This was a month ago.

From what you've learned later, after Lesa awoke from the venom-induced sleep, she and Nencre carried you and Boynik -- who also suffered wounds in the fight with the other balarmic -- for four days, until you've reached their clan's encampment. There, after some negotiations, you've received proper medical aid and began the slow process of recovery.

You have vague recollections of these days. The discomfort of having your wounds cleaned and redressed. The weight of the cast around your foreleg. Hands forcing food into your mouth. The ever-present exhaustion and weakness.

By now you are strong enough to tend to yourself and growing stronger every day. For two weeks now, you've had the energy to focus on what was being said to you -- and to remember it. And Lesa, who is your primary caretaker, has been babbling nigh-constantly.

True to what she told you, the Crag Claw were quick to make her part of their clan. She is sad that you missed the ceremony. She already knows every clan member by name. They value their skill with wound mending and bone setting.

Boynik will not recover fully from his injuries. The wounds to his legs left him with a limp. The Crag Claw lost a warrior -- the best he can do is train young kobolds how to fight, but the clan's fighting force suffered.

Especially since the Crag Claw are the ones raiding caravans. They are retaliating against recent attacks on other clans in the mountains. These attacks are horror stories she whispers of, eyes wide with fear. Entire clans gone overnight -- and always only adults, leaving the children behind.

However, the more pressing question is, what do you do next? Your foreleg is almost mended and you should be strong enough to fly again within a week. And while Lesa tries to hide this from you, it is clear that whatever obligation the clan felt towards healing you, is all but spent along with the resources the process demanded. Also, there is no denying that you've fulfilled your promise -- Lesa is among her own kind once more.

So… what shall you do now?

>Previous Threads: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=winged+lizard+quest

>>23046800

Focus on regaining our health over the next week and see if we can help the kobolds with something as thanks.

>>23046800
head back try to find that mage guy he seamed pretty cool

continue healing, stay with lesa

"You wanted to see me, balarmic."

The voice wakes you up from one of the many naps you find yourself taking throughout the day. The light coming in through the cave's opening tells you it's still early afternoon.

You blink rapidly to clean your eyes and focus on the figure standing in the entrance. Kobold. Tall. Old. Female.

"Huh?"
"I said, you wanted to see me," the voice now carries a hint of annoyance. "Or did Lesa lie to me?"
"I didn- What did she tell you?"
"She said you want to repay the Crag Claw for the food you ate and bandages you soiled."
"That is true."
"Admirable. But tell me, balarmic," the kobold steps closer and you notice her missing eye and thick scars criss-crossing her snout, "of what use are you to the clan?"

>>23047858
I can fly and scout, I can send messages through the mind, I am cuddly and cute and will lure adventurers to their doom

>>23047879
also I hide well

"I can fly -- I would make a good scout."
"Hrm."
"I can also hide very well. And speak to people with my mind."
"Yes, you can, can't you," the kobold's face is unreadable. "Well-known skill for balarmics to have. Speak into someone's head, get them to do something they wouldn't otherwise do. Like convincing a warrior to go into a needless battle that makes him a cripple of little use to his clan."

She pauses, waiting for your response.

>>23048273
didn't do that.... said I would fight with or with out help that all

>>23048273
I never talked into his head, you can ask him yourself,

"I didn't do that," you protest. "I only told Boynik I'd fight with or without him. Out loud. Not inside his head."
"Prove it."
"How?"
"Them's the bitch, ain't it," she smiles. It's a predatory sort of smile. Full of teeth. "Lesa tells me she raised you herself in the wild. No way for you to get training in head games. Of course," the smiles gets slightly wider, "she also tells me you convinced her to suddenly abandon her old life and follow you across the desert for two months with no real purpose or destination."
"I didn't do it. I'd never do something like that."
"Let's say I believe you. What do you think that changes?"

>>23048579
Means it was his choice to help and take risk of being hurt in fight.

>>23048579
Offer to suck her dick to mollify her, that should do the trick.

>>23048579
it means he helped to save another kobold, regardless of the danger to himself without my coercion, and if you do not believe me? why would I attack another of my kind to save one of your kind?

"It means the risk he took was his choice. And that he saved another kobold in the process."
"This is not what I mean," she frowns, sounding disappointed. "That you didn't pick up on the intent behind my question is understandable, given your isolated upbringing. But ultimately inexcusable."
"What did you mean?"
"Someone's annoyed by my jab, I see," the smile returns. "I mean that you only care about whether or not what you say is true. Meanwhile, I have to care about what my clan believes."

>>23048964
what would you have me do?

>>23048964
and what do they believe?

>>23048964
Your clan not believe what you say?

"Your clan does not believe what you tell them then?"
"Ouch. Walked right into that one, didn't I?" she shakes her head. "Paradox of leadership, this -- they'll do what you tell them, but only if you tell them what they want to believe."
"And what do they believe?"
"That you led the other balarmic to attack your friend, bewitched Boynik and fought your own kind all as a part of a grand ploy to bring ruin to the clan -- never mind that you could drop a mountain through the holes in that story. Half of them are already convinced that I will walk out of here with a glazed expression and declare you friend to all kobolds forever."
"What would you have me do then?"
"Good question. Your offer to repay our kindness -- I did not anticipate that. You were supposed to get better then leave without a word of thanks, thus proving everyone's opinion of your kind is true. I'm thinking, this may be your only option."

She falls silent for a moment.

"Then again, your friend simply won't shut up about how smart and clever you are. So maybe you can prove her right and come up with a better alternative?"

These clans that have been dying. What have the surviving children been saying?

>>23049468
We can leave if this guy wants.

We can check up on other clans, or scout, or what have you.

Though really... We're willing to try and make it up to them, but if they insist on assuming we're the devil, we might just let them and leave.

>>23049468
well at the very least you could kick me out and look strong enough to resist those mind games

>>23049978
If that's the best thing we can do, it's something at any rate.

We could offer to try and teach the kobolds to resist telepathy. We can't do it effectively, of course, but we could try and introduce them to what it's like and make an attempt to immitate what the other pseudodragons did to us. At best, we'd get to practice our psychic abilities and make these kobolds immune to further mental attack. Worst, however, is a lot worse.

>>23050143
i'm not sure if they would even let you try since they would all think you are just trying to mind rape all of them

>>23050290
Well, controlled circumstance, and it might be worth enough to them that they'd risk it.

It's an offer, at least. (And might convince them that we can't actually mindrape people into obedience.)

"You've had clans disappearing… or dying? And only the children remain. Is that correct?"

The kobold's expression doesn't change, but you can see her eyes light up.

"That's what you'd want to help with? Solve the mystery of the missing clans? Chase down the great boogeyman of the mountains?" she approaches you with a half-smile. "Aiming high, aren't we?"
"These children -- what have they been saying?"

Before she can answer, you both hear the rattle of falling stones outside. Before your eyes, the kobold undergoes a near-instant transformation. Her shoulders hunch. She leans heavily on a carved staff that suddenly appears in her hand and before she wheels around to face the entrance, you notice her remaining eye narrow into a beady squint.

"Who there? Who interrupt chief?" she bellows in a reedy, breathless voice. "Chief say, no interrupt when with balarmic. Say name or chief gut like hare, see if she don't!"
"Uh, er, sorry, chief," comes a young and frightened male voice and a kobold silhouette appears in the entrance. "This Neno."
"Neno? Neno what guards the chicken coop? Where chicken coop? Chief not see chickens here. Does Neno think chief is chicken?" she demands, shaking her fist at the guard.
"What? No! Nonononono! Chief not chicken! Chief chief!" the other kobold protests in a panicky voice. "Neno here cause other guards come to Neno and say, Neno, chief with balarmic for long time. Neno go, ask chief if all fine."
"Oh," the chieftess' anger deflates. "Neno good to worry about chief. But Neno stupid to let Gaura tell Neno what to do," the anger comes back in a flash. "Neno not chief guard. Gaura chief guard! Gaura should be asking chief if chief fine! Neno go tell Gaura chief and Gaura will talk long 'bout Gaura being coward. GO!" she yells when the other kobold doesn't move. He disappears from view immediately, while the chieftess spends a few moments looking after him, breathing heavily.

"Where were we then?" she turns back to you, straightening up and speaking in her normal voice.
"The children…"
"The children saw nothing and heard nothing. Always the same story. Went to sleep in the evening, woke up the next day and poof. Everyone but them is gone. Whatever happened, they slept through the whole thing. Sometimes, some of the smarter ones look around, find human tracks all over the village. But never any tracks leading in or out. So we know that it's the humans doing it -- but we don't know how. Or why."

She frowns deeply and looks down, digging at the dirt with her staff.

"You sure you'd want to get involved with that, balarmic? Cause it smells all kinds of wrong to me. Sure you wouldn't prefer I just kicked you out?"
"And showed the clan you're strong enough to resist these mind games of mine in the process."
"Wouldn't hurt my reputation any," she smiles.

How should you reply?

>by the time I noticed people decided to take this in a different direction, I had the update practically finished. Sorry.

>>23050398
>no worries

"Trying to help you. Whatever you prefer."

We could leave and be forever condemned by this tribe of kobolds; probably wouldn't change too much for us. Us wanting to help them is mostly us wanting to help them; if scaring us out and making the chief look badass is the kind of help they want, it's all the same to us.

>>23050398
If we just leave then the disappearing could happen to this clan and we wouldn't even know. Which is important because Lesa is part of this clan now. Maybe we have to leave her but definitely not until she's safe.

"Unfortunately for your reputation, you made Lesa part of your clan. And I promised not to leave her until she is safe -- and what you are telling me means she is anything but safe."
"Are you saying the Crag Claw cannot protect its own?"
"Are you saying that you know how to protect your clan from suddenly disappearing when you don't even know how it's happening?"

You glare at one another for a bit.

"Very well," she relents. "The whole reason you're here is because you nearly bled to death for her sake. Shame on me for forgetting than," she grins. "But I'm still kicking you out anyway."
"What?"
"Think! If I tell the clan what you want to do, first thing they'll do is scream their lungs out that you're going to make everyone disappear yourself," she scoffs. "Besides, I don't see how you'll discover anything by staying here, unless your plan is to wait around for us to go poof. By the way -- what is your plan?"

>>23051174
(Hell yes, Lizquest!)
We have an excellent plan! That we will tell you! And it is a good plan! And it iiiiiiiiiiiiiissss...

...

Uh, do you have any of the harnesses from other balarmics?

We can infiltrate the humans and spy on them, maybe?

>>23051174
My plan was wait around for them to go poof.
I guess we should investigate the sites where clans have disappeared. Maybe we'll spot something new. No footprints in and out means that they could be flying and we know a lot more about flying than the kobolds. There's almost definitely magic involved so wizard dude would be useful if we can get him to help.
Whatever, ask her for a guide/map/directions to the sites.

>>23051174
"Well, so much for plan A..."

File: 1360362912936.jpg-(56 KB, 700x508, drago4_copy.jpg)

56 KB JPG

>>23051495
lets investigate the sites of poofing. I suspect the kobalds may be taken as slaves but why would they leave the children?

State that we are concerned about our friend and that we feel that we have a debt to the tribe to repay as well.

>>23051765
Maybe ask about a harness still, in case our search leads us inside a city?

We aren't telepathic, right? Like, can't read minds?

So no hope in rooting around in one of the children's head to see if they've been tampered with, right?

>>23051850
I'm not sure we're NOT, we've never really tried to do any more than talk, have we?
The kobolds accounts - unreliable as they are - heavily suggests we're not doing all we could with our mind-related abilities.

>>23051850
we are amateurs, likely well scramble their brains up good.

>>23051979
Fair enough.

>>23051979
If we decide to see if we can influence others actions or examine their minds in addition to one-way telepathy, I really doubt we should train that skill on our friends.

Before you answer, you consider what you already know…

Humans are involved. Maybe you could infiltrate them and see what they know. Disguise yourself as one of the other balarmics to avoid suspicion… but you don't think Nencre bothered with recovering any of the slain pseududragons' equipment. And that mesh they wore looked tight. Very tight. And… meshy. Binding. And they were both smaller than you anyway. Next idea.

No footprints on approaches to the camps means the humans must be flying. You know a lot about flying, but you've never seen a human fly and you aren't sure if they can.

Magic may be involved. That's something Marcus would know about. But it's been more than a month since you've seen him. You have no idea how long it would take to reach him, or even where to start looking for him.

"Actually, waiting for you to go poof was my plan…"
"What?!"
"Joking, I will need the locations of the disappeared clans," you say while she scowls at you.
"You think you can spot something that we didn't?"
"Something that frightened and confused children didn't," you retort. "And I can fly. I can go places you wouldn't even think about searching."
"Not yet you can't, balarmic. Not with the wounds you took. Lesa tells we you won't be good to fly for another month. So I'm guessing… a week or two more of eating our food? I can wait that long. And you'll get your directions -- and maybe even some supplies for the road. But I want something in exchange, balarmic."
"What's that?"
"A good show when I cast you out. Nothing like a bit of theatrics to let the clan know their chief is doing her job."

Then she turns around, hunches over again and hobbles out of the cave.

>Timeskip incoming. If you want any particular "theatrics" when Oris is cast out, request them now.

Rolled 60

>>23052135
She should kick us and wave her stick about, and we make a good show of being wounded and running (flying) off terrified.

>>23052135
How about a small theatre of what looks like a mental battle, with the chief telling the other kobolds to stay back 'cause she'll handle us herself.
Then we stop, changing expression entirely to one of submission, and kneel before her, making the kobolds believe that she dominated OUR mind when we tried to influence hers.

Way better to be seen as a dominated enemy forced to do a task for them than an enemy that escaped, right?

>>23052296
But then we won't get any credit for the task and they'll still hate our guts after we save them.

>>23052296
Hell, we can even telepathically give the chief cues for a stagefight.

Sounds cool.

>>23052715
Which would be different compared to if we were thrown out.. How?
You may be right, they might value it more if we seem to have done it of our own free will, but I doubt it.

>>23052850
Yes, I think saving their whole tribe from being wiped out might make them slightly grateful. You think they just won't care?

Rolled 17

>>23053115
We'd be doing that anyway, though.
I believe the only difference between if we seem to do it out of our own free will and if we seem to be mentally dominated by the elder is how suspicious they'll be that we only saved them to lead them into another trap, or are lying about saving them at all.

>>23053271
Yes. If they believe we only saved them because we were mentally dominated they'll still think we're evil and be suspicious of us.
If they think we saved them of our own free will they will be less suspicious of us and think that maybe Lesa was right about us being pretty cool.

It does turn out to be an impressive show.

You're warming yourself outside in the midday sun after one of the increasingly longer flights you've been taking over the past week, when you hear distant bellowing and then see the chieftess hobbling towards you with thunder in her eye and curses on her lips, followed by several scowling kobolds clutching spears.

She hollers and bays and threatens and howls. Spittle flies from her lips. She accuses you of trying to steal her dreams and her mind and of trying to turn her warriors against her.

She shakes her stick a lot. And uses it to wallop one of the warriors who actually tries to stab you (apparently they were not in on the whole thing), while telling him off for risking your spirit running up his spear and stealing his soul.

She then wallops you a few times, until you remember to look contrite instead of bemused. So you grovel before her in the dirt and stammer out apologies and pleas for mercy while she demands to know a single kobold of the tribe who would not wish to see you squirm on the end of a spear.

As if on cue, Lesa appears, shielding you with her own body and wailing the way only she can manage. She begs and pleads and blubbers, saying that you did not mean anything, that you were just seeking to protect her and make sure she was safe. This goes on for a bit.

Finally, the chieftess cuts Lesa off with a gesture. With a grim expression, she passes judgment. The balarmic is an insidious and evil beast, she says. Black-hearted and set in its duplicitous ways. Even if it only sought to protect the one it sees as its mother, there is no room for such a creature in the Crag Claw clan. It is therefore cast out now and forever.

You hiss and protest and even threaten (a bit), but the chieftess is implacable. Your choice is immediate banishment or death by stoning.

Finally, she gives you a good kick. You take it as your cue to leave.

You hear loud cheering as you disappear over the ridge.

>>23053271
>>23053405
I'm really just guessing based on how they seemed to be more of the "no matter what he does, he only does to betray us later" persuasion.
That could easily be a misjudgement, though.

In the evening, Lesa finds you at the prearranged meeting point. She gives you a pack of provisions -- a side pocket she tore off of her backpack and sewed onto a leather harness that goes around your body. She gets you to put it on and take it off several times, until she's sure you know how to strap yourself in.

Then it's time to say goodbye.

"Lesa know Oris cannot come back," she mumbles after she's done crying all over you. "But Lesa always remember Oris. Never forget. Oris Lesa's friend."

Any last words for her before you leave?

>>23053517
Awesome.
Wait, am I getting my responses crosswired again?

>>23053547
goodbye lesa... we'll always be friends right?

>>23053547
hug her for a long time the leave

>>23053547
Thank her for all the stuff, tell her that we love her (as a sister/mother), will always remember her, and that we're only leaving to protect her.
We also promise to come back and call her if we get a chance.

Then we nag her about all the different things she need to remember and make sure she remembers everything we taught her, 'cause if something happens to her we'll have to come back and nag her for hours on end about how she should be more careful.
Like us.

(Oh, and hugs. Many hugs)

"Thank you for everything, Lesa. And I mean everything," you mutter. "You raised me. You're family. A family that I love. And that I'm only leaving to protect."

Then you hug her for a long time. Your arms may be too short to put around her, but your wings are more than enough.

"Besides, you realize I'm coming back at some point, right?" you inject as much cheer into your voice as you can. "Banishment or no. So keep yourself out of trouble, or when I do come back, I'll nag you until your head falls off."

She giggles despite herself and you launch into the air.

"Goodbye, Lesa," you say quietly.

And then you leave.

You reach the Bloodied Fang clan camp four days later. There were abandoned sites you could have reached quicker, but according to the chieftess this was the most recent disappearance -- the Crag Claw got word of it only two days before you left.

The setup is superficially similar to what you saw at the Crag Claw. A cave network serving as living quarters and food storage -- a few animals have already taken up residence there. Fields -- the crops unharvested and eaten by birds. Lookout posts scattered around the camp -- empty. The only real difference is that instead of an artificial lake, the Bloodied Fangs built a large water cistern partially sunk into the ground.

Where should you start looking -- and what exactly are you looking for?

Tell her we'll always remember her too. Lesa Oris' friend as well. (she is effectively our older sister, kinda)

Then it's goodbye and fare well.

use our senses to see if we can't detect anything outta place, magic, gas, whatever, something had to keep the children asleep afterall. Use your nose to see if you can't pick up the scnet of the humans that were there as well. Maybe we can pick up a clue from how they smell.

>>23054264
;_;

>>23054272
We look for tracks, feathers, clawmarks (even in the rock) see if we get any particular feeling from the place, just in case we have magical senses that can tell if there's magic residue in the air.

You start with looking for tracks, even though after a week or two most of them should be gone.

This assessment proves incorrect. You find many human tracks around the camp -- they are worn and indistinct, but there are enough of them to form a pattern. Most of them go between the living quarters entrances and a single point in the middle of the camp. There, you discover a large -- as large as a wagon, you estimate -- rectangular imprint in the ground. It is as deep as your claw is thick and has very even edges.

There is a faint smell of decay pervading the living quarters. And there are even more tracks. These tracks are different, however. For one, they are much smaller than what a human would leave -- except a child, maybe -- and second, whoever left them was barefoot.

The pattern here proves more difficult to establish, as there are a number of animal tracks and a myriad of tiny kobold tracks all over everything -- presumably the kobold children searching for adults. You discover what must've been the children's creche, and you think that the maybe-human tracks went up to there too -- but not inside. They're in every other room though.

You find a badger, but it's asleep. It doesn't wake, even though it should have heard you.

You discover pseudodragon tracks in one of the rooms. Size similar to yours. Or are they your tracks? You don't remember if you've been there already.

Your head hurts.

>>23054874
Not ours. Let's get out of there.

>>23054874
>>23054874
>>23054874

Kill and devour them.

oh fuck, theres gas still here. get out into the fresh air. Hold your breath until your out.

the decay scent is interesting. we might be dealing with undead.

>>23054874
Check if badger is alive. Get out.

>>23054874
Our head might be hurting from more than mental gymnastics, let's get the heck out of there, quick and try to sample the air for scent or taste, or possibly magic if we have any way to tell - after we've gotten clear and the headache has subsided.

Is probably the same thing that keeps the badger asleep even though he should be awake.

>>23054874
get out and leave

>>23054960
Expanding on this;

Check if badger is alive, then get out. THEN, head back to kobolds, Try and hang out until we can get close enough to telepathically talk to chieftain. Explain gas, teleport circles in the middle of the encampment. Maybe, MAYBE, undead. Basically, relay all our findings to her. (And we have to do so stealthily, since if the other kobolds know we're the source, it's pointless.)

>>23055039
We should probably consider the possibility that it's a lingering spell rather than magic - or gas that's been enchanted to not smell. (Most potent substances smell - strongly. At least those in this world)

Have to go now, stay excellent people, and don't get us killed.

Your head is pounding and your limbs feel heavy.

Something in the air. Gas?

Your wings refuse to listen and you crash to the ground just a few feet away.

You have a hard time remembering why you should get up.

Smell of decay. Sleeping badger.

Somehow, you get to your feet. You hold your breath. And you run.

An eternity later, you feel fresh air and collapse outside the caves, gasping.

The first thing you realize is that you're cold. The second thing you realize is that there is a pebble digging into your side. The third thing you realize is that you're awake.

The first thing you see when you open your eyes is a stoat. It's sitting back on its haunches and staring at you in a way that strongly suggests it's trying to decide whether you're dead or not. When you move your head, it gives you a reproachful look and walks away.

It's evening.

What do you do?

>>23055039
It was a rectangle, not a circle. A uniform, rectangular depression in the ground

>>23055307
>>23055307

Find something to devour.

>>23055307
Was mostly using it as a term, not technical description. Teleportation rectangle, I guess.

On the other hand, thanks for the clarification. Sounds like it could be a tunnel or something too.

Go looking for food and water. That was unpleasant.


Also, that's an awful lot of gas if it nearly knocked us out like a light. And yet somehow the kobold children were able to poke around and saunter out?

Fishy. Fishy.

>>23055499
If it's spores or something like that, the children could be infested. That might be how it spreads.

Rolled 32

>>23055499
It was probably an airship.

You're hungry and you're thirsty. You decide to take care of the latter first -- the nearest source of water is the clan's cistern.

As soon as you stick your head inside, you feel the same faint stench of decay that you've smelled in the tunnels.

There is a large number of dead mice floating in the water.

And there's a strange, pinkish residue on the walls.

>>23055598
Airship? Middle of a cave?

>>23055617
Alright, let's drink so-NOPE.jpg

We're going to get water somewhere else. And we have more to report now.

...should we investigate the pink stuff? I'm scared.

welp, don't drink from that.

>>23055617
Well, get our head the hell out of there. Poison of some kind in the water, presumably an airborne sleeping agent too.

>>23055620
It wasn't inside the cave. The large, rectangular impression was in the middle of the CAMP.

>>23055678
>To be fair, I reread that passage and turns out I made absolute hash of the transition between camp and caves, so I can see where people would get confused.
>But yes, the impression is out in the open.

>>23055733
>>23055678
Awww shit. My bad. Thanks. Airship is definitely in our possibilities, then.

You decide to leave this water alone -- you remember passing a brook on your way here and fly there to slake your thirst.

Some of the provisions Lesa packed you take care of your hunger.

Is there anything else you should investigate, or should you think about heading back to report to the chieftess?

>>23055851

Find. Something. To. Kill. Then. Eat. It.

>>23055851
Let's collect a rat, collect some of that pink mold on it, (rub it on the wall or whatever,) and bring it with us.

Don't use our mouth, though.

You return to the cistern and use an empty wrapper from the meal you just ate to collect some of the residue -- it flakes right off when you run it. You try and grab one of the dead mice as well, but all of them are out of your reach -- on the other hand, you do not know if a waterlogged corpse would survive a four day journey.

After a night's rest, you decide to forego the increasingly stale provisions and hunt down something fresh. This turns out to be a small bird dwelling in a crack between rocks -- you corner it in its nest and tear its throat out with your claws.

The three eggs in the nest become your dessert.

Then you set off on the journey back to the Crag Claw clan.

>roll me a single 3d6

Rolled 1, 3, 4 = 8

>>23056294
DICE FOR THE DICE THRONE!

Since you already know the route, you manage to cut half a day off the journey. As you spot their camp's distinct peak in the distance, you divert to avoid being spotted by any sentries.

>8
Then you wait until evening.

The chieftess did think of a way for you to contact her -- every evening she goes for a walk around the edge of the clan's lake. She told you of a nook between the rocks on the far side of the lake, behind the dam, which would let you observe her approach and put her in range of your mindspeak.

"But if you do try any head games on me, I will be most cross," she chided.

You hide in the nook an wait -- she appears half an hour later.

What exactly do you tell her?

Our findings, the likelyhood they posioned both the water and the air. The fact they most likely came in by air (lookouts should look up.) The fact that there was a scent of decay and maybe a balermic around.

::There was something in the air in the Bloodied Fang caves:: you start once you're sure the chieftess in range. ::It smelled of decay::

She stumbles and looks sharply towards your hiding place. Then she looks away and resumes walking.

::Made my head hurt. Made me sleep. And there was strange residue in their water -- I have some with me, but no idea how to get it to you -- leave it at the meeting point?::

You then tell her about the tracks and that you think the humans came by air -- though you don't know how -- while she stand there contemplating the lake. You mention the possibility there's also balermics involved and that the sentries should pay attention to the sky.

Once you finish, she nods once and walks off.

With nothing else to do, you leave as well. You drop the residue off t the meeting point, then find a place to sleep.

A few hours later, something wakes you up and it takes you a few moments to realize that it was a scream.

It came from the direction of the camp.

>>23056931
Welp.
Head over there all sneaky like and see what's up.

Even before you get to camp, you feel he air change. It feels greasy and there is some sort of hum that you feel more than you hear.

You fly up to a ridge above the camp and peek over the edge.

The first thing you see is something large and dark hanging high above the camp. You realize it is the source of the hum. There are also several large, blindingly bright lights on it, illuminating the camp below.

The camp itself is drowned in a swirling, pinkish mist. It rolls over the ground snakes across the lake and pours lazily over the edge of the dam.

There are figures wading through the mist. Human-sized, though they wear bulky clothes and their faces are wrapped in cloth, so you cannot tell for certain. You see they are carrying bodies -- kobolds -- and placing them on a large, rectangular platform in the middle of the camp. There are chains attached to each corner of the platform and they go up, towards the big thing hanging in the air.

There are smaller figures in the mist. Child-sized. They are going in and out of the camp's caves, dragging kobolds outside and handing them off to the larger figures. There is more mist pouring out of the cave entrances.

You suddenly feel a familiar buzzing sensation at the back of your head.

What do you do?

get to the top of the balloon and rip and tear. cloak your mind as best you are able.

>>23057388
if we get rid of the balloon we should also try and identify the person in charge and 'sugest' they leave the kobalds unharmed as the only way for them to take the kobalds is gone, and they can come back again later

>I apologize, but I have to call it a night here. Too tired to type coherently.

I've archived the thread at http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23046756/ so I'll be able to look at any other suggestions people might make. As usual, we will pick things up next Friday at 12:00 /tg/ time.

Additionally, in an effort to get some feedback on my quest writing, I decided to end every thread with a question. Let's start with something that's been bothering me since even before I posted the first thread: How does /tg/ feel about an MC with a preestablished name, history and personality? On a related note, how well am I getting that personality across in my writing?

And yes, I know those questions make me a huge faggot.

>>23057678
I think that's too vague a question. If the personality we were given was a huge faggot, naturally, people would object. If a character(sheet) was slammed in front of us and we were told "PLAY THIS CHARACTER", many people would likely object.

You've been giving us a character, but it's been kind of subtle. Even some of the more out-of-the-blue things said have been incorporated as our character's random thoughts, and so despite it being a pre established character and 'personality' we're functioning through, it doesn't feel like you're riding us or we're being lead around by a halter.

Also, the character is pretty inoffensive, so I don't think anyone objects. (If we were angsty and whiny, or if we were too brash, or so on, you'd probably be getting the odd complaint.)


tl;dr; I like it, I imagine other people do too, I don't think it's an inherently good or bad concept, but you are handling it well enough that I don't perceive it as bad.

Regarding our backstory and name, I don't mind both of those but wish we could know more about it. You've been dangling that mystery in front of us like a steak in front of a dog, so I'm busy drooling over the metaphorical thought.

I know "You're doing fine, don't sweat." ain't great practical feedback, sorry.

>>23057678
I'm typically against per-established characters, though they can be necessary. In this particular quest I feel it was a welcome break from the norm, I feel the same way about our relative weakness. However, that said I would like it if the characters history was known to us, the players. I feel we would better understand the character if we knew its history.

As for getting the personality across in the writing... eh, its so-so. I get the gist of what his personality is supposed to be like, and it seems like you're definitely working a consistent angle, but it feels... vague. Ill-defined. I have a hard time working within the confines of the character's personality. I think it's more a disconnect between DM and Player than a problem in writing.

>>23057678
Am something of a newfag and usually prefer quests that are grand in scale, but this is a very nice change of pace.

About the character, I generally agree with >>23057873, and >>23057923. If it was more forced or a really annoying personality, I might've objected, but it's been played well enough that I haven't even thought of it until now.