Holy shit, the thread 404'd at work. /tg/'s moving pretty damn fast tonight. I'm just going to repost today's adventure and we'll continue from there.The old threads are here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Fist%20of%20ShadowThings sure are picking up, aren't they? Give 'em a read if you haven't already!
If you missed it last time, we gave Khan the money he needed to make the trip to the Holy City. After thanking us profusely, we parted ways. Erin discovered the dangers of travelling abroad, and as such, decided to return to Terec to help people there with her alchemy, but along the way, groups of people have strangely disappeared. Our only lead is the anecdote of one madman who stared at the black orb in the sky, calling it Pale Luna before vanishing before the next morning. Terec is in an uproar over the disappearances coupled with Master Richards’ vile deeds, and the city grows tenser day after day. Your party has dwindled to you and Jeanne, and you’re not quite sure where to go from here.Here's a list of techniques you know and can learn. http://pastebin.com/QM8BHiUcPeruse at your pleasure.Inventory: 5 wooden shurikens, 2 doses of Heaven Berries, 385 gp (95814 in the bank), a pendant of Ward Fear, two medical kits, about ten feet of rope, 13 healing potions, a watch, and a compass, 5 masterwork throwing daggers (1 enchanted with lightning, 1 with exploding, 1 with homing), 1 orb of light, 4 antidotes, belt of GO FAST.
He hacks and wheezes as he lays in the filth of his home.If it could even be called that. He lives in an alley in between two abandoned, beaten down houses, only his toys keeping him company. With a soft, dying voice, he speaks to each of his creations, the rusty little machines he made out of scrap and refuse. Each one has a name, because each is special to the child. He calls this one Scrappy, because it’s clever. This one’s Scruppy. And that’s Scrippy! Managing a weak smile through the veil of grime, he climbs the fence out of his hovel to go scrounge for food. He hasn’t been so lucky the past couple of days, but this time, this time he knows he’ll find something…Invisibly, he moves through the crowd. The Holy City cares not for a lone, starving orphan. No one looks down to see the small emaciated thing stumbling through the city, looking for one last meal. Each worship building he passes looms over him, ornate appendages black against the blinding brightness of the Shard of Gargonel. Each turns him away. He is too dirty to let in. The Holy City cares not for a lone, starving orphan. Pressing on despite the intense pain in his stomach, or perhaps because of it, he arrives at the marketplace, which is even more crowded than the rest of the city. Men and women chat about nothing and buy overpriced goods while the skeleton of a boy blearily walks past them unnoticed. And then he sees it: The man with a satchel of apples hanging from his waistcloth. He can see nothing else but their red gleam. He is a thief. He knows how to steal food. Silently, he approaches and sticks his hand into the pouch…
And nearly dies of fright when a strong, warm hand grasps his arm. Looking up, the fatigued child sees the red haired man, calm golden eyes staring back at him. One glance is all it takes for the young man to see who needs the food. Wordlessly, he takes an apple out of his pouch and gives it to the boy.“What is your name, child?”The brown-haired boy opens his mouth, but can’t say. He’s never had a name. Nobody’s ever called him anything other than a thief, a blight, a drain on society. So he shuts his hungry mouth onto the apple, feasting on it like a vampire. That’s all he needs to say. The man towering above him gently takes hold of the poor child’s hand and guides him to his home to give the boy a chance at life that he’s never had before…
You blink the sleep out of your eyes and get out of the comfy bed. Glancing around the room, you spot Jeanne curled up into a ball on her bed, clutching her encyclopedia of minerals. What a strange girl. Smiling, you silently begin your morning exercises. A bit of stretching, a bit of contortion… ahhhh, that’s much better. Now you feel like you can really move how you’re supposed to. Jeanne’s still asleep, so you quietly open the wooden door into the hallway of Ingrid’s Inn. Entering the main part of the inn, you sit down on the familiar wooden stool as the familiar brunette grins at you.“G’morning, Shun!” She gives you a familiar greeting. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to just stay here a while longer…No, no, you’ve got to find your master. He expects you to meet with him… somewhere. The Holy City, perhaps? You aren’t quite sure yet, but you do know that you’ve got to get some sort of plan going or else you’re not going to get anywhere at all.
>>19366596This does not sound like MC-kun. . .
>>19366620Oh my god someone finally said something about the flashbacks
You’re not crossing the Darklands if you don’t have to. Seriously, fuck that place, and fuck everything in it. Taking the extra time to scrounge up some gold will definitely be much safer in the long run. Fortunately, you know how to make loads of money pretty quickly. Briskly greeting the morning, you’re back at the wooden shack of the bounty office. The same officer as last time naps behind the glass peacefully. Glancing at the notice board, you only see one bounty: Giovanni. Wanted for the selling of… stardust? Hm. Never heard of it. Strangely enough, you don’t see anything about Jameson. Did someone catch him?
Raising your hand to the slightly scratched glass, you knock a few times to wake the officer up. He sleepily blinks at you.“Hey, what’s stardust?”Yawning, the man says, “One of those newfangled things the kids do to get high. Ruins the community, I tell ya.” You get a strange feeling of déjà vu. “It’s a Shard, grounded up into dust. Said to make you incredibly strong. Makes ya feel invincible, too, but it pretty much melt the brain. Way too dangerous to be on the streets like it is. I’m guessin’ you wanna hunt down Giovanni?” You nod. Scum like that shouldn’t be free. “Alright. Reward’s twenty thousand.” Damn, that’s a lot. It must be important for him to be put behind bars.
“Got any information for me?”He shrugs. “Not too much. All we know for sure is that he’s got some dealers working for him in the city. Every time we nab one of them, he offs himself before we get the chance to grill him.” Hm. Squealing must be far worse, you figure. “But you’ve proven yourself to be a capable bounty hunter. I’m sure you can get something from one of them. As for stardust, it’s glowing dust. Extremely valuable, so they’ll be careful with it. Pretty hard to miss.” He stretches wide and yawns. “Anything else you need?”
You thank the officer for his time and immediately hit the streets. From rooftop to rooftop, you stalk an unknown quarry, eyes peeled for anything even slightly suspicious. For two days, you wait and watch. It isn’t until the third night that you finally spot your mark: a man clothed in robes, shuffling around in an alleyway, nervously waiting in the dark. After a few minutes, a ragged woman walks up to him and hands him a satchel. He opens it and looks inside for a few seconds before handing her a different bag. A dim glow shines out when she looks inside. They go their separate ways into the cover of night, their shady deal complete.Now, what to do next…
Shadows hiding you, you slink from roof to roof, making sure to stay silent. He takes quite the meandering path, as if to throw off anyone who may be following him, but he eventually arrives at a wooden building on the edge of the city, right next to the pearly white walls. The building isn’t particularly big, and you recognize this section of the city: it’s mostly residential. If you had to guess, you’ve followed this man back to his home.Sneaking your way down to street level, you circle the house, looking for any alternate entrances. The front door looks like the only way inside or out. Excellent. Peeking into each window, you spy chairs, tables, bookcases, a kitchen... pretty standard living arrangements. Sighing, the man removes his robe and sits on his bed, pulling something out from underneath it. You can't quite tell what it is from here, but you can guess what that is. Putting out the torch that lights his unadorned room, he lays down and goes to sleep.He'll never see you coming.
With a crash, you leap through the window into the darkness of the bedroom. Before the man even has the time to register what’s going on, you have him pinned down, a shadow knife poking into his side. You growl, “You know it's in bad taste to be selling drugs in the community. Where do you get your product?"The young man underneath you begins to sputter, “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about! Who the hell are you?!” Oh, he’s playing dumb. That’s cute.You smash your head into his face, and the warm feel of blood on your forehead tells you his nose is broken. "It's pretty hard to be playing dumb about grinding up Shards for people to snort. Do you have any idea what you're doing to those you're selling your stardust to? I'll ask again. Where do you get your product? Where is Giovanni?"The man starts to panic. “I-I… I…” You feel his body sharply move underneath you to try and stab himself, but you were prepared for that. Dispersing it at the last second, you jab him in the kidneys twice to discourage such things in the future. He wails in pain and starts to scream for help, so you wrap your hand around his throat. Just enough to shut him up.“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The body underneath you quakes in fear.After giving it a squeeze, you let go of his throat. “I got it from an empty warehouse in the Icarus District! Just don’t hurt me anymore, please!” Just the answer you were looking for.Now, what should you do with this guy?
Your hand tightens around his neck. “Which warehouse?”The man chokes out, “3-A!” As a sign of thanks, you loosen up a bit. Just a bit, though.“Where are you getting the Shards to make this stardust?"Wheezing, he says, “I don’t know! I just sell it! Some guy at the warehouse sells it to me, I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow night!” You grin. Finally, something you can use."I don't ever want to see you carrying stardust again. I don't know what made you decide to peddle this stuff, but you're hurting yourself by carrying it, and you're hurting others by giving it to them. For your sake and the sake of others, give it up. It'll be good for you." Face growing purple, he nods at you. Letting go, you leap back outside soundlessly. Another successful interrogation.You’ve got time until the meeting tomorrow, though.Back at the inn, Jeanne sits on her bed with a new stack of books. Man, she blows through them outrageously fast. “Jeanne, I may need your help tomorrow.” She stares at you expectantly. “I’m going to a warehouse tomorrow to try and root out a drug dealer for a bounty. Something might go wrong, and I want you to be there just in case. Will you come?”She nods, “Of course.” And then goes immediately back to her book. God, you can understand the appeal of reading, but this seems a little outrageous. It’s all she does!
And that's where we are. The idea before I left was to go buy some inconspicuous clothes for Jeanne and yourself and head to the deal.But that was what those other guys wanted to do.
>>19366704Get inconspicuous clothes, and couple outfits and maybe hit the Daedalus workshops if Jeanne wants different armor.
Putting the night behind you, you rest in preparation for the hunt tomorrow.The next morning you make it a point to drag Jeanne to a tailor to hastily whip up something less strange for her to wear. However, given the time constraints, all they’re able to do is patch it up (rather well, you’ve noticed) and throw together some pants while drastically shortening the length of her dress. If anything, she seems even more comfortable with it than before, and despite its utter simplicity, she wears it very regally. Unfortunately the arm and leg guards need to go if she’s not to arouse any suspicion, but you just stick that into your inventory. On the other hand, you don’t have anything they can modify to be a little more… subtle. Your armor would get in the way of the tailors, and your gi can’t really be changed quickly. Dammit. Hm… actually…A while later, you walk out of the store in your old foresty garb, which is now fixed up. You feel like you blend in a hell of a lot better, and Jeanne seems to mildly enjoy the newish clothes. The sky is bathed in the orange of twilight.
>>19366935Oops, forgot the trip.
>>19366935First we scope the place out while looking as boring as possible, blend into the crowd. Get a feel for the streets around 3-A, routes to take in and out, patrols, suspicious activity, gather information before we kick down the door.
You spend the next hour lazily milling about around the warehouse. Of course, you aren’t actually milling about, but it sure looks like it to anyone else. Must be the clothes. “A true assassin’s garb,” your master used to say. It doesn’t look like there’s too many ways in. The roof is a possible entry point, as is the loading door out front and a boarded up door in the back. You never see anyone going in or out of the building, and there’s nobody posted around. You’d never think to look here.If you didn’t know this was the location of a drug house.
>>19366999Jeanne, how good are you at sneaking about and not being seen? I'm figuring I enter the building and you wait on the roof, if I need you I'll signal you. I'll deal with what I can through subterfuge but if things go south I'll want you as backup.
You motion for Jeanne to come over. “Jeanne, how good are you at sneaking about and not being seen? I'm figuring I enter the building and you wait on the roof, if I need you I'll signal you. I'll deal with what I can through subterfuge but if things go south I'll want you as backup.” She shakes her head. She can’t do stealth. Alright, that’s fine. You can still manage this. Hmm… Somehow…
>>19367089Ok then, when we come back for the operation at night we'll see how well guarded the back and front doors are, if we need her it'll be rather loud, tell her if it sounds like things are going bad to bust in and do what she does best. She's our plan B.
>>19367106Night's in like two hours.
>>19367140We know as much of the layout as we can get from outside, we have a basic plan, we sneak in and if things go badly Jeanne comes on in guns blazing. The only thing left to check is whether they have any sentries on the roof. After that we should probably leave, staying for 3 hours would be suspicious and come back during the nighttime to do what we do best.
Pausing, you reach out to the shadows, enticing information from them. Slowly, slowly... the whole place is empty, except for one person inside of the warehouse. They don't seem to be moving. Asleep, perhaps? Hm. You'll find out more later.
>>19367231That is rather fishy, we're going to have to be really cautious when we go in on this one. I'm slightly worried that this is a trap.
You spend a few hours in the city with Jeanne, who keeps pace behind you most of the way, utterly silent as always. You do a bit of sightseeing, check up on Erin, and generally relax. When the crowds in the street die out with the waning of the Shard, you arrive back at the warehouse. Feeling the shadows, you can tell that whoever's inside is moving around a bit. It doesn't look like they're doing anything important, though. They're still the only one here, though.
>>19367276Interesting. Even if it's a trap it still is our only lead on this, have Jeanne wait outside the back door just in case and head up to the rooftop to enter from above.
“Jeanne, wait by the back door. If you hear anything strange, I want you in there as quickly as possible.” Nodding, she departs to wait. Climbing up to the rooftop as silently as the wind, you look around for a way in. A skylight. Perfect. Walking over, you peer down into it… and you see a robed man fiddling around with something at a table. From a different vantage point, you note the mattress in a corner. Interesting. You could sneak in and climb on the ceiling, or… Well, he does happen to be right underneath you.
>>19367375As tempting as death from above may be, I don't like the look of this. Steak in and climb on the ceiling, get down, see what's on the table and get more information before offing the guy, I don't want to walk right into a guy on PCP made out of magic shards.
Quietly opening the skylight, you stick to the ceiling of the warehouse as you scope out the area. It’s surprisingly clean down there- the table’s got some scales on it, and the man’s moving around some bags to and from each scale. After a while, he walks over to a box covered up by some curtains… and opens it up, a dim glow emanating from it. Bingo. There’s a ton of the stuff down there. It’s a damn shame someone would waste that many Shards instead of using them for science or magic or SOMETHING. Oh well. He takes a bit of the dust and returns to the scales. He seems utterly complacent. How foolish of him.
>>19367454Ok, sneak up on him, bind his legs with shadow and get a knife to his throat, start interrogation and be careful of the possibility of him being far stronger than he should be.
Dropping to the floor as silently as a leaf, your shadows spring up from the darkness and grasp his arms and legs, dragging him to the ground with a slam. “What the hell-“ He’s cut off by a shadow knife sticking out of your foot pointed as his neck. You’re able to get a good look at him now. He’s young. Not much older than you. His robes look like a shabbier version of the mage’s garb. Interesting.“Good evening.”“Who the fuck are you!?” You've been getting that a lot lately.
>>19367557"Your worst nightmare, butthorn. At least assuming you have no intention to stop peddling all that stardust. I'm sure some parent somewhere fears for her kid because of what you're doing."Where do you get your supply? Where is Giovanni?"
You scowl at the struggling man beneath you. "Your worst nightmare, butthorn. At least assuming you have no intention to stop peddling all that stardust. I'm sure some parent somewhere fears for her kid because of what you're doing.”At the mention of stardust, his body stops thrashing around. “So that’s what this is about. So, what do you want? Money? The dust? What?” You poke his neck a bit with your knife. “I want information. Where do you get your supply? Where is Giovanni?"He spits up at you. Goddamn, people do that way too much. “Like hell if I’m telling you. I’m not pissing off the most powerful underlord in the world.” Hm. When he puts it like that, twenty thousand seems like a pittance.
>>19367678Fucking trip.
>>19367678"That's why you're not the one getting in trouble if you just tell me what I want to know. Where do you get the Shards to make stardust? Where can I find Giovanni?"
"That's why you're not the one getting in trouble if you just tell me what I want to know. Where do you get the Shards to make stardust? Where can I find Giovanni?""I said you're not getting anything out of me. I have payments to make, and if he doesn't get his money on time, he'll do things to me far worse than what you can dish out."Is he trying to entice you? Cause that's what it seems like.
>>19367740"I can dish out plenty. One less black heart haunting the underworld makes life a little easier."...Why did you start peddling, mind my asking?"
You dig your blade into his shoulder. "I can dish out plenty. One less black heart haunting the underworld makes life a little easier."He looks away. "Fine, then. Just make it quick." The shadows on his face make it difficult to properly gauge his emotions."...Why did you start peddling, mind my asking?""For the money, of course."Fuck this guy. He's scum.
>>19367941"Well, if you have no objections about me offing your boss, I'll ask you one more time."Where is Giovanni? Your product doesn't just appear out of thin air."
You sigh heavily. "Well, if you have no objections about me offing your boss, I'll ask you one more time. Where is Giovanni? Your product doesn't just appear out of thin air."He looks away and squirms. “Alright, I’ll tell you… as long as you do it quick.”“Do what?”“Kill me. Giovanni’ll make it far worse if I walk out of this building next week without his money. It looks like I'm fucked no matter what happens, so I might as well get it done quick, right?”
>>19367981"And you don't trust the guards and police of Terec...why, again?"
You’re a little confused here. "And you don't trust the guards and police of Terec...why, again?"“Most powerful underlord on the planet, remember? He’s got eyes and ears everywhere. You can’t hide from Giovanni. You can’t. I’d be found in a week, and my body parts wouldn’t be found for years after that. If at all.”
>>19368015"Would you sooner chance the Darklands, then?"Where is he?"
>>19368015"Giovanni is about to catch a bad case of Death. If you really want to die that badly, I'll do it for you, but it's never too late to turn your life around."
You finally bring the knife out of his shoulder and point it back at his throat. "Would you sooner chance the Darklands, then?”The man chuckles darkly. “I’m sure that’s in his plan somewhere.” "Giovanni is about to catch a bad case of Death. If you really want to die that badly, I'll do it for you, but it's never too late to turn your life around."“There won’t be a life for me to turn around if I tell you, and if I don’t, then I’m not any better off, now am I?Your steely gaze meets his eyes. He looks calm, surprisingly so for a man so young."Where is he?"“I don’t know.” He grunts in pain as his blood grows into a pool beneath him. “But I get my dust from a secret pier in a cave a few miles away from Terec. The boat there goes to Holy City, but I don’t know if he’s there or not.”The Holy City? That sounds too good to be true…
>>19368081A hidden ferry to the Holy City?"Where is this cave? How many men? How often does it ship out?"
"Where is this cave? How many men? How often does it ship out?" He coughs into the darkness. “About ten miles out, by the Starry Seas. Follow the beach until you see a cave, and then head inside. Boat only shows up at night, once a month. As for the men, there’s… I dunno, a couple dozen that stay there?” His head rolls to the side as he looks at the boxes. “Ha. I guess that’s that. There’s your information. Happy now?”
>>19368125"Very."Smash the boxes of stardust with a shadow grenade."I don't want to see your face or your stardust again. Clear out and never return. I have some words for your boss. I'm sure I can make him see reason."Walk out.>thmote chemistry
You grin widely. "Very." Whirling darkness around your palm, an inky orb forms in your hand. Hurling it into the box, it explodes, sending glittering dust all over the floor of the dim warehouse. "I don't want to see your face or your stardust again. Clear out and never return. I have some words for your boss. I'm sure I can make him see reason." You turn to leave.You hear the young man scream from behind you, “We had a deal, you bastard! You can't do this!”
>>19368208Man, my fatigue is making it hard to remember my trip.
>>19368208Riddle him with shadow needles, but take care not to pierce anything vital. Make it convincing."There. Now you're dead, at least for a day or two. The underworld cannot harass he who is already dead, right?">>19368222Thread archived because dang it's late.
>>19368232Er, maybe it's because I'm tired, but what's the logic behind slightly maiming him?
>>19366620>>19366611At first I thought the guy with the apples was going to be Khan... Khan has red hair, right? In my mental image he does.
>>19368269Khan's a blonde, sir.
>>19368251He's worried that if we leave him alive, Giovanni will mutilate him and kill him himself. By "helping him pretend" to be dead, he gets a chance to escape and live a new life. At least that's the idea.
>>19366690Haha, this was stupid.Should have stalked him for several days more without making us known, he would have led us to his suppliers anyway. Have you guys forgotten what happened the last time when we got information from someone under duress?Anyway, lets see how it will play out....
>>19368357Hey, it paid off. We made it to the warehouse, and he got us to his dealer.
He never sees the shadow needles impaling him from behind. With a gurgle he slams into the cold ground, nearly dead. You didn’t hit anything vital, but he’s bleeding a little bit. Not enough to kill him unless he somehow goes a few hours without medical attention. But that should help him cover his tracks. Or something like that. Either way, you’ve got what you needed. Heading through a window by the back, you meet up with Jeanne, who raises an eyebrow inquisitively.
>>19368375"We've found our stardust source. And, I think, a free trip to the Holy City. What'cha think?"
You grin widely at your only companion. "We've found our stardust source. And, I think, a free trip to the Holy City. What'cha think?"Shrugging ambivalently, she says in a hoarse voice, “Is that what you want?” “Um… yes.”She smiles faintly while staring off into the dark distance, blue eyes hazy and lost in thought. “Then that is good.” Heh, it looks like she’s starting to open up a bit. You were thinking she’d never come around. It feels nice.
>>19368360Well, I prefer we be as subtle as possible. We didn't even have to interrogate the warehouse manager (or whatever they are called in drug-business). Stalk the dealer, find the warehouse, stalk the warehouse for 2 weeks or so, find the supplier, etc.Slow, yes, but much more safe.>>19368390>>19368375Lets put on our armor first.Also, we NEED to teach Jeanne stealth. She is a very quick learner and picks up things fast, I think she could be proficient at stealth after a month of training and tutoring
Holy shit I need to stop before I pass out.Sorry about today, guys, real life's being a bitch right now. I won't be able to run the quest Thursday, it's my only day off this week and I really need it right now.
>>19368433We should visit Erin before we leave, it is possible we wont come back for a long time.Bring her a parting gift maybe? I dunno, a necklace?
>>19368444Alright man, hope you get your things in order.Don't forget to archive this thread.
>>19368444As always, I'll answer questions and take feedback and shit.
>>19368455MAA, as always, archived it already. Goddamn that fucker's helpful.
>>19368464
>>19368471... you have a picture for everything, don't you?And holy SHIT I was scrambling at work to think of a way to finally get you guys to go to the Holy City. We've been fucking around for way too long.
>>19368488I was wondering when you noticed how long it's been dragging.We'll still have to do our Q&A library trip at some point.
>>19368501I noticed it as soon as everybody wanted to get a party together and actually try and meet the outrageous price of the ferry FOR EACH PERSONLOL WUT DU FOK GUISEAnd fuck it I'll just do the Q&A now while I have all my material up.
>>19368515Eh, later.
>>19368515hey, it's your fault for driving us into a dead-end with no visible way out. Go there - dieGo here - dieGo that way - back where you started.So we had to try SOMETHINGSure, we could have stayed in Terec for another half of a year grinding but that would be boring for you.
>>19368607Yeah, I know, it's what I get for writing like this.But still, I've been throwing overly hazardous shit at you throughout this entire thing, and you've only come out stronger for it.
>>19368623Well, we almost died several times already, so we're very very careful now.
>>19368635Pssshhh.>You guys get cornered into a fight with a gargoyleOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>You guys get hunted by DawnchasersOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>Everything in the underground jungleOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>That templeOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>Walk up to a bunch of Manhunters and pick a fightOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>Fight the champion of the Gold TournamentOH SHIT WE'RE FUCKED>Go out into a field of vampires and other shit while at the height of your powerEh no thanks the ferry's totally a better idea even though we know you'll fuck us over anyway
>>19368666I'm so tired I don't even know if this post makes any goddamn sense or gets what I was thinking across.Speaking of crosses, that's what my eyes are doing. Goodness. I'll be back later to talk about the quest.
>>19368693Fuck me I just slept for 9 hours.
