>>32023566
>Snow fort

>>32023566
>Snowball Fight

>>32023566
>>Get a sled
Gotta go fast.

Save all the manual snow-moving amusements 'till we can do it all at once later on. Would rather not get our gloves too wet early on and end up freezing our hands off any longer than necessary.

And half the fun's in going downhill while the snow's still fairly pristine so you can carve out a good path to go down.

>>32023566
snowball fight

>>32023631
Changing my vote to
>Snowball Fight

"Snowball fiiiight!" You yelled, chasing Carna down the pillowy roads.

"Aaaaaahahahahah!" She laughed as you pelted her in the back of the head, she turned and returned fire on you, the snowball soared over your head.

In most games she always had an edge on you and she was a sore loser in the ones you won, but Carnas aim was never very good and you never really kept track of score during snowball fights, so it was always a good time for the two of you.

You padded together snow and tossed it at her, it smacked her in the face and she fell over backwards into the thick pile behind her.. you waited and she didn't move.

"Carna?" You stepped towards her, worried that something bad had happened... the worry was unfounded, when you reached your hand out to help her up, she grabbed it and pulled you down into the snow beside her, face first.

"Ahahahahaha!" She laughed childishly rolling around while you pulled yourself to a kneel to wipe snow off your face, "I want it to snow foreeeeever!"

You had fun on snow days, but for the most part, you had fun on any day she was with you. As soon as you'd rubbed the fluffy white off your face, you let yourself fall over backwards onto the cold, spreading your arms out and imprinting your body into it. She pulled herself over to her feet, only to fall again beside you. Her smile warmed away the creeping cold.

The marks you and Carna left on the white fields would vanish under more snow the next morning.

And so the dream ends.

>CONT

>Year 484 of the Raschan Calendar

Ten years ago you lost her, Carna; purer than any snow. Now ten years later, no blizzard will stop you from finding her.

Kita was cheap, short and simple. The caravan you were taking into the Belgrand borderlands kept little of the cold out as the horses pulled it through the roads. You and your companions sat around in warm outfits, even Yu'yen had his shirt buttoned up today.

The real oddity though was the extra body on this trip. You and your five classmates were to perform in the field as a team this month with Kita and his two demons leading you, but there were 10 bodies.

"So... nice weather huh." Henry awkwardly said aloud, seated beside Leona and across from you.

"Why're you here again?" Yu'yen asked.

"W-well! I don't have any leads on my mission rightnow so I justhought I'd tag along and showyouhowit'sdone!" His words stuck together towards the end. He rubbed the back of his messy brown hair and let out a forced laugh.

"Well, you can't see anything Kita does so it might be good to have an experienced Seeker in the field." Gin yawns as he steps over and curls up against Henry's crossed legs.

"Well, I think it's very nice of you to help us on your time off." Leona smiles to him.

"We might need it." Rein groans, pulling a blanket over her legs.

"NO PROBLEM AT ALL MISS!"

"You're loud..." Sheryl mutters after hearing Henry's outburst.

>CONT

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You'd gotten your short sword replaced before leaving, the broken Lunese katana wasn't doing things for you. Yu'yen had left early in the morning to procure some charges for your Lunese wand, giving you a quick run-down on how to load them. It seems magic powder was hard to come across, so you'd have to do with only so many shots.

"So um... guys, leeeeet's talk about something." Rein called the attention of the group, "Leeeeona, why don't you start."

"Um, er... I don't know, I think you should."

"No no, really. I think it's important that you tell them."

"Yeah but... Henry's here too! We didn't agree on that."

"What about me!?" The clumsy Seeker popped his head up, you imagined a tail behind him waggling like a dogs.

"Aaaa... well, how do we go about this. I don't know if it's a good idea to share..." Leona mumbled trying to find her words. You had a fairly good idea of what they were trying to convey.

"You're not pregnant or something are you?" Yu'yen looked at Leona, then he shifted his eyes to you.

"WHAT!?" Henry jumped to his feet, then tumbled over again immediately from the shaking of the caravan.

"Of course not! Nothing of the sort!" Leona shook her hands in front of her face embarrassed, Sheryl gave Yu'yen an elbowing in the side.

The sisters might not get anywhere explaining their situation if you leave it like that...

>'Confirm' Yu'yens guess before explaining the real situation
>Explain the situation
>Leave it to the girls

>>32024208
>Leave it to the girls

>>32024208
Deflect the situation for later.

so what weaves CAN we use during missions?

>>32024208

>'Confirm' Yu'yens guess before explaining the real situation

It's too good to pass up.

>>32024208
>'Confirm' Yu'yens guess before explaining the real situation

>>32024101
>Henry
I can tell this is going to be a good time.

>>32024208
>>Explain the situation
"I can think of at least one person who would be extraordinarily upset if that were the case.

Well, other than Rein."

I don't understand what you mean by 'Confirm' Yu'yens guess.

Yu'yen guessed that she was pregnant confirming that the guess was accurate, it would mean we tell everyone that she's pregnant.

>>32024336
Yes.

>>32024208
>Explain the situation

"She's not pregnant, she's just getting married." You cut short the confusion and straight to business.

"Oh, whew." Henry breathes out softly, "WAIT WHAT!?" He bounds back onto his feet, another turn of the caravan knocks him over.

"Could you explain this?" Sheryl looks over to Leona who tries to inconspicuously clean her glasses...

"So you ran away from home."

"Yeah..."

"To escape a wedding to a royal prince."

"Yeah..."

The sisters finish telling the others what they told you last night, Henry is huddled up in a corner.

"Well, certainly explains a lot." Yu'yen rubs his chin with his right hand, the elbow in the palm of his left, "I can't blame you, Belgran men are a bunch of ladies."

"He's not a lady, he's quite renowned with a blade." Leona retorts, "Handsome and clever too."

"Then why NOT marry him? I mean, I ran away from my engagement but frankly, my bride was a monster."

"Well..." Leona shrugs her shoulders, "It's not very romantic if someone else decides on your marriage, and wedding him would be wedding Belgrand even if he came into our family, I thought it'd be a lot more fun to explore the world outside a bit."

"As long as we avoid any prying eyes it won't even be an issue. Just keep your hoods about you while we're out there." Sheryl offers sensible advice. Somehow you don't think it'll be so easy, "We can work this out later," Sheryl says, "Right now I'm more curious about the mission at hand."

>CONT

You push past the curtain at the front of the caravan to see where Kita is seated, guiding the horses that lead the way. Sheryl pops her head out beside yours.

"About our job?" You ask him.

"Didn't I already tell you?" He takes his pipe out of his mouth to speak then puts it back inside immediately after.

"No."

"Well, it's a simple enough job but time consuming. Are you aware of how the noble houses contract demons?"

Sheryl shakes her head negatively.

"Well, since women inherit the households in Belgrand, having extra sons among the nobility isn't very handy. Being a stupid cold warrior nation and all, they have less qualms about using demons than Rascha does if it means an edge in battle. As it so happens, demons preserve in ice; when a boy comes of age and he doesn't look to be a suitable political tool, they thaw out a kept demon and contract him with it."

"So are we killing a contractor?" Sheryl asks.

"No. A particularly dangerous contractor died recently, natural causes I hear. The demon was recovered by Belgran sky knights and they're going to freeze it again. We want to capture it, as I understand it's been alive since The Vanishing Age and holds valuable knowledge."

"Do we need a whole month to do this?"

"Maybe not. We want to capture him while he's frozen but before he's stored, we just need to figure out when that short period is." Kita holds his pipe out and taps it, ashes topple out onto the snow, "It's an extended vacation other than that."

>CONT

You and Sheryl pop back into the caravan and tell the rest of your group what was explained.

"I just hope we can get it over with quickly..." Rein pulls her blanket over closer, for a woman from a snowy country she deals very poorly with cold.

"Agreed. I hate this place, it's cold, you can't see anything, the women are all bears." Yu'yen nods.

"I wonder if it'd be too risky to see some friends while we're down here..." Leona thinks to herself.

Anlak sits near the back of the caravan, watching the snow fall behind him. Sheryl takes a seat near the front, you can tell that she's giving the mission some thought.

"We just crossed the border, we'll be coming into a town fairly soon..." Henry mumbles to himself, still looking fairly dejected.

And you...

>Ask Henry about being a Seeker
>Discuss with Sheryl over the mission
>Talk to the sisters about the marriage
>Write-In

>>32025086
>>Ask Henry about being a Seeker
seriously OP, what weaves can we use?

>>32025148
Refer to
>>32024208
Also make suggestions of little things you'd like I guess. I've given virtually no thought to mechanics at all.

>>32025086
>Ask Henry about being a Seeker
>>32025148
Check the character sheet.

Rolled 91

>>32025086
>Discuss with Sheryl over the mission

So how exactly are we going to rob a country of its demons

>>32025168
>>32025175
ah, I haven't looked at the char sheet in forever.

can we use those weaves from a distance?

"Why did you become a Seeker?" You take a seat beside Henry, curious about the Seeker lifestyle.

"Eugh," Henry makes a disappointed noise when he sees you, "I didn't want to, they stuck me in here."

"Well that's a surprise." Yu'yen drops in his two-cents from nearby.

"I grew up in Deneb and accidentally came across some books I wasn't suppose to read..." Henry mumbles, a strained smile on his face and cold eyes beneath his hair, "The options were to get myself trained or... let the cats have my tongue."

"Scary." Yu'yen grimaces.

"I'm amazed all six of you signed up, I'd never want to be here if I had a choice. Half of the missions I'm sent on are suicide missions, the one I would be on right now if we had any leads is one..."

"What would that be?" You ask him.

"I'm supposed to track down a particular contractor and keep watch over them to report if they act out."

"Is that usual?"

"No, but it's a Rasci contract. Uuuuugh, worst part is that I'm on the mission because it's power is controlling other demons, which means that if I fight then I'm up against an army with nothing but a sword and shaky legs." Henry presses his face against the wall of the caravan, making pitiful sobs.

"A demon that controls other demons? I would not want to deal with that." Yu'yen leans over to you before whispering, "Even Sheryl's dad just left them out and ignored them, I guess contractors get a lot scarier than him huh."

You nod.

>CONT

"I just wanted to be a farmer, maybe write a book some day, marry a pretty bespectacled wife with nice hips and have a son and a daughter..." Henry slumps up against the floor...

Before long, your caravan arrives at it's first stop. Though still early and not quite in need of rest, it seems that you'll be taking a break here while Kita looks for information.

Stepping out of the caravan, you see the town stretch out before you. Despite a fairly heavy snow, the civilians are completely undaunted, tough-looking people stroll about in thick jackets, talking to each other through the white as if it wasn't there at all. You wear your spy hood over your cold winter clothing, unfortunately it doesn't do well to keep you inconspicuous or block out the cold of Belgrand.

"There's an inn over here, let's warm up first." Leona runs some steps ahead, showing off her northern blood, not bothered in the slightest by the frost. You follow her, as do the others...

The inside of the inn has a rustic look to it, most inns are just places of rest in Rascha but from what you know, every town has an inn with a pub and then a pub with a distillery in Belgrand. Women in armours and animal pelts sit around the tables drinking merrily, comparing tales of recent conquests over men and beasts.

"I'm telling you, all the women are bears." Yu'yen whispers to you as you step inside.

A scrawny fellow mans the counter, Leona talks to him about getting a table.

>CONT

>>32025834
How much you guys want to bet a Belgrand women tries to claim us?

When you're seated, you're met with a handsome young lad as your waiter, the distaff counterpart to the pretty young waitresses back home. He asks for your orders in a soft voice.

"Okay, some hot wolf-fang soup for everyone and a pitcher of..." Leona is interrupted during her order by Rein grabbing the menu out of her hand.

"No drinking, we'll have wolf-fang soup for everybody and warmed water flasks."

Kita aside who vanished away as soon as you landed, everyone including Henry sits around awaiting the orders when the serving boy walks away. A crackling fire flaps about beside you.

"Uuuurgh, we're not even near the capital yet and it's freezing." Rein mashes her fists against the table lightly.

"We've lived here nineteen years, are you still not used to it?" Leona giggles.

"Cold is cold."

"I hope it doesn't get worse, how're you not bothered?" Yu'yen turns to you, you give him a shrug.

"Well I'm dressed properly, without my belly button showing." Sheryl takes a jab at your Lunese friend, she wears a heavier cloak than usual and you can see fur all inside. It looks vaguely familiar...

"We'll need to get some new outfits before we continue forward," Rein says, "It only gets colder from here. I think Leona, Sheryl and Henry will be fine. I'll take the rest of you to grab some things."

"I don't need anything." Anlak says dryly, as the server boy returns with bowls of hot soup.

"Yes, you need new clothes the most!"

>CONT

Anlak doesn't seem to be dressed any different from usual, but in the first place the amount of cloth layered on him is something. His lengthy white hair hangs over his ears, little drips of melted snow coming off of it. If he's bothered by the cold, he doesn't show it.

"He looks warm enough to me." Yu'yen peeks over at the stone-faced Daktori.

"That's not the problem! He stands out way too much, it's not a big deal out here but he'll grab the heads of every lady in the capital if he's dressed in Daktori cloth."

"Ooooh, jealous that tall-dark-and-handsome might attract some bear ladies?" Yu'yen leans into the table with a smirk.

"NO! I mean that we're trying to avoid being seen by the knights. Our mother is Unicorn Commander, word will get out right away. He needs a haircut and some proper clothing."

"When was the last time you had your haircut anyways?" You ask Anlak, looking at the mess on his head.

"Kran cuts it... sometimes."

You hold back your snickers and finish your meal...

"Well then, I'll watch over the caravan with Sheryl and Henry. You take the others in preparing for the cold." Leona tells Rein as you leave the inn, "We'll meet again an hour?"

"I guess so. Anlak, Yu'yen and..." Rein turns to you, she takes a pause and places her hands on her hips, "Actually, I'm already familiar with your jacket size. Should I just get one for you?"

>Go with Leona, Henry and Sheryl. No point wasting energy.
>Go with Rein, Anlak and Yu'yen. She doesn't know pockets.

>>32026179
>Go with Rein, Anlak and Yu'yen. She doesn't know pockets.

>>32026179
>Go with Leona, Henry and Sheryl. No point wasting energy.

>>32026179
>Go with Rein, Anlak and Yu'yen. She doesn't know pockets.

POCKETS FOR THE JACKET THRONE

>>32026045
> she wears a slightly heavier coat than usual and you can see fur all inside. It looks vaguely familiar...

Chance?

>>32026179
>Go with Rein, Anlak and Yu'yen. She doesn't know pockets.

>>32026450
Always and forever

>>32025168
>Also make suggestions of little things you'd like I guess.
Seeing as we're intended to do extended field work eventually, we'd almost definitely be taught a weave to start a small fire, and it'd certainly be something we could find in a book of simple weaves as well.

As far as weird niche things that could come in handy but may or may not be reasonable for us to have access to:
Some sort of disjointed sight/sound/other sense spell for spy work.

A (probably hidden?) mark for trail blazing and/or designating points of interest.

>>32026179
>Pockets are love. Pockets are life.

>>32026515
RIP CHANCE?!?!

You let Rein lead the way, only to quickly find yourself lost.

"I thought you were taking it to get new jackets."

"Well I've never been in this town before!" She yells back at you. With how gung-ho she was you'd assumed she'd known where she was going, but her poor sense of direction strikes again.

"Belgran women." Yu'yen shakes his head. The four in your group stand about awkwardly between one of many snow-covered streets, it's clear from their height relative to the sides of the building that someone had been shovelling snow but their efforts were tucked under quickly.

"Well, they speak Raschan here so we just need to look for a sign." You keep your eyes peeled, but it's hard to see through the flurry.

"Maybe we should just ask someone for directions..."

"Your s-squinty eyes are good for nothing Yu'yen." Rein hits him in the side weakly as the cold starts to creep in on her, "We're trying not to get noticed."

"Ah, Belgrand is a big place. The odds of you finding someone you know are next to nothing."

"Rein, is that you?" An unfamiliar voice calls out. The timing is lost on you.

"Huh?" Rein turns to meet the sound calling to her, her head turning upwards...

Coming down on white wings, a young woman descends riding a pegasus. Her armour looks light but it's practically placed, protecting all the parts that her mounts body wouldn't if shot at from below. An iron helmet sits on her head, there's a wing motif to it.

>CONT

>>32026641
Either he's stuffed in there and is the world's most cooperative dog, or the fur we think we recognized was the pelt Kita shaved off of Gin from last thread.

The woman lands her flying horse nearby, she doesn't take any time to tie it up after dismounting it and before running over. Looking closely, you can see some padding in her armour to help steel against the cold, she's a lot shorter off the pegasus than on it.

"I knew it was you, it's me," She takes her helmet off, medium blonde hair popping out, her eyes a bright blue, "Amelia."

"Oh, Amelia! It's been so long, we haven't seen each other since we learned how to fly!"

"I thought for sure I'd see you among the sky knights, what with your mother being who she is and all; but you just kind of vanished shortly after we graduated the academy."

"So that's where the bear honed it's claws..." Yu'yen whispers to you.

"So, introduce me to your friends." Amelia puts her hands behind her back, holding the helmet. She looks like a sweet girl, you gather that they're the same age but she appears a fair deal younger.

"Oh, these are my friends from The Se-"

"Mercenary troupe, she decided to travel the Raschan mainland after graduation." You catch Rein's words before they give you away.

"We're The Sellswords." Yu'yen follows you up, "Had a job in the area, looking for winter gear in town. You know of any?"

"Oh, I can take you right there!" Amelia tilts her head just a bit to the side, "No girls though? Men don't seem too cut out for the battlefield to me."

"I promise that our blades are well-honed miss."

>CONT

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>>32026804
>"I promise that our blades are well-honed miss."

Hue

Amelia leaves her pegasus unattended, insisting that it can watch itself while she walks you to where you need to be.

"I got positioned here flying near the borders, a lot of brigands this time of year. Nobles are always taking trips to Rascha during the winter and they can make for easy prey, I heard last week that a bunch of bandits captured a young lord and used him until his thingee fell off."

"Like bears." Yu'yen groans.

"Is it really okay for you to leave your pegasus unattended?" You ask Amelia.

"It's fine, they're a lot smarter than land horses. If any unfamiliar ladies come by he'll fly, and men can't ride pegasi anyways."

"Why's that?"

"No one knows." Rein shrugs.

"I have this theory friend. I think that all pegasi are covert perverts. They hate the feel of a man's nethers on their back and react by booting them off, when a woman rests against their mane though, they ride in a way so that they can feel the gentle bits of flesh bouncing against their back." Yu'yen wraps his arms around your shoulders as he tells you about his thought.

"I will rearrange your nethers so that they bounce off your chest." Rein cracks her knuckles.

"Your friends are so funny Rein." Amelia giggles, "So, which one are you seeing?"

'Huh!?" Rein gasps before choking on her own breath, thinking quickly you...

>Declare yourself her boyfriend
>Thumb at Yu'yen
>Thumb at Anlak
>Keep quiet like a gentleman

>>32026932
>Keep quiet like a gentleman

Thinking quickly we decide to shut the hell up

>tfw I forgot Anlak was with us

>>32026932
>Keep quiet like a gentleman

>all of us

>>32026932
>Thumb at Anlak
We need to make this work!

>>32027017
Throwing Yu'yen into the fray would be hilarious. But I'm curious what she's going to say.

>>32026664
>Keep quiet like a gentleman

>>32027140
We are duty bound as player to not encourage railroading.

Rein catches her breath again and objects in a panic, "None of them! I'm not seeing any of them!"

"Really?" Amelia slides herself over by Yu'yen, "Good looking but I don't think he's your sort..."

She twirls over beside Anlak and inspects him, "Real muscular, maybe after a haircut and a clean set of clothes he'd look nice with you but I doubt your mother would take kindly to it either way..."

She skips over beside you, her face is uncomfortably close as she scans you up and down, you can see her cold breath touching the cloth of your cloak, "Not bad at all, he seems kind of bookish though. That Raschan blood really puts some nice features on the face though..."

"Would you please stop it." Rein hides her face embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm just teasing. You had a real crush on that prince anyways didn't you? You were sooooo jealous when Leona got engaged to him." Amelia backs off from you as you arrive at the clothing store, you open the door and let everyone enter before you.

"Like a bear, sniffing it's prey. That's what she is, one of those small brown bears that looks cuddly until she claws your face off." Yu'yen whispers as he slips by you.

When you enter you make way quickly to the jackets, eager to find one with appropriate pockets before Rein picks one for you. Yu'yen browses beside you and Anlak just waits by the door, ready to wear whatever he's told to wear.

>CONT

We seriously need more Weaves.

Can we at least have some kind of air blade or a better illusion spell?

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The two women talk to each other happily, you don't pay much mind to their conversation but the little giggles and in-jokes you catch but don't understand tell you how close they once were.

Thinking back on it, Rein had nothing to gain leaving Belgrand for Rascha, all she was doing was following her run-away sister. She had to have left a lot of people behind, family, friends, even some girlish crush.

You pick out a cloak out from the pile with thick padding and deep pockets. A winter cloak sturdy enough to brave a blizzard. Yu'yen takes a similar one and each of you pay, you note that how much cheaper things are here than they are in the Raschan Kingdoms.

Rein grabs a cloak for herself and a large one for Anlak, as well as a few other things for him to change into to not draw attention to himself. She drops coin over to the man minding the shop before shooing him away to a changing room.

"Well, it was nice seeing you but I've really got to go do my rounds." Amelia gives Rein a hug before leaving while you await Anlak.

"Alright. Don't tell anyone I'm here, I want to surprise them." She sends her friend off at the door before turning back to you.

"I suppose even bears have their den." Yu'yen observes as Amelia exits.

"You should put that joke into hibernation."

"Keep your paws off friend."

Anlak returns shortly afterwards, he's got a different look to him. Dark leather armour on his chest and legs, his arms free to move under a black cloak.

>CONT

"There, better. Now here, let's get that hair tied back..." Rein moves herself behind Anlak and raises her arms, holding a small cloth in a hand. She sweeps his bangs back and ties his hair into a ponytail. He keeps an annoyed look on his face the whole way through.

Only leaving cloaks, you, Rein and Yu'yen are ready to leave the store as soon as Anlak is prepared..

"Alright, hop inside. We're heading to Iceondas." Kita awaits you when you return to the caravan.

"Where's that teach?"

"Some town up the way, they're transporting the demon from there, you don't need to know how I found out. We're going to wait around there until they leave with it then trail them to their freezer."

"Is it a bad location for you?" You ask Leona.

"No, it's a ways away from home and the capital so I don't think we'll run into anyone." This job might go without a hitch.

You hop into the caravan and set out once more. With some time to kill, you reach into your bag and produce the gift Ianc gave you, a book of simple weaves. Penned in clear Raschan with well-illustrated images of the motions you'll need to take, you think you'll be able to get down the basics of one spell on your way to your destination. The introductory chapter seems to include some simple spells on elements...

>Ember, release fire from the tips of your fingers at close range.
>Blade, make a small cut at a distance with air. Not very deadly.
>Chill, create a momentary cold area in front of you about a cubic metre wide.

>>32027833

>Ember, release fire from the tips of your fingers at close range.

FINALLY

>>32027833
>Ember

It makes the most sense here, right?

>>32027833
>Ember, release fire from the tips of your fingers at close range.

>>32027833
>Chill, create a momentary cold area in front of you about a cubic metre wide.

Would help with keeping the demon contained

>>32027833

>Ember, release fire from the tips of your fingers at close range.

Bet you a pouch of birdseed that Leona and Rein's mother is personally overseeing the transfer.

>>32027833
Shouldn't we already know some of these from that month of training?

>>32027923
> birdseed
We'll never let it go will we?

>>32027833

ember

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You cup your four fingers forward as if holding some small container, bringing them in close but not enough to touch your palm. Your thumb sits upright. Slowly you bring it forward, then flick it inward towards the ball of your hand... nothing. You repeat it from the start, then again and again, cursing Masoch in your hand for spending most of the training month on theories rather than practice. Who needs magical ethics anyways.

"What're you doing?" Yu'yen leans in close watching you twiddling your fingers like an idiot. Draw your fingers, keep them even, don't touch your palm, raise your thumb, pull inward... and press.

From the gap between the tip of your thumb and your fingers, a small flame erupts. Yu'yen leaps back in a panic when it does, "WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU DOING FRIEND!?"

You observe the flame in your hand, you can feel the warmth but it doesn't flicker onto your skin, it sits invisibly in the air before you. You wave your free hand just over it to feel the heat, and move your weaving hand around to watch the flame follow...

When you open your palm again, the fire vanishes.

"Heeeello? Are you listening?" Yu'yen sits cross-legged in front of you, "We're on a wooden caravan, don't go lighting... how in the world did you light a fire anyways!?"

"Studying and practice." You wave your book around.

"Did you really just sit there for two hours practicing a weave off a book?" Yu'yen looks at you surprised. You're caught off guard by the time you spent.

>CONT

>>32028071
>Draw your fingers, keep them even, don't touch your palm, raise your thumb, pull inward... and press.
Oh hey. It's a lighter. Literally a lighter.

This is funnier than it has any right being.

The caravan stops before you can try another spell, it's probably for the best you practice this one until you can do it without thought anyways, less you screw up when you need it most.

Your mind jumps back just a second to the fight with Quan'tran.

Iceondas is a larger town than the one you'd just left, which's name has already escaped you. The snow still falls but it's thinner around here, and you can make out the shape of a fortress at the end of the town nearby.

"Irondale is past that fortress, I'm not sure but I'd wager they'll take the demon there." Leona strolls up beside you, catching you staring into the distance.

"Why would that be?" Sheryl comes up your other side.

"Irondale is the oldest of Belgrand's house, it was the first to swear fealty to The Murder Princess when she seceded from the Raschan Kingdoms. The land around there is unnatural cold, even compared to the highest peaks of Belgrand, they say an ancient Rasci serves the house, keeping away all unworthy visitors."

"Unnatural cold and an ancient Rasci. That's probably the place." Kita slinks in under your arm, blowing smoke upwards.

"The coldest place in Belgrand and we have to trail a caravan through it!?" Yu'yen groans.

"Actually, they'll be taking it by sky. We'll be following from the ground."

"I hate Belgrand. I hate Belgrand so much."

>CONT

>>32028223

I'm kinda starting to agree with Yu'yen.

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>>32028223

Hey Librarian, can this be what the Wand looks like?

So about that fight with Quan'tran, is it wrong to assume everyone knows about us fighting like we were possessed?

>>32028384
That looks nothing like a flintlock.

Despite being bigger, the town has a more solemn atmosphere than the previous one. Where-as the other welcomed you into the region, Iceondas reminds you why Belgrand is so well-known for its miltary. Men move in an organized fashion keeping the streets cleared faster than the snow can cover them, and powerful looking women walk down the steps tossing directions out as they go about their business.

"For our business, we need to figure out where this demon is being kept before we trail it from here to Irondale. Since Henry is with us..."

"Hey." Henry waves to Kita.

"That makes for eight of us in total. I'll take three of you and someone will be captain of the other squad."

"Alright, I'll take Anlak, Sheryl and L-L-L-" Henry's tongue ties on his last choice of team mate.

"Actually, I think I'll leave one of the students in charge. They should get used to these things... and frankly Henry, you're an awful leader." Kita berates the shy Seeker before taking in a long draw of his pipe, when he blows it out, he points the pipe and one finger in your direction, "You'll be the leader, you've got that look to you..."

"What look?" You ask him.

"Male, Raschan. You should be good at giving people orders." You don't hear any humour in his voice when he tosses his stereotype on you. Even so, he named you leader. You...

>Pick the three of...
>...Anlak
>...Henry
>...Leona
>...Rein
>...Sheryl
>...Yu'yen

Man, I typed out a post, went out for a smoke, then came back to realize that I mistyped the captcha.

>>32028523
>...Anlak
>...Henry
>...Sheryl
Srs Business squad is a go cause this is serious business

>>32028523
>Leona
>Yu'yen
>Anlak

>>32028523
>>...Yu'yen
>>...Rein
>>...Anlak

>>32028546
I think Google made captcha harder.

>>32028523
>...Yu'yen
>...Sheryl
>...Anlak

>>32028523
>Yu'yen
>Leona
>Rein

Twins because they're natives, Yu'yen cause he's a bro.

>>32028523
>...Yu'yen
>...Sheryl
>...Rein

>>32028523
I'm inclined to go with
>Anlak
>Henry
>Rein
(or switch Anlak/Rein for Yu'yen/Leona and try to manage Henry's tripping all over himself as best we can.)

If nothing else, I'm pretty sure we should at least try to have at one native in each group.

>We need a twin.

>Rein needs to stay wih Anlak.

> Henry needs to stay seperated from Leona because hue

How should we do this

>>32028588
I change Anlak to Sheryl.

>>32028863
If those are your criteria, pretty sure the only split is Rein/Anlak/Henry and Yu'yen/Leona/Sheryl

>>32028831
I can agree with this.

I just hope Henry can shine through this and not be a total clutz

>>32028863
>Rein needs to stay wih Anlak.
Why? No she doesn't

>Henry needs to stay seperated from Leona because hue
Why? No he doesn't.


I'm voting
>Yu'yen
>Sheryl
>Rein

>>32028903
I was going to abstain but this sounds good. We're having the second group of course.

>>32028863
Leona is a big girl, she can take care of herself. Remember how she bitch slapped us onto the floor?

>>32028523
>>...Rein
>>...Sheryl
>>...Yu'yen

I actually started writing but then more votes popped up, I'll count it from here I guess and adjust accordingly.

>>32028831

I understand not putting Henry with Leona because he's an idiot and she makes him even more of an idiot.

We need to keep the twins seperated because each group needs someone that's from here.

I don't understand why people think Rein and Anlak need to stay together. Let's switch Anlak with Yu'yen.

>>32029016
You should remember to put the cut off.

"I guess I'll take Rein, Sheryl and Yu'yen then." You decide that it's best to keep a sister in each party, then take Sheryl and Yu'yen for their compatibility with you.

"Then I will lead Anlak, Henry, and Leona through the east side of this town. You'll be taking west." Kita crosses his arms and nods, you can hear his mumbles, "Whew, got all the easy to manage ones."

"Hey." Rein taps a foot at your lazy teacher, his response being to walk away. Leona waves your group goodbye as she leaves with Anlak strolling off wordlessly ahead of her, Henry tags along behind Kita voicing complaints about not being trusted enough.

"Shall we?" You turn to the three left under your command before leading to the west side of the Iceondas...

The streets of the town blur together as you walk, there're no clear landmarks to be had and you only keep yourself well-adjusted by reading each sign that you pass, you keep your ears open for the whispers among the townsfolk to see what you can glean.

"Look over there." Rein tugs on your sleeve as you turn a corner, pointing ahead. You each turn your eyes in the direction where a group of sky knights stand about with their pegasi behind them, in front of them you see a fellow in nobleman's fashion, the cloth is thin but he doesn't look any cold at all.

>CONT

>>32029058
I'm not used to getting a lot of votes admittedly.

>>32028937
On the second thread QM decided that the romantic pairings would be:
Anlak + Rein
Sheryl + Yu'yen
Leona + MC

The character of Henry was created for the sole purpose of making the players feel threatened and push us closer to Leona. Hence why he has a thing for her.

The ending has already been decided by the QM, player agency be damned. This quest does have good writing. But, more the quest goes on, the more predetermined it seems. Like we don't actually have as much choice in where the story goes as we're lead to believe.

Normally I don't rant in a quest but this has been bugging me for a while.

"...I expect it to arrive by midnight, any longer than that and I will have to freeze the gates." His hair is a bluish white, his eyes like ice.

"What thieves would want to brave the ice roads at night to plunder your worthless castle?" One of the sky knights jeers at the man, a slight tan to her skin, "Don't speak down to us lordling, your household has yet to turn out any heirs."

"Don't speak down to me birdie, or I shall freeze those wings of yours and shut your beak right up."

"Why you..." The sky knight packs her fist and lifts it, swinging at the man in front of her, but just an inch off his face her hand stops... it freezes, ice clutching all around her arm.

"First the wings..." He whispers coldly.

"You wretched coward, I am a knight and I will not have some no-name noble looking down on m-" Her words are cut short as she waves her frozen arm around when the man steals her lips in a kiss. When he pulls off, you can see them sealed tight with a bluish tint to them.

"Then the lips." He turns around and tosses a handkerchief from his chest pocket behind him, "Get her some hot water quickly before the frost sets in."

"What was that?" Yu'yen whispers.

"That would be the current contractor prince of Irondale, he wields the beast of winter."

"We don't have to fight him do we?"

"With any luck no, I'm told he doesn't care for conflict. Let's keep a close eye on those girls."

The Sky Knights begin to drag their friend off, you follow behind them.

>CONT

Trailing behind them into an inn, you two drag the half-frozen girl into the kitchen swiftly while one stands at the counter explaining the situation to the innkeeper. You take seats near the kitchen waiting to make your next move.

"I guess these girls are taking the demon up, but I don't see it anywhere." Sheryl watches the knight at the counter make way to the kitchen.

"There'd be more than four guarding it, they're probably meeting the others somewhere else."

"We have to meet them where they freeze the demon, so we just need to figure out how to do that." Yu'yen leans back sighing, "I hate this place."

"What're our ways up towards Irondale?" You ask Rein.

"Well, Sheryl, Leona and I can fly but the rest of you are grounded so you'll have to take the path."

"That lord walks up and down the path every time he meets someone? That's awful." Yu'yen groans again.

"No, he just takes the bridge. There's a fair chasm between here and an easier walk to the castle, with his powers he can create a bridge in front of him then drop it behind him when he crosses."

"If we run now, we can chase after him..."

"Except he'll see us and drop us down a hole, idiot." Sheryl sighs at Yu'yen.

You think over your options...

>Try to catch the Sky Knights and find answers
>Attempt to follow the lord
>Take the mountain path
>Write-In

>>32029619
>>Take the mountain path

>>32029300
Anlak and Rein is the only thing I'm admittedly playing at in terms of pairing. The others are whatever. Henry's purpose has nothing to do with Leona, I just like the character type.

I don't actually have an ending in mind, but I will admit that I am guiding towards something. You're right to be bothered that things are fairly linear, but I promise that I'm running noteless. Rather, I have a Point A which is the start of the quest, a Point B which I'm working towards and whatever's inbetween and after is mostly, "Here's stuff to do." I will do my best to try and make future scenarios more open in scale.

>>32029619
>>Take the mountain path

>>32029619
>Take the mountain path

>>32029300
I can't actually remember the last time it still felt plausible that Sheryl and Yu'yen were going to be a thing, and I feel like the 'predetermined' feeling comes from threads being episodic, with frequent time-skips.

That said, it's a pretty rigid setting in general: From thread 1 there was an established character motivation, and "train with this organization" as the means to that end. We've got a bit of wiggle room, but for the most part interacting within that structure is the entire point. Having absolute sandbox-style agency probably WOULD be interesting, but there's nothing wrong with interpersonal-relations-and-character-development-via-adventures every now and again either.

>>32029619
>Take the mountain path

>>32029619
>Take the mountain path

"We'll take the mountain path up." You don't need to try anything risky, Kita probably has a plan in mind.

The Sky Knights exit with a towel wrapped around the cold-bitten knight's arm, one of them carrying the arm-guard that was on it earlier. You leave the tables quickly after they exit, raising some heads but not any that matter as you follow them out.

The knights make their way back over to their pegasi, mounting themselves up but taking the streets rather than starting into flight. You continue your chase until they come to a stop near one of the few distinct, more rich looking places in town; an inn carved of white stone and decorated nicely with a horse-headed gargoyle over the entrance. A few more pegasi parked near-by tell you that there're more knights inside. You follow them in after they enter.

"Agh fuck that guy." The cold-bitten knight spits as she's helped into a seat where other sky knights wait, "Why do we have to do this job anyways?"

"If we leave the demon out for too long it might cause trouble, we have to keep it imprisoned until a new contractor shows up."

"We're proud warriors, we don't need stupid demons to win our battles."

"You saw first hand how scary they can be didn't you? Just quiet down before those lips of yours topple off."

"If you girls are done..." A woman with long curly brown hair speaks, she looks older than the others, the helmet sitting in front of her has two wings on each side in contrast to the others ones.

>CONT

The knight closest to her reaches under the table and takes out a large steel lock box to place on top of it. The box is chained up tightly.

"We'll be transporting the demon at night now that you've confirmed with the lord, three hours before midnight in case we run into problems. Four fly at the front, three in the back, spread out to check our flanks. Use the usual procedure in case of dragons and rally closely if we meet bandits. Understood?" The evident captain speaks firmly.

They all nod to her short briefing before reaching their the mugs in front of them.

"Then enough of that, we drink!" She drops her tight attitude and grabs an ale, lifting it up and calling for cheers. They follow her lead.

"Drinking before a flight is such bad practice..." Rein mumbles.

"Can't we steal it now?" Yu'yen groans, "It seems they have it wrapped neatly in... whatever that box is."

"Kita said we have to take it when it's frozen." Sheryl scolds him.

"Well, we got the time. How about we return to the others and get ourselves ready?"

It's not a bad idea since your job is done, they'll be here for awhile yet. Then again, some liquor in them might make them more likely to tell you what you want to hear.

>[Alacrity] Join the table and try to discover their plans.
>Regroup with the others and prepare for the mission

Rolled 11

>>32030334
>[Alacrity] Join the table and try to discover their plans.

Rolled 4

>>32030334
>>[Alacrity] Join the table and try to discover their plans.

Rolled 3

>>32030334
>[Alacrity] Join the table and try to discover their plans

>>32030334
>[Alacrity] Join the table and try to discover their plans.

"Yu'yen, we're going in."

"Huh?" Rein looks at you confused, but Yu'yen knows exactly what you're doing. The two of you stand up and make your way over to the ladies as they drink, leaving the girls behind watching.

"Hello dames." Yu'yen starts the introductions, "My friend and I saw you from over by the door and we were hoping we could join you."

"Look at that captain, a couple of flimsy fellows from way out in who knows where want to join us! What do I tell them?" The ladies laugh among each other, more inebriated by some girlish atmosphere than what little drink they've consumed.

"Flimsy? Look at him, he's a fine example of Raschan pride! Show them a trick."

You nod to Yu'yen and stretch your fingers, you align them over the top of a bottle from your perspective, putting the tips of your index and your thumb together as if gripping it. You concentrate to separate reality away from your perspective, and casting your weave, you lift the bottle without touching it, a magical grip.

The ladies gasp in awe as you turn it, careful to keep your eyes at a point where it looks to you as if you're holding the 'tiny' bottle, filling up the captain's mug to full before setting the bottle down again.

"What was that? Got some little gobliny demon in you?" One of the girls claps.

"I'm a performing weaver." You tell her.

"Magic Fingers they call him. I'm his dashing assistant, though don't let that fool you, I know a trick or two as well."

>CONT

You pull up seats and spend some minutes pulling lines out of smutty books, begrudgingly flirting with them, filling their drinks up again and again. With any luck, you'll have an easier time stealing from a bunch of drunks.

"So bears..."

"What?"

"Beauties, where're you off to tonight?" Yu'yen presses ahead the conversation.

"Oh, just making a little delivery to Irondale." One of them answers, waving her mug around.

"Irondale, that's a dangerous place isn't it? The lord is possessed." You grab her hand and keep her drink from spilling, slyly guiding it back to the table.

"Ooooh, don't worry about me. Most of us are just standing guard at the gate. Only the captain has to meet him."

"Her and me." The cold-bitten knight growls.

Seven knights to the gate and only one inside, you'll need to remember that.

"Stop that, we shouldn't be gossiping about our business to outsiders." The captain yells to the girl who pulls her hand back away from yours in response, "There'll be plenty of time to talk after we return..." She shifts her gaze to you seductively. It looks like it's about time to make your exit.

You slip your hand behind your chair and bring all five fingers to a point, quickly you pull them in and then release them out, your hand in direction of an open window. A vague, loud noise goes off in the distance, turning heads.

"Ah, sorry! I think that was our caravan. Ransackers or something. Gotta go." Yu'yen grabs your hand and pulls you away.

>CONT

>>32030625
>>32030728

Smooth as fuck.

>>32030810
I would agree.

The knights look a little confused as you exit, but none of them go in pursuit. When you get outside, you spend a few minutes waiting around the corner for Rein and Sheryl to catch up.

"Really? You flirted with a bunch of girls for an hour?" Rein places her arms on her hips when they come across you.

"I'm still not following this plan..."

"Well Sheryl, what we just did was risk life and limb to gain an advantage. Most of those ladies will be guarding the gate of Irondale, making for an easy way into the castle." Yu'yen explains to her.

"We know where they're positioned, so when we identify the gate we can cross in somewhere else." You add.

"A castle should have some windows huh..." Sheryl nods. With your pieces in hand, you make way to regroup with the others...

"So that's their plan huh." Kita confirms with you when you get back.

"What'd your side find out?"

"I found out that I have a distaste for Belgran food and that Mr Henry is afraid of dogs."

"Wolves! That was a wolf and it makes no sense that someone would keep The Hound's brood on a leash!"

"What in the world did you guys do..." Rein looks over to Leona, who appears to be exhausted.

"We sat a restaurant for two hours ordering tea and biscuits." Leona sighs.

"I thought the sky knights might come our way. I guess not, ah well." Kita shrugs.

>CONT

Gonna end it soon tonight. I'm a bit out of it and we'll have to go longer than I'd like for any decent stopping point after.

"Well, we've a few hours to make preparations. There should be some hiking equipment in the caravan but if you're afraid of the cold then dress warmly. I recommend eating if you haven't, I have and it was awful." You didn't need to hear the last bit of Kita's experience.

Your clothes are warm enough, you know when they're going and where, and your efforts have procured you some extra information. There's not much in the way of preparing to do, maybe you could practice some more magic or see how the others are doing.

Leona and Rein wander away from the caravan, talking about visiting old sights. It seems they've been here before.

You can Henry trying to trail along desperately, but Sheryl seems to have caught him. She's prodding him for information about The Seekers, seemingly unaware of his desires and more interested in being professional.

Kita waits by the caravan, his demons rested near him looking no different than any animal. Yu'yen wanders over, you have no idea what they discuss.

And as always, Anlak just waits quietly for time to pass.

>Practice your ember weave
>Catch up with Leona and Rein
>Join Henry and Sheryl
>See what Kita and Yu'yen are up to
>Bother Anlak
>Write-In

>>32031078
>Practice your ember weave

>>32031078
>Practice your ember weave

>>32031078
>>Bother Anlak
We understand everyones feelings and disposition of this land, there must be more to Anlak we can find out.

>>32031078
>>See what Kita and Yu'yen are up to

>>32031078
>Catch up with Leona and Rein

>>32031078
>Catch up with Leona and Rein
or
>Practice your ember weave

I am indifferent

You find a place to sit where the snow hasn't covered, and put your mind to practising your weave. Fingers out, fingers in, thumb down. Fingers out, fingers in, thumb down. You repeat it, failing most of your tries and quickly letting go of the ones you succeed so that you can go and fail again. The brief moments the fire sparks brings you closer and closer to the level you want to achieve.

As you work on your weave, you see two children run by, leaving foot prints in the snow. The girl is a little older than the boy, by the looks of it they're likely siblings.

Fingers out, fingers in, thumb down. Fingers out, fingers in, thumb down. You keep yourself focused to your task, when you find Carna you're sure she'll be excited to see it.

Time passes by and soon enough you've gotten the trick down four of every five tries. It's not perfect, but even against the little flames the cold is reaching your fingers.

They weren't here long, the kids are already gone. You stick your hands in your pockets and make your way over to the caravan, ready to complete your mission on the same day you arrived.

And so, life goes on.

It's oveeer. My apologies, today's session was basically nothing happening. I've been pretty out of it today and I was iffy on running, but I can't run at any reasonable hour until Wednesday so I felt like I should try.

I maaaaay run tomorrow for a shorter session, but I'd have to start late and I don't think anyone would appreciate that so it's unlikely. I will try to post on the Twitter Monday or Tuesday about when next.

If you never hear from me again, assume I have been murdered. I am drinking an unfamiliar tea and every sip makes me feel closer to death. I'd stop drinking it, but I mean, what a waste of tea.

Anyways, thanks for playing. I will do my best to make next session worthwhile.

>>32031440
danke schön

>>32031440
Never waste tea. And, thanks for running.

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>>32031440
>I'd stop drinking it, but I mean, what a waste of tea.
This is a credo I can get behind.

Thanks for running.

>>32030728
So we can lift stuff based on perspective, and cause noises at a distance. How hard would it be to make either the flash or the bang of the flashbang?

Also, can we set the light or sound spell on delay, to activate where we used to be 10 seconds ago as we're running?

>>32031396
were those kids...real?