There were chains hanging from the ceiling which led down to the elevator that Rinnier had been brought up on. If you were quick, you could use it to get down to the ground floor and retrieve your stranded Testament and then have Asche lower the elevator. You had little idea of what was beneath this place, but it would certainly be the safest place in regards to the Banshee.

Another option was to make use of some of the coiled lengths of rope along the walls to throw her a lifeline and pull her up. Putting Rinnier off the ground in the midst of the Banshee's rampage might not be the best idea, but it would keep the two of you from having to descend into the mental haze that your web reported the underground as being.

Finally, there were ropes... You could always just jump off the catwalk yourself and swing down to rescue her. That happened a lot, right? You'd read about that happening occasionally, can't be too difficult.

...Thoughts like that were what had gotten you into this whole mess.

Regardless, whatever you did, you needed to do it now.

>Use the elevator
>Pull Rinnier up
>DRAMATIC RESCUE
>Other? (write-in)

Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=valen+quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM

Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
Basics of Mana - http://pastebin.com/V9b1DMrS
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Leadership - http://pastebin.com/hGhUA4wf

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE

Misc notes:Barring bad things happening this thread, next thread should be the epilogue to Arc I, one way or another.

>>45975352
>Pull Rinnier up

>>45975352
>>DRAMATIC RESCUE
How can we not.

>>45975352
>>Pull Rinnier up

>>45975573
>>45975757
Up, up!

>>45975753
How can you not?

Unfortunately we are not.

Writing.

Putting aside tempting thoughts of a dramatic swinging rescue, you snatch a coil of rope thrown to you by Asche as you passed her; The maid falling in directly behind and to your left without a word. It was comforting to have Asche back with you, like a piece of you that you hadn't realized you were missing until it was gone. You grasped onto the rope and tossed it down towards Rinnier while Asche secured it to the catwalk, and... Yes, you did manage to drop the rope directly on top of your stranded Testament!

You were aiming a little in front of her, but there was wind. This was okay, too.

She frantically jerked the rope away from her, eyes already tracing its length back up to you as the howling wind drowned out anything that might have been shouted between the two of you. The wind wasn't going to stay at this relatively pacified strength for long though, and you motion for her to start climbing quickly. The fiery haired Testament wastes no time latching onto the rope and beginning to climb even as you and Asche struggled to pull her up.

You felt the rope dig into your fingers as your arms strained. Glancing at Asche showed... A completely straight face as she easily helped pull Rinnier up. You resolved that maybe Caylen playing with swords wasn't the silliest thing he could have spent his time doing as you suck in another breath of air and brace your feet against the catwalk to try and pry more leverage out of your attempts to haul up Rinnier's rope.

Wisp bless, she was making more progress up the rope than you were in hauling the rope up.

You didn't lift weights, you were an intellectual. You had an entire library that, unlike your stupid cousin, you actually USED. There was nothing wrong with that!

The catwalk creaked as the wind picked up, the Banshee below beginning to shake off its excitement at having been inadvertently challenged by the Gnome adept as it started to go wild. You could already feel the wind begin to whip around you as the Banshee's presence gained focus and purpose, the beginnings of a twister picking up on the ground floor and gradually starting to suck in the surroundings.

"What in Shade's name are you doing here?!"

Rinnier's hands broke from the rope, grasping onto the catwalk ledge as she paused in an effort to haul herself up and over just to yell at you over the roaring winds.

"Saving you! Talk later!"

She seemed like she wanted to disagree but, given the presence of the Banshee below, there wasn't any room for bickering right now. You stepped back as she kipped herself over the railing just as the catwalk itself loosed an ominous groan and you felt the wooden framework beneath your feet shift harshly. The three of you looked at each other, frozen in indecision, long enough for a sharp crack to herald something finally snapping away from the supports as the wind started to suck your hair into the growing vortex beneath.

For a moment you understood why that identity in the Diary must have worn their hair in a ponytail, but that moment is fleeting and ephemeral as Rinnier breaks into motion to run past you; An action which is swiftly mimicked by Asche and yourself, just as the catwalk began to break apart.

"We're not safe up here!" You can barely make out Rinnier's voice over the rising din, but she had the right idea.

>Get to the ground floor
>Get out of the barn entirely
>Confront the Banshee before this went any further
>Other? (write-in)

>>45976487
>Get out of the barn entirely
>Get our knights out too.

>>45976487
>Get out of the barn entirely

We got the goods™, let's goooooo.

>>45976487
>>45976583
Seconding. And Kara, if it goes that far out.

>>45976487
>Get out of the barn entirely

File: 1425157550221.gif (1.98 MB, 240x180)

1.98 MB GIF

>>45976583
>>45976597
>>45976636
>>45976712
We are now leaving.

Writing.

You caught the attention of some of your knights and Priat as you ran, gesturing emphatically towards the door the lot of you had entered through. It didn't take much more than that to set them all in motion as word spread from person to person and your knights began to move as a single cohesive unit, trained and coordinated in a way only people all fleeing from a force of nature could manage.

You came to a halt at the crack to the door, seeing Rinnier through it as you grasped hold of groaning metal of the door and counted each of your knights through the gap, with Priat bringing up the rear. You paid one last look at the desperate bastion of earth that had been formed further inside the barn, now the catalyst that would set off this twister, and grit your teeth at having to just turn away. The Mayor was inside that thing, the very person you came to shove your fist into the face of. The one person who, above nearly all else in Carona, was responsible for making your life miserable every time you came to this forsaken town...

He wouldn't even know you were here.

You brace yourself against the ground as the wind picks up, offer your sentiments to the man by spitting derisively into the wind, and pull yourself out of the barn and back into the setting evening sun.

"Shut them in!" You blink wildly to readjust to the lighting, discerning the blurry figures through squinted eyes as your knights, Rinnier and Priat.

Funny... You don't recall having that many knights.

Your vision begins to clear and you studiously do not let out a groan as you realize that you were surrounded by the 'guards' of Carona who had been in the abandoned mansion until recently; Likely drawn out by the still screaming wind and commotion echoing out of the barn just behind you.

You had ten knights spread out before you, with dubious combat potential.
Priat would perhaps have been an impressive presence as the Representative of Salamander... If Rinnier weren't here.
Rinnier had skill with polearms, you knew that much, but she was currently unarmed.
That left yourself and Asche... You couldn't even use a weapon.

Fourteen altogether... A simple glance told you there were more than thirty mercenaries in front of you, and who knew how many more still in the mansion.

You let your hands drop to your side slowly, rolling the situation around in your mind as the two sides faced off in a mixture of uncertainty and strained tension.

This backyard was overrun with weeds, with long forgotten props and obstacles peeking out of from beneath the greenery here and there. Aside from the path down the center to the barn itself, there wasn't much room for clean fighting. The barn behind you was creaking and groaning plaintively as you felt the wind sucking in everything greedily from the small gap in the door. It was only a matter of time before something gave in there, whether it was the barn's structure, the Gnome adept's defense, or the Banshee's fledgling twister growing into its own.

Your bracelet was cool against your wrist, a thin string of desire burrowing through your wrist that called you to use it.

>"We should all probably run."
>Haul open the barn door.
>Meditate (Which Mana?)
>Make a stand and fight.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45977641
>Haul open the barn door.

>>45977980
Writing.

>>45977641
... Welp
>>Haul open the barn door.

"Open the gate." You breathe your conclusion, catching the attention of your knights as you do so. They hesitate, glancing back out of the corner of their eyes between you and the gate of the barn in question. You don't exactly blame them, given that they had just made a mad dash to escape the apparition inside the barn, but... "Do it." You stepped back towards the barn, prompting the rest of your knights to reluctantly follow your lead as they took several steps back from the line of confrontation that had grown further confused with the actions of your group.

This was good. No sudden movements, nothing overtly violent. If they were confused, they weren't going to attack. You placed your hand against the massive sliding door, waiting until the rest of your group had done something similar.

"What are you-"

The inquiry from the mercenaries was cut off by the screeching of unused metal as you put a group effort into hauling open the door. You could feel the metal begin to shift as it moved, and perhaps a little disconcertingly, the way it was starting to distort and bulge. The small crack you had pulled yourself out of was slowly but steadily beginning to widen, allowing the evening light to pour in from outside; Allowing the assembled mercenaries to peer inside as they cautiously began to approach your group, hands gripping their weapons.

An approach which slowed to a halt like a collapsing wave, spreading from one side to the other and the color drained from their faces as the interior properly came into view. The Banshee's near intangible form barely visible within the debris filled twister, fleeting glimpses of the hollowed eye sockets that had rested humorously upon what passed for its face, and a distorted maw that leashed nothing but the unrelenting howls of wind.

"Wisp Preserve..." A man staggered back as the sucking wind found its way out through the open door, pulling at the overgrown grass and whipping your hair back into the barn like a golden stream. Dirt, small rocks, and even sticks were starting to tumble up and off the ground as they became caught up in the wind which was growing stronger and more insistent with every passing second.

You hazarded a glance back into the interior, barely catching a glimpse of the cracking stone shelter within the center of the twister.

You didn't stop until the entirety of the barn door had been forced open, even if the mercenary force had begun to back up well before that. There had clearly been more of them in the mansion, but it seemed that their enthusiasm to file out into the backyard was meeting a very quick and sudden end as they walked out the door and caught sight of what was causing the commotion... Only to turn completely around and go right back inside.

You tend to forget that aside from Wisp apparitions, wild Mana manifestations were effectively localized disasters to normal people. Flashbacks to your conversation with Garet reminded you that you had similar misgivings about Oakenbears...

Maybe you really did have skewed perceptions.

"Someone get the Shrine! Jinn apparition!"

The cry that went up wasn't from one of yours, but it was all the cue the mercenaries needed to break their motley formation and begin to scramble away as fast as humanly possible; Stumbling over each other as they pushed one another aside in a small stampede of panicked boots.

"Haa..." You let out a breath, raising a satisfied smile towards Rinnier and Asche. "See? I know what I'm doing."

A deafening crash alerted you to the fact that a piece of the catwalk just got ripped off its supports in the barn and smashed into the ground with bone shattering force that caused your entire group to wince harshly.

"This is your fault, isn't it? What did you do?!" Rinnier took the moment to shout an accusation over the howling winds, and the two of you very quickly fell into the old habit of scowling and bickering with each other over - "Hey, I came to save you! You should be thanking me for this!" - A variety of things.

"There's an apparition in there! This is just like that time in the kitchen!"
"Why is that my fault?!"
"Because this always happens around you!"
"So now I'm automatically to blame for everything bad? No, I came here to help you and this is the thanks I get?"
"I wouldn't NEED your help if I hadn't gotten kidnapped trying to help YOU!"
"That-"

...Okay you couldn't actually say anything about that.

"Perhaps we should argue after we're safe?"
""We're not arguing!""

You both round furiously on Priat, who had chosen to speak up, instantly cowing him silent for his efforts. It's enough of a break for you to escape the allure of informing Rinnier that she was ungrateful and refocus on the task at hand.

"How did you get back here?" Rinnier seemed to have similar sentiments as she turned her attention back to escaping.
"The side gate, it should still be open."
"Then let's move!"

>Out the side gate; Collect Kara and evacuate.
>Through the mansion, you might still have some time before the twister reaches critical mass.
>Hold your ground in the backyard, make sure no one escapes.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45979116
>>Out the side gate; Collect Kara and evacuate.
Time to get the rest of the goods™ and actually go!

>>45979116
What reason would we have to go through the mansion, exactly...?

>>45979322
It is the base of the mercenaries, thus would likely have things inside it you could as evidence to further condemn the Mayor. Alternatively, via your web, you know there's a way underground from inside the mansion; Going underground during twisters is a common thing.

You'd need to decide whether it was worth the risk, however.

>>45979164
>>45979263
Out the gate and away we goooo.

Writing.

>>45979116
>Through the mansion, you might still have some time before the twister reaches critical mass.
Call Kara and tell her to bring her brother. Twister is coming.

>>45979372
Then maybe...
>Through the mansion, you might still have some time before the twister reaches critical mass.
but after meeting with Kara - we could go alone with her instead of dragging everyone with us.

>>45979476
Drat I just deleted by vote and couldn't revote in time

er...

Right then. One vote got deleted and two new ones came up.

Writing for mansion.

>>45979116
>Collect Kara and evacuate.
>If there's an opportunity to go through the mansion with Kara, do so; else, go through the side gate.

>>45979510
15 minutes for choosing seems too little for this quest. Too many near-miss votes.

>>45979601
Does it? I worried that it was stretching it pretty far as it was, what with it taking about an hour between updates (counting voting time).

Does anyone else have thoughts on the voting window? We can extend it if needed, I don't mind.

>>45979633
Depends sometimes it feels like we need more for when you clarify. Especially forgettings. But other times it's meh.

>>45979785
Maybe give 20 mins if there's a forgetting?

Your group rushes out through the side gate far quicker than they had entered, no longer concerned with staying stealthy as they ran from the brewing twister behind them.

But you hesitate, glancing at the mansion as the temptation of what might be inside trickles through your mind. "Irue!" Rinnier falls back as your knights keep moving, turning back to you in hasty confusion. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

"There might be something in the mansion." you start slowly, the idea sliding into place even as you put it into words. "What... Now?" The incredulity on Rinnier's face is self-explanatory, "Did you not see the apparition in there? We don't have time for this!"

"If there's proof in this town that I can use to make that Mayor choke on his own laurels, it's going to be in there!" You bite back as the wind howls impatiently behind you. "If I don't take this chance now, there'll be nothing to come back and find."

"If you DO take that chance, you might die in there looking for useless information! The Mayor's still in the barn, you really think he's coming out of there now?"

"If he dies, all of his crimes go with him!" You hiss, "Everything he's done to you, everything he's done to ME, just out with the wind!"

"Then let it!"

"No!"

"You're so... So!" Rinnier's fingers curl as her arms raise, visibly restraining herself from wanting to strangle you here and now as the stormy expression visible behind her whipping hair began to rival the actual one brewing in the barn. "Just listen to reason for ONCE-"

"I might be able to find out where your people went." You cut her off, silencing the impending scolding, "You heard him, didn't you? Terrorist sects of Teranford origin springing up through the country?"

"They wouldn't-"

"I know, they're slaves." You cut her off again, you didn't have time to talk, there was a very literal twister not far away. "But slaves get bought and sold, and the Mayor has his hands in that. He's been planning this for a long time, and you showing up was just a convenience; If you weren't here, he would have blamed it on someone else. Someone other Salamander adept."

Her hand lowers, fist clenching as indecision wars.

"I told you I'd help you find them." You repeat, taking a step back, "I'm going to!"

You take another step back, "Kara should be nearby, she might be with a bunch of other demihumans. Tell her about the twister, Have the knights help drag the pack with her if she won't move!" You're already spinning on your heel and running, because the one thing the two of you had agreed on was that you didn't have much time... And you just wasted some of it.

Luckily the backdoor to the mansion was unlocked, likely a result of everyone who had been inside having just dropped their stuff and ran when word of the Jinn apparition made its way back inside. The howling of the wind beat against the windows, slamming shutters angrily against the outside, and you needed to hurry.

>Dive into the web, figure out a map of the mansion.
>Search it manually, rush!
>Other? (write-in)

>>45980328
>>Dive into the web, figure out a map of the mansion.
Small chance we'll rush to the right spot without a direction

>>45980328
>Dive into the web, figure out a map of the mansion.
But have someone count to 20 and then give us a good shove so that we don't lose track of time like before.

>>45980500
No one is with you currently.

>>45980500
We can probably sense the apparition in the web anyway, right..?

>>45980555
Yes.

>>45980453
>>45980500
Into the web.

Writing.

You press back against the closed door, closing your eyes as you pull up the connection to the web that hovered in the back of your mind. It was disconnected from you now, no longer completely bound to your awareness, but you could still sense it; Could still recall the passage of the strings. You focus on that. On the expanse...

...And your world bleeds away, the crashing of wind outside slowly fading into a distant whistle that seemed so far away. Behind you, you felt the haze presence of the Jinn apparition, its size growing into a twisting presence that interwove with every stray breeze it had drawn into itself. It wasn't just becoming more excited, it was assimilating - Taking in the very air around it, absorbing every lesser current under its own eldritch sentience. What you had thought was simply wind under its control was something far worse. It WAS the apparition.

You tear your attention away from it, suppressing the shudder down your spine as the inherent understanding of what is was doing slid through your veins like a chilling ice. It took in smaller winds to grow larger, allowing it to take in larger winds to grow even larger... Until there was nothing else to take in, or it got bored.

This was the true nature of "Mistral's Child", the Banshee. A descendant, or splinter of a gleeful force of destruction far and removed from its warmer and more nurturing uncle, Zephyr. In time, its size would likely dwarf the haze which stirred fitfully beneath it.

...And for all of those reasons, you need to hurry. Your attention turned back to the mansion, tracing every hall and every door. Strands of awareness linking you to each individual room. Unfortunately, your awareness didn't expand to seeing what was IN each room, but it gave you the layout of the mansion.

There was a large office on the ground floor, in the left wing of the house. You could barely make out the abnormally sized desk and the rows upon rows of heavy shelving which resided within it.

Upstairs there was a master bedroom with something that likely weighed more than four Kara's combined. Maybe a safe...?

There was a door in the kitchen which led down into the basement. You couldn't see very far down there due to the haze, but it seems like the door was... Obstructed? Or perhaps meant to be hidden.

>The office
>The bedroom
>The secret basement door
>Other? (write-in)

>>45980957
>The secret basement door

>>45980539
I find it strange Asche is not here.
Am I turning into Irue?

>>45981013
You accidentally ditched her (for all of a like 4 minutes), she's noticed you did so and has begun to... Take measures.

>>45981054
>>45981013
Actually, scratch this. I'm not sure ditching Asche is even possible.

She is retroactively here.
If you have orders for her, feel free to append them.

>>45980957
>The bedroom

>>45980957
>The secret basement door

I finally caught up to my favourite quest!
>Next thread is last thread or a while
Fuck

>>45980997
>>45981213
Basement door!

>>45981167
Bedroom.

Writing.

---
>>45981213
I'm sorry, anon!
Look on the bright side, you didn't catch up to a cancellation notice!

>>45981109
Can't we tell Asche to split up, maximise our chances of finding goodies?

>>45981234
If you'd like, yes.

I'll start writing, but it's easy to slide that in regardless, so I'll append that if you guys want to.

>>45981243
I personally have a lot of faith in secre-maid, so that'd be nice.

>>45981243
Excellent, she should probably go to the office then seeing as how someone voted for that.

>>45981278
Er, bedroom I mean, my bad.
I just wanted her to go to the office

>>45981278
That's a good idea.

>>45981288
Will she be able to crack a safe though?

>>45981316
HOW DARE YOU QUESTION ASCHE?

>>45981316
...Good point, fuck anons vote she should go to the office.

The office and bedroom was tempting, but secret doors almost obligatorily had to have secrets hidden behind them, right? Then that's where you'd go. It takes you exactly one step before you notice the slightly out of sync echo of footsteps from behind and to your left; You don't pause to question it, feeling explicitly at ease with your maid's presence already falling in near lock step with you.

"Asche, there's a master bedroom on the second floor with... Something in it." You point upwards vaguely, "It's near the left side of the house, I want you to go see what you can find."

"?"

You pause briefly at the foyer, catching the fleeting glance as she splits towards the stairs.

"I'm investigating a door in the kitchen. It should lead under the compound, so if things get bad, get out without me. I can find my own way out from down there." She stared at you, nodding in affirmative after a split second's hesitation. You watched her go, exhaling tiredly as you mentally trace your way to the kitchen. Having Asche gave you more of a chance to find something, but you still needed to hurry.

You pick up speed, jogging down the halls like you had lived there your entire life with your web as a guide, and throw open the door to the kitchen. There was still food laying out on the counters, but it wasn't of any use to you. There was... Ah, the door was beyond this pantry, if your web was correct.

>Try to push the pantry aside
>Topple the pantry over
>Empty the pantry to make it easier to move.
>Other? (write-in)

OPTIONAL:
Obtain kitchen knife?
>Y/N

>>45981478
>Empty the pantry to make it easier to move.
>Try to push the pantry aside
If the door opens towards us, toppled pantry may block it.
>Obtain kitchen knife
As a tool, not a weapon.

>>45981478
>Topple the pantry over
>Y

Why not, I guess.

>>45981478
>>Topple the pantry over
>>Y
Fuck the pantry

>>45981478
>Empty the pantry to make it easier to move.
>Try to push the pantry aside
>>45981550 is right, don't want to block the door.
Empty it by pushing everything in it onto the floor as quickly as possible though, we're on a time limit

>Obtain kitchen knife
As long as we can hide it on our person otherwise no.

>>45981557
>>45981567
Toppling.

>>45981550
emptying and pushing.

Writing.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>45981658
... Every time.

rolling for topple or empty/push.

1. empty/push
2. topple.

>>45981478
>Obtain kitchen knife?

I'm furiously thinking about the pros and cons of picking up a kitchen utensil, your quest has me pretty paranoid Riz.

You pocket a knife from the counter as you frown at the pantry. There's no way you were going to be able to push this thing aside... But you could probably topple it. You brace you foot against the tiled floor as you get ready to put your weight into this.

...Nng.

You switch shoulders, gaining some distance before renewing your efforts as you bodily fling yourself across the room and into its side. The crash is abrupt, one that leaves your head ringing and the pantry... Standing exactly where it was. There's a crack in the side of it now. You were going to break through the side of this pantry before you actually moved the damn thing. Maybe you really should have just emptied it first?

As you sigh, muttering under your breath about at least learning some kind of martial art if you ever get out of this, you find yourself nearly on the verge of crying when opening the pantry doors reveals that it was, in fact, a walk-in pantry built into the wall. One that had stairs at the back of it. You had been tackling a wall this entire time and you just...

You really fucking hate this town.

You descend the stairs with knife in hand, petulantly slamming the door behind you as you enter. The way down is uneventful, candle light lighting your way down with a gentle glow that leads you to the bottom of the stairs and into a much more spacious underground floor that spreads out with a hall that leads back towards the barn, and a variety of rooms that your web convinces you are relatively empty save for the occasional desk and some chests.

If you were looking for evidence that the Mayor was a complete jackass involved in illegal or rebellious behaviour, where would you go...? You poke your head into one of the empty rooms, feeling slightly less rushed now that you were underground and the howling outside had been reduced to rhythmic gust and the occasional tremor.

There's a desk with some papers on it, scattered about as if they had just been thrown down here for review later. Looking over them reveals them to be a an unfinished report draft, probably written by the mercenary leaders. The rudimentary glance through you had time to give it mentioned reports on the Tier estate, the capture of Rinnier and concerns of Oakenbears spawning from the corpses left behind within the burned estate.

Looking around you realize there isn't much else down here. There are some chests currently lining the wall, but a quick attempt to open them tells you they're locked tight.

...Of course you might be able to break the lock with this knife. That would probably ruin it for any other kind of use, though.

There were a few other rooms left to check out down here, and a hallway that led towards the barn. If your mental approximation was correct, it likely led to where ever they had been holding Rinnier before the elevator brought her up.

>Open the chest (breaks knife)
>Read the report more thoroughly (uses time)
>Check another room
>Investigate the hallway
>Other? (write-in)

>>45982048
>Pocket the report and check another non-empty room.

>>45982119
Writing.

>>45982048
Fuck it, open the chest then start opening rooms.

>>45982048
>Check another room
> Just grab all the report papers you can

>>45982237
Fuck you

>>45982259
Don't be a bitch, anon.

File: 1376632328707.jpg (351 KB, 1112x1600)

351 KB JPG

>>45982259
pls no bully

You stash the report, looking between the knife and the chest... Before ultimately making your way out of the room. You didn't know how much time you had left before the Banshee completely let loose so you needed to hurry. There were still other rooms to inspect and you stepped out of the room to do just that.

There were a multitude of rooms down here, though many of them seemed to have been re-purposed as bunking rooms in one way or another and contained little more than cots and strewn blankets. One of the larger ones remained open in the center, with an unusually pliant material composing most of the center of the floor. It gave slightly under your step, putting you in mind of the kind of floor that occupied Caylen's sparring room... And with that in mind, you searched the edges of the walls. His sparring rooms had lockers typically, places to hold weapons, and though you weren't entirely sure that was what this place was for, they might have something similar.

...And sure enough, you can barely make out lines along the smoothed walls in the candle light of the room. Pockets in the wall you could just barely grasp ahold of and, with a little effort, shift aside to reveal a small assortment of tools.

None of them were the swords or axes you had expected, but instead there were many blunt rods roughly the length of your arm, as well as ropes and hoops, and an assortment of other tools you could only vaguely identify as having a purpose in animal handling and aid.

Trainer house; Trainer tools.

Stashed away within there seems to be a longer pole with a pair of teeth splitting at the end, an instrument that wasn't lethal enough to be a polearm, but was made for restraining something by the neck and pinning it to the ground. You glance warily at it, trying to decide whether it was worth trying to bring back with you or not. Rinnier needed a weapon, but this wasn't really...

No, Rinnier wouldn't be interested in anything like this. You quickly pry open the next 'locker' to find more of what you had expected initially: Weapons. Mostly swords, some maces, a pair of gloves? Some of them still had blood stained on them, which you vaguely understood to be the sign of a terrible owner. The next few lockers were like this, until you finally found one that wouldn't open for you.

You could take some time to pry it open, or move on. There was still at least one more room to check down here, and the hallway... If you even bothered with that.

>Pry it open (Breaks knife)
>Check last room
>Get out with the reports while you can
>Check the hallway
>Other? (write-in)

>>45982518
>Check last room

>>45982518
We just passed rooms of weapons, can't we lever the chest open with a sword and keep the knife for whatever knife related problems may or may not exist elsewhere?

>>45982542
If you want to take a sword back to do that, yes.

>>45982546
Cool, pry open the locker with a sword, then pry open the chest with a sword.

>>45982518
>>45982555
Seconding sword keys.

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15 minute warning for the late anons.

>>45982555
Thirding this

>>45982537
Check last room

>>45982555
>>45982590
>>45982649
Multipurpose application of sharp pointy bits.

writing.

You stare at the stubbornly locked... Locker with something approaching disdain before looking at the kitchen knife you had brought with you. This could probably open it, sure, but then it would break. On the other hand, you were standing in a room literally full of longer things, with more leverage, that also end in pointy bits. No one was going to miss them at this point, and so you pocketed the knife and proceeded to pull out one of the many swords from the opened lockers.

It felt wrong in your hands, a familiar sensation of it just arbitrarily being rejected from your grip. Carrying it was easy enough, even if it made you feel a bit uncomfortable about how the wraps around the hilt felt as if they were trying to squirm away from you.

You scowl at that, tightening your fingers around the blade as you haul the length of metal up and very carefully start to force the tip of its length into the tight slit, feeling the wall start to give away as you struggled to thrust the blade deep enough inside that you could manage some kind of leverage. It's difficult, taking you longer than necessary since you constantly feel the shaft in your hands twitching as if to jerk clean from your grip, but you do eventually manage to force the blade through and then pop the locker open...

...Just as the sword shatters in your grip, evidently deciding if you weren't going to let go of it, it was going to just die to spite you.

You're left holding a jagged hilt, which still resented your hand around it, and you just toss it over your shoulder with a snort as you take a look into the unlocked locker. There were a few normal looking blades inside, but the contents were unusually exotic. Some curved blades resided inside, short with unexpected angles that left you in a blank for their names.

There was also something else leaning against the wall behind them, amidst a few coils of rope.

A sturdy length of metal nearly as long as you were tall, ending in... Well, perhaps it had once ended in something, because there was a slot near the tip to insert something. You struggled to pull the unwieldy thing from the case, knocking out sword after curved sword in your attempts, and then nearly crushing your foot as the thing attempted to slip out of your hands the moment it came free from the locker. There was something inside the metal shaft, you could feel the weight shifting and sliding inside of it, but you weren't sure what it could be.

This blackened length of metal was something you could awkwardly carry if you had to, but actually using this for anything was straight out of the question.

>Am I Forgetting something...?
>Move on to open the chest in the other room
>Other? (write-in)
Missing the Forgetting will result in leaving the thing here.
25 minutes for this, because Forgetting.

>>45982831
Well I straight up haven't got a fucking clue, a black metal thing? It's packed in with curved swords, maybe that could be a clue? Did the fags that invaded Rinnerland use curved swords?

Post your ideas, even if they're stupider than mine.

>>45982831
Could this where the haze has been coming from?

>>45982933
It is not. Irue is very aware of where the haze is coming from, and it's down that hall - Not here.

>>45982831
>Missing the Forgetting will result in leaving the thing here.
Why would we leave the most promising thing we've found just because we couldn't identify it? Even if it's too heavy to take with us couldn't we just hide it somewhere underground and have Kara dig it out later?

>>45982967
It is promising to you OOC because there's a Forgetting attached to it.

To Irue it's just this weird heavy thing.

>>45982980
It's a super dense lockbox that was kept inside the only locked locker in the secret military batcave. It is objectively promising.

>>45982831
Damn if I'm not drawing blanks here, Riz.
It being blackened is weird though, is it something from the Tier fire?

>>45982831
It's something to handle animals/slaves.
The slot at the end connects to a collar

>>45982831
Can we peak inside using the web?

>>45982831
It's a shaft of some sort of a polearm.

>>45983096
We should bring it to Rinnier for completely in character reasons. She still needs a weapon.

>>45982831
Didn't Rinnier's people use curved swords?

>>45983111
Even if Irue is a noodle-y intellectual, this thing still sounds too heavy for Rinnier to use as a weapon.

>>45982831
Are there any clues in the report we picked up earlier?

>>45983096
>"The entire shaft is made of metal, usually. We lighten them sometimes by filling a hollowed interior with something else."

>>45983130
Thread 5.5
Damn, Riz, I'm not a young man anymore to archive binge in this sort of panic.

>>45983093
You can try, certainly.
But you know what using the web does to your perception of time-

>>45983096
>>45983130
>>45983141
Writing.

It took a bit longer than I allotted, but it was pretty early in the quest. Good job!

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>>45983155
>>45983141
>>45983130
Holy shit I can't fucking believe it, well done faggot. How did you even remember something written 9 months ago anyway?

>>45983174
When that thing tried to escape Irue's hands, I realized it must be a weapon. Then I just run a search of "weapon" on every thread in order.

You blinked at the metal shaft, a rush of memories from what seemed like months ago flickering alive. "..." Your lips part, something bubbling up inside of you as Rinnier's description of her country's polearms slowly slid into place. Every detail, even down to the hollowed shaft... Then what was inside was.. Blackwater, wasn't it? This wasn't just a polearm, it had belonged to one of Teranford's Royal Guard!

The feeling of it stubbornly trying to wiggle out of your hand couldn't even come close to ruining this moment for you. This wasn't the kind of thing you just found, it meant someone who'd owned it before had to have been here. And these other weapons... Your eyes drifted from the edgeless polearm towards the curved blades. They weren't familiar to you, but if this was from Teranford, it stood to reason those were likely from the same place, didn't it?

If there had been one or two, perhaps it was a coincidence, but with this many in one place, and this shaft, you couldn't just write it off.

This was it, proof that Rinnier's people had been here. This was proof that the Mayor had not only been not only dipping into rebellion, but had measures in hand to blame it on the Teranford slaves... No, this was more. Royal Guards of Teranford could coax out Salamander apparitions, hadn't Rinnier said that?

And the Mayor's insistence that the fire had been started by an Adept... He knew. He knew it had, because he knew who started it.

You lugged the heavy metal shaft over your shoulder with a renewed vigor, grunting under its weight as you made your way out of the room. You can't even imagine trying to wield this thing, but it explained why Rinnier had been able to climb that rope so easily if this kind of thing was what she was used to swinging around.

...You quietly quashed the bubbling feelings of inadequacy, snatching a sword from one of the locker as you left the room.

The chest wasn't quite as difficult to open, and after managing to get the sword wedged between the lip and its body, you stomped your foot down and listened to the simultaneous satisfying snaps of both the metal blade - served it right for being purposefully obstinant - and the Chest being forced open...

Oh.

Oh wow, that was a lot of coins.

...You couldn't actually carry this case with you, it was really heavy. You regret not having had time to fetch Kara. Part of you wanted to take the report back out to try and find out just WHY there had been an entire chest of various coin denominations down here, but you didn't have a lot of time now.

In fact, if the crack you had just heard meant anything, you were out of time. something big had just broken, something large enough to cause even the basement to tremble, and the resounding crash that left you staggering off to one side in an attempt to not fall over did little to reassure you.

Making sure the report was still firmly in stashed away, you made your way quickly back to the pantry stairs, climbing several steps before an ominous groan in the structure brought you to a halt, a sense of danger jolting through your nerves as you leaped backwards and sent yourself tumbling back down the stairs just as the ceiling of the stairway broke, collapsing a torrent of stone and heavy wooden debris down to completely destroy your way back up.

...Looks like you got greedy with the looting. If the house was falling apart, then the Banshee must have reached a whole new level of intensity outside.

You hope Asche managed to get out in time.

It wasn't... All bad, though. You knew there had to be other ways out, and you knew Kara could dig you out if given some time. As long as that time didn't take TOO long, then you'd be fi-

A cloud of debris erupted from the doorway to the third room you hadn't entered, its ceiling having evidently collapsed as well in the midst of your thoughts.

Okay maybe fine was an overstatement.

Still, the Banshee was probably going to level off into a twister, not an earthquake. Most of these debris would probably get lifted and thrown elsewhere when all was said and done. You just had to hope the basement didn't take anymore unwelcome weight from the house above it until then.

>Wait here
>Drag your Big Chest of Money with you down the hall.
>Meditate (To what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>45983439
>Grab a fistful of coins and teleport away
>Make sure to prepare for the hard landing beforehand.
We did order Asche to get out if the things get hairy.

>>45983439
>Drag your Big Chest of Money with you down the hall.

I don't want the house to collapse onto all this gold, with any luck we'll find a good place to stash it and Kara can dig it up later. If we run into any bother we can go with >>45983459

The various denominations of coins make good evidence.

>>45983439
>>45983439

>Drag your Big Chest of Money with you down the hall.
>>45983459
this too

>>45983439
>>Wait here
>>Drag your Big Chest of Money with you down the hall.
Find a good place to hide it
Use>>45983459
If things get hairy

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>>45983528
>>45983489
Alternatively, we could use the home is where the heart is teleport. That way we can postpone the hiatus.

>>45983489
>>45983503
>>45983528
Drag money down the hall.

>>45983459
>>45983503
Teleport out with some money immediately after.

>>45983489
>>45983528
Teleport out with money only if bad things happen.

Should I roll for that second bit, or does anyone want to tie break this?

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>>45983564
Anon this isn't just cheating.
This is meta-cheating.

>>45983566
As long as the money doesn't get buried under a house I'm not too fussed one way or the other. I would like the chest hidden as much as possible though, even if it is unlikely the people will be snooping around down here.

>>45983609
Is this a vote for going immediately, or only if bad things happen?

I want absolutely no ambiguity about this.

Rolling in 5m.

>>45983566
>Teleport out with money only if bad things happen.

>>45983622
Well I voted for only leaving in the face of danger and that's still my preference, so unless anyone changes their minds you'll have to roll for it

Writing.

Yeah, no. You knew that hallway connected to the barn, meaning it had to travel through a tunnel. There wasn't going to be much chance of the solid ground up above getting messed up enough by the Banshee's rampage that it caved in. At least, not compared to this basement evidently. With that in mind, you'd be damned if you just left this Big Chest of Money here to potentially get caved in upon. You grasp a handle on one side of the chest and plant your feet against the ground as you heave your weight back.

...It's enough to scoot the chest a few inches.

You lose track of time like this, scooting the chest inch by inch down out of the room, and then switching to the other side to put your legs into slowly pushing it down the hallway while the winds rage above you. Every now and then you feel the basement tremor, nearly enough to knock you down, but nothing else seems to be caving in. You're not sure how long it takes you, but this hallway is much longer than it seemed when trying to haul one of these blasted things.

Perhaps more distressingly is that, once you had finally managed to shove the chest half way down the hall and declared that to be Good Enough™, you realized there were still two more chests back in that room that had remained locked. If this had money, the others had money as well, right?

Kicking one of them resulted in the faint metallic sound of clicking metal, and thus you were convinced it probably had money in it as well... Which meant you had more dragging to do.

It was only after you had made it back with the second chest did a different kind of sound catch your ear, one that echoed down the hall, which shook the entirety of the tunnels for reasons completely unrelated to the twister no doubt raging above.

A familiar looking man in official garb stumbled down the hall, his clothes lacerated and arm bleeding, hair whipped into disarray as he staggered just past around the corner further down the hall. You straightened your posture, squinting down the hall and realizing that he really hadn't seen you as he focused as he was on pushing on to his destination.

You hadn't expected to ever actually see the Mayor again.

>Pursue him, you just found a way to fill ALL your spare time.
>You still remember what happened fighting Roderick, you're fine here.
>Go after him stealthily, just to see what's up.
>Meditate(Which Mana?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>45983822
>Go after him stealthily, just to see what's up.

So many meditate options
Bracelet pls go

>>45983822
>>Go after him stealthily, just to see what's up.

>>45983822
>Go after him stealthily, just to see what's up.

>>45983845
>>45983897
>>45983971
SneakRue.

Writing.

Your pace picks up as you try to move as quietly as you can down the hall, which isn't a terribly difficult thing to do considering the occasional creaking and tremors that run through the floor and walls, but you'd much rather not take a chance with where you were going. Getting the drop on that bastard would make all of this worth it, and you had so much you wanted him to answer for... But that wasn't what filled you with unease as you chased after him.

In the back of your mind, your web was simply white noise. You had passed the threshold of being able to use it to keep track of things, meaning you were walking straight towards whatever had been causing the mass of distortion to your senses. You swallowed tightly, halting at the corner just long enough to confirm he wasn't there before stepping around and picking up your pace again.

He wasn't just going further, he was going deeper.

Perhaps more interestingly, you had reached a point where the actual construction of the tunnel had just stopped; Bleeding away into packed stone. You vaguely remember stone like this, fleeting memories that weren't your own, of an artificial construction beneath a Mausoleum. This wasn't something the Tiers had made, it had most likely been created by the Mayor's Gnome adept.

It was dark through these tunnels, with only the feel of the stone beside you to guide you - And the rather convenient Mayor up ahead carrying what you presumed to have been the only blasted candle available for this trip. It made him simply enough to track down, so you didn't have many complaints about it... Besides, just, on principle.

The fact you were even bothered by not being able to see in the dark was another bleak reminder of the Doppleganger, which did your steadily worsening mood no favours; Like stress that was crawling up your spine, digging its claws into the base of your skull.

You grit your teeth, silently following after the Mayor, pleased that at least the tunnel didn't have any branches in it, but growing increasingly agitated by the ever increasing white noise that was starting to nearly blot out your own thoughts. That, combined with little to do but focus on this man you had grown to rightfully hate these past few months, left alone to pursue him blindly in the dark, was stoking a fire that churned in your gut with each subsequent thought.

And then he stopped. There was no preamble, no hesitation, he simply stopped and for ever a moment you worried he had realized he was being followed.

"This is my last chance. What was I thinking trying to trust those damned demihumans. Even for coin, they're worthless!"

His voice drifted back to your clearly, echoing within the tunnels as you tried to focus on the outline of light and realized he had actually exitted the tunnel to stand within some kind of cavernous chamber. "Hired two adepts for this... What kind of monster even showed up here? The Wisp adept shouldn't have been broken like that by anything even by the freakish bitch." You continued your approach with a twitch of your fingers, feeling rage beg you to curl your fist. "At least he did his damn job, even if he's not here, this medicine should be enough..."

The tunnel shook, a tremor that nearly knocked both of you from your feet which was accompanied by a gust of foul smelling hot air.

"You better be worth it, you damned beast. If you can't stop that apparition, Carona won't live to SEE its freedom."

And the candle flickered, revealing a massive maw of purple skin with individual teeth that far dwarfed the Mayor. You could just barely make out the outline of wickedly long obsidian black horns that stretched out above him, and your memory began to affix the unnerving shape of the towering beast before you to the static which had obscured your web.

"Time to wake up, Behemoth!"

>Nope. Time to leave.
>Rush the Mayor, you can't let him wake that thing up!
>Meditate(Shade)
>Meditate(Which Mana?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>45984149
>Rush the Mayor, you can't let him wake that thing up!

>If you can't stop that apparition, Carona won't live to SEE its freedom

Shit, it can't be that bad can it? It's just a newborn!

>>45984211
>You tear your attention away from it, suppressing the shudder down your spine as the inherent understanding of what is was doing slid through your veins like a chilling ice. It took in smaller winds to grow larger, allowing it to take in larger winds to grow even larger... Until there was nothing else to take in, or it got bored.

>This was the true nature of "Mistral's Child", the Banshee. A descendant, or splinter of a gleeful force of destruction far and removed from its warmer and more nurturing uncle, Zephyr. In time, its size would likely dwarf the haze which stirred fitfully beneath it.

It's already ripping away the house, and evidently it's just going to get exponentially bigger until it gets bored.

>>45984238
I just kind assumed there'd be a limit to it, otherwise any old wizard could destroy whole cities by spawning a baby wind mana in their basement.

>>45984211
Writing.

>>45984293
Banshee's aren't normal Jinn apparitions, much like how Dopplegangers and Revenants aren't normal Shade apparitions. They are, however, basically the default for Irue.

But Irue cheats with the bracelet Relic, and all bets tend to be off when Relics become involved.

As its name implied though, Banshee is commonly referred to as Mistral's Child, an infant version of the Mistral, a relentlessly strong, violent, and frigid wind Aspiration. The fact that it's a newborn means that it's an Apparition still, which has little bearing on its nature or its power - Not all Apparitions are created equal, after all.

Your feet are already moving when the first syllable has left the Mayor's mouth, having pieced together exactly what he was standing in front of before he could finish ranting to himself. There was already one disaster on the loose, and you weren't keen on letting him set whatever this Behemoth was free to add another one. Your hurried footsteps echoed through the cavern, capturing the Mayor's attention just soon enough for him to turn to face you-

-Just soon enough for him to catch your fist against his cheek and snap his head back. Your knuckled sparked a fleeting sensation of pain on impact, the feeling of something biting into your skin being numbed by the elation of having committed Surprise Violence against this one person in particular.

His sputtering is heartening, it sparks the flame in your gut to life as he whirls back around with a reddening face and begins to demand who was there; An act which only served to turn the cheek for your follow up hook, gritting your teeth into a savage smile as you felt his jaw clench and heard the crack of teeth snapping together abruptly. You carry through, crimson eyes awash in the candleflame's light as you grab the man's lapels and smash your forehead into his nose with a sickening crunch that sent him reeling back and away from you.

You felt blood smear across your temple as you stumbled a half-step back to steady your own dizzying sense of balance and catch your breath. The Mayor sputtered, one free hand reaching to halt the blood flowing freely from his nose.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

You felt your lips curl back, exposing a hateful smile as your bracelet coolly brushed pulsed in time with your own thudding heart. He couldn't see you. As long as he held onto that candle, he was blinded by his own light, unable to see beyond its sparse orb.

As long as he held that candle, you knew exactly where he was, even without a web.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing? If I don't wake up this creature, Carona is doomed!"

He remember he mentioned medicine. There was some kind of medicine on him he needed to wake the Behemoth up, if you could find that, then you'd be able to prevent it from joining the fray up above.

Your fingers curled as you deliberately brought your breathing back under control.

>Focus on stealing the medicine.
>You can take it after you're finished with him.
>Meditate(Shade)
>Meditate(Shade::Rage)
>Meditate(Which Mana?)

>>45984651
>>Focus on stealing the medicine.
I assume this means we're rooting through his pockets? Might want to keep hitting the guy intermittently, keep him stunned while we do that.

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>>45984781
Writing.
With additional violence.

>>45984651
>You can take it after you're finished with him.
We never liked this town anyway.
Though we'll have to evacuate Jill.

Taking a step back, you slowly begin to circle around the Mayor as you keep a careful watch on him. The medicine of his was your priority, if you got it away from him then you could just leave the man down here for all you cared. Or, at the very least, handle him at your leisure. As it stood, it would only take one mistake and he might do something you couldn't reverse in waking up that beast.

Given the hand he was holding the candle in, the medicine was probably easily accessible by his still free hand... And so you waited, and you watched. Watched as he swiped the candle to and fro, watched from a distance as the unnerved man slowly backed his way towards the Behemoth once more. He was waiting for an attack, one you felt a sick joy in denying him... And then you saw your chance, his free hand dipping into his pocket hastily.

It was all you needed, you knew exactly where it was now!

You burst from you place in the dark, four long strides covering the distance between you as your fingers stretched out to snatch the medicine-

-Only to be snatched themselves as the Mayor's hand withdrew emptily to latch around your wrist, his candle being thrown aside to clatter onto the stone floor some ways off as his suddenly free hand crashed down heavily upon the back of your skull and sent your vision exploding into whites on impact. You had a brief, disorienting moment of vertigo as the Mayor's grip on your wrist tightened painfully and he yanked you back towards him as you began to fall away, his clenched fist raining blows blindly upon with a frantic fervor.

He was talking, you could barely make out the words in the furiously echoing voice as you brought your other arm up to try and shield your head from the hammering blows. It gave you shelter, preciously brief shelter.

"Thought you were smart, didn't you?!"

One line you hear loud and clear in a pause between the accosting knuckles, and you feel your own snarl beginning to spread at the gall this man had to say anything about you after what he'd done.

>Tackle him
>Pick his pocket while struggling
>Strike back
>Bite him

>>45984914
>>Strike back
Throat, eyes, balls, and gut

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>>45984914
>Bite him
>Strike back
We gon shit fury all over this motherfucker

I'd like to pick the pocket but considering the deception it's probably in a different pocket entirely.

>>45984982
>>45984914

Forgot to add
>Tackle him
Do it all, rip him to pieces. Also shriek hysterically.

Your shielding arm curls back into a fist, lashing out with little more than a visualization for where the man's body might be as you bury a strike into his gut. It does... Not as much as you had hoped, eliciting a minor heave of air before he jerks you aside angrily by the hand and struck back spitefully.

Spite was something you knew well though, as your head instinctively ducked the retaliatory strike with jaws widening expectantly until they found the flesh of the appendage that had so deceptively caught your arm in all of this. Whether he realized your intentions soon enough or not, the time to stop you had long since passed as you once more sunk your teeth through rough skin and felt a hot, coppery liquid flush against your gums.

His scream did nothing but spur you on to clench harder, the blood from the wound overflowing onto the roof of your mouth and splashing down to curl upon your tongue. You hated him, a hate so thorough that even the aches running through your battered arm sparked competitively as you sought to Rip and Tear your own personal pound of flesh.

A flash of white nearly sends you reeling however, another angrily delivered blow to the back of your head as he tried to physically bash you away from his hand. A second flash, and you realize it's only your vision pulsing as the heat in your head dimly pulses into a headache that would be mercifully dulled by your own adrenaline. You marshalled yourself, locking down your jaw with a seething determination as you abandoned defense entirely to grasp his single arm and rip it aside with your entire body; Twisting away from him as you desperately find your finger nails clawing into his raw skin for purchase, every muscle in your body straining together - From the toes bracing against the earth beneath to the your neck as your own teeth are one more point of leverage and pull - Just to rip him from his feet in the darkness. Just to tear the balance from him.

It's enough, a brief break in his body the sends you both staggering forward... But you had anticipated it. This was what you wanted. You find a guttural snarl rising from your throat, spilled blood gargling in the back of your throat, yet muffled against his injured hand as you finally wrench your own arm free from his spasming grasp and finally find a proper purchase around his arm; Around his elbow.

Your upper body burned as it clenched, trying desperately to snap the bone at the elbow... Only to be lifted bodily from the ground even as you held on, breaking the leverage from the ground, and shortly there after returning you roughly to the ground off balance as the Mayor returned the favour and slammed you into the ground hard enough to drive the breath from you in a single laboured wheeze.

"Shade taken brat!" Something blossomed against the back of your skull, a pressure which spread out across your face and clenched your skull as if it were a melon being lifted from the ground- "You should have stayed away!" -Only to smash it back against the rock floor beneath you and send a wave of nausea sickeningly through your body as you felt something wet stain the hair against your head.

You twisted futilely, trying to escape his weight as you felt the larger man begin to mount you in the dark; His weight choking you to the ground as he screamed at you, words you couldn't make out through your own heart pounding in your ears. You couldn't get your breath back like this, you couldn't breath, and the panic was already beginning to set in.

In last desperate measure, your knee jerked up as your legs flailed, digging sharply between his legs and breaking his concentration just long enough for you to find some leverage under you to throw the unsettled man over you and greedily suck in the air you had been denied as your lungs screamed for oxygen.

You roll over, fuelled more by your own anger and sense of survival than any conscious thought, and find the ground numbly beneath your fingers as your body arches on all fours and you blink through the blinding pain behind your eyes and the unshakeable sensation of the floor twisting and spinning beneath you. The room was black, as black as ever, with no candle this time to mark his position. You breathed out harshly, coughing up flecks of blood you doubted was your own, and felt the seductive urging to lunge forward again, to where you roughly thought he'd be.

>Get back to your feet, catch your breath.
>No respite! Seize the moment while he's down!
>Meditate(Shade::Rage)
>...You have a knife.

>>45985431
We can't actually use the knife though, can we? Won't it be considered a weapon if we try to use it like one?

>>45985431
>>Meditate(Shade::Rage)

>>45985431
>Get back to your feet, catch your breath.
We can't use weapons anyway, and lunging blindly into darkness invites a counerattack. Better to catch him while he tries to rise up.

>>45985431
>Get back to your feet, catch your breath.

>>45985522
Hm...

>>45985535
>>45985544
Catching your breath.

>>45985506
It would, yes. That doesn't stop you from trying to use it.

Writing.

File: 1402886121462.gif (2.05 MB, 300x365)

2.05 MB GIF

>>45985696
>Hm...
Don't fucking do it

>>45985696
How far does this weapon thing stretch anyway? Do items have innate weapon-ness to them, or is it based off our perception of the item and what we intend to do with it?

>>45985853
Both. If it's innately meant to be a weapon, its very presence will be rejected, and active use of it for its intended purpose will be a violent rejection.

If it's not necessarily a weapon, you're not uncomfortable carrying it... But if you start trying to use it as one, it gets rejected as well. However that version trends towards being a chiding slap on the wrist, as opposed to a smack in the face.

You reel back, weight shifting first onto the balls of your feet and then rolling further until you've managed to rise to a haggard hunch... But you were on your feet again, and you felt your body issue a duly ignored complaint. Air... You straighten your back, feeling your chest heave as your lungs press out against your own ribcage with each hasty gulp of air. You tried to separate the thudding of your own heart from the sounds around you; And the sounds around you from the near deafening white noise scratching in the back of your mind. Scratching, itching, nearly driving you mad as you wanted nothing more than to rip it out and be done with it.

Your bracelet burned against your wrist, and you felt that searing heat answer in every inch of your body, calling out for synchronization, yearning to restructure your entire mind specifically for this one stress born emotion. You wanted to let this rage go, you weren't nearly finished tearing into him. This man hadn't felt more than the tip of the loathing you had for him, for his entire Shade damned town.

...No. Each breath brought clarity to you. Not the Clarity you often remembered the Doppleganger cry over, but a sense of mind that began to pull itself out of the broiling sea of red. You hated him. That was important. It was an island for you to cling to, something to use to provide yourself context and an anchor.

You Hated Him.

You wanted him to know that, you wanted him to suffer for everything he and his town had put you through... But more than that, you wanted to hurt him. Beating him was therapeutic, but it wasn't enough; It was the junk food you craved, but it wasn't what you needed. It wouldn't fill you up in the long run. Days from now, when this opportunity finally past, you could already feel emptiness clawing at you.

You wanted to break him, in a way beyond physical.

His hopes.
His dreams.
His beliefs.
His ambitions.

Everything that motivated this man each morning.

You exhale.

Standing straighter, you take a light step back and feel your mind begin to... Crystallize.

Your throat churns, swallowing the bitter taste of blood and saliva to clear your voice. Not far away, you hear his groan, and the scuffing of his clothes against the rock as he scrambles to pull himself together, expecting you to have come lunging towards him already.

And it was tempting. A siren song that flowed through your veins and urged you towards it.

At this moment, you felt your thoughts brush against a set of memories bequeathed to you that you had hoped to not peer through. You felt a kinship forged through shared struggles, and a connection never spoken or accepted between you.

>Meditate(Shade::Regret)
>Meditate(Shade::Insecurity)
>Pry open the memories of the Doppleganger.
>This is no test, you simply want to tear him down.

>>45986223
>Pry open the memories of the Doppleganger.

>>45986223
>Pry open the memories of the Doppleganger.

>>45986223
>Pry open the memories of the Doppleganger.
Well I gotta figure out what this shit does

>>45986264
>>45986291
>>45986301
I started writing like 10m ago and forgot to update you guys.

Your eyes close, more for your own sake than anything else as the room remained as dark as it had ever been, and allow yourself to access the memories left behind in the wake of the Doppleganger's passing. Their thoughts, their feelings, the way they saw the world. The way they learned to love and hate everything around them, and their own insecurities.

These memories were like a book to you, much like your own had been to the Doppleganger... But it was a book you preferred not to read. It told you nothing new, but the world they viewed left a bitter blackness clutching at your throat that had nothing to do with Mana.

You offered a silent apology. one they'd never receive, as you forced your body to relax; Shifting muscles and mind alike as each memory painted a picture picture that left you disgusted with yourself just to look at... But you made each stroke, mixed each tainted color. Nothing changed, no power or granted awareness. It was a self-destructive, and you hated yourself for it...

"This is what you chose." You feel velvet pitch flow off your tongue as you spoke for the first time, "In your rush to save Carona, you destroyed it."

You paused, striding silently through the dark as you listened to him move. Letting the words hang observationally in the air until he finally cleared his throat, "Now you want to talk? I'm trying to save Carona, you're getting in the way!" And you knew where he was when he spoke. More importantly...

"Wouldn't Carona be saved without you?"

You caught the chip in his shell.

"No one else will do what needs to be done! The royals will drive Carona to its knees before the nobles even lift a finger."

You paced, but didn't respond immediately. Letting his voice echo back in the cavern, listening to the way he gathering himself after your fight. It was only when he took his first step did you interject, freezing him to the spot once more. "Have you done what was needed?"

"Don't ask like you know me, child. I've done more than you've ever known."

"Is this what was needed?"

You walked, mindful of your footsteps, skirting the fallen candle just out of its spilling light. A warning, an invitation, for him to come and retrieve it. It was the only anchor in this room, and it was the only thing that could be clearly seen.

"This Behemoth will destroy what you're trying to save."

"I have measures in place to handle it, but it's the only thing that can stop that raging apparition." The Mayor sighed heavily, explaining himself as he hovered out of sight, unwilling to approach the candle that you lurked around. "And what about you? Why are you involved in all of this?"

You didn't give him an answer, just letting him stand in the dark as his question hung ignored.

"Those measures betrayed you." Your answer rings clear and precise, without accusation, the moment his clothing rustled. To control something like that, his measures had to be something out of the norm. Something beyond his usual fair... It left the Adepts, who were currently dealt with, and the demihumans... Who were similarly dealt with. More specifically, of the demihumans, it left Kara.

"...They'll do what they're paid to."
"You were no longer useful to them."
"I'm was the only one who could give them anything in this town, they NEED me."
"Then why are you here?"

And this time... It's him who doesn't have an answer for you.

"I don't have time for this." He finally spits, clothes rustling as he searches his pockets for something. "If I don't hurry-"

"Carona will be saved without you."

"By who? The Valens? The crown?!"

While you leave him to his questions, you note he had stopped once more. Hesitating. He demanded an answer, but wasn't willing to act... You wonder if he already knew the answer. That the Shrine would inevitably become involved up above.

"You've done everything for Carona." You lull as you paced, bringing to mind everything you had learned about the Mayor, composing an understanding of the things that drove him with the portrait of self-loathing that the doppleganger had left behind for you as a reference. "Dedicated your life, wanted only the best for them. Wanted them to be strong; Like they once were."

"You think you know me, brat? This third rate mind game fun to you?"

"Has anyone thanked you?" You speak blithely past his annoyance, and let your question hang. "Can you help people who don't want to be helped?"

"They don't even know they need help!" He spat back finally, "I grew up in this town, my father grew up here, and his father before him. I know what this town needs!"

"Do they need you?"

"Of course they do, I'm the Mayor. It's my job to look after everything here, I've been doing exactly what everyone asked of me!"

"As the one before you?"
"Yes!"
"As the one after you?"
"If I have anything to say about it!"

"Then why do they need you?" You heard him beginning to approach the candle. Frustrated steps that belied the tension of the man who made them, "When they learn what you've done for them..." You stepped forward, briefly illuminating in the candle light with crimson eyes highlighted in the flickering flame, "Will they thank you then?" and crush the flame under foot, plunging the room fully into the dark.

>Ask about the sacrifices he's made.
>Talk about the lives his people lead.
>Describe the people he's brought into Carona.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45987204
>Ask about the sacrifices he's made.
The only make the town worse and drag it into the line of fire
>Talk about the lives his people lead.
Sad, scared, fearful lives, trapped in a hell of his own making
>Describe the people he's brought into Carona.
brigands, thieves, amoral demi-humans, and monsters of every stripe and sort.

>>45987204
>Describe the people he's brought into Carona.

>>45987204
>Ask about the sacrifices he's made.
What kind of Rinnierland flavoured shit can we fling at him?

>>45987277
>>45987298
People into Carona

>>45987277
>>45987346
Sacrifices made

>>45987277
Lives they lead.

Writing.

"You've made so many sacrifices for this town."
"I suppose you know about those too, eh?"
"Every law bent for their sake. The innocence of slaves for your dream-"
"Is that what's got you involved? The Teranford slaves?"
"-Your maid."

You finish, recalling Caylen's explanation of the missing people. His objections grew, as you listed each of them off in a steady tempo, until finally there was no response. "You bore their hate when you drove the Tiers away."

"It was for their own good. THey were just here to keep tabs on us."
"You withstood their concerns when you brought in the mercenaries."
"We didn't have near enough manpower for what was to come, it was to protect them when the fighting broke out."
"You assured them when people began to go missing."
"What does that have to-"

"You knew." You break his question before he can ask it, stating it simply and letting his mind seize the singular answer he had received. "You brought them here. Into this town you love. Their crimes were your own."

""It was for their own good.""

You finish his justification quietly, echoing his own words a half beat out of synch.

"Poison makes the body stronger." You pace silently, pointedly moving through the room as you keep him talking. Always moving, keeping yourself distant between each question. Several times he had leaped upon empty air, but that was in the past. His pursuit was growing half-hearted. "But it is poison all the same."

"..."

"In your pursuit to protect Carona, you made so many sacrifices."
"You'd do the same, if you had something you cared about as much as I do."

"They suffered under your care." you point out neutrally, "When did Carona itself become a sacrifice to protect itself?"

"Shut your mouth! You've no idea what you're talking about!"

"They're still alive." You comment after some time, breaking the mutual silence that had held between you for so long after your last observation. "They want to live, still. Even through this poison."

"...Of course they do." He snorted, but the derision was gone; Replaced by a timbre of fondness and nostalgia. "They're strong."

"They rely on you. You are their Mayor."
"I know what I am."
"You are the one who brought them this poison."
"I know what I did!"
"Can you still look them in the face after this over?"
"..."
"Will they be able to go on without you?"
"Yes. If I have to die for my cause, I know they'll carry on."
"Then, will you be able to go on without them?"

He doesn't give you an answer, and you return to silence. Silence that lasts for minutes, stretching into what feels like hours, until it has long since been past time for the two of you to take your seats upon opposite sides of the cavern, allowing the echo to carry your breath back and forth.

"I just wanted to save this place." The Mayor finally broke that accord with a choked confession. "I saw that the royals were doing... I thought if we were independent, we wouldn't end up like those other towns had. We wouldn't lose the land we'd lived on for so generations."

You listened with closed eyes, to the shaking voice of a man who had seen at least three times your own years.

"I've done a lot of things they'll never forgive me for. Things I can't forgive myself for... But I thought it was worth it. If I could stop my people from losing everything like that, then the ends justified the means. I didn't- I never meant for it to become like this."

To the regrets and confessions of a man who had dedicated himself to a cause, resigning himself for what he believed to be their sake.

"I've gone too far now. There's no room for me to turn back; Not after this. I had to do what I thought was best, and this was the only way out for them I saw..."

To the revelation which consumed him with every word, only his voice to echo back the things he had kept to himself for years.

There were no theatric poses, nor fevered justifications. Peeled away and left in this darkness, with only his own insecurities given voice to torment and prod him, this was the final result. A simple honesty, a man who had tried his best and seen only mistakes in his wake. His dreams laid bare, his hopes picked apart, his ambitions trampled upon, his beliefs questioned.

This was who he was in the dark, and nothing more.

Was it enough?

>Forgive him.
>Toss the knife to him.
>Leave.

>>45988134
>Leave
We need to make his crimes known. We need him to feel the contempt and hate of those he purported to save. He must suffer.

>>45988134
How much of an impact does this choice have on Irue as a character?

>>45988134
>Leave.

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>>45988255
As much as most other decisions of its ilk.

You've made it this far in Valen quest, I think you know that your decision here will likely haunt you one way or another. So...

>>45988308
>>45988134
>Leave
Self hatred it is then.

>>45988235
>>45988261
>>45988486
Writing.

You guys know Leaving implies teleporting out, because you're pretty much done down here, right?

Unless you just wanted to sit down here with your Big Chests of Money. Tell me whether you do or not now, because we'll be moving soon.

>>45988578
yeah, take a few coins then port out.

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>>45988578
Fuck I forgot about that, I was really looking forward to having money. Maybe we should kill him...

I guess we'll just have to remember to come back and see if the money is still here next time. lol

>>45988716
>First vote of the first thread after the Hiatus ends
>Are You Forgetting Something...?
>No one remembers the Big Chests of Money.

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>>45988750
>pulling a forgetting on the intro post after a hiatus

christ almighty riz i just felt my blood pressure rise don't even joke about that

You feel the memories of your Doppleganger shut themselves away as you turn your eyes away from the portrait of insecurities you had found yourself painting with the words of the hollowed man across from you. It was every bit as disgusting as the one you had once seen of yourself, but he would never see it for himself. One way or another though, there was nothing else here for you.

Your rage had run cold, and now even the satisfaction of having broken him felt silent and bitter to you. This was the man you had hated, and now... With the adrenaline long gone, and the sea of red haze that drove you forward sinking away, you were left with only that hate; Aimless and arbitrary.

You left as you had come, taking care that your footsteps didn't break the silence, and gingerly pressed your hand against the stone walls as you left the man behind.

You retrieved the metal polearm shaft you had located, clutching it between your aching fingers as you idly noted the pocks of skin which had been cut into where your knuckles had slipped past the Mayor's lips and cut tooth. It stung as your grip tightened around your discovery and you obligatorily slipped a handful of coins into your pocket.

As there was nothing else for you down here, you did little more than murmur the familiar aria of a spider returning to its web... And let the wind carry you 'home'.

The first thing you noticed was that you were once again in midair, this time with the heavy metal shaft still firmly grasped in hand. It was relieving it had come with you, as you were still trying to puzzle out what would and wouldn't make this trip.

The second thing you noticed was, as expected, you were high above the town of Carona. Far, far higher than any roof or building. High enough to look out across the horizon and see the entirety of this town you had built such bitter blood with.

The third thing you noticed was that there was an unexpectedly large crowd of people currently approaching Carona from the forest. You were certain those weren't YOUR knights, but you could barely make out the Valen crest. Was it Caylen...?

More importantly: The fourth thing you noticed, and really this should have been higher on the list, was that you weren't falling. You should have been falling, you had fallen every other time, but this time you were not. This time you were floating weightlessly in the air, and it felt almost like you were being pulled off to the side... And further up into the air.

Yes, you remember now. There was a small tornado currently wrecking the same town you had just appeared in mid-air above.

There was something a little comforting about the way your body just started to gently drift off into the air, and it was enough to make you feel relaxed. Or perhaps resigned? As if every part of you had simply accepted that this is what it meant to be in Carona. At least, this time it was technically your fault, so you couldn't really blame Carona, could you?

Haha...

Yes you could.

"Shade take this damn town!"

Were the last words you screamed into the howling air as your equilibrium finally broke and you were sent hurling into the tiny tornado you had forgotten about.

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http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

I'll lurk the thread for a bit to try and answer some questions if I can.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

Next thread will be the epilogue to this Arc, wrapping up some loose ends and such. Then a hiatus, before the second arc begins.

>>45989462
Everything is just as out of control as it always is. At least we got a free knife.

>>45989462
So how badly did we goof?

>>45989707
Our suffering wasn't for nothing then.

>>45989462
Will we get a quiet moment with Rinnier next thread? If such a thing even exists. Is she still mad at us for being a shadefag? Is she likely to believe us when we tell her that we're the real 'Rue?

>>45989885
Wasn't she mad at us for our stance on slavery?

>>45989707
Using the knife to self-terminate counts as a weaponized purpose.
So you can't.

>>45989740
Hm... Well, I'd say the most unfortunate thing actually occurred a thread or two ago when you summoned the Banshee. I was baffled as to why people chose Jinn at the time, but everyone seemed really on board with it!

This thread alone though... You got two treasures rather than one because you did some lateral thinking regarding the swords instead of using your knife. You got a bit greedy so you didn't get to find out what was in the third room, and you got trapped underground.

Personally, I would have given the Mayor the knife. Partially for resolution, but you guys chose a much crueler option... Probably on accident.

The only actual "goof" I can point out was choosing to teleport out while the Banshee was having a ball. It was why I always made double, extra sure this was exactly what you wanted to do before I just plopped you guys out there.

>>45989885
A quiet moment with Rinnier might be possible, for what passes as quiet with between the two of you. She is still somewhat peeved at you for Dopplerue flipping out at her (she never actually realized it WASN'T Irue) but that's not really important to her right now.

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>>45989925
Rinner is mad at more things than there are stars in the universe.

>>45989972
So what WAS in the third room? What about the office?

>>45989972
How likely are we to pass this testament thing? Will Rinnier be the reason we fail? On an unrelated note how willing is Kara to kill Rinnier?

>>45990077
>Third room
What the Mayor was using to employ the demihumans. Each room was dedicated to one of the three potential "paths" that could have been chosen at the start of Valen Quest (which lined up with which Testament you chose).

You chose Ari and Rinnier's rooms, leaving Kara's to run out of time.

>Office
Documents dictating who the Teranford slaves had been sold to and when. This is actually coming off a previous Forgetting much earlier in the quest where you had a chance to realize you knew where Rinnier's people probably were - The answer being to get in contact with the Slavemaster you met in the early threads, in order to search for the Teranford slaves. They were being held in Carona for a short period of time, and were eventually used to cause the Tier fire, then sold and shipped off.

>>45990211
Ari is indisputably loyal to you. Is she an asset...? Well, that's debatable.
Kara feels grateful and complicated towards you. Is she an asset? Definitely.
Rinnier is very much an asset, but the players have consistently failed or actively not done things to score them any points with Rinnier.

As >>45989994 noted, Rinnier is often mad... But typically, she's always had a justified reason to be mad, and it usually had to do with Irue being kinda flakey in one way or another. Irue very rarely did anything to assuage these worries or prove they weren't very deserved.

As you took on all three of them as your "Testament", you require the loyalty of all three of them, and that all three of them be considered useful assets. Right now Kara is the only one who is definitely a pass, while Rinnier's loyalty is left unknown and Ari's capability to be useful is something to argue over.

You will have a moment with each of them in the next thread before the judgement is passed, however.

>>45990211
>How willing is Kara to kill Rinnier
She wouldn't really object if you asked, but she also wouldn't really understand. She'd probably just do it and be confused.

>>45990350
Didn't expect real answers to those questions. thanks Riz.

Can we have a short summary of what exactly Irue knows about the Rinnier sub-plot?

>>45990458
Rinnier sub-plot... Lets see.

She's the former princess of Teranford, a desert country to the south that was recently conquered by an unknown and nomadic army. A great many of their people fled, taking refuge in the country of scholars to the west, Ephlesia, but those who couldn't or wouldn't (like Rinnier) were sold into slavery.

While you're unsure how much you can trust the Mayor at his word, those slaves are cropping up as terrorist groups through out the country of La'Fiel, supposedly because the La'Fielan Royalty supported the nomadic army that conquered them in order to grasp land and, perhaps, slaves. That information is fairly sketchy though, given you heard it from... But it makes enough sense to worry you.

Meanwhile, the royal family of Teranford used to be greatly favoured by the Salamander Mana, to the point of having their entire family - Lamandra - named after it. Something has occurred, and no one is saying what, but that favour seems to have not just been lost, but replaced with an equal measure distaste/scorn to the point of leaving flames to flee from their presence in disgust.

And then as a final note, Irue is aware that Rinnier's mother left for East Heaven before its borders closed, when she was very young. Neither of them know why, but said mother never returned. Her father was always very bitter over this, as they also refused to send aid when the nomadic army attacked and eventually conquered Teranford.

Rinnier, although she was sold into slavery, is still dead set on trying to find the rest of her people who were sold into a similar state and pull them back together. Her duty as princess, the noblesse oblige that she was born and raised into, is extremely strong. To that end, she'll do anything she can to save the scattered countrymen she still feels responsible for.

...I think that's all. It's just off the top of my head, so I might have missed something.

Actually, open question to any anons still floating around.

What did you think of the fight between Irue and the Mayor? If possible, thoughts on both the physical part, and then later the verbal one, in two separate categories.

It's my intention that any fight in Valen quest be fairly vicious and humbling, but I worry that I'm not able to regularly emphasize that when we get encounters that are basically supernatural powers clashing. I dislike when the fighting starts to feel too shonen, because there's an edge of danger inherent to the act which I think gets lost.

>>45990930
The physical part of the fight felt absolutely savage to me. I honestly feared we've killed Irue for a moment.

As for the verbal part, I honestly couldn't follow some trains of thought, like when Irue asked the Mayor if he can live without Carona. How did that break him?

>>45991087
The Mayor spent his entire life dedicated to the well being of Carona. Everything he did was with his idea of Carona in mind.

In a very real sense, the man lived for this town. At first for the people inside it, but then at some point he lost sight of the trees that made up his forest.

Could Carona live without him? Yes. It was strong, it was his ideal, his heart.

Could he live without Carona? It forced him to confront where he would be once Carona rejected him, and he realized that rather than having forged a connection to the people of his town, he had forged a one-sided connection with the idea of the town.

In some ways, the moment he became aware of that, he was already without Carona.

>>45990695
Thanks for clearing that up, I anticipate that Rinnier will be the hinge that this whole testament thing swings on so it's important that it's fresh in everyone's minds. I hope it helps next thread.

>>45990930
Physical portion I thought was gratifying, we somehow always come out much better than we should in fights where we bite off more than we can chew (which is all of them). It was refreshing to see an ordinary dude use his superior size to pick this little bitch up by the face and bounce her off the floor. Rinnier better appreciate the shit we went through to get what we got.

The mental portion, I have to agree with >>45991087 in admitting that I found it a bit hard to follow at times with regards to the actual breaking of his spirit. Strongest part was when you brought Irue's manipulative nature to the forefront, avoiding questions, pinpointing weakness and striking with maximum venom and projection. The crushing the candle and the "what you are in the dark" callback stuff was a very nice touch.

Did you expect us to bite your delicious bracelet bait?

>>45991394
>Bracelet bait
Everyone loved using it whenever they got the chance before! It's still too late to avoid going through your first withdrawal

I suppose the verbal part needs work then, though. Following leaps of logic probably isn't the simplest thing, especially when the character themself is making them to try and take someone apart. Unfortunately that kind of thing seems to inevitably come near the end of threads; i was terrified I'd make typos during all of that, and it'd be an unreadable mess.

I was a little worried it would come off as cheesy instead, but I'm glad it turned out as relatively well as it did.

>>45991542
>It's still too late to avoid going through your first withdrawal

So we're getting withdrawal AND political ramifications?

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>>45991542
Yeah I have no idea why everyone voted for summoning so much either, even before you clarified what was going on in your ask.fm. If any of the anons from last thread are around pls tell.

Anyway, thanks for running Riz. Great thread, looking forward to the act 1 finale.