You walk towards the rug, and pull it off in one go, revealing a wooden hatch.
"Dangerous chemicals and only a wooden door to protect yourself? Interesting." You say, while the guard proceeds to take out his sword.
"FINAL WARNING! BACK AWAY NOW OR BE-"
You grab his wrist and squeeze, making him scream and drop his sword, which you quickly pick up.
"Shut up and help me find my friend." You say from between your teeth, while some of the kobolts check inside the hatch... Though it doesn't take long before you hear two familiar voices.
"COLLAR! THE KEY IS IN THE DRAWER, HURRY!"
"I DON'T WANNA TURN INTO A WEREWOLF!"

...

The guard freezes at the sound of that, and then turns to the alchemist, who is taking steps back... and reaches inside his cloak.
"You don't understand. I was performing VITAL experiments. It could grant more knowledge of the human body and beyond than you could even imagine! And they... they should be HONORED to-"
You step forward, but then he raises a round bottle into the air:
"ONE MORE STEP... AND I BLOW YOU TO HELL!"
The bottle looks as though it's frothing and bubbling all by itself, as though it's looking to escape by itself. The guard, meanwhile, seems to realize that he should certainly back YOU over the man who just admitted to kidnapping two people and keeping them in a basement.
"Sir! I need you to drop the bottle and come quietly! Don't make this worse than it has to be, alright!?"
He's clearly intimidated by the bottle.
You're personally just really, really mad.
He DARES?

>Burn him alive like the pig he is

>Try to talk him down
You'll need something to say, though.

>Toss the closest object at his face.

>Rush him down and tackle him.

>Toss the guard's sword

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword
But say a stupid one liner first, like "Alright I won't step forward, you have a point about the knowledge...unfortunately /I/ HAVE A POINT TOO!"

>>5126523
>>Toss the guard's sword
Encourage one of the 'bolts to catch the flask before it shatters

>>5126587
That seems like a good way to lose a 'bolt

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword... at the bottle
Surely nobody is crazy enough to actually just have a loose potion of kaboom on their person, right? ...right?

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword
I want this fucker dead as soon as possible.
>>5126608
He was certainly crazy enough kidnap two people in the name of "Science". Frankly speaking, we have no idea exactly how far he's willing to take this, so we can only assume the worst.

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword
I will GUT YOU you maggot!

>>5126555
Oh, hay, wait, Spinejuice. If we kill this guy, and the place doesn't get lit up brighter than a witch to a stake, can we loot the place?

>>5126591
IDK man, they seem nimble eough

>>5126555
Fucking autismo wizards
>Try to talk him down
"If you try anything, you're dead. All your work will be for nothing.
If your goal is furthering science, we can help you with that. We have contacts at the alchemists' guild. From what I hear a position recently opened up there.
Just put down the flask. You can carry on with your work and nobody needs to get hurt."
>>5126591
Seconded. We could kill this guy no problem. I'm more worried about the kobolts getting hurt.
Also yandere gob waifu is best waifu

>>5126674
my autism fueled rantingI wonder if we can claim everything here, then send to off to our Alchemist friend's new workshop. She lost her old set up, but can claim everything here. Oh! And there's also the happy coincidence of claiming the reward money for the werewolf whom is probably the one downstairs.
I wonder if we can also claim some sort of finders fee for dealing with the alchemist as well, in addition to whatever money he had laying around this place. Better yet, what if he has a couple of healing potions?

>>5126682
They are very nimble, but it's needlessly dangerous.

>>5126693
It is needlessly dangerous, so why not try to talk him down instead?

>>5126700
I think we're more able to skewer him than talk him down. Granted we could probably try talking, then sword throwing should that fail. I just down talking would work since hes stuck in his own little world.

>>5126707
I'm just worried that if we skewer him he'll drop the bottle and we all go boom

>>5126710
That's a fair point. Okay, I'll change my vote to talking him down, but sword throwing should that fail. That sound good with you?

>>5126555
Changing my vote.
>Try to talk him down
Say this >>5126689 but maybe add that if he complies we can put in a good word for him at the alchemist guild town. We've a good reputation there, so they're bound to listen. We understand that at the end of the day he wants to help progress humanity, but the ends don't always justify the means, not always. he can do his job so much more safely, but he shouldn't mess around with werewolfs without proper security measures. He's lucky the worst of it was a few mauled sheep. If he gets careless, he could be one of those sheep, or god above someone else.

Failing that, throw the sword.

>>5126724
Sure. If talking him down fails, sword toss is our next best bet.
Also if it comes down to killing him, giving his supplies to Paracelcus Is definitely the way to go. Though I don't know how the guards would feel about that.

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword

>>5126730
How we can convince the guards to let us keep all the alchemist's stuff? Oh that would be way too easy. There's a bunch of reasons and excuses we could make, like how they can't use all the equipments and reagents as good as an actual alchemist can, such as our friend, or the fact that they failed the protect her and this second guy from being kidnapped and experimented on. Someone needs to pay for the bullshit they went through, so what better way than to keep the alchemist stuff. Also being a traveling knight we can tell other towns how this little racist village is a crock of shit for booting us after all the work we put in. That would probably hurt the town's revenue.

>>5126747
Paracelsus should be allowed at least whatever we can help her carry out of here as just compensation for being kidnapped and imprisoned. Also if there are more fire grenades we could use those down below against the goblins.

>>5126700
Because he insulted our 'bolts and kidnapped our medic.

>>5126555
>Toss the guard's sword

In theory, we can get payed for
>dealing with the alchemist
>waiting for the caravans to prove the roads are safe in 1-3 days
>dealing with the goblins
>dealing with the werewolf
Two of these we can solve right now. The werewolf bounty had a not to small sum of Marks with our name on it, plus any werewolf tails left over from all the werewolf transformations. The goblins we can probably deal with tomorrow morning, and if we wait a few more days we can claim the 300 marks.
All in all I think we can net something around 2k marks or more for all the jobs.

>>5126555
>Burn him alive like the pig he is

>>5126555
>Other
Keep him distracted while subtly motioning for our sneakiest bolts to get behind him

>>5126555
>>5126689 +1

Also QM you might wanna link here https://lws.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html in the future the old archive is no longer secure

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>>5126555
What are the odds of us encountering more kobolt klans, or wandering kobolts to add to our kobolt horde?

Fighting back the urge to...
To do something involving breathing? You don't know, you had an inclination towards... something odd.
You shake your head, and try to remain calm. Raising your off hand, you tell him:
"If you try anything, you're dead. All your work will be for nothing... If you really seek to further science, and the understanding of everything, I can help you with that. I have contacts with the alchemist's guild, and I know for a fact that a position has just opened up there. If you can just remain calm, lower the flask, then you can keep working all you like."
The alchemist scoffs:
"Are you serious? Did you take me for some... independant moron? I've GOT connections to the guild! I just live in this town, hell, I live here to get away from their restrictions! Do you have any idea what I could do with lycantrophy? We could have soldiers that could take over the WORLD! My treatment would cure even the most grievous of injuries! Your little whore insulted my work, and she's an outsider besides! She deserves to be put to use!"

Then, you hear a grunt, and you see Paracelcus stepping out... covered in scars. Her robes are tattered, and it's clear she had to fight something off in there... but guessing from how active she is, she probably won.
"YOUR THEORIES HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISPROVEN YOU UN-EDUCATED MORON!"
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" the alchemist screams back, his voice cracking. "WHAT DOES A BRUTE LIKE YOU KNOW!?"
Brute?
As the alchemist turns to Paracelcus, however, you see the guard moving in, making a gesture to you to indicate that you are to remain quiet. Quickly moving in, Marvin then moves in and then grabs the alchemist by the arm and puts his hand over the vial.
"RELEASE IT NOW!" He screams, while you move in to help out. The alchemist, perhaps foolishly, tries to wrench the vial free, instead.
So you just skip to the point, and proceed to punch him in the side of the head. Instantly, the vial is released... and kept in the hands of Marvin, who proceeds to place it on a nearby table. The alchemist slowly tries to get back up after your punch, but you just put a foot against his chest.
"Don't." You say, and he seems wise enough not to do anything...

Marvin then steps back, after disarming the explosive.
"That was... I... You know I can't permit this, right!? You went against my direct orders, you started ransacking his lab... H-he's going to claim entrapment!"
You blink.
You blink again.
"He... Had two hostages in his basement."
"And it's his well-respected word against yours!"
You shake your head in confusion:
"And YOUR words?"
"I can't interfere, I'm a guard! People will think I'm... I'm trying to make it sound bigger than it is!"
You are growing increasingly irate. Balling your hands, you take a deep, shuddering breath.
"Your town... is... Infuriating." You say, slowly, and then you look to Paracelcus. She looks pretty ragged, and those scratches across her body are still bleeding.
(cont)

>>5127625
Let's make a deal with the gobbo that we'll let her unleash the goblins if she'll murder this here alchemist...

Nah, nevermind. The layperson of this town still doesn't deserve torture and suffering even if the organizations here are infuriating.

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"Tell me about it" she says, as she rubs one of her wounds. "He had me fight some kind of... rabid animal he caught. Not a werewolf, because it dies when you stab it enough times with a normal dagger."
"What kind of creature was it?" You ask, while the guard seems flustered about being ignored. Paracelcus just waves him off, and then adds: "Looks kind of like a wolf, I suppose, but a werewolf is considerably less ragged than that thing."
"BOTH OF YOU! Keep this up, and you're both under arrest for disobeying an officer of the law!"
"What do you want, then?" Paracelcus says. "Do you want to arrest us for being kidnapped? I think we both know you can't hold a candle to Reynauld in a contest of arms if you want to try anything."
"I, uh.... I need to..."
Oh he doesn't actually know what he wants. Wonderful.
You answer it for him:
"Tell you what. You take claim for finding what the alchemist was doing. We interrogate him. We find out more about the werewolf problem, and I get at least a partial bounty out of this. You get to have a promotion for doing good work. Sound good?"
Marvin doesn't look so sure for a moment... adn then just nods sheepishly.
"O-okay. I mean... It's just that... T-the chief would yell at me if I, uh... yeah. If I arrest the alchemist. They have this deal going, but I... I guess this is too flagrant to ignore, right?"
The alchemist under your foot struggles for a moment, but you just push a little harder, until the guard finally catches on he should use those handcuffs. In the meantime, you check in the hatch for a moment, and see that there are two operating tables, and that the lad you captured along the road is still strapped in. There's an infusion kit right next to him, as well, though he's not getting infused, fortunately.
"Oh thank GOD! Please! I-I'm sorry I tried to steal from the alchemist, okay!? I just... I needed something for the road, is what I thought! H-he'd never notice!"
Paracelcus seems confused for a moment:
"Wait, you stole something? I thought he knocked us both out..."
"He, uh, he injected you with something and told me he'd melt the skin off my bones if I tried anything. B-because I took that spoon that was all silvery."

Paraculcus rubs her temples in annoyance as she hears it... but you sigh and release the boy. God, he's stupid.
"Come on, we're getting out of here."
You take a quick look at the dead creature in the bigger cell here, which you suppose is the thing that Paracelcus has to kill with nothing but a Kris.
It's... kind of like a dog, but the proportions are all wrong. The hind legs are far too long, and most of its fur looks ragged. The claws look too big to comfortably walk on, and the snout seems to be a bit... stunted, somehow.
"What the hell was that thing?"
"A golem he made... using some werewolf parts. Tried to transfer the curse unto dead flesh. It worked, up to a point, but it's feral and shouldn't be transmittable."
"He made you fight it?"
(cont)

"More accurately, I escaped when he tried to make it bite just my arm, but he opened the door. By the time I won, he prepared and tossed an anesthetic at me, and bound me again when I fell."
"He was... purposefully trying to infect you, then?"
"I suppose. Golem infections isn't an avenue that's considered viable. Like I said, the flesh is dead, and most of the magic used is just spent on trying to animate it. Lycantrophy is almost impossible to transmit without a good dose of magic to keep it running. So, the chance of infection is pretty much zero. And, if I really am unlucky, I know how to make a cure."
"And the boy?"µ
As you say that, you see Chad is quickly releasing him from his bindings, while Humper is trying to calm him down with some success.
"He was going to be infused with infected blood. That would have worked, obviously, but you came in just as he was preparing to do so."

You are brought to the question of import, however:
"Where did he get the werewolf parts? Is he one?"
"No. I couldn't coax that information out of him, so it's a mystery."
You suppose that's everything.
"Grab what you think you can get away with, Para... maybe it'll get you a tailor."
"I can sew things myself. I'll just be taking his bandages."

You step outside again, and see the guard is still waiting to bring him to jail. He seems to be waiting for you to join him.
"Come on... I, uh, I'm still gonna need your statements, right? The chief needs to hear that. A-also! Hand me my sword back, please?"

>Fine.

>I have different plans
Which are?

>>5127639
>I have different plans
>"Are you stupid! The chief made a deal with this fuck. He is going to put the blame on us to safe himself from his corrupt doings. We need to expose that man or get rid of him."

>>5127639
>I have different plans
>Firstly
>"The fuck you meant by 'they have this deal going'"

>>5127652
Preferably get this conversation back inside the alchemist place so we can get the whole picture without making a scene in the middle of a streat.

>>5127646
>>5127652
Support

>>5127639
>>5127654 +1

>>5127639
>>5127652
Supporting this.

Also, once we're done here, can we just toss that bomb flask in the lab and drop the alchemist down the well? No? Can I at least fantasize about it?

>>5127652
+1

>>5127639
Start breaking the Alchemist's fingers. Where'd you get the werewolf parts, boy.

>>5127652
>>5127654
Fuck I would start with a lie that we dropped something in a lab. So he won't get defensive and have second thoughts and we can get him inside.

So best way to do it give him his sword back then lie so we can get him back inside. Insert us walking in on naked good doctor applying bandages. Start questioning little shit.

Additional good question. Who exactly is his boss and when he showed up? Is guards old crew or some new guys? Who trowed goblin into the well?

>>5127652
+1

"Hey... Come back inside, I need to talk this over with you."
"S-sir, I really can't-"
"You want your sword back?"

Sheepishly... The guard returns, and you hand him his sword in no time at all... though then you put your hand on his shoulder.
"Listen... You said yourself the chief has a deal going with the alchemist. What kind of deal is this?"
"I-I don't know! I'm new! I was told to leave this man alone... That's all I know, alright?"
"You're new, huh? Alright. Look, I'm sure you and me can both see that there are some seedy things going on, and I need to know more about this heart of darkness."
The guard... seems to realize that he's in trouble, and you can tell he's really conflicted about this.
"S-sir, I... If I... If I do the wrong thing, here, people could get hurt. That includes me... that includes you. I think... it might be better if you just moved on, okay?"
"We're past that." You say. You're going to solve this issue.
The alchemist speaks up again:
"Don't you DARE, BOY! I KNOW YOUR FACE AND YOUR NAME! YOU DO THIS, AND-"
Suddenly, Paracelcus slams her hand against the man's mouth, and... he loses the ability to talk. Upon closer inspection, it seems some kind of foam is now growing over his face, and while he can mumble... he can't talk.

"I was wondering if i'd ever get to use that." Paracelcus adds, and then she looks to you and the guard.
"Come on. Talk. If you were going to be a problem to us, you'd have used your whistle." She says, crossing her arms. Slowly, the guard, turns a little red, and you can tell there are tears forming in his eyes. He's in a panic, you can tell.
"Look... i... The guard here is... Uh... Corrupt. They sometimes take travellers along for, uh, their safety, but none of them ever come back. I once saw them bring them into the alchemist's home, but they never came out, and..."
He huffs.
"I was scared." he admits, only for Collar to suddenly hug him, quickly joined by Teensy. They both get a leg, considering the difference in height, and the guard seems genuinely confused as to why.
"It okay. You just scared. Legal Omission not apply." Collars says
"How do you know that?" The guard asks, and Collar replies: "I ate lawbook once."
Of course she did.
(cont)

>>5128250
Oh my god I love Collar, this is hilarious. Can we feed her more books? How does she like her books served?

>>5128256
With wine and a side-dish of pasta
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Anyway, they're doing something to people, but... this town doesn't have a part of that, okay? They're... mistrustful, sure, but not... they're not with the chief."
...Marvin doesn't actually know anything, you can tell. He's not a bad man, just... perhaps a bit too rigorously by the book. But you should ask:
"Say, the goblin that was tossed down the well. Who was responsible?"
"I... It was... that wasn't a goblin, it was a monster. I think... it was a cultist, or something? Under that mask there was just... nothing but meat and teeth, it was corruption. So they had to send her below, drown her."
"In your drinking water?"
"They were gonna fish her out, but... she just wasn't there. Then, later on, the ferals started getting more organized, it was... it was proof she was some kind of demon. Right?"
You stare at the guard, shaking your head slowly, and he seems to realize just how complicit he was in some very bad acts. The glitter in his eyes turns to full-on tears, and he starts to plead:
"I DIDN'T KNOW! OKAY!? I'M NOT A BAD GUY!" He yells, accidentally kicking away Teensy as steps forward. He starts wringing his hands together.

You understand. You've seen it before with one of the servants back in your family's estate, he was just too scared to do anything. For fear of his family. He still ended up warning you ahead of time.

"I get it. But you'll have to help me get this under control, now. Are there any other guards like you?"
"No... But there's, uh, there's some mercenaries in the inn! They'll, uh, they'll help out!"
"For free?" You ask, more to point out the flaw in that plan.
"Well... no. But the chief's bound to have money, right? O-or the bounty if the corruption's revealed and they're brought to the city!"
Not ideal, you don't have time to bring them in yourself... But hell, it's a start. If you need the mercs, they're available.

Or, alternatively... perhaps the goblin has more than enough of a point?
What do you do from here?

>You'll deal with this yourself. March to the guard's main office.

>Hire the mercs with the promise of looted gold

>Hire the mercs with the (less certain) bounty of corruption

>Head down into the tunnels and request help from the goblin.

>See if Marvin can't bring you to where they were bringing the travelers

>>5128261
>See if Marvin can't bring you to where they were bringing the travelers
>Head down into the tunnels and request help from the goblin.
>Hire the mercs with the (less certain) bounty of corruption
In this order.

>>5128267
+1

>>5128267
Makes sense. +1

>>5128261
>Hire the mercs with the (less certain) bounty of corruption
>Head down into the tunnels and request help from the goblin.
>See if Marvin can't bring you to where they were bringing the travelers

>>5128261
>Head down into the tunnels and request help from the goblin.
Welp, now I feel bad about killing those feral Goblins.
They probably would have been useful for what's to come.

>>5128368
Nah man, we can't use the ferals no matter what. It'd turn the townspeople against us, it doesn't take a genius orator to say 'hey he's got goblins on his side so of course us the city guard are the good guys'

>>5128261
>Send Paracelsus to recruit the mercs, offering the possibility of bounty

>Head back to the sewers to recruit the gobbo

>Bring material to make a flag of truce to wave

>>5128476
>Sending Paracelcus on a social task
Are you retarded or just a madman?

>>5128376
Yeah using the ferals seems like a bad idea, they'll turn public opinion and I question the ability to prevent serious collateral damage

>>5128507
Mercs do jobs for coin, not friendship. Her direct manner may be useful. Send the boy with her, too, just in case, and a kobold who is decent at talking. Maybe Pink?

>>5128540
Negotiating contract work with people who fight for a living still takes a certain amount of social skill and grace, an amount that Paracelcus has so far failed to display. Also,
>splitting the party just moments after we went through all bullshit that to un-split it

>>5128267
Supporting

>>5128261
>Tie and lock alchemist in his basement (leave him in underwear to ensure no tricks
>Interrogation thru torture??? [Y/N from chat]
>Lock the dead beast back in cage just in case
>Paracelcus stay here and prepares some nasty surprises from whatever alchemist has in stock Pink might stay here to help
>Go to the goblin explain situation and discuss course of action
>Go to the mercenaries

>>5128267
>>5128277
>>5128332
>>5128931
Idk why people want to risk element of surprise by having kid lead us straight to locked up travelers.

>>5129044
Fair enough.
Changing
>>5128267
to
>>5129038

>>5129038
>>5128261
For me it's Yes on torture btw. I think it should be ok without giving to the dragon part as this guy did some fucked up shit.
Add to that
>After potential torture ask our guard boy if there are people that openly dislike captain/alchemist.
Let's find out if we can get traditional crowd with torches and pitchforks going.
Probably should ask if he has family or sweetheart he wants to save from up and coming purge but we don't him to second guess himself more then it's necessary.

"I need you to bring me to that place they were bringing people. They might be kept there... or at least, we'll have proof of their goings-on. First, though, I'm going to need some information from our now mute friend here."
The alchemist scowls at you, and then you pick him up and carry him under your arm.
"We're going to use his basement. No sense wasting good tools." You say, and the guard sheepishly follows, unsure of what else he could try doing. You have Paracelcus lock the cell on the corpse of the golem wolf-creature, and then get to work making sure the alchemist can't escape.
As soon as you finished strapping the alchemist to the same bench as he put Bait, you figure you're going to have to get some info out of him. You have Paracelcus pour some vinegar on his foam-covered mouth, to make the foam disintegrate, and then you...
stop.
Hmm.
How would you get information out of this guy?

"Anybody have ideas on how to press this guy for info?"
Bait skips to the... first solution.
"We could try breaking fingers... That'll loosen him up."
"Torture is abhorrent." You reply back... though you have to admit that you're on a bit of a tight schedule here. Paracelcus has an alternative option:
"Bribe him, instead. The promise of being able to leave instead of getting lynched is bound to be appealing."

Bait stands at the ready with some pliers he found, clearly intent on getting some revenge for almost getting werewolf'd, while Paracelcus just sits on the operating table next to the one the alchemist is strapped to.
The alchemist himself, however, doesn't say anything... Though as soon as you step forward, he proudly states:
"I won't tell you ANYTHING! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"
"And if I were to let you go, afterwards?"
"Don't take me for an idiot!" He yells back, and Paracelcus shrugs and states:"Too late for that."
Ignoring the comment, the alchemist continues:
"Not a damned chance in hell you're going to let me go! I just need to survive, and when the guards come and kill you and the traitors, I'll be back where I needed to be!"

He's confident.
...

>Torture him. He's just some rat between your talons. He'll squeak with some pressure.

>Threaten him with something

>Bribe him(?)

>Leave it be for now. He's fine in there... Go check out the place they were bringing travelers.

>>5129165
>Leave it be for now. He's fine in there... Go check out the place they were bringing travelers.
>tie him up, blindfold, gag, complete immobility, make sure the only way this guy leaves is if we come back to let him out.

Do not do this, that's the curse talking trying to fuck with our mind, and accelerate the mental corruption

>>Torture him. He's just some rat between your talons. He'll squeak with some pressure.

>>5129165
Let's not torture him per-se.
"So you just need to survive long enough? That's fine, let's take that option away from you. Your crimes are such that the typical punishment would be execution, but I am willing to delay that somewhat so rejoice."
Slit his wrists such that he'll bleed out slowly if the wounds aren't addressed.
"Now that your punishment has been delivered with delay, would you rather speak and have it delayed for longer or test your luck that the guard will come for you before you get what you deserve?"

>>5129165
>Torture him. He's just some rat between your talons. He'll squeak with some pressure.
>>5129178
Should get him talking

>>5129178
don't fool your self it's going to be torture, and it will empower the curse, the option literally is from the perspective of a dragon crushing down on a rat, it literally says "He's just some rat in our talons" don't fucking do it

>>5129191
do you not care at all about the mental corruption boost going through with this will have?

>>5129165
>Leave it be for now. He's fine in there... Go check out the place they were bringing travelers.
>tie him up, blindfold, gag, complete immobility, make sure the only way this guy leaves is if we come back to let him out.
Torture doesn't even work without secondary sources of information to confirm it. So we are more likely to feed the curse for no reason or reward other than sadism.

>>5129191
Little

>>5129193
Nonsense, we're just performing our function as a Wandering Knight to execute a criminal and using our discretion in the methodology to do it.

>>5129225
a knight would do it quickly cleanly and without undue suffering, even if he is scum.

>>5129165
>Gag the alchemist close the hatch and take key with you.
>Leave it be for now. He's fine in there... Go Contact the goblin.
Goblin might have better way to go where we need and without being noticed if people want to go there for whatever reason.
Also this
>Ask our guard boy if there are people that openly dislike captain/alchemist.

>>5129227
So far as executions go bleeding out is fairly painless.

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>>5129243
Just to be clear? Making somebody bleed out so he'll talk is still torture. It is still something naughty to be doing.

>>5129231
Cjangimg my vote to this, we should go to the place where they send the prisioners last before confronting him.

>>5129165
>Torture him. He's just some rat between your talons. He'll squeak with some pressure.

>>5129165
>Threaten him with something

Specifically, with >>5129178

>>5129165
>Threaten to destroy his lab gear and research
If he is not intimidated, actually start destroying his abominable research.

>>5129551
This is a good idea, physical torture is notoriously unreliable but if he is truly obsessed with his research the threat of posing his life's work should be pretty effective

>>5129178
Still not very knightly behavior, the guys a monster but that doesn't mean we should become one

>>5129165
>Set a fire to his lab notes
>Ask Para what is the best way to set back experiment knowledge to an Alchemist
>Let her and Bait get creative.

>>5129165
this too>>5129551
>>5129848

>>5129551
This with elements of
>>5129848

>>5129165
>>5129551 +1

"Sure thing. Kobolts? Gather up his notes. All of them, anything paper. Just stack them up here, and I figure we should start burning things."
"I'll start pouring water into his liquids." Paracelcus mentions, and that... seems to actually activate the alchemist.
"Don't you DARE! YEARS of research are in there, you'd be setting humanity back by decades! DECADES! This is for everybody's good!" He screams, pulling at his restraints.
"Well, you can stop us just fine." You say, while the kobolts happily start to toss everything that they can find in a pile. They're FAST when it comes to tossing things together like that, and they're not afraid to drop some glass things as they pull things off, though they're careful not to drop anything that's containing anything. Probably for the best, considering it's hard to tell what they have in there, could be some kind of acid or worse. Paracelcus, meanwhile, only pours water in the things that are actually marked, which is kind of ahead of the program.
Bait is just laughing, in the meantime, though he's not really in a position to help out.

"This is the best, dude!" He says, clearly happy to get some payback for almost getting werewolf blood injected into him. You figure Bait's more one for physical torture, but you're not into that.
Destroying research attained through this bastard's methods?
You'd say that's just par for the course, almost. At any rate, the alchemist doesn't budge yet. Once the pile is finished, though, you see Paracelcus taking out a lighter.
"Last chance, friend."
"...Fine. FINE! OKAY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT TO KNOW!? JUST... DON'T DESTROY IT! DON'T YOU DARE!"

There you go. But what ARE you going to ask him?

>I need to know about...
All questions placed will be asked.

>Lol I dunno, I just wanted to make you sweat

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190 KB JPG

>>5130315
>What is your deal with the captain of the guard of this town?
>How many guards are in on this deal? Who else is in the know of your experiments?
>Where are you getting all the werewolf samples from?
>What do you know about where all the travelers are being lead to? I heard none of them ever come back. Wait, they were all lead into your lab weren't they.
>Tell me everything you know about the goblin that was thrown down the well. What'd you guys do it?
>How are you paying the guards to be compliant with you experiments? Who else is helping you?
>How many people have you killed? What happens to their belongings?
>Tell me where you keep your potent elixirs (healing potions, poisons, bombs. Pretty much anything we can use in or out of fights.) Have Paracelcus confirm the goods
>Where do you keep your G O L D !
>Who else are you affiliated with/ Do you have any connections with the dead bandits, any witches, or whoever is making the pig demons?

Does Paracelcus, Baits, or the guards have any questions of their own they want to ask the alchemist?

>>5130321
Good questions. +1

>>5130321
Support.

>>5130321
Can't think of anything to add to that list. Supporting.

>>5130315
>>5130321
How many of your experiments are on the loose?
How many people have died thanks to you?

You start going over your questions for a moment. Fortunately, you've got a mind like a steel trap, as if everything was written down in some sort of narrative sense that could easily be retrieved just by backtracking for a bit.
or something like that i dunno.

"First of all, what is the deal you have with the captain of the guard?"
"...Any corpses he doesn't want to deal with, I get. I didn't do much with them, mostly I just broke them down to their most useful components. Sometimes, I got access to a live one he needs disappeared because the benefactors didn't want them... Other than that, I get him money from the alchemist's guild, and the occasional bit of counterfeit money I could make. He protects me, I help him. Simple."
Hmm. Interesting stuff. Makes sense he'd feel safe.
"How many guards are in on this... deal?"
"All of them. The ones that don't comply when they're informed are... They disappear. Most are pushed out, others I dissolved myself, some are given to the benefactors."
Marvin whimpers at the sound of that. You suppose he really is new.
There they are again, getting mentioned. You should ask it now:
"Who the hell are the benefactors?"
"They're the ones that take the undesirables... and in exchange, we get riches, materials, power... whatever they can bring in. I don't deal with them, and I know better than to ask."
"This deal's bigger than just you and the chief, is it?"
"...Yeah. If they know about the benefactors, they know about me. Hey, I'm just as much a victim of this as anybody else!"

Why do they always end up saying that?

"You're not and you know it. Now, to keep going: Where are the travelers brought towards?"
"Some... lake, deep in the forest. Like I said, I didn't ask. I can only tell from the mud on their boots, they kept tracking it indoors. I was curious, but... not curious enough to go risk my live."
You sniff in disdain, and keep asking questions.
"Where did you get the werewolf samples from?"
"...You don't need much, once you have a big enough sample. The curse spreads through blood, so I just need to add in enough of the infected blood into fresh blood. The golem there is made out of former experiments."
"And where did you get the first sample from?"
"Some... goblin. I took what I needed from it, and then we tossed it down the well. The church of the Light had already marked her, so nobody complained, and the fish down there likely grew fat from her corpse."

...ohhhhh.
(cont)

"How many people have you killed?"
"...None. I didn't kill them. I just helped along what was already going to be happening! I'm no killer, I'm just a pragmatist!"
Of. Course. You're inclined to hit him, but resist the urge.
Bait does it for you, though, and you don't try to stop him.
"Lying prick." Bait says, shaking his hand after that punch. Seems a bit odd considering he was a bandit a few days ago, honestly. The kobolts are also glaring at the alchemist, apparently not being too shy at showing their disdain.
"And their belongings?"
"Evidence lock-up, sold to merchants along the way... some of them just taken and used."
"Alright. Paracelcus? Did you find some of his high-quality goods? Bombs, acid... even healing potions, if he has them?"
"Not a lot, but I found a singular healing potion. Or at least, that's how it's marked. I'm not inclined to trust him that easily, it doesn't look like any I've seen before."
Sh holds up a little phial, barely more than a thumb of liquid could fit inside. It looks to be a dark crimson on the inside.
"Alright. Now, apart from the guard, any other affiliations? With bandits, a witch... maybe even the bastard making the pig demons?"
"None of them!"

You feel a heat in your chest for a moment... but you manage to resist the urge to cough. Almost. A singular cough escapes you, and you give a raspy little growl as you try to contain the rest of it. The pain is manageable but... still unpleasant.
"Alright... Where... do... Where do you keep your gold?"
"What? In... In my safe. Behind the drawers there. You thief."
"Shut up." You say, as you move to the drawers, pushing it aside, and then stand before the safe. It's... left unlocked. How stupid of him. Inside, you see five gold bars, lying at the ready. You grin, chuckling, as you grab one of the bars and-
Get kicked in the back by Paracelcus.
"You're going lizard. Don't do that."

...Ah fuck.

Well, anything else you needed to ask, or are you headed to those... benefactors?

>I have questions

>Head to the "benefactors"

<Grab the gold, you need it.

>Head to the goblin

>Head straight to the guardhouse and get to work.

>Head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars

>>5130381
>Head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars
>Then head to the guardhouse and get to work
This is exactly the sort of purpose a Wandering Knight serves, to be an outside agent that stands up for the people when those that are supposed to do so become corrupt.

After we hit the guardhouse and gain more info we can go after the benefactors.

>>5130381
>Head to the goblin
>Then head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars
>Lastly head to the guardhouse and get to work.

>>5130315
>What is your deal with the captain of the guard of this town?
>How many guards are in on this deal? Who else is in the know of your experiments?
>Where are you getting all the werewolf samples from?
>What heppened to the travellers the guard was taking in? Did you experimentbon all of them?
>Were you involved in throwing the goblin down the well? Were your eaponsable for the mouth face?
>How many people have you killed? What happens to their belongings?

>>5130381
>Head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars
>Head to the goblin

>>5130393
>>5130388
What do you want from the goblin? Unleashing the ferals will only turn the townspeople against us no matter if it goes well or not.

>>5130388
+1

>>5130401
We're not going to use the ferals. The goblin might know more about what exactly is happening, and even if she's not exactly useful in a fight, she did manage to land a hit on Reynauld. We may be able to convince her to assist us, now that we have the same goal, and if we take care of the corrupt parties and let her have her revenge, we might be able to convince her to spare the rest of the town.

>>5130406
I think even enlisting the yanderegobbo risks the legitimacy of this enterprise in the eyes of the townsfolk. Right or wrong, they were convinced she was a monster (and that she died). I guess it's fine to enlist her help as long as we don't let her take a visible role.

>>5130412
>I guess it's fine to enlist her help as long as we don't let her take a visible role.
That was the plan. We'll have to be sneaky about everything we do, anyway, considering we're going up against the town guard. Not to the point where we're creeping around the back alleys, but we don't want to draw any unnecessary attention to our actions.

>>5130381
>Grab the gold, you need it.
We do
>Head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars
But try to not spend all of it. So we don't have to go through something like this when we next need something

>>5130401
No ferals, just information and maybe a couple of shots from her crossbow.

>>5130401
That both of us are were what is happening and none of us will bring unknown to upcoming events. We don't want hord of feral goblins attacking in middle of guard purge or Light only knows whatever she concocted.

>Unleashing the ferals will only turn the townspeople against us no matter if it goes well or not.

Townspeople are against us no matter what we are purging local guards. That's given

>>5130381
>Grab the gold bars, and send Paracelsus and Pink to recruit the mercs with them
>Head to the goblin

>>5130388
this is the only use of the gold that I can legitimately support, any other use is dragon curse fuckery and using it in this way is a fuck you to the curse for getting us to even ask about it, support

right so we need to get the gobo girl to rally to our cause and take down the town guard, the new guy can come with us, or die alone.

spine I love your quest man, I was surprised to see you back on old 4 chan, but I guess I can understand why a normal none coomer focused quest like this would not do well on akun.

>>5130579
"Back".
Bro I literally started on akun and came here so i could work outside of a set schedule. I can just pop in an update when the fancy strikes me, it's relaxing.
And besides, my quests are not coomer focused either. We've done the math, alright?

Only 3.372623437% of cataclysm: yellow zone is lewds, and I made them easy to skip on purpose.

>>5130381
>Grab the gold, you need it.
Ask Pink to hold onto it. We cant touch gold.

>Head to the inn and buy the mercs with the gold bars
After we purchased some help we can...
>Head to the goblin
To get more information.

Ask Paracelcus if healing potions have to be applied orally, or if they can be applied externally. If it can be the latter, maybe a very small poke on the Alchemist, get a dropper, and drop a single drop of "healing potion" on the pin prick to see if it's the real deal. If it is then it should heal him.

>>5130583
>trigged much

I joke, though you have to admit akun has it's reputation for a damn good reason, anyway I hadn't realized you got your start on akun, that's pretty cool, anyway still loving the quest.

>>5130381
Before we leave, can we make absolutely sure the Alchemist is secured, and doesnt have anymore tools or potions on his body that we missed?

>>5130388
+1 changing my old vote to support this, but we should still take all the gold. I dont know how many mercenaries there are, but maybe one is enough to pay for all of them?

>>5130381
Does Pink have any idea how much a single bar of gold is worth? There should be a measuring scale within the alchemists home if that helps. It would give us an idea of how many bars we need to pay to the mercenaries.

>>5130401
Answers, and possible help from the nonferal goblin. The ferals are free to stay underground. I'm pretty sure she would be more than happy to help us if it results in her getting to kill some corrupt guardsmen. I also think she might like have the rookie guardsmen apologize to her, even if hes not directly responsible for throwing her down the well.

>>5130412
Shes good at sneaking and using a crossbow. I think she should be well suited for this. It's around night time too isnt it?

>>5130430
My thoughts exactly. The gold could be used to fully repairing the armor, and getting additional armor for our kobolts.

>>5130576
It should be fine if Pink holds onto the gold, right?

>>5130631
>It should be fine if Pink holds onto the gold, right?
I agree pink should handle it for us, we should at no point directly touch or hold onto it deny that dragon fuckboy curse

>>5130760
So instead of handling our hoard directly, we're having our kobolt minion do it for us? Yeah, that's certainly not dragon-like at all.

>>5130838
Given dragons sleep on their hords and will kill/eat any kobolds who look at there shinies wrong, I do not think so.

>>5130853
A good way to move around the curse is to give the money to someone else, who can manage it for us. Pink is better at handling finances for us, and she did want to be our accountant or something.
At least this way we can donate any excess money we do not need, while still having enough for supplies and repairs.

>>5130760
Support.

Her wish is to become a great trader so we can have her handle gold on our behalf. She gets to gain experience by managing party funds and we can just ask for whatever we need without dirtying our soul by hoarding shinies ourselves

>>5130760
Support we shouldn't directly handle wealth until we've got this curse out of us

...you step away from the gold, and sigh. You don't say anything for a moment, and then turn to pink.
"Whats the value of these? We can buy the mercenaries with it."
Those words feel oddly foul as you say them, but you keep going. Pink gives it a quick look, and after only a few moments, she shrugs:
"About 200 per bar, I'd say. It's converted lead, that reduces price and purity. 1000 total, then."
If that's not enough for the mercs, you don't know what could be.but, you have another ally to attain, first.

"We should get the goblin involved. No doubt she'd want some payback"
The kobolts balk at the mention:
"But she hurt the dragon! Shes mean!"
"And crazy!"
"And stinky!"
You calm the kobolts down: she was also right for us not to trust anybody, and she let us go. Even gave us a kit to remove the bolt with... Though, yeah,she is crazy. Let's go get her"

Much grumbling, but they agree... And before long, you're in the tunnels again. You elected to leave the alchemist down there in his cave, for now. Paracelsus also sprayed his mouth shut again, and is joining you along with Bait.
The name grew on you.

You call out to the city goblin:
"WE WERE BETRAYED! ALMOST KIDNAPPED AND EXPERIMENTED UPON... WILL YOU HELP US TAKE DOWN THE GUARD?"
.... Silence, and then you hear her voice again:
"Want to... But can't. Too late at night. It's dangerous.... But what is plan?"

Hmmm. You do have to explain some things, right?

>Are you a werewolf, miss?

>March to the inn, hire mercs,march on the guards, remove guards. Simple!

> We might need a more in depth plan...

>>5131283
>>Are you a werewolf, miss?
>you have my word on my god and honor as a knight you will not be harmed

>>5131283
>Are you a werewolf, miss?
>We might need a more in depth plan...
We could just detain and slaughter all the guards, but I imagine the townspeople would freak the fuck out. Let's try and hash things out first before we do anything rash.

>>5131283
>I know that you are the werewolf, the alchemist took the sample from you
>He wanted to turn my friends too
>I also know how bad it is, my curse is also trying to turn me into something.
>We got a bunch of gold, we are going to hire mercenaries, storm the guardhouse and than deal with tbeir benefactors.
>If you have more knowledge of the town, it would help

>>5131283
>Are you a werewolf, miss?
We can help you. We can make a cure. I swear on my honor as a knight.

>>5131319
+1

>>5131319
Supporting this one.

>>5131283

>>5131319
+1

"Miss... Are you werewolf? Listen, it's alright if you are. I have an alchemist with me, we can cure you."
There is silence in the caves, and everybody seems to be very much on guard as a result. You step forward into the darkness, your new eyes allowing you a more clear view of things than it would before.
"Listen... We took down the alchemist that took samples from you. He was seeking to turn my friends, as well. It's possible to cure you, we've known the secret to that for almost a century!"

Still nothing.

"Listen... I'm dealing with something similar, myself. I've been cursed by a dragon to... also turn into a dragon. A final spiteful act by that lizard. I'm going to archmage to get fixed, but you just need to come to us, and we'll help."
Then, finally, you get an answer, the darkness responding in a shaky, squeaky voice.
"Nobody else comes closer! Y-you drop all your weapons, now, and I'll.. I'll... I'll listen to you. ONLY you!"
She sounds terrified, somehow. Perhaps she's expecting the worst. Well... It wouldn't be right not to try and help her. You slowly put down your weaponry, glad that she lets you keep the armor at least. Honestly, you're not too sure if you want to try and risk it without it.
"O-okay. Step forward. Leave the others!"
You step forward, into the darkness, though your kobolt klan is quick to start yelling that you shouldn't trust her, and Chad and Collar are already running towards you. You raise your hand, and order them to stay put. Skidding across the stone floor, they stop... though it's with great reluctance.
"No get hurt.?" You hear Collar ask, as she wrings her little hands together. You nod, and then head deeper into the caves.

It's pitch-black. Too dark for even your eyes to see much, but then, in the distance, you see a light.
"I'm... over by the light." you hear echoing. While the echoes still make it impossible to tell the direction, you figure you should head into the light anyhow. As soon as you enter the light, coming from a simple torch being held by the goblin. She's holding her crossbow against a stone outcropping, aimed at you.
"You came."
"I did. Are you willing to trust me now?"
"...Why did you come here, truly?"
"I want help to take down the guards that did this to you... not to mention help you, if you really are a werewolf. And, if you want to know why I came this village, i was passing through and stuck around to get my arms and armor fixed before continuing."
She looks around a little, almost shaking. Then, slowly, she asks:
"Is it... just the guards that did this? Not the people?"
"Looks like it. These... "benefactors" they talked about are likely the root cause, but first we need to clear out their main arm."
"Of course... But... You can't cure me. I'd have to be a beast and it'd be... it'd be too dangerous."
"I can handle it. You wouldn't be the first time I did it."
She just looks at the ground.

She doesn't know what to say.

>Insist you can help

>Let her choose what happens next

>>5132045
>Insist you can help
>As I said, I've done it before, I killed a dragon and my curse seems to be stronger than other curses or diseases.
>It's horrible, to have something in the back of your mind, constantly telling you to do things you would never do. To be brutal and heartless, to be hreddy and possessive.
>No one deserves this, not me, and not you

>>5132062
support
>try for a slow comforting hug as we offer solace and hope with out words

>>5132062
>>5132144
Word, then hug, then more words.

>>5132045
Porque no los dos? Supporting above.

>>5130583
You don't have to schedule anything on akun if you don't want to.

>>5132144
>>5132187

I'mma laugh my ass off when yandere gobbo stabs us in the gut since we went for a hug. Save it for after we've actually done something for her to establish trust, or better yet: try to develop better tastes.

>>5132205
>I'mma laugh my ass off when yandere gobbo stabs us in the gut since we went for a hug. Save it for after we've actually done something for her to establish trust, or better yet: try to develop better tastes.

>gobo get's off the stab on reflex she didn't meant to, starts babbling an apology
>knight bro: no, no it's fine I shouldn't have startled you, *cough* *bubblely wheeze* now come on let's see about taking down the guard and a check up for you

>>5132205
>comes to the quest about hugging and helping tiny sympathetic monsters
>lol look at this idiot, trying to hug a tiny sympathetic monster

>>5132260
>Comes to the quest about hugging and helping kobolts
>Invaded by filthy goblin lover degenerates
ftfy

>>5132282
We don't need to fuck her, anon. I just want her to have a friend.

>bonk the goblin for shoting us it the gut
or
>pat the goblin

not sure if we can do both

>>5132293
Bonk her with the palm of our hand

>>5132282
>>5132260
I don't know why these waifu wars are so amusing to me, I should've expected this to happen.
Anyway, can we please save our attempts at initiating physical contact with the twitchy, paranoid goblin for when a) we've actually earned her trust and b) we're not in the middle of waging a fucking war against the local power structure?

>>5132045
>Insist you can help

>>5132062
Support

>>5132205
>>5132227
>>5132187
>>5132144
>>5132282
I don't understand why some of you are up in arms against the goblin. We're a Wandering Knight that's all about compassion aren't we? We don't have to lewd the goblin if we want to be nice, and we can sympathize with her magically induced medical issue.

>>5132880
Some seem to be worried that if we so much as hug her, she'll stab us to death.

>>5133021
I just don't think going directly for a hug is entirely appropriate at this moment.

>>5133301
My proposal was "words, hug, more words". The hug is contingent on it seeming appropriate, helpful, and welcome.

>>5133301
>>5133305
I think a hug should be dependent on how she reacts. To words

>>5132045
>Insist you can help

Should our knight boy cum inside Pink to ensure that Reynauld isnt seduced by the wide goblin shortstack?

>>5134070
Paracelcus is the patrician's choice

>>5134238
Based

"Really... I can help you. I've done this before. I killed a dragon, even, and... well, my curse is evidently a bit stronger than most other curses or diseases..."
You look away for a moment, admittedly indulging in a bit of self-reflection, but it's some reflecting that the goblin may get some use out of:
"It's a horrible thing... having something in the back of you mind, telling you to do things you shouldn't... couldn't ever do. Have something insist on being brutal... heartless... greedy. Goodness, the greed."
You repress a shudder at the thought, and you swear you feel your lungs burning a little brighter than before. You resist the urge to wheeze... but as you take in a breath, your resistance falters. You begin to cough again, every cough hurting a little more than the one before it.
And it just keeps going. You try to take in a breath, but every little morsel of air you manage to take in just burns a little harder, before being expelled in yet more racking, wheezing coughs.
Before long, you're forced to the ground, the lack of air grabbing you. It's not the first time... but it hurts.
It hurts more than you could imagine, and your gasps for air are turning desperate. Your vision blurs, splotches and stars.

"H-hel..." You wheeze out, before coughing again. Choked gasps, now, until... suddenly.
You feel something come loose.
It's a horrific feeling. It's as if something inside you "shuddered, and then just fell off like a rotten fruit. Your stomach turns, and you desperately grab at your helmet to pull it off, before...
You were too late.
Agonizingly, you vomit up more of your inside, your throat itself seemingly disintegrating as the agonizingly hot curse wreaks havoc. You may have started screaming, breathlessly, but you can't tell anymore. Everything is... agony.
You vomit in your helmet, a mix of blood and blackened chunks... mixed in with some fiery orange gunk. It sticks to your helmet, leaking out and coming out of the holes, only partially... Until, suddenly, the helmet is tossed off. You retch up more and more...
And then...
Finally.
Things are quieting down. The agony retains its sting, but it's lessening, and you greedily begin to gasp for air. One of your lungs feels... off. Like it's too big, and you can't feel anything with it. Like a numbed side of your body.

You vomit again, this time coughing up nothing but orange, glowing gunk. It's searing hot, and you feel the inside of your mouth being burnt... but it doesn't even hurt. You feel as though a layer of flesh just... crumbled off, and joined the cinders and gunk in the heat.

You back away, slowly.
Gasping...

And look up.
The goblin looks terrified, and she's still clutching your helmet... shakily.
(cont)

You take a slow breath.
And then, you say:
"...I swear. I can help you."
"B-bu... D-don't you need some friends, or, or-uh... WATER! HOLD ON!" She squeaks out, as she takes out a waterskin and gives it to you. No sooner did you see the waterskin as you began to drink from it. The cooling liquid is like an angel's kiss... And you stop tasting ash and stone. Mercifully.
"Thank you... truly." You say, and then...
You are suddenly hugged.
"It hurts. Okay? I know what that's like."
"I didn't... think you'd be doing this so quick."
"You trusted me. No weapons. You're even sick. I get it. But... I can't cure myself. It's how I get... this."
She squeezes a little tighter, though it's hard to tell past the armor

You don't follow.
"Get what?"
"Do you feel safer?" She says, hugging you a little tighter. To be honest, not really, though you do appreciate her gesture. She keeps talking before you can answer, however.
"I need the wolf to feel this. It's... insurance. If I get hurt, I can go into the moonlight and... heal. I feel all the pain melt away, I feel powerful, I feel... everything. I lose some control, but I can "steer". If a sheep needs to die to help me... it's no different than it appearing on some fat guard's plate."
She says that last part with clear disdain as she explains herself.
"I don't want to be cured. And even if you forced me, it wouldn't help me. I'm already branded from the church, anybody that sees that will see me as some... monster. Not to mention, my mask? Anybody that peeks under there will want to kill me as well!"
You gather up your wits again, getting past the pain, and then you shuffle forward a bit.
"I won't. Neither will anybody reasonable."

There is a short moment of trepidation... and then she removes her mask. Despite yourself, you gasp at the sight. Her mouth has been ravaged beyond the pale. Most of her lips have been torn off an cauterized, guessing from the ugly brown scarring. Her sharp teeth are permanently on full display, but as if to spite the rest of her, she still has enough lip left to talk... mostly normally. Her cheeks have suffered a similar injustice, leaving her with a huge, unnatural grin on one end, and nothing at all on the other. Some stitching was done to keep the grin intact, but whether it was the work of an amateur or a torturer is hard to say. Her chin has even cuts, five total, with the one at the tip of her chin having been burnt shut again, leaving a flattened piece of flesh. It seems her nose was spared the most, though it has the telltale sign of being broken and healed wrong.
"Who..." You ask, feeling righteous indignation at the cruelty that was performed on this woman.
"It doesn't matter. I just made sure they suffered. But you understand, yes? I can heal almost anything that isn't burnt shut. I was able to heal after they tossed me down the well. I was... It's safer this way."

You see her point. But you're not sure if you agree with it.

>Accept it, and try to do your plan when the moon isn't out

>Propose to protect her, even when the wolf can't.

>Ask to see her brand, to see if that, at least, might be masked in some way.

>Something else.

>>5134344
>Propose to protect her, even when the wolf can't.
>Ask to see her brand, to see if that, at least, might be masked in some way.

>>5134344
>Propose to protect her, even when the wolf can't.
>Ask to see her brand, to see if that, at least, might be masked in some way.

>>5134349
support

>>5134344
Being ostracized for and branded as an outcast, the burst of power received by the werewolf transformation is extremely enticing.

The ferals still have to be dealt with and I wonder how well she will take it.

In order:
>(Something else)Tell her of you and your merry band of outcasts
(consisting of a cursed knight, his kobolt klan ward, a doctor who was chased off of her premises and a former bandit picked off of the road - laid out this way it's a miracle that they work together so well)
>Ask to see her brand, to see if that, at least, might be masked in some way.
Finally
>Propose to protect her, even when the wolf can't

>>5134344
>Ask to see her brand, to see if that, at least, might be masked in some way.
>Something else.
Has she considered seeking expert medical aid? Perhaps someone can help with the scaring, and reset her nose so it heal properly.

>>5134413
Support.
Join the ragtag band of Misfit!
We've got.
>Dragonbreath Reynauld and his carnival of kobolds
>Paramedic Paracelsus
>Bandit Bitchtits Bait

>>5130381
>You are no mere lizard... You'd like to see a lizard with this much gold.

>>5134413
>>5134721
>>5134750
Holy shit, we literally are a band of outcasts.

>>5134754
So just a Darkest Dungeon party?

>>5134760
Yeah, but we have over 4 people in our party. If the goblin joins us, that puts us at 12 people.

>>5134791
the kobolds don't count just like the huntsman dog doesn't

File: The Brand.png (1 MB, 1142x920)

1 MB PNG

Can you show me your mark? I've seen a lot of creativity when it comes to hiding scars and marks. While I have to admit that your face is... going to require somebody very skilled, a brand I can work with."
"...Okay." She says, as she turns around and, after opening up a few buttons, she removes most of her clothing and reveals her bare back and, if you weren't actively trying to see anything you shouldn't, a lot more.

This was... contrary to your initial expectations. Like, you did NOT expect to get an eyeful and, uh-

Okay, the brand looks... workable. Maybe a skin graft? It'd still look off, but if its turned from the Mark of the Abomination to just a burn, she'd be able to get a lot more done, you suppose.
Though, then again, how often does she get naked enough to reveal her back like that?

>We can work on that! Please put your clothing back on!
Remain calm.

>PLEASE PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON GOOD LORD


>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her

File: tegaki.png (4 KB, 400x395)

4 KB PNG

>>5135021
>Cough
That's a nice uh, brand yes.
>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her

>>5135021
>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her

>>5135021
Suddenly lewd
Reynauld has already braved a careful inspection of Paracelsus's perplexingly bodacious glutes - he can take it.
>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her

>>5135021
>We can work on that! Please put your clothing back on!

>>5135021
>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her
>Spaghetti = Spilled

>>5135021
>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her
inb4 a worried member of our entourage walks in on this at the most inopportune moment

>>5135021
>>Fight past your flusteredness and tell her that you can protect her
>now *mhm* please put your clothes back on

there are moments to be a prude and there are moments to push past it, this is one of the latter moments

>>5135021
>spill spaghetti
>all the spaghetti
Nothing improves a woman's self image like a swell sperg indirectly calling her pretty.

>>5135021
You know, I understand that she has been branded with fire and all of that. And that doesn't seem to heal properly after the gobowolf transformation. But wouldn't just slicing it off cause the area to heal over normally? You mentioned that they can regrow limbs and things. A bunch of muscles on the back and some skin has to be easier. Or did I miss something somewhere?

"ah, uh, huhMm... Yes. It's.... Workable. I've, uh.... Seen people deal with, uh, worse ma'am. "
You are blushing... Its one thing to be surprised by a sudden eyeful, but you aren't wearing your helmet... You don't know how to act with tour face left uncovered. When she turns around, revealing her... assets, you flinch and cover your eyes.
"Am i... That bad to look at?"
Goodness, no! Q-quite the contrary But please, ma'am, put your clothes back on. You're indecent!" You say back.
You need your backup helmet. This is mortifying.

Fortunately, the goblin has dressed herself once more, and is staring at you.

You speak: " so... The brand, we xan fix, your nose as well. Though i fear the rest is... Beyond saving. At least as far as science can help us. Listen... I understand the need to feel safe. As such... I'll protect you myself, as long as you need it."

There's a long pause, while every emotion seems to pass over the goblin's face over the course of a few seconds... Until she seems to settle on scared.
"Do you promise?"
"On my honor as a wandering knight!" You state... And then she nods.
"Fine... But im keeping some of my blood on me. If things ever go wrong... I have my out."

If that's what it takes.

"Very well. Now... The ferals?"
"Once the guards are dealt with... And those benefactor people. Then, ill even help you. Deal?"

Even if yiu agree or not, you should plan on how to cure her. She can only be cured when transformed, after all. You'd better be prepared.

>Deal, ferals for after everything else

>I need to solve this problem now rather than later

>Find a way to tie her down that still permits you to carry her through the hatch and into moonlight
Think carefully. The ladder goes about 12 feet

>>5135519
>Deal, ferals for after everything else

>>5135519
>>Deal, ferals for after everything else

we would in my view be extremely retarded to try anything else

>>5135519
>Deal, ferals for after everything else

>>5135519
>Deal, ferals for after everything else
I would like to introduce her to our Alchemist friend. Her bedside manners leave much to be desired, but she is a good person. Perhaps I am wrong, and she can help with your facial scars.

>>5135519
>Even if yiu agree or not, you should plan on how to cure her. She can only be cured when transformed, after all. You'd better be prepared.
What is the process to becoming a werewolf? Do you only need few seconds of being turned, or a full hour of exposure?
If she's agreeing, we can tie her up, then ask our doctor buddy to sedate her with heavy anesthetics so we can perform the cure on her without her foaming at the mouth from the pain.

>>5135519
>Deal, ferals for after everything else

>>5135519
>Deal, ferals for after everything else

>We really need to stop helping any town then; priority would be slaying the dragon inside before it gets out and rain desolation on the land

"Deal. The ferals will be dealt with after everything else. Now... are you ready?"
"How are you going to do this?"
"Figured I'd tie you up and get you sedated. Forcefully transforming back is agonizing."
"Speaking from experience?"
"Yep. Was only for one night, and under controlled circumstances, but that sticks with you. I wasn't even all the way transformed and it hurt like hell, the guy I brought in was delirious from the pain."
"Why didn't they sedate him?"
"They didn't want to spend the cash. Fortunately, we have an alchemist here that's going to be donating a lot of supplies."
"The guy you killed?"
"We captured him, actually. Keeping him in a basement."

You finally reach your party again, and you can tell everybody has been... nervous.
"We heard the coughing. I-if you didn't tell us to stay..." Pink says, shaking. "Are you okay?"
"Vomited up something that felt and tasted like liquified burning coals, and I'm pretty sure my mouth is fireproof now. I'm feeling downright awful, to be honest."
"Where's your helmet, dragon?"
"Vomit-covered... and our new friend here has it on her."
"She is NOT a friend!" Pink yells back, scowling at her. "She shot you and she wears a scary mask!"
"Pink... Calm down. It's just a mask, and she was just scared. It didn't even hurt me."

The other kobolts pout, and Pink crosses her arms in protest... though nobody else has complaints. Paracelcus is already standing at the ready:
"While you were talking, I made the cure. Anything else?"
"Do you have sedatives?"
"You realize those won't work on a werewolf, yes? Wait, is she a werewolf? I just assumed."
"She is, and the sedatives are for the transformation back. It's very painful."
"...If you insist. These things aren't cheap, you know. Pain is temporary, and she's likely to go into shock. She won't remember a thing."
The goblin takes a step back at that, glancing at you and then back at Paracelcus. You can tell she's rolling her eyes under her mask, though you think the goblin can't quite tell.
"I have the opiates on me, don't worry. Just... get her outside after we tied her up. How long does your transformation take?"
"...Several minutes, I think?" The goblin says, uncertain. Alright, you can manage that.

You hope.

She climbs up the ladder, behind you, and you pull her into the moonlight in one quick heave. Almost instantly, she starts shaking and convulsing, and you are starting to understand why she wears all those rags. Seems like she can just grow out of them as she transforms without damaging them. She's gasping and panting already, rolling around as she's obviously trying not to shout from the pleasure.
It's a very pleasant feeling, as you know, but you should tie her up rather than musing on past experiences. Paracelcus has prepared the needle, and Bait is... at the very least skilled at tying knots.
So he has ONE skill, at least.
(cont)

>>5136099
Oh shit, Reynauld was a werewolf once. What a colorful history on this man.

>and Bait is... at the very least skilled at tying knots.
>So he has ONE skill, at least.
Lets give the boy a lasso. maybe he could be good with lassoing people too.

It's freaky to see a woman's skull kind of explode out of her mouth like that, especially as she coughs up teeth. Her skin seems to grow slower than the rest of her, though it seems to catch up as soon as the fur grows. Her legs crack, the balls of her feet disapearring as her shins snap backwards instead, while the rest of her bones, in a similar manner, crack to form the shape of a great big beast. Regardless of race, a werewolf is always going to be big, and in the case of this goblin... she's considerably larger already. Too large, in fact, as her torso seems to stretch upwards and outwards, her spine bulging outwards against the flesh in an obscene manner.
She's bashing her head against the cobblestone of the village, lost in the throes of ecstasy, while you use your considerable strength and frame to hold her down, the ropes barely keeping up with her transforming body. Eventually, the size difference is enough that you go from a bear hug to a full nelson, using the weight of your armor to keep the creature on it's knees. Considering the way it's build, this is a very weak position for it. Werewolves are generally rather top-heavy if they've been werewolves for long. "Young" werewolves tend to have distorted proportions, like legs that are too long.

She's been a lycanthrope for a long time, guessing from her proportions. She retains a fairly humanoid shape, hell, it's even possible to still tell she's a woman, which indicates she's been a lycanthrope for a very long time.
This also carries with it a considerable amount of strength and size, unfortunately.

You... aren't sure if the ropes and your strength are going to hold her, actually. Paracelcus stands at the ready, but things might get a little hairy if you can't hold her!
Just... need to hold her for a few seconds, so the cure can be administered.

Man, your chest hurts.

ROLL!
1D100+20
Best of 2
DC: 80

Rolled 16 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5136111
Fuck

>>5136101
You know your life blows when the highest praise you get is that you're good for more than just being zombie chow.

Rolled 68 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>5136111
an oof

>>5136115
Bless you anon. Fuck. This test had me worried.

>>5136111
I thought Paracelcus would cut up goblins face first so she could regenerate properly but I see we are kinda not doing that...

Fortunately, and perhaps luckily, you manage to keep her under control long enough for the needle to be plunged inside of her... followed shortly after by another big needle.
"There. That should... help."
Paracelcus paused for a moment when she noticed how close she was to getting her shoulder bitten. You only barely managed to slam your arm against the creature's throat in time, and you're glad.
"Okay. That was... We only had enough for one cure, so I'm... thankful you stopped that. Yes." She says, perhaps with a bit more squeak to her voice than usual. Considering she just fought a golem wolf with nothing more than a knife, its a bit of a start reminder of how different a wolf golem is compared to a "proper" werewolf.
Speak of which, the creature is currently wheezing and convulsing, as well as shrinking. The tail has already fallen off, and it's just kind of collapsing on top of you. You pick it up as best you can, and the kobolts help to bring her into the alchemist's study. No sense waking up the town when she starts screaming.

You just barely make it, though you can tell that the sedatives are helping a lot.
"What did you give her?"
"Something usually used on horses. Figured that'd work out well enough."
"Probably." You say back, as you place the transforming lycanthrope on the ground, and place a biting stick in her mouth just to be sure. I also makes sure she doesn't make as much of a ruckus.

The rest of the transformation back is... unpleasant. Most of the kobolts end up moving into a corner, looking away from the bloody mess of parts that will, eventually turn back into a goblin. Bait joins the kobolts, though Paracelcus stares at it with a dispassionate stance. You can't see her face behind the mask, however.
You stand at the ready, just in case, and Marvin is shaking in his boots at the sight, but he felt like he was obligated to help keep watch.
"Oh man, oh light, oh goodness..." He mutters to himself, clutching his sword tightly as the beast convulses its way back into a goblin... Then, it's finished.
And she's out cold, probably due to the sedatives.
...

Hmm.
You went through a lot of effort to get her help, and now she's too sedated to actually be of help. What a shame.
Oh, she's also naked.
Anyway, what's next?

>Go buy the mercs

>Head to the benefactors

>Head to the guardhouse

>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up.

>>5136117
Things have been seared do not heal properly even when lycantrophy is involved. Her face is, essentially, too far gone. The disfigurement was clearly done with her lycantrophy in mind.

>>5136143
>Go buy the mercs

>>5136143
>Go buy the mercs
>Head to the guardhouse
Hit the benefactors' military arm (they surely had a reason for employing the entirety of the Guard via bribes) then hit the benefactors afterwards.

>>5136143
>Go buy the mercs

>Things have been seared do not heal properly
Couldn't Paracelcus cut seared parts out?

>>5136143
It would be nice to leave someone behind to look after the poor girl, but who? The kobolts need to stay with us, plus they're probably not too keen on her, Para is a dingus and Bait can't even be trusted to look after himself. If we weren't pressed for time, I'd vote to stay put until she wakes up.

>>5136157
Leghumper and lock the place up

>>5136157
On second thought, yeah, I'd say let's go with it.
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up
1) She's a better fighter than the majority of our party, as long as she gets to do her thing.
2) Splitting the party has never gone well for us, there's no reason to expect that to change now (and yes, I do consider her to be a party member now).
3) Friends don't leave friends alone, naked and knocked out in a mad scientist's lab. We're better than that.

>>5136143
>Leave Humper to watch the goblin, and to keep her clothed and safe
>Go buy the mercs
>Head to the guardhouse

>>5136143
Question this is walled settlement right?

>>5136238
Correct.

>>5136239
What type of gates do they have and how many points of entry(like a small side door or something)? Something your guard boy should know.

>>5136245
2 big gates, several smaller doors along the wall that are usually blocked off. Easy to defend if opened

>>5136308
this was me btw

>>5136143
>Go buy the mercs
If we wait too long they might get suspicious of our activities.

>>5136143
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up

Wouldn't be a great show of trustworthiness to dissappear after curing her when we told her we'd protect her when the wolf can't.

>>5136143
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up
We made a promise to protect her. Now is the time to keep it.

File: Collector_defend.png (108 KB, 250x462)

108 KB PNG

you have some very nice adventurers.
I will "borrow" them for a bit.

https://files.catbox.moe/uztnml.txt

>>5136508
That's fair. Changing my vote from >>5136235. Still, let's send Paracelsus to get the ball rolling on the mercs, maybe?

>>5136593
Is that really a good idea? She isn't exactly a social butterfly and we'll most likely have only a single chance to pull this off

>>5136143
>>5136155
I will switch my vote to
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up
>Ask Paracelcus if she can wake her up with something if it goes for longer then an hour


Also we shouldn't go to the guardhouse but gate houses and smaller doors first to block way of escape or entry. And also to attack smaller pockets of guards.

>>5136657
She'll have gold bars, and Pink for backup.

>>5136538
Well, this is an interesting avenue that I haven't particularly thought of

>>5136143
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up.
We said we would protect her. This will go a long way to building that trust.

>>5136143
>Wait until your goblin friend wakes up
We're trying to build trust here, see if Paracelcus has any naloxone

I need two handfuls of kobolt butt.

>>5137397
Ditto

>>5136538
Expected a collector BAD END interlude, got wholesome goblin lewdness yet again instead.

Honestly though should Reynauld encounter him, it'll become a <test of his resolve>.

>>5137476
Reynauld does not generally tolerate undead. Eldritch undead especially.
Personal beef.

>>5136538
Good shit, strange pairing but I dig it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You elect to sit back for a moment, and wait for your kobolt friend to wake up. Before long, though, you decide to ask:
"How long will she be knocked out?"
"That will depend on her. Some people take it better than others, and she's recovering from horse tranquilizers. The lycantrophy also make it a bit of a difficult thing to place."
"...Is the drug still in her system?"

Paracelcus points at all the blood and parts that are left all around her. Transforming back is a messy business, but transforming back into something about a fourth of the wolf's size is.. a lot more messy. Bait has also pocketed the werewolf tail, apparently having overheard that those things are valuable. He stares at you for a moment, but you don't have the time or energy to actually do anything about that.
Also, you don't care.
Paracelcus, meanwhile, decides to spend her time collecting the teeth that fell out. There aren't that many, as it's only the extra teeth the lycanthrope had that fell out. The rest just transformed her regular teeth into bigger ones.
"Lucky." you mutter, as you spit out another tooth. You felt the gums under it burn when you vomited earlier, but it took a bit before the tooth fell out properly. Carefully touching it, you sigh as you feel like you've lost about half your damned teeth already. At least your gums and tongue are appropriately stronger, as well.
You get back to cleaning your helmet, so you don't have to walk around without it. You are at your most comfortable when you are rendered immune to most common forms of damage.

It's then that you notice that Bait is staring at you, fearfully. You give him a peek back:
"I, uh... I hadn't seen you without your helmet a lot. What's going on with your teeth, dude?"
"Dragon curse."
"oh, Gugh." He says, recoiling. "That's gross. So, like, do your teeth just fall out?"
"Nerve and all." You say back ,deadpan. You're just over it. Bait seems to be curious, still:
"So those sharp teeth... Is it hard to chew with those?"
"Not yet, but when my molars start going, I'm going to have trouble."
"The fuck are molars?"
"Do you ever stop swearing? Your back teeth, the flat ones."
"Oh."

There is a pause.
"Hey, uh... So... I-i don't really have anywhere to go. And you guys have been, uh, nice enough. All things considered."
"You have a place to go. You ran from a farm. Head back there."
"I can't do that!"

(cont)

"Why not?" You ask, staring him in the eye as you ask. He... doesn't have an actual answer. You elect to keep talking:
"If you're afraid of being judged, I guarantee you that they'll be happier to see you again then they'd care to be angry. If you have a family, return to them."
Bait seems unshaken:
"But I want to be a knight... Like you. Righting wrong, getting paid for it, getting-"
You interrupt him, frustrated at how he thinks a wandering knight works.
"Shut up. If you want to get paid for it, you're a mercenary. I need money to be able to move faster, or more specifically, i need a horse."
"So, like... just take one. You're a knight, they can't stop you."

You glare at him.
"They lose a considerable amount of effort and money if I do that. Horses don't grow on trees."
"But aren't you more important than-"
"I am not!" You just about growl back. This is an insult. "People aren't worth more than other people! Who the hell raised you to spout such drivel, boy?" You say back. He recoils from your outburst, though you calm yourself shortly afterwards.
"You don't have the makings of a knight. Sorry to say it."
"Then make me one! I don't... I don't want to keep being me. I was going crazy in the farm, and I... I just got stuck in the woods. I would have figured something out, eventually!"
"You would have starved to death." You say, drying off the helmet after you finished cleaning it, and finally putting it back on. "Go home, Bait. Be a family man."

Bait flinches... But doesn't add anything. He just stares at the ground, dejected.
Well, now you feel bad.
You hear the goblin stirring, at least, so you finish the conversation here:

>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.

>Reinforce him a bit, and remind him that a life spent working justly is a life well spent.

>Call him an idiot and move on.

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
Chad needs a nemesis to compete with on his quest to knighthood.

>>5137641
>>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
Bettering the world means bettering any person that need our help.

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
I have no idea why he thinks our life is anything worth striving for but if he's serious we'll try to at least shape him up better than he is.

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
Even if we fail, it would possibly rehabilitate him a bit

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
Funny how Bait can look at where the knight life has led Reynauld - associating with outcasts, hiding in a cellar waging war against the police, and literally falling apart - and think that this is something desirable. Then again, if we can lead a bunch of kobolts to better themselves, there's no reason why we can't do the same for this chronic fuck-up.

>>5137641
>>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
>>stop calling him bait

if you guys are serious about training him, then come up with something better than that it's cutting and not something a good master would use.

>>5137658
That's fair, we could treat the kid with a little more respect, and retiring the use of a humiliating nickname is the least we can do. We never even bothered to try and find out what his real name is, have we?

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
>Chad is your senior squire now. Follow his example.

>>5137676
>We never even bothered to try and find out what his real name is, have we?
nope, we just started using the 'name' our socially inept plague doctor used when she was deriding him with scorn.

>>5137641

>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
>Chad is your senior squire now. Follow his example.
>...What's your name, anyway?

>>5137689
+1

Bait is being impressioned or whatever ehatever by Reynauld. Seems kind of sudden. We'll need to know a little bit more about Bait before we can determine if Knighthood is right for him, else it's just basic bitch training for him.

>>5137641
>Move on

>>5137634
For all he's told us (and as far as I can remember) he left to be an outlaw because he was bored out his mind and hated doing farm work(?)

>Reinforce him a bit, and remind him that a life spent working justly is a life well spent.
Autistic rant of virtues incoming
>"I nearly struck you down in our first encounter, a doll...? whatever, paralysed you and a mad alchemist would have turned you into a werewolf since you were with us. What has you so terrified that you'd rather take these chances than turn back home?!"
>you keep saying it's too late to, but every rotten day you stay away you deny your people, your family, the chance to forgive you.
>" There's repentance in returning. Regardless, absolution isn't yours to take by force, nor to earn by effort - it is given to you by grace."
>"Stop being a child, following people you think you can watch to learn to live. Grow up build your own life. Become a man, boy.
>"Should you the still hear the call to arms then...then heed it."

>>5137641
>Perhaps I was too harsh... I'll see if I can't train you to be proper. In manners and morals, if I can't train your body.
If he can master the chivalry and ethics lessons them an only then will we see to training him to fight.
We can still give him some basic fitness training as that's useful for any non-academic proffesion

How did we even become a knight, who trained us? Was it a monastery or some kind of order? If he wants to be like Reynauld so much, then the boy should seek where he had come from.

>>5138907
The trainer was sacrificed to a Thing From Beyond The Stars, so that's not likely to be an option
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...You stop, and turn back to him.
"Alright. Maybe I'm being too harsh... I'll train you. But I'll be working on your morals first and foremost!"
"Yesss... People will finally respect me when I get through this!"
"Is that why you want to be a wandering knight? The respect?"
"It's a life of adventure! I mean... it's scary here, sure, but once you can kill anything that's a threat, it's exciting, right?"
You sigh.
"It's a duty. I don't do this for fun... I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it is a chore like any other."
"That is the coolest shit I ever heard anybody-" You interrupt.
"Please. Stop swearing unless it's needed. Consider that your first task... Other than that, consider Chad your senior squire." You say, turning away... but then turning around: "To be clear? Legally, you are not a squire. Wandering knights don't have those in an official capacity."
"Oh light, more law sh- stuff."
It's a start on the swearing.
"WAIT A FUCKING SECOND." He then shouts.
Of course. You resist the urge to place your palm against your face.
"YOU'RE PUTTING ME BELOW A DAMNED KOBOLD!?"
"It's pronounced Kobolt." You correct him. "And yes. That's going to be one of the bigger things you need to learn. Race means nothing, it is the individual that is to be judged."
"But... They're vermin!"
"And they've also done more than you, up until now, so what does that say about you?"
"That's not... that's not fair!"
"It IS fair. That's why you don't like it. Now come on, we need to look after miss." You say, pointing at the stirring goblin. You placed a blanket on her earlier, so she's not exposed, and you just place the clothes next to her and turn away.

"Whenever you're ready, miss." You say, and she just grunts.
"...Thank you." She just says, perhaps a bit shakily, while you have everybody look away at your insistence as she gets dressed. It doesn't take long, at least.
"I suppose I can get some proper clothing, now, instead of easily removed rags... " She muses. She huffs, afterwards. It's still a bit traumatic, but then she takes a deep breath.
"Okay... Let's go get those mercenaries you talked about, then we'll go kill all those bastards."
"Maybe." You add. They might not all be malicious, some people are cooperating out of fear, you're certain of it.
...Then again, they went along with enough to be considered responsible.

You don't like this kind of moral issue. Anyway, how are you going to get the mercs? Are you going to do something in particular, or do you essentially march in with a kobolt holding gold bars.

>Yes. Walk in the inn and essentially yell that you need people with sword arms

>Approach in a more subtle manner

>Do something else instead

>>5139420
>Do something else instead
Ask guard lad what he knows about the mercenaries, everything he knows. If they're in on this deal then it might be relevant. What do they look like? What of their manners? How do they treat others? Knowing who we're dealing with before hand might help us deal with them later.
Then...
>Approach in a more subtle manner
Okay, out of all of us who's the biggest social butterfly, and who's the most perceptive at reading people? We'll need them present during our talks with the mercenaries.

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>>5138907
Reynauld had a nobleman's upbringing, though it was a not particularly important house and he was a middle child. He was schooled and got some martial training the average man wouldn't get. After the crusades gave him experience and trauma, he came home and slaughtered his remaining family and burnt his family home to the ground, so he didn't have much better to do than do crazy shit hoping to die from it.
When he kept surviving and noticed how much he could serve as relief to people, he figured there are wayyy better things to do than trying to die, and got himself legally certified as a knight be heading to the king's court, getting the king himself to accept it, and then getting it figured out that he can't own property anymore and doesn't pay taxes.

On a technicality, the wandering knights have their origin in the Grey Knights, which was an old order that is, by now, functionally extinct. They had a similar approach, in that the grey knight is forced to tirelessly fight for what is good, albeit in a somewhat limited moral sense. They were very black and white, and they were also forced to never accept help from anybody, which left most of them emotionally dead wrecks that would, most of the time, simply collapse rather than die to any outside threat.
They were instrumental in saving a lot of people, and after a grey knight saved a prince from a kidnapping, they also enjoyed tax benefits for the order.

The wandering knights were grandfathered in at a later date, being less of an order and more of a status. Wandering knights are generally respected, though there have been bad apples in the past, hence why either the monarch or spiritual leader of the country have to look them over and decide whether or not they can be one. The pilgrimage is considered to be part of the "initiation", so to speak, though one needs proof of several "heroic deeds", which is a bit of a tenuous thing to actually try and describe.

Grey knights are still around, but very rare. All the same, you can always assume that they're able to kick your ass.

also i stole the grey knights from this image it's from Hushabye he does good stuff look it up

>>5139430
We might be the highest social butterfly to talk to mercs.
Dragonslayer and all that stuff.

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>>5139440
Pic related is WIFE!
Is Reynauld more or less related to the crusader in the Darkest Dungeon game? Does that mean that the super holy sword is buried somewhere in the ashes of what used to be his home? A sword that's harder to break would be nice, but I don't expect the quest's life expectancy to extend far enough to retrieve it.

Is there a list of weapons that Reynauld can and cant use?

Why doesn't Reynauld use a shield?

Could a Grey knight kick Reynauld's ass?

>>5139446
>>5139440
When I say pic related I meant your grey knight pic, but argonian bandit lady is wife too.

>>5139445
Ah, shit. That's unfortunate. If only we had some kind of "I killed a dragon" badge.

>>5139446
Reynauld is not related to the crusader from Darkest Dungeon. The man has been turned into a saint for defeating the Heart of Darkness, though he did not survive the process. He was chosen to come unto his maker. Being a saint, Reynauld turned into a popular name for Light-worshipping households, and even outside of those after some time.
Also, you could have guessed there is no relation between our Reynauld and DD Reynauld, as DD Reynauld was a farmer rather than a nobleman.

Reynauld can use almost any melee weapon to full effectiveness, though he's the most trained with a sword. When it comes to ranged attacks, he has trouble using bows accurately. He has the basics, but just never managed to get far. Crossbows worked out better, and guns are his forté when it comes to ranged.
Also, i do mean almost anything when it comes to melee, he could use a whip, flail or a shield quite effectively.

He doesn't use a shield because he just prefers not to. He likes having a hand free to grab or punch his enemies, and the plated glove lets him block quite a few strikes. Also: he has several pistols on him, and he prefers being able to quickdraw

A grey knight would be about equally matched with Reynauld, and Grey Knights are more pain-resistant than him. Fortunately, it's unlikely they'd ever fight.

>>5139454
How well known is purge of Reynauld family within the kingdom?

>>5139459
Very, though more because of the fact that they were worshipping the eldritch. The fact that their returning war hero crusader son did the act is interesting, but not as well known.
People mostly assumed said middle child is either dead or mad.

>>5139420
>Approach in a more subtle manner
Ask the guard if he knows who the mercs are and try to speak to them separatly from the other patrons.

>>5139460
Good to know. Although MC might be uncomfortable with it name drop is good tool to have.

>>5139420
go into the inn
Stand in a stool.
open some random paper.
"By the crimes of heresy against the church and the murder of travelers in two confirmed occasions. The captain of the guard has a bounty on his head of two gold bar, dead or alive.
Any of his associates and further proofs of his crimes will increase the reward up to five gold bars.
A list of his know accomplices are as follows:
[insert names]
I will personaly hand over the rewards."

something like that, not sure how to sound official.

>>5139420
>Approach in a more subtle manner
>Find their commander.
>Use as excuses buying their services in help of slaughtering pig people.
>Talk in private and explain situation.
>Go from gate to gate barricading it and dealing with guards.

Also we killing all of the guards right? Or are we attempting capture them?

>>5139515
You're mad. We can get these mercs on board for waay less than the full 5 bars. We need that gold for our hoard/future traveling expenses.

>>5139528
It should be also noted that those "Benefactors" might overbid the mercs. We shouldn't skimp on the payment or it will possibly bite us in the ass later.
I also wonder... maybe we should do something like this Anon suggests >>5139519, but instead of dealing with the guards we could strike the Benefactors instead? The corrupt guard won't be such a problem if they're gone.

>>5139519
support

>>5139521
>Also we killing all of the guards right? Or are we attempting capture them?
if I understand the situation right everyone but that one guard was in on the plot and working for the benefactors, so they all should burn in my book

>>5139538
They can but also we are killing them so mercs are getting whatever we are offering + loot from benefactors + their souls are not condemned + fame from whatever we are killing there.

Also bonus thoughts.:
Undead on a road and pig people may lead to idea of who benefactors are Necromancer/Pigomancer maybe both. After killing guards we should ensure that man won't be raised turned into zombies. Heavily armored and armed zombies.

>>5139420
>Approach in a more subtle manner
The guard turncoat should be useful for intel qnd maybe making contact.

>>5139515
Way too much money to be opening around.

>>5139538
Maybe, but the guards are the ones who willingly accept the bribes from the benefactors. They either need to be hanged, or imprisoned.

>>5139557
Yyyyeeeaaaah that's probably the benefactor. If we have enough gold left over, we should either use it to filly upgrade our armor so it doesnt look like piss, or use it to pay the mercs in helping us kill the pig demons.

Anyone have any other ideas on how to converse with the mercenaries? Maybe start out first by asking for their rates and how much they charge for a job?

>>5139722
>Maybe start out first by asking for their rates and how much they charge for a job?

Real Condottieri Questions. Why splash the cash if they'll likely cut a throat for a handful of coins anyway. Whatever they give you for a rate, haggle it down even if we think it's already low. There's not a lot of room for comparison shopping in the local market so we know they'll be highballing us to start off. Keep the promise of loot/salvage quiet until the end of los negocios to reduce the out of pocket cost even further. I'd also dangle the possibility of a longer term engagement if we get their price low enough and they don't cock up the first job.

>>5139840
Doesn't seem like Reynauld's forté. Leave or to Pink?

>>5140415
Pink could tutor Reynauld, then he could use the knowledge to negotiate with the mercenaries.

>>5140415
Why would a noble knight be unfamiliar with the details of engaging a free company of footmen for a battle or campaign? Seems like it ought to be well within his area of competency, unless he was raised by the sort of posh fucks who left that sort of work to the chaimberlain or seneschal.

"We should probably use a subtle approach to buying the mercs." You say, after a short bit of deliberating. The others seem to agree, especially Martin:
"Y-yeah. There's, uh... probably off duty guards at the inn. Some people like to stay there instead of the barracks, and they have the money for it..." He seems to realize something as he says it. "I guess now I know how. I just figured they came from a well off family or something."
You shrug, and head to the inn with Marvin in tow... and the kobolts. As Marvin explained, seeing you without the little creatures would be more suspicious than without, though as long as they don't do anything crazy, it shouldn't form an issue. You leave everybody else in the alchemist's lab, for now, though you'll be back for them soon... and you also made sure to explain to them that if they hear anything strange, they're free and advised to just head outside and do what comes natural. While you would like to take them with you, somebody needs to look after the goblin for a moment, and you won't take long to get some mercenaries.
Hopefully.
The walk across town is mercifully uneventful. A few guards look your way, but when they see Marvin (who is unfortunately exceedingly nervous), they don't seem intent on saying anything. The inn sounds like a busy one, carrying much hustle and bustle. You suppose it's almost closing time for the bar, though, it's really late at the moment. Which means all the drunks are getting their last drinks in.
Merry comes easy when one is sloshed.

Snikt is quick to basically attach herself to your leg, nervous at the prospect of so many people, while Chad walks with his head held high and ready for a fight. You suppose they're all a bit high-strung at the moment, which is fair.
You enter the tavern, and it takes no time at all to find the mercenaries. They're just hanging around the table, looking like a collection of bad customers. Still, guessing from the lack of damage or filth on the table, they're smart enough not to cause a rucked. Most of them seem to be using hatchets, though there is one man who has some better armor than the others, and seems to have a hook on him. Ah, a classic.
He's the only one without a drink in front of him, and he seems to looking a map over. On a hunch, you walk up to him.
"Excuse me, are you the leader of these mercenaries?" You say, leaning forward. The man looks up at you, eyebrow raised, and then gives an affirmative grunt... And then he looks to the kobolts.
He puts the map on the table, and turns to you. Still quite taciturn, it seems.
"I have a job for you, but I'd prefer to talk of it privately. It involves pigs."

The man looks to his crew for a moment, and then knocks on the table twice before getting up. Two other mercs get up alongside him, and he jerks his thumb towards a private room. You decide to follow, and once inside, the man says his first word:
"Speak."
His voice is scratchy, but the tone is neutral enough.
(cont)

"I have an issue with the town guard. In that they're kidnapping and likely murdering random travellers in the name of some vague collection of "benefactors". I have evidence and witnesses, but now I want to take these guards down. How much to get that done."
The mercenary looks at you for a moment, then to your kobolts, and then he decides to say:
"Taking on a town guard looks bad if you're wrong. We're going to need enough to make a getaway if it goes wrong. Five thousand. That's five hundred per man."
...shit. That's probably going to cost you all five bars, almost. You... don't actually know the exact value. You think it over for a moment, but then Pink calls it up:
"We've already found some of the loot in one of the accomplices office! We can give you allll the bars! Three big gold bars, sir!"
What is she doing? She speaks with a higher pitched voice, and she's clearly talking like a simpleton. The mercenary leader seems interested, though:
"Three bars? Hardly enough, and I don't know how big. Tin can? How big are these gold bars?"
Pink waits for you to begin to speak, before interrupting you:
"THEY'RE THIS BIG! As big as my dragon's old paw was wide! As long as mister knight's fore-arm!" She screams, excitedly, while you try to stop her.

The mercenary grins.
"...Give us the rights to keep the guard's equipment, and we're yours for those bars. Nothing less than that, though. Don't bother haggling. I know what you're good for."
...
Wait, hold on, he's only asking for three.

>Deal!

>Deal. But look reluctant about it.

>No.

>>5140873
Good shit, Pink.

>Deal. But look reluctant about it.

>>5140873
>Deal. But look reluctant about it.
Throw in a glare at Pink - apologize later