"I must admit, I hadn't expected to encounter you here." Jenseits drawled casually, idly looking you over before sparing a similar glance of consideration to the brown haired serving girl at your side. "Are brunettes perhaps your preference? If I recall, Ari as well was..." Your frown deepens as you hear Jill softly echo that name as well, and you realize irritably that the longer you let Maran speak of her own accord, the more information Jill was going to be exposed to.

Couldn't Maran exist even once without being a pain in your ass?

"Hey, hey." Jill tugs at your sleeve, "Do you two know each other? Who is this girl?"

"Maran Jenseits." The pain in your ass introduces herself before you can answer, "Childhood friend of Irue's cousin. We are acquaintances of fortune." She bowed formally, showing off clothes that were painfully out of place in this village of common workers.

>What do you want, Jenseits?
>I've heard some interesting rumors. (Nightgaunts)
>I don't have time for this. (leave)
>How did you get in?
>Other? (write-in)

>>44493429
>I've heard some interesting rumors. (Nightgaunts)
>How did you get in?

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=valen+quest

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

Where things are asked:
http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
Basics of Mana - http://pastebin.com/V9b1DMrS
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE

Misc notes:Kumo ga nani got a manga adaption. Nai wai.

I've started thinking about a new quest idea.
Revolving mostly around a slippery slope. It would be far less political and broadly spanning as Valen, likely focusing a bit on... Well, horror isn't a good quest genre, but perhaps something a little macabre, or unsettling. A question of when you will stop making little concessions and compromises, and after realizing where it led you, would you try to justify yourself, or run? As is my preference, it would likely take inspiration from lovecraft, or a certain game of blood.

Just some idle thoughts. I don't know when, if ever, I would feel comfortable starting it. Valen is my primary focus, even if it's not very widely received.

>>44493429
>What do you want, Jenseits?
>I've heard some interesting rumors. (Nightgaunts)

>>44493429
>I've heard some interesting rumors. (Nightgaunts)
>How did you get in?

>>44493493
>>44493616
>>44493652
Heard some rumors.

>>44493652
>>44493493
But how did you get in?

>>44493616
And what do you want?

Writing.

"Cousin...?"

You ignore Jill for the moment, because as unwelcome as Maran's appearance is, you do have questions for her. First on your mind is...

"I've heard some interesting rumours tonight, Jenseits. Perhaps you can shed some light on them?" You pointedly cut into the conversation to break Maran's pace and take control of the conversation. The longer you let Maran speak freely, the more annoying you felt it would become for you, so the easiest solution was to simply keep her on the defensive with questions. "Seems like quite a few of the guards in Carona have started to go missing lately. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"Why would I know anything about missing guards?" She blinked at the abrupt redirection of the conversation, evidently having been caught flat-footed by the topic in the first place.

"They've only vanished at night in the past day or two, and the guards are saying that they go without a trace." You offer your suspicions towards Maran in the form of an explanation, watching her for some reaction to prove your assertions...

"...And?"

...But there is none. She just seems confused. "Given our mutual experiences in the past, I had wondered if it could be Nightgaunts." You decide to go for broke and freely admit the nagging possibility you had been considering. It elicited another confused murmur from Jill, and you try not to groan at the suspicious looks she had begun to give you from the side. "Oh, no, I doubt they have anything to do with it." Maran waved off the possibility without a second thought, "The guards here aren't really... Well, I'm sure you've seen what I mean. They're probably just abandoning their posts, or something."

"I had thought that as well, admittedly." You nod, idly noting she seemed to be aware the guards weren't strictly on the up-and-up. "But I heard an interesting story a few hours ago that made me have second thoughts."

You retell the story of the contact you were supposed to meet, leaving out particular details that would lead to more trouble than good, such as the fact he was your contact at all. "There were others there with him, and by eyewitness report, the man was forcibly dragged into the woods by something they couldn't see."

Maran crossed her arms as she listened, her initially uninterested face slowly shifting until your tale was concluded. "It sounds similar, but..." She narrowed her eyes in thought, staring down at the hard-packed stones of the street before the two of you. "A Nightgaunt wouldn't have abducted anyone." She states matter-of-factly, "You were there in the camp with me, remember? If it had been a Nightgaunt, that guard would have been taken then and there, not dragged away."

"If it's not a Nightgaunt, then what was it?" You riposte, "I hesitate to think there are more than one invisible creatures living in that forest."

"It doesn't necessarily have to be invisible." Maran disagreed airily, "You said the guards are disappearing at night? It could just be too dark for the guards to have seen it properly." She offers you a reasonable alternative explanation, one that you're forced to admit has some logical standings, but it doesn't answer the question of what was actually attacking the guards. "At any rate, why are you so concerned with what happens to the guards in this town?" Maran took the lull in conversation to ask her own question, leaving you at a loss for an answer.

Why DID you care?

You had knights still outside who would be easy targets for whatever this was, but you couldn't really admit that right now, could you? That left you with... What? Good natured concern over the state of Carona?

"...Did I say something funny?"

You quickly shift the unexpectedly abrupt bark of a laugh into something more arguably considered to be a coughing fit.

"Curiosity, mostly." You deflect vaguely, "When did you get here, if you don't mind me asking? Carona has been locked down for quite a while."

"Oh, that." Maran shrugged, "I came in much the same as you, I suppose. It isn't as if the guards at the front gate have any ground to stand on to deny someone like us entrance, you know? It's only a 'lockdown' for the less august personages. We can still come and go as we please."

...She said something unnecessary, and you could almost feel the hole being bored into you by Jill's stare now.

"As for me, I arrived just tonight. I have some business with the Shrine in town, you see. Unfortunately it was a bit late when I arrived, so I thought to spend the night relaxing and handle my business in the morn..." She shrugged, letting her gaze drift back over Jill and you, "Imagine my surprise to find you, and doing a peasant's work, at that. Shouldn't you still be back with Caylen?"

"...Caylen?"

Maran's running mouth was doing you no favours.

>Ask Jenseits for help (in regards to what?)
>You don't have time for this, you're leaving.
>Apologize to Jill, but you need to talk to Maran alone.
>Ask a question (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>44494349
>>Apologize to Jill, but you need to talk to Maran alone.

>>44494349
>Apologize to Jill, but you need to talk to Maran alone.
>Why are you here?

>>44494349
Maybe you can invent an excuse to get Maran out of this conversation?

>>44494431
>>44494449
Bye Jill!

>>44494574
Maran please go.

>>44494449
What business does Maran even have here?

"Sorry, but I remembered that I have some things I need to discuss with Jenseits." You speak aside to Jill, subtly urging her to leave. "I know I said I'd walk you home, but I hadn't expected to run into her so soon, and this is rather important, so..." She'd understand. Just by what she'd overheard, Jill must have already gotten the feeling that something bigger than her was being discussed between the two of you. Better for her to bow out now, than bite off more than she could chew.

"No."

You blink, staring blankly at Jill as she completely rejects that option. "What?" You can't even bring yourself to be mad, but baffled was an easy reaction.
"You think I'm just going to walk away from this?" She returns incredulously, "I don't know what's going on, but there's no way I can just go home after finding out I was working with Irue Valen!"

"...You know who I am?" The excitement in your voice was quickly dashed as Jill shook her head shamelessly. "Not a clue, but anyone knows who the Valens are, and she mentioned Caylen - That's gotta be Caylen Valen, right?" And like that you're back to staring flatly at the excited serving girl. You don't know why you expected something else at this point. "So if he's your cousin, then you're like... A bastard child? This has conspiracy written all over it!"

You want to raise a note of objection to being called a bastard child, but you feel like there were too many places to begin a retort. If you started now, it would probably cascade into a series of objections, and no matter how therapeutic that might feel, the middle of the streets was not the right place to do that.

"I promise, I won't tell a soul, but ya gotta let me in on this!"

>No, Jill. Go home.
>Ask Maran's opinion.
>Ask Maran if there's anything she can do to make Jill forget this.
>Reluctantly allow it.
>Other? (write-in)

>>44495059
>Reluctantly allow it.

>>44495059
>Reluctantly allow it.

>>44495059
>Reluctantly allow it.
>Swear Jill to secrecy on it

>>44495146
>>44495164
>>44495246
reluctantly.

>>44495246
but it's a secret.

As much as you want her to just leave... If you let her wander off now, who knows what kind of trouble would come later if she ended up spouting off this information to the wrong person. Even if you leave aside the trouble she could get herself in, the last thing you want is some unexpected party showing up out of nowhere while you're trying to do something and then calling you out.

...Kind of like Jenseits, really.

The last thing you want is another Jenseits.

"...Fine. You can stay, on one condition." It seems like you had just gained an unwanted helper, and you needed to be quick in laying down ground rules in order to properly establish who was in charge. If she started thinking she could just do as she pleased, it'd spell out all sorts of bad things. "Everything you learn, you keep to yourself. Don't tell anyone, do you understand?"

"Hm!"

"You absolutely must listen to what I tell you, when I tell you, understand?"

"Hm!"

"Are those your tastes, Irue?"

"Shut up, Jenseits." You spit the retort with the same begrudging familiarity of someone who had travelled through a forest by foot for a month together. In any formal setting, such a tone and choice of words may have warranted a complete breakdown of social etiquette... This was not a formal setting. This was the front door of a pub. Maran, for her part, took it in stride with a simple shrug and teasing smile. You ignore her for the moment to finish ensuring Jill understands the gravity of what she was shoving her nose into.

When all is said and done, Jill has been sworn to secrecy and hastily agreed to obey you. There's nothing particularly binding about this agreement, but you'll have to take it for what it's worth. You turn back to Maran only to find her eyeing the streets distractedly. "Oh? Is your little quarrel over?" She hums a brief acknowledgement of your attention, "Then I suppose we should take this elsewhere. Before we attract anymore attention."

You let your eyes roam the street, but find little amiss. Whatever Jenseits is seeing, there's nothing out of the ordinary to you. However, her plan was sound, and you didn't see any reason to object to it. "There's my apartment." Jill offers immediately, "We were going there anyway, and I'd be more than happy to have a Valen and a friend of the Valens stay there."

"While I've minor objection to becoming part of Irue's conquest, I suppose there would be no harm in forgoing my own steading tonight to join the two of you." Maran shrugs carelessly, her eyes slowly traveling away from the streets to rest back on you contemplatively. Something was going through her mind, but you had neither the knowledge nor circumstances to try and divine it right now. "Though, it would be a shame to have to cancel my lodgings at such a fine inn."

>To Jill's apartment
>To Maran's Inn room
>Other? (write-in)

>>44495837
>To Jill's apartment

>>44495837
>To Jill's apartment
Inns tend to have lots of prying ears and eyes, may as well take this somewhere less expected.

>>44495876
>>44495883
Off to Jill's place.

Writing.

You've little interest in taking this to Jill's apartment, but Inns were... Not exactly the most private of places. You sighed, motioning for the bubbly serving girl to lead the two of you on - Something she did immediately, her excited pace breaking away from the two of you easily as Maran followed along at a more sedate rate, sliding up next to you on the way.

"Jokes aside, I honestly didn't expect to see you here." Maran admitted quietly as she kept an eye on your energetic guide. "I'm not quite sure what to make of your... Hobbies."

"I've got my reasons." You reply in an equally low tone, "I came to check on the Tiers, among some other things, but..." You grimace, eliciting a knowing hum from Maran. "I started looking into it, and found that the more I dug, the more uneasy I started to become. There's something going on in Carona, and I don't like it." You shake your head, "The surprise IS mutual, though. What are you doing here?"

The last time you had seen Maran was just before charging the Oakenrue that was wrecking Dullem and the others outside of Caylen's estate. Sure you had heard her after that, but that only added to your list of questions.

"I told you, didn't I?" Maran quirks a brow, "I've business with the Shrine in town. It's a little time-sensitive, so I was hoping to get it done quickly."

"Time sensitive?" you can't help but echo back curiously.

"Oh, right. You've been a recluse all your life." Maran smiles baitingly at you, and to your credit, your only reaction is a small scowl. "The value of some things change with time, always remember that. Some things you learn may be useless to you now, but vital later." You already knew that. Mana bless, you learned that lesson so many times now that it's practically carved into you. "That doesn't mean values will only go up, though. If you hold on to something for too long, even if it was worth a fortune before, it'll be useless to you if you try to make use of it past it's time."

That... You knew that. Well, intellectually you knew that. You didn't need to be told something so obvious. "That doesn't answer what it was that was so time sensitive, though." You murmur back pointedly.

"I have some friends in an organization that would be particularly cross if something were to happen." She answered vaguely, sighing with a hint of irritability as she did so. "Some things have already gone off the rails, so I'm trying to make sure the rest is running smoothly before they arrive."

She didn't seem willing to share more than that, but something was trying to pry itself free from your memories as she spoke. An organization on friendly terms with Maran... Something had already happened?

>Ask about something else (what?)
>Ask how she knew the guards weren't legitimate
>Ask about Nightgaunts
>Tell her about Rinnier and your Knights
>Tell her about Asche and Kara
>Tell her about Dullem and Ari
>Tell her about the Atelier
>Tell her everything
>Other? (write-in)
>>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

>>44496350
>>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
Something Prophet related, or whatever that was?

>>44496350
>Ask how she knew the guards weren't legitimate
>Tell her about Asche and Kara
She doesnt need to know about our knight fiasco, lost 3rd testament, or our cool new icebox house.

>>44496493
Asking about guards

>>44496493
Talking about Asche and Kara.

Writing.

>>44496350
Of course I get back home right after the voting window closes. I'm a little bit distressed, that forgetting thing was clearly Artemis.

You shake your head. As much as you tried, you couldn't seem to remember. The first thought to come to mind was just the prophet business she and Caylen seemed to be involved in, but... She had said organization. Unless you were seriously misunderstanding, and the prophet was actually a council of Seers, you're pretty sure that wasn't related. With no direction to go on, you simply let the topic drop as the two of you continued to follow after Jill.

You'd probably be arriving at her house soon, and you take a glance up ahead to see if she was still cheerfully leading the way. Nothing seemed to have changed, as the brunette serving girl's excited smile seemed like it was very much about to devour her own face if it could get much bigger... But she was focused on wandering home, so you supposed you still had some time to talk... But talk about what? You didn't see any point in telling Maran about your time in the Atelier, or the incident in the mineshaft. There was still Rinnier, but...

No, that would lead back to the knights. You mentally shake the thought away as your lips purse in thought.

"Remember how I said I came to look into the Tiers?" You finally start in on your explanation of 'why' you were in Carona. The initial reason, rather than your current activities. Of your order initially, and the splitting up of you and your Testament. How you hadn't heard a word in response from Kara or Asche since, and, with a few omitted details, how you had come to the conclusion that something had happened.

Naturally, you felt no need to inform Maran that you had held a meeting with an attendant of Luna earlier that day.

"It's always your Testaments with you, isn't it?" Maran shook her head lightly at the end of your story. "Honestly, I should have known. Do you move for any other reason?"

"I move for plenty of reasons." You sniff, "This just happens to be related to my Testaments."

"Mm." Maran offered a noncommital hum in return.

Not long after your talk had concluded, the three of you arrived at Jill's apartment. It was... A place. You're not sure what you were expecting. You had no hopes, and this still managed to disappoint you somehow. Jill unlocks the door and goes ahead of you, quietly announcing "this is it!" As she stepped inside, followed by an unperturbed Maran who didn't seem to mind.

Were you the only one disturbed by how basic this place was? It was liveable, sure, but everything inside was so... Hard. And wooden. And unpolished. There was some stone wear in here, but you feel like it hadn't been moved or properly cleaned since it had been installed.

"Please don't mind the mess!" Jill chirped a little embarrassedly as she busied herself about the main room of the apartment, picking up the occasional dirty dish or discarded article of clothing and distributing them roughly to their appropriate spots - Another room, and what looked to be a bucket of water respectively.

A bucket of water. She didn't even have a sink. You look to Maran, but she seems to have already made herself at home, and were you the only one bothered by this?

"Oh my." Maran smirked up at you condescendingly, "You seem lost, Irue. How far removed ARE you...?"

You scowl at her, finding your own place to sit as Jill excitedly makes her way back into the main room. There are a few wooden chairs, a table, and some shoddily knit blankets. She sets down a hastily gathered platter with a loaf of bread on it and some dried meats. "I wasn't expecting company, but I got some snacks!" She announced it brightly, displaying the unappetizing rations before the two of you as she settled in herself.

...Unexpectedly, she didn't say much after that.

You had already discussed things with Maran on the way here, so what now?

>Discuss your plans going forward
>Make up idle talk until you can go to sleep
>Ask Jill something (what?)
>Ask Maran something (what?)
>Other? (Write-in)

>>44497006
This was the correct answer, but as you said, the window closed. I'm sorry, anon.

>>44497137
>Discuss your plans going forward
>(Maran) So about that shrine business?

>>44497137
>Make up idle talk until you can go to sleep

I don't feel comfortable talking to Maran in front of Jill.

or at all, really.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>44497164
Discussing things!

>>44497299
...Not discussing things!

We're bringing in the new year with dice...?

You put your discomfort aside as you make temporary peace with the fact you were about to openly discuss your plans going forward with Maran Jenseits of all people... And in front of an uninvolved peasant, at that. One you had tried not to involve, before Maran and shown up and needlessly ran her mouth, and said peasant had unexpectedly stubborned her way into the conversation.

"Then, going forward." You decide to seize the initiative and take control of the conversation. "My goal is to find Asche and Kara. I've been trying to gather informa-"

You pause at the unexpected squeal and blink at Jill, as she claps her hands over her mouth with a blush. "Sorry, I got excited." She admitted meekly, "I'll be quiet."

"....Trying to gather information on where they could be, but it's led down some interesting rabbit holes." You finished flatly, turning your attention back to Maran. "The fire at the Tier estate, the new guards, the lockdown of Carona, everything traces back to the Mayor in one way or another."

"So you plan to arrest him?" Maran suggested offhandedly. "Arrest and interrogation seems the most straight forward thing to do."

"How exactly would I arrest the Mayor?" You deadpan.

"Walk up to his manor and declare him arrested?" She replies owlishly, "You may be a recluse, Irue, but if a Valen says it, then it's effectively law in this town." You stare at each other uncomprehendingly, a vital misunderstanding being exchanged between you. "Jill?" You finally speak up, "Who am I?"

"A bastard child of the Valen family?" She answers plainly, and you shrug at Maran as she starts to crack up across from you. It takes several more minutes of her laughing before she's finally calmed herself down enough to speak again, and in the meantime you hang your head as Jill looks on in confusion, a scowl working across her face upon realizing she had said something wrong.

"Alright, I see the problem. You don't actually have any authority here, then... Well, this is what you get for being a recluse all your life, you know?"

"I don't want to hear it, Maran. It's not like it was a choice I made in the first place."

"Hm... I suppose not." She nods to herself, an amused smile still playing across her lips that you really wished you could reach over and forcibly wipe off. "Well, that does leave you in quite the predicament, then. You're effectively a nobody against the Mayor, then... And if the guards are what we think they are, then 'law' flew out the window some time ago. I don't suppose it will be of any particular help." These were all things you had thought yourself, but hearing Maran recite them aloud certainly put your situation in a rather grim light.

"Well, you could always ask your cousin to do it for you. It would perhaps take some time to contact him again, but it would get the job done."

"I don't have the time to waste waiting." You shake your head, offering a half-truth as you deny involving Caylen. Especially after what had brought you here in the first place.

"Well, if it's not Valen's authority, and you can't rely on the law, what other options do you have?" Maran asked, "Hope for royalty? They'd take even longer, if they even came. Your best bet would be to appeal to the Shrine to act on your behalf."

If the Shrine moved, the mayor would be forced to react, this was definitely true, but at the same time... You'd need hard evidence to get them to move. Hard evidence, or the influence promised to you after the meeting tomorrow finalized your trade. Alternatively... "You said you had business with the Shrine, did you not?" You raise your head marginally, "How important is it?"

"Direly." She responded without missing a beat, "For myself, and others, it's my utmost priority that I get this resolved." You had already asked her once what it was about, and she wasn't willing to share, but she insisted it was of extreme importance.

You wonder if she could do something about Roderick, but if you bring him up then it's opening a whole new can of metaphorical worms, and then it might lead to you having to explain about Rinnier's current predicament... Which could trace back to other things. You sighed, one hand rubbing at your forehead tiredly to stave off the impending headache.

You had a rough outline of a plan before this. Talking with Maran was just distracting you... Even if she would cooperate, you're not sure whether it'd be a help or hindrance to you at this point.

>Ask if she can try to move the Shrine on your behalf
>Ask if Maran can interfere with the Mayor
>Stick to your original plans. Involving Maran is too much of a pain.
>Other? (write-in)

>>44497701
>Ask if Maran can interfere with the Mayor
Outside of that, we
>Stick to your original plans. Involving Maran is too much of a pain.

>>44497701
>>Stick to your original plans. Involving Maran is too much of a pain.

>>44497737
>>44497752
Sssscrew it, you already have a plan. Go away, Maran.

>>44497737
Taking advantage of an unexpected maybe ally?

Writing.

After a while, you shake your head. You had plans, and you already had the resolve and a kind of idea as to how to accomplish them when you were working alone. Involving Maran at this point would just be too much of a pain to do, and would restrict what you were already capable of... And that's assuming she cooperated. You don't even know if she'd be anything but a hindrance at this point.

"Good luck with that, then." You finally say, unwilling to ask Maran for help. She seems to take exception to the answer, visibly caught off-guard as if she had been expecting something else entirely, but in mere moments she seems to have shaken it off and nodded in acceptance. "Same to you, Irue. I hope this business with your Testament goes well."

You exchanged vague niceties, barely feeling any genuine good will behind the ones given or received, and then indulge a few more moments of idle talk before Maran excuses herself for the Inn she had planned to stay at initially. You bid her farewell, distantly grateful she hadn't seen fit to leave a passing barb about slumming as she did so, and then return to your thoughts.

Like an ill omen, Maran had walked into the night and given you a headache just by existing. You wished you could just forget about everything that just happened, and you certainly would have made an effort to, if it weren't for...

"So... The Mayor, huh?"

...Jill, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest and draped in a ragged blanket. You had clearly made the decision to NOT involve her, and then Maran happened. Maran and her Shade damned mouth. "Yes." You agree tiredly, closing your eyes as you lean back against the unforgivingly hard wooden chair. "I kinda thought it was weird that we found all those new guards so quick. No one even recalled seeing most of 'em before they showed up." She continued to talk aloud to herself, eyes bright as she added her own thoughts to the conversation she had just sat in on.

"Why did she say you were a recluse?" You frown, eyes still closed as the expected but still unwanted questions begin to pour out. "Who is Maran, anyway? She seemed important." You needed to think of some way to dump this nosey girl elsewhere and get back to work. "You're not really a bastard, are you? What's your story?" You had promised her to secrecy, but there was nothing particularly binding there. You could just as easily kill her now, to make sure it stayed a secret. "What's a Testament?"

"...What?" You open your eyes slowly to stare at the inquisitive, if diminuitive, brunette across from you as she smiled excitedly, "A Testament. Those people you mentioned, Asche and Kara, those are Testaments right? What is that? I've never heard of a rank like that, it sounds important."

"...Why do you even know that word?"

"I was listening, duh." Jill stuck her tongue out at you childishly, "I've got really sharp ears, so I heard everything on the way here. Maran said you only ever moved for your Testament, so they gotta be something really important, right?"

She was... No, there was no way. She had stayed far in front of you that entire time. You and Maran both had kept watch on her, she hadn't shown a single sign of hearing you. "Forget everything." You order tersely, jaw setting as you place your hands on the table and move to stand. "It's better you don't get involved in any of this, or you'll just find trouble."

"Hey, that's not fair at all! How am I supposed to just keep doing my thing after hearing all this?!"

"Not my problem. It's better for us both if you just stay out of it."

You scooted the chair back against the table and made your way to the door, shaking your head in dismissal. Killing her would be safer, but you're not that hard. You'd have to trust her to keep her word.

"What if I can help?"

"You can't."

"What if I could get you underground?"

"I don't need it." You already had a lead in that regard, thanks to Mim.

"...What if I could find your Testament!"

>Leave
>Listen
>Other? (write-in)

>>44498114
>>Listen

>>44498134
This. Writing!

You halt at the door, despite all your second thoughts and better mind to just leave it be and go. You want to leave, you want to go back to what you were doing, but you can't move your foot forward. You close your eyes, drawing in a deep breath as you grip the door and turn back around to face the excitable serving girl perched half-way out of her chair. "I'm listening." You sigh your response, watching dispassionately as her face lights up.

"Alright, so I may not be able to personally find them, but I might know someone who can. Or, someone who knows someone who can. Or someone who... You get the idea." She gives you a lopsided smirk, "I hear a lot of stuff, and meet a lot of people, you know? Give me some time and I guarantee I can find these... Testament people of yours."

...She did work at a pub. You suppose that would put her profession of information handling relatively below an attendant of Luna, but... Still probably better than most other people. However, time was the one thing you didn't have a lot of. You had two more days to get things done before you had to deal with the Mayor's appointment to lead you to Rinnier. Then again, if you could leave finding Asche and Kara to her, while you focused on Rinnier...

"..Two days." You mutter, giving Jill a rough idea of your timeline. "If you can't find them in two days, then there's no difference in me having done it myself."

"Two days." She answered confidently, "I can definitely do it in two days, just give me a chance, you won't regret it!"

You were already regretting it, so you sincerely doubted the last article of her claim already.

>Give her a chance, what's the worst that could happen?
>No, you're not doing this. Getting her involved will just be trouble.
>Other? (write-in)

>>44498422
>>Give her a chance, but please be careful.

>>44498422
>Give her a chance, what's the worst that could happen?

I don't think we'd be able to talk her out of this, at this point, so.

>>44498431
>>44498441
Giving Jill a chance. Why not?

"Fine." You were going to regret this. You knew for a fact you were going to regret this, but could she even be talked out of it if you say no? With the enthusiasm she had shown, and that stubborn turnabout earlier, you didn't think anything you said at this point was going to stop this girl from getting involved one way or another. Even if you told her off, she'd just do it of her own accord. "But, ground rules."

If you were going to have her involved either way, you'd have to slip a leash on her sooner rather than later. That, at the very least, she had been agreeable to earlier - And now, again, as you laid out your conditions for her involvement, she was quick to say yes to anything you told her if it meant she could stay involved.

What a troublesome meddler Maran had inadvertently saddled you with. You noted it down mentally as another reason you didn't like your cousin's choice in friends.

"I'll accept you helping me, but you must promise to be careful, understand?" You crossed your arms matter-of-factly, "No matter why you seem so hellbent on being involved in this, it is NOT your problem. If you hurt yourself or put yourself in danger by pushing too far, it's just going to cause me more problems."

"Aye!"

"All I'm agreeing to is for you to FIND the Testament. Nothing more. Don't try to rescue them, don't try and smuggle them out, don't do anything unnecessary."

"Aye!"

"If you find anything, you report it to me. Even if you can't find more than a lead, that's more than enough. Don't chase leads that could get you in trouble, just tell me about it."

"Aye!"

Your ground rules continue spill from your mouth, mostly reinforcing previous ones and covering new and scenarios that occurred to you. Regardless of what you said, there was only that same, never-fading cheerful cry of confirmation from Jill. After a while, you finally wound down. It was getting too late for you to continue, and the last 'aye' had been a yawn.

"Any questions?"

"Do all nobles nag this much, or is it just you, sugar?"

You stare at brunette as she waited cheekily for an answer to her rather blunt question. "I don't have to let you help, you know."

"No, no!" She shook her head, "I just... I mean, you're the only noble I've actually met, you know? Outside of the Shrine and the Mayor, probably one of the few people in Carona period. You're just..." She struggles to find the words, wrapping her fingers around the edge of the chair as she looked you over appraisingly once more. "...Not what I expected, I guess."

"...?" You tilt your head, silently motioning her to continue. She brushes back her hair with one hand as the previously excitable serving girl seemed to slump back onto her calves as she knelt in the chair. "Lord Caylen lives nearby, but no one but the Tiers have really interacted with the Valen family. That Maran girl said it already, but it's a fat chance you'll ever find any royals out here. Everyone kinda builds their own little expectations in their head about what nobles and the royalty are like."

"Reality rarely matches up with your imagination." You offer dryly, watching Jill shrug. A small, self-depreciating smile slipped across her face as she finished looking at you and glanced away.

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't."

Jill's apartment falls into an awkward silence as the conversation drops off. You're still not sure you're okay with this, but there's nothing else left for you to say... And nothing else Jill seems to want to say.

You turn to leave, this time going unstopped, and pause one final time as you open the door. Part of you wonders if you should thank her for volunteering to help you, but... In the end, you shake your head and leave, clicking the door shut behind you as you descend back into the deserting night time streets of Carona. No matter how helpful she was trying to be, you've got a bad feeling about this.

File: ValEnd.gif (1023 KB, 500x281)

1023 KB GIF

But it was something you'd have to put aside for now. You still had things to do. Tomorrow was a meeting with the Shrine to finalize your information trade, and you still needed to find a way to smuggle your knights in.

End of the First Day.
48 Hours Remain.
___

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

And we are archived.

Thread is being cut a little short, but there was a larger turnout than I expected for new years eve! Thanks for spending your time playing with me, and I hope you had fun.

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

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

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

Next thread will be the next day, finally.