>>658115
A helmeted, scarred man with a little white in his hair and a shiny set of armor to go along with it walks slowly up to your booth as if sizing you up. As he comes closer and into the light, you see that despite his party and obvious experience, the man is clearly not well-versed in bureaucratic works based on him fumbling and mumbling with a satchel he removes from one of his bags.

Walking up, the man gives you an embarrassed look, before leaving his satchel on the desk and offering a gauntleted handshake. You take it, noting the clear strength often attributed to the more melee-oriented adventurers as he nods and smiles.

“Arthur Steelsplitter. I lead the Steelshatter Band, that lazy bunch of children over there.” He points and turns to his group to give them a good-natured middle finger, a gesture quickly repeated by his fellows.

You return his smile confidently before going into full wage serf mode. “Dick Strong, Customs PFC. I’ll try to help you out since you’re obviously a little new to the system. Do you happen to have a form in there that has the words, “Approved” On it?”

He rummages around in his little satchel before he finally finds it, and as he hands it to you, you nod and proceed to skim through the dates and details on it.

“Where you headed, Arthur? Off to do some exploring and fighting in the Crypts?” you ask him as you proceed to grab your stamp and plant it alongside the APPROVED signature at the bottom of the paper.

“Yeah, we took a job to go smash up some bone walkers and clear a floor or two, if we’re lucky we might just bag ourselves a vampire or something.”

“Good, good.” You drone out slowly as you return his papers to him. As you prepare to send him off, you notice something about what he just said and a light clicks on in your head.

“A floor or two? Brought some amps with you?” you inquire as Arthur’s face goes pale and he starts to pace around a little.

“W-well it’s just that, the client wants the place cleaned out so fast, we might not have enough time to do the job clean!” he stammers out, caught between a rock and a hard place.

You give him a stern look before laying backwards on your chair with a sigh. While against regulations it wasn’t a particularly egregious offence, but letting something slip on your first night doesn’t really sit well with you.

>Confiscate his Amps, write him up for an appointment with the local court

>Compromise; keep his Amps but let him pass without an incident

>Let him slip through with his Amps, you can let this one go

>>658117
>Compromise; keep his Amps but let him pass without an incident

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>>658146

You don’t really need to write him up, the man barely understands how things work here as it stands, and really, it’s probably for his own good that you take the Amps away. They’ve been known to do strange things to repeat users, and most known cases are adventurers that’ve bitten a little too much than they can reasonably chew on a job.

“Alright, Arthur, here’s how this is going to work. I’ll have to confiscate the Amps, they’re against regulations. I won’t write you up or anything, so just consider this a warning and remember to check the laws more frequently.”

Arthur doesn’t look too pleased, but even still, he recognizes the break you’re giving him and he fetches the illegal potions and leaves them with you, where you place them in the storage locker for processing. Your job done, you nod at the column and give them the thumbs-up as they trudge past.

“You did good there, kid.” A mysterious, gravelly voice offers from somewhere above you, spooking you enough to leap out of your seat. Seconds later, the owner of the voice shows up as it leaps in front of the booth with a ground-shaking wave. “The Customs Officer understands the fine line between being too uptight, and too loose.”

A particularly large Stone Eagle is standing before you, a glint of nostalgia and curiosity in its eyes. Come to think about it, you don’t exactly remember this one perched anywhere nearby.

“Who are you, exactly?” you ask with a neutral tone though inside you’re not quite so calm.

“Moby, I’m in charge of maintaining this little booth of ours. But we can talk about this later, I think I see some more work on the horizon.”

He indicates with a stray wing at the road, where you see another column, this time one filled with Dwarves.

Oh, fuck this.

The next hour or so devolves into nothing more than a shouting contest by the various Dwarves with you sitting in front of them calmly repeating procedure and laws by the dozen. The pretentious cunts think that the OLD LAWS still apply, like seriously these guys were in charge so long ago they didn’t even record it properly and they want to act high and mighty.

Eventually one Dwarf becomes so infuriated that it nearly becomes berserk, resulting in the short bastard walking up to you and slapping you in the face. Despite being nothing more than another statement in contempt, that slap pushes you against the wall and you feel a rather serious bruise. Lucky for you, however, because that constitutes assaulting an officer. The other Dwarves realize this fact too, and start to slowly back away as the berserk Dwarf insists on continuing to taunt you.

>Unleash the Eagles on him

>Arrest him, have Moby deal with him

>Stare him down, but don’t punish him

>>658211
>Arrest him, have Moby deal with him

Okay just to let you guys know, college classes are going to keep me bottled up until 2pm, or about 6 hours from now. I'll try my best to get right back on the updating after that, but tomorrow I'll have most of the day so bear with me guys.

>>658211
>Arrest him, have Moby deal with him

>>658211
Write-in

Tell the others to hold his friend if they don't want him to be oblitarated.

They also get three mouths of no access to the dungeon.

Tell then that if his friend attack you again they are going to get a 3 century banishment.

The berseker will get a bigger aentence he gets one year of banishment.

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>>658280
>>658238
“Assault on an officer, a clear violation of Comfian Law. By the power granted to me on behalf of the people of Comfia, and by the King himself, I am placing you under arrest to await sentencing in the Capital Prison.” You say as you straighten up and point your finger imperiously at the stubby little asshole.

“Moby, take him away, he’s all yours.”

Without question, Moby dives into the Dwarf with a frightful screech and picks him up by his clothes using stone talons and flies off into the distance.

Glaring at the two remaining Dwarves, you plant your feet in the ground and point at the remaining two stone Eagles currently resting inactive. “Now the two of you, fuck off before I write the two of you up for obstruction,” you shout menacingly. The two remaining little shits finally decide to scurry off, mumbling with their gravelly voices about younglings not respecting their elders.

With that over, you decide to finally pull out some of your comic books to waste some time and to wait for Moby to come back. After admiring a particularly beautiful female character a few pages in you hear a high-pitched, whimsical voice sing nearby, making you look up. A waifish, green hoodie-wearing elf with the usual assortment of animal familiars lugging around a ludicrous amount of supplies and equipment around.

“Good evening Miss,” you politely state to get her attention, “planning a trip to the Dungeon I see.”

She gives you a disarming smile, the very kind you were trained to resist in the Academy before speaking, “Oh, just headed to visit the Fairy Forest. You know, the usual jobs.”

The usual your ass! The Fairy Forest is no joke, and it has quite the respectable reputation for eating up solo adventurers for breakfast, parties for lunch, and expeditions for dinner. That this woman is so determined to head in herself suggests she has something up her sleeve. And you’d bet your whole hand that it involves something illicit and against regulations.

“Just /what/ do you have in those bags, Miss?” you inquire as you narrow your eyes, noting the faint spot of blush come and go in her face.

“Well…it might be slightly against the rules, but I’m not planning on doing anything extreme in there, I promise you.” She grins sheepishly at you as she tries to regain the façade of innocence that she had on earlier.

You aren’t buying it.

(1/2)

>>659084
“Ma’am, I am going to have to search those bags unless you can show me the proper papers.”

“A-Ah, okay wait!” she blurts out, obviously beginning to panic, inspiring a further raise of your eyebrows. She pulls out a bag of gold coins, placing them on the table like the hounds of Hell itself were chasing after her, though perhaps she isn’t wrong in that assumption. Bureaucracy was a place very similar to Hell.

“Ma’am, are you trying to bribe me right now?” you reply incredulously, curious as to why she would imagine that you’d be giving into mere gold.

“It’s not a bribe if you actually TAKE it!” she yells, and in her desperation begins to strip her hoodie off whilst winking at you suggestively. Stepping backwards, you grab your comic in the other hand and give her the most contemptuous look you can manage. Silly 3D Women.

You decide to wrap this one up.

>Get your papers done in one of the cities and come back, you aren’t crossing that border without your papers.

>Suggest that she can just do her papers at the booth, it’ll take a lot of time and a lot of explaining, but it’s not like you have much to do right now and it means you won’t have to deal with this again.

>Let her pass, she’s obviously desperate to get in, and one missing adventurer isn’t going to be that big of a deal.

(2/2)

>>659088

>Suggest that she can just do her papers at the booth, it’ll take a lot of time and a lot of explaining, but it’s not like you have much to do right now and it means you won’t have to deal with this again.
Where's the DETAIN button when you need it?

>>659088
>Suggest that she can just do her papers at the booth, it’ll take a lot of time and a lot of explaining, but it’s not like you have much to do right now and it means you won’t have to deal with this again.
Also seriously given how clumsy she is at getting past you the chances of her illegal activities going unnoticed are pretty damn slim and we only just got this job.

>>659088
>Get your papers done in one of the cities and come back, you aren’t crossing that border without your papers.

>>659088
>Suggest that she can just do her papers at the booth, it’ll take a lot of time and a lot of explaining, but it’s not like you have much to do right now and it means you won’t have to deal with this again.

>>659088
>Suggest that she can just do her papers at the booth, it’ll take a lot of time and a lot of explaining, but it’s not like you have much to do right now and it means you won’t have to deal with this again.

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>>659283
>>659294
>>659143
>>659110
“Why don’t you just get your papers done here? It’d take a little time, but you’ll be free to go as soon as you finish.” You suggest with a smile, gesturing to the spare chair in the booth while you calmly pull out a stack of papers and a pen.

While initially smiling, her face begins to slowly drop as she notices just how much paper you sort and place in front of her, tossing the pen to her with a sigh.

“We’ll be registering every single item you’ve brought, as well as your identification and- “

MANY HOURS LATER.

Drinking out of your canteen, you make on the final check on the registration papers, and find them perfect for the first time in hours. Gathering up together, you take your stamp and approve them all before sticking them together into a folder. Turning to your elfin companion, you find her and her animal familiars scrawled out on the grass, sleeping peacefully together. Smiling at the almost disgusting cuteness of it all, you lay the stack of papers in her lap and pack up your things for the night.

“A real looker, that one.” The shadowy figure of Moby appears from atop the booth, sitting in his favorite perch between the two inactive stone eagles.

“Look after that one for me, would you?” you nod in response and Moby gives you a cheeky grin, but you ignore it and walk the long road back home.

Walking back to your quiet village, you manage to make it back to your place before the sun rises. Sneaking into your house and unlocking the door as quietly as you can, you figure you can either give Emily a good spooking before she has to get to school or you can make breakfast for the two of you. Either way, you want to put one of those rare smiles on her face before she has to put up with shit from the other kids at school.

>Spook

>Cook

>Write-In

>>659370
>Cook

>>659370
>Cook

>>659370
>Cook

>>659370
>Cook

>>659370
>Cook

Fuck I'm sorry guys, I'm trying to write this update but I'm basically passing out. I'll be almost completely free tomorrow. See ya there!

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>>659395
>>659426
>>659553
>>659668
>>660341
(I FUCKING LIED. SHIT CAME UP AND I COULDN’T UPDATE UNTIL NOW. WHY LIFE WHY.)

Slipping outside, you ignite a tiny cooking fire and slap a few things together on the pan while trying to remember how to cook. You thoroughly mix-up how to cook breakfast, but through hell and high water you somehow manage to make two meals(?) and place them in the kitchen. As you grab the last chair and carry it over to the table, you are suddenly grabbed from behind by two smaller arms.

Brought into a continually tightening hug, you hear Emily’s voice cry out a little and after a few more seconds and you realize that this embrace must be unimaginably painful but she refuses to let go. You let her hug you until even her iron will gives out and you turn around and catch her before she hits the floor, wiping her tears away with the sleeve of your uniform.

“Kept you waiting, huh?”
~
As the two of finish eating your disaster of a breakfast, you pat her on the head as you grab her schoolbag off the floor and hand it to her gently.

“Don’t forget to take your medicine.” You chide upon noticing the bag was slightly lighter than usual.

“…Hey, Dick…” She whispers as she reaches into the medicine cabinet and places a blood-red vial of liquid into the pocket of her backpack.

“Yeah?”

“Promise me you won’t ever leave me…” She gives you a much lighter, much less painful hug and you lite-hug her right back.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sis.” You stand up and give her another premier headpat before ushering her out the door.

“Now don’t be late for school, kiddo.”

~

With her out the door, you sit back in your chair and collapse straight onto the table from sheer exhaustion.

Waking up a few hours later, you get your chores done and do some housework before checking the time and finding that your shift is closing in. You figure you can still do a few things before you’re required to show up for work.

>Walk over to the nearby army fort, see if you can requisition yourself a weapon for self-protection.

>Check the town store to stock up your booth with both medical and cleaning supplies, just in case.

>Get some building materials and tools, fortify your booth and make it look proper.

>>662095
>Check the town store to stock up your booth with both medical and cleaning supplies, just in case.

>>662095
>Check the town store to stock up your booth with both medical and cleaning supplies, just in case.

>>662095
>Walk over to the nearby army fort, see if you can requisition yourself a weapon for self-protection.

>>662095
>Check the town store to stock up your booth with both medical and cleaning supplies, just in case.

>Get some building materials and tools, fortify your booth and make it look proper.

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>>662118
>>662150
>>662153
>>662393
Heading over to the town store, you decide to pick up a wheelbarrow full of medical AND cleaning supplies. Bandages, mops, buckets, and brooms, you’re quietly thankful for the great pay you get or this would have been a yearly trip if that.

Wheeling your supplies back to the house, you rest it outside while you go back into your room and fold, starch and generally just spiff yourself up for the second day of work. Once you’ve properly fixed yourself up, you take the wheelbarrow with you all the way back to the Booth.

“Hey buddy, you’re back!” squawks Moby from his perch from on high. “Didn’t figure you to plan so far ahead and actually prepare for the job.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” you ask curiously as you open the door to the booth and begin unloading your supplies.

“I never did,” Moby states blankly, before sitting back and turning to stone once more, leaving you confused and a little scared, at least until you turn your mind back to stocking the shelves again.

~

An hour into your job, you’re hunkered down in your chair, once again deep into a comic book when you hear a familiar little ditty hummed out nearby. Looking up, you see that Elf-lady from before, her clothes cut up and torn and a few new scratches and bandages on her face and limbs in combination with an army of walking wounded animals. Though bloodied and beaten, she and her familiars hold their heads up high in conjunction with bags of bloodied body parts and the clinking of gold.

“You poach?” you ask incredulously. Dungeon poaching was rather common, common enough that the Department of Dungeon and Game had simply given up and passed along a warning to the Dungeon inhabitants that they wouldn’t be protected by the law anymore and that the Gamekeepers had been retired.

But poaching in a dangerous area like the Fairy Forest? And by herself? Words cannot accurately describe how suicidal even trying that would be. Who is this lady?

“Hey, it’s no big deal you know. A girl and her pets have to eat somehow.” She smiles sweetly at you before taking out an emerald green flute.

“A little present for helping me out with that paperwork last night. Play it if you ever need any help and I’m not around, which shouldn’t be that often really.”

As she hands you the flute and turns to leave, you tap her on the shoulder with it gently and wait until she faces you with a questioning expression.

“Say, lady, I never got your name,” you say with a smile, “I’m Dick Strong.”

She takes your outstretched hand and shakes it, with perhaps a little too much strength considering her figure.

(1/2)

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>>663150
“Nice to meet you, Dick. I’m Viessa-… Yeah just call me Vie. Well, I’m going to unload all this stuff and take a long, long nap. I’ll see you around.”

“Yeah, see you later.” You wave her goodbye and she returns it before heading back on the long road home with her familiars.

“Nice catch, friend.” Moby laughs as soon as she’s gone, his head darting upside down from the top of the booth to give you a wink.

You give him a champion’s pout.

“Shut it, you.”

~

A few hours later, you hear a loud grunting noise from the other side of the Booth. A monster, eh? You hope your monster language lessons have paid off.

A black-furred, hulking Minotaur with a gargantuan steel axe and what looks to be a few Goblins carrying spears and other usual monster fare walk up to your booth.

“Greetings, sir. Me and my companions would like to gain purchase, we have some unfinished business with some unruly humans who have done some rather unscrupulous things around our homes.”

You always thought it was strange that the Academy taught old-fashioned Monster instead of what people actually sounded like nowadays, but that’s just how it is, you suppose.

“Papers, please.” You ask while you take out your clipboard and pen from under the booth after stowing your comic book again.

The Minotaur pulls out some worn, and heavily-stained papers from a tiny animal skin (who can really tell which it is with Minotaur’s) and hands them to you. The Goblins scramble around at each other and yell rather vile things with increasing frequency.

You check the Minotaur’s papers, and cross-reference his name with any currently banned Minotaur’s and find his record squeaky clean.

“You are free to go, sir. Your comrades, however, seem to be without their papers or identification. Due to this, they must apply for papers with the proper authorities, or with me or be refused access.”

The minotaur doesn’t seem very happy with this, and the goblins like it even less, beginning to beat each other up in response to some insults among them.

The minotaur turns to you, before plopping another animal skin bag filled with golden coins and looking at you expectedly.

Bah, what is it with people and bribes?

>Tell them that they can just go home and register for papers with the Monster authorities and come back tomorrow

>Help the Goblins fill out their papers here

>Take the bribe

(2/2)

>>663167
>>Help the Goblins fill out their papers here

>Tell them that they can just go home and register for papers with the Monster authorities and come back tomorrow

>>663207
This.

>>663167
>Tell them that they can just go home and register for papers with the Monster authorities and come back tomorrow

>Take the bribe

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>>663207
>>663279
At this moment, you understand perfectly well why this job pays so well.

“I can assist your comrades in registration and identification if you would have them stay here for a few hours.” You say with a deep sigh, and as the Goblins line up in an orderly chaotic mess as they fumble with their spears and shields, you briefly question existing.

FUCKING ALMOST END OF SHIFT LATE.

“Here you are, friends. Your papers.” You shout over yet another Goblin fight, slapping your palm to forehead in the process.

The Goblins look at you, then grab each of the papers before sorting them out individually, then as a group they nod and give you a thumbs-up. One of them wakes up the sleeping Minotaur by giving it a THWACK with a bone-tipped spear, which succeeds as the Minotaur chokes the poor Goblin with a meaty grip. Processing the situation, the Minotaur lets go and gives you a bow before picking up its mighty axe.

“It is good to know that some humans still maintain honor. We will not forget his, friend.”

As it stomps off with its friends to head off to the disputed zones, you lay back in your chair. The academy never prepared you to fill out entire forms when there was no goddamn information around to help you. Who the hell ever tracked the birth of a Goblin, or the name of his parents, or of his hometown? His graduating class?

Moby looks down, noting your downcast look. “Hey, look buddy. It’ll get easier, it always does.”

>”You said you used to work Customs too?”

>"Have any tips for me or something?"

>"Can't I ask the other Eagles to help me fill this stuff?"

>>663610
Sorry about that, was already writing when I saw your vote.

>>663708
>Have any tips for me or something?

>>663708
>"Have any tips for me or something?"

>>663708
>”You said you used to work Customs too?”

>>663708
>”You said you used to work Customs too?”

>>663708
>>"Have any tips for me or something?"

>>663708
>"Have any tips for me or something?"

>>663708

>"Have any tips for me or something?"

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>>663714
>>663783
>>663805
>>663850
>>663929
>>664176
>>664474
“Got any tips, then?” you reply with a mixture of irritation and curiosity.

“Look, brother,” he responds confidently, “the best thing is to just bullshit some forms and leave it to the proper authorities to figure it out.”

You blink and then tilt your head sideways, “Isn’t that against the rules, like pretty much all of them?”

He nods, “Yeah pretty much. Don’t just bullshit it, make it as close to the real thing as possible. See a Dwarf? Put his age at real old, hometown at random Dwarf town, and fix everything else. Most people carrying their papers barely look at them anyway. A bunch of young’un’s entering and leaving the Dungeon like the rules don’t matter and they shouldn’t care or something. Them types don’t live long anyways, so just hand them their papers, nice as you please, they aren’t going to get them renewed you know what I mean?”

You nod, “Got it, Moby.”

He smiles, before snapping his gaze over to the road and nudges his head over to indicate the presence of another customer.

Sitting up straight, you organize your papers and thoughts as the sound of stamping boots on the paved stone road.

Walking into view, you see a teenaged kid, a scrawny girl with an old brown staff and a rather expensive looking necklace. An artifact, if your eyes don’t deceive you. Misgivings aside, you wait until she walks up to your booth, noting the hunkered demeanor.

“Papers, please.” You demand gently, looking her over once more. Fifteen, maybe sixteen, barely above a hundred pounds, five-four tall. White robes with red at the edges, and some worn boots and other traveling gear.

What the shit?

“I…I don’t have any papers…” She blushes with an embarrassed tilt of the head, before leveling her eyes with the ground.

Yeah, this needs to stop.

“Are you even Eighteen, kid?’ you blurt out a little too suddenly, causing her to shrink down even further towards the ground.

“N-not yet. B-but I will be in a couple years!” she retorts with unexpected spirit, causing her to stand a little taller.

“Okay, so ASSUMING that you were Eighteen, which, of course, you aren’t, where exactly would you be going?”

“The Hellscapes!” she smiles and yells the word like it’s the best thing she’s ever heard in her short, short life.

Okay, again, this needs to fucking stop.

“Kid!” you snap your fingers to get her attention away from her suicidal fucking plan, “Kid, look, that’s a fuckin’ awful idea.”

“B-but I’m supposed to go there and purify the land! The prophecy said s- “

“I don’t give a hoot WHO told you that was a good idea, you are NOT getting past me, not on my watch. Where even are your PARENTS?” you explode, more at the sheer lunacy preached to this kid rather than at her person.

“D…dead sir, same as the rest of my village.” She whimpers as she once again cowers to the ground.

(1/2)

>>665232

Your face softens, but you maintain a strict glare at her that fixes her in place. “I know the feeling. Demons?”

“Aye, sir. They heard of the prophecy and burned down the village, slew the monks, and enslaved any survivors.” A tear emerges from the corner of her right eye as she begins, and her she starts to choke up a little. You can empathize.

“Sad tale. So you’re going to head out there and get some revenge for everyone, that it?” you ask her quietly, giving her the opportunity to compose herself again.

“Yes, I’ve trained under the monks at the temple since I was eight, my mother gave me the family amulet, and my father taught me the ways of war. I’ll burn their homes to the ground, or…die trying.” The grip on her staff tightens, and you can feel an undercurrent of pure, volcanic hatred inside her tiny, innocent looking frame.

Well, shit. Looks like you’ve got yourself a genuine hero this time around. Looking at that young face, all twisted up with hatred and grief, it reminds you of yourself after the demon raid that took your parents, and your home. It reminds you of how hard you had to pray, to meditate, to banish the hatred against those demonic monsters that cursed Emily to live a life filled with agony and detachment.

You aren’t going to let her go through what you did, you wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.

>Convince her that she can work and study with you for a financial base to mount an expedition when she gets older.

>Let her through the border, she’ll manage in there, somehow.

(2/2)

>>665234
>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.

>>665234
>>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.
And work part-time at the booth to earn some gold

>>665234
>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.
Revenge isn't easy and it would help to have someone join you on your quest BEFORE you go into enemy territory

>>665449
This

>>665234
>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.

>>665234
>Let her through the border, she’ll manage in there, somehow.

>>665234
>>Convince her that she needs more training, you’ll consult with Arthur or Viessa to help teach her more about fighting and survival.

Viessa would be a good choice, she could use some backup anyway.

>>665234
>>Convince her that she needs allies, that she needs to work with other people. Don't accept failure just because she can't do it alone. Learn from others, ask for help, and she just might make it.

>>665587

Sending the kid with walking Orc Rape Bait seems a bad idea. I say we let he train with both.

>>665234
>>665634
This

>>665234
>Convince her that vengeance like that is fucking stupid, and that she should instead focus on regaining what was lost. And maybe cutting off the balls of the asshole that made that prophecy.

> Unless she's cool with murdering all the demons and their children better than they did, so as to not leave any young demon survivors to come take revenge on wherever the fuck she lives.

Like, shit dude.

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>>665253
>>665449
>>665477
>>665525
>>665535
>>665587
>>665634
>>666087
>>666159
You’ll nip this crazy in the bud right now, because from where you’re standing, this can only end horribly.

“Look kid, I don’t think you’ve got what it takes right now to get revenge on those Demons,” you start carefully, making sure to avoid provoking the obviously upset youngster, “I mean maybe you could do it in a few years, but I’d bet that you wouldn’t get far from the Border like you are now.”

She looks questioningly at you as you continue, desperate to get your point across and end this madness. “Think about this rationally missy, do you even know exactly where the Hellscapes are?”

Looking embarrassed, she gives you a sheepish frown, “N-not really….”

You press onwards, “Okay, do you have any money?”

A quick shake of the head combined with a deep blush.

“Do you have any supplies, food, water, bandages even?”

Her blush burns a little brighter, and you almost feel sorry for putting her on the spot like this, but you’ve got to do the right thing here.

“And you want to get to the Hellscapes, without an idea of where it actually is, without money, and without any supplies. That sound about right?” you drive it all home and watch her determination crumble like a wet cookie.

“B-b-but- “

You don’t even let her finish. “But WHAT?! Kid, I know you’re mad and you have every, EVERY, right to be, but did you even spend a moment THINKING, you know, USING YOUR HEAD, about how you were going to accomplish ANYTHING? How did you even make it THIS far?”

She slumps over on the desk and covers her face with her arms, before emitting a slow and protracted sob.

Well, shucks.

Unlocking the door and walking up front, you give her a solid hug and she buries her face deep into your uniform, leaving wet marks from her tears all over. “Hey, come on, don’t cry...,” you whisper into her ear before patting her head like you do with Emily, “Look, you can come with me for now, I know a couple people who can teach you what you need to know.

She looks up at you, trying her best to compose herself amidst the barrage of sobbing, “Y-you’d d-do that for me?”

“Of course, I would. Wouldn’t be able to call myself a law-abiding and trustworthy citizen of Comfia if I didn’t, now would I?” you reassure her as she manages to the tears a little.

“Anyways, I’m Dick,” you say as you offer her your free hand, “Dick Strong, Customs Officer PFC.”

“I’m Lili,” she responds with a little yawn, “Lili Rosenthal, the monks called me the Chosen One but they’re all gone now, so I guess just call me Lili.

“I’m a bit…tired now. Can I sleep somewhere here?”

“I’d take you home, but my shift isn’t over yet. So if you’re feeling tir- “is how far you get into your sentence before she immediately goes to sleep on your shoulder.

You aren’t paid enough for this shit.

(1/2)

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>>667140
Hauling her over to the Booth, you manage to drag her over to the floor and lay her on a makeshift mattress made of bandages, where she snoozes peacefully. Grumbling, you hunt through your own folders for a paper, and eventually, you manage to find it. You forge a couple of bullshit details like Moby taught you, and eventually get yourself to be Lili’s legal guardian.

Checking the time, you figure you have about an hour left before you can finally leave. You pray very, very hard that nothing else will happen in that short time.

Your prayers are soon proven to be completely worthless.

As dawn approaches, you hear a very, very loud chase between some Dungeon inhabitants on their side of the border, before watching a bleeding Demon wielding an infernal red hellsword limp into sight of the Booth. Turning at some sudden movement, the Demon turns around and ducks under an ax swing of another Demon, this one in heavy hell plate armor, the volcanic red color designating the wearer as a knight rank or higher. Unbalanced by the missed swing, the knight lurches forwards to compensate, straight into the waiting blade of the wounded Demon, piercing the chest plate of the armor without resistance.

Vomiting blood, the knight tips over while the wounded Demon takes a few exhausted steps over and drives the blade deep into the horned, helmeted head of his foe. Drawing the sword out, the Demon then proceeds to limp over to you and pull out some papers from somewhere.

You check them quickly, before cross-referencing the banned list and finding this particular Demon squeaky-clean. Hearing Lili stir a little, you look back nervously before facing the wounded hellspawn limping directly in front of you. Red-skinned, horned and fierce-looking, the seven-foot tall Demon is clad in the blood and gore of his own people, and what looks like a bathrobe.

The Demon looks across the Border, and you see another group of Demon knights arrives, this time riding demon-steeds and armed with lances, a full war party. Looking at their fallen comrade, they release a thundering roar, causing you to pull your hands to your ears and waking Lili up with a start. She peers over the Booth and grabs her staff, her face a mixture of hatred and fear. You shove her back with your free hand, by now rather irritated both by the noise and the fact that the knights have decided to ignore your booth and trot towards the wounded Demon.

>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

>Call up Viessa, this is the kind of moment you’d need her help with, sure the resulting fight might be a Border incident, but you won’t have lawbreakers attacking anybody with the proper papers.

>Let it happen, Demon bastard has it coming, who really cares who mops up the trash.

(2/2)

Also sorry for being gone guys. College a shit. I shoulda told you guys, and I will next time.

>>667148
>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.
We should have been over this before. follow rules, get paid, take care of our family.
we can't bullshit this if the one in our booth survives, let him pass, if the chasing demons want him they can give out their papers for inspection so they can cross the checkpoint.
oh, and kid can get her revenge LATER, when she's ready, shove her back again.

>>667148

>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

>>667148
>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.
hmm wonder if we can get the little white mage a demon knight buddy

>>667211
no.
seriously?

>>667228
it's something i've seen in plenty of rpg's and fantasy stories, "the one 'good' demon" that joins the party of heroes, that said it's usually a late game thing and her "game" is still in the prologue stages.

Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

>>667239
it would be up to her then, not us.
heck we just picked up the girl TODAY. if their fates match, they might cross paths years later.
but not today.
not when she's in the current state.

>>667265
mostly I think we should just keep the 2 from going for each other while they're with us to increase chances for that, but yeah not much a glorified clerk can do to help that kinda thing along.

>>667273
technically that won't be necessary. when the paperwork goes through we would be her legal guardian, after that we can tuck her indoors with our lil sis.

>>667148
>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

I am quite curious to see what Lili thinks of this demon once he's safely crossed the border. At the very least maybe the fact that he's killing his own kind will win him some points with her?

>>667148
>Intervene, the victim here might be a Demon, but you’ve overcome the hatred that once consumed you like it did with Lili. Besides, they’re breaking the Law, and that offends you more than anything else. Bring the Law upon these bastards.

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>>667159
>>667167
>>667211
>>667408
>>667495
>>667670

“Papers, please.” You demand from the group of Hell Knights, bringing forwards your outstretched hand and your neutral voice.

The Knights ignore you, preferring instead to bear down across the border and surrounding the wounded Demon, placing a ring of lances around the poor bastard.

One of them takes his helmet off, exposing a demonic visage with a plethora of scars, from burns to cuts and stab wounds. The gaping, shark-like jaw that all Demons possess begins to move, uttering words with a deep bass, reminding one of the clash of steel and an avalanche of flame.

“Your end comes, Traitor. You knew you would never escape us, yet you continued onwards. Several of my brothers lie dead by your hand, and for what? You disgrace all of demon-kind with your craven ways, and your lack of faith nearly as heretical as your actions.”

The wounded Demon grips his blade with both hands, his face turning from agony to defiance by sheer power of will, before he utters a guttural roar and beats his chest.

“You are no brother of mine, all I see are mindless slaves of a bloodthirsty, backstabbing tyrant. Come, slaves, come, see how many of you it will take to slay me!”

The leader of the Knights grabs his lance and raises it above his head, and right before he drives it deep into the heart of the wounded Demon, you kick the Booth door open and storm outside, attracting the attention of the circle while Lili latches onto the back of your uniform, her staff ready and a formless ball of Mana in her outstretched hand.

“Alright you motherfuckers, I need to see some fucking papers!” you roar as you walk up to the group of Hell Knights, and the as you close in, you start rolling up your sleeves.

“Papers, motherfucking, PLEASE!” you yell as you drive an accusing finger into the face of the scarred veteran leading the Knights.

“Leave us mortal, this business concerns the Abyssal Kin- “

“Brother, you crossing the goddamn border without showing me any PAPERS is MY business, and by extension, COMFIAN OFFICIAL BUSINESS.” You shout and point at the Eagle and Shield insignia on your Officer’s cap.

“This is your last warning, mortal, interfering in our affairs will not sit well with our King. Regardless of your duties and obligations, I suggest you look the other way this time, we can send a representative to your King excusing this incident.”

You pull down your Officers cap, making sure the only visible feature left on your face besides the shadow is the look of pure contempt on your face.

(1/2)

>>667948

“Are you threatening an Officer of Comfia?”

The demon looks amused by your challenge, and levels his lance close to your face.

“And what, perchance, would happen if I was?”

You match his soul-piercing stare with one of your own before answering.

“Considering you’ve already crossed the Border without the proper papers…. I have a few… options.”

>Arrest this troublemaker on the spot

>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit

>Call up Moby and his buddies and tear these lawbreakers to pieces
(2/2) [SORRY I KEEP DISAPPEARING, COLLEGE AND HAVING A LIFE IS HARD TO BALANCE. TOMORROW I SHOULD BE FREE AGAIN THOUGH.

>>667950
>Arrest this troublemaker on the spot
Moby!
Time for JUSTICE!

>>667950
>call up money and his buddies to toughen them up a bit
You don't trespass in our great country

>>667950
>>Call up Moby and his buddies and tear these lawbreakers to pieces
Might be unwise to try and talk to demons

>>667950
>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit

>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit

>>667950
>Arrest this troublemaker on the spot
>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit
Anything more than necessary to subdue them may cause an international(interdungeonal?) incident.

>>668053
Well, if nobody survives, who's gonna tell the Abyssal King? They are arrogant and violent, I fear that arresting them or even worse rough them up will cause diplomatic incidents

>>667950
>Call up Moby and his buddies and tear these lawbreakers to pieces

>Arrest this troublemaker on the spot
>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit

>>667950
>>Call up Moby and his buddies and tear these lawbreakers to pieces
ENGAGE POLICE BRUTALITY MODE.

>>667950
>Call up Moby and his buddies to roughen them up a bit

>>667950

>Call up Moby and his buddies and tear these lawbreakers to pieces

Your king will never know what happened!

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“Moby, arrest these lawbreakers.” You call, looking backwards at the now-eager Stone Eagle flexing his wings on top of the Booth before giving the Knight leader a raised eyebrow.

“A mistake, foolish human. What forces you command can hold back the finest Knights of Hell?” the cocky bastard chuckles before he drives the lance at you, missing only by virtue of you guessing the timing correctly. Leaping backwards to avoid the next stab, you let loose a whistle, and the two remaining Stone Eagles explode from their emplacements in a shower of rock and dirt.

Moby flies straight upwards, before entering into a death dive, taking the Knight at the rear fully and crushing him to the ground with a sickening crunch. The other two Eagles cross each other in the air before diving and following Moby’s lead, flying straight into the lances of the Hell Knights and shattering them on impact. Two more Knights are dragged from their steeds and raked and pecked with horrendous power.

Observing this, you notice the wounded Demon stabbing another Knight in the back with his sword before being forced to block and dodge against the furious barrage of another opponent. The Knight commander grasps his lance with both hands, lighting it with frightful hellfire, before driving it straight and true at you, much too fast to dodge.

A blast of light explodes into his chest right before the lance pierces your chest, leaving horrific burn marks and knocking the commander to the ground screaming, frantically prying at his skin.

Leaping forwards, Lili defends you from another lance with a flash of light, creating a solid white barrier of energy against which the attack fails to pierce. Whistling once more, the Eagles flock to your position and barrel across the field like Stone Behemoths, trampling and sending the denizens of Hell flying.

When the dust clears, you notice the wounded Demon limping over to your side of the field. Looking over at the enemy, you see a bruised and battered ring of either unconscious or heavily wounded Knights trying to get back on their steeds and collecting their scattered gear.

The commander, now naked and covered in horrendous burns, signals the retreat and his comrades drag themselves back across to the Dungeon side of the Border.

“This isn’t over!” he growls, before picking up his helmet with his free hand and galloping back to meet his unit.

“Glad that’s over.” You chuckle as you shake your head, rather flummoxed by this series of events.

“Might not be, yet.” Moby mumbles, and as you turn around, you are greeted by the sight of Lili with her hands charging up another one of those light blasts at the wounded Demon, who has by now laid down his sword and raised his hands up in surrender.

>Stop her, tell her that revenge can wait.

>Stop her, try to convince her that revenge isn’t the answer.

>Let her kill him if she wants to turn into a monster, who are you to stand in her way?

>>668681
Forgot to add

>Tell Moby to chase them and arrest them in foreign territory

>You don't need to arrest them right now, you can petition for extradition later

>Stop her, try to convince her that revenge isn’t the answer.
>You don't need to arrest them right now, you can petition for extradition later

>>668681
>>668784
This works for me.

>>668784
I'm fine with this

>>668681
>Stop her, tell her to process what they were talking about again. He ran because he refused to be like other demons.

>>669190
When was that said?

>>669252
>“Your end comes, Traitor. You knew you would never escape us, yet you continued onwards. Several of my brothers lie dead by your hand, and for what? You disgrace all of demon-kind with your craven ways, and your lack of faith nearly as heretical as your actions.”
>The wounded Demon grips his blade with both hands, his face turning from agony to defiance by sheer power of will, before he utters a guttural roar and beats his chest.
>“You are no brother of mine, all I see are mindless slaves of a bloodthirsty, backstabbing tyrant. Come, slaves, come, see how many of you it will take to slay me!”
Jesus anon, we're still on the first thread

>>669261
Huh, I stand corrected.

>>668784
Supporting

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“Moby, get to the Capital! Tell ‘em what just happened here, we can bag the bastards later!” you yell as you turn around and notice just how quickly that ball of magic is charging.

“Got it, boss!” snaps Moby as he gives you a quick salute before flapping his wings and vanishing into the sky instantly.

Sprinting forwards, you grab Lilli’s arm and push it upwards, sending the charged blast of light sky-high where it explodes harmlessly. Without a word, Lili head-butts you in the face and nearly breaks your nose before going straight back to charging up another blast in her hands. Dazed but not stunned, you hook your left arm around her neck while you lock her right arm upwards with your own.

“Let me go! Let me go! He’s mine! I’m going to kill him!” she screams in fury, her tiny body pushing your own much, much harder than you expected and it takes a serious effort to keep her contained.

You continue your hold, especially on the arm, before closing the choke as she continues to fight and fight.

“Calm down, Lili! It’s over! He’s harmless!” you shout as you wrench her arm down again after manages to slip in another blast, which, luckily you catch in time and misdirect by twisting her arm.

“Why? Why won’t you let me kill him! He’s one of them!” she yells through tears, insistent on fighting your efforts to save the Demon until the very end.

“You know that’s not true, he’s not like the rest of them! Didn’t you hear him? He’s an exile, a pariah! He’s no danger to anybody and you know it, just look at him, he’s a mess!” you continue, loosening up your grip as you feel her body start to slacken with the tears.

“You can’t go on living like this, Lili, you can’t keep all that hatred inside of you. It’ll tear you apart, it’ll tear your enemies apart, and once it’s done with you, all that’ll be left will be ashes. You, them, everybody and everything in between. There won’t be anything left by the end.” You finish carefully, more hugging her than holding her back at this point.

“Maybe I don’t WANT there to be anything left! You ever consider that? Maybe I just want to DIE and take them all with me! What do I have to LIVE for, huh? Why don’t YOU tell ME!” she explodes at you, hurling her full fury as well as she can while simultaneously crying on your uniform for the second time today.

>Justice, being Good, helping other people

>Something bigger than yourself

>You have to figure that out yourself, kid, but dying ain't gonna help you with that.

>Write-In’s encouraged

>>669860
You've got to find that out on your own kid, in the mean time we could use some extra muscle around here it looks like.

>>669860
>You have to figure that out yourself, kid, but dying ain't gonna help you with that.
Besides even if you were to die the people you're getting revenge for wouldn't be glad to see you be a monster for them. Hell in their eyes you'd be no different from the demons that ransacked your village.

>>669860
>You have to figure that out yourself, kid, but dying ain't gonna help you with that.
if what she were saying is true then we shouldn't even be alive right now. and our sister as well. but that's not the case.
you know why people say suicide is stupid? it's because it leaves no other option from then on. you just die. if she's saying that she's going to just end it all, then how is it different? once she is finished on the goal or die trying, what else?

>>669860
>>669937
This anon gets it, basically what i'm thinking.

>>669860
>You have to figure that out yourself, kid, but dying ain't gonna help you with that.

>>669860
>You have to figure that out yourself, kid, but dying ain't gonna help you with that.

We're family now, darling. Even got a lil sis waiting home. This is the first step

Starting over is tough, kid, but the reward is the greatest.

Mentors to teach you, comrades to lock arms with, that's what you'll eventually earn. And then, when we feel you're ready, we'll let you go your own way. Chosen One or not, the path will be yours to choose. You could even rebuild your village and the monastery.

The Wheel of Time goes on.

>>669860
>are you fine with it, just disappearing? The world will go on, more people will fight, and then another will come along who is just like you: tired, angry, and alone.
>You can't change the past, but you can still take control. You could rebuild what you've lost, or prevent others from ending up like you, or at least deny them the satisfaction of breaking you.

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>>669914
>>669937
>>670038
>>670301
>>670435
>>670494
>>670851
“I can’t tell you what to live for Lili, that’s not up to me, it’s up to you. But I can tell you a few things that I know right now.” You say as you caress her face while unleashing the most devastating headpats with you can muster with your free hand.
“If you go down fighting, killing, burning, will you really have accomplished anything? Would that make the people you’ve lost come back? Would it make them proud? Or would they just see a wounded beast, killing and destroying, exactly like the monsters that created it? You aren’t the first person to go through this, you know, hell I went through this myself a long time ago. There are entire graveyards filled with people in your situation, and most of the people in them have filled even bigger graveyards in the name of revenge. And it doesn’t accomplish shit, all you end up with is burned homes, more bodies, and even more broken people. A bigger mess.”

“Too many people are obsessed with revenge, too blind to see that they should be obsessed with moving forwards instead. You still have your whole life in front of you, and it’s in YOUR hands now, not theirs.”

She looks up at you, her hatred replaced with a deep sadness that you can empathize with after your own episode all those years ago.

“You’ll figure out what you’re still here for kid, I know it. I mean look at me, took a little while, but as you can see I found what I was meant to do. So just trust me, kid, stay alive alright. Best choice you could make.” You say as you give her a smile, feeling satisfied when she smiles back.

You let her go slowly, letting her hang on to you while you look at the wounded Demon lying on the ground bleeding. Oh…right.

Luckily you stocked up your booth with just the right kind of supplies for this very occasion.

>Roll D100

>Best of three

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>671031

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>671031
welp

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>671031
>>671088
I think we got this

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>671031
aaaaah

>30,88,31
>Regular Failure!
Nice knowing you mr. Demon

>>671987
>best of three

Quick question, would you guys prefer I make a new thread or keep using this one?

Will finish update after class

>>672015
keep using this one. we didn't even hit the bump limit yet(750 posts/4days).

>>672015
This one is ok.

>>663708
Man, perhaps you could use a slightly less fascist eagle

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Right, so I just fucked something up spectacularly in my life. I am going to archive this thread and start maybe in a day or two. Sorry for being so spotty, I'm going to try and plan a little harder so I can cut down on writing/thinking times.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Leave_QM

And I'm always around on the quest discord (link in the general) so there I guess.

See ya around citizens.

>>672970
Sucks shit mate, hope things aren't too fucked for ya.

>>672970
Take care and come back when you're ready QM.

>>672970
No worries QM, sort things out and come back to us when you're alright

>>672970
welp. shit happens.
don't worry QM, this happens to a lot to QMs, apparently.

>>672970
That's fine, enjoying it so far.
Where's this discord link, I searched the thread for it manually and with ctrl+f. Am I being retarded? Did he forget to post it? I even looked around on his twitter for it

>>674751
https://discord.gg/QBfMms2

The general discord used by everybody in the community. I think.

Don't worry OP, I was sure this quest wasn't gonna last long since the beginning

hello?