>>38636134
>"We should leave this to someone else. Let's find Captain DuLac."

>>38636134
>"Let's investigate. We'll report to Captain DuLac afterwards if we find anything."

>>38636134
>>"Let's investigate. We'll report to Captain DuLac afterwards if we find anything."

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>>38636134
"Let's investigate," you say. "We'll report to Captain DuLac afterwards if we find anything."

"At least we won't get shot at," Nina says. "Let's go."

You illuminate the blood trail with a ragnite lamp and follow it through the temple. The layout of the place is confusing as hell. The entrance is just a straight hallway, but the rooms off to the side lead to spiral corridors and staircases that lead up. It seems to wind around the temple, but it's hard to tell.

And the blood trail doesn't vanish as you go up, but the smell of rotting corpses sets in.

"I think we're getting closer," Vanessa says.

"I know we are," Nina says. "Now we know for certain what the Imperials were doing here."

The stairs level off and you cross an open doorway. You've reached your destination.

"What the fuck did the Imperials do here?" You mumble and unconsciously take a step back. Roberta and Nina seem to be handling this well. The others aren't.

Men. Woman. Young. Old. All of them are piled in the middle of the room. Dead. Naked. Caked in blood and other fluids. Flies and maggots hanging at their lesions. All of them have white hair, even the children. All of them have a bullet wound right between the eyes.

The Imperials executed them and dragged them here before evacuating.

>"Nina, can you tell anything from the bodies?"
>"Let's have a look around the room."
>"Let's go. We've seen enough."

>>38636630
>"Let's have a look around the room."

>>38636630
>"Nina, can you tell anything from the bodies?"
>"Let's have a look around the room."

>>38636630
>"Nina, can you tell anything from the bodies?"
>"Let's have a look around the room."

>>38636630
>>"Nina, can you tell anything from the bodies?"
>>"Let's have a look around the room."

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>>38636630
"Nina, take a look at the bodies and see if you can find out anything," you say. "Everyone else… or at least Roberta and I, search the room."

Nina inches a little closer to the bodies, close enough to have a decent look at them, but she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to touch them or pull them out. Meanwhile, Roberta and you walk around the room. Jetje and Karl step in as well, but they're obviously reluctant.

Your investigation of the room reveals nothing unusual. There are carvings on the walls, but there are carvings in every Valkyrur ruin. There aren't any tools or notes either, so whatever happened to those people couldn't have happened here. Still, the Imperials put a lot of effort into dragging them all the way here. There must have been some reason.

Nina's observations fare a little better.

"All the women have precise surgical scars consistent with a hysterectomy, while all the men have scars consistent with a vasectomy," she says. "The age doesn't matter. Most of them also have scars on their stomach or chest. All of them are surgical. This is all very clean work."

"You think they were sterilized?" You ask.

"Maybe," Nina says. "I think experimental or exploratory surgery focused on the reproductive organs are more likely though."

"What about the cause of death?"

"Execution via bullet wound to the head," she says. "At least that's what it looks like for the corpses on the exterior of the pile. Maybe the corpses underneath are different, but I'm not digging in there."

"I guess that means we're done here," you say.

>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can bury the bodies."
>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can get someone to investigate further."

>>38637174
>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can get someone to investigate further."

>>38637174
>>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can get someone to investigate further."

>>38637174
>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can get someone to investigate further."

>>38637174
>"Let's find Captain DuLac. She can get someone to investigate further."

File: Captain Elsa DuLac.png (958 KB, 1360x768)

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>>38637174
"Let's find Captain DuLac," you say. "She can get someone to investigate further. There's nothing else we can do here."

You make your way back down to the main hall. DuLac is overseeing the clean-up operation from the temple's main entrance.

"Captain," you say. "We're done investigating the interior of the temple. We couldn't make our way down to the lower levels, but we found something on one of the upper floors. There were bodies in one of the chambers. Civilians, from what we can tell. It looks like the Imperials were experimenting on them."

DuLac frowns.

"You think the Imperials came her to kidnap and experiment on people?" She asks. "But why come all the way to Gallia? That's a really big risk."

"I wouldn't know," you say. "I'm afraid you'll need to find someone to investigate further."

"I'll take care of it," she says. "In the meantime, take your team back to the city. You could use a rest. I'll finish things here."

"Yes, captain." You turn to your team. "You heard the lady, people! Let's get going."

You take a short detour around the remnants of the battlefield to avoid getting into anyone's way and return to the trucks. After that, it's a short drive back to the nearest town. The guards are still on alert, but they wave you through when you arrive. You park your trucks somewhere out of the way and exit.

"What do we do now?" Vanessa asks.

"This place has decent pubs from what I know," Karl says.

"I'm just going back to my room," Jetje says. "I don't know if I can sleep after… that, but I don't really want to stay up much longer either."

>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."
>"Sleep sounds good right about now."
>Find Brightward and tell her about what happened.

>>38637573
>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

>>38637573
>Find Brightward and tell her about what happened.
Then

>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

We made a promise.

>>38637573
>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

>>38637573
>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

>>38637573
>Find Brightward and tell her about what happened.
>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

>>38637573
>>Find Brightward and tell her about what happened.
>>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

>>38637573
>>Find Brightward and tell her about what happened.
>>"I could use a hot meal. And a beer. Maybe something harder."

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>>38637573
"I have something to do first," you say. "I'll catch up with you at the pub later."

You wave your team good night and stifle a yawn. As tired as you are, you still have something to do.

You return to the clinic where Brightward is recuperating. The guards are surprised to see you, but they don't stop you. Maybe they think there's something you need to ask her about the Imperials now that you've hit their base.

You knock on the door hard enough to wake her up if she's asleep and announce your arrival.

"You can come in," she says from across the door. "I wasn't sleeping."

You open the door and step into the room.

"Bad dreams?" You ask.

"No," she says. "I was just waiting for news. I don't think I can sleep without knowing what happened."

"I'm afraid I don't have much news for you," you say. "We think the Imperials evacuated most of their forces before we got there. However, we did find out a few things…"

You recount the battle, as well as what you found inside, leaving out some of the details that a woman shouldn't know about. Brightward doesn't say anything. She just lets you talk and occasionally nods.

Once you're done, she clenches her hands into fists and looks at you.

"Take me there," she says. "I need to see that temple now."

>"… fine, it should be safe enough now."
>"I can take you there, but it'll wait until morning."
>"No, there's no way I can bring you there."

>>38638151
"Why? What do you know about this?"

>>38638151
Supporting this >>38638202

>>38638151
>"I can take you there, but it'll wait until morning."

>>38638151
"What do you know that I don't?"

>>38638151
Supporting asking what she knows. If she can't tell us a good reason I say no.

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>>38638151
"Why do you care about that temple?"

"What are you, an idiot?" She asks. "Those Imperials kidnapped me to bring me there and I want to know why. I want to see it for myself."

Her knuckles turn white and she glares at you as she waits for your answer.

>"Fine, let's go."
>"I can take you there in the morning."
>"That's not a good enough reason."

>>38638616
>"I can take you there in the morning."

>>38638616
>"I can take you there in the morning."
Whatever. Guess we're just supposed to take her.

>>38638616
>>"I can take you there in the morning."

>>38638616
>"I can take you there in the morning."

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>>38638616
"I can take you there in the morning," you say. "We still have soldiers clearing the place and I've been up to long."

"Fine." She rolls over and buries herself in blankets. "I'll see you in the morning them."

Handling those reporters way back when really was the best course of action.

You head out and peek your head through the door of a few pubs until you find the one where Vanessa, Karl and William are eating hot sandwiches and drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.

"Evening." You sit down at their table and Karl hands you a sandwich. It seems they ordered in bulk. "I see you're enjoying yourselves."

"Field rations just don't get the job done," William says. "This is much better. Expensive, but much better."

"That's why the Gallian Army hands out bounties, Will," Karl says. "What will you be having, Renard?"

>"Just the food."
>"Oh, I'm drinking everything I can get my hands on."

>>38638930
>>"Oh, I'm drinking everything I can get my hands on."

>>38638930
>"Oh, I'm drinking everything I can get my hands on."

>>38638930

>"Just the food and something to wash it down with."

>>38638930
>"Just the food and something to wash it down with."

>>38638930
>>"Just the food and something to wash it down with."

>>38639026
Anon, please.

>>38638930
>>"Just the food."

>>38638930
>"Oh, I'm drinking everything I can get my hands on."

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>>38638930
"I'm just going to eat," you say. "It's not like waking up hung over tomorrow is going to make me feel better."

"You'd be surprised," Karl says. He gulps down half his beer in one go.

"Is it really normal to drink that much?" Vanessa asks.

"This really isn't that much," Karl says. "Beer is just water with barley in it."

"It's a little bit more complicated than that, Karl," you say.

"It's simple enough for me," William says.

You focus on the food, while Karl and William finish one pitcher and then other. Vanessa quietly watches them go at it.

Karl and William are able to make it back to your hotel without stumbling too much and you all return to your respective rooms. You leave the drapes open so the morning sun will wake you up. You'll need to get up early if you need to do escort duty.

You crawl into bed and close your eyes.

>… you're still there, in the dirt.
>… where do the stairs go?
>… until the sun wakes you up.

>>38639392
>>… until the sun wakes you up.
no nightmares to night

>>38639392
>… until the sun wakes you up.
We're too exhausted for traumatic experiences, they can wait until tomorrow.

>>38639392
>… you're still there, in the dirt.

>>38639392
>… you're still there, in the dirt.

>>38639392
>>… you're still there, in the dirt.

>>38639392
>… until the sun wakes you up.

>>38639392
>>… where do the stairs go?

>>38639392
>… where do the stairs go?

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>38639392
Tie breaker roll.
1= No nightmares
2= Trench warfare PTSD

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>>38639392
You're covered in dirt and mud. Mortars fly above you. Bullets slam into the ground around you. The only thing between you and the Imperials is rusty barbed wire. It won't keep the tanks away when they roll all over you. You look around. There's no one else.

You set your rifle against the edge of the trench and look for the target. Everyone is behind cover, except the tanks, and you can't harm the tanks. Your bullets aren't good enough. You see a shocktrooper who's sticking out of cover. You fire and blow away his helmet, but he doesn't stop shooting. Only the Gallians have stopped shooting.

Another mortar flies towards you.

You run away through the trenches, but they start to fill with mud. It's cold and it slows down your movements. It might stop the bullets a little, but that won't help you if you drown in mud.

>Run out at the Imperials! It's better than drowning!
>Hide somewhere. There must be a safe place.

>>38639935
>Run out at the Imperials! It's better than drowning!

>>38639935
>>Run out at the Imperials! It's better than drowning!

>>38639935
>Run out at the Imperials! It's better than drowning!

Never back down when facing the enemy.

>>38639935
>Run out at the Imperials! It's better than drowning!

>>38639935
You'd rather die out on the battlefield than drown in a goddamn trench. You pull yourself out, tearing your shirt and your arms against the barbed wire. Then you charge at the Imperials, firing your sniper rifle wildly. You don't hit anything, but nothing hits you either. There's only the rhythmic sound of machine gun fire.

You toss your useless rifle aside and leap at the nearest soldier. You wrap your hands around him and grip as tightly as you can, squeezing his arteries and his larynx and the bones of his neck, but he won't stop struggling and the light is blinding your eyes.

You wake up, covered in cold sweat and with your hands gripping a bundle of blankets as if you were trying to choke it to death. You relax your fingers and sigh. There's always something wrong.

You take a warm shower to clean yourself up and get dressed again.

You'll need to head out to the temple again to satisfy Brightward's curiosity.

>Take her there alone.
>Bring the rest of the team with you.

>>38640410
>Take her there alone.
What could possibly go wrong?

>>38640410
>>Take her there alone.
Let the team rest, there's no danger now.

>>38640410
>Bring the rest of the team with you.

>>38640410
>>Bring the rest of the team with you.

>>38640410
>Take her there alone.

>>38640410
>Take her there alone.

I bet she's a spy.

>>38640410
>>Bring the rest of the team with you.
right im not gonna go alone to a place that has a tunnel that allowed imps to escape

>>38640410
>Take her there alone.

>>38640410
>>Bring the rest of the team with you.

>Take her there alone.

However, we'd warn someone, that we're going off with her. And where, probably. Whom can we trust not to talk much?

>>38640410
You decide not to bother the rest of your team over a random request. This is an off day for all of you, you're not needed, you're supposed to be on vacation anyway and DuLac's still there with most of her squad if anything does go wrong. You can handle this on your own.

You drop by the clinic and once again knock on her door. There's no answer, so you open the door a crack and look inside. You don't see anything that would leave you in a compromising situation, so you open the door wider. Brightward's still in her bed, wrapped up in blankets. You reach out and shake her shoulder.

"Miss Brightward?" You say. "Miss Brightward, I've come to pick you up."

Her eyes open a crack.

"I'm glad to see you're punctual," she says. "Just give me a minute to get ready."

You close the door and let her get dressed and do whatever the hell else she needs to do to make herself presentable.

>(1/2)

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>>38640977
One hour later, you're on your way to the trucks.

"The trail isn't bushwacked, so we'll have to walk," you say. "It's a fair distance away, so just tell me if you're tired. I'm afraid we'll have to hurry though."

"I assure you, I'll be fine."

She did have the good sense to dress in hiking clothes.

You return to the site of the attack. Brightward looks around, visibly uncomfortable. You lead her into the forest, but that doesn't do much to calm her down.

The rest of the walk proceeds at a decent pace. Brightward's not a trained soldier - and you half-wonder if she cut a deal to avoid militia training - but she's in good shape and she doesn't slow you down, especially since you're not pressured by combat. You don't say much on the way. Mostly, you just clear the path for her.

When you arrive at the temple, DuLac's squad is still there cleaning up. They glance at you, but you do your best to give the impression that you have business here and most of them recognize you anyway. No one bothers you.

"Is this the place?" Brightward asks.

"This is it," you say.

"It looks like every other Valkyrur temple I've been to," she says. "Nobles love to throw concerts and parties at Valkyrur temples for some reason."

"History makes them look cultured," you say. "Let's have a look around."

>Start with the main hall.
>Start with the room where you found the bodies.
>Start with the door you couldn't open.

>>38641000
>Start with the door you couldn't open.

>>38641000
>Start with the door you couldn't open.

>>38641000
>>Start with the door you couldn't open.


nice trip

12 votes and then 3 the next time. What happened?

>>38641000
>Start with the door you couldn't open.

>>38641303
I don't even feel like voting. I get the feeling that this one chick is going to be a Valkyria or whatever they're called, and I'm just going to let it happen.

>>38641000
"Let's head inside," you say.

You decide to avoid people and go through the hidden tunnel. You lead Brightward into the temple, starting with the door where you found a blood trail.

"This is a door," you say. "Like every such door that is intact, we have no idea how to open it. If some temples weren't broken down, we wouldn't even know these places have a lower level."

You turn around to head towards the main hall, but the sound of stone grinding on stone catches your attention. You turn back to see the door open.

"That's new," you say. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Brightward says. "I just touched the door and it opened."

She looks down at the trail of blood that leads farther down. It still hasn't been cleaned up. Then again, it's not really a priority for DuLac's people.

"I'm going to take a look," Brightward says. She steps through the doorway and rushes down the spiraling stairs downward into the temple.

>Just wait here. She'll get bored and come back soon.
>Follow after her. You can't just leave her alone.

>>38641303
The votes unanimously for the option I wanted so I didn't feel the need to add mine.

>>38641380
>Follow after her. You can't just leave her alone.

>>38641380
>Follow after her. You can't just leave her alone.

>>38641380
>Follow after her. You can't just leave her alone.


>>38641367
Are they bad or something? I've never gotten too far in any of the games.

>>38641427
They're basically the mary-sues of the setting, with super special powers because of their blood; special equipment allows them to utilize it, but I never really cared for that part of the game.

>Follow after her. You can't just leave her alone.

Also can't leave us without good understanding of what is happening.

>>38641500
Oh yeah. Come to think of it I think that's why I quit playing the first one.

>>38641631
I'm probably being a bit unfair, but I was just expecting this whole thing to come up a later date.

>>38641380
You sigh and follow after her. It'll be more trouble than it's worth if she trips and gets herself killed. Who the hell builds a pit that big and doesn't put any guard rails anywhere? That's just asking for an accident.

You quickly catch up with Brightward. She's walking slowly so she can look at the murals illuminated by blue lights.

"This place is beautiful," she says.

"I thought you said it looked like every other Valkyrur temple?"

"Don't ruin the moment."

You continue going down. And down. And down. You have no idea how deep this place is or how long it took you to finally reach the bottom.

The bottom level is a wide open space illuminated by four massive pillars of ragnite. There's what looks like an altar framed by two giant Valkyrur statues at the far end. It's covered in blood and strange scorch marks.

"What happened here?" Brightward asks.

>(1/2)

>>38642016
You approach the altar and see something on top of it. It looks like a jawbone that's been incinerated. Elsewhere in the room, you see massive blood stains and scattered surgical equipment.

"This is where they performed the experiments," you say. "But why did they burn at least one body on the altar and drag the rest of them up to the top floor?"

"I think I found something," Brightward says. She runs up to you holding a small notebook in her hand. "I can't see it very well…"

You peer over her shoulder. Your eyesight isn't just good for sniping.

"Subject 37 tainted," you read what's written in the book. "Purifying in flames and offered to Valkyrur." That explains the incinerated jawbone on the altar. You keep reading the entries. "Subject 39 survived trauma. Valkyrur soul activated. Continue experimentation."

Most of the entries are the same, describing subjects who were "tainted" and offered up as a sacrifice or who survived whatever happened to them and were used in further experiments. It's the last entry that tells you what the Empire was doing here.

"Site compromised. Valkyrur resurrection project to resume elsewhere. Collaborators will need to be placated."

Brightward falls lifelessly to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"This is what they died for?" She asks. "My manager. My friends. The people who were brought here. They died just for this stupid legend?"

>"People have died for less."
>"Maybe it's not just a legend."
>"No. They died because of the Empire's greed."

>>38642042
>>"No. They died because of the Empire's greed."

>>38642042
>"No. They died because of the Empire's greed."
>"Maybe it's not just a legend."

And then it turns out we're the one with the special power.

>>38642042
>"People have died for less."

>>38642042
The empire seems pretty sure it's not just a legend

>>38642042
>"No. They died because of the Empire's greed."

>>38642042
>>"Maybe it's not just a legend."

>"People have died for less."

>>38642042
"No, they died because of the Empire's greed," you say. "Maybe the Valkyrur aren't just a legend, but that doesn't justify what they did."

You place a comforting hand on Brightward's shoulder.

"Come on," you say. "We need to get back and I need to tell my colleague about this place."

Brightward nods and stands up slowly. On the way back, she trails slightly behind you and stares blankly at the blood-stained floor.

You have no idea how the hell the Gallian Army is going to deal with this. You're not even sure they even can deal with this. This is all above your pay grade anyway and you'll need to head back to Velde soon. It's an odd time to take a vacation, but the army will be waiting for you there and the festival won't be too far off by the time you get there.

You don't know when your next vacation will be after this and so far, you spent your entire vacation fighting. There's no telling how bad the real war will be once you get back into it.

>>38642380
And that's all for tonight, which is good because my Internet connection has been failing for the last 20 minutes.

In any case, I'm expecting the actual vacation filler arc to last one or two threads depending on how things turn out. I will probably use the time to convert the rules to a Fate hack. 1d100 + modifier is simple to work with, but I increasingly find that it makes the combat scenes boring to write, so they can't be all that fun to play out either, and adding up all the level modifiers requires a lot of tedious bookkeeping, which is why I keep procrastinating on updating the pastebin. Anyway, I'll see how it goes.

I did consider adding an awakened Valkyrur, but it caused too many problems and I thought of something else I could do with them.

Good night and thanks for playing.

>>38642454
Have a fantastic evening, and thanks for running man.

>>38642454
Thanks for running.

>>38642454
Good night. Thanks for running.

>>38642454
Please, don't throw in a Valkyrur as party members. That'll just give the dice gods more than enough reason to shit all over the dice and have the dice roll nothing above a 20.