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It is the 1550s.
A time of expansion, exploration, and trade.

Amidst great empires, a small country manages to establish itself as a trading center.

Within Sablestream lies Clawflash, a city surrounded by many rivers. The prosperous center of trade was originally founded by Birdmen, divine messengers of deities.

A highly competitive world where wealth can be easily amassed and washed away. A destination for any goblin, human, or giant seeking to improve their status.

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YOU are Sira

Formerly an apothecary in training, ladykiller, martial artist, security agent of a slave auditing company, and a member of Red Winter crime organization that funded the company, his career was ended by Johannes, the military advisor (and hitman) of the monarchy due to uncovering state secrets.

His left hand was severed and both of his thighs were cut. His colleague, Bow, managed to reconstruct him with the use of blood magic, but the extent of his injuries forced him into an administrative role — he became a brothel keeper.

For years, he did the bare minimum and preferred to stay in his room to daydream about Kriegmessers (Warknives) and sideswords.

Recently, he decided to give a shit again, and turned the barely solvent brothel into a successful one.

https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2023/5593108/
(Not necessary to read, although it details Sira’s journey from the 1st - 4th month)

He just needs to keep this brothel going for eight more months and his time as a brothel keeper will be over — his body would have fully recovered from the injuries by then.

Sira does not run theNectar Droplet brothel alone, and these are his colleagues…

Head of security division — Arun
An old man that has seen and dealt with troublemakers his entire life. He is someone Sira consults when it comes to criminal activity and his reputation within the Red Winter organization.

Head of financial division — Dao
A goblin that oversees the funds of the brothel. She is a reliable colleague that is knowledgeable about the entertainment district in general.

Head of medical division — Warin
Sira’s most trusted colleague and lover. Oversees the monthly supply of contraceptives and abortifacients being sent to the brothel. One of the few that dabble in black magic.

Shock troops — Sira’s Crows
Fellow security agents from his days working for Catchers Corps, a slave auditing company. A small force of only nine people, but skilled in raids and infiltration.

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Aside from his expertise in fencing and gunnery, Sira is blessed with supernatural powers.

Warin mended his muscles back together using a magical black resin, which permanently connected him to the supernatural world.

His abilities are…

Fade
Teleport to a location within line of sight. Time slows down when concentrating on a location.

Arcane bond
Gift his 'Fade' to others by holding their hand. The stronger the connection, the more powerful their Fade becomes. He can take back his blessing at any time.

it’s basically Daud’s blink from Dishonored.

To operate the brothel smoothly, there are 4 aspects to keep track of…

Funds
Amount of money the brothel has.

Morale
The happiness and loyalty of employees.

Security
Speed of neutralizing troublemakers.

Connections
Reputation of the brothel and the ability to ask for favors from other members in Red Winter.

Each of these aspects can be used as currency in certain decisions.

Depending on how a mission is finished, some can increase or decrease.

Don’t let any of them hit 0.

Miscellaneous info:

Updates — 2-3 times per day

Voting period — 7-10 hours, although depending on my sleep schedule and player vote, it can be extended

Is this a drawquest? — sometimes, depends if im free or not

Your tripcode(s)? — I phonepost but I occasionally tabletpost as well, so you might see two trips. Don’t worry. It’s me.

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Fifth month — first half

Funds 8/10
Morale 8/10
Security 8/10
Connections 6/10

The start of rain season in Sablestream, which will last until the tenth month. A time of farming, fishing, and mosquitos. In a month, the Royal Ploughing ceremony will occur, signaling an auspicious beginning of farming.

Depending on what the sacred cows choose to eat, the astrologers will predict which aspect of Sablestream will grow, which usually becomes a self fulfilling prophecy as people will support it. A roll of the dice to see which industry will prosper. Whether it be commerce, agriculture, or aquaculture, they will affect the brothel in some way.

In this month, he only has time for a single favor, but he receives two…

>Investigation — Apothecaries’ missing shipment (+connections, ++ / — morale)
Zeal and Cris are highly trained apothecaries who supply the brothels with contraceptives and abortifacients. Morbid and edgy, they get away with their crassness at times due to their importance to the Red Winter.

Recently, their recent shipment has gone missing on their way to Clawflash. Investigating them will calm a lot of people in the entertainment district.

>Guidance — train the Moon Silk’s plantation security (++ / — connections, —security)
Moon Silk is a liquor company that specializes in fruit wine. Fearing their fruits get stolen during the next month, the Red Winter associates ask for Sira and his crows’ help on improving their security on their plantations, in the northern province of Pikebreak.

Assisting them in training will make the senior members of Red Winter happy, but at the cost of reducing the security of the brothel.

>>5629037
>Guidance — train the Moon Silk’s plantation security (++ / — connections, —security)

>>5629037
>Investigation — Apothecaries’ missing shipment (+connections, ++ / — morale)

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5629058
>>5629112
1 = guide
2 = investigate

>>5629664

>guidance

Sablestream was never a single, homogeneous country. Regions were ruled by small kingdoms which consisted of varying numbers of provinces.

As the Clawflash Kingdom became a center of commerce, its influence overpowered the northern Kingdom of Unblood, eventually annexing it and changed the capital of the country to Clawflash.

While not as powerful commercially, the northern provinces and its hearty environment has allowed animals and plants to grow to a substantial size.

Few places aside from Pikebreak can produce peaches and plums with proportions similar to a melon.

With the size of the plantations, this operation requires many people from the brothel.

Sira, his crows travel to the north…

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>>5629760

Pikebreak — Moon silk plantation

Three weeks.
Sixty guards.
Ten instructors.

Most of the guards are giants, but some are decently large humans. While most are equipped with polearms, some have matchlock arquebuses.

Despite having weapons with longer reach, they aren’t particularly successful at warding off bandit groups based on their previous records.

They rarely caught the bandits, and when they do, they cannot close the distance due to their eye irritant powders. Sometimes, their equipment were unknowingly covered with sticky substances that made using their polearms and guns difficult.

From the reports, the bandits carry knives and swords, and could have used them in combat, but preferred to flee or use the powders. Perhaps they are afraid of these guards being replaced by more competent ones?

From what he has seen, there’s a lot to teach..

Target identification. Weapons and equipment manipulation. Situational awareness.

Sira decides to focus on..

>Target Identification
Locating these bandits first is key to avoid being blinded by them.

>Weapons manipulation
They need to fight effectively even when the odds are stacked against their favor.

>Situational awareness
They cannot let their equipment tampered with.

>>5629763
>Weapons manipulation
If they can fight even when caught off-guard or impeded by powders or adhesives, then the bandits can fuck around all they want, and even change specific strategies around and STILL be fucked.

>>5629763
>Target Identification
Information is key in most situations.

>>5629763
>Target information
Deception

>>5629949
I assume you meant “target identification”?

There’s only target identification / weapons manipulation / situational awareness

>>5629951
Yea

>>5629952
aight

closing votes in an hour

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>>5629952
>>5629951
>>5629949


>Target identification.

In order to engage the threat, the guards must see the threat before them.

While Sira isn’t the best arquebusier out there, he knows a few tricks in identifying a target.

「This is the most important lesson of all — DO NOT try look to for people. You’ll overlook things that doesn’t resemble a normal person. Tunnel vision makes it hard to spot people.」

「Your brain is good at pattern recognition and figuring out where things are supposed to be, but we can improve it. You need to force yourself to look in a different way than usual. If you look left to right, you need to look right to left. It is unusual, but a different perspective can help spot things you might not previously.」

His background in infiltration allows him to advise the guards about techniques for stealth.

「I’ve noticed from the reports that these bandits are short. Really short. Slightly shorter than me, which means their hiding spots can be a lot more diverse.」

「This technique is the 'quail'. Basically, you curl up into a ball and slow down the breathing. From a distance, they will look like a rock.」

「Height changes are important in stealth. Your eyes don’t focus on the sky or ground unless something there demands your attention. This is also the reason why you need to look in a different way than usual.」

Rolled 1, 3, 2 = 6 (3d3)

>>5630010
With the classroom portions done, the guards will be tested on application of their knowledge.

「Three tests. For the first test, you need to find objects that the bandits that leave behind. Traps. Stashes. Boxes. Things that don’t belong in a forest. Find and Identify them. Time limit is three hours.」

「Second test is identifying and intercepting the bandits. Your polearms will be wrapped in cloth. Your blades will be replaced by wooden wasters. The guns will be wooden replicas. I and other instructors will be playing as the bandits. We will try to run away. Time limit is three hours.」

「Third test is a combination of both. I and other instructors will try to steal fruit replicas. Some of us will try to flee if spotted. Some will try to fight. Three hours as usual.」

「First test will begin at dawn. Second at noon. Third at dusk. If you fail the third test, you better pass the first and second. Same goes for the opposite. Good luck.」

..
…

While Sira has taught them extensively about spotting threats, the guards’ attention span and stamina are not infinite.

Bonuses [3d3]
1 = +2 bonus
2 = +4 bonus
3 = +6 bonus

>>5630011

>Assign the bonuses
you can put multiple bonuses in one test

First test: DC 13
Second test: DC 15
Third test: DC 18

Bonuses:
+2
+6
+4

>>5630013
>Test 1
+2
>Test 3:
+6 AND +4

>>5630047
that

>>5630047
+1

>>5630047
+1

Rolled 18, 1, 16 = 35 (3d20)

>>5630015
>>5630047
>>5630319
>>5630375
>>5630401

First test +2 bonus
Second test no bonus
Third test +10 bonus

>>5630580
Yikes, what a spread. Still, two successes, one quite monumental!

Oh god, the crtifail

>>5630580

>20, 1, 26 vs 13, 15, 18

At dawn, the guards had good concentration and retained the majority of what they learned from the previous days. With their rigorous studying and application of spotting techniques, they were able to identify all twenty objects with nearly an hour remaining.

The test at noon is where they completely failed. The bright sunlight and fatigue makes them barely able to focus, with some of them falsely identifying other guards as bandits instead. A frustrating experience that resulted in none of the instructors being captured, let alone identified. Sira is pretty worried about how well they would do in their final test.

They spent their free time preciously, going over their primary plans, their secondary and alternate ones should the first ones fail, creating slightly larger groups and revising their tactics based on the failure of the second test. Each person will cover smaller angles than before, but the group will be able to move faster in general.

They are frustrated, no doubt, but they don’t have time right now. They just need to pass this test. Although faint, Sira can see a semblance of his crows’ early days in them.

Their rigorous training and practice pays off. As the night continues, more instructors are chased off or captured. The fruit replicas were secured.

>>5630742

Since they passed the tests, they get a day off tomorrow.

Still, the catastrophic failure of the second test will not be forgotten — Sira and his crows will need to build team cohesion and cooperation when they teach situational awareness and weapons manipulation.

Fifth month — Second half

The sun starts to set once again. The day off for both the guards and his crows are coming to an end.

Sira spends the evening alone, writing down reports of the guards’ progress and checking the schedules.

They’re learning pretty quickly. At this rate, I could give them another day off if they can pass the weapons manipulation tests.

In his peripheral vision, he sees shadows moving and vegetation being disturbed through the open window. It’s probably the guards trying to visit, but he can’t be sure.

His wheellock pistol is retrieved and cocked, but remains hidden underneath the desk. Sira unsheathes his sidesword.

""calm down mister.""

He hears a voice of some young teenager. Male. No older than sixteen. Sira immediately moves away from the window, thinking someone has spotted him through it.

""we only want to talk.""

The sound must be coming from the outside.

""you are the instructor they sent, right? we want to negotiate.""

「.. I am speaking to the leaders of the bandits right now?」

""yeah.""
""I can see you’re gonna make our job a lot harder than before. we want to make a deal: we won’t bother this place again if you help us find another source for peaches. You send us to your competitor and we’ll be on our way.""

「How many of you are out there.」

""uhh… about eight?""

The number sounds about right. These bandits are.. sixteen year olds? Risking their lives for some peaches of all things? It’s expensive, sure, but they’re probably better off stealing something that doesn’t lose its values after a couple days.

「Why peaches, of all things?」

""it’s important to us.""
""so, can you help us?""

「I need some time to think. Remain here. I will call my men to talk about this.」

""alright, but if we see something off, deal’s gone, alright?""

「Yeah.」

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>>5630743

Sira calls his crows to meet at the house he is staying at.

With all nine other crows in the living room, Sira tells the leader of the bandits that all of his men are here, waiting for the negotiation.

A knock on the door.

They see a young human, wearing dark green clothes. Despite being sixteen, his height nearly surpasses Sira. His tunic is tattered and his fabric covered straw hat has many nicks in it. His only weapon is a cheaply made dussack on his hip — a crudely constructed blade made from a single piece of metal, with the lower portions of the tang bent and shaped into a knucklebow. Little more than a tool than can cut wood and leaves.

""I am the leader. The one you spoke to.""

「Where’s the rest?」

""They are here. Observing me. They’re not good at talking.""

The bandit leader explains that they have been stealing peaches off this plantation in order to keep their family safe.

Him and seven other bandits are children of a farmer and a merchant. Their father was a player of the dark arts, and had a 'Bow Buffalo', a type of statue made from occult metals that holds a spirit. If properly fed and given water, it can perform miracles when commanded.

Their father chose peaches as the main food source due to its abundance during his time. For a few decades, their farm and their mother’s career were successful, but recently, Clawflash’s focus on international trade has pressured many farmers to cultivate higher quality fruits and sell them at a higher price, or specialize in rice entirely.

Eventually, their father isn’t able to afford the once cheap peaches anymore, and the Bow Buffalo curses them for their failure. Once their father passed away, it became even worse for the family since there wasn’t anyone that knows how to deal with the occult statue. Right now, they can only satiate it with peaches to keep them from debilitating their mother and stifle their family’s income.

「That’s tough.」
「Couldn’t you give that thing peaches of your own farm?」

"No. We tried that. He-."
A young female voice is heard.

""Uhh…""
""Fine. No more tricks. Drop your veils.""

Seven more kids appear in the living room. Their presence by spirits, they were listening in on the conversation this entire time while being invisible.

The clothing themselves aren’t invisible. They’re aided by spirits, similar to Warin.

The bandit leader taps his younger sister’s head.

""He only want peaches from somewhere much colder than our farm.""

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>>5630744
This is difficult.

From what Sira has heard, a Bow Buffalo is a particularly powerful occult construct, even capable of inflicting death if the owner commands it. In this case, a masterless one is pressuring this kids for food.

Sira decides to..

ACCEPT THEIR DEAL
>Find another planation
As member of Red Winter, he is obligated to put the organization above all else. Their plantation cannot be harmed.

CHANGE THE DEAL
>Negotiate with his Red Winter associates
Talk to the associates and convince them to sell the peaches at a reduced price to these kids, or have them perform tasks in return. They don’t need to steal anymore.

REJECT THEIR DEAL
>Ask Warin to visit and deal with this
He’s not qualified to deal with the supernatural — Warin is. It will be a difficult task, the hardest option of all, but for the sake of these kids and this plantation, it must be done.

>>5630745
>Negotiate with his Red Winter associates
Wroth a shot, right?

>>5630745
>Negotiate with his Red Winter associates

>>5630745
>Ask Warin to visit and deal with this

>>5630745
>>Negotiate with his Red Winter associates

Closing vote in an hour

>>5630752
>>5630787
>>5630816
>>5630863

>Negotiate

「I don’t want you to steal anymore. I will talk to the land owners — maybe I could get them to sell the peaches at a discount, or have you work for the peaches directly.」

「I cannot make any promises.」

""I understand.""
"Thank you."

Sira has two weeks to appease the land owners, the Attitaya (Are - ti - ta - ya) brothers.

The eldest is most concerned about the profitability of the plantation. A businessman, who sees Sira as little more than another investment.

The middle is most concerned about the security of his employees. He sees Sira as an instructor that is stern but understanding to his men.

The youngest is most concerned about the ethics of this plantation. He is skeptical of Sira due to his proximity to organized crime.

Currently, the eldest remains neutral about him, the middle already likes him, and the youngest is wary of him.

To get the peaches, he’ll have to make at least two of them agree to his proposal. A good balance between emotional and logical appeal will be required, depending on which person Sira wants to influence. The nature of the proposal will also affect their willingness to listen as well.

Which proposal will Sira use..?

>A new audience
Sira has received reports of people wanting to buy Moon Silk fruits, but unable to due to the high prices. He asks that the more blemished peaches are sold at a discounted price instead — this could be another source of income for the plantation. Better than throwing it away, at least.

>A treat for the guards
During his stay in the plantation, he noticed the more blemished peaches are thrown away due to not meeting the high standards of Moon Silk. He asks that these peaches are given to the guards instead, as another source of motivation.

>Giving back to the community
During his stay, Sira has witnessed the impoverished many times. He asks that the blemished peaches are donated to temples, collectives of shanty towns, or even the homeless that resides in the outskirts of town. Rather than throwing these peaches away, they could help those in need by giving them something nutritional to eat.

>>5631017
>A new audience
Sira has received reports of people wanting to buy Moon Silk fruits, but unable to due to the high prices. He asks that the more blemished peaches are sold at a discounted price instead — this could be another source of income for the plantation. Better than throwing it away, at least.

>>5631017
>>A new audience
mixed with
>Giving back to the community
Unsold product can be pocketted by the guards, or local actors, to avoid waste

Gotta sleep in an hour. I’ll leave the vote up for ~8 more hrs.

>>5631017
>A new audience
No reason for Middlebro to oppose it, and he likes us, so he's probably onboard. Youngbro is the hardest ell, so let's appeal to Oldbro's financial focus instead. Less waste, more sales!

>>5631017
>Giving back to the community

>>5631331
>>5631225
>>5631170
>>5631119

>new audience

Sira’s proposal targets the eldest, who cares most about the financial aspect of this plantation.

While he understands Sira’s concern, the eldest is hesitant about this new strategy.

〔I’m not sure if that will be possible. Moon Silk prides itself on high quality products. Selling subpar fruits, even at a discounted price, could cause us to lose some of our original customer base. When luxury brands cater to people with less wealth, they lose some of that prestige — we could end up losing more profits.〕

The middle brother is a bit more willing to give this idea a chance.

⋯I think this could work. We’re not catering to them ー we’re giving them a sample of something much better. Besides, they don’t have to see the entire thing. We can cut up the blemished peaches and sell the cuts at a discounted price. Mark it as ‘old’ so they would understand the reduction in price.⋯

The youngest brother seems to think there’s a better way.

※I think we should just give them free samples. Get them hooked to it. ※

〔No. Definitely not. We do that and they’ll just wait for us to give free samples and not spend any money. We can not let our customer base get used to that.〕

⋯Yeah. It’s probably best if we don’t do that. If we’re selling at a cheaper price, maybe, but this is not us.⋯

His idea gets outvoted.

〔.. I have some doubts about the ‘selling cuts of blemished peaches’ idea. It is possible, and the company will remain dignified, but we'll need to make a new line of packaging for it, test out the demand and how many of these cuts we should sell, and then there’s the ploughing ceremony we have to worry about…〕

〔We need a lot of time to get this going, and with the royal ploughing ceremony happening in less than a month, we might need to postpone this if the monarchy decides to promote aquaculture or commerce instead of agriculture. The risk is too high.〕

The youngest brother is completely in opposition with the middle and eldest, so Sira should probably try to convince those two instead. The middle’s idea about selling cuts at a cheaper price is a good idea, but the eldest needs some convincing in order to agree to it.

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>>5631983


To influence the eldest, Sira decides to…

you can choose as many choices as you want, but certain combinations of choices will conflict and make his message weaker overall.

FOLLOW HIS HEART
>Security doesn’t need to be as high
From his experience in training the guards, Sira can confidently say that they are capable men that do not require any more funding in order to be effective in keeping this plantation safe. The brothers can spend this leftover funding on this new project.

The brothers will pay close attention to the guards’ training during these last two weeks. Their confidence hinges on how well these guards will perform.

>The bandit issue will be resolved
Sira has conducted an investigation and found that there were more bandits than originally reported. A lot more. There’s a lot of people that want the peaches but cannot afford it. Their motivations range from using it as an ingredient in an occult ritual to shrine offerings. If they sell these cuts, there will definitely be a demand for it.

The eldest will want to question him further about this ー Sira must be careful of how this lie is constructed.

FOLLOW HIS MIND
>Red Winter as insurance (—connections IF ploughing ceremony 1d3 diceroll doesn’t land on agriculture)
Sira offers Red Winter as insurance ー they will be willing to buy the peaches if there isn’t enough demand for it. This will strain his relationship with the organization, though. (current connections 6/10)

>Sira as insurance (—funds IF ploughing ceremony 1d3 diceroll doesn’t land on agriculture)
Sira offers to be insurance ー his business will buy the peaches if there isn’t enough demand for it. Sira can afford this option, but he can’t keep doing things like this for long. (current funds 8/10)

>>5631987
>Sira as insurance (—funds IF ploughing ceremony 1d3 diceroll doesn’t land on agriculture)

>>5631987
>Sira as insurance (—funds IF ploughing ceremony 1d3 diceroll doesn’t land on agriculture)

>>5631987
>>The bandit issue will be resolved
>Sira as insurance

>>5631987
>>Sira as insurance (—funds IF ploughing ceremony 1d3 diceroll doesn’t land on agriculture)

>>5631991
>>5632168
>>5632169
>>5632171
Writing..

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>>5632271

>Sira as insurance

He has the money to spare.

「I will insure the peaches. If there isn’t enough demand, I will buy them.」

⋯That’s great. Thank you.⋯

〔…I see.〕
〔We will need some time to calculate all the costs.〕

〔.. your contact details are these, correct?〕

「… yes. They are correct.」

For now, it seems the eldest and middle brother is satisfied. The youngest remain neutral about him, but it doesn’t really matter much.

With the matter of the bandits settled, Sira only has to worry about the guards.

The third week of the fifth month begins with weapons manipulation training.

As most guards are equipped with polearms, it is what Sira will focus on.

While their fundamentals are good, they need to learn how to deal with opponents when their weapons are not in ideal positions.

When the opponent is past the point, there are many responses they could perform.

A strike with the butt of the polearm is useful should the momentum is working against the top of it.

Grappling techniques, kicks, shoves are good if they manage to hold onto the shaft.

Letting go entirely and drawing their knives or swords is another option they should consider if the leverage is not favorable.

While the bandits may have the advantage in stealth, the guards generally larger size means they can cover more ground, so strikes or thrusts that passes steps are a useful method of closing the distance and gaining initiative.

Techniques from the twohander (sword) also applies with polearms as well — wide sweeping cuts which keep the momentum going will allow the guards to offend an area around them, which will compensate for the reduced accuracy should they get blinded.

>>5632465

Watching them struggle to perform certain cuts and thrusts, mistime when they should move their weapon, arm, and body brings back old memories during his younger days.

..
…
…..

His family never wanted him to learn about weapons, deeming it an unnecessary pursuit that detracted from his apothecary studies and gaining favors with the influential people that could get him a stable career. He never disclosed his interest in them to the family.

Sira was good at studying, but navigating the complex social structure of the prestigious Adamant Spearhead academy was difficult. All the nuisances, the intricacies of even existing properly became grating. Getting yelled at by seniors for not bowing at a certain angle or forgetting to crawl to the teacher when addressing them weren’t exactly something he had in mind when attending a school for apothecaries.

He eventually gravitated to the outcasts of the academy once he realized his efforts meant little — his teachers and other students had already made up their mind about him.

As the years went by, his family became more hostile to him. Even a minor mistake escalated into arguments and shouting. He eventually learned to accept it, even when their statements were based on falsehoods. Being part of underground fencing clubs and fooling around with women were the few times he truly enjoyed living.

Eventually, he was accused of being a member in organized crime, and the staff were all too willing to believe it — his frequent sparring bruises, lecherous nature towards women with similar goals and disregard for authority were all the 'evidence' needed to expel a problematic student.

As expected, his fami-

>>5632468

It is sunset once again.

The guards have listened to his teachings well, and performed decently at their tests. While their footwork remains a little too static and their timing could use some more work, their natural agility and application of techniques have made them able to hold their own against the instructors. He can work on those tomorrow.

ugh.
Whenever Sira thinks about his past, he can feel some pain in his chest. Even when he can barely recall them, the effects of such stress still remain.

Right now, Sira just needs to relax. He wants to…

FOLLOW HIS HEART
>Hang out with the group of kids (bandits)
Butterfly pea flower tea has always calmed him. Maybe he could share these with the kids and talk about random things.

>Find a nice spot to draw a landscape painting
He has been thinking too much. Maybe all he needs is to let go and do something calming after a long day of sparring.

FOLLOW HIS MIND
>Sidesword sparring with his crows
He yearns for the good moments of past. He wants to remember more! This faint semblance could be the key to it.

>>5632471
>Hang out with the group of kids (bandits)

>>5632471
>Hang out with the group of kids

Closing vote in three hours.

>>5632471
>Find a nice spot to draw a landscape painting

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>>5633268
>>5633209
>>5632499

>hang out

He needs some tea to calm himself. And people he could talk to.

He returns to his lodging. A moderately large wooden building with few windows — little more than cutouts with wooden panels that can be closed to prevent mosquitoes entering or heat exiting.

The jar of dried butterfly pea flowers is opened. He scoops up a bunch of the shriveled up indigo blue stuff and drops them into the steel cups.

After some stirring, the cold water turns into cobalt blue. A perfect drink to soothe the mind, although most would prefer to add some lime or honey to it for the additional flavor, or turning it into a recognizable purple color.

..
…

""Wow. Thanks, man. You didn’t have to. Thank you.""

Wit, the leader of the bandits expresses his gratitude towards Sira’s actions. The rest follow suit.

「… so, what are you going to do now?」

""Well.. we’re probably going to just.. tend to the farm, help our mom sell stuff and get some side jobs, I guess.""

"We have like.. a ton of of chili and pepper leftover. [sip] we could probably sell it or something."

""Hey, look, you’re here for one more week, right? I know some restaurants around here. Their duck noodles are pretty good.""

「Thanks, but you don’t really need to.」

""You gotta try it! The ducks here are real good. The skin is really good. Nearly as thick as your finger.""

「Damn. That’s insane. Back in Clawflash, the skin is barely thicker than my nails.」

""… I never knew there were a lot of ducks there. I thought with all the.. tension between them and the Serpents..""

「Well… they always find their way into it, somehow. At a certain point, they just stopped caring. Having them around is good for the economy, anyways. 」

「And the tension between them kinda.. subsided nowadays. I remember back when stores were trashed because customers thought the things were made in Silverport.」

「People try to be more 'civilized', I think. Having those kinds of extremism around will scare off foreign investors and merchants. If you go there now, most people would be wearing collared shirts and breeches.」

"That’s nice i guess..."

>>5633349


The kids were interested in Sira’s life in Clawflash, as they don’t travel often. He’s more than happy to talk about most things in his life.

"Do they allow tattoos there? I saw a black line on your wrist. Looks cool." She unknowingly refers to the occult black resin that reattached his left hand to his wrist. A small strip of obsidian like blackness remains.

「Thanks, but it’s more of a.. remnant of a surgery. Not really a tattoo.」

「As for the legality of the tattoos.. it’s technically legal, but most people don’t really do that. Finding a capable Player [of the Dark Arts] that’s good at tattooing, and paying for those inking… it’s not feasible for most people. Unless the monarchy pays for it, you’re probably not gonna get it.」

「There’s not a lot of them, but they were pretty damn scary. The ones with genuine marks, they’re tough. Years ago, there was this bandit in Cinderpath that shrugged off being shot and cut like it was nothing…」

… time passed quickly.

Before Sira knew it, it was the end of the month. It took a while for guards to practice situational awareness, but their teamwork and dedication has paid off in the final exam — a grueling all day exam where their skills in detection, combat, and awareness were tested.

They passed.

They throughly earned their reward — a party during the final day of the fifth month.

Cold meats and heavy seasoning. Rice wine and bountiful herbs. Silky fruits and sugary sweets. Stories and memories were shared.

The coldness of the northern province was swept away by the spicy food and hearty guards. The party spans from the late morning to the late evening.

Sira and his crows could hang out with the guards, or they could leave the party early and go see those kids one last time.

Sira chooses to..

>Leave early — have a party with those kids before they leave Pikebreak
Their parting gift will be otherworldly keepsakes. Something powerful with a cost. Bittersweet, just like their time as bandits. This might be useful if they go up against something or someone much more powerful than them.

>Stay at the party — spend their last moments here hanging out with the guards
Their parting gift will be mundane keepsakes. Something they can look back on and remember fondly. This might be useful when morale is low.

>>5633352
>>Stay at the party — spend their last moments here hanging out with the guards

>>5633352
>>Stay at the party — spend their last moments here hanging out with the guards

>>5633352
>Stay at the party — spend their last moments here hanging out with the guards

>>5633402
>>5633415
>>5633563
Writing..

>>5633677

>hang out with the guards

It’s best if he, as representative of Red Winter, remain with the associates and the guards during the evening.

..
…

It has been interesting, being in Pikebreak. A province where people are few and nature shines the most. All those stories about the health benefits of this province did not do it justice — even the act of breathing was pleasant. If he was raised here, his height might’ve rivaled a giant.

Before they part ways, the Moon Silk guards give them a set of ceramic cups. Pale blue and highly resistant to heat. Might be useful in the winter months.

They returned to Clawflash during the first of the sixth month. Arun has done his best to maintain security within the Nectar Droplet while Sira and his crows were gone, but there were a few more incidents than usual.

Red Winter appreciated his help with the Moon Silk plantation and gave the brothel a few bottles of peach and plum wine.

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Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>5633745

Sixth month — first half

Funds 8/10
Morale 8/10
Security 8/10 » 6/10
Connections 6/10 » 8/10

Finally, the royal ploughing ceremony draws near. A time of nationalism (or fanaticism, depending on who is asked). Drab red and yellows decorate the busy city as people announce their allegiance to the monarchy. According to Warin, this is also the time of the occult as well. Offerings, rituals, spells, they will be at their height during these following weeks. Maybe that’s why those astrologers are present.

The king and his subordinates travel to Unblood, the old capital, for the royal ploughing ceremony.

An upstanding citizen that is loyal to his country, his religion, and the monarchy would be up at dawn to watch them depart, but Sira can’t be bothered. It’s hard to care about the government when they nearly killed him for learning about a plot to funnel drugs into Galepeak to prevent diplomatic relations between it and other countries.

As night falls, news of the ceremony reached Clawflash.

The oxen has chosen and the court astrologers prophesied that this industry will flourish..

1 = agriculture
2 = aquaculture
3 = commerce

>>5633746

>agriculture

The two oxen chose to eat grains — a sign of the agricultural industry flourishing!

Turns out that insurance wasn’t that necessary, after all.

Since the agriculture industry will flourish, it will affect the brothel in a few ways..

※Customer Influx※ (+1 Funds each month, -1 Security each month)
Nectar Droplet caters to people of low - moderate income. They’ll be able to make a lot more money due to the influx of laborers, but the security will need to be increased so they could effectively deal with troublemakers. [LASTS UNTIL THE TENTH MONTH]

※Disintegrating Industries※ (-1 Fund for a mission not related to agriculture)
This single minded focus has left certain industries less profitable than others. Things will become more expensive. [LASTS UNTIL THE TENTH MONTH]

※Strengthened Connections※ (stronger magic)
Supernatural effects become stronger. During this month, Sira’s 'Fade' can stop time when he is concentrating on a destination, and he no longer requires line of sight with the destination if he has been there before. [LASTS UNTIL THE SEVENTH MONTH]

>>5633784

Sixth month — first half

Funds 8/10 (+1 per month)
Morale 8/10
Security 6/10 (-1 per month)
Connections 8/10

It’s a busy month for everyone in the entertainment district. Gambling houses have more money in it than before. Bars have plenty of fruit and rice wine to accommodate people, and brothels are filled with exhausted laborers.

However, Red Winter has noticed a few things that could prove dangerous later on.

An investigation must be conducted.

>Vigilante killings on Red Winter associates (++security, +morale)
Some of Red Winter’s associates were brutally murdered. Based on pervious investigations, it seems that these vigilantes were also responsible for stealing the shipment of abortifacients as well.

>An officer’s disappearance (++security, ++connections)
Clawflash’s law enforcement is mainly hired by the monarchy to keep the city safe, with private organizations acting as auxiliary forces. Red Winter has few connections in the monarchy, and when one of them goes missing, it needs to be addressed immediately.

>>5633786
>Vigilante killings on Red Winter associates (++security, +morale)

>>5633786
>Vigilante killings on Red Winter associates (++security, +morale)

>Vigilante killings on Red Winter associates (++security, +morale)

>>5633792
>>5633796
>>5633864
Writing

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>>5633966
>Vigilante killings

He’s not touching any of that royalty stuff again. Sira decides to look into the killings more closely.

Four murders. Two males, two females.

Most are killed by multiple cut and thrusts. Nearly all of them sustained severe damage to the genitals — the killers were trying to send a message.

>First victim: Baimon (bai - mon)
50 years old. Long time associate of Red Winter. Owner of a bathhouse in Cinderfall. Died in an outhouse near his building four weeks ago. Killed by multiple deep cuts to the body. His hands, arms, and legs were severed once he was on the ground. His groin was mutilated by repeated cuts.

Previous investigator’s addendum: The limbs were severed in a single cut. Likely came from a two hander [sword], or a giant using a single [handed] sword.

>Second victim: Boon
28 years old. Long time associate of Red Winter. Owner of a large textile company in Shadowfall, and frequent donor to temples. Died near her workshop, four weeks ago (two days after Baimon’s murder). Killed by multiple stab wounds to her lungs. The thrusts were launched from behind. Her breasts were cut off and groin repeatedly cut. The wounds indicate a wide blade was used.

Previous investigator’s notes: Her workshop has extremely high security. I was unable to talk to her workers, despite my affiliation with Red Winter. Her death went unreported by the news in Shadowfall for some reason.

>Third victim: Juda (ju - da)
36 years old. A minor associate of Red Winter, but she was a carriage driver of Baimon. Died two weeks ago, while traveling to Clawflash. She was shot in the side, the bullet hit her spine and caused her to crash the carriage. Multiple cuts were delivered to her throat and arms. The cuts indicate a wide blade.

Previous investigator’s addendum: the cuts delivered to her while on the ground are jagged — I believe it was sloppily done in a hurry. Likely to finish off the victim before escaping. The shot was likely came from a matchlock arquebus, as I spotted traces of burnt slowmatch near the scene.

>Fourth victim: Supun (su - pun)
27 year old. Leader of a minor private security group that guards Juda’s carriage while traveling. Likely died a week ago, but his body was found four days ago. Body was buried in a forest near Shadowfall province. Killed by multiple thrusts to the throat. Wide blade was used, similar to other murders. Traces of melted sugar were found on his clothing.

Previous investigator’s addendum: Based on the usage of melted sugar, which, while painful, is not immediately lethal, I suspect he was likely interrogated and killed in a house, likely his own, before being thrown into the forest.

>>5634062

Four people dead, and nearly all of them had their genitals mutilated. The motive remains unclear… Rape? Adultery? Honor killing? Business rivals?

Things don’t add up.

Baimon’s death could be attributed to his business — certain (shady) bathhouses offer sexual services, and he could be the target of some vengeful family members, a rival, or a misguided group of vigilantes who hates prostitution (they did steal those abortifacients, after all), but Boon’s death..?

Shadowfall is a southern province that is highly regarded as one of the best textile manufacturer of this entire country. A wealthy place, a center for commerce. How the hell did someone like Boon get swept under the rug? A death of a moderately large textile company’s owner would usually be talked about for months in the news.

Sira decided to visit…

>Shadowfall
A wealthy southern province. Sira needs to find out what is going on in the textile mill and the forest.

>Cinderfall
A city closer to Clawflash, known for its presence of mercenaries. Sira needs to know why they chose to target Baimon and his driver.

>>5634064
>>Shadowfall

>>5634072
I think Juda might not have been killed by the same party - no genital mutilations?
What about sunpun, was he mutilated?

>>5634064
>>Shadowfall

>>5634064
>Cinderfall

>>5634072
>>5634193
>>5634214
Writing..

>>5634064
>Shadowfall

Hey anons, my updates are gonna take a bit longer than usual. I am visiting my grandparents for 2-3 days. Not sure if drawings will be possible.

Updates will still be 2 times per day.

>>5634571
Hope your visit goes well.

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>>5634440
>Shadowfall

He needs to find out what happened to Juda and Supun. The fact that the previous investigator was denied questioning despite being a Red Winter member is quite unusual.

Besides, the most recent kill happened in Shadowfall. Maybe Sira could catch those vigilantes if they strike again.

To keep this investigation low key, Sira only brings only a few people — two of his crows who were from the southern provinces, and Warin.

..
…

While the northern and central parts of Sablestream are influenced by a confederacy of western countries, the southern provinces mostly concerns itself with the neighboring countries, with Dawnfall being the main country that they trade with, a group of islands that is north east of Sablestream.

Few live in the central provinces, and those that do are mostly being military advisors or mercenaries. In Shadowfall, their presence extends beyond military affairs, with a decent chunk of the population being descendants of Dawnfall immigrants.

Giants here are slightly different as well — most are red or blue skinned, with small horns on their heads.

The dialect proves difficult to understand at times, as Sira wasn’t born here. To him, it’s a flurry of words that he can barely comprehend. Luckily, his crows were more fluent. They got in contact with a Red Winter associate who provided them with lodging.

>>5634678

Sixth month — first half

After staying at Shadowfall for a few days, Sira begins to piece things together slightly better…

>Sira’s crows investigated Boon’s textile mill
The reason Boon’s textile mill has extensive security and soundproofing is due to the highly advanced looms. According to those that work closely to her business, she can produce clothes with highly detailed patterns in a short amount of time due to the special mechanisms within the looms.

Due to its complicated nature, it requires a large number of specialists to repair and maintain it — their identities are kept hidden from nearly everyone to ensure they don’t become a target. Few people know what their silhouettes look like.

>Warin investigated Supun’s body
His bloated corpse has turned somewhat black. Warin manages to identify a few things from it that the previous investigator didn’t pick up.

Bones in his hands and feet were fractured. Based on the dislocation of the bones, this likely happened before he died and thrown into the forest.

The extensive decay on the lower limbs and crotch indicated the melted sugar was poured directly on his skin — the melted sugar fused the skin with his clothes, making removal especially difficult without tearing apart skin. Definitely a torture method.

>>5634679


It seems that each of the victims, aside from Juda, had their genitalia mutilated. Was she 'more innocent' than other victims? Or was the killing done in a hurry? Sira is currently unsure.

If he wants a more thorough investigation, he’ll have to pick which location to focus on.

>Boon’s textile mill (— connections if caught)
With his Fade, he could infiltrate it and more throughly see its inner workings. He’ll definitely learn what got her targeted in the first place, but getting caught will make the relationship between him and Red Winter deteriorate.

>Supun’s house (Higher investigation DC)
There could be some evidence remaining in that house. Maybe he could learn more about what those Supun did, and what the vigilantes’ next targets could be.

>>5634680
>Boon’s textile mill (— connections if caught)

>>5634680
>There could be some evidence remaining in that house. Maybe he could learn more about what those Supun did, and what the vigilantes’ next targets could be.
We worked hard for those connections.

Gotta sleep. I’ll leave this vote open for ~10 more hrs

>>5634571
Have a good visit, SQM!

>>5634680
>Boon’s textile mill

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>>5635006
>>5634705
>>5634685


>Textile mill
At a causal glance, the mill looks like a large, albeit simple building that primarily is made of wood and utilizes drab grey and white colors.

A more through observation reveals that every this building and the area around it was designed to obscure itself as much as possible. The building itself has many entrances and windows which are intended to resemble walls, making it difficult to even determine where to even enter it.

Thick vegetation surrounds the mill on all sides, its shadows and dark colors obscures the building from onlookers.

Large fences and signs constantly state the area is private property, ensuring that no matter the angle people approach, they will see the message.

Getting closer to it, Sira realizes just how big it truly is — he is barely tall enough to reach the fences’ middle rails.

According to the associates in Shadowfall, they have never seen a weaver or mechanic in the mill leave nor enter it during the day. They must’ve entered before dawn or after dusk.

After spending an afternoon scouting out the area around the mill, Sira, his crows, and Warin infiltrate it during the hours before dawn.

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>>5635288

With their ability to Fade, they easily bypassed the vegetation, teleporting past it and landing on elevated floors of the mill.

In front of them are countless doors. It took a while before they found the ones that wasn’t a wall imitating a sliding door.

They enter some kind of storage room. Piles of lacquerware create a fortress that Sira and his crew must climb over them to get past, as each are roughly one thirds of their height.

This room is quite large — a giant would be twice their size, and the storage room could accommodate someone twice as tall as the giants.

Some of the boxes are half open, revealing multiple lists of names that were crossed out.

Strangely, the people in these lists do not have a surname, and some of them have symbols next to their name. This could be a valuable piece of information, but they need something to cross reference it.

His crows scout out the area while Sira and Warin copy the names and symbols from the lists.

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>>5635290

They return with a map:

They are currently in the storage room, north of the mill. Next to them is a medicine storage room. Past the medicine storage room is a tea room and a stairway to the second floor. What is beyond the tea room is unknown, as the crows saw people in the tea room.

The secrets of this place likely resides in the second floor, as the first floor doesn’t have any space for the advanced looms and the weavers.

For the list of names, Sira decides to..

>continue to copy it down
This will take a considerable amount of time, but people won’t know the lists have been tampered with.

>take the lists (bonus to stealth DC, makes future stealth DC higher if people notice the missing lists)
A much faster option, but if people open the laquerware, they’ll definitely know something is wrong.

After the list has been dealt with, Sira decides to travel to..

>Medicine Storage room
If the lists are employee turnover rate, there’s definitely something wrong. Warin could analyze the medicine in here and see if the turnover rate is related to this or not.

>Stairways to the 2nd floor [Stealth DC]
They need to find out more. The second floor is likely dedicated to textile work. That’s probably where all the important information are as well.

>Tea room [Stealth DC]
Maybe they could eavesdrop on the people inside that room. They will need to know when to stop listening and leave before they get discovered.

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>>5634573
>>5635006
Thanks anons

Also thanks for upvoting my archived quest

Seems like that “I'm tired of low effort fetish quests being on my board.” troll keeps downvoting my quest. Yesterday I saw it have +4 out of 7 votes and today its +6 out of 12.

>>5635292
>take the lists
>Medicine Storage room
Hm. Are they drugging and transporting people tagged as merchandise for some sort of illegal sex slavery operation? Might explain the genital mutilations...

>>5635295
Don't sweat it. Some asshole has been forcibly downvoting every popular or semi-popular quest.

>>5635292
>continue to copy it down
>Medicine Storage room

>>5635300
>>5635302
Closing vote in an hour

>>5635292
>>take the lists (bonus to stealth DC, makes future stealth DC higher if people notice the missing lists)
>Medicine Storage room

>>5635531
>>5635302
>>5635300

>take the lists
>medicine storage

Speed will be the key to stealth. The papers are folded and kept in their pouches.

Through the small slits of the door, the crew fades and appears in the medical storage room.

Unlike the haphazardly placed lacquerware of the previous storage, this room is well maintained, with large wooden drawers and cabinets neatly arranged around the walls.

Chipped wood and fading colors of the furniture clearly shows this room was visited frequently, although not particularly cared for beyond the bare minimum.

His crows watch the door while Warin and Sira search the cabinets — he used to be an apothecary (student), after all.

>Lower drawers
Contains medicinal products, mostly ointments and jars of herbs that are used to treat minor injuries or to deal with insects. Judging by the amount remaining, they don’t use these much. Out of all of products in this section, the ointment for treating minor cuts were used the most.

>Middle drawers
Contains herbs and powders with pain relief properties. Old manuals are found in these as well, giving detailed instructions on what type of medicine are to be given depending on the situation. Concussions? Broken bones? Hand injuries? These workplace accidents could conceivably happen, but the fact that these drawers seem to be used somewhat regularly paints a very dark picture of workplace safety.

>Upper drawers
Contains stimulants and ingredients for making them. There’s even instructions on the ingredient jars on the methods of preparation. They recommend mixing the stimulant powders with very little water or consume it without water at all — extremely effective at keeping people awake, but prolonged effects could result in anxiety or insomnia. Out of all the drawers, this one is constantly used and restocked. Unlike the lower or middle drawers, no trace of the powders or ingredients are found outside their containers — these things are in constant demand, and they cannot waste any of it.

>Old cabinets
Mostly contains cooking and measuring utensils. Judging by their dustiness and stains, they don’t use them very often — most of the processed medicine are delivered here instead of being made in house.

>New cabinets
Hallucinogenics and sleep medicine are here, in boxes and cups of various sizes. While the heavy usage of sleeping medicine makes sense considering the presence of stimulants, a sizable portion of the cabinets are dedicated to hallucinogenics.

>>5635571
A highly efficient mill that runs on overworked weavers and mechanics. No wonder there’s so many crossed out names — why keep the strained, subpar workers when newer ones are available?

The regular usage of pain killers also calls into question the treatment of the employees — were the workers abused? Addicted to them? Used as a temporary solution to the unsafe infrastructure and looms?

The hallucinogenics in the cabinets — were they used as recreational drugs by the employees? Another source of motivation? A way to prevent witness lucidity and create plausible deniability?

Sira doesn’t know everything yet, but he is beginning to piece things together. This mill is held up by a workforce that is barely kept alive through medications. A shithole that tries its best to hide its sins while reaping the rewards. He’s no stranger to institutions that exploit people in it, but it is still upsetting nonetheless.

.. this still doesn’t explain the genital mutilations, although it wouldn’t surprise him if the workers were sexually abused as well.

Sira’s crew decide to move on and check out the rooms further south. Lurking behind the sliding doors, they spy on the tea room and the stairways to the second floor.

They notice that there’s screaming coming in the tea room. The crew moves the doors slightly ajar and fades through it. Pressing their ears on the tea room’s walls, this is what they heard…

≪Shit. Shit! Wake up dude! Arugh!≫

The crew hear a thud on the floor. The person speaking must’ve moved someone and laid them on the floor.

°Holy shit. What.. what do we do?°

≪There’s some pain medicine in the storage. Uh.. middle drawer. I think there’s some burn treatment ointments in there as well, I think.≫

≪Go get them. I’ll try to get rid of the hot water.≫

°Got it.°

≪Fuck’s sake. He had to pass out now...≫

The silhouettes reveal two giants, armed with a sword on their hip. The third one is on the floor.

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>>5635572
A guard must’ve passed out and burned himself while carrying hot water.

The crew knows there isn’t any burn treatment medication in the medical storage. They could either lend them help, or use this opportunity to slip by and enter the second floor.

They decide to..

FOLLOW THEIR HEART
>Help the guards [Dialogue battle*]
They have burn treatment medications. They could easily help this one guy and the guards likely won’t try to stop them. Convincing that his crew are supposed to be here on the other hand…

*dialogue battles:
you will be given ‘follow your heart’ and ‘follow your mind’ options. Some options will work, some won’t work in convincing the opposition

>Discreetly place some burn treatment medications in the storage [Stealth DC]
They want to help, but they must maintain stealth. They could place some medicine in the storage and escape with their Fade. However, these people might assume they’re threats to the mill if his crew mess it up.

Stealth DC: 13 / 16
Sira bonus: +5
Crows bonus: +4
Warin bonus: +3
(2 people or more fail = failure)

FOLLOW THEIR MIND
>Leave them — get to the second floor
This mill is fucked up, but they can’t get caught. They must maintain stealth and find more information. All these secrets will be lost if the crew got captured or killed. They can’t risk that.

>>5635581
>>Leave them — get to the second floor
Sorry, burned one

>>5635581
>Leave them — get to the second floor
We aren't here to put out every little fire, but by our actions may make this world a little bit better in tge long run. The mission comes first, though.

>>5635581
>Leave them — get to the second floor

>>5635581
>>Leave them — get to the second floor

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>>5635710
>>5635683
>>5635643
>>5635587
>leave

Sira is not obligated to help them out. His duty is to investigate the murders, and risking it all to save one person is not a worthy trade.

His crew uses his misfortune as an opportunity to sneak up the second floor.

Discoloration are clearly seen on the wood — dark brown and reds have stained the once bright wheat brown wooden stairs. Dried blood. There must’ve been a lot of falls for it to accumulate this much.

Beyond the stairs lies a pair of sliding doors. It pretends to be merely paper, just like the rest, but touching it reveals it has been heavily reinforced with wood. Several metal locks are on the outside, preventing people inside from leaving.

After pressing their ears against the ground and floor, they have determined there were no people here.

As for the locks, the crew have prepared for this. Each of them carry a rolled up cloth that contains lockpicks and chisels. It didn’t take long until all of them were unlocked.

Opening the doors, they are greeted with rows of looms that stretch across the entire floor.

There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual about the looms, aside from modifications to the foot levers, which are smaller than usual. The chairs are a little strange, being quite small for an adult human.

..Actually, everything here is small. All these needles, beaters, knives, scissors, they’re way too small for an adult.

Unlike the northern or central provinces, the population of goblins in Shadowfall is very small — certainly not enough to supply this mill if those crossed out names are referring to goblins. The lack of surnames and the small stature.. they’re [human] children, most likely.

Child labor (and stimulants).
So that’s the secret behind pumping out intricate clothes at a breakneck rate.

>>5635982


Things are starting to fall into places now…

There’s only two places that Boon must’ve gotten these children — Baimon’s bathhouse in Cinderfall, or the temples she generously donated to, in Shadowfall.

A promise of payment, supposedly better living conditions, or simply kidnapping must’ve gotten the children here.

The crew can’t be in two places at once. They’ve either have to stay in Shadowfall to investigate the temples, or depart to Cinderfall to investigate the bathhouse.

Considering the most recent murders occurred here, they might be able to catch the vigilantes if they stayed.

However, in Cinderfall, they will have more resources to draw from — the investigation there will be easier.

The crew decides to..

>Stay at Shadowfall (investigate temples)
They can only rely on a few people in this southern province, but they could possibly catch those vigilantes before or after they strike again.

>Depart for Cinderfall (investigate bathhouse)
The town in central Sablestream has associates and Red Winter members that could help Sira’s crew. Some people might have knowledge that could solve this mystery.

>>5635984
>Stay at Shadowfall (investigate temples)
Fortune favors the bold.

>>5635984
>Stay at Shadowfall
The bold shall make their fortune! Or, well, improve security for our brothel.

>>5635984
>They can only rely on a few people in this southern province, but they could possibly catch those vigilantes before or after they strike again.

>>5636027
>>5636045
>>5636131
Writing.

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>>5636135

>stay at Shadowfall

They are an elite fighting force. They must led the way.

The crew decides to gather some evidence before leaving. A sample of the medicine inside the storage is taken for further analysis.

That guard is still sleeping while being treated for burn wounds.

Perhaps they could’ve helped, but taking unnecessary risks aren’t worth it. The crew fades away from the mill.

By the time they end up on their lodging, it is in the early morning. Those birds won’t shut ever up…

The crew can’t be bothered to change clothing or care about blankets. All four of them plop on the single large bed and sleep.

..
…

The next few days are spent investigating temples while a portion of the samples are sent back to Clawflash for testing.

In Sablestream, temples are more than a place of worship. Traditionally, it is also an orphanage and school for the impoverished — their role in society begets respect, but some abuse such privileges. Sexual abuses. Violence. Swindling. Such crimes are occasionally discovered.

Out of all the temples she donated to, there are two that could allow Boon to get children into her mill.

Ratana (ra - ta - na) temple and Misen (Mi - sen) temple.

Ratana is the older and larger of the two, and they mainly focus on education. While they mostly succeed at making the minors literate, the crew found a few reports of violence towards minors who lives in the temple, but legal action were scarcely taken as the minors displayed dangerous behavior. In one case, a minor threw a tantrum and started smashing objects because people didn’t give alms in the 'correct' order according to him. People did not intervene when he was beaten by sticks for his inappropriate conduct. Not even when his back was bleeding and when he was crying.

Misen is smaller and mainly focus on selling services or products. They were established only a few decades ago by Dawnfall immigrants who fled the country due to civil wars. While other temples would gain money through donations, fortune telling or selling food for animals, they prefer more labor intensive methods, such as growing herbs and fruits, teaching boxing and stickfighting. Although some criticize the monks for being too maritally inclined and financially focused, their presence has kept people from being attacked by stray dogs nearby the area.

>>5636192
Boon donated to these the most, and visited them the most. Both have reports of people, minors in particular, disappearing without any explanation.

Investigating these places will be difficult — temples are holy places, and can ward off evil. Those that have committed grave sins will find themselves uncomfortable there. The few monks that dabble in the supernatural may realize his crew are not the usual law abiding citizens.

The crew decides to investigate

>Ratana temple
Education inclined monks who are willing to do anything to discipline their minors.

>Misen temple
Martially and physically inclined monks who are willing to do anything for the money.

>>5636193
>Misen
Money makes the world turn.

>>5636193
>Ratana Temple

>>5636193
>Misen temple

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>>5636198
>>5636202
>>5636205

>Misen

The temple that is more interested in money than anything is likely the one that’s shipping off children to the hellish textile mill.

Being in the temple will be difficult. All of them have committed far too many grave sins.

Sira has hurt too many. Killed too many. No matter how many flowers he plants, the pile of unwanted infant corpses never get any smaller.

His crows have overlooked many injustices against slaves. They tried their best to be just, but total idealists don’t keep their job for very long.

Warin made a family of eight people mentally handicapped. Perhaps her vengeance is justified considering how they cruel they were to slaves and workers, but her actions have destroyed countless people’s jobs.

All of them are definitely going to struggle when they enter the temple.
Misen temple — South Shadowfall

Brightly colored roofs and pristine white walls clearly shows the status of this temple — A well maintained place with frequent visitors. Trees surround this temple, giving shade and crops depending on the season.

Stepping past the gate, Sira is starting to feel exhausted already. His movements feel slow and sweat begins accumulating.

His crows stagger and takes a moment to squat down to catch their breath.

Even with her staff, Warin struggles to stand.

one hell of a start.

A temple is divided into three parts:

The religious quarters — it holds buildings that are used for religious purposes. Most people are here.

The living quarters [of the monks] — it holds facilities to help monks live. Most of the time, only monks are allowed to be here.

The earthen quarters — remaining available land, which are used for specialized buildings (if they have the money for it), such as dedicated schools and crematoriums.

>>5636374
Considering their painfully exhausted state, splitting off to investigate each section won’t be possible. They’ll need to chose a single area to focus on.

To the untrained eye, their exhaustion may seem typical of people who visit the temple during the late morning hours, the few monks that dabble in the supernatural will be able to notice something strange with them.

(Choose one)

>Religious quarters
They could ask the citizens of Shadowfall about this temple. Hardest to find good information, but easiest to blend in.

Investigation DC: 16 / 18
Stealth DC: 12

>Living quarters
A difficult area to sneak around, but these private quarters could yield valuable information.

Investigation DC: 10
Stealth DC: 18

>Earthen quarters
More knowledgeable people are here, but they can’t blend into crowds as easily — people don’t come here that much.

Investigation DC: 14 / 16
Stealth DC: 14 / 16

After they decide which quarters to investigate, they need to allocate their focus on what to do..

>Assign the bonuses to the DC (you can put multiple bonuses in one DC) [1d20 vs investigation, 1d20 vs stealth]

Sira: +5
Crows: +4
Warin: +3

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>>5634573
>>5635006
Visit is done. Update should return to 2-3 times per day.

It was pretty interesting lol

>>5636379
>Living Quarters
>+5 and +3 to Investigation
+4 to Stealth
Go big or go home (at a brisk jog, beset by monks)

>>5636510
+1

Rolled 17, 7 = 24 (2d20)

>>5636510
>>5636588
Closing votes

+8 vs 10
+4 vs 18

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>>5636790

>25 vs 10, 11 vs 18

They dedicate most of their remaining stamina on finding secrets within the monks’ living quarters.

..
…

The crew first visited the dining hall, a mostly empty place as breakfast had already occurred and the time for lunch hasn’t arrived yet. A good starting point to plan out their infiltration.

Under the shade of the dining hall’s roofs, they plan out their route. They’ll hit the study hall first, then the sleeping quarters, and finally the washing hall. If they manage their time well, they could probably get away with rummaging through the halls without being noticed.

The study hall is a wide building, with dark green roofs and bright yellow roof spikes, reminiscent of the Serpents that made the southern provinces prosperous through bestowing education to people. Used by monks for studying the scriptures, but also a place where they could teach those knowledge to people that visit the temple.

Luckily, there isn’t a lecture right now, allowing the crew to visit it and gather information without much difficulty.

Even in this delirious state, they noticed strange spots in the shelves. Shadows that don’t look right. Textures that feels strange to touch. Details that seem out of place.

After fumbling around for a few minutes, they discovered hidden compartments and secret notes within the study hall’s libraries.

These notes reveal a disturbingly detailed information about the people that visit the temple. Their reputation, their opinions, their actions, their associates, and 'suggestions' of the monks on dealing with them, ranging from observing them more frequently than others, to kidnapping and killing.

Notes on people that committed serious crimes that went unreported, such as murders, rape, fraud or had ties to crime organizations were much longer, and the suggestions required multiple votes in order for it to be executed.

Out of all the crossed out names, a decent portion of it are minors. They earned their disappearance through crimes such as repeated property destruction, starting fights, and..

Sira recognizes these incidents — some of the minors displayed behaviors that resemble ones in Ratana temple.

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>>5636932


An excerpt from a note detailing a minor.

'..the minor appeared to be distressed by the monks eating lunch in the dining hall, picked up a chair and smashed it while telling the monks to “shut up”.'

'This minor has caused similar incidents in other places, such as schools and temples, and his parents were ineffective at preventing his tantrums. I suggest we transfer him to Ratana temple.'

[Decision approved by 20 people]

Addendum: immediate execution

'During the 12th of fourth month, the minor killed multiple chickens for being “too loud”, and when a farmhand intervened, the farmhand was concussed in the ensuing fight. The minor fled the scene after biting his ears and tearing skin from his face. The authorities were unable to find the minor guilty. This minor proved too dangerous to be handled by anyone. I request an immediate execution.

[Decision approved by 15 people]

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>>5636933
The lack of legal action towards Ratana starts to make sense — the reason why Ratana temple has so many misbehaving minors is partly due to parents unable to handle them and sending them to temples instead. Sue them for unnecessary violence and there won’t be a dumping ground for these misfit children.

The Misen temple has done many things to keep the peace — surveillance, manipulation, torture, kidnapping, killing, but there doesn’t seem to be any records of sending kids to Boon’s textile mill.

The crew wants more recent information, not just writings in old libraries, and they decide to check out the sleeping quarters.

Unlike the highly decorated buildings of before, the sleeping quarters is merely a single wide wooden building with wooden stilts lifting them above ground. Just a dark brown thing.

There’s a few monks there who are cleaning the building and the area around it, but the crew is able to avoid them. Even when they’re about to pass out, having the ability to teleport is a massive advantage when it comes to stealth.

Inside the private quarters are mainly books and the bare essentials for living. To the untrained eye, anyway.

Although half awake, the crew deduces that the building feels slightly smaller than it really is, and they were able to find hidden compartments within the walls and floors.

Stashes of bullet coins, polearms, firearms, armor, herbs, medicine, combat manuscripts, maps of buildings around Shadowfall, and strange trinkets — these stashes make the monks are more resemble of a militia or a spy ring than a group of people that wants to spread a religion.

In the smallest of crevices, the crew uncover a small manuscript made from palm leaves. It details the crime organizations within Shadowfall and their current status.

… nearly every gang has been wiped out. Even the Old Tigers, the gang that prevented Red Winter from fully taking root into the southern provinces was recently neutralized. All of them wiped out. The last one remaining is Red Winter and their associates.

>>5636934
The interesting thing in this manuscript was their writings about other organizations’ ties to Red Winter.

These monks have suspected that the Ratana temple is working with Red Winter after recent reports of minors in a Red Winter owned bathhouse in Cinderfall matching ones that were in Ratana temple.

Boon’s textile mill was long suspected to have a link with Red Winter, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago when a group of informants came forward with evidence — the bathhouse forced the minors into prostitution, and the informants traced these minors back to the textile mill.

They want to neutralize the problem in Shadowfall first, and they made a deal — the monks deal with the Ratana temple and neutralize those responsible there, while the informants will clean up the textile mill after dealing with the bathhouse.

As of time of writing (likely a few days ago), the informants have…

-killed the bathhouse’s owner
-killed the bathhouse driver responsible for transporting the children
-killed the textile mill owner* [mill is still operational: inheritor is still alive]
-obtained information from the security team about inheritor

the monks’ objectives..

-assist the informants in killing Boon (done)
-neutralize the Ratana temple monks involved in sending children to the mill* (preparations complete — waiting for the informants to kill the inheritor)
-finding replacements for Ratana the monks (40% incomplete — can be done later)


Shit. These guys are working with the group of vigilantes. They were being sexually abused in the bathhouse, and that’s why the all they mutilated those genitals.

Boon’s inheritor is her sister, Ging pronounced similar to Ring, with R » G

The security guard leader was killed a week ago. Ging could be killed at any minute.

One positive thing about this whole ordeal is that when the informants do decide to attack, the majority of the monks will be busy dealing with the ones in Ratana temple, so the crew won’t have to contend with the monks if they decide to protect her.

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>>5636941


That’s enough information. They need to leave and inform Ging immediately!

They need to leave!
They need to..
They need..
They..

Sira should have realized this was too easy. Any competent organization would have had more people around to making sure people like him don’t snoop around and find things they’re not supposed to.

Unless, they wanted to lure them into places away from the public. His crew must’ve been spotted in the dining hall.

When the crew tries to leave the monks’ living quarters, they hear a faint melody coming from a flute. A soothing, high pitched sound that makes them even more exhausted than before. Those monks must be hiding somewhere in the building..

Even if they can somehow stay awake, they’ll be exhausted, in no condition to fight the monks if they try to capture or kill them. They need to run away.

Sleep DC: 16
Escape DC: 18

>Assign the bonuses (can stack)

Sira bonus: +3
Crows bonus: +2
Warin bonus: +1

The crew can do a few things to help them escape or resist passing out..

(Optional)

>Sira: Draw and fire wheellock pistol
+5 to Sleep DC, but -3 to Escape DC

>Crows: Set the building on fire
-6 to Sleep DC, but +4 to Escape DC

>Warin: Summon otherworldly wind
roll a 1d3.
1 = -6
2 = +1
3= +6
Bonuses can be assigned to any DC

FOLLOW THEIR MIND
>surrender
maybe they can talk it out…?

>>5636943
>FOLLOW THEIR MIND

>>5636943
>Stack all bonuses to resisting the soporific melody

If we can't escape, we can at least be awake to fight!

Also:

>Warin: Summon otherworldly wind

>>5637190
+1

Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>5637404
>>5637190
>>5637010

+6 vs DC 16

>>5637404
>>5637190
Btw i assume you want me to put the wind bonus in Sleep DC?

>>5637479
Hm, good question. Might be good to add that to the escape, since it's a wildcard.

Rolled 15, 5 = 20 (2d20)

Rolling…

+6 vs 16
+6 vs 18

>>5637683
We’re so awake and about to shed blood in a temple.

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>>5637819
Almost done writing…

>>5637831
Well, we are fighting the martially incline, I would be surprised if we didn't suffer some heavy losses.

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>>5637683

>21 & 11 vs 16 & 18

They must stay awake!

Those dreamy sounds slowly becomes more muffled in their mind as their attention shifts to escaping the temple grounds. While the crew are unable to openly carry their swords in temples, they still have a few weapons concealed.

Without their sideswords, Sira and his crows draw their tantō, a single edged knife with a moderately thick spine. Their blades are particularly long compared to most, being 10 - 11 inches in length (~30 cm). Good enough to contend with short swords.

Sira also draws his wheellock pistol from underneath his shirt. After removing the firearm from his side, he cocks back the “dog”, a metal arm that holds the pyrite. The wheel is already wound up, and Sira will be able to fire at a moment’s notice.

Warin sticks to using her staff, the reach offered by it will be allow her to contend with longer weapons that the monks might employ.

Having armed themselves, the crew leaves the exposed hallways and enters a previously visited room in order to escape through the window. Sira sweeps the room with his pistol while Warin and the crows watch his back. Room is clear.

While the crows are checking the windows and the area past it, Warin devise a plan ー she will summon a windblast towards the entrance of the building, making the monks think they will try to leave through there. After planning out where to fade to, the crew synchronize their teleportation with her windblast.

Warin taps her wooden staff on the ground and commands the spirits to conjure a wind that does not exist in this world.

>1d3 » 3

They answer.

The brightly colored cloth wrapped around her staff billows in the supernaturally cold wind.

A raging rush of wind passes through the monk’s living quarters, slamming doors shut and scattering furniture across the floor.

The crew fades, leaving behind a few crow feathers as they teleport to the rooftops of the study hall.

Standing on the hot rooftops, they can see several monks surrounding the building they just left. Had they gone through the entrance, it would’ve been a hard fight — multiple polearms and a narrow hallway makes it difficult to close the distance for their knives.

The crew takes a moment to catch their breath before fading to the trees nearby the dining hall. The shade will prevent them from being exhausted and shroud their presence.

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>>5637837
As they pant on the ground, they look at the living quarters again. Those monks are little more than dots in the distance. Just a couple more-

MRRRRRRR…

A beast lets out a vengeful growl.
Its set of hooves makes the ground around it tremble.

Emerging from the shade is a Bow Buffalo, an occult beast with elegantly curved bow like horns and a hide so black that light cannot reflect off it. The monks must’ve sent that thing to find them. A particularly powerful spirit, as old as archery and agriculture itself.

Before the crew could fade again, the buffalo opens its mouth. Hundreds of spirits pour out of its throat and scream otherworldly words into the ears of Sira and his crew.

Deafened by the noise and disoriented, they fall to the ground. Warin tries to reach for her occult knife, but the buffalo sneezes at her.

Despite her supernaturally cold body, her arm and hand is burned by the hot air generated from the animal.

Her knife tries to move out of its scabbard, but the Bow buffalo sees the movement underneath her shirt and stomps on her hip.

While the buffalo is focused on Warin, Sira is able to pick up his wheellock pistol and fire at the occult beast.

The muzzle flash briefly clears the black masses and their otherworldly voices. The shot rips through the shadowy hide and makes the buffalo flinch, giving the two crows time to reach out for Sira and Warin.

Before they make contact, the buffalo’s pitch black eyes light up, turning into bright yellow spheres that radiate extremely bright light and heat.

Despite nearly passing out, the crows is able to grab them and fade. They reappear in the air, landing on the large lake nearby the temple.

Sira and his crows spent the last of the stamina dragging Warin to land. As they lie on the wet dirt and rocks, the shadowy beast emerges from the depth of the lake. Its pitch black eyes fixate on the four as it keeps hopping underwater towards them.

>>5637839


All of them are too exhausted to fade again. Sira had his shot. Warin is the only person that could deal with this.

Rather than calling upon spirits that linger around her, she calls upon her professor, the person that taught her everything about the supernatural. Warin can barely remember when she passed away.

Although Warin has forgotten her face and can barely remember her name, she can never forget her soothing voice. A laidback mentor taught her the art to keep herself and others safe, but she abused it to curse her enemies with mental retardation. Ever since, she was cursed to be a Krasue — an apparition that lingers between life and death, unable to pass on.

๏What keeps you here, Warin?๏

A calm voice whispers into her ears. Her professor has been watching Warin for a while.

>Sira
He means a lot to me. He set me on the path to help people, to use my knowledge for good again.

I want to live for him.

>I want to help people
I fucked up too many times in life. Hurt too many people with my skills. I just want to help people in anyway I can.

I want to live for them.

๏I see.๏
๏Well.. how do I put this...๏
๏These next few months, things will change, a lot. You’ll encounter the people working with the monks soon. What you decide to do, or don’t, might interfere with your reason to live.๏

i need your help, professor, right now.

๏Ah yes. About that. Be more specific, please.๏

i need..

>Strength
Her professor will briefly guide her in summoning lighting and wind to defeat the Bow Buffalo. She can’t kill it, but she can cause enough pain for it to cease hunting them.

๏You’ll probably be deafened and blinded by the lightning for a bit. You should be fine. You handled being crushed by that buffalo pretty well.๏

>Wisdom
Her professor will briefly guide her on banishing the Bow Buffalo. It will be sent back to its statue and will be too tired to hunt again.

๏Personally, I always preferred Leaf Hornets instead of a Bow Buffalo because of this reason. It’s harder convince a hundred spirits to fuck off instead of one.๏

>>5637840
>Wisdom
BEGONE!

>>5637841
Also please choose the
>sira
>i want to help people
option (choose only 1)

>>5637843
>I want to help people
Seems healthier

>>5637840
>want to help people
>Wisdom

Closing vote in an hour

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>>5637909
>>5637846

>I want to help people
>wisdom

I want to live for them. Grant me wisdom to banish this being.

๏So be it.๏

Warin’s cold limbs is able to move again, guided by her professor’s hands. Standing upright with staff supporting her, she faces the shadowy beast that emerges from the water.

The Bow Buffalo opens its mouth again, but before the swirling masses of spirits could be released, Warin staggers forward and leans towards the animal’s ears.

What followed was a voice not her own, but rather her mentor’s. A soothing low pitched voice that pronounces words compressible to few.

๏it’s best if you leave us be. we wish no harm.๏

The buffalo remains unconvinced. As swarms of spirits begins to pour out of its mouth, Warin’s guided hand shoves the staff inside its throat and summons the otherworldly wind into its stomach.

The cold wind causes the spirits to retreat back inside the buffalo’s body. It flinches and starts coughing.

The Bow Buffalo, much like any other occult beast, needs the statue to be blessed first to be functional. What few people know is the opposite can be done, and by countering each aspect of the enchantments, it will be deprived of its power until the owner enchants them again.

๏Have you forgotten this chant, Warin?๏

‘I ask of the old spirits. Grandparents of grandparents. I ask for this buffalo to be created. Welcome the sun and moon to be its eyes. Welcome the hoards of spirits to reside in its organs. Welcome the deities that guard the four directions heaven to bless its legs. Welcome the leaders of the gods make its horns strong and its tail mighty.’

>>5638080
The buffalo’s eyes turn a bright orange. Her professor guides her left hand to cover herself with the staff while drawing the Doctor’s knife.

Despite the light piercing through her closed eyelids and the heat burning her skin, she is able to draw the occult blade and holds the flat towards the buffalo. Despite being horribly bent from being stomped by the buffalo, it still manages to reflect light.

As the buffalo flinches and closes its eyes, Warin stumble towards it and pushes its head into the water. The burning eyes are countered.

The shadowy beast sinks into the darkness and reappears in the shade of trees nearby Warin.

HRRGGGGG….

It growls at her before sprinting towards Warin, trying to use its horns to skewer her.

As Warin turns to see the buffalo charging at her, she can feel things changing. Colors leaving the world. Leaves barely moving from the wind. Time limps forward at a glacial pace.

Her professor asks her a few things.

๏By the way, Warin. I assume you haven’t forgotten what I’ve taught you about occult beasts, right?๏

NO I HAVENT. Can you please deal with this thing first?

๏Eh. I’m basically done with countering this thing. Once I deal with the horns and legs and the tail, that’s it. It’ll be too tired to continue and go back to its housing.๏

Her professor looks at Sira’s arm. His hand is attached to his wrist by an occult resin.

๏Ah. I see you’ve managed to use the art of golden joinery quite well. It looks good. I would’ve preferred adding in some color, to be honest. I can imagine it.. his brown skin with a hint of shiny silver served nicely on that fluffy white bed and..๏

Professor.

๏Alright. I’ll stop messing around if you answer this question. Get this right and I’ll banish him for you. Get this wrong and.. well.. you’ll get some motivation on why you should study more.๏

๏The Bow Buffalo is associated with two very old things. What are they?๏

>Archery and Agriculture
>Archery and Aquaculture

>>5638081
>Archery and Agriculture
I think it was hinted at just a couple posts ago, but also:
>bull = agricultural beast of burden
>bow-shaped horns = archery.

>>5638081
>>Archery and Agriculture

>>5638243
>>5638283
writing...

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>>5638243
>>5638283

it was mentioned a few posts ago. “A particularly powerful spirit, as old as archery and agriculture itself.”

>archery and agriculture

๏Correct. It’s nice to see you haven’t forgotten these things, Warin.๏

๏They have existed alongside us from the beginning of this nation. A beast of burden, used to till the land. They lived and died with farmers. The bonds between them were strong, and this was one of the first types of occult constructs to be created. At the start, the chant were little more than blessing it with swiftness of arrows because their horns resembled bows. As knowledge becomes less localized and shared around..๏

๏Ah. I do wonder, centuries from now, would our understanding be considered rudimentary? Perhaps you might even live to see those days.๏

Maybe. Assuming I don’t get gored by a buffalo first.

Colors are added back into the world and time begins accelerating back to normal.

Hooves of the buffalo makes the ground quakes as it moves towards Warin. Her professor guides her to turn around and look at the lake instead.

Flowing water. Rocks. Dirt. Vegetation that grows around the stream.

The buffalo’s noises get closer to her. She can feel the wind being parted to give way to this shadowy beast.

๏Fade!๏

Warin disappears, leaving the buffalo’s horns to only hit the air. Supernatural wind is conjured and the buffalo is into the lake again.

Warin reappears on the other side of the lake, with her staff raised to her head. Clouds starts forming and strong gusts of wind blows leaves around. A clear sign of someone about to cast lightning.

The buffalo panics and tries to swim out of the water. Its heavy size makes it difficult to do anything but flail around, splashing water but doing very little to help itself. Had it taken its time to think, the buffalo could’ve used the darkness in the lake to fade away and avoid the lightning strike.

๏Come on now.๏

Warin walks towards the water and grab the buffalo’s horn. The clouds have stopped and wind no longer disturbs the trees. The panicking beast soon yield and sinks to the depths of the lake with Warin.

They stare at each other for a while before reappearing from the shades of the trees. Its pitch black eyes and dispassionate expression has indicated the beast feels defeated.

When they were at that lake, Warin could’ve summoned lightning and struck the beast. All that power in its legs, horns, and tail meant little when water was the only thing it could touch.

๏We can keep going. But I figured it would be a waste of time for both of us.๏

The buffalo scoffs at her before retreating back into the shadows, eventually dissipating into the ground.

With the threat gone, her professor ceases control of her body, causing Warin to fall to the ground.

>>5638624

She starts feeling all the pain and soreness from all around her body again. All that bruises and injuries will eventually fade away during nightfall, where her Krasue nature becomes more prevalent, but the hours before then will be pretty damn long.

..
…
….

The crew returns to their lounging. It was an extremely taxing day on their mind and body.

Technically, the investigation is over. They found everything.

Those vigilantes were killing these people because their ties to Baimon’s bathhouse, which forced children into prostitution. They allied with Misen temple monks so they could deal with the textile mill more efficiently.

Their next targets are the textile mill owner’s successor, Ging. When that happens, there will also be a raid on Ratana temple.

But that was the plan they discovered, not the one that would happened.

With their escape from the temple, those monks would definitely try to inform the vigilantes about what happened and change their plans. Red Winter and their allies will be their main target, instead of a supplier of minors.

They’ll likely raid the textile mill, possibly destroy it, and wipe out the web of people that controls it.

It would be a massive loss of profit for Red Winter if the textile mill or Ging were to be lost as Red Winter is very cautious around outsiders being part of their organization.

But on the other hand, few people truly know what is going on in that textile mill. If he sheds light on that, there will definitely be disagreements on what is and isn’t acceptable when it comes to making money. Most of the time, Red Winter try to avoid civilians being involved in something like this. This might fracture the organization. Could they afford an internal war?

The crew decides to..

FOLLOW THEIR HEART

>Save the mill and Ging — Let Red Winter remain in the dark
They just need to neutralize those monks and the vigilantes. The organization can keep going like usual. Allies and resources in Shadowfall will be scarce, however.

>Negotiate with the monks and informants
There must be a way for this to work out. Red Winter has more resources. They can afford to bleed more, but they don’t want to.

FOLLOW THEIR MIND

>Save the mill and Ging — Reveal the truth to Red Winter
They will send reinforcements to help the crew deal with the monks and the vigilantes, but this could cause some tension in the organization…

>First Strike — assassinate the monks and vigilantes
Warin to ask the spirits to scout out where they are. Once located, the crew can wipe them out before they have the chance to act.

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>>5638625
>>First Strike — assassinate the monks and vigilantes

>>5638629
Never daud it.

>>5638625
>Save the mill and Ging — Reveal the truth to Red Winter

>>5638625
>Save the mill and Ging — Reveal the truth to Red Winter
IF we keep the brothel well-funded and well-defended, we could come out of this on-top

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suptg's system is really easily a bused and broken, huh?

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>>5638911

>>5638892
>>5638746
>>5638629
>Save the mill and Ging — Reveal Truth

This might fracture the organization, but it doesn’t matter right now. They just need to keep Red Winter (and themselves) profitable and secure. The crew spend the rest of the day copying and sending all the information back to Clawflash.

While they wait to hear back from the other Red Winter members, the crew begins preparing for an encounter with those monks and vigilantes.

Layers of fabrics are stitched to the insides of their clothes, giving more protection towards cuts and thrusts.

Warin guides the crows in making medicine. She packed a lot of ingredients in her bag, and they’re going to need everything. She’s too injured to use a mortar and pestle right now, but they aren’t.

Their allies in Shadowfall are few, and their power is limited. They can’t help them directly, but the crew can ask them to do a few favors.

..
…
…..


As nightfalls, Warin regains her vitality through eating several buckets of meat. The cuts were poor in quality and tough to chew, but it didn’t matter. The raw flesh satiated her otherworldly hunger and mended her wounds.

The crows have expended the bags of dried butterfly pea flowers Sira and Warin brought with them. Drinking a jar’s worth of tea isn’t exactly healthy, but it was able to calm their minds after being assaulted by spirits.

Red Winter has responded. They’re sending people. 30 from Clawflash. 20 from Cinderpath. 10 from Unblood. 5 from Silverport.

Due to the distance, only the ones from Silverport can make it tonight. Ones from Unblood and Cinderpath will arrive tomorrow late morning, and ones from Clawflash will arrive at tomorrow noon.

The associates in Shadowfall have reinforced the textile mill will be reinforced with roughly twenty people. Mostly laborers that owned them debt. Unskilled at fighting, but they’re just there to buy time for the real reinforcements to arrive.

The guards will act as their commanding officers, guiding the force against the monks’ assault.

The small size of Sira’s crew and their experience lend themselves better at protecting Ging.

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>>5639095
Shadowfall’s pleasure quarter — Moonlight Grace brothel

Boon’s textile mill had connections to other businesses, and one of them is a high end brothel.

As expected of Boon’s successor, Ging has allies in this brothel who are willing to shelter her. The brothel is one of the largest and elaborate in Shadowfall, a three story building with several gardens and teahouses around it.

Staying at a brothel makes a lot of sense — guests must surrender their weapons before entering, making target identification easier.

Its sheer size also makes retreating as well, with multiple pathways she can use if things go wrong.

Ging is guarded by four giants, but she also wears mail underneath her clothing and carries an ōdachi, a two hander [sword] to the brothel.

The crew’s job is to act as lookouts, their mobility will make them better at spotting and reporting information back to the guards than being another security unit.

Perched on top floors of the brothel are the crows, remaining hidden in the darkness as they watch the people below them.

For ranged weapons, they were provided…

>matchlock arquebuses
Long guns capable of piercing any armor aside from the toughest cuirasses. Despite its length of 50 inches (~127 cm), they won’t be too difficult to carry, well suited to a force that might need to be move a lot.

>Hiya-zutsu (Incendiary arrow launchers)
Large matchlock guns that launch arrows with an incendiary payload. Devastatingly powerful, but slow to reload and cumbersome to wield. A short, heavy thing that’s good at defending a position.

>>5639096
>Hiya-zutsu (Incendiary arrow launchers)

>>5639096
>matchlock arquebuses
>their mobility will make them better at spotting and reporting information back to the guards than being another security unit.
>well suited to a force that might need to be move a lot.

>>5639096
>>matchlock arquebuses

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>>5639327
>>5639259
>>5639109

>arquebus
Sira’s crew are lookouts, and they need to be mobile. Ordinary arquebuses suit them better than large guns.

..
…

With every passing hour of the night, more people visit the cherry red walls of the brothel. Their eyes are beginning to feel sore. Their arquebuses feel heavy and awkward to maneuver. His crew are currently residing on the fourth floor, watching the four sides of the establishment from dark balconies. While the brothel stands above nearly everything else, it is surrounded by other buildings on all sides except the front. Around the brothel are bars, restaurants, and teahouses. Watching them and their bright lamps for a few hours is straining on the eyes.

Sira watches the left side of the brothel, which has a large restaurant.
Warin watches the right side of the brothel, which has a teahouse.
The crows watch the front and back of the brothel, which has rows of small establishments.

During the last few hours before sunrise, Warin notice something wrong with the teahouse on the brothel’s right. Hoards of guests are leaving it while the staff are covering their faces with cloth. There doesn’t seem to be any smoke, so it’s unlikely a fire problem. She thinks they have some kind of animal infestation or a smell problem. As more people are evacuated, some of the staff return to the teahouse while carrying large bags and cloth.

Sira notices the shadows shifting. On the flat rooftops of a two story restaurant, he sees some silhouettes moving. He blows on his slow match and opens the pan, being ready to fire. If he was going to kill someone like Ging, he would likely breach the brothel through the upper floors, using this rooftops. This location is also good for assassination as well, having a good view on the second and third floors of the brothel. A few people, armed with long guns can deliver a volley to a target if they decide to walk to the balconies.

.. the silhouettes look pretty small. They seem to be pretty young, mostly teenagers or young adults.

They appear to be drinking something from large jars and bottles. Most likely alcohol. These kids are likely assistants of the restaurant’s staff. A bunch of juveniles that are probably drinking rice wine when they’re not supposed to.

Maybe. Then again, Sira has seen minors being used in crime far too many times. People have a tendency to trust children, and many crime organizations exploit that. He has seen far too many people lose their money or their lives because of it.

He never flinched when he killed those unwanted infants. He’s not going to hesitate now, especially against people like this.

Rolled 1 (1d3)

>>5639521


Both of these situations put the crew on edge. Either of them could be distractions so the vigilantes could breach the brothel.

Normally, the crew would be able to concentrate on watching both sides of the brothel, but the fatigue of observing buildings all night has made them fatigued.

The crow’s concentration are…
[1d3]
1 = Sira and his crows’ eyes are in pain from staring for hours (+2, +1, +1)
2 = Sira and his crows can barely concentrate (+3, +2, +2)
3 = Sira and his crows are slightly fatigued (+4, +3, +3)

Warin’s concentration: +5

>Assign the bonuses against Perception DC (can stack)

Restaurant rooftops: 18 / 20
Teahouse: 16 / 18

DC will be a 2d20 as usual

The bonuses:
Sira: +2
His crows: +2
Warin: +5

>>5639524
>Warin and Sira focus on the rooftops
>Crows focus on the teahouse

>>5639533
+1

Rolled 18, 12 = 30 (2d20)

>>5639535
>>5639533
+7 vs rooftops
+2 vs teahouse

>>5639629
>DC of 16/18
>Crows assigned roll: 14
Need some eyedrops or some equivalent.

>>5639629

>14 vs 16

Despite having both crows watching the teahouse, they can’t accurately find what was the cause of people leaving the teahouse.

All those swarms of people and their aching eyes are making it difficult from the crows to determine the cause of the problem. Right now, they only know that it wasn’t a fire hazard or a brawl that caused people to leave.


>25 vs 20

Warin and Sira focus on the shadowy rooftops, as it is harder to determine precise movements in the dark. While his eyes are becoming more sore, Warin is quite accustomed to the dark due to her ghostly nature, allowing her to spot finer movements and gestures that someone normal might miss.

After observing the teenagers for a few minutes, one of them make the mistake of glancing at the darkened balconies while drinking and quickly snapping back like nothing has happened — these people know they’re being watched, but pretend otherwise.

This is unusual. Normally, people that realize they are being watched while doing something illicit would either acknowledge it, or try to disengage. These kids are doing neither — they pretend to remain like before.

They could be the type to not give a fuck, but if that was the case, instead of snapping back into a previous position, they would just turn around like usual. Furthermore, their composure isn’t perfect. Fidgeting of the fingers. Their head movements become more erratic. They are panicking, but they’re not trying to leave, either.

These movements… Sira has seen them before. Sira tells Warin to watch them closely while he reports back to Ging and the brothel.

With the occult nature of the sixth month, Sira doesn’t require line of sight with his destination in order to appear there.

He reappears on the second floor and alerts Ging about possible intruders on the restaurant’s rooftops.

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>>5639777

BRRT
BRT
BR BRTT BRTTT

Loud explosions penetrate the wood and paper walls of the second floor. Sira fades back to his balcony immediately after hearing it. Those kids must be behind this.

Sira returns to his post and is immediately greeted with a volley of fireworks. He drops to the ground and try to get an angle to use his arquebus.

The group of teenagers have split into two groups — the first remains at the restaurant rooftops, launching fireworks at the upper floors of the brothel, while the second have deployed grappling hooks which attach themselves to recently made holes on the second floor’s walls. The second group are climbing on the rope.

Explosives. Those fireworks must’ve been a distraction to cover up the sounds of these.

Warin manages to deflect some of it back with her windblast, revealing a force of only four people on the restaurant’s rooftops, each armed with short arquebuses and a single handed sword on their hip.

Warin will handle the rooftop group while Sira and the crows will handle the group trying to breach the second floor.

They fade directly on top of the grappling hooks, allowing gravity and their natural weight to assist them in stomping those teenagers’ heads, kicking them off the ropes.

The crows manage to kick four of them to the ground, but quickly realizes there were actually six grappling hooks. Two escaped them.

They can hear more explosives going off inside the second floor..

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>>5639779
Fading into the second floor, the crows can see several normal guards and brothel staff covering their injured limbs and reeling on the floor. The chunks of flesh and fat across the ground indicates they got hit by particularly powerful firecrackers.

This isn’t good. Ging and her guards are in a room near the middle of the brothel, right next to the central stairway.

As they move past the bodies and follow the sounds of explosives and screams, they eventually see one of teenagers throwing caltrops on the central stairway.

A young woman with dark grey clothing, possessing a bandolier of cylinder shaped firecrackers across her chest. Several loose bags and pouches are attached to her hip. On her thigh rests a Katzbalger, a type of single handed sword. Slung on her left shoulder is a short arquebus.

She had just reached in one of her pouches threw some caltrops, while her left hand is resting a zweihänder, a large two hander [sword], on her shoulder.

Sira and this woman used to know each other.

Her name is Sohm, a child prostitute Sira has rescued many years ago when his crows raided a brothel. One of many were kidnapped and forced into it. Even after she was able to find her family again, she wanted to became part of Red Winter. Partly due to a money problem at home, but mostly because she wanted to help people like Sira.

After being with the organization for a few months, she eventually became disillusioned by its actions and left it once her family were solvent again. The organization wasn’t what she envisioned it to be. She wants the abusive business owners and slave masters punished for their transgressions, but Red Winter vetoed that due to their ability to bring profits. The last time Sira saw her was nearly half a decade ago, parting coldly.

He barely recognized her at first, as she was a lot more muscular and taller than he remembered, but her hairstyle remained unchanged all throughout these years — straight bangs, an imitation of Sira’s.(although hers is much shorter overall)

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>>5639780

Right now, the only people still standing in the second floor’s hallways are her and the crows. They can’t let Sohm and her colleagues find where Ging is.

Sohm hesitated less than Sira when seeing each other, and grabbed a handful of dust from her pouch, throwing a cloud of eye irritant dust towards the crows.

Sira has his sidesword and wheellock pistol drawn.

He decides to..

>Give fire
Shooting her will be difficult, but if he succeeds, he can gravely injure her before engaging in melee combat. Then again, he could also save his shot for later.

[1d20 vs DC 15]
Sira bonus: +3

>Fade into grappling distance
Sira can past the eye irritant dust and grapple her — she only has one hand on her sword, and making it easier to disarm her. However, she might be stronger than he is.

[1d20 vs 1d20]
Sira bonus: +4
Sohm bonus: +5

>>5639789
>Give fire

>>5639789
>Fade into grappling distance

>>5639789
>Fade into grappling distance

Rolled 8, 3 = 11 (2d20)

>>5640312
>>5640018
>>5639948

Sira vs Sohm

1st roll is Sira
2nd roll is Sohm

>>5640337
Jobbers, both of us

>>5640338
Maybe neither of us really wants the other dead?

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>>5640337

>12 vs 8

Sira fades past the smoke, reappearing in front of her. Sohm is taken by surprise and gets struck on the forehead with his sword’s quillons, knocking her back and allowing Sira to strike her large sword out of her hand by hitting it with his wheellock pistol.

Enraged by the pain, she does a shoving kick to his groin. It connects, pushing him back as well.

He wants to close the distance and offend the area in front of him. This situation calls for a particularly powerful cut — the wrath strike.

Sira moves his hilt to be slightly above his right shoulder, and begins cutting diagonally downwards as he steps forward, letting the blade and quillons protect his head as he moves.

As Sohm steps back, she manages to draw her Katzbalger and perform a rising diagonal cut against it, barely deflecting the the cut. Their blades remain in contact.

With the tip pointing forward and the blade covering her head, Sohm is in Ox guard — a position that protects against strikes from above, and a strong position to thrust from.

Right after she deflects his strike, she launches a thrust aiming at his head.

Since the blades are in contacting each other, Sira is able push the thrust aside and close the distance. By continuing to being in a ‘bind’ (blades contacting), each of them can feel the pressure being exerted on the blades and react accordingly.

As soon as their bodies make contact, Sira knees her in the crotch, and tries to align his wheellock pistol towards her body. Both of their swords are off to the side and unable to he swung effectively.

Despite the pain, Sohm is able to grab the barrel and wrench it away from her stomach. Sira can feel that her strength and leverage is overpowering him, so he lets go of the gun and punches her in the throat.

While normally he would try to pull back the pistol and bring his center of gravity lower, Sira isn’t sure if his strength can match hers.

>>5640422


As Sohm gags from the punch, she slams the butt of the wheellock pistol on his groin, causing Sira knees to bend further.

Sira takes advantage of this lower center of gravity and slams his head against her stomach, pushing both of them to the floor.

Pain spreads across his scalp as he realizes Sohm is wearing mail underneath her clothes.

As they crash onto the slippery wooden floor, Sohm loses her grip on wheellock pistol and her Katzbalger, which slides across the ground in two different directions. Her pouches spill out caltrops and paper packets of eye irritant dust.

At this point, both of them are tired and too injured to think of elaborate strategies or perform techniques. Sira repeatedly slams the sidesword’s quillons into her crotch while she keeps punching his head and throat.

After a few moments, both of them cannot take the pain any longer and stop hitting. Sira falls to the ground due to the bruises while Sohm can barely move her legs. They pant and think about how to deal with the opposition.

Sira definitely cannot use fade right now, otherwise he could pass out from the exhaustion.

While Sira is still panting, Sohm grabs the last of the packets from her pouch and tosses a cloud of eye irritant dust. Sira manages to cover his eyes, but some of ended up in his throat. It still stings due to the amount of ground up chilli in that concoction.

As he coughs, Sohm is able to grab his right arm, preventing him from moving his sword. Her back leans forward and her left hand reaches for his throat.

Sira’s response is..

>Crotch strikes
Sira can load up powerful punches and strike her groin repeatedly in order to cause submission by pain.

>Grab a few of her fingers and pull it aside
Normally, the technique is supposed to be done with both hands — counter someone trying to grapple by grabbing their fingers, and pulling them in two different directions.

>Arm wrap
Sira can wrap his arm around hers, locking it and possibly breaking her arm. Normally this technique is done on foot, and relies heavily on speed and strength, but he has to make do.

DC: 16
Correct answer is guaranteed success
Good answer gets a +5 bonus to DC
Wrong answer gets no bonuses

>>5640427
>Crotch strikes
I can't envision how we could do that finger thing with only one hand, and any technique that relies on superior footing and strength is doomed when we're pinned, disoriented, and fighting a phsically-stronger foe.

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>>5640575

>finger break
Basically what you’re doing is yanking the fingers beyond the point they are unable to move normally, breaking them.

Your fingers can move up and down pretty well, but horizontal movement is limited. By doing that really hard, you’ll dislocate and break the fingers. That’s what that technique is doing.

In this case instead of using both hands to break four, you’re limited to just one.

>>5640427
>Grab a few of her fingers and pull them aside
One hand is tied up in stopping us from drawing our sword, and she's trying to choke us.
I don't quite have the image of how our positions are looking like, how close we are together, but she's leaning back, and if we have to punch, I think we would have to move towards her with the strikes and thus into her hand trying to choke.
If we can break a finger or two to prevent her from choking us, that's a hand out of the running for some actions.

Unless QM is willing to draw a picture for us so we can better gauge how our positions have ended up.

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>>5640808
Left is Sohm Right is Sira

Sira’s right wrist is grabbed by Sohm, stopping him from moving his sword

Sohm’s left hand is reaching for his neck.

For
>fingerbreak
Sira could grab a few fingers and pull them really hard horizontally to break them

For
>crotch strikes
Sira can wind up punches to her groin

>>5640621
But how would we manage that one-handed? Seems like we'd need both hands to do it effectively, one to grab each pair of fingers.

>>5640808
If it's doable, though, let's do it. I can support, and change my vote (>>5640575) to
>Grab a few of her fingers and pull them aside

Easier to reach, based on >>5640939

>>5640977
you only pull on two fingers and break them as mentioned here >>5640621

>>5640998

In this case instead of using both hands to break four, you’re limited to just one [hand] to break [two fingers]

is what i meant

In a case like this, I can't help but wonder if it would have been a wise idea for Sira to carry a knife, so he could just shank her.

>>5640808
>>5640977

>Crotch strikes [Wrong answer]
Sira isn’t doing anything about the grab at all. While punching her crotch can stop her due to pain, he’s not doing anything to defend his throat.

>Grab a few of her fingers and pull it aside [Correct answer]
By attacking her fingers and breaking (or dislocating) them, Sira attacks her and keeps himself safe at the same time.

>Arm wrap [Good answer]
This technique relies on speed and strength, and Sira doesn’t have that much of those compared to Sohm. A gamble, but he is intercepting the attack.

>>5641157
>Finger break — guaranteed success

As Sohm reaches for his throat, Sira grabs her ring finger and little finger, yanking it horizontally with as much force as he could muster.

Her fingers cracks and breaks from being violently pulled beyond its natural limits of movement. She retracts her mangled hand in pain, but Sira doesn’t let her fingers leave his grasp, pulling and moving it as much as possible to cause further dislocation.

Sohm groans as her fingers gets more twisted, and tries to headbutt him. Sira manages to move her injured left hand to shield his skull from the strike, letting it absorb some of the force.

His forehead still stings from the hard strike, but he can feel her grip on his right wrist loosening. He just need to injure her a little more. Her stamina will run out soon.

Sira pulls her right arm forward and bites down on her index and middle fingers. He uses his canine teeth to bite the fingers while moving his head toto the right, pushing the fingers ever closer to being dislocated. Her screams are deafening, and it becomes more difficult to keep biting the hard flesh with every passing moment.

Eventually, her right hand can no longer maintain its grip, allowing Sira to move the blade again. He immediately performs a push cut on her wrist, sliding the blade across her skin and drawing blood. Instead of going for a thrust at her armpit, Sira follows up the strike by repeatedly cutting at the side of her head, bashing into the skull as blood covers her face.

As her head hits the floor, Sira is able to free himself from her and stand upright again. Although faint, he can see her chest expand and contract. She is unconscious.

He could deliver a finishing blow to ensure she properly dies, but he could use her as a hostage. Sira decides to tie her up using some rope in her pouches.

He puts her arms behind her back and ties the rope between her wrists and neck, ensuring that if she tried to move her arms a little too far, she would be choking herself.

After securing Sohm, he pats himself down to check for any injuries he might’ve missed. Once he reached his thighs, he realized he was carrying a tantō (knife) this entire time. He could’ve ended this much earlier, and if Sohm wasn’t panicking, she might’ve noticed it hidden underneath his pants and tried to reach for it.

All that damage to his body must be getting to him…

Hitting his head against a metal door during the first month..
Suffering a heat stroke during the third month..
Being assaulted by those spirits during the morning..
And now, being beaten in the head and throat repeatedly by someone much stronger than he is..

No. He’ll deal with it later. Right now, he just needs to tell the crows to..

.. where did they go?

>>5641158

Muffled groans from the third floor gives him a clue about what happened. His two crows must’ve faded to the top of stairs and encountered one of those vigilantes there.

Sira fades past the caltrops and approaches while holding his wheellock pistol and sidesword.

Moving closer to the sound of grunting, he sees a teenager bleeding on the stairs and two crows recovering from injuries. One crow is wrapping cloth around another’s thigh while leaning against a wall. From looking at the blood stains, the vigilante and crows must’ve ran into each other on the stairs and fought there.

「Captured one of them. Second floor.」

\Shit, Sira you good? Your neck../

He didn’t look at it much. The bruises on his head and neck sting, but not enough to put him out of a fight.

「I’m.. I’m good. I can still go. What about those four at the rooftops?」

\Warin is still fighting them. I think the ones we kicked are out of the fight. I think you.. you…. can use that one for leverage./

「Got it. Go to the first floor. There’s an infirmary there. You can fade, right?」

|… yeah…. you guys go ahead. I’m out of this fight.|

Sira and one of his crows return to the second floor to retrieve the half awake Sohm. They grabs her and drag her to the walls the vigilantes originally breached from.

>>5641159
Looking up, they can see fireworks and the occasional gunfire coming from the rooftops of the restaurant. Warin returns fire and deflects some of the fireworks with her otherworldly wind.

Sira decides to..

FOLLOW HIS HEART

>Negotiate [dialogue battle]
They have Sohm. Cease hostiles or they will execute her. This should buy some time for everyone else to deal with the vigilantes on the rooftops, but perhaps at the cost of putting himself as a target.

>Fade to the rooftops ー Use Sohm as a meat shield
Her eye irritant dust will prove useful in distracting the other vigilantes. Sira also has his wheellock pistol ready to fire. His crow has his arquebus.

2d20 vs DC 17
Sira’s wheellock pistol: +5
Sira’s combat bonus: +4

Crow’s arquebus: +3
Crow’s combat bonus: +3

FOLLOW HIS MIND
>Use Sohm as cover
Sira has his wheellock pistol and matchlock arquebus at the ready, and his crow has his arquebus. 3 shots from a prone position should be good enough to take out some of them.

3d20 vs total score 40
Arquebus: +5
Arquebus: +5
Pistol: +2

FOLLOW HIS DARKEST DESIRE
Sohm is a self righteous hypocrite. She wants to kill Ging and destroy the textile mill that abuses workers, but how many people have been injured, crippled, died, in this brothel right now? People like her deserves to die before they have the chance to propagate their idea any further.
>attach firecrackers to Sohm’s body ー Fade to the rooftops and leave behind her body
Her firecrackers have a lot of power. If they wrap all of them around her body, they can create a very powerful bomb. Ignite it, Fade to the rooftops, leave her behind and watch as the rooftops becomes a river of blood.

roll a 1d4. 2,3,4 = success.

>>5641161
>Negotiate [dialogue battle]
Winning a fight with no more losses is something that sounds nice.
>FOLLOW HIS DARKEST DESIRE.
What are the chances that choosing this will turn Sira into a bloodthirsty monster eventually?

>>5641161
>Use Sohm as cover

Gonna sleep soon. Voting closes in ~10 hrs.

>>5641161
>Negotiate [dialogue battle]

>>5641429
>>5641362
>>5641188
writing...

>>5641784

>Negotiate

Sira doesn’t want anymore losses on the brothel or vigilante side.

After positioning Sohm at the large holes in walls caused from the explosion, he summons the last of his strength to yell out commands.

「WE HAVE SOHM. WE HAVE SOHM. CEASE FIRE. CEASE FIRE.」

The rooftops fall silent. Darkness still shrouds the rooftops, making him unable to see what they are doing. Warin also ceases hostility (for now).

| What about Puck? |

They hear a voice coming from the rooftops. That teenager is likely referring to the guy on the stairs.

「Knocked out. On third floor. Everyone that breached the brothel have been detained.」

「You have to options. Surrender now and we could pick you up alive. Fight and both of us will lose people, but we have more people.」

| …We could run. |

「You could. And you will get shot in the back. It’s a gamble at best.」

| I don’t think security will let us live even if we surrender. |

「We will. You have a lot of information that some people want. They want answers about what the hell happened during these past few weeks.」

| I’ve seen what Red Winter does. Assholes that are willing to do anything just for profit. |

| 'Results matter most. The method is secondary' they said. Well, they sure don’t like it when we’re doing same thing as them. WE ARE NOT SURRENDERING, contractor! |

Maybe I’ve taught Sohm a little too well. This guy thinks I’m just private security and not a Red Winter member. Good thing Sohm can’t correct him on that.

>>5641967

His voice is unstable. They’re either going to run away, or do one final assault.

Sira needs to come up with something that will make them reconsider surrendering..

Some options will cause them to retreat or attack. Some will make them surrender.

FOLLOW HIS HEART

>Your goal wasn’t accomplished
You’re not saving anyone. Your target is still sipping her fucking tea in the first floor (lie) while your friends are bleeding out. All you did was blow off limbs of some people that were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

You accomplished nothing. Your method is shit.

>Those monks sold you out
Run away and what? Join those Misen monks in assaulting the mill? We know about that, too. They told us ourselves. In the end, those monks were willing to overlook things when you throw enough money at them.

You’ve got nothing.


FOLLOW HIS MIND

>We know everything
We know about the Misen monks’ plan to assault the textile mill and Ratana temple. We know about your plan to assault this brothel to kill Ging. We’ve prepared for this. Those caltrops didn’t get anyone. We intercepted Sohm even before she had the chance to throw those blinding dust. Even her firecrackers didn’t manage to do anything besides deafen a few people momentarily. (lie)

Your move.

>The rooftops isn’t a good position
We have more guns and people than you. Our colleagues at the fourth floor can just keep shooting down while we can shoot up from here. Even if you can avoid all that, the security is already surrounding the restaurant. It’s only a matter of time before they get to the rooftops.

You should realize how one sided it is.

FOLLOW HIS DARKEST DESIRE
He fell silent when I mentioned Sohm. I can use this.
>Sohm
As I have mentioned before, we can afford to bleed more. Fighting us is not a good idea. But if you leave.. well... I’ll personally make sure Sohm will never feel comfortable around a man ever again. She has gotten far too bold after she left me.

Sira probably won’t follow through with these threats. It’s just there to keep people scared.

>>5641970
>The rooftops isn’t a good position

>>5641970
>We know everything

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5642004
>>5641976
Tiebreaker
1 = rooftops
2 = know


>Your goal wasn’t accomplished [instigate attack]
The vigilantes won’t appreciate Sira criticizing them harshly. He also hasn’t given them any deterrent against attacking or escaping.

>Those monks sold you out [instigate attack]
Sira has given them a reason on why they shouldn’t leave, but he doesn’t have any deterrent against attacking.

>We know everything [surrender]
Sira deters them from attacking and escaping by downplaying the effects of Sohm’s assault and destroying their resolve.

>Rooftops isn’t a good position [instigate escape]
Sira has given them a deterrent against attacking, but not leaving.

>Sohm [instigate fight]
He stands in opposition to their very existence.

>>5642246
>I was right
Yay!
>I didn't win the coin flip
Blast.

>>5642246

>rooftops

Sira points out that the rooftops aren’t tactically viable — they will be pinned down by gunmen from the second and fourth floor. The brothel security will also be breaching the restaurant soon, as people inside it are starting to evacuate.

They fall silent…

Sira has given them a reason not to take a one sided fight, and they decide to heed his advice — they would rather take their chances of escaping and possibly being killed in the process.

They decide to fire off one last volley of fireworks towards the brothel in order to cover their escape. Sparks and light are generated from slow burning cords.

A shot rips through the air.

Most of the fireworks explode on the rooftops. Their screams are quickly drowned out by the loud pops and crackles of the fireworks. Warin must’ve shot the person holding the fireworks and caused a chain reaction.

Sira almost feels pity for them.

Although the bright lights makes it difficult to see, he notices a silhouette climbing down the restaurant rooftops and run away. One of them managed to leave unscathed.

Sira tells his crow to hand over Sohm and Puck to the brothel security while he aims his fade to the cut off the lone vigilante remaining.

The feeling is different when he fades. Rather than a blur of unintelligible words being spouted at him, the voices of spirits never felt this loud. Never felt this obstructive. Never felt so.. commanding. Their suggestions felt.. intuitive.

A part of him wanted to tell those vigilantes he was going to rape Sohm. Not because he wanted to scare them out of running away, no, he merely wanted to see their reaction. The panic in their voice. Their Desperation. He Wanted to make them Suffer. He wants To SEE how Pitiful they will be. He Finally Found Despicable People And He Had The Authority To PUNISH THEM. WHY DIDNT-

Sira reappears in a dark alleyway where that lone teenage vigilante will soon pass.

… what. Why did I.. that’s fucked up.

The spirits that Bow Buffalo attacked the crew with left a mark on him. After being bombarded with their words, even for a few moments, he became more susceptible to his darker thoughts. Became more willing to indulge himself with primal, ‘intuitive’ urges rather than thinking like an intelligent being.