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Yesterday has been a quite full day. You charged into the Bear Shrine Library to face the people raiding it. You faced down the last Shadow Sister vampire and Passion. A Lesser Dramatae. You fought them all and managed to capture Passion. To your shock you recognized the face under the mask, once the rejuvenation magic wore off, Overseer Trivalon. The leader of the White Tree Conclave and an old friend of your father. He was very tight lipped as Paladin Balles and the Occuli came to collect him.

On the way back to Bronze Peak you read through the book Passion and the Dramatae were so keen on getting. The Bear Tribe's Iron Book of Fire, the Book of Dragons. The Bear Tribe was a pioneer in human/monster diplomacy and kept all the secrets they learned in books only readable by those species they were learning from. You were able to translate the book, and you learned many things. Not the least that you are part dragon, and part leviathan. Your human appearance is the result of natural selection. You also learned the location of the 'Old One,' a Dragon who (You hope) is still alive, untouched by any form of corruption, and the keeper of the Lantern Coins.

Oh man, lamia child quest! Time to bear that weight!

Not wanting to waste any time, you went directly to Jeremy Sandover's brothel to confront him with what you have learned. You were a little surprised to find that Sandover wasn't some overly smarmy pimp, but a decent man...for a son of a whore that runs a brothel. A person who bought the lie of Citadel and wanted to keep it going. A person who had a sudden string of tragedies in his life, suspicious ones at that. Seeing that one of his former employees had become a monster was enough to break his spirit down, to where Lea had to help him home, while you went to talk to Trivalon as per the traitor's request.

Trivalon couldn't help but gloat when he thought that he had won. It turned out that Sandover didn't want to be one of the Dramatae, the reverse was true. The Dramatae wanted Sandover to join them! That was why they tormented and wore down the spirit of the man, so that when they gave him their bargain of power and the ability to 'fix' things, in exchange for his servitude, Jeremy would say yes, without hesitation.

You weren't going to let that happen. You tore through the streets and reached Sandover and Lea just barely in time. The Dramatae stopped time save for the three of you. Due to your presence they couldn't give their prepared pitch to Jeremy, and exposed them as the monsters they are. Peace tried to get something out of it, by holding Lea and Jeremy hostage, doing the old routine of forcing the hero to choose who lives and who dies.

You were smarter than any of that cliched crap though, you stalled, and asked questions. Eventually you broke Peace's conectration just enough to swing your tail lightning fast and knock Lea and Sandover out of Peace's grasp. That also caused their Time Stop power to run out, and the Dramatae were exposed to the public. Having lost their new member, the chance to kill a member of the Caligo Clarus, and to taint your soul by letting Jeremy die. Peace vanished with the other two, all of them promising retribution.

>>24173086
>Dramatae practicing Lasombra tier recruitment policies.
Oh boy here we go.

>>24173205
It's been going.

So, apparently it's tomorrow.

That means either we stayed at an inn, or our adventures went on through the night and it's dawn now.

>Peace looks at him. "The moment passed. You are not what we need." Peace looks at you. "You have disrupted our work for the third time."
>"Fourth" Tragedy says.
>"Personal issues don't count." Comedy says. "I didn't bitch about my baby Donnie!"
I feel like this is important. We've done something to Tragedy personally and not as a Humor. Maybe he's the relative of Mari's grandmother?
Also Comedy apparently has a son. Do we know anybody called Donnie?

>>24173220
Aye, but they've lost their main element of operation. Secrecy, keeping the details of what they do dark, hidden, controlled.
>>24173283
>Donnie
Donovan?

Either way, how are we going to handle this. Sandover is going to want answers, and we still need to make the case for the citadel fuckery on the vampire.

>>24173308
We also need to explain the importance of the iron books to the occuli, in addition to clearing the name of the vampire.

Also we don't have conclusive proof of the dramatae yet, only witness testimony.

>>24173086
You stare at the ceiling. Jeremy doesn't like the old cliche of mirrors on the ceiling on his place. His rooms are well kept, clean, and have a few nice personal touches like flowers or some local art done by the in house staff. It's more like a very nice hotel than anything else.

Alright, the fact that the bed is a giant circle that has a stitched leather bladder filled with water serving as a mattress is a little more indicative of where you actually are. However, with the nice, warm (and large) baths, the lovely bed that's big enough for you to actually not have any part of you drooping on the floor, and Tricia's snuggling against you quietly, you're more than happy to tell yourself that Jeremy is just running a very fancy inn with a specialized staff.

"Mmh." Tricia says. She giggles as she causes the bed to slosh and ripple as she raises her head. "Morning." She smiles at you. "So...you didn't exactly give much details over Sandover thanking you over and over for saving his life and his soul...I take it he's not the bad guy anymore?"

>>24173372
"No, turns out he was just another unfortunate who got taken in and fooled by Citadel."

>>24173372
"Apparently he never was."

>>24173372
"He never was the bad guy. We were just played to make him see that way so we'd push him into the dramatae's hands."

>>24173372
"Nope. turns out the dramatae wanted him, not vice versa. They're absolutely livid now, though. Things're going to start moving even faster, I fear."

>>24173372
"Despite the dubious nature of this place, he was just a poor bugger that... well lets just say he had his ideals about the citadel severely tested."
>Overseers face when we flip the chessboard.l

We thought he was going to be evil because he was apparently perfect to be Rage. And he could have been led astray. Easily. You have to rememeber what Citadel promises isn't evil in itself. It is love, stability, prosperity. None of it is bad. And its indeed tempting.

But the price. That is what makes it something to be fought.

So, I think sometime on our agenda today should be visiting the overseer.

I want to at least hear his reaction to that shit.

>>24173372
He's still in the flesh trade, but he never turned into the threat he could have been.

>>24173490
Personally, I'd rather not spell out to him what happened. Just tell him if he asks about Sandover that "he's doing fine" and shrug off any further questions about it.

Let him squirm.

>>24173490
Sometime soon. I don't think he's going to live to his execution after pissing off the dramatae that badly.

Now we have a big problem. The night sister was manipulated by the dramatae. We have no way of proving that though. Are we going to let the excecution continue even though we know she didn't really stand a chance against their manipulations, better people than her fell for it.

>>24173535
naw, we're going to look for proof to back up our witness testimony.

>>24173535
We just had a group of 4 conspirators appear in a crowd that threatened our order and sandoval to back us up.. We don't really have to name names, just mention we know that they have access to mind altering magic along with whatever other proof we can find.

>>24173564
wait, they threatened us while the CROWD was conscious?

I thought we only broke the time stop on ourselves. Shit.

This changes things a bit.

>>24173413
"He never was the bad guy, just another unfortunate who got taken in and fooled by Citadel. We were just played to make him see that way so we'd push him into the Dramatae's hands."

Tricia lets out a low whistle as she slides off the bed and gathers up the clothes. "Guess they're not going to be happy about that."

"They're absolutely livid now, though. Things're going to start moving even faster, I fear."

Tricia shrugs. "So what else is new?" She sighed. "Do we have to worry about Jeremy slipping over to them?"

You shake your head. "No. We thought he was going to be evil because he was apparently perfect to be Rage. And he could have been led astray. Easily. You have to rememeber what Citadel promises isn't evil in itself. It is love, stability, prosperity. None of it is bad. And its indeed tempting.

"But we showed him the price that Citadel demands and the people who work for it. It made him think rationally about it for those few precious seconds. He's with us. He wants to fight against that tainted dream...and make it his own, I suppose."

"I suppose." Tricia picks up the Iron Book Of Dragons. "Hey, when you and Ted translated this, you said that there was something in here that was important for us." She gestures to yourself and her. "Do you have time to tell, or are we still in a panicked rush to the next disaster?" Tricia looks around. "I mean...we just slept in. That must mean that there's a fire or something." She smiles at you.

>>24173598
Pretty sure they did, of course I haven't slept since last thread so I may be remembering wrong.

>>24173598
You broke the time stop for the three of you at the start. Then after the tail swipe, you broke it for good and everyone saw them and heard them threaten you and teleport.

>>24173600
>there must be a fire or something
"Well, if we're not on fire yet, it must not really be so bad. And the book contained an entire library of useful things, but for us? specifically? yeah.

There's a draconic bonding ritual in there. It's apparently dangerous, but for reasons they don't indicate, and would... uh... Well, make you live longer. If we lived through the actual ritual itself. "

>>24173639
I'm gonna go back and re-read that then, since it's important for later

>>24173600
There's some kind of bonding ceremony in there. Like dragon marriage or something. It's apparently quite risky but if it goes well you could stay with me a lot longer. Just something to think about.

What scares me the most is the fact that they mentioned they really can't directly touch us. This means citadel is interested in our 'story'

Which makes me believe it is now the spoiled king from one thousand and one nights who is more interested in the story than anything else. Now imagine, you've had the same story for years, and now something new as appeared. The fact citadel is taking a direct interest in us and our 'story' is disconcerting.

Remember the name of the princess who tells that story in the original tale? Scheherazade
You can start panicking now like I did when I first heard that name.

>>24173600
Well, there's no immediately obvious reason to panic right now.

It was a draconic bonding ritual, sharing one's blood, sweat, and tears with another. It's apparently dangerous, and I'm not 100% sure how it works, but it would extend your life: probably by quite a bit.

Just something to think about. You know, if we survive this whole thing with Citadel and the Dramatae, that is.

>>24173739
As was mentioned last thread, I wonder if the Dramatae are starting to panic at the thought that maybe Citadel wants this story to end with us killing them, or at least considers it an entertaining and viable outcome.

>>24173690
"Well, if we're not on fire yet, it must not really be so bad. And the book contained an entire library of useful things, but for us? Specifically? Yeah.

There's a draconic bonding ritual in there. It's apparently dangerous, but for reasons they don't indicate, and would... uh... Well, make you live longer. If we lived through the actual ritual itself."

"So...this would be like a Dragon Marriage thing?" Tricia says.

"Kinda." You say, nodding.

Tricia stands there and exhales. "How...umm...how long does it take? And when you say dangerous...dangerous by regular people or dangerous by OUR scale?" She's fiddling with her hair and blushing a little.

>>24173785
"There's not a whole lot of information in there. Maybe we can find out more when we finally find the Old One."

>>24173785
I don't know, I'd have to properly study it. Maybe have Mage look at it, Ghoul magic IS descendant from dragon magic, so he might be able of making sense of it.

>>24173785
"I don't know, it was kind of vague, I think we'd have to do some more research to be sure."

>>24173785
The book's really not that specific about it. And of course, until we know more it's too big a risk for me to even consider.

>>24173785
"All it really says is to mix blood, sweat, and tears, exchange it, and have hearts of tender iron? or something? I don't know how dangerous that means it really is. I was thinking of asking that dragon, if we ever did meet him.

When we make our report to whathisface we should remember to emphasize that vampire girl was not a mentally stable person, and thus can not be held accountable for her actions, and should be sparred the death penalty, undergo the cure for vampirsm and attend a mental health institution.

>>24173785
"Unfortunately dragons are notoriously bad at explaining things in detail."

>>24173865
We should first consult with a judicio clerk on whether or not that is a legally defensible position.

Some of these nation states just kill crazy folk.

>>24173816
"I don't know, it was kind of vague, I think we'd have to do some more research to be sure.

"Maybe have Mage look at it, Ghoul magic IS descendant from dragon magic, so he might be able of making sense of it. I was thinking of asking that dragon, if we ever did meet him."

Tricia exhales and nods and puts the book down. "Right, yeah. Good idea." She smiles at you. "So...Ted said it'd be a day or two before he'd get everything ready for a Dark peak expedition." She snaps her fingers. "Oh! That compass. I guess we're just borrowing it now, right?" She smirks.

>>24173865
Not only that, but it's pretty obvious she had her head messed with. I mean, what kind of girl tells a Paladin that rape and torture will be ineffective on them? That is, what kind of girl expects such behavior from a Paladin?

We gotta check on that one dudes sister to.

>>24173898
"Yeah, Sandover will probably give it over easily, he is pretty grateful right now. However, I have an investigation to finish first. Saving legless vampire ladies and all that."

>>24173898
"I take it you've already snatched it..? Good job. We'll just have to make sure we bring it back in one piece later.

>>24173898
"Probably."

>>24173917
yes, we REALLY do. It's part of our investigation, and we planned on doing that anyway.

>>24173898
"We'll also need to talk to Trivalon again to get the full details on how he recruited them. I also want to know why he betrayed us."

>>24173946
Not to be harsh, but it's doubtful Trivalon was ever on our side. I doubt he joined the Dramatae a few weeks ago.

>>24173966
Yeah, but it'd be nice to know how long he's been their agent. Was he working for them while he was helping our father or did he fall somewhere in between?

>>24173966
yeah, but he could easily, EASILY have just, like, had his vampire minions be all "Oh, help us paladin! My sisters have been gravely wounded on a trail several hours away from where we are now! Please do come to help them!" And he coulda gotten the book scott free.

>>24173966
Also, this is the first time we have a Dramatae agent in our custody who is at least somewhat willing to talk to us. He could give us further insight on how they work or how to spot other agents.

>>24173990
But we know that the citadel doesn't allow its servants to make use of their intelligence if it doesn't suit their plans.

>>24173928
"Yeah, Sandover will probably give it over easily, he is pretty grateful right now. However, I have an investigation to finish first. Saving legless vampire ladies and all that." You say.

Tricia nods. "Alright, so...you going to talk to Balles, or Trivalon?" She frowns. "Also, we never got to talk to Rachel, you know...how did she get all 'Citadel..ded', wow new stupid term for us, anyway how'd she get all loopy if it wasn't from Jeremy?"

>>24174105
"I'm guess it was Trivalon's meddling. We can talk to him later about it, but we should really make sure Rachel is okay now that the Dramatae's plans for Sandover have been foiled."

>>24174105
"Trivalon first."

>>24174123
"I'm guess it was Trivalon's meddling. We can talk to him later about it, but we should really make sure Rachel is okay now that the Dramatae's plans for Sandover have been foiled."

"Okay, you want all of us on this, or are you going to Cups solo and have us check up on other stuff?"

>>24174105
"Trivalon, the Dramatae..Light forbid, she may have simply got that way on her own like Paladin Odette or that Painter."

>>24174145
Mari and Mage should come with.
Lea and Tricia can check up on other stuff.

>>24174144
Ssen and Lea go check up on Trivalon. He won't really talk to anybody except Sen.

Mage, Tricia, and Peri/Mari go check on Rachel. I'm sure their combined expertise would be able to sense any lingering Citadel magic.

>>24174229
>>24174211

How about we have tricia come with us this time?

we don't REALLY need her bug magic anywhere today, so it'd be nice to be able to hang out with her.

>>24174255
Yeah, I guess Tricia could roll with us.

>>24174274
Well, if she could bite our tail and we then bite her feet, the rolling part could work.

>>24174144
"Tricia, how about you come with me to talk to trivalon. The other three can go check in on rachel. If they can't wake her on their own, well, I'll be by afterwards, maybe be able to do something myself."

You know something, I feel like apologizing to Sandover. We thought he was this big bad schemer and conspirator when all he was a guy doing his best for this dream and his people.

>>24174229
"Tricia, how about you come with me to talk to Trivalon. The other three can go check in on Rachel. If they can't wake her on their own, well, I'll be by afterwards, maybe be able to do something myself."

"Okay." She nods. "I'll go set off the others."

About ten minutes later you five/six are all set up and ready. Peri/Mari declined to go to Cups with Mage and Lea, but wanted to talk with Balles and look over the laws. Well, Mari did at least. Peri would rather keep sleeping in, seeing as this could be the only day on record that they could do that without the world inflicting crisis upon you.

"He hasn't said anything since you left." The Occuli guard says. "We have him under guard 24/7 with Magically Trained Occuli support. Doubled since the incident with the unknown assailants. We haven't told him anything either." He says. "He just finished the vodka and has been decidedly calm."

"So..." Tricia says. "How are we handling this? We being the smug ones now, or bad lamia/good wasp witch, or just start with a hammer and go from there?"

>>24174522
I'd prefer starting out with the hammer but then I'm a paladin. Also, why isn't it good paladin/bad wasp witch?

>>24174522
Smug is just asking for trouble. Just see what info we can glean off him.

>>24174522
"Let's pretend his plan went off without a hitch. He's apparently more willing to talk when he thinks he already succeeded, and I'm pretty sure after what just happened, I doubt the Dramatae would have bothered telling him they failed."

>>24174566
"I'd prefer starting out with the hammer but then I'm a paladin. Also, why isn't it good paladin/bad wasp witch?"

"Because you're ALWAYS the Good Paladin, Ssen...I thought it might be fun to change things up." She shrugs.

>>24174592
Use this >>24174589 tactic. Trivalon seems the type more likely to blab when he's confident he's won.

>>24174522
aww peri, you poor girl, you should have slept in. This is our only chance.

"Well, hopefully we'll be able to just start where we we left off. I mean, he WAS doing that whole 'villainous reveal of my plot!' thing."

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>>24174589

Hmm. Perhaps we might try to play a trick on Trivalon if he assumes that he won?

Ssen goes all hardliner paladin full-justice mode out of seeming frustration over losing Sandover and/or possibly Lea getting hurt, Tricia acts the part of the good cop trying to prevent Ssen from crossing a line?

>>24174637
Yes. Perfect.

>>24174522
Eh, I was thinking not so much smug as calm and confident. It's best not to antagonize any of these people too much, even now. After all, a cornered animal is that much more dangerous.
>>24174566
Because we're a lamia. Most people immediately just see us as that, and even those who know that there IS a lamia paladin out there need to have us explain it to them.

>>24174700
>Most people immediately just see us as that, and even those who know that there IS a lamia paladin out there need to have us explain it to them
I'm pretty sure Trivalon knows about us being a paladin.

>>24174589
"Let's pretend his plan went off without a hitch. He's apparently more willing to talk when he thinks he already succeeded, and I'm pretty sure after what just happened, I doubt the Dramatae would have bothered telling him they failed."

"Right." She nods. "But I'd still really really like to be the nice one this time."

Trivalon looks up and smiles at you two as the two of you enter the room. Tricia sits down on a chair and frowns at the man.

"Ladies. A little early for vodka, so we should most likely skip that part." He sighs. "So...now what?"

>>24174730
"I just want to know. How long have you been working for the Dramatae? When you were friends with my father? Since the very beginning? Why would you work with them?"

>>24174730
"You son of a bitch."
Just that. Just give him the impression he's won, and see where he goes.

I normally don't play good occuli/bad occuli, it's not my style. So you guys go nuts. Imma make sammich

>>24174730
I'm okay with this.

>>24174863
It's very simple. It's how you carry yourself: make a show of it, be threatening, give your partner obvious cues for when they should try and "reign you in" and take over for a bit, but most of all keep them talking.

In this case, simply making him think he has the advantage, or that his group's plans have worked, should be enough to get him going and keep him going.

>>24174819
"You son of a bitch."

He shrugs. "I do hope that Lea is unharmed. Peace never takes life unless needed, but Comedy and Tragedy are...less collected."

"She's fine, no thanks to you." Tricia says.

"Actually you should thank me. They wanted to kill you after your little soiree in Stone Hall, when they asked for my opinion. I said no." He shrugged. "A monster martyr would be too permanent."

"I just want to know. How long have you been working for the Dramatae? When you were friends with my father? Since the very beginning? Why would you work with them?"

Trivalon holds up four fingers. "That's four questions, Ssen. A bit much, and I'm not feeling too chatty." He sighs. "Lets start with one for free. Then we'll talk exchange rates."

>>24175007
Actually only 2, why would be sufficient, let him damn himself.

>>24175007
"All right then, we'll start with the most important one. Why?"

>>24175007
"The first three questions were basically the same thing, and you're not really in a position to negotiate."
With a nice fangy snarl.
It's fun to play the bad guy once in a while.

>>24175007
"Very well, How did you control the vampires?"

remember people, we need evidence to clear Helen out of him, that is our Top priority.

>>24175088
Good point, redacting >>24175068 for now.

>>24175084
"Very well, How did you control the vampires?"

He blinks and sits up. He pauses and then shrugs. "The mask. Why are you so concerned about that? If you want to try and control your own undead, I'll tell you now that the masks dont work for anyone but the chosen Passions."

>>24175157
"So they had no control over what they did?"

>>24175157
"When did you apply the mask's control to these women?"

>>24175193
"So they had no control over what they did?"

"Well, to that they had to do what I told them to, not as to how, why are you asking me about this nonse-" He stops. "Oh...is that it? You...you're trying to save that thing you chopped the leg off of?" He chuckles. "Any small victory for His Light, you'll take. Is that it?" He nods. "Your father would have been proud." He pauses and then shrugs. "Alright. No skin off of my nose." He shrugs. "The old woman had run off because Sandover had said she was too old to be one of his pretty show-whores any more. The girl has fits of passion, and I knew that if I came to her, then I could talk her into accepting the deal. She was turned, and then she was under my control. I don't know if that's enough to qualify her for being unwillingly turned, since I never forced her. However, all actions that she did while she was a vampire were my calls." He nods. "Is that enough?"

>>24175361
And the dwarf in the hospital right now? The one that suddenly became happy and complacent in creating masks?

>>24175376
Yeah, is this at all to do with the masks?

>>24175376
"And the dwarf in the hospital right now? The one that suddenly became happy and complacent in creating masks?"

He shakes his head. "That wasn't me. Peace handled things directly related to Sandover's recruitment. I was told to collect the women, and then I was free to use them as I saw fit. Normally, I don't do as much field work as this. Actually, I usually don't do ANY field work. But we've been a little short handed."

>>24175477
Something tells me we're not going to get any info on the Dramatae's future plans out of him, so I guess now would be a good time to ask him why he did it.

>>24175477
"Because they killed Rage for helping me clean up the mess they made of Stone Hall."

Do we really need any more now? I'm really tempted to drop the bomb now. It might break him completely. Something along the lines of. "Well, exploiting suggestibility to gain control of someone should be enough. Especially if Sandover is willing to attest to her episodes."

Personal isn't the same as important. He was working with them, and is fairly unrepentant about it. The details of how long or why are... well, trivial. We will offer him confession though.

Ask why. I doubt he will answer without exchanging something we won't want to though. So I think this is where we should stop. If so then:

"Thank you. That will be all."

Start to leave then turn back around.

"Thank you for warning me that they were striking then. I wouldn't have been able to save both Lea and Sandover if you hadn't. Good day Passion. I hope selling your soul to the darkness was worth it. May you find your way to His Light regardless."

>>24175553
I was hoping on our way out we could say "Oh, and I wouldn't look too smug, the other Dramatae seems pretty angry that you let their plans slip early enough for me to stop them claiming Sandover. Your execution will probably be a mercy, compared to what they'd do."

Then we leave without a backwards glance.

>>24175563

I think we should offer to take his confession. I doubt he will take us up on the offer, but no soul is beyond redemption.

>>24175576
>>24175563
No. No smug. We aren't Odette. Our plots aren't for personal satisfaction.

>>24175590
We can offer him a confession before we tell him he screwed up.

I forget, who was this guy again?

>>24175563

We shouldn't tip our hand too quickly. There might be some more information he will volunteer if we appear desperate and angry.

>>24175617
The guy from the first town who helped us stop the mob from killing us and sent us to find the artifact that led to PeriMari

>>24175477
"Well, you mentioned it, so you should start talking. About being shorthanded, about what type of work you did, field and non, maybe about your bosses."

>>24175619
we kinda blew that when we started asking about the vampire and the sister. If we were going to play angry we should have asked what plans, where sandover would have been taken, why he did it etc. Instead we went the resigned to do our best route. And it worked, we got some information for the woman. And Rachel as well.

You drum your fingers and sigh. "Do you wish to give a confession?" You ask.

He shakes his head. "No. Thank you for the offer though. I do hope that you manage to help...what was her name?" He asks honestly.

You aren't sure what disgusts you more. The idea that he never even cared to learn Helen's name, or that his generic concern for her, and his willingness to help save her, is honest.

>>24175914
"I think that's all. Whatever you sold your soul to the Dramatae for, I hope it was worth it."

>>24175914

"Her name is Helen."

Let's actually let a bit of our anger show here, to let the act we've got on have more depth.

>>24175477
Well, we've already got some fairly valuable information out of him: testimony that he controlled the vampire at least after being turned, and voluntarily being turned doesn't itself seem like a crime, just a sign of bad judgment and/or being on the wrong side of a bout of crazy. So we potentially have enough evidence on that front; we should take it to Balles after this and see if he needs any more than that.

As for Balles (note the careful choice of wording and the silently lowercase word): "So, now that the Dramatae have their rage, what use would they have had for you? Were you in it for the power, or do you genuinely believe in their mission?"

>>24175914
"Her name is Helen, and Peace failed." Then leave without explanation.

>>24175980
I believe you mean Trafalger instead of Balles

>>24175980
>rage, not Rage

heh i see what you did there.

>>24176007
Trivalon

>>24175969
"Her name is Helen." You say, showing a little fang.

"Ah, well. I hope you can help her." He says. "Are we done?"

>>24176036
"It will, along with Sandover's testimony."

then get up and leave.

>>24175980
You pause and look at him. "So, now that the Dramatae have their rage, what use would they have had for you? Were you in it for the power, or do you genuinely believe in their mission?"

Trivalon nods. "We're done."

>>24176036
Alright, now is time for our exit.

"Yes, that will be enough, along with Sandover's testimony."

"I hope whatever you got for selling your soul to darkness was worth it. And may His Light forgive you after your journey throught the darkness."

>>24176061
"I suppose we are. With what you've told me here, and Sandover's testimony, saving Helen should be possible. Thank you."

Then we leave.

>>24176061
One last attempt to extract the whys from him: "You seemed willing to answer questions about your reasons earlier, and said something about 'exchange rates'. What would you want, exactly?"

>>24176088
(Would be good to know what he wants even if we don't intend to give it to him.)

>>24176071
This sounds like a good way to end the conversation. I'm genuinely curious how he'll react to realizing how badly he screwed up.

>>24176117
I am betting it breaks him, i kind of doubt he will survive to his execution, considering how angry the Dramatae are.

>>24176163
Can't we appeal for him to serve life in Prison?

I mean, why kill off a little fish when you can use him as bet for the big ones?

>>24176173
Unless you want to guard him all day every day from now on, I don't think that's really viable. Besides, Balles is a stickler for the law, he might have been willing to give us a chance with Helen, but no way he's letting Trivalon off easy.

After this, before we go to Balles with what we have, we should meet up with Mari to hear what she learned about the local laws.

>>24176163
Perhaps, or perhaps they'll just leave him to rot. They're pretty enraged right now, but blasting into a prison to kill their Passion doesn't seem like it fits with Citadel's story very well, especially after their very public exposure. Seems like they need to move on to their next target, and the Lightbringers' next goal. Of course, Trivalon may still think they're after him, and the Dramatae themselves may not be in a particularly rational mood right now.

>>24176189
Life in Prison for an old man who used to be a Cop is many things.

But it sure as hell isn't being "let off easy."

>>24176173
Letting a villain who has no intent of stopping his antics live in prison instead of excecuting him like the law demands? Who are we? Batman?

>>24176240
>Cop
He was an overseer.

>>24176173
I doubt it, they go medieval on people here, If the offense is bad enough to merit life in prison it merits the headsman.

the only question is how badly he dies, a headman's axe would at least be quick, the Dramatae would probably hit him with something like Lamia venom, or other such things that cause ugly deaths.

>>24176088
"You seemed willing to answer questions about your reasons earlier, and said something about 'exchange rates'. What would you want, exactly?"

He shrugs. "I probably would have asked you personal questions, or made you and your girlfriend do embarrassing things. Possibly strip," He shrugs. "Whatever I thought would be amusing, but we should act like adults, shouldn't we? I wasn't going to tell you anything useful about the Dramatae anyway."

"You really think they'll let you live? That you'll see the light of day again?" Tricia says.

"Trivalon? Oh no, I'm dead. I will be tried, executed, and hanged. The coroner will kick my body a few times, and then I'll be tipped into a pauper's grave wrapped in a sheet." He smiles. "Then, a month later, a young man will walk up the steps of a Conclave in our land, and introduce himself with whatever name he's using, and he'll dive into his work with Passion and gusto, and one day he might even be made Overseer." He smiles calmly. "So I have nothing to be afraid of."

"You little piece of slime! Our father's TRUSTED you!" Tricia snaps.

"Yes, they did." Trivalon says. "Now, I'm tired and would like to rest. Goodbye Tricia, Ssen. Again, I hope that was enough to make sure that Helen comes out of this alright."

You take Tricia by the shoulder and walk her to the door.

"Yes, that will be enough, along with Sandover's testimony." You say. "I hope whatever you got for selling your soul to darkness was worth it. And may His Light forgive you after your journey throught the darkness."

"Thank you, Lady Paladin." He says.

The two of you wait for a moment as you see Trivalion suddenly put it together. "Wait...what?!"

"There it is!" Tricia says, laughing.

Trivalon doesn't say anything. He just goes pale white and then turns to stare off into space. His head does a slight shake of 'no' as you're sure he's going back over his description of his fate, only now re-evaluating what the ending is to be now.

You close the door.

>>24176317
"Man, am I a terrible bad-occuli."

>>24176317
On the way out, tell the guards that if Trivalon has a sudden attack of wanting to talk to us, to let us know.

Then let's meet up with Mari and see what she learned about the local laws as they might affect Helen, and assuming it sounds like we have enough, take it to Balles.

>>24176317
Hah.

Time to meet up with the others and pool our information before we go see Balles.

>>24176317
Trivalon respawn toggle = Disabled

File: 1365643043279.gif-(24 KB, 210x200, huehuehue.gif)

24 KB GIF

>>24176375

I think I'll recommend that they burn his corpse, let the Phoenix decide if they want him reborn as much as Citadel once did.

>>24176317
Condemning a person to a grisly end should not feel so satisfying.

..Gotta be careful or we'll turn out like Bobbi.

>>24176375
We did him a favor. Mortality is what drives men to create, to act, to change the world in which they live, that the product of that change may forever echo through the future, as evidence of their identity, long after they breathe their last.

>>24176413
It isn't Citadel, I think it's the dramatae that have a means of bringing him back, and now he knows they won't.

>>24176419
No force in this world or any other could make us turn out like her.

>>24176429
Screw mortality. Who needs a ticking clock of doom to tell you to live life to the fullest?

>>24176413
I don't think that would stop anything if the Dramatae really planned to revive him, if that's what he meant rather than just that another would take his place. But as an extra measure of safety, sure, why not, if it makes us feel better.

>>24176419
we hardly condemned him to it, he did that himself as soon as we succeeded at saving Sandover thanks to his gloating.

>>24176419
I am feeling a mix of satisfaction and dissapointment.

I LIKED this guy, now he's gotta be executed. I just want more frenemies, like robin.

>>24176502
Unfortunately, I think all the stuff we liked about him was an act. The one we saw in the cell was the real Trivalon.

Besides, Robin is all the frenemy one could ever need.

>>24176502
Pity him. He doesn't know what he lost in choosing to switch sides.

>>24176502
I'm mostly just disappointed that we don't even know what would drive an otherwise seemingly decent person like Trivalon to this. And we may never know. That hurts almost more than that he did it.

>>24176519
With ends like these, who needs frenemies?

>>24176356
"Man, am I a terrible bad-occuli." You say as you head back to the main floor.

"Yeah, but you're awesome at being you." Tricia winces. "I didn't just say that, did I?" She shakes her head and then pauses. "Hey, so...I know that as a Paladin you're automatically an Occuli, but are the rest of us Occuli too? I mean...I dunno. I prefer to be Caligo Clarus...eh, doesn't matter I suppose." She shrugs.

"So," Mari looks up from a desk that's covered with books and papers. "You get the creep to say anything useful?"

>>24176563
"Turns out he was controlling the vampires via the masks, hopefully that should help convince Balles to go easy on Helen, but beyond that he wouldn't tell us anything about the Dramatae's plans."

>>24176563
Mind manipulating masks. Masks enchanted to take ones will and leave them a puppet to him.

>>24176563
>"Yeah, but you're awesome at being you." Tricia winces. "I didn't just say that, did I?" She shakes her head and then pauses. "Hey, so...I know that as a Paladin you're automatically an Occuli, but are the rest of us Occuli too? I mean...I dunno. I prefer to be Caligo Clarus...eh, doesn't matter I suppose." She shrugs.

"I think you can be both; just add it to the list of titles. Don't worry, Isen will remember them all."

> "So," Mari looks up from a desk that's covered with books and papers. "You get the creep to say anything useful?"

"Yeah. He said that Helen and the other two voluntarily agreed to be turned into vampires, but that everything they did after that was under his control, not theirs."

>>24176591
"Except that they might have helped him faked his death..if he hadn't screwed the pooch by bragging to us."

>>24176563
"Enough that we should be able to save Helen. He was using the Passion Dramatae mask to control them completely after they where Turned."

Should we tell of how Trivalon seemed to be very unconcerned about being executed? It seemed almost as if death would be a slight inconvenience, if the Dramatae were still interested in rescuing him.

Perhaps Citadel has a method of reincarnating faithful servants without wiping their memories.

>>24176689
The Citadel is powerful enough to pull people back from the Afterlife?

Yeah I hope not and it's just a case of the Dramatae pulling a time stop switcharoo, because otherwise that means we're batting so far out of our league that we need a T-Ball stand.

Much as I'd love to try and recruit Odette's reincarnation.

>>24176743
Or perhaps the host really does die, but the new Passion has the memories of the old?

>>24176771
Or they put the soul into a New Body ala Mari's grandmother.

>>24176743
The dramatae and the cyclic nature of Citadel... Mayhap there is a form of reincarnation awaiting those who pass, and the Dramatae, because of their link to another endlessly cyclic phenomenon, can track a person through the reincarnation process.

>>24176805
I'm betting that Comedy and Tragedy are similar recruits, but Peace has always been the same Peace since the beginning of Citadel.

>>24176591
>>24176607

"I think you can be both; just add it to the list of titles. Don't worry, Isen will remember them all."

"Ugh, forget it then, anything that keeps his mouth from flapping is a good thing." Tricia says.

"Huh?" Mari asks.

"Nothing important, I'm just quibbling about semantics." Tricia says. "Tell Mari what we got."

"Trivalon said that Helen and the other two voluntarily agreed to be turned into vampires, but that everything they did after that was under his control, not theirs.

"Turns out he was controlling the vampires via the Passion Mask, hopefully that should help convince Balles to go easy on Helen, but beyond that he wouldn't tell us anything about the Dramatae's plans. They might have faked his death...at least before he screwed up things with Sandover."

Mari groans and puts her face in her hands. "Oh, that's not good." She says. "Well, it's good to the point where she won't be declared anathema and cured to wander the Darkness forever. But..." She shakes her head. "Willingly accepting Vampirism is an executable offense. Right now, the best we can do is have her crimes be pardoned and a Lightkeeper give her soul a direct blessing to aid her in her moment of weakness."

"Why? Why is it so harsh?" Tricia asks.

"Do you know what is used in the Vampire cure?" Mari holds up a list of what looks like very rare, and very expensive, alchemical ingredients. "And this stuff can't be made overnight either. There's a waiting list for the cure. The asylum in Purple Sands actually has a wing for people who have been involuntarily. They sit around, waiting for the next batch to be made, and the longer people have to wait." She drums her fingers. "Of course, there's a quicker option, but that's in Citadel and...well...the more I look at it the more I don't like it...and leave it at that." She sighs. "And the admission that Helen had 'mood swings' isn't going to be enough to satisfy the law. We have to prove her insane."

(More coming)

>>24176899
>Well, it's good to the point where she won't be declared anathema and cured to wander the Darkness forever

"The Paladins *do* that kind of thing? Just what would you have to do to earn *that*?"

>>24176930
Littering.

>>24176930
Jaywalking.

>>24176930

Farting in public and blaming someone else for it.

>>24176954
>>24176965
>>24176970
In Citadel, I could believe it.

>>24176930
When they say "Keep off the Grass" by the light do they mean it.

>>24176930
Toothpaste + Orange juice

>>24177007
That's a punishment, not a crime.

>>24176930

Not using a coaster.

>>24176899
Just making sure we understand: since she's no longer controlled, is there some fundamental reason why she can't live without the vampire cure? We have a ghoul in our party; vampires can't exactly go vegetarian, but nothing says they have to suck on humans.

So, leaving aside the issue of taking a dose of the cure that would better go to a more deserving candidate, what makes accepting vampirism itself a crime?

>>24176899
"Well that's not too hard." Tricia says. "I remember reading and hearing about how people in the upper class would commit men and women to the asylums for 'temporary insanity' if they were acting too unmannered, or..." She squeezes your shoulder and smiles at you. "You know, or for any other number of reasons that made them 'unsuitable' for society. Dad was always upset about seeing that happen."

Mari nods. "It's...an option...but if that's the case. Then Jeremy is going to have to sign off on papers saying that Helen is insane." She flips through her books and papers. "Right, since Helen keeps screaming and ranting about how she's pretty for Jeremy's sake, and Jeremy has...right right..." She sighs. "So it's kill her now, or declare her insane and lock her up in an aslyum until she gets high enough on the waiting list to be cured...and if there are others with 'superior needs' that arrive after her...that could be a very very long wait."

"There any other cure that works?"

Mari shrugs. "If there is, the Conclaves haven't found it. So far it's this complicated cure, divine intervention, dragon blood, or some other form of a miracle to cure her." She groans. "And even THEN she might have to spend the rest of her life in a mental facility, because if she doesn't have the sanity to refuse vampirism, then she can't be fit to be among society." Mari closes the books and shakes her head. "We have a lot of really crappy options."

>>24177026
We would have to find out what CONTRACTING vampirism requires, now wouldn't we?

>>24177051
Necromancy. Best left alone.

>>24177045
"Dragon blood might actually be an option in the near future. We'll keep it in mind, but I can't rightly say that i'd choose for it to go to her before others on the waiting list. We'll have her committed for now."

>>24177045
"At least she would have chance to live and change than simply killed off. That's all I can really ask for."

>>24177045
"Life in an asylum, or an execution in the light? Well, I suppose we could always ask her which she'd prefer."

>>24177051
That's something I'd like to know.

>Mari shrugs. "If there is, the Conclaves haven't found it. So far it's this complicated cure, divine intervention, dragon blood, or some other form of a miracle to cure her." She groans. "And even THEN she might have to spend the rest of her life in a mental facility, because if she doesn't have the sanity to refuse vampirism, then she can't be fit to be among society." Mari closes the books and shakes her head. "We have a lot of really crappy options."

"Well, dragon's blood might be a possibility, though it doesn't address the sanity question, nor why she's any more deserving of that than the normal cure just because she knows us and we feel bad for her. And it would put us in a rather large rush to get it when I'd hoped to be able to take our time getting to Dark Peaks.

If we had Jeremy declare her insane, I take it there's no going back from that, whether she gets a cure or not?"

>>24177026
>what makes accepting vampirism itself a crime?

It's seen as a rejection of His Light. Also, sane vampires are the exception. Not the norm. There's a reason they're confined, and that you find that the necromancers that CONTROL vampires are NOT vampires themselves.

well if a Lamia has dragon's blood within them I wonder if we can distill our own blood through alchemy. Might be worth taking lessons from Mari.

>>24177144
considering how the reacted to Beacon and Lea's punches that sadly seems the case.

>>24177144
And here I was hoping for a *good* reason. As much as we praise and serve the Light, heresy alone should not be a capital crime, or a crime at all. That's a very Citadel kind of law.

>>24177159
>Drink of my blood

Ssen confirmed for Lamia Jesus

>>24177159
>well if a Lamia has dragon's blood within them I wonder if we can distill our own blood through alchemy. Might be worth taking lessons from Mari.

That's a disturbingly fascinating idea. Of course, given how toxic our blood normally is, any volunteers for testing that theory?

alchemic dragon magic. Just will it and our blood will heal instead of harm.

>>24177159
or it just jellies their bones, Echo said it would be a Bad Idea for a vampire to bite us.

>>24177213
Presumably the distillation process would filter out the venom. Much like the collection of dragon's blood has to be careful to avoid dragon bile, which is apparently the single most toxic natural substance known.

I think We'd need to find a leviathan to be capable of alchemising our blood. What kind of shit did leviathan blood do to make our blood a potent poison?

>>24177234
still sounds like a genuine Bad Idea, as there's a huge difference between changing the properties of something(our blood) and making sure two different substances dont mix(dragon's blood with dragon bile)

>>24177283
Not Leviathan, I think, but the dragon blood.

dragon Bile is probably partially responsible for the toxicity in our blood. It might also have something to do with our leviathanic heritage.

>>24177290
Yeah, it would rely on the assumption that there exist separable components in lamia blood to begin with. In any case, breaking the fourth wall for a moment, it seems narratively unlikely when we have a full-blooded dragon nearby.

>>24177300
>>24177283
It's possible that the Dragon blood-derived miracles we're seeking, by the way, are totally unrelated to the sort which Scheherazade performed when healing our disfiguration. Those regenerative capacities could come from the troll part of her blood.

>>24177164
Gee, you think?! Also, you don't see it weird that getting the chomp is a one way ticket to crazy town? Kinda like something was egging them on?

>>24177051
There's the old fashioned way of the chomp, a ritual with blood and a little alchemy (which was the case here), or an assortment of forbidden curses and spells.

>>24177139
"Well, dragon's blood might be a possibility, though it doesn't address the sanity question, nor why she's any more deserving of that than the normal cure just because she knows us and we feel bad for her. And it would put us in a rather large rush to get it when I'd hoped to be able to take our time getting to Dark Peaks.

"If we had Jeremy declare her insane, I take it there's no going back from that, whether she gets a cure or not?"

"No. If she was walking around wearing trousers, or talking to birds too much, then yes, that could be dealt with. But 'too crazy to behave how we want you to' is not the same as 'so crazy she became a vampire.' So, it'd be a life sentence."

You sigh. "Life in an asylum, or an execution in the light? Well, I suppose we could always ask her which she'd prefer."

"You mean when she isn't screaming for Jeremy or babbling in rhyme?" Tricia asks.

"Ugh, this sucks." Mari says.

"Welcome to life, kiddo." Peri says.

"Yeah, yeah." Mari says. "So, how do we head with this boss?"

>>24177347
Life in madness? Death might be a mercy for her.

>>24177347
"Is there no chance we could convince Paladin Balles that she was manipulated into accepting the vampirism?"

>>24177347
>Gee, you think?! Also, you don't see it weird that getting the chomp is a one way ticket to crazy town? Kinda like something was egging them on?

Oh, I seriously doubt that the vampirism caused the crazy. I think she had some first-class crazy to start with, and then between the vampirism, the mind control, and Jeremy's Citadelesque preachings, she went full vampire-bat-guano crazy.

I think we ought to be having this conversation with the others. Take a moment, say the prayer, and then turn to them to say "So with that preface, you can guess what I'd think is behind her descent into darkness, not to mention the concept of voluntary vampirism itself being worthy of death merely as a heresy. And if Lea asks, I never said that last part."

>>24177347
ya we get it, citadel enforces Vampire = Crazy just like most monsters who accept its rule. Sadly for them since they were human at the start they are more susceptable.

I think our next step is to talk to Sandover, about several things. Jeremy's Sister and her masks. Helen's fate. And finally the compass.

>>24177399
we'd have to have proof that Peace was the one who caused the Shadow Sister's to lose control.

>>24177347
>>24177435
I think we need to hear from the others who talked to Rachel, if not talk to her ourselves. Whatever it takes to get her back might teach us something, and she might have some information to share.

>>24177347
"Well, not everyone can be innocent, I guess. I think I'm going to try to ask her, then, if she's babbling too much to help, well... I'm not sure."

Im ok with visiting Rachel next

>>24177399
I'm sorry, as much as I would like to save a life. I also will not spin facts to save them. She took on vampirism willingly. If you want to save her it's life in an asylum but the more I look at ... >>24177379 has the right point. It might be best to just do a mercy killing.

>>24177434
let's leave out that last part- we're unsure how non-citadel vampires are. Don't want to give them a mass pardon prematurely.

>>24177473
yeah, let's visit Rachel. We need to get her side.

>>24177511
I agree; we're not going to deny reality, we're just going to find a way to change it. Seems entirely too easy that we could get all the evidence we need on the morning of day one.

Let's learn from Rachel and talk to Sandover, then consider our options from there.

Getting a serious Majora's Mask vibe from saying that.

>>24177512
I'm not talking about vampirism itself. I'm just talking about the idea of heresy as a capital crime, and voluntarily choosing to become a vampire as irredeemable heresy. The vast majority of vampires are probably still evil and/or insane.

And the vast majority of lamia are monsters or pets.

>>24177576
I would argue the semantics of the differences between citadel and non citadel variants of creatures and how they should be treated, but that sounds really boring to me, so I will concede instead.

>>24177555
I seriously doubt will getting anything from talking to Rachel to help with Helens case. Remember that was Peaces deal. And we've gotten we can in regards to her from Sandover. I really don't see this ending anyway that will be 'happy.' You can't always get a happy ending for people.

At this point I think we've tried our best.

>>24177616
we could always talk to Helen, if she stops ranting for a few minutes.

perhaps Sandover could get through to her, now that he is on our side.

>>24177616
actually, I want to apply the knowledge we got from the vampires to rachel's case. See if anything might help.

We can't do much for the vamp at this point from what we've seen, but we can still help dorf at our leisure.

>>24177399
>>24177434
"So with that preface, you can guess what I'd think is behind her descent into darkness, not to mention the concept of voluntary vampirism itself being worthy of death merely as a heresy. And if Lea asks, I never said that last part."

"Heh, said what?" Peri says.

"Right, so is there no chance we could convince Paladin Balles that she was manipulated into accepting the vampirism?"

"Let me see Trivalon's story," Mari says looking at the written transcript of your interview with Trivalon that Tricia took. "Yeah...this...is a little useful to helping us." She frowns. "He says that he exploited her, and that he tricked her but..." She shakes her head. "The biggest problem is that Helen is still claiming that she did it on her own free will."

"Well, not everyone can be innocent, I guess. I think I'm going to try to ask her, then, if she's babbling too much to help, well... I'm not sure."

"Yeah, but if she keeps talking nonsense, then that's the crazy vampire talking for her, not the actual person." Tricia says.

"Exactly, now usually even the most crazy vampires can say that they were turned voluntarily or involuntarily, but if we want to clinch that she wasn't in her right mind, temporarily, she has to admit it."

"So, the only way we can prove she deserves to be cured of vampirism...is to cure her vampirism." Tricia says.

"Pretty much, yeah." Mari nods. "Trivalon's story can at the very least, make it so that Jeremy doesn't have to commit her. She'll just be locked away for a long...long time."

"So we got more time." Tricia says.

"If you want to call it that, sure...but it's more like we got a 'less awful' option." She sighs. "We blame everything on her flighty moods and Trivalon, and lock her away in an asylum and MAYBE one day cure her."

>>24177616
Look, if we can stop an execution in the heart of the Citadel with thousands of people watching, BEFORE becoming a paladin, we can do this.

>>24177662
(Ach, forgot to put in the anti-citadel prayer at the top. Apologies.)

>>24177631
I really doubt it. Maybe Sandover can get to her. /Maybe/. But if can't we are still left at crossroad as to what to do with her.

>>24177633
>but we can still help dorf at our leisure.

This is fine. Agreeable even. The problem with Helens case is we've hit a deadend and need to do choose something to do to her.

>>24177664
Difference: They were innocent; she isn't.

>>24177664
Nothing fundamentally says executions must be public; we could at least try to spare the spectacle, if it came to that. But we've got a long way to go before then.

>>24177662
Well, that's fairly clear. If we want to get anything from Helen, we have just under three days to get a cure for vampirism.

>>24177662
"If we run out of time, and it's down to an execution or an asylum, then we'll consider the less awful option. Though I'm not sure which one is less awful. We should make sure Sandover is ready to have her declared insane, if it comes to that.

But it sounds like our best option, and certainly the one in keeping with the usual sanity of our plans, is to find a cure for vampirism in less than three days.

And on an entirely unrelated note, perhaps we should get that compass from Sandover."

>>24177689
But she IS innocent. Almost every damn crime she's committed she did while under the influence of mind control.

remember Ted said it'd take a while to get to the Old One's lair, certainly longer then three days. The only other option we have is Lamia blood alchemy.

So, Echo, did you expect us to not only capture one of the vampires but dedicate this much effort to saving her when you tossed them at us? Or was this out of left field for you?

>>24177743
Exactly. The one thing she did of her own volition, was to make the stupid and "heretical" choice to become a vampire.

>>24177748
Hmmm, true:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24158237/#p24162644
> The whole thing will take a week and a half journey to get there, anyway.

Though it's worth finding out if there's any faster way to get there.

>>24177743
>willingly turned into a vampire
>innocent

No. Tricked or not. She still did it of her free will.

>>24177748
And that still seems like too risky of plan even for us.

the alchemy doesn't have to occur while the blood is in our veins you know.

>>24177794
>And that still seems like too risky of plan even for us.

That's a pretty high bar.
"Hey, people following us, come over here and join us."
"Let's ride a boar-drawn sled."
"Dive in front of the arrow."

>>24177794
Oh so if someone gives a kid some heroin coated candy he's guilty of drug abuse.

Got it champ.

>>24177794
you are missing the entire point, the fact that she was turned, even willingly, should /not/ be a crime punishable by death in the first place.

>>24177816
It's not a kid, and I am sincerely doubtful of her even being originally insane.

>>24177816
Yup. "Would you like eternal youth and incredible strength? (dietary restrictions may apply, no warranty for loss of immortal soul, void where heretical)"

the eternal youth a beauty probably is what sold it for her sadly. remember her entire life was built around being both.

>>24177835
Right. I'm willing to accept that, if she really did choose it voluntarily, she's at least somewhat insane, though not necessarily incurably so. But that doesn't mean she deserves to die for it.

(Now, if she chose vampirism knowing that she'd subsequently kill and feed on people, and not caring, *that* would make a pretty strong case.)

>>24177726
"If we run out of time, and it's down to an execution or an asylum, then we'll consider the less awful option. Though I'm not sure which one is less awful. We should make sure Sandover is ready to have her declared insane, if it comes to that.

"But it sounds like our best option, and certainly the one in keeping with the usual sanity of our plans, is to find a cure for vampirism in less than three days.

"And on an entirely unrelated note, perhaps we should get that compass from Sandover."

"And the Paladin Serpent's back in full form!" Peri says, tossing her hands up.

"Ted said that it would take at least..." Tricia shakes her head. "Never mind, I know now to never stand between you and the impossible."

Peri/Mari sigh and straightens up the desk for Balles' people to return the stuff that she took. "That happens anyway Tricia, she likes to use US as battering rams at it. Alright, we going straight to Ted's or hooking up with the others and see Quentin's sister?"

>>24177868
"Let's see Quentin's sister. All this effort and I've never even seen the person I'm trying to help!"

>>24177868
Dialogue for one of the popular options:
"You said dragon blood was a possible cure. Any chance the recent revelations about my ancestry could be of use here? Is there healing there, not just poison?"

>>24177883
This; nicely said.

>>24177868
"Meri, darling, say you had two types of blood mixed together. How impossible would it be to seperate them?"

Lets see what has happened to Rachel first before we go haring off on adventure. Perhaps we should ask Mari about the likelihood of distilling something like dragon blood from a Lamia, you know given we are actual confirmed descendants.

>>24177883
certainly sister first.

>>24177904
(it turns out you need an entire Lamia to get a single drop of dragon blood.)

>>24177868
>That happens anyway Tricia, she likes to use US as battering rams at it.

...that hurt to hear.

Look at Tricia, a little hurt. "Battering rams?"

>>24177936
Er, Peri and Mari, rather.

>>24177936
"Battering rams?" You ask Peri and Mari, and little hurt.

"Okay, okay, more like surgical knives...Lea's your battering ram though."

"Alright, out of left field, you said dragon blood was a possible cure. Any chance the recent revelations about my ancestry could be of use here? Is there healing there, not just poison?"

Mari shakes her head. "Nothing that we could get that would even slightly work within three days."

"Worth asking, let's see Quentin's sister. All this effort and I've never even seen the person I'm trying to help!" You say.

The pair nod and soon you're at Cups. Lea and Mage are waiting for you, just outside her room.

"This...is a new one for us in the realm of creepy." Mage says. "Even for us."

"The girl is totally under the...delusions, that happen to people who have been forced to accept the delusion over a short period of time." Lea says. "I tried praying with her but..." Lea shivers.

Mage shakes his head. "She's got it so bad that Lea went a little crazy too. It's like when you tried to talk to the Lightbringers. It's not subtle, so it's obvious that she's off her nut, but it's powerful." He shrugs. "You can go in, but one sign of trouble and we're pulling you out." He's holding up a rope for you to tie around your arm.

>>24178169
"Alright, I'll see what I can do."
wrap the rope and head in slowly.

>>24178194
adding a prayer: "May His Light guide those lost in Darkness back to their path."

Hey, we're part dragon and part Leviathan right? So could we read the book of water?

>>24178226
probably, we don't really have time though.

>>24178169
The more I hear about this, the more I see that death would be a favour for everyone. She's mentally broken and we'd be stealing the cure from someone else.

I say we excecute her quietly and privately.

>>24178219
"Alright, I'll see what I can do." You say as you put the rope on. "May His Light guide those lost in Darkness back to their path."

Roll 1d20

Rolled 16

>>24178261

>>24178261
finally a good first roll for anti-happy spell

>>24178283
dont jinx it!

/tg/ dice will let laugh at us and give us failing rolls again. No matter what we do to appease them they feed on our tears.

>>24178272
You feel a little bit of vertigo, but it passes.

Rachel looks like a normal female dwarf, who do NOT have beards, she has light brown hair in multiple braids. She's drawing in a sketch book. She looks up and blinks as she notices you.

"The face and breasts are fine, and so is your neck, and the snake thing is a choice that works for you, but your arms." She frowns. "Hold them out for me, and I'll tell you what's wrong."

>>24178364
Hold out your arms, I suppose. Let's hear what citadel's fashion sense thinks of us.

>>24178364
I am fine with the way I look Rachel. I don't need to be altered.

>>24178364
"Hello Rachel, how are you toady?"

>>24178416
er, today. fuck. shit.

>>24178364
"I'm a lamia, Rachel. That 'snake-thing' came with the rest of the package, and I'm rather fond of it."

>>24178508
this is pretty good.

>>24178416
"Hello Rachel, how are you today?" You say as you hold out one of your arms.

Rachel starts to scribble and draw. She tears off the page and hands it to you. "This is how your arms SHOULD look. I can make a mold cast for you, and then we'll move onto the generic re-shaping, and then we can talk about the disaster that is your skin.

"I am fine the way I look Rachel." You say, crumpling up the paper. "I don't need to be altered."

Rachel has gone back to her drawing. Looking around the room you see it's littered with page after page of Rachel's drawings. She's very good at it. Drawing people's faces and pointing out what parts of it sag, droop, or have marks.
Then next to the flaws, is a drawing of his it 'should' look. Clean, symmetrical, organized, and an almost plastic beauty.

"I keep telling Jeremy, you need to keep up with the times. Stop breaking my masks, stop messing with the procedures, stop letting my brother talk to me." She mutters. "How am I supposed to make people beautiful if you wont let me do what must be done Jeremy?" She mutters to herself, as if you aren't there. "That is what you want, right Jeremy? No...yes? I see, one moment. I have an idea...yes..." She goes back to scribbling.

>>24178364
"They look like part of me. If they looked different, they wouldn't be part of me, and that'd be what was wrong."

>>24178364
Oh I already know what's wrong. Glass scorpion poison, took a crossbow bolt meant for Prince Itzak. You should have seen me before! Still, it's more a mark of my deeds, almost like scars.

>>24178564
That's actually not a bad angle. Plays to the "storybook" concept that she's stuck on.

>>24178549
Well, it seems like Jeremy's been doing his best to keep her from going off the deep end.

Good job, Jeremy.

Anyway...Fuck, I have no idea how to deal with this.

>>24178581
It's also why I don't care too much for 'curing' the rest of the poison. If we can talk the Dragon into giving us it's blood, we should help Helen. No point for us to be vain about the marks of poisons, burns, and blades.

>>24178549
Tap her lightly with Beacon. "Peace, I name you. Peace, I see your work upon this soul. Peace, In the name of His Light I cast you out!"

>>24178630
we need to help Mari first, then if there is enough left over we can help others with it.

>>24178549
>>24178601
We have three approaches to getting through to someone affected like this.

There's the medallion and prayer, which we know won't be enough here, but it's worth doing for whatever effect it might have; perhaps it'll give us a bit of an opening, at least.

There's conversation trying to convince her, which we've gotten reasonably good at, but it won't work if she's not listening.

Then there's conversation trying to play into what she's saying but lead her to a different conclusion; saying things that sound reasonably Citadel but then lead gradually to another conclusion. Might get through more easily, but requires even more careful construction.

>>24178644
Yup, Mari and Peri get the first dose of it. And the second and third, if that's what it takes.

>>24178634
That definitely stepped up the directness of our usual prayer; nice! Using Beacon seems like a good plan.

But do we know this is Peace's doing?

>>24178703
Trivalon said it was.

>>24178703
Passion said so.

I figure we can tap her 5 times and use Beacon's light ability to cast away the darkness if need be.

>>24178714
Oh, sure enough, good catch.

>>24175477
>He shakes his head. "That wasn't me. Peace handled things directly related to Sandover's recruitment. I was told to collect the women, and then I was free to use them as I saw fit. Normally, I don't do as much field work as this. Actually, I usually don't do ANY field work. But we've been a little short handed."

OK, go with
>>24178634
then. It's worth a shot, and at least it might give us an opening so Rachel can hear us even if we can't pull a full Theoden.

>>24178634
You hold out your hand, and Mage slowly hands you Beacon. (It was considered a good idea NOT to walk into a Citadel Mind-Wipe Zone with weapons.)

"She's not THAT far gone, is she?" Mage asks.

You give him a look as you take the spear and then lightly touch it against Rachel's shoulder.

"Peace, I name you. Peace, I see your work upon this soul. Peace, In the name of His Light I cast you out!"

Mage looks at the scene and then back to the others. They shrug and then he looks back at you.

Roll 1d20

>>24178739
Or: *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang* *Clang*

Rolled 14

>>24178759

>>24178770
Nice.

Rolled 11

>>24178759
Oh shit oh shit.

Rolled 20

>>24178759

>>24178798
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

>>24178798
nat 20! Oh how I wish you counted. Oh well, you aren't needed this time.

>>24178813
Hey, I'm just glad we didn't roll a 1.
Peace: "You rang?"

>>24178770
Beacon flares brightly. Not crazy bright, but birght enough to make the others outside wince. Then it goes back to normal.

Rachel just keeps on scribbling and writing. Muttering to herself about things like fashion, beauty, and how Jeremy and Quentin are getting in the way of her work.

Mage sticks his head inside. "Did it work?" He asks. "Hey...hold on..." He walks into the room and then out, and then back in. "You got rid of the stuff that was making everyone else crazy, nice sis...is she okay?"

>>24178919
"I don't know. I don't think so, but at least the aura is gone."

>>24178919
I don't know. Rachel? Rachel are you there?

>>24178919
"Well, that's something at least. But Rachel seems the same. Or at least it looks that way.

Rachel? How are you feeling?"

>>24178919
"She doesn't seem any different."

>>24178919
"I don't think it did, but at least the aura is no longer a danger to others."

"Perhaps someone else can help snap her out of it, now that the aura is gone."

>>24178919
Maybe she is just obssessed with her work, it happens. Rachel, dear, we need to talk to you please.

Hey Echo!

I'm the guy who was compiling the quest into a single text. School has eaten most of my free time, but I have finally made some progress towards getting the text caught up with the Quest.

Two things however.

One, This thing is way bigger than I imagined. Seriously the first section is 7500 words and Nearly twenty pages unedited. assuming the quest wraps up around summer, it may be done by September if I edit it like a book.

Two, I still don't have a way to contact you. Do you have an email your willing to share or something. I just have some ideas for the text and what to do when its a finished product.

I may not be participating, but I am reading.

May His Light be with you!

>>24178992
(His email is in one of the earlier archived threads)

Rolled 5

>>24178992

>Implying quest threads ever finish

>>24179038
which there are 26 and they are spawning with every adventure Ssen has

>>24178919
Is Ssen decent at drawing? Any of the others?

>>24178972
"I don't think it did, but at least the aura is no longer a danger to others. That's something at least. But Rachel seems the same. Or at least it looks that way.

"Rachel? How are you feeling?"

"His face is just not right, he either needs to aim to be more masculine, MUCH more masculine, or give up on any pretense of heterosexuality at all. That would take a LOT less work." Rachel says.

"Not this again." Mage groans. He hears the cackling from the hall. "And now Mari/Peri hear it...great. Honestly...why did I think traveling with you was so much better than living with my cannibal family?"

"Perhaps someone else can help snap her out of it, now that the aura is gone."

"Yeah," Mage sighs. "Turns out when Jeremy came to visit, she told the staff to tell her that Quentin told him to stay away, and visa-vera. That's why baldy was so mad at Sandover. So, it's a start."

>>24179123
Here you go.

>>24179116
A good quest thread is like a good tv show or movie it realizes when there is no more story to tell and ends when interest is still high and not when the budget, fandom, character have been beaten to death.

>>24179168
Also, if you were the guy who buzzed me about making a tropes page for this, go nuts. I won't say no.

>>24179150
"Well, let's get Jeremy AND Quentin. At the same time. She'll never expect them to work together."

>>24179174
I have an arc planned. Vaguely, because I've given up predicting you people. But don't worry, there's a clear direction, and this ends with awesome and then a nice daww denouement...then you can decide if you want to keep going on Ssen's story or other options.

>>24179251
I really want to play Ssen's after-citadel adventures. Though I imagine the timescale would be much wider.

>>24179251
>I have an arc planned. Vaguely, because I've given up predicting you people.
You fake it very well, then. You're clearly playing Xanatos Speed GM.

>>24179150
Do you think you can despell whatever is affecting her Mage? Now that the aura effect is gone.

>>24179249
That sounds eminently sensible. And we'd like to talk to both of them, anyway. Plus we need that compass from Quentin.

We also need to talk to Ted in the very near future, and find out if he could get us to Dark Peaks an order of magnitude faster than he said before.

>>24179333
I doubt Mage is going to feel comfortable doing something like that on a friendly face so soon after de-Occuli-ing an Occuli.

>>24179249
"Well, let's get Jeremy AND Quentin. At the same time. She'll never expect them to work together."

"Quentin's at his shop," Lea says. "But Jeremy is doing operations until later today."

"Are we still going to let him do that to people?" Tricia asks.

"He didn't pioneer the method, he just made it safer and easily replicable by others." Lea says. "He doesn't abuse it, and we can only stop people from being controlled...not from being foolish. Also, it's not a bad thing if the child has a split lip or pox scars or burn scars."

"I guess, doesn't mean I can't think it isn't weird." Tricia says.

>>24179363
"Way to many negatives in that sentence."

>>24179362
that pun was horrible.

>>24179343
I fail so hard at names today. Sandover.

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94 KB JPG

>>24179363

Over 300 posts.

Archive, please?

>>24179493
Par for the course for this quest.

>>24179363
People will do very strange things for their vanity.

>>24179363
Well, I'd think Lea would know more about this than us, having gone through all those operations. She's right, think of it as stiching up an old wound or something like that.

>>24179363
"Do you happen to know how much later today, lea?"

I really doubt operation: find cure for vampirism will work. Like, it's not worth the effort of setting out. Especially if ted says we can't.

>>24179363
I'd rather they go to Sandover than someone without morals. He may work with prostitutes and lepers but he's exactly the sort of man that they need, a true light in a dark place.

The only reason that the Dramatae nearly grabbed him was his idealism. And it might be frightening to admit, but if I didn't know what they really were I would have joined them without reservations.

I probably would have been Obstinance ...