shakes his head. "Not at the moment, sir. I'll show you three right in."

Led through the fine establishment, you're brought to a back room, decked out as lavishly as the rest of the location combined, with a rather long table looking as though it could accommodate any number of sufficiently important people. Dark red's not really your color, but you must admit that it looks nice furnishing the place as heavily as it is. Anyway, the three of you are seated close to one another, Zlatan across from you and Limin.

"He will be back in a moment to ask what we want, yes... VIP Room guests are naturally high-priority, but the rest of the place does still exist to be waited on!"

>A. Wait around silently
>B. Ask about Limin's background again
>C. Ask how they know each other
>D. Write-in dialogue

>>45567763
>B. Ask about Limin's background again

>>45567840
"So, you, er... Mentioned you were from a destroyed settlement in central Tordo?" You ask.

Limin nods. "I did say that, yeah! I mean, that describes... A lot of different settlements, but it might be more than a coincidence... You seem vaguely familiar to me, too."

"I mean... Back home, I was never especially social, so if I saw you around back in the day I probably wouldn't have had much reason to log it mentally."

"Yeah... Even in small worlds, we can't say we've met everyone."

"How wouldn't we have found you, though? Leigh and I combed the entire town for survivors..."

"I was... Trapped under a lot of rubble. Lost a hand and everything..." She waves her left, gloved hand, pulling off the glove to wiggle the fingers of a magical projection, not unlike what General Yancy does with his whole arm. "When I finally freed myself, there was... No one else left."

"Getting... Depressing this is, yes." Zlatan chuckles awkwardly. "Can we move on?"

"Right, right, sorry." Limin laughs, putting her glove back on. "Magical prosthesis... Really something what they have."

"Tell me about it," you say, eyeing the gloved "hand" awhile, "the mage general over in Heim has a whole arm like that."

"Oh, uh, magic! That reminds me!" Limin laughs a bit, reaching into her robes and producing a pair of tomes and your Mend/Berserk staves. "They gave me these when I got your charges dropped." She sets Carreau on the table aside her and leans your staves against the table, cracking open Nosferatu to give it a look. "Dark magic, huh..? That's some pretty good taste."

>A. Thank her
>B. Say nothing
>C. Write-in response

>>45568138
>A. Thank her

>>45568323
"Er... Thank you."

"Not a problem. I'm actually a mage myself..."

"Huh, thought I was the only one in the mountains..."

"Well, I mean, it's a... Recent interest, I suppose. My first love is bettering the world."

"She is a very noble Advocate, yes," Zlatan says. "Now, Limin... Was there something else you wished to say to Lloyd here?"

"Oh, right, yeah..." You feel a sharp pain in your leg as it's blown away to nothingness, some of your essence drained away as Limin's usual grin turns more foul. "Thank you for buying my staff back~."

>A. Try to hurry away!
>B. Try to attack her!
>C. Try to attack Zlatan!
>D. Try to regenerate quickly!
>E. Write-in response!

>>45568465
>D. Try to regenerate quickly!
>B. Try to attack her!

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>>45568593
You quickly surge your fingers to your side, regenerating your leg as you attack "Limin."

She doubles back, kicking out of her chair and attempting to strike you again, but you rush forward, knocking it out of her hand and shoving her over.

As you're about to attack her again, ideally not fatally, you hear the sound of a bow drawing behind you, feel the room become hotter.

"Ahaha, you might want to consider your options, yes!" He says. "Remember the Firebolt we so desperately needed out of enemy hands? Well, I think myself a pretty good shot with what is now mine!" After that, he adds, "we are at civil war here... If you kill an advocate and get killed as a Wampyr, it will spell a LOT of trouble for Marrius' Group, yes!"

"Limin," just beneath you, reaches and stretches in an attempt to reach your Nosferatu tome, knocked just slightly out of her reach.

>A. Attack her anyway
>B. Attack Zlatan
>C. Do nothing
>D. Ask why
>E. Write-in response

>>45568749
>Berserk Zlatan, jump back to a further distance from him than "Limin" is at

>>45568808
You didn't grab your staves, she just set them aside nearby where you were sitting.

I could certainly have Lloyd attempt this anyway, but that is just a warning.

>>45568749
>A. Attack her anyway

>>45568855
As a wampyr, are our reflexes and speed fast enough that we could grab "Limin" bodily and interpose her between us and Zlatan before he can fire, hand around her neck ensuring that even if he takes the shot, our enhanced reflexes would mean she's either dead or thrown/moved directly into the bolt's flight path?

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>45568907
>>45569011
I mean if you think that could work, I'll roll it against the more straightforward one.

>>45569036
I think it could, but I don't have as firm of a grasp on how much of a physical boost wampyrism is as I'd like. If we're going to attack her regardless, trying to use her as a screaming meatshield is probably a better idea than not doing so.

>>45569036
Alright, you've got a plan. With your lightning-fast reflexes, you'll grab "Limin," get to your Berserk staff, and use her as a human shield as you get to your Berserk staff. From there, this becomes cake.

You figure that, if this Advocate is who she very obviously is, the Witch Pendant will be in play, but you're in physical contact, so you doubt that she can use it to get away from you.

She yelps in surprise as you grab her the old-fashioned way (she yelps in shock, but... Well,, long story short, you later learn that this room is a soundproofed chamber Zlatan uses to nefarious ends), twirling around and facing where you felt Zlatan's presence. "Don't try anything, or-"

He's not there.

"I am here," a voice says behind you.

Shit, shit, shit... The way that a man as conspicuous as him was able to sneak around so easily, how he managed to get letters from leaders all the way in Gravern and Ennas around the same time... Hell, how he might have gotten the Wampyr staff away from your camp without you seeing anyone come or go!

You feel a sharp, burning pain in your upper back, dropping Paula and hitting the ground, writhing and trying to regenerate from another magical wound.

You see fire before your face, hear "Limin," in a much more natural-to-her sounding voice, which you recognize MUCH more strongly as that of Paula, say, "wait, Zlatan... Killing him would be a waste."

"Ah... I see what you are getting at, Advocate. Wampyr, their magical resistance is nothing, after all..."

>A. Be Leigh
>B. Be Ansi
>C. Be Ellen
>D. Be Riga
>E. Continue being Lloyd
>F. Be someone else (specify)

>>45569249
>A. Be Leigh

>>45569358
While you are able to leave the restaurant's "VIP Room" alive, you would struggle to say you were yourself if you had the freedom to do such a thing. You fall to her mind control, and she sends you to the ex-embassy alone while she and Zlatan plan...

You are now Leigh, sitting in a parlor in the former embassy. You're mainly watching Irene and Ansi clear up misconceptions about Riga's role in a certain artifact's disappearance.

"...really, no clue?" You ask.

Riga nods. "Only reason we headed back so quick was the same reason you're here. There could be an invasion any moment, so we've gotta be here as soon as possible after each patrol out of the city."

Irene sighs. "Then... the answer might be simple. Paula could have warped into the campsite and swiped it."

Ansi shakes his head. "No, no, how the hell would she know where to warp to? We didn't plan to stop in that forest that night, and even if we did there's no way she could've found out the staff's exact location without someone out and telling her..." He looks up. "She's definitely got someone in our group wrapped around her finger, possibly gave THEM Esmer's pendant." He springs up, pointing at nobody in particular. "And I know exactly who the fuck that someone is."

>A. Let Ansi answer
>B. Write-in response

>>45569532
>A. Let Ansi answer

>>45569562
"Zlatan. Motherfucker is sketch incarnate, and here we are just... Taking his money."

"Hmm..." Riga nods after a moment. "A... lot of the higher-ups of the Order view him with suspicion, even if a lot of common people around the country are fond of him. Only makes sense, seeing that he was a double-agent who... Got around... Famously quick. Always just said... 'Am fast, yes!'"

"That cinches it, then. This entire shitshow has more players than we'd expected."

A blonde-haired archer, along with Lloyd, come into the room right around then.

"Sorry I'm running late..." He says. "There was this whole... Bureaucratic thing that went down when I went to check out a couple of vendors, then I sorta lost track of time after I sorted it out."

Regula nods. "That's... Partially my fault, but not particularly the point right now."

"What is this about then, Regula?" Riga asks. "I told everyone not to interrupt this meeting unless it was urgent."

"It... Is urgent, captain," she says. "The North gate of the city is under attack, and a... Peshkatz operative left his mark in the House of Odo."

"W-wait, Peshkatz?! What'd this guy do?!"

>A. Be silent
>B. We have to hurry and fight!
>C. Remind you what a Peshkatz is
>D. Write-in response

>>45569791
>C. Remind you what a Peshkatz is

>>45569825
"A... Right, what's a Peshkatz?" You ask.

Lloyd responds, "it's an ancient order of assassins. Asra was raised by them, remember?"

"Oh, right... Wait, so you mean..."

"If I can finish, I will TELL you all what I mean," Regula says, clearing her throat. "It means that... Several people seated on the Order's council have been killed. Zlatan and an Advocate were able to kill the assassin, but... The only logical conclusion is that either the Dain Empire or the rebels ordered this. The timing with the invasion arriving cannot be coincidental."

"Gods..." Irene shakes her head. "We can... Discuss this matter further later. For now, we have a duty to the Order to end this assault quickly."

>A. She's right
>B. But we can't trust our client!
>C. But we can't put this off!
>D. Write-in response

>>45569975
Vote time renewed.

>>45569975
>C. But we can't put this off!

>>45569975
>C. But we can't put this off!

>>45570267
>>45570316
"Yeah, but we can't just... The fate of the entire continent rests in keeping up this search! We've just made a breakthrough, and..."

"Breakthrough?" Lloyd asks.

Ansi responds, "told them what we'd figured about Zlatan. Pretty sure he's been a TRIPLE agent this whole damn time, playing us like a damn lyre and gallivanting around with a Witch Pendant."

"The... Witch Pendant's a new touch to the theory," Lloyd remarks, instinctively pushing up glasses that aren't there. "I have to say, though, Leigh... This is an immediate priority. Zlatan isn't going to disappear anywhere without people he's hired, even if Ansi's right."

Irene nods in agreement. "We need all hands available to fight back against Dain and the Groznyi."

"Wait, though..." Riga interrupts. "If Zlatan's the one keeping watch over the scene of the assassination, we need eyes on him too."

"Fair point," Irene responds, "I could... Probably have Ansi and Une on that one."

"Let us investigate the fuck away, then," Ansi responds.

>A. Let you and Lloyd handle that instead
>B. Accept Irene's decision
>C. Write-in response

>>45570479
>. Accept Irene's decision

>>45570479
>B. Accept Irene's decision

>>45570555
>>45570563
"I mean... If you say so," you say.

"On second thought..." She takes a moment. "I would like to see what's gone on as well. It seems a less likely place for a fight, anyway..."

So, as per usual, Lloyd is placed in charge of most of the forces while Irene leads Ansi and Une to look into the assassinations of the House of Odo.

"They mean for this to be a full-fledged assault..." Riga notes, "and right as an assassination sends confusion through the city. If they're pulling out all the stops for this invasion like this, it must mean that this is all or nothing for them." Addressing the assorted Odo and Noba soldiers, as well as members of Marrius' Group, she raises her lance and takes to the air. "This could be the final major battle in this war. While it... Wounds me to raise this weapon against my father's homeland, I won't hesitate for the sake of bringing this chapter of our lives to a close!"

"'Chapter of our lives to a close...' How many times have people said that about different battles?" Lloyd asks you as your lot is heading out.

>A. We've said it ourselves
>B. Gotta be true sometime
>C. It's all a load of bunk
>D. Write-in reponse

>>45570698
>A. We've said it ourselves
>B. Gotta be true sometime

>>45570738
"I mean, we've thought it was the end a few times, haven't we? Even said as much..." You give Lloyd a reassuring smile, taking his hand. "It'll be true sometime, though! I mean, if this lead on Zlatan is right, we could be led straight to Paula... And she might not even have her pendant this time!"

"Yeah, you... Have a point, I guess."

"And then we can return the Staff of Katri to Rakche, return you to normal..."

"Yeah... That is pretty uplifting."

You're confident that this battle won't be any real trouble, what with the Parthia defeated and Lloyd guiding your lot.
>To be continued next thread
So, a... Lot sure did happen in this thread. Parts of it probably would've happened in thread 44 if it wasn't for the premature ending, but I hope it didn't feel too rushed as it was.

Thanks for playing, as always. Update twitter/ask.fm are qmgrandflocto, and I'll be around in-thread to chat for awhile.

>>45570836
Thanks for running.

>>45570841
Always a pleasure.

Full disclosure, I feel like putting a grand battle here would distract from the pacing of the story. I'll probably just shift the POV around awhile until if/when Lloyd is released.

>>45570862
Do what you think is best for the story.

>>45571042
I will, I think.

Heh. I just realized that, after she never once visited it in the first gen, I sent Ellen to Noba offscreen.