>>737428
>>By the river

>>737428
>By the river
I'd rather not kill paladins

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>>737428
>By the river

“We’ll travel through by the river. I don’t exactly like the idea of fighting Paladins,” you briefly state.

Maria pauses, surprised by your answer. You can hear her trying to form words, but no sound escapes her lips. She quickly returns to her usual stride as you catch up with her.

“Alright then, sailing down The Black Tendrils will take around an entire day of travel to reach the border.”

You can’t help but feel that she was happy to hear that you didn’t want to fight her former comrades.

------

You enter the bustling village, weaving through crowds of Edgelords, exiles, and other assorted Edges easily as most of them give generous space to your companion. Most of the hubbub seems to be coming from the centre of the village.

An armoured man is in the town square giving off a rather important announcement to a group of assembled exiles, and the quiet marketplace is filled with various supplies and oddities.

>See what the fuss is about in the town square
>Buy supplies for your journey.
>Other

>>737795
>See what the fuss is about in the town square.
What is so important I wonder.

>>737795
>>See what the fuss is about in the town square

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Almost forgot:
Previous threads;
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Edgelords%20of%20The%20Outer%20Rim

Twitter; https://twitter.com/Venator_QM

>>737795
>>See what the fuss is about in the town square

“Where are you going?” Maria inquires, “I we should get some supplies for th-.”


“Go on without me,” you interrupt, “I just wanna see what’s going on here.”

As you make your approach, hushed voices fill the air, and you can only hear the bare minimum of what they were talking about.

“Terrible monster…”

“How many?!?“

“What did we do to them?”

You finally make your way to the front of the crowd where a knight in jet black armour decorated in feathers makes his announcement.

“By the name of Daemon Hellscream XIII, Witch King of The Outer Rim and Rightful Ruler of The Edge, a great and sizable reward will be granted to those who bring him the corpse of the Black Dragon plaguing this village, and surrounding lands!”

You can see a few would-be dragon slayers within the slowly growing crowd discuss amongst themselves whether or not this Dragon would be worth the bounty.

>“What is the reward for slaying the dragon?”
>“What has the dragon done?”
>“Daemon Hellscream?”
>Leave
>Other

>>737943
>“What has the dragon done?”

>>737943
>What is the reward for slaying the dragon?
>What has the dragon done?
>Where is the dragon nest?

>>737943
>>“What has the dragon done?”

Edge needs a reason to be. Edge doesn't guide its blade towards anything for no reason, true edge needs to know if this is nothing personnel or it is personnel.

>>737988
Looks like I may have to cancel the quest for a moment.

Make up thread on Wednesday. or sooner.

>>737943
“What crimes has the dragon committed?”

The knight turns his gaze towards your general direction and continues his announcement.

“The Dragon has committed the crime of stealing The Witch King’s fish from His river from which His people and His army. For this crime against His Kingdom, He demands that the Dragon be made an example to any of those who dare steal from Him. His majesty also wishes to have a new coat for his upcoming wedding, and believes the Dragon would make a fine leather.”

Taking time to clear his throat, the stoic knight continues his speech.

“The reward for the death of the Dragon is a weapon from His Majesty’s armoury, or the privilege to serve in His Army.”

>“Let’s go Dragon slaying then.”
>“Sorry, but I’ll pass.”
>“Other”

>>738805
>“Sorry, but I’ll pass.”

Alright, continuing thread on Wednesday.

>>738805
>>“Other”

"Are you fucking kidding me? I won't go around killing intelligent beings just because they ate fish. I might find a way so the dragon and you people never crosses paths again, but what you suggest is too edgy even for edgelords"

>>738805
Supporting >>739062

>>739062
maybe with a calmer tone, though...
just say that you could find a way to make the dragon never bother you again(double meaning itentional)

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>>738805
Just hearing the completely asinine reason as to why the dragon must die felt like someone punched you in the face.

"Are you kidding me?” You slap yourself in the face, confirming that you are actually listening to this, “I won't go around killing intelligent beings just because they ate fish. I might find a way so the dragon and you people never crosses paths again, but what you suggest is too edgy even for edgelords!"

The knight stands still for about half a second before erupting with a hearty laugh.

“Ah, His Majesty would be honored to receive such a compliment from his loyal subjects! After all, it would be unbecoming for our King to lose His Edge while ruling a Kingdom.”

All you can do is glare at him with daggers in your eyes, as his laughter shortly dies down.

“But in all seriousness, that is unfortunately how The Outer Rim works. The Edgier you become, the higher your social standing goes,” removing the visor from his helm, he reveals his scarred, and smiling face.

“Take myself, Sir Adrian Blackreich, for example. I failed in protecting my previous lord, and thus donned this suit of armour that you see before you. I lined the interior with sharp metal spikes to stab into me every time I move, the pain reminding me of my failure, and because of it, His Majesty made me one of His 666 Knights,” blood unnervingly trickling down his beaming face. “You may disagree with His ways, but some of the citizens here want to climb the social ladder,” motioning to a few well-armed Edgelords within the crowd, “The dragon hunt shall continue until it is dead!”

You could feel the Edge he produced from where you were standing. Luckily, you weren’t standing too close to him unlike some unfortunate Edgelords whose clothes were cut to ribbons.

Sensing that you weren’t going anywhere in persuading them, you decide to leave the crowd.

------

“A w-what?!?” Maria stammers, “When the hell did a dragon start living here?”

>“We have to do something about the dragon.”
>“If we leave it alone, it won’t harm us.”
>“What do you think of this Dragon Hunt?”
>Other

>>753202
>“We have to do something about the dragon.”

>>753202
>>“We have to do something about the dragon.”

“We have to do something about that dragon.” You affirm.

“Do you even have a plan?” she inquires, lugging the fresh supplies onto the small wooden rowboat, “Because last I checked, dragons were dangerous creatures that often took experienced adventurers to handle, and I don’t want to go on a quest that could potentially kill us!”

“Well…..”

>“We’ll make it up as we go along!”
>“Dragons are intelligent enough to understand speech, so we’ll reason with it!”
>“We’ll fight the dragon slayers!”
>Other

>>753323
>“Dragons are intelligent enough to understand speech, so we’ll reason with it!”

>>753323
>“We’ll fight the dragon slayers!”
Edgiest option possible right here

>>753323
>>“We’ll fight the dragon slayers!”

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>>753323
“….It’s either fighting some dragon slayers, or we can reason with it!” you suggest.

Maria just stares at you dumbfounded for what seemed like an entire minute before coming up with a response to your brilliant plan.

“…the former definitely sounds a lot better than the latter,” she dryly says as she finishes loading the last of the supplies onto the boat, “Plus, we at least have experience in dealing with Edgelords.”

With the overall plan agreed on, you both push the boat onto the water before getting in, and rowing south as the cool Autumn breeze brushes against your faces.

------

Hours passed as you both took turns rowing down the winding river, and soon you reach the dreaded part that struck fear into the hearts of most fishermen: The Black Tendril’s Braids.

Surrounded on both sides by dense forestry, it was the perfect place to avoid Paladin patrols looking for anyone looking for an easy way into and out of The Outer Rim. But rumours of terrible monsters, and now a black dragon taking residence here, dissuades anyone from travelling across the border.

Looking overboard, you could see entire schools of trout swimming past your boat, and so close you could just grab them out of the water.

>Get dinner
>Keep eyes open for the dragon or dragon hunters
>Talk to Maria about her plans after they cross the border
>Other

>>753516
>Get dinner

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>>753516
>Get Dinner

You stick your hand into the cold waters of the Braids, and start to rub the underbelly of a trout from the tail end before slowly rubbing your way up to the head. Once you feel the time was right, you grab the trout, and toss it onto the boat.

Maria stares shock.

“Looks like we got dinner!” you say cheerfully.

But Maria keeps adamantly staring at you, no…. at something behind you!

You turn around, and you see it! A massive gout of blue dragonfire reaching for the heavens coming from further downstream. As you cautiously get closer, you can see the onyx scales of the dragon glimmering in the sunset like polished gems. The dragon futilely struggled as it was caught in what appeared to be a glowing magical net with a small band of dragon slayers trying to find a way to penetrate its thick hide.

You had to act if you wanted to save the dragon.

>Stealthily approach them from the forest
>Sail to them in a Full Frontal Assault
>Other

>>753672
>Sail to them in a Full Frontal Assault

Time to get our EDGE on!

>>753672
>Sail to them in a Full Frontal Assault

>>753672
You had to stop them as soon as possible.

“Sail towards them, we have to stop them now!” you bark to Maria.

Maria breaks free from her trance and rows with all her might as you both enter the fray.

You pull out your knife, Cold Steel, from its scabbard-the blade gleaming in the sunset like a beacon-and you ready yourself for battle.

The three dragon slayers, a mage, a warrior, and an archer notice your approach, and raise their weapons high and rush to meet you at the shoreline.

Now the question is, who do you fight first?

>The warrior
>The mage
>The archer

>>753794
>The mage

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>>753794
You decide to remove the mage from the fight, first.

Maria leaps out of the boat and tackles the archer, throttling deep him into the forest with the warrior at the tip of her heels, and leaving you alone with the rather scantily clad mage.

“Ooh~” the mage swoons, “So you’re The Cold Steel! We’ve heard many things about you.”

She twirls around, as magic circles surround her, “I am Evelin the Shadowmancer, I control DARKNESS and the darkness….within people’s hearts!”

>“Uhhh….I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works….”
>Close the distance between her.
>Throw knife
>Other

>>753910
>“Uhhh….I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works….”

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>>753910
>>“Uhhh….I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works….”

“Uhhh….I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works….” You tell her skeptically.

“Silence!” Her face going red as she grinds her teeth, “I will not be belittled by a fool who never even faced my magical might!”

Magical energies coalesce in her hands before a flurry of darkness begins to spray at you.

You quickly duck and dive to the right, running up the beach. The darkness chases after you like hounds on a blood trail. A jet of black circles around you before trying to sweep your legs to which you jump over, hiding behind a rock for cover.

“What’s the matter, welp? Can’t handle my Darkness?” the shadowmancer chortles as she conjures more magical energy to power her final attack, “This darkness is so deep, you cannot imagine the coldness of it, kid!”

“Oh crap,” you think to yourself.

You were screwed.

Thinking of possible plans, you could try to throw your knife at her which would leave you unarmed, or you could try and charge at her in the hopes that her attack wouldn’t be fully charged.

A low guttural growl catches your attention, and you notice the black dragon staring at you, its blue eyes beckoning you helplessly underneath the magic net.

>You have get into melee range NOW
>Throw Knife
>Try to free the Dragon
>Other

>>754095
>>You have get into melee range NOW

Grab her and steal a kiss. Stealing a woman's first kiss is edgy after all, and if she already has a boyfriend, even better because taking somebody else's woman.

>>754095

>You have get into melee range NOW

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>>754095
>>You have get into melee range NOW

You had to stop her from casting her spell at all costs.

Diving out of cover, you somersault over the magic dark darts flying at you, and make a mad dash towards her. With Cold Steel in your hand, you flip it into a reverse grip, and run with your arms behind you. Left, right, left, right, you dash to avoid her dark tendrils grasping for your legs, and you make a final lunge.

Panic fills her eyes as you fly over the magic circle surrounding with Cold Steel at the ready like a Hawk swooping in at their prey. She closes her eyes in anticipation of the final blow!

But it never comes.

Instead, she experiences a warm kiss on her mouth. Evelin opens her eyes to see you kissing her.

You’re pushed away as she steps back and catches her breath, her face quickly growing beet red, “B-B-But how!?! How did you resist my power to control the Darkness within your heart?!?!”

You could only comb your hair back with your hand, and do a hair flip.

“It’s simple,” you chuckle…..

>“My heart isn’t filled with Darkness…It’s filled with LIGHT!”
>“My heart is filled with a Darkness so Dark, it’s Blacker than the Blackest Black times Infinity!”
>“You didn’t listen, I said I’m pretty sure shadow magic doesn’t work like that.”
>Other

>>754273

>“My heart isn’t filled with Darkness…It’s filled with LIGHT!”

Well, now is a good time for cheesy speeches, I guess.

>>754273
>“My heart isn’t filled with Darkness…It’s filled with LIGHT!”

>>754273
>>“My heart isn’t filled with Darkness…It’s filled with LIGHT!”

“My heart isn’t filled with Darkness….It’s filled with LIGHT!” And at that exact moment, the sun’s rays shine against the back of your head like an angelic halo, “My light is a beacon of Hope! A star in the dark night sky, and a wish for a better future!”

Evelin’s eyes fill fully with awe and wonder as she collapses. Luckily, you catch her before she lands hard on the ground. Carrying her away from the shore, you prop her up against a tree. And that’s when you hear a solid THUD behind you.

Slowly turning around, you’re face to face with the azure-eyed black dragon, and you start to comprehend the sheer size of it. It seemed that when the Shadowmancer was unconscious, her magic keeping the dragon pinned faded away.

To say you weren’t about to soil yourself would have be a massive understatement as most people who’ve had this close of an encounter with a dragon were about to be their dinner.

“Uuuuuhh…..nice dragon…?” backing up against a tree.

And that’s when it pounces on you, knocking you to the ground, and starts to lick your face.

“He-Hey! En-enough!” you try to get up.

“Well look what we have here,” Maria says as she emerges from the forest, and dragging the warrior and archer behind her. “Brave Wedge the Cold Steel defeating the evil sorceress, and saving the dragon! That’ll be one for the stories,” she laughs to herself.

Scrambling onto your feet, with plenty of dragon slobber dripping from your face, you wipe your face clean, “Okay….now I guess we should row south.”

“Not before tying these guys up,” Maria procuring some extra netting from the dragon net.

[1/2]

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>>754619
[2/2]

The setting sun slowly descends past the horizon, as you make camp around an hour down the river, but there’s still one problem….

The dragon you saved was still following you.

“We can’t have it following us, Wedge. It’ll draw unwanted attention to us!” Maria yells.

“It’s not like I wanted a dragon to take a liking to me!” You retort.

“If there’s a silver lining to this, it’s that we won’t be needing any more food for the next week!” She sighs, motioning to the huge pile of fish at the corner of the campsite.

You stand up, “Alright, I’ll try to make it understand, or something.”

Walking over to the dragon nestling beside your tent, you try to explain to it to the best of your abilities.

“You can’t follow us. I know you like us…well… “Me”, but we can’t have you flying around. You’d just draw too much unwanted attention.” You explain, making lots of grandiose gestures.

The black dragon merely cocks its head in curiosity before what seemed to be a spark of understanding gleams in its eyes.

The ground quakes as it gets up on all fours, and the dragon inhales a large breath before exhaling. The dragon’s body starts to shrink, twist, and morph. The hard, shiny scales turn smooth and soft; its head shrinks as does its tail.

You step back a few feet before falling as the dragon…no…girl rises on two legs, as you gaze upon her.

“Since I’ll draw unnecessary attention as a dragon…how about I travel as a human instead? You can call me Ebony Black, Mr. Wedge.”

>>754754
And that's it for tonight!

Next thread will be on Saturday at the usual time for the Finale!

Follow me at: https://twitter.com/Venator_QM

Also, feel free to leave feedback!

>>754797

It's pretty funny stuff man. Probably poking fun at edgelords already happened a few times before, but this is my first time and it was a fun experience, what with our over the top shenanigans actually working and the extreme edge of others being a .. double edged sword.

I know you already said this is just an one shot, but I would like it if you revisited this setting in a latter quest once this one ends