>>40433302
Thinking back to King's situation, when you asked if she could just take out her captors, she responded that they would not be able to deliver outside the city. She mentioned the same thing when you asked her if she could just ban them from the guild hall or leave the city. Outside the city is where they could be ganked with impunity, doubly so if the “law” is the one doing it, so if they ever turn against the <Morning Star>, or <The Family> by proxy, it will be open season on them.

Perhaps this is the reason the <Morning Star> are after Zachery; he is the only <Swich Licour> that is unaccounted for. Who knows how much of the evidence against Zachery has been fabricated by the Big Apple <Morning Star>.

“Ambrosis?” You hear Judi. “What's going on?”

[ ] “The <Morning Star> have been compromised. At least in Big Apple.”
[ ] “Can I see the evidence against my brother?”
[ ] “Nothing. We should just go to sleep.”
[ ] Other.

>>40433315
>[ ] “Can I see the evidence against my brother?”
>[ ] “The <Morning Star> have been compromised. At least in Big Apple.”

>>40433315
>[ ] “Can I see the evidence against my brother?”

>>40433315
>[ ] “The <Morning Star> have been compromised. At least in Big Apple.”
>[ ] “Can I see the evidence against my brother?”

>>40433422
>>40433444
>>40433614
[+1 Accusation]
[+1 Suspicion]

>>40433717

So, how's life been treating you, Shep?

>>40434879
Not so great, my sleep schedule is all messed up and I literally just woke up in time to post the OP.

Also, thank you for bumping the thread.

>>40435024

Shit, sorry to hear that. Although it seems like a lot of QMs these days are taking after Chuckles' example.

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>>40433717
“Can I see the evidence against my brother?” You ask.

“What's going on, Anthony?” She responds.

“The <Morning Star> have been compromised. At least in Big Apple.”

“<The Family>?”

“Yeah. Know anything about them?”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Never heard of them before.”

“So, can I see the evidence against my brother?”

“Only guild members are allowed to see those files.” She looks down, then looks back up. “But if you act as a lawyer for your brother, I suppose you'd have to be given the evidence against him.”

“Well, I doubt anyone else would take up that task.”

“I'll need to get permission first, though.”

“How long will that take?”

“Well, I don't think we're allowed to share the information before we make an arrest, so...”

“I'd rather see the evidence first. If the <Morning Star> here have also been corrupted-”

“They're not!”

“How do you know?”

“Because... because I trust them.”

“Would you have trusted the guys in Big Apple if I didn't say anything?”

She looks away from you. “I... don't know.”

“Look, I get it, you're loyal to Brimstone and the <Morning Star>, but I can't trust them!”

She says nothing.

“At the very least!” You yell, “Let me just see the evidence so we can know for sure whether or not this entire thing is just one big lie or not!”

She shrinks back and relents, “Okay.”

The two of you go through the city. There is hardly anyone here out this late, save for a couple of <Morning Star> patrolling the city.

Thinking on it, you turn around to see if those two cowboys from before are still following you, but you see no such people.

The two of you make it to the large spire in the center of the city. Up flights of stairs you climb until you reach the main room. The large table in the center sits empty and only now do you realize how dark this room gets with no sunlight.

>>40435815
Judicature leads you down a corridor, turns a corner, and soon you reach a library.

A <Morning Star> named AurumFleece sits at a desk, head leaning on her hand, eyes closed, and a soft snore coming from her mouth.

Judicature glares at the woman, and opens her mouth to shout something, but you quickly block her words with your hands.

“What are you doing!?” You whisper to her.

Her explanation is muffled by you.

“If they don't even know we were here, that's even better for us.” You continue to whisper.

She protests, you assume.

“Just trust me, okay?”

She no longer responds, other than giving you a very unhappy look.

You drag her behind some book shelves before finally taking your hand off her mouth.

“What is-!” She yells.

“SHHH~!” You cut her off.

“What is wrong with me!?” She whispers, “I'm not the one acting like a criminal! You're not here just to destroy the evidence are you!?”

“No!” You hushedly respond, “It's just better if they don't know we were here!”

“Why!?”

“Because that way if they ARE corrupt, they won't know I'm on to them!”

“And if they aren't corrupt, they'll think you're a criminal!”

“That's only if we get caught!”

“Only if YOU get caught! I'm not going to be your accomplice!”

“Then just pretend like we checked in with the person! She's asleep on the job! I doubt she'd remember us even if we did!”

She has no retort for you, other than a disgruntled glare.

“Where is my brother's case file?”

She grabs your sleeve and pulls you along. “Follow me.”

She drags you off to a large sheet of paper, but you can't quite figure out what it is in this darkness.

“Bug Light.” You murmur and your summon lights up the area around you. The light reveals what looks to be a map of the library. Across each section there are different areas written. “Have you guys always used this stuff?”

>>40435839
“No, it's something someone came up with after the Databasing.” She responds.

“Oh.” You glance around the map. Brotherhood, Dixie, Great Lakes...

“There.” Judicature points to the section marked Big Apple. It is at least twice as large as any of the other section. Big Apple must have really gone to hell.

“You sure it would be there and not under Pueblo? I mean, they're after him here, aren't they?”

“Well, the main case is a Big Apple case, so it's there... probably.”

You shrug. “Good enough for me.”

The two of you find the Big Apple section easily enough. You can't help but notice the boxes overflowing with papers and scrolls.

“So, where would my brother's be?”

“Let's see.” She starts looking through boxes. “Vampire666, ValiantVoid, VergoMan, Vertigo! Here he is.” She pulls out a box and a couple of sheets fall out. She walks out of the section and to a table at the back of the room while you pick up every paper that tries to escape.

“Okay.” She says, “Here it is.”

You're not too sure how long that woman at the front will stay asleep. Time is of the essence here. What questions should answer first?

[ ] Who wrote these reports?
[ ] What was the identity of the Lander that was killed?
[ ] Who gave testimony against your brother?
[ ] What is the actual evidence against him?
[ ] Other.

>>40435860
>[ ] Who gave testimony against your brother?

>>40435860
>[ ] Who wrote these reports?
>[ ] Who gave testimony against your brother?

>>40435860
>[ ] What is the actual evidence against him?
>[ ] Who wrote these reports?

>>40435860
>[ ] What is the actual evidence against him?
>[ ] Who wrote these reports?

>>40436010
>>40436016
>>40436126
>>40436136
Going with these two first, I suppose.

[2/3 Time Slots]

File: database.gif (1.14 MB, 208x186)

1.14 MB GIF

Living in the database.

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>>40436189
You get to work looking through what could be considered actual evidence against your brother. Page after page is filled with quotes from people. Things your brother said, things your brother did, where your brother was.

The entire linchpin of the “evidence” is the testimony of the three Lander chefs and King.

King...

Her account of the events feels quite over the top.

It reads...

Raid leader Vertigo insisted on punishment for the Landers should they step out of line. When asked if he truly intended to harm them, he responded that he was not sure, which I found worry some. I cannot say I witnessed any crime, but after the supposed date he had begun to act strangely. Within a week he had left the guild hall without warning and has not been seen nor heard from since.

-KingAzebo, Guild Leader of <Swich Licour>, Narrator of Canterbury.

You know she had talked with the Zachery after he left, so that this entire thing is obviously a lie. Why did she sign her name as Narrator of Canterbury? Is that a hint at something or is she just giving herself titles now?

A new theory crawls into your mind. What if King was lying about someone being in the room with her? What if she just lied to you to cover up her framing your brother?

>>40437822
You let that thought rest at the back of your mind as you continue to look through papers.

There is no hard evidence here of anything. Just eye witnesses saying Zachery was seen near the area the papers refer to as the Crime Scene. He had blood on him, but that's not real evidence, right?

You page through all the different names that have signed off on these papers. You've heard of none of these people, but it's of no surprise, you didn't even really know of the <Morning Star> before the Databasing.

“Judi,” You whisper, “Do you know any of these guys?” You point to the signatures of the 'officers' that witnessed all of these testimonies.

She flips through the papers. “Well,” She starts placing them down on the table, “This is Montgomery's signature to transfer a copy of the case files across the entire East Coast. This is Brimstone doing the same thing, but for the entire server. This is MagnaCarta, and according to this he's the sheriff of Big Apple.”

“Ever heard of him before?”

She shakes her head. “No, can't say I have.” She starts placing papers down on the table, categorizing them by signatures. “I haven't heard of any of these people before.”

“Are they new?”

“They might be, but the East and West don't have much communication with one another at my level. I might just have never spoken to them before.”

You cross your arms. You know that King's testimony is false, but how could you prove that? Her testimony is 'proof' enough for the <Morning Star>, so maybe your own 'proof' would be good enough as well.

[ ] What is King referencing with that title of hers?
[ ] What was the identity of the Lander that was killed?
[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?
[ ] Perhaps you should get out of here before someone notices.
[ ] Other.

Hopefully I will no longer be distracted by things that don't matter for the rest of the session.

>>40437856
>[ ] What is King referencing with that title of hers?

>>40437856
>[ ] What is King referencing with that title of hers?

>>40437856
[ ] What is King referencing with that title of hers?
[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?
[ ] Perhaps you should get out of here before someone notices.

>>40437856
>[ ] What is King referencing with that title of hers?

>>40437938
>>40437949
>>40437957
[All Time Slots Used]

>>40433302
TIEM

>>40437856
>[X] What is King referencing with that title of hers?
I know what she was referencing, the concept of an "Unreliable Narrator", one of the few things I actually remember from those required college English courses.

>>40438252
You win this day, anon.

Did I mention this before during the quest? I know I've said it somewhere on /tg/ before, but I'm not sure if it was here or in some unrelated thread.

>>40438378
>>40438156
since it was figured out that quick, would Ambrosis maybe have enough time to check something else out?
like what other cases they were involved in?
then we can see what sort of results these usually have and how corrupt they are likely to be

>>40438378
>Did I mention this before during the quest? I know I've said it somewhere on /tg/ before, but I'm not sure if it was here or in some unrelated thread.
Nope, the references to a midsummer night's dream however made me a bit prone to interpreting everything as a literary reference.

>>40438515
>since it was figured out that quick, would Ambrosis maybe have enough time to check something else out?
You have enough time for one more thing:

[ ] What was the identity of the Lander that was killed?
[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?
[ ] Other.

>>40438606
>[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?

There's no way Morningstar hasn't tried this shit with other people.

>>40438606
>[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?

>>40438606
>[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?
Dirty cops man.

>>40438606
>[X] What other cases have these officers been involved in?
Yes, we can check for corruption that way.

>>40438606
>[ ] What other cases have these officers been involved in?

>>40438717
>>40438693
>>40438671
>>40438659
>>40438641
First to 5.

That was fast.

>>40438739
bueno.
Lets see just how dirty these cops are

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>>40438739
What could that title of King's mean?

With Canterbury there, and her love of Chaucer, it's very obvious that this is a reference to The Canterbury Tales, but who was the narrator? You try to think back to your college English courses.

The narrator was a pilgrim along with the others. He was really excited about everything. He was...

You palm your head. “Unreliable narrator.” How did you not see this before?

“Hm?” Judi asks.

You point to King's title. “The narrator of the Canterbury Tales is an unreliable narrator. That's what King is trying to say. What's written here is unreliable.”

“These officers...” She pauses, “What else have they done?”

“I was just about to ask you the same thing.”

The two of you go about gathering more boxes and piling them high on the table.

The same few names come up again and again...

Case Closed by MagnaCarta. Motley of <The Family> found not guilty of PKing due to a complete lack of evidence.

Bellicose of <Plasticine Peasants> found guilty of attempted PKing against Motley of <The Family>.
-Signed by MagnaCarta.

RiotDroid of <NagaStoleMyBike> found guilty of PKing SolarRide of <The Family>. Thanks to key witness Motley of <The Family>.
-Signed by MagnaCarta.

SolarRide of <The Family> found not guilty of PKing RiotDroid of <NagaStoleMyBike> due to self defense clause.
-Signed by MagnaCarta.

>>40439730
“Is there one here not signed by MagnaCarta?” You ask.

“Here.” She hands you a paper. “This one is signed by someone lower level.”

Deputy SignalLand acting as Judge in place of higher authority.
Defendant, SchrodingersPavlov of no guild, is found guilty of attempted PKing.
The Defendant was seen by several eye witnesses instigating a fight with the victim, SpiritGame.
Eyewitnesses are Motley, DreadHalls, and MagnaCarta of <The Family>.

The date is less than a week after the Databasing.

You lean back in your chair. “Son of a bitch.”

“Can I help you two?” You hear an unfamiliar voice behind you.

You turn to see AurumFleece standing behind you. She does not seem too happy.

[ ] “No, no. You've already helped us out enough.” Lie. Lie hard.
[ ] “Actually we were just leaving.” They know! Shut it down!
[ ] “Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” It's not like you did anything wrong. You're a 'lawyer' after all.
[ ] Other.

>>40439755
>[ ] “No, no. You've already helped us out enough.” Lie. Lie hard.
Clearly best solution

>>40439755
>Eyewitnesses are Motley, DreadHalls, and MagnaCarta of <The Family>.
wait, what? Isn't this obvious evidence that MagnaCarta is a plant?
and
>[X] “Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” It's not like you did anything wrong. You're a 'lawyer' after all.

>>40439755
>[ ] “Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” It's not like you did anything wrong. You're a 'lawyer' after all.

>>40439755
>[x] “Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” It's not like you did anything wrong. You're a 'lawyer' after all.

>>40439755
[ ] “No, no. You've already helped us out enough.” Lie. Lie hard.
If fails
[ ] “Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” It's not like you did anything wrong. You're a 'lawyer' after all.

>>40439944
>>40439920
>>40439828

Going with these.

>>40439828
>wait, what? Isn't this obvious evidence that MagnaCarta is a plant?
Hence the reason why Ambrosis reacted with "Son of a bitch"

>>40440065
>Hence the reason why Ambrosis reacted with "Son of a bitch"
I guess I wasn't clear. My question was if it is this obvious, how are we the first ones to figure it out?

>>40440065
Do we have any glasses? if so, put them on, if not, ask Judi and failing that, ask the lady staring at us. We need glasses to explain this. And it goes without saying that we will adjust them every time we make a key point, BUT I WILL SAY IT ANYWAYS

If she already knows all this and we are fucked, call the Morningstar officer that has been on our side in the past, he seems like a justice guy, and he might have not noticed this going on since he is so busy, if he has, he is corrupt, but his underlings might not be

In my MMO experience, having a spy in the guild is fucking big, and when they get found out, it causes a mess. Guildmembers fling suspicion left and right and tons of people get mad at eachother, if it is deep enough, there will always be a major fall out, often with splitting of clans. Morningstar leaders will probably know how this may happen and want to avoid it, so this is our Get out of Jail Free card

If things go south for even a second, immediately call Lilac, Canis, and Zachary (they can pass it on to the rest of the party) and tell them what is happening and to get the word out to every person on their friends list, especially lower rank morningstars they know or happen to see if we dont call them in a day

if we learned how to do silent telepathy, this would be ideal, I cant remember if we did yet though, if not, just say it outloud, as this lady cant stop you from talking without the city guard getting on her

>>40440928
They may easily be able to go against our little group, but if they do, make sure they understand the news will get out to their guild. If they deny their guildmates the ability to see the evidence, that will just prove they are corrupt, if they show it it shows they are

even if they destroy the evidence, people will be wondering how the hell there are nearly no arrests in the most chaotic city on the server and question what is happening

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>>40440065
“Yes, do you know anything about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?” You respond.

“I guess I wasn't clear.” She retorts. “What are you two doing here?”

“I'm acting as a lawyer on someone's behalf.” You reply.

“Whose?”

“Vertigo, that man who is being arrested under very shaky and fallacious grounds.”

Fleece looks to Judicature. “Is that true?”

“Uh... Y-yes.”

Fleece glances at you, then back to Judi. “I didn't peg you for someone that would help out criminals.”

You butt in with, “Whether or not he is guilty remains to be seen.” Now that you have her attention you ask again, “So, what can you tell me about MagnaCarta and <The Family>?”

She rolls her eyes. “Hold on.” She disappears into the darkness and soon returns with a large, leather bound book. She drops it on the table with a loud bang. “That should be everything you want.”

You stare at her, expecting her to leave, but she does not. “That will be all.” You say.

She folds her arms and continues to stare back at you.

“Any reason you're standing here?” You ask.

“To make sure don't do anything.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Criminals stick together.”

“Well, rest assured, if I did anything, Judicature would be more than happy to stop me.”

“One more pair of eyes won't harm.”

You sigh. “Fine.”

You open up the leather bound book. A long list of names and descriptions pour over the pages. “What is this anyways?”

“Guild glossary.” Fleece says.

“Brimstone likes recording everything.” Judi adds, “He says it makes us more accountable.”

You flip through pages. F for Family is probably a good place to start, or maybe T for The.

<Last Valley>

<Deadly Deadly Bees>

<Nice Pair of Crits>

It is then you realize none of this is in alphabetical order.

>>40441913
“What page is <The Family> and MagnaCarta, for that matter?”

Fleece does not respond and Judicature can only offer a shrug.

You sigh and just turn page after page.

<Swich Licour> catches your eyes. You take a moment to read the heading:

<Swich Licour>
Trade and Raiding
Standing: Good
Notable Figures: KingAzebo, Confidence, Vertigo, KeeperFury

You continue to turn until you see one of the things you were looking for.

<The Family>
Social
Standing: Good
Notable Figures: Quixote, Decadence, Repose

<The Family> are a friendly guild who are attempting to better the atmosphere of Big Apple through charity work. The guild has grown much larger after The Event, thanks to the works of their guild leader, Quixote. Many Adventurers have begun targeting members of <The Family> under that basis that they are rich or may be transporting Tasty Food. Extra protection should be advised when protecting members of <The Family>.

<The Family> has recently begun aiding our guild in recruitment and several members of their guild have even become officers in order to assist us. It is recommended that these officers be assigned to protect members of <The Family> as a means to strengthen the bonds between our two guilds.

“Isn't this a conflict of interest?” You ask, pointing to the fact that the sheriff is assigning ex-Family members to watch over cases involving <The Family>.

Fleece is the first to answer. “As much as her letting you in here is a conflict of interest.”

“It might be,” Judicature responds, “But it's not evidence that they did anything wrong.”

You sigh. “And the fact that every case involving them always has a member of <The Family> isn't suspicious?”

>>40441940
“Of course it would be that way.” Fleece says with a sneer, “MagnaCarta is the sheriff, he needs to be involved in EVERY case.”

“I see.” You nod. “And why do you trust them so much?”

“Because they're one of the good guys.” Fleece states.

“And why do you think that?”

“It says it right there!” She points at the book, “Are you really trying to slander the only charity group in that God-forsaken city?”

Something you heard long ago rings in your head. “Why would you trust something that only makes money while there is a problem instead of a solution?”

“I guess you someone like you just can't understand human kindness.”

You look back to the book. “So, who wrote this section?”

Fleece does not respond other than to give you ugly looks.

Judicature answers with, “It would have been the sheriff of Big Apple.”

“So you're trusting a member of <The Family> to give you a fair account of <The Family>?” You ask, “Do I have that right?”

Fleece scoffs, “There were guildies in Big Apple long before them, you know.”

“Like, Deputy SignalLand? What happened to him?”

“Why don't you look it up instead of asking me?”

You shake your head in utter disappointment. This is what passes for self described protectors of the realm.

You flip through some more pages.

>>40441959
SignalLand
Recruited before The Event, held the rank of Deputy of Big Apple before the event.
Due to stalwart performance in keeping the peace of Big Apple, was appointed the newly made rank of Sheriff of the In-Betweens.

“What's Sheriff of the In-Betweens?” You ask.

“It's like a wandering sheriff.” Judicature answers. “They try to keep the peace of all the small villages in between the major cities. It was made after the Databasing to try and keep Landers safe.”

You start flipping through some more pages looking for other people who were Deputies of Big Apple before the Databasing.

Just as you had feared, every time you find one, the same thing is read. Appointed the newly made rank of Sheriff of the In-Betweens.

You take a moment to lean back in your chair and absorb this information.

There are no longer any pre-Databasing <Morning Star> in Big Apple, and the one running things over there is a member of <The Family>, the guild that seems to be involved in a lot of crimes as of late.

[ ] “How dumb is your guild?” Seriously, how dumb?
[ ] “Someone get Brimstone, he'll want to hear this.” He didn't seem like the type to approve of something like this.
[ ] “Whelp, I've got what I came for.” Leave before anyone realizes what you've put together.
[ ] Other.

>>40441974
>[ ] “Whelp, I've got what I came for.” Leave before anyone realizes what you've put together.

Brimstone isn't dumb, he probably knows what's going on. Either he's playing ball or he's playing along until he can act.

>>40441974
>[X] “How dumb is your guild?” Seriously, how dumb?
>[X] “Someone get Brimstone, he'll want to hear this.” He didn't seem like the type to approve of something like this.
Maybe not dumb, but painfully naive.

>>40441974
>[ ] “How dumb is your guild?” Seriously, how dumb?
>[ ] “Someone get Brimstone, he'll want to hear this.” He didn't seem like the type to approve of something like this.
God fucking damn it.

>>40441974
>[ ] “Someone get Brimstone, he'll want to hear this.” He didn't seem like the type to approve of something like this.

>>40441974
I have a few more things I want to look for right now.
Look up our guild and <the 49ers>

Also look up anything pertaining to landships, airships, and cars. we never know when someone with a greed for sweet sweet mass transportation moolah might want our little INCREDIBLY INNOVATIVE guild out of the way and might as well get a heads up while we are here and can pass it off as motive investigation.

more things to come, dont want my posts to be skipped by closing vote

>>40442024
>>40442065
>>40442067
Getting Brimstone will most likely win, but I am interested in what >>40442132 has to say.

>>40442132
We also need to know what other lander related incidents have happened and how they have been judged, other various arrests in Big Apple, and things relating to monster farming rights. This may help make a case against the Family.

specifically for our case, we need to know everything they have from the landers they interviewed, everything from adventurer "witnesses", character witnesses, and anything else we can find about Zachary.

We also need to look for things about the food with taste. We know that is a problem up in Big Apple, and that Zachary's guild is part of it. If the Family is messing with others in the food bussiness, we have more leads.

IF this ever gets to trial, we need to request king be taken here in person by Brimstone, due to the Family threatening her.

Also look for anything about the static man whatever his name was, he may have a role in this.


AS LONG AS WE ARE HERE WITH THEIR PERMISSION, WE NEED TO BE THOROUGH. DO NOT MISS MINOR THINGS. WE MAY NOT GET A SECOND CHANCE TO SAVE OUR COLLECTIVE ASSES

>>40442192
>>40442239
>>40442132
and DONT GET BRIMSTONE UNTIL WE HAVE EVERYTHING we need, if he doesnt want this uncovered, it will majorly fuck us, lets at least have our facts to back us all the way up.
Hell, getting brimstone while we are here is a possibly bad idea just incase he is compromised

>>40442192
also, thanks for the spare time. Important things deserve it.

>>40442024
>>40442279
Changing my vote to this

>>40442192

I'll also change my vote from leaving (>>40442014)

to this anon's plan: >>40442279

>>40442132
>>40442239
>>40442279
>>40442324

Would anyone else like the change their vote to this?

>>40442339
One more yes from me

>>40442324
>>40442338
>>40442279
>>40442397

That's 4 votes for this, which leaves getting Brimstone at 2 votes, so this would win.

[+1 Investigation Prowess]
[+1 Knowledge(<Morning Star>: Knowledge(Guilds))]

>>40442409
Thanks for hearing out my plan guys, between stuff like this, Shep being an amazing QM, and the setting written well is why I love this quest.

>>40442436

Thanks for taking the time to type all of that out. I'm usually good at making plans after the fact and when it's probably too late, but it's good to see that there's some other anons that can think ahead when we need to.

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>>40442436
>between stuff like this, Shep being an amazing QM, and the setting written well is why I love this quest.

Oh gosh. You are far too kind.

Thank you.

>>40442487
I was adjusting my glasses irl the entire time I was writing that.
>>40442515
For all your work writing it, you deserve it. I would take 1 thread of LHQ over 100 random waifu/fetish/civ quests run to completion

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I want to sleep

Brimstone won't agree with us. He'll be wrong, but he won't agree. Here's why:

Officers being moved to other departments, or the in-between in this case, is not a rare occurance. An officer of the law could find himself in three to five different departments in his career, depending on his actions, intents, and desired career path. Brimstone will point out they just moved on to sheriff the smaller towns, and people were shuffled in over time, as is expected.

And here's where he's wrong:

Those cops brought in to replace, are recruits, or other officers from other districts. It's sort of a little balancing act. But in this case this is a guild that has clear intent to learn something no one else can, for a lot of money. This isn't fresh recruits or other officers being shuffled around. This is The Family putting on Morning Star uniforms, with a very good reason to do something about competition. At this time, it's apparent that many people who were Databased do not have any real concern over Landers, and further more, probably still think of it as a game. And they're there to win.

>>40443663

Or they're the type of people who want to win at everything, regardless of who they step on.

>>40443663
thats why we gotta be patient. We need evidence, and the best possible place to find it is exactly where we are right now

once we have it then we go to brimstone.

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>>40442409
You should probably tell Brimstone what you've found, but perhaps a more thorough search is in order. Accusations of his guild being turned into a puppet organization is something very serious and any extra information you can dig up will always be worth it.

You flip some more pages and see <1st Panzer Division> in big bold letters across the top of the page.

Well, knowing what others think of you is always something worth knowing.

You see that under your name you are categorized as a Trade guild, but below that is where things get interesting.

Your Standing was apparently Suspicious, which was then crossed out with Neutral written in, but that was struck through with Good written next to it, however that too was struck through with Suspicious once more written in.

Apparently your guild is now suspicious to the <Morning Star>.

Looking down at the description you read...

The <1st Panzer Division> is a crafting guild whose leader is responsible for the creation of land-ships in this world.

The <1st Panzer Division> was first met in relation to an incident of Lander regicide. Supposedly an Adventurer later identified as Lilac of <Sweet Cake> was kidnapped by the Lander King Auberon. It is likely that the leader of the guild, Ambrosis, is responsible.

Upon investigation, it has been determined that an Adventurer was indeed kidnapped it is unlikely that the use of lethal force was necessary, but it was an event which could not be blamed on the guild or its members.

>>40443795
Upon entering Pueblo, the <1st Panzer Division>, along with Lilac of <Sweet Cake> and Judicature of our guild, set to trying to restore the Lander economy. They do not appear to have any ill will towards Landers and are most likely a force for good.

As of May 27th, <1st Panzer Division> has begun a partnership with our guild in order to create airships. It remains to be seen if they are capable of the creation, but it is likely they will succeed.

As of May 30th, it was recently discovered that the leader of the guild has been harboring a possible criminal known as Vertigo of <Swich Licour>. It was later revealed that the guild leader and the criminal are brothers. It is very likely that <1st Panzer Division> will move to assist the criminal if they are able.

“Good to know after just one sentence you go from writing possible criminal to just criminal.” You say to no one in particular.

“Writing possible that many times gets tedious.” Fleece remarks.

Somehow, you are not surprised by her response.

You flip through some more pages.

<49erS>
Trade
Standing: Suspicious
Notable Figures: LastDerogation, Tabula

The <49erS> is one of the oldest trading guilds on the server. Their current level of wealth is unknown but it is assumed to be within the tens of millions at least.

The <49erS> have been implicated in a case of Lander Regicide following the supposed kidnapping of Lilac of <Sweet Cake>.

The case of regicide has been attributed to an act of defense for another, namely Lilac of <Sweet Cake>, however a large amount of gold and items belonging to the late King Auberon has mysteriously wound up in the possession of the <49erS>.

You lean back in your chair once more and rub your chin. The <49erS> might find this information important.

“Getting tired?” Judi asks with a yawn.

You shake your head. “No, just thinking.”

>>40443817
You go back to flipping pages when something catches your eye.

<HotPocketRangers>
Trade
Standing: KoS
Notable Figures: DaintyDom

Why would a trade guild be Kill on Sight? All the PK guilds are marked that way, which makes sense, but why a trade guild?

<HotPocketRangers> is a pre-Event Big Apple guild based around the Chef subclass.

It was purported that they had found the secret to Tasty Food, however this turned out to be a lie.

The guild had begun poisoning their food while selling them at a price lower than <Swich Licour> in order to maximize their number of victims. A dozen Landers died before an arrest was made.

All guild members were found guilty of the crime of Lander Murder and were set to hang indefinitely.

You take a moment to think.

You get up from your chair and go to find the case file of this “DaintyDom” person.

Fleece follows you with an unkind look on her face.

You look through the row of boxes in the D row of Big Apple section. Daemon999, DaFunk, Dagon, DahMan, Dajango, DakrLord... Where the hell is DaintyDom?

“Where's DaintyDom?” You ask Fleece.

“Did you try looking under HotPocketRangers?”

You sigh and go looking under H.

HoryMan, Hostility, <HotPocketRangers>.

You take the box out and notice it is extremely empty in comparison to the others. There are only three sheets of paper here.

>>40443822
The first one reads...

You should look into <HotPocketRangers>.
-A concerned citizen

The second one is an arrest report.

Upon receiving a tip from a concerned citizen, this officer, along with officer DreadHalls, went to the newly formed establishment owned by the guild <HotPocketRangers>.
Upon entering the establishment it became apparent that something was wrong.
Several Landers were doubled over in pain with the poison effect. Due to not having a healer on hand along with Landers' low max HP, all those afflicted with the poison were killed. Upon tasting one of the meat pies, this officer received the poison debuff. The guild members of <HotPocketRangers> were arrested on the spot and charged with twelve counts of Lander Murder.
-MagnaCarta

The final paper appears to be a summary of the court case.

Upon being brought to court, the <HotPocketRangers> admitted their guilt and claimed no wrong doing under the justification that it was rumored killing Landers grants XP beyond the level cap.
The entire guild was found guilty for twelve accounts of murder and were sentenced to hang indefinitely.
-MagnaCarta

You look at the last two again. MagnaCart was both arresting officer AND judge for this crime! Hell, with how things are looking, he probably wrote the anonymous tip too.

[ ] “I need to speak with Brimstone.”
[ ] “Okay. I'll be leaving now.” Leave.
[ ] Research something else (Choose subject).
[ ] Other.

>>40443837
>“I need to speak with Brimstone.”

>>40443837
>[X] Research something else (Choose subject).
Guild procedure. We have all this information, but we don't know if MagnaCart has done anything "wrong" by the definitions of the guild. Being both judge and arresting officer while insane to outsiders may be the norm.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>40443930
>>40443906
I gave the vote some extra time, but it looks like everyone else went to sleep. That's fine, because now we get to get input from the Dice Gods.

1) Speak with Brimstone
2) Research guild procedure

>>40444000
[+1 Waking up Grumpy old man]
[+1 It's 4 o'clock in the morning!]

>>40444000
Research guild procedure. We need to find out if their system is built to be easily abused, or this was an abuse of ignorance. We mention this bit of info aloud infront of the two. See what comes of it.

>>40444022
ELEVEN SECONDS. D:

>>40444022
WAIT, I, PLAN ANON, AM STILL KEIKAKUING

>>40444050
Fug.
Still needed to research raiding guilds to see how farming mobs is being controlled
still need to research the direct statements from those landers for Zachary case
Still needed to research Man in Black

>>40444050
>>40444090
Was... was that the plan, or are you just lamenting what I forgot to write?

Or are you two different people?

Incase i fall asleep later. (Plus i keep forgetting that i can respond to a live thread for once)
I think we should find the npcs legal stance on Adventurers. If these guys aren't even getting the bare minimum for Lander rights we probably ould bring that up too.
Once we have enough concerns about the family we probably could have the landers officially say their stance given this new information.

>>40444165
I'm 4044037 and 40444024. I dunno about that guy.

>>40444165
>>40444050
these are this >>40442279 anon
was still thinking of more stff to look for that may be important

>>40444090
>>40444050
>>40444367
bah these*
never mind tho if u already writing since i went afk for a bit~

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>>40444022
“I need to speak with Brimstone.” You say.

“Well that's too bad.” Fleece replies, “He, along with everyone else, is asleep.”

“What I'm going to tell him is far more important than sleep.”

“And what exactly do you intend to tell him?”

“That his guild's been compromised.”

“So you want me to wake him up so you can tell him your conspiracy theories?”

“Just because it's a conspiracy theory doesn't mean it's not true.” Good lord you're starting to sound like Edifice. You hope your ramblings about <The Family> doesn't sound like him going on about the JIF.

“So, to put this into terms of Occam's Razor, either your client is guilty, or an entire guild formed around the express idea of infiltrating and taking over the <Morning Star> to... do what exactly?”

“Get Tasty Food money.”

“Which is something we don't have.”

“No, but they have control over <Swich Licour>, who get Tasty Food money.”

“And what makes you think we have control over <Swich Licour>?”

You pause and think. If this guild is compromised, telling her about the conversation between you and King would probably be a bad idea. To that same merit, though, if Brimstone's in on this, that could be just as disastrous. You don't think the old man's that kind of person, though.

“Just call Brimstone.” You finally say.

Fleece shakes her head. “No. I refuse. If you want to bother him, you can call him.”

“Fine, then. I will!”

You open up your friend list and scroll down to Brimstone's icon. You hit the call button and give Fleece your mightiest Deal With It face.

RING

RING

RING

RI-

“You better have a good reason for callin' me this late, Ambrosis.” Comes the voice of Brimstone.

[ ] “People are using your guild's name to extort money.”
[ ] “Meet me in the library alone.”
[ ] “My brother is innocent and I have proof.”
[ ] Other.

>>40444462
>[x] “Meet me in the library alone.”

I'm 10 hours late, shit.

>>40444462
>[ ] “People are using your guild's name to extort money.”
>[ ] “Meet me in the library alone.”

>>40444462
>“People are using your guild's name to extort money.”
>“Meet me in the library alone.”

>>40444462
Meet me in the library, I think I found something you want to know about while trying to act as a lawyer for my brother. And by "I think you want to know about it", I mean it is something that compromises the security of the entire American region.

while he is on the way, we Need to try to find any more info we can, especially about the raiding groups farming monsters.

>>40444462
>Other
"I have reason to believe that the allegations against my brother are being manipulated in a way to benefit others at your expense. If you do not believe me, I have requested that I am my brother's attorney, and wish to provide evidence of which may mean there has been adjustments to your efforts to abuse the system. You have amazing paperwork, but there's a chance that it's not read or cross referenced. If you wish to bring support, you are welcome to, as Miss AurumFleece is here, as is Judicature. Though my relationship with the latter may be something to suspect, I can assure you MIss AurumFleece has no intent on being lenient with me."

>>40444552
>>40444551
>>40444510
>>40444496
>>40444491
[+1 Dramatic hanging up]
[+3 Lawyer Speaking]

>>40444551
>>40444462
woops, should have wrote
>[ ]Other
before that

also, he doesn't have to come alone, if someone else comes with connections to the family, and they get riled up, it may help our case. They wont be able to kill or hurt us any more than Brimstone would alone, and Brimstone will probably stop them from doing anything to us even if they do come when he sees what we have to show him
additionally, this way he wont be on guard against us and be more willing to believe we are being truthful

Make sure that the librarian doesn't try to contact anyone, they might be comprised as well.

>>40444583
if we have any time before he gets here, can we look for anything about raiding guilds and monster farming? If they are going after the farmers, then we have even more evidence that they are targeting us specifically with the intent to monopolize the food business by keeping our landships out of it through targeting our brother.

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>>40444583
“People are using your guild's name to extort money.” You say. “Meet me in the library. Alone.” You hang up. That certainly will get his attention.

“He is going to be so upset with you when he gets here.” Fleece comments.

“Shut up, wench, I have research to do.”

You probably have enough time to look up one more thing, but what?

[ ] Go, go custom options!

No, captcha, Ice cream and Coffee are not the same thing!

>>40444643
uh i will recommend what this anon said
>>40443930

>>40444643
Anything about people farming drops or monsters.
This of all things is probably one of the most relevant. It can show they are giving The Family and its associates preferential treatment, show a reason they are targeting Zachary -and by extension us-, and show the Family's involvement in the food trade

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>40444687
>>40444684
Whelp, time has run out once again, and once again we have a tie.

1) Guild Procedure
2) Mob farming

>>40444778
[+1 Knowledge (<Morning Star>)]
[Lawyer talk for real this time]

You should probably be aware that a malicious misarchiver that's been at work over the last few days has gotten to this thread.

>>40445184
I'm not really familiar with using suptg, is there any way to fix it?

>>40445205
only the owner.

that misarchiver is one rude dud

>>40445248
I'm very confused as to why he thinks this is a /d/-related quest. /a/ trash, I understand, but /d/? That's just silly.

I mean, people factually did not choose the dwarf, so I can't even argue short stacks as an angle.

Well, I suppose you could argue King's presence makes it /d/, but she's hardly shown up in the quest.

>>40445184
>>40445205
>>40445248
>>40445282

Welcome to summer gentlemen. The beautiful time of year when faggot highschool and colleges ifs come back to 4chan and fag everything up for three months

Not even the best quest on the board is immune to their retardation.

Power on shep, and let us leave the foolish haters behind

>>40445296
Bah, kids*
iPod is hell

well the top banner says that
irc.thisisnotatrueending.com is where you need to go for shittu like this.

>>40445296
'Tis the fucking season. Can't wait for it to be over.

did Shep fall asleep again?

>>40445813
>[Lawyer talk for real this time]

He's probably writing legal shenanigans.

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>>40444786
“Wench!?” The librarian shouts.

You ignore her and go straight to the large leather book. You start flipping through pages, trying to find anything that could constitute law or procedure.

Upon finding nothing, you wipe your stinging eyes. How long have you been awake. “Son of a bitch.”

Judi yawns once more before resting her head in her arms. “Is it time for sleep yet?”

“Not until I figure out the procedure for arresting and judging people!”

“You arrest them.” Judicature replies wearily, “Then they go to jail while the evidence is gathered. Once it's gathered, it goes to court and a judge decides if the guy is guilty or not.” She yawns. “Then he determines the punishment.”

“Can the guy who made the arrest also be the judge?” You ask.

“Yeah I guess so.” She closes her eyes. “Course they could ask for a new judge.”

“Do they know they're allowed to do that?”

“They have to. The judge has to tell them that.” She begins to mumble some before remaining quiet save for some soft breathing.

You ponder that. Certainly the if the HotPockets knew they could get a new judge, they would have, wouldn't they have? Especially if they were guilty! If they were guilty they would have at least understood that the guy in front of them had the full intent of hanging them, so MagnaCarta must not have told them.

Or they were innocent and they went with the judge that knew they were innocent.

This entire mess has become quite bothersome. Why couldn't this have been something simple like the Clue mansion? Things were simple there. You think. You never actually did the quest.

You hear footsteps behind you and turn to see Brimstone in no armor save for some robes.

>>40445833
“Sir!” Fleece shouts, “I am so sorry about this! Just say the word an-”

The old man holds up a hand to silence the librarian. He sits down in a chair opposite to you.

The sudden movement jostles Judicature awake. She looks at you, smiles and asks, “Is it sleepy time yet?”

“I reckon we all should have been asleep for quite a while.” Brimstone comments, “So I certainly hope you know what you're tryin' to prove, Ambrosis.”

Judi turns her head to face Brimstone, and upon seeing him, suddenly straightens herself. “I didn't see you there, sir.”

“It's fine.” He responds, “It's far too late in the night for formalities.” He looks to you. “So, Ambrosis, do you realize that making a false claim is a crime?”

“Yes.” You respond.

Brimstone sighs. “Okay. Tell me how people are using our name.”

You ponder a moment. Perhaps now would be a good time to let your inner lawyer out. “I have reason to believe that the testimonies against my brother have been manipulated. For now I am acting as my brother's attorney and wish to provide evidence that the claims made against him only exist because of the manipulation of your guild's legal system. In case you think I may have manipulated the evidence, Miss Fleece here has been watching me to ensure I did not.”

He looks the Fleece. “Did he change anything?”

“Not that I saw.” She responds.

He looks back to you with a yawn. “Alright. What's your evidence?”

You hand him King's testimony. “Look at her title.”

He reads aloud. “KingAzebo, Guild Leader of <Swich Licour>, Narrator of Canterbury.”

>>40445839
“Narrator of Canterbury.” You echo, “You know what's special about the narrator of the Canterbury Tales, don't you?”

“'Fraid I don't.”

“He's an unreliable narrator.”

“Well, I'd love to believe ya, Ambrosis, but that's hearsay. It might'a been because he's unreliable, could have just been because she wanted a snappy soundin' title.”

You ponder a moment. “Then call her and ask her yourself.”

He stares at you for a while before saying, “I'll be sure to do that when she's awake.”

“Oh, right...” This is going a bit bad, “Well, what of the case of <HotPocketRangers>?”

“I don't know, but I reckon you're about to tell me.” He rubs his brow.

“The arresting officer and the judge were the same person! How is that not a conflict of interest!?”

“If they wanted a different judge, they could have asked for it.”

“But they didn't! The only explanations are if they weren't allowed, or if they knew the judge knew they were innocent!”

“Or they're all idiots.”

“An entire guild was tried at the same time! Certainly that is suspicious enough!”

“We do that all the time to determine if guilds were KoS or not.” He sighs, “Ambrosis, I understand you're tryin' to save your brother, and I'm sure you actually do believe in this giant conspiracy, but it just ain't there.”

“What about the fact that over half of the hangings involve <The Family> and someone else?” You spread out the many case papers in front of him. “In each one, <The Family> comes out smelling like daisies, and everyone else gets fucked! And in each one of these, the sole witnesses and arresting officers are members of <The Family>!”

He sighs, “Yes, I reckon that's mighty suspicious, but I trust the sheriff there to do what's right.”

“He's also a member of <The Family>!”

“I'm sorry, Ambrosis, but this talk's over.” The old man gets up from his chair.

>>40445846
“So you'd turn your eyes from such obvious corruption!? Even if you trust some guy you met less than a month ago, you have to realize how easy it is to manipulate your system!”

He sighs once more. “Ambrosis, I've known SignalLand for more than a year now, and he has never been a member of <The Family>.”

You raise an eyebrow at his statement.

“Uh.. Sir.” Fleece butts in, “You mean MagnaCarta, right?”

“Who?” He responds.

“MagnaCarta, sheriff of Big Apple.” She explains, “He was a recruit from <The Family>. You personally promoted him to sheriff.”

The old man gives you an uneasy glance before looking back to Fleece. “Who told you that?”

“Your personal operator, sir. She informed everyone.”

“Informed everyone of what?”

“That the Big Apple Four were to be promoted...”

“Right. Land becomes Sheriff and the other three become In-Betweens.”

“That all four become In-Betweens.” She corrects him, “And that MagnaCarta becomes Sheriff of Big Apple.”

He takes in a deep breath. “And my rule of no hats to the new recruits was ignored because...?”

“Because it was your personal request.”

The old man remains silent for a while. Then he moves for the door. “I'm going to look into this.” He stops and looks back to you. “Consider your brother's investigation on pause.” With that he leaves.

You are not quite sure whether to celebrate or despair.

“Is it sleep time now?” Judicature asks.

“Yeah, I think it's time to sleep.” You reply.

The two of you wander out of the spire, down into the city. The morning sun pushes its way above the horizon on your way to your room. Without even a word between you two, you collapse onto the bed, and finally rest your weary eyes.

>>40445859
Oh shit, an impersonator? How is that even possible?

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>>40445859
You lose consciousness.

The entire cosmos stands before you, and from it walks a man of Nothing. Not of empty space-time, but absolute nothing. A void. A tear in reality which wears a suit.

The non-thing motions to a game being played out on a thin sheet of glass. Each piece represents a person; you simply know this, despite not being told. One piece catches your eye. It is the piece with the lowest value, and it is your brother.

You extend out a hand to move it, but the tear stops you. You are not here to play, you are here to observe.

You look over the board and know the only proper move to be made.

Your brother is moved forward and takes a powerful piece from the opposing side. Then your brother is taken in response.

His piece vanishes from sight.

It is hard to breathe.

You are drowning.

The anti-existence reaches down into the ground and pulls from it an unmoving clock. He holds the machine in his twenty-four fingers. The many digits tap the glass and then they all extend out from the clock, perfectly equidistant from one another.

The clock ticks.

You awaken.

END SESSION

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>>40445916
IT BEGINS

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>>40445916
>His piece vanishes from sight.

>>40444090
>>40442239
>>40445916
Fug. How did I know.
HOW DID I FUCKING KNOW D:

>>40445916
Thanks for running Shep! Only one quest that can keep me up til 8:03 am when I have work in the afternoon~
Until next week, keep being fucking awesome!

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HAHAHA! YOU THINK YOU'VE COVERED YOUR TRACKS TINYSHEP! BUT I SAW WHAT YOU WROTE IN THAT POST YOU JUST DELETED. I FUCKING KNOW NOW!

HAHA!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

>>40446108
Thank you for enjoying it!

Hopefully you get enough sleep. This quest isn't worth losing your job over.

>>40446192
I felt I was overdoing the skeletons. Don't want to spook people too much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcSqI1KZiLI

Good night, and joy be to you all.