>>38853019

Farren does her best to ignore the hound. Her eyes dart to the food at the pit of the fire, but otherwise keeps her line of sight affixed on the ground.

“It’s a Farren,” you say, ruffling Reeber’s ears, which he enjoys immensely. “She’s cool.”

“SHE IS ALSO A LIABILITY,” he tells you. “I ADVISE YOU TO RELEASE HER BACK INTO THE WILD THIS INSTANT.”

You jab your elbow into Farren’s side to get her to speak for herself.

Nervously, she looks up at Ranthix does a little curtsy thing, even though she’s not wearing a skirt. “Sierra told me I would be welcome in your company, Sir Ranthix the Terrible,” she says, carefully enunciating her words.

Ranthix’s expression grows more furious. “BAH. FINE. CEASE MOLESTING MY RATIONS WITH YOUR AVARICIOUS EYES AND SEAT YOURSELF, URCHIN. YOU’LL BE FREE TO GLUT YOURSELF IN A MOMENT.”

“Better do as he says,” you tell her.

Farren hesitates before sitting down by the fire, and Reeber skips off into the darkness on some important errand.

You spot Alan Gracie watching the whole exchange with shrouded eyes, but he turns his attentions back to the map he holds in his hands. Orias stands on the other side of camp with Scott. They speak quietly, but even just giving them two seconds of your attention you can tell they’re chatting about beetlemen.

>>38853036

You don’t see Rowan anywhere, but there is a light in her tent. Maybe she’s de-armoring for the night. Zote continues to keep watch, likely with a submachine gun under his cloak, while slightly beyond on the edge of light, Frederick sits on a fallen tree with a little book in hand.

It’s not that late, but it is way cold, and it’s only going to get colder. You shiver to yourself despite your fur coat, and realize that you’re pretty tired. Too much stuff in one day.

>Maybe you should go to bed early. The itinerary has you leaving before sunup, might be a good idea to get rested up.
>Go find a dark spot and do some Keth’gi to mellow out.
>Go grill Freddy. You’re still not sure whether you should lock him out of the landwell like that Jaegerstroud woman wants you to.
>Touch bases with Ro. You may have disturbed her more than usual after your last chat.
>Hang around the fire with Rax and Farren. Got to make sure everything goes smoothly.
>Mingle with somebody else (?)
>Do other stuff (?)
>Other (?)

>>38853107
>Touch bases with Ro. You may have disturbed her more than usual after your last chat.

>>38853107
>>Touch bases with Ro. You may have disturbed her more than usual after your last chat.

>>38853107
>Touch bases with Ro. You may have disturbed her more than usual after your last chat.

>>38853107
>Go find a dark spot and do some Keth’gi to mellow out.

>>38853107
>Touch bases with Ro. You may have disturbed her more than usual after your last chat.

File: 7.gif (332 KB, 440x330)

332 KB GIF

>>38853036
>BAH. FINE. CEASE MOLESTING MY RATIONS WITH YOUR AVARICIOUS EYES AND SEAT YOURSELF, URCHIN.
kek

>>38853107
>Go grill Freddy. You’re still not sure whether you should lock him out of the landwell like that Jaegerstroud woman wants you to.

FUCK YEAH! HELLBORN QUEST!
and just as I get home!

>>38853107
>Talk to fred

But one thing that may have been a little bit too much was how you were with Rowan earlier. You were kind of on edge, and you don’t really regret saying anything, but you feel like you should probably make sure everything’s good between the two of you.

You leave Farren in Ranthix’s custody and head over to Ro’s tiny, Spartan-sized tent. It’s a tiny thing, barely big enough for one person. You give the door a couple kicks. “Open up, it’s the FBI,” you say.

“Ah! Wait, I’m indecent,” Ro says jokingly. But after a rustle of movement from within, the tent zips open admitting you entrance. You climb inside. Ro’s inside her lightweight sleeping bag, wearing a tough-looking wool shirt. She curls up in the corner to give you enough room to sit down on the other side. A little pocket-sized flashlight lights up the whole tent with its tiny glow.

You look around. “Nice place you’ve got here,” you say, turning and contorting yourself so you can sit comfortably in the tiny space available.

“Yeah, it actually belonged to my first husband, but I got it in the divorce,” Rowan says, her tone conversational.

>Continue the jokes.
>You’re such a goofball.
>What do you think Isaac’s doing right now? He freaking out yet, you think?
>So uh. We’re still cool, right? Because I’m still cool.
>Hey. About what I said. I don’t want you to take any of that stuff in the wrong way. It’s just... I kind of can’t really talk about a lot of things with people. It just comes out sometimes.
>Could you not repeat what I told you to anybody? Because you’re pretty much the only person I’d trust with that kind of thing.
>Other (?)

>>38853806
>Continue the jokes.
>Hey. About what I said. I don’t want you to take any of that stuff in the wrong way. It’s just... I kind of can’t really talk about a lot of things with people. It just comes out sometimes.
>Could you not repeat what I told you to anybody? Because you’re pretty much the only person I’d trust with that kind of thing.

>>38853806
>>You’re such a goofball.
>>What do you think Isaac’s doing right now? He freaking out yet, you think?

>>38853806
>>Hey. About what I said. I don’t want you to take any of that stuff in the wrong way. It’s just... I kind of can’t really talk about a lot of things with people. It just comes out sometimes.
>Other (?)
"You ever hear of beetlemen before today? Orias says they're a problem all over the goddamn place."

So, what are we going to do with the possible orphan? I know Sierra probably has a lot of sympathy for her plight, but what happens after we do our thing and head home?

>>38854150
"Cya!"

>>38853806
>Continue the jokes.
>Could you not repeat what I told you to anybody? Because you’re pretty much the only person I’d trust with that kind of thing.

>>38854150
Dump her in some town or maybe back in San Francisco. She speaks the language so it wouldn't exactly be a problem.

>>38853806
>You’re such a goofball.
>What do you think Isaac’s doing right now? He freaking out yet, you think?
>Hey. About what I said. I don’t want you to take any of that stuff in the wrong way. It’s just... I kind of can’t really talk about a lot of things with people. It just comes out sometimes.

You snort. “You’re such a goofball,” you say, smirking to yourself.

“Takes one to know one,” she says.

“Ain’t that the truth,” you reply. You work your hood out from under the coat and flip it up to warm up your ears. “What do you think Isaac’s doing right now? You think he’s freaking out?”

“Mom will talk him out of it,” she says. “One day he’s going to have to wake up and realize I can actually go around and make my own decisions.”

“Huh. Really?”

Rowan rolls her eyes. “I’m not joking,” she says. “Dad’s way... ugh. Controlling? I don’t know. At least he’s starting to get it that you can’t get everybody to do everything you want.”

“I don’t know. He seems pretty chill from an outside observer’s perspective,” you say. “I mean, he basically allowed me to come on this quest mission job thing.”

“That’s because Mom and Dad are pretty sure you’re just going to do whatever you’re going to do,” she says. “They try not to get in the way of that. I mean, you already know how to take care of yourself, they don’t want you feeling like being a part of the family has to be a big chore.”

“Pfft. Being an honorary and legal Hallow is like, the best,” you say.

“Because Dad actually goes out of the way to make it that way,” says Rowan. “Seriously, he’s way demanding. It’s like he likes the idea of who I’m going to be, not who I am right now. I don’t know, people all expected a lot from him when he was a kid. I’m just glad I could come along with you, you know, do something on my own.”

“Well, I’m glad that I could be like, the somebody you could come along with in the first place, like, to do stuff on your own, together,” you say.

Ro smiles in reply.

But the jokes remind you that you’re not here to joke around. “Actually uh,” you say, taking a second to clear your throat. Awkward segue, but I kind of wanted to talk about what I said earlier.”

>>38855299

Rowan furrows her brow. “What about?” But then she understands what you’re talking about, and she gains a degree of seriousness.

“I mean like, I don’t want you to take any of that junk in the wrong way. It’s just, like, I kind of can’t really talk about a lot of things with people. It just comes out sometimes, you know?”

“It can be hard sometimes,” Rowan agrees, her feelings carefully neutral on the subject.

“Okay,” you say, more to yourself than her. “It’s good. Okay. Uh. But uh. Could you not repeat what I told you to anybody? Because... you know. You’re pretty much the only person I’d trust with that kind of thing.”

Rowan nods, resting her chin on her knees. “You’ve always got my vote,” she says. “You know that, right?”

“Heh. Yeah. Duh,” you say. You didn’t really expect her to be so chill about everything. Maybe you were just overreacting? You do blow things out of proportion, sometimes. (+2 Sanity: 85/100) (-2 Stress: 32/100) Except now it’s kind of awkward being cooped up in the tent after being all willy nilly with stuff. Too many feelings. (+2 Stress: 34/100)

>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>>Tell her about Farren.
>>Ask her about what she thinks about Frederick and his deal.
>>Chat about the junk you'll get up to after you get your landwell.
>So... I’ll see you tomorrow morning, I guess. Good night.
>>Go mingle with somebody (?)
>>Hide away and meditate or something.
>>Go off to sleep
>Other (?)

>>38855299
What did we say earlier?

>>38855355
>>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>>>Chat about the junk you'll get up to after you get your landwell.

>>38855355
>Tell her about Farren.
>Ask her about what she thinks about Frederick and his deal.
>Chat about the junk you'll get up to after you get your landwell.

>>38855355
>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>>Tell her about Farren.
>So... I’ll see you tomorrow morning, I guess. Good night.
>>Go mingle with somebody (?)
Talk to the Gracie's. See what their story is.

>>38855355
>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>>Chat about the junk you'll get up to after you get your landwell.

>>38855355

>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>>Tell her about Farren.
>>Ask her about what she thinks about Frederick and his deal.

>>38855355
>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.

>>38855355
>>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.

Roll dice to avoid awkwardness.

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>38855690

>>38855364
Well, we told her that we occasionally remember what we did during our episodes and how it's part of who we are.

And we disclosed our developing beetlejuice addiction.

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>38855690

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>38855690

Hell yes, now I just need to piss off and catch up having finally gotten a computer back after new years.

We haven't gone full retard and killed anyone we cared about/ruined any friendships in the last ~3 months, right?

>>38856196
You weren't attached to Harvey, where you?

>>38855355
>Get over yourself and finish the conversation. You can be mature about things too.
>Tell her about Farren.
>Ask her about what she thinks about Frederick and his deal.

>>38856196
We've been sane-ish since Meckor.

File: RumiaHungry.jpg (199 KB, 850x1133)

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>>38856196
Romantic relationship with Baron may or may not be possible after the revalation that his waifu is a thing of nightmares.

And that's not including the rages, flesh-eating, murder and literal thirst for blood which our human friends don't know about yet.

>>38856566
>Romantic relationship with Baron may or may not be possible
Oh no, not that.

>>38856566
Oh, we finally told them

Well, given our friends are a bunch of nerds, I'd actually be more surprised if they didn't get over the whole "supernatural monstrosity" thing relatively quickly

>>38856724
Vik was fucking beside herself when Rowan pulled the wings out, Baron was a bit freaked out.

We decided to let it all hang out, and were met with Vikrama trying to smile through the fear which we could taste coming off in waves while Baron went and had a long walk in the woods by himself to come to grips with this new reality where his prom date is a literal monster.

>>38856724
That or they are /tg/ style paladins*


*Blackguards who pretend they are good

>>38856874
>literal monster.
Sierra's not a monster. She's just a very naughty girl.

>>38856949
Who needs to be punished.

>>38853036
>“BAH. FINE. CEASE MOLESTING MY RATIONS WITH YOUR AVARICIOUS EYES AND SEAT YOURSELF, URCHIN. YOU’LL BE FREE TO GLUT YOURSELF IN A MOMENT.”
top kek.jpg

I just got off an unexpectedly long phone call. Back to writing.

>>38857611
Don't worry, we are used to it.

>>38857611
Hey, no need to come up with excuses we know it was the lawn.

>>38857670

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have fertilizer. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for lawns like you. If you let my family go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will mow you."

>>38857611
can't fool us lawnguard, we already know you are secretly combatting the lawn menace!! it's fine for you to take time on your work, we'll be waiting.

But you’re the one in charge, not your feelings. You scowl at yourself for a second and make the vile things quiet down while you finish your conversation. They can take a back seat. You still have stuff to talk about.

“Anyway,” you say, “there’s a girl named Farren that’s going to be tagging along with us to Pelheft. Just wanted to let you know. She’s pretty cool and stuff.”

“Huh. I’ll have to meet her,” says Rowan. “Why isn’t she staying with her village?”

“Dad’s dead,” you say.

Ro takes a deep breath. “I’ll definitely have to meet her,” she says.

Rowan’s probably the best person in the world to talk to about stuff like that, so you feel a little bit better about the situation now. “You do that,” you say. “By the way, did you talk to Frederick much?”

“Not much. Why?”

“I don’t know,” you say, while giving her a look that says you do know. But since you’re in a flimsy tent surrounded by potential enemies, you’re not really willing to be loud about your potential dealings with the Eclipse. “I’m just trying to get a better idea of what he’s after, is all.”

“Well, on the whole he’s pretty levelheaded,” says Rowan. “The Gracies really respect him, and him and Zote did throw this whole thing together on their own. It’s not easy to organize trans-planar operations like this, lots of things can go wrong. I haven’t really had a chance to get to know him, though. We’ve been pretty busy since we got here.”

“Sure,” you say.

“I’ll chat him up on the way there. We’ve still got a couple days to go,” she says.

Rowan bringing herself along was a good idea. Less legwork for you. “Cool.”

If you keep chatting with Rowan, it’ll probably get way late before you know it. Though you’re kind of a night owl, so that doesn’t make much difference.

>Keep chatting (?)
>Do other stuff (?)
>Other (?)

>>38858126
>Do other stuff (?)
Let's go see how Farren is doing.

>>38858126
>Do other stuff (?)
Find a quiet place to do some Keth'gi.

>>38858126
if keep chatting helps with our sanity or stress
>keep chatting, preferably anything that's been nagging at our minds lately
if not,
>do other stuff
like checking out how Farren is doing.

>>38858250
I forgot >>38858250 was a thing too.
changing the latter option to >>38858250

>>38858126
>Do other stuff (?)
See what the rest of the group is up to.

>>38858126
>But you’re the one in charge, not your feelings. You scowl at yourself for a second and make the vile things quiet down while you finish your conversation. They can take a back seat

That isn't how the human brain works.

>>38856874
fear is perfectly rational there, any big revelation is going to make you very uncertain about things even if it looks overwhelmingly positive. I'd be surprised if they don't remember that these are still the same people they always liked after some time to get past the shock.

>>38858126
Sleep!

“Well, you talk to Farren when you get a chance,” you say. “I’m going to go meditate or something.”

“All right,” says Ro.

You leave Rowan to her own devices, and go to find a sequestered location on the outside edge of camp. You ditch your chainmail and the coat, as well as your weapons – they’re weighing you down too much. The cold’s not comfortable, but Keth’gi isn’t about being comfortable. In fact, Ranthix says the more uncomfortable you are, the better. You really need to wind down and just get your act together. You can’t be falling apart all the way out here when there’s actual dangerous stuff happening aroudn you.

Since Farren can’t see in the dark, you shed your glamors as well – you can’t do higher level stuff without your tail – and you start in on a routine. Just regular balancing stuff and weird stretches. You can do some pretty crazy things, but that’s because you can cheat and prop yourself up with your shadow if you fall over.

There’s really no mandated thing to do with your shadow tendrils, so you kind of just improvise doing stuff with them to match the rest. You don’t know if what you’re doing even really counts as Keth’gi anymore, but you are uncomfortable, so you’ve got that much down. At least it takes up your entire concentration to work all your body in synchronization, moving in ways that don’t quite make sense even to you.

>>38859232

A while later, you’re worked up from the exercise, but you’re kept from feeling overheated by the frigid air. The routines manage to put some of the more distressing things bothering you out of your mind. Just not enough room for pure martial prowess and weird existential doubts. (+1 Sanity: 86/100) (-8 Stress: 26/100)

Suddenly your flow collapses as you come under observation, and you feel yourself limited to rational geometry. You drag your shadow back into the surrounding darkness and revert back to human form in an instant, grimacing at the effort. (+3 Stress: 29/100) You whirl around to see who threw you off, and through the darkness see Orias’s shaded form between you and camp.

“Excuse me. I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he says. With that, he bows slightly and walks away.

>He was probably going to tell you everybody was going to sleep. You should join them.
>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.
>See if Freddy’s still up. You want to catch him before he goes out.
>Say something to Orias (?)
>Other (?)

>>38859262
>Say something to Orias
Enjoy the free show?

>>38859262
>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.

>>38859262
>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there

>in the zone
heh heh.
insert XCOM EW sniper joke here[/s[piler]

>>38859262
>>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.

>>38859262
>Say something to Orias (?)
Did you want to speak about something?

>>38859262
>See if Freddy’s still up. You want to catch him before he goes out.

>>38859262
>>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.

>>38859262
>He was probably going to tell you everybody was going to sleep. You should join them.

>>38859262
>>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.

Whatever. Probably came to tell you the time or something but couldn’t handle the awkward approach with you being all ultra-yoga demoness and stuff. If it’s important, he’ll bring it up tomorrow.

Now where were you? It takes a minute, but you pick up where you left off, feeling yourself on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. You reform into your demon form, and start having an epiphany. You start to get the feeling that there really is something to this Keth’gi stuff after all. Things just seem to get stiller, easier to manage.

You’ve done this crap a hundred times, but you start to get a glimpse of what it could be. You still kind of suck at it a lot, but at least the nebulous crappiness has turned into a defined, oh yeah, this is exactly how I suck kind of suckiness. Either way, you would describe the experience as enlightening. (-9 Stress: 20/100) (+1 Sanity: 87/10))

Nobody else stumbles upon you, which actually might be a bad thing. By the time you start getting fed up with Keth’gi, you realize it’s late. Like. Way late. And you’re also freezing. You gather up your stuff and huff it back to camp.

There are no signs of movement, except for Zote, who still crouches perched on his rock. He gives you a cold look before turning back to surveying the woods. Huh. Robots are actually pretty useful. At least you don’t have to keep watch.

Ranthix lays flat on his back in the snow, his feet shoved into the embers of the fire. A lump of blanket on the other side must be Farren. You spot the Gracie’s tent, as well as the Spartan sleeping pad holding the still form of Frederick. You see no sign of Orias. Whatever, he can handle himself.

Reeber, who’s sleeping nearby, pops up as you walk over. He yawns and stretches before getting to his feet and coming over.

I hurried Lawn God, I promice. But still late.

>>38859262
>Continue Keth’gi. You were starting to get into the zone right there.

>>38860264

You don’t really have a tent, but you do have a sleeping pad stuffed into your backpack. You unroll it next to the fire and sprawl out next to the still-glowing embers. You let out a tired yawn before wrapping yourself it your fur coat and making yourself comfortable. You make Reeber function as your self-heating pillow, and quickly lose track of your surroundings. Things turn dark and darker before you finally pass out.

--

You’re running. Running from... you trip over a snake. A huge snake with a million antlike legs. You tumble head over heels and land flat on your face. Fucking condapedes.

You look up, and find Philostrathus standing before you, her flat, snake-like face baring a thin, serpentine grin. “Remember me, half-born filth?” says the seer. (Condapede Life: 6/6 HP)

Crap, you should have mounted her head on your wall like Sattler told you to! Now you’re going to freak out and kill everybody again!

She raises a hand, and a dozen condapedes slither out from behind her. “You are powerless! The heir this hour shall die!” she declares.

>Whatever! You want to be Imperiate so bad, go for it!
>Tell Isaac to shoot her.
>You killed her once, you can do it again.
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power. (Attempt reason)
>Two can play at this game. (Summon the 'pedes.)
>Get away, you still have time before you lose it.
>Well, at least this isn’t the boat dream. (Dice: Hard)
>Other (?)

>>38860367
>>Get away, you still have time before you lose it.

>>38860367
>Well, at least this isn’t the boat dream. (Dice: Hard)
Risk it for the biscuit

>>38860423
>we crit fail
>condapedes on a boat

>>38860367
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power. (Attempt reason)

>>38860367
>Get away, you still have time before you lose it.

>>38860367
>You killed her once, you can do it again.

>>38860367
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power. (Attempt reason)

>>38860367
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power.
If you're going to fight demons with god knows what powers you need to do better then snakes. Remember that huge ass snake you had? Yeah? Even that isn't going to do it. They don't do shit when half of what you're going to be fighting has snake roasting powers. Get good bitch.

>>38860367
>Two can play at this game. (Summon the 'pedes.)
We totally need to summon Reeberpedes.

>>38860367
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power. (Attempt reason)
"What is even your problem with me anyway, were you really nothing more than Meckor's bitch? Because I mean even by my standards this seems like a lot of empty rage. We both know you fail here, so why don't you skip the bullshit and talk"

>>38860367
>Summoning condapedes is a stupid power. (Attempt reason)
well, this seems like the most unnerving option related to sanity.

Attempting persuasion. Roll dice.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>38860671

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>38860671
Rollan for love

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>38860671

>>38860689
>>38860711
>>38860692
So dangerous. Thank fuck it's best of 3 and not averages

>>38860689
>>38860692
>>38860711
Yeesh, talk about a range of extremes.

File: 1368820849457.gif (88 KB, 457x402)

88 KB GIF

>>38860689
>>38860692
>>38860711

Rolled 88 (1d100)

>>38860689
>>38860692
>>38860711
That's a beauty. Just a little bit away from 100 1 100

I roll for love and my dice strike true! they roll for nothing and likewise their rolls will come to nothing.

You roll your eyes at her. “Seriously, you come at me for round two and you’re still trying to same trick?” you ask. The condapedes slithering toward you hesitate in their approach.

“Infinite condapedes did you in once,” Philostrathus points out in a strident tone.

“Well not really,” you say. “I mean, you almost got me, but I freak out whenever I’m actually in trouble. All you did was piss me off so I could come kill you later. I bet I deep fried all your ‘pedes on the way out, too. I’m just going to roast you and all your pets the second one of ‘em lays their nasty teeth on me.”

The multitude of condapedes converging on you look at one another uncertainly, chittering in their own condapese language.

“What are you doing?!” Philostrathus shrieks. “Gnaw the flesh from her bones!”

The snakes don’t look so sure, though.

“Yeah that’s right boys,” you tell the snakes, waving them off. “Look Philo,+ you’re going to fight demons with who the hell knows what powers – I’m talking walking through walls, flying around – seriously, what if they can fly? Your snakes are helpless. You’re helpless. That huge as fuck snake? Yeah, that’s not even that’s not going to do it. Half of what you fight has snake killing powers. All this is is animal abuse.”

“They’re not real creatures,” Philostrathus argues. “They’re constructs of the mind, summons from a plane of existence below the depths!”

“Well it doesn’t mean you should treat them like crap,” you say. “They’re people too, you know.”

“No they’re not!”

You look meaningfully at the dozens and dozens of condapedes. “Come on guys, we know how this ends. Your mistress woman is crazy. I’m badass. I win. Save yourself some grief and put yourselves on the winning team for once.”

The snakes consult with one another.

Philostrathus isn’t having any of it. “Attack her! Kill her! I compel you! You’re personifications of my will, not a motely rabble to be swayed by the tongue of the defiled!”

You give a knowing look at the condapedes, and they return the glance with one of their own.

“Looks like the jury’sssssss out,” you hiss.

The condapedes rally and strike back at Philostrathus, rending her limb from limb.

“Noooo, I’ll get you for this, Sierra, if it’s the last thing I do!” That’s about all she gets out before her coffee flavored blood sprays all over your clothes and face.

-----

You wake up with a yelp. “Fucking snakes,” you growl, squinting against the dim morning light. Sun’s not up yet, but you have a horrible headache from dream arguing with Philostrathus. Maybe because you were actually arguing with a personification of your own insecurities? (-1 Sanity: 86/100) Overall, not the most restful sleep you’ve had, but passable. (-11 Stress: 9/100)

A dark silhouette blocks on the sky above. “Oh good. I was afraid I’d have to wake you up,” says Rowan. “How late did you stay up?”

“I was having an epiphany,” you slur. “Go away.”

Rowan shrugs and vanishes, but you can still her voice. “We’re leaving in five minutes, so get all your stuff together.”

So cold. You realize Reeber has abandoned you.

>Do stuff (?)
>Other (?)

>>38861325
This exchange is amusing.
Though
>that’s not even that’s not going to do it

>>38861388
Well I suppose it's time to get up. Let's go see how everyone is doing.

You get typos or you get fast updates.

>>38861325
>Do stuff (?)
Eat some food, beetle men only get you so far.

>>38861494
Oh! Oh! I'll take the fast updates!

>>38861388
>Wrap a blanket around us and use the shadows under the blanket to warm us up.

>>38861388
>Extract yourself from your sleeping bag
>Go see if anyone made breakfast

also
>>38861494
>fast

>>38861494
Typos are usually something I can live with. Fast is good.

>>38861388
Philostrathus being run off and yelling stereotypical lines is vaguely refreshing.

>Find where Reever has gone off to
>Find out where mutinous crossbow liar went to
>Realize we have latent animal charming powers and unlock our druid power.

>>38861494
>fast
with no hesitation.
>>38861388
>pack up and see how others are up to.

>>38861388
>do stuff?
Get ready to move out.

>>38861544
>use the shadows under the blanket to warm us up
Can shadows work like that? I mean, the're shadows.

Does anybody else get the impression that Sierra's shadow self is getting bigger and stronger? When it was first introduced it seemed like it was really tiny and piddly for a while, but now every time Languid mentions it in the narrative it gives the impression of being this huge billowing mass of darkness that could do a ton if it wanted to

>>38862198
I haven't really. I figure our shadow is about as strong as Sierra is physically within about an arm's reach of our body.

>>38862198
Not really. I interpreted what just happened as the actual spirit of Philostrathus being bitchy. Anything particular that is tipping you off for that?

>>38862304
Shadow Self has nothing to do with what just happened with Philo.

SS is Sierra's shadow tendrils

>>38862145
I think it wouldn't, but it's up to languid to tell us about it.

Reluctantly, you roll up the bad, brush off any dirt on it, and jam it back in your backpack. You can’t believe Reeber ditched you. “Reeber, you traitor!” you shout into the cold air.

Reeber comes running along, happy enough. You push his face away from you. “What do you think you’re doing, dog?”

He doesn’t answer you.

“Whatever. Probably got tempted away by food, right?”

He sits down and pants like dogs are wont to do.

“Yeah, I get it. I was just kidding.” Except you realize you’re hungry. Beetle juice only gets you so far. You suppress a shiver at the cold, and use your shadow to try to rub some heat into your body on the inside of your coat. It doesn’t really work very well for how much effort you have to put into it – your shadow doesn’t really generate heat friction on itself. Anyway, you look around camp, and more importantly, smell around camp for something to eat. You follow your nose to a bunch of roasted quail skewered on sticks, leaning against a tree.

“I happened upon them this morning,” says Orias.

You look up, and see Orias in the upper branches of the tree, looking down at you. Maybe he was keeping a lookout? Either way, it’s kind of weird how high up he is.

“Your Royal proved helpful,” he continues. “He was keen to join me.”

“I guess was never a traitor in the first place,” you say to nobody in particular. You take one of the quail off its skewer and bite its head off. You’ve eaten a lot stranger, so you’re not really too picky about stuff that’s cooked. The bones crunch satisfactorily between your teeth, and tasty, bloody juices gush out in delicious abundance. “Pretty good.”

“This land is rich with game. It won’t last long with the beetlemen moving in, though,” he observes.

“Sucks,” you say. You look around, now ready to acknowledge others’ existences that you have something in your stomach. You listen in on the conversation happening some distance from you.

>>38862751

Frederick’s talking to everybody else, including Farren. “We’ll have to make do without mounts for now,” says the mage. “Farren, do you expect there to be horses for sale in Ashpeak?”

“Maybe,” she answers, “but not if they’ve heard of the beetlemen. They’ll take all they can to find refuge at Pelheft as soon as they receive word. The Seraphis there could hold off any siege long enough for Good King Norman to come to our aid.”

“PAH. GOOD KING NORMAN,” Ranthix growls derisively. “YOUR SERAPHIS ORDER IS WEAK TO CAST ITS NEEDS ON THE MAGNANIMITY OF NEIGHBORS.”

“But King Norman is our King,” Farren argues. “Tis a king’s duty to hold wake over his people.”

“AH. SO YOU LET THE TOTARCH’S HEIR DOMINATE YOUR GOVERNMENT AS WELL, AT LONG LAST. SMART MOVE, URCHIN,” says Ranthix. “WHITEBANNER HAS FINALLY PROVEN IT IS NOT POPULATED ENTIRELY BY SNIVELING COURT-RATS.”

Rowan looks over in your direction. “I think we’re all ready to leave,” she says. “Are we ready to leave?”

Frederick nods, and adjusts his backpack. “Let’s go.” He says something to Zote, and the automotan leads the way out of camp.

Orias leaps down to the ground beside you. “Fair weather for traveling,” he states, pointing out the crystal blue sky.

>Any last things to do here (?)
>Welp. Start walking.
>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)
>Other (?)

>>38862811
>Welp. Start walking.
>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)
Split off from the group scout out of sight.

>>38862811
>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)
Talk to the Gracies

>>38862811
>Welp. Start walking.
>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)
Gracies, I suppose.

>>38862811
>>Welp. Start walking.
>>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)
Grill Frederick about the stuff bugging her

>>38862811
>Do stuff and/or chat people up on the way (?)

Talk to Farren

The journey’s not all that bad, probably because Ranthix isn’t forcing you to run the whole way. The road is more like a wide dirt trail, frozen and uneven, but the scenery is plain awesome. Deep white forests, and clear skies – in the distance you can see strange mountains jutting up into the air.

Every once in a while when you get bored, you split off from the group and circle around a couple times at speed while you’re out of sight, just to make sure nothing goes awry. You spot a couple lone beetlemen here and there, but they sprint off into the trees when they see you. You don’t feel much like picking random fights, and apparently neither do they.

Here and there along the road, you pass broken walls of cobble stone and crumbling, rocky ruins of who knows what.

But mostly, you spend the time chatting with your travel buddies, giving the Gracies special attention. You don’t know much about them except that they used to work for Nabuth and that they’re half Stygian.

You return from a patrol and find Scott and Alan walking side by side, Scott with a zoned-out expression as he cradles his shotgun, and Alan zipped far into his coat while he keeps a suspicious eye on the tree line. “Goddamn eerie,” he says. “They’re all out there watching us.”

You sidle up alongside the brothers. “If they all ran at us there’d be a problem, but they’re all cagey as hell,” you say.

“Still,” says Alan.

>>38863395


Scott shifts his shotgun from one side to the other. “Forget the bugs, she says they’re not a problem, so they’re not a problem,” he says.

>I didn’t say they’re not a problem. They could potentially be a problem, they’re just conveniently choosing not to for whatever reason.
>Scott’s got the right idea. I’ll know a billion minutes in advance if anything’s going down. Orias is out there too, not like we’re going to have any surprises.
>For somebody who doesn’t like dealing with weird crap, you sure chose the wrong line of work.
>So after I char broiled Nabuth, why didn’t you guys just skip town and do regular stuff? You’ve got talent, you’ve got somebody to watch your back, right?
>What’s in this for you guys, anyway? I mean, I’m getting mad dosh and magic, so that’s me, but this isn’t exactly a picnic adventure, and I recall you saying you’re not getting paid.
>Other (?)

>>38863395
>I didn’t say they’re not a problem. They could potentially be a problem, they’re just conveniently choosing not to for whatever reason.
>What’s in this for you guys, anyway? I mean, I’m getting mad dosh and magic, so that’s me, but this isn’t exactly a picnic adventure, and I recall you saying you’re not getting paid.

>>38863419
>I didn’t say they’re not a problem. They could potentially be a problem, they’re just conveniently choosing not to for whatever reason.
>What’s in this for you guys, anyway? I mean, I’m getting mad dosh and magic, so that’s me, but this isn’t exactly a picnic adventure, and I recall you saying you’re not getting paid.

>>38863419
Props to him for bringing a shotgun. We shoulda brought a shotgun. Maybe we can get one of those tiny ones eventually. I think they're smaller than our SMG that we use.

>>38863419
>I didn’t say they’re not a problem. They could potentially be a problem, they’re just conveniently choosing not to for whatever reason.
>For somebody who doesn’t like dealing with weird crap, you sure chose the wrong line of work.
>What’s in this for you guys, anyway? I mean, I’m getting mad dosh and magic, so that’s me, but this isn’t exactly a picnic adventure, and I recall you saying you’re not getting paid.

>>38863419
>For somebody who doesn’t like dealing with weird crap, you sure chose the wrong line of work.

>>38863395
>So after I char broiled Nabuth, why didn’t you guys just skip town and do regular stuff? You’ve got talent, you’ve got somebody to watch your back, right?

“I didn’t say they’re not a problem,” you say. “They could potentially be a problem, they’re just conveniently choosing not to for whatever reason.”

Alan redoubles his scouring of the treeline. “See, you just say things like that, but are you really thinking about it?” he says. “There could be hundreds of those things out there. They could all swoop in here, but they’re just waiting for something. They’re toying with us.”

“They’re just bugs,” says Scott. “You’re giving them too much credit.”

You smirk at Alan’s discomfort. “If you don’t like dealing with weird crap, you sure chose the wrong line of work,” you say.

“Oh, I hate beetlemen, don’t get me wrong, but I’d sooner deal with a thousand of these things than the FBI and demonbane,” he says.

“Point to Alan,” says Scott. “Demonbane wouldn’t run away from a fight if they could find one.”

“Well dealing with beetlemen isn’t going to make demon hunters suddenly vanish,” you say, “so what’s your whole angle for being here, anyway? I mean, I’m getting paid mad dosh and magic, so I get that, but this isn’t exactly a picnic adventure, and you’re not even getting paid, right?”

“Technically we’re receiving wages, but the money’s not what we’re here for,” says Alan.

“We signed up with the Ettenrhine Peninsular Army,” says Scott. “We’re free citizens.”

>How’d Frederick talk you into that one? He sprinkle his BS fate magic on you?
>Seems kind of dangerous to fight a civil war for some random country out in space.
>Free citizens? Aren’t you already US citizens? Oh. Or are you Canadians? Because I can get that, I guess.
>So... what’s the deal? You help them, they... give you a bunch of shares? A new house?
>What’s so sweet about Ettenrhine? Sounds like a war-torn hellhole from what I’ve heard.
>You know, them actually winning is really long longshot. Like. Way long. The Eclipse have flying battleships. As in, battleships that fly.
>Other (?)

>>38864114
>You know, them actually winning is really long longshot. Like. Way long. The Eclipse have flying battleships. As in, battleships that fly.
>How’d Frederick talk you into that one?

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>>38863638
Like those sawn-offs, or gun accessories like the masterkey or M26 MASS?
>>38864114
>Seems kind of dangerous to fight a civil war for some random country out in space.
>Free citizens? Aren’t you already US citizens? Oh. Or are you Canadians? Because I can get that, I guess.
>What’s so sweet about Ettenrhine? Sounds like a war-torn hellhole from what I’ve heard.

>>38864114
"Free citizens? Are you talking about the demon registration back in the states?"
I think I see these guys' angle. They're paranoid and don't want to be on that list.

>>38864114
>Free citizens? Aren’t you already US citizens? Oh. Or are you Canadians? Because I can get that, I guess.
>You know, them actually winning is really long longshot. Like. Way long. The Eclipse have flying battleships. As in, battleships that fly.

>>38864114
>>Free citizens? Aren’t you already US citizens? Oh. Or are you Canadians? Because I can get that, I guess.
>What’s so sweet about Ettenrhine? Sounds like a war-torn hellhole from what I’ve heard.

>>38864114
>So... what’s the deal? You help them, they... give you a bunch of shares? A new house?
>What’s so sweet about Ettenrhine? Sounds like a war-torn hellhole from what I’ve heard.

“Free citizens? Aren’t you already US citizens?” you ask. Because it pretty much doesn’t get any better than that, in your experience. “Oh. Or are you Canadians? Because I can get that, I guess.”

“No, we’re from the US,” says Alan.

“Were from the US, past tense,” Scott clarifies. “We’re not staying.”

It clicks. “You’re talking about the demon registration crap,” you say.

Alan nods. “It’s only a matter of time till they get you,” he says. “Then it’s all downhill from there.”

“But what’s so sweet about Ettenrhine? Okay, maybe they’re not hunting you, but it’s a war-torn hellhole from what I’ve heard.”

“It won’t always be a war-torn hellhole,” he replies. “One day things are going to settle down.”

“Ettenrhine’s independence charter guarantees all citizens equal treatment under law, regardless of plane of origin,” adds Scott. “Beats the shit out of America’s built-in Free Mason conspiracy. We could actually be ourselves for once. No glamors, no lies.”

You’re kind of amazed at the idea. You kind of just took glamors for granted. What if you could just walk around with horns and shadows and everything and people just had to deal with it? Still, facts keep you from leaping on the bandwagon. “That’s... that’s pretty cool I guess,” you say, “but I mean. It’s not real yet. Them actually winning is really long longshot. Like. Way long. The Eclipse have flying battleships. As in, battleships that fly.”

>>38864976

“We know,” says Alan, grimly. “But sooner or later, you have to face it. Anywhere worth living on Terra demonizes demons. You can’t go to hell, demons hate mortals and mixed mortals. Cerra has the Seraphis. You’re hellborn. Nobody wants you.”

“Think about it like this,” says Scott, giving you a flat look. “It’s either find a place that’ll take you for you, or hunker down and live in the woods, wondering for the rest of your life how close the hunters are getting. At least this way there’s a chance that things will work out.”

>Look, maybe there’s some old laws or whatever on the books, but I don’t think most people actually care about demons anymore. I mean, I know a lot of good people. None of them want me dead.
>Have you guys heard about the San Fransisco fief? The baron’s working things out. It’s actually like the one place you’re not automatically going to get hunted down.
>Well, I guess I salute you guys for having guts, but it just doesn’t seem realistic. You have to plan on possibilities, not on stuff that’ll never happen.
>If that’s what you feel like you have to do, I guess. I don’t really agree with you, but I guess you have your own path or whatever.
>Huh. That actually doesn’t seem like a totally bad idea, actually.
>Stuff's not always going to be crappy forever. Things change, you know.
>Other (?)

>>38865002
>Huh. That actually doesn’t seem like a totally bad idea, actually.

>>38865002
>>Look, maybe there’s some old laws or whatever on the books, but I don’t think most people actually care about demons anymore. I mean, I know a lot of good people. None of them want me dead.
>Stuff's not always going to be crappy forever. Things change, you know.

>>38865002
>Huh. That actually doesn’t seem like a totally bad idea, actually.
Fair point, Sierra really hit the lottery with the Hallows, and being ultra powerful.

>>38865002
>Stuff's not always going to be crappy forever. Things change, you know.

Can't remember, but didn't Lang say at some point that Sierra looks fucked up enough to pass as a full demon?

>>38865126
Honestly, our human bits are arguably more magic than our demon bits. I mean, land masters mang. Beings of limitless magical potential with infinitely prolonged lives.

>>38865126
Iptaph knew right away that Sierra was Hellborn just by looking at her, so I would say that she could only pass for a full blood demon only if she gets a cursory inspection.

>>38865351
For the billionth time, the landmastery is not tied to the human bits. It's not tied to race at all, anything can be a landmaster.

>>38865002
>Have you guys heard about the San Fransisco fief? The baron’s working things out. It’s actually like the one place you’re not automatically going to get hunted down.

>>38865090
>ultra powerful.
Maybe in the future but right now she's slightly above average for her age with a wonky powerset that people don't expect.

>>38865002
>Look, maybe there’s some old laws or whatever on the books, but I don’t think most people actually care about demons anymore. I mean, I know a lot of good people. None of them want me dead.
>Have you guys heard about the San Fransisco fief? The baron’s working things out. It’s actually like the one place you’re not automatically going to get hunted down.

>>38865002
>>Look, maybe there’s some old laws or whatever on the books, but I don’t think most people actually care about demons anymore. I mean, I know a lot of good people. None of them want me dead.
>>Have you guys heard about the San Fransisco fief? The baron’s working things out. It’s actually like the one place you’re not automatically going to get hunted down.
>Huh. That actually doesn’t seem like a totally bad idea, actually.

Is there a refresher for everything that's going without re-reading everything? Details and names fade after a few weeks.

“Huh. It’s not totally a bad idea,” you say. “I mean, there’s definitely some plus points in there.”

“More than I’ve seen my whole life,” Alan says. “If this was happening on Earth, you can bet there’s be hellborn the world over flooding in to help out. There would be demonbane too, so it wouldn’t work out, but here something truly amazing could happen.”

You frown. “You know, stuff happens back on our plane all the time,” you say. “Like, just fifty years ago they wouldn’t let Mexicans use the same bathroom as white people. Fifty years from now, who knows? Sure the difference between looking Asian and looking like a giant spider is kind of a bigger gap, but stuff doesn’t stay crappy forever. Things change.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” says Scott. “But either way, I’d rather fight for that change now than wait fifty years for it to kick in, if it ever kicks in at all.”

It occurs to you that, technically, you could just wait for it to kick in. You have no maximum lifespan. If Isaac’s pushing eighty and still looking good, what will you look like when you’re eighty? You could just sit around and wait for these guys to turn to dust if you wanted. (-1 Sanity: 85/100)

You shake the errant thoughts from your head. You shouldn’t be worrying about immortality until you’re at least in your twenties.

>Okay I admit. You have this planned out pretty well. After all this, you’ll be one step closer, right?
>Well, if it works out for you guys, more power to you. I’ll come visit.
>Just because something looks like the right thing doesn’t mean it’ll turn out that way in the long run.
>I don’t know. You guys can do what you want, but it’s dumb to think about crap like that when it puts you in places where you’re getting shot at.
>You know, if this doesn't work out, there are alternatives. Things aren't as bad as you might think they are.
>I’m going to do another patrol. Wouldn’t want those beetles cutting your freedom dreams short.
>Move on to spending your time elsewhere (?)
>Other (?)

>>38865593
>>Okay I admit. You have this planned out pretty well. After all this, you’ll be one step closer, right?
>>Well, if it works out for you guys, more power to you. I’ll come visit.

>You know, if this doesn't work out, there are alternatives. Things aren't as bad as you might think they are.
There are?

>>38865625

People being not jerks, also the fief, also thoughtless optimism.

>>38865625
It's the "pls join fief" option, presumably so that they don't go 200% mad if we decide to fuck the portal over

>>38865593
>Well, if it works out for you guys, more power to you. I’ll come visit.

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>>38865593
>Well, if it works out for you guys, more power to you. I’ll come visit.
We should tread lightly and make no promises. Ths place sounds like a clusterfuck. We grab the landwell. We're out.

>>38865593
>Okay I admit. You have this planned out pretty well. After all this, you’ll be one step closer, right?

>I’m going to do another patrol. Wouldn’t want those beetles cutting your freedom dreams short.

>>38865570

I'll do this, just because there's a lot going on.

Frederick (Derek) and Zote are freedom fighters from Ettenrhine. They want to open up a sealed landwell for a surprise attack on Eclipse oppressors in Ferra. The landwell is in Cerra, a medieval-ish world.

Sierra is getting paid to do the landwell work. Ro, Orias, and Reeber are along for the ride.

Ranthix is getting paid as security, because Cerra has xenophobic knights (Seraphis) afraid of people from other planes. Also beetlemen.

The Gracie brothers are helping Freddy for reasons mentioned above.

Farren is an urchin (sic Ranthix).

Jaegerstroud, an Eclipse knight, wants Sierra to seal the landwell (which Sierra still gets, she just doesn't let it get used for transit). She's promising info on her mom's assassination as well as tons of money and Eclipse support.

Eh. It's getting late, and the next post is probably going to be a transistion. I'll run again sometime next week. Saturday's probably a given.

If there's anything else you want covered in next OP, go ahead and let me know.

>>38856949
Nah dude. She's a monster. They write horror stories about things like her.

>>38865593
>You know, if this doesn't work out, there are alternatives. Things aren't as bad as you might think they are.

>>38865812
If you could start adding brief recaps at the start of each thread (especially when we break mid-conversation), I'd be grateful.

>>38865812
thankyou langewd

>>38859262
>Suddenly your flow collapses as you come under observation, and you feel yourself limited to rational geometry.
Man, this is cool.

>>38865593
>Well, if it works out for you guys, more power to you. I’ll come visit.
>I’m going to do another patrol. Wouldn’t want those beetles cutting your freedom dreams short.