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>What is this quest? (For returning players)

A more experimental quest, in that we actually have stats

>What is this quest? (In actuality)

It's a RWBY Quest, set in the days before the Great War and during the Great War, hopefully full of more intrigue and adventure than my other quests

>When will SQR return?

afterthisquest

>>4397014
>For no reason in particular, you were just a vagabond, wandering from Kingdom to Kingdom, plying your trade
Good to see you back Stando. I see that you watched the new RWBY is disappointing video and decided to take a crack at fixing it.

>>4397014
>>For no reason in particular, you were just a vagabond, wandering from Kingdom to Kingdom, plying your trade

>>4397027
>I see that you watched the new RWBY is disappointing video and decided to take a crack at fixing it.
Secondary here. Elaborate?

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>>4397014
>For no reason in particular, you were just a vagabond, wandering from Kingdom to Kingdom, plying your trade

Welcome back Stando!

Just a quick off topic thing about SQR.

I finally figured out the identity of the meat wall Deku killed in the Gun-gan alleyways. It was the Eternity Devil. Thanks to the unrestricted punch Deku was able to kill it's heart while it was still low on biomass. With that realization everything makes sense, the alleyways are one of the major gateways between Hell and Japan. The reason Rappa hangs out around there is because he has a massive of powerful devils to fight that have such a large ability variety that he never gets bored

There is a concerning outcome from this fact however. The Eternity Devil could hold a grudge against Deku for sending him back to hell mere moments after he escaped it and the apartment building he ends up attacking in the events of CSM could be Deku's. Thankfully that won't be for another several months in-universe since I'm going to bet that Denji is the same age as Deku and 1-A.

I am finding it very hard not to believe that everything that has ever happened is part of a massive scheme you have been playing since the 3rd thread of the quest.

>>4397053
you should probably temper your expectations, because realistically it's probably going to be much less complex

>>4397014
>>To see the sights before the inevitable war would likely destroy half of it, really, you were just here to take in the view

>>4397045
RWBY is a 3d animated series by Rooster Teeth that has the level of quality you would expect from them given their track record. The 3d models from the first several seasons are altered Vocaloid models, the writing is atrocious, the charcters are shallow and unlikable, the fight scenes are good in the first 3 seasons but the quality plummets after that point, the story is poorly paced, the waifus are shit and annoying. But the thing is, while the execution of the project is absolutely ungodly the ideas present on paper are quite good, all it would take is a middle-schooler with a B- grade in writing class to do it justice. We are just so fortunate to have Stando doing it.

>>4397027
>>4397045
>>4397053
Vote locked in

>>4397112
When you thought for a reason as to why you came to Vale, your mind was blank for a second. Then you remembered that you didn't actually have a reason to come here at all. You were but one of many Vagabond Huntsman, traveling through Remnant, often on foot to get jobs, living from paycheck to paycheck. On occasion, one might even be able to take on an apprentice, as uncommon as that tended to be.

You were in a small Cafe by the docks of Vale, The Ancient Mariner, which was an expected name for an establishment so close to the sea. Looking up from the menu, you quickly got a waiter, whose uniform was surprisingly casual, consisting of a white buttoned shirt, black slacks followed by a bowtie. You ordered...

>A Vacuan Bliss, incredibly spicy and chilling at the same time, reminding you of your Home Kingdom

>An Mantle Black, as brutal and tasteless as your Home Kingdom, but energizing

>A Mistralian Haven, a coffee often seen in the inner cities of your Home Kingdom, prone to giving bursts of inspiration
As you awaited your order, you began to reminisce about how you became a Hunter in particular. As you began to backtrack through your life, taking each and every leap down memory lane, you came to remember that...

>You were an apprentice to another Vagabond Hunter and studied under her for a number of years until her death, upon which you set off into your life

>You had actually joined the Village Militia at an early age, and your physical strength and endurance were beyond even your elders, which in turn led to you setting off from the town after your Aura had been unlocked

>You were enrolled in the local academy, taught by retired Huntsman and you then continued your studies wherever you could, until you became skilled enough to remove any doubt that you weren't a fully fledged Hunter

>>4397125
>>A Mantle Black, as brutal and tasteless as your Home Kingdom, but energizing

>You were enrolled in the local academy, taught by retired Huntsman and you then continued your studies wherever you could, until you became skilled enough to remove any doubt that you weren't a fully fledged Hunter

>>4397125
>>4397131
+1

>>4397125
>A Vacuan Bliss, incredibly spicy and chilling at the same time, reminding you of your Home Kingdom

>You had actually joined the Village Militia at an early age, and your physical strength and endurance were beyond even your elders, which in turn led to you setting off from the town after your Aura had been unlocked

>>4397125
>>A Vacuan Bliss, incredibly spicy and chilling at the same time, reminding you of your Home Kingdom
>You were an apprentice to another Vagabond Hunter and studied under her for a number of years until her death, upon which you set off into your life

>>4397125
>A Vacuan Bliss, incredibly spicy and chilling at the same time, reminding you of your Home Kingdom
>You were an apprentice to another Vagabond Hunter and studied under her for a number of years until her death, upon which you set off into your life
I can't wait to see us pick up a little shit and teach them to ropes

Something came up

Vote extended for an extra hour

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4397131
>>4397141
Mantle and Academg

>>4397143
>>4397187
Vacuo and Apprenticeship

>>4397273
You were brought out of your ruminations by the gentle sounds of cups clattering about on their tray as a Waitress, with blond locks that reached her hips and a chest that you could bury yourself in quickly made her way down the outdoor balcony, towards your table in particular.

“A Vacuan Bliss for you.” She quickly brought your cup down to your table with a skill that spoke of long experience, her long dress leaving much to the imagination. Shaking your head to raise your head out of the gutter, you took in a sip from the still steaming cup of coffee, your aura flaring in your mouth as you drank it with a grimace.

Boiling hot and agonizing, even with Aura. That was the way that you liked it. Past the pain, you could feel your mouth beginning to rapidly cool down with a fresh minty taste that clashed terribly with the dark, earthiness of the coffee, followed by your mouth being set ablaze once again. It tasted like home. Home for you was the Kingdom of Vacuo, within the great sand dunes and the occasional oasis. The criminality that was born of the brutal living conditions of Vacuo, you could do without, but everything else was nice. Including your late Teacher, Gods bless her soul.

Mrs. Fig was not necessarily the most social Hunter, nor was she very competent when it came to occasional bit of paperwork, such as taking you on as an apprentice, but what she taught you was worth far more than its weight in gold. She died to the Grimm, giving you a chaste kiss on the forehead before she used her Semblance and blasted you back onto the train the two of you were guarding.

You quickly turned to your side, an old habit from your many years wandering through the making sure that your weapon, a...

>A dust-infused parasol that also doubled as a large caliber gun, the shade the type of weapon provides makes it common in Vacuo

>Cane that held a telescopic blade that could extend from the very end of the cane itself through the usage of a spring, somewhat of a classic in these days of stranger mechashift weapons

>Dust infused square of cloth, filled with intricate arrays and patterns that was your standby, also durable enough to be used both as a weapon and restraining tool, even if it was really just your handkerchief

>A large revolving barreled flare gun, with four chambers that each held a revolving cylinder that accepted four types of dust per cylinder, a tool for casting with Dust, but also destructive in general

>>4397306
>Dust infused square of cloth, filled with intricate arrays and patterns that was your standby, also durable enough to be used both as a weapon and restraining tool, even if it was really just your handkerchief
Have to respect the magic scarf even if it is the weapon of jobbing teachers.

>>4397306
>Dust infused square of cloth, filled with intricate arrays and patterns that was your standby, also durable enough to be used both as a weapon and restraining tool, even if it was really just your handkerchief

>>4397306
>>A dust-infused parasol that also doubled as a large caliber gun, the shade the type of weapon provides makes it common in Vacuo

Simple, elegant, and capable blowing motherfuckers away at a comfortable distance. I like it.

>>4397306
>>A dust-infused parasol that also doubled as a large caliber gun, the shade the type of weapon provides makes it common in Vacuo

Vote extended until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time.

See you then.

>>4397306
Also on the option for revolving barrel, I meant revolving cylinder that has multiple revolving cylinders within. Sorry about the confusion if there's any.

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>>4397340
Ah, like Skelter Helter

>>4397322
Supporting this, though it should also have a sword mode just because we need to shank some mother fuckers.

>>4397306
>>A large revolving barreled flare gun, with four chambers that each held a revolving cylinder that accepted four types of dust per cylinder, a tool for casting with Dust, but also destructive in general

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>>4397025
how soon after this quest?

>>4397340
>A large revolving barreled flare gun, with four chambers that each held a revolving cylinder that accepted four types of dust per cylinder, a tool for casting with Dust, but also destructive in general
I like me some dakka

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>>4397737
If all goes well it will be the usual two weeks that he does between quests. It should be about 4-5 weeks including both the skip and the time on this quest. I'm really liking where this quest is going. A more intrigue based quest could give us practice for our future role as class president/cult leader and give Stando more experience writing those kind of politcal mind games.

>>4397306
>>Dust infused square of cloth, filled with intricate arrays and patterns that was your standby, also durable enough to be used both as a weapon and restraining tool, even if it was really just your handkerchief
Dust-weave and Dust-manipulation are so
versatile yet so underused in RWBY. Remember the glyph battle between Cinder and Glynda in episode 1? Dust manipulation. I really really really really want that.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4397320
>>4397321
>>4397987
Dust Weave Cloth

>>4397322
>>4397332
>>4397687
Umbrella Gun

>>4398728
Your weapon was there, still in its place on the chair beside you. Giving it another glance, then slowly scanning the surrounding tables, you came to realize that some civilians had surreptitiously glanced at your weapon, which to their eyes was a simple parasol, an uncommon sight in Vale. You grabbed it by the handle, gently resting its tip on the ground as you leaned the handle against the rim of your seat, drinking as if all was usual. Which it was.

The Parasol...

>Bitter Mercy

>Noise

>(Write-In)

Had its canopy made of dust infused cloth, which made channeling your aura through it far easier than if it hadn't been made of the material. It was overall a sturdy construction, the spring forged from dust infused metal, its ribs of a heavier metal along with the stick itself, which was a thick block of metal that held a large caliber rifle barrel within. The trigger was hidden beneath the crook of the handle, easily popped from its position, the bolt handle flat and disguised as your emblem. There was also a fold-up scope that also doubled as iron sights when it was flattened. It was what you would overall consider a fine piece of engineering, your pride and a weapon that had kept you alive through all of your years as a Huntsman.

Finishing your coffee, you paid for it and left The Ancient Mariner, into the bustling docks of Vale. From here, there were a number of locations you could go to. For one, you could go to the Valean Bounty Office to pick up a job. You could also just keep exploring the rest of Vale, not that you had much reason to, other than to take a ship to the other three kingdoms.

In the end, you decided to...

>Visit the Bounty Office and pick up a job there

>Use some of your dwindling funds to take a ship into Vacuo, visiting your Home Kingdom for the first time in a decade

>Continue walking down the docks and into Vale proper as a Tourist

>>4398775
>Long Eclipse
>Visit the Bounty Office and pick up a job there
We can take a trip back home once we have more cash on us

>>4398775
>>Use some of your dwindling funds to take a ship into Vacuo, visiting your Home Kingdom for the first time in a decade

>>4398775
>Visit the Bounty Office and pick up a job there

>>4399017
>>4399011

Will you vote for a name for your weapon?

>>4399035
I have no preference so ill go with
>Long Eclipse

>>4399035
Umbergris

>>4399017
>>4399010
Vote locked in

>>4399055
With the Long Eclipse in one hand, and a whole bunch of nothing in the other, you strode down the stone brick street, which was remarkably smooth for its construction, as was expected for the Capital of one of the four Kingdoms of Man and Faunus, but mostly Man. The people of Vale dressed in a wide motley of colors, much like Vacuo, but they were able to dress in much darker colors owing to their relatively cool climate. There were bowler hats and tricornes, lady's hats and much more, but almost everybody wore some sort of head covering. There were those who dressed in the fashion of the now, with their trench coats and slacks, along with those who dressed in the same style that had been popular for the last century, with their coat ruffles and long breeches.

You could tell apart the Huntsman and Huntresses from the civilians in the way they dressed, for Huntsman and Huntresses tended to favor clothing of a more practical sort, with thick leather vambraces and leg guards to some even wearing full plate or half plate armor. You were a Vacuan Huntsman, and as such, subscribed to the former style of clothes, with your black gloves and your thick cotton trenchcoat.

The disparity between the huntsman and their civilian counterparts grew all the more apparent the closer you approached the Bounty Office, as you saw less of cloth and more of plate. You drew looks from the local Huntsman, who wore pieces of plate or other metals strapped onto their bodies, even with the Aura they had. You pushed open one of the thick elm doors of the Bounty Office into its interior, which was comfortable from what you could describe it. With clean lacquered wooden floors covered with multiple, thick and colorful rugs that carried the heraldry of all of the Noble Houses of Vale, along with that of the Royal House that laid most prominent in the center. At the very far end from the entrance was the great wooden table that separated the workers and officials from the Huntsmen within.

Above, there hung an iron chandelier that was finely forged into various floral and other botanical shapes, the windows stained with depictions of battle against the horde of Grimm that beset mankind on all sides. Turning to the side, you made your way to a large wooden board that had multiple bounties hung up in paper.

You chose to bring which bounty to the official?

>BOUNTY: Slay an Elder Boarbatusk that was currently terrorizing the outskirts of Lower Cairn

>BOUNTY: Guard work available for any and all Huntsman of suitable skill in the recent settlement of Cognac's Rest in the Glenn Isles

>BOUNTY: Apprehend or slay rogue huntsman Rowan Lindquist, last located on the Island of Patch

>BOUNTY: Huntsman needed for a party to clear a Grimm Infestation within the ruined settlement of Harbinger

>>4399081
>Select the bounty offering the biggest payout
I know this vote didn't allow write-ins but I think it's within the realm of reason that this would be an option.

>>4399125
My bad. Here are the bounty payouts in their respective order.

>1 Medium

>2 High

>3 Medium-High

>4 High

>>4399081
>BOUNTY: Guard work available for any and all Huntsman of suitable skill in the recent settlement of Cognac's Rest in the Glenn Isles
Easy money. We don't have to track shit, all we have to do is keep ourselves alive and we get payed.

>>4399171
You took your time mulling over the options presented to you, as a man in full plate with a helmet visor of dust-infused glass came by, one thin arm covered in black plate moving towards the board as he swiped off the bounty for clearing the Grimm Infestation in Harbinger. Now that the other highest paying option was down, you picked up the bounty and brought it over to the clerk behind the table, her dull grey eyes looking up from where she had been signing some forms that you could barely divine. A brass placard in front of her read: "Mary Lamb, Bounty Acceptance Officer". You introduced yourself to her in the common trade language that connected the Four Kingdoms in spite of their vast differences.

"Ah. Here to take the Guard Bounty eh?" She quickly brought the form down onto the lower table beneath the high wooden table, her pen already beginning to move as she signed through multiple different forms with as much ease as your former Mentor had when she cut through a hoard of Beowulf with her greatsword.

"Here's the contract that comes with this bounty." Mary brought up another form, placing it onto the high table where you could sign it. Thankfully, the contents of the form were heavily dumbed down to the point where you were certain that even your former Mentor, as bad as she was with paperwork could get through it. This bounty cashed in at around 20,000 Lien, a very generous amount for the work entailed, that being two years of service as a stationary Huntsman for the relatively new settlement of Cognac's Rest, named for the fallen explorer who charted the isles in the first place, one Cognac Timber who, from what rumors said perished to a falling tree.

It was acceptable, given the high payout for such an easy job, as you were beginning to grow tired of your transitory lifestyle. You signed your name and other details about yourself onto all of the dotted lines, handing it over to Mary as she brought her hand out.

"Please give your Huntsman License and Checkbook for further verification." You slipped one hand into one of the inner pockets of your trench coat, removing your license and the checkbook that came with it, sliding it over to the Clerk who promptly looked over your license, before she opened your checkbook to a certain page and stamped it.

Your name on your license read as...

>(Write-In)

Your race on your license was listed as...

>Human

>Faunus (What type?)

>>4399223
>Steven Angleles
>Faunus (Bald Eagle, Wings)
Getting flight in exchange for being a called a dirty mutie is a fair trade. The combat and mobility it opens up independent of our dust supply is very useful.

Vote will remain open until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time.

>>4399245
Is the other downside baldness?

>>4399223
>Steven Angleles
>Human

My knowledge of RWBY is only osmosis through fanfiction, I hope that isn't a problem.

>Human
>Steve Rogers

>>4399706
voting

>>4399223
>Steven Angleles
>Faunus (What type?)
Chameleon. Flight is good and all, but so is stealth.

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>>4399706
>Steve Roger's
>Mr. Roger's or Captain America
I like to image we look like Mr. Rogers

>>4399945
Voting this!

>>4399223
Changing my vote to
>Faunus (Bald Eagle, Wings)

>>4399945
it's a beautiful day in remnant

>>4399223
Changing to
>Steven Rogers
>>Faunus (Bald Eagle, Wings)

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>>4399223
>Samuel Gold
>Faunus (Bald Eagle, Wings)
Color naming all but required in setting, and there's really only one name fit for an eagle controlled by the likes of us.

>>4399991
Huh, just letting you know that a color name is unusual during the Quest’s time period, considering that it takes place pre-Great War.

>>4399945
+1 for human Steve Rogers

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https://youtu.be/BJOjCDsCjKs
Switching my vote back to 100% human Steve Rogers.
Any ideas on what his semblance would be?

>>4400055
THE DIGITS HAVE SPOKEN!!! I think our semblance will be 「Bad Neighborhood」any target subjected to this semblance will have all people in their vicinity appear as featureless silhouettes, temporarily strip them of their ability to differentiate between people and make them unable to discern friend from foe.

>>4400055
Switching vote here too.
>>4400325
Voting

>>4399706
>>4399929
>>4400045
>>4400055
>>4400325
It’s a beautiful day in this Remnantwood

>>4400325
I'd honestly prefer some kind of Semblance that would make people calm or de-agro opponents「Good Neighborhood」, but if there were an option for Sembalances, I'd vote for this. Because i

>>4400525
Steve Rogers. Human. Those were the two most important bits of information on your Huntsman License. One, because as a human, you were not subject to the same discrimination that the Faunus faced within the larger cities. In the frontier settlements and villages beyond the wall, that discrimination either intensified to the point where they were lynched, or was non-existent, given the pervasiveness of the Grimm. With a friendly smile, you took your license and checkbook back and stowed them away into your long trenchcoat.

"Thank you very much." You found yourself saying as Mary went through the rest of the forms present on her desk, before she stapled them together, stamping them with a different, much larger stamp. She placed it into a manila folder, handing it over to you.

"Your contract and other details regarding your mission will be found on page 3 of your mission packet. Thank you for defending Humanity's Borders from the dark clutches of the Grimm." She said the last sentence like she was a recorder, having likely repeated the same phrase over a hundred thousand times by now.

Looking into the folder, you found that it contained a square slip of paper. It was a ticket for an Airship to the Glenn Isles, which was scheduled to depart at 2 PM. Slipping another hand into your coat, you brought out a pocket watch and flipped it open. The time read: 1:00 PM. You slipped the folder and its contents into large flap dedicated to holding folders within your Huntsman trenchcoat, dyed a dull red, if only because you were fond of that color, and that Huntsmen were permitted to be at least somewhat eccentric given the nature of their work.

You had approximately one hour to spend in Vale, or more realistically, you had thirty minutes before you were expected to depart for the Airport, which was a ten minute walk from Bounty Office.

You decided to...

>Depart to Vale's Airport at once so that you could claim a good seat on the Airship

>Buy more ammunition from a local dust shop before departing (CURRENT SAVINGS: 3,000 LIEN)

>Read through your dossier files

>Take a short walk through the streets of Vale, eventually stopping at the Airport, a trip that would take forty minutes

>(Write-In)

>>4400559
Tell Mary she's doing a wonderful job and we hope she has a great day.

>Depart to Vale's Airport at once so that you could claim a good seat on the Airship
>Read through your dossier files
No reason we can't go over it while in a comfortable seat.

>>4400567
+1

>>4400567
+1
We must fully embrace our role as Mr. Rogers

>>4400567
+1

>>4400567
Yes

>>4400567
>>4400573
>>4400574
>>4400620
>>4400632
Vote locked in

>>4400676
"Oh, before I leave." You turned back to Mary, her eyes looking up at you with curiosity. "You are doing an absolutely wonderful job. I hope you have a great day." It really never hurt to be nice, as not only did deter the Grimm as all things positive did, but it also brought up the spirits of others. Mary flushed as she quickly went back to the busy yet important work of a clerk in one of The Kingdom of Vale's many Bounty Offices, the lifeblood of any and all Huntsman or Huntress alive. You left the Bounty Office then and there, with the Long Eclipse swinging in tandem with your hand. You were careful not to hit anyone as you made your way towards Vale's biggest and only Airport.

It was a large sloped building that towered over the surrounding buildings, mostly small homes and businesses that catered to the many travelers who had recently arrived from the Airport. The small Travel sub-district was often shadowed by the great behemoths that were the Kingdom of Vale's Airships, which were far larger than any other, and for good reason. They often had to carry a vast multitude of people, and were armed with either manned turrets or squads of Huntsman who would be hired as guards. With their huge, almost lopsided metal chassis that made them resemble a malformed grape, with only two sleek wings that jutted to either side of the ship for steering.

There was a reason why Gravity Dust tended to be expensive, and that was due to copious amounts needed to construct an Airship. Putting your thoughts regarding the inefficiencies of air travel aside, you entered the King's Terminal and passed through security with ease, given your Huntsman license. With the innocuous appearance of your weapon, you were not made to put it into a case like many other Huntsman who needed to have their weapons visible.

Taking a seat onto the chair, you opened your coat, removing the dossier from within and going through it with practiced ease. It took a remarkable amount of time for you to read through it, and by the time you were done, it was already time to board the airship, which you did with some hesitation. As the Airship began to rise into the air, the metal latches undocking as it momentarily lurched in the sky.

Now that you were on board the Airship, what did you do during the three hour flight to the Glenn Isles?

>You decided to sit next to a lonely Faunus, whose feature appeared to be a set of somewhat curled horns that jutted out from the side of his head

>Your stomach lurched, so you decided to hang out in the mostly open section beneath the ship for Huntsman or civilians with their aura unlocked, in the case that there might be an accident

>You took a seat by the window, the seats surrounding it conspicuously empty

>(Write-In)

>>4400706
>You decided to sit next to a lonely Faunus, whose feature appeared to be a set of somewhat curled horns that jutted out from the side of his head
We must cheer up horn fren

>>4400706
>>You took a seat by the window, the seats surrounding it conspicuously empty

>>4400706
>You decided to sit next to a lonely Faunus, whose feature appeared to be a set of somewhat curled horns that jutted out from the side of his head
Lets make a friend

Forgot a stat on the sheet

Newly made one here

https://pastebin.com/J5SQmqUt

>>4400763
NAME: STEVE ROGERS
RACE: HUMAN
WEAPON: LONG ECLIPSE

>STRENGTH: C+ (20/250)

>ENDURANCE: B+ (5/450)

>SPEED: B (20/400)

>SKILL: A (20/700)

>DUST MANIPULATION: D (0/100)

>AURA LEVEL: B+ (25/450)

>AURA MANIPULATION: C+ (25/250)

What is the / for? Is the left number a d100 bonus?

>>4400781
Numbers detailing your progress before you go up a rank.

Ranks go like this:

C -> C+ -> B

>>4400715
>>4400718
Vote Locked In

>>4400791
There was a lone Faunus who sat alone on a series of seats that had been bolted to the wall. His loneliness was perhaps caused by his horns, or the fact that he was a Faunus, which in your opinion was simply unfair. So you did the only thing you could think of, and gave him a chance as you briskly began to walk towards him. His eyes opened for just the briefest of moments, hand clutching the handle of his sheathed Tachi, a distinctly Mistralian sword. His blue eyes briefly narrowed at your approach, before he slowly relaxed upon the realization that you were just here to give him company.

"Human. If you have any insults for me or my kind, you can leave them out of the Airship." He said with a distinct Inner-Mistralian accent, one leg crossed over his other, but you noticed how he scooted to give you room regardless of his implied threat. You raised up your hands in a placating motion, your eyes crinkling kindly.

"Ah.. I have no insults for you nor your kind. I just saw how you were alone, and I thought that you were feeling pretty lonely, so I decided to be a good neighbor and come over." His cheeks briefly flushed with red, the Bull or Buffalo Faunus having lost his composure as he looked to the side, huffing.

"G-Go away Human.. I h-have no business with you." He seemed to be awfully defensive, and he tried to keep what little dignity he had left. But upon seeing how you approached him with your intentions completely out in the open, something easily concealable for any average Huntsman, he sighed, letting you sit by him.

"A-Ah.. What an unfamiliar feeling. Forgive me for my lack of geniality." The Faunus uncrossed his leg, standing up as he bowed deeply towards you in a traditional manner, which you did not stop, as you figured that might've just removed what self-worth he had left.

"It's no problem at all." You laughed in a grandfatherly manner, from what people told you in spite of your relatively young age. "Say..."

>"Would you like to hear a story?"

>STORY 1: Your early humorous encounters as a Huntsman in Training

>STORY 2: An encounter you had against a pack of Apathy three years back

>STORY 3: Stories about your teacher and mother-figure

> "Would you care for a gummy?"

> "How are you doing today?"

>>4400816
>"Would you care for a gummy?"
>STORY 3: Stories about your teacher and mother-figure

>>4400816
>>STORY 2: An encounter you had against a pack of Apathy three years back

>>4400816
>>STORY 1: Your early humorous encounters as a Huntsman in Training

>>4400816
>"Would you like to hear a story?"
>>STORY 2: An encounter you had against a pack of Apathy three years back

The vote will remain open until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time like always.

Discussion is encouraged.

>>4400816
> "Would you care for a gummy?"
> "How are you doing today?"
Anyone against asking how he is today in addition to offering a snack, before doing a flashback or retelling of past events to him?

>>4400876
I was originally put off by this quest and more than a little disappointed that this time around wasn't going to be King Crimson and Deku adventures, but this turned out to be even better. I hope you continue running this quest in the future.

>>4400816
Where are our manners. We should exchange names. We can probably tell him about our destination and our two year contract. Where is he off to?

>>4400871
>>4400827
Vote locked in

>>4402176
"Would you like to hear a story?" You could see the discomfort growing on the Faunus' face, his blue eyes looking away from you before they returned. He seemed resigned to his fate, his voice quiet.

"Very well."

"It happened quite some time ago, maybe five years back when I worked with a hunter of a similar age." You regaled him with a tale about your years as a plucky eighteen year old Hunter, fresh and full of vengeance against the creatures of the Grimm. You had encountered and worked with a Hunter who was but a year younger than you, one Joaquin Calavera whose eyes were a curious silver. He had come to you with a job regarding a recent Grimm Migration in the Black Forests of Northern Mistral, near the port city of Argus which was victim to a variety of attacks by a menagerie of aquatic Grimm, but you digressed. You had laid several dust traps in the Forest, felt the ennui that signified the presence of a horde of Apathy and you set the forest ablaze while Joaquin screamed the whole way.

You had abridged it of course, because while you did set fire to the forest and killed a majority of the Apathy present, it was not enough. Joaquin did something with his silver eyes, blinding you from what you could remember, and all of the Grimm that the two of you were set to Hunt had turned to stone. You left it out of the story you told him, for such a power would have to remain a secret.

As you told your story, you could see the Faunus' face begin to relax as he was lulled into a slumber by your story telling. You took slight offense to that, as you were certain that your story-telling was not that boring. But regardless, there you were sat by him for a majority of the trip, waking him...

>30 minutes before landing and introducing yourself to him

>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him

>You let him be for the entirety of the trip, certain that the sudden jolting that came with the docking would wake him

>(Write-In)

>>4402201
>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him
He’s probably had a long day so we should let him rest but it would be rude to not introduce ourself

>>4402201
>>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him

>>4402201
>You let him be for the entirety of the trip, certain that the sudden jolting that came with the docking would wake him
>(Write-In)
Find something to read and entertain yourself with, then

>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him

>>4402201
>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him

>>4402201
>>After the ship had docked, introducing yourself to him

>>4402207
>>4402211
>>4402265
>>4402276
Vote locked in

>>4402300
You let the Faunus be, spending the rest of the time you had on the shuttle reading the news. From what you had read, it seemed that Mantle had a new accolade to itself, as the recent issue of The Clock Work called it the Land of Innovation. Apparently Mantle's leading scientists, including one Baldrich Watts had discovered multiple uses for dust that went beyond the simple forging and infusion techniques known before. They unveiled their newest creation, a gigantic hulking suit to fight against the hordes of the Grimm, but in reality, everyone knew that it was made primarily for the Military. They called it the Paladin, or officially, as the Paladin-1, a true behemoth of a mechanic suit, approximately 4 meters tall, with gigantic hexagonal shoulder plates of greyish black, clearly the result of Gravity Dust infusion. It better resembled a tower of plated dust-metal and held a multitude of cannons, painted white in the emblem of the Kingdom of Mantle.

There was also news that the Kingdom of Mistral had recently come to an accord with the Kingdom of Vale over settlement of the Glenn Isles, which you had coincidentally taken a contract for. The Kingdom of Vale would allow the Kingdom of Mistral to co-settle the isles with them, in hopes of settling the recent grievances over a dust mine that had supposedly been attacked by agents of the Kingdom of Vale, but were revealed to from an unknown third party that had attempted to instigate a war between the two Kingdoms, which would likely lead to a global war.

Soon the ship had finally docked, the thunderous clanking of metal magnetically attaching to one another having done much to slowly rouse the Faunus from his sleep. One eye blearily opened, followed by the other as he took in your kindly smile and your warm eyes. He slowly blinked, before he jumped up into his chair before he settled down.

"Ah. It's only you."

"I'm afraid that I haven't introduced myself. Must have slipped my mind. My name is Steven Rogers, Huntsman. And you?" The Faunus to his credit seized for only a second before he replied.

"Suigyu Taurus, Huntsman of a sort." He gave you a short bow, before he picked up his sword.

"It has been nice to speak with you, but I must depart. Perhaps we can meet again here in the Glenn Isles." He gave you another bow, before he departed from the Airship. You followed soon after, and before you knew it, you were in the recently built Airport of the Glenn Isles, a small building that had multiple tall platforms upon which the Airships would dock at.

The roads leading from the Airport were mostly cobble, but soon veered off into dirt as they went into Cognac's Rest proper.

What did you do upon entering the Settlement?

>Report for duty at the Town Hall

>Take a short coffee break at a local Cafe

>Take a short stroll through the admittedly small settlement of Cognac's Rest

>(Write-In)

>>4402334
>Report for duty at the Town Hall
Duty first, pleasantries after.

>>4402334
>Report for duty at the Town Hall

>>4402334
>>Report for duty at the Town Hall

>>4402353
>>4402357
>>4402391
Vote locked in

File: The Magistrate.png (225 KB, 500x500)

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>>4402420
Deciding not to dawdle about Cognac's Rest when you had a job to do, you briskly walked down the cobble road that lead to the packed earth streets of the settlement. The Town Hall was easy to find, given the massive sign that read so that hung in front of the door, along with its much larger and overall grander construction. Built of wood that had been painted white, with a stone brick foundation that raised it up from the ground, thus requiring a staircase up to it. The emblem of the Kingdom of Vale and its heraldry had been painted onto the staircase with bright and likely expensive pigments and paints, a sign of the symbolic importance of the settlement.

You quickly entered the Town Hall, noticing a pair of figures who exited from it, both dressed in Valean plate armor, with their weapons holstered at their hip. You were greeted by the sight of the Town Magistrate, who not only dealt with matters in law but also in matters regarding Huntsman. From what you had read in the dossier, this must have been Magistrate Phillips, who was a tall and corpulent man, aged with a beard of grey, his curled hair peppered with shades of gray and white. He rose from his chair, his belly jiggling with a speed that did not befit him, as he grasped your hand in a strong grip.

"A Huntsman here to fulfill his contract I presume?" He said, his voice deep and raspy.

"That would be correct, and you are Magistrate Phillips?"

"Indeed! Now you must be here in Cognac's Rest to report for your duty. As such, here are your papers." He turned to the side, bending over to a low table as he picked up a neatly ordered file.

"You will find the papers guaranteeing you a room at the local Tavern, along with free food and drink for the rest of your tenure here at Cognac's Rest." The Magistrate laughed, a deep thing that shook his belly terribly, his coat straining to keep in the fat. In spite of his appearance, the man must have been at one point a fearsome Huntsman if he had been appointed to be the Magistrate of a relatively new settlement like this.

"Thank you." You smiled as the Magistrate began to take a seat, sighing deeply as he relaxed into the chair with a glass full of mulled wine. A glass that he did not have prior to sitting upon said chair.

You decide to...

>Ask the Magistrate if there were any missions for you to take

>Exit and explore the settlement of Cognac's Rest before taking a mission

>Go to your rooms given to you at the Tavern and see if there's anything good to drink or eat

>(Write-In)

>>4402442
>(Write-In)
Ask him about the various other huntsmen here. Are they not experienced enough to fulfill our roll here, or is it backwards and this job only requires minimal effort while more experienced huntsmen are needed to fend off the grim and stuff?
Did he used to be a huntsman? If yes is he a still active huntsmen? I bet he's very skilled.

Vote open until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time. See you then.

>>4402452
+1

>>4402452
These are important questions. It's good to get and idea of who we are working with. Supporting.

I've been thinking about SQR and the other quests that Stando has run and I learned what made SQR in particular stick out among his work. Character interaction. The one-offs he ran were filled with the excellent lore delivery he is known for, and you can see him grow in skill as a QM vastly in these quests, but there always felt like there was something missing. I think one of the core reasons why SQR worked so well was because of KC and Deku's dynamic, while up until very recent events in SQR Deku almost never interacted with any characters he always had KC, the perspective shifts between Deku and KC allowed both of them to grow and develop as characters independently of player interaction.

The huge excitement that had been building for Deku's arrival at UA had nothing to do with advancing the plot or ways to get more power, influence or snu-snu in a game perspective, it was because everyone was excited to get involved with all of these other characters. One of the core reasons why our sister quest of MHAQ (Ushi) is such a massive success is because it gave a chance to explore and form a chemistry with such a massive cast of characters. While lacking exploration in the canon material, on a conceptual level most of class 1-A and 1-B have so much personality in their designs and subtle mannerisms that they practically write themselves.

The little details that we've gotten so far like Bakugo and Mineta getting along surprisingly well thanks to their shared love of big tits, Iida knowing Okinawan Kenpo for reasons Deku will pry out of him soon enough and Mineta being tech savvy to circumvent his parent's attempts to stop him from cooming, becoming so cum brained as to manifest a stand for the sole purpose of getting past the panda and causing ecchi wardrobe malfunctions with subtle help from his corrosion all feel right.

But while Ushi quest leans more heavily on it's slice of life elements SQR will balance it's more slow paced and causal moments with brutal life and death struggles, Dues Ex style nests of lies, conspiracy and cover up that will have the cast question everything they have ever been taught and the discovery of indescribable cosmic horrors and forbidden truths that burden the minds of all that know of them them.

I think nothing embodies what is to come more than the Chainsaw Man pastebin. The interactions between Denji, Power, Aki and D4C and the future Devil all felt organic, really capturing the feeling of a bunch of idiots working for the CIA. But in all of that retardation and absurdist situational comedy there was that moment where Hawks genuinely reached out to Denji, trying to get an outside perspective to help ease the internal conflict caused by his orders to kill Best Jeanist so he could infiltrate the league.

It is those moments of pain,confusion, internal struggle and eventual growth that I think define SQR.

>>4402636
tldr. I'm liking the focus on characters that both this quest and SQR are beginning to make and I'm excited to see where all of this goes.

>>4402636
>>4402643
same

>>4402452
>>4402543
>>4402636
Vote locked in

>>4403707
"I have a few questions to ask you, if I may?"

"Go on, ask freely my friend." The fat Magistrate saluted you with his glass of mulled wine, before he took a long swig from it, downing half of the drink in the span of a second.

"Why does Cognac's Rest need so many Huntsman? Is it the Grimm, or is it a case of the old adage of it being better to be overprepared than to suffer from a lack of preparation?"

"It is the former, for the Glenn Isles were once full to the brim with an incredibly diverse menagerie of Grimm. I used to hunt here long before the settlement of these isles in preparation for said settlement. Cognac's Rest is a new city, about twenty years of age." Magistrate Phillips swirled the remaining mulled wine within his glass, the liquor best resembling blood with its crimson opaqueness.

"But there have been more Grimm as of late, more than what our Hunters could handle, which was why we put that bounty up throughout the Four Kingdoms." You knew that Huntsman and Huntresses operated independently from the Four Kingdoms, save for the unlucky few who hailed from Mantle and were either gangpressed into the Military or otherwise conscripted.

"Gods be damned Cognac and his late spectre." The Magistrate muttered, eyes glazed over and looking far ahead, as if he were in the midst of some memories that he would rather not have been in.

"Sir? Magistrate?"

"Hm?"

"Were you at one point a Huntsman?" You had given him an out, and he took it with the desperation of a dead man seeking to return to life.

"Ah, of course. I still am one, thanks to my Semblance." He nodded at you, before he slumped into his chair, his glass gone from his hand in one blink, and then back again, refilled with another.

"Now then, do you have any more questions?"

You...

>Did, and you asked what he had meant by his muttered comment

>Did not, and departed from the Town Hall to get something to eat and drink at the local Tavern

>Did, and you asked if he had any missions for you to do

>(Write-In)

>>4403720
>Did not, and departed from the Town Hall to get something to eat and drink at the local Tavern
It’s best not to pry, also tell him it was a pleasure to meet him and hope that he has a wonderful day

>>4403720
>>Did not, and departed from the Town Hall to get something to eat and drink at the local Tavern

>>4403720
Does his semblance have something to do with speed or illusions by chance?

>>4403720
>Did not, and departed from the Town Hall to get something to eat and drink at the local Tavern
We can probably get more info on Cognac's spectre at the local drinking hole. I'm sure there is a few people who know about it and from what I can gather from the Magistrate they will definitely be the type to drink.

>>4403724
>>4403729
>>4403817
Vote locked in, writing may be delayed

>>4403832
You did not have any more questions to ask him, and you had decided to let him be. Whatever memories he had of Cognac's Spectre must have been painful, given the way his eyes had glazed over. You had seen that same look in the eyes of your old Mentor when you had once asked her what had happened to her partner. You never did ask, and she never told you, but that you knew how serious it was regardless.

You exited from the Town Hall and made your way down the steps, passing by another Huntsman whose gaudy yellow vestments likely indicated that they were made of dust-infused cloth, or that the Huntsman was experienced in the arts of Dust Sorcery given the different yet distinctly dust colored scrolling that trailed his cuff links and went down his torso. The packed earthen streets of Cognac's Rest made it easy for you to find a way to the local Tavern which stood out on purpose. "Ichabod's Hollow", the hanging sign out by the great outdoor porch read, the seats and tables closed in by a wooden fence. You entered the establishment and into the Bar where things got livelier.

The locals of Cognac's Rest were a hardy sort, and they had to be, for they were in essence Frontiersmen. A big broad and incredibly hairy man, if the way his chest hair stuck out from his shirt was any indication drunkenly slapped you on the back, his dilated pupils gazing into your eyes.

"Doooooo... I know youuu?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Shit. Thouuuught you were Jermiehan for a second." He blinked, before he turned to the side, his parted hair hanging from his head for dear life as he turned around, bellowing.

"GET OUR NEW HUNTSMAN A DRINK!"

The bar roared to life, the drunken locals slamming their full metal tankards together, some even crumpling under the force, likely due to the Huntsman behind said tankards. The bartender, a tall and weary looking man sighed, pulling up a wooden mug which he placed under a gigantic barrel, filling it to the brim, the foam spilling over as he placed it onto the bar, letting you approach it.

"Don't mind old Rainart. Please. Just don't."

"I see.. Is he always like this?"

"Only when he's drunk, which he is now."

Now that you had taken a seat at the Bar, you decided to...

>Ask the Bartender about Cognac's Spectre

>Ask the Bartender about the Huntsman assigned to Cognac's Rest

>Ask the Bartender about any rumors associated with the settlement or outside

>(Write-In)

>>4403896
>>Ask the Bartender about the Huntsman assigned to Cognac's Rest

Vote extended until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time.

Sorry to cut the session short, schedule changed.

>>4403896
>Ask the Bartender about the Huntsman assigned to Cognac's Rest

>>4403896
>Ask the Bartender about Cognac's Spectre

>>4403896
>Ask the Bartender about the Huntsman assigned to Cognac's Rest

>>4403951
>>4403978
>>4404183
Vote locked in

>>4405154
"Who are the Huntsmen guarding Cognac's Rest?" You asked the Bartender, who raised only a brow before he began to speak, pointing out the various figures as he spoke using his eyes as he cleaned a mug with a rag.

"The giant, hairy, and loud when drunk Huntsman is Old Rainart. That's just what he's called. Don't let his demeanor fool you, because that man right there is probably the strongest Huntsman in all of Cognac's Rest." You saw Old Rainart move his flagon up into the air, slamming it into his mouth as ale poured down his face and ran down his wet shirt to the cheers of his fellow Huntsmen.

"Then there's Jeremiah. He doesn't drink, but you'd probably know him if you'd see him given his lightning dust infused clothes. He's a veteran Dust Mage, but he rarely goes out to hunt anymore, preferring to guard the walls from the Grimm, not that that's bad or anything." The Bartender finished cleaning his mug, before he set it down under the bar.

"The only armored Huntsmen, coincidentally a Huntsman and a Huntress are our married couple. Jack's a natural with the sword, and Jill prefers the hammer."

"And then?"

The Bartender coughed into his sleeve, excusing himself as you began to finally drink from your cup. The ale was of an alright quality, although it could not even be compared to the alcohol that came from Patch. The Bartender returned, several mugs in hand as he finished his explanation.

"And then there's our Magistrate, Samuel Phillips. He's still active from what I've heard, although his duties as the Settlement's Magistrate means that he rarely has the time to Hunt, nor does the Settlement have the luxury of letting him do so." The Bartender sighed as you contemplated over the number of Huntsman in Cognac's Rest. It was unusual for a settlement of this size to have counting you, five active Huntsman, six if the Magistrate ever lost his job. Usually a new settlement only had at most three Huntsman who were meant for large Grimm incursions, as the Militia usually dealt with the occasional Beowolf or two.

The festivities of the locals and the Huntsman inside was interrupted by the door suddenly slamming open, a haggard young man crashing through the door, only for Rainart to catch him as he nearly tumbled. He leaned up and said something to the Huntsman, who suddenly slammed his flagon onto a nearby table, adjusted his shirt so that it did not stick to him and left from the Bar.

What did you do?

>You followed Old Rainart

>You continued to try and sink into the Rumor Mill from the Bartender

>You continued drinking

>You tried to find a familiar face in the Tavern

>You got up and retired to your room for the evening

>(Write-In)

>>4405173
>Jack and Jill
>incest
>ok

>You followed Old Rainart
Could there be trouble that would require additional aid?
Pay for your drink and follow after.

>>4405173
>You followed Old Rainart

>>4405183
>>4405226
Vote locked in

>>4405231
>Vote locked in
>Jack leglocked in

>>4405231
You removed a five lien bill from your coat pocket, sliding it over to the Bartender who nodded in appreciation. Quickly rising from the chair, you followed Old Rainart out of the door, passing by the ragged youth who leaned against the table, terror and shock carved into his face. He kept muttering something that you just barely heard, an unintelligible gibbering that flowed out and dispersed into the air. Giving the unfortunate youth a gentle pat on the shoulder, one that he did not notice, you exited from the Tavern as you saw that Old Rainart was already beginning to rush towards the gates of the town. You followed him, walking briskly with your Long Eclipse clutched in one hand.

You noticed a flash of yellow in the corner of one eye, the appearance of which was clarified by the appearance of Jeremiah on the ramparts of the settlement's walls. Catching up to Rainart, you spoke to him as the two of you neared the thick metal gates of Cognac's Rest.

"What did the Boy say to you?" Rainart briefly turned his head to regard you before he responded with a harsh whisper.

"There's been a murder at the walls. Watchwoman Lisbeth's been found just ten yards away from the walls." You said nothing, but your eyes must have shown what you had felt as Rainart nodded in approval.

"Aye, that amount of negativity's going to bring in a lot of the bastards. We're lucky that only I heard what he said. If everyone else wasn't drunk enough, then we'd be overflowing with Grimm by now." You quickly loaded a clip into the Long Eclipse, using standard bullets instead of the more specialized yet expensive dust bullets that were often used by gunners. The main reason as to why you could even use regular bullets in Huntsman work was due to the size of the bullets your guns used. One shot was usually all that it took to put down a Beowolf, a mean feat for any gun to accomplish.

Rainart simply jumped up from the ground, landing onto the wall's ramparts with a heavy thud, the metal doors of the settlement groaning open as two hurried members of the Watch carried in a body that had been bundled in a tarp that was being carried by both men. The door began to close, but even through it in the distance, you saw the glowing red eyes of a Beowulf bounding towards the walls.

Quickly leaping up the stone walls of the Settlement, you decided to take watch at...

>The Northern Gate, the very same gate that Rainart had settled himself at

>The Southern Gate, a mostly unused gate given that it directly faced the ocean

>The Western Gate, a gate that faced the Western Woods of the Glenn Isles, manned by only Jeremiah and a few men of the Watch

>>4405270
>>The Western Gate, a gate that faced the Western Woods of the Glenn Isles, manned by only Jeremiah and a few men of the Watch

>>4405270
>>The Southern Gate, a mostly unused gate given that it directly faced the ocean

>>4405301
this

>>4405301
>>4405323
Vote locked in

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>>4405345
The settlement of Cognac's Rest was built on a steep slope that led down to a cliff face, at the bottom of which lied the stony shores of the largest of the Glenn Isles. As such, the Northern Gate was located on what was perhaps the highest part of Cognac's Rest, which meant that you could easily see the rest of the Gates from there. You saw how undermanned the Western Gate seemed to be, and before you could even think about helping you saw how the sky seemed to light up in a blinding explosion of yellow. You saw a blob of yellow glowing light hurl a great bolt of orange yellow lightning into the sky, which quickly split and thundered down onto the horde of Grimm that had approached the Western Gate.

That horde barely existed at this point, with only a few crippled Beowolves that the Militiamen were able to down with a concentrated blast of gunfire with their mounted turrets. Seeing a veteran Dust Mage had awed you, as you had never seen a Huntsman who had been half as good a Dust Mage as Jeremiah was. But the Southern Gate was barely manned, as it faced the cliffside down to the ocean where what little aquatic Grimm did surface were able to be put down before they even reached the cliffside staircase to the settlement. Leaping up into the air, you opened the Long Eclipse, the parasol catching the wind with its dust infused cloth as you glided down to the Southern Gate.

Gently landing on the ramparts, you stood up and closed your parasol, much to the shock of the surrounding Militiamen, who seemed to be quite unused to the kind of travel that your parasol allowed you, especially with your better than average grasp at your own Aura. The coast seemed to be clear. But without warning, a singular Grimm rose from the depths a great distance from the shore, a winged serpent-like creature that began to fly towards the settlement at great speed.

Oh for fuck's sake, a Sea Feilong. Given the Glenn Isle's presence near the Shallow Shore, you knew that there was a chance that any ship here could have encountered one. But never had you ever seen a Grimm of this size darting towards the settlement at the speed it had been going.

You...

>Quickly ordered the Militiamen to open fire on the creature

>Pushed the Long Eclipse's scope up and aimed for the creature

>Commandeered a cannon and attempted to shoot the creature from out of the sky

>(Write-In)

>>4405389
>(Write-In)
Punch holes in it's wings. We're gonna clip it's capacity for flight.

Is it possible tame these Apathies?

>>4405389
Sorry. To clairify I mean "punch" holes with our Long Eclipse through it's wings since the membranes should be thin enough to puncture. Do we have any shredder rounds?

>>4405389
>>Pushed the Long Eclipse's scope up and aimed for the creature

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4405414
Punch holes in its wings with Long Eclipse

>>4405425
Aim at the creature

>>4405389
>Pushed the Long Eclipse's scope up and aimed for the creature
>You called for the Militiamen to hold their fire until you gave the order and waited for the right moment to shred one of it's wings with massed gunfire

Vote open until 4 PM Pacific Time tomorrow.

See you then.

>>4405500
>>First removed the fear from the hearts of the Militiamen by lambasting the creature, and then ordering them to shoot it with their cannons

>>4405469
A palm slapped the bottom of the Long Eclipse, the shaft of the umbrella visibly widening as its blocky but mostly circular barrel was lifted by a section of metal that came in between the two sections. A glass circle popped up from behind the iron sights, before the second lense followed suit as the sides rose up, snapping together to form a diamond shaped scope of metal. You shifted your left foot behind your right, leaning hard onto your right foot as you braced yourself. You aimed at the Grimm's wings, hoping that your shot would hit it, and fired.

The panicked silence of the ramparts were obliterated by the thunderous explosion of your gun firing, the muzzle flash encapsulating most of the front of the gun, the dust infused fabric holding steadfast in the presence of such force. Your knees momentarily buckled as your aura crackled, the handle of the parasol slamming into your shoulder.

[380/400 AURA]

But the pain you felt was well worth it as the bullet missed its mark by a mere inch, which meant that it hit the actual arm of the creature itself. With a loud snap that was audible even at this distance, you saw how its right wing folded in on itself, hanging gruesomely from its side as the entire thing began its ungraceful decline towards the ground.

But that was just it, the damned Grimm had gotten close enough to the shore where it could reasonably crawl itself up the cliff with just one wing remaining. It slammed straight into the ocean just ten feet from the shore, sending a geyser of water vapor into the air as it began to slowly paddle its way onto the shore. You had never seen anything like this. Judging by the size of that Sea Fei Long, the Grimm must have been at least 200 years old. But it was acting like a juvenile, what with its suicidal rage and drive.

At the current rate that it was dragging itself towards the settlement, you estimated that it would reach the wall in at 2 minutes, which was plenty of time to take it down.

You...

>First removed the fear from the hearts of the Militiamen by lambasting the creature, and then ordering them to shoot it with their cannons

>Ordered them to open fire on it with the cannons on the wall

>Tried to put it down with an aura charged shot of the Long Eclipse

>(Write-In)

>>4405508

>>4405511
>First removed the fear from the hearts of the Militiamen by lambasting the creature, and then ordering them to shoot it with their cannons

>>4405511
>>Ordered them to open fire on it with the cannons on the wall

>>4405511
>First removed the fear from the hearts of the Militiamen by lambasting the creature, and then ordering them to shoot it with their cannons
Tell them of how silly it looks swimming with one wing. From this distance it hardly looks scary don't it?

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>>4405511
>4 posts in a day

>First removed the fear from the hearts of the Militiamen by lambasting the creature, and then ordering them to shoot it with their cannons.

>>4405516
>>4405761
>>4405999
Vote locked in

>>4406609
You turned around, seeing hints of hesitation in the faces of the Militiamen. In your career as a Huntsman, you found that it was always important to keep morale high, so you decided to lambast the crawling Grimm in front of you.

"Look at that thing! One wing down and it's already crawling like a slug." You pointed out the hilarity of the situation to the men from your point of view as a Huntsman, or from anyone with a weapon's point of view, cracking friendly jokes while you all but devastated the reputation of the Sea Feilong. In less than thirty seconds, the men were laughing and pointing at the thing, which made the next part of your job easier.

You told them to open fire on it, and a few of the Militiamen gave you a lazy salute, cranking the base of the cannons to move them as they aimed at the Sea Feilong. With one thunderous boom, the Grimm's head cratered in, followed by it being cut in half by the heavy shells of the cannons on the ramparts. The Grimm weakly reached forward with half of an already broken wing before it collapsed, dissipating into the air.

You saw the Miltiiamen beginning to celebrate, and so you looked around, seeing the wisps of darkness float into the air en masse. It seemed as if Jeremiah had done in his fair share of the Grimm, and you saw that the Northern Gate had the highest number killed, given the practically black cloud that quickly rose above the front wall, before it vanished.

With your first job here settled, you returned to the Tavern a hero, the locals and your fellow Huntsmen cheering you on.

You decided to...

>Try and find a familiar face in the Tavern

>Retire to your room for the rest of the night

>Inquire about Lisbeth's suspicious death

>(Write-In)

>>4406624
[385/400 AURA]

>>4406624
>Examine Lisbeth's corpse
We can inquire about the death later. We need to get a look at the crime scene while it's fresh to see if there is any evidence that could give us some leads.

>>4406633
Supporting

>>4406624
>>Inquire about Lisbeth's suspicious death

>>4406660
>>4406633
Vote locked in

>>4406692
Upon entering the Tavern, you decided that it would be a better usage of your time to investigate the crime scene while it was still fresh. As such, you left the establishment and made your way towards the only constabulary station and jail in all of Cognac's Rest. It was raining, and your parasol did as much as it could to prevent you from getting wet. You had to channel your aura through your parasol in order to make it water proof, which was an annoyance in of itself.

To you, it was no surprise to see the looks of apprehension on the constabulary's faces as you entered the building with your parasol that was eerily wet. The building was in of itself a comfortable place with waxed wooden floors with a fireplace built into the far end of the waiting room that likely heated the entire building somehow. There was a separation between the waiting room and the rest of the station, a high table of wood and a window of glass that covered it, allowing the optimum amount of safety while allowing for easy communications between any citizen and the local peace keeping force.

"May I help you?" A tall constable with a bushy mustache asked you from behind the window, which he had opened. You stood there for a moment, before you spoke.

"I am Huntsman Steve Rogers. May I see the late Watchwoman Lisbeth's body?" The constable raised an eyebrow, before he coughed into his hand, reaching out from the window with the other.

"Your identification please."

You gave him your manila folder along with your Huntsman License, to which he hummed as he went over them, before he gave them back to you without much fanfare. Closing the window, you saw him walk off into the station itself, before the heavy metal door leading into the station clicked, opening as you entered.

"Forgive me for my caution, but the murders have had the entire settlement on a fine edge." Murders? There were multiple dead? He led you towards a room in the back, the morgue as he nodded to a few of his fellow constabularies, who pulled out a body from the cool storage, laying it out onto the table as they unfurled it.

The late Watchwoman's body was missing a hand and its head, the hand present on the side with the head missing.

"We have been unable to discern as to what exactly killed her, given the nature of her death, but with you being the first Huntsman to investigate..." He trailed off, letting you examine the body in peace. Judging from the extraordinarily clean cut that had made its way through the neck along with the blistering and cauterization present, you knew that she had been decapitated by either a blade that had been set alight, or a fire dust infused blade of a particularly high percentage.

You exited from the Constabulary Station with more questions than answers, given what had happened to her.

You decided to...

>>4406741

>Ask around about Congac's Spectre

>Return to the Magistrate to ask about the Late Lisbeth's murder

>Retire to your rooms and perform maintenance on your weapon

>Search for a familiar face at the bar to confide in

>(Write-In)

>>4406744
>Ask around to see if you can find Jack, his choice of weapon makes him a suspect

>>4406763
Backing this
While we don't know much about Jack there could be a motivation for him to be the killer. It's possible he could have been having an affair with Lisbeth that began to sour, and he decided to kill her before word got out about his infidelity. This time period is more conservative culturally then the period the main series takes place in so he would have a lot of social standing to loose, especially in a small settlement like this where word travels fast and everyone knows each other. Jeremiah could also be a suspect since electricity can cauterize just as well as fire can and a sword isn't exactly a weapon that's hard to come by, but we don't know enough about him to dicern if he had a reason to kill her. There's also the constable but we don't know what his weapon or his choice of dust is so we'll have to rule him out for now. There's a tiny chance he could have used his access to the armory and the settlement's dust supply to procure the insterment of the murder.

God it feels good to use weaponized autism like this. So many meanful leads we can actually act on with in-universe knowledge.

>>4406800
>>4406763
Vote locked in

>>4406839
The more you thought about the wounds you saw on the Late Lisbeth's body, the clearer the weapon used became in your mind. Your Master was many things, but an amateur she was not, for she had a mastery in almost every type of weapon there was. Truly, she had to have been a Savant, for she couldn't have been over the age of forty by the time she died. The only type of weapon that could have dealt such a clean blow would have either been an sword or a cleaver of sorts, and you knew of no other people with the skill and power to kill her other than that of a fellow Huntsman like yourself. You had heard that Jack was considered to be a superlative swordsman the likes of which was rarely seen in Remnant these days. Not since the advent of contained dust bullets that overtook the mostly impractical muzzle loaded dust guns of the previous age.

You had to be careful with your questioning, for if word were to get to him that you suspected him of such a foul murder, he would be honor bound to duel you. You knew that you were without a doubt a skilled Huntsman, that much your old Master had said by the time your tenure with her was cut short by the Grimm, and you knew that your skill had only increased since then. But from what you had seen of him, you rather preferred not to take your chances with him.

With your AURA fully healed, you began to ask around as to the whereabouts of Jack. The more you heard of him and his history with the town, the more suspicious you grew. He would disappear around odd hours, only to reappear with somewhat fresh wounds and a rather ragged look. Shortly thereafter, a body would be found. As you investigated, you found that there was nothing that held the victims in common. Once five years ago, around the same time that Jack and his partner Jill had arrived, an entire family had been found decapitated near the Western Woods. There was a massive resurgence of the Grimm on the Glenn Isles shortly there after, which had brought Jeremiah and Old Rainart to the Isles.

With a somewhat hazy picture made in your mind, you decided that you had to...

>Confront Jack directly and ask him what he had been doing in those odd hours he was gone

>Stalk Jack using your hopefully superior sense of stealth

>Go to the Magistrate and tell him of your suspicions

>(Write-In)

>>4406858
>Find Jill and ask her more about Jack's disappearances and about his relationship to the victim.
Asking Jill looser questions about his disappearances and his situation with Lisbeth could give the information we need to determine intent. We shouldn't inform the Magistrate of our suspicions until we have a larger case.

>>4406865
+1

Voting period extended until tomorrow at 4 PM as always. See you then.

>>4406858
>Go to the Magistrate and tell him of your suspicions
He's a veteran and would no doubt have his own hypothesis on the matter. It could be worth brainstorming with him if he has the time.

>>4406865
I'd like to ask Jill about it after we talk with the magister. I expect the guy to keep the information to himself, and perhaps he could even tell us something about Jill. On the chance that Jill might be an accomplice, it might be worth asking her later than sooner in case the couple acts rash.

>>4406865
>>4406874
Vote Locked IN

>>4408092
Finding Jill was not quite as insurmountable a task as you once thought it had been. For one, while you had interacted with her as much as her partner, you found that she was a much less elusive figure than her partner. While Jack was quiet and barely spoke to anyone save his wife, Jill was a brash and somewhat crude woman who was as sharp and heavy as her axe was. You found her later in the night, nursing a mug of ale in one hand and an ice dust crystal in the other, which she held up to her head, basking in the coolness of it. You carefully walked towards her, and then got her attention by clearing your throat.

She turned her head towards you, her hair a dark auburn color that best resembled the Forever Fall Forest from what you had seen on high in that Airship. She gestured for you to come and sit next to her, which you did as she pulled the metal stool out for you to sit. Her dark eyes seemed to glow in the night as she looked over you, whistling as she saw your weapon.

"What?" She finally asked, breaking the silence which was starting to grow awkward.

"Excuse me Jill, but I have a few questions regarding your Husband." You decided to ask her in the most diplomatic way possible.

"Shoot."

"Where does your Husband go whenever he disappears for a short while?"

The crickets chirped awkwardly in the background, before Jill laughed uproariously, slamming her mug into the table as froth and alcohol spewed everywhere. The ice dust crystal quickly grew inert as her focus was disrupted, tumbling onto the ground below her with a slight tink, before it exploded, freezing her armored legs in ice.

"You're a funny guy, askin' a girl and her boy about their business together. We fuck like rabbits when we can."

Her bluntness shocked you, and you coughed into your fist as she shattered the ice with a flex of her thighs, her laughter growing louder at the sight of you choking on your own spit.

"Sides, I knew you were gonna ask about that. Whole town's been askin' about him. Personally speakin', his sword is infused with plant dust, cause he got the wrong crystal when he was forgin' it, and he's too proud to admit to his mistakes. His sword's also pretty fine if I say so myself."

The innuendo was not lost on you.

You thanked her for answering your questions as she finally managed to compose herself, Jill clapping you onto the back with a lot more force than necessary.

"But seriously, don't go around askin' what a Huntress does with her Huntsman."

You got it.

You ate a small meal, some stew and a slice of bread before you retired for the evening. In the morning, you decided to...

>Ask the Barkeep about Cognac's Spectre

>Find Jack and ask him about his sword

>Perform maintenance on your weapon

>(Write-In)

>>4408113
>>Perform maintenance on your weapon

>>4408113
>Go to the Magistrate to get a report on all the evidence that has been collected so far. Tracks, hair, ammunition

I think I have a new suspect in the case but we don't have enough info on his whereabouts to discern his involvement. The guy we rode with on the airship had a sword and said he was a huntsman of sorts, I'm thinking that he was a hunter of men rather than a hunter of Grimm.

The entire story of the great war as told in the main material seems off to me, it reeks of historical revisionism, and Stando has given us some interesting insights that make me think it was a lot more complex than Mantle saying ART BAD and everyone loosing their shit. In the real world if Mexico suddenly banned all art nobody in the US would give a shit save for a few assblasted Twitter users, in yee olden times people would give even less of a shit.

Here's what I think actually happened. Mantle for a period of time had been manipulated by a multinational (((art guild))) having a massive amount of their tax funds directed into (((art))) projects that were in fact money laundering schemes to allow the (((art guild))) to siphon off government funds. So much money was being spited away by this international Cabal of (((artists))) that Mantle was barely clinging onto life with how understaffed and underfunded their hunters were. Eventually the people of Mantle caught wind of the traitors in their midst and butchered them, imposing heavy taxes on art and any goods that only severed aesthetic purposes like clothes. Because of these restrictions only the most basic and utilitarian products would have any hope of turning a profit.

With the massive amount of government funds no longer being stolen, Mantle put everything it had into rebuilding it's infrastructure and creating new technology to combat the hordes of Grimm that had infested the land. This pragmatic approach brought incredible results, not only were their lands some of the most well defended in the world, the scientific advancements they had made in combating the Grimm had created many inventions that improved quality of life for all the citizens of Mantle.

With their own lands secured Mantle would lend it's aid to Mistral and reveal to them the treachery of the (((art guild))) and they followed Mantle's example,but with a more liberal approach, supporting the works of local artists in the capital that weren't associated with the (((art guild))). With two nations lost the (((art guild))) went into full panic mode and started inciting false flag attacks to incite war. The (((art guild))) had managed to infiltrate the court of Vale's king and manipulated his actions after the war. They then spent the next 80 years flooding every bookshelf in the world with propaganda about the events of the war and established the (((Academies))) to ensure future generations of Huntsmen would all be indoctrinated in their ideals, and be receptive to any propaganda they would make in the future.

Voting period extended for 30 more minutes.

>>4408249
Remember that Salem, Ozma and the whole ancient Relics shtick still exist here.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4408236
Maintenance

>>4408249
Magistrate

>>4408280
From what you had seen from the Grimm Attacks of yesterday, the people of Cognac's Rest were easily riled up like all other civilians were. The prime difference between them and the people of Vale was that Cognac's Rest was but a settlement, its walls being too small and undermanned to fight off against any considerable Grimm attack. On top of that, there seemed to be a serial killer on the loose. Normally, in a city like Vale, the presence of a serial killer would regrettably not make as much of an impact as it did here, as there were more people in Vale, which meant that ironically there was less to worry and fear about. After all, with so many people in the city, it made the chances of being a victim rather scarce.

So you decided to perform some maintenance on your gun, the Long Eclipse. Removing a bundle from your handbag, you unrolled it to reveal the vast array of tools within, mostly a screwdriver, some wrenches and a cleaning rod tipped with steel wool. You carefully disassembled your gun, scrubbing the parasol clean in a bucket in the restroom while you oiled the internal mechanisms of the gun, cleaning the barrel and removing what little fouling it had.

By the time you were finished, the sun had just started to rise from the murky purple horizon, a red band angrily cutting through the sky. You heard someone knock on your door, and you told them to come in. A finely dressed young man, likely an official of the settlement walked in, his eyes imperiously gazing upon you before he spoke.

"The Magistrate requests that you join him in his parlor."

Without tarrying any longer, you picked up the Long Eclipse and made your way down to the Town Hall, turned a corner into the hallway that led to the offices and entered the parlor of the Magistrate. It was a richly decorated room, shining with brass and golden metals that hung from the walls. There was a replica stuffing of an Ursa's head roaring into nothing. There he was, the Magistrate, still as overweight as he appeared back then, lounging in his gigantic leather chair. He bade you enter.

"Spirits?"

The Magistrate Phillips asked, a glass in one hand, empty but liable to be filled with whatever fine spirits the Magistrate preferred to drink.

You...

>Declined

>Accepted

>>4408298
>Declined
>"While I enjoy a good drink every once and a while, when I'm conducting business I prefer to keep my mind sharp. Once I solve this murder I'll take you up on that drink,"

>>4408307
+1

Apologies, something came up. I will return to update in around an hour.

>>4408307
>>4408309
Declined

>>4408456
"While I enjoy a good drink every once in a while, when I'm conducting business I prefer to keep my mind sharp." The Magistrate's face was unreadable. "Once I solve this murder, I'll take you up on that drink." He snorted loudly, his belly jiggling under the force as he removed a glass filled with liquor. Judging from the smell, it had to have been Valean Cognac. You had to say that the Magistrate had a mighty fine taste when it came to spirits.

"Your loss. I offered you some in the faint hope that it may help steel your nerves, but I forgot how we Huntsmen sometimes are. Brash and full of spirit." He took a long sip from his glass, before he gestured for you to sit. You complied, taking a seat as the Magistrate set his glass down onto the lacquered finely carved wooden table.

"Now, from what I've heard, you've been investigating into the murders here in sleepy old Cognac's Rest, am I correct?"

"You are sir." The Magistrate laughed at your deference to an elderly huntsman. "Do away with the honorifics. I will speak frankly to you as one Huntsman to another." He sighed as he steepled his fingers together.

"You have heard of Cognac's Spectre, but I never deigned to tell you what I should have at the very beginning. You and all of the other Huntsmen and Huntresses assigned to this settlement." The Magistrate's face looked off into the distance, as if he were recalling an ancient memory from the dusty recesses of his mind.

"Cognac Arc was of the line of the Arcs, as you may have heard of them. He was a great Huntsman in every sense of the word, but a good man he was not. A black mark on the illustrious pedigree of the Arc Family, would be an understatement regarding him. In the Unification War fifty years back, he became a mercenary, but unlike his compatriots, he became one not in search of money or glory, but for his sheer love of carnage. Whether it be Grimm or Man, Faunus or Animal, he killed all with impunity. He was infamous for wading into the thick of battle, sword swinging high on his horse Champagne, lopping heads and limbs off left and right. Where he could not kill in an instant, he disemboweled and left them to bleed to an agonizing end." The Magistrate took in a deep sip from his glass, before he continued telling you of this dark tale.

"He came to the Glenn Isles, same as I had fifty years ago to clear the island of Grimm for future settlement, but as we were in the midst of war, he was ambushed by a group of men sworn under the King of Patch. They lopped off his head with his own blade, a fiery dust infused blade known as Red Death and buried him in our very own Western Woods." The Magistrate finished his story, looking at you expectantly.

(1/2)

>>4408475
"You don't mean to say that he rose again as a Grimm, do you?"

"Some men who live like him are said to be damned to roam the world as Grimm until they are put down. A common enough myth, but a myth nonetheless. I have not told any of you for fear of causing a mass panic, but the truth is likely more mundane than most. That was partially why you were the type of Huntsman we needed."

>"Someone who was used to working alone for long periods of time, camping out in the wilderness in search of their quarry."

>"As a Huntsman who actually hunted, capable of stalking a lone powerful Grimm without it coming to notice them until it was too late."

>"For a Huntsman as experienced in the wilds as you are, one who has honed their skill not through a combat school, but through the blazing fields of the Grimmlands of Remnant."

Voting period extended until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time. See you then.

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>>4408478
Would you by any chance know where his grave is? It might be worth paying him a visit.

>"For a Huntsman as experienced in the wilds as you are, one who has honed their skill not through a combat school, but through the blazing fields of the Grimmlands of Remnant."
This because camping is fun, and making stuff out of leaves and barks is neat.

>>4408478
>"For a Huntsman as experienced in the wilds as you are, one who has honed their skill not through a combat school, but through the blazing fields of the Grimmlands of Remnant."

>>4408577
>>4408950
Vote locked in

>>4409541
"There are no Huntsman here that are as experienced in the wilds as you are, nor are there many who have honed their skills through the fire as one may put it." The Magistrate continued, one hand slipping under his desk as you heard the smooth sound of wood gliding against wood, the portly Huntsman removing a folded bounty letter from within.

"Given that you are the right Huntsman for the task, I presume you understand what will happen next?"

"I am to hunt this Grimm down with extreme prejudice." The Magistrate nodded as he slipped the folded letter towards you. You opened it, reading the details of the Mission thereafter assigned to you. Your first mission in fact. As it turned out, the Magistrate and other members of the local Council, mostly retired Huntsmen with the occasional civilian had reason to suspect that Cognac Arc's body or at least his armor had come unto possession of a Geist. Not just any ordinary Geist, but an elder one as well given its behavior, with it attempting to spread rumors of a ghostly specter through its actions in an effort to terrorize the settlement.

"When am I to depart?"

"As soon as you are able to. You will, of course, be allowed to take another Huntsman with you as backup if you so wish."

You decided that...

>You needed no such backup, departing for the mission immediately after

>To get Old Rainart as your backup, for the strong and stalwart Huntsman would be the hammer to your gentle scapel

>To get Jeremiah as your backup, in the case that the Grimm noticed your efforts and tried to escape

>To get Jack as your backup, for the Grimm has surely had enough time to get used to Cognac's blade

>(Write-In)

>>4409563
>You needed no such backup, departing for the mission immediately after

>>4409563
>>To get Old Rainart as your backup, for the strong and stalwart Huntsman would be the hammer to your gentle scapel

Vote extended until tomorrow ar 4 PM Pacific Time. Sorry to cut the session short, but something came up.

>>4409563
>>You needed no such backup, departing for the mission immediately after

>>4409747
Don't sweat it. This thread has been running faster than any thread you have ever run consistently for almost a week now.

If one thing can be said I think you have refined the autism inducing lore dripping down to a science. While the actual answers to the questions we often ask are obviously very simple it's the foreshadowing and hints that make the search for the truth exhilarating. I would like to cite the D4C arc as an example. The mystery of who shot Johnny and how Valentine's stand played into everything was mind boggling because we as the reader didn't have any idea as to what his ability actually was. While D4C's ability was very simple in it's rule set and the events of those chapters made perfect sense in retrospect it was that confusion that made things amazing.

A running trend with the best fights in Jojo is that they begin suddenly and the protagonists are given no idea as to how their abilities work. Usually at some point there is a revelation that gives away the enemy's ability entirely so that our protagonists can start fighting back. However, the best fights in Jojo are the ones where the ability of the enemy Stand is pieced together gradually. D4C is one of the best fights in the franchise in this regard but no fight has ever more masterfully revealed it's ability than Soft Machine. The slow, gradual reveal as each member of the gang delivered a new insight on how the ability functioned was executed perfectly.

While D4C is over all a superior fight for it's spectacle, importance in the story of SBR and it's role in defining the best main villain in the history of Jojo the sheer execution of the soft machine arc is something to be commended. However the principles Araki used are not exclusively reserved for fights

Now this is where you fit into this. The foreshadowing for the murder plot was fantastic, you put all the pieces in place and then created a source of intrigue that gave a subtle hint that tied back to several different pieces of information we had been given throughout the course of the quest. While the reveal of Crognac's spectre would have been more impactful if it was delivered through a direct confrontation with the fire-bladed fiend rather than exposition all of the principals were there. This is an experimental quest so it's to be expected that you make minor missteps when you are trying new literary techniques. The reveal was in no way bad, it just could have been done better.

The mystery surrounding this murder has honestly been the most exciting thing that I've ever read from you. Every new piece of information brought things in exciting new directions and it's going to be great to see you tie together plot details that are scattered across multiple different threads in longer running quests like SQR. No matter how simple the answers to a mystery are, it's the nuanced and well paced delivery of that answer that separates the great mysteries from the boring ones.

>>4409563
>You needed no such backup, departing for the mission immediately after

>>4409820
This is a nice take. It's crazy to think that a group of autists like us who extrapolated the line "She even smelled ripped" into meaning the Pillar Men are back and they're fucking human women could make such insightful commentary.

>>4409563
>You needed no such backup, departing for the mission immediately after

>>4409563
As Jack for help. Hes got a wood sword, which might help.

>>4409605
>>4409782
>>4409845
>>4409881
Vote locked in

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338 KB JPG

>>4410901
You departed immediately on your mission, readying up your gear and preparing for a possible three day excursion out into the mostly unsettled Glenn Islands in search of your quarry. You knew from long experience that Elder Grimm tended to make their homes close to the Cities and Bastions of humanity, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Although it seemed that this particular specimen was much more proactive than a Grimm its age would usually be, as it settled for simply sowing terror into the hearts of those who lived within the walls. The town of Cognac's Rest was walled, the settlement itself was mostly on the outside of the walled town.

There were villages that surrounded the town, and it was these villages that provided the town and by extension the rest of the settlement with food. You walked out of the Western Gate, nodding at Jeremiah who simply stared at you, his gleaming red eyes piercing through your clothing and flesh from under his yellowed tricorne. The path through the outer village was a quiet one, the distrustful locals who lived outside of the walls closing their blinds at the sight of you moving through the village. In the end, you found yourself at the mouth of the Western Woods. It was a tall and frankly menacing forest, with thick black trees that formed a canopy that let only a scant amount of light in.

Your entrance into the Western Woods was met without any resistance, and soon you began enjoy it. It was full of a tranquility that one could rarely find in Remnant, for the world was full of Grimm and other disturbances that often made treks through the woods perilous and nerve wracking at best. At worst, it would ironically make many who entered bait for the Grimm who dwelled within.

You paused on your hike through the woods, one hand on your bag as you leaned against a tree in a portion of the long path that was well lit by the overarching sun, the canopy briefly breaking open with a vast array of fallen trees and scattered branches surrounding the path. It was a small clearing, but a clearing nonetheless, an idyllic place for you to gather your thoughts and plan out the hunt.

In the end, you decided to...

>Go off road and explore the Western Woods, perhaps in search of Cognac's burial place to see if the Geist hanged around there

>Reach the end of the path into the Western Woods, perhaps hoping to catch it when it exited from such a crowded forest

>(Write-In)

>>4410932
>Go off road and explore the Western Woods, perhaps in search of Cognac's burial place to see if the Geist hanged around there

The new chapter of Jojo has been translated: https://mangadex.org/chapter/1000150/1
I did not expect The Spin to suddenly become a thing this late in the part. From the looks of things we are going to get some juicy lore about how The Spin plays into the metaphysics of the universe next chapter.

>>4410932
>Go off road and explore the Western Woods, perhaps in search of Cognac's burial place to see if the Geist hanged around there

>>4410932
>>Go off road and explore the Western Woods, perhaps in search of Cognac's burial place to see if the Geist hanged around there

>>4410932
>Go off road and explore the Western Woods, perhaps in search of Cognac's burial place to see if the Geist hanged around there

>>4410982
>>4410995
>>4411003
>>4411041
Vote locked in

>>4411051
You figured that since the death of Cognac and his subsequent burial occurred twenty years ago, his grave must have been swallowed by the woods. Or more likely, they had purposefully buried him in an unmarked grave deep within the Western Woods, in the hopes that no one would find it. You had heard hushed whispers by the patrons of Ichabod's Hollow the day prior, dark tales about the haunted Western Woods. As you had later come to discover over dinner, the Western Woods was already considered to be a haunted location, both in Grimm and supernaturally. It seemed to swallow people up, huntsmen and civilian alike.

As you departed from the well trodden earthen road through the Western Woods, cutting into the treeline and then beyond, you found that perhaps there was an inkling of truth to those wild and dark tales told of the Western Woods. Of Grimm so tall and thin that they blend in with the trees, of the spirits of the dead leading men astray and into the clutches of the Grimm to join them in eternity. You were a well seasoned Huntsman, and your Master was an even better Huntsman than yourself. She always told you that there was always a bit of truth to the legends that were told, and for each every truth was so terrible that they were forced into being legends rather than common knowledge.

That tidbit of advice flowed through your head as you continued to trawl deeper through the black woods, a fog seemingly settling in within the canopied forest. There was barely a clean path for you at this point, and you sincerely doubted that a Horse could even make it through the thickets and closely clustered trees of the Deep Wood.

Now deeper into the Western Woods than most people would ever dare venture in the search of your quarry, you decided to...

>Carefully mask your emotions and Aura through suppressing it, making it less likely for the Grimm to notice you

>Try traversing the woods from on high, going from tree to tree in search of your quarry

>Continue on with your current pace, your weapon ready and your senses keen, for anything could happen in a place like this

>(Write-In)

>>4411067
>Carefully mask your emotions and Aura through suppressing it, making it less likely for the Grimm to notice you

>>4411067
>>Continue on with your current pace, your weapon ready and your senses keen, for anything could happen in a place like this

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4411071
Mask aura and emotions

>>4411141
Continue on as normal

>>4411204
Continuing on at your current pace, you made quick work of what little Grimm there were, mostly juvenile Beowolves as they were the among the few types of Grimm that could navigate through the tight woods with relative ease. Even with your calm and rather easy going walk through the woods, you kept mind vigilant, your keen senses up and alert. With the Long Eclipse in one hand, still furled as it usually was.

Judging from the way the fog began to sink towards the ground, seemingly flowing down the rising forested hills of the Western Woods like water, you figured that there was likely a Grimm around. There were a certain few Grimm that could somewhat manipulate the elements, making them all the more dangerous and rare. Among their number would be the Griffons, with their fiery breathes, or the legendary Dragon that was said to have burnt Vacuo down in a fortnight. Then there were the Wendigos, rare Elder Grimm that not only invoked a great hunger into their victims, but also worsened whatever weather condition there was, but they were normally native to the northern, colder reaches of Animus and by the coast-line woods of Solitas.

Suddenly, your senses roared at you to move. Your body screamed with such an intensity that you had rarely felt, startling you as you took a sharp dive to the right, saving you from being cut in twain by a long, black whip like sword. You quickly rolled to the side and up onto your feet, narrowly avoiding decapitation by said blade as you rose, eyes scanning the fog, a faint but tall shape within. The darkening outline of a long pole was all the warning you received as you quickly opened the Long Eclipse, channeling your Aura into the dust-infused cloth, the blade slamming into it with an immense amount of force, but it had stopped.

A Nebelritter, a creature of Grimm that counted itself among those few that could manipulate the elements. As the name suggested, this Grimm in particular manipulated Fog, worsening it, bringing it down to the floor and channeling it around itself to serve as a blanket that obscured its form. It was an elder too from what you saw of the whip blade, its black and white segmented form etched with an incredibly illustrious script that formed two red strips down the sides of the Grimm's weapon.

[395/400 AURA]

You quickly...

>Pulled the trigger of the Long Eclipse, firing a shot towards the thing as your back faced it with your parasol open

>Twirled around and opened fire on the Grimm with the Long Eclipse

>Closed the Long Eclipse, trying to hook the whip blade with the handle of your umbrella so that you could hopefully try and break it with an aura infused punch

>Closed the Long Eclipse, turning and infusing it with aura to send an arc of aura towards the creature

>(Write-In)

>>4411250
>>Closed the Long Eclipse, turning and infusing it with aura to send an arc of aura towards the creature

Will this clear the fog?

>>4411250
>Closed the Long Eclipse, turning and infusing it with aura to send an arc of aura towards the creature

>>4411250
>>Closed the Long Eclipse, turning and infusing it with aura to send an arc of aura towards the creature

>>4411263
This

Vote extended until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific Time.

>>4411250
>Closed the Long Eclipse, turning and infusing it with aura to send an arc of aura towards the creature

>>4411263
>>4411283
>>4411302
>>4411432
Vote locked in

>>4412500
With the press of a button, all five ribs of the parasol suddenly folded, the tentacle blade slamming into the ground beside you as you swiftly turned around. Infused with your aura, your parasol glowed a bright yellow as you swung it down towards the Grimm. An arc of aura cut through the air, blow the fog away from the Nebelritter as it slammed into it. Without the fog to conceal its appearance, the Grimm's form was fully revealed to you in all of its hideousness.

The Nebelritter was a tremendously tall and skinny creature, the tendril blade slinking back towards itself, having been revealed as a part of a chitinous black arm. The flexile limb wrapped around its side, which had been torn open by your attack, a sickly red glow emanating dully from its bone mock armor. You knew that the inhabitants of Solitas had named the creature after a Knight, but you saw no resemblance other than the bone plating that resembled armor. Its limbs were as thin as branches, its tall segmented legs clinking awkwardly as it struggled to hold itself up after your attack. Its flattened, almost deformed skull-like head leered at you, its face as featureless as a plane of metal.

NEBELRITTER: (260/300)

Behind it, you saw the movement of two thin limbs, both the seemingly the same as the bladed whip it had struck you with, one of them shortening greatly into a lance of bone, which it pointed at you menacingly. Its second limb lashed out at you much like the first had, and much like the first time, you narrowly dodged the it. It slammed straight into the floor of the forest, dispersing even more fog from the force of the blow as it lunged at you lance first.

(AURA: 390/400)

You...

>Grabbed onto the lance with your hand, utilizing its forward momentum to flip you over the creature before you shot it in the back

>Slid past the lance, infusing your umbrella with aura as you struck it in its weak points

>Ducked beneath the lance, sliding between its legs as you jammed the Long Eclipse into its groin plate and fired

>Attempted to parry the lance with your parasol, before counterattacking with a devastating aura infused shot from the Long Eclipse

>(Write-In)

>>4412528
>Closed the Long Eclipse, trying to hook the whip blade with the handle of your umbrella so that you could hopefully try and break it with an aura infused punch

>>4412528
>Attempted to parry the lance with your parasol, before counterattacking with a devastating aura infused shot from the Long Eclipse

>>4412528
>>Slid past the lance, infusing your umbrella with aura as you struck it in its weak points

Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>4412553
Hook and punch

>>4412554
Parry and shoot

>>4412569
Slide and beat

File: The Path.jpg (39 KB, 617x400)

39 KB JPG

>>4412600
You broke out into a swift jog towards the charging Grimm, rushing towards the lance's sharp point. At the very last second, you slid past the lance, using it to guide your trajectory towards the Grimm, its secondary whip arm rising menacingly into the air as it darted towards you like a scorpion's tail. You swept past the limb, using its momentum against itself as you hooked the handle of your umbrella into the still extending limb, redirecting its blow into its guarding arm. It cut its own segmented arm off, a low sound that resembled radio static echoing throughout the trees as you infused your parasol with just the slightest bit of aura to give it an extra kick.

With its plated torso exposed, you struck towards the weakest points in its armor and by extension its body, slamming your impromptu mace into the side of where a plate of bone, separate from the rest of the plated torso to allow it to move freely, was. Striking it at an angle, the piece was already loosely held in place by a few tendons, which you had severed with the just a bit of elbow grease put into your blow, the plate jamming into its side between its ribcage and the armor, a red light dimly glowing from beneath. The Nebelritter remained silent, even as its remaining two arms wildly slammed themselves into trees in its throes of agony.

You heard the loud creaking that came from the tall tree behind you, and from the looks of things, so did the Nebelritter which had recovered from its brief incapacitation. Never one to let go of an opportunity, you immediately brought your aura infused umbrella into the side of its knee, fracturing it as the bone fragments were pushed into the flesh, the creature buckling under its own weight. You stepped to the side as the tall tree unceremoniously fell over the Grimm, its remaining arms striking blindly into the air, two loud gunshot-like cracks emanating before they went slack. They began to dissipate, and soon the pulped remains of the Grimm followed suit.

[AURA: (388/400)]

+ 5 AURA MANIPULATION

+ 5 SKILL



With the death of the Nebelreiss, the fog began to rapidly disperse, revealing a long unused and clearly grown over path into a deeper section of the forest, likely man made. The bent trees that outlined the path further contributed to this train of thought.

Before you had followed it to its natural end, you decided to...

>Stop delaying and traveled down the path to see where it led to

>Took a short break to regenerate your aura before continuing on

>Turn around and look for another way to find Cognac's grave

>(Write-in)

>>4412651
>Stop delaying and traveled down the path to see where it led to

>>4412651
>Stop delaying and traveled down the path to see where it led to
That's one less bad neighbor that can mess with the small town.

>>4412668
>>4412750
Vote extended until tomorrow at 4 PM like always. Sorry for to cut things short, currently starting to get busy again.

>>4412651
>Stop delaying and traveled down the path to see where it led to

>>4412868
>>4412750
>>4412668
Vote locked in

>>4414065
Without any further delay, you began to walk down the path, passing by the numerous deformed yet still living trees. The path was overall eerie in every way, for even the soil beneath your feet seemed to sink and rise again, with the texture of flesh. The path was much longer than you had initially appraised, and was surprisingly devoid of Grimm. From all of the negativity that practically oozed from the surroundings, you were surprised that you hadn't been swept up in a swarm of Grimm and torn into tiny little shreds to be digested within the stomachs of Beowolves until they were inevitably killed. An utterly disgusting thought, something that had made you scoff as you made your way down the path and towards the exit.

The path lead to a large clearing, one that had to have been man-made given how clear it was. There in the center of it was a gigantic red blade, its tip buried beneath the ground to make haphazard grave marker. It was a mighty fine blade, for the red metal that you saw was as bright and smooth as you were certain the blade was when it had been originally forged. The trees surrounding the clearing had actually managed to form a wall, younger trees twisting around and interlocking with the older trees, forming an impassible barrier to all but Dust Mages. If there was one thing that they were masters of, it was their ability to absolutely destroy the local environment.

As you began to approach the blade, you momentarily stopped. It seemed as if the blade itself was radiating hatred, not blind hatred, but a hatred for all things that were made of life and light, at least according to the Tale of The Two Brothers, a hatred as old as time.

(AURA: 390/400)

You...

>Approached the blade

>Took a short break to further recover what aura you hadn't recovered while walking down the path

>Shot the blade with your gun

>(Write-In)

>>4414124
>(Write-In)
Pull the blade out

>>4414124
Specifically try to smother the aura of hatred with our happy yellow aura.

>>4414124
>Shot the blade with your gun
Using a dust round if that kills this sword faster.

>>4414154
I'm not much of a RWBY lore expert. What's your take on this? Do you think the cause of these taint in the woods could be caused by the sword? Possibly not just the sword, but the corpse buried along with it?

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4414146
Pull the blade out

>>4414154
Shoot the blade

>>4414157
Considering the Grimm is called a Geist and this thing is radiating hatred for life, I deduce the sword is possessed.

>>4414157
The large influx of people and the recent incidents are likely the reason for the increased number of Grimm or these woods are just normal woods for this world.
It could also be post-mortem hatred seeped into the land or something like that. Maybe the tale of Cognac's body being nearby puts fear into people or something like that.
I don't know much about RWBY lore either.

>>4414216
The sword had to have been the source of negativity that permeated through the clearing and through the path into the actual forest itself. Still, the lack of a significant presence of Grimm was still highly unusual, and it only added to the unsettling atmosphere that had settled over what should have been an idyllic clearing of land. The dead grass swayed beneath your feet with an almost unnatural vitality as a cold wind began to sweep through the clearing itself, rustling the dead branches of the various interwoven trees that had walled the blade in.

You gently clasped the blade with one hand, half expecting to see the mask of a Geist suddenly emerge from the back, the blade to violently tearing you in half with its keen fiery edge, only for nothing to happen. You grabbed the handle with your other hand with more confidence, and began to pull the blade from the ground.

As soon as the tip had been lifted cleanly from the ground, the cracked earth beneath bulged as a metallic gauntlet burst from the earth beneath, grabbing onto the tip of the blade with a grip that send it sliding to the ground, your aura flashing as the blade ground against your hand.

[AURA: 380/400]

You reeled back, the Long Eclipse's bolt already turning as you pointed it at the blade. The sword stood there, frozen straight like a lightning rod as the gauntlet pushed the blade out, a second gauntlet slamming into the ground as a set of armor pulled itself from the earth beneath, its white-yellow enameled plate half scratched off, revealing the dark metal beneath. A fog of black rose from in between its joints, the presence of black flesh prominent beneath the metal vambraces. A large ornamental mask was fused to its right breast plate, its yellow eye glaring into you as the armor flipped the blade into the air, catching it by the handle.

[Cognac's Spectre, Arma Minor]

You...

>Opened fire with the Long Eclipse

>Turned around and booked it down the path away from it

>(Write-In)

>>4414299
>Opened fire with the Long Eclipse
Let's shoot the mask

>>4414319
Vote locked in

>>4414387
With a quick shift of your parasol, you had aimed it at the mask and opened fire at the same time, carrying yourself on the parasol's momentum instead of letting it slam into like before. You had expected the shot to immediately shatter the mask and obliterate the Geist, but you now understood the difference between an Elder Geist and their more common counterpart.

The armor clumsily shifted its blade, stabbing into the ground in front of its mask as soon as you had opened fire, the bullet slamming into the sword which clanged with a force that you had never heard before. Cognac's Specter drove its blade deeper into the ground, bracing itself on it as it hung loosely from its side, a loud scream tearing itself from its smooth mask. Never one to miss out on an opportunity, you shot at its mask again, your bullet hitting its mark as it tossed the armor away from its sword.

The Armor got up, its breastplate dented from where you had shot it, the mask of the Geist sliding from the side. It moved its mask around its host body in a way that you had never seen a Geist do before, the armor immediately onto its feet, sprinting towards the blade. Firing the Long Eclipse behind you, you rode its momentum towards the sword, kicking into it and pushing off with a burst of aura as the pommel slammed into the mask, cracking it.

Rolling onto the ground, you looked up to see the Grimm going absolutely Beowulfshit, the metal plates of the armor grinding and sparking against each other as it writhed, before it grabbed onto the blade with one hand, tearing it from the ground, the earth sundering beneath it. It crouched down and flipped towards you.

What do you do?

>WRITE IN YOUR COMBAT PLAN, 3 ACTIONS ALLOTTED TO YOU

>>4414403
>Fire Long Eclipse to get distance and use the momentum to get to standing position.
>Try to literally disarm it by blasting off both of its arm and the sword away.
>Get in close with Long Eclipse and slam the parasol (with some aura) into the chestplate in an attempt to break the mask. Get out of melee range as soon as it has arms again.

Voting period extended until tomorrow at 4 PM Pacific time like always.

>>4414403
We know that the armor can maneuver its mask to an extent grating than the motion of it's body, so we should probably continue as is by wearing it down by damaging the body.

File: 1588592448916.jpg (50 KB, 720x405)

50 KB JPG

>>4414403
We know that for whatever reason, the Grimm will go out of it's way to attempt to retrieve it. Perhaps the sword is that empowers it. I do not know if cursed weapons can be broken, but what we can do is disarm it again and play keep away. We can take advantage of it's compulsion to retrieve it to lay in heavy amount of damage.
Ex: do as something like >>4414466 suggested. shoot at it until it drops the sword again, then lay into it.

>>4414466
Yes

New Chapter dropped. God damn this is some spicy lore.
https://ww5.readmha.com/chapter/boku-no-hero-academia-chapter-281/
Shiggy acknowledges what we have been saying in SQR threads all this time. Hero Society has a chronic problem with trying to mask the symptoms rather than address the cause of the disease. The actual problems are ignored and everyone tires to maintain a veil of ignorance and act like everything is normal, too occupied by the 24-hour Internet spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit to notice the growing cracks threatening to shatter the nation. The crazy part about this is that I think SQR Deku after learning that the liberation army is blatantly acting on such an large scale with nothing being done to stop them, he probably came to the same conclusion Shiggy did. All I could imagine in my head when reading this chapter was Deku and Shiggy having a mid-combat politcal debate while It Has To Be This Way blared in the background.

>>4414466
>>4414908
>>4415410
Vote locked in

>>4415711
You pulled the trigger of the Long Eclipse, the gun barking as you rocketed away from where you were. Right as you had righted yourself, landing onto your feat with a quick backflip, you saw the position where you had been explode into earth and dead soil. The Geist had flipped with its sword in hand, using its momentum combined with its sword in an attack that would have completely depleted your aura. Ejecting the spent cartridges from the Long Eclipse, you reached into your front pouch, removing another clip of five bullets which you pushed into your gun, reloading it as you aimed towards the armor's arms. You had noticed that there was a bit of space between the vambraces and the rest of the armor, exposing what would have been the biceps of the wearer.

As it pulled its sword up off of the ground, you literally disarmed the Geist with a singular shot, the gauntlets and vambraces flying off of the Armor, landing onto the ground. The blade sank into the earth beneath its own weight, as you lunged forward.

[COGNAC'S SPECTER: (400/430)

In two bounding leaps you were in front of the specter, your parasol in hand as you channeled a faint trace of aura into it, enough to give the extra kick it needed as you slammed it into where its mask should have been. The breastplate further dented in, the Grimm's singular eye seemingly widening, its baleful gaze upon you as the mask moved beneath where you had struck.

You swung again, smashing your parasol into the mask itself as a loud resounding crack emanated from the armor, the blow powerful enough to send the possessed armor flying backwards.

[B] [COGNAC'S SPECTER: (300/430)

You moved to finish it off, but you saw the gleam of an unburnished gauntlet, prompting you to bring your closed parasol up, which you had opened as the armor punched it with enough force to send you flying backwards. Another black tendril burst from the other arm, launching into the other fallen gauntlet, the fingers of which closed around the handle of the greatsword. With a heave, it pulled the greatsword, gauntlet and all back into position, its mask cracked from where you had struck it.

You...

>WRITE IN COMBAT PLAN, 3 ACTIONS ALLOTTED

>>4415733
Load the strongest type of explosive munition we have. Try garnering the attention of other Grim before activating your semblance. We'll be indistinguishable from the grim (I think?), so we could use the opportunity to blend in and find a good weak spot to fire at.

>>4415733
Load the strongest ammo we have, juice it with aura and fire at a weak spot.

>>4415733
>Shoot off one of its legs to throw it off balance and give us time.
>Use this time to move to a blindspot (opposite to the sword and a distance away) and to load up our strongest ammo into Long Eclipse.
>Fire a power shot into chestplate and push ourselves further back

I’m currently experimenting with this system of combat. As such, the voting period will be longer than usual, around 3 hours.

>>4415809
This seems like something that could definitely work for spinoffs, the number of actions you could take could be tied to a tactics stat. With less tactically inclined characters you could be restricted to 1 or 2 actions but have points to dump in other stats or you could build a more technical character that has 5 or more actions at the cost of being a little weaker stat-wise. I don't think this could work in a more narrative-driven quest like SQR since the harebrained 5d Jojo-style schemes are far too complex to be limited to a specific number of actions but I could see some more gamey quests using this really well.

>>4415906
If I ever adapt this style of combat to SQR, there will be no action limit because I've come to expect great autism from the playerbase of that ancient and strange quest.

Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>4415769
Strongest explosive munition, Semblance activation and blend in

>>4415784
Strongest ammo, use more aura than usual, fire at mask

>>4415798
Shoot off one of its legs, move to a blindspot and load up ammo, fire a powerful shot into chestplate

>>4415953
Pushing a small panel on the side of the Long Eclipse, the gun's barrel thickened, the lower section of the metal block distending as it lowered with a mechanical thump. As it did this, a secondary and much larger chamber was revealed by the extension of the barrel. With one hand in your pouch, you removed a particularly large fire dust round, explosive and powerful, the caliber the very same as the one that had taken down the Sea Fei Long. Quickly pushing it into the chamber, you pulled back the bolt, the gun reloaded with the much larger bullet, and just in the nick of time as well.

For the Geist possessed armor was already upon you, great red blade in hand, falling towards your neck. You opened fire, the agony of breaking bone pulsing through you as your aura decreased. Of course, it had protected you, but it did not protect you from the pain that you felt. You rocketed away from the blade which shaved off a singular hair from your head. And probably ten years of your lifespan from the brief moment of absolute terror you felt. The bullet penetrated the armor, before it cavitated, half of it exploding off of the Grimm in a fiery burst of black gore and red. The shrapnel penetrated beyond, slamming into the wall of interwoven bark and wood behind.

The wall thumped loudly, wood creaking and bulging as a titanic death stalker burst from it and into the arena, catching the attention of the Geist. It was practically green black and brown from the moss, grass and saplings that grew from its truly gargantuan body. The Geist, again, unusual for its age with half of its body missing slowly rose from the ground, one remaining hand grasping the Red Death tightly.

[AURA: 370/400]

ELDER DEATHSTALKER HAS ENTERED THE FRAY

You then saw something unusual occur. The Geist began to fight the Deathstalker, which fought back as ferocious as a storm in return. The stinger obliterated half of the interwoven trees that served as a wall, a great furrowed trail of destroyed earth and plant matter behind it from whence it came. The Western Woods was a certainly terrible place, and you now knew of the reason as to why powerful Huntsmen such as Jeremiah and Old Rainart were stationed here.

You knew for a matter of fact that your semblance would not work here, for its effects were most effective on humans and faunus first, then lesser Grimm. But Elder Grimm as a whole were immune to the effects of your semblance.

This matter was quickly getting beyond you, and now that you were certain of achieving your goal, you...

>Sneakily fired off one last explosive shot that would hopefully finish off the Geist and distract the death stalker, long enough for you to recover the blade and return to the village

>Got the attention of the Elder Deathstalker, letting it run over the Geist before you maneuvered over it, picking up the red blade and running

>Opened fire on both the Geist and the Deathstalker

>(Write-In)

>>4416004
>Sneakily fired off one last explosive shot that would hopefully finish off the Geist and distract the death stalker, long enough for you to recover the blade and return to the village
We need to finish this and GTFO. The Deathstalker is a problem for another day if ever.

>>4416004
>Sneakily fired off one last explosive shot that would hopefully finish off the Geist and distract the death stalker, long enough for you to recover the blade and return to the village

>>4415918
I have some crazy shit planned for the end of the battle trial. All the pieces are in play for the completion of the master plan. I've devised a bamboozle that could catch Joseph off guard and grant absolute, unstoppable victory in a single vote.

Vote extended until 4 PM Tomorrow.

I should be able to update more tomorrow for it is a weekend. See you then.

>>4416004
>(Write-In)
Can we start laying in support fire against the Elder Deathstalker? If we manage to kill ot with the unwitted aid of the Geist, then we can kill the Geist right afterwards or whoever is left.
If done right that'll be two less grim people have to worry about.