>>4941518
>If that’s the case, how are there even any locals left for them to prey on?
>What can you tell us about the other awakened beings that might be there?

>>4941518
>>4941524

>>4941518
>>What can you tell us about the other awakened beings that might be there?

>>4941524
>>4941518

>>4941518
>>4941524
This

>>4941518

>If that’s the case, how are there even any locals left for them to prey on?
>What can you tell us about the other awakened beings that might be there?

>>4941518
>If that’s the case, how are there even any locals left for them to prey on?
>What can you tell us about the other awakened beings that might be there?
>Other?
Tell us about her fighting style, what cheap shots and trick she likes to pull in battle.
How many awakened beings and Yoma do you suppose she has under her control?

If its not too much, ask her how did things get to the point were you both want to kill each other so badly.

>>4941518
>“It was supposed to be an ambush,” you translate. “She was evidently traveling for some reason – could the Organization even tell you why?”
>Serana shakes her head. [Even if they could, they wouldn’t.]
>“Yeah, that was never their style,” you sigh. “What else can you tell us about what we’re walking into?”
>“Any queen needs subjects,” Ella frowns. “She’ll have trained yōma, and at least a handful of awakened beings at her command. My understanding is that they prey on travelers and locals.”

Since when did Ella suddenly appear?

>>4941792
Uhh, Ella and Salem are twins so they look alike and we just mistook one for the other?

>>4941518
“Those other awakened beings must not amount to much,” you muse. “Either that or they’re incredibly disciplined – otherwise how would there even be ‘locals’ for them to feed on?”

“It’s the latter,” Salem informs you bluntly. “She only has a handful of lieutenants, but each one has had discipline beaten into them. We awakened beings are anything but naturally subservient -”

“It’s true,” Sabela confirms.

“- so it takes a strong hand to get us to do anything,” Salem finishes the thought. “Which is part of why I have to confess I have a little interest in this little arrangement of yours. Sabela would be one thing, but another awakened being? It’s worth seeing how this plays out.”

“Couldn’t just be that even someone like you is more human than you like to admit,” you grumble.

“For her part,” Salem continues her explanation, “Ella is a tyrant at heart: we always bickered as kids, and she always hated it when she didn’t get her way. And now that she’s gotten a little more powerful she can pretty much always have her way.”

“That’s why you went your own ways?” Sabela sighs wearily as you walk. “I always assumed it was something dumb, but that sounds more like a children’s squabble.”

“She’s very much the same petulant child she always was,” Salem tells you, before confessing “I was only a little better sometimes. By the time we were warriors together the arguments were all we had left, and after we awakened we lost even that.”

“And now we’re going to kill her,” you shake your head.

Salem shoots you a dirty look. “We’re well beyond feeling bad about it. She’s tried to kill me several times, and nearly succeeded in killing your quiet little friend there. It shouldn’t be hard to imagine what would happen if we went over there, marched into her little castle, and asked her to reconcile our decades-old grievances.”

“The same thing as if we’d declared we’d take her head?” your mother muses. “That seems to be what you think.”

>You never know until you try.
>She’s your sister. We’ll go with your judgment.
>She’s too dangerous. Killing her is in our interests as well.
>Other?

>>4942384
>She’s too dangerous. Killing her is in our interests as well.

>>4942384
>You never know until you try.
I expect this to fail spectacularly, but I am curious,

>>4942384
>She’s your sister. We’ll go with your judgment.
>She’s too dangerous. Killing her is in our interests as well.

Awaked or Abysmal politics with an army of Yoma is NOT something I want to deal with on top of regular shit.

>>4942384
>She’s your sister. We’ll go with your judgment.
This is probably a terrible idea but I want to try

>>4942384
>>She’s your sister. We’ll go with your judgment.

>>4942384
“She’s your sister, not ours,” you sigh, “so if you believe she’s a lost cause, it may be better to go with your judgment on this one.”

Serana frowns. [I’m a little surprised, but I don’t think you’re wrong.]

“I don’t think we can afford to try,” you admit. [We can’t trust Ella, and I don’t trust Salem yet either.]

[Good,] Serana agrees. [We shouldn’t.]

...

After three days’ travel, you find yourselves looking down into a little valley nestled in among the foothills. Each hill consists of hard white bones of rock jutting out through lower wooded slopes, and atop each something has been built. Many of these are tightly-packed villages which together you suppose amount to a decent-sized town, while the largest hill with the most commanding view hosts the ruined castle.

“Here we are,” Salem muses.

This seems a little odd. If something that dangerous is living in the castle, wouldn’t the locals know about it and flee the area? And where is this trained army of Ella’s?

>You need fresh information. Find a pub in one of these hilltop villages.
>Time to observe and plan your next move.
>Follow Salem’s lead.
>Other?

>>4943587
>You need fresh information. Find a pub in one of these hilltop villages.

>>4943587
>>Time to observe and plan your next move.
>Time to observe and plan your next move.

>>4943587
>Time to observe and plan your next move.

>>4943587
>>You need fresh information. Find a pub in one of these hilltop villages.

>>4943587
>>Time to observe and plan your next move.
8ats

>>4943587
>>Time to observe and plan your next move.

Could it be that it's actually Ella with us and she's getting us attack Salem? Given that they are twins, can we tell them apart?
... Or am I too paranoid here?

>>4943587
>>Time to observe and plan your next move.

>You need fresh information. Find a pub in one of these hilltop villages.
>Time to observe and plan your next move.

>>4944278
No, your just the right amount.

>>4943587
You elect to observe at first – from a distance, you carefully assess the lay of the land and piece what you can see together with what the others can tell you.

Serana can tell you firsthand what Ella’s personal technique consists of, which is a potent poison that coats her natural weapons. Not a poison that destroys the flesh or sickens the body, not even one that is lethal, but rather one that inflicts pain by directly stimulating the victim’s nervous system. That of course is part of how she can hold such sway over lower-ranked awakened beings, because being able to inflict that sort of never-ending pain as a reward for disobedience would naturally instill quite a bit of fear.

You can also tell a little about the town around the castle itself. Clustered atop several of the nearby hills are some fairly dense communities, all of which are inhabited by innocent bystanders.

“She will absolutely use them as human shields you know,” Salem muses.

“Then we’ll just need to come up with a workaround,” Sabela counters. “There’s always a solution.”

“They’re not immortal like you,” Salem asserts. “Nor are they strong like your daughter or the other warriors. The only thing you can count on them for is to get in your way and hate you for it.”

“We don’t kill people,” you assert. “You want to know why I won over more than one awakened being? Sticking by my convictions is one of the reasons, so if you don’t like it then there’s still time to call off our collaboration.”

Salem frowns. “That won’t be necessary... call my bluff, will you...”

[That leaves an obvious question.]

You nod in agreement. “Unfortunately you’re all correct – the human residents are going to get in the way, we can’t just recklessly endanger them, and we have to consider how we’re going to resolve that conflict.”

>I propose we issue a public warning. Have the residents evacuate, sacrificing any possibility of surprise.
>If we attack quickly, starting off fully awakened, we should be able to scare off most of the residents.
>We should try to make an attack directly on the castle ruins, draw the battle away from the civilians.
>Other?

>>4946099
>We should try to make an attack directly on the castle ruins, draw the battle away from the civilians.

>>4946099
>Other?
Head to the pub and spread rumors about an an invasion of yoma. Get them to run for their lives.

>>4946239
>>4946099

>>4946099
>We should try to make an attack directly on the castle ruins, draw the battle away from the civilians.

>>4946099
This sounds pretty good >>4946239

>>4946099
“Why rush?” you muse, with the beginnings of a plan forming themselves in your mind. “Treat it as a siege – if they think human shields are an asset, we can take some time to rob them of that asset.”

“They’ll attack the moment we enter their home territory,” Salem asserts.

“Which is why we go through intermediaries,” you reply. “Spread rumors, stir up trouble. Get as many to flee as we can and put the rest of them on high alert. Get them ready to go at a moment’s notice, or else to find a nice hole to bolt up in and hide when things get bad.”

[And if they want to stop us they have to leave the settlement,] Serana realizes. [They won’t.]

“Precisely,” you nod, before turning to Salem. “If they want to interfere they’ll either have to leave the settlement to attack us or attack the civilians directly – either way they lose their hostages.”

“If Ella has even a hint of strategic sense,” your mother adds, “she’ll concede the loss of her shields rather than further compromise her position.”

“Thing is she probably has no sense whatsoever,” Salem declares. “She’ll do whatever pops into her head in the moment, even if to anyone else it would seem obviously self-destructive.”

“We can’t count on unpredictability,” you sigh, “so we have no choice but to assume some degree of rationality – if not from Ella then from one of her lieutenants.”

>We’ll try to find a merchant or some other outsider to spread the rumors for us in town.
>We all know what a yōma attack looks like – so let’s stage one and let rumor spread on its own.
>We must be able to find a way to pass a message covertly to the village head or mayor?
>Other?

>>4947412
>We’ll try to find a merchant or some other outsider to spread the rumors for us in town.

>>4947412
>>We all know what a yōma attack looks like – so let’s stage one and let rumor spread on its own.

>>4947412
>We must be able to find a way to pass a message covertly to the village head or mayor?
I was about to vote for the false flag, but one attack does not an invasion make.

>>4947412
>>We all know what a yōma attack looks like – so let’s stage one and let rumor spread on its own.

>>4947412
>We’ll try to find a merchant or some other outsider to spread the rumors for us in town.
>We all know what a yōma attack looks like – so let’s stage one and let rumor spread on its own.

>>4947412
“We all know what a yōma attack looks like,” you muse, “so if anyone were to fake a series of them convincingly it would be us.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Salem frowns.

“Animal mutilations are pretty commonly mistakenly attributed to yōma,” your mother suggests. “Make it horrific enough and people will naturally draw that conclusion.”

“And if no humans die?” Salem presses.

[She has a point,] Sabela admits.

“Nobody knows the difference between human guts and blood and livestock,” you offer. “Find a couple of pigs, and convince a few people to flee the region. Missing people whose homes are full of blood and guts, livestock mutilation, all could be seen pointing to yōma.”

“It could work,” Sabela nods.

“I can’t believe we’re considering this,” Salem sighs.

[Do you have a better plan?]

“Do you have a better plan?” Sabela translates for Serana.

Eventually, Salem shakes her head. “No.”

“Then let’s see what we can find,” you decide.
>1d6, best three of four

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4948341

>>4948361
Sorry, guys.

Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4948341

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4948341
>>4948341

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4948341

>>4948341
Isn't that shinobi dice? I thought we were running on 3d6

>>4949175
I made a mistake, so I decided to...
... roll with it.

>>4948341
By the evening you find yourselves knocking at the door of a random residence, just outside the area of the hilltop neighborhoods – you gather that this is some sort of farmstead. The man you meet is stunned when you barge in on him and his wife with promises that you’ll explain everything in a moment.

“Were we seen?” you ask your comrades over the man’s continued protests.

“No,” your mother insists. “They probably know we’re nearby, but I made certain that no one had a clear line of sight when we came to the door.”

“Now see here!” the man insists loudly.

“Yes,” you nod. “I know we’ve forced our way in, but it’s for a good reason – we’re here because everyone in this town is in grave danger, and we need someone to help us keep as many people as possible safe.”

“What’s all this about?” he demands, somewhat pacified by that explanation and evidently willing to listen after you warned him of a vague threat to his family and friends. “What’s two silver-eyed witches and… whoever the two of you are… doing in my sitting room?”

“We need help,” your mother repeats, “and your sitting room is in the ideal position.”

“We need to stage a yōma attack,” you explain. “No harm will come to you or yours, but people need to leave this town immediately for their own safety – and you may as well be the first.”

“Teresa’s sweet smile whatever would that solve?” he demands. “And how would you ‘stage’ an attack anyway?”

“If people go missing,” Sabela muses, “and their home is found all torn up and covered in blood, their neighbors will assume the worst. And nothing spreads quicker than rumors of death and catastrophe… save perhaps something of a more salacious nature.”

“Torn up?” his wife works up the courage to ask.

“Homes can be cleaned up, damage rebuilt,” you frown. “Your lives can’t be replaced. That’s why we’re here.”

“Why go to all the trouble of setting something like that up?” the man demands.

>Tell him the truth – that there are powerful yōma using him and his neighbors as hostages.
>Embellish the truth – fighting these yōma could destroy this whole town, like Anren was.
>Half-truth – tell him you’re just acting with an abundance of caution, and will arrange for reparations afterwards.
>Other?

>>4949376
>Tell him the truth – that there are powerful yōma using him and his neighbors as hostages.

>>4949376
>>Tell him the truth – that there are powerful yōma using him and his neighbors as hostages.

>>4949376
>Embellish the truth – fighting these yōma could destroy this whole town, like Anren was.

>>4949213
Booooooooo

>>4949376
>Tell him the truth – that there are powerful yōma using him and his neighbors as hostages.

>>4949376
>Tell him the truth – that there are powerful yōma using him and his neighbors as hostages.
>Embellish the truth – fighting these yōma could destroy this whole town, like Anren was.

Not going tell him this but, there is going to be several awakened and at least 2 Abysmal on top of a bunch of yoma and witches fighting all over the place.

>>4949376
“This place is about to turn into a battlefield,” you offer a stark warning. “And the people who live here are being used as living shields by the yōma we came here to eliminate.”

“You almost sound like you expect trouble,” the man frowns.

You shake your head. “It’s a problem of numbers – we don’t have enough to make sure no one else dies.”

“So the alternative is to reduce the number of people at risk,” Sabela insists. “Will you help us?”

After quietly discussing for a few moments, the couple reaches a decision.

...

You have to wait for them to gather some clothes and supplies, and send them together with Sabela as an escort who secured a horse and a cart for them. For this to work you also have to be careful to make sure that no one sees them leave before you can set to work ‘setting the stage’, as it were. Then it begins, like so many of your stories do, with a massive splattering of blood.

“Careful!” you protest against Sabela’s work with the pig’s blood. “We need to make this believable, no one’s going to believe it if you get it on the ceiling!”

She rolls her eyes, and resumes her work.

No one is going to miss the pig. No one but the farmer and his wife were probably counting, and you can pretty easily dispose of the leftovers once you’re done spreading the viscera. You also make certain to leave damage all around you – destroyed furniture, a forced lock on the door, deep gouges in the wooden floor, and blood smears from dragging a pig carcass across the floor wearing one of the farmer’s shirts to give the illusion that the bodies were dragged off into a nearby thicket. And then... broken pig bones and bits of intestine welcome anyone keen enough to track you this far.

You carefully remind Salem on how to hide your tracks, something she hasn’t had to do in many years you gather, such that it would take an incredibly keen tracker to discern that there was anything here but a yōma and its prey.

Now it’s simply a matter of whether anyone will believe it.
>3d10, best of three

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

>>4950760

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

>>4950760

>>4950837
Yeesh

Rolled 8, 6, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>4950760

>>4950837
I do, in fact, believe that is a crit fail.

F

The blood smell drew in a sniveling snotling yoma.

>>4950760
There’s an alehouse off the main road leading out of the settlement area, and you stop in late at night to listen to travelers on their way out. There’s a lot of hushed discussion already of the ‘deaths’ – and you’ve clearly been successful in convincing people that it was yōma that did it.

...

[But they’re not panicking,] Serana silently laments while you pretend to talk to Sabela about something else.

“It’s a good ale,” you admit, “but not as flavorful as back home.”
[Then we need to give them something more.]

“That’s fine,” your mother replies. “We’ll just have the toasted goat’s cheese and honey then. Subtle flavors with subtle flavors.”
[Like another fake murder?]

[I was thinking something more dramatic,] Serana admits.

“Okay,” you agree. “We’ll give it a try.”

“That’s good,” Sabela nods in agreement.
[More dramatic than murder?]

“I’ll wave someone down,” you offer.
[Livestock mutilation?]

[That’s right.]

Sabela signs her disapproval. [That’s not something yōma do and you know it.]

Serana gestures to the rest of the room. [They don’t.]

“True,” you muse as a waitress appears at your table. “Four amber ales, toasted goat’s cheese, and some of those little flavored olives please.”

“Oh, those are delicious,” Sabela nods emphatically. “And some toasted bread to go with it if you don’t mind.”

She glances at the other silent member of your group. “Salem? Anything?”

“I’m fine,” she insists curtly. “This is a waste of time.”

“Play nice,” you narrow your eyes slightly.

>We’ll go with Serana’s animal mutilation plan next. Make it big and showy.
>If several households go missing this time it’ll spread a little more panic.
>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.
>Other?

>>4952002
>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.

>>4952002
>>4952002
>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.

>>4952002
>>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.

>>4952002
>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.

>>4952002
>If only we could find a REAL yōma to kill publicly – our presence scares people just as much sometimes.

I hope this doesn't turn into us pretending to kill our mother only for her to regenerate once the coast is clear.

>>4952002
>Other?
Use Salem to order a Yoma attack as Ella, then slay the Yoma.

Also how does no one recognize her? Shes a twin isn't she?

>>4952002
“If only we could find a real one,” you muse without saying the word ‘yōma’ aloud, “something genuine to respond to.”

“I mean, technically you have two right here,” your mother muses quietly.

Salem, who has been chewing quietly, slows... and eventually stops chewing entirely to stare at Sabela. Eventually your mother catches this, and seems to find it disquieting.

“Why are you...”

She stops as she realizes something. “Oh, no.”

“You won’t die even if you’re killed,” Salem observes.

“Oh no,” Sabela continues to insist. “No, no, no.”

“It would work,” Salem insists.

[Is she suggesting...] Serana frowns at the implication.

>She’s overstepping.
>She has a point, mom.
>She has a point, but no.
>Other?

>>4953394
>>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
>She has a point, but no.

Called it.

>>4953394
>>She has a point, but no.

>>4953394
“She has a point, but no,” you sigh, lowering your voice and leaning across to Salem. “I’m not about to ask my mother to let someone disembowel or dismember her, especially not against her wishes. And at this rate, it may even backfire if I did anyway.”

[Good point. We’ve been seen with her now,] Serana observes. [It’s a bad plan.]

“I would’ve enjoyed it,” Salem grumbles.

“You’ve been dreaming about it for decades,” your mother rolls her eyes. “New plan, then?”

You nod in agreement. “New plan.”

[Not the trained yōma,] Serana insists.

You have to agree. “Trying to lure one of them would put us too close to the awakened beings. We’d be starting the battle too early.”

“So that idea just isn’t going to work?” Salem grumbles. “Great. So now what?”

“We could go with Serana’s plan,” your mother suggests. “Or we could go to the local leadership.”

“Can’t be trusted,” Salem insists.

“Probably not,” your mother agrees, “but they’d want to save their own skins at least.”

>We’ll go with Serana’s suggestion – escalate our faked yōma attacks.
>It wouldn’t hurt to arrange a meeting or two – well outside of town.
>We may be able to create a more immediate threat – a fire, for example.
>Other?

>>4954904
>It wouldn’t hurt to arrange a meeting or two – well outside of town.

>>4954904
>We’ll go with Serana’s suggestion – escalate our faked yōma attacks.

>>4954904
“While it wouldn’t hurt to arrange a meeting or two,” you admit, “it also makes sense to continue as planned.”

Then you sign the details across.

[We should prepare to go with Serana’s plan, making it dramatic. We’ll select a target and act in the small hours of the morning.]

...

The next morning, a lot of people are talking about what you did. No one saw you of course, you were all very careful to avoid that. But a hundred cattle in one night, on three farms, slaughtered all at once? That’s something that’s going to be noticed.

“If we’re going to speak to someone we should do it soon,” your mother suggests. “Strike while the iron is hot.”

[We’ll do it,] Serana offers curtly.

...

“What is this?” the manager of the alehouse demands around noon that day, as you and Serana hand him a letter intended for conveyance to the ‘proper authorities’.

“A letter,” you tell him. “For the council of elders.”

“I can see that,” he counters. “What’s it say?”

“Read it if you like,” you offer.

He does exactly that, opening the envelope and glancing over the handwritten note.

“You have nice handwriting, for a witch,” he mutters.

“We’re taught penmanship,” you offer calmly. “And the words?”

“They seem fine,” he admits. “It’s somethin’ that’s turned a lotta heads here.”

“Can you deliver it?” you ask.

“Why not do it yourself?” he counters.

“It looks bad sometimes to go ourselves,” you offer.
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 6, 2, 5 = 13 (3d10)

>>4956146

Rolled 8, 5, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>4956146

Rolled 8, 8, 7 = 23 (3d10)

>>4956146

>>4956146
“Okay,” he agrees. “I’ll make sure the message gets there.”

“Thank you.”

...

It takes all day, but eventually a message finds its way to you through your chosen intermediary

“It says tomorrow,” you declare to the group. “Gives a time and a location.”

[Trap?] Serana wonders silently.

“Fifty-fifty,” Sabela suggests.

>Meet with the elder who wrote back to you.
>Agree to meet, but on your terms. Not his.
>Refuse to meet without other assurances.
>Other?

>>4957626
>Agree to meet, but on your terms. Not his.

>>4957626
>Agree to meet, but on your terms. Not his.

>>4957626
>Agree to meet, but on your terms. Not his.

>>4957626
>Other?
Get close to him and check him out because he might be a Yoma.
(Yoma probably got placed into certain key positions in the village.)

>>4957626
>>Agree to meet, but on your terms. Not his.

>>4957626
You begin to write out a letter of response – not willing to accept the terms of an unfamiliar individual, nor willing to enter the town before you judge the time to be correct, you instead set your own terms to be taken or left.

First, you write, your terms are that your contact is to meet you here at the alehouse. He is free to bring an escort, however you warn him that one of your party will examine them prior to their meeting with you. Second, you set the time for midday – almost counterintuitively, the busier times during the day make it easier to get lost in the crowds and go unobserved. That suits both your ends, you think.

Last, you make it clear that you are no longer with the Organization, and leave the implications there for now. You know that he realizes you could mean a lot of things – it could simply mean that you won’t be collecting any money for your services, it could mean that the rates of payment will be different, or it could be a thinly-veiled threat that you no longer have to follow the Organization’s rules.

>3d10, best of three

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

>>4958654

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

>>4958654

Rolled 3, 8, 9 = 20 (3d10)

>>4958654

>>4958654
>m
At midday, the man is led into the alehouse by Serana, who forces his two escorts to remain by the door. He picks his way through the establishment to find the booth in back where you’re sitting, just behind the one where Sabela and Salem are eating.

After waving him into his seat, he addresses you directly.

“So why all the secrecy?” he frowns. “And why bring me out here?”

>Tell him the whole story.
>Sell the fake yōma attacks.
>Other?

>>4959827
>Tell him the whole story.

>>4959827
>Tell him the whole story.

>>4959827
>>Tell him the whole story.

>>4959827
>>Tell him the whole story.

>>4959827
You tell him what’s happening here, and not only that, but you let him in on your efforts so far to try and drive people away prior to the battle you know must sooner or later come. He listens quietly, though he makes no effort to hide his displeasure.

“And you want me to become a part of this lie?”

You nod. “People need to not be here right now.”

“Why?” he asks again. “It sounds as if this yōma of yours, if she exists, has been remarkably benign.”

“She and her kind eat people,” you frown, “even if it’s travelers that’s still human lives being lost on your watch...”

You quickly realize something that would make this all add up. “You already know all this, don’t you?”

“I might know a little about it,” he shrugs. “Enough to know that I should make every effort to remain... valuable.”

>Threaten. If he refuses to help, you’ll make sure he suffers for it.
>Appeal. Surely he must realize there are more important things at stake.
>Reason. Ella would never honor a promise with human cattle like him.
>Other?

>>4961047
>Reason. Ella would never honor a promise with human cattle like him.

>>4961047
>Reason. Ella would never honor a promise with human cattle like him.

>>4961047
>Reason. Ella would never honor a promise with human cattle like him.

>>4961047
>“You already know all this, don’t you?”

Odds Ella already knows we're here just shot up precipitously. This dude's a flunky.

>>4961047
>How long until she comes then?

>>4961047
“Let me tell you a story parents tell their children in Hazaran,” you muse quietly. “There once was a farm, and on that farm there lived the farmer, an old milk cow, a chicken, a sheep and her two lambs, and a pig.”

“Does this have…” the man begins, only for you to continue – your voice slightly louder and more insistent at first, until he gets the point and shuts his damn mouth.

“One day the pig, who was smarter than the rest by a wide margin, came to the others in desperation. ‘The farmer intends to eat us all,’ he said, ‘but if we work together we can surely escape in time!’ The other animals, however, would hear none of it.”

“The farmer wouldn’t kill me, said the cow, because I give him the milk he drinks every morning. Nor would he kill me, said the chicken, because I lay eggs for him every day. He would never kill us, said the sheep, because then he couldn’t use our wool to keep himself warm in the winter.”

“And so when the pig was taken the next morning and slaughtered, the other animals were sad but comfortable in their belief that they had confirmed their own importance to the farmer. The pig should simply have been more useful when he was alive, they reasoned. He shouldn’t have tried to cause trouble for the farmer.”

“But the next spring, the sheep’s lambs were taken away by the farmer one morning – no one ever saw them again. That summer the chicken stopped laying eggs, and so she too disappeared from the farm. By winter, when the farmer came for the old dairy cow whose milk had dried up, she and the sheep lacked the strength to stop him.”

“If only we had listened to the poor pig, the sheep lamented, when we thought we were all being so very clever. For we had all of us forgotten the nature of a farmer.”

The man stares at you blankly, so you deliver the moral of the story – as you might to a small child. “You see, a yōma will never honor any agreement with a human. You’re livestock to be slaughtered, and the minute you forget that, thinking yourself too important to be mere food, is the minute you guarantee your doom – and the doom of everyone around you.”

>3d10, best of four

Rolled 10, 2, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>4962562

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

>>4962562

Rolled 8, 4, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>4962562

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

>>4962562
Let me show you how its done

I would hope that awakened beings who try to eat mushrooms only are exempt from the moral of that story.

>>4962612
Naturally. Reality is too complicated to make a good punchline, but an awakened being now has a choice between their yōma instincts and their human heart.

Sabela and Solaris have made their choices. Salem has yet to do the same.

>>4962562
“... I don’t want to get eaten,” he eventually admits. “How do I ensure that doesn’t happen?”

>Let us do our job and get this place evacuated before we have to fight.
>Help us spread more rumors and misinformation, accelerate the exodus.
>Tell us everything you can about our enemy here.
>Other?

>Sorry this one is so short, it’s another logical decision point
>Tomorrow’s update will be more substantial

>>4963691
>Help us spread more rumors and misinformation, accelerate the exodus.
>Tell us everything you can about our enemy here.

>>4963691
>Help us spread more rumors and misinformation, accelerate the exodus.
>Tell us everything you can about our enemy here.

>>4963691
>Help us spread more rumors and misinformation, accelerate the exodus.
>Tell us everything you can about our enemy here.

>>4963691
“I’m glad you asked,” you reply, handing him a folded sheet of paper. “Read these instructions. Memorize them. Then I’ll be taking them back.”

The man takes the piece of paper and unfolds it carefully, as though afraid it’s going to bite him, and reads what you prepared for him. The instructions are fairly simple – first is a set of three ranches where you intend to kill livestock, along with two homes where you’ve arranged to stage the family’s deaths. One more location falls into both categories, and your instructions are to spread rumors about those events as widely through the public as he can without making it too obvious it’s being done deliberately. You give him a day and a half before he is meant to publicly announce that the Organization in Lavinia has refused the contract.

That day, you have something even more dramatic planned.

“You can help ensure your own survival,” you explain, taking back the piece of paper, “by helping us accomplish our mission. You understand, right?”

“I think I’m starting to,” he swallows hard. “Is it really that bad?”

“We can win,” you insist, before making the stark admission. “But there may be a cost. At very least we can choose who pays that cost.”

After a few moments, he nods once. “Okay. I’ll do what I can to sell this.”

…

“So we can’t be trusted?” Salem frowns. “It’s our nature, is it?”

“Sabela and Solaris chose to nurture and protect their remaining humanity,” you reply sternly. “I recognize them as human, like my fellow warriors, not as yōma. The same choice is still before you.”

“And if I choose the wrong side?” she stares at you intently.

>You won’t.
>Then I turn my blade on you when we’re done here.
>We’ll have to act conservatively, for a while at least.
>Other?

>>4964838
>You won’t.

>>4964838
>Other?
Then hope we never cross paths again.

Alternatively we can just lie and tell her we won't do much and then kill her to lower her guard.

>>4964838
>>4964898
i agree with this warning, cause its probably not a smart idea to challenge an Abyssal one after fighting another one

they are both abyssals right?

>>4965450
Technically she's an Awakened being?

>>4965450
Salem is an Abyssal. Ella technically isn't.

>>4965699
Woops I got them switched around. Darn clones.

Guys we should have some codewords incase we get mixed up on who's who in battle, just in case Ella tries to pretend to be Salem.

>>4964838
Will be back first thing in the morning to update.

>>4964838
“I don’t think you will,” you admit, “but if I’m wrong about you, we’ll simply have to hope our paths don’t cross again for a while.”

“Is that so?” Salem muses quietly. “That wasn’t quite the answer I expected.”

“You expected more of a threat?”

She shakes her head. “I didn’t expect to hear you be reasonable. I know as well as you do that taking on another fight that soon after Ella would be a mistake, but most warriors I’ve known over the years would refuse to let someone like me wander freely… not like any of them could stop me.”

“Mother,” you gesture to Sabela, asking her to take out some of her little supply of spice. “All I ask for now is that you continue trying not to be a monster for a little while longer. If you want to choose humanity that decision has to be yours alone, without anyone twisting your arm about it.”

After a moment, Salem takes a pinch of the stuff before ordering a small plate of food.

…

The next day, rumors begin to spread about the list of targets you hit the night before. These rumors are helped along by official channels – the man you spoke with seems to have been savvy enough to understand that the best way to force rumors to spread is to publicly deny them, like trying to smother a raging fire by tossing dry fuel onto it.

Then, halfway through the day after that, comes the admission. But the news that comes with it is designed to be bad, telling of the Organization’s complete disappearance and the unlikelihood of help. Plans are hastily made to flee, people pack their livelihoods and their chosen possessions into carts and leave their homes.

That evening, the news reaches your little alehouse base of operations that things have gotten even worse.

“That’s it,” the barkeep admits in a low voice. “We’re finished.”

“It can’t be that bad,” one of his regulars insists quietly.

“It’s bad,” the barkeep swallows nervously. “The Sakian military… I’ve heard rumors about what’s going on up there. This is almost worse than the yōma.”

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9LprhEoNTc

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

In an instant you position yourself in the way, unwrapping your sword and vaulting atop the bar to disrupt whatever it is the newcomer just did. When she lowers her hood, you see a familiar face – not identical, but similar enough that you can tell who she is.

“Ella,” you frown.

The awakened being crosses the room at seats herself at an empty table, before addressing the barkeep as he flees out the front door with his remaining patrons. “You should thank this young lady for your life!”
>1/2

>>4966170
“Why was that necessary?” you demand.

Ella cocks her head at you. “Why was it necessary that you save him?”

Serana, Salem, and Sabela are all in the room with you an instant later, finding you still atop the counter and Ella seated calmly in the room with you. Serana’s first instinct is to draw as well, however she finds your mother’s arm barring her.

“Wait,” Sabela insists.

“Well isn’t this a surprise,” Ella muses. “My bitch sister and the slut of Hazaran are behind this little intrusion.”

“So I think you can understand now why I can’t stand her,” Salem grumbles. “For one thing she has zero self-awareness.”

“Help yourself,” Ella insists, gesturing to the now-abandoned bar, “and sit down. Oh, and someone get me an ale… I brought my own snacks.”

You’re pretty sure you know what the dried jerky she produces from a pouch on her belt is made from.

“Want some?” she proffers a bit in your direction.

“I’ll pass,” you frown. “And if you want ale you can get it yourself.”

“You don’t mind if I…” she asks with her mouth already full.

“Chew first, sister,” Salem grumbles again. “Damn it, I raised you better than that.”

“Ah yes, my lovely sister,” Ella suddenly gets up, pacing across the room. “Always the disciplinarian!”

“One of us had to have some!” Salem finally snaps. “And we both know that was never going to be you!”

[This is heartwarming and all,” Serana signs to you, [but can we not?]

“What’s she saying?” Ella demands.

“She’s asking if we could get to the point already.”

“Ah yeah,” Ella nods, “it’s real rude you’re scaring off my food like this. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to make sure that wouldn’t happen? Some of my subjects wanted to just come out and kill you all, but a good queen should always be willing to use words first.”

>And what book did you read that in?
>You’re not a queen, you’re simply deluded.
>I take it the other awakened beings are your ‘subjects’.
>Other?

>>4966182
>>I take it the other awakened beings are your ‘subjects’.

>>4966182
>>You’re not a queen, you’re simply deluded.
>>I take it the other awakened beings are your ‘subjects’.

>>4966182
>>You’re not a queen, you’re simply deluded.
>>I take it the other awakened beings are your ‘subjects’.

>>4966182
I was just wondering, and pardon me if this comes off as asinine: what's everyone wearing in this scene?

Was trying to remember what Noel's faction came up with for standardized attire, but then again, they were probably going to still be incognito anyway. Salem, Ella and Sabela at least have the luxury of having nothing to hide from the average Joe. I remember Sabela going for Hazari riding duds at one point. Hoods are involved, I know that, but drawing a blank otherwise.

>>4966182
>And what book did you read that in?

File: __clare_deneve_helen_and_(...).jpg (116 KB, 624x424)

116 KB JPG

>>4966282
I haven't mentioned it lately, but Noel's faction resemble the Seven Ghosts from canon - but only to a degree, mostly above the waist. Their typical outfit is closer-fitted above the waist, using dyed/smoked deerskin and lambskin. Trousers and boots are a matter of personal preference, but tend to be looser-fitting linen or canvas trousers with boots of some kind.

Noel, Serana, and most of the survivors of the battle with Constanzia and Rafaela favor riding boots, and many of the faction add elements of traditional Hazari craft. That can be riding boots, small accessories, woven trim, and so forth.

It's variable, and would be highly personal within the broad trends set by the seniormost figures in the group.

>>4966182
>And what book did you read that in?

>>4966182
“I didn’t think you could learn from books by eating them,” you muse, “but clearly you must have stolen that line from somewhere, somehow. In any event, I take it that you only consider your fellow awakened beings to be your ‘subjects’? Not the humans who were presumably living here when you showed up?”

“You don’t consider cattle to be your subjects, do you?” she counters.

You shake your head. “Of course not, but I wasn’t born a cow so the comparison isn’t as apt as you seem to think it is.”

“You may well be half-cow,” Ella smirks, glancing at your mother.

“Cheap shots won’t strengthen your argument either,” you sigh. “The sad truth is that you’re not a queen, you’re an unrepentant monster who abandoned her humanity and you need to be put down before you can do any more harm.”

“So that’s why you scared them off,” she muses. “You’re still trying to keep those pathetic little humans safe from the big, bad monster Ella? I’ll ask you again, why bother?”

“It’s the human thing to do,” you counter.

“You’re not human,” she scowls at you. “You can hate yourself however much you want, but don’t you fucking dare drag us all down to that level.”

“You’re right,” you admit. “I may never have been truly human, but my father was. And my mother was, at one point. As were all my comrades – my family. So don’t you dare demean them in front of me.”

There’s a long, tense pause.

“So, I guess this is what they call an impasse,” Ella crosses her arms. “So time to break it. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just start killing these little humans you love so damn much?”

>Because then you’d be killing your own food supply out of spite. You’re dumb, but not that dumb.
>Because you want the same thing I do – a chance to cripple the Organization’s invasion forces.
>Because we have you outnumbered and surrounded right now, you absolute moron.
>Other?

>>4967286
>Because then you’d be killing your own food supply out of spite. You’re dumb, but not that dumb.

>>4967286
>>Because we have you outnumbered and surrounded right now, you absolute moron.
because i can absolutely see her do it out of spite

>>4967286
>>Because we have you outnumbered and surrounded right now, you absolute moron.

>>4967286
>Because we have you outnumbered and surrounded right now, you absolute moron.

>>4967286
>Because I'm going to chop your arms off.

>>4967286
>other
>There seems to have been a misunderstanding: we already take it as a given that that was always what you were going to do. That's part of why we are here to put an end to it.

>>4967286
>Because then you’d be killing your own food supply out of spite. You’re dumb, but not that dumb.

>>4967286
>>Because we have you outnumbered and surrounded right now, you absolute moron.

>>4967286
“For one thing we have you outnumbered and surrounded,” you muse.

“So you think,” Ella smirks. “My subjects are waiting outside, at a distance, to swoop in and attack at a moment’s notice.”

“Based on what signal?” your mother muses.

There’s a long pause before Ella replies, the smirk seeming somewhat forced now. “Oh, they’ll know.”

She didn’t arrange a signal with them ahead of time and has no way to communicate with them. Seven awakened beings to be her backup and not only did she not think of a way to coordinate with them not a single one bothered to raise the issue with her before she came here - which means either they're all as stupid as she is, or they're all actively trying to undermine her.

“And what makes you think any of them would come even if they knew you were dying?” you stare hard into her eyes. “How many of them do you really think would rather follow you than make their own rules and live freely?”

Tyrants, for all their obvious power at first glance, are often deeply insecure – they wield their power because they fear what might happen if they don’t. They fear at all times the knife in the back, the poison in the wine, the slow crumbling decay of discontent, and are ever-alert for any signs of those things, real or imagined. Simply by planting the thought you can provoke the response, because the fertile ground of Ella’s paranoid imagination provides a nurturing environment for wild and radical conclusions.

You know nothing of her subordinates, aside from what you can guess based on what you've seen so far. But it doesn't feel like a stretch to imagine that they don't like Ella very much. They could very well even hate her, which hardly makes them your allies, let alone your friends. But it does make them a useful asset to you for when the time comes to fight, and even before then.

“I have to go,” Ella declares abruptly, rising to her feet and making for the door. “We will settle this later.”

“Yes,” you insist. “We will.”

After Ella leaves, Salem releases a deep sigh. “That won’t last forever.”

>It doesn’t have to. Only long enough for the evacuations to proceed.
>We could always stoke her fears a little more. Get her to react recklessly.
>We should scout the Organization’s forces, in preparation for battle.
>Other?

>>4969612
>>We should scout the Organization’s forces, in preparation for battle.

>>4969612
>We could always stoke her fears a little more. Get her to react recklessly.
Break her OODA loop.

>>4969612
>We should scout the Organization’s forces, in preparation for battle.

>>4969612
>It doesn’t have to. Only long enough for the evacuations to proceed.

>>4969612
>We could always stoke her fears a little more. Get her to react recklessly.
>Other?
Enjoy a public meal with the spice for other AB to see.

>>4969905
>>4969612
i like this idea

>>4969612
“It doesn’t have to,” you admit. “Only three days – long enough for most of the humans living here to evacuate, and for the Organization’s forces to get here.”

[We may want to scout their forces,] Serana suggests. [Go in twos.]

“Agreed on both counts,” you nod curtly. “Mother, please go with Serana, intercept the Organization’s force. Observe it from a distance and return to us with your observations. Salem, you and I are going to strike your sister’s insecurities while the proverbial iron is hot.”

Salem considers your point, before you spot the beginnings of a sly smile. “Okay, consider my interests piqued. How do you intend to get her worked up from here?”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 10, 6, 3 = 19 (3d10)

>>4970766

Rolled 1, 2, 7 = 10 (3d10)

>>4970766

Rolled 6, 2, 9 = 17 (3d10)

>>4970766

>>4970766
“... I don’t understand this.”

It’s been the better part of two days, and you’ve decided to sit in the middle of the street to have your last dinner before your mother and Serana return with news ahead of the advancing force from the Organization. You’ve been joined by Salem, and set a wooden table with a respectable spread that’s attracted attention.

“This,” you muse, “is called ‘dinner’.”

The awakened being, with dark hair and silver eyes, rolls those eyes at your response. “I meant what are you doing eating it out here.”

>No special reason. Why?
>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.
>You know you don’t have to serve Ella. And we don’t have to be enemies.
>Other?

>>4971974
>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.

>>4971974
>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.

>>4971974
>>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.

>>4971974
>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.

>>4971974
>>We wanted to see if anyone was interested in trying the human-alternative: “spice”.
The spice must flow.

>>4971974
“We wanted to stir up some trouble to go with our meal,” you admit calmly, “so we’re introducing you to ‘spice’- the alternative to eating humans you may not have known you have.”

The awakened being looks at you skeptically, but seems curious to discern the truth for herself. “May I?” she asks, gesturing at the small glass vial from which Salem took her pinch.

Salem offers her a small sample, which the awakened being cautiously sniffs at. Deciding to be a little more adventurous after watching Salem take a bite of roasted chicken sprinkled with the stuff, the awakened being licks a little bit of spice off her fingers, and her expression changes.

“Nutty,” she comments. “Surprisingly… satisfying?”

“So far as I can tell there’s no drawbacks,” Salem shrugs, “and it works for Sabela among others.”

“Sabela has this stuff?” the awakened being stares at you.

“She grows some herself,” you correct her. “You could too, it isn’t that difficult.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a kind of symbiotic glowing fungus,” you offer your best guess so far at how to describe it, “that feeds on other fungi, while supplying them light.”

“That’s oddly specific,” the awakened being continues to stare. “I assume if I were to… make my disagreements with Ella public… you would offer to explain more?”

“Depends,” you muse, holding up the vial. “Would you know anyone who might be interested?”

The awakened being grasps the other end of the vial between her fingertips, but you don’t release it yet.

“There are some people who might be interested to know about this,” she informs you.

“She won’t be happy about this,” you insist.

“If she learns about it she’ll go completely crazy,” Salem adds. “I can tell you that for certain.”

“It’s a shorter trip for her than most,” the awakened being counters. “And if I do nothing, there’s going to be a full-scale battle. And I don’t know how that is going to end. So I may as well try to make the right decision.”

>Let her take the vial.
>It would be safer if you kept the vial.
>Other?

>>4974539
>>Other?
Give her the vial, you keep the spice.
I kid.
Give her half of it's contents, perhaps?

>>4974539
>Give her a half.

>>4974552
>>4974590
Give her half.
Not enough to start her own stuff or Ella's, but enough to give some a taste.

>>4974552
>>4974539
>Give her half.
Why are we behaving like some sort of drug dealer handing out crack to a monster?

>>4974539
>Let her take the vial.

>>4974539
>>Let her take the vial.

>>4974804
I don't want Ella to start making her own with this.

>>4975008
if she can figure out where to get the mushrooms and how to cultivate them just from a vile of processed stuff we would never have a chance

Lets be real, she is to stupid and egotistical to either figure it out, care for it or even admit she would need help

>>4975014
You can grow mushrooms and fugues from just the spores.

>>4975064
We know that, sure.
Do they?

>>4975111
Solaris knew how to grow flowers.... They might now know but they might try to threaten a few humans or famers and their families to try and figure it out for them.

>>4974539
After a few moments, the awakened being lets go of the vial to allow you to show her what you have in mind. You remove a generous ‘half’ of the contents and wrap them in a bit of cloth, tying it off like a small pouch.

“Given her nature I think it’s better that Ella not know about this,” you clarify, “so try to keep this hidden. I also think that keeping a supply for Salem and Sabela would serve us better, which if things go the way I hope they do will serve you better in the long run as well.”

“I can’t make any promises of course,” the awakened being insists. “But I want to see what a few of our kind think about this.”

“I can’t make any promises either,” you admit. “But I do believe you’d be picking the right side, as well as the winning side.”

“Just keep this in mind,” Salem adds. “I’m not committed either. But working with Sabela, Noel here, and her other friend? That works for me, and this ‘spice’ is an intriguing opportunity into the bargain.”

“... Livia,” the awakened being eventually offers her name. “My name is Livia, former number eight.”

“And the ones you wish to take this to?” Salem presses.

“A former number twelve and number fifteen,” Livia tells you. “Their cooperation would definitively swing this battle in your favor.”

>Don’t worry about it. Doing the right thing always comes first.
>Your help would be appreciated, if you can actually come through.
>Wait as long as possible, make your betrayal known at the last second.
>Get out and join us as soon as you have their answers.
>Other?

>>4975867
>Don’t worry about it. Doing the right thing always comes first.

>>4975867
>Don’t worry about it. Doing the right thing always comes first.

>>4975867
>Don’t worry about it. Doing the right thing always comes first

>>4975867
>>Your help would be appreciated, if you can actually come through.
But your absence would be appreciated as well, if you understand my meaning

>>4975867
>>Don’t worry about it. Doing the right thing always comes first.

>>4975867
“Don’t worry about it,” you insist. “Doing the right thing should always come first – so I think we’d appreciate the help, but even if you were just not there that would be fine too. Trust your own judgment, Livia.”

After a moment she nods in agreement. “Okay. I’ll work as hard as I can to make sure Ella doesn’t realize what’s happening.”

“Good luck,” Salem offers a hand to shake. “I hope to see you at the end of this, Livia.”

...

Eventually, Sabela and Serana return from their reconnaissance mission against the advancing forces from the north coast of Sakia. There’s some dark, purplish blood staining your mother’s clothing, though you can tell at a glance that she’s physically fine.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Noel,” she insists curtly. “Not even with you.”

“So what can you tell us?” you change the topic pre-emptively.

“It’s what we expected,” your mother tells you. “I count ten of those armored gun carriers.”

“Horses?” you ask.

[Forty lancers in cuirass,] Serana adds. [Armed with pistols as well.]

“And infantry?”

[At least two hundred.]

“That would be a problem for most regular military forces,” you admit with a frown. “The cuirassiers on the flanks, the gun carriers supporting riflemen, massed fire from the center. That’s what I expect.”

“But how do you reckon they would hold up to awakened beings?” Salem frowns.

“The gun carriers could do some damage,” Sabela offers. “Multiple bullet wounds would also cause some problems for any target that doesn’t have rapid regeneration.”

“So they think they have a chance?”

>No. The awakened beings are going to slaughter them.
>It’s going to be a real trade for both sides.
>We may need to step in to target the gun carriers.
>Other?

>>4976760
>>It’s going to be a real trade for both sides.

>>4976760
>Other?
Depends on terrain and if one side has the element of surprise. If the ABs are forced to attack a prepared position, the guns win. If there is an ambush, the ABs win.

>>4976760
>No. The awakened beings are going to slaughter them.
They have no combat experience against AB's, even if their weapons are effective.

>>4976760
>No. The awakened beings are going to slaughter them.

>>4976760
>>4976810 has it right, I think

>>4976760After considering it for a moment you shake your head, your expression grim. “They’ll be slaughtered.”

“I thought we were just praising them?” Salem frowns.

“The soldiers from Sakia will be trying to use a prepared formation,” you clarify, “but the problem with that is that their formations will probably be based on fighting the ‘dragons’ of the continent – the same enemy we warriors were created to defeat. Those are two very different opponents to have to fight, and so I doubt those soldiers will be prepared for the reality of what they’ve been sent to do.”

“So you believe we need to help them?” Sabela glances at you. “Or not?”

“Not,” you admit. “The most positive outcome from this is the one where the Organization’s force is routed by the awakened beings after a prolonged fight that doesn’t require us to kill any of them, Ella and her loyalists are killed, and Livia and her fellow dissenters survive.”

[And if the Organization fares too well...]

“... we may have to face them,” you nod. “Otherwise they would attack us blindly.”

“So you’re letting someone else do your dirty work,” Salem summarizes – and honestly, not unfairly. “You still refuse to kill a human even if they’re trying to kill you, but you’ll let humans die if it serves your purpose.”

>Nothing says we must, as warriors, save a specific human or group of humans. It’s a technicality.
>Being principled doesn’t mean being soft-hearted or self-defeating. I won’t protect my enemies.
>It’s my intention that this outcome will actually spare more lives than other approaches would.
>Other?

>>4978030
>Being principled doesn’t mean being soft-hearted or self-defeating. I won’t protect my enemies.

>>4978030
>It’s my intention that this outcome will actually spare more lives than other approaches would.

>>4978030
>Other?
"As a Queen, the lives of my companions and subjects comes first."

>>4978030
>Being principled doesn’t mean being soft-hearted or self-defeating. I won’t protect my enemies.

>>4978030
>Being principled doesn’t mean being soft-hearted or self-defeating. I won’t protect my enemies.

>>4978096
+1

>>4978030
>Being principled doesn’t mean being soft-hearted or self-defeating. I won’t protect my enemies.

>>4978030
“Being principled doesn’t mean being soft, or self-defeating,” you admit. “As queen my first duties are to my comrades and my people. Duty to some abstract definition of ‘humanity’ must come a distant second, and so while I’ve been successful in avoiding the issue thus far... this battle has already forced me to make an uncomfortable decision.”

[Through our inaction, humans will die,] Serana muses ‘aloud’.

You nod in agreement. “That’s right. I’ve already chosen to let the human soldiers of the Organization die... though it’s no worse than the precedent set by the Organization itself.”

“Arguably it’s poetic justice,” Sabela offers her own thoughts.

“How so?” Salem spares her a glance. “You always did have a nasty habit of never explaining the things that come out of your mouth sounding so clever, so don’t think that just because we’re on the same side for now I’m going to continue letting you get away with it.”

“The Organization experimented on us,” your mother summarizes, “and the other warriors under its banner. They sent many of our former comrades to die, like miss Olivia.”

[And me,] Serana adds silently.

“And you,” Sabela agrees. “Twice, actually. I also still believe quite firmly that the Organization is originally behind the yōma themselves. Speaking for myself, I find it almost amusing that the Organization’s forces are going to be devastated by their own monstrous creations.”

“... almost,” she reiterates before Salem can say anything.
>3d10, best of three

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

>>4979355

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

>>4979355

Rolled 10, 4, 3 = 17 (3d10)

>>4979355

Rolled 10, 8, 8 = 26 (3d10)

>>4979355

>>4979355
The next day, two things happen shortly before noon. One of these is that Livia returns with another awakened being, both of them having been badly ripped-up and bloodied as part of what you sense was a dramatic and violent escape attempt.

Livia glances at Salem, who despite being an Abyssal One capable of outstanding acts of violence herself seems stunned by their condition. “You were right.”

“I’m sorry,” Salem replies as they pass. “There were supposed to be three of you?”

“Cait’s had it,” Livia replies curtly. “There’s not enough left of her to regenerate.”

Her remaining compatriot, whose dragging left leg is still in the process of regenerating from a shattered stump, coughs up a little blood as she tries to say something.

“Stop that,” your mother insists. “Both of you should focus on...”

“How many did you take with you?” you interrupt, drawing a glance from Sabela.

“Two,” Livia tells you. “Maybe three.”

“Out of?”

“Nine, plus Ella.”

“Thank you. Get some rest, we’ll take it from here.”

You look to your mother. “That leaves six or seven awakened beings plus Ella, against our two Abyssal Ones and two half-awakened warriors.”

“Sorry,” Sabela frowns. “I let myself get distracted.”

“I get it,” you admit. “I just wanted to know it was worth it.”

Not long after Livia and her companion settle into the basement of a sturdy building in the nearly-abandoned town, you start to be able to hear the sound of steam engines in the distance.

>Take up a defensive position in the town itself. House to house fighting largely negates the advantages of cavalry and artillery support.
>Take a position outside the neighborhood, gain the high ground. Limit the enemy’s maneuverability and expose them to counterattack.
>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.
>Other?

>>4979432
>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.

>>4979432
>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.

>>4979432
>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.
Its pushing our principles to the limit, but it has to be done
After what Livia and her friends risked, failure would be worse than ever

>>4979432
>>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.

>>4979432
>>Wait for Ella’s faction to make their move, put the Organization’s private army between the awakened beings and your own faction.

Did the organization kill one of them off or did Ella when they tried to defect?

>>4979706
i think Ella noticed them trying to defect, or one of those in her "employ" and then tried to stop/kill them
it makes sense from Ella's perspective, no one would take her serious if someone just gets to go without being punished

>“Cait’s had it,” Livia replies curtly. “There’s not enough left of her to regenerate.”
What if we put all her remains together and focused yoki energy into the remains and throw spice ontop of it? Worth a shot.

>>4979432
“This is only one piece of the puzzle,” you sigh. “We need to know what Ella’s faction is going to do... and then we should position ourselves on the far side of the Organization’s forces, if we can. Try to avoid being caught in a cross-fire scenario. Livia and her comrade are going to have to move too.”

“You lead them,” Sabela insists curtly. “I want myself and Salem to be on the front line, and sorry... but being able to speak would be helpful here. So Serana should stick close to us.”

[Understood. No offense taken.]

“Here they come,” Salem frowns. “Noel... hurry up. We won’t have much time.”

>3d10, best of four

Rolled 9, 5, 9 = 23 (3d10)

>>4979986

Rolled 5, 4, 3 = 12 (3d10)

>>4979986

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

>>4979986

Rolled 8, 8, 4 = 20 (3d10)

>>4979986

>>4979986
“... I think I can predict what the Organization is about to do,” you frown. “If it were me I’d place my gun carriers in the streets to deprive the enemy of room to maneuver, and place my infantry in houses along the streets where they could turn the enemy flank. The cavalry would be a maneuvering force meant to steer the enemy into specific directions or cut off easy retreat.”

“The rumbling is coming from that way,” Sabela informs you, pointing towards the west side of the little built-up neighborhood. “Salem, do you believe your sister is clever enough to counter the traps that the Organization is setting for her?”

Salem shakes her head. “No, but that’ll just make her madder. They’ll respond with brute force.”

You point towards a small spire to the southwest. “That church would be out of the way. We should take Livia and her comrade there and launch our attack using that as a forward staging area.”

...

As you lead Livia, helping her walk her wounded comrade with one of her arms over each of your shoulders, you hear the first shots – the crack of rifle fire and the resonant booming of cannon.

[How do we avoid the same traps?] Serana flashes a swift question.

“Across rooftops or through walls,” you suggest, “ideally both at the same time. This will lead you to fast-paced indoor fights where the Organization’s rifles will be less useful.”

“We’ll take the lead,” your mother insists. “You just follow us when you can!”

...

Shortly before the church there is a small square, and in this square you find an armored cannon-carrier. The weapon booms, and you throw yourself into the wounded awakened being and Livia beyond, before all three of you scramble awkwardly into cover. The round takes out a massive chunk of masonry as it hits a street corner, opening up an empty building.

“So that’s what you were talking about!?” Livia hisses sharply.

>Leave Livia and her friend here, go through the walls and flank the tank.
>Cross out in the open – try to draw them towards the awakened beings.
>Move across the rooftops and secure the church tower for Livia.
>Other?

>>4981002
>Move across the rooftops and secure the church tower for Livia

>>4981002
>>Leave Livia and her friend here, go through the walls and flank the tank.

>>4981002
>Leave Livia and her friend here, go through the walls and flank the tank.

>>4981002
>Cross out in the open – try to draw them towards the awakened beings.

>>4981002
>Leave Livia and her friend here, go through the walls and flank the tank.

>>4981002
>>>Leave Livia and her friend here, go through the walls and flank the tank.

>>4981002
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 7, 10, 10 = 27 (3d10)

>>4982197

File: e528650c4d3250c52eafb3da3(...).png (663 KB, 900x1300)

663 KB PNG

>>4982229
eyyy.

Rolled 8, 3, 2 = 13 (3d10)

>>4982197

Rolled 1, 7, 6 = 14 (3d10)

>>4982197

Rolled 3, 4, 6 = 13 (3d10)

>>4982197

>>4982197
You make a quick decision, and turn over your shoulder to Livia.

“I’m going to create a distraction,” you insist, “so use that to move your friend to safety. You’ll know when the distraction’s started.”

...

The first step is to circle around the row of buildings which face onto the street, looking for a lower point in the wall to leap over into the green space that runs behind the apartments, giving each row of them, stacked three or four high, a shared garden or yard. Luckily the back door to the first set of apartments is open, with a cable seemingly running into the building along the floor, which makes this first assault a complete surprise.

In the front room of the ground floor apartment you find a handful of armed soldiers, all but one carrying a rifle of some description, who are stunned enough by your abrupt appearance that none of them manage to get a shot off at you before you fall on them. The side of your blade smashes the unarmed one clean across the room, where he crumples at the base of the wall after taking several layers of plaster off it with his back. Another finds his leg bent out at an odd angle after you kick the side of his knee, before sending him sliding across a wooden table and into the kitchen.

Strangely, a female soldier whose rifle you knock away tries to draw a sidearm, which you don’t allow her to do. You lift a chair and smash it across her lightly-armored back, sending her crashing face-first into the floor before taking on her last squadmate. His rifle becomes your weapon as you grasp it between his hands, nearly wrench it away from him, and use the buttstock as a club. Once, twice, three times against his cheek before he collapses, too stunned to move.

An odd thought floats through your mind – were that woman to have been born on this island she may have been one of your comrades rather than a nameless enemy. It also suddenly strikes you as rather peculiar that the representatives of the Organization in your territory, on this side of the world, were entirely male from the council of old men right down to the surgical assistance you remember seeing as a girl. Every single one of them, and almost all of the soldiers you’ve fought so far, were men.

A cursory examination of the device that first soldier was using would suggest some form of communication relay, and pulling the wire out of the back end of the wooden box at its furthest end seems to shut it off.

The next group of soldiers aren’t taken quite so easily, and the gunfire alerts their comrades across the street. They start to realize that you’re going to take them out a few at a time, limiting their ability to cover for each other, and so they start to spill out into the street. The last soldier in the second apartment crashes out through the window, and you kick the door off its frame and into one of the men gathering in the street outside.
>1/2

>>4982825
A cannon round from the armored carrier smashes into the parlor where you were standing before, blasting debris out into the street where you brawl with the remaining soldiers, creating as much of a spectacle as you can. Automatic rifle fire scythes through the walls behind you, as its wheels crack cobblestone and throw up dust in a hasty attempt to retreat.

You don’t feel like letting it.

Before it can reload its main cannon you charge it down, partly awakening your body to increase your speed and strength. At the last second you jink to the right, dodging under the incoming gunfire and getting around to the vehicle’s side, and pivot on the spot the throw all your weight and every ounce of strength you have at the mechanical monstrosity. Your hands get in under the edge of the chassis and that’s what gives you the leverage to literally flip the thing over onto its side.

The gun barrel embeds itself into the street as men are thrown from their seats out onto the cobblestone, and your own boots dislodge a few stones where you had to dig your feet in.

You allow yourself to slowly revert to something that looks a little more human, taking advantage of the momentary lull in combat.

“Take your wounded and leave,” you command them sternly. “And do me the favor of conveying my personal gratitude to your commanders – without hatred of the Organization and what they’ve done here, I doubt that the former warriors, awakened beings, and human generals of this continent would have found common ground.”

More cannonfire and explosions in other streets nearby betray the extent to which the Organization’s forces here have encountered resistance. Many of the soldiers seem... generally concerned, you suppose. But also hesitant for sure, since you doubt many of them could have been prepared to face an enemy who could turn their heaviest piece of equipment over onto its side and make a mockery of their supposed advantages.

>Leave the soldiers to whatever fate they choose. You need to join your own comrades.
>Drive the point home – if they’re going to survive they need to retreat, and NOW.
>Offer to let them rally behind you for now, potentially save a few more of their comrades.
>Other?

>>4982855
Drive the point home
Maybe awaken an arm to rip apart the tank if they don't hurry

>>4982855
>>Leave the soldiers to whatever fate they choose. You need to join your own comrades.

>>4982855
>Drive the point home – if they’re going to survive they need to retreat, and NOW.
I wonder whether we can take the cannon with us.

>>4982881
I'll allow it.

>>4982855
>>4982881

>>4982855
>Drive the point home – if they’re going to survive they need to retreat, and NOW.
Could cause others to start routing.

>>4982855
“Get out of here,” you repeat your order, jamming your durable blade into the mechanical base where the cannon is mounted to its vehicle and using it as a wedge. “You’re just going to get yourselves killed if you stay.”

With a screeching noise of metal straining before it buckles, you wrench the gun free and return your sword to your back. With your body partly awakened again you’re able to free the cannon from the street, clear its barrel by shaking it out, and finally heft it over your shoulder. You check to make sure a round is loaded into the breech before grabbing a few spare rounds to bring along.

“If you’re afraid of the possible consequences of failure,” you make one last offer, “feel free to present yourselves at the border with Hazaran. I can’t promise you total leniency, but you won’t be harmed or mistreated without cause.”


“Good luck.”

…

When you reunite with your friends, and Salem who you’re hoping may one day be a friend to you and your faction, it’s from a rooftop where you can see the fight between the Organization and the awakened beings under Ella’s command. You may only have one shot at this.

>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.
>Drop as many rounds as you can on the other awakened beings, thin their ranks.
>Fire for other effects: create dust, knock holes in buildings for cover, and so forth.
>Other?

>>4983296
>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.
Too bad we do not know if the rounds are HE or AP.

>>4983296
>Sneak closer to try and shoot Ella.
I doubt we can hit her at distance without any sort of aiming device

>>4983296
>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.

>>4983597
we don't need to hit her to create an opening, scattering the ones close to her, or just a big smoke screen would work as well. Sabela and Salem just need to get a good shot in to get the upper hand.

Speaking of, i am curious what the issue is with Salem, she seems a bit off, not psychotic, but not well adjusted either. Lets just hope its gonna get better in civilized company.

>>4983296
>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.

>>4983710
A psychotic sibling that you had to babysit only to bite your hand over the years can do that to you.

>>4983296
>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.

>>4983296
>>Try to fire the cannon at Ella, create an opportunity for Salem or your mother.

>>4983296
>3d10 DC 20 best of four

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

>>4984698

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

>>4984698

>>4983296
You wait for a few moments, carefully bracing the cannon atop a low wall on the rooftop to minimize the effects of recoil on your comparatively tiny body – and more importantly, you suspect that Ella is precisely the sort to give you exactly what you need to take her down.

It’s not a long wait before Ella decides to throw her weight around and awaken. And it’s that moment of awakening, as her body doubles, then triples, then quadruples in size without showing any signs of stopping that you fire.

The cannon’s recoil slams against you, dislodging bricks in the low wall and pushing you against the slates of the roof, cracking stone and wood underfoot. But you hold fast, and the round flies true, blowing Ella’s right arm clean off with one shot and exploding inside the buildings beyond her.

It takes her a moment to puzzle out what just happened, and that moment of confusion allows you to reload your weapon and fire again, scattering several of her flunkies and spraying them with shrapnel.

“Someone kill that queen bitch!” Ella howls, and three of her lessers are all to eager to comply.

Their combined power is sufficient to destroy the building from under your feet, sending you tumbling through the air. But one of them finds her eagerness rewarded with the muzzle of a cannon pushed into her eye, a cannon you had the poise and the presence of mind to reload while in midair.

You leap with the recoil as the round pulps the awakened being’s head, and while you’re in the air you smash the breech into another awakened being’s shoulder to get a little extra distance through the air so that you can land near Serana.

“Thought you could use some support!” you greet her with a grin, tossing aside the cannon which has taken a prominent bend near the breech.

Your mother and Salem have taken the opportunity to engage Ella, wisely staying in partially-awakened forms similar to your own to minimize their profiles.

>Work with Serana to take down the other awakened beings, methodically and precisely.
>Rally the remaining Organization forces – their weapons work, they just need help.
>Work to screen your mother and Salem, let them battle Ella two on one undisturbed.
>Other?

>>4984756
>“Thought you could use some support!” you greet her with a grin, tossing aside the cannon which has taken a prominent bend near the breech.
Ha!
>Rally the remaining Organization forces – their weapons work, they just need help.

>>4984756
>Work to screen your mother and Salem, let them battle Ella two on one undisturbed.

>>4984756
>Work to screen your mother and Salem, let them battle Ella two on one undisturbed.

>>4984756
>Work to screen your mother and Salem, let them battle Ella two on one undisturbed.

>>4984756
>Work with Serana to take down the other awakened beings, methodically and precisely.

>>4984756
>Rally the remaining Organization forces – their weapons work, they just need help.

>>4984756
>>Work with Serana to take down the other awakened beings, methodically and precisely.

>>4984756
Work with serana

>>4984756
>3d10, best of four

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

>>4986347

Rolled 8, 6, 6 = 20 (3d10)

>>4986347

Rolled 4, 1, 9 = 14 (3d10)

>>4986347

>>4986347
>waiting on one more
>will have to update on my lunch break tomorrow, can't do it tonight

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

>>4986347

>>4984756
There’s one clear objective right now, defined by your surprising success just a moment ago in creating an opportunity for your mother and Salem to press the attack against Ella. Your objective must be to take on the remaining awakened beings with as much ferocity as possible, in order to keep them occupied while the Abyssal Ones try their best to kill each other nearby. In doing so, you’ll make the most of the situation you’ve found yourself in.

“Let’s go, Serana!” you call out, raising your sword and surging forward together with your partner.

The large, open plaza you’re fighting in at the moment is the junction of several roads leading through the town, which all run past or right up to a large church – larger than the one you left Livia and her friend in, with two bell towers instead of one and a dramatic facade that includes a massive clock face. The Organization has pulled most of its forces back onto two of the five streets that meet this courtyard, more or less adjacent streets separated by a narrow storefront that only allows for minimal overlap in their fields of fire. But importantly, you think, it allows for easier communication and for a sort of broadside presentation of their remaining cannons and automatic guns against the awakened beings.

So that determines your next move, which is to maneuver around the plaza and take a diagonal line of attack, with the aim of packing the awakened beings away from Sabela and Salem and back into the Organization’s lines of fire.

“On your left!” you tell Serana your strategy, covering her side and letting her focus on dropping her one-handed earthbreaker down on your enemies’ heads without distraction.

Six awakened remain, one of which has had one of her shoulders shattered, and a seventh lies dead in a pool of her own purple ichor and grey matter, the back of her skull having been blasted out. So that means Livia and her compatriots took down two awakened beings in their bid for escape, which means one of the remaining six has been wounded recently.

“There!” you realize, leading Serana towards one of the awakened beings you noticed with a slight limp. “High-low!”

Serana vaults and turns, aiming an earthbreaker at the crown of your target’s skull. She blocks, one clawed arm almost buckling under the force. But before she can counterattack with her other claw, you aim a blow at her right thigh. Your own ‘white strike’ finds a recently-healed wound, the force following that fresh tissue and ripping it open again, so that Serana’s force topples the awakened being with a shrieking howl.
>1/2