"That is no fair at all, we're fighting the slopes and you're flying!" Rein whined, keeping her feet in piles of snow to avoid slipping up against the ice.

"Yeah. I am flying aren't I." Kita tipped his body backwards and he floated away from you, when he came up beside Rein he floated around her a few times mockingly before tip-toeing away in the air.

The moon was out in the sky overhead, the night was cold but it was clear out here. The mountain path you were taking was large and clean, snow gathered on the sides practically formed walls. Your eyes could make out the shape of the castle near the top, it wouldn't be long before you arrived and everybody was thankful for that. The mountain here wasn't notably tall, but the cold was abnormal and you'd already spent an hour suffering it...

"Looks like they haven't arrived yet." It was right about the time the Sky Knights were meant to arrive on their white wings to deliver the demon. Your group of eight hid behind a pile of snow, watching carefully while planning your next move. Irondale Castle wasn't very large, and it was built near the peak of some out of the way mountain that offered nothing; the entire place carried an air of loneliness. The gate was wide open, but it was hardly inviting.

"Well, the plan was to sneak around the ladies and enter through the back... but I suppose if none of them are here yet we might want to wait inside." Kita brushed snow off of his hair.

>CONT

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"Through the front gate? That's a little..." Sheryls voice dropped.

"Well, you don't have to but I'm going on ahead." Kitas body faded from sight, leaving a black trail of mist where he was that quickly vanished as well. "I'll go ahead, the rest of you figure out what you're doing in the meantime."

"You are the worst teacher ever!" Rein swung her arms against the empty space that Kita stood in a moment ago, you see Kitas shape blur slightly against the snow where you focused, but he left no foot prints behind him as you lost track.

"Did he just... I can't believe he just left us out here." Yu'yen sighs.

"I can, let's get some work done." You flick your fingers and a small flame comes out on top, your group gathers around you; Anlak, Henry, Leona, Rein, Sheryl and Yu'yen.

>Go through the front before the knights arrive, work out a plan from there.
>Climb through the back of the castle
>Watch and wait for the Sky Knights before sneaking past them, there's no need to make haste

>>32129106
>>Climb through the back of the castle

"Even if they haven't arrived yet, we might catch some unwanted attention walking through the front. Let's make our way through around the back."

"Climbing. I hate climbing." Henry groans, "I shouldn't have come along, I've already had enough of Belgrand this year."

"Oh, you were here on your last assignment weren't you?" Leona peeks over at him.

"Yes! Beautiful place, can't have enough of it!"

"Well then, let's go." You stand up and lead the way around the castle, keeping a distance to obscure your trails...

It's not a long walk to get around Irondale, the castle is small and no guards stand ready. If you didn't know better, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume it abandoned with the piles of snow gathered on top of it.

Sheryl spots an open window, the room inside of it is unlit, Yu'yen takes the guess that someone left it open ages ago and forgot, the frost creeping up around it backs him up.

"Now how do we get up there." Your friend wonders, rubbing his gloved hands together. Wordlessly, Anlak produces a grappling hook from his bag, a trail of rope tied following behind it. He tosses it up once and it hooks on nicely to the side of the window, he tugs on it hard to confirm that it doesn't come off, before giving you a nod.

"I'll climb up first then." You grab a hold of the rope and begin scaling the side of the castle, the walls don't make the best of footing but your training has you well-prepared.

Sheryl follows behind you, then Anlak behind her.

>CONT

>>32129106
>Climb through the back of the castle

The insides of the room are dark and not any warmer than the grounds outside. You flick your fingers and hover a small ember above your hand, lighting the way.

"That's really helpful." Sheryl passes by in front of you while the others catch up, "Show me how to do it some time."

The room seems to be some storage, dust sits lightly upon forgotten blankets and unused furniture. You expect cobwebs against the stone walls, but it seems the spiders are afraid of the cold. Sheryl walks up to you holding a candle stick, you don't need her to tell you before you light it up.

Yu'yen is the last to climb the rope, and he pulls it in from the window, "I think I saw their shadows in the skyline, looks like we won't have as much time to play games in the dark."

"There isn't anyone at the door, let's move quickly." Leona whispers from the other end of the room, and you make way over to her. An old wooden door stands behind her, and it takes a minute of struggling against it to swing it open.

The castle hall are little warmer, but just as dark. There're ways left and right, and neither of them comes off as any more appealing than the other.

"I only found the one candle and you have your ember. We should split up into two groups and see what we can find. There're some torches in the bags but I don't think we should thin out more than that." Sheryl whispers, "How about three to you and four to the other?"

You nod and pick the two of...
>Anlak
>Henry
>Leona
>Rein
>Sheryl
>Yu'yen

>>32129849
>Sheryl
>Yu'yen

>>32130001
I can dig it

>>32129849
>>Leona
>>Yu'yen

>>32129849
>>Sheryl
>>Yu'yen

Sheryl passes the candle over to Rein before going to join you and Yu'yen.

"We'll take the left hallway and you take the right. Say we see what we can find in the next hour before we meet back here?" Rein suggests to your side and you nod in confirmation. Your groups part ways...

"S-Sure is quiet isn't it..."

"Yeah." You answer.

"I haven't seen any servants at all, it's really eery."

"Yeah." You answer again.

"You don't think any ghosts are going to pop out do you..?"

You're about to repeat yourself when Sheryl bumps into a suit of armour, the clang echoes softly in the hall. An arm clings up against yours.

"Yu'yen, would you please let go?" You do your best to calm down your shivering friend.

"Y-yeah. Right." Yu'yen stands up straight, his arms dart around the dark halls.

"Why would you possibly be afraid of ghosts? We fight demons and your father runs a slave ring." Sheryl frowns, unimpressed, "I bet you've seen countless dead bodies."

"All the more reason to be afraid dear Sheryl! Any one of countless people could hold a grudge over me after their deaths!"

"And follow you to an obscure freezing castle in Belgrand?"

"I'm not a ghost expert, which is exactly the problem! I understand demons, I don't understand ghosts."

"That's stupid. You're stupid." Sheryl sighs. The three of you continue walking with Yu'yen making little noises every so many paces.

>CONT

"All I'm trying to say is that when you worship the Goddess of Death, it pays well to maintain a healthy respect for the possibility of the living dead."

"We are about as far away from Daktori as is physically possible. If there were any necromancers around here, all of their zombies would freeze their limbs off and their skeletons would be buried under the snow."

"Could you two stop that for a second?" You open your hand and your fire vanishes, Yu'yen lets out half a yelp but Sheryl covers his mouth over with a hand. Down the corner of the hall, you spot a dim light coming out of one of the rooms. Silently, you stalk towards it and the other two follow you.

The entrance into the room appears larger close up than it did from your distanced angle, torches sit on the walls to the side of it giving off shallow light. No windows peek into the room, but a hole at the top provides some ventilation. At the far end on a lonely iron throne sits a familiar man, bluish white hair and eyes like ice. The contractor prince of Irondale sips at wine with one leg rested on the other, awaiting the sky knight captain bored.

"What is it, is it a ghost?" Yu'yen whispers to you from behind.

"It's not a ghost, now let me think..." The sky knights will be coming any time now, but...

>[Cunning] Try to maneuver into a better position to watch the coming meeting
>[Alacrity] You could try to work out a deal with the prince before the knight arrives
>Wait carefully
>Wait and watch nearby

Rolled 6

>>32130634
>[Cunning] Try to maneuver into a better position to watch the coming meeting

>>32130634
>[Cunning] Try to maneuver into a better position to watch the coming meeting

Rolled 2

>>32130634
>>[Cunning] Try to maneuver into a better position to watch the coming meeting

Rolled 6

>>32130634
>[Cunning] Try to maneuver into a better position to watch the coming meeting

>>32130634
Wow I'm more out of it than I thought, two of those options are the same damn thing.

>>32130715
And, we didn't pick either of them

You gesture to Sheryl and Yu'yen to follow as you duck into the room, keeping your steps silent. For a job like this, you were thankful to have them around; they were a fair deal better equipped for the roguish arts than your other classmates.

The room really had little in the way of hiding places, no pillars or ornaments that you could easily sneak behind, but the lit torches were far apart and the corners were blanketed in shadow. You make way over to one, a small misstep leaves a squeak and pulls the eyes of the prince over to you, but you freeze yourself... and he ends up shifting his glance away again. Just barely, you succeeded in getting in, but getting any closer will be too risky if his guard is up.

Your breaths are silent, you anxiously wait...

Stomp, stomp. The sound of greaves carries down the hallway. They grow closer until through the entrance, the sky knight captain enters. In her arms, a large steel lock box wrapped up in chains.

"How in the world does this woman carry that so easily...?" Yu'yen shuffles, trying to get a better look.

"I have arrived with the demon as we agreed upon, Contractor-Prince. I expect that you are prepared on your end to seal it?"

"Straight to business are you, hardly a free bird. So be it, bring it here and I shall enclose it in ice." The prince sips from his wine chalice before lets it slip from his fingers onto the ground beside him. An ounce of red fluid spills out onto the cold stone floor.

>CONT

"We have to steal away the demon after it's frozen but before it's sealed." Sheryl reminds you as you watch.

The sky knight captain marches towards the throne, you can see frost creeping out from the princes feet into the cracks of the ground; his ice sparkling and illuminated in contrast to natural cold. When it touches the spilled wine, the wine freezes into a crystal red. The captain kneels down before the throne, the the frost creeps from the ground onto the iron of her knee-guards. She stands up quickly again after setting down the lock-box and salutes.

"Well then..." The prince leaves the throne, he steps forward and touches the lock-box with just his pointer finger, and from the tip of it white mist escapes, swirling around and under the chains before pulling into them. There's a brief white flash, and when it fades the entire case is enclosed in a block of ice, "Another bird stripped of flight, another bird for the cages."

The captain salutes, "Thank you for your help again Contractor-Prince. We will be needing your help again soon."
The prince nods, he lifts his hand and the frost stuck to the floor pulls together into a large icy hand, lifting the lock box over it. He leaves the throne and steps towards the door, the hand and the captain following behind him.

"I think that's our chance." Sheryl looks over to you, her hand on her blade.

>[Cunning] Pursue the two, find a better opportunity
>[Alacrity] Blind the prince, run for the lock box
>Write-In

Rolled 6

>>32131159
>[Alacrity] Blind the prince, run for the lock box

>>32131159
How fast is Yu'yenand Sheryl? I'm thinking they can kite the captain while we khornate beserk the prince.

Rolled 9

>>32131159
>[Cunning] Pursue the two, find a better opportunity

Rolled 4

>>32131159
>[Alacrity] Blind the prince, run for the lock box
Just get it over with quickly

>>32131258
We cannot take on the prince.

>>32131283
I worded that poorly I know but there's one thing I know

We're a sneaky git

You break out from the darkness and weave your fingers, with a snap you sweep the dim room with bright light and run for the lock box.

The prince covers his face with one hand blinded, the other one swipes out in front of him and a blast of ice strikes the ground between him and you, coating the floor. The captain draws her sword in surprise, but when she steps forward she slips on the newly formed ice and ends up on her back.

You manage to maintain your balance against the surprise and slide your feet over the frost, grabbing the box. The living ice-hand lifts and bats at you, but a hard swing from Yu'yens staff shatters it into chunky bits.

"Hurry up!" Sheryl yells, and you skate on your boots over to the direction of her voice. Blasts of frost soar over from behind you, but none of them come quite close. The three of you escape out the entrance-way.

"I don't think they'll be dazed for long, let's move!" Yu'yen stays a few paces behind you and Sheryl, smashing empty armours on the knees and leaving them scattered across the floor to slow your pursuers. You pass the box over to Sheryl and free your hands, igniting the air above your right with an ember to light your path.

You twist down the first corner to the right, intent on making it back towards the meeting spot. With any luck, the others can find their way out.

>CONT

As you're about to reach the next corner, a blue-white blast soars beside your head and smashes up against the wall ahead. An icicle seeps out from where it hit and grows until it blocks the way. The contractor-prince makes slow strikes behind you, illuminated by the glowing cold that clings to the walls behind him.

"It is not often that I get visitors, do tell me you aren't leaving so soon." One hand sits in his pocket, the other sits momentarily at his side before he pulls it up over his head, white light trailing in its route before settling into the world, a rapier-shaped icicle.

"That's pretty cool." Yu'yen mutters. Sheryl shakes her head.

>[Cunning] Weave the blade away from the prince with a grip to stall him
>[Alacrity] Rush him before he gets to you, the longer you let him prepare the harder it'll be to handle him
>[Tenacity] Smash through the blockade and continue
>Write-In

Rolled 7

>>32131745
>[Cunning] Weave the blade away from the Prince
we keep weaving Sheryl and Yu'Yen rush to keep him off balance

Rolled 8

>>32131745
>[Tenacity] Smash through the blockade and continue

>>32131774
Wait should we smash through if we do he's still going to keep preparing whatever he's doing

>>32131745
>[Cunning] Weave the blade away from the prince with a grip to stall him

Your hands go forward and you pull your fingers together, aligning them to the image of the make-shift blade in the princes hand. You picture your strings wrapping around the blade and then whip your hand to the side, and the ice-sword whips to the side, smashing against the wall. The prince stumbles from the force but as he falls, ice wraps around his feet and a snowy pile grows up quickly behind him and pushes him back on his legs.

Not giving him a chance to breath, Sheryl whips a hand forward while the other clutches the box and from the wall adjacent to the prince a loud noise erupts. He lets out a yell and places his hands over his ears.

Another loud noise pops up behind you, and following it glass-like clatters on the ground. You turn to see the blockade broken, Yu'yens staff sitting in shaky arms, "Ready to go?"

The three of you run again unobstructed. A turn and then another, you can see the meeting spot in front of you. Anlak, Henry, Leona and Rein stand waiting, confused looks on their faces illuminated by the candle-stick.

"We kept hearing noises so we came back, could you ex-" Leona starts to talk, but she's interrupted by Sheryl passing the lock-box over to her. Sheryl grabs the door and pushes it open, she waves the others inside.

They all pile in quickly, and you catch a glimpse of the prince coming around the corner as you enter behind them.

>CONT

"Get the rope! Get the rope!" Yu'yen yells aloud.

"I don't understand, what's going on here!?" Leona bounces the frozen lock box in hand, the ice encased around it.

"We have the demon! Just run!" Sheryl explains in a rush. Anlak calmly tosses rope over the side of the window, securing the grappling hooked end on your side.

"There's not enough time for us to climb! Let's just jump!" Yu'yen changes his opinion quickly as the footsteps approach. You pile things against the door with Henry who bemoans the situation.

"I'm not jumping from this height!" Rein gets on the rope first and begins to lower herself down quickly, Leona follows suit.
A sharp noise comes from the door, and clear white seeps in from the cracks on the side of it, slowly infecting your little roadblock.
Henry turns and runs from the rope when he sees the white, Anlak gives you a nod before departing.

Sheryl is just about to take her turn when the door shatters like glass, coated in ice it falls apart like little bits. The old furniture you stuck up against it follows shortly. You're nearly out, you just need to...

>[Cunning] Stall the prince for a little bit longer
>[Alacrity] Jump out of the window, there's no time to waste
>[Tenacity] Smash the furniture against the prince before he sees you, he'll probably pursue you if you don't incapacitate him

Rolled 9

>>32132287
>[Cunning] Stall the prince for a little bit longer

Rolled 11

>>32132287
>Anlak gives you a nod before departing.

I guess we hold the line

>[Tenacity] Smash the furniture against the prince before he sees you, he'll probably pursue you if you don't incapacitate him

Contractor or Human still doesn't change the fact that Chairs fucking hurt

Rolled 5

>>32132287
>[Cunning] Stall the prince for a little bit longer

>>32132287
>[Tenacity] Smash the furniture against the prince before he sees you, he'll probably pursue you if you don't incapacitate him

>>32132287
>>[Tenacity] Smash the furniture against the prince before he sees you, he'll probably pursue you if you don't incapacitate him
If he notices the window's our escape route, he can seal it off with ice. Not only does that stop our escape, but it also endangers anyone still descending on the rope, depending on how the frost interacts with it.

Stalling isn't going to be enough to keep him from noticing the escape plan; we need to draw his attention in a more active way.

>>32132287
>[Tenacity] Smash the furniture against the prince before he sees you, he'll probably pursue you if you don't incapacitate him
Isn't smashing a chair on him the same as stalling him? Only with more pain.

>>32132432
We're trying to knock him out with a WWE style sneak attack then we're fleeing when he goes down

"You two go first." You tell Sheryl and Yu'yen, giving a quick look over the room dimly illuminated by the candle sitting on an unused table.

"But what're you going to do?" Sheryl stops.

"Just trust him, alright!?" Yu'yen picks her up and slings her over a shoulder before hopping through the window, gripping the rope in one hand as you lose sight of him.

You smile to yourself as you pick up a chair and blow out the candle before taking a deep breath to prepare yourself. You crouch low and try to keep yourself hidden.
One of the tables you propped up against the door freezes over and shatters, and then the stool behind it, and the emptied chest against the stool. Frost dances into the room, lighting up the princes path.

"The winter has come and soon you'll freeze, little bird." He steps inside, his magic drawing icy spirals up against the wall and carpeting the ground in snow.

"Sorry, I'm taking flight for the winter." You stand up from the shadows and put all your strength into your arms, you swing fiercely at the contractor-princes head. His eyes widen in surprise and a wall of ice forms between you and him...
But it's not enough. You smash through the ice losing bits of your chair, but you carry your force through. The ice creeps from the wall and up your arms onto your shoulder, but the wood connects to his head, slamming into him hard. His body flies out the door and into the wall behind him.

Your arm loses all strength, you drop the remaining bits of chair.

>CONT

You take a second, listening carefully to confirm his breath. The contractor-prince is alive, but out cold, out of cold.

You turn and carry yourself over to the window. Climbing over the side and gripping the rope with your limp arms. You slide yourself down, the shapes of the others awaiting you below. Unceremoniously, your feet touch the snow.

"Did you..." Sheryl looks at you with anticipation, you give her a nod while you dust ice off your shoulders.

"Told you!" Yu'yen smacks you across the back, "No time to celebrate though, that lady captain is probably mobilizing her fliers right now. Let's run before we have pegasi following us."

"I wonder if we can beat them down the mountain trail..." Leona catches her breath between her mitts while she talks.

"We could wait for them to start searching then steal some pegasi out from under them." Rein cuts in.

"Whoooa, that's some hot-blood coming off of you." Yu'yen raises a brow at Rein impressed.

"I just don't want to take the trail again. We only have three girls who can steer them but... well, we'll work something out."

"Where is Kita?" The first words out of Anlak in hours catches your attention, "Should we wait for him?"

"I'm sure he has an escape route but... he might already be miles away." Henry slumps up against the snow.

>[Cunning] Try to catch some pegasi
>[Alacrity] Avoid the sky knights and take the trail
>Wait for Kita
>Write-In

>>32132776
>[Alacrity] Avoid the sky knights and take the trail
This seems most sensible.

Rolled 12

>>32132776
>>[Cunning] Try to catch some pegasi
This is too interesting not to try, even if it is the more uncertain plan.

>>32132776
Kita's target is probably the prince himself which means we should really start booking it but at the same time the Sky Knights are used to this weather they would be able to track us hmm...

>[Cunning] Try to catch some pegasi

We may have to steal one of their advantages their mobility and experience here is important. So I guess we take their mobility

Rolled 5

>>32132776
>>[Cunning] Try to catch some pegasi

>>32132822
Guess we caught us some legendary pegasi with that roll.

>>32132885
And we're a guy too time to prove a urban myth wrong. While probably fufiling like 18 different prophecies.

>>32132885
It was a Cunning roll rather than Alacrity, so I suppose it's probably something sneaky.

We're going to test Yu'yen's perverted-horses theory by stuffing our shirts to try and trick them.

>>32132776
>[Cunning] Try to catch some pegasi

>>32132921
$20 says we each have to ride in a girls lap. Princess style. Or attach ropes to the pegasi and then around the guys waists and just kind of dangle...

I vote NOT riding with Sheryl. No offense but she has the least experience and I don't want to die.

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>>32132995
NO GATTSU NO GLORY

You watch the skies, seeing some of the knights set off down the trail. One, two, three, four. Half of them leave in pursuit of where they assume you are.

Keeping in mind their distance, you sneak over as a group towards the castle entrance. The snow crunching underneath your boots, you stay wary not to give yourselves away...

Four of the knights sit around, their pegasi just roaming around nearby not quite attended to but not so far that you can easily steal off with them.

"We'll need to deal with the knights first." Rein says, taking her lance off from her back.

"You're not thinking of killing them are you?" Leona gasps.

"Of course not!" Reins jaw drops, "I just mean that it'll be too risky to run off with the pegasi while they run off to alert the others."

"Want to flirt with them again? Maybe you can get them black-out drunk this time." Sheryl takes a jab at you and Yu'yen.

"I don't think it'll work this time," you say, "We'll need to catch them out and leave them tied up. Their friends can untie them later."

You take Yu'yen, Sheryl and Henry forward sneaking in closer on the sky knights who continue to gossip and complain about their job and other things you hardly understand. You keep your bodies low against the snow with few other options to remain hidden.

The four of you surround them, and you ready your signal. You weave the bottle out the hands of one of the girls, and she swears as she goes to pick it up.

>CONT

The sky knight wanders a few steps away from her group and towards you where the bottle rolled, you recognize her to be the unfortunate one from earlier on in the day. It seems her misfortune will continue.

You spring from the snow and pull her down into it, pinning her into the cold. As the others stand to attention, your allies come up behind them. Yu'yen catches one with his staff, Sheryl with the hilt of her blade and Henry with a little sap.

"You carry one of those?" Yu'yen peeks over at Henry, the job gone over smoothly.

"You don't?"

The knight under your grasp struggles against your grip while Anlak, Leona and Rein make their ways over with rope prepared. It doesn't take long to tie up the knights, setting them back up against their little camp site.

"Why the nerve of you! A bunch of Raschan mainlanders digging into Belgran business!?" The concious knight snarls at you with her hands tied around her back.

"For all it's worth we're not involved with the kingdoms." Rein gathers the pegasi, four ready and waiting to be ridden.

"Raschan whore, unhand my mount!"

"Ra- what!?"

"Let's calm down here okay?" Leona waves Rein down, smiling awkwardly.

"Wait a second, aren't you..." The knight looks between the two sisters inquisitively, but her thoughts are left unfinished when Sheryl taps her out as well.

"Come on, don't get distracted. We're almost done our job."

>CONT

You make some distance away from the unconcious knights for good measure, gathering around the four idle pegasi.

"Okay, seven of us but only three girls... we'll have to leave one here." Rein appraises the animals up and down, taking time to measure out their wings.

"You're going to leave one of us here!? I knew it, hearts as cold as ice you Belgran women!" Yu'yen lifts a hand over his head and hangs the other in front of his face, acting like a dainty noblewoman.

"NO! I mean the pegasi, men can't ride them!"

"Well, we caaaaan test my theory out."

"Your what?"

"Look, I came prepared." Yu'yen reaches into his bag, he produces two large red apples and a wig.

"You mean... are you serious?" Rein hangs her head down. Leona giggles and Sheryl shakes her head in disgust.

"Come on, I just need a volunteer, friiiiend?" Yu'yen looks over at you, smiling.

"While Yu'yen gets his lady clothes on, let's decide who's riding with who." Rein hops onto the back of one of the pegasi, Leona goes to help Sheryl get mounted.

>Ride with Leona
>Ride with Rein
>Ride with Sheryl
>Test Yu'yens theory

>>32133411
First off,
>Test Yu'yens theory
because it'll be funny. After that inevitably fails,
>Ride with Sheryl

>>32133411
>Test Yu'yens theory

>>32133411
>Ride with Leona

Rolled 9

>>32133411
>[Tenacity] Fuck myths break that pegasi

>>32133411
>>Test Yu'yens theory

>>32133411
>Ride with Leona

>>32133411
>Ride with Rein

>>32133411
>Test Yu'yens theory

>>32133411
>Ride with Rein
Do NOT test the theory.

>>32133411
>>Ride with Leona

>>32133411
The best rider of the twins get two passengers

We ride with the second best

Shery can carry Yu'yens unconscious body.

Rolled 9

>>32133411
>Ride with Leona

>>32133411
>>Test Yu'yens theory

>>32133320
>"Wait a second, aren't you..." The knight looks between the two sisters inquisitively,
Uh oh.
>but her thoughts are left unfinished when Sheryl taps her out as well.
Well, let's hope she attributes this presumed sighting to getting knocked around.

>>32133411
>"Well, we caaaaan test my theory out."
>Test Yu'yens theory
Godspeed, you glorious bastard. That said, riding with Yu'yen would be more likely to tip the pegasus off if his theory is actually correct, so he should probably go solo if it succeeds.

>Ride with Sheryl
I mostly want to ride with Sheryl so we get a front-row seat to Sheryl olev pegasus.

Leona'd be my second choice for improved personal safety, and would probably be better than leaving Henry to get super antsy while in the sky.

>>32133411
>>32133562
This make the most sense.

Rein was complaining about how her sister was better at everything. I wonder if that included flying?

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64 KB JPG

>tfw nobody wants to bust the myth without the theory

>>32133411
>Ride with Leona

Vote count doubles every time waifus are involved. The samefagging is palpable.

>>32133562
This is the only option.

>>32133411
>Ride with Leona

I'm going to have to call bull shit on this voter turn out.

>>32133585
IIRC Rein's opinion of pegasi is that they're basically just messy, feathery sky-horses and should be handled accordingly, so I'd imagine Leona's at least more tolerant of their eccentricities.

Both are likely accomplished riders, though, and I think they've both raised them in the past as well.

>>32133439
>>32133441
>>32133453
>>32133465
>>32133470
>>32133472
>>32133489
>>32133492
>>32133508
>>32133550
>>32133566
>>32133571
>>32133615
>>32133649
This many people magically show up at the last second. I totally believe this.

>>32133710
Lots of lurkers can appear for votes, mang, me being of 'em.

"Alright, let's test out that theory." You nod to Yu'yen.

"You're not actually going to let him are you?" Rein looks at you shocked.

"Don't worry! It'll work out fine. Now come over here and help me friend." Yu'yen gestures you over, and hands you the wig. You lift your hands to fit it on his head... when he shoves the apples up your shirt.

"What?" You look at him confused.

"Don't move around too much, the apples will fall out!" Yu'yen grabs the wig out of your hands and plops it on your head, strands of blonde roll out over your eyes.

"Hold on, when you said volunte-"

"TELL ME HOW IT GOES!" He kicks into a dash and jumps onto the closest manned pegasi, sitting right behind Leona, "Fly, fly!"

"Ah! Okay!?" Leona kicks her pegasus to a start and it flaps off and away.

"H-hey!" Henry takes a few steps forward as Leona and Yu'yen fly over the side of the mountain, and he takes a few steps too far, his feet catches on slipping snow and he uncontrollably leans forward towards the cliff.

"Damnit Henry!" Rein rides by on her pegasus, scooping him up in one arm and pulling him upward as she follows Leona.
You look over to Sheryl. She gives you a quick look-over at your awkward look.

"Come on Anlak, let's go." Sheryls pegasus begins stepping forward and Anlak hops onto the back, he's two heads taller than her. The start of their flight is rough, but Sheryl pulls the winged horse together quickly.

>CONT

No waifu.

>>32133756
*being one of 'em

Shit, tired

>>32133777
Shit I just made this straw poll and everything.
>http://strawpoll.me/1695412

>>32133777
OP, uhm, Leona had a huge majority. If you think it's samefagging, do a numbers vote.

>>32133777
the fact that carna is within us is going to do something funny here isn't it

>>32133777
And he wonders why we keep throwing each other under the bus for kicks.

Suppose this is fine too. Disregard waifus, get shenanigans.

>>32133888
A dead tie isn't exactly a huge majority.

>>32133777
1) The only reason people say that only women can ride them is to keep women in power.

2) Pegasi are really fucking stupid

3) Not all pegasi give males the boot. And, we just lucked out.

4) Yu'yen is secretly gay and the pegasus is responding to that.

You adjust your wig and fold the cloth of your shirt to better hold the apples up as you make way over to the remaining pegasus, who absent mindedly steps around.

You climb onto the pegasus' back. You guide it forward and back on the ground for a minute to test the waters, so far it doesn't seem to have a problem with you riding it...

You watch the expanse ahead, your friends aren't too far but the longer you wait the less likely one of them will readily catch you if you fall.
You steel your mind and kick your legs while pulling the reins of the pegasus back, mimicking Leona, it lifts its front-hooves and leaps into the air, you hold onto it tightly.
The wind tugs on your wig and the apples shuffle around underneath your shirt as you do your best to stay steadied, making small bounces up and down the back of the soaring steed somewhat painfully.

Slowly you press forward, but you more fight against the pegasus to get it under control than you fight the winds to progress. A shift of its body knocks your wig off, and you watch it fall into the distance.

Testing the theory over open air might not have been the best idea. It wasn't much a problem on the ground, but in the air the pegasus seems determined to toss you off.

You grip a hold of it for quite some time, but the inevitability of the situation sets in...

The pegasus bursts forward, making a full u-turn and drops you off.

>CONT

>>32133976
Thanks waifu fags now he have to walk.

>>32134018
Eh, if someone had to walk, it might as well be us.

Rolled 6

>>32134018
This wouldnt have happened if we rode with leona instead of trusting a stupid theory

>>32134018
Wut how's m8? Fucking mythbusterfags getting us thrown off

>>32134018
>Gets voted to dress up like a girl
>Blames waifu fags

Makes perfect sense.

You drop about two meters when the pegasus sorts itself out, flapping away non-chalant in its attemptive murder of you.

And then, you stop.

"I can't believe you actually tried that." You hang floating in the air, pulled around by the neck of your jacket, swinging forward and back, "More than that I'm surprised they didn't wait for you."

Kita sighs as his body takes form. He walks along non-existent steps far above the ground below, carrying you like a briefcase.

"How long were you there?" You ask him, trying not to look at the death below.

"I was waiting around in the throne room when you arrived, thought it'd be in bad taste to get involved when you were doing so nicely." His voice is dry, deep and sleepy, "Being ignored is more or less what I'm best at."

"How... are you carrying me?"

"Rum doesn't actually make me fly, he makes me weightless, and he makes things I touch weightless. Real useful when stealing treasure." Kita pauses, "Ah, I wonder how hard it'd be to smoke while carrying you."

"Please don't."

"Well, good job on the mission at any rate. We'll be a lot slower than the others since we're walking, on air but I digress." Kita tips his head over to one side, "Is that how you use that word? Digress?"

It'll be a ways before you reach the ground, and you're not sure if you want to watch the chasm below the whole way.

>Talk to Kita about his story
>Talk to Kita about the mission
>Talk to Kita about The Seekers
>Write-In

My writing is extra bad today, geez. I am just not on my game lately.

>>32134018
Thank the retarded tripfag and all the others that voted to test Yu'yen's theory.

>>32134128
No you aren't, and you should've waited for a resokution in the vote before writing

>>32134113
>Talk to Kita about the mission

>>32134113
>Talk to Kita about The Seekers

>>32134113
>>Talk to Kita about the mission

>>32134113
>Talk to Kita about The Seekers

Rolled 12

>>32134113
Ask if its possible to be a contractor without even knowing it. Im kinda curious about our heart.

>>32134113
>Talk to Kita about The Seekers
>Talk to Kita about his story
Mission information can wait until we're all back; should probably use time alone to talk about other stuff; how he came to be working for the Seekers and what have you.

>>32134206
This would also be interesting, but I'm not sure we've got a good enough grip on our situation to get a good answer about it at the moment. Might still be worth asking, though.

Also c'mon, he's not going to go out of his way to implement an off-hand joke and then immediately use it to shit all over us.

>>32134156
There was never going to be a resolution in the vote
person A votes for Leona or whatever
Person B votes for something else
Person A sees the other vote, can't handle his choice not winning and votes again.
Person B sees the other vote and votes again also.

It's an infinite loop. It will never stop.

>>32134246
People were legitimately samefagging that vote, though.

>>32134246
I think he just needs to be more clear about when he start writing. Also final destination wouldn't be bad for contested votes.

Hey Librarian. This is going to happen in literally every vote were we have to choose between girls. /tg/ is just like that. Any time this happens you should call a numbered vote or use straw poll.
>http://strawpoll.me/
Straw poll makes it so that people can't make two votes from the same ip address.

>>32134324

Final Destination Voting is more reliable.

>>32134324
You can samefag on strawpoll as easily as you can on 4chan, final destination voting works much better.

>>32134333
>>32134346
If your talking about numbered votes. Then you need to do it in a 5 minute window. There have been a few times where I switched tabs to do something else just before the QM started a timed vote only to come back just after it ended.

"About contractors," you say, "Is it possible to become one without knowing?"

"Hm? Well, they call it a contract because it's generally a mutual thing... but it's not unheard of for someone to contract with a demon and forget."

"Forget?"

"The feeling when you contract is... orgasmic?" Kita looks for his words, while you feel increasingly unsafe carried by him, "The unprepared often lose their minds for a time when they first contract, you'll hear tragic stories of wives murdering their husbands before they catch their wits."

Kita lifts you up from your position and puts you into a carry, one arm around your back and the other under your knees, "Sometimes demons end up inside of people too without them being any the wiser, but it's a bit messy when that happens."

"Messy how?" You can smell the smoke clinging to Kitas stubble.

"Demons just need to get inside someone to live, they can't manifest their abilities well without being permitted to by a host; but there're tales of goblins climbing in through a burrowed stomach or a missing arm to find a place to just hide. It may as well be suicide for them then though, trapped in a wound with no way to escape."

>CONT

>>32134324
I'm sure we'll never have to worry about something like this ever again. Ever.~

>>32134156
I apologize. There was one more Yu'yen than Leona when I counted ten minutes after the first vote and I felt it was enough time.

>>32134398
A while ago I though about MC being a contractor without knowing it. But, horses are afraid of contractors. That's why the kids beat the teachers to Sheryl's dad.

>>32134398
w-what are you planning

>>32134398
It's alright, apology accepted. Just, if there's a fairly obvious schism, call for a contested vote.

And is Kita implying Carna gave us our first orgasm?[/spoilet]

"Now, why'd you ask a question like that?" He peeks down at you.

It was an odd thought that popped into your head, you're not exactly sure why you asked it. You make an excuse, "I just wanted to know more, becoming a Seeker and all. Could you tell me more about them?"

"I'm not really the best person to ask, I'm barely here or there; I just stab people and steal things when Masoch or the Grand Librarian tells me to."

"The Grand Librarian?" You remember Kran telling you about that vaguely once, how they could answer you any one question.

"Yeah, that old bat. Apparently she knows everything, but then I have no idea why she'd have us out and about collecting old tomes and relics for her. Not anything I need to know though."

"You get one answer for joining The Seekers though, right?"

"Yeah. I just ended up asking where a nice place to eat was, real big mistake. I recommend you pick out something better."

You already have a good idea of what you're going to ask for. It's a question that's been on your mind for ten years now.

"I can't get out of this business now, I know plenty enough already. But they won't hold you while you're still running around and learning, you know a few faces but we've got enough faceless that it's no big deal, you get me? Don't be afraid of leaving if this business doesn't suit you," Kita says, "You'll do some pretty bad stuff in this line of work."

The sight of your companions on their horses comes into vision, waiting for you by a ledge.

>CONT

>>32134398
Shit. Our mom said she found us with a hole in our chest...

>>32134556

For some reason, I don't think a Rasca would crawl into our chest.

"Didn't work?" Yu'yen asks you when you're set down.

You give him a dirty look, you can save your payback for later.

"Well, good job everyone." Kita walks over to Leona and opens the bag hanging along her hips, he pulls the ice-blocked lock-box out of it. It hasn't melted a bit.

"Where were you the entire time!?" Rein shouts at the most unreliable of teachers.

"Smoking. Drinking. Pick one." Kita stuffs the prize away in a backpack, taking his time to seal it up, "It's late, so let's rest up in an inn before we head back."

"You are the absolute worst."

"We should avoid any big places, the sky knights might come by." Sheryl suggests.

"There's a small inn not too far from here," Henry says, "I had to stay there for a week once... they didn't give me enough funds to afford better; you could feel the cold drifting in through the walls."

"Yeah yeah, I'm very sorry for you Henry. Now let's go; today has been entirely too long!" Yu'yen smacks Henry across the back and sends him to lead forward...

The inn in question looks beaten and run-down, from the outside you can see cracks in the wall. Hardly a place for a lady knight, hardly a place for a gentleman bum.

"Do we really have to stay here?" Rein covers her eyes with her hands, shaking her head.

"I'm certainly not driving a wagon through the snow on no sleep." Kita answers, "The mens can keep one room, the ladies can keep another."

"This place only has four beds to a room actually." Henry says.

"I get my own."

>CONT

>>32134672
>"Where were you the entire time!?" Rein shouts at the most unreliable of teachers.

>"Smoking. Drinking. Pick one."
This actually brings up an interesting point: how does the omnipresent smell of smoke not give him away whenever he's trying to sneak around invisibly?

Flippant and selfish as he is, Kita does do the kindness of paying for all three rooms. The inn is small but it's empty save for two drunkards wasting away at a bar table. The staff is just one lady, but her attitude is commendable. She tells you that she'll bring dinner up to your rooms, and Rein in her kindness offers to stay downstairs and help her prepare it. Sheryl mentions wanting to learn more about the pegasi, and she leaves the inn after dropping her equipment off in the girls room.

You look over your room with Anlak, Henry and Yu'yen. Plugging up a crack in the wall with a pillow cover and finding ways to fight the water leaking in from the snow above the place.

"Hooow about I handle your part of the work friend?" Yu'yen offers, "You must be so tired after-all."

His obvious attempt to appease your anger from earlier aside, you could take the time to relax.

>Stay and help the guys
>See Leona in her room
>Help Rein prepare dinner
>Visit Sheryl with the pegasi
>Write-In

>>32134716
...shit. I guess the hand-wave is that people smell smoke but they don't bother putting too much thought into it.

>>32134766
>Write-In

Learn a new weave from the book

>>32134780

THIS

File: This.gif (927 KB, 245x160)

927 KB GIF

>>32134780

>>32134780
This

>>32134766
>>Stay and help the guys

You leave the room and find a quiet spot in the bar below to study your weaves.

>Flame, increase the size of your ember to about a meter long.
>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.

Hope you don't mind me calling the last vote early.

Rolled 10

>>32134844
>>Flame, increase the size of your ember to about a meter long.

>>32134844

>Flame, increase the size of your ember to about a meter long.

FIRE SWORD.

>>32134844
>Flame, increase the size of your ember to about a meter long

Is this even a question?

>>32134844
>Flame, increase the size of your ember to about a meter long.

>>32134844
>>Blade, make a small cut at a distance with air. Not very deadly.

>>32134844
>>Blade, make a small cut at a distance with air. Not very deadly.

>>32134844
> Flame

>>32134844
>flame

No flashback this thread?

You find a page detailing how to improve the effect of your ember weave, bringing out greater capacity to the flame.

At the corner of the bar, you practice your motions. Bringing your fingers out in one hand and using the index of the other to pull back ethereal strands near where your fingers connect to your hand. Too far the book mentions and the weave won't become, too little and the flame will hardly grow. Your movements are careful, when you complete your ember weave after your attempts at adjustment the spell is no different than before. Again you open your palm, testing different angles, distances, places.

Time passes as you practice and study. You quickly lose track of how long your efforts are, but sooner or later they bring fruits to bare.

From the top of your hand fire spurts out, not quite a meter high but well enough to roast meal. The heads of the bars few other patrons turn in your direction, they bat their eyes in confusion at the sight before them.

You open your palm again and let the flames vanish. You'll need some more practice later, but it seems you've been here for awhile longer than you'd thought. A cold bowl of soup sits in front of you, and you have no idea when it arrived hot.

You devour your dinner quickly. It's about time to go to bed.

>CONT

>>32135016
A day didn't pass between the last thread IC so I decided not to include one.

You arrive back at the room given to you. The room is long and thin, leaving little room to walk between the four beds. Henry and Yu'yen alternate snores, but it doesn't sound like it'll make for much of a lullaby. Anlak faces the wall by his corner, still and silent, he's either asleep or ignoring you.

You get into your bed slowly, but you can't stop it from creaking as you settle between the sheets. A breeze flows in from somewhere, but this is hardly the time to search it out.

Your mission was to take a month, but your group completed it in a day. Tomorrow you'd set travel back to Deneb, leaving the snowy country behind. It was a job well done, but you're not coming any closer to your goals, and each day Carna seems to drift further and further away.
You close your eyes, trying to turn your thoughts to The Shepherds flock as they bounce over golden fences.

"Hey Leona. Are you asleep?" You hear a soft voice through the too thin walls as you try to pass into sleep.

Your conciousness begins to fade.

"I miss our parents, and our friends. I don't know if I can do this any more."

And so life goes on...

>>32135129
Thanks for running.

>>32135129
thanks for running. But am I the only one that is a little concerned that none of our "friends" had any trouble leaving the MC out there in the cold? Seriously Rein and Leona both knew it wouldn't work and they didn't even try to go back.

My schedule is a mess right now, so it might not be until Tuesday that I can run again so my apologies in advance if it takes that long. Saturday my plans are only tentative so I'll see if I can then but I'll make sure to leave a message on that Twitter when I figure that out for better or for worse. Thanks for playing.

>>32135416
Correction. Wednesday. Man I am so bad at scheduling.

sage