You’re in the infirmary with Eli and strapping on Nanook and getting ready to leave once more. You had to run off and get your things after convincing Muse to join up with you and Eli. He’s unsure if he wants it to be permanent but he at least wants to stick around for the remainder of your trip. Better than nothing.

“Thank the Lord nobody messed with our things.” you say relieved

“Was it necessary to yell..?” Eli says putting on her armor

“Yell?” say confused

“You yelled at the guy who was holding on to our belongings.” she says

“What? I was outside and you were asleep, how’d you hear that?”

“You woke me up. I heard you yelling and cursing from my room. You went overboard” she sounds disappointed

“In my defense, I made these things with my bare hands. These are my children Eli. No one will lay a finger on my children. No one.” you say

She rolls her eyes “At least you fixed everything.”

“Eh, just a little warped metal. Nothing I can’t pound out.” You put on your helmet “Alright I’m ready. Hurry up, Muse is waiting outside.”

“I’m still not so sure about him Wilhem.” she says

“What do you mean?” you ask

“Well, what do you see in him?” she says

> 1. He’s an interesting guy
> 2. He’s just like me
> 3. I want to know more about him
> 4. He owes us

>>3947806
> 1. He’s an interesting guy
His abilities are super useful too

>>3947806
“He’s an interesting guy. Plus I think he’d be super useful, there’s only so much either of us can do, adding a support oriented guy to the team could give us the boost we need.” you say

“I’m not arguing about that, it’s just his personality.” Eli says

“You wanted to team up with me the moment we met, it’s pretty weird that “personality” is a dealbreaker for you now.”

“It’s different Wil. I knew I could trust you the moment I met you. You were trustworthy and I couldn’t feel anything wrong with you. Musaeus is… how do I put this… he’s a degenerate.” she says carefully

“What.” you’re bewildered at the comment

“He’s a womanizer. He felt lustful from the get go but he just proved it when he kept gawking at me when you were asleep. I think he tried coming on to me.” Eli explains

> 1. Eh, whatever.
> 2. Goddamn it, not another one.
> 3. To be fair, I sorta do the same thing.
> 4. Cool. I’m gonna go murder him now.

>>3948796
> 2. Goddamn it, not another one
Well the siren thing is pretty apt now.

>>3948796
“Goddamn it, not another one.” you say genuinely annoyed

“Another one?” Eli says confused

“Well if I can be crude-”

“When are you not?” she cuts you off

“IF I CAN I CAN BE CRUDE, I would say that guys like Muse think with their dick too much. I’ve dealt with people like that before, they’re geniuses no question about that, but they cannot keep it in their pants.”

“You knew a lot of people like that?” she asks

“Just one. Had to live with him too.”

“Didn’t you say you just lived with your Grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“Wait so was he-”

“Was he a perverted old man that nearly got me killed a few dozen times cause he wanted to get laid? Yes.” you blurt out

“Oh…”

“Yeah.”

You 2 stay silent for a while. You may or may not have some issues you need to work on but that’s besides the point. Muse probably isn’t THAT BAD. You barely know the guy, you’re probably just overreacting cause that shitty old man couldn’t keep his hands to himself. There’s nothing wrong with a young guy who likes sleeping around. Should you be worried that’ll he’ll get with Eli though? Nah, she’s too much of a prude. Not like it would even matter to you anyway right? Right?

“Well I’m all ready. Musaeus said something about going to grab something to eat so let’s check out the cafeteria.” Eli says

As you walk out the infirmary, you see Muse. He quickly runs towards you in a hurry. He’s panting and looks terrified.

“I think we should leave… Like now… You got everything…?” he’s trying to catch his breath

“You alright...?” Eli asks

You hear someone breaking things in the distance. “WHERE’D HE GO? I’M SKINNING THAT FUCKER ALIVE” you hear someone yell

“NOTHING! LET’S GO PLEASE!” Muse pleads

> 1. Do as he says
> 2. Make him tell you what he did
> 3. Go see what Muse did

>>3949146
>> 2. Make him tell you what he did

>>3949146
> 3. Go see what Muse did

We hide Muse while Eli goes take a look at what happened, we meet back at the edge of the safezone.

>>3949146
“I’m gonna go see what he did” Eli says

“WAIT NO C’MON!” Muse yells out

“Stay safe! Oh and make sure no one gets hurt. Meet us near the edge of the safezone.” you say

You wave goodbye as you drag Muse off. “We’re gonna have a little talk.” you say

This is probably the best chance you can to figure out what kind of person Muse is. You still want to vouch for him but you’re gonna need Eli’s okay. You can’t exactly overrule her if she doesn’t want him around and it’ll reflect badly towards you if he’s more trouble than he’s worth.

You reach the edge. You thought there’d be a sign or something that’d say as much but the translucent bubble engulfing the area is enough to tip you off to the safezone’s true nature. Seems like whoever’s in charge uses some spell or artifact to ward off incoming monsters and give incoming adventurers some breathing room. Does it turn the area invisible? Does it just monsters too scared to approach? Could you make something like this? Questions for later.

“So uh. What’d ya do?” you ask

“I didn’t do anything.” he says looking away

“Oh okay, then I guess I can drag you back to that guy that wants to skin you and ask him.” you say

“NO WAIT! FINE! FINE! I SWEAR I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO DESERVE THAT AT LEAST!” he says “I just got bored and when I get bored I start playing music. When I start playing music I draw a crowd and when I draw a crowd I make money.”

Crowd? Money? Come to think of it, the reason you’re even dungeon crawling in the first place is because you wanted to kill some monsters for your shop. That was just step one though, advertisement was next. Even if you’re the best blacksmith in Yorktown, no one’s gonna show up if they don’t know who you are or what you’re selling. You should keep this in mind

Muse continues “I made a decent sum so I went drinking, started chatting with a few people, started gambling….” he trails off “Long story short, I “dishonored” a woman who was being courted.”

“Dishonored?” you repeat

“THAT’S WHAT I SAID! YOU AREN’T MARRIED! She didn’t even like the guy, at least I think she didn’t? It doesn’t matter, I did nothing to her. I sang for her and gave her a little peck on the lips. It was cute. Her suitor disagreed. Didn’t help that I was gambling with him and cleaned him out.”

“So you ran?” you say

“He was rather large and in a full suit of armor, so yes I ran.”

> 1. You weren’t at fault
> 2. You were at fault
> 3. Be more careful
> 4. I would’ve done the same

>>3949146
>> 3. Go see what Muse did

>>3949354
>> 3. Be more careful
preferably not with a man in a suit of armor

>>3949354
> 3. Be more careful

>>3949354
“Be more careful, at least don’t flirt with women if there’s a giant armored man involved.”

“That’s rather cynical of you. Would you pass up a fairy tale ending just because of one man?”

“First off, we both know you just wanted to get laid then leave, Second, you ran away so you aren’t exactly a Knight in Shining Armor.”

“Well when you put it like that, it makes me sound like a cowardly deviant.”

“Point is, I honestly don’t really care what you get into, I’m neutral as long as I don’t get hanged for it. Eli might need to be convinced, or you could try to hide it better, I want you on the team and I can’t have that if you antagonize and sleep with the wrong women.”

“I have self control Wilhem, it’s rare that I get in trouble like this. And I only promised to stay that for the remainder of your trip, permanently joining is off the table.”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! Look at it this way, you have people to bail you out if you’re about to get your tongue cut out for flirting with a nobleman’s wife.”

“I would never.”

“We’ll see.”

> 1. Wait for Elisheba to comeback (skip)
> 2. Ask Muse how he got started and why he’s in the dungeon
> 3. Ask Muse how he learned to play the lyre

>>3950137
> 2. Ask Muse how he got started and why he’s in the dungeon

>>3950137
You take off your helmet and lay down “Well you can’t go back without getting murdered and it’d be rude of me to leave you alone so I’m gonna relax until Eli gets back. She should be back soon”

“If we’re waiting, I should get some practice in for the day” Muse says as he begins to strum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bYldqEjOUA

The song is strangely familiar. You’ve heard this same melody before and you doubt it was from some run of the mill musician. It feels strangely soothing. “Were you living in Yorktown?”

“Not really. I showed up 3 weeks ago and have been staying there for the time being. Why do you ask?” he says

“I think I heard you play before?” you say

“Oh! That makes sense! I would practice at the Adventurer’s Guild all day. I’m no fighter so it was one of the best avenues I could take for money. That’s how I’ve always made money come to think of it.” he says

“Really? Do tell.” you say with interest

“Ah, I’ve been singing for coins ever since I could talk. I made a fair amount too, enough to never go to bed cold or hungry. Some days I’d make more money than both my parents combined.” he says “I was never big on staying in one place though, so I left as soon as I could. The world is too interesting for me to just sit on my hands, so I wandered and played music all over Reme.”

“That’s sorta why I left too. Expand my horizons beyond a wastelnad” you say “Wait, you have to be a registered adventurer to get in this dungeon right? How’d that happen?”

“My music has an effect on people if you haven’t noticed. I play one song and you’ll loot all the treasures you want undetected, I play another and you’ll be rested and ready to go, I play one more and you’ll be combat ready. I’d be a fool not to capitalize.” he explains

“So you just go alone to a dungeon? I honestly pegged you as more cowardly, even I’m not that brave.” you say impressed

“I’m no coward Wilhem!” Muse snaps back “I know my limits, I can’t fight so I find people to do the fighting for me, simple as that. And what better way to find fighters than at an Adventurer’s Guild.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re here alone.” you say

“Oh. I got into a situation.” he says looking away
Cont.

>>3950467
You get suspicious “What kind…”

“The kind that made me think running into a dungeon was a safe alternative.” he says

“It was woman wasn’t it?” you pry

“I don’t kiss and tell.” he says

“Did you mess with some guy’s wife?” you speculate

“Absolutely not! I would never! But for my own safety I’m shouldn’t go back to the Guild. At least for a week. Also I should maybe hide my face if I go back into town.” he says

You shake your head in disapproval. He’s strangely proactive and intelligent. You don’t know if that outweighs the good in him but you’ll figure out soon enough.

Eli arrives soon enough. The music must’ve tipped her off to your location. You pick yourself up and get ready to venture deeper into the dungeon.

“So what happened?” you ask

“Just a lover’s quarrel.” she says looking at Muse as he turns away “Nothing that I needed to involve myself in.”

You don’t care enough to ask for more details, you just want to finish what you started. You still have to get food for Kyu and you don’t want to keep her waiting. How should you proceed?

> 1. Casual approach
> 2. Quick approach
> 3. Careful approach

>>3950469
> 3. Careful approach
What and the who now?
What does it eat?

>>3950484
fox girl that can only eat certain monsters

File: forest.jpg (601 KB, 2481x1409)

601 KB JPG

>>3950469
You got into a forest fire and had your shoulder dislocated last time you went in haphazardly. It’s about time you took a change of pace and actually acted like a professional. Sounds lame but you don’t want your arm to get crushed again, it already feels like it's moving weird.

“I think we should be more careful this time.” you say

Eli lights up at your suggestion “Really? Yes! Finally! I’ve been meaning to bring that up too!”

Muse looks confused “How do you guys usually travel here?”

“Without discretion usually. This armor kinda makes me act up to be fair.” you tap your chestplate

“Alrighty then… I just assumed we’d be more careful so I was about to start playing something for the trip.” Muse says

“Play on, please. As long as it doesn’t draw any attention on us.” Eli says

Muse chuckles “I’ve learned my lesson Miss, this is something meant for quiet endeavours.” Muse begins to play

You don’t feel any different like usual, is this just a normal song? As you begin to move, you notice that its become harder and harder to hear your own footsteps. Your breathing feels like it's beginning to mesh with the rustlings of the forest. Even your heartbeat is beginning to sound like chirping birds. You look at Eli hoping for some explanation but she seems just as confused as you.

“Are we being glamoured right now?” she says

“Glamoured? Do you take me for a witch? No no, it’s just a song. It plays so well, you’d almost think you and the forest were one and the same.” he says

“So it’s some kind of illusion huh? How good is it?” you say as you inspect yourself
“Not good enough to mask loud voices or your own presence so please speak in your inside voice and don’t try to alert anything?” Muse says

You nod and move forward. You're bad with directions, you don't have a map and you don’t have much of a feel for the area but Nanook is giving you some strange gut feelings about each general direction. Should you follow it?

>1. Head North; You sense some gap
>2. Head East; You smell charcoal
>3. Head West; You smell food
>4. Head South; You feel lucky
>5. Let Eli lead the way

>>3951250
>3. Head West; You smell food

File: fish.jpg (749 KB, 3216x2292)

749 KB JPG

>>3951250
“WAIT I GOT SOMETHING!” you shout as you run west, you smell food.

“DON’T YELL!” Eli yells as she chases after you.

You probably shouldn’t have blown your cover like that after Muse warned you to be careful. He looked pretty dejected whenever you turned around to look at him. He’s still playing though and you admire the dedication. At least it was a pretty short run and you didn’t run into any monster.

“A lake?” Eli says as you finally stop “What are we doing here?”

“I smelled food. I thought there was gonna be something more than just fish… Guess the armor has the bear’s appetite or something.” you say

“You did lead us to a pretty strange place, that’s for sure.” Muse says

“What do you mean? It’s just a lake.” you say

“Take a look around Wilhem.” Eli says

The lake is surrounded with old, broken down houses. You see broken down statues and bridges sprinkle the area. You look down into the ocean to see broken down boats within the flurry of fish. People lived here? How is that possible? Maybe this was a former safezone? Why would they leave though? And why does it seem more well put together than the safezone you were in though?

“This place is giving me a headache.” Eli says

“Really? I think it’s pretty relaxing.” you squat as you look into the lake. There are quite a bit of fish, giant ones too, almost as big as you. Maybe you can grab some for later. “Pretty spooky though I’ll admit. Makes me want to figure out what happened”

“No, that’s not what I mean-” she falls dead silent. She just stares into the water looking petrified.

“Oh… no….” Muse blurts out.

“What? What’s wrong?” you look back into the lake. You fall flat on your back after getting a good look at it. It was some massive carp, 10 times your size and painted gold. It slowly made its way past you. It didn’t pay you any mind because Muse managed to hide all of you but you still crawled away from the lake, you felt oddly afraid.

It quickly vanished.

“Y-yeah that. That’s why I have a headache.” Eli stutters. Guess she sensed it before any of us could see it.

> 1. I want to catch that fish right now.
> 2. Let’s check the homes and see if we can find anything.
> 3. We’re leaving right now.

>>3951598
> 2. Let’s check the homes and see if we can find anything.

>>3951598
> 2. Let’s check the homes and see if we can find anything.

>>3951598
“I wanna kill it.” you say

“Uh. No.” Eli says

“Eli. I wanna kill it.” you repeat

“You aren’t going into that lake Wilhem. That thing will swallow you whole.” she says

“Cool cool. I wanna kill it.” you repeat

“I will drag you out if you go into that lake Wilhem.” Eli says

“FINE! I WON’T GO IN BUT I WANT THAT FISH ELI! IMAGINE WHAT I CAN MAKE!” you’re screaming in excitement. You’re already getting a dozen ideas.

“Uhm… if I can intrude…” Muse speaks up

“Oh. Sorry for shouting...” you quiet down

“Well yeah that, but what I was going to say is that we can check out those empty houses for some clues? I don’t think it's a coincidence that people set up shop here and there’s a gargantone fish living in its midst.” Muse suggest

“Oh yeah… Yeah totally, might give me a better idea of what I’ll be working with...” you say

You went off to loot some houses, you don’t expect to find much, but the tiniest bit of information is priceless to you right now. Sadly, Muse’s song has a certain range to it so you can’t split up if you want to stay undetected but better to be safe than sorry. Who knows? You might get more done faster that way.
Cont.

File: old_house.png (4.61 MB, 3032x1662)

4.61 MB PNG

>>3951816
It’s been about a few hours. There weren’t too many houses but most of them have been ransacked, destroyed or aged to dust. How is it even possible for a place like this to stick around long enough for it to rot away? You were under the assumption that Dungeons reshuffle themselves every so often. Maybe there's more to it?

“Find anything?” you say as you rummage through broken down cabinets

“Nothing at all.” Muse says from the other room

“Guys!” Eli yells from the other room “I found a safe.”

You and Muse quickly walk into the main bedroom where Eli is. She’s standing over a safe embedded into the floor. It looks like she destroyed the whole room trying to find it.

“Can you open it?” Muse asks

“I could brute force my way in but there could be some sort of trap. We’re still in a dungeon after all. Might be safer to figure out the combination” she says

“I got it.” you place your hand on the safe. Within a few seconds, you quickly entered the combination and opened it.

“Wait what? How?” Muse says in disbelief

“I just analyzed the safe, pretty easy to know the combination if you know how it was made inside and out.” you say

You look inside the safe. It’s just a worn out journal.

“Here” you hand it to Eli “You’re a fast reader, and Muse has his hands full. Tell us what's inside.”
Cont.

>>3951817
Eli quickly flips through the book trying to surmise everything.

“I think this book is just dedicated to that giant fish we saw earlier.” she passes you the book. You flip through to see half the book with pages of drawings and anatomy of the thing along with measurements and the like.

“Whoever wrote it seemed pretty obsessed with it.” she says

“Guess it must be pretty valuable. Or maybe it was just this guy’s white whale. You think you could find anything useful here?” you pass her back the book

“What do you mean?” she says

“Behavior, where it lives. The measurements and anatomy are more than enough to help me with a design but I can’t exactly go kill the thing if I don’t know where it is.” you say

“Do you really think we could kill it?” she asks

“Why wouldn’t we?” you say

“It’s massive Wilhem. And according to this book it's tougher than it looks. There aren’t that many ways we could kill it. Unless you could somehow make a weapon from everything here.” she says

She’s right. None of you will be any good if you dive in and try to fight thing yourself. You could turn these rundown houses into ballistas and shoot it from here. You have some monsters that could easily give you some potent poisons. You still have that mystery pouch that clerk gave you earlier, the guy runs a shop full of artifacts and magic items so maybe there’s something you could do with it.

Given all that, you’re unsure if you could actually kill that fish. You’re unsure if you have the firepower to kill the thing and lord knows what it's capable of when it gets made. Eli got a headache from it so there’s definitely more to that thing.

But if you kill that thing, you could do a dozen other things with it, you could make a fortune. Or maybe this is the monsters you need to keep Kyu from starvation, maybe this is the monsters you’ve been gunning for. What should you do?

> 1. Kill the fish
> 2. Give up

>>3951819
> 1. Kill the fish

>>3951819
> 2. Give up
Its someones pet fish that grew up!

>>3951819
> 1. Kill the fish

>>3951819
2. Give up
Gota feed the fox girl

Rolled 2 (1d2)

rolling to see what to do and writing

>>3951819
“Fine… We’ll give up for now…” you force out your answer. There really doesn’t seem to be many options for you and you do have more important priorities at hand. You still can’t help but be saddened that you have to let go of this opportunity.

Eli tries comforting you. “I think it's for the best Wil, we can come back later when we’re ready.”

“There’s no shame in knowing when to fold Wilhem.” Muse adds

“Yeah yeah… Give me the journal, I’m saving it for later.” you say

You added the Carp Journal into storage

“You think either of you could remember where we were for later?” you ask

“I’ll make a mental note of it.” Eli says

“Good. Thank You. Now, where to next?” you say.

> 1. Let Eli lead
> 2. Let Muse lead
> 3. Head North; You sense some gap
> 4. Head East; You smell charcoal
> 5. Head South; You feel lucky

>>3952946
> 1. Let Eli lead
We ran off a second ago. Now it's her turn.

>>3952946
1. Let Eli lead

>>3952946
“I think I should take the lead.” Eli says

“Is it cause-”

“Yes it’s because you run off on your own.” she cuts you off

“Fair enough” you relent

You aimlessly walked for the next hour trying to find the next floor all while Muse continuously plays. He doesn’t even notice that he’s playing half the time, his fingers must be made of iron. It's a pretty easy walk nevertheless. You all avoid any confrontations and conflicts for the time being but you haven't run into anything interesting you. You chat amongst each other and tell Muse your journey so far.

“...A foxgirl?” Muse says

“Yeah, it was the weirdest thing. She had a fluffy tail and cute lil ears.” you say

“Well I’ve seen a bunch of Sirens where I grew up but you knew they weren’t human when you got a good look at them, maybe she was some monster you’ve never seen before?” he says

“Everything else was human looking, I doubt she was a monster but I’m not 100% she was human either.” you say

“Was she hot?” Muse asks

> 1. I guess?
> 2. Absolutely
> 3. I didn’t notice
> 4. No (Lie)

>>3953176
1. I guess?
Must tuch fluffy tail

>>3953176
>1. I guess?
Run with this. Keep our cards close to our collective chest for now.

>>3953176
“I guess?” you reluctantly say

“You guess? C’mon Wilhem! I’d love some details! This kind of story would make for a great song.” Muse says

“I don’t know… I don’t notice that kind of thing I guess.” you admit

“Ah… Pillow biter huh?” Muse says

“What?” Eli’s eyes widen

“WHAT?! I’M NOT GAY MUSE WHAT THE FUCK.” you scream

“Calm down jeez…” Muse says as he walks up to whisper something into your ear “I just assumed cause you haven’t done anything with Elisheba yet…”

“Okay first off, go fuck yourself” you push him away “Second, women seem like more of problem and a distraction.” you say

“I’m a what now?” Eli says in a harsh tone.

“I didn’t mean it like that, it's just a personal thing.” you admit

“Well do go on, I’d love to hear why?” Muse says

“I’ve focused on perfecting my craft since I’ve lived with Gramps. Day in, day out, until my bones would rattle and my hands were torched, I’d constantly practice and learn until I polished and cleaned my skills. I’d never settle for less, so I refuse to let anything distract me. Money, fame, women, none of that should matter, they’re distractions, obstacles in my way to being the greatest blacksmith.” you explain

Eli and Muse look at you like you’re a madman.

“That… that sounds lonely.” Eli says

“What? How? What do you mean?” you say. You’re genuinely puzzled by their reaction.

“It’s reductionist.” Muse responds “I’ve messed around, I’ve had my fun, that didn’t take away from my music, it only inspired me, it made me grow, it gave me perspective. Don’t miss the forest for the trees Wilhem.”

> 1. You’re wrong
> 2. Maybe you have a point
> 3. I don’t know

>>3953398
2. Maybe you have a point
He does have a point, our skills are already insane, more inspiration could be good too

>>3953406
Agreed

>>3953398
>> 2. Maybe you have a point

>>3953406
I start to realise he's a bit wrong too
Craftmanship doesn't usually rely on inspiration, but mostly discipline
This discipline was what made us the blacksmith we are today, and maybe skills that are still unknown to us rely on us following this discipline, not inspiration

I'd like to change my answer to

>3. I don't know

>>3953398
> 3. I don’t know
Meta wise we all probly can agree that it is unhealthy (and not fun to play as), but in character we can't just immediately 180 our world views when they're this embedded.

>>3953398
> 3. I don’t know
Wil has literally never thought about it. He has absolutely to experience to measure that against.

>>3953398
3. I don’t know

>>3953398
“I don’t know.” You can freely admit to yourself that blacksmithing is the only thing you’ve ever known, so there might be something “better” out that you haven’t seen yet. On the other hand, it’s your life, you don’t regret anything. You don’t feel empty or lost and you never feel more alive, more in control, more powerful than when you create those little sparks, when you make something beautiful.

Muse shrugs “Give it some time, maybe sow your wild oats.”

“Or you know, something else that doesn’t involve sex.” Eli adds on, “ You don’t have to obsess over one thing Wilhem. I want you to experience something more to like, I’ll make sure of that, I promise.”

You don’t quite understand why it seemed like a big deal to them but you’re oddly happy that they seem to care nonetheless. Maybe you should try to expand your horizons.

“How about this, is there something you want to do that doesn’t revolve around being a blacksmith? Anything at all, No wrong answers.” Muse asks

You take a minute to way your options before coming up with your answer “I really wanna touch Kyu’s tail.” you confidently say

“YEAH, THERE YOU GO!” Muse was weirdly excited by your answer

Eli looks annoyed “She attacked us.”

“But I really wanna hug it…” you say

“Hug me then.” Eli says

“What? No.” you say

“Why not?” Eli says

“You don’t have a fluffy tail. Also I don’t hug people.” you cross your arms

“I hate you so much right now and hate you even more for not wanting to do it.” Muse says to you

“Shut up.” you tell him

Eli thinks for a second before speaking “Hey remember that bet we made early? The one I won?”

“Yeah..?” you don’t like where this is going.

“I still get to make you do whatever I want, so I want a hug. Now.” she orders

“NO!” you scream

It went on from there. Eli and Muse kept teasing you. You did give in after a long while and hugged Eli. It felt nicer than you’d expected, she’s strangely soft and smelled kinda nice. She was muscular but not as much as you’d expect. You don’t think you’ll ever want to hug another person again though. It didn’t help that they kept teasing you afterwards.
Cont.

File: pit.jpg (64 KB, 800x534)

64 KB JPG

>>3953868
After another hour of walking you finally run into something, a bottomless pit.

“How far do you think it goes?” Eli asks

You pick up a rock and drop it in. It took 4 or 5 seconds to hit the bottom.

“There’s something down there.” Muse says “It’s not just a hole in the ground.”

“You sure about that?” Eli says

“Positive, it echoed too weirdly for it just be a bottomless pit. Could be worth checking out.” he says

> 1. Don’t go in
> 2. Have everyone go in
> 3. Go in first
> 4. Have Eli go in first

>>3953871
>> 3. Go in first
Step up. Rise above.

>>3953871
3. Go in first

>>3953871
Going inti an unknown hole has naver lead to issues has it muse:p

File: mine.jpg (134 KB, 1436x731)

134 KB JPG

>>3953871
“I got this one.” you say

“You sure…? I can jump in no problem and climb back out.” Eli says

“Positive! I’d used to go in these things a lot when I worked with Gramps.” you walk around and grab handfuls of grass and quickly mold it into rope.

“In holes?” Muse says

“Holes, caves, wells. Just anything dark and damp.” you say as you grab more grass and extending the rope.

“Why..?” Eli asks

“We had to get ores somehow. Can’t make armor without metal.” you say

“So he took a child with him. Into a dangerous environment. To grab handfuls of ore.” she says with disgust in her voice

“Uh no, are you insane?” you say

“Oh so I must be misinterpreting it then.” Eli sounds relieved

“Yeah, absolutely. It was way more than a handful and I went by myself. Oh and I wasn’t allowed back in the house until I brought back enough ore that weighed 10 times more than me.” you explain

Eli looks utterly repulsed by your story. Did you say something wrong? You feel worried now.

“Your Gramps was a bad person Wilhem.” Muse says

“Well-” you wanted to argue with him on that but… “Yeah. I agree. Rope’s done.”

You tie one end of the rope to a tree nearby. You probably aren’t strong enough to jump straight down and not suffer any injuries and there might be something dangerous down there so better safe than sorry.

“You think this’ll be enough?” Eli says

“Probably. Throwing that rock in more or less gave me a general idea so I’ll be fine.” you say

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Eli says

“I have 3 sets of weapons, magic armor that constantly warns me if I’m about to get hurt, 9 potions that make me regenerate and I can light my pinky on fire for light, I’ll be fine.” you say

Eli sighs “Pull the rope or give us a shout if you find anything please. I’ll go in as quickly as I can.”

“Gotcha. Thank you.” you say

“Oh and just a heads up, my music isn’t gonna be able to travel down with you, so you won’t be able to stay hidden. Good luck though!” Muse says

You salute them both and climb your way down the hole.

Nothing really interesting happens on the way down. You were expecting some monsters to pull you down or attack but it's just a tedious climb down. It gets blindly dark as you close onto the bottom so you ignite one of your fingers.

You finally make it to the ground. It’s still too dark to make out anything so you ignite your entire hand to get a better view of everything.

“IT’S A MINE! I FUCKING FOUND A MINE GUYS! THIS IS FANTASTIC!” You scream at Eli and Muse. You hit the jackpot. You don’t see anything especially interesting but if you really put some effort in, you’ll find more than enough metal for your own enjoyment. How should you proceed?

> 1. Tell Eli and Muse to come down
> 2. Scope out the area and see if there’s anything to watch out for

>>3954313
>> 2. Scope out the area and see if there’s anything to watch out for
This. Seems too good to be true. The party is in a dungeon after all.

>>3954313
Tell Eli and Muse to come down

Rolled 2 (1d2)

rolling

>>3954473
choice 1 is the winner, roll a 1d100+10

DC 75

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>3954477

Rolled 3 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3954477

Rolled 22 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3954477

>>3954477
“You want us to go down?” Eli yells back

“Yeah! Be careful though I have no idea what’s down here!” you yell at her

There are some unlit torches hanging on the wall so you starting lighting everything as Eli and Muse make their way down. You’re absolutely giddy at the prospect of mining down here but you know that you need to stay vigilant.

They finally make their way down and you’ve completely lit up the place.

“So… What do you think?” you say with excitement

“It’s a cave.” Muse says

“It’s a mine. And it’s brimming with potential.” you snapback

“Well it does seem perfect for our shop.” Eli says

“Right? We can go down here and mine iron or copper or whatever metal we have down here.” you say

“What about the foxgirl? Didn’t you wanna touch her fluffy tail or something?” Muse says you

“If you say that to me again, I’m breaking your fingers.” you threaten. Muse shuts his mouth and tries hiding his hands under his clothes “And I haven’t forgotten about her, this is a later thing you know?”

You walk on the rails, “I honest to God couldn’t explain to you how much we’ve lucked out. This mine may as well be full of gold. Nothing could spoil this for us.”

Your blood runs cold, something in the back of your head starts screaming. You instinctively jump back but something manages to grab your leg before you can escape. It tries pulling you in. Eli wastes no time. She jumps in and smashes whatever attacked you, freeing you. You feel like there’s more coming.

“Spoke too soon.” Muse says

> 1. Run
> 2. Attack
> 3. Stick together and defend

>>3954539
3. Stick together and defend
This my mine

>>3954539
> 3. Stick together and defend

>>3954539
>> 3. Stick together and defend
Waiting room.

>>3954539
Stick together and defend

File: Golems.jpg (15 KB, 263x192)

15 KB JPG

>>3954539
Golems start emerging from the ground. They shape and take form using the nearby railing, the rocks and dirt and what you presume to be the metal hidden deep within the ground. They’re near lifeless, they tower over your, and they’re aiming to attack.

“NO! THIS IS MY MINE!” you draw Forkfu and Lagun out and try to charge at them but Eli forcefully pulls you back.

“Wil stop! Stick together, you’re not gonna beat them by yourself.” she says

You grit your teeth and fall back.

“Guess my breaks over~” Muse begins playing his lyre once again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTLunRuCGQQ

Your body feels revitalized. You feel like you could punch through steel.

You feel peeved off. These things are ruining your amazing discovery, you want to rip them apart as soon as possible but you have to listen to Eli. 4 Golems are fully formed and there are more on the way. You and Eli stand side by side with Muse behind you. 1 of the Golems leaps forward and tries slamming itself into you and Eli. You both dodge out of the way and you take the opportunity to strike it with Forkfu while it was down.

It didn’t go through all the way. The stone man tries to crush you but you barely dodge out of the way. Forkfu nearly gets stuck as you try getting out of the way. On the bright side it broke itself trying to hit you.

“I got one! Sorta…” you tell your friends

“That’s not gonna work!” Eli yells at you

“What?” you say

You look back and see the stone man is already reforming itself from its own injuries.

“HOW?!” you scream

“They’re Golems Wil, you have to find the core to kill them or else they’re gonna keep getting up.” she tells you.

For the next 10 minutes you and Eli stay together and try to figure out how to kill them. You simply don’t have the strength to break their bodies, Nanook isn’t giving you the same type of power it did when you were in the forest and none of your weapons have the strength to break through metal and stone so you were just dodging and drawing the Golems way from Muse.

Eli didn’t do that much better either. She’s strong enough to break their bodies but there were too many Golems for her to do any lasting damage and she was too focused on protecting you and Muse.

There are 8 of these things and you haven’t been able to kill 1. You’re completely frustrated and you aren’t sure how long you can keep at it until one of you makes a fatal mistake. What should you do?

> 1. Run for it
> 2. Make a weapon that’ll break through the Golems
> 3. Use your environment to your advantage
> 4. Stand your ground
> 5. See if you have anything in storage that will kill the Golems

File: OrcishWarhammer_SK.png (200 KB, 913x930)

200 KB PNG

>>3955469
Get back out of the hole then
> 2. Make a weapon that’ll break through the Golems
Ether a war hammer or war pick for eilly to smash with
Then use the golans cores to make this a golem beater.

>>3955469
I'll back >>3955501
A war pick to the right spot will one shot them.

>>3955501
This. A warpick would do nicely.

>>3955520
Have muse make a joke about not beening able to find the sweet spot

File: copper.jpg (110 KB, 629x406)

110 KB JPG

>>3955469
“ELI! COVER FOR MUSE! I’M GONNA DO A THING!” you yell

“Wait what?” she’s too busy keeping everyone alive to understand what you’re planning to do. You run off anyway.

You put all your power in your legs and zip right through the Golems. 3 of them try chasing you but they’re too slow to keep up.

You run deeper into the mine. You’re starting to trip and hit some rocks as you run, it’s become too dark to navigate through the mine but you’ve put enough distance between you and the Golems to get to work. You can’t waste any time, you did draw away some Golems but Muse can’t fight for shit and Eli has to worry about keeping him safe.

You dig through the earth and try to find some ore, any ore to work with. You’ve done this hundreds of times before and you’ll surely do it a hundred more. You heat up your fingers to melt and soften the ground beneath you, the mines seem dry at a glance but there’s always something underneath, there has to be.

A few minutes passed but it felt like a lifetime. You can hear the Golems stomping towards you, each step getting louder and louder. You faintly hear Muse playing that “battle song” in the background, they’re safe for now thankfully but you won’t be if you don’t find any metal in the next minute.

You hit something. You nearly broke your fingers because you were in your own thoughts for too long but you found something. You pull out a large slab of copper from the ground. You have your weapon now!


You sense danger quickly approaching. It almost feels like Nanook is trying to force you to run away but you stand your ground. You make a design. You need something heavy to break through the Golem’s bodies, the slab of copper is more than big enough for that. Golems also have a core to them right? Instead of making something blunt like a hammer or with an edge like a sword, you make something that’ll pierce right through them and instantly break their core.

The Golems finally found you. It doesn’t matter, you got it. You have to finish it before they can attack you. You go into overdrive, you nearly set fire to your own armor melting down the copper, you mold and shape as inhumanly fast as you can and you force out the heat from the weapon to quicken the cooling process. The sparks didn’t even touch the ground before you’d finish.

You finished. You've made yourself a warpick, all before the Golems could get one attack on you, you think you broke your own personal record. Enough bragging, what to name it?

> 1. Fang
> 2. Clay
> 3. Chelm
> 4. (Other)

>>3955786
Toothpick

>>3955786
>Lucky strike

>>3955884
This.

>>3955786
“Lucky Strike.” you say to yourself. Perfect name for the perfect situation. It almost feels too heavy for you to wield one handed but you’ll get used to it eventually.

You don’t let the Golems get the first attack, you leap forward and slam Lucky Strike into one of them with all your strength. Nanook gives you that extra burst you need to destroy a large chunk of its body.

Ironically it was an unlucky strike as the Golem started reforming almost immediately and the other two Golems started attacking you. You really didn’t feel like getting crushed to death by sentient rocks so you ran for it again.

“GODDAMN IIIIIIIIIIT!” you yell as you make your way back to Eli and Muse.

You make it back easy enough. Eli is still holding the Golems back but she’s starting to slip up more and more. Her only weapons are a shortsword and a spear so you weren’t really expecting her to do that well against heavier, tougher enemies with that many disadvantages. She’s doing pretty great for what she has though. Oh well, time to end it.

“ELI! CATCH!” you chuck Lucky Strike at her. Maybe you shouldn’t have done that while she’s guarding your perverted musician friend and fighting for her life but too late to regret that choice now.

She dropped her weapons and leaps over the Golems. She catches the warpick. She uses the momentum from your throw and slams it into one of them, reducing the Golem to rubble in the process.
Cont.

File: golem_core.jpg (9 KB, 200x300)

9 KB JPG

>>3956081
The Golem doesn’t seem to be reforming anymore. You notice something beyond the rubble, a small orb at the end of Lucky Strike’s pick. Eli managed to strike through it under all that rock and metal. Must’ve been the core.

“YES! FINALLY! A LUCKY STRIKE!” you shout in excitement. “KILL’EM ALL! MUSE KEEP PLAYING! I LOVE THIS SONG.”

You guarded Muse as fought the remaining Golems. It almost didn’t seem like the thing was any heavy to her, she used it one handed most of the time. The Golems were tough but slow, it was made even tougher by their numbers. Despite their size they were quite coordinated. It didn’t matter though, their greatest strength was destroyed thanks to your work.

Whenever they slammed their fists into the ground, Eli would effortlessly backstep it. She’d never let a situation like that pass so she’d destroy their arms and force them to reform and have on less method of attack. They tried slamming themselves against her but even in the decently packed mine, they still couldn’t get her. She’d jump on top of them after they failed to hit her and she’d pierce right through them with Lucky Strike.

Even after the Golems that chased after you arrived, it was still no match at all. It became easier for her to handle as the fight, she wasted less moves, she’d always counter, she’d lead them into each other or have them hit each other. It was almost like she could see a few seconds into the future, she read them perfectly, she didn’t have a worry in the world. She won the moment you came back with Lucky Strike.

The last Golem was destroyed. She got lucky and pierced right through its core as she was tearing it down.

“That was a good workout.” she says. She’s sweating and panting but she doesn’t have any visible injuries thankfully.

Muse finishes his song and claps. “Beautiful, truly. I enjoyed that performance and enjoyed playing for it. You’re incredible Elisheba.”

“You’re giving me too much credit.” Eli walks up to you and pats you on the back “I wouldn’t have done this well without you. Or you for that matter Musaeus.”

“Well I don’t work for praise…” you say under your breath.

Muse shakes his head “I’ve never met someone so blind and so full of himself. This is why you haven’t popped your cherry yet.”

“...Eli hand me the warpick.” you coldly ask.

Muse runs away. You chase after him. Eli tries to stop you.

> 1. Save the Golem remains for later
> 2. Upgrade a weapon
> 3. Make a new weapon

>>3956082
2. Upgrade a weapon toothpick

>>3956082
> 1. Save the Golem remains for later
Get to looting

>>3956082
>> 2. Upgrade a weapon
Upgrade Lucky Strike. Chances are we'll encounter more golems sooner rather than later, it would be nice to be prepared.

>>3956082
You’re collecting Golem cores while Eli and Muse are sitting down and resting. Eli is flipping through the journal you found about the Giant Carp and Muse is mindlessly strumming trying to come up with another song.

“It’s odd to me that these cores are the only real part of a Golem.” Muse says

“Is it? Makes sense that monsters would try to create some armor to protect themselves.” you say

“Huh… Didn’t think about it like that. Always assumed monsters were lacking in brains.” Muse says

“So did I, but I’m never gonna underestimate anyone who uses tools.” you pick up the last Golem core. You have 8 in total now. They’re all broken thanks to Eli but you’ve managed to pick up all the pieces more or less.

You sit down next to Eli and Muse and spread out the cores “Tools are pretty magical when you think about it, they give you abilities that you couldn’t do on your own. A lyre lets you play different kinds of sound, a sword lets you cut and slash, a pickaxe lets you break through stone.” you explain “With that being said, there’s probably tougher monsters in here, so I think I'm gonna upgrade Lucky Strike. None of us have the power to break through rock and steel with our bare hands and I don’t wanna rely on Eli all the time. A tool should be able to do the job regardless of whoever is wielding it.”

Eli looks up from her journal“I don’t know if I agree with that…”

“Yeah, me neither. Elisheba just get done killing a bunch of Golems. You both used Lucky Strike, you weren’t able to kill any of them, but she killed all of them. What do you think was the deciding factor there?” Muse says

You shrug “Yeah, you have a point, Lucky Strike is unfinished, it still can’t do what it was made to do.”

“Wilhem, you can’t just pick up a lyre and start playing.” Muse tries convincing you

“Not unless you use a regular lyre no.” you start melting down the Golem cores “That’s why you should come to me if you want something special.”

> 1. Make Lucky Strike heavier
> 2. Add an Anti-Golem bonus to Lucky Strike
> 3. Give Lucky Strike the ability to recognize weak points
> 4. Augment Lucky Strike's piercing abilities
> 5. (Other)

>>3957262
> 3. Give Lucky Strike the ability to recognize weak points
Im guseing we only get one.
This should help find where the core is and could help with mineing.

>>3957262
>> 3. Give Lucky Strike the ability to recognize weak points
Keep it true to the name.

>>3957262
> 3. Give Lucky Strike the ability to recognize weak points
Holy hell that's some good utility if it's as general as it sounds.

>>3957262
The cores sparks and melts into your hands. They’re decently small but they’d be spilling out of your hands if your didn’t have them levitate. You only have enough to make one upgrade, but judging by the nature of Golems, you have a good idea a few decent ideas.

“There’s probably gonna be more Golems in here if we keep going in right?” you ask

“I would assume so yes. I can already sense a few things from the darker side of the mine.” Eli says

“Whelp, that’s a good enough excuse for me.” you tell yourself

You flatten the melted cores. You grab Lucky Strike and coat it with the melted cores. You aren’t entirely sure what those things are made of but it gives the warpick and nice shine to it. You let it cool off before you start testing it out. You give it a few swing until your happy with the balance.

“Aaaaaand done.” you proudly say

“What’d you do with it?” Eli asks

“Check it out.” you pass her Lucky Strike.

She gives it a few swings and nearly drops it in shock when she looks at you. “What was that?”

You smile “Yeah you noticed huh? What’d you see? Something pointing at my heart? Or was Lucky Strike moving on its own?”

“This is incredible Wilhem!” Eli praises you

“Yeah I know! I’m pretty bad at wielding this thing and my aim is WAY off so I had to tinker with it a smidge. Gotta hit that sweet spot you know?”

“Of course you can’t find the “sweet spot”.” Muse jokes

You take a deep breath “How’s about I shove Lucky Strike up your “sweet spot” Muse?” you say as you give him a threatening smile

Muse is about to run away again before Eli steps in “NO STOP! I don’t want to chase you two again. Musaeus, stop antagonizing him.”

“Well it’s true…” he quietly says. You heard him.

“WHAT DID I SAY?!” you scream as you try to grab him but Eli pulls you away

“Can you please stop being so aggressive? For me?” Eli pleads

“FINE! Fine…” you relent.

“Thank you.” she pats you on the head and hands you back Lucky Strike. That irritated Muse for some reason but he kept his mouth shut.

Lucky Strike added to storage

“Well? What’s the plan now?” Muse asks

> 1. Get out of the mine
> 2. Continue exploring

>>3958081
>> 2. Continue exploring

>>3958081
You and everyone walk along the rails and see if you can’t find anything else. You wonder how the general ecosystem of the dungeon works. Can you just clear out everything and not have to worry about being attacked? Do monsters just randomly spawn? You tried asking Muse and Eli but they haven’t the faintest clue either.

“I haven’t thought about it beyond what safezones use to ward away monsters.” Eli says “Some blue haired girl told me they had some artifact hidden to keep everyone safe.”

“WAIT! Maybe you can make one! We’ll be swimming in money…” Muse says

“I can’t make things out of thin air.” you say

“Could’ve fooled me” Muse responds

“I’d have to buy some corresponding material or hunt monsters that can make that happen. I don’t think Goblins bodies could ward away monsters so I’d have to buy from a magic shop.” you explain

“We could go ask Anton.” Eli suggests

Muse flinches when he hears the name Anton. “What did you say…?”
Cont.

File: mystery_pouch.jpg (6 KB, 246x204)

6 KB JPG

>>3958316
“Anton. He runs a magic shop in Yorktown.” Eli says

“We owe a favor to that guy. I don’t know why I agreed to that, he gives me the creeps.” you say

Muse turns completely white “Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno-” Muse keeps repeating that before you slap him over the head.

“Get ahold of yourself dude, what’s wrong? Is there a ghost?” you start looking around

“NO! ANTON! I KNOW THAT GUY! EVERYONE IN THE GUILD KNOWS THAT GUY! He’s… oh Lord Almighty... I borrowed some sheet music from him. I wanted to play some hymns for a religious girl. Everyone fucking warned me but, Lord help me, I really wanted to impress that girl, I didn’t think he was serious about a favor. I kept running into him everywhere, he was always in the crowd just watching me, I kept seeing him in the corner of my eyes… and he always had that creepy grin on his face... I had to run into the dungeon because I couldn’t get away from him…” Muse looks like he’s about to have a mental breakdown.

“ELI WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU SOLD OUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL!” you shout

“ME? YOU’RE THE ONE THAT WANTED THE BEAR’S HEAD CHECKED OUT!” she screams back

“WELL… FUCK!” you start pacing up and down trying to figure out what you’re going to do after you get out of this dungeon.

“Wilhem… I think Muse is overreacting-” she says

Muse is on his knees rocking back and forth.

“-Anton is kinda like you.”

“DON’T COMPARE ME TO HIM! HE LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE A CHILD MOLESTER!” you shout

“No. What I mean is that I can’t sense any depravity from you, not even a bit of indecency. You’re probably the purest person I’ve ever met.” Eli pats your head as she says this. “Anton is the same.”

That calms you down. Somehow. You know Eli wouldn’t lie to you and she always seemed weirdly okay with Anton. Maybe it won’t be so bad?

You look back at Muse. It looks like he’s convulsing on the ground. Nevermind, it is that bad.

You pull out a small pouch from storage. “He gave us this before we left, never actually checked what it was. May as well see to get a clue about this guy.”

“Wasn’t it just powder?” Eli says

“Yeah but I doubt a weirdo like him would give us a pouch of sawdust. Or maybe he would I have no idea.” you say

What to do with this pouch?

> 1. Analyze the contents
> 2. Taste some
> 3. Sprinkle some on the ground
> 4. Throw it as hard as you can

>>3958320
> 1. Analyze the contents
I feel like anything to do with this pouch will end poorly for us. Still not going to drop a potential plot hook though.

>>3958320
>> 1. Analyze the contents

>>3958320
1. Analyze the contents

>>3958320
You take out a pinch of the powder and start breaking it down. “Sulfur…. Charcoal…. Is there some type of Salt in this? I think he gave us spices.” you say

“Spices?” Eli repeats

“Or drugs. I’m getting some weird competent that I can’t name, I think they’re some crystals but I can’t put my finger on it. This feels unnatural.” you explain

“Maybe it’s something magical? He does run a shop full of magical items so it wouldn’t be out of the question.” she says

“Probably… I’m gonna snort some.” You put it up to your nose but Eli stops you

Eli stops you. She glares at you.

“Kidding! Like I’d ingest anything that weirdo gave me… I just wanted to smell it.” you say

“Just keep analyzing it or put it away...” she says

“Gotcha!” you start breaking it down further. You highly doubt this could be some spice. You almost threw up getting a whiff of this thing. Drugs seem out of the question too, you’re pretty sure you’d die if you actually put this anywhere in your body. Maybe this is an ingredient for some magic ritual? They might work really well together if the-

“Oh…” you finally got it. You push Eli way. You hold the pouch with both hands and carefully try walking away.

She’s surprised. She tries going after you “What are you do-”

“DON’T! STOP!” you shout “DON’T COME ANYWHERE NEAR ME!”

You’re almost sweating with how nervous you’re getting. What did that guy give to you?

“Lordy lord lord… How are we still alive…” you say under your breath

Eli is bewildered “Did you figure out what Anton give us? Is that why you’re acting weird?”

“Yeah… yeah…. You should drag Muse away now… I’ll catch up”

“No.” she says

“ELI I’M SERIOUS!” you shout

“And I’m not leaving you alone. What’s in the pouch?” she demands

“ELI!” you shout

She crosses her arms. She’s not leaving.

“FINE! I don’t know the exact name, I’ve never seen anything like it but… If this thing gets too hot… It’s gonna explode. W-we’d probably die. Or get violently mutilated if we’re unlucky...” you nervously say

“Oh…” It’s dawning on her why you’re so terrified now. “What are you gonna do with it?”

> 1. Dispose of it
> 2. Keep it in a safer place
> 3. Chuck it somewhere

>>3959259
>> 2. Keep it in a safer place
Should not discard a potentially useful tool. Or potential ingredient for later.

>>3959259
Keep it in a safer place

>>3959259
Keep it in a safer place
Could use it for that fish.

>>3959259
You kneel down next to a puddle. You grab a handful of water and pour it into the pouch. You’re pretty sure this should keep it from blowing your arm off and if you ever need it, you can immediately dry it off.

“You gonna keep it?” Eli asks

“Fuck yeah I’m gonna keep it, I mean yeah it kinda almost killed us and yeah I’m still very terrified of losing an arm from this but think of how useful this could be though?”

“Please don’t hurt yourself.” Eli asks

“No promises.” you answer

Added explosive powder into storage

Muse is still on his knees muttering some nonsense to himself. You kinda feel bad about talking about Anton and completely ignoring him but for some reason, you think he probably deserves it. You shook him around a little bit until he got back to his senses.

“Wake up bud. We going.” you say

He snaps out of him. He grabs your arms “PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!” he begs you

“Eh… we won’t…” you say

“NO I MEAN WHEN WE GET OUT OF HERE! I DON’T WANNA BE ALONE WITH THAT GUY I KNOW HE’S GONNA FIND ME!” he pleads

“Oh… Well…” you slowly turn to Eli “It’s kinda your call isn’t it…?”

“Well I don’t wanna leave him alone…” she says under her breath

“YEAH!” you and Muse cheer. “HE’S ON THE TEAM!” you shout

Muse tries to hug Eli but she pushes him away. “No.” she bluntly says.

After that excitement, you continue going deeper in the mine. It’s unnerving that you haven’t found any monsters yet. Something’s telling you that your luck is about to run out soon enough.

> 1. Follow the mine rails
> 2. Start heading into some caves
> 3. Go lower into the mines

>>3959943
Follow the mine rails
Couse they going to lead to where the goodies are.

>>3959943
>> 3. Go lower into the mines
There must be something. Either the door to the next floor, or some long forgotten ore vein.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

rolling for a tie breaker

choice 3 it is, roll a 3d100 for me

DC 70

>>3960975

Rolled 41, 56, 96 = 193 (3d100)

>>3960975
Cry of the Raven, Scream of the Dove

Rolled 97, 72, 23 = 192 (3d100)

>>3960975
I'm sure this will end well.

Rolled 98, 16, 61 = 175 (3d100)

>>3961047
What my roll didnt go though??

>>3960975
You all decide to jump off the mine rails and dive deeper into the mines. Either you find the next door to the next floor or you find some goodies along the way. It would be a Godsend to find some silver. The things you could do with silver and the monsters you could kill… It’d open up a brand new avenue.

As you traverse deeper into the mines, it’s become harder and harder to see. One of you might break your neck or fall into a hole if you aren’t careful so you lit up your entire arm and started leading so you could pave a way down. You’re half worried that it’ll burn up the fur on Nanook.

“What monsters are we trying to find for your foxgirl again?” Muse asks

“Something magical.” you say

“That’s super vague.” Muse says

“We’re trying to find something along the lines of an Elemental.”

“Or a Demon. Ghosts could work too.

“Your out of your mind if you think I’m letting you keep either of those.”

“WHAT?! WHY?!”

“I understand that you don’t know much about Nazarism, but you’ll be hard pressed to find any religious person who’s going to be fine with keeping an Undead around.”

“Or any normal person really… I don't wanna get possessed... Or go to whatever Hell those things come from.”

“You guys are killjoys.” you pout

Eli falls silent for a moment. She looks like she’s hesitant to get a word in. “...I don’t know why we’re trying to help Kyu.”

“Excuse me?” there’s a harsh tone in your voice.

“Wilhem. She’s a Demon.” Eli bluntly states
Cont.

>>3961566
You aren’t really sure what to say. She’s wrong, you know she’s wrong, but you don’t know how to put it into words. She sees that disgust in your face and tries her best to convince you.

“I’m not just saying this Wilhem, I’ve thought about this since we met her. Think about it for a second. She eats the magic and life force out of things, she’s incredible at using magic and she doesn’t even look completely human. We weren’t the only people she attacked you know? How are you so sure she didn’t kill anyone?” she asks

“She said-”

“And that’s the other thing.” she interrupts you “Why are you putting so much faith into her? She was using Goblins to attack people. How did it not slip your mind that she might not be any different than them? I nearly had an aneurysm just by glancing at her, but you can’t see it?”

“Stop. You’re going way too far.” you’re trying to get Eli to back down

“Why? I know what those things can do to people. I don’t want it happening to you Wilhem.” she tries to get closer to you but you back off.

You feel like you’re about to go off. You’ve heard this type of speech before, you’ve seen this kind of attitude. It's just an excuse to hurt people that haven’t done anything wrong, it doesn’t help that you’ve only seen this from zealots that call themselves Nazarist. You hoped Eli was different. Were you really wrong?

You’re about to say something but, “Does anyone smell that?” you get a whiff of something strange. Its oddly familiar but you but you can’t quite put your finger on it.

“Don’t change the subject Wilhem.”

“No I’m serious does anyone smell that?”

“I don’t really smell anything…” Muse quietly says

“Wil I’m being serious!”

“So am I! I swear to God, this is gonna bug me if I don’t figure it out.” it’s on the tip of your tongue. You’ve been in caves and mines more times than you can count so why can’t you remember? Why does this remind you of canaries?

You turn completely pale “GU-” that was all you managed to get in. You finally figured it out, it was methane, or something similar to that. One match is enough to make it go boom. Your arm may as well have been on fire, it was more than enough to ignite the air around you and explode.
Cont.

File: cave.jpg (325 KB, 1500x905)

325 KB JPG

>>3961568
You aren’t sure what happened after. Nanook went into overdrive, you wanted to survive, you wanted everyone to survive. You tackled Muse and Eli right into the ground right as the explosion happened. It was enough to shield them from the blast. You take it more or less, it helped that the explosion barely scorched you.

Everything else was a blur, all you remember was falling after that. You almost expected to be crushed to death but you didn’t even feel anything on top of you. All you felt was a loud thud before everything went black.

You finally wake up. At least you think you do. Everything is dark and you can’t really move. Your ears are ringing but you think you hear something. You struggle to try to get up, it feels like you were buried alive.

It's getting easier to move as you continue to struggle. You feel like you can actually catch your breath now. Your arms finally get out of all the rubble and someone pulls you out.

You’re coughing out dirt and trying to catch you breath. Looks like Muse is out and completely fine. His lyre doesn’t even have a scratch on it. Eli seems alright too, she was the one that pulled you out.

She’s hugging you and almost brought to tears “I thought you died-”

“Yup I’m fine-” you say. You really don’t like touching people too much and she’s hurting your ribs but you don’t want to be mean. It does feel nice when she does it though if you ignore the pain. She finally lets you go after she regains her composure.

Other than a few scratches, you’re fine. You aren’t trapped as far as you can tell, the explosion made you fall down much deeper into the cave and you don’t know how to get back. There are 2 paths to take thankfully.

Before you could choose, you hear something wail beyond one of them. It’s getting louder and you can hear its footsteps from where you’re sitting. You don’t need Nanook to tell you that you shouldn’t go anywhere near whatever is in that direction.

“We need to get the fuck out of here” Muse says

“Uh, yeah, agreed.” you say

You run towards the other path but Eli stops dead in her tracks and keeps you and Muse from running.

“Elisheba lets go, we’re gonna die if we stay here!” Muse shouts

“N-no.” she’s trembling “Not there.”

She’s holding on to her head. Is she sensing something in there? You aren’t getting anything from that cave. Nanook isn’t give you the faintest warning.

“Eli we really don’t have time for this-” you try to reason with her

“If we go in there, we’re going to die. Please, don’t go in.” she’s almost begging you.

“WE’RE GONNA DIE IF WE STAY! THAT MONSTER IS GONNA BE HERE ANY SECOND!” Muse is trying to drag Eli into the cave

What should you do?

> 1. Face the monster
> 2. Drag Eli along and run

>>3961570
Face the monster
Eil get your shit together

>>3961570
>> 1. Face the monster

Ask her what she senses down the other route

File: mole_rat.jpg (42 KB, 736x569)

42 KB JPG

>>3961570
“Muse, stop it.” you slap his hands away from Eli “We’re staying.”

“ARE YOU INSANE? DO YOU NOT HEAR THE FUCKING BEHEMOTH COMING AFTER US?” he shouts

You look into the direction of the monster. It feels like Nanook is physically hurting you in an attempt to force you to run away, “You have no idea. But look at her.”

You don’t think you’ve ever seen that look on Eli’s face before. Her eyes are completely focused down that route, she’s absolutely terrified. You don’t think she’s even noticed the monster you tried running from.

“What are even sensing down that route?” you ask

“I-I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever sensed anything like it before. It’s just… Terrifying.” she’s still trembling. “Please don’t go.”

There are tremors all around the cave, you can barely keep yourself still. The monster is dangerously close.

“Get ready, we’re gonna fight that thing.” you say.

Muse is gritting his teeth “Goddamn it… not like this...”

You put your hand on his shoulder “You aren’t going to die, neither of you are going to die, I promise. Start playing.”

Muse takes a deep breath “Elisheba, get your shit together, we’re about to perform.” he says as he walks behind the two of you.

Eli still looks petrified. You tap her on the shoulder “I need you here. It’s gonna be fine. Whatever it is you’re seeing, it's not gonna hurt you, I'll make sure of it”

She nods. She snapped out of and unsheathes her shortsword.

Something bursts through the cave. Muse starts playing.

https://youtu.be/mTLunRuCGQQ

Its a Mole Rate, at least you think it is. It must be 2 maybe 3 times bigger than you, its arms look engorged and its nails look like giant metal spikes. You don’t see any eyes. Is it blind? Maybe you have a chance to escape.

Its ears start twitching, it turns its head to you. It noticed you almost immediately. It starts wailing and smashing its arms into the ground. It cuts through the rocks and dirt as if it were butter. It lunges for you.

Now or never, what weapon are you going to use.

> 1. Lucky Strike
> 2. Florence Bounty
> 3. Lagun
> 4. Forkfu

>>3963972
> 1. Lucky Strike
Find it's weak spot and keep hammering away at it

>>3964093
+1

>>3963972
> 1. Lucky Strike
Mybe use rocks to distract it? Or try to cut its ears off or we just have to bear yell into this things ears to make them burst then it can find use anymore.

Just a suggestion : using our roar at some point ?

>>3964347
Im down for that.
Ince we close enguh to it, roar should fuck up its hearing and let us fight it easyer.

>>3964360
I was mostly thinking about the risks for Eli and Muse though, they should get out of range, plus we're in a cave so, acoustic and such

>>3963972
You tried taking out Lucky Strike but the Mole Rat was going to get a hit in before you could do anything. It pushed itself away from you at the last second. Eli tried attacking you while it was gunning for you. The impact of her blow creates a decently sized crater in the ground. If it hadn’t dodged, its head would’ve been cut clean off, but something tells you that you wouldn’t have come out unscathed.

“That thing is smarter than it lets on.” Eli says

The Mole is sniffing its surroundings and sharpening its claws with the boulders around it.

“It feels like it's just a wild animal.” you say

“It’s not. You’ll regret it if you treat it like one.” Eli says

It’s not attacking. You take this opportunity to pinpoint its weak points with Lucky Strike. Of course its head and chest are going to be weak spots but... “Try to go for its nose or ears next time.” you say

“I was thinking of going for its arms, maybe leave it with one less way for it to kill us.” she says

The Mole’s ear starts twitching. You and Eli take this as a chance to attack.

That thing is much faster than it looks. For every hit you try to get in, Eli has already attacked it 6 or 7 times, not like it does any damage though, she can just barely scratch it. You clearly did no better whenever you did try to land a hit, your best weapons are probably pole arms and even then, you’re lousy compared to the average fighter. So it comes as no shock to you that you haven’t been able to hit it once

Nanook, Muse’s song and Eli are carrying you throughout the entire exchange and you’re still useless. You’re always a few seconds off. You swing for its head, it leaps back, you go for its ears, it tilts its head, you aim for its chest, it tries to claw you in two. You’d be dead by now if Eli wasn’t forcing the thing to be more careful.

Eli nicked its nose. For a moment, it was paralyzed. You saw your opportunity. You put all your strength into your arms and struck at one of the Mole’s hands. Its its main line of attack so better to cripple it than to try and go for the kill. The attack was enough to create a small shockwave cloud everything around you.

When the dust settled, you saw that your attack was completely ineffectual, it didn’t even leave a scratch.

“WHAT?!” you scream

The Mole starts wailing and begins slamming its and breaking and cutting everything in its path. You and Eli flee

“Either that thing’s hands are made of diamond or I’m a lousy shot.” you say panting

“You have any ideas?” Eli asks

> 1. Battle Roar into one of its ears
> 2. Aim for its nose
> 3. Aim for its shoulder
> 4. Aim for its leg
> 5. Hide behind some boulders and tire it out
> 6. Throw the explosive powder at it

>>3964951

> 1. Battle Roar into one of its ears
If this dont work then i guse fire boom?
Hooefully we can mine its arms once this is over

roll a 1d100+10

DC 100

Rolled 33 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3965128
Well I'm not hitting that DC

Rolled 20 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3965128

>>3965128
I offer salvation.

Rolled 35 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

Roll.

>>3965396
No need to thank me for that sweet 45.

Rolled 92 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>3965128

>>3966347
Hope this counts.

>>3965128
“Yeah… yeah I think I do. If it doesn’t have eyes then it relies on everything else right..?” you say

“Where are you going with this?” Eli sounds concerned

“I’m gonna scream in its ear.” you say

“Wilhem, please PLEASE don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard.” she says

“No no. It’ll work! You’ve seen what I can do when I scream with Nanook on.” you say

“YOU ONLY HIT IT ONCE WIL!” she screams out you

“Yeah but I nailed it.”

“NO YOU DIDN’T, YOU DIDN’T EVEN MAKE A DENT!!”

“LOOK LOOK, I JUST need a couple of seconds, I don’t even need to touch it, I just need to stand right in front of it and scream at the top of my lungs.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Eh, no. You see how far Muse is from us?” you point to him “We’re in a cave, I’m positive that I could make his ears ring from where I’m standing. You’re going deaf if you’re right next to me, and that's if you’re lucky. You’re keeping your distance.”

“Are you seeing what that thing is doing right now?”

The Mole Rat looks like it's throwing a tantrum. Its clawing away at everything around it, it looks like the faintest bit of pressure is enough to cut through stone with ease.

“It gets one clean hit on you and its cutting you in half.” Eli says

“And that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” You start walking towards the Mole “Just trust that I can do it. Trust me like I trust you.” you hold up your rabbit's foot charm as you say this.

Eli holds on to her rabbit’s foot charm in turn. She grits her teeth and falls back.

You aren’t stupid, there’s a good chance that thing is hitting you, but fortune favors the bold and you bold and you feel braver knowing that you have some potions to fall back on. It’s not like you’ve gone through worse either. You’ve got the scars to prove it. Some rat like this isn’t enough to make you shiver.

It stopped rolling around when it approached you. It really got pissed off when Eli cut its nose. It looks like it wants to take off its anger on you
Cont.

>>3966547
It quickly closes the distance. It reaches its claws out as it tries skewering you but you narrowly dodge out of the way. You’re just close enough to completely destroy its hearing. You take a deep breath.

The Mole doesn’t stop its attack. It lunges towards you. It opens up its hand and tries to claw at you. You’re still in midair and can’t do anything about it, you brace for impact. It’s too late, right as it was touching your armor, you let out a roar.

The sound filled the entire cave. You almost felt like you were going to make it collapse onto itself but thankfully it stood sturdy. The Mole’s ears started gushing out blood like a faucet.

Eli immediately grabbed you before you could touch the ground or attack the Mole. She was prepared to step in the moment you failed, must’ve disappointed her. She sticks the landing all while carrying you.

“You’re NEVER doing that again.” she scolds you

The Mole however, goes on a blind rampage. Whether it's because of intense pain or because its sense of hearing is completely shot, it borrows itself into the ground. It's crashing and breaking everything underground and creating tremors. It's almost like its trying to make everything cave in.

> 1. Run for it
> 2. Follow the Mole
> 3. Try to force the Mole out of the ground

>>3966549
2. Follow the Mole
Wnaa see where it leads.

>>3966347
nice clutch btw, i was about to start writing when i saw this

>>3966549
>> 3. Try to force the Mole out of the ground

Rolled 2 (1d2)

rolling and writing

actually nevermind, roll a 1d100+10

DC 80

>>3967172
Meant to say 1d100+15

Rolled 49 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3967172
>>3967176
roll

Rolled 60 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3967172

Rolled 86 + 15 (1d100 + 15)

>>3967172

>>3967528
Let me teach you all about the 101 of roling.

>>3967172
“NO YOU FUCKING DON’T!” You jump out of Eli’s arms and run into the hole “I DID NOT ALMOST FUCKING DIE JUST SO YOU CAN AWAY COME HERE!”

“Wil wait!” Eli tries to stop you but you lose her on your way down.

The tremors are getting worse, you keep falling over yourself trying to find that Mole. You still hear Muse playing in all this chaos. That guy is a lot of things but he sure is persistent and you admire that.

That Mole may as well be swimming in the ground. It’s not dark here but there are so many tunnels, you don’t even know where to go or how to find it. Your only saving grace is that the Mole keeps wailing and screaming as it digs through.

You run like a mad man. You’ve put too much work into this and refuse to have it go to waste. You narrowly see it every so often but it disappears before you could catch it.

By pure accident, it dug up right in front of you. You didn’t let this opportunity go to waste, you latched on to its leg and held on for dear life.

The monster has gone mad, it has no sense of direction and keeps injuring itself as it digs through, you’re getting motion sickness but you refuse to let go. You’re waiting for your opportunity, its tiring itself out trying to flee, but it doesn’t know where to go.

You see it. You’re right near the edge of where you fought this thing. You hope off while still holding on to its hindlegs and dig your heels into the ground. You’re going to drag this thing out by force.

Your arms feels like they were about to be torn off but you stopped the Mole. It tries to desperately flee but it doesn’t look like it knows what to do. You almost feel bad for it. Almost.

You slowly drag it out of the ground. It takes everything out of you and it nearly slips out of your hands as you make your way out. You finally make it out but… “Goddamn…” you slam the Mole into the ground as hard as you can “USELESS FUCKING RAT!”

You continue slamming the Mole Rat into the ground in anger. You’re genuinely enraged.

https://youtu.be/_bYldqEjOUA

Muse changes his song for some reason. You feel yourself calming down.

“Wil stop!” Eli shouts at you “We have to get out now!”

You snap out of it. Everything around you is falling and collapsing on itself.

> 1. Flee into the path the Mole first came from
> 2. Flee into the other path

>>3968089
> 1. Flee into the path the Mole first came from
But frist we gota loot

File: bloodlust.jpg (78 KB, 1280x720)

78 KB JPG

>>3968089
Muse has already hightailed it out of there after you stopped attacking that Mole Rat and you and Eli soon followed suit. You slammed the Mole Rat enough times to make it stop struggling so much, so you drag it along with you as you run to safety. It’s still absurdly heavy and you’re struggling to move.

“Let go of that thing!” Eli says

“NO!” you shout at her “I AM DYING HERE IF I CAN’T TAKE THIS WITH ME!”

She doesn’t even try to argue with you, she helps you drag the Mole Rat with you as you run to safety. You both make it to the other side with minimal damage and the cave collapses once again.

Muse is sitting down trying to catch his breath when you make it there and Eli looks relieved that everyone made it out safe and sound. You’re just happy you still brought the Mole Rat with you.

“Can we please just… Fucking not have another cave in for the love of God? Please? I JUST WANNA CATCH MY GODDAMN BREATH!” Muse screams in frustration

“Yeah… I think we’re good to rest for now.” Eli says

“GREAT! Ima kill this thing.” you point to the half dead Mole Rat “It's still alive so give me a minute.”

“You know, I think someone needs to say this. You’re WAY stronger than I thought you were.” Muse says

“Everything adds up when most of your job is just carrying things around and hitting slabs of metal for hours at a time.” you say as you pull out Lucky Strike

“But you’re lanky.” Muse says

“No I’m not. Am I?” you start inspecting yourself

“Can we talk about how aggressive you’ve gotten by the way? You were not like this when we first met.” Eli says

“I wouldn’t say I’m aggressive.” you say

“You ragdolled the Mole for a few minutes Wilhem.” Muse says

“Eh… Alright fine, it’s definitely Nanook. I think I’ve always had a short temper but this armor has REALLY done a number on me.” you say

“Why are you still wearing it then…?” Eli asks

“It's a very nice set of armor Eli. And it's not like I turned into a wild beast right?” you climb on top of the Mole

“That’s not what I mean, do you not understand that maybe it's not healthy to wear something that’s affecting your head?” she says

“I have self control. If I ever mess up because of this armor, then I’m taking it off and never wearing it again, and right now, it's only been doing me favors.” you say.

The Mole starts moving “Now if you’ll excuse me.” you start violently hitting the Mole’s head, some blood splatters on you helmet and chest as you relentlessly hit it. You finally stop when you hear a cracking sound.

“Aaaaand all done.” you say. Muse and Eli stare at you in shocked silence as you look back at them. Blood slowly drips off your helmet as you get hop off the now dead Mole Rat.

“Okay maybe I went too far…” you say

Muse points behind you.

“What?” you turn around. You’re not sure what they saw, but something feels… Disturbing.
Cont.

File: stranger.jpg (315 KB, 890x1350)

315 KB JPG

>>3968377
It's not a curse, you aren’t sensing a monster, you can’t even see anything, this is just bloodlust. Something is coming your way and its itching to murder you. You start stepping back out of fear. It's not like the Corrupted Bear, it's not like this Mole Rat either, it’s something far beyond anything you’ve ever seen before.

“Wilhem. Get behind me.” Eli orders

You don’t argue, you do as your told. Your back is literally against the wall. The last route of escape was caved in, none of you can run away and this thing is getting closer now.

“I thought it was on the other side of the cave… why is it here...” Eli draws her sword. She’s shaking.

You can’t even hear anything, no footsteps, no roars or wails or cries, but you can still feel that evil getting closer. You’re definitely not winning if you try to fight, none of you are.

You run up to Muse and take out an escape crystal “Here.” you whisper to him “Crush it and get out now. We’re dying if we stay here.”

“What?! What about you and Elisheba?” Muse asks

“Its fine. I got it.” you say

You only have one other escape crystal left. Either you force Eli to use it and face an inevitable demise, or you use it and you live with the fact that you let someone like Elisheba die. You grit your teeth.

You take out Lagun and stand side by side with Elisheba. You’ll chance it, you’re not leaving Eli alone and you don’t want to die, you hope you won’t have to decide but you feel like you’ll eventually have to.

Whatever you felt finally comes out of the shadows. It's a man. Just a man.

“Ah! People!” He looks at the dead Mole Rat “And here I thought I had to keep working.” he chuckles to himself.

Something about him just doesn’t feel right. He acts human but that bloodlust around him is terrifying you. You’re still holding on to Lucky Strike for dear life. Eli looks like she’s about to attack at any second.

“Hmm?” the stranger tilts his head. He notices you’re in attack position. “Oh silly me! I’m still “on” aren’t I?”

Whatever malice you sensed a second ago completely vanished in an instant. You haven’t the faintest clue what he did but it puts you at ease at the very least. You still can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with him and you don’t know if you should lower your guard to this stranger. Eli still looks like she’s about strike at any moment. What should you do?

> 1. Drop your weapon
> 2. Ask the stranger who he is
> 3. Ask the stranger what he did just now

>>3968379
>> 2. Ask the stranger who he is

>>3968379
2. Ask the stranger who he is

>>3968379
You tighten your grip on Lagun. You don’t know who this man is and you still can’t shake that aura he had around him not a few moments ago. It felt like he was going to murder, it was like he could’ve done about as casually as you could step on a bug.

“Still defensive I see.” he notices that you and Eli aren’t letting your guard down. He looks over you and stares at Muse. “I presume the other one isn’t a fighter? Aren’t you that rowdy musician from the Guild?”

Muse looks like he wanted to answer but he’s having a hard time finding the right words.

“Who are you?” you ask

“Godfrey, at your service!” he bows “Very sorry about earlier, I thought I was still working, if I had known there were other adventurers here, I would’ve made myself look proper.”

“Working?” Eli says

“Yes! Me and an associate were on a quest you see. There were some awfully suspicious earthquakes happening at the 3rd floor of the dungeon-”

“3rd?” you cut him off “I thought we were on the 2nd I went through a door and everything” you say

“Ah yes well, there are other ways to get through dungeons sir, I assume you went through some hole in the ground?” he asks

“And may have blown up something on accident yeah.” you admit

“Ah so that was you! And here I thought my dear Marillac couldn’t handle herself.” he says relieved “I assume the more recent one came from this rascal.” he says as he kicks the Mole corpse

“Yeah… Pretty tough monster.” you say

“Mmm… I wouldn’t say a baby is tough.” he says

You eyes widen “What?”

“Ah! Well that circles back to why I came here! Follow me.” he says

All of you stay in place. He’s polite but he’s a total stranger to you and he didn’t make the best first impression. You’re still unsure about him.

He turns his head “Come on! Don’t be shy.” he says

You start following him. Eli grabs your arm “Are you sure about this?” she asks you

“He’s our coworker right?” you answer
Cont.

>>3968983
Eli sighs as she follows your lead, Muse follows suit as he keeps his distance. Eli still has her sword drawn, it feels like she’s aiming to attack Godfrey in a moment’s notice.

A few minutes of walking lead you to what you could describe as a graveyard. Dozens of dead Moles littered the cave. Most of them were bigger than the one you fought and all of them ripped open in a variety of ways. You’re still covered in blood from killing off your Mole, but this man doesn’t even smell dirty at all, you don’t even see any weapons on him.

“I was on a quest to kill some Moles who were causing a disturbance. It was apparently a tough job given that 3 adventurers came before me and haven’t been heard from since.” Godfrey explains

“You killed these monsters?” Eli asks

“Naturally. These are all the children though, my associate killed the mother.” he says

“There’s a mother?” Eli asks

“Yes! She eclipses everyone of these too! I wouldn’t worry though, my associate has taken care of that.” he says

“A mother… A baby… ” Eli looks completely demoralized. You don’t know if its because she helped murder a baby or because she had a hard time killing it, maybe a mix of both. You on the other hand aren’t sure if you should be disappointed in yourself or terrified that a baby nearly killed you.

> 1. Ask if you can keep the bodies
> 2. Ask how he’s getting out the cave
> 3. Ask how he killed everyone by himself

>>3968984
>> 2. Ask how he’s getting out the cave
Escape should be first priority.

>>3968984
Ask if you can keep the bodies

Rolled 2 (1d2)

rolling and writing

>>3968984
Godfrey notices Eli’s reaction, “I wouldn’t take it personally Miss. You’re still green. How long have you been an adventurer?”

“A little over a week…” Eli answers

“My! A week? You look don’t even look over 20! You’ve only just started climbing the mountain, don’t stop just because someone else has reached the peak before you have!” Godfrey says trying to cheer her up. Eli looks like she lowered her guard after hearing his words but she still keeps her sword drawn.

He’s a very strange man. Very cordial and kind, and oozing with experience. If that’s the case, then maybe you can ask him for a favor.

“You mind if I take some of these?” you ask Godfrey

“I mind very much yes.” Godfrey says “I’m meant to get 1 silver coin per body and 10 gold coins if I bring back the mother, bodies add up and I have mouths to feed. You understand correct?”

“Yeah I guess…” you sound disappointed

“With that being said, I’d very much like to keep that Mole you killed.” Godfrey asks

“What?! No!” you blurt out

“You must understand, it’ll be worth much more to me than it would be to you.” he says

“1 goddamn body is worth more in my hands than it is to whoever you’d be giving it to.” you say

“That might be true-”

“IT IS TRUE!” you cut him off

“-But again, I have a reputation, is there anything I could do to make you reconsider?”

> 1. Just take the body
> 2. Absolutely not, the body is mine
> 3. What can you offer me?

By the way, sorry I was gone for most of the day, i was otherwise preoccupied. I have finals pretty soon but I still want to run this quest whenever I have time. My schedule will by wide open January though so i'll be looking forward to that

>>3971159
Show him lucky strike and tell him how quick it was made and how fine of a weapon it is to maybe persuade him that indeed you're better off with the body (i know the modifications on lucky strike came after, let's at least try to bluff this maybe ?)

If he's still not convinced, ask :

3. What can you offer me ?
[That could be better than what we can actually smith ourselves]

>>3971381
This. If he absolutely won't be moved and wants the body to keep, ask if we could at least work with the material before he takes it over.

>>3971159
. Absolutely not, the body is mine

>>3971159
“ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, hear me out” you try convincing him

You hand Godfrey Lucky Strike.

“A warpick? Not something I would use but I’m sure it has its uses.” Godfrey says

“It does. That’s why I made.” you say

“Ah! So this is yours! How long did it take? A week? 2 weeks?”

“A few seconds give or take, I kinda rushed it but it turned out good.” you say

“Oh! Truly? And here I thought you were the odd man out next to the redhead and the musician.” Godfrey says

It’s hard trying to talk to a man with a helmet on. You can’t tell his reactions or facial expressions, it doesn’t help that it sounds like he’s talking down to you. He’s right but he doesn’t have to be passive aggressive about it.

You take out Florence Bounty “Same with this sword, and same with my armor, and same with Elisheba’s armor. I made all of it with my own two hands. I’m not lying when I say 1 body is infinitely more valuable in my hands.”

Godfrey takes a few swings with Lucky Strike. He’s doing it so casually but it feels like he could cave your chest in if he decided to aim for you.

“Nope! The bodies stay with me.” Godfrey says as he hands you back Lucky Strike. You look completely disheartened.

“Once again, I have a reputation. That’s more valuable than all the money in the world. So I must go above and beyond each time if I am to be respected. I must turn in the bodies as they are. However...” he goes on

“Someone like you is invaluable in a certain sense. I’d very much like to see you work sometime soon.” he says

“I can do it now. Eli! find me a good rock!” you say

Godfrey shakes his head, “I have an appointment soon and I have to make sure my associate hasn’t been crushed to death. We can talk when we leave.” he says

“Oh… Well I have something that I have to do in this dungeon.” you say

“Is that right? Well, we can talk later then!” Godfrey says

> 1. Give Godfrey your Mole as a gesture of good faith
> 2. Try to get something from Godfrey by giving your Mole
> 3. Let Godfrey leave

>>3972286
>> 3. Let Godfrey leave

>>3972286
. Let Godfrey leave

>>3972286
Godfrey pulls something out of his jacket, its a bag. It looks alive, its glowing and growling at Godfrey, it almost looks like its trying to bite him.

“It's always a hassle trying to use one of these, nearly lost a finger when I first got it.” Godfrey says

Godfrey opens the bag. A vortex jumps out and encompasses the cave. For some reason, you don’t feel anything, not even a breeze, Eli and Muse look fine too, but every corpse in the cave is sucked in and forcefully stuffed into the bag.

When it’s all over, Godfrey quickly closes it and puts it back into his jacket. “Would highly recommend getting one of these.”

“Ah… Yeah I’ll think about it” you say nervously

“Well! I hope you make something interesting next time we meet! I’d be very disappointed if you didn’t do anything interesting with your Mole! Oh and Elisheba was it?” he says looking at Eli “Is that thing just for show?”

He’s staring at necklace you got for Eli.

“Are you talking about the cross? Well, it was a gift but it's not just decoration if thats what your asking?” Eli answers

“Ah! Its surprisingly rare to find a kindred spirit in these parts!” Godfrey gleefully says

“What?!” Eli’s eyes widen

“Now I know you’ll find me! And I’m off!” Godfrey vanishes. He was too quick for you to figure out where he went, it was like he teleported away. All of you were left completely puzzled from this encounter.

“...I am so confused…” Muse says

“What was he talking about? Did you understand him?” you ask Eli

“I-I think so? I don’t know, I’m getting a real headache now…” she says

You think about Godfrey as you go to get the Mole corpse. This must’ve been the first time you’ve met a real pro. Something tells you that you’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

> 1. Store the Mole for later
> 2. Upgrade a weapon
> 3. Make a new weapon

>>3972728
1. Store the Mole for later

>>3972728
>> 1. Store the Mole for later

>>3972728
Mole corpse stored

You lay down and catch your breath after grabbing the body, it's been a long day.

“Are we staying here for the night? ” Eli asks

“I just wanna catch my breath, it's just been nonstop since we almost exploded.” Muse says

“Again, I apologize.” you say

“There’s no way you could’ve known, I don’t blame you for that.” Muse says “But I just want to sit down and not have to be afraid of getting blown up, being crushed to death, or getting ripped open by a giant animal.”

“Or whatever the fuck that Godfrey guy was.” you add on

Eli grab onto her necklace when you mention his name.

“Didn’t he say that he’s seen you before?” you ask Muse

“I see a lot of people at the Guild and I definitely don’t remember that guy.” Muse says “Though, he’s definitely a cut above the rest, I’m certain of that.”

“What do you mean?” Eli says

“I’m not like either of you guys, I don’t have that thing that can tell me how strong or dangerous someone is, I’m practically blind. Given that, I somehow had the intuition to wanna run for it when he found us. Someone like him, someone who could make your blood run cold just by looking in your general direction, he’s absurd.” Muse says

“I thought all adventurers would be like that.” Eli says

Muse looks at Eli weirdly “We’re practically overglorified mercenaries, why’d you think it was so easy to register?”

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t actually read most of that application they gave me.” you admit

“WILHEM!” Eli shouts at you

“I DON’T LIKE READING!” you shout back

“Well, it doesn’t matter, they don’t expect you to know how to read or write. If you’re fine with dying, then you’re in the club. Most adventurers are cannon fodder.” Muse says

“Then how do you explain The Knights of Stone? Or Godfrey? Or any one of us for that matter?” Eli says

“Don’t even try to compare us to the First Citizen’s Knights. At best, we’re one in a thousand, they’re one in a billion, we’re insignificant next to any one of them.” Muse says

“That still doesn’t mean we’re cannon fodder.” Eli says

Muse sighs “I think you might overestimate how much value an adventurer has.”

> 1. You have a point but don’t be so brazen about it
> 2. You’re wrong, we’re more than that
> 3. You’re right, we might as well be mercenaries

>>3973456
You have a point but don’t be so brazen about it

yeah, sorry guys, not gonna be able to continue this quest right now. Its really eating into my time for finals so i'll continue it on Wednesday

>>3974231
All good, study hard qm and im sure youl pass.

change of plans, gonna put this quest on hold until after christmas. I'm not gonna be able to properly finish and i don't wanna half ass it. Sorry about that

>>3977557
Thats ok, thanks for letts us know.
Have a good xmass and new years