>>1788497
-+- The night before -+-

"I just want to ask one thing. Whatever it is that you will learn, and do, please don't be like your sister. Stay out of danger. Whatever else you do, just stay out of danger. Because if something ever did happen to you, then.. Please, just promise me that."

I really wished that I could just say yes. It would make Papa happy if I did, and making Papa happy is very important. But if it means lying to Papa, then..

"I'm sorry Papa, but I really don't think I can make that promise. But I-"

Before I could even finish explaining he was already moving to leave, not even saying a word first!

"W-wait! Papa, let me finish!"

He paused, but said nothing. For a moment I just sat there, staring out into the dark room, realizing that I wasn't actually sure how to explain. Then he finally spoke.

"I can't, Nadja." He whispered with his back still turned. "I can't do this again. You're both just like her.."

"But I-"

"Good night, Nadja."

He shut the door before I could even try to explain. I didn't try to follow him.

-+-

I'm not sure if that line helped at all, but it's the best that I can do right now. Especially since I need to be heading out for the day, so worrying about it right now isn't going to help anyone. In fact, it seems that with every step I take through town I just keep feeling better and better, though I can't seem to quite place why. It's almost as if.. something was in the air? Or something?

It's even making my stomach tingle so much, I almost can't keep myself from laughing. Strangely though, the feeling seems to get strongest when I pass by the inn, and then slowly fade. Almost as if the happy feeling was coming from somewhere inside there. But that doesn't make sense, does it? Feelings come from the inside, not outside, don't they?

Just to make sure, I pace about for a bit and I can't deny it. I definitely feel different when I get closer to the inn. Is.. is everyone feeling this, or just me? And why here of all places? Is this some kind of magic? Who else knows magic here?!

Should I investigate? I'm not sure I really have time for this, Miss Raven is already upset with me, I shouldn't add being late unto the list. And besides, it might be dangerous!

But if it is dangerous, isn't that all the more reason that I should look into it? What if the innkeeper is using black magic to lure people into his inn? That would be evil! And I'd need to put a stop to it! Wouldn't I?

>Ignore the strangeness for now, hurry on to Miss Raven and tell her about it!
>Investigate! It's probably my duty as a witch apprentice! Protect the innocent! Right?
>Investigate! .. from a distance. It might be dangerous, and I promised Papa to be careful, so let's start by looking for any other weirdness nearby.
>Something else? [Write-in!]

>Voting time for this first vote will be 45 minutes, since the usual 1 hour seems a little excessive, especially when I'm already late!

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>OP Paste of excessive extra explanatory information:

>Seal Value: 70/100

>Nadja's Seniors:
>Mistress' current opinion: 45/100
>Lily's current opinion: 25/100
>Camille's current opinion: ??/100

--

>Nadja's Witchy Skills:

>Core Skills:
>Herbalism : Initiated (Potions and such!)
>Pencraft: Fledgling* (Hexes and wards!)
>Infusion: Uninitiated (Making things be magic/enchanting!)
>*Nadja has proven to be naturally talented at this set of skills. She learns more quickly and has a chance to intuitively understand this type of magic simply by looking at it.

Other Skills:

Broomflight: Overconfident
Staff self-defense: "That'll do."

--

>Communication:
>Twitter: https://twitter.com/FriendQM

--

>Archives:
>4plebs archive (thread 1-24): http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/search/subject/Witch%20Apprentice%20Quest/order/asc/
>moe archive (threads 25+): http://archived.moe/qst/search/subject/Witch%20Apprentice%20Quest/type/op/order/asc/
>Suptg archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=witch+apprentice+quest

--

>Resources:

>Summaries. Brief descriptions of the most important events in the quest, enough to give you a rough idea of what's going on:
>Chapter 1 (Threads 1-31) Summary: http://pastebin.com/g3i9AMgP

>Timeline. A much more detailed day-by-day account of previous events. Not mandatory reading by any means.
http://pastebin.com/xMiP9nYf

>Nadja's Notebook is intended to serve as your reference material for witchy things and other stuff related to the quest. REMEMBER: YOU CAN ALWAYS REQUEST TO HAVE SOMETHING ADDED TO THE NOTEBOOK. It's divided into the following categories:
>1. General Witchcraft: Intro to Nadja's Notebook as well as any witch-related topics outside of the three major arts will go here when Nadja learns about them:
http://pastebin.com/FvemAzKN
>2. Herbalism: Everything about herbs and how to use them to make potions:
http://pastebin.com/vMWeFhd0
>3. Pencraft: Hexes and wards that Nadja knows of and how to make them:
http://pastebin.com/BTUR8F94
>4. Infusion: The art of bestowing magical properties to items that otherwise had none. For example, the creation of wands or flying brooms. Pastebin will be added once Nadja actually learns about any of this.
>5. Nadja's Notes: Where Nadja writes her notes about various things.
http://pastebin.com/76btWGte
>6. Characters: Nadja doesn't actually keep a written list of people she knows, but you may find it useful to have:
http://pastebin.com/GbRsNuw3

>TO-DO LIST:
>Tullian Fire
>Enlarging Potion
>Shrinking Potion

>>1788499
>>Investigate! .. from a distance. It might be dangerous, and I promised Papa to be careful, so let's start by looking for any other weirdness nearby.

>>1788499
>Investigate! It's probably my duty as a witch apprentice! Protect the innocent! Right?
Dangerous Majjyckz!
Good to see you again Friend.

>>1788499
Holy shit. Isn't Nadja super young? You can't just walk away from her like that, that's awful...

>Investigate! It's probably my duty as a witch apprentice! Protect the innocent! Right?
Feels good! Can't be bad! What if they caught amalia!

>>1788499
>>Investigate! It's probably my duty as a witch apprentice! Protect the innocent! Right?

>>1788499
>Investigate! .. from a distance. It might be dangerous, and I promised Papa to be careful, so let's start by looking for any other weirdness nearby.
It would be good to know a bit more, before going anywhere.

Oh man, this is rough, I don't know ehat to pick

Distance is safer but we might not get any useful info/deal with the situation in time...

Maybe we should find some gossip and ask if they know anything? New arrivals or weirdness in the inn and such

Interesting that Papa doesn't seem to be affected by this. Seems likely to either be a witch thing, or a Nadja thing specifically.

>>1788584
Clearly that means we need to investigate closely if it's directly a nadja thing!

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10 more minutes to vote!

I should really remind myself to update Nadja's inventory. She does still have the supposedly unbreakable staff that Camille gave her, even if it's not listed.

Of course, it doesn't fit in her backpack, so she's not currently bringing it everywhere. It'd look weird, when did you last see a 12 year old girl dragging around a combat staff? Weird!

>>1788507
>Holy shit. Isn't Nadja super young? You can't just walk away from her like that, that's awful...

Nadja is 12 summers old! Practically an adult!

Still not exactly his brightest moment, of course.

>>1788570
Sure, that'd be part of what I consider to be investigating from a distance. Nadja may not be a P.I. but she does know where the gossip is!

>>1788589
Well, it does mean that looking or asking around is less likely to get us a direct answer, though it can still let us know of new arrivals or the like. It also means it could be someone wanting Nadja ill though.

>>1788594
They do that in all my cute RPGs

I guess I'm for distance at first then even if it means we're tied

>>1788499
>Investigate! It's probably my duty as a witch apprentice! Protect the innocent! Right?

>>1788605
I'm >>1788570 by the way, my phone network doesn't know what a stable IP might look like and 4chan is blocked here at work, so.

>>1788584
Nadja might just be more sensitive to whatever it is.

>>1788605
Well don't worry! someone broke the tie!

>>1788499
>>Investigate! .. from a distance. It might be dangerous, and I promised Papa to be careful, so let's start by looking for any other weirdness nearby.

>>1788614
You jinxed it anon

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Rolled 11 (1d20)

That's a tie, alright. Democracy is at its strongest when decided by a coin toss. Odds for going straight to the source, evens for proceeding with extreme caution.

I will also need you guys to roll some d20s for whichever the outcome is!

>>1788605
Many of them do have convenient alternate dimensions to store their oversized weapons in while out of combat though!

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>1788648

>>1788649
oh god.. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>1788648
Alright, Nadja PI initiated!

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>1788648

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>1788648
Oh dear
Also staves are very useful, you can use them for leaning on and walking with and bopping heads and everything.

>>1788649
Oh dear...

>>1788649
Looks like Nadja is ensorcelled by a mute siren's song!

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>>1788649
That is certainly an interesting way to get the session kicked off. This might be fun!

>>1788668
Please take care of us Friend!

Must be quite the meaty update.

>>1788988
Or friend was only doing one update today and left.

>>1788988
>>1789041

I am still writing. It is taking a while. It seems the lack of sleep last night is hitting me harder than I expected, but I am still going. It shouldn't be much longer. Thank you for being patient!

>>1788668
On tne other hand Raven will rescue Tobin if things go wrong since ya know, she still has to punish her.

>>1789050
Make sure you get enough sleep, Friend!

>>1788499
This is serious! Surely witches must have some kind of obligation to protect the innocent from this kind of stuff, whatever it is! I know it wasn't in the pledges that I had to make, but surely it must be implied! We're the good guys, or well, girls, right?

And something that can affect my mood, maybe even my mind, from all the way across the town, that is definitely something that needs to be dealt with, quickly! Right now! There's not even any time to go tell Miss Raven, it needs to be now, now, now!

This might be a little awkward though, an inn isn't a place for someone my age to be going unattended. You'd be getting asked where your parents are as soon as you step through the door. And that's only if nobody recognizes me! I suppose I could say I'm there to meet someone.. But who am I here to meet?

And on top of all that, this tingling feeling is so distracting!

Oh well, there's only one thing to do in a situation like this, and that is to jump in.

The inside of the inn turns out to be almost nothing like I imagined. Instead of the cramped, dark, and smoke-filled den I imagined, I am greeted by a flood of light reflecting off of the freshly cleaned tables and the wide and open floor space at the center of the ground floor. It almost seems to be begging you to come on inside.

It's awful quiet though, the only sign of life being the young, kind of skinny looking man in the far corner. HE looks up briefly from the book he's writing in, returns his attention to the book for a few more moments, then looks up at me again with a confused look on his face. Here goes..

"Uhm, excuse me Mister?" I greet him with the most innocent smile I can conjure. "Uhm, I am looking for uh.. That is I was wondering if maybe you uh.. I mean has anyone.."

A strange look passes over his face and he suddenly slams his book shut.

"Who told you about her?"

"-eh?"

His head drops to rest in his hand and he lets out a long, annoyed sigh. "I told her somebody would notice, but no-no, Her Highness up there just had to choose this exact inn, on my exact shift! As if I needed the extra headache!"

Uhm..? I'm not sure who he's talking about, but it sure sounds like he knows! That makes him an accomplice!

"Okay, listen, did you tell anyone else that she's here? Does anyone at all know that she's here?"

"I uh.. No? I don't think so?"

He leans forward, an almost scarily intense look on his face.

>-+-+-
>1/3
>-+-+-

>>1789145
"Promise you do not tell a soul about Princess Live-like-a-commoner and I'll let you upstairs. You got it? I don't want a stampede of screeching little girls running in here because you had to tell your bestest bestie in the world, understand? NOBODY knows!"

Princess?! There's a Princess here? A real one? This is so exciting!

"Yes! Okay! I can do that!"

An actual, real, live princess! This is the best day ever! I want to see her, right now!

Wait wait wait! Doesn't that mean she might be the one behind all of this? Maybe I should think twice about this..?

>Rolled 1 (1d20)

BUT WHAT IF SHE HAS A PUFFY DRESS? OR A TIARA? I NEED TO KNOW HOW PRETTY SHE IS TOO! THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT!

"OKAY THANK YOU MISTER!" I just barely remember to "tell" him before heading upstairs as fast I can.

"Hey wait, I didn't even tell you which room-"

PRINCESS!

Tingling doesn't even begin to describe what I am feeling anymore. This is.. I can barely control myself anymore! My legs seem to be moving completely on their own at this point. As if of their own will, they lead me to a door that I just know is the one. I can feel her from out here, this is the one!

I raise my hand to knock, then immediately decide there's no sense waiting any longer, especially not when the door turns out to be unlocked. Immediately, an ocean of color rushes forth, so thick I could swim in it, washing over my skin and leaving nothing but a pure bliss, so intense I could almost...

...

...

...

What?

What was that? Did I.. Where am I?

"Oh good, you finally came around."

The voice is strange, and yet I can't help feeling that I know it. Sugary, but with a hint of concern. Do I know her..?

"You're definitely a strange one, aren't you? I didn't know your kind came in this size!"

Tired, so tired. Where did I..?

"Can you open your eyes?"

Open my eyes? Yes, that seems like a good idea..

>-+-+-
>2/3
>-+-+-

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>>1789152
"That's not what a princess looks like!"

And just like that, it all comes back to me. The strange feeling, the inn, that's where I am now isn't it? But why did I..?

"Oh-ho?" She smirks mischievously. "That's certainly the first time I've been greeted that way! I'm quite certain that's something I should be offended at!"

There's no puffy dress at all! No tiara! A few ribbons, sure, and the white cape flowing down from her back is sort of pretty, but not at all pretty enough for a princess! Her skirt is way too short for a princess, without even a hint of frills, and she's wearing some kind of armour as if she was some kind of dumb adventurer, just like Sis! What kind of princess is this?!

"Hey!" A sudden bonk to my forehead from her hand puts a rude halt to my critical analysis. "Try not to get distracted, will you? I'm quite certain you're supposed to be apologizing for insulting my appearance right now!"

>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?]
>"Oh, uhm, I.. apologize? I'm a little confused. My name is.. [Attempt polite conversation]
>Wait a minute, that's not the point at all here! She's the one behind that weirdness! I should arrest or something! Can witches do that? Either way, she has some explaining to do! [Accusation!]
>Something else? [Write-in!]

>>1789159
>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?]

>>1789152
Oh Nadja. Nice work, dice.

>>1789159
>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?]
This is TERRIBLE

>>1789159

>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?

Nadja is a dragon. It explains the love of princesses.

>>1789159
>>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?]
Beat panel
>"Oh, uhm, I.. apologize? I'm a little confused. My name is.. [Attempt polite conversation

>>1789182
But she has no wings! Or scales! And she DEFINITELY can't breathe fire!

>>1789159
Definitely an update worth waiting for
>"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!" [Frills! Where are they?]
>Wait a minute, that's not the point at all here! She's the one behind that weirdness! I should arrest or something! Can witches do that? Either way, she has some explaining to do! [Accusation!]
Hope she isn't easily offended

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Wow. I really have to apologize for how long that took me to write. I am getting a strong feeling that perhaps I should have simply cancelled running today entirely, but after so long without a thread I just felt that wasn't an option to consider.

Honestly, I should have seen that coming. I quite simply did not get anywhere near the amount of sleep I'd like last night, got woken up by a thunderstorm and couldn't seem to fall asleep after that, and that tiredness is hitting me real hard at this point. It's a terribly boring excuse, but that is what it is.

I think that since we're here I want to try to keep going, but it'd be irresponsible to not openly admit that I can't promise providing the next update in an even somewhat timely fashion, or not simply falling asleep right where I'm sitting. So uh, that's how it's at right now.

Again, apologies for my current state.

-

It looks like anons so far are in complete agreement about the priority that should be given to the issues currently at hand. I expected nothing less from you all.

>>1789159
>Wait a minute, that's not the point at all here! She's the one behind that weirdness! I should arrest or something! Can witches do that? Either way, she has some explaining to do! [Accusation!]
What did she do?! And how? Is this a trap?

>>1789159

Omake: Wolf and Owl

A big wolf entered the lively town, carring a small white owl girl hugging her back.

"Owowow... why didn't you stop me?" The owl complained for like the tenth time. Rhe wolf growled in annoyance and the owl girl pouted.

"Yes I guess is my own darn fault... sorry but... it really hurts! "

The people of the town mostly ignored the strange pair, used to the weirdness of having a witch be a local, and the pair keep moving until they reached an old looking tower. The owl girl jumped from the wolf and, with some dificulty, flew to the top of the tower entering using a window.

About a quarter of hour later a giant woman, who actually was the owl girl from before, opened the door and let the wolf enter inside.

The woman served the wolf some milk in a bowl and, upon drinking it, the wolf became an old atractive woman with long and white hair and emerald eyes.

"You won the contest at least." the former wolf said with a grin on her face.

"Yes but... ah whatever it may have hurt but I showed them!" the formed owl girl smiled and have clothes to the older naked woman.

"Owl, honesty you have to be more careful, what if you got stuck like that?" The old woman quickly dressed up.

"Relax Wolf, the transformation would last a month at most, as a result of turning my potions into candy they are never permanent."

The old woman sat down in a chair. "I would ask you why you do it that way, but even an old woman like me can see why you like the idea."

Wolf then hit the bigger woman in the head "Why didn't you carry the counter agent? You idiot!"

"Ouch! I... I lost my pouch fighting that wizard before the conference. I won but my pouch exploded."

"And then how were you able to turn into a owl girl?"

"I had a spare hidden before the fight, but I had only made two counter agents and left one here."

Wolf then said nothing and went to make herseft some tea.

"Uh... are you still angry with me?"

Wolf didn't answer after she was finally able to sit down again and enjoy her tea.

"What did you do to that wizard and who he was?"

"I turned him into a female cat with an special bomb and I think he was Ozzy something? Probably not an important one."

Owl then say down too and served herseft some tea then smiled.

"Even if he changes back, he will be stuck as a woman for a while."

"Oh? How long were you working on a double layered formula like that?"

"Ten years, even had to... deal with fairies... but totally worth it!"

AN: Owl is not a fan of fairies and Wolf will never admit that she sees Owl as her own daughter.

>>1789188
This.

>>1789232
Don't worry about it Friend, if you're too tired to write you should go sleep!

>>1789232
Hope youre doing okay

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Well, I hate it but I have to admit defeat on this one. I don't think I can finish this update tonight, so you'll be getting it tomorrow instead. Sorry to bring you guys in for such a miserably short session. I hope to do at least a few updates over the day tomorrow, so please continue to be amazing and patient!

>>1789534
Alright, will look forward to it

Nadja is worth waiting for

>>1789534
Alright. Good night. Sleep well.

>>1789534
Night night Friend!

>>1789159
"But look at you! Princesses are supposed to have big dresses with frills and jewels! Where's the real princess? Where are the frills?!"

For the briefest of moments, a faint voice whispers of some minor concern, that maybe this weird lady might be insulted and that might not be a very good thing. But that voice is dumb and doesn't understand what's really important in life.

"You can't just go around calling yourself a princess if you don't have any of the important princess bits! That's lying! And deception! And fraud! So prove it! Show me the frills or I'll.. I'll report you to the Baroness for being a fake Princess!"
"Do you know what they do fake Princesses?!"

"I actually don't know." She giggles at me with the kind of confidence you definitely shouldn't have when facing that kind of charges. "What do you think they'll do to me?"

"Well uhm.. I don't know actually? That depends on what you did to the real Princess! They'd probably throw you in jail!"

"Hrm, I don't like the sound of that.." She grumbles while nodding along. "Maybe I really do need a new dress, just to be safe?"

"Yeah, you do!" Finally she's starting to get it.

"It'd have to be real cute, though." She muses aloud.

"The cutest!"

"And pretty too, outgoing but with an air of innocence." She continues.

"Yes, very Princess-y!"

"And I'm thinking plenty of ribbons too."

"Yes! Ribbons are very cute!"

"Something like you, maybe?"

"Buhwuh? Like mine? No no, that won't do!" Even though I'm trying to deny it, I can't help feeling a bit of heat rise to my cheeks from her compliment for my dress. "I mean, my dress isn't special at all, it's not at all good enough for a Princess!"

"Haha, no no you silly lttle bun. I wasn't talking about your dress.." She says while her eyes narrow in a way that instantly makes my blood run cold. "I was talking about YOU."

"Me-me-me? Bu-but I'm not-!" I feel my voice fail me as it drops into a nervous stammer. "I'm not a de-de-dress! You can't wear me!"

Her eyes and teeth both glisten in the sun as she looks me up and down with a wicked smile. "Well, you could be.."

"Wha-wha-what? Bu-but-!" I try to back away from her, only to quickly realize that my back is already against the wall and she has conveniently placed herself between the door and me.

"I think it might be good for you." She says as she slowly steps closer to me, seeming to tower ever higher over me with each step. "Dresses don't need to learn manners after all!"

She clenches her left hand into a fist and a strange red light spontaneously forms around it. "I think you'll turn out well!"

>"No wait, please! I'm sorry! I'll do anything you want, just don't turn me into a dress!" [Beg for mercy!]
>"You.. you'll regret that! I'm a WITCH you know, so you'd best leave me alone!" [Intimidate!]
>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"
>Something else? [Write-in!]

>>1792453
>>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"

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So, I am no longer sleep deprived, which is pretty damn awesome!

I do however have plans today, so we're not going to be looking at a full session. I am aiming to be able to put out the next update later tonight, and from there on we'll have to see how the week goes. I do intend to ride this thread all the way to the end.

As always, watching my twitter will be a very good idea, because that's where I'll be doing my best to keep you updated.

Thank you again for being patient with me, and I hope to see you all later today.

>>1792453
>"You.. you'll regret that! I'm a WITCH you know, so you'd best leave me alone!" [Intimidate!]
What a bully!

>>1792461
Alright, take care.

>>1792453
>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"

>>1792453
>"You.. you'll regret that! I'm a WITCH you know, so you'd best leave me alone!" [Intimidate!]
Oh no! Where is the shrinking potion?

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>>1792497
>Oh no! Where is the shrinking potion?

In Nadja's backpack.

Were you intending to use it on her, or on Nadja? Because I'm totally open for either of those two options if you guys are interested in taking a more.. proactive route instead.

So let me know if you want to go for using some magic instead!

>>1792516
I mean, I'm not opposed. But I'm kinda worried if we use it on her and she IS a princess, we might get totally arrested or something!

It would be pretty funny though.

>>1792516
Using it on either one should work, but I suppose shrinking her would make intimidating or outrunning her easier.

>>1792453
>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"

>Princesses are nice they wouldn't turn people into dresses!

We met the Baroness she's sort of a princess and very nice!

>>1792600
Maybe she's only nice because she's not quite a princess!

Guess Sundays are slower than Saturdays, huh.

>>1792453
I wouldn't mind being worn all day as her dress. But I'm not Nadja.

>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"

I love this quest so much even though I am not around for the majority of votes. Thanks for writing it.

>>1792453
"You.. you'll regret that! I'm a WITCH you know, so you'd best leave me alone!" [Intimidate!]
Oh no! Where is the shrinking potion?

Or maybe stab her with that thing we used in the werewolf?

>>1792756
That's a good idea! It comes when Nadja calls it, right?

>>1792756
That might be a little overkill for a regular person...

>>1792760
No, it's just a sharp object that returns things to normal.

>>1792781
Aren't we not supposed to let people know we have it because it's absurdly valuable?

>>1792453
>"Tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! You're bluffing!"

>Princesses are nice they wouldn't turn people into dresses!

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Well, I was expecting to be back home a lot earlier than this. It looks like tonight's update might have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry about that.

I am going to call the vote here though, and see how much I can get done before I fall asleep but I doubt I'll actually be able to finish it.

On that note, it looks like the general support is for calling the bluff assuming that it really is a bluff, of course.

There was mention of maybe putting a shrink potion to use, but it didn't get much support and is an entirely different direction, so I think I'm going to have to let that one go. Even if I tried to combine them, it would be such a drastic action that it would dominate the course of action entirely, effectively overruling the other votes. That wouldn't seem fair to me.

There was also mention of using the Thorn on her, but that seems to have been voted down, and possibly based on a misunderstanding of its properties. I'll go over that a bit further down this post.

So basically, what I'm taking away from the votes is "call the bluff" with a mix of "a REAL princess wouldn't do that people!" and "I AM a witch you know!"

The shrink potion would definitely have been more exciting, but I suppose that IS a little aggressive for Nadja.

>>1792669
Glad to make you happy! Mostly glad to make you the regular kind of happy, but I don't judge.

>>1792756
>>1792760
>>1792771
>>1792781

The Thorn from the Wilting Willow generally follows all the laws of physics that apply to every other object. That is to say, it's nice and comfy in Nadja's backpack and doesn't go anywhere unless she takes it out of there. No teleporting or anything.

Basically, the one thing it can do is undo any magical transformation affecting whoever it gets forcibly lodged into. So if you, say, suspected that the Princess was actually just a fairy in disguise, then the Thorn could be used to remove that disguise. That is, as long as the disguise is a transformation and not an illusion. And as long as Nadja is the one using the Thorn. At least, according to the Daemon she got it from, it works only for her and nobody else. The Daemon was probably telling the truth.

>>1792882
It definitely would be, until whoever thinks it's valuable realizes that it's completely useless when it's not in Nadja's hand. It is still (almost) completely unique and capable of achieving things witchcraft otherwise could not. I suppose that IS something that certain people might want to exploit her for, but honestly, anyone trying to exploit Nadja will come to regret it very quickly. For several reasons.

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>>1789244
Oh, and also, I like that you do these. It's cool. It's way, WAY more merciful than the pledges actually allow a witch to be when it comes to dealing with wizards, but I still like that you do it. So thanks for being cool.

>>1793388
>assuming that it really is a bluff, of course.
Of course it's a bluff. It's not like a princess would have any super-special abilities or equipment especially when she doesn't appear to have a bodyguard present.

>>1793552
...We personally know a catgirl assassin, an overpowered adventuring sister, and multiple witches.

>>1793552
Clearly she's not actually a princess.

>>1793412
Wasn't the point to troll them before actually killing them? Besides considering how wizards treated witches becoming a woman would be, by their standars a fate worse than death. Specialy once the wizards finds the usual methods to reverse the transformation aren't working.

Owl speciality is transformation, and she already turned a wizard into a tree, another to stone and MELTED one.

As mentioned before, preparation is key to witches, she wasn't carrying anything too lethal since it was a witches convention and wasn't expecting a wizard. Not to mention that she fought the wizards alone since it was a trap.

Yes Owl could have done way worse, if she had prepared for that.

Owl generally doesn't carry her more dangerous stuff with her because is really freaking dangerous.

And again for a wizard being stuck as a woman is a fate worse than death.

And yes Owl knows she should have done worse, hence why she didn't talk about it during the convention.

Wolf once removed a wizard eyes and locked him in a set of ruins were the only way to scape was being able to see the hints in the walls.

Owl being trying to perfect a potion to turn a wizards into water since she became a witch, the closest she has ever got is the melting potion and that one is quite lethal.

the statue potion she used once was the lethal variety of petrification. Too dangeous to carry around while flying since is a tad unstable.

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Good morning! I have some business to get done today, so once i get home from that I'll get back to the update. So expect it to be ready some time tonight, europe time.

Also, a few more answers before I go.

>>1794202
And if you count less intimate relationships, there are also two fairies with notably unidentifiable power levels, a major Daemon, and a seemingly very competent combat maid.

These are NOT listed in any particular order, I swear. Honest!

>>1795529
>The Pledge of Vengeance
>The witch pledges to actively hunt down and torment any wizard foolish enough to trespass on her domain or otherwise make him- or herself known to the witch. She will unleash every ounce of cruelty she can muster upon the wizard until such a time as the wizard's life comes to an end, either by his own hand or by forcing the hand of the witch.

Different interpretations exist, and it's kinda up to the specific witch how they want to go about that. Some points basically everyone agree on, others vary wildly.

More or less everyone agrees that personal safety and the safety of bystanders is the first priority. Toying with an enemy is obviously a potential risk, and if you're not confident that you can neutralize them in a non-lethal manner without endangering your life or the lives of others then you should not try. The only opponents to that are actually the Elder witches themselves, but they've decided to let their students continue with that unintended interpretation. It is not known why they allow the younger witches to follow the rule more slightly more loosely, because nobody has dared to ask them.

Everyone also agrees that death must be the ultimate outcome. Not much contention on that one at all. While almost every student has tried to get around it somehow, this a point on which the Elders will not allow any argument.

The term "torment" is one that sees a lot more creative interpretations, part of the reason perhaps being that not all witches have the stomach for the more literal definition of the word. In the end, a solution like "turn them into a girl, that sounds fun!" is one that can be completely legit if you know that this would be a hellish experience for the victim. Follow-up would most likely be required, as well as a means to ensure that the wizard can't come after her or anyone else, but it can totally work, on some wizards.

Worth noting here is that while the witches have a girls-only rule, the wizards do not. Both men and women can be, and are, wizards. That doesn't mean that some wizards wouldn't hate the experience any less, of course, I just want to point out that this isn't a battle of the sexes thing.

>Wolf once removed a wizard eyes and locked him in a set of ruins were the only way to scape was being able to see the hints in the walls.
That would certainly do the trick.

>>1795680
Princess better apologize!

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Apologies, but the update is going to have to be delayed again. My plans for the day did not survive the first encounter with the enemy, and I simply haven't been able to just sit down and write like I expected.

Tomorrow is actually looking clear though, so assuming that I did not just jinx myself, there will not be another delay. Progress WILL be made, somehow.

Please look forward to it!

>>1796307
That's okay, I'm sure Nadja will be there to witch tomorrow as well

>>1792453
No no no, this can't be happening! All I did was get out of bed, try to be helpful, and now this strange girl is threatening to.. to..

WAIT A MINUTE!

How is she planning to do that? With her hand? That's impossible, you can't use magic with your hands because humans can't ever touch magic directly without getting all messed up! That was the entire point of my initiation! And she hasn't got anything like that anywhere, so she couldn't possibly turn me into a dress like she says!

"You.. you're bluffing!" I declare, locking my eyes on hers (almost) without flinching.

Still, as confident as I am in my belief, I can't help being a little surprised when her eyes actually do widen in surprise. Looks like I really did hit the mark! She does however quickly recover her menacing smile, ready to glare right back at me. "You seem awfully certain of that.."

"I a-am!" I stand, all the way up on my toes to meet her at eye level.
"Because tha-that's not how magic works! You need a tool to cast the magic with, you can't do it with just your hand! No human can! It's impossible! And that makes you a liar! And besides, what kind of princess would just go around hurting people like that! Princesses are supposed to be kind, so you're doing a very bad job pretending to be one!"

"Oh? Do you believe you're doing a better job pretending to know about magic? Because last I checked you-"

"I am not pretending! I am a witch, a real one! So if anyone should be scared here, it's you!"

Finally, she takes a step backwards and while I let out a sigh of relief the strange glow also fades from her hand. "Raven's new girl, huh? Now that interesting.."

"Tha- That's right! So you better apo-"

"But surely she would have noticed that.." She begins to mumble to herself, stepping aside to look out the window while completely ignoring me. "Yes, she must know already. Which means she's choosing to play along. Hrm, the stories always did make her out to be fan of playing the long game.."

Uh, what? Miss Raven knows what? Playing along with what..?

"Urgh, what a bother!" She groans while rolling her eyes so hard I can tell even when watching from behind her. "Why've those witches always got to make things so complicated when I could just solve the entire problem with one quick wipe.."

"Wha-? What's a wipe? What are you talking about?!"

"But if I do that then the witches are going to be pissed.. And then Sis will be all "we have to work together with the witches because yada yada yada" and I'll probably have to-"

"STOP IGNORING ME!" I yell. I am so tired of being treated like that!

She turns and gives me an annoyed look. "I am really going to have to let you off the hook, aren't I?"

"The hook..? You mean that you lured me here, intentionally?! Like some kind of child-luring per-"

"Please," she raises her voice along with the frustration visible on her face. "You can stop pretending to be human now. I see right through your disguise!"

>-+-+-
>1/2
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>>1798345
"Dis.. disguise..?"

The word hits me like a cannonball. I feel my knees give in as I lean back against the wall for support. Right when I was just starting to forget the incident with Camille, the whole thing comes back to haunt me again. And still, I understand nothing.

I cautiously lift a hand up in front of my head, slowly poking a finger at my face. Then my chest, my arm, my leg. It all feels the same as always and yet I just can't..

"Am I a.. disguise? But Papa-?"

I feel cold. I don't understand. Why can't I just..?

"Ho - ly - Shi-"
The strange girl's voice sounds from across the room. A thump, a second, then a third, and her face pops in front of my eyes, filling my vision entirely. It has a new look on it. It looks a bit like.. confusion?

She moves, looking at me from the left, then from the right, then again from the left. She looks almost as confused as I am.
"You actually don't know.. you've already been wiped?"

There's that word again. What does it mean?

She reaches forward and with a gentleness I've already learned not to expect from this girl, lifts my face to hers. She's giving me a soft smile, her face almost seeming to shine with a warm light. I don't understand why or how, but for some reason the smile she gives me cuts right through the fog around my mind, the same warmth seeping into my body.

"I'm sorry, little one. I didn't know."

Little one.. I've heard that before too. But where? And why..
"Why.. Why are you being nice to me now? Before you were-"

She pulls me forward, wrapping both of her arms around me. Her warmth begins to fill me from every direction. I still feel so incredibly confused, but somehow, it just stops bothering me. Just like that.

"Because you don't know," she whispers into my ear. Her breath is so warm, calming. "That means you're innocent. Just a poor, confused little-"

She pauses, at the worst of times and pulls away from me. "I probably shouldn't tell you that."

Tell me..? Wait, she knows! All this trouble, Camille's accusations about me not being human, the weird dreams, this girl knows! She knows the answer!

"You know what I am! I've been trying to find out!"

She nods, still smiling.

"Tell me! I need to know!"

She shakes her head. "You're probably gotta hate me for this, but I really can't. You need to burn that veil yourself. Otherwise, you won't.. Well, I shouldn't tell you that either."

"That's a terrible excuse!"

"Yeah." She confirms casually. "I know that. But that's how it's gotta be."

>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]
>"Pleeeease? Just a little hint? I'll do you a favour in return!" [Bargain!]
>"No! You tell me what you know now or I'll make you regret it! I AM a witch!" [Threaten her!]
>Something else? [Write-in!]

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Whew, it was a long way coming, but there it is! I hope it was worth the wait for you guys.

If everything goes according to plan, the next update will be tomorrow. We've got a lot more thread to cover before this deserves to be archived!

>>1795794
I hope this was sufficient for you!

>>1798350
>>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]

>>1798350
>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]

>>1798350
>"Pleeeease? Just a little hint? I'll do you a favour in return!" [Bargain!]
This princess is AWFUL at keeping a lid on things. At least Camille almost had a reason for breaking the masquerade, this one couldn't even be bothered to figure out if she was making a fuck-up at all.

>>1798350
For the record Nadja is very clean! She bathes every night! Of course she's already wiped!

>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]
>You know who you are! You're Nadja!

>>1798350
>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]
She must have some reason not to answer.

>>1798350
>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]
Probably pointless to try and get anything
Interesting that seal value didn't go down

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>>1798384
>This princess is AWFUL at keeping a lid on things.

Secrets are not her domain. That's her sister.

>>1798393
>For the record Nadja is very clean! She bathes every night!

I.. do not know if I should tell you. You might be happier not knowing the truth about that. I'd use spoiler tags, but everyone knows they're not meant to be used for real spoilers.

>>1798406
>Interesting that seal value didn't go down

I've decided that from here on out it will take either conscious effort, as in specifically working towards revealing the secret, or certain far more high profile encounters than this one. I feel that if there's too much of a leap between what players vote and the final outcome, the votes become meaningless.

But yeah, earlier in the quest exactly that would have happened in this situation.

>>1798454
...Nadja bathes every morning instead? That's not so bad.

>>1798454
D-do.. we have to go have nadja bathe?

>>1798350
>But I don’t have to find it out all alone, do I? Camille and Amalia were going to help me! That won’t hurt whatever reason that makes it better if I find it out myself instead of being told, righ!?

Am I overdoing it with the exclamation marks?

>>1798350
>"Well.. at least tell me who YOU are then?" [Let go of it. I'll figure it out myself! Somehow!]

She probably has a good reason for not telling us. She's made it sound like we aren't ready to handle the truth, and, well. We most likely aren't.

>she has a Sis that nags her to work with witches
Wanna meet this Sis. Nadja's sister is great so that means all sisters must be great.
>>1798393
Have you forgotten that she is a snakeeee! She could wake up with dead skin covering her any day! I hope she showers after that!

>>1798454
>Secrets are not her domain. That's her sister.
Are we talking to the personification of the two moons?

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>>1798465
>>1798474

Well... If you really want to know, see below.

WARNING: Descriptions of hygiene standards:

Bathing is a bit more of a bother when you don't have access to indoor plumbing. For an actual, full bath your options would be:

1) Actually carry enough water from the well to fill a tub at least somewhat. That's a lot of work just for a bath. Mind you, that's also a cold bath if you don't go through the effort of heating the water.

2) Head for the nearest river, stream, or other somewhat clean body of water. This isn't a whole lot of fun either, and means bathing in public! Scary!

3) Public bathhouses. There are a lot of issues with these, but it can definitely be an option if that's the best you have access to.

By far the most common choice in this region is the first, and also the one Nadja follows. Ideally, you'd go for one such bath per week (on the aptly named Washday), but it's not uncommon to skip a week, for various reasons. Nadja did actually miss the last one due to being more than a little occupied with a certain werewolf. But on the other hand, she also crashed into the lake several times while trying to teach herself to fly, so hey, it's fine right?

Nadja does however wash daily, we're just not talking about a full bath. All you need is a bucket of water and a washcloth to scrub the most obvious offenders clean so the church STRONGLY recommends making that part of daily morning routine. Being the only source of education for the vast majority, you don't see a lot of people who go more than a few days without that. While the level of technology isn't very high, the people aren't idiots so they know to keep at least some standards of hygiene.

Being the daughter of a blacksmith however, if Nadja ever did skip washing just a single morning, it would be quite obvious to everyone. She is aware of this, so it would take a very compelling reason to get her to leave the house without washing up.

So Nadja is slightly cleaner than the local average, but a daily bath? That's for people with servants.

On a related note, Amalia absolutely had to go through a period of adjustment when she.. well, abandoned her previous lifestyle. That can definitely make you a little moody.

I'm not really a fan of the popular notion that people used to NEVER wash, so I do make both Nadja and the rest of the world do that on a semi-regular basis, to the extent they're able, just as I believe that people in the past did. They're not FILTHY, but they're not up to our standards either.

>>1798584
>Am I overdoing it with the exclamation marks?

Nadja uses them a lot. I usually find myself having to remove a ton of them when trying to write her thoughts because there's so god damn many it becomes unreadable. You only used two.

>>1798735
>I'm not really a fan of the popular notion that people used to NEVER wash
It depended on where you were as well. The Scandanavians, for instance, were very clean people whose constant grooming practices made them quite desirable when they took over England, for instance.

>>1798735
>You only used two
In three sentences.

She’s actually washing herself more often than I thought.

>>1798366
That wizard in particular was very sexist. Or just could not resist making sexist comments to Owl. Considering that Owl is a giant amazonian like beauty, is no wonder wizards tend to be so "original" with their insults.

The wizards Owl killed with petrification, melting and turning into a tree were the kind you don't play around with.

Owl may be a idiot sometimes but she also knew first hand how cruel wizards can be, even before she became a witch apprentice. Her story is quite tragic, rivaling that of the witches of the old world.

A bunch of wizards had basically slaved her whole town and used everyone for experiments. They could do that because her town was in the middle of nowhere. She only survived because Wolf found her almost dead when her and other witches went to deal with the wizards. Owl wasn't the only survivor, some other kids did too. But she is the only survivor that became a witch.

That let to Owl pledge to include that she will always do her best to save people from wizards.

For Owl being a wizards means you are evil and have to be dealt with, no exemptions. That has caused some problems.

Owl tries to avoid female wizards because she tends to go softer when facing girls, but if she has to face one she will go all out then feel terrible afterwards.

Wolf is not an old world witch but she was trained by one. She is mostly a generalist but likes to take the form of a big wolf. She is older than she looks and the main reason Owl doesn't like fairies because of the stories Wolf told her. Fun fact, all the stories Wolf told Owl about fairies are true, or should be since they were told to her by fairies.

Wolf is also a wanderer, even being as old as she is she hates to stay in the same place for long. And she is one of the witches you want around when caught in a bad situation without much time to prepare, because she is very good at using whatever materials are available.

And she really should take another student already.

>>1798350
I don't know what to do with that. What are you supposed to do when you call someone stupid and they just agree like that. How am I supposed to argue when she already admitted that it's stupid? Trying to show her how stupid it is won't get us anywhere now!

I could argue that Amalia already promised to help me so that point about me having to figure it for myself is makes even less sense.. But what's the point of that if she already admitted the reason is stupid? She's going to stick to that point no matter what I say!

"Well then.. can you at least tell me who YOU are then?"

"Hmm.."
She leans her head backward as she ponders the question more carefully than I though would be necessary. Then, deliberation finally concluded, she throws me the most goofy-looking smile I've ever seen on anyone old enough to have graduated Sunday school.
"Nope!"

"You can't..?"
Even though it's dead obvious she already has some kind of clever response lined up, I still go ahead and ask the question. Clearly it's easiest to just play along with this girl. And for some reason, despite her having threatened me just two minutes ago, I just feel safe with her. Very safe, almost like I do with Papa.

"Nah, that's way too boring! Heehee!"
Her voice quickly grows in excitement, as if she had been waiting for years to execute whatever idea it is that she has just come up with. It's almost infectious and I just can't help myself from being swept along by the cheerful glint in her eyes and the tone in her voice as she barely even tries to hold back a laugh.

"Instead, how about.."
Again, a strange light appears around her hand. Then, before I can get started wondering what kind of potion she drank to make her hand light up like that or why she would even do something like that just for a lights show, a similar light appears around her other hand. Both of them gradually shift from the original red shade to a bright pink.

"How about I show you?"
I don't even think for a second when she reaches her right hand forward. I take it. I don't know why. My mind is telling me that it's an incredibly bad idea and probably very dangerous, but my hand just moves entirely on its own.

No sooner does my hand touch hers than I feel it. The tingling sensation of a light breeze moving over my arms, my hair and my dress fluttering under its pull. My eyes remain glued unto my hand in hers as the light grows stronger, exploding and bathing the entire room in its warmth.

My instinct tells me to shut my eyes, but somehow it doesn't hurt one bit even as my vision is filled with nothing but that bright pink. They tell me to run, but my legs refuse to answer. Instead, I feel the floor vanish from beneath my feet, the walls disappearing from around me, until the only solid left in my world is the hand holding mine.

>-+-+-
>1/2
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>>1801824
"You can open your eyes now."

"But my eyes are already o-wwWAAAHH?!"
Her hand grips tightly around mine and pulls me forcibly forward and in a single instant the bright pink light fades to be replaced by..

Well, a lot more pink, actually.

My vision returns, even clearer than it has ever been. Clear enough for my eyes to confirm what I already sensed, that all around us is no walls, no floor, no ground. Above and below, in front and behind, everywhere is just a clear sky. It's bright, even though I see no sun anywhere. A calm wind blows from no direction in particular, neither hot nor cold but just exactly right.

"So do I look like a princess yet?"
With that, she pulls my attention away from the nonsensical surroundings unto herself, and I immediately feel the need to bring a hand to my chin to help force my mouth shut.

Gone is the strange attempt at making an armored outfit look pretty that the adventurer girls always try for. I've seen a lot of those adventurers pass through Hinde and I still haven't seen anyone pull it off. Especially not Sis!

Her new(?) dress flutters gracefully in the breeze, allowing the pink and white to flow together in an almost mesmerizing symphony of light that is only further accentuated by the elegant dance of her long twintails, both of which are now decorated by the most perfectly white flowers that you probably wouldn't find even in the market at the capital, loose petals swaying gently around her as if they had come from the wings of the angels.

I'm not afraid to admit it. I am jealous right now. I don't HATE my own clothes, but they've just never.. shined. Not like this girl does now, not anywhere near. I want one too!

Briefly, very briefly, an inner voice cries out in my head, demanding to know how any of this is possible. I know that it shouldn't be, this definitely goes against everything I've learnt about magic so far. But that just doesn't seem quite as important when I reach out with my free hand to touch the fabric of her dress and..

"Wha..? What is this made of?! It's so soft, I've never felt anything like it!"

"Can't you tell?" She asks with a delighted grin on her face. "Love, of course!"

The voice cries out again, insisting that you definitely cannot make dresses out of Love, or any other immaterial concept for that matter. That's why they're immaterial!

..but maybe that's also why it's so soft?

We should keep touching it!

But how is-?

Pretty! Need more pretty!

The voice is frightened. It wants to leave. It thinks we're in danger.

It's wrong!

>"Can you make one for me too?! Pretty pretty please with sugar on top?!" [So soft and pretty.. Need more..]
>"But.. but this doesn't make sense! This isn't how it works! Tell me how you're doing this! What are you?! [Need to know more!]
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]
>Something else? [Write-in!]

>>1801825
>"But.. but this doesn't make sense! This isn't how it works! Tell me how you're doing this! What are you?! [Need to know more!]

>>1801825
>>"But.. but this doesn't make sense! This isn't how it works! Tell me how you're doing this! What are you?! [Need to know more!]

>>1801825
What a scary princess.
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

>>1801825
>"Can you make one for me too?! Pretty pretty please with sugar on top?!" [So soft and pretty.. Need more..]

>>1801825
>"Can you make one for me too?! Pretty pretty please with sugar on top?!" [So soft and pretty.. Need more..]

>>1801825
>"But.. but this doesn't make sense! This isn't how it works! Tell me how you're doing this! What are you?! [Need to know more!]

>>1801825
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

>>1801825
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

"And what kind of love is to turn someone into a dress? That sounds evil!"

>>1801825
"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

This is the same girl that only didn't kill us and turn us into a dress because she didn't want to fight witches. Love? Hah! The only love she has is the love for herself!

>>1801825
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

>Cry because you are freaked out.

>>1802339
I think any girl of her mental age would cry if she wasn't drugged with fake love fairy magic.

>>1801825
>"But.. but this doesn't make sense! This isn't how it works! Tell me how you're doing this! What are you?! [Need to know more!]

You're never going to Burn the Veil by being too scared to question someone in a situation like this.

>>1802346
Yeah, being shown exactly what she adores, possibly literally. Real cry-worthy shit there. This isn't any worse than meeting the demon and she handled that like a champ.

>>1802810
Being brainwashed more likely, notice how our MC felt both safe enough to do stupid things and was also scared while ignoring the part of her that was scared.


>>1801825
>"This isn't right! I want to go back! Please, I want to go back! Let me go back!" [Get out!]

>>1802810
The daemon didn't actually replace reality with some sort of an impossible empty magic world.

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Good morning! It seems like we have a majority in favor of steering away from the sun. Guess that's close enough!

I'm hoping to get started on writing this one in just a few hours, so the update might be sooner than the previous one!

Unless it isn't. That might happen too.

>>1802319
>"And what kind of love is to turn someone into a dress? That sounds evil!"

Even if it's a lovely dress?

>>1803230
>The daemon didn't actually replace reality with some sort of an impossible empty magic world.

She would have loved to show Nadja her garden, but that would have been a breach of the rules by which she is bound, unless Nadja actively and clearly agreed to go with her, without being supernaturally influenced. And breaking those rules would be extremely bad for her.

It's a very lovely garden though!

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>>1801825
The voice grows louder and louder within me, demanding to be heard. It wants to get out! Even though everything feels so great, at the same time something is just..

"Not right."

I understand why now. I've felt this before. Not quite the same, but I do know it from somewhere else, even if it's wearing a different face. It was clouded by the warmth washing over me, by the intense feeling of happiness. I couldn't recognize it before, but now that I've noticed it is so obvious.

The Daemon, Vanda. She did something just like this, she made me feel this too. It is completely and utterly overpowering, the feeling that this girl is not just standing in front of me. She is around me, above and below, her presence surrounding me completely. She is outside, inside, and beyond. Because..

"Please let me go back."
My voice is growing weaker as the realization sets in. I don't feel afraid, but that is only because she is not letting me. I am only feeling what she decides I should feel.

Vanda's presence was a lot like this, but now I realize just how gentle the Daemon was actually being. This girl, if she is one at all, before I could even notice has seeped into my entire being. I know I am not changed, but what I am does not belong to me anymore. I belong to her now.

"Please..? I want to.."
I stumble for words, not seeming to be able to find them anywhere in my mind. Then the grip loosens, just a little bit.

"What do you want, Little One? Find out, and I'll let you go."
Her eyes are locked unto mine, unmoving, waiting. I immediately understand what she wants. I search my mind again, reaching out for as much as my self as I can get my 'hands' on. I know that it is there, a faint glow behind the glass ceiling. It's just there, I just need a little more..

"That is, what do YOU want, not anyone else. Can you tell me that?"
I feel strength. I know it isn't mine, it doesn't belong to me, but she permits me to use it. Slowly, bit by bit, the barrier crumbles beneath the borrowed force. It's right there. There is nothing more in my way. I grasp it, touch it. I know it. It's

>Seal suspended.
>Seal value is temporarily set to 0/100.

Me.

"What is it, Little One? What is it that YOU want?"

What I want? Heehee, that's easy! Obviously..

>"I want to save Mistress!" [Background Lock: Eternal Friend]
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]
>[Write-ins are still allowed, if you're not happy with either of these backgrounds/motivations for Red]

>No, her name is obviously not actually Red, but I figured you'd know exactly who we're talking about if I called her that.

>>1804123
Is.. Mistress in danger?

I want to choose Love.. for Amalia, but.. Freedom sounds good too.
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]

>>1804123
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

>>1804123
Oh dear, this is interesting. Wonder how big the consequences of this choice will end up being...
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

>>1804123
>>"I want to save Mistress!" [Background Lock: Eternal Friend]
Best. Friends. Forever.

>>1804123
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]

>>1804123
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]
Love isn't just romance after all, who wouldn't want to love like Nadja loves papa, or like she loves her friends, as well

>>1804163
My fear is that it we won't be able to choose who we love. She may make us love her for instance.

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>>1803252
>I'm hoping to get started on writing this one in just a few hours, so the update might be sooner than the previous one!

Hahaha, can you believe this guy. To think he'd actually believe that! What an idiot!

>>1804147
>Wonder how big the consequences of this choice will end up being..
I'm letting you decide what exactly it is that "Red" wants. I've noticed some very mixed feelings about her so I figured maybe it's time you got a little more comfortable with her.

Seriously, curse this red text for being so dark and making her look evil regardless of how hard I try to show that she isn't evil at all!

>>1800176
Your little pair are actually starting to develop into actual characters that could fit into the setting if that's what you're looking to do, instead of those first little pieces you wrote where they seemed to mainly serve as a device to look at the ongoing plot from a somewhat humorous third-person perspective.

In the previous age, in the Old World, the wizards were basically rulers of entire nations so one of them deciding they have the right to use an entire town as their private lab is totally something that could happen.

As for Old World witches, there are exactly nine of them alive. Those of course being the Elders who founded and trained the witches that you see today. Of course, originally there were ten of them, but they ARE getting really old. You might or might not remember a particular Elder witch at the second part of Nadja's initiation who was particularly youthful. That'd be because she's actually from the line of the Elder who died, and now she has the misfortune of having to fill her place while struggling to even be recognized by the "real" Elders.

I'm pretty sure I actually made a list of who those Elders are and what their positions were in the Old World, along with a basic outline of the traits they value most and therefore sought to pass to their students. I could dig through my notes for that, if you'd like to know more about them.

I had figured it might be useful one day, if we got to doing a lot of interactions with witches from the other lines. It is something that witches definitely pay attention to when interacting with each other. Each witch has her own style of course, but which of the Elders her training originates from always says at least something about her, even if she's a third or even fourth generation witch.

>>1804168
That would be a pretty cruel prank...if it's that mean-spirited I can't imagine any of them going well

>>1804176
h-hey her love thing isn't gonna take Nadja away from Amalia right?

>>1804176
You could always have chosen a comfy sky-blue color! Or a refreshing yellow! I see through your charades, Friend.

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>>1804181
>h-hey her love thing isn't gonna take Nadja away from Amalia right?

No.

>>1804186
>You could always have chosen a comfy sky-blue color! Or a refreshing yellow! I see through your charades, Friend.

But you chose red!
It's just so long ago you probably don't remember. And seeing as /qst/ decided to just hand them to me, it seemed I may as well try to make use of the colored text.

>>1804200
What dastardly schemes, using our own decisions against us! Friend truly is a formidable opponent...

Colored text is nice. Although a missing bracket can quickly lead to some rather colorful posts.

And I'm glad to see you're assuaging anons fears, I suppose this princess must be only mildly antagonistic.

>>1804123
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

>>1804123
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]

>>1804123
>>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

>>1804123
>"I want to love, just like humans do!" [Background Lock: Dreamer]

>>1804123
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

Rebel fits being a witch better.

>>1804123
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

>>1804123
>"I want to be free and choose my own friends!" [Background Lock: Rebel]

And brainwashing is always evil even if gone with good intentions.

>>1804123
"I want to be free!"

[I'm smart enough to tell good rules from bad rules!]

"And I want to choose my own friends!"

[I'm smart enough to tell good friends from bad friends too!]

>Background LOCKED: [Rebel]

>Seal restored!
>Seal value is now 70/100.

I fall, for just a single moment. The nothingness around us cracks, rapidly breaking apart like glass shattering. All around it gives way to the slightly cramped inn room. The air is a little stuffy in here, not perfect like it was in the other place. My head feels a little too warm but my feet are a little too cold. Normally I don't think I would even notice, it's not really bad. It's just not perfect like it was in the other place.

The boards of the walls and the floor and the ceiling are worn out, some of them are a little crooked, and the light peeking through the window stings my eyes just a little. The bed beneath me is bumpy, just enough to be annoying, but otherwise it's soft and comfortable. It's not perfect like in the other place.

I don't think I like perfect.

"Bad friends are definitely something to look out for. Gotta say, I'm actually really interested to find out how your story ends now!"
The girl is still here too, standing over me. But not anywhere else. Just where she is, nowhere else. I can't help smiling a little when I see that she's still wearing the dress from the other place. Princesses should definitely wear something like that, though I'd probably add a few frills to make it just right.

"You're definitely not who I'm looking for though. Fortunate for you, now I have no reason to stop you!"
She smiles too, but not the kind of smile that would have let me know she was just joking about that last bit and not implying anything.. ugly.

"..Looking for? Is that why you brought me here?"
I feel there's no sense beating around the bush at this point. The feeling that I felt from the moment I woke up was exactly the same as the one in the other place, just not as strong, and it definitely belongs to her. It doesn't make sense to pretend otherwise.

"Heehee, I suppose it only fair you get a few answers now that I have all the ones I wanted."
She lets herself fall back unto the bed beside me, laughing as if this all was just a game to her.
"Yeah, more or less. But I know for sure now that you're not the one I was looking for. I really just decided to toss out the bait and see if I caught anything. Didn't really expect to find any other supernaturals in such a small town, so it seemed worth a try."

"But if not me then who-"

"Don't ask that question." She quickly cuts me off with a playful slap of my wrist. "Ask one I'm allowed to answer!"

>-+-+-
>1/2
>-+-+-

>>1806949
A question she's allowed to answer, huh? But I don't know what rules she is following. After the impression she's given so far, I would have guessed the answer to be not a single one.
"Okay, how about your name? You still haven't told me and I'm pretty sure that's actually very rude!"

"Pftt!"
She sticks out her tongue as if she was a mischievous little brat up to no good.
"You know, courtesy usually isn't what people are most concerned with when I'm interrogating them. And they usually don't care about what I'm wearing either!"

I don't even bother responding to that.

"Haha, sorry, guess that's a little hard to appreciate from your end. Hold on, gotta do this right.."

She stands, or rather jumps, back up on her feet with surprising energy, then proceeds to drag me up on my own feet as well. She takes a step backwards, then half a step, before deciding that to be just right. She drops into an evidently well practised curtsy, both graceful but also slightly mechanical. Forced? Even though her personality is entirely different, the way she does it reminds me a lot of Amalia.

"Princess Melissa, the Crimson, of the Emperor Theodoric Charles Lembar VII, and 67th Heir to the Saint Vala."
The otherwise majestic composure is immediately broken as she gives me a playful wink and a crooked smile.
"Believe it or not, it's all the same to me!"

That name.. I'm pretty sure that I've heard that name. No, I know that I have!

"But uhm, isn't that..? Wasn't Melissa the Saint Vala's real name? I'm pretty sure it was.."

"Sure was! You gotta take her name to become Princess. Well, her or the other one. I think that's kind of boring, but them's the rules!"

I'm not sure she should be talking about something so important in such a casual manner. Shouldn't she have more respect for herself, if she really is a princess?

I probably shouldn't ask her that again though, in case she gets offended again.

But then what? I know she won't tell me any more about why she did all of this, so what can I ask instead?

>Nothing. This person is scary and I want to get away from her, no matter what she is. And I'm definitely very late now too.. [Attempt polite exit]
>Ask her more about me. She knows something that I don't and even if she won't give me the answer, maybe I can convince her to point me in the right direction? [Ask about Nadja]
>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]
>Something else? [Write-in]

>>1806952
>No love
I guess Nadja didn't need to love anyone anyway.

>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]

>>1806952
>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]
She's not....a WIZARD right?

>>1806952
>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]

>>1806952

>Ask her more about me. She knows something that I don't and even if she won't give me the answer, maybe I can convince her to point me in the right direction? [Ask about Nadja]

>>1806952
>>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]

>>1806967
Dont worry, I'm sure this wont stop us from loving Amalia as much as we can.

>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]

>>1806952
>Do all nobles have that mechanical grace? Does that mean it doesn’t feel magical anymore after practicing it so much?

That’s kind of sad, now that I think about it. Not sure about the phrasing.

>>1806952
>>Ask her more about her magic. Why can she use magic without tools? Are all princesses magic? What was that other place? [Ask about princess magic!]

>>1806952
"Well, are you allowed to tell me how it's possible for you to use magic without using any tools? Because I'm pretty sure that-"

She groans, loud and pained, letting her shoulders slump in a manner that isn't at all princess-like.
"I suppose it was too much to hope that you'd just let that be, right?"

"Uhm, sorry? But uh, it's just that Miss Raven made it pretty clear that you always use magic through some kind of tool. Otherwise you'll-"

"Alright, alright, fine! I suppose I can tell you SOME!"
She folds her arms in front of her and looks away, pretending to be insulted.
"But if the Church's men comes and vanishes both of us in the night because I revealed something super-secret, I WILL tell you "I told you so!" at least ten times before we die horribly!"

"Wait, wha-?"

"AND,"
She cuts me off with a wave of her hand, continuing to list her demands. She then walks over to the bed and forcefully shoves the pillows and blanket out of the way, making an utter mess of the rest of the room in the process. She looks back at me for a moment, throws me a goofy-looking grin, then lets herself fall forward unto the bed with her arms raised.
"AND, I get to pretend we're having actual girl-talk about something completely unimportant, like completely normal people!"

I can't help but stare as she lies sprawled across the bed with her back towards me, resting her head on hands while her great pink and white dress is actually taking up so much of the bed it almost seems to replace the actual sheets. Not only because it's such a strange sight when you've only seen pretty dresses like this in books where the ladies wearing them are at a fancy ball or at court, always standing and looking as beautiful as they possibly can, but also because it's just such a strange request to be making.

Noticing my hesitation she rolls unto her side to look back at me, suddenly making a very serious face.
"Look, chances are we're never going to see each other again, and I know that. So you know, just act like a normal girl and let me have this moment, okay? No tricks or anything, I promise!"

"I uhh, I guess..?"

"Great! Come-come!"
She eagerly claps on the bed, motioning for me to join her.

I don't feel anything not-normal, just very awkward and a little unsafe. Happiness levels are being completely normal, so I'm pretty sure she's not doing anything weird to me anymore, just like she promised.

I still don't really like it, but I kind of really do want to know more. This is clearly completely distinct from witchcraft and it seems very powerful. Learning as much as possible would definitely be good. And besides, if she WAS going to use her magic on me again, I'm pretty sure it's already too late for me to do anything about that. So that means, keeping her happy is the smartest thing to do, because then she'll talk more.

>-+-+-
>1/2
>-+-+-

>>1817195
Even so, I do feel quite nervous as I cautiously lie down on the bed, making sure to stay at arm's length from her. She responds my quickly sliding herself closer. Not quite close enough to touch me, but, seeming to pick up on my nervousness, no further than that either.

She lets out a long, contented sigh as she slowly sinks deeper into the bed.

"So, magic!"
She suddenly perks back up, a slightly embarrassing yelp escaping from my lips in surprise.
"Can't use it without tools, that's what you said right?"

"Uh-huh, because magic is powered by sparkles from the moons, and they're unpredictable when they contact the human body. Almost always very bad. So that's why you need to apply them to tools instead, where you can control it."

"Okay."
She says the word in such a surprising way, as if what I said was something that needed to be approved or accepted.
"But what about magical creatures like dragons or gorgons or fairies? They all use magic too, and they don't need tools to do it."

"Well uh.. I don't really know a lot about monsters and stuff, but aren't they made by contact with sparkles to begin with? I think?"

"Mhm, that's right. Well, most of them anyway. Sooo they were basically made magical the same way you'd make a wand or a potion magical except it was by accident, right?"

"Wait.. Wait are you saying that YOU were-"

"I told you about monsters. Nothing else. Not anything else. Understand?"

"But you-"

"I told you about monsters. Understand?"

"But-"

"Understand?"

"I.. understand."

"Good girl!"

And then it happens.

As she says those words, she reaches out a hand towards me, gently placing it on my head and.. and..

Immediately, instinctively, I pull away and jump off of the bed and try to wipe the shame off of me. She gives me a confused look as I try to glare every bit of my rage at her.

"YOU PATTED MY HEAD! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"You ah.." She keeps up the confused look, actually trying to act as if she doesn't understand. "You don't like that?"

"I AM NOT A PET!"
I scream at her as loudly as my lungs will let me, stomping the floor as hard as I can while heading for the door and swinging it wide open.
"AND EVEN IF YOU ARE A PRINCESS YOU DON'T GET TO TREAT ME LIKE ONE!"

"I'm.. I didn't intend-"

"YOU'RE A MEAN PRINCESS!" I cry, then slam the door behind me and rush down the hallway, down the stairs, and out of the building. I don't even care about the strange stares from the inn-guy or the people outside as I keep running as quickly as my legs will carry me, out of town and into the forest.

I don't even know where I'm going, but I know I don't run for very long before I get tired and decide to sit down against a nearby tree. Even then, my body just won't rest and I find myself still stomping and punching at the ground. I am just so angry! And I feel so.. so shamed and degraded!

"I definitely don't like princesses anymore!"

[END OF THREAD]

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That's going to be it for this thread, seeing as we're so close to dropping off the board. Sorry about going silent over the weekend there, stuff happened and, well, you guys know how that goes by now.

I definitely was not planning to let just one girl take up the entire thread, and am actually a little bummed that I didn't get to show you what I ACTUALLY had planned to be the focus of the thread. I guess that's going to be for next time, then!

On that note, I am expecting that to be as early as next weekend, if nothing goes too horribly wrong this week. As always, I'll try to let you know in good time on my twitter when something happens.

I hope you enjoyed this thread despite the hiccups along the way. If you have any questions for me, or anything else you want to talk about, well..

Better do it quick before we fall off the board!

Otherwise, thanks for joining me and see you next time!

>>1817199
Thanks for running! It was fun!

Nadja really isn't fond of headpats, huh.

>>1817204
It wasnt one from Amalia, so of course she didn't like it.

>>1817232
Hey now, don't forget papa anon!
If he ever feels like it again...

>>1817199
Thanks for running.

>>1817199
Thanks for running

I hope you can run again this weekend

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>>1817204
>Nadja really isn't fond of headpats, huh.

Hair ruffling is fine. Headpats are not. Always remember to learn the cultural quirks of a country before you travel to it, it will save you from accidentally offending someone. Either purchase a traveler's guide from your preferred bookstore, or consult an experienced traveler for advice. Most accept payment in the form of local drinks.

>>1817247
How do you differentiate a head-pat from a hair-ruffle until you're in the middle of experiencing it? You're at the mercy of chance!

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>>1817250
Well you also don't know if the man with his hand in his pocket is about to pull a knife out of there until you see his hand. You just gotta trust people in your everyday dealings.

Trusting is definitely one of the first words you'd read if you did look up a traveler's guide for the Golen region that Hinde is a part of. Obviously it doesn't apply to everyone, and the rest of them definitely aren't nearly as trusting as Nadja has on occasion shown herself to be, but for an Imperial region situated right on the edge of the Empire and bordering the Republic it's a fairly surprising trait.

It is an important trait though, as it means that they'll welcome and trade with pretty much anyone, even if they've just come out of yet another war between the Empire and the Republic. Obviously also means they get scammed more, but for the most part you actually have organizations of Republican traders (guild would not be an appropriate word) actively trying to shut down anyone who is caught doing so, regardless of their nationality or affiliation with the merchants, simply because they'd like to preserve that attitude in the region.

Amalia is an interesting example here, being a "foreigner" (technically not, if you consider the Empire to be one country but that's only officially the case, not what most people actually think) and a more than a little odd-looking one. In most places she'd probably get a lot of negative attention, but for the most part she's simply being left alone, and that's mainly because of her actively pushing most people away.

This post ended up a lot longer than I intended.

>>1817196
Oh.. poor Nadja.
>>1807291
>as much as we can.
That's what I'm worried about! What if Nadja is incapable of loving someone fully! What if her type of creature lacks the components for.. intimate interests!

It will hamstring her relationship with Amalia!

>>1817343
I'm sure Amalia would be happy with just cuddling too!

Still, these worries seem a little premature at this time.

>>1817363
They are very mature fears! The most mature!

>>1817365
Touché, anon.

>>1817343
>That's what I'm worried about! What if Nadja is incapable of loving someone fully! What if her type of creature lacks the components for.. intimate interests!

You mean a heart? Don't worry, she has one of those. In pretty good condition too, you'd think it'd never even been taken out of the original packaging at all!

>"Look, chances are we're never going to see each other again, and I know that.
Suuuure you aren't.

>"I definitely don't like princesses anymore!"
What a travesty. Maybe her sister can restore Nadja's faith in princesses.