>>39736328
1/??

You hold the potion aloft as you review the scene around you. You are standing atop a building’s flat roof, the tiles creaking beneath your feet. Hiss is sitting by your feet with her hand clutched to her bandaged arm. The crossbow bolt that brought her low is still lying next to her, the smear of royal blood it bears no doubt worth vastly more than the bolt itself.
The two of you are in the very center of the roof and you are threatened on both sides. On one edge of the roof is Lieutenant Vickers, his sword bared. He and his men are persistent, you have to give them that. You’re not sure how he ever tracked you down or even why he wants you but you have a sneaking suspicion he’s working for Captain Frahm. But the Lieutenant isn’t even looking at you right now. His attention is stolen by the beast scaling the building on your other side. The Snakecatcher crests the lip of the roof, his venomous claws digging furrows through stone and tile with equal ease. Whatever Art he was employing to guise himself is long gone, revealing his true form in all its half-breed glory. From the waist-up he is human, for a very artistic interpretation of ‘human’. His arms are too long, he’s coated in black scales with a long red streak going along his belly and his head is a misshapen mess filled with three fanged mouths, a crown of six dull snake eyes with a single frantic eye above them that is all too human. And below the scaled waist, a long snake body at least thirty feet long that dips off the roof and falls all the way to the ground as he drags himself up.

Three forked tongues taste the air as the monster gives you a look of pure hatred before focussing on his true target, Hiss. You’d been able to taunt him away from lesser targets just before but you already know that attempting to do so would be futile now.
For her part all Hiss can give him is a wordless exclamation of disgust.

>>39736341
2/3
The morning is still yet young and the sun hasn't even risen but the fires raging across the cityscape in the distance lend a shadowy illumination over the scene. It makes the Snakecatcher look even more monstrous than he already is and you can see the Lieutenant’s resolve falter, a look of fear plain to see on his face.
It’s that expression that does it, you think. It’s so purely human compared to the monster before you and the monsters you have seen in the past. Whoever this man is, you decide, he cannot be worse than...that. And you’re going to need help.

You move slowly back towards Vickers, dragging the princess with you. She hisses in pain before scrambling to her feet, her injured arm hanging limply by her side. Vickers doesn't stop you, still staring up at the Snakecatcher levering itself up. It isn't even doing it very fast right now, as if attempting to savor the moment. Is it the climb itself slowing it? You know it can move much faster than this, impossibly so.

“Don’t look it in the eyes!”

Your words seem to snap Vickers out of his self-imposed trance and he readies his sword, looking questioningly at you but saying nothing.

“Just trust me,” you continue. “Whatever problem you have with us, we can sort it out after this.This thing is sort...sort of an issue.”

“Right,” he croaks.

And with that you turn back and throw the bottle in your hand, trying to get in a good shot before the Snakecatcher can finish climbing. As long as he’s using both hands to hold himself up, he can’t deflect it! And wouldn’t you know, he doesn’t even attempt to. The Scalebane acid splashes over his chest and he does nothing to stop it, no doubt confident in his impervious scales that can turn aside any blow.
But this is your second encounter with this beast and you have come prepared.

>>39736386
3/3

The Scalebane was concocted for this very purpose, an acid brewed of snakestuff to combat snakestuff. A great cloud of steam bursts forward and the monster rears back, a tri-voiced scream of surprised pain as the acid softens his scales and leaves a visibly discolored patch nearly two feet long down his crimson chest.

But you know it’s only disoriented for a moment. It’s about to be very fucking mad.

You only have time right now for one action.

> Coat knife in poison.

> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.

> Throw Hiss behind you off the building.

> Jump off the building.

> Use another potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39736406
> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.

>>39736406
> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.

>>39736406
Nail it with Eugene's potion

>>39736406
>> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.

>>39736406
> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.
Try to avoid his stabby bits!

> Smash poison flask over Vicker’s sword.

The Lieutenant is already moving forward, his moment of fear apparently overcome by the Snakecatcher's show of sudden vulnerability.
You fumble for your last bottle of poison, that was brewed using your own venom as the main ingredient. You break it over Vickers' sword, coating it with the clear fluid.
"Go for the weird patch!"

You hope that he understands you because you don't really have time to say anything else. The guard crosses the roof with a speed that wouldn't have attributed to him and slashes the monster along the chest. The sword does nothing but strike up sparks as it crosses the unbroken scales but when it passes through the discolored patch the Snakecatcher screams and Vickers' sword comes free coated red. The afflicted scales have parted before his strike and left an ugly gash bisecting the discoloration.

And then the Lieutenant is already dancing back, doing his best to avoid the Snakecatcher's blind uncoordinated strikes. It bellows again and you have to wonder just how long it has been since this monster last felt pain.
Vickers is now back beside you, clearly hesitant to approach the Snakecatcher again now that his arms are free. But that one cut should be enough, the poison should eventually take effect.
Or so you hope.

"What not?," the guard asks.

> "We run."

> Urge him back into the fray.

> Use another potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39736774
> "We run."

>>39736774
> Use another potion (Specify)

One of our Eugene potions on the snake so that if it goes invisible it'll still show up.

>>39736774
Nail it with Eugene's potion and run

>>39736774
> "We run."
That patch of skin can be pierced, it's fast be ready.
Nail it with a Eugene potion the add some of our venom to our dagger.

>>39736774
> Urge him back into the fray.
after throwing Eugenes potion

>>39736774
>> "We run."

> Throw another of Eugene's potions and run, possibly at the same time.

You shrug, dragging another of your rapidly diminishing stock of Eugene's glowing potions from your pack.
"Now? We run."

You throw the potion at the Snakecatcher, clocking it right in the face and spraying it with the transformative concoction to...no apparent effect. If anything is happening, it's happening slowly. Does such increased size have an effect on it's potency? Is it because he isn't human?
All fascinating questions all and you definitely need to test this brew more but right now Hiss has wrapped her good arm around you and has jumped off the roof, landing heavily on the balcony below. From there it's only another short jump to the street below where the other guards await.
None of them raise their weapons at you as Vickers rolls to an undignified stop beside you.
"Alright men!," he bellows. "Go for the patch on the belly!"

Above you the rooftop crumbles as the Snakecatcher begins to tear its way through the building itself towards you.
Vickers pushes you back.
"Go!"

"What? Why?"

"What do you think this uniform means, kid? I might be working for the Captain right now but when I signed up, I swore an oath to protect the people against things like this! Well, uh...not exactly like this but whatever! And this monster already has Skreln's blood on his hands. What else am I going to do?"

> Run.

> Stay with him.

> Give him a potion.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39737209
> Run.
gee thanks m8

>>39737209
> Run.
>Thank the insane person profusely.

>>39737209
>> Run.
May the creator smile on you( He's been a utter dick to me)

>>39737300
cennen isn't religious enough to say some cheesy shit like that

>>39737209
>> Run.
And yell a thank you

>>39737317
Really? he sure does pray a lot.

>>39737336
Only as a means to communicate with hiss

> Run

Well you're sure as hell not going to stick around. You don't really understand his sudden bout of insanity but you're more than willing to benefit from it.

"Cennen," Hiss says, a tone of dire portents adrift in her voice. "We can't stay behind, that would be stupid."

"No, I agree. Good luck, uh, Lieutenant. I hope you don't die."

He looks at you sourly.
"So do I."

And with that you and Hiss turn tail and run the fuck down the street before the Snakecatcher can deal with the building in his way. One of the guards breaks and runs with you, screaming something along the lines of "Fuuuck this shit!" but he disappears down an alleyway rather than give you and Hiss trouble as you sprint your way through the city.
You just run and keep running, not stopping until even the sound of the desperate conflict behind you falls out of earshot.

"I'm proud of you, Cennen. I know I already said it but you've become much less stupid recently."

"Well I've been surrounded by so much good influence, it'd be hard not to," you say dryly.

"Don't you start with the lip now just because I've given you a pat on the head. Where are we going anyway?"

> "You know what? I have no idea."

> "To the palace, I think."

> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."

> "I was thinking we should double back around to the Trebain House to see if we can find the twins and Lady Trebain."

> "We're leaving this city behind while we still can."

> Other

>>39737442
>> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."
BROYIP

>>39737442
> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."
See if we can't secure a ship. Unless you want to go to the palace for Oster.

>>39737442
>> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."

>>39737442
> "To the palace, I think."

>>39737442
> "You know what? I have no idea."
There's a chance that both oster and tash are still at the palace. But oster might be dead or captured and tash might have already left in his ship

>>39737442
> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."
I'd want to make sure Lady Trebain and the twins are okay but if the Snakecatcher is still alive we'd just be leading it there

Cennen has really been showing off that neutral alignment lately

> "Back to the docks. The docks are good."

You think for a moment, unable to find your place in the city around you.
"The docks are good, we were going there anyway right?"

"Do you even know where it is from here?"

"Well, uh, not exactly but all we have to do is follow the general slope. There are a ton of rivers in this city, if we can just find one and follow it we should end up somewhere in the right spot."

"That doesn't exactly fill with my confidence."

"Well, do you have any place where you want to go? I last saw Oster up in the palace."

"No, that's fine. Not yet anyway. I have faith that Oster will find his way back to me."

You start your travels anew, trying to find your way through the deserted streets. Neither of you are still running but you keep up a brisk pace all the same.
There is only silence here, the people here having already fled the encroaching fire. You do your best to fill it.

> "What is Oster's deal anyway?"

> "What happened between you and the ambassador last night?"

> Ask her about Snakehome.

> Ask her about the Snakecatcher.

> Other

>>39737723
> "What happened between you and the ambassador last night?"

>>39737723
> "What happened between you and the ambassador last night?"
This is not jealousy just so much as wanting to ensure we won't have something else to deal with.

>>39737723
> "What happened between you and the ambassador last night?"

>>39737723
>> "What is Oster's deal anyway?"

> "What happened between you and the ambassador last night?"

You were going to have to broach this subject sooner or later. If anything came of that encounter that could cause a problem in the near future then you'd prefer to know. You're not even jealous, you swear.
"So...what happened between you and the ambassador last night? If you don't mind."

She looks away.
"Look, I only touched him a little! And it wasn't THAT way. Mostly. I got him out of the palace and then I had my way with him."

You just look at her until her eyes widen.

"I meant I ate him!"

You don't change your expression.

"Oh stop that will you? You know exactly what I mean. I took some parts of his soul. Not a lot, honest. Nothing of that nature occurred and you can stop giving me that side-eye right this instant."

You eventually comply.
"Did you find out anything interesting?"

"Nope. Just a bunch of boring human life stuff. You wouldn't be interested."

"And that's all?"

"Yes," she says, frustration sinking into her voice. "I'd rather not talk about it, I wasn't at my best. But he isn't a threat, he's friendly. Very friendly."

> Press her on the matter.

> Change the subject to (Specify).

> Use a potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Just let the conversation peter out.

> Other

>>39738123
> Just let the conversation peter out.

>>39738123
>> Change the subject to (Specify).
Think if he's on his ship and still in the city he'd be willing to help us find Oster?

>>39738123
So do you think we'll still be able to take his ship to quedesh?

>>39738123
> Just let the conversation peter out.

>>39738156
Hiss already thinks oster will find us himself. Let's not worry about it too much for now

> Just let the conversation peter out.

"Besides," she continues, "I know how you feel about that sort of stuff and I've decided to actually acknowledge it."
She hooks her elbow around yours and presses in close.
"And I believe I am subject to your jealous whims, wishkeeper."

"Oh come on, I've never used them for anything like that," you grumble and she just laughs.

You keep on walking until you find a river, one slowly meandering its way through the cobbled streets, an iron rail dividing it from the street itself. You should be able to just follow this down to the docks if all goes well.

The two of you follow it but it isn't long before Hiss complains.
"I don't want to alarm you but I'm starting to get really hungry."

Come to think of it, so are you.

> "You'll have to make do with a river-water restoration potion."

> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

> You don't have time for either of those options. Just keep walking.

> Other

>>39738461
> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

>>39738461
> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

>>39738461
> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

>>39738461
>> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

You idly try the doors of the houses you're passing one by one until you find one that opens properly. It's not a very big place and you and Hiss split up to go through its rooms. You're the first what seems to be the larder, only to find it empty with nothing save a dead rat in the corner. Did they empty out what they had to take with them?

You hear a thump from the room next to yours and you rush out only to find Hiss sitting astride a young teenage girl. She's completely conked out, rendered unconscious by the snake's gaze.
Hiss looks up at you as you enter the room.
"I found enough food for both of us!"

> "No thanks, I'm not that hungry." Let her continue.

> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.

> Accept her offer. (What)

> Other

>>39738461
Hopefully we don't get shot for looting or something
> See if you can get inside someone's empty house and find actual food.

>>39738636
> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.
Dare you to joke about the compromising position

>>39738636
> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.

>>39738636
>> "No thanks, I'm not that hungry." Let her continue.

>>39738636
>>39738636
>> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.
That'd take to long and be messy enough for you know what to track us with. Not counting regular human trackers. not to mention a meal that big would make you slow, which could very well kill us.

>>39738636
> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.
Frankly I'm quite uncomfortable with the thought of you eating innocent humans as mere food and even more so with cannibalism

>>39738636
> Accept her offer. (What)

>>39738791

wrong copy paste there.

>>39738791
>>39738813
Cennen isn't evil. He's neutral and us eating her is a bad idea. Granted Hiss is Evil as fuck but w/e.

>>39738791
>implying needless cannibalism is playing evil correctly

>>39738636
>> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.

> Get her off the girl. She'll just have to make do with a restoration potion.

You shake your head and grab her shoulder before gently pulling her back. She hisses at you but can't actually stop you without deliberately harming you.
"Gah! What's the matter, Cennen? I thought you were different these days."

Not that different. The idea of her killing an innocent for basically no reason save her immediate hunger is still a little too much for you.
"That'd...uh, take too long. And it'd be way too messy. Not to mention that digesting something like that will make you way too slow."

She sighs and stands back up.
"I guess that makes sense. Let's go then."

"Hold on," you stop her. "Who is she anyway? What's she doing here?"

"I don't know, just some thief. I've already swallowed like, half of her soul so I'm not sure there's anything worth saving. You know, before you get any heroic ideas."

You lead her out of the house and prepare a restoration potion using the river water. You and Hiss both partake of it, the princess spitting half of it out but nodding all the same.
"It's just not the same as meat. Good meat."

"There'll be plenty of time for that later."
And hopefully with someone who deserves it.

The two of you follow the river once more, letting it take you all the way down to the bay. Which is a fucking nightmare. It's absolutely filled with people, everyone and their dog apparently having come down here to flee the flames. Which makes sense, you suppose. Probably should have seen this coming.

Hiss' grip on your arm tightens enough to seriously start hurting.
"No. Not going in there. You can't make me."

> "Yes I can."

> Try to find a familiar face in the crowd.

> Light fires to see if you can clear them off.

> See if you can swim down through the river itself.

> Use a potion to solve this problem (Specify)

> Wish that Hiss didn't have this problem.

> Other

>>39738984
>> Try to find a familiar face in the crowd.

>>39738984
>> See if you can swim down through the river itself.

>>39738984
Tell her to change into snake form and stay in our pack. And resist the urge to bite
> Try to find a familiar face in the crowd.

>>39739047
This

> Try to find a familiar face in the crowd.

"Just hold on, we might be able to get a way through this."

Did you just spot someone you know? You could have sworn that something is bothering you about this crowd. Could it be Oster?
You start scanning your crowd while you reply to Hiss.
"Don't worry, just get in my backpack and I'll carry you in."

"Oh, my gracious knight, you honor me," she says sarcastically. But she ducks out of sight and transforms back into a snake anyway. You set your pack down so that she can slither into it, coiling up within so she can fit. After a bit of rustling and rearranging, the snake's head pokes up through the top of the pack and peeks out.

It's only after this that you finally spot the familiar face that you'd seen out of the corner of your eye. A large middle-aged man in a guard's uniform is currently forcing his way slowly through the crowd, waving his arms about. There are three guards behind him, trying to do their best to form a wedge. His face is covered in warts and straw-colored hair pokes out from underneath his helmet.
Oh hell no, it's Captain Frahm himself. Didn't you just get away from some of his guys? But compared to some of the enemies you've fought in this city, maybe he's not so bad. An actual human can be reasoned with after all.

It doesn't look like he's seen you yet but given how tall you are, this is unlikely to continue.

> Just back off and try to find a different way...if you can.

> Into the river!

> Wave to him and call out his name. You figure you owe Lieutenant Vickers.

> Use a potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39739326
> Into the river!

>>39739326
Drink the shapeshifting potion to change our face and hair color.

>>39739326
> Just back off and try to find a different way...if you can.
duck.

>>39739373
>>39739470
drowning Hiss

>>39739326
>> Just back off and try to find a different way...if you can.

>>39739326
>> Into the river!

Changing>>39739470
to>>39739516

>>39739326
>> Use a potion (Specify)
Shapeshift ourselves. Lt. Vickers was NOT happy to see us, and we bailed on fighting the snake so it ain't like we have hero credentials or anything.

>>39739640
I'm still finding it hard to believe that our fight with the snakecatcher is actually over. It went way better than I had pictured

> Use the shapeshifting potion.

You reach back through your pack for the shapeshifting potion that Master Yolan had given to you all the way back in Melire. Has its time finally come? You figure it has, you don't want to get too worried about wasting it or else you'd never use it. And you have three doses of the damn stuff.

You pull the bottle from the pack and take a quick sip as you step back into an alleyway which is hopefully out of sight of any prying eyes. It crawls down your throat like a living thing, wriggling and squirming. Gross.
It shockingly tastes alright however.

You close your eyes and concentrate, trying to picture the correct form. The shapeshifting potion can completely change your physical principles in nearly every way you can imagine, even to the point of making something inhuman human or vice versa. The actual shape it chooses is shaped by the will of the drinker or the one administering it.

When the chills pass, you are now nearly a full foot shorter and your hair is red and curly. You inspect yourself in the river, testing the changes. Your new face is narrow, pointed and rather elegant you feel. This combined with your still fancy (albeit battered) clothes makes you look nothing like the peasant you once were.
And it'll stick too, for the duration of a day or until you lose consciousness. Whichever comes first.

The snake hisses but you can't understand it. You are now ready to do this shit.

> Just wade into the crowd.

> Go up to and talk to Captain Frahm.

> Go through the river anyway.

> Other

>>39739900
> Just wade into the crowd.

>>39739900
>> Just wade into the crowd.

>>39739900
>> Just wade into the crowd.

>>39739900
Apply venom to our dagger and keep it up our sleeve. Try to subtly nick frahm with it as we walk by

> Just wade into the crowd.

You puff out your chest and do your best to push through the crowd, passing Captain Frahm without a second thought. He looks right at you too but he just looks past you without a second glance.

Getting through the crowd is no easy work but you manage to shoulder your way down to the decks in about half an hour or so. You find a sailor who looks like he knows what he's doing and ask him where the Quedeshi ship is.
And then you yell it a few more times because he can't hear you. When you finally get through he nods and points you in what is more or less the right direction.

The Quedeshi ship is huge, made from a sort of timber foreign to you, dark enough to almost be black. You can see the regular warriors around it but you can't spot the ambassador or the faceless soldiers anywhere. Is he on the ship? You have no fucking clue.

> See if you can sneak up and investigate the ship without the Quedeshi noticing.

> Just walk up and ask the Quedeshi what's going on. Maybe show them Hiss.

> Find an alcove or an alleyway without any people in with a good view of the ship so you can let Hiss out. Just wait there until you see the ambassador.

> Other

>>39740153
>> Find an alcove or an alleyway without any people in with a good view of the ship so you can let Hiss out. Just wait there until you see the ambassador.

>>39740153
> Find an alcove or an alleyway without any people in with a good view of the ship so you can let Hiss out. Just wait there until you see the ambassador.

>>39740153
>> Find an alcove or an alleyway without any people in with a good view of the ship so you can let Hiss out.
Dont wait till we see the ambassador, ask Hiss what she wants to do now that theres hopefully not a giant abomination trying to eat us

>>39740153
Walk up to the quedeshis and show them our hand tattoo

>>39739900
>> Just wade into the crowd.

Let's . . . . let's just get out. We've done enough damage.

> Find an alcove or an alleyway without any people in with a good view of the ship so you can let Hiss out. Just wait there until you see the ambassador.

You let the crowd buffet you around a fair bit more before you find a fitting hidey-hole. It's a small house with the door beaten down, only one room large. Nobody else is in it and you can look straight out the broken doorway to the Quedeshi ship.

You let Hiss out of your pack and watch as she sheds her skin, reforming her human body. You absent-mindedly nobble her shed skin into your backpack and then flinch back a little as she stands up.
Oh, you'd almost forgotten that you'd shortened yourself by quite a bit as part of changing your appearance. Hiss' human form has nearly a full foot of height on you now, the top of your head only just coming up to her shoulders.

She looks at you strangely, an expression of mild distress on her face.
"Cennen? What did you do?"

Oh right, you never actually told her about the shape-shifting potion.
"Just a temporary disguise, it won't last long."

"This is weird. I don't like it."

"What, you and Oster do it all the time!"

"Yeah but that's different. You're boring old Cennen, you should just be...you. This displeases me."

"Well it's not actually going to leave for d-"

"You dare disobey your Queen?"
She laughs and grabs you around the head in a headlock, grinding her knuckles painfully along your scalp.
"No, it's alright I guess. Just not what I expected."

This leaves the two of you sitting in the house waiting. Just how will you pass the time?

> Ask her about her soul problem.

> Talk to her about the Snakecatcher.

> Talk to her about Snakehome.

> Talk to her about Oster. There's so much you don't know about him still.

> Just wait.

> Try to pass the time in a way that's a little more entertaining.

> Use a Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39740558
>> Talk to her about Oster. There's so much you don't know about him still.

>>39740558
> Ask her about her soul problem.

>>39740558
>> Ask her about her soul problem.

>>39740558
> Talk to her about Snakehome.
> Talk to her about the Snakecatcher.

Ask her about whether there was anything like the Snakecatcher back home.

>>39740558
> Ask her about her soul problem.
> Talk to her about Oster. There's so much you don't know about him still.
> Talk to her about the Snakecatcher.
Odds on it being dead? Also I'll need more scales to make potions to hurt it and others like it.

>>39740558
>> Ask her about her soul problem.

>>39740558
> Talk to her about the Snakecatcher.

>>39740558
Could we do some experimental brewing during the conversation?

>>39740627
no way its dead. more likely badly injured and lurking just out of sight for the next two dozen threads

> Ask her about her soul problem.

"How does it feel?"

"The eye?"
Her hand goes to it automatically before slowly receding.

"No, not quite. I mean your soul thingy...situation. The souls that you had."

"Oh, those. They're- They're still here. I can feel them."

"Really?"

"Don't act so surprised. Do you think I would surrender myself over so easily? They're still in me, they just feel far away. Disconnected. I can't do anything with them."

"Can you reel them back in?"

She looks down at you, shaking her head.
"Don't you think I would have already done that if I could, idiot? I don't know how to fix it. I've tried! I can't do anything right lately it feels."

You reach up and put your arm around her shoulder as she broods.
"All I've been doing is flailing around in circles and getting hurt. And now even my souls refuse to speak with me."

You sigh as she leans into you, nearly knocking you over.
"I might be able to help you, actually."

> See if you can do some experimental brewing.

> No, you need to spend your time experimental brewing for other purposes.

> Just make the Souldrift potion again.

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Other

>>39740861
> See if you can do some experimental brewing.

>>39740861
>> Just make the Souldrift potion again.
But make 2 potions and go with her.

>>39740861
>> See if you can do some experimental brewing.
Make sure to get a Id potion too if we're making funky stuff. Always have an Id on hand.

>>39740861
> See if you can do some experimental brewing.
Maybe snake blood+healing potion? If that fails just use a soul drift potion and see what we can do

>>39740949
Add scales too.

>>39740983
I'd rather use an identification potion while brewing. See what we get from blood+healing and if it's not the desired effect then we can add scales

> See if you can do some experimental brewing to help her.

"You can? With what?"

"Do you remember how I killed that spirit last night?"

"No."
She looks down at you blankly. Oh right, nobody else could see you.

"It was really cool but okay, I think I can make a potion like that. I just need some of your blood and maybe some scales. I think scales are hair right now, it's a bit murky."

"Well I'm sure you can't make it worse. Don't prove me wrong."
She holds out her right hand, the one she bit back in the crowd earlier. With a nick of her fingers, she reopens the scab and lets you drain a measure of her blood into your cauldron.

"Doesn't it weird you out that I keep basically drinking your blood?," you ask.

"Not really. I mean, I've tasted yours a fair few times."

"...Good to know."

Luckily you still have two identification potions in your bag, both still good to use. You brew for nearly a full hour and by the time you've finally settled on something you can approve of, the sun is starting to peek over the horizon.

You give your concoction one final stir before presenting it to Hiss. Her eyes widen as she smells it before a look of suspicion crosses her face.
"It smells good. Like, really good! It's not the Oil again is it?"

"Not really."
That's sort of a lie. The potion, not yet having been named, is a sort of mix between the Souldrift Brew and the Snake Oil. It should calm her down and let her drift into a sort of suggestible trance, where she should be able to look through her inner self. It's an inversion of the Souldrift idea, something that draws the soul inward rather than bringing it out.
And, temptingly, if someone else drinks it they might be able to follow her in.

"It's almost certainly safe," you reassure her. Hiss fails to look suitable reassured but takes the cauldron anyway.

> Let her drink it alone.

> Drink it with her.

> Other

>>39741239
> Drink it with her.
Go to a good hiding place first

>>39741239
> Drink it with her.
We likely won't have the same reaction to this.

>>39741239
> Drink it with her.

>>39741239
Shouldn't we do this AFTER we get out of the city we've fucked up?

>>39741239
>> Drink it with her.

> Drink it with her.

"I'll drink it with you if you want, Hiss. To prove there's nothing wrong with it."

"You don't need to do that. I trust you."
And with that she takes a hesitant sip before her eyes light up and she takes several more mouthfuls. She smiles vacuously.
"This feels nice. And warm."

You drink your own mouthful as Hiss suddenly cuddles up to you, moving lethargically.
"You're pretty warm too Cennnnnnnnn..."

She falls asleep and you follow a second or two later. Together the two of you slip out of both mind and memory.

> ...

>>39741475
> ...

You kick the bars to your cell, searching for a loose one to no avail. You settle back for pacing around the cell, doing your best to find a way out. You can't stay here. Your princess needs you. Nothing else matters but that.

Your name is Oster but you have also been called Ophi, Tolan, Thessa, Mikel and a multitude of other names in your life. Names are just another mask, one to slip on and off as you choose.
Not that you have any masks on you right now that is. The royal guard confiscated all of your belongings after they had finished beating the shit out of you. Your masks, your sword, everything but the clothes on your back.

Not that you didn't get a few good hits in yourself, particularly with the smoke bomb that Cennen had thrown in. But the unfortunate truth was that each member of the royal guard was a master swordsman and not even you could fight your way through all of them.
You remember telling the alchemist that you'd be glad to fight a member of the royal guard just the day before and you suppose you got your wish. Your skill has been thoroughly tested and in this situation, has proven to be wanting.
Unacceptable. How can you serve your princess now?

> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night.

> Fake an injury to see if you can use it to escape.

> Holler for a guard.

> Just sit there and wait for your opportunity.

> Other

>>39741586
> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night.

>>39741586
> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night.

>>39741586
>> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night

>>39741586
>> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night.

> Think back to how your spy mission on Captain Frahm had gone earlier this night.

You had slipped out of the ballroom easily, nodding to the guards as you did so. Just one more servant on an errand for his master. You'd been wearing your Ophi mask at the time, a genial sort of fellow that doesn't invite much suspicion. Ophi had been a pretty nice bloke and you feel sort of sorry about what you had to do to him.

You didn't want to leave, even though your princess had ordered you to. You didn't want to leave her with the Quedeshi ambassador. Sure, Cennen would still be there but your faith in him is about zero to nil. He's a decent guy with a few neat tricks but he thinks with his dick altogether too often for your liking.
Even worse was your recent reminder that the Princess wasn't only receptive to such thoughts but encouraging them. That had not gone well.

But you swallowed your arguments and left anyway to stalk the guard captain. And why? Because the princess had given you an order. She had trusted you with it. And you want nothing more than to fulfill her wishes, to be the physical manifestation of her will on earth.

You can't quite remember why you hold her in so much esteem but you know it to be true. Everyone else in your thoughts seem faded, worthless, compared to the vibrancy and beauty of your princess. And yes, the princess. Her Highness. Not Hiss, not any other stupid undignified name. Her true name cannot pass your lips and you would not be worthy to say it anyway even in your thoughts.

You're not interested in her in the way Cennen is. Your tastes don't run in that direction and besides, you wouldn't dare to entertain those thoughts of her. She is the most important thing there could ever be, the only thing that matters in your life.

You know, in a distant sort of way, that she has ravaged you. She's ripped apart your soul to make you this way. But you don't care. You're incapable of caring.

1/2

>>39741871
2/2

So you had left the ballroom and shadowed Captain Frahm. But there are flaws even to your devotion. Your thoughts had keep dancing back to the princess and the ambassador that promised to prey on her.

You had willfully made a mistake.

> You had let yourself lose Frahm so you could hasten back to the palace quicker.

> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but your worry had let his men catch sight of you.

> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but barely paid any attention to what he and his men were talking about, your thoughts too focused on the princess.

> You had followed Frahm back to his base of operations and listened on their plans but in your worry, you had allowed yourself to not only be seen but caught.

> Other

>>39741871
>You know, in a distant sort of way, that she has ravaged you. She's ripped apart your soul to make you this way. But you don't care. You're incapable of caring.
Shit. I'm glad we became a spiritbane when we did

>>39741963
> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but barely paid any attention to what he and his men were talking about, your thoughts too focused on the princess.

>>39741963
> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but your worry had let his men catch sight of you.

>>39741963
> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but barely paid any attention to what he and his men were talking about, your thoughts too focused on the princess.

>>39741963
>> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but your worry had let his men catch sight of you.

Seems like her haphazard brain washing has had some effects on his capabilities.

>>39741871
>Your tastes don't run in that direction
Huh. Is oster gay?

> You had followed Frahm to his base of operations but barely paid any attention to what he and his men were talking about, your thoughts too focused on the princess.

Frahm was marched out of the palace grounds and from there he had dusted himself off, met up with a Lieutenant named Vickers and two other of his guards.
The king had been unwilling to speak right now, he had told them, not mentioning his own outburst. He hadn't been able to tell him about the monster that had killed Lieutenant Skreln and his own suspicions about it.

You follow them, at first just keeping to the streets but before long you take to the rooftops, dancing across them silently in a way you never would have been able to had the princess and Cennen been accompanying you.

They hadn't even known you were there as they made their way down towards the docks. You had little love to spare for Taldenral, considering it an ugly rat's nest and some of the worst excesses of human 'civilization' ungoverned but you had been here many times and knew its streets. None of this was any sort of obstacle to you.
You'd had a number of adventures here, all seemingly grand in their own time but now all but pale shadows that you barely want to recall when you can be thinking of the princess instead.

As they talked more about this 'monster', a terrible suspicion had grown in you. Cennen, despite his notorious unreliability, had seen something in the swamp. Some sort of Snakecatcher like yourself. Could it be? Has it followed the princess here?

You find yourself so preoccupied by the sudden danger that this represents that you don't hear Frahm telling Vickers to stake out the area where Skreln had gone missing and to look for anything suspicious.
You need to inform the princess immediately!

You hold on for just long enough to confirm their current base (a tavern by the docks) and then vanish back into the night, eschewing the rooftops for the streets.
1/2

>>39742246
2/2

You need to get back and you need to do it fast. You don't question the sudden inkling, it's been a knack you've had since you were but a boy. You've always had a way about it, of showing up at the right time. You could call it luck and a few hunches and maybe that's all it was. The significance that you yourself attach to it varies depending on your mood.

A stagecoach thunders past you and when it passes you are gone, having leapt to the top of the carriage without the coachman even realizing it.
But it didn't take you far enough and to try to cross the entire city by foot alone was stupidity. You needed a different way.

Fortunately, the princess had ordered you to stay with the daft wizard yesterday while she and Cennen had gone off to fool about. Most of what you had learned from Eugene had been useless faffery but he had told you about the two passengers that had shared his ride to Taldenral. The twins, Liss and Aina. He also knew where they were staying. An inn not even that far from your current location.

Now, the twins weren't the people you wanted to see the least, that itself was a list as long as your arm. But meeting them would be...awkward at best. They still wanted to talk to Ophi and though you feel a small amount of sympathy for them, it's a wish you can never grant. Ophi is long dead.
But the princess outweighed all of that.

So that was how the twins had delightfully paid for you to take a carriage with them to the palace. They had been full of questions that you couldn't answer, that you wouldn't answer. But instead you had simply placed a finger on Aina's lips and given them your most solemn vow that you would tell them everything come the next day.

You had permitted yourself a bit of a laugh as you had crossed the palace grounds. You'll never see them again if all goes well.
2/3

>>39742403
3/3

And if it doesn't...well, the time might come that their constant questions are too inconvenient and the best option would be to quietly remove them from the situation. You wouldn't enjoy doing it but neither would you hesitate.

The grounds had been delightfully empty of guards, something that both lifted your spirits and drove you wild with suspicion. And you had only been halfway to the palace when you had seen the lightning in the palace courtyard and the death of the storm-spirit.

Thinking quickly, you had found one of the royal guards investigating the lack of guards in the grounds and given them your sword from behind. You couldn't use a mask for this, you only had two. One was Ophi and the other was...well, special.
Instead you had simply clothed yourself as a member of the royal guard, thankful that their silly maned helms mostly obscured the face.

And then that whole damn ruckus had happened. You had finally gotten to cross swords and to test your skill against the royal guard themselves and you'd place yourself as above any individual member. But so many of them together?
All you could do was give enough time for the princess to escape.

And now you're here. It is still night and the morning has not yet come, by your internal reckoning.

> Holler for the guards.

> See if you can fake an injury to escape.

> Wait for your opportunity.

> Other

>>39742494
> Holler for the guards.

>>39742494
> Holler for the guards.

>>39742494
>> Holler for the guards.
We need to place the blame for this on the Snakecatcher thing.

>>39742567
...what? He was captured by the royal guard, who he was personally trying to kill in a sword fight

>>39742590
Yeah, but nobody says that HE was the one who killed the guard originally. Maybe he saw the Snakecatcher transform out of the guard, and freaked out and tried to get his princess out of the palace because who knows what the fuck was going on.

Sorry about the delay but I've been on the phone. Work wants me in a few hours early so I've got to go get on that. Sorry about this guys, this is not at all where I wanted to end that and I know it's been happening a lot lately.

Next thread tomorrow, hopefully I can actually wrap that one up.

>>39743210
Still Oster POV right? Thanks for running Ouro!

>>39743210
No problem boss, thanks for the thread.

>>39743228
Yes.