>>565617
Did we pick an action last thread?

>>565632
Yeah, seemed like

>>565632
It was
> “I thought it was just a one-off exhibition fight.”
> Give them a quick spar with a sword, to work on our swordwork and give Adel a false idea of our specialty and skills.

Really, you're not all that interested, but- wait. “Hold on, I thought it was just a one-off exhibition. Me and the other kid?” You didn't hear anything about a tournament- although you have been busy lately...

The trio looks at each other quickly, before responding. “Ah! Interesting that you haven't heard! The Prince announced a tournament to go along with your fight- he considered it to be a righteous demonstration of strength and perseverance by all Albanians, worthy of the great Noble One himself!” Well, that's kind of annoying, but... “He decreed that your fight will be saved for last! Rumor has it that whomever wins the tournament will be granted the option of facing off against the winner between you two!”

“That seems unnecessarily complicated, and I don't remember agreeing to anything like it.” You note. You don't like the idea of him going ahead with a full-blown tournament like this- that just wastes more time. Then again, all things considered...it might come in handy? You'll have to see.

“Oh? Perhaps he intends to ask you today, then?” a second soldier says. “Regardless, how about that sparring session?”

Uggghhh...well, it might be a good idea to get some kinda weapon practice in. You're solid with a sword- probably much moreso than these guys- but in comparison to some certain others, you could do with some extra work here and there. Izumi would likely have had words with you the other day...although thinking about it, you probably should talk to her more. “Alright, fine. Let's have at it for a bit. But I'm not in the mood for anything extended, so we'll keep it quick.”

The trio cheer as you walk down, Geegee giving you a hardy slap on the back (that you didn't really feel) and a loud 'Make 'em cry, girl!'

Right. Well then. “So, we've been told that you've cut down multiple foes at once. Care to dare risk us all at once, or want us to take turns?”

> Come at me however you like. I've no preference.
> One at a time. I can critique you better like that.
> All at once. It's really you that should be concerned.

>>565687
>Come at me however you like. I've no preference.

They asked for this, and we don't really seem to care overmuch, so let em do what they want.

>>565687
>> Come at me however you like. I've no preference.

>>565687
>One at a time. I can critique you better like that.
"I am more experienced than my youthful visage may suggest."
I think that it would help their broken pride if we soften the blow by letting them know we're not just more powerful and faster, but also far more experienced.

>>565687
>Come at me however you like. I've no preference.
"One at a time, all at once, it does not change the outcome any. You wont be able to touch me."
Say this like it would be a FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH of the universe

>>565687
>> Come at me however you like. I've no preference.
This one fits Miranda best.

YOU TRIED SO HARD
AND GOT SO FAR
BUT IN THE END
I'm writing.

On my phone because my timing is horrid.

dammit man I was sitting in the old thread waiting for a link to the new one

>>565739
>I'm writing.
>On my phone
No...Handler, you fool...

>>565739
As long as you don't get caught by your boss again :^ }

>>565782
>>565791
Oh no, I just got asked to get food. I'm off today.

>>565846
Only look at your phone when stationary, then.
It'd be a shame for you to get in an accident.

>>565687
“Doesn't much matter to me,” you state. “Come at me however you like. It won't really much change the outcome whether you do it one at a time or all together.” Even you're not sure if that was a boast or simply stating an undeniable fact.

The soldiers, at least, take it in good humor however. “Maybe, maybe not. Regardless, we intend to put up a good fight!”

Yoy follow as they make their way to the corner of the stadium. There are weapon racks for wood practice weapons. You all grab swords; longswords seem to be the general weapon of choice around here. That's fine with you. Better than all whips.

As you've come to expect, folks are stopping to watch. Not everyone, however, which is a relief. The trio huddle up for a couple of seconds, likely to discuss the order in which they would spar. Eventually, the two quieter ones step up first. “We’ll fight you together, if you don't mind,” one of them says, and it surprises you somewhat to hear a girl's voice coming from behind the helmet.

Outwardly however, you just ready yourself into a fighting stance. They do as well, and you can almost immediately see an issue- they both have stances for wide swings when they're far too close together. You'll mention that later, however.

With an unseen signal, they both charge. You decide it's best to keep it to mostly deflection and avoidance for now, focusing on footwork and positioning than anything else. Your opponents don't really seem to notice, and keep up a continuous pressure of high and low attacks; they seem to have a good sense of teamwork, but they also seem to be a bit jerry in their attacks- a bit too hesitant to attack immediately after the other.

Eventually you decide to end it when one of them goes for a thrusting strike- you quickly slap his sword away and while he's off-balance trip him up with the flat of the blade. You quickly round on the other soldier, quickly shifting your body into her, as she attempts a diagonal cut. The strike misses, and your weight transitions into a tackle which knocks her down. Before she can recover, your sword is at her throat.

"You're too cautious. Stop worrying about what might happen if I dodge and commit to your strikes."

She grumbles, but nods.

These soldiers are surprisingly chill.

>Izumi would likely have had words with you the other day...although thinking about it, you probably should talk to her more.
Yeah!

>>565922

You turn to look at the other soldier as well; he's just getting up. "Same goes for you, too. I don't know if she's your girlfriend, or if you're just overly cautious. Either way, you can't hesitate if your going to be attacking in tandem. Either trust her to be clear of the strike whe you swing, or don't attack at all."

All three of them look at you with some degree of impression. "That's good advice," the third man says. "They'll do well to follow it. But for now..." he steps up, blade in hand. "I believe it's my go, eh?"

He carries himself with much more assurance than the other two did. Likely a high-ranking soldier- when you look around, you notice that it seems like just about everyone present is watching now.

Damnit. It might be best to just end this one quickly instead of drawing it out too much...or not. People talk either way... at this point it may just be a matter of showing what you're willing to reveal.

>Keep up with the dodging and casual fighting.
>End it quickly and with force.
>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.
>Other

Next entry will happen once I'm back home.

>>565974
She's the member of our company that has too many moral hangups, and that's why she's so poor.

>>565978
>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.

>>565978
>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.
Make sure that we don't reveal our full experience or skill level.

>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.

Sandbagging works for practicing. Fight someone too far under you, and you get nothing. Fight someone too far over you, and you get destroyed before learning anything.

At least with this option, it'll do something for someone.

>>565978
>>Other
Wait for him to come to you, then dodge under his sword, and bring ours up into his stomach.

>>565978
>Other
Drill him for a minute, correct his stance and comment on all his attacks and defeat him before we wound his pride and authority. Turn to the others and say "Tomorrow you'll see me fight with my weapon of choice instead of a... /sword/"

>>565978
>>End it quickly and with force.

>>565989
Switching to
>>566010
One-hit touchdown, make it look like a fluke.

>>566010
Hm, I'll switch to this too.

>>566010
Sounds like a neat finisher, why not?

>>566024
>Turn to the others and say "Tomorrow you'll see me fight with my weapon of choice instead of a... /sword/"
Don't do this. We want Sword-Twat to think that we're using a sword for the fight. That way he'll work on techniques for fighting against a longsword, and will be thrown for a loop when we focus on fisticuffs.

>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.
>>565982
Yeah, I know. That's why I like her. She's not weak-willed like Miranda who lost her morals to apathy and greed.

But mostly I just want some weapon tips from her.

>>566044
Chill, I switched already.

>>566045
>Weak-willed
>greedy and apathetic.

Apathetic, certainly, but she's not particularly greedy or weak willed. Miranda's income is actually pretty modest based on her living conditions, and will isn't really tied to how jaded you are.

>>566048
I didn't see your post come up when I typed my last reply, so I didn't know you changed it. Besides, I had more of an issue about the "Weapon of Choice" quote rather then the drilling bit.

>>565978
>>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.

>>566061
If she had a strong will, she wouldn't be apathetic. And taking jobs that used to go against her morals just because they pay well is definitely greedy.

>>566045
Weak-willed people become henchmen and mcdonalds employees, not mercs

>>566067
Same, I forgot we more or less had consensus on this last thread.

File: 6c8.png (346 KB, 518x590)

346 KB PNG

>>566045
>Weak-willed
Quite untrue, I'd say. At 93 of mental age, she's likely much wiser than you think. We, the players, haven't even met Izumi, so she might not exactly what you think of her. Her set of morals could come from an unexpected reason, or just for her to hold on part of her former self.

In a multiplanar reality, morals are not constant nor are they always a strength.

And back. It's looking like
>Temper your attacks so that you outpace him, but not by much.

But I'll try to work in the

>Wait for him to come to you, then dodge under his sword, and bring ours up into his stomach as well.

one, too.

>>566080
What? Moral =/= Strong-willed. You might as well say that getting bored with anything makes you weak-willed as well. Thats ridiculous.

I could make the argument pretty easily that because she has confidence in herself, that demonstrates strong will. I could also make the argument that because Izumi can't nut up and do what she needs to in order to get her life together, that it's indicative of weak will, or at least naivete. Its all subjective.

>>566087
Oh, a question that I thought of after last night:
Has Miranda or SES ever operated in a timeline with actual gods, angels, and demons?
Do their powers extend outside of their native planes, or are they limited to just the universe that they were born in, and therefore are nothing but caged divinities jealous of the Dealmakers who could escape their planar prison?

Has she ever seen a space fleet tear into a demonic horde, and seen demons and angels torn apart by singularity cannons and plasma pulse batteries?

>>566111
I want to brawl with Zeus or work alongside Ciaphas now

>>566111
Yes.

No, universe limited.

Twice.

Still writing.

>>566109
Izumi is doing what she needs to do to get her life together: Getting a second job. Though looking at the first thread, her money issues are mostly because she prefers areas similar to her home plane, which suggests nostalgia is her major motivating factor. Kinda sad.

>Moral =/= strong-willed.
Compromising your morals means you're weak-willed in my eyes. You had something you believed in, and failed to uphold that belief. I can't see that as anything other than a failure of character.

It doesn't really matter what I think about Miranda, though. I won't be voting for her to turn over a new leaf without some major, repeated character development in that direction, and that looks unlikely.

>>566165
Morals change, holmes. Values are not static. Its called adaptation.

>>566165
To wit, just look at Alban. Morally, to an Alban native, it is morally indefensible to question or speak ill of Orind.

Does that make the people who muster up the courage to question or rebel against the religion weak-willed?

>>566165
>Compromising your morals means you're weak-willed in my eyes.
Well then, good for you for having a moral compass of some sort. Now stop assuming everyone shares those same values.

>>566165
Again, when did Handler give info about Izumi that wasn't somehow including in the Character details? Looks like you're assuming many things about her and projecting your sense of morality.

Why is this even an argument? Can't you hold this in until we meet the damn girl?

>>566216
Just arguing against the idea that the MC is weak-willed. I make no value judgements on characters we've yet to see, only 'hypotheticals'.

Goddammit

>>565978
Hmm...everyone seems to be expecting some sort of great clash, judging by the murmuring going on. There's a very very loose, large ring of people surrounding you at the moment, and you kinda really just want to tell them to get lost. Before you can think much more on it, however, the man hops forward- and you lean back to dodge his early, cheap swipe, giving him a raised eyebrow in return.

He just shrugs, and you can see the grin on his face, helmet or no. You think about getting offended at that...but part of you admits it's pretty practical, and you simply take up your position against him.

You start by feeling him out- his footwork is much more sure than his two subordinates, and his strikes are relatively fast, and precise. He's got no one else to worry about, of course, but his movements are still very direct and sharp. You can see what might be a couple of weaknesses, though- although he's committing to his attacks, he's leaving them lighter so that he can recover from deflections faster- he's not getting thrown as hard, but that's because you keep letting his attacks slide off, instead of doing something else. You decide to 'train' him a bit, and start pressing the attack some, delivering several low strikes, along with the occasional 'high' strike- that largely just manages to reach his neck.

Soon, you're exchanging offense and defense, and you can hear the small crowd around you cheering and yelling- you even glimpse Geegee out the corner of one eye; she must've came down to the floor at one point, but there's little time to focus on that as you dodge another swing and respond with another thrust, which he barely deflects. He's getting more aggressive, throwing a bit more weight into things. Doesn't change much of anything for you, however, and you remain calm as possible.

Soon, your blades clash and you hop away once, twice, to give yourself a touch of space- he suddenly rushes in, with an audible grunt of frustration and exhaustion, maneuvering his sword for an upward slash. That's your chance.

You take a step in, then lean your upper body to the right as you crouch under the rise of his swing- then using that as momentum, you spring up into his stomach, bringing your sword into his with a sudden ferocity.

The resulting impact takes the veteran off his feet, and you can hear the wooden sword crack on impact.

Huh. You had honestly expected it to splinter. Must be high quality craftsmanship.

cont.

>>566220
It's patently stupid to say Miranda is weak-willed but just let him vote alone for the "whatever" and "okay" options if that's what he thinks she should be like.

I for one think the character interpretations are interesting and enjoy the discussion.

>>566242
>It's patently stupid to say Miranda is weak-willed
I agree. how is being practical supposed to be 'weak willed'?
hell, one of our colleagues is having performance issues due to being tied up to moral related BS. this is what makes us do a better job than other average joes that's bound to morals

>>566236
Everyone gasps in shock at the impact, and he hits the ground with a thud. There's silence in the stadium for a few moments as everyone takes in what just happened. Then a slightly squeaky, familiar cheer.

“WOO! TOLDJA SHE WAS GOOD! PAY UP!”

Thanks, Geegee.

As the two soldiers help their groaning commander up, you're kinda wondering how to respond.

> “You shouldn't have charged in. You left yourself too open.”
> “Were you getting tired? You were much more refined earlier.”
> “You need to train up your strength a bit more. There's no bite to your attacks.”
> Maaaaybe it'd be an idea to just leave.
> Other

>>566298
>> Maaaaybe it'd be an idea to just leave.

>>566284
Interestingly enough, Izumi has a 98 percent job completion record to Mirandas 94. This is tempered by the fact that due to her preferences, she probably gets half as many jobs as Miranda at most, so the sample size is much smaller.

Also, it must be soul crushing when she DOES fail.

>>566310
>>566298
Shit, forgot to add in:

> Head up to Geegee, "You're paying for the first round tonight."

>>566298
>> “Were you getting tired? You were much more refined earlier.”

>>566298
>“You shouldn't have charged in. You left yourself too open.”
This might have tipped our hand too much.

> “Were you getting tired? You were much more refined earlier.”

>>566367
Im sure he does, but miranda takes all comers, whereas izumi takes jobs that are never villainous, and dont deviate much from her home plane. The number of jobs available with conditions like that will be far far less.

>>566298
> Maaaaybe it'd be an idea to just leave.

>>566323
Sal seems a skillful manager, jungling with 3 merc women while dealing with potential patrons and his bosses. He knows very well how to find consumers.

>>566298
>Maaaaybe it'd be an idea to just leave.
We've done enough.

Miranda: exit, pursued by a goblin.
Writing.

>>566298
>> “Were you getting tired? You were much more refined earlier.”

>>566298
Yeeeahhh, no. With all the commotion, you know you'll just get bombared by questions or statements or whatever. You give a quick nod towards the soldier as you see him turn towards you, and quickly walk towards the exit, passing by a currently gleeful Geegee collecting her winnings from one poor unlucky soul.

Well, it was an interesting way to spend time, that much was certain. You're not sure if that may have been too much, but you're starting to feel like it was...hopefully word wouldn't get back to Adel before the end of the day tomorrow, but you knew that that was unlikely. If nothing else, he'll be told that you're a capable swordswoman who has enough strength to outmatch a high ranking soldier with relative ease- you'd barely broken a sweat during the fight, and hadn't even taken off your cloak, but you're hoping that no one really noticed.

Soon enough you head pat-pat-pat-patting steps run up behind, along with a jingling of coins. Seems like Geegee finally caught up to you. “Hey there miss 'walk in, stomp everyone, leave'! You just got me a nice little extra chunk of change! Thanks!”

“Didn't do it for you unless you're paying for the first round tonight." She laughs.

“Hey, sounds like a deal ta me! But the day's hardly done with. Got any other plans, or you gonna make it a lazy day?”

Well...

> “Sleeping in sounds nice...” You'll handle anything else tomorrow.
> “No, I plan on taking a walk around town.” And maybe trying to find out more about the Church's hidden methods and forces.
> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina, or possibly someone else. (Who?)
> Other

>>566533
>> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina

>>566533
“I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina

This is a dangerous time for Sorina's faith. I'm almost worried Sorina's gonna find a knife in the dark.

>>566533
>> “No, I plan on taking a walk around town.” And maybe trying to find out more about the Church's hidden methods and forces.
>> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina
Let's find out just where her Zealot not-boyfriend's church was. Might as well see if there's anything in there.

Oh, wait, what about the sigil on that mage statue in the college?

>>566533
> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina
Pull her back in the basking Light of Truth, then we use her help to find more shit on the Church.

>>566556
I'm also curious about it.

>>566533
>> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina

>>566533
>“No, I plan on taking a walk around town.” And maybe trying to find out more about the Church's hidden methods and forces.
I wonder how she's faring after the truth.

>>566533
> See some sights
Did we ever confirm to the Prince that we were going to do the medal and fight thing?
Also not sure we need to go about solving the indoctrination thing ourselves, for all we know the knights of the moon may be in a better position to deal with it than us once they have been informed.

>>566605
It's less about solving the indoctrination problem, and more about finding enough proof that even the Zealot can't readily disprove without going to ridiculous lengths to ignore Occam's Razor.

At least, that's my view of why we're doing it. That and the fact that I want to see him cry bitch tears when he learns the truth.

>>566605
personally, I want to just rub it in their face, and see the salt flow. ESPECIALLY for that zealot kid and the hype kid. I'm just really compelled to do so.

>>566533
Eh, we're on the job. It'd be unprofessional to sleep on it.
> “I was hoping to just see some sights.” Try to find Sorina

File: delicioustears.jpg (94 KB, 480x360)

94 KB JPG

>>566632

>>566658
Aren't they the one and the same? Or are you talking about Adel the boastful lecher?

>>566694
Tavis is the holier than thou biblethumper, Adel is boastful hothead who wants to be the swordiest.

Going out and about and maybe finding a certain self-taught mage. Writing.

>>566658
While I feel that way for the zealot, I just can't give the same reaction for the rest of them. Sorina's at least willing to try to understand (at least, for now), Basil does have some questions about what he's fighting for, and Adel... Adel I only want to kick in the groin during the duel, because it'd be great teaching him that he's not hot shit on white rice, and he doesn't seem to care about the whole hero worship thing.

But Tavis the zealot... Man do I want to kick him when he's down, that self righteous little twat.

>>566765
I don't want us to kick Tavis while he's down. Far more satisfying if one of his friends does it after abandoning him.

>>566765
Something about Adel makes me really want to bully him.
Which is strange because I'm normally not this malicious.

>>566765
In his defense, he's been forcefully indoctrinated, so unlikable as he currently is to us, it's not wholly his fault.

>>566835
Easy now, you might actually get sympathetic to Tavis!

>>566829
Let's just be tsun towards him

>>566829
The guy likes trash-talking, it's possible that bullying could improve our relationship with him if it's not too malicious. It's a step up from ignoring him.

>>566852
Just keeping the hate in perspective. The serenity crystals are used when the subject begins to doubt, which means i does or did at one point question the faith. Can't be all bad.

>>566835
That's correct, and it's a legitimate thing that should be kept in mind when dealing with him.

However, regardless of brainwashing or not, something about Tavis tweaks my balls enough for me to get fairly malicious when thinking it over. I don't quite know what it is. If I find a name for it, I'll let you know.

>>566901
I don't recall them being used when people doubt. I think they were just putting them in there to make them more compliant and suggestible to certain things.

Man it'd be nice if Miranda had a passive ability like Sorina's magic eyesight. Combined with her reflexes and quick-thinking, she'd easily analyse and mess with magic effects. Like Ki vision and manipulation, wihch I guess is the same. Ki = magic?

>>566925
'Well...yeah. They called it a serenity crystal, and that it'd always help me to clear my head, remove my doubts."

>>566957
That's just Tavis, though. I can't say the same for Jessica, it seemed like she was forced to sit in the chamber for school credit, even when she was believing the whole "Praise the Noble One" spiel.

>“Hey! Hello? I'm here for my next session?” Huh. That voice sounded vaguely familiar.

>“Oh, yes, Jessica! Sign your name and come right on in!” As the girl does so, you're somewhat surprised to find that it's the same girl from earlier in the Serenity Pavilion that tipped you off about Tannen in the first place. She seems...disgruntled, and the receptionist notices. “Oh, now, Jessica, don't make that face. You need this to pass, don't you? Not to mention, don't you want to be a great mage?”

>“Yeah, yeah...I guess...” her eyes are shifty- and it's clear she doesn't want to be here but at the same time knows she needs to be. “I just wish I didn't have to sit around for an hour.” She and the receptionist both walk into view, stopping near an empty chamber.

>“Ah, but that is the point!” the receptionist counters. “Only by understanding the nature of ourselves in relation to the world, and the Noble One in relation to ourselves, is how we can achieve true mastery in magic. And that must be done in quiet contemplation.”

>“I know...and I guess I would never ask to cut some time off this stupid-” and as soon as that word slips out, the receptionist gasps.

>>567007
I know, I was mainly referring to Tavis. Hence why he can't be all bad, eh?

I think even if we prevent Tavis with proof of mental tampering he still won't back down from his position. He'll just say it's for their own good, makes then into better people or something. His current arguments aren't very logical so I don't see why you expect logic to sway him, peer pressure maybe...

>>567018
I know, but I still feel like bullying him.

Don't ask me the logic about it. I don't really know why myself.

>>567039
Lets not give up before trying, eh?

>>567039
Religion and Movements do that to some people.
A switch off logic in exchange for ravenously violent fervour and a group to belong to.

Obligatory link to the archives.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Magical%20Girl%20For%20Hire%20Quest

>>566533
“No, I was hoping to maybe walking around a bit more, see some sights,” you smoothly lie. “There's still a lot of the city left.”

“Y'know, you been walkin' around a lot, I noticed,” Geegee points out. “I ain't gonna ask questions, but if...y'know, work calls, lemme know so I know what ta say and where NOT ta be, aight?” Huh. Well that wasn't expected. Wonder what brought that on, of all things. But, you elect to not question about it any, interested in focusing on finding Sorina.

“Alright, then. I'll let you know if anything happens.” At the moment, you were fine, you felt. Mostly, at least. No one really knew of your purpose here, and no one needed to. As you walk off, you can hear Geegee singing to herself- it's actually in a different language- something light and airy and bouncy. You just hope she remembered to save enough for drinks later tonight.

You're honestly not quite sure where you might find Sorina. She had been told to relax and generally keep out of Tavis's way today, so the question of where she might be...perhaps the library again. But when you check the place out, she seems to be absent. You have to admit, you're somewhat surprised at that fact, but you're not worried...yet. If you couldn't find her for the rest of the day, then that'd be reason to be concerned, but as for now...

It takes some doing, but eventually you spot a familiar staff and the familiar girl holding it- in an alleyway, down the street from the Noble One's Temple. You had nearly missed her, as you had expected her to be on the streets proper, but at the same time you knew not to overlook any potential resting spot. Sure enough, she had been leaning against the wall, staring at the temple entrance with something you're unsure of in her eyes. She'd jumped when you'd cleared your throat, and now here you were.

She's not saying anything, however- barely a hello. She just keeps looking between you and the temple.

> “Any reason you're here?”
> “I trust you've been thinking over my words.”
> “Facts are facts. The sooner you accept that, the better.”
> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”
> Other.

>>567125
>> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”

>>567136
> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”

>>567125
> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”
Don't get yourself disappeared just yet, we still need you to crack your group

>>567125
> "This is where Tavis grew up?"

> “I trust you've been thinking over my words.”

> "I know Tavis would be completely against it, and Adel... is Adel, but do you think Basil might be interested in figuring things out?"

We need more of the team to figure this stuff out, might as well try the guy most likely to agree.

>>567125
>> “I trust you've been thinking over my words.”

>>567125
> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”

> “Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”

If you're gonna do something suspicious, don't LOOK like you're doing something suspicious.

>>567125
>“Someone might think you're planning a crime, looking like this.”
God, she's so obvious.
>>567153
Supporting this, more info!

>>567086
>A switch off logic in exchange for ravenously violent fervour and a group to belong to.
In which we need to rub in to his face apon reveal.
He deserves everything, don't ask me why, I just feel like it for some reason

>>567153
I don't agree with this, because it's pretty much revealing that we were eavesdropping on her.

>>567544
Ditto

>>567153
You're just admitting that we listened in on their conversation if you describe exactly how things went, aren't you?

>>567570
>>567544
>>567560
Meh. We're a mysterious mercenary. I figured that us knowing what she told her friends would make us look that way. My suggestion isn't gaining any traction, and I'm not going to push it.

I do suggest we ask if she's going to bring someone to the party, though. We need to prepare for unexpected situations.

“You know, looking like that will make people suspicious of you. Do you really want people to think you're about to commit a crime like that?” you remark. “Even if you are, the first thing I would suggest is to stop looking like the guilty party.”

“I'm not, I swear!” She says loudly, and you have to shush her. “At least...I don't think that I could consider it a crime. If the church really does have secrets that are illegal, is wanting to expose them really so bad?”

“Depends on who you are,” you note.

“Well, I don't think so! This… this isn't right, and people should know it! If Tavis is really affected by this..." She stops, taking a deep breath. "I… I wish I could let this lie. I wish I could ignore it. But if I do, I wouldn't be respecting someone...very very important to me."

“More important to you than Tavis, your leader?” you question.

“...yes,” She nods after some agonizing seconds. She doesn't elaborate, and you're left in silence again. “I don't want to do this, because I know that him hearing this about the church will just make him angry. But...I CAN'T just let this go.”

So then… “Would any of your other friends help you, you think?” You're not actually expecting it, but it's fun to entertain the possibility. “I realize Tavis is highly unlikely, and that blowhard is, by my brief understand of his nature...a particular sort of boy, but what about the large boy that I saw you with when we first met? You seemed friends with him." Basil was the most likely out of all of them to agree to such an idea. He already had his doubts in the system, and really, all he needed was a solid reason and a gentle push to rage against the spiritual machine. Not that she needed to know that you knew.

She thinks on it, putting a hand to her forehead. “Well, Adel has never been the most pious of people, but he does pay his respects. So I'm not sure. Basil on the other hand...you might be right about. He...may understand.”

You nod in approval. “That's good then. Perhaps we can find somewhere to meet him privately and discuss this matter?”

Suddenly it's a very funny look on her face, and looks back at the temple once again. “Actually, I was thinking it might be better for me to talk to him by myself. He doesn't know you very well, and he might think that you're trying to manipulate me, especially since he knows about the fight that's going to happen.”

>Insist on setting up a place where you can both explain.
>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.
>Other


(I tried to make it work out.)

>>567736
>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.
"Well you would certainly know him best so it might be good for you to explain things"

>>567736
>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.
We have nothing to gain if we reveal ourselves. she's seen everything we've seen, so there's no point.

Speaking of the fight, Sorina might not like us much more if we beat Adel up real bad...

>>567736
>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.
>Other: Warn her that there definitely is a group that squashes dissent, so she and Basil must be discreet.
We cannot be seen to be trying to manipulate Sorina if we want a shot at recruiting Basil as well.

>>567736
>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself
>"That's fine. I may be nearby, however. I've heard things about people who questioning the faith being made to disappear. If the college is willing to resort to mind-altering magics, knives in the dark or poison in a drink aren't out of the question for any potential troublemakers, either."

>>567764
>Sorina might not like us much more if we beat Adel up real bad...
Eh, throw him a healing potion or use one of our healing spells afterwards.
The stuff can fix concussions, broken bones, and pierced lungs. The kid will be fine.

>>567736
>>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.

"Do you mind if I stay nearby while you talk to him? Considering what we know, it would be a good idea to keep a watch for uninvited visitors."

>>567783
>"people questioning the faith"

Goddamnit, I can't into grammar.

>>567783
>>567788
I don't know about that.
We stick out, and if a crowd forms, that would give our presence away.
Remember that the clients wanted "Intimidating", so we got them what they asked for, even if it interferes with aspects of our mission requiring stealth.

>>567736
At least you tried : ^ ]

>Allow Sorina to attempt to explain the situation by herself.
>Other: Warn her that there definitely is a group that squashes dissent, so she and Basil must be discreet.

Let's keep close enough, within superpowered earshot, without them knowing that Miranda can hear it all; listening to the unaldurated way things are said is a lot more useful than being recounted.

>>567806
Don't mind switching to >>567768 since it gets the message I want across as well.

>>567806
Jump up a roof and find a hiding spot, somewhere with similar colors to the cloak

So, let her handle it + warn her of the Inquisition + Stay on a rooftop nearby Batman style just in case sounds like what we got.

>>567806
Well, we do have vanishing potions, and we can jump like a flea. How about we hide on a rooftop at night to keep an eye out, then meet them at the meeting spot later?

>>567861
>How about we hide on a rooftop at night to keep an eye out
Except that Sorina is going to be meeting Basil during the day.

>then meet them at the meeting spot later?
Sorina doesn't want us to be part of whatever break-in she's planning, because if Basil sees us, he'll assume, correctly, that we're manipulating Sorina against her team and nation.

>>567861
>>567879
So roguish style rooftop eavesdropping with vanishing pot in hand in case of emergency?

>>567879
>Except that Sorina is going to be meeting Basil during the day.

She never said that, anon.

>>567736
“Alright. If you think you can explain the situation well enough, no reason not to let you,” you relent. “I should warn you, though. However you do it, wherever you do it, you'd best be sure to make it quiet and out of the way. I've heard things about people who questioning the faith being made to disappear.” She starts to say something, but stops, a sorrowful look on her face. “If the college is willing to resort to mind-altering magics, knives in the dark or poison in a drink aren't out of the question for any potential troublemakers, either,” you warn. “So keep an eye out.”

She sighs and slumps against the wall. “I...this is just so wrong. All of this. The Church was supposed to support us because they believed in us and the Noble O-” she suddenly stops mid sentence, and just breathes heavily again. “I'll...I'll talk to him as soon as I can. Tavis is out, so...” She flicks her eyes back to the temple one more time, and simply shakes her head. “It might be better to do it sooner than later. Excuse me.”

You let her go wordlessly. Part of you wants to follow her, similar to last night. It'd be harder, though, since you're in broad daylight. Another part of you feels like it might be alright to let her have at it herself...still, you're not certain when 'as soon as possible' is. Could be immediately, could be later.

>Let her go.
>Follow her.
>Other

(I'm not 100% sure if you guys want to tail her or not, seemed some issue around it depending.)

>>568167
>>Follow her.

She doesn't seem like the most subtle girl.

>>568167
>Let her go.

>>568167
>Follow her.
The danger is looming. Get ready with that vanishing potion and rooftop-jumping.

>>568167
>>Follow her.

>>568167
>Let her go.
Let's go scout ahead.

>>568167
>Let her go.
I'm concerned that she might catch us spying on her sooner or later. She does have that aura vision, and I imagine she could spot us easy enough if she actually started looking for us.

>>568167
> follow her
Trust but verify.
Also i think if they end up adding why we are telling them stuff we could say get have potential and we used to be a hero and we empathise with then and dislike seeing them being used.

Close vote.

Planting another tail on her, then. Writing.

>>568284
>I'm concerned that she might catch us spying on her sooner or later. She does have that aura vision, and I imagine she could spot us easy enough if she actually started looking for us.

Yeah, now that you mention it, her mage sight is a bitch.

>Let her go

>>568301
>we used to be a hero and we empathise with then and dislike seeing them being used.
That seems like a bad plan, especially if we are going to be recruiting them to the Knights, since that's our job, and once they ask about us from our clients, they'll get the super-soldier mercenary story that Sal sold them.

...nggggghhhh I hate it when votes come in right after I start writing. I feel guilty.

But I hate ties, even if I can just flip a coin.

>>568349
As one of the 'let her go' squad, I say go with what you started writing.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>568349
Here let me do it for you
1 let her go
2 follow her

>>568349
Eh, punishing bad decisions by players isn't a bad thing that you should feel guilty about.

>>568354
>>568366
>>568368

Preciate that. Fates seem to say follow, so...writing! again!

>>568333
That didn't make it not true...

>>568437
It kinda is though.

Guys, call me crazy, but I have a risky idea.
What if we draw out the daggers preemptively? That way, if the knives in the dark arrive tonight, we can try to take them out instead and keep them as hard evidence, and blow it at the end of the fight, along with the brainwashing. Although the match might not start at all if they paint us as heretical for this.
Alternative option is that we hang around longer after the fight&reveal. It's lossible that they could send in the knives once we blow their deal, and we could use that to our advantage and subdue them to be used as hard evidence. Although if we crush Adel they might give up on that idea.

>>568614
It's better if we have the fight first, and then call the prince out in private afterwards so that he will have reason to send the assassins after us.
Then we just need to beat them till they tell us where their base is located, and then smash it open as publicly as possible.

>>568512
N-no it just isn't the whole truth. If we didn't care about then they would be dead already and I assume we were some heroic magic girl before we were recruited

>>568614
Implying they wouldn't be deniable assets

>>568628
>If we didn't care about then they would be dead already
We don't care about them. What we care about is that our client prefers if we bring them in alive, and recruited to the cause of the Knights. We are a professional, so we will make all reasonable attempts to fulfill client requests.

>>568636
I'd like to think we're so far in denial about not really caring about them that we actually believe it, but deep down, we kind of do like them. I mean, look at our recent conversations with Geegee for an example. We actually made a joke to her!

>>568654
Thats the way I see it as well.

Its just not going to be a barrier to our job.

>>568636
I think if we have to make hard decisions we can but we are not a damn machine

>>568167
No, best to try and follow her. You're not sure what might happen, and if this organization is as thorough as it seems to present itself to be, then keeping an eye on her shouldn't harm anything too much. Besides, it's not like you had a lot else to do. You wait until she's far enough away, then start following her steps. No rooftops for the moment- there's far too many people around to want to risk that.

Sorina, unfortunately, seems to be taking her sweet time finding Basil- although you're not sure whether that's intentional or not. She ends up around the market district where she mulls over a few groceries and buys a couple of tomes for herself. Then it's to a tailors to buy some cloth- you notice that it's darker colored stuff, and a very large sample of it. Interesting, but for the most part her shopping trip is uneventful.

Then she starts heading elsewhere, and for a time you're wondering where, trying to keep a tail on her- she doesn't seem to have any idea of you following her, at least. She doesn't even look back once. Notably, it seems like her journey is taking her to the northernmost parts of the city, practically the suburbs. The foot traffic diminishes greatly, and you find yourself having less cover to make sure you're not seen. Still, you manage to, although you nearly lose her once.

She finally makes it to what seems to be a quiet, hole in the wall tavern- The Bald Bull. Have to admit, the name at least gets a snicker out of you. Still, you can't exactly follow her in, so instead you hide yourself in a nearby alleyway and trigger your audio amplification spell once more. Fortunately, you already know what Basil's big voice sounds like, so he's relatively easy to pick out amongst the few talkative souls there.

'...So what's this about?' you hear him say.

'Just trust me...please. It's about... earlier, and I want to talk about it somewhere else,' Sorina says. Soon, they cease talking, and you can hear footsteps. You quickly duck into the recesses of the alleyway before they come out- it smells, but they don't seem to notice you. It takes some time, but she drags him to what appears to be a sort of garden park area- with places to sit and enjoy the view, trees abundant, and several statues of various peoples- most in mage robes, unsurprisingly.

cont.

>>568710
She eventually sits him down in a small copse of trees, and no one seems to be around. You're only able to tail them this far due to hiding behind one statue- there's no good cover for a solid several meters between the statue and the trees where they are. Fortunately, your audio spell is able to pick up the conversation.

“I just...I really think the Church is hiding something regarding mental manipulation. I've...I've sort of gotten proof.” Sorina says.

“What?!”Eesh, you hear THAT one easily. “No way! What the- how?”

“That's what I asked when I found out,' she laments. “But it seems like-”

“No, I mean how'd you find out?” Basil clarifies. “Don't get me wrong, this is...this is freaky if it's true! But...only IF it's true,” he emphasizes. “So how are you sure about it? Did you...y'know?” He doesn't clarify, but Sorina soon does.

“Yes. I...it was just like what happened with Farin...it looked, it FELT almost exactly the same...” Her voice is wavering now... “I-i-i-I can't. I can't let them DO this. Not to anyone else. Not after what happened to Farin...what I did to Farin.” Oh boy.

“Well...this girl you mentioned the other day. I'm guessing she had something to do with it?” Basil asks.

“...yeah,” you hear her admit. “I just...I saw her, and her aura was-” and suddenly she stops.

One second.

Two. Then she starts again. “It was strange-looking, and, uh...I approached-”

“Hold on,” Basil says. “Is something wrong? You looked real weird over there just now.” What?

“Oh, n-nothing! I promise, it's just, memories, you know?” What the hell is going on? What'd she do?

There's silence again. Then... “HEY!” Yikes! That was loud. You quickly cancel the spell for now. “Is there anyone around there?! Come out now and maybe I won't smash ya! You don't want me to come over there!”

...Damnit twice over.

>Reveal yourself. Might as well be formal about it.
>Don't, he's bluffing. And if he isn't, you can take him.
>Other

>>568702
>but we are not a damn machine
You say that as if maintaining emotional detachment from targets that we may very likely kill, and that either way we will never see again, is a bad thing.

Miranda doesn't give a shit about them, just like she doesn't care about the thousands of people she's left to die or to eke out whatever meager existence underneath an oppressive boot they can, after decades of merc contracts.

She's not ruled by her emotions like some immature twat, and in all of the internal thoughts of her's that we've seen, we haven't seen anything to suggest she cares about the Longshots except as just another contract objective.

>>568654
Yeah. And as much as we prioritize mission objectives, I don't like the idea of actually killing Tavis much. Beat up? Bullying? Sure, but the idea of killing him just gives me a bad feel of the future. Like a gut feeling, that says 'this will make things harder for everyone' and all that.

>>568775
>Other
Drink the Vanishing Potion and get the fuck out of here before our presence ruins everything.

>>568775
Shit.
Supporting >>568793, if we have the potion.
If not, keep hiding.

>>568775
>Reveal yourself. Might as well be formal about it.

>>568793
+1

>>568793
Support. Get the fuck out. We have what we need.

>>568775
>Don't, he's bluffing. And if he isn't, you can take him
I guess he noticed somebody, possibly not Miranda.
Assassins or party member? Prepare to gulp that vanishing potion if he's approachinig us too much, but wait. They'll need a hand if I am right.

>>568775
> Other
Vanishing potion, tiptoe away

>>568862
Oh, thats a possibility.

At the very least, quaff the potion. Browse the area away from them.

Do NOT reveal ourselves, though.

>>568862
>I guess he noticed somebody, possibly not Miranda.
He's looking at where Sorina looked and saw our aura; chances are low that it's someone other than us.

>>568775
>>Reveal yourself. Might as well be formal about it.
This was bound to happen sooner or later. If we allow this to happen and vanish, then Sorina is just going to come off looking more paranoid, and less credible to the guy we're trying to get her to convince.. Also, I think an apology is in order.

>>568862
>They'll need a hand if I am right.
If you're wrong and he's got an ability to see things other than within the regular visual spectrum and sees us?

The Vanishing Potion only cloaks us from the naked eye, not from magical vision.
And we're in the alleyway, they're inside the tavern. How else could he have seen us, if not through non-optical means?

>>568886
>This was bound to happen sooner or later
It wouldn't have happened if we hadn't tried to tail the person who said she can see our aura and that it's completely unique and therefore very obvious.

As the song once went:

Bye Bye Bye

Writing!

>>568862
I'll go for quaffing the potion, but we should stick around, if a bit farther away, to make sure they're not being kidnapped.

>>568880
Since when could Basil see auras? To our knowledge, only Sorina can.
He'd have noticed us before we got to the copse.

>>568775
>Don't, he's bluffing. And if he isn't, you can take him.
Also don't use the vanishing potion, if she saw our aura then the potion might not cover that up.

>>568775
>>568901
If necessary, I'll change my vote to
>Reveal yourself. Might as well be formal about it.
Everything to no leave them alone.

>>568906
If he detected us through the wall, and he's not just bluffing, then I'd say he's got a means of seeing things beyond the visible spectrum.

>>568907
We don't care if Sorina can see us overmuch, that was always a major risk. Also, she's trying to cover it up.

We care if BASIL sees us, and there is NO cover anywhere.

>>568917
you're not at the alley/tavern. You moved to what was basically a park. They're in a copse of trees, you're hiding behind a statue.

Just for clarification.

>>568898
And for the record, I was against that decision.

>>568917
"She eventually sits him down in a small copse of trees, and no one seems to be around. You're only able to tail them this far due to hiding behind one statue- there's no good cover for a solid several meters between the statue and the trees where they are. Fortunately, your audio spell is able to pick up the conversation."

Vanishing potion is a must. We don't have to leave, but we cannot let him see us.

>>568891
>And we're in the alleyway, they're inside the tavern.
Anon.
Shame on you.

>>568917
And what says that he specifically detected us? Did he talk about the statue we're behind?
>Is there anyone around there?
No.
Could be something else

>>568928
Yeah, my bad.

Funny thing is, if there is someone tailing them other than us, they might fall for his schtick.

So now, what's the tally?

From my observations I currently see
- 2 escapes
- 3 Bluff + Vanishing potion ( 32qJ6Nn7 switched from escape
- 2 reveals

>>568977
Precision:
For Bluff + Vanishing Potion, the concenscus goes with preparing but not using the potion, unless immediate discovery (one against it)

>>568785
Caring about people or not isn't a dichotomy, you can care about them but still consider the mission more important if you have no other options.

>>568936
Yeah, I can see you were, but why would this have happened sooner or later? Unless you're concluding that it's inevitable that the players would have eventually made a stupid mistake of tailing someone who can see auras, after being told that ours is completely unique.

I don't think he saw our aura, I think he just saw Sorina's reaction and knows what kind of things she can see that he can't then guessed

>>568977
Well. From what I see:

>>568793
>>568804
>>568846
>>568856
>>568875
for Vanishing Potion + leave.

>>568836
>>568886
>>568916
For Reveal.

>>568862
>>568907
For call his bluff.

>>568904
>>568879
For Potion + Stay.

I think I tallied it all correct...

>>569001
It's not like Sorina asked us to meet Basil alone.
Therefore, we don't really care if she noticed us.
As >>568918
said, it's Basil we hide from.

>>568999
>Caring about people or not isn't a dichotomy
Sure, it's not. It's a spectrum.
And how much Miranda cares about the Longshots is as a mission objective she can complete, not as people with inherent value.

>>568856
Switched to
>>568879
Potion + Stay.
My vote is still for Bluff --> Potion (ready) + Stay. I added bluff with Potion + stay in my tally.

>>569009
>It's not like Sorina asked us to meet Basil alone.
But she did. She said that she wants to meet Basil without us.

Her having noticed us will cause a big dip in whatever trust she had in us.

Okay, okay...hm. I can work this out. Pretty sure I can anyway. Gimme a bit.

>>569027
>>569009
Back here >>567736
>Actually, I was thinking it might be better for me to talk to him by myself
Unless there's a different way to interpret that than Sorina asking to speak with Basil in private and away from us.

>>569001
Well, I should rephrase what I said. After the vote was cast, it was inevitable that we would fuck up on our stealth. Either we account for ourselves now, or we are going to have to account for ourselves somewhere down the road. Reagrdless, this is just another learning experience for Miranda, and the numerous voices in her head. At this point, it's spilled milk.

>>569006

>>568793
>>568804
>>568846
>>568875
for Vanishing Potion + leave.

>>568836
>>568886
For Reveal.

>>568862
>>568907
For call his bluff.

>>568904
>>568879
For Potion + Stay.

I'd say Potion + Stay goes with Bluff, which brings us to 4 Escape vs 4 Stay Hidden

>>569027
>>569059
>Actually, I was thinking it might be better for me to talk to him by myself
If discovered, we could argue on a technicality about her talking to him alone and us chaperoning against the Blades.

Alright, I think what I'll do is FD this.

Link to this post:

1 For Potion/Leave
2 For Potion/Stay. Because it seems like there's an overwhelming majority who wants to use the potion period.

I'll give it 15 minutes while I get a midnight snack.

>>569085
2

>>569085
2

>>569085
2

>>569085
1

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>569085
Time for destiny!

>>569063
>After the vote was cast, it was inevitable that we would fuck up on our stealth
Ah, okay.
Though,
>this is just another learning experience for Miranda
From what Handler described, Miranda shouldn't be making rookie mistakes like this anymore, especially after the ambush that nearly killed her, and the lesson she learned from there.

>At this point, it's spilled milk.
I disagree. In games like quests, players need to be constantly reminded of past mistakes, because the pain of mistakes is not directly experienced and so the memory of them fades far more quickly than those actually experienced by the players, and because you can never be sure of the players from one session to the next.
They may have either only skimmed the archives or not even read them, or players may incorrectly remember events owing to the mutable nature of human memory.

Successes are always remembered, failures are forgotten because they remind us of our mistakes.

>>569085

2

>>569020
What quest are you reading? We clearly care for people outside of mission parameters. Look at zeezee and geegee or whatever they are called, it would have been easy to tie up some loose ends by killing then. We don't get a bonus for covering then and we have had multiple chances to catch members isolated and dispose of them. We ask collectively control Miranda and you are a minority you fucking autist.

>>569085
1

>>569085
1

>>569085
>2

>>569085
1

>>569107
>it would have been easy to tie up some loose ends by killing then
They weren't loose ends, and killing them doesn't make any sense from the perspective of our contract.

>we have had multiple chances to catch members isolated and dispose of them.
Yeah, but our client specified that they want them recruited if possible, and eliminated if not.
Eliminating Sorina, who was the only one we caught by herself, would have been against what our clients asked for.

All of the actions taken in regards to Geegee were in the furtherance of completing our contract objectives.
Killing her would have hindered our mission, so why would it have even come up?

>>569085
2

>>569105
The thing is, as far as mistakes go, this is by no means a mission breaker. It's a setback, sure, but we can adapt to it. And I'd rather have a Miranda that screws up from time to time and has to adapt to that than a perfect, infallible operator.

Just roll with it. Because inevitably, we will make another bad decision.

Potion/Leave: 5
Potion/Stay: 6

DONE.

File: Cocoa1ℓ.full.1038839.jpg (116 KB, 1200x848)

116 KB JPG

Well well, it's closed. And that was close.

1
>>569099
>>569102
>>569113
>>569114
>>569146

2
>>569094
>>569095
>>569098
>>569106
>>569115
>>569169

>>569171
>Just roll with it. Because inevitably, we will make another bad decision.
I don't agree with that attitude.
If we make a mistake, I'd rather it a situation where we at least tried to think through and only failed to consider all the angles for.
A mistake where we at least tried to not screw up, and made our best effort.

Not a mistake that's the fault of laziness and inattention.

>>569234
As someone who tends to vote 'safe', I have found that there are risks and rewards to taking the more dangerous option. There were no guarantees that Sorina would not have seen us the last time we tried to eavesdrop on her, but because we did, we gained important insight into the Longshots' characters. Likewise, if we had played it as safe as I wanted to, the Iron Golem would have been destroyed by our hand. Bottom line, I've learned that you've got to take the good with the bad as far as the riskier choices go.

Although I still think that "unfinished business" was an absolutely retarded move.

Alright, no. Let's not take any chances. You still have your vanishing potion on you; time to use it. You quickly swig it and down the whole thing- in a second you can feel the magic working inside you- that and the edges of your vision get a bit fuzzy. You're unsure if that's an expected side-effect or not, but it doesn't seem to be hurting you any, so you put it out of your head for now.

As it stands, you can head footsteps coming closer. Sorina's not making a sound. Thinking about it, you quickly look down- you be leaving depressions in the grass, considering how long you've been standing here. That might end up tipping them off if they care to look...

As the footsteps get closer, you can hear murmuring- Basil, undoubtedly. “Be careful, careful...NOW!”
As soon as you hear that, that's also YOUR signal to leap as you hear rushing footsteps, vaulting to the top of the statue and landing on its head nearly without a sound, tiptoes balancing your body on the thin land the stone mage's head gives you. Sure enough, Basil comes around, warhammer in a half swing, as Sorina looks panicked. Basil's expression, however, turns to confusion...and then consternation as he looks around. “Awwww, nuts. And here I thought there WAS someone.” He turns to Sorina. “Sorry. Guess I'm just kinda worried for ya. Thought maybe you'd spotted a spy.”

“It-it's fine,” Sorina deflects. “Like I said, just...memories of worse days. And all this is just...a mess. If...if you can help me, PLEASE. I just want to find the truth, that's all.”

Basil rubs his head in uncertainty. “Eehhh...I dunno. Tryin' to...do what you want to do? That's...that could get us exiled, Sori. Or killed, even. Like, serious mob justice.”

“It...might not be just a mob,” she says quietly. She looks downcast, than looks back up at the statue- no, she's looking at YOU. “I've...apparently there's been rumors. About maybe the Church is...doing things.” She refocuses on Basil. “That's another reason I want to find out the truth for myself. Is this really divine punishment? Or is it just sanctioned murders?” she whispers. “I...I hate that I have to find out, but...!”

He sighs. “I know, I know, your brother. Sori...you know it wasn't really your fault, right? There's NO way you could've known that spell would do what it did, I've told you a thousand times.”

“And I've told you it doesn't matter. The magic...the magic came from me.” She looks back up at you again briefly, but simply sighs and resets her focus. The words out of her mouth then are shaky and full of regret. “I caused...him...I-I...I caused Farin to die...I...t-t-t-told h-him to...” She's starting to break down, tears running hot down her cheeks.

cont.

>>569389
Basil quickly scoops her up into a hug. “No. No, no, no, no, no, you didn't. You told him to leave, you didn't tell him anything else. That's not killing him.”

She's crying now, clearly. “I-I-I didn't even mean ittttt...” her keening wails pepper her stilted speech. “He-he-he wasn't s-s-supposed to listeeennn...I-I-I love you, Farin.” And that just repeats, over and over.

“I love you, Farin.”

“I love you, Farin.”

“I love you, Farin.”

In due time, she eventually calms down. Basil has yet to let go of her, steadily patting and rubbing her back as she cries into his shoulder. She still hiccups here and there, and her face is streaked with tears. Basil, still holding onto her, gently removes her from his shoulder, looking her in the face. “Hey...I'll help.”

Her face stretches into desperate gratitude. “Y-you will?”

He nods. “Yeah. Tell me what we're gonna do later, okay? You said you had a plan?”

She sniffs, and takes a deep breath. “I...I think so...but...there's someone else that we need to talk to, first.”

He looks quizzical. “Who?”

She gives a faint grin. “She'll be around later. Tonight, before midnight. Below the bridge to the high ground on the west end of the city.” Well, now you will.

“You sure she's trustworthy? She might just be trying to get us in trouble.” Basil warns. “I don't want this all to be some giant setup...”

“Oh...don't worry. She might be a bit paranoia...probably intrusive...” Said that a bit harder than she could've, but you suppose you can't fault her. “...but her word's good.”

He sighs. “Alright, then...c'mon. We should get you back. I'm making Taurking Stew tonight! If we're gonna be exposing the State religion to be corrupt, then we need some good food first!” Sorina laughs at that, and the two walk away arm in arm. You decide to wait for a couple more minutes, then get started on your way back to the inn. Geegee still needs to get you that round of drinks. And you needed to prepare for tonight yourself, and get out of this rain.

>>569343
Taking calculated risks is fine, and each of the choices you mentioned had mitigating factors.
Sorina was completely focused on getting to her friends and not paying attention to anything else, which made tailing her not as dangerous as it was this time (when we specifically advised her to keep a watch out).
The Iron Golem situation had Miranda fairly confident she could get the timing down, and knowing she had plenty of mana to pull it off.

I'm okay as long as people put forth real effort in their decision-making.
Your previous post felt flippant about making choices that end up being mistakes.

>>569393
Could have been much worse, but we got some info on these guys at the price of a potion.

>>569396
I just don't think we should be this upset about taking a risk when we've already taken almost the exact same risk in the past, and it paid off. Even if I didn't want to take the risk in the first place.

>>569393
By the time Geegee's done with your drinks, you're steady considering the situation at hand. You're trying to get proof positive of these Church people using mind-altering crystals to push forward their dogma, and you needed to do it in a way that was public and irrefutable. Sorina has SOME kind of plan to get into the building, Basil is helping, and you're you.

The question is, what are the details? You need more information. Checking the time, you estimate it's yet a good few hours before go time. You've got some time to do some last minute investigation, if you so wish. Perhaps check out the temple itself, or at the very least start asking around a bit more. Then again it's entirely possible that Sorina knows enough about the Temple and the faith enough to make any investigation a waste of time and a risk- built in sources, essentially. It sounded like she knew a decent amount about it, Tavis more than likely told her more than a few things, and it's likely Basil knows a couple of things about it all, too, even if he's not the biggest fan of the religion.

>Go to the temple itself, case the place.
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.
>Bank on Sorina and Basil's knowledge. Focus on other preparations for tonight.
>Other

>>569393
Wha...?
What the

Done for tonight! See you lot tomorrow!

>>569444
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.

>>569444
>>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.

>>569444
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.
Dunno what that screaming love deal is, but whatever.

>>569439
>when we've already taken almost the exact same risk in the past,
See, it wasn't the same risk at all, even though both actions were to follow Sorin.
The previous case had Sorin distracted, focused only on going to her friends.
This time, she's not distracted, and is actually on guard.
So the two situations are completely different, and not the same risk at all.

>>569444
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.

>>569449
G'night, Handler. See you around!

>>569444
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.
I don't want to depend on just Sorina and Basil, even though asking questions could cause enough waves to raise the alert at the Temple.

>>569468
>Dunno what that screaming love deal is, but whatever.
Seemed pretty obvious that Sorina accidentally ordered her brother to kill himself via mind control magic and she's still not over it.

>>569468
>Dunno what that screaming love deal is, but whatever.

From what it sounded like, she accidentally hit her brother with one of those mind-altering spells. Like, really hard. To the point where he might be a vegetable.

So I'm assuming that her breakdown is from survivors guilt.

File: no-ragrets-1.jpg (60 KB, 535x477)

60 KB JPG

Well, I was wrong about other presences than our own. Still, I'm glad we've done it.
It's still a good reason, once Sorina asks. She's a high profile person and did act suspiciously. No logic in letting our investment (Church shit, Longshot joining New Moon) die now.

>>569428
And GeeGee will make a few potions (eventually). Not as effective as Zee's, but that'll do.

>>569444
>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face.

>>569468
Sorina's brother. Possibly a scenario a la "Lelouch ordering Euphemia", if of a less mature pair and less violent. Not quite "Go take a hike off a cliff", but "go away now, don't come back".

>>569444
>>Get intel from other people so as to give them less chance to recognize your face

>>569499
>To the point where he might be a vegetable.
She said he killed himself.
>I caused Farin to die

>>569511
Even though it's a little silly for those in the know not to recognize Lady Violet, we should go for intel (soldiers that fought during the Golem Raid, Princely office, fans at the Lazy Bear Inn, peeps at hte Combat Arena... well, it's a long list).

While our available sources are limited typewise, there's still a lot of civilians / mages left and a trusty cloak. Going directly to the Church would make the priests call us demon and such.

>>569449
It was great run today, see ya tomorrow!

>>569511
>It's still a good reason, once Sorina asks. She's a high profile person and did act suspiciously. No logic in letting our investment (Church shit, Longshot joining New Moon) die now.
Yup. We should remember to say so, since we might have to anser that fairly soon if she's bothered. But I think we can actually cover it up as goodwill for more favor. Being worried about safety and all that.

Hm. Well, no, best to not risk going in underprepared. You've got a lot of potential sources, ideally. The only trick to it is to not be too overt in asking questions. Once word of this gets out, practically everyone's going to be looking for someone to point the finger at. You just needed to make sure that as few of them as possible were pointing at you or Sorina.

You figure there's a few areas you can go for decent information- the military barracks, possibly the royal court, maybe the inn itself...possibly others. You know some people will have more...exaggerated ideas than others, but in general you need to have a focus on what you're looking for- whether it's simply basic information about the temple itself, or if there will be any personnel you'll need to keep an eye out for, or anything else of that nature.

You had time, but not everyone was going to be up at all hours. You figure it'd be best to pick an area and stick with it.

>The inn is fine. No need to move. It's mostly commoners, so they're unlikely to know anything specific, but maybe that's for the best.
>Perhaps try the military barracks? You get the feeling they're strongly tied with the church. They might know particulars like the building layout, specific schedules, and whatnot. They're also likely to mention your visit, however.
>Maybe around the castle? You had one or two questions for the Prince anyway. You might could worm them in while asking him- he'd know the most about it. Of course, if HE gets suspicious...
>Other

(Howdy, all!)

>>571042
>>The inn is fine. No need to move. It's mostly commoners, so they're unlikely to know anything specific, but maybe that's for the best.

>>571042
Welcome back, OP. How you doin'?

>>The inn is fine. No need to move. It's mostly commoners, so they're unlikely to know anything specific, but maybe that's for the best.
> Other
Check up on those bards, since they mostly work in taverns, they might hear rumors and shit.

>>571042
>The inn is fine. No need to move. It's mostly commoners, so they're unlikely to know anything specific, but maybe that's for the best.

>>571042
>>Perhaps try the military barracks? You get the feeling they're strongly tied with the church. They might know particulars like the building layout, specific schedules, and whatnot. They're also likely to mention your visit, however.

>>571078
Doing alright. Nothing too bad, thanks!

Writing shortly!

>>571042
No, you've got some solid potential in here as it stands. And if you need to talk to Geegee, then you should be able to anyway. You take a look around the place- there's a fair few folks around since it's near evening, and there's a lot of folks meandering in and looking for a good meal and a rest. You can see a number of people that might be interesting to talk to...

There's two people in cloaks, talking to each other. The way they look around, though, is rather like they wouldn't want to be here. Across from her is a single soldier who's nursing a drink and looking particularly pouty. His helmet is off, and he looks rather young, but you can see him glaring at an equally young man a few tables over, with a young woman. Near the wall, nursing a large mug of something, is a bushy bearded man with a blacksmith's apron who's seems to be discussing something intently, if quietly, with a smaller woman with an axe. She's not reacting to any of it, though. In the opposite corner, though, is Lillian Laudwick, casually sitting out in the corner, once again scribbling something. She occasionally looks up at everyone, and you can hear an occasional strum from her as she tests out a new tune.

>The two in cloaks.
>The glaring soldier.
>The large fellow and his companion.
>Lillian.
>Other

>>571275
>Lillian.
Always go for the bard.
Oh and you forgot your trip

>>571287
Ah, thanks.

>>571275
>Lillian.

>>571275
After we're done talking to Lillian, anyone want to pop our improved hearing and eavesdrop on the couple?

>>571311
Yeah, listen in on them, and the people in cloaks

>>571275
>Lillian.
Go with the bard first.
Cover our interest in the Temple as simple tourist curiosity.

>>571275
>Lillian
Then aural tactics

Lillian Laudwick isn't lax in location...egh, I got nothing. Alliteration is hard, man.

Writing.

>>571275
>> Lillian

>>571352
Lillian Laudwick is largely and lovingly lauded as a lilting lyricist

>>571275
Hm. Well, first thing's first. Best to try your hand with the bard once again. Hopefully she's got a couple of interesting new stories to tell. As you make your way over, she notices and gives you a quick smile and a bow. “Ah, hello again, Ms. Mysterious! Quite a few interesting events surrounding your person as of late, it seems!” She leans in, whispering. “You've become quite the talk of the town these days, eh?”

You can't say you're that surprised, really. You simply cock an eyebrow in vague curiosity.

“Why, there've been tales aplenty about you! I'm surprised you've not heard any! Your rumored places of origin, your ability to wield magic so deftly, the tales of your strength! I daresay some people are starting to consider you some sort of walking talking legend! I have to say, I'm quite glad I ran into you, really! ...That and the fact that you weren't planning on a slaughter of monstrous proportions like some of the tales claimed.” She admits the last bit with a bit of a blush.

“...right. I was coming over to ask if maybe you knew anything in particular about the-”

“Longshots, yes?” she interrupts. “You've inquired about them once before, and as I said then, Lillian Laudwick is NOT one to let a tale of heroics escape her! And quite the tales I've heard about them, too! All sorts, from various backgrounds, some tragic, some less so, all scraping and grasping for a chance to do right by ol' Alban; to right past wrongs, bring justice to the forsaken! Classic setup, really.” She says offhand. “I can see myself writing a couple of songs about them.”

Fascinating. “Actually, I was hoping to ask you a bit about the church of the Noble One.”

Her eyebrows raise in a bit of surprise. “Oho, interested in learning of the tales of the old hero? I've a great number of those; if you're just curious about his history, I've a lovely little ditty for you that would be a rousing tale for the room...”

“Less that, more...ironclad details. About the church itself,” you specify. “Just out of simple curiosity. It seems like it's a very...unique place. I'm curious how it works.”

“Ahh, understood, understood. And that's not to be too unexpected- the Church of the Noble One is all-embracing to any who wish to hear their words, but drawing up the nerve to face the representatives of such divinity up close is a task for even the hardiest of warriors.” she nods. “Well, perhaps you'd like to hear the history of how the building was made, perchance? There's a story there as well- one surprisingly enticing! That, or perhaps the tales of how the first of the followers of the Noble One came about?”

You nod. That might work. “Start with the first one, then.”

cont.

>>571609
“Right! Ahem...” and soon she starts strumming lightly.

The music was nice, and part of you really probably could've listened to the lyrics, but the truth of the matter was that you were mostly listening for pertinent information. Which you managed to pick out, at the very least:

From what you could surmise, the people had already begun to consider Orind an ascended being, and had brought his sword back to Tenimbaum- at the time, it was still more a large town than anything. Apparently there was a horrible storm one night, and during it, some raiders tried to invade the town and steal the sword. Lightning struck the house where the sword was, and it started a massive fire. A large part of the area was burned down, but the sword and the people guarding it were untouched, despite being in the middle of it- at least according to the song. They instantly decreed the area a holy ground, and started building on it, with the intent of making it so that any would-be robbers would get lost or trapped, so that Orind wouldn't have to strike down his own buildings a second time.

So it sounds like the temple has a lot of methods for misdirection and confusion. She explicitly mentions 'A hall with doors the size of your head, yet leads the knowing to a comfy bed', and 'An empty room for thinking and plans, with an extra place to pray- somewhere attached is the High Caller's Room, exclusive to him, they say.' That will...make things harder, but not impossible, you suppose.

As she ends, you clap politely- as do several other patrons that overheard her little song. She bows gracefully and meets you with another smile. “Thank you kindly! Anything else perhaps I could sing for you?”

>Maybe about the formation of the church, like you mentioned.
>Actually, there's stuff going around about me?
>What have you heard about The Longshots, now?
>Other

>>571614
>Maybe about the formation of the church, like you mentioned.

>>571614
>Maybe about the formation of the church, like you mentioned.

>>571614
>>Actually, there's stuff going around about me?

How did this tie in with not being overt in asking questions? How on earth are we being subtle about this?

>Other
Where is the woman you were with when we first met? Who was she, anyway?

>>571654
The way I thought of it, it's more like she's just asking for history lessons than anything else.

Admittedly I need to work on my writing- and some of this stuff I'm making up on the fly. Don't panic too much about it.

Dropped trip again, sorry.

>Maybe about the formation of the church, like you mentioned

>>571614
>Maybe about the formation of the church, like you mentioned.
>Actually, there's stuff going around about me?
Interesting...

I am kinda curious what nonsense they are saying about us. Would give us an idea of peoples perception.

Keep going.

Writing!

>>571614
You have to admit part of you is curious about the tales about you, but you decide to keep going on the intel. “That's rather interesting, all in all.” You sit down with her, just on a little brickwork in the corner. “I wonder how they all got started, if something like that happened and was able to convince them to build a temple...they must have been fiercely loyal to him or his vision.”

“Oh, quite! The first of his followers were people that he touched in some way- whether he saved a friend or family member, or slew a beast terrorizing the populace, or perhaps just did someone a favor! The Noble One's the Noble One for a reason, y'know!” she laughs a bit at that. “Orind had a rather incredible personality. Drew people to him, made people want to follow in his footsteps so much- and that's yet to die down any! Some of the tales say that there was a worshipping group even before he ascended- but they kept it silent. The official word is of course that it only happened after, of course. Either way, most of the higher ups today are descendants of those first men and women. It's amazing how they've kept it running for so long!”

She sighs in admiration. “Such a great source of stories...but I'm sure if you went to the library or worked up the nerve to go to the church itself, you'd be fine.” She suddenly stops and chuckles. “Then again, perhaps not, considering the rumors...”

“Actually, about that,” you mention. It was a bit interesting to you. “What ARE they saying about me?”

She snorts. “Oh, it's a BUNCH of things, all contradictory, all FANTASTIC story fodder.” She starts counting on her fingers. “Well, the biggest one going around is that you're some kind of loose martial demon from the Black Planes, planning to summon a band of infernal warriors to cause a three-hundred year war. Others are saying you're from a city from across the sea with powerful warriors, and that magic is still plentiful there. A couple think you might be some kind of herald or angel of Orind himself!”

Huh. You hadn't expected that last one. “Really? And that's just the start?”

“Oh, barely the tip!” she pleasantly says. “Some say that you're some sort of reverse assassin sent to kill the Prince or steal the great sword....oh! One of my favorites is that you're a rival to Orind himself that he met in the Hereafter, and you're here on this plane to train yourself, much like he did, to defeat him in a battle to last a thousand years! Now THAT would be a story, eh?” she winks, clearly not believing it.

“Not to mention people are saying that during the bandit raid you wiped out hundreds of bandits by yourself, that you wrestled the Giant hand to hand, that you threatened the Prince himself, and some of the most recent tales are claiming you went to the Arena lately and destroyed everyone there in weapon combat,” she adds on.

...Huh. That was...yeah.

>Any particular response?

Gah, post will be delayed for a bit, depending.

>>571937
>>Some rumours do have a hint of truth in them, but thats what makes the so believable

>>571956
Supporting