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>>621373
You attend to the matter without words. You keep Grief sharp, even as half-broken as she is, and the blade pierces clean through Herostratus's skull and into his brain, finishing the death that blood loss started.

The giant's ghost rises from his corpse, something desperate and lost in its eyes.

"My /name/," he pleads, his eyes on the harpy girl. "Tell her my name!"

You raise Grief and concentrate. The Lush is drawn into the blade, fighting the whole way, begging your Heritor's lover to remember his name.

And then it is done, and there is only the sobbing of your blade.

"Brianna will be back soon," you tell the harpy girl. "Or as soon as she can be. Someone wanted to talk to her."

"Who?" the girl - Amy, her name is Amy - asks.

"Someone," you answer. "...I will send you to the Roost, and the healers there, and patch these people up as best I can."

You gesture with Grief and let the power flow out of the blade, and the harpy - and her companions - are gone.

* * * *

You are Brianna la Croix, and this is a forge. Even before you can see, you can hear the ringing of steel, smell the forge-fire.

The blacksmith is a curious thing, a hard outline of steel filled with color, like a living line drawing done all in metal. The color swirls and moves, but with every blow of his hammer it flows into his creation, some scattering far away as sparks that are dutifully swept up by unseen apprentices.

"Excuse me?" you ask, blearily.

"Ah, you are here," the smith rumbles. He steps aside from his work, which an apprentice - its body a filigree of silver, half-full of that same colored energy - takes up in his place. He offers a hand to you, which you shake. He's strong.

"I thought I was coming back to life?" you ask.

"You will," the smith promises. "I asked my daughter if I might have a word with you."

"...No," you say in quiet realization.

The Forgemaster grins, color-on-color forming a scattering of friendly teeth. "Yes. You are in an interesting position, Ms. la Croix. We - my peers and I - have traditionally frowned upon restoring life to the dead for precisely the reasons that you now face. Time is an arrow, necromancer. Creation does not take kindly to this sort of thing."

"Are you telling me not to do it?" you ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Not at all," the god of the Forge answers. "I am, in fact, not going to tell you anything. I am going to ask you something."

You nod, your curiosity piqued. It's not every day you get to talk to a god, even if you're in a position like you are.

Fuck, is he about to Choose you?

"You are a craftsman, just as I am. You work in bone and flesh, but you also work in sorcery and in societies. The Lady seems rather intrigued by what she hears of you, in her shrine," the Forgemaster tells you. "You have befriended my daughter, no easy feat. What do you think she should do, after all of this is said and done?"

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>>621764
"I suspect you have an idea on that already, sir," you hedge.

"I do," the Forgemaster agrees. "I believe she should be elevated in status or, to say it another way, I believe we should formally acknowledge her power and experience and raise her up as our equal."

"You want Lora to be a /god/?" you ask.

The Lord of the Anvil nods, solemnly.

> What do you say?

>>621772
>blow out a long breath
then
>I agree

Wew lads

>>621772
>She should choose her own fate
We have been an advisor, champion and a friend to her but we shouldn't make decisions on her behalf like this

>>621772
>"You should be asking her, not me. She's not happy in her current role, ignoring her current position."
I have a suspicion that's related to how Dick entrapped her in the first place. Honestly, I've gotten the impression she'd rather go to the Sunless Lands herself.
Actually, I see two reasons for offering her this. As a reward, for overcoming the trials here; Or as a apology for allowing her to go through said trials.

>>621906
>"You should be asking her, not me. She's not happy in her current role, ignoring her current position."
Seconding. Although, if he presses further, I think Lora would make a good god. Weird as it is, I think the experience of her current situation would make her wise to truths that gods sometimes have trouble with.

>>621772
>"You should be asking her, not me. She's not happy in her current role, ignoring her current position."

Thirding. Make it clear that it's her choice.

>>621772
>That isn't a choice I would talk about without her, especially until I can get her free. Besides I don't know how she would feel on the matter. Ask her to choice her fate not me.

>>621906
Expanding, If pressed I'd say no. She was created for a purpose, a grim purpose, sure, but a particular one all the same. She's been doing that job non-stop since the her creation. Unlike a mortal (or at least a Firstborn), she knows why she was made, and has done that duty since time immemorial. The Gods are beholden to none but themselves, and have no definite purpose that we know of. She would be a soldier without orders, aimless. She might get over that in time, but she's never had to wonder "why am I here?"
Also, her being promoted means someone else would have to take her place. I'm not sure she'd want to put this burden on someone else.

>>622033
>>621992
Add in that we personally would totally be for it, and that it might be something that could really help Lora, but emphasize that this isn't something we should force

>If Lora were to become a god, I would be her first worshiper, and I'd be more then happy to start handing out fliers and setting up meetings for the first church potluck.
>but it's not something I would force her into accepting any more then I would want to force her to do anything else. I don't know her mind. I don't think anyone knows her mind. And while I think she would like it, and that it would help her, godhood isn't something you just spring on people.

>>621772
>I believe
>not we
Has he talked to the other Gods about this? This discussion should take place first among the current Gods, then if they are in agreement, reach out to the perspective Godling.

Or is this all just hypothetical?

>>622194
I think he's fishing our opinion on the idea as one of, if not the person who is closest to Lora. Our rather limited perspective on things in terms of the short term is probably refreshing too.

Counter offer: Make me God

>>622350
>God: Should we make Death a God?
>Bri: How about me instead?

>whatcouldgowrong.jpeg

>>621772
>While I think she'd do a good job I'm not sure if that would make her happy.
>You were planning on |asking| her first weren't you?

>>621992
Changing my vote to include >>622154

>>622154
I'm puttin' my vote behind this.

Uh...guys we may have a problem with the archive. I cant up vote it and it says thread not found. Should we panic?

>>621772
>> What do you say?
If you compare the Dungeon to the World, I suppose you can call the Dungeon a test. And, ultimately, the Dungeon itself seems like a success, it's current situation nonwithstanding.
So as far as ability and experience, she seems like she's a decent candidate. (Granted, no idea how to define 'decent' at this scale.)
So agreement there on that she's a possibility based on merit...
But... not now. Not yet. For a simple reason.
The Gods have no masters; and are accountable only to themselves. And she is not that, not right now. And she may not be for some time after this is over. I think she must clearly be her own master and noone has any hold over her; either by lingering scar or direct control, before that.
I also think this is possible in the future.

>>622806
This thread has not yet been archived. The previous thread's at the bottom of http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Dungeon%20Life%20Quest

>>622806
It might be because it's on the /qst/ archive instead of the /tg/ archive.

>>621772
> Have you asked her?

Called, writing.

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>>621772
You suck in a deep breath, let it out slowly, and take off your hat. On the one hand, it's a gesture of respect, but if you're being honest it's mostly so you have something to fidget with.

"Look, if Lora became a god I'd be first in line to build her shrine, arrange the potluck, help write the hymns, but...hellfire, sir, it's not something I'd just force upon her. I don't think godhood is something you can just spring on people."

"No?" The Forgemaster turns and gestures for you to follow; he leads you into another room, whose shelves stretch far and wide, up past where you can see towards a ceiling so distant you cannot be certain it is even there. "I have found that life tends to happen without one's permission. I did not ask to be a god."

"Are you unhappy as a god?" you ask, a little concerned.

"I am...complicated...as a god. I, more than any of my peers, am the god of the creative urge. You understand this, Ms. la Croix? I thirst to build, to express, to tinker, improve, refine. I see flaws and I wish to correct them. I witness imperfection and I want to strive for improvement. But it was my voice which first called for the end of an age, and my arguments which persuaded my peers. It is a position I do not enjoy."

"But - why?" you ask.

"Can you give that flower to me?" the Forgemaster asks. The bloom is made of a fine metal, a gleaming, golden thing spun so thin as to be barely visible. You reach out and delicately grab the stem to lift it, but even that soft, gentle touch bends it, distorting the bloom. You wince and let go, pulling your hand away, but the damage is done.

"I -"

"Did precisely as I asked," the Forgemaster interrupts. "Creation is that flower. Our will is the touch. There are ways to handle the flower which will not harm it, but they require tools, delicacy, care, training. I could shape the world as I did in days of old, but not without doing to it what I have asked you to do to my flower. And it is for this reason that I wish my daughter's voice in our councils. Without prompting, without guidance or instruction, she came to a conclusion that I find valuable and correct - that Creation belongs to the children we gave it to, and that it is no longer right that we treat it as a plaything, or a doll's house."

"Sir," you begin, uncomfortably. "...Are you saying you want to leave?"

"...I have entertained the idea of shaping a new world, with the lessons I have learned from this one," the Forgemaster admits. "But I am unsure. And there are obligations which bind me here, people I have wronged which I must try to set right. My oldest children have an ancient pain in their hearts which I would give anything to heal..."

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>>623689
The god sighs, and turns to you. "Now I will tell you a secret that my daughter cannot, and which you may find of interest. Many gifts and privileges were given her, before she began to shape her Dungeon. The use of the Divine Tongue was one, but something else was given to her - an anvil and forge, and tools from my own smithy, with a particular purpose only ever found in one other place."

"What purpose?" you ask.

The Forgemaster smiles, color-on-color, and puts a single finger over your heart.

"The forging of souls, and the creation of life."

"She -"

"Has never made use of this gift," the Forgemaster interrupts. "I believe she was conscious of the responsibility inherent in its use, in a manner we, perhaps, were not. Perhaps she felt that anything she created could only be as unhappy with its own existence as she was. I imagine she will have kept it near her, in her most private domain, so that its power could not be abused by the vicious or the stupid. Regardless, you will awaken soon."

"Sir, what should I do?" you ask. "People are going to forget me. The work I've done -"

"Good work has a tendency to resist wear and tear," the Forgemaster tells you. This god and interruptions, you fuckin' swear. "You may find what you have created to be more resilient than you believed, la Croix. You forged well."

"I - thank you, sir."

"I suspect the others will want your thoughts on various matters at some point in the future," the Forgemaster advises. "Lora has few friends. She has always had few friends. You may know her mind better than any of us."

"That's a little sad," you murmur.

"Another wrong, which I must put right," the Forgemaster agrees. "Your body is ready. Be well, necromancer."

END PART VIII: THE GIANT'S DRINK

> You are Brianna la Croix
> You are Amy the Dungeonbreaker

>>623725
>> You are Brianna la Croix
Wow vox, that was awesome

> You are Amy the Dungeonbreaker
and you are currently experiencing the worst hangover of your life. That was one hell of a party.

>>623725
>You are Amy the Dungeonbreaker
We are bri, SO MUCH, let's be a bird

>>623742
Thank you.

I'm going to be honest, writing the gods as characters makes me nervous as hell, not just in conveying a sense of divinity - which is difficult enough as it is considering that 'divinity' means so many different things to so many different people - but because I struggle to write religions and religious entities in the first place. I've essentially been a lifelong atheist and most of my friends and family aren't particularly religious either.

TL;DR screaming internally

I need to hit bed, folks. Votes remain open. I may or may not be able to update before work tomorrow; if I can't, I'll be updating around 8 PM or so.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>623786
I really appreciate that you write gods as fundamentally people, actually. Not humans, necessarily, and so sometimes they take a while to learn things that are obvious to us, but people nonetheless. I can't help but think of Pratchett's Death when you write gods, and I think you know how high a compliment that is.

>>623786
I'll tell you a secret.

It takes a little objectivity to breathe life into something that is totally subjective.

So, you do it well.

>>623725
>You are Brianna la Croix

>>623786

Personally I like how you handle the gods. well meaning and competent, but not infallible. Most people tend to either have them be a God stand in, or assholes.

Have them be flawed but aware of there flaws is something I don't think i've seen before.

>>623725
> You are Brianna la Croix

I wonder what's changed, and what hasn't. Just as relevant, I wonder if we're still being held accountable for that resurrection, if we're still effectively in 'jail' and if the punishment is still 'exile to the dungeon'.

>>623786
I rather like your approach. They're powerful, ancient, and wise, but they made mistakes along the way. They have personalities, beliefs, and goals, just on a different scale.

Anyway, learning that Lora has her own Forge is... actually pretty cool. I won't say it's surprising, considering she was given the Dungeon as her own personal playground and fiefdom, but it was cool and something I hadn't thought about.

It also explains Lora's ability to /reforge/ souls, and I rather hope that this is something that Dick hasn't discovered, because if he has...

Well, he just gets another sin added to the tally.

If he tries to kill Lora and reforge /her/... Well, things get more complicated.

>>624252
>If he tries to kill Lora and reforge /her/... Well, things get more complicated.
Fuck, what if this is Dicks end goal in finding the most assholish chainbearers, banking on Fate to kill them and consolidate his power over Lora. To then reforge her into something controlable.

>>623725
>> You are Brianna la Croix

>>624291

At this point I wouldn't put it past the bastard.

>>624291

No, I think that they were chosen and manipulated for their usefulness. Going by how long this has gone on, I think he was betting on no really meaningful resistance. The Chainholders are all thoroughly entrenched, strangling each level, but they've at least had the option to not be assholes. Evidence to be seen in Bridgette and Jack.

Vintner: Not completely sure, but probably had contacts on the surface and was in charge of controlling the basement. Given the invisible murder-beasts and other traps, he was probably screening potential 'heroes' out of the equation.

Moneylender: Responsible for money.

Poet: Divine Language.

Baron: Logistical support in running the Mine. If he was an actual noble, probably had other useful resources to leverage on the surface.

Traitor: Foresight and weapons.Maybe did the literal forging of the chains? Hasn't come up, so probably not.

Diviner: Intelligence specialist.

Lush: Conventional forces.

Debtor: Acquisitions. Given Jack's bag and how he found the spear component that the Lush wanted, he's probably good at getting his hands on rare and interesting things.

Daughter: Special Forces. Given her past and Jewels, she probably gathered a cult of assassins under her. This is of course, on top of being part angel.

Pallbearer: Naval Superiority.

Wyrm: I don't bloody know. He's a fucking dragon. What does he do? I mean, he's a pretty hefty deterrent, but fuck. Giant dragon.

Librarian: Might've been the one to forge the chains, might've been the one who designed the magic to do so. Makes geargrinders, but that seems like a personal hobby.

Master: Simultaneously a Dick and an asshole. Everyone else has chains, and he put on a fucking /leash/. That's a statement if I ever saw one. Responsible for organizing this clusterfuck, and has since started learning the Divine Language. He's probably is hidden inside whatever Lora used to use for a house before he stole it, has high-tier charisma, and knows way too fucking much about things he shouldn't have any reason to know about.

... Looking over this list again, Dick's got to have a super-power or something. This is all stupidly well planned, and his manipulations to get these people under him are outright insane.

>>624419
Wait, what if we're going at Richard the wrong way? I mean, we've investigated the histories and motives of most of our previous opponents, tried to understand what made them tick and why they had fallen in with such an incredible Dick.

Switch perspectives for moment, and look at things through the eyes of our enemy. The who's, what's, why's and how's.
> Who am I? And what does that mean?
> What is my goal? What is it that I truly desire, and strive for?
> Why do I desire /this/ instead of /that/?
> How do I attain my desire?

I know these are pretty vague threads to be pulling at, but I am currently inebriated, and will be entering catatonia shortly. I just figured this would be useful and I am quickly circling the drain, so if somebody else could save this idea from a drunken idiot, I'd be grateful.

I am betting all my imaginary chips that Richard used to be a Hero, and learned some very bad things over a lengthy career. As the saying goes, you either die a Hero, or live to see yourself become the villain.

>>624549
The thing I find funniest about that phrase is it still applies if you die of old age.

>>624549
He also strikes me as a man who has lost a lot more than he could cope with and is now cold and calculatingly working to take back what 'Death took from him' that would explain why he doesn't give two shits about Lora's well being.

I ain't gonna be able to update before work. I'll be gone until just after 7 PM EST or so, try to update near 8:30 PM if I can. Thank you for your patience thus far.

>>624549
well, the fact of the matter is, when Lora showed Dick what would happen if he built 'a new world' along side the old one, he thought she lied to him. So, apparently, he wants to re,make or create a world where things are supposedly better. he wants to be like the gods, crafting a world and the lives within (so presumably he's forcing her to use that forge, or will force her to) for the sake of a vision where things are different (and, undoubtedly in his point of view, ~better~).

He is literally making what he thinks is a better world At the unbelievable cost of the one everyone else lives in, because he didn't believe Lora when she told him it wouldn't work.

And that means he WILL force her to make those lives eventually. It is worth remembering that Lora hasn't used the forge yet, not even to make Bri live again.

>>623725
>> You are Amy the Dungeonbreaker
Teary reunion and ultraspite hangover!

>>623725
> You are Brianna la Croix

> You are Brianna la Croix

I am way too damn curious about how she'll revive. A fresh body? Her old one renewed?

>>623725
>> You are Brianna la Croix

What do you make a soul out of? It's one thing to have the tools, but something else to have the materials. What else could be made out of that material?

I'm getting really nervous about Dick, we need to stop him sooner rather than later but these last few levels are a royal pain.

Also, Since Bri died before facing the Lush, does that mean the duel challenge is off the table?

Also. Nate and Amy sure showed Dick! Keep the crutches, you're going to need them!

So, as Lora has a Soul Forge, which is apparently for making life as its primary purpose, do you think she could also use it for reshaping life? If we ever find the thing and don't use up that Innocent Soul, I truly wonder about the things that could done. Who knows, if we ever find out that Dick isn't trying to be a dick and is actually trying to still do good, albeit doing it in an extremely rude way, a "mercy" may be to entwine/replace his soul with our Innocent one. Convincing Lora to let/make this happen doesn't sound like a fun talk though.

>>625039
>Dick isn't trying to be a dick and is actually trying to still do good
No one thinks of themselves as evil. They may know it's wrong, but they always have justifications for what they're doing. Heck, look at the previous chainbearers. All the ones we learned something about weren't cackling evil, they had reasons for what they were doing.

That doesn't excuse their actions.

> "mercy" may be to entwine/replace his soul with our Innocent one.
Soul is the seat of consciousness for Firstborn (at least). A dual soul is asking for trouble, and replacing just shoehorns a pure soul into an existing body, and then what do you do with the old one?

>>625086
Okay be fair, some of them were fucking lunatics that just wanted to watch the world burn and or grovel beneath them.

>>623725
> You are Amy the Dungeonbreaker

>>625098
Which ones?
Vintner - know nothing about - maybe
Traitor - crazy - maybe
Poet - research - 'justified'
Baron - know nothing about - maybe
Lisa(moneychanger?) - know nothing about - maybe
Pallbearer - unmet
Librarian - unmet
Diviner - all this power and no understanding of why to use it - could go either way
Debtor - pay a debt - 'justified'
Lush - to be remembered - 'justified'
Wyrm - unmet
Daughter - unmet
Master - unmet

I'm not making excuses for them, just showing how they might excuse themselves.

Apologies for the lack of ordering, the only list of chainbearers I could find wasn't ordered.

>>623725
>> You are Brianna la Croix

>>625098

I'm fairly sure that the Moneylender was probably fairly shit /before/ Dick got his hands on her, and maybe the Diviner too. And the Daughter was rotten, but at least we're getting her therapy. The Pallbearer's a fucking ghost pirate ship, so I'm not even going to think that they're not a bunch of assholes, even if they are pretty tired of it now.

But we just don't know enough about the Vintner to figure out if he was always bad, or if like the Baron, the Lush, the Traitor, and the Poet, Dick used that weird charisma of his to corrupt them.

Jack isn't on the 'corrupted' list mostly because he seemed to do everything in his power to not be a /complete/ jackass. Of course, he was still complicit in the binding, and given the nature of the warehouse, alienating the people who live there and manage it would be pretty dumb.

Side-question, I wonder if Dick was involved with Natalia's betrayal. It's apparently what drove her over the edge and made her Sight go into overdrive, and again it seems oddly convenient that he'd happen upon a seer /after/ their psychotic break.

>>624971
>>625188
Anon.

>>625188
What. This isn't me. Did my IP change? Someone else on campus maybe? Disregard it, obviously, but what?

>>625210
People can be unpleasant without being evil. Corrupted or not, they still /thought/ they had a good reason for the things they did. even if that reasoning had been twisted by Dick.

>>625039
>>625181
Dick allowed them to abuse Lora, and chained Death.

There is no excuse for his actions regardless of his reasoning, especially when she informed him that it would destroy the world regardless of whether he believes her or not.

There is nothing 'selfless' about abusing someone who trusted you and then allowing other to abuse her just because they can and you didn't care to stop them. NOTHING excuses his actions concernign Lora and the Dungeon, ever. You can make no justification for it that would change my opinion.

>>625863
"The ends justify the means" allows you to justify just about anything. Why would they care that /you/ think what they're doing isn't justified; to them it /is/.
In Dick's case, why would he trust the prisoner trying to prevent him from doing what he came down here for? Anything she says about the results could be a lie, a trick to delay his work, or to give her a chance to escape.

>>626017
Anon, allowing the abuse a chained, helpless creature of any sort can't be justified by any means, greater good or not, when you could have made sure she couldn't be harmed by the people under you.

That's where the whole 'ends justify the means' argument falls apart. He could have allowed her to protect herself from harm from anyone aside from himself. He chose not to.

>>625863
knowing someone's motivations and how they rationalize there wrong doing can help understand and predict them, as well as how to destroy them.

for example if you found an asshole who justified themselves by claiming to be acting for the betterment of something, if you proved there actions were making things worse you could stop them in there tracks without having to fight them.

>>626071
I sincerely doubt that can be done with Dick. Why should he vbelieve Brianna if he doesn't believe the angel whom he bound and absolutely controls? He's worked hard to break her will and force her into submission, but he still doesn't believe her even though she's demonstrated to him what he showed to us?

He's an unmitigated, merciless monster with no sane grasp of what he's actually doing, and he certainly doesn't care about what he's done. If he cared about what was happening at all, he wouldn't have let them hurt Lora. He's specifically allowed them to tirture, abuse, and harm her.

He really does not care about anything aside his motivation, and there is no reasoning with a fanatic.

>>626054
>can't be justified
Not by you, perhaps, but they don't think it's wrong, or at least not that wrong. An easy reason: revenge. Revenge has a practical reason for existence even: by hurting those that hurt you, you've put out a warning to others that desire to do you harm that they will get hurt in return, thus (ideally) preventing future attacks. See how easy it is?

>could have allowed her to protect herself from harm from anyone aside from himself
We don't know how the binding works. It may not allow such things. A shackle holds a person the same no matter who's doing what to the bound.

>>626136
Except we know that the shackles allow the others to control Lora, and that his collar is more powerful than those shackles. Lorra has to obey him in all things save where the Heritor is concerned...which means he can limit the controls the other have by overriding their shackles with his collar. We have SEEN that in action.

So he doesn't care about what happens to her. Only that his project is finished, regardless of whether or not it will destroy creation.

>>626166
A system like that is asking to be abused by the captive. Push one of the tormentors into being a little too rough, and Bam! Such a system would have to be designed, laying out what can and can't be done with the captive. The system would have to explained to every user of the system. There'd have to be controls on how and how long the captive was allowed to retaliate; and how to get them back under control. All this complexity would take time and materials to design and build, and is much more open to loopholes. And potentially, adding complexity might make the whole system less robust, allowing the captive to simply overpower the restraint system altogether.

All of this so that your prisoner isn't abused by those in power above her.

>>626125

he's a monster alright, but if we understand how he thinks that makes him a predictable monster. Knowing the why and what rationalizations he's using make guessing his next move easier, and it's always easier to fool somone with a lie that plays into there own self deception.

>>625334
I'm gonna believe good faith this time around, mostly because folks have generally demonstrated it before.

Called, writing, then going immediately to bed. Fuck the flu. Just. Fuck it. Fuck it in its flu ass.

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>>623725
BEGIN INTERLUDE VIII: ANVIL AND FORGE

You are Brianna la Croix, once again as mortal as the next person, and you are waking up in the Unlucky Bastard inn. You're clothed, as you were when you fell asleep here all those months ago; your hat will be on the back of the chair near the room's table, your spellcasting supplies should be downstairs. You sit up, expecting a knock on the door, and instead realize that the bed is not exactly empty. You open your eyes, quickly, and catch the sight of Hunting Talon perched at the foot of the bed, giving you an incredulous look.

You look down and see Briony, awake with the same look of 'what the fucking fuck' on her face.

"...I can explain," the acolyte says after a moment.

"We fucked," the harpy man says bluntly.

"Gods, pass this cup to another," you moan, before you get out of the bed and find your fucking hat.

It's going to be a long life. Or, at least, that's the plan.

* * * *

You're healthy, sort of. Your injuries are gone, as if they'd never happened, but a self-check of your life force says you're still missing what you ought to be missing - about five years in all, right off the end of your life span, plus or minus some for the smoking habit. You realize, with a pang, that everything Amy made for you is down in the Dungeon, if it survived at all. Briony and Hunting Talon seem to recognize you - the former constantly stressing that they're /just having fun, definitely not dating/ - and the latter visibly but successfully attempting to treat you with courtesy and not, as a random, nonspecific example, rip your guts out and eat them.

The innkeeper is another story.

"I could swear that room as empty when I rented it," the man mutters, again, as he brings you coffee and breakfast. "How'd you even -"

"Sir, I do not want to think about what I woke up to, and neither do they," you tell him, flatly. "Just let it go."

"Aye, miss la Croix. Here to back your sister up, are you? There's some kind of ruckus down there she's in the center of..."

"I've been involved," you say modestly. "I had to return to the surface temporarily. I'm going down to resume the fight once I'm feeling better."

The man wanders off, muttering to himself in frustrated confusion.

"Why doesn't he remember you properly?" Briony asks.

"I never had much direct influence on his life," you tell her. "Just on his home. So he remembers me as being someone associated with others. It makes a certain kind of sense; I don't /fit/, but there's a slot there for me that I could fill. So I do."

"This sounds like an extremely poor idea," Talon drawls.

"Well it's a good thing I'm fucking mortal now, isn't it?" you snap. "You're pretty cranky for a guy who's been shacking up with an attractive priestess."

"We'renotdating," Briony mutters, into her coffee.

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>>626703
> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?
> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.
> Fuck it, Briony seems uncharacteristically shy. Schadenfreude is the best freude am I right?
> Just grab your shit and descend immediately

>>626716
>> Fuck it, Briony seems uncharacteristically shy. Schadenfreude is the best freude am I right?
>> Talon, can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?
> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.

>>626716
>> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.
>Talon, can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?
not worried, just want to check up on what's happened while we were dead.

>>626716
>> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
>> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
>> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.

I hope we don't get arrested again.

>>626703
Huh, good for those two.

>>626842
Seconding this, we can tease the priestess later. Maybe on our way down when we leave.

>>626716
>> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?

>>626716
> Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?
Need to know that Best Bird and the Hero are okay. Maybe we should talk to Bridgette as well; she can tell us more about the things that might have changed.

>>624971
I wonder if a soul is made out of the similar kind of celestial 'stuff' that a God is (so, while a few humans are like pebbles on a hillside, the Divine are like mountains, just mindbogglingly massive), and that's how they can manipulate or claim them. Maybe the place that the Gods came from was changed by mortal souls seeking a resting place into the Sunless Lands?

>>624799
I wonder if we could fuck up Dick's plans by giving the innocent soul to Lora? I mean, yeah, if we do that, Dick can get his grubby mitts all over it because of that fucking leash.

But the only way she can learn to create is by doing it. Maybe when everything is said and done, in the story epilogue, the last segment can be Death creating Life. Actually seems like it could be an uplifting send-off for DLQ, when we finally reach the finish line.

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NSFW: Not Dating - http://pastebin.com/6QVdgZdn

And now I go back to sleep

>>626716
>Look, I'm just...worried. Can you bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?
>Fuck it, Briony seems uncharacteristically shy. Schadenfreude is the best freude am I right?
But gently, gently.

>>628325
Cute and warm.

>>628325
> "The safe word is citrine."
That was cute and funny and sexy and I love you Vox.

This has absolutely no bearing on the quest, but what's your favorite part of a woman - or man. Ass? Tits? Waist and thighs? Abs?

>>628460
My money's on him being an ass man.

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>>628460
Coccyx.

>>628467
Vox's safe word is now 'Anaconda'.

>>628488
Kek

>>628492
>implying he's allowed to have a safe word

So Talon and Briony got it on in the room Bri was in at the start of the quest and suddenly Bri was there to share the morning after due to resurrection?

>>628571
Well that's one hell of an express delivery by the storks.

>>628460
Forgive the cliche, but their personality; I can't really get into folks I don't like or respect. Close second place goes to the ass, though.

>>628492
>>628535
Never, ever, D/s without a safe word. That shit is sacred and inviolate.

And it's 'Glepnir', all future reference.

I need to get ready for the house to get bug bombed, so updates may be severely delayed.

>>628574
Heheheheh...well trained, just how I like-

Wait, wrong board, never mind.

I use glass chirping rings.

>>628325
>http://pastebin.com/6QVdgZdn
I'm going to figure out a way to slip "You horny chicken" into my everyday vocabulary. Thanks, for the challenge Vox.

>>626716
>> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.

Do some recon before stepping in any nests of confusion bees.

>>626716
>> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.
... and hope we don't get into any trouble doing so.

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>>628325

>>626716
> I'm going to finish my breakfast and go around town. I want an idea of what I'm in for before I go poking any bears.

Power out, phone dead, will update as able.

>>629220
Then how did you?...

Are you at the library? [Spoiler]

HOME, CALLED, WILL WRITE AFTER THIS PIZZA.

>>628325
Is excellent smut, but the combination of present-tense and third-person bothers me. I say this because you are always looking for feedback, rather than, say, because I am unappreciative.

Fuck it, can't focus. Gonna get a decent night's sleep, then write tomorrow. You've my apologies.

>>630792
I will take your apologies and abuse them.

>>630792
Eh, you're cool. Everybody has rough days/nights. Have you overcome the flu yet?

>>630859
Lewd.

>>631076
Oh, that's not lewd. I'm talking papercuts and MLP bandages level of abuse. Truly scarring stuff.

Fucking finally.

CALLED, WRITING.

Thank you for your patience.

>>632514
No problem Vox, we understand.

>>632570
We can't understand, we aren't dead

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>>632704

Understanding is not required. Only obedience.

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>>626703
You sigh, because your natural urge is to interfere, and then you let it go, because this isn't your business until one of them breaks down and asks your advice.

Probably Briony, she's already cracking.

But that's for later.

"Can someone just bring me Henrietta and her bell so I can check in on everyone?" you ask. "And can I say, again, that I didn't mean to resurrect in your bed?"

"It's fine," Briony mutters.

"Honestly, we'd mostly been talking by the time you showed up," Talon admits.

"...Did you /sleep/?" you ask, curiously.

"For about an hour," the harpy man admits, before he cracks a yawn wide enough to pop his jaw and decides to flap out of the room in search of Henrietta. You catch him swearing in a slurred voice as he tries to work rub the pain away.

"I'll...help..." Briony says lamely, before she slips out of the door after Talon.

She's definitely going to crack first. Excellent.

Henrietta comes into the inn with a confused look on her face. She spots you and you see her wince, like Jewel does when she's trying to remember something about her past. Your heart goes up into your throat, and you hold your breath.

"Brianna," Henrietta says at last. "Turn off whatever you're using to hurt my mind."

"I'm not doing it," you admit. "...Coming back from the dead complicated things."

"I don't suppose your box will fix this?"

"Probably not."

Her Grace crosses the room and gives you a brief hug, which you return gratefully. "I'll deal, then. I can get used to it. Or not, but I think our friendship is worth a bit of blinding pain."

"That bad?" you ask.

"Like knives in my skull. Talon said you needed my bell?"

"Mine's on my corpse," you admit.

Henrietta shudders. "That's...disquieting. Here."

You ring for Amy's bell, under the operating theory that Nathan has done something stupid that will result in him being unconscious. You catch the echoing sounds of the Roost when it's answered.

By Nate.

"Bookchild," Nathan says professionally. He sounds exhausted.

"It's me," you tell him.

"/Bri/," comes his relieved voice. "You're alive! I'd thought - I'd worried..."

"It's fine, love. What happened to Amy?"

"Well...the good news is that Jewel no longer has to feel like she's alone with her scars and the bad news is we can't wake her up. Meadows says she's recovering, just needs time to process whatever she did to herself. She...she ended up ingesting some of the Drink on accident. It was not good for her."

"But she's alive?" you press.

"Yes," Nathan promises. "She's alive."

"Tell me what happened."

CHOOSE ONE as NATHAN BOOKCHILD
> Tell Brianna everything
> Leave out the Lush's name
> Beg off for now; you were passed out at the climax

>>633381
>> Tell Brianna everything
ain't no relationship like a trust-based relationship

>>633381
>> Leave out the Lush's name

>>633381
>> Leave out the Lush's name
> But let Bri know that you have it, so she can make the decision of whether she wants it or not.

Like the other anon said: nothing says trust like full disclosure.

>>633381
>> Tell Brianna everything

>>633381
>>633457
I like this one. Let her know what we got but let her see if she wants it or not.

>>633381
>>> Tell Brianna everything

>>633457
>this one

>>633381
Supporting
>>633457
The sad part is that while the Lush's actions were beyond abominable I can kind of understand his motivations.

>>633381
> Leave out the Lush's name

>>633457
Supporting
>> Leave out the Lush's name
> But let Bri know that you have it, so she can make the decision of whether she wants it or not.

>>633381
>> Leave out the Lush's name

>>633381
>>633457
>>> Leave out the Lush's name
>> But let Bri know that you have it, so she can make the decision of whether she wants it or not.
>this

>>633381
Plus one for >>633457
>> Leave out the Lush's name
> But let Bri know that you have it, so she can make the decision of whether she wants it or not.

>>633381
> Leave out the Lush's name
> But let Bri know that you have it, so she can make the decision of whether she wants it or not.

Honestly, though, I kind of feel like it's petty to spite a dead man. That sort of shit is in a way what he wanted, to leave a scar on Lora that would remain for eternity. Instead of knowing his name and accepting it so we can start to deal and move on, I kind of feel like we would be giving him power.

I mean, people always refused to say Voldemorts name but that didn't do anything to help them get over their fear of him or forget him. It just made him into a mysterious bogeyman, instead of Tom Riddle the talented but fatally flawed wizard who for all his power should have been pitied really.

>>634297
Well we don't need to boogeyman him.
He was the Lush, a hedonistic torturing asshole, and then he died. The end.
No "last son of the giants", no nothing.

>>634297
This isn't "afraid to say his name, despite knowing it", This is "unwilling to tell others his name as to prevent it's spread". Lush was an awful being, and doesn't deserve to be remembered. All the chainbearers we haven't "fixed" we refer to by title anyway.

Called, tallying, writing.

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>>633381
Interesting write-in. Time for some serious pic related.

"After you went down we had a hell of a fight," Nathan tells you. "The old necromancer stayed out of it. He had to have seen you go down, no idea what he's thinking or feeling. Harpies say he's still up on that bell tower, waiting for you."

"How'd he know I'm still alive?" you ask, puzzled.

"I don't know, and I'm not about to get within blasting distance to ask," your lover tells you. "Things got...hectic, from there. We joined forces with Ash, looted what scorpions and onagers we could, and went to do battle with the Lush. He...he killed most everyone on both sides, Brianna, either with his spear or when it caught fire and he trapped men in the trenches. The survivors all fit into Meadows' hospital with me."

You swear under your breath. "He's dead? What about the Drink?"

"He is," Nathan confirms. "And the Drink has been expunged. Its secret died with him. He...gave us a letter, for his sister. He said she would come seeking revenge, and that the letter would explain things. That she would pay wergild for his sins. Bri, there's...he..."

Nathan sighs. "When we joined battle, he declared his name, like a battlecry. He said it would live forever. He was furious, and...and sad, I think. His shadow wouldn't stop trying to kill itself. He seemed to hate Lora, resent her for being immortal or...I don't know, for being ungrateful? His dying request was that you know his name, and I'm not sure if I should tell you or not. I'm pretty sure I could talk the survivors into burying it -"

"Tell me," you interrupt.

"Are you sure?" Nathan asks.

"The /fuck/ do you mean, am I sure?" you snap, setting your coffee cup down harshly. "That's a dying man's final request, Nathan. Their /dying fucking wish/."

"That's what he wanted, though, that's why he was - why he -"

"Nate, I don't care," you tell him softly. "He's dead, and he's gone. What we do with his final request isn't about him, it's about us. I'm not going to be a bitch to spite a corpse, no matter what it did when it was alive, and it astounds me that you even considered it. It might be one thing if he told you to kill the rest of his men or burn down the Cornucopia, but he wanted his enemy to know his name. Tell me."

Nathan groans - he must be shifting his weight - and is silent for a long while. At first you think you're going to have to actually yell at the guy, but then he speaks up.

"Herostratus," Nathan murmurs. "His name was Herostratus, last son of the giants. He wanted his name to live forever."

"Maybe it will," you say softly, with a shrug. "And maybe it won't. Ideas are like people, in a way. They all get the same span of time - a lifetime. And, Nate?"

"Yeah?" your lover asks.

"If I have something I need to hide from history, chances are I fucked up pretty bad. You understand?"

"I..." Nathan sighs. "Yes. I understand. It just...it doesn't sit well, that he's getting what he wanted."

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>>634401
You pick your cup back up and take a sip of it. "Why do you think he threw the game?" you ask. "He won when we sat down to play. Everything else was just writing the story, Nate."

"Are you okay?" Nathan asks, worry coloring his voice.

"I...I will be," you tell him. "...I don't like it either. But it's the right thing to do. I'll call you in a bit, after...after I start the journey back down. How's River?"

"...I have bad news."

> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)
> The Burden of Command (You are Rachael Trust)
> War Reporting (You are Scribbles)
> Remain Brianna la Croix

>>634411
> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

And now I must sleep. Votes remain open.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>634411
Urgh tough choice but I think this one will get us the best overview of what's happened to everyone.
>War Reporting (You are Scribbles)

>>634411
>> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)
Time to be an elf

>>634411
> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)
Since I'm assuming she's still alive, this must have something to do with either the Balefire she's been slinging around, or the very spooky effects of Sleep. Either way, I'm expecting some scars (both emotional and physical). Elf sis is going to need hugs. Somebody pass Feathers her way.

And if I can just say, It feels like most of the Chainbearers were already broken when Dick found them, or were manipulated into being exactly what he wanted. The only real assholes I can find among the lot are the Vintner, the Moneylender, the Baron, the Diviner, and the Lush.

Bridgette had a lofty goal that he turned into something awful, Natalia was a broken wreck, and Jack was, well, Jack. The Pallbearer was /made/ what it was by the decree of a God, so it doesn't really have any choice.

We joked about the Librarian being some kind of Skynet entity, but in truth I picture a very lonely and very smart old man, whose obsession pulled him into something terrible.

The Wyrm is, well, a dragon. Pretty hard not to be a aspect of destruction when you're a giant fire-breathing monster. I've been imagining that he looks at Lora like an almost-mother. I mean, she made the Dungeon, and he was born from it. Which definitely makes his own motives a mystery.

>>634439
>We joked about the Librarian being some kind of Skynet entity, but in truth I picture a very lonely and very smart old man, whose obsession pulled him into something terrible.
My guess is that The Librarian is the first geargrinder ever to exist

>>634411
> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

>>634411
>> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

>>634411
>Side Effects (You are River la Croix)
River, no!

I was fully prepared to decline hearing the Lush's name. It would not have been a very in character vote at all.

>>634411
>> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

>>634411
> The Burden of Command (You are Rachael Trust)

>>634411
Checked
>The Burden of Command (You are Rachael Trust)
Haven't been her before.

>>634475
So another god of creating shit experiment gone wrong?

>>634411
>> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

Rachael Trust
Who?

>>634668
Second in command on the Pallbearer, I think.

>>634411
>> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

>>634411
>The Burden of Command (You are Rachael Trust)

>>634673
That is correct.

>>634673
>First Mate Rachael Trust shakes her head.
Thread 70

Good memory

>>634411
> Side Effects (You are River la Croix)

Called, tallying, writing.

>>634297
There was a guy in ancient Greece who burned down the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world, because he wanted this arson to make his name be remembered eternally. The people of the city forbade the mentioning of his name but some guy wrote it down and now he's on wikipedia, unforgettable like he always wanted.
Don't make the Lush's real name unforgettable.

>>634892
That man's name was Herostratus.

>>634917
Yes yes, but it will stay with those who know it and they will refer to him as the Lush.

>>634917
The fact that Lush will probably have his wish and be remembered forever pisses me off to no end. But I cannot think of a way to stop it.

>>634892
He'll be forgotten anyway once the inexorable force of entropy claims humanity and all our works.

>>634928
Conceptually erase him from the universe, causing all recorded mentions of his name, appearance, deeds or anything else about him to fade or be lost and to eternally slip from the memories of any who learn of him. Bit of an extreme measure, and not quite sure if we could do it, but it would work.

>>634917
Fuck you for making a bad guy win again.

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>>634411
You are River la Croix, apprentice necromancer and demonologist.

Things could be going a lot better right now.

<This is proving...quite educational> Robert manages, through the pain. You frown and walk faster; you're most of the way through the Mine, and you'll be at the Athenaeum soon. You need advice.

"You're going to be okay," you reassure your mentor.

<I'd forgotten what pain was like...>

"It's going to be okay," you repeat again, emphatically. "Robert, stay with me here. We're getting help."

The fight with the taster had been something else. Tina's in the Roost recovering; she needs rest, more than anything, and that wasn't her first throw-down with one of the tasters. But you were seemingly /fine/. Burnt, some, sure - but that happens, you'd been expecting that and came in warded against it as best you could be.

It turns out Robert took the brunt of the taster's spiritual drain. The ghost had remained silent during the fight, but now you hear his agonized groans every few moments. Whatever it did to him, it's bad, and likely made worse by Robert's status as one of the Dead.

You need advice. The Caretaker is close.

<Girl...>

"I'm here," you say quickly. "How can I help?"

<I did not mean to be cruel to you, girl> Robert whispers. <Truly, I did not. Of all of my students, you...you have been...my most promising...>

"Robert, stay with me," you plead. You pull your hood up, on instinct, and enter the tunnel that will take you to the Shaft. You're close, so close.

<You will not have a better chance to banish me, girl. Go past the Athenaeum. Enter the Lichyard. Seize your name...>

"Robert -"

<Do it, girl> the ghost groans.

> Do it
> Continue to seek the Caretaker

>>634994
Again?

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker
>> "While it would certainly be easier now, it would not feel like a true victory."

>>635116
Each time somebody hears/reads/remembers his name he wins.

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker
Robert is good for River's education, she will banish him when she is ready even when he is at full power.

>>635101
> Continue to seek the Caretaker

>>635101
>Continue to seek the Caretaker
We worked hard to learn how to banish him legit, some unnaturally strong Taster isn't going to rob us of our time with Robert.
Shortcuts are for the weak.

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker
I won't sneak in you banishment when you are weak, I'll do it when you are strong, as proof of my mastery.

>>635101
> Continue to seek the Caretaker
The whole point of banishing as the final test is to make sure the apprentice is capable enough to handle things on his/her own. Simply exploiting a moment of weakness does not demonstrate skill as a necromancer specifically, it's a more general tactic that does little to indicate if the apprentice actually learned anything about necromancy. It just shows that the apprentice is a cagey combatant, and we already knew that.

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker
Yeah the whole point is to be strong and skilled enough. Taking an easy stab is worthless.

>>635101
You can't see or hear it, but I'm sighing in relief. Had me thinking that Best Sis was going to end up a cripple, or dead. And then we'd never have a chance to tease her and Lark about their pointy-eared babies.

> Continue to seek the Caretaker.
Like the anons said, River wants to banish Robert fair and square. How could she ever look Brianna in the eye if she copped out?

>>635101
I'm really conflicted all of a sudden, Robert is suffering pretty bad at the moment.

>>635101
>> Do it

>>635252
That's why we're going to get help. And if I understand the banishing mechanics he'd just go back to his grave anyway.

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker
River was a mercenary once, and not a very nice one. I imagine she knows what it's like to abandon a comrade, to leave someone to their wounds because it's smarter than trying to help them. I don't imagine it's something she's about to do again.

>>635101
> Continue to seek the Caretaker
and respond with
>Bitch you are family and I WILL take you down at your best! Now shut up and take your medicine as soon as we get there! It means nothing if I got a handicap of you saving MY ass!

>>635101
>> Continue to seek the Caretaker

"I might be able to seize my name by banishing you now, but I want to *earn* it. I'll kick you out when you're at full strength and can handle the ass-whooping I plan on giving you."

As you've likely guessed, I must now go and be Gainfully Employed. Votes remain open.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>635482
Why are elf ears so long?

>>635602
To echolocate in the dark obviously.

>>635679
Why are they so narrow then?

>>635602
There's a few reasons. One of them is that elf ears are highly sensitive and aid in awareness of their environment; subtle changes in air pressure, wind direction, and the like get picked up and reported. This additional environmental awareness helps elves avoid one another's personal space, move in dark locations, hunt, and move through rough terrain. Elven ears are also a major component of their superior sense of balance.

As you've seen, an elf's ears are a good indicator of their mood and attention - helpful in maintaining homeostasis - and an elf with stiff or drooping ears is likely stressed or depressed.

Lastly, though they don't like to talk about it, the Forgemaster liked the aesthetic.

>>636214
Also kinky fun times with ear massages?

>>636214
So, is clipping their ears a way to dull their senses? Or is it just a hate thing?

>>636252
Yes, though that's more a pleasant side effect than a design feature.

>>636286
Proabably both.

>>636286
Both. It started as a punishment for elven criminals convicted of violent crimes. Other races that took elves as slaves adopted the habit, both to degrade their property and to ensure that their own people wouldn't shelter them. Eventually elves stopped, out of horror and disgust, but the damage has been done.

Okay, I'm going to try sanity for a change and get some sleep instead of staying up trying to update. Votes remain open.

>>637277
What? Say it isn't so!

How would someone go about introducing something like anti-magic in this setting? I'm still a little fuzzy on how it works (yes, I know this is a narrative quest without a lot of crunch, and I do know about the Magic Google doc.).

Maybe, instead of being something that can be affected, it's done with tools? So, perhaps a device that creates a sort-of void that draws in ambient magic as well as an directed magical spells? Or a perhaps a ward that prevents magic from passing entirely?

>>637585
We do know that armor is made to block magic. Which isn't to say we really know how that works, but it exists.

Is Riley alive or dead?

>>637760
We haven't heard. All we know is that roughly 90% of the men and women who participated in the battle are dead. The Lush's indiscriminate use of the Earthsplitter as well as fires from, I'm assuming, the other fight against the Taster.

If he lives, he'll likely face execution by the newly freed folks of the Cornucopia, unless we step in. If he's dead, than he died with a clear conscience and a much better man than the Lush.

Also, I say we raise the bastard's bones to replace the Boar, or maybe combine them into a creepy giant undead centaur-thing.

>>637780
No, the new minion slot is going to Brianna's corpse

>>637803
>Not raising the body, putting the innocent soul inside, having a Bri-Clone, and then double-teaming the Hero or Best Bird.
You have a poor imagination anon.

Actually, I have /no/ idea what we're going to do with that. I mean, we could always give it to Kat and make her fully self-aware. Or raise it as a Vampire and have an Evil Twin thing, but really? We're probably just going to put it in an unmarked grave and pretend that it never happened, for the benefit of Amy and Nate's mental health.

>>637812
The way I see it, It'll always be a sore spot, but we can make it less by poking fun at it.

>Finally, my own clone! Now neither of us will be virg-
>Oh wait.

We also have to 'break in' the new ride at some point. If you catch my drift.

>>637824
Now I'm just waiting for someone to say, 'Go fuck yourself'.

>>637812
>>637824
>>637835
Well we're all agreed we need to do something with her body. Hopefully it's been put on ice to arrest decomp

>>637839
Y'know, I think there was talk previously of undead lions & wolves? Maybe we should go with that, instead of trying to make one single super-beefy minion. The Boar was great for the Broken Jaw and the Cornucopia, but we still need to deal with the Sunless Sea and the Gauntlet Below. Some minions that can pack a punch but are still mobile. Plus, they can fit through the fucking doorway.

>>637861
We should be able to make a few small to medium minions without much trouble.

I'm also wondering how we're going to deal with the Old Necromancer up in the bell tower. Think he's still out for 'justice'?

>>637873
Of course he is. Why would he not be?

>>637873
I swear to fucking god, we should just sic Kells on this asshole. I mean, holy shit, how hard is it to not be a dick? And because he sided with the Lush, he ostracized Ash, the only other apprentice he had. It's not our fault his other student was an idiot.

>>637873
We do have options available to us, but I'm not sure how much time, energy, and materials we'll want to put into these things.
> Maybe a couple more chickens, and a weasel (just for nostalgia's sake). Give them the poison quills, like before, because those ranged attacks were pretty damn effective.
> A small pack of dogs or wolves, since they're beefier than a chicken and a naturally suited to working as a team. Set them up with greater intelligence so they can follow complex commands and operate with some independence.
> A couple lions that we can kit out to be our new tanky minions. Bone plate armor and necrotic claws/fangs.
> A small flock of Witchbats, to do recon and maybe deliver quick necrotic bites.
> A few spiders or snakes, to be our little assassins. Plus, get those hoodoo-voodoo vibes going strong.
> If possible, another lizard, or maybe just a horse or bull, to serve as a mount and lug our other shit around, like that Death Bottle.

>>637923
because of all the death in the area it should be easier to raise zombies near the theater right?

>>637925
Probably. There's no reason /not/ to take advantage of that, and if it makes the folks of the Cornucopia feel better, we can have the new minions help out digging proper graves for the dead. We shouldn't really hear a lot of complaining, given that we evacuated as many citizens as possible, and our minions are just dead animals rather than people.

It feels like I'm spamming, but I just /really/ like spamming minions and shit like that. Zerg, Overlord, the Summoner-class Necromancer and the Witch Doctor from Diablo 2 and 3.

>>637905
In exchange for him not fighting, we agreed to duel him after dealing with the Lush.
>>637923
Getting all of these would be overkill, but making as many as we could without significant life-force loss would be great. We never seem to actually make any minions, even after the ones we have break. All we have left are Fetch, Vim & Vigor, and Kat. Plus, there should be plenty of Death around in Cornucopia for a little while, might as well use it.

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>>637955
It's probably because, as we've descended, our party has grown a lot stronger and we've gained allies. We have an almost literal army behind us now.

Amd yes. having an elite force of fully upgraded undead minions combined with the hero squad and the gathered forces of our allies is definitely overkill, but Dick deserves it.

I'm going to shut up now.

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That was some serious sleeping.

I'll call and write after I get my check and Prevent Homelessness.

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Called, writing.

>>639754
How's the novel coming?

>>639754
I think he went back to sleep. Work must have been rough

>>639754
It seems that this past couple weeks have been hard on our lich.

>>641339
The poor boney bastard works retail.

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>>635101
You ring for the platform that will take you up the Shaft. "I'm not going to," you tell Robert, firmly. "It wouldn't be a real test."

<Girl, cheating is /expected/.>

"Yeah, and? Summoning demons to help is using what you taught me. Hitting you over the head while you're weak is just being a backstabbing fuck. I won't do it. We can still get help."

<Girl ->

"Ask me to banish you again and I'll pull you out, beat your ass, and then cram you right back in."

Robert laughs, weakly. <Fine. Fine, have it your way. Oddly insistent on saving a dead man, girl.>

"I've left too many friends behind," you murmur. "Not again. Not ever again."

<River...listen to me. It is good that you wish to be more than you were, but you won't escape the shadow of your past if everything you /are/ is simply a reaction to everything you /were/. If all you are is the reflection of River the Southhand, you've squandered the opportunity given to you. You could be...be...so much more...>

"You acting like you're dying again is not reassuring, Robert," you murmur, worriedly. "Stay with me here."

<I have been unjust to you> the ghost insists. <I...I thought...I tested you because I felt you were worthy...>

The lift stops, thank the gods, and you make for the Caretaker's usual haunts. "Robert, it's...it's fine, it's fine. You didn't do anything wrong."

You blush at the ghost's bitter laughter, but don't comment further. You know what you said.

"Caretaker! Caretaker, I need you - /gods fuck I will never get used to that/."

The old lich has teleported to you. He puts a steadying hand on your shoulder and looks at you with the witchflames that serve him as eyes. "Tell me what is wrong."

"Robert, he's - he's hurt. We fought a taster, and it hurt /him/ somehow. Instead of me, it hurt him and he -"

"Does not know how to heal any more," the Caretaker interjects. "Yes, I can see why this would be a difficulty. Please, come into my study. I warn you, you are unlikely to enjoy your options."

"Just tell me," you implore, following the lich. "He's hurt."

"Of course. He's been damaged." The Caretaker leads you through book-lined halls into the room he claims as his own. You take the offered chair and look, expectantly, at the old lich. "Souls are either nearly, or wholly, impossible to truly destroy, but they may be damaged. Life damages many, of course, but other forms of assault can do so as well. Time in the Sunless Lands is thought to heal these wounds, though of course certitude in this matter is impossible. Ghosts, on the other hand, do not heal. They splinter, crack, calve off bits of their personalities and, eventually, fade. Though Robert la Croix is dead, his burial in the Graveyard was meant to prevent his crossing into the Sunless Lands so that he could never again plague the living. He cannot heal."

Your ears droop, shifting your hood. "Then - /no/. That's not /fair/!"

The Caretaker gives you a patient look, and you sigh and look away.

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>>641370
"...What are my options?" you ask, at last.

"Banishment seems obvious, though it may not be. He would return to his grave, which may be of no help in healing his injuries whatsoever. You could leave him as he is and hope that your residual energies can permit him to heal; this is thought to be why poltergeists attach themselves to the living."

"I remember," you whisper. "He - he taught me that, I - give me a minute..."

<...You are crying.>

"/Shut up/," you whisper, harshly. "Damn ghost..."

The Caretaker makes a sound much like clearing his throat. "Studying the case between Jewel and Cherry has suggested another idea," he intones. "Their mutual recovery has been greatly speeded by their...particular relationship. Cherry, a ghost who should by rights be fading into mindlessness and death from the attacks inflicted upon her, is instead persistent and, indeed, recovering. I believe the tight bond between her soul and Jewel's is responsible, permitting Cherry to heal as the living heal. There is the potential problem, however, of the alleged side effects."

"Jewel is getting more like Cherry," you murmur.

"And Cherry more like Jewel, though the effect there is subtle, but yes. Assuming trust between the two of you..."

Your mind goes back to the Warehouse, and Robert's possession. You shudder, while the ghost laughs weakly.

"...It is, perhaps, best if we ask the Keepers how to disinter him and send his soul to its rightful place," the Caretaker murmurs.

"BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!" you yell. Your ears press flat against the side of your head, quivering. "I need to think, I - I - shut up, okay? Just shut up..."

> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest
> Leave well enough alone. Let him rest, don't ask him to teach you, see if he gets better
> Let Robert possess you. You can't lose him.

>>641381
Is there any way to send him to the sunless lands as opposed to his grave?

>>641289
Passed out at my desk fighting with horrific gut cramps. Woke up with more horrific gut cramps. Am now going to bed in an effort to escape them. Votes remain open.

Thank you for your understanding, folks. I've been in rough fucking shape.

>>641385
That's the Keepers option, yes. He needs to be pulled out of the confinement he's in before he can be banished to the Sunless Lands properly.

>>641387
Just how /long/ has it been since Robert died? And by that I mean when his spirit got shoved in a box, not when somebody stuck him with a sword and his specter came back to rip said someone a knew sphincter.

>>641386
Please don't die. Again. Resurrection rituals are expensive as fuck, and the paperwork alone makes Hel look like a tropical resort.

>>641386
Shit man hope you feel better soon I sincerely wish you good health and not just because I like your quest.
Speaking of which
> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest
We knew that he would have to be banished at some point and honestly keeping him around just seems unnecessarily cruel/risky at this point.

>>641381
>Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest
Death is for the dead. Brianna got that right at least, and it would be cruel to do anything else.

>>641402
Hey now, Hel is a nice gal who got the shit end of a bad stick.

Y'know what's bad? River can /barely/ remember her own family. After all that Robert's done, all the magical and moral lessons he's helped her learn - he's become the father figure that the poor elf girl needed. And now she has to say goodbye.

>>641381
> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest.

>>641381
>> Leave well enough alone. Let him rest, don't ask him to teach you, see if he gets better
I wonder why praying to Lora, to ask advice, is not an option?

>>641439
Lora doesn't answer prayers personally in a general manner of speaking. She'll ~usually~ listen if Bri is directly involved, but generally she stays out of everything else.

> Leave well enough alone. Let him rest, don't ask him to teach you, see if he gets better

Let's observe for now. This could go either way. But man, River is taking this poorly so far. More than I'd have thought.

>>641381
>Ask Robert which he would prefer, or if he has any other ideas.

>>641463
Being alone and then having someone mentor and teach you means you get attached to them, more so than you might think.

I felt much the same way about my teacher in the Way and in Zen, he was more of a father figure than my actual father.

>>641381
>> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest

>>641381
>> Leave well enough alone. Let him rest, don't ask him to teach you, see if he gets better

This option neither commits the potential sin of giving life to the dead, nor circumvents the expected end of our apprenticeship.

But either other option could be taken in the future if this proved to be ineffective, or otherwise problematic.

>>641381
>Talk to the Keepers

>>641381
>> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest

>>641381
>> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest

>>641381
>Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest
Jesus, this is hard. I imagine that River would want to try and save Robert as best as she can because otherwise it wont be a fair banishment like was mentioned before, that and damn it Robert's a pretty cool guy, for an asshole, but he's River's asshole no one elses.

Still if he needs to heal then he needs to return home to heal.

The other reason why River wouldn't go for the possession option I think is that I think River wouldn't want to take away bits of Robert that make him him, if that makes sense?

I mean she'd do it to save him, but not at the expense of gradually erasing part of who he is as I don't think Robert would be all that cool with it.

Though it would be cool as hel to see another half mortal half ghost creature like Danny Phantom, it's time for Robert to go home

>>641381
> Talk to the Keepers; it's time Robert got to rest

>>641381
>his burial in the Graveyard was meant to prevent his crossing into the Sunless Lands so that he could never again plague the living.

>so that he could never again plague the living.

I'm missing something here. He was buried in the Lichyard to prevent him being resurrected?

>>641848
With his ghost trapped there he is unable to go to the sunless lands, and also prevents him from being summoned by someone with the intent to get information out of him regarding zombie armies.

>>641848
As >>641860 mentioned. It as also meant to stop his ghost from rising again as a specter once they put his body down.

Called, writing.

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>>641381
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Vg2YS-sFE

You take a deep breath, trying to steady yourself, and look down at the floor. None of those sound like great options.

But that's how it works sometimes, isn't it? You get a pile of bad options and you have to decide what matters most to you. Sometimes there's not a /right/ choice, just a set of choices.

And you're not going to condemn Robert to suffer just because you're not ready to let go.

"Contact the Keepers," you whisper. "I need to call Brianna. She promised she'd be there, when...when I graduated."

"As you wish, Ms. la Croix."

You get up and start trudging for the entrance to the Lichyard. It's going to be a long walk, and you might as well check in on your house, and let everyone know you're still alive, and...and...

<Thank you, River> the ghost murmurs. <I will be honored to attend to you, should you need the aid of your ancestors.>

"My ancestors are elves," you point out, without much heart in it.

<Not many get the chance to have two families, River la Croix. Make the most of it. Don't...don't throw it away like I did. I left behind so much pain...so much /fear/...>

"I know," you murmur. "...But you learned better." You take your bell from your breast pocket and swing it to get Henrietta's, which Brianna is borrowing at the moment - at least, according to Nate.

"La Croix," comes her business-like answer.

"Bri?" you whisper, your throat tight. "...It's time. Can you meet me near the family shrine?"

"Of course," your sister promises. "I'll go right away."

You put the bell away and walk in silence, pausing only to wipe your eyes.

* * * *

There aren't many people here for this. Just you, and Bri, and Robert. The woods outside of the family shrine are free of innocent people who might get caught in a potential crossfire, which is all you really wanted as far as a location is concerned.

Miranda, of the Keepers, approaches from the shrine. "The body has been exhumed," the dwarf tells you, solemnly. "I am here to bear witness to the final will and testament of the dead soul."

"Alright," you tell her. You pull your hood up and tuck your ears into their holes before you take a deep breath and retrieve a shard of silver. You throw it, peeling Robert away from yourself and binding him to the silver, catching him between it and the haunting. Your breath catches in your throat when you see him; Robert's robes are ripped to shreds, and you can see the wounds that led to his death, gently oozing silvery blood. He hunches, haggard and beat down.

"Keeper," Robert's sentence is interrupted by a moan of pain. "Thank you for coming, and for the service of...of yourself and your clan, in this place. You have done good works."

Miranda nods, but says nothing.

>>642059
>that music
I has a sad.

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>>642059
"In my coffin...in...in my coffin, you found...possessions," Robert manages. He stops, clutching his side where the blood runs freely from a wide sword wound. "I entrust them entirely to the care of River la Croix, my student and heir, who stands before me."

"They will be provided to her," Miranda agrees. "Save the shroud in which you were buried, which is no business of the living."

"As you say," Robert agrees. "...River, I am tired. It...it is time."

"I'll miss you," you murmur, as you pour shards of gleaming silver into your hand.

"I will be awaiting you, in the Sunless Lands. I expect to be regaled with tales of a full and interesting life, my apprentice."

"I'll do my best, but you might have to take a story about a glorious death in battle instead." You swallow, around the lump in your throat, and thrust the silver into Robert's incorporeal form. As you start your incantation you can see his eyes, unfocused, staring somewhere behind you. He's talking, but you don't think it's to you.

"We meet again," Robert murmurs, distantly. "...Yes, I am ready." The ghost laughs, and it sounds genuinely /happy/, and after a long moment, he says his last words - "But I was right, wasn't I? I still had something important to do. It just wasn't what I thought it was."

The banishment takes hold, and Robert vanishes. The silver in your hand crumbles to metallic flakes, and you let it drop to the ground.

Brianna pulls you into a warm hug, and lets you cry.

* * * *

You are Brianna la Croix, and you are a bit low on minions. River's taking some time in Split to mourn, and to get her head back on straight. You're down to Fetch, the hands, and Kat, in theory. You still haven't met back up with her...

> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well
> Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
> Get some chickens and a weasel. It worked for you before, right?
> Hold off on minions for now

AND

> Make them before you descend
> Descend first

>>642082
>Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
>Descend first

Do not annoy the nascent creature that is Kat by making her jealous.

Wait.

Do we have a shadow in this body???

>>642082
> Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
> Make them before you descend

If we're planning to make some minions, we should just make them. No point in expecting to have them, then running into some trouble on our way down that prevents us from making them.

>>642082
> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose minions, and should mesh well.
> Descend first.
I'm assuming that descending first means we can't upgrade them or anything? It'd also mean that Kat will be there to meet them, so to speak, and avoid any kind of jealousy.

>>642089
>Do we have a shadow in this body???

That's a pretty good question, actually.

>>642082
>> Hold off on minions for now
>> Descend first

Kat is a Wat that shold be sorted before more minioing. And also your body. All important things to sort out before minioning again.

>>642082
>> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well
I feel like a mix of combat and scouting is probably better than pure scouting, at this point. Our intel is usually pretty good, we're just getting hammered in fights.

>> Descend first
With so much death in the Cornucopia, it really seems like we should make them there.

>>642082
>> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well
>> Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
>> Get some chickens and a weasel. It worked for you before, right?
> Descend first

>all the things
Assuming we have the materials, if we make them in Cornucopia there should be plenty of extra death around, right?

>>642089
>>642122
You do /not/!

I must now go forth and be Gainfully Employed. I'll see everyone at 1 AM or so.

>>642082
>> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well
> Make them before you descend

>>642082
> Get a pair of dogs or wolves
> Descend first

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>>642082
I'm not crying, I'M NOT CRYING!

>>642176
Huh, so when we respawn our shadow needs to be attached to us again. Interesting the implications that Dick could do with that kind of information.

>>642082
>Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
They will also be useful in the Wyrm's domain, I'm really hoping we can talk the Wyrm to our side though, I would much rather avoid fighting it.

>Make them before you descend
I would like to wait to get our bottle but who the fuck knows what kind of shit could ambush us on the way, former Jewel got close to Brigette without /any/ trouble and you bet there are some skilled assassins still down on the level where Seraphina used to rule.

>>642082
>> Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
>> Descend first

Before I vote, I have some questions that need to be answered

When you say- before you descend- do you mean descend to the sunless sea or descend just past the lichyard?

I think most of us want to raise the minions in the cornocupia

What about Brianna's body?

>>643170
also what's the status on the necromancer waiting for a duel and his apprentice? I forget if it was mentioned whether or not the elf survived

>>643170
Descend to meet back up with the others.

Brianna's body will be dealt with separately.

The necromancer is still waiting atop the bell tower.

>>643525
that didn't really answer my question

Meet the others where? The sunless sea or the cornocupia or somewhere in between?

Brianna would know at this point whether or not the elf...whose name is escaping met at this point- survived right? I really need to know if we have a shot for talking down the necromancer before deciding on what minion to vote for, and whether or not his apprentice is alive would play a big part in that

I wonder what type of duel we're looking at here. First blood? Last one standing? Wits? magic/counter-magic?

>>643589
In the Roost, where they're recovering. Bri hasn't gone down further than the Lichyard since she came back, anon.

>>643760
alright going off of this then
>>642082
>> Make some undead birds or bats; they'll be handy in the Sunless Sea
> Descend first

>>643648
Proabably to the death. That necromancer was pissed.

>>642082
>> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well

>>642082
> Hold off on minions for now
AND
> Descend first
I agree a bit with anon here. >>642143

Also, weren't we gonna do some sciencing with our own body when we came back? I also think it would be a bit better to get our remaining minions back together before we start making new ones especially considering Kat's mental state.

>>642082
>> Get a pair of dogs or wolves; they're good all-purpose servants, and should mesh well
> Descend first
Well, the character I shared a name with is now double dead. I'm going to be honest I'm sad, he was a cool dude