>>47708419

Even reading for nearly an hour by the light of the pale, silvery moon, sleep was hard to come by. Driven by some restless mania, you soon find yourself stalking the deserted corridors of the Nameless Temple, acutely aware of the unfamiliar faces sleeping safe behind locked and shuttered doors. The Emperor, Sho Tatsuhiro, keeps a further layer of protection between himself and the world – a soldier, loaded down with a heavy rifle and a broad-bladed sword. You pass that lonesome sentinel by without drawing his attention, noting how sleepy his eyes looked.

Against a determined attacker, one who was fast and ferocious, that guard would barely pose a challenge. Perhaps it's a show of trust, a token gesture towards security for the sake of appearances alone. Even so, it's a sorry state of affairs.

Skulking ever onwards, you find yourself travelling the well worn path to the Mentor's chambers. Once, you would have sought out his guidance whenever you could, but that old habit has long since left you. It's hard to see him in the same way – as a wise master who could do no wrong – now that you know about him, his past crimes and his inaction. Still, you'll be dealing with his old friend soon enough – it's well worth seeing what the old man has to say about that. Even if he just washes his hands of the whole matter, it's good to know for sure.

The first thing you notice, as you draw near the Mentor, is how tired he looks. It's not the weariness of defeat, but simple human exhaustion. Perhaps he notices your gaze, for a smile touches his lips. “The Emperor has a very... active mind,” the old man explains, “I find his presence to be somewhat... tiresome.”

Well, you reply, most people do. But, perhaps, the less you say about that the better...

>I'm going to Pharos soon. What should I expect?
>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him
>The future... what do you think lies ahead?
>I need to go get some rest
>Other

>>47708425
>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him
>But the Seer, is he worth the effort? I could just as well leave him be and focus on Tengaru. Pharos can wait.
Totally not pushing for Seer to make a deal with Ira's "nemesis" and bring it into Tengaru.

>>47708425
>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him
>I'm going to Pharos soon. What should I expect? Seer is there, hiding.

>>47708425
>I'm going to Pharos soon. What should I expect?
I mean if we leave it alone too long he'll just cause another catastrophe, undoing what we've worked for.
>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him

>>47708425
>I'm going to Pharos soon. What should I expect?
>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him
>The future... what do you think lies ahead?

>>47708505
Other than Selene and eventually Takino there isn't much to focus on here.

Also wouldn't that probably get a lot of people killed?

>>47708577
Takino is pretty serious business, what with the threat of civil war.

More importantly, Ira doesn't know anything about the final boss, and there's little reason other than narrative plot to think that the Seer would accomplish so much in so little time.

>>47708607
Takino's thing might take some time as Sho gets support. We might be able to squeeze in the trip to Pharos while thats happening.

>>47708425
>>I'm going to Pharos soon. What should I expect?
>>The Ascetic is dead. I killed him

The Ascetic is dead, you tell the Mentor quietly, you killed him. The body was burned, and the dust scattered to the winds. He was a sorcerer after all – perhaps the last disciple of the forbidden arts. Not, you remark after a moment's thought, that it helped him much in the end.

“There's a lesson there, Ira,” the old man tells you, “Power has a way of seducing a man, of making him vulnerable. All too often, sorcerers only met their end because of their own hubris – when a man grows to rely on such powers, they seal their own fate. When you need them most, such tainted gifts will always abandon you... or they will be chased away. Regardless, it was the only way. I regret that I have to say this, but...”

But he had to die, you finish, and perhaps he's not the only one. The Seer remains, hiding away within distant Pharos. You'll be going there soon – perhaps not as soon as you would have liked, considering Takino's ambitions – to deal with him. In that regard, you had two questions for the Mentor – is the Seer really worth this effort? Chasing him to a distant corner of a dead land, when Tenngaru remains delicate and vulnerable... it seems like a luxury, somehow. Yet, you know that the longer he is allowed to lurk there, the greater the chances of some new catastrophe arising at his hand.

“Pharos... yes, he would return there,” the Mentor thinks to himself, “Safe from all but the sparsest few. It would be the perfect place to lie in wait, to prepare a new plan. Ira, in this matter, I cannot give you an order – you must be the one to decide his fate. Yet, I can offer counsel, as I have always done. As long as the Seer lives, he represents a danger. Not the brash violence of war and bloodshed – as the military and the Ascetic both champion – but the creeping corruption of his rhetoric. His plans spread like poison.”

[1/2]

>>47708767

And what of Pharos itself, you ask, what should you expect from that great tomb?

“Emptiness,” the Mentor replies simply, “It is a hollow thing, home only to dust and ghosts. If you can brave the land itself, Pharos will offer no resistance. With the Seer now in residence, however, I can guarantee nothing. He may lay traps to slow you down, or he could have enslaved whatever beasts he might have found. I can tell you nothing, save that you should be prepared. Perhaps he has no defences at all, and he merely waits for death.”

Is that likely?

“I doubt it,” he sighs, “I fear a powerful spite lives on within him. He would not simply allow himself to die. Not the man I once knew – he would cling onto his vision of the future, no matter what.”

And what about him, you ask the Mentor, what's his vision of the future?

“This land lingers close to the edge of disaster,” the old man decides, “Perhaps it always has – and always will. Yet, it is further from catastrophe than I remember it. Bonds of harmony are being formed that have not been seen in many years. It took the threat of open war to do it, but I think peace is within our reach. Provided, I should add, that there are no... sudden changes.”

Such as those Takino and the Seer might force upon the land.

“Exactly so,” the Mentor nods sadly, “There will always be those who seek more power, even at the risk of losing what they already have.”

That sounds like Takino, alright.

“But the hour grows late,” the Mentor very deliberately fixes you with a measured stare, “And I believe you have a day of travel ahead of you. Garuna, was it not?”

>Do have any duties for me there?
>Under Garuna, maybe
>You're right, I should get some rest
>I wanted to ask you something... (Write in)
>Other

>>47708852
>Under Garuna, maybe
>You're right, I should get some rest

>>47708852
>>Under Garuna, maybe
>>You're right, I should get some rest

>>47708852
>Do have any duties for me there?
>Under Garuna, maybe
>You're right, I should get some rest

>>47708852
>>Under Garuna, maybe
>>You're right, I should get some rest
>>Other
Tell him about Veragi and the possibility of sending apprentices up there for martial training and experience working with a god. We really should get some kind of presence on Dumas like we planned.

Under Garuna maybe, you mutter, you can't see yourself taking in many of the sights that the surface has to offer.

“Excuse me?” the Mentor asks, a faint smile playing around his lips, “You must remember, Ira, that my ears are bad. It sounded like you were planning on setting foot on sacred – or cursed – ground. Such things are taboo, and could be very difficult if you were caught in the act. I must have misheard you, of course.”

Of course, you reply with a faint smile of your own, but if someone was to delve into those forbidden catacombs...

“Then I would be most interested in learning what they found down there,” your teacher chuckles, “Some things remain secret, even to me.”

So, you ask as you gracefully change the subject, does he have any duties for you to keep in mind? Something to keep you busy, perhaps, since you won't be occupied doing anything else, anything... forbidden.

“I ask only that you carry yourself with the dignity and restraint that your position demands,” the Mentor tells you smoothly, “But, if you happen to run into Selene's high priestess, I would merely ask that you assure her of our own bonds of cooperation in the days ahead. I see no harm in strengthening our ties with the temple city.”

No harm at all, you agree. As you're turning to leave, you recall Dumas, and distant Veragi. Turning back to the Mentor, you speak up once more. Far to the north, you begin, in waters considered empty and uncharted you found an island. Upon that rock, you spoke with a god, one born from the legends of the hero Veragi. She's... an interesting sort, and she might be able to help with teaching the apprentices a thing or two about fighting. Of course, it's not an easy place to get to. From a waystation on Dumas, though...

[1/2]

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>>47709100

“Such a thing would be possible,” the Mentor agrees, “Dumas... I'm ashamed to say that my efforts there have been lacking of late. I had hoped to create a sanctuary there, a safe retreat should the threat of war become real. Although I was able to move a large number of tomes up there – copies, of course, that Howa had helped to create – I was unable to devote anything more than a token effort. Now that the situation is growing calm, I can focus more of my time on this. You have maps, I presume, and charts for this island?”

You can get them, you reply, you know someone with quite a good collection of maps and ancient history. A grumpy sort, perhaps, but not a bad guy once you get to know him...

“I'm sure,” the Mentor chuckles, “Now go and get some rest, Ira.”

Right, you agree, you've got a long day ahead of you.

-

Although Koa, Aya and the others gather to see you off, it is Howa – predictably – that clings onto you the longest. At first, you take her indirect protests as a joke, but then you see a dark and serious light in her eyes. Uncertainty, fearful worry and... something else, something you can't quite read. When she finally lets go of your arm, that look is seared into your mind.

“Come back,” she orders, before turning and very deliberately lurching away from you. Fleeing, almost.

“Girl troubles, chief?” Aya asks, once Howa has limped out of both sight and earshot.

>Nothing I want to read in your gossip columns when I get back
>Keep an eye on her, will you?
>Just keep yourself safe, Aya.
>Other

>>47709215
>Nothing I want to read in your gossip columns when I get back
>Keep an eye on her, will you?
>Stay safe,

>Uncertainty, fearful worry and... something else, something you can't quite read.
She missed her period didn't she?

>>47709215
>>47709246
This, and probably

>>47709215
>Nothing I want to read in your gossip columns when I get back
>Keep an eye on her, will you?
>Keep yourself safe, Aya.

Welp. Even though it was always the plan, now we have to doubly make sure we come back from whatever is thrown at us during this last outing.

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Nothing you want to read in her gossip column when you get back, you tell Aya in a voice as cold as a winter's night, get it?

“C'mon chief, what kind of hack writer do you take me for?” Aya winks, “I very specifically don't write that kind of baseless speculation. Well... not about people that have dragged me out of a burning building, at least. I suppose, since you're asking me nicely, I can extend that kind of courtesy to your lady friend as well. See how decent I am, chief?”

Fine, you sigh, decent enough. Just keep an eye on her, you ask Aya, can she handle that?

“I get danger money for that, right?” laughing to herself, Aya adopts an expression of mock fear, “Last time we swapped more than two words, I thought she was gonna rip my head off! But... man, fine, you've got yourself a deal. I'll make sure she doesn't, I don't know, drown herself in wine or anything.”

That's all you can really ask for, you sigh again. But she should keep herself safe as well, you remind Aya, the land is still far from safe.

“C'mon Ira, I've got my dad here, I don't need you giving me lectures on staying safe as well. Frankly, I'm lucky I managed to shake him off and come meet you!” this time, Aya's laugh is a little more hesitant, “Really, I'm not going to be the one putting myself in any danger. You watch yourself, okay? Ah, go on – you're going to miss your carriage!”

True enough, you realise, the convoy is about ready to depart. Waving goodbye to the Nameless Temple once again, you hurry off and take your place in the group. It's only a short ride to Garuna – you won't have to ride for long.

-

When the short journey is over and done with, you disembark and join the group of soldiers that lingers nearby. Waiting for their orders, they have nothing to do but gaze in wonder at the great white needle of Selene's temple and trade threatening looks with the local Garuna militia – a rather less organised group of armed men.

[1/2]

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>>47709483

Leaving the soldiers to their posturing, you spot Miura – not at the Emperor's side for once – and move over to speak with her. She looks better, happier to be in the city of her birth, but there is an undeniable air of nervousness about her.

It was an old tradition, Ra mentioned, for a man to bring his bride – potential bride - to her birthplace before proposing. No doubt Miura is just as aware of that tradition. She knows what awaits her here, and even if it isn't such a terrible fate, it's still a great change. Still, feigning ignorance and acting every inch the good bodyguard, you bow your head and greet her.

“Sir Ira,” she replies, the soft curtain of her dark hair dipping as she tilts her head in response, “I'm glad to see that you've followed us this far. Will you be joining us when we travel to the temple?”

Well...

“Perhaps not,” Ishida says, appearing with the light step of a born assassin, “I believe the good Wanderer had some business in the city. There wouldn't be any point, anyway – the high priestess wished for her meeting to be a private one, just the three of you. Even I've been dismissed.”

“I...see,” Miura coughs lightly, glancing down at the ground in front of you, “I... hope they will get along.” Then she says nothing more, an awkward silence falling over you all.

>Good luck, Miura
>Last minute nerves?
>There's been a change of plans. I'll come with you regardless
>Other

>>47709643
>Last minute nerves?
>Other
"I can talk for a minute if you want. No formalities. Just a couple of friends."

>>47709643
>Last minute nerves?
>Good luck, Miura

>>47709674
>>47709643
This. If there is anything she wants to get off her chest or vent/swear like a sailor, Ira would be the one to do it to.

>>47709643
>>47709674
This, yeah. Give her a chance to say what she wants to say.

So, you ask the young priestess, last minute nerves?

“Nerves? What would I be nervous about?” she asks, a shaky smile upon her lips, “I'm sorry, I'm afraid these past few days have been very draining. I'm not quite back to my full strength yet.” Then, as she forces a smile as brittle and delicate as glass, Miura lets out a tiny laugh. “I suppose I should be used to it by now,” she offers, “People fighting, trying to hurt each other... trying to hurt me. I've got plenty of experience in that regard, wouldn't you say?”

Well, you admit, she does have a point there. Still, if there's anything she'd like to talk to you about – even if she just needs to vent or think about other things for a moment – you've got time. Even if you didn't, you could make the time.

“I... thank you, Sir Ira,” Miura bows again, “If it's no trouble, I would talk with you for a moment. Nothing specific, you understand, but I would simply like to speak with you. To... relax. Would you follow me?”

Leading the way, Miura slips through the streets of Garuna. With Ishida at your side, you follow her into the shade of a small grassy corner, a great tree offering a pool of shadow to hide within. Standing ramrod straight, Miura looks up at Selene's temple and sighs a little. Despite what she said, she's yet to speak up at all.

[1/2]

>>47709911

“My mother used to tell me a story,” she begins suddenly, her voice soft and uncertain, “When I was a child, I should say. Of course, it was just something to scare me, to keep me from straying too far out of line. Still, it's a story that has stuck with me ever since. Long ago, there was a priestess of Selene who was, in her heart, terribly wicked. She had evil thoughts, and a terrible hunger for power – it was so great that when she looked up at the moon, she wished only to take Selene's power for herself.”

As you listen to Miura's story, you find yourself frowning. This sounds like something more than a simple fable.

“Of course, she was unsuccessful,” Miura tilts her head to the side slightly, “In Selene's light, all falsehood is banished. When the truth of her wicked thoughts was revealed, the priestess was cast down, deep into the bowels of the land, never to see the sun or the moon again. That was the end, as I remember it.”

That's... some story to tell a young child.

“I liked it, actually,” the young priestess sighs, a strangely nostalgic smile touching her lips, “Not the story itself, but the telling of it. She would read it to be when I was in bed. It was one of the only times she could be my... my mother, and not another priestess.” Shaking her head, Miura looks back to the temple. “Thank you, Sir Ira,” she adds, “I feel a lot better now. I'm ready to head to the temple. I'll let you get back to your business as well.”

As Ishida moves to lead Miura away, she locks eyes with you and carefully nods back to the city gates. Mouthing the word “wait”, she turns her back on you.

It'll take her some time to drop of Miura and slip out. You've got a little bit of time to yourself

>Search out Veragi's shrine
>Follow them to Selene's temple
>Wait outside the city gates
>Other

>>47709955
>Search out Veragi's shrine
If we have some time, sure.

>>47709955
>Search out Veragi's shrine

>>47709955
>Search out Veragi's shrine

>>47709955
>>Search out Veragi's shrine
Might be fun to compare it with the island.

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You shrug to yourself as you watch the pair of priestesses depart. They don't need you hanging over them constantly, guarding them against a threat that is, in all likelihood, never going to appear. While you've got some time to yourself, you might be able to satisfy some of your curiosity. It would be interesting, you decide, to see if you can track down Veragi's shrine and compare it to your experience with the real god. Maybe you could even find one of the three worshippers and get their take on things.

Of course, that provides a new challenge – finding a single shrine to an almost unknown deity, in a city where every street corner has some kind of devotional altar. Without any clear idea of where you might start, all you can do is roam the streets at random and see what you can find.

It's not like you've got a history of getting lost in the city or anything.

-

Cursing softly to yourself, you stop at what might actually be the right spot. As you expected, the shrine was hardly easy to find, and nobody you asked about it had any idea what you were talking about. Still, this might be a promising spot. A rickety wooden hut – like something used to store gardening equipment, say – with a simple, wordless sign above it. Painted on that sign, in pitch black paint, is a curved dagger.

With nobody about to stop you, you push open the flimsy door and peer inside. Rather than a statue – you doubt this shrine ever had the funds to afford a proper idol – there is a faded painting leaning up against the far wall. It's a surprisingly good likeness of Maia, actually, depicting a young man of particularly feminine aspect.

[1/2]

>>47710250

You wait around for a while, to see if anyone is going to show up, but nobody comes to visit the lonesome shrine. At a loss for what to do now, you settle for saying a few prayers. You thank Veragi for their dagger, and for the mystical gift they gave you. With their blade, you tell the painting, you struck down a great evil. Gods willing, you'll live long enough to do it again – as many times as you need.

With no expectations, you're not disappointed when nothing answers your prayers. Maia has already given you enough, it would be gross arrogance to demand more from them. Offering one last bow to the shrine, you turn and head back to the city gates.

-

It's easy, at least, to find your way back to the city entrance. When you arrive, you can't find Ishida anywhere – she finds you. Emerging from the crowd, a dark cloak shrouding her form, she glances your way and then strides off out of the city. Sighing at her caution – bordering on paranoia, even – you follow her out into the wilderness. In the shadows of the city, she leads you around the perimeter wall to a low ditch. Splashing through the shallow water, she lowers her hood and glares at the tunnel entrance. It's very dark in there, and very bleak looking.

“Oh, I hate this,” she mutters to herself. Finally looking around to greet you, she allows a weak smile to touch her lips. “Good to see you, Furyo,” she greets you, “I sure hope you brought a lantern with you.”

>Never go anywhere without one. Shall we get started?
>You're staying here, Ishida. I can't risk bringing a liability
>That story Miura told us. You think there's any truth to it?
>Other

>>47710407
>Never go anywhere without one. Shall we get started?
>That story Miura told us. You think there's any truth to it?

>>47710407
>Never go anywhere without one. Shall we get started?
>That story Miura told us. You think there's any truth to it?
While we are walking in the cave, so she can keep her mind off the tunnels.

>>47710407
>Never go anywhere without one. Shall we get started?
>That story Miura told us. You think there's any truth to it?

>>47710407
>>47710450
This. Keep calm and keep safe.

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Never go anywhere without one, you assure Ishida as you take the little metal device out and fix it to your belt, so how about getting started?

“Sure,” the priestess grunts, slipping her pack from one shoulder and taking out a lantern of her own – a considerably larger, brighter burning model. As she gets it burning, her hand strays to the polished sword strapped to her hip. A delicate looking thing, it has a sheen like a mirror. More of a ceremonial object, you suspect, than a real weapon. Still, decorative weapon or not, you wouldn't care to taste its bite. “You've got that map, don't you?” Ishida asks, more for the sake of saying something than out of any genuine curiosity.

You've got it, you assure her, right here. Slipping it from your pocket, you shake it open and glare at the vile warren of tunnels. What a mess, you think despairingly. Folding it back up again, you take the first step into those dank tunnels, scowling as the cold water begins to lap up against your boots. Now, you realise bitterly, is a bad time to realise that they've got a hole in them.

“Sooner we get this done, Furyo,” Ishida reminds you, “The sooner we can be out of here. Focus on that, not... not anything else.”

Silence – save for the confusing, overlapping echoes that every footstep seems to cause – falls over the pair of you as you delve into the catacombs. Compared with the devotional tunnels in the Dragon's Head, these tunnels are narrower, with a lower ceiling. As you stop at the first junction to check your map, a distant noise breaks the silence. That noise... it's difficult to put a name to it, a single specific name at least.

A splash, a soft wail and the sound of something dragging across stone – it has aspects of all those things. In the aftermath of that sound there is another, that of Ishida slowly drawing her blade free from its sheath.

[1/2]

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>>47710738

That story Miura told, you say in order to distract her, could there be any truth to it?

“Hard to say,” Ishida's voice is tight, hard, but she manages to keep it steady regardless, “There's a lot we don't know about these tunnels. About our own history, even. Maybe it's based off some ancient attempt at overthrowing whoever was high priestess at the time. Stories warp as they get passed down the generations. What we know now might be nothing like the sort of things our ancestors knew.”

Veragi's faces – both male and female – flash across your mind, then, and you hear yourself murmuring an agreement. Still, you can't help but consider a darker possibility – a priestess who sought to steal Selene's own power? That could easily be a sorcerer. That taint might have reached even here. You start to suggest this when that distant cry sounds again. This time, it's much closer.

“Damn it...” Ishida mutters as you draw Veragi's dagger and flatten your body against the wet stone wall. Both of you steel yourselves, taking in deep lungfuls of the stagnant air, and then you turn the corner into a wider tunnel, more hallway than corridor.

Standing there, knee-deep in the dark waters, is a girl – a near duplicate of Miura, save for her faded pallor. Lank, stringy hair covers her face, and her posture is a defeated slump. As you watch her from a distance, she wails once more – a cry of despair and frustration. Then, turning awkwardly, she begins to wade up the tunnel.

>Follow her
>Strike out at her with your dagger
>Avoid her, take an alternative route
>Other

>>47710834
>Follow her
Spooky. We should get to the bottom of this.

>>47710834
>Follow her
Selene fucking with us or something far more sinister? Lets find out.

>>47710834
>Follow her

>>47710834
>>Follow her
Ghosts now?

Pressing a finger to your lips, you urge Ishida to remain silent and follow in your footsteps. She nods, clearly not needing any encouragement to hold her tongue, and tightens her grip on that silver sword of hers. Never straying too far apart, and both casting suspicious looks at every pool of shadow that you pass, you and Ishida slosh through the ancient, filmy water as you follow the ethereal girl.

You've seen something like her before, you realise, a long time ago. It was in the darkest corner of the Nameless Temple's archive, and it had guided you to a book on the bloody history of human sacrifice. Perhaps this shade might also guide you where you need to go.

As you follow her, you sink so deep into thought – rather, a cold and careful trance against fear and distraction – that you nearly fall into the water when something snaps beneath your boot. Ishida catches you, and just barely avoids being dragged down with you. With the distance between you and your spectral guide widening, you reach down into the dark water and find what caught your foot. A long, rotten bone – so softened by the long years spent underwater that it nearly falls apart in your grip.

Bones. The shade of a young priestess. You can put two and two together.

Letting the fragments of bones slip from your grip, you put new haste in your step and close some of the distance between you and the sacrificed girl. As you walk faster, she seems to grow slower and slower, until finally she stops in place. Then, with a hollow sobbing sound, she fades out of sight entirely. Looking down at where she vanished, you spot the pale edge of a skull, more bones clustered nearby.

Looks like this is as far as she's going to lead you.

[1/2]

>>47711211

“We're not far now,” Ishida offers, once the deathly pallor – almost an imitation of the spectre that you followed – has left her cheeks, “A few more turns and it's a straight run to our goal. What... might be our goal.”

You note the moment of uncertainty in her words but decide against saying anything.

“No...” she says to herself a moment later as you're walking, “That noise we heard – it was something moving, something dragging. That... that poor girl, she couldn't have made that noise. She cried out, but did you ever hear her make any other noises?”

No, you realise, she didn't even leave ripples in the water as she moved through it. There's something else down here, something with a corporeal body. As if your thoughts had summoned it, you hear the scrape of some hard material – bone, you're almost certain – grating against stone. You hate that sound, you realise suddenly, every second that it haunts your ears is intolerable. Murmur's song was, in it's own way, terrible, but this is so much more... immediate. If Murmur's song had been a creeping menacing that slowly grinds the mind down, then this... grating noise is a wave that washes away all sense and rationality.

Which is, you mutter aloud, something you've felt before. Somewhere ahead – and not very far ahead, you don't doubt – some false life festers.

And why not? Where better to feed on corruption and decay than a place like this?

“Furyo?” Ishida asks, stepping closer, “Something wrong?”

>It's nothing. Stick close and prepare to fight
>Stay here. I've got something I need to take care of
>Get out of here, Ishida. Don't look back – just run
>Other

>>47711343
>Stay here. I've got something I need to take care of
This is a great note to end on as i travel to the land of firewall

>>47711343
>Stay here. I've got something I need to take care of
"If I don't make it back, get out as fast as possible."

>>47711343
>>Stay here. I've got something I need to take care of
Alternatively she can make it to Selene if the way is clear.

>>47711343
>>Stay here. I've got something I need to take care of
It'll be easier fighting alone.

Stay here, you tell Ishida, you've got something to take care of up ahead. It'll be easier without needing to keep an eye on her while you're at it.

After all, you've only got the one eye.

For a moment, you expect Ishida to protest, but then she gives you a firm nod. “I'm trusting you with this, Furyo,” she tells you, “So you'd better not let me down and get yourself killed. I won't forgive you if you do, got it?”

Of course, you nod, you wouldn't forgive yourself either. If you don't make it back, though, she needs to run – just focus on seeing the sun again. You tell her this with the ghost of a smile playing across your face, but Ishida's eyes, when they meet yours, are as hard as steel.

“I don't like the idea of running and leaving you to rot down here,” she replies, “If you die, I'm going to drag as many soldiers as I can down here and give you a decent damn burial. We owe you that much, at least. But... I won't need to do that, will I? Because you're going to march back out here after a few moments, and you're going to tell me that everything is clear... right?”

Of course, you repeat, just like that.

“Then stop wasting time here,” waving a frustrated hand at you to chase you away, Ishida just barely covers up a nervous look – the idea of being alone out here hardly appeals to her, after all. Without wasting further words, you turn away form her and march off into the tunnels. According to both your map and your guess, that demonic sound seems to be coming from your likely destination.

Of course.

[1/2]

>>47711717

Turning one last corner, you step out into a wide chamber, the ceiling high and hewn from rough, dripping stone. You barely spare the ceiling a second glance, however, as your eyes are drawn to one very peculiar thing. Falling from a hole in the chamber's ceiling, a great pillar of water is held static, like a column of immobile water, like a waterfall frozen solid.

No, not solid – it's not ice, that pillar. The water held within it slowly twists and churns, but some force – the silver moonlight trapped within, perhaps – holds it within the shape of a single pillar. It's like nothing you've ever seen before, but it's still not enough to cool your rage, or to distract you from the source.

Lying at the base of that pillar of light and water, like a heap of pebbles that has collected over countless years, bones rise up in a great and shuddering pile. You see human skulls in there, mixed with the tiny bones of rats, mice and bats. Sitting atop that macabre throne, gazing with blind eyes towards the sky and the moonlight, a wasted, emaciated human figure stirs. Drawing in one lone breath – it drags the air in, like a thief grasping as many coins as they can, and then falteringly rises. The pile of bones rises up with the figure, flowing over it like a living mire and hiding the creature from view. Then, as formless as water, the pile of bones washes down towards you. Forming and unforming with each passing moment, arms grasp and claw at the air.

It's dead already, you think with a vicious anger, but it's not dead enough.

>Please roll 1D100, aiming to beat 70/80/90. I'll take the highest of the first three!
>Also, name the spell card you wish to use, if any

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>47711809

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>47711809
Spooky scary skellies.

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>47711809
Probably Wrath, but let's see.

>>47711809
>>47711837
>>47711868
>>47711890
Shit rolls famalams. Yeah just use Wrath and get it started early.

Rolled 53 (1d100)

As you draw your sword, you spot an immediate problem. How do you kill something like this, a flowing stream of animated bone? A beast of flesh and blood, you can destroy – you can tear it apart, casting aside limbs and ripping out vitals. But this, this abomination that has no flesh and blood, no vital organs, how would you start?

It has limbs, at least, and that's where you'll start.

As the ragged pile of bones draws near, you cry out Titanos' name and lash out with your sword, swatting aside a bony claw that reaches up to you. The limb flies off with ease, tumbling over and over to clatter in some dark and unseen corner, but the creature barely notices. As you reverse your sword to stab down into the bulk of the thing, the tide rises up high above your legs and bites deep. Just as Rosaria had used her vile leech-children to paralyse you, so too has this undead monster used its own bulk to grapple you.

Fresh anger wells up inside you, every fibre of your being raging against the helplessness of your situation. As the lord of bone prepares to envelop you, you focus all that wrath into a cold, killing precision.

You're not going to die here. You refuse.

>Please roll 1D100, aiming to beat 70/80/90, and this will be at +10. I'll take the highest of the first three
>Also, name a spell card you wish your use, or any particular tactics to fight with
>I'll be rolling for this thing's attack, aiming to beat 60/70/80

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>47712068
It missed so we can focus on offensive tactics for right now.

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>47712068
>>47712093
Welp

Probably As the Mountains just to have it on.

Rolled 7 (1d100)

>>47712068
As the Mountains.

Rolled 93 (1d100)

As the creature grows unbalanced, much of its tainted mass flowing down into one hammer fist, you spy a flash of grey amidst the white bone. Grey flesh, belonging to that emaciated corpse shrouded within the creature. It vanishes quickly, once against lost beneath a layer that is both armour and weapon, but the sight of it remains, bright and clear, within your mind.

A vulnerability. A weakness.

Ponderous, moving like a mountain collapsing in slow motion, the hammer raises high above you and begins to drop. Before it hit, you cry out with desperate, ferocious power and sweep your sword through it, splitting the limb into two. As the single arm was thrown aside, so too is this great gathering of bone. As soon as it has been cut from the body, it dissolves into a shower of harmless shards, the clattering sound they make nearly loud enough to drown out your shouts. As you wound the beast, the bones gathered around your legs retract sharply, rushing up to bolster the failing form. Already, the thing looks thinner, frailer.

Just keep cutting it apart, you think, is that it?

Because you can handle that.

>Please roll 1D100, aiming to beat 70/80/90. This will be at +20, and I'll take the highest of the first three!
>Also, name whatever spell card you wish to use, if any.
>I'll be rolling an attack for this thing, aiming to beat 60/70/80 again

Rolled 51 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>47712326
>That enemy roll.
Might need to tele.

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>47712326

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>47712326
>>47712381
>116

Yeah... just Vespucci Step out of the way of the big hit and hit it really goddamn hard.

Rolled 85 (1d100)

As the beast flails – it should howl, you think absently, the silence it wears like a robe is not even close to natural – its remaining arm stretches out like a long and sinuous whip. As you grip the dagger tightly, you prepare to strike. Yet, you're too late to move out of the way – slashing through the air, the whip coils around your neck and starts to clench tighter.

Before it can become a noose, you call upon Maia's gift and vanish, slipping through the darkness to appear a short distance away. Barely a few paces, really, but that's all it takes. Empty and impotent, the noose that nearly snapped your neck falls, limp, to the ground. Before the mass of bone can reform into something that can strike at your new position, you lunge in with the divine weapon and rip into the thing.

Stabbing into what would be the stomach of a normal man, you tear the dagger up through the vaguely formed mass that could – with a little charity – be described as a torso. It's like tearing through a tunic, causing the cloth to fall away. Revealed, exposed, your eye falls upon the blackened, tainted flesh once more. Lifting the dagger high, holding it in the underhand grip of a brute assassin, you prepare to gut this new target.

Hands like iron lash out and close around your grip, trapping the dagger before it's deadly point can drive home. The emaciated body leers at you, foul breath escaping it in a cloud of graveyard mist. That long rattling exhalation, you realise, was a single word, this inhuman creature's sole desire.

“Survive.”

Not if you've got anything to do with it.

>Please roll 1D100, aiming to beat 70/80/90. This will be at +25, and I'll take the highest of the first three!
>Also, name whatever spell card you wish to use, if any.
>I'll be rolling an attack for this thing, aiming to beat 50/60/70 again

Rolled 93 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>47712620
Fuggg we are probably going to have to Porcelain

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>47712620

>>47712665
Not if you have anything to say about it

>>47712665
>>47712620
Don't even need to roll, but what the hell.

But yeah Porcelain since we have no way to avoid the damage.

We only take half damage and hopefully the redirected damage on top of the another highest tier attack will kill this thing.

>>47712702
Depends if we can kill it before it hits us.

Rolled 74 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>47712716
>>47712620
Oops forgot to roll.

Frozen in place, you wrestle with the undead – or just barely alive – thing for control over your dagger. As the blade wavers back and forth, you have the misfortune of looking upon the thing's terrible, sepulture face. Barren, empty eye sockets loom high above the ragged hole where a nose should be. Broken stubs of teeth leer out from behind the tattered remains of lips. That such a thing should still be able to draw breath, to fight back with a strength that equals your own, enrages and disgusts you. Just being in contact with this defiled thing is too much to bear.

And that disgust makes you flinch, just a tiny bit. Just enough.

Tightening its grip with one last burst of terrible strength, the beast presses down on your hands. Pain grips you like an iron glove, and you start to feel the small bones in your hands grinding together, pushed to the brink of destruction. Almost by instinct, you call upon the Doll's blessing, and the skin around your hand hardens into porcelain armour.

Even so, something has to give. The armour breaks first, shattering apart and slicing those loathsome fingers away. Howling with pain, with rage and with defiance, you seize the moment and drive your dagger forwards, plunging it deep into the abomination's chest. If there is a withered heart within that body, your strike would surely pierce it.

>Taken 20 damage, reduced from 50.

Rasping out one dying breath, the ancient corpse falls back to the ground. When it hits the stone floor, the veil of bone shatters away. Gasping out a harsh breath of your own, one weighed down with pain and fatigue, you risk a look at your agonised hand.

It's bad, but not as bad as it could have been. The skin is broken, soaked with blood, and a few small pieces of splintered bone jut out at unnatural angles. The pain is nauseating, but you won't lose the hand.

Small blessings.

[1/2]

>>47712988
Go ahead and Gift of Soil the hand. Bring us back to full HP.

File: Selene.jpg (157 KB, 880x1175)

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>>47712988

“Her name was Izalith,” an ethereal voice calls out to you, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. Such is the weight of fatigue pressing down on you that you don't bother to marvel at the unseen speaker – you merely accept it as a reality, and move on.

Who, you ask, that thing?

“Its mother,” the voice continues, “When I ordered the sorceress Izalith cast down into this abyss, I never expected her to survive. Yet, she never found a way to escape this maze. She died down here, and her last act was to create a monster out of her own flesh. It's been down here ever since – a bother, really. I'd been meaning to do something about it, but...”

A blinding white light, then, and a figure appears above you, floating on wings of moonlight.

“I find it so hard to focus here,” Selene, mistress of the moon, says regretfully, “In the present, I mean.”

“Ira?” Ishida calls out, her voice echoing around the tunnels and chambers of this bleak place “You said you wouldn't be long, damn it! If you lied to me, I'm going to-” When she storms into the domed chamber, however, she falls silent at the sight of Selene's radiant form.

It's okay, you tell her, everything is clear – just like you said it would be.

“I...” falling silent, Ishida plants the tip of her sword in the water and drops to one knee, averting her eyes from Selene's silver form.

“Few mortals come down to these catacombs,” Selene purrs, “And nobody reaches this far, reaching this place. So tell me... what brought you here, Ira?”

>You have a lens. I need it
>I want to know my future – the truth this time
>I had something I needed to ask you... (Write in)
>Other

>>47713197
>You have a lens. I need it
>I want to know my future – the truth this time
>I had something I needed to ask you... (What is you game with Sho, with Seer, with Tenn in general?

>>47713197
Not sure I like asking about Ira's future. Prophecies fuck things up.

>You have a lens. I need it
>I had something I needed to ask you... (Write in)
"You gave Sho and Seer their prophecies knowing full well what would happen didn't you? Was it intentional, driving them down their paths to reach this outcome? It's either that, or you ironically lack a lot of foresight."

"And going to Pharos. Did you lie to me about my death? It's dangerous for sure, but every future Selene? I don't buy it, specially since my path seems to be taking me there anyways."

"How could you and your brothers prevented Makai's death and why did you not do it."

>>47713197
>You have a lens. I need it
>I had something I needed to ask you... (Write in)
Pretty much
>>47713282
>>47713349
these.

As you watch, Selene gracefully drops from the sky to sit perched on the largest pile of bones. She regards you with eyes that are little more than dark slits, a cool intelligence dancing within them. The way she sits reminds you, in some terrible way, of a carrion bird, one that waits for a wounded beast to die so it can feed.

With as much casual, unforced ease as you can scrape together, you call upon Mandragora's healing magic and restore your damaged hand. Wincing slightly at the sensation of broken bones sliding back into place, you draw in a shuddering breath. She has a lens, you begin, one that she holds very sacred indeed. You want it.

“You seek dead Pharos,” Selene declares, in the note of an accusation, “Is it knowledge that you seek, or revenge against the man who hides there?”

Really, you ask coldly, does that matter?

“An interesting question, human,” the goddess laughs delicately, “Does intent change the deed? Two men walk the same path, one with a heart filled with peace and the other with war – do they arrive at the same destination?”

She's dodging the issue. Could it be that she really can't lie, instead relying on misdirection and distraction? Frowning hard, you press on with your next question. Her prophecy about the Emperor, the visions she sent to the Seer – they all led up to some goal, didn't they? She laid out her pieces, and sent them moving down their “paths”, all to this moment, this outcome... right?

Selene takes a long time to answer, considering your words carefully as she looks for any loopholes she might exploit. Then, sighing, she gives her first answer. “I did not send your... Seer any visions. What he say, he stole from me. Oh, he buried it under layers of ritual and ceremony, but it was an act of the vilest theft nonetheless. He wished for a vision of the future, and it was given to him... against my wishes.”

[1/?]

>>47713651

“And the Emperor, your wretched boy ruler... I gave that prophecy knowing full well what the consequences would be. It would destroy him... or it would make him a worthy leader. By my best reasoning, it was an even chance – the toss of a coin, in other words. Did I drive him to the brink of destruction? Yes, yes I did... but I also steered him towards salvation. Isn't that the same choice that all men face, when we cast aside all pretence?”

Then this fragile peace that is slowly taking shape...

“Was all part of my plan,” Selene nods, “Of course, there were... risks. With every choice made, every branch in the path, there were irregularities, possibilities that defied all logical chance. Yet, would you not say that the risk has paid off?”

Pharos, you growl, she tried to ward you away from the place. She threatened you with certain death if you dared find it – was that a lie?

“Yes, it was,” Selene shrugs slightly, “It was the lie that you needed to hear at that particular moment. Going to Pharos, at that specific point in time, would not have helped either you or the land. Now, however, I fear that your path will inevitably lead you there. These sorcerers... they are very difficult to predict. Deliberately so, I believe. So yes, I will tell no lies – I wished for you to stay away from Pharos, for my own selfish reasons.”

The truth about what happened to Makai, you shoot back, she didn't want you to learn that. Nodens was a lot more talkative – she could have prevented what happened to Makai, her and her brothers, but she chose not to. Why, and how?

This time, Selene's silence is a lot longer, drawn out and painful. Without telling a lie, the easiest way to avoid the issue is to remain silent. Say nothing, and nothing she says can be used against her.

[2/3]

>>47713821
you know, as I look at the trio, I am noticing a trend; Nodens has ties to the past. titanos is very much set in the present and Selene is set into the future. Though due to their natures, it has caused them a lot of trouble. Nodens could have used more foresight, Titanos some hindsight, and Selene needs to see her actions are nothing more than throwing dice and hoping for the best while acting haughty about it.

>>47713902
Pretty much yeah.

>>47713821

After a moment, Selene plunges her hand into that pile of bone and pulls a sliver of polished glass free, tossing it to you with an almost careless throw. “The lens,” she says simply, “Take it. It's yours now. Do what you like with it.”

As you take the lens and drop it into your pocket, you return your eye to her. That, you tell her coldly, doesn't answer your questions.

“It will,” Selene meets your gaze, her own inhuman eyes colder than those of any predator, “But let me say this – wise Nodens told you that we did nothing, that we could have stopped Makai's death and did nothing to prevent it. I tell you this, human – to prevent Makai's death, we should have done nothing. Think on that, if you will.” Finally breaking her gaze away from you, Selene looks like she's about to take flight once more.

“Wait!” Ishida cries, rising up and finally daring to look upon her god, “I... I need to know something!”

“Faithful warrior,” Selene croons, “Speak.”

“I...” the bodyguard – the spy, the priestess, the soldier – hesitates for a moment, “...Will she be happy?”

“Happy enough,” the goddess answers, her voice turning... strangely kind, “She will not regret the decisions she has made, or those that she will come to make.”

“That's all I need to know,” Ishida whispers, her voice reaching you despite it's hushed tone. With her question delivered, and the answer received, she sinks back down to one knee.

“Tell me, Wanderer,” Selene asks, “Do you loathe me? Despise me for the games I have played, the risks I put your kind through?”

>Your goals were noble, even if your methods were not
>I cannot forgive you for what you've done to us
>I don't hate you. I don't care about you
>Come on Ishida, we're leaving
>Other

>>47713982
>Other.
Noticing a trend Where noble intentions and goals are mired with unneeded sacrifice. Either by the hands of man, sorcerer, or god. This is just another one.

>>47713982
"A lot of people died cause you decided to flip a coin. Could have Sho's father been strong enough a ruler to prevent Seer's attack had you not destroyed that family? Or maybe would his rule be to the detriment to you gods and you got rid of him? I don't know and I think that's a good thing. As a man I make the best decisions I can with what I know and that has served me well thus far."

"I don't loathe you Selene. I am disappointed in you and maybe a little bit sorry for you. Having foresight as your nature seems like a hard thing to bear, it could be considered a curse. I know human and gods see things in different ways, but I'd hoped that after being around us for so long you wouldn't play with our lives for some greater good that may or may not happen."

>>47713982
>Why do you care?
>You threw the dice more times than I cared to count, you even admitted you could have doomed us all with what you did. Even though things turned out for the best, what would have happened if you were wrong? I don't hate you, but I think that for all your supposed intellect, grace and understanding coupled with your visions of the future, you are as much a fool as Sho is. At least he has the excuse of being young, untried, and forsaken by fate, what's yours?

File: Ominous possibility.jpg (92 KB, 828x404)

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>>47713982
just toss a damn coin and see for yourself. And pull a Raziel and Kain

>>47713982
>Other
"Sadly this is about what I expected when I came here. For someone who has such foresight you need to learn so damn perspective just like the 'wretched boy ruler' has been. He also played with people's lives like toys yet in maturing he is learning to responsible for his actions."

>>47714215
>"If you flip a coin enough times, one day it'll land on it's edge."

Love that story.

>>47714215
>And should the coin land on it's edge? What then?

You've noticed something, you tell Selene with a kind of weary frustration, a trend running throughout this path of hers. Whenever someone with a noble goal rises up, they become mired in senseless violence and needless sacrifice. Be they man, god or sorcerer, everyone who has walked down this path has had to step over countless corpses every step of the way. So many people have died, and it all came down to the toss of a coin – a toss that could have led the land to ruin if it had gone the wrong way. A toss that she decided to take, without consulting those who would have to live with the results.

Without her actions, Sho's father could have been a fine man, a strong and just leader... but maybe he would have opposed her, her and the rest of the gods. That wasn't something she was prepared to accept, so she eliminated the possibility. That's all it ever was, you snap, a possibility. She sees so many of them that they've blinded her to the real world. You can't know the things she knows, but that's never done you wrong. For all her glimpses into the future, can she really say that she's done right by the land?

No, you don't loathe her. You're disappointed in her, and you pity her... but you're not surprised by her. She sees into the future, but she does it with less perspective than the foolish boy she scorns. The difference between the two of them? Sho is learning, improving himself as he travels the land. What, you ask, is she doing?

Hiding here, rolling dice and pretending to guide mankind towards a better future?

Selene stares at you for a long moment, the barely human canvass of her features twisting into something that might be... bitterness and regret? Hate and fury? Maybe even acceptance, the slightest hint of a kindly smile.

Then, with a clap of thunder, she is gone.

Maybe, you think aloud, she should have seen that coming.

>I'll have to stop there for tonight. Next thread on Sunday, and I'll stick around to answer any questions.

>>47714357
Thanks for running Moloch.

Is Ishida sitting there with her mouth agape at us talking to her god like that?

What did she think of Selene.

>>47714357
That was some sick burn, how Titanos and Nodens are reacting at the talk down she just got, and how salty is she?

>>47714357
Ira "Tellin' it like it is" Furyo strikes again

>>47714428
If he even ascends to god hood, Ira will simply be the god of 'Getting Shit Done'.

>>47714469
AKA God of Wanderers

>>47714390

Ishida was pretty stunned, yes! I've got to say, I can't really blame her.
Her opinion of Selene was... conflicted. In one regard, she's glad that Selene had a higher purpose in mind. Ishida, overall, is the sort of person who is happy being a cog in a machine. On the other hand, she was very unnerved at how many risks Selene took.

>>47714394

I kinda imagine that Nodens and Titanos enjoyed it - the three don't always like each other! Selene herself... I wonder. Surely, she must have been aware of what Ira's response might have been. I like to imagine that she had accepted it, but hearing it in person was harsher than expected.

>>47714501
So would a rule with Sho's father be really bad or something?

>>47714501
I like to think of it like a child getting spanked after knowing she had it coming. She did a bad thing, she knows she is going to get punished, but the sudden act and tone took her by surprise more than the pain of it.

After all, Ira did do everything to get the good end while she just manipulated everyone. She has gained no praise or worship and it might even weaken her compared to the other two who have been strengthened by Ira.

File: 1353555750862.jpg (90 KB, 761x720)

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>>47714357
>Maybe, you think aloud, she should have seen that coming.
Damn, that sort of thing needs a reaction image. I don't think I have anything remotely appropriate, so here's the closest thing.

>>47714581
Well she gained a hard lesson. Hopefully that amounts to something.

>>47714501
Nodens, Selene, and Titanos are a fish a bill and and a bird respectively. Was that to bring intentional parallels to Leviathan,Behemoth and Rukh?

>>47714565

Not bad as such, but it wouldn't have been favourable. Even before Selene crapped all over him, Sho's father was a bit weak, a bit indecisive. For all his many flaws, Sho is much more willful than his father ever was. In the long run, Selene judged Sho to be the more appropriate ruler and influenced things accordingly.

>>47714581

I think that's a pretty accurate way to put it. She knew that this was another step along the road, and she just had to take her medicine. Still, it's always going to sting when it happens.

>>47714629

Not a direct parallel - I based them of off land, sea and air. I suppose it's a pretty common theme, with the animals.
Also, the fact that I was able to find suitable art was a great help

>>47714688
How'd the meeting with Miura, Sho, and Maab go?

Was Maab giving the boy the Mom Glare or did she hold herself back to conduct herself appropriately?

>>47714745

Oh, Maab was the perfect host - calm, gracious and polite. Barely a moment of sincerity, but that's about as much as you can expect from Maab at the best of times. Barring a few sneering comments on Sho's behalf, things went relatively smoothly. He managed to get Maab's permission to pop the question, at least.
He doesn't need it, true, but it's a matter of politeness and formality.

>>47714811
So uh, how's Howa doing? Super anxious? Aya is making sure she doesn't drink too much right?

>>47714840

Oh, I think there must be a wine shortage or something - recently, Howa's barely touched a drop! As for her nerves, well, those are pretty shot. Aya's going to have a hard job if she wants to keep Howa settled

>>47714894
Has she told anybody yet?

>>47714901

It's better to be certain about these things, I think, before spreading the word. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for Ira to be the last one to know!

>>47714948
I was almost expecting Selene to tell Ira he is having a kid just to fuck with him after he gave her that hard lesson.

>>47714991

Well, maybe she knows that Ira's reaction when he finds out is going to be even better? Selene likes to play the long game, after all!

>>47714948
So whats next on the agenda?

Capital/Takino -> Pharos/Seer
or
Pharos/Seer -> Captial/Takino

I'm not really sure if the Takino situation is going to need time, or if it's going to pop off a day or two after Sho returns.

>>47715059
Capital first. Tie up all loose ends before dealing with the big truth bomb. It's what you do before going to the final dungeon.

>>47715095
There's also the fact we gotta swing by Nameless again to pick up Soma since she wanted to come.

Or maybe we can send a bird message to have her meet us at the entrance of Makai

>>47715059
>>47715095

Personally, I think dealing with the capital first would have a slightly better flow to it. It's hard to be sure though, so I might leave it up to a vote.

>>47715142
It's also what we can use against Seer, pointing the fact we erased his entire war, brought peace, and undid a ton of shit he was bitching about WITHOUT killing shit tons of people. Ira is going to be a great father if his kid is naughty.

>>47715164
I honestly think Ira is going to less strict parent. Howa seems like the kind of mom that if she says your full name, even in a sweet voice, you stand at attention instinctively.

>>47715164
>>47715196

Strictness, I feel, depends on whether magic is allowed. Normally, Howa might be the strict one, but Ira could trap you in your worst memories. You know, for when the naughty step just isn't enough!

>>47715227
>Ira could trap you in your worst memories
Is that considered child abuse? We should get Mentor to get a ruling on whether using Zulathoon on your own child is bad.

Pro tip: It is.

>>47715252

Frankly, I think using Zulathoon on your worst enemy is pretty bad! But yes, that would be a pretty shitty thing to do to a child. To all the parents out there, don't cast your children into a nightmarish abyss!

>>47715252
Look, when Ira Jr starts knocking down shrines and going 'screw the authorities', it's best to set him straight with a good long shock. Then again, Ira has a vast number of ways to find out and deal with naughty kids.

>>47715290
So is Takino, Pharos. Childhood Abomination, and Epilogue the last few things planned?

>>47715327

Yeah, those are the few last little bits I've got planned. I think that should tie up every major loose end. I can't say how long it'll take to get through those, though. Not too long, I imagine.

>>47715360
>Not too long, I imagine.
Probably less than 10 threads since your pacing is usually solid.

Shieet just realized there probably isn't enough time for a Amelia expy. Understandable though, it'd be hard to just throw in some random punchy god/person without it coming off as too forced.

>>47715360
What are the odds Howa is going to tell Aya about her situation if Aya is keeping an eye out for her?

>>47715453

Hmm, pretty low. I don't really see them as being close enough friends - or getting close enough in the short space of time - for Howa to share that. She's far more likely to use an excuse of some kind - "I'm just feeling unwell".

>>47715437

I'd be very surprised if we broke 60 threads, yes. Still, I'm not going to rule anything out yet - you never know what might happen!

>>47715508
You think Mentor is ever going to take off the immortality and pass on? Obviously he still has lots to teach,, but one day?

>>47715598

You know, I don't think I can answer that off-hand. It's difficult, I find, to get into the mindset of someone who has lived that kind of life, for that many years. In a sense, the Mentor might be closer to a god in this regard - he's more likely just to retreat from the world for a long time, until he feels ready to return.
On the other hand, there might come a time when he feels like he has repaid his debts and, yes, he might decide to pass away peacefully. It's hard to say how long it might take for him to feel that way, though.

>>47715653
How's he feeling about it right now? Ra and Maab meet after the audience for some "adult'
times?

>>47715752

I think the Mentor has, for the first time in a great many years, started to see himself as moving forwards. If things keep going, he might come to forgive himself sooner than he expected.
I don't think either of them would be able to admit it, but I don't think either the Seer or the Mentor will be able to move on while the other lives
Ra and Maab did meet up in private, for a good politely worded argument

>>47715841
>politely worded argument
Is this a euphemism?

>>47715841
>but I don't think either the Seer or the Mentor will be able to move on while the other lives
How come? In Mentor's case always knowing that sorcery has a chance at coming back with Seer alive so he has to stay vigilant?

>>47715872

No, they really did argue - in a very polite, but no less forceful way - about a whole bunch of things. Both blaming the other for putting Miura in the line of fire mainly.

>>47715900

That's definitely a factor, especially on the Mentor's part, but I think there might be another reason. In a way, they both blame the other for their crimes:
The Mentor was the teacher - he should have known better
The Seer was the apprentice - he shouldn't have pushed ahead so quickly
It's not logical, but it guilt isn't always a rational thing, especially if it's been stewing for several mortal lifetimes!

>>47715982
Ever notice some the slight similarities between Wanderers and Sorcerers to Jedi and Sith?

>>47715982
Is Ira going to get a chance to talk to them without Sho nearby and ask if his coming kid will get a playmate? Or asking Tawm and Soma.

>>47716078
Oh god. What if Sho, desperate to not be 'Last of his line', has a kid in like a year or two?

>>47716078
I myself can't help but imagine Koa being the teacher for Ira's kid and suddenly realize this is the shit he has pulled when he was younger.

>>47716125
Nine months from the wedding


>>47716146
>implying Ira wouldn't train his own kid.
I mean eventually after like the 4th or 5 th kid Koa would take over, but until then can't see it.

>>47716045

In retrospect, I can definitely see the similarities. That wasn't something I planned for when I started running, though.
I don't think I even thought of sorcery as a concept until a good ways into the quest

>>47716078

Maab and Ra? Ah, that ship sailed long ago - these days, they're just vitriolic friends and fellow conspirators. Tawn and Soma, though... it's possible!

>>47715982
So how badly are they fuming at each other?

>>47716167
Tawm & Soma
Sho & Miura
Ira & Howa
Koa & Aya

I get the next generation of parents on mark?

>>47716164
Ah yes, young Gula, Invidia, Superbia, Avaritia, Acedia, and Luxuria. A nice full house.

>>47716285
I noticed you kept the -a name trend.

>>47716285
Are those the other 7 delay sins in Latin?

>>47716245

Honestly? They're arguing like two worried parents - bickering over who to blame, but largely as a way of not facing their fear. It's a coping measure as much as anything else. They've got a pretty weird relationship, Ra and Maab.

>>47716265

They're all pretty good pairings, but I can't say for certain whether of not they'd be parent material. Sometimes, relationships are transitory things!

>>47716317
Yup. Gluttony, envy, pride, greed, sloth, and lust to be precise to go with Ira's wrath.

>>47716323
Has Tawn calmed down enough that if Soma came clean about her ex cultist status he wouldn't get super angry as long as she explained her reasons?

>>47716323
1 isn't likely to change, 1 better not change as for the other two who can say? besides you.

>>47716341
Acedia and Luxuria are going to be problem children.

>>47716364

I think it would probably strain things, but Tawn has found a calmer perspective. He might need some time apart from her to think things over, but at least he has the ability to think about it. Before, I don't think they'd have much of a chance.

>>47716382

I can imagine them all being problem children, honestly!

>>47716382
Acedia will be lazy, yes, but the sin of sloth is also the sin of inventors. Those who make devices to do less work. Luxuria will just be a playboy... with Ira's diplomacy skills.

>>47716430
Gula tries every sort of food he can find, Invidia wants to be just like daddy, Superbia keeps trying to beat everyone at everything, and Avaritia goes full on Jew.

>>47716460
So Acedia will make Howa a new leg, the promptly regret his decision?

>>47716512
>"You got Mom to move faster!? Now she can catch and kick our ass in half the time!"

>>47716512
Well, new legs, maybe further improving the printing press, indoor plumbing, who knows what evils shall be brought by such offspring? You got Ira's attitude with Howa's learning.

>>47716512

>Make the old lady a new leg
>She uses it to kick you out of the basement and make you get a real job
And then they'd have to invent /r9k/...

>>47716557
>Even Ira is afraid!

>>47716564
That is scary. Superbia will prolly be able to back up most of the prideful the kid claims too.


>>47716565
>Leg is strong enough to kick even Gula of the couch.

>>47716565
We should get Abandon History Goddess's shrine in the Nameless Temple's Archives, have her wake up and tell her what's been going on since she has been sleeping.

Having a god in the Temple could help give apprentices experience.

We can also have her babysit with Koa and Aya.

>>47716623
Fear for the next generation. If the kids keep even a bit of the divine spark Ira is holding, then any trouble maker would be in trouble. Gula could turn Noden's land into a fishing farm and Titanos domain into a place for beers and wine.

Avaritia would buy out any business that would cause trouble through diplomacy and sleuthing, and Invidia would be like a younger, stronger, envious Ira.

>>47716716
>If the kids keep even a bit of the divine spark Ira is holding
That's not mentioning Howa's fair share too.

>>47716675

That might be tricky, moving her over like that. Gods are bound to their land, typically. Although, I do wonder if moving the entire shrine elsewhere while the god is sleeping would change where the god is based.
In truth, a lot of these things aren't stuff I considered at first - too long term to have an influence, I assumed!

>>47716716
>>47716750

Well, you never know - they might all use their powers for good!

>>47716784
Who's good?

>>47716784
Well if it can't work like that we can always ask Sho if a history archive could be built where her shrine is. Renovate the place.

I just like the idea of a minor god chilling in the Nameless Temple with everyone. Make it feel less like the tomb of the young god Mentor killed. Road to recovery and all that.

>>47716784
Oh it would likely be a case of good, but it would still freak out everyone. Especially Selene. Can you imagine trying to predict the future with those 6 around? Chances are one of her visions will just be a potato at that point.

>>47716821
>>47716830

Frankly, if having that gang of miscreants running about makes Selene's life more difficult, I'd call that the greater good!

>>47716827

I can certainly see how that would make the Nameless Temple a brighter place. Maybe we could improve everyone's mood by moving Hyacinth in - she's the agreeable type, right?

>>47716872
>Maybe we could improve everyone's mood by moving Hyacinth in - she's the agreeable type, right?

Thorny as she is, she would love the company and anyone who got to know her would just smile and shake their head whenever she starts talking with a temper. Not taking it personally essentially.

Test

>>47716901

Spiteful remarks and foul temper aside, I'd say Hyacinth is pretty harmless. There are certainly worse gods out there to have as a neighbor!

>>47716960
we live?


>>47716872
So how is Howa going to drop the bomb?

>>47716962
>Kala as your neighbor
That'd be interesting.

>>47716971

>Help, My Neighbor is a Warrior Goddess!
That would make a terrible LN but I'd probably still read it.

>>47716970

Well, when all this is over and done with, I think she'll sit down with Ira, serve up a nice meal and break the news gently. You've got to be proper with these things!

>>47716974
>That would make a terrible LN
It would be strong in the (judging how Kala acted) 'Ojou-sama tomboy tsundere' department.

I'd probably read it too.