>>5169763

As you pick yourself up from the pile of haystack you got kicked into, your eyes start to get accostumed to the absence of light. Not only that, but you also manage to see a lot more spirits and colors of Od without so much as even making a conscious effort to feel for the supernatural's presence.
The world has definitely changed in those two and a half years of training.
What you could only see as different shades of white before now have turned into a mishmash of dark and light colors from all over the spectrum. Currents of red, brown, purple and blue go in different directions from unknown sources, and though you can identify what's a regular force of life being transmitted from one object to another due to wind or gravity from a maw of evil trying to possess you, your once passive abilities seemed to have greatly enhanced your senses.

Weird, that didn't happen when you were inside the swamps. Was your spirit in the magic equivalent of weighted training when you were there and couldn't feel the full extention of your abilities, or did the world just turn into that much of a spiritual free for all while you were off?

"NEEEEEIGH!" Gunpowder complains about you losing yourself in your thoughts again instead of focusing on him! Remember Gunpowder, your supposed partner in crime? He sure remembers you, and he still seems pissed at you for letting him inside a barn for all this time when you promised to take him on adventures.

"So you're still angry about that..." You reply to Gunpowder, getting your ideas through him by telepathy. "Look, I can explain--"
Of course he's angry! He was the one that had to save Michelle in your place, and with no other options, he could only go back to the coliseum that Barnham owned. Living the same boring life where he sees several horses being chosen to fight glorious battles to the death while he stands around eating cabbage because he's "Not properly trained" or "Too much of a rebel to be reliable".

Horses live a lot less than humans, you know? At this point he's seen more peaceful days than action packed ones. What do you have to say for yourself?

File: bdde1b894d62b5a43e2237d3d(...).jpg (44 KB, 658x494)

44 KB JPG

>>5169791
...Or so you think. Still need to get used to the whole talking to animals thing. You can read emotions just fine, but putting them into words when they don't speak to begin with is a bit rough. Still amazing how they can understand you while believers of the See can't listen because they don't think magic is real. There is something funny on how you can communicate with a horse properly before the likes of Farnese...

Anyway, is it really worth the trouble of having an argument with Gunpowder here? The stallion is known for being stingy and holding grudges, so you didn't expect to mount on him without protest, but it's very inconvenient to try and do that while you don't exactly know where you are at. Gunpowder was always spectacular when synergizing with you in battle, so convincing him to come along with you will be damn near essential if you plan on fighting strong apostles.

But will he listen to what you have to say?

>I had important affairs to take care of.
>I'm sorry if you've felt abandoned by me.
>I was making sure I was strong enough to take the coliseum down, where is this Barnham fellow?
>Don't be so pampered, the world doesn't revolve around you.
>Hey, better late than never, right?
>Write-in.
>Ignore him, you can save the talk for when you have more info.

>>5169794
>I had important affairs to take care of.
>I was making sure I was strong enough to take the coliseum down, where is this Barnham fellow?
>Hey, better late than never, right?

>>5169794
>I'm sorry if you've felt abandoned by me.
>write in
"The swamp was too dangerous for you, and if I had taken you I wouldn't have you to thank for getting michelle out of there"

>>5169794
I had to overcome my tragic backstory to become an even better partner for you. Sorry it took so long but you would've hated the flesh swamp, trust me. Now let's kick some ass. Oh and I owe you big time for saving my mom, I'll grant any request of yours within reason.

>>5169794
>>I had important affairs to take care of.
>>I was making sure I was strong enough to take the coliseum down, where is this Barnham fellow?
>>Hey, better late than never, right?

>>5169794
Just as he has his own battle ahead of him, we had ours. Now that we've had our indulgence it's time for his. We probably should have told him first, though. That's on us.

>>5169800
>>5169802
>>5169818
"Listen, I'm sorry you've felt abandoned. But to summarize, I've had important affairs to take care of, and I was the only one that could live through the curse that infested the place and properly exorcise the area. So it's not like I was just idling around. Besides, I am grateful for you saving my mother, if I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have come over to get you back, you know?"

Gunpowder huffs, still unconvinced.
"Think of it this way: I had to get stronger before taking down this Barnham fellow. I know how you like your fights, so I wanted to make sure I was extra prepared. It sure took a while, but better late than never, right? Come on partner, let's tear a new one on this coliseum!"

You extend your arm to your stallion, but he only briefly stares at your fingers before giving them a good chomp.
"OW!" You yank your fingers off his teeth before he could turn your hand into a dog-toy. With his anger soon disappearing after seeing your reaction, it seems he has indeed forgiven you afterall.

He did just kick your jaw with enough force to spin your neck around like a top spin, so at this point you don't know if you should be the one apologising...
With the creak of the barn doors opening, your eyes squint as they get accostumed to the sunlight, but the familiar clink of a sword gives away that a guard has spotted you, likely thinking that you came in to steal a horse or two.

Is he a guard from the coliseum? What gave it away that you were here to steal Gunpowder? Was this area restricted, or does the new cloak make you look too ominous?

"Intruder!" The guard already called for backup, making sure you wouldn't be able to clear up any misunderstandings.
Who's really being hostile here?

>Knock him down and hide while reinforcements haven't arrived.
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.
>Try to escape without too many casualties.
>Put your hands in the air, no need to get into a nedless fight.
>Draw your spear and keep your distance.

>>5169863
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.

>>5169863
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.
>Try to escape without too many casualties.

>>5169863
>>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.

>>5169863
>Draw your spear and keep your distance.

Do we know or have a way to learn where our mother is? Even if we do we sure want to look for her when we have a title of a horse thief? Also what the fuck draw your spear means? Don't we hold it at all times?

One of my current theories about this quest is that Skull Knight's horse is an ancestor of Gunpowder.

>>5169863
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.

>>5169863
Well this limits us for today at least. If there is preference in going full rambo, we might want to return tommorow for free our mom.
The entire warriors of the coliseum on us is really not the best fight, even with us on Gunpowder and having for the moment the full momentum of suprise for kill a good amount of this dogs.
Unfortunately though only our horse actually knows the in s and out s of this place, so we don't know where to go at the moment.

>>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.
Kick the guard on our way out, with our horse.
And take our spear. Time to fight

>>5169923
Probably no, we likely have something for hold it when we don't use it.

>>5169863
>>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.

>>5169863
>Put your hands in the air, no need to get into a nedless fight.
We are still badly injured and exhausted from our fight at the swamp, I'm sure if we just explain that we got lost wandering around we could get away with a slap on the wrist. Plus it might also give us an opportunity to meet Barnham.

>>5169863
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.
>Try to escape without too many casualties.

>>5170042
>Implying they'd believe us
>Implying they wouldn't immediately throw us in the area
>Implying they would find out that the lady who rode in on Gunpowder is our mom
>Implying they wouldn't use our mom as a hostage to basically enslave us until the colosseum is invaded by some apostle under Griffith's employ

>>5170051
>Implying they would find out that the lady who rode in on Gunpowder is our mom
But I didn't imply that? what?

>Implying they'd believe us
Why shouldn't they? Coliseum is a big place.

>Implying they would find out that the lady who rode in on Gunpowder is our mom
They literally they have no evidence to support that. We literally just walked into a room from there perspective.

>Implying they wouldn't use our mom as a hostage to basically enslave us until the colosseum is invaded by some apostle under Griffith's employ
Now your just making shit up, stop trying to predict the future anon, it hardly ever pans out, especially in berserk.

>Implying they wouldn't immediately throw us in the area
Seems to me that if we say we just made an honest mistake we could manage to not get thrown in the arena. Plus there is a very small chance of escape anyway, what with the entire area being filled with armed guards and us already fighting through the pain of our other wounds. Seems inevitable that capture is gonna happen, might aswell not piss off our captors by killing them

>>5169863
>Climb on Gunpowder and barge through.
>ONWARDS TO MOTHER
Chad duo passing through, make way faggots

>>5170087
The update says that we wouldn'y be able to clear any misunderstandings, putting our hands up is being throw in prison, not peacefully resolving this.

File: z9yry573z4381.png (134 KB, 427x505)

134 KB PNG

>>5169867
>>5169905
>>5169907
>>5169948
>>5169999
>>5170022
>>5170045
Alright men! You're not in peak condition after dad's pummeling, but unless Gunpowder fails to escape or one of the soldiers get a lucky hit in, nothing to worry about.
Still, things are looking up, just give me a 1d100 and we'll see how well that goes, roll!

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>5170142
Let's go to prison again.

>>5170145
It seems the pessimist tactic isn't going to work on this thread.

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>5170142
I won't dab this time

Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>5170142

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>5170151
Holy fuck lucky 88s

>>5170151
nice

We need to think of a plan on the fly, because if they sound the alarm we will have at best a few minutes before they are all on us. We could go full speed for the gates and come the next day here, or we could engage them and try to go for the location more likely for an old woman to be. Which I have no clue of. Slave pens best guess ? We could ask gunpowder but he likely doesn't know anymore, if he was sitting inside this stables most of the time. It would also take a while to find one old woman in some pens.
I think the best option is escaping, rest some time in the wild and eat some food. Then we return here, rested and ready.
We have just kill our father after all and didn't rest at all after that fight, we where teleported after giving Merlina a grave.

>>5170151
Khorne approves of your lack of dabbing

File: cs.png (261 KB, 410x468)

261 KB PNG

>>5170145
>>5170151
>>5170152
It takes considerable effort to jump on Gunpowder and ride him to safety when your wounds from the swamp are still fresh, but your ride manages to do most of the work for you.

Thankfully Gunpowder knows his way around, not wasting any time in zig-zagging left, right and all around the corridors, most the soldiers could do is to try and hit him on foot, but that would be easily intercepted by you whacking them with your pole. No need to stab through them and make a bigger scene on your escape when just a hit on the head already knocks them over.

With Gunpowder providing you some extra energy for you to asborb, you wonder just how strong you've gotten compared to regular humans. While the God Hand is a high bar to pass, these guards certainly don't pose a threat to anyone but the disarmed commoners. Where are the real gladiators?

Coming across a closed iron gate as you climb upwards, you find a large set of engraved doors, if you were a guessing man, this entrance either leads you to the main arena, or towards an exit. You got a glimpse of the inside of some rooms of the coliseum while you were running, and they appeared to be fancy enough to be compared to a noble's castle, but the outside looks as poor and dead as you could imagine. The only thing separating the inner circle of Barnham's estate from the slums is a river and a few bridges surrounding it. No doubt the plague must have gotten over there...

A rumble of footsteps are heard not too far away from you, and when feeling for their presence, you notice a dozen more soldiers chasing you to the gates. Their armor appears to be slightly different than the leather rags you've seen from the others, so they must be from a higher rank.

There is a sturdy lever next to the gate. But given how rusty it is, it might take a bit to pull it down, wait for the contraption to work and escape into the residential area. If you do manage to escape from the guards in time, it will be from the skin of your teeth. And that's if these doors will lead you outside. It certainly seems to be so, but it's your first time in this place, you never know...

>Pull the lever.
>Try to fight the soldiers.
>Look for another route.
>Try to bust the doors open.
>Climb the iron gates.

>>5170200
>Look for another route.

That gate is probably the gate to the arena, so opening it and charging through could both crash someone else's match and get us trapped in a bad situation. The exit would probably be a portcullis, rather than just big fancy doors.

>>5170200
>>Look for another route.

>>5170211
Actually, we should also ask Gunpowder if he knows the way out, if talking is a free action.

>>5170200
Is 'engraved doors' same as 'iron gate'? Or those are two separate things?

>>5170200
>Look for another route.

>>5170200
>>Look for another route.

File: images.jpg (15 KB, 500x250)

15 KB JPG

>>5170200
>Pull the lever.
I can't resist

>>5170216
Two separate things, Vlad managed to see some of the outskirts before getting too close to the lever, think of it as a tall fence.

>>5170200
>Pull the lever.
Fastest way out is usually the best.

>>5170200
>Look for another route.

>>5170200
>Pull the lever.

>>5170221
+1

>>5170215
that could work honestly. Even if he has a vague idea it would help us.

>>5170263
Maybe we could ask him if we decide to try and find another route.

>>5170211
>>5170213
>>5170218
>>5170219
>>5170249
"You sure this is the right way to the exit, GP?" You ask your trusty horse for advice, not being sure if this was the right place to leave.

'Leave? Why didn't human say this earlier? Gunpowder thought of fighting now!'
Whatever voice you could give to his thoughts likely wouldn't do him any justice, but it's good you managed to warn him before he could barge in. Is fighting really the only thing he has on his mind?

Alright then, change of plans. He turns around and guides you to the other end of the establishment. The adrenaline junkie really went far out of his way to not look for the exit the first time, but he makes up by avoiding whatever arrows, darts and javelins attempt to strike you down, even the mounted knights can't reach his speed.

When you do arrive on the front gate, there are already a mob of guards waiting to hit you, and if it wasn't for your foresight, you would have barged right onto them instead of shifting gears and going up a floor while you laid on top of your ride. These passageways really weren't meant for a guy and a horse to fit through...

And there is the exit to the rookery, give or take a couple meters. The walls show a high concentration of houses cornered around several tall mountains. Behind you, the plains and forests seem clear of any signs of human contact barring the trails leading to the entrance. It's easy to get in the coliseum, but unless they genuinely want you to leave, you're staying between the river and the range.

"I thought you were leading me to the exit?"
'This is exit. Mother is there. Does Human not want Mother?" His neighing implies that Michelle somehow lives over there now. Didn't she stay in a safer place in your vision?

The sound of the air being cut as an arrow grazes on your ear lets you know that you're not out of the woods yet. Several archers are aiming from other observatories, and while the mounted knights are few in numbers, more will probably come if you stay still and wait for more to come.

"End of the line, outsider! You have nowhere to run!"
Oh, do you?

>Throw your arms up and surrender peacefully.
>Skewer your way back to the entrance and open the door.
>Jump from the walls and try to fall on the riverside.
>Try to outrun the guards around the outer walls.
>Write-in.

>>5170301
>Try to outrun the guards around the outer walls.

>>5170301
>Jump from the walls and try to fall on the riverside.

>>5170301
>>Jump from the walls and try to fall on the riverside.

File: another-eden-tera-crossov(...).jpg (39 KB, 1210x544)

39 KB JPG

>>5170309
>>5170315
>>5170316
You place your arms behind your head and pretend to be surrendering, but telepathically, you are ordering Gunpowder to do a backwards jump into the river and lose sight of these annoying chasers. The fall seems pretty steep, but surely your horse can leap and make a good fall.

When a soldier attempts to approach you, the stallion's movement makes him disappear from your view entirely as you both drop to the other side of the wall.

A loud splash of water engulfs the two of you, with the river being a lot deeper than previously expected. Luckily the current was not that strong, and despite the shock of the impact, you effectively managed to escape Barnham's grasp with only a few minor bruises. Given how you did not steal anything of importance and went back to where they assumed you came from, that would likely be the end of the raid.

Catching your breath after exiting and pulling Gunpowder from the water, you lay exhausted next to your horse. This is a bit too much to deal with this soon, isn't it? Not one hour of rest before already having to make your way out of a damn coliseum. Maybe you should have asked the Skull Knight for some time to rest before all of this...

"Oh my! There seems to be an outsider in the river!" A perky, energized voice is heard nearby as the sight of a colorful, woman drenched in makeup and exotic, colorful clothing skips and hops to where you are at.
"What seems to trouble you, mister? Don't you know about about the flood about to happen once the dam bursts? Get out of the water, quickly!" The harlequin hushes you over, her speech pattern and mannerisms seeming very irregular.

You crawl a few inches further before taking one look back to the river. Not a single dam or sign of overflow, not even a cloud in the sky. What is she talking about?
"My name is Zhafira! I am waiting for the king to choose me as his jester. What is your name?" She walks over to you and extends her hand. Well, her stump. Her hand is missing down to her wrist, the darker blotch of skin around it likely being a sign of amputation, but she still moves and acts like her hand is still there, with even a glove being placed on her stump to boot.

Also, the king is several weeks of travel from here, why would he even want a jester-- Nevermind, the girl seems to be either playing a character, or very out of her mind... Should you try to have a talk with this girl?

>I am Vlad Santana.
>Call me Vlad, just Vlad.
>Make up a fake name, better safe than sorry.
>I am now known as the Phantom.
>Get up by holding her stump.
>Refuse her hand and ignore her.
>Write-in.

>>5170366
>I am Vlad Santana.
>Get up by holding her stump.

I have feeling that this is a trap. I like it

>>5170366
>Get up by holding her stump.
>Introduce yourself as "Vlad Phantoma"

Vlad making up a chuuni-ass fake name seems really in character to me.

>>5170366
>Call me Vlad, just Vlad.
>Get up by holding her stump.

>>5170366
>>Call me Vlad, just Vlad.
>Get up by holding her stump.

>>5170366
>Get up by holding her stump.
>Call me Vlad, just Vlad.

>>5170366
>I am now known as the Phantom.
>Get up by holding her stump.

>>5170366
>I am now known as the Phantom.
Come on guys, gotta have the cool nickname

File: 65fb906e0cfed907e769f39f5(...).jpg (731 KB, 1075x1518)

731 KB JPG

>>5170367
>>5170369
>>5170373
"Why are you holding my wrist, silly? My hand is right there!" She chastises you for not touching her hand to stand up, but you doubt her glove has enough grip strength to hold your body without sliding off or ripping in two.

"Call me Vlad. Just Vlad." You don't know how well your family is known outside the capital, so it's best not to give out your last name to strangers, even if they don't pose too much of a threat.

"Vlad... What an interesting name! I'll be sure to write that down! 'Bearded man named Vlad attempts to fly over the river without having any wings'." She takes out a quill and a few notes of paper from thin air and writes her memos.
"Why are you writing that down?" You ask the harlequin.

"I tend to forget things very often, I only have the king and his interests in mind, so other things escape me unless I read them again. Sometimes others write on my notes, but I try to erase them unless they belong to me. People are so nosy, Hahahaha!"

Cool, she seems to be a total airhead by the looks of it, too. Whatever information she can give probably won't be that reliable...
Gunpowder approaches the two of you and confusedly stares at the fidgety Zhafira.

'Woman crazy. Do not trust her.'
"Why are you making a voice for your horse? Oh! Are you interested in stage plays? I have a few puppets at home, I could show you how to control a marionette! Hahaha!" Zhafira laughs at you trying to give a voice to Gunpowder. Doing that out loud probably makes you look very goofy.
'Yes.'

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence, Gunpowder...
>Why are you dressed like this?
>Where is this place?
>What else is on your notes?
>How many elderly live here?
>Do you have any family at home?
>I would love to see your puppets, Zhafira.
>Write-in.

>>5170399
>Where is this place?
>What else is on your notes?

>>5170399
>Where is this place?
>>I would love to see your puppets, Zhafira.

>>5170403
+1

>>5170399
>Where is this place?
>I would love to see your puppets, Zhafira.
We got to rest before we go take on Barham

>>5170399
>>Where is this place?
>>What else is on your notes?

Keep a bit our guard. Don t use Od sensing for the moment, just look at her.
Suggest to walk away from the river, we need to eat and dry our clothes after all***
***And better to not let the guards arrive here looking for us, we are too near. Gunpowder was probably know in the past here in the Coliseum.

File: imagem_2022-02-18_164609.png (203 KB, 491x251)

203 KB PNG

>>5170403
>>5170404
>>5170433
>>5170436
"Where is this place?" You see if there's any point in asking Zhafira.

"We're in llos! Home of the gladiators and the strongest men alive. At least that's what he says, I've never seen him fight, but since only the winners tend to win and stay inside while the losers stay here for labor, he's probably a lot stronger than me. Hahaha!"

"Do you know how to fight?" Finally, she starts to speak on something more coherent.
"Gosh, no. I cut myself when trying to slice a block of cheese! My family is full of artisans, no need to learn how to fight when we will surely grow famous from our other skills. I know how to use magic, but I don't think I could use any of them for violence." She messes with something behind your ear, and after some itching, she pulls a large set of knotted handkerchiefs from you. "Here, you should get yourself dried up!"

It seems that she can't really use actual magic, but the commoner optical illusions that people call magic, such as making your fingers 'disappear' and choosing the right cards from a pile. At least these won't get you in any trouble from the church.

"Are you just toying with me?" You're not too quick to trust the jester.
"I'm serious! It's in the notes, and the notes never lie. Except when they do, but that's never my fault!" She shows a paragraph she wrote down that explains what she thinks of the place.

'Ilos, Leave in under a week or get challenged into a fight for wasting money. Barnham is a very bad person. Need to impress the king with my arts and convince him to free the people here.'

Though very childish in her thinking, she thinks she can stop slavery by sucking up to a bigger master, and judging by how she's the only one here wearing colored clothing and similing, you wonder how well that's going for her.

"Interesting, what else is there in your notes-"
"Don't touch it!" She slaps your hands when you inquire for more info. "It's mine! Zhafira hisses. You feel slightly inclined on reading her memories out of spite, but that would just be rude, and given how much of a weirdo she is, you doubt you would get a lot of it.

"Wait, you said you had puppets, right? Would you mind showing them?"
"Of course not! They're all back home with the others, but that means you'll get to meet the others!" She takes your hand and skedaddles before you even had the time to dry your hair with her rags.
Checking out the scenery with more detail, you see an open graveyard with several dried up corpses on one end, and other small houses huddled up not too far from there. The buildings are all crooked and lifeless, and the people all look hungry, sick, or some combination of the two.

Which only makes it more offputting when you hear Zhafira happily humming a lullaby song when passing by the dried up corpses of the innocents.

>So who do you live with?
>Anything else you know about Barnham?
>Why are you so happy all the time?
>Why do you think the king will get over here?
>Write-in.

>>5170486
>Why do you think the king will get over here?
>So who do you live with?
>Anything else you know about Barnham?

>>5170486
>Why do you think the king will get over here?
>So who do you live with?
>Anything else you know about Barnham?

>Write In
>How is the region around Ilos ? Are there forests ? And game in them ?
>Would you reconsider going to the king, with the current rumors about him .... ? What if there was another way for help the people here ?

>>5170486
>Anything else you know about Barnham?
>Do you know any place I can stay nearby?

>>5170491
>support

>>5170491
+1

File: e4130181c8bf3796b4b5b9e7b(...).jpg (216 KB, 1000x729)

216 KB JPG

>>5170491
"So who do you live with?" You doubt a ditz like this can live on her own, so there must be someone there to be her caretaker.

"Oh, I have a few people there! It's thanks to my dad Bernard that we are still alive here. He tends to make weapons for Barnham to use. The more weapons my father makes, the more food gets distributed to our folks."

And judging by how many of them are trying to reach to the rats on the floor to eat, he probably can't do them fast enough to supply an army.

"My brother Benny also lives there! He's a bit on the shy side, but he's great at playing the flute. For some reason he stops playing it when I'm home, but I love to hear his music, do you think he's upset with me?"

"I wouldn't know. Has he always been this way?"
"He's had a little speech impediment when he was wrong, but it's gotten worse over time to the point where he barely bothers to speak. I wonder what made him act like that..." Zhafira looks down, before perking back up again and humming another song. It's like she can't process sadness for too long.

"Is there anywhere I could stay? Just a place to sleep would be fine by me."
"I'm sorry. Our guest room is occupied by the farmer lady. She spends all day trying to fix the soil here to plant the seeds she find from the fruits, but none of them grow long enough to give us fruits. I'm sure Benny wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor, but I have too much heart to ask him that. I want him to be happy!" Her chin lifts up with pride, wanting the best for her younger sibling. Guess you can just look for an empty home, not like there are that many people living here that would fight for food or sleeping rooms. It mostly looks like a pack of women, kids and the elderly.

"What else do you know about Barnham, why do you think the king will want to take him down?"
"He's been stealing soldiers and refusing to help in the hundred year war. Why wouldn't the king be angry at him? Surely that Band Of The Falcons will invade this place and give him the what for!" Zhafira proclaims, apparently not knowing that the war is already over.

"...You do know that the Hundred Year War is over, right? And so is the Band-"
"Lies! If the war was over, we would have been freed already! The king does not accept slavery in his territory." It seems you're not the first that tries to contest these claims, but her denial is evident.
Soon enough, you arrive in a small shack, highlighted by the smoke of a fireplace. The clank of metal comes from the inside, where Zhafira's father most likely is. The sound of coughing is heard from two different people, but they don't seem to come outside.

"I hope you don't mind the smoke. That's why I always stay out during the day..." She whispers the last sentence in your ear, grinning as she promptly observes your next action.

>Is there anywhere I can dry myself?
>How often do the guards come over here?
>Is this all there is to this place?
>Where is the farmer?
>Does your father take commissions?

>>5170559
>Is there anywhere I can dry myself?
>Does your father take commissions?

>>5170559
>Is there anywhere I can dry myself?
>How often do the guards come over here?
>Does your father take commissions?

>>5170559
>Where is the farmer?
>Does your father take commissions?

>>5170559
>>Is there anywhere I can dry myself?
>>How often do the guards come over here?
>>Does your father take commissions?

>>5170559
>>Is there anywhere I can dry myself?
>>How often do the guards come over here?

>>5170570
>>5170573
>>5170593
>>5170602
>>5170616
"Is there anywhere I can dry myself here? My clothes are pretty soaked." Would be pretty weird to undress right in front of her, plus Gunpowder also needs a place to rest.

"You can do it on that corner over there, No windows on that size, unless someone walks in, but I won't peep! Promise! I have better things to do now, like practicing my juggling. Or check out my puppets! You need to see my plays sometime, I need a second opinion." Between this, or getting steamed on the fireplace, you might as well go inside.

"Alright, hope you don't mind the horse staying here with me."
"By all means, he fits right into the scenery! Hope nobody bumps into him at night though. No bathrooms in here!"

Barring the lack of food, this place really doesn't seem all that different from the swamp afterall.

"Speaking of which, how often do the guards come in here?"
"Every other day, which means one of them will probably visit tomorrow. Dad is almost done with the last piece, so he must be trying to rush to meet the deadline. He's very good at crafting, it's just that there's only so much you can do in a day."

"Does he accept commissions? I've been meaning to get a little upgrade for my weapons..." You rustle around your pockets for some money, but only find a few gold coins to offer.

"I've never used money before, but Dad would probably find no use in trading so much of his time for so little coins." She doesn't seem to know how much this is worth, but given the state they're in, trading food for weapons seems a lot more useful than currency that won't get in the coliseum. Makes a lot easier to scam them out of their rations too.

"And what about the farmer?"
"She's usually trying to plant next to the riverside, I was going over to see her before I found you, but I guess she wasn't there. I hope she comes back soon!" Zhafira's energetic tone hides whatever worry could show up in her phrasing.

>Spend some time with Zhafira.
>Go inside and look for the blacksmith.
>See if her brother is doing alright.
>Look for the farmer.

>>5170654
>Go inside and look for the blacksmith.
Then
>Spend some time with Zhafira.
Call me paranoid but I have a sneaking suspicion that her brother is dead and she's just talking to his corpse this entire time.

>>5170654
>Spend some time with Zhafira.
>Teach her something useful, a simple warding symbol meant to keep evil spirits at bay. Tell her that it may come in handy in the near future, but that she shouldn't let prying eyes see it either.
Then
>Go inside and look for the blacksmith.

>>5170654
Also Becchi it says on the character sheet that Vlad has 140 Gold Coins. 28 silver coins, is this still the case or did it change? Or is it all still at the estate?

>>5170668
Whoops, must have been an oversight. Let me check from last thread.

>2 Gold Coins. (140 Gold Coins and 28 Silver Coins at the Santana Estate.)

There we go, updated. Most of the cash is still in there so your pocket money is nothing to brag about

>>5170654
>>Spend some time with Zhafira.
>Look for the farmer.
We need some food and rest


>>5170668
he didnt put the division, we have a few money on us. The majority is all on the estate.

god damn it I missed the start

>>5170654
>Spend some time with Zhafira.
>Go inside and look for the blacksmith.

>>5170665
I would not be surprised at that considering the universe we're in

Also Becchi how's Dark Souls been treating you?

>>5170683
Cool, thanks for answering, just wanted to make sure I wasn't mistaken.

File: DS1.png (3.13 MB, 1920x1080)

3.13 MB PNG

>>5170685
Been getting my ass whopped by Ornstein and whatshisname until I stopped playing yesterday. Even with a summon I'm finding it pretty challenging, but not hard to the point I want to sperg out and stop playing, crazy how the game keeps that balance going for most of it's run.
Switched to a spear weapon to get more in character with our boy too

Overall I'm starting to get why people are so hyped for Elden Ring this year. Don't know why I avoided these games for so long given how much of a Berserk nerd I am.
I couldn't kill Priscilla bros, I'm sorry for being a simp.

>>5170706
>Unfathomably Based

>>5170654
>Look for the farmer.
I'm curious
>Go inside and look for the blacksmith.

>>5170665
>>5170666
>>5170684
>>5170685
Zhafira seems to be quite the character, and given how the inside of the house is still a steamy sauna of the most unpleasant kind, your lungs will probably thank you if you stayed around with her and got to know her better.

"You wanted me to show me your puppets, right? I would love to see them." You ask to see Zhafira's crafts after drying your clothes and your horse. Why not indulge her in her hobbies while you're at it? If she really comes from a family of artists and artisans.

"Oh really! Wonderful! Dad has another place where he left his old tools before." Sometimes there's some wood left for me to make some toys out of them. He loved to sculpt back in the day, shame he never has time for it now."

Zhafira enters a small hut and hushes you in, showing a rusty collection of handsaws, chisels and mallets. A lot of them seemed broken and worn down, but for them to keep such a large collection in this place, he must have been really passionate about what he did.

There are no weapons or armoury to be found here, only a modly pile of dolls, puppets and marionettes thrown together in a pile, along with bags of clothes, empty canvases, containers filled with paint, abandoned sculpting projects and an assortment of circus items.
"Sometimes I like to sneak in Dad's room and trade some of his chisels, don't tell him I said that! I've been working on a new flute for Benny, I hope he likes it. Feel free to take a look around, it might take a bit to dress up my babies for the set." she kneels over to the pile of dolls, cleaning some of them and trying to remove the mold from the ones she might use.

This is a lot to take in. It's been a while since you've tried to do anything remotely artistic. Is there anything you would like to do while you waited for the play to start?

>See if you can learn something about chiseling.
>Try to paint something on the canvas.
>Ask for paper and do some quick sketches.
>Play around with her circus set.
>Ask her what her best talents are.
>Help her pick her dolls.

>>5170745
>Ask for paper and do some quick sketches.
slightly artistic time

>>5170745
>See if you can learn something about chiseling.

>>5170745
>Ask for paper and do some quick sketches.
Got to have an idea to show the smith.

>>5170755
>>5170786
>>5170793
Painting and chiseling will probably take some time. So sketching will be the quickest option. You already had some fun drawing summoning incantations and restrictive runes to ward off evil spirits before when you were practicing magic, which already felt pretty complex on their own right. Would drawing different shapes and sizes translate well to actual art? You won't find out until you start.

You ask Zhafira for some paper, to which she points to a stack behind a canvas close to a wall. A large portion of them were already used by her, and given how she likely forgot the content of those papers, you felt like giving them a look.

To be fair, most of them were pretty regular for the average life of a girl living in a slum.
Dad will be busy for the next few days, don't come inside until he says so.
The farmer wants a hoe, Dad must have one somewhere around the house. If not, ask him to make one!

However, it started to get weird pretty quickly, as a different handwriting started to appear on her notes.
Give me back my sister.
This is not your true identity. Please stop pretending.
Please Cindy. I know Zhafira is not the real you. You can stop playing the character. I promise I won't be sad anymore.
I miss you.

The rest of it was painted over and covered with large blotches of dark paint to the point where most of it became illegible. Her brother was trying to give her a message, but she did not want to remember what it was. You wonder if his words are literal and her body got snatched by a spirit, or if she has some sort of condition.

"Did you find a clean sheet?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah..." She seems to have forgotten that she left her old papers here. Given how she reacted so harshly to you trying to explain that the old kingdom is no more, you could only wonder how much she would resent you by trying to conflict with her narrative. Maybe it's best to ask her other family members about this.

What will you draw?

>A self portrait.
>An animal.
>Someone you know.
>An armoured knight.
>Whatever comes to your mind.
>Write-in.

>>5170887
>A winged knight with an armored mount.
Let's make that anon's sketch canon inside the quest.

>>5170887
>A winged knight with an armored mount.

>>5170887
>A winged knight with an armored mount,

>>5170887
>>A winged knight with an armored mount.

File: Fanart.jpg (1.71 MB, 3000x4000)

1.71 MB JPG

>>5170891
>>5170899
>>5170912
>>5170925
Since you're already next to a weaponsmith, it would be cool to think of how many different shapes can be put into an armored mount. A lot of the fancy nobles liked to make their weaponry look frilly by adding weapons, engravings and alike, but what if you were to combine the entire set of armor with some animal, and make the horse's armor based around that too?

It seems a bit ambitious, but the first sketch is always the messiest. It's only until the third or fouth redraw that they start looking like the shapes you wanted them to be.

You started with some head pieces with different shapes, until you thought of using a marlin for an animal theme, with the horse having several metal platings curved around his face to resemble scales, giving the horse a pointed bill that could make him impale enemies along with your spear. While there's no shame in using a basic pointy stick, you could definitely get stylish thanks to your imagination. How about a bardiche? A halberd? Maybe even a trident!

The details are a bit harder to fill in, but by the time you are done with your concept art, you are very proud of the end result, even drawing a crest similar to the one you had back home. Since you're doing it from memory, it doesn't look exactly the same as the Santana Crest, but knowing where you are, it's probably for the best that no one recognizes you.

"Wow! I can feel the fire coming out of that paper!" Zhafira apparently finished setting up her stage, looking over from your shoulder to check your sketching. "Do you plan on showing this to my dad? It will probably take a few days for him to finish it, but it seems feasible, even if it would make you stand out."

>Yeah, I would like to wear something similar to this.
>Nah, this was just for fun. I have another armor and weapon in mind.
>Honestly, just getting a sturdier lance would be good enough for an upgrade.
> I don't need anything that fancy, just a regular armor set would be nice.

>>5170947
>Yeah, I would like to wear something similar to this

>>5170947
>>Honestly, just getting a sturdier lance would be good enough for an upgrade.
> I don't need anything that fancy, just a regular armor set would be nice.

>>5170947
>Write In
"Perhaps not now. For the moment i will take something solid and tested. A metal armor, a good spear, sword and shield."
Smirk
"Still do give this sketch to your father and tell him to exercise, as i will buy that as a future commision. I have intention to return here with more money for make this armor on paper, something great. And of the highest quality."

File: CDN_WELL_2044821i-001.jpg (108 KB, 796x1200)

108 KB JPG

>>5170962
>>5170952
>>5170958
"Not now. For the moment i will take something solid and tested. A metal armor, a good spear, sword and shield." You reply to her with a smile. This was merely a flex of your artistic muscles, a proof of concept. Surely recreating that armor and wearing that around in all of it's glory would take some time, and all of that protection would likely take away one of your biggest strengths, your speed. There's no denying that you would look cool on it, but you would feel bad in pestering an old man to make this after his shift for the day is nearly over.

"Still, do give this sketch to your father and tell him to exercise, as I will buy that as a future commision. I have intention to return here with more money for make this armor on paper, something great. And of the highest quality." You hand the paper to Zhafira, trusting her to give this to her father later.
"Noted! Never say never!" You wish she chose some other place to write over other than your signature, but as long as she remembers it, you can't be bothered to complain too much.

"Now! I need you to sit here with me and watch my play. I've been meaning to reenact this for quite some time, but playing more than one character in a scene gets very tiring when you have to switch so quickly for one emotion to the other, so I find it easier to represent them with these dolls! Buckle up!" She takes your hand and makes you sit down next to a puppet theater, where several of her friends would soon come to life when placed inside her hands.

Or should you say, hand? She had some trouble fitting one of the characters inside her missing hand, and instead of controlling their mouth and hands with her other fingers, the poor sap only flopped and flailed around as Zhafira tried her best to make him emote.

However, the lack of a functional left hand did not take away from the fact that the harlequin's acting skills and interpretations were on point. You were mesmerized at the sheer quality of her voice impressions. It was as if another person suddenly possessed her and started making different noises with her vocal chords. She would go from the baritone voice of an old man, to the high notes of an opera singer. You might have been a few years too old to say that this was the peak of entertainment, but her eyes were shining through the entire show, never once flubbing her lines or even stopping for a breather, something you could definitely appreciate.

The story told of two conjoined twins: Don and Deion, stuck together by the lower torso and a third leg. Don loved Deion and would try his best to avoid making him angry, while Deion tried to establish dominance in their shared body, hiding Don inside his clothes, order him to stay silent in social interactions, and berate him for making him stand out.

File: page7-1020-full.jpg (19 KB, 600x583)

19 KB JPG

>>5171055
The tale span over their entire lifetime. From being born into a freakshow cricus, to escaping after Deion stabbed the owner, to them finding their first love and being both rejected thanks to being an outcast, to them getting an injure from stealing food from a local farm, to their sprained ankle forcing them to walk on two legs, making them consider an amputation as they hid together under a bridge. By the time the play is ending, it's already night time.

"This is all your fault, Don! If it wasn't for this wretched body, I could have had everything I ever wanted!"
"Don't you see, brother? You are not alone in your suffering! Why can't we just get along and live as one?"
"Live as one? That's what we've been doing since the start, and look how well we are doing thanks to you! I never wished for your companionship! We will never get along, because all I want is for you to leave me alone!" Deion brandishes a saw, wanting to cut their lower torso to disconnect their bodies once and for all.

"Think about what you're doing, Deion! The dam is about to burst! We can easily escape this place together if we swim with our feet in rhythm. I don't want to do this by myself!"

"Then let's see who's the better half of a man! Whoever manages to climb the bridge first will forget about the loser's existence!" Deion starts to cut their bodies separate as the water floods the area, being separated when the overflow reaches them.

Don manages to avoid drowning and clutches over to the end of the bridge with a jump, while the current starts to push Deion away from his brother as he desperately tries to swim back to safety.

"Deion! Grab my hand!" The softer brother takes mercy in seeing Deion about to die, not wanting to lose the only friend he made despite all of their misadventures together. The guilt of letting him die would be too great to forget.

Deion, however, thought the exact opposite. In a true bucket of crabs mentality, he would rather end their challenge in a draw than seeing his brother succeeding on where he failed, taking Don's hand only to strike him repeatedly until he lost grip of the ledge, making them both be lost in the current, never to be found alive. The story ends with a single skeleton being dropped in the seashore, though wether that skeleton is Don's or Deion's is left up to interpretation.

"THE END!" Zhafira's face takes over the entire puppet theater's window as she announces the ending of the play. "What do you think? It's one of my favorite plays. Benny always loved this story, and I told it almost every night. He doesn't seem to like it as much now, but it's always nice to tell them to other kids."

>It's a little dark, don't you think?
>Why do you like the story so much?
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>Don was too trusting of his brother.
>Deion was clearly in the wrong.
>What message do you take from it?

>>5171094
>What message do you take from it?
>Why do you like the story so much?

>>5171094
>>What message do you take from it?

>>5171094
>Why do you like the story so much?
>What message do you take from it?

>>5171094
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>Why do you like the story so much?

>>5171094
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>What message do you take from it?

>>5171094
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>What message do you take from it?
>Why do you like the story so much?

>>5171094
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>Why do you like the story so much?
>It's a little dark, don't you think?

>>5171094
>>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>>What message do you take from it?

>>5171094
>>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets.
>>What message do you take from it?
>>Why do you like the story so much?

>>5171094
>You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets

File: 78177.gif (886 KB, 500x281)

886 KB GIF

>>5171107
>>5171111
>>5171164
>>5171217
>>5171312
>>5171331
>>5171368
>>5171400
>>5171407
>>5171439
"You are very talented. The mental images you created made me forget they were puppets." The part where she used a chisel with her fingers to cut them up from the inside was a high point, even if the stand probably had some sort of contraption or else she would have to make 2 new puppets every time she had to reenact this piece.

"Thank you! I love entertaining people. Nothing brings me more joy than seeing other people smile in a bad day."
"Any reason in particular you like this story, though? There is certainly a message to take from it."

"I think Don and Deion were the same person from the start. They were just different facets of their personality. One of them was always negative, while the other was loving and positive. It's a shame Deion won over in the end, it's important to never be taken over by your hardships over the years. You need to kill your negative aspects, even if they change you forever."

You had a different interpretation of it, but she's the one who's been telling the same story for several years, who are you to say she's wrong?

"Which is why I left Zhafira take over my body. Nothing can hurt me now." She smiles through her reveal. "I was really sad when mom passed away. So sad that all the sadness in my body went away, and now I haven't shed a single tear since that day. Zhafira loves entertaining people and friend to all children, that other girl only weeps and cries about how bad life is, and no one wants to hear that, right? So it's like Don and Deion's story, only that Don won this time!"

That explains her one track mind. She's being overtly happy to compensate for the situation she is in. In truth, it looks more like she's the only source of happiness from this place, and you have to be a pretty big optimist to find solace in here, either that, or be actually mad.

You wanted to pry further into it, but the ringing of a bell is heard from the outside of Bernard's hut.
"Dinner time! Come, you're going to love my family." Zhafira has a habit of guiding you around like a dog on a leash, but it wouldn't hurt to eat something and take a rest for the day.

The dinner for today was bone stew. Which in this house, meant green salt water boiled over 2 bone pieces on each plate. It smelled like nothing and probably fed you even less. Didn't stop the talented girl from happily eating it with her father and her brother.

The small boy looked very malnourished, his arms trembling from trying to pick up the spoon and taste his meal. He had a purple circle around his eye that looked a bit recent, who gave him that punch?
The older man looked practically like a dead man standing, no doubt overworking himself to death in that pot took a lot of his life expectancy, begrudgingly eating in silence.

For how much Zhafira hyped her family up, you expected to be in a better mood, but she's the only one that has any energy in this place.

>>5171474
After greeting the two and only hearing a grunt in reply, you wonder how these people manage to interact throughout the day.

>Is this safe to eat?
>Who's bones are these?
>What happened to your eye, Benny?
>Does the farmer usually take this long to show up?
>Bernard, can I take a look at the weapons you have?
>Thank you for the meal. (Attempt to eat it)
>I'll pass. I'm not hungry.

>>5171478
>I'll pass, it doesn't feel right to take from those who needs it more.
We can always try to hunt.
>Bernard, your daughter has said much of the quality of your work, could I look at inventory?

>>5171481
+1 pass our plate to the boy

>>5171478
>>I'll pass, it doesn't feel right to take from those who needs it more.
>>Bernard, your daughter has said much of the quality of your work, could I look at inventory?
>Write in
"And if i could ask a few questions, what can you tell me of Barnham and his men ? How many men are under him ? Do they patrol the countryside ? What weapons and armors they buy from you ? All kinds ?"


>>5171481
i was thinking hunting and attempt to heal the plants of the farmer near the river. Meat and well grown vegetables would be nice for recovering our strength, we can offer it some to them as well for allowing us to sleep here.

>>5171481
>>5171484
>>5171518
The food wasn't amazing when you cooked it either, but given the lack of resources they have to get properly fed, it would feel wrong to take their meals from them. You can go a day without eating, injuiries be damned.

"I'll pass. Here you go, kid." You gently pass the plate to Benny, who flinched at seeing a hand approaching him before realizing you were only giving him your portion.

"I-I-I-I-'m n-N-ot..." He starts to stutter his way through a sentence, but Zhafira already knew what he was going to say, so she just cut him off to save time.

"No need to be so humble, Benny! You need to eat too!" She forcefully feeds him a spoonful of the stew, to which he silently gulps down in defeat. Benny seems very passive and scared of his sister, while Zhafira imposes herself on him with seemingly good intentions.

"Been a while since I've heard of the farmer." Bernard speaks up.
"She's been working nonstop on those crops, you think she finally managed to grow a radish? Or maybe two?"
"Beats me. She usually doesn't take that long to show up, so there has to be some news on her end."
"Oh, right! I forgot to check in on her today, I'll give another walk to the riverside to see where she's at." Zhafira promptly slides off her chair and starts hopping out the door, rushing to see the farmer's progress.

Bernard raises his hand as if to say "Don't run." but the girl is gone by the time he considers telling his daughter to be careful.
That only leaves the three of you. and since you wanted to speak about the armor.
"Bernard, your daughter has said much of the quality of your work, could I look at-"
"No."
"What?"
"I can tell by your build that you don't belong here. Either you got kicked off the coliseum, or Barnham is planning for you to fight one of us. It's always the same ordeal. He tells us that if we want our freedom, we need to fight for it, then welive in the worst possible conditions to stack the odds in his favor, and when we get beheaded for all of his yes-men to see, we have to act surprised about the outcome. The only reason anyone here can eat more than rats and crows is because I'm giving them what they want. If they see a single helm missing from their numbers..." Bernard swipes his wrist with an open palm, indicating what happened to Zhafira the last time he failed to give them their weapons in time.

>Do you have enough materials to make a spare?
>They will have to give me something if I fight in the coliseum, correct?
>I won't kill any of you. I'm aiming for Barnham himself.
>I'll make sure that this is the last armor you have to force yourself to work on.
>I could help in ending his tyranny if you told me more about him.
>Write-in.

>>5171528
>I won't kill any of you. I'm aiming for Barnham himself.
>I could help in ending his tyranny if you told me more about him.

>>5171528
>Do you have enough materials to make a spare?
>I didn't get kick out exactly. Barnham has my mother, and I will free her. If killing him and fighting at the arena will free you all too, than all the better.

>>5171528
>>I won't kill any of you. I'm aiming for Barnham himself.
>>I could help in ending his tyranny if you told me more about him.
>Do you have enough materials to make a spare?

>>5171528
>I won't kill any of you. I'm aiming for Barnham himself.
>I could help in ending his tyranny if you told me more about him.
I'm still on the fence about killing Barnham since we haven't even met him yet, but from what I've seen its probably best to say this to gain more information on him and what he looks and acts like.

>>5171531
>>5171535
>>5171542
"I won't kill any of you, I'm aiming for Barnham himself. If he lets others go free when them best him in a fight, I could set you all free by fighting in the arena."

"Hmph. Good luck with that. In all these years I've been here, not a single person has gotten close to beating him. Swordsman, archers, even wild animals. He fights them all by himself, and without even using any weapons. Says that fighting unarmed gives his opponents a better chance, but that doesn't stop him from taking an entire army down with just his fists.That strength is not human. Some have even stated that he was spotted eating the body of defeated gladiators."

Could Barnham be an apostle? It's one thing to be undefeated in battle, but another one entirely to do so for years without so much as holding a blade to defend yourself. Pretty sure it's not normal to commit cannibalism either...

"What else do you know about him?"
"He was previously a royal knight. The first one to ever climb the wall of corpses to show off his strength. He loved to fight and best his foes, but when he met the king, he was severely disappointed to see a frail man who didn't have a sign of muscle definition on him. Thought it was unfair for the commander of the kingdom to be one who only had power in his tongue. A leader has to be the prime example of his army's strength, not hide behind them. It's why classes here are divided by those who can fight, and those who can't. Glory to the strong, death for the weak."

"Ever since then, he refused to be a knight and grew spiteful of the king's power. He's been going in expeditions all over Midland to buy out the best knights and train them under his tutelage, he makes bank from the nobles and other bloodthirsty maniacs like him who watch the spectacle and bet on the outcomes. Doesn't matter if it's him snapping a lion's neck in half, or two random slaves, the carnage became a tourist trap for people. They need an excuse to see somene being gutted, and Barnham gives in to that animalistic behavior. It's sickening, you can hear their chants for encore from over here."

>Has he ever transformed into some other form?
>How did he imprison you and your family?
>What's his end goal?
>How big is his army?
>What weapons does he ask for you to do?
>Write-in.

>>5171590
>How big is his army?
>How did he imprison you and your family?

>>5171590
>Has he ever transformed into some other form?
>What's his end goal?
>How big is his army?
Barnham is definitely an apostle, not even guts could face down a whole army unarmed.

>>5171590
>>What weapons does he ask for you to do?
>How big is his army?
>What's his end goal?

>>5171590
>How big is his army?
>What weapons does he ask for you to do?
Disgusting

>>5171598
>>5171603
>>5171609
>>5171610
"Has he ever transformed into some other form?" You're almost sure on your hunch, but for a demon to be so prevalent in the ring, he must have shown his horns to someone in the coliseum.

"Not that I've known of. He barely puts any effort in his fights recently, they're all over under a minute. The spectacle is sure a bolster to his ego, but in terms of an actual challenge? No dice."

Sounds intimidating. He's definitely hiding another form beneath all of that power. Barnham is not fully human, but then again, the same goes for you. Has he ever fought another apostle? Maybe another wildcard is the thing that he's looking for. Hopefully you'll actually get to talk to him down the line.


"Do you know how big is his army?"
"He tries to keep it on a fixed number of 500. He constantly switches people around, either from them dying, getting weaker, or just being replaced by a stronger foe. I'd say they are around the same level of strength aside from Barnham, who always makes sure to tower over them."

"And his endgame?"
"He wants to be the new owner of the nation, but not like a king or a viscount. He wants to make sure that his ideology is spread throughout the land. His culture is war. He thinks no one can improve in a life free of struggles. Peace leads to stagnation, so he will make sure that stagnation does not exist. He often forces his own men to fight, be it siblings, parents, or lovers. He doesn't care about what the ones under his command think or act upon, so long as they have the strength to impose them."

A classical tyrant through and through.
"Do you know what the opposite of war is?" Bernard asks.
"Peace?"
"Culture, young man. Culture cannot exist when warfare is eternal, no one has time to tell stories, create lasting memories, or to relish in your creations. War is all you'll think of in past, present and future. You live to fight, and you fight to live. Only the most miserable man on earth would wish this life to be applicable on all of us."

Live to fight, fight to live. You remember Guts had a similar ideology, and he didn't live the best life with it...

"I was happily working as an artist, while my wife Candy loved to sing. Cindy was already born by then and liked to perform around villages with her stage name Zhafira. It wasn't an easy life, but we were happy! It wasn't until my wife got pregnant with Benny that we had to make an emergency stop here because she was in labor. He never warned us about a deadline, and because we couldn't move from Candy being bedridden, we got thrown into the gutter. Is this a fair life to him? He's been ignoring us for the longest time. Where was that glory of his when he ordered to kill my wife, when the plague nearly erradicated us, when they beat up my children and chopped my dear Cindy's hand off while she spirals into insanity? Do we not deserve to live in peace just because we choose not to fight?"

File: dad4s1u-404ecaff-946d-42f(...).jpg (93 KB, 1024x536)

93 KB JPG

>>5171672
>Fights with his bare hands
>Is insanely strong
>Only cares about cultivating the strong
>Hates the weak
>Is using war as a method to spread his ideoligy.
>Sees using the weak as a means to an end as moral.
>Doesn't really care about the ideology of others so long as they're strong.
SENATOR ARMSTRONG

File: 1644077720262.jpg (793 KB, 1920x1383)

793 KB JPG

>>5171672
Benny was sniffing and sobbing as quietly as he could, being silent even in his suffering. Truly there was not a single violent thought on them, despite all that they saw in the coliseum. They were never meant to fight, yet still vehemently defended their right to live when no one was fighting in their stead. They just wanted to create art.

The father comes over to his son and rubs his head with a few pats, hoping it would calm him down. Benny blamed himself for his mother dying, and despite wanting to free his family from his condition, all he knew was how to play music to an empty stadium.

"I do not know if you can defeat him, but if you have any fighting experience and want to get out of here. You will have to fight someone in there eventually. Come to the fireplace, I have a few sets for you to choose from."

A thin wall is the only thing separating the dining table to the anvil and the pile of newly forged swords, spears, axes and maces. The smell of sweat and burnt iron instantly clogged your nose with a few steps inside, but the importance of choosing your armor is urgent enough for you to ignore the stench.

After rustling through some papers under his bed, Bernard spreads several sketches of all the different armor sets and weapons he's forged over the years, saving a spare image in case anyone asked for something similar.

"I can do any of these in my spare time. No idea on when I'll finish it. Will depend on the workload they'll give me throughout the day. I would ask for a price, but you clearly have nothing to give me for now. Think of it as a thank you for spending time with my daughter. Poor girl can't get along with anybody these days, not even her own brother."

Albeit late, and without having the title of a knight, you finally manage to find a good enough blacksmith to forge something to your liking. There are many options to choose from, and even if you fight in the coliseum with a generic armor set tomorrow, it wouldn't hurt to indulge in your past self's wishes to protect the innocent as a knight.

>Choose whatever armor set you wish to wear for the foreseeable future, along with what types of spear or blade would be best to accompany you in your fights against the undead and the corrupt apostles. Alternatively, you can vote for a number in the collage and narrow the options through voting.

>>5171714
>Number 5
My pick of the lot.

>>5171714
>5
but replace the santana with tepes, need to go incognito for now or else the kingdom will come down on us

>>5171714
I will put the ones I prefer in order
>5 > 16 > 3 > 11 > 1

>>5171714
in order
>5
>7
>9
>12

>>5171714
>5
>16
>9
>12
>13

>>5171714
darn. late to the party.
>3
Lets not stress out the poor smith.
I got a stupid idea.
This time we use peasant tools to kill Barnham.
>Make a weaponized pitchfork
>We impaling Barnham on a farming implement.

>>5171736
And for the weapon, some kind of bladed spear would be good, to make use of our weapon specializations.
Probably something like a glaive, guan dao or naginata, but just having a lance and a sword as a side arm works too.

>>5171714
12 is the best, all the popular options are absurdly flashy in my opinion

It seems we found our hamlet to begun operations.
Also can we help the blacksmith and the farmer (who might be already raped and left for dead) do stuff?
Our heritage as part plant may help with the crop situation and we can help with the forge by pumping bellows and feeding coals and iron.
So Benny is possibly bullied by other malnourished kids for being too pacifistic in their war games?
Short term plans is get some food for them. We may need nourishment ourselves to speed up healing.

>>5171767
Actually, that spear on the drawing 5 might actually be good enough, it looks like it could both impale and cut.

>>5171772
Basically a long bladed spear of sword staff.

But it has to be said

>not just using a zweihander as if it were a spear
Weak

>>5171714
Deleted my previous vote to make something a little more detailed than just numbers.
In terms of horse-mounted combat, 12 is going to be the best armor. Especially for anything resembling jousting. I think for a mundane smith, 12 would be easiest to produce too.
The spear on 12 is also ideal, except that I would intentionally add a crossbar like is featured in 5 to the part JUST before the metal makes way for wood. This gives our spear a bit of a vicious quality: We can shove it in all the way to the crossbar, push someone around with it, and then RIP and MANGLE the flesh when we pull it out thanks to the hooked back ends of it. This also doubles as an aspostle-specialized weapon: It'll catch on their flesh, let us stay on them instead of being thrown away so easily like our father threw us around. If we can get an apostle in the back with this, where they can't reach us easily? It's game over for them.
The hook and crossbar combination also excels at helping deal with enemy attacks.

That being said, for the crossbar, I think it should quite literally be like a cross rather than having simply two ends sticking out. Four points of resistance to prevent the spear from digging in too deep, and it provides some nice imagery (and defense against attacks that we can't shift a regular crossbar into the way of quickly enough...it'll stop them from gliding down the un-crossguarded portion of the spear).

Really the spear is what I'm most autistic about.

Poor starving jaded enslaved widowed blacksmith and his mentally broken daughter and his starved son with trust issue and stunted development.

>>5171790
The only problem I have with that is getting your weapon stuck is typically a very, very bad thing. The exceptions being secondary weapons purpose built for it, like pilum. If you get your primary weapon stuck then you're basically disarming yourself.

If it's hard for the enemy to dislodge it, it'll be hard for you to as well.

>>5171790
If you are going to use efficiency for the armor, than you need to pick either 3 or 16, 12 is as impratical as the other ones, it just has verissimilitude instead of realism.
As for crossguard, the weapon getting stuck means we can't use. It's there to protect your hand like in a sword, or stip the enemy to skering itself further and attacking you, like a boar spear.
For a quick mounted combat, you want something that can enter and leave, there is a reason that cavalry swors fased to sabers from arming sword once knights weren't expected to fight on foot as well as mounted.

>>5171714
>12
5 should be the armor we wear later.

File: jousting-armor-2-1-scaled.jpg (234 KB, 1595x2560)

234 KB JPG

>>5171812
Vlad is strong enough to wrench it free if he needs to, so don't worry about it getting stuck being a detriment. And if needs must we can burn the flesh away from the spear with Od. You can't think of Vlad like a normal wielder.
I don't know what you mean with 12 being impractical, it's got designs heavily taken from actual horsemounted armor.

>>5171824
If you look, that armor you just posted is closer to 3 than 12. It takes the aspects of real armor and exagerates it, kind of like paldroncore, just in a different direction.
And if Vlad can take the spear with his above average strength, than a apostle withbtheir inhuman also can, therefore making the whole point moot.

>>5171829
It's not moot, because them doing that would still cause a lot of damage.
And it's to prevent being SHAKEN off if he wants to stay on them. Anyone with a strong enough pain tolerance and apostle tier strength could probably wrench it out with a grip on it. Trying to SHAKE things off you that are hooked to your flesh is much harder no matter how strong you are.

File: wku1nlriczr51.jpg (11 KB, 121x176)

11 KB JPG

>>5171771
Yeah, once Vlad goes to bed he should be able to see the farmer a little after the weapon update.

>>5171728
>>5171729
>>5171736
>>5171746
>>5171756
>>5171765
>>5171814
I'll extend the voting period so we can narrow down the armor options. This is a major decision so it's best to take some time to consider, even if it takes a little bit of time it's good to get a discussion going on things you're interested in. Being on autopilot mode for a quest ain't that fun either.

>Armor set 5
>Armor set 12
>Armor set 16

>>5171834
>Trying to SHAKE things off you that are hooked to your flesh is much harder no matter how strong you are.
Hey man I've been bull riding before. Bull don't care that you know exactly how to hold on to not get thrown, that fucker'll pitch you right off his back anyway. Having something to hold on to doesn't mean you will be able to.

>>5171837
Keeping my vote for
>Armor set 12
>>5171840
But it will mean you have a better chance of doing so than having nothing to hold on to at all. That's just a fallacy, brah.

>>5171714
5 and 12, even 9.
But i would say 5 as my favourite.

For sword, bastard sword is something in the middle and it works out. Is our secondary weapon after all.
For the spear i was thinking something with two heads, the main one and a small one at the end. So we can cut and pierce on both ends if needed. In regard to the spearhead themselves, perhaps they could have some small teeths for cut further and making each wound on our foes, painful. Otherwise classic look.

>>5171834
And what would Vlad do while the spear is lodged into the monster? If you want to just grab onto a monster while hacking it with a side arm, it's better to use a tool instead of over engeneering our main weapon and making it worse at performing other tasks.
Because if an oponent is just shaking off, it means it's either trying to do the easy way out and is going to pull next, it's a animal, or it's too big and can't reach.
>>5171837
>5
Does this mean we are using the armor? Because some people are saying not yet, but if you explain if we are locked into it, the ideas might change.

>>5171843
>But it will mean you have a better chance of doing so than having nothing to hold on to at all
Honestly it's pretty much all hip work and changing your center of gravity. Holding on is a last resort to stop you from going under really.

>>5171848
Dude, it's just an option in a fight. The main utility of it is going to be dealing massive rending damage from pulling it back out. Besides, hooking into shit is the primary use of many big-game spears, like the humble harpoon used to hunt actual whales.

>>5171837
>>Armor set 12
I think we oughta save the more ornate stuff for down the road. Don't want to stand out too much just yet.

>>5171837
In fact, I think I'm gonna change my mind to
>12
because its probably the easiest to make for this poor sleep deprived man, we can get a much better blacksmith to make our finalized design later.

>>5171843
Why do you want to hold onto it so much? This isn't shadow of the colossus where you climb a giant enemy crab and stab it's weak point for massive damage with your sword, this is our main weapon.
>>5171852
It's a situatinal option with arguable results that actively hinders the other ones, like impaling people.
They are used in hunting as projectiles, not as weapons.

Anyway, this is going to go nowhere, and our effectiveness in combat is down to dice rolls not equipment, and this is berserk where over the shit happens all the time, so fuck it.

>>5171861
>This isn't shadow of the colossus where you climb a giant enemy crab and stab it's weak point for massive damage with your sword
I'll be the one who laughs when we encounter a giant crab apostle

>>5171870
The worst part is that plant mom is under da sea, so there is a real possibility of fighting one.

File: FEHP98pWYAY6S2q.jpg (147 KB, 690x1200)

147 KB JPG

>>5171876

>>5171876
>dad was a flesh-topus and mom is being harassed by a humongous Caribbean singing crustacean
Man fuck the ocean.

>>5171848
>Does this mean we are using the armor?
Eventually yeah, just not on the next fight. You'll get to fight naked one last time while Barnham watches your performance. Once the big boy himself comes in, you'll need some reinforced protection.

>>5171889
No, I meant if we are locked in this armor for the quest, since some voters just are voting against 5 because it's "too early"

>>5171837
Sticking to
>Armor set 12

File: 7b1.png (300 KB, 600x568)

300 KB PNG

>>5171897
Oh yeah don't worry this isn't permanent. I'm keeping the options open for upgrades and alike.

Shierke does hand everyone a freebie in Flora's house, it wouldn't be fair for Vlad to get locked into a single look if it's going to get outscaled later on.
Hell, I might even make something up for her to give you lot if the plan is to go there eventually.

>>5171905
Oh nice, in that case
>>5171848
>>5171837
I'm changing to
>16
Si we save 5 for our magic armor.

>>5171905
If we're going to get magic swag from Schirke then
>16

Becch have you gotten past Ornstein and Smough yet?

If you want to keep in character with our boy kill Ornstein last

on a completely different note I fucked my hip doing dumb shit with my brother, so it appears I am yet again bedridden for the week. At least I have this new thread and Metal Gear Barnham to look forward too.

>>5171905
>inb4 she makes Vlad drink urine because his plant heritage makes him crave those Idol Master electrolytes. The thing plants crave.
(a reference to another manga by the same author. Giganto Maxia.)

>>5171837
>Armor set 12

File: yo.jpg (13 KB, 300x168)

13 KB JPG

>>5171924

>>5171837
>>Armor set 16
I like wings
I see this as our tournament armor

set 5 would be our endgame armor

set 12 would be everyday armor

>>5171837
I might be outvoted, but throwing my lot in for
>12
As mundane armor.

I just it's neat.

>>5171958
...I might have miscounted the votes, actually.

>>5171837
>Armor set 12
Nice and simple

Are you taking weapon votes yet? If so I'll throw my vote for a glaive. Love the profile on those.

>>5171837
>12

File: jcLXmfV.gif (1.18 MB, 720x404)

1.18 MB GIF

>>5171843
>>5171855
>>5171853
>>5171903
>>5171939
>>5171958
>>5172014
>>5172056
Looks like we're sticking with number 12 for the time being. I'll get started with the update.
>>5171917
Think the hardest part about the boss fight is killing smough first which is what I'm trying to do. Super smough is not as challenging and I want to get the ornstein set. If anything it went from an alright fight to a hard self imposed challenge. I've stopped it for now because if not I'd keep trying and not write anything.

Hope you recover soon anon!

>>5172231
I'll take two number nines..

File: #12.png (132 KB, 230x430)

132 KB PNG

>>5171714
Staring at all the piles and piles of sketches, it takes a bit to analyse and check all of them individually, but there are a couple that catch your attention more than others, and sooner than later, you find a suitable armor piece that doesn't seem to be very extravagant or too time consuming compared to what he does on a daily basis. Bernard already works as much as he can on something he hates doing, no reason to make it any tougher on him.

"Simple, but effective. Should be able to disguise it as a regular armor for them until it's finished. I'll give you a heads up on when I can work on it." Bernard isolates your pick under his anvil, dragging the paperwork back to his bed.

"I'm home!" Zhafira announces, bringing two small radishes on her working hand. "The farmer said some parts of the soil managed to hold the plants down, so she wants to keep experimenting and seeing what seeds can grow there from up close. She even gave us all the plants she got!"

She takes a nibble out of one of the vegetables, making sure not to each too much to save some for the guests and family, but still... two radishes is all they can show off for their effort? At this point they will starve before the soil gets better. You think Gunpowder could serve as a good manure source?

"Well, at least the guest room is free for now. It's nothing fancy, but it's cozy enough for you to get some shuteye." Zhafira shows you a woodframe with a blanket and a ragged pillow like it's a king sized bed with two massagers laying there with you. Can't blame her for wanting to be optimistic, but the pride is still uncanny.

You do manage to sleep soundly for a few hours, but before the sunlight could reach your eyes from the hole on the wall, you are woken up after hearing some rustling under your bed frame, with a loud *Thunk* of someone hitting his head when trying to hide.

It's Benny, he heard something outside, and appears to be too scared to back to his room after opening the door.
His fear is genuine, but given how bad he is at speaking, you wonder if he can respond clearly to your inquires.

>What's wrong, Benny?
>Did you have a nightmare?
>Is there someone outside?
>Attempt telepathy.
>Read his mind.
>See what's outside.

>>5172304
>What's wrong, Benny?
>See what's outside.

>>5172231
Cheers mate, you'll smash through them soon I'm sure

>>5172304
>What's wrong, Benny?
>See what's outside.

I am guarded against trying anything psychic, seeing that Zhafira's not exactly on the sane side of things and we're in the post-eclipse world.

>>5172304
>See what's outside.

>>5172304
>>What's wrong, Benny?
>Is there someone outside?

File: 4d96ba1564ebfc3cccc84feec(...).jpg (296 KB, 1920x1080)

296 KB JPG

>>5172313
>>5172319
>>5172325
>>5172340
"What's wrong, Benny?" You tilt your head to reach the boy hiding under your bed.
"Th-Th-Th-Guar- Guards!" Didn't take so long to understand him, but the sound of a punch gave away what they were doing before Benny could formulate another sentence.

"Hahaha! That tickles!" Zhafira responds as the men outside take their turns in punching her stomach. Taking a closer look through the hole, you can see a large man testing his armor with an iron morning star in hands, talking down to Bernard as they negotiate their terms.

"I can't make double the amount in this short deadline!"
"Come on, Bernard! After so many years of work, this should be your bread and butter right now. You don't want to see your precious daughter getting the same treatment your wife did, right?"

"You should take a look for yourself, Gorrister! We've been hitting her with the hardest punches, and all this bitch can do to defend herself is laugh!"
"Would you rather see me crying? I won't give you what you want, so I will laugh it off. Hahaha! -OOF!" Even if she can't process negative emotions so well, you can see the damage around her body. Her mad escapism coming off as mockery to her attackers.

So this is the guy that comes to check on Barnham's supplies, huh? You might not have a kill list written down, but he sure makes an effort to be a name on it...

"That's the horse that was stolen yesterday... Which one of you tried to infiltrate the coliseum?"

"Not telling! No amount of bribing would convince us to help you out!" Zhafira says as she cleans the stream of blood coming from her swollen lips.
"Really? If you won't accept bribes, how about betting on which one of us can make that pretty smile of yours turn into a frown, sweet cheeks?" One of the goons chokes her by the throat, lowering her body down to his knees while his partners laugh in anticipation.

>Stop this madness! I am the one you are looking for.
>Keep your hands on Zhafira and I'll show you who has the bigger stick.
>Bernard won't work for you anymore. If you want more weapons, you'll have them over my dead body.
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.
>Write-in.

>>5172405
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.

As a gentleman we can't allow a lady to be treated
like this. We also can't allow them to report back to Barnham.

>>5172405
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.
its in our name after all

>>5172405
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.
Might equals right doesn't look so good when you are the one on the other end, faggots.

>>5172405
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.

>>5172405
>Look for your spear and impale them on sight.
They should have been stronger if they didn't want to get infiltrated and killed.

File: db9.jpg (63 KB, 600x896)

63 KB JPG

>>5172415
>>5172420
>>5172423
>>5172429
>>5172431
The element of surprise and taking them on while they're undoing their pants means an easy target and a low DC, but the main soldier Gorrister might be a bit harder to hit.

Give me a roll to go Berserk.

Rolled 60 (1d100)

>>5172459

Rolled 17 (1d100)

>>5172459
rolling to zerk

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>5172459
Rollin

File: aae.png (429 KB, 334x739)

429 KB PNG

Hm, gentlemen may I speak?
>FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY
FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY
>FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY FLAMING PUSSY

>>5172468
Flaming Pussy is unfortunaly taken and Vlad knows that NTR is a tag of Evil.

File: nods respectfully.gif (1.9 MB, 235x240)

1.9 MB GIF

>>5172468

>>5172464
This will be a fine testing of our spear. Too bad they don't let us rest properly.
At least we can spare more suffering to our new puppeteer friend and her family.

And if nothing else perhaps we can look inside the minds of some of this soldiers, for see the specifics of the lair of the would be warlord. And I suppose they might have something else, useful on them. Like keys or money.
We are already getting all the equipment we want (metal armor, spear, sword and shield) so is fine, I would suggest to just take a free knife from one of them.

>>5172468
based
>>5172473
cringe

>>5172468
You have spoken. And your statement has been acknowledged. You're all clear for launch Muff-Rider.

File: Morgenstern.jpg (58 KB, 575x550)

58 KB JPG

>>5172461
>>5172462
>>5172464
You might have had your fun with women back in the day, but raping is a line that you never even thought of crossing, and you have no intention to let these apes force themselves into Zhafira!

Grabbing hold of your spear next to the doorhole, you slide out the window with a leap and charge them while their backs are turned. Striking them behind the back as they drop their pants, you start shoving each of them inside your lance and piling their bodies to see how many of them can fit in your shaft.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five of them are connected by an assortment of holes in ther mid section as they scream in confusion. All of them thought they were on the peak of their aptitude, about to be compensated from their hard work by having their way with one of their slaves, only to be the ones being skewered.

Thrusting your spear up into the air, you see them scream in panic as they crash onto each other from the pulls and pushes in your large weapon, all of them begging for it to stop and to recieve the sweet release of death, but they don't deserve a fast death, you're not done having fun.

Back to holding your weapon with two hands, you shift the weight of the pole with caution not to snap it in half before dropping them on the ground and do the same with their heads with a bit more of gore mixed in, as some of their skulls cracked completely and weren't as easy to pass through with that amount of force put into them.

"There you go, fellas. Plenty of holes for you horndogs to play with." You stand on top of them and stare down at Gorrister. You mean a band of strong humans can't hold a candle to a trained paladin who hasn't even started to use their magic and hasn't even had a good breakfast to boot? Get out of here, amateurs...

"My hero!" Zhafira thanks you for the help, though you wonder if she even knows what sex is.
"So you're the one who tried to invade the coliseum last night without fighting us. I knew none of the weaklings here could have pulled out such a spectacle. Good thing Barnham and I weren't there, otherwise I would have caved your head in!" Gorrister strikes his metal weapon as you intercept his attack with his pole. A parry was to be expected, if it werent for the chain curling the spiked ball between your hands, you would manage to back away from him.

As you try to jump to raise your distance, Gorrister pulls you back and bashes your forehead with a headbutt, leaving it bleeding as the metal ornaments cut your skin open. Alas, you still haven't let go of your lance, and with precognition being your best friend, you predict that he will try to constrict you further to better hit you with the morning star.

>>5172554
Jesus can you imagine giving some dude's bare face a helmeted headbutt and the guy doesn't get woozy? We really are hard headed.

>>5172560
we've, dare I say, gone berserk™

File: C-PPt_tVYAEN2G1.jpg (74 KB, 900x1200)

74 KB JPG

>>5172554
He might have stopped your spear from moving three dimensionally, but you can still spin it around as long as the chains allow them. Swiping him with a roll of the blade on his chin, you give him a good swat on the eyes, a crunching sound and the moderate bleeding from his head implying that you definitely broke a bone, or crushed his eye.

Your spear is still hard knotted onto his chains, and with your vision starting to get wobbly from the previous strike, you involuntarily let go of the spear as he desperately tries to undo the knots.

You stand unarmed against the hard armoured knight, prolonging this scuffle would not be smart, but thankfully he seems to be more focused on fixing his chains than with his pride.

"You will pay for this, asshole! No one strikes Gorrister in the face and lives to tell the tale!" He attempts to throw your spear back in your face, but you manage to get out of the way by tumbling to the side where Bernard was hunching over. The blood from your forehead marks your digits as you try to regain composure. Fast movements and hits to the head don't go well together...

>If you have a problem with me, we can settle it in the ring.
>Go on, just try to lay a finger on that girl. I'll let you know when your time is over.
>Consider me the first one, then.
>Grab your weapon back and continue the fight.
>Write-in.

>>5172554
So we are cutting off this fucker hands before we decide his fate right? Either execuion or sending a message back, they have to pay for what they did and were planning to do to Zhapira.

>>5172585
>Consider me the first one, then.
>If you have a problem with me, we can settle it in the ring.

>>5172585
>Grab your weapon back and continue the fight.

If he retreats at least Vlad has to wound or main him so can't talk shit to his boss

>>5172585
>It's not so good when you are on the other side isn't it?
>How about you go back to Barnham and tell him there is a new challegner for the arena? If he doesn't cut off your hands for being so weak that you lost to an unarmored man.

>>5172585
>If you have a problem with me, we can settle it in the ring.

>>5172585
>Consider me the first one, then
>Grab your weapon back and continue the fight

>>5172592
Oh, and
>Grab your weapon and go on the defensive, just in case he tries something

>>5172592
>>5172598
+1

File: file.jpg (70 KB, 1200x1200)

70 KB JPG

>>5172589
>>5172590
>>5172592
>>5172594
>>5172596
>>5172598
"This 'strong beats whe weak' philosophy doesn't feel so good when you get pushed to the other side, does it?" You grab your weapon back, but stand your ground defensively, not being sure if you can keep the fight going with his full atention despite your smug remarks. "How about you go back to Barnham and tell him there is a new challegner for the arena? If he doesn't cut off your hands for being so weak that you lost to an unarmored man."

"Why you little... You will pay for this!" His muscles starts spazzing as you are able to see the large amount of dark energy emanating inside of him with your naked eyes. He seems to be about to transform as his girth and size change with each passing second. Depending on how big he gets, he could easily trample the innocents...

Of all the things that could stop his upcoming apostle form, you never expected it for the clank of a flying hoe hitting his armor, making him look behind him confused as the elderly farmer finally shows up.

"You should think twice before fighting my son outside the ring, Gorrister. If there is one man that can defeat Barnham, it's the man that stand before you!"
It's Michelle! Your adoptive mother seems to have a few extra wrinkles on her, but even with her age showing, it didn't stop her from courageously striking an apostle several times her size and power with farming equipment.

"What is that supposed to mean, old wench? Am I supposed to be scared by the likes of you?" Gorrister returns to his human size, touching noses with your mother as his eyes burn with hatred.

"If you're so bothered by your inferiority, why not duel him at noon? You'll have a chance to tear off his head and chuck it to the audience to prove that you really are a dominant gladiator! Not that you would need to, afterall, what does an old farmer such as myself would know?"

Michelle does not tremble or flinch as Gorrister's fist closes right in front of her. She has withstained through famine, torture, an attack at her estate and famine once more. There is nothing the follower of the God Hand could do to even incite fear in her heart.

"The gates will open at noon. Be ready, or I will go here myself and drag your head to Barnham!" Gorrister takes the bait and officially invites you for today's fight, leaving his comrade's corpses around without second thought.

You did not expect to meet your mother so suddenly, and even less for her to punch up to an apostle! The courage might not run in the blood, but it was passed down to you by learning.

"What other Vlad would come over to visit dear old me, if it weren't for my beloved son?" Michelle opens her arms as you walk into a soft embrace. It's been so long that you were starting to forget how her voice was like...

>What led you here, Mother?
>How are the crops doing?
>Why did you do something so dangerous?
>Why didn't you show up earlier if you knew I was here?

>>5172685
>Hug mom
>So how did you end up becoming a farmer mother? I know that Gunpowder saved you from the attack on our state.

>>5172685
>What led you here, Mother?
Does Vlad know IC that his father is dead? If not we should probably ask about him

>>5172685
>hug mom
>Why did you do something so dangerous?
We haven't seen her in years and she's been living in a demonic killocracry, we should start off with some concern.

>>5172685
>What led you here, Mother?

We're adding Michelle as a permanent member of the adventuring party, after this right? All we need to do is get her a crossbow, and she should be able to pull her own weight.

>>5172685
>write in
"I'm sorry I couldn't return home"

>>5172685
>Hug mom
>Why did you do something so dangerous?

>>5172685
>Hug mom
>What led you here, Mother?

>>5172685
>Hug mom
>What led you here, Mother?
>So how did you end up becoming a farmer mother? I know that Gunpowder saved you from the attack on our state.

>>5172695
>support

>>5172898
+1

>>5172695
This.

>>5172685
>Hug mom
>So how did you end up becoming a farmer mother? I know that Gunpowder saved you from the attack on our state.
>Why did you do something so dangerous?

>>5172695
>>5172711
>>5172734
>>5172739
>>5172743
>>5172755
>>5172863
>>5172898
After returning her hug, you are quick to ask how did she get here.

"So how did you end up becoming a farmer mother? I know that Gunpowder saved you from the attack on our estate."
"So you already know what happened there... I did not get to say goodbye to Gallahad or your father, but given the condition of our home... I'm afraid I don't have to see their corpses to confirm their deaths..."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop them..." You lament.
"Even if you were there. I'm not sure if the situation would have been better of worse." Michelle does not know about your new powers still, making her think you would have died along with Jacopo.
"Don't be sad, Mimi! Vlad will make up for it by proving his strength in a duel." Zhafira beckons to the dead pile of bodies you just made, touching them with her fingers to check on where the blood is coming from.

"Anyway, why did you do something so dangerous?" You try to ignore the clown's psycopathic tendencies.

"I have been living here for some time, actually. Being a merchant, I've learned a lot about farming from your grandparents, so even though I was safe outside of the coliseum, there were a lot of rumors about the people struggling to eat on a nearby city, I thought I could use my knowledge to grow some crops for those who needed food. So far I haven't made much progress, but it's only been a year..." She doesn't exhale much confidence in her last sentence, but between all the problems Ilos has and how she didn't have anything else to look forward to, it would be an uphill battle regardless.

Seems like she came here by her own volition, you really did get your altruism from her...

"What about you, my son? Were the rumors about you cleansing the swamp of the occults true? Have you managed to prove your innocence and clean your name?"

>I haven't had the chance to return to the capital.
>Screw the king, I could care less of what he thinks of me.
>I can't clean my name when I know how to use magic.
>I've met my real parents, it took a while to clean their mess.
>I've met a good friend in the swamp, but I'm afraid I've let her down.
>Write-in.

>>5173096
>>I've met a good friend in the swamp, but I'm afraid I've let her down.
>I can't clean my name when I know how to use magic.

>>5173096
>Write-in.
>"I did cleansed the swamp,turns out the occults started it by accident and a village in there is actually my birth place. I'm one of the only survivors of that village. Had help from a surviving inhabitant,she died soon after the swamp was cleansed. And I don't think proving my innocence and cleaning my name is gonna do much eversinced I heard news from travellers and refugees that our King has gone mad, and pestilence and starvation plague the land into barbarism. I somehow made my way here on a hunch and found Gunpowder. I'm so glad to see you are safe. You are the only person closest to a family I have now."

>>5173096
>I've met my real parents, it took a while to clean their mess.
>The King has gone insane, the people does not respect him and instead that wretch Griffith, who has a grudge against me. I don't need to prove my inoccence to anyone, but to right the wrongs of the land.

>>5173112
And I forgot
>I've met a good friend in the swamp, but I'm afraid I've let her down.

>>5173096
>>I've met my real parents, it took a while to clean their mess.
>>I've met a good friend in the swamp, but I'm afraid I've let her down.
>The King has gone insane, the people does not respect him and instead that wretch Griffith, who has a grudge against me. I don't need to prove my inoccence to anyone, but to right the wrongs of the land.

Perhaps we should talk more in private later. I like Zhafira, but this is more an argument between family. Maybe when we get a look at the crops.
Pat Zhapira head, good girl even if she should avoid someone dangerous next time. Also throw away those corpses.

>>5173096
>>I haven't had the chance to return to the capital.
>I can't clean my name when I know how to use magic.
>I've met a good friend in the swamp, but I'm afraid I've let her down.

>>5173119
why not just bury those bodies under the soil to grow crops on?

>>5173127
Sure. It just takes a while

File: Kz8ry89GDZ1z_p5ykURysv6v8(...).jpg (198 KB, 1249x684)

198 KB JPG

>>5173099
>>5173104
>>5173112
>>5173114
>>5173119
>>5173124
"Don't drink that, Zhafira!" Bernard shoves his daughter back home after seeing her try to taste the blood of her rapists.

Taking a walk to see how the crops are doing down the riverside, you explain what has occurred in the past 3 years on your end.

"I did cleanse the swamp, but that came with finding out the truth about my real parents. I was actually born in the silver eyed clan, and the remaining inhabitant there helped me in taking care of the plague. In contrary to the rumors, she turned out to be a good friend of mine, but she died soon after I finished my mission. As for now, I don't really care about proving my innocence since I am a magic user, but that doesn't mean I am an evil man."

"So it's true then... Ever since you were young, I was in denial that you had some connection with the occult, but finding you in my home on the day of the expedition... That could have been no coincidence." Her tone seems very judging, given her religious background, she would probably be angry at you for being a magician-

"Still, I hope you can forgive me for still thinking of you as my son, with our without knowing about your background, you are Vlad Santana, the one I raised despite not being able to bear children. Not that you need my approval anymore, you are free. It's sad to see you part, but I have come to terms that you have bigger goals than just fulfilling my expectations." Her support is clear and appreciated, she never stopped loving you.

"Besides, If god was really here to watch over us, would he really let all of these people suffer and lose their lives for no good reason? Having faith feels like a joke in poor taste these days..."
It feels very off putting to hear your mom say these things, but she has gone through a lot, so seeing her lose hope or question the existence of a higher power that does no good raises the question:

Do you agree in her reasoning, knowing more about the occult than she ever could?

>There is a higher power, but they are working against us.
>I don't think a benevolent god exists.
>I've never seen proof, but it could still be possible.
>If you don't have an answer to that, I doubt I could give you one.
>Write-in.

>>5173139
>Whether or not God exists or cares for us doesn't matter. We have to be the ones who bring good into the world, with or without the divine. It's up to us to make Heaven on Earth, rather than invite Hell to it."

>>5173139
>write in
"the grace of god is in our actions, whether he is real or not, the responsibility of seeing justice done falls to us here in the land of the living."

>>5173139
Man. Zhafira has gone slightly Joker-esque.
"Yeah! Don't drink that,it turns you into them!"
>Write-in.
"Beats me,ma. From what the last inhabitant told me that something about Godfingers-palms? are the bad things somehow working with an evil force to perpetuate suffering. And they have followers who are the genuine human sacrificing baby eating evil people you call cultists. They are called....Apostrophes? ,something like that and that horrid man is likely one of them. But the chance there is a force for good helping and looking out for people is not zero.Just that perhaps it is just the darkest before dawn. You read the Holy See book right? It ends at something about a black dog killing an evil white bird. i suppose that is an open end part if we live to see it. Also my plans are not that big,this place is in dire need of hope and new management."

>>5173139
>There are evil beings, who mascarade as angels and are responsable for our suffering, and they treat Griffith as their prophet. But I also have met good beings of the astral plane. Who is to say that God and his Angels aren't real, holding back this evil?
>And even if he isn't, faith and the teachings of yhe church are a good things, when not twisted by corrupt men. In the end, it's up to us humans to uphold the good on the world.

>>5173170
Also this
>You are always going to be my mother, and I your son, the same way as Jacobo was my father and Galahad my mentor. The Silver Eye clan, Merlina and Sivir were my family, but so are you.

>>5173139
>>I've never seen proof, but it could still be possible

>>5173139
>If you don't have an answer to that, I doubt I could give you one.

File: River.png (194 KB, 400x371)

194 KB PNG

>>5173147
>>5173163
>>5173168
"Does it really matter if God exists or not? We are still responsible to bring good into the world, with or without divine entities. The living also need to be just, regardless of their role model." Not wanting to go through the whole ordeal of explaining what a GodHand, much less to give a lecture on Behelits, Apostles and enemies, you opt to play as devil's advocate as an agnostic. You don't know if god exists either, but you do know that some of those demons can mascarade as good entities, manipulating several groups of the physical realm.

"The holy scriptures aren't inherently evil. It's all about how we interpret it, much like all life's lessons. I don't think going to the swamp significantly changed who I am. I still see myself as your son, Jacopo is still my father, much like Sivir, Hedwyn and Merlina are also part of my extended family. A bit crowded, but it compensates for me being an only child, I figure."

Relating your family life to the nature of the Holy Scripture seems to have given her some room for thought, and made her smile to boot. Life is still full of mysteries, but it's best to focus on the puzzles you can solve than lose sleep on all encompassing life decisions with no proper context.

You finally arive at the small lot next to the river. A few people there are checking the seeds, planting what they can, and removing the unborn roots from the soil.
"If that is the case, maybe you would have been destined to be a good man, regardless of whoever decided to raise you. Like these plants, all we can do is choose where to place them. Wether they will grow and bear fruit depends on several outside factors beyond our control. It's an interesting balance of having plenty of options to chose, but also being mistaken by our illusion of choice, seeing as even if we want to have a full harvest, we don't have the proper resources to do so."

The people there seem to be dumping all sorts of mixtures on the soil, and even with Michelle's guidance, they are lucky to get a fruit salad done on the next week. That doesn't stop them from trying, much like a group of ants leading food back to their hill, they all work in unison towards a common objective. A practice engrained even in other animals.

>I should get ready for the fight.
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?