You went out to the Bright Tower in the Ruin Woods to try and meet the lamias that had taken up residence there. What you found was a bloodbath. The two lamias were dead, along with a squad of Masks. A search of the Passion reveled the motive of this attack. The Dramatae are amassing an army of monsters and put out bounties for captures. The lamias didn't go quietly, and it cost them their lives. You gave the lamias a proper burial, and a short service.

You returned to River's Crossing, and there Lea confronted you. She felt that you had been slipping in your morals. Being more concerned with hurting the Dramatae, stopping Citadel, and winning; as opposed to helping others. She wasn't sure if she could stay with a person like that.

You shared a confession with her, and she, in turn, shared some of her own weaknesses and insecurities. Lea decided that she needed to stay, not only for herself, but to help you stay true to the Caligo Clarus' mission.

[spoilers] Today's session will not be as long as the others. 5 hours, give or take 30min.

Also, here's the full confession that you gave to Lea. I patched it up into one (hopefully) cohesive whole. [/spoilers]


"Where to begin? Well, there are a few moments that I’m ashamed of. The little ones in the beginning that made me realize that I wasn’t ever going to be human. Just a lamia who pretended to be one. There was a wolf that I ate, and the time that I hurt Tricia as a kid. There’s also the fact that it's satisfying to crush someone. I've lived with these things, though, and I think that's not why we're here.

Things used to be so much simpler. It wasn't long ago that Tricia and I left town to go gather alchemical ingredients... and THAT was what we considered an adventure. And then we started to see the way things were out in the world, and it was ugly. So much hate and needless death... and here, in the middle of it all, a lamia trying to act like a hero. A hero! Most people took some convincing to think of me as a PERSON. And yet, I kept going. I found people along the way. For the first time since my Father died, I had a family.

I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a blissful ignorance. I fought for my friends, I fought for what I thought was right, and I tried to be more human, more Paladin. I felt like I had been given so much, that I had a chance where others did not, and that I should give that chance to others.

Then we found out about Citadel, and I felt like I had a mission. It was my Father's mission before me, and Granny's before that, and I want my attempt to be the last.

But this...this thing? It's an ugliness that doesn't go away. You face it, and it tattoos your mind with its ugliness. It's everywhere, in everything.

>>24624999
At first though, I thought I could fight it. Beat it. I felt strongly about forgiveness. If I could be seen as a person, and not a monster, then how could I not give others the same chance? I fought for the that kid from New Stone Hall, I fought for Odette. I even tried to convert Old One to the Light, and succeeded after a fashion. And you know what? I think I got used to winning. I saved you and Sandover both from Peace, and I started feeling like the Dramatae were mortal, and I could take them. I could talk anyone into or out of anything. And it was nice. It felt like becoming a better Paladin.

But maybe the name "Paladin Serpent" was a little too on the nose. I've been acting like Little Dragon lately. And Little Dragon doesn't like to lose.

I also feel like I'm being pulled in every direction at once. I guess I've gotten so used to people wanting me to solve their problems that I just take it on myself to solve it FOR them, before being asked. You know, I was secretly happy when the Old One called me a Little Dragon. I suppose that is a part of what I am, but only a PART. I think I know why Uncle and so many other joined the Red. To always go into dark places, that's my duty. It's what I signed up for. I need to be careful that that same darkness doesn't devour me.

Light above, it would be so easy, wouldn't it? I could just... I see how foul and how twisted the Darkness is, and I know that I could just a sword and make the world so much BETTER...

Except it wouldn't, would it? Not really. I'm just replacing one vision for a perfect world with my own. I can't end every pain. I can't fix every broken soul. I can't heal every wound, undo every crime. And I can't FORCE the world around me to do it, even if I could.

>>24625007
So many have died in my desire to win, so many more are going to die. Regular people, the ghouls, Odette, lizardmen, all those slain in the two Stone Hall riots, and to top it all off, those two lamia. And if we beat Citadel, the threat of so many of your people starving and mine slain. So many we don't even know about! I didn't do these things, not directly, no. But I am part of the cause, and it’s still my burden. I should remember that more.

I knew there would be serious consequences to even trying to rattle the cage, I was stupid to not expect this. I didn't even have the guts to bring our fine lightbringer friend back her original body. I don't even know if I failed her, or preserved her free will, or let her destroy herself. Ugh!

And...and now I’ve hurt Tricia. She's like that now because of me. And it could have been worse- so, so much worse. How could I have done that? How could I play such games with her?

I didn't tell you everything about encountering Peace when I was unconscious, after the ceremony. She tried to get me to make a deal, to agree not to kill Comedy, in exchange for saving Tricia. I fought against it, and by the grace of the Light, I got a chance to do otherwise. I saw three horrific dolls, representing what might happen to Tricia, and I had to pick one in the hopes of saving her. I chose one that looked genuinely happy for her sake, but with a shredded body. I felt so guilty for choosing anything at all, and I very nearly took the deal from Peace just to save her; only thinking of Tricia helped me do otherwise.

>>24625014
But that was just the latest in a long line of horrible things Peace and the other Dramatae have done. And I keep seeing the things they've done to us, to my family, and they hurt as much, if not more, as the atrocities against the rest of world.

I'm afraid. It feels like the more I care about someone, the more blind I become in matters relating to them. I start making stupid, selfish or destructive mistakes when I -know- better but I'm just so afraid of losing them. I can't be objective. In my heart, I don't think I can truly be fair when it comes to a choice between many strangers or one friend. It scares the hell out of me, because making precisely that choice on a regular basis is my job. I get so mixed up I often miss the most important thing because I don't want to miss anything.

Peace... Peace has been getting to me. The offers, the manipulations, the bounty on monsters like me, and Tricia. And today, I saw two of my own kind, lamias, who had done NOTHING WRONG, butchered. And I was too late. Too late to save them, to find out if they were like me or not. And now I'll never know. But what I do know is that THEY were responsible for it, SHE was responsible for it, and that they're doing something horrible to people like me RIGHT NOW. And I can't stop it.

I've never wanted someone to have a more horrid death than Peace. It wasn't like that before. It wasn't personal before. It was supposed to just be about how she was mismanaging the nation. It was supposed to be because she was hurting the people, and the kingdom.

Now...now, I'm probably going to do something crazy when I finally get my claws on her.

>>24625022
And I guess inside, it's hard not to hate her. It's hard not to hate them all. Even though the Clear says I’m supposed to search for the good, to greet those that would kill me with forgiveness. That just seems impossible now. That clear gem is the heaviest burden I've ever carried... and now it's heavy with doubt as well

Maybe I've been acting like Little Dragon, or a Leviathan. But worse than that, I think I've been acting like a Lightbringer. Those lamia, that bounty list, that was my fallen home town. I wanted so badly for there to be something there, something more than monsters. I wanted a Citadel ending to the story.

I need to learn how to act like a Paladin again, and one with a clear gem, not a red one. I need to let go of revenge, and to see justice for others, rather than as a personal vendetta. I need to not let Citadel, and the struggle against it, define my life. I want everything to turn out all right. I know that it won't, and yet I still want it to, because I've done the impossible before, and I want to keep doing it.

I'm not sure I know how to keep going if I have to accept loss like this. I need help. i want to be Little Snake, not Little Dragon. I need to learn how to be a Paladin, and not the Paladin Serpent.

I'm a little jealous of you, honestly. This path seems to come naturally to you, Lea. There are days when I feel like you should be wearing the mantle, and not me. But people keep looking to me. You admitted once that you do it too.... or at least you used to.

The worst feeling is that I've never seen why that is, and I'm beginning to doubt what people seem to see is even there, or was ever there in the first place.

...so I confess."

>>24625033
Whoa. I didn't realiza how long our confession was at all.

ya its a doozy.

Alright I think we should head to bed as well. In the morning we have to head on to the Mer to warn them and ask their aid in making that anti-mind control potion. And maybe setting up a trade route with Bronze Peak for lots of fish hah.

Jesus CHRIST, fucking learn to write, Samuel Clemens is weeping at the abuse of your keyboard.

>>24625206
I never particularly liked Twain's novels. I recognize that they're technically magnificent but the story never really got me involved.

>>24625206
Echo is frankensteining together several dozen posts from yesterday's thread into one recap, if you expect anything Twain-grade from a quest thread, you're deluding yourself.

>>24625189
Tricia spends the night with her family. From what you can tell things are...better. Still, it's going to take some time.

You sleep. Your dreams are a normal jumbled mess. You have fantasies of what Gold and Silver were like, you dream of hurting he Dramatae, and you dream the usual jumbled mess of impulses and memories.

The morning comes, and everyone loads up the wagon and hitches up Lightmare. They look at you, waiting for the day's itinerary.

>>24625306
I believe the plan was to head to coral reef. See what aid the Mer needed, if any.

>>24625252
Being a writer should be about learning the economy of words for effect, not just effusive slapping at the keyboard. Repeating the same thing over and over and over again in mealy mouthed meandering wistful angst- what kind of person would sit and listen to their friend whine at them for about twenty minutes? Actually, lemme plug the confession in to a text to voice program, I'll see how long Lea has been banally staring at Ssen while she's been rambling.

>>24625346
My mistake it's called coral gate. Either or ...

>>24625367
When you're just taking other people's words and glueing them together it's something entirely different than writing it yourself.
TL;DR go suck cocks.

>>24625367
You have fun with that.

>>24625306
Off to see the Mer I believe, unless I've forgotten something.

At some point we need to just hug mage and actually act like a sister for once.

>>24625346
"So, I believe the plan was to head to Coral Gate. See what aid the Mer need, if any." You say.

"Never met a mer." Lea says as Lightmare starts up. "They tend to not come by the desert."

"They're a fascinating species." Mari says. "It's actually more of a generic classification. The well-known version of something that looks like Ssen, but with a fish tale are just one version of many. There's ones that resemble aquatic lizard people, nearly human looking ones with webbed hands, extended webbed feet, and gills, ones with octopus-esque torsos, and His Light knows what else."

"What makes the differences?" Mage asks.

Mari shrugs. "No clue. Mer aren't very social...at least the ones that have been in contact with humans."

"There a way for us to tell which Mer are just feral, and which Mer have given into Citadel?" Peri asks.

"Well, corrupt creatures tend to have white scales, or white feathers like the harpies." Mari shrugs. "But that's just a guess. Any more questions?"

>>24625398
Right, according to the estimates here, it's been about 23 minutes here.

This is part of quest canon now that Ssen has rambled on for about 23 minutes, repeating the same thing over and over again in lieu of being direct. It's just, I hope that people know that that's fucking terrible writing. Outside of a setting where it's a speech and expected, to babble at someone for TWENTY THREE MINUTES without letting them have a word in edgewise, perhaps saying "Yes, I get it, you're super fucking conflicted and angsty," or whatever, that's just awful writing.

>>24625502
I think you're the only one autistic enough to still be caught up on that.

>>24625530
Just bringing an education, my sincere apology.

>>24625530
As a request, please refrain from using insults that impinge on mental ability or sexual orientation in this quest. There are far better and more creative insults available. Thank you.

-Management

>>24625491
"I take it there isn't any known settlements or ways to contacting them easily is there?"

>>24625502
Anon, I'm sorry but the horse is dead. There was nothing we could do to save it. We believe the killing blow was repeated blunt force trauma to the head.

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>>24625502

The point of a confession is the same thing as what a shrink does. They listen with only a few words spoken to keep the patient/confesee talking.

>>24625502
It's a confession. You let them speak as long as they want. Just like we did for Peri and Donnovan and vampire girl and whoever else. Lea's a patient girl, she can manage not to go full ADHD for 20 minutes.
Ssen's babbling because she's confused and worried and no she didn't prepare a perfect concise summary of her problems to read out before-hand.

>>24625577
"I take it there isn't any known settlements or ways to contacting them easily is there?"

Mari shrugs. "Usually the contact is made after people unintentionally go into their settlements. That's why most people avoid Stone Hall."

>>24625551
Are...Are you new to 4chan?

>>24625631
>Stone Hall
Do you mean Coral Gate?

Anyways.

"I'm sure more questions will pop up in time so lets roll out for now.

"And thanks Mari."

>>24625651

He didn't say not to insult people. He just said to step your game up from. "faggot" and "autist" if you're going to, you jive motherfucker.
>>24625631
"So... We're going swimming?"

>>24625723
But why bother raising the bar of insults on 4chan, where there's no real quality control? No matter how clever it is you're never going to change anyone's mind about anything or even make them feel bad.

>>24625755
Better insults are typically funnier?

>>24625768
I don't think I've seen an insult that was actually clever enough to provoke laughter on 4chan in years.

>>24625723
"Impinge on mental ability or sexual orientation" seems straight out of the tumblr hand wringing textbook.

You cock snorkeling aspie fairy.

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>>24625723
>>24625755
>>24625768
>>24625788
>>24625791
Good god. Should've just ignored him Echo

>>24625701
"I'm sure more questions will pop up in time so lets roll out for now.

"And thanks Mari."

She shrugs. "My job to be the know-it-all, right?"

After a bit. "So, we're going swimming probably."

"That could be a problem for me." Lea says.

"You don't know how to swim?" Tricia asks.

"I grew up in a desert." Lea says.

"Coral Gate isn't underwater," Peri says. "Not all of it. It's a flooded ruined city, not submerged."

"Swimming will probably will be still important." Lea says.

The miles move on.

It's two days to Coral Gate.

Roll 1d20, lower is better

Rolled 19

>>24625833

Rolled 3

>>24625833
Travel roll!

Rolled 10

>>24625833
gills

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>>24625839

>>24625839
...

I should just start drinking before the thread even starts.

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>>24625788
Double nigger has been the only one in my memory to make get the giggles. Of course, it was then driven straight in to the ground.

Rolled 2

>>24625839

>>24625861
>Notsureifgoodorbad.png

Rolled 9, 7, 7, 10, 4, 6 = 43

>>24625861
The Wagon is going along, and then THUD THUD.

Arrows slam into the side. Lea pulls the wagon off to the side.

Mage looks at the arrows. "Ghoul arrows." He says.

Two Ghoul remnants charge you out of the bush. They have axes and the tell-tale greenish skin that indicates they've been eating troll.

Roll for initiative.

Rolled 7

>>24625954

oh fuck, there's lamia child quest today. I really shouldn't have slept in.

Rolled 18, 10 = 28

>>24625985
Lea charges in with a punch.

Tricia takes off her hat and concentrates.

Rolled 20, 6 = 26

>>24626025
Tricia shakes her head. "You'd think this would be easier now."

Lea slams her hand into a ghoul's kidneys.

Your turn.

>>24626044

Bring out Beacon +tailswipe the closest

>>24625954
Go for a Double strike.

>>24626044
blame the dice Tricia, blame the dice,

No need to get fancy. Cannibals... meet Beacon and Tail.

>>24626060
>>24626064
>>24626066

That would be the other one.

2d20 +2

Rolled 4, 3 = 7

>>24626078

Rolled 4, 2 = 6

>>24626078

*sigh*

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>>24626082
>>24626085
It's going to be one of those days...

Rolled 5, 14, 16 = 35

>>24626082
Whatever this guy has been eating, it must have been something quick.

Mage shoots a fireball at Lea's ghoul, and Peri does for a double slash on yours

Rolled 4, 11 = 15

>>24626119
Mage misses, but Peri gets a double slash in. As she does though, you can see one of the slashes seal itself up, and the other one's no longer wincing from Lea's kidney shot.

They go for you and Lea with their axes.

Rolled 5, 11 = 16

>>24626139
No chance.

Lea goes for a stunning strike against the ghoul.

Tricia tries again to summon a swarm.

>>24626139
... bite em, I don't think they can heal from melted bones.

>>24626149
Lea misses, but a horde of red-ish colored, flying beetles with sharp looking pincers fly out of her hat. She directs them to the one that you're fighting.

Your turn.

>>24626153
repeating this

>>24626153
Agreed. Even if they can resist it for a while with regen. they'll become unfit for combat relatively soon.

>>24626175

second tun same as the first, gotta build dem beacon stacks

>>24626175
"Mage, I take it there isn't a way to stop that regenerating?"

Wrap.

>>24626188
>>24626189
Lets wrap first then go for the bite. Going start for a bite can lead to a missing head in short order.

>>24626238
straight even

>>24626249
>>24626238
>>24626194
"Mage, I take it there isn't a way to stop that regenerating?"

"I'm TRYING to set them on fire...but smashing their ribs and heart to pulp might work."

He's busy with Tricia's swarm, so Roll 1d20 to constrict +1

Rolled 3

>>24626300

Rolled 16

>>24626300

Rolled 6, 11, 19 = 36

>>24626305
Even bothered by bugs, this guy is fast.

Mage shoots a fireball at Lea's. Peri goes to get the same guy with her sword dance.

Rolled 9

>>24626369
Mage misses, and Peri gets one cut in, for all the good that it does.

Your ghoul is busy with the swarm.

Peri is the target of the other one.

Rolled 9, 2 = 11

>>24626390
Miss.

Lea tries to do a spin kick.

Tricia continues to try and control her bugs.

Rolled 7, 7 = 14

>>24626410
Lea misses, and the bugs fly off. Tricia rolls her eyes and draws her sickle.

Your turn.

Oh god, this isn't a battle, this is a playground slapfight.

>>24626423
Lets go back to Double Strike.

>>24626431
/tg/dice nuff said.

>>24626423
wrap or bite... I guess wrap.

>>24626431
>Mage is throwing sandbags and yelling magic missile
>Tricia is sending Ladybugs at people

>>24626423
Stab nearest ghoul with Beacon.

>>24626423
>>24626438
Here.

Fuck it got with wrap.

>>24626497
>>24626469
Wrap takes it with two.

1d20

Rolled 2

>>24626628

*heavy sigh*

>>24626646
I give. For the rest of this 'fight' Ssen sits there and does nothing.

Rolled 3

>>24626628

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I... I think I'm going to go away for an hour or two and see if anything's happened when I return.

>>24626646
and the Yakety Sax is playing in the background...

>>24626685
yes

So this marks what 2 1/2 threads, now, of fail?

Rolled 4, 1, 2 = 7

>>24626646
Mage shoots, Peri Slashes

>>24626722
*facepalm*

>>24626722
And now Peri breaks a dagger. Cute.

>>24626722
This is getting silly.

>>24626743
We passed silly a long time ago.

Rolled 1, 5 = 6

>>24626722
For the love of christ, these people have three hp.
Mage miss the ghoul...but not Peri. She moves her self right into his range.

"GAH!"

"Sorry!"

"WATCH IT!" She snaps.

The ghouls attack

echo starts a little encounter

encounter takes the entire five hours.

help, I can't stop laughing.

>>24626755
well at least THEY have the same luck we do.

its a race to see which side will critfail itself to death!

>>24626788
me to, I find /tg/ dice utterly hilarious

Rolled 15

>>24626722
Oh man, you guys seem to be in trouble.

Rolled 5, 17 = 22

>>24626755
You ghoul chrages you with an axe, and he trips over one of Tricia's beetles that hung around.

Lea and Tricia go for a different ghoul

>>24626885
holy shit, a hit!

>>24626885
Tricia gets yours, Lea misses. Your turn. He's prone, so it's a +2 to wrap.

1d20 or pick another action

wrap

Rolled 5

>>24626910
Wrap.

You know, after one of these /tg/dice battles we should REALLY just go
"Hey. You guys. This isn't working.

Let's just both walk our own ways and act like this embarrassing event never even happened."

>>24626910

double sweep, the one that knocks one down so they lose a turn and take damage.

can we go for a Coup de grâce on a weak foe(mooks) on the ground?

Rolled 6

>>24626910

>>24626915
aaaaaaaaaaa

this is getting really dumb

>>24626933
yes, yes it is.

>>24626917
I think we can all agree that this fight will never be spoken of again.

>>24626910
I think after this Lea is going to need to have words with Ssen about taking things too far in the other direction.

>>24626915
That's it. I'm going to go play Tonks. Not even that game is this stupid.

>>24626956
you're just mad because /tg/dice

I wish I had that picture of /tg/dice with a trollface. It is appropriate.

>>24626956
Seems like everyone has a "yes, but what have you done for me lately" attitude towards the dice, forgetting all the good times they've given us as soon as we roll poorly a few times in a row.

>>24626976
I think people are justified at being mad at this random encounter for taking about ten times longer than it should.

Rolled 19, 12, 17, 10, 14, 12, 1, 11, 14, 10, 11, 8, 12, 6, 14, 12, 9, 14, 17, 17 = 240

MY PROPOSITION:

here is 20 d20s. Use them to decide how the combat ends because shit this is dragging on.

>>24626986
This fight has been going on for over an hour.

A random encounter.

Which serves no purpose whatsoever.

Rolled 15, 3, 7 = 25

>>24626915
Miss.

Mage and Peri gang up on one guy.

mage finally succeeded on lighting one on fire!

>>24627001
And we haven't made any progress at all yet because they regenerate and we haven't hit with a fireball or venom. And this thread is only five hours long.

Echo, can we stop having random encounters on the road after this, most of them serve no purpose other than to waste hours of thread whaling on some nameless ghoul or bandit or whatever.

If you want us to have fights on route to places, at least give them a purpose.

>>24627034
>>24627001
yes, yes, I know. I don't like it much either, especially since we should have gotten a few wraps or bites in by now. The dice themselves have shown to be some of the biggest causers of drama, along with some of the biggest killers of pace. Wish they were more consistent. Maybe a multi-die system could be implimented?

>>24627034
and? just because a thread is short does not mean it gets special treatment for combat, hell most quests only run 6 hours tops, Echo's are an exception to that.

and it looks like Mage just set one on fire.

mm, we've suggested multi-die systems before.. but no dice (heh)

>>24627014
Go mage go! You can do it!

Use fire!

>>24627088
I wouldn't mind, if I felt like this fight meant anything.

I don't really mind random encounters... though it would be nice if we got something out of them.

>>24627088
>and?
Just saying we've used up 20% of the thread on absolutely nothing happening and it's annoying.

Real modifiers would be nice. Right now this is pure random chance which is retarded. We have, with the +2 right now, a roughly forty five percent chance to even HIT with anything if the DC is the same. All this rolling shit an adventure in aggravation without real modifiers that reflect our characters competence.

>>24627103
We said this at the start, we've said it at the middle, we've said it now, and the only responds we got was. "I want to keep the game moving ... "

How's that working out?

>>24627130
>>24627128
Allright, we get it, we discussed this at length last thread. I would really appreciate it if you guys simmered down some, since the thread is more you guys talking about your preferred mechanics than swingy fight scene. It's -extremely- annoying.

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>>24627103
>no dice
Damn straight

>>24627179
Sweeping a problem under the rug, especially when it fucking rears its head in the thread is more annoying.

>>24627203
Which is why I said you guys should discuss with echo in private about it. Or use the discussion thread.

>>24627179
not much else to do while we wait for the next post

>>24627212
We have a discussion thread?

>>24627226
It's over on tgchan
>thoughts ofhelve

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>>24627214
well, we could always make lewd snake jokes like we used to do

>>24627226
http://tgchan.org/kusaba/questdis/res/69825.html

>>24627239
>tgchan
Urrrgh

Can't we get an irc channel instead or something.

>>24626994
For the sake of our sanity, we'll do that. You win and Mage burns the ghouls.

Your second day of travel goes without incident and you arrive at the ruins of Coral Gate. It's just as Mari said. It's a city that is partially underwater. It's a rather grand city, as you tie Lightmare to a tree and look down into the cove. The buildings were tall, and under the slime, mold, and rust, you see pinks and purples, statues and fountains, and a city that truly flourished by harvesting the wealth of the sea. It was small, but it might have rivaled Citadel in its beauty.

You also see signs of battle. The places where building were blown apart, holes blasted through what could have been the Conclave, or a Cathedral. The Leviathan must have been like a thousand hammers from the skies.

The rest is falling apart as the sea slowly reclaims it. Building sag and lean against each other, and there's the occasional splash as masonry or other debris falls into the water below.

"Cheery." Tricia says. "I'm going to scout around a bit." She holds out her hand and her bugs detach and flit out into the city.

"Can you see through them?" Mage asks.

"A little...I'm practicing that. But I'll know what they saw when they come back." She says.

After a few moments, her swarm returns and her hand goes back to normal. She waves it and stretches her fingers.

"I don't see anything obvious that looks like life, apart from fish and stuff." She says. "But that building." She points to a building in the center. "The Manor House, there's a smoky smell coming from it. It has to be a fire."

"Anyway to get there?" Lea asks.

"There are some still usable gondola boats, but they're on the other side of the ruins." She says. "Someone will need to swim out and get them."

>>24627248
sure. I'm just some random guy and I made that thread. I don't see why not.

>>24627269
well lets go swimming.

>>24627248
https://chat.mibbit.com/?channel=%23LamiaQuest&server=irc.thisisnotatrueending.com

>>24627279
The thing is though, that people want to discuss things with Echo, there's literally no point in discussing things about the rules between ourselves, because nothing will happen as a result.

>>24627269
Swim out ourself.

>>24627269
"Well, I've never been opposed to a good swim. Hope there aren't any natives that mind."

>>24627269
snakes are pretty universally great swimmers, so volunteer to do it.

>>24627248
>>24627279
IRC craps up quests faster then anything else, because then the GM ends up having to reply in there instead of running the damn quest. No thanks to slowing down Echo's posting further.

>>24627269
"Well, I'm the only part-seacreature here, so I guess I'll give it a shot."

>>24627269
Let's swim out ourselves and grab a boat.

>>24627269
swim out I guess

>>24627309
Not to mention the three +layers of META DISCUSSION that ends up happening in the IRC to the point where reading it 24/7 is required to understand what anyone is talking about of making seemingly random decisions based on. See: Any Bobquest and it's extremely apparent. Also: DQ by Writer-Dude.

>>24627302
"Well, I've never been opposed to a good swim, and I'm the only part sea-creature here, so I guess I'll give it a shot." You say as you start to take off your armor. "Hope there aren't any natives that mind."

You're just in the chain shirt and the undershirt you wear beneath your armor.

"Good luck." Tricia says. A little group of butterflies flit our from her sleeves. "I'll show you the way."

You climb down the bluff, into the basin where the ruins are, and start to make your way through the water. It's crazy cold, but it feels quite nice. Tricia's butterflies show you the way.

Roll 3d20

Rolled 15, 9, 15 = 39

>>24627429

Rolled 1, 16, 16 = 33

>>24627429
Let's see how the dice work in groups.

>>24627429
Are we a warm-blooded or cold-blooded Lamia?

>>24627449
I remember that we were cooler than Tricia, at least. I imagine our top half makes a good deal of heat, wheras our bottom half only does when in action. If that makes sense.

>>24627449
Poison-blooded.

>>24627480
But is it warm or cool poison?

>>24627449
I would guess we are actually warm-blooded, we where vulnerable to the cold though because we cant cover our snake parts with fur/wool etc to keep in the heat.

it would be like a person walking into a blizzard with no pants on, but a heavy fur coat on their upper half.

>>24627449
Cold-blooded.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23647709/#p23658026
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24016922/#p24021618

>>24627491
>it would be like a person walking into a blizzard with no pants on, but a heavy fur coat on their upper half.
That's an image that's going to linger.

Why is Coral Gate a ruin again?

>>24627499
>>24627491
I think Ssen CERTAINLY takes a penalty to cold resistance. Though I still maintain she is probably partially warm blooded, like a shark.

>>24627521
That's a great question!

Wasn't this the place that was bombed by the leviathan two ages back?

>>24627521>>24627538
I thought the place was just like venice or something.

>>24627553
It seems it is but it's also and it's shit wrecked.

>>24627436
Well, Tricia was right. You can see a little flickering light and smoke coming from one of the windows of the Manor House. There's a fire in there.

You get to the boats, and start to unmoor one of them. It's in not too bad shape. The seal has held, the pain't not completely chipped away, and if it can support your weight, without any issues, then it shouldn't be a problem for the others.

You get a punting pole and get ready to cast off, when you look up. There, on a half-sunk boardwalk about fifty feet away, across from you...is a lamia. A child lamia.

She can't be more than five, maybe six feet long. Her hair is bronze colored, slightly hinted green from the algae she's been swimming in. She's just there, watching you.

>>24627538
>You also see signs of battle. The places where building were blown apart, holes blasted through what could have been the Conclave, or a Cathedral. The Leviathan must have been like a thousand hammers from the skies.
I'm guessing yes.

>>24627580
Stand stock-still and look. "Hello?"

>>24627580
Look back for a solid 30 seconds.

Wave.

>>24627580
<Hello?>

>>24627580
"Nice weather today, isn't it."

>>24627521
Citadel marched on it. Massive army, and the Leviathan shelled it.

Now, if you're curious as to why there are ship cannons, but no guns or riflemen (save Barney's prototype) ship battles with cannons are cool. War with guns is slow and boring as compared to charging armies with swords. Citadel doesn't want to watch people sitting in trenches for months but likes watching ships blow up. [/spoilers]

>>24627580
Be cordial but wary, we have no idea what the magic the mer people have it could capitalize on our thoughts.

>>24627618
Wow. Citadel really is "new technologies as the plot demands". And given its resistance to change, it makes sense that technology it finds boring doesn't show up.

>>24627600
You look back for a solid 30 seconds.

You give a wave.

<Hello?> You say.

The girl starts and dives into the water.

>>24627618
Citadel has good taste. Sometimes.

>>24627638
Stick your head under water, so you can watch her leave.

I know we're really excited here, but we should try to avoid literally chasing a child down. That would be... bad manners.

>>24627638
Probably gone to find her mother. I vote waiting. Don't want to seem like we're trying to steal the boat.

>>24627638
Stick our head under the water, look to see where she went. Did she just get a bit of distance out of fright, or did she keep going?

>>24627655
Yeah, that would look really bad. Let's see where she went, and then get the boat back to the others.

>>24627659
>>24627655
agree, don't try and follow, but see if we can still see her underwater.

>>24627638
Is ssen even slightly capable of reproducing anything like the Leviathans' mode of underwater speech?

>>24627681
haaaahahahaha

Maybe. She's not actually tried to breathe water yet.

She'd have to be stupid to do that.

>>24627618
But WHY did Citadel march on it? Do we know that?

>>24627701
They, apparently, rebelled. So says my memory of when we heard why leviathan marched on these guys.

>>24627693
>She'd have to be stupid to do that.
Let's do it.

>>24627655
>>24627656
Some kind of combo of these two

>>24627701
I am guessing the Mer might know the reason, perhaps the humans accepted the Mer into the city, and Citadel decided to crush them for that rebellion.

>>24627659
>>24627655

You stick your head underwater, hoping to see where she went. It's a little tricky, there's algae, sediment from the buildings, seaweed, and other assorted stuff.

Roll 1d20

Rolled 19

>>24627751

Rolled 17

>>24627751
super-vision!

Rolled 16

>>24627751
I just know the dice will help us look at stuff.

Rolled 20

>>24627751
Time to fail another spot check.

>>24627758
... is that an actually decent Search roll?

>>24627758
>>24627762
>>24627763
>>24627764
So that's where all the good rolls went.

>>24627751
>>24627758
Tell us! What do our crazy thermal-electromagnetic-spectography eyes see?

>>24627769
nearly a crit too.

we do far better spotting people then hidden objects.

>>24627775
snake legolas heh

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>>24627758

Oh cool. We're not completly blind after all

>>24627817
>we do far better spotting people then hidden objects
We have thermal vision.

>>24627817
>Snakeolas

>>24627638
I like this scene a lot.

It's a good one to imagine in your head. I like to think there are cicadas, or crickets.

>>24627758
The little one you can't see, but the trail she makes, and the fact that you can keep your eyes open underwater with your second lids, also she's got something on her that's giving off a magical glow. You can follow that too. She made a beeline for the sunken Cathedral building. It's one of the more heavily shelled buildings. A large building that looks like it's been covered with sugar crystals. It still glitters a little in the sunlight and the reflection in the water is very pretty. Actually...you know that color of stone that's under the sugar crystals. That's brillitite, the same material that the Light Tower was made up. The one that lights up when hit by lighting. Huh.

Either way, the little one went directly there.

>>24627925
good to know, we should make a note to visit that after we get our companions to the Manor.

>>24627949
ditto

>>24627925
well, wait a couple minutes, and if nobody comes out to greet you, bring the boats back to your team so you can investigate.

Man, a living one. That's great.

>>24627925
Go ahead and bring the others across with the boat. Take good care of it; it probably belongs to someone.

>>24627925
wait a few minutes, see if she comes back.

If not, go back to the others and tell them we saw a lamia child, then bring them to the Manor via boat.

I imagine us being a bit giddy seeing as we had nearly lost hope for talking with another of our kind when we found the Silver and Gold murdered by the Dramatae.

>>24627925
Maybe lamias like living near brillitite. I form this theory based on the fact that we've never met one who doesn't live near brillitite.

>>24628003
Maybe brillitite actually has some nutrients in there lamias like. Maybe Ssen should try carrying some around, or eating some, or something.

>>24628039
>Maybe Ssen should try carrying some around, or eating brillitite

Peanut Brillitite?

>>24627925
>A large building that looks like it's been covered with sugar crystals.

We're in for an unpleasant surprise when we find out they're made of salt.

Then again, a sugar-water ocean seems like exactly the kind of thing Citadel would love.

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>>24628051
Peanut Brillitite Squares?

>>24628039
I don't think eating it is the way to go. Make a little bracelet out of it or something.

>>24628051
Of course not.
[spoilers]Llamias have a hard time with peanuts, I'd wager. She's lucky she can swallow things whole, because vegetables without molars must suck.[/spoiler]

>>24627995
You wait a few moments. Nothing. You get in the boat and push yourself back to the others. They've made their way down into the ruins, and are waiting on a ruined roof that's at ground level. Tricia is very excited.

"You saw her too, right? Tell the others that I'm not just babbling." She says. Her butterflies flap back into her. "Did you see where she went?"

>>24628103
"Yeah, she went right for this big ol' sunken cathedral. I'm so excited! We could follow her there, or check the fire. Maybe we can find her parents there?"

I don't know what motions a lamia does when excited, but people have suggested tail twitching.

>>24628103
"She went into the Cathedral. I'll have to check it out once we all get across."

>>24628103
Hug her, because we were wondering the same thing about whether the others saw her. "Underwater, into a ruined building covered in crystals. And the building itself was made of the same shining material as the Light Tower."

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>>24628124

>>24628103
"Wasn't she so cute!?"

>>24628124
>I don't know what motions a lamia does when excited, but people have suggested tail twitching.

I'd kinda imagine coiling and uncoiling like a tic.

>>24628219
that might be a more nervous action. I would imagine something like a little shuffle.

>>24628247
I was thinking more like a human might hop between feet when really excited. For nervousness, I'd imagine coiling really tightly like squeezing something, just without anything to squeeze.

>>24628124
"Wasn't she cute? Yeah, she went right for this big ol' sunken cathedral. I'm so excited! We could follow her there, or check the fire. Maybe we can find her parents there?"

Your tail twitches like crazy and your tongue flicks in and out.

"Easy there." Tricia says, patting you on the shoulder.

"The fire could be nothing." Lea says. "This place is old, stray lamp oil, random spark. Nothing but more destruction. I say we look for the child."

"I'm with Lea." Tricia says. "The kid is our best lead...I guess. Or at the least, the only living thing we've seen here."

"There's no way that fire's accidental." Mage says.

"We're in agreement." Peri/Mari say. "That's a sign of a person, and lamia or not, feral beasts don't make fires. That means intelligence."

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Just for an appreciation on how fucking long we really are. At an average height of 6 foot on the guy, this lamia is roughly 18-20 feet of tail.
>>24628300
If anything the lamia went to get her parents. If so we are bound to run into them on the way to the fire. An at least cursory examination of it, even if it may be a trap, may prove fruitful.

Whoo! 40 threads in two days. My eyes hurt, but finally I can join the quest proper.

>>24628300

I vote follow the kid.

>>24628300
Seeing as the rest of the party can't really swim so well (and maybe lamias can breathe underwater and there's no air down there) they can use the boat to check out the fire while we go for the cathedral.

>>24628300
Re-asking this question from earlier, since it'll matter if we try to find her underwater:
>>24627681
>Is ssen even slightly capable of reproducing anything like the Leviathans' mode of underwater speech?

Did the underwater structure have a solid-looking roof, or did it have holes in the top? (Any chance it has some level of air near the top of the inside?)

Also, let's use the boat to get over to the Manor House and look around there, in the absence of a good way to explore deep underwater at the moment.

>>24628300
"Do you think we could check in with the fire quickly? Say hello, introduce ourselves, get back to looking for the child? If not, I might be leaning towards finding the child first. Fires last a while, and if someone intelligent made it, they'll want to stick around for the warmth and all. The kid could scoot any minute though.

>>24628358
Welcome!

>>24628300
"Bah. You people and your split decisions!"

Sigh.

"Alright let's check out the fire first ... we know where the child went at the very least. Plus the boat(s) might belong to whoever made the fire. It be bad manners to not return them or greet them if these are theirs."

>>24628359
Don't split the party.

>>24628300
dawww

visibly try and calm down

"We should check the Manor first, the child did run away as soon as I spoke, and I don't want to seem like I am chasing her."

>>24628351
we're still pretty young for a lamia, but I estimate we're like 13, 14 feet by now.

>>24628359
Rule one of any RPG. Don't split the Party.

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>>24628370

I'm gonna assume my tripcode's not necessary here.

>>24628387
we where 15 ft when we started, + 1-3 more feet since then from growing like when we fought Granny, so probably about 17 ft, hell we would have to be to do some of the tail tricks we pull off.

>>24628413
Hmm, I was just going by vague reckoning for my estimates, and how a 100 year old one was 30 feet, but we need at least like 12 or 13 feet to stand properly, and how we've just gained half a foot in a few months, which means we've entered a primary growth period... Lots of assumptions in my work.

>>24628381
But we have to because Lea can't even swim. And we just did to get the boat, anyway.

>>24628360
>Is ssen even slightly capable of reproducing anything like the Leviathans' mode of underwater speech?

No. You lack about four different things in your throat and one organ.

>>24628447
I kindof agree at this point that a split is necessary.

>>24628413

As I recall Ssen started at ~8 feet. Forget which thread, though. That seems the right growth number, though.

>>24628467
As I recall the 8ft start was retconned when Echo realised it wasn't long enough.

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>>24628465
Back at sands we pulled everyone underwater one at a time to fight the Wasp Witch.

>>24628495
that was when there was a clear exit... this might be an underwater only dungeon.

>>24628387
>>24628467
>>24628491
We started out around 12-14 feet:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23602868/#p23638695
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/23602868/#p23638725

We gained a foot or so the first time we practiced with Granny and learned how to move, and another foot or so (along with claws and two more venoms) from the red moss.

>>24628501
Something we have yet to check. Recon is needed at this point and nothing more.

>>24628517
Yeah, that's why I asked if there were any holes on the top of the underwater structure or if it might be airtight on the top. It'd be particularly interesting if they had oxygen-producing plants growing inside, so the air wasn't stale.

>>24628495
but pulling the entire party into a lamia's den would probably freak them out. It would probably be better to only have ssen go in.

new item for mage's book: Underwater Breathing spell.

Also, test roll to make sure I'm doing it right.

>>24628539
You need a 1 in front of the d.

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>>24628387
Could have sworn it was 18+ after the moss happened.
>>24628467
8 feet of tail would not let us stand up and was retconned.

I will give this plan:

Go to the fire, have your party talk to them mostly, excuse yourself to investigate more during the conversation so you can check out the child.

>>24628538
And going in solo is fool hardy.

>>24628547
Actually, I was wrong, it was only half a foot:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/24422089/#p24428872
>Also, you're not sure if it was the blood moss, or all the activity, or just going savage, but you've without a doubt got another half-a-foot of tail to work with. Thank His Light you got to relax your skin in that simulated hotspring last night.

Rolled 1 + 2

>>24628545

Like so...?

>>24628515

which would make approx. 16 feet.

>>24628567
14-16, yeah.

>>24628377
>>Is ssen even slightly capable of reproducing anything like the Leviathans' mode of underwater speech?

No, lack of Leviathan body parts.

>>24628386
"Bah. You people and your split decisions!"

"We should check the Manor first, the child did run away as soon as I spoke, and I don't want to seem like I am chasing her. We know where she went anyway.

"We could check in with the fire quickly. Say hello, introduce ourselves, make sure we aren't stealing the boats, and then get back to looking for the child. The kid could scoot any minute though."

"Agreed."

The others all pile into the boat, and you go into the water to help with propulsion and rudder control.

After a bit, you reach the manor house, or at least the busted stairwell to the upper floors. You may your way up. The place is old and molding, but you do hear the sounds of a fire...and without a doubt the smell of cooking meat. At least, you can smell it. Someone's living here.

The doors to the grand meeting hall are closed, but there's carving into the door. Like someone used claws to etch into the wood.
- - -
Here dwells the great Lord of Waves, the King of Tides, He who is Unconquered. All before you is under his holy protection, despair not, for you are safe.

All royal appointments regarding civic works, must be made in advance with royal secretary.

No solicitors.

Please knock.
- - -

>>24628567
Good job, a nat 1. Bodes well.

>which would make approx. 16 feet.
We've also had natural growth which hasn't had exact numbers. So anywhere from 15-20 would be my guess.

>>24628592
if its 14, thats shouldnt include the human 3 1/2 or so feet, because we need at least 2 feet of snake tail to stand upright.

>>24628605
... sounds like a dragon hah.

>>24628605
Well ...

(knock)

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>>24628592
>>24628567
I would hazard around this long.

>>24628605
I guess we knock?

>>24628567
>>24628618

Hmph. The power of Math knows to let the shit rolls come now, when they don't matter. Come life-and-death danger my Mathematica will save us all!

>>24628605

A paladin is nothing if uncorteous. Knock, of course.

>>24628605
Well, let's do as the sign says. Knock on the door.

>>24628605
"Oh, looks like they've gotten a government! Marvelous!"

Knock. Introduce ourselves, ask if they know a lamia family around here.

Hopefully a servant opens the door and not royalty, then we'd have to use better manners.

>>24628605
"Guess we should knock then"

and knock, use the knocker if there is one.

>>24628638
thats 7 meters of snake, ~21 or so feet of snake, quite a bit longer then us.

>>24628662

How would you know pic related is 7m? On a related note, 21 feet is not that far out of the park.

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I just realized based on common snake color configurations that we are probably yellow-bellied in a literal sense.

>>24628625
3ish feet of upper body, 2-3 feet of tail to hold that upper body at average human heights, another 2 or so feet to stand on, which leaves 6-8 feet of extra tail. Seems reasonable.

>>24628679
I read that manga, theres a page in it that says her length, let me see if I can find it.

>>24628688
double the length we need to stand on, 2 feet really is not much for something our size to be stable on, especially when we try and wrap someone.

with 2 feet only to stay upright it wouldnt be hard to tip us on our side, especially when using the tail to whip and already have motion in one direction.

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>>24628687

Looks like white to me. A paladin is no coward!

Also, I googled 'lamia paladin' and the first and 7th picture results were of Ssen. 'ghoul mage' unfortunately does not yield Mage.

>>24628765
Have we even had a picture of Mage?

>>24628756
When standing or moving around normally, we can easily use all 10 feet or so of tail to stand on. In battle, nothing says we have to keep using 2-3 feet of tail to hold our upper body at normal heights, and wrapping would definitely involve the bit normally used for standing.

>>24628787
No, we've never had any picture of Mage, Mari/Peri, or Lea.

>>24628795
honestly, we're probably much lower to the ground in battle.

well, lower and higher. Our height varies a lot. An advantage of our locomotive systems.

>>24628787
someone did a picture of the part a while back
ill dig and try to find it.

>>24628797
I sort of remember Lea as part of a group picture.

>>24628798
Exactly. We can rise up higher as well, which helps when fighting with Beacon.

>>24628815
There was a group pic someone did in the early threads.

>>24628795
height is a major advantage in melee combat, and we would not be able to go much lower without hindering our use of beacon.

16 feet just makes more sense if you are including the human bits in that.

>>24628833

We probably need to update it then, I doubt anyone's still wearing the same clothes (I remember Ssen not being in plate, and Tricia was wearing farm clothes).

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>>24628863
BAM!
From #18

>>24628906
Mari/Peri's hairstyle in this isn't what I pictured though. I always though of her having a paige-boy. Still it's a look that works for her.

>>24628906
Ssen: Always wear a circlet. Even when you're not a paladin.

>>24628924
Also, and this might just be me, and I'm loathe to say this for the reactions, I get the weirdest comparison to Kim Possible in my head when I look at this.

Also, I believed that Ssen was 16-17 feet at this point. 12 when she started but she's at a growth spurt age for lamia, getting a lot of physical activity, and the blood moss event helped a good deal.

>>24628972
damnit now I'm seeing it too.

>>24628972
Ssen's getting longer! Marvelous. 16.5 feet is getting into the real-good range for humanosnake dynamics.

I am surprised we can still fit in that cart.

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>>24628972

Well, stretching muscles you've never used before tends to do that, i suppose.

Also, I just figured out why the Lightbringer 'hero' was named Adahn, at least from a meta perspective. 'Adahn' isn't actually the Nameless One's name, it's just a throwaway title he invents for the purpose of talking to people. If you introduce yourself to enough people as 'Adahn' then a guy named Adahn actually pops into existence. It's just another way of illustrating how artificial that poor sap's life is. I really hope he ends up looking like pic related. At least he can be an inside joke then.

>>24629030
carts are rather big, and its not like our tail is fragile, I imagine us curling our tail against the walls of the cart and everyone using it as a bench.

>>24629054
That's a nice thought. We probably removed whatever benches the cart came with long ago.

If not, then we're probably all coiled up in everyone's footspace, and we should try switching to this method.

Anyway, we're knocking. Near unanimously. Let's do that.

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>>24629054

Wouldn't be the first time people have sat on us.

This also strikes me as silly enough to warrant a comedy sketch.

>everyone piles into the cart
>mage (naturally) is the last in, and there's no room for him to sit
>looks around, spots Ssen's tail
>idea.jpg
>brushes the dust off the tail
>Ssen looks over, wondering
>le sit
>Ssen's face when

>>24629105
You knock on the door.

It opens suddenly and a woman with fins for ears, and webbed hands is there in your face.

"The Great King of Salt and Sand is masticating quite heavily at the moment. Do you have an appointment, or a salad fork?"

>>24629155
"..."
*turns to party*
"Do we have a salad fork?"