>>42154272
You wake up with a start, blinking furiously. You’re in a darkened room, lying atop a long cushioned matress spread across the floor. The floor is black wood, the walls white stone. The room is illuminated only by an open window, one barred with wooden cross-hatching bars and opening into a beautiful night sky filled with foreign stars and a full moon. The only exit you can see aside from the window is an arch set into the wall, a strange sort of doorway with no door and is covered instead by a black curtain. Your pack is sitting next to you.

Where are you? You don’t remember going to sleep here. In fact you remember going to sleep in...your own pack? As Hiss? You blink again. What a strange dream that had been!
It takes a few seconds before the full recollection settles in and you realize that hadn’t been a dream at all.

But you’re back in your own shape now. There’s nothing wrong with you, or at least nothing you can see. You check through your pack and find it to be undisturbed. Rock isn’t there. You are alone.

> Pray for aide.

> Call out

> Wait for someone to come to you.

> Peek out through the doorway.

> Brew

> Through the window!

> Other

Has Cennen screwed snekgrill in her snek form yet?

>>42154280
> Peek out through the doorway.

>>42154280
> Peek out through the doorway.

>>42154280
>doorway

>>42154280
> Peek out through the doorway.

>>42154297
Nope. He got real handsy in the bath with a different snake though.

> Peek out through the doorway.

You roll off the mattress and stand up, picking up your backpack in the same motion. It's a little cold, particularly for your vetti. You might have to find your trousers and put them back on again, though you haven't worn them for weeks. And hell, everyone here already knows you're a foreigner, you don't have to try and blend in anymore.

Now, you don't know your current circumstances and even though having your pack so close by indicates that whoever placed you here was friendly...you're still in enemy territory. This is the Compact House and here Attaraan has power. Don't want to alert anyone you don't need to!
So you pad over to the doorway in an attempt to make as little sound as possible and twitch the curtain aside, just enough to get a look.

The doorway opens into a long corridor that is just as dark, the windows the only source of light. That's a little strange. You would have thought the House to be well-populated. Where are all the lights?
You're about to stick your head out and get a better look around when you notice something moving in the darkness beyond. There's somebody there, somebody sitting down in the corner of the corridor just beyond your door.
They're wearing robes and you can't see their face as it is hidden by a white veil, one covered in black Quedeshi letters that you can't decipher.

What are they doing here? It can't be a coincidence surely, they must be here to watch you. But they aren't looking at the doorway and while you can't get a good look at them, you think they might be asleep.
You're not sure what to do about this.

> Try to sneak past them.

> "Oi, who are you?"

> Go back inside for now.

> Throw something down the corridor to see if they're awake or not.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42154583
> Try to sneak past them.
Damn I thought we would only be taking a short nap, it's weird that we're alone.

>>42154583
> Try to sneak past them.
>>42154636
Looks like ouro changed his mind about that.

>>42154583
>Try to sneak past them.
It won't work, if he/she says something we play dumb and say we didn't want to disturb their meditation (?)

>>42154758
I don't think we can speak quedeshi right now anyway

> Try to sneak past them.

You're actually thankful there isn't door, the curtain is much easier to open stealthily. You just flick it aside as soundlessly as you can and pad out, holding your vetti up a little so it doesn't brush against the doorway.
With that done, you start to walk down the hallway in the opposite direction of the man. He's not looking in your direction and you keep to the wall, doing your best to stay silent while still moving as fast as you can.
It's all going well, you sneak looks back behind you every few steps and he hasn't moved. You're nearly around the far corner, you're nearly in the clear.

And the black floorboard beneath your boots creaks.

Roll 1d100. Best of the first 3 only.

>>42154784
Aash taught us some basic stuff a while ago. We used the potion to speak fluently but we can still comunicate on our own

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>42154834

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>42154834

>>42154834
ok dice gods...

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>42154834

>>42154856
>>42154859
>>42154869
Fuck. We've officially lost the dice gods favor

>>42154880
Snakes sense the floor vibrations, he probably knew we were scurrying around since we got off the bed

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>42154834
Rollin again to see if rolling well if even possible in this quest anymore

>>42154913
I doubt this is a snake.

>>42154859

Oh shit.
You freeze in place, hoping that nothing will go wrong. That he won't wake up. That he won't see you. Hoping in vain.

You hear a sword being drawn behind you, looking back to see the robed man drawing a long curved saber. He says something quietly in Quedeshi, something you can barely hear let alone understand.
They motion towards the doorway and then run towards you, their sword held out!
He's already halved the distance between the two of you. You might have time to get something from your pack but it'd be a blind draw, a random potion. Shit.

> Surrender.

> Draw your sword.

> Blind draw a potion.

> Flee.

> Swing your pack at him. That should break a few bottles open, hopefully to detrimental effect.

> Pray

> Other

>>42155014
Do we have a sword?

>>42155037
Yes, right now you have the Ishmin sword that Tanni gave you.

>>42155014
>> Flee.
>> Blind draw a potion.
Maybe we can buy a few moments with running

>>42155014
> Flee.
> Pray
I think we'd be really fucked if we revealed our weapons at this point

>>42155014
> Flee.
> Pray
This seems like another ploy to get us kicked out of the compact house.

>>42155014
> Surrender.
Maybe he just wants us to stay in that room?

>>42155014
> Surrender.

>>42155194
That's what I'm thinking, if they wanted us dead or imprisoned they would have done it by now. And if >>42155172 is right, misbehaving would give them an excuse to kick us out.

>>42155172
Changing to
> Surrender.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Looks like a tie between running/praying and surrendering. Evens for the former, odds for the latters.

>>42155259
Oh nevermind, the tie wasn't needed thanks to the last-minute vote change. The dice gods have been angered. Writing now.

> Surrender

You nearly reach for your pack or your sword but you stop yourself at the last moment. The House is supposed to be a sanctuary, isn't it? You're not allowed to harm people here. You just go through one of those traps, is this possibly another?

"I surrender!," you call out in broken Quedeshi, having lost the benefits of your Wordtheft Brew. To make it clear what you are doing you prostrate yourself, kneeling and placing your hands palms down on the floor.
But if you're wrong...

His charge slows, coming to a sudden halt. The man pulls you to your feet instead. His sword is held low, pointing to the ground. He pushes you back towards your room and while you can't understand most of his words, you get the gist.
He wants you to go back in there and stay in there.

> Flee in the other direction now. What's he going to do?

> Go back into the room.

> Use this time to nobble a potion out of your pack. (Specify)

> Other

>>42155398
> Go back into the room.

>>42155398
>> Go back into the room.
Start brewing up a small storm(figuratively).

Note to self figure our how to make an alchemic storm in a bottle.

>>42155398
>> Flee in the other direction now. What's he going to do?
perhaps more like, observe his reaction to non compliance

>>42155398
> Go back into the room.
Here's my plan, pray to rock and ask him to come to us. Then maybe he could sneak a bloodkin brew to hiss after we drink it and a soul guise so we can communicate with her discreetly.

>>42155450
Seems like a decent enough plan to me. If nothing else he could respond to our prayer and tell us what's up

>>42155398
>>42155450
This

>>42155470
Damn it rock is a somewhat masculine name so I always forget to say she

>>42155493
Eh. It hardly matters anyway. She's not gonna get triggered about her pronouns.

>>42155493
It's okay anon, both are equally valid really.

>>42155450
>Go back into the room.
>Pray for Rock
>Enact Bloodkin/Soul Guise plan.

Part you wonders what would happen if you just ran in the other direction now. What would he even do? But you don't feel like risking it just yet. Not while you can get a better plan going.
You let yourself be escorted back into your room and draw the curtain shut behind you.

You sit on your mattress and send out a quick prayer, just a small entreaty in regards to comprehension. Innocent enough on the surface since you don't know how many snakes are present to be listening in but you know from experience that Rock will be able to understand your true meaning AND pin-point your location.

Thirty seconds pass before the stone wall beside you begins to quiver, raising a cloud of dust and splintered rock that forms into a familiar seven-legged spider shape. Rock drops onto your shoulder, filling it with a soft warmth.
-Is something wrong?-

"I appear to be a prisoner here."
You whisper as softly as you can and in Teln, just in case they're still listening in. They shouldn't be able to hear you and they certainly shouldn't be able to hear Rock.

-Ah. I noticed that human when I arrived but I didn't think anything of it. Is she causing problems for you?-

"Yeah, they don't want me leaving this room for some reason. Do you know who they are?"

-No. Most of you look the same to me.-

"How's everyone else going?"

-Last I checked, Aashenpreet was worshiping as she saw fit, Oster was guarding Hiss and Hiss was...socializing.-

That last word makes your stomach sink.
"What? With who?"

-I would estimate that there around two dozen snakes here and only three of these are 'suzerains' and another eleven are priests and priestesses. The rest appear to be permanent pilgrims. Hiss has met up with a group of them and is conversing."

Oh. Oh no. Who knows what she could be doing? She could be fucking everything up!
1/2

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72 KB JPG

>>42155830
>she could be fucking everything up!

We are the most trusting.

>>42155931
She's been proven to have the worst social skills imaginable repeatedly

>>42155931
To be fair our little serpent has proven us right most every time so far.

>>42155931
She'll probably want to have a word with us if she already met Sint.

>>42155830
You reach into your pack and pull out your Bloodkin and your Soul Guise, drinking from the latter before you sip from the former. The Guise should shroud your soul enough to make it so that you can form a link without transmitting the Bane.
"What about humans? How many humans are there?"

-Not many. Aashenpreet has told me that most humans choose to travel to one of the other two mountains instead. Few are even allowed through the Seventy-Seventh Shrine unless they are in the company of a snake. I have counted you, Oster, Tash, the human outside and ten others.-

"There are ten more?"

-Yes. I saw them accompanying Attaraan. They are priests apparently. Oster doesn't believe that, he thinks they are thugs smuggled in past the weapon-restriction to deal with you.-

"Do you believe that? And where are they right now?"

-It is uncertain. I don't know where they are right now but they are not in this building. This is the designated 'human quarters', built to your size but it is empty save for you and for your jailor. There are also three spirits located here. Myself, another spirit with who I have been speaking with and something I cannot identify.-

"What is it?"

-I just said I can't identify it.-

"Oh, fair enough. Look, take this to Hiss and tell her to drink it. We need to talk and we need to talk now."

-That shouldn't be a problem.-
Rock picks up the bottle and blurs through the wooden bars of the window, floating outside with the dull red of her halo juxtaposed against the night sky.
-There is one more subject I must raise before I leave.-

"Eh? Go ahead."

-You must promise me that you will not make Aashenpreet regret what she has done by guiding you here.-

"I already promised her that!"

-Yes but in her heart I do not believe she trusts you. But I do, so promise me instead and I will reassure her. But I will also hold you to it.-

"And if I don't make that promise?"

2/3

>>42156144
-Then nothing. I won't tell Aashenpreet that what you said to her was a lie and I won't hold you to your words.-

> Make the promise.

> "I'm sorry Rock but I can't do that. Who knows how this'll turn out?"

> "Just take the potion to Hiss first. Can't we talk about this later?"

> Other

>>42156200
> "I'm sorry Rock but I can't do that. Who knows how this'll turn out?"
I'll do my best but I have limited control over what Hiss does.

>>42156200
> Make the promise.
I feel like Aash might fuck things up if she has doubts about our motives.

>>42156200
Rock I made a promise that I'd follow Hiss well before I met Aash or you. I still Follow that promise, even though she at times drives me insane. I keep my promises. So I will make this promise again. I will do my very best to make sure she will not regret this. I cannot say for certainty it will work, but I will try.

>>42156200
> Make the promise.

>>42156200
> Make the promise.
I won't make her regret it but hiss might.

>>42156200
>>42156262
This

> Anything I should know about the other spirit?

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Counting those two as votes in the same general alignment as saying 'who knows how this could turn out?', it looks like a tie. A real tie this time.

Evens for making the promise, odds for declining.

>>42156455
Fuck. Come on guys. We needed to reassure her. Rock wouldn't have brought it up if she didn't think Aash was gonna do something because of her doubt.

>>42156455
Umm the write in was "I promise I'll try"

>Decline

You sigh.
"Rock, I made a promise that I'd follow Hiss well before I met Aash or you. And I'll follow that promise, even when she drives me insane. And I will do my very best to make sure she will not regret this. I can't say with certainty that it'll work but I can try. Is that not promise enough?"

-No.-

"It isn't?"

-That is not a promise and so you have declined my offer. But I know you mean it in good spirit regardless. And I will pass it on to her.-

You guess that really is the best you can hope for.
"Thanks."

Rock drifts down out of sight, the potion still clutched in tiny legs. You sit down on the mattress and try to stay calm.
And then after a few minutes has passed, a familiar voice makes you jump even though it comes from nowhere but within your own head.

"Cennen? What's going on? Are you safe?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then what's this about? What's going on?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

"Can it wait. I'm sort of busy right now!"

> "Why? What are you doing?"

> "Have you seen Tash anywhere?"

> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."

> Tell her about Sint.

> Other

>>42156582
Yes but it wasn't exactly making the promise that Rock had asked for so it counted as being declined. Promising to try and promising to do it are different things.
But it's okay, Rock liked it!

>>42156645
> "Have you seen Tash anywhere?"
> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."
> Tell her about Sint.
Tell her what happened while we were in her body.

>>42156645
Yeah it can wait. We can just brew for a bit. Ask her to make herself available to talk soon though. And to let us know through the link if anything happens

>>42156645
>> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."
>> Tell her about Sint.
also inquire about what she's up to but not in a particularly demanding way.

>>42156645
>> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."
> Tell her about Sint.

>>42156645
> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."
> Tell her about Sint.
> Also warn her about Attaaran and Tash's plan to kick us out

>>42156645
> "Why? What are you doing?"
Tell her that attaraan and tash are working together to kick her out of the compact house or worse

>>42156767
Specify that they were probably trying to provoke her to violence to do so

>>42156790
Or maybe lewdness is prohibited here too? That's probably why tash took us to a hot environment while he was bathing in front of us.

>>42156645
Can we brew while we have this conversation?

> "Hiss, I think I've been imprisoned here."
> Tell her about Sint.

"I'm sorry Hiss but I'm sure whatever you're doing isn't that important. Attaraan and Tash are trying to get us kicked out!"
You pass through the link a quick recounting of what occurred with you and Tash along with Sint's intervention.

"Sint? They've mentioned him. He's a suzerain apparently."

"Uh, that's nice I guess. But what about Attaraan and Tash?"

"We'll find a way to deal with them, don't worry. I'll just have to be subtler than usual, it'll be easy."

That doesn't exactly fill you with confidence.
"Just be on the lookout alright? Don't let anyone provoke you into violence. They've already tried it on me twice."

"Twice?"

You tell her about your jailor and the situation you've found yourself in, a prisoner confined to the human quarters.

"That's strange. Why would they do that to you and not save that trick for myself? No offense Cennen but you're not that important compared to me."

Maybe Attaraan thinks differently. You don't pass that idea along the link however.
"Do you have any help for me here, Hiss?"

"Cennen, I just said I was busy! Figure it out on your own, it's not urgent or anything."

"Maybe it is."

"Eh?"

"Maybe they're planning something very soon and that's why I'm separated now. In which case I need to get out right now!"

Hiss doesn't laugh but you can feel a faint tone of mockery seep through the link.
"And what would they do, exactly? They can't break the rules and know we're wise to their attempts to make us break them. And I really love the thought of staying here for a while, just to rub it in their faces that they can't do anything about it."

You sigh. It's great to see that Hiss is fine but it doesn't look like she's feeling that helpful right now.

> Keep talking to Hiss.

> Brew

> Call out to your jailor.

> Can you climb out the window?

> Pray again.

> Maybe you can use the wish-bond to call for Aashenpreet?

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42157102
> Brew
A Knockout brew does not violate the no harm part of the Compact. It's basically a super strong sleep draft.

>>42157102
>> Can you climb out the window?
been a while since we acquainted ourselves with this old chestnut

>>42157102
> Brew
Soulsight
> Look out the window.

>>42157102
> Brew
> Maybe you can use the wish-bond to call for Aashenpreet?
I guess I was expecting a little more action at the long awaited compact house.

>>42157196
What about we tried for a diluted version of the soulsight, reduce the effect a little, so it isn's as taxing on our eyes and extend the duration

>>42157235
Either way it's gonna fuck us up if we're this close to the compact

>>42157214
Haha, we'll see.

Anyway, just getting a little bit to eat so this might be delayed a short while.

>>42157297
Dropped my trip.

>>42157102
>>42157259
Right, so I change >>42157196 to

> Can you climb out the window?

>>42157102
> Maybe you can use the wish-bond to call for Aashenpreet?

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Back. Looks like a tie between getting Aashenpreet and trying to bust the window. Odds the former, Evens the latter.

>>42157502
No brew?

>You might be able to use the wish-bond to call Aashenpreet.
>Brew

Right, the wish-bond between you and Aashenpreet should be functional now that you've seen to that damn wizard. It just hasn't really come up since. She might have forgotten about it entirely for all you know, since it's been dormant for so long.
Well you're about to give her a very rude reminder.

You pull one of your two Inferior Heal-All's from your bag and then spend several minutes searching for your knives before you remember that they'd been given away at the Seventy-Seventh shrine. You break an empty bottle instead, hoping that it doesn't alert the guard. With the Heal-all ready, you drive the shard of glass into your wrist and do your best not to cry out. You drink the Heal-all as soon as possible, splashing more of it over your wound as a rapidly-expanding pool of blood stains the floor. That should get Aashenpreet running, even if the small wound is already being sealed.

With that out of the way, you start filling up your cauldron. Provided that it takes a few minutes to cross the House at full speed, you should have time to brew up one potion.

> Brew potion (Specify)

>>42157666
Knock out brew

>>42155037
>>42155098

Also apologies for this, a momentary continuity error. You don't have your sword.

>>42157666
Knockout brew and a modified gaseous thought brew

>>42157666
Thought brew.
Also, poor Aash.

>>42157666
I was hoping we could do some experimental brewing

>>42157712
I was confused about that because it seems reasonable to sneak it in with the rest of our stuff in the pack.

>>42157845
Do we have a brew to emulate the scales skill? We should make one

>>42157868
Nope. Here's a list of all of our known brews if you were wondering.

>>42157889
http://pastebin.com/hcK81hKL
Forgot the link because I am not a clever man.

I want to warn everyone in advance that any soul related brews we use on ourself will also affect Hiss while bloodkin is active

>>42157845
Meybe we could brew with Aash to make a replacement potence brew that doesn't need bunyip hair

>>42158058
We can already do that. We might be able to make a stronger version though I suppose.

>Thoughtbrew
>Knockout Brew

You mix up two potions and put them in your pack before you hear a commotion outside. Something heavy thumps down the corridor and you hear Aashenpreet calling out something in fast-paced Quedeshi that you can't understand. The guard bellows something in response before you hear a thwack, a sound like two sides of meat being slammed together and something clattering down the hallway.

"Cennen! Are you alright?"
The curtain is swept outside and Aashenpreet attempts to gain access to the room. Something that she is entirely unable to do of course, thanks to the doorway being much too small.
Wait, what?
"Are you in there?"

You collect your pack and walk out, still wondering what the hell when you nearly collide with her bare midriff. Aashenpreet is still in the same human body as she normally takes, it's just been...scaled up. She stands at what has to be ten feet high and only fits in the corridor very awkwardly.
"Aash? What the fuck?"

"Pardon?"
She looks down at you puzzled for a long moment before she seems to realize what's confusing you.
"Oh? Oh! Yeah, this. Look Cennen, I wasn't really able to keep my disguise up, they knew who I was. Or Attaraan did at least. And everything out here is built for our proportions so I didn't really have a reason to stay small anymore."

Right. Sometimes you forget that Aashenpreet's human form was designed around trying to NOT look like a constrictor. She's naturally much bigger than any human. Indeed, you'd say that her current shape is just as big as you remember Attaraan's human avatar being and you'd guess that he's the kind of guy that likes to be as large as possible.
"Yeah, I understand. It's just a little unsettling, is all."

"Now how are you? Are you hurt?"

You do your best to look sorry.
"Uh, about that. That was sort of a trick to get you over here. I wasn't in danger."

"Cennen! Don't you have any idea how much that hurt my head? It felt like I was being ripped in two."

1/2

>>42158095
"I'm sorry, I really am. I'm not the kind of guy who abuses these sort of links. I just needed a way to escape. Attaraan and Tash are trying to trick us into doing violence so they can kick us out."

Aashenpreet nods before suddenly freezing up, her expression nearly unreadable from your angle. You have to strain your neck to even see it when you're standing right next to her.
"Uh...I'm sorry! I forgot about that Cennen! It just hurt so much and I didn't think!"

"Do what? What did you do?"

Aashenpreet awkwardly shuffles to the side, doing her best to let you through in the (comparatively) small corridor. Down the corridor behind her is the guard lying sprawled out and unconscious, his sword thrown from his hand.
"He was in the way and I was so desperate to reach you and I didn't think," Aashenpreet babbles. "I just hit him a little."

You race over to his side and place your hand by his nose and mouth, feeling his breath rustle the hairs on the back of your hand.
"He's breathing, he's still alive. Don't worry."

"But I attacked him! I broke the rules!"

Oh. Oh shit. What do you do now?

> Ask Aashenpreet to eat his memories.

> If the rules are already broken, it's time to go to town.

> You need to hide this man away. Him being missing is suspicious but less so then him waking up and reporting you.

> Let him wake up. It'll be his word against yours, surely that won't be enough.

> Make it so that he never wakes again.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a Wish (specify)

> Other

>>42158300
> Ask Aashenpreet to eat his memories.
> Give him a heal all and get away before he wakes up.
And nothing ever happened here, everyone's happy

>>42158300
> Ask Aashenpreet to eat his memories.
Give him one of our healing brews and set him in the same position he was in earlier. Make sure she only eats the tiniest chunk of memories possible

>>42158300
> Ask Aashenpreet to eat his memories.
> Give him a heal all and get away before he wakes up.
Then burns a wish(vocally) to expel those soul bits so no one will know.

>Also Ask Aashenpreet who come Attarran did nothing against her? What has everyone been doing?

>>42158350
>>42158357
Wait, eating souls is probably forbidden here, we could give him the thought brew instead

>>42158389
There's no need to use a wish on this. Nobody's gonna check her soul and I don't think it's possible to tell if it's just a tiny chunk of memories.

>>42158405
Wait yeah probably.

>>42158405
Nobody's gonna find out. And we can only tell him what their hallucination will be, I don't think it can change memories.

>>42158300
Wait can she even eat his memories if he's already unconscious?

>>42158300
>>42158405
seconding or whatever this. Aash has not been good at selective soul consumption.

>>42158500
He's probably afraid of her already. I don't really know how it works when they're unconscious though.

>>42158500
they just have to bite them

>Ask Aashenpreet to eat his memories.
> Give him a Heal-All as well.

"Just calm down Aash, we're going to be fine. Everything is fine. You just need to eat his recent memories and we'll be fine. I can heal him up and we'll be on our way."

Aashenpreet does not calm down.
"But what if I go too far? I've only done this once and last time..."
You remember it well, the boy with the broom. She had eaten him entirely.

"You can focus and just take his most recent, can't you?"

"I don't know! I don't know if I can. Last time I tried to take just a little but it tasted so good and I couldn't stop myself and I keep just becoming more and more impure. I don't know if I trust myself to do it, Cennen. I'm a murderer. We both are but I was BORN to be one!"

You do your best to ignore her calling you murderer for now. It's not a label your enjoy.
"It'll work. You just have to believe in yourself, Aashenpreet. Have some faith."

She kneels down, doing her best to get as low to the ground as possible before she blinks.
"You'll also have to wake him up first."

"Pardon?"

"I can't just eat someone who's unconscious, there's no link. I have to...I have to bring them into trance myself, not from another source."

"Wake him up? That could be dangerous."

"I know!"
Aashenpreet is continuing to not calm down.

> Just wake him. It's not like he can fight her anyway.

> Think of a different method (Specify)

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a wish (Specify)

> Just hide him away for now.

> Other

>>42158670
> Use Potion (Specify)
Heal all, If anyone thinks anything happened, we can claim he had a nightmare. If WE have time brew up a (very very) weak journey brew too.

>>42158670
>> Make a wish (Specify)
Aash I wish for you to be able to cleanly and with no harm to your pysche extract the dangerous memories that this man has without otherwise harming him in any way and without the need to wake him up

>>42158670
>Thought brew, tell him he's drunk off his ass, leave the empty bottle with him.

>>42158670
Use a wordtheft brew on him and use the shapestealer on him to make him look like us. Then give him our nonlethal venom and leave him in this room.

>>42158831
This. If the bloodkin might interfere with it use a soulmender first. I don't think it will though since we're not the recipient of the brews effects.

>Use Wordtheft and Shapestealer for some real fuckery.

"You're right Aashenpreet, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"
She turns to look at you, nearly knocking you over as you try to sidle past her. She's on her knees, bringing her down almost low enough to be eye-level with you.

"I'm sorry for calling you in that way, even though it was the only way I had. It was my mistake and I'll fix it."
You force the Wordtheft brew down the unconscious man's throat first, making sure that he doesn't choke. You drink what's remaining and relax as knowledge of Quedeshi fills your mind once more. Provided that was his only language, he shouldn't have any means of communication left anymore. Just a mute, only capable of speaking gibberish. And you're not done yet. You drink from one of your Shapestealer bottles before making him drink the rest.
He's waking up at this point, coughing and spluttering so you just force your hand inside of his mouth. A little non-lethal venom straight from your mark and he's out like a light, his features changing to look like your long-lost twin.

Aashenpreet breaks the silence with a nervous laugh.
"Talk about a reversal. Do we just stick him back in your room now?"

"Aye," you nod and watch as she lifts him up and deposits him gently through the doorway.
"He should be out for some time now. Let's go."

The two of you start shuffling down the corridor, Aashenpreet still making it as awkward as possible.
"What I don't get," she says, "Is why they felt like putting a guard on your door and nobody else. We all still have free reign just like the other pilgrims."

"Hiss asked the same thing, sort of. I have no idea but it can't be good."

Aashenpreet squeezes her way through a large door and you follow close behind, blinking as you emerge into a lighted space much bigger than where you left.
You're in a richly furnished room, one covered in cushions and tapestries and lit by hundreds of candles. And the room is huge, the roof far above your head.
1/2

>>42159201
And it's not just the size of the room itself, it's the size of everything in it. The cushions are almost as big as you are, the windows set into the wall far above your head. The doorways are over twice your size and indeed, everything here seems to be made for people of a distinctly different scale from you. And it makes sense, you suppose. The Compact House is not a place for humans, it's almost entirely populated by nothing but constrictors.

Aashenpreet starts walking faster now that she's no longer squeezing just to fit and you find it harder and harder to keep up with her extended steps.

"Hold on, can't you slow down?"

"I thought we were in a hurry! Unless you want me to carry you."

"...No. I'll pass."
You settle for just upping the pace as best you can and follow Aashenpreet as she guides you further into a gargantuan corridor.
But where is she leading you?

> To Hiss and Oster.

> To find Sint and Tash.

> Just some exploration.

> To another priestess.

> To find Attaraan.

> To her own chambers where Rock is.

> Other

>>42159299
> To her own chambers where Rock is.
Pick her up and then go talk to Sint

>>42159299
> To her own chambers where Rock is.

>>42159299
>> To Hiss and Oster.

>>42159299
>> To her own chambers where Rock is.
Oh, an I guess Hiss is going to be slightly bigger that Ash is right now knowing her.

>>42159299
> To her own chambers where Rock is.
Use the link to ask hiss what's going on and update her on the situation. If she happens to come across our room and sees us lying in a pool of blood shit is gonna get crazy

>>42159299
>> To her own chambers where Rock is.

>>42159396
>lying in a pool of blood
haha shit I forgot about that. If anybody discovers that there's gonna be a manhunt and there will be no suspicion directed at our group

>>42159391
Nah, Hiss doesn't have the Art for that. You better believe it's tearing her up inside right now though because she's being patronized by a bunch of constrictor pilgrims.

>>42159440
Well, I know what were going to brew for her soon then.

>>42159391
Nope snakes can only get so much larger according to size. For Hiss 6'5" is about the limit.

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>>42159440
>>42159462
She so tiny

>>42159692
We are so very lucky she can't see that.

>>42159692
Ouro should save this just in case we ever make that snake version of Eugene's brew

> To her own chambers where Rock is.

Aashenpreet leads you to a huge set of doors, one with a handle above your head. Through it you can hear the speech and laughter of a lot of people. Is that where Hiss is?
But then she turns at the last moment and leads you down another corridor instead. But the reminder is still enough for you to probe out the link you still have with Hiss. You pass to her a brief retelling of everything that just happened.

"Aashenpreet helped? Yeah that's fine, Cennen. That's great. I told you it wasn't urgent. Now really, I'm very busy so please go away!"

Aashenpreet rounds the corner and leads you through a curtain big and heavy enough to nearly knock you off your feet when it's pulled back.
What lies beyond is a room much like your own, despite all of the exterior luxury. Scaled up, of course. Rock is sitting on her bed and flits over to Aashenpreet immediately, sitting neatly in the middle of her palm.

-How did it go?-

"Not the best it could have gone."
You tell her about the injured guard. Aashenpreet sits down on the bed and does her best to look bashful when you bring it up.

-I see. You are very lucky that she didn't die.-

"You're telling me. It would have been hard to explain him as missi-"

-No-
Rock interrupts you, overriding your speech with a cold force directly to the brain.
-Had she died and her soul escaped, she would have been seen instantly. Seen and caught.-

"What?"

-Remember when I said I was speaking to another spirit here? Back then I was not sure of their purpose but now I know. They have a domain of sorts established all through the House, one able to catch any soul that flies free.-

You nod, thinking back to Tedwell. According to Hiss the Master there had possessed a similiar set-up, one designed to funnel the souls of an entire farming commune to them.
"Right. No killing. Should be easy."

1/2

>>42159782
-It's not just that! I don't have any proof but after conversing with them for some time, I believe there to be something more sinister at work here. I can feel the presence of a boundary, one that might be able to bar souls still even in their bodies.-

You blink, Aashenpreet above you just as confused.
"And?"

-It might only be possible because they've been here for such a long time, their very essence is part of the House. But to put it shortly, they can stop any souled being from leaving the House if they choose. Or more specifically, their bodies can pass the boundaries but their souls will be stopped. I imagine the process could be grotesque.-

Hmph. That shouldn't effect you but that's very troublesome for Hiss and the rest of your friends.

-It is normally nonfunctional but if we were to do anything that raised an alarm, it could be raised immediately. And from there there would be no escape for any of you.-

"But we're going to raise an alarm sooner or later! If nothing else, Attaraan and Tash will force it!"

-Yes. I thought of that. And now I don't know what to do. I've been searching it for weaknesses and I've found nothing. I'm sorry, Cennen, Aashenpreet. I've failed you both. This place is a trap and I cannot save you.-

> "Nothing to be sorry for, Rock. We can just remove the spirit and the barrier will fall, right?"

> Maybe we can convince the spirit to lower it.

> It's not something worth worrying about for now. Leave Rock to keep searching for weaknesses.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Make a Wish (Specify)

> Other

>>42159886
At least we have warning. I know of several ways to take the spirit out if it comes to it, but I'd rather not. Keep looking Rock, We'll try to Make it SO Attarran or Tash are the ones who take the blame.

>>42159886
Explain that we're a spiritbane and that we only killed spirits in self defense. Then work together with both of them to make a brew that would temporarily give any soul similar qualities to our own marked soul.

>>42159886

> "Nothing to be sorry for, Rock. We can just remove the spirit and the barrier will fall, right?"

> It's not something worth worrying about for now. Leave Rock to keep searching for weaknesses.

It will be easier to understand how to deal with this issue once we know why it exists.

>>42159886
> You've spoken with it, does it sound like it can be reasoned or bargained with?
> If not then it's still not that bad, it's only able to prevent souls from leaving the house, right? As long as we remain in here, we can deal with it, should the worst came to pass.

>>42159939
This. I'd rather not kill this spirit if possible.

>>42159886
Maybe we could tear a hole through the boundary with a modified version of the soulgrasp brew?

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>>42159692
>>42159769
Man I have a bunch of small snake pictures. It's just never come up.

>>42159886
>"Nothing to be sorry for, Rock. We can just remove the spirit and the barrier will fall, right?"

> "Nothing to be sorry for, Rock. We can just remove the spirit and the barrier will fall, right?"

"Nothing to be sorry for, Rock. It's hardly your fault. And now at least we have warning. We can always convince or force the spirit to lower it later, I don't see it as an urgent problem."

"Maybe," Aashenpreet speaks up, "we could talk to them? If you can arrange an audience we might be able to make a good impression?"

-That's very possible. I'm not sure if that will overcome their duty however. I am just...unsure in general about everything to do with this place. I don't know what to make of it-

You nod, already thinking of a brew idea where you might be able to give your friends some protection when a voice rings through your mind. It's Hiss again, making full use of the link to nearly deafen you.
"Cennen! Can you tell Aashenpreet to get her giant butt out here now! I need her!"

You wince from the sound bouncing around inside of your head, prompting Aashenpreet to frown.
"Is something wrong?"

> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.

> Tell her the above and also go with her.

> Ask Rock to guide you to the spirit.

> Ask Rock to guide you to the suzerains that she knows of. The non-Attaraan ones.

> Don't tell Aashenpreet about Hiss.

> You need to start brewing!

> Other

>>42160247
> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.
> You need to start brewing!

>>42160247
> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.
> You need to start brewing!

>>42160247
> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.
> Warn her about the spirit
> Ask Rock to guide you to the suzerains that she knows of. The non-Attaraan ones.
Let's go find Sint

>>42160247
> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.
> Ask Rock to guide you to the spirit.
>Drink soulgrasp brew

>>42160247
>> Tell her the above and also go with her.
probably don't want to put these two together without supervision

>>42160247
What do you need her for?

> "No, Hiss just wants you for some reason." You can stay with Rock however.
> You need to start brewing!

"Nah, nothing's wrong. Hiss just wants you for something."

Aashenpreet sighs and then smiles.
"I guess I better go give her help again before she throws another tantrum."
Another? Aashenpreet ruffles your hair as she stands up before making her way out, leaving just you and Rock sitting on a vastly oversized mattress.

"I wonder what she's even doing? She's been busy for ages now."

Rock flits over to your shoulder.
-Last I checked she was playing some sort of game with the other pilgrims and some priestesses. I don't really understand it but it seemed significant.-

"Significant? In what way?"

-I can't quite describe it. This whole place is magic or just about. Certain actions and processes are given power here that they don't have in the real world. I can feel that power, even if I don't understand just how one plays 'Tash'.-

You don't really understand what Rock is saying but you just nod and go along with it.
"If it's Tash then I suppose Aashenpreet will be a big help to her. So it goes."

You pull out your cauldron from your pack and start brewing, mixing one brew with another in the hope of making something new.

What potion are you using as a base?

> Treebrew

> Soulsight

> Antimagic

> Thoughtbrew

> Eugene's Potion

> Journey

> Other Brew (Specify)

> You don't have time to brew right now.

>>42160594
>> Soulsight
our insight must increase, there's so much to know

>>42160594
> Antimagic

>>42160594
>Antimagic

>>42160594
> Journey
Maybe we could modify it to send spirits straight back to the dreaming?

>>42160711
We still need to find a way to administer it.

>>42160594
> You don't have time to brew right now.

>>42160594
>> Antimagic

>>42160594
>> Soulsight

>Antimagic

You spend the next hour or so sitting in Aashenpreet's room messing around with Anti-magic brews. Aashenpreet comes back several times but just hangs around awkwardly while you brew before leaving again. It looks like she sort of wanted to talk to you about something but it's too late for her, you're in the zone.

After an hour, you've produced:

> Dispel Elixir: Through a mighty feat of reverse-engineering and theory that you already knew, you finally know how to craft these buggers!

> Magicbite Brew: Anyone who drinks this will have their Art crippled for the next few hours.

> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.

>>42160925
>> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.

>>42160925
Can we make the three soulguard doses we need?
How long will it take?

>>42160925
> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.
Make 3. I'm assuming that Rock would have no problem going through the barrier

>>42160925
>> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.

>>42160925
>> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.
much as i want that damned dispel elixir this is relevant to the present situation

>>42160925
> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.
Make 3 doses and ask rock to get Aash in here to say what she wants to. We can listen now that we're not experimenting >>42160987
We should probably ask just in case

>>42160925
Wait could we just dispel the entire barrier with a dispel elixir? It worked on a halo.

>>42161046
It could destroy the compact too. Which would likely get every snake on the continent after us.

>>42161062
I don't think so. It would have to hit the compact directly to do anything.

>>42161081
This entire area is the compact, and we'd be putting a hole in it.

>>42160987
>>42161032
Need4 doses, hiss Aash, Oster and Cennen.

>>42161113
We have the bane

>>42161113
Cennen doesn't need it due to spiritbane

>>42161122
>>42161131
Might not work since our soul can get disembodied by our own brews.

>>42161137
That probably only works because we ingest the brew. External forces can't do shit to our soul.

> Soulguard Brew: Drinking this will keep your soul where it is supposed to be and nowhere else for the next hour.

Though you spend most of the hour just getting it down, it doesn't take much longer afterwards to cook up three doses of the stuff. That should be enough for Hiss, Aashenpreet and Oster if need be. You and Rock should be fine on your own.

When you look up from your work, you notice that Rock is acting more than a little antsy, jumping about like the animal she takes after.
"What's wrong?"

-Something's happening. I can feel a convergence of power. The spirit is moving!-

"Where is it?"

-I can't be sure. There's so much power everywhere now! This whole building is built to channel and converge power, I cant believe I didn't see it. To focus it into one spot.-

"Yes but where is i-"
Your head suddenly bursts into pain as it is filled with the sound of screaming. Hiss' cries force you to your knees for but a moment before you find your feet.
Your hand hurts. Your hand hurts a lot. You scratch at it without thinking, brought to a sudden frenzy.
And that's when you see that the mark on your palm is fading, becoming creased and indistinct. The self-devouring serpent is slowly but surely blurring from your skin and it's dragging all of your borrowed power with it.

You drop back to your knees and vomit uncontrollably, everything being ripped from you through the metaphysical hole in your palm. The screaming in your head has stopped.

Rock says something but you can't comprehend her, meaningless tones of ice that can't compare to the sound of your own desperate heart-beat booming inside your skull.

>Other (Specify)

>>42161225
Drink potence and soulgrasp and run to where Hiss is.

>>42161257
This. What the fuck.

>>42161225
> Aash! I wish you do everything in your power to protect Hiss!
>>42161257 This
> Grab Rock and get moving

>>42161225
guess this is what we get for ignoring tash.
>investigate what is up with Hiss and hope she isn't dead

>>42161257
Sure. Try use wishbond with Ash? "Protect Hiss as best you are able to." And grab Rock.

>>42161257
This. Try to contact hiss through the link as we do so.

>>42161311
perhaps we should avoid issuing orders we can't rescind without actually knowing what the situation is.

Or maybe not I suppose it makes sense from cennan's perspective and that might help us know what's going.

>>42161225
I can't tell if hiss just died or if she ascended using the power of the compact

>>42161225
What if we drank soulguard? Could it protect her trough the link?

>>42161355
Yeah. We might want to assess the situation first though.

>>42161351
She couldn't have managed to do it so fast, right? if it was that easy there should be way more ascended constrictors.
Tough if she somehow managed to do it, doing >>42161355 might cut her soul in half...

>>42161311
I'd rather wait until we really know what's going on

>>42161225
Ask Rock and Hiss what's happening

>Drink Potence
>Drink Soulgrasp
>Run to Hiss

You feel drained, almost as if you were losing blood but you aren't bleeding. Not in the literal sense. But your body is filled with power and it is being seized from you, your palm a gaping wound.

You reach for the Soulgrasp and the Potence, downing both of them at once. They taste like ash.
"Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss?"
You had meant to broadcast 'Hiss? Are you alright?" down the mental link but your thoughts stop and catch at the very start, your mind tripping over itself and instead broadcasting a constant loop that the link feeds back directly into your head.
"Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss?"

There is vomit still in your mouth, burning your throat. You can't taste it. You try to pick up Rock but she seeps through your fingers like sand.
"Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss?'

Rock swirls around you and alights on your shoulder. There's no warmth. She isn't real, she's just a fleeting emotion given false permanence and tragic life. You ignore her from that point on.
"Hiss? Hiss? Hiss?"

You rush through the curtains and down the gargantuan corridor, which seems to be growing larger all the while. You throw open the giant doors you passed earlier, Potence giving you strength where once you had nothing.
The link still mocks you, echoing the same word over and over again.
"Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hiss? Hi-"
It stops abruptly, the link torn in half by crystal talons. For some reason you can't breathe.

You are standing in a giant room now, a whirl of colours and luxury that you cannot pay attention to. There's a circle of people, giant beautiful people who you cannot look at. The pain in your brand is all that matters. The pain and the cause.
Hiss is lying above the circle, adrift in a sea of oversized painted cards. She is born aloft by a monster, a giant bird fashioned from glass and crystal and mirrored steel.
1/2

Wow. Uhh. What did we just get ourselves into?

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>>42161456

>>42161445
Probably should have gone with the dispel elixir. Maybe.

>>42161445
Aw shit. Was that owl she mentioned foreshadowing?

I'm thinking Soulmender to sever our link to Hiss and Souldrift to freeze this fucker.

Other ideas?

>>42161526
Our link already got cut by the spirit

>>42161526
Link just got broken, and soulgrasp+potence should give us a chance to fuck this guy up

>>42161542
We still have Soulguise on, the fact that it also ensures Hiss's safety from our bane is a bonus in this case.

>>42161526
probably still risky. could very well be this is what the compact is supposed to do, though whether that will be good for hiss or not might be another issue.

>>42161556
Okay, but Potence BARELY puts us on par with Hiss. We're not the toughest boxer in the ring either. Our strength comes from our alchemy, not physical feats.

>>42161445
The monster is an owl, fluid and reflective save that it does not reflect the room around you but instead shows a window into a world of muddled ochre where nothing dies. Its head turns constantly in every direction, eyeless save for the thousands of compound eyes that drip from its beak like jewels every time it opens.
Hiss is dangling beneath it, held in three crystal talons.
Oster is below even that, his sword drawn in futile wrath.

-DO NOT BE ALARMED. I WILL BE CLAIMING THIS ONE-

The pain fades from your brand. It's not gone, just faded. Faded and still fading but at a much slower rate.
The spirit soars higher and higher, dragging Hiss up within itself.

> Other (Specify)

>>42161566
"everything being ripped from you through the metaphysical hole in your palm."
Forgive my skepticism, but that doesn't sound like a good thing, on any level, to me.

Sorry about that rather large delay in between posts there, I lost my internet for a few minutes.

>>42161605
>his sword drawn in futile wrath
Did he smuggle one in his butthole or what?

>>42161611
skepticism never needs forgiving.I don't disagree with you, rather i meant the intended purpose of the compact may not be as good as had been hoped.
>>42161605
"Rock what the fuck is it doing"

>>42161605
>What de fuck do you mean by that?!
>Rock! What is it doing to her?!
>Grab a soulguard

>>42161605
Drink souldrift and go after them

>>42161628
the guy guarding us had one, probably Attaraan's guys had some as well. Oster might have borrowed it from one of them

>>42161628
Do you really think Oster would surrender ALL of his swords?

>>42161605
Drink souldrift and ask rock what's going on as we approach the owl

>>42161605
>souldrift
>freeze the owl unless rock or aash say this is ascension

>>42161605
Down that Souldrift and save our girlf--
Prin--
Quee--
Screw it. Save our snake!

>>42161674
Maybe we should ask the owl what it's doing too

>>42161748
Yeah it would probably tell us if this is how ascension works. It might also give it a chance to attack us though and apparently the damage goes somewhere even though our soul isn't harmed

>>42161748
I really doubt it is good from all these context clues.

>>42161784
i agree but the character of the badness could affect our choice of interference

>>42161784
I agree, but since there is definitely some serious soul shit happening, we should at least get an idea of what we're doing. I don't want to turn Hiss into a vegetable.

inb4 ouro's internet dies completely and leaves us with the worst cliffhanger of all time

>>42161853
You shut your dark-prophecy-spouting mouth!

What the hell does it mean by that? Not that you really care either way, you just need to get it out of that things claws!
"Rock! What's it doing to her?"

-I don't know! I don't understand!-

You run up towards the owl, ready to down the Souldrift and to go up there and fucking fight it yourself if you have to.

-HALT-
A single word nearly stops you entirely, a wave of frost over even your protected mind.
-I AM NOT HARMING HER.-

"Then give her back!"
You can't let it end this way. All of this, everything you've worked so hard for, all undone because you were too busy brewing and wandering about when you could have been by her side?

-I AM TAKING HER TO SAFE HAVEN WHERE SHE CAN REST.-

"Bullshit! There's nowhere safer than with me, with me right now!"

-THAT DOES NOT SEEM ACCURATE.-

You hold up the Souldrift Brew and the thing actually recoils further backwards, false feathers ruffling.
"Give her back or I'll fucking take her!"

-THIS IS NOT WISE. I WOULD KILL YOU INSTANTLY, SPIRITBANE-

You put the bottle to your lips and begin to drink, prompting a sound like a glass avalanche.

-SO BE IT-

The spirit descends once more, practically dropping Hiss on top of you. You catch her, the Potence in your veins letting you handle her easily. She's alive. She's alive. She's still alive.
But her eyes are blank, almost soulless.
"Oi! What's wrong with her, you glassy cunt?"

The spirit folds in on itself and vanishes back into its halo, disappearing in a spray of shattered feathers. Hiss lies still.

With the frozen aura of the spirit gone, the world seems to return to life. You can hear laughter behind you. It's the other players, one of them reaching across and gathering up the cards.
They are all constrictors, giant brown-skinned men and women. All of them beautiful, all of them merciless. You can understand Quedeshi and so you can hear their mirth, spoken freely above your head.
"I've never seen someone lose the game so hard."

1/2

>>42161889
What the fuck is going on

>>42161889
I'm gonna be so butthurt if we just prevented her ascension because we had no way of knowing what was going on

>>42161889
Fucking constrictors! Now I lost too!

>>42161916
we can't be sure just yet, but it either they don't know whats going on either, or acting so quickly without knowing what was going on was a mistake.

>>42161934
It said she was taking her to a safe resting place... Maybe to recover from what they already did to her? But judging by what the constrictors said, I wouldn't say she ascended.

>>42161889
I'm surprised nobody is responding to how we just threatened a spirit and succeeded

>>42161889
"She didn't know when to quit, that was her problem. Every round she lost just made her want to play more."

"Far too easy."

You turn on them, marching up to where they sit on immense cushions. They're sitting down, allowing you to look them in the eye as they regard you with the same regard that you might to someone's dog. They aren't all in human form, some snakes are coiled among them, giant pallid serpents. Priests and priestesses.
You recognize the cards scattered everywhere too. They're too big for you to ever be able to hold a hand reliably but you recognize each painted surface. The cards of Tash, the game taught to priestesses as part of their spiritual duty. The game of trading and perfecting one's fate.

You look the closest constrictor, a voluptuous woman as best you can in the eye.
"What the fuck is going on?"

Your question, perfectly spoken in Quedeshi, prompts another flurry of laughter.
"Look at him. He thinks he has a place here."

You are starting to get angry.
"Tell me!"

The woman cuffs your head with the back of your hand with idle effort, sending you toppling on your face amidst their playing field. You stand back up, blood running from a gash in your scalp.
"You're a tenacious one, I'll give you that. Much less well-mannered than the last human. If you want to know what happened to your mistress so badly, I'll tell you."
She leans in close to you, her breath rotten against your face as if she was telling you some intimate secret.
"She was really bad at this whole thing. Not her place at all. And yet she was so easy to force into playing with a pride so prickly. We got her to play with us and it was child's play to keep her playing even after she lost fate after fate."

"What?"

"Everyone has their own path to enlightenment, little human. We partake in the oldest, trading fates with each other in the hope of perfecting ourselves. In this place such acts have power."
2/3

>>42161988
We killed our first one with a godlike toss of a dispel elixer.
Number two? We popped out of our body into spirit form and froze the asshat for burning Hiss's eye.
We also killed an immortal skeleton. Fuckin' with spirits is just a Tuesday for us.

>>42162012
So it's like strip poker but with your soul/luck/future?

>>42162012
"But it never works," another one cuts in, enjoying himself. "We've all been here playing for centuries trying to assemble the perfect Tash, we're all too good at the game. So nobody lets anyone else ever win in such a manner."

"Which is what makes new blood so irresistible, particularly those so small and prideful. A little needling was it all it needed to get her playing. And you know what? She kept on doing it, even though she lost so badly each round."

"Anyone who knows the stakes folds and quits the game after they start losing, it's only common sense. None of us want to lose our soul."

"But she just kept on going! Every loss made her and more adorably angry and even when she had nothing left she'd always bet high. So yes, she lost everything. It's unfortunate."

"Too easy to tilt. I wanted her to last longer, I was only a card away from a perfect hand because of the trades I made with her last round."

"Prati, you're ALWAYS one card away from a perfect hand. To hear you tell it, at least."

They turn away from you, lost in their own century-old quibbles.
"But what is she now?"

She turns back, surprised that you're still there.
"Dead, I suppose. Like I said, I've never seen someone lose so hard before. Everyone else just quits the game before everything can be taken. You have permission to leave now."

Oster advances past you, his sword held high.
"Give it back. Give her fate back or-"

"Or what? You'll do what? Are you going to try and stab me with that toy?"

> Talk Oster down.

> Join Oster in threatening them.

> Oster will be fine on his own.

> Use Potion (Specify)

> Other

>>42162125
> Talk Oster Down
> Other (Administer a Soulguard and hope this works)

>>42162125
> Join Oster in threatening them.
> Soulguard

>>42162125
>>42162152
Whoops. Totally overlooked the potion option. Please excuse my derpy vote, Ouro!

>>42162125
WHAT THE FUCK
> Rock, look at her, what do you see?
> Where's Aash
> If they're saying the truth, ask where is her soul now, does that bird have it?

>>42162176
Fuck, I mean telling

>>42162125
think these people would die from a snakebreaker?

>>42162125
> Use Potion (Specify)
Soulguard on hiss. If that fails see if we can take her soul fragments back with soulgrasp after detaching them from the other snakes with serpentbane

>>42162125
> Talk Oster down.
Use any soul brews at our disposal to get her soul back

Whatever happened, we can fix this, either we have to take a little trip to the dreaming or it is nobbling time at the compact house

>Hiss is an idiots and gambles away any chance she had of power

Maybe she should settle for just being the Queen of a small house.

>>42162125
> Talk Oster down.
Tell him to hold his breath and use the knockout brew. If they're all close together for the game we might be able to get them all

>>42162258
This!

>>42162258
I dono man if they're like anacondas or something they can hold their breath for a long time.

>>42162125

> Join Oster in threatening them.
>snakebreaker
probably not the best idea, but there might not be time to figure this out.

>>42162176
All the snakes she lost to have bits of her soul.

>>42162294
We need to know exactly what happened to Hiss, and snakebreaker will also kill us/leave some of them alive to kick our asses.
>>42162319
But shouldn't that have happened subtly over the entire time of the game instead of just now? And what's up with the bird? I think it took it.

>>42162344
thing is, if tanni was correct and it seems she was, these people are looking for eternal life because they're afraid of death.

Point being the threat of danger might be enough to move them to act

Probably its rash, so the other courses are correct, but if we actually want to reassemble hiss' soul it might be best to do it before these chuckleheads start trading it on the open market.

>Talk Oster down
> Soulguard

You put your arm in front of Oster, the Potence giving you enough force to hold him back while you can still keep hold of Hiss.
"Don't do it, mate. I don't think attacking them will help anything. Just come with me."

Oster turns away, his face hidden and the two of you walk away from the laughing snakes.
"Cennen," Oster starts to say.
"Cennen, I know it won't help her. But what else can I do?"
He tumbles to the ground, his legs folded beneath him like a puppet with its strings cut. He's crying, tears flowing down one cheek.
"What else can I ever do? I can't help her! I'm never any use! This is all my fault!"

You clench your fist.
"Fuck off, cunt."

"What?"

"At least you stayed by her side. I was too busy fucking fooling around and brewing. I could have gone to her so many times but I left her by herself, never gave her the help she'd have been too proud to ask her. I wasn't there to tell her to back down. I think-I think this is one me."
You place Hiss on the ground, pulling your Soulguard from your pack and forcing it between her lips. Nothing. There's no effect.

-I don't understand. Neither of you are to blame. Hiss did this to herse-

"Shut up, Rock. Now's not the time for that shit."
But what is the time now for? Hiss still breathes but there's nothing inside of her. An empty vessel.

There has to be some way to save her. Some potion, some brew. You need to mix it right away. So why aren't you? You're just sitting there by her side, watching her. You're not brewing. You're not doing anything useful. When do you ever do anything useful? You're just a pathetic moron who couldn't even be there for her.
Maybe Hiss' first impression of you had been right the whole time.

You sit there for a little while longer, wallowing in what is frankly pointless self-loathing about something you couldn't possibly have known about.

The doors slam open, pushed aside by a man dressed in white. You blink, surprised. It's Attaraan.
1/2

>>42162415
He strides into the room, accompanied by ten Quedeshi men dressed in white. Those priests, Rock mentioned? They're burly and strong to a man, most of them taller than you but all of them look like children compared to Attaraan himself.
The suzerain points a finger at you and Oster gleefully.
"Smuggling in a weapon? Threatening other pilgrims? You have brought dishonor among the pure, for which there can only be one price."

And that's that for today! The thread's already been archived and etc. I might be doing an Interlude in a bit and I'm willing to stick around for a bit before work starts if you have any questions.

I WILL be running tomorrow and will be running every day until this is done.

>>42162482
My only question is what the fuck

>>42162482
good stuff, thanks for running
obviously shit was likely to get fucked no matter what but on a scale from 1 to melire how fucked are we presently?

>>42162482
That was bullshit.

>>42162482
I'm confused (It's late here so I'm a little slow) what happened to Hiss' soul? Is it scattered amongst the other snakes (are you >>42162319 ?) or did the owl take it?
This is getting too real for me!

>>42162482
Are we close to the end?

Tomorrow we freeze THAT fucker instead. Violence against Attaraan? What violence? He just dropped dumb like Hiss did. It's not OUR fault.

>>42162536
in game I don't think we're clear on that, but i would be curious to know

>>42162482
Is she permanently dead?

>>42162495
Which part, exactly?

>>42162510
Eh, I'm not sure. Unlike say, Melire, this isn't really bad situation brought about your own decisions. The only bad decision was leaving Hiss alone with them and to be honest, you couldn't know that was going to be as bad as it was.
Cennen's self-blaming little thing there isn't actually directed at anybody, it's just what he does sometimes.

You've been in worse spots.

>>42162516
I can definitely see why you'd think that. There were ways around it but yes. Pretty bullshit. Just give tomorrow's thread a chance and we'll see how it goes.

>>42162536
That isn't me and no, it's not with them. They know less about the whole process then they think they do. I can't answer that because I think it will be shown next thread and also because of >>42162548

>>42162541
This is more or less the end of Part 2. No brakes from this point onward.

Also there'll be no interlude because I'm actually going to work right now.

>>42162616
No.

>>42162619
Alright, man. Thanks for running.
I'm quite relieved we don't have to pry bits of her soul from a bunch of cunty snakes.
We'll come back and show them all! Bunch of jerks!