>>30095809
>Exceptional success

You’ve been drawing hard on your empowerment during this duel but the results are beyond expectations. You feel slightly sorry for Gnome as you repeatedly slip under her guard and deal her an increasing number of bruises. She’ll heal fast anyway, so it won’t matter and so long as you don’t hit so hard as to prevent her from moving she can keep building for you.

Serves her right for being a smarmy bitch about beating you up earlier, too.

In fact, this is almost too easy. You contemplate sheathing your sword and fighting Gnome on her own grounds. It might make for good training too.

>1. Keep fighting as is.
>2. Sheathe your sword and try to match Gnome in martial arts.
>3. Let Gnome know you’re more interested in learning and try to have her teach you martial arts.
>4. Custom

>>30095810
>2. Sheathe your sword and try to match Gnome in martial arts.
>3. Let Gnome know you’re more interested in learning and try to have her teach you martial arts.
Half way through the fight.

>>30095810
Hm.

>1
IF she never gave us a break

>2
If she did

Also, this pastebin include the original char sheets of all the champions.

http://pastebin.com/zr0asVhp

>>30095810
>3. Let Gnome know you’re more interested in learning and try to have her teach you martial arts.

Yeeeesssssss

>>30095809

Dear god man. I just tune in and see you've already did almost 13 hours worth of game.

>>30095810
>3.
Might as well start by learning the fundamentals as opposed to a bunch of bad habits.

>>30095810
>2. Sheathe your sword and try to match Gnome in martial arts.

>>30095858

I'm really sorry Aspirational but that just provided us with way too much.

>Astral Powers (Life, Death) II – ability to use intermediate astral power. Sirius can draw on both the life and death domains, but not concurrently.

>Iron Body I – by drawing on the life domain, you make yourself immune to pain and gain enhanced regeneration. Even in situations where you should collapse or suffer from grievous wounds, you do not fall or suffer.

>Sunder I – by drawing on the death domain, you are able to momentarily break reality. Your blow shatters powerful magicks or penetrates objects that would otherwise be impervious.

How do you not expect us to look at these and go, yes I want that.

Astral Powers (Life, Death) II – ability to use intermediate astral power. Sirius can draw on both the life and death domains, but not concurrently.
Huh
Sunder I – by drawing on the death domain, you are able to momentarily break reality. Your blow shatters powerful magicks or penetrates objects that would otherwise be impervious.
So this was death
Iron Body I – by drawing on the life domain, you make yourself immune to pain and gain enhanced regeneration. Even in situations where you should collapse or suffer from grievous wounds, you do not fall or suffer.
This was power, then what was fire.

>>30095914
It's pretty rad, yeah. I like Iron Body myself.

Still, I regret nothing.

>>30095914
>>30095921
Haha, I just realised I forgot to change his name. It's Saareg, not Sirius or Sunder. Whoops.

>>30095921
>>30095914
So wait if we chose death then our soldiers and us would be one shotting everything.
But since we chose life we help regenerate and bring back troops.

>>30095921
Have a look at the lorebin entry for the character most related to fire.

Also, yeah, option 3. Post soon.

I also totally forgot that Saareg would reveal the results of the other astral power choices, to a limite degree. Thank god I didn't add more detail.

>>30095960
>lord embers
Still doesn't answer the question.

>>30095960
>Said to control the very fires of creation and is the lord responsible for the uplifting process for the rest of the Astral Adepts.

Was there a chance for us to forge our HMKs into lesser Astral beings? Is that what you meant by the other meanings of fire? Creation?

God damn man this shit is getting out of control.

>>30095960
>Thank god I didn't add more detail
MAN
MAAAAN
STOP TEASING ME BRO

>>30095960
>THE LORD OF EMBER
>Said to control the very fires of creation and is the lord responsible for the uplifting process for the rest of the Astral Adepts. Is apparently a very eccentric individual - it was he who started the war of the early 1600s. His name is Breckenthorough.
Fire choice
>THE LORD OF AIR
>The Lord of Air is the most mysterious of the Lords, as he has never made an appearance on the battlefield. It is said that he is the one who is responsible for the 'life' of the kingdom outside the Astral Adepts themselves - the culture, the management and the economics. His name is Maltrist.
Power choice
>THE LORD OF STEEL
>The Lord of Steel is the most well-known of the three Lords, as he is the only one who still travels outside his kingdom. A giant even amongst his kin, he is always seen clad in enormous and elegant armour, said to be forged so well as to be unbreakable. He maintains the enormous forges with which to supply the god-knights and is responsible for the grandiose cities and fortresses the Lords are known for. His known is Arryl.
Death choice.
Well shit

>>30095987
Fire = life

Prometheus style. There's three predetermined paths in the quest. If you come up with a new one I'll try to integrate it.

>>30096005
Whilst the first answer is correct, the next two aren't. Your powers do not necessarily slot into those of a Lord.

>3.

You sheathe your sword. Gnome looks confused as you raise your hands to suggest peace.

“This feels a little unfair, actually,” you say. “I’m beating you with raw power not skill. If I could, I’d like to learn more about how you fight rather than merely beat on you for some time.”

The dark skinned elemental looks cautious for a while before giving you a nod and walking you through the basics of her style.

[DC13 Learning]

Rolled 5

>>30096037

Rolled 18

>>30096037

Rolled 9

>>30096037
Did we pay attention or were we distracted by Gnome's...

>>30096037

Man you have some crazy good stuff in store for us. Though expect us to probably try to mix Fire and Power together now since everyone seems more on the same page about them now.

>>30096046
You know, I was honestly expecting to fail this one. Glad I was wrong.

>>30096078

Don't worry anon I got you.

>>30096069
What?
I just want Power, or Death man.

Death is cool as hell.

Nah actually it probably depends on the next time it happens. Power was a good pick last time because of the bad engagement.

>>30096037
Oh, since we seem less rigidly organized at the moment I hope you don't mind me continuing to ask followup questions to our conquest of Vitria?

Assuming your OK, what condition is that magitech factory we (hopefully) just acquired in and do we have access to the personnel to run it?

>>30096125

I assumed that would come up next thread with the whole house keeping thing and emperor managing.

>>30096092

I only say that because when it happened a lot of people post said they might have picked Fire with a more apt description as a lot assumed it was equal to death.

>>30096092
Power is situational. Life/fire is about rebuilding. Death/ruin is about destroying first before considering reconstruction.

>>30096125
The foundries are in good condition, in part due to having not to fight the military over them. You'll get more detail next thread.

>>30096152
I made the erroneous assumption that most people would connect fire with Prometheus. Kind of silly in retrospect but my mind can work in odd ways.

>Target met

Gnome actually has a very straightforward way of learning, and you even find the time to ogle her assets. Damn those assets add so much to your realm. So very, very much.

Back to the part of reality that matter slightly more, you find yourself moving along with Gnome as she runs through her kata, as he calls them. From what little knowledge you have of the west, you recall that’s the name that is often used for patterns of martial manoeuvres.

Even so, you have little difficulty copying and remembering them, to Gnome’s joy. Afterwards, Gnome looks interested in spending some time with you before returning to her work.

>1. Explore the recently finished merchant area.
>2. Have some quiet time with her in the keep
>3. Let her decide where to go
>4. Custom

>>30096187
>1. Explore the recently finished merchant area.

I want us to encounter the griffon fountain, I have a feeling she made that.

>>30096187
Ah, I get ya. That's pretty rad Aspir.

Can't wait for the next chance to use it!

>Talon
Oh Talon. You're young at heart, you randy bastard.

>2

Sure, why not?

>>30096211
Whoops, make
>2
into
>3

Rolled 7

>>30096187
>1. Explore the recently finished merchant area.

>>30096187
>4+2
"Well, I owe you another massage for the lesson, but whether you collect now later is up to you. Though if you'd prefer to wait may I suggest we spend some time exploring the merchant area you recently completed?

>>30096187
>1. Explore the recently finished merchant area.

>>30096235
Damn it. This is more of a "combine everything+writein" than 4+2. Meh.

Rolled 12

>>30096187
new skill?

>1.

After the lesson you decide to take Gnome to the merchant area. You have been here recently with Undine but are curious as to her sister’s involvement in the design of the area. You hadn’t tried to control what they created so long as you met your rather limited design specs. As it was, the buildings here were considerably more extravagant than you had expected.

“So, do you like the fountain?” Gnome asks you openly, her face otherwise unreadable.

>Response?

>>30096322
Oh, and for those who weren't here at the time: The fountain itself is extremely extravagant – an enormous griffon stands almost five metres tall as it rears up, wings spread. Water gushes from its beak as it gazes imperiously out towards the Marnn mountain range.

>>30096322
"Indeed I do. It's quite extravagant. Beautiful even. I am surprised. It is your work, isn't it?"

>>30096187
Naw, Prometheus and fire is a good one but the connotatinos of creation could've been taken as divine instead. I mean like fire would've been a mix of astral and divine and how the fu-

>>30096322
...remind me, what's the fountain like?

The answer is going to be "yes", followed by "so does Undine", but I can't do any more detailed dialogue without a solid description of it.

>>30096322

>"It is certainly interesting. Brings things into perspective, all my life I've dreamed of being an emperor, and now I'm here. Building and conquering and I come back to see this... Staring off into the future, wings spread ready to take flight... It feels right."

>>30096322

"Impressive design."

>>30096365
Yeah, that sums it up.

"It is certainly interesting. Brings things into perspective, all my life I've dreamed of being an emperor, and now I'm here. Building and conquering and I come back to see this... Staring off into the future, wings spread ready to take flight... It feels right. It's quite extravagant. Beautiful even. I am surprised. It is your work, isn't it?"

Gnome looks slightly bashful at your comments but replies in an even voice. “It makes sense to have a centre of commerce reflect its master so well.”

You wander through the area, trying to avoid sitting at the fountain itself in case the elemental realises you were here earlier with Undine. You doubt she’ll be offended but are unwilling to take the chance.

>Alright, I’ve suddenly flagged in the energy department so I’m going to end the thread here.

Apologies to those following but I’m having difficulty writing anything right now. I’ll probably do a short thread later starting at 6pm EST today (about 10 hours from now). This will finish up this scene and maybe do a scene or two more of fluff.

Major planning and empire building session won’t be until 5pm EST Feb 14th.

>>30096433

D'aww Gnome is adorable.

All good man, get some rest, great thread as always.

>>30096433
Alrighty mate, sorry to hear your battery quit on you. But hell, mine gets to now too, so I'm not that sorry!

Maybe we can keep this thread alive till 6? Hope so anyway.

Sleep well Aspir, thanks for running and being cool.

>>30096460
If this thread is still alive, I'll continue from here. Otherwise I'll start a new one.

I really expected to keep running, so I got hit by a sudden wave of fatigue. Had to catch up to me at some point this week, I guess.

>>30096485
Well you do work. And write stuff for us, even out of thread.

You deserve a rest.

>>30096433
One final note before I hit the hay - the next thread may start earlier, I'll likely start it shortly after waking up so it could be as early as 4pm EST. I'll post on twitter when it comes up, so if you want to catch it as it starts keep an eye out there.

Once again, sorry for bailing after talking up being able to run for longer.

Due to insomnia, I'll likely be resuming in just a few hours, assuming there's players. I probably won't run past 8pm or so.

>>30099001
On the one hand, damn, I hope you don't have actual insomnia.
On the other hand, OH YEA

>>30099001
Sure.

>>30099200
I'm just having a restless night. It happens sometimes after I drink.

Okay, so first content post will be at 2pm EST (2 hours from now). I'll put myself in a writing mood in the meantime.

>>30099420
All right, I should be here.

>>30099420
I'll be here. Have also been working on a proposed reorganization of Vitria and was wondering what people thought:

Archduchy of Vitria organization:
Territories: Vitria, Vale, Temby, Craol
Population: 1,940,000
Ruling House: Hawkins (Archduchess Sarah Hawkens)
Great Houses: Tabeth, Argyle, Rorek
Ruling Cabinet: Sarah (archduchess), Aaron (chancellor), Argyle and Rorek, additional members appointed by the legislature, but assigned portfolios by Aaron and Sarah (and yes, there is a post or two specifically for people they don’t want)
Legislative branch: Unicameral legislature drawn from multiple sources with varying representation. House Hawkens has the most delegates, followed closely by Tabeth (Aaron has speakership of the legislature incidentally) with Argyle and Rorek in distant third. Other members of parliament include: Mages and Knightly orders, the two most powerful groups outside the four, the merchant guilds and other prominent “commoners”, a few for the more common commoners and the lesser houses.
Basically, the seats are proportioned to give pretty much everyone at least some buy in to the current system, while ensuring that as long as Sarah and Aaron get along they really shouldn’t have trouble getting their way 90% of the time (especially when you consider their alliance with Argyle and Blackstone).

>>30099859
>Aaron
Until proved otherwise, I consider him unreliable.
Same goes for the whole of House Rorek.

imo, as much as possible, we should eliminate all houses but Hawkins.
Nobles a shit.

Even if it slows down our expansion, we should eliminate as much of an opposition as we can.
We cannot have angry rebel nobles stabbing us in the back.
Again: even if it slows down expansion, we need to clean up our own lawn.
We cannot overextend and have to tighten our grip on things.
I would even suggest a timeskip after the conquer of Vitria, the length of which would be up to a vote.

Question Aspi: OF what importance is access to sea [which we will gain shortly]? Naval Battles? Trade?
Naval trade was faster in our past, how is it in your world?

>>30100030
I don't particularly like the guy, but it goes against the grain to completely screw him when he's held up his end of the deal. That said, I do intend to clearcut the lesser noble houses that we're in Olan's pocket.

>>30099859
>>30100030
On another note, I have nothing against your legislation organization. It looks very good.
It should even be applied as much as possible to our own cabinet, which is overrepresented when it comes to military.
>>30100139
>he's held up his end of the deal
How?
I don't see much work from him.
We killed his daddy, he did nothing for us in return.

>>30100030
Naval trade is of reasonable importance. At the same time, the nature of the continent means that naval battles aren't of great strategic importance unlike they were in Europe. Much of the speed improvements for land hold up for sea, too - you can move a boat with magic and be less reliant on the winds or lots of slaves (naval navigation tech and skill is probably around the level of the 1700s, off the cuff). Contact and trade with the western continent of Pharos is mostly by sea (and a good source of wealth for the Astral Adepts) and it would probably be more convenient for you to make contact with Malataine by sea than land.

>>30100165
He kept Gimbon Falls and Trembin off our backs. Granted, he the Grandmaster of Blackstone had a bit to do with that as well, but he did hold up his end of the bargain. Also, those house Rorek soldiers fought for Talon now, which means that Talon wouldn't screw them unless he absolutely has to.

>>30100218
What exports does Vitria have? What does it import?
How about pirates and buccaneers?
>>30100219
True.
We'll see about him.
To me, he has to prove he is actually useful though. Sarah already proved so, she seems capable and has talent. Aaron? Not so much yet.

>>30100302
I'm not as thrilled about him as Sarah. Which is why I'm trying to split the difference between making them equals (which I don't want) and simply breaking the deal and screwing Aaron.

>>30100302
>What exports does Vitria have?
A variety of manufactures. Vitria is also something of a trade hub along the eastern coast so one of its main exports is its facilities, really as well as tourism. The commercia has some pretty flash places for visitors to waste their lives away at. The only other export of note is civil magitech to the occasional Pharos trader.

>Imports
Military magitech. Spices. Various manufactures. Religion.

>pirates and buccaneers
They're around and try to cause problems and create their own wealth.

So this short-ish session is mostly just going to be a few light scenes, most/all of which technically took place before you conquered Vitria. I have a bit of work to do before I tackle your new acquisitions next weekend. With that said, feel free to talk about the more serious elements of the quest and ask questions.

>Picking up the Gnome scene where we left off with a slight retcon. A quick reminder this takes place before you marched on the city of Vitria.

"It is certainly interesting,” you say to Gnome, talking about the griffin fountain in the merchant area. “Brings things into perspective, all my life I've dreamed of being an emperor, and now I'm here. Building and conquering and I come back to see this... Staring off into the future, wings spread ready to take flight... It feels right. It's quite extravagant. Beautiful even. I am surprised. It is your work, isn't it?"

Gnome looks slightly bashful at your comments but replies in an even voice. “It makes sense to have a centre of commerce reflect its master so well.”

>1. (Non-sexual) teasing response about the fountain
>2. Ask her seriously what inspired her to make it like this
>3. Ask her if she added anything special to it
>4. Custom

>>30101123
>Ask her seriously what inspired her to make it like this

>>30101123
>1. Because I cannot resist a teasing option when Gnome's involved.

>>30101123
>1. (Non-sexual) teasing response about the fountain
Cool. Don't forget our post Conquest sleeping arrangements though. That should be a fun light scene

>>30101216
I may do that scene, in fact. See how you guys roll with it.

>1.

“It reflects me?” you ask in an amused tone. “Do you see something about me that I don’t see in a mirror? Granted, having wings would be nice but I’m not so sure about the odd ability to gush water out of my mouth.”

“I was inspired by your propensity to be injured,” Gnome says dryly. “I’ve still yet to add the iron to the water to make it more real.”

“I’m hurt.”

“Are you still being a baby from earlier? I didn’t hit you in the head that hard, Talon.”

“What about yourself?” you say, moving to a slightly more serious topic now that Gnome has the advantage in teasing.

She shrugs. “I didn’t take much more than bruising from you and that’s mostly healed now.”

“Do you see an ability for me to heal in my future, Gnome? It sounds like it could be useful, especially as you seem to think I get hurt a lot.”

“Well, if you don’t manage it yourself I can just get Mal to turn you into a griffon and grant you some regeneration. Then I’ll feed and walk you every day.”

Your familiar just told you she wants to make you her pet. You don’t quite know how to react to that.

>Response?

>>30101415
Sure, and I'll let you ride me as well.

My teasing operates on another level

>>30101415
Pretty sure Mal can't do that. So I guess tease her about how she should really know more about how mages work.

>>30101523
I like this one.

>>30101523
Probably should mention that she'd still have to share us as well. Maybe make a joke that having beastly stamina would help us keep up with her and Lynn.

“Sure, and I’ll let you ride me as well,” you say flippantly.

“That would be part of the point,” Gnome says. “If I’m going to have a griffin for a pet I’d want to ride it every day. Make you entertain me. I’ve always wanted to be able to fly as high as Sala.”

You give Gnome a level look as she waits expectantly for your retort. Initially she seems puzzled by your silence before clearly realising what you meant. Her face flushes red against her skin, as noticeable as ever against her dark skin, as she realises what you actually meant. And what she just said.

“I can’t believe you made me say that,” she says, voice uneven.

“You said it yourself. It’s nice when you’re honest. And if you wanted me to entertain you, you just had to-“

“No,” she interrupts. “You win this round. Now, let’s sit by the fountain and pretend that didn’t happen.”

You oblige her, but not before muttering loud enough for her to hear, “You really should be more honest – it’s not like you’re really going to pretend it didn’t happen.”

She shoots you a dark look, her face still red, but sits happily on the stone of the fountain base. You take a seat next to her and ask her about…

>1. What inspired her to make this.
>2. Whether she added anything special to the fountain.
>3. How her relationship with Bartom is.
>4. Custom

>>30101701
Damn, wish I'd seen that before I posted. Ah, well. I'll pocket it and see if I can't use it at a later date.

>>30101704
>1. What inspired her to make this.
>2. Whether she added anything special to the fountain.

>>30101704
>2. Whether she added anything special to the fountain.

Now I'm curious. I'd also like to see a Bartom/Gnome scene someday so I can hold off on 3.

>>30101727
>>30101704
>Custom
>>30101701
We COULD just keep going and tease her all to hell...
Though that would make her mad, probably.

>>30101704
>Whether she added anything special to the fountain.
You put this option everywhere Aspi.
You obviously want us to ask her that.

>>30101781
>You obviously want us to ask her that.
It's just a stock option from earlier like asking her what inspired her.

>>30101704
>4. Casually mention that teasing aside we really do like the fountain. We knew she was a master craftsman before (tooling on her gauntlets etc.) but we didn't know she had this level of artistic insight.

>>30101806
>i-it's not like I want you to choose it, I just put it there every time as a stock option
BAKA.

>2.

“So, did you add anything special to the fountain, Gnome?”

“Special?” she asks, confused.

“Something other than it being just a fountain.”

“It’s a fountain, Talon,” she says bluntly. “It doesn’t need anything special.”

“Of course it does. Secret compartments, the ability to flash flood the surrounding area in a siege. The griffon faces outwards, so maybe it could be a secret signalling device.”

Gnome stares at you like you’ve grown a second head. “I don’t understand why you want a fountain to do any of that. You are a strange man, Talon.”

“I’m not the one who wanted to ride a griffin every day.”

“You’re telling me you don’t want to ride a griffin?”

“Not the way you do.”

She gets more flustered and pinches you slightly. You chuckle in response before taking on a more serious tone.

“Still, Gnome, I do like the fountain. I’ve seen your work before and find it admirable but this shows real artistic ability. I’m impressed.”

Gnome remain red and takes on the same bashful expression from earlier, looking at the water running in the fountain as she plays with it. “Thank you, Talon.”

You spend some quiet time with Gnome here before deciding to…

>1. Spend some more time learning martial arts.
>2. Explore the merchant area more
>3. Talk to her about any ideas she has for Harrowmont
>4. Custom

>>30101956
>3. Talk to her about any ideas she has for Harrowmont

We've entrusted a lot of the construction to her, might as well get a few good ideas.

>>30101956
>3. Talk to her about any ideas she has for Harrowmont

>>30101956
>3. Talk to her about any ideas she has for Harrowmont
Definitely.

>>30101956
>“You’re telling me you don’t want to ride a griffin?”

Someday that would be pretty hype.

>3.

“Gnome, I wouldn’t mind hearing any ideas you have for things to build here.”

“Hmm,” she says. “Well, how about converting one of the floors of the keep into a gigantic bedroom for me, filled with an enormous soft bed and lots of gold and jewels for me to roll around in.”

“That’s more materialistic of you than I expected,” you say. “And can’t you create gold and jewels at will?”

“I’m an earth elemental. It’s in my blood. And the point of having you supply the gold and jewels is to save me the effort. Girls like pampered.”

“I thought you were the down-to-earth type, Gnome. Not the princess type.”

“All girls are princesses, Talon. Surely you’ve realised that by now,” she says, and you are uncertain of her seriousness.

“But as for some actual ideas – building up into the bluffs might be a good idea. You could also look at extending the residential area underground, perhaps, instead of trying to extend out. Building towers that extend out along the bluffs and into the fields with walls that trail back to the main fortress. A gigantic spa in the keep. Do up the great hall to appear more like a throne room.”

One of those ideas was most definitely not like the rest.

>Which of her ideas do you want to comment on? Give me some write-ins or I can make up some comments otherwise.

>>30102155
"A spa? Sounds like fun. Might also want to find a place for the magitech factories I hope to emplace here."

>>30102155
>A gigantic spa in the keep.

I distinctly remember us wanting an underground hotsprings.

>Building towers that extend out along the bluffs and into the fields with walls that trail back to the main fortress.

Glancing at the bluffs, "What is with the lot of you and wanting to go so high up in the air all the time."

>Do up the great hall to appear more like a throne room.

"I, huh, haven't really thought of that yet. All I'm doing is conquest thus far, haven't even held a proper court for the people. That is a very overwhelming idea."

>>30102155
>Spa
Fund it! Well, at least the elaborate hot springs/baths portion.

>Extensive defense wall for our food supply
Probably a good idea, but still more time and resource consuming than I think I'm comfortable with for the moment.

>Build into the bluffs
Pretty sure that's somewhere on the agenda.

>Throne room
Are you sure you want to encourage my monomaniacal tendencies dearest Gnome?

>Other
Though now that you've mentioned it, we probably do need a larger bed.

>>30102155
I like them all.
Underground residential areas are depressing though.

“A hot spring, Gnome? Really?”

She shrugs then narrows her eyes at you. “I said a spa, not a hot spring. Have you been thinking of this yourself, Talon?”

You laugh lightly, having been caught out. “I have. It’s on my agenda when renovating the keep’s underground. Do remember you’ll have to share it with me, Gnome.”

She goes oh so slightly red at that. “Given the other girls will want to use it, I suspect we’ll all be doing a lot of sharing. It might be a good idea to build a private section that can be more easily cleaned.”

“Can’t Undine do that anyway?”

“That would be terribly menial. Plus, she might not also be in a condition to do so, particularly if she’s part of the reason it needs to be cleaned.”

Well, it’s safe to say Gnome has talked to her sisters about your encounters with them.

“The bluffs, though? What is with the lot of you and wanting to go so high up in the air all the time?” you ask in a plaintive tone.

“Not all of us have a best friend intent on traumatising us. Even if he is doing it in retribution for the same.”

“Are you saying I’m mean to Mal?”

“You apparently pushed him off a cliff,” Gnome says.

>continued

>>30102495
“I was right! He is still bitter about that,” you say, grinning triumphantly. “But still, you’re right that we should probably extend into the bluffs.

“As for the throne room, I haven’t really thought about it. It’s an overwhelming idea.”

“You want to become an emperor but haven’t thought about what you want your throne room to look like? Isn’t that like the first thing you consider?”

“I always thought more about the size of the bed and the empire itself. On that note, I will need a bigger bed,” you say, stroking your chin thoughtfully.

“Built for six or are you going to plan ahead and build it for more?”

“Six? I think you’re already planning ahead yourself, Gnome.”

After having been relentlessly teased all day, Gnome refuses to rise to the bait. She still goes a cute shade of red though.

>Any last things to say to Gnome or to ask her? I’m going to move onto a Sarah scene next.

>>30102495
>>30102515
Mm, I think that's most everything. Tell Gnome we do appreciate her wonderful work.A proper farewell when we get up to leave would be nice too

>>30102515
I think we're done, though I'd suggest buying an apple or some other fruit that can easily be divided into slices and feeding it to Gnome on the way back to the keep.

>>30102515
Crap, before I forget see if we can convince her to work some unarmed combat lessons for us into her schedule. Bribe her with massages if necessary!

>>30102579
>>30102582
Alright, going to close the scene with this.

>>30102614
I might actually work this into the FTB as a fluffy closing sequence.

>>30102648
>Massage becomes our own 'buzzword'
Ha, that's glorious. I still remember that nat 20. Talon works the tension out WITH ASTRAL POWER

You stand up and Gnome follows you.

“Are you coming back to the keep, Gnome?” you ask.

“I have to collect Bartom from the Source before I get back to work, so yes.”

“Let’s swing by the residential area and we’ll get an apple.”

She growls a bit at that. “Do you think me your pet that you can feed whenever you like?”

“Yes. You certainly seem to like it. We can even take it in turns – I feed you when you’re my pet, then I become your pet and you can ride me like you wanted to earlier.”

“Make that several apples. You owe me after all this,” she says, hitting you softly in the arm.

“It would be my pleasure,” you say as you wander off to the residential area with your familiar in tow.

>Sarah scene incoming. The first update may take a little while.

>>30102728
Woo~
Waiting warmly. I just woke up a bit ago, so I'll return after getting breakfast

>>30102728
>residential area

Just as a note, Talon going through there someday and seeing what kind of community is blooming would be cool. I know at the beginning we integrated a good handful of Vitrian forces into our own, and I would be curious to see the kind of culture that is developing from this new melting pot.

>>30102830
I might do that the next time I'm doing downtime scenes.

>Sarah scene. This may be a slightly lewder scene than usual, but I’ll still FTB anything explicit if it comes up.

Vitria is in a state of chaos. It’s no surprise, given you just conquered it. Your soldiers hurry to and fro whilst commoners and nobles alike jeer and run about to work out what’s happening. There’s no shortage of people who want to see you. Probably just as many who will want to try to get something off you or think that you owe them favours. You’re going to be extremely busy going forward, but a warm feeling fills you as you realise that you’re so much closer to your fulfilling your ambitions now.

You put all that out of your head for now, though. Tonight you intend to simply be Talon York, not an Imperator or would-be emperor. Undine let you know that she and Sarah have returned to the Hawkins spire so you’re heading there to meet Sarah. This is a big moment for her, as it is for you, and it makes sense to see her first about it.

As you make your way past your soldiers who are guarding her, as well as a pair of Black Stone knights, you find yourself in a very extravagant sitting room. Undine sits at a table, playing with some cards. She looks up and gives you a bright smile.

“Sarah’s in her bedroom. She’ll probably be out in a second but you can go see her now, Talon,” she says. “I might head down and leave the two of you.”

As Undine steps out, you’re absolutely certain there’s a level of friendship between the two women. Amusing given how poorly they used to get along. You…

>1. Head on in to see Sarah now.
>2. Take a seat out here and wait for her.
>3. Let Sarah know you’re here and see what she wants you to do.
>4. Custom

>>30102892
>1. Head on in to see Sarah now.

>lewder
This is the only option.

>>30102892
>3
I suspect things.
I SUSPECT THINGS

>>30102892
>Custom
Knock. Once she answers teasingly ask if she's awake.

>>30102892
>I might do that the next time I'm doing downtime scenes.

Sweet. I know only a handful like the downtime scenes and it sometimes bogs down, but I enjoy seeing things like that.

Curious, have our men begun to establish an identity? Or since we haven't really named our Empire yet is it still a toss up?

>>30102951
>>30102926
These kinda fit together, don't they?

>>30102892
>1
Let's see if Undine is still trustworthy or if Sala's been rubbing off too much on her.

>>30102969
I usually only do the downtime scenes when I wouldn't otherwise be running so I hope that's not too much of a problem (though I understand probably a few players skim or skip these scenes). I usually start doing these scenes when I don't want to progress the plot or action just yet but still want to QM.

>Curious, have our men begun to establish an identity? Or since we haven't really named our Empire yet is it still a toss up?

Not yet. It's been too hectic, really, and only a couple of months.

>>30102995
good idea

>>30103007
>First part
Yeah, man, I love these scenes along with everything else.

Came here especially for them, sometimes. Fighting is great and all, but I much prefer character interaction and playful lewd things.

>>30102830
Sounds like a good scene for hanging out with a friend. So maybe we should do that with Mal or Neir?

>>30103046

Mal actually seems best suited for it. Just him and Talon roaming about town, Mal is always up in his tower and we're off doing things. It'll feel like the old days.

>>30103007
>Not yet. It's been too hectic, really, and only a couple of months.

I figured as much, I assumed outside of the Griffon stuff we hadn't had much of that yet. I still really like small folk and rebels inside of contested areas using the imagery.

>1.

Undine seemed to think that Sarah would be decent or finishing up whatever she might be doing in her bedroom, so you step inside to greet Sarah. And then realise that Undine was either being sneaky or didn’t realise what Sarah was actually doing.

The room is large, with large windows and a balcony, and an enormous bed occupying the centre. You might normally comment on the décor, but currently it’s covered up Sarah’s clothes. Numerous dresses and sets of underwear litter the room. Formal dresses, skimpy dresses, foreign dresses – you’re a little startled by the sheer range of clothing Sarah has. Her underwear shows a similar variety, though you note most of what is on display is of the sort only her lover would normally see.

And in the centre of it, standing in front of a large freestanding mirror, is Sarah, completely nude and intently inspecting a lacy pair of panties. She looks up as you enter and seems not to realise the situation right away. You have the initiative.

>1. Be nonchalant. Comment on her range of clothing.
>2. Be polite. Cover your eyes and apologise for intruding without knocking.
>3. Be aggressive. Flirt with her.
>4. Custom

>>30103148
>1. Be nonchalant. Comment on her range of clothing.

Though Sarah is my least favorite I still enjoy her ridiculous interactions.

>>30103148
>2

I have a feeling the first one earns a scream.
Second one would embarrass her to death.

>>30103148
1 -> 3
Start by commenting on her rang of clothing then pick out her attire for the evening. Of course she'll have to model her dresses and underwear for us, so we can be absolute sure of our decision.

>>30103148
"It seems Undine was wrong, you're not nearly ready. Well, since you clearly need help picking something out I suppose I could lend a hand."

>>30103197
I can dig it

>1.

“You have a very impressive range of dresses here, Sarah,” you say, leaning against the door frame.

Sarah’s realising the situation and goes completely red, but remains frozen in surprise. She seems a little confused as to how to respond so you continue.

“I mean, you’ve got dresses from Pharos and Farloun here, if I’m not wrong. I wouldn’t mind seeing you in them at some point,” you say. “And your underwear choice is quite strong, particularly that piece in your hands.”

Sarah stares dumbly at the panties in her hands for several seconds before she drops them with a squeak. She then turns to you, giving you a much fuller view of her body, and waves her hands about in a panicked manner.

Before she can say anything you step in and say, “It seems Undine was wrong, you're not nearly ready. Well, since you clearly need help picking something out I suppose I could lend a hand."

Sarah stops panicking. “Eh, really? You want to help?”

“You were going to wear this for me, weren’t you?”

She nods timidly, playing with her fingers. You take her silence as assent and step up. As you get close to her, she begins to breathe more heavily, tracking your movement with her eyes as she remains still. She’s definitely a little scared of you, despite her attraction – or perhaps she’s just very nervous.

As you help her pick out her clothing your manner is…

>1. Flirtatious. Pick the most revealing clothing and be physical with her as she models for you.
>2. Professional. Pick the clothing that best fits her but don’t play with her as you help her.
>3. Aggressive and teasing. Don’t bother picking any clothing out but simply tell her she’s wearing everything she needs to.
>4. Custom

>>30103407
>1

>>30103407
>1. Flirtatious. Pick the most revealing clothing and be physical with her as she models for you.

>>30103407
Do 2, but compliment her on how she looks

>>30103407
>1

Hell we've already taken the first step KEEP GOING

>>30103407
>1.
But this is very important, if we're bing physical with her, keep our hands on her clothes and off her bare skin until she can't take enough of our teasing and asks for more.

>>30103559
Oh that sounds like fun.

>Vitria is in a state of chaos

This entire scene is with Talon still wearing his armour, sweaty and drenched in the blood of his enemies.

File: 1391894364824.jpg-(35 KB, 500x500, I feel it.jpg)

35 KB JPG

>>30103559
You niggas are mean.

I like you.

>>30103603
You can at least reasonably assume he got changed before this into something more ordinary. Or at least shed his armour. Although it does make the scene kind of funny, in a weird sense, if you look at it your way.

>1.

You run a hand over Sarah’s arm and brush the side of her breast. Her breathing hitches and she looks up at you, eyes wide in expectation.

“If I’m going to help you choose your clothing, you’re going to need to move, Sarah,” you say, slipping your hand off her. She blinks a few times before returning to reality.

As you pick out clothes for Sarah, revealing ones at that, you help her put them on and take them off. In doing so, you’re careful not to touch her skin again and instead stick to the clothing. You can feel the frustration building up in your as your hands brush over her back as you help her into a particularly elegant backless dress with long slits up the sides.

[DC12/18 Teasing]

Rolled 19

>>30103684

>>30103698
Ok, I'm not rolling since I would no doubt screw this up.

Rolled 19

>>30103684

Talon York, Comforter of Children, Dresser of Women, the god damn Imperator.

>>30103698
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GOOD OR BAD

I ASSUME GOOD?

Rolled 3

>>30103684

>Higher target met

As you step around in front of Sarah, your hands trailing over her bare skin for the first time since you touched her breast earlier, you feel her hands suddenly grip you. Looking at her face, her eyes are bright and she has a large smile on her face. As her face closes on yours, you have a pretty good idea of where this might lead.

>1. Accept the kiss but ease back on the teasing. You still want to have dinner with her.
>2. Accept the kiss and let it flow on. [FTB]
>3. Refuse the kiss.
>4. Custom

Note, this isn’t the only way to get an FTB here. In fact, the only way not to get one is to outright refuse her.

FYI, I'll probably only do one more scene after this one and it'll be a friendly Undine and Sala scene.

>>30103820
>2. Accept the kiss and let it flow on. [FTB]
that was fun

>>30103820
>1. Accept the kiss but ease back on the teasing. You still want to have dinner with her.

Talon always teases her the hardest make her work for it a little bit more.

>>30103820
>2
I would have liked to tease her a bit more, but we kind of gave up the game when we stepped in front of her.

>>30103820
>1

>>30103820
>1
We got this guys. We got this.

>>30103820
>2. And unless she has a compelling reason otherwise she's not allowed to wear panties to dinner.

>>30103820
>2

I think I'll turn >>30103869
back into 2, as seen above. Changed my mind a bit.

>>30103869
>Just cuz I want to see if we can get her to full on ask.
I would use the word "beg" myself, but Talon just doesn't seem to be that kind of guy. Then again, OP just might be saving that for the FTB.

>>30103952
We shall see

I enjoy Sarah just because she's the only human in our center group, and I find her advances adorable.

I am betting mad cute factor on that FTB

>>30103979
>Cute factor
I share your hopes Anon. Though another part of me hopes that we take long enough that Undine comes to investigate...and decides to stay for the fun.

>2.

FTB time.

http://pastebin.com/ATa6Tjit

And that means all the girls have FTBs. I'll probably add individual ones for Undine and Sala later. Priority right now is Gnome then Sarah then anything else. Quest threads take priority over FTBs so I don't know how long it will take me to write them.

Undine and Sala scene next. Cast your vote for the scene itself.

>1. Dinner scene
>2. Morning exercise scene
>3. General talk about the past
>4. Custom

There'll be a slight delay before my next post.

>>30104046
>1. Dinner scene

>>30104046
>General talk about the past
More backstories please.
>>30104070
Not more spoonfeeding.

>>30104046
>2. Morning exercise scene
This has promise.

>>30104046
And bookmarked, cool.

>All the girls have one
Really? Neat, now we just get a solo scene for each, then mix and match...

Sorry, I'm terrible.

>The rest
I am a patient man, Aspirational. And Gnome is worth the wait.

Vote
>1
Hopefully with some chat about past things, if we can. I'd really like to learn more about the girls too.

>>30104046
>3. General talk about the past

I like past stuff.

>>30104046
>>2. Morning exercise scene

>3.

“You know what’s funny, Tallie?” Sala asks.

“No,” you answer, not looking up from your work.

“I once knew a man named Talon a long time ago,” she says, ignoring you. “And he was just as good with his sword, too.”

Undine perks up at you, turning away from her game of cards. “Oh? I didn’t think you had a former master named Talon.”

“He wasn’t my master,” Sala says. “He was just one of the Order’s Greycloaks. He was really good at it, though. There was nobody he couldn’t assassinate. The Greycloaks back then were so much more dangerous than they are now.”

“Does this story end with him trying to assassinate you?” you ask, partially interested.

Sala laughs lightly, rolling on the table a bit. “No, no. I killed him. It was a shame, really. I got along well with him but orders are orders. I just found it funny how you share his name.”

You frown at that. Undine looks like she’s about to say something too.

>Response?

>>30104391
"Well as long as you don't make it a habit."

>>30104391
"I hear you (tacit agreement that orders are orders). Still, depending on the time frame there's a good chance you took out an ancestor of mine. It's a small continent after all. Oh, sorry Undine, didn't realize you had something to say when I opened my mouth. Didn't mean to cut you off there."

Or alternatively "So that's what happened to my father. Always wondered about that. Thanks for solving the mystery Sala, I guess I can sleep easier now knowing that the reason he never came home wasn't because he didn't love mommy and me."

Prefer the first response though.

>>30104391
Let's see what Undine has to say

>>30104391

I'm trying to make a sexual innuendo with the sword thing. Words are failing me right now.

>>30104391
"I prefer the little death to the big one if you plan to make a habit of Talon slaying."

>>30104443
This.
>>30104516
nah

“Well, so long as you don’t make it a habit. And if you do, just know that I prefer the little death to the big one,” you say, tongue firmly in cheek.

Sala gives you a giggle and Undine rolls her eyes.

“Just try to remember who gives your orders now, Sala,” Undine tells her sister.

“I know, I know,” Sala says. “Do what Talon says. Don’t kill Talon because somebody else tells me to. Do kill somebody else because Talon tells me to. It’s very easy.”

Truly this little fire elemental has no compunctions about murder. You wonder if she even distinguishes between killing soldiers on the battlefield and killing them in cold blood.

>1. Ask Sala more about the Greycloak Talon
>2. Ask Sala about her feelings towards death
>3. Ask Undine about a story from her past
>4. Custom

I’m likely going to finish up within an hour, so I won’t be able to run through all possible options before the scene ends.

>>30104699
>3. Ask Undine about a story from her past

>>30104699
>2

I'm honestly a little disturbed by Sala's ruthlessness.

I mean, it's efficient, but damn.

>>30104699
>2. Ask Sala about her feelings towards death

>>30104699
>3. Ask Undine about a story from her past.
I'm interested in learning more about her previous master.

Rolled 2

Tie-breaker roll

1 = Option 2
2 = Option 3

Rolled 2

>3.

“Undine, why don’t you tell me a bit about your past?”

“Mmm,” she says, not too interested.

“Ooh, ooh – you should tell him about Gnome’s master,” Sala says. “Or about Mercenie. Gnome never talks about her.”

“That’s because they never got along,” Undine says. “Also, I don’t think I should talk about Gnome’s master.” She gives you a glance and you realise Gnome has made her unwillingness to talk of her former master clear to her sisters. It seems to be a thing that the elementals don’t like talking about their former masters in detail.

And Mercenie… that’s the name of Archmage Alyce’s familiar – an Aefir who was somehow bound by her. At the same time, you know little of Gnome’s master and the earth elemental refuses to talk about him. You know that Undine’s master was a lower rank in the same tower, and you suspect that tower is the Tower of Stars, the main tower of the Magi League.

You…

>1. Ask about Mercenie.
>2. Press her about Gnome’s master.
>3. Ask her about her own master.
>4. Custom

>>30105076
>1

>>30105076
>3

>>30105076
>3. Ask her about her own master.
>inb4 She worked for Alyce and Gnome worked for Taren hand

>3.

“What about your old master, Undine?” you ask. “I haven’t heard much about her.”

Undine winces. “I’d rather not talk about her.”

“But I would,” you say gently. “Please tell me about her, Undine.”

[DC19 Persuasion]

If you can think of a convincing reason for why you need to know I'll lower the DC retroactively.

Rolled 10

>>30105308

Rolled 16

>>30105308

>>30105308
Reason? Uh...

"If the reason you wish not to discuss them is because of a past mistake, I wouldn't mind learning it, so I can avoid doing so myself. You only learn from history if you know what it is, yes?"

Or, you know, something like that but better.

Rolled 4

>>30105308

Rolled 18

>>30105308

Rolled 10

>>30105308
To make her time here more enjoyable, of course.

>>30105308

>"I never even imagined having a familiar let along a Champion Undine. That was always more Mal's bag, despite how well we've been working together I'm still new to this, and would prefer to not make the mistakes that others might."

>>30105411
Shoot, if this had been a roll earlier we probably could have convinced her.

>Target not met

"If the reason you wish not to discuss them is because of a past mistake, I wouldn't mind learning it, so I can avoid doing so myself. You only learn from history if you know what it is, yes?"

Undine shakes her head at that, looking apprehensive. “It’s not that. I… I really don’t want to talk about it, Talon. I’m sorry. I can tell you about Mercenie, though. You might like learning about her. Aefir are rare, after all.”

You acquiesce and Undine launches into a brief explanation of what the Aefir are. It’s nothing more than Gnome’s told you in the past (see below).

>Lorebin Entry: "I never interacted much with the elves, as I've served powerful magisters in cities and wars for much of my life, after the elves had already suffered from Kushan. There is, however, a (formerly) powerful race of elves known as Aefir. They suffered under Kushan but have the capacity to do tremendously powerful transmutation sorcery. For an unknown reason, they slowly lost that ability, to the extent the race lost all magic and have almost been wiped out. One exception is Alyce of Lyss' familiar, Mercenie, who is possibly the last Aefir to have that power."

What is interesting is learning about Mercenie’s interactions with Gnome.

“Both of them are really strong willed, but they were always butting heads. Both of them were really good fighters and had tremendous magic power and skill. They’d spar constantly.”

“Who usually won?” you ask.

“Gnome did,” Undine says. “They were both specialised mage-killers, but Gnome’s ability to manipulate the flow of magic was always able to defeat Merce’s transmutation unless she made some major mistakes.”

“Why did they always butt heads? It seems unusual in such a tower, especially if Gnome served a grand magister and Alyce was just a magister,” you say.

>continued

>>30105750
“They don’t see eye to eye on many things. Merce is ruthless and sees Gnome’s nurturing side as weakness, despite Gnome’s strength. Gnome thinks that Merce’s heartless and constantly tried to guide Alyce down a different path. That caused a lot of fights.”

“I get the feeling you got along with Mercenie, though,” you say.

Undine smiles. “I did. She wasn’t really that heartless. She had her soft side – it’s just that she always shunted it aside to make hard decisions. I… I wished I could do that.”

“Do you still wish that?”

She shakes her head but says nothing.

“That’s good,” Sala says suddenly, surprising you. “Undi wouldn’t be Undi if she stopped being so nice.”

Thinking back to some of the vicious ways Undine’s killed enemies, you realise that ‘nice’ in Sala’s books is probably a reflection of Undine’s personality and not on her battle capabilities. Undine had always argued that you should protect the people first and foremost, if you recall correctly.

>1. Write-in response to Undine’s story
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal
>3. Ask Sala about her attitude towards death
>4. Custom

>>30105777
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal

>>30105777
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal
Preferably one that Mal would not appreciate us spreading around.

>>30105777
>>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal

Rolled 78

>>30105777
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal
These are always good

>>30105777
This all only makes me more curious.

Say
"Thank you for telling me that much, I suppose Undine."

Then
>2

>>30105777
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal

Crazy young Mal and Talon stories in the RSK A GO.

>>30105777
>2. Tell Sala a tale about you and Mal

Guys, do we have to fuck everyone? Having sex with Sarah is definitely going to come back to bite us later.

>>30105931
>Undine gives open invitation
>Sarah's been wanting the D for a while
I don't think so bro.

>>30105931
why? I can't even pretend to follow your logic on that one.

>>30105931
I was against it at first, but I like the way it is taken casually. Pleasure for pleasures sake I can deal with.

That is a possibility with Sarah however, there could be consequences for her.

>>30105931
>Trying to get /tg/ to not waifu everything in sight.
Good luck.
>obstinacy sufhowi
Even Captcha thinks you'll need it.

>>30105931
If I had to choose one I'd go with Sarah. Fortunately I don't.
>>30105998
We have displayed no interest in Nier, Ceres Nate, and I seriously doubt we'll be interested in Felicia.

>>30106062
Yeah, I think our harem is pretty much complete.

Only addition I can forsee is Sylph, and that is more her decision then ours.

>>30105983
>>30105972
Did you think about the guy who we made a deal with? I forget his name, but we assassinated his father so he could take over his house, he had a thing for Sarah, and it was all but out right said he wanted to marry her.
How do you think things will play out if he found out about this? It could go terribly, or nothing could happen at all, but a little caution never hurt anyone, we're supposed to be an emperor, an emperor's actions have weight, you might want to think a little more then just jumping right into bed.

>>30106104
I figured at least one woman from Talon's past would show up at some point.

>>30106104
Pretty much, though I think we're also open to a fluffy tails and maybe a standard dragoness.

>>30106179
>one woman from Talon's past
Or all of Neir's sisters.

>>30106157
I don't really agree with ignoring Sarah just because some guy might have a thing for her.

Besides, that's her decision to take him up on the offer. We're not marrying Sarah or anything.

>>30106157
And rejecting her wouldn't have the same effect? Woman scorned anon, woman scorned.

>2.

“So, Talon, now that we’ve said our pieces what’s your tale?” Sala asks.

You think for a moment before settling on a good one. “There is the one where Mal thought it would be a good idea to pretend to be me at a small RSK court, not realising I was also present.”

Undine stares at you. “How could he possibly think that was a good idea?”

You shrug, a grin on your face. “He was either trying to screw me over or get screwed. It ended happily though – this story leads to him with Neir.”

“Oooh, their first meeting?” Sala asks.

“No, they’d met before. This is just how they wound up together.

“It starts with Mal getting an expensive illusion potion as a gift. Pour it over yourself and you can look and feel like somebody else for 24 hours. He also knew that I had been invited to a small gathering at a manor but had been called away to the front. Or at least, that’s what he thought he knew.”

“You lied to him,” Undine says flatly as Sala grins.

“Maybe. It’s true that I had been called to the front. I just forgot to tell him that the order was rescinded almost immediately,” you say. “In any case, he apparently decided he was going to attend in my place, not realising that I was already there. He got in, looking and acting like me, except the hosts realised there were two of me in the building. They ‘knew’ that one of us was the spy and started trying to work it out. I twigged pretty quickly that something was up but apparently Mal thought it was normal to be bombarded with all sorts of strange questions about where I’d fought and which nobles I’d met on what day.”

“Then he gets found out and has to run away being chased?” Sala asks eagerly.

“No, instead he answers all of them correctly, having that absurdly good memory of his. This only confuses the hosts more so they decide to have us meet to work out who is the real Talon York. So, they walk us into the same room and…” you trail off

>continued

>>30106287
The girls frown at you and Undine speaks, “You can’t just stop there.”

“Guess what happens,” you say.

Sala says, “You claim he’s your twin brother?”

Undine says, “You act like a pair of idiots.”

“I’m going to have to give this to Undine,” you say. “We pretended we couldn’t see each other. They introduced us, pointed out where the other one was and even tried to walk us into each other but we adamantly refused to recognise the other’s presence.”

Undine groans as Sala laughs. You continue, “Then, right as they’re all at wits end, Neir steps forward and drags Maloric off, claiming she’ll be able to definitively prove what happened. I don’t know how she sussed it out, really. In any case, I explained the whole thing away as a bad joke my friend tried to play and then went to find them.”

Undine’s face lights up. “Ah, I know this part. You walked in on the two of them.”

“Yes. And 24 hours still hadn’t passed since he took the potion. That was a very weird scene to walk in on. That illusion potion was worth its weight in gold, I’d bet, given how accurate it was in the details.”

>Alright, probably going to finish up here. I think I'll try to avoid non-interactive options like this in the future. Or make them interactive.

I’ll still be around if there’s any questions or discussion.

Next thread is 5pm EST, Feb 14th.

>>30106306
Who does Vitria import its military magitech from?

>>30106306
Awesome, thanks for running Aspir, it's been a great couple of threads.

Keep being a champ

>>30106370
It used to be the RSK, before the export ban came into effect. They also get some from the Mage Guard or via ship from Malataine.

>>30106306

I laughed pretty hard. Thanks for the small thread man. Worked out pretty perfect for my schedule.

>>30106306
You're a great writer Aspirational, keep up the good work.

>>30106398
What happened to the survivors of the our first two battles with Olan? I kinda expected a few of them to show up at some point.

>>30106513
If they fled they either would have turned up in later battles (and just been regular troops) or simply left the military. Unless you're thinking of some people in particular?

>>30106306
Great pair of threads OP, I'll be looking forward to the 14th.

>>30106540
Mostly the mage-knight survivors.

>>30106564
They would have shown up later, or been involved in fighting Felix in Vale (or under Argyle and then recruited to your side). Many from the second siege of Harrowmont would probably not have returned to Vitria and instead tried to sell the armour and go somewhere else. You did terrify them a bit.

>>30106636
So Aspirational

How long before you use Felix to betray us at an even WORST time?

Or did he really set his sights on the Lord of Embers now?

>>30106724
You know I can't answer that. I will say that Felix's second betrayal is not guaranteed to happen.

>>30106816
If we keep getting these damn nat 20s, then he will.

But...well. I'm not terribly worried about fighting him. He's strong, but we're a god emperor in the making.

>>30101956
>Something special
Heh, finally figured out what it was I wanted to suggest to Gnome earlier. Is there anyway to convert the fountain into a mobile clock? The griffin rotates 360 degrees over the corse of the day, facing Marnn at noon, and have smaller vertical fountains installed in a circle around it to mark the hours of the day (on a given hour the stream of water vomiting forth from the griffin will nearly intersect the corresponding hour marker).

Sorry if that isn't coherent, just wanted to throw it out there before I forgot again.

>>30107122
Something like that could be done by Gnome with some help from magitech. The mechanical side of needs magitech, unless I'm missing some low-tech solution.

>>30107332
water wheels and gears.

>>30107332
Rather than have the water in the fountain pumped directly back up to the fountainhead, create a large reservoir beneath the fountain. Water flows from the fountain into the reservoir at a steady and measured rate, which turns a water wheel, which in turn moves the fountainhead via a simple gear.
If the reservoir gets above a certain level, the fountainhead takes water from that instead of the rest of the fountain as it currently does. That way you ensure that nothing overflows.

You'd probably need to put the fountainhead on some very good bearings to get it to rotate slowly but steadily like that. And isolating the bearings from the water itself so that they don't rust up might be a challenge.

Alternatively, you might be able to do something with the water pressure itself moving the fountainhead, but my imagination fails me as to how that would actually work in a technical sense.
If you were really clever, you could use the water pressure to turn whichever smaller fountain the gryphon was pointing towards to go higher than it normally does for as long as it's pointing that way. I'm not that clever though.

>>30107624
Either way, it can be reasonably assumed that Gnome (who is essentially a structural engineer with magic powers) could manage it with her powers and knowledge so it can be considered done once you get some time back in Harrowmont. Also, wow, gears are a lot older than I thought they were. I'd assumed they were nineteenth century inventions like much of the industrial revolution but no, that was just one particular application of them.

>>30107624
>very good bearings
What about fluid bearings? Don't have to worry about rust and it runs on the fountain's own pressure.

>>30107708
Awesome.

>>30107723
Oh man that's brilliant, I didn't even think of fluid bearings.

So, about that deposing of house rork thing

One way we could go about it is explain the situation to them and have them support us militarily in our campaign against taour, then relocate them out of vitria and into some freshly conquered ex Taour territory, with desirability of location varying by how well they performed.

Actually, since Taour has more territory than us even with vitria conquered, and since their own nobility is entirely vampires and/or thralls, then we would have a big hole to fill in terms of middle managers, lots of rooms for granting minor titles. Can be a strong recruitment drive "do well in the army and you can end up as a noble". Might also draw in strong mercenaries

I went back and looked at the specifics
>The offer is, in short, that he'll keep Habell at bay and be a loyal subject and keep Vitria under control after you capture it. In return, you remove not just Viktor Oaln, but the heads of houses Rorek and Tabeth as well and make him one of Vitria's rulers. It's implied he's happy to rule alongside Sarah.

So, it wasn't remove the house from power, it was remove the LEADER.
Although, he might be ok with the above interpretation of removing them...
Then again, looking back at it he implies strongly that Rorek is unreliable power mongers.

There is also the question of his behavior during the battle. He just said he can't help because Taour is massing on the border and hung up.
But the agreement did say
>I may even be able to lend military aid in your assault on Vitria, so long as the Taouran border is intact.
So we need to find out if the border situation was legitimate.

Oh, and nair, sarah, and the head of the Black Stone knights would be very valueable source of advice and info about his assessment of the risk/value of house rorek.

Actually in general I am really liking the black stone knights leader, want to work with him more

>>30110290
what do you think about >>30099859
We can still advise that Felicia take an early retirement.