>>424086
>>Get her up here.
Seems like the easier choice.

>>424086
>Get her up here.

>>424086

>Get rid of those wolves!

(Calling votes. Going to try and update faster this session.)

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>>424099
>>424102
“Get her up here!”

In an instant, a tide of slime flows out from the lake, sweeping Aima off her feet and carrying her up. Her face turns into a mixture of surprise and uncertainty which accompanies her little yelp. When she reaches you, she drops down, and you see the wolves below growling at you.

Aima looks at you after a pause. “That was… SO COOL!”

“What? What if you died? What if I died? I got cut in half!” you retort.

“You’re a real zombie right? Everything’s okay!” There’s a bit of distress still mixed with her excitement. “You know, you’re nothing like the books say. But uh… sorry,” she sheepishly trails off.

“Just be careful.” You turn to the Lord of Mire and say, “So uh, about the thing.”

“The Kraken?” He says to your dismay, “Yeah, just make him surface so I can see him.”

Butting in, the girl asks, “Hey, what’s this about the Kraken? Helios, who’s this guy? A friend?”

The Lord of Mire responds, “Yeah we’re great pals. I’m the Lord of Mire, who are you, little lady?”

“That’s not a name.” Aima pouts, standing up straight, “Well, I’m the to-be-Slayer of the Order, hunter of mythos, future queen and savior of the world, Elena Aima! I thank you for saving me.”

Did she… rehearse this?

“Hunter of mythos, huh?” he laughs.

You think a bit as they talk to each other. Baiting the Kraken?

>Ask Aeses, he seemed like he had a plan already.
>Rely on Aima.
>Just find a boat and look delicious.
>Write-in.

>>424329
>Just find a boat and look delicious.

>>424329
>Rely on Aima.

>>424329
>>Just find a boat and look delicious.
Seemed to work out just fine last time.

(Ending voting.)

>>424329
What books?

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>>424341
>>424362
>>424506
“…what about Undine?” asks Aima.

“…Maybe?” the ooze responds.

“So, that’s a yes?”

You feel a sudden blast of wind from below and see that the mist has been parted forcefully.

“It’s a maybe,” he says, as he gently lowers you two down on the ground. There, you notice that the bottom of Aima’s cloak had gotten a little torn.

“Bye Undine!” she waves.

“Bye, and Helios, don’t forget about me in Luxia!”

Your hand transitions from a small wave to covering your face.

“Undine?” you question.

“I’m really good at names, right?”

Replying with a thumbs up, you also ask, “Oh, you mentioned something about books?”

“Those old history books. You know, those old dusty Pre-War things.”

With the mist gone, the wolves seem to be keeping their distance from you. Every part of your body still aches, you find to your discomfort. When you get far enough, you part ways with Aima.

“You’re running away, aren’t you? You still owe me!” she frowns.

“You going to follow me to the bathroom?”

…

The sea is nature’s bathroom, so it technically wasn’t a lie. Drifting on a dingy raft you found after a while, you try your best to look delicious. You left your bag with Aima, just in case, but it’s not like there were many valuables in there. Waving a limb or two in the water, you hope that the Kraken is close. Maybe not too close.

[Roll 1d100, average of 3]

>>424534
dice+1d100

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>424552
...I'm tired.

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>424534

(Writing + drawing.)

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>>424559
>>424565
(37+21)/2 = 29 [Bumpy Ride]

Baking in the sun, you groan as you drift in the sea, waiting. There’s nothing. There’s absolutely nothing out here.

When you had enough, you jump into the water to look for anything. The blessing from before is still kicking, just barely. With a sigh, you begin to climb back onto the raft.

That’s when you feel it: suckers gripping your body as a tentacle rips you from the air. You’re pulled deeper and deeper as you tap at the gemstone at your neck. He’s paying attention right? The tentacle turns you around, bringing you face to face with the oversized squid, and you hope the Lord of Mire not too far away.

In a rumbling voice laced with impatience, it says, “Heal me…”

“I’m on it,” you nervously reply, now shaking the gemstone. “And sorry about before. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Then, you notice that the black rot, which has grown considerably since you last saw, is now growing smaller. Also shrinking is the amount of air you’re getting.

The Kraken grumbles, “I’m confused. Why did you attack me? And this magic… it’s not yours.” As the damage of the baneweed goes away, he continues, “What happened to you?”

“That’s a good question.”

With it having a dour mood and your blessing fading by the second, you doubt you can get much out.

>Ask about who you are.
>Ask about what happened to the beast.
>Write-in.

>>424794
>>Ask about what happened to the beast.

>>424794
>Ask about who you are.

(Next reply breaks tie. I don't want to flip a coin for this one.)

>>424885
Beast one

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>>424800
>>424901
“It’s a long story. What happened with you?” you say, barely able to talk underwater.

“I smelled something yummy, so went to see what it was. Sometimes nice people bring me food, and this one smelled really, really good.”

You have a feeling those shipments weren’t for the Kraken.

It continues, “When I tried to eat it, a girl hit me with this thing. I hit back, but a spell stopped me. There was someone mean behind me too, so I ran away.”

Trying to get out of its grip, you wriggle and free yourself. The blessing is gone now. Baneweed, a harpoon, and a girl?

“Helios, are we… friends?” an uncertain voice rumbles. “Will you be back with something yummy?”

You try to gesture a response, followed by a goodbye to the big oaf as you try to surface. When you do reach air, you’re instantly pulled up by magic. Someone looks at you angrily, her appearance reminding you a lot of Kae’s. She’s on a boat, along with Aeses and Aima.

“YOU! What are you doing here?”

She magically chucks you onto the boat, and you land roughly.

Aima tries answers for you, “Aunt Fy, he was just seeing a friend! It was my idea to follow, please!”

Fy goes on as Aeses watches in silence, “You have 5 seconds to explain yourself before I bury you 6 feet under. And Aeses, you have 5 seconds to explain why he isn’t buried already.”

>Tell the truth.
>Plead ignorance.
>Keep your mouth shut.
>Write-in.

>>425052
>>Keep your mouth shut.
"I've never begged for my life, and I'm not about to start now."

>>425052
she can try not to its going to do her much good as we will just dig out of it:P

>>425052
>We're in the middle of the ocean. Burying me six feet under the surface would be impossible.

>>425066
This.

(Calling votes.)

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>>425066
>>425081
>>425085
>>425086
You’re not about to let everyone know you’re buddy-buddy with two mythoi they’d probably want dead.

“I've never begged for my life, and I'm not about to start now,” you say. “You can try, but I don’t think it’s going to do any good, with us being in the middle of the ocean.”

You see another wrinkle on her face as she tosses you across the boat while rotating the ship with a spell.

Aeses tries to explain, “Maybe throw him to the dogs for a bit, but this guy, he’s harmless. He can’t even use magic, he has no well. He’s like old banged up teddy bear you used to have.”

Aima chimes in, “Yeah! I saw him fight, and he was soo bad. He’s harmless!”

“What!? He’s the most suspicious person I’ve ever met! Look at him, a talking corpse, in this century, walking around doing god knows what!” Fy argues.

Trying to calm her down, he says, “I’ve checked the White Lake. There’s nothing there, no trace of magic. Only a few wolf pelts.”

“What about right now? What is he doing drifting in the middle of the sea?”

“Do you really think he’s colluding with the Kraken? Don’t be ridiculous, he’s not talking to a giant squid. Calm down,” he implores. “Think about the plan. We can use him.”

“We are not talking about lunatic fantasies right now, Aeses. And plus, he almost got Elena killed.”

“Hence, the dogs.”

Interrupting Aima adds, “None of the white wolves attacked me, they all bit Helios. My cloak got ruined because I tripped, that’s it! I’m okay, so everything’s fine, right?”

“It is not fine!” Grumbling, Fy throws her hands in the air as she paces around, complaining.

Aeses whispers to you, “You’re going to Luxia, right? Just play docile, give me a little hand, and it’ll be fine.”

You see Aima’s good at keeping things quiet as the Lord of Mire is.

>”Alright, I’ll play along.”
>”Forget it, this is bad news.”
>Write-in.

>>425408
>”Alright, I’ll play along.”
We mostly healed the Kraken right? We're all good if that's the case. I'll stay quiet if that's what he means by playing along.

>>425408
>>”Alright, I’ll play along.”
but your going to take me to where lucky is

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>>425456
>>425462
“Alright, I’ll play along.”

“Great!” Standing up, Aeses goes over to try and talk with Fy.

“We are not kidnapping her.”

“It’s not kidnapping if she’s wants to.”

“What about her father?”

“He’s got a million kids, he won’t notice.”

…

Soon enough, you arrive at some port. Of course, you couldn’t see anything at all, seeing as how you were inside of a crate pretending to be a bunch of minerals. The journey’s made you seasick, and once you got out in the alleyway right outside the port you sat yourself upright and thoroughly caressed the ground.

The first thing that catches your eyes were the flyers around, littering almost everywhere. You can read them well, although some words here and there you don’t recognize.

You don’t want to miss the reveal of the newest airship to soon sail the skies! Crafted by the master engineer Daedalus, this new invention will blow your minds! The first ever non-magic powered airship will be seeing its first flight, joined by our famous guest, Lucky. Don’t miss out on this groundbreaking event happening on the 10th of Sapphire!

And a picture of a familiar girl is at the bottom, saying, “I’ve travelled the world and brought down many beasts, but this is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen! Don’t miss out, come join me here at the Central Square!”

Aeses, looking at you, tells you to hurry up.

>”What’s this airship event?”
>”So, mind telling me the plan?”
>”Who’s Daedalus and Lucky?”
>Write-in.

>>425705
>>”So, mind telling me the plan?”
>>”Who’s Daedalus and Lucky?”

>>425705
>”So, mind telling me the plan?”
>”Who’s Daedalus and Lucky?”

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>>425737
>>425744
Fy and Aima are up ahead, talking. The latter looks awestruck. You walk out, looking like a wreck, and meet up with Aeses. For the first time, or maybe first time you remember, you see Luxia. Huge stone walls line the edges of the city, extending high and far into the landscape. In the center of it all is a castle, built upon a mountain, it’s path to the top spiraling around it gently outward. In the middle of the sky is a huge ship, a humongous balloon lifting it higher.

“So, mind telling me the plan?” you ask as you walk.

“The plan is you play along. Just say nothing and nod when you’re supposed to.”

“That’s not telling me anything.”

“We’re going to an old friend. To try and arrange a meeting, we’re pretending we’ve discovered a brand new earthshattering spell. Your job is pretending that Elena permanently drained your magic well.“

As you walk down the streets, you watch as people give you odd stares and whisper complaints, all about how strange and grim your costume is. In a way, you’re less strange than some you see walking around. There’s half-animals, elves, and is that a cat that you saw purchasing a belt?

“Hey, who’s Daedalus and Lucky?”

“Daedalus, he’s some nutjob. Made the first airship and it was powered by animals. Never spoke to him, don’t plan to. Lucky on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind meeting. She says she’s a courier but I don’t believe it. She did some bounties here and there, and then one day she comes back with Frost Witch dead. Instantly blew up. And she did it alone, too.”

You keep your mouth shut as you walk, and soon you pass something that catches your eye. The town square is right to the side, a gargantuan circular curtain in the middle of the commotion. There’s an awful lot of people here. No one would notice if you slipped out, right?

>Go with the plan.
>Slip away.
>Write-in.

>>425871
>>Go with the plan.
Yeah, I'm sure no one would notice a walking corpse running through the streets, that's just silly!

>>425871
>>Slip away.

>>425871
>Go with the plan.

>>425871
>Slip away.
Fuck em.

(Next vote breaks the tie. Or I flip a coin in 10.)

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>425979
1 = Plan
2 = Slip away

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>>425881
>>425940
You stick with the plan. Eventually, you stop at some kind of cafe, where Fy and Aima are waiting. The former stands outside worried when she hands you a cloak. You quickly wrap yourself up and go inside with the other two. You find that the interior is mostly lit by sunlight as you approach a booth. There a man waits, dressed in a suit. Aima meekly slides in first, twiddling her fingers under the table. He stares you down as you sit after Aeses.

He questions, “Explain.”

“Like I said, Aima did something by accident even the Archmage would be impressed of,” answers Aeses. “Look at him,” he gestures to you. “How are you feeling, Helios?”

“I’m fine. A bit seasick,” you respond.

The man in the suit seems a bit stunned. “What did you…”

Aeses cuts in quickly. “He’s not a zombie. Look, he can talk. What do you say about Aima’s examination?”

He replies quietly, “You’ve brought me something more interesting than you let on.” With a controlled wave, the cloak on your blasts back.

Wrapping it back around you, you watch Aeses raise his hand, dropping the man with a spell. You hear whispers as people look your way.

“Is that the Guardian?”

“Who’s that in the costume?”

“I knew it wouldn’t work,” says Aima.

Aeses turns to you. “We should leave.”

>”Let’s go.”
>”You stay, you need to handle everyone."
>”I’ll go on ahead so he doesn’t see you with me.”
>Write-in.

>>426096
>>”You stay, you need to handle everyone."
To Asses yeah? It was his idea so he can take the fall for it.

>>426096
>>426105
Seconding

Calling votes.

>>426096
>>”You stay, you need to handle everyone."

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>>426105
>>426123
>>426200
“You stay, you need to handle everyone,” you start, getting up. “It was your plan.”

“What?”

You leave before he can get in another word. When you pass by Fy, you only tell her to go inside. You have a feeling you got mixed up in something big, something that you shouldn’t have gotten involved in. Keeping your head down, you move in a brisk pace as fast as possible away from it all. The feeling that someone’s following you grows stronger, but it doesn’t matter because you don’t look back. You walk, walk, and walk, all the way to the Central Square, almost getting lost.

“And without further ado, let’s get this off the ground!”

It doesn’t matter who’s talking. You scan the area, looking for a face you know too well. There she is, Lucky 2, on the ship waving to everyone. Your instincts take hold, driving with the unstoppable force of fear and anxiety. Pushing past the murmuring crowd of people, you leap onto the elevated stage.

“Stop right there! Don’t go any further.”

You clutch your bag, surrounded by armed men as the ship begins to leave. Looking up, you make eye contact with her. Everything swirls as you try to come up with something, the constant flow of unlucky events haunting you, and then something pops in your mind. The necklace.

Digging for it as the men close in, you clutch it as you rip all the magic you can from the vessel. You know this. You know this. With a small nudge, you blast the men away, leaving you free to your mad dash as the airship flies and picks up speed. There’s someone behind you calling, but you don’t care. The stage beneath you explodes forward, launching you closer, just enough for you to smash your grip into the wood hull.

Someone’s not just following you anymore, she’s holding onto you, fearing for her life.

“I… I didn’t think this through,” squeaks Aima.

>>426274
(Thought about it and realized I've got a serious case of burnout. Going to put this in indefinite hiatus. Though, thank you all for playing. It was fun, but I'm not cut out for this. Sorry if you were looking forward to anything. Thank you again.)

>>426271
Aima is turning out to be pretty cute, shame about the whole soon-to-be-Slayer thing. Maybe we can get her to give up on that and join us for fun and adventures. About time we went full badass, we've been getting hyped up for a while now. Soon enough we'll get our revenge and knock Lucky 2 down a few pegs. Or kill her, I dunno. Either way is fine.
Thanks for running, see ya next time.

>>426289
Ah well, can't say I'm too happy about it getting cut right when it was getting good but that's just how it is. No problem man, I'll just go with my super sweet, totally canon ending where we kill Lucky 2 and somehow bring back best waifu Frost Witch and live happily ever after. With Aima as a potential daughteru. Anyway, see ya around I guess.

>>426289
Well that's a bit shit but what can you do. Hopefully taking a break might bring your interest back.