>>46486668
It’s been almost a week since you waved farewell to Oster and you haven’t seen him since. That’s to be expected but it still makes you feel uneasy. Letting him strive on ahead alone like that might not have been the best decision but you’re sure it was the right one.
And it didn’t take Hiss very long to figure that out either. You couldn’t resist her questions forever. She seems to have made peace with his defection albeit with the caveat that she plans to punish him when he returns. You’ll have to do your best to stop that when it comes.

And as for the host you’re travelling with, it moves slowly forward day by day. Just the logistics alone are staggering and what little you’ve seen of Orange confirms that he’s extremely overworked. At least he appears to have enlisted some human underlings to help him with that.
Together you’ve plowed along the main road and through empty villages and townships, the occupants of which having fled before you. You notice Hiss’ smile growing wider with each one and you can’t help but think back to the plan she told you of after she killed the Duke.
The crowds of refugees and deserters she drives before her have splinters in their hearts. The vanguard are within them and she claims to have subverted at least one general already.
But unfortunately most of her plan remains opaque to you, hidden behind troop movements and logistics and other such patterns that you have a hard time understanding. Hiss has taken to them quite well however. She or her father must have eaten a tactician at some point.

And how have you been spending your week? You’ve had less time to yourself than you’d like, Hiss having put you and your homunculi to work on last-minute alchemical supplies and weapons but you’ve still been at work.


>Experimenting

>Making an additional homunculus.

>Studying.

>Teaching your homunculi.

>Other

>>46486681
>Experimenting
Spirit/soul/spider brews

>>46486681
>Experimenting
Can we do this with the homunculi, zukhdeep included? I want to see if they can come up with brews on their own and have them watch us

>>46486681
>>Studying.
Need to make Naja a body guys.

>Experimenting

You found the time to gather Eva and Hom together for several sessions of shared alchemical brainstorming. You don't know if you'll be able to do this stuff again for a very long time so you figure you have to make it count.
Zukhdeep seems uninterested or worse, is picking up on Aashenpreet's feelings about you and is starting to deliberately ignore you. You've been getting the cold shoulder from both of them for a long while now so it ended up being just you, Eva and Hom.

What was the subject of your experimentation?

>Soul brews.

>More treebrews.

>Caster brews

>Constructing a body.

>Art brews.

>Combat brews.

>Other

>>46486980
>Soul brews.

>>46486980
>Soul brews.

>>46486980
>Caster brews
So what's Zukhdeeps human form like?

>>46486980
>Soul brews.

>>46486980
>Caster brews

>>46486980
>Soul brews.

>>46486980
>>Soul brews.

>Soul brews

It's probably best to return to your speciality for now and just do what you do best. You managed to rescue all of your brews and equipment from Hiss' palanquin the day after Oster left and Orange has found you a new pack! It's not as good and it'll probably never feel the same but you have to make do with what you've got, don't you?

>Improve an existing soul brew (Specify)

>Work on translating your current soul brews to spirits and spiders.

>Brews that work along the soul-link.

>Brews that affect the wish-bond.

>Homunculi creation brews.

> (Specify)

>>46487207
>Work on translating your current soul brews to spirits and spiders.
I want to make a spirit birth brew but it might be impossible

>>46487207
>Brews that work along the soul-link.

>>46487207
Could we make a brew that harnesses or absorbs the energy generated by souls? I'd also like to do someone with the spiritual matter that makes up our spiritbane. Hom would be helpful with this stuff.

>>46487301
Maybe something that turns our spiritbane into a pseudo-spirit. Like modifying our mindbalm to grow spirit tissue instead of soul tissue. It could use the energy from our soul like a spirit riding a humans body.

>>46487207
>Work on translating your current soul brews to spirits and spiders.

>>46487207
>Work on translating your current soul brews to spirits and spiders.

>>46487335
Temporary spirit powers would be sorta nice but wouldn't that burn up our soul as fuel?

reminder that anti-hiss could really use a body.

>>46487509
Why do we want to give a form to the harbinger of the apocalypse?

>>46487542
Because we swore to and if we do not she'll just take over Hiss again.

>>46487509
We could really use some caster brews too

>Work on translating your current soul brews to spirits and spiders.

Eva didn't like this subject but Hom ended up proving more useful than her anyway. That ended up motivating her enough to contribute all the same. Pique can be a strong force if harnessed correctly after all.

All of your soul brews can now affect spirits and spiders although you wish you had a more technical term than just calling the denizens of the Art Heart that. What do they call themselves? Wizards? Probably not.

In addition to altering all of your existing brews you also had the time to create one more.

>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).

>Soulfire: This brew creates a link between all who drink from it, sapping the mental energy of the first and providing it to the others. This can help feed spirits.

>Advanced Thoughtbrew: You have created a potion that can think! Well, not really. It's not very smart and all it does is rattle off brief bursts of cognizance but it briefly generates mental energy as a soul does.

>Soulcurdle: Drinking this creates an effect similar to the Spiritbane but you haven't been able to fully replicate that just yet. Instead it makes the soul not invulnerable but painful for others to touch. Side effects may include faint depression for the drinker.

>Oblivion Brew: Drinking this potion instantly destroys all non-native souls and mental energy currently occupying the dreamer's body.

>Specify a different brew idea!

>>46487207
>>Homunculi creation brews.

>>46487581
>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).
Fuck I want more than just this one

>>46487542
Because she geassed us to do it and if we don't she destroys us and tries to usurp Hiss again.

>>46487581
>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).

>>46487581
>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).
Weren't they called art guardians by Naja?

>>46487581
Something that drastically increases the mental energy produced by a soul

>>46487581
>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).
We really need a power source brew too...

>>46487581
>>46487716
I like this. Some sort of mind potence

File: ExoticSnakeArts.gif (928 KB, 500x282)

928 KB GIF

>>46487114
He hasn't shown it to you yet.

Calling it for Spiritbalm by the way.

So you guys remember how mindbalm is an important ingredient in making our homunculi? If we replaced it with spiritbalm we could possibly create a pseudo spirit of our own with it.

>>46487809
>implying plot won't get in the way of our alchemy

>Spiritbalm: Made with mindbalm and snake blood as its primary ingredients this brew works like Mindbalm only it can grow spirit tissue even from things that aren't technically spirits but are related (like a Bane).

The Spiritbalm should be useful as a base for further experimentation in the future and while you feel tempted to drink it and see what happens to your Bane your self-experiments with the treebrews are still fresh in your mind. No thanks. Not yet anyway.

But you weren't the only one hard at work. Eva and Hom both eventually produced a brew of their own!
Eva ends up creating the Soulcurdle, nothing too imaginative but very useful and a perfectly created brew.

Hom makes something a little stranger. Obviously he is unable to explain what it is so it takes you an Identification Potion to understand what he's done.
It appears to be a brew that slowly subdues the soul of those who drink it, temporarily isolating it from the body it is contained within and trapping it in complete sensory deprivation.
Despite it being his own creation, Hom refuses to touch it.

You managed to learn both, though you'll need to come up with a name for Hom's at some point.

That little period of experimentation was but a brief respite during your week unfortunately. The rest of the time you were hard at work moving and creating additional alchemical supplies for Hiss' army. Arduous work even with Eva and Hom and you go to sleep every night completely spent, run out of Art and feeling like a wrung sponge.
That Hiss enacts her painful revenge on you every other night for what you did to her previously doesn't help the exhaustion either.

You do squeeze in the time to restock every now and then. Nowhere near enough for full experimentation but you brew additional potions here and there, stocking up as best you can.

>Restock!
>Choose 12 potions. You can choose multiples of the same brew.

Oh and you should probably specify what you want to put in your bandoleer. You have three empty spots in that thing nowadays.

>>46488028
Heal All 4, 2 bando'd
Potence 2, 1 bando'd
Treebrew
Snakebreaker
Primer brews 2
Rumpleskin
Regeneration

>>46488028
That's fucked up Hom. Channeling your time in the bottle I suppose.

>>46488028
It should be called a sufferbrew, clearly.
heal-all x4 1 in bandoleer
soulgrasp x1
potence x2
regen x2
weakening cloud x2
snakebreaker x1
fuck thats a pain in the ass

>>46488028
What about the cloister brew?
2 snakebreaker
2 soulsight
1 Potence
3 knockout
4 heal all

>>46488110
Soul Desolation?

>>46488028
Champion brew x2 both in bandoleer
Heal-all x4 1 in bandoleer
soulsight x1
weakening cloud x2
knockout brew x2
regen x1

>>46488187
Soul Deprivation?

Whatever you guys pick, I'd like an acid potion to clean out our caster. Proper preventive maintenance may save our life.

>>46487581
Just so you know advanced thoughtbrew already exists, its the one that allows for memory implantation

>>46488233
We've already got one. Might be too strong and damage the caster though, who knows

>>46488099
I'll second this for the sake of forward progress

fuck guys we've had bart's soul bottled up for like a month now

Sorry for the delay on this one, was eating a late breakfast.

>Heal All 4, 2 bando'd
>Potence 2, 1 bando'd
>Treebrew
>Snakebreaker
>Primer brews 2
>Rumpleskin
>Regeneration

Somehow you found the time to restock yourself as best you could. The new pack Orange got for you isn't anywhere near as good as the one Blue destroyed but you'll make do. You always do.

Now, it's been a full week since Oster left you when that fateful call came down the line. Where were you when it happened?

>Talking to Hiss about strategy.

>Trying to settle things with Aashenpreet one final time.

>Making sure you have Blue locked down and safe.

>Teaching your homunculi.

>Talking to Zigzag and Orange.

>You were alone.

>Other

>>46488421
>Talking to Zigzag and Orange.

>>46488421
>Trying to settle things with Aashenpreet one final time.
fuck are we really nearing the final battle? I miss how we used to travel

>>46488421
>>Trying to settle things with Aashenpreet one final time.
Might as well try to defuse this bomb now.

>>46488421
>Trying to settle things with Aashenpreet one final time.
I'd like to discuss strategy if I knew anything about it

>>46488455
yep and we're about to bad end hard since If we don't have Naja's body done by quest end we die via her geass nuking our soul.

>>46488402
He's a wizard, he can deal with it

>>46488421
So eva isn't dependent upon blue's venom anymore right?

>>46488520
Correct.

>>46488421
>Talking to Zigzag and Orange.

>>46488421

>Talking to Zigzag and Orange.

>Trying to settle things with Aashenpreet one final time.

"...Look, I gave you Zukhdeep didn't I?"

Aashenpreet looks away from you. She's sitting by a cart far from the rest of the host hugging her knees to her chest. Zukhdeep is draped around her shoulders protectively.
She's given up any attempt to look Teln at all, having returned to the dark-skinned Quedeshi priestess that she first assumed. You suppose it's what she's most comfortable with. Maybe you should just be happy that she still restrains herself to human size.
"I don't want to talk about it."

"I thought he'd help. I thought he was going to make you better."

"He...he is. But that doesn't change what you did and it doesn't mend our trust. How could I ever forget that?"

You sigh.
"If there's anything I can do-"

Aashenpreet looks you in the eye for the first time in days. Zukhdeep hisses something inaudible, the little gossamer snake having learned from his adopted mother quickly. He doesn't want anything to do with you either.
"Release me," Aashenpreet says. "Take these chains from off my neck before you leave and maybe I'll find it in my heart to forgive you."

She's talking about the wish-bond of course. And it might be practical to do so. You don't know when but the odds are that you'll be in a pretty dangerous situation soon. A situation that Aashenpreet will be compelled to help you in.


>Make a wish (Specify)

>Find her a Serpentbane.

>"What, don't you want to protect me?"

> "Only if you promise not to run away."

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>46488679
Ah, sorry about that! I didn't see your vote until I had finished writing everything up. My bad. I'll see if I can introduce the other option as well in the near future.

>>46488719
>>"What, don't you want to protect me?"

>>46488719
Would a serpentbane cut her connection to Zukhdeep? If not we already have like five in our inventory,

>>46488719
>>Make a wish (Specify)
Wish for the regular snake alchemy reagents.

>>46488719
Wish for two completely inconsequential things like one to blink and one to smile

>>46488719
>Find her a Serpentbane.
As long as it won't break bloodkin links

>>46488719
> "Only if you promise not to run away."

>>46488719
First wish to make her tell us one thing she would like for us to wish for. Then make that the second wish.

>>46488719
>"What will you do when you're free?"

>>46488962
>>46488719

Sure that seems fun.

>>46488719
>Find her a Serpentbane.
We let Oster run off to risk his neck for the same reason we should let her go.

>Make some inconsequential wishes.

Well if this is what she wants...
And besides, you feel sort of uncomfortable having kept one of your best friends as an unwilling prisoner like this. She probably won't try to hurt herself anymore.

"What do you want me to wish for?"

"For you to truly understand what you've done to me, Cennen."

"Uh, I don't think I can wish for that. It has to be with you."

"Then I don't care. Just don't touch me."

"I wish for a lock of your hair."
She pulls a curl of hair out and only grunts in pain a little as she hands it to you. Some extra reagents at least. She's standing beside you now and she remains silent, her eyes boring into yours as she waits for your final wish. Her expression is hard and cold.

"Fuck. I wish you'd smile."

She wrinkles her nose but then that fades as she gives you an earnest grin. For just the briefest moment all of her worry and sorrow seems to fade away and you are faced with a window back to the past, to the Aashenpreet you used to know. But maybe it can be like that again?

Your hopes fall as quickly as Aashenpreet's smile does a few seconds later. She gives you a curt nod and turns her back to you. You can't help but note that Zukhdeep loops back around her shoulders to keep an eye on you as she does so.
She doesn't trust you not to try and do something to her when her back is turned.

"Thank you," she says flatly. "That will be all. You may leave now."

"Aash, is there anything I can do? Anything at all?"

"I'm sorry," Aashenpreet says and remains as she is, letting all you see of her be the back of her head.
"I'm not allowed to talk to humans."

Zukhdeep hisses at you.


>Leave without saying a word.

>Grab Zukhdeep.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Keep trying to argue with you.

>Say something (Specify)

>Nobble.

>Pet snake.

>Other (Specify)

>>46489113
>Leave without saying a word.

>>46489113
I could probably understand what I've done to you better if you would talk to me about it. If that's what you really want. I know apologies won't work but I really am sorry and I still consider you to be one of my most important friends.

>>46489179
Anon stop we know exactly what we did, she's told us repeatedly. This will not be fixed.

>>46489179
I like this except for the apology, we showed her the truth, the souls screaming in agony. We knew it would hurt her, but we also knew it would hurt her far more if she succeed in forming some new Teln branch of her faith and then found out. at this point she just fed a single human to a predator and doomed his soul, what would she have felt knowing she had lead hundreds to that fate and we said nothing?

>>46489228
She just wished for us to truly understand what we've done to her so I just want to see what she means by that.

>>46489256
All this is going to do is piss her off and likely punch us.

>>46489113
I'll always treasure the good times we had together. I hope I'll see you again but if not I hope you'll be able to keep seeing the world and find happiness.

>>46489288
you guys voted for dealing with this now instead of later. Now that we started it we need to deal with or its just going to drive a deeper wedge between our self and our only real potential ally outside Hiss among the snakes and Hiss has horrible impulse control.

>>46489113
Help me truly understand what I've done to you.

>>46489256
We showed her undeniable evidence that brought down a dogma she'd held central for most of her life. A non religious person like cennen couldn't understand what Aash is going trough. Her faith was everything she ever had, and it's gone because of him.

>>46489422
I know. I just want her to talk about it.

>Say something

"Maybe I could understand it better if you talked to me about it."
You almost feel like apologizing again but you've already done that to her so many times that you doubt another would do anything.

"What," she says slowly, "would you know bout this? What would you know about faith?"

"I just want to talk to you about it. I may not have faith in a religion but we've talked about this before. I have faith in Hiss and in the idea that we can all build more towers than those we help knock down. That in the long run we-"

"Oh shut up."
Aash still isn't looking at you but her tone has changed from flat to absolutely withering.
"What you have isn't faith, Cennen. It's justifications! And you don't even live up to them? What have you built lately? You're just like her."

"Aas-"

"No. You really are just another Hiss. One that's too cowardly to own up to themselves. You and her, you're both the same. You're both ugly inside and wherever you see beauty or purity or faith you do your best to tear it down! As if you need the whole world to be as ugly as you or her just so it would finally fit you. When you see people who are good or have faith or do things out of charity or righteousness it falls to you and Hiss to imagine awful motivations behind every good act. You can't even conceive of what you're lacking! You just want to tear it down!"

"Aash you're not making any sense."

"You're Hiss Cennen! And you always have been. She wouldn't be here without you and you wouldn't be here without her. And yes, what she does disgusts you but only because you're so self-deluded. You're every bit to blame as she is! You've become entirely her creature and...I guess that makes sense. After all, you're only human. It was foolish of me to expect you to be anything but base."

She starts to walk away. She's not going anywhere in particular but it's clear she just wants to get away from you.
"Now be a good little human and run along back to the snake who owns you."
1/2

>>46489625
Have we told her about Oster yet?

>>46489625
She spits off to the side as she contemplates that.
"What are you waiting for? Don't you have some children to make into orphans so that you can cry inside about how doing that hurts YOU so much but it's for the noble cause and you didn't have a choice? So go along now. You and Hiss still have so much damage left to do."

>Do as she says.

>Tell her about Oster.

>Leave her be but find someone else to talk to instead of Hiss.

>Nobble.

>Point out her hypocrisy.

>Other

>>46489708
>Tell her about Oster.

>>46489708
>>Tell her about Oster.
>Point out her hypocrisy.
The society you laud above all others, the one that made your faith, does all this and worse. You claim righteousness? Why because that false religion designed to make humans worship snakes tell you you're always right? You claim charity? When eating the soul and torturing it forever makes you 'kind' and fill your gullet? I may am a monster, but at least I am trying to be better and drag everyone else up to a better place, even if I fuck up in a myriad of ways. You? When someone shows you what you really believe in are a group of people so bad even Hiss at worst is kinder, you snap at that person and claim that the snakes were still in the right.

>>46489708
>>Tell her about Oster.
I'm not sure if its a good idea to point out her hypocrisy, given cennen is pretty hypocritical, however i do think he has to genuinely stand up for his position, difficult though it may be to defend.

>>46489708
>>46489811
I will support saying something to that effect.

>>46489708
>Point out her hypocrisy.
Call me a monster, will you, for robbing you the ability to torture more souls and think yourself good? Perhaps you should ask me to wish you back into your beautiful lie.

>>46489708
>Point out her hypocrisy.
You were controlled by your religion much more than I am controlled by Hiss. I hope you find happiness your own way now that you know the truth. My only crime is how I attacked and captured you, which I do feel bad for. I was angry. But all I did after that was show you the truth.

>>46489708
>"Oh fuck you, Aash! This all started because I was trying to save Hiss and everyone else from herself, just like I saved you back on quedesh. And yes, I did an awful job, like you and everyone else keeps reminding me. I wanted to make her something good and in the end I became an accopmlice, but at least I'm fucking trying!"
>Point out her hypocrisy.
>Tell her about Oster.

>>46489980
Let's try to stay calm and avoid insults anon

>>46490098
Wanted to try snapping at her a little, since she's so eager to get a rise out of cennen.

>Point out her hypocrisy

Oh no, you're not going to take that lying down. Not this time. You do your best follow her.

"Fuck off Aash! The ones behind your 'faith' do all this and worse! You claim righteousness only because your false religion tells you you;re always right? And you try to claim charity when you preach that eating humans is not just good but kind? I showed you the truth and I do not regret that! I'm only here because I was trying to save Hiss and everyone else from herself, just like, funnily enough, I saved YOU back in Quedesh. And mayb-"

Aashenpreet swivels on her left foot and spins to face you, slapping you across the face as you do so.
You let out a muffled scream as you hit the ground and your head is ablaze with pain. Oh fuck oh fuck. Is your jaw broken?

Aashenpreet looks down at you with shock for a moment before she deliberately clouds her expression. You try to stand back up but she holds out her hand, stopping your rise with a single finger to your aching forehead and pushing you back down into a kneeling position. You wobble back and forth and have trouble thinking straight.

Aashenpreet takes a few seconds to collect herself.
"I'm not going to apologize for that Cennen. And neither am I going to trouble myself with the words of human barbarians. You don't have your wish forcing me to heed your idiotic words any longer. Now,..."

She flicks you on the forehead and your ears ring before speaking loudly and slowly as you might to a particularly stupid dog.
"Sit. Stay. And LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Her sudden shout draws the eyes of everyone nearby and you can see her flush. Moisture glimmers in her eyes as she hurries away.

>Use your newfound plant abilities to strike back.

>Just leave it for now.

>Nobble

>"Sorry I rescued you."

>"You're a lot better at being Hiss than I thought."

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Fuck, you need a drink.

>Other

>>46490197
>Just leave it for now.

>>46490197
>>Use your newfound plant abilities to strike back.
>"You're a lot better at being Hiss than I thought."
The arrogance and entitlement was just buried a lot deeper.

>>46490197
>Just leave it for now.
Let her brew in what all's happened today. Drink a heal-all for our jaw and maybe a treebrew to not be such a pussy.

>>46490197
>Just leave it for now.
Heal-all time. We've made our point

>>46490197
>"Sorry I rescued you."
>Tell her about Oster, not that she'd care
>Fuck, you need a drink.

>>46490261
Taking a hit from a member of the strongest kind of snake doesn't make us a pussy. And a treebrew would just make our clothes too small again.

>>46490326
Well, the ability to get knocked around at all is pissing me off. It's in our power to become stronger and we're putting it off because our friends will protect us or something.

>>46490358
Treebrew would hardly help with that at all. We can already increase our muscle mass whenever we feel like it if we really want to be stronger.

>>46490398
okay, well maybe some more persistent potence potions then.

>>46490197
this is the line and this is where we push it. otherwise we basically prove her misconception right that snakes are superior and dominant to humans.

>Use your newfound plant abilities to strike back.
Plant it up but don't Strike as in physically. Preach! We traversed the vail into the Dreaming itself, returned with a Spirit, the promordial kind, not one the half mad cast offs left behind by the creator. we walked the guardian threads and peered into the Art hear itself and left it be, we faced down a new born goddess the pinnacle of her entire faith, the only one of her kind to ever ascend. Be ready for her to throw down but focus on defence. Shes our friend but sometimes you have to smack a friend down.

maybe knock back the new spirit brew?

>>46490433
She's in no mood to hear anything we would say. Leave her alone as she asked, she'll get less moody as time goes on.

>>46490197
>Just leave it for now.

>>46490197
>>46490433
I'll agree to this sentiment, I think she's trying to convince herself that this kind of behavior is natural and good.

Calling it for
>Just leave it for now.

Writan'

>>46490479
She's hurt you dummy, and she's still angry about her whole life being upended. Didn't you note the tears in her eyes? She will regret what she did soon.

>>46490295
>>46490261
>>46490239
>>46490319

I miss the Cennen with balls. Ever since we lost that level of princess it feels like a lot of players want to just throw a pity party every other thread. Preferring pussing out and backing down unless its and imminent death scenario.

>>46490532
We've already made our point heard. Attacking her would help nothing.

>>46490467
SHe is! shes all bluster right now, she complained about our only having "Justifications" and not "Faith" while if we back off or physically attack her she is Justifying her own actions and proving to herself that her old beliefs weren't wrong even if they weren't righteous.

>>46490532
>pussing out and backing down
I suppose we should just beat our opinion into her, and turn into an abuser ourself?

>>46490582
If she perpeturates the same stupid beliefs after she calms down then I'm in favor of mindfucking her into accepting the truth. But chances are she's just still grieving and you're being dense.

>>46490589

There is a difference between standing up for our self and all human kind and beating her. Also shes the one hitting us! Her faith is broken and she blames us and is lashing out. we need to press the issue or it will fester and she will either leave or kill herself.

>>46490589
>just talking
>she hits us
>We're the abuser
The fuck are you on anon?

>>46490646
Odds are she'll just leave and either get herself killed our make things much worse later.

>>46490654
At what point does 'broken faith' and 'lashing out' sound like 'ready to listen to Cennen, or anyone else'?

>Just leave it for now.

You let yourself slump back and lie down amidst the dust. Fuck that hurts.
"I'm not sorry," you grunt at her retreating back but you don't pursue her. You've gotten to that point where you're both just talking past each other and just getting angrier and angrier each time. But why can't she understand you? You understand her just fine! Don't you?

You settle for just glaring at her back as she stomps off.

When she's vanished out of sight you get to your feet with a grumble. Fuck, that hurts. Thankfully nothing seems to be broken but you start preparing a Heal-All just to be sure.

You are acutely aware of everyone nearby staring at you after Aashenpreet started shouting and it makes you feel on edge.
"Go away!," you snap when a pair of shadows pass over your cauldron.

"Now is that a way to thank me after I got you that backpack?"

"I don't know Orange, Cennen has moods. It might be to leave him until he stops acting so weird."

You look up from where you'd been squatting by the cauldron to see Zigzag and Orange standing over you. Since when did they start accompanying each other?

>Invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.

>You do need somebody to talk to but not these ones. Seek out Hiss.

>"Do you mind? I'd rather just be alone right now."

>"Since when do you two hang out?"

>Other

>>46490589
Depends on whether you count all the antics of the forced wishbond as abuse or not.

>>46490724
>"Since when do you two hang out?"

>>46490724
>Invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.
>"Since when do you two hang out?"

>>46490700
We're the one who passed the point of politeness and harassed her after she indicated >>46489113
here that she wanted to be left alone. We hounded her until she lashed back at us, and everyone here thinks they're the victim.

>>46490724
>>Apologize for the outburst, invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.

>>46490724
>"Since when do you two hang out?"
>Invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.
>Alcohol.

>>46490724
>"Since when do you two hang out?"
Fuck, this whole thing with Aash is super depressing. She was one of my favorite characters.

>>46490724
>"Since when do you two hang out?"


>>46490755
Oh yes the "If we're not politically correct we're abusive" argument. That we can't ever say bad things to someone and have to listen and obey everything that they say or we're a monster. Christ get your head out of your ass.

>>46490724
>"Do you mind? I'd rather just be alone right now."

>>46490799
Hiss will probably want to have a word with her after learning she laid a hand on us

>>46490823
She didn't want to talk, we talked at her. I'm not saying her hitting us was good, but she's very vulnerable right now, yet people seem to think talking at her is going to work or something.

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>>46490799
I like her but I also hate her. Its complicated. Same with basically every character in this quest.

>>46490724

>"Do you mind? I'd rather just be alone right now."
been a while since we had a good mope, despite there being ample reason to.


>>46490823
i don't really have a stake in this argument but there's also that time cennen assaulted her and captured her against her will, that probably qualifies as abusive.

>>46490874
I think it was a talk that needed to happen. I think she's a good enough person to forgive us eventually after thinking about it for a while

>>46490874
Wants=/=needs anon. Like we don't want into the middle east, get serious, and wage war on ISIL but we damn well need too.


>>46490890
It is but that anon was saying TALKING to her was being abusive. Giving her a talk she needed very badly.

>>46490799
its because everyone keeps poking the giant carnivorous predator and then pussing out when she bares her teeth.

>>46490724
>"Since when do you two hang out?"
>Invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.

The second if we don't spaghetti over the first.

>>46490874
I think she lost the moral high ground and now she knows it. Possible progress towards reconciliation.

>>46490904
It was a talk that needed to happen when she was ready to listen. She's so distraught she tried to kill herself, but fuck giving her time to calm down, oh no, that's a fucking sin.
>>46490922
Fuck your needs nigger. She turns back into a supremacist we can mindrape her into agreeing with us, or kill her. We're choosing this conflict right now, for what reason I don't know.

>>46490923
We already won the argument anon. Fighting her would weaken our position. I want to be friends with her again.

>>46490968
It had been weeks since the suicide attempt.

>>46490990
So what? Depression can be extremely long-lasting.

>"Since when do you two hang out?"
>Invite them to sit down. You could use somebody to talk to right now.

You peer at them blearily. Zigzag looks as oblivious as ever while Orange is definitely cringing a little. He knows what was going on or a little of it at least. Not a good look.
"Oi," you mumble. "Since when did you two start hanging out together?"
You've barely seen them in the same room before.

"What's wrong with it? We're just frien-"

Orange's rushed explanation is cut off by Zigzag stepping in front of him and smiling.
"We're having sex now! It's fun."

You just stare at the two of them. Really? Well...fuck it! Why not? That's easily the least awful thing you've seen all day. You can't bring yourself to care.
"Uh, neat. You guys want to sit down? Sorry about snapping at you like that."

Zigzag sits down without a second thought and Orange joins her a moment later.
"So," Orange says awkwardly. "You want to tell us what that was all about?"

You pinch your forehead and give them an overview of what's been going on between you and Aashenpreet.
Orange lets out a low whistle.
"Sounds rough man."

"I don't really get it," Zigzag says. "Are you going to eat Aashenpreet?"

"What? Oh. No! No. I don't do that Ziggy."

Orange just looks at the two of you and nods.
"I think I might have something that can help."
He reaches into his blouse and rummages around until he pulls out a bottle of wine.
"Some of my new assistants introduced me to this. It helps me sleep at night."

>Accept his offer.

>No thanks. You need to keep a clear head.

>>46491155
>>No thanks. You need to keep a clear head.

>>46491155
>Accept his offer.

>>46491155
>No thanks. You need to keep a clear head.
"I'll work through it. Thank you for the offer though, really."

>>46491155
>>No thanks. You need to keep a clear head.
Orange, Think about it. I am by even my own accounting a crazy alchemist. Alcohol, which can be found in wine, lower inhibitions and muddles thoughts. Do you REALLY want me to be drunk when the day is not done? That's asking for me to do something that'd scare the fuck out of a sober me, much less anyone else in the area. Thanks for the offer though.

>>46491155
>>Accept his offer.
fine teleran table wine, do it

>>46491155
>Accept his offer.
I've noticed that quest players are almost always against drinking. Pretty lame. Cennen needs to relax every once in a while.

>>46491248
Relaxation is for people that aren't assassination/manipulation targets, the weak, and other snakefood.

>>46491248
Because us drunk means we either turn into a tree monster, or make some sort of alchemical blunder, or get eaten by a snake.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Looks like a tie. Even is accepting odds is turning him down.

>>46491248
its been a character element that he doesn't drink alcohol and the one time we did we got blackout drunk. now is not the time for being without our faculties.

>No thanks. You need to keep a clear head.

You don't like to drink, something that makes you a little bit of an oddity among many of your peers. Or at least, it would make you an oddity among them if you ever spent any time with them as opposed to man-eating snakes. Oster's ribbed you about it before but you just don't like surrendering your faculties. Your life is dangerous enough as it is.
"Nah mate, I'll work through it. Thank you for the offer though really."

Orange shrugs.
"More for me then."
He takes a swig right out of the bottle. He chokes just a little and Zigzag laughs. You let yourself smile and sit back just a little more. You can relax here.

"How are you two doing anyway?"

You drink your Heal-All and let yourself drift just a little as Orange regales you with the apparently huge amount of work Hiss has been having him do while Zigzag sits awkwardly to the side and makes useless comments.

"...And that's why I had to throw Ziggy out of my tent, she wouldn't stop interrupting my work."

Zigzag narrows her eyes.
"Fine. Next time you can be the woman and I'll be the man and we'll see how much you like it THEN."

You raise an eyebrow. You'd sort of zoned out for the past half an hour but that got your attention.
"You've been doing that?"

"Once," Orange says, blushing.

"It's not like either human gender is really accurate to us," Zigzag says. "Orange cares about it a bit more than I do but I convinced him."

"Uhuh."
You're actually not sure what a male Zigzag would look like.

"Come on Orange, show him your girl form."

"No! Get your hands off me!"

"I kind of like the male role," Zigzag continues. "It's pretty fun to have a big-"

"Okay okay," you say, waving your hands in front of her face. "I've heard enough. I don't need to know that much detail."

"Well Cennen you're always welcome to join us!"

"I didn't agree to that!"

"Aw come on Orange, it's not like its weirder than that time you asked me to shapeshift into the Queen."

1/2

>>46491648
Orange has good taste. I wouldn't recommend letting Hiss know about that though.

>>46491648
>>46491719
I'm expecting Cennen to Spike up at that.

>>46491648
You stare balefully at Orange who raises his hands defensively in front of him.
"That never happened."

You look back at Zigzag who...doesn't seem to be lying. But then again you know she's learned the dangerous secrets of aggravating people, she might just be telling a complete lie to fluster both of you.
She's learned all of this too well.

"You know what? I actually really don't want to know about that. Do what you want together! But please stop telling me about how turn into Hiss or have a dick or whatever. Please."

"I wonder if I could do both at the same time..."

"Ziggy no. You stop that right now and leave me and Orange alone."

Zigzag chuckles maliciously before curling up into a foetal position and apparently falling dormant entirely.
Orange breathes a sigh of relief.
"Please don't listen to her. Most of that didn't happen."

You note the usage of the word 'most'.
"No worries, that's why we're here right? We both have things we'd rather forget."

"I'll drink to that," Orange says and promptly does so.
"But you shouldn't be so surprised at what the cripple's done."

"Oh? Are you here to heap blame upon me too?"

"No, not on you anyway. But you're Hiss' man. We both are. Most people here are. And she's...she's," Orange slurs just a little. "She's on a path against the world you know? Us vs them. Surely you know by now that staying by her side means forsaking everyone else. It was only a matter of time."

"Yeah I guess so. Does it really have to be that way though?"

Orange makes a non-committal gesture.
"Beats me, I'm six years old! The Queen is like, twice my age. But maybe if you give her time she'll come around."

"Wait, when you say that do you mean Aashenpreet will come around or Hiss will?"

"Both? I've got to be honest with you, I'm drunk."

"Fair enough. Well, I can't stay here brooding forever. You two have fun."

"We'll try."
Orange hefts Zigzag's curled up form into his lap, banging her head against a rock as he does so.
2/3

>>46491867
"Oh and Orange," you say as you get up. "Think you're being a bit silly there. Hiss is way older than that!"

Orange mumbles something inaudible as you pack up and leave.
Well that was a strange experience but...you do feel a little better. It's a wonder what having two honestly friendly people around will do when you haven't had any for so long.
Eva and Hom don't count.

As you walk back to your wagon, you notice some kind of commotion up ahead. A message being passed along the line.
"The river! The river's up ahead. Present arms and prepare for battle!"

Oh shit, already? But you're not even at Taldenral yet! Everyone is running to and fro and among them you spot the snakes moving as one, all trickling up towards an isolated spot near the front of the host.
Why there?

>Follow them.

>Seek out Hiss. For orders if nothing else.

>Find Aashenpreet.

>Other

>>46491962
>Follow them.
Time to show off that lovely caster we've designed.

>>46491962
Wait is there some reason we should find Aash right now?

>>46492001
Maybe if you think we need our nose rearranged. She's enjoying her privacy.

>>46491962
>Follow them.

By the way sorry about the huge delay on that update. Been awake since midnight and I'm starting to really slow down and typo the shit out of things now.

>>46491962
Do we have the caster at hand? When we do
>Follow them

>>46492033
No worries, it was a pretty huge update so it probably should take a while.

>>46491962
>>Follow them.

>>46491962
>Seek out Hiss. For orders if nothing else.

>>46491962
>>Find Aashenpreet.
just cause its an option i guess.

also shame we missed out on going into battle drunk.

>>46492033
Damn Ouro I hope your sleep schedule gets fixed soon

>>46492001
Maybe to make sure she doesn't get involved in the fighting? She can just hide with camouflage somewhere though.

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>>46492129

>>46491962
>Pop a Champion Elixir and Potence
>Seek out Hiss. For orders if nothing else.

>Follow them

You unpack the Caster out from your bag as you follow the snakes, picking them out of from the humans and the dead by their direction and their artificiality. Most of the ones not in the vanguard never really learned to be completely convincing after all and the signs are there for those who know what they're looking for.
But not for long you imagine. Give them a little bit more time and they'll be as natural as anyone else. Sort of scary.

You follow them carefully and while they see you, none of them seem to object to your presence. They know who you are and as long as you hang back they aren't worried.

And so it's not too long before you find yourself hanging around the edges of a small grove in the forest a fair distance away from the road. There's a large clearing here and it is filled with snakes in human form. They're just milling about and talking to one another, as if they're waiting for something.
You think you know who.

And sure enough, Hiss marches in from the opposite direction just a few moments later and flanked by the living dead. She claps her hands as she enters.
"Oi! What do you call this! Get! In! Line!"

To your surprise the assorted serpents do actually get into a vague approximation of a parade-ground formation. Almost military.
Hiss smirks and her proprietary gaze sweeps over all of them.
And you, there in the back.

For some reason you get the idea you want to stay hidden from her for now.

>Roll a d100 for stealth, choosing the highest of the first three.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>46492498

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>46492498
Our rolls have been pure shit lately

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>46492498
guide us, dice gods

inb4 slaughtering a town for no reason at all

>>46492655
Man I just wanna fight some spirits

>77

Fortunately Hiss isn't looking around TOO hard. She's surveying her subjects, not trying to root out anyone who's not supposed to be here. Are you supposed to be here? You're not sure and you're equally unsure of why you chose to hide behind a tree.
You crouch down behind it and feel your skin start to turn into bark as leaves and little branches bud off of you to obscure your form. And so Hiss' gaze passes over you.

With the snakes now in line, Hiss stands atop a fallen tree. It looks fresh. She probably knocked it over herself.
"My loyal subjects," she begins. "The time has come. Even now we stand before the Kuri River. The human king has predicted our movements and has placed his army right on the other side of the Kuri in preparation of our crossing. He knows the Kuri for what it is. A formidable natural barrier. He thinks that he can catch us as we cross the river and destroy us. He has additional armies that have already crossed upstream and are poised to sweep around our side and catch us from behind as we break against his river defences. That is his plan and it is good one for I have travelled the Kuri multiple times and I can tell you that to cross it without boats or bridges and with an army either side...it is nearly impossible."

Murmurs of discontent are already drifting through the serpent ranks. Snakes aren't particularly well suited to just being grunts after all. You know better than most that they're going to speak their mind and particularly after what Hiss just said. But Hiss doesn't seem to care about their response.

"So you agree then? You agree with a piddling human usurper?"
Silence briefly falls.
"He comes at us with strategies that one human would use to fight another human. He insults us! We are not mere humans! We are stronger, we are better, we are greater! He will invite us onto the anvil but the hammer will not fall upon our scales! Do you want to know how I even know about these plans of his? Do you?"
1/2

>>46492783
Damn Cennen is perfectly suited for sneaky forest missions

>>46492695
large scale war is fine too.

>>46492783
i wonder what the reveal is

>>46492924
A seer? Farsight brews? There's some snake art that lets her predict what someone will do if she has a bit of their soul.

>>46492783
"The general of the army that has already crossed ahead of us, the one that waits to roll back and trap us, he is already ours! He was devoured and replaced by the vanguard nearly a full month ago. His army will be joining us!"

"But the river..."
One of the more unfortunate snakes in the front row mumbles. He clearly wasn't intending to say it out loud but the silence after Hiss finished left his words naked and out in the open.

Hiss seized on it, leaping off the log and towering over him.
"What river?" she bellows right in his face. "We're snakes aren't we? We can swim it! And for the rest who cannot we are already liberating the ships of the downstream dock. And as for the defences upon the river? What they could possibly do to us? We but have to shout loudly enough and the humans will BREAK!"

Hiss punctuates her sentence with a slow rattle, one that bounces through the trees and wants to make you flee for your life. You resist it but you can't help but notice it has a similar effect on the assorted snakes. They are under her power.
"But I understand some of your concerns. Do not mistake me for a cruel Queen nor an uncaring one. I know that some of you speak behind my back about such things. Some of you even whisper of rebellion. And I can understand that. I am throwing you all into danger. But what I can't understand is what happened to all of your pride!"
Her voice, having sunk suddenly soft for but a few moments, screeches back up to maximum volume as she practically berates those in the front line.

"Do you know what Teleran is? Or have you forgotten that too? We shake our heads and refer to it all as 'human lands' and that just reveals how far we've sunk! This isn't their land! This is OUR land! Do you remember that? Back before the Creator punished us unjustly, we were each of us kings and queens. Emperors! The world and all life in it belonged to us! And Teleran, Teleran was our capital. This miserable island was the seat of our power!"
1/2

>>46492989
i dunno, the way cennen is hiding makes it seem probable that its more sinister

>>46493005
Won't the snakes get too cold to do much while they swim the river?

>>46493005
WE WUZ KINGZ

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>>46493005
OVERCONFIDENCE!

>>46493005
"Of course, it was different back then. These humans were different. Back in the age of dragons this island was inhabited by an entirely different race of mortal. They worshipped us and built cities for us and fed us with their souls and bodies. Do any of you remember what they were called? Or what they looked like? Have you seen any of their ancient ruins anywhere save the middle of the desert? No? Of course not! Because we wiped them all out! They did nothing but serve us and we hunted them to extinction simply because we could! And we did this because we were lords, we could do anything we wished and devour whatever we wanted. Can you imagine that kind of power? That freedom? I doubt you can. Because all of you chose the way of the false Serpent Kings before me and cowered in the forest of the lands we used to own. Lands we used to drench in blood as we wished we now surrendered to these new human squatters without even a fight! We're not conquering anything today! We're just taking back what is ours from those who never had the right to own it! Are you just going to let them do that? Let humans who didn't even originally COME from this land rule it?"

"No!"
The outcry starts off small but increases as more and more serpents get into it. There's energy in the air between them.

"Are you just going to slither back into the forest and let that scum piss all over our birthright?"

"NO!"

"Are you going to cower back in fear that I might be leading you somewhere unsafe? If you are, feel free to leave now! Go back to the forest! Go back and be nothing but a beast while the rest of us take back what is ours! Didn't you hear me! GO!"

She waits but none of the snakes move.

"Excellent. Are we not the superior species?"

"YES!"

"Wrong! We were...once. But the day we decided to stay in Snakehome and let humans breed all over our homeland was when we forfeited the right to call ourselves that."
3/4

>>46493181
>killing humans for fun
hiss you better be misleading them and not us

>>46493240
more of a rhetorical device than an overt suggestion, still plenty of speech left though

>>46493240
I'm pretty sure this is just bravado to get them all riled up for battle... I hope.

>>46493240
if not, well there's always that danger flask.

>>46493181
"When we chose to live as nothing but beasts, that was when we forfeited that right! We exiled the constrictors but they had the right idea! For a time they remained true serpents! As am I! I entered the human lands and took whatever I wanted while the rest of you hid back home. None of you are worthy of our ancestral home! But today is when you change that! We will never be dragons again but we don't have to be! After today you will live their lives once more! You will become worthy and we will become truly superior when the human 'lords' bow before us! We will return the times of old and the traitor-spirits will weep and the Creator will turn his eyes away as we clear the filth from our throne! The humans don't even know about us! They have no idea what's coming! So today you will fight! You will crush them! You will devour them and slay them and slither through the soft lands they guard and take what you please! Yes, you heard me. Beyond that pathetic wall of steel and human flesh are acres of countryside filled with soft prey! So win this battle for me! Win it and you'll never go hungry again!"

She steps back as the crowd breaks into cheers. Then she snaps her fingers and nods back into the shadows.
"But I will not send you into the hunt unblooded. Here, let us behold the enemy."

Over a dozen of Hiss' living dead march into the clearing and between them are twenty human men. They look exhausted and beaten, a few scraps of armour still clinging to their tattered bodies.
"Would you look at this? A scouting party for the usurper king? No doubt trying to get past our scryguards! Look at them! Look at how pathetic they are! Do you really think these things deserve to rule whilst we do not?"

"NO!"

The soldiers are forcibly herded into a line and thrown onto their knees in front of the assembled snakes.

"These soft wastes of skin are what we've been afraid of for so long! But the Creator won't stop us! The Creator doesn't care! The Creator is dead!"

>>46493378
Well I really hope she's just saying this to get them to fight and she really doesn't intend to let them slaughter as many humans as they like. I mean snakes don't even need to eat souls. They just taste good.

>>46493378
Didn't we see the creator alive and well in between the dreaming and our world? He's just chilling in the void.

>>46493454
Ouro has stated never to ever make a villain worse than Hiss. We've been SOL since day 1.

>>46493378
"We can do whatever we want! We can take whatever we want! We can eat whoever we want! And until Teleran is surrendered to us, every human not under my protection is fair prey! So..."
Hiss slides off the tree and walks around to the side, no longer obstructing the path between the snakes and the men. In the distance behind her you can see more living dead carting more humans. Most of them aren't soldiers. You can see women and even children. Hiss must have scooped them up from some village to help whet her snakes appetites and seal their allegiances to her cause.

"So don't just listen to what I have to say. Do it! Eat your fill! There is a feast laid out for you! And remember, every day will be like this when I'm in charge!"

The snakes roar and hiss their adulation, controlled more by their bellies than their minds. Hiss just nods as they charge forward and begin to glut themselves.

You look away. This isn't any different from the Pit surely. If you stood by and let that happen isn't this fine? But did Hiss mean all of that? Is she lying to them or lying to you?
You try to block out the screams.

>Retreat.

>Try to stop them.

>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.

>Other

>>46493378
Once more I really hope you aren't getting too into this Hiss. And don't start writing checks Cennen won't let you cash.

>>46493487
>>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.

>>46493487
>Other: think about your life.

>>46493487
>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.

Oof, sorry about that delay guys. Speech ran a little bit away from me there and I'm feeling really tired.

>>46493473
That's true. But whether God is alive or dead doesn't really matter to Hiss' rabblerousing. Just that they are indifferent.

>>46493487
>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.
sort of hoped the pit was behind us.
Yeah they're technically soldiers but clearly noncombatants at this point.

>>46493487
>Talk to hiss.
Step out from behind tree. Yo. We saw. We heard.

I don't even think we're angry. It's like some mixture of disappointment, regret, confusion and heartbreak.

So when do we fake petting snek only to nobble and wish for Hiss to relinquish all of her power?

>>46493487
>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.

>>46493576
probably never, as she'll tear out our tongue like the other snake did.

>>46493487
>Try to stop them.

>>46493551
>Try to stop them.
Knockout gas? IDK.

Wait where are all the humans in our army?

>>46493487
>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.
Geez, I don't know what to say, even if this wasn't her intention from the very beginning, she'll have to commit to this from now on, her subjects will demand it.

>>46493677
Okay, so hypothetical: how do we neutralize an entire snake army and seize power from Hiss?

>>46493677
well she has said "under my protection"
which could theoretically expand significantly.

She hasn't really gone back on any specific promises at this point, although the promise of free hunting bodes ill.

>Talk to Hiss. She'll know sooner or later anyway.

You angle around the side of the clearing, doing your best to approach Hiss without anyone seeing through your leafy disguise. You're really not sure how to feel about this. Are you even angry anymore? You had to have known something like this might happen.

Hiss spots you before you get anywhere near her and you watch her eyes widen as she rushes over to you. She pulls you back into the forest and out of sight of everyone else.
"Oh Cennen no! It's not what you think!"
She pats you on the head in a reassuring manner.

"What the hell is this supposed to be Hiss?"

"Sssh, it's going to be alright. Just stay calm."
She sits down beside you and pulls you close. Come to think of it, she did this back when you saw the Pit too. She's been treating you rather fragilely ever since the incident with the Duke.
"It's alright Cennen. It's nothing you haven't seen before. Remember the Pit? Or not! You don't have to remember the Pit if you don't want to."

"I was hoping the Pit was behind us."

"It is!"
She's still patting you on the head, picking at you with worry in her eyes.
"I didn't mean what I said to them, I'm just getting them uh, amped up for battle! I need to weed out the last little bits of rebellion, make them want to fight for me. I'll let them have their fun for a few days and then rein them in as I take control."

"For a few days?"

"Humans do that too! Do you have any idea how many Szaren probably get killed or raped by Teln every day? Uh, um, I mean, I'm going to rein them back in once this is all done. When I am Queen most humans will be under my protection. There'll be hunting restrictions! Just please stay calm, Cennen."

You hear a particularly gruesome scream from the clearing behind them and Hiss looks irritated.
"Oh really? I was planning on raising that body!"
She stops and goes back to patting you.
"Don't worry Cennen. You know I would never let this befall you. Things are different in war."

1/2

>>46493706
Sharing what we know of snake alchemy. With it we nullify every advantage the snakes have.
Though I'm still expecting Hiss is going to lose this battle

>>46493761

> "You have to promise me that this won't happen once you're in charge."

> "How am I supposed to trust these promises?"

> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."

> Nobble.

> Pet snake.

>Use Potion (Specify)

>Other

>>46493785
Most of our potions rely on snake components, so we'd better bring Aash along if we're deserting.

>>46493826
> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
> "You have to promise me that this won't happen once you're in charge."
I might have to make it Alchemically binding

>>46493826
> Nobble.
I'm considering this the pivotal moment. We need to wish her to tell us the truth about what she said.

>>46493826
>> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
unfortunately for me, i'm never going to stop believing that you can do better, even if you try your damnedest to convince me otherwise

>>46493761
Really, what we should be doing is looking for a way to turn humans into snakes.

That way, shit snakes can be demoted into humans and superior humans can be turned into snakes.

Bam, meritocracy where we slowly humanize snakes until they're just another type of human.

Memetic infection is the way to win this war, yo. Which is why we gotta get on making ourselves a PERSONAL powerhouse with secret alchemy to resist snake arts and make ourselves a human/spirit/snake/plant/spider abomination that nobody knows how to deal with. Because that's when we'll finally get respect.

And, you know, be able to force our will upon the world.

>>46493827
Even better, we've got Blue and Elle

>>46493826
> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."

>"I'll trust you if you tell me that you mean this, but just because that's your plan doesn't mean you'll be able to follow through. What will you do if they don't listen to you afterwards? Will you defend humans from the snakes, just because it's the right thing to do?"

Fuck all of you wanting to nobble her, you've proven to make shit decisions like not stopping her from killing the king or not pushing her to just leave snakehome.

Nobbling is the worst fucking idea since that shows that she can't trust us either.

>>46493876
That's a good point. They'll be pivotal in supplying the skin we'll need to kill the rest.

>>46493826
>> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
>> Pet snake.

Advanced interrogation technique, seduce the truth out of her.

>>46493826
> "You have to promise me that this won't happen once you're in charge."
> "How am I supposed to trust these promises?"
> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
You can change them Hiss. Use your art to take away their hunger for souls. There's no point to it at all.

>>46493826
> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
Actually, I kind of see her point? The comment about the Szaren kind of gave me an epiphany. She's literally imitating what she's learned from the human tacticians and possible historians she's consumed.

This IS legitimate morale tactics, and I want to believe at this point that we can trust her. We don't have to like what she's doing - we decidedly do not have to approve of it - But she's promised us several times that she's got a plan laid out, she's told us the plan and we've been tentatively on board with it. She doesn't have anything to gain from lying to us, and it's probably naive, but I don't want to believe she would just outright lie to us. It's not who Hiss is.

This rambling kind of got away from me, but I think that even if we don't like what's going on, in this instance, there is reason behind it. We should support her.

>>46493826
> "You have to promise me that this won't happen once you're in charge."
Eating souls like this is pointless and disgusting. And it won't be a viable method of control in the future. You'll have to become a better leader instead of relying on tempting them with souls.

>>46493826
> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."
"I trust you. Look me in the eye and tell me that is what you really want"
"Are you sure you'll be able to stop them?"

>>46493890
Chill out, dude, there's only one vote for nobbling

Could we try to make a modified Serpentbane that instead of breaking bonds, makes them? That would be a real good insurance policy. A secret insurance policy.

>>46494023
We could make a brew that restores prematurely broken wishbonds, like ones broken by serpentbanes.

>>46494023
There was an option for a brew a while ago that created wishbonds but nobody voted for it.

Anyway, calling it for telling her that you're not a child and questioning just what she's doing here!

>>46493909
i mostly agree, but I still think cennen's job in this equation is to protest this type of thing, even if it is, as you say, very human.

>>46494023
I mean if we can get a snake to drink a brew we could just knock them out and nobble them the old fashioned way

>>46494076
Well, she explained what she's doing. We're just wanting some clarification on how/what her backup plan is.

>>46493975
I just want to fully commit to something instead of just always reacting to Hiss' plans. We always bumble along. I feel that if we take some initiative then we won't have to worry about relying on Hiss' good graces.

We're already so close to transforming people into snakes and vice versa anyways. Aash will shit bricks when it happens, and Hiss will probably love it as a punishment, and the opportunity to create new snakes as the situation demands or decrease them to protect her own power.

>>46494117
We need to make a gas mask then make a gas sleeping potion

>>46494183
Dude we already have a gaseous knockout brew that we're immune to. We use it all the time.

> "Stop that. I'm not a child, Hiss."

"Stop that, I'm not a kid Hiss."

She looks guilty and takes her hand off your head.
"Sorry. It's just that you've been pretty fragile about these things lately. I didn't want you to see this."

"I've been fragile for a reason. Just because other humans do stuff like this doesn't make it right, you know? And...I guess I'll trust you if you tell me that you're being honest with me but just because you are doesn't mean you can actually follow through all the time. What happens if they don't listen to you once you're in control? Will you defend humans from snakes just because it's the right thing to do?"

Hiss' response is immediate.
"Nope!"

"What!"

"I won't protect them because it's right. I'll protect them because anyone attacking them will be disobeying my orders! I'm sorry Cennen. I don't care about what's right. But I do care about what's practical and those two match up more often than you might think."

"But you will protect them? Can you really control all of these snakes?"

Hiss snorts.
"Do you have so little faith in my power? Remember who you're talking to here. I'm the strongest mortal alive right now. Remember how I told you I'm basically a god? I could kill all of those snakes over there right now by myself if I wanted. And once I'm in control of all Teleran there will be none who can stand against my will! Nobody except you of course."

"I feel like I'm a fool for trusting you."

"Hey! Hey," she repeats again in a softer tone, gently taking your hands in hers. "Do you remember our first time in Taldenral? I promised you that I would lead you to glory and that hasn't changed. The road is a little long but the destination is still there. And I haven't struck you out of anger since I've taken up the throne! I promised you I wouldn't and since then I've done my best to treat you well. I always keep my promises when I make them to you."

1/2

>>46494244

"It took you a few promises before that last one actually stuck if I recall correctly."

Hiss sighs.
"I never meant to hurt you! Are you really going to start drama right before the fight?"
She closes her eyes for a moment.
"Sometimes I don't think you understand just how important you are to me. And after all we've been through together, the idea that you might not trust me...I trust you! There's nobody in the world that I trust more than you. And even if you don't believe in me anymore, you can at least believe in my strength. Believe that I'm strong enough to bear you past any obstacle, through any danger. Strong enough to help lead you to where I promised I would take you."

"You really mean it?"

"Cennen I would literally murder anyone or anything if you but asked."

"Uh...thanks."

Hiss sighs.
"We've been down this path before. This is all very familiar. Do you think we're doing something wrong?"

"Probably. We always do."

Hiss laughs just a little.
"Maybe I was wrong to say I would carry you through all of this. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say that we would carry each other. I ...I certainly lean on you more than enough. So how about it? Just you and me, leaning on each other like fools and limping our way across the finish line?"

>"Yes."

>"I'm sorry but not anymore."

>Other

>>46494428
>Yes
>Other
We do trust her. We're just worried. We've always been the one that worries. We're going to keep worrying. And brewing.

>>46494428
>>"Yes."

>>46494428
>"Yes."
Lean on me a little more. Trust me when I say the snakes hunger for human souls will cause nothing but trouble for your rule, since your pragmatism outweighs your morality.

>>46494428
>"Yes."
> "I'd kill anyone and everything for your too, you know. If it came down to it, which is why I always try so hard to find another way."

>>46494428
>>"Yes."
>Other
Obviously I can't come this far and betray your trust in me.
You have to realize I'm never going to stop worrying about the fate of humanity, as long as this kind of cruelty comes from a person I'm pledged to.

>>46494428
>"Yes."
I smell... sedition!

>>46494428
>"Yes."
We need to find a middle ground between my morality and your pragmatism.

>>46494428

>"Yes."

Aash and Yolan were real pricks about it, but they were right: we move by Hiss' tune. Though they fail to realize it also works the other way, somewhat

>>46494560
That will be the question at the end, whether or not love redeems.

>>46494560
Well, and also why. It's not because she's a snake, or that she's eaten our soul. We just love Hiss more than the rest of the world - and that scares us because it's not like we don't value the rest of the world at all.

I just wish I had been here earlier to vote to tell Aash this, and to ask her what she really loves, and that we hope she can learn to love her homonculus snake so that she can understand us since she obviously never has.

>"Yes."

"Yes. Obviously I can't come this far and betray your trust in me. But I think that you could stand to lean on me a little more. I know you were just trying not to lose me but don't keep these things a secret from me. I can handle it."

You climb to your feet and Hiss rises with you, her arm around your shoulder. She's leaning on you.
"Absolutely," she says. "Let everyone else burn. We've got each other."

You decide that's a joke and laugh and she laughs to and looking into her eyes, you know Aashenpreet was wrong about the both of you. Hiss does have faith and she's placed it all in you. How could you do anything else but return the favour?

"Alright!," Hiss whoops. "Now let's go kill some people! ...No? Wrong moment? Sorry."

>>46494600
No, it will be us transcending our human form to cut off the world from the Creator like a pearl and subverting homonculi spiders to spin a protective web around it.

>>46494707
And that's that for today. Sorry about being so slow and whatnot. Thread's been archived, check the twitter for the next thread, etc etc.
I hope you all had fun. Next thread is going to be extremely hectic! And so is the next one probably. Maybe all of them?

>>46493667
Preparing to march on the Kuri. They're not in the forest, that's for sure.

>>46494754
Thanks for running!

>>46494754
Good thread Ouro! Loving this more regular schedule lately. Try to catch up on sleep sometime though.

>>46494754
thanks for sticking with it dude

>>46494754
It's all good. And fun.

I hope we can avoid being distracted long enough to explore more Alchemy. Like Eva said something concerning about her body dying around her - we should talk to our abomi- er, daughter about that.

It's rough when you are a kid with a retard for a parent.

>>46494847
Schizophrenic more accurately. But yeah, unless we plan for Hiss to keep shuffling Eva between corpses forever we need to find a fix for Best Daughter.