File: Contact_Locations.jpg (167 KB, 1375x707)

167 KB JPG

>>3759787
Three days, at a fairly relaxed pace… she could very well be there already, settling in for the long term. You exchange a glance with Valentina, then turn back to Noventus. “It was good seeing you and all, and I wish I could spend a little time here, but that’s not in the cards.”

Valentina nods emphatically. “That’s right, we need to find her… and soon!”

“Then we won’t keep you,” Noventus nods, before sweeping his way towards the door. “Good luck, Lady Noel.”

“Thanks, Noventus,” you incline your head towards him. “I owe you one for this.”

You and Valentina waste no time. Saying a quick goodbye to old Brutus and slinging your new swords around your waists, you ride out with Alysheba towards the coastal city of Talje. But in order to do this you’ll have to cut across Bretonne, which you hope has not yet begun to fall into the dogmatic orbit of the Inquisition that you’ve begun to see even as far north as Scaithness.

“You okay back there?” you ask over your shoulder some time around sunset.

Valentina is in high spirits. “I’d be more concerned about the horse.”

“That is the limiting factor,” you allow. “Hang on for a moment.”

“What are you… hey!” Valentina protests as you stand up in the stirrups, leaning forward as Alysheba walks so that you can press your two fingertips under his jawline. With a little searching you find the right spot under his cheek where you can feel his pulse, close your eyes, and keep count.

Sixty. Not bad, and his breathing is still nice and regular.

You sit back down in the saddle so that Valentina can stop balancing awkwardly behind you and actually hold onto something. “Alysheba should be fine for another six hours or so.”

He snorts indignantly, but maintains a comfortable tӧlt anyway. Thankfully the forest trail is in good repair, allowing such a pace… though given the low lighting it’s safer to rein Alysheba in to a comparatively slower version of the tӧlt rather than let him loose.
>2/3

>>3759792
You figure it’s some time after midnight when you finally take a break, giving Alysheba a chance to rest for a few hours. Leaning up against a tree trunk, you shut your eyes for a little while as well.

By sunrise you’ve set off once more, riding across the border into Tarsus.

“It won’t be long,” you inform Valentina. “We’ll stable Alysheba then move into Talje on foot.”

“Do you think Alexandra will be in town?” your partner inquires.

You don’t really know, and have to admit as much. “She might be, or she might be in the region. We won’t know until we ask around a bit.”

“We can probably pose as potential clients,” Valentina suggests.

“Not a bad idea,” you agree.

>We’ll begin asking at the stables, then work our way out from there.
>We can canvas the town pretty quickly on foot, searching for her yōki.
>The mayor would know about job requests and rumors in the region.
>Other?

>>3759795
>We’ll begin asking at the stables, then work our way out from there.

>>3759795
>>We’ll begin asking at the stables, then work our way out from there.

>>3759795
>>We’ll begin asking at the stables, then work our way out from there.

>>3759795
>>We’ll begin asking at the stables, then work our way out from there.

>>3759795
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 1, 10 = 14 (3d10)

>>3759871

Rolled 2, 6, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>3759871

Rolled 3, 8, 4 = 15 (3d10)

>>3759871

>>3759871
You ask the man who runs the stable you eventually put Alysheba in for the time being if he’s seen a Claymore some time recently, within the last three days or so, and the man simply shrugs.

“Heck if I know,” he replies non-committally. “Those witches don’t exactly ride horses you know, spooks the poor beasts.”

“I see,” you reply. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“You might ask at the local,” he offers, pointing down the street outside his open window. “Just down there a ways. All sorts of folk drowning their sorrows lately in there.”

“We’ll do that,” Valentina nods.

Outside, Valentina turns to you. “So, are we really doing that?”

“Probably,” you sigh. “At any rate places like that attract a lot of rumors, which serves our ends.”

“Alright then,” Valentina agrees. “After you.”
>1/2

>>3759914
Inside the dimly-lit bar, you quickly notice that the stable-hand was right. For the middle of the day there’s already no shortage of drinking going on, and very little of it seems to be the celebratory kind of day-drinking. Mostly it seems that the people here are all in mourning for one reason or another.

“Cheery place,” Valentina mutters.

You find your way to the bar, motioning for your partner to sit next to you. The bartender gruffly points at a sign behind the counter that reads ‘NO WEAPONS’, and so you both hand over your short swords for him to place them next to a long sword, two axes, and a flat bow in the corner.

“What do you want?”

>Order some drinks and food, grease some palms.
>Ask for a drink, and about any local rumors.
>Admit point blank, you’re looking for information.
>Get something and talk to one of the patrons.
>Other?

>>3759988
>Order some drinks and food, grease some palms.

>>3759988
>>Order some drinks and food, grease some palms.

>>3759988
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 10, 6, 8 = 24 (3d10)

>>3760091

Rolled 2, 9, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>3760091

Rolled 4, 8, 6 = 18 (3d10)

>>3760091

>>3760091
You decide to order some food, two small plates of cured and smoked meats with cheeses, and a small glass of ale each to wash it down. The food comes quickly and tastes good, and the ale is passable. But the fact that you ordered anything at all seems to convince the barkeep that you mean to spend some money here, and so his attitude seems to slowly change.

Eventually you give Valentina a nod, and she speaks up.

“So, we were actually looking for someone,” she informs the barkeep. “I was wondering if you could help us with that.”

“Well I’m not sure I can help you,” the man replies sternly.

“It shouldn’t be too hard to recall if you’ve seen her,” Valentina presses. “She’s pretty distinctive.”

After a moment, the barkeep sighs. “Alright, who are you looking for?”

“A silver-eyed witch,” you announce in a low voice. “We’ve been on her trail for three days.”

“Really, now?” the barkeep asks. “What the hell for?”

“What else?” Valentina replies. “We suspect a yōma.”

After a few moments, the barkeep nods. “Okay, you didn’t hear this from me. Got it?”

You immediately agree. “You have our word.”

The man sighs. “There’s a town just west of here, grisly murders. Seems only women were targeted, and they were all ripped up.”

You and Valentina exchange a glance. “Certainly sounds like a yōma.”

>Head there immediately. Join Alexandra in her mission and move on as quickly as possible.
>Wait for Alexandra to return, but make sure to start rumors that people are looking for her.
>Head to the Mayor’s office. You should be able to make suitable arrangements there.
>Other?

>>3760204
>Wait for Alexandra to return

>>3760204
>Head there immediately. Join Alexandra in her mission and move on as quickly as possible.

>>3760204
>>Head there immediately. Join Alexandra in her mission and move on as quickly as possible.

>need to take a break here, but I'll be back

>>3760204
>>Head there immediately. Join Alexandra in her mission and move on as quickly as possible.

>>3760204
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 10, 6, 9 = 25 (3d10)

>>3760350

Rolled 10, 7, 7 = 24 (3d10)

>>3760350

Rolled 5, 10, 8 = 23 (3d10)

>>3760350

Rolled 5, 1, 9 = 15 (3d10)

>>3760350

>>3760350
“How far?” you ask.

“About a full day’s walk,” the bartender explains. So no more than twenty or twenty-five miles? That’s not a problem.

“Come on,” you tell Valentina before downing the last of your ale. “If we leave now we can still catch her before she moves on.”

“Right!” Valentina agrees, bowing quickly to the barkeep. “Thank you for the meal!”

You quickly retrieve your swords and leave town at a reasonable pace for a normal person, which could get you to your objective in about an hour and a half. With your modified physiology you can maintain such a pace near-indefinitely, limited only by the lifespan of your footwear.

But you can be faster.

Normal humans actually spend a silly amount of time with their feet on the ground when they’re sprinting, because for most people it takes a fairly long time for their muscles to apply force and propel them forward. But thanks to the extremely painful metamorphosis your muscles went through when you were implanted with the yōma tissues, the contractive and extensive actions of your muscles actually occur much quicker and your muscle tissues are denser.

In short, you can actually push yourself to speeds that normal humans can’t. Over short distances the near-instant bursts of momentum can fool the eyes into seeing all sorts of things apart from what you’ve actually done. But by maintaining that speed, you should be able to reach the next town in about half an hour at the cost of exhausting yourselves somewhat in the process.

“I see,” Valentina sighs before quickly matching your pace. “So you’re that serious.”

“Of course,” you reply calmly. “No half-measures when it comes to our comrades’ lives.”

Your partner chuckles. “Yeah, those words suit you.”

Sure enough, half an hour later you can sense two yōki presences ahead of you.

>Leap into the fray and test out these new swords you were given.
>Hold back, but let Alexandra know that you’re here.
>Hold back, and keep yourselves hidden. No need to distract her.
>Other?

>>3760507
>Hold back, but let Alexandra know that you’re here.

>>3760507
>>Hold back, but let Alexandra know that you’re here.

>>3760507
>Hold back, and keep yourselves hidden. No need to distract her.

>will give it a few more minutes

>3d10, best of four

Rolled 6, 10, 2 = 18 (3d10)

>>3760604

Rolled 9, 7, 2 = 18 (3d10)

>>3760604

Rolled 8, 3, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>3760604

Rolled 6, 3, 3 = 12 (3d10)

>>3760604

>>3760604
When you finally reach the center of the town you find Alexandra locked in combat with a yōma, a male with one muscular, clawed arm nearly as long as it is tall.

“Well, look what we have here!” you declare, drawing the attention of the cowering townsfolk from their windows and doorways. “A little silver-eyed duckling, far from home!”

Alexandra takes her eyes off her foe for a mere moment as she recognizes your voice. “Noel!?”

Her own voice is practically choked, and in an instant your short sword is lodged in the yōma’s arm as it tries to take advantage of the moment.

“Eyes forward, Alexandra,” you chide your junior. “Finish up here and we’ll talk.”

“What the hell!?” the yōma hisses. “No human could possibly...”

“Of course, you’re right,” Alexandra agrees, having struck through the yōma’s shoulder and chest with a clean stroke.

“Eyes forward,” you repeat, smirking at the yōma as it breathes its last.

“We were told you were dead!” Alexandra exclaims, practically tossing her bloodied sword aside to embrace you shamelessly. “Killed by an Abyssal One!”

>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.
>Wishful thinking on the part of the Organization.
>Not dead, just ‘dead to the Organization’, now that we’ve defected.
>Other?

>>3760658
>>Wishful thinking on the part of the Organization.
>>Not dead, just ‘dead to the Organization’, now that we’ve defected.

>>3760658
>>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.

>>3760658
>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.
>Whisper "We're 'dead' to the Organization. There's a difference."
>headpat the duckling, swing her around in the embrace.

>>3760658
>>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.

>>3760658
>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.
>Whisper "We're 'dead' to the Organization. There's a difference."
>headpat the duckling, swing her around in the embrace.

>>3760658
>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.
>Wishful thinking on the part of the Organization.
>Not dead, just ‘dead to the Organization’, now that we’ve defected.

>>3760658
You laugh, and ruffle Alexa’s hair affectionately. “Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.”

She snorts in response. “Apparently so.”

Then you lower your voice. “Can we speak in private?”

She nods calmly. “Yes, of course.”

“Thanks,” you nod to Valentina as she tosses you the sword hilt-first. You quickly examine it, finding that the blade has held up commendably… at least upon visual inspection. You’ll have to test it a little more rigorously to determine if its edge has held or not.

“A man in black will come to collect,” Alexandra interrupts one of the locals before the man can even begin to offer her the payment. “If you’ll excuse me, I believe these two newcomers also have a job offer for me lined up… and since I’m doing this on my own time, it’d be best that the Organization not hear about it.”

“Do you understand?”

Ah… that’s actually surprisingly good thinking. With her excuse having been given, there’s a good chance that the locals will keep your arrival here a secret.

Excellent thinking, for a duckling.

Once you’re a safe distance away into the nearby woods, you begin to explain the situation.

“We’re here on our own initiative,” you begin, your expression turning serious now. “It’s because the Organization has ‘cut us loose’… we’re acting independently now. And it’s the way that we came to this position that leaves me concerned for the three of you.”
>to be continued tomorrow evening

>>3760725
Can we take the yoma's body with us and dispose of it? Maybe test the blades slashing and chopping effectiveness?

>>3760725
“What do you mean ‘cut you loose’, Noel?” Alexandra demands quietly. “What happened between you and the Organization?”

“It started when they had my father, King Tiberius of Hazaran, assassinated in a palace coup so they could recruit me,” you begin.

“Why?” Alexandra presses, completely nonplussed.

“Because my mother is Sabela, the Abyssal One of the North,” you continue, “making me ‘half-Abyssal’ by birth. They wanted to see what I was capable of.”

“And so they had your father murdered… I’m sorry, did you say king?”

You nod sternly. “From there every mission I was sent on was designed for the sole purpose of testing me. From the one where Emma, my dear friend, was killed, to the one where the four of us fought all those yōma at Montelena. They even recalled me to Lavinia for ‘debriefing’ as an excuse, so that they could take the Black Card out of my sword’s hilt before sending me off to fight Constanzia and Rafaela.”

“If it were just me I could accept that,” you conclude. “But they also sent those of us who have half-awakened by accident off to die or awaken as well, and even dragged innocents like you three into it as well. Warriors are dying for no other reason than to conduct these tests in the field, even if that ‘test’ is just to see what happens if I grow attached to someone who later dies.”

“And we have plenty of evidence to suggest this sort of thing has been going on for decades. We’re far from the first warriors to suffer for it.”

Alexandra quickly takes a seat on the forest floor, her head clearly spinning from the information overload. “I guessed it was bad, but this… why me, Noel?”

>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.
>Our numbers are small, and I know that you three have potential. We need you as much as you need us.
>Other?

>>3763480
>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.

>>3763480
>>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.

>>3763480
>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

Worried about the little ducklings.

>>3763480
>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.

>>3763480
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

>>3763480
>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

>>3763480
>>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

>>3763480
>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

>>3763536
>>3763480
supporting

>>3763480
>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

>>3763480
>>I want you to consider joining us, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. An alternative to the Organization’s immorality.
>>You’ve already been dragged into it. I was concerned that if I left the situation alone you three would be killed, or worse.

Quack.

Just a sidenote, but I would be very, very surprised if the organization was as monolithic in its scheming as it looks at first blush.

Like any large organization, it's got to have its own internal factions. Most, if not all, of said factions must share the same goals but not necessarily the same outlook and methods.

Where I'm going with this is: I wonder who stood to gain from Noel being a successful project and whose position would be shaken if she were to, say, go rogue.

Just planning ahead since tangling with the organization is sure to be a complicated and dangerous game. Seems like their intelligence network was better than they let on.

>>3763480
>3d10, best of five

Rolled 2, 9, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>3766214

Rolled 3, 1, 9 = 13 (3d10)

>>3766214

Rolled 1, 10, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>3766214

Still need two more.

Rolled 7, 4, 10 = 21 (3d10)

>>3766343
>>3766214
Rolling again.

Rolled 7, 1, 5 = 13 (3d10)

>>3766214

>>3766214
You want to talk tough in front of Alexandra, but the look of concern in her eyes… you find yourself completely incapable of anything short of total honesty. And if you’re being honest with yourself? You’re kind of okay with that.

“I was worried,” you admit. “I’m… fond of the three of you. So after what we went through fighting Constanzia and Rafaela, I couldn’t just leave you to the Organization’s whims.”

“So what alternative do you propose?” Alexandra asks you hesitantly.

“To join us,” you explain carefully. “An alternative to the Organization, a faction of half-bloods run by half-bloods. But I want you to consider this carefully...”

“I accept,” Alexandra interrupts.

“Please, take some time to...” you continue.

Alexandra shakes her head. “Please don’t forget, Noel, we were there at Montelena.”

“Well… that’s fair, I guess,” you agree.

“I have to ask though… do you intend to offer Jenna and Vanessa the same?” Alexandra asks.

You nod. “That’s right. I was hoping you could give us an idea of where to start looking.”

After a moment, she nods. “You would be correct. I can tell you where Vanessa is, and Vanessa can help us locate Jenna.”

>Good. Let us know that, and we’ll find Vanessa. Once we’ve tracked the other two down we’ll come back for you.
>Give me a head start, then head for the castle of Scaithness. Valentina, if you could stay here and make sure she’s okay?
>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.
>Other?

>>3766465
>>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

>>3766465
>>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

>>3766465
>>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

>>3766465
>>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

>>3766465
>>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

>>3766465
>Then come along with us. We’ll work as a team.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>3766465
>Give me a head start, then head for the castle of Scaithness. Valentina, if you could stay here and make sure she’s okay?

We won;t reach the last girl in time before an encounter....
Tail its Thomas. Heads..... Its #1 Psycho bitch.

>>3766465
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 3, 4, 3 = 10 (3d10)

>>3767847

Rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12 (3d10)

>>3767847

Rolled 4, 3, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>3767847

Rolled 3, 8, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>3767847

>>3766465
“Then lead the way,” you insist with a sweeping gesture of your arm. “We’ll stay together for now. While it may become apparent quicker that something has gone awry, it also prevents the Organization from playing a rear-guard strategy.”

“Come again?” Valentina asks, confused at your use of terminology.

“I mean, it would make sense for them to strike at the rookies who I had already met with before they could make their own move,” you explain. “And if we stay as a team, it increases our chances of finding Vanessa quickly, then subsequently finding Jenna before the Organization can mobilize.”

“You’re preparing for the worst case scenario,” Alexandra nods in understanding. “I expected that sort of thinking.”

“If we end up dealing with the best-case scenario then there won’t be a problem anyway,” you point out. “So of course I’m planning for the worst.”

“Then we need to head to the West End,” Alexandra explains. “That is where they sent Vanessa.”

The West End… the western coast of Petraea, the westernmost point in the known world. Beyond it lies nothing but open ocean.

>Head straight there, leaving Alysheba stabled here for now.
>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.
>There’s a town along the way whose lives were saved by you and the ducklings, albeit indirectly. Try to find a stables for him there.
>Other?

>>3768165
>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.

>>3768165
>>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.
never leave the horse!

>>3768165
>>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.

>>3768165
>>There’s a town along the way whose lives were saved by you and the ducklings, albeit indirectly. Try to find a stables for him there.

>>3768165
>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.
No horse left behind

>>3768165
>Take Alysheba with you, you have no idea when you’ll be able to backtrack and you’re already worn out from the run to Talje as it is.
Can't we Pippi Longstocking this and carry the horse?

>>3768165
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 10, 7, 2 = 19 (3d10)

>>3770320

Rolled 3, 8, 6 = 17 (3d10)

>>3770320

Rolled 3, 1, 8 = 12 (3d10)

>>3770320

File: latest[1].jpg (105 KB, 500x377)

105 KB JPG

>>3768844
We also need to ride barrels down a river and get rescued by an autogyro...

Rolled 6, 6, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>3770320

>>3768165
At first you ride out at a decent pace, giving Valentina some time to catch her breath. Then, around nightfall, you actually step under Alysheba and left him from the ground, his weight distributed across your shoulders. With this arrangement you carry on another few hours, before you start to notice your own stamina flagging again. Even Alexandra seems to have lost her breath somewhat, so you call a temporary halt.

Alysheba snorts with indignation as you set him back down, and he kicks slightly at the dirt with one hoof before wandering off to find something to graze on.

“I don’t understand that horse,” Valentina sighs, leaning up against a tree trunk. “I mean, I just really don’t understand.”

“He’s a clever boy,” you shrug, finding a place for yourself to rest as well.

After a few moments, you hear Alexandra’s quiet voice. “I’m sorry. I’ve been holding you back.”

“Nonsense,” you grumble.

“We tired ourselves out trying to get to you faster,” Valentina explains. “We both pushed our bodies hard enough to cause some strain that we’re both recovering from.”

“Not to mention having to carry a horse,” you add. “That was always going to take a while, but keeping him with us makes things that much simpler. No need to expose ourselves later by having to backtrack.”

“Can’t you just… you know...” Alexandra asks hesitantly.

>I don’t follow you.
>You’re lucky I’m fond of you. Anyone else I might be angry.
>Alysheba has been a faithful partner. I don’t abandon my partners.
>Other?

>>3770474
>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>>You’re lucky I’m fond of you. Anyone else I might be angry.

>>3770474
>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>>I don’t follow you.
….
>I am Hazari, giving up my horse for no good reason would be an insult to my father and my nation. No.

>>3770474
>I don’t follow you.

>>3770474
>I don’t follow you.
The thought never even crossed our mind.

>>3770474
“I don’t follow you,” you admit.

“I mean, you could just… leave him?” Alexandra explains.

There’s a long pause before you speak. “Alexandra, I’m Hazari… and a noblewoman on top of that. Asking me to abandon my personal horse is almost like asking me to cut off my own arm. I can get a new one easily enough, but it’s not going to be the same and I’m not going to be happy about it.”

“In Hazaran particularly fine horses are almost more like members of the family,” Valentina adds. “Often we build a rapport with our personal mounts, which like with any other comrade can’t be rebuilt once it’s gone.”

“I don’t like to compromise,” you admit.

Alexandra sighs. “Alright, I understand.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 2, 10, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>3771794

Rolled 1, 4, 5 = 10 (3d10)

>>3771794

Rolled 5, 5, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>3771794

Rolled 6, 4, 5 = 15 (3d10)

>>3771794

Rolled 6, 4, 3, 7 = 20 (4d10)

>QM rolling

File: CLAYMORE_MAP_Initial.jpg (159 KB, 1375x707)

159 KB JPG

>>3771794
Using the same system, you make it across the border with Petraea and head for the coast. By sundown you’re forced to put Alysheba back down onto his own four hooves to at least pretend to be normal people.

“So is this the town?” Alexandra asks you as the four of you look down a hardscrabble slope towards a cliffside fishing town.

You nod, your hair caught on the salty wind. “You’ll be able to feel her soon enough yourself.”

Sure enough, it’s not long at all before even Alexandra can feel the warrior in the town below you approaching, and around the same time you catch your first glimpse of her. Thankfully, it’s the short little blonde ponytail belonging to Vanessa that you caught sight of, and she nearly sprints the last hundred yards to join you.

“What is this?” she demands breathlessly.

“We’re defecting from the Organization,” Alexandra explains. “Care to join us?”

“So it’s finally happening?” Vanessa replies, seemingly unsurprised.

“You seem really unsurprised by all this,” Valentina voices your own confusion.

“I figure if Noel and Alexa are both here there’s got to be a good reason,” Vanessa shrugs. “So?”

“They tried to kill me and my own half-awakened comrades,” you give her the short version. “Took our black cards and everything.”

“That would do it,” Vanessa nods. “I assume you still need to locate Jenna?”

“That’s correct.”

“I can help,” Vanessa insists. “She was deployed to Kuden.”

>Then we return to Scaithness at top speed, change up our team composition, then continue on to Kuden through the mountains.
>Then we should move through Scaithness, then loop north of the mountains to avoid any single-digit warriors.
>We will travel to Merced, then Vanessa and I will continue to Kuden together as the smallest, fastest team possible.
>Other?

>>3771986
>We will travel to Merced, then Vanessa and I will continue to Kuden together as the smallest, fastest team possible.

>>3771986
>>Then we return to Scaithness at top speed, change up our team composition, then continue on to Kuden through the mountains.

>>3771986
>>Then we return to Scaithness at top speed, change up our team composition, then continue on to Kuden through the mountains.

>>3771986
>We will travel to Merced, then Vanessa and I will continue to Kuden together as the smallest, fastest team possible.

Anyone have the map version with the cities?

Did everyone check their swords for their blackcards, even the newbies?

>>3771986
>>We will travel to Merced, then Vanessa and I will continue to Kuden together as the smallest, fastest team possible.

>>3771986
>Then we return to Scaithness at top speed, change up our team composition, then continue on to Kuden through the mountains.

>>3772053
The most recent version of the map is the one here >>3759792

I'll probably have to update it today.

>>3771986
>waiting on a tiebreaker

>>3771986
>Then we return to Scaithness at top speed, change up our team composition, then continue on to Kuden through the mountains.

>>3771986
“Then we should return to Scaithness as quickly as possible,” you suggest. “We’ll change our team composition and continue as quickly as possible.”

“Understood,” Valentina nods.

“Alysheba?” you query your horse. He snorts at you, staring you in the eyes as if daring you to do what you’re thinking of doing.

“Don’t give me that,” you scold him.

He whinnies impatiently.

“None of the sass!” you snap. “We don’t have time for that.”

He snorts.

“Good boy. Now hold still while I throw you over my shoulders.”

“Did… did she just...” Vanessa blinks, completely incredulous at the apparently one-sided conversation she just witnessed.

Valentina shakes her head. “I’ll explain as we run.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 9, 7, 6 = 22 (3d10)

>>3773993

Rolled 9, 8, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>3773993

Rolled 9, 8, 4 = 21 (3d10)

>>3774000
>>3774007
>>3773993
well that is ominous

>>3774000
>>3774007
>>3774012
6
5
4
>wat?

Rolled 3, 1, 7 = 11 (3d10)

>>3773993

Rolled 6, 3, 5 = 14 (3d10)

>>3773993

>>3773993
“So that’s the deal with Alysheba, apparently,” Valentina concludes. “Did I miss anything?”

“No, that’s pretty much it,” you… would ordinarily shrug, but at the moment you have a horse across your shoulders.

“I see,” Vanessa sighs. “So that’s how it is.”

You make excellent progress, crossing the border before nightfall and settling in somewhere in the middle of inner Tarsus.

“We could continue pressing,” Valentina suggests as Alysheba, grateful to be let down, munches on some clover nearby. “Move on through the night.”

“I probably can’t,” you admit. “I need something to eat… hell, that clover patch is even looking pretty good right now.”

>If you can get me some food as we go, I might be able to keep up some sort of pace.
>If we push hard enough we can get to Castle Scaithag before noon tomorrow… but I’ll be exhausted.
>We should settle in for a few hours. Get some rest, then continue. We’re no good to anyone if we’re exhausted.
>Other?

>>3774130
>>We should settle in for a few hours. Get some rest, then continue. We’re no good to anyone if we’re exhausted.
alysheba is gonna appreciate not being carried for a bit

>>3774130
>>If you can get me some food as we go, I might be able to keep up some sort of pace.

>>3774130
>If you can get me some food as we go, I might be able to keep up some sort of pace.

>>3774130
>>We should settle in for a few hours. Get some rest, then continue. We’re no good to anyone if we’re exhausted.

>waiting for the tiebreak

>>3774130
>>We should settle in for a few hours. Get some rest, then continue. We’re no good to anyone if we’re exhausted.

File: Map-Aug-24-19.png (743 KB, 1375x707)

743 KB PNG

>>3774130
You elect to take a few hours to rest, and to get a little bit of food. Some edible shoots, a rabbit, and a few dry crackers comprise your entire meal, and do just enough to address your hunger that you feel like by dawn you’ll be able to resume. So while you’ve lost a few hours for sure, you feel like you should be able to make that up over the long term.

Hauling Alysheba over your shoulders once more, you press on to reach Castle Scaithag just after noon.

There’s immediately a commotion as you lead Alysheba across the bridge, allowing him the dignity of doing so on his own four hooves, and meet Justina in the courtyard.

“We need to move out again as soon as possible,” you declare to her. “Alexandra, please follow Valentina and gather some provisions from the kitchen. Justina, please call Helen down to meet us here.”

Several minutes later, you convene a hasty meeting to explain the next stage in your efforts.

“Thanks,” you nod to Serana as she hands you your own sword once your explanation is done. “So we’ll need a small team, as fast and strong as possible.”

“Should I remain here?” Vanessa asks. “I may end up being a hindrance in combat.”

“On the other hand you’re a trained sensor,” Helen observes calmly .”Isn’t that right?”

“It is,” Vanessa admits.

“Then your presence will increase the chances of success,” Helen declares. “You’re going.”

>You’re coming too, Helen. I want to maximize our chances if we run into any Single-Digits.
>Justina, you’ll join us. We’ll avoid the mountain passes, I just need you to guard Vanessa in case we meet one of our former comrades.
>Serana, you’ll join us. You used to have a higher rank than any of us, so your senses should be sharper than most.
>Laura, you're a known rogue. Nobody will find your re-appearance odd.
>Other?

>>3774410
>>Justina, you’ll join us. We’ll avoid the mountain passes, I just need you to guard Vanessa in case we meet one of our former comrades.

>>3774410
>>Justina, you’ll join us. We’ll avoid the mountain passes, I just need you to guard Vanessa in case we meet one of our former comrades.

>>3774410
>>Laura, you're a known rogue. Nobody will find your re-appearance odd.

>>3774410
>>Serana, you’ll join us. You used to have a higher rank than any of us, so your senses should be sharper than most.
>Serana, you’ll join us. You used to have a higher rank than any of us, so your senses should be sharper than most.

>>3774410
“I’ll need your help, Justina,” you nod to her firmly. “You and I can suppress our yōki aura and keep north of the mountain passes. That way we’ll be less likely to run into a single-digit warrior, which would be the one thing that would slow us down the most.”

“Understood,” Justina replies sternly, slinging her sword across her back over her travelling cloak.

“Vanessa, are you ready?”

Vanessa takes a moment for a deep breath, then nods resolutely. “I am.”

“Good,” you smirk. “Then let’s go get our girl, shall we?”
>3d10, best of four

>will continue tomorrow

Rolled 1, 5, 3 = 9 (3d10)

>>3774731

Rolled 9, 7, 6 = 22 (3d10)

>>3774731

Rolled 4, 2, 4 = 10 (3d10)

>>3774731

Rolled 8, 2, 5 = 15 (3d10)

>>3774731

>>3774752
oh good.

>>3774731
You quickly head northeast for the town of Acerrae, closely following the border between Hazaran and Cuilan until you reach the most southeastern corner of Sakia. From there you turn more eastward, moving in the rain shadows of the mountains of Cuilan and Shukzan.

“Thankfully Clarice is assigned to Tamu,” you explain your reasoning. “So her territory is surrounded on all sides with other mountainous regions: Sila, Nun, and Kun. I don’t know which warriors are assigned to those three regions, but they’re all bound to be single-digits.”

“How does that help us?” Vanessa demands. “I thought we were trying to avoid them?”

“We are,” Justina confirms. “This actually helps.”

“Of the single digits there are four I’d rather not meet if it can be avoided,” you explain. “Sofia and Isabel are two whom I have never met, who should now be in the upper five ranks. Aurora is another strong one who I only know by her epithet ‘Shining’ Aurora. Camila is currently going to be in the top three, and is a highly skilled sensor with the epithet ‘the Serene’… her combat skills are bound to be top-notch, but we’ve met.”

“She seemed nice,” Justina recalls.

“She was the one who oversaw us in our battle against Constanzia and Rafaela,” you explain to Vanessa, who of course would not know anything about the last time you saw Camila. “She’s awkward, but nice in her own way. She apparently likes my yōki.”

“Whatever that means,” Justina shrugs.

“Anyway, if we run into any of those four we might be able to talk our way out, especially if it’s Camila. As for the other single digits, Valeria is reasonable enough even if her friend Luciana is a total bitch. Either way I’m confident I can beat either of them, and anyone in the top nine below them.”

“And this ‘Clarice’?” Vanessa asks.

“I don’t think I could beat her,” you admit, “and I doubt she’d be reasonable if we ran across her.”

“What’s so bad about her?” Vanessa presses curiously.

“She’s a complete psychopath,” you explain. “The rumor is that she hunts down warriors with interesting techniques, studies them, then kills their original users. In other words, she’s a killer of our own kind.”
>1/2

>>3776501
“That sounds difficult to believe.”

“Had I not encountered her myself I might agree with you,” you wince, recalling your brief encounter with the woman while working together with Helen. “No, best case scenario is that we avoid her.”

“And if we’re noticed?” Justina asks.

A fair question of course… and one that you’ve only briefly considered. You’ve gotten as far as Shukzan without any issues, and on the way back you can follow the coast for a good distance. Most double-digits would have trouble noticing you before you noticed them, making avoiding them easy. It’s just this stretch past Shukzan and Nun that you need to be careful for.

Unfortunately, if you’re observed during that relatively brief window of vulnerability it’ll be a real problem. On paper, the Organization isn’t supposed to know yet that your group survived, and if they start to put the pieces together about what you’re doing getting to Jenna could become extremely difficult.

>We avoid contact at all costs. If discovered, we run before engaging. With our yōki suppressed it’ll take a sensor type to tell that we’re warriors with no business being here.
>We’ll take a diplomatic approach. Anyone short of Clarice should be able to understand our present situation
>If it comes to it, I’ll fight. Non-lethally of course, but JUST me. The two of you shouldn’t be obliged to fight against our own.
>Other?

>>3776538
>We’ll take a diplomatic approach. Anyone short of Clarice should be able to understand our present situation

>>3776538
>>We’ll take a diplomatic approach. Anyone short of Clarice should be able to understand our present situation

>>3776538
>>We’ll take a diplomatic approach. Anyone short of Clarice should be able to understand our present situation
push that luck again and hope for one of the sane-ish ones

>>3776538
>>We avoid contact at all costs. If discovered, we run before engaging. With our yōki suppressed it’ll take a sensor type to tell that we’re warriors with no business being here.

>>3776538
>>We avoid contact at all costs. If discovered, we run before engaging. With our yōki suppressed it’ll take a sensor type to tell that we’re warriors with no business being here.

>>3776538
>We avoid contact at all costs. If discovered, we run before engaging. With our yōki suppressed it’ll take a sensor type to tell that we’re warriors with no business being here.

>>3776538
“We should do everything within our power to avoid contact,” you declare, hoping for the best case scenario before planning for the worst. “With the two of us suppressing our yōki we should be able to avoid notice. But failing that, we rely on diplomacy… I refuse to draw my blade first.”

Justina quietly nods in agreement.

“Then I hope you’re correct,” Vanessa mutters in a low voice.

“So do I,” you reply quietly. “Because depending on who it is in that hypothetical scenario, reasoning with them may be difficult.”

Justina shrugs. “Have some confidence.”

She has a point. Of all the half-blooded warriors you’ve encountered, so far you’re the only one with a real finesse when it comes to ‘sweet-talking’. Perhaps it’s the diplomatic bearing your father always tried to raise you with, perhaps it’s something more primal inherited from both father and mother that runs in the blood. Either way, if you encounter any other warriors you may yet need to fall back on it.

“We’ll rest for the night,” you declare, “and depart well before sunrise.”

>In the morning we’ll pick up the pace, carrying Vanessa in turns if we have to.
>We’ll set a pace so that Vanessa can only just keep up.
>We’ll take it a bit slower until we turn away from the mountains. If we move too fast it will arouse suspicion.
>Other?

>>3776731
>>In the morning we’ll pick up the pace, carrying Vanessa in turns if we have to.

>>3776731
>>In the morning we’ll pick up the pace, carrying Vanessa in turns if we have to.
>>We’ll set a pace so that Vanessa can only just keep up.
we can push vanessa for a bit, it would be a type of training and we can still carry her before she becomes unable to fight or flee

>>3776731
>In the morning we’ll pick up the pace, carrying Vanessa in turns if we have to.

>>3776731
>>We’ll set a pace so that Vanessa can only just keep up.

>>3776731
“We’ll pick up the pace tomorrow,” you decide. “Running as quickly as possible. Vanessa, we’ll run you down until we have to carry you. Consider it stamina training.”

“Riiight...” Vanessa sighs dramatically. “You sure didn’t waste any time.”

“Why wait?” you shrug. “You’ve got some potential to live up to, so why wait to start working towards that?”

“She has a point,” Justina agrees with you.

“I’m already looking forward to it...”
>1/2

>>3776915
True to your words you rise well before the sun and take off running down the long road, not as quickly as you can but quickly enough to give Vanessa some trouble keeping up with you. And that continues for hours, the landscape sliding by on both sides. The mountains change their profiles to your right, but the towering peaks are simply replaced by new ones as you progress eastward.

To your left however, the vegetation seems to slowly change. After progressing some hundred miles the land seems to dry out, with rougher and thornier shrubs that lay low to the earth.

“We’re on our way towards the deserts of eastern Karluk,” you explain. “To our right are the mountains of Sila.”

“Miserable,” Justina grumbles. “We should stop.”

>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.
>No time. We’ll press on, and skirt around the worst of the desert to the North if we have to.
>We’ll cut through the passes of northern Nun, even if that’s a risk.
>Other?

>>3776928
>>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.
never go in a desert without water

>>3776928
>>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.

>>3776928
>>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.

I wonder how much water a Claymore really needs.

There's nothing specifically about this in the canon, but given they travel a ton by foot and can go days without stopping to rest or resupply yet carry nothing but their swords: I'm guessing it's not much. They don't carry any water with them at all, normally.

So I am guessing that, like food, their need for water is only slightly more than that of a corpse.

>>3776928
>>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.

>>3776928
>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.

>>3776928
>You’re right. We’ll need at least a small supply of water.

>>3776928
“Vanessa, you’ll probably be fine,” you sigh, scratching lightly at the back of your head. “But Justina’s right, she and I need to stop for water.”

“Water? For what purpose?”

Justina begins to walk away, looking for any sort of spring or creek. “We need it.”

“We’re half-awakened,” you explain carefully. “While it makes it easier for us to draw on our yōki, and accomplish feats usually within the realm of what Awakened Beings can do, there is a practical downside...”

“You… have an appetite?” Vanessa guesses.

You nod, confirming her suspicions. “We need to eat and drink more, and more often, than other half-bloods. Not nearly as much as a normal human, and we’re still fairly hardy, but in a desert we can’t risk potentially needing food or water and not having any.”

“I understand,” Vanessa nods.
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 5, 2, 5 = 12 (3d10)

>>3778683

Rolled 5, 3, 3 = 11 (3d10)

>>3778683

Rolled 10, 8, 1 = 19 (3d10)

>>3778683

Rolled 3, 4, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>3778683

File: 1105x622_EnviroImpact.jpg (225 KB, 1105x622)

225 KB JPG

>>3778683
You search for as long as you can condone, but you find no ready sources of clean water. The only water you find is standing in muddy little alkaline pools which all have a foul, acrid smell. Food however is easy enough to locate, and you take just enough fleshy little succulent plants to make the effort worthwile. In a pinch you suppose this can double as hydration, but you’d prefer not to rely on it for the trip back.

It isn’t long before the terrain gives way to largely open space, not that much above bare dirt. The land here is dry, but close enough to the mountains that there is some water present from glacial melt and the odd shower that makes it through the sharp peaks of Sila and Nun.

“This is as close as we can afford to get,” you insist when Vanessa asks if it wouldn’t be easier to cut closer to the mountains. “The border of Tamu isn’t all that far beyond the mountains we can see from here, and I just can’t risk that.”

It takes another day and a half of trekking through the rolling hills and valleys north of the mountains, but eventually the land begins to open up in front of you as you pull away from Nun.

Jenna’s region now lies directly ahead, perhaps two days’ travel.

>Press on hard. It should be easy enough to avoid any unwanted meetings.
>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.
>Other?

>>3778808
>>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.

>>3778808
>>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.

>>3778808
>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.

>>3778808
>>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.

>>3778808
>>Maintain a reasonable pace. No need to risk botching things at the end.

>>3778808
3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 5, 9 = 18 (3d10)

>>3780344

Rolled 4, 3, 9 = 16 (3d10)

>>3780344

Rolled 3, 3, 10 = 16 (3d10)

>>3780344

Rolled 2, 5, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>3780344

>>3778808
For nearly two full days you venture through the high plains, turning gradually away from the mountains of Nun. These days are thankfully uneventful, without even so much as a hint of yōki within any of your abilities to detect it.

“I believe the village at the center of her area was called Achnacloich,” Vanessa informs you.

“Well then, there’s only one thing to do,” you nod to yourself.

Vanessa ponders for a moment on her own before asking. “What?”

“Ask for directions,” Justina observes.

After flagging down the first rider you meet on the trails, a helpful courier on the way to carry a message to the coast, you finally have a clear idea of how to get to where you need to be. It takes another half-day of travel over low ridges and wide glens littered with large grey boulders before you start to approach Achnacloich, only to find an unpleasant surprise waiting for you.

“I can sense two yōki presences,” Vanessa announces quietly. “I believe we are just outside the stronger of the two’s detection range. Can you confirm, Noel?”

You have to strain slightly, especially since you’re keeping your own yōki suppressed for the sake of secrecy, but after some effort you can start to pick out some details about what lies ahead.

“I can,” you agree, “but in this situation I’m having trouble differentiating the two. Is one of them Jenna?”

Vanessa nods. “Yes.”

>Then we wait and see what the other one does.
>Can you sense whether they’re fighting?
>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?
>Other?

>>3780467
>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?

>>3780467
>>Can you sense whether they’re fighting?

>>3780467
>>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?

>>3780467
>>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?
>Then we wait and see what the other one does.

>>3780467
>>Can you sense whether they’re fighting?
>>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?

>>3780467
>Can you sense whether they’re fighting?

>>3780467
>How close do you reckon we can get before they notice us?

>>3780467
“How close do you think we could get before we were detected?” you ask with a frown.

Vanessa shakes her head, obviously unsure of how to answer. “Assuming the other one isn’t a sensor type? A little.”

“Then let’s get a little closer,” you suggest. “That’d help you get a better sense of the situation, wouldn’t it?”

“It would,” Vanessa admits before gently biting her lip.

“Then let’s move closer,” you decide. “But let’s also be careful not to get too close. We came all this way without incident, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 6, 6, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>3782404

Rolled 2, 9, 4 = 15 (3d10)

>>3782404

Rolled 6, 2, 4 = 12 (3d10)

>>3782404

>>3782404
The three of you close the distance to Achnacloich… not by much, but rather just enough so that you can get a better sense for what is going on in the village ahead. It’s definitely Jenna and another warrior rather than a yōma, and the two aren’t fighting. The other warrior can’t possibly be a single digit either judging by the strength of her aura… you’d say upper double digits is most likely, though probably not as high as your own former rank of 13.

You relay your own findings to Vanessa, who is quick to agree. “It feels like she’s stronger than Jenna is, but not as strong as Cordelia.”

“Who?” Justina asks curiously.

“The current number Sizteen warrior,” Vanessa clarifies. “I’ve sparred with her once.”

“And?” Justina presses.

“Well,” Vanessa replies, with a trace of moodiness in her tone, “I was Twenty-Six until recently, so you tell me how you think it went.”

“Badly?” Justina asks… she’s clearly tormenting her new comrade as a way to initiate her into your group. You’ve seen it plenty of times… hell, you’re guilty of it yourself on occasion.

“Quit messing with the rookie,” you sigh, making it a point to act like the adult in the proverbial room. “We’ve got a serious decision on our hands.”

>Put it to a vote: move in, or wait until one or the other leaves.
>Suggest moving in swiftly and knocking the other warrior out.
>Suggest laying low and avoiding contact.
>Other?

>>3782456
>Suggest moving in swiftly and knocking the other warrior out.

>>3782456
>Lay low.
We can always rush in later if we sense more yoki coming in.

>>3782456
>>Put it to a vote: move in, or wait until one or the other leaves.
but
>Suggest laying low and avoiding contact.

>>3782456
>>3782489
In with this.

>>3782456
>>Suggest moving in swiftly and knocking the other warrior out.

>>3782456
>Other?
Have Justina come in under a guise of orders from her handler and scout the situation for us. Justina Meet her and see whats up.

>>3782456
>Lay low.
this >>3782477

>>3782456
>Suggest laying low and avoiding contact.

>>3782456
Seconding >>3782598

>>3782456
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 5, 3, 2 = 10 (3d10)

>>3784152

Rolled 1, 8, 8 = 17 (3d10)

>>3784152

Rolled 1, 1, 8 = 10 (3d10)

>>3784152
i apologize

>>3784152
“We’ll lay low here,” you decide. “Wait and see if anything changes before deciding to move in.”

Justina nods, quickly finding a place by the road to settle into a ditch and wait.

Vanessa, with a glance towards the town, soon follows suit.

You wait for no more than half an hour or so before Vanessa alerts you to a chance while you’re just starting to doze slightly from the sheer boredom.

“The other one is moving towards us!” she hisses in alarm.

Sure enough, the double digit warrior is moving towards your position, following the road you’ve been waiting beside. A few moments later the yōki pauses for several moments, then starts to close the distance much quicker.

“We’ve been found out!” you declare, racking your brain for the best strategy.

Vanessa is obviously ready to withdraw, while Justina reaches for her sword.

>Close in on the second warrior and confront her openly.
>Close in on the second warrior and overwhelm her.
>Try to draw the second warrior away, lose her, then return.
>Other?

>>3784186
>>Close in on the second warrior and confront her openly.

>>3784186
>>Close in on the second warrior and confront her openly.
maybe we can distract her from justina and vanessa

>>3784186
>>3784195
Let's go with this.

>>3784186
>Open confrontation

>>3784186
>Try to draw the second warrior away, lose her, then return.

>>3784186
>Close in on the second warrior and confront her openly.

>>3784186
>Close in on the second warrior and confront her openly.

>>3784186
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 3, 5, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>3785285

Rolled 9, 10, 1 = 20 (3d10)

>>3785285

Rolled 10, 8, 5 = 23 (3d10)

>>3785285

>>3785291
thank you for saving us

File: The son of man.jpg (95 KB, 500x415)

95 KB JPG

>>3785292

Rolled 5, 1, 6 = 12 (3d10)

>>3785285
It is out of four...

File: 48496748_p0.jpg (789 KB, 1060x1500)

789 KB JPG

>>3785285
“I’ll go,” you insist quietly. “You two move in towards the town out of sight. Keep your yōki suppressed.”

“Right,” Justina nods in agreement, leading Vanessa by the arm.

“But what about...” Vanessa begins, before being cut off.

“We have a mission,” Justina interrupts sternly. “Come.”

“I… okay,” Vanessa is forced to agree as Justina essentially drags her away. “Just, please don’t hurt her?”

You offer a reassuring nod and a smile. “I don’t plan on it. Now go get Jenna.”

On the road, you soon encounter a young woman with pointed ears and several white braids of hair, her silver eyes basically serving to confirm what should already be obvious. The handle of her sword is red for an attacker, and you’re thankful to see that she hasn’t drawn it just yet.

“Who are you!?” she demands brusquely, reaching for her sword’s hilt. “Answer now!”

“Not your enemy,” you reply, shifting your weight to try and draw attention to the blue of your own hilt. “Warrior, what are your name and number?”

“I asked you first!” the attacker snaps.

“That isn’t how this works,” you glower at her, letting a little more of your resting yōki slip out. “My objective does not concern you, and I’m not here to start trouble. I’m simply curious.”

“Information is a key aspect of all warfare,” the young attacker lectures you piously.

“Zoe taught you that?” you muse, taking on a mockingly playful tone. “And just what makes you think I’m your enemy if you don’t even know who I am?”

“You’re not one of us,” she replies accusingly, “so you must be an awakened being.”

“I’m not afraid of you!”

She says that like she’s trying to convince herself.

>Yes, I’m an awakened being. But I was speaking the truth before. I’m not here to cause trouble.
>If I admitted to being an awakened being, I would be obliged to rip you open and eat your entrails to keep you quiet.
>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.
>My business is way above your level, rookie. Stay out of my way, and never speak of my being here, and you may just survive.
>Other?

>>3785380
>If I were one you'd be face down in a pool of blood or worse right now.

>>3785380
>>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.

>>3785380
>How many awakened beings keep their swords? Do you know any?

>>3785380
prime example of a narrow mind, you have really no idea what is out there, do you?

>>3785380
>>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.

>>3785380
>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.

>>3785380
>show her our red blood

>My business is way above your level, rookie. Stay out of my way, and never speak of my being here, and you may just survive

>>3785380
>>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.

>>3785380
>"There's no point in being needlessly hostile, rookie."
>Show her our red blood
>"I bleed just as red as you do. I'm no awakened being, so calm yourself."

>>3785380
switching my vote to this >>3785524

>>3785524
Combining this with some of the other popular votes would be good. Maybe remove the genius part.

>>3785380
>>3785524
in with this

>>3785380
>If I were an awakened being we wouldn’t be having this conversation, genius.

>>3785380
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 4, 5, 10 = 19 (3d10)

>>3787015

Rolled 4, 6, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>3787015

Rolled 9, 7, 3 = 19 (3d10)

>>3787015

Rolled 1, 8, 9 = 18 (3d10)

>>3787015

>>3787015
You quickly cut your hand, and drip red blood onto the ground between you and the other warrior. “If I didn’t bleed red, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“I still don’t trust you,” she insists stubbornly.

You heave a dramatic sigh. “Alright, so you don’t trust me and I’m not going to attack you. So what are you planning to do?”

“If you are an enemy, then it’s my duty to defeat you,” she declares, drawing her own sword.

“Damn you,” you grumble. “Why do you have to make this so difficult, rookie?”

“No more talk!” she shouts, swinging her blade at you. Then her eyes widen.

“Your rank can’t be much higher than twenty, if that,” you frown at her, the blade she attacked you with grasped tightly between your fingertips. Thanks to her complete lack of skill and the density of yōki you can manage with your White Fist technique, it’s actually nowhere near as dangerous as it might seem… but it’s still enough to impress her.

“You… you’re a monster!” she accuses you in terror.

“Now that’s just uncalled for,” you reply, calmly releasing her blade. “You were the one acting like a monster, attacking people based on nothing but suspicion and fear.”

“Fear!?” she repeats angrily.

You repeat it right back at her. “Fear. Those who insist the loudest that they don’t have it are the ones who are usually gripped by it.”

“I’m not afraid!” she practically screams as you sidestep or bat away each of her attempts to attack you.

>Explain to her who you are, see if that gets her to stop swinging at you.
>Just knock her out and leave her by the side of the road. That’s better than she’s earned so far.
>Knock her out and put what to do with her to a vote when the others return.
>Other?

>>3787093
>>Explain to her who you are, see if that gets her to stop swinging at you.
Almost want to say knock her out and shibari her as a joke option but we don't have a rope...

>>3787093
>>Knock her out and put what to do with her to a vote when the others return.

>>3787093
>Other?
At this point its best to signal for the others to get the rookies and have a sit down and confront her.

>>3787093
>Explain to her who you are, see if that gets her to stop swinging at you.

>>3787093
>Just knock her out and leave her by the side of the road. That’s better than she’s earned so far.

>waiting for a tiebreak between explaining it to her and knocking her out to wait
Because
>>3787140
>>3787145
>>3787147
express an interest in both knocking her out and involving the others in the decision

>>3787093
>>Just knock her out and leave her by the side of the road. That’s better than she’s earned so far.
Discussion has failed.

>>3787093
>>Explain to her who you are, see if that gets her to stop swinging at you.

>>3787093
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 9, 7 = 20 (3d10)

>>3787301

Rolled 2, 3, 3 = 8 (3d10)

>>3787301

Rolled 2, 7, 10 = 19 (3d10)

>>3787301

File: 9849183_p0.jpg (446 KB, 1194x1113)

446 KB JPG

>>3787301
With a quick, heavy blow to the back of the other warrior’s neck, you deliver a textbook knockout. And that comes as something of a relief.

Though you weren’t exactly gentle with her, you do her the courtesy of catching her limp body and lowering her to the ground. No need to be rude and let her potentially fall on her own sword, which would leave quite the mess.

“You should have just listened, dummy,” you grumble, taking a seat nearby just off the road to wait for your companions.

Eventually the trio arrive, and Vanessa immediately crosses her arms. “You said you weren’t going to fight her!”

“To be fair,” you insist, “it wasn’t really a ‘fight’, so much as it was a single blow. Also she started it.”

“She didn’t seem the type to listen,” Jenna shrugs, “so not really surprising.”

“Who is she?” Justina asks quietly, poking the fallen warrior with one toe.

“Juliana, Twenty-One,” Jenna informs you. “I don’t know much else about her, other than the fact that she’s… what’s a good word...”

“Twitchy?” you offer.

“Yeah, that’s not a bad way to put it,” Jenna quickly agrees.

“So what do we do about her?” Vanessa asks curiously.

“I didn’t tell her who I was,” you explain, “and she didn’t listen to anything that came out of my mouth.”

“Smart,” Justina nods in satisfaction. “Naming yourself would cause problems.”

“You assume,” Vanessa insists.

“I tend to agree with her,” Jenna counters, jerking her head towards Justina. “But is it okay to just leave her?”

“She’ll be fine,” Justina insists.

“You’re not wrong,” Vanessa bites her lip.
>1/2