You decide to save yourself the trouble and go it alone. You’re sure that even if you could get ahold of one of your associates, you would be wasting time in the process. With your mind made up, you make your way to the brewery, slipping through alleys and rooftops at an incredible pace. Soon you find yourself on the lower west side, the most wealthy and well guarded section of the city. The place is so well guarded in fact that it is gated off from the rest of the city. Of course these measures do little to stop you, and you continue your trek unabated. There are a few upscale homes in the area, but the main attraction is of course, the various breweries that are scattered the district. Slowly but surely, the amount of structures in the area start to thin out, leaving you out in the open with little in the way of cover aside from a few sparse groupings of trees and bushes.

Eventually you stumble upon a few members of the city guard. Many of them are either dead or unconscious and you can tell that some of the downed guards are the results of Jut’s handiwork. You step over and around the bodies as you press on, you get the sense that things are about to get much harder. Your suspicions are confirmed when you see several fires spring up in the distance. It seems as if the vineyards are being burned along with a few storerooms. You can also hear the sounds of galloping horses in the distance; it’s likely that the guards called for reinforcements. Upon taking in all of the sights and sounds, you move at an even quicker pace than before as you make your way to Hughes. By the time you get there an all out battle is being waged. To your surprise however there is a third group involved in this scuffle: The Scarlet Bats. There seem to be scores of them around and as you maneuver through the chaos, it seems that more and more are arriving.

You take out your dirk and prepare for the fight of your life. With nothing more than a thought, your enchanted dirk erupts into flames and you get to work slashing at both the guards and Bats alike. Your efforts have little affect on the struggle as the three-way battle rages on. As you’re dispatching another Bat, a firm grip latches onto your shoulder and pulls you around the corner of the brewery. You immediately lash out, but are stopped by another firm hand grabbing your wrist. Once you look up, you see that you aren’t in any danger from this man.

(cont.)

>>4033308

“Devon? What are you doing here?” Asks Jut as he lets go of your arms.

“Looking for you. What is all of this about? This place is a warzone and it’s getting worse by the minute.”

As you say this, one of the city guards goes flying through a nearby window. As soon as the man collided with the floor, a large shadowed creature with bright yellow eyes leaps from the second story window and lands on the poor soul, ending his life in an instant. It stands upright and bares its blood stained fangs at the two of you.

“I hate it when you’re right.” Proclaims Jut as he readies his spear. “I’ll explain everything later.”

The beast stares at the two of you with pure malice as it talks its way over to you. It’s fur, claws, and fangs are covered in blood and a few daggers a stuck within its flesh. These were the only details you could observer before the beast broke into a sprint and batted you a few feet away. As the scenery around you tumbles, you end up landing next to one of Jut’s raiders. The man is still breathing but you can tell he isn’t going to make it. The edge of a blade is lodged deep within his ribs yet the rest of the swords is nowhere to be found. As you get up and steady yourself, you suddenly notice the deep claw marks etched into your leather armor. Oddly enough, the claw marks have a faint orange glow to them but they seem to do nothing when you put your fingers to them.

Turning you attention back to the matter at hand, you make your way back to Jut who is keeping the monster at a distance. You consider flanking the beast for a moment, but fighting out here might give the creature a distinct mobility advantage over the both of you.


What will you do?

>Suggest retreating into the brewery

>Fight this beast out in the open with Jut

>Attempt to lure the beast to where most of the fighting is taking place

>Write in

>>4033314
>>Fight this beast out in the open with Jut

>>4033314
>>>Fight this beast out in the open with Jut

>>4033510
>>4034848
Before I do anything else, I want to be open with you guys. The last two posts for the story were supposed to lead to a cliffhanger and they were also supposed to take place in thread #2. Unfortunately the thread was archived before I had the chance to properly bring it to a close.

I had planned to announce that the quest would be going on a hiatus as I being work on another idea I've been cooking up recently. Of course I didn't get that chance and I felt that it wouldn't be right to go silent without explaining things so I created this thread.

Here's what I'm going to do, I'll run for a few days and try to get to another decent stopping point in time. I may have to cut some planned events out in order to wrap this up quickly but I'll try to keep things running smoothly. Depending on how quickly things move, I may be able to tie everything up within a week or so. Once again, when this thread is over, it's going on hiatus. It will return eventually.

>>4035232
Sounds fine.

>>4035232
Got it. Thanks OP. Appreciate the heads up, looking forward to the return.

>>4035232
Cool. Looking forward to what you have been cooking up

>>4035309
>>4035437
>>4035662
Alright, now that my little announcement is out of the way we can get back to business.

Roll 1d100

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>4035755

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>4035755

>>4035758
>>4035770
Writing now.

>>4035837

As Jut continues to keep the monster at bay, you flank to the right and deliver a burning stab to the beast’s torso. It quickly turns towards you and lets out a roar before making another swipe at you. This time however, you were prepared and leapt back just in time. Jut takes advantage of the break in the action on his side and jabs the creature in the back. With a grunt he then unleashes a wave of energy from the spear which crackles along the creature’s fur. While the creature is recovering, you give Jut a nod and go for another attack.

The two of you keep up this pattern and manage to land a few more attacks until three members of the Scarlet Bats attack Jut from behind. With them taking up his attention, you are left to fight against the beast alone. It’s sheer speed and raw power is more than enough to keep you on the back foot during the exchange. In spite of your efforts, you can never find an opportunity to strike and your endurance is being pushed to its limits. With each dodge, roll, and maneuver you feel your limbs growing heavier, your efforts to get here have taken heir toll and you have little energy left in reserve.

Before you can consider another course of action, a crossbow bolt goes flying into the monster’s thigh. You turn to see that your savior is none other than a lone town guard who is currently shaking in his boots. As he fumbles over himself attempting to reload the contraption, the beast rushes at him with frightening speed. You don’t even bother to watch the man’s death before you turn to run away and put as much distance between you and the monster as possible. Before you can get far however, you feel a force pulling on your back. As you attempt to fight it and press on, you feel your attempts to move being halted entirely. It seems as if you are being tethered to the general area through some magical force and if that weren’t bad enough, the screams of the guard has begun to die down.


Where will you run?

>To the last place you saw Jut

>Inside the brewery

>Towards the burning vineyards

>Towards the three groups of men who are still fighting tooth and nail

>Write in

>>4035932
>>To the last place you saw Jut

>>4035932
>Last place we saw Jut

Does the pull feel like it's coming from our armor with the glowing claw marks?

>>4035932
>>To the last place you saw Jut

>>4036670
No, you can feel the sensation on your back. However, you can deduce that the claw marks are responsible for this.

>>4036667
>>4036670
>>4036791
Ok, writing now.

>>4037062

With haste, you run back to the last place you saw Jut before you were split up. By now the entire area has been torched and numerous bodies lie everywhere. From what you can see, Jut’s group has been decimated with many of them dead, wounded, or in the midst running off. The only groups that continue the fight are the Bats and the guards, with the Bats taking the brunt of the loses both in part due to their numbers advantage and in spite of it. When you make it back to your to the front of the brewery, all you see are the bodies of the three goons who attacked Jut with the big man himself nowhere to be seen. Before you can think to look for him, a smug voice cuts through the chaos.

“You and your friends certainly made quite the mess out there, cleaning this place up will take awhile.”

You turn to the source of the voice to find a thin, dark haired man wearing a sophisticated brown outfit with gold trimmings on his collar, the cuffs of his sleeves, and even on the ends of his gaudy jacket. He sighs as he watches the flames with a smile on his face.

“I told them that our operations here were too obvious but as usual, they refused my counsel. Now I must account for their negligence once again.”

You grit your teeth as you once again coat your dirk in flames. You then slip into a fighting stance and pull out one of your daggers.

“You aren’t fooling anyone, you’re far too exhausted to put up a fight. Do not fear, I won’t be the one to kill you. Everything is lost, and killing you would only worsen my situation.”

You dig your heels into the ground and maintain your defenses as you await an underhanded attack.

“You still don’t believe me? I’m insulted, I am not some lowly man who needs to undermine and cripple his foes to get results.”

With a snap of his fingers, Jut suddenly appears at your side looking very confused.

“You see? I’m sporting fellow and I even gave you the courtesy of giving you someone to die with. Now for the main attraction!”

The man snaps his fingers once again and the furry beat suddenly appears at his side. It snarls at the both of you but has enough patience to wait for its orders.

“Seeing how unsatisfactory your last encounter with this beast turned out, I’ve decided to make a small adjustment.”

Without warning, the man suddenly moves with the same frightening speed as the beast and shoves his hand deep in the creature’s neck. The man’s once blue eyes turn a faint golden color and a wave of energy exudes from him as the creature writhes in agony. With a satisfied grin on his face, the man takes his hand out of the monster.

“Now that each side has a distinct advantage, I can give this ensuing battle my seal of approval. If you win, you may leave with your lives.” With that, the man flashes a cruel smirk and walks of towards the burning vineyards.

“Let’s put this mutt down already and put that smug bastard in his place.”


Roll 1d100

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>4037167

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>4037167
Did anything change about the.monster? Other than writhing in agony?

Rolled 3 (1d100)

>>4037167

>>4037294
There's nothing outwardly that you can observe but you've seen something like this before earlier in the quest. All I'll say for now is that the creature's anatomy has drastically changed.

>>4037268
>>4037294
>>4037302
The average is 43. I'm going to have a quick snack and then begin writing.

>>4037313

The two of you once again split up and surround the beast, alternating your attacks whenever it is too distracted by one of you to counter. This goes on for a few seconds until the blows you rain upon the beast begin to deflect off of its back After taking another flaming slash from your dirk, the monster leaps high into the air and lands several yards away from you. It then begins to convulse and within seconds, four thick tube-like appendages sprout from its stomach. The fleshy tubes are coated in a mixture of blood and other unidentifiable substances. The beast flails its tubes angrily and points them at your direction.

“Where did that come from!?” Yells Jut in a mixture of shock and revulsion.

“It looks like your friend warped that monster’s body somehow. Stay sharp, we don’t know what other tricks it has.”

As soon as those words left your mouth, four streams of corrosive liquid come flying towards you and narrowly miss. You don’t have any time to survey the damage done to the grass as more streams are fire at you in rapid succession. You and Jut break into a run as the creature begins to chase after you while continuing its assault. Panic begins to set in as the streams hiss past and beyond you, decomposing everything they touch. From the dirt, to trees, to the bodies strewn about the area, nothing is safe.

Once again, you feel a burning in your lungs as your stamina fades. Having little choice, you inject the contents of one of your enduring vials and all feelings of fatigue and exhaustion quickly fade. With these sensations muted, your fear, doubt, and urgency are also cast to the side. You realize that as long as that thing lives, you won’t get an opportunity to escape, and you turn around. You meet the beast ferocious gaze with a determined look and being to meet his charge. Without the limitations of pain or limited stamina, you feel as if you can meet the challenge head on and you intend to do so.

As you run at full speed towards the creature, you dodge more of the streams as they come. Some of the graze or splash you but without the sensation of pain to distract you, such attacks mean nothing to you. With dirk and dagger in hand, you proceed to fight the best with everything you have and this time, while you still can’t match it physically, your vicious yet focused attacks are enough to keep you from falling by its hand. With swift and precise strikes, you manage to cut off one of its tubes and deliver a nasty wound to its chest. You don’t let up for a second and continue the onslaught. Upon seeing your newfound resolve, Jut also throws himself into the fray, doing his best to help but also staying out of your way.

(cont.)

>>4037472

This combination once again proves too much for the monster to handle and without warning, it suddenly sprouts large wings which resemble that of a wasp. It bats the both of you away with its tentacles and takes flight with a horrible buzzing sound. From its new elevation it proceeds to take shots at you while occasionally swooping low to deal a devastating blow from its claws. You and Jut dodge a few off these attacks, but there are a few that land.

Thanks to the contents of the vial, you can continue to stand and fight despite the punishment that your body is currently taking but Jut has nothing but a breastplate and helmet and they are quickly being torn apart and dissolved. With his armor on its last legs, the creature goes for the kill and makes another run for him, preparing to cut him to shreds in a single strike.

Embracing the hopelessness of his situation, Jut once again coats his spear in that all too familiar crackling energy. With a booming shout the man charges at the beast and after planting his feet firmly into the ground, plants his spear deep within the chest of the monster with a two-handed stab. His last ditch effort succeeds and though he is knocked to the ground, the creature tumbles and crashed into the earth below as sparks erupt off of its body. It digs its claws into the dirt and lets out a terrible shriek. It begins to cough up an extreme amount of blood and rapidly beats its wings as it slowly but surely rises to its feet.

Sensing an opportunity, you make your way towards the beast and leap on to of it, plunging your dirk into its chest right next to Jut’s spear. As it takes off, the beast lets out another deafening shriek and writhes in the air while attempting to get rid of you. The tentacles spew more of their acid at you and the beast claws at you as best as it can. In response, you put a dagger through its eye, causing it to lurch and loose altitude.

As you both tumble in the air, you fight off the tentacles and grab onto both the spear and the dirk. Without any hesitation, you reach down deep inside yourself unleash everything you have as the enchanted weapons expel all of their energy in a bright and glorious flash. The creature spasms and his erratic movements throw you off of its back with the last thing you remember being the flaming brewery below you as both you and the monster plummet to the ground.

As you awaken, you feel an unbearable amount of pain as your burned and broken body floats aimlessly through a void. Though one of your eyes is firmly closed shut, you can see a bright green light beaming to the left of you. Everything else is darkness and your only companions are your immutable pain and the faint voices that echo throughout the void.


What will you do?

>Drift towards the green light

>Float in the void

>>4037487
>>Drift towards the green light

>>4037487
>Drift towards the green light

The white light is death so hopefully this is something else?

>>4037517
The green light is the only light, but the void doesn't necessarily mean death.

>>4037526
Action is probably better than inaction in this case

>>4037533
Possibly, though that is to be determined.

>>4037499
>>4037517

It takes everything you have left in you and though your body howls in agony at this sudden shift in momentum, you manage to orient yourself and drift towards the green light. At first the light was clear and illuminated the entire void, but as you drift closer, the light begins to fade and blurs out of focus. Soon the light clouds your vision and you find yourself face to face with what can only be described as an entity. Once your eyes adjust however, you can make out a vaguely female shape. Eventually your eyesight is restored to the point where you can see who you are dealing with. The woman has extremely pale skin, thin strands of dark hair, black lips, and an unnerving glassy stare. The moment a look of recognition crosses your face the creature speaks.

“Well hello there. How is my unwilling partner doing today? You've met a terrible fate haven't you?” As he says this, a smirk begins to form on his face. “It seems you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of trouble since I last saw you. I do not doubt for a moment that you regret your choices.”

As much as you would like to respond, the simple act of breathing threatens to send you to death’s door. As you breath in and out the air surrounding this place stings your nostrils and lungs.

“Had this been our first encounter, I would’ve healed you without a second thought. Given your ungrateful nature however I know better than to do that. The best I can do for now is give you the ability to speak.”

You feel a great burden lifted off of your shoulders as your ribs begin to heal and your facial bones readjust themselves. After coughing up a bit of blood you respond.

“Even if I wanted to help you, Alvin has disappeared. None of us know where he is.”

“He’s dead.” Says the entity without skipping a beat. “That storm ripped him and the town from reality itself but explaining such things to a mortal would take ages.”

“Well if he really is dead, then how would I retrieve the item? If everything was destroyed, I doubt it would have survived.”

“Your doubt is misplaced, the item has survived it contains special properties which can’t be destroyed so easily. Only the affliction and gods themselves could destroy such a thing. Alvin still has them it in his possession and as we speak he is moving closer and closer to the day of his return.”

You take a moment to process this information; you know for a fact that Alvin will have a lot of explaining to do once he gets back.

“If you accept my offer, I will restore you.”

“Am I dead?” You ask as you attempt to look into his glowing eyes.

(cont.)

>>4037925

“Half-dead would be a more appropriate description. Outside of this realm you are weak, broken, and blinded. If you don’t accept my help, you would be better off dead.”

“You aren’t the only one who has the power to heal others. If holding my health over my head was your plan then you aren’t as clever as you think you are.”

The entity growls at your words, “You little fool, are you unaware of the lifestyle you lead or the company you keep? You were born into a life of crime and that is all you know. The world of criminals is a cold one; you of all people should know that. If you think your allies will aid you, you are sorely mistaken. Any member within a group of thieves is only as useful as their talents will allow them to be. You all view each other as tools and you, my friend have become dull and rusted. If you can hardly tilt your head up to face me, of what use are you to them?”

“My current state doesn’t matter when they can heal me. I’m worth too much to them for them to simply leave me like this. Bringing me to a healer would be a better use of their time than trying to find a replacement.”

“Your ignorance continues to amaze me. You don’t even know how long you’ve been unconscious. They’ve had plenty of time to come to your aid and yet here you are, a broken mess that lies before me. ”

The gaze of the entity becomes more oppressive, “You have tried my patience but I will allow you to reconsider. You can either aid me and live or reject my offer so that you may suffer and die a long, undignified, agonizing death. The choice is yours.”


Will you accept his offer?

>Yes

>No

>Wake up

>>4037943
>Yes

Whoo forbidden deals

>>4037943
>>Wake up

>>4038368
>>4038457
I’ll give it 20 minutes and then I’ll break out the dice.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4038368
1
>>4038457
2

>>4038850

“Alright, I’ll accept your help.” You say with a bit of resignation.

“And in turn I will demand yours,” the entity replies. With a flick of the wrist, it propels a green ball of light towards you. The light engulfs you and you are cast out of the landscape.

When you awaken, you are sweating profusely and darkness surrounds you. This time however, you aren’t in a void, you can feel a strange material covering you. The material lies all around you and you are completely engulf in it. After a minute passes, you can fell more pressure being applied to this strange pile. As your senses return to you, you become acutely aware that you’re running out of air and being to feel around for a means of escape. As you attempt to move you realize that you are completely naked; you also realize that this strange material that surrounds you is charred flesh. At first it wasn’t so obvious, but once your fingers grasped at what could only be described as limbs and heads a sense of horror overcomes you. With a mix of both panic and disgust you claw and shove your way to the surface, clearing a path through the many corpses that were draped over you. Once you emerge, the first thing you find are four men looking down upon you. As you look up at them, you come to the conclusion that these men were arranging the mass grave you were stuffed in.

“Have I gone mad!?” Proclaims one of the men, shovel in hand. “There is a man standing in the pile!”

“He doesn’t look like he’s undead to me, in fact he looks perfectly fine.” Another man with a dark hat leans over the edge to get a closer look at you.

“In body perhaps, but not in mind,” The third man says to his colleagues. “You there! Get out of there! Are you so depraved that you would willingly lie with the dead?”

“He doesn’t seem to enjoy being down there to me. He looks confused.” The first man lowers his shovel and walks closer to the edge. “Are you a sorcerer of some kind?”

In order to avoid any further questioning, you respond. “I am not a sorcerer, and I do not find pleasure in crawling through a pile of dead men. I have no idea why I’m here.” This isn’t exactly true nor is it a lie. Though you can easily piece together how you got here, you were unconscious for most of the journey.

(cont.)

>>4039147

“So which one were you?” Asks the fourth man who finally decides to speak up. He grips his shovel tightly as he finishes his question. “Were you a raider, a guard, or a member of that kidnapping ring?”

Your mind races as you think of the best way to approach this. The men don’t seem hostile but they are reasonably suspicious given the circumstances. If you give them an answer they don’t like, your murder would be very easy to commit and cover up. Due to their appearances, it’s hard to tell which side these men supported. Your surroundings don’t give you much insight into the situation either.


What is you answer?

>”I was one of the men who was involved in the raid.”

>”I was and still and a guard, now help me out of here. I need to report to the captain immediately!”

>”I’m a member of the Scarlet Bats.”

>”I’m a confused and innocent bystander.”

>Write in

>>4039149
>>”I was one of the men who was involved in the raid.”

>>4039149
>”I was one of the men who was involved in the raid.”

>>4039657
>>4039691

"I was one of the men who were involved in the raid." You reply.

“I guess he fainted when the guards came and decided to stay down until it was safe,” chuckles the man with the dark hat. “Well don’t just stand there boys, help him out.”

The fourth man with the quiet nature and stony expression lowers his shovel towards you and the first man does the same. You grab onto the shovels and haul yourself out in tandem with the men.

The men avert their eyes once you fully emerge from the pit. After a bout of awkward silence, the man in the dark hat speaks up.

“It’s been a few days since that raid, I’m guessing you’ll want to go home and make up a story for your family.”

“I’m not from around here,” you say. “I saw a friend of mine going to the raid and I went after him.”

“I’m sorry if any of those poor souls down there were your friends.” Says the third man with a solemn tone. Though he initially rebuked you, it seems his opinion of you has completely changed.

“I’ll find him soon enough but for right now, do any of you have any spare clothes?”

Without a word, the fourth man with the piercing eyes leaves the group and heads off towards the dirt road which runs through the area.

“There goes Ed,” says the third man once the lone gravedigger disappears over the horizon. “He’ll be back soon, don’t offer to pay him back, he wouldn’t accept it. “

He then turns to the piles of bodies that have yet to be put in the hole. “My name is Addison and you can search through the pile for your friend if you’d like.”

The remaining men give a nod of approval as they plant themselves down on various mounds of dirt. While you look through the bodies the men chat as if nothing had happened and engage in conversation that indicates a long-time friendship between them.

Through their conversation you receive some context surrounding the incident that ended with you in a mass grave. The brewery was completely destroyed and while doing a sweep of the area, several dozen men, women, and children were found tied up in a storehouse that went untouched. The city guard has been cracking down heavily on anyone they deem the least bit suspicious in the past few days and there are even talks of curfews and random searches. Neither the gravediggers nor the citizenry of Fust are happy with these developments.

You find this information interest if nothing else but what you find in the pile of the unburied bodies takes up most of your interest. Though you don’t find Jut among the dead, you see a rather thin, unremarkable looking man who seemed to be missing a rib and had a badly damaged eye. On it’s own, this would mean nothing to you, but what gives you pause are the two large wounds that almost cover the entirety of his chest. Though you can tell they are mundane stab wounds, they are surrounded by burnt flesh.

(cont.)

>>4039943

Once Ed returns, he hands you a grey tunic, beige trousers, and a pair of old weathered boots. You follow Addison’s advice and offer up a simple thanks and nothing else. You bid the gravediggers farewell and thank all of them for their kindness then make your way down the road. Now that you are fully healed and clothed, you can fully dedicate yourself to the task at hand. The only question is, what is that task?


What will you do?

>Pick some pockets in order to buy food

>Go back to the burned down brewery and investigate

>Go back to the tavern and inquire about your group

>Search the prison in case Jut or the others were arrested

>Observe the city for any strange phenomena

>Write in

>>4039944
>Go back to the tavern and inquire about your group

Assuming we aren't starving to death

>>4039944
>>Go back to the tavern and inquire about your group

We have to regroup.

>>4040243
>>4040396

After a short walk, you find yourself back at the entrance of the tavern. From your subconscious point of view, it felt like you were going there for the second time within 24 hours. You know however that a few days have past since the raid and the state of the tavern makes this fact self-evident. The door is slightly ajar as if it had been damage fairly recently. When you walk through the entrance, you notice that there are fewer tables and chairs; of few of the remaining ones, many are damaged. There are a few people hanging around as if nothing has happened, but you can tell that the atmosphere of the place has changed.

You approach the bar and get the attention of one of the servers.

“Excuse me, I have something to ask you.”
The server, a young man with long hair and a thin mustache gives you a strange look. “No, we’re not harboring any of the raiders. You people have been here at least three times today now, aren’t there any other taverns around here you can investigate?”

“I’m not with the city guard.”

“Well by the way you’re dressed, it looks as if you’re trying too hard to blend in.”

“I’m looking for some people who were here a few days ago. One of them was a man who set up a large betting pool, he was with a red-haired woman who bought an entire keg for herself.”

The server’s eyes light up with recognition as he listens to your descriptions. “Yes, I know who you’re talking about. The girl ended up getting into a fight with some of the patrons and almost destroyed the bar. After the gambler dragged her out the headed over to-“

“Hey! Stop holding up the service you lanky bastard!”

You inwardly jump as you hear that all too familiar voice. Hoping against all hope and turning around, you find that your fear is warranted. Standing behind you was a fat man with an irritable expression. Though he changed out his wardrobe for a less ridiculous outfit, you immediately recognized him as Dante, the seemingly invincible brawler who gave you trouble a few weeks back.

The server gives the man behind you a nonchalant look and asks for his order. With no regard for etiquette, Dante simply picks you up and places you behind him as he orders his drink. You brush yourself off and quickly decide that confronting him while unarmed no less would be suicidal. Instead, you simply wait for him to claim his drink and take a seat. While the bull-headed man enjoys his drink, you once again approach the bar.

(cont.)

>>4040894

“Please continue.” You ask as the server as you take a seat..

“Right,” he says as he prepares a drink for himself. “The two of them left in the direction of the square. The gambler mentioned something about finding a woman named Cynthia.”

Upon hearing this bit of information, Dante spits out his drink and nearly leaps over the bar. With one hand, he grabs the server by his hair and gives it a pull.

“Where are they now!” He demands as he yanks on the poor man’s hair further. “You’d better tell me everything you know.”

You decide that now would be the best time to leave but before you can go, you are gripped by the collar.

“And don’t think I didn’t recognize your voice you little rat, I never forget anyone who crosses me! If the both of you cooperate, I’ll leave you with at least five teeth left in your skull.”


What will you do?

>Throw a drink in his face and run

>Go for the eyes

>Feed him a lie

>Answer him honestly

>Offer to help him

>Write in

>>4040902

>>4040902
>Throw a drink in his face and run

>>4040902
>>Answer him honestly

>>4040902
>Ask if growing up invincible is why he turned out so obnoxious

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4041141
I'll attach this bit of dialogue to whichever vote wins.

>>4040939
1
>>4041020
2

>>4041609
This has to be some sort of record. I don't even remember the last time I rolled a 2 for the tiebreaker.

>>4041609

While Dante continues to threaten his first victim, you subtly reach behind the bar and grab the mug that the server prepared for himself earlier. As soon as you wrap your fingers around the handle, you fling the beverage right into the face of the bully. Blinded, he lets go of the server and throws a wild haymaker at you which you dodge with ease. Realizing that he missed, Dante opens his eyes in order to aim his next swing properly. His reward is another splash to the face. As he wipes the drink from his eyes, you slip out of his grasp and run out of the tavern.

You shove aside pedestrians and overturn any object you can get your hands on in order to escape. The fat man doesn’t let up however and simply runs headfirst into anything you throw at him. If this weren’t bad enough, your pursuer begins to retaliate and throws various objects. On rare occasions, he even throws people at you. Though none of them hit you, these obstructions are flung at with considerable speed and surprising accuracy. You decide to cut through a few alleys as you make a desperate escape but unfortunately after a few twists and turns you soon come across a dead end.

“You should’ve talked when you had the chance,” says the overweight man once he comes around the corner and sees that you’re trapped. “After this, you’ll only be able to write the directions out for me.”

Though you know it’s hopeless, you get into a defensive stance and prepare for the fight of your life. Fortunately for you, the guards soon round the corner as well and with a shout, the leader of the group orders Dante to stop. Unfortunately, he also orders you both to lie on the ground.

“You think you can arrest me?” laughs your would-be assailant. “Those little suits and big knives aren’t going to help you this time around.”

Without a word, the group of guards charge at him. Their numbers only make things easier for the out of Dante. With a few sloppy yet fierce punches, he manages to flatten the force in front of him within seconds. He dispatched of them so quickly in fact that a chance for an escape was shut down before you manage to take a few steps.

“And that’s what happens when you get in my way! Anyone want a second helping?” By this point, the man is drunk on his own victory and turns towards you with a determined look. “You’re lucky these goons got here when they did. I’m not as mad as I was earlier, but you’re still going to tell me what you know. In the meantime, you’re coming with me to somewhere less crowded.”

(cont.)

>>4041657

The man places you in a headlock and begins to make his way out of the alley with you in tow. When the two of you make it out to the street, you come face to face with another group of guards on patrol who followed the path of destruction. A man with a blue tinted helmet and heavy armor walks to the front of the group and orders Dante to stop.

“If I were you, I’d worry about your friends that I left back in the alley, If you’ve got any sense, you’ll collect their sorry hides and stay out of my way.” At this point you roll your eyes at the man’s unpatrolled stubbornness.

The man in the blue helmet doesn’t respond however and with a wave of his hand, the both of you are sent into the air and left floating helplessly. He then turns to a random guard standing a few feet from him.

“Take care of the men Burgess and continue your rounds, I’ll handle these two myself.”

The man in the blue helmet begins to walk down the street and the two of you are forced to follow him while airborne. Though Dante struggles, he can do nothing to free himself and instead hurls insults at your captor. His words have no effect on the stoic guard and within the hour you are unceremoniously flung into a cramp, dirty cell with stone walls, no windows, and iron bars.

“Well this is a fine mess you’ve gotten us into.” You remark as you sit on one of the wooden cots chained to the wall.

“You’re a slow learner aren’t you?” Dante asks as he grasps the iron bars. “I won’t be here long.” With a loud grunt, he attempts to bend the bars, putting everything he has into the task. Impressively, the bars do bend slightly under the pressure that is applied to them, but they do not spread far enough apart for an escape attempts to be feasible. Undeterred he continues as his returns diminish while mumbling haughty declarations to himself.

“Was growing up as some invincible mound of flesh partially responsible for how obnoxious you turned out?” You ask in a half-serious manner.

Your unwilling cellmate gives you a sneer as he responds. “You must be stupider than I thought. Who do you know that was born as an unstoppable force?” he says, as he cracks is knuckles. “If I were born invincible I’d have to be some kind of god and I definitely wouldn’t be stuck in here with you. Better yet, I wouldn’t have that annoying little imp girl following me around.”

Before you can raise an eyebrow at this seemingly random statement, Dante snaps his fat fingers and grins. “Aha! I’m saved! She’ll come and find me, and when she does I’m going to get out of here and deliver a ferocious beating to your friends, especially to that shimmering witch.”


What will you do?

>Ask for him to elaborate

>Object to his plans

>Sit in silence

>Write in

>>4041662
>"So instead of being born invincible you sold your soul to a demon for it. Also if you really were an unstoppable force you could walk right through those bars, or even the walls."

>>4041662
>>Ask for him to elaborate

>>4041662
>>Ask for him to elaborate

>>4042056
>>4042310
>>4042365

"So instead of being born invincible, you sold your soul to a demon for it. Also if you really were an unstoppable force you could walk right through those bars, or even the walls."

Dante gives you another incredulous look. “What would a demon want my soul for? Any demon worth his salt is very picky about that sort of thing. If I sold my soul the most I’d get would be a small wagon full of gold.”

Something about the way he says this makes you feel as if he knows what he’s talking about. “Then how did you get your invincibility?”

The fat man sighs and leans against the wall. “In short, I tried to rob the palace of a very powerful demon lord. I got caught and of course, the demon wanted to kill me just for stepping foot in his fancy little castle. Unfortunately for me, I crossed the wrong demon and he wasn’t going to let me off easy.”

You can already tell where this is going but you remain silent.

“So instead, he locked me up and chained me to the ceiling of his throne room. “ Dante winces before he continues. “He put a curse on me so that I’d never die from any of the torture he felt like dishing out and then he spent the rest of the day stabbing me with a trident. That curse somehow kept me in the same condition that I was in before the never-ending execution started and no matter what he did, after a few seconds of suffering I’d be back to normal. After about two years of this, the demon got bored and sent me back to this plane. Since I had nothing to fear, I roamed the land bashing heads and soon became the greatest adventurer to ever live.”

“I never heard of you or your story until recently,” You remind him. “You also said something about an imp.”

Dante exhales from his nose in annoyance and continues his tale. “A few days ago while I was chasing you and your insolent friends around, I found some woods which looked like it had been set on fire. I walked around for a bit and found another one of those bunkers that you were raiding. When I got inside though, it was completely empty and there were several bodies lying around. When I got a closer look at them, I realized that their souls had been drained.”

“Let me guess, the imp was responsible right?”

“Exactly, while I was looting the place, she snuck up on me and hit me with some sort of powder. I almost went unconscious but my curse wouldn’t allow it. We got into a fight but she couldn’t hurt me and you can’t simply beat an imp to death so it ended in a draw. After that we talked things out, split the loot, and I made the mistake of telling her the same story that I told you. Now she wants me to take her to that demon lord so that she can learn to cast the curse on herself and she won’t leave me alone until she gets what she wants.”

(cont.)

>>4042613

“So where is your ‘partner’ now?” You ask.

“She was getting annoying so I stuffed her in a large pot and put a crate on top of the lid.” He replies with a chuckle. For some reason he looks almost proud of this display of pettiness.

You inwardly sigh as you realize that this man is practically your only hope. “So how is she going to get out and more importantly, how is she going to get us out while she herself is trapped?”

“Watch this.” With a grin, Dante stands up and puts an arm behind his back before making a violent yanking motion. He then gives the unseen tether a few more erratic shakes for good measure.

With a satisfied look on his face, Dante sits back down on his cot. “She’ll find us before the day is out.”

You walk up to the bars and cram your neck in order to look at the window located on the far side of the corridor. Though the storm clouds outside make it hard to tell, you know that evening is fast approaching.

“Now about that information,” says Dante, getting you attention. “I could beat it out of you or we can just wait for that pest to get here, she’ll get it the truth out of you no matter how hard you resist. So what’s it going to be?”


What will you do?

>Tell him what he wants to know

>Feed him a lie

>Refuse to tell him anything

>Write in

>>4042617
>Tell him we don't know where our gang is either. Didn't he hear us ask the barkeep for news? Also he's being remarkably petty and vindictive about all this.

>>4042629

“If I knew anything, I wouldn’t have been asking for information at the tavern.” You reply as you go back to your cot.

“I know your friends aren’t just wandering around, I know you were raiding those old bandit forts.” Dante retorts without missing a beat. “They’re going somewhere and you must know where that is.”

“I’d only be able to tell you the general area, I never knew specifically where we were going. Cynthia was the one who was leading the way.”

Dante’s brows furrow when he hears the name of your stoic companion but he keeps his comment to himself. You can tell that he doesn’t completely believe you but he makes no further attempts at interrogation for now.

The two of you spend the next few hours without speaking a word to each other. You attempt to sleep on the old slab of wood that this prison calls a bed but you can’t get comfortable. Dante, on the other hand, is unable to sleep due to the curse and so he distracts himself by bothering the guards in any way he can for his own amusement. A few of the guards take the bait and Dante happily dispatches them, garnering a few cheers from the prisoners rotting in the adjacent cells. The few cool-headed guards who did not engage with Dante’s foolishness soon silence them and reinforcements are called. This proved to be a big mistake once an odd cloud of dust sweeps through the corridor. Within minutes the guards are rendered unconscious.

“What took you so long?” Snaps Dante as he presses himself against the bars.

A small, bronze colored imp with dark hair and horns emerges from the cloud and promptly punches Dante in the nose.

“You trapped me in a pot on the other side of the city you greasy oaf! I should be asking what you, ‘Dante the Great’ is doing locked up like a pet.” The imp seems to be enjoying this situation

“Now that you’re here, I remember why I left you there. Just get the keys and stop complaining, I’ve got a score to settle.” Dante replies with a bored tone.

(cont.)

>>4043324

The child-sized imp lowers herself to ground level and searches the guards for the keys to the cell. Her search is successful and the both of you are released.

“If you weren’t so busy ‘settling scores’ all the time we would’ve gotten to Azardos by now,” retorts the imp. Her exasperation gives way to mild interest when she spots you. “Who is this man? Did you rope him into your little ‘undercover guard’ scam?”

“I don’t know who he is, and for the most part, I don’t care,” says Dante as holds your hands behind your back. “But he has some information that I need so do your stuff and we can get out of here.”

“My name is Devon,” you cut in. “He doesn’t believe me but I’ve already told him everything I know.”

The imp floats upwards in order to reach your eye level and gives you a small smile. “Well I’m Delia, that’s what I’m called here anyway. So what’s your story?”

Before you can reply a powdery substance soon engulfs you and you find yourself compelled to tell them what you know. Of course since you did that earlier, Dante doesn’t learn anything new from this second interrogation attempt.

“Well that was pointless,” he says. With a shove, he sends you hurtling into the pile of guards and begins to walk away from both you and the imp. “The Shattered Canyons are huge, and we don’t even know which way they’re going to enter them.”

“Don’t you think about anything other than fighting?” Asks Delia as she follows after him.

“I enjoy a good escape as well, let’s go see what the king’s pets are ridding these days.” Says Dante as he disappears around the corner.

As you pick yourself up, you notice the guards beginning to stir. You don’t have much time left but this place may hold some value for you.


What will you do?

>Leave now and never look back

>Release the prisoners to buy some time and get some much needed resources and equipment


If you release the prisoners, where will you go?

>The barracks

>The acquisitions room

>Captains’ quarters

>Executioners’ quarters


If you simply decide to escape, where will you go?

>To the burnt down brewery

>To the neighborhood where the gravediggers live

>To the city outskirts

>Write in

>>4043327
>Release the prisoners

Blame it on Dante. God I hate Dante. We should send him swimming with concrete shoes.

>acquisition room

>>4043327
>>Release the prisoners to buy some time and get some much needed resources and equipment
>>The acquisitions room
Dante seems alright. Wonder if we can settle our differences and have him come along for the ride.

>>4043327
>>Leave now and never look back
>To the burnt down brewery

>>4043406
>>4043542

As you look upon the other cells lining the walls, you realize that you’ve come across a golden opportunity. Picking up the key ring that Delia had discarded, you proceed to unlock as many cell doors as possible before leaving the lower levels. Some prisoners attack the sleeping guards; others follow your lead and make a run for it. Conversely, a few prisoners were far too scared or broken to making any sort of attempt at an escape. Some even closed the doors back on themselves as soon as you opened them. Despite this, the majority of the prisoners were starting a suitable amount of trouble, enough to cover your tracks and divert most of the prison’s manpower away from you.

On your way out, you stop by the acquisitions room in order to see if anything worth taking was stored here. To your surprise a few of your weapons and gear are still within the possession of the authorities. You still don’t know how long you were out of commission, but obviously enough time has passed for a few of your things to go missing. Fortunately there are also a few things around here that don’t belong to you, and they’re ripe for the taking. You can only carry and travel with a few of them however.

As a result of your current state of affairs, you can only carry two weapons and three items.


What will you take?

>Splintered club

>Bone axe

>Black cane

>Pristine flail

>Weathered rapier

>Hand crossbow with bolts (3)

>Rusty cleaver

>Knuckle plate (1)

>Bag of caltrops (12)

>Lock picks (4)

>Cracked sapphire glasses

>Lantern

>Yellow potion

>Enduring vial (1)

>Silver amulet

>Wraps (9)


Once you’re equipped, what will you do?

>Explore the prison further (Where will you go?)

>Leave the prison (Where will you go?)

>>4043879
>Bag of caltrops (12)
>Lock picks (4)
>Yellow potion
>Hand crossbow with bolts (3)
>Pristine flail
>Black cane
>Leave the prison (Where will you go?)
Brewery

>>4044139
You're limited to two weapons and three items.

>>4043879
>Weathered rapier
>Black cane
>Lock picks (4)
>Bag of caltrops (12)
>Silver amulet
>Leave the prison (Where will you go?)
City outskirts

>>4043879
>>Black cane
>>Weathered rapier

>>Lock picks (4)
>>Cracked sapphire glasses
>>Silver amulet

>>4044785
>>Leave the prison (Where will you go?)
>Brewery
Forgot the destination.

Rolled 6 (1d10)

Alright, since I seem incapable of rolling anything higher than a 1 during tie breakers, I'm rolling a 1d10 for this

>>4044489
1-5

>>4044785
>>4044793
6-10

>>4044833

After helping yourself to the treasures the acquisition room has to offer, you make your way to the stables where a few horses are causing a ruckus. You and Dante weren’t the only ones who had the idea of stealing a horse, and by now the stables are in disarray. There are few choices left but they all appear to be in good condition and health. After quickly scanning the room, you choose a large, bay colored horse and ride off towards the direction of the brewery.

Thanks to your new mount, this trip is much takes far less time than the last one and is not at all exhausting in the least. On your way there, you come across a few guards who are riding back to the city with haste. Another man with a blue tinted helmet is leading the return trip. Thankfully, they pass you by without even giving you a second look. The clothes that Ed provided and the nondescript horse you chose have made you as inconspicuous as possible. A few minutes after crossing paths with the guards, you ride through the open gate and you arrive at the scene of the battle.

The sight is a grim one. Though all of the bodies have been removed, this place still has a solemn and unnerving edge to it. Much of the grass and foliage have been reduced to ashes, the houses resemble black crumbling structures. Even the sky, which has now turned dark, looks darker than pitch. The horse is becoming spooked and you have no idea if this place has been completely abandoned by the guards.


What will you do?

>Do a quick sweep of the area on the horse

>Leave the horse at one of the destroyed stables and investigate on foot

>Write in

>>4044903
>>Leave the horse at one of the destroyed stables and investigate on foot

>>4044903
>Do a quick sweep of the area on horse

>>4044903
>>Leave the horse at one of the destroyed stables and investigate on foot

>>4044906
>>4045065

You find a stable that is in relatively good condition compared to all of the other wrecked buildings and leave the horse in its charred remains. You don’t have any rope so your best bet is to hope that it stays put. After walking a good bit away from the horse, you hear the sound of voices. Due to the lack of cover, you simply stop in your tracks and listen. You can hear six distinct voices; these voices belong to the guards who were left to watch over the place while the others dealt with the chaos at the prison.

Each pair of guards has been assigned to watch a specific structure. These structures, while in bad shape, must house something of interest in them. The question is, what are you looking for? You can see a pair guarding the main building, another guarding what seems to be a small tower with an above ground garden, and finally the last pair are guarding a large well.

Where will you go?

>Brewery

>Tower

>Well

>Write in

>>4046550
>>Brewery

>>4046550
>>>Brewery

>>4046550
>Brewery

>>4047293
>>4047357
>>4047751
Roll 1d100 for stealth.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>4048018
Roll.

>>4048021

You decide to ignore the other structures and head straight towards the place where struggle likely originated. On the outside, the brewery is unrecognizable, when the light from the guards’ torches shine illuminate the structure it seems to take on a look that one would describe as tortured. It was almost as if the brewery had a mind of its own and felt every bit of damage Jut and his men dealt against it. Years of experience has taught you that approaching a large building with little in the way of cover should be impossible so you attempt to sway the odds and exploit the lack of manpower by approaching from the side. As you attempt to sneak through an open window on the west side, parts of the wall cave in and a loud crash follows soon after.

The guards quickly run over to the sound of the disturbance and with you trapped under some of the wreckage, there is no time to free yourself, let alone hide When the guards go to search the area however, they completely walk past you. At one point, one of them looks directly at you without blinking. You immediately chalk this up to one of the items you stole before you escaped the prison

After a bit of experimentation, you discover that not only can the not see you, they can’t hear you either, even as you remove the wood and stone that have pinned you down, the guards don’t seem to notice. Once you finally free yourself, the guards have already gone back to the front of the building. You could resume your investigation but perhaps the structure might be too unstable to continue and the threat of the guards, though diminished, hasn’t completely gone away.


What will you do?

>Investigate the brewery

>Kill the guards then investigate the brewery

>Try another structure (specify)

>Write in

>>4048930
>>Investigate the brewery

>>4048930
>>Investigate the brewery

>>4049161
>>4049911

You ignore the guards and make your way through the ruins. Even the inside of the brewery has been rendered unrecognizable. Only a few smashed barrels, bottles, and a broken front desk give clues as to what this place used to be.

Not all of the rooms are a blackened, rickety mess however, a few of the rooms looked to be in decent shape considering the circumstances. The most interesting of these rooms are an office, a room which is protected by an iron door a small room which houses a trapdoor which leads to the cellar.


What room will you investigate?

>The office

>The room with the iron door

>The cellar

>Write in

>>4050401
>>The room with the iron door

>>4050408
Roll 1d100 to pick the lock.

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>4050492
Sorry you're not getting more voters, OP.

>>4050518
It's fine, i've (somewhat) made peace with the fact that this thread doesn't get much attention. It's demotivated me a bit but I'm grateful that a few people such as yourself have being consistently participating.

Maybe my next venture will be more successful. If I can get it off the ground, that is.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>4050492

>>4050518
>>4050655

You approach the iron door and attempt to pick the lock. What should be a simple task for someone as experienced as you, seems to be proving more difficult than expected. The pins seem to be resetting themselves automatically no matter how quickly you attempt to bypass the lock. You suspect that some sort of magic may protect this door. You can only imagine what is being hidden behind this door and despite your curiosity, you have pressing matters to attend to and time is not on your side. You still need to find some valuable information, get back to the horse before the guards return and find your group before you lose any chance of locating them again.


What will you do?

>Try to create a hole in the wall in order to get inside of the mysterious room

>Check the office

>Check the cellar

>Leave the main building

>Write in

>>4050557
I'll certainly keep an eye out for it. I like your writing, and way of running things.
>>4050658
>>Try to create a hole in the wall in order to get inside of the mysterious room

>>4050658
>>Check the office

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>4050727
Is there anything you like in particular? I I feel like something is missing while writing, as if the weight of key elements and story ideas are being lost in translation. Playing to my strengths might alleviate that feeling.

>>4050727
1-5
>>4050852
6-10

>>4051349

You leave the iron door alone and move to the office. Though the door has been knocked off of its hinges and despite the fact that some of the furniture is destroyed, the room itself resembles the scene of a struggle rather than an all out raid. You rifle through the large desk sitting in the back of the room and manage to find a few documents and letters. Some of them have been torn up and several pages are missing from these writings. From what you can gather, this place was rather ordinary as far as breweries go. The documents and letters discussed things such as logistics, produce, as well as slave labor and management, in short nothing here catches your eye.

Though the slaves and the recent emergence of a kidnapping ring may be connected, it is unlikely due to the fact that those who were found here were citizens of Fliuna. In addition, some of the slaves mentioned in the documents had been in service to the company for decades and as far as you know, the Scarlet Bats aren’t and old organization, at least not old enough to have places like these in their pocket. Though you do not find any evidence of collusion between the two entities, the fact that the Scarlet Bats were ready for the attack tells you everything you need to know about their relationship.


What will you do?

>Investigate another room (specify)

>Leave and investigate another structure (specify)

>Go back to the Worker’s district and visit one of the gravediggers (who)

>Leave the area entirely and get out of the city

>Write in

>>4051355
>Leave and investigate the tower

>>4051349
Yea it does feel tough to tell what's going on a lot of the time. I do like the consistency of updates.

>>4051355
>>Investigate another room (specify)
The cellar.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>4051596
Am I going too fast, or am I just not being descriptive enough?

>>4051596
1-5
>>4051648
6-10

>>4052092
Maybe a little of both?

I dunno it just seemed like Jut sneaking out with a couple shady dudes for a raid on a brewery unexpectedly turned into some massive skirmish out of nowhere. Hard to tell when the multitude of guards and gang members got involved and why.

>>4052116
Yeah I do have to agree here. Unless our character is also confused?

>>4052116
I intended for the whole affair to be a bit mysterious. Originally, Jut was going to explain what he knew but due to dice rolls everything got derailed.

I think I elaborated a bit on the presence of the gang members in the last post and the scene with the gravediggers but there will be more on that later. As for the guards, they were probably tipped off by some member of the public or one of the guards who had escaped from the initial brawl.

>>4052137
Yes, the MC should be somewhat confused by all of this. Like him, you can try and put two and two together in order to get some idea of what's going on. In general though, events that revolve around the past exploits of your group are meant to be mysterious. Things might be a bit more clear cut now that you're tracking them down rather than traveling with them.

>>4052092

Since you have no way of carrying them, you put the letters and documents back into the desk and head out to the foyer. You exit through the same way you entered and head in the direction of the tower. Once again, the guards don’t seem to notice you, even as you pass through their field of vision, but that’s not the only strange thing you notice. It appears that not only are they incapable of seeing you, they can't hear you either. You make a mental note to check over your things once you have the time to spare.

When you get to the tower, you simply walk right past them and into building. The first floor conations nothing but large bags of dirt, some have been torn open. You make your way up the steps and ascend to the next floor, but its simply more spiraling stairs. You continue your uneventful climb until you reach the top. Nothing here seems to be out of the ordinary. Various grapes and other fruits are being grown here in this unimpressive garden but you know that something is wrong here. There are entire vineyards which span several acres located on the property, and yet someone felt the need to build this tower only for it to house such a small amount of fruit.


What will you do?

>Inspect the plants closely

>Inspect the gardening equipment

>Go back to the first floor and conduct a thorough sweep

>Leave the tower (Where will you go?)

>>4052138
In that laat post, you mentioned that the fact the scarlet bats were ready for the attack told the mc everything he needed to know about their relationship. Could you elaborate on that? Was it just that they were colluding and being sneaky about it? Not sure what a normal brewery could do that would have a gang backing it with so much force on such short notice. Not even getting into the magic beast and angry magic guy.

>>4052160
>Inspect the equipment.

>>4052170
There was a flashback segment back in the first thread in which a similar situation happened. All I will say for now is that the Scarlet Bats seem to have a few wealthy connections within the region and for some reason, strange monsters appear to be within their ranks.

I'll be able to elaborate more later if things go as planned but since I always give a large amount of options, this subplot may not be addressed for a while.

>>4052160
>>Inspect the plants closely

>>4052208
The one where we joined the party? Might need to reread that, I thought that one was more natural since it was a gang base and not an unrelated brewery but I could be misremembering some details.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>4052170
1-5
>>4052338
6-10

>>4052350
You were sneaking into a mansion to assassinate someone, You had no reason to believe that the bats were involved at the time.

>>4052558

You crouch low and search between the rows of plants for tools but find nothing out of the ordinary. Most of them are rusted and covered in dirt but a few of them are coated in a substance you don’t recognize. It is both odorless and colorless, a gel that clings to the trowels, shears, and hoes. You stand up with one of the gel-coated tools and hold it out to the moonlight in order to get a better look at it. Once you do however, the substance begins to hiss and bubble, liquefying itself before your eyes. This puzzles you at first, but as you gaze into the dark sky, you can see familiar beams of golden light emanating from the dark clouds. The cause of this gel’s strange reaction seems to be due to the presence of these golden rays of light rather than the moonlight. You mull over what this could mean for a few seconds until a wave of panic hits you. You saw those very same lights in the clouds before; the clouds exuded this very same light before Alvin sent you off. This can only mean that the storm has returned. When you look out over the distance, you can see that these clouds are swirling around the entirety of Fliuna and rapidly increasing in size and number. With shaking hands, you drop the trowel you were holding and make your way to the stairs as quickly as possible.

You run out of the tower as quickly as possible and mount your horse. Though your mind is focused on escaping, you get the feeling that this storm wasn’t whipped up just for you. That means that the others may still be somewhere in the area. As you tear through the streets you wrestle with yourself as you consider your options. You have no idea where your group is and you have no idea how much time you have left. On the other hand, if you escape and they are killed, your mission will be a failure. You don’t want to face the wrath of such a powerful entity but the idea of potentially dying for nothing doesn’t appeal to you either.


What will you do?

>Try to find the others one last time

>Leave the city and hope for the best

>Consult with the entity

>Write in

>>4052940
>>Try to find the others one last time

>>4052940
>Try to find the others one last time

Into the crazy death storm!

>>4053703
>>4053765

You urge the horse to move faster as the winds begin to pick up. You frantically search any and all inns that are within the city. Due to your unfamiliarity with the place, this isn’t an easy task. With each wrong turn and clueless innkeeper, your heart begins to race as the clouds swirl above your head. Time is running out and you’re no closer than before to finding the others.

After speaking with another innkeeper who hasn’t seen your group, you dejectedly ride through the streets, desperate to find any lead no matter how small. As you look above, the golden lights begin to stream down and the wind has gotten so aggressive they threaten to tear you from the horse. Now is the time for one final, desperate action.


What will you do?

>Make your escape

>Consult with the entity

>Use the Sapphire Lenses

>>4054279
>>Make your escape

>>4054521
Given the narrative importance of this decision, I'll give it another 20 minutes.

>>4054521

You decide that you’ll have to bite the crossbow bolt and leave the city as quickly as possible. You ride swiftly through the square, leaving both the city and the events that transpired behind you. When you reach the gate, the guards attempt to halt you due to your dark clothes and hasty exit, but you ignore their orders to stop and blaze past them as you make your way out. You ride until the horse finally gives out and refuses to run any further.

Now that you are far away from the city, you have enough time to process all that has happened within the last few days. If you were honest with yourself, you would admit that you haven’t made the most safe or informed decisions as of late and it has cost you. You are alone, deprived of your companions, your standard equipment, and your bearings. Whether or not your allies are still in the city is unknown but regardless of their fates, your deal with the entity is still binding and there are still many threats, mysteries, and challenges that lie ahead. You ponder the nature of all that awaits you as you continue forward at a steady pace, refusing to give the city behind you a parting glance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, that brings this thread to a close. As stated at the beginning, this quest will now be placed on hiatus while I work on a few other projects, some /qst/ related, others not so much. I can’t give an exact date for when this will return, but it shouldn’t take longer than one to three months at most.

In the meantime, I’ll respond to any questions, criticisms, and suggestions for the three days though I doubt I’ll need that long. I’ll announce the return of this quest in the QTG once I get thread #4 up and running. I want to give a thank you to all of those who have participated throughout these first three threads.

>>4054827
Sorry to see it go, OP. Looking forward to the return. My apologies for being absent from voting for the last few updates. Been drinking a lot as of late, either have been too drunk to vote, or have slept through the run times.
Care to explain the other /qst/ related projects? I enjoy your writing and way of handling rolls, I'll try and be present for anything else you may run in the future.

>>4054827
Thanks for running!

Not all our decisions were great, but the deal with the entity was 200% genius right?

>>4055125
It’s alright, we all have business to take care of outside of /qst:. I’m just glad you stuck around to begin with.

As for the upcoming project, I can’t say anything definitive about it. I’m not trying to keep everything under wraps but just to illustrated how unfinished it is, I’ll admit that it doesn’t even have a working title. I do have the main characters written out, a stable setting, and a few story beats, which would’ve been fine if I were just running something like this.

The next quest will be much different in terms of setting, pacing, and scope. The plot will be much more focused and in depth, I’m even implementing more solid mechanics such as stats and dice pools, the whole nine yards. I’ve got a got bit of work to do before I can even create the first thread for it but since I’ll be answering questions for a while, you can ask how the process is going.

>>4055400
Depending on your choices, you would’ve either woken up a broken mess, rejuvenated in a mass grave, or within the care of your companions and only a bit banged up.

As for moving forward with it, since you’re now on your own for the foreseeable future I doubt the entity. As far as you know, it only cares about the task it assigned you so it isn’t likely to aid you in matters it would consider trivial.

>>4055808
Sounds great, man. Really have put some major thought into it. I hope you can get some more progress on it. Care to explain how you're planning things out, or to offer any advice? Maybe some basic idea of your plot? I'm interested, not really sure what to specifically ask, don't know where to start. Hope that you can get an actual title in order by the time you revive Bane of Order, so I have something to look out for.

I started working on my own project a while ago, and ended up making half of a map in paint to give me an idea of the setting, started working on background stuff for each region after I had laid it out for myself, but got out of it. I'd want to run something here eventually, but have no idea how I'd really do things.

>>4056371
My planning is kind of erratic to be honest. One day I’ll design a few characters and think of some story beats, the next day I won’t even write anything down. I’ve made decent progress all around but I should’ve started from the ground up instead of jumping around.

If I were to give any advice, I’d say don’t be like me. The best thing to do is be consistent with your planning. Setting aside some time every day is better than just doing it when you feel like it. In my opinion, before a QM gets ahead of himself, the first thread should be planned out. From there you’ll have a solid base and can develop the ideas and characters that were presented in it rather than attempting to connects a few random concepts you thought up weeks ago.

The premise of this new project is very simple. It asks what would happen if some random trans were thrust into world of secret organizations, alien invasions, inter-dimensional conflicts, and more. The quest takes much of its inspiration from early 2000s action shows and games but constructs the concepts within them to a more realistic setting. The characters won’t be given a leg up over the challenges right off the bat or ever for that instance. There will be a large emphasis on decision making and characterization. Things will be much more interactive in terms of how the MC reacts to and affects the setting.

As for your process and quest ideas, it sounds like you tried to do too much, just like me. I don’t know if you’re trying to run a narrative based game or a civ, but I’d say you should try to flesh out three medium sized yet detailed regions. That way you’ll still have a bit to work with and you’ll have plenty of room to introduce new locations when needed.