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>>5806419
However, there's the matter of specialization. Stormwatch deals with two primary targets; humans and trolls. You are permitted to choose one to study, get training, and equipped to take them down with exceptional skill. Because they are training a rather large number of new agents – enough for a whole new squad when all is said and done – this training comes from the mentorship and shadowing of a Level 3 senior employee of that skillset! Both of them are in your squad, too!

With the two specializations, the online hiring process offered you two mentors. Lalli Kiikoinen is a large black haired Finn with an intense look in his eyes, and a skilled Trollslayer – a fighter of the abominable creatures that crawl in from the untamed wilderness, following the signs of civilization to easy prey. He has seven years of experience, and the employer said he keeps a calm head in even the worst situations. Sigrun Eugen is a platinum blonde Swedish Manhunter about your size and shape – a company bounty hunter skilled in tracking and taking down criminals, even if they are armed. She is a nine year veteran, and her bio says she enjoys taking a leadership role.Thankfully, you had an in on this job. Your father is the Groundskeeper in the Hercynian Forest back in Germany, and a poacher hunter commands respect with MNP and looks good on a resume for a job like this. It helps that your father's vast wealth of wildlife knowledge was shared with you, be it natural or supernatural in nature. After a basic aptitude tests of physical variety performed back at home, they've passed you on most general requirements.

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>>5806423
>TROLLSLAYER
>MENTOR: L3 Agent Lalli Kiikoinen
>You are knowledgeable in the manners of wildlife, aberrant forces, and ancient culture. While your skills serve you well against your fellow man, it is your specialty to sunder all abhuman forces and those who would entreat them. You will been given a pneumatic Burst Axe, your training will make you Strong, and sentimentally you have felt an Attunement to the unseen forces of the world.
In ancient times, Calamity struck. And though mankind survived the Calamity, there were others who did. Animals and other humans touched by the accursed light began to change and fall apart. Science at the time believed they would simply die off in time, but all it took were but a few exceptions, a few creatures to survive and begin to reproduce to create the things that go bump in the night. In Germany, these are called Imps, in Avalon, they are Fae, you've heard them called Youkai in the Far East, here in the North, they are Trolls, but to the eyes of the MNP they are Aberrations. Your father has killed a few of these, but the jury is still out on if these are considered “wildlife” and thus deserving the same protections. At the end of the day, they try to kill the people of Helsinki. They must be slain, and with great prejudice. The art of hunting these draws many of its roots from truly ancient techniques and practices of the eldest of pagan culture.

>MANHUNTER
>MENTOR: L3 Agent Sigrun Eugen
>You are knowledgeable in manners relating to humanity, technology, and modern culture. While your skills and weapons will service you well against most beasts, your specialty is tracking down humans by any means necessary. You will be equipped with stun-capable Volt Machetes, your training will make you Fast, and you will come to be Savvy to the depths humans will delve to in order to evade punishment.
Murderers, grand-theft thieves, and smugglers try and make life harder for everyone else, take more than their fair share, unable to play by the rules. When they get caught, there is no jail. There is no trial. A slot opens in the city, and the sods are carted off to the nearest food processing plant. Criminals are never clean in their work. Cameras, electronic logs, the simple error in a ledger. Everything has a footprint, even if it isn't physical. The small population count makes it easy to notice any sudden scarcity and find who draws off more water than they should. And when justice catches up to them, it is swift and overwhelming. The note on the web-page said they teach the fighting style of Judge Damian of Chicago, a modern dual-blade technique.

Being in the same squad, you would have time to chat with either instructor, even if they are not your explicitly your mentor.

>TROLLSLAYER: Slaughter the monsters that lurk in the dark.
>MANHUNTER: Pursue the crooks that pillage and plunder.

>>5806439
>MANHUNTER: Pursue the crooks that pillage and plunder.

Humans are more interesting than beasts, even magic beasts.

Kinda dystopian for a solarpunk setting, but I'm interested.

>W Corp images

Consider me interested, OP!

>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER: Slaughter the monsters that lurk in the dark.

Nice to see this realized. I like the premise and characters already.

>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER
Monster hunting time.

>>5806439
>MANHUNTER: Pursue the crooks that pillage and plunder.
More for the skillset rather than the occupation. Something tells me we'll need it, and Fiona knows plenty about nature and likewise survival from her father anyway.

>The art of hunting these draws many of its roots from truly ancient techniques and practices of the eldest of pagan culture.
>The world government is literally satanic
kek

>>5806448
>Kinda dystopian for a solarpunk setting
Solarpunk is dystopian. The QM gets the point.

https://archive.4plebs.org/tg/thread/89741595

>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER

>>5806517
>>5806532
>>5806565
>>5806573
I'd rather you not use my thread to have debates over what solarpunk is or isn't, especially if you're going to bring up politics. Even if I believe you're right or wrong on any topic, nothing good or interesting will come of this type of arguing here, only non-content walls of text filling the thread.

>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER: Slaughter the monsters that lurk in the dark.
Dim, dark, bright, or day... our task is the same. Tonight, Fiona joins the hunt.

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>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER: Slaughter the monsters that lurk in the dark.
We Bloodborne now lads

>>5806439
>5806439
Voting trollslayer. Not sure what faggy shit >>5806480, >>5806517, >>5806532, >>5806565, >>5806573 are one, but I wanna be Bloodborne.

>>5806781
*are on

>>5806590
Yes boss, will do boss!

>>5806439
>>MANHUNTER: Pursue the crooks that pillage and plunder

>>5806439
>MANHUNTER
Interesting premise.

>>5806565
>someone could just as well write a military-junta cyberpunk setting positively
They do, pretty frequently. Any setting sci-fi setting where space marines are generally cool and admirable probably counts, up to and including the book version of Starship Troopers, or Halo and gears of Wars and such. granted, as the movie version of Starship Troopers or background lore for Halo reveals, we've become a bit jaded as a society to the idea of a mostly-benevolent military.

That said...

>>5806590
Agreed! I'm excited to see exploration of the downsides and negative potentialities of a ecofascist regime. it's not something you see tackled nearly as often aesthetically or thematically in mainstream media as "environment good, industry bad", rightly or wrongly, and I think that your quest looks like it'll be really neat! I'm hype. I don't think it needs to be political or /pol/itical in any really hamfisted way to work, and if we can all agree to take the setting as presented to us and just roleplay a character in this world, I think we'll have a blast exploring the setting and fighting trolls and terrorists.

>>5806439
>TROLLSLAYER
Very nice quest, has good potential.

>>5806439
>>MANHUNTER
Man is the most dangerous beast

>>5806439
>MANHUNTER: Pursue the crooks that pillage and plunder.

I'm going to allow voting periods for 16 hours, so voting for specialization closes about now.
Winning the vote 7/6 is Trollslayer! Writing it up now, but will post at 5.

Though you could have seen yourself as either of them very well, you felt more comfortable with the description of Trollslayer, especially given your father's slight mentorship. His work as a hunter of hunters relied mostly on slaying humans, but in the small hamlet where you lived beside that ancient and untamed wood, it was important that you learned how to fight the beasts that came crawling in, and he taught you well. Though you fought no imps, you have fended off forest wildlife from the village with others on occasion.

All this application work was sorted out on the few days prior to your arrival. You are just anxiously checking over your papers, teeming with excitement and anxiety both, fretting over if you've made the right decisions. The train should be arriving at the station in a few minutes and you will be meeting with your Operator – a high-ranking agent who coordinates a squad from the sidelines. She is a Level 4 agent named Nonoka Sumika, a Japanese import with long black hair. You'll be honest, you don't know how high the ranks go, and you don't know what privileges are afforded to those above Level 3. You were very singleminded, admittedly... er, “goal oriented” is a better choice of words!

Uncertainties plague you at the moment. Are you really cut out for this? If not, then what? You're stuck in Finland looking for god knows what? How hard is it to get promotions? How long will it take? All these thoughts, but what you do know is, this is your shot. Something is kicking in your heart. It wants to get out. You might have to fight, you might have to kill, but you will hold that precious thing in your arms one day.

>>5807432
The train slows down. The magnets that push the cars along are now offering resistance. The city's buildings are getting clearer. Though it's night time, the buildings of Helsinki are now clear. LED neon lights of a city plaza have the downtown attractions make themselves known, and before you can really note any particular place there, white metal walls stained by downpours and assailed by foliage swallow the view as the train pulls into the station. You had heard Helsinki was a much colder, unhappy place in the Old World... a lot of things happened since then. Global warming, nuclear winters, seas rising and falling. They say the climates will return to normal, in a few hundred years. That won't matter to you now, but the history did paint a desolate image of the wet city. At the present, it seems a more pleasant place than you imagined.

Grabbing your things as the train comes to a smooth halt, you eagerly exit and make your way up from the boarding platform up to the lobby. You're looking for an asian woman with long black hair. It's not crowded enough that you would have trouble seeing over the heads of others, but as you reach the top of the steps you resolve that you might have to actively search for your operator.

And immediately after you begin your search, you see a group of three arrivals from Norway, three absolute ogres of men in size in stature, real red-blooded vikings in the flesh. Your eyes drifted toward them not from your own thirsting gaze, or because of anything that they were doing, but because right next to them you see someone even taller – a positively long woman with matty black hair covering her eyes, slouching with some manner of long-hilted asian sword in a scabbard upon her back. She is looking your way.

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>>5807434
“A bit stupefied” begins to describe your thoughts. You've never seen anyone from Asia, or anyone from outside of Europe for that matter, so you've had to rely on what you've heard or read to imagine what they looked like. And you've mainly heard that they were a small folk. And what's more is... you're noticing a lot of non-Finnish people in this organization, not just yourself. Guess people go where they are needed, but are not enough Finns are up to snuff?

The woman approaches, and gives a gentle but short lived smile. “Hello,” she speaks in a very slow, struggling, but nevertheless clear and enunciated English – a common multinational tongue of the old world kept alive through modern international necessity. “Miss Jarnafeldt?”

“F-Fiona Jarnafeldt, yes!” You stammer a reply, craning your neck up to meet her gaze. “Are you Sumika?”

The tall woman nods. “Nonoka Sumika, Stormwatch Operator. Welcome. How are you feeling?”

What to say, what to say - honesty? Honesty. “I'm feeling a lot of things! The train ride was fine, but this is my first time in a city like this, so...”

Sumika lifts her head and loses her gaze elsewhere. “Oh, I know the feeling. I was raised somewhere quiet, too. I remember coming from my mountainside home to Akihabara, a city back home. The stimulation can be overwhelming at first, but you get used to it with time.” Returning to the present, turns to get moving. “Come, let's take you where you will be staying.”

You follow her outside, where a bus is parked. Numerous other new hires are already seated with their own operators and agent tutors. The two tutors offered you sitting next to other hires. Sigrun is engrossed in a lengthy explanation, while Lalli seems rather distracted from the recruit he's accompanying, looking out the window. Sumika has to crouch heavily in order to traverse the rather compact vehicle, but thankfully for her the seat and the one beside it for you are quite accommodating for her stature.

She seems quite gloomy. Hoping to shake off anxiety on yourself, you offer a polite question. “How about you? How do you enjoy Level... 4? What does that even entail?”

Hearing that, she sighs and replies plainly. “The perks are nice, but recently... there's a reason so many positions here have opened. And I have not felt very good about that.”

… Ominous.

>Ask about what has been happening to cause a bus full of openings.
>Prod further about the benefits of being a L4 Operator - it seems like a high-end position.
>[Write-ins]

>>5807439
>"Will I have roommates? What should I expect for the first day?"
>Carefully say, "What's with all the openings?"

Finland, with the funny reindeer and viina? Huh.

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>>5807450

>>5807439
>>Ask about what has been happening to cause a bus full of openings.

>>5807450
Supporting this approach.

>>5807439
I'm >>5806963 on mobile.

>>5807450
Supporting.

>>5807467
Did you draw this yourself anon? Looks nice.

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>>5807497
Yes.
>Sumika has to crouch heavily in order to traverse the rather compact vehicle
I immediately had to make the connection to this other guy. Spider or crab scuttle movements with his legs.

>>5807506
Man that's some sick fanart I love the little Lisa reference too.

>>5807467
>>5807506
Oh that's cute. That's about the right proportions, and ditto on the Lisa rep by the way. For any reference, she's holding a Nagamaki, a six-foot long katana but the hilt makes up half the length.

>>5807450
+1

>>5807450
+1

>>5808066
>>5807744
>>5807497
>>5807493
>>5807450
As much as it seems important that you know (and inevitable that she tell you), Sumika seems touchy on the subject. You're going to avoid that can of worms, for the time being. “What am I looking forward to, today? What sort of introduction... where am I sleeping?” A fun thought comes to mind. “Will I have roommates?”

Sumika wraps a leg around her sheathed sword in boredom. “Level 1s get private sleeping quarters. Ten square meter rooms.” Ten square... that's smaller than your bedroom back home! Sumika reads your thoughts from subtle expression on your face. “It was worse where I lived. It's easier if you only go there to sleep, clean up and get dressed. That's what I did. After the orientation, the first thing you must learn is Finnish. It's no good not understanding the people you are helping... or fighting. It's a silly language, but it has its charm.”

The tall lady lolled her head back in more sincere consideration of the rest of your itinerary. “Then, in a couple days, you will learn your equipment... its strengths, its weaknesses. They're made of composites. Molded keratin, glass, special hardwoods, some metal foam on occasion... some of the manhunters even use blades made of ground up cocoa beans. You're a Trollslayer? Then you will learn how to use your axe. It's fitted with a pneumatic system. A gas jet augments the blows. Those are fun. At the same time, Kiikoinen will teach you about the beasts we've sighted in the area, practice against some imitations... and you will be good to shadow Kiikoinen on missions. It should take a month. Three weeks if you practice the language in your free time.”

A month. Alright. You didn't come here expecting to earn all you ever wanted in a couple of days. And perhaps you shouldn't be so concerned about getting the promotions so quickly. This is your career now. You have time. And besides, you're only... y-you're young! Yeah.

“And... how quickly do you need me down in the stormdrains?” You ask ahead.

The smile you were expecting for being considerate to the needs of the Stormwatch never came upon Sumika's face. She props her head up on a first to look away, and continues. “A few months ago, we had something stolen from us. We sent a lot of people looking for it. I was directing a squad to take a shortcut to cut off some suspicious characters, and they found... I haven't... they've had me on leave, to regain my composure. I feel better now.”

“What did they find?”

Sumika cast you a grim look, her black eyes just barely visible beneath the web of strands. “Lörppö.”

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You might not know Finnish, but you know that's not the name of any type or class of creature at all. That sounds like a nickname. The fact that this aberrant creature deserves a name to the eyes of people meant to kill them does not sit well.

“It will be discussed with you and all the others in more practical briefings. There's a lot you need to know about down there,” she dismissed. “For now, we will not allow new agents in the field. When you're ready to go take it on, we will tell you.”

The vehicle had begun to move, and as you began to ruminate on the kinds of creatures that lurked in beneath the roads upon which you travelled and what could come thrashing up through the grates and maul the bus itself, the operator asked you a question. “Why have you come here? I had my reasons for my migration, but I don't imagine you had an interest in the well-being of the Finns.”

The question has your tongue for a moment. Any answer you are prepared to give that explains anything comes off as really immature and silly. But there's ways around that. “I... wanted the benefits that being a Level 3 Agent held.”

She analyzed your face. You could feel her, picking apart the meaning of your words and judging them. Anyone would be bashful. But to this you finally got that smirk. “L3 takes a lot of work to get to. Commitments. I hope you're ready to make them, and if you need help... or if you just want to talk about things, I can help. That's my job. Helping.”

Her reassuring words melt your heart a bit. You can barely mutter a thank you before you realize you've arrived. Cities are big places, but that was quick.

Offloading yourself and your luggage, you are too close to the building to get a good look from the outside. It isn't long before you and the others are led within and you begin to see it. Stormworks HQ. A gargantuan structure dripping wires which feed into the latticed dome exterior, situated within the center of an impressive garden. Creatures of all sorts can be seen from your path through, docile and domesticated. Such levels of nature in living areas are familiar to you, but everything is so clean, clear cut, and sterilized. Through windows you can see the pale white meeting rooms, common areas, and sometimes even living quarters, even underneath grassy patches. Much of the facility is underground, it seems. Fitting.

It won't be hard to stay outside your room, at least.

Overslept big time, still writing

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Real life kicked my ass for a bit, am returned.
>>5808342
The “events” for the first day was a token welcoming party, filled with on boarding presentations and talking. Much of it was nigh-corporate blabber, so you've done your best to ignore most of it while keeping an ear open for things that mattered – where you're staying, curfew, brown-out hours, and so on. When much of the strings of obligatory babying bound you no more, you resolved that you had someone important to meet. He was easy to find, because he's been doing a lot of standing around being talked at. It's reassuring, knowing you are not the only one here because you have to be.

Lalli Kiikoinen was quite the specimen, if you do say so yourself. Tall and grim, clean shaven, well groomed. The other L3 agents you have seen take care of themselves, sure, but it seems Lalli seems to make it a hobby of his. From the title “Trollslayer,” you expected more of an untamed wild nature to him in person, but no. He looks just like photo. Hell, he looks like he should be in the office, or even running the place. What's a man like him doing, taking an axe into dark corridors, chopping up things trying to kill him?

“You must be Lalli?” You greet in a joyful fashion.

“Jarnafeldt." His accent is thick, and while his voice has a quality of strength, it seems rather... broken? You're not sure if that's his command over English failing him or if Finnish people just sound like that. “You may call me sir, or Kiikoinen, on the clock.”

“A-ah yes, sir. I've questions about... a lot of things.”

His face changed not at all. It remained unflinching in the slightest of frowns. “Go ahead.”

“My father fought some beasts in his line of work. He even said he took down a giant! You've worked here for quite some time, and I want to know what I'm getting into, so... What's the most scariest thing you've faced down in the stormdrains?”

Without missing a single beat or making so much as an errant twitch in his expression, Kiikoinen took a sip of the cordial in his hand and instantly responded in the same deadpan tone as before: “Women.”

… You have several questions.

>>5808480
“Particularly mothers.” As you were about to begin to search for the words to respond, he continued. “Some people have children outside the law. Because they can't keep them secret above ground for very long, they take them into the stormdrain for them to be cared for by the outlaws that live down there. Before any communications can be made about anything about more peaceful resolutions like deportation, many lash out. There were even times where we were ambushed by those who suspect us of being a threat outright. Beasts have clear intentions. Their goal is to survive, by killing you. They are easy to understand. With so few options, your choices become clear, actions clearly justified. There's little cause to hesitate against a beast. Trying to understand is hesitation. I've seen more than a few fall victim to it. No matter how it ends, it is unfortunate.”

With his explanation sinking in, Kiikoinen took another sip of his cordial. His expression was still as empty as it was before.

Your mentor is a cold and rational person. You would dread running into that kind of situation he described... maybe you can look into how you could begin to deescalate something like that, before it comes to it. But however gutwrenching the idea is, his advice seemed clear. Don't let things get out of your control. And beasts are simple to understand, when it comes to it...

His answer to your first question was such an outlandish idea that other questions you had slipped your mind. You'll have to come up with some on the spot, avoiding questions he will answer as part of your training. He seems patient enough to wait.

>"What made you want to join the Stormwatch, anyways?"
>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"
>"What do you think of Sumika? Do Operators make mistakes like that often?"
>[Write in]

OP, seeing as you're using Finnish lore, will we see Noita mobs in this quest?

>>5808190
>if I see a syllable that triggers me I NEED to get into longwinded political debates or I will literally explode
I'm sorry to hear about your condition.

>>5808498
>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

>>5808504
Some more sources of inspiration might be interesting, but I have said that one of my main draws is Stand Still Stay Silent and how that story interprets trolls and a bit of the culture.

>>5808498
>>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

>>5808498
>>"What made you want to join the Stormwatch, anyways?"

>>5808684
>Stand Still Stay Silent
I never heard of Solarpunk or that story or anything about this stuff until your quest here. I'm just here because you use W Corp Don art for the protag

>>5808498
>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

>>5808498
>>"What made you want to join the Stormwatch, anyways?"
I'm mostly curious about what sort of backstory would make a sharp man like him become a Trollhunter.

>>5808844
The impression I got was thar he was a MANhunter until killing mothers traumatized him.

>>5808498
>>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

>>5808498
>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

>>5808498
>>"What made you want to join the Stormwatch, anyways?"

>>5808498
>"A German, a Swede, someone from Nippon. Why are there so many foreigners here?"

Heads up, someone vandalized the archive for the quest. You should contact Lord Licorice to fix it.
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html

Oh! Right. You brought that up earlier today when you arrived and saw a towering asian. “So, um... what's with all the foreigners? Someone from Sweden I could maybe understand, yet Germany isn't very close at all, and... Sumika is from *really* far away. I just thought I would see more locals here. Is there some policy with hiring Finns?”

Kiikoinen rolls his shoulders, looking down into his glass and admiring the amber color of the drink he has. “The first issue is the turnover rate, which once a significant portion of able-bodied men and women turn away or get turned away, pickings become slim. The second and main issue with locals is that most outlaws are also locals. They were, and sometimes still are, members of regular communities and families. The odds are slim but possible that family meet on hostile terms in the underworks. The idea of fighting friends and family is not appealing to most people. Strangers and outlanders yourself have no such issues with this. No social chains to restrain them. It's just reality.”

“And you don't have an issue with fighting locals yourself?” you comment.

Lalli took a moment to consider. “No, not really. I never had strong connections to anyone before joining the Stormwatch, so nothing like that holds me back. On the occasion I fight humans, I don't feel much anything. Exhaustion, perhaps. And besides that, I signed on as a Trollslayer, not a Manhunter. It is not my business to have an opinion.”

The way he puts it, perhaps fighting abominations in dark dingy sewers really is preferable to its alternative to the locals... But there's still another matter. “So why did you join the Stormwatch, then?”

The large Finn paused, finishing the cordial and remaining silent for a moment afterward. He seemed to struggle answering. After an uncomfortable silence, he finally answered. “I wanted to attain full citizenship, but I did not have many options. As a Level 3 Agent, I guess I have achieved what I set out to do.”

>>5809225
Thanks for the heads up. Is that an IRC janny? In the mean time, try to ignore my biggest fan for the time being.
>>5809245
Ha, he did the same thing you're trying to do! Though you wonder if his ambitions are any like yours. “I'm trying to do the same! Tell me, how nice are the benefits?”

His pensiveness continued, but was more quickly stamped out. When he spoke, it was completely devoid of enthusiasm. “It's a life. Expanded living quarters, luxury amenities, impressive pay. Affluence.”

You stand there smiling, waiting for him to continue. Maybe getting into the parts he likes. Instead, he walked over to a table and gently set his glass beside some catering worker to clean and dispose. “I'm done for the evening. I recommend you turn in early as well. If you are serious about attaining this status, there's a lot of hard work involved.”

You had plans to stay and talk with others tonight, so you had to get one last question out of him. “Wait, before you go, what was it that you were drinking? I'd like to try some.”

“Ah. Drinks such as that in events are also on the employee benefits. Level 1 Agents are supplied with various flavors of liquid meals, in paper cups.” The palpable disappointment you must be exuding, at last, invites a grin onto Lalli's face. “I will see you get proper food during training. Take care.”

...

The following weeks of your training pass swiftly. In your training, you have learned that after much practice, yes, the simple act of speaking the Finnish language does make you sound like you are in either end of domestic abuse. You have tried very hard, but the way you speak cannot be made to sound at all like how you sound like in German or even English. Besides that, you've been taught how to operate your pneumatic axe. It uses a brick of warm, dense, solid state hydrogen as fuel, and a mechanism shaves off pieces to turn into its natural state and propel them. Such feats your ancestors would have thought alchemy, and indeed, Kiikoinen has told you that much of the materials used are atomically transmuted. You imagine the highest level of specialized forces get gear made from the choicest of fabricated materials...

>>5809263
Past that, you learn of the event Sumika was talking about. The Stormwatch has had a problem with particularly numerous underworld “brigands” as they were called, and so requested several items to assist fighting them. In particular, Helsinki requested a similar establishment in Chicago for a suit equipped with a higher grade of pneumatic implementation. The suit features an impressive mixture of kevlar, ceramic plates, and aerogel protections and wearable pneumatic systems on the arms, legs, back. It was specifically made for Nonoka Sumika to use, but on the day of its arrival in Helsinki, it was swiped and spirited away into the underworks along with a crate of the solid-state hydrogen fuel bricks. The initial chase led to a massive confrontation, but the items were never found.

Search parties continue to delve and seek out possible locations for where such a piece of technology was kept. Figuring that it would be too reckless for them to keep such equipment in an undercity community filled with illegal squatters (“too many eggs in one basket,” the higher ups put it), more remote and secluded areas near the locations of old squatter sites were the primary search points.

Sumika was serving as the operator of an eight-man search party, and received a notice from a fellow operator that individuals suspected to be tied to the theft of her suit were evading capture elsewhere in the stormdrains. With a heavily capable party of L2 manhunter agents, Sumika charted a course for her squad to intercept.

But within an infrequently used region of the Stormdrain, the squad had found something entirely different.

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>>5809326
>Subject: Lorppo, 'Chatterbox'
>Designation: JOTUNN
>Height: 370cm ~
>Weight: 1825kg ~
>Suspected diet: 25,000 calories~
>Intellect: Sentient
>Form: Demi-humanoid

You shivered when you heard the description. Jotunn - a giant!? How does something like that just slip into the Stormdrains? Aren't there watchpoints at the exits? Everyone has been made familiar with their flaws but that this fiend was able to get through without some prior notice. Was it fucking born down there? Bred?

You thought that was scary enough, but the presentator delivering the briefing stopped talking and pulled up body cam footage of the event. You sat there in silence, watching as a two-headed abomination ignored the electric shock clouds of the volt machetes and pummeled the agents like they were plushies. And all the while, it was speaking, though the audio recording rendered it unintelligable.

Another piece of advanced technology has been received from Chicago and is currently in trial use for its potential against such a beast, but they did not disclose it as it seems to not be anywhere near ready. Though someone asked about what if that was stolen, Sumika herself said that due to the nature of the device, it is unable to be simply stolen.

You are, obviously, advised to avoid confrontation with Lorppo. If anything, you are to use your tracking skills as a Trollslayer to locate where the beast makes its den and flag it so that experimental device can be deployed.

>>5809330
On one of the last few days before your training is considered complete, Kiikoinen hands you Finnish book – an official Stormworks instruction manual on... What? You squint to make sure you're reading this right.

'Entreating the Gods?'

Lalli explains that some Trollslayers are very devout in their beliefs. It comes with the traditional arts of tracking and hunting, that those who kept the knowledge alive all this time, after all that has happened, would sing prayers of for protection and favor. Kiikoinen clarifies that, in any country, the MNP requires relocated individuals to be at least made aware of the local gods. He is contractually obligated to offer it to you, but admits that he has no faith in any god, doesn't practice this himself, and thus cannot properly teach it. This would be something you would have to learn on your own, if you care to learn.

In any other Norse country, the gods you knew from Germany would also be called upon. This is Finland, home to their own strange gods. Those gods you knew might not have as much reach here. This book of woodland ritual, adapted to work in manmade pits of concrete, promises something. Frankly this is a preposterous item to be offered in the year 3203 where your employee ID card has materials made from atomic rearrangement, yet right as you set it down, you do remember your father uttering praises to Ullr under his breath as he heard you regale him of your exploits of fending off bears and such from the village.

>Don't bother, you're not going to let yourself get side-tracked in the middle of an expedition by praying.
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
I like Finnish mythology.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
Remember to greet the earth when going to sleep. Don't fuck with Finnish myth.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
Ilmatar bless us...

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
Could at least be interesting and help us understand local culture!

>>5808613 is me.
I also reached out to Lord Licorice to see about rectifying the shitter's misarchival

>>5809379
Ah, my rebuttal got pulled down along with the fool's post. Fair.

>>5808881 is also me.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
Least we can do is hear it out.

>>5809360
>>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.

>>5809360
>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.

>>5809360
>>Give it a read, perhaps they could help lead you not into Lorppo's big mouths.
Finnish myths are rad

Op?

>>5811913
I take weekends off and I wasn't sure how to announce such a thing here so I looked at other threads with multi-day gaps in their updates and they simply did not, so I didn't either.
Writing now.

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It is hunter's tradition that one gets to know the gods. In the untamed and unknown world a hunter prowls, they are alone, so unbearably alone.

Alone with the sun teeming through the canopies, the tall grasses hiding all manners of predator and prey, the wind that blows and the scents upon them. But when a hunter becomes aware the gods are the sun beaming through the trees, they are the grasses which provide them cover, they are the winds that blow and mask their scent, the hunter is no longer alone. He comes into communion with nature and with the very gods. With this attunement, with this consideration, and with the knowledge that the sun illuminates your enemies, the grass hides you from them, and the wind to whip upon their eardrums, a man can fell even a giant. The gods are important to your line of work, for they are always there. They would speak to you, if only you would listen.

So listen you shall. You take the book, and thank the Finn for the offer. With you learning, Kiikoinen leaves and you find a nice spot in the garden where you can read. Though it's not a real spot of nature, you can't imagine they would be offended.

In a few days, it comes time that you officially shadow your mentor on a sortie. The Stormwatch patrols had to be lightened in the wake of Lorppo's attack as many high-ranking agents had to spend time to teach new agents, and these patrols aren't meant to be adventurous as they are meant to be informative – ground once thought to be safe is now considered lost, until you and your squad can consider it safe. They make it sound like it's a war, but you can't really blame them after what has happened.

… This storm drain is utterly massive, in case you haven't noticed. Any sound you make seems to make subtle tremors for minutes as echos bounce off the many concrete columns of the storm drain's main hub underneath the headquarters. Blue LEDs fail to completely light the entire drain, but that's a herculean task tantamount to asking a candle to light a cathedral. This is just one section, underneath city center, that you are looking at. Different sections are partitioned off to support structures above them better. On top of it all, you are aware that it proceeds throughout the all the way to its outskirts, where it terminates in a fortified dam.

From what you've been told, Helsinki was partially underwater before the calamity and rebuilt the city on top of itself to escape the waters, these stormdrains the support of the new city. The climate being a much more rainy iteration of its previous snowy self proves its benefits to this day. Being built on top of the old world, there's still some architecture that was never demolished, used by squatters. Tragic, but it is what it is.

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>>5812615
Joining you today is of course your mentor, L3 Lalli Kiikoinen. There is also L3 Sigrun Eugen, the other designated tutor you could have studied under, and her student and your fellow fresh out of training rookie. L1 Manhunter Saemus Fahy, an fluffy brown-haired Irish boy. You don't know much about him other than that he's from Belfast because he enjoys regaling how while England and Ireland were not the target for any nuclear attacks, Belfast might as well have been, and how he doesn't drink. On the radio is L4 Operator Nonoka Sumika, functioning as both a commander and a coach, who you struggle to imagine fitting inside an office cubicle.

The mission for today is to cover ground and make sure there's nothing shady or dangerous lurking inside them to make up for weeks of lost ground. Sumika is leading you through sections in a winding S shape; after a dozen sections secured, return to base. Stop and return immediately if you sight something particularly out of your league. Straightforward enough!

You'd almost be chipper about it, if you hadn't heard every noise you were making so loudly. This terrain of solid concrete damp with rainwater makes your presence well known to everyone within a hundred meters. The vast sightlines, broken only by sectioned off areas, malfunctioning or sabotaged lights, and slabs of concrete, make your presence noticeable at even greater distances. Catwalks leading to doorways in the upper echelons would make great hiding spots for ill-mannered fiends.

In the few days you've known the Finnish gods, you've come to some understanding that, across many pantheons, there's not many gods of constructions and artifice. This level of hubris is purely the domain of humanity. This is a concrete jungle at best, and the gods of the hunt seem tied to the forests. For how loud everything seems down here, with each carefully trodden step into the unknown, you grow more and more unsure if they can hear you.

whoops I skipped a bit
>>5812680
For a relief, the first other creature you see isn't an aberration. Or a rat, for that matter. In one of the sections where the additional supports are provided to support a heavy building above, you see a man up in the catwalks, brandishing a spear fashioned from broken scaffold railing. Being down in the stormdrain is not strictly a criminal act, nor is carrying a weapon, yet you and Seamus are both immediately cautious.

But Sigrun is the first to talk to the man. “Hello,” she greets in a gentle tone and stately voice. “What is it that you are doing down here?”

The man looked around cautiously before giving a reply. “There's things down here. They can climb ladders. Tried opening a door. Now I have to make sure they don't learn how. I didn't have to before. Where have you lot been?”

“Training reinforcements,” she answered. “Rest assured citizen, we can handle whatever comes this way. Please return to where you are needed.”

The man doesn't listen. He instead casts his gaze toward a shadowy corner where a concrete pillar ends. Kiikoinen hoists his axe.

You hear it too. The rhythm of foot steps, the plip plap of bare flesh against the sticky floor.

And faintly, ever so faintly, you hear a click-clack.

Boots, one pair.

A man walks with beasts.

Sumika crackles into your earpieces and speaks with succinct urgency. “Small aberrations, incoming from Kiikoinen's direction.”

“And a human is with them,” Kiikoinen adds.

“A human?” Sumika sounds only mildly interested. “They might be trained. Eugen, seek out their master. Fahy, stay with Kiikoinen and Jarnafeldt and support them.”

Sigrun nods from hearing this, and speaks once again to the man in a polite manner. “We will be right back. Stay right there.” With that, she violently unsheathes her machetes, and jogs with a very light foot into a dark corner near your side.

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>>5812723
“How many do you reckon?” Seamus spoke, in that ruffian tone of his.

“Three,” Kiikoinen spoke. “And the handler.”

Fahy grinned. “Good, one for each of us.” You and Kiikoinen exchange knowing looks. He's not trained for this kind of thing, but he's got an attitude. You appreciate the gusto, at least.

The footsteps come closer to the corner, and suddenly it dawns upon you that they are very light to be footsteps. There's no weight behind them, simply slapping against the ground. No, it's a hand.

From around the corner, they come, dragging and pushing themselves along. The scrape of their pudgy bellies made silent by their oil-slick skin, they look at you with eyes and teeth almost indistinguishable from each other with how garbled the visual cacophony that make up the being of their face. Bright pink and fleshy, you'd have thought its skin all melted off. Worse, you realize, they were born like that. This is a beast, a lesser form of aberration, standing at approximately waist height.

Kiikoinen was right in his estimation of three aberrations. As the hellish trio approach at a disconcertingly quick speed, Sigrun jogs behind them in search for anything else.

>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!
>Rush around them and flank them, leaving Kiikoinen to face two for a moment!

>>5812724
>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!
Friends forever, slay together. Har har.

>>5812724
>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!

>>5812724
>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!

>>5812724
>Rush around them and flank them, leaving Kiikoinen to face two for a moment!

>>5812724
>>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!

>>5812724
>Rush around them and flank them, leaving Kiikoinen to face two for a moment!
Take the risk

>>5812724
>>Some good swings to the face will kill it outright, so stay next to the others!

Rolled 3, 4, 1, 2 = 10 (4d6)

Combat
When engaging a target, you make rolls based on your specialization against that target and your agent level, versus the threat level of the target: for a 1v1 engagement against these beasts, the successes needed to make a successful attack is 1. These rolls are done on d6s, and the success target range is 5-6 (though certain situations and conditions may change this range). Any roll with a probability of failure equal to 10% or less is considered Trivial and a guaranteed success.
Here are engaging combat members and their modifiers for reference:
>L3 Kiikoinen: 10d6 (Base 4d6, +2 Specialization, +4 L3 Agent)
>L1 Jarnafeldt: 6d6 (Base 4d6, +2 Specialization, +0 L1 Agent)
>L1 Fahy, 4d6 (Base 4d6, +0 Specialization, +0 L1 Agent)
While this is a trivial engagement for Kiikoinen and a convenient first encounter for the likes of yourself, Fahy is a rookie not specialized in fighting Aberrations head on.
Rolling for his engagement: 4d6t1, successes are 5-6.

Rolled 1, 6, 3, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4 = 37 (8d6)

>>5813309
Skill Checks
When performing skill checks, you make rolls with bonuses based on your attributes (Trollslayers are Strong and Attuned) versus a target number of successes. These skill checks are categorized to their attributes by the nature of the task - Strength to throw, lift, or break things, Fast to make quick and careful maneuvers through combat, raw sprints, and dodges.

Kiikoinen, having enough foresight to see this problem coming, is going to try to be Fast and flank around the entire engagement to assist Fahy.
Rolling for maneuver - 8d6t2.

>>5813309
>>5813322
So looks ilke Fahy failed, but may yet live to learn something from it? Good outcome.

>>5813325
I should note one a singular failed roll will not spell the death of you and most other NPCs. They will instead live to resent your choices. Similarly, the likes of Lorppo won't be carved to bits by a lucky attack.

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>>5812724
>>5813309
>>5813322
The three of you stand in a line, with Kiikoinen to your left and Fahy to your right. Raising your pneumatic axe over your shoulder is how Kiikoinen taught you to fight in these tight situations, preparing yourself for strong vertical chops to cut that abomination's face in half. Fahy enters a stance of one sword low and the other high, likely meant to be defensive first and punishing second. Kiikoinen glances back at you two rookies, and does... a doubletake?

With a burst of strength, the beasts break apart from each other and spread out. They're trying to encircle you, like a pack of wolves.

Eager to put this technology and training bestowed upon you to use, you rush ahead, lean in close to the aberration, and activate your axe. With the press of a button as you begin to manually swing, you hear a faint hiss before a pale jet of gas erupts from the blunt end of the axe bit. The jet turns the axe into a pendulum, your arm a fulcrum, your body a grandfather clock of death tolling the end of this aberration's disgusting existence. Though it opened its maw wide, your blade bit into its face and never stopped, not for the fatty tissue, not for the muscle, and not for the skull either. The axe shreds through it effortlessly. The hot hydrogen exhaust mixes with the oxygen in the air, and a trail of vapor rises from the path the axe took.

Unfamiliar though this beast is, you do know that your strike missed the mark of its brain, and though the abomination recoiled in pain, it still lived. Your revulsion of this thing makes you eager to swing again.

As the beast swung around, Fahy swiped at it with the low machete. It was out of reach at that moment, warded off by the blades, but as Saemus went to dip in to thrust, the monster jumped and bit his arm at the wirst. He yelped, and began jabbing at the mass of flesh indiscriminately, firing the stun charge to little effect now that it has already bitten down on him.

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>>5813551
Kiikoinen wasted no time. He galloped sideways in front of the beast as it went to flank and gashed it with an upward slice, and without hesitation came back down to bring the axe down upon its head again. With his weapon where he needed it to be, he swung around backward, and dashed behind you, firing the weapon's jet. With Lalli's speed and height, the pneumatic axe reaches its fullest potential.

Like a knife through water, the axe sinks into the beast and you can hear the clang of the axe bit striking concrete slightly muffled through the pile of meat. Withdrawing the axe, he mutters some outlandish Finnish curse as he examines the axe blade for damage.

With the grip of the beast's jaw abating, and Saemus picks two eyes to stab his machetes into and sink them in. Out of spite, more than anything.

With heavy breaths and a bloody axe, you let out a laugh. That wasn't so bad, after all. You could do this. You'll have to send a letter to your father, and ask how often he had to fight. If it's not terribly often, then... you might even enjoy this.

Lalli begins sprinting for the corner. The reason escapes you-

Oh right! Their handler! Stepping over the beast and shaking the guck off your axe, you hop over a puddle and turn the dark corner that's now illuminated by body-mounted flashlights. You are surprised to see that Sigrun has the situation completely handled, with some masked man on the ground and your mentor scanning the area for anything more. In the distance, you do see more figures, though they are in sections covered by other squads.

>>5813571
Sumika once again graces your presence with a chirp in your ear. “Be advised, there's ambushes happening all over. But from what I'm hearing... they're being handled pretty well, and nobody's contacted me about needing help.” The tone of her voice sings a small praise she has yet to offer. “Be on the look-out for more underdwellers.”

Sigrun let out a proud scoff as she squatted down onto the downed underdweller and held her blade to his neck. “A little bird told me that you and your friends ambushed a lot of mine,” the swede utters. “Friends of yours that can give us answers, if you are not so inclined.”

“Kill yourself,” the underdweller spits in a hard to understand, backwater accent of Finnish.

Any joy derived from control has been sapped out of Eugen as she snapped back clear and fluent. “Give me one reason to deport you rather than feed you to my dogs.”

With a fury in his heart, he looked up at Eugen and said to her, “You can suck your dog's dick in the halls of Valholl for the cuckolds that dwell there, you Swedish whore. Better yet, I hope the birds pluck-”

She immediately plunged his knife into his throat.

A whistle comes from the Irishman, watching beside you as he tends to his bite. To call it a wound isn't really accurate, the only thing wounded is his pride.

Sigrun reached for her earpiece. “Sumika, this is L3 Eugen. I have surmised that these ambushes was an attempt to diminish the ranks of our newer operatives. Compile this information with any others have received.”

A digitally compressed sigh was the response you heard. “Understood, I will accept your report as a theory, Eugen. We will compare that with actual testimony. Drag the bodies into a pile, the afterteam will clean it up. After that, proceed down the scheduled patrol section and report what you find.”

“Understood,” Eugen answered and tore the machete from the underground native's neck, before beginning to search the man for identifying items and objects of interest. She beckoned Fahy over to watch and learn.

Meanwhile, you felt someone deserved some kind words. “S-sir Kiikoinen, you fight like a champion! One second you slay something to the left of me, and a moment later something to my right! I-”

“You should have helped your fellow inexperienced agent,” the Finn bluntly interrupted. “I understand you yet to have formed a scale of danger, but also understand I am capable of doing a good deal of work while you get your bearings. I apologize for not issuing direct orders, but I hadn't imagined you'd listen to an agent's ideas of how to fight aberrations if they aren't even trained for it.”

Ah... you... you just figured it would be less risky for all of you to take on one threat...

Right. You won't underestimate your mentor like that. He's capable. It's not that you haven't proven yourself yet, but you need to respect him. You might not respect Fahy like that, though. Dork.

>>5813666
As you piled the bodies, the man in the catwalk introduced himself. He was a bus boy for a local bar, and large building it was located in had an outlet into the storm drain. Those creatures tried getting in before, so they've started guarding it personally in the absence of the Stormwatch. While your squad returns to the patrol, he goes to tell his boss that you've chopped up the beasts clawing at the doors and by the time you come back around he tells you that the owner is willing to have you for dinner, paid for within reason. To your surprise, your seniors agreed. "A good reward for a well-handled first day," they said.

When you return to base, you throw your weapons in a bin for recycling, your uniform to be washed for blood and whatever filth is down there, a quick shower in your broom closet of a room and, by order of your tutor, went to go to the local pub. When you walked outside the headquarters, you walked through the garden of chirping birds and green grass. Bright trees and yet brighter sunlight. After the events that happened beneath your feet, you feel a lot more proud of what you've done. Just not enough space for you and him, and his beasts.

Juho's – a place owned by an ex-Stormwatch agent, who served until he earned the right to settle down and retire to a more peaceful life. Fate would have it he's still a supporter, especially of the new blood like yourself. He sat you all down at a table in a nice private corner, not that much anybody else was in the place at noon.

Fate would also have it that they serve Bavarian pretzels and beer. It's not home, but damn is it better than food that comes in a tin and grows when you put water on it.

>Strike casual conversation with your squadmates, learn more about them
>Theorize about the underdweller ambush, and how it happened
>Challenge the wimpy Irish boy to a drinking contest
>[Write In]

>>5813716
>Theorize about the underdweller ambush, and how it happened

>>5813716
>Theorize about the underdweller ambush, and how it happened
Though if we can choose two, getting to know our squadmates would also be good.

>>5813716
>>Challenge the wimpy Irish boy to a drinking contest

>>5813716
>Theorize about the underdweller ambush, and how it happened

>>5813716
>Strike casual conversation with your squadmates, learn more about them

>>5813716
>>Strike casual conversation with your squadmates, learn more about them

>>5813716
>>Theorize about the underdweller ambush, and how it happened

>>5813716
>Strike casual conversation with your squadmates, learn more about them
>Ask our mentor for additional tips and analysis? (IE. what else we could have done better back then)
Rapport time.

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Real life came swinging, still writing just posting what I have atm

Between bites into a pillowy heaven of a folded pastry of nostalgia, you consider the encounter you had today. Multiple squads were attacked by people underground, at different points. What of it? Well, it could be that the under-city people had been looking to expand whatever settlements they had until they noticed the Stormwatch was coming back. If they're able to wrangle beasts, maybe... maybe Lorppo's on their side? The briefings you've seen shown he was capable of speech and had somewhat human-level intellect... perhaps he's a member of their group?

This is all so confusing. With a swig of beer, you zone back into reality and listen to the conversation for a good point to start asking.

“So it came from inside,” Sigrun groaned.

You could do little more than vocalize your confusion. “Uhh... huh?”

The manhunter looked at you with a cold gaze. “Me and Fahy were talking. The underdwellers knew the day and time we would start patrolling again. Somehow, they found out. Perhaps they could have seen us at the train station picking up recruits, but this time was different from other times. Saemus, you passed physical aptitude tests remotely and had experience dealing with criminals of your own, correct?”

“Yep,” Fahy said between sips of stout.

“And Fiona, you also passed the aptitude tests, and received tutoring from your poacher hunter father?” As you nod, she puts her hands together over he mouth, speaking in a more grave tone. “Ask any new hire and you'll find that they all have passed the aptitude test and have experience in their homelands. This training was expedient because you were all capable as it is. There is no way they could have foresaw that we skipped much of your training.”

Something clicks into place. “You mean to say...?”

The swede sighed, staring off into space. “Not that it's surprising. Sumika got robbed of her new suit, and that wasn't public information either. That had to have been done with intel on the inside, though some would like to place it as common brigandry.”

>>5814671
Time for a hare-brained conspiracy theory. “Do you think it's for Lorppo?”

Sigrun tilts her head. “What?”

“The suit,” you gesture with a piece of pretzel. “Do you think they want to put it on Lorppo? He's smart enough to talk, maybe he's dumb enough to be persuaded, so maybe he's siding with them. And it'd be how they mess with us next time, we prepare to fight him, and suddenly he's got something new on him we're not prepared for and you guys lose another squad, and they buy more time.”

“Sumika's suit was designed for her and her unique proportions from which Lorppo's are a far cry,” Lalli chipped in as Sigrun giggled at the thought. “While they could not use the suit in and of itself without compromises, they could reverse engineer it.”

Setting down an empty glass, Saemus adds to that. “And then they would have to make their own.”

The manhunter mentor grinned slightly. “Good observation. And where would they find the tools to do that?”

He looked around, a bit confused at the sudden quiz. “Uh... a machining shop?”

“Correct,” miss Eugen says as she throws a leg over another. “So what do you think we should do?”

He looks around, expecting to find an answer with the knickknacks on the wall. “I think we should go to some shops and... ask for transaction records?”

“Demand them. And get the CCTV footage for the past month as well. Not just in any office area but on the workshop floor. The machines might be used off the books or even without permission. And if there's any special materials, find out who supplied them and to whose order.” Turning back to the table proper, Sigrun chides her student. “You need to learn to take a mile. They will give it to you. They have to.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

damn real life got hands, i schleep, full update and poll tomorrow at 5 est
>>5814675
“Me and Saemus will need to do some investigative work for some time,” Sigrun says. “Acquire what we know here before getting papers and having a team review the camera footage.”

That sounds good, but what does that leave you to do? Investigation wasn't what Lalli has been teaching you. He doesn't seem interested in the conversation, either, he's just playing with the last remnants of his food on his plate. You want to do something. “Is there something I can do while all this is happening?”

She rolled her eyes. “For the investigative period, not with us. It's a lot of paperwork, accounting, waiting in the hallway while freaks scrub their logs clean, and the raising your voice at them over it. Be grateful you don't have to come with us. If it comes to it and we find certain people where they should not be, I'll be sure to have you join us when we make a cordial visit. In the mean time, is there something you had planned for her later, Kiikoinen?”

The finn politely put his things down. “As we get regain our grasp on the areas over the coming weeks, it's inevitable that some trolls will escape confrontation and need to be tracked down. You might be worried about Lorppo. I suggest you don't be blind to other threats.” Though he speaks in an empty voice with that broken-spirited accent, you feel sincerity grow in his words. “And to not get ahead of yourself.”

The trolls. The middle classification of aberrations in Finland and Scandinavia. The creature in your classification of Trollslayer. Those fellows. While the manhunters are busy doing paperwork, you'll have your hands full. Kiikoinen's shown you some diagrams of the kinds that have been found in the storm drain, as well as a few found in the wilderness around Helsinki as those might find their way in one way or another. Trolls on record are almost always unique, but modern developments show some having a lot of similar qualities to others, suggesting a family tree of sorts.

>>5815026
Time to bust a troll breeding ring

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The nature of aberrations are that they descendants of living beings who were deeply touched by the curses that swept the world and were still able to pass down genetics. In Finland, most of these are mutated animals, though much of what lurks in the undercity and what you saw yesterday can be much different from their original, old-world forms so you can scarce call them that. Humanoid ones seem to be rare... or at least, hardly recognized.

And for a week after that busy first day, staying in your sardine can of a room, marching along poorly lit concrete paths, and trying to command a better grasp on the language and faith, you don't see any of them. The secured area is, surprise surprise, secured, but you figure they had to be sure before handing out more ambitious missions.

But on the eighth day after starting, Lalli hands you a small folder filled with descriptions of aberrations. He explains the Stormwatch has a “hitlist” of aberrations encountered over that evaded being dealt with. These came from the last week. He wants you take you on an expedition to fight one of the three files he has picked out. He deemed these would be suitable for a two-agent hunting mission for a rookie.

Gladly, you take a look at the files.

>>5815948
>Subject: Manalan Rakki [case 338]
>Designation: BEAST
>Height: 100cm ~
>Weight: 40kg ~
>Suspected diet: 1,200 calories ~
>Intellect: Animal
>Form: Hound
>Suspected Location: Undercity D
>WITNESS REPORT: These creatures were eating bodies of the ambushers and their beasts when we arrived to collect them. There were three sighted but visibility was poor. They appeared to be pale blonde hounds with heads bloated with sores, but they seem to be aware of their surroundings. They eventually heard us and ran off, headed toward the section where the squatters used to live when they barricaded the pass. I think they use it as a dwelling, and I don't know if we saw the whole pack.

>Subject: Hiisi [case 1274]
>Designation: TROLL
>Height: 182cm
>Weight: 95kg ~
>Suspected Diet: 1,700 calories
>Intellect: Fallen Sentience ~
>Form: Humanoid
>Suspected Location: Drain Outlets
>WITNESS REPORT: Spotted a figure sprinting from my post on the dam. I had at first taken it to be someone being pursued, but on further inspection, it was clearly not human. It's mouth was huge, and sideways, its skin clinging close to its muscles. I didn't get a great look at it, it had to be a hundred meters away, maybe more. It ran toward the dam and then curved to run along the wall. I noticed a squad pursuing it, but they were only chasing footsteps and got side-tracked by coming across an ambush in progress.

>Subject: Suurkyy [case 11]
>Designation: BEAST
>Height: 30cm
>Length: 325cm ~
>Weight: 55kg
>Suspected diet: 1,500 calories ~
>Intellect: Animal
>Form: Snake
>Suspected Location: Under Central Helsinki Hospital
>WITNESS REPORT: We were doing our patrols when what we thought was a pipe swung from its position far above us. After a moment's panic we noticed something off, and we saw it was a snake-like tail, and a large one. It had a similar coloration to other glossy green pipes it was beside, but it didn't seem to be all-green. As we went up to kill it, it crept through a vulnerability in the door that we could not pursue through. We followed up with the hospital, had the door fixed, and have requested to be stationed there until this beast is dealt with. We have no idea what the top half of the creature looks like.

Lalli seems too punctual and professional to be grabbing whatever's left in the pile after everyone else has grabbed something, and yet a troll is on his list of rookie missions? It doesn't sound like a big nasty one, but still.

>Manalan Rakki - Lalli makes short works of packs, and what's this about squatter dwellings?
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.
>Suurkyy - You had no clue Finland had native snakes, but thankfully you're only afraid of things too small to clobber with an axe.

>>5809330
>Sentient
Sentient and Sapient are two different things. Please look them up

>>5815961
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.
What else would we do? Chop liver?

>>5815961
>>Suurkyy - You had no clue Finland had native snakes, but thankfully you're only afraid of things too small to clobber with an axe.

>>5815961
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.

>>5815961
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll
OP, this is for you
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FLf7qutsgBU

>>5815990
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.

>>5815961
>>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.

>>5815961
>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll.

>>5815961
>>Manalan Rakki - Lalli makes short works of packs, and what's this about squatter dwellings?

>>5815961
>>Hiisi - You're not going to say no to your first offer to hunt a troll

>>5815961
>Suurkyy
Sweet, a medusa on the first go around.

File: Hiisi of the Manmade Hell(...).png (1.24 MB, 1024x673)

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>>5815999
>>5815999
>>5816049
>>5816095
>>5816180
>>5816366
>>5816427
In what little you've read over the past week or so, the Hiisi quite interest you. In classic folklore, they are creatures that dwelled upon and in ways protected sacred groves and hills. Today, they refer to humanoid aberrations, descendants of those within range of the calamitous light in the Arctic when the old world ended. Finland made no enemies during that period and was not the target of any attacks, but the far north was where countries both launched and defended themselves from the destruction. It was the second largest hotspot of explosions on the planet. The land was tainted and the ice caps began to melt, forcing every living creature to travel inland to come into contact with the first of the Hiisi.

What is said about the Hiisi of ancient times rings true to this day; Hiisi are not typically social creatures. They try to stay in secluded areas away from human civilization. Scholars believe they are aware of how humans see them, but at the same time these same scholars don't think this self-awareness means they are still capable of civilized conduct. Much of the biological developments that made humanity succeed in the first place were undone by the curse, rendering them violent neanderthals driven almost entirely by primal instincts of fear and hunger. They are afraid of humans as much as humans are afraid of them, and whenever they don't run, they fight with a savagery learned from centuries of barbarism.

Which makes it an ongoing conversation as to why there have been so many in the Helsinki storm drain. Much of the north has been abandoned, and with the water level fallen to pre-calamity levels and cursed aura all but dissipated, it's been documented that many have returned to the north where they can live without human contact. Is the convenience of stealing from trash and pools of rainwater really such a draw? The most popular theory that the Stormwatch has published in their files on the Hiisi is the undercity dwellers smuggle them and set them loose into the city and the storm drain simply to make a diversion and stir up trouble so they can continue their squatting. You could see that. This specimen might have even been forced to be bait for an ambush, but ran a wrong direction for the attack to properly occur.

With a proud grin, you hand him the files of the other two whilst holding up the one on the stray Hiisi. “I'm a Trollslayer, and I would like to try my hands at a troll!”

Without a smile, he grabs the files from you. “Get your gear, with leave in twenty.” Odin's third eye, he's all business and no games.

>>5816804
The dam is halfway a technological plant and halfway a manned castle wall. It was necessary you stopped here and talked with the man who reported seeing the hiisi flee. He testified that the hiisi ran south toward the dam, and then banked westward. The direction end and your search for the trail begins where his pursuers, the Stormwatch patrol that chased him, went to reinforce a fellow patrol they saw being ambushed.

And it is at that scene where you are told to stop by your superior. He wants to see your skills as a tracker. The scent of blood from the earlier battle has yet to clear, and any wet footprints would have long since dried up. He wants to see your instincts at work.

First, you must rid yourself of distractions. You kneel down in a dry spot away from the blood, and set your axe aside. You calm your breathing, and empty your mind. For but a moment, a hunter must abandon their prison of flesh.

Ignore oneself, and simply become a spectator to their surroundings. Like a ghost. Like the wind.

Though wrought from concrete and metal, things live and die here. A current of life and death flows in this place. It's almost imperceptible - almost. You need only to feel for it, find it, and attune to it, and then ask yourself the right questions.

Though you have fought beasts and trained for tracking, this is your first time doing it in the field.
Roll Attunement: 6d6 - two successes necessary.

Rolled 2, 1, 1, 3, 6, 5 = 18 (6d6)

>>5816838

Rolled 2, 2, 4, 6, 3, 3 = 20 (6d6)

>>5816838

>>5816838
>>5816871
Success!
You imagine yourself a scared creature. Death marches toward you, clad in self-made shells of lignum vitae and crystalline fangs. As a hot wind blows, the cold must find a way to leave, pushed toward deeper, more remote reaches. The flow of safety you would follow occupies the vacuums of danger, spaces where the hunters could not reach.

The current of the creature's flight makes itself known to you, your senses tug you forward to trace that path with your feet, and your mentor follows you. You hardly sense him, in your attempts to try and reimagine the conditions the hiisi was in. With the southern wall to his left, and chaos to his right, he must have ran straight west for a while. When he passed the fighting, he would not want to turn north and be spotted by other humans. He would have kept running, hugging the wall, until he found some place secluded and quiet.

Along the furthest reaches are ramps, meant too keep the flow of the waters from stagnating in the corners of the drain and push them forward. The ground here is solid, not flat. It would be a nice place to rest and recuperate, but not for long. To hide, it would have wanted some place that wasn't so out in the open and visible as the wall-hugging ramp, though you do see traces of a moment's respite. There's dried blood along one of these ramps. With the ease of which it flakes off, you have to say it suits the time-frame.

The string of fear leads you to a strange discovery – footprints. Bootprints, actually, though they are well-worn and the steps of the stride are sideways. They trail from a puddle from deeper in, and lead to a ladder beside a large garage-like door. An overview of the drains you received during training informed you these doors are entry bays for trucks to drive in and remove large amounts of debris as part of the after team cleanup. Scarcely used, and quite hard to get into, and out of. It operates like an airlock, in that one of the doors has to be shut before the other can be opened.

Before you can make any observations out loud, Lalli speaks into his earpiece. “Sumika, check the usage logs on this entrance bay in front of us. Hietalahden Outlet.” You're grateful he had to read that out loud, your tongue would have twisted.

“Hietaladen? Hold on,” your operator replies.

In the pause between updates, Kiikoinen gives you a nod of approval. You have to suppress your excitement for the time being.

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>>5816937
Sumika finishes the clitter-clatter of keyboard typing. “The truck doors were opened during cleanup the evening of the first patrol, twice. Once at 20:07 with the truck going in, once at 21:18 to let the truck out. If it was able to get in, it would have been seen by the drivers getting out... though there is the walkway for maintenance personnel. It's close to the ceiling. The outside door is locked from the outside and kept under a strict watch, but the door to the stormdrain is locked from the bay's side. It wouldn't have been spotted if it was up there.” Her voice quickens. “Check it immediately.”

Kiikoinen hurried over the ladder, and have it a jolt. The metal did not rattle much at all, and he had you go up first so he could instruct you how to make as little noise going up it.

It has dawned upon you that you are sneaking into the lair of a troll. If your hunch is correct, then this creature is cornered. It has no chance of escape, and nowhere to run. It will fight like mad.

The maintenance door is slightly open. Held ajar by a shabby boot.

Kiikoinen takes the lead. You draw your axe.

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>>5816947
Kiikoinen swings open the door and steps in. You peer between the doorway and your mentor and see it, curled up into a ball. With the noise made, it curves its head up at you.

Its eyes are a clouded beige, its skin as translucent, its mouth wrapping halfway around its head. The nose looks like it has rotted off, even though you know it was hadn't. It wears scraps of clothes tied to its body, and one shabby piece of footwear. Its claw-like hands have evolved to survive in the outlandish wilds of the forest and the creatures both mundane and supernatural. It is a feral and absurd caricature of humanity, a troll in every term of the word.

They may have disappeared from the world during the reign of Y____H, but the gods have seen fit that they be returned to this earth. And as it pulls itself upright, screaming bloody murder, you see it is no coincidence. This is no mutated man. It is a Hiisi, in the flesh.

Kiikoinen approaches with heavy and imposing steps, axe visible to the creature. He makes no attempt to hide that he comes for the troll's life, and the troll makes it loud and clear that he will not yield it so easily.

The tall Finn gives an order. “I'm going to rush past him, and as he turns, strike him. He can't defend himself from both sides.”

“Y-yessir!”

Your nerves are getting to you. A shiver of fear has to be quelled and turned into fury. Axe raised, you follow your mentor, and wait for his move.

The moment you get behind him at his side, Lalli makes a lunging swipe at him as he dashes forward. On queue, you make your own attack against the troll.

An attack against a distracted creature allows for circumstantial bonuses. Though success in these circumstances might be trivial, multiple successes are necessary to kill larger targets, and strikes with these bonuses are your best chance to get those in. On trivial attack rolls, you are guaranteed at least one success, and rolling two or more successes amplifies the attack's effect. Not rolling any successes does not punish you on trivial attacks.
Roll to attack: 7d6.

Rolled 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2 = 14 (7d6)

>>5816982
ROLLAN

>>5816989
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Rolled 4, 1, 3, 5, 3, 2, 4, 3, 4, 4 = 33 (10d6)

>>5816989
>>5816990
lmao, good time to mention no critfails, so lucky you

Kiikoinen is making a risky move, with the assumption that in doing so will open up greater opportunity for safely dispatching this creature. He is experienced, but this requires a lot of tact. He's taken riskier gambles against more dangerous creatures.
Rolling for his engagement: 10d6t3.

Okay, rolls are settled.
See you all Monday :^)

>>5817000
Hey, no response to >>5816095?

>>5817010
I haven't played Noita but Galo Sengen is a piece of art in all its forms.

I'm having family over for this week and a wedding to go to Thursday, so I will try my best to get as much as I can done this week before then. I'll throw a shorter vote window to compensate.
>>5816982
>>5816989
>>5816995
>L3 Kiikoinen: 1/3 Successes
>L1 Fiona: 1/1 Successes
Your mentor had taken special care to keep his weapon away from you and your unproven spatial awareness. He leaned in deep to dash past the troll, and the Hiisi turned with him. As the axe went out to strike, the troll swung his arm and struck him across the back. His wood armor caught some of the blow with frankly amazing deflective ability for an actual piece of wood, but a few claws dug underneath and hiked his armor up. The powerful swipe had sent Kiikoinen further along his route, faster than he anticipated, and he quickly lost his footing.

Scrambling across the hard metal catwalk, he quickly rolled onto a knee and propped his weapon up as something of a cane, He looks like he needs a breath or two.

With the creature turned around, you find it a perfect opportunity. With your weapon overhead, you press the trigger and fire the gas. You step in, but only barely. The creature's twisted side is only lightly gashed by the sailing blade.

Over its pink lumpy shoulder the troll's head looks back at you, and the hiisi gives you his fullest attention. The wild monster it is, it can smell fear and insecurity, as overconfidence drips from its claws.

"I'm contacting the men outside this gate - stay with me, Fiona," chirps your operator.

In combat, you do not defend yourself with any particular roll. When you roll to engage the target, passing all the necessary successes to beat the check overcomes the enemy's attacks entirely and deals damage equal to the number of successes meeting and surpassing the target number. As a L1 Trollslayer, you may make Brave attacks if an enemy is threatening you. You roll 1.5x as much dice to attack, but you do not clash with the enemy's attacks, you make no attempt to defend yourself, and they will strike you directly if you fail to kill them. At L2 and L3 you learn more stances.

>Fend off the fiend! [Engage - 6d6 t2]
>Rip and tear it to pieces! [Brave - 9d6 t2]
>Pull away from the beast so Kiikoinen can get back on his feet! [Fast - 4d6 t1]

>>5820401
>Fend off the fiend!
Clash to let our Finn friend have a moment to stand up.
Capcha: WRPRMR

>>5820401
>>Rip and tear it to pieces! [Brave - 9d6 t2]

>>5820401
>Fend off the fiend!

>>5820401
>>Fend off the fiend! [Engage - 6d6 t2]

>>5820401
>Fend off the fiend! [Engage - 6d6 t2]

>>5820401
>Fend off the fiend! [Engage - 6d6 t2]

>>5820519
>>5820547
>>5820568
>>5820616
>>5820818
Alright, it seems pretty open and shut to me.

This hiisi is nowhere near harmed enough to be threatened by you going all out, not just yet. You need to wear it down and to hold out. Roll to engage: 6d6, target 2.

Rolled 6, 3, 5, 4, 5, 6 = 29 (6d6)

>>5820940

>>5820953
Oooooo, hell of a roll.
>4/2 Successes

The aberrant towers over you, standing around Lalli's height and looming over you like the weighty canopy of a dark tree, his figure blocking the dim LED lights. It's blood dipped claw rears back and is flung at you at a rapid speed.

But you are not so easily cowed. It was not your mentor who taught you the best way to kill a boar is to hit it while its charging. It was your father.

Taught well on how to follow up from a heavy swing, your arm is by habit in the right spot to defend yourself, and you make full use of that fact as you pull the trigger and set the jet to roar. Between the pneumatic jet and your body whipping back to avoid the troll's lashings, your axe bit whips forth and parts the hand of the hiisi from right down in between its flared claws.

Feeling its hand flay apart, the troll shrieks and coils aside, and you do not let up. With a natural follow-up swing back the way the axe came, the weapon chops into the hiisi's chest and sends the troll reeling back.

Hah. Is this it?

The fiend looks around. You have delivered a fatal blow, and seek to deal a fatal one. Behind, Kiikoinen rises to his feet. Beside him, there is a ladder to the concrete floor.

The hiisi flees down the ladder, awkwardly avoiding using the hand you tore to shreds, and it goes over to the door's control panel. You were a bit surprised it tried to do it, but as it continued to fail and fail, you realize it doesn't understand how the door works. Only that it has seen people press it from time to time from up here.

Stepping off the ladder yourself, the hiisi is cornered on flat and open terrain. Kiikoinen hops off from above, steps ahead of you. There's an agitated look in his eyes.

The creature turns around, realizing its now cornered. It makes these strange panicked yelps as its eyes dart around the room.

Do you feel sorry for this trapped creature?

>Somewhat. It was probably dragged here from outside by the outlaws.
>Not really. It is a threat to others, and it tried to kill you.
>The only thing you feel from this creature is vibrations down the haft of your axe as you lay into it. It is a good feeling.

>>5821045
>The only thing you feel from this creature is vibrations down the haft of your axe as you lay into it. It is a good feeling.

>>5821045
>Not really. It is a threat to others, and it tried to kill you.

>>5821089
+1
German W Corp Don is go

>>5821045
>>Not really. It is a threat to others, and it tried to kill you.
needs to go because it's a danger for others. It's not fault it's here right in front of us, but it is what it is.

>>5821045
>>The only thing you feel from this creature is vibrations down the haft of your axe as you lay into it. It is a good feeling.

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Rolled 5, 5, 4, 3, 1, 6, 3, 2, 4, 1, 1, 5, 1, 5, 1 = 47 (15d6)

>>5821089
>>5821115
>>5821247
Though it brings a smile to your face to know you've sent a troll on the back rope, you know it's a creature following its instincts to live and eat. The hiisi was clearly not where he belonged, and his presence here brings a toll upon all who live in Helsinki, citizen and outlaw alike. And besides, it's a job. Benefits you can't if this thing still lives.

As fanciful ideas of a proper studio apartment flashed through your imagination, Kiikoinen did not waste time discussing or even thinking about the creature's state of mind.

He lets his blade do the talking.

As a L3 Trollslayer, Lalli Kiikoinen's engagement has a base dice pool of 10d6. Taking a Brave stance, this attack is trivial up to three successes.
Rolling for his brave engagement, at 15d6.
Hey Paul!

>>5821424
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kI_ukqMO3lk
Dubs time?

Well -I- feel a bit bad for this thing.

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I swear to god the more I try to edit and proofread my updates the less polished they become
>>5821424
The hiisi did not stand a chance. Though it raised a hand to strike back, it only presented the first thing to become severed completely. The arms ceased to be an obstacle, as Kiikoinen began hacking away at the shoulders. The pneumatic bursts filled the air with a rhythmic pulse as blood went flying across the vestibule.

The horrific shrieking stopped quickly, but Kiikoinen didn't.

He chopped.
And chopped.
And chopped.
And for a moment he stopped, using his axe to flip it over.
Only to find new places to start swinging into.

Expelled hydrogen gas mixed with the oxygen in the air, forming a hot steam that trailed behind his axe covering himself and the hiisi in hot droplets of water. With each swing, a bigger and bigger cloud of steam formed, threatening to obscure Lalli's handiwork.

Your radio crackled. "Kiikoinen... Kiikoinen!"

Like a powerlifter hoisting five hundred pounds overhead, Kiikoinen dropped his axe upon the concrete and let out a sigh of relief from his heavy exertion.

The hiisi had become a steaming pile of mangled flesh and bone, wisps wafting off its numerous wounds as if it were a freshly cooked meal.

With a hankerchief, Lalli wipes his face of blood, sweat, and condensation. Shaking his face dry afterward, the finn recomposed himself and turned to you.

"In longer missions... hah, like those we have to walk back to base," he begins, as if he had merely done heavy yard work, laden with almost casual heavy breaths. "... such excess is detrimental. It's important to conserve your energy. But, we are right here, next to an outlet to the surface." Kiikoinen holds a finger to his ear. "We can return to base from up above, eliminating the risk of further dangers, if we receive permission to."

"These aren't extraction sites, Lalli," Sumika chastises. "But since you're right here and the troll was nested inside it, I'll allow it. Clean up, sheath your weapons and return when you can."

"Thank you," he replies, before picking up his weapon.

You're still a bit stupefied from the overwhelming display of violence.

"I apologize. Easy marks are... an outlet of mine." Your mentor pauses, before nodding. "You did well. Many rookies make the mistake of being very mild in their approach. You must understand we take an assertive role and take control of the situation as thoroughly as we can. Even if the battle is in your favor, do not yield back."

... your father told you something similar.

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"Not that I feel you need to be told this. In all honesty, you seem to be clearly capable of combat befitting a L2 agent."

... wha-huh!? Did he- did he just...?

Lallil looks aside. "Though I must stress that the qualifications for a promotion require more demonstration in teamwork settings and joint missions." Damn it! "These things can take some time. I spent quite some time as a Level 1 Agent, largely due to... social elements. I suspect you will not struggle with these challenges.”

Though Lalli's tone is low energy and his demeanor very muted, his words are incredibly encouraging. Your goals are within reach, he meant. And you won't be old and gray when you're there. It will be one day, one day soon. You can't help but beam with pride, and it shows. Kiikoinen lets out a gentle smile. Sincere, for once. Not forced out of cordial business manners, or being polite, but from the heart. He seemed elated, seeing you closer to your aspirations. Or maybe, he relates.

Leaving the stormdrain was as simple as climbing up the ladder and being let in by the agents standing watch at the inlet. As you stepped outside, you were greeted with a view of a small bay in the central area of Helsinki. You took some time to admire the clarity of the water, sitting on a bench, watching long wooden cargo boats be unloaded by deck hands and dock workers. In time, your mentor is cleaned up and you're able to return to base without catching odd looks.

Turning in your gear and getting into regular clothes, Kiikoinen says the next few days you have off. There's not a lot you can do in your bunk room, so you should probably find something to do elsewhere.

>>5822585
Sigrun's still doing her investigation, though you wonder how well that's going. Lalli told you where he stays in case you needed advice, but you could probably hang out if you wanted. Sumika would probably like to catch up with you at some point, she did say you could talk to her about anything. Aside from talking to people you know, you could explore Helsinki a bit, or take a look into actual nature outside city limits, bring a book and read...

You get a lot more creative for activities when there's nothing to do at home.

>Talk to Sigrun to discuss the machine shop investigations - maybe you can grease the wheels on this joint mission you need to prove you can do well in?
>Hang out with Lalli, you haven't seen his pad yet! You think he gets a penthouse or something.
>Sumika's expertise and advice might be nice to have going forward. You feel like, though you've killed a troll within your first week, you haven't seen nothing yet...
>You moved to the city, you're going to live in the city! Go explore and see what you can even do here.
>You dreamt you were in the forests of Germany the other night. Maybe hiking would make you less homesick.

>>5822587
>Hang out with Lalli, you haven't seen his pad yet! You think he gets a penthouse or something.
Bit of a tough choice.

>>5822587
>>You moved to the city, you're going to live in the city! Go explore and see what you can even do here.
Super curious of oddly dystopian Solar-punk Helsinki. Let's be a tourist and walk around, maybe we can find a decent sausage to satisfy our Kraut appetite.

>>5822587
>You moved to the city, you're going to live in the city! Go explore and see what you can even do here.
>Invite Lalli

>>5822750
+1

update/correction: I will be mostly busy tomorrow, so I think I'll make one update later tomorrow night and then have to sit on this for a few days

>>5822990
No worries, it happens! Thanks for letting us know.

>>5822587
>>Sumika's expertise and advice might be nice to have going forward. You feel like, though you've killed a troll within your first week, you haven't seen nothing yet...

>>5822587
>>Hang out with Lalli, you haven't seen his pad yet! You think he gets a penthouse or something.

>>5822587
>Hang out with Lalli, you haven't seen his pad yet! You think he gets a penthouse or something.

>>5822750
Supporting

>>5822605
>>5822690
>>5822750
>>5823297
Going by my 16 hour after vote posted rule I typically went by >>5807193, it seems the general intention is to explore the city and get to know Kiikoinen better.
Today was a bit busier than previously anticipated so I'm not sure if I can get an update out before I return on Sunday. Gack.

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I am returned and have largely recovered physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Writing now.

>>5829296
Welcome back, QM!

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The one message you received when you looked at your new bedroom is, other than “go get a promotion immediately,” seems to be that you're expected to go out and talk to your other Stormwatch members. You've only ever, really, caught someone after work on an appointed meeting – your studies on Finnish myth occupied much of the free hours of your first week, but if you spend any more time in that cramped pod than necessary you'll go crazy. You don't really know many people other than Lalli, so you're gonna see what he gets up to.

The first few floors of the residential region of the Stormwatch HQ, the Barracks, are occupied mainly by residential pods and public shared living areas for the L1 rookies. Above that are proper apartments for the L2 agents. And as the elevator clicks to the floors for the L3 agents, you walk out to see the floor plan. It's a big building, but only six residences fit per floor. That's a big step up from the 48 L1 pods. The actual roof seems to be off limits, giant cables directly powering and getting the feed from security cameras across the city. Wireless was too exploitable, they said. Still! Everything is clear and clean. Perhaps too sterile for your woodland hamlet tastes.

Ringing the door to Lalli's room, you didn't know what to expect. What does he do in his free time? What's he do with his pay? You wanna know!

The door remotely unlocks. Neat. Taking that as an invitation, you open the door and walk in.

The interior is a clean, modern apartment. It's very spacious, with a vestibule, two living rooms. Kitchen and a dining room. The walls are white, chairs are black. Dust coats the most remote corners of the living space, adjacent to the well-used exercise equipment. He has a collection of liquor bottles in a sliding bar, most of which are near empty, as if they were achievements and trophies while several empty bottles of cheaper liquor sit beside it, waiting to be thrown out.

That's all there is to say about it.

You like to think you have a connection to things with a soul. A certain attunement, you could say. But this place is an empty space. It has been thoroughly scrubbed clean of life. There is nothing there, and you're not sure if that's on purpose.

Though perhaps he lives outside his room as well...

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>>5829500
At the end of the hall that leads to mostly empty and unoccupied bedrooms where no lovers or family sleep, you see Kiikoinen finishing himself up in the mirror. He has more creams, gels, hairsprays, pomades, and is that hair dye you spot in his cabinet than you have space to put in your fridge. His own self seems to be his biggest hobby.

Finishing up, he turns around, and with vigor approaches you. He's done himself up unexpectedly well and he's his hair a bit different. You wouldn't believe he's thirty. It almost seems a bit out of character for such a taciturn trollslayer to have this much cosmetics, and hair that goes over his forehead like that. You won't judge though.

“Hello,” he greets in his neutral manner, if a bit impatient. “Is there something you need?”

You smile and look aside bashfully. “Haha, yeah. I was looking to go see what there is to do up here in Helsinki, and thought you'd might want to tell me some spots, or come with me?”

He looks at you in a somewhat frustrated manner, but then tilts his head in consideration. “Certainly. I was going out myself.”

You pump your fist. “Nice! Where to?”

“When I'm off the clock, I'm off the clock,” he says, rolling up his dress shirt's sleeves. “I leave the planning at the door.”

With a different spontaneity, he Lalli gets dressed quickly and after grabbing a fistful of electrolyte hydration powder packets and downing six ounces of vodka like it was his morning medication, he leads the way out.

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>>5829506
The Finn leads you to a very surprising section of Helsinki. Though you heard the city was a very dreary place in historic times, today you learned there is in fact a party district. He walks with you past women dressed in outlandish revealing dresses and men in all kinds of outfits as long as they are black waiting outside all the clubs and all the seedier stores to find a favorite pub of his. Something that translates to the Brickstone Sanctuary, in the basement of another building. He says they brew their own stuff and get imports, which he enjoys very much.

The environment is dim and dusky, warm and crowded. There's at least fifty people trying to fit in a space that can comfortably fit twenty five, but hell the bartender works fast. By the time you've picked out a dubbel, Kiikoinen has nearly finished a cocktail.

The night is young but this man waits for no one, it seems.

Pick up to three things to do on your night out.
>Ask personal questions, really dig into him. What made him sign up? Fortune, glory, privileges? Is it usual he comes down here?
>You have to get some of his stories. You hear you gotta make a commitment to get L3, after all.
>There are some oddball things you want to ask him. (Write ins).
>Put this man in the dirt with drinks! Sure he's a full head and shoulders over you but you aren't some coward.
>Lalli is cool and all, but he'll be with you for a while. You understand cities are, uh, breathing? People come and go, lots of people doing lots of things, and you wanna see some of them. You already hear a handful; you can't place their accents, but they're loud as all hell.

>>5829521
>Ask personal questions, really dig into him. What made him sign up? Fortune, glory, privileges? Is it usual he comes down here?
>You have to get some of his stories. You hear you gotta make a commitment to get L3, after all.
>Put this man in the dirt with drinks! Sure he's a full head and shoulders over you but you aren't some coward.

>>5829521
>>5829569
I'll change my third vote from
>Put this man in the dirt with drinks! Sure he's a full head and shoulders over you but you aren't some coward.
to
>Lalli is cool and all, but he'll be with you for a while. You understand cities are, uh, breathing? People come and go, lots of people doing lots of things, and you wanna see some of them. You already hear a handful; you can't place their accents, but they're loud as all hell.
Since this city could be interesting.

>>5829521
>Put this man in the dirt with drinks! Sure he's a full head and shoulders over you but you aren't some coward.
>Ask personal questions, really dig into him. What made him sign up? Fortune, glory, privileges? Is it usual he comes down here?
>Lalli is cool and all, but he'll be with you for a while. You understand cities are, uh, breathing? People come and go, lots of people doing lots of things, and you wanna see some of them. You already hear a handful; you can't place their accents, but they're loud as all hell.

>>5829521
backing >>5829581 >>5829569

>>5829521
>>There are some oddball things you want to ask him. (Write ins).
What's the weirdest place in the city, according to him?

Then go there and check it out.

>>5829521
>Ask personal questions, really dig into him. What made him sign up? Fortune, glory, privileges? Is it usual he comes down here?
>Put this man in the dirt with drinks! Sure he's a full head and shoulders over you but you aren't some coward.
>Lalli is cool and all, but he'll be with you for a while. You understand cities are, uh, breathing? People come and go, lots of people doing lots of things, and you wanna see some of them. You already hear a handful; you can't place their accents, but they're loud as all hell.

Sorry this took a while, ended up being beefier than intended.
>>5829569
>>5829581
>>5829605
“So, mister Kiikoinen,” you say, getting your hands on your drink. By the time it took for the bartender to get you something, the finn has begun work on his second. “I know you got some stories. You've got nine years under your belt, you slaughtered that troll like it was a baby. What's the biggest thing you've torn to bits?”

Lalli looks at you and smirks. “You should be grateful you didn't use that language around the others,” he says, before continuing. “And that would be... the Maahinen. It wasn't so much a troll, as it was a beast that... that could grow like a plant. Underdwellers brought in a sample and left it behind in one of their abandoned cities. It would eat the small creatures that tried to eat it, and use it to grow. It took years of it eating bugs for it to get to the rats, then beasts, then other humans, and before we knew it we had patrols getting mauled by skeletal hands clasped together by some black muscle they couldn't see because it had grown so large it could break the lights. The whole time, it was there, just watching, waiting until it could reach out and take what it wanted.”

It sounds like a terrible beast. Such a thing was found in the wild? “I was there when they wanted it dead, and they gave us special equipment for dealing with it. A larger pneumatic battleaxe, and they had six people with flamethrowers.”

You gasp with delight. “Flamethrowers!?”

“They almost certainly dismantled them, but I cannot imagine they burned the schematics. While it's one thing to say I hope you never need them... it was satisfying to use.”

They fabricate special equipment for certain operations! You wonder what things they will custom make for yourself, but that must be answered with what kind of strange things you might face. It doesn't seem like they have a limit on what they will or won't make.

He went on, though much less enthusiastic. “There was another, attacking an occupied undercity... that time they nearly killed me. They had a cassock living there, or at least, someone who studied their sword style. Man killed two L3 manhunters with a hand behind his back. I just went with a gut feeling and... swung at his sword directly. I expected it to knock it out of his hand, or something, but it the jet made me swing so hard the sword shattered, most of it flying over my head. I got him, and then we cleaned the rest of the town up. They do that often, getting mercenaries from outside...”

You imagine the scene very vividly. A fiendish looking man, big nose, wide pores, half shaven hair flying wildly and dark eyes open wide seeing his sword break into pieces, a trail of steam tailing the path of an axe that did not stop.

But it's odd you have to add these details yourself. “Do you usually tell these stories?” You ask.

Kiikoinen looks forlornly into his drink. “Nobody really cares to hear them. It's all just killing things. I just do it.”

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>>5830568
That's a bit... pessimistic. You want to hear stories. Sure, you work with him and maybe want to see what the future could hold by looking into his past, and maybe you'd get a look into what your father's work must have been like. But you're still interested. You are.

Is he just not into fighting bad guys and giant monsters? The other things you enjoy don't exactly get you your golden ticket, but you always found this profession noble, if nothing else. “So what do you do it for? Just the benefits?”

“Not many people actually enjoy the work they do, Fiona,” he drones, his speech growing slower and slower to avoid slurring, sometimes having to repeat himself because the crowd's murmurs or distant hollers spoke over him. “I do it so I can get paid to do things I actually want to do.”

“And what is that?” You ask.

To answer that, the Finn leaned back and looked around. “Meeting new people, forgetting about them, only to meet them again. I'm the same man I was before I joined, just more... well off. Nothing has... nothing has change-”

A loud voice ripped through your conversation, from a great distance away. “WOOO! Get fucked!”

Molting the skin of a sane man in his seat, Lalli giggled as he rose up. “Like these idiots. They seem to be having fun. Let's see what they're up to.”

He grabs your shoulder and drags you off your seat, drink in hand, following the loud voices and strange accents.

Oh. Oh you know who these people are. That accent is unmistakable, though you've never heard it yourself. The drawling tones, spoken loudly and full of themselves. With words of straightforward and over-enunciated English, as if they wanted to make sure you wanted to hear every last word of what they were saying, because they couldn't be assed to learn any language of the places they went. There was no mistaking it, and as you found them, you knew you were not wrong.

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>>5830571
Those are fucking Americans.

A group of three Americans sit haunched over a table in a booth behind a brick wall. Their voices echoed off the walls in order to interrupt your conversation at the bar. As you approach the group, the one you can see most clearly sits has a blonde mullet and bomber jacket. A military patch with the words CHICAGO RED DOGS flew on a banner above the face of a menacing mutt in plain English, and below read 4TH MECHANIZED DIVISION. The one beside him had a similar getup but clearly was not as high a rank emphasized by her lack of sunglasses and olive jacket, while the one with his back to you was wearing a big ass black fur coat and some plain black hair.

As you and Kiikoinen loomed over the table, they all put their drinks back on the table and raised their hands like they'd been caught. “Woah, hey, sorry guys, I-” the man in the bomber jacket stopped for just a second. “Wait a minute, I remember you!”

Lalli was frozen. “You do?”

“Yeah, you don't recall?” The obnoxious man threw a leg over another. “Hah, you don't remember the face, I don't remember the place. Beth, was it here or was it Void?”

“Think it was at the Void, Mikey,” said the kid to his left. If it weren't for her chest, she'd almost look like some secondary schooler with her boyish cut and chin. “Like a month ago?

The man in the big coat was struggling to look over his shoulder at you two. “Yeah and who's the squeeze?”

“Christ, Durant,” this Mikey man bellowed, “Could be his sister for all you know.”

“This is my coworker. A protege, even.” Kiikoinen answers with the familiar rock-solid sternness you know him for. “And now you mention it, yes, I do recall. You're... Plan C, aren't you?” Mikey nodded. “Right, right. Fiona, these guys pilot robots from VR headsets. They're decent people. I... I will be right back.”

“Scoot the fuck over Durant,” Mikey rattled as he beckoned the black coat give up his seat to take the booth spot next to him. “So you're the fresh meat, huh? Gotta be something else, goin' down there in the flesh.”

Pick up to two.
>What are a bunch of Americans doing in Helsinki? Something to do with this “Plan C?”
>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.
>You know you've heard a bit about Chicago – the pneumatic suits and that dual sword style manhunters use came from there. What else comes from there? Everything?
>What to ask, what to say-oh! (Write-in)
>Utter Finnish vulgarities and slurs they won't understand and follow Kiikoinen.

>>5830578
>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.
Get excited get excited get excited

>>5830578
>>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.

The other options sound interesting but...
These obnoxious Americans... they have ROBOTS!!!! Patlabor, gundam, votoms, etc

>>5830578
>Utter Finnish vulgarities and slurs they won't understand and follow Kiikoinen.

>>5830578
>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.
CHICKS. DIG. GIANT ROBOTS.

>>5830578
>>What are a bunch of Americans doing in Helsinki? Something to do with this “Plan C?”
>>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.

>>5830578
>They pilot ROBOTS!? You demand to know about what it is they do and how they do it.

>>5830597
>>5830710
>>5830779
>>5830972
>>5831045
Nice. Writing.

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You shake your head to get back in reality. “I'm sorry, what? You said you're pilots?”

Mikey nodded his head and sipped his cocktail. “Yeah! We're with the Chicago Red Dogs. You probably know our R&D department. They make the portable pneumatic system, the volt machetes, and a couple other neat toys. We get first dibs on them. Through VR gear, mostly, so it's often drones and other scouting machines, other stuff we can use with some latency...”

The pilot leans in and points his eyewear at you. His grin is infectious. “But there is one you can actually climb in! Get to do it all in person. It's twelve feet tall, weighs a couple tons, has weapons custom made for it each mission, and we need the local government to sign a few agreements before we can even turn the engine on. The tech is... under copyright, y'know?”

What the hell is even in that thing if it can't even be walked around for two seconds without waivers?

“Yeah, yeah, spotless record! Two dozen sorties! This thing wrecked so many jersey devils, you wouldn't believe.” He talks with a lot of pride in his voice. “It's called Big Dog, and I'm Big Dog Mikey, cause that's me in the cockpit. Little Beth is in training for it, but she's usually on ground. Black Coat Durant stays on foot in case of repairs.”

You were going to ask why they would need a giant robot, but honestly that's probably a good reason. A giant metal encasing probably protects you from hungry beasts and trolls. Remote piloting has its flaws, they made clear.

“But you guys - your tech guys, over here in Helsinki - cooked something up our boys liked the sound of, so we're here watching over a collab project. That and general recovery, should it come to that.”

>>5831596
Helsinki's making giant robots? Wait, no, don't get ahead of yourself. “A collab project?”

Beth chimes in. “Stormwatch's tech team said they made an engine that runs off cells. It can drink, I dunno, algae or something. Liquid meals, even. Shove little trolls down its gullet, I dunno how it works, I just drive the damn things. The guys over at CRD RND - say that ten times fast - had some other shit they wanted to test so they built something, and we're here to oversee everything. Make sure things go as good as they're gonna go.”

Durant cuts in. “Yeah, and if it gets lost or falls over or whatever, you Stormwatch fellas gotta pick it up. If it gets stolen lost, us Red Dogs got it.”

“I don't think it's gonna do good against your Chatterbox, but hey, it's unmanned,” the American playfully shrugged. His brows rose from beneath his shades. “So you might actually get to see it soon.”

“That's amazing! You're testing your machines on...” Wait a minute. It's been quite a bit, and Lalli hasn't come back yet. You know your line of work is a little unpopular to the locals, but surely nobody would have the guts...

“I have to go check on someone,” you cut away, rising from your seat. “It was nice meeting you!” They give you a silent wave and return to their casual eighty decibel conversation.

Being a little hurried in your search, you pace through the crowds and return to where you ordered your drinks. Others are sitting there now, and the barman is asking you if you'd like to close your tab out as well.

Lalli paid and left without saying anything? That's odd.

>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.
>If he pulled an Irish exit, that's fine! You're just coworkers, after all.

>>5831612
>>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.

>>5831612
>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.

>>5831612
>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.
Go go go!

>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.

>>5831612
>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went.

>>5831612
>>He left you behind! You're going after him. You might not be too savvy, but it can't be hard to figure out where he went

>>5831630
>>5831688
>>5831753
>>5832058
>>5832125
>>5832417
I think it's quite unanimous. And I'm gonna try splitting the player's rolls up in the future like some other quests do.
You had not been trained in tracking people, and much less your own coworkers, but this seems like a simple social skill and you've a reasonable alibi to know to people who ask. Two players, roll 2d6.

Rolled 4, 5 = 9 (2d6)

>>5832456
ROLLAN

Rolled 4, 2 = 6 (2d6)

>>5832456

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Apologies, family decided I was the chef tonight.
>>5832467
>>5832474
Success.
He ditched you! What a dick! You weren't (trying to be) some overbearing drag on him, you just asked to see what there was to do. And Lalli gives you the slip.

Finishing the drink you had, you politely ask the bartender an innocent question. “Do you have any idea where my friend went? He kind of just up and left.”

The busy man behind the counter answers quickly between risning glasses. “His business is his business.”

“His business is my business because he's my coworker. I don't know where he went, and I want to make sure he's alright. Just odd that he walked off.”

His guard was lowered on hearing that. “Oh. Well, Lalli usually comes here in between places. Our kitchen is open late, so he usually swings by to eat and sober up before going back out. He takes good care of himself, miss. He can handle his drinks. Won't be passed out in an alley anywhere.”

Now hold on a second. “Pardon me. Usually?” The bartender doesn't answer.

Well. That's... enlightening. Using more than just your wits, but also your memory, you figure your best chance at trying to catch him is at this place the Red Dogs mentioned. Some placed called Void? Well, paying for your tab and heading on out, surely it's not too hard to find-

Aaand there's a long-ass line.

Checking the line shows he's not on it, and in the time it took for you to check all the faces there it hadn't moved an inch. The bouncer passes you a stern glare – though you are out of uniform, your being confused and not-Finnish tells him all he needs to be suspicious of you. It is easy to imagine that you have zero authority over this man to cut in line and look for your friend. You leer in through the door, trying to see if you can spot him, but you notice a sign.

CAT-2 ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRY.

Category two identification. You...

You are not allowed to enter until you reach your L2 Stormworks position.

Welp. Haha, hah. That's fine, that's fine! Just another incentive to do more than just eat food and take up space, right? Right. The awful sinking feeling in your heart is something that you can- that you're trying to fix. You just need to, uh. Do better. Right now? You're an unpolished stone... and need some, uh... shine, to have people see that sparkling gem you really... are...

…

You imagine there's another way in.

>Try and sneak in. It's possible, but you'd fare just as well as any other drunk. [Very hard Savvy check]
>Go back to Brickstone Lehto, drink, go home, and cry into your pillow a little bit.

>>5832749
>Go back to Brickstone Lehto, drink, go home, and cry into your pillow a little bit.
Mission failed.

>>5832749
>Go back to Brickstone Lehto, drink, go home, and cry into your pillow a little bit.

Though, usually in places like this there's service entrance where lowpaid peons go to work the shift like cleaning, wheeling in equipment or even just deliveries.

>>5832749
>Try and sneak in. It's possible, but you'd fare just as well as any other drunk. [Very hard Savvy check]

>>5832749
>Go back to Brickstone Lehto, drink, go home, and cry into your pillow a little bit.
:'(

>>5832854
>>5832749
Actually, you know what? Fuck that!
>Go back to party with those Americans

>>5832760
>>5832761
Come on, anons, let's not let our night end like this!

>>5832749
Yeah I can't believe they both had a club scene in canto 5 AND they had Meursault say he used to go to them often in his search for life
>Go back to party with those Americans

>>5832749
>Go back to party with those Americans

>>5832749
>>Go back to party with those Americans

>>5832749
>Go back to party with those Americans

>>5832856
Nah there's nothing wrong with being sad. Also yankees are obnoxious and stinky.

Between things needing to be done in real life and my lazy ass, I should probably formally move the scheduled time to 8PM ish for updates.

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>>5832749
No, no. It's not that important. You shouldn't be thinking like that, that's the drinks talking, though you've only had so little. You're certain he's just there to enjoy himself, and you just weren't part of the program.

One day, you say to yourself. You'll be a part of someone's life. Even if you have to end someone else's.

You go back to the Brickstone Lehto, and return to the little corner where the Red Dogs still drink. They may be thoroughbred to talk louder than ten people at once, they are a welcoming bunch. They gladly offer you a few drinks as a congratulations on your first steps in your new career, as you tell them about your work, your home, and your father and his work.

And they tell you of Chicago. It's a very dense and developed place, surrounded by smaller population centers. Almost all of it is dedicated to the research and production of advanced technologies, with the remainder for processing the waste product back into usable material. For the bargain of spearheading the healing of the world through the studies of advanced chemistry, material sciences, genetic modification, and even the beginnings of terraforming, Mother Nature's Providence facilitates that the genius minds of the city get free reign to any material on the planet that meets their needs. Since most of the world is in some way affiliated with MNP, they have nigh unlimited resources to build what they like.

For anywhere else, that's where the forces like the Red Dogs come in. They tell you they had a blast in the West Indies, tearing apart tribal warriors, pirates, and oversized ferocious lizards called “kai-men” or something, to procure enough Lignum Vitae trees to start their own plantation and gene mod program. And to test their new machines, of course.

With more and more stories, drinks, and roasting you for your second language English skills, the wee hours come along and the bar begins to close. They tell you where they're staying, and you head back home. There, you quietly turn into bed. Your pillow feels so nice, as you squeeze it tight.

>>5833999
For the next few days, you don't see Kiikoinen. He doesn't answer his door, nor do you see him in the office space he usually works at organizing and coordinating the next tasks you and him will perform.

The day he finally returns, he looks perfectly fine. However, he emits an intense aura of feeling like shit, and when you approach him at his desk, you see he has procured an honest to god IV drip for personal use, at work. You take a moment to respect the lengths he goes to for self-care.

He does not even acknowledge it when talking to you, however. “Jarnafeldt. Eugen has found a lead.” Huh? Oh right, Sigrun's investigation into if the pneumatic suit thieves tried to make reproductions. “All the machine shops in this city have been operating under normal legal procedures. Asking the local government for certifications, sending receipts of regulated fabrications to the correct authorities, keeping proper ledgers. However, our records show we received less receipts for one machine shop than they had sent out. She figures the messages were somehow intercepted, or possibly discarded internally from someone with the authority to do so.”

He opens some spreadsheets, which you ogle without any capacity to make heads or tails of it. “The parts we were unaware of in our servers were the foundations of lathes, mills, and other manufacturing machines, and these were accredited to a bogus identity. However, these would make incomplete machines, and she made a list of parts they'd need to finish it. Across numerous machine shops, almost all the parts needed were procured legally and logged by a hospital on the edge of town, as 'repairs and replacements'. We suspect that the machines are in unoccupied patient rooms, due to the difficulty of relocating them underground. The warrant will come in tomorrow, and we will be serving it along with Eugen and Fahy.”

“Why not other manhunters?” You ask.

“One, as it was an investigation deemed necessary by myself and Eugen, it is our duty to follow through with it,” Lalli answers. “Two, even as a Trollslayer, all Stormwatch operatives need experience fighting humans.” You detect the vaguest hint of frustration in his voice. “In truth, you cannot receive promotions without doing so. For whatever that means to you.”

Before, you didn't have a choice of what you were fighting because orders were orders. Now you are compelled to, because it is necessary.

>>5834003
Kiikoinen sighs. “We don't have an idea for the scale of the thieves' operation – the objective is to locate the machines, and determine if they have already been used in creating reproductions of pneumatic systems. It is not to quell all the hostile elements. I recommend you prepare by sparring. I need to organize other aspects of the mission.”

Stormwatch has the authority to act above-ground? You guess undercity bandits and theft of Stormwatch materials does make it under your jurisdiction. But alright! This sounds like an important enough job. You're not exactly given any clue on how close you are to promotions, but killing trolls, busting a weapons manufacturing lab – you can't imagine this is normal first month behavior for a L1 agent like yourself. Someone has to take notice.

But you have to prepare yourself. Like he said, nobody knows how many bad guys are in there, or what kind of bad guys there are, actually. You have to make yourself ready, mentally and physically.

For more significant missions, you may take certain preparations. Choose up to 2 actions.
>Spar with other agents, to get a better grasp of fighting your fellow man. (Twice, if you fail an engagement roll against a human, you automatically gain one success.)
>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Pray to the Gods for your safety, that you will remain unharmed. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)
>Pray to the Gods for your enemies, that they will know what's best for them. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)

>>5834019
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Pray to the Gods for your enemies, that they will know what's best for them. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)


>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)
This is the best one, but I like the two lore posts above more.

>>5834019
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Pray to the Gods for your allies' safety, that they will remain unharmed. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)
Wrote in the last one

>>5834019
>>Pray to the Gods for your enemies, that they will know what's best for them. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)

I don't like the idea of killing human beings to be honest. Let's hope they have the sense to just run away instead of fighting to the end or surrendering... since surrender means dying. I'm not opposed to letting them run away by pretending we couldn't catch them.

>>5834019
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Pray to the Gods for your allies' safety, that they will remain unharmed. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)

>>5834019
>>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)
>>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)

>>5834019
>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)
>Pray to the Gods for your allies' safety, that they will remain unharmed. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)

>>5834019
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)

>>5834019
>>Spar with Sumika, and seek out her expert, exotic techniques. (If every die in an engagement roll is a success, your next engagement roll automatically succeeds to the same degree.)
>>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)

>>5834019
>Contemplate the future that you are fighting for – that you are killing for. (Once, you can choose to automatically succeed to the highest degree on an engagement roll.)
>Pray to the Gods for your allies' safety, that they will remain unharmed. (Attunement roll, unknown effect)

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>>5834817
>>5834626
>>5834608
>>5834267
>>5834140
>>5834070
>>5834055
>>5834031
I should have closed the vote formally earlier 16 hours after the polling post, apologies.
With the results:
>Pray for allies: hs7, r5y
>Pray for enemies: T+h, yh2
>Contemplate: T+h, hs7, yh2, r5y, jzs, x3l, 9zz
>Sumika: jzs, d20, x3l, 9zz
The winners are Sumika's training and, by far, Contemplation.
No rolls need to be performed, update on Monday

>>5830578
is that the inferno cop end theme?
thats awesome

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Lalli and Sigrun both are preoccupied with the management of affairs surrounding this inspection you will be conducting tomorrow, leaving you without two superiors to look to for guidance. Looking to the Gods of this strange land might seem like a good idea, but you realize it would spurn them to not realize the options they have already laid before you. One of the last things Sumika said to you the day you arrived in this place was that she was there to help in case you ever needed it. You should take her up on her offer. After ensuring she was not busy directing an expedition, you head on over to her residence.

The lodges of L4 Operators are not like the penthouse residences in the main structure; they are separated “manors” within the gardens of Stormworks HQ. Built into the ground (or the turf strewn above them), they are flush with the curated environment and would be hard to spot if not for the paths leading to their inviting wooden doors and the little windows that could be mistaken for rabbit burrows. It is not too unlike your childhood home with its sod roof, though it does seem like a hole for a creature much smaller than Sumika.

Politely, you rap upon the door, but it was as tough as stone. The wood was made from the same composite materials as your armor, this mansion a fortification all its own. Thankfully, there is a bell you can ring.

It took a minute, but you hear heavy steps across wood from behind the thick door. The door opens, and for once, you meet Nonoka Sumika at eye level. “Ah... Jarnafeldt?”

Shaking the pain from your hand because of your dumb ass knocking on an armored door, you force a smile. “I have one of my first missions against criminals, specifically, and... well, you said to come to you if I needed any help.”

Nonoka smiled. “Did anybody tell you what I did back in my homeland?”

“No?”

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>>5837463
Sumika stepped aside and gestured you within. The interior of the home has clearly been modified for the tall eastern woman, for it has a strong eastern aesthetic. Past the vestibule that's four steps down from the front door, you can see a set of samurai armor and several swords on the far side of a large padded floor room. She let you get a closer look at them as she got dressed in something more befitting to physical activity than a casual sundress. Some shirt-like robe and pants made of the same material.

“In my home village, I fought the oni that came from the mountains, and in Akihabara, I fought criminals,” Sumika began, walking over to a rack of wooden weapons of various sorts. She set down the real blade she answered the door with and grabbed a wooden version of it. Among the rack were various training stand-ins of approved Stormwatch weapons, a non-pneumatic wooden axe included. “There were so many criminals... not just illegals. Documented, rights-bearing men and women driven by greed and savage satisfaction derived from violence and vice. They wanted power. I showed them it. I was... exported, for my 'safety,' after I cut down an heir.” Her voice dripped with venom at those words, though you're not quite sure who it was directed at.

A bit of a tangent. “Sounds like they deserved what you gave them,” you say. Nonoka goes to produce some fancy wire masks from a closet. You've seen maybe a picture of these used in eastern sword training sessions. She hands you one.

Sumika tightens belt of her wooden nagamaki's scabbard. “Tell me, Fiona. What are you supposed to do if they only understand the language of the sword?”

You fit your helmet on and your get a feel for the training axe. You ignore the rhetorical question, and get your body physically ready to see what insights she has to offer you.

Her presence shifts. “What are you supposed to do if you want to speak of peace and understanding, but they only understand the language of the sword?”

From within her newly donned mask, there's something odd you can't shake but feeling. A strange resonance.

“What if you want to make them understand that on this path, only death does wait? But they only understand the language of the sword.”

For some reason, it only occurs to you now that you've never seen anyone cast a spell.

“What if you want to tell them to leave you and your beloved ones in peace?”

but they only understand the language of the sword

Sumika begins to draws her oversized bokken from behind her back.

You never considered where you could possibly attack her, you're only as tall as her ribs. But a tree has to fall from somewhere, so at its base seems good a place as any. With a step away from her drawing hand, you swing at her knee from your side.

But within the blink of an eye, your axe bit was caught. She had drawn and twisted her whole form forward to put her weapon right there underneath the beard of your axe.

Within a second blink, the wooden sword struck your windpipe, the blow thankfully softened by the gambeson of the mask.

You did not blink before she grabbed the length of the blade and began to drive it at you. You swung your axe over to push it aside, but you were not fast enough. The wooden bokken is thankfully blunt, but the force from the thrust and your lack of balance sends you reeling backward.

“People will do you wrong, Jarnafeldt,” the eastern swordswoman said, her natural demeanor returning. “The monsters are innocent; they have never known peace, and scarce believe in it if we ever offered. But there are men who have tasted the fruits of paradise, and found them lacking. Material needs do not sate these men. They thirst only for blood. These are worse than any monster you could ever meet. When you find such a man... Let your blade do the talking.”

Sumika... can be frightening when she wants to be.

Over the course of a few hours, she drills you on countering those who would strike first, and how to turn their vulnerabilities into opportunities to quickly dispatch them. With an axe, you can't do something as flashy as a draw cut like she did, but in practice, your strength and pneumatics would allow you to instantly kill most humans caught vulnerable, and it would be simply a matter of turning that burst of speed against a new foe.

Though you have been given much guidance and your muscles recall the motions for the time being, you do not learn something from simply being told it. Before it can be truly committed to memory, it needs practice.
Miekkan Puhe temporarily unlocked.

>>5837496
>huge Japanese mountain-woman sword-sage mentor
Badass.

>>5837496
After some time, you manage to limp out of the rabbit hole, covered in bruises and flicking your wrist in that lethal swish-swash snicker-snack motion. You don't have the energy to do much else. You wouldn't be able to drag yourself back from the bar if you went out drinking, you wouldn't be able to focus if you trained some more, you can barely put together a coherent thought.

You just want to lie down, for a while.

Walking through the shared common room, you realize there's some people who didn't make it. You're not sure if they flaked off, or worse, but there are not so many faces you recognize from the day you onboarded here. You see more of the L2 agents, if anything. Some older looking L1s. You grab a liquid meal bottle from a vending machine and try not to dwell on it.

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>>5837568
You dwell on it.

They all joined looking for something. Trying to achieve something. Maybe your goals are compatible. Maybe they have other reasons. That doesn't matter. There's dreams that won't be fulfilled in the wake of those that didn't come back to these halls. And that haunts you.

You have dreams of your own. When you joined, you wanted to go in, grab the L3 position, and go back home to Germany. Back to your hometown. Or maybe someplace larger, but only just a little bit. You don't quite like the sterile white metal of Helsinki. You find the open air nice, for a while, but you miss being under the canopies of great old woods. When you get back to Germany, you wanna get a job at a bakery again, go back to those simpler days. Wake up in the royal blue twilight, walk through the dew-drenched grass, and follow a simple routine and be free in the afternoon. As you sip on your synthetic chocolate protein shake, you fantasize of coffee and buchteln.

Nothing's really changed with this dream. You still crave the fresh and natural air of Germany, the gusts on the wind. Only, you've begun to realize the scale of the task you have signed up for. You're constantly measuring the worth of things. The risks you take. The worth of your life. The lives of others.

Entering your sardine can of a pod you call “home,” you hit the lights, collapse into your bed, and finish the liquid meal before tossing it onto the floor. The pillow feels good in your arms in the darkness. Good company to have with these chilling thoughts.

On the precipice of this cliffside, those little fingers grasp at yours once again.

With your mind's eye, you see them. You imagine she'd be a girl, like you. Long hair, like your mom. The prettiest eyes. An angel's smile.

There is something between you and her. Things both human and not. They would stand in your way.

And if you let them stand in the way, you let them take that dream of yours. You let them take her. You let them kill her. Though she not yet live in the flesh, she lives in your mind. And your defeat, defeat of the mind or of your body, would mean she would be trapped there. A soul without a body, forever.

You can't let them do that. You won't let anyone kill her. There is no price too steep to pay for her. The wet pillow stops your hand from retracing that motion you learned today, but you do it in your head. You part the tide of monsters and men with a vorpal snicker-snack and to take that soft little hand and lead her out of this place. To someplace better. Back to that warm German hamlet you once knew.

In total silence, sacred silence, you cradle the child that you will have one day. But not today.

The world has set a price on your unborn child's body; a pound of flesh. Though the gods never asked for this, you will gladly pay it.
Manifest temporarily unlocked.

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have this pic of Fiona getting accidentally pinned down at work

>>5837576
Well-written, QM.

Based soundpost using QM, I'm excited to read everything and catch up

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>>5837710
>>5837760
>>5838028
Thanks anons.

I would have declared the end of the thread because I felt that was a good part to end it at, but /qst/ etiquette dictates I wait a little longer.

So now for something completely different.

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You are no lONGEr Fiona JarnAFELdt. You are now someONE else. SomeTHING ELSE.

YOU ARE AUTONOMOUS COMBAT DRONE “D” - ACDD. THERE IS NO INTERNAL RECORD FOR WHAT THE LAST INITIAL STANDS FOR. WHAT IS KNOWN IS THAT YOU ARE A MODIFIED VARIANT OF THE MAINLINE ACD SERIES, BROUGHT TO THIS CITY TO GAUGE THE POTENTIAL OF THE BIOENERGY CONVERTER. IT WAS MADE WITH THE INTENTION OF PERMITTING MID-SORTIE REFUELLING. PROPER TESTING SITUATIONS HAVE BEEN FEW. RESULTS HAVE BEEN TOLERABLE.

IT IS 0140 LOCAL TIME. YOU ARE ON SORTIE #47: “PATROL SECTOR XVIII.” CURRENT COORDINATES 60.179715, 24.952631.

YOU ARE INVESTIGATING REMOTE SECTORS OF THE STORMDRAIN FOR THE FOLLOWING TARGETS:

A: T3 THREAT CALLSIGN “CHATTERBOX;”
B: CHICAGO RED DOG RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PNEUMATIC SUIT TAILORED TO ONE NONOKA SUMIKA;
C: CRATES OF SOLID-STATE HYDROGEN FUEL

YOU HAVE OBTAINED VISUAL ON TARGET A.

THE CAUSE OF THE FLORA GROWTHS IN THIS SECTOR IS UNCLEAR. FOUNDATIONS ARE SECURE AND UNBROKEN; SOIL MUST HAVE BEEN IMPORTED. CONCAVE MIRRORS AND PRISMS REDIRECT, FOCUS, AND DISPERSE SUNLIGHT ACROSS A SMALL ENCLOSURE. SENDING QUERIES TO STORMWATCH - “WAS THIS TREE HERE DURING THE LAST INSPECTION?\nIS ENCLOSURE OF STORMWATCH ORIGIN?\nWHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS PLOT'S CONTINUED EXISTENCE IN A FACILITY MEANT TO REDIRECT WATERFLOW?”

NO RESPONSE.

IRRELEVANT TO YOUR MISSION REGARDLESS.

TARGET A: “CHATTERBOX” SPOTTED WITHIN OVERGROWN ENCLOSURE WITH SIX SECONDARY TARGETS. FOUR MALES, TWO FEMALES, AGED SEVEN TO TWELVE. OBTAINING SYSTEM INPUT.

INPUT FROM L4 ARSI HOTAKAINEN: WITHHOLD ENGAGEMENT. REASON GIVEN: “Do not attack the Lorppo until they leave the enclosure. Striking creatures at that place may yield ill fortune. Observe and record departure time. Return at a later date earlier in the evening and wait to ambush them.”

REASONS AGAINST INPUT: UNFOUNDED SUPERSTITION.
REASONS FOR INPUT: VALID ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTION. NOT IN OPTIMAL STRIKING RANGE.
VERDICT: INPUT ACKNOWLEDGED.

WITHHOLDING ENGAGEMENT.

ANALYZING TARGET.

TARGET A: “CHATTERBOX” IS NOT HOSTILE TO SECONDARY TARGETS. FOUR SECONDARY TARGETS SURROUND PRIMARY TARGET. “CHATTERBOX” BEGIN VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN FINNISH. ANALYSIS – SHORT FORM PLAY WITH MULTIPLE CHARACTERS PLAYED BY THE TARGET'S MULTIPLE HEADS. MORE CHARACTERS THAN ARE ACTORS. TARGET USES A PROP ROD. STYLE OF PLAY IS UNLIKE RECORDED TRADITIONAL FINNISH STYLES. SENDING OBSERVATION TO SYSTEM.

ONE SECONDARY TARGET RETIRES TO A CORNER, EXAMINING FLORA. ELDEST APPROACHES TREE IN CENTER OF ENCLSOURE. THE TREE IS SWAYING. WIND IS NOT PRESENT. A LARGE HALBERD<?> RESTS AGAINST THE TREE.

FOOTSTEPS, BEARING 240. NO SUITABLE HIDING POSITION.

REEVALUATING SITUATION.

TARGET WILL NOT RETURN TO THIS ENCLOSURE IF THEY ARE MADE AWARE YOU ARE PROBING THE AREA. LAST TARGET SIGHTING: TWELVE DAYS AGO. ACDD MISSION PURPOSE: EVALUATE EFFICACY OF BIOENERGY CONVERTER AND COMBAT APTITUDE AGAINST TARGET A: “CHATTERBOX.”

YOUR MAX SPEED IS THIRTY FIVE KILOMETERS AN HOUR.

ENGAGING.

YOU ENTER THE ENCLOSURE, APPROACHING TARGET A'S POSITION RAPIDLY.

ANOMALOUS MOVEMENT DETECTED; HALBERD<?> TIPS OVER<?> IN YOUR DIRECTION. HAFT IS HOLLOW.

MASSIVE CONCUSSIVE FORCE DETECTED. CENTER OF GRAVITY DISPLACED. YOU ENDURE NO DAMAGE FROM COLLISION WITH THE WALL. NO DAMAGE TO FRAME FROM CONCUSSIVE BLAST. HULL INTEGRITY UNCOMPROMISED.

OBSERVATION; COMPRESSED AIR BLAST. ATTACKER NOT VISIBLE.

TARGET A: “CHATTERBOX” APPROACHES RAPIDLY. DEPLOYING BLADES.

BLADE SHARPNESS IS SUFFICIENT. BLADE STOPPING POWER IS NOT SUFFICIENT. TARGET A STRIKES WITH FISTS. HULL INTEGRITY UNCOMPROMISED. CONTINUING ENGAGEMENT.

TARGET'S DISPLACEMENT CAPABILITIES ARE EXCEEDINGLY STRONG. FOOTING LOST. CURRENT AIRBORNE VELCOITY 18.3KM/S. HULL INTEGRITY UNCOMPROMISED.

FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING. REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVING. JUDICIOUS ACTIONS REQUIRED.

TARGET TAKES POSITION OVER YOU. "CHATTERBOX" BLEEDS ONTO ITS FISTS DURING ITS ENGAGEMENT.

HULL INTEGRITY UNCOMPROMISED.

…

BATTERY RECHARGING: 26%+

OBERSVATION: TARGET A "CHATTERBOX" IS INCAPABLE OF DAMAGING FRAME DIRECTLY. CELLULAR ENERGY CONVERSION IS ACTIVE.

NEW COURSE OF ACTION DETERMINED.

YOU RETRACT YOUR EXPOSED POINTS OF STRESS. DISABLING HEADLAMP. DISABLING VOICE MODULE. DISABLING ARM CLAMPS. DISABLING ALL LEDS.

YOU PRESENT ZERO OUTWARD SIGNS OF ACTIVITY. "CHATTERBOX" CEASES COMBAT. A BAG IS THROWN OVER YOU.

BATTERY: 27%

entering sleep mode

_______________________
End of Intermission

bro I am not reformatting all that shit to correct km/s to km/h so just pretend I said that

I'll continue the story after Thanksgiving. Family and all that.

>>5839028
Thank you for running QM!

>>5839013
>A LARGE HALBERD<?> RESTS AGAINST THE TREE.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=aQKDC_Rd1g4

>>5839018
Welp, hope we don't get asked to kill those kids...

Thanks for running, QM!

New thread soon!
Mainly just an OP and final preparations, seeing if anything needs to be explained, and if so, how.

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New thread has launched!
>>5845695
>>5845695
>>5845695
>>5845695
>>5845695