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>>711143
You take some time to talk with Kat while you're waiting for Nathan.

"So you're telling me that if you die again, I'll go with you?" the shadow asks, frowning.

"I believe so, yes," you agree. "Lora kept my soul from passing on, which I believe is what kept you anchored to my shadow. But she can't do that again, so if I go I'll take the thing that's keeping you alive."

"That's...that's not fair," Kat complains; she shifts into an actual cat, curling up against the wall with her tail flicking irritably. "That's no fair at all."

"But I don't know what the soul could do to you," you express, again. "It's mostly blank; there's a good chance that you would imprint on it, not the other way around. But nothing changes without, well, changing. It could be the kinds of change brought about by having a different perspective, or by not being bound to me. But they could also just be...changes."

"There's a chance I wouldn't be me," Kat replies, her ear twitching.

"Yyyeeesss," you agree, slowly. "But there's a chance that it's more like growing up, and less like being destroyed."

"What would you do, if you were me?"

> How do you answer?

>>711178
>I don't know, I have never had a choice like this for myself, it just happens when your born. Your the first being I can think of that gets the choice, but just know that whatever happens, I will be here for you, Nate, Amy, and more importantly, Nate's Shadow too.

>>711178
>"That, I cannot give an answer to, I'm sorry."
We can't even come close to comprehend the situation she's in right now, best we can do is be there for her every step of the way.

>>711178
"I can't even begin to answer that question. I've never been in your position, and I shudder at the thought of giving you uninformed "advice" that could end up hurting you."

>>711178
>> I'd figure out what I want my future to look like, first. And then decide if this puts me farther or closer to that future.

>>711178
>"To be totally blunt I've already died twice now and my enemies will only be tougher and more prepared for me as I shove on. If I were in your umbral shoes and you have an interest in living, I'd take the soul."

>>711178
I totally support both of these.
>>711406 >>711686

In effect, I think that this /is/ going to be more like growing up for Kat (but kinda weird because she's literally less than a year old, and has leaped from the mindset of an infant to a young adult in even less time), rather than some dramatic rebirth.

Y'know how, as an adult, you can remember pieces of your childhood? Some exciting, some sad. The stuff that helped create the person you would become. I think it'll be the same for Kat.

This vote'll be open for a bit so I can eat dinner & do the dishes. Thank you for your patience.

>>711406
> Seconding

>>711686
seconding this

> How about, if you're not sure about this yet, we give it to you for safekeeping. If it looks like we are about to bite it, you could stay alive. In a lot of ways, that would mean a part of me was still out there finishing my work. You've gone from being something like my hand or arm, to something like my child. I don't want you hurt, and this could hurt you. But some point, every child has to grow

>>711178
To be fair, the rest of our minions are in the same boat, no? Why should Kat get this opportunity over, say, Fetch?

>"I wouldn't. What's the point if I wind up are a completely different person in the process?"

Called, writing. Thank you for your patience.

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>>711178
You give the question some consideration. "I'm going to give you the honest answer from my gut, but then I'm going to give you some advice too. Is that alright?"

"I think so." Kat resumes her humanoid form and sits on the shadow of a chair; she almost falls through it for a moment before she remembers the trick of it.

"I've already died twice now. This is only going to get worse as we go down. Once upon a time I was prepared to be a lich to escape death, and I still kinda would prefer to live rather than die. Me, in your shoes, I'd take the soul. But that's /me/."

"So what's the advice?" Kat asks, adjusting her shadowy hat.

"I can't really imagine your position, Kat," you tell her. "I was born eternal, like all of the Firstborn. Whatever you choose, we'll all be here for you, but...I think you should think about what you want your future to look like, and then decide if this is going to take you closer to that future."

Kat flexes her icy claws and looks down at them. "I made art, even before I could really think," she murmurs. "...I think I'd like to do that more. It felt nice. Better than killing, even."

You suppress a shudder. "A lot of people appreciate art," you agree, carefully.

"Can I give you my answer after the wedding?"

"Sure."

* * * *

The key words to describe Nate when he gets his torc from Amy are 'struck dumb'. He blushes like a schoolboy every time he touches it, which he does often. He'd brought the evidence, two geargrinders to help him carry it up all this way, and an explanation for why they're up and about.

"An army does sound like a pretty good excuse," you agree, after hearing the story.

"They're really...enthusiastic," Nathan say slowly, while the two head back to the Broken Jaw.

"I can imagine." You look at the evidence - the books, the letters, the ledgers. "I'm going to read this for awhile, Nate. Come see me later, alright? We've got a wedding to plan."

The evidence is remarkably thorough. The first thing you read is an envelope helpfully labeled 'read first'; it details the Librarian's request to have your past looked into and contains reports of the agents dispatched to collect the data. Geargrinders can move remarkably fast over land. Not having to stop, sleep, or eat will do that to a body.

This one's smart. He wanted to know about you the moment they had your name.

As promised, four names come up. Margrave Ryan of Reedsholm, Margravine Christine of Reedsholm, Deirdre Mason, and Sir Victor Roseheart.

The story is as straightforward as they come, really. The margravate of Reedsholm is the southern-most border of Greenwall, right up against the Blind Marsh - a land independent by custom and because you can't pay an army enough to try to march through it. Always a poor domain, Reedsholm had fallen on harder and harder times.

>>714469
Then came Victor. A Rose Cult extremist, expelled by his own church, Victor revealed a diamond mine in the Blind Marsh that would solve all of the Margrave's woes. All he required was some supplies, and a bit of funding to take care of expenses - bribes, disguises, and the services of an engineer - Deirdre.

Christine pushed her husband to accept the deal. Within the year, the deed was done - the dam rigged to blow, and every last necromancer in the Blind Marsh washed under.

Every last one but you.

Reedsholm has been doing well off of its new diamond mind. And the Blind Marsh is now the proud, if underpopulated, property of Greenwall.

Nate and Amy step into the nook in which you're reading, concerned looks on their faces.

"Bri?" Amy asks, quietly.

> They'll die for this. All of them, in agony, for this.
> I'm fine. I'll be fine.
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
> Write-in?

>>714497
Jesus Christ the sucks. Losing everything you cherish over someone else's base fucking greed and mad zealotry.
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it.
Also, because this shits fucked;
> Can I get a hug? I really need some emotional support. Maybe a hanky or twenty.

Seriously, shits fucked up yo.
> Try not to cry.
> Cry hard.

>>714497
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
Also, can we get word to the Rose cultists in the Dungeon. I think they might want to have a word with this Victor fellow.

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

Well, we don't really care about the politics. I'm assuming we don't anyway. And I have no real idea how well the Marsh is under Greenwall. Reedsholm sounds like it was in nasty trouble, and Victor took brutal advantage of that.

What we do care about is making sure that Victor Roseheart pays the price. And maybe ask Deirdre a few questions.

Collecting definitive proof might be more difficult, but just knowing the names of who to ask is giant leap forward.

>>714597
You, ah. You have the proof. All that giant pile of stuff is the communications, the evidence, the letters written in their own hands, the reports, the financial ledgers to establish motive...

>>714497
Um, ah...Shit.

Should we talk to Aria and the rest of the family about this?

>>714497
>Show the Lichyard LaCroix the evidence.
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it.

>>714497
You know, this could create a cassus belli for war between Greenwall and Reedsholm

>>714620
Oh, I thought this was the record of the investigation, not evidence admissible in a court.

If it's court admissible, then shit's about to get real complicated.

I can't imagine that Greenwall'd give the Marsh up, but this is definitely the nail in the coffin for Victor, and possibly for Christine and Ryan too.

Also, do we know if Victor told them in advance the exact type of plan he made, or if he just asked for all this stuff and they were desperate enough to go with it, discovering all too late that he slew...

... Actually, beyond the few dozen(?) La Croix living there, how many people did the flood kill?

>>714807
Just under a thousand, in all. The Blind Marsh has never been densely populated.

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

>Weep

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>>714497
>> They'll die for this. All of them, in agony, for this.

>>714859

...

So, assuming that there were about 50 La Croix, Victor employed a strategy where 95% of the people killed were not the intended target.

Yeah, I think that just plain pushing the evidence to the correct authorities will ensure that this guy gets executed, and might just destroy the Margraves of Reedsholm as well.

Also, you didn't answer my other question. Did Victor just say 'give me these things, and I'll get you the mine' or did he outright say 'Imma blow up the dam'?

>>714918
He said that none would be left to contest a legal claim to the Blind Marsh. The Margraves believed he would eliminate the la Croix and the nobles that permitted them to flourish. In a sense they were correct. In another, more accurate sense, they were willfully blind.

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

I mean, lets make sure our revenge doesn't do more damage to innocent people.

But the four responsible who signed off have to pay.

>>714984
Also, wait - does this mean WE have a legal claim to the Blind Marsh?

Rose Cultists are all honorable and shit as well, right? Maybe we could get them to help out with rebuilding when it comes to light that one of their own, exiled though he may have been, was let loose on the world to wreak this kind of havoc.

>>715030
Technically no. The la Croix are not nobility and have never really sought to be. Then again, if Reedsholm is taken from its current lords its ownership reverts to the Crown, who can then bestow it upon whomever they damn well please.

>>715053
We should get it given to the Rose Cult, and make it the base of our new Necbromancer regulatory body.

>>714984

It's about what I expected, but I was holding out some hope that this wouldn't be the case.

Fuck.

I just want to think the best of people, and I find myself disappointed more often than not.

>>714497
>> I'm fine. I'll be fine.
but
> They'll die for this. All of them, in agony, for this.

>>715173
My take is to expect the worst, and be pleasantly surprised; or to trust, but verify.

>>715205
>>714899

Don't get too wrapped up now. We're not the only ones wronged, and just killing them won't do much. Let justice take it's course, and show the world the price of such machinations.

>>715309
>We're not the only ones wronged
No, but but we're the only ones left. We'd have to face a possibly corrupt system and fight this for years. Rather we take our due, quick and clean.

>>715334
Nah, we don't even have to fight it ourselves.

And we're a tad bit too busy to do so right now anyway. Between the wedding, Dick's bullshit, and just making the Dungeon a better place to live overall, we're not really going to be able to afford to plot out multiple assassinations.

That said, we're the only /La Croix/ survivor. I'd bet that there has to be at least a dozen other people who enjoyed luck very similar to ours in the flood.

Moving beyond that, this is a huge political scandal as well. Someone else called it cassus belli for war between Reedsholm and Greenwall, which doesn't really work because Reedsholm is a /part/ of Greenwall. What it will do is basically destroy any international goodwill Greenwall has because people will remember that, hey, they went and 'accidentally, a flood' to someone who had something they wanted. Who's to say it won't happen to them next?

We just have to hand the evidence off to Henrietta, and we can basically ensure that the margraves are done, and that Victor's going to either be dragged to court in chains or be hunted down by the Rose Cult and a cadre of bounty hunters.

In the meantime, life is for the living.

We've got our wedding to look forward to, and Lora's still chained up down below.

>>714497
>> They'll die for this. All of them, in agony, for this.

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
Ghost army of vengeance is not the answer.


Note: if either of the assholes perpetators escape the living justice, some hauntings /may/ be in order.

>>714497
We have a giant pile of evidence and a few friends in high places.
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
I want to see these fuckers sins laid bare in a very public way.
Unless I miss my guess even nobles should hang for mass murder.

My internet appears to have cut out. I may have to update further tomorrow.

>>714497
>Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
>Write-in?
>On the way up, ask the Lichyard la Croix if they know of this Victor.
>"I am in need of some emotional support, please... They could have struck deals, we would have /accepted/ a deal."

We need to know what their situation is now, I'm also wondering how Victor knew about the mine to begin with?

>>715628
La Croix, including the Roses, probably knew about it, but decided to keep it down low because they saw the consequences - namely some high sitting guy wanting to own it and causing trouble.

Now I must sleep. Votes remain open.

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

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>715628
>"I am in need of some emotional support, please... They could have struck deals, we would have /accepted/ a deal."

Uh, can you clarify what you mean here?

>>715645
You're referring to the diamond mine, right?

... Actually, this kind of makes me wonder how Victor found out about the diamond mine to start with. I'm no geologist, but I didn't really think marshes were all that conductive to mining to start with.

>>715778
>You're referring to the diamond mine, right?
Yes. And Victor shared the knowledge both to get moneys and to get revenge.

>>715778
Marshes are conductive to painful and anonymous death, mostly. But diamonds don't really have a typical location, at least in terms of the surface land. Someone tunneling through a rare patch of actual rock got very lucky.

>>715778
I meant a shared holding in the diamond mine, sure it would have been less profitable but it would likely have been more than enough to pull Reedsholm up. And wouldn't have required mass murder.

>>715789
But then he wouldn't be eliminating a family of filthy necromancers and their friends! Remember, Victor is such a raging fanatic that the Rose Cult themselves thought he was an axe-crazy asshole.

>>715359
Fucking this.

Also, wasn't there a General Thorn at that party who was /from/ the Blind Marshes? That man's definitely going to support a man-hunt for that genocidal bastard.

If anything is done with that damned mine, I would demand wergild for the awful crime committed. A proper graveyard & mournstone for those lost to the flood.

>>714497
>> Can I get a hug? I really need some emotional support.
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

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>>714497
this...this requires an execution, FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

>>714559
this.

>>714497
> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it
Amy...I found the place I want to put the Necromancer school, and the first set of permanent grounds keepers.

>>715359
This>>715946
and this.>>716004
THIS TOO!

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

>>714497
>> Amy, when...when we go upstairs to talk to Henrietta and Glen about the wedding, can you carry this with you? I'd like her to see it

I hope Henrietta won't have a splitting headache anymore when we meet her.

>>716326
This

Called, will tally and write after breakfast.

>>716722
I keep forgetting that you are in a different timezone. Probably because you're always here.

Except for when you're entertaining John's.

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>>714497
"Amy, we need to head to Glen soon to plan things and talk to Henrietta," you whisper. "When we do, I'd like you to carry this all with you. I need her to see it. Amalie too, if I can."

Your lovers move in quietly, and you let them hug you. You cry freely, only moving to push the book away so you don't stain it.

"You'll have your revenge," Amy murmurs.

"No," you whisper. "I'll get justice. That's better."

* * * *

You stop in the Lichyard on your way up. Aria starts reading the evidence with a dubious expression. By the time she is done, the Rose Cultist is shaking with rage.

"I realize he isn't of the family," you murmur. "but he is of the faith, and I felt...felt you ought to know."

"They should have killed him when they had the chance," Aria says flatly. "We -"

"Should not kill him," you tell her. "We need him at the trial."

"Then he'll be there," your cousin vows. She stands and gives you a fierce hug. "I swear it."

* * * *

Henrietta promises to have the evidence reviewed by her agents.

"We have a bit of another problem, though," she admits. "Things relating to...you...are getting fuzzier. Some people remember you more clearly than others, though it hurts. People you've had more of an influence on, or stronger-willed people..."

"Stronger-willed?" you ask, frowning.

"Princess Amalie came to me within an hour of our last conversation and asked why thinking about you gave her a headache when it hadn't before," Henrietta admits flatly. "Say what you will about our royalty, they don't fuck around. At first I tried to set the record straight but some people haven't been able to handle it and have...well...collapsed."

"While bleeding from the eyes," Cooke adds, flatly.

You wince. "I came up here to plan a wedding..."

"I'dlovetohelplan -" Henrietta cuts herself off at Travis's sharp look. "We need this solved first," she corrects, clearing her throat.

> Stay the course
> Tell her to go with the flow of the altered memories; give River credit for your deed
> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

>>716976
>Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

>>716976
>> Tell her to go with the flow of the altered memories; give River credit for your deed

>>716976
I do not want to know what the Rose Cult do when they get their hands on the rouge, Henrietta a cute wedding lover, and we should fix the bleeding.
>Tell her to go with the flow of altered memories until we get in contact with someone that can maybe fix this/Go pray/offer the gods an extra slice of cake at the wedding if they help.

>>716976
>> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

>>716976
>> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

>>716976
>Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.
My worst worry became a horrible reality, worse than I thought.

>>716976
>> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.
Well owe them if its what is needed

>>717022
>>717025
>>717039
>>717047
>>717049
Hear me out, wedding cake is delicious

Vox I worry about you writing two quests at the same time.

>>717072
The other is a one-shot, as I did during Jack's Life Quest. Worry not.

>>717057
So you say, but I don't much like cake.

>>717111
well good thing your not a god

>>716976
> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

Aight folks, I must go be Gainfully Employed. I'll be back around 1 AM EST, at which point I'll call and write. I may not be able to write on Friday, as I need to see the dentist.

>>717381
>Vox is going to the dentist
I'm having flashbacks.

>>716976
> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

>>716976
>> Tell her to go with the flow of the altered memories; give River credit for your deed

The important thing is to not be killing people just by telling them we exist.

>>717402
No! Not again!

>>717402
Well this may be a moot point. Went to eat dinner on my break and my tooth crumbled. This is pretty fucking painful.

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>>718476
GODDAMNIT VOX THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE. BRUSH YOUR FUCKING TEETH. I HAD EIGHT FILLINGS DONE IN ONE SITTING AND THAT WAS ENOUGH TO SCARE ME STRAIGHT. YOU'RE WELL PAST THAT BY NOW, YOU'VE GOT NO RIGHT TO BE FUCKING AROUND.

CAPSLOCK

>>718476
Goddamnit it Vox, every time you start a new quest you lose another tooth. This cannot be a coincidence.

>>719146
>>718476

Tell us. Tell us what dark gods your teeth are fed too.

>>719163
The tooth fairy is a satan.

>>718476
you really need to lay off the coffee and anything with sugar. It's destroying your teeth most likely

>>716976
> Go pray. The gods are in a talkative mood lately, maybe they can /help/.

They ain't been much use yet but hey it could work.

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>>716976
Would it be easier to call it a team effort? I mean, we /are/ part of a group. Folks on the surface might just assume on their own that the Hero did the heavy lifting. I just don't want Brianna somehow being fucking exiled again, or folks hemorrhaging because she said 'Hey' on the street.

>>718476
JESUS CHRIST MAN! I mean, I know I'm not great, but holy shitballs! Do you have some kind of enamel-calcium deficiency, or are you just made of glass? At this point, you are literally going to have to replace your teeth with gold or...

Y'know what, save yourself the trouble and just replace the whole fucking set. It'll be less painful.

>>718476
Dammit Vox do you have scurvy or something?

Much belatedly - called, tallying, writing.

Just kill me now.

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>>716976
"I..." you pause. "I need to go pray," you decide.

"Since when do you -" Amy smacks Nate upside the back of the head. "Um. You know where the shrine is, yes?"

"I know where it is," you tell him. "Henrietta, do you mind discussing the wedding with these two while I'm, ah. Busy?"

"Not at all. But take Cooke with you, please. I'd like you to be safe."

You look in Henrietta's eyes and decide it's not worth arguing about. You nod, and the cook shadows you to the small shrine. Like most of its kind, it is dedicated to all of the gods, with their sigils set into the altar in steel. You're surprised to see an older, dark-skinned woman scrubbing the altar with care.

"What are you -" Cooke starts. The old woman stands, turns, and snaps her fingers. The chef freezes in place entirely.

She looks exactly like your grandmother.

"It's an interesting thing, heritor," the old woman remarks. "When you think of poetry, you think of Madeline la Croix. Not a conventional poet, I shouldn't think, but there's something there I can appreciate. Excuse me."

She gestures, and Travis slides out the door, which shuts.

"...Wren?" you ask, softly.

"You would not /believe/ how much of a bitch it was to get the next spot in line for the 'meet Lora's new friend' party," the goddess comments. "Red Troth wanted a word something fierce but /I/ talked him down. Not that I'm terribly surprised..."

You stare while Wren the Rhymer, wearing your grandmother's form, takes up a broom and starts to sweep.

"You haven't bowed," she comments.

"I don't fucking intend to!" you snap. "Get my grandmother off of you!"

The goddess snorts and shifts, until she looks just like /you/ instead. "As you wish, la Croix," she answers, am amused smile on your - her - lips. "Didn't you come here looking for help?"

"I - yes! What do /you/ want?"

"So far I'm getting a nice show," she tease.

Kat rears up from your feet. "Leave her alone!" your shadow snaps. "Who gave you the right to hit people when they're down?"

"And who. Is. This?" Wren asks, stepping forward with an interested light in her eyes. "Shadow, are you? And free-willed, unusual. Intriguing. An artist's spirit..." She walks around Kat, eyeing your shadow up and down. Your servant turns, claws forming on the ends of her fingers. "Brave, yes, loyal but not slavish, attentive to detail. In love, poor thing. You know it doesn't think back?"

"I - you - /shut up/!"

> Let it happen
> Make some introductions
> Tell Wren to back off

>>720034
> Tell Wren to back off

You'd think Wren the Rhymer would be a bit more charming.

>>720034
>> Tell Wren to back off

"It's one thing to pick a fight with me, it's another to pick on Kat. Now, decide if you're interested in actually talking, or if you want me to just skip you and go on to Troth."

>>720034
>>720092

Actually fuck saying anything. Turn around and leave without a word. Words are what she dicks around with.

The only winning move is not to play.

>>720086
And why should she be? Wren is the Goddess of Language and the creator of humans, among others. What is it you think she wants that needs charm?

>anons not seizing on the fact that Kat is in love with Nathan's shadow
Well, this explains a great deal to me.

>Make some introductions.

>>720163
It's pretty old news for us at this point.

Kat was in no way subtle about it.

Besides, she's really in love with Nathan.

>>720092
>>720096
Backing these two, get some divine "oh no you di'int" in our reputation.

>>720034
>> Make some introductions

>>720367
because we need her help?

>>720034
>> Tell Wren to back off

>>720101
Us? If she wanted to meet Brianna enough to argue getting in front of Red Troth, you'd think she'd have some sort of interest in Brianna besides just jerking her around

>>720034
> Walk away, Road Warrior

> Just . . . Walk away

We don't need to take this shit, especially from someone who fought just to be able to talk with us sooner.

So done with autismo gods and angels.

>>720375
The trick is to walk away slowly enough that the other person has time to stop playing silly buggers and ask you to stop.

Advanced tactics are to continue to walk away while they try to talk to you. For instance, we could start walking to the shrine of another god and see if Wren gets increasingly contrite the more it looks like we're actually going to skip over her.

Act like a child, get treated like one

>>720398
this is a shrine of all gods

>>720034
>Make to leave
>Give her a chance by walking just a bit more slowly.
>>720367 I removed this one due to doubt but I couldn't stomach it, so here I am again.
>>720375
I can't do it, it's a matter of principle.

>>720034
>> Make some introductions
Can I antivote walking away? That doesn't really help us and it kind of just makes us look like we're just as childish as Wren

>>720409
That's not how voting works.

Otherwise I'm antivoting your "Make introductions" bullshit.

It's like you've never been tested by a God/dess before.

Besides, childish would be staying to argue with her, or just taking her abuse.

>>720414
I feel like if there's a tie, Vox should be aware that there's more support for other options

Also you seem to forget that we need her help, not the other way round.

>>720034
> Start praying to Red Troth

Maybe we can talk to a God that isn't being a cunt right now.

>>720420
An anti-vote is just an attempt to vote twice Anon. Don't be that guy.

>>720420
You should be aware that you're a faggot clinging to straws, and opening "anti-voting" is a can of worms and there's damned good reason why it isn't done. All you're trying to do is get two votes against anything you don't like. You're not special and nobody here, or anywhere else, loves you. You should probably kill yourself.

And that there are other Gods to get help from.

And that she wanted to talk to us, so she can damn well show a minimum of common decency and not talk shit to us, or pick on what is essentially our child.

We haven't taken that sort of shit from ANYONE so far, and we aren't about to start here if I have any say.

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>>720440
you know there's no reason to be rude.

We can have differing opinions without resorting to insults

Right now it's implied by wren that she is representing all the gods and while she's being rude, I don't think it's a good idea to just walk off in a huff, especially if dissing her might be inferred as dissing other gods

>>720456
How is it implied that she speaks for all of them at this moment? She said there was a waiting line to meet Bri, aside from that, not much else.

Wren already being there does imply she is very eager to talk to Bri and isn't going to just let her walk off. She /might/ even apologize, depending on how much she wants to talk.

>>720456
> On 4chan

> Doesn't understand the concept of not feeding trolls.

Anon, please, I'm really trying to reach out to you here. Kill yourself. End your suffering of living in a world you're too stupid to understand. Your parents will pretend to be sad, and in a way they will be for a while, but everyone will recognize it's for the best.

Clearly, since we've already talked to one God, and we're going to talk to another, Wren isn't "representing all Gods"

> "You would not /believe/ how much of a bitch it was to get the next spot in line for the 'meet Lora's new friend' party," the goddess comments. "Red Troth wanted a word something fierce but /I/ talked him down. Not that I'm terribly surprised..."

FUCKING READ, NIGGER, READ!!

You imbecile. You dithering poltroon. You double nigger.

>>720469
maybe I'm inferring too much from Wren appearing at the shrine of all gods but, considering these are Greek Mythology style gods we're dealing with, not without reason.

Gods tend to get all kinds of upset when mortals don't show them respect- I think in this case because of how much power they command. I mean Wren literally made the human race. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.

Thinking about it she's technically something like our infinity times great grandmother. I think it would be more in character for Brianna to listen to her

>>720034
> Make some introductions

>>720483
The major theme so far has actually been "God's are contrite after numerous fuckups and hesitant to act because of it."

Hence them coming to ask us about what to do next.

Are you new?

>>720496
no. Troth is contrite. The msith seems pretty fine with the way things have turned out, even after basically making the eleves into living art with no drive and dwarves into creatures who need to perpetually seek out work

Wren seemed happy to curse a pirate ship to continue looting and plundering for all eterenity because it was poetic, even though it meant condemning all the souls aboard to an eterenity of torment and ensured that it would never STOP plundering
Red Troth seems to have fucked up the most often so perhaps that's why he seems contrite but I haven't really seen any of that from the other gods

>>720483
The Greek gods were also assholes.

The shrine is there so people can pray to in a central spot, it would be a pain to Pray to Wren on the east side of town and to Red Troth on the west, so far the gods we have met have acted decently during our short time and first impressions carry a lot of weight.

I firmly believe respect has to be earned and Wren isn't doing very well in that regard at all. We can be polite to her, no problem there, but she has a way to go before I'm willing to get friendly.

Lastly, our creator or not, she shaped the first humans, not us, we came from the union between our father and mother. We don't owe her /anything/.

>>720506
Wasn't the Quell the one that cursed the Pallbearer?

>>720507
You make some good points. The reason I brought up greek mythology was that the Greek Pantheon would always put aside rivalries if it meant teaching an uppity mortal that isn't showing them proper respect.

I don't think we should be obsequious but I feel like when dealing with something as powerful as a god it's good to not be antagonistic, the same reason why it's a good idea to not poke any other dangerous creature. The chance of getting drawn into an extremely dangerous fight should out weigh moral indignation

>>720515
I thought for sure it was Wren, though maybe it''s just because the words 'poetic justice' were used when describing it

>>720518
We have very different views.

Like, once again, the Gods are coming to us to talk about Lora, and have been REPEATEDLY stated to be deliberately staying out of mortal affairs, because they keep fucking up.

The smith was actually wanting to move on to a new world now that they've learned from their mistakes, and since they can't really change this world without fucking it up.

>>720515
>>720518
>Pallbearer
It was a Chosen of one or the other, it's been a while so I don't really remember.

>>720518
I agree that purposely antagonizing a god is a dumb course of action but you don't just drop in, take on the form of a deceased loved one, then take a verbal stab at a family member and expect to be treated with respect in return.

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>>720518
Also

> pic related for how a parent feels when their kid outdoes them with actual thought.

Kissing as OR fighting isn't the best answer, but just disengaging. Do you think Wren is unaware of the game she's playing?

>>720568
That's why we aren't directly antagonizing Wren. We're just refusing to rise to her bait and walking away.

We DO have other options for resolving the problem. Other Gods to ask, we could move the people into the Dungeon, we could just let them forget us.

>>720588
I don't know, turning your back and walking away can also be a pretty big insult in these situations, if only because you show the other person your back

>>720506

"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."

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/621373/#p623689

Read the quest please before continuing to post.

>>720601
Are you the same guy who insisted the Lush didn't care about theatrics or drama? Because there's a part in the thread after we talk to the Forgemaster that specifically points out that was ALL he cared about.

Your reasoning is bad and you should feel bad about it.

>>720615
that doesn't prove that he feels bad about all the shitty stuff he did. And he did shitty stuff.

All that proves is that, on the whole, he likes how creation turned out enough to not risk up and ruining everything.

>>720629
I would argue that it doesn't prove whether he likes or dislikes the current state of Creation; only that he thinks that he believes that he doesn't have the right to significantly change Creation and/or that he believes any change he makes will make Creation worse in some way.

>>720629
It's not that he might ruin creation, but that him and the other gods no longer have the right to change it.

He literally says that.

How do you get anything different?

Side note: It's also why we shouldn't be asking any Gods to fix our current problem. For advice, sure, but no miracles.

>>720034
> Make some introductions.

It'll give Brianna a moment to take a breath. Wren is a goddess of /passion/, remember? Brianna's normally a cool-headed individual (even when she isn't stressed the fuck out), and I think the Rhymer is trying to get Brianna to open up. To vent, in a way.

Plus, she's likely interested in how Brianna has been rubbing off on Lora.

>>720645
Hindsight is 20/20. Do you think Red Troth or the Lady of Ravens would have made the harpies and goblins the way they are if they knew what the did now?

Everyone makes mistakes. You either learn from them, or fail.

>>720629
Are you physically incapable of admitting when you're wrong? You're just constantly going to try and weasel your way into justifying your original vote.

You should run for President, you could make the current candidates look palatable.

>>720668
>advice, sure, but no miracles.
100% this, if it turns out that giving River credit for everything we've done is the only way to really stop the bleeding I'm all for it. I'll be sour, but people shouldn't suffer for it.

>>720034
You can count my praying to Red Troth vote here >>720423 as another form of Walking Away

>>720251
>>720096

Don't forget

> Vox can only see the colour green!

>>720672
Is Wren trying to get Brianna to vent, or is she trying to see if we can make rational decisions under provocation, or is she just being kind of a bitch?

>>720034
>> Make some introductions

>>720034
> Make some introductions
Kat doesn't know she is a god.

>>720034
> Walk away

Nobody gets to shit-talk our kids

I only wish Fetch was here so she could get reprimanded by a paragon of poultry.

>>720766
Knowing and caring are two different things. Kat might not know. We might not care.

>>720034
> Make some introductions

>>720034
> Tell Wren to back off

>>720773
>>720784
What are you doing?

>>720034
> Walk away

>>720786
> Let it happen.

>>720786
Checking out the new ID system.

Figured I'd just vote for everything once and it would all balance out.

>>720796
Would you kindly stop doing that?

>>720816
Yeah I'm done now.

>>720034
Only my first vote to

> Walk away

Counts mmkay?

>>720779
That is also true especially since Wren chose Bri's grandmother as her form to reveal herself in. I think we should still give her the benefit of the doubt since she is obviously here for something, maybe just plain curiosity, and introducing them would calm the situation down a tad.

>>720796
Samefagging doesn't help anything.

>>720687
I think its the first two. Vox doesn't write bitchy-gods. Or at least, that's what we've seen. And if he did, it would likely be for a better reason than 'Because I Can'.

She might just want Brianna to let loose and speak honestly, rather than tip-toe around stuff. I mean, she was very respectful and courteous with the Lady of Ravens and the Forgemaster.

And, again, she might be looking to get the measure of the person trying (and succeeding, so far) to save her 'daughter'.

>>720678
It's not like some of the credit won't come back to us, what with River sharing the name now. Anyone hearing 'La Croix' will just end up imagining the two of us, rather than just one.

>>720820
so you were basically practicing how to same fag without getting caught?

>>720034
>> Tell Wren to back off

>>720034
>> Make some introductions

Gonna call and write in thirty or so, I need coffee.

Mkay. If you wanna experiment with samefagging, kindly don't do it during my vote.

Near as I can tell, the narrow victor here is

> Make some introductions

Called, writing.

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>>720034
You put a hand on Kat's shoulder, to steady her, and look Wren in the eyes. "I'll thank you to give my daughter her personal space," you insist, a hard edge to your tone.

Wren takes a step back, one eyebrow raised.

"Kat, this is Wren the Rhymer, Goddess of Language," you introduce. "Wren, this is Kat."

Kat growls irritably, but the claws go away and she sinks back into the floor.

"Forgive me," Wren asks. "I'm rather fascinated with the people the Firstborn create. I was one of the first to bet that you'd create life in your own image the way we did, you know. Aside from the thrill of validation it's interesting just to see the /work/..."

"Kat isn't just work," you state.

"Of course not. She's an /artist/. But she is also work, the same way you are also the work of someone's love, blood, sweat, and tears. You know, the last time I pulled this routine the man in question actually hauled off and hit me?"

You blink. "What happened to him?"

"He developed a tendency to write novels in his sleep," Wren answers, wryly. She turns and walks back to the altar, running her hand quietly over it. "Steel," she murmurs. "The Firstborn do have such a love of iron and steel. You came to ask me something."

"I need to know what to do about the...the side effects of my resurrection," you plead. "I don't want to hurt people just by existing."

"Understandable. Brianna, do you crave glory?"

"What does -"

Wren turns, a fire in her eyes that has no rage at all; you have her attention, and the fascination of it, the /interest/, is hard to look at. "Do you, Brianna la Croix, last living student of Madeline la Croix, last of the Blind Marsh la Croix, crave glory?" she asks again. She takes two steps towards you. "I believe that you do. I believe that the part of you that was always, in a sense, your familiar is stronger than you think. When you think of your name, your legacy, do you want it spoken of across the world entire or left in history books to be found by those who care enough to look?"

> I...I /do/ want glory
> History is enough

>>721479
>> History is enough

>>721479
> I...I /do/ want glory

If only because it helps if more people know that there are good necromancers and a better way to perform necromancy

>>721479
>> I...I /do/ want glory

>>721479
>> History is enough
"No good Deed" implies that to me. Helping people because you can, instead of because you should, is not a of mindset glory hounds.

>"He developed a tendency to write novels in his sleep,"
depending on the content of the novels, another God thoughtlessly destroyed a life.

>>721479
> I...I /do/ want glory
I think Bri is the kind of person who definitely wants people to know /someone/ did the things she did, but doesn't care as much that people know that someone is her.

Basically I think of her as the opposite of the giant, who wanted to be known for his name regardless of if actions attached to it are good or bad.

>>721479
>> History is enough

>>721479
>I...I /do/ want glory
>Mind, we're not doing all this for that sole purpose, it was never about that. But having our family name spoken of in a positive sense would truly feel like we honored the memories of those we lost.

>>721479
>.....a bit, yes. It would be nice for people to know and understand what I've done.

>>721479
>> I...I /do/ want glory
Glory and vindication for the name la Croix.

>>721479
>History is enough
we didn't get this job because we wanted to be special, we were randomly chosen, did well, and chose to continue to do good.

>>721534
That would be history though, not glory. History is "something was done, look it up if you want to know who." Glory would be "so-and-so did this."

>>721479
> I...I /do/ want glory

Some amount of vindication would be nice.

>>720101
I don't, but she also has no reason to be abrasive and given that she is the goddess of language I can't imagine her word choice being anything other than deliberate.

>>721479
>>History is enough

>>721479
> I...I /do/ want glory
My feeling is that if this had been asked in almost any other situation, her response would have easily been that she's happy enough with being part of history. And she'd believe it, too. But here, with a god asking her to truly look at herself and see what she finds, I think that Bri would say she wants glory. Becoming a piece of history is her goal as a la Croix, but earning glory is her goal as Brianna.

>>721479
> I...I /do/ want glory

I was staying out of the vote because I think both choices are valid, I decided to step in and vote because I remembered Bri talking about the stories she read as a child, she needs to be one of those heroes.

>>721479
>> I...I /do/ want glory

>>721479
>I...I /do/ want glory

>>721479
>> History is enough
Bri is the person who is kinda unable to see herself as good. She does the work because its needed. Not for her benefit.

She has to be reminded that she does this.

>>722150
But that doesn't mean she doesn't desperately wish she were a good person that people can look up to.
>>I...I do want glory...

>>722344
But that doesn't mean she wants glory.

Pride sure, glory, not so much.

>>722344
wanting to be a good person =/= wanting recognition for being good

how are the teeth vox?

>>722488
Like hell. You've my apologies for the erratic write times.

>>722534
it's fine, just as long as you're taking care of you

>>721547
>>721546

Seconding this. Honesty. We want to earn our history, and we'd be lying if we said it wasn't a part of our motivation

>>722674

Or let me be clear. We want glory, earned because we did the right thing, made the world better.

>>721479
>> History is enough
"If it would please you were I to seek glory, we could come to an arrangement, but it is not something I seek for myself."

>>721479
>> Other
I crave /right/ and /justice/, and glory or history or the lack thereof are just a means to an end on that.

>>722720
Whenever someone insists you pick from two things; and fervently so; the right answer is almost always the option C you make up yourself.

I can't decide. Should I flip a coin?

>>722737
>> I...I /do/ want glory

>>721479
> History is enough.

>>721479
> History is enough

>>721479
>> History is enough

Called, writing. Winner by four votes is Glory.

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>>721479
"I..." you hesitate, then close your mouth. Do you?

Your mind goes back to stories in bed, of mighty heroes and daring deeds, and of Sir Fetch's glorious battlecries.

"I do want glory," you admit, softly. "I would love to be showered in praise and fame, to...to be acknowledged, to be /vindicated/. To be one of the legends a little girl might read about, a hundred years from now. But that's not all I want, or even the first thing I want. I /want/ to set things right."

"I know," Wren answers. "And that fascinates me more than anything else about you, Brianna. You have all this /ambition/, right here," she lays a hand over your heart, "all this /drive/, this /will/, bundled up in your soul. And for others, you set it aside, or you make it serve you, like a hound. You see yourself as a servant of the common good and you /actually are/. I do think I love that about you."

"I just have a -"

"La Croix, don't you dare tell me you just have a job to do," Wren warns. She takes her hand back and tucks it into her - your - her pocket. "I'm going to fix things for you. You can't very well be crowned in glory if everyone who remembers your previous deeds drops dead."

"The Forgemaster said the age of miracles is over," you protest, in a warning tone.

"Is it?" Wren asks, a little curiously. "I'm three feet from the miracle of life."

"I - wait, Kat? I made her."

"And I made humans," Wren says flatly. "Do you think the gods invented shadows? Think again, necromancer. That was the Firstborn."

"But it's just - I mean, not /just/, but it's just a spell," you protest.

"Thanks," Kat mutters. You give her a guilty grin.

"If your cutoff point for miracles is knowing how it's done, let me tell you - there's no such thing as miracles. Somnus?" There is a shimmer, next to Wren, and an angel fades into being - a tall male, with owl's wings and a faint aura of lullabies. "There are some damaged memories in and around Glen. Be a dear and erase them, then replace them with /precise duplicates/, identical in all fashions. That ought to fix things."

"As you command," the angel agrees, before he fades away.

"I...thank you, Wren," you say, earnestly. "Are you like this with everyone?"

"Most people. People are fascinating, and they only get more fascinating when you poke them. That's why I come in person, when I can," she continues, thoughtfully. "People act differently when you're a holy voice in their head. I want to meet them, you know?" Wren paces through the pews; she seems to have trouble standing still. "Tell me about the Dungeon," she asks.

"What part?"

"I've never seen it, Brianna," Wren tells you. "My daughter's greatest work of art, her magnum opus, the work, literally, of her entire life, and I've never. Seen it. So one artist to another, tell me - what is it like?"

> What do you say?

>>723515
>In one breath it's the most beautiful and wonderful place I've ever seen, and in another it's petty and spiteful and cruel. A good analogue for Humanity in general

>>723515
>> What do you say?

"You should ask her to see it for yourself. But as a work of art, I would say it's not done yet and it might never be - much as anything that lives grows and changes. I don't think I saw it at its best either, but it's definitely interesting."

>>723615
>>723515

I mean. let's let her see it through our memories instead of tainting her opinion with our opinion of it.

>>723515
>"I wouldn't taint your perception of it with my own. It's best seen in motion, rather than talked about."
Or something it that effect.

>>723623
I think perusing our memories would simply cause a different kind of tainting. Also, giving Wren permission to go poking around in our head seems like a baaaaad idea.

>>723515
>...We might be here a while. There's a lot down there.

>>723515
>"You should ask her to see it for yourself. But as a work of art, I would say it's not done yet and it might never be - much as anything that lives grows and changes. I don't think I saw it at its best either, but it's definitely interesting."

The gods can't enter the Dungeon, right?

>>723691
Technically they can enter, they simply promised not to.

>>723691
Won't.

>>723693
>>723695
So saying something like "you should really see for yourself" is a bad idea?

>>723515
>"There's just so much to talk about. Just being there it feels like you've seen more in months than you could in a lifetime. And the people that live there have enough stories for a dozen lifetimes."
>Describe some of your favorite places, maybe the Atheneum?

This is just a thinly veiled guise to get feedback on what readers think of the setting, isn't it Vox.

>>723705
On the one hand you're not entirely wrong, but on the other and possibly more important hand, art is often - some would argue solely - measured in terms of the /emotional reaction/.

>>723515
>Well, it's got 13 floors plus a roost on the side connecting the ...
Just give her a straight up practical description of it to mess with her.

>>723687
Adding some stuff.
>Kind of impressive how she got the whole thing to run on the Tongue and witchlight photosynthesis. ...Wait, hold on, is the Sun a giant witchlight?
>Bear in mind that I sort of rushed through some of the levels and haven't gotten to others.
>Um... no offense, but Lora decided to have the mortals in the dungeon affect it a lot. Much of what I've seen is the work of mortals, for better or worse. Fey too, now that I think of it.
>It has the world's worst tobacco. Try some?
>Mile-long flights of stairs between levels. (I don't know the exact method of inter-level transportation.)

>>723714
What's Lark's tobacco called? Aerous Anguish? Gassy Nastyness? Devil's Bowel-Air? Cheap Chokesticks? Smoky Suffering? Is the smell enough identification?

>>723800
He is reluctant to brand it as of yet - Lark still feels it needs a few more generations before he's ready to bring it to the world at large - but he sometimes refers to it as his Regrets On Demand.

>>723704
Pffft. She can send in a Missionary and look at the dungeon through their memories. Hell, she could probably create something specifically to do that.

>>723515
>Kat is the one with the spirit of an artist, ask her.

And now I'm going to crawl in bed and die. Votes remain open.

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

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>723515
>Thirteen floors and the Roost to connect five of the middle ones, each holding a certain beauty. It is hard to do it justice through words but when this is all over, I would suggest asking Lora if you could get a tour or something.
>Here, have a sample of one of its most remarkable products (Give her the Lark Regret special).

Wren played me like a damn fiddle earlier. I'm not sure how to feel about that.

>>723515
>> It's alive. There's messes and beauty and sorrow and love and everythings more magnified with how close everything is; and every part is also functional. It's all put to use by the peoples within it.

Should we add that the Roost was a giant mess when we first got there?

>>724145

The whole damn thing was a giant mess when we arrived. Richard's influence is like a stain, spreading from the deepest level of the Dungeon to taint the whole thing and twist it out of shape.

But we're fixing that, level by level, chain by chain.

>>724120
I would like to totally back this one. She earned the Lark Regret Special. The man's art has been perfected after all.

I'll be back to call & write in a couple of hours. I need to go attend to Real Life for a bit.

>>724361
Just take drugs

>>724556
You're the reason we have after school specials.

Okay, so I'ma call and write tonight but at the moment I'm watching the debate. I wrote the other quest's update starting before it did and listening while I wrote was massively fuckin' distracting, so - once it's done, I'ma write.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Called, writing.

>>726169
So, what ya think of the debate Vox?
I'm mostly sitting around numb but for the pins and needles that are the creeping realization that this isn't a bad dream.

>>726178
I think I'd rather not discuss my political opinions in the quest for the same reasons I don't discuss 'em while I'm on the clock, to be honest. I just figured folks deserved to know the reason for the delay.

>>726190
Boooooooring.

>>726232
Also known as SANE.

>>726190
Trump 2016!

>>726190
All I can say is this; I would much rather have alien-lizard people suck out my brain with a crazy straw than be stuck in the same room as those two Darwinian fuck-ups.

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>>723515
You take some time to consider the question. You take enough time that you end up sitting down to think about it. Kat mistakes your concentration for depression, and you reassure her with gentle scratches just underneath her hat that make her purr in surprise. Wren makes a little 'aww' expression with her - your - /gods damn it/, /her/ - face.

"It's beautiful," you tell Wren. "Lora likes to work in light and shadow. She could have given the Dungeon its own natural glow, but instead she's chosen to express herself with witchlights and it gives the place bright lights and deep shadows that flicker and shift. You'd never be able to confuse one Floor for another. And the Firstborn..."

Wren leans in. "What about them?" she asks, her eyes bright with fascination.

"Lora made her Dungeon with the Firstborn in mind, not just as residents but eventually as deliberate elements of the design," you tell Wren. "When she made the Mine, for example, she shaped it so that the people who loved it would never run out of work. The Lichyard has an air of solemnity and sacredness that isn't just Lora's work, the Roost is...what it was, because of the mortals that lived there. I wish you could see it for yourself..."

"I could," Wren says softly. "But I won't. I made a promise, Brianna la Croix. And coming from me, from the author of /meaning/, a promise /has/ to mean something. I've always been with the Quell on that score. Even if the reason sounds good, even if it's to help, with the best of intentions and all the love in my heart...if I broke that promise to Lora, I'd never have the right to expect her to believe me, or believe /in/ me, ever again. So I won't. And...and I'm not happy with that." The goddess looks away. Tears well in the corner of her eyes. "What's your favorite part?" she murmurs. "Of the Dungeon."

"...Honestly, even though I can't light up? Probably the Atheneum. I love the books, I love the peace of the place. I enjoy having the Caretaker around and I have friends there too. I can just /learn/ things, whenever I want to, and talk about them with other people who love to learn too."

"She really made one," Wren whispers. "I didn't think she would. I told her she should have a library, you know? I told her books are how you can learn how other people see the world..."

"You miss her," you murmur.

"Yeah," Wren agrees softly. "I miss her terribly. Would you really do it, heritor? If she gave you all that she built, would you care for it so she could leave? I..." Wren pauses, and then sighs. "...I want her to come home."

> I would
> It depends on what she wants
> I...I don't know

>>727523
> I would

>>727523
Dawww!
> I would, but that decision is hers to make.

Honestly, even if Brianna (and the huuuuuuge family she, Nate and Amy are /inevitably/ going to spawn) only takes over for a few decades, that would be enough time for Lora to take a vacation and see the world. Spread her wings in every meaning of the word.

>>727523
> I would, but that decision is hers to make.

>>727523
>I would, but that decision is hers to make.
Vox, what's going on with your tooth? It doin all right or do you need to empty your wallet?

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>>727651
> It doin all right or do you need to empty your wallet?

That's an odd way to spell 'do you have to sell your kidney and resort to cannibalism to save money on groceries' but I can happily report that my current crop of neighbors have been made slow and weak by city life and should prove easy prey for many months to come before anyone suspects.

The exam is on Friday morning. We'll find out the full extent of the damage then.

I gotta hit bed. Votes remain open.

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

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>727663
> That's an odd way to spell 'do you have to sell your kidney and resort to cannibalism to save money on groceries' but I can happily report that my current crop of neighbors have been made slow and weak by city life and should prove easy prey for many months to come before anyone suspects.

Ah Lich, fucking kekels, come to NY so I can give you my shekels.

But in all seriousness? Don't let this shit happen again; Unless you're also a shape-changer who likes spending time as a fucking shark, the teeth falling out of your face is not normal. Take care of yourself.

>>727674
>Unless you're also a shape-changer who likes spending time as a fucking shark, the teeth falling out of your face is not normal


Who are you to judge someone else's hobbies.

>>727674
>Unless you're also a shape-changer who likes spending time as a fucking shark
So thaaat's why he's making Changeling: the Lost quest!
He's some kind of wereshark lich!
Which begs the question, is he just a bunch of shark teeth floating about, or is there some cartilage to form a shark skeleton?

>>727733
> An undead wereshark who midnights as a prostitute and is paid with coffee.
Well, I'll be damned. I've seen weirder shit, but not by much.

>>727523
> I would, but that decision is hers to make.
I don't think she'd be against it, especially after all the shit she's been through.

>>727663
>That's an odd way to spell 'do you have to sell your kidney and resort to cannibalism to save money on groceries'

...y'know, I see shit like this, and the first thing my brain does is ask how the fuck you can afford Internet or video games or such things and/or why you're willing to pay for them when you could use the money for things more essential to not being dead.

Then again I can't imagine having had two kids by age 24, either. Happy birthday tomorrow, by the way.

>>727523
>> It depends on what she wants

>>727523
>> I...I don't know
I don't think we trust ourselves enough to not screw it up.

>>727882
This is a weird tangent, but I realized during this conversation that Lora is the only Divine that feels like if you cut off her wings she could be a mortal. All the other Divine has this sort of aloofness, or incomprehension of the ways of the Firstborn, but Lora never really seemed that way to me. Anyone else get that impression?

>>727890
Probably has something to do with her being the personification or aspect of Death itself.

Each of the gods pitched in to /make/ the various races, but Lora has 'walked' by their sides their whole lives. From great philosopher-kings to foul sorcerers to drunken fools to content farmers.

Having observed them for so long, and having such a prominent position in their lives, and the opinions and beliefs they have about her, she's picked up on a lot of things that her 'parents' missed out on.

>>727909
That's a good thought. Lora but one of the Death Choir though. I wonder if any of the others would share this grounding. For that matter, I'd like to see another Death Choir's reaction to this mess.

>>727523
> It depends on what she wants

>>727931
To the Dungeon? Vox has actually answered that before; turns out, Lora didn't real boss around the Choir, and just let them do their jobs.

So, while the angels of the choir might be upset that one of their own has been taken hostage, their responsibilities still come first. Angels die too, sometimes, and having a retirement plan in the Sunless Lands is probably one of the only perks to the position.

I still think that the Gods and Choirs need to be aware of what Dick is doing; if Brianna can't stop it, then they might have to break their promise and deliver a generous heap of smiting on that fuckers head. Their word to respect the sanctity of Lora's creation won't mean much if Creation goes down the proverbial cosmic drain.

>>727841
A combination of not living alone (which means I chip in for rent, utilities, and the like) and the keen awareness that if I don't spend at least some money on luxuries I will go insane and kill everyone I can reach. Learned that in Kansas which, pro tip, don't go to Kansas.

Called, writing.

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>>727523
"I think I would," you agree, "but that's ultimately her decision. The Dungeon is hers."

"You know she's going to ask you for advice," Wren tells you frankly. "Who doesn't ask their friends for advice on something like that? Especially when they care about the other lives in the balance..."

"You're not wrong," you admit. "You know, I'm getting married in here soon?"

"Not a bad place for it. I imagine it was your Hero's idea. I do love romance." Wren sighs, wistfully. "Brianna, do me a favor. Not goddess-to-mortal, but person-to-person, as it were. Don't get so caught up in the stakes that you forget what's worth fighting for, you know? It's not good saving the world if you ruin everything you loved about it in the process."

"I'll remember that," you promise.

"Miss Wren?" Kat asks, quietly. The goddess looks down at your shadow and keeps eye contact (well, sort of) while Kat stands, shyly. "You said you've created life? Can I ask you a question?"

"Ask away," Wren grants, a little smile on her face.

"Why did you create souls?"

Wren gets a distant, contemplative look. When she does speak, it's in a quiet and thoughtful tone. "We didn't know how /not/ to," she answers. "When we wanted to create life, when we decided to, to fill Creation with things that could think and feel, we had nothing to go on but our own image. So we made you all in it, not in body but in spirit. We were pretty shocked the first time we saw something with a mind but no soul. It shook up our understanding of how things could be."

"Then...you have a soul?"

"I am a soul, little shadow," Wren tells Kat. "I'm sorry I don't have a more meaningful answer for you."

"No, that's...that's helpful..."

Wren tips her hat to you and vanishes, leaving behind only the quiet of the church.

You pick up the broom she was using and finish sweeping, so you have time to think.

* * * *

You are Rachael Trust. You have had better days. The /Pallbearer/ is making good time in the wind, at least, which is a help. The old ship creaks and groans as it cuts through the waves.

Beneath you, the fresh water is clear as crystal. You can see the Sunless Sea teeming with life.

"What are we after?" the Second Mate, one Mister Malik, asks. "You've been acting odd this whole voyage!"

"The old girl's finally listening to me, Mister Malik," you tell him. "I don't know how long it's going to last. We need the necromancer's help."

"So what are we after?" he asks again, frustrated.

"There's somethin' of hers down here, and I - hold up." The ship ripples, and you feel a thud, from below decks. You and Malik share a look and go running over to the side.

A massive shadow passes beneath the ship, more than forty feet wide, slithering past the /Pallbearer/ with a sinuous grace. It bumps the bottom of the ship again, lifting it partially from the water and sending it crashing down. You grab the rail before you're sent sprawling.

"Who woke it up?" Malik whispers.

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>>728881
"I'll bet gold against copper it was the /Dirge/," you tell him, grimly.

> Press on
> We have to warn the residents

>>728886
Uh...what did Davey Jones ship wake up?
> We have to warn the residents

>>728886
> Press on
I don't think that Rachael would be the type to go back and warn the residents, even more so because of the urgency of the thing she's doing. No I don't know what it is, but by how it's written, I don't see how it could NOT be urgent.

And honestly, not every character has to do what we personally consider to be the right thing. Think about what we know of Rachael: She's been trapped on the Pallbearer for who-knows-how-long and finally has a chance to get out of an eternity of servitude. Would she really risk that chance to warn the residents about the monster? It's not a bad thing for a character to be selfish.

>>728886
>> We have to warn the residents

>>728886
>> Press on
I have to agree with this guy.>>728926

>>728881
> Press on

> We have to warn the residents
Brianna is the type that would appreciate lending help to others even when it's incoveniant ten times out ten, and Rachel should know that by now

If she wants brianna's help going back to warn people is more valuable then any trinket or treasure

>>728886
>> Press on

>>728926
agreed. Letting the same people control different characters can make them all same-y after a while, I've found.

>>728886
>> Press on
Fuck that noise

>>728886
>> Press on

> We have to warn the residents

>>728996
I feel like this is solid logic. They want this whatever it is to get Brianna's help, but warning people about a monster will do more towards that

>>728926
>>728996
Dammit you both have good points.

>>728996
All Rachel is going to know about Bri is what's filtered down to the Sea, which isn't going to be much. Also, Her thought process as a long-time pirate would be something like: get thing, Give thing to curry favor. Not: Do thing because the one you want favor with likes it when people do that thing.

>>729762
She should know more about Bri then that. Maybe vox could clarify?

>>729841
How? The only access the Sea has with the upper levels is the Jaw, which was blocked, then abandoned, and now has only new grinders, who wouldn't know much about Bri besides anything Natalia might have said in passing.

>>729898
Yeah but Rachel met Brianna in person

>>729936
The entirety of that meeting was her demanding Bri become the captain of the Pallbearer. Nothing else was said.

Wait, could Lora destroy the Pallbearer? I mean, the gods can't touch the dungeon, right? Maybe god-power is just too clingy and is stuck to the ship, but it might work.

Also, how is there wind underground? Are there tunnels or something that open up to some sort of giant surface wind-funnel?