>>1937881
>>Grab breakfast
>Finish what you were reading last night

Priorities first. But can read while eating...maybe.

>writing

>>1937950
If I somehow have majority voting power then I'll find a way to take this quest so far off the rails that we'll trip over El Dorado

>>1938027
Do it. Teach that sketchy happy-looking fuck a lesson.

You put Coral in your hand and hop out of bed, doing a quick couple of stretches before throwing on some clothes, grabbing a book, and heading for the dining room.

You pretty much know the castle off by heart now, as well as a decent portion of Leon after you spent a few of your off days exploring.

As you approach the dining room, you hear wingbeats... that can only be one person. Well... 2 people, but Ava shouldn't be in the castle right now...

You turn with a smile, as Daria spreads her wings in the wide hallway and brakes just in time to avoid bowling you over.

"Gooooooood morning cousin!" She exclaims.
"Good morning, Princess" You reply, as you brace your legs and open your arms.

Daria flies into you, wrapping you in a tight hug as you catch her.

"Didn't think you'd be up this early" You say as you set her down.
"You didn't hear?" She asks.

You tilt your head.

"Everyone's coming back from the hunting camp today!" She says. "That means Derrick's coming home!"
"How come no one told me?" You ask.

Daria's expression drops.

...

"That was your job, wasn't it?" You ask.
She looks ashamed and scratches her horn. "Eh heh heh... maybe" She says.

You take a breath. You know how Daria can be. You're just happy she told you at all...

Altea's been trying to teach her some discipline, but it's slow going. As it stands, she still flies through the halls.

"Y-you're not mad, are you?" She asks.
"I'm good" You reply.

Daria brightens right up.

"Will you be joining me for breakfast?" You ask.
She nods, and you get moving.

>1/2

Though this quest hasn't been very rail'y. What would be a better way to say it....

Off the reservation? Yea, lets hijack this protag. and take a trip to Thailand.

>>1938098
I'm here too now.

You sit down at the table in the seat next to the little sprite table, where Coral goes to sit. Daria sits across from you.

Doesn't seem like Daria has much to say, but that'll probably change as soon as you start reading... you crack open the book anyway.

"Whatcha readin'?" She asks.

You knew this would happen...

"Basic Device Crafting" You say. "I've been helping Gretchen make devices for her chaos engine, and she suggested I learn about the subject"
"Is it... interesting?" She asks.
"Not really, but it is useful" You say. "When I'm not going full throttle, the Rook has plenty of excess energy. I was thinking I could slap some bolt shooting devices on the front, or some thrusters on the back"

"Why not both?" She asks.
You shrug. "I'll stick with one for now" You say. "If it works, then I can attach the other"
"Coool" She says.

...

"When were Derrick and the others arriving?" You ask.
"His letter said he'd be here for lunch" Daria says.

You nod. That gives you some time to work with. You have today off, as the archive is closed today so you were planning on visiting some people.

Since you started your studies here, Tian moved here and started running her show, Lance got transferred to the Leon hunter's guild so Fran and the Devils are here. You've also been hanging out with Daria, Pip, Leah, and Emi a lot; though Emi doesn't leave the palace much due to the cold.

With that in mind, you-

>Visit the Devils

>See what Pip is up to

>See what Emi is up to

>Head to the Rynia house

>Ask Daria what her plans are

>Other

>>1938151
>>Head to the Rynia house

>writing

>>1938098
Yeah, nah.
>>1938151
>>Head to the Rynia house

-decide to head out to the Rynia house. Even if Leah isn't up, the kittens will be. That will be enough to entertain you.

When breakfast arrives you eat up and head out, letting Daria know where you're headed. She seems sad that you aren't sticking around to hang out with her, but you know she has a lot of studying to do.

With breakfast out of the way, you head back up to your room to drop off the book and get into warmer clothes, grab your cloak and your blades, then head for the cart storage.

It's winter now, though it could've fooled you. There hasn't been a single snowflake, just cold and rain. Not that the cold bothers you too much, but the rain can be kind of a pain.

Fortunately, the sky is clear today so you won't have to worry about that.

Once you're on the Rook, it's a very quick trip to the Rynia manor. Especially if you cut through the alleys, using a route Pip showed you.

A lot of the lights in the manor are on, so someone must be awake. You dismount the Rook in front of the manor, drain the engine, and head up.

James- the steward of the house -greets you at the door.

"Welcome, young prince. What brings you here today?" He asks.

>Is Leah up?

>Kittens

>Other

>>1938289
>>Is Leah up?

>>1938289
>>Other
"I'm here to preform your seasonal fire and safety inspection."

>>1938289
>Kittens
Evening Smiley

>>1938289
>>Kittens

>writing

>>1938338
Evening man.

>>1938345
I was not expecting a thread tonight
I have to go to sleep in an hour and a half to get up at 0300 ;_;

>>1938357
I was holding off on running again until I'd found both a place to live and a job. Just got the job today and I start tomorrow so I figured I'd run to celebrate.

>>1938386
Congratulations on the new job Smiley, I'm in the middle of moving from Van to the Okanagan valley.
Thus the absurd wake up time

"I'm here to perform your seasonal fire safety inspection" You say.
"I can assure you that all exits are free of obstruction, and all firefighting water devices are working properly" James says.

...

"Oh... well... that's good" You say. "Is Leah up?"
"I believe she is waking, currently" James replies.

You nod. It takes Leah a while to actually get up. You wouldn't really want to deal with her until she's done.

"How about the kittens?" You ask.
"Denise and Delilah are in their playroom with their mother" James says. "If you'd like to head up there, I can inform Leah of your arrival"
"That sounds good. Thank you" You say.

James smiles and gives you a polite bow, motioning for you to enter before closing the door behind you and heading up the stairs.

You leave him to his work, and head to the left where the kitten's playroom is. When you come up to the door, you find it unusually quiet...

And when you open the door, you realize why. Sara (Leah's Aunt, mother of kittens) is reading something, while Denise (older kitten) is playing, and Delilah is stalking her sister...

Sara looks up from her book and smiles as you enter. "Good morning" She says.
"Good morning" You reply.

The talking grabs Denise's attention and she looks around, noticing Delilah and jumping 3 feet in the air before bolting around the room and pouncing on her younger sister...

>Break up the catfight

>Ask Sara how things have been

>Other

>>1938408
>Ask Sara how things have been

>>1938408
>>Ask Sara how things have been

>writing

"How have things been here?" You ask as you sit down in the chair next to hers.
"Quiet" She replies. "Fran was by the other day"

"I know" You say. "Where do you think she left her kids?"

Sara laughs. "Not that you mind" She says.
"Yeah, it was a nice break from all the studying" You say. "I got to show them some of the cool stuff here, take them out for lunch, fun times"

You look down and see that the catfight has ended, Denise is sniffing your leg, while Delilah is climbing the play-tree on the far wall.

"What did Fran want?" You ask.
"Just to say hello" Sara says. "It isn't too often that mothers with young children get to take some time off, so we enjoyed it while we could"

"I'm glad you guys get along" You say.
"I'm glad that she was willing to forgive us for... our role in all this" Sara says.
"She's not the type to hold a grudge" You say. "Plus it's not like it was your idea to give the inquisition all that power"

"That doesn't make us blameless" Sara says. "But it's nice to start making things right..."

Denise hops up into your lap. "Hewwo!" She says.
You scratch her ears and smile. Denise is old enough now that she's almost fully starting to talk. She's not quite there yet, but everytime you come by it gets a little better.

"Hey there" You say. "What's new?"
"Yeah" She says.

...

Of course, speaking and understanding are two different things. It's still cute as hell, though.

>1/2

You chat with Sara and pet Denise for a while longer. Sara has an interesting viewpoint to the nobility as someone who is a noble but doesn't actually have a claim to anything.

Eventually, Leah shows up, dressed and fully awake. Which is good to see, as she's really cranky when she gets up... like take Ilica when you say something dumb and turn that up to 11 cranky.

"Good morning, Yuu" Leah says. "Didn't think I'd see you here so early"
"I had some time so I figured I'd drop by. See how you're doing, play with the kittens" You say.
"Mostly the kittens?" She asks.

"Mostly the kittens" You reply. "You hear the news?"
"News?" She asks.
"Everyone who went to the hunter's camp is coming back today" You say.
"Oh cool" She says. "I know you've been missing Derrick, and I'm interested in meeting your other friend"

You've become pretty good friends with Leah while you've been in Leon. After she convinced her mom to ease off, you've found that she's actually pretty cool...

Which could just be a part of her mother's plan to get you to marry her, but that's a bit farfetched...

...

Right?

"So, what are you up to today?" Leah asks, as she plucks Delilah off the play-tree and sits down with her.
"Dunno yet. The others are going to be here by lunchtime, so I've got a few hours to kill" You say.

"Wanna head to the training room in the palace? I'm interested in seeing these new spells of yours" She says.

>Sure

>Maybe later

>Other

>>1938654
>Sure
>The palace guards can always use training in how to fight demons anyway.

>>1938654
>Sure

>writing

so we have a few new soul powers that whilst useful i feel as if people are gonna need to be reminded with have them for fights

"Sure" You say. "I could use some practice with them anyway"
"Okay. Let me grab breakfast and put on something warmer" She says. "We takin' the Rook?"
"Yeah" You say.

She nods, scooping Delilah out of her lap and heading out.

While you wait, you chat with Sara some more and play around with the kittens using your buckler. It's adorable how confused they look when they think they've finally caught it, and you dispel it so it disappears.

Eventually, Leah comes back, all dressed up for the cold and ready to go. You say goodbye to Sara, give the kittens another quick scritch, and head out.

"I don't know how you go out there in just a t-shirt and a cloak" Leah says. "I even have fur and I still have to bundle up"
"Demon" You reply.
"Oh yeah..." She says. "What does it actually feel like?"
"Still cold, but then not really" You say. "Like... I know it's cold, but I just don't feel it all that much"

"Do you still feel its effects?" She asks. "Numbness in the fingers, toes, and nose, shivering..."
"Not really" You say.
"Huh..." She says.

With that, you mount up on the Rook and get moving.

>1/2

You arrive at the palace and head inside. Once you're out of the cold, Leah immediately whips off her jacket.

"Man I'll be glad when winter is over" She says. "The city is much nicer when it's warm"
"Still pretty nice when it's cold" You say.
"But not as nice"

When you reach the training room, you see that Emi and Daria are here. The two of them are sparring and they look pretty into it, so you don't interrupt.

Instead you-

>Show off your spells

>Watch the fight

>Spar with Leah

>Other

>>1938839
>Show off your spells

>>1938839
>>Show off your spells
Aw fuck, I almost missed a Smiley thread.

>>1938839
>>Show off your spells

>>1938839
>>Show off your spells

>>1938839
>Spar with Leah
I'm off to bed, night Smiley and good luck with your new job!

>writing

"Alright" Leah says, as she picks up a practice sword. "Show me what you can do"

You smile and lead with a chain flare. One hits her sword, the other hits the ground. The two pull toward each other and the sword flies out of Leah's unprepared hand"

"Har har" She says.
"I made that spell to deal with the flesh weapons" You say, as you dispel the flares and toss Leah her sword. "I figure if I can get them away from their owner, then others can fight them normally"

"Hoping to add a few more to your collection?" She asks.
"Absolutely" You say.
"Alright... what else do you have?" She asks.

You give her a quick run through, showing how you can step in the air and maneuver with springboard, the spread you get on scattershot, the different angles you can get with your soul seekers, and finish up with disruption.

"So just charge a spell?" She asks.

You nod.

"Where am I firing it?" She asks.
"Don't worry about that" You say.

She gives you an odd look and then starts powering something up.

You immediately fire your disruption, as it doesn't take a lot of soul so it charges incredibly fast. The wave passes through her arm, and the light of her spell fades.

"Ahhh... that feels so weird!" She says, as she shakes her arm off. "Please tell me it's not permanent"

>I should've mentioned that...

>It's not permanent

>Other

>>1938936
>>It's not permanent

>>1938884
>It's not permanent

>>1938936
>>I should've mentioned that...

>>1938936
>>I should've mentioned that...

>writing

>>1938936
>>It's not permanent

>>1938936
>>It's not permanent

"I probably should've mentioned that..." You say, pausing for a moment before continuing. "It's not permanent"

She breathes a sigh of relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack there" She says. "So does that just make your opponents limbs feel weird?"
"No... remember the spell?" You ask.

"Oh yeah!" She says. "Forgot about the spell... so it fizzles their magic, and then makes their limbs feel weird"

"Yeah. I figured it would be easier to fizzle enemy spells in a one on one, so I don't have to defend against them" You say.

Leah finishes shaking off her arm "Okay, it's going away" She says. "Thank the gods... I wouldn't want to be stuck like that"

"So, wanna see what it's like in combat?" You ask.
"I'm down" She says, as she brandishes her practice sword. "This should be interesting"

You take up your positions, and you activate your mageblade.

"Ready when you are" She says.

>Roll 1d100

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>1939041

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>1939041

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>1939041

>>1939065
Sweet Jesus calm down yu

>writing

File: Gon Victory.jpg (70 KB, 1280x720)

70 KB JPG

>>1939073

Leah taps the ground with her sword, signaling the start of the match. She immediately starts charging a spell, so you fire off a disruptor.

She dodges, twirling to the side and bringing her hand back around to fire a small burst of lightning. You immediately fire a wave to defend and rush in behind it to get in close.

The lightning arcs around the wave, going wide and letting you through. As the wave dissipates, you lunge forward and make a solid thrust at Leah's stomach. She parries, and you cross your blades.

Using your strength advantage over her, you only need 1 hand to hold her back. While she's focused on your sword, you let off a chain flare attaching her leg to the floor and jump back.

When she steps forward to keep the gap closed the chain catches her leg and she stumbles and falls, flailing her arms about to look for something to grab onto.

You hold out your hand and help her right herself, as you point your blade at her...

"Alright, you win that one" She says. "Didn't think I'd have to watch out for sneaky moves like that around you"
"Hey, if sneaky wins..." You say.

"I guess honor in battle is more of an ideal than a reality" She says. "The knight instructors talk a lot about it... but then you actually get into a fight and you get knocked out from behind before you can even do anything..."

"Pip did apologize for that" You say.
"I know" She replies. "I still have a lot to learn"
"If it's any consolation, your form is very good" You say.
"Why thank you" She says. "But Frederick told me a while back that if form alone could win a fight, there'd be no need to practice with an opponent"

"He knows his stuff" You say.

>Another round?

>I could teach you some underhanded tactics

>See how Emi and Daria are doing

>Other

>>1939133
>>I could teach you some underhanded tactics

>>1939133
>>I could teach you some underhanded tactics
Though, as a note, you will not be able to use the tried and true tactic of getting stabbed in the chest to disarm them.

>writing

"I could teach you some underhanded tactics" You say.
"Like what?" She asks.

"Like drawing your opponent's attention to one place and then hitting them where they're not looking" You say.
"You mean what you did back there?" She asks.
"Pretty much, yeah" You say.
"Let's do it" She says.

You go back and forth with Leah, teaching her how to look at where her opponent's attention is and strike from where it isn't.

She's... not a fast learner. But she makes some progress.

Your training is cut short, however when a sprite flies into your head midway through a match. Thankfully Leah is nice enough not to capitalize on your momentary distraction... which means she still has a lot to learn.

"Message for me?" You ask the sprite.

It holds out a little folded up paper with a big smile.

"Awesome!" You say, as you take the note and open it. "Leah, you mind feeding this sprite?"
"Sure thing" Leah says.

You read the note and smile.

"What's up?" She asks.
"They're here!" You say.

>Go out and greet them

>Let them know where you are

>Other

>>1939265
>>Go out and greet them

>>1939265
>Go out and greet them

>>1939265
>>Go out and greet them

>writing

"Come on, let's go!" You say, drawing the attention of Emi and Daria as well.

"What's going on?" Emi asks.
"Check it out" You say, handing her the note.

She takes it and reads it, smiling as she hands it back. "You're going out to meet them?"
"Yep, coming with?" You ask.

Emi nods, and the 4 of you head off to the entrance.

"Do you think they'll look different?" You ask.
"Different how?" Emi asks.
"I dunno... bigger maybe? Or maybe they'll have some battle scars?" You ask.
"I think the healers at the guild are capable enough to handle any wounds they might have gotten without scarring them" Emi says. "In fact, scars are usually pretty rare... even when they've set they can still be removed"

"How come Meyu has so many?" You ask.
"I asked him that same question" Emi says. "It's because Gerard does the haling in their group, and he's... not very good"
"Huh..." You say.

With that, you've reached the entrance. Now you wait...

>Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?

>Remind Daria not to flying tackle Derrick

>Other

>>1939335
>>Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?

>>1939335
>>Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?
>>Remind Daria not to flying tackle Derrick

>>1939335
>>Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?
>Remind Daria to flying tackle Derrick

>>1939335
>>Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?
>>Remind Daria not to flying tackle Derrick

>writing

"Is that why Jade was frustrated about my chest?" You ask.
"I believe so. That kind of thing should be easy to fix. But yours doesn't want to go away" She says.
"Huh... well, I like it" You say. "It adds character. Without it the only things on my chest would be my nipples, and that would just be boring"

...

"But enough talk about my nipples... Daria" You say.

Daria turns to you.

"Don't flying tackle Derrick the moment you see him" You say.
"I wasn't gonna!" She says.
"I was just reminding you" You say.

...

You look down the road and see a couple familiar carts approaching the palace. As you look forward, someone climbs up on your back.

"Ohhh, is that them?" Pip asks.
"It definitely looks like it" You say, completely unfazed. Pip actually feels lighter than usual... she does this a lot. "The one at the front is Betsy, and the one behind that is Derrick's"

Pip laughs, leaning over your head to peer into your view. "What's up Yuuster?" She asks.
You shrug. "just waiting" You say. "How've you been?"

She settles onto your back. "Busy" She says. "Hey Emi, Leah, Princess"
"That's a little inappropriate, don't you think Pip?" Marybell asks.

You turn to see the centaur emerging from the Palace.

"Yuuster doesn't mind" Pip says.
"That doesn't make it appropriate" Marybell says. "He's still a prince"
"Fiiiine" Pip says, as she slides off your back.

>Ask Pip why she was lighter than usual

>Ask if Altea's coming

>Other

>>1939403
>>Ask Pip why she was lighter than usual
>>Ask if Altea's coming

>>1939403
>Ask Pip why she was lighter than usual

Commomder might be busy

>writing

"You're lighter than usual today" You say to Pip.
"I don't have my gear with me" She says. "That takes off like... 10 to 20 pounds"
"Wow" You say.

"Yeah. I don't like to carry it all unless I have a mission" She says.
"No, I mean... where do you keep it all?" You ask. "Your usual uniform doesn't look like it has that much room..."

Pip winks. "Trade secret, Yuuster" She says.
You frown, and look around. "The Comomder isn't coming?" You ask.
"She's occupied" Marybell says. "Apparently a few urgent messages have come in"

"Anything bad?" You ask.
"She didn't say" Marybell says.

Before you can ask anything else, Daria spreads her wings. You turn to see Derrick just getting out of the cart.

...

>Stop her

>Let it be

>Other

>>1939451
>>Other
Hook her foot with a spell or the mageblade.

>>1939451
>>Let it be

>>1939451
>>Let it be

It was fated to happen this way, sorry Derrick.

>writing

You could stop this, but it would just happen later. Better to let the Princess get her fix of flying tackle hugs now.

...

Sorry Derrick.

Daria sails gracefully through the air, almost managing to stop before slamming into Derrick and knocking him back into the cart.

It also jarrs the cart quite a bit, and you hear some tumbling from within.

Within seconds, Ilica leaps out the back. "What the heck was that?" She asks.
"Flying princess" You say, as you walk up. "Welcome back"

Ilica smiles. "Good to be back" She says.
"How was the hunting?" You ask.
"Hard, but I learned a lot" She says. "How were things here"
"Boring at times, but I also learned a lot" You say.

Ilica looks around, and then gives you a quick hug. You wonder why, when you turn to see that all the attention is on Derrick and Daria...

...

>Give her a BIG hug

>Ask if she's any good with the crossbows now

>Ask if she got any big monsters

>Other

>>1939498
>>Give her a BIG hug
>>Ask if she's any good with the crossbows now

>>1939498
>>Give her a BIG hug

>>1939498
>>Give her a BIG hug

>>Ask if she's any good with the crossbows now

>>Ask if she got any big monsters

>writing

You smile at her and wrap her up in a BIG, tight hug. She tries to wriggle free for a moment but quickly realizes that it's futile and returns your embrace.

"I was never getting off that easy, was I?" She asks.
"Not even a little" You say. "It's good to see you again"
"You too" She says.

You let her go, and she bats your head.

You chuckle. "So, you get much better with your crossbow?" You ask.
"Muuuch better" She says. "I got really consistent with it while I was training in the camp, and I even managed to nail the eyes on a few monsters while we were hunting"

"Nice" You say. "Bring back any trophies?"
"Nah" She says, as she pulls out her crossbow. "I did get a weapon made with the bones of a wind affinity monster"
"What does that do?" You ask.
"Helps my casting" She says.

"Could someone give me a hand here?" A voice from inside the cart asks.

You and Ilica go back and look inside the cart. There's a rabbit stuck under some luggage.

"Whatever hit us knocked all of this onto me..." She says.

...

That can't be Hella...

>Help her out

>Ask if she's Hella

>Other

>>1939542
>>Help her out

>>Ask if she's Hella

>writing

... "Hella?" You ask.

"Yes?" The rabbit asks.

...

So that is Hella. You absolutely didn't recognize her. She slimmed down a lot while she was out there.

"Who's luggage is this, anyway?" Hella asks. "It's so heavy!"
"It's mine" Ilica says.
"What are you carrying in here, bricks?" Hella asks. "Were you planning on building a house one bag full at a time?"
"It's got all my gear in it" Ilica says.
"You use a hand crossbow, not a brick launcher" Hella says.

You laugh and lift the suitcase off of her, putting it back down on the bench.

Hella puffs out her cheeks as you give her a hand up, and help her out of the cart. Once she's on the ground, she smiles and jumps up to hug you.

"Thanks, Yuu" She says.
"N-no problem" You say.

She drops back down, still smiling. "So?" She asks.
"So...?" You reply.
"How do I look?" She asks.

>Good

>I barely recognized you...

>How did this happen anyhow?

>Other

>>1939582
>>I barely recognized you...
>>How did this happen anyhow?

>>1939582
>>Good

>>I barely recognized you...

>writing

"I barely recognized you" You say.

"Hee heee... yeah. I sometimes don't recognize myself in the mirror, too" She says.

You look her up and down. She's much slimmer in her waist, her stomach, and even her face. But there are spots that didn't shrink... like her chest, which actually looks bigger now that she's slimmed down...

"B-but yeah, you look good" You say.

She smiles, definitely enjoying the praise. "And you got taller again" She says.
"I did?" You ask.

"Oh shit, he did" Ilica says. "We were the same height before"
"Neat" You say.

You, Ilica, and Madelaine head over to where the others are.

"Hey guys" You say.
"Hey" Derrick replies. "Miss me?"
"A little" You say.
"Learn anything useful?" He asks.
"Tons of stuff" You reply. "I definitely have a better understanding of what I am now. How about you?"

He smiles. "Killing monsters comes with its own lessons" Derrick says. "It was interesting, not having someone like you around to do something crazy and improbable"

"Hmm... yeah, fighting with actual planning and skill must have been a nice change of pace" You say.

He chuckles and holds out his fist. You bump it.

"Good to see you again" He says.
"You too" You reply.

>1/2

You talk with the others and share stories for a while, introducing Ilica and Hella to the Leah and the Princess, wondering who could beat who now...

But the whole while you keep looking up...

"Something wrong?" Pip asks.
"There's an awful lot of sprites coming in..." You say.
"Altea did say she got an urgent message..." Pip says. "They can't all be urgent, can they?"

"You think something might be happening?" Derrick asks.

Almost on cue, Altea exits the palace. "Good, you're all here" She says.

"Comomder?" You ask. "What's going on?"
"I'm afraid I have to cut your reunion short" She says.

"Uh-oh" Pip says. "It is something bad..."
"Bad is an understatement" She says. "Pack your things, we're moving out"

"But they just got here" You say. "What happened?"
"Locke is under attack" She says. "Everyone move. I want all available forces on the march"
"Will we make it in time to make a difference?" Derrick asks.

Altea is quiet.

"I'm sure we will" You say. "Come on, let's get moving!"

That's all for tonight!

I'll probably have to start running during the day now, as it sounds like my new job will have me working evenings.

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time!

>>1939673
>Locke is under attack
woo, time to bust out our shiny new spells

Thanks for the thread, and welcome back!

>>1939682
Thanks for Running Smiley
Good luck with your new job
Glad to see Yuu back and running

You run inside and grab your things, then head back to the carts.

Frederick and the King are outside when you arrive.

"So... it has begun" The King says.
"It seems so... I thought we'd have more time" Altea says.
"So did the Antolians" The King replies.

"We're not the Antolians" Altea replies.

You walk over to the cart, patting Derrick on the shoulder as you stow your things underneath.

"How are we doing this?" He asks. "You gonna ride ahead?"
"Yeah" You say. "I should be in Locke by tomorrow afternoon if I ride through the night"
"Don't do that. Stop to rest, even if it's just for a few hours" Derrick says. "You'll be no good to anyone if you're half asleep when you get there"

You frown. "I... suppose I can stop in Sherton. Sleep through the darkest hours of the night, and be back on the road before morning" You say.
"All I ask" He says. "Can you bring someone with you?"
"Someone light, yeah" You say.
"Have someone in mind?" He asks.

"Pip and I have made a good team in the past... but I can work that out once everyone is here" You say.

You head back to Altea and the King, as everyone else starts to come out.

"Have we gotten word back from our neighbours?" The King asks.
"Nothing from the north, and just this-" Altea says, showing the king a bloodstained paper. "-from the isles"
"What does it mean?" The King asks.
"I'm not sure" Altea replies.

"They won't help" Emi says.
"I forgot that you're from the south. Is that what this means?" Altea asks.

Emi slithers up and takes the paper. "An old tradition, started when Kameni of Fibashi isle invited Dokon of Gitan isle to his fortress to ask him for aid against the Kazus" She says. "Dokon cut his hand and bled on the floor, stating that it would be the only blood his people would spill for the Fibashi"

"And this is their way of saying that indirectly" Altea says. "A simple 'no' would have sufficed"

Emi shakes her head. "Did you send them a letter?" She asks.
"Yes" Altea says.
"I would have advised against that, had I known... a call to war is something done in person, either by visit or invitation. Anything less is an insult" Emi says.

"So not only are they not going to help, but we've also insulted them... fantastic" Altea says. "I suppose it's too late to do it properly"

"Perhaps..." Emi says, looking troubled.

"What is it?" You ask.

"I... won't be much good to you in a fight here... it's gotten too cold for me. Cold makes me too sluggish" Emi says. "But... maybe I... I could go to the Isles and speak on your behalf. I don't think I could win their support on my own, but I could smooth things over so they would accept an invitation from you"

As Altea considers this proposal, you watch Emi's face. She doesn't look very sure about this. You don't know why she came to Lubars, but you know she left the isles for a reason...

>If anyone can do it, it's you

>Are you sure about this?

>We can find another way

>Other

>No time for a full run, but here's a post to keep things moving.

>Voting ends at midnight tonight

>>1945694
>We can find another way

>>1945694
>>Are you sure about this?

>>We can find another way

>>1945694
>>Are you sure about this?
>>We can find another way

>>1945694
>>If anyone can do it, it's you

>>1945694
>If anyone can do it, it's you

>>1945694
>Are you sure about this?

>We can find another way

>>1945694
>If anyone can do it, it's you

>>1945699
Midnight your time?
>>1947696

>>1945694
>Are you sure about this?
>We can find another way

>>1947754
Shit.

"We can find another way, you don't have to go" You say.

Emi gives you a weak smile. "It's alright... I want to help, and with this cold, I won't be much good out there" She says. "The Islanders are fierce fighters. If I can win them over, then we stand a much better chance against the legion"

You frown. "Are you sure about this?" You ask.
"M-maybe not..." She says. "But I want to help"

"Who's gonna put me back together after the battle if you're not here?" You ask.

"Then you should learn to fight without getting a dozen holes poked in you" She says.
"That's... never happened before" You say. "Well there was the Carracore, but I don't count that"

"You sure you're sure about this?" Ilica asks.

Emi nods, seeming a bit more confident now. "They'll listen to me" She says. "I can convince them that you meant no insult. After that, it'll be up to you"

Altea smiles. "If you're certain, then we can have someone charter a ship for you" She says. "Which Isle would you start with?"

"Ebiha" Emi says.

"Ruled by the Myuashi clan" Frederick says. "I hear they are not the forgiving types, not since the death of the previous head"
"They're not, but I can make them listen" Emi says.

...

Myuashi is Emi's last name... so it's her family that rules Ebiha isle. But you did promise to keep that a secret...

"Have the ship prepared, I'll leave as soon as it's ready" Emi says.
"Very well. Your grace, can you have one of your people handle this?" Altea asks.

The King nods and says something to Frederick, who bows and leaves.

Emi turns back to you. "I suppose this is farewell for now" Emi says.
"Only for now" You reply. "With any luck, the next time we see each other Locke will be demon-free, and you'll have some good news"

"And without any luck, we may all just be screwed" Ilica says, as she steps up to Emi with her arms wide. "Good luck out there"

Emi gives Ilica a hug. "You might need it more than me..." She says. "Make sure Yuu doesn't do anything stupid... please"
"That is not a one-felid job" Ilica replies.

Ilica steps away from Emi, and you move in to take her place.

"I'll be cautious" You say. "And I'll try to avoid getting hurt"
"Just... don't die" She says.
"Oh, come on. You've seen how much I can take" You say. "None of that has killed me"

You give Emi a squeeze and step back, as she says her other farewells. Before heading back to the Rook, you catch her eye and smile. She smiles back, and you walk over to Altea.

"Ready to depart?" She asks.
"Just about" You say. "I was gonna bring-

>-Pip with me

>-Ilica with me

>-Madelaine with me

>Other

And another one. Voting for this ends at 6pm PST.

>>1947766
>Pip with me

>>1947766
>-Pip with me

>>1947766
>-Pip with me

Sneak + Magic is better against demons than Sneak + Physical. I don't think Ilica brings enough firepower to justify it over the versatility Pip brings.

>>1947766
>Madeline + Yuu
Good tomboy deserves a chancd

>>1947766
>-Ilica with me

>>1947766
>-Ilica with me
Lets see how well Ilica can handle her crossbow, Time to see if all that practice really did pay off
I would also be fine with another Yuu and Pip Bike adventure

>>1947766
>-Ilica with me

>>1947766
My heart says Ilica, but my lack of healer says Pip. No vote.

>>1947766
>>-Pip with me

>Ilica

>>1947766
>>-Ilica with me

>>1949647
>>1948597
Same Dude.

Did we tie?

Ilica:
>>1948434
>>1948493
>>1948597
>>1949719

Pip
>>1947788
>>1947801
>>1948093
>>1948628

>>1950626
If it comes down to it I'm fine switching to Pip if a tie breaker is needed

>>1947766
>-Pip with me

>>1947766
>-Ilica with me

>>1947766
>-Pip with me

>>1947766
>>Pip with me
Sorry guys, but I think she would be the best for the job.
We can always go hunting with her some day, but for an attack I would have to go with the secure option

-Pip with me" You say. "We've made a good team so far, and she knows Locke better than I do"

Altea nods. "She looks ready to go. The two of you can leave immediately, and the rest of us will follow shortly"

"You're coming too?" You ask.
"It's my city" She says. "I'm confident that His majesty won't lock me out as soon as I leave, so I should return"

You smile. "I'll try to make sure it's not on fire when I get there"
"That job belongs to Lulu, Rhea, Jade, and the Hunters" She says. "If the attack is ongoing when you arrive, your job will be to neutralize their commanders"

"The guys with the flesh weapons" You say.
She nods. "You're the only one who can reliably handle them, so handle them" She says.
"Them and anyone who tries to stop me" You say.

She shakes her head. "Link up with our forces and let your support handle those around the commander" She says. "The troops are more than capable of handling the dregs, it's those weapons and the ones who wield them that give us trouble. Once the commander is neutralized, then you can engage as you see fit"

"Got it" You say. "Anything else I should know?"
"Ride fast, keep your eyes open, give them hell, and don't die" She says.
"That was the plan" You reply.

Altea gives you a hug, and you both go let everyone else know what the plan is.

Once that's done, you say your goodbyes and mount up on the Rook with Pip.

"All set to go, Yuuster?" She asks.
"I've got the important stuff, everything else is coming with the others" You say. "How about you?"
"All 20 or so pounds of my equipment is tucked away" She says. "Go ahead and gun it. I wanna be in Sherton by nightfall!"

You smile and twist the throttle. The engine jumps to life beneath you, turning energy into motion and setting you on your way at breakneck speeds.

The automata are busy keeping the streets clear of people for the departure, so it's a clear path the whole way out. As soon as you pass the Dragon's Gate you pick up more speed, roaring over the bridge and out onto the open road beyond...

>1/2

You slow down as you enter Sherton, after going full throttle pretty much the whole way here.

"Alright... here's a good place to stop" Pip says. "We made amazing time. Hit the hunter's guild, we'll rest there for a bit and keep going in a few hours"
"I'd like to take a look at the Rook, too. I don't think I've pushed it for that long before, and I'd rather not have it give out half way to Locke..." You say.
"We'll worry about that when we get there" She says.

You nod and pick up the pace, reaching the guild hall in no time.

Katherine is waiting outside. "Lady Altea told us you two would be coming" She says. "Sprite didn't beat you by that much. How fast were you going?"
"Very" You say. "Would we be able to rest here for a bit?"
"We have rooms all set up for you" Katherine says. "And it you want, you can let us patch up the Rook. We've got a few of its designers here. They can get it running like it was brand new"

>I can handle it

>Yes, please

>Any news from Locke?

Another long post. Voting will end at 3pm EST, and I'll hopefully be able to follow up with a thread either today or Thursday

>>1954065
PST not EST. That's a mistake I won't stop making anytime soon.

>>1954063
>Yes, please
>Any news from Locke?

>>1954063
>Yes, please

>Any news from Locke?

>>1954063
>Yes, please

>Any news from Locke?

>>1954063
>Yes, please
>Any news from Locke?

"That would be great, thanks" You say. "I'll leave that to you guys and go to bed, then"
"You guys have a room up the stairs" Katherine says. "It's got a big number 3 on the door. You can't miss it"

"Cool. Any news from Locke?" You ask.
"Not for the last few hours" She says. "Last message said they'd have to cut communication for a while since the legion was shooting down their sprites"

"What was happening before then?" You ask.
"The gate was breached" She says. "Legionnaires had occupied some of the western parts of the city, but the castle was holding, and they had the invasion contained"

"That won't last. Not while they have no way to deal with their commanders" Pip says. "Come on, Yuu. Let's rest up so we can hit the road again"

You nod, following Pip up the stairs to your room. It's a single room with 2 beds, so you each pick one and lay down.

It takes a bit to get to sleep, considering how antsy you are. But sleep does come...

...

It is also short-lived.

"Come on, Yuusky. That should be enough to get us through" Pip says, as she shakes you awake.

You grunt and sit up, wiping the sleep from your eyes as you look around. "Alright..." You say.
"That's the spirit!" She says as she pushes you out of bed. "Go! Go! Go!"

"How are you so lively after just getting up?" You ask.
"I'm always lively. Being lively is the best way to be lively" She says.
"That makes no sense..." You say.
"You don't need to understand, you need to drive!" She says.

You let yourself get pushed out of the room, down the stairs, and out the door.

The Rook is sitting outside, and Katherine is there to greet you again.

"All fixed up and ready to go" She says. "Good luck out there"
"Thanks, we may need it" You say.

She ruffles your hair and you mount up with Pip, once again gunning the throttle and ripping your way out of Sherton.

You keep going full speed all the way through Bell's Run, passing the city during the darkest part of the night. Before long you can see Locke on the horizon...

"Alright, we don't know what the situation is" Pip says. "How do you wanna handle this?"

>Leave the Rook outside and go in sneaky

>Ride to the Guild

>Ride to the Castle

>Other

>>1955851
>>Leave the Rook outside and go in sneaky

>>1955851
>Leave the Rook outside and go in sneaky
Unless Pip knows of a way into the city that's unguarded that we can fit the Rook through.

>writing

"I'll pull off before we reach the gate, then we can hide the Rook and go in on foot" You say. "We don't know how much of the city the Legion has, so let's be cautious"
"That's what I would do" She says. "They might have shut the gate, too. But I know another way in"

"A secret entrance?" You ask.
"Yup" She replies. "There's only one in the whole city, and I practically had to beg the Commander not to remove it"

"Why?" You ask.
"She likes simplicity. A solid wall with well defended, fortified entrances" She says. "I had to convince her that sometimes you need to be sneaky"

You slow down as you approach the gate.

"They shut it" Pip says.
"Think they'd open it up if we asked nicely?" You ask.
"Depends on who's on the other side" She says. "Pull off here. The entrance isn't far"

You stop and drag the Rook into a ditch, making sure it's well covered before heading to the wall.

When you reach the wall, Pip feels her way around. She taps on some of the bricks and listens...

"Now where was... ah! This one" She says, as she pulls out her lockpicks and jams them into a small hole between the stones.
"You don't have a key?" You whisper.
"I'm not even sure if there is a key" She replies.

After a few seconds, you hear a click, and a piece of the wall opens like a door. There's a Lubrian soldier waiting inside. He looks surprised.

"Heya" Pip says.
"You actually showed up... Lucrezia told me to wait for you here" The soldier says.
"And you were starting to doubt her sanity" Pip says as she steps inside. "I guess they sent word ahead that we'd be coming?"
"We received a sprite a few hours ago" The soldier replies.

"Alright, enough about that. How bad is it?" Pip asks.

>1/2

"The Legion controls over half the city, including the castle" The soldier says. "We were able to move most of the civlians to the east side, but..."

"Not all" Pip says. "Where are we based?"
"The army is somewhat scattered, but the bulk of our forces are either occupying the buildings near the front, or are at the east barracks"
"Lulu's there?" Pip asks.
"Yes" The Soldier replies.
"Then that's where we're going" Pip says.

>Not to the front?

>Let's go

>What about the civilians in the castle?

>Other

>>1956003
>What about the civilians in the castle?

>>1956003
>What about the civilians in the castle?
>Who is the enemy commander?

>>1956003
>>What about the civilians in the castle?

>writing

"What about the civilians in the castle?" You ask.

"Ah... I'm afraid they're still inside" He says. "Once the legion brought our barrier down, they anchored an airship over the castle. It's still up there now"

"What about the pride? Couldn't they shoot it down?" You ask
"Docks are on the northwest side of town" Pip says. "It's likely that they hit the docks first, knowing that a few airships would turn the tides in our favor..."

"You're right. They hit the docks before we could get anything airborne, and they're still occupying that area" The soldier says.

You frown. Things have gotten pretty bad, but still-

>What if we took them back?

>I need to get into the castle

>Take us to Lulu

>Other

>>1956085
>>What if we took them back?

>writing

>>1956085
>>Take us to Lulu
We need to coordinate with the defenders. They might just want us to do what we were going to do anyway.

"What if we took them back?" You ask. "We could get our own airships in the sky again, and we might be able to push them out"

"Now he's thinkin' with his noggin" Pip says.
"One of their commanders is there, otherwise we would have taken it back already" The soldier says.
"Leave the commander to me" You say. "Take us to Lulu. I want to plan this out"

The soldier salutes and leads you off.

"I'm surprised you're not rushing off to the castle" Pip says. "I know how close you are to the bunnies"
"Give me some credit here. I'm smarter that" You say. "I'm no good to them dead, and the best way to make the castle safe is to make the city safe"

"Good logic" She says. "Let's hope you don't end up regretting it..."

You follow the soldier out of the wall and into the city. This area is crowded, mostly by the people they evacuated from the other end of the city.

"The fighting is further in" The soldier says. "Ideally we'd be moving these people to Bell's Run by airship, but..."
"All the more reason to take back the docks" You say.

He leads you into a building, where you find Lulu standing at a table with a few other soldiers. On the table is a map of the city.

"Pip!" Lulu calls out. "Gods am I glad to see you!"
"You'll be even happier to see him" Pip says, pointing at you. "We brought the answer to some of your problems, and he's even under direct orders from the Commander to take out their leaders"

"Finally some good news" Lulu says.
"Nothing but bad recently?" Pip asks, as she steps up to the table.

"Not really" Lulu says. "The positions you see are current. The Legion is holding for now, but I think they're going to make a push somewhere..."
"Good" You say. "So are we"

>1/2

You spend a few minutes working out the details of your plan with Lulu. It's going to be a fight to get to the docks, but...

"Once we've got some real firepower in the air, the rest should be much simpler" Lulu says. "You two make your way up there. I'll send word to the Hunters and muster whatever forces I can without letting the Legion know what we're up to"

You go outside with Pip and start heading north. When you leave the building, she hands you something...

"A sword?" You ask. "I've already got one of those, you know"
"I know" She replies. "But so do they. By now they'll know about your ability to counter their special weapons, so if you show yourself you'll be painting a big target on your back. But if you use that and conceal what you really are until the last minute..."

>I'll try that, thanks

>I'm fine with a target on me

>Other

>>1956242
>>I'll try that, thanks

>>1956242
>I'll try that, thanks

>>1956242
>I'll try that, thanks
Evening Smiley

>>1956264
How's it goin'?

>writing

>>1956282
I'm doing well, settling in to your new job okay?

"I'll try that, thanks" You say.
"Just lookin' out for you, buddy" She says. "And by looking out for you, I look out for me. Because the Commander would have my head if I let you die"

"I won't die" You say.
"Not if I have anything to say about it" She says. "Come on, this way's quicker"

You follow Pip north through the city, until she heads into a building. The building has several Lubrian soldiers inside.

"Just like the map said. You guys holdin' out okay?" Pip asks the soldiers.
"Well enough. I'll be happy when the sun finally rises. Demons are scary enough during the day. At night they're a nightmare" A soldier says.

"They have the same disadvantage that we do in the dark, soldier" Pip says. "Keep your wits about you. We can beat them here"

"But nobody's ever beaten the legion before" Another soldier says.

"Than prepare to be the first" Pip says. "Weapons ready. As soon as we get word, we're pushing up this street and taking back the docks"

"We've lost so many trying to do that. That archer's been slaughtering us"

You remember Cheska telling you about an archer, whose flesh weapon was a quiver that created bone arrows...

"Leave the archer to me" You say. "Watch my back and my sides. I'll draw their fire and get rid of them"

The soldiers don't look comforted, but they aren't terrified anymore.

While you wait for the signal, you take some time to get a feel for the sword Pip gave you.

After what feels like a long while, a flare goes up in the sky.

"That'll be the signal" Pip says, as she motions to the door. "After you"

You smile and step forward...

>Roll 1d100

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>1956407

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>1956407

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>1956407

Rolled 32 (1d100)

And the actual focus roll.

>writing

>>1956388
I've never worked in direct customer service before, so it's been interesting.

>>1956460
>customer service
Oh you poor guy, I hope you're social person

You walk out the door, looking around as soldiers start to come out of the other buildings.

"Remember what he said" Pip says to the other soldiers. "Our job is to watch his back, so he can nab their commander"

A shout of affirmation goes up among the soldiers, and they follow you out.

Across the street, you can see your opposition. They don't have a huge force, but then neither do you...

Alright... so you have to avoid using magic until you've either taken out their commander or are about to. Until then you've got this sword. On the upside, it's a nice sword.

You decide not to ask where she got it from and pick up your pace, charging into the enemies ahead with Pip beside you.

"I count... 19... 20... 25" You say.
"We triple that. But stay on your toes. There may be more in hiding" She says. "And those are just the ones holding the line here. Once they realize there's been a breach they'll come after us"

You nod. With any luck you'll have the docks by then... and without that luck, you'll still be fighting there and get stuck in a pincer.

But you'll worry about that when it comes. Right now there are enemies ahead. If you can't pass them, you can't reach the docks.

>1/2

A few seconds into the fight, you come to 2 realizations that you think will be very important:

1. Demons are a good deal stronger than humans. You can match them fine, but you can't overpower them like you would in a normal fight. Until now you had no idea how much you had been relying on your demonic strength...

2. These guys lack skill, but they more than make up for it in strength and ferocity. Just like you, they're not used to fighting other demons, so they rely on their strength.

You adjust quickly to the loss of your body's advantages because you recognize them quickly. Your opponents... not so much.

The first goes down so quickly you barely register what he was wielding or what kind of demon he was. The second gets a spell off. But Pip deflects it with a light screen, allowing you to close the gap and remove his head.

After that, you turn to your right and cut down another demon that was giving one of your allies trouble. Then jump back to avoid getting chopped up by a battleax.

Before you can counter a beam of light rips through the axeman's head, leaving you free to turn and deflect a spear thrust meant for one of your soldiers' hearts.

Then Pip steps in, and all you see is a flash in her hand as she cuts open the spearman's throat.

From there the battle turns into a rout. The Legion doesn't have the numbers to hold this street, and their ferocity isn't making up for it.

When there's around 5 left, they all turn and flee...

>Give chase

>Focus on the objective

>Hold for reinforcements

>Other

>>1956623
>Focus on the objective

>>1956623

>Focus on the objective

>>1956623
>>Focus on the objective

>>1956623
>>Focus on the objective

>writing

"We goin' after them?" Pip asks.
"No. Stay focused. We move to the docks before they know what we're up to" You say.

"Oh? Looks like we won't have to give chase..." Pip says.

You look back out at the fleeing demons, just in time to watch as a group of hunters riding raptors run them down and come back to you.

You see Castor himself at the head of the group. "We came as soon as we heard" He says.
"The huntmaster himself came to aid us in our harebrained scheme" Pip says. "I'm honored"

"We can talk later" You say. "Let's move"

The raptors walk in pace with your group as you move to the docks. This is the first time you've ever seen one of them up close. You must say, they're ferocious looking beasts.

"We're getting close" Castor says. "Take care. That archer is good. They're the one that's been shooting down all of our sprites"

"I guess it would be easy to kill a sprite with mana eating arrows" Pip says. "They might not even need to hit, just graze them enough to drain them"

You can see the docks now, and the sun is starting to come up. Your job is simple here: take down the archer. But for everyone else, there are 2 options: focus on retaking the docks, or focus on getting a ship in the air...

>Have them focus on the docks

>Have them try to get a ship in the air

>Other

>>1956788
>Have them try to get a ship in the air

>>1956788
>>Have them try to get a ship in the air
If we bring down their ship, we have air superiority.

>>1956788
>Have them try to get a ship in the air
Get in the choppa

>>1956788
>Have them try to get a ship in the air

>writing

Rolled 6 (1d100)

"So we retake the docks, and then what?" Pip asks.
"Don't worry about the docks for now. We just need one ship" You say. "Whichever ship can get into the air fastest. Focus on that"

"The Pride then" Castor says. "She might be big, but she was built for combat"
"Alright. Focus on getting the pride in the air" You say. "The rest of us will fight to their leader and take them out"

As you come up to the docks, you immediately notice the Pride... not hard, given that it's the biggest airship here.

You also spot your target upon the prow of the ship. It's an Elf, with silvery hair and red eyes.

The only other Elf you know is an amazing archer... but they can't all be that good, right?

...

>roll 1d100 with focus

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>1956901
Check out this nat 100

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>1956901

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>1956901

File: 1507589575872.jpg (37 KB, 480x480)

37 KB JPG

>>1956913
Good job m8.

Also hi Smiley.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>1956901

>>1956934
What's shakin' anon?

>writing

>>1956953
Had to run around half the state of Georgia a few days ago because my suppressor finally came in after 8 months. Other than that, it's been good.

I normally don't catch your threads so I'm glad I made one.

Even from this distance, the Elf's eyes are locked on you. She's got the same sharp eyes as Flit, that's for sure.

You see her take one of her bone arrows, drawing it back and loosing at you. Because it is aimed at you.

As it gets close you swipe it aside with your sword and continue the charge, deciding not to catch it or otherwise reveal yourself to her quite yet.

Of course, there are more demons here than just the Elf. Much more. But the addition of Raptor cavalry to your team makes fighting forward much easier.

Not by much, though. As now your focus is tied between the Elf on the ship trying to kill you, and the demons on the docks who are also trying to kill you...

You'll be glad when all these wars are over, and there are less people who want you dead...

You fight your way to the deck of the Pride, with Pip covering you from the enemies around while you hold the Elf's focus.

Once you're on the ship, you have the Elf cornered. A part of your fighting force goes below to start the ship up, while the rest of you defend the deck.

There's still a good distance between you and your quarry... but if you used your spells you could take her out right now.

>Use the sword

>Unleash chaos

>Other

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>1956901

>>1957012
>Unleash chaos

>>1957012
>Unleash chaos

>writing

You turn and nod to Pip, signalling to her that you're going in for the kill.

Then you run toward the prow of the ship, where the Elf has another arrow nocked. She fires, and you create a buckler to deflect the arrow.

Then you turn the buckler into a seeker, burying it in the face of one of the Elf's guards. As the Elf reaches for another arrow you decide that she's shot enough of those for one night, and chain flare it to the ground.

Without her bow, she just has a bunch of pointy sticks. So she's in a bad spot.

She seems to realize this, and she turns to jump down from the prow. But you're quicker, creating a trio of seekers and sending them over to her. One of them misses, because your accuracy is not great with these things. But you get a hit on her leg causing her to stumble, and another in her back.

She falls down and turns, her arm glowing with a spell that fizzles out as your disruption wave passes through it.

You quickly close the rest of the distance before she can do anything else, kicking the demon to the floor and putting your blade to her throat.

"Any last words?" You ask.

She smiles. "Go on. We've already got what we came for" She says.

You scowl.

>Ask what she means

>Do it

>Other

>>1957088
>>Ask what she means

>>1957088
>Ask what she means

>>1957088
>Do it

>writing

>>1957088
>Ask what she means

>>1957088
>>Do it
She's distracting you, don't take the monologue bait.

"What does that mean?" You ask.

She smiles. "You'll see soon enough" She says.

You want to grill this one for more, but you remember that there's still fighting here. So you put the Elf out of her misery and move along, leaving the metal sword by the corpse and drawing your mageblade as you re-enter the fray.

Now that you've removed your handicap, the fighting is much easier. You don't need Pip to guard your back as much, if at all. And while you aren't exactly a 'whirlwind of death', any legionnaire that steps onto the deck of the Pride doesn't get to stay long.

A sudden upward lurch in the ship signals the end of the fighting, as it begins to take off. The Pride turns toward the castle, and you know they're aiming the main gun at the ship above it.

Before it can get set to fire, the Legion's ship flees.

...

You have a bad feeling. Something you can't place.

"That ship could have fought us" Pip says. "The Pride might be bigger, but from how fast they're getting away it's quick enough to run circles around us"

"So why is it running?" You ask.

"Maybe they don't want to lose the ship?" Pip asks.
"But now they definitely lose their people on the ground" You say.

You stare at the ship as it gets further away until something occurs to you.

"No..." You say.
"What?" She asks.
"Coral... where is Stella?" You ask.

Coral points out at the ship.

You frown. "How about Gabriella?" You ask.

She points down at the castle.

"Jade?" You ask.

This time she looks around, seemingly confused, before shrugging.

"What does that mean?" You ask.
Pip looks sad. "It means she's dead" She says. "The Commander's best friend is dead, and they have the Huntmaster's daughter"

You look back out at the ship, as it gets further and further away.

"Almost makes me wanna hop back on the Rook and give chase, just so I don't have to break the news..." Pip says.

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will be either tomorrow or Friday. There will be a fairly big decision involving where you go next, so try not to miss it!

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time!

>>1957228
Thanks for Running Smiley

>>1957228
Thanks for running Smiley
Rip Jade
F

The Pride hovers over the castle, and you hear the sound of the anchor chains being fired down into the courtyard.

With the Pride in the air, you used its weaponry to retake the rest of the docks. Then the army got the rest of the airships up, and they're currently using them to rout the rest of the Legionnaires.

Your job is now to retake the castle. You'll come down in the courtyard and storm the place from there.

Pip is the one who operates the anchor to take you down since you can't do it yourself. But since you're not focusing on that, you create your trio of soul seekers and send them below to clear the ground a little.

When the first teams land, you quickly clear the ground for the second and third.

Once all the teams have landed, they set to work clearing out the castle. Each group has a sprite that will be sent straight to you if they run into an enemy commander. In the meantime, you're going-

>To look for the other bunnies

>To find out what happened to Jade

>To make sure your collection of flesh weapons is still there

>Other

>>1959713
>To make sure your collection of flesh weapons is still there
Let's face it, the legit regaining its lost flesh weapons would be bad for everyone
Evening Smiley

>>1959713
>To find out what happened to Jade

>>1959713
>To make sure your collection of flesh weapons is still there

>>1959713
>To make sure your collection of inquisitor hats are still there.
>Also, the flesh weapons are nearish I guess...

>>1959713
>To make sure your collection of flesh weapons is still there

>writing

"Come on, Pip. You and I are going below" You say.
"Shouldn't we stick close to the courtyard in case a sprite comes by?" She asks.
"There's one other reason why the Legion would have wanted to come down here" You say.

"The weapons..." She says.
"Let's check the vaults" You say.

You head with the team that's going your way, leaving them at the stairs to the dungeons and going down.

And down...

"I swear this trip gets longer every time I make it..." You say.

You reach the bottom eventually and hurry past the dungeons to the vaults.

As you feared, the vault where the spear and the knives were held has been blown open. You check inside and sure enough, both of them are gone.

"So now we have to worry about those things again..." Pip says.
"I'm not sure" You say. "From what Cheska was saying, only the demon who wins the boon can hold it without getting drained... which means they can't just give them to someone else"

"So why take them?" She asks.
"Who knows? Maybe if there are any prisoners, I'll ask them" You say.

You step back out of the vault and look around. Pip seems bothered by something...

"What's up?" You ask.
"I dunno... we don't usually lock these up if there's nothing in them" She says. "Vault 1 is our treasury, and they didn't even touch it. But vaults 3 through 5 should be wide open..."

>Check it out

>Head back up

>Other

>>1959884
>Check it out

>>1959884
>Check it out
Well this can't be good

>>1959884
>Check it out

>>1959884
>>Check it out

>writing

"Let's open them up" You say.
"I... don't exactly have the keys for these" She says.
"Who would?" You ask.

She sighs. "Jade... probably" She says.
"Can you open them without the keys?" You ask.
"Only if I know the codes..." She says.

"And where would you get those?" You ask.
She frowns. "From Jade" She says. "Amazing how you don't realize how important someone was until they're gone"

"Focus here, Pip. We need to get these open" You say.
"I can get to work on them, but it'll take a while" She says. "While I do that, you head to the library. Jade kept the keys for these in one of her sprite houses. If they had to blow Vault 2 open, then the keys are probably still there"

>We shouldn't split up

>I'll be right back

>Other

>>1959989

>We shouldn't split up
Poor Jade

>>1959989
>We shouldn't split up

>>1959989
>>We shouldn't split up
All else fails, we might be able to mageblade it

>>1959989
>I'll be right back
If the survivors are locked in the vault then we need to move fast before they all suffocate.

>>1959989
>>We shouldn't split up

>writing

"We shouldn't split up" You say. "We'll head up together, and be back down before you know it"
"I'm okay with that. This place gives me the creeps anyway" She says.

You run back to the stairs with Pip, and head up. You don't think you'll ever really stop hating this staircase.

The library is a total mess. The bookshelves are all toppled over, and there are trees growing throughout the room.

No sign of Jade, except for the puddle of blue slime behind her upturned desk. You don't see her sprites either.

"You check the sprite houses. There's something I need to check for" She says.

You nod and head to the back of the room, squeezing between tree branches as you go. Meanwhile Pip goees over to Jade's desk.

The houses are pretty high up, but you can reach them fine using Springboard.

Not this one... not that one...

There they are. You jump up again and snatch a set of 5 keys from inside the sprite house.

"I found them" You say, as you head to the desk.
"Cool. I got what I was looking for, too" Pip says, as she comes back up with a blob of slime.

"... what is that?" You ask.
"Jade is crafty" Pip says. "When she knew she would die, she split off"
"So that's... her?" You ask.
"No... unfortunately" She says. "Think of it like... a daughter/clone. This way we've got some good news for the Commander when she gets here"
"Hopefully it's enough to lessen the bad..." You say. "Let's go"

>1/2

>>1960132
>Think of it like... a daughter/clone. This way we've got some good news for the Commander
Sounds like Yuu just acquired a little slimy sister

>>1960191
>more little sisters
AHAHAH Our army grows!

With the keys in your hand and the slime... egg in Pip's, you head back down to the vault.

"Alrighty. Let's see what's in Vault 3" Pip says.

You put the key with the number 3 on it into the lock and follow Pip's instructions on how to turn it. The lock clicks, and the door opens.

"Oh fuck, close it!" Pip says.

Too late. The door opens to reveal a vault stuffed with corpses, all wearing either Lubrian army uniforms or servant's garb...

Pip steps up and shuts it, clutching her nose as she does. "Smell that?" She asks. "That's what death smells like"
"So they killed everyone in the castle and stuffed them in the vaults" You say. "Why?"
"Who knows?" She asks. "I'm almost tempted to give the other 2 a pass..."

You shake your head. "Maybe that's why" You say, as you unlock Vault 4.

This time the vault is full of heads...

"So... I guess these belong to the bodies in Vault 3" You say.
"Shut it. Nothing we can do here" Pip says. "We'll give them their proper honors later"

You nod and pop Vault 5 open. Inside you see Daniella with Gabby and Munchkin, huddled up in the corner.

"Daniella?" You ask.
"Oh, gods... is that Yuu?" Daniella asks.
"Yeah, it's me" You say, as you step into the vault. You pause for a moment, looking around for something like a trap. When you don't see one, you rush in.

"Gabby!" Daniella says. "Gabby, Yuu is here!"

She shakes Gabriella, but the bunny doesn't respond. For a moment you fear the worst until the little ones finally stir.

>Ask Daniella what happened

>Get them out of the dark

>Other

>>1960244
>Get them out of the dark

>Ask Daniella what happened

>>1960244
>>>Get them out of the dark

>>1960244
>Ask Daniella what happened

>Get them out of the dark

>writing

>>1960244
>Get them out of the dark

"What happened here?" You ask.
"I don't know" She says. "They came down from their ship and locked us all in here. Then a man with a metal mask came in and took Stella... and then you came"

You scowl.

"Recognize the description?" Pip asks.
"Mahron" You say. "Cheska told me that he always wore a mask"
"So he came here personally" Pip says. "I'd be honored if I weren't so mad"

"We'll worry about that later" You say. "Come on, let's get you three out of here"

You take the two little ones while Pip lends Daniella her shoulder. Thankfully the children sleep for the whole walk up. When you reach the courtyard Castor is there coordinating his hunters.

"Daniella!" Castor shouts. "Thank the gods, you're alright"
"Castor... Stella, she-" Daniella says, pausing as she stumbles when she tries to stand on her own. "They took Stella"

Castor frowns, and looks to you.

"She was on the ship" You say.

He takes a deep breath. "Then we give chase" He says, as he starts walking back to the anchor.

Pip clears her throat. "Nuh-uh," She says. "You'd never catch that ship, and even if you caught it when it lands you'd be deeeeep in enemy territory"

"You give the orders now?" Castor asks.
"I do" Pip says. "Lulu is out in the city, Jade is gone, Altea is on her way. That means the Castle is mine for the time being"

>I don't outrank you?

>Pip's right

>We do nothing, then?

>Other

>>1960336
>>I don't outrank you?
>We do nothing, then?

>>1960336
>>I don't outrank you?
>>We do nothing, then?

>>1960336
>I don't outrank you?
>We do nothing, then?

>>1960336
>I don't outrank you?

>>1960336
>Pip's right

>writing

Rolled 12 (1d100)

"I don't outrank you?" You ask.
"Not in the military" Pip says.

"So we do nothing?" You ask.
"Ensuring the safety of the city and not sending one of our largest military assets into enemy territory with no support is not nothing" Pip says.

Before you can answer, a sprite flies up to you and tugs on your shirt.

"And that's your call. Go get 'em. We'll hold down the fort" Pip says.
"Here... I'll take them" Daniella says, as she grabs her daughters.
"This won't be long" You say, as you pull out your mageblade and follow the sprite.

It leads you up to the top floor of the castle. You've never actually been up here before, but it looks the same as all the other floors. As the sprite brings you to where her squad was, you notice that it's disturbingly quiet.

You don't see the squad anywhere, but you do have a bad feeling...

>roll 1d100 with focus

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>1960446

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>1960446

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>1960446