“Uhhhhhhhh”. The noise escapes from your lips as you try to push the orc's corpse off of you. He's trapped your arms and you don't have the proper leverage to throw him off. Thankfully you see Rowe approach you and rush to help.

Together she helps you roll the orc off of you and into the riverbed. She gives you a hand to pull yourself up. You quickly check your stuff. Your familiar was almost crushed and drowned, but you open up the satchel quick enough to pour out most of the water. Muffin looks very upset. It's a good thing you didn't have that revolver in your pack, the water would have probably ruined it. One of your arrows broke in its quiver and one of your throwing darts fell out and was most likely washed down the river. Minor losses all around.

You scan the rest of the skirmish's battleground. It appears Kyra has had to beat that one orc with her blackjack multiple times with the aid of the two prisoner's kicking it to finally subdue it. She, Quissonce, the human and the dwarf have moved on to tying up the four sleeping orcs.

The last orc, the biggest one that Gabby engaged is on the ground with Gabby sitting on top of him, pinning his arms behind his back. She is currently smacking him upside the head and punching him in the gut mercilessly, while Eve is pointing the decanter of endless water at his face on the highest setting, hosing him down. He's stubbornly refusing to go down, but you have a feeling it's only a matter of seconds before Gabby has this under control.

You quickly fish out your marble and channel some healing energy into your head wound. As the pain goes away, you ponder on what element of this situation you should tackle first.

>Interrogate the leader of the orc warband
>Deal with the prisoner situation
>Talk to the Fighter's Guild members

>>44196056
>>Interrogate the leader of the orc warband
>Talk to the Fighter's Guild members
Then bring the prisoners.

>>44196056
>>Talk to the Fighter's Guild members

>>44196056
>Talk to the Fighter's Guild members
Get some context before we do anything else.

Writing!

Today is a good day, my favorite quest is here!!

Talk to the Fighter's Guild members first. Find out what happened exactly before you make any rash decisions. You walk over to where the human the dwarf have finished tying up the last sleeping orc.

“Hello. My name is Alan Rodain.” You stick your hand out to shake theirs.

“Paul.” Paul has been stripped of his armor and one of his arms looks to be twisted at a nasty angle. You heal him up some and he rubs his fixed limb.

“Macarn.” You channel energy into the multiple welts he has covering his face, the black eye and the broken nose.

“Alright, so what happened?” The two turn to look at each other before Paul decides to be the one to relate what happened.

“Two weeks ago, Macarn, myself and a few friends of ours decided we would try to catch an orc alive. Figure'd the pay would be incredible and we were cruising on the Island power wave. Brought along nets to not risk killing them. We, uh, didn't realize how tough they were going to be. We've been their prisoners for about, I don't know, little over a week now.”

“Where are these friends of yours?” Paul is silent. The look on his face gives you your answer. “How have they been treating you?”

“Beating us when we don't do exactly what they say and pushing us around. I don't know what they were planning to do with us. It was weird. Fed us just enough so we wouldn't starve. Didn't ask us questions. Didn't seem like they were taking us anywhere in particular. We ended up walking around the same areas multiple times. I think they might have been using us as bait.” Paul shrugs. (1/2)

Rowe walks up behind you. “So I've been thinking and we're going to have to be traveling at walking speed anyway, if we're taking these two back.” She gestures to Paul and Macarn. “Which means it'll take us about four days to get back on foot if we hoof it. The orcs had some food on them, good enough to feed these two. Gilda's going to want at least one alive to study. And two corpses, if the kobolds were any indicator. Other than that, we have five live orcs. Now these ones are bigger and tougher than anything I've ever killed back in Ceril. I wouldn't recommend us taking more than two. Three maybe. We have more people to keep watch now and keep them in line, but Gabby's having issues with keeping just one in check.”

You look over to where Gabby is and she has finally gotten the largest orc to stop struggling as she yells in his face in a language he probably doesn't understand.

>We take just the leader
>We take two
>We take three
>We take all six

AND

>kill whoever you don't take
>leave whoever you don't take alive

>>44196797
>>We take two
>kill whoever you don't take

>>44196797
>We take two
>kill whoever you don't take

>>44196797
>>We take three
>tie up the others from a tree and leave them alive
We don't have Dolah to check them, and killing prisoners could cause problems with the Great Will.

>>44196797
>We take two
Can we pick one of those as the leader?Can we see how the other orcs looks like?

>Leave those you don't take.

Might be the wrong move but....

Writing!

File: 1448747039294.png (1.16 MB, 1280x720)

1.16 MB PNG

>>44197026
Oh boy.

>>44197127
I'm hoping to fall and now the party is fucked because we have no healer until we get back to town.

>>44197173
As long as Alan and Rowe live i'm okay with everything

“Alright, I'll take your advice. We only take two of them. The leader and the other one that's currently conscious.” Rowe nods.

You gather the horses and Rowe is able to tie two corpses to the horses. One to Tornado and one to Gabby's horse. Tornado gives you a dissatisfied look but you assure him it'll be worth it for the money. You also are able to kick your orc prisoners into moving. Gabby is able to successfully make the orc leader do what she wants as she yells at him while you tie him to one of your horses. The other one takes lead from his commander's submission. Paul and Macarn, stripped of their armor and weapons pick up some from the orcs. Paul grabs himself a few javelins while Macarn picks up a greatclub.

When you ask what happened to the rest of their equipment, he tells you the orcs threw most of it into the river around here. Paul and Macarn both admit that losing all their nets and bolas is no great loss, but Macarn's plate mail was worth a fortune. You and Rowe share a look. She admits she could follow the river to find it if you think it would be worth looking for.

>Track down Macarn's armor
>Leave it, he's lucky he survived

AND

>Take a greatclub
>Take some javelins
>Don't bother with orc junk

AND

>kill the four orcs you are not taking
>leave the four orcs you are not taking tied to a tree

AND

>What questions do you have for the orc leader as you travel (write-in)

>>44197401
>>Leave it, he's lucky he survived
>Don't bother with orc junk
>kill the four orcs you are not taking
Orcs are always evil so the Great Will won't mind.

>>44197401
>Track down Macarn's armor
>Don't bother with orc junk
>kill the four orcs you are not taking

>>44197401
>Leave it, he's lucky he survived
>Don't bother with orc junk
>kill the four orcs you are not taking
>What questions do you have for the orc leader as you travel (write-in)
>"You guys are always evil so I didn't just fall from slaughtering you, right?"

>>44197401
>Track down Macarn's armor

>Don't bother with orc junk

>leave the four orcs you are not taking tied to a tree

>What questions do you have for the orc leader as you travel (write-in)

What is your name?

>>44197401
>Track down Macarn's armor
>Don't bother with orc junk
>leave the four orcs you are not taking tied to a tree

>questions
Where is their village.
How many of them are there.
What is the name of their tribe?
What were they doing with the captured prisoners if they weren't brin them back to their village?

>>44197401
>>44197522
Oh, one more question: where did the orcs dump Macarn's armor? How far up or down river was it?

Tornado
Relationship Lvl: MAX "My Beloved Owner"
Physical Description: Big and black. Powerful body. Large, luxurious mane. 8 years old.
Biography: Heavy charger horse. Owned by Blackburn until he was gifted to Alan.
Abilities: Horse
Tornado best character.

File: 1411187716147.gif (174 KB, 299x240)

174 KB GIF

>>44197442
>>44197460
>>44197480
I guess we're falling then.

Writing!

>>44197593
Best horse too. It will be terrible when we loose him because we don't have our heals anymore..

>>44197614
It isn't wrong to kill something that was trying to kill you.

>>44197614
Are we going to go through the trouble of Atoning?
So far we haven't seen a Druid we can absorb healing from, and it would fuck with our equipment even if we did.
Being a cleric is still the only healing option we have unless we bring Dolah along all the time, or we actually put in the effort to win every fight without getting hit.

>>44197614
>Implying

>>44197614
Why the fuck would you even think that killing them would make us lose our cleric skills?

>>44197670
I don't know if that's how it works...

>>44197701
We can always heal with Calloway. If we manage to reach him in time. I would rather study alchemy and learn to create healing potions instead of holy magic.

>>44197733
Because i'm a pessimist.

As you're preparing yourselves to leave the forest, Kyra walks up to you and gestures to the four tied orcs, who are just now rising from their slumber, dazed and confused. She quirks an eyebrow as she pulls out her dagger. You nod once and she slinks off to make sure they aren't able to follow you.

You assure Macarn that you'll find his armor for him. You raise a hand to stop Rowe from leaving to look for it immediately as you walk up to the lead orc, whose hands have been tied by a length of rope to the saddle of Gabby's horse. You cough a bit as you try to prepare yourself to speak Orcish.

“Hello. Name Alan. Yours?” The realization on his face as you start to speak his tongue to him is quickly replaced by an angry scowl as he begins growling at you. Gabby walks over and hits him over the head yelling “FUCKNUT”. He doesn't whimper, but he definitely seems browbeaten.

“Grull'hop.” he reluctantly snaps at you. You point at Macarn.

“Dwarf metal suit. Where put? Up?” You point upriver. “Down?” You point downriver. It is a few moments and another THWACK from Gabby that gets him to respond. He gestures upriver. You relate that to Rowe who thanks you as she gets on her horse and rides off to search for it. Macarn thanks you for going to the trouble of looking for it.

Rowe tells you she'll catch up easily so you lead your small party out of the forest. By noon you're well on your way back into the open plains and have a brisk four day journey ahead of you. As long as you are able to avoid any potential counterattacks you should be fine. You decide to try to chat more with Grull'hop.

“Do you have village?” He quickly glances at Gabby who looks as ready as ever to smack him one.

“Yes.”

“How big?”

“Big.”

“Where?” He snorts at you. Gabby hits him over the head, but even that doesn't seem to make him budge. You don't have time to try any advanced interrogation techniques on this guy, so seems like getting him to open up about his village's location or troop numbers will be something you'll have to find out at a later date.

“Name of village?” He looks at you oddly, like he doesn't understand. “Tribe?” He seems to gather your meaning.

“Forest Hunter tribe.” Now onto something you don't really get that's making you curious.

“Why take captive?” You nod to Paul and Macarn as you walk to aid your communication. Grull'hop smiles wide in a way you think is meant to be intimidating before quickly returning to his neutral, angry expression.

“Lure more off-Islanders. Maybe capture females.” He looks around at all of your female companions. “Worked.” He looks back to you, with a truly questioning look on his face. “These women yours?”

>Um, y-yeah!
>No
>Not yet
>Don't dignify that question with a response

AND

>Ask him anything else? (write-in)

>>44198379
>>Don't dignify that question with a response

>>44198379
>>Don't dignify that question with a response

>>44198379
>Don't dignify that question with a response

>>44198379
>Not yet

Writing!

>>44198379
>Tell Gabby he wanted to catch a woman, and thinks we're a great warrior as we've 'caught' all these woman.

File: Wolf.jpg (9 KB, 259x194)

9 KB JPG

You shake your head and end the conversation on that. As the sun starts to set, Rowe returns to your group with Macarn's armor. And a friend. Padding along next to her and her horse is a grey wolf. At first your party is alarmed, but Rowe quickly motions that it's alright. She hands the plate mail over to Macarn, who thanks her passionately for risking her own neck to help him. He starts to equip his armor in an almost giddy fashion and promises to repay you all when you get back to Seaside.

Rowe also shows you some of the things she picked up from the river. Some of it is still in good condition and you might want to take a few of them. Other than his scale mail which Rowe also brought back, Paul says you can take whatever you want.

Seeing as you have two prisoners, Rowe decides that you should all take four watches of two people each just to keep an eye out on the horizon and also the prisoners. Macarn and Paul will take their watch together. Who do you want to take watch with for the next three nights.

>Gabby
>Eve
>Quissonce
>Rowe
>Kyra

AND

>Take a bola
>Take a quarterstaff
>Take a net
>Pass on it all

AND

>Ask Grull'hop any more questions (write-in)

>>44198950
>>Kyra
Haven't talked to her all that much.

>Take a quarterstaff

>>44198950
>Take a quarterstaff
all about that wizard life

>>44198950
>>Kyra
>Take a quarterstaff

>>44198950
>Take a bola
Possibly very useful without being a nuisance otherwise.
>Quissonce
>Ask if that was the first group of people to be captured. Just wondering if there was another group that just never reported back to seaside and was never seen again. Ask him what other tribes, including other species, he knows of on the island.

Alright. Writing!

Also, you have two hours each night to focus on something else. Options are

>Feel your pulse and tap into your bloodline
>Ask Quissonce to show you how to make a spellbook
>Practice with the quarterstaff


Either way, roll 2d100 + 15

First is for something Kyra is going to show you.

Second is for whatever you pick to focus on during your downtime.

Rolled 52, 59 + 15 = 126 (2d100 + 15)

>>44199229
>spellbook

Rolled 54, 42 + 15 = 111 (2d100 + 15)

>>44199229
>>Feel your pulse and tap into your bloodline
GREAT WILL SHALL BLESS US

Rolled 73, 27 = 100 (2d100)

>>44199229
>Ask Quissonce to show you how to make a spellbook

>>44199229
>Ask Quissonce to show you how to make a spellbook

>>44199229
>Practice with the quarterstaff
Might as well learn how to use this thing.

You decide to keep watch with Kyra. You haven't spent much time with her since the trip to the Island and frankly, even then you didn't get to know her that well. You and her grab the third watch while Gabby and Rowe take the last watch. Quissonce and Eve take the second watch and the two Fighter's Guild members take the first.

Thankfully for yourself, each time you start your watch you're already fully rested and alert. The same shouldn't be true of Kyra, but each time you meet to watch the prisoners and the skyline she seems quite prepared. She's probably used to having to do things on her own so maintaining her composure on a minimum amount of sleep is something she's grown accustomed to. For the first twenty or so minutes of your first watch together it is dead silent, with you both focused on your task. Eventually though, Kyra breaks the silence.

“Thanks. For, uh, trusting me.” She must be talking about that time when she told you to wake Dolah. You don't know if you could say you trusted her then, but you gave her the benefit of the doubt.

“I had to at some point.” She looks over to you. “You're part of the team and I can't hold what you do against you since we rely on it.”

“I shouldn't have robbed you. That was . . . wrong.” You go back to watching the skyline for a few more minutes before she continues. “You're sloppy with a knife.”

“Sorry?” You look at her. You'll admit, you're not exactly trained with it. But it's been helpful. She shakes her head.

“No. Um, I should show you how to wield it correctly. As an apology.” You shrug. She sidles up next to you and you pull out your dagger. She shows you how to guide it and wield it correctly. You spend the rest of your watches together with Kyra giving you pointers and tips on how best to wield a dagger. It's unlike a sword where you're aiming to put as much force behind the blow as possible. Setting up your strike and aiming at the correct weak points is key to utilizing a dagger to its full potential. She gives you a few tips on how to get around a person's guard or even pull it out while parrying another person's blow.

While having her help you learn how to stab properly is useful, the two of you don't have much small talk.

>Leave it at that
>Ask her what she did with all the money she stole
>Ask her about her biggest score
>Ask her about her progress with the katana

PROFICIENCY: Dagger

>>44199807
>>Ask her about her biggest score

>>44199807
>Ask her about her progress with the katana
why go for a relatively large weapon like that?

File: CM1N0W4UYAAJIL2.png (141 KB, 599x512)

141 KB PNG

>>44199807
>Ask her about her progress with the katana
Katana!

>>44199807
>>Ask her about her biggest score
>>Ask her about her progress with the katana

File: Superior eastern blade.gif (2.56 MB, 424x240)

2.56 MB GIF

>>44199861
>>44199865

>>44199915
that was retarded.

File: Muh nomagic duel.gif (164 KB, 300x170)

164 KB GIF

>>44199915

Writing!

“How's your skill with the katana progressing, Kyra?” you ask her on the last night of your watches together. She looks over at you before going back to her tent and pulling it out of her gear.

She takes the thing and unsheathes it. She assumes a very rigid stance with the thing before making multiple diagonal cuts with it. You yourself have no idea how the thing works but you can tell she seems stiff with it. She does a few spins with it too, very heavily influenced by her dancing practice most like before making a small huff and sheathing it again.

“It's odd. Very finely balanced. Like a dagger. Made for graceful strikes unlike other swords. Finesse versus power. Sharp, curved. Slender though. Easily breakable. Having a hard time mastering it. Going to ask for an instructor from the guildmaster as my portion of the reward.” Huh. Guess she's really driven to learn that thing.

As your watch ends you meet with Quissonce for your third lesson on the proper creation of a spellbook. You're having trouble grasping the concept, maybe because of your own talent allowing for you to channel much of your magical prowess naturally, that the idea of needing to study the mathematical equations, the hand gestures and the verbal components of a spell out of a book you wrote yourself seems odd. Quissonce keeps telling you that your brain can only naturally recall a set number of spells from memory. For her it's the simple ones, like read and detect magic, but by comparison she knows many more spells than Eve by keeping track of all the detailed components of spell casting in her spellbook.

Only by learning a few new spells via copying them from Quissonce's to your own do you finally grasp the necessity of the act. It's the difference between keeping something in your long term memory versus your short term memory. This is especially important for you. You're already keeping track of dozens of skills and pieces of information that if you wanted to learn every spell instinctually you'd have to forget almost all your other abilities if you wanted to be able to remember the proper method to cast every spell. No, much better to keep the ones you're naturally drawn to and attuned to in your head while you write the harder ones for you to fully grasp down in the book for you to read up on every day.

Your first official spellbook contains three spells so far: Ray of Frost, Message and Grease.

As your group is about to head out on your last day of walking before reaching Seaside, you decide to ask Grull'hop a few more questions.

“Are these the first off-Islander's you've caught.” Again, you point to Macarn and Paul. You're starting to have a better grasp of the Island dialect. Grull'hop nods.

“Yes. It's a shame your men are much easier to capture than your women. The chieftain made it sound like it was easy.” What? Wait. Oh no. No no no no no.

“What? Made what sound like it was easy?” He looks up at you.

“Taking your women. His trophy made the rest of us restless. We thought we could ambush a group of you and you'd have a female with you. The group we caught had only males though.” God. Yep. It sounds exactly like –

“Trophy? What trophy?” He seems confused why you are so agitated.

“One of you pink-skinned creatures. Called herself 'human'? You're humans, right?” Damnit.

>Tell the rest of the group about this right now
>Tell only Rowe
>Wait until you make it back to Seaside

File: Kyra's new sword.jpg (3 KB, 225x225)

3 KB JPG

>>44200893
Forgot Katana pic.

>>44200918
>Tell the rest of the group about this right now
But say we must go back to Seaside first. We need reinforcements for this.

>>44200918
>>Tell the rest of the group about this right now

>>44200918

>Wait until you make it back to Seaside

>>44200918
>Tell the rest of the group about this right now

>>44200918
>Demand of Grull'hop if the female human went willingly with the orc chieftain or he had to capture her along with her group.
>Tell the rest of the group about this right now
We've always been straight with our team.
But tell them that we NEED to get our full team, and more reinforcements from the town.
We had trouble with just a small hunting party, we can't take on an entire tribe.

>>44200918
>Tell the rest of the group about this right now
Looks like we're going for another round of 'hunt the orc'. This time we should bring Dolah.

>>44200918
>orcs having human pet
>not having superior elf sluts.

This orcs are truly savage.

>>44201070
>>44201059
Now, while it IS most likely that the orc chieftain took the woman as a sex slave, since this island activates people's innate abilities and hidden magical powers, there's a chance, admittedly small, that the woman is actually a sorceress that is using Charm Person on the Orc Chieftain to make HIM her mind-broken slave and thereby control an entire tribe of (relatively speaking) super-soldiers.

Writing!

>>44201070
The human probably isn't even a noble.
Absolutely Disgusting.

>>44201123
> yfw she's a half-orc.

>>44201204
That is just....barbaric!!!

Shit. Shit. Shit. There's a slight chance that –

“Did she go with your people willingly?” Grull'hop looks confused.

“Said she was a diplomat. Chieftain felt like keeping her though.” Grull'hop laughs as he says this before you kick him in the face a few times.

It's coming up on six. Rowe and Gabby are finishing their watch. You grab the cooking pot and smack the spoon against it loudly. Gabby and Rowe exchange looks. As everyone crawls out of their tent confused you gather them together. You point to Grull'hop, who's grabbed the chunk of tusk you broke off his face as he lies in the fetal position.

“He told me his tribe is keeping a Cerilian diplomat as a trophy.” The rest of the group looks at you a little dumbfounded.

“Are we sure he's still alive?” Eve asks. You sigh.

“Pretty sure she is.” It takes them a second, but they gather your meaning. Rowe closes her eyes and puts her face in her hands. Gabby crosses her arms and utters a 'shit'. Paul and Macarn look particularly fucking angry. Quissonce just makes one humorless scoff and Kyra remains dead silent and expressionless as usual. When Eve finally figures it out she mutters the word 'degenerates' under her breath. Rowe stands up.

“Well, fantastic. I'll head back, see if I can follow the trail the orcs left back to their village and scope the place out.” Gabby looks up at her.

“You're sure that's a good idea.” Rowe shrugs.

“Somebody's gotta do it. We can't exactly do a rescue mission without intelligence. I'll scout the place out and then report back when you guys bring in the cavalry. This isn't my first solo run. I promise I won't go off half-cocked.” Gabby laughs.

“Yeah, if you do you might get full-cocked.” Nobody laughs at that. Gabby looks at you all like you're crazy for not finding that funny. “Come on. Really? Whatever.” She gets up and walks away from the rest of you.

>No Rowe, don't go
>Okay Rowe, go for it, be safe
>I'll come with you

>>44201745
>>I'll come with you

>>44201745
>Okay Rowe, go for it, be safe
Trust in her; she made an entire forest a killzone for any Imperial patrols that came near it.

>>44201745
>I'll come with you
Best horsemen in case shit goes wrong.

>>44201745
>>Okay Rowe, go for it, be safe

>>44201745
>>Okay Rowe, go for it, be safe

>>44201815
>>44201853
Guys, there's that Cloak of Elvenkind that we need to be getting back in town if we're going to be doing this kind of thing.

Writing!

>>44201953
inb4 she rolls a nat 1

“Okay Rowe, go for it. Be safe though.” She nods.

“I will. Plus, I think my partner here will be a big help.” As she says this that wolf that came back with her walks up to her panting. She pets its head. “Kyra, while I'm gone I'm leaving you in charge. Make sure Alan, Gabby and Dolah don't kill each other.”

“Yes, mom.” Kyra responds immediately. Rowe gathers up her stuff on her horse before heading back the exact same way you came. Your party also starts up the last leg of its journey back to Seaside.

At around sunset you return to Seaside. The guards are astounded you've brought back a live Island orc and quickly lower the gates for you. Betsy and roughly a dozen men come forward to take your prisoners and corpses to Gilda. As you give an aide of Blackburn a report of exactly what happened in your mission, you spot Dolah approach the rest of you. The aide tells you he will relay what you've said to Blackburn and to wait by the gates until Blackburn has your debriefing prepared.

“So, what are they like?” Dolah asks you.

>Don't say anything
>Give her a short version that omits some of the nastier details
>Give it to her straight, the whole truth

>>44202196
>>Give it to her straight, the whole truth

>>44202196
>Give it to her straight, the whole truth
We're here to get backup and resupply.

>>44202196
>>Give it to her straight, the whole truth

>>44202196
>Give it to her straight, the whole truth
See if she can handle the truth.

So, we have a Familiar because we're a Sorcerer/Wizard, and a horse companion because we're a Cavalier.
Would we get an Animal Companion if we got levels in Ranger?

And will we get to see Muffin and Tornado bro it up like a buddy cop duo while we're their lieutenant?
Tornado = by-the-book, stoic
Muffin = fast-talking, loose cannon, cocky son-of-a-bitch

>>44202334
Well once we level up we'll be able to understand what Muffin is saying.

Writing!

>>44202334
Sequel Quest?

>>44202409
There needs to be a scene with the groups animals talking shit about their owners.

Come to think of it, has Eve gotten her familiar yet?

The tavern should have a secondary bar in the stables meant to serve the animal companions of its customers.
Probably manned by some orangutang familiar belonging to the tavern owner.

I wonder how exactly the island affected the learning ability

>>44202576
From what we've seen, it boosted the bonus we get to learning something by about +10.
It probably also made it easier for us to learn racial abilities.

>>44202576
It's an interesting question.
Everyone else had their classes unlocked but we only recently got the class we would have been associated with outside the island (cavalier).
>>44202643
I assume others got skill boosts as well.
Maybe it's a mystery.

“They're violent, primitive, aggressive, stupid, rapist –”

Eve butts in. “Degenerate!” You continue in stride.

“murderous, barely-sapient, evil monsters and while we're sitting here talking one of their leaders is having his way with a Cerilian citizen and diplomat.” Dolah looks down. She definitely seems like she's feeling something. Shame, maybe? It takes her a second to recover from that.

“Alright. I assume we're going to rescue her soon.” You nod. Blackburn's aide returns to you and motions for you all to follow. Dolah accompanies you.

You go through the motions of entering the Overseer's complex. All of you are escorted by twenty armed guards. It seems a little excessive and oddly like Blackburn doesn't trust you. Everyone in your group seems put off by it except for Kyra, who looks as expressionless as ever.

As you enter Blackburn's office he's standing up with his back to you. A bottle of nice-looking brandy sits on his desk with multiple glasses laid out for you all. He turns around with his own glass before sitting in front of you. He pushes forward a paper on his desk. He looks particularly solemn today.

You read the accounting of your accomplishments.

Live Orc 4000 gold
Knowledge of Missing Person 3000 gold
Threat Eliminated 2000 gold
Cultural Information 500 gold
1 Extra Orc 400 gold
2 Orc Carcasses 200 gold
Orc Equipment 100 gold

TOTAL 10,200

10,200 gold split six ways is 1700 gold each.

“I'd tell you all you performed amazingly, but I assume most of you aren't in the mood for condescending flattery today. But let's be perfectly clear. This is a step forward. We have a live specimen and more corpses to analyze. You've discovered a bit more about their . . . primitive cultural tendencies that will aid us in forming our plans to deal with them in the future. I'm sure the Fighter's Guild will be quite pleased you managed to rescue two of their members and you've eliminated one more thorn in my side. But, on to the more unpleasant news.” He shifts in his chair before speaking again.

“I believe the individual this Grull'hop was speaking of is an agent of ours that, until today, I thought had died roughly two and a half years ago. Speaker. I sent her and another agent, Talker, with a small contingent of armed guards to attempt negotiations with some of the local inhabitants to make some sort of treaty with them. When they failed to report back in two months I assumed the worst had happened and sent a lone scout to discover the source of their demise. The report I received was that they were slain by Island orcs. It is, in a way, fortunate to hear she is still alive, although I assume she will be worse for wear. Her recovery is now a top priority mission that is open for you all to partake in. However, I will warn you. If you need time to prepare, do it. It is best not to let anger outweigh proper judgment.”

You all receive your payment, save Dolah. Well, what do you want to do tonight?

>Go drink at The Sword and Shield
>Buy that elven cloak right now
>Go to Gale and talk about your reward

>>44202878
>>Buy that elven cloak right now

Also I believe pastebin just changed their format or something weird. So it might look all jumbled and shitty right now. I'll fix it soon.

>>44202878
>Go to Gale and talk about your reward
then
>Buy that elven cloak right now
Haggle.
We should also look for other interesting things.

>>44202878
>Ask Blackburn how much he trusted Speaker
Did she possess any magical abilities?
It may seem disrespectful of us, but we should consider the possibility that she may have gone rogue.
>Buy that elven cloak right now

>>44202878
>>Go to Gale and talk about your reward

Alright.

Roll me 1d100 +3 to try to haggle with the goblin selling the elven cloak, best of 3.

Writing!

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>44203143

Rolled 29 + 3 (1d100 + 3)

>>44203143

Rolled 35 + 3 (1d100 + 3)

>>44203143

Rolled 62 + 3 (1d100 + 3)

>>44203143

>>44203188
>>44203203
>>44203204
daddy would be disappoint.

>>44203220
We're haggling with a goblin man!! They're in a different league. Have to practically pry their wares from them, after tears, gold, and frankly a bit of pity on their part for the buyer.

You wait until the rest of your allies have left to go about their business. When it's just you and Blackburn alone in the room you decide to ask him some pertinent questions about Speaker.

“Did you trust her?” He looks at you as if you seem peculiar. He then sits and thinks for a bit before drinking some more of his brandy.

“About as much as I trust any of you, I'd say.” Which could mean not at all or a lot.

“Did she possess any magical abilities.” He shakes his head.

“No. She was merely an excellent linguist and was amazing with the orc tongue. She studied orcish culture on the Mainland.”

“Did she seem to particularly like it?” He laughs as you say that last part.

“Yes, I've entertained the notion she might have gone native. Highly unlikely, but of course, you realize, if she has, it's even more urgent that you find her. Most of the information she could give them would be outdated, but I appreciate the plugging of leaks.” Great, you're either going to save her or assassinate her. You give your farewells to Blackburn before heading to the shops.

They're closing soon and the goblin running the store with the elven cloak looks at your entrance like you've ruined his day. He was probably about to close up shop.

“Hello. I was the one in here about a week or so ago asking about the cloak. You said it was 2500 gold, right? Now, that seems a bit pricey to –”

“2500.” The goblin says to you curtly.

“Well, you see I would be a repeat customer if you granted me –”

“2500.” The goblin looks annoyed with you now as he raps his fingers on the counter he sits at. Looks like he isn't budging.

This will cost you a good portion of your gold.

>Buy it (600 gold left)
>Don't buy it

>>44203473
>Buy it (600 gold left)
oh well

>>44203473
>>Buy it (600 gold left)

>>44203473
>Buy it (600 gold left)
It would really help out. Let's make sure not to get it ripped.

>>44203473
>Buy it (600 gold left)
Fine, but I want the stand for it too!

Writing!

You can admit defeat. You get out your pouch and pay him his 2500 gold pieces. He counts it out before letting you take the cloak. It looks simple and gray, drab and unassuming. But the second you put it on and sinch up the hood you can feel yourself become less noticeable. You might need to find your next pay day relatively soon, but you can not say you didn't get your money's worth. The goblin shoos you out of the shop with your new purchase and puts the closed sign up.

It is coming up on night time. You could head to bed and start reading from one of your books. You could head to the Fighter's Guild and get your reward hashed out from Gale. You could also go get drunk at The Sword and Shield with your friends.

>Retire and read (specify)
>Get your reward from Gale
>Go to The Sword and Shield

>>44203804
>>Get your reward from Gale

>>44203804
>Get your reward from Gale

>>44203804
>Get your reward from Gale

File: le happy merchant.png (89 KB, 343x400)

89 KB PNG

>>44203804
>>Get your reward from Gale
Our merchant blood must not fail twice

Writing!

File: Fighter's Guild.jpg (1.32 MB, 1600x1200)

1.32 MB JPG

You head towards the Fighter's Guild on the east side of town. You decide to experiment with and play with your new cloak, blending in shadows and hiding from the random passersby that are heading home in the late evening. You feel amazingly good at staying hidden. People only see you when you want them too.

By the time you enter the Fighter's Guild you've pulled the hood back and stride confidently into the rambunctious chaos of THE CENTER FOR MARTIAL MASTERY or whatever.

You spot Macarn and Paul who come up to you immediately. They hand you a bag of coins.

“That's a combination of what we got for selling the nets and bolas back and a bit from Macarn's personal stash. Thank you so much for saving us.” You heft the thing. Paltry compared to the paydays you're used to now, but it's still quite a chunk of change. You give them your regards as you head to the table at the back where Gale is stationed.

He spots you a bit before you reach him and his eyes light up as he waves to you.

“Hey there Alan! You glorious motherfucker. You, my friend, are being upgraded to the gold membership.”

“What's that?”

“Something I just made up. You no longer have to worry about dues. I start spreading the reputation that it was Fighter's Guild members that are helping Seaside win this whole thing and I'll be rolling in new recruits. Other than that, I owe you a big one. Whatever it is, I'll try my best to get it to you.”

Well, what do you want?

>Money!
>Magic items! (Specify)
>Training! (Specify)

>>44204323
>Training! (Specify)
Whatever Gale's style of combat is. Spar with him.

>>44204323
>Training!
Anything and everything, but start off with whatever's he's specialized in.

>>44204323
>>Magic items! (Specify)
bag of holding?

>>44204323
>Training! (Specify)
The Guild will cover the costs of any martial training we want. All costs of training in house are waived.

Writing!

“Well, I'd like to have access to any training or trainer in the Fighter's Guild I want, all costs waived or paid for by the guild.” Gale puts his hand to his chin.

“Uhhhh, sure. Yeah, that shouldn't be too difficult. Yeah, costs are covered for that for you. Anybody or anything you want.” He goes back to writing on his ledger. He notices you still standing there looking at him expectantly and looks back up at you.

“I want you to teach me something.” He makes an 'oh' sound as he puts his quill down.

“Okay, so yeah, I could give you some basics on something. So, um, I could teach you how to use a great sword. I could also try to instruct you on the basics of fueling your combat ability with a focused battle rage. I could give you some tips on how to run faster. Obviously, not tonight though. It's coming up on ten at night and I've got inventories to go over. But, sure, in the day or something I would love to show you the ropes on some of what I've learned on the Island.”

>Battle rage
>Running faster
>Greatsword proficiency

AND

>Go read a book (specify)
>Go tap into your bloodline by feeling your pulse
>Go to The Sword and Shield to drink

>>44204665
>>Running faster

>Go tap into your bloodline by feeling your pulse

>>44204665
>Running faster
>Go tap into your bloodline by feeling your pulse

>>44204665
>Running faster
Jostar secret technique!
>Go tap into your bloodline by feeling your pulse

>>44204665
>Running faster
>>44204665
>Go tap into your bloodline by feeling your pulse

Alright.

Roll me 1d100 + 20, best of 3.

Writing!

Rolled 22 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>44204825
pls

Rolled 59 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>44204825
AWAKEN MY MASTERS

Rolled 92 + 20 (1d100 + 20)

>>44204825

File: Alternate Power.jpg (70 KB, 800x339)

70 KB JPG

>>44204860
So yeah, did we just tap into even more power that shouldn't be possible?

>>44204958
that would be a nat 100

>>44204825
did you fall asleep over there?

“I'd like to learn how to run faster.” He nods his head.

“Sure, if you want to you can meet me tomorrow in the morning and we'll go for a jog around the town.” You say your farewells and begin to leave the Fighter's Guild. You spot Kyra on the way out talking to some guy wearing odd-looking armor talking to her about how to use the katana. He utters the phrase “bushy dough” or something.

You make it back to the Circle and head up to your room. Ed waves hello to you from his bed where he is reading a book. You take up your meditative position and put your fingers to the pulse in your wrist.

You begin focusing on the push and pull of your body. Your heart pumps the blood through your veins and your pulse beats in your wrist and your ears as you focus. You spend many hours sitting there in total silence. Long after Ed falls asleep you are still sitting on your bed, wide awake and focused inwardly.

Maybe there was something to what that Flid guy was writing about knowing your ancestry. It's hard to just feel your blood pumping with energy when you don't know what that energy is meant to do or where it comes from. You are scared once more you are pissing your time away in futility. You have blood. Everyone has it.

But that's defeatism. And instead you try an alternative approach to your concentration. Maybe through deductive reasoning you can discover the source of you power. Or at least eliminate what it isn't.

Eve has an affinity for fire, she's partially immune to it and she can grow scales. She's descended from a dragon and it shows. What are you descended from? What's the power of your blood?

You are the son of a merchant who was the son of a merchant who was the son of a merchant. Generations back and your family was still merchants. There were no tales of your ancestors sleeping with nymphs or having some talent for magic.

Maybe you have some elf blood in you? I mean you've started to master an elven ability that Rowe says no human should be able to learn. But would that grant you power? No, then Quissonce would have some natural talent for magic that she quite clearly lacks. And besides you can feel that it's no amount of elf blood in your system that is letting you get by on four hours of sleep. You were just able to learn it.

Maybe that's it. I mean what sets you apart from every other mage. Every other fighter. Every other healer. It's that you can almost effortlessly, compared to them, master a multitude of different skills. Learning. What if that's what the source of your blood's power has granted you.

When you think about it, you're like a giant blank canvas that can easily paint whatever color you want on it. You take colors from the pallets of others and mix and match them to create the you that you want to be. The potential to be whatever you set your mind to becoming. You can take a pinch of elf's blood and grant yourself the ability to stave off sleep. You can absorb some of Gabby's fire to grant you strength. You can steal and spread some of Father Calloway's faith to wisen you beyond your years.

You can take elements of whoever you want to construct the person you need to be to save your country. You feel your blood begin to churn and pump and spread throughout yourself as you come to this realization.

You aren't just skilled at learning. Learning it all very well may be your destiny.


>End of Thread
I will most likely run this next time tomorrow or Thursday. https://twitter.com/TrickQM

>>44205246
We will become the god of knowledge and free the bonds that bind our world to ignorance of our greater potential.

>>44205275
Fuck that sentence is a mess. Time for sleep.

File: Knowing.jpg (110 KB, 379x596)

110 KB JPG

>>44205246
Just read the character sheet, and I am pumped! Pic related for learning (And Alan's PTSD). Also have we tried wearing the magic helmet yet. I see we have it in the saddlebags now, for some reason I just assumed we wore it when we put on our game face and armor for orc hunting. Did we and we just couldn't discern the effects. Or have we not cared enough to take it out? (after all Alan has had alot on his mind, what with constant Learning! and Adventure!)

File: Richard Anderson Party.png (1.58 MB, 1827x768)

1.58 MB PNG

>>44205246
>learn everything
So...MacGuyver?

>>44205341
Yeah, I'll admit I've yet to include an option to investigate it, but I'll make sure to include some in the near future.

>>44205246
Doppelganger ancestry? Perhaps one of those merchants wasn't as human as he looked like.

>>44205679
Or one of our ancestor was a genie.