>Make protective fires against the Nightgaunts; Force Rinnier to sleep away from camp.
>Rest in the dark as best you can; Forces everyone to cluster together, with no protection save themselves.
>Remove your group from the Peasant Knights, allowing them the safety of fire, but at great risk to yourself and Testaments.
>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
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu

Misc notes:I didn't actually believe in a QM curse, but it's been a rough month. Also I'm sick.

>>43240180
>>Make protective fires against the Nightgaunts; Force Rinnier to sleep away from camp


>running while sick
Riz you need tog et well first.

>>43240180
>>Other? (write-in)
Is there any way to keep Rinnier in the center of the camp, with the fires far enough away from her in all directions?

Otherwise
>>Remove your group from the Peasant Knights

>>43240359
While this is possible, you would be creating a great deal of light to do so. This may invite its own share of problems.

>>43240232
>Remove your group from the Peasant Knights, allowing them the safety of fire, but at great risk to yourself and Testaments.
Abandoning Rinnier seems A bit heartless, don't want her to get eaten do we?

>>43240394
Because the perimeter would need to be larger?

Going with >>43240454 then. We didn't have a problem with nightgaunts ourselves, but the peasants sure did.

>>43240180
>Remove your group from the Peasant Knights, allowing them the safety of fire, but at great risk to yourself and Testaments.
Might also be worth instituting a night watch shift in order to keep an eye out for our group.

Alternately, do we have enough incidental magical knowledge and/or is someone in our group less incapable of magic that we could explain to someone how to create non-fire based lights via (Wisp's, I think?) magic much the way Maran did the first time around?

Good to have you back. Only able to catch the beginning of the thread, oh well.

>>43240299
1. Banishing Rinnier.

>>43240359
>>43240454
2. Remove group


>>43240299
I should be fine, but the thread will be short regardless.

>>43240493
Creating a lot of light and heat in this forest may result in attracting creatures that tend to prefer warm things.

Writing!

Given the presence of Nightgaunts, the presence of fires to keep them at bay were nearly a necessity... Which had left you in a difficult position. To protect your newly gained peasant knights, you would have to effectively banish Rinnier to the outskirts of the group just so that the fires would stay lit. That, however, left her vulnerable to not only the nightgaunts, but whatever else lurked in this forest.

The alternative was to try and rely on sheer numbers and martial might to defend yourself. This idea was discarded swiftly as you remembered just how well 'sheer numbers' had protected the brigand encampment. However, even if Rinnier understood the necessity of it, you refused to leave her on her own like that.

Which is why you were going with her... And, naturally, this meant Ari was coming along as well. The three of you had traveled the forest on your own for some time and never encountered any nightgaunt trouble outside of that brush in the camp, so you felt a great deal more confident in sleeping away from the flames than, say, any of your peasant knights did. It didn't completely soothe over the bad blood between Rinnier and you, but the gesture was a start. It was something the two of you would need to bridge eventually, but that would have to wait until you were less preoccupied.

So for the majority of the journey, you had been sleeping peacefully apart from the rest of your non-Testament entourage. While there had been the occasional wild animal investigating the camp - Thankfully none of the giant reptile variety - It had been mostly quiet. Though that was a relief to you, you didn't hold any delusions that things would keep going your way, and as time went on, you were getting closer to needing to make a decision as to how to proceed.

To begin with, where were you going exactly? Back home, to that wrecked and resourceless mansion secluded away in the woods? Back to Carona, where you had sent Asche and Kara almost a month ago with still no word from them? You had managed to extract a possible lead on Roderick from your cousin before you left, so it was possible that you might be able to make progress in neutralizing that particular thorn in your side.

>Home. Get the knights situated and introduce them to their "base" for the foreseeable future.
>Carona. You can't afford to waste time dealing with Roderick anymore, and you still haven't heard from Asche or Kara.

>>43240816
>>Carona. You can't afford to waste time dealing with Roderick anymore, and you still haven't heard from Asche or Kara.

>>43240795
>>Home. Get the knights situated and introduce them to their "base" for the foreseeable future.

>>43240816
>>Carona. You can't afford to waste time dealing with Roderick anymore, and you still haven't heard from Asche or Kara.

>>43240913
>>43240953
Sooooo, what are going to do with our knights? and how will we explain them?

>>43240816
>Carona. You can't afford to waste time dealing with Roderick anymore, and you still haven't heard from Asche or Kara.

I miss Maidcretary and Paft Paft

>>43240913
>>43240953
>>43241079
Off to Carona!

>>43240916
Going home.

Writing.

Then there was the matter of your knights. It was one thing to travel with them through the woods, but to march an entire contingent of them straight into Carona? You didn't even have the resources to house them, and you know they didn't. They could always set up camp outside the town, though... It's not like sitting outside of a piece of walled off property was an unusual prospect for this group, after all.

That might lead to some unsavoury reactions from the town guard, though. Even more so if they happened to recognize YOU, who had previously left town on a less than pleasant note. A reunion would... Well, it could actually be interesting. With knights behind you, wouldn't that serve to prove you really were a noble? Their offences against nobility would have to be addressed.

"It's more apt they'll mistake them for brigands." Rinnier offered unenthusiastically, having taken up a customary position at your side as you walked through the woods. "Given their origins, it isn't that inaccurate of an assumption, either."

You frown at that. While you'd like to deny it, Rinnier was objectively correct in that. With this in mind, they may instead get the exact opposite impression and assume you were just impersonating... Yourself... And actually belonged to a gang of brigandry. An all out martial conflict with the Town Guard is something you'd preferably like to avoid, at least until your knights are trained, armed, and armoured. Or until you found Kara.

One of those things was more likely to happen in the immediate future than the other.
...Unfortunately, you don't know which.

Then there was the matter of what you were going to tell the knights themselves. They'd follow you, of course, because they had pledged themselves to you in a tentative hope for a better life... But your image, while actually rather positive amongst them right now due to your success with the snake hunt, wasn't steady yet. If they felt you were just leading them around aimlessly, or truly couldn't bring them what you promised, the situation could deteriorate.

Dullem would keep you updated if there were any whispers of discontent or mutiny in the ranks, but the looming pressure of needing to live up to their expectations was something you couldn't exactly shrug off. It was on your mind with every decision you made recently, and traveling with them directly wasn't helping any. Honestly, you think you preferred being a noble heir back when 'the responsibility of your people' was an intellectual understanding, and not a crowd of dirty people smiling at you, or glancing uneasily in your direction from time to time.

You would need to have a reason to tell them for the approach of Carona. One that would keep them out of trouble, and from doubting you.

>You have a fountain of knowledge regarding the Mana, perhaps some of them show signs of having potential?
>You want to perform some tactical drills with them, using the town as a location.
>You received information about criminal activities in Carona, and wanted to handle it personally.
>You want to get a list of resources from the merchants to figure out the costs of outfitting and training them properly.
>Don't give them an explanation. Their job is to follow your orders, not question your motivations.
>Other? (write-in)

>>43241489
>You have a fountain of knowledge regarding the Mana, perhaps some of them show signs of having potential?
>You received information about criminal activities in Carona, and wanted to handle it personally.

And with that, it's good night from me.

>>43241489
>You want to perform some tactical drills with them, using the town as a location.

>>43241489
>>You received information about criminal activities in Carona, and wanted to handle it personally.

>>43241489
>You received information about criminal activities in Carona, and wanted to handle it personally. It's not technically a lie, right? Also,
>You want to get a list of resources from the merchants to figure out the costs of outfitting and training them properly.
Going to have to do this at some point, can't have them marching around like amateurs with sticks forever.

>>43241583
Tactical drills

>>43241581
>>43241588
>>43241692
Criminal Activity

>>43241581
Potential with Mana

>>43241692
List of resources

Writing.

You supposed the actual truth would be the best thing to tell them. You had been in the process of investigating Carona when they joined on, and had received leads regarding criminal activity in Carona that you felt justified addressing personally. Certainly this begged the question of what you had discovered that could justify a personal intervention; Something as mundane and petty as serial coin theft or muggins were hardly worth involving actual nobility, even if they ran relatively rampant.

When it came to a noble intervening, it was something larger. Something that concerned their domain at large, which they found unforgivable. Seeds of rebellion were one thing to instantly come to mind, as well as dysentery amongst the merchants and guards. Your reason, though...

"Suspected kidnapping and ransoming." You explained to Dullem one night, having pulled him aside finally to explain to your erstwhile Knight Captain just what drove you to walk the entirety of your peasant knights through the woods and to Carona in force. The confusion on his face was clear enough that it warranted more than just a rudimentary explanation. "A member of the Shrine has had a sibling go missing, and I suspect it to be related to bribery in some manner. It goes without saying that allowing illegal influences behind a member of the Shrine would be bad, yes?"

"I suppose, yeah." Dullem scratched his neck reluctantly, "Is this Shrine member a friend of yours, then? Or some important noble's relative?"

You blink once, staring at him for a long moment as you process the misunderstanding. He didn't know the history between you and Roderick, so this much was to be expected, but it was still a little jarring to be accused of being friends with that self-important ponce. "No. We have no such relationship, and as far as we've gathered, they're an orphan."

"So this is all because they're a member of the Shrine, then?" Your Knight Captain leaned back a little disbelievingly, "I didn't know they had so much influence..."

"I do have my own stake in this." You admit with a shake of your head, "So it isn't purely due to the Shrine, no. To be specific, his sibling isn't the only person to have gone missing - The man's entire family has gone missing over the years."

"...I can't say that's normal, I guess." Dullem agreed after a moment, "But thinking about that is way over my paygrade... So I'll take your word for it."

>Not anymore it isn't. You're the Knight Captain of the Heir to House Valen, things like this will be your responsibility.
>That's all I need from you. I'll be handling this mostly on my own, so just listen for orders.
>Can you direct me to people particularly suited for subtle work? You knights are going to have some work soon.
>I also plan to meet up with some contacts in Carona, so the visit is multipurpose. There's more going on than just some self-important Shrine member.
>Other? (write-in)

>>43242260
>>Can you direct me to people particularly suited for subtle work? You knights are going to have some work soon.
>>I also plan to meet up with some contacts in Carona, so the visit is multipurpose. There's more going on than just some self-important Shrine member.

>>43242396
This.

Writing.

"Well, I have my own reasons to go to Carona besides this investigation." You shrug, "There are people I sent to Carona before any of this that I still haven't heard back from, so I need to locate them as quickly as possible. This criminal business and the Shrine is a secondary matter that I thought I would handle while in the area."

"...So they're not related?" Dullem spoke up, catching you off guard as you looked back at him inquisitively. "These kidnappings and the Shrine. You not hearing back from these people you sent, you didn't seem to think they were related."

"...Why would they be?"

Dullem scratched at his neck awkwardly under your gaze, visibly uncomfortable with the kind of rapt attention he had brought on himself for speaking up like that, and now struggling to find a way to vocalize his thoughts. "I don't know much about these criminals of yours, but if they're big enough to mess with the Shrine, then wouldn't they have their hands in other things to? I can't imagine them taking kindly to anyone sniffing around."

Ah... You frown briefly, but the moment passes with an amused snort. "No, that's impossible." You wave him off, an image of some shady thug trying to manhandle Kara springing to mind almost immediately. "Even if they did get involved, those two should be fine." While not a monster like Kara, the thought of Asche failing at anything was almost unthinkable. "Ah, well that's a relief then. Those two must be pretty impressive, if you're so confident in them."

"Ha. One of them can wrestle an Oakenbear and win." You reply distractedly, brushing yourself off as Dullem evidently took it as a metaphor and bubbled up mirthfully. "I'd love to meet him, some time!"

"Her." You correct absently, "Her name's Kara, she's a demihuman."

"Ah..." Dullem's laughter dried up slowly, leaving an uneasy glance in your direction at that. "What? Is something wrong?" You set your weight with slightly narrowed eyes. Nothing particularly overt, but you weren't planning on tolerating a bias against Kara from your own knights. "No, I just... Didn't know you employed demihumans." He offered neutrally.

"Do you have a problem with that?" You press thinly, "I'll tell you this now, but I will not accept prejudice against her for her species."

Dullem flexed his hands, unsure about how to phrase this without potentially stepping on a landmine he had no desire to find. "I ain't got nothing against 'em personally, though I can't speak for the others offhand... Just, it's unusual, is all."

"Unusual?"

"Most people try to avoid employing demihumans. They're generally... Not very trust worthy." He raised his hands in a gesture of peace, "I ain't saying yours isn't, I don't know her and I'll trust your judgement, but... They don't think like humans, you know? They're different. It's just surprising to see you don't mind having one around."

The two of you lapse into an uncomfortable silence, only broken when you finally shake your head. "I'll keep it in mind, but I trust Kara to do her job."

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You will arrive at Carona next thread.
_____
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

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

Apologies to all anons who were disappointed by the short thread. This was mostly to get back to doing it and re-acclimate everyone (myself included). I'm currently ill, but the water is gone and midterms are past, so I'll be recovering soon.

>>43243262
I hope you'll run at more or less your usual time.

>>43243262
What happened to you OP? Sounds rough

>>43243262
I'm never around for these but I hope you're feeling better soon.