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In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least, it is true that man has no control, even over his own will.

Alas, they are certainly welcome to try and struggle to deviate from the laws of causality. Such is the case for a human mortal by the name of Vlad Santana. A young male who would find himself at the crux of a story that would eclipse his mere mortal soul.

Character Profile and abilities
https://pastebin.com/QZJkmpvG
Previous Thread:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2022/5097216/
Thread Archives:
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Vlad%20Santana

Rules:
Rolls will usually be a best of 3 1d100 from each player, DCs are context sensitive but transparent when prompted to roll.
Only 1 and 100 count as crits and good crits override bad ones.
Voting period closes after 1 hour from the first reply or when enough players unanimously choose the same options.
You can always ask for additional context for your choices and voting can be extended should anyone make an argument that could change previous votes.
Write-ins are always welcomed so long as they dont break character. Have fun and do your best.
>>
>>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?
>>
>>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.
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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.
>>
>>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
>>
>>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.
>>
>>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
>>
>>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.
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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."
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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?"
>>
>>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
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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..
>>
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>>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?
>>
>>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.
>>
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>>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
>>
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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.
>>
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>>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.
>>
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>>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™
>>
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>>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
>>
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>>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
>>
>>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.
>>
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>>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?
>>
>>5173186
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
>>
>>5173186
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
>>
>>5173186
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
>I'm part plant by the way
>>
>>5173186
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
Lets at least take a look at the spirits around, there could be something fucking with it all.
>>
>>5173186
>>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
>>
>>5173186
>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
Plant heritage powers go! Irish Tuber Eruption!
>>
>>5173186
>>Is there anything I could do to help your crops?
>>
Cum in the soil

Exorcise all the evil spirits with our semen
>>
>>5173189
>>5173192
>>5173193
>>5173197
>>5173202
>>5173209
>>5173224
"Is there anything I could do to help your crops?" You wonder if there is something off with the soil, and wether or not there's a way to save the harvest.

"I think you should be getting yourself ready for the upcoming fight, Vlad. Leave the farming to the professionals." Michelle stays confident in her skills, but it wouldn't hurt to check the soil.

Focusing on feeling the life force around the ground floor, you find there is very little Od underground, nothing that could provide nutrients for them to absorb. You even give a look around for better places to plant seeds, but their best bet really is getting some of it from the river, the water being the only constant source of life.

"I think Gunpowder could help me out, oddly enough. Maybe he could eat some of the wasteful crops from here, he could produce some good fertilizer for it too."
Right, he hasn't eaten that much ever since you've taken him out of the barn. You doubt Gorrister is a must kill for him, but if he sees a chance to fight, he would likely hate to miss it.

>Leave Gunpowder with Michelle and fight by yourself.
>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.
>>
>>5173248
>Leave Gunpowder with Michelle and fight by yourself.
Even though our horse bro wishes to dine in the halls of vahalha it is too soon
>>
>>5173248
>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.
I'm not quite sure Vlad has completely recovered yet. Might be better not to take chances.
>>
>>5173248
>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.
>>
>>5173248
>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.
Gunpowder wants to fight, and a fight he will have.
>>
>>5173248
>>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.

After all that talking and promising at the barn, to do otherwise with Gunpowder is impossible.
>>
>>5173248
>Leave Gunpowder with Michelle and fight by yourself.
"It seem you need to dig a deep path so the river water can wet the soil more thoroughly. The river looks rich."
>>
>>5173263
I change to take the horse.
>captcha RPG4D
so it wants to be anti-arnour?
>>
>>5173248
Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.

We cannot betray our boi
>>5173263

Take this anon suggestion to make a canal for the river, a little path from up river to irrigate, nothing complex.
>>
>>5173267
yeah. and people say that taking up farming lessons is a waste of time last thread
>IC does not know what is an irrigation canal,what is cropping,does pumpkins grow on trees? , there are planting seasons?
>>
>>5173248
>>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.

Thanks to the affinity we should have some advantage. One day is just not enough for a proper rest, we still need to eat as well or sleep more than a few hours. Hopefully gunpowder will understand he needs to collaborate tommorow.
Thankfully our acrobatics should pay off, a problem remains though. What happens if we kill Gorrister, since we would be inside the arena surrounded ? Likely nothing good is the answer.
>>
>>5173248
>Stick with your horse for now, with Gorrister being an apostle, you might need some assistance.
Dang, I've missed a small bit but that's me caught up now. I think taking Gunpowder would be a good idea, since we already promised to fight with him.
>>
>>5173272
Maybe Barnham will give us Gorrister's stuff.
He maybe an apostle,but his twisted sense of being strong means we get our 2nd pile of mini boss loot.
>inb4 Gorrister and all the other strong gladiators have full larders to keep them swole and full
>>
>>5173296
If we are lucky he might even offer us his rank and position, which raises the question, should be accept? What are the Pros and Cons?
>>
>>5173302
I'm pretty sure Shedbacon would order us to hurt someone we like.
>>
>>5173302
Pros : Our words and actions have more weight to them,we get access to food and drink,also respect from, ironically, Apostle Barnham
Cons : We have to fight him on same day or next week and he may force us to eat what we kill and/or a baby as rite of passage.
>>
>>5173302
>Pros
A quick avenue to "power"
>Cons
Literally everyone we know will hate us.

The ideal plan is to kill Barnham and his Apostle minions and take over the Colosseum, using it as a spring-board to create a mercenary company in preparation for Vritannis.
>>
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>>5173252
>>5173253
>>5173258
>>5173261
>>5173267
"Sorry, maybe later. You know how Gunpowder is always itching for action. You are on the right track by staying close to the river though. Try digging a canal to wet the soil more properly." You give her advice on what to do with her farming grounds.

"I didn't know you knew how to plant! We're soon entering rice season, so I was thinking of preparing a paddy field to guarantee a stable harvest. The only problem with that is that we don't know if Barnham will bring us any rice, so it's hard to plan around irregular rations."

"It's worth a try, no? Even when you're free from the coliseum, this place might be useful for something."
"Barnham has been expanding his stadium with each passing year. There are a lot less people living here than previously, he probably plans on housing more strong soldiers there until he's ready to fight the king's army."
"If it's up to me, I wont let him place a single stone over this side of the river."

"You're boasting a bit too much for someone who didn't sleep for more than a few hours, don't you think? Here, go back to bed. You deserve something to prep you for the fight." Michelle hands you another radish before sending you off, looking for another hoe to plow the mud along the water flowing. If anything, she's the one needing to rest for working day and night shifts.

You return back to to your bed and rest a few more hours until the sun properly rises. When you wake up from your nap, Gunpowder is already up and ready for you outside, making sure you didn't flake on him a second time.

He's clearly a lot more energized than you, which means he's glad to compensate for whatever injuries you've had from before by giving you a slight heal through Od absorption. It's not enough to feel like you're on your 100%, but after being flung into the air, deskinned and squashed by a tentacle monster, it's best to spare him with your overheal, or else you'd probably knock your horse out cold.

You wear a temporary armor set made by Bernard, along with the best weapons the smith could give you.

"Usually I would save the best weapons for the soldiers, but you just took down 5 of my clients, so you might as well stick with their weapons. You're a lance guy, right? Oh, what the hell, take a look at what I got. You'll need something sturdier than a pointy stone to hit an armoured soldier like Gorrister."
Lots of different spear types to choose from, you didn't knew that many existed! What would be most effective against a guy with a morning star?

>A poleaxe.
>A bardiche.
>A halberd.
>A double bladed glaive.
>A pitchfork.
>>
>>5173315
>>A halberd.
We're gonna want the ability to crush his armor should it come to that.
>>
>>5173315
>A double bladed glaive
Basically a partisan
>>
>>5173315
>A halberd.
>>
>>5173315
>A double bladed glaive
As in a blade on both ends of the shaft or...?
>>
>>5173315
>Halberd
Make sure the Halberd has a big fuckoff spike on the back, so we can more easily pierce Barnham's armor. Remember, we're not Guts, we can't just smash through everyone's armor like he does.
>>
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>>5173327
Yeah, something like this.
>>
>>5173332
That's foul. What are we, a vile Kushite?
>>
>>5173315
>"I didn't know you knew how to plant! We're soon entering rice season, so I was thinking of preparing a paddy field to guarantee a stable harvest. The only problem with that is that we don't know if Barnham will bring us any rice, so it's hard to plan around irregular rations."

I'm sensing some odd od weeb energy from this statement eversince the chocolate and coffee thing in a tavern.

>A pitchfork
>A poleaxe
>A bardiche
5 idiots are dead, so it is fair to take extra weapons to fight off the bastard coming for us.
The pitchfork is gonna be special. A plant-man using a farm tool to kill.
Also we can do something with the radish.
>>
>>5173337
>odd weeb energy

Rice is common throughout Asia, so it's likely that some rice seeds had been bought by an enterprising Midlander from Kushan merchants.
>>
>>5173315
>>A double bladed glaive
kill on both sides

>>5173332
Based

>>5173296
>>5173302
I doubt that it would be so easy.
He might even just go :
"Wait a moment he killed one of my better men so easily, and i need to keep my men down to a certain level because i am the strongest. He cannot leave or be stronger than me."

or he might consider us too strong to keep around and go for the kill. Do remember that his men are his reflections of power, beside Vlad would be impossible to have because he can offer aid to people if they treat him well. Something like him having relations with weaker people (see Bernard the smith) can't be considered acceptable. Or him going and doing his things around Midland ? Even less.
>>
>>5173337
I'm good with extra weapons

However, i'm not good with all being polearms. Ask for some handaxe or something for close combat
>>
>>5173315
>A pitchfork.
>>
>>5173348
we can take a sword. We have been trained in using spears and swords after all
>>
>>5173345
So Vlad has to cross and burn that bridge too.
Whelp. It is good that Vlad is set to impale Barnham like the ham he is.
>>
>>5173342
Perhaps or maybe plant other vegetable crops?
Oats and Rye is an option with other wild grains like Crabgrass.
And if we know some Kushan or other barbaric cultures. Horse milk and meat is nutritious.
>>
>>5173356
Going mono-crop is a bad idea, so growing rice alongside a few others would be a good idea. Rye would be a good idea, as well as potatoes and onions.
>>
>>5173358
Does the berserk world have the potato, ender of famines or are we too fucked to have such nice things?
>>
>>5173358
The mono-crop is a considered modern concept.
Medieval folks like our mom learned some seasonal crop rotations like radish and carrots in spring,beans and squash in summer,wheat and pumpkins in autumn, winter barley and rye in winter as cover crops or fodder.
>>
>>5173364
New World crops and animals do show up now and then in Berserk, so it wouldn't make sense for potatoes to be left out.
>>
>>5173348
>he doesn't carry a spear, a backup spear, a holdout shortspear, a pike, and a few javelins for good measure
What you got freakishly long arms or something pal?
>>
>>5173364
I think so,since Guts was cutting up some sort of tuber to cook with the rabbit in the anime.
>>
>>5173369
You can tie them to your back. Like a golf club bag.
>>
>>5173332
Is it time to become Helicopter Man?
>>
Quick idea.
What if we got a length of chain? We could wrap it around an apostle's neck prior to their transformation. If their transformation increases their size, they become at risk of choking themselves out or worse, unless they can break it with their might. Which is a possibility of course, but not all apostles have chain-breaking strength.
>>
>>5173393
I think that the chain would be "abosorbed" into the apostle in the same way their clothes/armor are. I'm pretty sure Locus doesn't need new armor every time he transforms.
>>
>>5173393
While it might be worth a try, it's probably impractical. It's not easy to use whip-like weapons untrained, and if you're able to close the gap to choke them wouldn't it be more effective to just decapitate them?
>>
>>5173396
Smear our sacred energy all across it and it's bound to hurt, if not straight up burn them, but even then it's probably not the most practical choice.

That said Berserk combat doesn't always round about being practical, so if you guys want to give it a try we might as well.
>>
>>5173398
>wouldn't it be more effective to just decapitate them
An excellent point, but not entirely viable against armored apostles or ones with the kind of density that makes wounding them by normal means hard. The idea behind the chain, in these instances, would be to use the apostle's own transformation against them.
Besides that, all great adventurers carry a length of rope and a length of chain. You never know when you need to bar something, restrain something, or do some other weird shit with it.
It's never a primary means of attack, but it's HIGHLY useful when you do need it.
>>
>>5173393
Or we can do nasty shit like how Kentaro Miura did the manga.
The bigger they are,the more likely Vlad can shove the spears up their assholes and peehole.
Like how Guts chopped of the dick of an Apostle.
>>
>>5173393
Or we can do nasty shit like how Kentaro Miura did the manga.
The bigger they are,the more easily Vlad can shove spears up their butthole and their peehole.
Like how guts chopped off an apostle's dick.
>>
sorry . lag .
>>
>>5173404
>>5173407

>Like how Guts chopped of the dick of an Apostle.

What the fuck, really?
>>
>>5173410
https://readberserk.com/chapter/berserk-chapter-064/
>>
>>5173319
>>5173322
>>5173324
>>5173327
>>5173329
>>5173350
The halberd is a nice addition to your asenal. Precision strikes are your specialty, but if your target moves slightly to whatever direction, you can still scratch and cut just like an axe or a sword would. All the benefits of the three weapons are now possible, with an added extended range to boot. It's not too heavy either, so you can still weild it one handed while holding something else.

Even by reinforcing your weapons, there is always the possibility that they might break or recieve damage over time, so it's always nice to have alternatives in case something goes wrong. A spiked, square shield is left on your left shoulder and a short sword is strapped to your waist for good measure. In case Gorrister decides to pull the same trick twice, he won't see a secondary weapon coming his way.

With a pat on the back from Gorrister and an estatic handshake from Zhafira, you depart with Gunpowder to the entrance of the Coliseum, but not before seeing Benny mustering up the courage to form a single word, making sure not to stutter in his delivery.

"Win." Simple, but effective.
"Will do."

Being guided by the armored guards as they show you the path to the arena, you observe the large stadium being filled to the brim with onlookers. You were surprised at how diverse the people were. Men, women, fancy clothed aristocrats, even the dark skinned Kushans appeared every now and then. Seems like they all had strength in common, or Barnham just has a lot of visitors.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We are here today to observe this season's 48th fight in Barnham's coliseum. This time, we are greeted by Gorrister The Great, knowing for squashing several Pishachas with his trademark weapon, the morning star!"
Chanting is heard from all across the seats. What a biased audience...
"This maggot will pay for what he did to my eye!" One of his eyes seems closed, already indicating an exploit.
"Thanks for the heads up, idiot."

"And in this corner! An unknown outsider appears to have angered Gorrister enough to fight him to the death, is he perhaps out of his marbles?"
Showing their inclination once more, the crowd boos and calls you all sorts of names and swearwords, some of which you just learned today, actually.
The sun soon reaches it's highest spot as your cast shadow disappears under Gunpowder It's time to begin the match.

"No matter if it flies or crawls, a bug will always be a bug. Living a pointless life, only to be eaten by a larger, more important animal!"
Gorrister wastes no time in transforming into a larger form, changing his physiognomy into a more proper form, though it takes some time for him to do so.

Should you capitalize on his cooldown period?
>Strike him before he transforms.
>Slash and poke at his body while he stands still.
>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
>Trample him with Gunpowder.
>Face him in his full power.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5173423
>>Slash and poke at his body while he stands still.
Full on charging strike right for his leg. Chop that fucker clean off. If he wants to stand there open like a book that's his fault.
>>
>>5173423
>>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
>>
>>5173423
>The sun soon reaches it's highest spot as your cast shadow disappears under Gunpowder It's time to begin the match.

High Noon. Also the best time for photosynthesis.

>Strike him before he transforms.
Fuck his gay magical girl transformation shit.
Full speed Gunpowder!
>>
>>5173423
>Big words for someone whose power come from sacrifices to others.
>I bet you that you were a seething, lanky bastard before you sold your ass to the God Hand!
>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
>>
>>5173404
>>5173407
I considered doing that to the rapists, but dying with your pants down is already a bit too on the nose. There's always a next time though
>>
>>5173436
This methods is only reserved for apostles.
>>
>>5173423
>>Strike him before he transforms.
>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
>>
>>5173423
>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
>>
>>5173423
>Charge your weapon with Od and aim for his eyes.
He won't SEE this one coming.
>>
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>>5173432
>>5173435
>>5173439
>>5173440
>>5173446
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-et_5qY46rQ
A 1d100 with standard 50 DC. Roll and go for the eyes!
>>
Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>5173454
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5173454
>>
Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>5173454
Let's hope I don't fuck this up.
>>
Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>5173454
>>
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>>5173455
Weakest Spear user
>>
Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>5173454
>>5173455
Nice. Watch this 100 though
>>
>>5173455
WITNESS
>>
>>5173455
>>5173456
>>5173457
Damn yall are really speedrunning through these combat checks
>>
>>5173465
But dear QM how will be known as the impaler if we don't spectacularly impale people?
>>
>>5173465
Didn't watch both sides of our family get merc'd for nothing.
>>
>>5173465
We are hyped, what else is there to say?
>>
>>5173465
This demons and wardogs needs to pay with their life Boss.
Gotta start with someone
>>
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>>5173455
>>
>>5173423
>Showing their inclination once more, the crowd boos and calls you all sorts of names and swearwords, some of which you just learned today, actually.
Huh we have learn some new names to call apostles
>>
>>5173454
>>5173455
"Have care, Gorrister. The tiniest of bugs can carry the foulest of venoms."
>>
>>5173455
Man, this might be the quickest the crowd has ever been shut up in their entire lives.
>>
>>5173476
+1
>>
>>5173478
Can't wait to use the iconic words.
https://youtu.be/L-l6tHeseDY
>>
>>5173476
nice one
>>
>>5173455
mein gott
>>
>>5173455
>>
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>>5173455
>>5173456
>>5173457
What might have been a small window of time for the average man was more than enough for you to close the gap on Gorrister thanks to your trusty pal Gunpowder. Approaching him with deep breaths, you focus on transfering your purifying Od onto your equipment of choice.
"This might pinch."

Leaping over to reach the transforming apostle, you give him a good slash across his eyes with your halberd, managing to poke his bad eye out with the end of your spike.

"AAAAAARGH!" Gorrister roars in anger as his eye falls in your hand, the force of his shout being strong enough to knock you and Gunpowder away from him as the crowd loudly gasps.

"Have care, Gorrister. The tiniest of bugs can carry the foulest of venoms." You say to the apostle as you play around with his detatched eye in your hand.

He has now morphed into a freakish creature, his protubing maw showing teeth growing in all directions, along with his spiked head and flowing flock of hair, he would likely pose a bigget threat if he knew where you were at.

"Show yourself, vermin! Or will you try to hide until you find another weak spot."
"It's called strategizing. Something you probably never had to do, considering most of your opponents were weaker than you." You smugly give him a hint by squashing his eyeball.
"GRRAAAAAH!"

With another roar, he spins and cloaks his body with his hairdo, sending out several teeth in your direction as he bashes the walls he passes by with his extended chains, hoping to find your position.

>Dodge the projectiles and wait for him to get close.
>Rush him once more and deepen the cuts on his face.
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>Tangle the chains with your halberd and fight with your shortsword.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
Stack debuffs.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173498
>>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
Toe stabbing? Real gladiator hours.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
Sever his achilles tendons
>>
>>5173498
>Write-in
>Hamstring him - a cut across the backs of his thighs
>>
>>5173498
>Dodge the projectiles and wait for him to get close.
>Come on, did you ever actually won a fight before tainting yourself?
>>
>>5173498
>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173498
>>Stab at his feet and make him trample.
>>
>>5173510
I like this... But maybe later. Right know we are stacking debuffs, and once he think he figured a patron ir something, we go for this before the final blow
>>
>>5173500
>>5173501
>>5173503
>>5173504
>>5173507
>>5173508
>>5173509
>>5173525
>>5173529
Very risky to attack while he's sending projectiles your way and spin dashing with a spiked ball and chain. Vlad can take a few cavities but let's just hope Gorrister doesn't hit him across the face.
Give me the rolls!
>>
Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>5173540
>>
Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>5173540
lol, lmao
>>
>>5173541
I HAVE ASCENDED

(Also it was 1d100 right? Just checking.)
>>
Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5173540
>>
>>5173541
This fight has been sponsored by the number 97
>>
>>5173541
based
>>
>>5173541
>local impaler bullies big stupid idiot
>>
>>5173541
What Vlad lacks in training he makes up for in winning.
>>
>>5173541
Get impaled son.
>>
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>>5173546
Yeah, 1d100. That being said.
>>5173541
>>5173542
>>5173548
Yikes, Gorrister.
>>
Rolled 23 (1d100)

Rolling to see if our opponenet dies from shame
>>
Ok now let s see if we can cut something that ensure he goes down. We should avoid to show off and concentrate on killing him.

>>5173558
Are we learning something from his movement and combat form Becchi ? Might help down the line with mr Barnham or other apostles/demons
>>
>>5173558
Clearly he's just the jobber to prepare for the main event. Tough luck.
>>
>>5173562
I get the distinct feeling that after seeing Gorrister's disgraceful performance, we might not be the ones to deal the finishing blow.
>>
>>5173562
Vlad usually leaves precog mode on when fighting tough opponents, remember? He's always learning as he fights.
>>
Sad no pitchfork for Gorrister to impale himself on when he falls over.
That will teach him to bully the peasantry.
Also bring back a souvenir for Zhafira,she gonna love it when she gets to add more characters to her morbid puppet shows.
>>
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>>5173558
I wonder if big Mr. Z is watching us just absolutely massacre this poor man.
>>
>>5173562
You want us to avoid showing off in this giant coliseum?
>>
>>5173586
Damn, I hope so. It would be awesome that he meets Guts like in a week or so and tell how we fucked this Apostle little bitch so easy
>>
>>5173572
That s good.

>>5173587
For finish it faster. You never know with apostles and their crazy powers
>>
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>>5173541
>>5173542
>>5173548
Trying to be unpredictable against a man who can read your every move plus the trajectory of your attacks which you don't even know of? Don't be silly. It's like fighting a caged animal, you'll always know where he's going.

Placing your elbow across your eyes as Gunpowder lowers his neck into a sprint, his teeth start hitting the two of you with just as much opposing force as a regular dart, it hurts, but you can take it.

Making the most out of your synergy with your horse, you unstrap yourself from him and let Gunpowder throw your off into the ground, where you roll under the spins of his spiked weapon and strike at the tendons on his heels with the back end of your halberd. Yanking the weapon from his feet, only swipe him off his feet as he comes into a dead stop.

The chains fall on you while the spiked sphere hits him straight in his leg, using gravity itself to follow up in his attack in an ironic twist of fate as he breaks his femur.
"Barnham, this scoundrel came in knowing about my weak spots! How is this a fair fight?" Gorrister shouts into the air, only for a baritone voice to respond to his pathetic pleads.

"You are merely being outskilled and outplayed. You've gotten so used to battling Pishacha that you cant even fight a mere human gladiator. Pitiful!"

"This fight is rigged! Gorrister came in already injured!"
"I've betted my life's savings on Gorrister winning, what sort of scam are you running here, Barnham?"
The crowd voices their displeases as the leader of the coliseum considers evening the odds.

"Fine then. Send in the Pishachas. Don't expect me to be on your side forever..." Barnham lifts his arm from his throne and opens the door to reveal two armoured animals walking on two feet.

You remember Merlina saying something about Pishachas. How they are usually animals possessed by Kushan casters to be controlled remotely while they're in a state of meditation.

In this case, they are elephants, slowly walking towards the two of you while you try to wiggle out of the chains. Thankfully, Gorrister is still recovering from his blows, whatever regeneration factor the God Hand gave him being negated or delayed by your purification powers working as a complete repellent.

It appears that this is a 3v1 situation, until Gunpowder spits on one of the elephants to say 'These guys ain't shit, let me take care of them.'
The black horse runs in a figure eight around the two Pishachas, but you're not sure for how long he can distract them, and with Gorrister trying to get up to hit you once again, neither of you might be able to help each other.

>Get out of the chains before Gorrister realizes where you are at.
>Try to identify the kushan caster amidst the crowd.
>Try to reach Gorrister with your weapon.
>Throw your short sword on his throat.
>Write-in.
>>
>be magical spirit man
>proceed to bully apostles to death
>manage to piss off the godhand even more then guts
>couldn't even sacrifice brand the guy cause he fucked off into a swamp to git gud
>hell you can probably see griffith seething from here
>>
>>5173644
>Get out of the chains before Gorrister realizes where you are at.
>"Gorrister, You punny son of a whore, you literally invited me here without even having time to know anything about You or your weakpoints, stop being a bitch."
>Say that while placeing ourselves between Gorrister and the Pishacha
>Try to bait more of his teeth darts to shoot the Pishacha and make sure Gunpowder it's ready to get out of the danger zone of the attack for when that happen.

If this goes our way, we esencially weaked the Pishachas with some friendly fire while (hopefully) we go mostly unharmed by the attack. After that we go to finish Gorrister and then try to sense the casters

Or, if anons wanna go safe, then my vote is for
>Throw your short sword on his throat.
>>
>>5173644
>>Get out of the chains before Gorrister realizes where you are at.
>>
>>5173644
>Throw your short sword on his throat.
Lets just kill him lol.
>>
>>5173644
>So this is the great might of Barnham? To throw a trantum when they lose? So much for respecting strength! Nothing more than another liar king!
>Get out of the chains before Gorrister realizes where you are at.
>Try to identify the kushan caster amidst the crowd.
>>
>>5173644
>>Throw your short sword on his throat.
>>
>>5173644
>Get out of the chains before Gorrister realizes where you are at.
>>
>>5173644
>Throw your short sword on his throat
The wound should be open.
Though after throwing the sword, move and get out of those chains. We can't stand there watching
>>
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>>5173691
>>5173702
>>5173685
>>5173680
>>5173702
>>5173712
>>5173705
2d100! One gets you off the chains, the other hits your short sword dead on your target.
Roll please!
>>
Rolled 76, 7 = 83 (2d100)

>>5173726
Dice gods, please, I don't wanna fuck this up
>>
Rolled 12, 26 = 38 (2d100)

>>5173726
>>
Rolled 51, 97 = 148 (2d100)

>>5173726
>Inb4 nat 1
>>
Rolled 84, 2 = 86 (2d100)

>>5173726
Pocket sword!
>>
Rolled 83, 19 = 102 (2d100)

>>5173726
let's see if I can one-up the first anon
>>
>>5173731
>another 97 to hit the guy
Jesus fucking Christ
>>
>>5173729
>>5173731
jackpot
>>
>>5173731
>97
THE DICE GODS ARE WITH US
>>
>>5173731
holy balls another 97

it seems the laws of causality flow with us this thread
>>
Rolled 37, 39 = 76 (2d100)

>>5173726
>>
>>5173731
Ok QM

At this point I hope there's some special effect or something for rolling another 97

Or not, but it's still awesome anyway
>>
Is those rolls keep coming Vlad just goes Jetstream Sam on those fucker hell Vlad probably looks like that smug fucker except he is blonde
>>
>>5173746
I suspect we have an affinity with the number 7, last thread it was 77, this thread it seems to be 97
>>
>>5173747
>"Show me a good time, Guts!"
If I didn't know Gorrister was a total shitheel I'd feel bad for him. But he absolutely deserves to get styled on.
>>
>>5173748
7 is a divine number.
Idea of Good confirmed real and on Vlad's side.
>>
>>5173455
>>5173731
>>5173541
Damn, what is it with Vlad and repeating numbers? Happens at least once on every thread.
>>
>>5173748
Let's just hope next thread isn't 17's turn.
>>
>>5173757
>Happens at least once on every thread.
Like the crit flood in the first?
>>
>>5173762
Ah yes, that shit was insane. And even more when that same thing happened with Henchmen Quest.
>>
>>5173765
Some synchronicity shit going on there.
>>
>>5173498
Well I can imagine why the average joe, would be terrified to fight this "gladiators" and never win once.
With that terrifying aspect to look at, alongside giant spikes, teeths and demonic chains. They also don"t tell around of their strengths and weaknesses. Who even bets on normal people or warriors here with this odds.

Nice demon image for him. It gives the idea of the spikes and teeths well
>>
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>tfw Vlad defeat all the gladiators in one go
>>
https://youtu.be/k8gHubY94rA
>>
>>5173819
Ah yes, we have this thread theme, awesome
>>
>>5173729
>>5173730
>>5173731
Your rustling of the chains makes it evident of where you are to the blind Gorrister. When you were almost free of the apostle's grasp, he grabbed both ends of his chain and held your right thigh as you stood suspended upside down. So close to the floor, yet an inch away from your palms touching the ground.

"Going for my legs, huh? Well unlike me, yours aren't able to regenerate. Is this what you call strategizing? I'll show you another advantage I have over you, MY TEETH!"

Gorrister bites at your shielded forearm and eats away at your defensive weapon. Were it not for that, he would have been able to chew at it with enough force to completely crush it. Attempting to save your arm from being ravaged by the monster, you throw the short sword on his throat to make him back off, being unable to hit him with your spear due to being twisted at an odd angle thanks to his binding.

Your arm lives to fight another day, but your leg is still turning purple from the amount of force being placed on the knot. The crowd cheers as they see your thigh bone being dislocated as you grunt and foam from your leg being twisted. It's going to break beyond repair, or worse, chopped clean off!

"Hehehe, are you having fun? I'll let you know I tend to finish my fights... First, I dangle them upside down just like this... And then I keep tugging on the chains so they can bounce up and down, closer and closer to my mouth, until..."

You try to get a good look at gorrister while the blood goes to your head. The sword did hit his throat, but the cut was too shallow to do anything, all you have to do is push it further inside with your halberd, but it's so hard to swing in this position that you're afraid the hit might just make it bounce it off from his hardened skin...

Hesitation will get you killed, with each bounce from the chains, his mouth approaches as he gets ready to engulf your torso as the constriction from the chains make your blood drip down to your armor.
Hang on, that's it! You're closer to his throat when he feigns a bite to get a reaction from his watchers!
When Gorrister was about to swallow you hole, you pull your neck up and push your spear against the short sword, making it fly off his body as your lance fully impales his throat. You are showered in apostle blood as the gash opens his windpipe enough to make him hemorrhage incessantly.

With his brain disconnecting from his body, he loses grip on the chains, but not wanting to be stuck inside of him as he fell on top of you, you swing him forward and drag his chin with your feet, avoiding being crushed under his armor as you limp from under him.
>>
>>5173839
>Well unlike me, yours aren't able to regenerate.
Kek, sucks to be Gorriater, dude just can't win
>>
>>5173839
Man Gorrister is dumb. Literally had us dead to rights and decided to fuck around.

I guess that's what separates real warriors from up-jumped bullies.

My opinion of Barnham and his "army of warriors" is already at an all time low.
>>
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>>5173839
The crowd, the pishachas, even Gunpowder himself falls into silence after seeing Gorrister's weight being shifted mid fall so you could stand on top of him, the ground quaking louder than when the elephants stomped their feet. It takes some effort to remove the chains from your dislocated thigh, but with enough patience (And a forceful push so your bones didn't stay dislocated) you hunch over gasping for more air as Gorrister's head dangles onto his collarbone.

The match is over, Gorrister was killed while you got away with recoverable injuries, and despite no cheering from the audience, your victory was obvious for all of Ilos' residents to see.

>Come on! Where are my cheers?
>You can stop with the magic shows now. The real foe is already down.
>I hope this was entertaining enough for you, Barnham.
>Alright, who's next? This hype man can't possibly be your best warrior.
>Am I free to come in the coliseum now?
Write-in.
>>
>>5173862
If you've got any other tainted beasts for me to kill, let me know
>>
>>5173862
>I hope this was entertaining enough for you, Barnham.
>Am I free to come in the coliseum now?
>>
>>5173862
>Alright, who's next? This hype man can't possibly be your best warrior.
Gotta keep the grind
>>
>>5173862
Part of me wants to find the sorcerer in the crowds and point straight at him so he knows we know about his puppeteering and freak him out.
>Am I free to come in the coliseum now?
Gotta grab some snacks and bring them to our mom and new pals.
>>
>>5173862
>Kind of disapointed, it seems everyone here is all talk. Gorrister with his false strength and you Barnham, with your false beliefs.
>>
>>5173873
Also
>Find the damn sorceror.
>>
>>5173862
>Alright, who's next? This hype man can't possibly be your best warrior.
What's a hubris?
>>
>>5173894
I think it's a bone in the foot.
>>
>>5173862
>Write-in.
>stay Silent
>>
>>5173862
>Write-in
>Stay silent
>Try to grab some teeth from Gorrister, three for us, mom and Zhil
>Once we're done see the crowd for some seconds before going >>5173488
>Maybe try and bring the Morning Star for us if it goes back to normal size
>>
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>>5173869
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>>5173894
"I hope this was entertaining enough for you, Barham!" You point your weapon to the man sitting at the throne. I am disappointed in this coliseum. Gorristed lied about his strength, and you lied about your false beliefs. Now, am I free to be invited in your coliseum, or will you make me fight more of your elephants?"

"The Pishachas? What gave you the idea that you were fighting them?" The animorphs quickly catch hold of Gunpowder while he tried to escape them before chucking the horse down at your feet, the blow being powerful enough to nearly bust open your ribcage.
"Think of them as mediators. I could already tell that Gorrister was going to lose, and since he had a history of killing Pishachas, what more fitting of and end for him to be feasted by his favorite dummies?"

The sorcerer commands them to start eating the apostle under you, shoving you and Gunpowder away before they started their horrific feast for all to see before being sent back to their cages.

"As I said, Don't expect me to be on his side forever. My soldiers are free to do as they wish, so long as they remember that the strongest gladiator will always be two steps ahead." These are the last words you hear before your eyelids grow heavy, sending you into an unsonscious state.

Your face is struck by a torrent of water a few hours later, with Barnham proving to be the perpetrator.
"Gorrister might have been too overconfident to finish you off. But you are sorely mistaken to think that every single one of my fighters has the same fighting style, or the same beliefs. I wouldn't have such a colorful cast of onlookers if I restricted the strong from entering. Regardless of background, race, or even gender, might is always the deciding factor."

You attempt to walk towards him, but find yourself tripping from your battle wounds.
"Easy now. You are only a man, and you've already abused too much of your body in today's fight. Old wounds tend to reopen when you don't rest for a few days. Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Welcome to the coliseum. Home of Ilos' strongest fighters, enemies of the weak. If I knew we've had such an intriguing guest, I would have recieved you in our front gate instead of leaving you with the peasants. What brings you here, Vlad?"
Barnham soon shifts his attitude, treating you as an old friend.

>Where is Gunpowder?
>What do you want with me?
>I want to test your strength, see if you really are the strongest.
>I'm here to end your life.
>I want to free the slaves from the riverside.
>Write-in.
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>>5173961
>>Where is Gunpowder?
>>I'm here to end your life.
>>I want to free the slaves from the riverside.
We need our horse. Our horse needs his head. And everyone outside needs to get some food.

Everyone knows the weak should fear the strong mentality is flawed. You need to bring prosperity to the weak so the weak can prop up the strong with their menial support. Because even a weak man in the right place can kill a god. We're coming for your ass Conrad

More importantly how does he know our name?
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>>5173961
>To right wrongs, to fight for peace. And that means cutting down those who got power through deals, and the ones that offered them.
>But here specifically? To free my mother, the slaves in the riverbank, and because my horse wants to kill you.
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>>5173961
>>Where is Gunpowder?
>I want to free the slaves from the riverside.
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>>5173961
>Where is Gunpowder?
>write in
>"To find my horse. But things got complicated when the late Gorrister and his gang tried to severely harm an overworked starving widowed blacksmith and his family. Rumors say you have become not quite a man.Any truth to the Rumors? "
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>>5173971
+1

>I'm here for my horse, my horse is here for your head, and those outside are here for some food, which I can provide with your head.
considering his unholy strength I would not be surprised if he's in good standing with the Godhand and Griffith, similar to Zodd. he might even know a way to motherfucking Conrad.
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>>5173971
>>5173972
>>5173973
"Where is Gunpowder?"
"Your horse? At the barn, where else? Didn't want to wound the poor animal since you've taken a liking to him, so I gave him some of our best medicine."
"You've better not have turned him into an apostle!" You growl back at Barnham.
"What? No, I've merely gave him a dose of our elf powder. With so many gladiators coming and going, they need something to keep fighting regularly." He shows you a small bag of white sand, containing a magical essence that when applied to someone's body, could magically heal months of damage in a single day with a right dosage. "I've answered your question, I would appreciate if you did the same to mine."

"...I'm here to free the slaves in the riverbank, my mother included. Also to kill you if possible."
"Wouldn't be the first time I heard this. But what exactly would motivate you to kill me?"
"Because my horse told me to. Why else?" You remark snidely.
"Hmph, that's a first." Barnham legitimately chuckles at your answer, already acknowledging that he's pretty unlikeable. "Usually, I would have no interest in the words of people who have no power, but you have made a considerable dent in my numbers for me to listen to what you have to say. Surely you wouldn't reconsider an offer to stay here, would you?"
"After you've let Gorrister torture people who couldn't fight back? I have no respect for you."

"Right, still on the fence about that. A shame, because I have no ill will towards you. You even seem to be informed of the apostles."
"Of course, I know about those who got their powers through deals. You weren't born this strong, you took a shortcut to it."
"Wrong. I've became strong. I've only used an unconventional method." The owner of the coliseum snaps his fingers and calls for his chef, serving a plate with a single heart on it, no doubt being from Gorrister. Barnham elegantly takes a bite out of it, your vision of him turning blurry as the density of his Od increases.

"I also know plenty of you, Vlad Santana. A noble accused of being a wizard, forced to be arrested after helping to end the Hundred Year War against Tudor. Betrayed by his own master, now sits here today, having a conversation with another detractor of the royal family. It's not normal for a noble nobody to turn into a hero of the capital either, or to regularly climb the Wall of Corpses, wouldn't you agree?"
Barnham seems to know of your background, indicating that the rumors of Griffith having an impostor have reached far and wide across Midland.
"For a man to disguise himself as someone else... That would require the use of magic, would that make you an average man? A weakling, perhaps? No, no matter what path you had in life, you've attained power, yet you were detained by those weaker than you! Why is that, Vlad? Do you not feel betrayed? This would not have happened in a world where might controls everything. And I plan to bring that world into fruition!"
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>>5174037
I think he's got his Big Boss speech out of order, isn't he supposed to kick our ass first?
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>>5174037
"I seen where that lead to. I was just as weak,and had my parents followed you philosophy. My foster mother would've been cast away by my father for a woman who can break trees and half and devour a man and his horse whole. And I would've been left by the road side to be taken by dogs. It was at their time weakness that taught me to get stronger."
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>>5174045
This must just be the prepatory speech before he lays the real deal on us.
After the fight he is going to tell us about his plan to blow up the Godhand with their own magical superweapon as well as his plan to create a world ruled by gladiators without nation or ideology.
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>>5174037
"Surely, you have heard the tale of King Gaiseric, the founder and first king of Midland. Now he was a respectable King, he managed to unite several villages admist several countries, and turn them into a powerhouse, command them under a single banner, some of those were already fighting in opposite forces, yet he had the might to control it all. But he grew lazy after settling for a country. Soon after he became king he got lost in pursue of pleasures of the high class. He grew comfortable, he turned to peace. Peace that led him to his downfall. Now 15 generations later, some old, piece of shit grandpa and his useless daughter are still competing for the royal selection, when strong men like us are deprived of proper credit? Nonsense!"

"I will take this kingdom for myself, and after that, I will unite them all to invade Tudor's territory once more, seizing them whole! Why stop there? Think of all the countries outside of this continent. All the uncharted territories on the map! Why should we settle for a mere plot of land when humanity has so much to grow? I want to be the guide, and you can help me through it!"

"But you are not human! You are already serving a leader!"
"That I am... But don't they deserve to be the ones in command given what they're capable of? For the first time, I have found a group of enemies that, no matter how much I train, no matter how much power I consume, nothing seems comparable to what they can do! It's envigorating! I want to be like them! To command and unite several others through power! It is the basis for growth, to give everyone equal opportunity to fight! Notice how I've left the people in the riverbank still alive, It's because I don't doubt that they can still grow and fight. If they disagree with my policies, all they need to do is challenge me in a fair fight, and I will proudly comply."

"So you've only fought weaklings all this time? What a great leader you've turned out to be."
"Strength attracts strength, Vlad. There were already several humans, armies, apostles that came here to fight. I've drank their poison disguised as gifts, gave them room to grow as strong as they needed to, even wasted my own resources to fully heal them. Not a single one of these Midlanders even managed to push me to my strongest form. Well... There was one individual... But he refused my offer after seeing that we were fighting on the same side... As much as that slows my progress, I only eat those who are already about to die. Which is why I want to start a war. Eventually, the souls will be enough to hold a candle against even those who now command me. Tell me, where is the flaw in wanting the strongests to thrive? It's a rule ingrained in nature!"

>Do you call the slums outside proper room for growth?
>Not all people wish to fight. Killing the weak won't force them to become strong.
>The weak can also raise the strong, I am proof of it.
>You are not natural, Barnham. Neither is the God Hand.
>Write-in.
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>>5174079
>The weak can also raise the strong, I am proof of it.
>>
>The weak can also raise the strong, I am proof of it.
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>>5174079
>>The weak can also raise the strong, I am proof of it.
>>You are not natural, Barnham. Neither is the God Hand.
Fostering your own strength isn't quite the same as stealing it from the slain. As easy as it is to conflate the two. A predator that eats its prey doesn't grow stronger for the flesh it has consumed but the hunt it underwent. So too does prey become more canny and fierce. The fact he can slurp strength from his foes like that is proof of how unnatural his growth is.

A philosophy founded on nature being used by beings that subvert the natural order. What a lark. I'll give him this though, at least he actually stands by his beliefs.
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>>5174079
>You wish to conquer Midland, conquer Tudor, for what? Simply because you cut a deal with demons that gives you the ability to overpower them? Your concept of rulership seems to me to be little more than masturbatory and delusional egoism. Subjugating the people of Midland, Tudor, and whoever else would be no more meaningful to you than collecting trophies to satiate your vanity.
>Martial prowess is indeed something worth admiring and cultivating, but if done at the expense of every other facet of your humanity it becomes an abhorrent perversion. But, as you’ve made your choice already it’s hardly worth arguing with you over it now. When the time is right we’ll continue this debate with sinew and steel.
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>>5174079
>Write-in.
"I agree with some but not all of your policies. If might is really what you are looking for,why don't you atleast help the weak grow strong in their way? You are good at fighting,but without the might of a good economy , your strong are undersupplied. You cannot expect a tree to grow strong without being cared and fed for. You have a good idea but the way you do it only brings half the results. And the King has gone off his rocker from what I heard."
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I wonder what Galahad would think of this guy. Obviously strong people can hang with strong people. But Galahad's good nature would probably make him butt heads with Barnham's mindset. They probably agree at a base level but disagree on the details.
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basically. Nature vs Nurture rant.
If we fight him,we are gonna do it the greek way.
Naked and unarmed wrestling.
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The real issue is that this way of thinking doesn't work for anyone that isn't already a parody of life.
What kind of future can be built by people solely interested in fighting and killing?
All the world will be reduced to a wasteland and a stadium, until even that falls to ruin.
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I got a crazy idea. We need to grab an apostle to teach him a lesson of why his policies will bite him in the ass.
The apostle must be big and black and also a sodomite.
Went Barnham goes down and tell us to take the prize by claiming his life. Have the apostle buttsex him in front of a live audience.
That will teach him.
>mnxxm
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>>5174119
I'm just waiting for him to say something about our magic not being normal, that it's a cheat and we can just brush it off because our power is just a means to an end.

That pisses off these kinds of people super hard. Might makes right is power without purpose. We on the other hand have some very specific goals in mind.

Unless your goal is just to humiliate him with the Donovan special and not to make him mad.
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>>5174123
the Donovan special
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>>5174129
Understood.
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>>5174079
>>The weak can also raise the strong, I am proof of it.
>>You are not natural, Barnham. Neither is the God Hand.
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...So Barnham wants to take over Midland to get at more territories?
Should we hit with the fact that the 5th member of the God Hand has designs for Midland too? Doesn't take much smarts to see how Barnham was set to fail from the outset.
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>>5174079
>Do you call the slums outside proper room for growth?
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>>5174079
>Write in
"There is no equal opportunity, there is no room for all in this city of yours Barnham. And there will not be at all in your future empire."
"It is simple really. Let's think there are two travelers, they pass and they see your land. You know what they see ?"
"They see fields unattend to, entire fields of good land not used. They see many cattle and farm animals sick, famished, tired or dead. They see corpses and ruins all around, with no one giving tombs or repairing a building.”
“Certainly they even see your strong gladiators, training and killing each other, the ones that want to live here and innocents. They also see your wealthy patrons that come here just for your spectacles, or perhaps for buying slaves, trading between themselves or sell you products at an high price.”
“But then these travelers see the majority of the humans living here : people broken, desperate, tired, wounded, diseased and on the verge of death, and all of these people are constantly abused and given no mercy or pay by not just your gladiators but even your patrons. Already with just these conditions and no intervention being done, you cut the legs of your future empire while clapping your hands being happy about it.”
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cont
“Because all of these people work far less than the ones under a traditional feudal lord. They make less food, tools and weapons.”
"Let's go a sep further with your madness though."
“And let’s say you expand your philosophy to them. Now your entire working class instead of doing their jobs, as an aspiration of throwing themselves on a blade just for a chance to be a soldier of yours or for getting some coin, or just to eat something better than dirt for god sake.”
“Instead of working, they will even go out of their way to train. They might begin to kill each other to become stronger.”
“A few of them will no doubt become your soldiers, the majority will just die.”
“And just like that your entire empire and your armies, cannot stand properly. They are at risk of falling not because of lack of your power but because the people under you would become a ghost of their former selves.”
“Now with this said, why do you believe your gladiators and soldiers will just accept all these people ? They could keep the status quo and cut them down, before they have a chance to win. How would you be able to enforce your rule on them ? You can’t be everywhere, they could just kill all the people inside the lands you give them and then demand you hand more.”
“Here it is easy to control them. You rule everything and the land is small.”
“Also your wealthy patrons ? They are wealthy because they come from functioning lands or are rich traders that work in places where trade is allowed to flow well.”
“In your empire they wouldn’t live a day, so most will leave you when they understand you want to be more than the champion of this arena. And good luck with that Barnham, because those patrons are the ones throwing coins in your coffers, and the only way for you to gain large amounts of goods and products for your personal or gladiator's use.”
“And again your gladiators ? They aren’t soldiers, Barnham, that’s your dream. Look at those bastards for once. They aren’t able to stop themselves from raping a girl or woman if they see one, to throw an infant on the ground or have some wolves eat a defenseless child, or to break the legs of a man for fun just because he didn’t want to do something for them.”
“They kill for sport, not for you. And your supposed “officers” don’t put any amount of discipline on them, and they are respected because of you and their personal strengths. But what stops a man from just cutting their throat at night or poisoning their drinks ?”
“Do you think an army or armies can function with this level of self sabotage, disputes or being their own attrition ? Do you expect your foes to stare and wait, instead of taking advantage of this philosophy of yours and destroying your armies and empire ?”
“But hey, everything is allowed for the strong no ? Everyone needs a chance to become strong, no ?”
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>>5174244
bravo. hopefully his meathead behavior doesn't blind him. but seeing that he became an Apostle, either tragic or complete villiany.
>W4200
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>>5174079
>Ah yes, the best way to create a powerful army is to have one that will starve and kill itself. And the best goal in life is to be a locust that will expand and then whither. You are nothing more than a slave that put shackles on himslef while screaming he was free. If you had to guts to atleast spit on the face of the Godhand instead of sacrificing, I would have an a tiny bit of respect for you.
>Nature is not the strongest that live, but the beat adapted, otherwise we humans would be ruled by elephants and tigers. Our strength os unity, our goal is to thrive, not only survive.
>You will never be strong and you will never be free. And you did it to yourself. You are just the king, but dressed in a other clothes.
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>>5174243
>>5174244
>Becchi offers a write-in.
>Dude writes up an entire soapboxing monologue that's two posts long, acting like Barnham would just sit there and not interject at all while anon fellates himself to completion over how big brained he is.
Bro. What the fuck?
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>>5174367
Barnham should have a less retarded ideology if he didn't want people picking it apart.
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>>5174243
>>5174244
holy shit brevity
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>>5174367
In these posts he also talked a lot while Vlad didn't say a thing, or Vlad sayed a short answer from time to time. Vlad can't have something to say in the argument as well like him ?
If you fear Becchi might be overwhelmed, he is capable of sectioning our write-ins and using them however he wishes, or not acknowledging them if he doesn't like them. He already did so when we talked with Griffith, where there were several write-ins with a considerable length of text and each of them had multiple votes.
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>>5174293
"You are not natural, Barnham. Nor is the God Hand. No doubt using their power has already corrupted your way of thinking. How can you think you are raising the bar for equal opportunity when there is no room for all in Ilos? You depend on slaves and patronage because you haven't raised a basic system for their income. If you expand this philosophy worldwide, you will destroy all means of production, because no one will want to work when they can train and kill. You have not raised disciplined soldiers, but gladiators who only respect your power. Once you go away or expand enough for people to forget your presence, they will run amok. You are self sabotaging at best, and at worse, doing the same backseat governing as the mad king."

"So what you're saying is that my hatred for the weak has impeded my Coliseum from growing?"
"Of course. Not all are born strong, but they can become so by adapting. If you were an insightful ruler, you would have realized that the weak can also raise the strong. I am proof of it. None of my parents wanted to engage in warfare, yet they raised a man that was stronger than all of them combined! How do you explain that?"

"You've overcome your weaknesses, of course. You realized that you had to change. Not all would have managed to see through the easy life, instead deciding to keep living in comfort. I can respect you because you are a victor. In every situation, we need to have winners and losers, or else we would take away the glory of the ones who overcame ridiculous hardships to create equal opportunity for people who do not wish to fight."

"So you feel no guilt in sacrificing an entire crowd for the offchance to one come out on top? Why am I not surprised to hear this from the man who engaged in God Hand rituals? Society has went beyond nature's ways exactly because of our group thinking. The children you have imprisoned could very well have felt invigorated by your powers and served you in the future, yet you decided to shun them out of whatever life they had because you deemed them as weak before they could reach adulthood! Your government is flawed!"
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>>5174244
That write-in is far too long man.
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>>5174389
>>5174397
Yeah i suppose is longer than others, i just felt like writing it something with what Barnham said. I didn't write an hundred of long write in posts before and i don't think i will write more of them. Next time i will be briefer. If someone feels offended, i don't think it killed the thread, and next time i will just make something short.
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>>5174395
"It seems we have reached an impasse with our argument... This is why I do not care for diplomacy. All of these hour long conversations that can all be reduced to 'I'm right, you're wrong.' It changes nothing, until we use our power. You might see me as a hypocrite, but in the end, by associating yourself with the weak, you open your chest to be struck by those who you're least expecting. Think of how many great warriors were fooled by their emotions in hostage situations, manipulated because of ties to family, friends or lovers. Hell, I could have asked for your mother to be beheaded right this instant while you fail to stop me. But I wont, because I believe a real man's fight has to be between him, himself, and the enemy facing him. No outside assistance, and devoid of anxiety from other sources."

Barnham still seems convicted in that his ways are right, but for the first time, you see an apostle ponder on his decisions, accept that he might not be all knowing, and be open to change. The other two disciples of evil you've met were pretty mindless, so it's a bit surprising to argue with one that does not resort to violence, or throw a tantrum when being told that they are wrong.

"If you care so much for the weak, then undoubtedly you must be ready to compensate for their shortcomings, correct? If you think I am wrong in commanding Ilos like this, let's experiment on your rationale, see how you would handle things if you were in my stead."

Barnham once again presents the pouch of elf powder, proving it is indeed the real product by breaking his own jaw with a punch, only to emotionlessly rub the magic substance across his chin, healing it back to how it previously was. It seems this is not the first time he's done this presentation, likely receiving so many blows that he's grown numb to pain itself.

"What I have here is more than enough to bring you to the peak of your strength. You will be free to enter and exit Ilos as you please to fight me in the ring without worrying about your health. However, investing on yourself means that you will have to ignore those who are weaker. Should you refuse, I will free all the slaves in the riverside without a second thought, at the cost of you having to wait for your wounds to disappear naturally. This should be an easy decision for a man who wants to protect the weak, no? Prove to me that you are just, put the needs of others above yourself, and maybe I'll reconsider my way of thinking when I fight a man who would rather die for what he believes, than go back on his words out of mere temptation."

Barnham is curious to see what you will choose. A full heal would come in handy when you have done nothing but nonstop fighting for the past 2 days with enemies several times larger in size and numbers, but that would mean the slaves outside would still live in terrible conditions while he boasts about being better than them because he is 'strong'.

>Heal yourself.
>Free the slaves.
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>>5174441
>>Free the slaves.
You act like it's an even an option for me Barnham.
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>>5174440
That's alright. If people invest themselves in a story to the point they write bigger wordups than I do, it shows that they're interested. If anything I'd be the asshole for brushing past it and not rewarding investment.

Still I had to narrow it down so it didn't get ridiculously long. Hopefully I summarized it without losing the tought process this time
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>>5174441
>Free the slaves.
Succumb not to temptation. The trials that god sets upon us will be the tests that prove us to be good.
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>>5174441
>>5174441
>Free the slaves.
>"A true warriors duty is to suffer for the weak, only by enduring the pain can he rise above it and climb to new unheard of heights of pure strength. Unlike you and your soldiers Barnham, who get strong quickly by selling their humanity and freedom away, in exchange for impure, unearned strength.

>I have proven this by defeating and even surpassing Gorrister. Your a coward Barnham. You avoid that which those you call "weak" endure daily, the pain of the human soul, that separates us from the common animal."

Feel free to use this as a write-in if you want, I just wanted to write something too.
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>>5174441
>>Free the slaves.
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>>5174441
>Heal yourself.
Third option in secret.
>Use only a small pinch for Vlad and distribute it to those in need of medical care like Zhafira and Benny and the children.
Barnham slaves is not kept in cages but entrapped in the area. So by defeating him at a later date that we can truly free the slaves.
Also releasing now only makes them jobless and starving. No work,no food. And not many can make the trip to elsewhere.
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On a different note, depending on how things play out in the future, I think we might actually be able to convince Barnham to join our side of this conflict. All it needs is the right arguments, and a show of strength against him.
If we can convince him that hunting apostles with us is the true path forwards, and eventually hunting the god hand themselves, then we might be able to get a powerful ally. He already shows no qualms about eating other apostles for their power. Maybe convince him that the colosseum is a waste of his time, that mortal flesh is a waste of his time...
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>>5174441
>Free the slaves.
Lmao we have healing magic
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>>5174450
Based Becchi
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>>5174441
>Heal yourself.
"Very well".
“But the majority of them are all quite weak or without food, not even clothing. Would it be a problem if they can organize themselves to go somewhere else when they are healed ?”

>>5174450
I will avoid writing that much next time np.
It’s fine that you have cut it into pieces and reused it, I think it works out and it makes clear what Vlad thinks of Barnham philosophy or if it would work on something big like an empire.
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>>5174441
>Free the slaves.

>>5174483
fucking miss click it was free slaves.
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>>5174480
Snatching an apostle from the GodHand would definatly piss them off more than just killing him, Barnham seems loyal enough that he spreads the "do as you will" even to the regular gladiators.
Also redeeming an absolute monster seems fun, so fuck it let's atleast try.
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>>5174480
>"If you care so much for the weak, then undoubtedly you must be ready to compensate for their shortcomings, correct?"

We should try to press this point with our actions. Someone big and strong can survive alone, but it takes a titan of a man to fend for himself and protect the weak from others
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>>5174524
Indeed. Fighting for yourself is cowardly. It's the easy way in life, a refusal to accept the challenges of protecting others.
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>>5174441
>Free the slaves.
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Oh shit I just had a great idea to make our point. Make it seem like we are going to grasp the elf powder only to smack it out of his hands and then say we want the people to be free. To accentuate the point that not only do we refuse his offer, we are thoroughly disgusted by it.
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>>5174449
>>5174455
>>5174462
>>5174481
>>5174488
"You want proof of my conviction? So be it. I will gladly ignore my wounds if you free the slaves. But the majority of them are quite weak due to lack of food. They need time to be nourished, or else they will die the second they go outside."

"The world has changed a lot these past few years. The way I see it, they can either die here, or die outside. Even with their newfound freedom, they still need more preparations to be properly independent... Alright, I'm aware that they've been trying to grow some crops. It would also be beneficial for me to have my own fruits and vegetables to grow, instead of relying on the merchants. I will send some guards to aid with plowing the land and send them more seeds, as well as rations for them to properly be hired by me until they can exit Ilos. How does that sound?"

"I don't see that much of a difference between enforced labor and slavery, but it's a start."
"No enforcement. If they want to leave right away, it's their choice. But abolishing slavery will only come if you refuse your heal, and fight me through natural means."
"I refuse." You confirm your decision.

"Heh, Smart choice. For a man to be strong, he needs to firmly believe on his own speech, or else he will not exhale confidence to his underlings. If you were to go back on your word, I would have killed you right where you stand. Thankfully, I can see that you have no intention of backing out, so I will grant you your wish."
Barnham orders his men to open the gates from the riverside, where several soldiers come with food and offerings to the malnourished inhabitants.

"A fight between two gladiators needs to be, above all else, entertaining. The crowd can notice when a match is one-sided. Which is why I want to make sure that I fight you at your best." Barnham grims as he pours some of the elven powder around your body. The effect is nearly instant as all the damage you've had from the swamp and from the match with Gorrister disappear from your body, as if they never even existed. You manage to take a feel for your muscles and jump around to check if there were any after effects, with no noticeable differences. Barnham was not offering you a shortcut to defeating him, but testing to see if you actually believed what you were saying.

"You have plenty of power in your words, Vlad. But I would like to see how you would fair against the best of the best. Surely you won't fail in not only entertaining the crowd, but me as well. You certainly have a different philosophy than mine, but so long as you have the courage - And the skills- to hold your ground, you are free to try and prove me wrong. Take as much time to prepare as you need to, I will be ready for you when you wish to enter the arena.

>We can settle this right now.
>I want to monitor how your soldiers will treat their new workers, give me a day.
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>>
Remember that you can't "force" people to be strong. They still have to make that choice themselves. Even with a knife to your throat you can still tell them to just fucking stab you.

In the words of a man about to be make someone beat him to death just to prove a point. A man chooses, a slave obeys.
>>
>>5174710
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>it's a thanks for me defending his family. No man can do it everything alone, we are all stronger together.
>>
>>5174710
>>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
Shout out to ya boy smith and his nearly broken family.
>>
>>5174710
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>>
>>5174710
>I want to monitor how your soldiers will treat their new workers, give me a day.
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>"And even if we disaggre, thanks for healing me..."
>"I have more to say, but unless you wanna keep talking and discussing about our believes, i guess we can do that later. Maybe in the arena when the time comes"
>"Also, there's still something that is bugging me. Who's the guy that make you use your full force?-
>>
>>5174710
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>>
>>5174716
Adding
>Also, there's still something that is bugging me. Who's the guy that make you use your full force?
It's a good queation, and ant Guts or Zodd might have passed through here.
>>
>>5174710
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>Beyond that, I have to say that you interest me. You've given more thought into your actions - and my own - than other Apostles I've seen. I would like to get to know the man that may kill me - or who I may kill, depending upon who ends up victorious. No doubt the victor will take their memories of the loser with them. Would you indulge me?
Wine and dine with him, why the fuck not? He seems interesting as fuck.
>>
>>5174710
>I want to monitor how your soldiers will treat their new workers, give me a day.
>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.

"I imagine it would take some days for the armor. For the rest of the time after i am sure the people will not be abused, i will prepare for the fight. When the armor is done i will return at the arena."
"This said I ll go"

The armor will take sometime anyway.
>>
>>5173971
Conrad is too busy cooking up new plagues to care about Vlad.
>>
>>5174767
And that is his second mistake.
>>
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>>5174747
I think I know who it is.
>>
>>5174710
>>Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished.
>>
the anticipation is killing me
>>
>>5175022
I think that might be a tumor bro. Maybe you should visit a doctor.
>>
>>5175022
Weekdays are usually slower for me bros. Thankfully I just got out of class so I can do next updates without much worry
>>
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>>5175047
forgive my autism, this quest is simply that good
>>
>>5174716
>>5174717
>>5174721
>>5174730
>>5174747
>>5174757
>>5174762
>>5174822
"Bernard is forging my new armor, I will fight you when he's finished." You warn Barnham of your state of affairs, preferring to wait a few days for the plate armor to be finished.

"Very well. No doubt Bernard should get his fair share of helpers for his smelting. It really is a situation where both sides get what they want, but don't expect me to do it out of the kindness of my heart. It will take more than mere words to change who people are. They need time to ponder, as well as an example to strive for. If you plan on being that for the new populus of Ilos, you will need to be that role model for them to be inspired by. And that means only one of us will come out of that ring. Don't expect me to restrain myself."

"Please don't, I am also interested to see your fighting style. How do you even fight unarmed against more effective weapons?"
"What humans seem to have forgotten is that weapons only try to replicate what a good, well placed hit can already do. A kill is a kill, doesn't matter if it's by a catapult, or by a finger going through their temples. Regardless, if you really plan on killing me, I will accept my defeat with honor and grace. Dying would indeed prove that my ways are wrong, but would also show me that I lacked the might to reinforce my ways. We might be opposites in our ideals, but perhaps we can bond through a good old punch to the face."

"Not so sure about the bonding part, but I do want to see you putting your money were your mouth is, until then."
"I do know I am not the strongest yet, but perhaps by forcing myself into aliens situations, I can grow even further, and learn how to finally defeat him..." Barnham whispers out loud.

"Hm?"
"Don't mind me. Just reminiscing on the best fight of my life, perhaps I'll tell you another time. Loss does not scare me, if anything, it only makes me want to learn more about my limits. So I would advise you not to let me down either."

Barnham walks away to finish his meal, perhaps to give you a vision of your future if you failed to meet his expectations. Failing this match would likely end brutally for you, but you aren't scared, especially when you're feeling better than ever.

Going back to the bridge, you see the other gladiators being surprisingly cooperative with their previous slaves, it seems that Barnham's words really do hold some power over them, was Gorrister merely an outlier?
Regardless, you are free for the next few days, what to do?

>Help Michelle with the crops.
>Spend time with Zhafira.
>Monitor Bernard's treatment.
>Train for the fight, of course.
>Learn more about Benny.
>>
>>5175121
>Monitor Bernard's treatment.
>Assist him at his place of work, as a form of physical training. Hammer whatever metal needs hammered, even if you're not skilled enough to help him in any way other than getting the rough shapes down. Haul whatever he needs hauled.
>>
>>5175121
>Train for the fight, of course.
We can do the rest of that shit when our life isn't on the line against an already incredible enemy. I want to do that stuff too anons, but there is a likely possibility of death I want to equal out.
>>
>>5175139
Well, think of it this way...
If we assist in the making of our own armor, we're gaining muscle mass and some form of precision training as we hit more and more accurately on the bars we're helping to shape.
We could always try to work our purifying Od into the steel itself as we help to fold and shape it. Armor truly 'fit' for us, which might afford better protection against apostles than normal.
And it would reinforce us acting on our ideals. Helping others to gain strength, no?
>>
>>5175121
>Train for the fight, of course.
>Spend time with Zhafira.
>>
>>5175121
>Train for the fight, of course.
>Learn more about Benny.
Don't know much about him.
>>
>>5175121
>Monitor Bernard's treatment.
>Train for the fight, of course.
>>
>>5175121
>>Monitor Bernard's treatment.
>>Train for the fight, of course.
>>
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>>5175150
>>5175152
>>5175155
>>5175139
>>5175130
>>5175181
I like the idea of experimenting with armors but it's a shot in the dark if you can learn enchantment on a whim.
One roll to get more used to the halberd, another one to help the guy out, maybe you'll get some more insight. Been a while since Vlad did any magic.
2d100, roll!
>>
Rolled 43, 96 = 139 (2d100)

>>5175182
>>
Rolled 55, 64 = 119 (2d100)

>>5175184
1 off the thread number 0_0
>>
Rolled 19, 52 = 71 (2d100)

>>5175182
>>
Nice
>>
>>5175184
>>5175186
>>5175187
Your training with your halberd went about as well as expected. You can still be somewhat fast and acrobatic with it, you just have to be more careful for when you stick the landing.

The heavier armor set is what really bothers you. You had some degree of experience wearing sets before, but the ones that Barnham's soldiers tend to use feel and weigh like reinforced pillars! Guess that when you're fighting apostles, you need as much help as you can get, but that also comes with the downside of being slow as molassis! Gunpowder doesn't seem to mind, but your velocity will be more dependant on him than anything else, with your jumps and leaps being a lot shorter and less impressive, but at least it serves as some sort of weighted training.

Benny enjoys seeing you train, trying to encourage your sessions by playing some soft tunes with his wind instruments. He might not be good at speaking, but he has a way to perform without needing to.

The gladiators seemed to behave after seeing what you've done to Gorrister. They clearly do not respect you coming in and ordering changes, but they are aware of their place, not wanting to die over a mere disagreement. You attempt to learn some smelting from Bernard, but aside from seeing him cough puffs of smoke from time to time, you don't do much than mere assistance work.
It does give you the idea of enchanting armors though. Infusing everything with your Od is useful, but it depends on you being able to expel your energy beforehand. What if you already had your body charged to protect you from enemy blows? Your purification already seems to burn the skin of apostles, maybe you could make an astral thornmail if you had such the means to do so.

You attempt to use cast a spell on Merlina's cloak for a test, but your flow is blocked by her own. Surprisingly, you encounter a mix of several runes on her cloth piece. It seems that she left a parting gift for you in the form of a safety net to the occult. Your learning of Tudorian comes in handy when you translate her spell:

"Snide at my last resort, God Hand. For I have found an apostle of my own to drag into the pits with me."
The runes appear to be a mixture of spells to open a vortex, call forth the arm of a foul monster, and send them into the abyss along with the user. Since she never felt the need to suicide bomb, and her later years being very limiting in her use of magic, she only had the strength to summon it once at the cost of leaving her Od on her clothes. It likely gives you leeway to ensnare a stronger enemy and send them straight to hell, but seeing as this is the only memento you carry of Merlina, you feel that using that spell for testing or minor enemies would be a disrespect to your deceased master. Should the time come, it would activate on your command, but only on unwinnable conditions.
>>
>>5175230
The fateful day of the match is approaching, and your set is nearly ready. After another sweaty day of swinging your spear around and learning how to use it's several blades accordingly, you hear a familiar sniffle from Benny, along with some thumps and laughs, his absence was quite noteable today, and it wasnt without reason.

Feeling that the guards have backpedaled on their word, you promptly ready your weapon to slice some heads, but instead, you find other children throwing rocks at the poor musician.

"Hah, did you hear what this idiot-head just say?"
"Of course not! He can't speak a word correctly before pissing his pants!"
"Let's hear it from the horse's mouth, then! Hey, Benny! What did you say to earn this beating?"
"I T- I t-t-t-t- I told you I wa-w-w-wan-" As the pebles start to hit across his face and wear at his already poor constitution, the young kid fails to repeat his previous words when growing increasingly nervous.
"G-g-g-g-go cry me a river!" Another bald kid mocks him from not even being able to speak coherently. "Wanting to get stronger, can you believe this bozo? He's lived here for all 14 years of his life without even getting good at spelling, and thinks he can change the failure he is now by just believing in it!"

"I'm not j-j-j-u-just believing! I-cC-c-ca-n learn with V-v-v-lad!" You seem to have gained a fan these past few weeks, which would explain why he liked to play songs for you, but with him not being able to even speak his mind without being treated as a pariah by kids his age, it's no wonder he never bothers to talk to anybody.

"Hey, do you think his sister is bathing? Let's go see her naked again!"
"With how much of an airhead she is, I bet that she'd just show her tits if we asked her politely!"

The kids walk away as Benny keeps quietly sobbing at the floor. Were they 20 years older, they would be getting a good boulder caving in their skulls, but with prepubescents, you can definitely be a bit more forgiving.

Still, kids can be very cruel.

>You don't have what it takes to fight, Benny. Stick to music.
>You don't have to be a warrior to change the world, or to be respected.
>You could use some speech lessons.
>Are you just going to let them have their way?
>I could show you the basics of self defense, if you'd like.
>Here, trow this rock back at them.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5175250
>You don't have to be a warrior to change the world, or to be respected.
>>
>>5175250
>You don't have to be a warrior to change the world, or to be respected.
>That being said, I never liked bullies. Let's teach them a lesson about being on the receiving side, get a stick boy.
>>
>>5175250
>You don't have to be a warrior to change the world, or to be respected.
>Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to teach those bullies a very important lesson. Do you happen to know who their parents are?
>>
>>5175250
I like >>5175255 and >>5175259
Maybe tell Benny how to use the stick
>>
>>5175251
>>5175255
>>5175259
>>5175280
"You don't have to be a warrior to change the world, Benny. Or to be respected. I can see it in your eyes that you don't want to kill, and there is no shame in wanting to live off of your art. Why don't you focus on that instead?" You encourage the child to be his own person, instead of trying to follow in a path he has no future in.

"C-Cicici-ci-- Wh-Wh-"
Oh, for crying out loud. This will take forever if you wait for him to finish his sentences. You gently place a hand on Benny's head and let his thoughts flow right into your ears.

"Cindy will never stop thinking she's Zhafira, my mom died to the plague when no one was there to save her, and my dad is always busy doing those damn swords! I hate it! I hate it all! What other choice do I have? I need to get out of here!"

For someone with such disfigured speech, his thoughts are quite coherent. Since he was born and raised with no culture other than 'keep surviving' with the occasional distraction from his flute, you wonder if not knowing about the holy scriptures might make him more susceptible to telepathy...

"You have the choice of not throwing your life away."
His eyes spark open as he stares around to see how you managed to get inside his head.
"H-H-ho-w did y-y-"

"The same as Zhafira does. I used a neat little trick called magic. We can keep talking like this if you'd prefer."
Benny nods in approval, happy to finally have a long conversation with someone who understands him.

Taking some time off to teach him how to hold a sword by fighting him with a stick, you can tell that the boy is terrible at swinging. He flails around every time he thinks he can get a hit in, and surrenders whenever you manage to poke him. Training him would take a lot of time and effort on the long term that you simply do not have right now.

"It's all my fault... I can still remember the last words my mom said to Cindy before she passed away."
"Make them laugh, Zhafira... The world is already too sad for Cindy to keep crying, so you must teach the world how to keep being happy..."
Cindy was the closest one to Mom when she died, she was taking care of her day and night, never losing hope that she would recover, but she never did. I was the one that made her this way. Even when she offered to get her hand chopped off instead of mine, she kept laughing and laughing... She scares me... And I'm scared of what I've done to her... I don't know if I can keep living with this guilt... I just wanted to do the same as you, and escape to a better place, but I can't.

I can't take you with me. I cannot vouch for your safety. Even disregarding the apostles he can't defend himself from, just the fact that he's a nonbeliever could make the holy see traget him as an infidel.
>>
>>5175307

"You don't have to protect me at all times. I know how to hide and run. Just drop me off somewhere so I can live as a bum or whatever. Music is the only thing I'm good at anyway..." Benny angrily plays some sour notes at his flute.

"Your sister wanted to bring smiles to others with her stage plays, didn't she? You have similar goals, why can't you work together with her?"

"It's too painful for me! She has no sense of right or wrong now, because all she cares is that other people are happy! No one is always happy, but she believes she is! What's so bad about wanting to escape from a situation you can't change? You believe in peace too, right? Why don't you help me find peace alongside you?"

While Benny can come across as whiny at times, this is coming from a boy who never had the opportunity to speak properly with another human being. Either being coddled or talked down to when stammering, everyone came across as incredibly patronizing to him, and this is the first time he bothered to open his heart to someone else.

Whatever words you give him next, they will be very hard hitting, which is why he expectantly awaits you to chime in.
Should you take him under your wing? Surely he would have the adventure of his life and escape like he longs to do, but for how long he would live like that before getting trampled by a demon? Forget the demons, any stronger than average human could beat him to a pulp in this dog-eat-dog world. He himself says that all he wants to do is to play music, he was born to do art. What folk songs could he sing that would change the outcome of a fight?

>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
>I could help you talk with your sister, see what she's going through.
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>Write-in,
>>
>>5175320
>Troubles can’t be left behind. You can only learn to overcome them. When the world is trying to beat you down, you have to stand tall, look it in the eye, and spit right in its face. You can do this, Benny, no matter what you or anyone else thinks or says. Your sister needs you to help her, and you give your father the strength to continue. Be there for them, and become the pillar that supports them.
>>
>>5175320
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
>>
>>5175320
>I've trying escaping from suffering all my life Benny, and it only brought more of it, to both me and my family. It was when I got theuated into war that I realized the thruth. Your sister, what she is doing is also a way to escape the pain, by faking it does not exists. You have to become stronger, but not int he way Barnham preaches. Have a strong will, but don't let others walk over you. Become the pillar of your community. Music speaks to the soul an dyour family needs you.
>Come on, let's go see your sister, she needs a talk too. And those dumb boys were going that way, and they also need to learn.
We need to talk with those bullies that what they are doing is exactly what the guards tried to do. And if they don't fix their act, they are going to end up the exact same way by the hands of another.
>>
>>5175320
>>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.

We must have a minstrel to sing our deeds and a person who can act as a spy if possible, also since he isn't a believer of the holy see maybe we can have a proto bard?
>>
>>5175320
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.

We can't protect him alone, and he can't fight, but there's nothing really stopping us from bringing him along as a support character. The only members of Guts' crew that are really capable in a straight fight are Serpico and Guts himself. Farnese, Casca, Isador, Shierke and the elves either have situational abilities or are (effectively) useless in combat.
>>
>>5175320
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
That said:
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.

I will point out that only two members of Guts' adventuring party have the capacity to actually fight, those being Serpico and Guts. Farnese, Isidro (who is a kid much like Benny) and Schierke are all purely support characters, as are the fairies and none could ever stand against even a pseudo-apostle in a fight. Hell, even Serpico has difficulties with full-fledged apostles and other demonic monsters, and that's with an upgrade with some mystic equipment. But all of them have important roles in the group that make them useful, both from a tactical and personasl standpoint. And if you got Benny some magic training or similar? You could make him into a second Farnese, if not a potential Schierke assuming he takes to it EXTREMELY well.

More importantly, we need someone to ground us. One of the only individuals we've been regularly engaging with is a horrible people-eating demon who is also a social darwinist and the other is a fucking horse.
>>
>>5175377
To be fair though, compared to regular men Serpico is a fucking beast. And compared to pretty much anything Guts is a combat monster. It's like a level 90 traveling with a guy in a smurf account and a bunch of level 10s.
>>
>>5175383
Oh, no doubt about that. Serpico is a fucking nightmare on the battlefield. Same for Azan when he joins the team later. The point I was making is that like, a good 90% of Guts' party are unsuited towards combat. Even someone like Roderick, who has some degree of combat training and enough skill/strength to deal with familiars and lesser demons isn't really going to be making a difference in the sort of conflicts Guts and Serpico are needed to resolve, let alone pre-training Farnese or Magnifico. Their importance comes from their unique skills and the fact that they can cover angles of assault that the heaviest hitters either flat out cannot or aren't specialized in. Not only that, but all of Guts' companions help to ground and stabilize him in the face of the shit he's dealing with.

Vlad's presently better off than Guts was before he got his first companion in Puck, but that's mostly because he's been fighting fodder apostles, isn't Branded and has magic to balance out the mild SAN damage demons tend to cause. From a purely pragmatic standpoint, encouraging Benny's development or even having him tag along with us outweighs most of the negatives, especially if he can grow and become stronger as a result.
>>
>>5175377
>>5175383
>>5175387
There's also the fact the combat-wise, Serpico is carried hard by his compatibility with the sylphs in his sword and cloak. His skill in combat is still incredible, but he's definitely not as much of a hero without them.
>>
>>5175320
>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
'Now lets go give Zhafira a laugh,we gonna bully those kids back for peeping on your sister.'
'Maybe swords is not for you, perhaps you a better with a longer thing like a spear?'

Benny got potential as his sister's soundtrack backup
Cindy/zhafira's puppet shows could use music background.
>>
>>5175407
What if we give Benny a crossbow? They don't require any strength, save for what little is needed to hold it up.
>>
>>5175407
+1 there needs to be a little bit of light in this era of darkness
>>
>>5175320
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
>>
>>5175420
We could do blowpipes. Since he uses a flute.
If we can get him a magic tutor to turn his music into better stuff like charm spells,emotional calming,ASMR, painful percussion. Like a DnD bard. Also he oddly needs a strong mentor to make him more confident. If we can turn him into atleast a feared quiet kid,that is a success.
>>
Vlad's NEVER going to get an adventuring party at this rate.
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>>5175434
>ASMR, painful percussion
Why did you put the same thing twice?
>>
>>5175320
>I could help you talk with your sister, see what she's going through.
>>
>>5175436
No we are not.
We are getting an entire town worth's of them.
All those gladiators ain't gonna sit and farm like a pleb. We sending them out on deadly missions for gold and glory to clear out the taint of the ruinous powers that be.
The world has turned into the most foul charnelhouse of lamentations and loathing.
>>
>>5175446
By "Adventuring Party", I mean something like Guts' companions, not Mother Base.
>>
>>5175436
People seem oddly insistent that Vlad can totally take on the threats in the setting without a party, despite the fact that if anything, Berserk repeatedly shows the opposite. Trying to do things alone will get you killed. Hell, some people here have the ever-so-lofty goal of wanting to fuck over Conrad, when we know for a fact even a basic bitch avatar of just one of the God Hand nearly obliterated Guts' soul and pretty much perma-crippled him.

It's the strangest behavior in all honesty.
>>
>>5175452
This is exactly how I was feeling, too. I guess we just haven't found anyone Anons could agree is good enough, except for Merlina and possibly Farnese.
>>
>>5175320
>>I could help you talk with your sister, see what she's going through.
>>
>>5175452
>Trying to do things alone will get you killed. Hell, some people here have the ever-so-lofty goal of wanting to fuck over Conrad
>lofty goal
I'm sorry, did you mean "reasonable and necessary aspiration"? Fuck you Conrad sleeper agent you're on the list, too.

As for people wanting to go full solo, I haven't seen any. But I could have skimmed over them. Or forgot about them.
>>
>>5175455
If people are searching for "good enough", then we'll never find anyone. Pretty certain even Gaiseric/Skull Knight would tell us that and that trying to bear the burden of struggling alone is folly.

>>5175461
I'm not arguing that wiping out the God Hand is necessary and is indeed, a priori good. Just that we are nowhere near the point when we'd be remotely worth considering by any of them.
>>
>>5175461
>As for people wanting to go full solo, I haven't seen any.

No one is actively saying we shouldn't to have companions, it's just this weird unconscious thing that a lot of Anons seem to be thinking.
>>
>>5175466
>we shouldn't to have
*shouldn't have
>>
>>5175436
I am not honestly sure about Benny and Zhafira. I don't want the perfect party or for Vlad to be alone, and i am a bit conflicted of having them with us, since Griffith want to especially ruin our boy life and anyone connected even remotely would get a similar treatment. I do like their interactions so far, and Vlad would be good with some companions, it gives us more people to talk as well during travel and what not.
The world isn't really safe anymore so not much can be said, even Ilos could be attacked in the future by anything spawning from the age of darkness really.
>>
>>5175452
Even if they are a particularly great support character, we could use someone, anyone really. If Benny shows aptitude for magic or eventually gets the hang of swordfighting, we could at least get ourselves a squire.
You know, someone to do alarm while we sleep (with a particularly sharp flute note if need be) help forage, maintain our weapons, etc.
>>
>>5175477
I agree, but I personally would want to leave Zhafira behind. She doesn't seem to have the self-preservation instincts need for traveling post-eclipse.
>>
I am also thinking about their father without two childrens.
At the moment, after we finish Barnham i have intention to get back at the Santana estate for our money and for give rest to Jacopo and Gallahad bones, then we return here in Ilos for make better equipment with the money. Or somewhere else.
>>
>>5175481
I wonder how far the Colosseum is from the Santana Estate. It might be more prudent to get to Vritannis and save Sivir/kiss Farnese first if it's closer.
>>
>>5175465
>Just that we are nowhere near the point when we'd be remotely worth considering by any of them.
Oh yeah. Don't put the cart in before the horse and all that.

>>5175466
>it's just this weird unconscious thing that a lot of Anons seem to be thinking.
Okay Vlad, stop reading minds please. I think what it's an unconscious bias preferring female company. It's a lot easier to convince a bunch of guys to hang out with a chick. They're hard on the boys :^)
>>
>>5175480
>>5175483
I might reconsider and take them. But i am just afraid for them and taking them away from a good father, is not fair for him. I would take an oath for ensure their protection if we take them under our wings, in front of Bernard. And to give him back their bones if they perish. As much as that can count.

I don't remember a map of Midland, and i can't remember the proper positions of most locations. But i was thinking of going there for the fact the estate was already sacked. And if there are enemies we do know our home terrain, so we have the advantage on them funnily enough. Beyond the reasons i already said, there is also the symbolic kraken part of the garden statue that i want to cut down, instead of leaving it standing.
>>
>>5175492
If we recruit either of them, it should be Benny, because he seems like he's got that spark that all true adventurers have, so he should be able to keep his head on his shoulders fairly well, even if he's useless in combat.
Zhafira is too mentally unwell for us to take her along. I think her split-personality thing would probably make her easy to possess or otherwise target by evil spirits.
>>
>>5175320
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.
Let's get our party started.
>>
>>5175448
Since King of Midland has basically fallen. This means the throne is up for grabs by the surviving factions. And by feudal rules, we technically is a potential king. Since noble and knightly houses each has some old royal blood connection. Thus we soon have to be leader material before our mom finally kicks the bucket and end up in edgy angst hell.
>>5175480
Zhafira needs Benny to look after her when their dad dies from soot lungs. Bernard coughing up dust man.
And Zhafira and Benny is more suited as townfolks than traveller,soon when Ilos stabilizes. There will be migrants coming in.
Her puppet shows will work as morale boosts.
>>5175483
Probably about a week to a month's travel seeing our horse and mom got here not worse for wear. Medieval fantasy mapscape is chaotic,how did Guts ever walked into different towns without meeting the same people is weird.
>>
Also the gladiators will be never short of coin and work for as long as they live.
The eclipse has turn places cursed and haunted. Need people to guard merchants from foul beasties like skeletons and undead.
Also need people to look out for Incubus nightmare feeders. Those love to spawn from areas of suffering and death. Places like the coliseum and it's outskirts.
https://berserk.fandom.com/wiki/Incubus
>>
>>5175497
True
In regard to both of them Benny, Zhafira, i think they would find some friends in the group of Guts when we eventually finish our own adventures and decide to join forces (if we go for that). I don't see them making friends here in Ilos. So there is also that to consider.
>>
>>5175497
Plus,it seems masochism is part of her personality. She kept laughing even after they took her hand,beat her and almost raped her.
Zhafira seems to be an element to counter the Idea of Evil. Laugh in the face of suffering.
>>
>>5175523
Masochism would imply she finds it pleasurable or enjoyable. It seemed to me like she was laughing -because- it hurt. Because that's her coping mechanism. She's got serious psychological damage. It's not like she wants to be hurt she just forces herself to laugh and smile in spite of it.

Basically she's in a super advanced form of denial. "See it's funny they're breaking my ribs teehee" like no the fuck it isn't you crazy bint. She ain't got no anti-evil brain powers or nothing.
>>
>>5175427
Okay i am changing my previous vote here. Perhaps Benny can be another hero.

>>5175320
>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.
>Write in
"You will need to learn much, it's not just about using a weapon or know how to fight Benny. There will be more than that, you will need to follow my instructions, learn how to live in the wilds and roads, to control your emotions, see powerful enemies that could break strong warriors and worse. I know Ilos has been hard on you, but don't expect to be any easier out there."
"Ready yourself in both mind and body, if you wish to come with me."
"And we might not see your home for quite a while, but don't be afraid i do plan to return here time to time for more equipment and even for see your family and my mother. Have you thought about what your sister and your father might think ? And how to convince them ? They hold dear to you."
>>
>>5175320

>No matter where you go, your hardships will always follow behind you. There's no need for you to leave.
>You could come with me, but only if Bernard agrees.
>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
>>
>>5175320
>Be it Cindy or Zhafira, deep down your sister still loves you, watch over her.
Personally I don't Vlad to be nail that tears this family apart completely. They can still recover methinks
>>
Why are people thinking taht why we are not picking the very first option of a companion, someone that is needed at his home and family, that it means we want Vlad to be an eternal loner?
We didn't have an option until now, Bernard has lost his wife, Zhafura has fone insane, and Benny just wanta to escape suffering, not go on an adventure, so we can't even offer what he wants.
Taking mother with us, or Barnham if we manage to do a miracle and convince him would be better.
>>
>>5175577
Okay, Mister "one post ID".
>>
>>5175579
It's mister phoneposter from the queue at the diagnosis center for you.
How about you you give an argument instead? One that doesn't depend on assuming the intentions of an entire playerbase?
>>
>>5175587
Faggot.
>>
>>5175589
Lmao what a bitch
>>
>>5175592
You're the bitch for getting so offended over being called "mister one post ID". Go back to twitter if getting called names scares you so much.
>>
>>5175594
Kek, whatever makes you feel better anon.
Come on dude, give me an argument for taking Benny other than just wanting every possible companion no matter the circumstances, we can spend all day posting cope and seethe at eachother, or do something productive for the quest instead.
>>
>>5175601
>give me an argument for taking Benny
I like him. I think he's got the will to survive and thrive, despite his incredible weakness, similarly to Isidor.
Having extra eyes is always useful, and he can probably help us whenever we get to a settlement by playing music in taverns and inns, earning us some coin and possibly cheaper if not free room and board.
>>
>>5175609
Fair enough, I also like the little guy. It's just that I believe that potential of his would be better used toward his family and community, and that teachimg him how to face his problems would let him grow more than helping him run away from them, and his sister and father suffered enough.
Mother on the other hand, has no real ties to the place other than the farming project, that she can tecah and leave at the hand of others. She also has iron will, experience being a merchant, and her morality and faith could help sway other people.
Unless we take Bernard and Zhafira as well, they were travelling artisans before being enslaved, and it would let us deal with Cindy madness slowly and have a smith on hand. Downsides is taht we would be taking four non-combatants at once (or three if mom is as good with a crossbow as she is with throwing hoes), deprive Illos of a smith and Bernard might not wnat to leave his wife's grave behind.
>>
>>5175622
I agree with taking mom along, she more than proved herself by standing up to Gorrister.
The reason I'm so insistent on bringing Benny along because I think we wont be leaving Ilos for a while. There ought to be plenty of time to train him, put Zhafira's mind back together, and fix what Barnham fucked up in Ilos.
>>
>>5175632
If we stick around Ilos for a while and fix the problems, than it does solve most of the issues with taking him along, except having Bernard lose another family member.
Might be a good idea to have a talk with all of them first so they can think it over, and make the offer again when we are ready to leave.
>>
>>5175636
>Might be a good idea to have a talk with all of them first so they can think it over, and make the offer again when we are ready to leave.
That is the best plan, and seemingly what most anons seem to agree on. Barnham already has a lot of "infrastructure" built into the Colosseum, so using that to fix the city outside would speed up the process a lot. I doubt we'd stay for longer than a month, so we'd still have time to get to Vritannis before it gets mating pressed by Ganishka.
>>
>>5175477
>and i am a bit conflicted of having them with us, since Griffith want to especially ruin our boy life and anyone connected even remotely would get a similar treatment.
This isn't very different from the situation Guts and his friends are going through, I'll just point out. In fact, they actually have it worse than we do.
>>
Woke up to a pretty engaging conversation on Vlad's party. Surprised that some are even considering sparring Barnham.
A third ally wouldn't be a bad idea after all, the second being Gunpowder, of course. Updatesoon
>>
>>5175685
Barnham has show that he is willing to admit the shortcomings of his beliefs, and choosing to spare him would be another proof of our conviction. Just got to do it when we are sure he is really defeated and not pull a get back up angrier move.
Also the idea of cucking the Godhand of an apostle that is the poster child of of what they preach amuses me.
>>
>>5175325
>>5175336
>>5175344
>>5175348
>>5175377
"Your hardships will always follow you, Benny. I've been trying to escape suffering for most of my life too, but it only brought more of it, to both me and my family. You need to learn that your troubles can't be left behind, and only by overcoming them, you will grow stronger, be it physically, or mentally. Don't expect it to be any easier when your back is stronger either, for you will only carry harder weights. Are you really going to leave your family when they also need your support? Be it Zhafira or Cindy, she loves you with all her heart, and no doubt Bernard does too. You could instead serve as a moral support to you community instead of losing sight of your homely temple, have you really thought this through?"

Your response sounds very negative on the outset, making Benny from as he expected a rejection from a possible mentor. Truly you haven't seen the extent of how bad the world can be to the new generation, and the responsibility of letting a child die on you could be too much to bear. You don't want to raise him to make the same mistakes you did growing up.

"That being said, just because you can't fight doesnt mean you are useless. You're very talented with your songs, maybe you can evolve in spirit by coming with me. But only if you choose to stick with me instead of escaping. Also ask Bernard. I'm not your father, so his words have more weight on you than mine."
"Do you really mean that?"
"Of course, why would I lie to you? Your tunes are pretty invigorating, hearing you while I trained made sure my mind didn't wander to other places. You have your worth, Benny, keep walking and you can get far, wherever you go."

The boy tears up again before gulping the lump in his throat. But before he went away, you considered getting back at the bullies for humiliating him. You've never been much of a prankster, but what's one bad example to Benny when the other kids want to peep at his sister when she's bathing? Bratty kids grow up to be bratty adults, unless they learn a proper lesson. Plus Zhafira might want to know that you're taking her brother away from her, and she's too unpredictable to make an estimate on how she will react.

>Prank the kids.
>Snitch them to their parents.
>Wait for them to go away and talk to Zhafira.
>>
>>5175716
>Prank the kids.
Use a bit of magic to fuck with them. Not too bad, just freak them out a little.
>>
>>5175716
>>Prank the kids.
>Then talk to Zhafira.
>>
>>5175730
+1
>>
>>5175716
>Sneak on the kids, and then drag them back to their parents by their clothes
>Hey, do you know the gladiators that got killed some days ago? They tried beating up those weaker than themselves using coward numbers, then and perv on Cindy. If I were you, I wouldn't go following the example of people that are buried.
>>
>>5175716
>Prank the kids
>Then snitch them to their parents.
>>
>>5175716
>Prank the kids.
>>
>>5175716
>>>Prank the kids.
>>Then talk to Zhafira.

>>5175735
i like this approach support
>>
>>5175724
>>5175730
>>5175735
>>5175738
Zhafira sat on a rock, wearing only a loincloth so she wasn't completely naked, but still exposed enough for the kids to have fun ogling at her body. She's really nothing too amazing, especially given how you can count the ribs showing on her skin, but that's probably the best piece of ass they're seeing down in this dumpster.

...Hanging out at brothels really gave you a standard on what's attractive or not, didn't it?
Regardless, you bring Benny down there to see what you could pull on the kids. If none here have even touched the Holy Scriptures, the telepathy will work on just about everyone here. And likely will scare the pits out of them if you managed to deceive them into thinking that Zhafira has some underlying powers hidden on her magical acts.

Since you don't have to mimic her voice, but only think of what she would sound like and replicate it on their brains, this should be a fun watch for Benny, taking his hand with yours and letting him hear what you say to them.

"I know you're all watching from that boulder over there, Silly boys!" They're already jumping out of their hiding spot after hearing her voice in their heads, but that's probably not enough to really make them learn.
"I also know that you've been mistreating my poor little brother Benny! Do you want to know how I lost my hand? My puppets aren't merely for show. If they see bad kids walking about at night, they will eat their meat. It's true! I try to keep them satisfied, but they keep screaming 'feed me, feed me!'."

So you might want to be more careful with the people you mess around with, or else my babies will come...after...YOU! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
Benny threw a plush doll on one of their heads as she cackled in their minds, the kids all scramble and run back crying to their mamas, with Benny holding his laughter in as they run straight past him. That will teach them.

Zhafira merely stops rubbing the imaginary space where her hand should be when reacting to the children.
"Huh, was my singing that off key?"

"How is my little sweet bun doing?" After waiting for her to get dressed, Benny is greeted by a bear hug that lifts him up to his sister's eye level. Although misguided and creepy, the harlequin cherishes Benny deeply, so you carefully explain the situation for her not to think you're taking him from her.

"Oh, no no no no! We need him right here on Ilos! Who will be the my backup player? I wanted to make my puppet shows with him!" She thinks she's the one that takes care of him, instead of the other way around.
>>
>>5175832
Well that was the worst approach, now the bullies learned to just be more scared and mistrustful of different people.
>>
>>5175832
"You wanted to travel around the world with him, yeah? It's not like I plan on taking him with me forever, I just want to show him the world outside the walls."
"We will only come out once the king shows up! No buts! Barnham wants a strong man to face him, right? Who's stronger than the king?"

"C-Ci-C-Indy... W-We- h-av-aven't played together in y-y-ears." Benny tries to inform her that he's been growing distance of the girl, tired of the character she can't get out of. "Y-You used to b-bb-e so nice. But n-n-now I can't even rec-recg-recog- I don't know you anymore!"

He skips the more complicated syllables, but gets his point across while standing up for himself.

"Why haven't you told me this before, Benny? I love you, and I want you to be happy with me..."
"I-I w- I write on your notes all the time. You just write off what you don't like to re-r-r-emember!"

She starts to itch her front of her neck, holding her laughter. It's not an innocent laugh like she tends to do when purposefully joking, but a forced one to hide her true emotions.

She would probably go even more crazy if she knew that Benny died, but to hear it from Benny that he straight up wants a break from her incessant, fake happiness when she made that up to bring him more smiles, it's already starting to set her off.

The Cindy Benny new is long gone, Zhafira is here to stay. It's not like you can exorcise an evil spirit out of her body, you'll have to either appeal to reason and hope she can understand, or drop the subject to prevent a possible freakout.

>You can come with us, maybe we can sort this out over time.
>Why does it have to be the king? I'm going to fight Barnham anyway.
>I'm sad to tell you this, but you don't have the final say on this decision.
>You're right, he should stay with you.
>It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5175847
>>It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now.
better now than later
>You can come with us, maybe we can sort this out over time.
>>
>>5175847
>You know, I was a knight-in-training once, the king was never strong or good to begin with. But we never needed him to make the world better.
>The times we frown, just makes the ones we smiles better, if we laugh all the time, than it make it meaningless.
>You were travellers weren't you? Why don't you and your father don't come as well?
>>
>>5175847
>I'm sad to tell you this, but this is Benny's decision, not yours.
>>
>>5175847
>It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now.
>>
>>5175847
>Why does it have to be the king? I'm going to fight Barnham anyway.
>>
>>5175847
>>It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now.
>>You can come with us, maybe we can sort this out over time.
>>
>>5175847
>It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now.
Can't be happy all the time. Especially if it's fake happiness.
>You can come with us, maybe we can sort this out over time.
>>
>>5175832
I was expect Vlad to just lift them with the blunt end of his pole and start talking about how they will sell for a good price to salt mine slavers of Timbuktu. And then like a fishmonger with old fish,give them back to their parents.
>>
>>5175847
>Write-in.
"Benny. When was the last time you gave your sister a sibling hug?"
This sort of thing takes years and theraphy. The only way for Cindy to reappear is to make the town better.
>>
>>5175836
>Implying the kids who peep on women and objectify them would have become contributors to society and not just worse xenophobic scumbags regardless.
>>
>>5175852
>>5175854
>>5175855
>>5175859
>>5175863
>>5175866
>>5175868
"You know, I was a knight-in-training once, the king was never strong or good to begin with. We never needed him to make the world better."

"But we need to prove Barnham wrong, and you can't do it by yourself." Her mind appears to make some sense of your argument, but she still holds her laughter in, implying that you don't have what it takes to beat the owner of the gladiator ring.

"I can tell that your laugh is forced, It's ok to feel angry or sad, Cindy. You can quit the act for now. You're justified in feeling abandoned, but if you smile all the time, your happiness will have no worth."

"He's safe with me and Dad! You can't decide this for us!"
"I cant, but that also means that you can't decide for him either. I understand that you're worried about his safety, but I'm not forbidding you from ever meeting him again. If you worry that much, you can come with us. That way you'll see him every day!"

"B-B-Be careful, Vlad!" Benny tries to warn you not to push her too far, but she soon answers you with more anger in her tone.
"This isn't how things should be! You want people to suffer, just like Barnham! I hope he rips your head open! I hope my dad breaks your armor set when he finds out you want to take Benny away! I hope- I hope-" She suddenly draws a blank on her words with a thousand yard stare before having an apparent memory lapse.

"Make way for the great Zhafira!" She skips and hops back to her hut, forgetting the outburst she was about to have. Even when pushed to the brink, she doesn't appear to have a single ounce of violence on her.

"Th-Th-This is what happens when we p-p-p-push her." Her forgetfulness plays a part in her defensive mechanisms, opting to live in wonderland when criticised or when things don't go her way in order not to hold a grudge against people who don't mean her harm.


"I w-w-ill try to talk t-t-to my dad about this. Maybe he'll-l-l- listen to me." Benny makes up his mind. This is clearly not a situation where one person can solve in a single encounter, but encouraging him to do the right thing will perk him up a notch.
Any words of advice before you go home with Benny?

>Be kind to your sister, your words will reach her eventually.
>Maybe it's best that she doesn't come along with you.
>Why not invite your dad to come with her too? Gunpowder can ride a caravan.
>Up to you, follow what your heart thinks it's best.
>>
>>5175999
>Maybe it's best that she doesn't come along with you.
>Up to you, follow what your heart thinks it's best.
>>
>>5175999
>>Why not invite your dad to come with her too? Gunpowder can ride a caravan.
>>Up to you, follow what your heart thinks it's best.
>>
>>5175999
>Be kind to your sister, your words will reach her eventually.
>>
>>5175999
>Be kind to your sister, your words will reach her eventually.
>Things like these take time. Lots of it, years of it even. You will get through to her, sooner or later.
>Why not invite your dad to come with her too? Gunpowder can ride a caravan.
>>
>>5175999
>Be kind to your sister, your words will reach her eventually.
>Things like these take time. Lots of it, years of it even. You will get through to her, sooner or later.
>Why not invite your dad to come with her too? Gunpowder can ride a caravan.
>>
Man you guys just need to tell her that a good story, even a comedy has its sad and somber moments. She wouldn't be a proper entertainer if she couldn't bring out her own tears just as easily as those watching her.

Just make her go full circle in her delusions to course correct.
>>
>>5175999
>Why not invite your dad to come with her too? Gunpowder can ride a caravan
>Be kind to your sister, your words will reach her eventually.
>>
>>5176008
>>5176011
>>5176012
>>5176013
>>5176016
"Things like these take time, Benny. Lots of it, years of it even. You will get through to her, sooner or later." You place a hand on his shoulder. "Be kind to your sister, and eventually your words might reach her. If it were up to me, I would put all the 3 of you in a caravan along with Gunpowder, but really, I can't force your family to do what they don't want. It's up to you to better their predicament. The most I can do is change Ilos from the outside in."

"G-Got it..." Benny does not know if he can change their minds by himself, but even then, a first step towards problem solving goes a long way. He might not develop any strength that way, but wether or not he's strong is irrelevant to this situation, as words and actions go together for his condition, with none of them involving violence.

Eventually, your armor set is completed, and it's not much heavier than what you got accostumed to using for the past few days. When Barnham's soldiers call for your presence in the arena, you hope you are ready to fight the apostle. Previously, you thought your encounter against Hedwyn was going to be the fight of your life, and despite managing to win and have the upper hand in several ways, you still got trashed around because you were fighting an enemy several times stronger than you. Judging from Barnham and Gorrister, that won't be a one time occurance, but the new standard to grow more powerful to finally stand a small chance against the God Hand, with your percentage of success probably being on the single digits if you stand by yourself.

Statistics aren't fun, maybe you should do like Zhafira and stick to the fine arts...
You finally enter the arena once more in full glory. Gunpowder can barely contain his excitement as he finally has the chance to chew away at the man who deprived him of the fight culture he was brewed in.

This time, a few more people chant your name when the announcer introduces you, but the crowd really goes wild when Barnham shows up with no weapons to his side. The closest thing you could call a blade are the small, protuding knuckles on his gauntlets ending in claws a few inches long. You aren't sure if these are also part of his armor, or if he likes to grow his nails.

"For the short amount of time you've been here, you already made a significant change on the audience's eyes. The betting ratio is 80/20%. It's not a large number, but for a man facing the owner of Ilos, who's never lost a fight in the arena, you should consider this a compliment."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before? I would have dropped a couple coins on my side. Given how low my odds are, I would probably make a bank from it."
"Hmph. Let's see how long your confidence lasts. Is there anything you would like to say before starting this fight?" Barnham asks as if to say 'Any last words?'
>>
>>5176146
>Why did you turn into an apostle?
>Who bested you in battle?
>Do you still plan on starting a war and killing the royal family?
>What do you think of reforming the outside village?
>Will you hold back like Gorrister, or go all out from the start?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5176146
>Who bested you in battle?
>Will you hold back like Gorrister, or go all out from the start?
>Write-in: Good Game, Have Fun
>>
>>5176146
>Write-in.
>Could I still place a bet? I'm short on cash.
>>
>>5176146
>>Who bested you in battle?
>>Do you still plan on starting a war and killing the royal family?

Prepare for the fight.
>>
>>5176150
>Who bested you in battle?
>Do you still plan on starting a war and killing the royal family?
>>
>>5176150
>Who bested you in battle?
>Could I still place a bet? I'm short on cash.
>>
>>5176150
>Who bested you in battle?
>So what's the story with meeting the Godhand and becoming an apostle?
>Might is not right, but may fate favor the best for the world.
>>
>>5176150
>Why did you turn into an apostle?
>>
>>5176150
>Why did you turn into an apostle?
>>
>>5175695
He is still an apostle so he must have done something very bad, or made a pact. You just don’t become one suddenly out of thin air.
He also committed several sins before our arrival, so I can't say he is a fine guy. The fact he also eats humans or half humans (apostles, are more or less demon-humans) is not something good.
While there can be a change of philosophy, even if it’s up in the air, his body and soul can’t really return to normal. I am not even sure we can do something about it with white od, without killing him outright.
And we might spare him, if he doesn t continue being a monster which is kind of very up in the air. He can accept defeat but, he can't really stop being an apostle after what he did.

>>5175641
Staying round for help Ilos…. It would be a good gesture. It gives us some time for rest honestly, that's nice. A week would be good.
And I almost forgot, but we also have that elite tudor knight crossbow that we can grab in our estate.
>>
>>5176191
Honestly if he wants to run around eating apostles and servants of the Godhand then whatever. He just needs to not drag people into that shit who don't want anything to do with that business. And he needs to stop shitting on people who don't want to join his little clubby.
>>
>>5176198
That would be useful, even it means that we create a possible future enemy. He could do it for get stronger and fight us a second time. While it might be cool, i don t want to give Vlad more problems to deal with. The god hand and their servants are already enough.

Beyond that though Barnham seems to respect what he says and do it, there is something else that we need to consider though.
Such as having the few good peoples around the world that know of the apostles being legimitally scared, of him being with us or just really angry about it enough to attack. It wouldn't be a strange reaction and it would be hard to justify for us.
While he isn t half bad .... being on the apostles team means you can't wash evil from your body or take out your shirt, even if you go out of said team. It remains attached.
A shame, because the fight against darkness is not in the advantage of anyone with some morales.
I don't think he could like repent from the sins he did either, since they are part of him
>>
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>>5176154
>>5176160
>>5176160
>>5176163
>>5176168
>>5176169
>>5176172
>>5176178
"Why did you turn into an apostle?"
"Wouldn't you like to know? Ironically enough, it was when I was being hunted by another monster. An ogre came to destroy my village, and me and my brother couldn't run away given our... conjoined nature." Barnham's backstory somewhat resembles the one Zhafira told you one day, the one with Don and Deion.

"I always wanted to be a knight, but they could never accept people like us. We didn't have money to make a custom armor, and the way his head was contorted on my chest made sure that I would kill him in any fight. Do you know how many came to my aid when the ogre came to crush us to bits? No one, no one but the ones who gave me this form. I owe them a great deal for fixing my body, and though I was once weak, becoming a predator seconds before dying as prey made me realize how impotent I was when sharing bodies with my brother. Now that I'm finally free, ceasing my conquest for power is damn near possible. Might is addicting, and the only thing that stops me from indulging in my impulses, is to remind myself that I was once also incapable, much like the previous slaves I owned."

"So you still plan on starting a war, I assume? Killing the royal family included?"
"I am not incapable of change, Vlad. But it will take me some convincing. Only unlike your horse, I don't believe there are many restraints that could bind me."
"Like the man who bested you in battle? What was his name?"

"Nosferatu Zodd. The immortal warrior from 300 years ago... He once came to Ilos to search for a good fight. Like me, he yearns for battle. This was in the early days of my Coliseum, where not enough people were there to see my failures and doubt my credibility, but our fight was pretty intense. He killed nearly all my men, and when I tried to fight him, even my punches weren't enough to bring him down. That's when I finally transformed and started to turn the tides. But just when victory was within sight, he revealed that what I thought was his apostle form, was merely his restrained state."

Wow, is he that ugly?
"The fight lasted twelve whole hours. I would feast and heal with the bodies of my fallen comrades, but he would take me down regardless. It wasn't until there was only one more soldier left that he spoke up."
"Cease. You stood no chance when eating the past 200 bodies, what would the 201st do? You should already take pride in standing against the best for half a day, Barnham. However, you still have a long way to go if you plan on overtaking our masters. Grow stronger, and maybe I will consider taking your life."
"You've won, Master Zodd. By all means, you should be the one to lead my coliseum!"

"I am not interested in plots of lands, but the search for the strongest one. You might not be the one I'm looking for, but you might reach a higher tier one day. Perhaps to even fight me without resorting to human consumption."
>>
>>5176257
"12 hours?!" You start to reconsider your odds at winning this fight once you hear how long he stood against Zodd, but he soon calms you down.
"Of course, I only lived thanks to the strength of my undead gladiators, and even then I was still mostly being toyed around with. I have no shame in losing that fight, because I am now several times over the man I was before. But even then, who's to say I am any more capable of killing Zodd than when I fought him before? No doubt he trains more than I do, for all we know, it would still be as likely for me to win, as much as the audience believes in you."

"20%? It's a good enough number. Maybe I'd be more worried if it was down to 2%, but there's still room enough for me to bet. Speaking of bets, would you mind if I wagered in with a few golden coins?"

"Planning on breaking the economy, huh? Go ahead. Most of the bets on your side come from the poor, and I don't think they have enough money to compensate for their losses. Too many votes of confidence, in my opinion."

"WHOO! GO,GO, VLAAD!" You hear Cindy's voice throwing some grains to the sky to cheer for you, while her family facepalms and Michelle tries to grab the wasted food from the floor."

Ok. He might not plan on regenerating here since there's nothing for him to eat. He seems to be controlled enough not to go grab a snack from the viewers, but given how he's eaten hundreds of people and was good enough to be noticed by Zodd -Which managed to defeat Griffith and Guts while barely working up a sweat- You'll have to use nearly all of your power if you plan on winning.

"May the best fighter win." He pats you on the back before taking distance.
"No need to say it twice." You close your helm as you go into position.
The sun reaches it's peak once more as the fight starts, with Barnham punching his gauntlets in anticipation, inviting you to approach him.

>Turn your Od Sense on and dodge his moves with precognition.
>Approach him yourself with your horse.
>Drop down from Gunpowder and meet him face to face.
>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>Get ready to banish him with Merlina's cloak.
>>
>>5176282
I suspect he’ll recognise our Od usage against him and adapt to it, so

> Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>
>>5176282
>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
What would happen if we used merlinas cloak to banish him? would we be restricted to only using dark magic from then on or no?
>>
>>5176282
>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>
>>5176297
From what I remember, we only need to do some incantation and it will activate

I say not using it here UNLESS we're going to day, and even then I would feel bad. Better if we save it for the slimy bitch of C*nrad. Surely that's going to make granma Mer proud
>>
>>5176282
>>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
Boss fight? Get the buffs.
>>
>>5176282
>>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>
>>5176282
>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>
>>5176282
>>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>
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>>5176291
>>5176297
>>5176298
>>5176309
>>5176313
>>5176319
>>5176324
Smart choice to start with buffs, but Barnham won't be a sitting duck like Gorrister, let's see what a 1d100 will do to your dodging.
Roll!
>>
>>5176282
>Charge your armor and your halberd with purifying energy.
>>5176191
Sparing on him does depend on him being willing to change, but so far it seems it seems it's not impossible, just difficult.
>>
Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5176329
Rolling in 50 seconds
>>
Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>5176329
rnjesus here my prayers
>>
Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>5176329
Hope our luck holds!
>>
>>5176333
>>5176334
>>5176335
Damn, the 97s have forsaken us in our hour of need
>>
our luck, did in fact, not hold
>>
>>5176337
Nah they just want to do that whole underdog thing. We're fugged
>>
>>5176297
It would be like opening a pin to a grenade. The power might not be yours, but it will explode either way.
Just make sure you're not the one under it when it happens.
>>
Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>5176329
lets see what I would have gotten.
>>
>>5176333
>>5176334
>>5176335
Welp, time to use merlinas cape.
>>
>>5176355
What are ya, afraid of getting some scars?
>>
>>5176355
This is the first turn, we can still make a comeback.
R-right?
>>
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>>5176356
No, I am afraid of being vored.
>Pic related
>>
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>>5176359
>>
>>5176359
Just for having that you deserve to have your toenails plucked and the skin rolled up to your ankles.
>>
>>5176333
>>5176334
>>5176335
We're fucked.
>>
>>5176300
I'm pretty certain Conrad would only be mildly inconvenienced by the cloak. Which can be considered a victory in its own right, I suppose.
>>
Good lord we are fucked
>>
>>5176333
>>5176334
>>5176335
With deep breaths, you charge your weapon to make sure it negates any form of durability, along with placing some Od to make an external shell of protection in case Barnham manages to hit you.

There is still enough time to charge Gunpowder with some extra juice in his astral storage, maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea if-
Barnham pulls his arm back in one second, and in another, Gunpowder sprints away from his line of attack, the air current being strong enough to send you both a few feet upwards.

The shockwave from the impact is enough to crack the wall into pieces, with the cracks reach up to the seats, making a group of onlookers start running to the exit. Some rock pieces do manage to hit you across the head, and falling from your horse at this height with heavy armor would be enough to leave anyone winded.

"So you managed to dodge it, not bad. Good thing we're only getting started." Barnham approaches you with a sprint as you quickly try to make your horse go back on all fours, but the apostle catches you by the neck and dunks you once again to ground level, the powerful takedown making you nearly pop your spine out of alignment as you take the weight of your horse on your curled up figure.

"Either Gorrister's heart has finally put me at the peak of my strength, or your ideals of peace were all talk." He has the gall to crouch over your face before kicking your horse across the front gate, the two of you careering until feeling the splinters of the old oak carvings crawl behind your back.

You can take this kind of abuse (with several bruises and internal bleeding) but it's best if Gunpowder stays on the floor for a bit, or else he'll really be out of commission for the long term.

You come back to the inner circle of the arena and face Barnham head on, but your precognition surprises you by telling that Barnham will not move and take the hit, merely placing his hand on the end of your weapon.

Your spear goes through his hand and almost reaches his face, until he closes his fist and spins your arm to the point of twisting it, your body twirling as he briefly picks up your new weapon.

"You can keep this in your hands, I'll make sure all your bones are broken by hand."
With one strong punch to the stomach, you feel like a cannon ball has dropped on you. Even with your thin Od layer making him retreat instead of continuing into a barrage of fisticuffs, it's still enough to feel like your pancreas was about to explode on the weight of his gauntlets.

"So you have some means of attacking while you take damage, interesting. Let's how long you can keep this up." He observes you convulse in pain before standing up with the help of the dull end of your weapon. The confident fighter bares his claws and slowly marches forward.

>Attempt to break his claws.
>Sense his Od and dodge his attacks.
>Throw sand in his eye and slash at his body.
>Defend and hope he gets exhausted before you.
>Pull Merlina's cloak out.
>>
Here lies Vlad

2021-2022

He tried, but Merlina is still disappointed
>>
>>5176389
>Sense his Od and dodge his attacks.
>>
>>5176389
>Sense his Od and dodge his attacks.
>>
>>5176389
>Throw sand in his eye and slash at his body.

You all need to calm a bit, is just some bad rolls sheesh
>>
>>5176389
>>Throw sand in his eye and slash at his body.
>>
>>5176389
>Sense his Od and dodge his attacks.
>>
>>5176389
>Sense his Od and dodge his attacks.
>>
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>>5176401
>>5176402
>>5176406
>>5176408
>>5176428
>>5176446
Eh, I figure you can do both.
First roll goes for pocket sand, the other for Ultra Instinct mode.
2d100. Do it for her, anons. Or for him, Serpico seems to treat you better at least.
>>
Rolled 51, 81 = 132 (2d100)

>>5176460
I do it for our aunt, we will dave her one day.
>>
Rolled 88, 31 = 119 (2d100)

>>5176460
IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
>>
Rolled 56, 16 = 72 (2d100)

>>5176460
>>
>>5176466
The lord of blood perhaps. Khornate dubs demand violence.
>>
Rolled 16, 49 = 65 (2d100)

>>5176463
>>5176466
Amazing!
>>
>>5176463
>>5176466
>>5176476
Feeling like the same tactic could work twice, you kick some dust in Barnham's face, making him cough and wheeze before squinting his eyes.
"Resorting to dirty tricks to gain the upper hand? What a proud warrior you are, not like this will do anything to me, as I can sense your smell with my superior senses."

The most this action did was to make him and the remaining watchers to thing less of you.

Barnham is guided by his nose, claring the air around him and scratching you with surprising accuracy, but reading enemy movements is your forte, and now that he tries to step forward, all you have to do is dodge his afterimage and hit him in the brief moments of cooldown, damaging more and more of his hands and chest with each passing attack.

When you reach the round outer walls, you bump your head jumping backwards as his right hand comes rushing after your eye sockets. You manage to place your pole in the midst of the attack, but it makes his claw bounce off into your dominant shoulder, with several holes now impaling your armor.

Either keep him in place, or watch him tear your arm off, so you block his arm from moving in a leg lock and poke away at the other arm so he can't attack you back, forcing him to retreat. Two of his nails seems to have broken off and be stuck inside your body, making your tendons unresponsive. It seems you will have to hold your spear in one hand now.

"Finally, some of that energy you were exhaling before!" You visibly see his claws retreating as his wrists tremble from the purification magic, not unlike how your shoulder was already convulsing.
"Geh, starting to get excited? Maybe you should wait for the fight to properly start before you misjudge your opponent." You distract him long enough for Gunpowder to stand back up and rush at him with a headbutt, sending him tripping down as you lift him back up with a slice to the jugular!
"You worm... take this!" Barnham turns over and suckerpunches your horse, a good stream of blood flying from his nose as he falls once more.

"Gunpowder!" Throwing caution to the wind, you take one of his claws out of your arm and shove it in his heart from his backside, but when turning around to see his face, you don't notice any signs of him reacting to the pain, completely numb and vicious to it.

It is now your turn to take one of his punches, as your temple is massaged with the delicacy of a sledgehammer. With him tackling you to the ground once again, you expected this attack to have crushed your skull into your collarbone, but it was significantly less charged than the last one. Gunpowder seems to react the same way, getting up once more instead of being blown to bits like the 10m wide reinforced arena he just tore a crack in.

Is that why he's temporarily switched his fighting style from punching to scracthing, because he cannot mantain that level of absolute power for long?
>>
>>5176540
>Get up and on your horse and stall while he wastes energy.
>Get some healing from Gunpowder.
>Attempt to steal Barnham's energy.
>Keep fighting dirty and poke him in the gonads.
>Try to break his claws.
>Roll under him and keep dodging his attacks.
>Parry him with your swordshord and wait for him to tire himself out.
>Let him hit you while you reinforce your astral shield, attacking him while he hurts himself.
>>
>>5176554
>Get up and on your horse and stall while he wastes energy
>>
>>5176554
>Attempt to steal Barnham's energy.
and
>Roll under him and keep dodging his attacks.
>>
>>5176554
>Attempt to steal Barnham's energy.
Then
>Get up and on your horse and stall while he wastes energy.
>>
>>5176540
>"Resorting to dirty tricks to gain the upper hand? What a proud warrior you are,
Get a load of this guy, thinking pride matters in a fight to the death. But that's fine. We aren't fighting for our own vanity here.

>>5176554
>>Get up and on your horse and stall while he wastes energy.
Let's not try to drink the evil juice from concentrated apostle, eh?
>>
>>5176565
>>5176582
Yeah, not drinking concentrated CAUSALITY (tm) is probably good for Vlad's long-term health thinking on it. Switching first option to:
>Roll under him and keep dodging his attacks.
>>
>>5176554
>Get up and on your horse and stall while he wastes energy.

Attempt to steal Barnham's energy. - this option is DARK MAGIC YOU FOOLS
>>
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>>5176560
>>5176562
>>5176565
>>5176582
>>5176587
>>5176588
You were smart on avoiding the succ.
Dice checks will be more chill since he's getting tired. Well, at least until he transforms...
1d100 for more dodging shenanigans!
>>
Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>5176646
>>
Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5176646
>>
Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>5176646
watch this save
>>
Wouldnt be a beserk quest without shit rolls.
>>5176652
>>5176656
>>5176659
>>
>>5176652
>>5176656
>>5176659
Sad times
>>
>>5176666
Nice quads
>>
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>>5176652
>>5176656
>>5176659
Bet the God Hand would be pleased to see these dice
>>
>>5176668
Quads of demonic depression
>>
Rolled 71, 81, 90 = 242 (3d100)

>>5176674
God Hand can suck my fat earlobes.
>>
>>5176697
we found out how to roll good, just insult the god hand.
>>
>>5176700

Its more than likely they took it as some perverse compliment.
>>
Rolled 86, 6, 22 = 114 (3d100)

>>5176724
that's where your wrong watch this.

the god hand are incompetent idiots.
>>
>>5176728
lol
>>
>>5176652
>>5176656
>>5176659
These rolls were rigged by Conrad, I can feel it.
>>
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>>5176652
>>5176656
>>5176659
If you can afford to waste his strength at punching the wind while you avoid his grasp, eventually his punches might be weakened into something that doesn't feel akin to being trampled by a stampede or holding your hands on the sharp edge of a guillotine.

Rolling under him and making a deep cut on the inside of his kidney, you retreat and force him to face you and your stallion, which you momentarily lean on for support as Barnham takes the sand out from his eyes.

"I can see why you wanted to meet him. The guy can ignore a lot of damage."
'Gunpowder never said fight easy.'
"Yeah, yeah, just give me a hoove here. Need some help with dodging his attacks."
'As human wishes.'

Making use of the traps you have on your feet, you let yourself fall to whatever opposite side he tries to strike. Be it punching or clawing, you can avoid most of the damage by merely swinging and holding to your trusty ride. By the time Barnham eventually manages to get a hit on you, it's a punch to the face that breaks your nose just by grazing it, but at least you're not flying into the sky just from being at his presence like at the start of the fight.

You try to breathe through your mouth as your nostrils are obliterated, but it only makes you cough more often as you feel your blood climbing through your esophagus. Your legs are pretty much the only part of your body with minor injuries, but for how long would that last?

Your foe is losing a lot of blood, but he doesn't show a single sign of being worn out due to his inability to feel pain. He relies on his ability to regenerate through eating, but that still doesn't give away how many hundred blows he can take before falling down. He's a beast of the resilient kind.

"My power is failing me. If I hit you like this in the first few minutes, your head would have flown right to where your mother is at." Barnham scoffs as you bite your lips to ignore the rest of your body falling apart. "Pain does not affect me, but I have a way of knowing when my body grows weak, which is the effectiveness of my blows. Supposedly, I can ascend to a higher threshold and keep that same level of might throughout longer periods, but since my human form lets me know when I'm exhausted, it's best not to ignore my mortal limitations."

"This is the second time a fight has been elongated enough for me to seep into my apostle form. All of you! Bask in the glory of my true appearance!"

Barnham grows thicker and hairier, his nose turns into a snout and his teeth grow. The claws he uses now start to make more sense, seeing as he takes the form of a humanoid bear.
His attributes remain increased and stable, but his cuts have grown larger and his chopped claws did not regenerate. He is still just as damaged as before, but know that he is unleashed, facing him head on would be a grave mistake.
>>
>>5176833
>he's a fucking werebear
No wonder he's so damn tanky.
>>
>>5176833
You hold your wobbling lance in place under your bad arm, and a shortsword on your good hand. Your body will give out at the first sign of another failure to defend yourself, even with your armor on - which is now a mixture of his blood, yours and Gunpowder's - You're shaking just to keep your posture. What started out as a way to protect yourself from blows is now limiting your movement even further when you're not horseriding. Your oxygen intake is reduced and the taste of your blood is all you feel. How will you land a blow on him like this?

...Magic. Of course! You don't have any chalk or a stylus with you, you can still scratch an incantation circle anywhere around here, but that would take time, and screwing up the rune might change the spell into something else, or just flat out not work.

Alternatively, you can taste the forbidden fruit and attempt dark magic, bleeding on your scribbles wouldn't be difficult at all given how you're already losing plenty of blood, but that would come at the cost of being a prime target to the occult. Whatever you tried to do would be ridiculously more effective by the use of the dark arts, but that is a line you do not want to cross.

...But Merlina did. There is no risk in throwing her cloak onto Barnham and killing him by banishing his form into the depths. It's an extreme decision, and you could always wait for the situation to worsen to really decide on losing the only thing your master left to you, but your Ods are really the only exploit you can still use here.

"Are you scared for your life, Vlad? Let the feeling build inside you, it will help you grow as strong as me..." Barnham walks on all fours, with Gunpowder barely being able to retreat while he closes the distance.
Most of the audience has already ran out of the coliseum by now, with only a few morbid onlookers and your supporting faction to watch how this will continue.

>Heal yourself with Gunpowder's energy.
>Get close to Barnham and absorb his power.
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
>Distract his mind using telepathy.
>Keep fighting using your body.
>See what you can learn with the dark arts.
>Use the last of Merlina's Od.
>>
>>5176865
>Distract his mind using telepathy.

We are not going down the dark route YET
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
Hopefully it doesn't just activate dark magic because Barnham bleeds on it, since it's not purs or we aren't sacrificing it.
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
We're not too desperate to resort to dark magic. And I hope we never will.
>>
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
>>
>>5176865
>>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
If I remember right we are quite good at drawing circles so lets appeal to our strengths. If this fails I'm going for merlinas cloak next.
>>
>>5176865
>Draw a restraining circle and bind him on one side of the ring.
This doesn't really solve the problem though. How do we kill him?
And could you guys remind me what the consequences were for embracing the dark side?
>>
>>5176995
>And could you guys remind me what the consequences were for embracing the dark side?
Demons up the ass forever.
>>
>>5176995
Simple
If it s binded we can strike at him while our pure Od is coated on our weapons. He also will need to spend a lot of energy to get out of it, meaning we have a window of time where we can strike him over and over again. It doesn't get better than that if it works out.

What happens ? It will morally and physically corrupt us. We will end up not being able to be pure again and we use a power that is a gain of the God Hand whenever it's used. Because
>>
this power was made by them. Also demon aids
>>
>>5176995
>And could you guys remind me what the consequences were for embracing the dark side?
All the normal magic? Yeah it tells us to fuck off and suck more dark magic dicks.

Once you go black, as they say.

It's basically ass raping the magical ghosties to get them to do what you want instead of asking politely like regular magic does.
>>
>>5177007
Wait, will the spell lock him in place? I thought it would just prevent him from crossing over into our side of the ring. Like an invisible wall.
>It will morally and physically corrupt us.
Merlina seemed... okay. At least for our standards, we just need to kill apostles and shit.
>>5177009
Oh. That's a problem.
>>
>>5176865
>Distract his mind using telepathy.

I wonder... in the future, perhaps we should prepare some paper slips or wooden pieces with magic runes drawn/carved on them?
The size of the talisman might limit the power and the kind of spell we can put on them but having something we can throw out quickly would be fantastic.
>>
>>5177010
>bind him on one side of the ring.
To me it sounds like we are doing it for blocking him. If it just for keep in the other side of the arena, it doesn't really help much for combat and i imagine Becchi would understand that. Unless we heal, but od is limited.

She was barely holding is mind together and was slightly happy at the end of the three years, before she was on the verge of insanity and full with hatred for pretty much everything, that's not really okay in anyone books. Dark magic was what made the swamp, same for the flesh monsters. She avoided using it during the three years, unless it was for teach or fight something.
I prefer to not use their powers, our own was made for exorcise them.
>>
>>5177025
I'm pretty sure her mental state was because she had to listen to meat piles screaming every single day and the only thing to keep her company was some walking rocks and a one way TV to everyone living happy lives. It's understandable that she would be a teensy bit extremely bitter.
>>
>>5177029
Meat piles and swamp, made by dark magic. Meat piles that are her family doomed to be in that state for years, and with her not being able to do a thing for them, beside killing them before they get out of the swamp. Because she couldn't use white Od anymore, otherwise she would have purify the swamp time ago.
So i think is a pretty big deal for her life. It's not a minor thing at all.

And btw she did tell us to not use this magic, unless as a very last resource.
>>
>>5177035
>comparing cutting yourself to make the magic happen to being forcibly transformed into a giant prolapsed asshole with an incestuous vore fetish
I mean yeah, but no.
>>
>>5177036
One thing leads to another in Berserk, and even a small thing it's rarely inconsequential. It's very easy to fall further in to darkness in this world. I wouldn't be surprised if we would need to pass some rolls for not give in, after we pass a certain point.
This said, if you want to use dark magic vote for it. If there are others that want to use it they will vote for it as well.
Simple enough.
>>
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>>5176877
>>5176881
>>5176882
>>5176892
>>5176914
>>5176944
>>5176992
>>5176995
Drawing the circle is easy, the hard part is doing it on the run. Let's hope it works.
A 1d100 and good luck, roll!
>>
Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>5177105
BIG NUMBER
>>
Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5177105
inb4 critfail
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>5177105
The Godhand sucks
>>
>>5177107
>>5177109
>>5177110
Well shit, we blew all our luck for the thread with Gorrister.
>>
>>5177111
68 isn't TOO bad...
>>
>>5177122
The worst that will happen is that we'll fuck up the rune and cast a different spell, or fail to cast any at all. Becchi is cruel, but he's not actively malicious.
>>
>>5177122
But it isn't 69
>>
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>>5177107
>>5177109
>>5177110
Though your condition is borderline critical, you command Gunpowder to move under Barnham's arms as he attempts to slam his fists on you, dodging and grazing several attacks on his thighs with the back of your lance. He merely assumes you lack the strength to weild your halberd, but in actuality, the sound of rock scratching when you circle around him is indicative of what you are really doing.

By the time he looks down and tries to figure out what the drawing under him says, you activate the spell as a transparent bubble flows from outside of his body, entrapping him and burning Barnham's body from the outside in, the electrocution from being struck directly on his soul is enough to make him convulse as you seize the opportunity, ripping and tearing at his arm like his soldiers did to Zhafira.

You use all of your remaining force incapacitate his left side. Your ire fueling your next attacks as you sink your spear on him and use all 3 sides of your blade to hit him in different places, sticking your short sword and dragging it across his shoulder to make sure it cuts his ribcage too.

"What is this? Why can't I move?" Barnham struggles to escape as he becomes a sitting duck to your berserker barrage, but with your energy failing, so will your magic spell.

The bubble grows smaller around the bear apostle as he pops it by clawing at nothing. Seeing how his arm is nearly destroyed, Barnham believes that the best course of action is to sink his paw deep into his shoulder and rip his own arm right off.
"This is nothing I can't fix by eating some hearts..."

While a suicidal tactic for most, his shoulder is heavy enough to be used as a makeshift club for him, wacking you down as he crushes you under his weight.
Feeling the full force of his blow, you hear your bones shattering as you're paralyzed from the waist down. You can only hope that this isn't permanent...
Thinking of your future in this position is meaningless, with Barnham repeatedly using his removed arm to bash you to the point where you feel all the life going away from your body. Several external fractures are exposed as your bones cut into your skin with each passing slam.

"I... I can't watch this!" Michelle covers her eyes from the stadium as she tears up at the thought of seeing her only remaining family member dying. To her surprise, Barnham picks some elf powder from his fur and rops some of it on you.
"Don't tell me this is where it all ends, Vlad! The greatest fight of my life can't be finished so soon." He gives you some wiggle room for your body to regenerate minor bruises, but not enough time to dodge another crushing blow from him.
>>
>>5177147
>Healing your opponent mid-fight so it can go on longer
Based Barnham
>>
>>5177147
Oh, god damn it.

I hope we get a fairy Devil Trigger from this.
>>
>>5177151
He is pulling a Solid Snake! Soon we will be shouting Snake at the top of our lungs
>>
>>5177147
Barnham, you sick, despicable, twisted demonic bastard. I really hope we win this fight and make him turn against the God Hand to hunt other apostles. Either in our side or by his own, but that this ends up with us being somewhat homies
>>
>>5177147
"Get up! GET UP! GET. UP." Barnham's frenzy over you being near death is detrimental to both yours and his health. He's also bleeding all over, his arm is chopped off up to the shoulder, and the hole is big enough for you to stick your head into. His heart, his kidneys, his everything has been seeping with your purifying touch! He's losing consideraly more blood than you in both liquid and percentage wise. Why isn't he dead yet?!

The monster continues this horrifying cycle. Healing you enough to think you can stand up, only to bash you when you're starting to feel your legs again. It's one thing to be beaten to a pulp, but getting a full heal before being trashed over and over again feels like the pain of several bodies being destroyed at the span of a few minutes, all of them being yours

Alas, not even elf powder has eternal healing properties, your body refuses to absorb more of what's still left on his pouch. Your lips are dry, the natural energy of your Od can only heal what your body can naturally do over time. It almost feels like you aged up to the point of being so old that your body is incapable of regenerating, or turned into a starving man who can't eat too much without bursting his stomach.

You raise your torso with your functioning arm to see Barnham still standing up. He has to be close to dying, he has to! You can sense his Od, his dark aura is fading in and out of sight as his heart spills blood with each passing pump. Is he stupid enough to prolong this enough until not a single drop to stay inside him? Frankly, it's working pretty well for him, since you're one step closer to death's door yourself...

It's still a slightly better condition from before his first paw strike, which isn't saying much, but with only one arm and 3 complete claws to hurt you, the only tough part about him is how vehemently he refuses to defend himself.

"Your body will serve as my most precious meal yet... Perhaps with your strength, I will even surpass the likes of Zodd!" Barnham uncharacteristically drops his arms, either being too tired to carry it without realizing, or growing bored of the same attack pattern. "End of the line, Vlad! This attack will wipe you off the face of the planet!" He bears his remaining paw and aims to gut you with his claws.
Oh boy...

>Roll over to his clawless fingers.
>Attempt to block the Od flow from his heart.
>Raise your spear and tear the tendons on his armpits.
>Forfeit the match and hope he accepts.
>Absorb his energy as he impales you.
>Throw Merlina's cloak under him.
>>
>>5177164
>>Raise your spear and tear the tendons on his armpits.
pain or not he cannot move his arm
>>
>>5177164
>Throw Merlina's cloak under him.

DO OR FUCKING DIE BOYS
>>
>>5177164
>Attempt to block the Od flow from his heart.
>>
>>5177164
>>Raise your spear and tear the tendons on his armpits.
>>
And halberds are supposed to have a bonus vs Large!
>>
>>5177164
>Raise your spear and tear the tendons on his armpits
>BARNHAM!
>>
>>5177164
>Raise your spear and tear the tendons on his armpits
>>
>>5177167
>>5177177
>>5177180
>>5177186
Roll me a 1d100 or die trying!
>>
Rolled 44 (1d100)

>>5177203
>>
Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>5177203
Time to die
>>
Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>5177203
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5177203
>>
>>5177205
>>5177206
>>5177212

We Did Not Do. We Died.
>>
>>5177205
>>5177206
>>5177212
RIP Vlad, he had three good fights
>>
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>>5177206
Indeed
>>
If we don't die from this, its definitely time to use merlinas cloak.
>>
what happens when we die? Quest over? or Restart from beginning?
>>
>>5177222
I assume we restart at the beginning of the encounter. So that would be the beginning of the fight with Barnham.
>>
>>5177222
Becchi last time said something about Sivir pulling a Deus ex Machina and saving us.
Which I personally feel cheapens the experience, but in the end our sucess depends on dice, not planning, so having a safety net is fair enough.
>>
Becchi mentioned that Sivir would have done something, beyond that idk.
>>
>>5177228
>Sivir pulling a Deus ex Machina and saving us

BANG BANG BANG PULL MY FAIRY TRIGGER
>>
>>5177222
I haven't ever see restarts from the beginning.
Usually over or a new start with someone else.

Btw all this talk but Vlad could still be alive and victorious, but just on the verge of death. Which surprisingly enough fits with the majority of fights of Berserk, since Guts is many times on the death door after the end of a fight.

Barnham is on his last leg and another strike would bring him down. We don't know the dc for pass too.
>>
>>5177205
>>5177206
>>5177212
Yeah, 51 is in 13% of worst rolls, it's like rolling 3 on a d20. I hope we just die and restart the fight.
>>
>>5177249
I don't know, every time we rolled less than 70 we got fucked.
>>5177227
>>5177252
The only restart I remember is The end of stardust quest, when Kira used bite the dust after we rolled a 1 and fought him again
>>
>>5177252
We don't have Fate points or re rolls?
>>
>>5177255
no
>>
>>5177255

Rules:
Rolls will usually be a best of 3 1d100 from each player, DCs are context sensitive but transparent when prompted to roll.
Only 1 and 100 count as crits and good crits override bad ones.
Voting period closes after 1 hour from the first reply or when enough players unanimously choose the same options.
You can always ask for additional context for your choices and voting can be extended should anyone make an argument that could change previous votes.
Write-ins are always welcomed so long as they dont break character. Have fun and do your best.
>>
And before someone say this are invented, check the start of every thread.
>>
>Arlight that's enough Dark Souls for today, let's see the numbers the anons rolled--
>>5177205
>>5177206
>>5177212
Sheesh. I wonder if I should break your plot armor this early...
>>5177249
Well then it's a good thing the dice check for it was a straight up 50.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKQJXJOVGE4
Never expect to win by a landslide against a boss fight, writing.
>>
>>5177270
Holy shit, saved by 1 over the DC
>>
>>5177254
I look at the written results of all the rolls. With everything done before this last three rolls, not just Vlad was taking a beating but even Barnham.

>>5177270

Good for me.
>>
>>5177270
Holy shit that was close, thank god.
>>
>>5177270
>>5177206
hell yeah
>>
>>5177270
Question for BecchiQM, does Vlad remember enough of the magic lessons he couldn't figure out to practice later or are those magic books still safe and hidden in the swamp?
Also nothing like succeeding by 1, hoping Vlad is not going to suffer permanent injuries.
>>
>>5177300
>permanent injuries.
DONT GIVE HIM IDEAS!
>>
>>5177300
>Vlad loses an arm and a leg
>>
>>5177270
>saved by 1
W E W
>>
>>5177300
>that moment when Vlad gets his right eye gouged out and need to buy a glass fake.
>>
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>>5177300
He remembers a few simple ones like barriers and wards. Since he couldn't astral project in those 3 years he really can't do more complex stuff like talk to spirits or summon the four kings unless he uses some blood, even if he knows some of the essential scribes. I should probably note that down.

His mom being a shapeshifting plantmorph probably made his internal identity be in a little bit of a conundrum. Wonder how he'll be able to fix that... Maybe Sivir's bouncing ball has something to do with it...
>>
>>5177315
Damn what if someone punches us in the glass eye, that shit will shatter and kill us from internal bleeding.
>>
>>5177205
>>5177206
>>5177212
With one last leap, you spike at Barnham's armpit. Normally he wouldn't even budge from this attack, but the state he's in makes his body weaker, no matter how much he would deny that with his words.

You tumble him to the ground as you attempt to rip that other arm of his, but Barnham roars and claws at your body. He misses several times before scraping your skin off your glabela down to your cheekbone. If you didn't have a few milimeters of bone to protect your closed eye from the attack, you would have lost your eyelid along with being blind. 3 large clawing marks stick to your face as he the pain from your broken nose grows sharper. You're too afraid to open your eye and find out if you've gotten blind from this...

The pool of red covers your remaining eye as you stick to slicing off his other limb, but he manages to impale you with two of his talons, slowly spreading his fingers apart as he tries to disembowel you completely, you gamble on tearing off his ligaments before he can slice you in half.

With you rolling over to space yourself from his range while still kiting him, Gunpowder rises one last time to bite and chew at Barnham's earlobe, ripping it off so he could have even less to focus on, not knowing that he ain't feeling it.

Before the point of his nail reaches high enough to cut your heart, his arm stops moving and falls. He tries to devour Gunpowder for extra health as their mouths were pretty much touching already, but when opening his jaw, he let out a sharp roar as you manage to get out of his grasp and cut deeper into the slash under his chest, placing a hand on his heart as it's rumbling slows down.
That's it, you're holding his heart and Barnham finally reacted to pain, no matter how further he can go with two detatched arms, his blood flow being shut out entirely is bound to make him stop. Just hang tight and let him fail.

Your wrist is broken as his heart pressure increases to the point of going into failure, forcing a stroke as you clog his aorta. With no options left to give, he grows thinner and smaller by returning to a human form as you pull your hand from his guts.

"What's this? They're both laying on top of eachother? How can we declare our winner if neither of them stand up?" You hear the announcer chiming in as a small portion of the watchers reenter the coliseum, realizing the fight was near it's end.

"Only one of us can be the last man standing. The crowd wants a winner, Vlad. They're betting their whole life's savings on--...." Your eardrums keep ringing, but you manage to hear the start of Barnham's speech before he gets drowned out by your anguish. You can't move a finger, you can't open your left eye, and your right one is starting to feel heavy.

"--... I will give them what they want." Barnham pushes you aside with a roll, making an effort to push his legs as he can't use his arms to stand.
>>
>>5177315
>>5177321
>Lose an eye
>"Oh no! Damn, we need some glass eye now"
>Not learning enough Magic to the point were we have two raven familiars who can sort our seeing problem
>Not learning enough Magic si we can open our "third eye" that which will let us see the mortal world and the spiritual world
>Worst yet, not thinking in the possibility of taking Branham eye out, learn a way to purify it in case it can infect us with his demonic Od or even blood, and by succesfully doing so we gain part of his strenght like he does with eating peoples heart

Come on now, anons. We're some kind of plant-construct human being, surely we can pull of some shit like the ones I said
>>
>>5177333
"BARNHAM! BARNHAM! BARNHAM!" Everyone cheers for the coliseum's owner as he repeatedly hunches over and fails to lift himself off his feet. It seems he is still the winner of this fight afterall. You've more than proven to be a capable foe to your matchup, no doubt he will respect you going forth...

Or will he? You didn't hear a good portion of what he said. For all you know he could still be very inclined to kill the king on the capital, and the way the crowd still wants to see a decisive win, there is probably some carnage incoming...

Will you trust Barnham in keeping his word and that he respects your strength, or will you try to stand up before him and win the fight? You don't even need to mistrust him, part of your pride wants to say you've bested a building destroyer apostle on a fight that could have gone either way, but it would look pretty silly for you to crumble under your internal injuries and risk seeing the inside of your knees explodejust because you wanted to break Ilos' economy and double your money. If you're going to muster up the strength to move a muscle, you better say it was due to noble reasons.

Man, you could have done like 20 jumping jacks while you thought about this, but your body just feels so weighty... Is this really how every fight will go on for now forth?

Barnham falls once gain, putting him in the same position as you are now. Will you attempt to claim your victory, or let the owner of the coliseum keep his title?

>Attempt to stand up before him.
>Expel your Od on him and weaken his body, forcing the fight into a tie.
>Rip his heart out and kill him.
>Ask Gunpowder for you to lean on him again.
>>
>>5177341
>Attempt to stand up before him.
We got money on this.
>>
>>5177341
>Attempt to stand up before him.
Show him what the determination and will of a single mere human can truly surpass him and the godhand!
>>
>>5177341
>Rip his heart out and kill him.
>Ask Gunpowder for you to lean on him again.

Gunpowder will only accept Barnham's death.
>>
>>5177341
>>Rip his heart out and kill him.
>>
>>5177341
>Attempt to stand up before him
This >>5177334 guy gets it why Vlad has two perfect children to turn into a Raven and a crow
>>
>>5177341
>>Rip his heart out and kill him.
>>Ask Gunpowder for you to lean on him again.
>>
>>5177341
>>Expel your Od on him and weaken his body, forcing the fight into a tie.
OR
>Attempt to stand up before him.
>>
>>5177341
>>Attempt to stand up before him.
>>
>>5177341
>Attempt to stand up before him.
He fought well. Now, let's show him up.
>>
>>5177341
>Attempt to stand up before him.
I kinda want to see what happens if we spare him.
>>
>>5177343
>>5177344
>>5177351
>>5177368
>>5177373
>>5177387
>>5177388
Might be asking a bit too much from poor Vlad when he's so fucked up.

Still, I won't deny you the opportunity. Roll as high as you can.
>>
Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>5177392
>>
Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>5177392
im scared
>>
We are so dead
>>
Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>5177392
>>
>>5177400
Khorne wills it so
>>
>>5177400
lucky 88's save the day
>>
>>5177401
Patron of martial honor,you love it
>>
>>5177400
..or not
>>
>>5177392
Vlad didn't hear no bell
>>
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>>5177400
Lets us pray it's enough.
>>
>>5177400
Nice
>>
>>5177400
Beautiful
>>
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>>5177400
>>
>>5177400
Khorne wills it.
>>
>>5177394
>>5177397
>>5177400
Your arms don't respond, nor do your legs, your waist, or anything from the neck below really. By all means, you shouldn't be standing, the body can only tolerate so much past it's treshold before it asks for you to not force yourself, or face the permanent consequences of your actions. But unlike Barnham, both your arms are still there, you have two weapons, plus a horse that's still here to advocate for your success.

Gunpowder considers using his strength to beat Barnham to death while he still can, but you telepathically order him to help you take off your armor sets as you wiggle around to facilitate the process. Thank god you have clothes under this thing...

It takes a considerable amount of time, but Barnham uses that period to rest, mustering up his energy to stand at the same time you do. Every tendon and ligament is screaming at you to stop moving, but you find some energy from seemingly thin air to face Barnham on your two feet. You will probably hate to feel this in the future, but this is future you's problem, provided you even live past this day...

A moment of silence passes by, with your heads resting in front of each other as you both wait for the other to fall down and die.
"Next time... bring a real weapon to fight me..."
"On the contrary... If there is a next time, I will be sure to save that elf powder to me..." You both resist the wobble of your thighs, but you fall backwards at exactly the same time. All that buildup to rise and descend with no real winner, what a disappointment to the crowd...

But Gunpowder wants to hear none of that nonsense, so he walks behind you and lets your elbows fall around his back, the way your eye is still half open and one of your hands painfully twists upwards makes it look like you're confirming your victory in a fist bump while really, you're practically a dead man standing.

"I can't believe this! Barnham, Owner of the coliseum, Commander of Ilos, has been bested in fight by newcomer gladiator, Vlad!" The announcer is reluctant to declare you victorious, but does so anyway with the viewers staying silent, until a familiar pipsqueak spoke up by clapping her hand on her stump.

"VLAD! VLAD! VLAD! VLAD!" Zhafira's voice is weak, but grows stronger once she is backed up by Michelle, Bernard, and even Benny call for your name without stuttering.
Soon the whole stadium is chanting your name, praising you as you force a smile on your ravished face.

"You've made your point. Proven your might over mine... You've given me that fear once more, the one that instigates my desire to get stronger... You are now free to do as you wish..." Barnham faints and stops breathing, making sure to congratulate you on his way out.
After 3 years in isolation, reuniting with your mother... hearing everyone's words of praise as you potentially own an army to your name, not because of heritage or prestige, but because you powered through... It wouldn't be a bad way to die afterall...
>>
>>5177832
I guess unlike Barnham, he was just a real human bean.
>>
>>5177899
but were he an real hero?
>>
>>5177832
"Barnham lost? To a mere boy, no less? What a weakling, he probably never really won any of his fights if this nobody defeated him and Gorrister under a short amount of time..."
"Yeah, why should we bother to follow hiss rule after they die anyway? We could kill the both of them right now and claim Ilos for ourselves, as long as the strong stays on top, it's a free ticket to power!" Not one minute after your victory is declared, and people are already thinking of dethroning the last two fighters for being out of commission.

"These guys are thing of the past, forget the infirmary. Throw their bodies to the riv-" As soon as one of them tries to lay a hand on Barnham, he lifts his head into the chest of his cowardly soldier and eats him whole in front of the others who wanted to make an attempt on your fading lives.

"SILENCE! DO NOT LAY A HAND ON THIS MAN! UNLIKE ALL OF YOU COMBINED, HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD LAY A FINGER ON ME, LET ALONE HARMING ME TO THE POINT OF ALMOST ESTINGUISHING ME BACK TO HELL!" Barnham's arm grows back as the screaming gladiator is devoured, serving to fix his injures almost to full health.

"All of you, kneel in front of Vlad, for he is Ilos' strongest warrior, and the one that will pave the way to our true freedom." Barnham gestures everyone to kneel before Gunpowder or die as his lunch, the ultimatum being convincing enough for nobody to raise an argument against him.
Michelle is the first one to meet you as you close your eyes for good, managing to hear the last of her words before losing consciousness.

"Vlad, I dont know how you've gotten this strong, but I am glad you did! The slaves are free, and with the money from the bets, they have enough money and resources to come and go as they wish to! You're a champion!" She shakes your body around, but doing so, she realised you had no response to her words, standing lifeless like a statue as Gunpowder walked to your front to check if you were still alive.

"Vlad...? Vlad! VLAAAAAD!" Michelle shouts to the sun, still close to it's highest point as her shadow covers your gory face.
Glory Of A Champion: Chapter End.
>>
>>5177904
Take a nap Vlad, you deserve it.
Just remember to wake up.
>>
>>5177904
A mimir!
>Falls into a deep coma
>>
>>5177904
Seems Barnham is at least a bro. Coma city for vlad.
>>
So Vlad is half plant right?
If he died and they bury him,is he gonna sprout from the ground into another Vlad ?
>>
>>5177904
Barnham's based factor is alarmingly high.
I would gladly travel with him to defeat apostles, even if it would only pit us against a stronger version of him in the future.
>>
>>5177946
Vlad 2
>>
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Already halfway through the next update, just thought It'd be cool to separate it into chapter format because it's the end of an arc, afterall. Also looks cute as a cliffhanger that way.

I'll be having a doctor's appointment on friday so I won't be running on this weekend, but I'll be free on the next one.

Also I wanted to get through a major decision still on this session and while it's still thursday midnight I'll let the choice be up to you fellas.
Would it be ok to continue, rest a few days mid session when I reach a certain post and continue from then, or would you rather wait for the weekends like usual? I can do weekdays but it's a bit crammy, even if I like finding time away from work to do more paragraphs.
>>
>>5177961
Whatever you feel it's best for your time chief, I have no problem with whatever. Although I prefer constant and steady over short bursts.
>>
>>5177961
Keep goin for tonight
>>
>>5177961
I prefer whatever's most frequent, because I'm a heroin addict and need my fix. However, it's up to you whether or not you enable me.
What's it going to be, Becchi? Will you let a man suffer from withdrawal? Or give him some tough love and throw him into rehab?
>>
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>>5177965
>>5177971
>>5177979
Alright then, we'll keep going for a little while tomorrow after a good talk with Vlad's mom(s) and planning on what to do next.
>>
>>5177904
>"Vlad...? Vlad! VLAAAAAD!" Michelle shouts to the sun, still close to it's highest point as her shadow covers your gory face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS8OawQegYE
>>
>>5177832
>Gunpowder considers using his strength to beat Barnham to death while he still can,
Can't say I blame you, Gunpowder.
>>
>>5177904
>tried to dispose of the guy who literally heals himself by eating people and can widen his jaw enough to literally eat them whole
What were they expecting?
>>
>>5178114
Him to be more dead than he was, clearly.
>>
So... how crazy of an accomplishment was this? Just how powerful is Barnham, compared to canon apostles?
>>
>>5177961
I don't want it to be crammy so just go at the pace your most comfortable with.
>>
>>5178006

I would prefer weekends, because it is just more free than the week, and I think it is the same for a lot of people. It's easier to skip some hours of sleep to follow the quest. That said, do as you wish and if you are better like this, go for it.
Though make clear when you run if possible, or if there is a problem. That's all. Thanks for the info about friday.

I imagine now we will have some healing/resting time skip of a week or more. Well if we are bedridden for sometime, i suppose we can read something. Though there are no books here.
If not train a while, if we can. After that I would really like to go to the estate, there is a lot of stuff i want to do in the place (get our money, break the kraken part of the statue, get our crossbow, take those old books we have bought after Doldrey ecc ....).
And also giving a grave for our dad and our mentor bones, preferably not in the open. Somewhere safe. They have waited enough time.

I don't like the idea of leaving Barnham around, but decisions were taken.
We protected the people of Ilos, that's what matters. I doubt he will go and find redemption for his sins, he has only the objective to get stronger. So one day, he will be a bigger problem.
Who knows what he is going to do with his gladiators, some of them small apostles themselves or just men without morals. I doubt even one of them could be companion material. Is either Joe "i eat 30 kids in the morning" Murderston, or Mike "i break human minds" Rapester.
>>
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>>5178246
Yeah I'm usually more comfortable with weekend sessions, just wanted to experiment a little on this thread with how I can manage my time but work makes it hard to be just as consistent, will do that in the future.

>>5178207
I'd say Vlad is starting to reach the ball park of the average apostle. The ones that give trouble to Guts like Wyald or Rosine's first form. But if Barnham was fighting Guts, he would probably resort to regenerating to gain the upper hand (and die anyway)

How does it feel to almost die in a fight to prove a point?
>>
>>5178359
>Wyald-tier powerlevel
Holy Shit, that's rad! Now I want to have rematch with Guts if/when we meet him again.
>>
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>>5178359
>How does it feel to almost die in a fight to prove a point?
Euphoric.
>>
>>5178359
Np, see what you can do.

>How does it feel to almost die in a fight to prove a point?
Pretty cool.
Though it doesn't take a fight to understand his idea wouldn't have worked out. Slums and population beaten in the ground, isn't what i would say the best start for an empire. If he still wants to try, we will see how it goes. He has a lot of enemies and not the boons of the god hand, boons being hordes of hell and spawning a new city on Wyndham ruins. Good luck against that, or against one of Kushans largest armies prior the return of our nemesis Lmao.
>>
>>5178379
And the coup that the galdiators tried proved they can't even function as an army, since they try to fight itself on the first opportunity.
They would spread out quickly, overextend without supplies, suffer from infighting and then be conquered by another force.
>>
>>5178385
Which raises the question; since we are now in command of this army of apostles, what are we gonna do with them?
>>
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"Dear Halfling of mine, you have grown considerably in these last few years. Overseeing you has become my vice, but the more I watch, the more I grow afraid of our inevitable encounter... I suppose I must thank you for giving rest to Hedwyn and his clan, even if the same can't be said to your master..."

You try to open your eyes as you hear Sivir's voice once again, complimenting you on your victory. Your body is immovable, and you can't open your eyelids, an out of body experience appears to take place as she continues her one sided speech.

"Do not fret, it is not your time to depart. Though you haven't been marked by the brand of the sacrifice, defeating a follower of their beliefs and attempt to befriend them will no doubt make the God Hand actively try to antagonise you from now on. I would advise you to be alone on this fight, but I surely don't make any good examples, neither as your mother, or a human being..."

"I hope you can understand my concern when I tell you this: You need to stop fighting like a wild boar if you plan on living in the long term. You do not, nor will ever, have the phsyical strength to fight against the likes of Conrad by yourself... But given how you're already stuck on this road, my advice will probably come of as pointless and pessimistic..."

"Instead, you should be focusing on your purifying touch. Corroding apostles on the inside serves as an acidic poison to any evil creature you touch. You are not a behemoth of physical strength, and while you have survived your past encounter, there is no guarantee that you will be in better condition tomorrow..."

"I do have some leads to inform you of: The King is close to dying, and Barnham will most likely try to reach the capital and claim the throne for himself. This might be the last change you'll have to see your old home, given the physical and astral invasion on Wyndham... The woman from the See yearns to see your face, but she will likely try to burn you alive in the name of her god. She's become a genocidal extremist, very much unlike the comical romantic interest you took her for in your ball. As much as the offer to command Ilos sounds enticing, keep in mind that a dead man owning a land previously commanded by an apostle will attract them like moths to a flame."

"Your friend is suffering deeply from the loss of his group. What you just went through today is the sort of suicidal combat he relishes in on a daily basis. An early death is guaranteed for him, unless he uses the Behelit he keeps hold of... He is currently being hunted by the Iron Chain Knights, but the outcome of their encounter is uncertain. If you do not wish for the death of either The Black Swordsman, or for the Holy Woman and her companion, you should meet them in the ruined city of Saint Albion. Though they might all die either way, given what is about to happen..."
>>
>>5178408
Kek, you really did use the transparent Puck I made to censor Rosine's tits.
>>
>>5178408
>You should meet them in the ruined city of Saint Albion
Okay, so mom has told us DIRECTLY that we need to go to Albion. Let's see if we can poach Farnese and Serpico, then.
>>
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>>5178413
Hey these paragraphs take time to write, I'm not risking a post full of info getting deleted or a ban from a janny over a nipple.
>>
>>5178420
Maybe we can get Gerome and Azan as a party members, too.
>>
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>>5178425
Puck saves the day yet again.
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>>5178408
"Lastly, I'm sure you must be wondering why your magical output is underwhelming, given your ancestry and the 3 years of training you did with the Silver Eyed. Truth is, the orb I have with me is the one that lets me use my magic freely, borrowing the mana from nearby spirits to use it as I wish. However, marine life is starting to die in the deep blue sea, not because of man made actions, but due to a powerful God of the waves. The fish are dying, and the once beautiful merrows are either hiding or being turned into ghoulish monsters. The Island of Skellig has not accepted me on their realms, or my appeals to recharge this ball due to it being an unnatural artifact, but it is the only thing that keeps me hidden from this monster."

"I was thinking of handing this orb to you, since our souls are likely the ones most compatible with it, but given how it was crafted directly from the God Hand itself, whatever shapeshifting abilities it might give us might possibly corrupt us forever. I could no doubt hand this to you in a time of need, but I might have to prioritise my safety and consume it for the sake of escaping the Sea God. I hope you can once again forgive your mother's selfishness..."

Her voice grows more distant as the mysterious plant woman disappears from your dreams. As you wake up and open your eyes. You find yourself still inside of the Coliseum, laying on a bed as your body is covered full of scars. A servant of Barnham was about to place a wet rag on your chest, until she saw you awake and warned Michelle, who was not too far from your location.

"Oh Vlad! I'm so happy to see you still with us. You were hanging by a thread for the past 2 weeks. I've never seen somebody bleed for so long... Barnham nearly ran out of elf powder to bring you back!" Your adoptive mother is happy to see you alive, even if her next words turn your blood cold.

"I'm sorry about your face, though..."
Shaking your head, you realize that your field of vision is slightly reduced, and when you place your hand on your left side, you feel a large bandage over your eye.

>What happened to my eye?
>Barnham tried to save me?
>What happened while I was out?
>How is Bernard and the crops?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5178420
>This might be the last change you'll have to see your old home, given the physical and astral invasion on Wyndham.
She also said this, which is pretty important. Going to our estate would really help us in the long term. And with gunpowder we would be quite swift to reach it.
>>
>>5178461
>What happened to my eye?
>Barnham tried to save me?
>What happened while I was out?

in this order
TIme to cut a part of our nose, like a good old commander. or wait for something else
>>
>>5178461
>Barnham tried to save me?
>What happened while I was out?
>What happened to my eye?
>>
>>5178461
>What happened while I was out?
>How is Bernard and the crops?
>>
>>5178461
>What happened to my eye?
>Barnham tried to save me?
>What happened while I was out?
Damn, looks like the fight with Barnham damaged our left eye, oh well, at least now we have command of the coliseum, its army, economy, etc. Not to mention our own pockets must be getting pretty heavy from winning the fight.
>>
>>5178461
>>How is Bernard and the crops?
>chicks dig scars mom
>What happened to my eye?
>>
>>5178461
>What happened to my eye?
Hmm I wonder if our left eye can be trained to see the astral at all times to make up for it's blindness to the physical world
>>
>>5178461
>What happened to my eye?
>Barnham tried to save me?
>What happened while I was out?
There's gotta be ways to get it back, or make up for its loss, yes?
>>
>>5178461
>What happened to my eye?

>>5178517
>or make up for its loss, yes?
oh for sure, Guts compensated his lost eye with hearing after all
>>
>>5178479
Better leave that role to someone else, a Lord that is known as Vlad, being human and winning against half men-monsters rings some cathedral size bells to a certain someone that wants us dead. We have our mission to complete, and like Sivir said this paints a big target on our back.
>>
>>5178467
>>5178471
>>5178475
>>5178479
>>5178501
>>5178483
"Wh-What happened to my eye?" You start to panic while trying to untie the cloth from your face. Have you gone blind?

"I'm afraid we are about to find out..." Michelle reaches behind your head and undoes the bandage, with you slowly opening your eye to find out if it's been damaged beyond repair.

After a flash of white as it starts to accostumate itself with the light, your left eye blinks slowly as your vision goes from blurry to clear. Reaching for a mirror, your mother lets you know that though your eye is red, and a large bear claw is scarred into the left side of your face, you can still see pretty well.

"Damn it, Mother. Don't scare me like that! I thought I was going to go blind... This is just another scar to my collection." Your face looks pretty distinct from what it did previously, but it's not an unwelcome change, you do look kind of cool with it.

"Language, young man! There is more where that came from." Your mom chastises you from swearing at her, implying your body is just as battered as your face is.
"Sorry... I guess I expected the worse coming from that fight with Barnham... What's this about him saving me?"

"You've heard right. A victory is a victory, and the new champion of Ilos should be treated with due respect. Wouldn't make sense to lose such a powerful comrade. Am I right, Mrs. Santana?" Barnham approaches as Michelle frowns in his presence. You're not sure what his motive for saving you was, either he really respects you, or he's salivating from the thought of eating you.

"What happened while I was out? Plenty could happen in these two weeks."
"I'm still the official owner of the coliseum, if that's what you're getting at. No point in resigning when our new leader hasn't even gotten out of bed yet." He says as he briefly lifts your arm for a few seconds to prove a point, every muscle at your body begging to stop as you feel how fractured your bones are.

"Crops are starting to grow, think they'll manage to harvest before the end of the season. Most of the slaves have left, and the ones who stayed started to reform their slums into proper settlements. Bernard wants to leave so his daughter can start performing, he's free to make as many toys and sculptures as he wishes to now that he has more money. Speaking of which..." The apostle drops 6 golden coins on your bed, the surplus of your winning bets.

"That's it?"
My odds were 4 times higher, so you get to keep 8 golden coins. if you find it to be a small amount, maybe you should have bluffed and said you had more money."

Eh. I guess it's still worth something...
40 Gold Coins and 28 Silver Coins at the Santana estate. 8 Gold Coins on hand.
>>
>>5178547
Wait, is it 40 or 140 coins?
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>>5178563
140. Guess I shoud have proofread that one
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>>5178547
>>
>>5178408
>You do not, nor will ever, have the phsyical strength to fight against the likes of Conrad by yourself...
Mom really has such little faith in us, I see.
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>>5178547
>>5178547
"Now, I believe we have more urgent matters to attend to. If I could kindly ask you to leave, Mrs. Santana." Michelle reluctantly backs away from your bed, waiting at the hallway in case something happened to you within her earshot distance.

"I'm not sure if you're well informed on the way of politics. But most of it takes place on a throne, making sure you cater daily to your investors, monitor your surroundings, hear reports, motivate your soldiers, and most importantly of all, challenge whoever wants to dethrone you for the day. Even I don't bother to do most of these tasks, the fights are the most fun part about this because everything else is a chore to do. If you do plan on being a better commander than I am, you can say goodbye to having a life outside of Ilos." Barnham chuckles, knowing that a life sitting around in a single place with an apostle ally is not really the thing you wish for, especially when Farnese wants your head on a cross, and killing the most renowned faction of the entire country will probably only make you more persecuted, resulting in you killing more and more humans...

Your goal is to take down the God Hand, and though the power Ilos offers is great, you can only do so much here.
"I have nothing against you taking my place, but I do know that your goal lies beyond here. And given how I have groomed my culture to eventually fight the king and take his place on the capital, shutting down that idea will not be something that my men will accept without protest."

"My army needs to expand, and that comes with exploring new places outside my circle. A territory of pagans would likely be the easiest to impose myself, such as the ruined city of St. Albion to the West, home of the imprisioned sage that took down Gaiseric. A fitting place for me to show the return of his power, though I believe chief inquisitor Mozgus plans on going there personally to decimate the atheists. They have a right to believe whatever they want, and no powerless men of the church should interefere on that!"

Though the age of darkness and demons has made the Holy See into killers just as much as the apostles themselves, no doubt there are still innocents in the midst of both sides. And even if you see some change in Barnham, you're not sure if he or his men can hold themselves from killing and raping the enemy forces.
"I wanted to go there myself, but our battle has shown me that no regular human is capable of harming me. As such, I was thinking of going further up Northeast to where Wyndham is. Visit that old bastard king myself, maybe seeing if the princess has any value other than her looks and her name. Unfortunately, given how sickly he is, and with the plans of my masters... I can only be in one of these places at the most crucial of times... Your estate is close to the capital, no? Maybe you would like to make a trip down memory lane in my stead..."
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>>5178605
"You have so many soldiers... Surely you could split your factions and send them to both places..."

"Weird, I thought you were the one who didn't trust my animalistic army. Who's to say they'll listen to me?" Barnham grins, using your mistrust of his men against you.

"The way I see it, we have a few options. Either you can take your title as the new commander of Ilos, and learn the ropes while you order me to one of those places... Or I can offer you the honorary title of being my second in command. Still having power and respect inside my territory, but still leaving the business side to me. That way, we can both go our separate ways. Really, it would only depend on what you are most interested in."

You need some time to think this through. You're not fully healed yet, so it might take a few weeks for Barnham to prepare his expedition. The troops will probably be more inclined to follow his side, and that saves you the trouble of fighting a bunch of brainless gladiators over mild inconveniences. But knowing how much he still loves fighting and warmongering, you risk either making Barnham kill the entirety of the Holy See's army, or murder the king himself. Nobody safe for Zhafira likes the king at this point, but you're still not sure if the bear demon would be the best royal candidate...

There is also the whole ordeal about your estate. It's probably destroyed and Jacopo's body has probably been fed to the rats, but you know that your inherited money is still down there. Do you trust the apostle to bring that money back if he does visit your place? He did hand you your coins... Maybe the fortune you have would be enough to bribe him into his wishes of drowning our land into further anarchy.

A threat of violence will probably be innefective, given how he's already in full swing while you're bedridden, so you'll have to appeal to this musclehead's most missing virtue: Logic.

"What to do Vlad, What to do...? Would you be a friend and help me to decide the best course of action?"

>I want to command Ilos.
>Second in command is fine enough.
>I want nothing to do with your land.
>Let me go to the capital, you can fight Mozgus at Albion.
>I'll go to Albion, you can do what you want in Wyndham.
>Stop at my place and make a base of operations there. My money should keep you afloat for a few months.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5178616
>Second in command is fine enough.
>I'll go to Albion, you can do what you want in Wyndham.

Sivir said to go to Albion, so I'd say go there first. There really is nothing stopping us from going back home and scavenging what little is there in the future.

I'm also a total Farnesefag, so my opinion is colored by that.
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>>5178616
>>Second in command is fine enough.
>I'll go to Albion, you can do what you want in Wyndham.
>>
>>5178616
>Second in command is fine enough.
>I'll go to Albion, you can do what you want in Wyndham.
>>
>>5178616
>Second in command is fine enough.
>Stop at my place and make a base of operations there. My money should keep you afloat for a few months.
>I wouldn't recommend killing the king and taking the throne, the Godhand's favorite wants that for himself, and we aren't strong enough to deal with them. Yet.
>>
>>5178629
Actually, no. Changing my vote to
>Let me go to the capital, you can fight Mozgus at Albion.
I remember Becchi saying that Vlad would be completly fucked if he was at the ground zero of the incarnation ceremony.
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>>5178636
>Vlad would be completly fucked if he was at the ground zero of the incarnation ceremony.
Fuck, that actually makes a lot of sense.

>>5178621
>>5178636
Changing my vote to this, too.
Now that I think of it, Meeting Farnese at Albion would probably be a bad idea, since she hasn't found her motivation yet. She's still psycho right now, we should wait a bit and find her later.
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>>5178616
>Second in command is fine enough.
>I'll go to Albion, you can do what you want in Wyndham.
>>
I need to think about this.
I dislike the idea of getting Vlad around a sacrificial ground of an entire refugee camp of Midlanders. Because it will make a lot of evil od.

Maybe all those people could be taken away. But there is still a cult there. Filth and corruption.
>>
>>5178659
Going to Albion is absolutely a bad idea, as we (the players) know that everyone will make it out alive, and the only benefit we'd get is building the support with Farnese. But, if Vlad does go to Albion, even if Griffth/Conrad doesn't try to fuck with Vlad, Vlad might just straight-up have an aneurysm from all the Bad Vibes.
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>>5178669
That's also true. Fuck. All the options here are bad. Either we risk Farnese, or we risk Vlad.
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>>5178665
Yeah, Sivir is saying that Guts will need to use the behelit, which evem him and Slann also thought. But he managed to fight against the odds and managed ro make it out.
The only reason would be to try and stop the ceremony or stop casca from turning into a potato, but causality isn't going to let us do that.
>>5178673
She will manage, she did so in canon and we didn't change that much.
>>
I found something about the eclipse, but nothing about the incarnation ceremony. Still, I think both of them can be comparable on how fucked Vlad would be.

BecchiQM !cA75R4LBa6 (ID: 1BfzyLZV) 12/25/21(Sat)16:39:07 No.5097874
>>5097866
If anything having astral ancestry would be like going into the eclipse with a "kick me" sign attatched to Vlad's face. Best CoA would probably be escape the eclipse or die trying
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>>5178675
>She will manage, she did so in canon
She managed against the Ooze of Evil Spirits and helped deal with Mozgus' midgets, not Barnham.

My biggest hope is that we can either convince Barnham to not split up his forces and just go straight for Wyndham, or he gets eaten by/slowed enough by the Ooze for Farnese and Serpico to escape OR Barnham gets killed by Guts.
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>>5178697
Oh, I didn't know that anon was worried about Barnham's forces, that post is deleted for some reason.
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>>5178616
>>Second in command is fine enough.
>Let me go to the capital, you can fight Mozgus at Albion.
guys, we need that money and she said it might be our last chance.
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>>5178616
>I want to command Ilos.
>Stop at my place and make a base of operations there. My money should keep you afloat for a few months.
>>
>>5178616
>>Second in command is fine enough.
>Let me go to the capital, you can fight Mozgus at Albion
>>
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>>5178621
>>5178624
>>5178626
>>5178629
>>5178648
>>5178708
"Second in command is fine enough. I'm glad you're one of the more morally grey apostles, but franky I couldn't see myself living out here even if I wanted to."

"That's alright. For a traveller with no place to your name, I'd say you've already changed plenty about the way things are done here. I'm aware of my fame in public opinion, but perhaps you're starting to make me reconsider the thought of purging the weak. Given how your background went against my expected results, maybe there is a point to appreciate other forms of life."

"No pleasantries for the Royal family though, right?"
"Certainly not. How would I continue with my mission if I let the King run amok? Even if you were to come along, I'm not sure it would be much help. Even if you were proven innocent, public opinion has swayed enough to the point where they still think of you as Femto's impostor, who was close to being king before you stopped him." You had not considered that option, even before Farnese spread the news of you being a ghost, you were considered a felon for impersonating another man, an accusation is enough to sway the eyes of the masses...

"I'll go to Albion then. You can do whatever you want in Wyndham." With Sivir being your oracle and going out of her way to recommend reuniting with Guts, something is bound to happen there, and with the background of the place, plus the big players of the See all in one place, placing an army on top of there would ensure that all of them would eat each other before whatever is about to happen there could occur.

"Roger. Word is that there is a strong apostle hiding around the capital that can control the rats. Your Royal Highness might be going mad, but recalling the last time I departed from his castle, I don't remember him saying he outright hated me. Maybe by killing the one who's spreading the remnants of the plague around will get me in his good side. And just when he thinks he's safe with someone he can trust..." Barnham closes his fists into his claws for dramatic effect.

"You're going to play hero? Why not just invade him outright?"
"I might have to be more careful because of the invading Kushans of the far east. I have some refugees living here that managed to escape with money from Ganishka's Empire. And I have to say, if you think of my methods as cruel... Then you haven't heard of what they are capable of."

You've heard a few times of the Kushans, but not in enough detail to be worried of their presence, what have they done?
"They plan on making a beeline towards the capital, the same way as we do. They have already began to tear through the frontier, slaughtering entire cities and mounting theirs on our people's remains. Inseminating women with demonic entities to raise an army with their offspring. While their might is commendable, they stand in my way to the throne if they kill the king before me, and I do not plan on taking that sitting down."
>>
>>5178780
This is going to sound weird, but I think we should ask Barnham for his Behelit. As proof of our victory over him, and as a means to ensure a measure of control over him with the unspoken threat of erasing the behelit. Not to ever use it of course - that would be the most foolish of things to ever do. Hedwyn might have needed his around to maintain his life given his lack of form, but I don't believe that's the case for most apostles.
Besides the obvious use as a sword looming over him, I don't want Barnham to be placed into a scenario where he could easily sacrifice a second time.
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>>5178780
"I am confident in my strength, but their numbers are too great, and their magic far too powerful for my men to hold their own. It will either be a rush to the throne, or a bloody battle as the legend of my name either lives or dies in a pile of corpses. If I didn't have to ask for your consent, I would take all of the 500 gladiators and keep them all to my expedition, but I would never do that to my comrade. Especially when you're about to meet one of the God Hand members in person..."

"...What!?" You nearly let the last part slide while thinking if Barnham had a conflict in ideology with the Kushans, or if he was just jealous of them taking over Midland before he did, but the mention of meeting the angels of evil sends a chill down your spine as you do a double take on his words.

"Did I forget to tell you this part? The Falcon of Darkness himself wants to visit our mortal realm. He's gotten tired of staying inside his dimension, and wants to grace us with his presence. Unfortunately, I have a feeling he will want to be king as much as the Kushan... I feel conflicted, thinking about defying the ones above me when I know I won't win, but if I've learned anything from you, is that there is no such thing as an absolute victory in a one-on-one battle. If the odds are against us, we will merely shift them our way."

Albeit not for a just cause, Barnham seems interested in your idea of fighting the God Hand despite being an apostle himself. Thing is, will he ultimately bow down when witnessing their might, or will he die in vain when meeting his boss?

>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.
>An even split should be good for both of us.
>You can reach the capital without any problems if you eat enough people. I will go do this alone.
>>
>>5178789
>You can reach the capital without any problems if you eat enough people. I will go do this alone.
>>
>>5178789
>You can reach the capital without any problems if you eat enough people. I will go do this alone.

>write in
>Stop at my place and make a base of operations there. My money should keep you afloat for a few months.
>>
>>5178789
>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.
Anons voted to go to mindrape central to not have the unruly gladiators there, so don't go back now.
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>>5178789
>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.
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>>5178800
Unless this is the option that we take soldiers.
In which case ignore it.
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>>5178804
Oh shit yeah, I hadn't even thought of that, Which option gives Barnham all the troops is the one I want.
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>>5178789
>You can reach the capital without any problems if you eat enough people. I will go do this alone.
>>
>>5178789
Is the first option an inner monologue while the last option is saying that to Barnham? That's kinda wonky.
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>>5178789
Becchi can we know what Vlad means by other people in the third option ?
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>>5178789
>With so many parties interested in the kingdom, why not let them exhaust themselves on each other first? The kingdom goes to the ultimate victor, not the first one. Come with me, accrue greater strength, and together we will one fay face the Falcon of Darkness in a battle the likes of which has never been seen. You will have your throne, if you can be patient enough. Just look at what happened to Griffith when he acted too quickly to dispose of his enemies.
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>>5178814
You're replying to Barnham on all options, first one lets him go with all his fighters to the king, second is self explanatory, third one is him going there alone and devouring whatever enemies try to kill him since he can regenerate.
Guess I just put the wrong sentence on that third one, sorry
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>>5178820
I think ut's the "I will go do this alone" part that caused confusion, I only didn't vote for it because I thought why would Barnham eat people if he has an army.
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>>5178820
Thanks for the answer
>>
>>5178789
>>5178819
Oh, and if my writein doesn't get any support, I reckon I'll vote for
>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.
>>
>>5178820
thanks

>>5178789
changing from>>5178799
to

>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.

>tell him about the Inheritance
>>
>>5178789
changing >>5178807
to
>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all.
>tell him about the Inheritance and ask that he bring it back (and it's fine if he takes a finders fee).
>>
>>5178800
Adding
>tell him about the Inheritance and ask that he brings it back
>>
>>5178789
>You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all
>>
>>5178842
>>5178846
>>5178835
>>5178795
>>5178799
>>5178800
>>5178803
"You'll need as many soldiers as you can. Feel free to take them all. Try to stop at my estate if you can though. I have a compartment in the wine cellar where my inheritance money is and would like to get my money back."

"Really? How much do you have?"
140 gold coins, I think. It's fine if you take a small fee from it. Wouldn't expect you to do such an expedition free of charge."
"Please, Vlad! Do I look like a beggar to you? I don't need that much money. What's yours is yours and what's mine is mine. Easy as that! You're already leaving me with all my soldiers, not ripping you off is the least I could do."

That was easy, Barnham might be a killer and his soldiers might be a little rapey, but it's good to know he draws the line at stealing.

"Take as much time as you need to heal. This will not be an easy journey, and I've ran out of elf dust." Barnham leaves you with Michelle, where you would be treated in the following weeks until you were ready to move out.

Taking one last visit to Bernard's house, now properly furnished and without a hint of smoke, you finally get to see him properly bonding with his daughter.
"Look, Dad! This plushie looks just like Vlad!"
"He has a scar on his eye now, dear! Did you forget to write that down?"
"I sure did, maybe if I took this fork over here I could--" She tries to scratch the doll's face in a similar fashion to yours, but ends up ripping the pin what was meant to represent your eye...
"Whoops... Hahahahaha!"

For once, the entire family laughs with Zhafira, and so do you. It's a heartwarming experience, one you wish you could experience more often. Despite all the hatred and desolation in this world, it's moments like these that remind you what keeps you going: Happiness.

You stay with them for supper, ecstatic to see them eating a full bowl of radish this time, and one that actually tastes like radish! You freel no guilt eating this tasty meal, with Benny even being brave enough to ask for another round. It's amazing what a change in conditions can do to these people.

"So, Vlad. I've heard you've been planning on leaving to Albion." Bernard catches you counting the stars next to his window. "As weird as this might come off, I don't think I'll be leaving this place very soon. There are a lot of kids here in the slums, and given how somebody's got to watch over the children, Michelle and I have been looking for carpenters. Barnham approved of this project and even helped with budgeting, so I imagined we'll be busy for the rest of the year. And here I thought I could go back to sculpting..."

"You could sneak some of it on your free time. Cindy looks pretty happy here, maybe her shows could grant you some extra cash?"
"About that..."
>>
>>5178876
They betted on us and are rich now?
>>
>>5178876
"See, with Barnham potentially turning into king, I'm afraid that might confuse the hell out of her internal logic. I don't want her asking too many questions only for me to repeat myself when she forgets it, so I was thinking that a change of scenery might do her some good. You've been meaning to take Benny under your wing, right? Would it be too much of me to ask to leave both siblings under your tutelage?"

What, to see the reincarnation of the demon king commit genocide? You're not sure if he's aware of how bad the world is outside for you, much less a kid with speaking problems and an eccentric street performer wannabe.

"I've already seen too much of this world, and I don't want my memory of it to be ruined by whatever's going on outside. But the kids need to grow, even with the betting money and with your mom giving us money thanks to the crops, that will only encourage them to stay here and not explore other places. Cindy always wanted to bring joy to the world by joining a circus, and though Benny isn't sure of what he wants yet, it definitely would do him good by experiencing a different way of life, something that a simple man like me can't offer to him..."

You take one look at the barren caravan Barnham provided you down to the bridge. Aside from food, water and lamp oil, it could easily keep as much as 10 people lodged inside. Would be hell on Gunpowder's back, but that's still 9 other mouths you can feed with no problem.

Were you on any other mission, you would gladly accept and give the young siblings a ride and have them perform, but this is a long journey, one that might have no ending point in sight. Bernard might think you're the strongest man alive, but that's because you've fought only by yourself. What could they offer to you in fighting grounds, other than the weight of them dying on your conscience?

As you ponder your decision, you let a sharp "Ouch!" as a needle goes into your shoulder, Benny takes a blowpipe out of his mouth as he apologetically approaches you.

"S-S-Sorry... I've been practicing..." He blushes. A blowdart might do a whole lot of nothing against the undead, but for now, it shows that he's at least willing to find his own way to help you out.

>Sure, I can take care of both of them.
>Zhafira should stay here, I'm not sure I can deal well with her shenanigans.
>It's too dangerous to go with them, maybe next time?
>What do you think, Benny?
>>
>>5178889
>It's too dangerous to go with them, maybe next time?
They can barely defend themselves, and we are 100% gonna have to fight people and monsters, they will likely die. Plus I guarantee we are gonna see some fucked up shit, I don't want them to see that yet.
>>
>>5178889
>It's too dangerous to go with them, maybe next time?
>When I come back of this mission, because if I'm right, I'm going to have to face someone much more powerful than Barnham, and with a grudge against me.
They can join us, but not during the incarnation of all events.
>>
>>5178889
>>It's too dangerous to go with them, maybe next time?
No. they will die. I can see it. I dont want to take care of two kids, one who is weak, and the other who is insane.

Maybe we come back after we are done, and offer to train Benny?
>>
>>5178896
>support
>>
>>5178889
>Sure, I can take care of both of them.
>>
>>5178889
>Sure, I can take care of both of them.
>>
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>>5178621
+1 if there is a single shot at waifuing farnesse I will take it

If waifuing Farnesse has the support of 1 million Anons I am one of them.

If waifuing Farnesse has the support of 10 Anons then I am one of them.

If no Anons support waifuing Farness then I am no more on this earth.

If the thread is against waifuing Farnesse, then I am against the thread.

I hold steadfast in my support of Farnessfagging until the end of the quest and even then my undying support of waifuing Farnesse lives on.


>>It's too dangerous to go with them, maybe next time?

Catching up with Guts' party will involve things I don't want children to see.
>>
>>5178889
>>5178896
This is a good point
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>>5178894
>>5178896
>>5178897
>>5178902
"It's too dangerous to go with them, perhaps next time? I'm going to have to face someone much more powerful than Barnham, and with a grudge against me."

"Oh, of course. I don't want to bother you in whatever you need to do. If it's anything like the beating you got on the arena, it might indeed be too dangerous for us common folk." Though Benny looked sad, you hoped he would ultimately understand that he does not have much room to argue against you.

"Don't worry, once things are clearer I'll make sure you'll play the best tunes with me. For now, try to be there for Cindy, ok?"

"Ok..." He even manages to say it without stuttering, but you can still hear some contempt in his voice. Oh well, it's probably going to pass a lot faster for him.

After spending some money with supplies and rations, you say goodbye to your friends and depart in search of the black swordsman. Only one look at the outside wastelands shows how much the world has changed while you were in the swamp.

No vegetation, no fields, no crops, no populus. Days go by without a single sight of civilization, and if it werent for the ups and downs of the slopes, along with the occasional dead bodies and animal carcass, you would think you are in a perpetual groundhog's day of following the same trail for all eternity.

Maps are a chore to follow, "Keep going west." You repeat to yourself as your rations decreased day after day. Eventually, you're reaching the point where you have to skip a meal a day so you dont run out of what little you have. Even the water you find seems to taste muddy, yuck... put some sand on this place and the entirety of Wyndham woud look like a damn desert, and we're supposed to be entering winter!

You imagine you're halfway through the path to Albion when the scenery starts to change, the rain begins to fall as you start using Merlina's cloak more often at night. There is no Od to feel at night, not even a scent of darkness, but light doesn't seem close to you either. It does make you feel sad and miss the company of the others, even if it's just been a couple of weeks traveling outside, your perception of time dilates a lot when you're in these situations. At least Gunpowder is there to chastise you when you get too much into your thoughts...
>>
>>5178988
My only waifu is Justice.
>>
>>5178988
>waifuing farnesse instead of Guts
>>
>>5178996
Don't worry Benny, we are going to get you and your sister when we get back, if Diet Fanta doesn't rape us.
>>
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>>5178996
"Why is human complaining? Gunpowder is the one pushing weight!"
"Heh, can't argue with that." You reply to your stallion one night as you hear his thoughts, seeing it as a way to exercise your social muscles for the day.
"Where to?"
"What do you mean, 'Where to?' there's only one path to follow-" You peek your head out the caravan to see what your horse is up to, only to see the road cutting off at two ends. This wasn't even on the map!

At your left, you have a forest with a lot more green to it, the lower altitude makes it very misty to the point where the fog obscures much of the path beyond 10 meters ahead, but you imagine that dense vegetation would accompany you if you were to go on that path. Usually, a wild valley would mean a few more animals like wolves, rabbits or what have you if you were in the world of the past, but nowadays, it could be anything between thieves, occultists, monsters and apostles.

Guts is the Black Swordsman, being hunted day and night by the tidal wave of darkness, so if you do start seeing more bodies and ghouls at night, you can probably guess you're not far behind him. But with so much of this damn fog in the way, how the hell are you supposed to see anything when even your Od sense doesn't know what to make of it?

On your right, you have a tall mountain with several rock formations building upwards into a chain. It's been a while since you've done some rock climbing, but moving vertically with a horse on your back would probably not get you to Albion any faster. The white spots on the summits indicate that snow is already starting to fall on that side, but the fact that you can actually see the path that way is already more inviting.

You've heard a few horror stories from merchants being stuck during a rockslide, but at least you'll have a chance to see it coming if you go that way. They look interconnected enough to the point where you can go up and descend at any point unless you want to stick to the steeper areas. The good thing about mountains is that they can serve as horizontal shortcuts as long as you're willing to waste some time going up and down.

It would give you a better vision the horizon, and knowing where you are at would
do wonders in knowing if the tower is in sight, but the chances of people living there are very low, and you can't afford to get lost on places you can't climb down from. A signpost would be highly appreciated, you know!

Gunpowder does propose you an important question. Where to?

>Left to the windy valley.
>Right to the rocky mountains.
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>>5179017
>Left to the windy valley.
>>
>>5179017
>>Left to the windy valley.
>>
>>5179017
>Left to the windy valley.
The source of this miasma must be eliminated.
>>
>>5179017
>Left to the windy valley.
Apostle posers swerve, actual elf passing through.
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>>5179021
>>5179023
>>5179024
>>5179043
Before properly pondering on what path to take, you notice a big moth flying skyward. The way she's so close to your face makes her seem very big, almost human-sized. You're not a fan of the noise flying insects make, so you brush it aside with a swipe of your hand.

It is then you realize that the moth isn't a small creature hovering over your nose, but a giant female apostle flying over the moon, before falling to the cliffside.

Approaching her body, you see the young body of a bug-girl, the inside of her legs bleeding as a cut split her womb open up to her stomach. It seems even the young children can be manipulated into sacrificing their loved ones for the Behelit. It's a sad sight to see, really.

The path to the left is confirmed to have apostles then, The Black Swordsman must have already passed by this place. It might be the long route and full of mist, but it's still a lead for you, and you will take it.

Thankfully, the mist seems to clear itself as you approach the valley, the vision growing clearer as the ways to escape the forest appears to be pretty straight forward, even showing you a place to ressuply inside another village in the midst of your path. At least you won't be starving by the time you reach Albion, being in the middle of nowhere means that the food is pretty cheap too.

Money: 140 Gold Coins and 28 silver coins at the Santana estate. 7 gold coins, 25 silver coins and 10 bronze coins on hand.

Now that you're sure you're close to your target, you try not to waste more than a few days resting at the local inn before travelling once more, only waiting for the sky to clear up further. Whatever seemed to be endangering this place seems to have already died, with Guts likely being the one that killed the butterfly child.
On your final day, you try to ask around for some people to see if they've heard of a Black Swordsman somewhere around the area.

"Don't you dare say that name in this house, get out!"
"That monster! He's the one that will bring us into the new age of Darkness!"
"It's the end of times, the apocalypse! What kind of monster would kill so many children in the forest if not for the black swordsman?!

Guts? Killing children? Is this the same calm guy you've met 3 years prior to talk about your past? You thought he had a good head on his shoulders and even gave him some life advice before parting ways. What the hell happened for him to start acting like this...?

"Guts? I have met him before, yes..." A young child by the name of Jill is the last person you ask, being the most useful of the bunch as she pinpoints the exact direction he departed in, but refusing to say anything else. You don't have time to sit down and smell the flowers with her, any minute reading her mind would be time wasted when he could be dying right this instant. You nearly trample the girl after she finishes her sentence as you whip Gunpowder into a full sprint.
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>>5179065
Now that you think about it, Jill was the only kid you saw on that village, and she seemed pretty apologetic with the way she positively thought about Guts. This is giving you very mixed signals. Is he really a child murderer or not? Did he already turn to the dark side? He did say he wanted to become an equal to Griffith all those years prior... Damn it! You can't lose another one to the God Hand, not again!

...Your worst nightmares are confirmed when you see the decapitated bodies and missing limbs as soon as you step foot outside of the village. Not just one, but several. They were half as many kids on Ilos, how did they all die in such a twisted fashion?

Worst of all, you are starting to hear their screams of agony and the afterimages of a giant sword slicing their heads open as they scream for their parents, their bones start to rattle and shake in the direction of their murderer... There's no doubt about it, The Black Swordsman did this. Your visions have never lied to you ever since you've gotten used to them, but never have they ever felt so intrusive either...

More days pass. The odd skeleton enemy hiding here and there amidst the foliage indicating that The Swordsman was right within your grasp, but why can't you find him? Sensing his Od only clouds your vision as if you suddenly closed your eyes, with a grip on your throat tightening as if you were on a chokehold until you let go of your astral radar. It's like they don't want you to find either Guts or The Chain Knights, regardless of what side you are on, they will die, and they will die a horrible death.

On a particularly terrifying night, where the voices and nightmares were just as awful as the ones you've had in the estate woke you up for the 5th time, you give up on trying to sleep and order Gunpowder to search for Guts one more time. If this is a mere teaspoon of what Guts has to go through, you're afraid you might not be the one capable of killing him, much less purifying his sacrificed soul...
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>>5179103
"We've finally tracked you down, Black Swordsman!" A familiar voice announces as you're on the verge of giving up your search, preferring to go straight to Albion to fight Griffith by yourself.

"We have made haste under decree of the miracle recognition department to escort your person to the Holy See! If you throw down your sword and surrender, well enough. If not, we shall seize your person in the name of god!"

Placing your carriage in a well hidden slump and mounting on Gunpowder, you spot Guts with his back turned to you, along with Farnese, Serpico and Azan attempting to arrest him for his crimes.

"I dont remember being put on trial. Not to say that I'm not guilty of anything..." He replies to the holy lady.

"You claim to be innocent, but what of your bloodstained clothes? The children of that village, the mounds of corpses left in the path you've tread, is that not your doing?"
Guts merely stays silent as Farnese stares daggers into him. You've desperately wanted him to deny those claims, but he seems to be indeed guilty.

"Seize the agent of darkness, men!" The soldiers surround Guts while he idles about. Just when you thought this would go down peacefully, one idiot from Farnese's team makes the grave mistake of swinging his sword onto his nape.

Guts tries to swing that metal plank of a sword he has, but only manages to tilt it and block the oncoming attack, dodging and punching whoever tries to attack him.

You think that Guts might be trying to be a pacifist, seeing as how he's only punching them, until you notice that one of his hands is metallic, and a single punch from it makes one of the amateur knights get his head blown off!

"Are they dead?"
"Go for his blind side, he only has one eye!"
"Watch out for his fake hand!"

"No! You're supposed to take him alive, stop!" Farnese tries to deescalate the situation, but the blood is already in her hands. Soon Guts manages to lift his sword up to his waist and swing against five armored men in a single swipe, slicing them in half like butter.

Putting two and two together, you realize that Guts isn't trying to spare anybody, he's just wounded to the point where even the rookie nobles in Farnese's army are enough to take him down with a single hit.

The blonde woman shivers as she sees her numbers falling down as Azan speaks with Serpico on who should tackle him first, not one of them noticing you hiding despite thanks to Guts' display of his violence.

What will be your course of action? Will you side with the weaker Farnese, hoping that saving the ones who tarnished your family name would somehow make you avoid her desire to burn your body in her fireplace? Or will you side with the self admitted murderer and soon to be apostle Guts, who according to the Skull Knight, would be an invaluable ally when fighting against the dark forces of Femto?

As a phantom spectator of the fight, neither side appears to be winning.
Holy Iron Chain Knights: Chapter End.
>>
>>5179122
I predict anons will choose either the nuclear option of beating the shit out of both of them or going full Gandalf and come swagging out of the trees swathed in light.

Or, y'know, firepussy option. Probably that.
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>>5179137

tempted between firepussy and gandalf

they do say to strike while the iron is hot....
>>
Now that's a damn cliffhanger
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>>5179137
>>5179152
Gandalf sounds funny as fuck.
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>>5179122
Side with Guts, we have some making up to do.
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>>5179137
The gandalf option is best here.
>Vlad appears atop gunpowder, cloaked and scarred from mighty battles, radiating with a mysterious energy and clad in new yet clearly abused armor.
>Both parties firmly believe him to be a dead man.
I swear to god vlad is the exposition character
>>
>>5179122
Would it be possible for us to swoop in with Gunpowder, take Guts and Casca and get away ?
Farnese is less diplomatic at the moment and I don't see her reasoning, with rampant zealotry in her mind. At best Serpico, but for both us, villagers and the knights, Guts has killed a lot of kids. And getting captured that’s dumb if we do that, being tired and wounded from torture is anything but great where we are going. Also she still wants to put us on a pyre at this time, literally. Guts should still have Puck with him, so we will get an explanation of what exactly happened to those kids.

Can we still avoid going to Saint Albion or are we inevitably going to that cursed place in the next arc ? I don't see us fighting if the second eclipse happens, I only can imagine Vlad having seizures and then getting paralyzed on the ground by the energy released. It would be far worse than seeing the king egg aura for a few moments.
And it would be beyond even Sivir, to save our ass if we purposely remain there like sitting ducks for the god hand. So if we can leave, we should get out.
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>>5179253
>Dead man shows up in the middle of battle
>He starts fucking glowing
>"BE NOT AFRAID"
Is basically I imagine how this would go. We could even confuse and scare the hell outta the See since they could think us an envoy of their god lmao.
>>
I kinda want to pull the "phantom" angle again. An apparition of times long gone.
If worst comes to worst, I'm sure we can actually if not sweep the floor then at the very least stand our ground, with the help of either side, considering Guts' current status.
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>>5179263
I'm just saying if anyone walked up to me and said "Be not afraid" I'd have an immediate fight or flight response.
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>>5179137
>Beating the shit out if Guts and Farnesse
>One resents us
>The other is extremely horny
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>>5179122
If only our rolls against barnham weren't so bad we could have caught Guts before he fought the moth and maybe we could have done something for some of those child apostle spawn.
At least Vlad can improve his purification even if he will be a magelet for all time. Unless the only reason he has magic at all is because Sivir is remotely giving him it with that totally not poison pill artifact.
Going full Gandalf strikes me as the best course of action, the see will want to torture Vlad regardless if we side with them and right now Vlad has a hard time trusting guts despite the fact he should know if anyone could fuck with his visions it would be the god hand and they would want him and guts to hate each other.
Pulling a exposition moment could let us win over some allies or at least figure out who if anyone we should side with.
>>
>>5179137
Gandalf option seems based.
>>
>>5179261
Anons chose the path to meddle with the main story, and now we have to bear the conseguences of our hubris.
Prepare to have to fight the blob focusing on us while having a seizure and Griffith throws a bitch tantrum.
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>>5179340
But atleast this path means that Barnham and his forces will survive to defend against the Kushan invasion. And someone usurping the throne before bitchboy feels suitably ironic.
High risk, high reward I guess.
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>>5179340
>yfw barnham beating the living shit out of us and keeping us alive with elf powder just so he could beat us harder broke vlad's scale of pain and now he can grit his teeth and work past the astral pain instead of being completely cucked by it
perhaps the rolls we lose only serve to make us stronger, in some form or another...
being able to withstand great punishment will be needed.
>>
>>5179340
I would still prefer to know what Becchi has to say.
If we have a chance to get out it would be better to go for it, with anyone else we can take too. Fighting a battle shouldn’t be our objective there, getting people out instead would be better.

The power of Barnham and his aura were a nuisance for us, albeit small. We are more protected than 3 years ago, but i don’t think it is simply enough for the 5 fingers of the god hand.
All of them would be too much to stand, nevermind fight. It’s just too early. And Griffith will fly down on us, the moment he sees us (He might just smell/sense us, so perhaps seeing us isn't even needed for him.). He has probably dreamt of killing Vlad over and over again, any tantrums he had were in the tower prison.

>But atleast this path means that Barnham and his forces will survive to defend against the Kushan invasion. And someone usurping the throne before bitchboy feels suitably ironic.
Maybe, Kushan are still the most suited for fighting apostles of all human realms. And they have numbers. But Barnham has a chance, his troops aren't great soldiers though.
>>
Gandalf option best option

Also, with the thing of being in that weird second eclipse and being near Griffith, I say we would be somewhat save with Merlina's cape that it hides our spirit esence. We just need to stay out of the innecesary conflicts, help the civillians of the city and hope to find someone to take care of us while we have the seizure. If we don't show our face for when Griffith could se us or take our cape off we're save, and once the bad vibes goes off we can help and fight I guess
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>>5179340
I don't think we could change much of the main story, guts right now is leagues above in endurance and murderkill. The best we can hope for is minimize civie casualties like other anons have said and maybe make it so he tires less with menials
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Just came in from the doctor, thankfully all my organs were still there. Still want to take a break this weekend since I want to catch up on a few shows, also re-read the arc and plan ahead a bit.
How did you feel about Vlad's solo adventures in Midland? Was it cut too short or did you guys want to go back to canon that much?

Doing a cameo for Jill and Rosine was fun, even if my fav arc was mostly skipped. Sure left a lot of things in the air until the 4th. Will Vlad interefere in the fight, or will he let things run their course? Will either one of them believe in a dead man's answers? Is Puck going to mistake Vlad for a giant elf?

You can find out next month, I'll be here answering questions when I can so be sure to hit me for them.

>>5179261
You can try to take Guts away from there, but Casca isn't there with him right now, only the little elf guy. The path to the mountains maybe could have lead to Rickert, but since you didn't have a lead for the hill of swords either in or out of character, there was no way you could have known that.

Still I guess you could sit this one out on Godot's house since Guts will go there to visit eventually. Maybe being on a horse means that you two can get there fast enough to stop Erica from letting Casca wander on her own, but we won't know until we get there.

Alternatively, you could throw caution to the wind and risk your body and mind in the reincarnation ceremony. Vlad has just started getting used to fighting low-mid tier apostles (If you can even call that beating he took at Ilos getting used to something.) At most you can help a few people evacuate and maybe help Guts not be as injured when fighting Mozgus by splitting the attention of his goons between the two of you. It would set a good precedent for the swordsman and the impaler to share their wounds so neither of them are paraplegic by the time they get to the final bout.

I would advise you not to interfere in the fight against El Grande Padre himself. Weaker nobodies like Joachim and the whores might have lived through the reincarnation, but that's because they knew they were weak and kept to their place. Being at the midst of Eclipse 2: Electric Boogaloo means you'll be placing wards left right and center just not to get possessed (Which might happen either way depending on rolls)

I don't like doing rerolls but since any fuckup can lead to serious consequences or death I'd say there are two items that can serve as bypasses, call it plot armor if you will. There's Sivir's magic 8 Ball, which will probably kill her since she's currently hiding from a Kraken, and Merlina's cloak that will Bayonetta climax summon an apostle straight to hell much like Behelit Sword. All of them are one-use only, and I won't be handing these out every Thursday, if Vlad plans on living until endgame, he might not want to use these things on fodder foes or on battles he can avoid.

TL;DR: Don't even think about fighting Mozgus.
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>>5179421
counterpoint though, we are bros
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>>5179423
I didn't want to follow canon because I knew we would get fucked since we are still too weak, and would rather have our own adventures rather than just being a tag along that can do no difference anyway because of in-universe railroad.
>>5179421
I know we can't, but this is a democracy, we follow the will of the majority.
>>
>>5179367
Griffith might have wanted to kill you when he was human. But given the eldritch abomination that's about to happen just so he can have a corporeal form again, it's possible that being a member of the god hand at the cost of his humanity might have been permanent. Even if he might look human, his emotions might take a backseat to the Demon God's Plan™.
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>>5179430
If Griffith didn't feel anything for Guts when they met after his incarnation, there is no way in hell that he'd care about Vlad.
>>
I wish we would stay to our own adventures within the setting, this won't really be a story about Vlad anymore and it's just gonna be filled with metagaming to "fix" the canon storyline in extremely minor ways. Which is frankly just not that interesting. Obviously that's just my opinion but I think it's a fair one.
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>>5179433
Giving Guts and co a better chance also gives Vlad greater odds of surviving. And our stated goal is still to try and topple the God Hand, so aiding the struggler most likely to realistically approach that goal is logical. But your position is understandable.
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>>5179423
>TL;DR: Don't even think about fighting Mozgus.
We barely even got throw a fight against a lower apostle and still came out of functionally dead on our feet. Mozgus might just be a Pseudo-Apostle but he hits like a goddamn tank and shrugs off damage that would kill most lesser demons. And that's ignoring the giant demonic blood blob of death thats surging around during those events. Anyone saying we should participate in a fight against him is utterly suicidal.
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>>5179423
I'm simply following the logical progression of what I think vlad as a character might choose to do, given what information he has available to him at the time of any particular vote.
I am indifferent as to if content is original or not - both satisfy me greatly.
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>>5179423
As a lurker of the quest, thanks for all the effort Becchi. I'm enjoying the ride, wherever it takes us. Guess I could ask some questions.

1. So Barnham is basically our pal right? Or at least as friendly as an Apostle can be? Assuming he doesn't die out in Wyndham, what's the likelyhood of Vlad and him meeting up again?
2.Will there be any possibility of picking up anything new, or improving something before/during shitshow to come, or are we going in raw?
3. Is it possible to get some nature powers due to being 1/4th's plant, or is that overshadowed and middling compaired to being technically an elf?

Either way, all we can do is hope that the dice protect us (somewhat) from the fuckery that is the God Hand.
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>>5179453
it seems that for now we can trust him not to kill us. of course if he is ordered to do it he will but until then I think we are safe around barnham
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>>5179423
>>5179430
Thank you for answering Becchi.
Have a good week end.

I don't think I will throw caution to the wind. There is too much at stake, and I don't want Vlad to die there.
We save the people we can and get out. Remaining would be bad as i suspected.

For the adventures is nice. Maybe a bit short ? I still like them.
>>
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>>5179433
Yeah I can see it from that POV. A few people have said the story goes at a little of a breakneck pace at times so I might have to give some more fighting experience to Vlad which doesn't involve fighting someone 10 times his power level. Or not, he does have a prettty high bar to achieve. Those punches he got from sparring with gargoyles at the swamp probably made him a bit more resilient than the average man, just not on the level of Guts. Maybe sparring with him a few times would be beneficial to both of you? He'll probably get more from that than doing it by himself or with a miniature elf.

>>5179453
>So Barnham is basically our pal right? Or at least as friendly as an Apostle can be?
I'd say so. Part of him was impressed by your philosophy winning against his in his own terms, even if he handicapped himself by extending the fight. The other part of him is resisting the urge to swallow you to absorb your strength in his. Both of them acknowledging his potential to grow beyond Barnham himself.

>Assuming he doesn't die out in Wyndham, what's the likelyhood of Vlad and him meeting up again?
Very likely, although Griffith might catch up to him first...

>Will there be any possibility of picking up anything new, or improving something before/during shitshow to come, or are we going in raw?
For the ceremony? You have a little bit of wiggle room to approach it from any angle you wish, buy I don't think you'll discover anything outside of your kit for now.

>Is it possible to get some nature powers due to being 1/4th's plant, or is that overshadowed and middling compaired to being technically an elf?
Very possible, Sivir already told you going for the physical build only will not get you far given the stats you were born with, so experimenting with your powers will be very fruitful.

Speeding over your enemies and zoning them while the purifying Od transfer does the job for you seems to be the best functioning strategy against apostles for now, maybe if you could find a way to make it work like actual venom?
>>
>>5179811
The best way to play Vlad is like a SMT protagonist. Spam status debuffs and damage-over-time attacks.
>>
>>5179841
>flashbacks to fighting matador in nocturne and learning what a real difficulty spike looks like
Well I guess we're just about ready to cry.
>>
>>5179844
I swear to god that I'm the only person that had ZERO problems with Matador. The underpass on the way to him was more difficult for me, honestly.
>>
>>5179841
Depends on the protagonist, quite a few can get those overpowered swords through fusion later in the game and not be just a portabke item and COMP dispenser.
Put point in endurance, intelligence and agility, a few in strength or magic edepnds if you want phisical or elemental, and some on luck if you have any leftover
>>
>>5179854
>quite a few can get those overpowered swords through fusion
????

I've only played Nocturne. The idea of "MC equipping weapons" is foreign to me.
>>
>>5179856
Nocturne is the different one because you are the demifiend, but in the rest, including some of the spin offs, you get cool weapons, a melee and ranged, since you are just human. The messiah, but human.
SMT V might also not have the swords and guns, haven't played that one yet.
>>
>>5179860
Makes sense that Nocturne is the odd duck of the series, as it also got rid of the old LAW/CHAOS alignments.
>>
>>5179861
Yeah, it even got rid of the light and dark axis they had recently introduce, even though it got brought back later.
In most smt titles the protagonist can't even use magic, so spamming buffs is impossible without items. But you also normally we get a magic human companion to make up for it. I don't think I need to tell what happens to them though.
Atlas sure likes to experiments, even in their mainline IP
>>
So, apostle? Become one? Yes no? I mean, super powers at the cost of someone you kind of like a lot? Sign me up. I wonder if we still have time to save a certain moth girl?
>>
>>5179880
Vlad's not going to become an Apostle, and Rosine's already dead. We came across her corpse a few days ago.
>>
>>5179890
Never say never, and new friends can always be made! And betrayed!
>>
>>5179880
Oh wow, a genuine 100% raw uncut faggot.

Bitch
>>
>>5179880
>>5179894
You are not fooling anyone Griffith, get out of here
>>
>>5179880
Who left a behelit here? Somebody call Skull knight
>>
>>5179880
shut mouth
>>
>>5179433
Yes, I sympathize with this. I much prefer quests that have minimal interaction with canon characters and events. But the most important thing to me is that this quest is truly a unique story, rather than just Berserk + Vlad. That's all I need.
>>
>>5179880
Become one? What are you, Hedwynn?
You don't defeat the god hand by indulging in their game, brother.
>>
I hope Becchi is having a good day!

>Captcha: VNDAR
>>
>>5179880
Anons are shitting on this but is it totally out of the question? Apostles aren't compelled to obey the God Hand in any way, right?
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>>5180039
There's still a few more weeks until you get to Albion and then a whole winter season before Guts starts accepting people to travel with him, think I can fit in a few events before joining the main story. The good thing about Berserk having a more liberal timeline is that we can place a few things here and there and it won't feel too out of place.

As for going too far deep in canon, that's probably the best option for Vlad to survive so I believe it's an eventuality, even if for now it's just for the sake of getting to know more about a few of the main players.

>>5180333
Day's going well, finished Dark Souls yesterday but I want to do a few other things before jumping into 2. Translating a visual novel takes a lot of time so I don't expect to do it all in a day but progress is going steady.
Queelag gave me some ideas for a kickass fight for Vlad.

Aside from that I'm watching the usual Yu Yu Hakusho, just started LotGH but since I'm more used to manga it'll probably take me until the end of the year to finish both of those lol. Maybe I should take it easy and just go play some Tekken for the week.

Thought about drawing this week in case I could illustrate a few things but then I remembered I'm not good at drawing

>>5180794
I mean, yeah. If Barnham is anything to go by they're aware of the God Hand's powers but they act on their own for the most part, but eventually...
>>
>>5179811
I can see that going like a venom. Maybe making the od sticky, and when it gets in a wound....

Also maybe od aura could be good, passive defense or offense.
>>
>>5180922
So will you try Elden Ring Becchi? The horse summoning means you could play as Vlad.
We even got a firekeeper/maiden through Sivir.
>>
>>5180922
>but I want to do a few other things before jumping into 2
Word of warning, temper your expectations on 2; most of the development Leads and most of the programmers weren't involved and it really shows. On a fundamental level, it's incredibly rough and unpolished in comparison to the rest of the series.
>>
>>5180922
level adp
>>
>>5178605
Now we are talking. Statecraft here we dive!
>>
>>5179065
sucks Vlad did not give her a burial.
>>
>>5180922
> Translating a vn

Based. Which one?
>>
>>5180940
Not sure if my PC can take it, had to refund Death Stranding last year because my current build couldn't run it. I could upgrade it down the line but since I live in the middle of nowhere it would take a while to get to Elden Ring.
>>5180964
Yeah I only played it up to the first boss but I'm aware of the infamy of 2 since most of my friends are old fromfags. I'm not outright hating it and there are some improvements here and there but overall I'm just not as into it as I was with the first, probably going to give it some time to simmer before picking it up again.
>>5181852
Don't want to jinx myself in case the project gets discontinued so all I'm saying is it's that it was made in 2014 and is on Steam. Lots of text walls on this one so I'll be taking my time with it for sure.

Only 4 more days until the next session, anything you're all looking forward to?
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>>5181934
>Only 4 more days until the next session, anything you're all looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to the moment that Vlad swaggers in the midst of intense battle whilst glowing with od and starts proclaiming himself a holy envoy of the See's god. If the Gandalf option works it would be the funniest thing ever.
>>
>>5181934
well..i suggest trying demos before buying.
you know. "Demos".
>>
>>5181969
I remember when they used to include demo discs in magazines. Sadly the demo floppy was before my time. Nowadays it's "early access pre-post-alpha give us money to QA our game".

No I am not bitter. I am incandescent with anger.
>>
>>5181950
Correct I too am looking forward to the absolute swagger of our boy
>>
>>5181982
By "demo" ,I meant the one with rum and buccaners.
Yohoho! Get it you scurvy dog?
>>
>>5181934
well...maybe you let us write in now.
so you can count the votes and continue straight on into adventure.

> Wear full armour to conceal identity and rush in like a white knight with Gunpowder. Get between Guts and the Holy Chain Knights.

do a weird call for our entrance. yodel or some some bird call.
"YOOHEEHOO!"
"I am the The Fisher Knight and I saw such horrid sights! Pray tell who be the beast that torch a forest full of children?"

and then looks at Guts and say
"Hark! The Black Swordsman! The Bane of the Demons! Pray tell that you have slain the demons that prey on children?"
>>
>>5182372
I would rather just walk up to them and say that we are the phantom.
For why we are here, just like Ganfalf, cleansing the sawnp meant we came back stronger.
>>
>>5182349
Yarrr me boy I can sail in the seas ye say.

However it's still saddening that there is so little respect for the industry anymore that it's considered standard practice to search for buried treasure. I'm just getting old kek
>>
Here bros. Some sweet tunes to listen to while you sink deeper into depression!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJLNLWv-nmM
>>
>>5179880
BEGONE, Slan.

>>5180794
The manga shows that when the God Hand call, basically all apostles answer. The only one in canon that we know of who could resist this was Ganishka and Ganishka is far, far beyond pretty much any other apostle. And even he couldn't oppose the flow of Causality in the end.

Vlad becoming an apostle not only damns his soul beyond salvation, it basically makes him the God Hand's bitch.
>>
You know the godhand probably both hates us and loves us. While we did kick a storm and been trying to be a hero they're probably waiting for us to become an apostle.

Also how strong are we? I remember last time we met Guts we have beaten him, but now after the Merlina arc and the fantasy senator armstrong arc how strong are we?
Even if we got our shit kicked in how strong were the apostles we fought?
>>
>>5178359
>>5183355
here
>>
>>5183355
It's hard to power level the berserkverse since most of the big players never imply that they're really putting in an effort on what they're doing, while the likes of Guts time and time again are able to defeat entities a hundred times stronger than him, even if it comes at the cost of his long term health. The same should apply for Vlad given the last part of his training was fighting a large gargoyle he used for rock climibng for years.
He never fought Merlina at her peak, but I'd say she's around Shierke - Sonia levels of magical knowledge and abilities (though she would probably lose to them since they know how to block Od flow and magic was the only thing keeping her from being a dead pile of bones.)

I'll let the feats speak for themselves for the most part. Think we've established well that Vlad's style works best when he's going fast and wearing the opponent down with Od corrosion until it does most of the work for him until he can come in with the final blows. He's just nowhere near as tanky as Guts so he can't take as many hits when he's fighting. And given how the guy's always beaten to an inch of his life in every major fight he's in, it's good to ponder for a bit if you want to go on that route.
>>
>>5183660
>Vlad isn't as tanky as Guts

No shit? Guts is the messiah, we're just some dude with a chip on his shoulder and some magic talent.
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>>5183667
Tbf i'm pretty sure that's because our physical rolls in training keep to be shit.

Still i think our endurance isn't nothing to laugh at with the shit we got away with without using magic immediatly,for a guy with only 2 years of training and experience we're doing incredibly good even without magic.

Changing subjects if take the gandalf option should we should we show up glowing,say that another eclipse is happening and that motherfucking griffith will be back,Guts is going to lose everything and that we'll meet again and refusing to elaborate further?
>>
>>5183734
>appears in explosion of white light
>warns of dangerous portents
>fucks pyromaniac
>refuses to elaborate
>leaves
>>
>>5183734
Chad stride there and say that the falcon of darkness will return thorugh a ritual on the tower soon.
>>
>>5183734
>>5183857
>>5183901

>Show up in a hill with our armor and spear somewhat dirty by the mud, and somehow fucking shine at the light of the Moon, the tip of the spear right above us shining bright
>"Cease and desist, immediately!..."
>Slowly down the spear while gracefuly Gunpowder take some steps closer
>"Or I swear for the Allknowing and Allseeing God that's right above us i'm gonna beat each one of your asses..."
>Farnese tries to speak
>"Silence!... I'm going to say this once, and y'all need to hear me loud and clear... This age of demons and nightmares is just starting, it might go downhill for all of us in this point, and all because the one and only enemy in this world is coming back."
>"Griffith, the Falcon of Darkness is coming once again to the Earth to bring horror beyond human imagination, to bring calamity and pain once again, crawling from the endless pit of torment and anguish he was born from..."
>"A second eclipse is right in our doorstep, coming each second more closer, yearning for bringing darkness once more. Is in the city of St. Albion we're Griffith will be granted a mortal body to walk again upon this land."
>"And by trying to kill the Black Swordman and failing, you're just thining the forces that will stand with the Humanity in this long war. And the results of killing him is just more of the same, even if you don't lose more men..."
>"Don't blind yourself keeping near your eyes a tiny candle in the dark tunnel, don't limit your scope to a stupid little mission like this, when your help is more needed somewhere else."
>Go back to the other side of the hill, grab the car and keep our way to the city
>>
>>5183355
>I remember last time we met Guts we have beaten him
That was just the back to back crits. A few days ago QM said that we're around Wyald strength by now.
>>
>>5183991
>Farnese:Serpico quick hunt and fight that ghost while i deal with the black sworsdman!
Serpico:Lady farnese how am i supposed to fight someone that's already dead?
>>
>>5184426
I imagine it would go something like this
>Serpico, apprehend the ghost!
>[sigh] Hey Vlad
>Hey Serpico.
>So you're totally alive still.
>Yep.
>Can we just pretend I can't hit you and you just leave?
>>
>>5184665
A liitle later
>Guts: Tell me where the ghost went and leave me alone or i'll burn this girl ass!
>Jerome:I can't believe that in only a few months i met and hunted a holy ghost while the black swordsman was also hunting him.Will be one heck of a story to tell to the next prostitute i'm going to bang.

Shit will get funny if we go to the tower and there's mozgus around
>>
Got the update ready so I'll be posting it at midnight here. Seems like I gave plenty of time for people to decide what they want to do in this situation so we'll see if it works out. Just don't be alarmed if I sleep halfway through the next few updates.
>>
>>5184813
Whoops, dropped the nametrip.
There we go, will refrain from crossboarding while running at least.
>>
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>>5179122
It's at times like these where you are grateful for having the element of surprise to rely on. None of them have seen your face. Your helm and new armor, though slightly dented from being ragdolled by Barnham, makes it incredibly easy for you to hide in anonymity. Neither Guts or Farnese believe you are still alive, so you had the option of masking your identity, unless either of them could recognise your voice.

Well, you've learned how to coat your armor with Od at this point, so maybe you don't even need to hide your identity. Just prove you're the real Vlad Santana and that you have magical powers that you've used for good. Even if the holy knights can't see magic, you're pretty sure Guts would notice the effects given how many years he's been fighting the astral demons. Surely that'll catch him off guard enough for him to stagger a bit, but doing so would make him a sitting duck for the knights to kill him. Given the state he's in, even a single strike from Lady Farnese would take him down, so provided he's still stronger than you, you can knock him down a second time, but at what cost?

One hit doesn't mean anything if you cant strike him where it matters. He's already running circles around the knights and killing them with no room for thought, so likely you won't get a second to regret your mistakes, because he will demolish you when he acknowledges you as a threat. Serpico and Azan might give you the benefit of the doubt for helping them apprehend the so called agent of darkness, even if Guts might not be the main threat for the long run, but interacting with Farnese now that she's made a habit out of killing infidels will be like walking on eggshells, even if you did her job for her, there's no guarantee that she'll lend you an ear before melting you with a torch.

"That monster! No doubt about it, he's the one that killed those children!"
"What inhumane strength! We can't possibly win this!"

These knights should probably thought about that before trying to sneak in a backstab at a former Band of The Falcon commander...
Regardless, a massacre will soon begin, followed by an even bigger murder spree if you don't stop this mindless fight between Guts and Farnese, and after brainstorming as much as you could in this short amount of time, you went with the best possible option from your point of view. Afterall, it was either that, or staying idle while you wished for peace.

And peace does not stem from inaction.

>Attempt to fight Guts and arrest him.
>Circle around and surrender Farnese as your hostage.
>Get in the middle of the two and distract them with your magic.
>Telepathically warn Guts to retreat.
>See if you can escape with Guts and Gunpowder.
>Test diplomacy with Serpico or Azan.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5184968
>Get in the middle of the two and distract them with your magic.
>>
>>5184968
>Get in the middle of the two and distract them with your magic.
>Test diplomacy with Serpico or Azan.
Holy phantom time.
>>
>>5184968
>Get in the middle of the two and distract them with your magic.
>Test diplomacy with Serpico or Azan.
>>
>>5184968
+1>>5184992
Do it Gandalf way, using our armor and helmet to hide our identity of course
>>
>>5184968
>Get in the middle of the two and distract them with your magic.
>Test diplomacy with Serpico or Azan.
Lets hope Vlad is good with words.
>>
>>5184981
>>5184992
>>5185004
>>5185018
>>5185040
Getting in the middle of crossfire while not prioritising defense yourself might be a lil bit tricky...

How about you give me some die and help me decide how well that goes? A 1d100 and Vlad won't be scathed by either team until he gets to their heads. Fingers crossed!
>>
Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>5185059
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>5185059
>>
Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>5185059
Seriously, no rolls in 15 minutes?
>>
>>5185080
we are all scared to go lower anon
>>
Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>5185080
I was taking a shower.
>>
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>>5185063
>>5185064
Adjusting your headpiece, you give the signal for Gunpowder to jump straight into their line of attack as you coat the outer part of your armor with your powerful white Od. A lesser horse would have protested, but you know he's always ready to suicide bomb an enemy if it means getting a good rush of adrenaline.

Before Azan could climb down the hill to help the other combatants, you hit Guts's armor out of the way of some amateur teenager's neck, swaying his weight diagonally as he fell over on his stomach.

"Hey! Did you forget I was inside your purse?! Don't knock me over like that!" A high pitched voice came out of Guts and his clothes, with something rustling on his chest encouraging him to get up, the black swordsman kneeling on his hunk of metal as more of the holy men cornered him.

"Cease this fighting, warriors of the See! Should you capture this man dead or alive, it will only result in more casualties!" Your reply to Azan and the blonde duo as you make your entrance. The two of them looked surprised to see a random traveler interfering on their crusades.

"Heh, who's the knight in shining armor?" Guts snides as you take a better look at him. His left eye is missing, his mechanic arm compensating for the stump he has instead of his real limb. The eclipse was no doubt rough for him in particular, but getting a read on his Od only confirms your suspicions.
There is a dark field of energy surrounding him whole, a ghostly array of souls morphing in and out of his mind. The brand of sacrifice was engraved in his body, and the contact with the undead has made him nearly indistinguishable from an actual apostle in terms of his spiritual condition. In fact, his soul wasn't exactly pure of evil intent either, seeing as he was thinking back on all the kids he killed.

"Just your typical Knight-errant passing through. Couldn't help but see the odds were stacked against your favor. We can leave the pleseantries for another time." You try to make sure your name isn't important to him right now, but he has other thoughts to occupy himself with.

"Like I needed your help, bucket-head! I can deal with these idiots on my own!"
Sure you can, Guts. Whatever makes you sleep at night...
>>
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>>5185105
"Who is this man? Another one of your demonic underlings, Black Swordsman?" While still thinking you were no good, Farnese thankfully did not seem to recognize you, preferring to inquire Guts on your identity.

"Hey, don't look at me. You've heard him, just some guy playing hero." Guts cynically tells her that he's just about as lost on who you are as any of them.
"The armor doesn't really have any emblem I know of. Was it custom made?" Serpico squints his eyes and observes you up and down. He is probably smart enough to know who you are if he pries for long enough, so your cover will likely be blown if he decides to snitch.

"Now hold on there, son! Do you know what blasphemy you are about to make here?" Azan pokes the floor with his iron club. "This man is the agent of darkness Lady Farnese has been looking for since the start of this dark ages. Letting him free would not only make her fail her pursuit, but render this child murderer free from his righteous punishment!"

"Don't give him the benefit of the doubt, Azan! He knows what he is doing! Even if this man was innocent, that doesn't justify the utter annihilation of my knights." She implies that her soldiers are the same as property. The more she changes, the more she stays the same.

"Wouldn't be the worst way I've seen some people go down." Guts chuckles, not really bothering in making a case for himself.

"Choose your words very carefully, lancer knight. Depending on your answer, I might have to follow my orders of defeating the Black Swordsman, and if that includes taking down his supporters, I'll be forced to fight you myself." Azan is kind hearted enough to listen as to why you're defending a child murderer, perhaps thinking you might just be misguided.

>Oh, I know what I'm doing (Attack Azan).
>Don't bother fighting. You would lose.
>He's already down on his knees, there is no need to keep going. Isn't that right, Black Swordsman?
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>I want to finish him off myself.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
Time to take a page out of Skull Knights book and be a cryptic weirdo
>>
>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.

I couldn't think of a good write in where we could subtly refrence fire lmao.
>>
>>5185123
>He's already down on his knees, there is no need to keep going. Isn't that right, Black Swordsman?
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>>
>>5185132
>"This is no time for old grudges and personal persuits, the real Falcon of Darkness will be in Albion, and this 'child murderers', i'm sure will be needed to help and take back the horrors that will be unleashed there..."
>"It's late, and there's a lot of bodies to give a proper burial and mourn."
>"Or you could just lit a fire and burn the bodies and take the ashes to their families once you go back, whatever suits you well"
>>
>>5185125
>>5185132
Support this
>>
>>5185132
>>5185137
We shouldn't be trying to set off Farnese with fire puns. We're trying to hide out identity remember
>>
>>5185143
I mean, yeah, you're right, but it's just a normal comment I feel anyone could use seeing the place where in

I didn't say something like "Ah yes, and maybe you can still have some fun burning the corpses for your fun, Farnese" or something like that. I mean to say it more like a genuine comment instead of a pun and seeing Farnese directly to the eyes
>>
>>5185150
My main worry about the comment isn't Faenesse catching on but Serpico. The man is smart and we don't need him formulating any schemes.
>>
>>5185156
Then you're right again. He already gave us a pass in the Swamp and played along, but he's already seeing something is off.

I just hope that if he get us he doesn't say anything. After all we are alive and apparently not a sight of corruption, which means we surely cleansed the corruption. Right know we've shown we do things for a reason, plus he knows Farnese is batshit crazy, so those things might play in our favor
>>
>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>>
>>5185123
>>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>>
>>5185123
>Write-in.
>"On my way to seek my lady of the lake, I, The Fisher Knight , look up to find it raining giant moths! As I approach it,it reveals to be a child twisted into the form of a demon moth! It was almost hewn in twain, the sign the Bane of Demons is around! This man here in the fabled Black Swordsman I seek!"
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
"We will soon meet again. Au revoir!"
>>
>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
I'm a little late, again, but now I'm here to help guts GTFO.
>>
>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>>
You know I wonder if Griffith will shed a single beherit when he fibds out the god hand member we hate the most is conrad and just ignore Griffith.
>>
>>5185327
>yeah cool femboy or whatever your name is go play in your little clubhouse I have a fat fuck to fry
>>
>>5185123
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>Now I must judge if he is walking the of corruption
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
Because Vlad still thinks Guts killed children and is going to become an apostle
>>
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>Now I must judge if he is walking the of corruption
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>>
>>5185327
>>5185330
>"You should have trusted me back when you were a human during the wedding. I had no reason to go against you, and deep down inside you know this. Instead, you dug your own grave like the fool you are, Griffith."

>>5185123
>Place Guts on top of Gunpowder and retreat.
>This man is a mere distraction, the real falcon of darkness will be in Albion.
>>
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>>5185125
>>5185132
>>5185176
>>5185258
>>5185283
>>5185294
"The real Falcon of Darkness will be in Albion, The Black Swordsman is a mere distraction of your goals!" You raise an arm to Azan. "Though this man has done much wrong, I believe he will be needed to help in the horrors that will be unleashed there!"

"What? How does he know that?" Serpico scratches his head.
"Blasphemy! Are you claiming to be a prophet while you let a criminal get away?" Farnese does not trust your warnings in the slightest. "This is the only chance we've had in years from catching this fiend, and you'll just let him escape?"

"To be frank, I am not sure if this alligns me to the best moral compass, but I hope this is an action I won't regret. If he really is corrupted, I'll be sure to bring him back to you, Lady Farnese." You rush to Guts' side and catch him with your hands, his heavy body being placed behind you as Gunpowder escapes the fighting grounds.

"After him! Don't lose sight of them!" Farnese also decides to run back after her horses, but given how they were all on foot and counting their losses, it would give you a few minutes ahead as Gunpowder sprinted amidst the forest.

All seemed well, until a crossbow poked against your neck, with a pointy dart scratching your back as Guts forced you to lose speed in your mount.
"I thought I've made myself clear. I'm not exactly on your side, whoever you are." Guts aimed a shorter weapon against you, seeing as he could not use his greatsword without being in top condition.

"Gee, That's how you thank a guy for saving your behind? You should learn some humility here, pal!" The voice inside Guts speaks out once more, but since turning around would probably cause him to fire, you're forced to wonder who else is with him.
"Shut up! This is between me and him. So you think you have what it takes to 'judge my character', huh? Well lucky for you, I can do the same to you."

"I'm not sure if that's the brightest idea, threatening someone who gave you some needed rest."
"Don't give me that crap. Nobody interrupts a scene like that one without having second intentions. Now tell me what you want with me, or else the last thing you'll be seeing is a bolt going through your mouth."

He has the wording of someone intending on hurting you, but his mistrustful attitude and irregular breathing shows that he has some doubts as to wether or not this is the best course of action.
I guess some added context would calm him down.

>Why don't you take my helmet off and find out who you're talking to?
>If you really are fighting the God Hand, you have nothing to fear me for.
>Take a look at yourself, you would fall off my horse the moment you shot me.
>I'm going to Albion with you, the falcon of darkness will be there.
>Who's hiding under your clothes?
>Did you really kill those children?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5185397
>Do I need a better reason than saving a friend?
>Why don't you take my helmet off and find out who you're talking to?
>>
>>5185397
>Do you want a rematch? Maybe you will win this time.
And remove the helmet while saying it, and be sure to put on our smuggest grin
>We need to be at our top condition when Griffith starts his second eclipse
>The children Guts, did you kill them? Was there a reason?
>And who is the voice in your pocket?
>>
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>>5185397
>Write-in
"You claim me to be duplicitous in saving you. Aye, 'tis true, for I am Vlad Santana and I did not want to see another old comrade fall, Guts.
>Did you really kill those children?
>If you really are fighting the God Hand, you have nothing to fear me for.
>>
>>5185397
>If you really are fighting the God Hand, you have nothing to fear me for.
>Who's hiding under your clothes?
>>
>Do I need a better reason than saving a friend?
>Why don't you take my helmet off and find out who you're talking to?
>"Did you really kill those children? I'm asking mostly because from your od alone it feels like you murderfucked an apostle"
>>
>>5185406
support
>>
>>5185397
>Do I need a better reason than saving a friend?
>Why don't you take my helmet off and find out who you're talking to?
>Did you really kill those children?

>Write
"Do me a favour now, remain steady and use your crossbow only if they reach us. We are going to run away from here, after that we are going to talk and you will need to rest."
Transfer a small amount of Od for close some of his bleeding. Then go away preferably somewhere where we can camp and there is some food/water around. Our supplies are few, we need to replenish.
>>
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>>5185406
>>5185409
>>5185410
>>5185415
>>5185416
"...Do I need a better reason than saving a friend? There are only so many people I can count on this wretched land, Guts. And I hope you're still one of them." You soften your posture, hoping that showing more emotions would calm down your old comrade.

"Friend? I don't remember making friends with anyone like you."
"Why don't you take my helmet off and find out who you're talking to? I might look a bit different than when we fought, but I'm still in condition for a rematch one day. Maybe you'll even win this time..." The impatient swordsman removes your helm and pulls your head back, taking a moment to recognize your identity.

"...Vlad...? But... How? Casca told me you died all those years ago... I even saw you in my..." Guts looks more shocked than happy to see you standing, the fact that you were alive seemed to go completely against his narrative.

"What, do you really believe everything people tell you? Just because I disappeared for a few years, doesn't mean I'm dead." You properly explain to him, but still wanting to leave the finer details for later. "I can tell you the rest when Farnese and the others aren't on our tail. For now I need you to answer me some questions."

Guts stays silent, still pondering on how he was fooled by thinking you weren't alive, when he was probably reliving past memories and regretting his mistakes from the past 3 years, but the next sentence seems to make him react.
"Griffith wants to reincarnate in Albion. He plans to sacrifice a few hundred people at the tower where--"
"GRIFFITH!?" The mere mention of his name is enough to send Guts into a frenzy as he clutches your neck. "WHERE IS HE? WHAT WILL HE DO IN THE TOWER? WE NEED TO STOP HIM!"

"Easy there, lad! I need my neck to breathe and all!" His violent outburst shows that he's a lot more prone to rash decisions than before. How badly has life been treating him for Guts to turn this way. "I can tell you have a grudge against Griffith, but I'm the one doing the questions for now." You tap his wrists while trying to pay attention on the road.
"Let him talk, musclehead! We'll go nowhere if you keep interrupting him!" The voice once again makes Guts relax his grip, as if functioning like a shoulder angel.
>>
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>>5185453
"Alright, for starters. Who's the pipsqueak hiding under your clothes?"
"I'm glad you asked!" A little spark of blue light emanates from his pockets, as the form of a small, humanoid male pops his head out of Guts' clothes with a Behelit in hand. "Here comes the real protagonist of the story! The almighty elf Puck, always saving Guts in the nick of time."

"A little too full of yourself, don't you think?" Guts chastises the little guy.
"You can deny it all you want, it's still true! If I wasnt out of juice already, you boo-boos would have been gone by now!" Puck flaps his little wings, trying to produce some powder and failing at giving him anything.
"What are you doing with that Behelit!? Throw it away!" You warn for them to stay away from the artifact.
"No can do, Becchi is my best friend! You think this guy over here has anything good to talk about? He's always moping and doping, never has any time to listen and have a real conversation." Puck hugs the Behelit while the thing squirms and squints it's eyes.

"Becchi? What the hell kind of name is that?" You're baffled that anyone who takes himself as seriously as the God Hand would come up with such a stupid name.
"I don't know, you tell me!" Puck grinned, but you're not really sure what he meant by that...
"Whatever... Now that we got that out of the way, I want to know about what happened with the children at the misty village... Guts, did you actually kill them?"
"...Yes. And I would do it again." Guts stays silent before smiling maniacly.
"What, Why?"
"Because I am a monster, what other reason do I need, haha..." Guts avoids responding you, preferring to antagonise you as he lowers his posture.
"Who do you think you're fooling here, edgelord?" Puck shakes his head.

"Puck, do you know what really happened there?"
"You betcha, I was there with him all the way, wouldn't be his pocket medic if he didn't have some good in him..."
"Alright, can you tell me how it came to this then?" Surely he must have had a reason to kill them...
"Sure, but first... Do you have anything on that caravan that could give me a lil boost? Gutsy over here might look tough, but he's on the verge of fainting, and someone needs to give this guy first aid before he drops to the floor. We can have a slower talk once we're done with that."

Puck seems to be asking for food, you're not sure what elves eat, but there could be some fruits that you wouldn't mind sharing. He must not know your magic origins, so maybe you could just heal him and have him heal Guts after that? Healing Guts back to full health would probably transfer his damage to you, and that's not something you can take while leading an escape group... But you're not used to healing small creatures either, hopefully you won't fry the little elf with your Od...

>There are some apples on the back, have a nice meal.
>Let me take care of him.
>How about I give you some energy instead?
>>
I wonder what Casca told Guts about our death. Probably she told Guts we betrayed Griffith,got accused of being a wizard and when Griffith tought we were going to heal ourself we died while still thinking that Griffith went a bit crazy to think we were a wizard.

Meanwhile Guts at the start thought we were a shitstain that betrayed Griffith and didn't heal ourself just to spite Griffith and prove a point,only to change his mind after the Eclipse and realizing Griffith was a traitorous crazy hoe 100% and we went out giving him the finger after being betrayed.
>>
>>5185454
>Let me take care of him.
>There are some apples on the back, have a nice meal.
>>
>>5185454
>So do you eat fruit or do I transfer my Od to you? I may be a halfling but I never dealt with a normal elf before.
>>
>>5185454
>How about I give you some energy instead?
>>
>>5185454
>So do you eat fruit or do I transfer my Od to you? I may be a halfling but I never dealt with a normal elf before.
>>
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>>5185463
>>5185464
>>5185472
>>5185488
"So do you eat fruit or do I transfer my Od to you? I may be a halfling but I never dealt with a normal elf before." You explain your uncertainty on how to proceed.

"Oh, really? I didn't know you could do that. I think I could use the Od transfer, but if you're afraid of giving me a sugar rush, I can just take care of him the natural way."
"Alright then, There are some apples on the back, have a nice meal." You point to a few pots of food you have on the caravan.

"Aye aye! Guts, can you move out of his back for a bit? The doctor wants to begin his examination!"
"Huh? Yeah, let me just..." Guts lets go of your horse, but ends up falling backwards straight to the wall of your moving home. Thankfully he managed to hold onto the carriage with the last of his strength.
"What a klutz! Give me a minute here, will ya?"
Puck shouts from way down back, luckily not being crushed under his weight. Hopefully he can eat fast enough for you to escape your foes...

"There he is! Follow the carriage!" Farnese's voice echoes behind you as you barely have enough time to put your helm back on.

"Where is the Black Swordsman?"
"Probably hiding inside. Aim for the horse! They won't be able to escape without him."

As skilled as Gunpowder is, dodging trees and arrows while carrying so much weight is a bit too taxing for him. Thankfully due to the knights miserable aim, only a few arrows make it to the back of your portable hiding spot. You just hope none of them take Puck down.

"It's not too late to surrender, Sir Knight. Give me back the Black Swordsman and I assure you that I'll let you go with your life." Farnese attempts to negotiate some terms, not knowing that she'd kill you anyway once your face was revealed.
Farnese might have been trained to be the leader of the holy iron chain knights, but if the other kids are anything to go by, she's probably nowhere near in strength as Guts, Serpico or Azan. Overpowering her and the few followers she has right now would be easy, but that would probably enrage the others still making their way to the forest. Others that are a lot stronger, mind you.

Surrendering sounds like the easiest way to end this ordeal, but Guts still hasn't given you all the info you want...

>Surrender Guts to Farnese.
>Split from Gunpowder and fight Farnese on foot.
>Hope your carriage can outrun the knights.
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
>>
>>5185503
>Split from Gunpowder and fight Farnese on foot.
Time to dance! Again!
>>
Can we ask Guts if he thinks he could break free if he gets captured and just tell him to meet again in a specified location?
>>
>>5185503
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
This move may make us exhausted but it could stop anymore fighting
>>
Isn't Guts going to comment on the "I may be a halfling" thing? He clearly heard Vlad say that just then.

>>5185503
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
Fighting Farnese is outing our identity literally not even an hour or so since we decided to hide it from them. Surrendering Guts is stupid. Hoping we outrun them puts our supplies and maybe Gunpowder in danger.
>>
>>5185503
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
I doubt their ability to pursue us without breaking up their group.
>>
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Sure, all for added context:
>>5185523
Not wanting to expose yourself while you were on the run, you telepathically speak with Guts to plan on the best course of action.

"Hey Guts, can you shed me some light on where we should go? You did walk all over this place before I got here."

"What, you can read minds now? Interesting... Seems like you really got a lot more in contact with your origins, whatever they are...

"Can you escape them in case we get caught? I was thinking on the possibility of splitting and leaving you with Gunpowder, but I don't know what will happen if either of us get lost."

"Are you kidding me? Of course I can take care of these kids. You saw how easily I sliced through 5 of them, imagine what I can do when Puck is done healing me.

"OM NOM NOM NOM!" Puck eats several apples as large as himself in order to store some energy, how can he eat this much so non-chalantly?

"Ok, let's say I let you rest and get captured. How would we meet again?"

"Just past this forest, there's a large cliffside to the right. I was planning to go rest on a large city that's a bit further past the rock formations. You can't miss them, Puck told me how the hills there were used to enshrine elves. You can smell magic or something, right? It should be easy for you to follow along."

It seems Puck has been guiding the swordsman to safer places when he can, so not all hope is lost on them finding their way back to you. Also they are with your horse and your carriage, they better come back if you decide on splitting...

"Alright, so I think we should focus on... Guts?" You feel his Od waver as he drops in and out of consciousness, whatever fought he had before meeting you, it's probably making him react a lot slower. If he can't process enough information to maintain the convo, Gunpowder would probably have to escape without a rider on him.
>>
>>5185534
>Isn't Guts going to comment on the "I may be a halfling" thing?
Well considering that guts has lost more than a liter of blood, I'm not surprised he's not completely following the conversation.
>>
>>5185503
>Split from Gunpowder and fight Farnese on foot.
Keep her eyes on us for a bit, and then run the fuck away. Maybe we can get them to follow us and get lost in the forest, buying us even more time.
>>
>>5185503
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
>>
If we actually split from this fight I say we should do some weird extravagant wizard shit and take the aim of the rest of the Holy Knights

>"Halt immediately, Warriors of the See! Because I, the vagrant Knight i'll put you all into the sweet arms of the Dreams myself if you follow that child murderer before I give you thy message I was orderer to give you!..."
>Farnese: "... And what the fuck is it!?"
>"The message is!... It's not wise to hear everything a vagrant Knight wants to tell you while your real objective is running"
>Starts running inna woods while laughing a lot
>Farnese starts to seeth and rage for some seconds before going back to chasing Guts
>>
>>5185503
>Zig-zag around the forest until they lose themselves inside the woods.
>>
>>5185530
>>5185534
>>5185542
>>5185566
>>5185585
Let's get some dice rolling. A 1d100 for Gunpowder to zig-zag around with no trouble.
Gotta go fast!
>>
Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>5185587
>>
Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>5185587
>>
Oh well. I was hoping we could leave guts to farnese and fight rape horse and possesed half-naked Farnese.
>>
Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>5185587
Last one
>>
>>5185597
never say never anon
>>
>>5185588
>>5185592
>>5185599
>>
>>5185588
>>5185592
>>5185599
Fighting people with no battle experience is very easy, but they can still follow you with their eyes unless you act cautious, and you can't drift around too much or else the food inside your caravan will come flying out of it. The best option appears to be losing them in the scenery.

The trees appear to be the same, but your Od sensing makes sure that a pathway is always clear to you, the spirits of the forest seem to welcome you into their branches. You just follow your instinct as you go uphill, downhill, left, right and all around.

Fewer and fewer soldiers appear to find your placements, as they comically bump into each other and start arguments on who had the right lead.

"He went over that way!"
"No, you buffon! That was me you just hit!"
"Anyone seen Damian? I hard something falling a while back..."
The search continues for a few minutes, and just as you start slowing down to let your horse rest, Farnese's panting mount is heard not too far away.

"I... Won't let you... Go!" The poor animal doesn't even have the strength to keep running, slowly trotting as she abused him with a whip. "Faster!"

Circling your eyes around for an escape route, you find a large boulder resting on a tree strump. It seemed to be a man-made trap left here long ago to roll down until it hit two larger tree trunks, effectively blocking the pathway up unless they started climbing vertically. Isn't that convenient?

You get off the carriage and start pushing the rock with all of your might. Farnese, realising what you were about to do, mounted off her own horse and ran with her rapier in hand. You were pretty sure that the weight of your amor was doing more to the boulder than you, but placing both feet on the stump seemed to do the trick as the rock started to roll right to where you wanted, blocking the way to where you were unless she took a much longer detour. The path up was sealed, and Farnese couldn't reach you from over here.

You came closer to see if she was hurt, but only her blade passed through the cracks as she tried to force her way in.
With a few failed attempts at cutting the tree trunks, you heard her angrily shouting at you.

"Mark my words, Knight! You have sealed your fate as an enemy of the Holy See!"
You hold the thought of saying "What, again?", not wanting her to recognize you by voice or attitude. Walking back to where Guts was, you see that Puck was starting to do the magic for him. Healing him to a more presentable state.
>>
>>5185635
"Thanks for the ride, my guy!" The miniature man waves his hand. "The food was delicious! Only a few more hours and he'll be standing in no time." You see his wounds being closed as fast as the elf bats his wings over Guts.

Shaking the fruit pile, you notice that there wasn't a single apple left in the basket. It's crazy to think that this guy can eat more in a few minutes than what you can forcefully shove down your throat in a day!

"Is Guts going to be ok?"
"For sure! He just needs to lay down for a bit, I'm not sure if he'll be down to it though."
"But I need to--"
"No you don't!" Puck strikes Guts across the face with a burdock as he tries to stand up. If a slap on the wrist is all it takes for him to shut up, then he really is down for the count...
"Fine... How's the situation outside then?"

"They won't reach us for a while. Seems like we can stay on the mountainside until then."
"Is it close to nighttime?"
"I'd say we have a few more hours. From here it's either up towards the peak, moving the boulder on the way or wasting a few hours going back to where we were."

"Plenty of time to catch up. Hope you don't mind me listening! I wanna know how this loner found a friend before me!" Puck rests on your shoulder, barely weighing more than a feather.
"She told me you were dead... That they executed you for witchcraft...I never thought you would still be alive... Why were you in hiding?" Guts briefly thinks about Casca before his mind went back to what he lost before he left his group.

>It was either that or dying in a ditch.
>What did they say about my passing?
>How is Casca doing?
>How did you meet Puck?
>Where did you get that Behelit?
>Tell me more about the dead children.
>>
>>5185675
>explain our swamp arc
>What did they say about my passing?
>>
>>5185678
>support
plus
>Tell me more about the dead children. you don't really seem to be the wanton slaughter type.
>>
>>5185678
Support this, but also add in
>Tell me more about the dead children.
>>
>>5185678
+1 saves a lotta time
>>
>>5185678
+1
>>
>>5185678
>I killed my dad lmao
>>
>>5185675
>>5185678
+1
>Where did you get that Behelit?
>>
>>5185675
>>How did you meet Puck?
>>Where did you get that Behelit?
>>
>>5185678
Support
>>
>>5185678
"Run that back a lil' bit. You're part plant?" Puck questions you after attently hearing your story in the swamp.
"I...Guess?"
"Ha! That's so weird! How does it feel to eat veggies? Feeling like a cannibal now?" You don't really know how to answer that after the emotional rollercoaster that was telling them about the silver eyed clan, so you choose to ignore him for now and focus on Guts.

"It's a shame that witch passed away. No doubt she would have done some damage to the apostles I fought..." Guts seems to mourn the powerful Merlina, though more lamenting that he didn't find her first. "You're certainly no slouch yourself, fighitng not one apostle, but clearing an entire swamp with her while you know more about your real parents. You should be proud."

"I can't say I feel proud about letting her die... Merlina swam alone for so long, and just when I thought I could give her peace, she died washed up on the shore... She was probably waiting for me to come purify her soul in her last moments, but when you're born with such a burden on your back before you can even learn how to speak, it was foolish of me to think I could undo Hedwyn's sins without some of them coming my way..."

"You are what you are, Vlad. Don't beat yourself over it." Guts tries to snap you out of your depression, but Puck seems to think he has no room to say that.
"You're one to talk..."
"Right, guess I should tell you what you want to know." Guts finally takes some time to explain what happened after you've last seen him.

"When I said my goodbyes to the group, Griffith showed up and said I could only go away if I defeat him in a duel. It didn't take long, but I did not think he would take it personally when I came to Casca and invited her to come with me after I won. I imagined that since Griffith was planning to marry the princess and Casca would lose her place, that was the best time for her to do something else of her life."

"And what did she say?
"...Nothing. I thought that being more honest with the others would have eased my worries, much like how it happened with you and I. But she still stood to Griffith's side. Guess it served as a wakeup call that she'd rather stay with him..."

"After that, I decided to stick around in a blacksmith's house. Thought I could use some alone time after all that happened, but to my surprise... Casca eventually found her way at his house. She ran away as soon as the king started persecuting the falcons. Told me all about how you used magic to become an impostor according to the officials... Only to die on your cell."
>>
>>5185675
>I couldn't disprove I was a wizard, so I had planned to fake my death and cleanse the swamp to prove I was on the side of the kingdom.
>But there, I learned things were not as they were. The silver eye clan was my birth family, my mother Sivir is a plantmorph that was granted a lower body thorugh elven magic. During the attack of the see, my father Hedwyn became an apostle, sacrificing the clan so me and mother could survive, not for love, but because I was the result of his plan to destroy the Godhand. The witch Merlina managed to survive, whoever she was branded and became trapped in the swamp, surrounded by the risen corpses of her clan.
>She became my mentor and taught me her magic, and when I was ready we would kill Hedwyn and I would free her soul from being sent to the abyss. But during my time the eclipse happened, and we had to accelerated my training. When it came time to defeat the apostle, I failed to do it without her spending all her energy and dying.
>I will kill Conrad and save her one day, even if I have to burn the entire abyss to do it.
>But what about you Guts, what have you been up to? Even though you surrou ded by an aura of darkness, you just be still pure if Puck is with you, good spirits avoid those who are corrupted.
>>
>>5185775
Oh shit, I took too long actually explaining the arc that I missed the vote.
>>
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>>5185772
It seems Casca really did want to stay with Guts, at least after she had nowhere to go and he opened himself up to live with her. If only it didn't come during such innadequate circumstances.
"It came as a shock to me... I didn't even know how she managed to find me, but part of me felt guilty that our happiness came at the cost of his... So we decided to come back. We've heard Judeau was hiding with a small group of survivors back there, and since Griffith was still alive. I thought I could write at least one of my wrongs..."

"Was he really guilty in killing the Queen?"
"Yeah. Though I helped him a little on that regard... She was one of the main players conspiring against Griffith, even going so far as to try and poison him. I had to exit the party to take care of some goons while he set her ablaze. Looking back on it, it was probably only a matter of time before someone found out. Or for Griffith to make a mistake..."

After he heard your side of the story, he seems to make more sense of what happened.
"I'll be honest. I was one of the guys wanting to off your head when the news arrived to me. But now that I know what he's capable of... I should have killed him on that snowy day while he was down on his knees!"

"How did he transform during the eclipse?" The mere mention of the eclipse made Guts clench his fists as he remembered the horrible things that happened there.
"After we saved him from his torturers... After all we've been through... After fighting the apostles sent my way... After promising to revive the falcons in his honor... When I finally reunited with my comrades...He... Killed them all... No one was left! And Casca... After all the young lives he took, he decided to go after Casca and..." Your empathic ability shows a clear image of a bird demon resembling Griffith forcing himself onto Casca as she mercilessly screamed at the sight of her friends being battered and brutally killed all around them. Guts tried to chop his arm off the teeth of another apostle, just for the sake of saving the woman he loved and gotten to know better for the best part of a year, only to be taken down and have his eye gouged out by another apostle, powerless to stop the raping that happened before his eyes. Were it not for the Skull Knight showing up and saving the two from that horrid dimension... You don't want to know how Femto would have finished his transformation ceremony.

"He always starts to stutter around that part of the story. Anyway, he's been killing all sorts of randos ever since that happened. It wasn't all bad though, he saved me when I was stuck in some evil count's land. That's where we found Becchi! I've been trying to keep his good side showing ever since. I would feel bad in leaving him behind, poor guy can't be trusted by himself." Puck chimes in to explain the remaining events.

"I know what the brand does to a person... How did you manage to survive for this long without knowing magic?"
>>
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>>5185780
"Simple, he fought. Havent seen this guy get more than 3 hours of sleep during the day, he has to save his energy for the night shifts. Sometimes he dozes off, but I always have his back, right Guts?"
"Wrong."
You're no fun, you know that? No wonder Jill didn't come along!"

"Jill? That's the name of the girl on the village I went through. The only girl on that village..."
"Yeah, she was a real pal! Shame about her friend Rosine though. She wanted to set the world free of adults after seeing being neglected by her parents. She started transforming all the kids there into elves like me, only they grew a lot more violent on her command."

"Not all apostles start out as monsters... And once those died, they came back to their human form. I technically killed a lot of children on my way here, but it was either me or the world..." Guts admitted his actions were wrong, even if it was for a good cause. Not like people who don't believe in magic wouldn't understand.

"Jill wanted to come with me... But I know I cant take care of those who can't fend for themselves. Especially with this damn thing around my neck." Guts scratches the brand of sacrifice, cursing the God Hand for killing his friends, raping his lover, and not even letting him forget it for a single night.
"I'm not sure if I can kill any flying types, but I fought a pretty strong apostle before meeting you. I don't think you'll have to worry about protecting me all that much." You reassure Guts.

"Are you sure you want to stick with me? Come on, I'm a wanted criminal."
"So am I."
"I've killed several innocents, some of them just because they were in my way."
"Never really been one to align with paragons. Were you not paying attention to my story?."
"This is the one opportunity to clear your name in the eyes of the kingdom! Staying by my side means you will be condoning what I do as well. You wouldn't be here if you wanted to be a knight all those years ago."
"I don't want to be a royal knight no more. I just want them dead."

Guts stares you down as he feels the determination in your eyes, something about your viciousness in hunting the God Hand makes him relate to you in a way, sparking something in him to at least give you a chance.
"Wouldn't hurt to keep you company for a bit then. I don't think you have what it takes to fight all night long with me, but something tells me that you'll be useful down the line. Just make sure to leave Griffith to me."

>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>You make it sound like I don't want them all dead.
>No promises, you might need my help fighting him when the time comes.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5185821
>>No promises, you might need my help fighting him when the time comes.
>>
>>5185821
>I want them all dead, it doesn't matter the hand that does the deed.
>>
>>5185821
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>>
>>5185821
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>>
>>5185821 #
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.

To be fair when midland is fucked and has a mad king also it's not like there's a better alternative that doesn't involve us getting Donovaned.

Best we could have gotten is killing the child eaters in albion for firepussy. I mean I guess we can still do it.
>>
>>5185837
>>5185854
Support
>>
>>5185821
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>>
If Vlad goes into Qliphoth with Guts, think he'll get a separate god hand battle? Like how Guts fought Slann when she manifested herself through troll guts. Maybe Vlad could fight Ubik or Void as they manifest themselves too.
>>
>>5185821
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>"Only you and a few knows that i'm alive. Right know i'm just some random vagrant Knight. Once we finish our deeds in Albion we might have to part ways again... I have something to take care back in home, and who knows?... Maybe I will still play death for a while and do shit. Hopefully I get to see Farnese face once she finds out i'm actually alive."
>>
>>5185821
>>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
but killing all of them is our objective tell him this. the important part is doing it.
>>
>>5185821
>Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad.
>Now then...night will fall upon us soon, so I best get to work in fashioning some simple Wards. It won't stop the stronger spirits, but it can easily filter out the weaker ones to give you more of a reprieve.
>>
>>5185884
>>5185903
>Supporting these two
>>
>>5185879
>Vlad pulls Void
>they just sit there shittalking each other the entire time
>>
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>>5185837
>>5185854
>>5185867
>>5185875
>>5185884
>>5185896
"Griffith wronged me, but I have a bigger gripe with Conrad. He's the one that molded my family to be like this... I want to save Merlina's soul still, and even if that really is impossible, I want to kill him and make sure no one else goes through the same struggles."

"I can get behind that. Hope to see you there eventually."
"However, I might have to part ways with you, I have a crew of sorts back home."
"Your estate is still up?"
"No, but my adoptive mother is in Ilos. Also planning on inviting a few people on the caravan. Still playing dead though, so the helmet stays on. You might know me as Vlad Santana, but in the outside world, I'm just some random vagrant knight. No stories to tell, no money to boast about, it's just me and Gunpowder out there... It's a different lifestyle, Not amazing, but not terrible either."

"Seems like your plan is a bit different than mine. Provided we get to the same place in the end, I don't really mind if you don't stay."
"Guts Berserk, forever the lone wolf!" Puck jokes on the swordsman lonely ways, getting a flick from him in return.

"Now then. About your brand..." You look for some papers and start sketching some runes to ward the caravan. This won't stop the stronger spirits from coming after you, but as long as you stay inside, I think you might be able to get some shuteye when night falls.
"Y-You're serious? There's a way to stop those monsters from showing up?" Guts widens his eyes at the thought of actually sleeping like a human being.
"They tend to fall off unless I keep redrawing them, but it works remotely for a few days, even if you like fighting, you can stay with a few of these to use on the go."

"Thank you so much, Vlad! Guts, what's the magic word for when people give you gifts?"
"Not bad, Vlad. Not bad at all..."
"Bleh! Wrong! You get an X on your etiquette class!" Puck draws an X with a marker he found alongside your belongings.

"I'll try to help you out too. Have a walk around and see the forest around here." Guts stands up, still bumbling from his wounds but overall looking more stable.
"I closed the way to the main road, no doubt Farnese will try to look for another way up with the knights. Let me know if there's a shortcut."
"Do you know her? You were pretty fast on hiding your face when she called for you." Guts noticed how you were anxious around any of the knights discovering that you were still alive. Why would that be?

>I like to play mysterious around the ladies.
>Just making sure none of the nobles see any familiar faces.
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>She was a cute bratty kid when I met her, but it seems she's turned into a religious zealot now. Watch out for her.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5185955
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>>
>>5185955
>>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>>
>>5185955
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>>
>>5185955
>>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>>
>>5185955
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>Didn't change much, she liked fire and was angry, the zeal must have fit perfectly.
>>
>>5185955
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>Didn't change much, she liked fire and was angry, the zeal must have fit perfectly.
>>
>>5185955
>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>Didn't change much, she liked fire and was angry, the zeal must have fit perfectly.
>>
>>I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing.
>>
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>>5185960
>>5185962
>>5185963
>>5185978
>>5185985
>>5185990
"I knew Farnese from the ball at the king's castle. She was very good at tap-dancing." You reminisce on the good times you had with her that night. Well, it was good for you, Farnese was mostly fuming at the mouth for not kicking you in the gonads. Still, Serpico and the other nobles were happy to see the biggest social rejects of the gathering getting along like a normal couple. You wonder what could have come of it if weren't for the attempt on Griffith's life.

Then again, you met her around the time you got your act straight and stopped looking for women to sleep around with. You can only hope that didn't shift your taste in girls for now on. Weren't the last few people that kept you company all a little out there? She still looks pretty cute, frilly armor and all.

"Was she any easier to deal with back then?" Guts interrupts your train of thought.
"Oh, Not really, she didn't change that much. She already liked fire and got easily angry back then. The zeal was the icing on the cake for her, only difference is that she kills people now."
"She doesn't seem the type to let us go if we ask nicely. Not that I plan to."
"No kidding. I think she'll want to make a roasting out of me if she sees my face."

"What did you do to piss her off? Seems like a big jump between dancing with a fair maiden to getting death threats from her."
"Maybe she likes you! You know when a boy starts fighting with a cute girl for no reason? That probably means she wants your attention!" Puck suggests that she might have a crush on you.
"Love, huh? You think somebody would go that far for a twisted view of attraction?"
"She is a holy lady. The See is a breeding ground for the hypocrites. I wouldn't be surprised." Guts shares his two cents on what he thinks of the religious folks before scouting the area.

Truthfully, even if nothing comes out of settling things down with Farnese, it would be nice for her to believe you are a real person for once. Is she really that far gone?

You keep those thoughts to yourself, wondering why a random girl you met all the way back in your noble years has gotten her way back into your brain as you sketch some defensive wards in your carriage. Soon enough, Guts comes back with some more info.

"Seems like we can go 3 ways from here: That boulder is pretty well placed, but give me enough time and I think I could clear that way so we can go back to the main road. The mountain we're in is pretty steep, but I think I saw a chimney on my way up?"
"I flew all the way there! It was pretty cold, but I think I saw a man before coming back. How does he get supplies all the way over there?" Puck gives additional information thanks to his flight.
>>
>>5186023
"There's also the other way around. I thought I found a way back down, but the path there is also obstructed. Your horse might be able to make that jump, but there's a dozen meters of free fall that might make you reconsider."
"And what of the knights?"
"Heard some of them in the rocks, saw others moving up here. I think they might be trying to corner us. I could always shoo them away with a kill or two, but since the leader is your friend, I might need a second opinion on how to proceed."

Guts still thinks he's a one many army that can't work with anyone else, it feels more like you're just choosing for his indecisive mind than actually deciding on the best escape route as a team.

>Let's take that rock away from the path.
>Go up and meet the hunter.
>Try to jump over the gap.
>>
>>5186023
>"Maybe she likes you! You know when a boy starts fighting with a cute girl for no reason? That probably means she wants your attention!" Puck suggests that she might have a crush on you.

WE'RE IN BOYS. FARNESEFAGS FOREVER WINNING.
>>
>>5186025
>Go up and meet the hunter.
Clashing with the knights again is a bad idea, and I don't trust Guts to make the gap in his current state.
>>
>>5186025
>Go up and meet the hunter.
>>
>>5186025
>>Go up and meet the hunter.
>>
>>5186025
>Go up and meet the hunter.
>>
>>5186027
You know how Merlina had to listen to "VLADVLADVLADVLAD" for years?

I imagine that's what Becchi hears when he tries to sleep. "FIREPUSSYFIREPUSSYFIREPUSSYFIREPUSSYFIREPUSSYFIREPUSSY"
>>
>>5186029
>>5186037
>>5186039
>>5186040
"I say we go up." You propose to Guts and Puck.
"Up? Wouldn't that make us even more stranded?"
"You said there was a chimney there, right? If someone lives there, they probably have a way to get down and find resources. How else would they make a house up on the mountains without anybody seeing them leave the damn place?" You raise a fair point to Guts, curious on who lives in the summit.

"Brrr! I don't like cold places... I'm not properly clothed for the wind there!" The naked elf hides once more inside Guts and his clothes.
The place is not too steep for Gunpowder to go, but he has to take several short stops as you warm him up with Od transfer. The snowcap indicating that it would only get colder as he went further.
Thankfully, you did not have to all the way to the top, as an old, worn down bridge separated the caravan between a large house under and an even larger cave leading to the summit. A man drenched in leather clothes and with a large hat covering his face menancingly to approach the two of you.

"Howdy there, gentlemen! What brings you here to my place? Ain't everyday I get to see youngins like you visiting. Now I hope you ain't here to cause any trouble, because my lovely wife Jodi – God bless her soul – has a baby bump on her, and in case any of you are here to bother her while my kid is close to being born, I'll make sure you don't live to cross this bridge."
He appears to have proper hunting clothes, but he's rustling something in his pockets that sound very metallic. What could be his weapon of choice?

By the looks of it, he also appears to be religious, so maybe telling them you're being hunted by the See might not be a good idea.
"Not a fan of the quiet types, fellas. Make your case, or get out."

>We're low on food.
>Would you be interested in making a trade?
>My friend here's not doing so good, can he rest at your place?
>We dont have any winter clothes, could we buy something from you?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5186078
>We're low on food.
>Would you be interested in making a trade?
>My friend here's not doing so good, can we rest at your place?

Buying some meat, prepared or not, and staying with him for a time should be fine. It's also very unlikely that any of the knights would be able to track us up here, either
>>
>>5186078
>We're low on food.
>Would you be interested in making a trade?
>My friend here's not doing so good, can he rest at your place?
>>
>>5186078
>Would you be interested in making a trade?
>We need a way to pass through the mountains, a bolder is blocking the way back to the main road.
>>
>>5186078
>>Would you be interested in making a trade?
>>We need a way to pass through the mountains, a bolder is blocking the way back to the main road.
>>
>>5186069
>Anons so thirsty for Farny they take Puck's words as good counseling.

Talk about a slow burn for them to warm up to each other, eh?
>>
>>5186088
/qst/ anons are like ducklings, they imprint on the first girl to talk to them.
>>
>>5186093
mom?!
>>
>>5186095
That maid we talked to to get our weapons?
>>
>>5186096
she died. I also wanted to marry her, but her death means its impossible.
>>
>>5186080
>>5186081
>>5186083
>>5186087
"We're low on food here. And my friend's not doing so well. Perhaps you would be interested in a trade of sorts?" You offer the hunter to get some rewards for his kindness.

"A trade? What do you have on ya?" The man asks about your inventory as you rummage through what you still have.
"Let's see here... A bunch of green bananas, water, pair of extra clothes, several colored inks, paper, empty containers, some honey from a comb I found the other day, and 2 fishes about to got bad tomorrow."

"Damn, Vlad..." Even Guts is shocked by the little you have.
"What? I can't keep stacking on food I won't eat! It's a waste of resources."
"He's right, you know. An empty traveling caravan means you have less stuff to spill when you get mugged! But as long as you have some money, I'm down for that too."

"Sounds easier. How much for a day inside?"
"10 silver coins each. Won't charge for anything else you eat there."
"I don't carry money on me." Guts asks for you to pay his share.
"Me neither!" Puck proclaims.
"Regular humans can't see you, idiot!"
"Doesn't mean I won't be eating!"

"Deal..." You sigh, approaching the man and paying your share and Guts' (But not Puck's)
Money: 140 Gold Coins and 28 silver coins at the Santana estate. 7 gold coins, 5 silver coins and 10 bronze coins on hand.
"Pleasure doing business with y'all. Name's Hyde, by the by. I make sure none of those damn harpies attack the city down below. It's how I make my living!"
"So you have a way to pass through the mountains? A boulder is blocking the way back to the main road..."

"Not exactly." he points to a fence next to his house, where a rope and an assortment of weights hold something akin to a lever mechanism, the same one would use to bring a bucket up a well.
"Every night I have to set that down, and every day I pull it up to get my rations. The folks down there are grateful for the work I do here, so they always spoil me with their goodies! Don't think you can climb down there with the ropes though. It can't hold more weight than around 50 Kilos, at least on the way I have it set up right now." Hyde adjusts his hat as the wind grows stronger. "Come on in, it'll only get colder at night!"

The man helps you unstrap your horse from the carriage and even hands him some towels to keep him warm. The well furnished house decorated around a steamy fireplace proved to be very cozy. And inside the main room, a padded chair appeared to be rocking.
"Actually, I think I'll be spending the night in here." Guts points to the warded carriage.
"You sure, partner? We have a bed for ya if ya want."
"I, uh... Like the smell of fish." Guts is terrible at lying, but it's better to come up with something on the spot than saying that you're letting a cursed man inside his holy home with his wife – God bless her soul – inside.
"Alrighty then..."
>>
>>5186120
"Now, I'm very proud of my wife, partner. Not one to brag, but I'm a big fan of big knockers." You nearly go into a coughing fit as Hyde lets you inside his home to talk about how hot his wife is out of left field. "She's a bombshell, and even if I'm quite handsome myself, it's a miracle I get to be the father of such a blessed woman."
"How humble of you..." He fails to notice the sarcasm in your voice.
"Our baby is no doubt going to get our best features. If it's a boy, I'll teach him how to hunt. If it's a girl, I'm giving her the prettiest colors for Jodi to make her clothes with. Either way, I'll be pleased to see it being brought down to our lives!"

"Hi there, honey! Taking a break for dinner before starting the night shift?" A woman in the very last weeks of pregnancy turns over in her chair, recognizing her husband's not so humble bragging. She looks pretty full, alright, but the way Hyde was talking about Jodi made it seem like she was this bearer of inhumane beauty. Maybe he just likes to play up his achievements...
"Jodi, this is one of the two gentlemen staying for the night. What was your name again, mister?"

"Vlad, I don't know if Guts will come in, so I will say my thanks in his stead."
"Oh, don't be so formal, young man! It's the least we can do to a traveler visiting us from so far away." Jodi hands you away, seeming pretty energetic for someone carrying a child on her womb.

"It's not every day we get visitors, so as long as you don't overstay your welcome, we'll try to be the best of hosts." Hyde puts an arm over Jodi, happily explaining his terms.

>When is the baby due?
>What exactly do you hunt here?
>Can you help us break the rock below?
>What are we having for dinner?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5186131
>>What are we having for dinner?
>>
>>5186131
>What exactly do you hunt here?
>What are we having for dinner?
>>
>>5186131
>When is the baby due?
>So you hunt harpies right? Do they have territories or habits? I would rather not get attacked while trying to find a way back to the road
>>
>>5186131
>So, you hunt harpies? Any tips for them, in case I ever come across any in my travels?
>You live pretty high up - you must see some interesting things with a view like this. Anything weird happen out there lately? I saw an insane cyclone the other day, myself.
>>
>>5186162
+1
>>
>>5186131
>"Now, I'm very proud of my wife, partner. Not one to brag, but I'm a big fan of big knockers." You nearly go into a coughing fit as Hyde lets you inside his home to talk about how hot his wife is out of left field. "She's a bombshell, and even if I'm quite handsome myself, it's a miracle I get to be the father of such a blessed woman."
uh, am I weird or did he just Freudian slip some incest shit?
>>
>>5186162
>>5186131
+1 harpie knowledge could come in handy.
>>
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>>5186168
Oh shit
>>
>>5186168
kek
>>
>>5186131
>>When is the baby due?
>>What exactly do you hunt here?

Thank them again
Od sense for see if they are healthy
>>
>>5186120
>A bunch of green bananas
How.
>>
>>5186131
>What are we having for dinner?
>Write-in.
"Might stay for sometime due to road blockages. Also harpies? I only heard and read them in books and tales, never knew that they are real. Can take me to see them when you need to cull them? Also maybe help lessen your workload."
>>
>>5186133
>>5186134
>>5186136
>>5186162
>>5186168
"So what exactly do you hunt here, just the harpies?" You ask Hyde what he usually eats.
"Nah, eating them would feel weird, I mostly kill'em because they're assholes. You gotta show you're the strongest around here, or else they'll start going after the people down below. Lately there's been some weird spiders fighting for territory with them. Each of them are around the size of Jodi's head! I don't want any more of these damn creatures coming around this house, so I'm letting them take care of each other until things settle down. I just hope they don't kill all the wildlife out there, or else I'll have to start hunting down by the forest."

You're glad to see someone out there is fighting the good fight against evil monsters, even if it's on a much smaller scale than the likes of you and Guts.
"Never seen a harpy before. Are they too bothersome? We could give you a hand in fighting them if you feel like lessening your workload."
"Nah, not right now, at least. All you need to know about harpies is that they love human meat, and that they go down as soon as you hit them with a net. It's no wonder the spiders are putting up a fight against them."
"And what do you hunt them with?"
"Glad you asked. Y'see I come from a far away place, and over there, we've learned of a few tricks you Midland people don't know about. Our tech, for starters is a bit more advanced, which means we can do something like this..." Hyde holsters his weapon as you hear several metal pellets rustling in his pocket, only for him to pull out...

A slingshot.
You hold your laughter at his joke, good one. But where is his real weapon?
"What? Don't believe me? You people down there are too used to arrows and darts. You'd be surprised at how hard these hit when they find their way onto a target's head. In this world, you don't need large and cool weapons to fight others, It's all about how you use them!" He shoots one pellet out the window and down into the mountain, knocking over a rock that rolls over a bigger rock that drops a boulder not too far away from the bridge.

This is a bit too much for a regular slingshot to do, so you ask to check his weapon so you can use your Od sense with it. And indeed, it does appear to have some magical properties. It sucks a bit of energy from whoever uses it, and the silver coating on the balls makes sure it stays there until it hits the target. It works a bit similarly with how you use your own halberd. Who made this?
"I always make sure to clean his weapons before he goes hunting. A girl has to help her hubbie in some form that doesn't involve cooking!"
Hyde's Od feels normal enough, but hers is an odd shade of grey-ish black around her, compensating for the pure white inside her body, so thick that you can't even see the kid inside her. Is it because children have no prior beliefs that they can be more connected to the astral world?
>>
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>>5186370
"What you staring at, fool?" Hyde taps you with his slingshot for checking Jodi out. For some reason you always go into slow motion when observing Ods and don't notice how long you've been staring at people.

"Heh, sorry... Was wondering if it's going to be a guy or a gal. When is the baby due?"
"I have a feeling that he'll come out tomorrow! He's been kicking there for way too long, but that's just a mother's intuition." Jodi responds, feeling her child inside.

"Wouldn't it be safer for you to deliver him down there, where there are more people around?"
"And let a bunch of drunken hooligans have their way with Jodi? No thanks! I've seen enough of this place to know that the people who offer help in dire needs always come with second intentions. Nothing in this world goes for free, be it in money or morals, you gotta pay. Plus with that ol age of darkness thing they keep talking about, I can't go around traveling with a baby on me, might as well live in peace where people will have to go out of their way to reach me." Hyde raises a fair point, though you're not sure if he realises that could also apply to him.

"Alright then, what are we having for dinner?"
"Some kind soul from the village gave us a large piece of lamb for us to eat, there's enough servings for you and your friend outside, Why don't you go tell him about the food while we get the table ready?" Jodi stands up and slowly marches towards the pots and pans on the kitchen.
"Thanks, I'll give him the signal."

"Hey Guts, they're serving dinne-" You exit the house to ask if Guts wants to enter, but you see him fighting a large amount of monsters climing the mountain. With the moon appearing in the distance, it made way for his brand to start bleeding as a large torrent of darkness circled around the mountain.

"I thought I said you'd be safe inside the carriage!" You look around for your spear before approaching the swordsman.
"It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it." Guts doesn't even turn around to talk, focusing on a wave of armored skeletons climbing uphill.
"Bold of you to think he'd listen to anybody but himself." Puck points out his stubborness.
There are over 40 skeletons on the way, and even if Guts makes quick work of them, the noise is bound to attract at least one of the two animal monsters residing in this place. So it's best to take care of it as soon as possible.

Looking over at the horizon, you see an even larger fog of dark energy circling around the lower ground before spreading in the direction of Albion. Something is bound to happen there in the near future.
You just wanted to sit down and eat some damn meat...

>Help Guts in fighting the skeleton army as fast as possible.
>Call for Hyde and see if he has any ideas.
>Look for a rock to push down the hill.
>Stay on the lookout for other monsters.
>Write-in
>>
>>5186387
>Help Guts in fighting the skeleton army as fast as possible.
>>
>>5186387
>Help Guts in fighting the skeleton army as fast as possible.
We can't let Hyde and his wife find out about Guts brand, we must dispatch the skeletons as fast as possible by helping him. Guts can certainly handle them all but he lacks the speed and agility we possess to handle this quicker.
>>
>>5186387
>Stay on the lookout for other monsters.
We don't want one of them sneaking by and killing the family.
>>
>>5186387
>Help Guts in fighting the skeleton army as fast as possible.
>>
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>>5186392
>>5186394
>>5186399
>>5186404
Let's get some rolls then, a 1d100 should be enough to help against these halloween costumes. Roll!
>>
Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>5186423
MAXIUM ROLLO
>>
Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>5186423
>nat 1
>>
Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>5186423
>>
Welp. So long half naked possesed Farnese.
>>
>>5186427
>>5186428
>>5186429
Nice!
>>5186436
Never say never.
>>
Guts seems oddly chill now after we told him about the swamp arc,but tbf he's chill with people he knows as seen with godot and Rickert even now.

Also QM is there still hope for now to become physically strong?
We must be able to tell people to get out of our swamp in order to honour merlina and channel the power of the SHREK force.
>>
Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5186445
Depends on how strong Shrek force is.
GET OUTTA MY SWAMP
>>
>>5186445
Just like us anon, Vlad will make it. He just has to be able squat 220 below parallel
>>
>>5186427
>>5186428
>>5186429
How hard can it be to take down a few skeletons, right?
You rush on foot and strike at the bony foes to the cliffside. Their armor makes it hard to srtike them effectively, and the lack of skin makes slashing or impaling a lot less effective when your target is smaller and you're more likely to just get stuck if you strike them at the ribcage, but hitting them with the pole and pushing them off makes it easy to dismantle them completely with the power of gravity. You can't even hear them hitting the ground from where you are at, but their bones sure fly high when they break...

On the other hand, it feels more like you're dodging Guts and his gigantic sword swings more than the actual skeletons. It's a good thing they're mostly coming down at his direction and focusing on the swordsman, but again, he's not used to fighting with a duo, so he's having to do a double take sometimes when he notices he's almost hitting you. Hopefully he's not doing it intentionally... He seems to take great pleasure in killing his foes, even being bummed out for not completely decapitating several of them in a row because he has to redirect his attacks, getting out of his zen state because your neck was in the way.

"What's going on out there, fellas? I've been hearing some noises- GOOD LORD!" Hyde comes out of the house and sees you and Guts fighting the horde, he briefly considers shooting his slingshot at you and the skeletons, but noticing a rumbling amidst the rocks, he shifts his gaze to fight the spiders crawling from under the bridge, attempting to cross the house.
"What the hell? I've never fought so many of these! Who pissed them off?" Hyde effectively shoots the pellets at the spiders, despite hitting several of them and knocking them down below, he can only slow them periodically due to their large numbers. You're pretty sure that there are more spiders than skeletons trying to reach Jodi's house. Hyde will eventually run out of ammo, but even with your extended range, jumping down that wobbly bridge could easily work against your favor...

"Go help him out! Guts can take it from here!" Puck orders you to support the hunter fighting the spiders the size of a small child. His neck is coloring the floor around him red, but the little elf is smart enough to take some of your wards and slap them around the house. Even if you get swarmed, she and the baby will probably stay safe.
"Get away! Get away!" Even when Hyde shoots through 3 of them, it doesnt stop the following 4 to escape their nest, now halfway through the bridge, he panics as he searches around a pouch for more ammunition.

>Sever the bridge from your end.
>Help Puck ward the house.
>Send your Od current towards the bridge.
>Pick some rocks for Hyde to throw.
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
>>
>>5186468
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
>>
>>5186468
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
You shall not pass
>>
>>5186468
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
>>
>>5186468
>>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
>>
>>5186445
Physically? I'd say Vlad can easily outpunch the average person unarmed. Fighting larger foes is making him last longer and get more experience, but in terms of physical strength he's close to plateauing. He's strong, but what keeps him in Apostle range will always be the astral connection. Up to you if you want to explore that to learn further spells, or to just rely on buffs stacking.
>>5186460
>Not trying to deadlift Gunpowder for max gains.
>>
>>5186494
If we have to deadlift Guts abd Gunpowder in order to become SHREK and make merlina proud i'll do it.
I don't give a fuck if mom says we can t be a punch wizard....Oh and
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
>>
>>5186468
>Fight the spiders on the wobbly bridge.
Guts got his berserk game on. We need to help Hyde as he is a range unit.
"If my guess is correct. Harpies are gonna take advantage and go after your home! Go! I will do pest extermination!"

>get some fire from the kitchen and some tree oils for fire bombings.
>>
>>5186470
>>5186475
>>5186479
>>5186493
>>5186499
>>5186504
Always down for the risky options, huh?
A roll for the itsy bitsy spiders, just don't look down and watch your steps!
>>
Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>5186507
>>
Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>5186507
Vlad is a pretty dexterous boy though
>>
Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>5186507
>>
>>5186514
>>5186515
>>5186519
"I'll give you some time to prepare the next batch of shots." You jump onto the bridge and brace yourself as it starts to bounce up and down, placing a hand on the ropes just so you don't go flying off into the cliffside like the enemies you're fighting.

Being more watchful of your steps, you slowly inch forward and hit the arachnids, the hairy mob starts to ooze some disgusting liquid out of their bellies. Again, pushing them over is the best strategy, as they fall on top of eah other and get caught in a large web down below, seeming to work as a safety net in case their momma was away. The spiky halberd you had poked through several of them while they fell, but you had to be extra careful in order not to cut the bridge down unintentionally.

The swarm was ridiculously everlasting, you would be fighting for hours if you kept that rhythm going. Something had to give...
"Duck!" Hyde ordered you to lower your head as he threw a pellet in your direction, causing a chain reaction as it knocked down several rocks and other pieces of the scenery, attempting to crush the remaining spiders on their webs. The weight appeared to sent their home further and further downwards, coming close to collapsing on itself as the crowd control made some of them recede further inside the caves.

"That did the trick, can you deal with the ones on the bridge?" Hyde asks after considerably evening the odds.
"It's risky, but I got a plan." Jumping up and down while holding the support rops, you make sure your enemies had to grip themselves not to fall off. If they can crawl upside walls, of course this won't be much trouble for them.
And that's when you decided to tilt the bridge to your right, making them produce some web to stick themselves to the moving platform, that way, it was easy for Hyde to shoot them away individually as they could only shoot so many ropes before his shots hit them.
"Jackpot!" Puck cheered him on as he kept firing his load, eventually firing them all down back to their webs.

Just when you thought this was about to end, the fallen monsters started to squirm and unite themselves in the middle of their home, forming an even bigger spider made out of several smaller ones. Their webs glued them together to from a horrific amalgamation of it's own kind.

The giant spider now climbs the rock formation vertically, soon enough they would reach you with it's maw opening to blurt out several screeches.
"Come back here! There's enough time for me to fire at them!" Guts gets a feel for his metallic arm after he was done taking care of the skeletons. "But you'll have to get out of the way first."

He was pretty fast in taking care of his side of the mobs, but what could he be planning? His crossbow isn't going to do much more than Hyde's slingshot, unless he wants to cut down the ropes...
Wait a minute, he's not putting on the crossbow on his arm, he's taking it off while he places his sword down and kneels at the pit!
>>
>>5186581

>Ask Guts what he's about to do.
>See if you can feel his intent from where you're at.
>Run to his side of the bridge.
>Run to the harpy's nest.
>Refuse his help, you can separate the spiders if you kill them all with your Od transfer.
>>
>>5186581
>Ask Guts what he's about to do.
>Run to his side of the bridge.
>>
>>5186583
>See if you can feel his intent from where you're at.
>Run to his side of the bridge.
>>
>>5186581
>Run to his side of the bridge.
>>
>>5186583
>>Ask Guts what he's about to do.
>>Run to his side of the bridge.
>>
>>5186581
>Run to his side of the bridge.
>Run back to Hyde.

Trust Guts. It is a gut instinct to duck when a man swinging a giant sword tells you to duck.
So...get to safety before he swings somthing huge!
>>
>>5186583
>>Run to his side of the bridge.
>Ask Guts what he's about to do.
>>
>>5186588
>>5186591
>>5186594
>>5186595
>>5186604
>>5186607
You know how to dodge and you know how to run, the only element of surprise here is that bridge made out of twigs and glue.
One more roll to be safely out of that web of enemies.
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>5186612
nat 1
>>
Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>5186612
This roll?
>>
Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5186612
>>
I can't believe that guts just killed us accidentally.
>>
Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>5186612
trying my luck
>>5186621
he blew us up with his arm cannonade.
>>
>>5186612
You fools, WATCH HOW A REAL MAN ROLLS
>>
Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>5186612
>>5186625
>>
>>5186623
As it turns out, aiming with one eye, in the dark, on unstable ground, with flammable shit around is really fucking hard.
>>
>>5186614
>>5186615
>>5186616
The itsy bitsy halfling
Went up the water spout
Down came the cannon
And washed the halfing out
Will post the actual update after I'm done watching Nosferatu.
>>
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>>5186630
>Vlad post-cannon event
>>
>>5186676
>Miura reintroduces a character thought to be dead only to kill him a few chapters later
>>
>>5186676
Vlad dies again. Gonna need to leave Vlad buried and watered regularly so he sprouts,flowers and grow out a new Vlad.
So much for impaling and getting a gun.
>>
>>5186699
>tfw vlad dies, has a galdalf moment
>tfw vlad has an aragorn moment days later and guts assumes he's dead after the fall
So when do we get our Faramir moment with Farnesse where we escape getting burned to death?
>>
Who knows maybe we fall from the Bridge and guts thinks we're dead again. Might become a meme.
>>
>>5186722
>"I shot you in the chest with a cannon ball"
>reports of my death were... greatly exagerated
>>
>>5186676
;<

if only we had learned Gallahad ability for stop cannon balls...
Then we could also have been grabbed by the spooders. Or both. Imagine that, kind of a shame
>>
>>5186740
*then again
>>
Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>5186637

Rollin for redemption.
>>
>>5186774
denied
>>
Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5186774
fucking causality
>>
Rolled 78, 73, 79, 54, 90, 93, 45, 27, 59, 88 = 686 (10d100)

>>5186774
Lets see how unlucky I am today.
>>
Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>5186789
>>5186774
Indeed
>>
>>5186800

Welcome brother.
>>
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>>5186614
>>5186615
>>5186616
"What are you going to do?" You ask the swordsman as he readies his arm on the giant monster conglomerate.
"Something that will make sure they don't come back together."
"There's a cannon inside his arm! Aint that cool! Just don't get hit by the ball!" Puck warns you that Guts will attempt to fire a larger, more effective pellet against the larger, more effective spider creature. Not needing a second warning, you power walk over to Hyde's side of the bridge, making sure you went as slowly as possible while ignoring the giant enemy about to eat you whole.

"Easy...Easy..." You tell yourself as you were a few more steps from Guts as he flicks his metal wrist and steadily pulls a cord with his teeth to ignite the barrel.

"3...2...1..." When he was about to fire, you felt the wood planks under your feet give away, since Guts was not calculating the possibility of you falling in the next few seconds, it was a bit too late for him to stop the shot.
With your thighs being stuck on the bridge, you have one last second to brace yourself and place your hands over your face as the blast of fire explodes in all directions, obscuring the other end of the bridge with a large puff of smoke as the blazes tear open a pathway to the spider's center.

You did fall enough for the main metal piece to fall right under your head, but that didn't stop you from getting burnt sharpnel and smoke all over your armor. If you weren't wearing your helm at all times, you can be sure that your body and head would be nothing but a burnt pile of charcoal at this point.

Even if you were protected by the initial impact and the heat, the transfering was quick enough for you to feel your torso burning, especially because the explosion set part of the bridge on fire, making it give away completely as you fell a good 7 meters into the air.

With the only thing stopping your fall being the cowbeb, you desperately try to land there as you extend your arms and legs in all directions, being caught by a single string by your halberd as it wraps itself into it, the only thing separating you between several more meteres of dead air until splatting on the ground.

Just when you thought you were nearing the end of it, several spiders started to burn and fall where you were trying to balance yourself. They were all mostly dead, but one particular spider had the gall to hold itself onto your back and bite your leg. The feeling of the poison running through your veins was nearly instant, as you only had time to knock her out of home and glue yourself on the web before being completely paralyzed. It was either that or letting your body fall, so you'll take what you can get.

Yeah, great idea Guts. Some master strategist you are, firing a shot while you still weren't even out of harm's way! Now you'll have to stay down here until the poison gets out your body, the spider mommy shows up, or until somebody shows up to help you get up.
>>
>>5186970
Alright Vlad, calm down. It's not so bad here, is it? It's only you, the hundreds of spiders rustling as they burn to death, and the fire that slowly trickles it's way to your side as it threatens to spread and undo the cowbebs, making you fall to your death. Not even the remaining spiders want anything to do with you, as they all flock to Guts and Hyde up at the house.

"Vlaaaad!? Reply if you ain't dead!" The blue haired elf flies down with a napkin over his body to protect himself from the cold.
"PHAAACK!" Your tongue refuses to respond properly as you shout while the numbing poison is in effect.

"Whoa there! I came here to help, not to hear your swearwords, where are your manners?!" Puck thinks you just said 'Fuck' instead of his name, but still seems glad to know that you didn't die after being almost shot by Guts.

"Here. Better now?" You resort to connecting your mind with his to communicate properly. Is this how Benny felt?
"Wow! The voice in my head sounds just like Vlad! He still doesn't quite grasp what you're capable of.
"Not exactly. This is just your run of the mill telepathy. Now can you help me get out of this mess?

"Hm... Let's see." Puck tries to push your helm around, poke and hit the web shots you were under, and finally tugging at your eyelids before admitting defeat.
"Not on my own I can't. Hyde probably has some rope at his place, want me to tell him the news? It might take a while since they're still fighting... You might live the fall if you're lucky enough, but you'll probably get back on the main road where Farny and the godly boys will be." Puck looks down to see if you had a chance to fall on somewhere that didn't equal to instant death. It was possible, but unlikely.

Great. You don't have the strength to pull yourself up, or to call for help in case someone finds pity in your broken body on the forest. Not that you would want to fall, because it's either death by gravity, or staying hung on the web until you become spider food. If you're lucky enough for a chain knight to find your deadly remains, they will probably use it to decorate Farnese's armor.
Who would have thought that today's savior would be the little magical Puck? He does come in handy at the weirdest of times.

>I'm going back up, tell Guts to grab the rope.
>Can you put that fire out?
>Try unraveling the web string, I'll be safer away from Guts.
>>
>>5187031
>>Can you put that fire out?
>>
>>5187031
>I'm going back up, tell Guts to grab the rope.
>If you have the energy for it, could you lend me just a little bit of fairy dust to help offset the poison? I won't need much.
>>
>>5187031
>I'm going back up, tell Guts to grab the rope.
>Can you put that fire out?
>>
>>5187031
>Try unraveling the web string, I'll be safer away from Guts.
The wifu option
>>
>>5187031
>I'm going back up, tell Guts to grab the rope.
>Can you put that fire out?
>>
>>5187031
>I'm going back up, tell Guts to grab the rope.
>Can you put that fire out?
>>
>>5187036
>>5187038
>>5187042
>>5187051
>>5187056
"Tell Guts to grab the rope, I'm going back up. But before that, you mind puttting that fire out? I can take the poison, the heat not so much." You hope he can do at least that while you're stuck down in the ditch.

"Yessiree!" Puck blows and stomps at the small fiery ropes, putting some of them out before they could undo your strings. It takes him some considerable effort given his short stature, but he pulls through with a proud smile, as if fishing for a compliment.

"Harry uf alreyy!" You purposefully use your mouth to urge him ahead. You have no time to be playing in this situation, and neither does he!
"Gee, No need to rush me! Guuuuuts!" Puck ascends back to Hyde's home, giving Guts proper instructions as to what to do to save you. After informing Hyde, he quicky went inside the house and left Guts to do what he does best, fighting a horde of enemies without any distractions.

The mother of all spiders finally rears her ugly sets of eyes inside the cave, threatening to undo the rocks sealing her passage. Awesome...

The wait between Guts' sword strikes and the falling of the boulders is concerning. It's like he'd rather leave the deed for anyone but himself. Why is it so hard for him to help out? He's the one that sent you here, the least he could do is offer you his actual hand.

"Catch!" A lasso is thrown down your way as Puck guides the rope all the way to your torso, neatly wrapping you to compensate for your lack of movement.
Hyde tugs with all of his might, but the webs are too sticky for you to get out. Relying on Puck once again, your proposition seems to entice him.
"Do you think the poison might pass momentarily if I absorb your Od?"
"It's worth trying, just give me a squeeze!" He places himself in your hand and flaps his wings. Absorbing his power directly from the source seems to energize you more than prior contact you had with any human.

Your body jolts awake like the rush you'd get from snorting a powerful drug, managing to pull your torso up by holding yourself on the rope.
"PULL!" You instruct Hyde to help you, but his speed in pushing you vertically is pretty miserable, must be all the heavy armor you're wearing.

Screw it then, you better use this energy while you have it.
"I'm feeling dizzy..." You use Puck's energy to cut the lasso and hold yourself on the rope by your hands and knees. Rock climbing was always your favorite training regiment. It's a full body workout, and also the thrill of being on the verge of falling at all times wasn't scary, but challenging. You could always reach the summit in due time, it was all about knowing your limits, and knowing when you could break them.

Be one with the skies, much like the pegasus that had it's wings cut down early.
>>
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>>5187161
You and gravity have a very daring relationship. For all intents and purposes, you should be dead by now. It actively wants you to fall and be splattered, but your experience in climbing for so long is crucial in defying even the most basic forces of nature.

Like causality, gravity is just a term people use to explain the reason an outside force makes them stay in one direction. Only a few living creatures dare to defy it, and humans were never one of them. Yet here you are, in the tallest heights you've ever climbed. The Wall of Corpses feels like a damn anthill compared to where you're at. You can see so much of the run down world from here... The mixture of natural resources and the evil creatures of the night trying to climb the mountain and failing to reach you. It's all prophetic, in it's own way, a perfect reflection on humanity's collective mental state.

The world as it is now... It's not beautiful, but it's not broken beyond repair. It simply is, not caring about who lives in it, so long as the struggle remains absolute.
You never stopped climbing up, literally or metaphorically, it just gets harder to focus on your progress with the lack of air. The starting grounds only seem smaller and harder to make out as you approach your peak, and wether or not you can reach the summit, will be down to outside help, your drive to improve, and a little bit of your own ego...

"So long, cruel world..." You throw Puck upwards as he starts losing his energy, making a perfect throw on the rock where he landed safely next to Hyde, who didn't even feel him landing in his clothes.
The giant spider does not attack, merely staying inside and watching your progress. She's either mesmerized by what you can do, or simply waiting for you to fall now that you lost your fuel. You can feel the poison starting to take effect again, and just when Hyde offers his hand, you fall once more. That's how your story always seems to go, up and down, sometimes you go further up, but then you go further down again. You wonder on which side of the mountain you will finally rest on... The eternal back and forth will come to an end one day...

"Not now."

"I've let too many powerful comrades die in this war of mine. I'll make sure you are one of the last ones to go." Guts, being the taller man and having the bigger reach, quickly pulls you up with his human arm and lets you safely rest as you lose the feeling in your arms once more.
After doing many wrongs, the swordsman corrects himself by shifting his priorities. The enemies only wanted to go after him, but for once, he stopped unleashing his anger to save a friend in need. A commendable change that you hope he can keep following up on. Despite being hunted by aposteles and potentially turning into one later down the line, he saved you because deep down, he still is human.
>>
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>>5187197
>Get in the warded caravan, now!
>I found the spider queen, want to take care of her?
>Any sign of the harpies?
>What of the skeletons?
>Is Jodi ok?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5187203
>>Is Jodi ok?
>>
>>5187203
>Is Jodi ok?
>Get in the warded caravan, now!
More questions later! Action now!
>>
>>5187203
>Get in the warded caravan, now!
>Is Jodi ok?
If he ask we are exorcists, had a personal fight with a higher up and lost our position.
>>
>>5187247
>>5187255
"Get in the caravan already, Guts!" You muster enough force to scream at the swordsman for disobeying your orders and putting everyone in harm's way just so he could continue his mission of slaying apostles uninterrupted.
"Wha- But-"
"NOW!" You growl at him once more. Words seem to be very hard for him to understand, and though he did speak in earnest when saying he wished to help you, you let out some of your well deserved anger for him due to acting stupid. Who cares if it hurts his feelings, the man needs to learn the meaning of teamwork.

Guts silently approaches Puck and takes him off the floor. After closely inspecting the marks you drew on your carriage, he sits idly by like a dog resting in his house.
Part of him is definitely hurt. Not by what you said, but because he remembered that place was made exactly for him to have a good night's rest for once, and he threw it all away for a .1% chance of pissing off the God Hand? Why was he so misguided in his own goals? Did he actually want revenge for his fallen friends, or was he just angrily tearing away at random apostles until he found a place to die? Not even he must know the true answer...

As soon as he enters, the mark on his body appears to reduce it's bleeding until completely stopping. The spider queen goes back inside her cave and even the monsters climbing the mountains seem to get lost and wander around in circles, as if they didn't have the concept of object permanency in their programs.

"How's Jodi, Hyde?" You can still speak somewhat coherently despite being paralysed, but Hyde's face seems painfully angry.
"Hilarious to see you assholes worrying about her now, when you're the ones bringing these damn plagues here! I saw that think he had on his neck! That's the damn Black Swordsman, isn't he?"

You don't answer, knowing it would be pointless to play the contrarian. It was bound to happen, given how the wound is constantly bleeding, couldn't be a coincidence that the swarm suddenly stopped when the magic hid his Od temporarily.
"Jodi's gone! And it's all your fault! I should be kicking that caravan under the damn bridge for what you've done! I don't care if you were helping me out to cover your ass, I'll make sure this poison is what kills you for good! I-"

"Honey? What are you shouting at the guests for? Oh my God!" Unbeknownst to even her husband, Jodi was still alive, not knowing how Hyde missed her there when he went inside their home to grab the rope. Plus Puck even added wards to the place, there was nothing for him to worry about.

"Stay back, Jodi! I've made a mistake in trusting these two. They're cursed, agents of the lord of darkness himself!"
>>
>>5187458
"But he's poisoned, Hyde! We're the only ones that can give him an antidote!"
"I don't give a damn, They're dying right here and now!" Hyde gets ready to throws a pellet straight through your forehead, but Jodi holds his wrists.
"Please, Hyde! I understand that you're doing this to protect me, but can't you at least let them go away of their own accord? We're both still alive, there's no need to worry anymore."

Hyde stays silent after Jodi's pleads, thinking on wether or not to do what was best for his family as you barely had the energy to keep paying attention.
"Fine, put him in the guest's room, but as soon as he starts walking, kick him the hell out! And if I see this other one placing one foot off his hiding spot, it's on sight!"
"I'm staying right here." Guts promises not to go in once more if it meant you could get proper medical treatment.

That was the last memory you've had of the conversation before everything turned into a blur, before you could feel the impact of the matress on your back, you were already out cold, hoping that you could wake up in one piece from the encounter.

Opening your eyes again, you are welcomed by an unexpected change of scenery. You're not in the mountains, or even in a forest field anymore, but the old Santana estate in the capital, still intact and just as you remembered it.

You were descending from your horse Gunpowder as the front gates opened to give view to the beautiful garden you resided in, with the sculpture of the pegasus and the kraken right where you remembered it being. How is this possible? Was it all a dream? A post mortem illusion? Did the spider venom have hallucinatory effects?

You slap yourself several times to make sure you are indeed awake, but none of this seems fake. You can smell the roses, feel the heat from the sun and listen to the chirping of the birds.

"Vlad, my boy! You did it! You've finally finished your pilgrimage and became a knight!" Your old master Gallahad is the first to greet you on your way back home, as if he was waiting for you to think about him. He appears to have the same slouched posture you've always knew him for, and the same cocky attitude for a guy so old. "How does it feel to be working with me now? Happy to make a living protecting the weak like you always wanted to? Maybe I'll hire you after I retire from this job."

His nostalgic, hearty laugh is enough to bring a genuine smile to your face. The tug at the emotional heart strings, the words you wanted to hear from your role models all those years ago... It feels like you've finally made it home.
But is this really your home?

>It's great to see you, Gallahad.
>This is impossible, you should be dead.
>What did I do? What was my mission?
>What happened to the king? And the Falcons?
>Where are the other Santanas?
>Write-in.
>>
>>5187466
>Write-in.
"The nightmaress come for me now I see, play your games then."
>>
>>5187466
>Channel your purifying od in a protective wreath around your body.
>”Be this either dream or trickery, I’ll not fall for it. You will find me no fool.”
>>
>>5187466
>>It's great to see you, Gallahad.
>>
>>5187466
>It's great to see you, Gallahad.
>Where are the other Santanas?
>>
>>5187506
>>5187481
>support
>>
>It's great to see you, Gallahad.
>Keep your distance and stay in a defensive stance
>...What happened to the king? And the Band of The Falcon?
>>
>>5187481
>>5187506
+1 Support
>>
>>5187466

>>5187506
+1
>>
>>5187466
>Channel your purifying od in a protective wreath around your body.
>”Be this either dream or trickery, I’ll not fall for it. You will find me no fool.”
I haven't read berserk in a long time, did the god hand fuck with Guts dreams?
>>
>>5187754
Demon child and the god hand/mark did fuck with guts dream.
>>
>>5187466
>It's great to see you, Gallahad.
>Channel your purifying od in a protective wreath around your body.
>Enjoy the dream until it turns sour.
>>
>>5187481
>>5187506
Support, Vlad is done with this shit
>>
>>5187481
>>5187506
>>5187638
>>5187640
>>5187665
>>5187701
>>5187784
Nah. You can tell what's a dream when it happens, also when it's too good to be true. You decide to channel your Od around your body so it protects you from whatever is going on out there. Surely the poison must be doing something with your head.

"I won't fall for this, be it dream or trickery..." You say that, but your soul does not change in the slightest when you try doing your trademark ability. Its as if you never had it in the first place.

"Why are you breathing so hard, Vlad? Is your armor heavy? Here, let me help you out!" Gallahad helps you take off some of the armor you had when you get in. It's a different set from the one you had when meeting Guts. And when you check the crest, you realized what was happening.

The Holy Iron Chain Knights.
This is a world showing what could have happened if you had no magical powers. If this was in the past, you would've had no Od control to even enter a cathedral, so what changed?
"Vlad! You're finally home. Did you really finish off the occult fiends at the swamp?" Michelle walks towards you and gives you a hug, along with Jacopo, still having hair on his head and all his toes.
Are they your real parents in this imaginative land?

"Mother...Father... I'm happy to see you all again..." You can't help but feel grateful for them to be alive, even if this was just a 'what if' scenario.
"So are we, sport. Who would have thought you would surpass your father and even your coach? Killing that monster called Hedwyn and preventing a plague without so much as being touched by the roots, how did you even do that?" Your father asks of your impossible feats. Not wanting to switch the narrative, you merely humor him.

"I... don't know. It just happened. I don't pay much attention to details in the heat of battle, the results are the only things worth remembering." You're not entirely wrong, but the non-answer seemed to please the trio.
"That's alright. What matters is that you're free to do as you wish now, and we couldn't be happier for it!" Michelle congratulates you for what you did. "You've been training all your life to be a knight, and we knew you were going to finish whatever journey you found when you had the foresight to come with us on our travels and impede the Tudor forces from capturing our carriage."

"I... did that?" You're impressed. Even your current self wouldn't be able to predict the future like that...
"Of course. God really gifted us with the perfect son. When have you ever failed us?"
>>
>>5187811
...Several times. You've found the problem in this dream scenario. They treat you as a perfect being when you are anything but.
You were never perfect, nor do you think that you can ever strive to be. It's foolish to even imply that someone with a human mind can be incapable of making mistakes... You wish you could believe these lies, but your own failures snap you back to reality... Back in the day, you were weak, a coward, and a nobody.

"Oh, that's right! Your fiancee found out you were arriving home after the fight in the swamp, so she went out of her way to stay here until she could meet you personally! Don't want to keep her waiting, right?" Jacopo taps you on the back, reminding you that somebody's in your room.

"F-Fiancee?" You're shocked to hear that you've found a lover before departing.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten about her! We were waiting for so long to come out of your celibate ways and give us some grandchildren that we started thinking you swung the other way." Michelle jokes about you never finding any women in your youth. Yeah, definitely not you.

Still, you have no idea how this dream world works... Who the hell could be your bride? When's the wedding?

"Yeah, of course I remember my lover. Her name is..." You refrain from finishing your sentence. Honestly, you've never really thought about settling down in your journey, so who would your partner be in an ideal world? How badly would the narrative shift in this perfect world for you to end up with the one person in your heart?

>Farnese
>Merlina
>Zhafira
>Cindy
>Casca
>Your maid
>Charlotte
>A random girl from the whorehouse
>>
>>5187813
>A random girl from the whorehouse
It is the only women we know personally. The dream wedding night is gonna be awkward with other choices.
>inb4 we pop a huge boner and everybody saw it
>>
>>5187813
>Farnese
>>
>Imagine a world where gunpowder isn't our wife....

You know, if this is a dream from the godhand i would choose to make griffith our wife in order to fuck with him and confuse him even more for the meme
>>
>>5187813
>Your maid
Gisellebros we've won. I feel like nobles marrying their maids should've been quite common, it would be the least awkward choice imo.
>>
>>5187827
The incubus thing feeding on us be feeling all kinds of strange.
>>
>>5187813
>Your maid
>>
>>5187813
>Griffith
Guts that Twink bussy making me doubt my loyalty to the kingdom
>>
>>5187813
>Griffith

You know if Vlad 5hinks maybe there's godhand shenanigans we might see him IC bluff and say he rembers Griffith is his wife just to fuck with them.
>>
>>5187813
>Griffith
Fuck it. Femboy bussy time Lmao.
>>
>>5187813
>Your maid
Giselle is the TRUE first girl
>>
>>5187813
>Your maid
In dream, yes. In reality, it's Farnese you retards
>>
>>5187857
Although rule 63 Griffith would be hilarious.
>>
>>5187833
>>5187836
"Giselle?" You think of the only woman you were seeing daily on your household growing up. Though she was already a teenager when you were young, she made sure to treat you as well as she could. Seeing her beheading was a terrible sight, you could tell her loyalty for the family was undying, and despite starting out as somewhat of a rookie, by the time she came to pass, she was already the head servant for around half a decade. Even if she was considerably older, she looked young enough for you not to feel too weird around her. If only you were there to stop them from dying...

"Vlad! I've missed you so much!" The maid, now properly dressed into a noble dress, jumped into your arms as you were surprised to see her in your room. Is it really that easy?
"I never thought you would muster any feelings for me back in the day... Your parents always told me to spoil you plenty, so I just followed their orders. I wasnt expecting my days of service to ever pay off this way... But I am glad to know that you chose me amidst all the beautiful women of similar status." Her ponytail was now undone, and you could properly see the curly hair she kept under her headpiece. Even if it looks out of character for a middle-class woman, she does look pretty natural in that state.

"What can I say? Sometimes hard work does pay off. Plus, your cooking is delicious. You need to teach the others your recipes now that you'll be off the kitchen."
"I've never had a secret ingredient. Well, I guess that since I was working nonstop for the Santanas, some of the love for what I did must have rubbed off on my bakings!" She gave you a cute giggle, guiding you to your bed as she sat behind you. Her shoulder rubs always felt comforting, even if she only gave you those when you were recovering from seizures. It felt authentic, something that couldn't be replicated in a mere dream. Real emotion is hard to fake, and her workaholic attitude was never a facade.

"Sometimes I wonder how easy I've managed to escape a life of hardships... I had to work early to keep living, and depending on who's house you go to, you could easily end up being abused by your masters. It was a great honor not only to serve your family, but now to live as your wife, Vlad." Giselle goes out of her way to play with your hair, still kept short instead of the rebel growth it had when you went inside the swamp. You doubt you even have your eye scar now...

"I wish more people could live like this. Without suffering, without hardships, always being compensated for their good deeds. How come so many times, the thing that decides wether or not you get what you want in live is down to luck? It might feel good for the victors, but story is not woven by the majority of the losers, is it?" Giselle laments that she's the only one living like this.
"This is why a new world needs to exist. One where hardships are a fading memory."
>>
>>5187860
I'm voting for him just for the small chance to troll Griffith and prove a point.
>>
>>5187876
Beheading? I remember you wrote that she got impaled.
>>
Oh shit. Must be a behelit nearby putting crazy thoughts in our heads.
>>
>>5187876
Ah there it is, the start of the godhand propaganda. Is this the behelit work?
>>
>>5187885
Griffith carries one around, the one that Puck named Becchi.
>>
>>5187888
I know. But this one seems to work of Egg Boy.
>>
>>5187886
If she starts telling Vlad about how good Griffith's kingdom would be, he's bailing outta there.
>>
>>5187876
"What did you just say?" You turn your head around, shaken by her sudden proclamation.
"Peace, Vlad. We've worked so hard to find it. This is something that should be standard to all of Midland. Challenge is a man-made concept! Everyone deserves to be happy, and if they had the power to change their lives with the pull of a lever, they would have already done so. Why aren't we helping each other then? Why is everyone so selfish?"

"Some goals go against the goals of other people. It's why they are bound to clash." You try to argue with Giselle, but she keeps talking over you.

"Goals, dreams, challenges... Why should any of that matter when it forces us into a hundred year war? Can't people see how self destructive their own wishes are? No matter how pure their intentions are, they are bound to make the world uglier that way. Which is why I want all of them to stop thinking like that."
"And how would that work? We're always wanting something more, human desire is an endless well of longing."
"If people did not think as individuals, they wouldn't go against their groups. That way, everyone would be happy." Giselle strengthens her grip on your shoulders, proposing the very opposite of Barnham's idea: An utopia where people stop thinking altogether, but simply live as one.

"That's a bit too idealistic, don't you think?"
"Isn't that what we already try to do, with cities, marriages and social circles? We want to feel equal to the ones we love, and with love being such a strong motivator, we could is them to simplify our lives, instead of making up all sorts of concepts and classes for the sake of self importance. Too much freedom is a mistake, and too much segregation bound to make people alienated."

While that might be true, you're not sure if sacrificing individuality because a few people can't make it out there is a good alternative. This is just as much of an extreme solution as the one you heard before. And again, it feels wrong to decide for so many people when none of you can know what all people want on a singular level.

Before a proper argument could start between the two of you, Giselle's hands reach your chin as she comes over to face you. The angle she's in gives a good view of her cleavage, and the way her eyes shift from your lips to your expression makes her intentions all the more clearer. God, you've been maidenless for too long...

"This is what you wanted, right? A happy ending where failure never reached you? We can make it happen, Vlad. All I ask in return... Is for you to become one with me..." She softly whispers as she caresses your face, her lips steadily approaching yours.

A new world with no struggles...? It's a fantasy so ridiculous that could never work in reality. But even if it's fake happiness, it does look and sound a lot better than what you had to deal with for the past few years...

>Kiss her.
>Lean away.
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
IT'S A TRAP!
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
"I would not be who I am if I did not struggle"
>>
>>5187884
Wew, can't believe I made a rookie mistake like that. Guess that's what I get from re-reading the source material instead of making more bullet points for the thread. Hope that won't be a common thing going forward.
>>
>>5187908
Shhh QM YOU didn't screw up the godhand did ;)
>>
>>5187909
;^)
>>
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>>5187897
>Lean away.
ITS FEMBOY GRIFFITH TRYING TO SEDUCE US BY WEARING OUR MAIDS FACE
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
You don't solve humanities problems by removing humanity itself
>>
>>5187897
>>Lean away.
"Come on try something better."
Concentrate and charge the white od in our body
>>
>>5187897
Also
>maidenless
Lmao
Is this an Elden Ring reference or are you psychic Becchi? Turns out that there is a character in lore named Melina that is involved with a flesh swamp in the game
>>
>>5187918
Sorry, Malenia, Milena is another character
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
Begone thot
>>
>>5187897
>Spank her ass
>>
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>>5187918
There's a permavirgin in Elden Ring? I was just flexing my thesaurus, havent even gotten through DS2 yet...

I did start the Merlina thread before the game came out, must have been causality if the character wasn't revealed in the trailers.
>>
>>5187897
>Lean away.
"Did you really thought you would buy me with just a shitty dream like this? I guess you didn't needed to much to ask to Griffith with how retarded he is with reaching his dreams..."
"Give me liberty, or give me death... And even so, i'll make sure to leave a fuckton of damage to you before I let go the last gasp in the lifeless husk of my mortal body"
>>
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Also
>>5187893
>maidenless
>>
>>5187934
Yes, the player character is, it's a big meme. Technically not a spoiler since it's the very first conversation in the game
>>
>>5187937
WTF? I meant to Tag >>5187897

>>5187934
And no, it's just a happy coincidense that the "No bitches?" Meme was popular when Elden Ring came out, which in turn for your Character to level up and having some other benefits in gameplay and lore needs of a Maiden to fullfil his mission
>>
>>5187918
>>5187937
i find it funny that Vlad says he is maidenless. While a lot of years have passed without even one occasion, he did get plenty back in the day. Next tavern that isn t infested by demons or look like the maids have 10 different medieval diseases we go for one.
Or we wait for the witches ....
>>
>>5187940
Well, the dude in white mask do says that you are maidenless, and although Melina does the job, she is not a real, ordained finger maiden.
Or atleast she says so, haven't got far enough to discover her backstory.
>>
>>5187941
Vlad must save his new purity for the perfect wife.
One with a big heart and big
hat
>>
>>5187940
>And no, it's just a happy coincidense that the "No bitches?" Meme was popular when Elden Ring came out, which in turn for your Character to level up and having some other benefits in gameplay and lore needs of a Maiden to fullfil his mission
>it's just a happy coincidense
lmao you know nothing
>>
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>>5187940
Heh, that's pretty funny. First I do a Jojo Quest without playing Persona and now a Berserk Quest without playing Soulsborne. At least I'm catching up when I have the time on this occasion. Really was a chicken or the egg scenario though lol.
>>5187941
Nofap abstinence really breaks a mf.

I'll stop joking around and get going with the update now.
>>
>>5187902
>>5187903
>>5187905
>>5187913
>>5187914
>>5187917
>>5187935
"I would not be who I am if I did not struggle."
You lean your face away from Giselle, refusing her advances after you realise what she's up to.
"I hate having to relive the past, but the knowledge of my past mistakes won't undo them. As much as I wished to live a happy life in the Santana Estate... The more I realise how impossible that would be. I-We, were born to struggle, not for the sake of struggling, but for us to find our own reason to have hope, in the midst of despair. I believe all people should taste happiness, yes, but that shouldn't happen from losing your humanity."

"But... Why won't you reconsider it? You can end your story here, without needing to learn of more!" Giselle rests her head on your neck, giving up on kissing your lips.
"I won't reconsider, because I know the alternative is coping in a world full of lies. Fake memories, fake ideas, fake victories, fake love stories." Giselle dissolves in your arms like candle wax, she makes a few brief weeps after being unable to convince you to live in that illusion. Soon the entire scenery is under you, forming a mush of red as you are surrounded in darkness.

"Aren't you forgetting about me? How predictable..."
Merlina's hateful voice is briefly heard as a moon shaped projectile passes through your torso, her scythe slicing you in half as she finally had the chance to kill her savior as she wished to when you first met.

"To stop struggling is to stop being human! Struggle, struggle until all of your history is buried in dust, and then struggle some more! Lose everything you had and did! If you feel like your cross is too hard to bear, remind yourself that you've put me through much worse, and left me to rot in eternal damnation!" The skeleton sorceress yanks you by your hair and throws your two halves in the red mush, who transformed into tentacles from the swamp as they shouted for your name.

"VLAAAD! VLAAAAD! VLADVLADVLADVLAD!"
"Master, have mercy! I'm doing this for you! There's not a single day I go without cursing myself for not saving you that day!" You try to pull yourself out of the pit, but the vengeful spirit keeps hitting you with the dull end of her scythe, forcing Hedwyn to consume you into a flesh monster.

"YOU ARE A SHAM! A HYPOCRITE! A LIAR! A WALKING CONTRADICTION OF YOUR OWN INCEPTION!" She refuses to stop your body horror as you turn into what her entire clan became. "The way you carry my cloak around like a coffin is not impressive! It's humiliating! You will never bring me back! Accept your failures and stop running! Even if you manage to free my soul, I will not be the same!"

"I don't care... Even if you reincarnate as something completely different... I just want to make peace with you."
"So you can feel good about yourself?"
"So I can thank the only friend on my side, the one who had every reason to hate me, but didn't..."
"Don't be ridiculous. You've never had any friends."
>>
>>5187988
Bullshit, Gunpowder will always be a bro.
Fuck off behelit, get better material next time
>>
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>>5187988
A giant, white bird appears as you lose your body, engulfing the dark world in a bright light as he carred Merlina in his talons and spread its wings, flying high into the sky before coming back to your location, the skies clared up as he increased in size and opened it's beak to splatter your detatched head.

Punching the mattress, you shout yourself back into the real world. You're not sure if this was a dream or a nightmare, it's something in the middle, just like the life you live in the present... Why do you feel like this won't be the only time you'll have dreams like these?

The antidote the Hyde family gave you seemed to have done it's job well, as apart from the blankets being drenched in sweat from the fever, you've slept from last night to today's noon. Merlina's cloak was right behind the frame, dancing with the wind current before dropping on your spear. The spell she put on her clothes being as visible as always...

Where are the others?

>Search for Hyde and Jodi.
>Search for Guts and Puck.
>>
>>5187994

>Search for Hyde and Jodi.

Inform them that we'll be going now
>>
>>5187994
>Search for Guts and Puck.
>>
>>5187994
>Search for Hyde and Jodi.
>>
>>5187994
Hyde and jodi
>>
>>5187996
+1
>>
>>5187994
>>Search for Hyde and Jodi.
Od sensing now
And yeah put everything on us asap.
I don't like those monsters near us
>>
Ok so next time this happens we'll go for griffith in the waifu option right?
We lost some good possible trolling here.
>>
>>5187994
>>Search for Hyde and Jodi.
>>
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>>5187996
>>5187999
>>5188002
>>5188003
>>5188008
"Hyde? Hyde, we're leaving!" You look for the couple after getting in your suit, they couldn't be very far from here, could they?
Well, searching in the bedrooms, the living room, and even in the window outside, Hyde appeared to be missing. Jodi was still on her rocking chair, sleeping as soundly as you were before.

Odd, she too? Well, she is pregnant, a girl needs to save her energy for when the babies need them, being a mother must be very exhausting, especially when you start your job 9 months before the dad.

"Jodi? Pssst! Jodi!" You whisper, not wanting to be too inconvenient, she was the one who convinced Hyde to save your life, would be a dick move to go out without thanking her.
The slightest nudge you gave on the chair made her moan and contort in pain, a discharge seemed to come between her legs as she wet herself while she was sleeping. Ew...

Wait, did her water break? How is she not feeling this? Should you kneel over and help out in the process? What do you do here?
Before you could properly react, you see something popping out of her vagina and fall onto the floor. You fail to catch the baby from falling and nearly feel the trauma from letting a precious newborn dying, but the sound of an egg shell cracking makes you notice something very disturbing.

Jodi is not giving birth to human babies, but spider eggs! Feeling her Od once more, you notice her energy is now completely demonic. Previously mistaking her energy shfting so her babies could be born without sin, you knew now that she was indeed, corrupted...

Running outside, You look for Gunpowder, which was also sleeping at noon. inside the caravan, you could hear Puck snorting loudly as he thought about his home.
"Snooort! Phew! Snooort! Phew! Pack, Pick! stop picking on Pock! There's enough food for all of me!"
Guts was also under the sleeping spell. Were all of us having good dreams? Why were you the only one waking up from it then?

"Casca..." Guts whispered while having the only good dream he's had in the past year, thinking of his beloved safe and sound in his arms. You'd hate to be the one to ruin his happiness, but something bad is about to happen here, and before running or fighting, you will need him to be awake for you two to decide on what to do next.

>Slap him awake.
>Shake him.
>Make him smell the rotten fish in your carriage.
>Chuck Puck on him.
>Yell at the top of your lungs.
>Talk to him telepathically.
>>
>>5188055
>Chuck Puck on him.
>Yell at the top of your lungs.

"GUTS! WAKE THE FUCK UP! JODI'S SHITTING SPIDERS" Something along those lines.

>Captcha: SAYJ8
>>
>>5188055
>Talk to him telepathically.
>Shake him.
Can't be Berserk without aborted fetuses
>>
>>5188055
>>Chuck Puck on him.
>Make him smell the rotten fish in your carriage.

We aren't screaming now absolutely no, we are in a place with demons near and undead nearby, Also get gunpowder up, we still need to put on us our equipment and we should execute that egg before it makes a spiderling.

Not sure what to do with Jodi, maybe exorcism. I have doubts Hyde is alive.
>>
ah wait we did suit up, good then. half way done
>>
>>5188064
Supporting
>>
>>5188055
>Make him smell the rotten fish in your carriage.
>Chuck Puck on him.
>>
>>5188056
>>5188061
>>5188064
>>5188080
"Get up, you two!" You grit your teeth and get your hands on the rotten fish stenching the place, the passage of time was not kind to the poor animals, as the flies were already hovering over them.

The buzz of the insects was enough to bother Puck out of REM sleep.
"Ack! This food tastes awful! Who made this?" Puck hacks and coughs after a fly nearly goes inside his mouth.
"I found a spider!"
"So? Just kill it? Even I can do that!"
"The other spiders!"
"Oh! This calls for an emergency!" You chuck Puck at Guts as he goes onto the swordsman's ear, flashing lights and signs at him.

"Wee-Woo! Wee-Woo! Emergency meeting! Emergency meeting! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!" The incessant chanting from Puck makes Guts shake his head and wake up from the good dream he was having.

"What are you looking so sad for, big guy? Cheer up, it's a bright new day outside. Yipee!" Puck tries to keep the mood high, but the sweat on his face and the anger he shows after realising his good dreams weren't real made him mad for the rest of the following minutes.
"Hooray..."

"She's laying eggs and there's no signs of Hyde?" He repeats after listening to your story.
"Exactly, as soon as I get Gunpowder up, the first thing we're doing is..."

>Look for Hyde.
>Get the hell out of here.
>Kill the spider queen down the bridge.
>Exorcise Jodi.
>Destroy the eggs about to hatch.
>>
>>5188097
>Get the hell out of here.
discretion is the better part of valor
>>
>>5188097
>Exorcise Jodi.
>Destroy the eggs about to hatch.

Guts can deal with the eggs, while we save Jodi. Hyde's definitely dead or worse.
>>
>>5188097
>Exorcise Jodi.
>Look for Hyde.
Might have been our fault.
>>
>>5188097
>>Exorcise Jodi.
>Destroy the eggs about to hatch.
>>
>>5188097
>>Exorcise Jodi.
>>Destroy the eggs about to hatch.


Weapons out
inform them there is still that giant demon spider down the bridge. We don't know where Hyde is too.
>>
We should also consider as a group the best possibility and the worst one.
Best : Jodi got corrupted somehow by staying here, it does make sense this place is full of evil around it. Hyde might have just killed some harpies in the morning, like he says he usually does.

Worst : Jodi was not just corrupted by staying here but one of the spiders did that hideous thing in the morning. Vlad thought got up before more disgusting things started.
This mean that spiders scouted around us and might be ready for an attack here, with webs and traps all around. Perhaps they even thought to block the way for our wagon.
Hyde was captured and killed. Even worse would be an agreement between monsters this being harpies, skeletons and spiders which honestly with Gatsu, Vlad and Puck being the prize it might not be too strange.
>>
>>5188097
>Exorcise Jodi.
>>
>>5188097
>Exorcise Jodi.
>Destroy the eggs about to hatch.
>>
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>>5187994
>A giant, white bird appears as you lose your body, engulfing the dark world in a bright light as he carred Merlina in his talons and spread its wings
I'm warning you femboy you don't want to catch these fucking hands.
>>
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>>5188098
>>5188104
>>5188105
>>5188113
>>5188122
Waking up Gunpowder and making sure the spell was only on Jodi, you quickly entered the hunter's home and started looking for the eggs.

The wet pops coming from the pregnant woman already made it pretty clear where most of them were, and with just a few well placed stomps, you and Guts managed to kill the baby spiders before they were about to hatch. Thankfull none of them turned into actual infants once they were killed.

"Her stomach still looks pretty distended for someone who laid so many eggs. Are there more of them?" Guts thinks that Jodi should be looking a bit more flabby by now, and sure enough, a closer look at her womb showed that several spiders were hatching inside of her, squirming to get out as they got crushed on each other. If any more of them hatch, it could be enough for her to burst from the inside.
"More spiders confirmed."
"How many?"
"Several, she's going to die if we don't exorcise her."

"You... can actually do that?"
"No clue, don't even know if there's an evil spirit inside her, but I figure I can at least kill the ones in her womb before her stomach opens up." You have no idea what you are actually doing, but you've already dealt with enough spiders to last a lifetime, and no doubt the hunting couple feels the same way.

With deep breaths, you charge your body with purifying Od and crouch over Jodi's seat, but before you could spread her legs open or touch her body-
"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING WITH MY WIFE!?" An array of pellets come flying at your face, their impact knocking you over as Guts' blocking with his sword impedes it from doing further damage to your face.

"I always heard rumors you grew up to be a womanizer, Vlad. But copping a feel on a pregnant lady's private parts in front of her husband? Not the worst I've seen, but it's pretty lowly of you." Serpico awkwardly chimes in, restraining Hyde in a nelson-hold as he witnesses a scene that he clearly wishes he could not be a part of.

"S-Serpico? How did you get here?" You gulp after hearing Farnese's knight seeing you in a vulnerable state.
"My commander made me work in the dead of night with her to roll a boulder off the main path. And wouldn't you know, a hunter was there to tell us the whereabouts of the black swordsman, along with some knight by the name of Vlad."
"YOU'RE DEAD! LET ME GO! I AM THIS CLOSE FROM BASHING HIS FUCKING SKULL IN!" Hyde is still fuming after seeing you supposedly trying to fist his lover.
"Now, I can't really say I care much abouy your opinions on poligamy. What you do in the mountains is your business. But I ultimately came here because I will never hear the end of it if she gets to know I found the two of you without apprehending either. The other knights will soon be here, and since the only other option to get out of here is death, I thought that this would be a good time to propose a peaceful surrendering, for approximately the 3rd time, but still."
>>
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>>5188199
"This isn't what it looks like, we're trying to--" You begin to explain yourself, but Serpico interrupts.
"Relax, 'Phantom'. I am not completely ignorant of your powers. Hell, I can even see the little pixie mascot you've adopted with the black swordsman. Hello, little one."

"Hiya!" Puck waves at someone who can finally see him. If only Serpico could do the same without unleashing an angry hillbilly in your direction.

"Wait... So you knew that I was telling the truth at the swamp? Why didn't you make an effort to--"
"As my master says 'You arent here to think, you are here to follow my orders'. I don't think she would have listened to me even if I tried to explain. Not that I could of, I have no idea on how to descibe the intricacies of the occultists. But just because I am on the side of the blind, does not mean I can't get my eyes open."

Serpico's genius intellect is shown once more, but being so used the ways of a servant, he knew the smartest move sometimes would be not to deter from public opinion.
"We're not making an omelette with all these eggs, mister. Jodi is going to be a mother of seven hundred if you don't let Vlad kill the spiders inside." Guts tries to brief him on what's about to happen.

"Oh, don't mind me. I would only interfere if you do not agree with my terms." Serpico frowns after holding Hyde in place for so long, but still keeps talking as if nothing was happening. "I know Lady Farnese is locked in bad first impressions, but once you get to know her personally, she can actually be quite alluring."

"Yeah, not falling for that." You warn him that you're not ready for a hardcore waxplay session with Farnese.
"She's a work in progress. Unless Mozgus tells her to, she won't go out of her way to kill such an important witness. We need answers, and no doubt you have at least a few of those. I can promise that you'll be alive until we reach Albion, good luck with Mozgus though, that's on you."
"And if we refuse?" Guts dares.

"I'm releasing this man from my grasp, not one to complain, but he's been kicking me pretty hard. I might have to lash out my anger on his targets."
"Heh, not impressed. I'm doing much better than yesterday, none of you will lay a finger on me."
"Whoops, are my hands starting to slip?" Serpico hides his anger by leaning forward with Hyde.

Would it be worth trying to convince Serpico to wait things out? You don't know how strong he is, but he certainly has no trouble in restraining Hyde, maybe with the 4 of you, you could actually stand a chance against the harpies and the spider queen, alongside the swarms coming from both teams. But the life of Jodi is still in your hands, and you can't place your arms behind your head and watch her die. If there's a chance to clear your name as 'The Phantom' it's proving that you were indeed capable of cleansing the swamp, and using that same power to kill the spiderlings to a member of the Holy Knights.
>>
>>5188212
>Give them hell, Guts.
>You can do whatever you want with me, just let me save Jodi first.
>We'll come down with you, but we need to take care of the spider queens.
>Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft.
>Write-in.
>>
>>5188214
>Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft.
>>
>>5188214
>>You can do whatever you want with me, just let me save Jodi first.
>>
>>5188214
>Serpico, you want to serve Farnese do you not? Then let me tell you. Guts is cursed to be hunted by monsters, that attack him each night. Monters like the harpies and spiders, who managed ro put a sleeping spell on us and implanted egg that are going to eat Jodi from the inside out. What you think will happen when the swarm attacks your group, when all three of are weakened? Guts has only survived because Puck keeps healing him, and I have my magic, but what about you and Farnese?
>Let me heal Jodi, you walk away, and we all avoid a horrible fate. What I said on the fight is true, Albion is going to be destroyed. If your knights keep chasing us, than you shall not return, and they will not suffer a fate worse than death.
>>
>>5188214
>Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft.
So, any anons got any ideas as to escape capture?
>>
>>5188212
I think the best plan right now would be to save Jodi, and then let Guts cover our ass as we flee. We should make sure to tell Guts not to kill Serpico or Farnese, though.
We can then rescue Guts while he's being carted back to Albion, which I assume is at least a day away.
>>
>>5188214
>Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft.
>>
>>5188214
+1 to >>5188223
And then go with saving Jodi without waiting for an answer.
>>
>>5188214
>>Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft.
"Look it has been really hard for everyone. Thing is this woman has several spider inside of her. And you better get your sword out, because this people leave surrounded by monsters. Giant spider down the bridge, undead skeletons nearby and harpies up the mountain."
'If your knights arrive they better prepare to fight as well."

"And you Hyde look at the corpses on the floor ? what you think this shit is ?! Broken chicken eggs bigger than a human hand ?! Why the hell you live surrounded by monsters !"
>>
>>5188256
Wait nevermind the last part I wrote, didn't finish reading the last part of anons vote
>>
>>5188258
*live
>>
>>5188217
>>5188218
>>5188224
>>5188233
"Watch me, Serpico. You are about to witness a real magician doing his craft." You rub your hands together as you place a hand on her belly. The sound of several egg shells cracking and the writhing of spiders were audible enough for even Serpico to hear. Guts closed his eyes and shifted his face away in order to avoid seeing what would come after the fact, as if somehow this is what made him uncomfortable.

Jodi wakes up with a load scream as another pink vaginal discharge sends several small spiders oozing out of her hole, all of them dead in a mix of blood and poison. The color of her Od started to go a more regular grey color, but you had to stay holding her for an energy transfer so she could hold onto dear life. She was very near death, and the transfering of her pain felt ridiculously out of this world, but you managed to kill the spiderlings.

"What... Was that?" Even the stoic chain knight was speechless by what he just saw.
"Something the victims would call a miracle, but what the court would deem 'dark magic'." You show Serpico the difference between good and evil witchcraft. "There are worse, stronger enemies you should be worrying about. Giant spider down the bridge, undead skeletons thanks to Guts and harpies up the mountain. So you better save your sword for them."

"You don't need to tell me about this, save the spiel for the non-believers." Serpico lets go of Hyde, who stumbles onto the floor and gets a closer look at the spiders in his home.

"They... They really got in her. That damn spider was using Jodi to place her eggs inside my dear wife..."
"What did you think it was? Chicken eggs? There are monsters everywhere you look! Why did you think you were safe?"
"They were never this hostile! I never had to fight as many as I did yesterday! Whose fault is that?"

You open your mouth to chastise him, but you remember that believers of the holy scriptures can't see magic, or Od. From his point of view, he just saw Jodi getting electrocuted until egg shells came out of her pussy. A vision as nonsensical as your words to him.

The entire house starts to shake as you hear the screech of the spider queen from down below, each move of her 8 legs rumbling the mountain.
"It's the queen! She's finally out!" Hyde proclaims as they all go outside next to the bridge, with only you and the exhausted Jodi staying inside. She was safe, but by healing her, your body felt like it went through labor 50 times, and you don't even have a womb... God it hurts to walk.

Limping to the bridge, the sight seems nearly apocalyptic. The spiders begin fighting against a horde of flying women with wings for arms and talons for legs, the sounds of their chirps as they tore at the spiders and were weaten by the larger ones was a sight straight out of hell.

>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
>Fight the giant spider queen.
>Fight the horde of harpies.
>Defend yourself and wait for their numbers to go down.
>>
>>5188287
>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
Naw man, fuck this shit. Vlad just got the male equivalent of being kicked in the balls so hard they went through his body and into the stratosphere. I'm not one to let ourselves get even more tired fighting monsters while Serpico waits for us to collapse of exhaustion to drag us back to Farnese.
>>
>>5188287
>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
run
>>
>>5188287
>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
TIME TO GO.
>>
I'm between running with Jodi and tell everyone to somehow make a hold near the house and stand while we wait for the Holy Chain Knights to come. If there's food in the house we might use Puck for a little of healing and feed him to get him energy back. We grab Gunpowder, and try to fastly kill any monster that goes near the house using our speed while Hyde helps from the safety of his Home using his ammo.

Hell, we can even make some defensive wards aroud the house to make a shield, or some offensive runes like some damaging area for the monsters when they get inside it
>>
>>5188287
>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
>Get Hyde to come too, he is kind of an asshole, but it's his wife and he knows the land.
Serpico and Guts should be able to cover our retreat.
>>
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>>5188297
>>5188299
>>5188301
>>5188321
Give me a 1d100! Roll or be smothered by the harpies.
>>
>>5188287
>Take Jodi out the house and run away.
>>
Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>5188339
SMOTHER-DEFLECTION-SPECIAL TECHNIQUE
>>
Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>5188339
too late to vote but not too late to roll
>>
Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>5188339
Fuck off bird bitches
>>
>>5188339
By the way everything about this scene is cursed. Everyone is also awkwardly sliding towards the edge of frame on the right.
>>
>>5188346
Bird bitches status: Fucked off
>>
Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>5188339
>>
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>>5188341
>>5188343
>>5188346
Running back home, you place the barely awake Jodi in your arms and take her to Hyde.
"It's your girl, keep your eyes on her." He merely nods as he puts his slingshot back in his pockets, directing the group towards Gunpowder.

There is no way to do anything considerably effective against either the spider queen, or the countless harpies without putting you or the others in harm's way, so it's best to let them fight each other out and forget about her incubator.
"I guess this is where we'll be going our ways, old partner." Guts suddenly throws some knives at the harpies in your direction, wanting to compensate for the way he acted before by suddenly playing the hero card, making way for all to escape and protecting Hyde's home from being destroyed.

"You can't be serious! Look at how many there are! You can't possibly take these many all by yourself."
"Maybe you can't. But honestly? I'm rooting for the harpies. Ever fell from high up in the clouds before? Don't think I'll be doing that again so soon after the last time." Guts simply responds as he raises his greatsword into the air, jumping on top of one of the harpies at a ridiculously high altitude, aiming his crossbow at her head to make sure she was always steering at the right direction.
"For Guts, this is just a regular Sunday stroll!" Puck soon joins him, being the pocket medic that Guts always uses in a ditch.

"Why now? We're all going towards the same destination!"
"Not yet. There is someone I need to see."
Before you could ask him who that was, the words he said when he was sleeping made the message very clear.
"Casca..."
You remember her being a strong warrior on her own terms back in Doldrey's, but if she was such a valuable asset to him, what made him only remember her now?
"All that talk about family and what happened to Jodi, it made me realize something... And to be frank, it's also because you're getting on my nerves. I need to be on my own for a little longer. It was nice to catch up though, reminded me that I'm not alone in this war. See you in Albion." Guts bids farewell, awkwardly descending as he shoved his sword on top of the spider queen and started dragging it agross it's head.

You don't have the time to watch the rest of the fight, as Gunpowder starts neighing and refuses to move despite Serpico tugging at his straps. Every one of them are safe in the caravan, so why did Guts have to play so hard to get? You can only hope he defeats them safely...
>>
>>5188417
Hyde was shooting at all directions as both the spiders and harpies fell from merely looking at him the wrong way, even if he was focusing a lot more on the spiders...
"How did you train this horse to be so obedient?" Serpico asks you as you shove him from your seat.
"He's not obedient. He only obeys one person." You order your horse to start sprinting as Serpico jumps up and keeps the harpies away.

Several rocks start falling from the summit, and the shaking of the ground gives away to even more erosion, but Gunpowder manages to hop and gallop over all the obstacles. That's your boy right there! Better give him some carrots when you get to Albion...

The four of you get away safely from the battlefield, slowly descending for a few more minutes until you saw Azan and his troops waiting next to the starting path in the distance.

An afterimage of Serpico slicing your head off was quick to warn you about the dangers of trusting him when Farnese was back in his mind, blocking his attack with your shortsword.

"Don't tell me. You're mad at yourself for letting Guts leave? You know you don't have what it takes to beat him by yourself." You look behind you as Farnese's lapdog attempts another strike.

"Hardly. I knew I would be fighting a losing battle against the two of you together. I might get yelled at for losing subject A, but the true identity of subject B might be a good enough reward for the commander."

Fighting an enemy while your back is turned is ridiculously hard, left becomes right, and right becomes left as you have to mimic his movements. Serpico is flabbergasted at how you can parry without so much as looking at him, but your feeling of intent once again proves to be your biggest saving grace, making you look a lot more experienced in combat than you actually are.

Serpico was smart in fighting you this way, because if he wasn't directly behind you, you would be able to turn your halberd in a way that could knock him off the caravan without risking a hit on Hyde, Jodi, or the structure of your vehicle. His placement is very precise, just like the wording of his threats.

"They're waiting for you down there. I won't come back empty-handed." You are quickly approaching the regular trail, where Azan has his staff ready to stop you if you don't pull in the breaks. With a sword at your neck and an army not too far away, you try and think of another way to solve this...

The gap! It was probably so large that Serpico didn't even consider jumping across, but it was one of the first options you considered when you were thinking of leaving the area! Gunpowder could certainly make a leap from there if the entrance at Ilos is anything to go by, but you were on your own. Not with a caravan of 4 people inside...
Serpico doesn't know you can talk to Gunpowder with your mind though, is it worth telling him to take a left turn and scare him into thinking you are drifting into a crash?
>>
>>5188436
>Jump over the gap.
>Knock Serpico off.
>Stop your horse and surrender.
>Sprint towards the trail and trample the knights.
>>
>>5188436
>Jump over the gap.
>>
>>5188439
>Jump over the gap.
Transfer some Od to GP to boost his speed and strength!
>>
>>5188436
>Jump over the gap.
while also trying to
>Knock Serpico off.
Long live the king...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctJ9jZ-_fFc
>>
>>5188439
>Knock Serpico off.
>"I already told you that I've had enough of people who hide behind a mask. You'll never be able to get one over me until you decide to break that mask, and never don it again."
>>
>>5188439
>>Jump over the gap.
>supercharge GP with od
>>
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>>5188455
>>5188444
>>5188447
>>5188449
>>5188453
2d100! First one is for jumping, second is for getting Serpico off your tail.
Hopefully Vlad won't be the one doing the goofy yell this time, Roll!
>>
Rolled 45, 88 = 133 (2d100)

>>5188466
>>
Rolled 35, 90 = 125 (2d100)

>>5188466
2 nat 1s?
>>
Rolled 26, 43 = 69 (2d100)

>>5188466
>>
>>5188466
at least we wont be goofy laughing alone ;_;
>>
>>5188469
>>5188472
>>5188473
Got him off of us, but we fell into a crevice
>>
>>5188469
>>5188472
>>5188473
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUL5w91dzbo
>>
>>5188475
We both fell, but on different holes.
>>
>>5188476
>everyone thinks we jumped down so badly on purpose
>except serpico who hears us scream like a bitch the entire way
Ouch, right in the pride.
>>
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>>5188469
>>5188472
>>5188473
"I thought I've told you once before, Serpico. I despise people who hide behind a mask, and yours is the most transparent that I've come across. The man you are now, fighting and giving your all? It suits you a lot more than the calm, naive boy you pretend to be around your master."

"Huh?" Serpico is mesmerized, both by your ability to see right through him, and by the way you boosted GP with your energy, making him go faster as he accelerated towards the giant gap at the other route away from Azan.

"Break free from that mask, Serpico. And maybe you'll one day be able to fight me as yourself. Don it again, and your failure will be imminent against the black swordsman." He thinks that you're bluffing, that you'll pull in the breaks at the last possible second so he can jump away and lose his advantageous position, but that's not it, you're going over that gap. And it's going to be up to him wether he leaves or stays.

Gunpowder gives a glorious leap over half the hole, but after noticing the apex of his jump being nowhere near as tall with the weight of the caravan, you decide to knock Sserpico off the Vlad-Mobile with a shoulder bash.

With the servant's survival instincts kicking in, he catches Merlina's cloak with his hands as it forms a noose around your neck, pulling you off your mount as you both fell onto the crevice below.

The black horse nearly slams onto a 70 degree angle before galloping in place for several minutes, coming very close to sliding off as most of your items fell with them. Jodi nearly went inside the hole too if Hyde didn't have the brawn to pick her up and leave the carriage, making it light enough for Gunpowder to go up and escape his untimely death.
Serpico falls first, him and his sword passing right through a thin fissure where it would forever stay lost. Your fall on the other hand, was a lot less stylish.

You attempted to land on your feet, but your armor made the force of the impact hit you twofold, your left ankle twisting as you kneeled right over a wet colloid of quicksand. Soon enough, the only thing that wasn't covered in mud was your face, and that's because you shot your neck as high as it could go.

"SERPICOOOO!" Azan's shouts are heard from above, but you don't really expect the Iron Chain knights to be carrying around 4 meters of rope around to take 2 idiots out of the tightest wormhole in the land, so you'll be staying that way for a while.

"So what were you saying about donning a mask and overcoming grievances?" Serpico mocks you for underestimating him. "You know, capes are very counter-intuitive in a 1v1 battle, someone who fights dirty can easily use them against you, there's also the possibility of it getting stuck somewhere, like in a mud pit."

"Oh, like I wanna hear it from the guy who walks around with Farnese 'put a miniature angel on my helm for tactical advantage' De Vandimion. At least mine is closed off..."
>>
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>>5188534
"So how long do you think it'll take for them to reach us?"
"Eh, a couple hours? One of them will probably fall onto us. I'd tell you to watch out, but you can't move more than your eyelids in there, can you?" Serpico's mocking is incessant, you told him to stop goofing around, and he took that as a challenge.

"By the way, can't you absorb energy or whatever? Why don't you just take it from the life around you and get out of there?"
"It's not remotely controlled. I need to touch a living creature, and even then, they have to consent to it."

"My hands might be stuck to my torso in this crevice, but I'd like you to know that I wouldn't give you my energy if you asked me to."
"What, because I want to stay away from your master?"
"No Vlad, you threw me off a damn cliff!"
"Look, you're right. I think we might have started on the wrong foot here. It's been a while since we've met, I should have thought of a better opening line. Something more casual, like 'What's your favorite shade of blue?'"

"...Teal."
"What?"
"My favorite shade of blue. It's teal." He didn't have to respond to it, but alright...
"I'm more of an Indigo guy myself... but teal is alright. It's a bit closer to green, though."
"I thought you'd like a stronger color, something like red or black."
"I've seen nothing but red and black for 3 years, I've had enough of it."
"That's fair, I'm not too keen of the color red, either. Fire, blood, anger, it's all a trigger to bad memories..."
"I thought you were pretty comfortable around fire."
"I'm Farnese's knight, not her doppleganger."

Farnese tries to look down to see where you and Serpico fell off, but she drops her scabbard down the gap and it hits you right on your forehead. This is not your day...
"Ah, I hope you like your last few seconds of anonimity. She's going to flip once she finds out you're the one who helped Guts escape."
"Anyone ever said you have the personality of stale bread?"
"You owe me a new sword."
Spiders and Harpies, Chapter End.
>>
>>5188534
>>5188551

At least Guts and Gunpowder got away, lmao.
>>
>>5188565
Gunpowder to the rescue.
>>
>>5188551
>"You owe me a new sword."
bruh you owe us a new ankle. And probably life once Farnesse decides it's burning time.

Surprised we got stuck close enough to chat with Serpico though. He's hardly off our tail like that. The rat. Really pushing it with his best boy status.
>>
>>5188551
Welp, we're in it now fellas. Firepussy was halted, but it has come, and with it, most likely Vlad's 4th brush with death.
We've survived our dad, Barnham, Harpies and Spiders (and gravity, mostly gravity if we're being honest), but will Farnese do us in? Only time will tell.
>>
>>5188602
My prediction is Gunpowder will come at the last minute and kick the post we're ready to be torched on over and do a heroic pose and an awesome speech about friendship. Oh and he'll drag Guts along with him. Guts'll probably say something droll like "I wasn't gonna leave you to die, pal.". Trying to steal the spotlight from best horse. What a fiend.

Or I dunno Farnesse will molest the fuck out of us or something. We're a bit old but she'll at least pass the trial of becoming a real cathol- I mean Holy See priest.
>>
>>5188611
Well, cross-examining canon and now, Guts is going back to learn about Casca, get some upgrades and get a talking to from Godot. Besides Gunpowder, we're flying solo.
Maybe Hyde and Jodi could help (Jodi moreso than Hyde), but that's reeeal unlikely.
Assuming that Farnese doesn't immolate us ASAP, I can see a possibility that Farnese will whip us, get handsy, we suck some of her Od to heal up, then bail.

Still, that MIGHT be ONE way it could play out. In the end, the dice will say what happens next.
>>
Poor Vlad keeps jobbing
>>
>>5188648
It's called "struggling" in this universe
>>
So….. Do we have any idea which God Hand messed with Vlad’s dreams? It couldn’t have been just the poison as Puck and Guts had their own nice dreams. I was thinking it was Slan due to the sexual nature of the dreams, but I’m not sure, haven’t read Berserk in a while.
>>
>>5188678
White hawk is griffith I am thinking, I imagine angry pretty boy thought the best way to spite Vlad would be to convert Merlina at least partially to his cause. Shes been dunked in literal hell for awhile so would likely be pliable enough to manipulate. That or its just a illusion he thought would invoke the most pain.
Also Vlad is going to get a very bad case of torture either from Farnese or Mozgus if the chain knights don't fuck around. Guts had his pocket medic and superhuman strength to get him out of trouble when they caught him in canon.
>>
>>5188688
Maybe when we're bolted in the anal pyramid chair we'll finally have the time to actually ask some ambient spirits for help to do some real magic instead of just shifting Od around.
>>
>>5188688
Tbf the only thing that might break or make Vlad changes side would be some 4th wall info. As in stuff like learning that god is dead and everyone is on a crash course to oblivion
>>
Isn't this the part where Farnese encounters rape horse?
>>
>>5188729
If Guts and the brand isn't around, then there is no Rape Horse.
>>
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And that's it for the sessions on this thread, next weekend will be epilogue session and the one after that will be a new thread.

A lot has happened on this one, dunno if I should start separating thread by order of events or not, some of these do get pretty wordy...

The See finally caught up with Vlad. Will Farnese listen to Serpico and go easy on Vlad and merely interrogate our hero, or will her fiery passion for... fire mixed with her grudge turn it into a gruesome torture session?

Let me know if you have any questions. Also don't forget to vote on the epilogues, most of these will be fight oriented but I'm down to writing any of the 2 most voted options, maybe 3 if I have the time.

>Guts vs The Spider Queen
>Barnham vs Zodd
>Barnham at the capital.
>Guts' dream
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
I really wanna see how Barnham is getting on with his side of things, hopefully better than us lol.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>>
>>5188772
Thanks again for all your hard work, QM!
I'm voting for:
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>Guts vs The Spider Queen
>Barnham vs Zodd
In this order.
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
>Guts' dream
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
This is the one I want the most
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
And this one sounds funny
>>
>>5188772
>>Barnham at the capital.
>>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit

third this one, if you do a third
>Guts vs The Spider Queen

I can see us using our acrobatics and Gunpowder, for avoid that we are burned and tortured, and then escape. Preferably recovering our equipment first. They might destroy some of it as they view it as pagan or heretical.
If we allow them to take us, they can just keep going until we can't heal anymore. They have heard rumors about us and since we where hit with quite the deep wound time ago, they will no doubt think we can suffer worse.
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>>
>>5188772
>>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
>Barnham at the capital.
>Guts' dream
>>
>>5188772
In order.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit

>Barnham at the capital.

>Guts vs The Spider Queen
>>
>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
let us see how our pal is doing
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
And this one so we could get in more flirting between Vlad and Farnese. Or well at the very least Vlad flirting while Farnese smacks him around
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>>5188772
>Barnham at the capital.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit
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(i decided to make something after that particular anon made that very nice drawing, i have taken some of the elements he made too. The images are not all great, and in comparison they don't hold a candle to anything posted so far. I will leave some very small texts with them, nothing more.)

A simple armor, even if one would hardly call it that. It protects well from the weather and cold, and is thick enough that it will not be easily cut. It was cheap to buy, easy to maintain and light for travel and combat. With Vlad being near forests during his training of three years, he had sources of both leather and fur from the animals he hunted. Fighting some of the flesh creatures and predator forests would have inevitably ruined it.

(this armor is what i imagined Vlad having during the three years passed with Merlina. From what he purchased in that village after the escape, plus furs and leathers put on it from the animals he hunted.)
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An armor of a pagan one would say. While it’s no doubt similar to one, it’s also a memory of a clan that Vlad would never be able to know, of a dear mentor and of a defeated father. Perhaps inspired by stories he had read, and the time spent with the witch, Vlad has chosen a different path but one that still allows him to complete the mission he was born for. This armor is a mix, is neither too heavy nor too light, offering good protection and mobility, but it also clear that there is something that is neither for protection or mobility, but is related to the Silver Eyes clan magic.

(this armor is what i could see Vlad wear, if he wants to accept both of his connections. A nobleman and a tribal. Sort of inspiring himself from the stories/teaching of Merlina and what he knows from reading books of pagans similar to the clan of the silver eyes)
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>>5189072
>>5189078
Nice to see you here art anon from 2 primarch
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An armor for a knight, a reflection of the Santana upon the battlefield and the lessons of Gallahad of chivalry, but also duty and courage. It does have some decorations, and the symbol of the Santana is present visible on the chestplate for all to see. The armor is made by a skilled smith, and while heavy, it’s made precisely for Vlad in mind. Allowing a better mobility than other armors. The armor presents even some details only seen in the estate, ones of course of the rich and important story of this family !

(this armor is directly inspired by the drawing that anon made. A true knight, and something I would see on a Santana or a knight under the service of the Santana like Gallahad. Pegasus gang)
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An armor of a dark future, full of remorse, hate and pain. It seems heavy, and strange. Yet there is something familiar to it, some elements of the armor don’t seem real … They change colors from a deep blue, to a strange green, then a sick purple and a shadowy black. But beside that it does look like it holds power, one that only a man of such family should wear. Certainly one could terrorize his foes and friends with it, they would run in fear, they would fall in horror, they would bleed in despair and they would die in agony.

(this armor is what I think Vlad would take if he decided to betray everything he stands for. Following an evil in the family, in this case the Kraken that the Santana family hates. A cruel path for power)
>>5189082
thk you anon. Ah btw i am still making stuff for 2 primarch. Just need time.
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A shield of the Santana House.

A simple well-built Santana Shield, the colors and symbols of the house are present. A skilled smith could remake one, if he has an example. Or perhaps some remain in the old armory.
(I decide to pick this form for it, it looks nice)

“A valiant house, the Santana are said to have deep roots in the kingdom's history. Even if many are skepticals of such claims as the House remained a small house in the known records, many thought the claims were just an attempt of the house to solidify power and position. Their lands might be small after all, and there is nothing special about them, but being so near to the capital has advantages of its own.”
“They have often proven to be worthy warriors, providing small retinues of knights from their ranks and influential men in the church. They prided themselves on being loyal vassals of the Midland kings, even if not the strongest or richest, and of the purity of their house by following closely the teachings of the priests.”
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Merlina


The witch of the flesh swamp, and last sorcerer of the Silver Eyes Clan. Her clothing is clearly pagan, and it makes clear which social role she had in the last years of the clan. Ultimately though, even a clan like the Silver Eyes was finished. In comparison to other pagans being tribes or clans, they had several magic users on their side and not just tribal warriors. A considerable advantage in daily life and in battle, but not in constant wars against overwhelming numbers of foes. Perhaps if the clan had found allies, or friends it could have survived. Who could say in this age of knights and lords ?

(this is how i imagined her, bones are just under the furs and the head is behind the wood mask of course)
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The Pegasus and the Kraken
(not the statue but similar)

“The famous story of this family, made in stone. The valiant Pegasus against a creature of darkness and the abyss.”
“It no doubt shows their devotion and loyalty to the church, while casting away the darkness of paganism and heresy that even these days are often present in the realms of the continent.”
“In the words of one of their members :”

“The kraken symbolizes the corruption of our world and the unknown forces that might bring my family down, the pegasus shows our undying resolve in pursuit of reaching for the skies, challenging our odds against our favor”
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Pegasus
“The holy pegasus of Santana. Nobility, strength, purity and bravery.”
“A spiked halo rests above his head, almost like a fine crafted crown delivered from the skies themselves. While not an uncommon symbol, it is strange that such a small house uses it, one could say it would better fit royalty. An explanation beyond their tradition or their services to Church and Kingdom cannot be found, it must be something in their past .... and the pursuit of knowledge from the past of our glorious kingdom is something few know and even fewer seek, or for that matter find.”
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Kraken
“The terrible creature seen in some of the old depictions in the Santana holdings, it is a strange sight. Especially here in Midland. What kind of reason is there for this creature of the great sea to be here ? Could it be that what this family says is true ? In so many other cases these stories of noble dynasties were just lessons, or ways to influence the common folk, gain prestige and political recognition to rule their lands and the ones of others. It could also narrate an historical event of the distant past, perhaps a civil war in the kingdom or one inside this family.”
“Perhaps some of their ancestors just had a fascination with this mythological creature of far away lands ? Ones often embraced by cold and darkness. It will remain a mystery for us.”
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This armor is an improved form of the knight one, with Vlad growth it’s made with new measures in mind. Better materials have been used, and it offers additional protection. Of course this means it is more heavy, but what is a little more exercise with sacks of rocks while wearing it ?
Vlad has now changed in part some of the opinion in the realm of him, some will not believe the lies that have been spread anymore. The Pegasus has arrived, and it charges again and again against his foes. It hunts down the darkness, and gives it no respite.
For Midland !
For Santana !

(I didn’t have in mind to make this one, but in the end I made it anyway. A progression of the knight one. This said, that's all the images done. Sy for taking up so much space. I have already said it from the first thread but this is a very cool quest Becchi, keep going if you can. I also hope that Anon returns. I really like the drawing he made.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQWMFJtflg8
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>>5189072
>>5189078
>>5189083
>>5189092
>>5189097
>>5189101
>>5189104
>>5189106
>>5189110
>>5189114
Jesus Christ anon cool it and put it in a fucking PDF so you don't spam threads all the time.
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>>5189144
Sure, if there is a next time for berserk. i didn't consider it desu.
Ah wait you mean primarch too not just this one.
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>>5188782
>>5188783
>>5188784
>>5188828
>>5188830
>>5188847
>>5188882
>>5188953
>>5188962
>>5188978
>>5188988
The people have spoken! And the overwhelming majority have chosen the following epilogues:
>Barnham at the capital.
>Farnese taking Vlad and Serpico from the pit.
I'll see if I have enough time to write about Guts and The Spider Queen as a little bonus. Expect the epilogues to be done by Friday.
>>5189114
Looks awesome Anon! Thanks for sharing them. Berserk is a pretty visual story so it's cool to see some illustrations showing up occasionally. This quest has actually made me pick up drawing again in my free time so I'm glad to see someone else getting creative while engaging in the story. Don't think I'll be making any Miura-tier artwork but no need to set the bar that high I guess.

I do want to at least take a shot at doodling some of the key scenes. Nowhere near as good as I want to be, but good enough that my narcissism makes me want to show the finished products. I'd probably have to be in hiatus for it not to get in the way of sessions though.

Speaking of key scenes and PDFs, anyone would be down for me dumping posts into a page format? I was compiling a few posts and fixing some grammar mistakes until the idea struck me. Don't plan on retconning anything, just wanted to separate things into a cute little light novel format. I don't plan on getting to thread 100+ but given the amount of info on each thread, we're bound to forget something every now and then so it'd be nice for people to be on the same page. Though maybe that's the autist in me speaking.
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>>5188772
>A lot has happened on this one, dunno if I should start separating thread by order of events or not, some of these do get pretty wordy...
Honestly, I say you should stick to some replie limits, like 1900 replies or so for example, because my poor phone and questionable internet sometimes have troubles loading the thread. Idk about other anons, but I think that at this point in general (having a few chapters and if we're near then the end of an Arc) is good for starting another thread (after the epilogues).
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>>5189114
Nice artwork I appreciate the shamanistic vibes from all of them along with the conjunction of leather and metal.

The duller color palette keeps it in sync without one piece standing out an akward amount, and the shading is tasteful in it's simplicity.
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>>5189185
Thanks
Sounds good for the PDF, and if you correct some stuff yeah probably a good idea. I was kind of trying to keep the texts small before and i didn't want to post them until the chapter end, so it wouldn't be a problem since you just need to post the short stories.

In regard to you making something go for it. I think anyone will appreciate it.
>>5189289
Thank you, glad you liked it
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>>5189185
I probably wouldn't read it in novel format, but other people might, and if you want to do it, than go for it.
Probably need to update the pastebin by the way, it doesn't mention our new arnor or the halberd.
>>5189158
>>5189375
Don't listen to that anon, keep posting as you always did. Fanart is never spam and it's good for quests.
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First epilogue is ready, will post it after a bit.
Took some time thinking of what to do with the second one and how I wanted to approach it, but I'll either deliver it later today or tomorrow.
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>>5193104
Sounds good to me
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>>5193104
Sounds good to me too
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>>5193104
sounds good to me three
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>>5193104
Nice.
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>>5193184
you broke the strek
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>>5193207
Oh shit I didn't notice.
Sound good for me four?
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Barnham was surprised to hear his new partner in crime refusing his support in Albion, not taking any of his soldiers to aid him in stopping the reincarnation ceremony. Then again, the champion of Ilos felt more comfortable with all of his men going against the king.
He was also taken aback by how ignorant a man like Vlad was when it came to the God Hand's mission. Was he not having the same dream every resident of Midland was having for the past few weeks?

An utter discord enveloped the world, each event was different to the individual, but converging on results: Corpses of friend and foe, light obscured by smoke and mobs of starving folks, cities devastaded by landslides, dying from beasts and plagues galore.

But at the peak of their suffering, a white falcon was seen, alighting the bloodstained land with promises of better days, externalizing the desire of salvation in their consciousness. With earth itself giving it's inhabitants a warning of it's own death, the nightmarish parts of those dreams were starting to become a reality.

Barnham's dream told the tale of his majesty, the weakling monarch dying at the hands of Griffith, the falcon of light. He knew of the prophecy and that Femto yearned to be rebirthed into a human so he could become the king of man, yet the disciple of darkness intended on rushing to the throne before his master.

Was he doing this journey to spite the archangel's orders, or was that also according to their plan? Dangling the idea of kingship over a dying kingdom, who had no chance to be reunited by a brute who only knew of strength... His aspirations of commanding being limited to the circle of his arena.

But uniting with Vlad gave him some food for thought. The spread of the plague was partially his doing, and though the cleansing made it run a lot less rampant than it would have without his interference, a large array of cobras, flies, rats and bats were concentrated next to the king's domain, his thoughts being as putrid as the diseases being spread.
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>>5193309
Despite arresting Vlad, the king was thankful that the Santana managed to find a reason to arrest Griffith. Not because Queen Beatrix died, but because there was something mustering up inside of him ever since the queen started growing older. The thought of Charlotte eloping with another man felt wrong, especially when she looked so similar to her mother...

He might not have fully acted upon his wishes, but the thing he wished the most was to have Charlotte all for himself. Her thoughts and consent were merely optional.

It was with that knowledge that Barnham marched forward. Knowing he might not have enough time to impress the king, he still had to make an attempt at stopping the remnants of pestilence.

However, some of his men were already succumbing to the plague. Not all of them were apostles, and even if they were, only Barnham was immune to sickness, and he could not share his immunity with any of them.

After weeks of travel and a few more days of search, they pinned down the lead vermin to, where else, the Santana Estate. The treasure and the offal being at the same place.

The place was uninhabitable thanks to the stench of the dead, combined with the poor who seeked refuge when sick and the aura of the freed rats from the occultist swamp being attracted to the home of their killer, the once beautiful garden was quickly turned into an open sewage, a sea of blood for the undefeated kracken to boldly swim.

The dining hall was green with mold, wet with runny water and trampled by a large man with a rat's face. He was one of the first few people wanting to uproar against the king and invade the Santana estate, but growing sick and weak thanks to the plague, he was left to die by the people who invaded and died according to his mission. An idealistic coward, who lost his humanity solely on the wish to outlive their misguided enemies.

Having a crossbow full of poisonous darts made out of his own essence, he shot large projectiles at Barnham and his gladiators, if they didn't die from the shot, the acidic intake would surely do them in.

Several of his men were lying down, rolling on the floor, screaming as their limbs became corroded.

Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he marched forward.

Ratface was distraught by the one man who appeared to be unafraid by his corrosion, so he started to fire at twice the pace, the silhouette of his foe resembling more the appearance of a giant porcupine than a bear's when he got closer. Some of them even managed to pierce through him as the rodent man crawled backwards into a wall.

Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he marched forward.

Growing desperate at the thought of losing, Ratface commanded all of the nearby plague bearers to jump and chew away at Barnham's flesh. Going inside his chest and out from his ribcage, they ate away at him from the inside.

Yet Barnham felt no damage, so he still, marched forward.
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>>5193312
Feeling like he had nowhere to escape to, Ratface finally lunged at Barnham to claw at his jugular, scratching and tearing with all of his might as he shoved his last dart into Barnham's forehead.

"Your nails are dirty and innefective. Take good care of your weapon, and it will take good care of you. Here, take a look at mine." With a single swipe and without even needing to unleash his true form, Barnham broke the humanoid in two, opening his insides and drinking his blood like one would tear at an orange to taste it's juices.

The gladiators celebrated after seeing the rats disappearing and the deadly poison slowly losing effect in the dying bodies of their comrades. Barnham thought his subordinates would be afraid of him after being outed as a cannibal in the fight against Vlad, but as long as his power was used in their side, they would come to respect him more than fear him.

Letting the others smash at the walls of the wine cellar, a hidden barrel came out of the reinforced compartment, and when counting the money, Barnham had a total amount of 140 golden coins on his hands.

"Surely even you must be moved by such a large amount of money, Barnham." Asked the kushan caster accompanying the gladiator.

"This money is as meaningless to me as a wealking such as yourself. Go back to Ilos, Kalki. Michelle will know what to do with this money."

"You're sending me away? What about my Pishachas? Won't you need them to enter the castle?"

"Someone with power needs to be running the coliseum, or else the visitors will think I am absent. Not like there's any guarantee that he won't be taken by Mozgus. Besides, the kushan are close, wouldn't want you to kill the ones you share blood with." Barnham reflected on what to do with his remaining soldiers as he heard the voice of a God Hand finger in his mind.

"Do as you wish with the king, but know that harming the future queen will be your final mistake." Femto made it clear that if Barnham attempted to rise before his master, causality would strike him without mercy.

Barnham was not a good leader that pleased the crowds, but even he could figure out that the king was incompetent in all parts of his jobs. Just as there were different forms of might, there were different levels of weaknesses, and the royal family had all of them.

They had no power in body, their minds were weak, and they were inactive with their authority. The fact that Griffith wanted to associate himself with a weak human such as the childish, socially isolated Charlotte who had a life of priviledge thanks to no virtue of her own, made him question the God Hand members in their overall competence.

"Until a greater being shows itself to me in person, their authority over me is questionable at best. You want Charlotte alive? Act on it." He confidently dared Femto at his power of controlling causality.
"...So be it."
Onward: Epilogue End.
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>>5193330
Badass all the way to the very end, that's our Barnham.
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>>5193330
God I hope Barnham finds a way to survive his shit being kicked in by Femto.
He's such a fucking chad and a true brother.
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>>5193401
It's rare to find a guy based enough to put his beliefs on the line and actually listen to the other guy when pressed. He'll probably die, but at the very least I hope he goes out doing what he loves.
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>>5193401
Well its a good thing at least we decided to give him full control over his army, his chances of survival are at the highest they can be considering this scenario.
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I hope Vlad gets his Fairy Trigger soon.
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>>5193972
his frustration is indeed gettin' bigger
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>>5193972
>fairy
>not veggie
Miss me with that gay shit
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With Farnese and the Holy Iron Chain Knights descending into the gap Serpico and Vlad fell into, the duo took their sweet time getting to know each other as they waited for their clumsy saviors.

"So you really think she won't kill me until I get to Mozgus? Are you certain of it?" Vlad attempts to bargain for his life, feeling like he's out of options for the time being.

"Certainty implies the absence of variables... If you don't provoke her, give her the answers she wants and resist the rough spanking she'll give you just for the sake of it... Yeah, you'll be alright until we get to Albion." Serpico weighs the options. "I'll be sure to take care of your horse and maybe give you some energy if you look too immolated."

"This isn't exactly what I would call reassuring... Are you with or against me here?"
"Something in the middle of that, consider me neutral. Guess I'm starting to see what Farnese saw in you:" Serpico ponders as Vlad raises an eyebrow.

"There is no persona or character strong enough that your lance can't pierce through, Vlad. This is an admirable trait, but also that one that's bound to put you in trouble. People don't exactly like to be called out on their farces. Your forceful introspection even reached the likes of my commander. Much like me, you give her a desire to break free of their terms and conditions, but that's not something all can muster." The knight plays Farnese up as some misunderstood victim.

"I can't be the first one to have pointed out that she's off her marbles, right?"
"No, but you're the first one that did so while looking genuinely joyful in her company. Not even her father sees her as an approachable figure, and she can tell it so. Someone that can tell who she really is without rejecting her... It's intriguing, but her mind is so bent by isolation that the only way for her to show you affection is to mark you as her property. You've traumatized her with compassion, a taste of what life could have been if she was plain, but cherished."

"And how exactly do you know that?" Vlad asks, but only receives a blush as Serpico adverts his gaze.

The blonde man has felt this all firsthand, but seems to not reciprocate his mistress' feelings, even when they both agreed to be equals. She wanted something that he could not give, and if Serpico could find a way to make her happy without swaying too much from his quiet life, it was worth trying to resolve the conflict, even if her first crush turned into her new toy.

"Answer me, man! I can't reach Albion in my deathbed. Someone needs to be there to prevent that catastrophe, will she even listen to what I have to say?"

"Hey, there she is, why don't you ask her yourself?" Serpico abstains after seeing a familiar blonde girl descending with a few helpers.
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>>5195103
Serpico's case was the easiest out of the two, but it was still very painful for him to get out. First they tried to pull his head out of the rock pit, but the loud snapping of his bones implied that maybe this was a better strategy for decapitation than to get him unstuck.

"You alright there, mate?" A knight by the name of Jerome asked Serpico after seeing his lack of an extreme reaction from the mild discomfort of having to bite a rope and be tugged at his body for hours on end as his body got dragged back and forth between the soil.

"Eh, been through worse. Suppose I can't complain much, whining is not on my vocabulary. As long as you get me out, that's good enough."

"Can you guys hurry up with me? My neck is super sore..." Vlad whined as he got the attention of Farnese.
"You are the one who helped the black swordsman in his escape... Know your place and stay in the mud where you belong!" Farnese ignored his pleads, aiming a foot on his head to place him further into the quicksand.

"Wait!" Serpico protests against his master's wishes, interrupting her before she could drown Vlad in more mud. "He might have been a detractor in our quest against the swordsman, but capturing him is good enough for a consolation prize. How about we try and interrogate him, see if he has anything worthwhile to say?"

Farnese greatly considers the idea. She did have to report back to Mozgus, and coming back empty handed would be something both she and the priest would feel great shame in. That youngster could very well know the whereabouts of that evildoer.

But the ally of her enemy should also be her enemy. She would squeeze all the words she needed out of him, and then report the sinner to the council of Vritannis.
After the use of some buttery substance to remove Serpico out of his mess, an iron chain was held next to Vlad as Farnese kneeled in front of him.

"Don't take my helm off! I'm, uh... Cursed in my ugliness." The halfling grasped at straws before his face could be revealed.
"How else are we supposed to pull you out when you can't use your hands? Show me your face and open your mouth-"

Farnese quickly took off his helmet and instantly recognised his identity. The sight of Vlad was nearly enough to make her puke. The ethereal pile of garbage himself was staring back at her with nervous smile.

"Well, I'm glad you can see people for something other than their looks..." Vlad sweats, neck deep in dirt.

"Y-YOU! WHY MUST YOU KEEP HAUNTING ME, PHANTOM!? ARE ALL OF MY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH FOR YOU!?" Farnese shrieked.

"Hey, you said it, not me... Good to know that I'm always in your mind. I'd call it cute if you werent such a creep..." Vlad said the last part under his breath.
"You shall not escape me this time, ghoul of the undead. These chains were specifically made to be used against evil spirits invading this world. This is the end for you and your cowardish ways!"
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>>5195120
Vlad thought about coming up with a rebuttal, but his mouth was filled by the taste of iron as Farnese threw the chain onto him and pulled with all her might. Slowly taking him out of the quicksand as he limped around in one foot.

"I suppose touching me with your actual hands is out of the question?" Vlad wanted to prove he was human, but the mere approaching of his hand towards Farnese's face made her recoil.

"Never! You are tainted! Corrupted! Tarnished! The only touch you'll be receiving is the arduous fire of your cleansing!" The inability of listening to 'the enemy' thanks to her indoctrination mixed with the terrible comprehension of her feelings made Farnese judge Vlad worthy of the death row.

She wanted him dead even moreso than Guts, though neither of them could understand why.

"Don't be so hasty, commander!" Serpico places an oily hand at her armor, before wiping his hand on his clothes, it seems like he always dumbs himself down when talking to her, very much unlike how he talked when alone with Vlad.

"Vlad here has a personal connection with us, right? It should only make it easier to cross-examine such a personalised entity."
Unlike Farnese, Serpico did not want Vlad to be dead yet. He knew he was in fact, still alive, but taking that idea out of the girl would be a slow process. Suggesting torture over instantaneous death was the best he could do.
"...Very well. Take him upwards. Let's pretend this interaction never happened..." Feeling embarrassed at the loss of composure amidst her soldiers, she entangled the chains around the defeated Vlad and gave it to Serpico, climbing the rope to escape the ravine.

"I'm pretty sure there's a more comfortable way to restrict my movements..." Vlad complains after being dragged by Serpico.
"It's not meant to be comfortable, cur!" Farnese shouts in return, not wanting to hear him.

"I got a twisted ankle here, the least you guys could do is give me something to treat my injuries with. Oh, right! Phantoms can't take damage..."
"You know, my hands are starting to get very slippery right now..." Serpico threatens to drop him down again, getting annoyed at the banter of both parties.

On top of being stuck with a chain around his torso, the knights also put in the effort of tying his hands under his back and placing Vlad inside a cage. Without counting the guards, he was constricted by 3 layers of protection so he could not escape.

"Vlad? Never thought I'd see you here, young man." Azan was shocked to see a familiar face inside that cage. "It's a shame that these spirits are taking the form of such a previously honorable knight in training..."

"You too, Azan? Don't tell me you believe in this too! Farnese is going to burn me to a crisp unless I get out of here. How can you be ok with this torture, I thought you people had honor!"
"Torture? We never torture ones who are down, be it dead or undead." Azan concludes with the opposite of what Serpico implied. Who was telling the truth?
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I can't wait til Vlad snaps at Farnesse and tells her to stop being a shitheel because everything in her life that she hates is because she chose to be a psycho bitch. Of course Farnesse will then immediately open into a scathing condemnation of Vlad's own horrid lifestyle prior to all of this and Vlad gets to finally cry about himself being a total schizophrenic for his entire childhood.

and she prods him with a hot iron anyway just for fun

Everyone here is just a total mess. A conglomeration of complete curs. A whirl of wrecks. Is the difference with Vlad is that he confronted his issues right from the start rather than running from them or ignoring them? Who can say. Not me. I am the stupid.
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>>5195127
"I've heard rumors about what the See has become in this new age. People are losing their faith while taxation to the church skyrockets, and they've all been resorting to torture to shut the opposition!"
"In some cells, yes. But I believe in fair judgements. Farnese might have gotten too used to burning the victims, unless I'm overseeing her work, she tends to mistake suspicion for admission of guilt." Azan explains that he tends to keep the death count to a minimum if possible, even when he's the strongest of the group.
"So no witch hunts? I'll actually be judged as a normal human being?"
"Well, you were declared dead for the best part of two years. This is definitely not normal, but not impossible either. We'll leave the investigation for tomorrow though, this hunt has exhausted plenty of us, and right now Farnese is busy cremating the fallen."

So there was a chance that Vlad would not be killed thanks to Serpico or Azan, he just had to be careful around the lady herself.
Or so he thought, because before the sun of the following day could welcome him, he was woken up thanks to his head being thrown inside a water container. Serpico had taken him inside Farnese's tent, where he laid shirtless strapped to the ceiling by his wrists.

"I have been waiting for this moment, Phantom... We're finally alone, and when we are through with this, my nightmares will at last come to an end.."
Farnese's face lit up under a torch as she believe that he was the cause of her bad dreams involving the age of darkness. Vlad had humiliated her for the last time today. Seeing his face tense up as he finally understood that she had grown to be over him. It was all so sublime, so deliciously empowering...

No! What was she thinking? This was all for the sake of the mission. The others would just have been too soft on him!
"My eyes are up here, sweetie." Vlad caught Farnese staring at his bare chest, taking in at his gained muscle mass from all the years of hard work. "Listen, if you wanted to get kinky with me, you could have just said so. Haven't gotten some in a while, but I'm experienced enough to know how it goes if you're nervous- HGGGNN!"

His flirting is cut off by the torch being firmly pressed into his chest, Vlad grits his teeth as she slowly let his body recover from the pain.
"Did you enjoy the dousing I gave you? That's the last taste of water you'll have in my patronage." Farnese gives a final warning for him not to talk unless he is spoken to.
>>
>>5195191
Vlad is in her world now, a world where thoughts of romance or lust have no place entering the mind of the Holy Lady.

"Heh, you think you'll get something out of me this way?" Surprisingly, Vlad merely lifts his face up with an intimidating glare.

"Let me tell you something, little Farnese. The Santanas have a history with pissing off torturers. Mom and Dad had to deal with starving, losing their fingers, and being separated by lady death herself, and they never opened their mouths to even scream or panic, not even once! Pain tolerance is engrained in us ever since we were born, and I don't plan on breaking that streak."

"..." She meekly stared back in silence, her shaking hands proving that she could feel challenged by him, even when by all means, she was the one in control.

"Unlike the poor people you persecute, I've done my research on your disgrace of a family. You Vandimions love to play heroes and pretend to be above all the commonfolk because you're 'close to god', when you had the money to end the hundred year war generations ago. But that wouldn't be profitable, correct? So all you did was fund them both since they were all believers of the scriptures!"

"Wh-What? No! Father would never-" Farnese didn't even seem to be aware of her family's contributions to the hundred year war, wanting to deflect the subject back to her mission, but Vlad was too angry to lend his ears.

"You have the gall to accuse me and my family of treachery, when every one of my estate's residents died because the believed in what you preach today!"

"QUIET! DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK ANOTHER WORD!"

"Or else what? You'll hit me with your glowing stick? If inflicting pain onto others is how you clean your dirty mind off your horrible character, then hurt me plenty, mistress! Because unlike you, I will die unafraid of my challenges before remaining stagnant under pressure, you damn coward!"

The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, the wind and the fire crackle were the only things that dared to be between this conflict of ideology.

Their goals and beliefs were nothing short of opposites, and just like their owners, only one of them would come out of that tent intact.

"You really are testing my patience, freakish ghoul."
"Compared not only to what evils are about to be brought on our land, but to what I've taken not long before finding you, this is merely child's play. Do your worst, Farnese."

Her fever, His thorns: Chapter End.
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>>5195196
>FUCK YOURSELF!
>FUCK ME YOURSELF COWARD!
>>
>>5195196
>Their goals and beliefs were nothing short of opposites
Opposites attract
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>>5195191
>tfw we're more likely to get scars from being stuck traveling with Farnesse than we are in combat
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>>5195196
Masterful as usual Becchi,my only regret is that the weekend is over.
Might be time for a new thread we around 1400 replies
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This is turning into "I want a girl who will literally fucking kill me quest" and I'm here for it.
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>>5195241
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>>5195241
There are not many options unfortunately.
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>>5195275
No point in having options if most anons would vote for firepussy.
Unless we’re introduced to another waifu who isn’t a complete psycho, even then the results would be close.
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>>5195196
Very cool.
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I don't really like Farnese but I'm enjoying the ride too much to want off.
Mr. Bones, keep on going.
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And with that, the thread is finally over!
Sorry for the delay with this one, work got me busy and I rewrote this a few times because it went in another direction. I'll leave the interrogation and possible escape part for you folks to interact with rather than being epilogues.

What's the plan? Will Vlad comply and give her some answers? Will he just deliberately piss her off some more and risk dying to his weakest foe yet? Will he convince him that Farnese's struggle is minuscule compared to his and will he want some payback if she roughs him up too much? Find out next week or so! Hope you've all been enjoying it.

Might have to confirm the session on thursday since I'm still busy with work, if I feel like I can't run then I'll just push it to next weekend.
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>>5195241
>>5195275
>>5195281
>>5195303
Keep in mind Farnese does canonically get better
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>>5195426
Remember that despite what so many people say, you can never wash away your sins.

Or, to sound less melodramatic, she'll always be the chick that tortured us regardless of how she turns out.
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We need to pick the flirty option every time it comes up while Farnese is torturing us. It'll be funny, I promise.
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>>5196711
>eventually devolves into >>5195198
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>>5195198
>I WOULD, BUT YOU HAVE ME TIED DOWN.
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>>5196711
Nah man not every time. It has to be perfectly timed for maximum sexual frustration and impact. Every time you verbally flagellate her you follow it up with some kinky shit. Then the shame she feels from getting scolded activates her sadomasochistic neurons and makes her doubly vulnerable to the flirting.

Employ advanced strategies to boost mental damage.
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Thread #4 confirmed for tomorrow.
Wonder what else we'll be doing aside from the S&M session. Seems like it's gonna be a real treat to choose between the write-ins.

>>5196711
>>5197216
I mean you can do that, but try not to get too carried away. We know what fire does to plants, it's not pretty.
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>>5197819
Some plants need fire to germinate and reproduce properly.
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>>5197825
Most trees benefit from an occasional forest fire. It's nature's way of cleaning the forest floor. The problem is when there is too much debris and foliage and then it turns into a huge fucking inferno.

People are just kinda dumb and don't realize that if a forest fire really was the catastrophic event they treat it like then there would only be plants in the tundra and taiga where it's just too wet and cold to really burn.

Honestly plants fucking love fire for what it creates. Enriches the fuck out of soil.
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>>5197841
The remains of my ancestors shall become the foundation of my success
The old must perish so that I may grow
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>>5197825
>>5197841
So what you saying is do not put the woody into the firebush lest we end up germinating the seeds from the ashes of the resulting fallout for realsies.

...Yeah that is a distinct possibility alright. The overwhelming sexual frustration and compatibility are a bit too intense. I feel like very soon Serpico isn't going to be the only one who notices the overly disturbing fiery romance between the two and promptly proceeds to play along but pretends to be dumb about it too.

I wonder how long it takes before Farnese convinces herself that rape is on the menu and for Vlad to realize he's in too deep in the inferno while being made of wood.
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>>5197939
Every important character in berserk must be raped, no exceptions.
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>>5197947
Rape by Fernese huh? Well, at least it's not a demon...and maybe we'll get revenge and impale her later on for the whole rape and torture from before...okay so maybe both have issues. One with impaling things with the pointy stick and the other with setting them on fire. Just ladies first and THEN we get to impale her on pointy objects for revenge.
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>>5197939
>>5197951

>Implying Vlad won't be able to turn the tables on Farnese and rape her instead.
Vlad fucked every prostitute in Wyndham, multiple times. Nothing Farnese could possibly do could faze him, save for directly cutting his penis off.
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>>5198495
he'd probably do something magical like bud a new one any way
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>>5198503
That sounds remarkably foul.
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>>5198507
Dunno. Castration sounds more repugnant to me. That might just be because I have a dick tho
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>>5193330
DUDEEEE!!! I really hope Barnham doesn’t die. I want him to be Vlad’s travel companion. Surely he can venture with us after he captures the kingdom right? Come with us on our journey and fight Zodd? I was thinking he could place some high ranking warriors in charge of Ilos and this other kingdom for the time being. I imagine he should be completely fine with that as he doesn’t so much wish to rule but rather dethrone and reform correct? Rule and reformation doesn’t require his immediate presence when in the hands of trusted Adversaries.
>>
Here comes thread 4, as always I'll get the first few posts ready before going to bed, hope you don't mind the wait.
>>5198601
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>>5198495
Unless Vlad was also into hardcore BDSM and some extremely kinky femdom mistress type prostitutes Farnese's type is definitely gonna be new to him. If he does have that kind of experience he is going to love it and easily turn on the tables on Farnese. At that point, you are absolutely 100% right.

However what if Vlad is not so experienced or has those kinds of tastes? What if Farnese decides rape is on the menu after all? Of course either way Vlad will have his revenge and later turn the tables. I guess its more about how miserable(fun) will the experiences turn out to be.

>>5198503
I mean he IS half plant and fire is a key aspect in many plants reproduction...probably best not to encourage Farnese like that though with such a perfect boy toy.
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>>5198613
>Unless Vlad was also into hardcore BDSM and some extremely kinky femdom mistress type prostitutes
I seriously doubt Vlad is into femdom, but I would put it past him to have tried it at least a few times.



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