>>115647
>Wait for the other soldiers to take the lead.

-writing-

Leo hesitant to march up into the great tree. It was clearly the centerpiece in whatever black ritual was taking place here, and he had no idea how to even begin to go about an assault on such a place, Or what could possibly be waiting within. Standing firm, He waited for one of his comrades to ascend up the stairway first, but as he looked around he could see that his comrades were also shaking at the overwhelming sight. It was actually Thea who managed to take the first step forward.

“Let’s not dawdle, every second we have here is crucial to our success.” Thea said, looking back over her shoulder at the group.

With loud grunts and heavy sighs, the 4 royal knights marched up the stairway passing her, as she continued to glance back at Leo without taking another step. With the men now firmly in the lead, Leo regained some composure and began up the stairway, and not soon after the first step made contact with the sacred tree, Leo felt a surge of energy flow throughout his body. He found himself nearly falling over as the jolt of power had caught him completely off guard, as Thea giggled.

“This tree is overflowing with Mana, You will get used to the feeling. Let’s hurry now.”
The remark left Leo with a large assortment of questions, But it did managed to answer a few others. If the tree was overflowing with mana, then it was indeed significant in some way. The tree was more than just myth, or a holy site. It held actual power, and that must be what the king was after. Leo still could not determine to what end that power would be used by the king, but knowing it was there filled him with unease.

When Leo and Thea had reached the entrance to the tree, He found the 4 knights had stopped dead in their tracks at the doorway. Leo managed to push his way through as he came to see what had halted the men.
The first room of this great tree was littered with the corpses of royal knights. Blood was streaked across both wall, ceiling and floor of the cylindrical room. Bodies had been smashed into walls at such force that the entire upper halves of men remained stuck in place. A pair of legs from the ceiling, an upper torso fused into the wall, guts and entrails decorating the room from top to bottom. The stench was overpowering, as Leo began to feel his knees buckle beneath him.
No sign as to what could have caused this horrific scene could be found.

>Search for survivors
>Suggest the party leave this place
>Examine the dead more closely.
>write in

>>115688
Holy fuck
>I got a bad feeling about this
>search for survivors?

>>115688
>Examine the dead more closely.

Maybe this will provide some clues as what could have caused this.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

rollin and writing.
>search for survivors, 1
>examine bodies, 2

fuck yer this is back up
hmmm oh shit something nasty is in here
i wnaa do both hmm
>Examine the dead more closely.

Leo began to search the room for any signs of life. He walked up to the bodies which seemed most intact and began to check for any movements or hear any breathing. He didn’t risk removing any armor in case it would put the person in more pain or even cause death. He had seen it before when men who could have survived their injuries were handled far too rough, resulting in their end. The other 4 men stood motionless at the doorway gazing upon the grizzly scene. Their brothers in arms, the elite of the elite, scattered about like shredded paper.

Thea was also became frozen when she entered he tree sometime after Leo. He couldn’t blame her. The only thing keeping Leo from retching was the desperate hope that someone may have made it through whatever nightmare tore these men apart. After inspecting so many bodies, Leo could notice a clear pattern in the corpses. Each man had a massive dent in his armor. The size of the impact and depth of the warp in their armor left no question that several bones would be shattered from such a blow. It would most likely be impossible to remove the armor from these men with such extensive damage. They would have to be cut free somehow, but even then with such serious injuries, they would likely die in the process.

Leo began to be thankful that nobody managed to survive the ordeal. As the thought passed through Leo’s mind he heard a faint cough originate from nearby. Leo frantically twisted his head towards the source of the noise and could see small movements originating from one of the would-be corpses. He rushed over to the battered man and checked his wounds. A large, fist shaped dent and been punched into his armor, and the wall behind him, and the floor below painted with fresh blood. On further inspection Leo recognized the engravings on the armor of this man.

It had been the knight that so vocally gave him and Gregory trouble back at the encampment. If he recalled, the man’s name was Brom. Leo wasn’t sure how much time he had left. As Leo turned his head back to inform the others he could hear the faint whispers from beside him say.

“ Get…. Out…. Of here…”

>Ask him what happened
>Ask who did this
>Ask if anyone got away
>write in a question.

>>115741
>Ask him what happened

>>115741
>>Ask him what happened
and inform the mage that something had puched them to death

-writing-

Leo, wanting to make the most of what little time Brom may have had left, Asked him what had happened.
“The elves made….. A monster… at… at… the… top…” Brom strained desperately to force out the words that may very well save his brothers in arms. Coughing and choking on his own fluids, He leaned forward attempting to grip Leo by the collar.

“We ran…Can’t…fight…. Run… More… Than…. One… Get…….. Out…… nnn..n…o…” And with that last strained breath, the final bit of life left in Brom had escaped him. He slouched forward motionless, the pool of blood that had collected in his helmet pouring out onto the ground, and running down his neck. Although the man had been so rude and disrespectful to him, Leo felt sorry for the man. Nobody deserved to go out like this, not even Brom.

Leo slowly walked back towards the group to relay what he had discovered.
“Whatever did this was incredibly powerful. It took most of these men out with one strike, smashing the armor completely. There was… only one survivor, Brom. He said that the elves made this monster at the top of the tree. They ran back down to try and get away from the beast but.. They didn’t make it. He was telling us to run, to flee this place. That was all he managed to tell me before he passed..”

Thea brought a hand to her chin as she began to muse over the situation. The other 4 knights began to walk around the room, checking the bodies scattered about. Some whispering names, others vowing vengeance. Their words began to fade as Thea spoke.

“We need to find out more about the situation. Let’s get going.” She said.
One of the Royal knights stepped back in her direction before shouting “Have you lost your mind?! Look around you! If these men tried to get away then whatever attack them was much faster. It will be the end of us!”
Another chimed in saying, “We should head back out and gather reinforcements. We’ll need a more powerful group to take on whatever is in this place.”

Thea quickly and sternly replied, “No, gathering more men will only get us trapped in here. If we try to retreat we will get stuck trying to force our way through these narrows doors and stairwells. We also can’t retreat from this battle without knowing just what it is we are running from. Cowardice from the unknown endangers us all”

>Agree that we should leave
>Agree to press onwards as they are.
>Agree to gather reinforcements.
>Write in

>>115820
>>Agree to press onwards as they are.
but draw out the sliver sword

>>115820
>Agree to press onwards as they are.

-writing-

Leo then voiced his take on the situation.
“Thea is correct.. We should move forward in a small unit. We don’t know how many floors this place consists of, if the threat is even still here, or much of anything at all. We can’t just abandon everything given what we’ve just seen. We have to move on, so these men didn’t give their lives in vain. The tree is our objective after all.”

The royals scoffed at the prospect of a draftee lecturing them, but ultimately conceded the point. “Well then, let’s get moving. Thea, keep your distance. If we run into anything up ahead we will defiantly need you.”
The knights quickly fell in line, and began to the end of the room, and up the stairway. As Leo entered the stairway, he was met with the same gruesome sight as the prior room. Men had been smashed and thrown into the walls and ceiling of the area. The stairway followed along in the same cylindrical pattern as the prior room, carved on what would be the outside wall. The hallway was quite narrow, only large enough for two people side by side. Which begged the question as to how such a powerful creature could have fit to give chase to the men below.

They slowly made their way up the stairs navigating around the various corpses and limbs scattered about. After not too long the men reached the top of the staircase and entered the next room. The inside was painted red with blood, but there was a distinct difference in it as opposed to the room below. The dead bodies of the knights on this floor were nothing more than bloodied skeletons. Their armor bared the same damage as all those prior, but there was no signs of flesh anywhere in the room. It had been picked completely clean. And in the center of the room, what appeared to be an naked elf, with hair slightly extended past the shoulders stood trembling, unaware of their presence. The other soldiers began to take steps towards the figure.

>quickly stop them from advancing.
>vocalize concern over the scene.
>Follow behind the men closely, silver sword in hand.
>shout at the figure.
>write in.

>>115908
>>quickly stop them from advancing. but try to do this so that the elf cant hear us as she seems to not care at this point no need to startle or pisse it off
i think this is the beast or something used to make it, llook at the bodies they have been eaten, ask tea if she can do some maige?

>>115928
This

-writing-

>>115908
I got classes in a few hours so I'm going give this a quick vote before I go to sleep.
>quickly stop them from advancing.
>vocalize concern over the scene.

>>115963
have a good nap, GL with class

>>115980
How is the gf?

>>115993
In a good bit of pain, severe headaches being a normal complication after an LP. [what with draining brain fluid and all] so got her pretty doped up on painkillers. but the operation went well, got followups later down the road.

Before the knights had the chance to take another step Leo quickly put his hand on their shoulders pulling on them before whispering. “Wait! Wait! Wait!! Look around you!”

The men took a moment to glance around at the corpses and take a good look at the situation before one of the muttered “Oh.. shit..”. The men slowly turned a head to the figure at the center of the room, still oblivious to their existence. It looked like a potentially fatal mistake had just narrowly been averted. Leo slowly backed up to Thea and asked, “Can you start preparing a spell before we find out what this thing is?”

Thea nodded as she held her staff upright, It was a wonderfully crafted silver staff encrusted with various gems, and a small crystal orb at the tip. Leo began to feel that surge of energy grow within him while being in such close proximity of Thea. Leo didn’t know much about mages but understood the concept. Mages gather, focus, and channel the ambient mana in the world, and through a combination of willpower, signs, and sounds, and objects, manipulate that mana into physical forms, unleashing deadly attacks or other abilities. More powerful magic’s often took longer to conjure, but that was very dependent on both the mage in question.

“How long are you going to need?” Leo asked, as one of the soldiers replied.
“It will only take a minute or two. When she’s ready she’ll tell us. Let’s approach this thing carefully, who knows what the hell it might be. Make sure you stay clear of Thea’s line of fire.”

Leo’s heartbeat began to quicken. If this thing was indeed the creature that annihilated the men downstairs, what chance would they even have? Would magic even work? This was completely different from anything he had ever experienced before. Fighting other people and races was incomparable to the devastation in this place. How was such a thing even possible? Was this because of that dark ritual Thea had talked about? It was rattling Leo’s brain and he found himself shaking in place. He heard Thea speak from his side, “I’m ready.” And the knights began to approach the elf, splitting up to give Thea a clear shot.

>Stay beside Thea
>Move forward with the knights
>Prepare yourself to run back down the stairwell.
>write in

>>115908
Observe the creature from a distance to see what it does without alerting it, then quickly stop the men from advancing quietly. Then, head back and secure some doors for an escape.

>>116005
damm hope it gose well
but also can mana be dispeted? abosrbed?

Darn, I really have to go now. Shout-out to whoever linked the old thread, I woulda been staring at it till it was halfway to 404ing.

>>116018
And then a challenger appears.


>Stay beside Thea
Gotta protect the mage.

>>116018
tell one of the men to secure an escape route and a way to potentially lock up the creature so they can leave in an emergency. Have him come back after he did all of that.

Then, stay beside Thea

>>116027
Mana can be absorbed, dispersed, manipulated in all kinds of ways. its still a W.I.P concept though, i'm not sure how much of an impact/presence on want it to have on the world.
>>116035
i didn't think to do that, my fault, so yes. thanks anon who did link the new thread.

>>116018
ok just wanted to know couse the whole tree is full of mana and even us who arnt a mage can fell it so maby thea and be super chagred or the sword we have could asbsorb some of the mana etc or mybe having beend exposed(absorbed too much mana is what made this thing so mybe if we can dispersed or prevent the mana for a hort time might wekeen it or just give use enguh time to trap it? sorta thinking mage and tings liek the sword we have is all thats going to be ble to do anythign to it

>>116066
i try to write updates in a way that there's always some clues within that allude to the best choices to make, be it an option i wrote, or something to be written in. foreshadowing is the word maybe? idk. So yeah, you aren't far off.
-writing-

>>116018>Stay beside Thea

yer im not really keen on fighting this thing.
but mybe insted of a fireball could she have a trap spell ready? and we can just run around it and or stab it a few times befor it breaks free?

Leo decided that it would be best for him to keep his distance and stay next to Thea. She seemed pretty knowledgeable to the situation, and if there was anyone Leo should focus on getting out of here if things go south, it would be her. He held his silver sword tightly in hand, as he bent his knees readying for whatever might unfold.

The knights began to circle around the elf, surrounding it completely before it took notice of them. With a slow tilt of its head, the elf began to spasm and twitch. The snapping of bone and crackling of joints could be heard as the creature began to violently jerk and twist in place. With each snap and crack of a bone, blood and marrow shot forth from the being, before an ear piercing shriek could be heard emanating from the miserable wretch. The scream sounded like the voices of multiple men and women of all octaves crying out in unison, as the flesh began to bubble and expand, With new limbs sprouting from the now churning mass of flesh.

The royals wasted no time waiting for the creature to transform, and began to hack and slash away at the creature. Blood began to spray from the wounds inflicted one after another, and two of the six additional appendages had been severed before the creature pushed back the soldiers, releasing another howl into the air. The arms the creature had grown now pinned the soldiers to the walls. Two of the men managed to cut the arms holding them before backing away from the creature, as the other two groaned out in agony, gripping at the limbs slowly crushing them against the walls.

The fleshy monstrosity had now nearly quadrupled in size, now a pile of squirming and writhing meat attempting to take shape. Leo took a quick glance over to Thea who stayed her hand from casting the spell. Leo began to yell towards Thea “What are you w…” he cut himself short as he thought back to that moment on the battlefield. The giant bolt of lightning used to attack those mages on the mound.. Was she limited to only lightning based attacks? If that was the case, if she attacked now her comrades would be equally fried by the tremendous blast of magic. Leo had to act fast.

>Compel Thea to attack regardless of the men.
>Rush the foul beast and serve the arms pinning the others.
>Yell at the other soldiers to free their comrades.
>write in

>>116146
>Rush the foul beast and serve the arms pinning the others.
>Yell at the other soldiers to free their comrades.
both can be done.

>>116146
>Rush the foul beast and serve the arms pinning the others.
>Yell at the other soldiers to free their comrades.

>>116153
>>116153
this senpai

>>116153
do this one
>>116153
also we dont know what speel she is casting do we grrr and when/ if we can get them out of the spell blast rang let thea shoot

>>116146
>>Rush the foul beast and serve the arms pinning the others.
>>Yell at the other soldiers to free their comrades.

We have sharp magic sword, lets free our comrades!

>>116195
yer but we dont really know how it works or what it dose as thea hasnt had time to look at it

>>116208
I think it is like Captain Carrot's sword, incredibly good at cutting things.

That's the way you want a magical sword.

Leo rushed towards the hulking pile, and shouted to the knights “FREE YOUR BROTHERS!” as he made his way to cut the arms of the beast. The royal knights quickly reacted and charged in alongside Leo. One of the men was swat back away from the beast by the flailing tendril that was once an arm, as Leo and the other circled around the beast to cut free the ones who remained trapped.

Leo brought both hands to his blade and swung down from overhead with all of his might. The limb was cut through cleanly with little to no resistance, as the creature reeled back in agony, the wound sizzling and burning from the cut of the blade. Leo took note that the weapon had a profound effect on the creature as opposed to the flesh of men. He quickly backed away from the creature. It felt like Leo was standing in awe of the creature for what seemed like hours before the royal on the opposite side of him yelled “HE’S FREE! DO IT NOW!”.

Not one moment later a loud thunderous CRACK filled the room as the creature flailed about, tendrils lashing furiously with bolts of energy pulsating through its entire being. One of the tentacles manages to come crashing into Leo’s side, sliding him across the room, but he felt no pain from the lash. The creature had merely pushed him aside in its pain, as it slumped to the ground and began to melt away. The air became thick with smoke and the smell of burning flesh as the being quickly dissolved, leaving nothing but a small elven skeleton curled up in the middle of the room.
The beast had been slain.

With cheers and applaud the knights regathered around Thea singing her praises at the marvelous display. Leo was also impressed by the ferocity of the blast. The strike seemed so much more devastating than it had outside, and was gathered together much quicker as well. Maybe this had to do with the Mana emanating from the great tree, but Leo couldn’t say for certain. Before the group carried on, the knights came over to Leo and with pats on the back and bumps on the shoulder, showed their appreciation for his actions in the heat of the moment.

With the threat on this floor dealt with, the group made their way up to the next floor. There was must less gore covering the halls as compared to the first floor stairwell, but this did little to alleviate everyone’s stress. As they marched up the stairs, Leo heard a thud as he looked back to see Thea collapsed on all fours. The knights stopped dead in their tracks looking back on the scene, fear welling up in their hearts.

>Help Thea up.
>What’s wrong?
>keep your distance and say nothing.
>write in


just a heads up, i know the scene / choices are kinda "filler esque", but due to character limits and how like to give some detail, gotta have a little filler before hitting the next room and all, hope its not a bother or detrimental.

>>116227
>Help Thea up while asking what's wrong?
I guess channeling all that mana so fast took a toll on her.

>>116230
seconding

>>116227
dont worry it all leads up and give context as to whats happenign keep doign what your doing.
3rd>>116230
i owuld do a write in for some of these but the chocies seem mostly on point

>>116227
Keep doing what youre doing

>help her up and ask whats wrong

-writing-

As Leo headed back down the narrow stairway, He felt overly fatigued. Like the energy had been sucked out of his body. The discomfort worried him as he put an arm under Thea’s to help lift her up, asking “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Thea was breathing heavily, her body convulsing slightly with each breath. She slowly reached her arms up to unfasten and remove her helmet, revealing her face. Her white skin looked incredibly soft and well maintained, not a blemish could be found. Her face was rather petite, eyes green, with short black hair, amess from the helmet she wore. Leo’s admiration was cut short when she nearly fell over again, coughing and wheezing, trying to get a solid breath of air as Leo held her up.

The royal knights began to head back down the stairs in a slight panic at the display, But Thea raised a hand to keep them back as she spoke softly. “The mana… The tree… Something changed. Like all the mana in this placed has been violently ripped away.. You feel it too? Don’t you?”
Leo nodded his head. He didn’t know that was the particular reason for the sensation. But it started to make sense. Something as drastic a change as that would have a profound impact on someone so attuned to the ebb and flow of mana. With that Leo had to ask.

“Are you okay to press on? Or should we head back. Who knows how many more of these things are ahead, or how powerful they may be. We can’t do this without you.”
The knights behind Leo reluctantly muttered their agreement one after another. It must have been hard to come to terms with the helplessness of the situation, and how dependent things had become on the efforts of one person. One of the men spoke up saying.
“We now know what it is we flee from. Isn’t that enough? Nobody else knows about this outside. Shouldn’t we warn them?”

While that thought did seem appealing to Leo, He felt that these creatures had to come from somewhere. Something happened that they were still unaware of that had caused this, or was continuing to cause this. The loss of mana from the tree wasn’t a good sign either. If they had the opportunity to put a stop to whatever this was, would it be worth taking? Who knows how dangerous things might get if they abandon their duties after coming this far.
Thea then spoke out in a shaky voice “I’ll be fine, We need to press on. I will be ready for the next attack, Trust me.”
Thea still looked quite pale.

>No, we need to fall back and warn the army.
> Alright, Lets press on.
>We should rest for a moment before going forward.
>Write in.

>>116285
>> Alright, Lets press on.
We need to know where all the mana is going

>>116285
>We should rest for a moment before going forward.

>>116285
>> Alright, Lets press on.
but at a slower pace
could send back one of the kinghts to warn all the other peopel but who would bevlie us?

>>116300
REST (maybe flirt :DD)

>>116327
i dont think that would work as in what just happeneed and since shes a rolye mage mybe arfter this battle

>>116285
>No, we need to fall back and warn the army.
> Alright, Lets press on.
One informs the army

>>116297
>>116306
>>116335
-writing-

But vote on whether you guys do want to send someone back to attempt to inform the army. that would be a critical decision. i'll tally up mid-write and add it in.

>>116345
i vot sand him back to tell them and hopfully send up soem back up like a mage and kights or something just got to hold otu till then

>>116345
If we had someone we could spare, then informing the army would be great.

We must press on, we have a tactical nuclear equivalent wizard-lady. We need every meatshie... I mean knight we can get if our attempt shall succeed.

I think it would be best to send mage back
She's kinda useless now

“One of you should go back to inform the army, the rest of us will move quickly.” Leo made sure Thea had regained her balance before heading back up the stairs at a steady pace. The knights leading the march as one of the group headed out of the tower rapidly.
As they approached the 3rd floor of the great tree, they found yet another elf positioned in the center of the room. The elf was manically repeating just loud enough for them all to hear.

“God betrayed us, the messenger lied.”

The knights slowly crept up into the room making enough space for Thea to get into position. The elf had no noticed their presence yet. Everyone looked back to Thea waiting for her to begin preparing the spell. Thea was still breathing heavily. She nodded her head once more as she raised her staff and began to gather the necessary mana to attack. We all assumed that the process would take much longer this time, so they sat motionless biding as much time as they could.

They then heard a loud noise coming from the other end of the hall, most likely emanating from the stairway. It was screaming. Just then, an assortment of elven mages and warriors came barreling out of the doorway, pushing each other aside before stopping dead in their tracks and the sight of both the knights and the monster before them. A terrifying laughter erupted as the elf began to morph and expand into another hulking beast of flesh, but this one was quite different. It took no time at all for the beast to obtain a humanoid form. It stood 10 feet tall, with two arms and legs. No head could be seen on the monstrosity, as its back was turned away from the group. The creature had no hands to speak off, merely giant columns of flesh that come to a complete stop.

The elves screamed out in terror, as the hulking mass swung its arm with impressive speed, slamming into one of the elven warriors, sending him splattering into the wall, making a fine paste of blood, bone, and steel. The group quickly glanced back to Thea who was still deep in meditation. The rest of the elves began to do battle with the creature, warriors began Swinging blades, while mages backed up to chant, while others shot small gouts of flame and water messily in its direction.

>Wait and watch as the elves fight the creature.
>Join the battle and ambush the creature from behind.
>Retreat from the area
>Write in

Roll a 1d100 with your choice. Majority vote decides the action, while an average of all rolls determines effectiveness.

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>116384
>Wait and watch as the elves fight the creature.
Let's hope they will last long enough for mage to finish her spell

Also how many floors does this tree have?

>>116384
>>Write in
Let the elves take the brunt of the fighting, but join in if they are losing too badly.

They are our enemy, even if it appears that their evil plan has backfired upon them, in an ideal situation we would have one or two of them left as captives to interrogate.

Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>116384
>Join the battle and ambush the creature from behind but not as a full fight more so to distacted it enguh for the spells to get ready and to help the elves we it since something really fucked up and there now fighting it deall with them latters, and it seems the sword we have really hurts the mosnters

>Let's help elves in fighting massive behemoth that is crushing warriors in single hit with our party of four and a wizard that is preparing a spell
Why

good question, lets find out. So earlier in the quest it was mentioned the tree reaches the clouds. assuming they are only hitting the clouds lowest in the atmosphere on average, we will say its 6000ft tall. so, considering the average height of a single stair to be roughly 8 inches, and lets just say 50 stairs between each floor, roughly 70 floors.
or at 100 stairs each, 35 floors.
or at 200 stairs, 17 floors.
since thats way to fugging many, lets say this tree is mostly one huge fucking spiral staircase with 6 floors.

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>116384
>Let the elves take the brunt of the fighting, but join in if they are losing too badly.

>>116434
They are our enemy, even if it appears that their evil plan has backfired upon them, in an ideal situation we would have one or two of them left as captives to interrogate.

If we just do nothing, chances are that a monster capable of wiping out an elf party can wipe us out as well, perchance it is only possible to overcome it by strength of numbers.

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>116410
Yes we need an elf captive. Preferably a female one

>>116443
>Not making it into great dungeon in which great power is sealed on top
Seriously this shit would make great post game dungeon
Too bad we still have to seal the great evil

-writing-
roll averaged 47

>>116451
are you going to try to get your rape on?
>>116455
just couse atm we have to seal it or whatever dosnt mean it has to stay like it
aso the king wants this places soo i think there will be more to this

>>116466
Sheeeeeeeeeit

>>116451
if we do make sure its a mage as they would know more about wtf is happening and artfer casting a spell hopfully they would be drianed

>>116470
>>116473
No rape, just a qt elven mage waifu slave.

Or we could just hit up Thea

The group sat and watched as the elves desperately tried to fight off the giant creature. A few looked over towards them in hopes of escaping, but must have assumed we stood to block their path, as their terror filled eyes looked back on the giant monster wailing on them indiscriminately. The elves weren’t putting up a very formidable fight, as they would stand motionless as the beast threw its arms wildly, smashing them into the floor, walls, and ceiling. About half of the elven squad had been crushed into a bloody mist before Leo couldn’t stand to watch any longer.

He charged at the monster with his silver shorts word, leaping onto the creatures back and stabbing straight for its spine. The flesh was incredibly wet and slimy, constantly trickling downwards as Leo held on by the hilt of his blade, Smoke poured out from the wound as a loud groan escaped the creature that shook the very foundation of the room. The royal knights were bewildered by Leo’s actions, but soon followed suit, hacking and slashing away at the beast’s legs to hinder its mobility. The effort was in vain however, as the creatures flesh was far too thick, and constantly recovering from the wounds inflicted.

The brute attempted to reach Leo and smash him into its back, but to no avail. The creature was far too bulky, and without the ability to grasp, had no way of reaching him. So it instead opted to spin around violently, arms extended, as the royal knights fell back and the elven warriors got slammed into from the sides. Leo desperately held onto his blade, and using the hooks he had held onto, clawed his way into the beasts flesh for a better grip. Now holding himself in place with his offhand, Leo drove the sword deeper and deeper into the creature as it slowed down to a standstill. With that, Leo heard one of the elven mages nervously shriek the words “Get down!” as he Leapt from the creatures back, sword in hand and rolled along the floor.

Massive fireballs shot forth from the elven mages, Exploding upon the creature blowing off large portions of flesh to reveal and massive skeleton beneath. Blood poured out from the creature like a river and Thea then unleashed her magic at the creature. The bolt of lightning hit and arced through the spilled blood, electrocuting and igniting an unfortunate mage who happened to be standing in the pool of blood.

With that, the creature fell. And the remainder of the elven squad, 1 warrior and 2 mages, stood silently in awe that the beast had been felled. They nervously looked back at the group and held their arms into the air, Terrified. The elven warrior even going so far as to throw his weapons to the ground, pleading for his life.

>Let them live, and write in questions to ask, or demands to be made.
>Kill them.
>Let the others decide.

>>116494
>>Let the others decide.

This is above our pay-grade, we might be impressive for a rank-and-file, but we are not in command.

>>116494
>Let them Live
>ASK WHAT THE FUCK DID THEY ELVES DO? The sky is red and sheet
AYY Hol up elves

>>116493
theres no way that would work as we have been killing all the elves nd it would be consedered unholy ad things thea will be easyer and make more sinse if we can keep her alive

>>116494
>Let the others decide.
Get ready to attack the mages if they start casting.

>>116494
Split up all three in different corners of the room, and question them independently. We will take a female to interrogate, if no female, then one of the mages. Thea with us, two knights each for the other two

>>116514
This

>>116515
to bang the mage Thea
>Let them live, and write in questions to ask, or demands to be made.>>116494
ask the mwhat the shit is going on and how to stop it and if they know whay the king wants this place and asking about what the monster girls was saying something about God betrayed us, the messenger lied.” what did she mean

>>116517
This
Guys remember we are just a peasant in squad of nobility

>>116545
the fires of war and heat of battle nothing matters

>>116523
>>116545
Shit youre right. Lets lay low

>>116560
with that tie breaker, Writing.

Leo felt that it wasn’t his place to make such a choice. He was amidst those who ranked far higher than him in the army, so he looked to the knights for an answer.

“So, what should we do with them?”

One of the knights quickly responded out in anger “WE KILL THEM. It’s their fault all those men died! They are responsible for the pile of bodies!” As another put his arm to the man’s shoulder.
“I understand your frustration, but this goes far beyond the war at this point. Whatever creatures these are that have been birthed into our world aren’t concerned with allegiances. You saw how quick that thing was to slaughter them, Think rationally about this. We still don’t even know what’s going on.”

Leo decided to add his own opinion to the mix.
“It may not be my place to say anything, but we should at the very least question them before we make any real decision. The more we know about what’s going on the better. What that thing said before it transformed has me concerned.”

The knights glanced at each other and back to Thea. Thea had been hunched over since casting the spell, panting heavily. She glanced up for but a moment to give a nod of approval before slinking back over, gasping. It must have been excruciating on her to cast that spell given the condition of the tree. The surge of power had yet to return to Leo, so he assumed that the presence of mana was just never coming back at this point.

The knights approached the trio and began to fire off questions, while two of the elves were left quivering in the wake of the shout fest. Leo stepped forward to break the commotion and ask
“God has betrayed us, the messenger lied. What does that mean?” It was then the Male mage stepped forward to begin to explain.

“We were deceived, Even our king was played for a fool. We opened a doorway to a place we never wanted to unseal. Your armies have dominated us in this war since its conception. We were desperate to find any way out. Any way to survive. The messenger came to offer a solution. To open a portal into the Well of Life, and release the power to secure your freedom. We were fools to trust him.”

>Where is this portal and how do we stop it?
>What came through the portal? Aren't these things still elves?
>Let them go and proceed in a hurry.
>Check on Thea.
>write in.

>>116618
>A portal to where exactly? and what came through the portal? Aren't these things still elves?

Literally this

>>116618
>Where is this portal and how do we stop it?
>What came through the portal? Aren't these things still elves?
ask these 2 then go over to Thea?
canwe ask both?

>>116646
Yes this

>>Where is this portal and how do we stop it?
>>What came through the portal? Aren't these things still elves?

Also I think we should make these fuckers help us if possible. We're gonna need more than some royal-born swords to stop whatever's happening.

>>116651
Yes. but it results in things behind the scenes.
Generally concerning questions, if its voted for enough i'll add them all in one way or another during the update. Ditto for good meta comments if you've noticed.

But lets take Thea for example this set of choices.
As Thea, what would make you feel better?
Guy drops everything to make sure you're alright first and foremost -or-
Guy interrogates P.O.W's then checks up on you?
Its incredibly subtle, and probably not worth mentioning as a QM, but i try to keep those things in mind, and the feelings these characters have as these experiences accumulate for them as i write.

>>116681
Then lets check on Thea we can't let our new waifu get mad at us.

-writing-

>>116676
yer we are going to need help
>>116681
i like that,your going a bit more in depth with the thigns we do and how and way it would effct the people, she is a battlemage of lighting im guseing but she is battlemage and should be used to this, objectife comes frist and since shes not dieing(dont back fire) and not in danger of fighting etc should be fine to chll well we find out what is going on, thats my take on it
>>116708
dont just do this becouse you want to get with her we got big things going on atm
but she shouldnt let her cast spell for a bit

>>116618
>>Check on Thea.
She is the only thing that makes it possibly for us to advance further and she doesn't consider us vermin, which is kinda nice.

>>116752
i'd go so far as to the say the rest of the squad also respects him at this point. After all, Thea had every reason to blast the first monster, pinned soldiers or not. but Leo made them a priority.

OP plz stop making people choose waifu with your unsubtle manipulations
Also you are all idiots if you think she will think of you better if you choose to check on her first
I could bet that she will think of us worse if we do

>>116681
I think that is fair. At the start we didn't have much to build off of, but slowly our actions are fleshing out Leo as a person and giving him a more specific personality. All that "filler" adds up over time.

I'm not gonna vote here, but I think we should really start considering leaving until we have some reinforcements. We're getting in way over our heads now. Unless we've got some really serious plot armor on, we're just one bad roll away from a tragic end to a magnificent quest. The enchanted sword is certainly a huge boon, but still, I think it's best to play it safe and realistically. Whatever is up ahead is going to be much worse than what we've already seen, and we already know it's capable of killing a full squad of well trained well equipped knights. Also our mage is getting fucked up.
I think after this, whatever we find out, we should start going downstairs and rejoining with the army.

>>116763
this

waifuism is the destruction of quests

>>116763
Stfu
But seriously we cant act like Thea's little puppy dog. Besides looking pathetic this is a serious situation

>>116760
>>116752
yer even thow we are pesnt we have saved a few lives and have a age sword wich arpart from spell is the only thing that can do lasting damge. there likeing us becouse we are sorta leading them beenig a good fighter if we make it out alive we could get knighted
>>116763
you know if we picked somethign earler we wouldnt even have had Thea witht us so it was jus thanded touse have made choicse that have goten us this fare

>>116783
>waifuism is the destruction of quests
Gotta agree with this. I actually will vote now:
ignore thea for now, interrogate elves about the portal and what came out of it.

>>116771
did we send a kight back to get backup and say whats happening?
but i dont think we should move to fare Thea i missed up at this point
mybe ask if one of the evles mage know whay shes gettign fucked useing the speels and if they would help make her better

>>116791
And if we fuck up we will all die
So stop thinking with your dick and think of accomplishing our mission with least possible casualties
With some luck it will also make you care a bit more about your writing

>>116798
>>116787
true trrue
but gettign some waifu isnt bad just need to do it at the right time and place during the quest and not totaly fucking it up just so we have a gf

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240 KB JPG

>>116806
I don't think we ever decided on sending a knight back, we got distracted by the creepy abomination. We just suggested it. I think even if Thea is able to still cast magic, we're not at all qualified to deal with this. The vibe I got from the start of this quest is that we aren't some super OP hero type. I say we back down for now. 5 people isn't enough to deal with this, remember: this tree is the main objective of the battle, and we've got an entire army outside. Why rush into an early death when we can have hundreds of people storm this instead.

I say it again: time to go the fuck back down.

>>116829
one knight did go back down the thousand or so stairs to try and inform the army.

>>116829
We did send a knight back, it was a mini update

File: 1461831453707.jpg (131 KB, 525x700)

131 KB JPG

>>116817
the shit are you own about? im the one wanting us to find out info then go help her so how im i thinking with my dick?
and pretty sure this what the kights are sorta like

>>116829
>I don't think we ever decided on sending a knight back, we got distracted by the creepy abomination. We just suggested it. I think even if Thea is able to still cast magic, we're not at all qualified to deal with this. The vibe I got from the start of this quest is that we aren't some super OP hero type. I say we back down for now. 5 people isn't enough to deal with this, remember: this tree is the main objective of the battle, and we've got an entire army outside. Why rush into an early death when we can have hundreds of people storm this instead.

We are here as a forward unit. It seems like the knife-ears have literally opened the gates to fucking hell out of desperation and this seems to be getting increasingly out of hand at a ever faster pace.

We seem to have gone further than anyone else have had. We should consider when we should turn back.

>>116841
>One of you should go back to inform the army, the rest of us will move quickly.”
>>116838
>>116829
this is what we said to them but i cant find where it says one of them ran off.......

Leo continued to question the mage so they could understand as much as possible about the situation.
“Where is this portal and how do we stop it?”

“The portal is located at the top of the Well of life. I am unsure as to how we would be able to close it at this point. Generally, when a doorway is opened, it is sustained by the power of the mages feeding it mana. The elven mages up top scattered a long time ago, yet the portal remains. Something is feeding that portal the energy to remain open. Maybe the messenger is keeping it open, I can’t say for sure.”

Leo then followed up with “What is even coming through this portal? Aren’t those things still elves?”

The mages head quickly turned away from the group as he responded.
“Spirits? Demons? Pure evil? I have no idea what horrible nightmare of a world we just connected too. Monsters came through the rift, Then our family members turned into those horrible abominations, everything turned to chaos. What you just faced wasn’t an elf anymore. The skin and bone used to belong to one of us, But they had died the moment those things took over. Cannibalism isn’t even close to the right word to use.”
That must explain those skeletons. Did they feed on the dead to grow in size?

None of these things were remotely comforting to Leo. The portal was still open, who knows how many things had poured through since they first entered the tower. Or since the Mana had left the area completely, But even still. They had to be about halfway up the tree now, and everyone was still okay in their group. If Thea could manage it, they might very well have a chance to close the portal. Maybe the elves here would even be willing to help. The situation was getting worse and worse by the minute.

Leo took a look back at Thea and saw that she was standing upright, As pale as ever and using her staff to prop herself up, as the other knights looked to each other without saying a word.

>write in any other questions
>Attempt to get the elves to join their cause.
> Let the elves flee
> Leave with the elves as prisoners.
>Write in

>>116873
Fuck the elves we gotta warn the entire army both elves and humans alike to stop the fighting as there is a literal portal to hell that just opened up and sucking the entire area out of mana

so

Fuck off and warn all armies portal to hell is gonna fuck us up

also pretty sure Thea is gonna die if we leave her here so yea

Not trying to pressure us into dying or anything, but if the lelfs actually opened a portal to hell that's corrupting the area and transforming people into demons from hell, what if the window of opportunity to hit the panic button and close the portal passes while we wait for reinforcements?

We're clearing the area as we move upwards, so ideally reinforcements won't be held up should we continue onwards.

>>116873
>>write in any other questions
Are there anyone left alive further up the Well of life?

>>116873
>power of the mages feeding it mana.
thats y Thea is gettgin so fucked every tim she uses speels the rift feeds apon her great.

>Attempt to get the elves to join their cause.
as they did open it in the frist place
>write in any other questions ask if they would be able to get some sort of massge to all the peopel outside about what is hapening in the tree and to stop fighting and help distroy it

>>116873
>Write in
Propose that we will move forward in goal of finding a way to close the portal but don't order it

>>116906
well more like taken over as they wore runign down from the top im thinking that theres more above us as thats where there comign from and if we get too close they might try to take over us.............>>116911
this go has a point but so does >>116894

>>116763
Not trying to waifu bait, and i think the thread is pretty balanced in the way of opinion regarding that.
Most contributors have been thinking with their heads first with some "be good to the ladies" on the side.
Even if the thread went full waifu, the plot is ripe with chances for heartbreak.

>people wants to press forward

YOU WANNA DIE?!

>>116942
if we did die would you end the quest right there or would you have us be someone eils liek Thea or one of the elvls to finsh it off?

>>116873
>Write in
"You've got two mages so maybe you can help put some perspective in place here. Have you two felt the complete void of mana recently? Our mage is having more and more trouble casting, have you felt that as well? Do you know if it's something beyond the fact that they're channeling mana that's no longer there?"

>Attempt to get elves to join the cause
"Listen, this war's gone to hell. Literally. No one, elf or human is getting out of this alive if we don't start working together."

>>116957
Look at it this way
If we succeed at sealing the great evil beyond the portal it will save hundreds of lives and allow our army to fight whatever took out the reinforcements we were going to have for battle
If we won't we will maybe live comfortable life assuming the world won't fall into eternal age of darkness or we get killed by something else

>>116873
Lets move ahead up to the portal. Bring the elves and keep an eye on them

>>116977
If the MC dies, i would leave it up to a vote. I like the world so far.

But just remember that a lot of time and development has gone into the character that anons have contributed too, that would all be blown away.
also writing now.

hmmm guys y is it the sword we have is still workign but the mage is not doign soo well them bith use/d mana to work?
>>116993
true as it wouldnt be the same

“Is there anyone still alive beyond this floor?” Leo asked.

The mage raised his head as he replied. “There were a few of your people up ahead who gave us enough time to get this far, But we had no idea more of us had run away and… changed on the way down.”

More men were up ahead doing battle? That might have just been the saving grace they needed. Thea was looking extremely exhausted, and they couldn’t keep relying on her forever. But were they even still alive at this point? It would be quite the risk to gamble our odds on someone still being alive battling those things.

“You two are mages right? Did you feel the complete lack of mana in the area? Our mage is having a hard time casting. Do you know if something else is at work here?” Leo said.

“Yes.. It’s been hard for us to gather enough mana to fight back since that moment. We assume it has something to do with why the portal is still open, but we can’t be sure. It would make a lot of sense why the messenger emphasized we preform the ritual here. Since you’re asking I’ll assume you are unaware. Every living being has mana within themselves. It is no different than the blood that pumps through our veins. If a mage is skilled enough, such mana can be tapped into to supplement their magic.”

The group looked back at Thea upon hearing the elves words, as she glanced away from their gazes, still holding herself upright with her staff.
That made things even worse. If she was pushing herself that hard to cast so quickly.. so powerfully. It wasn’t something she was just going to get over in a few minutes. Would they be able to shut the portal and whatever else is waiting for them up there without here? Her magic seemed vastly superior to that of the elven mages. It was her strike which managed to kill not one, But two of these creatures so far.

“In any event, this has all gone to hell. Elf, Human, nobody is going to get out of this alive if we don’t cooperate. The entire world could even be at stake here.”
Everyone remained silent upon hearing Leo’s words. Silent gazes of resentment and hate were traded within the room as the air grew thick with tension. It was the other mage, an elven girl who spoke first.
“So what are we going to do?”

>Retreat and gather reinforcements.
>rest for a while
>Charge the next floor to help anyone still alive.
>go alone to see the situation on the next floor.
>write in

>>117050
Go down and attempt to burn down the tree.

>>117057
Seriously?
Not only it's probably resistant to fire nothing is saying that this is going to close the portal

>>117050
>>Retreat and gather reinforcements.

Magic is not going to help us any longer. Something is draining all the mana and we don't have enough sword hands to deal with this.

We do have information, so we are not going back empty-handed.

>>117050
>>go alone to see the situation on the next floor.

WE BE HEROS N SHIEET

>>117050
I say we go forward. I was for going back at first, but that's no fun. Lets do it. Tell Thea to head back

>>117087
>Go scouting alone
>Come back to dead elves

My vote is to take a knight or two with us scouting. No risks, just see if we can't hear or see anyone else living. Our party just got done with two beasts and the elves have been running for their lives since the start of things. It'll be a good breather for everyone and give reinforcements a chance to catch up to us.

>>117087
LETS GET IN THERE MANG
SHEEEEEIT

>>117050
Go up the stairs and peek through the passage into next room and then hurry back down.
Shouldn't we have some anti-magic knights too considering the world setup?

>>117109
arprt from dieing and shit
but they just said everyliving thign has mana in them so use just beenign in this fuckoffhuge tree is makign the portal stay open long as well as all the fihgting happeing outside as much as i ould liek to jus tleron jakins into it all we shoould pull back and try to get people to stop killling each other >>117085

>>117126
ummm magic isnt like in the d/d word its alot harder to come by and use
so we wouldnt really meed anti-magic knights as theres not mamny mages and a good old stabing kills them anyways

>>117126
yeah they exist, just not in this squad

-writing-

>>117144
ok how do they work? do they work liek this portal and distroy to abbtle to use mana?

>>117172
I feel like it would be more that they have weaponry and armor that wards off magical strikes.

>>117172
weapons, armor, items, can all be enchanted with different properties. Likewise for potions. If a knight manages to acquire a vast array of gear, he can find himself immune to various elements and magics. But, fielding such knights is incredible expensive, time consuming and risky.

Tbh i dont think spilling out all these world details is such a good idea outside the storyline

>>117204
Its all subject to change until it enters the plot. Posts you all have made during the quests run has changed a lot of the plans and ideas i had in place at the start of things.
Also, i spoiler it for a reason.

>>117204
It's not like he's telling us any secrets or stuff

>>117206
Fair enough

>>117193
makes since, as they are sorta bceom liek the heros/ champons of the place from gettign all that gear, and or trained soo the numbers ar ging to be very low as youl only bring them out when shit hits the fan which it has fingers crossed

>>117204
Our PC is a conscripted hick, it would dilute the writing and make it less enjoyable to read this quest if all our questions and corresponding info dumps would be in character.

We can assume that Thea has been explaining these things somewhere from when we joined up with her squad and now or in the rare case that Leo knew about it before.

“We don’t know enough to make the right decision here. If we have a decent force up ahead, or if they have already dealt with the threat then it would be senseless to abandon this advantage, now that we know the portal isn’t closing.” Leo spoke.
“That said, I’m going to go on up ahead by myself to see what the situation is. Thea is far too exhausted to make that trip back down if something goes wrong up there. If I’m not back soon, Head out of the tree and let everyone know what’s going on. The army has to refocus its efforts if we can’t pull this off.”

The group remained silent as Leo made his way to the staircase before he heard a faint voice from behind. “We’ll be here until you get back.” Thea said, as she took a seat on the ground, breathing heavily. Leo smirked as he made his way up the staircase. It must have been her small form of reassurance. But after everything he had seen, Leo couldn’t honestly feel comfortable with his chances. Nothing set him apart from any of the other soldiers and warriors who had died in this place, Quite the contrary as a matter of fact. He was underequipped, undertrained, and completely ignorant to the vast majority of the situation at hand. The fact that he didn’t even know mages could end up killing themselves from casting spells was evidence of that.

Leo quickly made his way up the staircase. It only then dawned on him as he ran just how many stairs it was that they ended up climbing. The exhaustion was starting to set in and Leo could feel his legs starting to get heavy. ‘At least going down will be a lot easier than going up’ he thought. He might just throw himself down the staircase if it came to it, at least all the banging would alert the others.

Leo made it to the doorway into the next room and peered around the corner slowly. The first thing that caught his eye was a large skeleton near the set of stairs leading to the 5th floor. He then saw the room littered with corpses just as it was on the first floor of the Tree. But in the middle of the room sat a knight in armor that seemed somewhat familiar. The vast amounts of blood and gore strewn across the knight and the room made it hard to tell. Was it safe? Had anyone made it out alive? Maybe they were headed to the next floor already.

>Approach the knight to examine him closer.
>Head back down the stairs
>”Anyone still alive?!”
>write in.

>>117273
Most of the things Leo learned/ already knows. its just never going to come up in conversation anytime soon. Like the enchanted items thing.

>>117280
Only one knight sitting in the middle?

Head back down. It's no longer effecting just the elves. I'm willing to bet it's another WRITHING MASS. This time it'll be armored though.

>>117273
alot of those thigns was me aksing about the world as to work out how thigns work

>>117313
This

>>117313
chacning are its to to try to kill us and thinking how this happening im goign ot say thats uour friend that gave us the shigny sword and shit gd titty fuckign damit gota make sure its not him>Approach the knight to examine him closer. but only enguh to see if we know him and no where near arms reach

>>117280
>knight in armor that seemed somewhat familiar
Oh no that's Greg isn't it?

>>117280
This is fucking risky. Why the fuck would he be sitting there the same way the other ones were? He's been corrupted most likely. I say observe for a moment silently, but unless we get some very definite proof he's still not turned into an....abomination, we head back down and tell the others.

The only type of heroes are sandwiches and dead ones.

>>117348
I'm not trying to be a dick, but do you have dyslexia or something?

-writing-

>>117353
thats what im thinkign as he was in the front of the fight and was sounding pretty worryed>Approach the knight to examine him closer.
ask is that you Greg?
>>117377
my typing on the laptop makes me mis type things and suck at spellign and might have dyslexia so no not beenign a dick

Leo unable to get a clear view of the knight, and having seen every other thing that sits in the middle of the room turn into a huge monstrosity, He opted to head back downstairs to meet up with the others and tell them the situation. The massive skeleton was a good sign, it seems that the royal knights managed to finish one of the beats, but Leo just couldn’t risk walking into another one of those things by himself.

Leo headed back down the stairway and entered the 3rd floor where everyone was waiting for him. As he walked through the door everyone began to approach him, and Leo could see that Thea was standing upright without having to lean on her staff.
“So what did you find?” one of the royals asked.

“Looks like the room is clear… there was a massive skeleton by the other stairway, and one knight positioned in the center of the room. I didn’t check it out since it could have been another one of those… things. Other than that, I don’t know if anyone made it or if they went up to the 5th floor.”

One of the knights responded, “Well.. if its just one of those things, with the elven mages helping us out and lifting the burden on Thea, I think we’ll be alright. It didn’t see you did it?”
“No, it was just sitting there. We might be alright. Thea how are you?” Leo said.

“I’m doing better, thanks. I won’t overdo it this time, so if everyone wants to press onwards I’m ready.”

Leo then thought back to the man they had sent outside. Why hadn’t any reinforcements shown up yet? He should have at least made it back by now to say if anyone had believed him or not. Then Leo made a grim realization.

‘What if the army was already under attack.’

There were no windows inside the great tree. They had no idea what was going on outside these walls. Maybe the reason nobody made it up here was because they are already engaged with the new threat outside? Who’s to say there aren’t other portals opening up all across the citadel? Could this also be the reason that the other battalion never rendezvoused? Leo couldn’t dare to imagine what would become of them if they became stuck between these monsters from both below and above.

>Bringthis theory to the groups attention
>Head upstairs together
>rest a while longer
>write in

>>117501
>Head upstairs together
Saying such things will do nothing but distract them and it's not like we will be of use anyway

>>117501
>Head upstairs together

Lets not alert the others, but if they disagree with pushing further or falter, we should mention the possibility of no reinforcements.

>>117501
>>Head upstairs together

FUCK THAT MORALE REDUCING THOUGHT YOU HERETIC

ONWARDS TO VICTORY

>>117501
>>Bringthis theory to the groups attention

-writing-
gonna be the last update for the session.
9 hour 30 mins too, longest one yet.

>>117501
>head upstairs together

>>117643
You've kept me entertained on my 16 hour car ride, you're a good man.

Reminds me of me when I'd stream x-com for/tg/ for up to 20 hours at a time.

With everyone in agreement, the group headed up the stairway to the 5th floor. Leo was at the front of the group, knowing what already lay ahead. Once at the top floor, Leo looked into the room and saw that the knight that was in the middle had moved slightly. It was now laying on the ground closer to the doorway they were at, with what appeared to be fresh blood beneath the armor.
“He wasn’t there before.. he moved” Leo whispered.
The mages began to channel their magic as the group waited, and on their signal everyone moved forward slowly around the body on the ground. With a quick exchange of looks and nods, Leo kicked at the body and backed up expecting a reaction, But the room remained silent. It turns out the knight was just that. Leo quickly ran over to the warrior and turned him around. With the helmet face up, Leo could finally see clearly just who it was that had been sitting in the center of the room.

It was Gregory.

“GREGORY!!!” Leo screamed.
Frantically, Leo put his head to Gregory’s chest to listen for a pulse, look for breathing, anything. He shook his friend and shouted his name, desperately trying to get any response he could. But not a sound. Not a breath, Not a twitch. It was too late. Leo started breathing rapidly, His heartrate quickened as his vision began to blur. He quickly removed the helmet from his friend and gazed upon his face. He looked so peaceful. His face had been untouched aside from a small spattering of blood by his lips. Leo put a hand to his check.

He was still warm.

Gregory, Leo’s best of friends. The one who had entrusted him with this silver blade, the chainmail on his body, and so much encouragement and praise, understanding and time, Had died only mere moments ago.

Leo was overwhelmed with a surge of emotion. The tears couldn’t be held back any longer as he clutched Gregory in his arms with all his strength. Why him? Why here? How did it end up this way? Every futile thought and every ounce of blame Leo could cast on himself and anyone around him, did nothing to quell the torrent of sadness bellowing from deep within his chest.
His best friend died alone, In this cold and dark place. His last moments, covered in the gore of his comrades, and the uncertainty that his deeds had any impact at all.

Leo set down Gregory’s body, and let his head from into Gregory’s breastplate. Now covered in the blood of so many, for the first time on the battlefield, Leo wept.

And that’s where we are callin it lads. As always, ill be around for a while for feedback/ suggestions/ discussion and the like. Hope you all have enjoyed what we’ve created together.

>>117738
oops, forgot the spoilers on the last line there.
fug.

>>117738
FFFFFFFFFUUUUUCKK EVERYTHING!!!

Thanks for the quest op as always exciting as fuck

>>117738
Thank you, see you next session!

>>117738
Oh honestly we should have realized it's Gregory on one of these six thousand stairs

>>117763
Continuation when?

>>117738
had we gone in to what looked like an obvious trap, could we have saved him or was he fated to die anyway?

>>117776
My pleasure, as always
.>>117780
Hope to see you there also.
>>117791
Good question. Might have a smaller session tomorrow, not sure when since ill be spooging on D44M to be honest.

twitter and this thread will be updated hours prior to me having a session tho.

>>117794
it would have been possible to save him. But it would have meant leaving the tree which might have had its own brand of fun
Im hoping that i make you guys sit down for a while and really think over the choices sometimes.

>>117814
Well damn.

Looks like it's nowhere but up from here.

>>117814
and then the demonic influence raises Gregory as a undead

>>117873
I'm not that cruel.
Yet.
Also, just noticed another typo because im such shit, but they are actually only on the 4th floor, top floor is the 6th. I'll correct that with the next sessions opening post.

>>117783
called it befor
but as befor the chocise we made made this outcome happen. mbye if we killed the elvs and run up here we could have saved him but then wouldnt knwo wtf is goign on and probs got Thea to kill herslf by doing spells and things somethign liek that op?>>117738

>>117913
so its liek we are trading thigns off, you gained a mage and knogle osrta whats happenen but lost your friend each patth i hope dose this

>>117929
yeah basically. I always planned for Gregory to be in the tower. Brom would have told Leo outright if someone wrote in that question. They fought their way to the 4th floor, where they held off monsters to allow the elves to retreat, some stayed to help fight, ultimately to just retreat again, while the first to run away mutated on the 2nd and 3rd floors.

But the only thing i had in mind when i started the session was "Gregory is in the tower" everything else worked out the way it did because choices.

>>117929
also sorry about speellling not to good and its now 4am here stop makign such a good story!! jks keep doign it

>>117958
I feel like we also could have had the thought it was Greg when we heard about humans not being assholes and helping the elves escape. A loose connection, but still.

>tfw I catch up right when it ends
Great quest, Boo. I'm loving it. I'm keeping this thread open just in case it's not on autosage yet. I'm hooked.

A shame I missed on this session, nice job OP.

page 7 necro

Prepping for another session of Genocide quest, Look for the update to drop in an hour.

>>126052
yay

File: sky.jpg (1.47 MB, 3648x2736)

1.47 MB JPG

Leo slowly made his way to his feet, stumbling on his way up. The room remained completely silent as everyone had simply watched the display unfold before them. Nobody could find the words that Leo needed to hear. Looking around the 4th floor, Leo was met with silent gazes and saddened faces. A few of the other royal knights slowly stepped forward to pay their respects for a fallen comrade. Even though Gregory had been drafted into the army, no different than Leo. He saw that in the end, Gregory truly had been treated as one of their own. That brought a small fragment of peace into Leo’s heart.

It didn’t take too long once Leo had stood up that the feelings inside began to change. His entire body was still shaking, but not out of sorrow. His sadness now being overcome with anger. His regret turning to hate, and what better place to divert all these hostile feelings than at his enemy. Leo was eager to send this foul creations back to whatever hellscape they came from. Leo clenched his sword firmly and grit his teeth. As furious as he was, He couldn’t help but stare at the large skeleton positioned by the doorway proceeding to the next floor.

With Gregory gone, If Leo followed in his place, Greg’s family would never know of his heroic sacrifice. They would never see their sword returned. The full burden of his vow came crashing down on his shoulders. After a few deep breaths, and a moment to collect himself, Leo set aside his rage and turned back to face the group.

“So, How many floors are left until the top of this god forsaken tree?”

One of the elven mages replied, stating that only one floor stood in their way before reaching the top where the portal resides. Their goal was so close, but Leo had so much to lose. The fact that a man such as Gregory could meet his end in a place like this spoke of the dangers that were before them. What was the right answer? Leo couldn’t help thinking. Who would care to remember them if they died before shutting the portal?

Leo observed that Thea looked exhausted, but was still managing to stand upright without support, The other mages seemed to be in good condition.

>Press onwards
>leave the tree, Gregory’s body in tow.
>Rest a while more.
>write in

>>126218
>Press onwards
Tella Thea to take a short rest before coming up.

-writing-
also extending the next voting period due to how slow things are atm.

‘No, If there’s some chance… Any chance that we can put an end to this madness, we have to try.’ Leo thought to himself. He took one more look back at Thea and said, “Thea, you should rest just a while longer before heading up to the next floor. The two elven mages can handle things till you get there. Make every moment count, alright?”

After spending a moment to think it over, She agreed and took a seat. The royals stood up and began to make their way to the doorway. As they passed Leo they gave him a pat on the shoulder and whispered condolences, but now wasn’t the time for feeling sorry for ourselves. They had to keep their eyes forward and move carefully. Who knew what sorts of things could had crossed the portal after all this time. They made their way into the stairwell and began their ascent.

One of the royal knights leading the pack turned and addressed the group. “Mages, your part is crucial in the upcoming battle. Have your magic’s prepared and ready as soon as you can when we hit the top floor. We’ll keep the thing away from you until you can blast the thing into pieces. It’s what has gotten us this far and I don’t see a reason to change it.”

The question in the back of Leo’s mind however, was whether the efforts of the elven mages would be enough to kill whatever it was they ran into. Thea had been using her own mana to supplement her attacks, and they just barely had gotten the job done. Leo was quite concerned about how the situation would unfold if the beast wasn’t slain after the first magic barrage. The truth was, if any of the creatures were intelligent enough to go straight for the mages, they wouldn’t have a single hope of winning. It was only through the monsters mindless rage that they had won battle after battle, Even then.. almost too close for comfort. It was quite unsettling to have to pin so much hope on your former enemies, and the elves must have felt the same way. Especially having seen our men sit and watch as half of them were smashed into a fine red mist only minutes ago.

The group made their way to the fifth floor and saw it appeared to be completely empty. The mages stood ready to cast, as the knights all glanced at one another confused at the sight.
Hadn’t the elves been running away at this point? Yet not a single spattering of blood or body could be seen from the doorway. It didn’t feel right.

>Enter the room together
>Send someone in alone to check things out
>Wait a while to see if anything happens
>Wait for Thea to catch up before proceeding.
>Write in.

>>126348
Do the elven mages have any searching/revealing spells?

If not,
>Enter the room together
Make sure to check the ceiling incase somethings there.

-writing-

The royal knights slowly made their way into the room, with the two mages, elven warrior, and Leo close behind. As they walked through the doorway, there wasn’t a single sign of life anywhere in the room. With quick glances up towards the ceiling, nothing could be seen there either. Looking behind them and around the entire room, it was indeed completely empty. Or so they had thought.

After everyone had made their way into the room, the doorway behind them had become sealed. Thick branches and vines quickly grew from the floor and barricaded the room, leaving them trapped inside a seemingly empty room. It was then that a human shaped portion of the wall began took a few steps forward before unveiling itself to be some kind of mage. Wearing a long dark robe, its face was obscured completely. But the lone hand that was reaching forward revealed the occupant of those garments was anything but human. Three long slender tendrils extending outward from the palm of an otherwise human hand, disappearing into the cloak of the being.

Before anyone had time to react, the loud sounds of stomping steel boots could be heard from the stairwell ahead of them, and not a moment sooner a figure moved forward from the doorway. It had bent over to avoid its head colliding with the doorframe, as the being was standing about 9 feet tall, Very slender in appearance wearing bits and pieces of steel around its leathery red skin. The skulls of both human and elf lined the creature’s chest and waist, and its right fore-arm was instead replaced with a razor sharp blade about 5 feet long. The weapon was massive and rectangular, but the being held it upright so that it wouldn’t drag across the ground.

The towering thing wore the skull of a deer for a helmet, or maybe that was its head? Leo couldn’t tell from this distance, but it was certainly different from anything they had encountered so far. Both of the fiends began to cackle and laugh as our group stood firmly in place, weapons drawn. Leo had no idea what to expect. How fast they were, how powerful they might be, everything was unknown to the group, and every action they might take posed a great risk. But the one detail that struck fear into Leo was that these two things were intelligent. They had a language, they kept their distance. They had them trapped, and it was their plan to do so.

>Attempt to attack the tall creature.
>Attempt to attack the mage that had trapped them.
>Stand your ground and prepare to counterattack.
>Tell the mages to blast apart the branches and vines, then flee.
> Let the mages attack one of the targets first. [write in which]
> write in

Roll a 1d100. majority vote will determine the course of action, average of all rolls determines the outcome. Due to the significance of this event, Voting will last until we have more than 1 vote, without any ties.

>>126432
Holy shit. So glad I decided to check the board right now. I don't know what to do here. The mage should be our first priority I guess. We probably can't flee at this point, either way Thea wouldn't be able to keep up. I can't roll currently

>>126439
Thea has yet to reach the 5th floor, but shes on the way. left her behind to rest a moment longer.
Also, if you make a choice, i can roll on your behalf if you want.

>>126432
>Let others make decisions because we aren't a royal
If not then
> Let the mages attack one of the targets first. [write in which]
Tall one
Others attack the mage

>>126444
can i get a 1d100 with that, good sir.

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>126449
Ok, I can roll now.
> Let the mages attack one of the targets first. [write in which]
Tall one
Others attack the mage

Rolling for this

Rolled 47 (1d100)

> Let the mages attack one of the targets first.
Tall one

What would be the wiser; trying to defeat them one by one or splitting our force to fight them at the same time?

>>126460
ah fuck. Top kek, maybe I shouldn't have rolled after all.

>>126460
>>126462
Oh shit.
welp. start the timer. writing in 15 mins.

>>126470
You do average of rolls right? Someone get some fuckers in this thread to start rolling FAST!

>>126470
We are fucked.

>So is this greentext. Hope not

>>126472
Yep, average of all rolls on this one. which is 36.5 right now.

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>126432
>Let the mages attack one of the targets first
Attack the tall one and keep an eye on the mage

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>126476
Yeah, we're bretty fucked, i think us 2 are only ones here atm. RIP leo.

>>126482
Ouhh shit

>>126482
>each roll is worse than the previous one
Roll 1 when?

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>126484
Don't worry, that roll doesn't count, I already rolled. A 26. Not much better than 10, but whatever. Now i'm just rolling out of nervousness and to see just how bad my luck is. Pretty fucking bad, apparently.

>>126490
Yeah, i can see that.

Rolled 56 (1d100)

Holy shit guys

>>126490
My fucking sides.

>>126460
>>126462
>>126481
>>126492
-writing-
Roll average of 48

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>126432
New participant

>>126496
awwww, mere seconds.
You know what, I'll count it.
new average of 50

>>126498
Yay, thanks! The cavalry is here, comrades!

As the creatures laughed, the royals quickly moved to the sides as the mages unleashed two great fireballs directly at the Tall one. It remained still as the attack approached and collided with the being. The force from the blast sent a shock down Leo’s spine, and sent the enemy mage tumbling across the room and into the left wall, But as the smoke cleared, the Tall one was still standing. He had several large burns on his flesh, and the armor on his torso had been vaporized by the attack., Yet it remained silent.

The very same attacks which had blown apart the monster from the previous battle, had only produced a few burns? Maybe the armor had absorbed some of the damage, But for the creature to not even have budged from where it was standing was a bad sign. They had gotten in over their heads. The large beast began to run full speed at the group, as everyone leapt out of the way of the monster except for the elven warrior.

Vines and branches had sprung from the ground and wrapped around his legs and up to his waist. At the realization he had no way to move, He desperately raised his sword in an attempt to block the mighty swing from the Tall one. The sound of steel being sheered apart Echoed throughout the room, as we all heard a loud scream suddenly be cut short. Leo looked on in horror as the upper half of the elven warrior went spinning through the air, blood being slung all across the room as his lower torso remained rooted in place, oozing blood onto the ground. He had been sliced clean in half. The upper part of his sword was also found at his feet. The weapon did nothing to hinder the Tall one’s attack, and they were all trapped with this creature.

The mages would need considerable time to gather the mana for another attack, and if this thing decided to go straight for the mages, there was virtually nothing the group would be able to do to stop it. All the while, that wicked mage at the far wall would just be using its magic to lock us down to be ripped apart by this Tall one. They had to act quickly.

>Attempt to attack the Tall one.
>Defend the mages
>Rush after the Tree mage.
>Split up and attack them both.
>Do everything in your power to escape
>write in

Roll a 1d100 with your vote. Majority chooses the action, Average of all rolls determines the outcome.
For reference, your group now consist of 3 Royal knights, Leo, 2 mages, and Thea on the way up the stairs.

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>126522
>Split up and attack them both.

>>126526
Jesus christ.

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>126527
I'm rolling again damn it

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>126522
>>Split up and attack them both.

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>126522
>Split up and attack them both

>>126530
sorry, i have to count your first vote, as much as i don't like it either. gotta have some integrity. hopefully the others bring it up more.

I'm not rolling anymore, I don't trust my rolls. I think we should focus on the mage. We can't do shit against the tall one.

>>126535
But what if yours was the 100 that turned this action into a booming success? that aligned the stars in the sky and brought fate to its knees? i mean, the 18 already happened.
current average is 42.6.

>>126522
>>Split up, with Leo rushing after the Tree mage.
Stick the tree mage with the magic short sword.
Not rolling because we're currently at >50.

Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>126540
>>126542
okay, I didn't see that, rolling after all.
I hate averaging rolls.

>>126535
But if we focus on just one enemy we are going to get destroyed because they work together. If we split up and attck them both the mage can't lock us with his vines leaving him with a choice either save his life or to stop our attack on the Tall one.

>>126545
The hero we needed.

>>126545
I think averaging rolls is the best system. Taking the first roll is lame, taking the best roll usually means nothing bad happens. Average is best. Each player now has a huge impact, and if the average is already decent, you don't have to roll.

It think we're at 52 now
>>126540
Or I'll be the 1 that kills us :/

>>126545
bumps the average to 52.
>>126558
its why i decided on that to be the system going forward. I haven't explained the DC's yet, but i'll say that the difference between 50 and 60, or 50 and 40 is quite large as far as outcomes are concerned.

>>126559
I just guess that once we are at 50+, nobody in their right mind (and with updated thread) will roll for fear of rolling low. So if the first roll is a 99 hopefully nobody rolls, and if the average is at 40 everybody rolls.

>>126566
Indeed, it has its own ups and downs.
another factor to consider though, what if that 99 roll is picking an unappealing course of action? I'm not counting votes without rolls attached.
at the end of the day, it gets people thinking and being involved moreso than if i just say "best of first come first served."

-writing- average was 52

>>126545
Not rolling after yours

Before giving the enemy another opportunity to attack, the royal knights split up and charged both the Tall one and the Tree Mage. Leo was rushing his way over at the tall one, silver sword in hand, shield at the ready. He didn’t know what good the shield would do, but he had to try. It could end up being thick enough to slow down his attack and avoid instant death.

As the royal knights rushed down the Tree mage, a sharp beam of bark and wood shot forth from the ground, impaling one of the knights through his stomach. He roared out in pain as his comrade closed the distance and cut the mage from head to toe, Center mass. The mage fell onto its back revealing the creature beneath the robes. The thing was nothing more than a thin veil of skin covering bone, with tentacles and tendrils sprouting from its extremities, But even though the creature had been slain its magic remained in place. The door was barricaded, and the knight, stuck on the spear of wood that had burst through his guts

Leo and his ally rushed down the Tall one. Once in range, the knight swung his sword as the beast brought his sword to deflect the blow, leaving Leo with an opening. He jumped up at the beast and drove his silver sword into its chest. The blade slipped into the creature like butter, and plumes of smoke burst forth from the wound as it roared out in agony. The Tall one used his free hand to throw Leo away from him, as the knight inflicted a deep wound in its back. But even so, there was barely any blood coming from the thing, as it quickly turned around, swatting the knight with the flat of his sword. Sending him soaring through the air and into the distant wall.

Leo then distinctly heard the sounds of grunts and screams coming from the sealed doorway, as he saw a sword begin to poke its way through. Thea had arrived at the top of the stairway and was attempting to cut down the branches and vines sealing the door. Her progress seemed slow, but maybe with some help the way could be cleared quickly. This grim situation was only getting worse and worse by the second. It looked like the mages would need more time before they were ready to cast again.

>Rally together and attempt to slay the Tall one.
>Help Thea clear the doorway.
>Buy enough time for the mages to attack
>Wait for the Tall one to attack someone before attacking again.
>Write in

Roll a 1d100, same as before. Note that your vote won’t be counted unless you roll with it.

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>126607
>Write in
Pierce the illusion and kill the caster!

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>126607
>Help Thea clear the doorway

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>Buy enough time for the mages to attack

>>126621
Fuck that greentext.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>126607
>>Help Thea clear the doorway.
I would have preferred option 4 but since we are at a draw I vote for helping Thea and hope I don't ruin the average

>>126630
current average is now 59.5

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>126607
>clear the doorway

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>126634
>Clear

>>126642
damn dude. how many leprechauns did you piss off.

What is the current average, OP?

-writing- average: 55.3

>>126646
I was just wondering that myself. I thought, no way my luck would be bad a 4th time. I was wrong.

>>126642
>>126645
I think you need a lesson in statistics: Each roll has a 50:50 chance (technically 49:51 since hitting 50 is a success) of either helping or hindering us towards succeeding at all. When the current average is at 60, there is a higher chance (59%) that the next roll will push the average down that up.
If after 4 rolls the average is 60 (240/4), even rolling a 100 will only push the average to 68 (340/5) while a 1 will lead to a 48.2 (241/5) average. So if the option you want is in the lead and the current average is above 50, it is risky to vote and roll at all, you can't do much good but you can do much bad.
There is very much meta action needed and that's why I don't like average rolls.

>>126675
Don't be worried. Chance doesn't look back at what you rolled before, each roll is a new game. Like after hitting black 10 times in a row at roulette, the chance for the 11th game to end in red is still only 50% (or 49.something including the 0).

Leo quickly rushed over towards the door and began cutting away at the branches and vines along with Thea. Once Leo had approached, she stopped cutting away at the branches and started channeling for a spell.
“Once the doorway is clear, get down!” she hastily replied, as Leo continued to hack away at the barricade.

After pulling the wounded knight from the spike of bark, the royal help fend off the Tall one. He could do little against the overwhelming strength of his enemy. The Tall one furiously swung his blade of an arm, as the knight did his best to avoid the blows. But unable to keep up with the monstrous assault, the creature landed a strike against the knight from below, shredding apart his armor and sending him flying into the ceiling, before crashing back down into the ground.

After taking the devastating attack, the elven mages cast in unison another wave of fireballs directly at the beast. The magic struck the fiend directly upon his back, as it cried out in pain and anger. The Tall one sluggishly turned itself around and began walking towards the mages. Every knight was seriously wounded, and still desperately trying to crawl their way over to the Tall one to stop him from advancing. The mages didn’t attempt to flee from the monster, having seen how quickly it can move. They instead desperately fired off weaker spells, doing little to hinder the beast’s movements.

It was then that Leo had finally managed to cut away the last large branch covering the doorway, As Thea quickly marched through and aimed her staff at the Tall one. Leo leapt out of the way as with a thunderous crack, a bolt of lightning shot forth striking the enemy. Bolts of energy surged throughout its being as it caught on fire soon after, Flesh crackling and popping from the attack.
Having finally reached its limit, the creature fell face first into the ground, burning away into little more than a pile of ashes and Thea breathed heavily, bent over with her hands on her knees. The battle was over, but a large price had been paid.
Leo found himself no worse for ware, with the exception for a few bruises from being tossed across the room.

>Check on the injured and treat those who need it most
>Check the stairway leading to the top floor
>”what took you so long?”
>write in

Rolled 64 (1d100)

>>126730
>>Check on the injured and treat those who need it most
Thea needs time to gather strenght, too.

OP, why do you bold some text? I see no difference to the rest.

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>126730
>Check on the injured and treat those who need it most

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>126730
>Check on the injured and treat those who need it most

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>126730
>Check on the injured and treat those who need it most

>>126743
events that were subject to the outcome of the roll.
For one example: The knight could have went anywhere from die immediately, to survive unscratched.

Also, we don't need to roll for things unless i mention it during the update. because
#1- I'm still always open to changing the roll mechanics as we go along and
#2- the chance of utterly failing to do every little simple thing would be silly.

>>126766
>#2- the chance of utterly failing to do every little simple thing would be silly.
I'd take the chance.

-writing-

With little Delay, Leo made his way around the room examining the royals who had been injured in the fight, the elven mages were also quick to get up and act, doing their best to treat the two who had been struck by the Tall one. As Leo approached the knight on the ground near the pillar, He could see that the wound was far more severe than in had first looked. His armor had been bent inwards, so much so that it had been pushed clean through to his backside, but the bleeding had still been far too serious, and Leo couldn’t think of any way for them to have possibly removed the armor without killing him. It was needless to say he was gone.

As Leo headed over towards the other two, the elves had already begun inspecting them closely. The knight who had been struck by the flat of the sword didn’t look any worse for wear, but the force of the blow had to be strong enough to break bone. The elven girl was in the process of helping him remove his armor to get a better look.

The knight who had been struck by the sword of the Tall one appeared to be much worse shape at first glance. His shield had been cut in half, His armor nearly split apart also, as a large cut extended from his hip to halfway up his chest. He was bleeding significantly, but was still able to move around alright. It seemed the cut hadn’t been deep enough to hit anything vital, but the wound was quite serious regardless. He certainly wouldn’t be able to perform nearly as well in combat from such a state.

The group was in shambles. Two had been killed, Two more seriously injured, and Thea was on the brink of collapse. But in spite of all this, they had come so far. Only one more set of stairs was between them and the portal, but nobody still had any idea of how the portal could be closed. And there was no indication of who or what may be up there waiting for them. They had barely enough strength to stand up to those two demons, Even if only one more were to face them, all that stood between the mages and the enemy, was Leo. ‘If only those damn reinforcements were here already!’ Leo thought. He couldn’t understand what had happened, but he couldn’t see this mission ending in success without some sort of miracle.

>Scout out the next floor by yourself.
>Rest for a while.
>Head back downstairs and leave the tree.
>Ask the group what they think is best.
>write in

>>126826
Ask the group I guess

>>126826
>Rest for a while.
>Ask the group what they think is best.

>>126826
>Scout out the next floor by yourself.

>>126826
>>Scout out the next floor by yourself.
>>Rest for a while.
Gather our breath, then slowly advance but only part of the way (for quick backup), then scout alone.

-writing-

Rolled 2 (1d2)

forgot to roll.
>>126838
>>126858

Given the condition everyone was in, Leo proposed, “I’ll go on ahead and scout out the final floor of the tree.. We’re too close to give up just yet. I’ll find out what’s up ahead and we can go from there.”
Leo would have preferred to move on to the final floor as a group, but he knew that someone or something was up there, and rushing blindly onto the top floor would most likely get everyone killed. So he decided assessing the situation first would give them better options.
Everyone else was far too battered and worn out to bother replying, so with just a few nods of the head Leo was off. It looked like Thea had something to say, But Leo hurried up the stairwell before she managed to get the words out.

Leo slowly marched his way up the stairs. He was starting to get exhausted after both the climb to the top, and all the fighting on the way there. He wasn’t sure that he would even be able to get away if the enemy decided to give chase. So he intentionally slowed his pace to try and catch his breath as he approached the final floor. It all boiled down to this. One last fight before the portal could be shut, and the battle come to an end. If all had gone well, the fighting outside of the tower had already been concluded, but the lack of any reinforcements, or anyone for that matter made him question what the situation really was outside.

As the approached the final doorway, he could see the red light that was shining down on the tree reflecting into the stairway, but as he peered around the doorframe and looked outside, the bark of the tree had become black, and a swirling vortex was positioned at the middle. Not far from the portal, something could be seen floating off the ground. It was covered from head to toe in a dark red magician’s robe, with tattered rags and bits of cloth attached. The robe itself was incredibly worn, with many holes and rips all throughout. A set of arms had extended over the portal, but they were completely bone. Was it a lich of some sort? Leo couldn’t tell for sure. It’s back was facing him, and he could only catch slight glimpses as the thing waved its arms about occasionally.

But that was not all that was atop the tree. A black figure with a crown, another hulking flesh monstrosity like the one from the 3rd floor, and something he had never seen before. It almost looked like a minotaur breed with a squid.
It was then that the floating mage pointed a boney arm directly at Leo. As the other three creatures reacted, Leo quickly turned around the corner with his back pressed against the wall. ‘Had they seen me? Where they going to go down the stairway to the 5th floor? His heart was racing and his breathing heavy. His legs still felt like they were filled with lead.”

>Sprint down the stairway as quickly as possible.
>Look back around the corner to see what they are doing.
>slowly try to creep back downstairs.
>write in.

>>126939
>>Look back around the corner to see what they are doing.
I feel like slowly creeping down means they catch us and sprinting down will tell them we're here if they didn't know it yet. So take a quick!! glace to check if they're coming and start running if they do. Hopefully we won't get sniped while looking.

>>126939
>Look back around the corner to see what they are doing.

>>126939
>Look back around the corner to see what they are doing.

>>126939
>Look back around the corner to see what they are doing.

-writing-

It took Leo a moment to gather his composure. A small part of him had hoped that if he just remained still, they wouldn’t come this way. That they would be turning around right now, or that it was just in his head. Leo slowly turned his head around the corner to see what was going on. Indeed, the three creatures knew he was there, and were now closer than ever to the doorway, increasing in pace.

In surprise, Leo jolted backwards and began to fall down the stairway. After several tumbles he finally managed to stop himself and stand upright. The hall was spinning and Leo’s head throbbed and ached, but looking up at the top of the stairwell, he saw the black figure starting to march towards him. Leo gathered his senses and started bolting down the staircase. He desperately tried to think of what he should say, or what he should do. There wasn’t any way for them to barricade the door, and there were far too many of them to fight.

But maybe only the crowned creature could make it down the stairway? It was rather narrow, and the two other lumbering monsters might not have been able to even fit. After all, the other flesh creature had transformed while inside that room, and they had yet to see any of those things turn back into a human shape. Leo didn’t know what to do.

He ran and ran as fast as he could. His legs began to feel heavier and heavier. Each step harder to take but he couldn’t stop now. With a glance over his shoulder the crowned creature was out of sight. But even so this didn’t slow him down. With the others in such poor condition, He had to give them as much time as possible to get away if they choose to do so. He finally reached the 5th floor and bounded around the corner and into the room, panic written all over his face.

>”We have to get out of here, Now!”
>”The enemy is coming, we have to fight!”
>”They’re on their way down here, 3 of them. What do we do?!”
>write in

>>127044
Can we get a quick recap of exactly what our group strength is at?

>>127061
1 seriously injured knight.
1 moderately injured knight.
Leo
Thea [exhausted]
2 elven mages.