>>34045584
>2) Attempt to grow larger.

>observe your surroundings

>>34045672

>2) Attempt to grow larger.

This container shall never hold you! You begin to stretch out, using the dense nature of the medallion to increase your size and actually succeed... to a degree. Whilst you lack the proper fortitude to increase your size by any significant margin, you have a grown at least twice your size before. At the cost, however, if your material; you seem to have turned from golden metal into a softer mass of the same colour.

The pouch feels a little cramped now.

>>34045679

>1) Observe your surroundings

You have not travelled far, it seems, as your immediate vacinity bears a striking resemblance to the Highmill marketplace. You have less of a vantage-point than before and cannot extend your incorporeal vision far, but it gives you enough of an idea. The thief, which appears to be a young human, awaits for something in an alleyway; watching the people of the marketplace go about their business. He seems to be avoiding prying eyes resting on his person.

>1) Try to mind-leech the thief
>2) Continue to observe.
>3) Rest in silence.

>>34045870
>>1) Try to mind-leech the thief

>>34045870
>1) Try to mind-leech the thief

>>34045870
Try to mind-leech the thief

>>34045913
>>34045965

>1) Try to mind-leech the thief

You extend out your influence but find the child either must be too far away or the marketplace too busy a location to hold your focus. Either way, the fleeting sample of thoughts you gleam provide you with nothing solid.

The child does seem to smile now and makes his way into the crowd. He moves with a surprising agility for his size; ducking and weaving through the sea of bodies towards a fat gentleman holding an item that glints in the afternoon sun. He, and what seems to be his wife, are standing outside a stall selling various garments and adornments, to which she seems intrigued and the man less-so.

The child seems intrigued as well, but for an entirely different reason, you wager. He makes his way behind the two and seems to wait for them to start moving. The woman grips some kind of small case from the stall and begins to walk towards the kid; blissfully unaware he is there. Once she approaches close enough, the urchin seems to bolt forward and bump into her with some force, disrupting her drip on the case.

He snatches it and attempts to abscond, but his force wasn't great enough and the case seems to be held firmly by the woman. Still dazed from the impact, he hasn't noticed the attempt yet, but that may change soon.

>1) Influence the child to drop it and run
>2) Influence him to pull harder
>3) Influence him to feign sympathy

>>34046176
>3) Influence him to feign sympathy
We're going to use this kid to get revenge on the wizard, we can't afford to have him chased by lawkeepers if he fucks up. The innocent child act should help later too.

>>34046176
1) Influence the child to drop it and run

>>34046176
>1) Influence the child to drop it and run

>>34046412
>>34046541

>1) Influence the child to drop it and run.

Whatever is in that case can't be worth getting this child in trouble. Your influence is weak without a direct connection but enough for a reactionary decision, and the thief cuts his losses, darting back into the crowd. He manages to duck back into another alley, taking a few second to catch his breath and slump against the wall. Your vision reveals the woman to be confused, but unable to locate the attempted theft. She does seem angry though, so you likely were seen. In any case, the child seems to move on from the marketplace and head further into the city.

The unfinished foundations in this new city provide an ample set of routes for which an agile person like this might traverse, and the child makes no short loss of his agility. Swinging from frames and vaulting over half-build walls; you cover a fair distance in a short time and arrive at the city wall. He unhooks an iron hook from his back and seems to dig into the seams between the stones of the rocky surface. His small weight likely a benefit here, he scales the wall with little difficulty to reach the top. However, unknown to him but known to you, a guard stands watch directly above where the child is climbing to, just outside of his vision.

>1) Influence to stop and wait.
>2) Attempt to escape the pouch.
>3) Wait and see.

>>34046854
>1) Influence to stop and wait.

>>34046854
>3) Wait and see.

>>34046854
>3) Wait and see.

>>34046930
>>34046999

>3) Wait and see.

It's not as if your powers would be incredibly useful here anyway. You opt to wait and see what move the child makes instead. He manages to scale the wall all the way to the pinnacle before noticing a glare from the soldier's metallic helmet. At the sight, he flattens against the wall, stopping in his tracks. You can hear his heart beating from you close vicinity, and eyes darting back and forth madly. Having found a plan, he starts to climb again, but this time angled to the left.

Reaching the top of the wall, he peers over the side to see the guard, luckily, staring out over the surrounding area instead of the city. Using this lull, the urchin clambers onto the wall, pick still in hand, contemplating an action.

>1) Influence to violence.
>2) Influence to distraction.

>>34047145
>>2) Influence to distraction.

>>34047145
>Influence to distraction

>>34047145
>2) Influence to distraction.

>>34047187
>>34047211
>>34047273

>2) Influence to distraction.

No reason to take a life here. The child uses his other hand to grab a loose stone from the wall and casts it in the opposite direction. It lands with a crack on the wall and cascades off the side; enough of a noise to momentarily gain the guard's attention. Long enough for the kid to start climbing down the wall in a mad rush. He doesn't look back up, but you swear you caught a glimpse of the guard looking down. Even if he did, there wouldn't be much to see other than some ratty hair.

Once at the bottom, the kid steps off onto the firm dirt. The moat around the wall was still far from finished, so scaling the wall was much easier than it would likely be at completion. With the threat of guards and squealers dealt with, the thief seems to walk through the fields with a lighter heart. After a few minutes, you feel a slight tug as the pouch is opened and a grubby hand snatches a handful of items from it, including you. The kid seems to be marvelling at his loot.

"Oh man, the coins were good enough but this thing must be worth a fotrune," He eyes you greedily, "I coulda sworn it was smaller when I grabbed it though. Shinier too. Eh, should still go for a ton." He seems to holster the coins but continues to hold you by the chain, swinging you around casually.

>1) Direct contact; MIND-LEECH
>2) Observe his destination
>3) Billow?

>>34047473
>1) Direct contact; MIND-LEECH

>>34047473
>2) Influence to distraction.

>>34047473
>3) Billow?
Obviously.

>>34047568
Mistake
>>34047473
Meant to do
>1) Direct contact; MIND-LEECH

>>34047473
>1) Direct contact; MIND-LEECH

>>34047527
>>34047599

While is not wearing you, it's enough of a connection to form a better mental connection. You know the child to be named Saren; a fledgeling thief and street urchin raised in a cabal of like-minded kids on the outskirts of Highmill. His parentage evades him but names come to you of friends and near-family, or at least what he considers so. This trip that he makes you can sense has been travelled before, but with slight increases in difficulty each time by the rise of order in the town. His thievery seems to mainly be driven by a personal greed, with some supporting apathy and desire to aid his caretakers.

The information takes a few minutes to process and by the time you are aware, you have arrived at what looks to be an old inn by the road, now converted into a farmhouse on the edge of Highmill's land.

"I'm back."The child calls, pushing the door aside as he does so. The room seems empty; open to the air and filled with old furniture, dust and junk lining the edge of the floor. Attempts at cleaning are evident, but clearly fruitless.

"Everyone must be out," he surmises, taking a few more steps inside and pulling a chair out, "Nice, I can tally up in peace then." With unceremonious movement, he proceeds to dump his ill-gotten goods on the table, along with you. It seems to be a decent haul; a number of silver and copper coins with a scattering of gold, some small items of dubious worth, and your own golden self.

>1) Attempt to speak
>2) Attempt to shift
>3) Remain silent and observe

>>34047871
>3) Remain silent and observe

>>34047871
>2) Attempt to shift
Make yourself shinier.

>>34047871
>2) Attempt to shift

>>34047871
>2
>become beautiful again

We need some self respect. Keep up our appearances. Right now we're soft, pudgy, and yellow. What are we, a twinkie?

Time to be fabulous. And gold.

>>34048038
>Twinkie Quest

>>34047970
>>34048017
>>34048038

>2) Attempt to shift

Your current appearance isn't exactly awe-inspiring; a flattened mass of dull yellow. With a minor thought in this quiet place for something you have already attempted, it proves simple to shape yourself back into form, becoming gold and lustrous again.

The thief, who had been staring intently at his loot, is now wide-eyed and silent, staring down at the medallion that just shape-shifted right in front of him.

>1) Remain silent. Maybe he'll forget.
>2) Speak to the child

>>34048144
>speak
>CHILD, IS IT NOT RUDE TO WATCH ANOTHER CHANGE?

>>34048144
Billow

>>34048144
>1) Remain silent. Maybe he'll forget.

>>34048144
>1) Remain silent. Maybe he'll forget.

>>34048266
>>34048447

>1) Remain silent. Maybe he'll forget.

You remain silent as the child intently observes you.

"Did it just... it looks like it did before. Wierd." He picks you up and shakes you vigorously. "Can I make it do that again?"

This shaking keeps up for quite a while. "Come on, do the thing!" He asks, attempting to depress various engravings on your surface to unlock your secrets.

>1) Inform him of his impudence
>2) Grit your "teeth" and bear it

>>34048597
Shift again and prick his finger. We don't like getting jerked around.

>>34048597
Engrave dicks on yourself.

>>34048657
Seconded

>>34048657
>>34048931

You quickly change yourself to form sharp edges on the sides of your medallion, pricking the Saren's finger.

"Ow!" He drops you immediately, looking at the pain in his fingers. "What was that?"

"And just what do you think you're doing?" You see the child's eyes go wide as a voice from behind him pipes up, feminine but strong. Standing in the doorway appears to be an older woman dressed in peasant garb and an apron, with a vicious glare to the kid.

"F-Faye!" Saren shrieks, spinning around on his seat. "I-I didn't know you were back already."

"I didn't leave. Someone has to stay behind and watch the farm." She shuts the door behind her, dusting some dirt from her hands. "You on the other hand are supposed to be on your way to Viline right now." The coins on the table catch her eye and you see her teeth angrily bear.

"Don't tell me you were out snatching again." She places a finger on her forehead as Saren turns around, looking for an out of this situation.

"Of course not! I-I just happened to help a traveller coming into the city and gave him directions. He was very generous." From your sight, she doesn't seem to be buying it.

>1) Influence a better excuse to Saren
>2) Influence Faye to be nicer
>2) Sit and watch

>>34049114
>2) Influence Faye to be nicer

>>34049114
>2) Sit and watch

>>34049114
>2) Influence Faye to be nicer

>>34049114
>influence faye to be nicer

Kid is dumb but he's our ticket to having limbs again.

>>34049178
>>34049225
>>34049282

>2) Influence Faye to be nicer

You offer the kid some assistance by influencing this aggravated woman. She's too far from your reach for any dramatic effects but her face does seem to ease up somewhat and she sighs,

"Look," she says, "I don't want to sound repetitive but you have got to stop this. They're increasing the guarrison everyday and your luck is going to run out sometime." She walks over to the table, looking at the items he stole. Saren seems to still be resting a hand on you, allowing you to see his thought process. He seems to be thinking of trying to share some of his catch with her.

>1) Don't interfere.
>2) Ensure you aren't offered.
>3) Ensure you are offered.

>>34049337
>3) Ensure you are offered.

>>34049337
>make sure we aren't offered
Somehow I doubt your average peasant woman will get us into the situations we need to be. A street urchin's a better pick.

>>34049337
>>2) Ensure you aren't offered
Let's stick with the kid for now.

>>34049337
>3) Ensure you are offered.

>>34049337
>2) Ensure you aren't offered.
I don't know. Urchin seems like the safer bet if our goal is revenge.

Arius fucked up when he cut (hue) us off, he gon get it hardcore

>>34049558
>>34049422
>>34049384

>2) Ensure you aren't offered.

You influence Saren to think of you as too valuable to hand over. He instead grabs a couple of coins and shows them to her.

"But look, if I kept this up we could have enough to buy a house; a proper one, in the city!" She doesn't seem to be amused, taking the coins.

"A handful of stolen coins isn't going to buy you a life, Saren. But an honest day's work might." She takes the coins from his hand and points him outside. "If you're not heading to Viline, you might as well help with the chores. The both of us can get them done faster." She turns around to head into another room, leaving you with the kid. He picks you up and heads outside.

Their farm seems to be a smaller and drier one than those richly fed by the moat closer to the city, but there is ample crops growing here regardless, and even a small shed with some kind of animals inside.

"So if I press too hard, the thing makes little spikes?" You realise that whilst Saren is heading to the field, he seems to be observing the protrusions you used to prick him before. He seems to stare for a second before hanging you around his neck. It's a loose fit, but you are finally being worn once again.

>1) Shift into [user defined]
>2) Relax and regenerate your power.
>3) BILLOW

>>34049909
>2) Relax and regenerate your power.
We'll billow later when we've recovered and show him our true majesty.

>>34049909
>2) Relax and regenerate your power.

>>34049909
>>2) Relax and regenerate your power.
gently prob him

>>34049967
>>34049983

>2) Relax and regenerate your power.

You can plainly feel the effects of your severing still having a great impact on your powers, and some ample time to rest and recover would go a long way. You relax your will and allow yourself to remain dormant for a while, slowly restoring what energy was once yours.

================

I understand it's quite late over there so would you like to just have part 2 be a short one, or are people fine to continue for a while longer?

>>34049909
>>2) Relax and regenerate your power.

>>34050079
I can go longer.

>>34050079
I can keep going for a while still.

>>34050079
Only 9 PM where I am.

>>34050123
Can you please not namefag?

>>34050160
If you can explain a good reason not to I gladlly will.

>>34050079
eh, it's 12 where i am. BUT SCREW IT LETS DO THIS

>>34050187
Because there's no reason for you to. And if you were a lurker you wouldn't be posting anyway.

>>34050187
It makes you look like an attention whore tbh.

Alright, we'll continue.

==================

Your dormant state is a calming experience. A dark, motionless emptiness not unlike the void that spawned you. But not as dark as the void; nothing compares. This place seems brighter, and appears to grow brighter the longer you stay here. It makes you feel powerful, or perhaps it is a side effect of your growing power. The answer seems obscure to you. You spend some time here relaxing, but with little thought given to how you are supposed to judge the flow. Has it been a few seconds, or days? You can't recall how bright it was before you came, but you feel suitably powerful now. Your pondering is cut short by a sudden crack of noise as you are violently wrenched back into the world.

It is cold, wet, and dark. The sky above you seems dark and filled with a howling wind. The after-image of a fading light in the distance seems to imply a crack of thunder awoke you. It certainly felt similar to the lightning you have already experienced. You can feel the tight grip of something leathery gripping you, pulling your chain tightly around flesh.

"Where did you get this?" A voice says. A quick examination reveals the situation. You are in a different part of the farmland, next to the main road. Three horsemen in black leather cloaks have stopped at the side to examine a small urchin boy. Saren, still wearing you by his neck and now feeling a tightness from your chain, is terrified of the men questioning him. He identifies them as lawmen, but they look nothing of the sort to you. Saren seems very preoccupied with the metallic sabres holstered at each of their sides.

"Come on Pentus, make up your mind. If you suspect the boy of thievery then clap him in irons, I'll back you up." Another hand clad in leather points to him. "One look tells you he stole it." The other horseman ignores his companion.

"I'll ask again, where did you get this?" His voice seems deathly cold.

> User Defined Choice

>>34050587
He found it just lying around.

Also;
>swallow that pride and morph into a far more worthless trinket when they aren't looking, keeping the roughly yellow colour

>>34050587
Change your material to be polished brass when examined closely. Influence him to tell them he bought it at a vendor of cheap jewelry.

>>34050587
shit, uhhh family heirloom. make ourselves look cheap

>>34050587

>>34050639
This, but rather it belonged to his mother. It's more believable and the sympathy will help get us away without trouble. Also influence the boy to start crying.

Just got here

So has everyone forgotten the bunny ears that were sliced off?

>>34050587
Make the "chains" glint a little more strongly while the "medallion" changes to a garish yellow. Maybe a bit rocky, or otherwise filled with impurities.

>>34050587
morph into amulet that proclaims Saren as the Duke's long lost son. or failing that, try to make yourself look as shitty as possible.

>>34050731
That would work on some nobles, but not guards. Also, would a sentient piece of cloth know that?

Shitty it is

===================

Luckily for you, the rain and general darkness of the scene seems to be obscuring their vision somewhat, and the man seems to be more intently focusing on Saren than his medallion. You attempt to shift into a much shoddier-looking version of a medallion and, to your surprise, the change occurs incredibly rapidly. You look to be of the same colour and appearance at a distance, but up close seem no more valuable than polished copper or brass.

Saren seems to remain tight-lipped but the horseman is still awaiting an answer,

"Hold on a tick," One of his companions says, dismounting and walking over. He seems to inspect you closer.

"This one isn't gold, Pentus. It's just brass." This seems to tear his vision away from Saren and direct it towards you. That icy glare pierces you, instilling even a sense of foreboding in your mind,

"I could have sworn..." His voice seems to trail off and he roughly pushes Saren back into the mud. "I was mistaken. Let's not delay any further," His friend mounts the horse and the three of them ride off down the trail towards Highmill.

Saren remains in the mud for a few seconds before standing back up and glaring at the riders backs, You can feel an intense loathing from him.

> User Defined

>>34050879
Billow

>>34050879
Change into a nice, thin, flexible sheet of some valuable metal.

Proceed to billow

>>34050879
Remain as brass. Let's see where he decides to go.

>>34050879
Turn to gold and billow. We'll show him our magic and try to guide him towards our ends without ever saying anything.

>>34050919
>>34050977
>>34051021

You billow triumphantly in the stormy wind, jangling from your chain violently. Saren doesn't seem to notice or care right now. You can spy a particularly heavy rock in one of his hands and the unmistakable thought of violence, but it is quickly overwhelmed by fear, and he drops the rock. The kid quickly darts in the opposite direction to the horsemen, back to his home.

It takes a few minutes to trudge through the mud and silt properly but he makes it back in one piece, slamming the door behind him. His skin feels clammy and cold, you don't know exactly how long he was out in the rain for but it feels like a while. There doesn't seem to be any sign of the peasant woman or anyone else inside. Angrily striding across the room, you find yourself being violently cast to the side onto the floor as he does to an old wooden bench and lies down. You can't hear his thoughts from here but it doesn't take a mindreader to see his sadness.

You are out of the rain at least now.

> User Defined Action

Forgot to add that bit.

>>34051167
we could morph and see how much our powers have recovered

Rolled 35

>>34051167
billow dramatically

>>34051167
Rattle on the floor. Draw his attention to us.

OP, do we have any chance of doing anything as a mute or do you find it tedious?

>>34051408
I find it to be a choice. Chrono got through his entire game without saying a damn thing.

Alright, I'm a little confused on the general direction now. Is everyone trying to be a mute with dignity, except when it suddenly backfires in our face?

Might be a good place to stop and think about your next move in any case. I have some things to take care of soon.

I'll announce the next part on twitter (https://twitter.com/ArmourQuest) and archive the thread. Probably the same time and I'll either do it thurs-fri or next week.

>>34051477
Yeah. People are kinda dumb. Who's idea was it to grow bunny ears anyway?

>>34051477
I'm not sure? I just want to gain power and use the urchin to get revenge. We can't manipulate him without being close to him.

If we're going to stick to not talking we'll need him to value us and subtly control his decisions until he's essentially our body, right? We can keep our dignity doing that.

>>34051543
Thank you for the thread OP.

>>34051611
>gain power
If you wanted power, there's a forgotten pair of bunny ears somewhere in the castle

>use urchin to get revenge
THAT...is a very specific goal. Remaining mute probably doesn't help with that, either, unless we get him to steal from the castle treasury.

>until he's essentially our body
I have a counter-proposal: latch onto a baby, whether rich or poor, and look like an appropriate scarf/trinket. At that age, we'll essentially BE that person, if you're willing to play the timeskip game.

>>34051611
Shit, I don't really even care about revenge. We acted so stupid we deserved that shit happening to us.

>>34051707
For reference, I recall saying the ears dissipated after being sliced off. Same thing happened with your main body.

The medallion survived because it got snatched, not sliced.

>>34051788
aww damnit. Guess I wasn't there for that.

>>34051707
I'd be cool with possessing a baby. I worry that he'll be too powerful if we timeskip but it'll probably work out for us.

>>34051763
We were petty enough to draw dicks on him because we thought he was annoying, I think revenge is as good a motivation as any. But I'm open to anything if you have an idea.

>>34051921
Actually, when I suggested dick patterns I wasn't trying to be petty, I just thought it would be funny.

>>34052239
To be fair, that moment when he turned pale was a perfect opportunity to do something. He was off-balance emotionally and lost most of his momentum. The bunny ears just weren't very effective at capitalizing on that opening.