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>>1153323

The old crone stretched her aged limbs as she readjusted herself in the bedside seat. The lamplight flickered, causing shadows to dance across the walls.

“So what do you think of the story so far?” a wrinkled smile curled itself upon her face.

The little girl shifted underneath her sheets before giving her answer, “Uh, there doesn’t seem to be much going on in your story, Great Gran. And why is the story jumping everywhere instead of telling it in chronological order?”

“Haven’t you heard, child? It’s the journey, not the destination that makes all good stories,” harrumphing to herself, “Anyways, as I said before, I knew Nemo quite well back then. Do you any idea as to who I am in the story?”

>Gwyn
>Lexine
>Ferron
> “I don’t know.”
>“You haven’t shown up yet.”

>>1153340
>“You haven’t shown up yet.”

>>1153340
>“You haven’t shown up yet.”

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>>1153323
[x] Put her where she belongs

>>1153340
Writing now

>>1153340
>>“You haven’t shown up yet.”

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>>1153406
You a shit

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>>1153428
“Hmm…” the girl ponders in deep thought. A few possibilities go through her mind before she gives her answer.

“You haven’t shown up yet.” She points to The Crone.

A small grin bends itself upon The Crone’s face before she gives a hearty chuckle, “A very good guess, young lady.”

The Girl then asked The Crone, “So what happened after that?”

“Well….”The Crone drifted off, “As you probably have guessed at this point…”
You wake up.

The morning sun peeked through the thick cloudy skies as you all stood outside the Half-Pike Forest waiting for the test to begin. Waking up early or abruptly was never really a problem for you, but as you all traveled to the northern part of Scintilla, you could see almost everyone walking like zombies in their half-awake stupor.

Everyone was assembled in a loose crowd in front of one of the Order’s Knights, specifically the one that was making eyes at you yesterday, went over the test’s details and objectives. Looking to your left and right, you notice that about a notable amount of the assembly were brandishing swords, axes, and other assorted weapons. You could make a safe bet that a good portion of them haven’t even brought their own weapons with them.

“Half-Pike Forest bore witness to countless trials and battles throughout the years as one of our traditional testing grounds. In the heart of the woods, you will retrieve a flag, then you must make your way back. Whether or not you wish to work together is all up to you, but when you make your way back, expect to be asked who the flag belongs to. That part…” A small chuckle betrays his stoic expression, “That part will be when things get interesting.”

>"Interesting, sir?"
>"Are you sure this is safe?"
>Remain silent
>Other

>>1153495
>>"Interesting, sir?"

>>1153495
>"Interesting, sir?"

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>>1153495
Writing

>>1153589
You swear that you were going to regret asking, but your curiosity needed to be sated.

“Interesting, sir?”

The man slowly walks to face you, possibly to size you up. His blonde hair remained matted underneath his hood as the autumn breeze blew.

“As I said, you must tell us whose flag it is whether through combat or diplomacy. Only one may have a flag!”

The assembled group trade glances at each other, trying to figure out what he meant before being the Knight continued going over the details of thetest.

“You will be graded on how quickly you complete your objectives, but be warned, it’s rather Grim in the forest and the eastern side is off-limits as it is still being demined. Everyone has been provided a map of the forest, and in half an hour, the test shall begin.”

You decided the best course of action was to…

>Work as a team
>Work alone
>Other

>>1153703
>Work as a team

>>1153703
>>Work as a team

>>1153703
Writing now.

>>1153824
You decide that perhaps working as a team would be for the best. What you’ll do when you get the flag may have to be put on hold until the end of the test…

Adjusting the deep red armband bearing your personal emblem: a compass rose of white, black, and grey; you check your ammunition before pulling out Hexenbessen in preparation for the order to run into the forest and retrieve the flag.

“I wish you all good luck on this test, and hopefully you will be ready.” the Knight concludes his speech as he walks away to pull out a cigarette.

Everyone disperses, some start forming their own little groups, talking about potential strategies while others kill time by themselves.

You see the Knight casually sitting underneath a maple tree in full autumn colours. Talking to a small group of students, you see Miralda planning potential strategies. Or perhaps you should see what if there are any loners you can team up with?

>Talk to the Knight
>Talk to Miralda
>Try to get another student
>Wait for the test to begin

>>1153946
>Talk to the Knight

>>1153946
Writing

>>1154056
Walking over to the man, he notices your approach, and crosses his leg. The smell of nicotine permeates the air around him as the breeze carries it through the forestry.

“So you’re the man called, Nemo?” puffing out a cloud of smoke, “I heard many things about you, good and bad.”

“I believe I’m at a disadvantage,” you reply curtly.

Extinguishing his cigarette against the dirt, the knight rises from his seat, “Rickert Leonard, Knight Commander of the Knights Praetorian, and you’re Nemo the mercenary.” He points at you.

From what little you’ve seen of Rickert, you can probably make a safe assumption that he doesn’t really like you.

>“Let’s cut to the chase here.”
>“Former mercenary”
>“Nice to make your acquaintance.”
>Other

>>1154147
>“Former mercenary”
>“Nice to make your acquaintance.”

>>1154147
>“Nice to make your acquaintance.”

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>>1154147
Writing

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>>1154282
“Former mercenary,” you correct him as you extend your hand, “Nice to make your acquaintance.”

Rickert quietly looks at your hand for an uncomfortably long time before taking it. You can almost feel him trying not to squeeze too hard.

“I’m rather wary of mercenaries these days. You can’t trust them unless you have an upper hand.”

You gaze drifts lower, and you see his free hand gripping the hilt of his dagger. He releases his grip, and walks past you, looking at the assembled crowd of misfits.

“Miserable sight, isn’t it? To think that we’d be using dropouts to fill our ranks. Might as well be sending criminals at this point.”


>“You should give them a chance.”
>“They can’t get any worse.”
>“This test should see if you’re right.”
>Other

>>1154378
>>“This test should see if you’re right.”

>>1154378
>“They can’t get any worse.”
>“This test should see if you’re right.”

>>1154378
“They can’t get any worse.” You answer.

Rickert shoots you a glance before returning his gaze at the crowd.

“Aye, but when I fought in the Scintillan War, I fought alongside living legends, people whose skills and honour were beyond question, those that gave their lives to keeping this damn island from blowing itself up, and who do we have to replace them?”

“This test should see if you’re right about them.” You answer, trying to think of a way to riposte his point.

“Perhaps, Nemo…but even then, luck favours the foolish, and they’re going to need it.” And the knight paces back to his spot underneath the tree. “Go get to know a team mate, Nemo. You’ll need each other if some other likeminded people right about the lot of you.”

>Talk to Miralda
>Try to talk to a few loners
>Other

>>1154522
>>Talk to Miralda

>>1154522
Writing

>>1154522
Making your way to Miralda, you see that she’s currently discussing plans with a few other initiates.

“Mr. Nemo,” she greets you with a smiling face while the two others around her, a young dour man and a sword wielding woman, just give a nod, “we were just talking about what sort of route we were going to take.”

Pulling out the map of the area, you see that there were a few paths you could take to get to the objective. The first path involved travelling along a hiking trail which provided plenty of open space, and was relatively well used at the expense of any solid cover.

The second path ran around the western side of the forest leading to an old observation post, but this was the probably the longest path, and teeming with monstrosities.

The “third path” was essentially taking a small detour through the eastern minefield, and would probably wouldn’t be used by anyone else.

You decided to take….

> The Hiking Trail
> The Observation Post
> The Minefield

>>1154734
> The Observation Post

>>1154734
>> The Observation Post

>>1154734
Writing now

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>>1154877
“Our best bet would probably be through the Observation Post. I don’t think many people would be travelling through there on the count of it being rather dangerous.”

“Alright then, Mr. Nemo. I’ll trust in your experience.”

Miralda stretches her left arm as she tried to peer into the greenery of the woods. What appeared to be her weapon, her entire left arm was clad heavily in armour while her right side was decently protected. A large gauntlet protected her hand, and the finger pieces tapered to the tips. A rather inelegant design in comparison to the rest of her set.

Everyone assembles in a straight line as the test was about to begin. Teams stuck together while individuals kept a sharp eye out for any gaps in the treeline.

“Any pieces of advice before we head into the forest, Mr. Nemo?” Miralda asks.

Looking her straight in the eye, “There’s only one rule in war…..”

>SURVIVE
>THOU SHALT KILL
>KNOW YOUR ENEMY AND KNOW YOURSELF
>Other

>>1154931
>SURVIVE

>>1154931
>>SURVIVE

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>>1154931
Thoughts of the battles you’ve taken part in resurface in your mind. All the various ways people got hurt, crippled, or killed. Thoughts of your best friends, comrades, and brothers in arms fill your mind with sweet and bitter memories of the various hard-learned lessons of the battlefield.

Perhaps this was no different?

Commander Rickert casually makes his way to the front of the forest entrance with whistle in hand, counting down the seconds until the test begins.

“Mr. Nemo?” Miralda notices your silence.

The sound of the whistle being blown pierces the air with its shrill trilling, signalling the start of the test.

The only word that comes from your mouth:

“Survive”

And so you all run into the autumn woods.


>And that’s it for the thread! Thanks for participating. We’ll be continuing same time next week!