>>23346542

"Much," you reply with a smile. Standing up, you re-don your helm (which now bears a few new dents and scuffs, but still seems sturdy enough). Turning to Yukiho, you ask, "I don't suppose you still managed to get the runners when you tried your spell that second time?"

Shaking her head apologetically, she replies, "N-no, I'm sorry, Producer. They were too far away."

Clicking your tongue in irritation, you turn to peer down the tunnel. It curves not too far from where you finished off the goblins, making it hard to see any further, but you see the twins have wandered down to the bend are looking around the corner.

"Ami, Mami, what do we have down there?"

"It's pretty dark, Nii-chan," Mami calls back.
"Yeah, and the tunnel gets real tiny too! Like, goblin-size." Ami gestures with her hands to indicate roughly how wide the tunnel is.

Walking up to join them, you see that to proceed, you'd probably need to crouch down or possibly even crawl.

>How do you proceed?

>>23346555
Dudes first, naturally. May as well get on your hands and knees.

Hey Questm@ster, nice to see you again. Glad you saw the drawings. I'm actually pretty free now, all things considered, so i'll be proceeding with more drawings again soon.

>>23346555
Ask Yukiho to maybe tunnel us through slowly so the hole would be enough to fit everyone. If she gets too tired or run out of energy they could stop and rest.

>>23346555
Go home and fuck Yayoi.

Aw yeah

I love you OP

>>23346555
Have one of the twins scout the tunnel or if possible scout it magically to see if it increases to a standing size up head. If there's another section that can be stood in see if Yukiho clear widen the tunnel up to that point, if it's narrow for quite a ways proceed in with either you or Haruka in the lead.

>>23346555
Have Yukiho use her shovel.

>>23346673
This

>>23346555

Have Yukiho expand the hole. Also might need to fire up those light sources.

Tonight, the 5th post rolling 1d20 is the roll I'll count when I ask for a roll. Remember, lower is better!

Also, I'm going to experiment with something new this time that was brought up in the post-session discussion last thread. To somewhat mitigate the rather high variance of the dice method used in this quest, I'm giving you guys one reroll. If you really don't like the result for a particular roll, you can reply to the post with the roll that would count and request a reroll. Once someone requests a reroll, everyone else should reply to that request with a vote agreeing or disagreeing with the decision. Once it looks like everyone's had their say, I'll tally the results and if the majority want to use the reroll, I'll make a post rolling it myself. In that case, whatever I roll goes.

Once you use your reroll (as in the vote is in favor of using it and it actually gets used), it's gone. No more rerolls for the rest of the thread. So use it wisely.

BUT, if you do something particularly clever or entertaining, I might reward you with an extra reroll. Theoretically, there's no limit to the number of bonus rerolls you can get this way, but you have to earn them by impressing me.

>>23346683
Seconding this. Yukiho can do the main part of the work but we need to have guards looking out for her.

>>23346763
How would you know how many times we've rerolled?

>>23346884
...maybe you should reread his post and think through what he's saying.

>>23346555
This >>23346683

>>23346884

Why would that be hard to keep track of? It's one reroll we're voting on.

>>23346555
"Hm...I suppose first we should see how long it stays this narrow. I don't suppose any of you girls could scout it with magic?"

Yukiho steps forward. "Um, I don't know about scouting for goblins or anything, but I could probably figure out the size and shape of the tunnel at least."

"Excellent, let's see it then!"

Planting the blade of her shovel in the ground in front of her and clasping her hands over the top of the handle, Yukiho closes her eyes and begins to glow with a faint yellow light. Furrowing her brow, she begins to describe her findings while still continuing the spell.

"The tunnel starts to slope downward not too far from here...and it turns from dirt to rock walls...still pretty narrow, though....um...there are a few side branches a bit further down here...some of them open out into wider spots, but they look like dead ends...hm..."

The glow fades and she opens her eyes. "Just at the very edge of where my magic could reach, it felt like it might be close to opening into a natural cavern system, but I'm not sure."

"And just how far would that be?"

"Um...somewhere around 100 yards, I think? I'm sorry, I'm not very good at telling distances like that."

>[] Have Yukiho widen the tunnel until you get to the caverns.
>[] Take the lead through the tunnels as-is.

>>23347157
>[] Have Yukiho widen the tunnel until you get to the caverns.

We would have an escape route if there's something bad on the other side.

>>23347157
Shit, that's useful. Can she sense living things, or just the earth?

>>23347157
>Have Yukiho widen the tunnel until you get to the cavern
I think we had enough surprises last time. A little caution wouldn't be a bad idea.

How big is the tunnel relative to the goblins?
Don't want to be stuck crawling through a tight gap while the goblins can move and attack freely.

>>23347209
She's an earth mage.

Still, that's pretty impressive magic.

>>23347157
[x] Take the lead through the tunnels as-is.
We don't want to tire Yukiho out before anything serious happens, and it doesn't seem like there are too many places for ambushes to occur until we get to a more favorable area.

>>23347215
goblins
>scarcely half a man's size
tunnel:
>still pretty narrow
I'm sure you can figure it out.

>>23347209
Presumably just the earth, since she said she wasn't sure about scouting out enemies.

>>23347215
>Don't want to be stuck crawling through a tight gap while the goblins can move and attack freely.
That's basically what the situation would be. As Ami said, it's "goblin-size", which is a pretty tight squeeze for a human since goblins are about half human size (and tend to have a somewhat stooped posture to boot, making them effectively even smaller as far as moving in tight spaces goes).

>>23347157
How tiring for Yukiho it is to widen it?

If she can do it without spending too much of her abilities, ask her to do it.

>>23347157
[x] Have Yukiho widen the tunnel until you get to the caverns.
Those side tunnels sound like loot troves to me.

>>23347319
Okay, so there might be enemies in that space. How much energy would this take from her? All we really need is enough room to keep our feet and our shield ready.

>>23347157
"That's quite a ways, and we'd be at a big disadvantage if we ran into any goblins in these narrow tunnels. Yukiho, do you think you could widen the tunnel for us to move better? Just enough so I could get through on my feet and be able to use my shield?"

"I-I think so. I've never done so much magic at once though..."

"Do you think you might run out of mana?"

"M-maybe...I'm sorry, I'm not much help, am I?"

"No, no, it's fine. I don't really know what this whole elemental magic stuff is like personally, but I'm sure it would be a lot to ask of anybody. And I certainly don't want you exhausting yourself this early.
How about this: at least until it turns to rock, let's dig it out the old-fashioned way. Then once we get to the point where the walls are rock and we can't dig anymore..."

>[] "You take over using your magic until you start feeling like you're running low."
>[] "We'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble."

>>23347551
Oh hm. I guess I thought Yukiho had super digging abilities so 100 yrds would be nothing compared to digging to Brazil.

I guess just make do with what we have and save the magic. The goblins might be smaller but with the tunnels that narrow, they can only attack us in small numbers at a time anyways.

>>23347551
Save it. If they cave the tunnel in on us or something, we'll need to dig it out.

>>23347551
>[] "We'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble."

>>23347551

>[] "We'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble."

>>23347551
Save the hocus-pocus. Yukiho did a good job with holding the goblins at bay last go, until SOMEONE screwed everything up.

>>23347624
That would be us with our shitty rolls.

>>23347551
>[] "We'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble."
>>23347624
Yeah we suck.

>>23347551
Save the mana for later.

>>23347551
[x] "We'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble."

>>23347551
>We'll do our best with the trouble as it is. Save your tunnel for when we run into mana.

>>23347551
"...we'll do our best with the tunnel as it is. Save your mana for when we run into trouble. It'll be a little awkward, but I think if I take the lead I'll still be able to keep my shield up, which should make it pretty tough for any goblins to get at us. Even though the tunnel's built for them, they'd still only be able to come at us one or two at a time."

Yukiho nods. "O-okay. I'll get digging then!"

You light up your lantern to give her some better light and she sets to work with her shovel, making surprisingly quick progress given her slight frame. You feel kind of awkward just standing around while a lady does all the work, but there's really not enough room for two people to work on the opening at once. When the dirt starts piling up, you seize the chance to help by carting it back to the wider parts of the tunnel using the tools left by the goblins (small though they may be)

After about ten minutes, you ask Yukiho if she wants to take a break. "I could take over digging for a bit," you offer.

She looks back at you with a smile, wiping her brow with a sleeve. "It's alright, Producer. I think we're about halfway to the rock section, I can handle it!" Her tone seems more cheerful than you've ever heard her before; it seems she's really enjoying herself.

Sure enough, it's not long before you hear Yukiho's shovel start to scrape against solid rock. She turns to you, heaving a sigh laden with proud accomplishment. "I guess that's it, Producer!"

File: 1361673501278.jpg-(31 KB, 317x117, 115.jpg)

31 KB JPG

>>23348098

/pat her on the shoulder and watch her shy and jump away

"Good work Yukiho, knew we could count on you!"

>>23348098
You give her a friendly pat on the shoulder; she squeaks and jumps away slightly.
"Good work, Yukiho. I knew we could count on you!
"Now comes the tricky part..."

Examining the tunnel, it looks like you should be able to fit in with your shield ready. If you hold it diagonally, there should be enough of a gap to see over it and be able to stab under it with your sword if any goblins come. However, it wouldn't be very practical for you to carry the lantern yourself this way; you could hook it to your belt, but the shield would block most of the light. Ideally, you'll want whoever goes behind you to hold it close to the roof of the tunnel so it can shine past your shield as much as possible.

It might also be a good idea to set someone up as a rear guard, just in case the goblins spring an ambush from some sort of hidden side corridor that Yukiho didn't notice with her magic. If there are any kobolds working with these goblins, there could be some very cunning defenses in place. In fact, kobolds have been known to even spring out of solid rock to ambush unsuspecting miners and dungeon-delvers.

>[] Declare a marching order (specify)
>[] Ask for volunteers for the lantern and rear guard positions, let the rest fill in as they will.

>>23348338
>Ask for volunteers for the lantern and rear guard positions, let the rest fill in as they will.
I have a preferred order, but I'm curious to see how they decide things among themselves.

>>23348338
>[] Ask for volunteers for the lantern and rear guard positions, let the rest fill in as they will.

I have some ideas as to what order could be possible, but I think it has some problems. Let's see what everyone else thinks.

>>23348338

Front to Back:

Producah -> Yukiho -> Haruka -> Miki -> Twins

Yukiho should be close by to help, while Haruka seems like she'd be able to assist both ways from the center. The twins can probably keep back watch the best, while Miki would be close to them to assisst them should there be any surprises.

>>23348338
[x] Specify a marching order:
Producer, Yukiho, Miki, Twins, Haruka

>>23348502

If Haruka trips in the back then things are borked.

>>23348338
>kobolds have been known to even spring out of solid rock to ambush unsuspecting miners and dungeon-delvers
Super.
Declare order from front to back:
P, Twins, Miki, Yukiho, Haruka

>>23348561
Then the twins climb over her and stab the shit out of everything.
>>23348570
>trusting the twins with the lantern
Yeah no.

>>23348671
What lantern?

>>23348671
Twins are probably use to dark places, they might be able to tell if something is off, though yeah I see what you mean.

>>23348686
>Ideally, you'll want whoever goes behind you to hold [the lantern] close to the roof of the tunnel so it can shine past your shield as much as possible.

>>23348338
You explain the situation to your party. "So, who wants to hold the lantern, and who wants to be the rear guard?"

Haruka and Yukiho immediately spring forward in unison. "I'll hold the lantern!"

The two turn to each other, somewhat surprised at the sudden conflict.

"Yukiho, you don't have any armor," Haruka says. "What'll you do if a goblin sticks a spear past Producer or something?"

"I-I'm sure Producer won't let that happen! I think I'd be safest right by Producer! Besides, I need to be able to see what's happening in front i-in case Producer needs my magic!"

"But what if he needs my magic? What if he gets hurt and I have to heal him?"

"Y-you can squeeze past me! It wouldn't take long enough to make a difference!"

"What about your shovel? Can you hold a lantern carrying that?"

"I-I can hold it in one hand! W-what about your shield?"

Miki yawns loudly. "Can we just go? I'm bored, nano~."

Haruka mutters in frustration. "Fine! We'll settle it fair and square with rock-paper-scissors! Winner gets to follow Producer with the lantern!"

Yukiho puts out her hand, balled into a fist, with a determined look on her face. "O-okay. B-but the loser has to go all the way in the back!"

"Fine"

The two pump their fists up and down, chanting "Rock, paper, scissors!"

Yukiho finishes with a balled fist: rock.

Haruka extends two fingers: scissors.

With a triumphant smile, Yukiho turns to you, extending her hand for the lantern. "After you, Producer!"

>>23348749
Oh, that lantern. Yeah, haven't seen it.

>>23348766
I'm not sure if I like how this turned out.

>>23348834

I guess it's an extension of our own lack of a conclusive decision.

>>23348766
Well, let's get going.

Oak and iron.

>>23348766
You make your way into the tunnel, Yukiho following with the lantern. Miki goes behind Yukiho -- since her poleaxe is rather unwieldy in such tight quarters, everyone agreed it wouldn't make much sense for her to worry about rear guard situations, and she for her part was perfectly content to take the position least likely to do anything. After Miki come Ami and Mami, and finally (in accordance with the rock-paper-scissors challenge) Haruka. Though you don't say anything, upon thinking about it you find the outcome of the rock-paper-scissors rather fortuitous -- while Haruka can't really ready her shield to the rear as you can in the front, wearing it on her back at least gives her some additional protection against attacks from behind.

After many long minutes of crawling, you see what looks like branch openings on either side of the tunnel. Turning back to the others with a finger to your lips to signal for absolute quiet, you loose your grip on your pack (which you'd been dragging alongside you by a strap with your sword hand) to avoid any noise or encumbrance from dragging it and careful inch forward.

Just as you're getting close enough to the nearer opening to try to see what's in it, you hear a click beneath you, and suddenly your stomach lurches as the floor gives way to empty space.

>Give me a Reflex save!
>Not that there's really any such thing as a "Reflex save" in the mechanics I'm using; it's just a figure of speech
>Anyway, dice time

Rolled 3

>>23349040
It occurs to me a bit late, but can the twins search for traps?

Rolled 2

>>23349040

Arrrrgh

>>23349070
They can, though obviously only if they're in the lead.

Rolled 20

>>23349040
Aw shit.

Rolled 14

>>23349040

Rolling to not die

Rolled 15

>>23349040
Let's go.

Rolled 12

>>23349119

doomed.

>>23349098
>>23349114
>>23349119
Damn.

Rolled 3

>>23349084
Yeah, like I said, a bit late.
>>23349119
Guess we used up all the good rolls.

>>23349119
Here we go again.

>>23349119
So can I reroll on this? I can't leave it on that.

Rolled 13

>>23349165

Eh it shouldn't be too lethal.

Rolled 20

>>23349148
And maybe we should have secured ourselves with that rope.

>>23349165
You can motion to use the reroll on this if you want. Everyone else will need to vote on whether they want to use it or not. Only if the yeas outweigh the nays will it get used.

>>23349165

We should save the reroll for something more lethal. A pitfall shouldn't be too terrible.

>>23349204
I agree. It shouldn't me much of a pitfall anyways, Yukiho said it slopped down at a point, and I can't see any major damage happening, but it might alert some goblins we're here.

>>23349179
>>23349204
Then I'll save it for later.

>>23349201
Thanks. I'll just choose to abstain this time around.

By the way, do any of the other rolls matter? This is my first night doing this, and I'm wondering why people are rolling after the 5th post.

>>23349267
No, rolls before or after the 5th one don't matter. Rolls that come after are probably just from people not clearing the email field after their initial roll, or being just a bit too late and not realizing it.

>>23349040
>>23349119
Tossing aside your sword, you grab wildly for the edge of the pit. You manage to get hold with your free hand, but your grip isn't very good. Though you manage to stop your descent, you can feel your purchase on the lip slipping steadily. You scrabble for a few moments to get a better grip, but to no avail.

As the last few millimeters of horizontal purchase slip from beneath your fingertips and you begin to fall, Yukiho cries out to you. "Producer!"
Turning your head, you see her reaching out to you from the other side of the pit. In one last bid for safety, you push off the wall, trying to jump to her and reaching out to grab her hand. For a split second you feel your fingertips brush against each other, but then you're falling down into the pit.

You manage to break your fall somewhat, letting your legs relax to absorb the impact and convert the fall into a roll. The air's knocked out of you and you think you twisted your ankle somewhat, but you're still conscious and nothing feels broken. Fortunately, the fall was only about 10 feet.

Yukiho calls down into the pit. "Producer, are you all --"

Her inquiry cuts off as she suddenly looks up, and judging by the gibbering and screeching you hear from above, you think you know why. Yukiho's fearful expression as she looks back down confirms your suspicion.

"Producer! G-goblins!"

>Response?

File: 1361678597589.jpg-(57 KB, 301x228, 70.jpg)

57 KB JPG

Rolled 11

>>23349658

And shes in the front.

"Yukiho, jump! I'll catch you!

Miki, you're the centre now, do your stuff!"

>>23349658
Yell up and tell Haruka and whoever else can reach, to protect the rear, and for Yukiho to block the front with an earth wall, so the goblins can't attack. Then look around at the pit to see if there's an exit.

Rolled 5

>>23349658
Yukiho back, Miki advance, Twins anchor the rope.

Rolled 20

>>23349762

That'll block off our attempts to advance. We can't just seal it off.

>>23349787
We can easily have Yukiho take it down later. That's just to buy us some time so we only deal with attack from one side.

>>23349780

How do they switch positions when they're in single file?

Do this:
>>23349720

Leave it to miki, this time. Unless we can climb up somehow.

>>23349658
Have Yukiho get to you and let Miki take on the goblins in front, once Yukiho is out of initial danger have her stopthe goblins form retreating.

Rolled 19

Let Yukiho jump down, you'll catch her.

Yell to Miki to do something to slow or stop the goblins. With poleaxe or whatever she prefers to do.

And no rock-paper-scissors for now, girls.

>>23349658

>10 feet drop

>Producer has 11 foot spear

HMMMMM

Get yukiho to get out of the way, AKA jump down. Have miki start poking them from the front while Producer wields his very long spear and poke them from below.

>>23349863
Did he bring his spear?

>>23349863
A) It's not a spear, just a pole
B) It's broken down into segments that lock together, which are stowed in his pack, which is back at the top of the pit. (Seriously, do you really think he'd carry around an 11-foot pole everywhere? Even 6 feet is a little unwieldy.)

>>23349762 here. I guess I should clarify my thinking. I want to see if the "pit" is really a trap, in which case we want Producer to get back up the tunnel with the rest of the girls. However, if it's like a part of the cavern, it might be good to have everyone join Producer, then there's space to fight.

>>23349921

Well, break it out and tie a dagger (the sharpest we have) to the end with our vast amounts of rope and assemble the pole.

We'll have a improvised long pokey.

>>23349947
Well, if you want to have Yukiho drop your pack down to you, I suppose you could do that.

>>23349658
Get Yukiho to climb down, and Miki and the Twins jump the pit and lay into the gobs.
Then Yukiho can work on digging us out.

>>23349978
Have her bring it when she jumps down.

>>23349978

Since we were dragging it along with us on the ground, wouldn't have dropped into the pit too?

>>23350015
We released it before then.

How does Miki's wind magic work? Can we use a tornado to lift us up or something along those lines?

>>23350057

I think anything with that amount of force would be very bad for health in a confined space.

Not the least the possibility of being smashed against the walls of the pit.

>>23349658
You call out to Yukiho, "Jump! I'll catch you!"

She hesitates for a moment, but then (as you start to see a few rocks flying over the pit) she sets down the lantern and drops herself down into the pit. You catch her (wincing and stumbling a bit at the pressure on your hurt ankle), then shout up once more, "MIki, you have point now! Deal with those goblins!"

You hear Miki's voice echo down from the top of the pit. "Okay, nano~"

You hear the roar of wind rushing over the mouth of the pit, making the lantern light flicker slightly and eliciting shrieks from the goblins.

>What next?
>[] Try to get out of the pit and back into the fight
>[] Continue to shout orders from the bottom of the pit

>>23350259
Be a man and get back into the fight.

>>23350259
Stay down. Friendly fire isn't.

>>23350259
dont wanna mess up the ankle more


just stay down

>>23350259
>[x] Continue to shout orders from the bottom of the pit

Multi-tasking with a hurt ankle isn't a good option.

Have Yukiho work on the best escape route while you strategize from below.

>>23350259

Eh shes got this and we don't have our pack and long pokey.

"Haruka, watch out for any coming from the rear."

>>23350259
>[] Continue to shout orders from the bottom of the pit
If it gets to be too much, we may need to have everyone join us below so we have more fighting space. But maybe Miki and the others can handle it themselves.

>>23350259

We shouldn't shout too many orders.

We don't have eyes on the situation and we might mess things up.

>>23350395

That's a good point. I think the best would be to shout out a general attack plan and have the fighting group call out to you if they have trouble. Meanwhile you and Yukiho work on a way to get out.

>>23350259
Get Yukiho to dig a small tunnel up to one of those side rooms? Maybe we can flank the goblins. Or what's left of them when Miki's done.

>>23350395
Yeah, you're right. We can trust that they can handle a few goblins without us having to tell them every move to make.

>>23350259
Can we get a layout of what we can see, to help us coordinate things better?

>>23350445

Her mana should be used sparingly.

Unless miki looks to be unable to handle it, I say we lie low for now.

Wait to see how Miki is doing before further decisions.

>>23350259
Though your pride screams for you to get back up there in the fight, your common sense tells you that trying to climb out of a pit and into cramped fighting quarters on an injured ankle is a terrible idea.

You call out to the top of the pit. "Haruka, are there any goblins coming from the rear?"

Her voice drifts down, nearly drowned out by a crackle of lightning. "No, it doesn't look like it."

"Good. You and Ami and Mami help Miki out however you can. I wrenched my ankle, so I'll sit tight down here til we have some breathing room."

You proceed to watch the situation as best you can from the bottom of the pit. Your view is basically limited to whatever happens to cross or stick out over the pit opening, but judging by the diminishing number of arrows, rocks, and spears you see coming over from the goblins' side it seems your group is making progress.

Finally, after several tense minutes, the weaponry stops coming from the goblins' side entirely, and you hear Miki yell, "They're running away!"

A few moments later, you hear Ami's voice (or is it Mami's?). "Wait, wait. Mikimiki, isn't that one coming toward us? What's it holding?"

You call up to the top. "What's going on?"

Miki looks down at you. "They're all running away, except one that just came from farther down, nano! It's got a big ball thingy!"

"Does this 'big ball thingy' look like it's burning at all?"

"Hm...yep, there's like a smoldering candle wick thingy on top, nano!"

>Quick! Response! Roll!

Rolled 11

>>23350741

"Wind magic miki! BLOW IT BACK!"

Rolled 19

>>23350741
OH FUCK OH FUCK OH FUCK
Miki magic for the love of God, or Yukiho collapse the tunnel.

>>23350741
Yukiho, shut the tunnel

Rolled 14

>>23350741
>"Hm...yep, there's like a smoldering candle wick thingy on top, nano!"

Dammit Miki!

"Blow it Away!"

Rolled 15

>>23350741

Blow it back, Miki! THEN GET DOWN.

ITS A BOMB!

Rolled 6

>>23350741
BLOW THAT SHIT BACK/OUT

Rolled 4

>>23350741
Tell Miki to stop that fuse with magic. That bomb needs to not blow up at all.

Rolled 9

>>23350741

Blow it back and get down girls!

BOMB!

Cover yukiho with Producer's body.

>>23350862

GJ.

Do this: >>23350867
as well.

Rolled 2

>>23350862
>6
Well that's not too bad.
>>23350867
This, and accidentally grope

>>23350862
Well I'll be damned.

>>23350741
Miki wind magic etc. Everyone needs to take cover like it might go off though. Yukiho is with us so she can't collapse the tunnel, right?
>>23350896
You can but we might accidentally get smacked in the head with a shovel. Yukiho might like us but she's still nervous around men.

>>23350982
It was an 'accident' anon not on purpose...

>>23350896

That will earn us a shovel on the head.

Do itt

I still ship producerxkotori

>>23351009
Tell that to shovel.

>>23351009
Accidents tend to snowball into more accidents, anon. Or haven't you spent enough time around Haruka to learn that?

>>23350741
>>23350862
"Miki! Blow it away! It's a bomb!"

You see a goblin appear on the lip of the pit, cradling something the size of a large cantaloupe in its arms. Throwing yourself on top of Yukiho and angling your shield to cover the both of you as best you can, you scream, "Everyone GET DOWN!"

While you're still in motion, you hear a tremendous roaring of wind from above, followed by a startled squeal. Presumably that would be Miki blowing the goblin and its deadly cargo back down the tunnel, but you don't dare look up until you hear the thunderous retort of the grenade's detonation. The way the stone tunnel carries sound, it's difficult to tell just how close it was, but judging by the lack of anguished screaming from your party you guess it must have been far enough back to be safe.

Lifting yourself up from Yukiho's prone form (noting a delighfully squishy sensation under your right hand as you do so), you notice her face is markedly pale and drenched with sweat. She looks absolutely petrified with fright.

"Yukiho, are you alright? It's ok, I know bombs can be scary, but the danger's passed now, so--"

You're cut short by a ringing blow to the side of the head and an ear-piercing wail. "I knew it! I can't handle men! Get me out! Getmeoutgetmeoutgetmeout!"

As you struggle to make your head stop spinning, you see Yukiho, tears streaming down her face, knuckles white as they grip her shovel. "Uuuh..." she sobs, "I'll just dig a hole and bury myself!"

>>23351263
>Yukiho's reaction
Worth it.

>>23351263
Inexperienced producers gonna learn the hard way. Yukiho's a nice girl but it takes time to get over phobias.

>>23351263

ineffectually try to calm her down and apologise.

Watch as the girls start peeking their head over the lip of the drop, watching the proceedings with disapproval.

>>23351263
Kneel before her.
"No Yukiho, you mustn't! To deny the world the joy of seeing your beauty would be a crime beyond all measure!"
Best case scenario she jumps on your dick. Worst case, we confuse the shit out of her.

>>23351263
Right. Well. Let's get out of this pit.

>>23351263

Ask Miki to try and get to the other side first to guard from any further attacks, then have Ami get our rope to haul us up.

>>23351263
Well I thought QM was still writing the next post. But since people are suggesting actions. I'd do this:
Apologize to Yukiho and get her to calm down. Then ask her if she can use her earth magic to sense whether we'd be better off in the tunnels or the pit to reach the caverns. Based on what she says, make the decision to go back up or have the girls join us below.

>>23351263
With a sniffle, she drives her shovel into the stone floor, and remarkably it cuts in. After a moment of stunned astonishment, you realize the shovel blade was glowing yellow just before impact. Whether consciously or not, she seems to be using her magic to help her dig.

You step forward to stop her. "Wait, Yukiho, don't waste your mana, we still need--"

Once more, you're interrupted by a shovel to the head, Yukiho shrieking for you to stay away.

As you stagger back, you marvel at the fact that you've managed to get hit in the head with a shovel no less than four times in the past few hours. That must be some kind of record. Maybe that's what those flashing lights are for...the gods are celebrating your record-setting acheivement...yeah...

Wringing her hands around the shovel handle, Yukiho turns to you sheepishly, still sobbing. "I-I'm sorry P-Producer. I-I'm just not g-good with m-men...
I'm sorry I-I'm such a t-terrible u-useless girl..."

Shaking your head (as much to get it to stop spinning as to refute Yukiho's self-deprecating claim), you tell her in as soothing a tone as you can muster, "Yukiho, if it wasn't for you, we'd never have made it this far into the tunnel. Or at least not nearly so fast. You're anything but useless."

Without waiting for a reply, you call up to the top of the pit. "MIki, try to get to the other side of the pit to keep watch for goblins. Ami, Mami, get the rope out of my pack so we can get out of this pit."

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LOAAADINGU LOADINGU

I'm developing a phobia of shovels.

>>23351737
Worth it!

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Sorry folks, I think this is probably it for tonight. I've just been spinning my wheels for awhile now and not really getting anywhere. I've been kind of sleep deprived this week, and the scotch I had is probably not helping matters. But I guess this is a decent enough stopping point, all things considered, so we'll leave off here and pick up next time with checking out the spoils of the latest fight and proceeding down the tunnel. Hopefully "next time" will be sometime next weekend, but I can't say for sure just yet.

As always, feedback is much appreciated, and I'd be happy to take any questions anyone might have.

>>23351758
You're quite the M there, Producer.

Can we just have a lovely time with Yukiho and not make her nervous and get our heads bashed in?

>>23351784
aww man

>>23351784

Thanks for running then.

>>23351784
No problem. Get good rest, man.

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>>23351785

"Yukiho, you see those goblins?

They're all MALE

Watch the carnage

>>23351784
It happens, we all have our off-days.

Hey, did you ever get to finishing Yukiho's vids?

>>23351834
"And they'll touch all you if they get the chance!"

Clearing of tunnels achieved in record time.

>>23351784
Rest up QM, hopefully we'll see you next week.

>>23351840
Yeah, I finished them the day after the last session. I was the one who posted in the general thanking the folks who put them together.
Tears were shed. But they were good tears.

>>23351871

Is this quest biweekly or weekly?

>>23351856
She'd probably just freeze up.

>>23351834
I need to sleep I found that much funnier than i probably should have.

>>23351871
Hey, at least you survived it. That's the main thing. And you know Yukiho better now. I'm hoping some of the other idols get routes done but well, dunno the odds of that happening.
>>23351885
Or possibly dig to Brazil.

>>23351879
Whenever I can find time for it. I try to do it weekly, but sometimes that doesn't work out. Last session was two weeks ago.