>Current objectives:
-Find your way back to the crossroads.
-Find your way back to Earth.
-Discover what this huge war is about, and how it's threatening to destroy the universe.
-Learn more about the Corruption.

>Current inventory
-1 KV-09 Combination assault blade/energy pistol. Modified with the Void Knight Shield
-1 Screwdriver
-1 Adjustable wrench
-Various spare parts
-A pouch of gold coins
-Another pouch with 18 "Calling Crystals"
-9/10 light travel rations
-10/10 full oil can
-10/10 bandages

>Current energy stored
-1 Aether tank
-2 Void tanks
-1 Apotropeia tank
-2 empty tanks
-12 EP per tank

>Calling Crystal contacts
-Jodo, chief of Yujun village (Palia)
-Rose, interplanetary drifter (Currently on UNKNOWN) (Travelling with Oz, Savvi, and Thorn)
-Jax, Hecatun Way Knight (Currently on UNKNOWN)

>Current known techniques
-Blade Wave (cost:5 EP)
-Charge Shot (cost:3 EP)

Logan glared at her when she asked why he kept the shield.

"Because I'm stranded without the damn thing, and I can't exactly run back home." He said sarcastically, a bored expression on his face.

"But surely you could find another place to settle down if you so chose." Said Savvi. She sounded almost concerned.

Logan ingnored her and started pressing the symbols on his shield. Was he planning on leaving?

"Logan. Answer me." Savvi said, sounding more serious now.

Logan rolled his eyes before answering, he looked mad. "Yes. I could settle down somewhere nice. Live a nice, happy life." His expression changed to a mix of hatred and disgust, accentuated by the charred line down the left side of his face. "And while I live the good life, the Corruption spreads unchecked. And when it comes to claim the world I chose to live on, I'll be sitting on my hands."

He turned away then, and cut a rift to another world. "No, I think I'll be fighting this one until the end." He said as he stepped towards it.

Rose wanted to say something, anything. Logan sounded so sad. But in the end she let him go.

When he stepped through the rift, she could've sworn she heard him say something. But it was too faint.

Once he was gone, everyone was quiet for a moment.

"Damn... I guess we can't count on his vote then, can we?" Oz said, scratching the back of his head.

"This is about the seekers, isn't it? Is that the whole reason you called him here? So you could pitch your crazy little plan to him? You almost got him killed!" Thorn yelled. She was still angry. Rose knew that it wasn't Logan she was mad at in the first place, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time...

"Are you still planning on going through with that?" Asked Savvi.

"This universe needs ORDER. To achieve that, we need peace. To achieve that, we need peacekeepers. And if the Kalkarri are willi-"

"The KALKARRI? Are you MAD?!? They're part of the reason why everything is out of whack in the first place!" Savvi shrieked, cutting Oz off.

"And yet they're willing to talk. That's more than we ever got from the Proclamation. And the Void Knight seems more at a loss for what to do than the rest of us!" Oz raised his voice. He always does this when he gets angry.

"So that's it then. We're just going to give up and join the lesser of two evils?" Thorn said.

"No, of course not. We're going to negotiate with the lesser of two evils." Oz said, like the change in wording should make everything better.

"When. Where. Who." Savvi said with a demanding tone.

"Three weeks from now. The Librarius Maxim on Aklabra. The heads of your order and mine, as well as the dragon matron, will be meeting with the leaders of the Kalkarri."

"I hope you know what you're doing Oz." Said Thorn.

"Always." Oz replied, sounding sure of himself.

Throughout all this, Rose coiled herself tightly. No matter how certain Oz was that this would work, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that had settled in her heart.

Rose wondered if she'd ever see Logan again. If she'd die without ever apologizing for whatever she said to set him off. If he'd die somewhere far from home, doing a job he never once asked for.

The people she loved were going to be in harms way. Each moment she spent with them could be the last.

And that terrified her.

>End

Damn damn damn damn.

You curse into the Void. When the hell did you get so bloody grim?
That wasn't like you at all.

<I need to kill something. Please tell me we're going somewhere with something to kill.
>Our destination is another Corrupted world.

Good. You've got more steam built up inside you than you ever thought you had room for.

>By the way. I have a new spell for you.
>New spell: Scattershot-3 EP- Starts as a charge shot, but fires like a shotgun blast.
<That might come in handy.
>Is there anything you'd like me to focus on for your next spell?
<Focus?
>Yes. I can work towards building an algorithm for a supportive or defensive spell, or I can build upon the offensive spells you already know.

>[ ] I could use some support magic.

>[ ] Something defensive.

>[ ] Work with what I've got for now.

>>30025013
>What kinda support magic are we talkin' about?

>>30025013
>I'm curious about support as well.

<Okay, offensive and defensive I understand. But what exactly falls under support?
>Effects like healing and temporarily increased capabilities would fall under that category.

>What choose?

>Before you ask, any healing spell you learn will work on you. Vicky knows what you are and aren't capable of.

>>30025602
We need us some healing. Go for it.

>>30025602
Stick with offense. First our mindset

>>30025602
We have offensive and defensive stuff. Lets go with support until we learn something that heals.

>>30025602
Can't rely on Jax to fix us up every time. Go support.

>writing

<I could use some support magic.
>I will begin working on that.

You remember a few days ago when Jax helped you out with your arm. You won't always have someone around to heal you, it's best if you have something you can use.

<Out of curiosity, how long will this take?
>To create a new spell it will take 8-10 hours. To improve upon a known spell it will take 4-5.

Interesting.

As you consider how best to manage Vicky's processing time, your sword catches the veil and you find yourself on a new world.

As Vicky mentioned, this world is corrupted. You seem to be in the middle of a field of tall grass. It reminds you of the paintings of old earth prairies.

Except... Y'know, purple. And sick.

>Area scan completed.
>There appears to be a Hecatun and several other native creatures nearby.

Now that she mentions it, you hear sounds of fighting nearby.

>[ ] Move to assist

>[ ] Approach with caution

>>30026748
Move to assist.
Even if they're one of the ones that don't like us, helping them out could sway their heart.

>>30026748
>Move to assist!

>writing

<I don't suppose I have thermal vision now...
>You do not.

Dang. Thermals would ROCK right now.
No sense lingering on 'what ifs' now though. You pick out the direction the noise is coming from and make a beeline through the grass.

>roll 1d20

Rolled 11

>>30027120

Rolled 16

>>30027120

Rolled 2

>>30027120

>writing

<Give me targets!
>Targetting...

Little crosshairs appear in your vision, marking the location of the objects revealed in Vicky's initial scan. The first thing you notice is how they're much closer than they sounded.
Of course, this doesn't deter you.

You come upon one of them and give it a good overhand chop. As your blade hits it right in the head, you get a nice good look and... are these fucking velociraptors? They look like purple fucking velociraptors...

Having heard you lay into one of the raptors, the Hecatun you're helping calls out. "Is someone there?" The voice sounds familiar again. It's feminine this time, and considering that there's only one female Hecatun you know...

"Achillea, I'm here to help!" You say, whirling around to cut down a raptor that tried to get the jump on you. It seems like these guys are used to ambush tactics, using the grass to cover them. Fortunately, you're no stranger to ambush tactics.

Another one jumps at you from the grass, and you grab it by the snout.

<Perform left wrist rotation check.

It's an old trick, but it never fails. You grasp the raptors snout firmly as your hand rotates 360 degrees in its socket, twisting the head right around with a satisfying *crack*

You dispatch a few more with your blade before the rest clue in and decide to find some less deadly prey.

Turning to see Achillea you find her looking at you angrily, with the tip of her blade poised at your throat.

>[ ] Put that away before someone gets hurt.

>[ ] Friendly greetings.

>[ ] You're welcome.

>>30028005
"Gee Logan, thank you ever so much for saving my ass!" "You're welcome, Achillea, I do love to help those in need" (HEAVY SARCASM)

>>30028005
>WELL EXCUUUUUSSSE ME, PRINCESS

>writing

>>30028447
BUMP

"What are you doing here?" She says, obviously not happy to see you.

You put on a high pitched voice. "Gee Logan, thank you ever so much for saving my ass from those velociraptors." You say in an over-dramatic fashion before switching back to your own voice and adding. "You're welcome Achillea, I do love to help those in need. Surely the best way to reward me for my courage would be to point your FUCKING SWORD AT MY THROAT!" You finish, slapping her sword away.

She seems taken aback by your little performance. "I never asked for your help, and I didn't need it!" She says furiously.

"Well excuuuuuuse me princess. But that's not what it sounded like to me!" You exclaim.

"What are you doing here Unchosen?" She asks, clearly not in the mood for games.

>[ ] Sarcasm intensifies

>[ ] What are YOU doing here?

>[ ] Answer her

>>30028773
>CONTRARY to your BELIEFS I am TRYING to do my JOB

>>30028949
This

>>30028773
>Breathe... Calm yourself... Just because she's acting childish doesn't mean we have to. Take the high road, and answer her.

>>30029060
Got to inject a LITTLE snark, at least

>writing

"My job." You say simply. "Contrary to what you might think, it's not happy fun time in Loganville these days. I didn't get this shield and decide to go on an offworld vacation. I've been busy trying to work out how to fix this." You say, holding out your hands to indicate that 'this' means the corruption.

"I suppose you want me to praise you for that." She says, looking rather unimpressed.

"I could do with a simple 'thanks for helping me out', I'm not a dog that needs to be told when he's been a good boy." You say, raising an eyebrow. "So what are YOU doing here?"

She clams up. Turning around and walking away thruogh the grass.

Okay, so we're going to be difficult...

>[ ] Address the elephant in the field (Thitu)

>[ ] Follow her.

>[ ] Let her go

>>30029337
Address the elephant.
We should be serious with this.

>>30029337
address

>>30029337
>Address this while following her. I know what it's like to lose those you care about

>writing

If she's going to stonewall you like this, you might as well bring out the catapults. Taking a moment to breath and calm yourself, you brace your nerves and speak.
"Look, I know that the old Void Knight was your mother, and that I can't replace her. But can you at leas-"

"Who told you that?!?" She yells, rushing back out of the grass and eyeing you angrily. She looks almost hurt, but you soldier on.

"Nosim did. Like I was saying, you can at leas-" You begin again before being cut off once more.

"That old man told you this, and you think you can just-... just..." She stops, bringing her left hand back to slap you.

Looks like she's going for the hard cheek...

>[ ] stop her

>[ ] let her

>>30029709
let her. i wanna see this

>>30029709
LET HER

>writing

You don't even flinch. You keep your eyes locked on hers the whole time.

When her hand connects you see a look of pain cross her face briefly, before she pulls her hand back. "What the hell?" She asks rubbing her hand.

"Hurts doesn't it?" You say. "I actually didn't feel a thing. I haven't felt anything there for over a decade." You say, knocking on your head for emphasis. "You gonna let me finish?" You look at her expectantly, waiting for a reply.

"S-sure." She says, thrown off balance by your sudden seriousness.

"Thank you. Now where was I... yes! I know the old Void Knight was your mother. I know that I can't replace her. But could you at least cut me some slack? I am trying my hardest to figure this shit out, and I could do without you being purpously unhelpful."

She looks at you in stunned silence for a moment before nodding her head.

"Thank you."

>Anything you guys want to ask her?

>>30030400
>Zeshua's gunning for me. Attacked me in the middle of a damn street.

>>30030400
What exactly were you doing here?

>writing

"So, what exactly are you doing here?" You ask, now that it looks like she's willing to be helpful.

She seems reluctant to answer for a moment. "Investigating the corruption, same as you." she says.

"Yeah, Jax mentioned that you guys are starting your own effort to stop this stuff... I don't suppose you know anything about it that I dont." You say. A part of you hopes that you know more about this than she does, just out of spite.

She seems surprised. "You've spoken to Jax?"

"Well... Yeah. I met him on Ityri." You say, thinking for a second before continuing. "If you don't know about that, then I suppose you haven't heard about my meeting with Zeshua."

Her brow furrows. "Zeshua came to talk to you?"

"There were words spoken, yes. But mostly he was just trying to kill me." You say

"Zeshua... that bastard... he knows that you were off limits until the council made their decision. That's probably why we haven't heard from him in the past couple of days..." She looks pensive, before looking back up. "If that's true, you'll need to be on your guard. Zeshua is one of the few Wayknights who can track travellers across the threads. If he's gone to ground, I doubt we'd be able to find him."

"That's comforting..." You say.

"I should go and tell the council about this. Maybe we can get the other trackers on him..." She says, sticking her blade into the air.

>[ ] Jax said he'd do that...

>[ ] Let her go

>[ ] Other (specify)

>>30031002
Uh, it's alright, Jax said he'd do that...

>>30031002
>>[ ] Jax said he'd do that...

"And I don't think he can track me since I haven't jumped threads in quite some time now."

>>30031002
Jax said he'd do that, didn't? She just looking to hide a blush?

>writing

"Hang on, Jax already said that he'd tell them about all this."

She looks away from the rift and sighs. "Then it'll probably never get done. Jax is a exceptional Wayknight. He's just kind of lazy sometimes. I'd trust him with my life in a fight, but otherwise..." She trails off with an awkward expression.

That sounded surprisingly... normal. "Got it, Jax is a terrible messenger. Anything else I should know?"

"Keep a sharp eye. Zeshua or any of the other wayknights who want you dead could be anywhere. Be careful." She smiles slightly. "Don't want you dying just yet, you've got a job to do remember?"

And with that, she's through the rift. As soon as she's in, the rift seals behind her. "So that's what that looks like..." You say, having not seen it from the other side before.

That being said, it's been a long day. I should find someplace to rest.

>Anything you guys wanna do before sleeptime?

>>30031478
Firstly, better get our asses offa this rock

>>30031478
Does Vicky know anything about Kalkarri/Proclamation settled worlds? Need to start figuring out the players in this war.

>writing

>I just realized that I've been posting without my trip for a while. Sorry about that.

<Give me the coordinates for Dergrume, I guess I'll stay in Hovum for the night.

You go through the usual process of entering coordinates.

<I don't suppose you know more than I do about the factions in the war.
>I do not.

Dang, it was worth a shot.

Without further ado, you leave this world in the dust. Coming out of your rift in Hovum after a few minutes.

It doesn't take long for you to find the place you were staying in before, when Oz lent you the spare room they rented.

The price for a room is fairly cheap, at 1 silver for a night. You pay the small Qupre at the desk and go upstairs.

>Anything you guys wanna do?

>>30031948
>... Forgot to give Achillea a crystal

>>30031948
I think we''re good.

>>30031948
I... This has been a LONG day...

You lay down on the bed. "Shit, I forgot to give Achillea a crystal..." As you say that, you realize that she left in kind of a hurry. "Maybe next time..."

<Wake me up once I've slept for 8 hours.
>Alarm set. Sleep well Logan.
<Goodnight Vicky.

With that, you close your eyes and drift off.

[1/?]

The air in your room is cold. Well... You call it your room, but due to a lack of space it doubles as a workshop.

"You're really going, huh?" You say. Your words seem to get lost in the cold.

"It's not that bad Logan. 1 week and I'll be back, safe and sound." She says with a smile. She was always smiling, you liked that about her. But now...

You stand up and face the window.

"I know, you feel like this whole mission is a waste of time." She says, walking up and hugging you from behind.

"It's not that... I just..." I wish you weren't going. It's what you want to say, but it doesn't come out.

"I heard that you petitioned the head honchos to take my place." You feel her head rest on your back.

"Well, you know how that went..." Same as it always goes. You failed to pass their psych tests and are therefore unfit for combat. Means no guns, and no combat postings. They've been sticking you out there as 'support' for the last 2 years.

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"They really don't like you, huh? Why was that again?" She pulls away and pretends to be thinking.

You turn to look at her with a raised eyebrow "Because I'm 'a dangerous sociopath with major homicidal tendencies'?" You say, fingerquoting your 'diagnosis'.

Her eyes widen in mock terror. "You are?!?" She puts on a terrible southern accent. "Oh someone! Someone save me from the dangerous man!" Then she raises a hand to her forehead and pretends to faint.

You catch her, letting out an exasperated sigh. "When are you going to stop falling like that?"

She sticks her tongue out at you. "When you stop catching me."

You hold her there for a moment. "Do you really have to go?" You ask, letting your feelings show on your face for once.

She smiles. "I'll come back. I promise." She says as she twirls out of your arms. "But that's something to worry about tomorrow!" Back to her cheery demeanour, she skips over to the door and locks it.

"Oh my, now no one can get in. Why ever would you do that?" You say in monotone. It just so happens that you know exactly why she did that. So it doesn't surprise you when she leaps at you from the door. Nor does it surprise you when you both end up on the bed.

You suppose you can leave the worrying for tomorrow after all.

>End of Chapter 10

>That's all for tonight ladies and gents.

>Next thread will be either tomorrow or thursday.

>As always I'll be around for a few minutes to answer questions.

>>30032682

Oh wow. Thanks of making me sad, ass.

On a more serious note, thanks for the thread, OP.

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>>30032983
>If you're sad now, I feel I should notify you that the ride has only just begun.

>See you all next time

>>30033157
I like where this is going.

Now excuse me while I go find a corner to cry in.