...Ah, so you had relieved his uncle and taken his shift, too. Well you guess that explained a little more about his insistence on making it up to you.

>Sorry, but I'm kind of in a hurry now too, so...
>Actually, I can use this.
>What are you suggesting, exactly?
>No need, I told you it wasn't a problem.
>Other? (write-in)

Previous Threads:
https://archive.moe/tg/search/tripcode/!y56qKWqxyc/results/thread/
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=valen+quest

Where things are said:
https://twitter.com/Riz_QM

Pastebin Stuff:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs

Misc notes:Third try's the charm, right? Or there was that other phrase about strikes...

>>41165789
>Actually, I can use this.
>What are you suggesting, exactly?
Hey man

>>41165797
>>Actually, I can use this.
>What are you suggesting, exactly?

>>41166861
>>41166883
This stuff.

Writing, I guess.
Votes came in literally seconds before I declared the quest dead.

Despite your reluctance to hang around, something was nagging at the back of your mind. There was an opportunity in front of you; You weren't sure what kind, or how you could make use of it, but it was there. Looking at the hopeful expression on Garet's face, you can't help but give the notion a second thought.

"I'm still a little busy..." You start briefly, watching him deflate in disappointment, "But what exactly are you suggesting?" You slip a lure out right as he starts to fall, twisting your triumphant smirk into an amiable grin as the boy desperately clambers to latch onto it. "I.. I mean we could get something to eat later, if you're busy now? I don't think I've seen you around the camp before, so..."

"I'm usually kept busy." You offer a short explanation that... really explains nothing. He seems to nod as if it had revealed the world to him though. "Ah... Can I help, somehow? If you've got so much to do, then surely I can lighten your load somehow." You shake your head after feigning a moment of thought, letting your mind whirl through possibilities. "Unlikely." You eventually shoot down his second offer, noting almost clinically how his hope had fallen a little. Not entirely, he was still hooked on your previous lure enough to not back down, but seeing him try to think of some other way so desperately was both cute, in a helpless animal type of way, and kind of sad. In the same type of way. "I'll think if there's some way you can help me out, but getting food some time may be doable."

"That's great!" Garet lit up excitedly, "Tonight then? Or... When will you be free?"

You had planned to leave and regroup with Rinnier. Of course you were sneaking back in to get Ari, but if you met with this guy... Should you even leave the brigand camp and go through the trouble of getting back in undetected? You could probably stay here and use Garet as cover.

On the other hand, maybe you could convince him to meet you outside of camp?

>You'll be free tonight. (Stay in camp)
>Can you meet me somewhere? (Regroup with Rinnier)
>You can put your duties off for a bit. (Go with him now)
>Other? (write-in)

>>41167523
>>Can you meet me somewhere? (Regroup with Rinnier)

>>41167551
This.

Writing.
I'll start reducing the voting window from 15m to about 10 to stop wasting time.

Oh I didn't notice this was running, You have yourself another voter!

>>41167539
>Can you meet me somewhere? (Regroup with Rinnier)

No, useful as this was, you would never hear the end of it from Rinnier if you got sidetracked and ended up staying the entire day in the brigand camp. Though it was undoubtedly helpful that you may have inadvertently secured a contact within the place you were trying to jailbreak Ari from, getting back to Rinnier and sharing what you learned was more important than following this oddly insistent back into camp.

Still... If you didn't give him a decent answer, it'd be difficult to get a hold of him again. You don't know much more than the layout of the camp, so it would be important to get some means to reconvene.

"Can you meet me somewhere tonight?" You inquire finally, receiving his agreement almost immediately. "I'm being sent to retrieve some things now, but I'll be free later, I think." Your eyes narrow, "Probably. If nothing comes up."

"Is there another camp near by?" He asked curiously, "I thought we were the only one apart from the front." You file that nugget of information away for later use as you shake your head, "Just... Some things that are of concern. The-" Think quick! "-oakenbear commotion last night has people on edge, so I'm being dispatched to check it out."

"Alone?!"

You blink at his outburst, "Yes? It's just an oakenbear." He boggles at you, the grip on his sheathed sword tightening as he quickly looks you over. "What do you mean 'just an oakenbear'? You don't even have a weapon on you, it'll tear you to pieces!" Not for the first time, you can't help but wonder if your perspective on those wooden ursine had been skewed by your first encounter with them with Kara. The one you met last night was kinda problematic, especially since you can't really remember much about it, but Rinnier ended up beating it, right? Why was everyone so on edge about them?

"I doubt I'll find much." You try to soothe Garet's temper before he gets some stupid idea in his head like trying to come with you.

"I'll come with you!"

Dammit.

If he actually did insist on tagging along with you, you'd have to go look for the oakenbear. You actually knew where it was, and exactly what you'd find there, which would just make this so much more complicated than it needed to be - Especially if you stumbled into Rinnier while out there. Then you'd just get her caught, or... you'd have to beat him up and steal his clothes too.

...Could Rinnier infiltrate like you had? You look him over consideringly. He was roughly your height... It might work? If it didn't, you'll have lost your potential contact in this place though.

>Turn him down sharply
>Turn him down gently
>Bring him along
>Other? (write-in)

>>41168330
>Turn him down gently

>>41168330
>Turn him down gently
>If you are that worried about an oakenbear you'll be more a hindrance then a help. I've fought these things several times.

>>41168358
>>41168412
Turn him down gently.

>>41168412
Explain how awesome you are.

Writing.

You shake your head, if Rinnier could barely fit into your clothes then there's no way she'd fit in this guy's. "Even if you did come with me, I can move faster on my own." You try again, words slipping off the tip of your tongue almost immediately. "I'm kept busy for a reason, you know? I've had to deal with Oakenbear several times before, so I'm experienced with handling them by now."

"Handled... You mean you've actually fought them before?" he breathed in awe, "On your own? Is that even possible?"

Didn't Kara say that people were hired to kill the things? Why was this so hard to believe? "It's a a talent of mine. I can handle myself, but there's... collateral. It's not something I can do safely with other people." He steps back, the determination in his posture bleeding away into awe... or intimidation? "You're... An Adept, aren't you?" He whispered excitedly, "What.. What Mana are you close to? Salamander? Uncle said Salamander folk were all b-" His mouth snapped shut as he realized what he was saying, though you kept a carefully neutral expression as he back-pedalled quickly. "Gnome? Or Undine?"

Was being an Adept really the only way he could imagine someone taking on an Oakenbear? You shake your head slowly, deciding not to answer. Let him come to his own conclusions. "Regardless," you cut in, "I need to get going if I want to be back before nightfall."

"Ah, right..." He seemed to snap out of his daydreaming as you spoke again, though it was obvious to see how disappointed Garet was about being unable to help you. "I guess being caught out there with the 'Gaunts would be bad. Good luck..." He trails off, looking at you bashfully in askance, "Er... I don't think I got your name?"

You raise a brow at him curiously, crossing your arms pointedly. "Do you forget everyone's names this easily?" You ask archly. "Y-I mean no, it's just... oh, you told me, didn't you? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" His descent into apologies reminded you of exactly why you were here. (un?)Fortunately, this one's breakdowns didn't send you into a panic yourself, so you merely shook your head again and turned to leave. "I'll try and make it back here after my patrol, Garet." You call back, enunciating his name precisely to drive home his guilt at having forgotten a name you never gave him.

It didn't take you long after that to disappear into the woods and make yourself scarce just long enough to make sure no one was following you. With your confidence still high from having infiltrated, you weren't especially concerned with accidentally running into patrols exactly... But Rinnier was still your primary concern. The last thing you needed was for you to bring a 'friend' back to her without meaning to.

Eventually you broke into a run, quickly distancing yourself from the camp with excitement bubbling up in your chest over what you had just done.

When you found Rinnier again she had just awoken, turning to you slowly with her staff gripped firmly in her hand. You had just enough time to open your mouth before having to stumble back to avoid the wooden walking aid that had been set on a swift collision course with your knees. "Wait-" You gasp out, barely turning aside a thrust towards your gut, "-Rinnier, hold on!"

The surprise assault haulted briefly, though her grip on the staff was no less fervent. You held your hands up irritatedly, shrugging off the bandana to let your hair show, only then did the hostility in the former-princess start to abate.

"Why are you..." She muttered, stamping the staff into the ground. "Where are your clothes?"

"They're around, anyway I've been busy." You explain shortly, segueing directly into sharing your findings with her.

Over an hour later, the two of you are left discussing your course of action. While Rinnier had been - and currently still was - rather mad at you for immediately breaking your promise and doing something stupid, you had come back with an unexpectedly huge windfall of results. You had attempted to argue that by merit of having such amazing results, it was in fact a great idea and not a stupid one, thus you had not broken any promises whatsoever. Frankly, you are offended she suggested that you would do such a thing in the first place.

Whether or not she agreed was a discussion for another time, but the flat look you had received made you feel distinctly as if she wanted to continue beating you with a stick. There was resignation there though, and you consider that enough of a success for you at the moment.

"So you have a contact in the brigand camp, which has Ari locked in a cage, and we know the layout of the camp..." Rinnier summed up finally, "Have you thought of how to do this while you were waltzing through enemy lines?"

Well...

>I wanted to hear your take on it
>Sneak in under cover of night and jailbreak!
>Blend in with the locals and sneak her out.
>Cause a commotion in camp while Rinnier breaks her out.
>Other? (write-in)

This is your first major operation, think carefully. If you have alternative ideas, feel free to pose them.

>>41169491
>I wanted to hear your take on it
but
either
>Blend in with the locals and sneak her out.
or
>Cause a commotion in camp while Rinnier breaks her out
probably by lighting something on fire.

>>41169721
This.

Writing.

"I managed to get in pretty easily," you start slowly, "I think it might be possible to blend in and sneak her out subtly somehow."

"You want to do it on your own?" Rinnier asked, "We're on a time limit too, you know. How long would it take to get yourself that assimilated, assuming someone doesn't realize something's up?"

You grimace, "Right... It would be faster if I caused a commotion in the camp, and you took advantage of it to break her out?" you offer the backup plan you had been going planning out. Normally you'd think of lighting something on fire, but with Rinnier... Fire would put itself out if she got too close, a painfully obvious side effect of Salamander's grudge against the Lamandran royal family. That thought strikes a few new possibilities for you, but you keep them to yourself for the moment.

"Either way, these were just some thoughts I had while exploring the camp. Do you have any ideas?" You turn over the conversation to Rinnier as she chews her lip in thought.

"...There's still too much we don't know." She grumbles, "From what you told me, these people aren't normal brigands. Why they're here hasn't seemed to change, but what is this 'front' they mentioned? What is the ruin their camp is based around? What are Nightgaunts?" She looks to you for an explanation, but all you can do is shrug. "I don't know about the front, but the ruin reminded me of... Something. I don't recall ever hearing about it before, but it definitely seemed familiar."

"And the Nightgaunts?" She sighed, "I've never heard of those, so I assume they're local terrors, like these oakenbear?"

"I don't know either. We hadn't encountered any, but the guards were talking about them pretty incessantly. Evidently they're warded off by fire, but that's all I could gather." Of course, you didn't try to look too much into those anyway. Finding Ari had been your main priority, after all.

"...And you said there was a hostage there besides Ari?" Rinnier switched tracks, "Due to where we are, they're probably a noble of some value. If they have a hostage, then they're probably not far from making their move on your Cousin's estate now." Her eyes narrowed in thought as an unsettling feeling settled on your shoulders. "Or... Or they already have made their move." She whispered slowly, "Front. The front they mentioned, if they're the only camp in the area and they already had a hostage, then they're already trying to force your cousin to yield. That's probably what's going on!"

"If Caylen is under attack now, then that's probably where most of their forces went?" Which would explain how lightly guarded and loose the remaining guard had been. "Probably." Rinnier agreed, "Did you find out who the other hostage was? Are they anyone who might be leverage against your cousin?"

You try to think back. Something. Anything. "They said the other hostage was in Lockdown, and I never found where that was exactly... But she was evidently put there for fighting. Maybe a fencing friend of Caylen's?" Your offer is frankly a shot in the dark, you knew very little about Caylen's social life. "If it's a girl though, that idiot will try to rescue her, so..."

Rinnier and you share a moment of irritation as the situation sinks in. "So if we take too long, he'll try and plea-bargain her freedom in exchange for his." The spitfire groaned. "Or worse, try to fight his way here and just get captured anyway." You confirm, hanging your head.

Though, if Caylen did get caught and brought here... He'd certainly be in your debt if you saved him. They would be far more on guard in that case, but the potential reward was intriguing, to say the least.

>Is it really so bad if Caylen gets caught?
>Can we use the Nightgaunts?
>Cause a commotion tonight, get Ari out ASAP.
>Try and find out more about the other hostage.
>Can we get Rinnier into the camp as well?
>Other?

>>41170431
>Can we get Rinnier into the camp as well?
>Can we use the Nightgaunts?
I'm curious about this myself, as why the hell did we not run into them ourselves without a fire? Maybe they're attracted to large groups, but that means sneaking in and putting out a fire, which may not be possible. On the other hand, if we bring Rinnier near one of their fires interesting things could happen - but I have the sneaking suspicion/paranoia that someone in camp will recognize her for it.

Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

>>41170431
>>Can we use the Nightgaunts?
>Can we get Rinnier into the camp as well?
Other hostage is that female friend who was like us probably.

>>41170431
>Can we get Rinnier into the camp as well?

>>41170499
>>41170546
>>41170565
Agent Rinnier?

>>41170546
>>41170499
What are nightgaunts, anyway...

Writing.

"...About the Nightgaunts." You speak up after a moment, "They use fire to ward them away, right?"

"Supposedly." Rinnier agrees, "Which still doesn't explain why we never encountered any, but go on?"

"What if the reason we didn't see any was because they were focused on the camp?" Rinnier nodded slowly, "If they're warded off with fire, then that explains the entire fire ring being kept as active as it is. If we wanted to make a commotion, what if we used them to do it for us?"

She shook her head, "If the fires are that important to keeping the things away, how do you plan on putting them out without being caught?" Rinnier countered flatly, "More over, will putting out one or two fires really be enough to draw those things in? We don't even know what they are, much less what could attract them."

"If I'm right, then they've been harassing the camp for a while at least." You press the issue, unwilling to let it drop just yet. "The guards were complaining about it when I passed through, so I know it's been recently. If the fires are gone, even if the Nightgaunts don't take the opportunity, the camp will be scrambling to relight them. We can make our move in the dark while they scramble." Though visibly unsure, Rinnier at least seems to consider the possibility seriously. "It's the best plan I can come up with for a distraction, anyway."

"You never said how you planned to put out that many fires without being caught, Irue." She circled back pointedly, "You're talking like you're planning to cut the lights for the entire camp."

"I don't plan to put any of the fires out." You reply innocently, feigning a look of surprise towards the confused spitfire, "That's your job."

A myriad of emotions wash over Rinnier's face; Confusion, realization, an angry scowl, a halted catch, a flash of shame, and finally she looks away with a small resigned frown. "...Right."

The two of you fall silent as you're left wondering if maybe bringing up Rinnier's particular talent had been a good idea. Even if it was a sore spot for her, it would be invaluable for getting this accomplished, so it's not like you felt bad for using it. In fact, it was really lucky that she was anathema to flame right now.

Still...

"Here's the layout of the camp, roughly..." You sigh, grabbing a stick to trace it out in the dirt in order to shift the topic past the awkward silence. Rinnier's attention is drawn slowly back to your scribbles, an expression of concentration on her face as she tries to take in everything you're saying.

The plan was simple enough, but was relying pretty heavily on things going right. Luckily you were insurgents, not military; Your goal was to get Ari out of there, not defeat the camp. The other hostage was still a concern of yours, with the revelation that Caylen would likely be doing something stupid soon, but as you had no idea where she was... If you had a chance to find and save her too, you'd take it, of course.

But your priority was Ari.

With that in mind, you tie your bandana back into place and stand up. "It's getting close to dark, so I need to get back." you tug the knot into place distractedly, "Can you give me that sword you found?" You ask suddenly, an idea striking you as you quickly gather up an armful of oakenbear shards. You hear the metal being unsheathed as you turn, grabbing hold of the bloodstained sword that Rinnier had retrieved from the bear's stomach. The hilt in your hand felt wrong, a difference in size or grip that you couldn't correct no matter how you fiddled with it. "What do you need it for?" Rinnier asked curiously, watching you fiddle with the blade.

"My contact thinks I'm out here investigating the Oakenbear." You explain briefly, frowning at the sword. It wasn't really a problem carrying it, just a bit uncomfortable, but you really didn't want to try and fight with the thing. "This sword and the remains should be enough to prove I found it."

"How will you explain having killed it?" Rinnier asked flatly, eliciting a self-depreciating smile, "They think I'm an Adept, evidently."

She just looked at you, and you smile a bit more encouragingly towards the spitfire Testament. "It'll be fine. I've got a plan, just be ready."

>Hurry back to meet Garet.
>Last words to Rinnier? (write-in)
>Wait for it to get dark and skip Garet's meeting.
>Other? (write-in)

>>41171192
>Hurry back to meet Garet.

>>41171192
>Hurry back to meet Garet.

>>41171192
>Hurry back to meet Garet.
>Last words to Rinnier?
"I'm sorry about having to abuse your situation, but as far as I can tell it's our best chance at success. Just make sure to get back safely, especially if the fires turn into massive avatars of burning wrath."

>>41171209
>>41171273
>>41171292
And we're off to meet Garet.

>>41171292
Pls don't die, Rinnier.

Writing.

"Rinnier." You stop before you leave the clearing, turning back to your Testament briefly. "We don't know what will happen when you get close to the fires... Be careful."

"I'll be fine, Ir-"

"I mean it." You cut her off sharply, "If something starts going wrong with the fires, forget about the plan. Get out of there as quick as you can, do you understand?"

You stare her down for a few moments before she nods finally. That's enough for you, and there's little else to be said. You start your way back towards the brigand camp as night starts to fall.

When you do finally catch sight of the flames flickering through the trees, darkness has finally come. Garet standing under one of the tarps, a small fire pit crackling warmly to ward away both chill and dark in the night. You recognize one of the torches you saw earlier stewing in the edge of the flames, waiting to be picked up. He said you had covered his shift, so the fact he was still here... Either he was waiting for you the whole time, or had voluntarily taken someone else's shift?

You shake your head as you approach, the cracking sticks beneath you alerting him to your approach. His head shoots up as he snatches the torch out of its flame and wields it aloft in your direction. "Identify yourself!" He barks out, a more confident and steadfast voice than you remembered coming out of the same boy who had nearly broken down apologizing to you. A smirk works across your face as you move forward, stepping unflinchingly from dark to torch-shed light as he tenses in preparation.

"If you keep forgetting my name, I'm going to get angry." You respond flatly, a hint of amusement just barely skirting your voice. The confident and imposing boy in front of you practically folds in half as he takes several excited steps forward. "Y-your back? I mean, you're- Welcome, welcome back to camp!" He nearly stumbles over himself to greet you, quickly shifting his attention towards the load you were carrying in your arms.

"You brought back firewood?" he glanced between it and the bloodied sword you had been dragging along the ground on your way back. His confusion gave way to a more sober expression as his back straightened. "...What did you find?"

"Firewood." You sniff, "Or that's all its good for now, anyway. This is what remains of the oakenbear." You hold up one of the more unshattered chunks you had retrieved, one side of its face with the lower jaw still mostly intact. Tossing it to Garet as you passed him, "You did it..." He whispered reverently, "You really killed an oakenbear..." He looked up at you excitedly, "You're.. You're amazing! Why aren't you at the front? Did the chief leave you here to protect us?"

Chief? At least you know the brigands here have some sort of hierarchy to them, but you have no idea who this 'chief' was. "Something like that." You agree vaguely, hefting up the bloodied sword as well - eager for someone to take the annoying thing out of your hands. "I told you before, I don't do well with others. Collateral damage is..." You pause, trying to think of a decent word that wouldn't overplay the story. "Unavoidable, to some extent."

"The owner of this sword..." Garet started, hesitantly taking it from you. "You knew them?" You ask, curious despite yourself if the young brigand could discern an owner of that bloodied generic sword just at a glance. "No. I mean, at least I don't think I did. Were they part of the... collateral, you mentioned?"

You snort suddenly, barely restraining the laugh that had threatened to escape. "I took it from the oakenbear, I don't know who it belonged to initially."

"Ah..." Though still rather solemn, he seemed to cheer up upon learning it wasn't you who had killed them. "That's good. The rest of the camp will be really happy to know the oakenbear is gone, now!"

Eh?

"We should go tell the others quickly, everyone will sleep better tonight for that."

He seems optimistic about it, but you don't know if drawing more attention to yourself is really the best idea. You seriously doubt everyone in this camp is going to be as easily distracted as Garet...

...On the other hand, if he's this excited, maybe you could drum up the enthusiasm and get them distracted in celebration? That would let Rinnier in really easily.

>Sure, let's go.
>It's a private affair, don't tell anyone yet.
>Ask why he's on guard.
>Ask about the Nightgaunts
>Other? (Write-in)

>>41171797
>Ask why he's on guard.
>Other? (Write-in)
Let him tell the camp, not us. We can get them distracted and not draw attention to ourselves simultaneously.

>>41171797
>It's a private affair, don't tell anyone yet.
Extra attention might not be the best for now

>>41171797
>It's a private affair, don't tell anyone yet.

>>41171797
>Ask why he's on guard.
>Ask about the Nightgaunts

>>41171828
Why is he on guard?

>>41171852
>>41171880
Don't tell anyone yet

>>41171828
Let him tell people.

Writing.

>>41171940
...
You're getting counted too.

"Don't." You stop him sharply, watching his excitement falter. "Why not? They'll be really happy to hear this." You shake your head at his question, an excuse rapidly forming in the few seconds you bought yourself with that gesture. "Most of my jobs are private, you're not supposed to know about them for a while." You lie easily, a part of you feeling bad about how easily he just accepted whatever you told him. "They'll find out soon enough, but not before it's been cleared. Understand?" Nevertheless, you nail down Garet with a stern glare that pins him to the spot he stands.

With small gulp, he nods in acquiescence. "If word of this gets out before then, I can't help you." You make sure he understands the severity of the matter before letting the pressure slack off. He exhales heavily, mumbling something to himself that you don't quite catch as he hands you back the oakenbear head piece. You slide your arm through it and hang the thing off your shoulder as he gets himself together. "Just who are you...?" He finally asks.

"You still don't remember my name?" you glare at him, but he waves his hand, "N-I mean yes, but... I mean who are you? Until today, I didn't even know anyone in camp could just... kill an oakenbear, and now you're talking about all this secret stuff. The Chief's always been really open, so its hard to believe that someone like you has just been quietly doing things this whole time with no one knowing."

You don't have an answer ready for this one, because frankly you don't know the brigands and this 'chief' well enough to have one. Silence descends between the two of you as you make a point of looking as if you're considering his question. Your one saving grace here is that he seemed to believe whatever you told him, even now he seemed more at a loss for the realization than suspicious over what was going on.

...You can use this.

"Just what do you think you're all here for?" You finally shift your weight and deign to answer his question with a question, keeping your gaze steady as you shamelessly try to weasel out more information from him. "We're here to capture some noble heir for ransom, I guess." He explains, more or less confirming your suspicions.

"And why do you think that is?"

"To try and bribe their family into siding with us against the royals." his brows furrow, you can nearly hear the steam whistling out of his ears as he tries to put together where you're going with this. "Why do you think that's going to work? Don't you know anything about House Valen?" You snort, the prideful words slipping out of your mouth before you realize it. Your breath ceases all at once, body tensing for a reaction that thankfully never comes as Garet seemingly misses your slip, or attributes it to his own ignorance. "I don't... know. It's the best thing the chief could come up with, I guess. We tried appealing directly, but got turned away."

You had initially sought to find out more about the camp to get a good excuse, but what he was saying was doing the opposite entirely. Now YOU were confused about what was going on.

"What does all of this have to do with you, though?" He finally asked, evidently giving up in his own intellectual acrobatics.

"More people were listening than you may have expected." You finally answer vaguely, "They sent me to help."

He falls silent, attention buried under a crushing weight of confusion. "So you're... here to help?" He tried to clarify, "Why aren't you on the front now, then?"

"Why are you on guard?" You spin the question back to him boldly, taking a step towards him to impose your presence against his personal space, forcing him to second guess whether all these questions were really a good idea. If you lost your patience with him, he would be deeply in trouble.

...Or at least that's what you're hoping he thinks. Honestly you just want these questions to stop before you accidentally dig yourself into a hole.

"I... think I get. Alright."

...He never actually answered why he was on guard.

>I'm free now though, you said you were treating?
>Unfortunately I still have things to do tonight.
>How have the nightgaunts been?
>Where did they move that other prisoner, anyway?
>Other? (write-in)

>>41172416
>I'm free now though, you said you were treating?
>How have the nightgaunts been?
Sounds like we could use more information before we start our plan with Rinnier. Probably won't get a chance afterwards.

>>41172416
>I'm free now though, you said you were treating?
>How have the nightgaunts been?
>Where did they move that other prisoner, anyway?

>>41172477
>>41172536
I'm free now

>>41172536
>>41172477
Nightgaunts though.

>>41172536
Where's that other prisoner?

Writing.

"How have the nightgaunts been?" you shift the conversation to a different direction while you tried to make some kind of connection out of the things you learned. It was futile, you realized quickly, as you had very little idea as to what was going on in La'Fiel, or what the royal family had been doing really. "They've been... Aggressive." Garet answered with a sigh, "There were only a few at first, but there've been more and more of them each night for about a little over a week now." He shakes his head, "They've been getting more aggressive, too."

Your ears strain to hear anything in the dark, but other than the soft crackling of the fire pit, you get nothing. It's difficult to sympathize with the brigand's plight when you've been wandering the woods for several days and have yet to run into one.

It's also difficult to care when they kidnapped Ari and were trying to hold your cousin hostage. Really this entire camp has gone out of its way to offend you since day one, but you keep finding out weird things from it, so you're not sure if you should be mad at them yet.

You'll decide after you get Ari back.

"The fires are still keeping them away?" You ask curiously, keeping an eye on the bright tongues of flame dancing cheerfully a few feet from you. "Yeah, they've really been our only defense against the things since they showed up. They seem terrified of fire, for some reason." You nod absently. If that was true, and as far as you knew Garet had no reason not to be honest, then putting out those fires would definitely get the reaction you needed.

"If it's still under control for now, then I guess I'm free for the moment." You finally shrug, catching the confusion from Garet as you looked at him expectantly. "What?" You frown, "Don't 'what' me, you said you were treating."

"Oh!" Almost timidly, Garet's lips quirk into a smile. "Right, just... I was actually doing overtime on someone else's shift, so I need to get them to replace me. I'll be ready right after that, and we can... go have dinner?" He trailed off towards the end, looking at you as if to verify it was an acceptable plan of action.

You just tilt your head, "Well? Let's go."
"R-Right!" He straightens up, "The fire should be fine until we get back, I'm sure the guy isn't too far from here."

You nod along absently, catching the fire starting to flicker away from the forest out of the corner of your eye as you followed after Garet.

Seems like Rinnier was already near by.

"So what happened to the hostage we found?" You ask him as you wander further into camp, keeping your voice relatively low in the casual din of the flame lit brigand camp. "Which one?" a smile was stretched across his face as if someone had just given him birthday present as the two of you walked, "One's in lockdown now after she got violent, but evidently we found another one recently that's just kind of been crying in the cages."

"The lockdown one." You clarify, "The new one hasn't been a problem so far, has she?"

"Nah, really quiet. Kinda sniffled at first, now I hear she just sits in the corner. Surprised you don't know about the bitch in lockdown though, gave three of us a black eye or worse just trying to give her food."

"...When was this?" You ask with a small frown, "Do we know their name?"

"Chief said she's part of the Jenseits family, but I don't really know myself." Garet shrugged, "Probably happened about a week ago, it was the talk of the camp for a few days... How didn't you hear it?"

You level a flat stare at him for several long moments before he scratched his neck with a bashful 'oh'. "Guess your work kept you out of camp?"

"Something like that... So where is she now?" You wrack your mind quickly for any knowledge of a 'Jenseits' family, but come up empty. "She's in lockdown, obviously. We couldn't keep her in the cages anymore with the commotion she'd make."

He still wasn't telling you where 'lockdown' was, exactly. Unfortunately, that just seemed to be common knowledge around here. Guess there were some things you couldn't just bait out of this guy that easily.

>Can we see the new hostage?
>I want to see the one in lockdown.
>So what's for dinner?
>You said we were after an Heir?
>Other? (write-in)

>>41172917
>I want to see the one in lockdown.

>>41172987
This.

Writing.

>>41172917
>I want to see the one in lockdown.
Worth swinging by before we eat, if only so we actually know where lockdown is. Try to get him to take initiative to lead the way so we don't have to give away our lack of knowledge. Maybe try implying that it can be a way he can show off by proxy to us via the bandit equivalent of overembelished fishing stories or the like.

"I'd like to visit Ms. Jenseits." you draw the name out languidly, eliciting a weird look from your host as he pauses his stride. "Why would you want to go do that?" You can practically feel the disappointment leaking into his voice as he seems to consider altering his course with you. "Just a short visit." you promise airily, "It seems like I'll have to deal with her sooner or later now that I'm back, so I figured I'd get a peek in before that to be ahead of schedule."

"Work, huh?" You appreciate that Garet has just started defaulting to agreeing with your implications of your requests being work related. He still doesn't seem happy about it, but at the least he seems to accept it. "Are you sure you're not a workaholic...?" He jokes lamely as he shifts his direction and starts leading you through the brightly lit fire ring.

You chuckle briefly at the question, watching a faint smile work its way back onto Garet's face in a predictable fashion.

Past the fire ring, past the holding area where Ari had yet to move from her corner, past the living quarters, you become uncomfortably aware of where you're going when Garet comes to a hault at the bottom of the extensive staircase of cracked stone leading up to the gaping black maw of an empty archway which constituted the entrance to the ancient ruins.

"I don't think you should go up there tonight." He muttered from your side as your eyes remained riveted on the imposingly looming structure in front of you. "Chief says there are holding cells in there. Real ones, I mean, not the wooden cages we've got out here." You barely hear him speaking besides you, "It's pretty dark in there. With the Nightgaunts like they are, its probably safer in those cells than outside of them..."

Your crimson eyes remain riveted on the empty archway at the top of stairs, breath frozen in your lungs as the unnerving feeling of static electricity feels as if it sparks along your finger tips, down the back of your neck and through your spine. You're grounded here, rooted into the grass covered stones at the foot of the stairs.

"I don't want to do this." You blink at the unfamiliar voice, opening your eyes to a grand tree stretching up from the center of a shrine and pressing its branches into the dome-like ceiling. "But.. But this is how it's always been. Why not now?" The plea tugged at something inside of you, the tangible feeling of the lost confusion rippling from it unsettling you.

"Because every time it's happened, we've had to start over. I know you're the closest to her, but you have to realize that."

"I... No, even if you say that, I'm just... I've never been like the rest of you. The others have always had to take care of me, but you're the only one who's been with me. It's time, you know it's time, why can't we tell the others? We can talk to her, if you're worried, she'll listen, she loves-"

"Herself."

"There's always been a good reason! You can't approve of what those lizards were doing, it had to happen then. We all agreed it had to happen!"

"And what about before them? The Gems?"

"They... They were turning against us..."

"How? What about the Kin? She shattered the sword, don't you understand what that means?"

"Th-That... If they had gotten ahold of it, then we..."

"If you won't see reason, then we're finished here. It won't happen again. I won't let it happen again." The tinkling of metal fills your ears, something that was metallic yet so much more, vibrating through your very bones. "My children won't be next."

"Your... Children?" Confusion, betrayal. "They're hers. They've always been hers. We're just-"

"She was never here! They've always been ours, and we've let her do as she pleases, thinking otherwise."

"Hey, are you alright?"

You blink, Garet's hand resting on your shoulder where he had shaken you. There's still a feeling of unease that sets you on edge, one you try to chase away as you subtly grasp your later sister's bracelet for solace. "Y-Yeah." You croak out, throat feeling as if it had gone unused for far too long. You look back to Garet, a wave of dizziness washing over you. "I think... No, I'm fine."

You offer a small smile as Garet looks you over in concern. "You look pale, when was the last time you rested?"

>Eat dinner
>Make an excuse to split off from him (go where?)
>Head back to Ari
>Other? (write-in)

>>41173367
>>Head back to Ari
We could start figuring out how to steal her out of there when we get the chance.

>>Other? (write-in)
Inquire about the ruins on the way back; try not to sound too ignorant about the goings-on.

>>41173367
>Eat dinner
>Head back to Ari
We want to be somewhere where we've got a good vantage point so we're ready to go as soon as we see something start to happen.

He's in a helpful mood, and thinks we're tired, so if we ask him to grab food and meet us somewhere while we take a load off for a minute, odds are reasonable that he'll oblige us.

Suggest somewhere in the general vicinity of the holding area as a quiet place for us to rest for a minute since it's not like anyone's going out at this time of night so there's no new arrivals that'll be showing up, and it's not like the current occupant is going to be making a racket, unlike all the assorted ruffians.

>>41173401
>>41173446
Back to Ari

>>41173401
About the ruins

>>41173446
Dinner.

Writing.

You hold a hand to your head to stave off the nausea that creeps up your throat as Garet helps you walk away. The offer for food was appreciated, of course, since you had only really eaten breakfast this morning... But you doubt that's the cause of this exhaustion. "Garet, I'm going to head towards the holding area." You gather yourself enough to steel your stomach at least.

"The holding area..." He frowned, "Is this more work? You need to res-"

"No, no I am resting." You interrupt him softly, "I need somewhere quiet, being with the others will just make me tired." Regardless of what you just experienced, you need to get your head in order. You're here to get Ari out, Rinnier wouldn't wait forever for you to be in position. You needed to get back to business. "We can do this another time, if you're tired." He hastily tries to assure you, "I can take you to your tent instead?"

You refrain from rolling your eyes, simply because doing so would threaten to lose the meager control over your equilibrium you had just managed to earn back. "No, it's fine if it's you." You mutter, "Just... I'll head there, will you bring the food?"

Something you said changed his mind as he quickly agreed to do just that. You'd spare a moment to think about it if you weren't concentrating on walking right now. Only moments after Garet had started to run away did you finally let out a low groan and simply retch the contents of your stomach onto the ground. A few minutes of brutal gagging later, and you nearly feel human again. At the very least, the pain in your stomach is enough to distract you from everything else as you work on stumbling back to the holding area.

There's only one brigand here guarding the cage, as expected, and he seems pretty bored with the ordeal. If you had to sit and watch Ari in a cage all day, you'd probably be really bored too, honestly.

He looks up at you as you approach, face twisting into some split between curiosity and concern. "Y'okay, kid?" He leans forward, creaking off his chair as he approaches, "You don't look so hot. What happened t'ya?"

You take a deep breath as you straighten out, "I'm here to replace you." You mutter woozily, "Said you could go get some dinner."

"You sure about that...? You look like yer 'bout ready to die."

"Ah, I got the food!" Garet appears thankfully on cue, two bowls of stew on a platter and a bag in his other. "Ah, sorry. I'm late, aren't I? Are you okay?" You want to shrug him off, but he's already set the platter down and moved to help you towards a bench. "You with this kid, Garet? What happened to them?"

"We-"
"I haven't slept much." You interrupt, "I've been kept busy, so... It's catching up to me."
"eh..." There's a look of pity from the guard. "You're in no shape to be replacing me for anything, kid. You need some sleep."

You'd narrow your eyes in irritation, but instead you settle for wincing at the headache. "Replace you...? You said this wasn't about work." Garet had already rounded on you with a frown, and you're suddenly feeling very ganged up on. This would be much less concerning if you weren't currently infiltrating a brigand camp and literally surrounded by them. "I'll take over for you." Garet looked between you and the current guard, a sliver of resolve you'd otherwise find admirable settling in his posture. "That's fine, isn't it? The hostage doesn't make any problems."

"Aye, Garet, but I know you've been running a guard shift for most of the day, too. You ain't in any position to do this either."

"I'll be fine." He reassurred the man as you turned your attention to the mugs of water next to the stew. You sipped at it slowly, gratefully feeling the liquid cool your throat as they argued behind you.

Sometime later, you barely caught the gruff 'kids!' being fondly grumbled by the guard as he walked away, leaving only Garet and and you at the table. You heard the clink of keys on the wooden table as Garet finally sighed and sat down, turning to glare at you reproachfully. "You said you were resting." He started in immediately with an accusation.

"I am." You take another sip, "You said yourself this would be easy. All I had to do was sit here."

"That's not the same, and you know it!"

You laugh weakly as he grinds his teeth. "Well now I'm resting for real, aren't I?" You nod towards the keys to the cage that he had dropped on the table between you. "You're the guard, and I'm just a guest. This is great, you're already helping me."

"Hmph." He doesn't seem to appreciate your joke. That's fine. You feel like shit anyway.

You try asking him about the ruins as you eat, but it turns out that Garet is not a fountain of academia for you to pick through. He knew little things. For example, he told you there were old.

Thank you, Garet. You had not discerned that.

Otherwise, there was only some tidbits he had heard from the Chief when they picked this place to build a camp. Originally they planned to live in it, and had explored it for exactly that purpose. What the explorers had found was... A mess. There were a great many cells erected in the lower layers, accessible only through a stairwell that may very well have been long hidden under a gnarled tree trunk in the center of the ruins.

The underground had been extensive, some passages completely sealed off with roots that had taken days to chop through with axes, revealing obscured altars and long forgotten bones. They had found their first Nightgaunt within. Or at least, a small idol of one.

The chief decided to set camp around it, rather than use it directly, and that's where they've been since.

You close your eyes, trying to will away the faint aftershocks of that vision from your body. Eating the stew was slow, but it tasted as good... or average... as it had this morning. If you had to guess, it was probably the exact same stew that was being made all day. The grimace on Garet's face told you it may have been made all day, every day, for the past several weeks... But he doesn't say anything about it. The fact it's cooked at all is enough for you.

You glance towards the cage, catching Ari's eyes briefly. You had been sitting here talking occasionally for nearly twenty minutes, it wasn't surprising that she had finally raised her head... "Has the hostage eaten since you caught her?" You ask as an aside, catching Garet's idle ramblings unprepared.

"I... I don't know. I don't usually watch the prisoner." He admitted, "All I hear is that she stays in that corner and doesn't really respond, so I'd guess not."

You hum, glancing at the night sky above you, then back to Ari.

>Offer her the rest of your stew
>Finish eating, prepare for Rinnier
>Distract Garet and nobble the keys
>Other? (write-in)

>>41173800
>>Offer her the rest of your stew
>Distract Garet and nobble the keys

>>41173800
>offer rest of stew
>prepare for rinnier

>>41174062
>>41174067
C'mon Ari, time to eat.

>>41174062
Also gimme keys.

>>41174067
Because it's time to go.

Writing!

You glance at what remains of your soup, and then back to the caged timid Testament. It wasn't quite staring, but she had been glancing at you off and on for the past few minutes now. You suppose you should be happy she hadn't blown all of your cover by actually saying anything, but then again... Maybe she just wasn't certain it was you, yet. You roll your neck, feeling a few heartening cracks as you do so, and push yourself to your feet with a groan.

"Turning in, finally?" Garet interrupts himself as you stand, but you shake your head and pick up your bowl as you approach Ari's cage and circle around slowly to her corner. You're thankful Garet didn't deign to follow you, and you keep a careful watch on Ari as she slowly raises her head more and more to watch your approach. It's only when you knelt down beside her did she finally get a decent look at you.

"Shhh..." You hush her, both to appear as if you were trying to soothe her and... well, to actually calm her down and keep her from saying anything. "Have you eaten?" You ask softly, eliciting an immediate shake of her head as well as a sharp intake of air from Garet. You hold up your bowl between you, taking a spoonful of the stew from it and opening your mouth pointedly.

Slipping the spoon through the wooden bars isn't difficult, and you let Ari shyly close her mouth around the utensil before pulling it out, now free of the stew. You can't keep the smile off your face as she lowers her eyes and starts to chew the food. "Eat slowly." You tell her, absently hearing Garet creep closer behind you as you wait for her to finish chewing. She nods when she swallows, and you pull another spoon from the bowl to repeat the process once more.

"She's responding...?" He whispered to you, watching Ari as if mystified. "How?" You ignore him, coaxing Ari's attention from him and back to you with a steady gaze as you insistently hold up another spoonful.

"I'm used to this." You explain vaguely, letting Garet once more draw his own conclusions to your ever deepening past. You turn towards Garet and motion him to kneel down as well, holding the bowl out to him. "Hold this for a moment..."

Though visibly uncertain, he does as he's told and you glance back at the keys on the table. Now was the last chance you were getting, probably...

You left Garet to unsuccessfully try to feed Ari as he tried to hold the spoon up to her only to be a met with an absolute ignoring from the timid Testament as she watched you walk away. It was almost funny when you heard him start to panic behind you, much like you probably sounded when you first met Ari, and try to get her back to eating like she had been. You slipped the key to her cage into your sleeve as you grabbed a mug of water and returned to her calmly.

"Settle down." You murmured, for once it was to Garet rather than Ari, and you held the mug through the bars to her. It only took her a moment to look between you and the cup before she was dutifully drinking from it in small sips. You almost wanted to praise her for being so cooperative, but there were a few more things you needed to do.

Now that Ari knew who you were, you doubted you'd be able to leave her here. Just leaving her back home would have been bad enough, but in a brigand camp...?

"It's going to be a little rough for a while." You tell her softly, "It'll be okay, though. I promise." You pat Ari on the head briefly before standing and making your way back to the front of the cage.

"...You're really kind." Garet muttered as you walked back, "I don't think she's opened up to anyone else in camp before."

Your response is drowned out by a deafening wave of pressure as several large bonfires in the distance abruptly snuffed themselves out in a single instant. There was only a beat of silence between that, and the angry shouts of the brigands as they tried to quickly relight the fires... Only for more and more of the bonfires to extinguish themselves in sequence.

"What the hell...?" Garet was on edge as he looked out towards the rapidly darkening camp, and you took the moment to slip the key into the cage and unlock it during the commotion. "The fires are going out?!"

Seems like your ride was here. Rinnier infiltrating on her own would have been impossible with the fires acting as alarms to her presence, but if it was night... Well, she was her own dark-cover. "I'm going to go see what's going on, stay here!" Garet turned back to you, for once an unflinching expression as he stared you dead in the eye, "Don't get involved this time. This isn't part of your work."

...Well if he just insisted on you staying here. "I'll keep a watch on the hostage, then." You sigh deliberately after a moment, seemingly relenting as he nods slowly. "I'll be right back."

You wave absently as he rushes off. You don't know Garet that well, but you do get the feeling he'd do his damndest to come back to you.

Too bad you probably wouldn't be here when he did. "Ari, our ride's here." You flick the cage door open and move in to scoop her up in your arms, "Hold tight."

"..." She nodded, which was more than enough for you to hop out of the cage with her and fasten the door back in place.

>Wait for Rinnier
>Move towards the darkness, try to intercept
>Time to abscond into the wild wooden yonder
>Run back through the living quarters to the ruins, there's still the other hostage

>>41174575
>Run back through the living quarters to the ruins, there's still the other hostage

We never got Maran's last name dammit, so I'm not sure that she is this "Ms. Jenseits", but we can't afford to leave her or our dear cousin will walk his dumb ass right in here.

>>41174667
Seconding. Hopefully we can locate Rinnier later; her current location will be the center of attention at the moment.

>>41174667
>>41174716
Off to the ruins then.

Writing.

Is der much foightan around 'ere?

You look between the rapidly darkening camp, the woods beyond, and glance back towards the looming figure of the ancient ruins beyond the living quarters. You have a chance now to get out of this place with Ari, but...

Even if you leave now, your cousin is going to walk his dumb ass right back out here trying to save whoever was being held in lockdown. This entire trip would have been completely wasted, and you'd just end up having to walk back out here to save him from his own honor. Given that he'd be returning with what you presumed to be the majority of the brigand's actual fighting force, it'd also be stupidly dangerous then as well.

Your feet were already leading you back to the ruins before you had made up your mind, a fact that was more than a little worrying given you had just walked away from there feeling as if you had nearly died standing. Still, you knew that if you didn't take this chance now then you'd regret it later. Like a week or two later, when you had to walk back out here.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up once more, you're struck with a familiar memory. You shift Ari in your arms, briefly thankful for how light she was compared to the last person you carried up a set of stairs far longer than they had any right being, and proceeded to rush up the stairs as quickly as you could. The empty archway before you drew close and passed after only a few breathes, leaving you standing in the absolute darkness of the riverside ruins without so much as faint moonlight to guide you.

From up here though, you could see the entire brigand camp slowly being plunged into darkness. Given a few moments of waiting, you could even see the slow line of flickering, vanishing flames that let you know where Rinnier was going towards. She was really giving it her all to cause a commotion out there.

A blood chilling shriek from the sky was the last sign you needed, as the camp began to erupt into a more violent frenzy than before in the wake of the darkness. It seems like the Nightgaunts had joined the party.

You spared a single moment to hope Rinnier remembered to be careful out there before starting to stumble your way through the ruins. The quickest way to get her out of danger is to find her and tell her to get out yourself, and to do that, you needed to find the cells in here.

Garet had said the way to the cells was hidden near some gnarled tree trunk... Which would be so much more helpful to you if you could SEE anything in this place.

>Try and feel through it slowly. Find a root and follow it.
>Recall your vision, try to visualize it.
>Run back to camp for a torch.
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

>>41175027
(write in)

>Wait a minute, Gnarled tree trunks are tall. That means that if there's a big tree shaped gap in the stars, that's the tree. It's a non-urban environment so there should be plenty of stars.

>>41175060
We're inside though, we can't see that

>>41175123
It's a ruin, right? There's bound to be holes in the ceiling.

>>41175027
>Recall your vision, try to visualize it.

>>41175131
There are several holes in the ceiling.

However, as >>41175060 pointed out, the tree is extremely tall, and its branches cover most of the (previously domed) ceiling.

What holes there are are pretty covered by the tree itself, meaning the end result being there are no stars to navigate by in here.

Hence "not even faint moonlight to navigate".

Apologies for not being clear enough in description.

>>41175134
Writing this, then.

>>41175027
>The underground had been extensive, some passages completely sealed off with roots that had taken days to chop through with axes
Well, we know that it'll be the place with man-made debris; they spent days and days down there with tools, so there's bound to be a trail of comparatively recent debris from having people traveling back and forth.

Halting in place, you close your eyes and try to pull the memory of the vision you had not an hour ago back into focus. It takes a few moments of digging for it, but once you grasped the idea in your mind it was as if a flood gate had been loosed. Your open your eyes, again, mentally tracing the the image of a grand room over the dark canvas in front of you, its center dominated by an ancient tree that stretched up to obscure the ceiling itself.

'I don't want to do this.'

A voice that you felt through your body echoed in the dark halls as you stumbled forward, reverberating through your mind as you slowly approached where you remembered the tree having been. Your toes scuff against long roots, and you take care to wander closer to the trunk, trying to feel out a safe path.

'But...'

You shake your head, trying to ignore the insistent voices as you press onward and your feet start to feel out the ground around the trunk. It's faint, but eventually you find unusual grooves in the ground. Your sense of triumph is doused under the strain in your chest at the conversation going on around you. Through you. You felt like something was tearing itself apart as you bit down on your lip and quickly began to feel your way down the stairwell nestled into the gnarled trunk.

'Won't let you have them!' You felt the anger in your body as the words shook you with each step. The same voice, the pain of betrayal still evident in its wrath, 'They're not yours!'

You feet finally hit flat ground, after who knows how long of stumbling down the spiraling stairs. That final echo punctuating a physical defiance that pulsed through your flesh.

For a single instant, you SEE the corridor you are standing in. Packed dirt held back by roots, corridors of thick wood containing ornately dressed people. There is fear, palpable fear, that fills the musty air. The confusion and terror of those lost between a struggle, trapped without reason or explanation.

Frantic apologies, tearful assurances, falling on deaf ears. Unhearing, or unwilling, to accept their message. Too disoriented to understand.

'I'll protect you.'

Unerringly, you walk the darkness - a series of corridors and tunnels illuminated as clear as day to you, with the faint remnants of things long past. You clutch Ari to you, reassuring yourself with the physical sensation that she was still with you. Trying to comfort her, to keep her from crying, but you have no idea if you're succeeding. The sound of so many other voices were deafening.

None so much as the one which you felt, rather than heard. The one which left you numb from its presence, with meaning conveyed to you in the same way one might fix a screw with a hammer.

'I won't let them take you. She'll come. She'll save us.'

Distress, hope, the frantic mantra that pulsed with each step as you quickly search the corridors.

'We are her children.'

Your eyes clench shut, finally unable to take anymore. The voices won't leave, the corridors are sealing themselves. You see it. You FEEL it. Ancient bones snap under your feet as you stumble forward unsteadily, shaking your head frantically with each step, body swaying from side to side as if trying to dislodge something.

Get out.
Stop.
Leave me alone.
Go away.
Shut up.
Shut up, please.
Just stop. Stop it.

'I didn't want to do this.'

You drop to your knees, strength robbed from you with that single utterance. Boneless exhaustion. That everything you had done was for nothing. There was nothing... But you burned inside. A roiling sensation that ate into your body. That frozen flame that chilled you until all you could feel was white, hot pain.

You knew betrayal, in a way you were uncomfortable understanding. The insight into its very nature reviling you simply to contemplate.

It wasn't... You.

You didn't do this.

None of this was you.

Something in the back of your mind snapped into place, an almost robotic reaction as you felt more than saw yourself from behind your own shoulder. In the darkness before you, a single shape uncurled from its pedestal with a hiss. Its wings unfurling even in the night, distended chitinous claws scraping free of rock and root alike as it facelessly turned towards you from the bars which it had been inspecting.

'Apparition' Your mind supplied absently, 'Matured Shade Elemental.'

You twitched, raising to your knees with Ari still clenched protectively in your arms.

'Manifest Regret.'

A segmented tail of overlapping spades unfurled thinly behind it.

'Revenant.'

>Open your eyes.
>Let your body feel.
>Listen carefully.
>Take Control.
>Reject.

>>41175799
>>Take Control.

>>41175799
>Let your body feel.

1) Room is pitch black, opening eyes is stupid.
3) Might provide results, but me might get skewered and/or drop Ari while waiting
4) Let's count the number of times we've remained in control while in mortal peril - if we're generous once against the guards. Against the oil fire elementals and the oakenbear we were either not in complete control or not in control at all.
5) Reject what? The voices? Yourself?

Letting our body and by extension instinct should provide the best result - although potentially Reject could be better, what the fuck are we rejecting?

>>41175799
>Reject.

>>41175799
it's happening?

>>41175770
>Let your body feel.
My first instinct is that the Revenant was either attracted to or awakened by the emotions brought out by the vision, so step one is to allow ourselves to re-center ourselves in the here and now.

We still don't quite know what happened here in the past, but we do know that it isn't happening here now. We aren't leaving anyone behind the way they were left behind. That reality, in and of itself, may be a start toward pushing back the revenant.

File: Spoiler Image (144 KB, 1274x717)

144 KB JPG

>>41175839
Take Control.

>>41175883
Reject.

>>41175844
>>41175919
Let your body feel.

>>41175905
pic related.

Writing.

You breathe in, exhaling in a single long hiss to answer the awakened Revenant's attention. The corridor fades to the familiar black, all sound draining away with absence of sight.

Loss of sight.
Loss of sound.

The feeling of the floor beneath you fills your senses, the musty air that curls through the long forgotten prison corridors. The sensation of Ari in your arms is nearly as overwhelming as the the grit of the dirt on your finger tips and the dust you breathe in. Perhaps most mercifully, the voices are silent. The vision gone dark.

A smile twists across your mouth, an unnatural grin of release. You feel, with utmost acuity, your muscles shift as your lips peel back.

That smile persisted even as lacerations tore through your sleeve, your body reacting even as the tips approached the cloth; Jerking away blindly to curry your precious cargo away from the tail of spades that followed in the wake of shifting air to shred the borrowed clothes that weighed upon you so heavily. Their safety was assured in your arms, your smile growing wider as the tips of the Revenant's tail lightly pressed against your forearm in passing - Each individual nerve on your arm lighting up as the surface of the skin was split in twain.

Agony. Pure agony, beyond anything you had experienced, a blinding pain.

It was a flesh wound, barely a scratch.

Not even deep enough for blood.

Your skin was simply scraped.

Its tail swished past where you had been kneeling, recoiling back as you felt its body displace the stagnant air in a rush towards you. Even more blatantly than the tail, you slipped through it's grasping claws as each step between you buffeted your body with pressure. Instincts warred within you in the passing, a split in the directive, disagreement of priority.

You stumble, catching yourself with an unnatural balance as you continue to evade the Revenant's increasingly desperate assault. Each opening you felt in its wild strikes burned you to ignore, but indecision racked your mind. You had the power, but your memories told you there was another way. There was danger inherent, but your cargo remained fragile and precious.

>Destroy
>Exorcize
>Protect

Choices are, unfortunately, mutually exclusive.

>>41176477
Fair enough, I suppose.

>>41176456
>Exorcize

>>41176430
>>41176477
>Protect

Show that we will NOT make the mistakes of the past. We will not abandon our charge, we will not betray her.

>>41176430
>>Protect

>>41176430
>Protect

>>41176430
>Protect

>>41176509
Amusingly, this was more or less the sentiment I expected to be expressed with the Exorcism choice: that what happened in the past can not be changed by action in the present, and that it can at least rest knowing that its fate is not one that we will replicate.

I suppose that's why we both (if that was you, at least) picked both choices at first.

>>41176508
Exorcize.

>>41176509
>>41176514
>>41176547
>>41176560
Protect.

Writing.

Your cargo is the most important. A priority that raises itself above all else. That decision alone is enough to remove the hesitation from your strides as you deftly carry her through a whirlwind of edges which hiss through the air. The kiss of their tips on your skin being the only reassurance in the blind dance you found yourself engaged in.

Every caress that left a trail of blood was one that didn't touch a hair on your charge's head. Your mouth moves, but the words are beyond you. Taunts given way to promises, both of which fall upon deaf ears, unsure if you had even spoken them in the first place. All you can do shift your charge against you and away from another assault, your actions speaking measures beyond your voice.

Breathing steady, heart unhurried, you let the Revenant work itself into a frenzy as it tasted the faint slick of blood upon its claws. Its pace bordered on a hastened mania, but its attention had begun to shift with your actions. Your body as a shield, you willfully allowed the pain to blossom across your body in order to hold her safe, and in its nature, you knew that it was fear and regret. Claws rained upon your cargo, a spaded tail that cut the air like a vicious thread, but your resolve remained unshaken.

This was your decision.
You had the power, but she needed it all.
You had the knowledge, but she was all you thought of.
Your greatest regret in these ruins, this tomb, had nothing to do with the apparition, or the voices which threatened to devour you.

If you let her come to harm, you would never forgive yourself.

Though the claws clipped against you, she never once felt their touch. A gust of edges, for that was all it meant to you in this blind darkness, unable even to hear. The pressure of the wind swirling in their wake, rushing ahead of them, the feeling pressing against your skin with every moment. You focused on that, and that alone.

In time the claws were turned aside, the tail redirected. Your movements baited it, your charge held as a tantalizing treat - Presented with the absolute confidence of your role as Guardian. Chitin against cloth. Against skin. Against chitin alike.

There was blood against your arm, and for once it wasn't your own. Too light, too wispy. You duck, spun, shifted and twisted until the corridors once more lapsed into blessed stillness.

'I don't want to be down here anymore...'

It was a silent sentiment, whispered into the darkness. Even the voices they had once tried to console having long since fallen silent. You felt your charge shift in your arms, the soft pressure of their voice pressing against you. You were deaf to her words. Even your assurances couldn't reach her. All you could do was hope she understood. You did this for her.

You'll protect her.
You won't let it hurt her.
You'll come.
You'll save her.

A pressure weighed upon you, moving without disturbing the air, cloaking you without touching your skin. It clung to you, in askance, in desperation.

...Were you really so different?

>Accept (why?)
>Deny (why?)

>>41177112
Not even sure what's being asked Riz.

>>41177112
>Both
"We are the same yet different. In life you once sought to protect someone with all you had, just as I do now. Just as you wouldn't let them take her, I won't let you take her."

"The difference between us however is that I am not relying on someone else and I have not given in. I am not holding out for the faint hope that someone will save me and my charge for I am Irue Valen. My will shall be made manifest through my acts, and I will ensure that my oaths are true."

"In a way, you can say this boils down to one key difference between us - you deny your choice in littering these halls with bones. We will own our own."

>>41177112
>Deny
The only thing the Revenant is guilty of is letting itself be crushed under the weight of a failure, but that's not nothing.

We have failed, sure. Hell, we've failed a lot. But we never rolled over and let ourselves be swallowed by it, even though it would've been easier. It would've been easier to give up Kara to the town guards. It would've been easier to write off Ari as lost in the woods and continue to our destination. It would've been easier to just let Caylen inherit after our sister died.

We don't know if we'll reach the breaking point in the future the way this Revenant did. But we do know that we haven't reached it yet, and don't plan on doing so in the future.

>>41177112
>Accept

>>41177387

>>40468513
>Shade - The Mana of Dark. Prone to trickery and word games, it made its home in the nightmares that people feared to tred; Ever thrilled by the few who brave its domain, seeking even more to overcome.

Pushing it even further rather than merely shying away might be the better answer here. If we back down, and even try to deny the nature of this mana, we might face harsher consequences in the long run.

>>41177370
As the two below you tried, the choices are: Accept the similarities, and why you're accepting them. Or Deny the similarities and why you're denying them.

>>41177448
Pretend that links to this thread. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/40461200/

>>41177463
to what or whom?

>>41177479
One of the voices from the visions Irue has been living in since entering these ruins.

>>41177501
>Deny (We try to power through our failing's we never let them cripple us. Yes we fall, and fail and fuck up. But we keep going. We will never let despair rule us.

>>41177381
Both.

>>41177387
>>41177559
Deny.
>>41177448
Accept.

Writing.
Give me a moment to sort through all of this...

You shake your head, dislodging the pressure from your shoulders as you step away.

Reasons flicker through your mind, justifications for your choice. You failed. Time and time again, you had failed. Somehow. You had never given in, though. Not when it was difficult, not when it was tempting to just let it go. Rinnier, Kara, and now Ari, you had put yourself on the line without a second thought to protect them all.

...Did it make any difference? Did that really make you different? Hadn't the owner of that voice done the same? Their protection had eventually smothered the very things it tried to hold. You can't say that you wouldn't eventually do the same, no matter how much the possibility repulses. Circumstances change. When it comes time, will you be willing to let one of them suffer if it's for the best?

You had never given up. No matter how hard it was, you hadn't given up. Neither had it, even to the bitter end, it had done its duty. It had kept its promise, until only it remained.

You deny it, the justifications ringing hollow in your heart even as you push the lonely presence away and feel your eyes opening.

The Revenant stands before you; Tail clipped in half, one arm cut cleanly away at what could have been its elbow. Its form is hazy, a wispy smoke that stands out even in the black of the corridors. You watch it, briefly, before simply stepping through it as its body disperses behind you. Shade apparitions were oft born of fear, and other such negative emotions... But they were hopeful. Born from them, but not embodying, they strived only to thrust that terror and suffering onto others in the hopes that they could face it and grow stronger for it.

Even as the Revenant dispersed, that was simply an approval. It was far from defeated. The emotions that lingered here were too old, too powerful.

...More over, it had nothing to do with the despondent presence you felt receding in the dark. Gentle shivers ran through your body, a tell-tale sign of tears it could only convey through an empathy so strong it became physical. That was what... who... you had rejected just now. Even after everything it had been through, you couldn't bring yourself to agree that you were alike. You refused to empathize with it.

The weight it held was so heavy that you wonder if it would have crushed you simply to help hold it. How cruel was it to send it back into the darkness with that still on its shoulders, the old wounds pried open in an effort to share itself with you?

"Master...?" Ari speaks up from your arms, tugging insistently at you. "Please don't cry, I'm sorry."

You draw a deep, shuddering breath, blinking the heat from your eyes. You had four weights on your shoulders already. They came first. If you let yourself be crushed, it wouldn't be you who would suffer the price. It would be them.

"I'm fine." You whisper back. "Are you okay?"

"You were screaming." She responded quietly, "You just... started screaming."

You shift the timid Testament in your arms to give her a hug, "I'm fine now. Don't..." You swallow, "Don't tell anyone about this. Understand?"

You feel her nod against you, leaving you tired and sore. Your head jerks up as you hear something crash apart further down the hall, an unfortunately familiar voice echoing in the darkness. "Caylen, quit your screaming!" Hurried steps approached through the dark, a ball of light flaring to life in her hand as she approached. "We're leav-" She comes up short upon finding you, her jaw snapping shut in surprise.

"...Who the hell are you?"
"...Hello, Maran Jenseits."

You greet the annoying 'childhood friend' of your cousin with an exasperation born of fatigue. "Where's Caylen?"

"One can only hope he's still at his estate." You reply crossly, somewhat regretting this entire venture even as you make idle note of how easily Maran had conjured a Wisp apparition into her hand to light the corridor. You hadn't taken her for being an adept when you met...

"This doesn't make any sense, how did you get here?" She narrowed her eyes at you, "You should still be at home with Ari."

...Your skin prickles, the urge to attack flaring briefly at her words. "I felt like going for a walk." You retort acidly, "But yes, I think it's about time we leave."

"You just WALKED through a brigand camp? Dressed as one?" Maran followed after you, and though you had come here nominally to rescue her, you wonder if maybe you could just... put her in a different cell. Tell Caylen she was dead. Or something. "Yes, for the most part. Look, we need to get out while the distraction is still good, so lets move."

"Distraction...?" She muttered, the two of you breeching the archway of the ruins in time to hear the screams of the darkened camp far beneath you still echoing into the night. Far from angry, now there was only terror in their voices.

...You wonder if Garet is okay.

"Distraction, yes. Let's get going."

"How did you put out all of those fires?!"

...Your eye twitched. You deeply regretted the effort you made to come here.

>Get back to the clearing, Rinnier probably left by now.
>Send Ari with Maran back to the clearing, you need to find Rinnier.
>See if Maran can make enough light to cover the camp, or at least signal someone.
>Other? (write-in)

>>41178437
>Get back to the clearing, Rinnier probably left by now.

>>41178437
>Get back to the clearing, Rinnier probably left by now.

As much as I want to look for Rinnier while sending Ari back we can't afford to induce another Ari panic attack.

>>41178422
>"You were screaming."
...
>"Caylen, quit your screaming!"
Jeez, the poor guy.

>>41178437
>>Get back to the clearing, Rinnier probably left by now.

>"If something starts going wrong with the fires, forget about the plan. Get out of there as quick as you can, do you understand?"
Judging by the tone of the screaming, I suspect this counts as "something going wrong." Our girl had better have accepted our advice for once and bailed.

>>41178467
>>41178577
>>41178654
Time to abscond into the wild wooden yonder.

Writing.

Your trip down the staircase was full of a great deal of nagging, which rather thankfully, did not include your trip through the panicking camp. You say panicking, but a better term was decidedly 'unnerving'.

There was screaming. A lot of screaming. The sound of feat beating against the ground, grass being torn as people were dragged away. Signs left on the ground of struggle, and the ripping of tents...

And that was it.

Maran held aloft her apparitional nightlight as the two of you strolled through camp, and there was absolutely no one there. The sounds persisted. You could hear the strugle around you, even see where it had taken place, but even as you rounded tents you had just heard tear, nothing and no one showed themselves the culprit.

You glance around as you pass the fire ring, seeing only the smoking piles of extinguished fires remaining. In some of them, small cinders remain stubbornly clinging to life. Enough that you wonder if it's enough to eventually be coaxed back into flame...

Those thoughts are chased from your mind as you see the cinders scatter into the air on their own, a silhouette of something flashing into existence in their pale light before dispersing into the wind and leaving the night silent once more.

"Nightgaunts." Maran mutters, "They're afraid of light, but only fire can reveal them."

You nod, stepping a little quicker to stay near Maran's Magic Nightlight. "Where are the people, then?" You ask, wincing as another scream sounds from not far off to the left.

"...How do you think more Nightgaunts are made?" She asked levelly, not bothering to glance around as she walked. "These bandits have been here for months. I can only imagine they've been wetting the thirst of the local Nightgaunts for a long time now... If we're not quick, they may become brave enough to ignore my light in their frenzy."

You hold Ari a little closer at that, swiftly making your way out of the camp and back into the woods.

When you finally lead Maran back to the clearing, you let out a sigh of relief at Rinnier's soot covered face greeting you under the moonlight. She shot to her feet almost immediately, staff nearly flying into her hand as she readied herself for trouble... Frankly, you kind of wish she had smacked Maran like she tried with you.

"...The Lamandran?" You caught Maran muttering under her breath as you passed her, finally depositing Ari onto her own feet with a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "Told you I had a plan." You finally let yourself smile as Rinnier looked Ari and you over, "I was worried you hadn't gotten out." The spitfire sighed in relief, "I got out not long after the screaming started."

"Well, I don't think the brigands are going to be a problem anymore." You shrug uneasily, the thought of Garet rushing back and finding only an empty cage stubbornly flickering through your mind. "I got their hostage out too. I think we're set, now." You nod towards Maran as she watched on implacably. "Maran Jenseits, a friend of my dear cousin Caylen."

"Childhood friend." She corrected pointedly, a correction you felt no need to acknowledge. "Anyway, I don't think I'll be sleeping any time soon. Let's get some distance between us and the camp..."

"Wait." Rinnier called you to a stop before you could take more than a step, "We still have navigation to worry about. We were following that river for a reason, we can't just walk through the woods blindly at night."

"...So you want us to stay here?" You cross your arms, "I really don't like that idea."

"I don't either, but us getting lost in the woods won't help us in the long run, either." she frowned, "If we could skirt the camp though, we might be able to get back to the river on the other side and keep following it."

You glance back at Maran as you consider Rinnier's suggestion. "Any thoughts?" She was probably going to be traveling with you now too, as unfortunate as that was, so you may as well get it out of the way now.

"Eh...?" She grunted, seemingly distracted. "Oh... No, it doesn't matter what we do." she answered absently.

Well you tried.

>Get the hell away from that camp.
>Skirt the camp, reconnect with the river
>Find somewhere to bunker down for the night and move in the day
>Other? (write-in)

>>41179380
>>Skirt the camp, reconnect with the river
Then get some sleep. I imagine we're still exhausted.

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>>41179411
This.
___________

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

This seems like a good place to end, for now.

I'll lurk the thread for a bit to try and answer some questions if I can.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

Not a bad run, considering we were literally 3s away from declaring the entire quest dead at the start.

>>41179645

I literally played at the beginning went to sleep then woke up and started playing again. So how'd we do? Any large fuck ups?

>>41179672
That depends entirely on what you consider a fuck up.

You sentenced the entire camp to a Nightgaunt frenzy. There was a potential plot route you could have followed with them, but its pretty much hard-closed to you now.

Your most recent choices have caused you to gain an increasingly bad relationship with an important part of the overarching plot. It's really just been one in a long series of consistent choice themes, though.

On the other hand, you've chosen an interesting direction for Irue to develop in, and have fulfilled a few conditions such as protecting all 3 of your Testaments that have a definite impact on things.

>>41179770
RIP Garet, he will never join the harem.

>>41179770
Why do I have a feeling this quest is going to go Joker quest on us?

>>41179836
I have never read JQ, but I've heard a bit about it. Unfortunately not enough to know anything about it, though.

So honestly I have no idea what you mean.

>>41179836
Not familiar with that, what happened?

>>41179865
>>41179870
Started off ok enough. Then everything turned to ashes and suffering, all because the players were kinda dumb a few times, and the dice were meh at best.

>>41179902
Take heart, anon.
There are no dice here.
Only you.

>>41179927
Not reassuring Riz, Anons aren't that smart at the best of times. Look at Snakecatcher quest.

>>41179645
That would've been kind of a shame, honestly. I've seen other quests of around this general participation level go even as long as two hours without a comment (though that's obviously an outlier) depending on the vague whim of how many people are around at the time.

Not to say that you should feel beholden to us in some way to charge ever forward toward the finish line, it's just that having the QM euthanize a quest you like while you happened to be unavailable right then would feel kind of anticlimactic.

>>41179770
I can't help but think some of this is because of the vague thematic choice stuff like that that with the Revenant, since some of it seems predicated on trying to guess what the relevant choice is for a given line of character motivation. Sort of feels vaguely like how AEQ is handling astral power advancement decision points, only not actually clearly demarcated as distinct progression paths.

It's interesting, and the deal with this part in particular got quite a lot clearer as things carried on (although >>41173362 was incredibly perplexing at the time, even if it gained a bit of framing context later on), but it's a weird balancing act between mystery and guided character development.

>>41179788
Poor guy deserved better. Even if he somehow made it out, he still deserved better.

>>41180243
>having the QM euthanize a quest you like while you happened to be unavailable right then would feel kind of anticlimactic.

I agree, and for the record it was more a result of threads 8/8.5 than the ~40m wait in this one. After the dust turn out in 8, and then 8.5 literally dying midthread, I figured it was safe to give it a third and final shot before deciding one way or another.

Typically, I am a fan of three strikes being given before a final decision on something important is made.

As for your second bit, I've never read AEQ either, unfortunately. The post you linked is somewhat important though, because it's your first flash into an important piece of the overarching plot. While there is quite a bit inherent in that, that I don't expect anyone to get now, it's important to lay the groundwork for things that will come later.

I do suggest keeping it in mind, though. Nearly any of the lore or aside bits will become relevant, or can be used for/against you, in given time.

Special mention to >>41177448 who remembered to think about what Shade was natured towards. I was pretty proud of this.