After taking yet another lengthy train ride, you and Leah eventually arrive in Leore. The ride itself was mostly uneventful, save for a bit of a tense air during your transfer in New Optain. It seems the events that occurred there on your last pass through are still fresh in the people's minds. You noticed Leah got really tense while you were there, too. However, your minds are currently set on another topic. The town of Leore itself. As you step out of the train and onto the platform, you take a look around.

The place seems just the same as when you visited it before. The citizens are going about their business, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. You don't see the slightest hint of military presence, either. You do see a couple of townspeople that wave at you and Leah. You think they might be some of the people whose roofs you transmuted and then fixed. They must recognize you.

"I guess we don't have to worry about the place being a war zone when we get here." Leah sighs. "But now what? Do we just start telling people to leave town?"

>A.Let's try and get people to evacuate

>B.Let's see if we can't find signs of the transmutation circle

>C.Let's go see Cornello about all this, he might be able to help

>D.Think we could be mistaken?

>E.Other

>>984288

>C.Let's go see Cornello about all this, he might be able to help

>B.Let's see if we can't find signs of the transmutation circle

surely Cornello would have noticed or heard something if something funny was going on.

>>984288
>B.Let's see if we can't find signs of the transmutation circle
>C.Let's go see Cornello about all this, he might be able to help
Why didn't Bradley give us any orders?

Hey Laze hows the quest been going?

Havent been in this because i dont like FMA but just wondering how its been going considering Leaf Ninja was the dopest

>>984311
>>984325

Obviously, you don't want to do anything that would either cause a panic or get Central forces on your case. For now, you should just try and find out if the transmutation circle does in fact run through here. To that end, Father Cornello may be able to offer some assistance. Who knows, he may be able to tell you if anything else is odd as well. You pitch the idea to Leah, who agrees. The two of you then make your way to the church of Leto.

You arrive at the familiar stone building just as several people are leaving. You see Cornello himself at the door, waving them off.

"Hm? Is that... Leah and Iskander?" Cornello asks, as he spots you. "Why I'll be! What brings you to these parts once more? Come, come in. Mass was just letting out, you see. I'll fix you two some tea."

You accept the priest's hospitality, and enter the church. You two find a table, then sit down. Soon enough, Cornello is back and hands the both of you a cup.

"I'm sure this is more than a routine visit." Cornello chuckles. "If you need my help with anything, I'll be happy to oblige."

>A.Has there been anything strange going on in Leore lately?

>B.Ask about anything happening with the military

>C.Ask if he might be able to evacuate the town if need be

>D.Ask if any kind of structure has been built through the town, or anything like that

>E.Other

>>984455
>A.Has there been anything strange going on in Leore lately?
>B.Ask about anything happening with the military
>D.Ask if any kind of structure has been built through the town, or anything like that

>>984390
Those were dark times when all we had was Discount Laze running Naruto.

>>984390
I think it's been going alright. Quite a bit less populated than quests were on /tg/, but I think we've all been having that problem. Though I'm sure there are those that are like you as well and they just decided to pass

I think we're a bit over halfway now, and we should be coming up on the home stretch real soon, where most all of the happenings will happen

>>984468
>I think we're a bit over halfway now, and we should be coming up on the home stretch real soon, where most all of the happenings will happen

Aww, that's too short Laze!

>>984486
This one was never gonna be anywhere near as long as Leaf Ninja. And personally, I'd rather not drag it out too much, either. If it ends at 20 threads, that's fine by me, as long as the whole story gets told

>>984501
I just love your writing and story Laze, if this gets a good conclusion, I'll be happy. It'll just be wierd having more than half the Naruto Quests on the board be Boruto Quests.

>>984501
What are plans for when you finish this quest?

Move over to anonkun?
/qst/ is dying and i miss /tg/ quests so much

>>984455
>A.Has there been anything strange going on in Leore lately?

>B.Ask about anything happening with the military

>D.Ask if any kind of structure has been built through the town, or anything like that

>>984536
I don't really feel like moving to anonkun

I'll probably just keep plodding along here, even though it will never match up to how things were on /tg/

>>984464
>>984547

You can't exactly tell Cornello what you're really looking into, but you figure you can get away with asking about a few things. Maybe he'll have seen or heard about something that can lead you in the right direction. You sign your questions for Leah to relay.

"Father, has there been anything strange going on in Leore lately?" Leah asks. "In particular, we want to know if anything has been happening with the military around here. Maybe you've heard something? We also want to know if you have any ideas of a structure that's been built through the town, or anything like that. Maybe a wall, or a road or path perhaps even. One that goes all the way through town."

"I'm afraid there's no structure like that, my dear." Cornello laughs. "As for the military, I haven't seen hide nor hair of them between your visits. They never bother with the region this far out. Haven't heard anything about them, either. Now, when you say something strange, I can't think of much that might fit that description. Things have been as normal as ever around here for the most part. Well, there was one strange thing. The other day, I was looking around the catacombs below the church, you see. The town is always looking for another source of water, and those tunnels go fairly deep. I thought I might find something useful. However, the day after I looked down a particular tunnel, it flooded. With contaminated water, at that. The strange thing, you see, was that I didn't see a sign that there was a water source anywhere down that tunnel. And even if there was, for it to bust open and flood the tunnel so quickly was very odd. If I didn't know any better, it was almost like someone was trying to keep me from finding something down there. Now, this building has been standing far longer than I've been using it, a few decades at the very least, but I didn't think there'd be anything secret going on down there. But it could always be my imagination getting the better of me."

"Could you show us the way down there?" Leah asks, standing up. "It might lead us to a clue."

"Are you sure?" Cornello asks. "Well, alright. I suppose it couldn't hurt to show you."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UJ6U_wwMbo&

After the two of you finish your tea, the priest grabs a lantern, and leads you down to the basement. From there, you go into a long and winding series of tunnels. You take another flight of stairs down, and have to stop. The way further is flooded. You can see a couple of dead animals floating in the water.

"As you can see, it's not safe." Cornello insists. "I don't think anyone will be investigating this tunnel for quite some time."

>A.Let's check it out

>B.You're right

>C.Tell Leah to stay here while you go ahead to look

>D.Other

>>984656

>C.Tell Leah to stay here while you go ahead to look

>>984656
>C.Tell Leah to stay here while you go ahead to look
Sloth is a bad matchup for her anyway.

>>984716
to be fair unless you have a tank a good majority of people are a bad match up for sloth.

>>984759
True enough, but as a sniper in a confined space like that who can only deal damage with her rifle. Yeah, she's especially bad for Sloth.

inb4 Laze has Pride digging the tunnel instead of Sloth and we're FUBAR either way.

>>984670
>>984716

If there really is something that they want to keep people from seeing down this tunnel, then you have no idea how dangerous it could be. You'd rather take as little risk as possible, you you sign to Leah, telling her to stay here while you go investigate.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "Something too dangerous for me might very well be too dangerous for you too, you know. I'll stay here, but be careful. Come right back if you get wind of any trouble. I don't want you pushing your luck."

"While I think it's unwise for you to do this, I will not tell you not to." Cornello says. "I will be praying for your safety until you return."

You nod, then turn to the water and take a deep breath. You clap your hands together, the form a narrow bridge of stone out across the water. Taking a lantern with you, you walk further and further down the darkness of the tunnel, until long after Leah and Cornello are out of sight. You eventually reach a dead end, with no sign of any path continuing anywhere. However, the area you've ended in is slightly above the level of the water. Odd. You feel out the wall in front of you. Where there should be nothing but earth behind it, you're able to use alchemy to move the wall backwards fairly easily. So there must be empty space back there. Of course, it could always be a gas pocket, but you decide to take the risk. Standing a decent way back, you blow a hole in the wall, opening it up to the tunnel. After confirming that there seems to be no gas of any kind, you hold up your lantern and take a look.

You seem to have made your way to another tunnel, this one much wider than the one you came from. There are rails in the center, that seem to be running the length of it. Despite that however, it seems abandoned. There aren't even any lights.

>A.Step into the tunnel to check it out, you don't know for sure if this is what you're looking for

>B.Fall back, this is good enough for you

>C.Other

>>984836
>A.Step into the tunnel to check it out, you don't know for sure if this is what you're looking for

>>984836
>A.Step into the tunnel to check it out, you don't know for sure if this is what you're looking for

hello darkness my old friend.

>>984836
>>A.Step into the tunnel to check it out, you don't know for sure if this is what you're looking for
Left hand to the wall.

File: Spoiler Image (1016 KB, 500x284)

1016 KB GIF

>>984853
>>984855
>>984859

You want to be absolutely sure of what you've found here. You step out into the tunnel, and start walking to the left. Your sense of direction was kind of messed up from going through all those tunnels, but you think you're walking north. While the tunnel seems straight, after a while with your hand to the wall, you think you can feel it curving to the left ever so slightly. This has got to be it. This tunnel must be serving as the transmutation circle around Amestris. To think this tunnel goes around the whole country. You figure that's proof enough, and are about to turn back, when you think you see something moving from up ahead in the darkness.

No, wait. It is the darkness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOiG4A2Vkp4&index=46&

What seems to be tendrils of shadow extend towards you, covered in what look to be eyes and teeth. You don't even start to think before turning and running as fast as your legs will carry you.

>Roll 1d100, first three

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>984930
AW SHIT

File: 1482219214620.png (778 KB, 1135x1077)

778 KB PNG

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>984930
>What seems to be tendrils of shadow extend towards you, covered in what look to be eyes and teeth. You don't even start to think before turning and running as fast as your legs will carry you.
Oh fuck, I was right.
>>984778
>inb4 Laze has Pride digging the tunnel instead of Sloth

>>984957
Sloth is still the one to dig it, Pride just guards it

>>984963
That makes sense, considering Sloth wouldn't do another task even if someone tortured him to force him.

Either way, this is probably one of the two worst Homunculi for Iskander to face, unless he figures out the weakness.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>984930
fucking book it

File: Pride.jpg (128 KB, 1278x720)

128 KB JPG

>>984939

You have no idea what that thing is, but what you do know is that you don't want it to catch you. While still running at top speed, you clap your hands, then touch the wall to cave in part of the tunnel. That proves useless however, as the shadow creature busts right through it with seemingly no effort. With that, you abandon the idea of slowing it down, and resume all your attention on running for your life.

As you run, you can feel the tendrils of the creature licking at your heels. It's just about to catch you when you dive for the hole you entered from.

You feel a sharp pain in the sole of your foot, like a pin pressed ever so slightly into your flesh. You reflexively jerk your leg toward you, and hold the bottom of your foot. You look back to the tunnel to see one of the shadow's tendrils suspended in place, the slightest hint of your blood on the sharpened tip of it. It seems to have stopped at the very edge of the tunnel proper, and not followed you into the hole you made. Perhaps it can't. You can't think of any other reason you'd be alive right now. If that thing could follow you, you'd absolutely be dead. You can't even think of a way you'd fight it, it doesn't even look possible to hurt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gweNNwVMClw&

"I definitely got you with that last one." you hear a voice emerge from the writhing shadow creature. "No yelp of pain? Either you're quite resilient, or more likely... You're the Silent Alchemist. Am I right?"

The eyes of the creature all look at you as the teeth grin. You have no doubt this must be a homunculus. And a strong one, at that.

"No answer? That's what I thought." the creature goes on. "Well, you are one of our sacrifices, so I wouldn't have killed you anyway. Just made sure you wouldn't move anymore. I mean, just look at you. Weren't you told not to snoop around? Yet here you are. Yes, Father won't be pleased to hear about this. He'll want to make sure you're taken back to Central and kept right where he wants you."

>A.Try to write something and see if he'll talk with you (Write-in)

>B.Just let him go on and see what you can get out of him

>C.You've heard enough. You're getting out of here

>D.Other

>>985110
>>B.Just let him go on and see what you can get out of him
Pride ain't that smart when he's gets big headed.

>>985110
>A.Try to write something and see if he'll talk with you (Write-in)
I came down here because the tunnel was causing my friend's basement to flood, this has nothing to do with the military.

And

Ask if he's Greed, Pride, or Sloth. Those are the one's we don't know yet, right?

>>985110
>>985118

seconding

>>985118
>>985177

You don't try to go anywhere, and decide to just see what else this homunculus is going to say. In the meantime, you take your shoe and sock off so you can put some pressure on your foot where it got stabbed, and wrap it. You stay attentive as you do so.

"Getting comfy, huh?" the shadowy creature's mouths grin even wider. "I can't believe this is the guy that was able to beat Envy so easily. He's been working himself to the bone, traveling all across Amestris and the neighboring countries for three hundred years, and he's still so weak. And to think he has the nerve to claim he'll surpass me. He's so foolish. With Lust gone, Wrath seems to be the only one of them with any brains left at all. Speaking of which, you were responsible for Lust's defeat, weren't you? We'll have to make sure we pay you back for that."

You see the eyes narrow at you, as you stay still and just wait.

"You know, your silence is kind of disturbing." the homunculus tells you. "If you could talk, you'd be desperately begging for answers, yet since you can't, I've let myself go on and talk anyway. Tricky. Anyway, that's all you'll get out of me. If you set foot in this tunnel again, I'm snatching you right up and taking you to Father. Not that you'll be long away from him anyway. We'll have you in Central soon enough."

The tendrils withdraw into the shadows, out of sight. With that, you return back down the pathway you made for yourself over the water. Once you get back to where Leah and Cornello are waiting, you immediately turn to destroy the pathway you made. You turn back to see Leah a bit worried.

"You're keeping weight off your foot." she says. "Are you okay? What happened in there? I'd like to imagine you just tripped, but I know better than that."

>It's no big deal

>B.I was attacked by a homunculus

>C.I found the nationwide transmutation circle. It's a tunnel under Amestris

>D.They're not going to be happy with us back in Central

>E.Other

>>985263
>>B.I was attacked by a homunculus

>C.I found the nationwide transmutation circle. It's a tunnel under Amestris

>D.They're not going to be happy with us back in Central

>>985263
>B.I was attacked by a homunculus
>C.I found the nationwide transmutation circle. It's a tunnel under Amestris
>E.Apologize to Mustang for me, we're going AWOL

>>985263
>>B.I was attacked by a homunculus

>>C.I found the nationwide transmutation circle. It's a tunnel under Amestris

>>D.They're not going to be happy with us back in Central

>>985263
>>B.I was attacked by a homunculus
>C.I found the nationwide transmutation circle. It's a tunnel under Amestris
>D.They're not going to be happy with us back in Central

File: Father Cornello.jpg (29 KB, 225x350)

29 KB JPG

>>985272
>>985273
>>985291

As Cornello leads the way back to the church through the tunnels, you explain everything to Leah with sign. Your discovery of the tunnel that undoubted serves as the nationwide transmutation circle. Your encounter with the homunculus made of shadows, and your near escape. And of course, your conversation, or rather, his monologue. You finish up by telling her that they aren't going to be happy with you back in Central.

"Right, we'll have to call someone and tell them to apologize to Mustang for us." Leah replies. "If we go back to Central now, there's no way we'll be able to help with the countermeasure. They won't let us leave for sure."

As your group finally gets back to the church, you can see Leah in thought. Her eyes narrow.

"That one you encountered. He must be Pride." she goes on. "Envy talked as if he was the strongest one. I guess it makes sense that they'd have him guarding the key to the plan. It sounds like he'll be the toughest one to beat, if we have to fight."

After Cornello insists, you let him double check your foot, and he redoes your bandage much better.

"There you go. You're all set." the priest chuckles. "You don't have to tell me anything about what you guys are doing, I trust it's very important. Just do your best, and be careful. If you ever need anything else, I'm always here. In fact, you could stay the night. It is getting a bit late, and we have plenty of room."

>A.Thank Father Cornello

>B.Take him up on his offer

>C.Get ready to head back to Resembool immediately

>D.Warn Cornello that Leore might be in danger

>E.Other

>>985364

>A.Thank Father Cornello

>C.Get ready to head back to Resembool immediately

>D.Warn Cornello that Leore might be in danger

they probably suspect something best to cheese it as fast as possible to try and get the info to hoeinheim.

>>985364
>A.Thank Father Cornello
>D.Warn Cornello that Leore might be in danger
>E.Ask if he has any Ishvalan contacts

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>>985387
>>985406

You bow to Father Cornello, and sign to Leah, who thanks him on your behalf, before offering thanks of her own. You then have Leah convey the rest of your message.

"Sorry Father, but we must be moving on." she tells the priest. "However, we do have something important to tell you. We think that... Leore might be in danger, so you should all be very careful."

"Leore, in danger? Are you sure?" Cornello rubs his chin. "Well, if you say so, I will believe it. I will do my utmost to protect this town. Thank you two."

It's then that you hear a phone ring. It seems to be coming from an adjacent room.

"I wonder who could be calling." Cornello wonders. "Hold on if you would, while I take this."

Cornello goes into the room, and pick up the phone.

"Hello, this is Father Cornello." he speaks into the receiver. "Operator? Town hall directed your call to me, you said? Oh, you're looking for them. Yes, that's right. They must have seen the two of them come into the church. Yes, they're still here, I'll call them. Leah, Iskander! It seems someone has been trying to get a hold of you and calling all over Leore!"

You and Leah share a glance, then rush over to pick up the phone. The both of you hold it between your ears, and Leah confirms to the operator that it's the two of you. You're then patched though to the actual caller.

You then hear a huge explosion. It almost hurts your ears over the phone. Just what was that?

"Leah! Iskander!" you hear a familiar voice. It's Hohenheim. You hear more explosions in the distance. "We don't have much time, I don't know how much longer the phone lines will hold! I had it wrong! Leore isn't one of the points! It's here, at Resembool! The Ishvalans attacked us here at the encampment, and people are dying left and right! I'll try to get out of here and meet you in East Ci-"

There's one last loud explosion, and the line goes silent. You and Leah are silent for a bit, before Leah takes out a map and unfolds it on a nearby table. She starts making marks on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSs9H1ANmL4&index=7&

"If Resembool is a point, and New Optain is a point like I suspected..." she mumbles. "Then you and Hohenheim probably missed South and West City. I hear they have minor encounters at the city edges constantly, resulting in a few deaths here and there, but never any major battles right on the city. It'd be easy to overlook, but over the years, they've probably added up. It could easily have gotten to the hundreds without anyone thinking much of it. Not to mention the campaign in Northern Ishval all those years ago. That wasn't for no reason, it was surely to form a point in the circle. But with everything else going on, he had us all fooled. None of us realized that it really looked... like this..."

Leah backs up, and you look at the map. As well as the circle she's drawn. The true Nationwide Transmutation Circle.

That's all I've got in me tonight guys, we'll pick up tomorrow

>>985669
What do you use to draw Laze? Also holy shit Drachma is going to get shrekt.
>>985673
Thanks for the run Laze, you're one of the best QM's on /qst/

>>985677
I can't draw, this map was kindly made for me by the same drawfag from our last quest

>>985680
The guy who can't draw legs or mouths?

>>985687
The very same

>>985690
Huh, I like his work when it's not people desu.

>>985669
ah the plot thickens!

night laze

As you look at the circle, you notice that with the new additions, all of the points in the circle have been hit. And if that tunnel from before is complete, there's nothing stopping Father from executing his plan. Everything is in place. Save for the five sacrifices he supposedly needs, that is. Once he has all five in Central, that will be it. Then again, Hohenheim said he was going to look into how much time you had left. Maybe Father is waiting for a certain time in particular. You can only hope it's not too soon.

"What in His name!?" you hear Cornello exclaim as he sees the map. "No, you must be playing some kind of joke, surely? This is... A transmutation circle around the entire country, no... It's just not possible! But then, when you said Leore might be in danger... You were talking about this? Just what is the purpose of this circle? What does the military plan to do to this country?"

>A.Sorry, but we can't tell you

>B.They plan to use anyone inside the circle as material for their transmutation

>C.You should try and get the people of Leore out of the circle if you can

>D.You might be able to help us stop it, Father

>E.Other

>C.You should try and get the people of Leore out of the circle if you can

>E.Other
Whatever it is it cant be good

>>988300
>>C.You should try and get the people of Leore out of the circle if you can
>E. other
Something that means the lost of many lives.

>>988323
>>988352

You don't want to spill everything here. That could lead to panic, and who knows what might happen if Central catches word. You'll just have to hope Cornello will be able to work something out for Leore on his own. You sign to Leah, and have her relay a message telling him as much as you think you can.

"Father Cornello, you should try to get the people of Leore out of the circle if you can." she tells the priest. "Their lives might be in danger if they stay inside it."

"Move all the townspeople? That's a bit of a tall order." Cornello sighs. "I don't know how many people I'll be able to convince without revealing anything, but I'll do what I can."

"Thank you." Leah bows. "We don't know exactly when it might happen, but just to be safe."

Cornello is obviously still curious about the details, but he lets the matter drop, and sees you to the door. The sun is setting now, and even here on the edge of the desert you can feel winter encroaching. It won't be much longer now.

East City is where Hohenheim said he was going to meet you two, so you make for the train station once more. Since you already denied the chance to stay the night in the church, you both figure you might as well take another overnight train. You've gotten used to sleeping on them by now.

You eventually arrive back at East City. You've passed through quite a few times, but you feel like you haven't really been here since being transferred to Central. You don't see Hohenheim in the station, so you exit out into the actual city. You feel yourself shy away from the crowds of people. While you don't really think anyone will be coming here to try and grab the two of you, it couldn't hurt to stay alert. You and Leah stand back against a wall, as you watch people go to and from the train station. Resembool is way closer to East City than Leore, but you have no idea if he would be able to take a train. Probably not. You don't really know how long he might actually take to get here, or even if he got out at all yet. All you can do is wait.

Though you and Leah spend all day waiting, it could be much worse, as luck proves to be fairly kind to you. As the evening sets in, you see Hohenheim himself walking towards the station. You and Leah wave him over in your direction, and he joins the two of you.

"It's good to see you're safe." the man tells you. "I'm sorry that things had to turn out this way. I should have considered this possibility."

>A.It's not your fault

>B.So what happened out there

>C.Tell him you found the tunnel

>D.Ask what you need to do now

>E.Other

>>988511
>>B.So what happened out there
>C.Tell him you found the tunnel

>>988511
>>B.So what happened out there

>>C.Tell him you found the tunnel

>>D.Ask what you need to do now

>>988511
>B.So what happened out there
>C.Tell him you found the tunnel

>>988556
>>988574
>>988579

You get right down to business, signing away at Leah. She relays your message about the tunnel, and what happened while you were in there. After that, you have her ask what it is that happened at Resembool. Upon hearing the question, the already dour mood takes an even sharper dive.

"The attack came out of nowhere, there was basically no time to react. By the time I realized why it was going on, all I could do was try to get a hold of you. Then, I packed up all my materials and went down the road to grab Pinako, but... I was too late. I'm afraid Rockbell Automail was destroyed. I'm thankful that the boys and Winry were out of town, but... They won't have much of a town to come back to. I want to be the one to tell them myself. After this, we should try to track them down."

You nod in agreement. Hohenheim isn't showing much emotion on his face, but from his eyes you can tell he's been deep in thought abut this. He and Pinako did seem like good friends, after all. He's probably blamed this all on his own slip up.

"What do we need to do now?" Leah asks. "Do you know where we need to go to set up the countermeasure? How much time do we have?"

"I looked into it. We have about three months." Hohenheim replies. "He will be waiting until the spring. Until the day of an eclipse. That's when he'll activate the circle. We have until then to get ready. I know what has to be done, but as I said, that's not nearly enough time for me to set everything up. We'll need as many people as we can possibly trust to carry this out if we want to make it in time."

>A.Let's find the Elrics first. They headed north, right?

>B.We can get some people we can trust from Central

>C.Actually going to Central is too risky, let's try calling and telling them the situation

>D.Other

>>988715
>C.Actually going to Central is too risky, let's try calling and telling them the situation
>D.Tell him we think that Father needs the Sacrifices in Central for his plot to work

>>988715
>>C.Actually going to Central is too risky, let's try calling and telling them the situation
>D.Tell him we think that Father needs the Sacrifices in Central for his plot to work

>>988715
>>A.Let's find the Elrics first. They headed north, right?
Scared to call cause phone lines can be listened into.

>>988823
>>988856

While you think going to Central would be a bad idea, you know there are people there that you can rely on. Surely with their help, you'll be able to pull this off. You have Leah suggest calling them. You also have her relay another message for you.

"Iskander wants to draw attention to the fact that Father likely needs his sacrifices in Central for his plot to work." Leah tells the man. "So if we stay out of Central on that day, won't that be enough to foil the plan?"

"You'd hope so, but it's not that simple." Hohenheim tells you. "Though it might come at a great cost, I'm sure he has a way to force someone to open the Gate. Even if all of us stayed out of Central on that day, he has plenty of souls to use as fuel. And I have no doubt that he'd give up every single one to make his plan work if he had to. After all, if it works, he gets every soul in Amestris. If that happened, and we were out of Central, who could stop him? No one. We'd have doomed the whole country. No, I'm going to be there, and I'm going to undo his work myself. Now, if you're saying that you don't want to be there, then that's fine. I really need your help to set up the reverse circle, but if you want to leave it at that, then I understand. Well, we can worry about that later. You said you had people in Central to call that could help?"

>A.Call Armstrong, he's dependable

>B.Hughes could get word around for you

>C.Someone lower profile might be better. Mustang's men maybe. Jean or Falman, one of those guys

>D.Other

>>988958
>C.Someone lower profile might be better. Mustang's men maybe. Jean or Falman, one of those guys
The Homunculi have admitted interest in Mustang, right? Does that mean they don't know about Izumi as a Sacrifice?

>>988958
>>C.Someone lower profile might be better. Mustang's men maybe. Jean or Falman, one of those guys

>>988966
>>988974

You obviously want to everyone you can on this, but there are some people that would be better not to try and get a hold of. Mustang for instance, is likely still under way too much surveillance. The same could be true even of Armstrong or Hughes. So you'll want to go lower. You sign to Leah that you think contacting Jean or Falman might be your best bet.

"If we try to call through a military phone, that'll defeat the whole purpose. But I think I've got a solution." Leah tells you. She makes her way over to a nearby payphone, and pulls out some change. "I can call the Havoc General Store and ask what Jean's home phone is, so we don't leave a trail for anyone to follow by asking the operator."

Leah puts the coins in, then after only a few moment's consideration, dials the number. How long did she say it had been since going to that store? Ten years? You can hardly believe that she'd be able to remember the number, but someone picks up, and sure enough it's exactly who she expected. You didn't really think much about it before, but she's got a really good memory.

"Mr. Havoc, this is Leah Crawford." she begins. "Yes, I'm his daughter. Yes, that was me. Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time, I just need your help getting a hold of Jean. No, no. Absolutely not, you don't have to worry about that, sir. Right. Could you tell me his home number? We don't want to call him while he's working, you see. Alright. Thank you very much, sir. I'll be sure to drop by when I can, yes. Goodbye."

Leah sighs, before putting more coins in and dialing another number. It rings for a bit, and then it's picked up, presumably by Jean. You lean in a bit more for this one.

"Jean, this is Leah. There have been some developments that we really need to get word of around." Leah explains. "We have the revised circle that everyone needs to know about. But more than that, we need people who can travel. We have three months to hit spots all over Amestris and its neighbors, and we need as many people as we can get. We'd come to Central ourselves, but I think we'd get locked down if we tried."

"Okay, I think I follow." you hear Jean through the phone. "We'll see who we can free up for you, and send them out to get the full story. I think a good number of us will have to stay here, but I'll do what I can, alright?"

The two of them go on to hash out a basic idea for a plan, then say their goodbyes and hang up.

"So they'll be coming to meet us here in East City." Leah tells Hohenheim. "At that time, you can split everyone up and explain to each one of them where they need to go."

"Sounds fair. We could get a couple of rooms here and wait." Hohenheim replies. "But what about Edward and Alphonse? They're still up north, right? How can we go about getting a hold of them?"

>A.Armstrong's sister is in charge up north, so they can tell us without making any trouble

>B.We might have to go up and look for them ourselves

>C.We can only wait

>D.Other

>>989192
>>A.Armstrong's sister is in charge up north, so they can tell us without making any trouble

>>989192
>>A.Armstrong's sister is in charge up north, so they can tell us without making any trouble

>>989192
>A.Armstrong's sister is in charge up north, so they can tell us without making any trouble
How useless does that listening to Phillipos feel now, Leah?!

>>989225
>>989277
>>989282

You remember Armstrong telling you about his sister, who's in charge up north. You could call up there and probably not have to worry about her getting anyone from Central on your case. You pitch the idea to Leah, who decides to try it, putting in a few more coins and dialing the number for the Northern Command Center. The phone rings for a while, before getting picked up.

"Yes, this is Leah Crawford, I'm a subordinate of Colonel Armstrong." Leah begins. "I was told to inquire into the whereabouts of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother, as they've been taking much longer than expected to return. I see. Thank you for letting me know."

The call was a whole lot shorter than you expected, and Leah turns to you and Hohenheim.

"The two of them have gone missing." Leah explains. "They're believed to have crossed into Drachma, and they haven't been seen in quite some time. They don't even know if they're alive."

"What?" Hohenheim looks worried. "Rather than learning their lesson, those boys are getting even more reckless as time goes by. We can't exactly scour the Drachman countryside for them. Damn, and if they try to return to Resembool, there won't be anything for them, either. Hell, they might try going back to Central. They likely don't have nearly as much information as we do. I think at this point we can only wait, as much as I hate to say it. They'll get a hold of someone, and it will filter on through to us. I hope."

"Winry is still there." Leah adds. "They've got her there at Northern Command right now. She tried following after the brothers after fixing up Ed's automail, but they stopped her and brought her back. So I think there's a chance they might hit North City again to find her. Maybe not though, they could consider her safer there if they still haven't gotten any wind of what's going on yet. I'm just trying to think of things we could do besides sit and wait.

>A.Waiting is the best thing we can do right now

>B.Why don't we head north to find her while Hohenheim waits here

>C.Other

>>989372
>>B.Why don't we head north to find her while Hohenheim waits here

>>989372
>A.Waiting is the best thing we can do right now
>C.Ask Hohenheim if he managed to plant his souls in Resembool before he fled

>>989372
>>B.Why don't we head north to find her while Hohenheim waits here

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>>989391
>>989404

You really don't like the idea that all you can do is wait here until someone else comes. Since you know where Winry is, you figure the least you could do is go get her. You pitch the idea to Leah, and she seems happy with it.

"She's going to learn about what happened in Resembool sooner or later." Leah says. "I think we should try and make sure she's with friends when she does, rather than hearing it from a stranger, you know? Let's head up that way. Is that alright, Hohenheim?"

"That's fine by me." the man replies. "There's a chance you could run into the boys as well. I'll be here to explain the situation for anyone our allies in Central send out. Since you let them know about me, I think we should be able to find each other alright."

The two of you don't waste any time, as North City is a real pain to get to from where you are. You say goodbye to Hohenheim for now, and take a train toward Central, but take measures to skirt around it. While it's a lot slower than otherwise, the two of you avoid the capital entirely on your route to the west, then northward. You have only three months and you're spending several days on this trip, but you consider it worth the time.

The two of you eventually end up in the cold north, snow and wind assailing you at every moment. You head to Northern Command, and ask about Winry. After spending a while talking, you manage to convince them you're a friend, and to release her to you.

"She had gotten into a bit of a dangerous situation earlier." A huge man with a mohawk and thin mustache who introduced himself as Buccaneer, explains as he leads you down a hallway. "So we didn't want her going anywhere by herself. We were expecting the Elric brothers to come back, but we haven't seen any sign of them yet. So hopefully we can trust you to take care of her."

He opens a door into what looks like an automail garage, where you see Winry tinkering about with some parts. There's a guy with a bandanna supervising.

"Leah? Isk? Hey, you guys!" Winry looks up from her work to greet you. "It's been a while since I've seen you, I was wondering how you were doing. I don't suppose you've heard from Ed or Al, huh?"

>A.Ask how she's been doing up here

>B.Ask how much she knows about what happened to them

>C.Tell her about what happened to Resembool

>D.Tell her you need to speak with her in private

>E.Ask Buccaneer something (Write-in)

>F.Other

>>989507
>D.Tell her you need to speak with her in private
>E.Ask Buccaneer if there have been any basements flooding as of late, or strange tremors.

>>989507
>D.Tell her you need to speak with her in private
>E.Ask Buccaneer if there have been any basements flooding as of late, or strange tremors.

>>989557
>>989573

You don't want to get into everything right now, at least with these people here, so you have Leah tell Winry that the two of you need to speak with her in private. She's perfectly fine with that, and Buccaneer opens the door to an adjacent room that's currently unoccupied.

Before you enter, you sign to Leah so she can ask Buccaneer a question.

"Captain, we were wondering if there have been any strange things going on lately." Leah tells the man. "Like strange tremors, or underground tunnels mysteriously collapsing or the like."

"Nah, there's been nothing like that around here." Buccaneer replies. "Here in the city, there's not much going on underground. Though we got word that there was some strange shaking going on further up north, at Briggs. Drachma is occupying the fort these days, but we have eyes on it. Why? You guys know anything about it?"

Leah is able to get Buccaneer to back off for now while you talk with Winry, but you can see he's still interested in what you know. You shut the door behind you, and it's just the three of you in the room.

"So guys, how's it been?" Winry asks. "I've been stuck here, but I've been making the most of it. They've got some really neat automail up here, custom modded type stuff. They needed a special alloy for the cold, and since they were already changing things up, they decided to get creative. The results are pretty interesting."

>A.Ask how much she knows about what happened with the Elrics

>B.Tell her about Resembool

>C.Tell her you've been doing just fine

>D.Tell her everything, all about the circle and Hohenheim's plan

>E.Other

>>989634
>A.Ask how much she knows about what happened with the Elrics
>B.Tell her about Resembool
Well, looks like the Elrics done got snatched by Pride.

>>989634
>A.Ask how much she knows about what happened with the Elrics
>B.Tell her about Resembool

>>989639
>>989657

Before you get into telling her the bad news, you have Leah ask her what she knows about what happened to the Elrics.

"Well, I got here and started swapping out Ed's automail for a type more suited for the cold." Winry begins. "While we were taking care of that, this guy in a white suit came here. Kimblee was his name. Apparently he was after Scar, the same as Ed and Al. He figured Ed and Al knew where to find him, so he tried to use me as leverage so they would lead him to Scar. Well, it wasn't long before they crossed over into Drachma, and the guys here at Northern Command stopped me from going any further, so Kimblee's plan for me was thwarted. They weren't able to stop Ed and Al from crossing over, or Kimblee and his men from chasing after them, though. They headed to Drachma, and we haven't seen them since. I really hope they're okay. It's been a long time, and we haven't heard anything. This isn't like before when they just didn't call, they're off somewhere really dangerous. I've been worrying this whole time."

You can see Leah grimace. She already knows how painful this next part will be.

"Winry, we just came from Resembool." she starts. "Well, we left before it happened, but Hohenheim told us. The Ishvalans attacked an encampment that had been set up near town. The whole town got caught up in the crossfire."

You can see the color drain completely from Winry's face.

"Then... is grandma okay?" she asks. She's clutching a hand to her chest.

"Hohenheim said that he tried to find her, but it was too late." Leah goes on. "I'm sorry."

Tears start to well up in Winry's eyes, as she holds her hand to her mouth to keep herself from crying aloud. She leans into Leah and cries, while you decide to leave for the time being. You step out back into the other room.

Buccaneer seems to have caught a bit of the situation just from listening while you went through the door, and talks to you once you close it.

"So I guess you told her, huh?" he asks. "About her hometown. Yeah, we had gotten wind of it, but we decided not to tell her while she was alone. We were gonna wait until the Elrics got back and tell them together."

"That sure didn't come down from the General." the bandanna guy grins. "She doesn't care to spare people's feelings like that. That was a Captain Buccaneer original."

You think you see Buccaneer blush a bit before looking away.

"She's still just a girl." he insists. "We don't have to make her shoulder everything herself, not when we know she has people she can depend on. We may be all about survival of the fittest up here, but that doesn't mean we have to go out of our way to beat you down. She just needs to bounce back from this. She's tough, I'm sure it'll be fine."

Eventually, Leah and Winry emerge from the room. Winry is still looking pale, and her eyes are a bit red. But she tries to put on a brave face.

>A.Head out back to East City

>B.Stay here and ask some questions (Write-in)

>C.Other

>>989817
>B.Stay here and ask some questions (Write-in)
Has Scar been spotted in the area?
What has Kimblee been up to?
Has the shaking been moving northward, or is it going southeastward now?
Is there anything the General might be able to tell us that you may not know, relating to this?

>>989838
seconding this

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>>989838

Before you go anywhere, you want to grill this guy for any info he's got. You fire off a round of signs in Leah's direction for her to interpret for you.

"Captain Buccaneer, we have some questions for you before we go." she tells the man. "The Elrics and Kimblee were both after Scar, has he been spotted in the area? What about Kimblee? Has he been seen since the incident with the Elrics? Do you have more concrete information about this rumbling, such as the frequency, intensity, or even the direction it's been coming from? Perhaps it's been moving?"

"Hold up, slow down there girl." Buccaneer holds out his hand. "No, no one has seen Scar or Kimblee, or anybody. They all disappeared across the border. It's a total mystery as to where they went. I don't know if anyone in Amestris would be able to help you with finding them. As for the shaking, we don't have any information quite that specific. We just caught wind of it happening up at Briggs because we have it under surveillance, like I said. We're not a seismic research center here, we can't tell you much else about it. Sorry. You know, you never answered why this was relevant. Just what is so important about this, huh?"

"Would the General be able to answer any more questions about this matter?" Leah asks, ignoring Buccaneer's question yet again. "If so, we'd really like to talk with her if possible."

Buccaneer and the bandanna guy look at each other and shrug.

"Maybe she does, and maybe she doesn't." the Captain replies. "But you were going to be talking to her anyway. She apparently wanted a word with you once she heard about you from reception. If you're done here, come with me. I'll lead the way."

You, Leah, and Winry follow Buccaneer into an office, where you see a tan man with white hair and glasses standing to the side of a desk. Seated behind the desk, you see a woman with long blond hair, and large lips. This must be Armstrong's sister. Your suspicion is confirmed in short order.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVTThdClRGo&index=32&

"I am Major General Oliver Mira Armstrong." the woman introduces herself. "Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss."

You were expecting to only ask a few questions, but you get the feeling you're going to be answering for far more than she will.

>End of Chapter 12

>>990054
Thanks for running Laze, Armstrong hype. How salty is she about Bradley putting the military into full retreat mode?

Sorry this was such a short thread guys, but I can't run since I'm busy tomorrow. More bad news, next week I'm too busy with work stuff, so no thread at all. After that though, I'll have plenty of free time, so we'll probably get through the rest of the story in decent time. I can't imagine it taking any longer than February. Anyway, that's it for now

Twitter is @LazeQM

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>>990054
>>990060

and now the true waifu wars begins...

thanks for running laze

>>990060
Oh so very salty. Although, you guys never really pried into the details of the Ishvalan conflict in this setting, so you wouldn't know, but she has a decent amount of respect for her brother here. That might tell you just how different things are

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>>990082
>but she has a decent amount of respect for her brother here
Huh.
>>990065
Real life is more important than quests anyway, get done what you have to before you worry about us.
>>990072
Not even the best Armstrong sister...