Character Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvqwQrtQ_YFvsVdcKJbSEAgpyZi9QrfJfnh_UDzvPKw/edit?usp=sharing
Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Artificer%20Quest
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Storyteller_QM
Discord: https://discord.gg/WA5wRv3

>>3013701

The air, once heavy with the smell of mud and rotting leaves, is now lifeless and still in a way that's nothing short of disturbing. Sure, you're familiar with what burn teams do, it's rather vital work after all, but to see it first hand, to hear just how deathly silent it is now that all life has been very thoroughly purged from this land?

You'd call it maddening if you hadn't already seen and experienced so much worse.

Among your party only Archmage doesn't look affected by the sudden change in atmosphere, as it was only a few hours ago that you were still hiking through woodlands, but none of you so much as say a word, only the sound of brittle, dead wood breaking underfoot and the squelch of half-dried mud breaks the silence.

Eventually, you stumble upon a dirt road that's only barely still intact and, with the familiar sight of a pile of wooden rubble that used to comprise Goo Hwi's home before he had Sierra burn it to the ground, you're aware of where you are.

It'd be all too easy to completely avoid Bo Shan all together, as your little escapades in this area means you've got a good sense of your direction, but part of you wants to see it; as if all that you're seeing around you is some sort of sick joke and that, if you just go back to the town proper, you'll find it still there and standing rather than the firm grips of chaos where you left it.

Now what?
> Avoid Bo Shan, you've got a job to do and you're here to do it.
> Walk through Bo Shan, you have to see it for yourself.

>>3013721
>> Avoid Bo Shan, you've got a job to do and you're here to do it.

>>3013721
>Avoid Bo shan.

We can go through later.

>>3013721
>> Avoid Bo Shan, you've got a job to do and you're here to do it.

>>3013721
>> Avoid Bo Shan, you've got a job to do and you're here to do it.

>>3013721
>> Avoid Bo Shan, you've got a job to do and you're here to do it.

>>3013776
>>3014057
>>3014122
>>3014510
>>3015227

Avoid it is.

Writin'

>>3013721

Without a word, you set your course to bypass the town proper and head to the Ruin directly. After all, you're here for a job and you can worry about the non-essentials after it's done.

Still, it's another quiet hour of traveling through the scorched graveyard of what was once a sprawling forest. Normally, you'd associate this kind of silence with the presence of Blight nearby, but given your surroundings this might just be the one exception.

Eventually, you spot a break in the monotony of old carnage in the form of a small grove that's survived the last few months. With a quick switch, you shut down the crystal turret affixed left shoulder a scant minute before a group of armored individuals approach with weapons drawn.

Thankfully, Archmage is more than willing to take the lead here as he steps out in front with some symbol in his hand, "Jackals I'm your employer, Wiseman, so drop the guns and take me to your boss."

"Oh thank fuck," One of the mercs lowers his pistol before stowing it. He doesn't remove his helmet, which you don't blame him for, but he does take a glance over you and Dutch for a moment, "I'm ready to get out of this shithole."

"Just bring me to your boss and we'll talk.," The crimson magus and the talkative mercenary walk off with Catherine en tow.

Now what?
> Follow Archmage and Catherine.
> Try talking to the other mercs, see how they've been doing.
> Scout out the perimeter surrounding the Ruin.
> Other

>>3015593
>> Follow Archmage and Catherine.

>>3015593
>> Follow Archmage and Catherine.

>>3015619
>>3015607

Follow the crowd it is.

Writin'

>>3015593

You consider trying to speak with the remaining mercenaries for a moment, but the subtle signs of fatigue that they all carry tells you you probably won't have much luck on that front. There is also the perimeter you could take a look at, but considering that you're not certain if those manning it know you're here yet and you don't feel like getting shot or burned by friendly fire.

So, with those off the table, you follow after Archmage and Catherine, Dutch falling into step behind you moments later.

It's a rather short walk, given your surroundings its not like the burn team could have made much of a base out of what's left around here, but you eventually come up to where the ground has been simply carved away to create a shallow pit partially covered by a layer of branches overhead.

Ducking under the shoddy construction, you walk right into the middle of pleasantries concluding as Archmage looks over at your entrance, "-and these two would be our Artificer and Gunslinger."

The smirk Dutch gives in response is out of your sight, but the "Yo" he follows it up with is easily heard; you choose to say nothing, favoring the merc leader with a small nod instead.

Said leader of the 'Jackals' is a good head taller than you, and he doesn't look particularly happy to be having this meeting right now as he looks down at Archmage, "Cut the crap, Wiseman. You ordered us to hold off on completing the purge until you go here, which you are now, so get to the point."

Now what?
> Ask the merc leader if he's encountered any higher forms thus far.
> Ask the merc leader if there's been any activity from within the quarantine.
> Start planning on how you're going to clear the Ruin immediately.
> Other

>>3016113
>> Ask the merc leader if there's been any activity from within the quarantine.

>>3016113
>> Start planning on how you're going to clear the Ruin immediately.

Sooner we do it, sooner we can fuck off.

>>3016113
>> Start planning on how you're going to clear the Ruin immediately.

>>3016143
>>3016936

Plan it is.

Writin’

>>3016113

Given the man’s extremely blunt statement, and given how you know personally that this could easily get out of hand, you step forwards in the interest of keeping everything going smoothly, “What’s the plan for clearing the Ruin?”

The older merc glances back at you for a second, “If it wasn’t for certain orders, I’d have firebombed it days ago. I don’t know what’s so damn valuable in there that we shouldn’t, but we ain’t strolling into that death trap for some scrap.”

“That should be our final resort,” The crimson magus, “What is in there is valuable, and blowing it all up will not only ruin that but will also potentially drive the Blight within under ground.”

“Then you better have something in mind, Wiseman, ‘cause we ain’t going in there until you do.”

While the two of them glare at one another, you turn to Dutch who hasn’t said a word thus far. He just shrugs, giving one of his holstered revolvers a pat while adjusting the strap on his brand new rifle. Well, you know where he stands on all this.

If you’re gonna be forced to go in there, the real question is who is going to go?

Bringing the Jackals with you is a valid choice. They clearly know what they’re doing and having a squadron of well trained and well equipped mercenaries will help with whatever nightmares are sure to be lurking down below. Unfortunately, if you do bring them along you won’t be able to utilize your shoulder crystal turret and the deployable Clockwork turret you’ve got stashed away as you simply don’t have enough tags to go around.

On the other hand, you could goin as just yourself and Dutch. Sure you’ll be lacking in numbers, but you’ll be able to bring your full firepower to bear and with just the two of you there’s less of a risk of losing someone in that laybrinth. Of course, you won’t be able to properly purge the Ruin, give now neither of you are capable of creating that much fire, so the Jackals’ll have to come in after the fact to clean up what you missed, but it’ll give you the chance to take out any higher forms before they do.

Decisions decisions...

Your choice?
> Go in with the Jackals
> Go in with just yourself and Dutch
> Other

>>3017316
>Other

We go in first, clear a beachhead and have them follow us in. once they are there, we head towards the teleporting rune while the mercs split off and cover the rest of the dungion with strict instructions not to follow us, with explanation of why. Once we have the rune room secure and got what we need we can head back and send them in, to finish off the last.

Two jobs going on at once.

>>3017318
I'm liking this plan of action.

>>3017318
works for me

>>3017318
>>3017520
>>3017550

This works.

Writin'

File: CheckthoseSkills.png (730 KB, 1406x744)

730 KB PNG

>>3017316

You mull it over for a few seconds, before eventually deciding on what's probably the best usage of your available personnel and resources. Stepping forwards once more, you motion between yourself and Dutch before speaking up, "I remember the layout of this Ruin rather well, so we'll cut ahead of you all. If there are any higher forms in there, we'll take care of them; meanwhile, you all can sweep in behind us and clean the rest of it up. We secure what we came for here, Wiseman," You try to keep the chuckle out of your tone, "And then you can blow this whole place to smithereens just to make sure we don't miss anything. That work?"

The merc leader pauses at your question, clearly thinking it through, before slowly nodding, "That is acceptable. Are you carrying a comm-unit?"

"I am. Whether or not it'll work underground is questionable, but we'll try it regardless."

With that discussion quickly taken care of, you and Dutch leave the pit and start heading for the quarantine. Archmage and Catherine will be sticking to the Jackals, with the older man keyed into your comm channel. The gunslinger at your side finishes messing with the headset he's got and taps it a few times, which comes into your ear loud and clear. After adjusting the volume slightly, you give him a thumbs-up.

Approaching the edge of the burn team's work, you consider what you're going to use for your armament. Dutch's sticking with his revolvers, as they'll come in handy once you get within the Ruin but he's keeping the rifle over his shoulder just in case you encounter something that warrants it. Meanwhile, you could stick to your usual set up, with a broadsword in one hand and a pistol in the other, which'll give you a good mix of melee and ranged or you could use your newly-made gauss rifle which, from what you've tested, is incredibly powerful but will leave you without a melee option aside from your armored fist and boot. You could always switch later on, give how you've got your lockbox firmly attached to your side, but that'll take time and, in a frantic melee, you won't have that luxury.

Your choice?
> Broadsword and Pistol
> Gauss Rifle
> Other

>>3017651
Do we remember how cramped the corridoors will be? If its about 3-4 meters or heck even just 4 peoples widths wide, we can afford to go with the gauss rifle.

But if the corners are sharp we need the broadsword and pistol because the corners are a fucking death trap.
May be slightly fixed by doing a leap frog pattern of one person moving around and clearing while the other covers from behind, but that doesn't work if the thing is strogn and grabs our weaponry. also, pretty sure this is fire sword.

>>3017651
>>3017661
Agreed. If there's enough space then the rifle would be a great choice, but if its mostly tight corridors and narrow passageways then sword and pistol it is.

But for unexplored and unknown environments though, flexibility is more useful than focusing on one good weapon. That and the rifle's ammo could be reserved for bigger targets that we don't want to get too close to.

> Broadsword and Pistol

>>3017651
>> Gauss Rifle

>>3017661
defaulting to Broadsword and pistol.

>>3017661
>>3017674

It's a bit narrower than 3-4 meters, but it is wide enough that you don't have to go single file. The real issue here is that, while the hall leading to the room with the Sigil in it is linear the path to get there from the entrance is not. The passages 'above' the main room are, from what John's seen of them, slightly twisting and some of them link to one another.

>>3017741
then we can use the guass rifle......But those things can drop down on top of us.....yeah sticking with sword and pistol. we have our turret to stick on one end and our shoulder turret for firepower anyway.

>>3017651
>Broadsword and Pistol
we can switch once things loan themselves to a rifle's use.

>>3017651
>> Gauss Rifle
breach and clear

>>3017674
>>3017748
>>3017774

Sword and Pistol it is.

Writin'

>>3017651

Considering that you're going to be going into a mix of close corners and halls, having a mix of ranged and melee options on hand would be wise. With that in mind, you reach into your lockbox and draw out your old pistol, still sporting the attachment you made for it so long ago to equip it with a Silence Rune, and a broadsword that you must have made at some point and forgotten about. Regardless, you cock the pistol, noting that you've got four magazines to spare, and give the sword an experimental spin.

"You all set Dutch?" Looking over, you spot the gunslinger adjusting the speed reloaders attached to his belt. He gives them one final look over before raising his twin revolvers and nodding.

Turning towards the quarantine zone, you take a deep breath before crossing the thresh hold.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please

Rolled 45 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3020028

Rolled 87 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3020028

Rolled 2 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3020028
Here goes everything.

>>3020056
it very nearly was gone.

Still need one more vote.

Rolled 99 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3020028
pls no nat 1

>>3020109
.......Hmm, somehow, i don't think thats a nat 1.

Well done gentlemen. the drinks are on archmage after this.

>>3020109

That is, in fact, not a nat 1.

That's a 129, Success.

Writin'

>>3020056
It was the worst of times.

>>3020109
It was the best of times.

File: Dutch_YouvemadeaMistake.png (38 KB, 173x201)

38 KB PNG

>>3020028

Stepping into the remaining terrain is nothing short of surreal, as the ground, trees, what little foliage is left, and hell even the ground itself bears scars of a lingering corruption. The smell of rotting flesh and old, dried blood tickles your nose even through your sealed helmet and that alone sets your back alight.

To his credit, Dutch doesn't show much in the way of discomfort aside from the occasional errant twitch of his nostrils even though he lacks any protection sans that scarf-shawl thing he's always wearing.

The trek through the remains of what was once a flourishing forest is short, but that just means that the entrance to the Ruin, even more decrepit and eroded than it was before, comes into view all the sooner. With your pistol raised and sword at the ready, you and Dutch quickly sweep the area surrounding the stone brick front before you approach the opening and peak in.

From what you remember of how it was before, the interior was rather dark but now it's as if the light from outside simply ceases to be once it passes the threshold. Forcing your teeth to relax, you back up a step and open your mic, "'Wiseman', we're at the site and are about to begin the dive. You all set to follow?"

"The Jackals are set to follow you two in in ten minutes; good luck".

Closing the mic again, you motion your oldest friend over. After making sure that he's got his mana transponder on, you flip on the crystal turret. It hums for a few seconds as your armor's mana reactor feeds it more than enough power, a pale blue light softly radiating from it. Dutch flips on his own armor's shoulder lamp, the high-powered bulb pushing away enough darkness to reveal the barest outline of the corridor.

With a nod and weapons raised, you lead the way into labyrinth of inky black.

[1/2]

>>3020167

[2/2]

The sound of your set of footsteps echo around you, a wet, disgusting squelching noise that comes from the layer of Blight beneath your feet. It's just about the only sound in the air, aside from the faint noise of armor moving as you and Dutch sweep back and forth.

Your nerves are only getting tighter as you go along, as between your limited vision and the occasional twist and turn you can practically feel the danger getting closer and closer to your throat.

Thankfully, your memory is holding far better, and within what could either have been a few minutes or a few hours you come to a fork in the corridor. From what you remember, one leads you lower underground and the other loops back towards the surface. The choice should be obvious here, as between the plan you've already got in place, the complete lack of anything aside from a layer of Blight covering the halls, and your desire to get this job done as quickly as possible the path further down should be the no brain-er.

Of course, that's when the crystal humming against your shoulder suddenly flashes and fires a bolt down the other path. You and Dutch react a moment later, leveling all three firearms down that way in preparation for the inevitable attack. And you wait as nothing comes into view of the shoulder lamp, your shoulder turret quieting down as well.

Any question about it being a misfire is completely eliminated when the sound of something, like metal grinding against itself before being pulled through flesh, floats out of the darkness to you.

The gunslinger at your side glances over at you, not wanting to risk talking at this moment.

Your choice?
> Go further down, the Jackals can handle whatever is lurking up here.
> Follow the noise, you need to take that thing out before it can get away.
> Other

>>3020212
>Head further down

I mean what is it going to do? get more of its friends? yeah have fun with arch mage and flame throwers assholes.

>>3020212
>> Go further down, the Jackals can handle whatever is lurking up here.

>>3020212
>Follow the noise, you need to take that thing out before it can get away.
A threat is nearby and known to us, don't let it sneak up behind us during a fight.

>>3020230
There's an entire team right behind us that's going to keep this room secured. The only way it would sneak up on us is to get through that team first, and then follow us down on the other passage.

>>3020220
>>3020217

Further down it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 45 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3020256
lets see what we see

Rolled 45 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3020256

Rolled 75 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3020256
roll
>>3020243
Coming in ten minutes yeah, not ten seconds.

>>3020302

That's a 90, Success.

Writin'

>>3020212

You've got a good amount of experience dealing with the Blight, but this just reeks of something wrong. The way it's acting is almost coy and a far cry from the usual, barely restrained malevolence you're used to. If your gut is right, and this thing is trying to bait you, that's not a trap you want to spring with just the two of you.

So, deciding to delegate that particular kill to the team coming in behind you, you tap Dutch on the shoulder and lead the way further down.

The echoing sound of metal against metal follows you, growing more and more distant by the second. It's hard to ignore, as each reverberating scrape sets your teeth on edge, but eventually it fully fades.

Or you just get used to it.

Eventually, the hall narrows slightly, which you remember it doing just before you arrived in that ill-fated room, but your back suddenly flares and you stop in place. There's a moment where nothing occurs; no noise is made, and no movement crosses your field of view, but spike of adrenaline hits right before the turret on your shoulder fires.

The pale blue bolt lights up the corridor for a brief instant, but it's more than enough for you to see something that can be described in a single word.

That word being horrific.

[1/2]

File: Spoiler Image (871 KB, 738x1100)

871 KB PNG

>>3020366

[2/2]

Faces, in various states of agony and visceral torment, compose a blackened ball of rotting and diseased flesh. You've no idea how it moves, nor do you want to truly think about it, but the reflection of light off of almost a dozen glittering blades takes up the entirety of your thought process.

Then the pale bolt impacts, and something that's more metal than flesh comes out of the wall directly next to you in a twisted maelstrom of sharp edges and gnashing teeth. Pulling your pistol up, you bring your broadsword around in time so that the incoming attack clatters off of it in a spray of sparks, giving you enough light to see something pulsing within the center of it. Carried by momentum alone, it impacts the wall on the other side and vanishes.

You, and your crystal turret, hesitate, caught between the abomination that's charging straight for you now and the abomination that's sure to take another swipe at your head in the next few seconds.

And behind you is Dutch, any shot he could make blocked by the narrow corridor and your armored frame.

Now what?
> Charge the pile of flesh; you can't stay still and if you give it room it'll just run you down!
> Stand your ground and get ready to counter-attack the ambusher; you can't fight the other with the risk of it blindsiding you!
> Stand your ground and set up your Clockwork Turret; drown the Blight with sheer firepower!
> Stand your ground and switch to your Gauss Rifle; if there was ever a time for armor penetration this would be it!
> Run; you're gonna need the Jackal squadron to kill something like this!
> Other

Also, activate Aspect?
> Y
> N

>>3020395
>> Charge the pile of flesh; you can't stay still and if you give it room it'll just run you down!

> N

I'm hoping by charging in we give Dutch a shot at the the other thing next to us.

>>3020395
>> Stand your ground and switch to your Gauss Rifle; if there was ever a time for armor penetration this would be it!
> N

>>3020395
I feel like this is not the time to show our hand, and certainly not time to waste seconds drawing a rifle from out pockets. So with this in mind the plan i propose is to kill the ambusher, and back up but to prevent the wall bastard from following, drop our turret down. two turrets should stop the flesh wall while we deal with the ambusher.

>Deploy turret

>>3020395
>>3021075
Oh and goes without saying "NO"

Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>3021075
>>3021071
>>3020412

That's a definite no for Greed, but a three-way tie for the actual vote.

Rolling to tie break.

1. >>3020412
2. >>3021071
3. >>3021075

>>3021220

Dice says Turret.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 84 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021222

Rolled 5 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021222
Lets see here

Rolled 89 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021222

>>3021242
Torbjorn, ready to battle
>104

Rolled 82, 80, 36 + 10 = 208 (3d100 + 10)

>>3021222

[??? ACTIVITY]

Rolled 7, 53, 8, 67, 76, 16 + 15 = 242 (6d100 + 15)

>>3021222

[DUTCH ACTIVITY]

>>3021242

That's a 104 and a 91 versus a 92.

Writin'

>>3020395

With hardly a second to decide, you awkwardly hold both your pistol and broadsword in one hand while the other dives into your lockbox, immediately pulling out your Clockwork Turret. The first beads of sweat begin to gather on your brow as you fumble with the releases, but thankfully the tripod opens without issue and the twin-linked rifles snap into place without issue and you flip the switch before jumping back.

Sound and light fills the air of the corridor as the rifles fire off in tandem, alternating their fire to form a single, continuous roar, at the same time as your shoulder turret locks onto the abomination coming out of the wall for your throat. Without a weapon to properly block the attack, you duck under an errant swipe, your armor's shield crystals suddenly whining as they tank the rest of the hit.

Dutch opens fire at this point, one shot tagging the twisting lump of flesh and metal, along with a glancing shot from a pale blue bolt, before it can vanish again, the second shot following it but you see it impact the blackened wall without connecting.

Taking the second to properly wield your weapons once more, you glance over as your turret's fire tapers off, that pile of corpses from before now no longer within sight. For a second, the only sound you pick up on is the dull ringing in your ears.

Then, your shoulder and Clockwork turret lock onto something for an instant, the target not surfacing for long enough for a firing solution to be completed, before they lock onto something else, and then something else.

Dutch's shoulder lamp sweeps your surroundings, trying to find any sign of this elusive contact, or contacts, but nothing appears even as your turrets continue to whine and swivel, looking as if they're tracking ghosts.

Now what?
> Run after the pile of flesh, with the Clockwork Turret giving him back up Dutch can handle whatever is here.
> Run after the pile of flesh but bring Dutch with you and have the Clockwork Turret handle whatever is here.
> Stand your ground and get ready to counter-attack the ambusher.
> Stand your ground and switch to your Gauss Rifle.
> Other

>>3021442
>> Stand your ground and switch to your Gauss Rifle.
The anti-armor Gauss Rifle would be ideal for the ambusher that's partly made of metal.

>>3021442
>Stand ground and switch to the rifle

What the other guy said, but we also have the turret locking onto shit as warning

>>3021442
>Stand your ground and switch to your Gauss Rifle.

>>3021455
>>3021467
>>3021568

Switch weapons it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 14 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021588
Lets go fight the blight with bright might

Rolled 83, 61, 6 + 10 = 160 (3d100 + 10)

>>3021588

[??? ACTIVITY]

Rolled 11, 24, 56, 85, 95, 45 + 15 = 331 (6d100 + 15)

>>3021588

[DUTCH ACTIVITY]

>>3021594
we may have some bright, but my rolls are shite

Rolled 66 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021588

Rolled 40 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3021588

>>3021601

That's an 81 and a 110 versus a 93.

Writin'

>>3021442

For now, you'll let that mass of flesh and swords run off. There's nothing that way aside from a dead end, and whatever the fuck is lurking around you right now is a far more pressing issue. Your sword's helped keep you alive thus far, but given something that's more metal than meat can come out of anywhere you're going to need your Gauss Rifle.

And that's exactly when your luck runs out, as the moment you return your pistol and broadsword into your lockbox is when said abomination slams into you from your blind-spot.

You manage to get an arm up before a scythe-like appendage comes crashing down onto it, shield crystals whining ominously as the corrupted metal is prevented from removing your limb at the forearm. It only increases in pitch when the abomination attempts to wrap itself around you, slamming you against the wall as you grab the other half of it's twisted maw.

The two of you strain against one another, whatever musculature makes up this thing rails against your armored form aided by the servos encased within as it shakes you like a wolf ripping into meat.

Then it's strength decreases drastically as part of its form is blown away by a pale blue bolt followed by a pair of rounds. The abomination squeals and twists, your grip on it only redoubling as your Clockwork Turret joins in on pouring the fire into it. With one final heave, you throw the rotting amalgamation to the floor where it flops pathetically, the turrets thoroughly double-tapping it before their systems no longer consider it a target.

Sucking in several deep breaths, you check your armor over for any compromise and breathe a deep sigh of relief when that comes up negative. The inclement hum that fills your ears mercifully decreases as the Blight covering your shields burns away against the energy into dark smoke, going down until the point where you can actually hear again.

"-o alright?" Looking over, you see Dutch, revolvers still trained on the twisted corpse, walking towards you as he speaks into his headset, "John?"

"I'm fine," Brushing yourself off, you reach into your lockbox and draw out your Gauss Rifle, "My armor's integrity hasn't been compromised."

The gunslinger lowers his weapons slightly, taking a second to spit on top of whatever it was that you just killed, "Fucking thing... There was something else further below, wasn't there?"

You nod, "Yeah, some abomination of corpses. I'll call it in before you go any further." Given how you're underground now, you take a second to adjust your comm-unit to give it a bit more power before opening your mic up again, "Wiseman, you still alive you bastard?"

[1/2]

>>3021775

[2/2]

Several seconds pass where the only response you get is static, during which you glance over at Dutch where he's clearly just as worried about it as you are, before you cut the mic.

"Shit..."

Yeah, that's a good summary of it.

Now what?
> That collection of corpses is still on the playing field; you should change that.
> You need to make sure that Archmage, Catherine, and the Jackals are still alive; you should double-back.
> Other

And:
> Collapse the Clockwork Turret and put it back into your lockbox
> Leave the Clockwork Turret here

>>3021780
>> You need to make sure that Archmage, Catherine, and the Jackals are still alive; you should double-back.
Fuuuck! While I hate backtracking, we can't leave our exit unsecured!

>> Collapse the Clockwork Turret and put it back into your lockbox

No point in keeping the turret here if we're not holding this position.

>>3021780
Turret sends a feed into our suit right? leave it here and go check on the bois and the girl

>>3021860
Support, dont want the abominations to ruin our turret

>>3021780
>Double back.
But leave the turret, it should discourage that thing from following us.

>>3021780
>> That collection of corpses is still on the playing field; you should change that.
>> Collapse the Clockwork Turret and put it back into your lockbox

Rolled 54, 16, 37, 12, 41, 23 = 183 (6d100)

>>3021865

The transponder piggy-backs off your armor's comm-unit. Leaving the turret here means you wouldn't be able to connect to it while higher up.

>>3021860
>>3021865
>>3021931
>>3021944
>>3022010

Double back and take the turret with you wins.

Rolling and Writin'

First three are for Jackals and co, last three for Blight

>>3021780

You're not entirely surprised at the fact that you're out of contact with Archmage, even without the Blight you doubt your comm-unit would be able to punch through all the rock and soil, but with something lurking around up there it's probably a good idea to make sure they're still kicking.

Of course, leaving that amalgamation of corpses to fester down here isn't a good idea either; in fact, it's a really shitty one, but it's one you'll have to just deal with when it comes back and bites you in the ass.

Walking over, you collapse your Clockwork Turret which, thank fuck, has passed it's first field-testing with flying colors and squirrel it away in your lockbox. Turning about, you motion with your rifle towards the way you came, "Let's go make sure the rest haven't gotten killed already."

Dutch just nods, not willing to say anything as he begins leading the way. As you follow him, you hear the sound of the corpse of whatever tried to ambush you slowly dissolving into the floor.

You do your best to ignore it.

[1/2]

>>3024419

[2/2]

After some time of walking, the sounds of gunfire and yelling, alongside warbling shrieks and metal scraping against metal, push the two of you into a sprint with yourself at the front after you switch off your crystal turret.

Taking a final corner, you watch as another of those Blight ambushers leap out of the wall, one of the Jackals just barely avoiding getting gutted as bullets plink off of it uselessly.

Cocking your own rifle, you and Dutch charge right into the fray.

> Roll me three 1d100+10's please

Rolled 47 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3024429

Rolled 85 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3024429

Rolled 86 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3024429

Rolled 43, 29, 13, 61, 24, 26 = 196 (6d100)

>>3024429

[??? ACTIVITY]

Rolled 1, 36, 36, 45, 76, 14 + 15 = 223 (6d100 + 15)

>>3024429

[DUTCH ACTIVITY]

>>3024429

The same merc that so narrowly avoided death slips on the Blight-covered floor, armored hands madly scrambling to keep balance, never sees the abomination as it comes out of the wall behind him. A black maw of metal and cancerous flesh opens, it's gaping mouth threatening to swallow the man's upper body whole.

And then you pull the trigger on your Gauss Rifle for the first time in anger.

It roars out, muzzle lighting up the nearby corridor as a trio of bullets escape the barrel in rapid succession. The sound of the staccato is somewhat familiar, but there is a strange reverb to it; almost as if there was a lightning running through your rifle. But that doesn't matter, as all three rounds score hits, and where they do the abomination of Blight, likely a twisted amalgamation of all the poor souls lost in Bo Shan, simply ceases to be.

The entrance wounds aren't major, but as the momentum of the creature causes it to slump over the merc is a heap you can see where the exit wounds have nearly torn it to pieces.

Taking a quick look around and confirming that the coast is clear for now, you walk over and kick the twisted and broken corpse off the fallen man before offering him a hand, "Still kickin'?"

He, mostly fruitlessly, tries to wipe black ichor from his helmet before taking your arm, "Somehow. Fuckin' beautiful rifle you got there."

Before you can ask him where the rest of your party is, the sound of metal against metal grates against your ears and you snap to attention. You look around quickly, trying to spot the ambush before it occurs, only for someone else to find it first.

Another gunshot rocks the corridor, and behind you you spot Dutch with a smoking revolver raised, another abomination coming right for him. Just as he goes to fire the finishing shot, one revolver clicks empty and the other clicks ominously before the cylinder simply explodes. You know, for all his bullshit, your oldest friend takes damn good care of his guns. Never once have you seen them misfire but now, when they matter most, one just did. The abomination surges forward to capitalize on the opportunity as Dutch attempts to backstep, but you can tell he won't evade in time.

Your choice?
> Gun the abomination down.
> Try to tank the hit for Dutch.
> C̯̘͙̜̳̮O̠̞͓̘͇̗N͍T̷̹͕̙͙̯RO͢L͕̘̻̤̺
> Other

>>3025048
DUTCH, SHIT
now gents, i think its time to shoulder charge the abomination. full melee

>>3025048
>> Gun the abomination down.
Fuuuuuck!!!

>>3025048
>Gun the abomination down.

>>3025073
>>3025096

Fire for effect.

> Roll me three 1d100+10's please

Getting a total of 100 and up makes this an auto-success without other rolls

Rolled 27 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3025162

Rolled 79 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3025162
Firing

Rolled 62 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3025162
come on dutch.

Rolled 74, 33, 10 + 10 = 127 (3d100 + 10)

>>3025162

[??? ACTIVITY]

>>3025186

That's an 89 versus 84, Success.

Writin'

File: UpgradedGaussRifleDesign.jpg (18 KB, 268x268)

18 KB JPG

>>3025048

With only a second to get a shoot off, you raise your rifle in one hand and let off a barely-aimed burst. You've never been much of a gunslinger and this is easily the worst shot you've made given how you don't even attempt at something approaching appropriate posture.

It's only by the grace of your damn luck that the abomination takes the burst mostly to the center, with an odd shot turning it's maw into dust scant centimeters from Dutch's face. Your old friend twists away from the spray of blackened gore and shattered metal, several shards embedding themselves into his armor but from what you can see he escapes the storm of shrapnel.

Running over, you do your best to look over what's left of the abomination to make sure it's in no condition to continue fighting. It's hard to see, given how your primary source of light is currently patting himself down for wounds, but from the way it's beginning to rapidly dissolve that's as good a sign as any.

You put an extra round into the largest chunk that remains just to be sure.

"What the fuck is wrong with this place?" Looking over, you see the merc trying to look at what you've just thoroughly double-tapped. He just shakes his head after a second, "Nevermind. And you got a dial on that lamp? You're blinding me here."

"Blinded? How the hell ar-"

Dutch is interrupted when his lamp shines against bare stone, the minimally reflective surface literally blinding compared to what you've been dealing with. No one says a word, but you all glance about and that's when you see the Blight under your feet rapidly vanishing, almost as if someone was pulling the rug out from under you. When the light comes your way, you see if moving further down into the Ruin before it entirely disappears around the corner.

What the fuck...

Now what?
> Send the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals, you need to handle whatever is going on now.
> Go back with the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals, you'll need to manpower to kill what's down there.
> Go back with the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals so you can firebomb this place to hell; damn the consequences.
> Other

>>3025297
>> Send the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals, you need to handle whatever is going on now.
Oh hell no, don't let it run!

>>3025297
>> Go back with the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals, you'll need to manpower to kill what's down there.

>>3025297
>Head back, we need manpower to secure the objective.

>>3025297
>> Go back with the merc to meet up with the rest of the Jackals, you'll need to manpower to kill what's down there.

>>3025319
>>3025323
>>3025347

Regroup and rearm it is.

Writin'

>>3025297
I have a baaaad feeling about this. Make sure guns loaded

>>3025297

Whatever bullshit the Blight is trying to pull here, you're going to want more firepower than the three of you can provide. So, with that in mind, you turn to the merc, "Where's the rest of your squadron?"

He looks over at you from where he's been staring at the now bare corridor, "They should be somewhere around here. I... there was a weird noise that I heard and when I turned around everyone else was gone. Then that thing ambushed me and you showed up."

You look over at Dutch, "They probably took the loop-back then."

"Yeah, probably," He stows away both of his revolvers before pulling his Gauss Longrifle free, clearly not wanting to risk further damage to them.

"We're gonna go find them, and then we'll all take out whatever abomination is still here," Motioning for the merc to fall in behind you, you take a quick second to check what's left in your magazine, a bit over half, before heading further up.

The quiet that now pervades your surroundings is far less sinister than before as you traverse the now clean corridors. Hell, you hardly need Dutch's lamp at this point.

Getting back to the fork that you took earlier, you flick on your mic, "Wiseman, you still alive?"

"J̛oh͜n?" There's still static, but Archmage's voice comes in anyways, "Goo͞d ́to h͠e͡ar fr̛om̕ y̵ou.̨ ̵W̸e̛'ve ͡go̢t a͡n ís͡s͠ue ̸as ̸wȩ'r̢e̛ ͘doẁn à ̨ma̸n a͠n̶d the̶ Bl̶i̛g͝h̡t's ̕up ̴t̀o̧ ͝s͡omethi̴ņg̴."

"I've got your missing man and he's still in one piece. We're heading your way to regroup."

"Ẁe͡'͘l͞l m̢eet̴ you ͜by t̶he en̶tra̡nc͘é."

Within a few minutes, you come around the corner to the sight of the rest of the Jackals, weapons not quite raised at you, along with Archmage and Catherine all still alive. You walk right up to the two, catching the merc return to his squadron out of the side of your vision.

The lady alchemist eyes you warily, clearly searching for signs of infection, "Any bright ideas on how to handle this?"

You raise an eyebrow at her, before remembering she can't see your face so you heft your rifle instead, "Well, we've got guns; those tend to work pretty well."

> I gotta put this on pause for now. I might be able to update again tonight, or I might not. Either way, I'll definitely be continuing this tomorrow.

>>3025422

Catherine doesn't look very impressed by your statement, though given how average firearms have performed thus far you don't entirely blame her. It might not matter any more, considering that you've likely killed off all of the ambush abominations which is why the Blight's changed its tune. Still, it only takes a minute or so before the Jackal's leader announces that you all will be heading down to finish off the final abomination. You, naturally, will be leading the way.

Because of course you will.

With your new position on point, you make sure to load a full magazine into your Gauss Rifle before you set off for the depths of this Ruin once more. The complete and utter lack of Blight covering any of the corridors you traverse is still a disturbing development in this dive. The idea that this damn scourge is trying to cut and run is beyond you; that would require the Blight to be capable of thought and logic beyond a ravenous desire to destroy and consume.

No, surely the Blight has one final trick up its sleeve.

The line of thought has barely ended when the entirety of the stone structure around you begins shaking. You immediately raise your rifle, waiting for the inevitable attack.

And you're left waiting for around a minute, after which the shaking stops and an unease silence descends over all of you. You look behind you for a second, seeing the look of grim determination on Dutch's face and the matching body language on the Jackals, before fast walking the remainder of the way.

You just hope you're not too late.

> Roll me three 1d100's please

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>3028807
Here we go, once more unto the breach.

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>3028807

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>3028807
ready

>>3028813

That's an 88, Success.

Writin'

File: OldKingElwyn_GuardianofVokar.png (182 KB, 400x400)

182 KB PNG

>>3028807

The final hallway looms ominously, a faint glow coming from the end of it that was certainly that there previously. That lingering sense of unease and dread only increases as you pick up the pace into a jog, then a sprint driven by your back alighting in pain. Whatever the hell the Blight is up to, you were right in that it wasn't planning on just going quietly off into the night.

Entering into the main chamber, your vision is almost entirely obscured by a roaring fire, only the faintest outline of some figure standing within it breaking the shimmering visage, that's placed right on top of that damn Sigil. It motions with its hand, your instincts flaring as it unleashes a wave of pure heat that feels positively scalding enough though you avoided it. The force of it slamming into the wall behind you shakes the entire Ruin again, and a layer of Blight spreads out from the source to cover the floor once more.

Rolling to your feet, you note that Dutch and Archmage are singed, but managed to follow you through the attack without injury. You don't see any of the others, and when you see that the sole entrance to this room has suddenly been filled with rubble you get your desired explanation.

It's bad, but in some ways it's good. You have no idea what exactly the Jackals are capable of, but if this abomination can throw out waves of fire having less people in here can only be better.

Now, there's only one more monstrosity to put to the sword.

OLD KING ELWYN, THE BETRAYER

> Stay at range and fill the Blight full of holes.
> Switch to your broadsword and close in.
> Invoke G̵̯̳͇͖͚̳̹̻͎̝̙̟̙̯̪̗̱͠͝͠ŕ̷̢̪͔̤̼̬͈̱̮̣̤͙͖̣́͝e̵̢̥̣e̴̛̳̟͔̹̦̫̼̞̣̮̪͖̮͉̜̝d̸̳̦͉̬̭͓̟̞̞͎͇͙͎͙͙̀͘͞͠ͅ
> Other

>>3028913
Careful greed, You will get your chance to be free. But not yet, not yet.

>Toss archmage a magic tag then let loose with guass rifle, activate our shoulder cannon as well.

>>3028913
>> Stay at range and fill the Blight full of holes.

>>3028913
>> Stay at range and fill the Blight full of holes.
Can we also activate the turret?

>>3028943
>>3028939
>>3028930

The shoulder turret slipped my mind, but it's simple enough to turn it on given how Archmage already has a tag.

Guns, guns, guns it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+10's please

Rolled 1, 85, 7 + 15 = 108 (3d100 + 15)

>>3028956

[OLD KING ELWYN ACTIVITY]

Rolled 14 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3028956
Do i dare hope?

Also, love the darksouls boss naming thing.

Rolled 40 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3028956
Firing

Rolled 9 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3028956

Rolled 15, 7, 8 + 15 = 45 (3d100 + 15)

>>3028956

[DUTCH ACTIVITY]

Rolled 88, 57, 22 + 15 = 182 (3d100 + 15)

>>3028956

[ARCHMAGE ACTIVITY]

>>3028965

That's a 50 for John, a 30 for Dutch, and a 103 for Archmage, all against a nat 1 which is negated by Elwyn's Expert skill to give it a dirty 100.

Writin'

>>3029059
Tch... I hope that skill only negates 1 nat-1 per fight, or else that's just cheat. then again it's probably not going to get another 1 any time soon anyways.

>>3029061

That is exactly how Expert-level skills work.

>>3028913

From the way that roaring fire hasn't vanished yet and the vague outline of some kind of blade being wielded by the abomination within it, you don't want to get near it unless absolutely necessary. No, you'll be more than willing to shred it from range, and so you flick on your crystal turret before raising your gauss rifle to fire.

And that's when the point of that vague weapon impacts your gut, sending you off your feet with enough force that you slam into the far wall. Pulling yourself off the floor where you landed in a heap, you do your best to clear the fog from your head. It's hard, given how you can't seem to hear anything aside from a distant whine that you can't place at the moment but it is getting louder.

Then a crack, like a small thunderstorm suddenly erupting into existence around you, clears your vision immediately and you look up to see the flame-wreathed monstrosity baring down at you.

Scrambling to your feet, you futility reach for your lockbox in the vain attempt to get your broadsword out in time, the whine that you now realize is your shield crystals screaming out in protest as the flames lick against your armor. Even as you pull the weapon free, you know you're not going to make it in time.

Scant a meter from you, an all too familiar chain wraps around the abomination's neck, jerking it backwards enough for you to throw yourself out of the way. Looking over, you see Dutch jockying for a better shot with his longrifle while Archmage visibly strains against the Blight, the same sinister links of metal that he used to restrain you some time ago coming from his open palm. Sadly, he can't keep it forever and barely a second has passed before the hold is broken.

You're down to your broadsword, with your Gauss Rifle currently being scorched as its lying on the floor firmly within the fire storm and sooner rather than later the ammo within it is going to cook off, and that means you're going to have to do this the hard way. The high-pitched hum ringing your ears dulls to a tolerable level as the monstrosity begins to barrel down at you once more.

OLD KING ELWYN, THE BETRAYER

> Charge in; you can't afford to expose yourself to those flames for too long.
> Stick to the defense; try to give Dutch the best shot he can.
> C̨͔͍̦̻̼̟͓̯̱̟̫͖̬̀ͅO̸̶̷̢͖̗̹̬͚̜̪̫̝̼̮͝N̰̤͍͕͎̺̜̙̺͙̦̪̗͕̺͚̱̫͔͜͢͟͞͠T̵̴̴͔̗͔̠͈̰̙̱̫͓͞R̸̛̙͚͚͇̜͚̝̦̜̺͙̺̯͔̙̝̘͔͇̕O̖͎̟̹̺̕͡L̸̡͔̘̣̣͜ͅ

>>3029158
> Charge in; you can't afford to expose yourself to those flames for too long.

>>3029158
>> C̨͔͍̦̻̼̟͓̯̱̟̫͖̬̀ͅO̸̶̷̢͖̗̹̬͚̜̪̫̝̼̮͝N̰̤͍͕͎̺̜̙̺͙̦̪̗͕̺͚̱̫͔͜͢͟͞͠T̵̴̴͔̗͔̠͈̰̙̱̫͓͞R̸̛̙͚͚͇̜͚̝̦̜̺͙̺̯͔̙̝̘͔͇̕O̖͎̟̹̺̕͡L̸̡͔̘̣̣͜ͅ

FUCK IT LET'S DO IT

>>3029158
> Charge in; you can't afford to expose yourself to those flames for too long.

>>3029158
>> C̨͔͍̦̻̼̟͓̯̱̟̫͖̬̀ͅO̸̶̷̢͖̗̹̬͚̜̪̫̝̼̮͝N̰̤͍͕͎̺̜̙̺͙̦̪̗͕̺͚̱̫͔͜͢͟͞͠T̵̴̴͔̗͔̠͈̰̙̱̫͓͞R̸̛̙͚͚͇̜͚̝̦̜̺͙̺̯͔̙̝̘͔͇̕O̖͎̟̹̺̕͡L̸̡͔̘̣̣͜ͅ


I'd rather do this while we still have a weapon to use and not in danger of getting cooked from prolonged fire exposure.

>>3029158
>> C̨͔͍̦̻̼̟͓̯̱̟̫͖̬̀ͅO̸̶̷̢͖̗̹̬͚̜̪̫̝̼̮͝N̰̤͍͕͎̺̜̙̺͙̦̪̗͕̺͚̱̫͔͜͢͟͞͠T̵̴̴͔̗͔̠͈̰̙̱̫͓͞R̸̛̙͚͚͇̜͚̝̦̜̺͙̺̯͔̙̝̘͔͇̕O̖͎̟̹̺̕͡L̸̡͔̘̣̣͜ͅ
If that guy can turn a 1 into a 100 I don't think we can take him down outside of Dutch rolling triple 100's

>>3029180

What happened there was, since Elwyn's Sword Fighting skill is at Expert rank it's able to negate a single nat 1 per combat which allows it to take the highest roll of an 85+15 aka a dirty 100. It can't just turn a nat 1 to a nat 100, that's broken as all hell.

>>3029180
>>3029177
>>3029165

Engage WEP.

> Roll me three 1d100+2's please. Good luck

Rolled 23 + 2 (1d100 + 2)

>>3029219

fuuuuck

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>3029219

Rolled 63 + 2 (1d100 + 2)

>>3029219

>>3029233

And there's the last second save.

That's a 65, Bare Success.

> Roll me four 1d100+30's please

Rolled 7 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3029236

Pheewwww...

Come on, no whammies!

Rolled 66, 70, 63 + 15 = 214 (3d100 + 15)

>>3029236

[OLD KING ELWYN ACTIVITY]

Rolled 47, 99, 67 + 15 = 228 (3d100 + 15)

>>3029236

[DUTCH ACTIVITY]

Rolled 13, 90, 84 + 15 = 202 (3d100 + 15)

>>3029236

[ARCHMAGE ACTIVITY]

Rolled 4 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3029236

Rolled 35 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3029236

Rolled 54 + 30 (1d100 + 30)

>>3029236

>>3029289

That's an 84, a 114, and a 105 all versus an 85.

Writin'

File: John_BearerofChaos.png (139 KB, 358x358)

139 KB PNG

>>3029158

Hefting your blade as best you can, you grit your teeth as the fire begins licking away at you. Blue light forms another layer of protection, but you know that just standing near this thing is going to eventually break the shield. It puts you on a timer, one that is further reinforced when you push aside a heavy blow from that strange sword, and as you twist to get your guard back up a wisp of black smoke floats past your vision from within your helmet.

You clamp down on your errant magic, only now just realizing just how eager it is, how it boils within you to be let free against so terrible a foe. Unacceptable; you cannot afford to lose control here, not while the situation is so volatile.

...

No...

Hesitating now, when every second counts, could spell death just as easily as running amok.

So, when the next heavy slash comes right for your neck, you position yourself so that, between your enhanced reflexes and power armor augmented strength, your parry nearly sends the weapon flying out of the Blight's twisted excuse for a hand. The blackened carapace that composes its face twitches, almost as if it's in a state of confusion.

It's something that you ignore, as you're too busy clamping down on what feels like fire burning away in your veins to properly look at what it's doing. There's the sensation of losing yourself, like your very being is being pulled down stream by a raging river, but you hold on by a bare thread.

Ragged, heavy breaths escape you, the noise of which is all that fills your ears, as a mantle of black smoke forms around your shoulders.

You know that your eyes are likely stained pitch black, denoting just what exactly you're doing to yourself. Archmage's words of warning echo in your mind, along with Dutch's and Sierra's concerns.

But they move to the back of your mind when the feeling of heat coming through your armor fades away, the fire pouring out of the abomination simply fizzles as it comes into contact with your mantle and thus your c̟̬̤̺͉̭o͡ṋ̼̪t̞͇̝̭̙͖̀r̳̬̘͍͢ol̳.

There's nothing left to fear from its corrupted magic, as not even this ancient, resuscitated Mage Knight cannot muster enough raw power to escape Greed's Tyrant Grasp.

[1/3]

File: Spoiler Image (985 KB, 734x700)

985 KB PNG

>>3029365

Stepping straight into the center of the fire storm, you go on the offense as you unleash a testing slash, your armor's servos making the one-handed attack deceptively powerful as your perfect posture utilizes all of them.

It smashes against a hastily brought up guard, almost knocking the abomination to its knees but not for long as it surges back and forces you back on the defense. Even though you yourself are immune to the flames, your blade is not and the repeated stress of combat combined with the heat will result in failure.

Choosing to dodge the next attack rather than parry, you use the opportunity to immediately counter attack and, even though you know your attack was perfect in its time and execution, it clatters uselessly off of it's black carapace. Snarling in frustration, you back off a step and focus on keeping this thing's attention firmly on you, casting aside blow after blow.

Even as they became more and more wild, less dignified and more savage, and your broadsword's edge chipped away by the centimeter, you stood there in the middle of a ragging inferno with nary a care in the world. You didn't so much as blink when the blade in your hands broke into scalding pieces, as you knew it would happen right then and there.

And you let it happen, as you saw Archmage's chain whip through the air from out of view a moment before taking the blow head-on, not needing to counterattack as the dark metal chain smashing into its side does the job for you. Right behind it comes an explosion of raw lightning from Dutch's longrifle, that massive round you personally forged punching straight through the best armor this abomination could create for itself, painting a wild spread of black across the floor of the room to land on top of Blight that's already there that comes from what was once an amalgamation of corpses gets torn in half from a single shot.

What's left of the corpse crumples to the ground, nothing left to recognize of it sans its legs. In a few seconds, it'll all melt back into the corruption that still covers the floor. Vaguely, you hear the sound of someone yelling at you, but as you turn in that direction to try to figure out what they're saying you notice that the floor underneath you is glowing bright red.

O-

[2/3]

File: KingdomofVokar_FrozenAuth(...).jpg (204 KB, 1280x1024)

204 KB JPG

>>3029416

[3/3]

It's hard to tell just how much time has passed when you finally return to consciousness, as you spend a good amount of it in a black haze, but you do regain focus eventually. The feeling of your magic burning away beneath your skin has receded, giving off the impression that it is content for the moment to relinquish the intoxicating flush of power from your head.

You're thankful that your Aspect is being so cooperative, as the fact that there's a creeping sense of cold coming through armor thoroughly confuses you.

Forcing your eyes open, you first spot a dark blue, thankfully not black, sky above you along with the occasional speck of snow coming down. Groaning slightly from the heavy feeling of lethargy that's in your bones right now, you push yourself, give your neck a good stretch, right before your mouth almost falls out of your helmet.

Before you stands a stone-brick city, each building designed in the same style of architecture that gives it a feeling of pure regalia and quiet pride. It's... fucking astounding just how incredible looking at it is as you've never ever seen something even remotely like it.

Gingerly rising to your feet, brushing off a few errant flakes of snow as you do, you realize that you're currently located along some kind of stone bridge that leads right towards the city, it itself around ten meters across alone. Doing a quick check of your suit's systems, you find that they're all working, but you can't help but feel like there's something off about them.

Regardless, you might as well figure out what flavor of crazy you've gotten yourself into this week.

Now what?
> Head towards that big, elaborate building with glass on its face in the distance; it looks interesting.
> Look around the city for any signs of a residential district; look for signs of life.
> Maybe there are secrets hiding down below; look for signs of an underground.
> Other

>>3029437
Look around the city for any signs of a residential district; look for signs of life.

If this is wear the blight came from, I can't imagine there's life we want to meet here...but well, we didn't get ganked the moment we came through.

>>3029437
>> Look around the city for any signs of a residential district; look for signs of life.
Either A: this is below the place we were fighting at, or B, this is a place we teleported to via the red magic thing that was underneath our feet, or C, John's just tripping balls in his own head. Probably not C since this doesn't look like that other time we did that.

>>3029437
>Look around the city for any signs of a residential district; look for signs of life.

>>3029437
>> Look around the city for any signs of a residential district; look for signs of life.

>>3029439
>>3029447
>>3029552
>>3029720

Look around it is.

Writin'

>>3029437

Thinking about it, considering this is a city there's bound to be some sort of residential district around. You don't exactly expect to find anyone still alive here, given just how old this place probably is you don't want to find anything still alive, but maybe you'll find some remains of what occurred here.

With that in mind, you begin walking across the stone bridge. There's a rather cold wind blowing across it, but between your armor and your own experience dealing with Westmire's frankly brutal winters it doesn't bother you all that much. Still, you wander a bit to see just what exactly you're going over and you see some kind of frozen lake beneath you that wraps around the city's outer wall.

Coming up to the city proper, the stone brick of the bridge smoothly shifts to even cobblestones that wrap around a fountain, the water that once flowed through it freely frozen in place just like the rest of your surroundings. Past it you spot a road leading towards the highest point of the city, but you ignore it for now in favor of turning down a side street that branches off before that.

What you find along it is just what you were looking for as, still retaining that elegance that the entirety of this city embodies, the buildings around you become far closer together and the thresholds far less ornate. Despite still looking better than some of the structures in the Wind District, you can tell that this is the section of the city in which the majority of its residents lived. Passing by one such building that appears to have a light on within it, you carefully walk up to the door and attempt to push it open.

It's made of solid stone. Hell, upon running your hands around the edges of it you come to the stabilizing realization that the entirety of this doorway has been cut from a single piece of stone.

Now why in the world woul-

Your internal musings are interrupted by a quiet beep coming from your armor's systems. Pulling up your magitech gauntlet, you navigate it for a few seconds before finding the alert originates from the comm-unit.

It's picking up some kind of transmission on another wavelength than the one you're currently tuned in on.

Now what?
> Switch your frequency to whatever is transmitting as see if you can pick it up.
> Continue to explore the residential district; there has to be some reason for the oddity of this place.
> Double back and head up to that ornate building further in the city.
> Other

>>3030561
>Switch frequency.

>>3030561
>> Switch your frequency to whatever is transmitting as see if you can pick it up.
Oh hey, now I'm feeling 'Fallout NV: Dead money' vibes.

>>3030561
>Switch your frequency to whatever is transmitting as see if you can pick it up.

>>3030649
>>3030583
>>3030566

Switch frequency it is.

Writin'

>>3030561

Pressing a few more buttons on your magitech gauntlet, you navigate over to the control for what your receiver is currently picking up on. From what little you've seen thus far, you haven't seen hide or hair of any kind of electronics or magitech, which is really odd, but if something is transmitting here then there must be some kind of infrastructure set up somewhere.

Maybe this city just really liked the whole stone brick look?

Regardless, you tense for a moment before switching frequencies. There's a painful burst of static for a second, which makes you wince and turn down your volume, before it evens out. Whatever is transmitting is still unclean, but, to your surprise, a voice breaks through the static, "Y̛oư̢.̸͟ ̴Y̢e̡a̵͠ḩ̷̡, ̕y̡o̸̸ù͘ ̨̀͢iǹ̨͟ ̀̀t̵̕ḩ̵a͡t͘ ̡w̵͢e̢ir̴͟d ̢a̧͠rm͝or̴̢.͝ J̶̧͘ųś̀͜t̶̸̶ w̨͡h̵at̢͟ ̴̛͞d̨ơ͝ ýo̸̵u̷ ̶̧t̛͡h͘i̡̛͜n͜k ̶̀y̨̢ou̕͟'̸̡̨r̸̡͟ę̕ ͢dớin̷͠g ̢h̷e͟r̶̢͞e̛ ̶in̷͘ ̀͠͠V͘oka͟r̵͢?̕͡"

Is there truly someone still here? Or is this just some kind of trap?

Your response?
> Give the speaker your name and ask for theirs.
> Ask the speaker if there's Blight in the area.
> Ask the speaker where they are.
> Ask the speaker something else.
> Shut your comm off and go back to exploring.
> Other

>>3030948
>> Ask the speaker if there's Blight in the area.
What the, something still lives here?

>>3030948
>Ask the speaker if there's Blight in the area.

>>3030948
>Who are you? where is the blight?

>>3030948
> Ask the speaker if there's Blight in the area.

>>3031616
>>3031606
>>3031376
>>3030976

Question about the Blight it is.

Writin'

>>3030948

Thinking on it, even if this is a trap it is still something and that something has to have a source. You're really scrapping the bottom of the barrel at this point, but you'll take what you can get.

So, considering what exactly to lead with, you decide to go on the safe side, "I'm not so certain myself. I haven't see any sign of it around, but is there Blight here?"

"B̴l͘͝ig͘h̴͘t̷͡?̀ W̶̛͞ha̛͟t̷̀ ̀do ͟y̕͘o̧̨u͠.̶͞.̶̵͢.́"

The speaker trails off, though you pick up on the confusion before static fills the frequency once more. As you wait, you feel a sharp headache, piercing right through one side of your head and out the other, come one. Wincing, you try to avoid the deepening sense of unease that accompanies your back acting up. Any further thought on the matter is put to the side as the speaker returns.

"O̴͞ḩ̸͘, ̀y̡͟͠o̡͘͡u̵'r̸e̴ t̨͜a̷̡l̡͢ki̴̕ng ̴̸áb̵͟ớu̧͡t ̸͠͞t̵́͡hǫs̷̶̀ę a̸ ́a̡͡b̢́òm̡̧͞í̵n͝à̶ti̸ò̡n̢͡s͡͝ ͜͡f̷r͠om̵ ̨͟a̴̴̧c͘͝ro͢ss̢͠ ́͠ţ̵̧h̶́̕ę̨ ͡ś̡eà̡̡? T̵̛͜h̨̢͞e͟y̴ w̧ȩ̶͞r̡en̴̛͠'̡́t͟͝ a͜͢n̛͡ ͠ì̸s̡͠͞su̸͞͞é; ͡h̶e͡l̛̕l̷͞, ͜͠w̵͟o̵͢rd̸̡ ͜͡w̢͡͝ás̛ we ̷̸w̡er͢͡e̵ ̢̢͡s̷͡e͘t̴ ̶̨tǫ͞ ͘͜d͞ę̶͡s̀tr͟o͝y ̢́t̢̀͜he͠͠ ̴̡͠i͞ņ̴ću̴̴͘r̨̢͝si̕o̧n̕͜͝ w͘h̕͠en ͜t̢h͜a̸͝͞t ̧͘͘f̴̛ùc̛͢k̸ing b̨̛a̸s͝͞t̴̕͘ąr̡̀͢ḑ̸́ ̡́ ELW̴͜Į͜N bé̷̡t̶r͝ay͝͡ȩ̴̸d ̷u͟s̨̨̨ ̸ąl̢͝ļ͠!̛͘ I̴̸f̨̡ ̛I͝͝ ̵͘ęvè̢͢r̡̢ỳ̀ ́g̸̢̕e̷̢t̀͜ ̴m͡y͜ ha̴̛͢nd̢s͢ ǫ̷̛n̸ ̴͝͡t̷͞ḩ͡at ͝͞ṕ͝ơwèr̷͘ ͡h̀̕u̧͢n̶̡͢g̸r͢y ́m̀̕o̷ţ̷͝h̕ęr͘͜f̵uck̶e̶͟r̴̀..͘.͞" It trails off there, the sheer fury that comes through your earphone almost palpable and it's only once its gone that you realize that your head is positively pounding. When it comes back on, it's far more curious than before, "M̴y ap̕ologies͡,͝ ́I͡'ve never̶ b͟eeń go͝o̧d ̶at ćont̵rolļi̶nǵ m̕y̕ te͢m͡per.̕ I'͠m ͟cu͡r͝ióus͠ ab̀ou͟t̨ y͟ou̵ th͟o͞u̶gh͡,̕ ̢g͢iven ͟h̢ow̡ ̕you̕'͜re͡ no̧t f͡ro͢m an͝ywher͟e th̵at I̸ r͝ȩc̷o̸gn͢iźe̷. I̧t sée̕mş t͘hat̛ ͡y̛o͠u'̡re a T̴e͜c͟h̶n̢ow̴ea̴v̷e͘r l͠i͡k̢e͢ Hugo͠,͠ c̕a̕n't̶ e̢ve̴r͡ ̀have enòu̡g͜h o͞f̨ ͟those,̕ b͞u͢t ̢t̸here'̶s so̴m̶eth̕ìng ́el̵se to̧ ýo͟u.͞.̸.̛"

[1/2]

>>3032964

[2/2]

Resisting the urge to groan, you shake your head in an attempt to clear it. You're mostly successful, but it is still draining to converse with whatever is on the other end.

Now what?
> Ask the speaker what happened here.
> Give the speaker your name and ask for theirs.
> Ask the speaker where they are.
> Ask the speaker something else.
> Other

>>3032967
>Give the speaker your name and ask for theirs.
>Ask if there's an area where we could get something to defend ourselves with.
We may be armed, but I'd like to have something more hefty, and punchy. Here's hoping that we also learn something cool.

>>3032967
>> Ask the speaker what happened here.

>>3032967
>Ask for a location

We can see if talking in person is better...And if they are bullet proof.

>>3032967
>> Give the speaker your name and ask for theirs.

>>3033534
>>3033444
>>3033014
>>3032994

Some introductions, and questions, are in order.

Writin'

>>3032967

Even though it is draining, the raw emotion in the speaker's voice tells you that whoever is on the other side of your comm is probably not a part of an elaborate trap to screw you over. So, perhaps it'd be in your best interest to offer a show of good faith, "Look, I don't know what's going on here, but I think it'd be for the best if we met up. First, though, my name is John."

Static fills the channel for a few seconds before the speaker returns, "Mee̷t͟ u̷p̨? ͡Ye͡a͞h.̶.͡. yęa̷h t͝h͜aţ'ḑ b͞e sma̴r̡t̴. ͠W̡h̴e͜ré.͢.. N͢e̛ve͞r̀m̸ind͘.̷ You̢r̷ n͝am̛e̷ i͜s̀ ̡'̴J̕o͘hn͜'͢ ̷hu̢ḩ?̸ Ţh̡at'̀s͡, ͝u͘h̵, I'̵ve̕ ̧never̕ h͜e͜ard o͢f͟ tha̷t͢ ́nam̛e ̡b͝ȩf́ore̸,̵ bųt ̵i͢t͟'͜s no̷ţ a ̛b̴ad one͡. ͘My̨ ́na͘me is...̶" The voice trails off again, and after a few seconds the pressure against your head lessens considerably. Your vision clears once more, only now do you notice that the snow coming down is increasing, but the voice returns immediately after, "W̸hy...͝ ͟I..͜.̵ ͢I remem̨ber ̶ņo̴w̡; my̨ na̡m̧e̡ ̴i̴s̢ L͘i͟ļy̸. ͜I a͡m̸..́. N͢o.̨ I was̕ a̛ ͡m̷embȩŕ of̷ ͠the Vokard̢i̸a̷n ͞K̸nìgh͠ts̀."

You wince at the phrasing of the response. The picture of what might have occurred here is forming in your head and you really aren't liking the implications. Still, you might as well confirm it while you have the chance, "Lily, do you..."

"D̡o͟ I ̨w̢h͢at?"

"Do you remember what happened here?" The silence that follows your words is almost deafening, though it's broken shortly after by laughter.

[1/2]

>>3033872

[2/2]

It's not the joyful kind, either. It's a hollow, bitter thing that sounds as if it's being choked out of Lily, "Y͝e͞àḩ, I re̶me͝mber͢ no͘w. ͞T̨ha̸t̶ ba͟star̵d͜,̀ t͟hat̕ m͢oth̀erfu̧çker̴ Elwy̢n w̨ȩnt of͜f̧ ánd̛.́.. ͝ab́sc͢o̢nded̴ wit̨h ͜th͜at͝ 'B̛l̵ight'͡ ͢s̢hi̵t. W̕e͡ ̵d͡įd͝n'͞t ̀r͝eal͝i̸zę i͘t͡ a̕t͟ ̵f̀irst,́ w̕h͝ȩn he͢ ͟cam̛e b͞a̛ck,̶ ͝but̕ ͞he ̴mad̢e͝ it ̶ve͟ry ̶c̷lear͠ w̛her͡e h͘i̶s͡ ̧l̛oyalt̴ies ̵we͡r̸e̢ ͝w̧he̢n ͞he ̶i̶mpàĺed̵ me͝. T͡hen t͜he at͜t̸a̴c̕ks jus͢t g̴ót wo͞rse͝ ańd ̕worse̕. ̨E̷v́e͜rỳ ͢o͞ne ̀r̀esuĺted ̷i̴n ̸m͠o̵r͡e ͠K͢niǵhts̵ ̷d́y͡i͢ng ̸an̵d̷ ͟moŕe d̀am͜a̕ge ̕to ou͡r͟ d̡e̕f̵e̴n̨ses. It͘ ́di͜ḑn͠'t ̡ma̧t̴te̸r͟ h̕ow ̵man͘y͠ abom̡ina͘t̸ion̴ş ͠die͜d̶,̢ the͠r͠e w͠ere͝ ąlm̕óst m̵oré to fil̷l ̛in̵ their ̛n̴umbers.̛ And I.̡.́.̸ I͘... I͜ watc̛hed ̧i̛t al͡l̨ ̛o̴cc͟ùr o̡ver ̵th̨e͝ ̵c̢oưrse ͡o͘f à ̢ýear. ̧Hug͝o ͝said ̵h͟e h̸ad ̵an̕ i͘d͞e̶a to ̛help me,͘ ͡but ͟h̕e̵ ne̷v̸e͢r̷ ̴go̕t͡ t͢h̛e ̸ch̵a͟nc̢e ͟t̛o se̸e ̴i͟t t͡h͡rough.̨ Then the ͜wal͜l f̧e͜l͢l, ̨ąn͞d̵ ̀t̡hose ̧w̢hó w͟e̸r̵e ́l̢ef̴t̸ ̷óf th͡e͘ K͢nights g͡ot ̡śl̀au͝g̶ht́er͘e͢d.̶ ͟A͡ft͡e͜r th́a͜t... I ͡do̡n'̵t ͟kǹoẁ, ̨I j̷u̷şţ d͝on't̢ ̵kn͘o̵w.̸.̶."

Given what she's said, you can't imagine that Lily's held up very well. In fact, you're dreading this next question, "Where are you now? We should meet up just in case."

"Y̡eáh, y͜e̴a͜h͠ t́hat'd̀ b̷e̴ ͞sm͟a̢rt. ̧Ì'm ͝on ̕t̢h͜e o̴t͢h͞e̕r̴ ́side ̕o̴f̧ th͡e c̕it̷y ̕fr͢o̴m͞ you͠;̷ it̷'s̢ ͜the̴ wid̨e ̛bu̸i͢ld͝ing ̸with̷ ͠a larg͞e̵ ̵c͡o͘urt͝yar̸d ou͜t̛ i̛n front of ̶it̢.͟ It̢ u̢s̷e͠d̕ to ̢be ͢w͜h̢er͞e t̶h͜e͟ T̶e̸c͠hn̨ow͡e͝a͞vers̴ ͜w̛o̢rke͠d͞ ̕and ̧śtudie̷d̶,̶ ͟b́ut͡...̵ ̨y͞o͝u͟ knoẃ...̛"

Now what?
> Head over to where Lily is.
> Ask Lily another question (what?)
> Continue exploring the residential district.
> Go explore that ornate building.
> Other

>>3033884
>> Head over to where Lily is.

>>3033884
So... we’re going to be making a new body for this person aren’t we

>>3033884
>> Head over to where Lily is.

>>3033900

Ha, 'making'

>>3033901
>>3033897
>>3033900

Head over to Lily it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+15's please

Rolled 70 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3033912

Rolled 20 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3033912

Rolled 38 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3033912
Come on man, don’t tell us it was a ruse.

>>3033917

I don't know what you're talking about.

>>3033914

That's an 85.

Writin'

>>3033884

"Alright, I'm heading over to there now."

"I͝'l͝l̛ ͜be͘ ẃàit̡ing̕.̴"

Flicking off your comm unit, you glance around your surroundings. From what she's said, you don't have any real reason to distrust Lily. Hell, if she's been telling you the truth, she hates the Blight just as much as you do. But, still, there's something odd about all of this.

The first, and most obvious, is that this city is still here even though it should be a pile of broken stone and ash. Still, this is the best you've got at the moment, and you've never been one to keep a lady waiting for long. So, giving the solid stone doorway one last suspicious look, you start heading back for the fountain that marked the beginning of the city.

As you do, you pass by an alleyway that you overlooked originally. There's nothing too noteworthy that you see as you glance down it for a second, but you get an odd feeling when you look at the darkest corner of it.

It's almost as if the stone ceases to exist when it touches the inky black, a simple void that exists where the bare light of this city does not reach. Doing your best to ignore the unsettling sight, you increase your pace to a fast walk and continue moving.

The fountain is as you left it, still frozen in place, though the snowfall is picking up slightly. Visibly is still decent, as it's only when you attempt to look across the bridge where you started that it fades away into white, but all the same you should be on your way. The main street is far more open than the residential street before it, almost as wide as the bridge with the buildings along it spaced several meters from the side. They're no more ornate than the others, but the fact that they have space to spare in a city tells you these were for the upper class.

After a minute or so of walking, the street opens up into a kind of city center, though there's no signs of life aside from what you can infer. Ignoring that as well, you walk over to the side where you can see another, much smaller street, that leads to another courtyard with a wide, squat building on the other side of it.

Approaching what you're guessing was this city's center of technology, you take a look around the outside for any ill signs and, upon finding none, you enter through the open front door. The interior is dark, but thankfully you can still see the remnants of the hallowed halls. There's a board covered in papers here, illegible writing scrawled across them, along with various benches and tables, but you ignore all of them in favor of passing across the room and entering a lab of some sorts. Technical equipment is set up sporadically, though all of the glass has been broken and most of the metal has corroded.

That's not what catches your attention, however, as you look over to what's in the center of the room away from the rest of the equipment.

[1/2]

File: Lily_SouloftheAshamedKnight.png (106 KB, 512x512)

106 KB PNG

>>3033945

[2/2]

Sitting on the top of a stone platform is a strange, clear orb containing a swirling mass of white smoke. It twists as you walk up to it, and you're even more surprised to hear it begin speaking, "Sad, is it not, that this is all that is left of the great Vokardian Knights? A single failure, unable to even die properly and forced to watch over the last vestiges of our civilization?"

This is Lily? You struggle to find the words to respond to her questions, as you truly have no clue as to what occurred to this Knight.

Your response?
> Ask Lily if she is an Ancient.
> Ask Lily how she came into this state.
> Ask Lily something else
> Other

>>3033950
>> Ask Lily if she is an Ancient.

>>3033950
What exactly...happened?

Maybe I can help?

>>3033950
>Are you one of....the ancients? Honor to meet you, even if you don't feel the same.

And then
>Offer to help

I do recall, oh so many threads ago, when you mentioned that a way for a golem to have sentience was with blood magic and trapping a soul.....With some of this tech, it shouldn't be hard to circumvent that whole "blood magic" thing....

i hope.

>>3033965

Yeah, I actually can't remember when I first spoke about that it was so long ago; good on you for recalling it. As for the tech, well, you'll see...

>>3033965
>>3033956
>>3033953

Ask about her past, then offer to help.

Writin'

>>3033970
Thank you being a golem detail obsessed autistic fool enthusiastic follower of the quest has its benefits.

That welding tool literally saved our life on more than one occasion desu

>>3033950

You've never been all that interested in history, the subject was always far too vague for your liking, but even you know enough to ask the next question out of your mouth, "Lily, are you an Ancient? Did... did you know of the Gods?"

The wisp twirls around in its glass sphere, the lady within likely thinking over your words, "'Did I know the gods?' No, they left... Oh man I really should have payed better attention to history... I think it was close to half a millennia before I was born? Didn't matter much considering we were isolated from the rest of the world here; might have been an elf or two that was alive at that time that lived here, but I was too busy training to talk to any of them. I dunno if that answers your question or not."

There's the urge to rub your brow, but you are still wearing your helmet currently, so you settle for sighing heavily instead, "I asked because I've never seen anyone in your condition before. How did you get in this condition anyways?"

"I told you about how I got impaled, and that Hugo did this to me to help me. He did it because that wound was doing something to me, rotting my body away from within. None of our healers could figure out a way to stop or reverse it, so when Hugo offered to extract my soul to save me I took it," Lily flickers here, almost deflating. When she speaks again, grief colors her tone, "He was successful, as you can see, but when he went to destroy my corpse it jumped up and strangled him. The others broke the hold, and the Knight on duty finished it off, but the damage was done; his windpipe was crushed and he died before the healers could get to him." That bitter laughter comes back here, and you can almost see the trapped woman within glass, "I joined the Knights to protect the city I was so proud of, and in the end I couldn't even protect my best friend..."

Lily trails off again, and you raise a hand up to the glass ball, but you hesitate before grabbing it, "Do you want me to help you?"

"Huh?"

"I have... contacts," You resist the urge to grind your teeth here, "We'd have to talk about what can be done, but it'd be better than just staying here."

She doesn't speak for almost a minute, evidently thinking on it, before the gloss increases slightly, "What would you want in return? If you can bring me back, however that is, what would you want me to do?"

Your response?
> "I've got someone who will outlive me by tenfold; make sure she's alright once I'm gone."
> "I want you to do what you were meant to do: kill the Blight."
> Other

>>3033997
Again calling on past knowledge, it is possible to fully get rid of the blight but it would take centuries.......Centuries this creature would have.

So i propose is that we ask them to kill blight, BUT also check in on serria every few years.

>>3033997
>> "I want you to do what you were meant to do: kill the Blight."

>>3034001
Actually refining this into something better

"For the first couple of years, i want you to help defend me and my loved ones while you find your feet and then when you are comfortable in this new world, go off and kill the fucking blight dead.
And maybe check in every few years so i can patch you up, see how you are doing."

>>3033997
>I just feel it would be the right thing to do. Nobody should be imprisoned like this.
Although if she wants to look out for Sierra or destroy the blight, that’d certainly be nice.

>>3034015
I feel like that would be taken poorly. If we ask for something then it gives the idea that we are predictable, we have a clear motivation from her perspective.

And secondly our aspect is greed....something for nothing for a random disembodied soul doesn't seem very in line.

>>3034040
It wouldn’t be the first time we did something on principle, even if we knew we’d be getting at least the goodwill in return.

>>3034044
Just because we did nice things for nothing before doesn't mean we should do it here. This would be a significant request of us to even accomplish to begin with, and I refuse to do all this for nothing but being nice.

>>3034044
True.....But this is an asset so i feel we should at least be upfront about out requests, because they will be made later.

>>3034060
One thing is asking someone for something when you’re more or less on equal footing and another is to extort promise of servitude out of someone in no position to defend themselves. It’s like finding a shipwreck survivor and telling him you’ll carry them home if they promise to pay you fare.

>>3034080
there is, but there is also the part where they may refuse the request to kill and purify the continent killing monster creep.

Its unlikely, but it could happen.

>>3034080

Just for reference, Lily would press for making a deal over this rather than accepting it on good faith for a reason you'll find out about later.

>>3034001

It'd take centuries to cleanse the continent. The rest of the world is a very different story.

>>3034006
>>3034001
>>3034014

Locking this in.

Writin'

>>3033997

You can tell that this is something serious, and not just because you're making a deal with a literal soul. Even if she doesn't think of it herself, Lily is easily several millennia old, and will probably live to see more; any deal you make is going to stick with her for long after you're dead and gone. All things considered, there's only a few things that you'd put as this important and so that's what you'll go with, "I want you to do what you were meant to do: kill the Blight."

"What?"

"I have no more love of it than you do, and I want to see it gone. Now, I'm not expecting you to run out there and kill it all immediately. For the first few years I want your help keeping my loved ones safe while you find your feet. Hell, I can make any additional equipment and weapons you need but once you're set I want you to purge the continent clean."

"I know how you feel about the Blight, John. I just..." The wisp flickers around for a moment, "But, that sounds reasonable."

"And, uh, something a bit more personal," You shift slightly in place, "I'm in love with an elf. Even with the best case, I'll be dead long before her. Just... check in with her every once and a while."

Lily glows a bit brighter in her glass prison, almost as if she's smiling, "I look forwards to meeting Sierra then. For now, grab me and let's get going."

With a nod, you reach fully forwards and touch the glass orb.

Then, your eyes flick open, taking in the sight of you with both your hands against Lily's container. Gently picking it up, you realize that your surroundings have gone entirely black and deathly quiet. Reaching into your lockbox, you draw your pistol as you glance about.

From the darkness comes a shambling form, followed by another and another and probably more as you've already bolted for the door.

[1/2]

>>3035945

[2/2]

It's at this point that your crystal turret decides to start working again, as it fires bolt after bolt at the horde coming up behind you. You don't bother looking behind you to see how well its doing as you're too busy putting your all into sprinting. Some part of you wants to follow the way you came in, old instincts from all the times you've made an expedient retreat from a deal gone bad, but you instead leap over the remains of a stone brick wall without breaking your stride.

The once pristine city has been entirely demolished, its regalia broken and brought low. The streets are filled with the corrupted tar of Blight and shambling corpses, but between your turret and your momentum you blow right past them.

You're at a loss of where exactly to go, but the first place that comes to mind on the very short list that is 'defensible positions' in the middle of a fucking Fallen City is the bridge you started this all in. Blowing past the fountain, which is no longer frozen but instead is filled with ichor, you sprint the rest of the way across the bridge.

There's nothing here that you can work with, as the bridge simply ends a scant few meters behind you, so you raise your pistol and get ready for one hell of a fight. Your turret continues throwing bolt after bolt, making you wait as it easily blows through the shambling corpses, but then the larger things begin to pull themselves out of the muck. They are twisted things, bulging flesh and jagged metal that sings through the air ominously, that throw themselves in front of the rest of the horde to tank your turret's attacks.

The orb in your hand warms as they approach, right before you begin firing with your own pistol, and you look down just in time to see that you're in the dead center of that damn red Sigil, lines of arcane energy crackling before it erupts.

Your vision swims for several seconds, vertigo hitting you like a mountain slide, as you're once again robbed of your sight and then, without preamble or pomp and circumstance, you slam back into reality.

Right into the gunsights of around a dozen people.

"John?" Archmage sets out for a second, a hand hidden behind his back. He looks you over for a second, before his eyes land on the glass sphere in your hands and, for the first time since you've met him, his eyes boggle.

> You have obtained: 1 Soul of Lily the Vokardian Knight!

Your response?
> "I'm fine, I'm alive."
> "Am I in reality now?"
> "I have no idea what the fuck just happened."
> Other

>>3035964
>> "Am I in reality now?"
Or is this still fantasy? kek

>>3035964
>> "Am I in reality now?"
>> "I have no idea what the fuck just happened."

>>3035964
>> "I have no idea what the fuck just happened."

>>3035964
> "Am I in reality now?"

>>3035945
>I look forward to meeting Sierra then

BITCH IS A MIND READER????:?!?!?!?
makes sense or thats a typo, but i want her to read minds so bad.

>>3035964
>Arch mage, Have i a story for you.....

Also, i support this >>3035968 for the laughs. then explain this shit and make introductions. And no, arch mage can not have her.

>>3035992

That's not the only odd thing that Lily has said. Keep in mind that John was in direct contact with Lily's soul for some time.

>>3035992
>>3035983
>>3035981
>>3035970
>>3035968

"What the fuck"

Writin'

>>3036017
I did wonder how she knew where we were.
I thought it was just that she had a camera and was using a comms unit to talk to us.

>>3036017
So did we just take another presence into our already crammed cranium?
Sierras bro is gonna have a field day with this story .

>>3036038
And I reckon that Lily’s confusion at our request stemmed from her noticing our personal blight demon and our working relationship with him.

>>3036042
heh, not the cranium, but we did jsut pick up another spirit.

And greed is not a spirit, he is us, sorta

>>3035964

You look across the line of Jackals, who despite having their weapons raised are looking a bit more confused at what's occurring. Dutch has already lowered his longrifle, looking more relieved than anything else, "Is... Is this reality?"

That gets a raised eyebrow out of Archmage, "Why would it not be?"

"No, it's uh... Honestly, I have no idea what the fuck just happened," As subtly as you can, you put Lily's soul into your lockbox. It's not something you want to leave out in the open.

Reaching up, you pop the release on your helmet and remove it, showing the line of mercs your lack of a corrupted visage. Thankfully, that gets them to stand down and the lot of them hurry out of the room now that the threat has passed. Looking over the room, you note that the Blight that was once here is gone along with all the weapons and armor that were here before the incursion reared it's ugly head. Turning back, you see that you're alone with Archmage, Catherine, and Dutch now, all of which are alive and well if a bit scuffed up.

The crimson magus is the first to speak up, as he adjusts his glasses, "You are a very lucky man, John. We were uncertain if you would be returning, compromised or not."

Catherine looks over the massive Sigil that is now bare along the floor, "So, this is the Rune in question?"

"Yeah, I can verify it works on both ends," Rubbing the back of your head, you look over at Dutch, "Yo, you got my rifle around here somewhere?"

Your best friend gives you a lopsided grin and pulls a thoroughly scorched, but still intact, Gauss Rifle from his pack before handing to you, "You really know how to make 'em; ammo didn't cook off despite being in those flames for so long. Actually, thinkin' about it, you weren't even phased by that inferno after you went all 'smoke demon' and shit."

Now what?
> Talk with Archmage about Lily.
> See what Catherine is doing with the Rune.
> Talk with Dutch about how the fight went from his end.
> Other

>>3036087
>> Talk with Dutch about how the fight went from his end.
how did you do dude?

>>3036087
Guess the ghost business can wait for a Moore secure setting.
>So what happened over here?

>>3036087
>Talk with dutch about what the fuck went on

We need details man, give us the info on how cool we looked/shit scared we looked

>rune with catherine
Can we have some when you are done miss?

>Arch mage and lily
you are the expert on a shit ton of stuff that nobody is meant to know about, and you have already seen her so kindly tell me what you think i can do, in your expert opinion.

>>3036087
>See what Catherine is doing with the Rune.
Talk shop to calm down. Maybe also ask if there's a single piece that can be removed to turn it off until someone wants to use it from this side. Blight lies on the other side.

>>3036087
>Talk with Dutch about how the fight went from his end.

>>3036087
>> Talk with Dutch about how the fight went from his end.

File: Commander Shepard.jpg (172 KB, 900x1291)

172 KB JPG

Finally finished binging, only took me like two weeks. Celebratory power armor pic for you.

>Oh, and do me a favor and make sure that Sierra only plays with your 'gun' rather than that rifle
Surprised nobody caught that last thread.

>>3036087
>>3036108
This. Well, I guess we got our golem with out having to make an AI. Maybe make it a centaur golem to appease the OGs.

>>3041695
We did, it just felt too obvious to point out.

File: Mura_AtWork.png (394 KB, 616x586)

394 KB PNG

Just as a quick question, would you all be interested in a 'down time' thread after the end of Part 22? The next story arc of AQ is the last one, which'll be one hell of a bang to go out on, but I figure for pacing's sake jumping right into another conflict would be a bit strange. On the other hand, I could run a DQ or IMQ thread if you all are more interested in seeing the next part of one of those, but I do plan on AQ being finished by Christmas.

>>3041695

Glad to hear you've caught up. Favorite part thus far?

Also, there's a number of lines like that throughout this quest.

Though, as >>3043801 points out, the narrative doesn't focus on 'em.

>>3043579

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with Lily I think I've completed all of the 'original objectives' of AQ; at least, the ones that could be done within setting.

>>3043579
>>3036139
>>3036125
>>3036118
>>3036108
>>3036100
>>3036093

Chat with the crew for a bit it is.

Writin'

>>3044871
Not gonna lie, after the crossover everything just seemed very rushed. I guess the lily thing fixed the golem thing but the character became and expert and power armor and making gauss rifles? I guess you're kind of burned out on this quest and want to start on dreadknight qiest.

>>3044871
I'd support some DQ or IMQ if you need time to recharge on this quest

File: xk8Gf2eaOqQdCER-EUznrozvh(...).jpg (102 KB, 385x766)

102 KB JPG

>>3044871
I'm always up for comfy episodes, dunno how others feel about those. Temptation to disregard friends and stick to the forge preparing weapons for every thinkable or unthinkable contingency will be strong though.

also the remark was less about the narrative focus and more about the fact you mistook sierra for sarah

>>3044871
downtime is fine. could always use more time to create more useful things like the Assembler before the final arc

>>3044896

That is part of why I want to have designated downtime thread, so that way you all don't feel like you're going to be screwed over later on just 'cause you did some socializing.

Oops. I'll admit, I wasn't exactly planning ahead very well when I came up with Sierra's and Sarah's names.

>>3044893
>>3044882

I agree in that the quality of things dropped quite a bit after the crossover, as that was on me for a number of reasons. I'm not all that burned out with AQ, it's more that these last two arcs are consequences of the majority of the quest thus far and as such they show it given how they don't introduce new plot hooks like every other arc before them. Also, I want to give you all an ending to John's story as while I could go on and on with him that just makes the likelihood of AQ having an ending less and less likely. Doesn't mean I'll be completely abandoning AQ's world though.

Regardless, it is the choice of you all on what the next thread is as I can do any of 'em without issue.

>>3044899

Automated assembly that doesn't require clockwork or steam is quite the upgrade.

>>3043801
>>3044871
>Not pointing out a QM's mistake to have a little comedy routine with them
That's my favorite pastime though!

The fight against Riza. It was nice to see a boss that didn't job in two rounds. Even if the Keiji half of the boss fight did. Deadringer was also a change, but that fight was just lopsided in the other direction for about the first third or so.
Honestly, the consistently ridiculous rolls kinda... took some of the edge off the narrative tension, if that makes sense. It wasn't boring per se, but I knew there'd be a couple 90+ rolls or a companion with a pocket 100 or the boss would roll a 1 to pull the win at some point. Riza's fight was a nice change from that.

>>3036087

The descriptor of 'smoke demon' doesn't phase you much, as this is the third time Dutch's seen what you can do first hand, but the part of not even being phased by an inferno gets a raise out of you. Thinking about it, you can't remember exactly how the fight ended, never mind how you stood in a firestorm without flinching. Sure, you made sure to pack as many shield crystals into your armor as you could, but even they wouldn't stand up long to constant exposure, "Say, how'd that fight go from your end? I wasn't really paying attention at the time."

The gunslinger smirks at you, patting his Gauss Longrifle appreciatively, "Can't say it was exciting as going toe to toe with that abomination must have been. Archmage and I spent most of the time tryin' to angle for a good shot while keeping our hands out of the fire, then you just stopped all of a sudden and gave us a damn good one. So, I just aimed for center mass and then it wasn't there anymore."

"Glad you're enjoying the new toy," Drawling out, you and your best friend lull into a comfortable silence. There's not much else to talk about, though when you get back to Shirahoro the two of you are likely to get sloshed. Walking over to where Catherine is already taking studious notes on the complex shapes and smaller Sigils that compose the much larger room-sized Rune. A glance at her book shows that she's taking down diagrams of the designs, far more detailed than the portion you gave to Archmage way back, "How soon until you're recreating this thing?"

She looks over her shoulder at you, taking a break from her work for a moment, "Depends on if we can isolate and convert the portions of it that rely on blood magic; that is, after all, a restricted school of magic."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is," Given how at least half of the people standing in this room would qualify as 'practitioners of restricted arcane arts', you're not certain of just how 'restricted' the school is.

"I'll take some time, but we have contacts with their own specialties; one day, we'll have it figured out," The thin smile Catherine gives you isn't as reassuring as it's likely meant to be, but you give her a small nod before walking off regardless.

After all, you definitely want to speak to Archmage. The crimson magus himself is staring off into space towards the rear of the chamber, apparently so locked in his thoughts that it takes you clearing your throat to catch his attention, "You got a minute?"

"Yes," His answer is direct and immediate, catching you slightly off guard as he whips around to look you in the eye, "John, what occurred after you went through that Rune? I don't care if you don't think it was real, tell me."

Your response?
> Tell Archmage everything that occurred.
> Just show him Lily.
> Never mind, this was a bad idea.
> Other

>>3044965
>Tell Archmage everything that occurred.

>>3044965
Eh just spill it all.
We are not giving her up without giving her a proper body though.

>>3044929

Yeah, that last fight with the enemy mercs was extremely close, even with a lucky nat 1 before it even began. Deadringer turned out to be far more challenging than anticipated, that honor was supposed to go to the Scourge, but it was a good final fight for the crossover.

One of the main points Handler and I went over before the start of the crossover was that the majority of the challenge would be on a strategic level, mostly the management of where the different characters would be placed to best defend the site, rather than on a combat level with just how much dice was going to be thrown around.

>>3044965
>> Tell Archmage everything that occurred.

>>3044965
>Tell archmage about the city

But ask him about his knowledge of the ancients and how advanced he thinks they were before telling him the rest.

Pays to gauge him, but he may also think we are tainted if we are not fully honest.

>>3044871
Also, yeah dreadknight could be cool. But downtime with our elven girlfriend, our mate [WHO I STILL DON'T KNOW IF THEY THINK WE ARE THEIR FAVORITE BLONDE]
and his new girl could do wonders.

Depending on sarahs hair we may not be the favorite blonde, but that question still gnaws at me.

>>3045003
I think Sarah has dark hair. John did comment on Dutch’s improving taste.

>>3044965
>Make Archmage swear he won't try his choke hold trick again
>Tell Archmage everything that occurred
Fool John once...

>>3044981
I was referring to the whole quest in general. I didn't actually go through and count, but I'm pretty confident in saying at least half of all of the player's rolls in the quest were 90+. That's on the dice gods, not you, though. And I can't say how glad I am that you didn't devolve into Super High DC Syndrome because of it. It kills a lot of my interest in quests that use 1d100 bo3 when they make all their DCs 70+ 2 threads in. Like, just use a different rolling system at that point.

>>3045065

Yeah, John's luck is absurd but I don't factor that into determining DC's. That's more determined by player choices and the situation as a whole.

>>3045058

I believe Sarah is a brunette.

>>3045065
>>3044993
>>3044992
>>3044980
>>3044978

Tell him a story.

Writin'

File: Archmage_SlightConcern.png (75 KB, 229x260)

75 KB PNG

>>3044965

Despite being almost as blunt to a fault as you, Archmage's total lack of subtlety or restraint is a complete 180 from his usual personality. Guess you've really piqued his interested with your most recent escapades, "Easily man. Sure, I'll tell you. But you gotta promise me that no matter what I say you don't wrap that fucking chain of yours around my neck."

The fact that he doesn't verbally respond is telling, but he doesn't immediately start choking you out so you take it as a success.

"Alright, so, on the other side of that Rune is a city; an old city. No, we're not going to explore it as the Blight has it rather firmly and I think I've got the only valuable thing that was in there. When I got there, I ran into someone who was still somehow alive there even though it had Fallen millennia ago. The long in the short of it was that her best friend, I think he was an Artificer himself, pulled her soul out of her dying body and stored it in this," With that you reach into your lockbox and pull back out Lily's Soul, still safely within her glass prison.

Just like before, the mafia mage's eyes widen at the sight, his attention clearly locked on the sphere, "John... Do you have any idea what this means... If we could communicate with this individual somehow..."

You run your fingers over the clear surface, watching as the white smoke within it swirls about in response, "Well, I did promise her a second chance at life, and I've got a metal golem that's collecting dust in my shop."

"That... Yes, that'll work. I'll have to make arrangements, but they'll be worth it," Archmage pauses, as if he's regaining his composure finally. When he continues, he's far more calm than before, "This entire expedition has been monumentally fruitful, and I have you to thank for it John."

He offers you his hand to shake, though it's one that you tentatively take after a second. You've worked with worse people before, after all.

[ARTIFICER QUEST PART 22 END]

>>3045349

That's where I'm going to leave this thread. I hope everyone had fun with this one, as it's a Ruin Dive I've had planned out for a while. From the sounds of it, you all are interested in a down time thread so that's what the next thread will be.

Other than that, there's only the final story arc of AQ left and it's something I've had in mind since the train arc. Everything will come down to that once it begins.