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>>1495151
>You'll need an accompli- er, some help for this. Go bother Kayda, she's always helpful!
>Well first, make sure you're properly dressed and have your weapons before you leave your room.
>You first need to wake up. Go downstairs to the bar and get that stuff that Jack usually drinks in the morning! That seems to wake him up!
Crashing this quest with no survivors. Let's do the first thing last.

>>1495151
>There's no time to waste, rush outside the castle and immediately get to searching for Odelle!
>You'll need an accompli- er, some help for this. Go bother Kayda, she's always helpful!

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That's right! You need to prepare yourself in the best way possible! The same way that-
You look down and suddenly realize that you've bolted out of the room yet again without properly dressing or equipping yourself. Right! You should make sure you're well-prepared for the hunt before anything else! Quietly, you slip back into the room, and then equip yourself-
There you go! Good as new! Your outfit is starting to feel rather tight around the chest area, but you can ignore that for now and continue with your mission! Your axe comfortably slides into the magic ring on your finger, and you set off to-
To-
Uh oh, you forgot. Your brilliant train of thought was interrupted as it barreled through a thick haze of static and exhaustion. You need something to keep that from happening.
What does Jack usually do when he's woken up late at night and needs a quick pick-me-up?

Oh! You got it!

Quietly, you slip downstairs and try not to garner the attention of the maids or the guards. They've probably been told to be on the lookout for you as well.
Perfect! There's the bar, and the bartender seems distracted cleaning up after some rowdy patrons. His attention is preoccupied, and he polishes empty glass after empty glass.
Now's your chance!

You approach the bar while the bartender's back is turned, and grab the half-full bottle off the bar. This is the liquor, the sweet ambrosia, which gives Jack his power! It's no mere wine or chaser, but the 'hard stuff' that makes him as strong as a hundred men!
The bottle reaches your lips, and you tip it backwards.
..
YEOWCH!
You immediately force the bottle back, and focus on holding back your tears. That has to be the worst thing you've ever tasted! It's like pure fire streaking down your neck at lightning speed! You try not to cough, but the urge is too strong!
There's a clink as the bartender turns toward you. He's put down a large glass of water on the bar in front of you. Quickly, you reach out and gulp the whole cup down.
--
Ugh, why would anyone drink that stuff? Why does Jack drink that stuff? Does he just hate himself? What's wrong with wine? It's fruity, it's simple, and it doesn't feel like it's trying to gnaw its way out!

You feel dejected as you approach Kayda's room. Maybe Jack has some kind of secret to drinking it, or maybe it's just too powerful for you right now.

"Kayda." You knock lightly on her door. "I'm going out, wanna come?"
There's a light stirring inside, and you lightly hear a voice from inside.

"You're going out?" Kayda whispers from within, "But it's late and Yuuki told us to get some sleep."

>I know, I'm going out anyway.
>Who cares what Yuuki thinks?
>So you're not coming with me?
>Aw come oooonnn.
>Other?

>>1496867
>I know, I'm going out anyway.
>So you're coming with me or not?
hah, Jack's influence

>>1496867
>Aw come oooonnn.

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"I know." You state, confidently. "I'm going out anyway."
"Haven't you done enough searching for one day?" Kayda complains, "This would make the third night you've stayed out, maybe you need some sleep."

There she goes again, telling you that you need something, something- you don't know. It's annoying!

"Listen, I can't stand to see Charlotte like this. Someone has to put her foot down and find Odelle, and the adults certainly aren't helping! They're downstairs talking about boring stuff right now. So are you in or not?"

You hear a very heavy sigh behind the door.
"..Let me ask Greta."
"Come oooon! If you keep your voice down, she might not even notice you leave!"

"That's how you treat your summoner, Louise. I always let Greta know everything that I'm doing-"
"Kayda?" You hear a soft-spoken voice from inside the room, "Are you going out again?"

You hear Kayda grumble, and a brief exchange whispered in hushed tones.
The door clicks several times, and then slowly swings open. The shadow parts to reveal a barely-dressed Kayda, and a beautiful young girl wearing a very elegant looking nightgown.

"Good evening Princess." You give Greta a very light curtsy, "I was just asking Kayda if she would assist in searching tonight."
"It's been three nights, now." Greta rubs her eyes, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"I can't sleep." You state with certainty, "Not while Odelle is out there."

Kayda waits for her summoner's decision, and Greta thinks about your request.
"-Come back before dawn, make sure Yuuki doesn't spot you. And Kayda?"
"Hmm?" The black-haired girl turns to her summoner.

Greta gives her a brief hug, and then beckons her to get dressed.
"-Be careful for me, please?"
"Absolutely, Greta."

The door slowly shuts for a few minutes, before a perfectly-dressed Kayda quietly exits the room.

You are left with Kayda, standing in the middle of the hallway. This is the guest wing, and Yuuki is not too far away. You're not even sure if she's still awake.
"So. How are we getting out of here, and where are we going to look today?" Kayda asks a question you had not considered much of.

>Let's sneak out through the roof! We can jump off the battlements from there.
>Front door, just pretend we got permission!
>Oh, this kid showed me a really nice backdoor entrance to the castle. Let's use that!
>Also, we're going to search the places Felice looked today.
>We'll just search wherever.
>Maybe we should ask in-town if any new information has come up.
>Other?

>>1497247
>Oh, this kid showed me a really nice backdoor entrance to the castle. Let's use that!
>Also, we're going to search the places Felice looked today.

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>>1495151
Hey can I be part of it.

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>>1497316
Certainly! Here are two recap threads to sink your teeth into that should catch you up to the current threads.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1271747
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/1311056

Or, if you want, you can just start posting and read the pastebin. My threads don't tend to have many callbacks or things that require you to know a lot about the background. If it does, I try to explain it. The short explanation is that this quest is about catgirls, doggirls, and their fluffy tails.

I hope you 'll be joining us!

>>1497247
>Oh, this kid showed me a really nice backdoor entrance to the castle. Let's use that!

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"Oh!" You have a flash of brilliance, "That white-haired boy told me of a secret entrance to the castle! We can use that!"

"That seems awfully convenient." Kayda crosses her arms, "How do we know he's not using it to steal from the castle?"

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. Either ways, we got our way out!" You happily beam, "Let's go!"

You retrace your steps to the abandoned room in the same wing that Esther is located in. You slowly open the door, and then walk to the dresser. With a slight push; it moves out of the way, and revealed a hidden passage! You quickly hop inside.

--

You and Kayda rest easy just outside of town. It seems like you managed to dodge all the patrols walking around the castle.
"This still doesn't answer where we're going to look." Kayda frowns.
"Same place that Felice said she was going to look, but we're going to have our senses attuned!"

"If she already looked there, why would we look there again?"

"Because, if you want to hide something; you put it someplace that someone has already looked. I think having a once-over of the area wouldn't hurt, one bit!"

"That.. doesn't make a whole lot of sense." You can almost feel Kayda pouting.

"I know, it seems strange, but it really works! I think that whoever took Odelle is someone who knew her personally."

"Don't you think we should get someone else to help?"

>Nah, we'll be fine.
>Let's stop by the guardpost for just a minute, I want to see if anyone else has been looking recently.
>Onward!
>..Maybe you're right
>Other?

>>1498178
>Let's stop by the guardpost for just a minute, I want to see if anyone else has been looking recently.

>>1498178
>Nah, we'll be fine.

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"Let's just stop by the guard post real fast, there might be someone else planning to look tonight."
"Okay, sounds good."

You and Kayda slowly walk toward the guardpost, and notice the lights are out.
"Everyone must be asleep." You sigh. It figures that they wouldn't bother trying to look during the night.

At the same time, you're still upset! This means that you won't have any sort of help from any of the adults.
Not that you needed it, that is.

You take a peek inside just to see who might be manning it at the moment.

..Strangely enough, it seems completely empty.
"..Hello?" You enter the building.

At the very least, Antonin should be asleep in here somewhere. He was explicitly ordered to take a break after he collapsed a day or so ago.

At the same time, nothing. The maid probably went home for the night, but Antonin is no where to be found. Where would he run off to?

..Oh, you know where.
He went back out into the woods to look for his sister after the maid left. He probably didn't expect you to come back out.

"That rude jerk." You cross your arms.
"What?" Kayda seems confused.

"Antonin should be resting, but he isn't even in here." You stomp your feet, lightly. "He's so stubborn! It's the middle of the night, and he should be resting! Why is he running out into the dark woods during a new moon to look for something that he was ordered not to look for tonight!"

"..Isn't that what we're doing, Louise?"

You're going to pretend you didn't hear that!
You step out of the guard house, and then try to think of a good place to visit.

Okay, Felice tried the west quarter earlier, so you should probably start there. Then you can work your way to the north quarter, but not after you-

Suddenly, Kayda grabs your arm!
"Louise." Her voice is filled with urgency.

"What? What?!"

"Someone just lit a campfire, a long way off."

You blink; while that's a good place to start, it's hardly worth panicking over.

"It's a big campfire. It's more like a bonfire." Kayda's voice quickens, "It's big. Big enough to warm fifty men, and seems to be arranged in a pile. It has several smaller fires surrounding it." Kayda calms down slightly as she says that.

"Oh! That's a good place to investigate!"
Her breath quickens, "Did you not hear what I just said?! It's more like a fire used to field a warparty! We can't just 'go have a look'! We should go back and get someone!"

>Oh, Kayda. Are you forgetting we're the heroes, here?
>There's no harm in just going and looking!
>mmmmmMMMMM OKAY FINE!
>Nonsense, let's just attack them head-on!
>Hold on! We're not even sure they're the bad guys!
>Other?

>>1502147
>mmmmmMMMMM OKAY FINE!

>>1502147
>Oh, Kayda. Are you forgetting we're the heroes, here?
>If they look like bad guys we can just attack and destroy them!

>>1502147
>Oh, Kayda. Are you forgetting we're the heroes, here?

>>1502147
>Kayda, we need to know how many there are and if they're bad guys at least!

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"Oh Kayda." You give your friend a light nudge, "Are you forgetting that we're the heroes here?"
"Heroes or not, we're not invincible, Louise!"

"We're just mostly invincible." You smile. "I doubt anyone in that camp can say the same of themselves!"

"That's not the point, Louise. I'm sure there are more than just a few of them! We shouldn't get too confident when it's the middle of the night and everyone doesn't know we've snuck out!"

"Kayda, listen, you're acting way too scared of what has to be only a few people."
"This could be as many as an army!"

"If they look like bad guys, we can just attack and destroy them!"

"That's exactly why I'm worried about it!"

"Want me to just go back?"
"What?"

You sigh, "We can just go back tonight, go back to bed, and just forget this happened. There's no one up at this hour who wouldn't also return us to the castle if they knew we were out and about."

Kayda thinks about your proposition for a moment, before sighing herself.
"No."
"Okay then!" You clap your hands together. "In that case, let's just go have a look, shall we?"

You happily march into the forest while Kayda drags along behind you. You don't know why she's being so down about this! It's exploration! Adventure! Furthermore, you get closer and closer to finding Odelle, which means Charlotte will get to sleep soundly at night!

"Halt!" You hear someone ahead try to get your attention. "Who are you?"
Pfft, looks like some dumb sentry guy.

"Hi!" You give him a great big beaming smile! "I'm looking for an evil army, do you know where I could find one?"
You hear Kayda suppress a laugh behind you.

"Huh?" The guy wearing some white-looking garments reaches for his sword, but then grumbles, "I don't know how the fuck you found this place little girl, but you're coming with me."
He reaches out to grab your hand, but you quickly grab it first!

"Tag!" You concentrate on his hand, and feel some tiny blue bolts run across the tiny hairs on your arm.
"Eeyak-!" The man tries to scream, but the pitch of his voice only goes so high before it cuts out into a gargle. With a cloud of smoke; he puffs into a round sphere.

You pick it up, and immediately notice the ears.
Kayda is quick to point it out before you, though.

"I-It's a, a Konditorei soldier." She seems very uneasy saying those words.
"Aw, more evil bear people." You grumble. You know how Kayda feels about them. "How far ahead, Kayda?"

"Louise, I really don't feel comfortable with this, I mean, I don't even know what they're doing out here! What if they're under Greta's orders?!"

>Greta wouldn't order people to be evil, don't be silly.
>If Greta made an order, you would be the first person to find out.
>Aw who cares. Let's just go say hello!
>Fiiine, we'll watch them for a bit. Just to see what they're up to!
>Other?

>1505659
>Aw who cares. Let's just go say hello!
>Remember, Greta is huma- well, i guess not, but she's normal, we can just hit and puffball her, really.

>>1505659
>If Greta made an order, you would be the first person to find out.

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"Kayda, you're being silly." You give the bearball to her. "If Greta made an order, you would be the first to know about it, right?"

"..I guess."
"And, if she made an order, it wouldn't be to move an evil army around, now would it?"

"..Right, but what if it wasn't Greta? What if this is Claire's doing?"
"There you are worried about that old bat again." You give her a slight nudge, "Claire may seem scary, but she will puff up into a ball as easy as anyone else in this camp! You just gotta not let her get into your head, okay?"

"I think you're making this sound too simple.."
"Oh, you're just making it sound too complicated!"

Kayda, not really agreeing with your assessment, continues to follow along behind you anyway.

You come to the clearing just outside of the encampment. Sure enough, there are at least two dozen men here. They have surrounded into circles around each of the campfires they have made. You count.. four total. With six or seven men at east bonfire.

"Pfft this is what you were worried about?" You give Kayda an almost joking expression. "C'mon, let's show-"
"Wait!"

Kayda holds you back, and then gestures toward the bonfire.
"Why did they light tha big bonfire that has no one sitting around it?"
"Who knows? Not my job."

"..Someone's coming. They're carrying a torch." Kayda seems concerned.

You weren't expecting added visitors, but you're not surprised to learn that they have more people scouring about.

The small group of three men slowly walk into the encampment. Something seems strange about the second man, almost as if he doesn't belong.

"Louise." Kayda points to the man walking between the other two, "Look at his tail."

Sure enough. That's a cat-tail.
Oh, man. When Charlotte hears about this; that guy is going to get the rope for sure!

He approaches one of the campfires, and the shimmering light gently casts upon his face. Gently, he removes the hood around his pointy ears.

His brown hair spills slightly down his neck, and the walnut glow of his tail gently shimmers in the light of the fire.

"Antonin?!" You say, almost a little too loud.
Yes, THAT Antonin.
Yes, Gallete's Antonin.
Yes, the Knight Antonin.

He's here?! Consorting with evil bear people?!

You almost feel yourself take a step forward, but Kayda holds you back.

>Let go! He's being evil and he has to pay!
>..What?
>I don't.. I don't want to do this anymore. Can we go back?
>Sit down and sulk.
>Just let Kayda handle everything, You need to think by yourself.
>Other?

>>1511105
>..What?
>You have to get a closer look, hear what they're saying

>>1511105
>Sit down and sulk.

>>1511105
>Sit down and sulk.
>Just let Kayda handle everything, You need to think by yourself.

>>1511431
This. Also,
>Maybe it's not just a bunch of evil guys? Maybe it's weird or complicated or something.
We don't want to think our friends are going bad, so that's a good reason to figure things out.

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"..What?" You say softly, unsure of what else to say at this new revelation.
"Louise, keep it together." Kayda gives you a small shake.

"We need to get closer, to hear what they're saying!"
"We can't get any closer, if we get closer then they'll see us!" Kayda whispers right into your ear.

You blink, you just can't believe this. Antonin has been so nice to you! He's been so trustworthy! He's the one that Charlotte trusted to protect you when she wasn't around! He's the one who you put your faith in to protect the other knights! He's even the one who headed up the investigation into the attacks on Biscotti!

Come to find out, it was HIM who was working with the bears?! He was the one?! He was the reason Charlotte can't even sleep at night?!

"Louise." Kayda whispers, almost as if she can feel the burning hatred writhing inside of you. "Maybe it's not a bunch of evil guys? Maybe it's just weird or complicated. I'm sure Antonin would have a really good reason to be here right now."

Slowly, you can feel yourself starting to slump down into the damp forest floor.
"Kayda, please just do everything. I need to think." You feel tears forming on the corners of your eyes.

"Louise, don't stop on me now! I'm not going to do this by myself!"

You just need to think; just for a moment.

"Louise, look!" Kayda tugs at your collar.

You turn around to catch glimpse of the bearpeople and Antonin. They seem to be having a conversation.
No, they're not having a conversation; they're arguing. It's getting really heated, too! Almost as if both sides would break out their swords at any minute!

"Are they arguing?" Kayda seems a little slow to pick up on it.

One of the bearmen yells at the circle sitting at the nearest campfire. He holds up some kind of cage above his head. It's too dark to see what's inside of it, but it's a very small cage. You would say it's only two cubic feet in size?

"What is that?" Kayda can't seem to sense what it is, either.

Antonin throws the hood back up over his head, and starts to walk out of the camp.

>Try to intercept him as he's leaving
>Stay here and watch.
>You need to find out what's in that cage.
>Turn back, you've seen enough for a night.
>Here's your chance for an all-out attack!
>Other?

>>1513914
>Try to intercept him as he's leaving

>>1513914
>Try to intercept him as he's leaving

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"C'mon Kayda." Your brow furrows.
"Where are we going?"

"Goin' to go get some answers."

Whether Antonin comes back to Charlotte as a person or ball is entirely up to him.

There's another stupid sentry leaning against a tree. He's half-asleep, and is clearly not paying attention. You would just bop him one out of sheer anger, but Kayda steps out in front and takes care of it for you.

With a fzzt, the guy slumps down and puffballs. He didn't even see Kayda's little magic sprite heading for his head!

"This way. He's heading for the path." Kayda takes the lead, and takes you further away from the camp.
You nod, and take her hand. Kayda gently leads you along through the darkness of the forest. It's almost as if she can see in the dark as she weaves back and forth between trees and bushes which seem completely invisible to you!

She steps back onto the path, and you let go of her hand. You stand with your arms crossed as a shadowy figure approaches.

"Wh-" The figure takes a step back, grabbing for his sword, "Who's there?!"

Kayda snaps her fingers, and a tiny pyre casts an orange glow onto your faces.
"Hello Antonin." You say in the most deadpan way you can manage.

"Eh- Louise?! Kayda? What are you two doing out here?"

"Just your local heroes wanting to make sure you're still on our side, is all." Kayda states a much more dignified version of 'What are you doing you stupid jerk?!' that you had in mind.

"Does Charlotte know you're out here?" Antonin seems almost accusational.
"Does Charlotte know YOU'RE out here?" You bark right back.

"My father taught me that men who answer questions with questions are not to be trusted." Kayda crosses her arms. "You better have a good reason for meeting with a Konditorei regiment that neither I nor Greta know about."

"I have a good reason, I-"
He suddenly looks around, and then flips the hood over his ears back up.
"-Keep walking, I'll explain on the way."

You turn to start walking, but Kayda puts her hand on your shoulder.
"You go first." Kayda states in an almost threatening tone.

"Fine." Antonin takes a step ahead of you, and keeps walking.

"I know where my sister went. I've known for a few days. " He says, in a hurried tone.
"Oh? Where did she go?"

"They have her."
"Then why are we walking away? Let's go back there and kick their teeth in!" You jump to the easiest solution.

"No! It's not that easy." He turns around and grasps your shoulders. "They want- Something from me. I can't give it to them. I'm trying to buy time."

"Wanting 'something' isn't good enough." Kayda states, bitterly.

"They want-" He seems almost disgusted asking this, "They want your summoner. They want Greta."

Kayda stops, and you can almost hear the flame starting to build up inside of her.

>Kayda! Kayda. Kayda! Calm! Kayda!
>Why do they want Greta? Who are these people?
>Yay! It's flamey-zappy time!
>Antonin. I think you better keep talking or bad things might happen in the next few moments.
>Other?

>>1515419
>Why do they want Greta? Who are these people?
>Antonin. I think you better keep talking or bad things might happen in the next few moments.
>We could probably solve this together.

>>1515419
>Yay! It's flamey-zappy time!

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"Why do they want Greta? Who are these people?" You demand of Antonin.
"I don't know exactly. From what I've gathered, they're the remainder of the forces who were stranged in Biscotti after Greta's uncle was captured a few weeks ago."

"They've hidden in Biscotti for all this time?" Kayda seems surprised at this.
"I don't know for sure, but they claim to have Odelle, and that's enough for me."

"Enough to do what?" You stand in front of him, "Stop right there! What were you planning on doing?"

"I don't know yet, okay?" Antonin snaps, "I certainly can't go get Greta, and I can't find Odelle either."

"Are you saying that you were seriously thinking about bringing Greta to them?!" Kayda steps out in front.
Antonin, realizing the situation he's in, stands up straight and looks Kayda right in the eye.

"Yes."

"WHAT?!" Kayda nearly screams that last part!

"If it meant saving my sister's life. I would do it in an instant. It's what family does for one another." Antonin continues giving her his stoic stare.
"I would kill you in an instant, too. You know that, right?" Kayda balls up her fist, and shoves it right in his face!

"That you would, and I would be powerless to stop it. It still wouldn't change my decision." Antonin's face doesn't change, and he continues staring Kayda right in the eye.

Kayda looks like she's about to bop him one! Her teeth are clenched, and- oh no, there are embers flaking off of strands of her hair! She's really fired up!

"Okay, I'll do it." You hear a completely foreign voice suddenly startle the three of you! How did it sneak up on two heroes and a knight?!

"Wha-" Kayda turns around, "GRETA?!"

In the shimmering moonlight; panting and sweating while wearing only a dainty nightgown, stands the princess of Konditorei.
"Hah, hah, hah, J- Just a second." You can tell she ran all the way here.

"Why are you here?!" Kayda immediately wraps her barrier jacket around the young girl.

"I wanted to know where you were going, and-" She pants once again, "I followed you. I wanted to just follow you this one time."

"You know I told you to stay at the castle!" Kayda scolds her summoner.
"I've been worried the past few days about you!" Greta seems unyielding.

"I can't believe you." Kayda rubs Greta's head, "Just running off like that."

"I heard something about Odelle, right?" Greta ignores Kayda, and focuses on the conversation you were having, "That they wanted me in exchange for her? I said 'I'll do it'."

"What?!" Kayda takes that none too lightly.

"You heard me! I think we should do it! Just hand me over for Odelle, and then you and Kayda can rescue me!"
"Then it will be flamey-zappy time!" You exclaim.

"No!" Kayda grabs her summoner's hand, "Absolutely not! That's too dangerous! We don't even know what they want you for!"

>..It's a good idea, though.
>Maybe we should do it.
>Or at least consider it.
>Kayda's right. It's too risky
>We don't even know if they'll hand over Odelle
>Other?

>>1515907
>We don't even know if they'll hand over Odelle
>We could puffball them and sort things out later with more knights

>>1515907
>We don't even know if they'll hand over Odelle
>might as well attack now and ask questions later

>>1515907
>We don't even know if they'll hand over Odelle

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"Kayda's right!" You jump to her defense, "We don't even know if they'll hand over Odelle after the exchange!"

"But how are we going to know unless we try?" Greta asks a valid question, despite being held tightly by Kayda.

"No! There is no 'trying' here!" Kayda keeps her defense up, "We are not giving you up to them, Greta! Even if it's just for pretend."

"How else are you going to find Odelle?"
"She's right-" Antonin tries to interject.

"You stay out of this!" You snap at him, "You're in enough trouble as it is!"

He wisely decides to keep his mouth shut, and you bring your case back with Greta.
"Listen, Greta! There's too many things at work here. What if they make you drink that teleporting wine, or use some kind of charm! Then we wouldn't have you and we wouldn't have Odelle, either!"

"What is there left to do, then?" Greta asks with seriousness.

You look toward Kayda just to notice her taking a glance toward you.
"I say we zap them." You state, seriously.
"I think we should burn them." Kayda and you seem to have a shared solution.

"If you do that, then we'll never find Odelle." Antonin states, with anger. "Look, I know you're strong heroes, and I'm not doubting that, you're just not very good tacticians. This is a hostage situation. You can't solve it by just burning and electrocuting the problem away. If I wanted that, I would have gotten Jack."

"How do you know until you try?" You state what you believe to be a very valid point.

"You're not going back there, and you're not turning them into jerky. We're going to go back to the castle, and retire for the night." Antonin crosses his arms. You can tell he's in one of his 'I'm so stubborn that I'm stupid' moods. The same kind of mood he was in when he told Madeleine to leave Gallete castle.

>Maybe we do need a more smart approach.
>I still think zapping and burning is the acceptable answer.
>Maybe we should just go back for the night.
>..Madeleine.. Oh! I suddenly remember something from a while back. Something about her and the Gallete special forces.
>I think I should talk to Charlotte about this, then.
>Other?

>>1518810
>I still think zapping and burning is the acceptable answer.
>..Madeleine.. Oh! I suddenly remember something from a while back. Something about her and the Gallete special forces.

>>1518810
>I still think zapping and burning is the acceptable answer.
>..Madeleine.. Oh! I suddenly remember something from a while back. Something about her and the Gallete special forces.

>>1518810
>I still think zapping and burning is the acceptable answer.
>>Maybe trick them into thinking we're going to do the trade and boom!
>..Madeleine.. Oh! I suddenly remember something from a while back. Something about her and the Gallete special forces.

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"I still think burning and zapping is the only acceptable answer." You cross your arms.
"It's not." Antonin is quick to answer. "We're not burning or zapping as long as we don't know where Odelle is."

"Maybe we could pretend to do the trade, and then boom!" You throw your arms up.
"No, that's assuming they're going to do the trade, and I don't think they will." Kayda frowns, and furrows their brow.

"Then what are we going to do?" Greta seems rather saddened. "We have everything we should need to solve this. Are you really going to say that we're not going to do anything?"
"What are we supposed to do, then?" You pout.

If only you knew someone who had some kind of experience with things like this.
Someone who had some experience in special forces. Special.. Special.
Wait! You might know someone!

"Where is Madeleine staying?" Your gaze snaps up to Antonin.
"Madeleine? The snake doctor? I think she's at the inn tonight. She had an appointment with Camille." He crosses his arms.

"We need her! And, several of them!" You gesture toward the encampment.
"What?" Antonin doesn't seem to know where you're going with this.

"Why?" Kayda doesn't get it, either.
"Later, Kayda. Let's just grab a couple of bears and head for the inn tonight, okay?"
"I really don't get it." Greta blinks.
"Neither do I." Antonin crosses his arms.
"I'll explain later! I saw Madeleine do something a little while ago, and maybe it could help out here."

You and Kayda head toward the encampment one more time. You happen to catch a couple of idiots blindly wandering away from the camp that you easily fluffball and stuff inside a sack. Hopefully, the other dolts in the camp won't notice themselves missing four of their ranks.
With that in hand, you head toward the inn with Greta following behind you.

--

You say 'The inn'. The Inn in Biscotti is situated near the bar, and typically only exists to allow patrons a bed to sleep in after getting slammed at the nearby establishment. You find out from the innkeeper that Madeleine is currently attending to an appointment at the bar itself.

At least, that's what you would think, if you didn't go inside of the bar and find out that she's instead seeing her patient in the suite above the bar. You proceed up the stairs and come face to face with a door. Quietly, you listen to make sure you're not about to interrupt anything. You can hear some whispering from the inside.
"-Looks very healthy." One voice proudly proclaims, "Stay hydrated, and keep off your feet. If the cravings come back-"
"Hello?" You knock on the door, "Is Madeleine here?!"
"One moment." You hear a very familiar voice from within.

Several seconds later, the door swings open.
"Oh, Louise?" Madeleine smiles, "You're out rather late, I'm with a patient right now; so could you wait just a bit longer?"

>This is an emergency.
>There's a missing person, and four things that might know where to find them.
>Okay, I'll wait.
>I'm not sure there's time!
>Other?

>>1521112
>Okay, I'll wait.

>>1521112
>There's a missing person, and four things that might know where to find them.

>>1521112
>There's a missing person, and four things that might know where to find them.

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"There's a missing person." You try to get your point across, "-And I have four things who might know where to find her."

"Can you wait just a minute?" She gently slides behind the door.
"Sure."

She looks back into the room, and whispers something. You hear some scattering behind the door, and then it slowly swings back open.

"Come on in." Madeleine smiles. She's always so comforting when she's in a good mood!

You step into the strange glass apartment. It's strange that there exists a place like this on top of the bar of all places. You didn't realize there was a house like this in all of Biscotti! It seems so, you don't know, high-class?

Inside exists a quaint set-up of furniture and glassware. It's amazing to even think that someone lives here with how clean it looks!
You step inside to notice that you're not alone. Maybe the source of that other voice? Either ways-

"Camille!" You squeak, running over to the bed.
Laying with the covers wrapped around her; is the brown-haired woman you've come to love and appreciate! She's like that kind aunt who gives you candy. The Biscotti demon hunter appears much more sickly than you're used to seeing her, but she's still smiling all the same!

Also- oh. She appears to have gotten a little fatter. Is she slacking on that training, again?

"It's so good to see you, Louise!" She ruffles your hair.

"You look sick, Camille." You loosen your hug on her, "-Are you okay?"

She blushes slightly, and then looks over to Madeleine.
For whatever reason, they burst out laughing! You have no idea why. It's a perfectly valid question!

"Yes, Louise." Camille lets out another chuckle, "I'm 'sick'. Just a little. I'm doing really fine, though!"
"Really?" You blink, "Try to get well soon, Camille."

"Definitely, and have you been staying out of trouble?" Camille grins.

She reaches over you and grabs the sack full of bearballs. With a toss, she dumps them out onto the floor.
"Oh, I see that you haven't." Camille lightly laughs.

"Well! You see, Odelle was kidnapped!"
"I'm aware. I searched a little bit yesterday during the cooler part of the day." She smiles. "Any luck finding leads? Or are these your leads here on the floor?"

"They are!" You turn around and take Madeleine's hand. "Can you get them to tell us where Odelle is?!"

"Mm, I can try." Madeleine rubs her chin, "Can you tell me a bit more about who they are? Where you found them?"

>Tell her everything, including Antonin maybe-betraying Gallete
>Just tell her about kidnapping the bear peoples.
>Tell her that Odelle was kidnapped, and there was a plan to get her back.
>Tell her that they want Greta in exchange for Odelle.
>Other?

>>1522821
>Tell her everything, including Antonin maybe-betraying Gallete

>Tell her everything, including Antonin maybe-betraying Gallete

Our self control is about to be expected for our age right now.

>>1522821
>Tell her everything, including Antonin maybe-betraying Gallete

Hasn't Antonin been seen corroborating with the bear people before?

>>1522821
>>Tell her everything, including Antonin maybe-betraying Gallete

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"We know where Odelle went, and these Konditorei guys are to blame!" You gesture to the half-cooked bearballs smouldering on the floor. "They're the ones who took Odelle!"

"Oh no." Madeleine seems to slump over very slightly, "This again? I thought we were done with Bears."
"I thought so too! But it gets worse, they want Greta in exchange for Odelle!"

"Well, I hope you didn't do it."
"Of course not." Kayda chimes in. "We are not trading Greta for Odelle, that's final."

"Good, don't give into hostage dismands; it never ends well. You have to find a way for them to play their hand early, and then take advantage of that." Madeleine frowns, but she seems more than well-versed on how to deal with this exact situation.

"Well we're stuck. We don't know where they took Odelle, and Antonin doesn't know who is doing the trade. So we can't just zap and burn our way to victory."

Madeleine blinks.
"Hold on, what was that last part? Antonin?"

You gulp, should you have mentioned that?
"Um, Antonin was the one who was talking with them. He was doing it in secret."

"We found out just tonight." Kayda crosses her arms. "He's the one who told us of their demands."

Madeleine's eyes kind of.. glaze over for a second? It's hard to tell.
She composes herself, and adjusts her voice.

"Where is Antonin right now?" She seems to have a sweet sing-song tone to her voice.
"He went back to the barracks to sleep for the night."

"Okay, well then first-"
Slowly she reaches up to hear head, and plucks a long silver strand from her scalp! It has the consistency of piano wire!

"-I must deal with Antonin." She smiles. "-Then we can deal with the hostage crisis."

Oh no! This wasn't how you expected her to react!
"W-wait! Wait! Why 'deal with' Antonin?!"
"You don't make plans and strategy with a traitor in your ranks, Louise. Let me go deal with the problem, and we can get to work on the solution!"

"Wait, I don't think you should do that!"
"Why?"

>Antonin's heart was in the right place! He was just really stupid about it!
>I don't think it's your job to do that, I think Charlotte is the one who must judge him!
>He really did try to be helpful, honest! He's not a traitor! Just kind of dumb.
>I. I don't know.
>I just think it's an unfortunate coincidence for him, that's all.
>Other?

>>1526087
>I don't think it's your job to do that, I think Charlotte is the one who must judge him!

>>1526087
>I think he was trying to help... somehow... probably in some kind of stupid way...
>... Just don't kill him, ok?

>>1526087
>I don't think it's your job to do that, I think Charlotte is the one who must judge him!

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"Hold on!" You try to stop Madeleine before she makes a big mistake, "I think he was trying to help.. somehow! Probably in some kind of stupid way."

"Help or not, he worried everyone sick for three days, maybe more. All the while he knew exactly where Odelle was and was even consorting with an enemy force. Unforgivable, I say." Madeleine frowns slightly.
"Just don't kill him, okay?" Kayda! You're not helping!

"I don't think it's your job to do that!" You pull at Madeleine's sleeve, "I think Charlotte is the one who must judge him!"

Madeleine looks as if she's about to say something, but instead folds her strand of hair.
"You know what, you're right. I'll leave it to Charlotte." She sighs, "At the same time, we can't let Antonin know about what we're doing. He's an unknown element right now."

"R-right. We can do that!"

"Let's get little fuzzball here up and awake." Charlotte grabs one of the bearballs with her tail, and places him in the chair.

With impressive speed, she takes the strand of hair she previously pulled from her scalp and uses it to bind the bearball tightly to the chair.

"Wow." You marvel at her ability to just bind someone using only a strand of her hair. "Does anyone else know you can do that?"
"Well, Jack does." Madeleine gives a mischevious wink.

For whatever reason, Camille bursts out laughing! You and Kayda stare confused at one another while Madeleine herself supresses only a light giggle.

"Y-you'll understand when you're older." Camille clarifies, wiping a tear away from her cheek.

"So what are we going to do?" You admire the bound bearball.
"First, we need him in a more talkative position."

Madeleine takes a small vial from her backpack, and approaches the chair. With a single drop on the ball; the room starts to fill with smoke!

Slowly, the bear re-forms into a human!
"I didn't know you could do that."
"It's temporary." Madeleine explains, "He'll turn back into a bearball if he moves too fast." She smiles.

"Hey!" You try to wake the sleeping bearman up. Slowly, his eyes flutter open!

>You have ten seconds to tell me everything you know or I'll beat you into gravel!
>Just let an electric arc spark between your index finger and thumb
>Let Madeleine do the talking.
>Let Kayda do the talking!
>Maybe he still respects royal authority? Have Greta give him a command!
>Other?

>>1526517
>Just let an electric arc spark between your index finger and thumb
>Let Madeleine do the talking.

lewd snek is lewd

>>1526517
>Just let an electric arc spark between your index finger and thumb
>Put on your most sinister grin
>Let Madeleine do the talking.

>>1526517
>Just let an electric arc spark between your index finger and thumb
>Let Madeleine do the talking.

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"Uh, wha?" The confused man looks around the completely strange and foreign room.

His eyes then lock with yours, and he has a more than little concerned look on his face.
Perfect!
Slowly, you smile at him, and then place your thumb and index finger close together.

With a mere thought; a tiny blue arc jumps from one finger to the other. You can see him visibly squirm at this revelation.

"Good morning, Sunshine." Madeleine gives him a happy greeting. "We have some questions about a Gallete knight. We can do this the simple way, or-"
"Or we can turn you into charcoal!" Kayda interjects.

"Do what you want." He seems much more confident dealing with Madeleine and Kayda, "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you."

"Wanna test that we wouldn't?" Kayda tries to get mad, but Madeleine gently pushes her away from the prisoner.

"I think I might have something that will change your mind." Madeleine presents a small syringe filled with a green ichor.

Madeleine jabs it into his arm at speeds that you didn't realize she could move at. She slowly injects it, and then focuses very intently on the bearman's eyes.

"Now. Why don't you tell us what you're doing in Biscotti?"
"There's no way he's just going to tell us." Kayda seems skeptical.

"Uh- Orders. Yeah, Captain's orders."
"Whose your captain?" Madeleine follows up that question instantly.

"Claire." He states, plainly. "Claire of Konditorei. She's taking over for Gilles, cause he's king, now."

"Wait." Kayda he's eyes glaze over. "Wait, wait wait WHAT? What was that last part?"

"Claire.. Captain... Gilles... King."

Within an instant, he pops into a bearball!
"What happened?" You're almost surprised at that.

"Oh, it only lasts a few seconds before it puffs them. It's technically poisonous." Madeleine says, like that's the most natural thing in the world!

"What did he mean Clair is a captain, now?!" Kayda seems almost enraged! "And Gilles is a King? What?! Under whose authority?"

"Let's keep going." Madeleine tries to calm Kayda down. "There's more information we need, and we don't have much time to get it."

Madeleine continues the process with several of the bearmen, focusing this time on trying to find where Odelle is hidden.

According to the lackeys, Odelle is getting moved daily, and has a messenger who tells the captain of the regiment where she was moved to. They want Greta because she's technically next in line for the throne, but if Gilles becomes her guardian; then Gilles becomes king until he states otherwise.

What a stupid plan.
Also Kayda got really angry when she heard that last one and nearly burned the bar down in fury. Thankfully, Camille knows water magic!

>You have what you need. Go tear those stupid soldiers to bits!
>You need to find this 'captain' first.
>You have some leads, but need more. Time for more kidnapping bearballs!
>Try to intercept the messenger. You think Dorje knows Earth Magic. You could wake him up and have him locate them!
>Other?

>>1526741
>Try to intercept the messenger. You think Dorje knows Earth Magic. You could wake him up and have him locate them!
maybe we should also try to get the captain in case the message is coded

>>1526741
>You need to find this 'captain' first.
than
>Try to intercept the messenger. You think Dorje knows Earth Magic. You could wake him up and have him locate them!

>>1526741
>You need to find this 'captain' first.
>You have some leads, but need more. Time for more kidnapping bearballs!

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"We need to find who this 'Captain' is, first." You clench your fist, "I'm sure Clair wouldn't be too hard to find, though."
"It's not Clair." Kayda says, almost sounding a little sad, "Clair never does her own dirty work."

"We should go wake up Dorje. He could help us find the messenger." You feel awful dragging him into this, but you need his ability to find people!
"I'll go do that. Greta, I'm taking you back to the castle." Kayda grabs her summoner's arm.

"Wait! But I want to help!"
"You've done enough, Greta. We need you to distract the people inside the castle so none of them suspect that we're onto the bears. Antonin may not be the only person who knows about this." Kayda tries to comfort her summoner, but you can tell she's still upset about being shoved to the side.

"Fine.." Greta begrudgingly accepts her place.
"I'll keep an eye on these four until they wake up. If I can get any more out of them, then I can send a message." Madeleine smiles. You're not sure what 'get any more out of them' means, but you're happy for any help you can get!

"Thanks Madeleine!"
You take Greta and Kayda, then head for the castle.

--

Dorje yawns, "Really? You found all that out in one night?" He frowns.
"Yep! Shows what we can do without those stupid adults following us around, right?" You're beaming with pride.
Of course, you're not going to mention how much Madeleine helped you out tonight.

"So we just gotta find this 'Captain' and beat him up as well as his messenger?" Dorje finishes one last yawn, before dusting his hands off. "Sounds easy enough."

You lead him to the clearing near where the bears had set up camp for the night. Kayda says they're getting ready to move, which must mean the captain must be getting ready to meet with his contact.
"Ready when you are." Kayda seems to be concentrating, keeping a close eye on movements inside the camp.
"Here we go."

Dorje thumps the ground with his knuckles. Each small pound causes the grains of sand to leap and dance across the path. He takes one last slam into the dirt.
Several soldiers in the camp stop, and look around. One of the bigger guys in their ranks yells at them, and they return to their duties.

"There's a couple of big guys, in the camp. There's also a several smaller ones on the outskirts, they seem to be returning to the center of camp." Dorje seems lost in his searches as he speaks softly. You think the few on the outskirts he's talking about are the sentries.
"Any on the outside?"
"Not yet, there is a wagon slowly approaching the camp, but I don't know if it's related or not." Dorje still seems to be concentrating.

>-Close enough for me! Let's sack the camp and raid the wagon!
>Let's just wait a few more minutes
>Time to make bear jerky.
>Kayda, Dorje, suggestions?
>Other?

>>1528024
>Kayda, Dorje, suggestions?

>>1528024
>go see the Wagon, if you see bears, strike!