Setting to the side this as this is about as much as you'll get out of the clock tower anyways in terms of information on the D'Hoc family you return to your own studies, settling on Impediment as the other matters are ultimately either to resource intensive or time consuming to pursue at the moment.

The matter at hand is that theory crafting can only get you so far, you'll need two things in order to properly test the methodology, first is a corpse. Unsavory, but there are ways to get them some take longer than others however. The Second is a practicing necromancer that isn't a lunatic. You sigh putting your hand in your head, alternatively you could look into those notes some more and attempt to replicate the conditions for the necromantic ritual and make an undead of your own, but you're not sure that's scientifically viable regarding the way your od would interact with the mana coursing through the veins of the corpse both being from the same source.

None the less it's an issue you'll have to come to terms with as well.
How do you get the corpse:
>Apply for a cadaver legally for 'medical' research
Not Available: I'm not a damned grave robber
>Wait on it, if worst comes to worst I might have a corpse to test on soon enough [utilize the magus corpse if they die otherwise acquire it legally]

Do you seek out an practicing necromancer?
>Yes
>No, I'll just make do with hypothesizing from rapidly inducing rigor mortis on baseline conditions
>No, I'll utilize the necromancers notes to test with my own undead.

________
You have the following resources
Money: 200k Euros
Mystical Reagents: None
Research Items: Necromancers Research Notes
Artifacts: None

You have 2 actions to take this week.
>Research Spell - Blood Geas (1/?)
>Take a quick trip across the Channel to Speak with Clock Tower Officials
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

>>5195171
Glad to see you back Warden.
>Apply for a cadaver legally for 'medical' research
>Yes
We can take our time on this if need be.
>Research Spell - Blood Geas (1/?)
>Take a quick trip across the Channel to Speak with Clock Tower Officials
Time to bite the bullet on the Clock Tower, unless there isn't a specific reason that we or they should talk to one another.

>>5195171
>Apply for a cadaver legally for 'medical' research
Do you seek out an practicing necromancer?
>Yes

>Research Spell - Blood Geas (1/?)
>Take a quick trip across the Channel to Speak with Clock Tower Officials

>>5195171
>Apply for a cadaver legally for 'medical' research

I am hesitant to do this, as acquiring a body through legitimate channels will probably send off warning bells to interested parties, but this mission may not end in bloodshed, and if it doesn't then it is better to be ahead of schedule in terms of acquiring an appropriate cadaver.

>Yes

>Research Spell - Blood Geas (1/?)
>Take a quick trip across the Channel to Speak with Clock Tower Officials

May as well rip the bandaid off and do all the research we can before beginning the hunt.

How you get the corpse:
>Apply for a cadaver legally for 'medical' research
Search for a practicing Necromancer:
>Yes

What you do with your week:
>Research Spell - Blood Geas (1/?)
>Take a quick trip across the Channel to Speak with Clock Tower Officials

Wins
Writing.

Now the matter of obtaining a cadaver legally was actually far more complicated than you had anticipated. Your parents had to occasionally get one or another for their own research, but you doubt that those were supplied for medical research or through official channels. Though you've got a friend in the church your relationship with them isn't the same as your parents.

None the less, it would seem that the going rate was around 5-10k euros. Expensive, but worth while, it'd be a solid week before the Cadaver arrived. What was more difficult was the verification process to actually obtain one. That you can't deny you had to go through extra legal means. Another 5k euro expense. Still ultimately better than betting on your quarry being dead by the end of this or you grave robbing.

All in all it ended up costing about 12k euros to get the body, storage, and 'licenses' necessary.

with that settled all you needed was to get into contact with a practicing Necromancer. Now in general not all necromancers are like the ones you dealt with back home, most aren't so violently brazen about the matter, but the practice does have an unfortunate tendency for the practioners to delve into the darker aspects of magic, which is all together to be expected given the subject matter.

You've already planned a trip to the clock tower to clear up several personal matters with them, both regarding your own status and the status of the magus you're hunting. They've already provided you a general overview of the family, but you feel there's more that can be gleaned from an in person meeting. Being there it shouldn't be to hard to find any variety of practioners to enlist. Youth while inexperienced is the least likely to engage in the petty magicians past time of extreme paranoia, though it will likely increase the time to get the methodology down. A more experienced Necromancer on the other hand will likely meet or exceed your time tables, but is unlikely to participate in research specifically designed to counter act one of their more potent tools.

Something to consider when you get the chance after your meeting with the Officials at the Clock Tower.

You family's relationship with the Clock Tower has always been a rather tenuous one as they always found themselves closer to the church. You can't particularly blame them for that given the circumstances, what little you're aware of the Clock Tower had strongly considered putting a sealing designation out on your father while he was still alive due to the mans mastery of blood magic. You suspect they hesitated only because of your family's closeness with the church, not wanting to disturb the delicate status quo they have with each other.

Something you've had to bare in mind ever since their disappearance, though not as heavily as you do now, now that you're pursuing your own growth as a magus. The last thing you need is to deal with whatever enforcer they'd send after you.

[continue]

The trip to London wasn't terribly long, a few hours at the most, and getting to the clock tower proper was a relatively simple affair.

The difficult part starts now as you hold your head with a frown, the whole place was suffused with deception, illusions, and magic. Gave you the mother of all headaches just to keep your eyes open. You took a deep breath, heading to what was effectively the reception for the place to make your presence known so that you may have your audience.

Considering the matter at hand, you'll be speaking with Lord Rufleus Nuada-Re Eulyphis as the magus in question and their family were mostly students under his department.

Unfortunately it would seem you've some manner of wait ahead of you, unless you want to meet with a 'proxy'. In this case a Rocco Belfeban. It'd be several hours otherwise, plenty of time to explore the clock tower, though you know that in it of itself is something of a dangerous task. You can't have this many magi in one place and not be on guard.

What do you do?
>Wait patiently for the Lord in the reception area, perhaps someone of interest will pass by
>Meet with Mr. Belfeban instead, you've little time to spare, and little desire to stay here.
>Explore the clock tower, it's a good chance to potentially find that Necromancer you're looking for, and would save you the trouble of looking around after your reason for being here was finished.
>Something else (Write in?)

>>5195753
Wait or Explore. While I'm interested in exploring for the active element to it, meeting someone of interest does intrigue me quite a bit.

>>5195753
>Wait patiently for the Lord in the reception area, perhaps someone of interest will pass by

Perhaps someone of talent will happen to pop in and be in a similar situation to us in regards to the wait and be open for a chat. Maybe they'll have the talents we seek or maybe they can give us the latest gossip from the rumour mill.

Given that I have no idea whether this Lord's proxy or the Lord himself would be more knowledgeable or straightforward with us, I don't have a preference on who to see. Probably best not wander though, y'never know what the crazy mages are up to and what they'll want with us.

>>5195753
>Wait patiently for the Lord in the reception area, perhaps someone of interest will pass by

Alright looks like we're waiting for the Lord.
Rolling to see who if anyone of interest passes through these halls whilst you wait.

Rolled 3 (1d4)

Let's try that again.

>>5196398
Oh.
Ok then.
Writing.

File: Zelretch.jpg (32 KB, 230x345)

32 KB JPG

You simply resign yourself to the reality of the situation, you'd rather treat with the Lord proper than some proxy, and to that end it's best to not tempt fate with whatever insanity that goes on in the halls here, whether that be a lesson gone wrong or some measure of magical trap meant for a rival or what have you. Better indeed to simply wait and pass the time in a mundane matter, that said given where you are it's unlikely you're the only one who has a meeting with someone. Perhaps you'll have a conversation partner to pass the time with soon enough, or maybe serendipity will bless you with what you were looking for to begin with.

No that would be to much to ask for. About an hour and a half into your several hour long wait, you noticed several of the staff begin to panic. The very kind of panic of someone who is both powerful and important causes in their wake. They began scrambling, messages were being sent, runners dispatched, various other such preparations as if a cataclysm were approaching.

You won't lie it had peaked your interest as all of this had been set off simply by a servant handing a missive to the person at the front desk. The servant had left not soon after, and the chaos began. You suspect that it's either one of the Lords, or perhaps given the frantic nature of the matter an influential magus from one of the other sects of the Mages Association. You're not entirely certain given the fact that most of what you over hear is simply, "Oh god not Him!" or "We must warn the lord that He is coming!". At one point you think you over heard them talking about evacuating the students from their classes on some sort of drill just so that they wouldn't be chosen by him.

You raise an eyebrow at all of this, but simply shrug and continue reading a newspaper you had grabbed on your way into the clock tower for moments like this. Well not precisely this kind of moment, but waiting as it were. However all the turmoil and energy roused up by this mans apparent coming had made it rather difficult to focus on the articles. You sighed and finally put the paper down just in time to see the doors open to this area.

An elderly looking gentleman entered the annex. He had an air about him, one of great power and potent respect, but also a damning amount of whimsy. The longer your eyes lingered, the more a droning noise rose up in the back of your mind, your perception of him almost fragmenting into a kaleidoscope like imagery. You blink and he is whole again.

[continue]

It takes you but a moment to realize who it is from this sensation alone, and it all made sense now, the sheer panic that had gripped the clock tower in the wake of his arrival. It was none other than the Wizard Marshall himself Zelretch. You bit your tounge at the realization leaning back a bit in shock. A sudden and powerful desire to be anywhere else had consumed you, as with many magus families yours was familiar with the tales of the Wizard Marshall, and his capricious nature, the meddlesome Kaleidoscope held immense sway and power, though weakened as he was from his peak his will was ever present.

You couldn't even keep track of him, watching his waltz to the the desk was like watching a cascade of after images break and compress at once, the second magic suffusing ever single step. You know full well that this is not how others see him and it brings an almost unbearable nausea to the surface simply trying to comprehend the matter.

What do you do?
>Take a deep breath, close your eyes and pray to God that he leaves soon.
>Get up and head out to explore the clocktower, the wiles of other mages are nothing before this mans meddling in fate.
>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous.
>Something else (Write in)

>>5196481
...Well...okay then.

>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous.

Probably a dumb idea, hazardous to our health even assuming no hostilities ensue, we have nothing specific to gain out of it, but I cannot let a chance meeting with THE Zelretch pass us by.

>>5196481
Ordinarily I'd wait for others to input, but given the general level of hype around the man, I figure it worth the risk to our health to meet with him in person.
>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous

>>5196680
Mind giving me a rundown on Zelretch? I'm afraid that I'm unfamiliar with this universe.

>>5196792
Zelretch is... a complicated figure in the setting to say the least. He is ostensibly one of the most powerful individuals alive as he is a practitioner of true magic in the form of the 2nd Magic, known as Kaleidoscope or simply Zelretch after himself.

The 2nd magic is a bit of an enigma, but it allows him to manipulate the energy of and observe parallel worlds (or timelines for the sake of simplicity). For point of reference, if you've been following along through the quest Dead Apostles Ancestors are considered some of the most dangerous entities out there, Zelretch is counted amongst their ranks, but still remains on the side of humanity. The particulars of that boil down to a fight that happened nearly 2 millenia ago with Crimson Moon who is one of the ultimate beings known as Types. Zelretch won that fight at great cost to himself technically losing his humanity in the process.

I'd get into the specifics of Crimson Moon, but to boil it down to the barest details, he is the progenitor of all True Ancestors, and True Ancestors are the progenitor of Dead Apostles, All True ancestors are currently dead except for one.
You can rank the power scale something like this, though its a poor abstraction
Crimson Moon>>>True Ancestors>>Dead Apostle Ancestors>>Dead Apostles
Zelretch at his prime>=Crimson Moon.
Zelretch now?? Still stupidly powerful.


Suffice to say the man is an extremely dangerous enigma that is revered and well respected, but also feared and has a nasty tendency to mess with whatever he pleases.

I'm more than happy to be corrected on any of this, or to have someone else elaborate more on it if they would like.

>>5196805
>>5196792
Yeah, that about covers it. The truth is my knowledge of various Type-Moon franchises is super outdated, I was a pretty big fan but fell off around 2014 due to RL stuff making it so I didn't have a lot of free time to follow new releases. The whole FGO craze passed me by and I never read Mahoutsukai no Yoru and a bunch of the newer Type-Moon stuff.

But even as outdated as my knowledge is I'm pretty sure Zelretch is still up there in the top tiers as far as power in the setting goes. That may sound crazy in a setting with the insane power escalation from FGO, demon hunters like the Shiki pair, The Beasts, people capable of True Magic, and so on, but beating a Type puts him in that top tier for sure. I'm pretty sure Types on still the top dogs in the setting or at least close to it, they don't really get outdone until Notes, I think.

>>5196481
>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous.
Dew it, meet the big kalaidoscope man himself, the 80% np charger.

>>5196481
>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous.

>>5196805
>>5196833
Huh. This sort of makes me want to try and test out that Kaleidoscope trick by thinking up something to say and having a parallel world us say it instead. It'd be interesting to share info covertly with him while being in public or in front of someone suspicious, though I don't think we'll ever get a chance to try it beyond testing it now. At least it will give us a reason to talk beyond mere fanboying.

>>5196911
Given the way the vote looks to be going you might find out how that works.
Vote is open for about 8 more hours.

Regardless of what happens, it's going to be an interesting challenge writing Zelretch.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>Swallow your nausea and approach the man when you get the chance, it's a rare opportunity no matter how uncomfortable it is... and perhaps dangerous.

Wins

Writing

Zelretch was standing there discussing something at the desk, you breath deeply and sharply, your ears ringing with a chorus of voices before it stops to sound like normal speech. You bite your lip to center yourself focusing on anything else for a moment before standing up. There are very few moments you'd call once in a life time given the unique nature of your own life, this however almost certainly is. You needed to consider your approach carefully, not so much because he may not engage with you, but more so because of the ways he may choose to engage with you.

There's an uncanny amount of answers this man could provide you about just about anything do to the way Kaleidoscope functions, he could tell you exactly what happened with your parents and where the entity that killed them went and was. He could help resolve your current issue with the heretic Magus in France or even some of the other potential enemies on that list you were given. The possibilities are endless, and he may well answer some of these or none of them. It's a frustrating aspect.

To add onto the matter you've never been quite so uncertain about engaging someone in conversation before, beyond the horrifically disorienting effects his magic has on your perception of him you're uncertain as to whether or not you could accurate tell whether the man was lying to you or not. This isn't something you've experienced in your entire life as far as you can remember it. It's... both terrifying and yet at the same time exhilarating.

You shake your head, you're delaying, he's done with his conversation with the person at the desk, who frankly looks like they're about to drop to their kne... oh well they did, beside the point, you swallow you're nausea and stand up setting the news paper to the side and walk over to him, "May I have a moment?"

He stops and looks at you, the sensations cease and there's a brief moment of recognition before he simply nods, "I believe you've already had several, but I'll humor you sure." he gestures for you to follow him.

It was odd, the chaos of his existence had simply coalesced and he was one, just like any other being you'd seen again, but you didn't linger on the matter for long, "You are the Wizard Marshall Zelretch correct."

He gives a nod, "Indeed I am. Tell me what's on your mind? Not many folk simply walk up to me like that without a reason." his tone is simple, his voice soft, but clear.

What is on your mind?
>I would like to-

Before you could finish the thought he speaks again, "Before you answer that question, would you mind answer one of my own?"

You blink feeling disoriented interrupted mid thought.

He stops in the middle of the hallway, "Are you sure you want the answer to any of these? People have many roads in life, you, you're one of those individuals whose life branches at every. One word and everything will never be the same. I suggest if you value your agency you consider what you want to ask more carefully."

[continue]

You look down with a sense of contemplation, weighing the implication of his words. He has a relaxed expression, but his eyes belay a serious disposition, one that knows well what will come and what has. There is no pity, remorse or fear, nor is there empathy, simply knowledge and the responsibility of having it.

He looks off to the side, out a window as if carefully analyzing something before turning back to you, "I apologize for that, now what do you want to know?"

[A note to the players, you may ask any question and he will answer all of them unless the majority vote is to walk away. Just know, that with knowledge there comes a price]

What do you want to know?
>Walk away
>Ask a question (Write in)

>>5197678
>Actually, I just wanted to shake your hand, if you'd allow me the pleasure.

I'm sure that you heard all of my questions already, some of which I'd very much invested in the answers, but part of life's few pleasures I revel in is the unveiling of mysteries. Part of that pleasure is in the journey itself, and the people you meet along the way. So, all I'll ask is this- if you were in my position, what would you ask?

[I'm sorry if this seems rather lackluster, I'm not very knowledgeable of the universe, and I don't have any good questions off the top of my head that would be worth the price of Joshua knowing, so I'm choosing a question that explores Zelretch's character than anything that would tangibly change Joshua, in spite of the risk that this may incur to ourselves in the process. I figure that while walking away may be the prudent action, it seems like a waste of a character building interaction. I can be persuaded otherwise though.]

>>5197678
>What happened to my parents and who and where is the entity that killed them and why did they do it? If you don't know, can you tell the name of someone who does?
>Where is Jean d'hoc right now, where is her main base of operations, and where is she planning to move next? What are her capabilities and is there more to her intentions beyond simply recovering what she believes to be hers?
>Why are you here, just out of curiosity?
>Why does the Blood of Saints run through my veins? Who was this blessed ancestor?
>Who are the Clock Tower agents that are assessing me and what are their capabilities? How close am I to a sealing designation?
>What, specifically, were my parents working on?
>Do you happen to know the identity and location of the black market merchant going by the alias of "Crowley"?
>The creature creating distortions in Milan, what is it? Is it a half blood as we suspect? What are its capabilities and how long before it loses control?
>The Dead Apostle in Marseille, where is it, what are its capabilities, how long before it grows in power?
>What was your battle with Crimson Moon like?
>Can I shake your hand?

That is all I can think of for now. Though I second asking to shake his hand.

I personally think we should ask questions regardless of the cost to our agency. Chances are that if we were to act in a specific way upon learning something then we'll still end up acting that way when we eventually learn about it later on anyways, barring significant character development. Our motivation that we chose regarding our parents was fulfilling their Legacy, not Vengeance or Justice, so even if there was a shocking twist like "the church totally killed your family, bro" or something then while I have no doubt we'd be insanely angry, we probably wouldn't go apeshit, since our goals were in a different place to begin with.

While there a ton of interesting questions to ask Zelretch regarding himself or the setting or magic or whatever, I mostly stuck to questions regarding our own story. Since our story is just beginning, the list of questions is relatively narrow is scope despite how many there are.

I didn't really go through the effort to add character to the questions, sorry 'bout that. They'll probably have to be adjusted to be used, just wanted to get the bare bones questions out before I forgot them all.

>>5197757
As much as I appreciate the effort here, I personally don't like acting like a spaz and playing 20 questions with THE Zelretch. It mainly comes down to ruining the stakes and the story from information overload, even if he picks and chooses what he will and won't answer. Besides, I quite enjoy our agency, and I'd like to keep as much of it as humanly possible.

I do like the idea of your multitude of questions being asked in alternate timeline, and us resorting to a handshake and maybe a thought provoking question on his part in the 'main' universe.

>>5197678
>Actually, I just wanted to shake your hand, if you'd allow me the pleasure.
Eh fuck this, we'll go on our own journey. Maybe rescue a maiden or two or sumshit

>>5197764
I getcha, it would be kind of immersion breaking for us to vomit forth a laundry list of questions, I just wanted to write them down before I forgot them. I had something to do earlier, didn't want to waste time parsing down the list or making the questions more in-character.

>>5197678
>What happened to my parents and who and where is the entity that killed them and why did they do it? If you don't know, can you tell the name of someone who does?
>Why does the Blood of Saints run through my veins? Who was this blessed ancestor?
>Who are the Clock Tower agents that are assessing me and what are their capabilities? How close am I to a sealing designation?
>Can I shake your hand?

So Just looking to confirm here
>Actually, I just wanted to shake your hand, if you'd allow me the pleasure. has 2 votes

>>5197871
Has 1 vote

and>>5197757
Is just a listing of potential questions from what I can gather of the discussion, but I just want to clarify if that is a vote or not.

>>5198244
I'm fine with just asking to shake his hand or asking personal details about himself or why he is here. Maybe asking about the Clock Tower agents monitoring us as well since it isn't really a main part of our story or directly related to our church assigned objectives but still gets us something useful if he knows.

>>5198383
+1

>Captcha: 000XD
?

Alright
>Actually, I just wanted to shake your hand, if you'd allow me the pleasure.
Along with some personal questions and asking about the clock tower personnel and how close you are to a sealing designation.

Wins

Writting

[Sorry for the long wait on the post]

You think long and hard about the many questions you could ask him, and there's a few that have some real merit. However judging from his warning you suspect that knowing the answer to them could be as dangerous if not more as remaining ignorant.

You sigh rubbing the back of your head, "Actually I just wanted to shake your hand, if you'd allow me the pleasure."

Zelretch raises a wizened eyebrow with a short chuckle, holding out his hand and you take it, his grip is firm but not crushing, you look him in the eyes, "I guess one question wouldn't hurt, what would you have asked in my place?"

He releases your grip as he begins to walk again motioning for you to follow once more, "Hmmm, I'd probably have asked for the numbers to the French Lotto. Being a Magus is expensive and dirty work and have a couple extra hundred thousand euros would be quiet convenient." he says scratching his beard as you walk. He then smirks, "But to answer the question legitimately I likely would have asked what my life would be like if I didn't have those eyes. Quite the blessing and burden that they are young man."

You continue the walk through the clock tower as Zelretch takes a turn leading to an open air section, with a large tree and some benches. He sits down on one and gestures for you to do the same and so you do.

He looks up to the sky the cloudy English sky blocking out the suns rays in totality and he sighs slightly, "A question for a question, what brings you here Joshua."

You never stated your name, but frankly you don't have it in you to be shocked that he knows it at this point, "I've a meeting with one of the Lords, we're here to discuss business regarding a Heretic mage."
He nods, "I'm sure there's a version of yourself that would have made a fine Enforcer. I'm also certain there's a version of yourself that would find themselves very sympathetic to said heretic." he says studying you carefully.

You shrug, "It's possible, if I may why are you here?" you reply back.

He shrugs back given a small smile as he does, "Oh me? Who can really know the machinations of my mind? I barely know why I do things anymore I'm just that old." he shakes his head, "In truth I like to come around here to terrorize the Lords of the Clock Tower and see if there's any one of potential to learn under me." He leans forwards, "If nothing else it helps to pass the time."

You give him a slightly concerned look and he just keeps smiling like a kindly old uncle, "My turn, you're doing work for the church yes?"

You nod, and he continues, "I see, well if you could do me a favor I believe I could do you one in return, but we'll get back to that at the end of this conversation."

Your curiosity is peeked, but you can't begin to imagine what in the world he'd need you for.

[continue]

Shaking off the thought you continue, "On the topic of the Clock tower, I know that they've got something of a close eye on me and my progress as a mage. I'm not as close to the church as my parents were, or perhaps not as important to them as they were... If you could tell me who they had assessing me it'd be quite helpful."

He laughs, shaking his head, "Oh is that all?" his eyes narrow and his expression gets a bit more serious, "I'll do you one better, and I'll throw it in for free, I'll tell you what enforcer they'll send when they do give you a sealing designation, if they do."
He waves his hand once across and your stomach flips, as if the world had just shattered into a thousand pieces and then was instantly glued back together with a few things in different places. You held your hand against you mouth to keep yourself from vomiting. Looking up everything seemed still and Zelretch was simply sitting there hands together elbows touching his knees patiently waiting for you to gather yourself enough to continue.

You swallow the bile and take a deep breath as your throat burns and he nods, "Unfortunately for you in the world we're in you'll have to deal with a madam by the surname McRemitz. Do with that what you will, trust me the alternatives were worse. As for how close you are to one, it's better that I don't tell you, suffice it to say it should be longer that way."

With that the world seemed to start moving again the air that was still brushing across your paling face. McRemitz? You're not familiar with the family.

You look at him and he's back to his more jovial disposition, "Could you warn me before you do that?"

He shakes his head, "Learning how to anticipate another mages abilities is an important skill you're woefully lacking in considering your capability to see the 'truth' as it were. Consider this a bit of training, you'd be surprised how unreliable those eyes can be." he then claps his hands together.

"Now onto that favor, I believe now is the appropriate time to do this, any further questions risk some very troublesome results that I frankly don't feel like dealing with." he stands up walking over to you, "There will be a woman in Marsilles, one who works for the church much like yourself, in fact you may have met her without knowing you met her, odds are about 50/50 on that one, but I want you to give her this." he hands you a package, "She'll need it at some point down the line, could be catastrophic if she doesn't have it."

[continue]

You look at him confusedly, and he shrugs, "I've other means to get this to her, but I think this is more interesting, so what do you say, a favor for a favor?"

"What favor would I get in return?" you ask.

He thinks for a moment, "Hmmm." you see him scratch the back of his head and look off to the side as if considering something before looking back to you and sighing, "I suppose if you want something specific now you can state it, but I personally think a 'favor' in general is much more useful."

Well do you take the deal?
>Yes
>No

If Yes what do you want as a favor?
>The French Lotto numbers
>To be determined when called on
>Something specific (write in)

>>5198706
>Yes
>To be determined when called on

>>5198706
>Yes
I'm game.
>To be determined when called on
You sure you don't want to throw in the lotto numbers as a bonus? ;^)

Just bumping, I'll close the vote in about 4 hours if there are no more votes.

Alrighty
>>5198736
Wins

Writing

File: Rulfurus.png (94 KB, 176x498)

94 KB PNG

You stand up holding the package eyeing it only for a moment before nodding yourself, "Sure I'll take it to this woman in Marsille's what's her name and what does she look like?"

He gives a coy grin, "You'll know her we you see her trust me. As for her name, well she has several so it's hard to keep straight which one she's using right now, but like I said she'll stand out when you see her."

That was decidedly unhelpful, "Well alright then, but it's on you if I can't find her to deliver the package."

He laughs, "Oh you will. Now the favor, anything specific now or to be determined?"

You just sigh, "To be determined when I call upon it... speaking of which how will I call on it?" Zelretch scratches his chin for a moment before reaching into his pocket and handing you a small crystal, "Channel some mana into that crystal and then toss it to the ground, I'll know the time has come when that happens." he turns around, "With that though our conversation comes to a close, be careful Joshua, the world we live in is a cruel place where the Truth is far more subjective than it first appears." with that he walks away.

You ponder on his warning for a moment before placing the parcel in your travel bag, heading in the same direction he left and that you had come from to return to the lobby you find that as soon as he had turned the corner he had disappeared, the hallways were long and the acoustics reverberate quite a bit in this section of the building, so you doubt he just ran.

Still this chance meeting has given you a lot to think about and ponder while you wait. The walk back was quicker, and you find the lobby to be much more subdued now that Zelretch has seemingly vacated the premises, one of the staff looks at you for a moment as if you had just survived getting blown up before looking away.

You simply shrug heading to the desk, "Has Lord Nuada-Re Eulyphis' schedule cleared up?"

The person at the desk eyes you once and with a sigh just nods, "Indeed it has, several meetings were canceled and seeing as you're the only one on the schedule still in the building, you should be able to go ahead with your meeting. I'll let the Lord know you're coming, follow these directions." she hands you a slip of paper, "and knock 3 times on the door."

You nod following the route on the slip of paper given to you.

Arriving at the door you knock 3 times as you were instructed and the door swings open.

You're met with man whose baring and appearance reminds you something of a corpse. His wizened state is complimented by powerful and knowing eyes. His very existence is suffused with death, you suspect that this man could well kill you with a flick of his wrist if it struck his fancy. He is adorned with various jewelry each of which seems to contain all sorts and manner of spirits.

He simply gestures for you to sit down, as there is a chair in front of his desk. You do so.

[continue]

He eyes you up and down for a moment before speaking, "You're here about the D'Hoc correct? I believe we have already given you her file, what more do you want?" the question isn't defensive in any matter more so just curious, he seems to believe everything need to divine the nature of the situation was in there already.

You take a moment to see if he will say anything else, a short staring contest is had before you start, "I simply wanted to get her teacher and the lord of her departments personal appraisal, documents are useful, but words on paper say less than words spoken."

The old man raises an eyebrow locking eyes with you, before a quiet, "Ah" slips past his lips, but he says nothing further leaving you with the burden of asking the questions.

You get the feeling that this old Lord has been in this position more than once before.

What do you ask?
>What's your take on this whole incident?
>What was her performance as a student?
>What was her preference when it came to Spiritual evocation?
>Did she have an particular research that could have to do with the artifacts she's stolen?
>Do you have any suggestions on how to resolve this situation?
>Something else (Write in)

>>5200303
>What's your take on this whole incident?
>What was her performance as a student?
>Did she have an particular research that could have to do with the artifacts she's stolen?

I'd choose them all, but I think saving the conflict resolution stuff last may be prudent.

>>5200303
>>5200478 +1

>>5200478
Support

>>5200478
Wins

Writing

You eye him carefully, but his body is rigid as if suffering from rigor mortis, you can barely even tell the man is breathing as he looks down at you with his own adjudicating gaze. It's frankly an unnerving experience, but you don't let him intimidate you. "If you do not take offense to the question, would you mind telling me what your take on this incident is?"

The Lord is unmoving, his gaze simply lifts off of you as if to listen to something else, as he does this you feel a power emanating from his right ring.

After an agonizingly long silence he responds, "It was tragic, however mystical contracts are binding, no mater how hard one wishes they weren't. Her parents forfeited her inheritance of such relics in a fit of idiocy born of fear to the church. I do not blame her decision, but I do judge her for her lack of discretion. It is very disappointing to have such a promising student act in such an unbefitting manner."

You squint your eyes and though nothing seems to be a lie in that statement, beyond perhaps there being more to be said. You can't seem to tell whether he's ignorant of the actual reason or if he's with holding it. That is very odd indeed. Does he have some counter measure for your eyes abilities?

You lean back a little in your chair, "Born of fear? fear of what?" asking the obvious probing question.

The Ancient looking Lord scoffs, "What else does a Magus fear, but death? A pining for their immortal soul, promises of absolution and the like. Baseless coercion utilized and praying on those weak of will." he locks eyes with you as if challenging you to debate him.

You grit your teeth a bit, you know you represent the church in some measure here, independent of an agent you may be, this man likely knows of your families ties, and of your business, but your words must be chosen wisely here.

You give a small nod, "You mentioned her as a promising student? How would you grade her performance?" He narrows his eyes as you deflect his unspoken challenge with another question. You frown ever so slightly and he tilts his head up, the unspoken note that it will be returned to delivered.

He takes another eternity to contemplate his answer, "She was a satisfactory student in terms of her grades, but it was her drive and ambition for greater understanding that was the real underpinning of her worth as a magus. Her family is of acceptable age and lineage, and she would have under the right circumstances graduated as a Pride. However perhaps I should reconsider that assessment given her reckless and feckless behavior as of recent."

You breath through your nose, not a single tick, no noise or warnings. The uncanny quite is beginning to get to you, what in the world has this man done? The pressure in the room gets heavier as your eyes unconciously search for a source, finding your self drawn back to his own, unerring and overbearing gaze.

[continue]

You don't like this one bit, first Zelretch's completely overwhelming presence and magic burns through your own ability to discern the truth, and now the Lord here has done something, you've no idea what to render your own eyes moot. It's true you don't appreciate something until it's gone. The uncertainty of this whole conversation burns in the back of your mind.

You however don't break his gaze, you won't let this corpse of a man cow you, "Was there perhaps any particular research that she was performing on those artifacts she's stolen before they were given to the church?"

The old man furrowed his brows ever so slightly, perhaps in exasperation or perhaps in thought, the movement was so minute that you couldn't really discern any difference. He however does not take so long in answering this one, "Yes, though I'm under no obligation to answer beyond that."

You bite your tongue. His stone walling you from perhaps the most important piece of information here and there may well be not a damn thing you can do to get him to speak.

His gaze lingers heavy in the air between you, the longer you lock eyes the more it feels like he dominates the room.

What do you do?
>Search for the source that impedes your pure eyes abilities (Hard Magic Test)
>Answer his unspoken challenge regarding the church (Hard Charisma Test)
>Disengage with the Lord, there's something wrong about this whole situation.
>Continue questioning, you won't be cowed so easily (Challenging Charisma Test)
>Do/Say something else (Write in)

>>5201974
>Search for the source that impedes your pure eyes abilities (Hard Magic Test)

Learning about anything that can affect our eyes will only be helpful in the future

>>5201974
>Search for the source that impedes your pure eyes abilities (Hard Magic Test)
>Throw him a curveball question that he won't expect, before continuing the questioning

Let's see if we can't find anything by shaking things up a bit.

>>5202013
Wins

I'll need three anons to each give me 1d100

Find what's impeding your pure eyes.

Hard Magic Test DV 30
B Rank Magic +15
Final DV 45
Roll under 45

Crit Success: I wonder if I can't make use of this myself... (Learn what's stopping the usage of your pure eyes, and unlock a new research option)
3 Successes: I see, so that's what's going on here. (Learn what's stopping the usage of your pure eyes, provides insight into the Lord's prior statements)
2 Successes: Clever, very clever (Learn what's Stopping the usage of your pure eyes)
1 Success: Frustrating! (You don't learn what's stopping the usage of your pure eyes, but you do not stumble upon any magic traps either)
0 Successes: Argh! (You take 2 damage as magic rebounds against your sight, this place has been trapped to hell and back.)
Crit Fail: My eyes! (you take 4 damage from a Magical Trap, The conversation is over and you are escorted out of the clock tower)

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>5203082
Fun

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>5203082

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5203082
Yolo

1 Success: Frustrating! (You don't learn what's stopping the usage of your pure eyes, but you do not stumble upon any magic traps either)

Writing

You take the moment of silence as a moment to concentrate your mana into your eyes, greatly increasing their perception. Though it was more of a brute force boost than actually reinforcing them, you'll have to be swift as to not damage them from overexertion.

The magical signatures of the room were a mess, the Lord was a conflagration that consumed much of the other ones, an intermingling of various different forces that subsumed most everything else in your immediate vision. You grit your teeth ever so slightly scanning about for something that was targeting you or drawing a line to you specifically, but with everything waving about the place it was hard to draw straight lines to anything specific.

You did however notice a few inherent traps set to trigger if gazed upon like you're doing now for to long. This is unsurprising, but they're very well placed, it makes not looking at one very difficult.

You blink your eyes and end the flow of magic and just simply sigh, "I must say my Lord that you're quite the individual."

The old man doesn't even smile, and simply replies, "One can never be to prepared. Know thy enemy as it is said."

You eye him carefully this time, "Some how I feel that you don't think of me as a friend then."

He shakes his head, "It's nothing personal, to grow to my age, to amass my knowledge one can only treat but a few as 'friend' and all else as enemy. This is something you will come to understand or you will die."

What is with all of these old men giving out vague warnings and cynical outlooks to you today? Is this just the prevailing view of life here at the Clock Tower or did you just draw the worst possible individuals to deal with?

None the less you still had a few more question, there's a chance you can still figure this man out whether it be from simple discussion or through mystical understanding.

What questions do you ask?
>Do you have any suggestions on how to resolve this situation?
>What was her preference when it came to Spiritual evocation?
>Write in?

While you select that Anons roll me 1d100
Challenging Charisma Test DV 50
C Rank Charisma vs A rank Charisma -10
Pure eyes of Truth (impeded) +10
A growing understanding +5
Zelretch's Lesson +5

Roll Under 60

Crit Success: It would seem we have some common ground after all (The Lord stops playing games, and gives you the answers straight)
3 Successes: I implore you my lordship, this matter is truly important (The Lord will answer these questions with straight answers and will give some advice)
2 Successes: What more should I do, what do you wish me to prove? (The Lord will answer these questions with straight answers)
1 Success: I grow weary of this, please just answer me straight. (The Lord will answer 1 of your questions in a straightforward manner)
0 Successes: What exactly is it that you have against me? (The Lord continues on as normal)
Crit Fail: Not Applicable, he'll be to amused at the effort to be angry at the poor etiquette.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>5204138
>Do you have any suggestions on how to resolve this situation?
>What was her preference when it came to Spiritual evocation?
>If you were in my position, what would you ask?

Figured I'd throw in that last one, just to surprise him.

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>5204138
>>5204174 +1

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>5204138
Hopefully it's okay if I take the third roll as well

I'll allow it since we're so slow.
3 Successes: I implore you my lordship, this matter is truly important (The Lord will answer these questions with straight answers and will give some advice)

Writing

You give a short nod to the Lord, "I suppose it's time to wrap this up, but I must implore you Lord Rufleus Nuada-Re Eulyphis that this is a matter of importance. Whether you choose to trust me or see me as an enemy doesn't change the fact that we have a Magus out there who all sides agree has crossed the line on an official level regardless of any potential sympathies."

You lean forwards attempting to put emphasis on the situation, "So I would like a straight answer when I ask you if you have any suggestions on how to resolve this situation."

The Lords gaze doesn't waver once, though he does seem to breath heavily out through his nose.

He closes his eyes, as if to contemplate both your request and your question, "I'm sure the Church has told you to either kill her or take her to them. Bring her to me, I will ensure that full disciplinary measures are dolled out for the matter. You do with the relics however you please if you do this, though I'm sure you'll return them to the church."

You give him a long look, "Why exactly would I do that?"

He returns it with a dry expression, "Whether you want to acknowledge it or not the Church has little in the way of sympathy or understanding on these matters, the part of it you work alongside was crafted to be a blade for humanity, one that excises that which does not belong. Much like the surgeon that removes cancer with a saw blade, the church removes many an entity it need not. D'Hoc need not be contained or killed, simply tempered and punished."

You continue to meet his gaze, "And what of the lives she took in her move to reclaim her 'birthright'?"

He shakes his head, "Inconsequential ultimately. A few dead is always a tragedy to someone, but the matters at play here are more complex in the long term, and I've little time to prattle on about them to you boy. Suffice it to say, I'm offering you an alternative, as one way or the other if she is given to the church she will die, and it will be a gruesome death that I can guarantee you for they do not take half measures."

You narrow your eyes, "Why do you care whether she lives or dies?"

He finally moves sitting down, "I hate to see talent squandered, and squander it she has, the whole matter is easily dealt with by the simple return of the artifacts and a strong reprimand, if the church would like to oversee the punishment they may, but I'd prefer they not dole it out. She is after all one of us." he puts a noted emphasis on us.

You give a slow nod, unsure as to whether or not you'll take up his offer, but continue to your next question, "I see, then what was her preference when it came to spiritual evocation?"

He sighs, "This was in the document, she used it to commune with spirits, they would offer her their insights as well as thoughts on situations. Something akin to a temporary familiar if nothing was used to bind them for a longer period. I've little doubt that the spirits are what are preventing your fellows from finding her."

[continue]

You pause for a moment, "How exactly does this function, I'm not terribly familiar with spiritual evocation."

He looks at you for a good moment, "There is little hope to explain this without a lecture, suffice it to say, a place with a strong connection to the target in life, or lingering with death typically are places that allow one a strong enough connection to commune."

He chuckles a bit, "I've little doubt either that the little relic she stole that is tied to the Saint of Orleans is something she sees as a trump card. Though it is the realm of the Third magic one does not need to corporealize a spirit to commune with it. Nor do they need a corporeal body to be a genuine threat to a magus. Still she'd be a fool to think she could use such a strategy against the church, but desperate times..." he sighs, "Corner her and you may witness a tragedy is all I'll say, though not carried out by anyones hands but her own."

You nod, that might complicate things, "If nothing else it's good to know. Tell me Lord, what would you have asked in my position?"

He shakes his head, "Nothing, I'd be preparing, though I suspect you feel yourself at the end of your rope with that."

You don't respond to that before standing up, and give a curt bow, he nods, "Be on your way, and remember it is better for a Magus to deal with a Magus than it is for the church to, this whole situation is one born of Politics, do the right thing."

You feel like that was something of a threat, but you won't deny the truth of his words, this whole thing is absolutely fraught with the politics of the two organizations.

You head out of the office and finally leave having spent most of the day in London, relieved to be out of the vipers den.
_________

Once home you settle down at your desk, the time to delay matters was coming to a close, you knew that, but it doesn't hurt to look into one thing that might be exceedingly useful in the conflict to come. There's always been stories of the mystical power of a blood pact, contracts written or sealed with blood, either shared, spilt, taken or given freely. If you were capable of harnessing this power to form a consistent binding agent for the deals you'd make it could be a great boon, at least in the manner of certainty.

[continue]

A blood geas is what you want, and you know your parents were capable of doing such a thing as you had seen such transactions in the past, the hard part however is reconstructing the process from memory alone. Setting out you spread out your research tools. The first and most important matter regarding this was determining what the effects of breaching such a contract would be, its better to specialize the process as it increases its potency.

What will you focus on?
>If the Geas is breached the offender will be physically weakened (Lowers the all of the offenders physical attributes by 1 rank)
>If the Geas is breached the offender will suffer great harm (Does 6 damage once broken, and deals 1 damage every day after, healing is half as effective.)
>If the Geas is breached the offenders location is revealed and will be tracked for 1 week

>>5204952
I'll be honest, I don't know which would be optimal for us. I'm tempted by the great harm one as the most effective, but I see the utility in tracking someone and physically weakening them as well. What do you lads think?

>>5205006
This is a tough one but personally I'll go with
>>5204952
>If the Geas is breached the offenders location is revealed and will be tracked for 1 week

>>5204952
>weakening geas

>>5204952
Frankly I think straight damage is better motivator to keep the deal, but since that'll only tie this vote three ways, I'll choose
>If the Geas is breached the offenders location is revealed and will be tracked for 1 week
Should be simple and relatively fast to learn, and if an ally is in trouble we can arrange for a unusual utterance that they're bound not to say, so that when they do break the pact we know where they are and that they need our help.

>If the Geas is breached the offenders location is revealed and will be tracked for 1 week

Wins

Writing

>>5205666
Wicked trips btw, very fitting for the subject matter.

Ultimately you decide to focus your research on something that's a bit more focused on utility. While you could weaken them or harm them due to the magical bond, you figure that being able to know the location of someone for a up to a week would be very useful and have a wider range of applications beyond simply keeping a deal. For instance as an S.O.S or a tracking spell of sorts, but it also serves as a reminder that you can't just break the Geas without the one who cast it knowing, and the inevitable consequences that would bring upon them.

Setting to work you begin looking into the variety of ways such accords are typically sealed. A Geas is something more akin to a one sided contract, where the will of the caster is imposed upon the target, so actual parchment and blood writing is out, as it's a bit of a pain in the ass to get someone to write something they don't want to, it also is a bit to direct. Ultimately you settle on simply getting a sample of their blood fresh. If you can do that while they're still within eyesight of you, you should be able to perform the spell with little issue.

Of course this would require testing, but the concept is ultimately simple in it's nature, the difficulty will be in testing it's limitations more than whether or not it will work as you're unaware of how far you can extend the range of it's location finding or if you can tune it to provide other information on top of that. None the less testing will reveal the answers in due time.

As you sit working on this you curse aloud. You forgot to search for a Necromancer in the clock tower while you were there!

Son of a bitch!

[I forgot to add that option at the end of the conversation with the Lord]
__________

You have the following resources
Money: 188k Euros
Mystical Reagents: None
Research Items: Necromancers Research Notes
Artifacts: Jewel of Zelretch

You have 2 actions to take this week.
>Research Spell - Blood Geas (2/?)
>Search for a willing research partner (Necromancer)
>Study the jewel Zelretch gave you
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

[Of note it has been about 2 months since you started, while she has not escaped, other entities are still acting that were on that list]

>>5206227
>Study the jewel Zelretch gave you
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

Alright, it's time to stop fucking around.

>>5206227
>Study the jewel Zelretch gave you
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

>>5206227
>Study the jewel Zelretch gave you
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

>>5206227
Warden?

>>5208418
Apologies anon, we're still good to go.

>Study the jewel Zelretch gave you
>Begin Search (Ends preparation)

Wins

You're pretty much done with your preparations, though there is one last thing you wanted to do before you head out to begin your search for the rogue magus.
You pull out the Jewel that Zeleretch gave you and put it on your research bench, examining it under the light it produces a myriad of brilliant colors, each seeming to play out the scene before it's reflection. Looking closer at it however begins to give you something of a headache. This leads you to believe that the jewel is unsurprisingly empowered by the 2nd magic.

However you can only begin to postulate the specifics of how it summons Zelretch to the location or informs him of it. It could be any number of things, but you suspect that he's just finely tuned to notice the effects of his own magic.

Whatever the case you couldn't extrapolate much more from it without utilizing it, though it may be possible to use it for an unintended purpose if you were to go just beyond trying to add your own mana to it and try and draw from the reserve of magic with in it.

However that would be exceedingly dangerous.
[Option unlocked, attempt to utilize the Gem's power for yourself (Warning: May lead to irrevocable changes to reality and or death)]

You pocket the Gem, and grab a coat as you head out, it was going to be cold today.

Now compiling your notes on the situation it is likely that the Magus was using spirits to inform her of any approaching threats. It was also noted that she was likely near a place of death to have easy access to spirits to commune with.

You know that it's mostly like that she was near Lens, conferring with your maps you notice that just north of Bully-les-Mines there's a long running stretch of cemeteries.

You nod, then she's almost certainly hiding in one of the mines, abandoned most likely near there, within a reasonable walking distance for a magus to commune with the spirits.

Now the question was how to approach the area without setting her off causing her to hop between mines or even to a new location in Calais.

How do you approach this issue?
>I'll just have to be as swift as possible in my search, use reinforcement magic to increase my agility and then head out at night to check each graveyard first
>I don't have an immediate countermeasure, but if I'm discrete enough I won't need one, just act the tourist and keep an eye out for anything suspicious
>See if you can't get a few of the people from the church holding that cordon to tighten it towards that graveyard, it might just spook her enough into making a mistake.
>Write in

>>5208583
>I don't have an immediate countermeasure, but if I'm discrete enough I won't need one, just act the tourist and keep an eye out for anything suspicious

Buy a fedora hat and some sunglasses, and enjoy the sun a bit while on the lookout.

>>5208583
>I don't have an immediate countermeasure, but if I'm discrete enough I won't need one, just act the tourist and keep an eye out for anything suspicious

>>5208583
>>I don't have an immediate countermeasure, but if I'm discrete enough I won't need one, just act the tourist and keep an eye out for anything suspicious
We do a little sneaking

>I don't have an immediate countermeasure, but if I'm discrete enough I won't need one, just act the tourist and keep an eye out for anything suspicious

Wins

3 Anons roll me 1d100
Average Agility Test DV 70
C Rank Agility vs ??? -10
Engaged with the Authorities -10

Roll Under 50

Crit Success: Well well well, what do we have here? (You sneak up on her in her hide out she is completely unawares)
3 Successes: Found you (You sneak up on her in her hide out, she is surprised)
2 Successes: So this is where you were hiding (You find her hide out, she is waiting for you)
1 Success: Hold it right there (you find her hide out, she's just started escaping)
0 Successes: Damn it if only I had been there sooner (You find her hide out, she's already gone)
Crit Fail: Where the hell did she go? (You find her hide out, she's left a trap for you)

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>5209643

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5209643

>>5209643

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>5209643
Woops how embarrassing

2 Successes: So this is where you were hiding (You find her hide out, she is waiting for you)

Writing

Hey Warden, which timeline are we in again? Tsukihime,fgo or fate?

>>5211051
Tsukihime Remake but with Tsukihime filling in the gaps for what hasn't been explained/explored yet.

Just caught up. Sorry for vanishing, had a bad few weeks.

>>5212548
It's no trouble, I'm currently held up with a lot of stuff at work, the update should drop on Friday.

Sometimes the mundane approach is the best. No need to overcomplicate everything. You put on some rather relaxed clothing, some sunglasses and a hat heading out for a walk. The French Countryside was quite beautiful in the midday sun. Weather was quite nice as well, no reason not to enjoy it as it would help with your disguise.

You occasionally would stop along the long road down to Bully-les-Mines to observe the cemeteries and their myriad of floral arrangements. You scratch the back of your head and sigh, you missed your garden, you trust its in good hands, but you'd rather be tending it yourself. It was your responsibility after all. Still the cemeteries are well kept, and nothing along any of them gives you the impression of anything untoward at the moment so you continue onwards.

You come before an intersection and check your map, noticing that there was another smaller former mining town just north of Bully-les-Mines called Noeux-les-Mines, which had a cemetery just near the exit of the town. You opt to follow your gut and head that way, the sun was beginning to set. This was optimal, the shade of night time would help both you and the magus move about a bit more freely, and with that certainty of security would come a laxing of concerns.

You picked up your pace making it to Noeux-les-mines just before Midnight, you walk up to a nearby hotel and check in for the night. You take the time to rest for a bit and clean up before heading out to investigate the Cemetery. The quite of the night was heavy as you approached the place. It didn't take long for you to notice on the winds whispered words. You lighten your step and steady your breathing as you approach the source of it.

You approach with measured steps, doing your best to appear casual while also keeping your gait subtle. Not exactly an easy balance to strike, but ultimately you see the figure in the distance. A young woman, likely in her mid to late 20s seemed to be speaking to the grave stones. Now normally this wouldn't be to odd at a graveyard as many do speak with the dead and find comfort in it, however your eyes are not so easily fooled. You could see the spirit that she was conversing with, an ethereal tether to it's grave as they discussed something. The woman nodded once to the spirit before walking away, the spirit for their part floated off into the distance.

You eye it for a bit before continuing to follow the woman. She walked some ways before breaking off from the main road and dashing of into the distance. You pursue keeping pace readily.

Eventually you're taken to what appears to be an abandoned mine as she rushes inside. Just before you manage to get to the entrance you stop noticing a bounded field of sorts as well as a sense of unease about the situation. You were fairly certain she hadn't detected you, so perhaps this was just how she always returned to her base?

You shake your head, no there was something you didn't account for.
[continue]

Regardless how do you choose to approach the situation?
>Attempt to Engage with dialogue, mention the Lords offer as a means to get her to lower her guard.
>Attempt to find a way to circumvent the bounded field and get inside the mine without further notice.
>No point in being subtle anymore, breach the bounded field and pursue her.
>Write in.

>>5215392
>Attempt to Engage with dialogue, mention the Lords offer as a means to get her to lower her guard.

Eh, I figure we should cut her a bit of slack. Might as well try to be friendly.

>>5215392
>Attempt to Engage with dialogue, mention the Lords offer as a means to get her to lower her guard.

May as well try and solve this peaceably. She already knows we are here in all likelihood, no point in being subtle.

>>5215390
>Attempt to find a way to circumvent the bounded field and get inside the mine without further notice.

Just keep on sneeking

>>5215392
>Attempt to find a way to circumvent the bounded field and get inside the mine without further notice.

>>5215392
>Attempt to Engage with dialogue, mention the Lords offer as a means to get her to lower her guard.

>Attempt to Engage with dialogue, mention the Lords offer as a means to get her to lower her guard.

Wins

>>5218009
Is this quest dead?

>>5221793
Not dead, just struggling to write the scene to my satisfaction.
We're pretty close to the end of this thread though at least in a practical sense, when the mission is resolved I'll end the thread to focus on just one quest instead of trying to run two at once, which admittedly was an overextension on my part.

>>5223516
Still busy Warden?

Hopefully not dead. We only really needed one more post to close out this thread and let him go on his hiatus.

>>5238066
ded

>>5238066
It is absolutely dead, just like this thread