"The knight captain approaches."

Asche's warning sounded off from just behind you, your m/aid having taken up her customary position to your left as if the months of separation hadn't changed a thing. You tear your eyes away from the view of the township below, as well as your overlaid fantasy of a pit of flames consuming the place, and turn back to see your knight captain approaching with a resigned gait.

"Nice view, huh?" Dullem brings a hand up to cover his eyes as he takes in the sweeping grassy plains around Carona, "Too much open field, I think. My old village was squat between the woods and the sea." He smiled nostalgically, letting his hand drop as he shook his head. "Can't say I like being able to see forever... At any rate, the knights are nearly ready... But what exactly am I supposed to tell them we're doing here?"

This is a strategy meeting! Once things get underway, you won't be able to change orders very easily, if at all, so it's important your forces know what you expect of them. As this is the first time you're a potential war effort, there are some things to go over briefly.

http://pastebin.com/hGhUA4wf


>Ask Dullem for an overview of the field
>Split your forces (between who?)
>Leave your forces with one Commander (who?)
>You'll handle this yourself, just stay outside and out of sight.
>Other? (write-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
Leadership - http://pastebin.com/hGhUA4wf

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:Final day, we've hit the raid; The end of the Arc approaches.

>>45546430
>Ask Dullem for an overview of the field
Let's get our captain's opinion first. Never hurts, right?

>>45546430
>>45546670
Seconding. Gotta start somewhere.

>>45546670
Writing.

>>45546463
>http://pastebin.com/hGhUA4wf

Oh Riz, teasing us with the abilities we've failed to acquire.

You bad, bad person.

"What does the ground out here look like?" You had plans running through your head as to what to do, but you needed more information.

"Well, it is what it looks like I guess." Dullem shrugged, a weight sagging his shoulders down as he looked past you a bit more attentively. "Flat plains all around means there isn't much place to hide besides those burned down ruins. This place isn't exactly a center of trade either, if you know what I mean; There are only two roads to this town, and since the place is all walled up, that means there's exactly two ways in... Well, barring any more of that underground nonsense."

He grimaced at that, evidently remembering his last two experiences with going under the earth anywhere around Carona. Given how far your web had managed to expand yesterday, you figured there was a good chance of there a secret entrance to Carona being accessible through the Mausoleum... But you weren't sure if it was worth it. That place was large and navigating it alone was a dangerous chore, not to mention what else might be lurking down there.

"The town is surrounded by pretty high walls, making those two roads the only ways directly in or out. From what we learned from the guys that girl snatched with the wood thing, seems like its got plenty of archers up on it." You hum in acknowledgement, that information correlating well with what little you had seen on your trip up onto the wall from the inside. "Ground's muddy after last night, too. Not bad for hunting in, but I'd hate to have to try and fight or run in this muck."

You glanced around a bit. What had gone unspoken was exactly where you were standing - One of the two roads leading away from Carona was the one which traveled into the forest you lived in, beyond the woodline you and your knights were currently biding your time inside of.

The forest actually sat up on relatively steep higher ground than anything else, which evidently was supposed to give you a tactical advantage due to your passing knowledge of warfare picked up while in Caylen's library. With the ground as muddy as it was, forget difficulty in climbing this incline, you wondered if anyone could even make it up the damn thing without slipping.

Then there was the forest itself. Your knights had lived in these woods for who knows how long, and were hunters before that. They weren't trained in any sense of the word for warfare... But if it was in the woods, they were at least in their element. Ambushes and guerilla operations were things you knew they could do. If it came to a siege... Hahaha. You remember exactly what a siege from these guys looked like; They pitched tents at the front door and sat there.

Then even if you ignored your men, you had seen first hand just what Ari had done with the Oakenrue in these woods.

"If it comes down to a fight, I'd rather not leave the woods." Dullem concluded after a while, "I don't know that we can force our way in."

"I can open the gate." Ari corrected, beaming hopefully at you as she tightened her grip on the walking stick you had left in her care. "Do you want me to?" Dullem paled a little at her suggestion, still visibly offput by having to be around the thing that ruined their 'siege'.

"The better question is what do you plan to do?" Your knight captain pushed along quickly, eliciting a tiny frown from Ari as you turned your attention back to him questioningly. "You got us together, but you can't expect us to just attack the town, right? I thought we were getting out of this brigand business by joining up behind you."

Naturally you planned to save Rinnier today, and if possible, continue throwing Roderick under the bus to accomplish that... But what else were you planning? There was certainly another Adept to handle waiting for you in Carona, as well as Luna only knows how many mercenaries lining their purse with the Mayor's coin.

Then there was the Mayor himself, who had perpetrated a direct offense against House Valen by driving out and killing the Tier family. While that was a problem on principle, the fact he had abducted Rinnier to blame it on was unforgivable... Even if you didn't count the times his goons attacked you. If you couldn't burn Carona to the ground, you'd at least bury him.

...Which meant making a direct enemy of every mercenary in Carona.

>I just want to save Rinnier and get out.
>I'm going to make the Mayor choke on everything he's done.
>I'm tired of getting bitten by this town; It's time to bite back.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45547616
>>I just want to save Rinnier and get out.
and
>I'm going to make the Mayor choke on everything he's done.
>He's attacked me, my family name, my testament, and my piece of mind. He wants to test a Valen's resolve, he can deal with the consequences. Unlike you Dullem, he is not a good nor honorable man. I have nothing for him but the punishment he deserves.

>>45547616
>>I just want to save Rinnier and get out.
with a side order of
>I'm going to make the Mayor choke on everything he's done.
Cause fuck that guy.

>>45547616
>I'm going to make the Mayor choke on everything he's done.

It's dangerous, but he's evidently a part of some conspiracy against house Valen. Leaving him be could be more dangerous.

>>45547616
>I just want to save Rinnier and get out.
>I'm going to make the Mayor choke on everything he's done.
In a way these go hand in hand. The first one's just (part of) the reason for the second.

>>45547688
>>45547755
>>45547946
Saving Private Rinnier.

>>45547688
>>45547755
>>45547885
>>45547946
We are literally going to choke the Mayor.

>>45547688
Angry Valen intensifies.

Writing.

"The Mayor is going to answer for everything he's done." You reply without missing a beat, "He's actively plotted against my family in the very land they look after, out of some misguided sense of patriotism." You crane your neck back to glare down at Carona, "The same sense of misbegotten good intentions that's going to doom every citizen down there to the royal's retribution the moment word of his actions get to the wind."

"I guess you can't help but act on your family name..." Dullem groused, scratching at the back of his neck nervously, "But the entire town seems..."

"Not the town, the Mayor specifically." you shook your head, "My aunt and uncle trusted this man to oversee this place, and he is the one that failed; Not the people living here. He'll be the one to pay the price." You raise your chin imperiously and snort dismissively, "That it works to the benefit of my family is simply a convenient perk, I'm doing this for my reasons."

"Eh?"

"His men attacked me, abducted Rinnier, tried to use Kara against me, and imprisoned Asche." You tick off the offenses on your fingers one by one, "I am no one's savior, if he thinks he can act however he wants then I'll relish the opportunity to be the first to show him the consequences."

"..." Your knight captain makes a face at you, but shakes his head in the end. "If you're going after the Mayor then those mercenaries aren't going to be happy. He's their paycheck in this place."

"With any luck I'll be able to bypass most of them." You shrug, "I have something set up with the Shrine inside that should put me and a few others right next to him when the evidence comes out."

"What about after?" Dullem's question makes you blink, "Say you catch him, he's still their paycheck. Some of them might stand down, but you're definitely going to have an entire city of upset sellswords if that money gets cut off. Unless someone is in there to keep them in place, they mas well own the town."

"Us?"

"How do you expect us to get inside? We can't do anything if we're all out here," Dullem wrings his hands as he tries to think it over, "And look, even if we do get inside, these guys are mercenaries. They probably out number us, they've been in town longer, we're not going to have much of a chance outside of making it seem like too much trouble."

"Not an issue. In the case of being inbetween leadership and sanctioned authority, the Shrine takes control of the safety and well being of the settlement until a replacement is appointed." You smirk, information about the Shrine flowing out of your memories freely. "As I'm working with them in the first place, I expect they'll be able to strong-arm the mercenaries into behaving themselves... Or leaving."

"You want to let them go?" Ari pipes up curiously, tugging gently at your sleeve to get your attention.

They were just paid for this, so it's not like it's their fault... However what they've been paid for is essentially rebellion. Letting them go would be the easiest, but if you could actually apprehend them somehow, you might be able to get something out of it.

>I want you inside, to help pacify the mercenaries.
>I want you outside to catch the mercenaries if they try to leave.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45548857
>>I want you outside to catch the mercenaries if they try to leave.

>>45548857
>>I want you outside to catch the mercenaries if they try to leave.
We might need Ari's sttick for the adept, but... prizes

>>45548857
>I want you outside to catch the mercenaries if they try to leave.
Try not to hurt them.

>>45548857
>>I want you inside, to help pacify the mercenaries.
No need to start something we don't have a great chance of winning. The moment they realize they might be in trouble and that they have better/more men than us, they'll fight it out and run.

>>45548857
>I want you inside, to help pacify the mercenaries.
We can't buy out the mercenaries with our lack of money, and they have numerical and qualitative advantage in battle. We should just leave them a way out and make alternative options seem too risky.

>>45549013
>>45549106
>>45549115
Catching sellswords!

>>45549123
>>45549140
Peacekeeping!

Writing.

So, gents. How do we capture/subdue a hardened military force with our smaller, less experienced band of farmers and hunters? Threatening them with The Stick might do it, but it might also produce a knee-jerk "KILL IT" reaction.

You rolled the idea around in your head a bit, but... "No, I don't." On one hand, they were an armed and potentially hostile force with far more actual experience than any of your knights, and far better gear. Facing them head on would be suicide without help, and attacking them even with the help of the Shrine would still cause a lot of casualties.

On the other hand, they had no allies and were simple sellswords. They owed no one allegiance, had little loyalty beyond coin, and were more like a group of individuals with a similar goal than an organized fighting force. "I trust the Shrine's support to handle the mercenaries inside the city, so I want everyone else to get in position outside. We'll put them between two walls and force them down."

"You're putting us against all of those mercenaries?" Dullem groaned, "There's no way we can do much more than stall them out on the plains."

"What about the woods?" You purse your lips, "If they fled down this road, as opposed to the other, then what?"

Dullem sighed, opening his mouth... Only to close it in frustration as he looked back at the rest of your knights, and then towards Carona stressfully. "We're hunters, we might be able to pick them off... But unless the girl and her stick are around, I don't think we'll be able to hold anything."

"Ari?" You turn back to the timid girl, "Do you think you can help?"

"Yes!"

...You wondered if Ari actually had any idea what she was and wasn't capable of, or if she was just volunteering to be helpful. For that matter, how could you be sure the mercenaries would exit one way or the other...? Or even all of them out of a single exit? Dullem seemed adamant that they might barely be able to handle one entrance even with the full group.

Your eyes drifted back to Ari's enthusiastic face.

Was there any reason she had to stay with knights...?

>Split your Forces to cover each exit.
>Focus your Forces on the entrance leading into the plains.
>Focus your Forces on the entrance leading into the forest.
>Leave Ari to handle one entrance on her own, while someone else marshals your Forces at the other.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45549740
>>Focus your Forces on the entrance leading into the forest.

>>45549740
I don't want to leave Ari by her lonesome at the mercy of an assload of mercs, magic stick robot or otherwise, so i choose to
>Focus your Forces on the entrance leading into the forest.
That way if they choose to flee into the forest, we can can marshal against them and have a decent chance to stop them, and our guys will be in their element. Yeah, chance for them to run the other way, but we wont lose anyone on the home team at least.

>>45549740
>>Leave Ari to handle one entrance on her own, while someone else marshals your Forces at the other.
Ari says she can help, may as well put that to the test.

>>45549740
>Focus your Forces on the entrance leading into the forest.

Safety first

>>45549805
>>45549876
>>45550023
Into the forest!

>>45549949
I choose you, Arichu!

Writing.

"Alright, keep the knights hidden in the forest and waiting." You relay your orders after a moment's thought. If you could catch the mercenaries then that would be ideal, but you weren't willing to risk losing your knights - Or Ari - Over greed. "I don't have any interest in them particularly, so whether you capture them alive or kill them is entirely up to you."

Dullem swallowed at that, seemingly unnerved by the blaise order to simply kill them if they it was more convenient. He caught your eyes briefly, but if he had an objection to the decision, he wasn't going to voice it. After a moment's pause, you turn your crimson eyes back down to Ari as you ran your fingers through her hair absently. "You'll get your chance to help still, don't worry. I don't want to risk losing anyone over some mercenaries."

The timid Testament hums a neutral acknowledgement, bowing her head as she did so.

"Are you planning on going back in alone?" Dullem broke in.

Who are you taking with you?
>Asche
>Ari
>Dullem
>No one
People taken with you can't be assigned as Commanders to your forces outside, but CAN be assigned as a Commander to the Force still inside Carona.

>>45550299
>>Asche
>>Ari
3/5 of the original crew. Nothing can go wrong!

>>45550299
>>Asche

>>45550299
>Asche

Let's not take Ari where she may have to physically exert.

>>45550299
>>Asche
>>Ari

>>45550091
>Ari
Time to help, Ari.

>>45550299
>Asche

>>45550337
We work alone.

>>45550338
>>45550349
>>45550387
>>45550392
>>45550426
Asche is our left hand maid.

>>45550338
>>45550392
>>45550408
Can't leave Ari behind.
---
Asche is locked in.
1. Take Ari as well
2. Leave Ari with Dullem

Writing in about 10m with the default assumption that you wanted her taken with.

>>45550549
>2. Leave Ari with Dullem

>>45550549
>2. Leave Ari with Dullem

>>45550549
2. Leave Ari with Dullem
Leaving her behind with the knights should help bolster them if the mercs swing their way.

>>45550549
>2. Leave Ari with Dullem
Oakenrue will be better utilized if Cullen is there to tell Ari how to properly apply it

"Asche is coming with me." You reply immediately, "I should be fine."

You glance over at the placid m/aid, finding little acknowledgement in your declaration besides her head rising minutely. She nods calmly at you, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement. "Ari, I need you to stay out here with Dullem."

She doesn't outright object, but way her grip tightens on your shirt as she mumbles 'Master' plaintively tells you that she's decidedly less than thrilled about this. "You just came back..."

"I'll come back again." You assure her, with an short laugh, "But I need you out here to help protect my knights. If the mercenaries do come towards the forest, they may not be able to handle them all on their own; That's where you come in."

"...Yes." One crestfallen sigh of agreement later, you've convinced Ari to support Dullem and your knights in their potential encounter with fleeing mercenaries. With that final matter resolved, you had pretty much finished your strategy meeting for the morning, which just left... Getting back inside. You couldn't exactly call Priat back to you from out here, and they wouldn't let you in with the face you were wearing. That only left you a few options to choose from...

The simplest solution was to make use of Diary of Reflections. As long as you looked like someone important, or even as your alter-ego for dealing with the Shrine, the guards would have to let you inside. It seemed simple enough a solution on the surface, except... You weren't sure if you could handle using the Relic right now. There were too many emotions associated with it, and you could barely bring yourself to look at the thing, much less use it to wear that face, without becoming disgusted.

There was always the option of letting Asche be the one to use the Relic and simply bring you in along behind her as a guest. She didn't seem to have any of the problems with it that you did, but you weren't sure if you really wanted anyone using that Relic anymore. That might also be dangerous if they were still after you since that time you bit Roderick...

You could also feasibly try to muddle your way into Carona via the passages beneath the Mausoleum, using your web as a map. You don't even know if there's really an entrance down there, but the odds seem fairly likely. Thanks to your web you doubt you'd get lost any time soon, but it might take longer to find your way.

Finally, if you were thinking about things you got from the Atelier, you could probably just teleport directly inside if you wanted to, thus removing the need to use the Relic at all... Except you weren't sure if that counted as a group thing, or just yourself. Worst case scenario, Asche could still probably get in on her own and meet up with you.

>Use the Relic
>Walk in behind Asche
>Just Teleport
>Other? (write-in)

>>45551027
>>Just Teleport

>>45551027
>Ask Asche if she can get back into the city without you and meet with you at the temple.
If the answer is yes, then
>Just Teleport
Although try to take her with you if possible. IF the answer is no, then
>Walk in behind Asche
Asche could knock together a cover story for having a misbehaving, priest-biting, wildcat of a noble with her while disguised using the Diary.

>>45551027
>Other
Give Relic to Asche. Try to teleport together. If it fails, Asche can use the Relic and meet up with us.
Don't forget to designate a meeting location.

>>45551071
>>45551129
>>45551108
Teleportation!

Hahaha.. Okay.

Writing.

File: GMXOAHK.gif (216 KB, 320x240)

216 KB GIF

>>45551235
Why do I have this foreboding premonition...

>>45551313
Are you ready for all our bones to break?

>>45551235
OH FUCK I REMEMBERED WHY THIS IS A BAD IDEA NOW

>>45551369
Two Irues killed in as many threads.
Stability is the sign of a professional.

>>45551447
Professional Irue killers?

>>45551551
Any professional.

You'd prefer to avoid using the Relic yourself at all costs if you could, and coming in behind Asche was probably just asking for trouble at the gate, which meant... Well, it seemed kind of a waste to have gone through the misery of solving that Atelier and then never made use of the ability to teleport to exactly the place you wanted to go. With your orders distributed, Dullem had already retreated into the woods to get the rest of your knights informed and ready. You set Ari aside as you turned to Asche, catching her attention immediately.

"I might be able to just teleport us inside... But I'm not sure if it works for anyone else but me." You struggle to remember any details about it that might lend you a hint to that, but nothing came to mind. "Worst case scenario it will just send me inside, leaving you out here... Do you think you can make it inside on your own using the Relic?"

"Yes." Her answer was immediate, brokering no room for doubt or debate. "Alright, then you know what to do if you aren't suddenly inside Carona with me. We'll meet near the Shrine stairs, and then go from there." Asche nodded assuredly, and you held your hand out for her to take...

...And continued to hold your hand as she stared at you.

"Are you scared?" Asche tilted her head curiously. You purse your lips, unsure of whether to dignify this with a response before just shying and taking her hand by force. "Just come on." You snap irritably, beginning to recite the mantra that would send you into Carona-

Only to squeak out the final syllable as you felt Ari's spear tackle into your side with her arms wrapped around your waist.

There was little time to scold her, as that exact moment you were swallowed by the wind.

Your eyes clenched shut as the wind swirled around you, until finally the feeling of weightlessness began to subside. In your hands, you felt nothing but empty air, the final word on the matter about whether or not the Atelier's gift allowed you to take anyone with you or not. You felt yourself relax, finally opening your eyes your clenched your fingers shut and let out a sigh as you began to orient yourself. You needed to make it to the Shrine to meet with Asche, and it was...

That way.
You could clearly make out its roof some ways to the north.
Its... Roof.

You grit your teeth, biting back a scream as gravity takes hold and you begin to plummet towards a familiar set of ruined steeples. The world explodes into pain not long after as your body smacks into an already ruined roof and begins to skid down the already broken shingling, crashing into yet another incline that seemed to bear similar marks of abuse, tumbling round and round as your blonde hair arrests itself from the graceful falling veil it had become into some demented cocoon that snags upon errant edge after edge.

What seems like a heart beat later, you find yourself laying face up on an alley floor as dirt and grit adorn your clothes and you desperately force yourself to wheeze back in the breath that had been knocked out of your forcibly compressed lungs.

It hurt.
Everything hurt.
The world wouldn't stop spinning.
You were just gonna... Lay here for a bit.

"I heard something from back here!"
"That's what you said last time!"

You groan, slowly forcing your body to roll over and find the ground; Something steady to get your sense of balance working again. You glance at the pile of trash you hidden yourself in last time... And remember exactly how useful that had been. Forcing another gasp of air through your lungs, you struggle to your feet and begin staggering your way out of the alley.

"Shade take this fucking town..." You groan under your breath.

"It did not take me." Asche reported calmly after you met up with her, wearing that eerily similar face. You stared at each other silently for several moments before she offered her hand.

>Take hand and enter the Shrine; Grumble miserably along the way.
>You're just gonna rest out here. Asche can handle what's inside.
>You can walk on your own.
>Other? (write-in)

Shying... Dammit. Meant to be sighing.

>>45551755
>Take hand and enter the Shrine; Grumble miserably along the way.
Also,
>Where the hell is Ari?
She tackled us before the teleport, have to make sure she didn't splat on some roof.

>>45551794
Replying to self, am dumb and noticed afterwards that the teleport didn't take anyone but Irue.

>>45551755
>>Take hand and enter the Shrine; Grumble miserably along the way.
We are Irue Valen, and we... don't have anything to prove to Asche.

>>45551755
>Other
Take Relic and get that face on us instead of Asche. I, for one, do not trust her to handle this matter without committing genocide or something.

In hindsight it was pretty stupid to teleport in if we had to use the Relic anyway, but what can we do?

>>45551903
Why would you say that about Asche :(

>>45551794
>>45551853
Grumble on into the Shrine.

>>45551903
This didn't win a vote, but it brought up a fair point.

Do we want to use the Relic to take the face back, or trust Asche to handle things at our side? This question has more implications than is readily apparent, so choose carefully.

1. Asche can handle it
2. You'll wear it.

I'll start writing in ten minutes, with the default assumption you want to wear it.

>>45551979
2. You'll wear it.

>>45551979
>1. Asche can handle it
We've been vehemently against it so far and I'd imagine it's for a good reason.

>>45551979
>1. Asche can handle it
I trust her. More or less.

>>45551979
>1. Asche can handle it

>>45551979
>2. You'll wear it.

You take your m/aid's hand with a withering stare as she helps you climb up the ridiculously long stairway leading to the Shrine. You briefly contemplated swapping faces back, but... No. You teleported in to avoid using that Relic, you weren't about to wear it now. Not for a long time, even. Not until you could look at the thing without feeling sick. In the meantime, that left Asche to wear the face of the person who had handled all the dealings with Shrine until now, and depending on how things went, may continue doing so.

As for-
"You...!"

You stifle a groan as you roll your eyes and subtly push Asche's hand forward to keep her walking, even as the hurried steps of the person you least wanted to see right now were rapidly closing the distance. "You've some nerv showing your face here again! How did you even get inside-" Unfortunately your attempts to just walk on past and ignore the Gnome Attendant were less than successful as he deposited himself directly in your path with a face that was rapidly reddening as he complained to you about some manner of manners or what not.

Asche stood next to you silently, watching the man's hot air continuing to build in steam. Something something dishonor. Something blonde dog. Something lack of respect something something. Guards something or other. You sighed, feeling almost as miserable as you did the first time you had walked into the Shrine and had to deal with this man, before pulling your posture together. You straightened your back, schooling your features into something close to consideration as you deliberately allowed your crimson eyes to trace their way from floor to head with a measuring judgement... And then tilted your head, creased brows relaxing as if to say you had found him lacking.

You glance over his shoulder, catching sight of Priat's exasperated approach just out of the corner of your eye. Seems like Roderick had inadvertently announced your arrival.

>Shh. You're disturbing the others.
>Let Asche handle it, technically she's one with influence here.
>Ignore him, talk to Priat.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45552310
>Let Asche handle it, technically she's one with influence here.

>>45552319
>>Other? (write-in)
Bite him

Real vote: Let Asche handle it.

>>45552319
>Let Asche handle it, technically she's one with influence here.

>>45552348
>>45552385
>>45552376
Bite him

>>45552376
Leave it to Asche.

Writing.

>>45552503
Didn't you mix it up?

>>45552556
That's the joke, I imagine.

As your presence here is a little hazardous for the moment, you decide to bide your time as your squeeze Asche's hand... And peel your lips back to present the fuming man a toothy smile. He's caught flat-footed for all of the few seconds it takes to for his face to become nearly as red as your eyes. You can barely restrain your snicker as he lunges forward to grab ahold of you once more, repeating the mistakes of the past as Asche deftly steps between the two of you and seizes his wrist firmly.

This close, you realize he had instinctively thrust his still injured hand towards you. You feel a small sense of satisfaction that you had actually hurt his primary hand back then, before confusion begins to set in. This man was an attendant of the Shrine, you know for a fact there was at least one Wisp Adept not five minutes from Gnome's Dominion within the Shrine... Why was his hand still injured?

"Unhand me! I have every right to-"
"Silence."
"Who are YOU to order me around? Do you know who I a-a-AA..."

You almost pity the man as you notice Asche's thumb begin to dig against the bandaged section beneath his thumb. Any further altercation was forced to a standstill at Priat's arrival however, the man wearing a calm if exasperated smile as he laid his hands on both Roderick and Asche's shoulders in a consoling manner. "Is there a problem?" He looked between the two of them, then finally at you... And then stopping for a moment. "Irue, I hadn't expected... The two of you to know each other."

Asche released Roderick's wrist, turning a stoic face towards Priat in greeting. "Irue is involved in this as well." Asche's typical clipped way of speaking sent an instinctual shiver down your spine when hearing it with that voice. Part of you simply wanted to hang back, a part of you that was beaten into submission and then ignored dutifully. It was Asche, it was how she always talked, there wasn't any need to react like that.

"Ah... Rue, isn't it?" Priat looked to Asche in askance, then back to you, "and... Irue? How remarkably similar." You purse your lips at the man who seemed to be trying to reconcile something that shouldn't work in his mind. "Forgive me, and my peer Roderick. He had an unfortunate encounter with your associate a few months ago. I imagine there is some bad blood still between them." Priat offered a smile, turning his attention towards Asche primarily, "It is good that you've come however, it won't be long until our appointment arrives... I expect you will wish to include Irue into this matter as well?"

Asche nodded.

"Alright, well, Mim will want to know you've arrived." Priat stepped back, motioning Asche after him. "Is this just going to be ignored?!" Roderick's indignant sputter, along with the lovely shade of red his face had begun to turn, was beginning to worry you the man might actually pop. "Someone has committed a direct offense against me, an esteemed member of the Shrine, and it is being calmly swept aside?"

"Do you object to Irue being brought before Mim?" Priat sighed, turning back towards the man. "You bear the wounds necessary to hold your grudge, but Mim is the only one of us qualified to pass judgement."

"I would have the law pass judgement!" Roderick seethed, "Where I know it to be fair and impartial."

"...Are you implying distrust in Luna's wisdom?" Priat raised a single brow, a question that sounded far louder in the midday Shrine than it actually wise - Perhaps due to the fact that most in range had grown quiet to listen.

"...Do not try and turn this on me, Salamander." Roderick spit, holding his injured hand out pointedly, "It is not wisdom I question, nor wisdom I want, but consistency! I am wounded, the law would demand I am reimbursed or that rat punished, as it would for anyone else!"

"A matter which will be resolved after the Shrine's business with them is finished." Priat intoned with finality, turning his back on Roderick as he walked you back towards Luna's Dominion. You offer Roderick one final toothy smile before following after Asche, but he has already turned away with a darkening scowl upon his face.

"Do not mistake this for interference on your behalf." Priat mentioned quietly, glancing aside towards you in uncertain contemplation, "His complaints are valid, and I will personally see them addressed after this business is resolved."

"Rue!" A familiar little Luna representative poked her head out of a book, "Priat told me what you found yesterday, it was a great sto-" Her verbal litany upon Asche halted abruptly as she spied you, and she seemed to nearly freeze in place for a moment before her body started to resume. "YOU are Irue Valen." It wasn't a question, as she stepped past Asche to look directly at you with eyes as if she had just been gifted a favorite toy.

...
..
.

You and Asche glanced at each other, and then at Priat, finding little in way of explanation before you were forced to look back down at the disturbingly growing smile threatening to consume all of Mim's face.

>You are Irue Valen
>Ask about a potential Gnome Adept in the Mayor's ranks
>Mention the 'wound' you found under the Mausoleum
>Ask about Roderick's bite wound
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

>>45552943
>You are Irue Valen
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
Mim met with Maran shortly after we did, no? Is that why...she's. rather. elated. about meeting us?

>>45553034
Writing.

>>45552943
>You are Irue Valen
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)
No one here knew Irue even exists, so why is Mim so happy to see her?

"I am Irue Valen, yes." You acknowledge the pint-size Luna representative warily, "And you are-"

"You already know me." She answered blandly, disregarding your reaction as unimportant as she focused on you with a frightful intensity, "But there's so much I don't know about you."

You open your mouth to respond, but aren't quite sure how to respond. You're missing something, as if this conversation was being run on a page you had yet to reach... Which wasn't unsurprising given which Mana she represented, but made you feel ill at ease all the same. "I'm sorry, have you met someone who knew me, or something?"

"Yes, a friend of yours not long ago. She came in and told me a story about an Atelier. It was interesting the first time I'd heard it, but anything after that it is boring."

A friend of yours... Maran? She said she had an appointment with the Shrine when you talked to her, but she hadn't elaborated. She had been trying to sell information as well? About an Atelier - No, not just 'an' Atelier, Mim said she'd already heard the story before. About the Ice Queen's Atelier? Why? How had she even... What was she trying to...

Mim's grin felt like it was about to devour you, but she she rolled back onto her heels after a moment's consideration, sporting a smaller and more amused smile. "You're going to help with this, right? Of course you are. Hehe."

"I'm sorry, she's not normally like this." Priat apologized, trying to corral Mim back into some sense of decent conversation while shifting a confused expression between the two of you, "I'm not sure what's gotten into her."

"No, it's fine." You shake your head, "So when is the messenger from the Mayor supposed to arrive?"

"Soon." Mim piped up from behind Priat, poking her head around the man jubilantly, "Real soon. Might already be here. Hey, how'd you get inside Carona?"

"Later, Mim." Priat sighed, turning towards Asche. "If we're going to be tailing the messenger, then we had better hurry."

Asche nods sharply, glancing at you as Priat walked past her - No sooner had he done so, you noticed Roderick being summoned by someone outside. It was time to get moving... Except.

Except Mim was still wearing a smile as she watched you.

>Tell Mim something (what?)
>Ask Mim something (what?)
>You're falling behind, you need to catch up with Asche and Priat.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45553336
>Ask Mim something (what?)

What does she mean by "You're going to help with this, right? Of course you are." ?

If possible, following the response.
>You're falling behind, you need to catch up with Asche and Priat.

>>45553378
This

>>45553378
>>45553411
Writing.

"What did you mean by that?" You glance at Asche and Priat's retreating forms.

"Hm? By what?" She knew what, you knew that she knew you knew, and you realized that you might have just stepped in over your head in dealing with this Luna representative. You narrow your eyes at her, unwillingly to play her game with so little time left to you before it was too late to catch up to the others. "Of course you'd help, Irue." Mim's lips peeled back as she smiled, "This was your idea, wasn't it?"

...

"You'd better hurry, they're going to get away~"

You swallow back a retort, you didn't have time for this right now. Not with saving Rinnier so close. You turned away, forcing back the dizziness accompanying your rising emotional state as you quickly made your way out of the Shrine in time to just barely catch sight of Asche from on high. She knew the plan, and both of you knew roughly where Rinnier was being held... Which left you with time to make a decision.

>Catch up with Asche
>Get to Jill's and retrieve your knights
>Go directly to the old Tier estate
>Other? (write-in)

>>45553567
>Get to Jill's and retrieve your knights
Then
>Catch up with Asche

>>45553567
>>Get to Jill's and retrieve your knights

>>45553581
>>45553586
Off to Jill's for knights!

>>45553581
And then an obligatory question as to whether anon actually meant he wanted to catch back up to the incognito trailing with a full retinue of knights disguised as city guards.

Because if you did, we can totally do that!

Writing.

>>45553688
Okay, no catching up then

>>45553688
I'm not that anon, but let's not do that.

You shake your head, stopping to steady yourself at the top of the stairs before you make the mistake of trying to take a false step down a very long flight of stars. You had done enough tumbling down inclines in Carona for today already. No, since you already knew where they would likely end up, that meant you could head there whenever you wanted to... With whoever you wanted to.

As luck would have it, you just so happened to have a small retinue of your knights smuggled into Carona and stashed away inside of... Jill's... You groan, taking a heavy step down the stairs as you start to pick up speed on the way to the excitable pub girl's apartment. You had just left ten or so grown men and women laying around inside of her apartment yesterday, she probably just-

"-walked in on that!" Jill's explanation for why all of your knights had been seated at her roughly hewn dining table was somewhere between a confirmation of your suspicions, a complaint, and an excited recounting of how she had bravely wielded a broken chair leg upside one of their heads and then try to beat him with it until the others had managed to restrain her. "We got back in town and that Salamander guy said 'you should be fine from here'-" Her comically deepened voice as she tried to draw herself up to mimic Priat left you staring blankly at the girl, "-Why didn't anyone tell me there were knights in my house? Why didn't you tell me you even had knights? Why are they dressed like guards? Who was that demihuman? Where'd she go, anyway? Who was that other person that rescued me? They looked like you, were they a sibling? What-"

"Jill, I'm on a tight schedule right now, I just came by to get my knights together."

"Is it 'nother raid, sugar? Like when the Salamander attendant and that lass look' like you came with the demihuman and the weird maid-"

"Yes, it's something like that. I'm getting the last of my friends back from the Mayor today."

"Rinnier, right? I know her! Not 'know' know, but- Look, I didn't get a chance to tell you last night, right? I found out where she is! I told you I'd find out, sugar." Your hand catches as Jill starts to follow you out the door, or rather, her hand catches yours. "I'm coming with you!" You blink, but your denial is rejected before you can even voice it as she barrels on. "You can't tell me not to, sugar. I know where that friend o'yours is at, I can go there myself if I have to. You can't just-"

"Jill, it's going to be dangerous." You frown, shaking the girl's hand off as you turn back to her. "I didn't want you involved last time, and I don't want you involved this time, understand? We can't afford to protect you."

"Then don't protect me!" Her foot stamped down, fingers curled into balls at her side, "I'm not letting this go, sugar! I can protect myself!"

"...Like you did when you got caught?" You level a doubtful stare at her, "That turned out well."

"It took three whole guys to do that! THREE!" She shouted back, her voice cracking as it rose, "They surprised me, it won't happen again!"

...What was wrong with this girl? She had been so adamant about throwing herself into danger like an idiot ever since she caught wind of what was going on thanks to Maran.

You take a moment to offer up a curse to wherever Maran is currently, hoping she trips or something. Meddlesome whore.

Regardless, no matter what Jill claimed, you knew for a fact she was a liability. Hell, your own knights would be liabilities against an Adept, and that's not to speak of what that one abducted mercenary had confessed about the potential of there being multiple demihumans involved in this.

>No.
>Yes. (But actually no, tie her up and throw her back inside)
>...Fine, but stay close.
>Why are you so determined about this?
>Other? (write-in)

>>45553930
>>Why are you so determined about this?

>>45553930
>Why are you so determined about this?
>Other: did you think about what your brother will feel if anything happens to you?

>>45554027
>>45554038
Determined!

>>45554038
But what about Jack

Writing.

"Why?" You cross your arms, leveling a flat, measuring stare at the excitable pub girl. "None of this involves you, you don't know anyone involved in this. What's in this for you?"

Because there had to be something in it for her. Your crimson eyes narrow in agitation, picking about as many of the girl's blatantly obvious physical tells as you could catch at a time.

"If I tell you, will you let me come?" Her answer is stand-offish, and you scowl at the absent realization that even now, she thinks she has room to bargain and stand on level footing. "Don't test me, girl. I'll have you tied up and left here if that's what it takes." She falls silent, jerking her eyes away fromn you as she bites her lip. Several breaths later, not a word more has been spoken. "Did you even think about your brother in all of this?" You scowl, "He was furious when he found out you were missing the first time, and you want to dive back in? To something that doesn't even involve you? What about your father?"

"..."

Something flickers just out of earshot, the tail end of a whisper you couldn't catch.

"Don't." Jill's fingers clutch at the hem of her shirt, one arm shaking as she stares rigidly at the floor. "Don't you dare bring them up like you know them. You're a damn noble, you don't know anything in this town... You don't know what it's like growing up in the middle of nowhere, always having to look past those Shade forsaken walls." She hissed out a litany dripping with venom, unwilling to raise her eyes as she did so.

"You just walk out with your damn knights and go on adventures, break into places, find schemes... You're after the Mayor now. You're just casually after the Mayor, do you- Do you even know who the Mayor is? All my life, he's been the most powerful man I've known. He makes the laws here, the guards listen to HIM. We've been locked down for who knows how long, and he's the one who did that, and you- You don't even care!"

"Don't fucking TALK TO ME like you know what it's like having to grow up reading the same old books over and over again, to be expected to work at your dad's shitty bar with your brother. You were NEVER told you couldn't do something because you weren't man enough for it-" You made a face at that, which went unseen as she continued her viper's diatribe. "Yeah, I'm sure my brother was worried. Shade forbid his sister have any fun, right? Shade forbid I do more than listen to drunken hunter stories every night, Shade fucking forbid I live my own life, right?!"

She hunches over, one foot stomped onto the ground miserably as you notice a drop of water splash against the wooden floor under her face. "You just walk in here, whirlwind around on your great Mana damned adventures and then just tell me to stay home? This is fucking it! This is everything I wanted, staring me in the face, and I can't go because it's too dangerous? It's too dangerous?! I'm tired of being told it's 'too dangerous'! I'll die if I have to, if it means not having to keep living in this sleepy town! I don't want to keep waiting tables until dad or my brother find some boring dick to marry me off to, I don't want to have some smith's kids and watch the shop!"

"I don't... I don't want to be here anymore..." Her legs drop out from under her, leaving the furiously sobbing wreck of a bar girl on her knees as she swipes tears from her face.

You shift your weight, red eyes staring down at the fuming girl. Even now, she wouldn't look at you - Despite the heart she had thrown into that, she was still too scared to look you in the eye. You didn't have the time to argue with this girl, nor did you have the time to bother exchanging life stories; Rinnier's rescue was on the line, and you had already wasted enough time here.

>Leave.
>Offer your hand.
>Other? (write-in)

>>45554369
>Other? (write-in)
"You don't have to die to leave this town"
Recruit her as a maid.
Then tell her to wait here because the lives and wellbeing of House Valen staff are of paramount importance to us.

>>45554369
>>45554451
Been thinking something like this, so I will second this.

>>45554451
"If you'd like to live in a shack in the woods eating meat harvested from wooden bear asses and fighting fire elementals in the kitchen, take my hand."

>>45554451
>>45554475
Is... Is 'Maid' really what you want to try and recruit her as?

Writing!

>>45554565
That's her skillset for now.
The career perspectives are open though.

>>45554565
D... did I fuck up?

She's crying. She's crying down there, and you're not good at this. You're really not good at this, why couldn't she be mad without the crying, why did she have to start crying, shit.

You close your eyes, warding off the rising dizziness as you stagger back a step. You take a moment to grasp blindly at the door frame, steadying yourself as you try to distance yourself from the crying pub girl. After a few seconds of silence, you can hear her beginning to choke back the sobs, and you find yourself sighing as you prematurely prepare a place to file the regret you were going to feel for what you were about to do.

You would file it right next to the regret you felt last time Jill managed to convince you to let her 'help'.

"You don't have to die just to leave." You grouse out slowly, keeping a check on your own composure as you make note of the way she went still; Of the tensing muscles that practically froze at your voice. You wonder if her heart itself had stopped beating just to make sure she didn't miss a word. "I've told you already that I didn't want you getting involved in something this dangerous, but there's more I can offer you than a haphazard place alongside my knights. If you really want to leave this town, and leave your life behind... I could always use another maid."

The apartment is dead silent, until Jill finally lets out a strange noise; Her crumpled body beginning to shake as what you could barely recognize as laughter came choking out of her throat.

"...Out." She hiccuped, curling further in on herself as her muffled voice cracked. "Just... Get out."

You fall silent again, with little more than her shaking sobs to fill the apartment... You couldn't spend any more time here. The door shut behind you with an audible 'click', and you stood a moment to see if anything would change.

It didn't.

Only after you had entered the streets with your knights did you hear the muffled scream of anguish come from Jill's apartment, followed by the sound of something being thrown against a wall and shattering.

You closed your eyes and continued to walk, flanked by your knights as you began to talk about where you were going, laying out the plan and details to them.

Something nagged at you, but you couldn't say what it was.
Disappointment. Indignity. Outrage. Failure. Regret.
You couldn't turn back and waste any more time now...
Maybe.. Maybe after you saved Rinnier, and the danger wasn't quite so immediate.

This was the right choice. You gave her a chance, and she turned it down.
You had done everything you could. You did the right thing.

...So why didn't you feel that way.

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

1023 KB GIF

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 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.

>>45554856
I did fuck up.
Why were we so much more competent while playing as Dopplerue?

>>45554864
Did anon actually nail that forgetting option?

>>45554887
Two 'Rues instead of one? I can explain a bit about what went wrong in the last scene, though.

It will sound kind of obvious when laid out, but Jill had just finished pouring her heart out to Irue that what she had wanted since she was a child was to leave the sleepy small town behind and actually have excitement and adventure in her life - The same things she had been trying to strong arm herself into since she met you.

Your response was to offer her a position as a Maid, succeeding at removing her from the small town, but completely missing the point of what she was after. At that point she crumpled, because she had the desperation-driven realization that menial work was all anyone would ever want her for, and all she could expect out of her life.

To be fair, she simply isn't cut out for the life of romanticized adventure she dreams about... Much like Irue wasn't cut out for the life of romanticized nobility they believed was ahead of them in the early threads.

...But who's to say what's fair or not to her, in the end?

>>45554901
Yes, actually! Both of them did, but the first one more so than the second.

>>45554960
Maybe we can visit her later and explain that our maids are the ones to have all the adventures, like infliltrating hostile towns and dispersing Shade apparitions?

>>45555031
Depending on how things pan out, that might be an option, yes.

Though it may also go the way of the Ari's plushy, in so much as if anon forgets about it, then it won't actually be brought up and you'll leave town without ever addressing it.

RIP Ari's plushy.

>>45555062
On the other hands, we got to mess up Jenseits' woman girl's prophecy by forgettnig the plushie, so we have that going for us, right?

>>45555152
On one hand, you don't actually know what the prophecy entails, or if you actually want to mess it up.

On the other hand, it makes Maran's life harder and drives her up a wall.

I think we both know what's more important.