“Why are we doing this again?” You ask, shifting uneasily as a draft dances across your bare skin, your naked body on display in the full length mirror.

Katrina sighed. “The dungeon heart is changing you. Your eyes are turning violet, your hair darkens...

“Your tits are bigger too.” Muffin called out from a fine red chair in the corner.

“Hush you.” Katrina glared but turned back toward you with an appraising eye. “Still...”

You cup your breasts and nod. “Not by much, but I think she’s right. Your fingers prod at your stomach, feeling a hard layer of muscle underneath. “How far does this go?” You hold out an arm and you can see the contours of new muscle shifting under the skin. You’d felt a little of this during the chaos of last night but this was another massive jump.

“The answer to that is part of what I’d like to know. Dark powers are at work on your body. The fragment of the dungeon you absorbed has definitely accelerated it.”

“She looks damn good though.” Muffin shrugs off the annoyed look from Katrina. “She does! Not a pimple one on her ass, she jumped into a bonfire last night and doesn’t smell like smoke or piss, hey, I’d have pissed myself that was fucking insane. Her hair isn’t even tangled from sleeping. She hasn't bathed and she's as clean as the mayor's favorite whore!"

You run a hand through your hair, clean and healthier than it had any right to be. “It’s a little unsettling that it’s...adjusting me.” The changes were pleasing, other than your eyes you seem to be matching the perfect picture of yourself in your mind rather than the dreary reality usually in the mirror but...Was it editing your mind? Twisting your thoughts?

Katrina seems to follow your unspoken thoughts. “We need to know more. Have you given any thought to where you’d like to go?”

File: Muffin.jpg (46 KB, 563x797)

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“You’re bringing me along right?” Muffin perked up and asked.

Katrina frowned. “Why, by the father of light, would I want you along?”

Muffin stuck out a tongue. “Who said you were allowed to come? I’m fucking gifted with bullshit fey magic sight apparently, that’s way better than an empty bag of pixie dust. And she’s going to be something big, I want to see it happen.”

The torch bristled. “A foul mouthed beggar thinks herself better than a divine protector. And they are shards of divine light, not the dropping of fey.”

You start pulling clothes back on. “Shards of divine light?”

“Shards of dungeon hearts to be precise. Though they are the work of the mother below, once her influence is driven from them they can store the light of the father. I can recharge a few each day, more with the aid of a consecrated shrine, if Karhost had any.”

Muffin smirks. “The godless wild and we like it.”

Katrina rolled her eyes. “Until a dungeon swallows one of your towns and one of my order has to come put it down.” She shakes her head. “There are only a few places we can go for more information. The Quill Scholars in the Karhost capital study everything, and as many dungeons as Karhost gets some of them surely study those. Grabgol to the west is an option, the merchant lords are deeply interested in dungeon manipulation, though they’re also immoral scum who would let a village be swallowed rather than take a hit to their profit.”

“Probably more fun than a library though.” Muffin calls out. "Besides I've heard rumors people are planning on sticking it to the merchant lords before long."

Katrina grimaced. “The Clenched Fist rebellion could be a factor, yes. And lastly there’s my homeland to the east, Holos. I...have deep concerns about how they would react to you, but my homeland does have extensive knowledge on the matter of dungeons and the healing arts. It’s very well possible there is a record in their archives of a situation like this.”

What next?
> To Holos
> To Grabgol
> To the Capital

Who comes with you?
> Bring everyone
> Go alone
> Take just Katrina
> Take just Muffin

>>5721832

>>5721832
> To the Capital
> Take just Katrina

>>5721832
>To Grabgol
>Bring everyone
Muffin is right about your body, a shame about her sense of boundaries. We are bringing Katrina of course, she can protect us from harassment and it would be great if Muffin could grow stronger because she has a lot of potential inside her. If things go south in Grabgol we have a small army of skellies

>>5721832
> To Holos
> Take just Katrina
Big tits are always nice side effects to have

>>5721832
>To Grabgol
> Bring everyone

>>5721832
> To Grabgol
> Take just Katrina
Welcome back

>>5721832
> To the Capital
> Bring everyone

>>5721832
>> To Grabgol
>> Bring everyone

>Ask Katarina to document what is happening to you and kill you if she deems it necessary
>Dungeons haven't always been a bad thing

How are "dark powers" defined? is there a way to measure badness? Or is it a more religious "if a power doesn't come from the divine, therefore bad" kind of thing?

>>5721832
> To the Capital
> Take just Katrina
To be honest I don't feel co

>>5722073
Ignore the last part. My mind was elsewhere.

>>5721832
>>To Grabgol
>>Bring everyone

>>5722098
it's okay, you co

Locking and tallying up...

Capital
>>5721843
>>5721979
>>5722073

Grabgol
>>5721868
>>5721922
>>5721937
>>5721989
>>5722106

---

Take just Katrina
>>5721843
>>5721909
>>5721937
>>5722073

Bring everyone
>>5721868
>>5721922
>>5721979
>>5721989
>>5722106

We're off to Grabgol, land of merchant lords and we're bringing everyone.

Since we're going to Grabgol, I propose that we take it relatively slow and don't go out of our way to show our cards just yet. We know these people are assholes going in, and our ability to benefit from any association with them is predicated on us being one step ahead at all times. They're entrenched, wealthy, and influential-- and even if we do manage to get in with the brewing rebellion, it's liable to draw a lot of attention to us if we're too gung-ho about it. Subtlety is now the name of the game.

>>5722403
Yeah, if we aren't careful we might get a repeat of the bandit incident, except with a collar that works.

>>5722403
Thats why we bring along 2 humans, dungeonbrain solutions aren't always the best solutions

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"Grabgol. The scholars of the capital are going to be focused on normal dungeons, but the merchant lords would want something they can control right? Our goals align."

Katrina nods. "Very well. We'll need to be on guard for manipulation, as well as disturbances from the locals, but your logic is sound. I'll make the arrangements with our host, he's already offered to provide us transportation via carriage to our next destination."

"You taking me?" Muffin asks, leaning forward, lips pushed together into a tight line. "I can stab assholes for you, or run errands or something, just don't leave me with these assholes."

You nod. "If you want to. It's probably going to get dangerous at some point."

Muffin visibly relaxes. "Beats the fuck out of staying here."

Arrangements to leave Blue Ridge go quickly, you get the impression the locals are grateful, but would rather forget the entire messy business, at least as soon as the funerals finished. A stammering moneychanger gives you a good rate on the bag of jewelry and gemstones you recovered from the bandits, bringing you up to nearly ten gold on hand, half of it in silver. Travel supplies are gifted to you and you quickly find yourself seated in a carriage and traveling westward.

Katrina sits primly in her armor across from you, reading from a thin book. To your side Muffin fidgets in a set of plain but new clothing, seemingly uncomfortable out of her rags. You have several days of travel ahead of you.

> Talk about Magic and Muffin's fey heritage
> Talk about the Order of the Torch
> Talk about Grabgol society
> Talk about something else (write in)
> Talk about nothing (fast forward)

>>5722448
> Talk about Grabgol society

>>5722448
> Talk about Grabgol society

>>5722448
>Talk about Magic and Muffin's fey heritage

>>5722448
>Talk about Grabgol society

>>5722448
>Talk about Magic and Muffin's fey heritage
Since we've got a few days, I'd rather we work our way through all of these. However, the sooner we can get Muffin to tap into her innate magic, the quicker she can become more of an asset to the party.

>>5722448
>> Talk about Grabgol society

>>5722448
>Talk about Magic and Muffin's fey heritage

Muffin shifts uncomfortably in her seat and pinches the fabric of her clothes. “Either of you two ever been to Grabgol?”

You shake your head but Katrina speaks. “Briefly, during my apprentice years.” Her face twists with disgust. “It’s a place of squalor and decadence. It’s ruled by merchant lords who own the majority of the country. The strength of a merchant lord’s vote is a direct measure of his wealth, and they spend most of their time trying to out maneuver each other to gain more power on the council. It’s almost a certainty that we’ll need to deal with one or more of them to gain the knowledge we seek.”

“Or the rebellion.” Muffin lifts a fist into the air. “A pack of skeletons could do them a lot of good. I heard stories all the time from people passing through toward the north.”

Katrina shrugs. “The Fists...they were more rumor than anything when I was there, but they might be just as bad as the merchant lords. Caravans cut down and looted, towns burned, kidnappings and blackmail. The merchant lords deny they even exist but word travels of course. They would try to use you...but so would almost everyone who could help us.”

Rich bastards or violent dissenters. You frown. “What are the Fists trying to do?”

“It’s difficult to say since there’s no clear information, but...”

Muffin leans forward. “They want to burn it all down. Fresh start for everyone. Lot of people with nothing in Grabgol. Hell, lot of people like that everywhere, might not stop in Grabgol.” Her eyes darkened. “Lot of places deserve it.”

Katrina folds her arms. “A lot of innocent people would be hurt. Are hurt. Last I heard the Fists were starting a famine by attacking caravans coming from farms around the cities. We’ll need to choose our allies carefully, or avoid conflict as much as we can.”

File: Ambush.jpg (24 KB, 564x251)

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Muffin glares. “What’s the point of having power like hers if we’re just going to tiptoe around?”

Katrina answers crossly, but your attention is grabbed by pings of hostility on the edges of your domain. Your focus jumps to the forested hills surrounding the road, vision focusing in on a pair of men lurking in the tree line, a young man your age, and an older likeness, weathered and gray.

“I thought she saved us. Doesn’t feel right doing this.”

The older man grunted. “Still a necromancer son. And the mine boss is paying good money to remove her. Lost your uncle to that damn dungeon and your aunt could use the help. Just...” He sighed. “Just think of it like hunting a deer. Line up the shot, breath out, and release. Gods, I wish you didn’t have to to do this but we need the extra hands.” He exhaled sharply. “There’s the carriage, wait for the rest of them to spring the trap, then shoot the fire arrows.” He gestured at a pile of rag wrapped arrows. “Flame will drive them out, then shoot to kill. Just like a deer.”

Well shit.

“Even the torch?”

The father grimaced and nodded. “Don’t know if she’s being controlled or not. Let the nobles handle the flies from that shit.”

> Warn everyone
> Adjust your domain's shape to try and find more of the attackers
> Stop the carriage
> Send minions up the hill after the two targets you've already detected
> Write in

>>5722868
>Write in
Get everyone off the carriage, tell one of our skellies to man the carriage. Lets have them think its all going according to plan.

>>5722868
> Warn everyone
> Adjust your domain's shape to try and find more of the attackers

>>5722868
>Warn everyone

File: totally_american_flag.jpg (293 KB, 3594x1892)

293 KB JPG

>>5722868
> Warn everyone quietly
> Adjust your domain's shape to try and find more of the attackers


>>5722867
AMERICA, FUCK YEAH

>>5722868
>> Warn everyone quietly
>> Adjust your domain's shape to try and find more of the attackers

>>5722905
Supporting this

Hopefully someone in Grabgol knows the location of Lost Garden.

>>5722871
I'll back this.

>>5722868
>>5722871
I’ll back this.

Nice quest OP

"Ambush." You announce, then close your eyes and focus on your domain, willing it from its normal flattened dome to push forward from you, sweeping up the hills that the road cuts through. Distantly you're aware of Katrina exiting the carriage and speaking tersely with the driver and Muffin asking you questions, but your mind is already roaring with bird song, insect buzz, shuffling moles and other conversations.

"Scouting, need a minute!" You hiss while you try to focus on everything around you, homing in on the pings of hostility, those that meant you harm. Three with axes by the roadside, lurking in bushes. Two lurking high up on the hillside with fresh cut logs piled and ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting carriage below, and hunting bows to finish the job after. And the first two you'd detected, waiting with bows in hand and oil soaked rags. Seven altogether, three close, four far, maybe a minute left before collision.

Your eyes snap open and you quickly relay the information, first to Muffin then again to Katrina when she opens the door mid explanation. Muffin froths. "Fuckers! Take them out!"

Katrina shakes her head. "They're good people Idrid, they're just scared."

Muffin's hands are shaking. "You're one fucked up bitch. They want you dead too."

"It has happened before, and will again. We should abandon the carriage and leave the road, skirting around them. I won't raise a hand against innocents, even misguided ones."

Both of them turn toward you expectantly.

> Vanish. Pull the entire carriage into your domain storage, leave the road and the terrified carriage driver, and sneak around the ambush.
> War. Leave the carriage yourself, and with your minions assault the archers with the log avalanche trap.
> Speed. Push the horse to its limit and try to blow through the trap
> Intimidation: Get out and provide a clear target for an archer, hoping to scare them into backing down when they see you shrug off a fatal shot. (Burns a minion for the day)
> Write in

>>5723765
> Vanish. Pull the entire carriage into your domain storage, leave the road and the terrified carriage driver, and sneak around the ambush.

>>5723765
> Vanish. Pull the entire carriage into your domain storage, leave the road and the terrified carriage driver, and sneak around the ambush.

Do these people know anything about Lost Garden that we don't?

>>5723773

None of them look particularly important, just an expendable but deniable group of hunters and woodsmen being paid to do something unsavory. Common knowledge of dungeons is erratic and unreliable, but they're almost universally viewed as deadly natural disasters.

>>5723765
> War. Leave the carriage yourself, and with your minions assault the archers with the log avalanche trap.

Taking prisoners is an option for this, right?

>>5723765
>Intimidation: Get out and provide a clear target for an archer, hoping to scare them into backing down when they see you shrug off a fatal shot. (Burns a minion for the day)

>>5723884
You can try. Your kit is definitely geared toward lethality though.

>>5723765
> Vanish. Pull the entire carriage into your domain storage, leave the road and the terrified carriage driver, and sneak around the ambush.

>>5723765
>Lethal Intimidation. > Intimidation: Get out and provide a clear target for an archer, hoping to scare them into backing down when they see you shrug off a fatal shot. (Burns a minion for the day)...THEN kill the ones with the log trap.

Simply put, if we just run past them they're just going to try again. We need to firmly convince them that trying this stunt is going to get them killed.

Vanish
>>5723766
>>5723773
>>5724238
War
>>5723884
>>5724371 (more or less)
Intimidation
>>5723886


Locking in the Vanish option.

File: ADestination.jpg (31 KB, 564x1001)

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“We’ll sneak around, no one has to die here.”

Katrina just nods but Muffin is sputtering. “You’re just going to let them get away with this shit? We’re going leave the entire carriage behind and walk to the next town, because you feel sorry for some assholes?”

You exit the carriage and shake your head, feeling the weight of the carriage in your domain. “We’re not leaving the carriage behind.” You turn the power of domain storage on the carriage and feel resistance, you’ve never tried to store an object this large before, but it should work. The resistance lifts in degrees, second by second, until after a minute the entire carriage snaps out of existence, leaving just the mildly stunned driver and horse staring at you.

“Sorry.” You apologize with a weak smile. “Could you take the horse down the road for a bit, someone is trying to assassinate me and-and he’s running for it.” You sigh as the driver sprints back the way you came.

“Fucker was probably in on it. Neat trick with the carriage though.” Muffin looks at the horse critically. “You have any problems with us?” The horse didn’t seem to respond and Muffin sighed. “Alright, one of you dumbasses give me a hand up here and I’ll get the horse down the road while you play tourist in the woods.”

Katrina boosts Muffin up with concern etching her face. “Are you familiar with riding a horse?”

“Eh, stole one once, for a lark, didn’t seem too hard.”

Katrina sputters. “That is not...you don’t even have a saddle or reins...” She sighs. “What about the ambush?”

Muffin snorts in unison with the horse as it prances restlessly. She pats the creature's head with a glare. “They’re not trying to kill me, and I’d rather suck the mother’s tit than walk to the next town. Enjoy the fucking woods!” The horse uneasily starts trotting down the road.

Katrina stares. “Why did you bring her along?”

“Well, it’s saving us walking to the next town.” You chuckle. “And she might have the potential to be a mage.” And if you needed to make a hard decision you knew which of your two companions would be less problematic. “She has natural mana sight, with a little training that could blossom into a lot of power. And the idea that her whole life was ruined just because she had a gift no one could understand...I want to make that right.”

The two of you make your way off the road, into the woods and start the long walk around the ambush. Katrina frowns as she pushes carefully past a thorn bush. “The idea of her with any true power is deeply concerning. She had no hesitation to remove this current obstacle with violence.”

> “I think we can trust her.”
> “I’ll keep an eye on her, but it’s definitely something we should look into”
> “Yeah, maybe Muffin with magic is a bad idea.”
> Write in

>>5724605
>“I’ll keep an eye on her, but it’s definitely something we should look into”

>>5724605
> “I’ll keep an eye on her, but it’s definitely something we should look into”

>>5724605
>> “Yeah, maybe Muffin with magic is a bad idea.”

>>5724612
>>5724615
>>5724627

“I’ll keep an eye on her, but we should definitely look into it. Her fey blood probably gives her a lot of power to work with, most mages have to work with either dungeon items or fey remains, but she probably has her own well of power. Temperament can be an issue though.”

Katrina grunts as she ducks under a tree branch. “Why didn’t you take up magecraft? Aren’t most curse breakers capable?”

You wince. “Just enough talent to develop aided mana sight, but no well of power and no innate talent. A perfect candidate for a backwoods cursebreaker. I shouldn’t really complain, I was irreplaceable, paid well enough, but...stung a little when I was kid to find out I was special, but not special enough to do anything other than pest control.”

“You would have been a fine member of the Torches. Perhaps still could. I hope to find a path to removing this thing festering within you, or purifying it somehow.”

“Me, a torch?” You’d never really considered it.

“Cursebreakers are in high demand among the order, it was fortunate that I found you, we would have been badly wounded at the very entrance of the dungeon otherwise. And you have seen how some machinations of dungeons are quite visible to you.”

Rejoining Muffin is a fairly trivial matter after you loop through the woods, you find her pacing at the side of the road about a league away from the ambush sight, scowling at the trees while the horse gnaws on a shrub.

“About time! One of you knows how to set the carriage back up, right?”

“I can handle it.” Katrina volunteers.

Retrieving the large object is faster than storing, although it still takes several seconds before the carriage appears. Katrina sets to work while Muffin walks over and nudges you. “Hey, this is pissing me off. Why not kill the fuckers? They tried to stab us in the back after we saved their asses? You didn’t know them, didn’t owe them, and they’re probably going to try again. Fuck, you get stronger when you kill people even, right?”

> It would just escalate if I wiped them out. If we’re lucky this is the end of it
> They weren’t bad people. I’ll kill when they deserve it, but they didn’t
> Maybe if Katrina wasn’t around...
> Write in

>>5724652
> Write in
>They are just idiots, not bad people. They think I'm some sort of evil necromancer, but even then they still expressed remorse about doing it. It's the mine boss that hired them that desserves to be chopped up.

>>5724652
> Write in
I am stronger than them, and could probably kill them, but we would get hurt too. Seeking violence would put my friends in harms way, the strong warrior knows when and when not to use violence.

>>5724652
>Maybe if Katrina wasn’t around...

>>5724669
Supporting this.

I wonder if we're in the Lost Woods ...

>>5724652
>> Maybe if Katrina wasn’t around...

>>5724652
It was easier to go around. Fighting would put us in danger.

>>5724669
yeah, +1
None of them coming back might only put an even larger bounty on our head

Katrina will summon muffins for the beggar as a bargain for the city back.

>>5724669
Locking on this one

>>5724652
Seconding >>5724783. I don't think that preaching to Muffin is going to get us anywhere, so we may as well take a pragmatic approach. I understand where she's coming from; she's been treated like shit her entire life, and has only just learned that she can be more than where her circumstances have lead her. If I were in her position, I would definitely want to use any power I got however I saw fit.

In practical terms, however, there are consequences to every action, and developing a reputation for wanton slaughter is a net negative for all of us. Whatever short-term gains we might make from killing a couple conflicted yokels would inevitably be replaced with long-term losses when they start sending competent people in bigger numbers-- trained soldiers, assassins, and so on. In simple terms, having power isn't enough; being smart about how it's used is important, too.

>>5724828
It's also important to have strong cactaron minions :)

>>5724831
I don't think cacti have skeletons, so we might have to skip them in this quest

>>5724836
D:

>>5724831
>>5724839
We can still get cactarons. We already have vine-snakes, so we just need to find a desert-themed dungeon to absorb, to increase our minion variety.

>>5724844
Could work.
We might even get mummies if we absorb a desert dungeon.

"They’re stupid and afraid, but I can't kill them for that. I’m hoping they just forget about me and move on. I don’t want to trail assassins and bounty hunters for the rest of my life.”

“That’s why you send a message.” Muffin slams a fist into her palm. “Do not fuck with me!”

You grimace. “It’s tempting, but it tends to be misheard as ‘send trained bounty hunters.’ I’m not sure how much I can handle, but if a trained knight got close I don’t think it would end well.”

Muffin nods. “We’ll need more power then, until nothing can threaten us. Never again.”

The remainder of the trip is fairly straightforward. The three of you take turns driving the carriage through the mountains of Karhost, stopping at roadside inns until mountains become rolling hills. The trees thin out and are replaced by a vast sea of thick green grass that rises to your waist. A stone wall is visible in the distance that marks the first city of Grabgol, and farmhouses dot the hills surrounding it. A herd of cows glowers at you from the prairie, steadily eating their way through the high grass. The three of you peer at the distant city from the outside of the carriage.

Katrina gestures at the grey smudge in the distance. “City of Rango, owned by Merchant lord Rango. He owns this city, and the surrounding prairies, and manages most of the food production of Grabgol. He is among the more powerful of the merchant lords, although he doesn’t concern himself with the...things we’re interested in.”

Muffin snickers. “Worried the cows are spying on us?”

“Learning to watch what you say would be prudent. We need to decide how we will approach Rango, if at all. While he has no control over the regions of Grabgol we care about, his favor could be useful to acquire as a segue to another merchant lord.”

"A stepping stone to someone we want." You supply.

"Precisely. On the other hand these people are dangerous. Laying low, attempting to acquire the knowledge we want through indirect channels, would certainly be safer in one sense, but the longer we spend in Grabgol the more likely we are that someone figures out your nature."

“What if we told them?”

Katrina flinched. “That seems...unwise.”

“They see dungeons as something to exploit, a resource right? That means I’m something valuable. There’s bargaining power right there. And we wouldn’t need to sneak around.”

Muffin laughs as Katrina sputters. “These people would do everything in their power to take advantage of you! You would be at constant risk, from nearly everyone in the country, and likely their agents abroad. Even a straightforward approach of seeking out an expert has concerns, but openly revealing yourself...”

> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention
> Be straightforward while in Grabgol. Seek out experts and ask them questions directly, but hide your nature as much as possible.
> Be bold while in Grabgol. Don’t try to hide your nature and use it to gain quick access to the knowledge you seek.
> Write in

>>5725401
> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention
We are valuable, but that just mean they might want a new kind of livestock, instead of a business partner.

>>5725401
>> Be straightforward while in Grabgol. Seek out experts and ask them questions directly, but hide your nature as much as possible

>>5725401
>Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention

>>5725401
> Be straightforward while in Grabgol. Seek out experts and ask them questions directly, but hide your nature as much as possible.
Public knowledge is not enough

>>5725401
> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention

We should try to find safe sources of knowledge regarding the locations of known dungeons. Maybe one of those dungeons is Lost Garden.

>>5725401
> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention

I’d be willing to play it bold later, but first I’d like to get the easy stuff first before someone spots us. I kinda wish that we’d just attacked those woodsmen though; we’ve still got at least one unknown enemy, that carriage driver is going to talk sooner or later, which means that next time we’ll still have to face more prepared opponents.

>>5725401
>> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention

>>5725401
>Be straightforward while in Grabgol. Seek out experts and ask them questions directly, but hide your nature as much as possible.

>>5725401
>Be straightforward while in Grabgol. Seek out experts and ask them questions directly, but hide your nature as much as possible

>>5725401
> Be cautious while in Grabgol. Seek out safe sources of knowledge such as books and research notes while laying low and avoiding attention.

Locking in
> Be Cautious

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“We’ll lay low for now.” You decide. “There’s no reason to take risks right now.”

Muffin groaned. “I’m gonna be carrying books for the next week aren’t I?”

“And reading them.” Katrina added with just a hint of smugness.

Muffin rolled her eyes. “Pfft, you’d have to teach me first. No schools in my childhood. Waste of time anyway.”

You aren’t surprised, though Katrina twitches as if struck. “We will correct this then.”

“Oh fuck, you’re serious. You really mean that.”

“If I am to endure your foul tongue and vulgar attitude, at least I might enlighten you a bit.”

“You haughty bitch, I don’t need to be enlightened!”

You cut in hastily before the two start to really bicker. “Muffin, we might want to look into a spellcasting manual as well, once you can read it.”

Katrina gets the carriage moving onward, grinning as Muffin’s mouth gaped for a moment.

“A what? You’re gonna teach me magic?”

You shrug. “You probably have the ability. Seems like a waste to not develop it, but you’d need to know how to read first, you’d probably be relying on books.”

“Fucking well played.” Muffin glares at Katrina who just smiles. “Fine, teach me your stupid letters.”

The rest of the trip into the city is uneventful, passing by fields dotted with new seedlings or filled with grazing cattle and young calves. You come to the city walls, high constructs of stone brick, and the main gate where a handful of carts are already waiting. Your eyes linger on one of them that’s scorched black, pulled by a single skittish mule and an equally skittish man sporting half a straw hat.

An annoyed guard walks up to you in a battered chestplate and leathers. He makes no secret of eying the three of you up and down, chewing the inside of his mouth, before speaking. “Gate fee is a gold coin, each. And fifty silver for the carriage. And what brings you to Rango’s city?”

You flinch at the extreme sum, a third of your wealth. Katrina just sighs and speaks softly. “Just as I remember.”

> Pay up.
> Absolutely not. You’ll circle around the walls and find another gate with more reasonable guards, even if it takes you until sundown.
> Threaten to report him for corruption
> Gut him
> Write in

A reminder, you have 10 gold coins, and 12 silver coins in your funds.

>>5725938
> Pay up.

>>5725938
> Absolutely not. You’ll circle around the walls and find another gate with more reasonable guards, even if it takes you until sundown.

A third of our money just enter the city? Fuck that, I’d rather just smuggle ourselves in. Or gut him.

>>5725938
> Absolutely not. You’ll circle around the walls and find another gate with more reasonable guards, even if it takes you until sundown.

The price is too high, threatening him might not do us any good (the prices might be decided by the merchant lord), gutting him might give us some unwanted attention.

>>5725938
>Gut him

>>5725938
>Pay up.
I'm assuming bullshit all around.

>>5725938
>Pay up.
We'll just kill and rob people inside.

>>5725938
> Pay up.
We just need to find a good hustle

>>5725938
>> Absolutely not. You’ll circle around the walls and find another gate with more reasonable guards, even if it takes you until sundown.

>>5725938
>> Pay up

>>5725938
> Absolutely not. You’ll circle around the walls and find another gate with more reasonable guards, even if it takes you until sundown.

>>5725938
Locking
> Pay up
Apologies for delay

>>5726207
>We just need to find a good hustle
I suggested in the previous thread to use Dominion to cheat in games of chance

File: Toph_scamming.png (56 KB, 200x150)

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>>5727015
Literally this.

>>5727238
You remember how that episode ended, right? Toph got arrested because the townspeople weren't stupid and noticed that she always won. If we do any kind of scam like that, we need to let our victims win enough that people won't immediately catch on to our cheating-- or at least find a means of disguising ourselves, like a cloak to obscure our face.

File: Kaiji mistakes.png (1.01 MB, 1158x901)

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>>5727015
>>5727238
>>5727337
We turning this into a gambling quest?

File: download (60).jpg (8 KB, 235x215)

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>>5727472

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You grit your teeth and start counting off coins into the guard’s bag, ignoring his leering grin. There were probably plenty of opportunities to make it back in the city. You’re smugly handed a dirty square of paper that’s identified as a carriage permit, and grants you the service of a carriage boy just past the gate, actually driving the carriage through the city is strictly prohibited without another license, only obtainable in the city itself.

“Pleasure doing business with you ma’am. What brings you to Rango’s city?”

You frown, you hadn’t really decided on a cover story, but something comes to mind.

> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
> “I’m here with my doctor and servant, seeking medical aid.”
> “I’m a diplomat from Karhost, on affairs of state.”

The guard just grunts at your words, clearly not caring what you said, and waves you through. Katrina gets the horse moving again. The streets of Rango are cramped and crooked, with buildings heaped on each other and many hanging over the streets. Crooked alleyways frequently snake off the main road and vanish around corners, while the main road is wide but choked with carts carrying heaped goods and crowds of people. The three of you stick closely together and push through the streets, following Katrina’s direction to the inn she stayed at years ago. The carriage is dropped off with an eager boy who takes your carriage permit and hands you a receipt, then you weave down a back alley, then an alley off that one that narrows to single file before opening to a tiny space where several buildings clump together and create a walled off space. A tiny sign is fastened over a narrow door that reads ‘Nook Inn’.

“Thank the father, it's still here.” Katrina moved forward and pushed the door open, turning sideways to fit through the narrow door. You follow behind and find yourself in a tiny room made smaller by garlands of flowers hanging from the ceiling. Curtains take the place of doors, leading from the room in three directions though none are marked. An elderly woman, bent by age, watches you with sharp eyes as she bustles along the edge of the room with a broom.

“Miss Elding. It has been four years and seven months since your last stay.”

Katrina nearly jumps out of her skin and a much younger woman bustles out from a red curtain. “Mother! Stop doing that! No one appreciates your memory.”

The old woman cackles and you hear Muffin’s smothered giggles join them. The younger woman sighs and smiles at Katrina. “I had not expected to see you again, Miss Elding. And your companions?”

Katrina gives a small shake of her head. “Altogether I think. Unusual business this time I’m afraid.”

The breath catches in the innkeeper’s throat for just a moment, then she recovers and smiles. “Well, you’ll always have a safe, quiet, and discrete room with us. This way please.” The three of you are led through a maze of curtains and tiny rooms and are eventually deposited in a small room. Instead of beds are three large round cushions, each a patchwork of fabric and patches, one in each corner.

“Thank you Laura. The usual account for payment.” Katrina bows her head briefly and the innkeeper ducks out.

“Look at miss fancy Elding with her surname.” Muffin snickered. “Sounds familiar though.”

Katrina glares. “Pay it no mind, and speak no further of it, or my profession while we are here, unless you’d like a close look at the gallows.”

“Would they really?” You ask.

“They would, yes, likely after a mockery of a trial and some fabricated evidence. It has happened before. This is a safe place for those who bear the light...but one of only a few.” Katrina sinks into the round cushion bed with a sigh of relief. “It is good to relax after this much time on the road.”

Muffin prods the odd bed with a foot before dropping down into it. “Eh, it’s softer than a gutter. What’s next?”

Katrina nods at you. “Could you fetch my map of Grabgol?” You had taken the majority of the group’s supplies and baggage into domain storage early on in the trip, so it only takes a moment of focus to find the map in question and call it back to reality. Katrina unfurls it. “There are four major cities within Grabgol. Rango, Ingol, Drury, and Largent. We are of course currently in Rango. To the north is Drury on the border of the Fel Lands. Drury is host to the Grabgol’s chapter of the Delver’s society, and due to its proximity to the Fel Lands-”

“Fucking slow down. What the Fel Lands?”

I'll draw up a map, I swear!

You and Katrina both stare for a moment at Muffin who throws her hands up indignantly. “Don’t fucking give me that look, I got all my gossip from Two-Rat John, and he only gave a fuck about local news.”

Katrina sighs. “The Fel Lands, a wide region to the north of Karhost, Holos, and Grabgol, is an extremely hostile area, filled with wild magic, dangerous creatures, and unstable dungeons. A favorite of bards, storytellers and children’s tales of adventure. You’ve never heard of it? Not even once?”

Muffin shrugs. “Why would I need to know about bullshit I’ll never have to deal with? I can tell you every house in Blue Ridge that throws out food that’s still good, but I’ve never fucking once had to care about some fucked up hellscape in another country.”

Katrina sighs. “Well, while most countries wisely choose to guard the border with the Fel Lands closely, and contain its madness, Grabgol instead views it as an opportunity. The city of Drury is filled with would be-” Katrina stops to roll her eyes. “heroes and delvers who seek to take advantage of the many dungeons that appear along its borders. The Delvers there have something of a fortress, and it plays host to a number of...less ethical and reckless scholars as well.”

“What’s the catch?” You ask, a suspicion rising sharply.

“We’ll need a Delver’s license to enter their fortress, which requires a sizable fee, as well as a considerable bureaucratic process that will take some time.”

Muffin grins. “She means bribes. Or threats.”

Katrina sighs. “They may be required, yes.”

“How much money?” You ask.

“A hundred gold coins, at the very least. We’ll need to look for work.”

“Mother’s tits! A hundred!?” Muffin shouts.

“Plus more for bribes. The events at the gate were hardly unusual, although the carriage’s presence certainly raised our cost. Our expenses at this inn are thankfully covered, and there is likely no small amount of work to be found, at least given your...unusual abilities.” Katrina grimaces. “Smugglers, thieves, and squabbles between merchants will unfortunately be the best and most plentiful work.”

> Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow.
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city
> Lurk in the back alleys, looking for trouble
> Wander the nicer parts of the city and see how high society lives
> Write in

>>5727503
> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
We should focus on trying to find Lost Garden. This cover story works well.
>>5727505
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city
Maybe we can find some dungeon maps or powerful magical artifacts.

>>5727503
>“I’m here with my doctor and servant, seeking medical aid.”
>>5727505
>Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow.

>>5727503
> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
>>5727505
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city

>>5727503
> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
>>5727505
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city

>>5727503
>“We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”

>>5727505
> Wander the nicer parts of the city and see how high society lives

>>5727503
>> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”

>>5727505
>> Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow.

>>5727503
>You grit your teeth and start counting off coins into the guard’s bag, ignoring his leering grin.

How wonderful. We blew a third of our money on a blatant scam, and it apparently won’t be the only time we’ll need to do this. Hope we can either learn how to not be such an obvious mark or just figure out how to sneak in. Maybe we can just make it a practice to ditch the carriage before arriving?

> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
>Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow.

>>5727503
> “I’m here with my doctor and servant, seeking medical aid.”

>>5727505
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city

>>5727503
>“We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”
>>5727505
>Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow

Locking
> “We’re scholars from Karhost, documenting the history of surrounding countries.”

Next vote tiebreaks between, or I'll just flip a coin when I settle in to write
> Hit the markets and get a feel for the city
> Rest the remainder of the day and get an early start tomorrow


>>5727844
You could always find the guard house and see about reacquiring your lost funds, and then some.

>>5727954
I'll switch to checking out the markets.

>>5728060
I reccomemd that we find out how many dungeons are nearby.

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“It’s still a few hours until sundown, I’m going to head out and explore the city a little. I can walk around without someone charging me a year's wages, right?”

“I’d say watch out for pickpockets, but I can’t imagine that’s an issue for you.” Katrina pulls out the same slim book she’s been reading most of the trip. “Just keep to the main roads.”

“Are you staying here Muffin?”

In response Muffin leaned back into the large cushion. “Gods this is soft. You’re on your own.”

You stifle laughter and make your way back through the inn. It’s only a few minutes of confused wandering in the maze of curtains before the innkeeper finds you and gently guides you back to the exit, pointing out a series of distinct patterns along the drapes that could serve as waypoints. A few winding alleys later and you find yourself back on the main road of Rango, following the tide of people as they move along.

You let the flow of people move you along until you see a bustling marketplace, then divert into it. Colorful patchworks of fabric hang from stall to stall, forming an outer and inner ring of stalls, with a maelstrom of people spinning around within it. Noise fills the air, merchants hawking their goods, mothers shouting at children, goats, chickens, a sleeping lizard the length of your arm with an odd clicking breath. People chattered, fought and argued, shouting to keep over the surge of noise all around. You find yourself stumbling along, more than a little wide eyed at the sheer bustle and noise of it all, well over anything you’d ever seen before, even in the capital at Karhost.

Twice your domain triggers briefly with hostility as people push past you, but it’s not until the second time you realize their fingers are quickly dipping into your pockets and pouches looking for money to steal, then finding none. You manage to actually turn and lock eyes with the second pickpocket, a boy who can’t be past his tenth summer, whose confused expression quickly morphs to alarm and vanishes into the crowd. Domain can track him easily enough, the lingering hostile intent enough to make him highly noticeable, but you shrug it off and turn your attention back to the market stalls.

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The outer ring of stalls is heavily dominated by fabrics and foods. Skewered lizards are stuck under your nose and bolts of colorful and patterned fabrics are waved about when their price isn’t being bitterly debated. The prices of even common goods are definitely higher in Grabgol than back home, with one merchant hawking dusty jars filled with a mixture of herbs for a gold apiece, while live lizards were being offered up at a silver apiece. Bolts of fabric varied wildly in price, with more vibrant and complex patterns going for higher prices. Your browns and blacks definitely mark you as an outsider and you briefly linger at one of the few stalls offering completed clothing instead of bolts of fabric.

Turning your attention to the inner ring you find a wider variety of goods, at much higher prices. There’s a glass case filled with a variety of items, a quick glance with your monocle reveals the magic within some, but not all of them, maybe dungeon items? Next is a table burdened with ointments, salves and other medical supplies. A pair of clothing shops is next, much finer than the few on the outer ring, then another glass case with sparkling gems and jewelry. The last of the shops sports a variety of weapons, each chained to a heavy block of stone.

Domain storage does a quick tally, 2 gold coins, and 462 silver coins. At a hundred silver to the gold you probably have enough money for a few purchases, or you could just dig for interesting information instead. You can probably get a couple sets of clothes for you, Muffin, and Katrina for fifty silver as long it comes from the cheaper stalls. Food was just one or two silver apiece. Most of the inner stall purchases were a few gold, in particular even the smaller weapons would take most of your money. The dungeon items could definitely be interesting, you heard the stall owner price them at five gold each.

> Go shopping (Where? What?)
> Talk to a shopkeeper (Which one, about what?)
> Dig for rumors
> You’ve seen enough, go back to the inn for now
> Write in

>>5728279
> Dig for rumors
Let's see if anyone here has heard any rumors of the location of Lost Garden.

>>5728287
If we choose to talk to someone, no matter what, just remember that everything is for sale here. Most likely any information we're after is going to come with a price.

>>5728279
>Go shopping (Where? What?)
Clothes and dungeon items

>>5728279
>Dig for rumors
>>5728287
What if this is a prequel or on a different continent? What about the very different set of choices at the start?

>>5728279
>Go shopping (Where? What?)
Clothes. Try to look like an actual foreign scholar.

>>5728279
>Go shopping (Where? What?)

>>5728453
+1
Muffin will also need some clothes eventually

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You flag down the merchant with the dungeon items who sweeps over with a broad grin. “My lady! You must be a traveler from abroad with such clothing! Karhost perhaps?” You nod and the merchant continues. “Ah, the wild country! Perhaps a trinket from one of the tame dungeons of my lovely city? I’ve all manner of lovely items here, perhaps an earring to lend some charm?”

You laugh, and not just because the ‘charm’ earring is one of the fakes. “I’m actually here for research on behalf of one of the Quills. Something more useful on the road, or in an old ruin might be better for me.”

The merchant bows deeply. “A thousand pardons ma’am! The world has become cruel for a beauty like yourself to be digging in old ruins! Perhaps this anklet of leaping? Once each day it would allow you a dramatic leap, useful for removing yourself from crumbling masonry, or getting into difficult to reach places.” The man winks. “Not that a lovely like yourself would be found crawling in second story windows. Ah, I’m sure you must have a guard or an assistant or two, right? I have this pair of rings that allows sending short messages back and forth through the ring. Very useful in the right hands, even if remote presence rings are all the rage, who can afford the thousands of gold for them?”

“Thousands? Who has that kind of gold? How would you even manage it? A wheelbarrow?”

The merchant bellows with laughter. “You’ll need to pay a visit to the state bank madam, they handle all that sort of thing. You know, I actually heard a Quill from Karhost was there not long ago trying to get a loan from them, though they laughed him out of the building. Maybe a colleague of yours?”

“Maybe, I don’t keep track of all the Quills. Any other interesting items?”

“Oh, I have this odd one, it’s just a bag of marbles, but come dawn it magically refills itself. Not sure what use it might be though. Five gold for any one of them.”

> Purchase the Bag of Marbles
> Purchase the Rings of Whispers
> Purchase the Anklet of Leaping
> Let the merchant know that some of his wares are fakes
> Offer to sell him the Slave Collar
> Just move on to clothes shopping

>>5728924
> Purchase the Anklet of Leaping
> Purchase the Bag of Marbles
> Ask him if he has anything that came from a garden dungeon

>>5728979
You can only afford one at the moment.

>>5728924
> Purchase the Rings of Whispers
We can use dominion for remote viewing and then tell Muffin where all the loots and exits are, I want the anklet too but we need more G first.
> Let the merchant know that some of his wares are fakes
Also we are not telling about the slave collar ever, that thing is bad in the wrong hands and that is why we must have it. Easiest way to silence someone.

>>5728924
>Purchase the Rings of Whispers

>>5728924
>Just move on to clothes shopping

>>5728924
>>Just move on to clothes shopping

>>5728984
Oh. Switching to

> Purchase the Bag of Marbles
> Ask him if he has anything that came from a garden dungeon

>>5728924
>Just move on to clothes shopping

>>5728924
>> Just move on to clothes shopping

Locking in no purchases

Having bloody hay fever, no update today.

Have a clothing purchase prompt:

> Spend fifty silver on local style clothing for your group so you blend in better
> Spend a gold on fancy local style clothes for yourself, like what a visiting foreign noble or well off merchant might wear
> Make no purchases
> Write in

>>5729570
> Write in
> Spend [insert money] on entertainer's outfits

>>5729570
>> Spend fifty silver on local style clothing for your group so you blend in better
>> Spend a gold on fancy local style clothes for yourself, like what a visiting foreign noble or well off merchant might wear

>>5729570
> Spend fifty silver on local style clothing for your group so you blend in better

>>5729570
>> Spend a gold on fancy local style clothes for yourself, like what a visiting foreign noble or well off merchant might wear

>>5729570
> Spend fifty silver on local style clothing for your group so you blend in better

>>5729570
>Spend a gold on fancy local style clothes for yourself, like what a visiting foreign noble or well off merchant might wear
>Also buy entertainer's outfits if we need to sneak

Locking on
>> Spend fifty silver on local style clothing for your group so you blend in better
>> Spend a gold on fancy local style clothes for yourself, like what a visiting foreign noble or well off merchant might wear

Each got three votes out of six, which I'm going to call a pass.

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You consider all of the items for a moment, then shake your head. “Nothing today.”

The merchant’s face falls but then he laughs it off. “Make sure to come back soon! No telling when these might pass into another’s hands! Although I could be persuaded into a discount if you could lend me a hand...cursebreaker?” Your steps falter and you watch the merchant’s face carefully, who just grins. “Noticed you had a monocle out for a moment there, looking at the wares. I think I’m having a problem with one of my suppliers trying to sell me fakes.”

You choose your words carefully. “It’s certainly possible.” You let your eyes linger on the fake ring for a moment and the merchant’s grin grows even wider as he thrusts a stiff card into your hands.

“Big deal going down soon. Pay me a visit and I think it would be profitable for both of us.”

You accept the card, vanishing it first into your pocket, then domain storage. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

The rest of your outing to the marketplace is fairly straightforward. You spend what feels like a large sum of money on several sets of clothing similar to what the locals wear, hoping that you can get targeted a little less by pickpockets and corrupt guards. Additionally you pick up a single fancier outfit in case you need to infiltrate some high society event or another. It brings you down to five gold altogether, which is still a year's salary back home, but you suspect won’t go as far here in Grabgol.

You spend a few minutes chatting meaningless small talk with the clothing seller as she packages your items into a carefully folded and bound bundle, then you finally leave the marketplace as the sun starts to get lower into the sky. You’ve pushed about halfway back to the Nook Inn when you spot the burnt and blackened wagon from the wagon parked at the side of the road, it’s driver and a guard arguing hotly. Demands to clear the way and deal with the raiders shot back and forth, growing in intensity until the guard finally threw up his hands and marched off. The cart driver slumped back in his seat as soon as the guard vanished from view and you approached cautiously.

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“Are the roads not safe?” You ask.

The driver, a man younger than yourself, flinched back upright, eyes darting around until they finally settled onto you. He relaxed, marginally. “Cart speaks for itself doesn’t it? Gods take these damn rebels and their stupid fight.” He takes a moment and looks you up and down. “From Karhost? I’d head back now unless you want to be burned alive on the road.”

Curiosity gets the better of you. “What’s the rebellion about? What do they think they can get out of burning up a few carts?”

“A few!?” The man leaned down, shaking his head, one eye twitching. “Bastards burned the whole caravan! Stole a pack of hellhounds from the sulfur dungeon and they’ve been riding up and down the roads putting everything to the torch they can. Barely made it out alive! Rango’s got a measly fifty gold on their bounty, like that’s going to attract anyone who can deal with the problem, and in the meantime I’ve got a pile of charcoal and three gods damned turnips left of the entire caravan!”

The man continues his rant, moving on to the next unfortunate who catches his eye, but your mind lingers on the bounty. Fifty gold would move you along quite a ways toward the hundred you need, and it might even grease a few wheels for the process. Something to keep in mind you suppose.

With a little luck, and domain pushing through alleyways and around corners, you manage to find your way back to the Nook Inn before the sun vanishes. A tray of food sits on a low table in the center of your room, some eaten, but enough remaining for you. Katrina reads, Muffin sleeps curled under her green cloak.

“Productive time?” Katrina asks quietly.

“I think so.” You display the clothing purchases. “Figured we should try to fit in a little. Heard a few interesting rumors.”

“Local clothing will be wise. Rumors?”

You fetch the merchant’s card from domain storage. A name, an address, and two dates, one in three days and the other fifty years in the future? “Got this card from a merchant, said he was looking for a cursebreaker to help with fake magic items. Dates don’t make much sense though.”

Katrina takes the card and examines it. “Ah, typical Golian duplicity. The second date is actually an offer of payment. Fifty gold for your services.” Her thumb moves along the edges of the card. “Red ink. Expect danger.”

You winced. “I’m guessing if I call out a magic item as fake the seller won’t take it kindly.”

“It is likely a smuggler, or a dungeon thief, one who plunders the ‘tame’ dungeons of Grabgol without their owner’s knowledge.” Katrina smooths out the snarl on her face. “Still, it is coin we need.”

“There’s also apparently a bounty for rebels who have a pack of hellhounds, also fifty gold.”

Katrina sighs. “Of course they believe they have tamed hellhounds. Savage creatures, who bites can ignite flesh and wood. I assure you, they cannot be tamed.”

You move on. “There’s also another Quill from Karhost, looking for a loan from the bank. Not sure if that amounts to anything.”

“Perhaps. I would be loathe to aid someone indebting themselves to the machines of Grabgol, but there could be work there for us. The banks often have odd jobs they can accept as collateral, or perhaps the Quill has tasks they need aid with.” Katrina shrugs. “Quills enjoy Grabgol’s lax dungeon policies, though even a tame dungeon often needs an escort.”

> Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled
> Hunt down the rebels and their hellhounds
> See what the Quill needs...and what he can pay
> Head back out, see if you can find the darker sides of this city for work
> Look for more leads tomorrow, none of these sound worthwhile
> Write in

>>5729774
>Head back out, see if you can find the darker sides of this city for work

>>5729774
> Help the merchant purchase magical items
This seems like an easy job for us.

We might be able to "tame" those hellhounds. Turn them against the rebels, make some easy money, and be able to make more than just skeletons. Not gonna vote on that unless everyone else does.

>>5729774
> Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled
He has kind of got a few trinkets that we want, he may be a scumbag but having a relic merchant indebted to us is useful. We can come up with a deal that is beneficial for both parties. We do this before monster elimination quest, need a few more relics on our belt, monsters aren't small fry

>>5729774
>Look for more leads tomorrow, none of these sound worthwhile

>>5729774
>Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled

>>5729774
>Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled

>>5729774
>> Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled
either way we see how much he buys them for

>>5729774
>> Help the merchant purchase magical items without getting swindled

Gonna be a couple more days on the next update, apologies.

Locking the vote on the merchant quest.

>>5730825
hows it going, QM?

>>5735142
Trying to get the QM Curse off my back. Apologies for radio silence, life has just been exhausting.

>>5735782
no worries, just checking in on you

>>5735782
Hope things get better Sys.

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You collapse onto the circular bed, a sudden wave of exhaustion hitting you. “We’ll help the merchant out. Tangling with smugglers has to be easier than hellhounds.”

Katrina laughs. “Generally, yes.” Her hand briefly runs along her arm. “And staying out of the internal politics of Grabgol is a comfort. Get some rest and we'll acquire more details tomorrow."

Sleep goes by easily, with you not even visiting the domain of your heart. You wake to find a platter of tiny pies, each with a different filling ranging from fruits to meats. Muffin is eyeing the platter suspiciously, though Katrina is nowhere to be found. The one time beggar catches your eye and frowns.

"It's weird, alright?"

You pick up one of the pies and bite into it, finding a fragrant but unknown fruit inside. "Tastes good to me."

Muffin grunts, picks one up and bites into it. "Fucking weird just having food brought in. Kat said she was going to talk to contacts in the city, should be back this evening. You found work?" You explain the details to Muffin who nods along. "You gonna pay the guy a visit today then?"

"Yeah. Want to come along?"

Muffin shrugs. "Eh, nothing better. Someone needs to watch your back."

"Thanks. Picked up some new clothes for us as well." You show off the colorful patchwork clothing. "Figured we could blend in a little better in the city."

Muffin accepts the clothing with a shake of her head. "Fucking weird having this many clothes."

The two of you finish eating, change your clothes, and depart out into the city streets in short order. A few requests for directions later sends you along the main streets of the city to a section of two and three story homes, many with iron fenced gardens attached. A young sandy haired man with an easy smile waits at your appointed address, arms folded across his chest.

Muffin nudges you. "He's got magic all tangled up in his hands. Mage?"

"Could be." You glance at the card from the merchant, scanning the name again, then call out to the sandy haired man. "Is this the Colker house?"

The young man nods. "Well, I was told to expect one fine lady, not two, but I certainly won't complain about it!” Muffin snorts beside you. “The master is out on business but I have the details of our late night rendezvous.”

You frown, coming to a stop a reasonable distance away. “If Colker has a mage in his employ, why does he need me to verify the items?”

The man’s smile slips for a moment, then returns. “Well, you are impressive. I cannot reveal the details, but I am required to be elsewhere at the time. It’s an opportunity for you, isn’t it?”

“Stinks of bullshit more like.” Muffin growls, and you’re inclined to agree.

The sandy haired man clears his throat, looking a little nervous. Something is muttered, audible only to your domain. “Old man needs to trust me. I can arrange for half the payment up front. I understand your caution, but while the operation is...discreet, it is a normal exchange done many times before.”

You exchange a glance with Muffin’s scowling face, then look back at the young man. You find yourself falling back to years of patiently prying details out of villagers to find the source of fey infestations. “Tell me the details first. Where, when, what.”

The young man relaxed a little. “I have the address here, and it would be just after sundown, on the date we’ve already given you. You’ll meet with some uh, business associates of my, of Master Colker. Payment has already been arranged, your job is to verify the items are magical, then bring all of the magical items back to this address. It should be straightforward enough. Only one person can go though, our business associates will get skittish otherwise. Any questions?”

“How many people are we meeting?” You ask.

“Ah, should just be the one. A young woman, unnamed of course. Bit of a foreign look to her. She’ll have a silver necklace dangling from her hands so you know her.”

> Write in (questions, prep work, etc)
> Get on with it!

>>5737991
> Get on with it!
This seems like a trap, but i'm not too worried about it.

>Write in (prep work)
See if we can scout the area beforehand. The better we know the area, the easier it'll be to set traps of our own in the event that violence should break out-- or escape, if we must.

>>5738130
Changing my vote to this

>>5737991
>>5738130 +1

File: culvert-stream-passing-un(...).jpg (193 KB, 912x513)

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You nod. “Alright. See you soon then.”

“Under the Service Bridge is where the deal will be. Come in from the poor side, to the south. Go alone, and don’t approach if they aren’t alone, sometimes they handle more than one client in a night. I’ll make arrangements at the bank, just ask for the account of a Mr. Culvert the Third and they’ll handle the payments. Good luck.” The young man turned away, slipping through a gate.

Muffin glances at you. “We’re going to scope out this bridge, right?”

“Definitely.” You agree. “And make sure the half up front goes through, it’d be way too easy for them to screw us with this bank system.” You sigh. “At least we have plenty of time to work with.”

The two of you work your way through the crowded city streets, asking directions along the way, until you find your way to the Service Bridge, or as an overweight and haughty woman corrects you, the Nobility of Service to the Elite Bridge.

“Give me that fancy knife of yours, bitch like that needs a stabbing. Just a little one.” Muffin fumes as you haul her away forcefully, an oddly easy thing to do given your supernatural strength and Muffin’s light frame.

“I figured you’d be used to that kind of thing.”

Muffin spits over the edge of the service bridge. “Bitch like that just looks away when you ask for a coin. Not used to them being able to see me. This the place?”

You glance over the archways and catch a waft of foul air. “Yeah.” A thin trickle of water flows along a paved path under the bridge, from the north toward the south, eventually vanishing into large grates. You follow the flow of wastewater with your eyes and eventually trace it back to discrete drains at the bottom of the large manors to the north of the bridge. As if on cue, a surge of foul water flows out of a drain and washes down toward the poor parts of town.

“Hah, the rich actually shit on the poor in Grabgol. At least it’s honest.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got to be down there, just after sundown. What do you do right before bedtime?”

Muffin’s eyes widen. “Shit! Shit and piss, that’s going to be nasty.”

“Good place for shady business though. No one wants to be around. Let’s take a closer look before it gets worse.”

The two of you find a path of old cracked stairs down to below the bridge. You skirt the foul water and look along the walls of the underbridge. It’s a fairly cramped space, with another drain grate set into the wall of the bridge itself. An overflow leading into some other sewer maybe? You give it a kick with your foot and it rattles loosely.

“Pretty big for a sewer isn’t it?”

You frown. “Yeah.” You flex your Domain and it hits resistance at the grate itself. “Domain isn’t working.”

“What does that mean?”

“I’m not really sure, but I think it’s something to do with someone owning it. Locked doors are really hard to push past.” You focus on your domain, pushing a little further into the sewer tunnel, but finding nothing, other than a well concealed lock holding the grate in place.

“What if we bust the grate? Stick one of those swords you got into it and pop it right off.”

“We could. Whoever uses this would know though...”

> Break the grate and scout it out
> Set your traps just inside the tunnel.
> Just leave it alone.
> Write in

>>5738430
>> Break the grate and scout it out
>> Set your traps just inside the tunnel.

good to see you back

>>5738430
> Break the grate and scout it out
Whoever uses this sewer tunnel will know someone was in there, but won't know who. As long as we explore the place and leave before he or she comes back, we should be alright. I'm willing to risk it.

>>5738430
>Break the grate and scout it out
Welcome back

>>5738430
>Break the grate and scout it out

>>5738430
>> Break the grate and scout it out

File: sewer entrance.jpg (125 KB, 564x688)

125 KB JPG

Muffin glances around, the area under the bridge is shielded from view from the main streets. "Won't know it's us though."

"Good point, keep an eye out and I'll try to get it open." You manifest a short sword from storage and wedge it into place through the grate like a makeshift crowbar, then start pushing. Metal groans and deforms as your muscles tighten. Steel grinds on stone and your boots struggle to grip the ground, then the entire grate breaks free of the mortar holding it in place. You scramble to catch the metal grille and carefully lower it to the ground.

"Fuck the Mother, you ripped it out of the mortar."

You shake out your arms and look at the sword, bent out of shape from its use as a tool. Your mind jumps unbidden to just how easy it would be to snap bone the same way and you shudder. "I'm a little scared of it, to be honest."

Muffin peers down the tunnel. "Why? You can break a man in half, and you look good doing it too. Lot of people would kill for that kind of power."

You start down the tunnel, pushing your domain ahead of you. "The thing in my chest tried to kill me though. Would have killed my entire village. You saw what the one in Blue Ridge was capable of, that's where this power comes from. It's hard to trust it."

The two of you come to crossroad around a fetid pool and stop for a moment as you push your domain down each path, looking for something more interesting than an annoyed rat. Muffin scowls. "It eats people doesn't it?"

"Not literally, but yeah, everyone I kill shows up in this place in my head. Their souls maybe?"

"That is pretty fucked up." Muffin kicks a pebble into the fetid puddle then snorts. "Fucking Ducksworth is in there."

“Who?” You stare at your companion who breaks out into giggles.

“Ducksworth. Real nutter, thought he was reincarnated duck royalty. And he’s probably strutting around your heart now, quacking at the other fucking ghosts.”

You shake your head and restrain your laughter. “I’ll keep an eye out for him...found something.” Your domain flows through an opening into a cellar.

“Ducksworth?”

“No, a cellar, with...the city guard?” You start down the tunnel, pushing your domain further into the cellar. Crates of old paperwork, a barrel of beer, and a battered old table, rocking slightly as three guards sit around it playing cards. The conversation is just complaints about the patrol schedule and you tune it out in favor of pushing your domain up the stairs. Up the stairs you find yourself in a guardhouse, with nearly a dozen city guards passing in and out, exchanging gear and making reports. You come to a halt.

“This place is connected to the guard?” Muffin asks.

You nod. “Yeah, looks like it. Along with a lot of other places probably, domain didn’t find the end of any of the paths, just other sewer grates and a lot of branching paths. Hopefully we don’t have to deal with the guard during the exchange, or anything else.”

> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel
> Set up all of your six traps in the tunnel
> Don’t trap the tunnel
> Write in

>>5738688
>Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel

>>5738688
> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel

>>5738688
>> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel
sounds reasonable to do half.
but make them so they won't go off until we arm them in case people snoop around down here before showtime

>>5738688
>> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel

>>5738688
>> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel

>>5738688
>> Set up three of your six traps in the tunnel

File: Stranglevine.jpg (74 KB, 564x777)

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“Alright, let’s back out of here. I’m going to lay down a few traps.”

“How smart are those things? Will they wait for you?”

You shake your head. “I’m pretty sure they’ll go after anyone. Restraint isn’t exactly how dungeons operate. We could test it if you wanted?”

Muffin shudders and speeds up, getting well ahead of you. “Yeah, fuck that.”

The two of you approach the exit to the sewers. Muffin leaves first, then you focus your will on the surrounding sewer walls. A spike filled pit burrows into the floor, manifesting a layer of rotting wood on top. Then you turn your attention to the ceiling above the pit. A tangle of vines springs into existence above. Dark instinct tells you that the next person to walk by will be snatched by the stranglers and choked to death. Then if someone tries to rescue them they should trigger the pit trap. You follow up with another mass of strangler vines just after the pit trap, with the hope that anyone who jumps the pit will be snatched by the vines mid leap. A warm glow from your heart makes you swallow, the traps definitely had the approval of your dark council.

“Fuck, the thing back in Blue Ridge used those vines.” Muffin peers in at your work, but stays firmly out of the sewer. “Watched one grab a miner and crush his neck. Didn’t know people could turn that color.”

You grimace. “Should keep the guard out of our hair for a few minutes at least, if they do come snooping. Any other ideas for the meet up?”

Muffin jerks her gaze away from the vines lurking at the top of the tunnel. “Could swap the two of us. I can check shit for magic, same as you.”

“Better actually.”

“So we could have me walk in, instead of you. You can keep watch with your domain thing and send out your skeletons if shit goes bad.”

You consider the idea for a moment.

> Have Muffin take your place at the exchange, you can keep watch better from a distance.
> Go yourself, you can sacrifice minions to heal, Muffin can’t.
> Write in

>>5739036
> Have Muffin take your place at the exchange, you can keep watch better from a distance.
But give her the monocle so she can pretend to use it.

>>5739036
> Go yourself, you can sacrifice minions to heal, Muffin can’t.
I'm pretty sure our traps won't go after us. If we let Muffin take our place, our traps might kill her.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>1= >>5739065 +1
>2= > Go yourself, you can sacrifice minions to heal, Muffin can’t.

>>5739036
>Have Muffin take your place at the exchange, you can keep watch better from a distance.

>>5739036
>Have Muffin take your place at the exchange, you can keep watch better from a distance.

File: Maria_Largent.jpg (36 KB, 564x814)

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“Are you sure? If things go south I’ll be there fast, but...”

Muffin shrugs. “Eh, if you’re not distracted with bullshit you’ll see the problem before it even starts, right?”

“Hopefully.”

The next two days pass uneventfully. Katrina handles the visit to the bank, verifying and retrieving a pouch of gold that is immediately passed into your domain storage. The Torch also checks her contacts and finds the merchant is relatively reputable, at least for a wealthy citizen of Grabgol. The night of the exchange comes at last. The three of you head toward the bridge, taking care to approach from the south. Katrina takes up position some distance away and pressed a bone whistle into your hand.

“Two short blasts and I’ll come running. It won’t seem to make sound, but I’ll hear it.”

You stare at the simple object for a moment, then vanish it into storage. “Right. Hopefully it won’t come to that.” You extend your domain outward toward the bridge, and a young woman comes into view, the very picture of a black market thief, armored in leather and armed with a concerning number of knives. A bundle of black cloth rests in her arms. Her eyes scan the area, frequently flicking toward the sewer grate. A steady flow of foul sewage rushes along under the bridge, the smell is bad even at a distance.

You pull your monocle and silver dagger from storage and hand them to Muffin carefully. “Here, so you can look the part. And be careful.”

Muffin swishes the silver weapon through the air and holds up the monocle. “Pretty sure this is the richest I’ve ever been. I just hold this thing and look through it?”

“There’s more to it, but that’s enough to fool someone. We’re not supposed to take anything that isn’t magical, which should be pretty trivial for you to figure out.”

Muffin shrugs. “Bag is glowing from here, but I guess not to you two. Still weird that this shit is real. You know I can see that rock in your chest all the time right?”

You shudder. “I really didn’t need to know that. You’d better get down there, I’ll be watching with domain from that alleyway.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you soon.” Muffin waves flippantly and meanders down toward the under bridge. You move into position and close your eyes, focusing entirely on the bizarre vision that domain granted you, seeing everything in the area around you, from every angle. Hearing everything as well, rats rustling through trash, cats creeping up on rats, the flutter of bats overhead. Smell, thankfully, was excluded.

The gods help you, you were counting on Muffin to be diplomatic and tactful you realized all too late.

File: trinkets.png (353 KB, 512x512)

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“Oy! You the thief?” Muffin called out. The woman flinched as if struck, then hissed back.

“Shut up! Get over here and let’s get this done! And fuck! Lower your voice!”

“Yeah, yeah. You are the thief right? Name’s Rags, you?”

The dagger clad woman stared at Muffin. “You’re fucking kidding me. We don’t do-”

Muffin leered back and cut her off, voice deadening. “No, you’re fucking kidding me. I’ve got a lot of money riding on this meetup, and I want a name so that if you fuck me over I can find you, drag you to the Mother’s bed, and fuck you back.”

The whistle is halfway to your mouth before the thief sags visible. “Maria. It’s fucking Maria you crazy bitch.” You lower the whistle.

“See, that wasn’t hard. What’s the soup?”

The thief pauses for a moment, giving Muffin a hard look, then shakes her head. She kneels and spreads out the black cloth, revealing a spread of gold and glittering gems, shining even in the dim light. Even without magic sight a few of the items are obviously magical, with smaller pieces hovering or spinning and gems glowing with an internal light. Muffin peers for a second, then rolls her eyes and pulls out the monocle as an afterthought, looking through the pieces. She squats on her heels and starts adjusting the items, moving them into two separate groups.

“Mr. C finally found someone with the sight huh. Didn’t expect a beggar though.”

Muffin grunts and points at the smaller group of items. “I’ll take those, but the rest is junk.”

The woman balks. “What? The deal was to take it all. I worked hard for some of this shit.”

Muffin snorts. “You’ve been fucked hard then. I’ve got my orders, only the magic shit. And that,” She gestures at the larger pile. “Is just shit.”

Maria scowls, chewing on her lip, then sighs. “Fine. I can shift it somewhere else I guess. Tell Mr. C I want to talk though. He knows fakes are part of the cost of doing business.”

A dozen armed guards suddenly appears in the section of your domain stretching down the sewer tunnel, moving fast, weapons in hand. Swords in the front, crossbows in the back. You’ve got a handful of seconds before they hit the traps.

> Blow the whistle, get Katrina in there
> Send in your minions, get Muffin some cover and distractions
> Move in yourself, you’re fast, strong, and very hard to kill
> The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.
> Write in

>>5739981
>The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

>>5739981
>Send in your minions, get Muffin some cover and distractions

>>5739981
> The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

Potential future companion identified.

>>5739981
>The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.
If she doesn't, just grab the goods with dominion.
No evidence of a crime
If the guards don't believe it and Muffin would have to roll a speech check, go there and spin a story about some magical goods have been stolen from us, and we only send a servant to retrieve them

>>5739981
>> The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

>>5739981
> The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

>>5739981
>The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

>>5739981
>> The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

Rolled 5, 54, 50, 19 = 128 (4d100)

Locking
>The guards should make some noise when they hit the traps, trust Muffin to grab the goods and run like hell without any backup.

Clusterfuck Check for the guards, DC 50 for the first two, then 25 for the next two.

File: spikes.jpg (662 KB, 1920x2118)

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Muffin grins. “Glad we sorted that out.” She unceremoniously dumps the magical items to the ground, bagging up the rest.

The first guards, running in pairs of two down the tunnel, plow into the traps. Vines snap out and rotting boards snap at almost the same time. One guard jerks into the air, the other plummets toward foot long spikes of bone.

Unaware, Maria scowls. “Fucking dust sniffers are a pain in my ass.” A bag is produced and mundane jewelry is scooped into it.

Shouting, cursing, and the gurgling howl of a man with a spike through his chest echoes out of the sewer and both women snap their heads toward it. You struggle to keep up with domain’s information, a second guard tips into the pit, his eyes glued to his companion turning red as a vine tightens around his neck. He crashes into the first pit victim, driving the spikes deeper. Guards crash into each other above the pit in a confused shouting mess and a third victim is shoved in and crashes into the merciless spikes. Muffin and Maria are shouting at each other, knives are being brandished and you can’t keep up with the words other than ‘backstabbing bitch of a mother’.

Are you freezing up? Trusting that Muffin can handle it with the delay of your traps? Staring with domain’s eye as guards desperately stab at the vines while one of their own turns from red to blue, eyes going out of focus as life leeches from their body. You can feel the tug, from your heart to his, the delicious life being ripped out and given to you, the pit filling with sweet lifeblood and you jerk your vision away, panting.

Maria has a knife in hand, poised to throw, her head jerking back and forth between the sewer and Muffin.

“I don’t even know who your fucking mom is!” Muffin shouts.

“Bullshit! This is one of fucking Rango’s games isn’t it?”

File: abomination wolf.jpg (723 KB, 2667x1500)

723 KB JPG

Your domain lights up with a hostile light that drags your eye to it. Your stomach jumps to your throat at the line of cloaked hooded figures on the bridge. When did they show up!? The hostility radiates not from the people, but a pair of spined monstrosities, wolf in shape but trailing strips of flesh.

“Are we not all children of the Mother Below?” The central cloaked figure’s voice booms.

The knife and bag of mundane jewelry drops from Maria’s hands, and before they hit the ground the thief is running. Muffin hesitates for just a moment, then bolts the other direction, magical items held tight to her chest.

“Run them down children of the Mother! And recover her lost treasures!” The cloak figure screams.

With ear splitting screeches the wolves lunge off the bridge.

> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there with minions in tow
> Send out your minions but stay hidden
> Write in


> Dismiss your traps so the guards can get out of the sewer faster
> Leave the traps up to delay them
> Leave the traps up, and divert a couple minions to slow them down even more
> Write in

>>5740312
> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
> Leave the traps up to delay them
We are plenty strong even without our skellies, lets find out what we are dealing with first

>>5740312
> Send out your minions but stay hidden
> Dismiss your traps so the guards can get out of the sewer faster

>>5740312
>> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
as I said earlier, we can spin a story of having had magic items stolen ourselves and were looking for thieves who are selling
We can give them all back, we don't care about them, or the shop-owner who meant to buy them.
>> Dismiss your traps so the guards can get out of the sewer faster
also
>store the jewlery bag with dominion

>>5740312
> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
> Leave the traps up, and divert a couple minions to slow them down even more

>>5740312
> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
> Dismiss your traps so the guards can get out of the sewer faster

Locking and writing, gonna try to get this tonight but that's probably unlikely.

> Blow Katrina’s whistle and get over there
> Dismiss your traps so the guards can get out of the sewer faster

File: KnifeLeader.jpg (43 KB, 564x789)

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You blow hard on the whistle, jumping as it lets out a shrill shriek audible only in your domain, then push off the wall into a sprint. Your domain picks up on Katrina sprinting behind you and the two of you slide down the hill to the underbridge, right as Muffin rushes past the two of you.

“Wrong way dumbasses!”

Your heart pounds as the wolf thing screams and lunges at you. You throw up your arms, then Katrina flashes forward with supernatural speed and crashes directly into the monster, hurling it back with a flash of hard light. The torch moves in a blur, flashes of light punctuating every strike and blow, moving faster than you can keep up.

“Wicked Torch who desecrates the dark! You do not belong here!”

Katrina sends the wolf tumbling away and you manage to catch up. “Friend of yours?” You ask.

“Dungeon Cultists.” Katrina spits and glares at the looming figures. “That’s a prowler, watch out for their ribbon, it paralyzes. I’ll lure it in, you flank and hit it hard. Keep an eye on the audience too.”

“Right, ready when-”

Your heart lurches mid beat and you stagger, vision blurring. The prowler is pouncing, Katrina moving to intercept-

Just lay down.

Roll 1d100. DC 30

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>5740925

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5740925

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>5740925

File: Heartbeat.jpg (39 KB, 563x789)

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Your body jerks into motion, against the sudden surge of fatigue striking it. The beast pounces at Katrina, crashing into a wall of light and you circle to its flank, sword appearing in your hand and hacking wildly at the creature’s backside. A warbling scream erupts from the creature and it turns, then Katrina’s mace slams on its wounded leg. Its rear legs collapse and you take the opportunity to drive your sword into its skull.

Good. I like it when they flail about. Twist and thrash for me.

“One down. There were two though.” You wipe sweat from your face, try to calm your hammering heartbeat, feel the raw delicious jerk of a life extinguished by your hand. Your eyes meet Katrina’s and her gaze is careful and guarded, watching you.

“Idrid.”

The sewer grate slams into the ground and guards spill out of the sewer.

"There! The witch!"

Stop fighting me. You can’t last forever.

Roll 1d100. DC 50

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>5741294
bitch, watch me

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>5741294

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>5741294

>>5741294
What's that? A new Dungeon Core to eat? You don't say...

File: Heartbeat2.jpg (36 KB, 275x353)

36 KB JPG

“Move you dumbasses!” Muffin shouts from the street level.

“Leave no witnesses!” The cultist shouts from the bridge.

“Quickly!” Katrina commands, and bolts away from the sewer grate.

Your head is pounding in time with your pulse and your vision keeps slipping, but your legs move. Your domain sight is flickering erratically, highlighting everything around you as hostile, then not. It would be so easy to take a delicious bite or two. A guard raises a crossbow toward you and you twist left, the bolt shredding a path through your shirt, then you and Katrina are scrambling up the stairs, out of the underbridge, and into the streets. Laughter, cackling gleeful laughter fills the streets behind you, then shrieks and sweet violence. Muffin gestures from an alleyway and you follow her in, weaving a twisted path through.

The three of you keep moving, Katrina eventually scooping up Muffin over her shoulder until you finally come to a halt, somewhere in the twisted streets far away. You crash to the ground, heart trying to beat out of your chest, gasping for air.

“Let me fucking down you ogre!”

Katrina dumps Muffin on the ground with a thump and fixes you with her gaze.
“Idrid.”

You look up at the torch’s guarded face, holding a hand over your hammering heart. Your heart is beating. Your heart is a lifeless magical rock that does not beat.

“Something’s wrong with me.”

“I know.”

Give up.

“Holy shit, your eyes are fucking glowing.”

Katrina’s body tensed and stared at you.

“What is it doing? What’s happening to me?”

GIVE. UP.

Roll 1d100. DC 70

Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>5741395

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5741395
fyi, https://anydice.com/program/3958

Rolled 51 (1d100)

>>5741395
We are in control here

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>5741395

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>5741395
Oof

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>5741395
op never specified best of three, right?

>>5741419
but you haven't been helping, Anon

>>5741415
>>5741419
No cigar

>>5741419
It is in fact best of one, though I promise not to kill you off one failed roll.

File: this_is_fine.png (1.23 MB, 1146x609)

1.23 MB PNG

>>5741485
oh

File: Spoiler Image (41 KB, 314x439)

41 KB JPG

Your body lunges, there’s a snap of light, and Katrina is holding you by your throat. Then everything goes dark.

Shouting. Fighting. The spatter of blood. The feeling of being impaled, beaten,

Gods, your head hurts, like you drank the bottle then clubbed yourself with it.

“Just lay down and die already!”

A defiant scream that ends in a gurgle. Something impacts the ground in front you. You open your eyes and stare into your own fading eyes. Something kicks you in the hard, driving the breath from your lungs, and you bounce, striking the hard cobbles twice.

”Finally. Do you know how irritating it is watching you stumble around with my power?”

Before your aching limbs can push against the ground a hand closes around your neck and lifts you squirming into the air. A cruel smile looks back at you. You try to speak, but just gasp instead.

”Little miss Idrid. Rescuing slaves and throwing herself into danger to protect people. Running into the fire to protect her friend. Walking through the woods rather than murder a few peasants.” The woman in black spits into your face and hurls you away. You tumble over a body, your body as a child. Death, part of you. You finally get a good look around, spotting the bodies of War and Dominion as well, scattered across the domain of your heart. The once gray skies had gone dark. The cobbles are cracked and cobwebbed, the fence around the border broken.

The woman sneers and your vision struggles as her form flips between human and giant spider, the very spider that ripped your heart to pieces and set you on this journey. “You.”

The spider snarls and starts walking toward you.“I was supposed to have it all, and then you fucking showed up and stabbed me! And then squandered my power! So now it’s my body! Now it’s my power again! Do you have any idea how strong we could be if you would just try!? How fragile your little bodies are!? I could rip you limb from limb, sipping the lifeblood from your stumps all day and not one of you could stop me! Mel’Arco, Queen of Blood they’d call me!”

You lunge, silver knife in hand, not knowing how it got there, the spider queen disdainfully seizes your wrist, turns and hurls you away to crash again the cobbles.

“It took a long time, but I’m finally stronger than you. Finally ready to be rid of you. I can’t believe it even took this long, I mean look at this?” She picks up the limp body of little Death. ”You’ve been afraid of this power from the very beginning, dividing your mind into pieces, afraid of what you might do if you gave in violence, fear, or your right to rule. And that it made it so easy, so simple to worm my way into your mind. Finally, we’re going to be everything we were meant to be.” The child is hurled away with a sigh.

You stand on unsteady legs. “You keep saying we.”

Mel shrugs. “Oh, you and your little circus will still be there, somewhere. You can watch while I take this world piece by piece.”

Pieces of yourself that you’re afraid of.

“They’re not dead then.”

There was the tiniest hesitation from Mel. “Look around, you simpering idiot. Do they look like they have any life left in them?”

You tighten your grip on the silver blade. It put this thing down once before, and it could certainly do it again. Your arms are shaking, gods everything is shaking but...

“I’m still pretty angry. And I’m definitely afraid of what you could do. And there’s no way I’m letting you take what’s mine. They’ve been good to me, kept me alive, kept the people close to me alive, even kept ungrateful assholes alive.”

“Get to the point dear.”

You lunge, war in your heart, fear in your feet, indignation on your lips.

Roll 4d100. DC 100

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>5741395
May all the cactarons in the world help us befriend our dungeon heart and convince it to not be more violent than we are.

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>5741562
>DC 100
lmao

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>5741562

>>5741493

If you guys really feel the desire to be comically overpowered I could give you more dice, but I generally expect you to pick fights intelligently and count on your minions/minion healing to smooth out bad luck.

Rolled 71, 50, 33, 29 = 183 (4d100)

>>5741562
I call upon Lost Garden to help me

> 254

whew, I knew the odds were in your favor, but golly, that would be a turn if you lost that roll

>>5741584
It's almost impossible to fail with odds like that

>>5741574
nono, please don't

Mel grabs your wrist again, then you slam your knee into her gut. She doubles over, takes the pommel of your dagger to the face, sputtering and gasping.

“You can’t!”

You slam the silver dagger into her throat up to the hilt and slam her to the ground, then perch on her. “Shut up. You crawl out of the ground, murder kids, rip out my heart, and then fucking blame me for it!? Guess what, you’re stuck here with me, with all of me. And you’re a part of the family too, so get used to it.”

You rip the dagger out of Mel’s throat and she gags as blood rushes out. You fold your arms and wait patiently until the liquid clears.

Mel scowls, then gags on blood again. “This is it? I try to take over and you scold me? Make an example! Cast me to the void!”

You glare “So you can gather power and try again in a few weeks? No, you’re staying right here, where I can see you.”

Mel pouts. “At least you are learning. Now if I can just get you to shed these useless attachments. A dungeon stands alone! Proudly defiant of all that approach it.”

“Not this one. Do you have anything useful to say before I have to convince everyone you aren’t in charge?”

Mel scowled, fighting some internal desire then sighed. “Very well, I suppose I must keep you alive until I can find a way to properly break you. How is your body handling the corruption of the heart?”

“The what?”

Mel sighs. “Imbecile. I am trapped in the mind of an imbecile. You are a dungeon. Dungeons corrupt their surroundings via their chaos mana exchange process. Your surroundings are a heap of pitiful flesh.”

You stand up off of Mel and with a gesture restore the domain of your heart to the cobblestone plaza in the gray void it once was. “Chaos...mana exchange?”

Mel groans. “It is far too complicated for the slop in your skull to manage. Suffice to say that dungeons need mana, and the process of acquiring that mana produces waste. Like your body’s waste, yes? You understand feces at least?”

“The core is poisoning me?”

Mel frowns, then glares, then sighs. “Yes. That’s simple enough for you to understand at least. Proper dungeons just release the toxin into the environment, but you’ve got all that meat in the way.”

“What’s it going to do to me?”

Mel’s face falls. “I am trapped in the mind of an idiot who doesn’t even realize she’s dying. It will kill you of course!” Her face goes distant. “Ah, I see now, the heart was storing the corruption up to prevent it from killing you. No wonder you haven’t had issues so far.”

“So far?”

“It’s quite full now. I can push it back a little by guiding you into a manifestation but it's a stopgap at best.” Mel’s shoulder’s sag and she stares at you. “We are utterly fucked, but I’ll see what I can do.”

You jump as the world starts to shift around you. “What are you even doing?”

Mel scowls. “Redirecting some of the corruption into a new power for us. Should buy us a few weeks. Hopefully. What would help your useless meat survive?”

Pick one

> Preparation: You can spontaneously create simple solid objects, consuming one of your traps for the day. The object(s) must weigh less than ten pounds and be worth less than ten silver. By using multiple traps at once you can produce larger, more valuable, and more complex objects.

> Artifice: You can consume unspent deaths to produce magical items, and or reforge existing magical items into new ones. Additionally you can bind minions semi-permanently into the form of magical items, though this is a lengthy process to both perform and reverse.

> Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.

Distribute your death points (5)

> WAR 8/10: Your total number of minions and physical prowess
> DEATH: 6/10: Your total number of traps, agility and awareness
> DOMINION: 8/10: The size of your Domain, charm and poise

>>5741636
> Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.
1 for war, 3 for death, 1 for Dominion

>>5741636
>Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.

War +2
Death +1
Dominion +2

>>5741636
>I refuse to play your game
>Don't distribute the points but find a way to guide those absorbed souls into the afterlife somehow

>>5741636
>Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.
> 3 for Death, 1 for War and 1 for Dominion

>>5741636
>Artifice: You can consume unspent deaths to produce magical items, and or reforge existing magical items into new ones. Additionally you can bind minions semi-permanently into the form of magical items, though this is a lengthy process to both perform and reverse.
>1 for war, 3 for death, 1 for Dominion

>>5741636
>> Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.
>1 for war, 3 for death, 1 for Dominion

>>5742010

Oh this one would make things complicated.

>>5742249
>complicated
I hear "interesting"

I still play your game, but not that dungeon's
(different ID, same person)

>>5741636
>Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.

>2 to war, 2 to death

>>5742254
God gives the most delicious souls to His hungriest dungeons

>>5741636
>Preparation: You can spontaneously create simple solid objects, consuming one of your traps for the day. The object(s) must weigh less than ten pounds and be worth less than ten silver. By using multiple traps at once you can produce larger, more valuable, and more complex objects

>2 war
>1 death
>2 dominion

Locking in

> Queen’s Tribute: Silver coins accrue within Domain storage each day at noon, equal to the total number of deaths you’ve caused. Additionally a random assortment of items, including but not limited to travel supplies, weapons, books, paintings, clothes, and magical items will also be added to Domain Storage each day at noon.

Proving for the hundredth time that I can't predict votes

and

1/3/1 takes the majority with 4/7 votes, putting you at an even spread of 9/9/9.

Writing little update...

File: suretheyresilverbutwhatever.jpg (21 KB, 564x564)

21 KB JPG

“Money mostly, unless those cultists have something bigger we need to worry about.”

Mel frowns at you, then there’s an uncomfortable sensation of flipping pages in your own head.

“Oh, that breed of idiot.” She sniffs, making some minute adjustment of her hands that changes...something in the domain of the heart. “We could recruit them, you know. Fools like that are always malleable, and I’m sure they’d be useful, as feed if nothing else. Of course that would just escalate the corruption issue.” She sighs. “I must admit, your sniveling insistence on morality has preserved our lifespan.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking we, I, just stay away from them.” Probably. They probably had connections somewhere, and those might pave paths forward but...

“Yes. It is risky. Don’t bother with the internal dialogue dear, it’s quite audible here. We do share the space you know. There, I’ve arranged for a daily tribute from your subservient souls, sadly a silver coin and trifles is all each one can do but-”

“I can make money out of nothing!?”

Mel’s gaze went to withering. “Mother, bless you. Out of chaotic mana, refined by the captured souls of those foolish enough to oppose us. Nothing,” She snorts. “As if we were a god. I simply implemented an optimization, a gathering of previously lost dregs and directed that into manifesting a tithe of sorts. One must follow the, the-” Mel snarls, and for a moment you see the hulking spider again before the elegant queen returns. “Your useless language has no word for it. Archetype will have to do. Or legend? Bah! It is done regardless, and we have bought three precious weeks.”

“Why are you so cooperative now?” You narrow your eyes. “Not five minutes ago you were trying to take my body over.”

Mel’s face becomes ugly and she turns away. “Pah! I could ask you the same! When I launched this attack you were fragmented, a mess, afraid of your power, afraid of your desire, afraid of your own fear even! Ridiculous! You were nothing, and I am the iron will of the mother goddess! And in moments you called those fragments together, stitched them to yourself, and became unassailable! Why?”

“You admitted that they were still alive. Still a part of me. And their power, my power, has been keeping me safe all this time. Doing good, even if it's supposed to just kill and consume. So I just knew that if I called for them, they’d be there. They’ve always been there.”

Mel frowns. “You have subverted and corrupted very strangely. But I’m no fool, I cannot defeat you, but our fates are tied. So until I can find a way to rip control of the legends from you it is only sensible I aid you. I certainly can’t take over if we die.”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes. “Good to know you have my back. Are we done here?”

“Yes yes, scurry off to your playmates.” Mel waves you away. “I shall monitor the corruption and look for avenues to slow its progression.”

You nod and close one pair of eyes, opening another.

“She’s awake. Eyes are...less red.” Muffin peers at you.

“Those ropes won’t hold her for long if she doesn’t want them to.” A blade presses against your neck. “Choose your words carefully.”

> “You did a shitty job killing that spider.”
> “We’ve got three weeks before this thing kills me.”
> “Thanks for getting that inn room for me.”
> "Mahahaha, fear me and despair?"
> Write in

>>5742863
> “We’ve got three weeks before this thing kills me.”