>>31894353
>>Argue with Gos
>>See Carna
>>Get Gos to apologize

>>31894353
>See Carna

>>31894353
>>See Carna

>See Carna

>>31894353
>Tell Gos to go apologize to Carna
>See Carna
"Yeah, your old lady might have sold you, but you don't like having it brought up either, do you?"

You felt your hands clench, "Apologize to Carna." You gave Gos the fiercest glare your little nine-year old body could muster.

Gos met your look, but he gave way quickly. He stuck his hands in his pockets and didn't respond, but he made to follow you as you left the room.

It wasn't so late that most people were asleep, but your parents had been in an early to bed-early to rise attitude before you were born. In the darkness of the kitchen, you didn't need any sight to find Carna, The sounds of her quiet sobs took you to her.

You stepped ahead of Gos and put your hands on Carna's shoulders, making light pats to calm her down.

"Sorry..." Gos whispered, shuffling his feet about.

"Hmph," With snot still running down her nose and her hands still over her knees, she turned around to face him haughtily, "That's right you are, stupid orphan. At least I have a dad."

Gos crossed his arms and kicked the floor, "Yeah! Well why don't you go cry to him then!" His shame gave way to an immature anger quickly at her statement.

Carna got up and picked a piece of bread off the table, she pulled away from your grip and started chucking bits at the younger boy.

Your efforts to calm the two of them down went in vein, but perhaps the little fight between them was some sort of reconciliation.

Looking back on it, your biggest regret was your father waking up to all the noise, the scolding each of you got left a bump on your head for days...

And so the dream ends...

>>31894353
>Get Gos to apologize

Personally, I would have just said nothing.

File: librarianquest.png (35 KB, 600x400)

35 KB PNG

>Year 484 of the Raschan Calendar

Ten years ago you lost her, Carna; the girl without a mother. Now ten years later, you'll descend the darkest dens to find her.

The Rabbit-Wolf Festival was underway, at Ianc's insistence you were spending it with your companions from The Seekers. You'd looked around town for more hints on Yu'yen's wear-abouts the last couple of days, but nothing more had turned up and Anlak's warnings to wait had kept you from venturing out to the woods south and east to find him.

"He'll be showing up here today." Anlak said as you made way through the crowds on the side of the road.

"What makes you think that?" Sheryl asked him.

"He wouldn't try to fight his household on his own, they're many men. Festivals are a common place for slavers to lure children though," His tone was grim, "If Yu'yen wants to bargain-"

Anlak's explanation was cut short by the sound of trumpets and the roar of the crowd following it, signifying the start of the parade. From down the roads, large rabbit-wolves came running down, pulling floats behind them.

"I just don't understand the appeal of mixing rabbits and wolves." Rein shook her head, it was around the 300th year of the Raschan calendar that the hybrid pet craze happened, men would capture demons, bond them to animals then contract the off-spring to other beasts to make strange mixes. Rabbit-wolves in particular spread far across Rascha.

>CONT

Larger than either species, they boasted long snouts and long ears. Bucked teeth sharpened into fangs and powerful hind legs boasting their deadly claws.

"They're so fluffy." Sheryl mumbled.

Initially ferocious, many people who shared Sheryl's sentiment had domesticated them properly through-out the years.

"Really, horses would do a much better job of pulling those floats." Rein shook her head again. The vanguard of the parade was a wood carved statue depicting The Shepherd, his untorn right eye was an amber lump. Behind him followed most of the major Raschan gods, extra care put into Ridae, her piece was carved from gold. Even The Night's Lady Nyne was represented, a massive fake wolve's head representing Rasc trailed behind her, being pelted by food from the citizens.

"Yu'yen is probably watching this somewhere, maybe we should keep a watch out for him." You suggest, Leona and Sheryl at least seemed pretty interested in the precedings but you'd seen the parade plenty of times already, and it hardly changed year by year.

"Let's split up into two groups then. Three of us in one, you'll take one other person since you know the place well." Rein said to you.

You nod and go with...

>Anlak
>Leona
>Rein
>Sheryl

>>31895030
>pelted by food from the citizens
traditional lynching, huh?

>Take Anlak
Because really, it's about time we got to know BOTH of them better.

>rabbit-wolves
huh. I would imagine those to be more useful in mountains and valleys, but there are pegasi in this setting, so...

powerful hind legs would make killer shock troops though, if less useful travel animals.

>>31895030
Didn't realize it at first but my wording here is pretty poor. Should've proof-read better, the implication is that you'll only be taking one person, the remaining group will have three.

>>31895030
>>Leona

>>31895030
>Leona

Neither of the sisters have any sense of direction, it's probably best to split them up so that they don't overwhelm whoever ends up with them. Keeping in mind that Rein is the only person who seems to remotely get along with Anlak, you decide...

"Alright Leona, let's go." You grab her hand quickly, "We'll meet up here at the end of the parade."

"If any of us see him, we'll send one person back first while the other pursues him then." Sheryl turns to go with the others, you see Rein making an odd shocked face as Sheryl takes her away.

You turn and lead the quiet Leona down where the parade is coming from, just from the start to the end of this street in Ridaela is likely twice the population of Deneb, you wouldn't even be embarrassed to admit the times you've gotten lost in the crowds growing up here, there were few cities in all of Rascha that boasted a population so grand, and rowdy at that.

As you sift through the crowds hoping to spot Yu'yen among them, a quiet little terrace catches your eye. It sits on top of a small tea shop, and the stairs around the outside are left open for the day. Thanking your luck that it hasn't already been filled out, you take Leona up on top of it.

The vantage point is nice, you easily survey the crowds. Although you don't spot Yu'yen immediately, a group of Lunese men stand conspicuously near an alley, your training with the Seekers helps you spot weapons concealed under their clothing.

>CONT

"Keep an eye on that group, they look like trouble." You whisper.

"Mmh."

"The cloak over there is about Yu'yen's heig- nevermind, it's a woman."

"Mmh."

"There're guards on that rooftop, they're probably on our side but..."

"Mmh."

You turn to Leona, whose only response to you for some time now has been little noises and nods. Her face is red, it's hardly that warm out but she does come from a frozen homeland. She gazes out into the crowds, and you reach for her shoulder to grab her attention, but there's a sleight weight in your...

Hand, you're holding hands again.

You release your grip on Leona and place your arms at your side, you start to feel the heat that you were worried was bothering her. Not sure whether or not to speak, you turn your attention back to the crowds...

"Presenting his highness..." At the center of the parade, a throne sits above a decorated wagon pulled along by rabbit-wolves. A middle-aged but well-carved man in fancy clothing is being shown off by a gaudy looking fellow beside him, "Duke Franson of Ridae!" The duke stands from his seat and waves to the people, you notice beside him another throne sits, small built pillars hold a curtain over it. A silhouette rests behind it.

The crowds cheer for the beloved man, but you do not. You have little doubt that he is as great as people believe him to be, but in you have difficulty thinking of him as much more than another lead to Carna.

"Aheeem." A girlish voice loudly pierces the cheers.

>CONT

>>31895679
>"Aheeem." A girlish voice loudly pierces the cheers.

Can't help but feel like it's happening

From behind the curtain, a lady about your age emerges. She grabs a horn from the gaudy man and blows into it, the noise is sharp and Leona's hands jump to her ears immediately.

"And I," The lady thrusts her admittedly petite chest out, "Am Princess Fiandae of Ridae!" She introduces herself to few cheers. She wears her chestnut hair in a ponytail, her green eyes close as she flashes her over-confident smile to the crowds.

Duke Franson gently pushes her back inside her seat, the words he says are quiet but you put your lip-reading to good work, "Sit back down you stupid whore."

"Rest daughter, there are kidnappers in the crowd." Leona says, "I think that's what he said at least."

You don't contest her.

The parade continues smoothly, but as the royal stand passes through, you notice the suspicious Lunese men leave their spot and trail behind it, keeping a low profile behind the crowds...

>Stay vigilant until the end of the parade
>Take Leona and follow them
>Follow them, tell Leona to head back to the others

>>31895850
>>Take Leona and follow them

>>31895850
>Take Leona and follow them

>>31895850
>Take Leona and follow them

>>31895850
>Take Leona and follow them
I really hope we're not screwing up here.

>>31895850
>Take Leona and follow them

You know at first I thought she should stay and keep watching cause of hostage shenanigans....
But then I remembered how she kicked our ass a while back

Maybe we should take Ianc up on her offer to marry the princess. Judging from the personality it might be Carna in disguise.

>>31896015
>Implying we aren't Carna in disguise

"Let's follow them." You point to the group of men trailing the king, and gesture for Leona to follow. The two of you descend from the terrace quickly and pursue the group.

"You know, I don't think we've ever been paired on a field job." Leona says to you as you move, "Well, once in the library but um..." She lets out a small laugh.

"I don't think we have." You answer her, keeping low under the crowds while maintaining your watch on the suspects and the float. Every so many buildings, the horn is blown and the duke is presented again. The princess only steps out about half the time, and from in the crowds you can hear hushed booing. Popular, she's not.

"Are all Raschan princesses like that?" Leona asks, grabbing a hold on your sleeve to keep close. You take care not to touch hands with her.

"Just her as far as I'm aware."

"In Belgrand, the princesses are all trained in martial discipline. They most often show their faces to the public when they lead a hunt."

"A princess leading a hunt? What game?"

"Dragons mostly." Leona answers in the most casual of tones. Yu'yen has enough problem with most Belgran women, it'd be quite a sight to see him in presence of a Belgran princess.

As the parade takes itself closer to Lop Street, the underside of Ridaela, you see the Lunese men make their move.

>CONT

>>31895988
I will never put in a trap decision without making it painfully obvious.

>>31896253
>Dragons

Can we make contracts with these dudes?
Say yes pls

The crowds in this area are still as plenty as any other, but there's something off about the guards here. Though they all wear bucket helmets and brandish the same crossbows and spears, they lack the straight stance of the proud protectors you'd seen coming up.

A bolt flies loose from an unknown direction, striking one of the pulling rabbit-wolves in the rear. The bolt doesn't sink deep, but the creature stops it's march and starts to flail about angrily. Quickly, the other three work themselves into a frenzy.

The personal guard standing closest to the float make way to calm the rabbit-wolves, when the guards further back in the street move forward, drawing weapons as they approach the crowd around the fuzzy steeds.

A boom erupts from nearby, and you turn to see one of the buildings catching fire far quicker than any accident should have it. The civilians right around it scatter, and as they push through the crowds even more of them begin to panic. Some of the guards standing round shoo them away from the area.

Most worrisomely, the group of Lunese men you were so wary of approach the king on his raised throne. Drawing weapons and brandishing rope.

"I've always joked about rescuing princesses but..." Leona pulls up the bottom of her skirt, reaching her hands underneath. She draws two daggers from leather sheaths tied to her legs.

>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men
>[Alacrity] Alert the guards
>[Alacrity] Beat the assailants to the king

Rolled 7

>>31896490
>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men

>>31896490
>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men

Rolled 5

>>31896490
>>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men

Rolled 12

>>31896490
>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men

Rolled 12

>>31896490
>[Cunning] Intercept the Lunese men

Rolled 11

>>31896490
>[Alacrity] Beat the assailants to the king


If I'm reading this correctly then it would seem likenthe guards are also in on it we should get between them and the king as well

>>31896583
>>31896591
Hooray for crits?

>>31896583
>>31896591
>>31896615
He only takes the first two rolls and we roll this...

>>31896615
The guards who drew their weapons are trying to keep people away from the rabbit-wolves.

>>31896667
>Though they all wear bucket helmets and brandish the same crossbows and spears, they lack the straight stance of the proud protectors you'd seen coming up.

It's this lime that makes me think something is off

>>31896647
Captcha was being uncooperative

You keep yourself hidden against the sides of the parade float, quickly moving between the thuggish men and the king. Leona stays beside you. When they fully separate themselves from the worried crowds, you dash low and cut one by the ankle, swiftly dodging back into the civilians in their confusion. At least one turns, spotting you clearly, but as he lifts his hand to point you out, a flying dagger catches in his palm and his words come out as a painful yell.

Not intending to endanger the crowds, you dash back out and slam the blunt of your sword into one of the thugs. Leona comes out from behind the group, stabbing her one dagger into his thigh and then tearing the other out of his palm.

Half of their group quickly falls, it doesn't seem that the most competent of their faction is out to play today.

Leona dodges low as one of the men nearby her swings his katana along at her head, she makes quick steps over the man beneath her to your side, he groans when she steps over him. The two of you stand facing two of the men, as the last of their six continues on towards the king.

"This is exciting isn't it?" Leona whispers to you, "I think we have to do something about the one in the back though." She looks for your lead.

>[Alacrity] Slip past the two at the front, you can deal with them later
>[Tenacity] Smash through the two at the front to get at the last thug

Rolled 6

>>31896777
>[Alacrity] Slip past the two at the front, you can deal with them later

Rolled 12

>>31896777
>>[Tenacity] Smash through the two at the front to get at the last thug

Have Leona do that. She's good at smashing things.

>>31896837
She's using daggers though

>>31896777
>[Tenacity] Smash through the two at the front to get at the last thug

>>31896777
>[Tenacity] Smash through the two at the front to get at the last thug

"Well, we'll do just that. I'll take left, you take right, we're breaking through."

Leona nods to your statement and the two of you rush the men, unprepared for your lunge, your obstacle falls quickly to a hard slash to the chest, you take care to pull loose before doing too much damage to him as you pass on through.

On Leona's end, she doesn't quite go for a smooth cut. The man with the katana swings at her head again, but she ducks below once more and with a twist of her arm, her elbow meets his face and he slams backwards onto the road, bouncing off of it once before he's laid down with a clearly broken nose.

The remaining man takes one panicked look back at his companions before he breaks into a scramble further up onto the float. You bend your knees ready to leap after him...

But a fierce stomp on his hand from the princess' heels sends him falling back onto the floor.

You and Leona take a quick look at each other before stepping forward to surround the fallen fellow. Leona gives him a hard kick in the side, sending him rolling along the ground. He doesn't look like he'll get up reasonably soon.

"I certainly hope you're on our side." You look up to see the princess standing over you, her fisted hands rest on her hips. In a shorter skirt she may look indecent, but it seems her dress has been arranged for modesty.

"I certainly hope not." A gruff voice catches your attention and you turn your head left.

>CONT

The rabbit-wolves are no longer frenzied, but they've been beaten onto the floor along-side the guards that were closest to the caravan. What you see standing before you are the awkward looking guards that came from the side of the streets. Of the twelve, eleven point crossbows at you and one stands with his hand raised high, ready to give order to fire. He sheaths his blade and removes his helmet with his free hand, his short grey hair points all over the place and scars run all along his face, dipping into his messy short beard.

"Mercenaries eh... no, you're too young. Just some passing do-gooders I suppose, I respect that; back off now and you'll leave with your lives, I'm certain you don't care for the princess enough to risk them."

Leona drops her knives and raises her hands, she hides half of her body behind yours. You raise your arms but you're not so ready to put away your weapon yet...

"What is this!? I am the Princess Fiandae, and I demand that you answer me!"

"Quiet down little lady, if you must know this is a kidnapping and you're about to come with us. Now, let yourself down and we'll let your dear father go."

"What madness, take me but leave my daughter be!" The duke steps forward, standing proudly on the edge of his platform.

"I'd love to my lord, but the boss says that the king will draw too much attention from the other regions. The little lady though, no one will miss her. Now, step down!"

>CONT

A bolt sails by the king's head, too close for comfort, too smoothly to be a mistake, a warning shot. He steps back towards his throne.

"Now you two, hurry up and run. It's been a good morning and I'd hate to ruin it with a kill." The de-facto commander of the group yells at you.

The disguised soldiers don't look much better than the men you just bested, but your instinct talks poorly about the man with the scars. At least some of the men you knocked down will soon be up as well, as you contemplate what to do...

"Catch." A voice sails from overhead, the voice of the Duke Franson. You drop your short sword hearing it, and with your hands already over your head, you instinctively catch the falling princess in your arms.

"NOW RUN!" Franson yells again as he knocks over the throne from the stands in-between you and the assailants. Leona turns and breaks into a run, and you quickly catch your wits and follow her.

"This is what I get for being a nice guy, come on, I'll hunt them down, the rest of you tie up the king and vanish. Mao can sort it out." You hear the scarred man's voice as you dash.

"What's going on!? What do we do!?" Leona yells as you pass by the stopped float behind you.

"Who are you!? UNHAND ME!" The princess kicks and screams as you carry her.

>Hide in the alleys until the guards arrive
>Run down the main streets, help can't be far

>Run down the main streets, help can't be far

>>31897570
>>Hide in the alleys until the guards arrive

>>31897570
>Run down the main streets, help can't be far

>>31897570
>Run while blinding them with weaves then hide until they give up on the chase
Hey Lib what exactly can we do with our weaves other then restraining and blinding people?

>>31897570
>Hide in the alleys until the guards arrive

>>31897671
we need both hands in order to use magic. We're currently carrying someone.

>>31897671
This is one of those things I should really have an answer to but I don't.

>>31897570
>>Hide in the alleys until the guards arrive

>>31897570
>Hide in the alleys until the guards arrive
I don't care the about context, sneaking off with a princess is an option I will always take

You duck into an alley way, the crowds are still a plenty even with the chaos of the situation and you're certain more than a few people say you carrying a screaming princess away. With your pursuer dressed in guard uniform, you wouldn't do well to sit around while getting pointed out, so you make turns around the back streets until you're confident your trail is lost. Between some piles of trash, your group of three hides.

"Unhand me! UNHAND ME! I am a princess and you are kidnapping me!" The princess thrashes against your hold, keeping yourself low and against the walls, she's practically on your lap.

"Actually, they're kidnapping you. We're rescuing you." Leona corrects her.

"I WILL SCREAM UNTIL YOUR VOICE GOES OUT!"

"Calm down please, we'll be found out if you keep talking like that..."

"I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. I AM THE PRINCESS AND YOU ARE JUST SOME HARLOT THAT BELONGS RIGHT HERE IN THE TRASH!"

Leona goes silent and picks a dirty cloth out of the rubbage beside her, she crams it into the princess' mouth. You pray to the myriad gods that no one stumbles across this scene, the princess sitting between your legs with another woman shoving things down her throat.

"I don't like this girl very much." Leona says after securing the cloth before digging further into the trash.

"Most people don't," You answer, watching her curiously, "You're not really shy about garbage huh... what're you looking for?"

"Hm?" Leona pulls a frayed rope out from the pile.

>CONT

>>31897940
L-lewd

>>31897715
Some low level spells any self respecting magic user should be able to do

>Low level telekinesis
can animate small objects
>Fire starting
magic cigarette lighter
>Sleep spell
Keeps someone unconscious for at least a hour (Only works on someone that's already asleep/knocked out)

Just some ideas. I don't know how good at magic our character is supposed to be.

"There we go... now she can't resist." Leona finishes restraining Fiandae's limbs.

"What."

"What can we do to her..."

"Do. With."

"I think we're all alone with her now."

"I don't think we're being followed any more but you should pick some better words." You can tell that she's having fun with this. In the corner of some backstreet, you and Leona see over the princess in front of you. Her hair is a mess and her eyes are tearing up, her mouth gagged by a cloth and her wrists and ankles well restrained, "I'm not sure this was a good idea. Where'd you learn to tie rope like this anyways?"

"We used to hunt boar with our mother, it was easier to carry them home if you tied them to a large stick." She plucks a piece of paper out of her hair, "Though I don't think we should try that in the middle of the streets..."

You kneel down and look over the princess, she makes muffled noises at you. You can't just leave her here, chances are thugs will come much sooner than any reputable guard...

Leona empties out a garbage bag and starts flapping it against the air.

>[Alacrity] Release her and calm her down before walking back to the castle
>Take her back to the castle in a bag and reason it out there
>Take her back to your home first and discuss with the others

Rolled 9

>>31898138
>[Alacrity] Release her and calm her down before walking back to the castle

Rolled 2

>>31898138

>>31898138
>[Alacrity] Release her and calm her down before walking back to the castle

>>31898138
>>Take her back to the castle in a bag and reason it out there

Rolled 12

>>31898196
>[Alacrity] Release her and calm her down
Forgot my vote. I have a feeling that putting her in a trash bag will give up a big penalty for reasoning with her.

Can we still take her back to our place?

>>31898226
That is a sad attempt at cheating.

>>31898226
Disregarding the fact that it's not in bold and there's no email field, 4chan X also shows you the dice rolled. It's impossible to fake a roll.

>>31898138
Oh my god Leona what are you doing.

...why are we doing this again? Oh right, get a favor from the duke.

You remove the cloth from her mouth, and she spends a good half a minute spitting on your shoes.

"You mangy mutts, how dare you. How DARE YOU!? I am a princess and I am to be treated like one!" Her voice is a lot weaken after being gagged for some minutes.

"That's why we're releasing you and taking you back. We need you not to... scream at us though so we can work this out."

"I will have you jailed and stripped before an audience!"

"Ahem." Leona shows her the bag.

"Now Princess... Fiandae of Ridae, the most beautiful in the east, the most beloved of the most beloved, the light of the people; could you just work with us so we can rescue your father."

She takes a long while to answer, it's like dealing with a hysteric Anlak, "Fine. Now, undo these ropes and take me some place with a bath. I am filthy!"

You let her go and Leona drops the bag dejected. The castle is a ways away from Lop Street and you're not sure how the guards might react to her coming back smelling like a homeless man's dirty laundry, you...

>Take her to the castle as originally planned
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

>>31898278
I guess so yeah.

>>31898439
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

>>31898439
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

>>31898439
>>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

Can we still put her in the bag?

Rolled 1

>>31898439
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up
The bad guys are probably expecting her to head back to the castle.

>>31898439
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

>>31898439
>Return home with her first, get the others and let her clean up

You and Leona lead the princess back towards your house, the bag cut into a make-shift cloak over her to draw away attention, or at least, draw the a different kind of attention.

"This is hardly fashionable, after I am clean you will make sure to prepare for me the finest of dresses or else I shall have your heads."

You arrive at your home and make a few knocks, Ianc answers and her eyes widen seeing and smelling the three of you. She doesn't ask any questions, simply letting you inside.

"Oh, they're finally returned. Now listen here, you better not have done anything to Leona while I wasn't lo-" Rein starts a lecture when you walk into the living room, it seems the three of them returned first when you didn't make it to the meeting spot. She stops herself when she sees Fiandae in the little trash cloak, stifling her laughter.

"Who is that exactly?" Sheryl eyes the oddity.

"I am Princess Fiandae of Ridae! And you will refer to me properly!" The princess tears the cloak off, a piece of string falls off of her hair as she points at the gathered group.

Rein loses control of herself and starts to laugh harder.

"Now dear, if you wanted to meet the princess I could've worked it out without you getting in a me-" Ianc comes up behind the princess to brush meat bits off her shoulders, "Wait a second, princess? WASN'T SHE KIDNAPPED TODAY? WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"I can explain."

>CONT

>>31898706
Wait. She knows about it already? But it just happened.

>>31898831
you underestimate how long it took them to get back and the information prowess of a retired captain/gossip mom

"...And then we came back here." You finish telling the others the events on your end. You can hear water running where Fiandae is washing herself, Ianc's palm rests over her face the entire way through.

"We managed to find Yu'yen but he slipped away. I think he'll be heading for the abandoned castle soon, want to wager the king is there as well?" Sheryl catches you up briefly.

"We should probably get some things sorted out first, what's the state of the city with the king gone?"

"It's only been two hours since the end of the parade, but the word is everywhere. It sounds like the knights are trying to move the festival as usual and keep things quiet."

"I know the Knight Commander, it'll be news everywhere tomorrow morning but he certainly doesn't want chaos right now." Ianc says.

A silence creeps over the room...

"I TOLD YOU TO HAVE A DRESS PREPARED FOR ME, WHAT IS THIS!?"

Your eyes jerk to the stairway, the princess stands with her hair down dripping wet, nothing but a towel around her body.

"Ah! Princess, please cover yourself!" Ianc runs over to her, trying to steer her out of the room.

"Shame Yu'yen isn't here to say anything to that huh." Rein mumbles as the princess is dragged out.

"He'd say something stupid," Sheryl stands up, "But he'd also tell us that all we need to do is recover the king by tomorrow morning. Come on, it's on our way."

There are no objections, your course is clear. You will storm the fortress, and take back both missing men.

>CONT

>>31898948
Can we get some explosive charges this time?

>>31898948
>tfw Sheryl didn't call us a pervert

>>31898948
useful spells:

>make a loud noise
>make a loud noise at a distance
>make a bright light at a distance
>hell, make a foul smell at a distance

>force push/pull
>glide
>silenced footsteps/breathing/swinging
>empowerment(make sure the princess doesn't kill herself)

"Well, I'm going to wash up first. The priiiiincess wouldn't let me share a bath." Leona grumbles as she makes for the stairway.

"We'll work things out down here then. It's still not too late in the day, we have to decide whether we go while the sun is out or catch them at night." You take out the map Yu'minh gave you and lay it out on the table.

"We really deserve extra credit for all these missions we're taking ourselves." Rein sighs as she leans forward to go over it.

"Their guard will be lax the later we go," Anlak speaks up for the first time since your return, "The Lunese believe in the providence of the moon, House Yu does at least, and other than the men asleep, many will be receiving blessings."

"Stables are more common in Ridaela than in Deneb, everyone is in the city for the festival so there should be plenty of horses available."

"I'll organize our ride. Rein pick up some supplies. Anlak, write us all the information we need." Sheryl says.

"Ah." Anlak stumbles up against one of the shelves, he barely catches himself.

"Anlak?"

"Yes. Yes, I can do that."

"What about me?" You ask.

"You... you bathe. You smell terrible." Sheryl gives you a cold stare.

You'd like to do something more practical, but it'd be a problem if your stench gave you away while sneaking around later. Leona just got in the bath and you certainly can't join her, while you wait you...

>Help Anlak with the notes
>See how Ianc and Fiandae fare
>Just wait patiently by the bathroom

>>31899194
>See how Ianc and Fiandae fare

>>31899194
>you certainly can't join her

Or can we?

>>31899194
>Just wait patiently by the bathroom

>>31899194
>>See how Ianc and Fiandae fare
what IS the princess' deal?

>>31899194
>Help Anlak with the notes
We know he can't write.

or this
>>31899248

>>31899242
>>31899285
Terrible idea.

>>31899248
Is much better. For the purpose of "conserving time".

>>31899194
>See how Ianc and Fiandae fare

Jesus why are you guys going full pervert, stahp.

>>31899194
>Help Anlak with the notes
As much as I like princess time and getting slapped by Leona.

>>31899194
>Just wait patiently by the bathroom

>>31899248
Sheryl did tell us to bathe...

>>31899194
>Help Anlak with the notes

>>31899194
>Just wait patiently by the bathroom

C'mon guys we didnt get called a pervert once this thread lets keep the streak going

I can't believe there's a four way tie with a write-in.

You guys are the worst.

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>>31899570

>>31899346
On second thought let's help Anlak, forgot about his little problem.

>>31899616
>little problem

We're going gay now?

>>31899570
If the write-in doesn't end in us getting slapped in the face then go with that. But if not I'll stick with Anlak since we all know he doesn't know how to write and this is too important.

>>31899570
I don't see why you'd even think to consider that write-in, it's purposefully designed to piss off pretty much all of the girls at the same time.

>>31899676
Not if they don't find out.

>>31899676
Wouldn't it just make Leona a little flustered?

>>31899704
There's literally no way that write -in will end well for us

You see Sheryl and Rein off, quite a ways away from the door at their insistence and go to wait for Leona to finish washing.

At the table, Anlak sits with some sheets of paper in front of him. An ink jar rests beside them, and a quill inside of it. He may not be aware, but you happen to be in the know of his illiteracy problem.

You take a seat beside him, unlike the girls he doesn't seem to have any problem with your current 'aroma'. He shifts a glance to you no different than usual, then returns to the notes.

He takes the quill and dips it into the ink, he begins to draw out a map. It's rough but you can tell it's supposed to be Ridaela to the castle. Unfortunately you already have a proper map, so it's not of too much help.

Anlak sets aside his drawn map then eyes another sheet of paper, he stares at it hard.

"You know," You do your best to work this out without embarrassing him, "If you dictate what to write, it'll be faster if I do it for you... gives you more time to think."

He takes his usual pause then nods to you, pushing the ink jar and quill your way.

"I've never been there before, but I believe the layout will be similar... the slave pools will be kept on bottom level, top level reserved for worship to Nyne..." As soon as you pick up the quill, Anlak starts talking and you begin writing down notes. For what a mess his room is, he seems fairly meticulous about these written details.

>CONT

So does Sheryl hate the MC's guts or something? Seriously she's giving him dirty looks every two seconds.

In one of the first threads QM said that Leona was his favorite. Is he trying to stop us from waifuing Sheryl?

>>31899802
I think it has something to do with his obsession with bird seed.

>>31899802
>Is he trying to stop us from waifuing Sheryl?
Shut up. Now. Don't bring that kind of talk here.

And of course Sherl hates our guts. We've been a pervert in half of all our interactions with her, while being uncomfortably close and understanding with the other half. Emotional trolling does not endear people to you.

>>31899802
Shhhh you're playing with fire Anon

and also sort of yes she thinks were a perv because people have an obsession with teying to either get her flustered or be a god damm perv whenever we're near her remeber that acting scene with Leona?

Sheryl is just tsundere.

"Say, are you familiar with a man covered in scars?" You ask Anlak, as you write down the last of his explanation.

"Ah," Anlak pauses, "That'd be Ratii."

"He was Raschan."

"Yes. He was born into the Second Dylian War and given a Daktori name, then he survived through the Third and Fourth. He'd only been working for Yu'mao for a short time when I was freed but... I remember him well."

"Was he that terrible?"

"No," Anlak shakes his head, "He was a very kind man. That made him stand out."

"Then why work for slavers?"

"This is one of the few peace times Rascha has had in over four-hundred years, there're a lot of kind men who don't know any way but the blade..." Anlak shakes his head, "After the Fourth Dylian War, most of the soldiers were denied wage. Because of this, there're many of them striking back against The Highest Throne with the few skills they have."

You pick up a piece of paper and go to copy down what you've written, but the sound of Leona's voice catches your attention, "Oh! Is everyone else gone?"

You get up and pass a sheet of paper to her, "Fill those out. Anlak, help her."

You make way for the bath.

>CONT

>>31899802
Sheryl is my least favourite but I am making efforts to keep her appealing. As it so happens though, I have masochistic tendencies and thus the increase in dirty looks is meant to correlate to an increase in waifu power. It's science really.

>>31899802
Sheryl knows the mc's a troll beneath his caring and helpful exterior. She likes him well enough, but still doesn't appreciate some of his shenanigans.

Regardless. Telling your players who your favorite character is is a really bad idea. Because things like this happens.

>>31899999
>Sheryl is my least favourite
Dropped.

>>31900014
Only in bigger quests, people tend to be pretty relaxed in quests of this size.

You dip yourself into the hot water after rinsing off with a bucket. You've been using the public baths while in Deneb, and although you've bathed in a heated barrel often enough from the nights sleeping over at Carna's, you're most comfortable in a private bath at home.

The afternoon sun shines a light into your bathroom, you hadn't appreciated how nice your living quarters were until spending half a year without them. There's someone missing in your life but... you'll find her soon.

As your noses clears up the trashy smell, a sweet scent catches it. You wonder about what's changed in this room in the months you left...

A strand of orange hair floats by in front of you...

You spend a few minutes gathering your thoughts before exiting the bath, drying yourself off and changing into your packed...

>Princely Outfit
>Spy Cloak

When you return back down stairs, everybody is gathered, but there seems to be some sort of argument going on.

"I AM COMING ALONG, I AM A PRINCESS AND YOU WILL NOT TELL ME WHERE I CAN AND CANNOT GO!"

"Would you please stop screaming. We're going to a den of murderers, we can't have you getting in danger." Sheryl tries to explain to Fiandae.

"Come on princess, I'll take you back to the castle." Ianc tugs on the princess' arm.

"No! No! NO! I am going. YOU! Tell them, you said I could come!" Fiandae points at you. You don't remember saying anything of the sort.

>Let her come, promise to watch her
>Convince her to go home

>>31900179
Sheryl and Rein are tied for best girl.

>>31900232
>>Spy Cloak
>>Convince her to go home

>>31900232
>Princely Outfit
>Let her come, promise to watch her
Better than her sneaking out after she gets back to the castle.

>>31900232
>Spy Cloak
>Convince her to go home

>>31900232
>Spy Cloak
Convincing her to go home would be the most sensible option but if she does come with and something happens we could use her a leverage.

>>31900253
Although I respect and agree with your opinion to some extent
pls no

>>31900232
>Spy Cloak
>Let her come, promise to watch her

>>31900462
When you create a setting that's 60% women this is bound to happen.

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"Sheryl's right princess, you can't follow us. They're after you, we'd be playing right into their hands."

Fiandae marches up to you and lifts her fists, she begins to beat on the front of your spy cloak but it doesn't hurt at all. You can barely feel it compared to the attacks of... just about every other woman you have any regular interaction with.

"I WILL GO! I WILL, I WILL! I AM NOT LETTING A BUNCH OF THUGS SHAME MY PEOPLE AND THEN GET AWAY WITH IT!"

"Princess Fiandae, the people of Ridae need you right now. Even though the king will be returning safely tomorrow, we need someone to give the closing speech to the festival..." Ianc does her best to reason with her. You make a mental note that your deadline to rescue the king should be before the closing speech, less you risk a rebellion.

"Hmph. FINE! But I swear, none of you better think of asking for any reward after treating me like this!" The princess stomps off towards the door.

"I'll take her back... ah, that girl was half the reason I quit the guard." Ianc shakes her head as she makes paces after the princess.

"What was the other half?" Leona asks.

"Child raising." Ianc turns her head back just before leaving the house, giving you a warm smile as she exits.

"She's quite the mother huh." Rein pokes you in the side.

"Benefactor. Now, let's move." You don't wait for the situation to escalate, you lead the troops to the door.

>CONT

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>>31900519

>>31900544
lanic's gonna die and we are going to finally call her mom arnt we

"I thought you were getting us horses." Rein looks over the sight in front of you confused.

"I was getting us rides." Sheryl says.

"But... do these count?"

"They navigate better through woodlands and they leave lighter trails. We won't get tracked this way."

"I just... I just don't know if we can ride rabbit-wolves." Rein sighs and shakes her head. You and your four companions stand in front of a stable where an old man minds Ridaela's most popular magical critter. The rabbit-wolves certainly look calm, but their jagged teeth makes you worried. In your years spent in this city, you'd never once tried to ride one.

"It's perfectly safe. I looked it up." Sheryl says firmly, resolute in her decision, "At worst, we'll lose one limb between us."

Rein looks at Sheryl terrified.

"That was a joke." Sheryl mumbles, "I still need practice."

"I just... I just don't know, let's get some horses." Rein shakes her head.

"I don't know, they're kind of cute aren't they? I think we should give it a try." Leona goes over to pet one, its ears twitch. Sheryl's ears twitch in reaction to watching it.

Anlak saddles himself up on one of the creatures, he just nods to the group when it doesn't bite his legs off.

"Hey, convince them this is a bad idea. You don't ride these... things, right?" Rein looks at you for back-up.

>Ride the rabbit-wolves
>Get some horses
>Write-In

This seems like an obvious decision, but I wanna give the choice.

>>31900727
>>Ride the rabbit-wolves

I can't tell what's the obvious choice.

But I'm guessing it's horses.

>>31900727
In character we hate these abominations. But why do we hate them anyway? Shouldn't we have gotten to choose?
RAILROADING?!

>>31900727
>Ride the rabbit-wolves
No time to waste

>>31900727
>Ride the rabbit-wolves

>>31900727
>Get some horses

>>31900727
>"That was a joke." Sheryl mumbles, "I still need practice."
I feel like I make that kind of failed joke too often.

>Ride the rabbit-wolves

Can they fit more than one person? Do they have kangaroo pouches?

Is it just me, or is LibrarianOP updating REALLY fast?

>>31900993
He's been subtly railroading us into all his prewritten updates.

You pat Rein twice on the shoulder before making way into the stable and picking out a mount. They're not much to look at, but you've no time to waste. In minutes, all of you sit outside the stable mounted on rabbit-wolves.

"I just think that it makes no sense for us to be experimenting when there're people in danger." Rein awkwardly shifts about on top of her furry steed.

"They're perfectly safe," You tell her, "Probably."

"Proba-"

You tug on the rabbit-wolf's ear as directed and it kicks off towards the town gate as you slide your hand down to the reins. The others follow suit, leaving Rein's complaints behind.

With the light of day still out, you head towards your destination with Sheryl in the lead. Although you don't intend to break in right away, it sounds to be to your advantage to at get an overview of the castle first.

Splitting off the main roads onto the forest path, your mounts skillfully move through the woods, leaving little noise and little trails.

"This is kind of fun, I wonder how much it'd cost us to take one back to Deneb." Leona says, bouncing over some roots.

"This is NOT fun and I do NOT want one of these stinking up the place!" Rein seems to be having a bit more trouble controlling hers than the rest of you do.

"Luck is not stinky." Sheryl seems to have named hers already.

>CONT

>>31900766
I can't imagine why a man would be presented with an abnormal mount and not immediately want to take it.

>>31901112
Well I imagine noone wants to poke themselves on the crotch and legs with pointy dragon carapace. You kinda need training.

Although the rabbit-wolves don't seem to be nearly as fast as the horses, the time you shaved off by taking the woods as a short-cut brings you to the outskirts of the abandoned castle region just before nightfall. You tie the mounts up to nearby trees then dig shallow holes for them to rest in, a method to keep them from wanting to escape.

Despite meaning to be forgotten, the castle is obviously under use. Fire pits from camps set up all around it dimly illuminate the surrounding area and you can see the bright of lanterns from the open windows. A number of the trees adjacent to it have been chopped down, leaving stumps where they once were.

"We can't rush in. Let's wait for some of the camps to dim." Sheryl surveys the area ahead from behind the trees where you rest.

"If we were going to wait we should've just gotten horses." Rein groans, plucking bits of fur off her clothes from hugging the rabbit-wolves too closely.

"Anlak, your notes say that there's a secret passage right?"

"Yes. I do not know where it is but they would have one large enough for carriages when selling to nobles."

"We need a plan then, what's the best way to get inside..." Sheryl takes a seat by you and thinks. There's no fire pit to think over but the air of the region is warm compared to the air by Deneb.

>Enter through the front disguised
>Split up the group, cause a distraction while the others sneak in
>Find the secret entrance and gain access
>Write-In

>>31901361
>Find the secret entrance and gain access

>>31901361
Fuck with them. Use weaves to create illusions of ghosts. Make windows flap and whisper into their ears. Do the whole "crying little girl with no eyes" thing. Terrify the lot.

>>31901361
>>Find the secret entrance and gain access

>>31901361
>Find the secret entrance and gain access

>>31901462
Do NOT do this. Don't alert them. No extra caution from the guards is better than some, even if misguided.

>>31901361
>>Find the secret entrance and gain access

>>31901501
Ouch. Well, fine.

Still, they might know we're coming. That Ratii guy saw us, and he'll be expecting some knights as well. Be prepared for traps.

"They might be expecting knights at the front but I don't think they'll expect us to sneak up on them. Let's figure out where the entrance is." You tell the group, and each person agrees to your suggestion.

You quickly work out a plan to survey the area, Sheryl makes a quick ride around on the back of a rabbit-wolf while mapping out the place in her head, she draws it out in the dirt with her sword when she returns. Anlak points out the most likely spots it'd be based on what his knowledge of his past confinement, and you all spread out to keep a watch over the likely spots...

After two hours have passed, as the light of some camps begin to go out and you see the Yu guards changing shifts into smaller groups, you return to exchange information.

"I think I saw it," Rein says, "Some of the guards on the south end headed into the woods nearby instead of making way to the entrance."

"Alright then, we'll head there on foot. If we leave the rabbit-wolves here, they won't be too far a distance whether we escape back through the passage or through the entrance." Sheryl lays out the plan, "We'll sneak into the entrance after we confirm and deal with whoever is guarding it."

With that Rein takes the lead, and you make quiet steps through the woods...

When you arrive at her hiding spot, it takes you some more time waiting before you find the entrance. A hidden door beneath the dirt, situated between two abnormally grown trees.

>CONT

>>31901794
Since when does Sheryl take charge like this?

It wasn't readily apparent at first, but finding where the tracks of the guards ended helped you cut down the options, and after some searching you dug it up.

The door was on just a slight incline, and the passage behind it when you opened up went downwards quite steely. It'd be difficult for a carriage to get up and down the way, but the track of wheels told you that they were willing to make the extra efforts to buy children.

"We can walk safely for now, they wouldn't trap this way. We'll have to watch out when we get into the slave pools though." Anlak tells you as you descend down the path, closing the door behind you, "This entrance will lead us right there."

Rein draws and lights a torch, passing it to Anlak so that he can lead the way. With the flames in front of him, his back looks somewhat ominous from behind.

"You shouldn't look at the slaves when you get down there, you'll be giving false hope to anyone we don't rescue." His voice is calm and his back is firm despite the gravity of his words, the past that connects him to them, "If we run into anyone, don't panic. The chain of command is thin, they'll think we're just browsers coming in under night's cover if we act natural."

"I don't like the way you talk." Rein whispers.

"I am sorry." Anlak offers his apology, but he does not say more than that.

At the end of the tunnel downwards, you step into the slave pools.

>CONT

There's a smell to the place, not filthy, clean to the point of disgust. It's the smell of an infirmary, but much thicker, and without the care.

The end of the tunnel reveals a massive room, you stand on a rise carved out of the underground with two levels below you, visible from the rock railing. You can see down to the bottom level, the pit of depravity at the centre of House Yu's operations. Nude persons tossed into a lowered area built to resemble an arena, chains around their necks as they overlap on top of each other in a carnal frenzy. Men sitting just outside, carrying whips and blunts in one hand with bottles of liquor on the other, bags of rocks beside them. Not one of them looks to enjoy the depraved show, all of them have been here so long that they've been desensitized to it.

On each floor cages sit on the edges, the closest sitting not twenty paces away from you. Men, women and children sit about dizzily within them wearing not but rags, many of them not touching the food laid out before them, unlike a proper prison cell they're not served gruel but a meal fit for a noble. They do not see it as a respite in their terrible lives, they know it's premium fodder to turn out the greatest of products.

The ceiling and ledges have lantern rocks carved into them, keeping the place eternally lit in a dim glow. Smoke wafts about the air nearby, as lazy guards waste their time with the knowledge that their charge is too broken to rebel.

>CONT

>>31902213
That's horrid. Good stuff, OP.

"This is terrible..." Leona mutters. Rein bites her lips so hard you wonder if they'll bleed.

"You used to live in a place like this?" You ask Anlak, peering over to him.

"Yes." Anlak continues to answer with no change in his voice turning to make way further in, he takes a few steps then stops.

You look up to see what has caught his attention, Ratii stands across from you. He does not wear the armour of a Ridaela guard, but blackened leathers. No weapon sits in his hands, but a sword in his sheath.

You reach for your weapon ready to strike, it's far too early and far too late to stop here...

"Didn't think I'd see you again..." Ratii sighs, "Anlak."

"Ratii." Anlak nods to him. Ratii looks over to you and then to Leona before returning to Anlak.

"I suppose you're here to rescue the duke... what a mess today is. Well, I'll have to stop you if you get too close, but he's far away from the pools. I won't sound any alarms yet, I haven't the heart in me..." He turns away from your group and starts walking.

He stops and turns his head again, "If you can afford some time, I can give you a tour just of the pools. The duke's life isn't in danger, not any more now than it'll be if you walk with me first at least... but I understand if you have reservations. Who knows, might help you."

Anlak doesn't answer him, none of the girls are ready to either. Even if this isn't a trap and he's telling the truth, you don't know if you can afford to wait...

>Take the tour
>Stay on task

>>31902432
>>Take the tour

>>31902432
>>Stay on task

>>31902432
>Take the tour

>>31902432
>Stay on task
I think we have a general idea from things on his side already.

>>31902432
>Take the tour

>>31902432
>>Take the tour

"Show us around them." You tell him, gulping your breath. You're not sure if you want to see more of this, but if it'll help you understand the others better...

"We have doctors on stand-by at all time, as well as men specialized in curative weaves. Because children are worth more than fifty times the price of a full grown slave, it's profitable to Yu'mao to keep each one as healthy as possible." Ratii guides you down the path, he never turns his head back when he speaks. Each cage is the same, broken down people, many of them likely born here and never to leave, "The slaves kept lower are more valuable down here, but the ones worth real fortunes are kept up the castle's highest floors. They're raised in conditions that resemble royalty."

"Those are the ones sold to nobility as fake heirs." Sheryl asks, knowing the answer.

"Yes, for the most part. Some of them are... designer slaves. You're familiar with rabbit-wolves correct? You saw the festival today?"

"Yes." Leona nods.

"It's the same case here. Demons will be captured and put into the most attractive women, we push them as far as we have to before we have them impregnated by the top of the line men. Fertility is already low here, but they're even worse for elves... but men will pay kingdoms for it, to get a child with a cat's ears, or an prehensile tongue... we even once sold a fake angel to a church in the Artios Region. It had wings, but it couldn't fly. The image was enough for them."

>CONT

"Most of our business is just throwing two adults at each other and rotating them until we achieve fertility though, most people are happy enough to just purchase any child these days." Ratii gestures to the bottom floor, "They're abused by our hands and addicted to a dangerous mix of drugs from across Rascha to promote fertility and dependence. It's... disgusting." Ratii spits from the high floor down to the bottom.

"You can't enjoy being here. Why haven't you left yet?" Sheryl looks at the man, his worn face shows to you for the first time since the start of the tour, his scars lack ferocity, they hold failure.

"Next time we meet, we will fight. I don't want any sympathies, I am one of the monsters that put these people here, I expect you shall face me with that in mind." Ratii turns and makes for the stairs up, you wait until his footsteps vanish.

"If we defeat Yu'mao, can we free these people?" Leona asks.

"Kran killed the previous Lord of Yu." Anlak answers as he steps towards the stairs, "Power will just pass to someone else. There's no helping everyone here, we'll save Duke Franson and give Yu'yen his peace, that's all we can ask for."

Rein hangs her head low and follows, she looks sick from the atmosphere. Leona sticks behind her holding her up, and Sheryl just behind them. Not interested in staying down here any longer either, you make to ascend the stairs.

>CONT

It's not long to make it from the underground onto the ground floor of 'Castle Yu'. You expected guards right from the gate, but they're either far more poorly staffed than expected or Ratii did you a favour.

You walk to the end of the hall you arrive in but soon find yourself at two-way split, if you had to take an educated guess, both will likely lead you to a stairway up, but what makes the trail curious... is a line of bird-seed going down the right path.

As Anlak goes to take the left turn, you contemplate stopping him. He may not understand the significance of this but...

>Take the left path, the bird seed is either meaningless or it's a trap
>Take the right path, the bird seed is a message

>>31903178
>>Take the right path, the bird seed is a message

>>31903178
>>Take the right path, the bird seed is a message

>>31903178
>Take the right path, the bird seed is a message

Collect the bird seed

"Let's take the right path."

Everybody stops and looks at you quizzically.

"I think Yu'yen is already here." You gesture to the bird seed.

"Bird seed." Sheryl shakes her head before making way into the right path, the rest of your group follows, and you follow slightly behind, picking some pieces of it up to thin the trail, dropping them into your pockets.

The way to the stairs is simple, and you find your path undeterred again. Following the trail through the second floor, then the third, you find yourself at the fourth where your trail of seed ends and another begins...

Bodies are scattered across the ground, most of them dead from one clean cut, a few of them seem to have put up more of a fight going down and have marks of battle on their armour and smears of blood on their blades. You step lightly as you continue, watching your companions to make sure they're okay.

Rein is the one with the worst of it, she's still said nothing since you descended the entrance earlier but the others are holding up relatively well. As you go to turn the corner where the bodies start to thin, the sound of steel clashing catches your ear. You peek around to see what the source is.

Blade to blade, Yu'yen fights against a guard you don't recognize. He wears no armour, but baggy Lunese pants over his legs. His chest is bare, but two pairs of arms wield two swords between them. One on each of his lower hands.

Yu'yen goes in for a strike, but a hard parry knocks his sword loose.

>CONT

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Disarmed of his blade, he reaches for the staff on his back. He pulls it out and swings overhead seamlessly, but the two high arms of the apparent contractor catch his weapon. The lower ones swing their blades parallel across each other, slashing into his gut. A hard shove on the staff sends your friend reeling back across the hall. You can see that he's wounded from more than just this battle.

"You are lucky that Yu'mao wants you alive, you wouldn't have made it even this far if the men didn't fear your father more than death." The contractor speaks, his head is bald and looking closely, you can see that he has four eyes lacking whites, they just look to be black orbs.

"I don't remember him hiring you..." Yu'yen groans on the floor.

"It's contract work for a contractor, get it?" The man steps forward, "Now, come along nicely before we have an accident."

You step first out from the corner and dash in between Yu'yen and the man, you grab the sword disarmed from Yu'yen off the ground and hold it. It's not your usual choice, but it'll work.

"Ah, goddamnit friend. It's about time." Yu'yen smiles as he sees you, clutching at his wounds.

"If you wanted me here then you should've said it, and you shouldn't have ran off ahead."

"I thought I should clean up home before inviting you over."

It looks like he still has enough energy for jokes. The others come up behind you shortly, but the hall isn't wide enough to make good use of group tactics.

>CONT

"Rein, tend to his wounds." You instruct her, knowing that she's in no position to fight.

"Well, I suppose four on one is better than five. That's one for each arm." The contractor flexes and lets out a laugh.

"Four on two, Quan'tran." The voice calls from behind, Ratti steps up blocking your exit as he draws his sword. A Raschan blade much like the one you dropped back at the parade.

"Hoh. Two for each of us then." Quan'tran gets into a combat stance, his blades ready to swing and his free arms ready to intercept attacks.

"How're we going to do this?" Sheryl shifts her eyes between both enemies while Rein drags Yu'yen up against the wall between them.

You will fight...

>Quan'tran
>Ratii

Along-side...

>Anlak
>Leona
>Sheryl

>>31903825
>Quan'tran
>Sheryl

>>31903825
>Ratii
>Leona

>>31903825
>Quan'tran
>Sheryl

>>31903825
>Quan'tran
>Leona
That leaves us in two teams of an agile fighter (MC & Sheryl) and a tough fighter (Anlak & Leona).

>>31903825
Anlak takes Ratii alone, the rest of us goes for Quan'tran

Anlak should know how he fights well enough to stall, right?

>>31903998
Seconding this

>>31903825
>>Quan'tran
>>Leona

>>31903825
>>Quan'tran
>Sheryl

"Leona, you're with me." You step towards Quan'tran, the blade in your hand isn't familiar but you mimic the pose you saw Yu'yen took when you enter. Leona follows behind her, gripping her daggers tightly.

You don't have time to worry about Sheryl and Anlak, you'll just have to trust them.

You step forward and make testing swipes at the opponent before you, gauging his style and technique. At heart it's not much different from any duel wielding style, but his extra arms let him sneak in slaps and shoves every now and again, you make note to keep a distance from them.

Leona tosses daggers at the man where she finds small openings, but it seems his skin is rough. They cut, but they don't cut deep, with each weapon loss she draws more from her obvious pouch and some hidden compartments.

You leave a few fake openings to try and gauge his intentions, and notice that he doesn't seem interested in stepping away from the door even when he can get a blow in. He doesn't seem the sort to see through your plan, so he may be stalling for more men...

You'll need to act fast.

>[Cunning] Bait out his attacks and try to disarm him with support fire.
>[Alacrity] Strike at him swiftly taking advantage of the light weight of your weapon, overwhelm him with speed.
>[Tenacity] Gamble on one blow, you may be able to force through

Will be running through combat faster since we're running a lot later than expected.

Rolled 3

>>31904251
>[Cunning] Bait out his attacks and try to disarm him with support fire.

Rolled 11

>>31904251
>>[Cunning] Bait out his attacks and try to disarm him with support fire.

>>31904251
>[Cunning] Bait out his attacks and try to disarm him with support fire

You meet his swings, even with the unwieldiness of your blade and his superior stature, you manage to keep up. You've either gotten a lot stronger these last months, or he's already well-worn down by Yu'yen but you'll take things however they are.

An opportunity arises when a dagger from Leona flies at his head, he twists his body to avoid it and you swing your sword down on his wrist. Your sword is thin and you have doubts about it's might, but it easily cuts into his flesh and you pull just off from the bone, he loses his blade and you kick it back to prevent him from grabbing it with some other arm.

He goes you shove you in retaliation, but you dodge to the side. Leona ducks in one weapon in hand and jams it hard into his wrist, she twists it and he loses his other blade. It doesn't take long before the imposing opponent has the advantage turned on him.

He clasps both of his high hands together and swings it down trying to smash Leona into the ground, you pull her back just in time to avoid it.

It sounds as though the fight behind you is going well too, but still you need to remain focused...

>[Alacrity] Duck in and cleave up.
>[Tenacity] Take advantage of his momentary weakness, swing down before he brings his arms up.

I usually do combat as a "first to three wins" thing if you were curious but let's make this lickity spickity spit span spon.

>>31904251
>>[Cunning] Bait out his attacks and try to disarm him with support fire.

Rolled 5

>>31904490
>>[Alacrity] Duck in and cleave up.

Rolled 6

>>31904490
>[Alacrity] Duck in and cleave up.

Rolled 2

>>31904490
>[Alacrity] Duck in and cleave up.

You duck in and and cleave up, trying to take advantage of the lower hands being maimed but your speed isn't quite up to par.

Just a little more and you would've cut him, but he manages to pull his hands apart stepping back, and you just leave a shallow cut along his chest. Bringing his two upper arms together and across, he smashes into the thin Lunese blade and snaps it. Finally taking a step forward, he kicks you in the gut and you stumble backwards. It wasn't a firm blow on his end either, and you catch your wind quickly.

With half a weapon that you're barely familiar with, you prepare for your next move.

>[Cunning] Get in close and weave a flash in his face, stab him while he's blinded.
>[Tenacity] Get in close and weave to bring him closer, try to impale him through the chest wound on your broken blade.

Rolled 1

>>31904629
>[Cunning] Get in close and weave a flash in his face, stab him while he's blinded.

>>31904629
>>[Cunning] Get in close and weave a flash in his face, stab him while he's blinded.

Rolled 1

>>31904629
>[Cunning] Get in close and weave a flash in his face, stab him while he's blinded.

Rolled 6

>>31904629
>[Tenacity] Get in close and weave to bring him closer, try to impale him through the chest wound on your broken blade.

>>31904672
>>31904684
Oh god

Rolled 2

>>31904672
>>31904684
Oh fuck

>>31904672
>>31904684
Oh boy, it's happening. IT'S HAPPENING!

File: mymarkofshame.jpg (25 KB, 345x342)

25 KB JPG

I feel bad the first 1 was me, and it was my first time rolling in this quest.

You toss your sword from your main hand to your off-hand, you'll need the coordination in your fingers for your next attack.

You dash in close and nimbly, ducking a chop from Quan'tran that smashes stone off the wall beside him. Bringing your fingers to his face and gripping the katana hard with your other hand, you go to blast light into him...

But it doesn't happen, your fingers don't move.

When he smashed your sword apart, the force must've broken something. You were just too numb to feel the pain.

He reels his arm back from the shattered wall and smashes you in the ribs, you can feel bone cracking as he sends you up against the ground. The monstrous force in his arm is more than that any normal man should reasonably carry, you can feel stone crumble underneath you.

Your vision is going dark quickly... Quan'tran doesn't even notice you anymore. He steps over your body making way to the others, you look back, Anlak and Sheryl are still fighting, they can't do anything to help.

Yu'yen is still hurt, Rein is still shaking, and Leona drops his daggers, she looks at you in horror.

Quan'tran picks up the blades he dropped, he lifts them over his head, over Leona.

You can't stay down.

>[Cunning] He still thinks your down, wait for your change and take him out
>[Alacrity] Use all your remaining energy to rush him with your weapon
>[Tenacity] Force yourself up and strike with all your might, stealth be damned

Rolled 2

>>31904817
>>[Alacrity] Use all your remaining energy to rush him with your weapon

>>31904817
Man I dropped the ball. Leona isn't a trap, that's a typo.

>>31904817
>>[Cunning] He still thinks your down, wait for your change and take him out

Rolled 3

>>31904817
>[Cunning] He still thinks your down, wait for your change and take him out

Pffffftfffftftftftft.

Rolled 9

>>31904817
>>[Cunning] He still thinks your down, wait for your change and take him out

>>31904921
A-at least we have +5 to cunning, r-right guys?

It'll be cutting it close, but you need to wait for just the right moment...

"Well, I gotta take the prince and heir back alive but I don't think he said anything about anyone else." Quan'tran towers over Leona, she falls on her bottom as he grinds his blades against each other, savouring the moment.

Just a little longer, just another moment...

He twists his blades down, he's an execution waiting for a signal.

Your body won't move. It's time to get up, but your body won't move...

Your heart beats, it squeezes, it hurts. You see her shape, it looks nothing like it, but it's hers, it's Carna's. And it's leaving...

You stand to your feet, controlled by something that isn't you. Your heart beats, it squeezes, it hurts.

You hear whispers, sounds, voices you don't recognize.

You grip your blade. Your heart beats, it squeezes, it hurts.

You toss your the sword at Quan'tran, it slices into his raised wrist, you twist the fingers of your broken hand and blood gushs out, your sword weaves and bends in the air, dancing to the other arm and slicing into it. Your heart beats, it squeezes, it hurts.

Time turns back, the demon is leaving with Carna, but you can't let it go. You're larger now, you're stronger now.

You pull your hand back and your broken blade drops, Quan'tran's swords fly into your hands. Your body moves on strings when it shouldn't, you move.

>CONT

I wanted to do this a lot later.

>>31904844
>>31904921
He's not a full demon, and god knows that's our trigger switch and without it... well without it we're back to getting supplexed by drunk girl and being pelted by children

You dance around the contractor's body, making swings and cuts at him. You don't recognize this style, it's not yours. Your heart beats, it squeezes, it hurts.

You cut away at Quan'tran, you cut away at the demon, you cut away at the world.

Time starts to roll again, your body aches, your head hurts, your heart beats... but it doesn't squeeze, it doesn't hurt.

You drop the swords and collapse on the ground, cut from your strings. Leona screams at you but you barely hear her.

Yu'yen stumbles towards the door, he says something but you can't make it out. Rein makes her way over to you, Anlak and Sheryl follow. They look a lot better than Yu'yen did, they probably look a lot better than you do.

The girls all say things you don't understand, but Anlak just walks past you...

"Get up. You're looking for someone right? You can't die before that."

You understood that. Your ears hear again, your eyes see, your body feels. You have broken bones, more than from when he hit you, your body hurts where it shouldn't have been moving.

"Wake up you stupid..." Sheryl's tearing up again, you haven't seen that for awhile. You touch her ear lightly and catch her attention, you gesture to the door.

It takes her a moment to understand you, she helps you up onto her shoulder, and with the sisters' help they drag you over to where the boys have headed.

>CONT

>>31905144
>>31905129
OR we go full crazy

>>31905274
Does Ianc know about this? This seems like a problem that needs more invasive counseling.

Yu'mao's room is a small one, he sits in a simple chair behind a simple desk, papers are spread out all in front of him. There isn't much in the way of luxury here, but Lunese tapestry hangs off the walls.

His robes are long and ornamented, his hair is still dark but the length of it and his beard give him a mature appearance. There was a strong resemblance between Sheryl and her brother, but between Yu'yen and Yu'mao they've little in common but their ethnic traits.

"Ah, so you beat Ratii and the contractor..." The man sits at his table, writing away on papers as if it were another day. Quan'tran's body sits behind your group in the hallway, you don't see Ratii, he must've escaped in the panic.

"I had really hoped you'd succeed me, no, I still do. But I had really hoped I'd see it." Yu'mao shakes his head, Yu'yen stands across from him, staff in his hand.

"No words? We share blood, a name, you could give me an elegy." He doesn't look away from his desk. He's no different than the men underground, he takes no pleasure from evil, it's just the only way he knows.

"Our people are proud, you should look at death with opposition, not indifference." Yu'yen shakes his head and turns around, "I'm taking a carriage, my dear friend is injured."

"Do as you will. I will not stop you any longer."

You hardly have the energy to stop him, to come this far for that. But...

>Let Yu'yen walk away
>Convince him to continue the confrontation

Rolled 4

>>31905418
>Let Yu'yen walk away
Yu'yen knows best

>>31905418
>Let Yu'yen walk away

>>31905418
>Let Yu'yen walk away

>>31905418
>Let Yu'yen walk away

no one will blame us for letting him do so, while we are in our condition

"The Duke is on the third floor, the room with the phoenix markings." Yu'mao yells to your group as you leave, "With most my men dead, I'd rather not have an army marching in. Take him away for me, if you would."

Supported by the others, you take your exit...

You rest in a caravan across from Yu'yen, a quick patch-up job done on both of you. Anlak has gone back in to fetch the Duke, and the girls to fetch the rabbit-wolves to guide your ride. It's only been so many days, but you feel like it's been ages since you last talked to him properly.

"So, like my family?" He says to you jokingly.

"They're wonderful, your wife wanted a kiss in exchange for helping save you."

"Yeah, she'll do that." Neither of you look straight at each other, your heads facing the roof of the caravan, it hurts to move your neck, "Guess we're divorced now though, killing half my nannies isn't something a good boy does. I've thoroughly disowned myself."

"What do you think will happen to your house?"

"It's not my problem any more. No proper heir, the old man might get assassinated."

It's a dark conversation, but it's a little bit of a relief that he sounds normal.

"I saw the Valkyrie today friend. Big brawny Belgran woman for me, not a remotely pretty thing," The Valkyrie servants of Nyne, said to bring you to her den where The Shepherd can't guide your souls back to life. Said to be the cause for the child shortages, "Thought I was done for, but then you showed up."

>CONT

You saw one once, a long time ago. Where you saw her, your memory fails you.

"I hope this wound heals up quickly. That Duke Franson better have weavers, I don't want everything I eat falling out of my stomach." Yu'yen groans about ridiculous things, it's the same Yu'yen you've come to know since you joined The Seekers, "How about you, you look worse than I do. I don't know how I look, but you definitely look worse than I do."

You close your eyes, they're too heavy to bother with. You hear Yu'yen prattle on from topic to topic, giving you a week's worth of noise. The sound is comforting, the words you ignore.

You think of Carna, the memories are more vivid now than they've ever been. You came to the middle of nowhere to solve your friend's family dispute, but somehow you feel a little closer to finding her today.

Before you return to Deneb, you'll have to see the Duke Franson, now that he owes you a favour. You may as well get something out of this personally...

Come to think of it, his daughter told you not to ask for anything, but you're hardly prepared to listen to her anyways.

Countless thoughts race through your mind, but every thought as it's always been comes back to one place. Where you lost her, those ten years ago.

And so, life goes on.

>>31905745
good thread, OP.

Rabbit-Wolves were cool, but I'm still waiting for an animal to rival Sif.

>>31905745
So did we contract with a demon already?

>>31905793
Seems like it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a demon at all.

>>31905813
>Carna was living inside us all this time.

>>31905745
Got here and caught up pretty much just in time for the end, but hey. Thanks for running.

>>31905129
>>31905274
Looking forward to figuring out what exactly the deal was here, since it's bound to be something interesting.

Also I like the idea of using the opportunity afforded by the first genuinely harmful failure we've suffered in order to introduce a major plot hook rather than just throwing us to the rabbit-wolves.

As long as getting bailed out by a mysterious dark side isn't going to be par for the course for all future failures, at least. Once as "you had an extra life made out of Unanswered Questions and PLOT that you were unaware of" is kind of cool, but if it starts to happen every time we get in over our head due to poor dice rolls, that'd be a shame.

Not that I actually expect this to become an issue--you've been pretty good about keeping consequences for actions plausible thusfar--but figured it'd be worth bringing up nonetheless.

Ran for much longer than expected today, but I had fun and I like to think you guys did too. Towards the end I started making a lot of mistakes but nothing too terrible thankfully. I completely forgot about the Duke but I managed my save roll. Dohohoho.

>>31905942
I mostly play Fate as my primary system and I think it's easy to see where a lot of that shows up here. It's particularly good practice for handling failures. I'll do my best to avoid the protagonist being invincible.

>>31905994
You could do more with describing things, like the castle and rabbit-wolf riding. Maybe also mention the kinds of specialties that the city is known for, since it was a festival.

>>31906026
Description has always been a weak point of mine yeah, I avoid clothing description as much as possible in particular. I'll try to work on that, next session should give plenty of opportunity.

I'd wager Tuesday starting around the same time, but I'm piss-poor at scheduling.

>>31906052
Superpowered crazy mode would have been much more powerful if we did, say a perspective flip, and you went into detail in exactly how unnatural the MC's movements were.

All the right emotions are there, and subtly implied. You just need to focus on the parts that are in-your-face.

>>31906052
Thanks for running Librarian.