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First, we need to determine our Race! Your Race will not affect your starting stats, only the types of abilities or affinities you're going to have access to. This is going to be an extremely important vote narratively, for obvious reasons. You are by no means wholly limited to the following list, but those choices are the ones I'm MOST comfortable with writing about. Almost any alien race could feasibly appear on Earth at this time, most particularly ones from endangered planets.
>Human
>Triclops
>Undead (Specify)
>Makyan
>Cerealian
>Write-in


As for your stats, you have only 3 of them to worry about!
>Brains
Determines how good you are with things like solving problems, creating new things, seeing through deception, creating a convincing argument, and anything else you need your noggin for.
>Brawn
Determines how strong you are, how tough you are, how bountiful your natural life (or unlife) reserves are, and anything you can basically get or do with raw power.
>Skill
Determines how precise you are, how fast you can move, how well you can read your opponents in the midst of combat, how efficient and effective your techniques are, and anything else you need self-mastery and control for.

Each of these starts at a value of 1, and we're going to distribute 5 points across them.
>Distribute them yourselves (Write-in your proposal, or vote in support of other proposals.
>Let the QM handle stat distribution.

Your age, origin story, and where we begin at the start of this story will be determined as soon as we have agreed upon our character.


There's only one last thing to decide, really.
>Male
>Female

As this is the VERY FIRST VOTE, I'm leaving it up for discussion until tomorrow.

>>5545314
>Triclops
>Brains
2
>Brawn
3
>Skill
4
>Male

>>5545339
You have one point too many!

>>5545360
Then remove it from skill

>>5545314
>Undead [Dullahan]

>Brains
2
>Brawn
3
>Skill
3

>Male

>>5545314
>Animal/Human Hybrid type Earthling (Tiger)


>Brains 2
>Brawn 3
>Skill 3

EL TIGGREEEE

>>5545394
Also
>male

>>5545314
>Cerealian


>Brains
1
>Brawn
6
>Skill
1
STRONK BOIS RISE UP.

>Female

>>5545412
In awe at the size of this lass.
But we do have a cap of 5 on stats, so slide one point from Brawn into something else.

>>5545314
>Human

>Brains
3
>Brawn
4
>Skill
1

>Female

>>5545394
Are hybrids possible

>>5545394
>>5545397

I like that. I vote for the TIGRE guy.

>>5545465
Well you see them all the time in the shows so they should be as playable as a human and a triclops.

>>5545465
Yeah, I don't see why not.

>>5545412
>>5545418
Ah yeah, just uh, put it into skill then pls.

>>5545479
I’m down for tiger luchador

>>5545314
>Makyan

>Brains
2
Brawn
4
Skill
2
>Male

>>5545314
>Human
>Brains
2
>Brawn
2
>Skill
4
>Male

>>5545314
>Undead[Skeleton]
>Brains
2
>Brawn
1
>Skill
4
>Male

I'm heading to bed for now, but if there are any questions I'll answer them in the morning! I'll probably give it just a few hours after I wake up before I call it, since I want to give everyone ample time to consider/reconsider what they want.
Keep the votes coming, you guys have plenty of time and everyone's vote counts. Don't worry if your preferred option isn't currently winning - it might pick up steam later!

>>5545314
>Human
>Brains
2
>Brawn
4
>Skill
2
>Male

>>5545394

Voting for El Tigre. Is this a DB quest run by a new QM? Bizarre.

>Undead Skeleton
>Brains
2
>Brawn
2
>Skill
4
>Male

>>5545813
Yes, I am indeed an entirely new QM.
Also good morning everyone!
I’ll be calling the vote in three hours.

>>5545941
Changing to this one

>>5545941
I'll swap to this too.

>>5546007
You only have 1 post attached to your ID, so I can't tell what you're switching from. Which previous vote was you?

>>5546038
>>5545578
I'm this one, probably should've specified beforehand

I'm going to try and help QM here

1 Brain, 5 Brawn, 2 Skill Female Cerealian - 1 vote
2 Brains, 4 Brawn, 2 Skill Male Makyan - 1 vote

2 Brains, 3 Brawn, 3 Skill Male Undead (Dullahan) - 1 vote
2 Brains, 2 Brawn, 4 Skill Male Undead (Skeleton) - 2 votes
2 Brains, 1 Brawn, 4 Skill Male Undead (Skeleton) - 0 votes

3 Brains, 4 Brawn, 1 Skill Female Human - 1 vote
2 Brains, 4 Brawn, 2 Skill Male Human - 1 vote
2 Brains, 2 Brawn, 4 Skill Male Human - 0 votes

2 Brains, 3 Brawn, 3 Skill Male Triclops - 1 vote
2 Brains, 3 Brawn, 3 Skill Male Hybrid (Tiger) - 4 votes

0 votes are from anons that changed, tried to group it by aliens, undead, humans and mutants

>>5545412
Supporting this

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>>5545412
1 Intel Chads rise up.

>>5546057
Count my vote for the tiger

Counting it up now!
>>5545339
>>5545385
>>5545394
>>5545412
>>5545433
>>5545542
>>5545573
>>5545578
>>5545701
>>5545941
>>5546074
>>5546115
>>5546119
Race:
>Triclops
1
>Dullahan
1
>Makyan
1
>Skeleton
3
>Human
3
>Cerealian
3
>Human/Beastman Tiger Hybrid
5

Stats:
>2 Brains, 3 Brawn, 3 Skill
Obvious victory with a clear majority.

Gender:
>Male
Same as with stats.

Because it's the all-important chargen and a difference of two isn't terribly significant, I'm going to give people a 30 minute window to support one of the following races only, because some people might have a second best option in mind! I'll virtually never do this outside of exceptionally important votes. If you ALREADY voted for one of these options, don't vote again unless you're changing.
>Tiger hybrid
>Cerealian
>Human
>Skeleton

>>5546126
>Skeleton
Rattle me bones!

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>>5546126
Supporting skelly.

>>5546126
I don’t really like when QM draw out char gen like this but I guess I’ll throw my hat in the ring as well. I feel like I’ve seen plenty enough magic themed characters in db quests lately so I’m gonna go with the hybrid tiger, not sure about the luchador thing but it could grow on me.

>>5546126
>>5546144
>>5546146
>>5546152
Finalized!
We're going to be a male hybrid tiger with a good amount of brawn and skill, but slightly lacking in the brains department!
Writing up the introduction now.

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>>5546157
Your name is Wyald Honta, although most people just call you Honta. You're currently ten years old, although most people mistake you for being at least sixteen or seventeen; you grew up faster than all the human children you played with, but slower than your cousins did for some reason. Your Father explained it away as a simple matter of "getting tired of not being able to reach the top shelf", and while you definitely think there's more to it than that, you never really questioned why your Father was a Beastman and your Mother was a Human, nor thought deeply on the implications of it. To you, they're simply mom and dad.

Your home is in a simple village nestled in the plains between three great forests, which your father has familiarized you with whenever he takes you along on your routine hunting trips - these trips were always special to you, moments where you felt like you were truly in your element as you prepared to take down wild beasts with him. However, over the past year, even these hunting trips have started to feel a little dull to you. The game is always the same, easy to predict and even easier to take down with your modern weapons. Which us what leads us to today...

You left a note on your bed for your parents to read that morning, informing them that you're going to be taking a trip on your own to see more of what the world has to offer. You still feel a little guilty, knowing that Mom would definitely worry about you, but you're sure that Dad would completely understand. He has the same kind of instincts you do, after all.

You look out at the forest ahead of you as you move deeper and deeper towards the heart of it, going much further in than you ever have before. The sun's rays only barely peek out from the canopy above you, providing the slightest illumination of the forest floor, and the sounds of animals and insects ring out all around to show just how vibrant the life is this far in.

It's been a few hours since you first set out to leave home, and though you intentionally left without any provisions at all to appeal to the whims of your blood, you're starting to get fairly hungry. Your sensitive nose catches the scent of a fire, and you're sure that if you follow it, you'd find someone who may be able to help with a meal. Then again, you're a hunter damn it, and you're sure you can claim some of the juiciest meat if you just follow the sounds of animals or look for the right trails. You doubt that anything in this forest could pose a serious threat to you, but you could always be wrong...is it better to err on the safe side, or appeal to your instincts?

>Follow the smoke. You're at least a little curious to meet someone else willing to brave the depths of one of the great forests.
>Hunt something yourself. You don't need any help!
>Write-in?

>>5546189
>Follow the smoke. You're at least a little curious to meet someone else willing to brave the depths of one of the great forests.

>>5546126
>>5546157
I missed this round, but I would have changed to tigermen so it's alright
>>5546189
>Hunt something yourself. You don't need any help!

>>5546189
>Hunt something yourself. You don't need any help!

>>5546189
>Follow the smoke. You're at least a little curious to meet someone else willing to brave the depths of one of the great forests.

>>5546189
>>Follow the smoke. You're at least a little curious to meet someone else willing to brave the depths of one of the great forests.

>>5546208
>>5546241
>>5546248
>>5546252
>>5546255
Calling it now, and writing!

>>5546256
So what do we look like? So far I’ve been imagining a teenage Victor Creed.

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>>5546256
In the end, your sense of caution and curiosity take priority. Following the faint scent of smoke, your ears soon pick up the sounds of a deep laugh, and the struggled cries of a considerably more high-pitched voice. Coming into a clearing, you immediately spot the source of these sounds - a rather massive brute seems to have a remarkably tiny woman with insectile wings attached to a stick, and is preparing to roast her over a fire! It's an unspeakably cruel thing to do to someone else, no doubt about that!

Your legs move you forward before you even realize it, and you can't help but shout out in protest to the situation. "Hey, you big jerk! Why don't you pick on someone your own size! Leave her alone!" You shout, immediately ready to step in and fight to help someone in need.

The lumbering brute turns to look at you with a dull, dopey smile on his face. Still chuckling, he tosses the stick aside, eliciting another cry from the bizarrely tiny woman. He licks his lips, and points down to you with one of his chubby sausages-for-fingers. "Ok, how bout you? Main course...then dessert, heheheh..." he responds, a bit of drool dripping from his mouth at the thought.

You take a small step back, off-put by the idea that he was doing this to EAT her, and now he apparently wants to eat YOU. Animals, sure, but people? That's wrong on every level. Still...this might actually be a sticky situation you thrust yourself into...you have plenty of experience hunting, but you've never gone up against something so massive, and he looks pretty damn tough to you. You're pretty sure you can see a club the size of YOU leaning against a tree trunk nearby, which definitely suggests something of the brute's strength. If you want to not only save the small woman but yourself, you're going to have to think of some way to take him out before he can take you out!

>Fight dirty, literally. There's plenty of dirt around, and you can probably blind him with some if you get the opportunity. Or get him to hurt himself somehow? (Brains Roll)
>You're not a full beastman, but you've still got claws that can rend and teeth that can tear. Go for the throat or the tendons, it's a sure way to wound your prey! (Skill)
>Show him who the apex predator of this forest is, try to daze him with a powerful strike to the head! (Brawn)
>Write-in?

Fleeing is not an option...yet, at least. You're young, naive, and perhaps more brave than you should be.

>>5546303
>>You're not a full beastman, but you've still got claws that can rend and teeth that can tear. Go for the throat or the tendons, it's a sure way to wound your prey! (Skill)

>>5546303
>>You're not a full beastman, but you've still got claws that can rend and teeth that can tear. Go for the throat or the tendons, it's a sure way to wound your prey! (Skill)

>>5546303
>You're not a full beastman, but you've still got claws that can rend and teeth that can tear. Go for the throat or the tendons, it's a sure way to wound your prey! (Skill)

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>>5546277
Pretty good idea. I don't want to delve TOO deeply into his appear quite yet, but I have a few ideas.
He mostly looks like a human with some animalistic traits like in pic related, though given how dragonball works I'm sure you can already guess he'll likely be able to tap more into his bestial blood further down the line.
We'll probably have a vote down the line for appearance's sake, once I've had enough time to really look around for images. If you guys find anything good, please, post them! All input is good.

>>5546309
>>5546310
>>5546311
Calling it since it's unanimous.
Three people, roll 1d10 for me!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5546328

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5546328

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5546328

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>5546328

>>5546329
>>5546330
>>5546333
8! Will it be enough against the brute?
Yes. I won't leave you wondering that long.
Writing!

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Your pupils dilate from their usual slits as you take in more information about your foe. His thick skin and even thicker fat will make it difficult to cut into his vulnerable points for the most part, so you need to find a way to give yourself the time to do so. You assume a narrower stance, muscles tensing as you get ready to pounce on your approaching enemy. Each lumbering step he takes indents the ground heavily from his sheer weight, and you wait for the opportune moment to strike...

There! You lunge forward right when he swipes a massive backhand towards you, ducking under the clumsy blow and raking your sharp clawlike nails across the backside of his arm as you reposition to his rear. He roars in pain and tries to turn around, but you swing your other hand around rend across his heel while it's tensed. Robbed of the ability to stand on it, he starts to collapse onto that side...but he manages to catch himself on his lightly wounded arm.

With a grunt of exertion, and knowing roughly where you are, he redirects his fall so that his rather massive and hardly avoidable back would slam on to you. Unfortunately for you, he succeeds in the effort and crushes you under his bulk with an incredible amount of force, embedding you into the soft ground below for a moment and definitely cracking several of your ribs in the process.

Unlike many humans in this situation, you're not necessarily stunned by this. Your eyes narrow back into tight focused slits from the pain, and with gutteral yowl like a cornered animal, you dig your natural weapons into the flesh of the giant atop you as best you can, ripping and tearing wherever you can. He cries out in pain, and is quick to roll over to get it to stop, freeing you from the temporary prison and letting you breathe.

Your thoughts are a little duller now after being smashed, but your instincts drive you well. With the brute now on the floor, you follow up to pounce on him, sinking your teeth and claws into his now-exposed throat to deal a fatal blow. He screams and shouts in pain, and with his one good hand he manages to smack you a good ten feet away in a rather painful blow for you...but his struggles soon die down, until eventually ceasing entirely due to a combination of blood loss and his throat being torn open.

You're panting, you're covered in the monster's strangely blue blood, and you're victorious. You take a moment to wipe the majority of the blood off your mouth with the back of your hand before moving over to the stick that still holds the small woman captive. You cut the twine holding her in place, and help unwind it from her. Once she's free, her translucent wings flutter a few times, and she flies around in a twirling motion that clearly expresses her joy at being saved.

>>5546369
"You saved me! I thought I was going to be a snack for sure! I was just minding my own business, and that horrible monster caught me out of nowhere and tormented me all day!" She exclaims. "Oh, but you seem to be hurt. Let me help you with that, it's the least I could do!" She follows up, before pulling a pouch even smaller than she is from her waist. She reaches into it, and you lean in, curious about what she's getting...when she throws some golden dust right into your face!

It sets off a small sneezing fit in you, but when you're finished...you actually notice that the pain is rapidly fading from you, and you can hear some small cracks as your ribs seem to miraculously heal themselves. You're still a little sore by the time the effect slows down to a stop, but sore is leagues better than dealing with broken bones! Just what IS this strange little woman?

>Write-in anything you may want to either ask her about, or talk to her about.
And
>See if she'll be willing to join you on your adventure (Brains to convince her)
>Don't invite her, just let her go back on her way, you've done your job here!

>>5546370
>Write-in anything you may want to either ask her about, or talk to her about.
Her name, where's she from, what's that healing golden dust
>See if she'll be willing to join you on your adventure (Brains to convince her)
We could use some magic support

>>5546370
>See if she'll be willing to join you on your adventure (Brains to convince her)

>>5546370
>>See if she'll be willing to join you on your adventure (Brains to convince her)

>>5546370
>>Write-in anything you may want to either ask her about, or talk to her about.
What's up with the giant lug? How'd you get caught?

>>5546370
>>5546375
>>5546389
Supporting these questions.
>See if she'll be willing to join you on your adventure (Brains to convince her)

Busy for a while, resuming in about 1 and a half to two hours. The next post I make will be the last of the night. I'll likely do one post a day outside of tuesdays/thursdays, as a forewarning.

>>5546375
>>5546377
>>5546382
>>5546389
>>5546394
While I get to writing, two anons roll me a d10! I should hope that you're able to pass a dc 5 check

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5546597

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5546597

>>5546602
I did it!

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>5546597

>>5546610
Nevermind, it was just two dice

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Your mind races with questions, but you decide that it's best to be polite first and foremost, just like your parents taught you. You bow your upper body slightly, still sore as you are, and start with "Thank you, that feels a lot better now. My name is Honta, Wyld Honta. What's yours?"

"Oh, silly me! I'm Azalea!" She introduces herself in turn, striking a cute pose with one hand on her hip and another hand holding a peace sign out in front of her eyes.

"Azalea." You nod resolutely, dedicating the name to memory. You wouldn't want to forget the first person you ever helped, after all. "What was that golden dust? Some kind of medicine?" You ask, pointing down to her pouch. Her eyes follow, and she points to a space just below her wings. When you squint, you can just barely see gold flakes coming off of her every now and then, which catch the light.

"It's fairy dust, duh! Because I'm a fairy...? Wasn't that kind of obvious though?" She responds, tilting her head and looking at you like she's wondering if there's a concussion she didn't heal. You rub the back of your head sheepishly, blushing a little in embarassment.

"I've never really been far outside of my village before, so I don't really know much about fairies, sorry if I was rude at all. Um, I think I've heard some stories about them though, things like helping people who get lost or living inside of mushrooms." You admit. She doesn't really seem offended though, in fact she nods her head.

"Yeah, but the rent on those is pretty high. I wouldn't really recommend it despite the aesthetics, you know?" She jokes, getting a snort from you. "I can show you, if you want? The entrance to the town isn't too far away from here, you'll like it! I'll even treat you to dinner for saving me." She offers, and you admit that it has your curiosity piqued.

"Yeah, alright. Sounds like fun to me." You admit, and follow after her as she flutters off to lead you somewhere. "So, what was up with the giant lug back there? How did he catch you?" You ask while you walk, partly to fill the silence.

"Hmph. He's just one of the monsters that pick on everyone this far into the forest. I think he was some kind of a troll or an ogre? He caught me while I was revitalizing the plants for the spring, we do it every year to make sure the forest stays nice and healthy, and it was my turn this year." She explains to you, before she stops midair, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. "Alright, we're here!" She announces. You look around, somewhat confused.

>>5546649
"We're here? But I don't see any-" is all you get out, before a sudden sense of vertigo strikes you. The trees around you grow rapidly, and Azalea herself seems to be getting larger and larger by the second as she flutters down to the ground - no, that's not right, clearly you're shrinking. Only now do you notice that you seemed to have stepped within a circle of colorful toadstools, and as you stop shrinking at around Azalea's height, you note that the mushrooms actually seem to have been hollowed out and fitted with doors and windows. You stare, wide-eyed and jaw agape.

Azalea doesn't let you look dumbfounded for long though, as she grabs your hand and gives you a tug to lead you along once more. "This is just the entrance, my house is over in the roots of that tree. Come on!" she insists, pulling you towards a nearby tree that's actually QUITE the hike when you consider your current size. You easily walk under the exposed roots, and find some steps leading up to a small hatch carved into the bottom of the tree. She opens it up and leads you in, taking you into a particularly cozy all-natural wooden home. The furniture looks like it was practically grown out of the wood rather than carved out of it, and motes of amorphous lights in wooden cages act as candles would.

She lets you take a seat and take recent events in while she heads to her kitchen, getting some vegetables out of a pantry that look ridiculously huge at your current size, but would likely be very tiny things otherwise. Once she's done making one of the FINEST meatless stews you've ever had (Which, admittedly, is few...your mother always insisted on hearty, meaty meals after all), you decide to pop a question you've been thinking about over the meal.

"Hey, would you like to travel with me? I left home to see the world, and I'd love some company while I do it. And I think we could make a pretty good team, too!" You ask her, and she blinks a few times in surprise. She tilts her head from one side to the other, deliberating for at least a solid minute while she hemms and hawws to herself in consideration, before simply shrugging at you.

"Okay!"

And so the journey of one became two. As for what becomes of that journey? Find out next time, when we resume again later!

It's time for one more (retroactive) vote, which will determine where exactly we'll end up next time and what things we'll encounter.

>Honta entered the Northern Great Forest, towards the mountains.
>Honta entered the Southern Great Forest, towards the closest city.
>Honta entered the Western Great Forest, towards the arid deserts.

Goodnight everybody, I'll see you tomorrow!
As always, feedback is appreciated. What do you like? What do you not like? Is the writing capturing the dragonball feel you wanted, or is it lacking? How do you feel about the characters so far?
I always aim to improve.

>>5546651
>Honta entered the Northern Great Forest, towards the mountains.
I like me a good mountain.

>>5546664
Night QM!
I like this, it feels fun.

>>5546651
>Honta entered the Northern Great Forest, towards the mountains.

>>5546651
>Honta entered the Southern Great Forest, towards the closest city.

>>5546651
>>Honta entered the Northern Great Forest, towards the mountains.
>>5546664
I like it, has that original dragonball feel to it

>>5546651
>>Honta entered the Northern Great Forest, towards the mountains.

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>>5545314
>Triclops
>race

>>5547000
The Triclops were indeed a race of their own in official Dragonball lore. We never see a direct member of this race, but we do see a Hybrid descendant of theirs in the form of Tien.

>>5547050
>official Dragon Ball lore
FANFICzenshuu databooks and that one filler episode with Tenshinhan's mom do not constitute official lore, if those are the things you had in mind.
Tenshinhan is a human.
Now Krillin, on the other hand...

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>>5547000

>>5547061
>50 euros

>HE is here

>>5547055
But if it came from Toriyama's interviews

>>5547120
Were the interviews done WHILE Dragon Ball was still being published?
If not, you can safely discard 80% of them due to Toriyama's senileness.
Even if they were done as it was being made, most of the time he just made shit up on the spot and forgot about it two days later so you can discard those as well.
Taking his word and using it like it's a gospel is pointless.
That's the same man that forgot that 18 had blond hair and was gonna draw her with pink hair for Battle of Gods, and it's the same man who doesn't remember who Tao Pai Pai is, retcons things on the fly and forgot how to draw Frieza after he was done with him.

>>5547123
sanest dragonball fan

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>>5547205
>no arguments
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

Alright boys and girls, I'm motivated today! Let's see if we can pump a few more updates out.

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Over the rest of the meal, you talked back and forth with Azalea about anything and everything that came to mind, the relaxing setting and good food helping the conversation flow naturally. You told her a bit about life back home, your friends and family who left behind, and about the restlessness that inspired you to leave and broaden your horizons. In return, you learned a few interesting things about Azalea and fairies in general - apparently they age much slower than humans, as Azalea herself is around fifty years old despite looking as youthful as you are, and she'll apparently hit a growth spurt later on. She insists she's already the tallest fairy among those of similar age, a fact she seems to brag about.

You sleep in her guest bed that night, which she aptly called a "water bed", given how it's just a drop of water suspended in a wooden box. Apparently the surface tension alone is enough to keep you suspended on it, when you're this tiny. Unique experiences aside, in the morning you two set out, with Azalea initially struggling to haul out a few massive bags of provisions to bring with her until you offer to help her with the load. Once you reach the center of the Fairy Ring again, she comes to a stop and pulls out something wrapped in part of a leaf, presenting it to you.

Opening it up, you see that it's...a colorful frosted cookie, with the word "Eat Me" spelled out on it. Not really knowing why, but still wanting to be polite, you oblige the cookie and take a bite out of it. A familiar sense of vertigo overtakes you as soon as you do, causing you to grow back to around half your normal size. "Finish it up, unless you want to stay short!" Azalea prompts you after your look of confusion. With a nod and a quick "Oh!" of understanding, you finish it off and come back to your normal height. You must admit, it was a ridiculously sweet cookie.

With that all done and settled, you take all of her fairy-sized bags and just tuck them into one of your pockets for her, since the burden is virtually nonexistent for you. You start to set out once more on your journey, heading further through the Northern Great Forest. While you did encounter a few more interesting things in the deepest part of the forest, such as carnivorous plants that tried to snap up Azalea while she was resting and strange humanlike footprints that disappeared without a trace once you followed them to their end, you didn't really come across anything you'd consider challenging. Just strange, really.

>>5547305
As you emerge from the Northern Great Forest, you're greeted by the amazing sight of a massive collection of mountains, with one that pierces the clouds up ahead and several others that stretch to either side of the horizon. You've never seen anything like it, and you had no idea that such a huge thing was hiding behind the forests of your village...you kind of wonder if there's mountains on the other side of the other two forests or not. Each of the mountains is dotted in spiky green trees that look strangely different to the trees you're used to, while the very top of some of those mountains is covered in a mysterious white substance.

Your blood stirrs at the sight of such a challenge, and you feel like it's going to be a refreshing journey to conquer them.

>Three Anons, roll 1d10 in a Brawn check to scale the mountain range!

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5547306

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5547306

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5547306

>>5547321
>>5547322
Good job, you two

>>5547317
>>5547321
>>5547322
>9: Great Success!

You make sure to stretch carefully before the climb, getting your blood flowing in preparation. At the base of the mountains, where it's wider, you simply hike up a steadily increasing incline until it becomes too steep to do so...and from there, you transition naturally into climbing up on all fours, gripping mossy stones wherever you can find a solid grip and using them to thrust yourself further up. One hand after the other, one foot after the other. You actually come into a steady rhythm with it over the next few hours, taking deep yet controlled breaths as a sweat breaks out on your forehead.

You pass by some of those strangely spiky trees on your way up, looking at them wide-eyed when you discover that instead of leaves, they actually have thick needles! You can't fathom why, but you assume that it's some kind of a defense mechanism against predators. You've seen hedgehogs and porcupines before, so that makes sense to you. As you climb even further up, you notice that it's getting harder and harder to catch your breath, and it's getting colder and colder. You finally stop for a break in the evening, when you finally reached the strange white layer of the mountain.

You poke it curiously when you reach it, and the stuff just caves in and leaves your fingers feeling colder and wetter than they were before. It looks strangely tasty, so when you think Azalea isn't looking, you take a lick of the stuff. While it does melt in your mouth pretty quickly, it had a pretty weird texture before it did, and it didn't really taste like anything other than water.

"Why are you eating snow?" Azalea asks you, flutting over your shoulder to show that she was indeed looking.

"Snow? Is that what this is? I just wanted to see what it tasted like." You admit.

"Yeah, it's basically just frozen water. Once it gets cold enough, instead of raining, it snows! It'll probably melt as we get further into spring, I think." she responds, nodding to herself.

"I see...is the snow making it harder to breathe? Even though I'm resting, it feels like I can't catch my breath very well for some reason!" You ask, after some consideration. She takes a moment to think it over, before shrugging at you.

"I dunno! Maybe? I think it might just get harder to breathe for some reason when you go up high enough. I tried to see how high I could go once, and I passed out! Luckily I woke up around halfway down, but it's dangerous to go too far for some reason. Maybe it's magic." She responds, wiggling her fingers at you for emphasis when she suggests a magical cause. You slowly nod, trusting her expertise on the matter - you don't know anything about magic, after all.

File: frozen city.png (2.43 MB, 1261x1028)

2.43 MB PNG

>>5547341
The conversation dies down as you rest up for a few minutes after that, though you note that you're just getting colder and colder instead of being able to warm up like you wanted. You resolve to keep going so you can get to the other side of the mountain and descend it sooner rather than later, and once you pass through the fog provided by the clouds, you notice something that was impossible to see before. Nestled into the snowy reaches of the mountain seems to be some kind of a settlement, maybe a castle of some kind judging by the huge stone walls surrounding it that you can't see over. Both of you release a "Woah!" In amazement, not having known that such a thing could be found here.

Redoubling your efforts, you climb your way up to the entrance of the settlement within fifteen minutes, and notice that the entrance actually seems to be frozen over with thick blue ice! There's no guards, and no other footprints than the ones you've made...you wonder if there's even anyone who lives in a place like this.

>Try to break the ice, so you can enter the right way. (Brawn)
>Try to scale the walls. They're completely vertical without handholds, but your clawlike nails should help you get SOME purchase. (Skill)
>Something else?

>>5547343
>Try to scale the walls. They're completely vertical without handholds, but your clawlike nails should help you get SOME purchase. (Skill)

>>5547343
>Try to scale the walls. They're completely vertical without handholds, but your clawlike nails should help you get SOME purchase. (Skill)

>>5547343
>>Try to break the ice, so you can enter the right way. (Brawn)

>>5547345
>>5547346
>>5547422
Three anons, 1d10!

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5547429

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>5547429

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5547429

>>5547343
>>Try to scale the walls. They're completely vertical without handholds, but your clawlike nails should help you get SOME purchase. (Skill)

>>5547471
rip too late

>>5547471
Congratulations anon, your vote won anyways

>>5547471
>>5547454
>>5547449
>>5547431
You tap a knuckle on the ice a few times, hearing the solid thuds from it. Yeah...some part of you doubts you'll be able to crack open ice that thick. You might be stronger than most kids your age, but you're not sure you could break something like this with your bare hands. Maybe if you had something like an axe, or a pick.

Instead, you pace around the side of the entrance, eyeing the walls for the best spot to scale them. You spot an area with just three stone bricks that are slightly extended from the others, well spaced apart, which is better than pretty much any other wall you could go for. You kneel down at the base of the wall before springing upwards, throwing yourself as high up the wall as you can. Your hands and feet scramble for purchase on the lowest brick, and you just manage to grab onto it! Keeping your momentum going, you throw yourself up from that to the next one, but the last one is some distance away. You kick off the side of the wall to translate some of your movement sideways, and fling yourself over to the last one. From there on, you heave yourself on top of the protective battlements.

As soon as you do so, you can feel a slight resistance to the act, accompanied by a tingling sensation and a rush of warmth. Looking back where you came to try to determine the cause, you see a shimmering blue outline of yourself that's slowly shrinking, almost like you pierced through something that's now mending itself. Azalea passes through the outline with curiosity before it closes entirely, and settles on your shoulder.

"Was that a magic barrier? I didn't think most tallfolk knew magic! Kind of weird to see a barrier out in the middle of nowhere." She comments, eliciting a shrug from you that unintentionally jostles her a bit. Whoops, you'll have to be more mindful of where she is in the future.

"Well, I definitely don't know magic, so this must be special, right? Let's check it out." You respond, turning back around. Now with a proper vantage point, you can see a handful of different buildings near the entrance, one of them bearing a glimmering brass bell at the top. In the center of the 'town', a strange green orb glows in a tantalizing manner while golden rings slowly rotate around it. Of course, what catches your eye the most is the unmistakable figure of the main castle of this castle-town, completely coated in the same ice that had sealed the entrance shut.

>>5547514
You carefully hop down inside the structure, making your way to the closest building. Now that you have a closer look, you can actually tell that ALL of the buildings here have been frozen shut, but the castle definitely got the worse of it. Your sensitive ears do hear the muffled sounds of chatter though. You wonder just how long it's been like this, and also wonder why nobody's broken up the ice if they're all trapped inside their houses because of it.

>You chose to investigate that glowing green orb at the center of town, first. You're almost positive it's magic, and it actually feels a bit warmer closer to it.
>The castle is almost completely frozen over, but what if you could find a way inside of it? Your gut tells you that it's probably where the heart of this mystery lies.
>The smaller buildings look like they'd be pretty easy to get in and out of. You should slip inside one so you can speak to some townspeople, see what's going on with this place!

>>5547518
Oh, and I forgot the important
>Write-in
If you want to do anything specific or anything not mentioned, please, write it in! I want to make sure I include what you want.

>>5547518
>You chose to investigate that glowing green orb at the center of town, first. You're almost positive it's magic, and it actually feels a bit warmer closer to it.

>>5547207
He was agreeing with you.

>>5547518
>>The smaller buildings look like they'd be pretty easy to get in and out of. You should slip inside one so you can speak to some townspeople, see what's going on with this place!

>>5547518
>The smaller buildings look like they'd be pretty easy to get in and out of. You should slip inside one so you can speak to some townspeople, see what's going on with this place!
Are we allowed to combine two of the choices when voting?

>>5547555
Yes, you can! When doing so, I ask that you put them in order of priority.

>>5547525
>>5547552
>>5547555
Calling it and writing. Sorry for the delay, I was having dinner.

>>5547612
No worries QM.

File: 3a7788c30a19a0c5e0f12ec1c(...).jpg (57 KB, 736x736)

57 KB JPG

>>5547525
>>5547552
>>5547555
You opt to try one of the smaller buildings first, just so you can get a better idea of what you're dealing with. It'd be kind of foolhardy to just touch a mystery orb or go right into the thick of it first, after all!

You opt to try the building with the dark green house first, which has stained glass windows with designs of tomes and staves on them. Although the doors are frozen over, it's a simple enough matter crack the comparably thin layer of ice keeping the windows shut and slide it open. The noise, of course, immediately quiets the voices inside down, and as you slip through the window you're greeted with the sight of a remarkably old man and a considerably younger woman, both of them wearing outfits you would politely call 'strange' and wielding staves similar to the ones on the windows.

"Oh my! It seems we have a visitor, after all this time! I was beginning to think our luck was completely gone, it's been so long." The old man says, while his younger companion eyes you and Azalea critically.

"If you're some kind of thief, then you picked the worst place to rob. And if you're not, then you must be extremely unlucky, because you're stuck here like the rest of us now." The woman says, confusing you somewhat in the process.

"Uh, what do you mean? I got in just fine, why wouldn't I be able to get back out?" You ask, but her response is interrupted by the old man.

"Oh, nevermind her! She's just a little cranky because she can't figure out how to conjure up a better pie." He laughs, earning a sour expression from the girl.

"Wait, do you mean that barrier outside? Is it keeping everyone IN instead of OUT?" Azalea chimes in, eyes wide from realizing the implication.

"Yep. Things come in, but not even our strongest spells can help us get out. If you try too hard, it'll start to freeze you until you're little more than an ice sculpture." The girl sighs out. Well, you wanted to find out...at least you didn't find out the hard way, right?

"What's causing it? Is there really no way to get out?" You ask.

"It's all because of the Great Demon Ei Scream. Around five years ago, him and his cronies came up here disguised as wandering scholars and extorted our Lord for all his riches once they slipped past our defenses. He gave them everything they wanted, until the demon asked for his daughter's hand in marriage, so...he kind of threw a fit, and sent his minions to go around freezing everything. Everybody in the castle was frozen solid, and he managed to invert the Heat Barrier Crystal to keep us all trapped in here. Us townsfolk have been able to survive all this time thanks to me and the old man's conjuration magic, but it's no way to live, damn it! It's just that none of us stand a chance against him." She explains.

>>5547647
While infuriating to hear about a bully just walking in and doing that, you suddenly feel a good deal more worried about your predicament. You don't even know magic, but apparently even the practicioners here don't hold a candle to the demon responsible for all this, which means you're DEFINITELY not going to have an easy time trying to take him out head-on. You're going to need a few moments to think about your plan, maybe ask a few questions. Sitting idly by while you and everyone else is trapped is definitely NOT an option.

>Write-in any questions you may have, or plans of action you might want to discuss. You're well aware that this demon and his minions seem to have an affinity towards Ice.

>>5547649
>Is there some fire magic to use against them? Or just throw oil at him and light it up?
>What was the Heat Barrier meant to do? Is it the orb in the middle of the town?

>>5547655
>Is there some fire magic to use against them? Or just throw oil at him and light it up?
"Fire magic could do the trick if we had the opportunity for it, but he's always surrounded by his minions, so we've never really felt like it was a good chance to try. If we could pick them off or separate them somehow, then maybe...as far as oil, magic would definitely work better, but oil works just fine in a pinch! Fire is fire, that's all that matters, right?" The girl answers.

>What was the Heat Barrier meant to do? Is it the orb in the middle of the town?
"Ayep, that's the orb. When it's functioning normally, it's supposed to erase the cold winds coming in from outside and strongly discourage anything from coming in from somewhere other than the entrance. Inverted, though...well, she already told you what it does now." The old man supplies, stroking his beard.

>Keep posting questions as you wish, I'll just be answering ones that pop up in this format until we're good to move on.

>>5547664
>Is there a way to invert the orb without defeat the Ei? If there is, we could try to use it against them.
>How many people are still around? And how many could and would be willing to help get the demons separated to pick them off one by one?

>>5547649
>For how long has this been going on?
>About how many minions does he have?
>Does Ei Scream have any other powers besides ice magic?
Just realized what Ei Scream actually meant, heh.

File: Barbar.jpg (81 KB, 382x600)

81 KB JPG

>>5547697
>Is there a way to invert the orb without defeat the Ei? If there is, we could try to use it against them.
"Not with his lackeys around. If they were gone, we'd have enough magical power to overpower it and revert it back to its proper state, but as long as they're here there's simply too much magic keeping it inverted. Still...if we can get rid of them and revert it, it'd definitely be a powerful boon to use against Ei." The witch answers, cupping her chin thoughtfully.

>How many people are still around? And how many could and would be willing to help get the demons separated to pick them off one by one?
"There's only fourteen of us left, not counting myself and my apprentice here. If you have a solid enough plan, we'll do our part to help out. Other than us, though, the only person I think who's even capable of lasting more than a minute against any of them is Barbar. He mostly keeps to himself in the building closest to the Castle, always watching them for an opportunity. He's actually not a local like we are, he came here and got trapped around two years ago like you did, but he knew we'd need more help if we wanted to actually try something, outside of finding the opportune moment to strike. Either way, he'd definitely help, even if you didn't ask him to. He's a reliable guy like that." The elderly wizard responds, nodding his head.

File: Gerrato.png (417 KB, 448x1122)

417 KB PNG

>>5547712
>For how long has this been going on?
"Five years, like I said before." The girl answers.
>About how many minions does he have?
"Well, to get specific, there's a big guy who I've heard is called "Choke-a-lot". Probably because anyone who angers him gets choked, a lot. Then there's a little guy, named "Spreen'Kals", who I'm pretty sure has never blinked in his entire life...he's a lot faster than you'd expect, but I'm pretty sure he's not all there, if you catch my drift. The last guy, Gerrato, is the one you want to watch out for...he's Ei's right hand man, and he's scarily competent." She answers, shuddering a bit at some memory of the last one she mentioned.
>Does Ei Scream have any other powers besides ice magic?
"Well, if he actually is a demon like he says, then he might! To be honest, I've never delved much into demonology...they're pretty varied. Some of them can get power from blood, some of them can regenerate from mortal wounds...their weaknesses change a lot too, like turning to dust in sunlight or melting if you throw water on them. Regretfully, I don't really know what kind of demon Ei or his minions are. They might be one-trick ponies that have some kind of weirdly specific weakness, if we're lucky...but we'd need to find out, somehow, if that was the case." The old man offers.

>>5547713
>Who are Ei's lackeys? How many of them there? Anything of note about them, like powers, habits, weakness, disputes between themselves? We would have to lure them out, but do so in a way that they don't wise up about it.
>If the others can't fight, then maybe they could be lookouts or help set up traps? You know the city more then we do.
>Do you have anything that could help me fighting them?
We should probably go talk with Barbar next

>>5547723
Oh nevermind, you just answered some of that
I guess if there is any infighting, it would be between Choke and Spreen. Luring Gerrato without getting the attention of Ei would be harder.
I like the pun names, very fitting

File: Spreen'Kals.png (172 KB, 348x417)

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>>5547723
>>5547726
>If the others can't fight, then maybe they could be lookouts or help set up traps? You know the city more then we do.
"Yeah, I think we could easily convince them to at least help with that. It'd take us a day or two to sort out and plan it, but if we can lure them into the right spots to spring the traps, then we'd have a much more solid advantage...!" The girl says, getting visibly excited at the idea that they finally might be able to get out of this.

>Do you have anything that could help me fighting them?
"Hmmm...I just might. I could brew up some potions with the help of your fairy friend there. Fairy dust is an excellent catalyst, after all. I reckon I could make something to protect you from the worst of their ice magic, although it won't be absolute. And it would only last for an hour, so you'd have to be quick once you take it!" The wizard responds, gesturing to Azalea when mentioning her.

Rolled 10, 3, 6, 7 = 26 (4d10)

I'm going to bed for now, but you're still free to ask questions over the night. I'll compile any remaining answers in the morning if there are any, otherwise we'll be heading right to Barbar next time!
It won't be relevant until a few posts from now, but since the general plan seems to be to draw the trio of mooks away to pick them off, I'll need two anons to roll a d10 for the brains check to see how good Honta's execution of that will end up.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5547765

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5547765

>>5547712
That took me a while as well, I blame the fact ei is an actual word in my langue meaning egg

>>5547765
My only questions would be to Barbar, since if he was close to the castle waiting for the time to strike, he probably learned more about the demons.

>>5547773
>>5547776
>>5548128
After asking them just about everything you can think of, now with an actual plan forming in your mind, you bid them both goodbye and promise to come back later when everything is ready. You slip outside the way you came, and make sure to shut the window behind you before you make your way over to the closest building to the castle.

Just like before, you crack the thin layer of ice that started to form over the windows and slide one of them open to slip inside. You don't actually see anyone immediately, unlike before, so you raise your voice a little to ask "Hello? Is anyone here?" only to receive a muffled shushing sound in response which seems like it's coming from upstairs.

Heading up there yourself, you see what you could only call a grizzled warrior, fitted with well-earned muscles and worn equipment that would have plenty of stories to tell if it could talk. He's sitting on a stool and staring out of the upstairs window towards the castle, but you're not really sure what he's hoping to see from here - the angles wrong to look into the windows, and while that means he probably can't be seen himself, you doubt it's an effective way to spy on people.

He only really affords you a quick glance before turning his sight back the castle, giving an indistinct grunt of acknowledgement. "You're new. Walked in like me, I bet. I'd also bet that you're looking for a way out, so you're seeing what I know. Go on, ask your questions...I know I did the same, back when I was in your position."

A little gruff and to-the-point, but that's just fine by you. You can tell just by looking at him that he's going to be a reliable ally if it comes down to fighting.

>What questions do you have for Barbar?

>>5548250
>Tell him about the plan, ask if he thinks it can work, if it needs some tweeking and if he could help with it. And maybe his skills too, so we can work better as a team.
>Ask about Ei and his minions. Does he know any more personalities quirks, powers, weakness or infighting that we could use to lure them out or to make effective traps?
I just realized we didn't ask the woman and the old man their names.

>>5548250
>Do you think it's possible for the two of us to each take down of the minions before Ei Scream and the third minion notice what we're doing?

>>5548261
I was about to add this to my questions, whether we should try to take down the minions one by one, or try to do multiple traps at the same time.

>>5548260
>Tell him about the plan, ask if he thinks it can work, if it needs some tweeking and if he could help with it. And maybe his skills too, so we can work better as a team.
"Hm. I think it could work, yeah. Using traps is a little underhanded, but then again they're demon scum. Choke's gonna be the easiest one to lure away, and" He replies. "As for what I'm good at, I think that's pretty obvious, isn't it? I'm a warrior. I fight with bravery to honor my ancestors. I'll admit, though...even with my skill, I'm no match for Gerrato. When I first got here, I tried to take them on by myself and he humiliated me while they watched. Left me alive because it amused him, I bet. Bastard..."

>Ask about Ei and his minions. Does he know any more personalities quirks, powers, weakness or infighting that we could use to lure them out or to make effective traps?
"Ei's obsessed with the Lord's daughter. Even though he froze her in a fit of rage, I've spied on him stroking the ice she's encased in, whispering something to himself. As for the little guy...everyone thinks he's fast, but I think that's just an illusion. He moves at a normal speed most of the time, but once you blink or stop looking at him, he can move places in an instant. I think it's some kind of sorcery or special ability. He's got the personality of a particularly cruel child, and the intelligence of one to boot. As for the big guy, he has zero finesse and zero patience. Not as empty-headed as the little guy, but his anger issues would make it pretty easy to lure him into a trap. Just watch out, I'm pretty sure he gets stronger proportional to how angry he gets. Maybe if you find a way to soothe his rage mid-fight, you could take the wind out of his sails. Gerrato has no weaknesses, as far as I can tell. He's level-headed, can read people like a book, and he's got strength and skill in spades."
>>5548261
>Do you think it's possible for the two of us to each take down of the minions before Ei Scream and the third minion notice what we're doing?
"Yeah. As long as it's not Gerrato, I think we can take them down. The hard part is going to be when they DO notice that something's up."

>>5548250
>"Is there anything else we should know about? Something that could help us get an edge?"

>>5548326
>Would Ei send Gerrato to deal with the problem, or is he the type to come out of the castle with him? We think we can restore the orb and use fire to fight against Ei himself, but we need to take down all the minions first.
>If both of them come out, perhaps one of us could try to sneak in the castle and try to carry the frozen princess out? If Ei is that obsessed, it would get his attention and get them to split up. It would be very risk though.

>>5548482
>"Is there anything else we should know about? Something that could help us get an edge?"
"Only thing I could think of would be to be mindful of reflections. That ice of theirs is real shiny, so you can use it to cover angles you wouldn't normally be able to see. It's how I've been spying on them, actually." He notes, gesturing to the iced-over castle through the window. Looking a little closer, you can actually see his point - you can see clearly inside because of the reflections on it.
>>5548514
>Would Ei send Gerrato to deal with the problem, or is he the type to come out of the castle with him? We think we can restore the orb and use fire to fight against Ei himself, but we need to take down all the minions first.
"I'm not sure. Ei seemed content to just let his minions do all the work when I barged in, but he also wasn't missing two cronies at them time. I think it'd depend on if he was currently busy obsessing over the princess or not, based on what little I know of him."
>If both of them come out, perhaps one of us could try to sneak in the castle and try to carry the frozen princess out? If Ei is that obsessed, it would get his attention and get them to split up. It would be very risk though.
"That's...a really good idea, actually. I hadn't thought about that. He's not as level-headed as Gerrato when it comes to her, so he'd definitely make haste to go deal with whoever is threatening to take her away from him...hell, we might even be able to lead him right into some traps with a tactic like that!" He exclaims, patting you on the back with a heavy hand. It puts you off balance for a moment, not expecting that level of strength.

>>5547732
>>5547720
Wow, can't believe I kept forgetting to attach a picture of the last minion.

File: Choke-a-lot.png (120 KB, 294x231)

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>>5548529
And I did it again, like some kind of nerd.

>>5548529
We also need an image of Ei, unless you want to drop it as a big reveal
>>5548521
Ok, so let me look at the plan overall
Put traps and lookouts over the city, lure out Choke and Spreen more or less at the same time, make sure they are separated and can't call for help, lead them to the traps and beat them up.
Rearm all the traps and rest a bit while waiting to see if Gerrato will come out alone or with Ei.
If alone, try to bring the fight away from the castle so Ei couldn't go out and help while we gang up on Gerrato. Then start restoring the orb to fight and prepare to fight Ei.
If they come together, one of us sneaks into the castle and gets the princess out, draws Ei's attention and leads him into traps over the city while the other fights Gerrato. Depending on how the fights goes, the wizards can either restore the barrier or focus on firebombing Ei.

I guess what's missing is how to lure out Choke and Spreen to begin with, and how is more suited to sneak into the castle. Barbar has been spying on it for a while, so he might know the layout better, but we got fairy support and being a tigermen might make makes us more agile for the chase.

>>5548540
Oh yeah, we should to ask Azalea if her magic or flying can help deal with the demon's magic directly, otherwise it might be best for her to focus on the potions and healing.
And share some potions with Barbar when they are ready too.

>>5548540
I'll be saving that for when you actually are face to face with him, yeah.
I'll fill in the blanks on the specifics of luring them out, because Honta knows enough about their personalities at this point that he could come up with something generally effective given the previous brains rolls for it.
Looks like the questioning of the townsfolk is done with and a VERY solid plan has been made! Just two things to decide before we move on from the scene, then.

>Honta chooses to take on Choke-a-lot. Remember, he gains strength as he gets angrier and vise-versa!
>Honta chooses to take on Spreen'Kals. Remember, you have to keep your eyes on him the whole time!
and
>Honta will try to lure Ei if it comes down to it.
>Barbar will try to lure Ei if it comes down to it.

>>5548562
>Honta chooses to take on Spreen'Kals. Remember, you have to keep your eyes on him the whole time!

>Honta will try to lure Ei if it comes down to it.

>>5548562
>Honta chooses to take on Spreen'Kals. Remember, you have to keep your eyes on him the whole time!
If Azalea isn't busy helping with tbe potions, she could help here by being a second set of eyes
>Honta will try to lure Ei if it comes down to it.
Let Barbar have his rematch with Gerrato

>>5548562
>>Honta chooses to take on Spreen'Kals. Remember, you have to keep your eyes on him the whole time!
>Barbar will try to lure Ei if it comes down to it.

>>5548573
>>5548575
>>5548585
Calling it, and writing. Might take me a bit because I'm writing wherever I can while I work!

After hashing out the details, you and Barbar head over to the Wizard's building and lay down the details of the updated plan. Azalea chimes in that she's pretty sure she should be able to draw Spreen'Kals to you if he's as childish as Barbar thinks, while Barbar himself just plans to chuck a rock at Choke's head through one of the windows to piss him off. You're quick to suggest an alteration to Barbar's idea that should be less overtly noticeable, in the form of reflecting light into his eyes repeatedly from outside - it should irritate him enough to see what the cause is. Barbar gives one of his signature pats on the back at the suggestion, taking to it well clearly.

The Wizard, who at this point you've learned is named Ahl DeMann, immediately gets to work gathering some basic ingredients from around his shop to start brewing up a potion with Azalea's assistance. His apprentice, who herself is named Yang Gill, steps out to go inform the remaining residents of the preparations that need done and oversee the traplaying. Lastly, Barbar sets a hand on your shoulder and sets his steely gaze on your own.

"We should make sure we're ready for the fight of our lives. Nobody else here has the heart of a warrior, so it rests on us. Come along, I'll show you how to use a warrior's blade. Or at least pawn off some of my tricks to you, if nothing else." He says, leading you outside and back to the lonesome building he resides in. For a few hours into the night, you learn the basics of martial combat. Ultimately, he ended up leaning on teaching you how to read your opponent based on how they move, and how to force certain reactions out of them with your own movement - he said there wouldn't be enough time to teach you how to become a worthwhile swordsman.

While you're definitely no expert on reading your opponents after just a bit of training into it, you can't help but feel the fresh memories of it will come in handy during the upcoming fights. Part of you hopes that you might be able to learn more from the man after this, but for now you have to focus on the present. Once he feels you have a solid enough foundation for what time you have available, he sends you off to bed, saying that all good warriors must sleep well to fight at their best.

Your sleep that night is deeply uncomfortable, occupied by nightmarish scenarios of your untimely demise and visions of being entombed in ice forever, still thinking but unable to move even a muscle. You wake up with a cold sweat come the following morning, but still feel well rested despite the night terrors...you actually find it strange how detailed they were, as yours are usually fairly basic.

>>5548780
You head back out to the town's center, taking the first hour of the morning to familiarize yourself with the traps that everyone placed. On the second hour, Barbar goes over the general layout of the castle's interior with you, which you memorize to the best of your ability since you'll be the one trying to grab the Lord's daughter. And at the start of the third hour, with the sun starting to peak overhead, you find yourself crouched behind one of the buildings watching the castle.

==--Azalea's Perspective--==

You fly through one of the myriad of open windows dotting the outside of the castle, looking around cautiously. You know for sure that you're the best kind of distraction needed to lure Spreen'Kals away, because every kid is susceptible to the charms of a Fairy! You just have to make sure he can spot you when nobody else can, so he can wander off...

You flutter past body after body encased entirely in ice, many of them in pleading positions, others clearly the forms of knights that once tried to fight back. You shudder to think that anyone could be so cruel! Pushing that thought aside, though, you eventually overhear at least two of the Demons talking to each other in the throne room.

"Just how much longer must I wait, Gerrato? You're supposed to be the expert here, and yet I'm not seeing results. Every time I thaw her, she still rejects me. Do I need to tell you what would happen if I found out that you're just toying with me?!" A voice that could only belong to Ei says.

"I wouldn't even think of it, master Scream. Hearts are fickle things to manipulate. Though, I must admit that it would go quicker if you were to stop thawing her every day...the longer they dream, the more time my magic has to take root." Gerrato replies calmly, seemingly undisturbed by his master's frustration. Sounds pretty sinister to you, dream magic in the hands of a demon like that has to be pretty dangerous...

You can't afford to get distracted eavesdropping, you remind yourself, and look for your target. Soon enough, you spot him - about four feet tall, with unfocused wide-open eyes and an unsettling smile plastered on his face. He seems to be using his ice magic to create a him-sized snow-devil, which you note is terrorizing a small snow-town diarama he seems to have made. It's go time...

You subtly fly into his peripheral vision, fluttering in place for a few seconds until you notice him glance over at you. "Ahh? Ahah, hah!" He says, clapping softly. He soon starts walking in your direction, so you turn around and take off back the way you came! No time to waste-

A hand shoots through the air, almost grabbing you. crap! You forgot he could do that if you didn't watch him the whole time! You only narrowly avoided that one, so you turn around and fly backwards, practically blind to your surroundings, just so he can't teleport over to you like that again. It'd be BAD news if you got caught by this evil child!

>>5548784
==--Honta's Perspective--==
You see Azalea rush back out of the window she came in from! Following closely behind her is the unfamiliar form of Spreen'Kals, the child-sized demon doing a somersault out of the window and landing on the snow-covered ground below with his arms in the air, as if to show off. "Ooooh! You're fast! I'm gonna see what your wings taste like, hehe! Maybe I can grow some if I do?" He says, causing a grimace from you. It's time to do this...!

>Start by grabbing his attention, lead him right into a trap!
>He's focused on Azalea right now. It's the perfect opportunity for a sneak attack!
>He really IS childish...do you really have to fight him? Even if he seems pretty cruel, maybe you can neutralize him as a threat some other way...?

>>5548787
>>Start by grabbing his attention, lead him right into a trap!
He is childish, but the cruel kind

>>5548787
>>Start by grabbing his attention, lead him right into a trap!

>>5548787

>Start by grabbing his attention, lead him right into a trap!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5548788
>>5548794
>>5548837
Calling it. Two anons roll me a d10, and beat this roll! It's okay, I'm sure you can make it. He's a brainlet, after all!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5548838
Oh no

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>5548838

>>5548840
>>5548841
Luck is not on your side. On the bright side, you're about to learn a lot! About the meaning of pain.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

You step out into the open, one hand on your hip while the other points straight at him. "Hey, Spreen! You think you're so fast, huh? Why don't you catch me, then!" You declare to the demon, who stares blankly at you for a few moments. When a realization hits him, though, his smile widens further.

"Ohhh! You're new! You want to play tag, huh? Alright, we can play!" He says, doing a jig and clapping his hands. After the fifth clap, however, something you absolutely weren't expecting happens - a burst of snow explodes off of Spreen, much of it in extremely fine particles, in such density that for the briefest of moments it becomes impossible to get a direct line of sight on him. And the moment that your eyes aren't registering him...

You suddenly get the air knocked out of your lungs as an improbably powerful punch lands straight into your gut, sending you sailing right into the town's wall. You immediately hack up a mouthful of blood, eyes unfocusing as the unexpected and swift blow stuns you. "Taaag! You're it!" you hear him say, as you pull yourself from the now-cracked stone wall. While Spreen does another celebratory jig, you finally collect yourself, right as he turns back to look at you. "Oh, right! I'm supposed to run away, right? Okaaay, come catch me!" He says. Shit! Shit, shit, shit! You need to catch him and deal with him now, before he can regroup with anyone else!

>Three Anons, roll 1d10 for your Skill check!

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5548853
Ok, that's a way easier roll to beat

>>5548854
Huh, I managed to tie it twice

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5548853

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5548853

>>5548861
Clutch roll

>>5548854
>>5548858
>>5548861
>CRITICAL SUCCESS!

You burst into action, speeding towards the imp as he turns and starts to run while giggling to himself. He ducks around one of the buildings and you hear a "Hup!" from him, followed by a thud up on the rooftop. Gritting your teeth, you quickly scale the roof yourself, finding him up there peering over the edge towards where he jumped up from, obviously trying to spy you losing track of him.

You rush at him while he's unaware and jump at the last second, positioning your feet directly towards the back of his bulbous head in a move that you would someday find out is called a 'dropkick'. The momentum you impart causes him to cry out and fall off the roof, facefirst into one of the traps. The beartrap snaps around his neck, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain.

"Ack- What, the hell is this?! I don't wanna play this game anymore!" He yells, surprisingly not dead from the fact that a beartrap is digging into what you assume would be many vital arteries. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, you fling yourself off the roof and aim your feet directly at his torso, landing with your full weight on his belly and knocking the air out of him just like he did to you earlier.

The blood he spits up is a dark purple in color, and it's clear that you just inflicted a LOT of damage on him with that. Which is good, because you're not sure how many of his strangely powerful blows you could take, either. Before you can follow up, he seems to recover as he reaches up and grabs hold of the beartrap, shattering it into pieces as he rips it open. You slide away from him moments before one of his legs would have lashed out at you, and get to your feet. Things are looking a little more even now...

>Lure him into a Fire trap, specifically. With the kind of damage he just took, it's sure to finish him off.
>Time to apply Barbar's lessons. Control his movements and bait him into the perfect counter.
>He's wounded, there's no better time to follow up and stop him from recovering. Your blood is telling you to attack and not let up!

>>5548865
>He's wounded, there's no better time to follow up and stop him from recovering. Your blood is telling you to attack and not let up!

>>5548865
>Time to apply Barbar's lessons. Control his movements and bait him into the perfect counter.

>>5548865
>>He's wounded, there's no better time to follow up and stop him from recovering. Your blood is telling you to attack and not let up!

>>5548886
>>5548888
>>5548889
Calling it!
Three anons roll me a d10!

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5548911

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5548911

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>5548911

Rolled 6, 8, 1, 7 = 22 (4d10)

>>5548916
>>5548920
>>5548930
This might hurt, unless he also rolls a 1.
Depending on how his roll goes, you may see that it is not the wisest choice to go in on brawns with the kid that's displayed abnormal strength so far.

>>5548937
Wait, you are making crit mechanics in a 1d10? That means that there are going to be nearly non-stop crits
I didn't think that the critical success was serious

>>5548945
It also means that getting better at a skill means we have to roll more, meaning even more crits, either failure or success.
I just reread the OP explaining the rules to check. I guess everyone jumping between a genius or a goofball fits dragonball.

>>5548945
>>5548950
Yes, crits and critfails are a thing even on a d10. But they're not as serious as they will be when the dice evolve to d20, or d50, or d100. The severity of a crit scales with how hard it is to get the crit. I think it's a good way to represent how people are a lot more prone to highs and lows when they're unskilled, and when they get into higher tiers they're a lot more consistent at what they do.

>48.8% chance to get a crit on a d10 with three dice
Huh, that's higher than I expected.

>>5548937
>This might hurt, unless he also rolls a 1.
Good thing he did, eh?

>>5548959
That does seem like a bit much. But I guess QM's explanation makes sense.

>>5548956
It's a novel way to do things, might be interesting to see if it works.

>>5548916
>>5548920
>>5548930
>Mutual Exchange! Critical Failure for both parties!
>Turn 3 reached.

"You...you...I HATE YOU!" Spreen shouts at you as he picks himself up off the ground. You rush in to press the advantage, brandishing your claws and slicing them across his face and tearing into one of his eyes in the process. He screams out in pain and clutches the one eye, while throwing his other hand in front of your face. You can't help yourself, and reflexively blink when you flich.

A sense of incredibly nausea and fuzziness overtakes you as another powerful blow lands on you, this time an overhead punch that gives you immediate whiplash when it slams your face into the stone floor. Your nose definitely broke from that, rivets of blood flowing out immediately, and you think one of your canines might have cracked in half.

"MY EYE! DIE, DIE, DIE!" He continues to shout, but you have enough sense of mind to roll out of the way as he repeatedly stomps the floor, missing your head by a few inches each time thanks to your evasive maneuvers. It's a good thing too, because each one is sending bits of ice and stone all over the place.

You're struggling to find a single moment to right yourself, when Azalea flies in front of him and pokes him right in the good eye. He howls in added pain and clutches that one as well, stumbling backwards as you take the well-needed chance to bring yourself back up to your feet. You're feeling pretty woozy after those hits, so you'll need to end this fast...

...Or so you thought, but it looks like you held on long enough for help to arrive. "Ala-ka-ZAM!" A familiar female's voice calls out, a sudden bout of flame engulfing Spreen's form. He looks around wildly in panic and pain as his form seems to melt before your eyes.

"No, no! Not like this! I still had games I wanted to---!" he exclaims, before he melts completely into nothing more than a puddle of water. Yang steps forward, kicking some snow over the puddle.

"Good riddance...looks like he did a number on you, huh? Sorry it took so long, I had to gather enough magical power to make sure it could finish the job." Yang says, bowing to you in apology. Azalea brings her bag of fairy dust over to you, sprinkling it on you like she did once before and mending the majority of your injuries. The pain is still there, but at least you're mostly in good condition again!

"Thanks...he was a lot stronger than I expected. It's really tricky to fight someone without blinking, too. There's no time to rest though, let's go see if Barbar needs backup!" You say, wiping the blood off of your face and running towards the other side of town.

(Next post in a bit, just posting this for now)

>>5548974
When you arrive, it's to the scene of Barbar standing atop the fallen form of the rather massive Choke-a-lot, the only blood that can be found on him belonging to his foe. He pulls his blade from the slain demon's chest where it was buried, and flourishes it off to the side to flick the blood off of it before he slides it back into the sheath on his back. Choke's body is shrinking down rather rapidly, but it doesn't seem like it's melting like Spreen's body was.

Barbar hops down from the body, nodding at your group. "That makes two, then. I'll call them out...just make sure you move quickly in there. I won't be able to avoid the last two for very long." he says, pulling out his potion and quaffing it now. Seems like he was saving his for what he judged to be the tougher part of the battle - you already took yours, moments prior to your fight.

You return his nod, and glance up towards the castle. Looks like it's time to show off what you can do...

>Three anons, roll 1d10.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5548996

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5548996

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>5548996

File: FKDehxVXIAU0999.jpg (38 KB, 593x656)

38 KB JPG

Rolled 6, 4, 8 = 18 (3d10)

>>5549021
Writing. On the bright side, Azalea is here to help! Hopefully!

>>5549021
fuck

>>5549021
Such is the will of dice.
After this we should probably train non-stop.

File: 1644105166594.png (572 KB, 1080x1080)

572 KB PNG

>>5549024
>PC crashed when the post was finished and I was looking for an adequate picture
The curse is real, gentlemen.
I'll take that as a queue to go to bed instead of finishing that post for now. Next update will be in the morning, most likely.

File: Eke2YYHW0AMVHT8.jpg (72 KB, 465x900)

72 KB JPG

>>5549085
haha nevermind i recovered the .txt file
You set out to scale the side of the castle, claws digging into the ice to make your own purchase. It's pretty difficult to do with how slick it is, and you almost slip a few times, but soon enough you're able to reach and pull yourself through one of the lowest open windows of the castle. There, you're greeted by the same sight that Azalea was before - countless frozen bodies, looks of terror etched into their faces that perfectly capture their emotions in their last moments. It's unnerving as you move past them.

With your mind still cloudy from the heavy blows you took fighting Spreen, you would have likely gone down the wrong hallway several times in a row had it not been for Azalea tugging you back in the right direction. "Shake it off! Keep your head in the game, alright?" She encourages you. Soon enough, you hear the queue you were waiting for.

"Demons! Come and face me again! Today, all of you pay for your crimes!" Barbar shouts from outside. There's a still silence for a few moments, before a deep laughter echoes out from deeper within the castle - so loud that you're sure Barbar could easily hear it. Heavy footsteps can be heard, rapidly growing louder as they seem to be coming down YOUR hallway specifically! Azalea is quick to tug you by the collar into a side-room, just in the nick of time as the shadowed forms of the two remaining demons pass by the doorway moments later.

Once you're both sure that it's clear, you exit back out into the hall and proceed even deeper into the castle, aiming for the throne room. After about half a minute, you finally manage to find it; the unmistakeable form of the Lord's daughter is easy enough to find, as she's easily the finest dressed girl in the room. Grabbing her encased body with both arms, you start to haul her out towards the nearest window, which takes you another thirty seconds.

File: Ei Scream.png (1.13 MB, 1125x1234)

1.13 MB PNG

>>5549147
Once you're back outside, you hear the sound of steel clashing against steel. Girreto's slender blade is effortlessly holding back Barbar's own massive one, and Girreto looks...bored, almost. "Really, now? In all of this time, you still haven't improved, have you? How disappointing. If you can't show me a good time, then I really should just kill you." he remarks callously, while Barbar's face grows red with indignation. The huge form of Ei seems to be watching with amusement.

"You bastard! I'll show you exactly what I've learned!" he says, backing away and ending the blade-clash while he adjusts his positioning and footwork. The edges of Gerrato's lips turn up in a smirk, this reaction clearly being just what he wanted. You, however, have a job to do.

"Hey, Ei! You missing something?" You shout out at the group, causing Ei to turn your way and gape in shock while Gerrato merely side-eyes you. Ei's expression quickly turns to one of rage, though, and he clenches his fists hard enough to cause the nails to dig into the flesh.

"YOUUUU...YOU DARE TO LAY A FINGER ON MY BELOVED?! I'LL SHATTER YOU INTO A MILLION PIECES!" He roars, a frosty mist escaping from his mouth as he does so. This...is where it's going to get tricky.

>Paused.
>Three anons can roll another d10 for me, in the meanwhile.

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5549149

Another day, another chunk of posts done! Honestly didn't expect to get this much done on a work day.
What form of question interaction do you like more, the type done when first encountering Azalea, or the type done with the townsfolk?
Anything you like, don't like, etc so far? Any areas I could specifically improve yet?
Shoutout to the anons that noticed the puns, I fuckin love db's habit of making names puns.

>>5549153
Action is fine, though I'm wondering when we'll get into the meat of things. But I mean I'm not against more exploring.
Yeah, one of the charms of Dragon Ball is the names like that.

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>5549149

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5549149

>>5549195
Blessed

>>5549153
I like it so far, my favorite part of early dragonball was always exploring the weird world more then the dragonball hunt itself.

File: YEAH.jpg (66 KB, 810x281)

66 KB JPG

>>5549195
Now that's what I'm talking about, baby!
What a thing to wake up to.

>>5549152
>>5549168
>>5549195
A bright flash of blue light emits from Ei, and a sudden pillar of ice grows beneath his feet to launch him towards you at high speeds! You move even quicker though, leaping down from the castle's window with your cargo safely held under an arm. Meanwhile, Gerrato seems to have taken a cut to his face thanks to the momentary distraction you provided, and he's quick to return his attention to the enemy right in front of him.

Ei's hands glow with a sinister blue energy as he chases you, and every time he thrusts his palms towards you boulder of ice appears where you were only moments before. While he's definitely not fast on his own, his ability to keep launching him towards you makes up for it at least somewhat - and you're thankful for that, because he doesn't seem to be able to redirect himself when he's already in the air. Using that knowledge to your advantage, you lead him into trap after trap.

Beartraps snap over his ankles, causing his eyes to bulge out briefly in pain before he flash-freezes them and shatters them. He gets slammed into one of the walls by a log that, seemingly out of nowhere from his perspective, slams into his torso. He gets pincushioned by dozens of knives launching themselves into his back. He gets doused in oil, which almost immediately goes up in flames and charrs his skin and clothes. You'll hand it to him, though...because even after getting all of that and more multiple times from a few different traps, he's still going!

"You...damn...brat! You really think THIS would be enough to stop the great EI SCREAM? It's annoying, I'll give you that much, but it's nothing more than scratches to me!" He huffs, clearly out of breath from exerting himself on the chase. You've actually run out of traps to pull him through, but at least the damage done looks to be significant!

"I'm just getting warmed up!" You reply with a cheeky grin.

>Put the frozen girl aside and rush him! With the effects of the potion, you should be safe from the brunt of his magic, and he probably won't be expecting you to shrug something like that off.
>Keep the frozen girl with you, and stall him by putting her in the way of his attacks. He wouldn't DARE to harm her by accident.
>Keep the frozen girl with you, and continue leading him on a chase by dodging his attacks and running around town. Once that heat barrier is reverted, he's as good as done!

>>5549597
>Keep the frozen girl with you, and continue leading him on a chase by dodging his attacks and running around town. Once that heat barrier is reverted, he's as good as done!
Believe in the plan! Keep running and leading him into traps.

>>5549600
>You've actually run out of traps to pull him through

>>5549597

>Put the frozen girl aside and rush him! With the effects of the potion, you should be safe from the brunt of his magic, and he probably won't be expecting you to shrug something like that off.

If we start losing, we can retreat back the girl and use her as a hostage, but this seems like a pretty good time to press the attack.

>>5549601
Oh shit, I didn't see that
Anyway, the barrier going down is part of the plan. So I'll still believe in it

>>5549597
>Keep the frozen girl with you, and continue leading him on a chase by dodging his attacks and running around town. Once that heat barrier is reverted, he's as good as done!

>>5549597
>>Put the frozen girl aside and rush him! With the effects of the potion, you should be safe from the brunt of his magic, and he probably won't be expecting you to shrug something like that off.

>>5549600
>>5549602
>>5549714
>>5549744
Next voter is the tiebreaker, at which point we'll be calling it!

>>5549746
>>5549597
>Put the frozen girl aside and rush him! With the effects of the potion, you should be safe from the brunt of his magic, and he probably won't be expecting you to shrug something like that off.

Here ya go buddy.

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

>>5549600
>>5549602
>>5549714
>>5549744
>>5549751
>Put the frozen girl aside and rush him! With the effects of the potion, you should be safe from the brunt of his magic, and he probably won't be expecting you to shrug something like that off.
Wins it! Looks like you're going in for a beatdown!
Three anons, roll 1d10 for me! Beat THIS!

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5549762

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>5549762

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5549762

>>5549766
>>5549769
>>5549778
"Think fast!" You shout at him, right before you heave the frozen girl right at him. His eyes practically pop out of their sockets as he scrambles to grab her, setting her aside with surprising delicacy. Unfortunately for him, the moment he puts her down your fist slams right into the side of his jaw with all the force you could possibly muster. It rocks his head to the side in an instant, and actually causes him to spit out one of his teeth!

"You-!" He tries to say as he turns back to you, before you follow up by jamming your knee roughly inbetween his legs to target every man's weakpoint. A high pitched sound that honestly hurts your ears releases from the demon, but he makes some room by sweeping his hand on your way and releasing a wave of icicles that you narrowly twist under.

Wanting to keep up the pressure, you extend your claws and try to go for his eyes, but he tilts backwards just in time so that you swipe only air. One of his claws reaches up to tap you on the wrist in one fast and smooth motion, and you pull back immediately to make some distance. A blue glow seems to be left on the spot he touched, and after a few moments a searing flash of fire pops up in that same location, the magic of the potion you ingested apparently eradicating whatever ice magic he just tried to use on you. Despite that, you still feel a lingering numbness in that spot, and you shake your hand to try to get the feeling to fade.

"Hoh? You resisted my flash-freeze? You really prepared well for this, brat. Well, let's see how you handle this!" He says, throwing one of his hands out and gathering that blue energy of his in it. Not pointed at you, but off in the distance towards another part of town, where you can see Barbar still struggling against Gerrato! You need to stop that attack, before it ruins everything! But how?

>Intercept it yourself, you can take it thanks to that potion! It'll hurt, but it's guaranteed to work!
>Knock him aside, all you need to do is ruin his aim!
>Something else? (Write-in)

>>5549880
>Knock him aside, all you need to do is ruin his aim!
Or just hits his arms.
I guess we could also try to pick up the girl again, he would have to stop or risk hurting her.

>>5549880
>Intercept it yourself, you can take it thanks to that potion! It'll hurt, but it's guaranteed to work!

>>5549889
Tis an option!

>>5549880
>Knock him aside, all you need to do is ruin his aim!
With any luck we can make him hit Gerrato

>>5549880

>Knock him aside, all you need to do is ruin his aim!

Better to just knock the blast aside rather than hit his lackey, that seems chancy at best.

Also where are all the other townsfolk? Hopefully they're working on the magic barrier while we're doing the heavy lifting.

>>5549889
>>5549891
>>5549896
>>5549919
Three anons, roll me a d10! Hope you roll well!

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>5549934

>>5549934

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5549938
Dang, I'm a literal retarded.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5549934

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>5549934
I'm think we should pick up the the princess next no matter the result. We have to buy time

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>5549937
>>5549941
>>5549942
6! Let's see if it's enough.
Luckily, Skill is quite easily his weakest stat. He's slow and uncoordinated!
>>5549944
Sure, I can squeeze that in.

File: tailsgetstrolled.png (50 KB, 1080x1080)

50 KB PNG

>>5549946
Well, this will hurt, but it won't be you getting hurt. Not this time.

>>5549951
Sorry Barbar.
Maybe we should send Azalea to heal him up

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5549934

Haha I'm sure nothing will go wrong!

>>5549970
Too late, unfortunately

>>5549970
I can be a little merciful just this once. I'll use this for what >>5549959 suggested.
Writing, but still at work so might take a bit!

>>5549937
>>5549941
>>5549942
>>5549944
>>5549970
Without a moment's hesitation, you rush forward and slam your shoulder into him in order to transfer your full weight directly to him. The energy that was gathering in his hand shoots out the moment that you do, forming into a deadly lance of ice that streaks off towards Barbar. You can't afford to watch him for too long though, as the blue claws of Ei swipe out at you a few times, requiring you to dodge back. While you do so, you hear it.

"AUUGH! You bastard!" Barbar screams out, and a glance back to him. It seems like the lance of ice had streaked past his side, tearing open a gash in it - but worse than that, Gerrato took advantage of that very moment to turn the tides on Barbar by severing one of the man's arms, right at the bicep. To Barbar's credit, he seems to have shifted to a one-handed grip on his weapon and adapted to the situation quickly enough to not be immediately overwhelmed by the sudden disadvantages, gritting his teeth as he makes some distance from his foe.

"Hold on, I'm coming to help!" Azalea shouts out in her squeaky voice, flying as fast as she can over towards the warrior. You have to direct your attention fully back to Ei though, and maintain the advantage you have in your own fight. In order to stop him from pulling any more dirty tricks like that, you bring the frozen girl back into your grasp, and bare your claws menacingly at the demon.

He narrows his eyes and watches you warily, but seems unwilling to act first. The tension between the two of you is thick, but then the situation seems to finally change.

>Turn 3.

A wave of Warmth washes over the area, and the Heat Barrier that's usually hanging invisibly overhead glows a bright orange for a few moments. A sizzling sound can be heard, emitting from Ei himself as he starts to sweat vigorously. "What?! The barrier! No...even throwing out that much magic, Spreen and Choke should have been able to cover the reserves!" He shouts in surprise, glancing over to the orb in the center of town, which is currently being watched over by the Wizard and his Apprentice.

Ei suddenly looks a lot less sure of himself, but still unwilling to leave with the girl in your hands. It's time to finish this, so you can help Barbar!

>NOW apply Barbar's lessons - bait him into attacking you in a specific way, and set up the perfect counter to shatter him.
>Pin down his movements, and let the Wizard generate some orb-enhanced magical fire to melt him.
>Something else? (Write-in)

>>5550105
>NOW apply Barbar's lessons - bait him into attacking you in a specific way, and set up the perfect counter to shatter him.

>>5550105
>>NOW apply Barbar's lessons - bait him into attacking you in a specific way, and set up the perfect counter to shatter him.

>>5550105

>NOW apply Barbar's lessons - bait him into attacking you in a specific way, and set up the perfect counter to shatter him.

This is the moment.

>>5550105
>NOW apply Barbar's lessons - bait him into attacking you in a specific way, and set up the perfect counter to shatter him.

>>5550108
>>5550109
>>5550110
>>5550115
You know what you must do.
Three anons. 1d10.

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5550116

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5550116

I feel good about this anons

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>5550116

>>5550117
>>5550122
>>5550125
In his weakened state, his roll result would have been halved. With a maximum possible roll of 5, which you exceed, he automatically fails. Writing!

You can't afford to wait for someone else to finish him off, not when Barbar needs your help here and now! But you can't just rush into things now - your experience with hunting tells you that creatures fight as hard as possible when they have nowhere left to run, and right now he definitely looks like a cornered animal. No, you need to make him go exactly where you want him to go, and do exactly what you want him to do.

You start by sending a few jabs and kicks his way, watching his reactions carefully as he parries them off to the side while growling. You start pressing forward while you do it, upping the pace and giving him little time to think as he dedicates all of his attention towards pure defense, moving him further and further backwards...until there's no space left to do so. His back touches the wall, and you can see his eyes dart sideways when he realizes it.

In desperation, he lunges forwards and completely abandons his guard, ready to tear through you - just like you expected him to. You duck under his swing and put your all into a right hook straight into his gut, combining both his and your own momentum to pound your fist into him as hard as possible. You hear a sharp sound akin to glass breaking while Ei's face is morphed into an expression of pure pain and terror that mimics those of his victims. You see huge fractures forming along his 'skin', and once they finally meet around his body he shatters all at once.

The snow and ice all around in the town almost immediately starts to dissipate into motes of blue light that themselves fade away after a few seconds, no longer being sustained by Ei's dark magics. The effect is slow at first, but is rapidly escalating in speed by the second. Your job isn't quite over yet, though, so you turn to look towards Gerrato.

Gerrato looks back to you with his still-unworried expression, his sword once more clashing in a battle of strength against Barbar's own. Barbar himself seems to have been healed handily by Azalea, although it seems she's unable to reattach limbs - she merely sealed it so that the wound no longer bleeds, it seems. Gerrato steps back and pulls his blade away from Barbar's, before making a smooth flourish to slide it back into its sheath.

"What a complete and utter disappointment this has been. You all just had to break my toys, didn't you? All of that work turning him into a desperate fool, for nothing. Just one more year and I would have a blindly loyal slave with the ability to trap people in an eternal slumber, to forever dream..." He muses while you approach, Barbar watching him intently for any sign of action or trickery.

"You mean...you're the reason why all of this happened?!" You shout, earning a smile from the last remaining demon.

"You make it sound personal. I assure you, it was simply a matter of convenience. Of course, now that I have no reason to be here, I think I'll simply leave. If you have a problem with that, I have no issue with stepping over your corpse to do so." he replies, a dangerous edge to his voice.

>No way in hell!
>He never once seemed like he was pressured while fighting Barbar...maybe this is beyond your group. Let him go.

>>5550190
The second option is a better idea but I don't feel like it's in character.
We need to get our ass kicked before we learn caution.
>No way in hell!

>>5550190
>No way in hell!
We got throw right into the deep end, didn't we?

>>5550190
>>No way in hell!

>>5550190
>He never once seemed like he was pressured while fighting Barbar...maybe this is beyond your group. Let him go.
I dunno man, this seems kind of bad.

Rolled 1, 9, 7, 8, 9 = 34 (5d10)

>>5550195
>>5550196
>>5550204
>>5550293
Calling it now, it looks like we're going in for a fight. Sorry for the delay, I was watching Bullet Train with the family. 10/10 give it a shot lads

I'll need a d10 from three anons!
As for the enemy's roll...

Rolled 5 (1d10)

>>5550311

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5550311
Oh good, I was worried thought he was going to roll d20s instead of d10s

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5550311

Rolled 7, 7, 3, 3 = 20 (4d10)

>>5550311
Holy shit, we got a live one folks. A real jobber for how hyped up he was.
At any rate, it's important to note that you're not alone in this fight! Here's what old man Barbar's roll to assist is.

>>5550315
Does Ahl DeMann or Yang Gill are ready to help, or are they busy with the barrier?
What's pun on their names? I haven't figured it out yet

>>5550319
Ahl DeMann could be Alderman

>>5550319
They'll be doing their own part, but the kind of magic they use and are familiar with isn't the spontaneous kind you can pull out easily. Remember, it took them a bit to charge up just a fireball for Spreen.
Old Man and Young Girl