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>>3317906

Being forced to stick to the buildings definitely made your journey slower. But it’s a necessary precaution if you want to avoid the flying torsos. Fortunately, you stopped hearing any wheezing. It was replaced by gunfire which at this point was definitely a surprising sound to hear. It was coming somewhere from direction of the library. It means that you are not the only people trying to get inside that structure, but the other groups seem to have less luck avoiding the monstrosities. Unless they are shooting at other people, but that surely cannot be the case. There’s no way anyone is still willing to fight enemy soldiers in the middle of this chaos, right?

Talvin suddenly stops and grabs your arm. Then he points towards the eastern wall of the building you’re currently in. You can hear familiar wheezing behind it. Your hearts start beating rapidly as you cease any motions, waiting for it to pass.

It doesn’t.

Suddenly, the huge chunk of the eastern wall starts disintegrating. A flying torso quickly emerges from the cloud of dust, trying to touch you with its fossilized fingers. You simply stare at it with your mouth opened wildly. Your mind collapses just as much as that wall.
-”How did it know? How, why, how, why, how, why...”
You feel your body falling into the ground. You snap out of your short breakdown and notice the elf. He pulled you away before the monster touched you, but he also fell to the ground, mere centimeters from it. The creature’s head turn towards him, as he reaches for him. You feel like you need to do something.

>Try to push the creature back with a burst of magical energy.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK
>Try to damage the creature by firing your handgun at it.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK
>Ignore your urges to help the elf, getting to the library is more important. Just get up and run away.
ROLL D6 LOW RISK

>>3317907
>>Ignore your urges to help the elf, getting to the library is more important. Just get up and run away.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3317923

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3317907
>Try to push the creature back with a burst of magical energy.

Please be a good roll

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3317907
>Try to push It back with magic

>>3317946
>>3317980

You cast an offensive magic, a simple push spell. It helped you in many dangerous situations and you hope, perhaps foolishly, that it will do it one more time. You direct your planetary energy straight towards the flying monstrosity.

The abyssal screech that comes out of the creature is almost deafening. It grabs its head and recoils back, hitting one of the walls in the process. Surprised by this, you decide to cast anothe spell. Then another. Wiggling and screeching it pulls back through the same hole in the wall it just created a few moments ago.

Both of you stand there, completely stunned. The creature didn’t seem to be affected by the spell’s purpose, but by the magical energy itself. Like it was being hurt by the manifestations of magic themselves. After a few long moments you slowly look at the elf. His eyes are opened wide, fixed on your body.

-”Amelia...your arms...”

You look at them, finally noticing the pain. Your skin gave up in several places and blood freely pours down from your fresh wounds. Looks like by scaring the creature, you overused your magic. You know that you can’t close them yourself, you’d be sure to pass out in the process. Talvin delicately lifts you up.

-”Come on, we need to find help.”

With Talvin’s help you manage to leave the building. You don’t like the idea of venturing into the streets, but you need to find someone who carries enough bandages to cover your arms. Leaving you inside that building isn’t an option either as both of you are afraid that the torso can come back at any moment.

Fortunately for you, the street you’re currently on is still crawling with crazed soldiers. Soon, Talvin and you approach an Imperial medic who keeps bashing his head against a brick wall. The elf knocks him by hitting him with a grip of his revolver.

After acquiring some bandages, the Uspeshan leads you into one of the nearby buildings.
-”Sit down and try not to pass out. It’ll take a moment.”

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>>3318087

Despite not being the most skilled medic in his army, Talvin tries his best to give you the best medical care available. Despite all the pain, you smile weakly towards the elf.
-”Thank you...”

The elf looks at your pale face.
-”You saved me back there, as a member of the Royal Officer Corps it’s my duty to return the favour. See? Almost do-”
Before Talvin finishes his sentence a large chunk of ceiling collapses, covering the entire interior in a thick cloud of dust. It engulfs you, getting into your mouths, noses and eyes. Despite all of this you force yourself to look up. Despite the massive amount of dust in the air you can still see a dark silhouette of a giant torso, hovering above the building. The elf lifts you up again. Even after resting for a few minutes, you are still barely able to walk and will slow him down considerably.

>Tell Talvin to run for the library and leave you. You can still fight the creature off with whatever remains of your magic.
ROLL D6 VERY HIGH RISK
>Let Talvin carry you and hope that he’s somehow able to outrun the monstrosity.
ROLL D6 VERY HIGH RISK

----

For Amelia's sake, I hope you can land some good rolls.

Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>3318095
Can we blast it with magic while he carries us? I want to do that.

>>3318104
Yes, definitely. Still, the escape will be difficult, since Amelia is quite exhausted.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3318095
>>Let Talvin carry you and hope that he’s somehow able to outrun the monstrosity.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3318095
>Let Talvin carry you and hope that he’s somehow able to outrun the monstrosity.

This quest is AWESOME.

The old threads need to be archived on suptg op

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>>3318104
>>3318160
>>3318280
>3+6+6=15
>Average roll result = 5
Damn, you guys actually pulled it off.

You decide to let Talvin carry you through the ruined building. You quickly realize that the beast will have no trouble catching up as it descends into the building. It’s not even floating anymore. Instead, it lands on the ground and starts using his two oversized hands to crawl through the apartment, turning every obstacle into dust. As it gets closer and closer you begin to wonder.
-’Is it the same one we’ve encountered before? Does it feel hate towards us? Can these things even feel hate?”

Talvin soon enters the street and it becomes obvious to you that you’ll need to once again unleash your magic upon the creature. Ignoring the massive headache and your fatigue, you cast another magic spell, the biggest one yet. The monster recalls in pain, its screeching once again hurts your ears. You don’t understand why, but these creatures clearly cannot tolerate your world’s magic. The monstrosity stops in the middle of the street, looking at you for a second before disappearing between the nearby buildings, searching for more suitable targets.

You soon enter the square before the library, probably one of the largest ones in the city. It’s entirely covered by the green glow. You hear a lot of gunfire and familiar wheezing, as the creatures feast upon hundreds of soldiers still wandering the square. Talvin drops you into a pile of debris, located near the entrance.
-”Your wounds opened up again.”
You barely acknowledge the elf’s words. Your headache is massive and your entire body feels like it will fall apart at any second. Your magic saved your lives – but at a price.

Talvin looks at the square, allowing you to lie on the ground for a second. He turns his head towards you.
-”This is pure hell. We won’t be able to make it through. The creatures are ravaging the square, consuming everyone still there. And...there is still gunfire coming out of the library. Someone is still fighting there, Amelia.”
When Talvin says the word ‘someone’ you can’t help, but think about Konrad.

You try to get up, but your body gives up halfway through.
-”I need to stop it. Damn...”

The elf kneels down.
-”Stand still, I have some bandages left. I’ll patch you up and then we can rest for a moment.”

Under any normal circumstances you would probably agree with this statement. But this is far from normal. Your body is barely functioning anymore, but time is of an essence.

>”No, we don’t have time to rest. We’ll go towards the library as soon as you patch me up.”
>”Maybe you’re right...just a few moments of rest...”

>>3318605
Thanks for the reminder, I should actually do it ASAP.

>>3318612
>"No time. We need to move."

>>3318612
>”Maybe you’re right...just a few moments of rest...”
I think we're stressing her a bit too much

>>3318612

”No, we don’t have time to rest. We’ll go towards the library as soon as you patch me up.”
Let's do this

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>>3318620
>>3318811

The elf spend the next few minutes reapplying the bandages and arguing with you about your decision to keep pressing on. Talvin was truly shocked by this display of determination.
-”This about this! You’re not even able to stand! This is...”

You slightly raise your hand as a sign that he should stop. Then, with what can only be described as a titanic effort, start getting up by yourself. After a few grueling moments you manage to accomplish this task. You are standing, but you feel like you can collapse at any moment. Still, you look towards Talvin with tears in your eyes.
-”Too many people died here today. Too many people died on my watch. My friends sacrificed themselves saving people. Now it’s my turn. Please, let me do this.”

The elf takes a deep breath.
-”Do you have a deathwish, Amelia?”

You immediately respond.
-”No, I’m scared of death. I don’t want to die, but I also don’t want to see others die. And I can withstand a little bit of pain and hardship to prevent others from dying.”

-”If it really is what you’re looking for...” - the Uspeshan officer takes a few steps towards you. -”...then I’m going to help you.” - he grabs you arm and starts helping you walk towards the library.

You can consider yourself lucky as the monstrosities present on the square seem to be more interested in consuming the defenseless soldiers stuck in the nightmare or the on-going gunfight. Some riflemen appear to be shooting towards a machine gun nest, located in one of the library’s windows. Surprisingly enough, despite being stationary, the machine gunner doesn’t attract any attention from the creatures. Maybe the entities cannot get to close to the beacon planted inside that building? Whatever the case may be, the library seems to be a safe location.

Almost halfway through you are forced to take cover behind a destroyed fountain as your march starts attracting some fire from the library. Of course, your shield could probably withstand atleast several shots, but at this point every little bit of magic you use hurts you immensely. You still hear bullets and wheezing, but suddenly a new sound joins them. Engine’s rattling. You see an Imperial tank emerging from one of the streets leading to the square. Most of its machine guns immediately start firing upon the monstrosities present nearby, but it seems to cause them no harm. Still, many of them turn around and start to fly towards the steel beast. Whoever’s present in the library also shifted their focus to the behemoth. This may be your chance

>Dash to the library as fast as you can, using the tank as a distraction.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK
>Try a more slow, but safer approach.
ROLL D6

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3318887
>>Dash to the library as fast as you can, using the tank as a distraction.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3318887
>Dash to the library as fast as you can, using the tank as a distraction.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3318887
>Dash to the library as fast as you can, using the tank as a distraction.
Again probably stupid but time is lives.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3319952
Goddamn why do I never roll well. This is why I usually don't respond.

>>3319953
Only first roll counts, I hope the bad result doesn't discourage you from participating.

>>3319847
>>3319867
>>3319952
>4+2+1=7
Average roll result = 2.33

-”Talvin, now’s our chance!”
You get up from your cover and start running towards the library. The adrenaline kicked in, giving you some of the much needed strength so that you could make it to the building. Talvin, being in better overall shape, can obviously go much faster than you, but he decides to stick with you, to make sure you make it. Everything seems to go smoothly, almost every monstrosity in the area went after the tank and the rest was still focused on consuming soldiers that didn’t manage to wake up. You look towards the steel beast that’s responsible for creating this opportunity.

The tank is facing one of the approaching creatures, its machine guns still ricocheting harmlessly off the torso’s bark-like skin. Despite all of this the Imperial war machine doesn’t reverse, standing firm in one place. It allows the monster to get a little bit closer before finally firing its hull-mounted cannon. The high explosive shell hits it straight in the face. A huge cloud of smoke and fire engulfs it fully.

The monster doesn’t even flinch. It keeps floating towards its target, like nothing had ever happened. The tank crew inside definitely wasn’t expecting this to happen as they finally start reversing. It’s for nought as the creature has no problems catching up to the slow-moving behemoth. After several seconds of this one-sided chase, the creature finally plants its fingers on the front hull of the tank, turning it into dust instantly. Then, it peaks inside through the hole it just created. You don’t see anyone bailing out. This short spectacle ended just before you made it into the library’s entrance. If it laster a moment longer, your plan may have succeeded.

>>3320021

Just moments before you were in the relative safety of the pillars located next to the entrance, the machine gun opened fire. Dozens of bullets flew towards you as you gathered the last ounces of your energy to conjure a magical shield. Despite this move, two bullets still found their way into your shoulder. You leap towards the entrance to escape the machine gun’s firing arc. It worked and you land painfully on the ground next to the front doors. You look around you and notice Talvin. Blood comes out of his stomach and his legs, he’s been hit multiple times. You start sobbing a little..
-”No, not again. Please. Why are you coming to haunt me again?”

Something inside you snaps.

You get up to your knees and approach the elf, staring blankly at him.
-”I-I can fix you, you hear me Adalard?”

The Uspeshan officer is still conscious, but he seems to not realize what you just said.
-”Get us...inside…”


You quickly cheer up a little.
-”Yes! Yes! I’ll get you to safety, then I’ll fix you!”

The entrance has been blown open, probably during previous fighting so atleast you don’t have to open the door. With tremendous effort, you start dragging the elf’s body into the library’s lobby. You carefully place him next to a solid pillar, both of you are now facing the stairs leading upwards.
-”Now stand still Adi, I will...I will..,”

You hear Talvin’s weak voice.
-”Amelia...please...the stairs...”

You lift your head and see two Imperial soldiers making their way towards you, holding rifles in their hands. The elf pulls out his own revolver.
-”Run...I’ll stop them...”

You look at him smiling.
-”Don’t be silly, I need to fix you first...I need to...”

>Ignore everything and try to fix the elf.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK
>Approach the Imperial soldiers and ask for help in fixing the elf.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK
>Try to scare the intruders away with your handgun, then fix the elf.
ROLL D6 HIGH RISK


Before you ask - given Amelia's current mental state, running away is not an option.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3320023
>Approach the Imperial soldiers and ask for help in fixing the elf.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3320023
>Approach the Imperial soldiers and ask for help in fixing the elf.

Wait isn't Talvin an imperial? Can't he just talk to them?

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>>3320054
No, Amelia is an Imperial. Talvin is from Uspesh, a kingdom which is at war with the Tornland Empire. I know this whole kingdom/empire may confuse some people so lemme just repost the map from the first thread.

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>3320023
>Approach the Imperial soldiers and ask for help in fixing the elf.

>>3320023
>Ask for help from where you are.

Don't approach. Give them your name and rank, and tell them a truce has been called in light of the demonic incursion.

>>3320027
>>3320054
>>3320141
>average roll result = 3.67

You start limping towards the incoming pair of human soldiers, waving your hands as you walk.
-”Please, you’ve got to help me! My friend...he’s wounded!”

You see that one of the soldiers, the older one, lowers his rifle and approaches you. He grabs an edge of your jacket, turnig his head towards his friend.
-”Karl, she’s from Tornland! Our machine gunners fired on a friendly!”

The second soldier points his weapon towards Talvin, who’s still lying on the ground.
-”What about him? He’s Uspeshan.”

You quickly join the conversation.
-”He’s with me! He’s my friend! I need your help, m-my magic’s too weak right now, I can’t do it myself!”

The man called Karl shifts his attention back towards you.
-”Wait, you’re a cleric?”

-”Yes.”

-”What’s your unit, girl?”

You start feeling very frustrated by these questions.
-”Just help me, damnit! My friend was injured by YOUR fire! Why do you even fighting, this is insane!”
You drop to your knees shouting in anger. You look at your hands. Covered in grey dust and blood, just like the rest of your body. Your brain swarms with bitter thoughts.
-”Both me and Talvir gave up so much of our bodies and minds to get to this place and this is what I get?”

The older soldier squats next to you and pats your head.
-”We’ll take care of you two, don’t worry. Don’t be mad at Karl, he asked these questions because someone who got here not that long ago mentioned a cleric girl from his unit.”

Surprised, you lift your head and look deep into the man’s eyes.
-”Captain von Hohenberg...is here?”

-”Yes. He is currently upstairs, talking to captain von Glattekrone.”

You can’t believe what this just said. Konrad is here? And he’s with Erika? Then why is the beacon still active? His plan was to destroy it. You immediately start to have bad feelings.

The soldier opens his mouth once more.
-”We’ll take you to our medic now. After that I’ll take you upstairs so you could have a chat with your captain, alright?”

You notice that the younger soldier already picked up Talvir.

>Accept the offer. You are wounded plus you don’t want to leave Talvir alone.
>Refuse the offer. You need to meet with Konrad immediately.

>>3320233
>Refuse the offer. You need to meet with Konrad immediately.

>>3320134
Oh, I mixed them up

>>3320233
>Refuse

>>3320282
>>3320291

-”I need to meet captain von Hohenberg. Right now.”

The soldier seems surprised by this
-”But lass...you’re still bleeding.’

You look at your left shoulder.
-”It’s nothing. I won’t pass out. I can patch myself up later.”

You feel like he wants to protest your decision, but he knows he can’t really persuade you.
-”Alright, follow me upstairs.”

As you slowly climb the library’s stairs you start wondering if leaving Talvin alone was a good idea. You convince yourself that you wouldn’t be able to help him anyway. You are just happy that your display of insanity back there didn’t lead to a more violent outcome. You want to believe Talvin will make it.

You shift your attention to the soldier leading you upstairs.
-”You’ve seen these monsters right? Why do you keep fighting other people despite the situation we’re in?’

He quickly answers.
-”This building is the only safe place in the entire city. The remaining Uspeshans want to drive us out and get the building for themselves. It’s the sad reality.”

You look at him shocked.
-”This place is completely safe from the influence of this thing in the sky?”

-”No. We still experienced nightmares and all, but the creatures never approached us. Not even once. This glow is protecting us.”

You are bewildered. Are the people insane? They think the glow is protecting them?
-”This glow is what started this madness. We need to get rid of it, not protect it!”

-”Listen lass, it’s the only thing that keeps us alive.”

-”No! If we stop it, the monsters will go away!”

The soldiers stops and looks at you angrily, just before you approach the rooftop.
-”And what makes you say that? What if you destroy the source of the glow and the monsters don’t go away? You are willing to destroy the only thing that assures our survival just because of false hopes?”

You remain silent and let the soldier continue.
-”Is this why are you going up here? To destroy our safe haven?” - he asks as he slowly reaches for his pistol.

>Try to persuade him that this is the right thing to do. Thousands of Imperial soldiers fell victim to the monstrosities because these people refuse to destroy the scepter.
ROLL D6
>Push the soldier down the stairs and dash to the rooftop. These people can’t be reasoned with.
ROLL D6

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>3320460
>Persuade him
We're the magic expert here. They'll disappear.

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3320460
>Try to persuade him that this is the right thing to do.

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>>3320505
>>3320564

You decide that persuasion would be a better option. These soldiers still helped you and Talvin, showed you some empathy. That means they cannot be too far gone, right?
-”Listen, I know from your perspective it looks like a foolish thing to do, but trust me, I know a lot about magic! It will work!”

The soldier shouts back
-”Our lives are on the line here!”

-”Stop being so selfish! Thousands of our soldiers are dying out there, unable to hide or run! If there is a chance that we can end this and save them, I’m willing to take it.”

He pulls his arm away from the pistol holster, looking at you with slightly opened mouth. You decide to press the issue.
-”You’ve seen what these things to do people, right? Do you want to stay here and watch tens of thousands men and women turned into dust?”

He leans on the nearest wall, looking down, probably in shame.
-”No. No I don’t.”

As you turn towards the door leading to the roof, you hear his voice again.
-”I hope you will be able to convince captain von Glattekrone too. God, we are such cowards.”
You decide to neither deny nor agree.
-”One more thing lass. Captain von Hohenberg...he’s injured. He needed someone’s help to get into this building. And the man who led him here – he left, looking for other survivors. Don’t know if he’s still alive.”

Your heart skipped a beat.
-”The captain’s injured? How badly?”

-”No clue.”

You nod weakly, thank the soldier and turn your attention towards the solid wooden door before you. After taking several deep breaths you decide to open them and enter the rooftop.

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>>3320654

You nod weakly, thank the soldier and turn your attention towards the solid wooden door before you. After taking several deep breaths you decide to open them and enter the rooftop.

You are greeted by the perfect view of the mound, located directly above you. It’s still surrounded by that hellish hole in the sky which illuminates the entire city in crimson red light. You see dozenz of monstrosities flying above you, looking for people who are still alive. They never, though, seem to approach the library. The roof itself is perfectly flat, with some gargoyles and ornaments in its corners. Its entirely covered in the sick greenish light that comes out of the scepter. You know it’s located in the middle, but you spend several moments gathering the courage before you finally look at it.

It stands upright, its orb glows with that unearthy green colour. You also see two characters next to it. One is kneeling, one is lying down on the stone floor. You quickly approach them, fearing the worst.

The female officer, Erika von Glattekrone, is the one kneeling. Konrad’s head rests on her lap. She’s delicately stroking his hair, not paying much attention to you until you get close. She lifts her head and looks towards you with her blue eyes. She can’t really be any older than you and if it wasn’t for bloody scratches covering her face, she would look beatiful. You look at her, then at Konrad. Only then you notice that his arms, legs and eyes are covered in bandages. He’s not moving.

You are finally standing in front of a person that started it all. What’s the first question that escapes your mouth?

>Write it down

---

This is something new for me, but I felt like it's the only appropriate thing to do in this situation. Let's see how it goes.

>>3320658
>"How do we stop this?"

>>3320658
One more important thing - I won't be able to post any updates until 5 PM UTC tomorrow, so you have some time to post.
I'll go with the most popular option. If there's a tie- I'll roll a dice to determine the winner.

>>3320658
>"What have you done? "

>>3320962
This

>>3320962
This, but maybe we should also ask what did she do to Konrad.

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>>3320962
>>3321348
>>3322410

-”What have you done?” - you shout at Erika, who’s still stroking Konrad’s hair. Despite all the madness that surround them, the two of them seems to be incredibly at peace.

Von Hohenberg’s head slowly turn towards you, but he doesn’t say anything. You know that in his current state he probably has trouble even with staying consciouss.

Erika von Glattekrone puts the male officer aside and starts getting up. She looks at you, smiling.
-”I...no, we...” - she lowers her head to once again look at Konrad. -”...made history.”

The blue-eyed woman takes a step towards you.
-”I know why you came here. Konrad tried the very same thing.”

You look at your captain, lying on the floor in front of you. He’s covered in bandages, unable to see or move. Your lips start shaking.
-”D-did you do this to him?”

Erika’s eyes become sad.
-”He gouged his eyes out during the nightmare, which is a shame since I wanted him to see the true extenf of our success. The rest, well...he tried to break the scepter.” - she taps a revolver, still located in her holster. -”He kinda forced my hand.”

As hatred and anger starts boiling inside you, Erika keeps going.

-”I did it for his own good. I’m sure someone will be able to heal his limbs and he’ll return home as a hero. He always wanted fame and recognition for his service and this is exactly what he’ll get.”
Her smile gets wider.
-”Today, we fulfilled our dreams.”

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>>3322701

You start shaking you head in disbelief. How is any of this supposed to fulfill anyone’s dreams? Von Glattekrone must’ve went completely crazy when this whole thing started.
-”Your dreams? This is not a dream, this is a nightmare!” - you shout in anger.

Erika’s face is still peaceful.
-”You only think that way because people like you have never dreamt of grandeur.”
She point towards the mound on the sky.
-”This is how we ensure our victory! Thanks to these guests from a faraway cosmos, the Empire will become the hegemon it was always destined to be!”

You don’t understand any of this.
-”What do you mean? Thousands of our own soldiers died here, how is this helping our country?”

-”This small sacrifice was necessary to showcase the power of these scepters to the world and to Tornland herself.”

Your eyes open wide in terror.
-”S-scepters?”

Your reaction causes a light giggle from the female officer.
-”Yes. There are more artifacts like this throughout the world. Now, that we know their power, the Empire can focus on collecting them. With these things in our possession, men and women of Tornland will never again have to die in bloody wars. Imagine activating an artifact like this in a middle of the Uspeshan capital. Their royal family – gone. Their government – gone. Their most beloved city – gone. We will subjugate our enemies without firing a single shot. And our names...” - she points at Konrad again. -”...will be immortalized.”

A sudden realization hits you. The way she calmly talks about all of this, the way she smiles, the way she doesn’t care about the amount of suffering she caused. She didn’t go crazy because of the events in Magnier. She was like this since a long time ago.

You want to…

>Say something (write it down)
>Do something (write it down)

>>3322703
> Put up your barrier and shoot her

I'll give you time until 8 PM UTC

>>3322703
>"How do you know about the scepters?"
She needs to be put down, but we need some info first.

>>3322720
Supporting

>>3322720
>>3323040
Alright, seems like you chose actions over words, you know what that means.

ROLL D6

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>3323057

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3323057

>>3323060
>>3323112

You decided that you’ve heard enough. This psychopath needs to be stopped. You take a deep breath and look towards Konrad. A single thought enters your mind.
-”You said you won’t allow me to become a killer, but this is not a promise you can keep. I’m sorry, captain.”
You quickly grab your handgun and prepare the last ounces of your magical energy to create a shield.

Erika, being a well-trained Imperial officer immediately responds, reaching for her revolver. She’s faster than you and fires first. Your shield holds which allows you to fire back. Your first bullet enters her left arm. She screams and pain and jumps to her right which allows her to avoid your next shot. Then she fires again. Your shield holds once again, but only barely. You take a step back, not being able to hold your spell any longer. Erika pulls the trigger again. You know you’ll be completely defenseless against the upcoming bullet, but it simply doesn’t come out. Both you and her look surprised, but then you realize something. Her revolver only holds 6 bullets and she already used 4 to injure Konrad’s limbs. Her drum is empty.

Erika realized it too, but a second too late. She tries to reach for her officer’s sabre, but you fire again, hitting her directly in the stomach. She collapses and starts flailing on the ground as you approach her.

-”You idealistic whore! Y-you think you’ll change anything? Others will realize the power these artifacts hold!”

She slowly gets to her knees screaming and cursing at you. At the same time you aim your handgun at her. Her beatiful blue eyes widen in fear. It looks like even she is scared of death.

>Pull the trigger, then destroy the artifact.
>Don’t pull the trigger, then destroy the artifact, you are not a killer.

>>3323296
>"We'll just have to destroy them before that happens. "

>Pull the trigger and destroy the sceptre

>>3323296
>Don’t pull the trigger, then destroy the artifact, you are not a killer.

So far we have a tie, I'll wait another 30 minutes to see if one of the options pulls ahead. If not - I'll roll.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>3323334
>>3323347

Odd numbers = Erika dies
Even numbers = Erika lives

File: clear_sky.png (608 KB, 456x459)

608 KB PNG

>>3323334
>>3323347

You close your eyes as you start pulling the trigger. Erika quickly realized what is going on through your head and started shouting in anger.
-”You’re condemning millions to death! You hear me?!”
You quickly open your eyes. This time you want to see it happening. You look into Erika’s eyes for the last time. Behind the beatiful blue colour you can see only hatred and despair.

You pull the trigger.

Then you do it again.

And again.

Soon, the magazine is empty.

Erika von Glattekrone is now lying on the cold stone floor with several bullet holes in her torso. The general’s daughter is dead. The woman who unleashed unspeakable horrors upon the city of Magnier and condemned thousands of soldiers to death and madness is no more. You drop your pistol and approach the scepter.

-”Amelia...”

Konrad’s voice is weak and very quiet. You immediately stop and look at your captain.

-”It’s true. The things she said. I gave her the scepter of my own volition.”

You lift the scepter up, then you look at von Hohenberg.
-”You had no idea what it would cause.”

He smiles.
-”That’s true. Say, how does the city looks like now?”

-”It’s a nightmare, sir.” - you say as you prepare to swing the scepter. -”But I’m about to wake us all up.”

You smash the glowing orb into the ground. It cracks easily.

The green glow immediately dies down. You see several monstrosities approaching the library, but before they are able to do anything they start collapsing into dust. Instead of being carried by the wind, their remains magically start flying towards the mound, entire many of its holes. After the entire dust is collected, the mound starts getting sucked into the bright red hole in the sky. The hole itself closes shortly after, leaving only raging fires to illuminate the city.

It’s over.

You sit down next to Konrad as soldiers from lower levels of the library start entering the roof. You can notice that everyone is deeply conflicted by the corpse of their captain, the smashed scepter and the clear sky above. You recognize the voice of the older soldier who led you upstairs.
-”By God, you were right.”

-”Albert, she killed captain von Glattekrone.”

-”She did what she must. Look, the monsters are gone.”

As the soldiers start arguing between each other, you shift your attention away from them. At this point, you don’t really care if they shoot you or not. You’ve already completed your mission and reunited with Konrad. Unable to move his limbs and unable to see you, he asks you a question, although his head is facing the wrong direction.

-”What are you going to do now?”

You smile.
-”I’ll heal your arms and legs. And then...”

>”I’ll stick with the army. The Empire still needs clerics.”
>”I’ll desert. I have to find the rest of the scepters.”
>Something else (write it down)

Thank you to everyone who followed this quest during the last 2 weeks. Guns, Magic and Madness is my first quest and I wasn't really sure how it would go down. But now I'm sure I want to write more.

This story arc came to an end, but it's not over for Amelia or the world she lives in. I want to do a continuation, but right now I want to take a break. I'll still be in this thread until it archives, listening to your opinions and answering questions.

I really, really want to gather some feedback from you. I want to know what do you think about the story, the characters etc. so that I could make the best continuation possible.

I hope you've enjoyed this ride.

>>3323563
>”I’ll stick with the army. The Empire still needs clerics.”
>>3323573
Thanks for running!

>>3323563
>>”I’ll stick with the army. The Empire still needs clerics.”

This was a great little quest well worth the read. Good job!

>>3323563
>”I’ll desert. I have to find the rest of the scepters.”

>>3323563
>”I’ll desert. I have to find the rest of the scepters."

>>3323563
>>”I’ll stick with the army. The Empire still needs clerics.”

>>3323573
>We need to find the sceptres, but we can't do it alone. Stay in the army. Try to convince Konrad to help you.

>>3323573
Thanks for running!

Backing
>>3324885

File: sunrise_at_last.jpg (54 KB, 850x419)

54 KB JPG

>>3323583
>>3323680
>>3324528
>>3324885
>>3324933

-”I will stay in the army.” - You say looking at the ruined city below you. -”The war will go on. The killing won’t stop. I’ll be needed there, captain.”

You turn your head towards Konrad, expecting him to to say something.

-”What about the scepters?”

You think about an answer for a second or two.
-”I cannot find them alone. I don’t even know where to start looking.” - You look towards Erika’s corpse. -”She knew, but this information died with her.”

Konrad smiles.
-”It’s for the better.” - He clumsily tries to turn his body towards you. -”I can still help you.”

You look surprised at von Hohenberg.
-”But your eyes...”

-”Yes, I’ll never see again. And yes, I’ll never fight again. But that means I’m going home. With some help, I can dedicate myself to researching these scepters. There must be some information about them.”

Konrad waits a moment for your reaction. You just look at him with your mouth wide-opened, allowing him to continue.

-”I’ll send you letters containing my findings. I definitely won’t be the only person in the Empire looking for information about the artifacts, but I’ll watch my back. You just focus on staying alive out there, alright?”

You are speechless. Captain’s offer is more than you could ever asked for. You know Konrad can’t see your happy smile, but you are hoping that he can atleast sense it somehow.
-”Thank you, captain! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!”

You lie on the cold stone floor, next to Konrad. You know there’s still some things needed to be done. You probably should bury the scepter’s remains somewhere. You also need to check on Talvir and make sure he made it fine. But for now, you just want to lie here for a minute, regain some of your strength and heal Konrad’s gunshot wounds. You are exhausted, wounded, dirty and traumatized, but also really happy that this is over. You lift your head and look at the star-ridden dark sky above you. It’s never been more beatiful.

---

This will be the last update for now.
Thank you for the warm reception and stay tuned for part 2! For now I'll be focusing on archiving the quest and creating a pastebin with some more detailed information about the setting. It will a few days or maybe even a week.

I know I don't have any solid updating schedule and that it may have been hard for many of you to follow and participate fully. I apologize for that, but I'm not planning to really change it.

Once again, stay tuned.

>>3324969
I loved this quest, I will definitely stick around for the more.

>>3324969
It might help if you make a Twitter to announce runs.

>>3325097
I was actually thinking about creating a discord server that would contain all the useful links to archives, pastebins etc.
I could also use it to announce runs. You think that's a good idea? Should I even bother with discord?

>>3326193
I wouldn't. Those can kill quests.

>>3326240
How so?

>>3326265
All discussion moves there, in jokes are created and pop up in threads, newbies are discouraged from joining because they can't catch up on everything.

>>3326478
Makes sense, thanks for warning
I'll prolly stick to twitter if I end up making one.

The quest has been archived.
Thread #1 - http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3283178/
Thread #2 - http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3300653/
Thread #3 - http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3317906/

I also made a twitter that I'll use to announce stuff. Please follow, if you want to keep up with my non-existant schedule - https://twitter.com/QMamut
Expect new content on Sunday or Monday. I'll post the exact date on twitter and in this thread.

I was supposed to continue the story today, but I'm simply unable to. Please wait until Thursday.

>>3340146
Understood op. Be well.