>>4429379

The reason for the muddy spots were soon obvious- there’s a bit of a creek running through here. Nothing major, but deep enough that you can see a small fish or two swimming along. The various chirps and growls of beasts are already annoying, many likely sensing there’s something new in the neighborhood, more or less.

You’ve got a ways to go to get to the fortress, and that’s going to involve stepping through, however...whether they like it or not.

>You’ll try to keep any actual kills light, and focus on going around any possible predators.
>You don’t have time to waste; any animal that crosses you is getting put down.
> (Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…
>Other

>>4429380
>(Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…

>>4429380
> (Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…

>>4429380
>(Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…

>>4429380
> (Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…

>>4429380
> (Otherworldly) If you hold eye contact, they should get the message that you’re nothing to be messed with…

>>4429387
>>4429392
>>4429397
>>4429409
>>4429410
One-sided.

Writing!

>>4429380
>>4429387
>>4429392
>>4429397
>>4429409
>>4429410
>>4429413

After consideration… you think that the best way to avoid fights is to make them not WANT to fight you. That in mind, you drop the hood from your cloak, letting your head feel the air again. If they want to fight, they’ll know exactly what they’re getting into.

And they certainly seem to- there’s a number of smaller, bobcat-like beasts that wander around here as well; they initially seem aggressive, as expected...until they lock eyes with you. What generally results is a staredown for a number of seconds before they give up and slink off. Some strange insectoid creatures as well, like oversized bees that make you wonder why they haven’t been cleared out. There’s other, bigger things out there, you think, though...you’ll need to keep your eyes open.

This way, the walk isn’t...harrowing, but you do have to make sure you’re not lost or anything, and that takes time…

By the time you reach something resembling a clearing, it's been...a while. You think about an hour, but you aren't sure. And wherever this clearing is... is some sort of ring? A simple dirt one, but a ring nonetheless. There's a couple of wooden dummies, but beyond that, not much. No doubt for the soldiers...which means you're on the right track.

>Roll 1d20, best of three.

>>4429413
>jungle area
>dangerous beasts

Keep an eye out for some of those Longdrift shrooms guys.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>4429450

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>4429450

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4429450

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>4429450

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>>4429457
Booyah!

>>4429457
Very nice

Someone is about to have a reaaalll bad time.

Writing!

>>4429508
Sun is shining, Birds are singing, Dragon on the track course.
Dragon on the track course!?

I'm slightly flabbergasted that the Dragongirl meme costume has been helping us a lot so far. Even with a stealthy and small start shadow boss forced us into.

>>4429515
I think it's a psychological thing. Rather than some mutant human, we appear as a dragonoid, well, dragons are a near constant (For some reason) and renowned for being strange and powerful. However, the things we don't understand about other human beings are terrifying to think about, someone call the inquisition, there's a witch etc.
Not that we've been outed as a dragon yet by an intelligent being, but if you FOUND a dragon, would you out them in-front of said dragon?

>>4429519
I can't wait for the reveal when we end up losing the cloak or a fire spell hit us destroying it just so the caster(s) see a dragonoid coming out of the flame unmolested (thanks to the fire protection from the armor.)

>>4429524
That'd be a bummer, our client gave us this cloak, and didn't mention wanting it back, meaning it's ours, and useful.

>>4429528
Meh just though it would be a cool moment.

>>4429524
Naaah we can drop the cloak for the dramatic reveal so the mooks soil their undies. Don't need to ruin the thing.

Hmm, should we drop the cloak entirely for the fortress raid?

>>4429528
yeah, we're sorely lacking in items that reduce Intimidation. The options in the shop aren't good enough.

>>4429515
no costume is a meme, the only issue is that you(or another anon) wanted to use it in very retarded scenarios.

>>4429528
If the cloak survives this quest, we should probably look into enchanting it with something.

>>4429532
Dunno maybe it's to early for the reveal? i half expect us to do it at the third of forth place we get to.

>>4429555
Well equipping the cloak while raiding will risk it being damaged. And we (optimally) should be killing every single witness in the base anyway so there should be no risks of being exposed involved, unless they have a magical recorder or something.

>>4429561
Ah so we expect a no survivors scenario? Dunno how good we would be against the elites of this empire so it may be harder to try and eliminate all of the soldiers posted here.

>>4429574
Ideally. IMO the fortress should be swept clean of loot and people(that see us). But we're here for the stone so that's top priority.
If they have any anti-air defenses they should also be disabled before we take off too.

in theory a nebula buster can erase everything here, but that will definitely raise all the alarms; the creepier thing is to kill everyone but leave the structure intact.

>>4429574
If we are doing that, we can use then AoE attacks to for a quick kills:
>Mana-wave
>Flux wave (to fuck up magic barriers)
>Gaia gun (bullet explodes into earth spikes)

and yeah destroy their anti-air equipment

>>4429592
Should we try using the claws? I think we should at least try the claws, they seem weaponize-able, and Miranda is more of a brawler than a shooter.

>>4429594
She's both, but she's better with her melee. Although she is capable of doing precision hits with magiblasts so she isn't shoddy at aiming.

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>>4429450
>>4429453
>>4429455
>>4429457
It’s just barely a decent ring, but it’s fair enough. Looking around, you figure you might as well get a move on…

...and that’s when you spot something out of the corner of your eye; a backpack. Not too old, either; definitely something someone dropped off and forgot, perhaps during a bit of practice. You have to hold in a scoff. Elite soldiers, huh? And they drop a military pack like this? Well, finders keepers, hopefully.

Rifling through, you find a number of interesting things; a small totem, this one with a vaguely familiar bust image of a fiery headed fairy. This is smaller than the statue you found, maybe as big as your palm, and etched in a cylindrical stone piece. A couple of silver coins - might as well pocket that. There’s also a small flintlock pistol, and a number of rations, as well as what looks like a uniform jacket. There's also a strange, slate grey orb, with an X deeply etched into it and four holes at the end of each line.

Everything else seems to be general papers and other small things- you check the papers for intel, but they don't seem to be anything beyond schedule dates for assignments past, and some more clothing that in no way fits you.

On the OTHER hand, there WAS something nice that you discovered...a basic map of the complex, at least as far as this soldier knew it; apparently it was hand-drawn, and was because, in his own words, he has 'a memory like a hummingbird.'

>Gained 2 silver coins!

>Take anything else?

>Anga Totem
>Small Pistol
>4 military ration packs
>Military Uniform Jacket (Large)
>Strange Orb.

>>4429594
We definetly should use the claws. Make people think it was some type of monster swarm that attacked?

>>4429592
>pretend to be a dragon-girl
>not using fire
did you forget about our flamethrower-sword?

>>4429603
>Anga Totem
>Strange Orb.
>4 military ration packs

>>4429603
>4 military ration packs
>Military Uniform Jacket (Large)
>Strange Orb.

We can eat the good and possible avoid having to stop at a town if we are in a rush.

>>4429605
We also have the magical green fire that can't be put out by water.

>>4429603
>Strange Orb.
>4 military ration packs

>>4429603
>Anga Totem
>4 military ration packs
>Strange Orb.

I wonder if we can incorporate the totem or orb into one of our weapons...

>>4429603
>>4429607

>>4429603
>Check this flintlock, is it JUST a flintlock?
>Anga Totem
>4 military ration packs
>Strange Orb
>Write D- on an assignment paper

Remember, flintlock bullets shouldn't penetrate our skin (they will still sting a bit). So we can just gorilla through a barrage or two with Body Shield up.

>>4429605
Didn't you anons want the fortress to be unharmed? Plus smoke will alert the people near it.

>>4429603
>Take anything else?
Drop everything into our bag. we'll sort out things later.

>>4429613
You know, this might be the best place to upgrade that skill

>>4429603
>Take them all

>>4429614
>>4429603
Changing my vote to
>take all

>>4429603
>take all

>>4429617
Fuck it. Gonna change to taking all of it. Including the backpack.

>>4429603
>>4429607
Want to switch to
>Take all
Yes, INCLUDING THE BACKPACK. We're a greedy growing girl.

...this is what I get for doing a few chores and losing track of time.

Writing, then.

>>4429603
>>4429631
>>4429632
>>4429635
>>4429650
>>4429651
>>4429652

...Meh, might as well take everything. No reason to let gear go to waste, and you might be able to sell something or maybe use some of it as salvage or the sort. The rations and money at least should prove useful, if nothing else.

Naturally, there’s also the map. Thanks to that, you’ve gotten a fair bit of detail for where everything is. You’ll be putting THAT to use immediately.

Now, you just need to get to the damn place…

It’s about a half-hour later judging by your FutureSight that you start to see oddly placed gravel...it’s just a bit too uniform to be natural...and the area’s dried up as well.

Really though, it’s the footsteps that prove the case. They’re dry, but not crackling so. You’re close. Very close. Which means that now is the time to figure out how to go about infiltrating the place- while storming the castle sounds fun, it’ll get a LOT of people on your ass in no time at all. There’s a gate that they have set up that you’ve apparently got to get around, and you’d bet that there’s something else there that’ll make your day tougher, to boot…stuff to consider as you follow- just a bit off the beaten path.

Soon, you arrive at a dip in terrain- a severe dip, nearly a cliff face; although it’s not too deep. And as you carefully peer through the trees you can see the Fortress itself. A wide building base, dark grey, smooth stone...it’s style is basic and yet intimidating in a way. You can also see that there are defensive towers there as well- and very selectively placed holes in the treeline, for massive, wood and iron cannons ON those towers. You’re not sure what’s powering them...but you really don’t want to find out. Glad you didn’t try to make an entrance.

Naturally, there’s a massive iron gate there, with said massive fence. Two guards posted, apparently, just to be safe. Doesn’t seem like they’ve seen you- you’re too far away anyway, you think, and your cloak allows you some camouflage in the shadows of the trees. Still, it’s good that you know where it’s at now. Next question is just ‘when is the exchange happening’? You’ve got some time to kill, you know that much...may need to camp out hardways.

>Start looking for a decent overnight spot.
>Just get decently far away enough and you can build your own temporary shelter.
>Other

>>4429730
>Get Gartoum out for recon
>Start looking for a decent overnight spot

>>4429730
>Get Gartoum out for recon
>Start looking for a decent overnight spot
He should look out for security holes too BUT mustn't do something risky enough to set off alarms.

>>4429730
>Start looking for a decent overnight spot.
>Refill the Induction Orb and take out your Mana Condenser.
>Scan the Strange Orb

>>4429732
Add >>4429735 too

>>4429735
>>4429730
THIS THIS THIS TOO

>>4429730
>>4429732
>>4429735
+

>>4429730
>Start looking for a decent overnight spot.
>Refill the Induction Orb and take out your Mana Condenser.
>Scan the Strange Orb

>>4429730
>>4429732
>>4429735
+

>>4429730
This:>>4429735

Also scan the strange orb if we have time.

>>4429730
>>4429745
Does Miranda have any burrowing tools?

Giving Gartoum a real workout this mission, eh. We should read some books on summoning and figure out the Bond that was mentioned in them after this mission.

>>4429730
>Start looking for a decent overnight spot.

Hm. Fair enough. Writing.

>>4429755
Does repeatedly firing off manablasts into the ground count as burrowing?

Speaking of, could we do it with our legs and have it be considered practicing our leg channeling?

>>4429777
mental image of Miranda hopping up and down exploding the ground beneath her.

>>4429777
Waaay too noisy with a military base right next to us.

>>4429780
I know, but as >>4429779 mentioned it's fun to think about.

Actually... Might even be a good start for creating a ground stomp spell!

>>4429789
I'd like to finish developing the spells we've got right now instead of getting more half-baked situational tricks and gimmicks, thank you.

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>>4429789
I think it's fun to think about too.

>>4429791
No need to be a killjoy, anon. Just thought it'd be a good way to use our leg channeling. Besides, the more often we channel magic through our legs, the sooner we can learn how to fly.

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>>4429801
Alright, although if we're talking about leg techniques...

>>4429807
Sounds funky.
Need to find a way to not tire our legs out after a few shots first.

>>4429807
>>4429816
I think we've just discovered how to pull off Chun Li's Lightning Kick.

>>4429730
>>4429732
>>4429734
>>4429735
>>4429738
>>4429739
>>4429741
>>4429745
>>4429751
>>4429752
No reason to not start looking for somewhere to lay low, at least. In the meantime… ‘Gartoum, you alright in there?’

“Juuuust peachy now, a-thank you.” he responds airily. “Seems like there’s a bit of a tall order in store, hm?”

Well, he’s not wrong. “Used to it. Any possibility you could do a bit more snooping for me? Obviously the location of the Lockstone itself would be great, but other things like interesting rooms or people of interest would be nice.”

“Hmmm, got me running around a lot this time, don’t you?” He chuckles. “Buuut, then again, I suppose that’s understandable. Shadows seem to be the theme here...must say, that so-called ‘King’ certainly doesn’t lack for bombast. Reminds me of yours truly, if perhaps a bit more ambitious! Hilarious, though! Shadow King...” He makes a ‘hmm hmm’ noise you’re not entirely certain of the meaning of, before he slips out of that ring and into the ground. “Don’t wait up!”

Hope that he doesn’t hear that…anyway, moving on. The usual suspects would be nice; cavern, cliff overhang, something like that. As you’re walking, though, you figure it might be worthwhile to get some things done while you’re searching…

The Induction Orb practically vacuums your mana up when you put it to your hand; it actually causes you a moment of worry before it suddenly stops. Quicker than you expected, but still helpful.

>Induction Orb Primed!

>Current Mana: 10000/11000

The mana condenser should be useful here as well; hadn’t used it in a bit, but no better time than now to make up what you just socked away.
>Mana Condenser Equipped!

And as for the OTHER orb? Well, you’re not entirely sure what the deal is with that one...but, you can find out, hopepfully. Let’s see what the FutureSight has to say about it…

>Stone appears to emit specific low-frequency, low-intensity mana bursts at following locations on surface:

The areas highlighted in question seem to be where the holes are.

>No further emissions recognized. Surface pattern unrecognized. Further analysis inconclusive of any abnormalities.

Huh. Odd. Well, you’ll worry about it more later. For now...shelter.

>Roll 2d20, best of three. (Searching, and Scouting.)

Rolled 13, 17 = 30 (2d20)

>>4429826

Rolled 13, 11 = 24 (2d20)

>>4429826

Rolled 10, 12 = 22 (2d20)

>>4429826
Here goes.

>>4429826
Gartoum seems to think the Shadow King's moniker is funny. Hubris? or maybe something else...

Say, Handler... That cylindrical totem thingy we got... can it fit in one of the small holes in that orb thing we also found?

>>4429842
No, doesn't seem to. The totem is wider than any of the holes.

13, 17. Hmhm.

>>4429844
Ah well... Guess it's going to be a secret for a while longer.

>specific low-frequency, low-intensity mana bursts at following locations on surface
This thing's a damn key. But for what?

>>4429826
Well...your search doesn’t turn up anything really nice. No caverns, at least. About the best you get is an overgrown tree with a hollowed out inside. Barring the smell, The place is muggy enough that you don’t have much worry about rain or cold, at least. Honestly, sheltering up like a hobo is never your favorite thing. Sure, you’re USED to it, and it’s just part of what you have to deal with if you don’t bring a full tent or the sort. Really should’ve packed one in...but blah, you sometimes remember, sometimes don’t. Moving on.

Gartoum’s not going to be back for a while, clearly. That means you’ve got time to yourself. Not much else to do in the wilderness; training at such a close distance to the target area wouldn’t be advisable. That leaves you to think, and plan. And, perhaps, research.

Really glad you copied those fairy books down.

>Any questions about Fairies?
>Do something else (Other)
>Timeskip

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>>4429905
>Do something else (Other)
Did we scan these? I'm voting for
>Within and Without

>>4429905
I don't think we'll be able to make a complete plan until Gart comes back.
>Research about the fairy origins, relationship with the dragons and shadow king

>>4429905
>>4429911
+, see if there's a shadow fairy mentioned. Might be our current employer.

>>4429908
No, the library closed and we got escorted out by a security guard before we could sneak out Shatterpoint.

>>4429905
>>4429911
>>4429913
Well I'm switching to this then if that's the case. See about shadow fairies too.

>>4429911
>>4429913
>>4429905
+

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>>4429913
wait, what exactly did we scan?

>>4429923
>>4429905
Boss, what exactly did we scan?

>>4429923
>>4429926

The books on fairies and the Breath of Life.

>>4429929
Hmm.
We should carry on then? Digging into Breath of Life again seems fruitless to me, and we can't exactly practice.

>>4429923
Pretty sure we definitely scanned Endomagic: The Magic of the Past, The Magic of the Future, but I think some anons voted for sneaking Shatterpoint out before the guard found us and escorted us out before we could hide it in our bag of holding.

>>4429932
>>4429929
Hm. Guess not...

Writing. Might be last one for tonight.

Looks like boss dozed off again.

>>4429905
>>4429911
>>4429913
>>4429914
>>4429917

>>4429941
Well...what you’ve come up with is...interesting.

The origins of fairies are said to be...uncertain. It’s claimed that the very first fairies were primordial beings, in and of the world themselves. However, others state that they came after the world had been shaped. This already contradicts what you’ve heard- if that weird old man was correct, then the dragons came first. Speaking of those...they’re not mentioned much; apparently whoever wrote this wasn’t able to get a clear answer from the fairies about the existence of dragons beyond the fact that they did, at one point, exist. Nothing about a war or anything. So whatever they might’ve done to each other may well be lost to history...or certain historians, if none of the more ‘official texts’ seem to tell you anything.

You DO find a bit more in the more fantastical historical texts that state that the dragons were the ‘eternal enemy’ of the fairies, and they sought them out as food for their appetite. The fairies then supposedly enlisted the aid of humans and the young races to fight where they could not. In exchange, they’d have dominion over the land. Again, close, but not quite what you’ve heard.

There’s a number of legends and tales in this book, apparently...you don’t see much about shadows...aside from one tale in particular...

>>4430035
No, this was just a doozy.

>>4430054

‘Long ago, in lands unsullied, there once lived the fairy people, in harmony with the earth. They knew growth, love, and peace, and little else, for that was nature; even when times came, they accepted it with grace, and respect, and not sorrow, nor hate.’

‘Alas, they were not the only peoples on the earth. One day, as one fairy was playing in their grove, they heard a voice. Strange and melodic, they thought it perhaps a fellow fairy, mimicking the great birds that flew through the sky. They followed the song, among flowing stream and whistling wind, and in a clear grove they came to witness a strange creature they’d not seen before. They could not describe it, but found it beautiful nonetheless. The fairy did not deign to show themselves, lest they interrupt the creature’s song, which would be tragedy. And so they sat, and listened. They intended to greet the other being upon stopping- but as soon as it did, it rose up and flew away. The fairy felt strangely at this, and most uncertain of its feelings, left in confusion.

The next day, it was at a similar place, and once again it heard the wondrous song. Again it rushed to seek out the singer, and again its will proved lacking in greeting the creature. And so it left, and that strange feeling got stronger.

This occurred for many more days, with this feeling- which is to us known as desire- encompassed the fairy. And it was then it thought that ‘perhaps I can make it stay, then maybe it would sing forevermore’. And so it reached out with all its passion, and desire, and the creature found itself bound to the spot.

The creature let out a wail of dismay...alas, the fairy had not known true sorrow before this day, and so the fairy thought its dream come true- that a song just for it was being sung, and found it so sweet.

For many many days and seasons, the creature found itself captive to an unknown capturer, and no matter how much it wailed and cried, none came to save it, for this was the domain of fairies, who knew no sadness, and they danced and flew and thought the song nice, as they always did.

And then, once the creature’s lifeforce began to wane, the strange fairy at last thought it good to introduce itself, and expressed so much joy at being able to hear it sing for all this time. For was that not what it always did, and wanted to do? It had fulfilled its desire, surely, and would be able to pass on in joy!

(cont.)

>>4430057
'Alas, it was not so. The creature then grew irate, for it knew anger. Its kind had many and varied emotions, and it expressed its pain most grievously, and its hatred for its captor most vividly. In shock and confusion, the fairy’s magic broke- what were these emotions it expressed? It could not be happiness, and was not contentment, nor respect nor curiosity. The creature, which proved more mighty than the fairy expected, swore never to return, and that the fairy would never hear it sing again, before flying away.

The fairy felt strange at this...and decided that this feeling must be similar to the ‘anger’ and ‘sadness’ it had said and shown. It did not like this feeling, but it felt it nonetheless. And as the days went on, the feeling persisted and persisted...until the fairy could stand no more. It resolved to eliminate this ‘anger’, this ‘sorrow’, this ‘hurt’. And so it decided.

It would find the creature once more. And it would use all of its magic to do so- enlisting the plants and animals of the land itself to aid in its search, no matter the cost. It would find this creature, even if it skulked in the shadows of the earth itself. It would use the very shadows it hid in to bring it forth, if needed be!

The creature would be returned to the fairy. The creature would sing again, no doubt- for surely, something that sang so much would have the desire in its nature- and was it not folly to resist its nature? No, the creature would sing.

And then, at last, perhaps, it would be happy once more.'

(Done! Will post tomorrow, night!)

>>4430058
Hypothesis valid! Evidence found!
Begin theorizing everybody!

>>4430062
Looks like an alternate happy ending route to me.

We find this bird!

>>4430063
Ehhh with the further developments of the war against the other fairies, we don't know too much of the intervening history to know if they even still care or not. More data required

>>4430062
So faries are assholes. News at 9.

The shadow king is definitely justified in its actions.

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>>4430062
Actually, I'd like to theorize about the fortress
>“Apparently, there’ll be a number of forces being exchanged in and out of the place...something about mustering up mobile forces for a long-distance march.
So, if they'll be marching out and are supposed to be 'mobile forces', then there should be stables somewhere behind those walls. The map here doesn't show them, nor the towers - just the main building>>4429603. And how many floors does it have?
>>4429730
>Soon, you arrive at a dip in terrain- a severe dip, nearly a cliff face; although it’s not too deep. And as you carefully peer through the trees you can see the Fortress itself.
Does this mean that we have a vantage point?
>You can also see that there are defensive towers there as well
How many towers? Are they separate buildings or part of the main one?
Also the soldier who's backpack we found earlier will come looking for it and might spot our claw marks. Hopefully they'll just think that some beast took it because there were rations inside of it.

It's very likely that we'll have to go down into the dungeon, they could extinguish all light sources and use endomagical nightvision there to ambush us, so we should finish working on either the Nighteye endomagic spell or our experimental technique that we used for fighting with closed eyes back in mecha world (#79+pic related). I'd prefer the latter, since Nighteye has drawbacks that could be exploited:
>If any major source of light is lit in your immediate vision, however, you’ll be blinded for a while, so you need to use it carefully

>dragons used to eat fairies

Ohohohohohohoho.

>>4430105
>If any major source of light is lit in your immediate vision, however, you’ll be blinded for a while, so you need to use it carefully
Anon, our entire arsenal provides blinding light. A cheap Fireworks can effectively shut them down.

>>4430201
Hell we're probably the worst thing they can fight without light if they're only relying on Nighteye.

Writing shortly.

>>4430058
Wow. Heavy stuff, you suppose. Still, it’s just a fable; a story that people tell, once that by all you can read was never confirmed by fairy, man, or otherwise. Granted, fables have a tendency to be more truth than fiction in your line of work...but that’s not saying that all of them are. Many are just that- tall tales.

The rest of the day passes eventually, save for you having to occasionally shoo out a few curious animals; nothing aggressive, fortunately. Without further intel, you’d rather not try to make a half-baked plan and so instead look to making sure all your armaments are in order, even taking a few extra swings with your Morph-Blade to practice using it. It’s a lot bigger than your Flamebringer, for sure, and the switching mechanism is, although quick, takes a second or two. You can’t swing it as fast as you’re used to, even with your enhanced strength- a lot of technical work seems to have gone into this thing to allow it such variability and still keep its tensile strength.

By the time the sun dips, you’ve even had a brief nap, before you hear a voice in your head. ‘I’m baaack!’ Gartoum chirps. “Found a few interesting things; not the Lockstone, sadly, though I CAN confirm it’s there! Bottom floor somewhere abouts...rather powerful magic stopping me from going any further, though- I have to admit, I’m impressed. The whole thing’s largely built into the ground, save for one floor.”

Great. Well, there’s something there.

>Any specific questions about the layout? The map will be updated with these.

Also helps in case I forget to show something.

>>4431303
>How many towers are there and where are they located? Can they fire at the main building? (It's said they had some experiments going on there, could they use cannons to stop whatever might try to escape?)
>How many floors does the main building have?
>What other buildings are there? Stables? Barracks?

>>4431303
No, but mention the story we just read and see what Gartoum thinks. He's a creature of shadow, what would he do if he was in a similar situation?

>>4431303
>How many towers are there and where are they located? Can they fire at the main building? (It's said they had some experiments going on there, could they use cannons to stop whatever might try to escape?)
>How many floors does the main building have?
>What other buildings are there? Stables? Barracks?

plus

>Where do they save the explosives?

>>4431303
>>4431306
Going with this then. And damn you're fast.
maybe +
>What are the general looks of their arsenals? Flintlocks are granted, but what about armors and other defensive measures?
>Where do they save the explosives?

>>4431303
>>4431313
+
And don't fret Miranda, you're playing hammer time soontm

Writing!

>>4431306
Right, meant 'can they shoot from towers at whatever tries to escape the main building'. Just to clarify things.

>>4431303
>Whereabouts in the basement would you approximate the stone is? You know, incase we want to install an elevator shaft, for reasons. Is it under a certain room, like the Dignitary room, or are the cielings/floors between floors particularly thick? how long were the stairs? This map says 2nd floor, is the first floor carved out of natural stone or is this subterran?

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>>4431303
>>4431306
>>4431310
>>4431313
>>4431326
“Alright.” you take your map out just to double check as you make additions according to his comments. “Towers I didn’t see? And can they fire at the main building?” You know where a couple of them are…

“Here, here, here, annnnd...here.” He points out, and you mark the spots with little x’s. “And I don’t think so. Purely outside and anti-air, is my wager.”

“Right. How many floors does the building have?” Hopefully there aren’t many…

“Five, not counting ground floor- one second floor, and the rest are underground. That bottom one is that frustratingly locked off one I mentioned earlier. Maybe half the room is under a powerful defensive barrier.” He tsks at the memory of it. “So rude, really.”

You make a note of it. “Any other buildings I can’t see from this angle? Stables, barracks, anything like that?”

“They made mention of a stable ‘in the back’, but WHERE in the back is a mystery. Spent all my time sussing out the place itself- quite lively, really. As for barracks, it’s all in there, seems like the second sub-floor is all that. The first sub-floor is the armory, and third and fourth seems like...training and classes and whatnot.”

Hm. Fascinating. “Alright, then, how’s their arsenal looking? Flintlocks seem obvious, but aside from that, I mean. Like...explosives, too.”

He chuckles. “WELL, From what I saw, they’ve got a number of swords and shields, and metal and leather armors. Saw a crossbow or two as well! A decent amount magic, as well! Many shield spells, saw a few wands on a few guards, some NICE looking staffs too, yum yum. Seem to be more traditional, though, more steel than sorcery on the whole, but not so little as to say not noteworthy I’d wager.” Hm. Traditionalists? Well, good for you, but still annoying. “As for the explosives?” He grins. “Those are on the second floor- above ground, I mean. Seems like it’s ammo for those cannons. Now, if you want my guess? That’s because they’d rather not have a cave in since their important areas are below ground if there’s an accident.”

Right, then...that should do it for now. Your map's updated, and you've got time to spare. Now...is the waiting game.

>Roll 1d20, best of three.

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>4431383

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>4431383

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>4431383

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>4431383
Oh so those cannons use regular ammo then? 'Slode them before we take off.

ok, we definitely should run to the armory and take all the shields we can. we can definitely re purpose them as blockades to slow the soldiers advancement.
we also need to see if the lockstone shield has a battery attached to it. i don't think we will have the time to slash through the shield or flux wave it away.

>>4431393
I'm wondering if there's a way to utilize those cannons as anything other than a bomb, and I'm not thinking of one, but we definitely want to disable them for our ex-filtration so we don't get a 16 lber to the back, as amusing as that'd be

>>4431397
I.... dont think the shields are big enough to be barricades? These are like, infantry shields, and the magic ones are probably personal shields maintained by mages or keyed to allow personnel through.

>>4431397
There should be a key for the barrier, maybe this anon has the right idea >>4429872

>>4431397
this>>4431403
We can use Light Barriers to block the doors and corridors - we have mana to spare and meditation room manacost bonus is still active.

>>4431406
The officer in charge of track and field dropped his packsack and forgot his faculty keystone to get past the three headed dog in the third floor corridor

>>4431407
I really want to use some Light traps, but it's damage is meh and it costs as much as a barrier.

>>4431400
that's when we set the armory's explosive's off. You can't man the defenses when the base is exploding.

>>4431403
its worth a try to give it a look. maybe they have an artillery sized shield that we can use to block a corridor, or you know, we can nab a shield for ourselves and the others back home.

>>4431407
>>4431406
sure, we can use our barriers, but why waste our mana on shields that the own enemy can provide for us? As for the orb... i don't think it'll be for that, butits also worth a try

>>4431397
>>4431406
If that description doesn't spell a key then I don't know what does, yes. The minor trouble is finding the keyhole.

>>4431409
the blinding effect is just not as useful when it goes off remotely without anything to take advantage of it

>>4431415
that said, maybe we should set some up in proximity to actual deadly traps, I wonder if we could have blinded those scouts and gotten more casualties from those mines back in the north.

>>4431417
>we should set some up in proximity to actual deadly traps,
we have the sticky bombs that can detonate if they try to be removed and half of our actual proxy mines

>>4431412
>why waste mana
Then why waste shields?
It's an expendable resource that we recover daily. Stop being so shrewd with mana.

>>4431421
i'm not against using the barriers or mana, but the enemy shields are already there. what i'm saying is that it doesn't hurt to see if we can use them against them

>>4431421
It's like a playthrough of The Last of Us except we carry 12000 bullets, we get them BACK no need to scrounge.

>>4431418
Right, we can combo Sensor Trap with Sticky Bombs. That should cost around 400 per combo with the bonus.

So can we use Gart to shadow teleport us to the armory then? we can just put him back into the ring after that

>>4431425
>shields already there
>artillery size shields
They don't just lay around ya know. It doesn't look like this training facility doesn't specialize in artillery or militry engineers.

>>4431430
i was thinking on sticking the bombs behind closed doors or objects that the enemy has to move,m but that works as well.

>>4431437
the facility also holds a literal state top secret. you never know what kind of toys the armory will hold

Oh, and don't forget about the Clockwork turret. It has a tanky shield crystal and proper battle rifle rounds that could punch through their armor.

>>4431444
Let's just raid the armory first then plan from there shall we? Gart can do a silent takedown on the lone guard.
>>4431446
Prime the turret in front of the stairs when we descent?

>>4431449
It'll probably get taken out before we get the stone if we leave it on too high up of a floor, maybe we put that down when we reach the magically sealed bottom floor to cover our six so we can pick it up on our way out.

>>4431446
i don't think we need to bust the turret so soon. its a prototype and we will definitely need it at the last lockstone.

>>4431449
>Let's just raid the armory first then plan from there shall we?
sure, fair enough

>>4431457
That's what I meant - putting it right at the bottom of the stairs (sub-floor to first floor) so they have no choice but to walk in a straight line to it's line of fire. Make the stairs a choke point.

>>4431383
It’s during the night that you hear the marching of feet and the clanking of armor in the distance. Finally.

You’re careful to move, but sure enough, you see a platoon of at least a couple hundred marching in lockstep out of the fortress; they’re all dressed in slate grey armor, many in leathers and with flintlocks, but a sizeable number with steel and swords, and bringing up the rear, a contingent of mages as well. They’re all stone faced men and women all, and you have to admit their discipline is impressive.

As you watch them crest the hill and march past the horizon, you know that now’s your time. Or at least, in a couple hours or so; best to finalize your plan for infiltration.

>The front door, naturally. You’ll down the first two guards then dive in and beeline it straight for the bottom floor.
>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.
>Other


(Time to come up with a plan for Step 1. This'll be it for tonight, will post tomorrow.)

>>4431458
Anon, stop being such a jew. It's a finished product, and our nerds could build even better stuff. For the last lockstone we would need our rocketlaunchers.

>>4431461
that sounds like a bad idea. there is nothing stopping them from throwing grenades(or an equivalent) galore at the turret

>>4431462
>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.

>>4431462
>>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.

>>4431462
>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.
break those canons

>>4431464
It's shielded so handgrenades won't do shit and we can repair it with our gauntlets + they can't risk with more powerfull explosives or they risk a cave in

>>4431469
oh yeah, i had forgotten the gauntlets were a thing. that gives me more hope for its retrieval, although i'd rather not put the turret down the stairs. that's the literal worst place to place it.

>>4431462
Looks like there's some tree cover along the west side where we can hop the fence through the trees, there are 6 posted guards who are likely to engage us if we use the stairs, so unless we find a disguise or go invisible we're going to go loud when we go up or down a level, we could carve our way into the storage room from the second floor and from there to the first sub floor, and probably evade the stair guards that way, unless we hit a room separating wall by happenstance, there's an awful lot of unused room in this layout, I wonder if there are secret passages next to the Mess hall and off of the armor room hallway.
Anyway
>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.
I think we could play mind-games by NOT blowing the guns on the second floor, if we blow them up too early it'll signal that we plan to walk past their line of fire.

>>4431475
>Looks like there's some tree cover along the west side where we can hop the fence through the trees
and if gartoum is up for it, we can use his shadow walk to get inside the complex, even go directly to the storage as well.

>>4431474
What do you suggest then? I want to turn the stairs into a choke point.

>>4431480
well, turrets work best the more range they can cover, let's just have Miranda put it down when we find a convenient long security corridor right before the lock stone floor

>>4431480
at the end of a long hallway where the enemy has no real place to hide, because if you place it at the bottom of the stairs, gravity and the slop itself will direct the grenades at the turret with no real need to aim.

>>4431474
>>4431480
It could guard the entrance/exit to the stairs. Gartoum could support it it and chase people out of cover with his shadow shark trick.

>>4431480
>>4431484
>>4431486
>>4431488
We could also attach it to the ceiling with our sticky mana to get more range and reduce the threat of grenades and other stuff.

>>4431493
that can definitely work.

>>4431493
Wacky. No one expects an upsidedown turret in a medieval setting.

>>4431493
I'll support this.

Now, the zone trap+sticky bombs would perfectly work on the staircases, corners, behind closed doors, and any other places that could give them a healthy dose of paranoia

>>4431462
>You’ll try something a bit more stealthy- try going around to the side, then see if going in from above might work- maybe in one of the towers.
Weeeeellll we've been stealthing fine so far, let's keep going and see what happens...
And yes I approve of the sticky mana/turret combo. Their poking sticks can't reach something's that on the ceiling.

OH, jusr a reminder.
For operation Z1 we NEED to have the recording stuff out, so i think that we need to take the recording equipment out before we infiltrate the compound.

>>4431612
probably a good idea

>>4431612
Woah man, I'm against using Z1 here. Remember that it can have friendly fire and that's a disaster for us on closed areas.
We'll use that on the fairies or target rich open areas instead.

>>4431612
>Many shield spells, saw a few wands on a few guards, some NICE looking staffs too, yum yum. Seem to be more traditional, though, more steel than sorcery on the whole, but not so little as to say not noteworthy I’d wager.
From Gartoum's intel, I guess we're expecting mostly shieldcasters/supporters instead of the traditional offensive mages? Mostly small fries, no need to deploy the thing for that. We'll waste more time trying to disable it than downing the soldiers ourselves otherwise, and once we go loud the clock ticks fast.

>>4431645
but i mean if we were to use other experimental stuff... what else did we bring? the healing bubble? we should test that in the woods, and we happen to be in the woods right now...

>>4431647
What we need to test:
>Operation Z1
>Revitalization Barrier
>Syn-Seither Pills (x2)

A lot of opportunities for the barrier, we just need one wounded creature, not a living human or anything. Plenty of monsters on our way.
Don't worry, the Z1 WILL be unleashed. It's too glorious of a thing not to.

File: Flamebringer.png (2.23 MB, 1920x1080)

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>The Morph-Blade's a lot bigger than the Flamebringer.
For everyone's information, the sword Miranda's holding in OP is the Flamebringer on scale.
This thing is closer to Monster Hunter tier huge.

>>4431739
Or, y'know...she's just THAT short...

>>4431754
I was referring to the Morph-Blade anon, Flamebringer is a normal longsword but it looks like a Greatsword in Miranda's hands.

>>4431754
Why not both?

It seems the last thread has not been archived yet

>>4431739
so what was the morph blade again? just a sword whip?

>>4432402
>The weapon that you’d commissioned from Grizzi and Cella had turned out interesting, to say the least. She’d called it a ‘Morph-Blade’, and the thing was...well, to be frank, it was something else. Still rather large and thick, it’d been reshaped to have jagged, tearing teeth on one end, and a small yet sharp curve in the back, explained to be for ‘hooking’ weapons or people. Not to mention, the whole reason for its namesake- the blade itself had been reattached to a long, curved handle that she insisted was more ergonomic than the one it had before, and it apparently had a new core that the metal warped around...sort of. With the pull of a longtrigger, it would shift from a massive blade, to flipping back in on itself (you had to watch your hand placement) and form a more handsaw like shape, or perhaps a shield, considering the size of the blade itself. On the other hand, pushing the trigger instead would shift it into something more resembling a hammer, with a couple of the pieces twisting, interlocking according to the sawtooth grooves, and allowing the thicker core piece to hold it all together. It was an impressive piece, you had to admit, and initial trials proved it to be sturdy enough.
It's not a whip at all. It's some bizzare transforming hooked sword/saw-shield/warhammer thing.

>>4432414
ooooh. so we can carry it in shield mode on one hand and the flamebringer on the other?

>>4432504
I dunno, it's pretty heavy...
I think Lori is the one with the feathertouch.

>>4432847
yeah, but we're pretty strong ourselves; i doubt that thing is heavier than the whole assault armor+ minigun that we had to carry in the mecha world.

>>4432872
>>4432847
Better to just two-hand grip either of the weapons for faster kill speed. We already have reduced swing speed with the Morph-Blade, using it with the Flamebringer just brings efficiency way down.

>>4432876
then that sword must be INCREDIBLY dense and heavy for us to have problems moving it around. it will definitely prove useful in the future.

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>>4432914
Those dorfs packed a Kirkhammer into a Saw Cleaver. With this amount of raw mass we can probably just slam through regular shields - whoever that's behind them will be at least stunned, flinched or ragdolled by the impact.
And that's before considering the Assault Crystal or Over Channel.

>>4432914
the problem with moving it around doesn't come from it's mass, we don't have problems with moving it around, you got it wrong. It's the fact that both of them are long two-handed weapons - they'd just get in each other way. For practical dual-wielding you need shorter weapons, one more than other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gVwaY0NEQU. If you want to use morph-blade as a shield shield then pick a one-handed weapon, we've got some.

>>4431462
>>4431465
>>4431466
>>4431468
>>4431475
>>4431540
Might as well try and stick with stealth for as long as possible. There’s a little area off to the right side that you think might be worthwhile...though guard presence, as always, will be an issue. Fortunately, the darkness of night will help with cover. To your surprise, you don’t see anyone obviously patrolling up there…no scents, either. “Gartoum?” you ask. “Any guards?”

“Not so, surprisingly,” he hums after a moment. “Perchance they were part of the outgoing troupe?”

Maybe. You doubt you’ll get this lucky again, though; you race forward to immediately climb up the nearest tower, a jump and sinking your claws into the stonework. Claws are pretty damn useful, you have to admit.

You’re up and over in moments, and you can see the ramparts indeed clear, but with those massive cannons waiting. There’s a few entrances that you can see, though- one in the back left and right, which you know is near the stairs, one to the far right, near the corner, and one to the left, closest to you.

Odd. The map doesn’t say anything about those entrances...damn that man’s ‘memory’. Well, regardless, you’ve got to hustle. Now, if these entrances are accurate, the top left one should lead right to the ground floor- in front of a number of guards. As for the rest...

>Take the stairs to the top right- that leads straight to the 1st Sub-Floor, provided you don’t alert the guards on the ground floor.
>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.
>Take the stairs nearest you- you’re not sure where it’ll lead, but it should be near storage. May find something interesting there.
>Other

>>4432925
>If you want to use morph-blade as a shield shield then pick a one-handed weapon, we've got some.
well true, but the flamebringer has the gravity stone AND the magical fire, although i suppose you're right. Unless our only purpose is to go full flamethrower mode with the flame bringer and only use the morph blade as a shield, the two will get stuck.

>>4432922
i'm pretty sure heads will be flying and bones will be cracking with the kirkhammer.

>>4432941
>Take the stairs nearest you- you’re not sure where it’ll lead, but it should be near storage. May find something interesting there.

>>4432941
>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.
Loot.

>>4432941
wait, i'm changing to
>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.

>>4432941
>Perform some light sabotage on the cannons, and by light I mean melt a swords-width hole through the barrel with flamebringer so the cannon ball gets stuck and if they DO fire it all the expanding gas flushes out into their faces
>Take the stairs nearest you- you’re not sure where it’ll lead, but it should be near storage. May find something interesting there.
Mystery stairs are best stairs

>>4432941
>>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.
gotta grab the stuff and then block it/set up traps so they won't be able to get their gear.

>>4432941
>Sabotage the canons
>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.
Give us the barrier stuff please.

>>4432951
Adding this.
>Sabotage the cannon

>>4432941
>Sabotage the cannon
>Take the stairs to the bottom right- those should lead out near to an Armor Room, and according to Gartoum, there’s some treasures in there. Worth a look.
Don't need to ruin their ammo stock when we can just do this.
Man our inventory is going to be flooded after this job.

Sabotage and loot.

Writing.

>>4432991
I hope they're pre-loaded. That way they'll just attempt to fire.

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>Claws are pretty damn useful, you have to admit.

New idea: Barrier Claws. Shouldn't take much training to work out/

>>4433006
we have mana knuckles, we could modify them instead of developing a new technique

>>4433012
That works. I feel it's simple enough to be "learned" without rolls involved..

>>4433006
I'm honestly surprised Miranda made bodyarmor barriers without chopping off her limbs, those barriers are basically 2d, they're freaking SHARP.

>>4432941
>>4432951
>>4432958
>>4432960
>>4432961
>>4432969
>>4432973
>>4432982
The stairs to the bottom right are probably a solid bet- you could get some interesting goods, maybe, AND sabotage any attempts at preparation for any first floor guards or personnel not already in gear. Two birds, one stone.

At that thought, you pause, looking at the cannons. They’re big, dangerous...and should be taken out of the picture. But just blowing them up would alert everyone WAY too soon. So then how…? Aha.

It takes you more than a few minutes, but the Flamebringer proves most adequate in burning decent holes through the underside of the cannons; if they try to fire...well, the extra space for the explosion to expand should cause some real damage. It’s extra time, but hopefully it’ll be well worthwhile.

That said, from what the map and Gartoum say, there’ll be at least one guard keeping watch over the armor room. Hopefully they don’t have an alarm system besides yelling set up, but you get the feeling you’re not going to be so fortunate. You quickly race over the ramparts, but from there take your time stepping down the staircase, attempting your best to do so quietly.

As you near the bottom, however...a laugh rings out. “Seriously? No wonder he didn’t wanna show up!”

“Yeah!” another voice rings out. “Woulda made a damn fool of himself in public smellin’ like that. Shame, but it was hilarious when it happened!”

Ah. There’s two of them, not one. Damn.

“So, I’m there tryin’ to make excuses for us being down a guy, and the girls are looking at us like we planned it!” And they don’t seem to be stopping talk any time soon…

>Wait it out, you’re gonna get to them one way or another.
>Gah, you don’t have time for this. Go back up and try another staircase (which?)
>If you move quick and aim well, you should be able to take both of them out with little noise…
>Other

That's all for tonight, sorry. Will post tomorrow.

>>4433057
>>Wait it out, you’re gonna get to them one way or another.
>Use Hearing Boost and Power Sense
Just to be sure there's only two of them + maybe they'll mention something interesting about this place or people stationed here.

>>4433057
>>Other
>Have gartoum shadow step us inside the armory

>>4433057
>Wait it out, you’re gonna get to them one way or another.
It's shift change, and this IS a low traffic hallway, we just need to wait for them to get tired of gossiping. It's one thing for the guard on duty to go quiet, if the guard coming OFF duty goes missing that's suspicious.

>>4433057
>Wait it out, you’re gonna get to them one way or another.
>Use Hearing Boost and Power Sense

>>4433108
admittedly I'm paranoid and how long it takes before they start a search for someone coming off duty could be a long time, I just figure we're relatively safe in this stairway, I'm not even sure why this staircase is here, emergency armory access for cannon crew?

>>4433057
>If you move quick and aim well, you should be able to take both of them out with little noise…

>>4433057
>>Wait it out, you’re gonna get to them one way or another.
>>Use Hearing Boost and Power Sense
I'm half tempted to fuck around with Tongue Tie on these guys. Where's a self important commander type making a speech when you want one?

>>4433629
that's not a good.....wait. if we dress up in the military grab that we found plus our intimidating aura, we could make it happen.

>>4433632
It's too big for us right now, but we'll do it next time we do a mission with Lorelei and/or Izumi.

I'm now thinking of having to do a mission where we attempt the "Three Kids in a Trenchcoat" cliche...

>>4433650
Hey now, I'm sure they could manage with TWO girls in a trenchcoat.

>>4433660
but what if its two trenchcoats inside a girl?

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>>4433650
Now i'm picturing Miranda in mission were she needs to train a group of newbies and she is wearing a Tanya style uniform

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>>4433881
given how it went the last time we tried to do it, its gonna be fun to try again.

>>4433881
>training a group of newbies

Man, I'd like to have another one of those training missions after this one. Either that or do an Intersection freelance job where we try to substitute for a spellcasting class at The Care House.

>>4433887
Sometimes I wonder how those kids did against whoever that Smiles character was...

>>4433887
We could always ask Sal how those kids are doing, he can probably find out.

>>4433921
i don't think we need to ask sal, for it is an OOC question. I'm pretty sure handler can answer us in due time.

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>>4433881
Not really Tanya style but more military MG.

This probably won't work here, because we're in the middle of an infiltration, but...i think we might be able to bullshit ourselves into the next zone.
I see that we still have the executive card in our bag, now, given that all items change shape to fit this new world, maybe the card became something equally important that can allow us to enter into some restricted places.

>>4434102
>given that all items change shape to fit this new world
...no, I'm pretty sure that's only our clothes that we're wearing when we get sent in.

>>4434112
from what i remember all the things that aren't treated will change shape if its necessary and since the executive card doesn't fit the world, it will probably change as well

>>4434116
>it will probably change as well

...If we wear it when we enter the new dimension. Otherwise it's just an ID card from the Seither world that has no meaning in this world.

Basically, Miranda can put on stuff in the Intersection and have it morph to better fit the new reality. But if you take off something you had worn when entering the new reality and put something new on, the new item isn't going to morph to fit the reality. It's that way in the quest so that we can't change our social stats whenever we want to.

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>>4433881
>>4434013
>yfw this EXACT same thing will happen

>>4434133
>...If we wear it when we enter the new dimension. Otherwise it's just an ID card from the Seither world that has no meaning in this world.
Good point, but if that were true then we wouldn't have the need to treat items like the rapier or the gauntlets.

>It's that way in the quest so that we can't change our social stats whenever we want to.
not really. originally we couldn't even take off clothing(or put it back again? i can't remember) because it was literally part of us.

either way, it doesn't hurt to fish out the exec card from the bag and see if it actually changed. worst case scenario nothing happened, best case scenario it becomes a seal that proves that we're a noble or something like that.

>>4434138
>if that were true then we wouldn't have the need to treat items like the rapier or the gauntlets.
Pretty sure that treating objects is only meant for magical items that would lose their magical effects and powers due to constant exposure to the Intersection's magic reducing zone. Purely technological items and non-magical items don't really seem to have that issue, so I'd assume they wouldn't need to be treated.

>>4434155
I thought treating an object prevented it from turning into motes.
In which case magic items might dissolve slower and that issued ID might already be dust.

>>4434155
>>4434166
from what i remember, the treatment exists so that items don't become passive modifiers; handler explained several times before, with the gauntlet's one being the one that i remember:
If we don't treat the gauntlets, we would lose the ability to wear them, heal things and instead they will become a passive bonus to our personal healing.

>>4434102
Exectuvie card won't change. m
Maybe we could use king Emeral's royal pardon from shadow war mission, but the thing is - the language won't change. So they won't be able to read it.
Stuff like 'mountains always have snow all year round because snowy mountains haha', 'people from different kingdoms speak same language' and 'it's summer everywhere and every time and the weather is always fair' kinda fuck the immersion for me.

>>4434169
Miranda hears and speaks in truespeech, she isn't actually aware of language changes, but they probably exist in universe.

>>4434169
if that even helps your immersion, might not.

>>4434169
I know that usually these things don't affect the plot so they're ignored by writers and don't offer that many new interactions to be important, but that's just how I feel about it.

>>4434169
>Exectuvie card won't change. m
there is nothing saying that it won't. if our non treated clothing and items are prone to changing, why not the trinkets? pulling out the exec card costs us NOTHING and we might gain a lot of unseen advantages and maybe a way to get rid of items from previous missions.

also the other anon is right: miranda speaks, reads and writes in truespeech. That's how we manage to understand everyone and how we can read dead or alien languages.

>>4434180
Anon, only clothes, attuned weapons and futuresight have camouflage. Exec card and royal pardon aren't from Intersection - they won't change.

>>4434013
I like it.

>>4434192
>Exec card and royal pardon aren't from Intersection - they won't change.
We had to treat the flamebringer, the rapier and the gauntlets -non intersection items- because they would change in the other universes we go to. Maybe the lore anon can help us sort this out?

>>4434172
I know that Miranda has ruespeech, I'm talking about the locals

>>4434209
well...they do have accents, but we don't hear their original language because that would be dumb.

'Treating' originally was because if you didn't, they'd be essentially modified by the Intersection's energies and be transformed into passive gear that you couldn't really wear or use as intended. This was specifically for clothing with magical properties and weapons of a similar bent. It was to prevent players from...well, stockpiling ridiculous amounts of weapons and gear.

Shows how effective THAT was. It's still in effect, though.

>>4434219
so basically nothing happens to "foreign" trinkets and nonmagical stuff that we find down the line?

>>4434200
There were supposed to be 2 types of treatments - permanence and attunement: the item stays the same and doesn't change properties and functions for the former and it changes to fit the world setting and gives stronger stats to our outfit but might lose it's enchantments/hightech hardware in the process and turn it into something else. There was a discussion long time ago about bringing power armor and energy weapons and Handler explained that futuristic stuff works on physics of their world of origin and might not work thd same or at all in other worlds. I don't really remember it well, better to ask Handler to explain it again.

>>4434219
We did just have a timeskip, that was your opportunity to scrub our inventory of anything that wasn't treated.

>>4434243
Funny thing? I said I was gonna do just that over the break. Dunno why I didn't wind up doing so.

>>4434253
We can do a meeting with the whole SES to break down what EQs everyone has, what should be given to someone else and what should be sold/scrapped. That way we can have some ice cream money and the weaker members can have more tools to work with.

I can that an "Equipment Assessment" meeting. You can call for that when the time comes, like right after this job.

>>4434260
Yeah, I'm both hands for a proper HQ meeting - lots of stuff happened during the time-skip.

>>4434264
>>4434260
I think we need a proper meeting room. Where did the group sit on the last meeting?

>>4434273
The break room. It has a kitchen now I think.

>>4434260
i don't think any of the crap we have can help the other members of the team and it probably would feel like an insult to boot. the best thing i think we can do is to convert the stuff to motes, scrap them or give them to R&D for raw materials.

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71 KB JPG

>>4434278
Hmm, the only thing of worth is the enchanted katar, and halberd, spear and switchblade could be given to Noran, Harpi and Tami respectively + purse gun for practice.

>>4434260
I'm in. Have this in mind boss, we need to take care of this elephant sooner or later.
>>4434278
>convert the stuff to motes, scrap them or give them to R&D for raw materials.
We can do that in the meeting and have everyone chip in on the matter too. We also don't know if anyone else wants our unused stuffs or not, because we have never discussed this with the team.

>>4434278
But I don't get why the fuck do we need a flintlock pistol????>>4429603
Maybe the next time we bring a courier with us on a mission in a modern world theh could sell it as an antique.

>>4434292
It's a hilarious prop at parties

>>4434278
Pretty sure the Katar might fit Nura, provided we reassure her that it's so she can defend herself with something magic based, and that no, we're not telling her (both directly or indirectly) to go on assassination missions now. The hunting spear should go to Harpsi once she's proven to be fully capable with the quarterstaff we gave her. The purse gun's for when they're starting to learn firearm safety. Switchblade? Toss it. Halberd? Hold on to it until Noran could actually use it without falling over.

>>4434292
We can shoot ourselves with it to show off our resilience. I'm half serious with this.

>>4434298
What is this, Persona 3? impressive
>>4434297
The halberd is just a regular stock halberd it's not even particularly well made.

>>4434292
>why the fuck do we need a flintlock pistol????
We don't, but we need it used on us even less.

Although... I did hear of a D&D story of a pirate campaign where one guy found a ring that would remove enchantments from the person who put it on. When a player found in a treasure pile, they found a blacksmith that could create a special barrel attachment to a flintlock pistol that would cause a bullet to pass through the ring at the end, then they had their wizard case Enlarge/Reduce on a bunch of cannonballs to shrink them in size. Then when he got into a fight, he'd load his pistol, put on the attachment, and fire cannonballs at his enemies.

So, yeah, pretty sure Jago would appreciate something like that.

>>4434305
It's from royal armory and is still in one piece after two month of cleaving spiders and traitors. It's made well enough. But, yeah, no enchantments or anything.

>>4434305
It was pretty good, considering the tech level. It's about the same level of quality that our kids weapons were, just unenchanted.

>>4434309
Why can't it be done with a regular gun? Using a one-shot muzzle-loader feels like a needless handicap.

>>4434317
in the original tale it wasn't a flintlock, it was a miniaturized ship cannon that fired miniature cannonballs

>>4433057
>>4433078
>>4433108
>>4433159
>>4433629
You’re not going to let two guys in the middle of a shift change (you think) scare you out of getting some new stuff. All you need to do is be patient. You heighten your senses, though, just in case. No reason to get yourself caught out anyway, after all. Still.

This shouldn’t take too long...

“...so, everything’s good with him now? All better?” Oy.

“Yup, cleared right up! Gonna take him an’ his little brother out for a hunt soon, get ‘em used to it.” They’ve been talking for a solid 15 minutes. Seriously, for ‘elites’, there’s hardly any discipline here. “Think he’s gonna love it.”

“Good call,” the other man says. “But hey, how long’s it been? You should probably get to your post before someone checks in.” Oh finally.

“Yeah, yeah. Another night spent looking at the stars.” Wait, stars? Well, crap. “See ya around!”

As you feared, his steps start coming closer...figures. He’s right there? Why else? If not for exchanging guard duty...then to get to a DIFFERENT post.

>Hop back up- you may have to take him out if he notices something off.
>Strike first, strike hard! No time to waste!
>Shadowmeld, shadowmeld! Gartoum!
>Other

>>4434323
Oh snap!
>Shadowmeld, shadowmeld! Gartoum!
Into the Armory room itself.

>>4434323
>Strike first, strike hard! No time to waste!
Are we doing the 'no survivors' thing?

>>4434309
Because you'd need to make normal bullets the size of tank shells that would be able to fit inside of a modern pistol's magazine and chamber after being shrunk in size, thus increasing the cost of creating the bullet, whereas the cannonball used in the flintlock has the benefit of just being a round lump of metal, with no need for an accordingly large bullet casing, appropriate amount of propellant, or primer. It just needs gunpowder.

>>4434323
>Strike first, strike hard! No time to waste!
>Other
Sic Gart on the other guard too.

>>4434323
>Shadowmeld, shadowmeld! Gartoum!

>>4434323
>Shadowmeld, shadowmeld! Gartoum!
I'd prefer less bodies. That way they can look extra incompetent!

>>4434329
Gah, meant for >>4434317.