>>226298
>Derrick could probably destroy the engine

>>226298
>>Derrick could probably destroy the engine
Play him up; we can help him impress Madelaine.

>writing

>>226298
>Derrick could probably destroy the engine
Hey man

"I think Derrick could do it" You say.
"The kid?" Meyu asks. "Yeah, probably. I thought that I knew mana generators and engines from fixing and upgrading this thing all these years. That boy sure showed me up"

"Are they that different?" You ask.
"I didn't think so... until I got a look at Sherton's generator" Meyu says. "Much more complex, a lot more parts to it too. But I had it figured out"

"Or you thought you did" Gerard says, giving Meyu a light punch in the arm.
"I was positive that it was that energy line..." Meyu says.

"So yeah... Derrick's pretty cool" You say, giving a thumbs up to Madelaine.

Madelaine raises an eyebrow at you, and then shrugs. "So what exactly is in this cave?" She asks.
"Right now? A big pillar, a tablet with writing and buttons, a tablet with slots for something, a portal with a well-made spider web covering it, and a skeleton" You say.

"A skeleton?" Zaine asks.
"It came out of the portal when we pressed the buttons" You say.
"I see..." Zaine says. "And the web?"
"Ariadne made it" You say.

Zaine nods.

"Alright, we're on the road" Meyu says. "We'll be moving pretty quick, so this trip shouldn't take too long"

You look back out the back window, and see Locke getting further and further behind you. Unlike Sherton, where the surrounding area was mostly forest, Locke's outskirts are flat and clear.

>Ask why everything is flat

>Ask How Meyu, Zaine and Gerard met

>Read Kieve's notes (which you brought)

>Other

>>226516
>Ask why everything is flat

>>226516
>>Ask why everything is flat
then move on to
>>Kieve's notes

>writing

"Why is everything here so flat?" You ask.
"This is all farmland" Zaine says. "Locke's got the garrison size to support patrols over a larger area like this one, and the land here is goo for growing"

"But Sherton didn't have anything like this" You say. "Neither did Bell's Run"
"Sherton lacks the manpower, so they grow their food in the greenhouses" Zaine says. "Bell's Run is mostly miners, so they bring in food from elsewhere"

"Neat" You say. "They aren't worried about monsters out here?"
"Soldiers on patrol recieve training from the Guild, so they can handle the kinds of monsters that tend to show up around here" Gerard says. "And if anything bigger shows up, then they can always call the Guild"

"I guess the guild is pretty important" You say.
"They hold a lot of power" Gerard says. "They say that the Huntmaster of the Guild holds more power than any monarch, and I believe them"

"Why's that?" You ask.
"Well, look at what's happening right now" Zaine says. "The Inquisition's crossed the line, and the Guild is thinking of pulling out of Lubars entirely. Think of what that would mean"

"No more hunters" You say.
"Which means no more control over the monster population" Gerard says. "Threats that the guild tracks and eliminates early will get to run rampant. Cities, roads, farms... nothing will be safe"
"Yikes" You say.
"Here's hoping it won't come to that" Madelaine says.

>[1/2]

With the foreboding conversation done, you reach into the small bag you brought along and pull out Kieve's notes.

"What's that?" Madelaine asks.
"Notes about pure demons and Chaotics that this owl lady put together for me" You say.

That seems to have piqued Madelaine's curiosity, as she gets up and sits on the benh next to you.

"Notes on both of those things? Why?" Madelaine asks. "Did you go around telling everyone you were a demon?"
"No. I told her I'm a Chaotic" You say. "She found the link between being a Chaotic and being a Pure Demon on her own"
"There's a connection?" Madelaine asks.

"Apparently" You say. "The only other chaotics and pure demons that she found any info on were Caian and Malieria"
"That old fairy tale?" Meyu asks. "I didn't think there was any truth to it"

"Why?" You ask.
"My mum used to tell me that Malieria would eat me while I slept if I was bad" Meyu says. "used to scare the hell outta me"
Zaine chuckles. "I should tell that to my boys, maybe then they'd behave for once"
"Yeah right" Gerard says. "Those two take after you way too much"

Zaine shrugs. "It's worth a try"

>You have kids?

>Mention the name on the tablet in the cave

>Ask why Meyu's mom would scare him like that

>Other

>>226793
>You have kids?

>>226793
>Mention the name on the tablet in the cave

>>226793
>Mention the name on the tablet in the cave

>writing

"I don't think it's a fairy tale" You say.
"I'm sure there's merit to the story, but it's been a long time" Meyu says. "Most of the information we have of those days is not even second hand. Te only close accounts of those times are in the Imperial Library in Leon, but even that can be sketchy"

"What happened to the original accounts?" You ask.
"Time" Meyu says. "The land we're living on's changed hands more times than I've got fingers. Hell, the original Lubrians burned the old libraries when they came down from the north and took this place over"

"Why would they do that?" You ask.
"The Lubrians weren't the most civilized people back then" Meyu says. "The Gallant King wanted to spread dragonfire to every corner of the world"
"Doesn't look like he succeeded" You say.
"It worked here" Gerard says. "Then he took his armies back north, and the Pale Queen sent them right back"
"I hear the reason why the Legion won't move north is because the Pale Queen is back" Meyu says.
"That's just propaganda" Zaine says.

You nod. You'll have to ask about the Pale Queen later. It sounds like a neat subject.

"The tablet in the cave" You say. "It said that Malteris is sealed there, and it looked old"
"Malteris?" Meyu says. "Huh... We'll have to see when we get there. Could be that the place was built all the way back then, and it's been untouched for all these thousands of years"
"No way" Zaine says. "Even if the cave is hard to spot, explorers from every race have combed over every inch of this country"

"Like I said. We'll see when we get there" Meyu says.

>Go back to reading

>Ask who the Pale Queen is

>Ask who the Gallant King is

>Who owned this land before the Lubrians?

>Other

>>226941
>Ask who the Pale Queen is

>>226941
>Ask who the Pale Queen is

>>226941
>Go back to reading

>>226941
>Ask who the Gallant King is

>writing

"Who is this Pale Queen person?" You ask.
"She's the reason why nobody brings an army up north" Gerard says. "According to the stories, she had skin and hair as white as snow, with eyes that were red like blood"

"So she was a demon?" You ask.
"Not a demon, no" Gerard says. "But she was powerful. When the Lubrians marched north, they didn't make it within a hundred miles of the Duneran border. She summoned up the full force of winter and battered them with fierce storms"

"Or the Lubrians just marched into a regular northern blizzard, which she took the credit for" Meyu says.
"You think it was just coincidence?" Gerard asks.

"I've been in a regular northern blizzard, man" Meyu says. "You don't march through those. You bunker down and hope the snow doesn't bury you alive"
"I hear it happened in summer" Zaine says.

"That's a myth" Meyu says. "I believe that the Pale Queen could control the weather just as much as I believe that Malieria was hiding under my bed"
"Always the skeptic" Gerard says.
"Let's just say that I'll believe that people can conjure storms when I see it, okay?" Meyu says. "Until then, I am comfortable believing in coincidence"

"What do you make of all this?" Madelaine asks.

>I'm with Meyu

>No such thing as coincidence

>Other

>>227132
>No such thing as coincidence

>>227132
>No such thing as coincidence

>>227132
>No such thing as coincidence

I get thrown in prison, meet Altea's squire, and Lance's wife, and use soul magic tobmake a new door? And I'm the only one that can destroy it?

>>227132
>No such thing as coincidence

>writing

"No such thing as coincidence" You say. "Not with this, not with all pure demons being Chaotics, and definitely not with the Ruins changing as people like me and Madelaine arrive"
"Same" Madelaine says. "Plus, I'm sure there must be some way to control weather. It doesn't have to be the power of one person, but if enough people put their mana into it something is bound to happen"

Meyu scoffs. "Maybe we should give it a try then. Gather up all the water and wind elementals in Locke and try to send a storm to Leon"

You stroke your chin. "That could work" You say. "Instead of fighting, we could just soak them out"
Madelaine giggles. "Surrender now if you ever want to see the sun again!" She says.

Meyu sighs, and lets out a chuckle of his own. "Run that by Commander Altea. It sounds like the kind of idea she might like" He says. "Even if it's not possible, she might get a kick out of it"

You smile and turn your eyes back down to the papers in your hands. Hopefully you can get through most of this before you arrive.

>Anything else?

>>227297
Did Madelaine come out of a cave? If so, has she ever gone back to it?

>>227297
Ask where they found Madelaine

>writing

"Madelaine" You say.

Madelaine perks up. "Aye?"
"Do you remember where you came from?" You ask.

She gives a half smile. "Not really" She says. "That whole time is sort of a blur... I remember coming out of... something. But beyond that..."

"Alright... how did you guys find her?" You ask
"Half naked, covered in mud, mad with fear and on the run from an angry pack of Ligos about 50 miles north of here" Zaine says.

Madelaine doesn't look too pleased with that description.

"Ligos?" You ask.
"Monsters" Zaine says. "Big, doglike beasts with electrical zappers poking out of their backs"
"I remember the running" Madelaine says. "I don't remember when, but I definitely pissed those Ligos off"

"It was quite the shock" Gerard says. "It was early morning, and we were just striking our camp to get moving when suddenly an entire pack of Ligos shows up..."
"Sounds troublesome" You say.

"On the contrary" Meyu says. "We were out on a contract from the guild to cull that very pack, so Madelaine leading them right to us was quite convenient"
"What was troublesome was suddenly being saddled with a girl as... uhh..." Zaine says. "Strange as she was"

You don't think strange is the word he was looking for there...

>What made you keep her around?

>Why wouldn't the guild send hunters?

>What was she wearing?

>Other

>>227452
>What made you keep her around?

>writing

"What made you want to keep her around?" You ask.
"Well, I've always wanted a daughter" Meyu says. "And I figured this would be a good way to get one, but skip all the cute years and go straight for the awkward teenage ones"

"Har har" Madelaine says.

"And I still have yet to find a woman who will put up with me long enough to have kids with, so there's that too" Meyu adds.
"I wonder why" Madelaine says.

"Ouch..." Meyu says. "But on a more serious note, we really couldn't just leave her there. We talked about looking for somewhere to leave her when we got back to civilization, but we were quite a ways into the bush. By the time we got back, we'd all grown attached to the lass"

Madelaine puffs out her cheeks in annoyance, but she doesn't seem unhappy. You can almost see a smile.

"I see" You say.
Zaine smiles. "Meyu might look like a tough guy, but under all that muscle he's just a big softy" He says.
"I've got soft spots, yead" Meyu says. "But I wouldn't say that they're the majority in there"

"Alright, what about Limige?" Zaine asks. "You sure showed your soft stuff there"
"Fenestrad" Meyu says.

Zaine grimaces, and goes silent. The light, happy air in the cart all but disappears...

>Ask

>Don't ask

>Other

>>227595
>Don't ask

>>227595
>Don't ask

>writing

>>227595
>Ask

You decide not to say anything. Whatever Fenestrad is, it's not a good subject for these guys.

Instead, you put your attention back to the pages of Kieve's notes. With no further distractions, you get reading.

Last time you skipped the things about Chaotics, in favour of the stuff about Pure Demons. The remaining pages don't seem that long, so you start by reading about Chaos.

There isn't much here that you don't already know at this point. Kieve's notes go further into how chaos was originally discovered, as well as the attempts (successful and unsuccessful) to harness it.

Apparently chaos was seen as a myth until a few hundred years ago. Since there was no way to view it or manifest it, the prevailing view was that it didn't exist.

Once its existence was proven, people immediately started trying to harness it. The number of failed attempts in here is staggering, ranging from machines that simply didn't work, to ones that killed entire populations...

Sevissa... That's the name of the town where a malfunctioned chaos engine prototype reduced the town's population to 0... you may have to pay it a visit.

Beyond that, there are studies on how the soul structure forms as a human is being born... speculation as to what it might look like on a chaotic... lot's of other boring stuff that doesn't help you...

"Alright kid, we should be getting close now" Meyu says. "Tell us what we should be keeping our eyes open for"

"No need" You say. "It's there, on the right"

>cont.

Unfortunately, Meyu's cart is larger than Derrick's, so it doesn't fit in the cave. Instead, they park it in the bush.

"It still sticks out" You say.
"I can fix that" Gerard says. He holds out a hand that turns green. Slowly, new plantlife begins to climb up around the cart, covering it in a blanket of greenery.

"Better?" Gerard asks.
"I can still see it" You say.
"You know where it is" Gerard says. "Let's head inside"

You nod, and the 5 of you go into the cave.

"Looks like a cave" Meyu says. He creates a ball of flame in his hand as you get too deep to see.
"Just wait" You say.

As before, when you get further in, the rocky cave wall gives way to cut stone.

"Meyu, give me some more light over here" Zaine says.
"Aye" Mey replies, bringing the fireball closer to the wall.

"Ahh... this is new" Zaine says.
"What is?" Madelaine asks.
"Right here" Zaine says. "Just before the rock ends. This was cut recently"

>How can you tell?

>Who could've done that?

>Get a closer look

>Keep moving

>Other

>>227836
>>How can you tell?

>>227836
>Who could've done that?

>>227836
>>Who could've done that?

>>227836
>>Who could've done that?

Que the shifty guy who wanted the spear appearing out of nowhere.

>writing

"Who could've done that?" You ask.
"No idea" Zaine says. "It wasn't an earth elemental, since it was cut. But it was done precisely, and very quickly"
"How quick are we talkin'?" Meyu asks.

"Faster than you could bust it down" Zaine says.
"Damn" Meyu says. "This kinda precision with my kinda speed. Here's hoping we never run into them, whoever they are"

"But what you're saying is that this used to be a dead end" You say.
"In all likelyhood, yes" Zaine replies. "It explains why this place went undiscovered for so long"

"What about this down here?" Gerard asks, kneeling by a stain on the ground. "Looks like blood"

"That's mine, I think" You say. "You'll be seeing a lot of that on the way down"

>cont.

"So you got your heart ripped out, dragged up all these stairs, crawled out of the cave and your first thought was 'well it's a nice day for a stroll'?" Gerard asks.

"I don't remember the ripping or the dragging" You say. "And is was a pretty nice day"
"Sounds like you had a better time than I did" Madelaine says.
"It was nice... until I got thrown in prison" You say. "But even that wasn't so bad, since I got to meet my friends"

Madelaine looks around her. "Yeah... I guess there's a silver lining to everything"

Zaine turns to Meyu. "Something on your mind?" He asks.
"No, I'm just not looking forward to going back up these stairs" Meyu says. "Think you guys could drag me?"
"No" Madelaine replies.

"Darn" Meyu says.

After walking down for a few more minutes, you finally reach the bottom.

"Alright, we're here" Madelaine says.
"Seriously, I think I might just camp down here for the night" Meyu says. "Too many stairs for me"
"Oh, suck it up" Madelaine says.
"I'm gettin' old, you know" Meyu says. "The knees weren't meant to climb this many stairs"

Madelaine rolls her eyes, and turns to you. "Well, you know this place best"

"Yeah, come on. I'll show you the-"

>Pillar

>Writing tablet

>Slotted tablet

>Big portal thing

>Other

>>228047
>>Pillar
>>Writing tablet
>>Slotted tablet
>>Big portal thing

In this order

>>228047
>Big portal thing

I hate to leave when it is so slow but I am off to work.
Thanks for Running Smiley

>>228047
>Pillar

>writing

-Pillar" You say. "It's right in the middle of the pit, and it goes all the way up"

You lead them across to the base of the pillar.

"It's... a pillar" Meyu says.
"Don't be so quick" Zaine says. "This isn't stone... it's something else"

"It looks conductive" Gerard says. "Like it's one big energy line"
"It did light up when I hit the first 2 buttons" You say,
"Let's see it" Zaine says. "Is it that tablet over there?"

"Yeah" You say. "You probably won't be able to read it"
"We won't?" Madelaine asks.
"You might" You say. "You'll see"

You lead them over to the stone tablet.

"Well I'll be damned" Meyu says. "I've never seen this before"
"It says: Divided we stand" You read aloud. "Beneath this pillar is sealed: MALTERIS, for crimes against humanity..."
"Humanity and this world that we love..." Madelaine finishes reading for you.

"You can read that?" Zaine asks.
"Yeah... I guess" Madelaine says. "They seem familiar, but I just-"
"You don't remember learning them" You say. "I get that same feeling"

"So the buttons make the pillar light up?" Madelaine asks.

You nod.

>Press the first 2

>Press all 3

>Leave it for now

>Other

>>228223
>>Press all 3
GO FOR THE GUSTO.
THE WORLD NEEDS MORE SKELETONS.

>>228223
>Inform them of the skeleton incident.

>>228223
>>Press all 3
What could possibly go wrong?

>writing

Rolled 36 (1d100)

"If I remember right, lights makes the blue spiral light up" You say, as you push the button for "lights"

The blue light shines and twirls up the pillar until it reaches the top.

"Incredible" Gerard says. "It's pumping mana... somewhere"
"II don't think it's going anywhere" Zaine says. "Unless there are more lines under the floor"

"This one turns on the red spiral" You say, hitting the button for "camera"

The rest of the pillar lights up red, illuminating the pit in spirals of red and blue.

"So there must be a reservoir of energy somewhere" Gerard says. "If there isn't enough chaos around for Yuu to charge himself, then the pillar can't be getting it normally"

"And you said the last button opens the portal?" Madelaine asks.

You give her a smile, and hit the button for "action".

Madelaine looks shocked. "I didn't think we were pressing i-"

BOOM

The ground rumbles, and you grab Madelaine by the arm to pull her to a spot where you can see the portal.

The portal stays open longer than last time. A rush of air from within makes Ariadne's web strain to stay attached.

"What's happening?" Madelaine asks.
"Just wait!" You say.

You wait to see if something else comes out, but nothing does. Until the portal starts to turn red.

You have a bad feeling.

>Roll 1d100 with focus

Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>228349

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>228349

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>228349

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>228349
Rev up those 1s!

>writing

A bolt of red energy lances out from the portal like lightning. It strikes the pillar a little ways up, and solidifies in a flash.

Then the portal fires off another bolt, this time narrowly missing you and Madelaine. Again, it solidifies as soon as it strikes.

"Uh-oh" You say.

Another bolt flies out, this time straight at you.

Your first instinct is to grab Madelaine and get the hell away. But then you realize what the portal is firing.

You push Madelaine behind you, and let the bolt strike your chest. It feels warm, and you get a little tingly, but it doesn't hurt.

In fact, you start to feel better as you absorb it. You feel the red lightning filling your reserves.

Then the portal seems to form a sinister face, with an evil grin. The face rises upward, with bolts of lightning flying everywhere as it ascends.

When it gets to about halfway up the pit, it disapears, leaving the area around you littered with crystallized red lightning.

The portal has closed as well, and the pillar has lost its light.

"Is everyone okay?" Meyu calls out.
"Good" Zaine says.
"Good" Gerard says.
"Good... I think" Madelaine says.

>We should go

>Take a closer look at the bolts

>Let's do that again!

>Other

>>228500
Welp we just released an ancient evil probably. meh I've done worse.

>>228500
>Take a closer look at the bolts

>>228500
>>Other
Status Report! Everyone OK? Anyone know what the fuck just happened?

>>228500
>>Take a closer look at the bolts

>writing

Whatever that thing is... I think it WANTS Yuu to succeed, for some reason. It most likely made him a pure demon, and just recharged his batteries. Maybe it desires the chaos engine's destruction?

File: tumblr_mj2fv53nm81rf85dso2_500.gif (644 KB, 500x300)

644 KB GIF

>>228561
Hey Smiley, I just binged through OaDW and BM and caught up to this quest. I'd like to say thanks and good on ya for continuing to write and trying to improve after admitting fuckups.

More specifically related to this quest, Yuu really reminds me of Caboose from RvB with his total innocence and blithe unawareness of how odd he is.

"Are these what I think they are?" You ask.
"Solid, crystalized chaos" Meyu says. "Madelaine. Don't touch them"
"You don't have to tell me twice" Madelaine says.

"What the hell was that?" Gerard asks.
"Not sure" Meyu says. "Whatever it was obviously didn't want us here"

"Last time it said to come back when we were ready" You say.
"That's something you could've warned us about" Gerard says.

"Well, no one is hurt" Meyu says. "The face looked like a part of whatever spell that was, and I didn't see anything else come out"
"Me neither" You say, as you poke the strange red crystal. Where you touch it, it turns back into energy and flows into you. "Neat"

"This stuff doesn't really look like crystal" Gerard says.
"He's right" Zaine says. He looks as closely as he can at it without touching it. "It looks like red coral"

"I hear that's the form solid chaos takes" Gerard says.
"Where'd you hear that?" Zaine asks.

Gerard opens his mouth, but Meyu cuts him off.

"And I swear if you say 'some guy in a bar' I will push you into this stuff" Meyu says.
"Nevermind then" Gerard says.

"What now?" Madelaine asks.

>There's still the slotted tablet

>I wanna see how much of this stuff I can absorb

>Let's skidaddle

>Other

>>228658
>There's still the slotted tablet

>I wanna see how much of this stuff I can absorb

>>228658
>I wanna see how much of this stuff I can absorb

Just imagine if we could make a mageblade outta this stuff.

>>228658
>There's still the slotted tablet
>Other: See if the red coral can be put in a bag without dissipating. Could help if we run ourselves dry again.
>Optional: I wanna see how much of this stuff I can absorb

I get the feeling that after a few it'd just start hurting again like with the lazer, but to a much lesser extent.

>>228658
>>I wanna see how much of this stuff I can absorb

>writing

"There's still the other tablet" You say.
"This one isn't going to make a death-lightning shooting face is it?" Gerard asks.
"Probably not" You say.

"Good, I don't think I could take any more- wait... probably?" Gerard says.

You shrug, and starts walking through the red lightning/coral. As it comes into contact with you, it gets absorbed. It doesn't seem to matter that you're wearing clothes, as the energy goes right through.

After getting a few steps away, you turn back and point to the other tablet. "It's this way"
"You mind making the path a little wider?" Madelaine asks.

"Oh" You say. Then you walks back with your arms out, cutting back the strange coral in a wide swath that even Meyu could fit through. "Better?"
"Much" Meyu says.

"Would there be any way to take this stuff with me without absorbing it?" You ask.
"With the right equipment, yes" Gerard says. "But the right equipmnt would be expensive"

"How expensive?" You ask.
"Prohibitively" Gerard says.
"Prohibibilly?" You ask.
"Pro-hi-bi-tive-ly" Gerard repeats himself. "Means it would be too expensive"
"Dang" You say. "Anyway, Tablet's here. I dunno what the things are"

"Where are you going?" Madelaine asks.

"I wanna see how much of this I can absorb at once!" You say, as you start to run around the pit.

>cont.

You run back and forth with your arms out wide, trying to absorb as much as you can with each pass.

"They look like spots for keys... or emblems of some sort" Gerard says.
"Elemental, from the looks of things" Meyu adds.
"What makes you say that?" Gerard asks.

Meyu points to the slots in turn. "Fire, water, wind, earth, energy, nature, light, and dark" He says.
"So where are the keys?" Zaine asks.

"Bet you 10 gold they're in the ruins" Madelaine says.
"I will not take that bet" Meyu says. "Because you may be right"

"But we can't get into the ruins" Zaine says.
"We couldn't get into the ruins then" Meyu says. "That may not be the case now"

"We still have to overthrow the king" Zaine says.
"You make it sound so easy" Meyu says.
"Just being practical" Zaine says. "Perhaps we would be better off going to one of the other ruins first, and coming back here once the rebellion is over"
"No" Meyu says. "We agreed to help Altea, remember? Plus I'd rather see it through myself. You know what they say about wanting something done..."

"Fine" Zaine says, as he makes his way towards the stairs. "But if there's treasure in there, I get first crack"
"Over my dead body" Gerard says, as he goes after him.

"Honestly, those two..." Meyu says. "Ready to go?"
"I'm good" Madelaine says. "All stocked up, Yuu?"

>Anything else?

>>228883
>Enjoy the tour?
Maybe we can all join up to find the temples, when the rebellion's done? Derrick wanted to check them out, too, after we saw this before.

>writing

You nod enthusiastically. You feel pretty good now.

You'd love to bring some of this stuff with you to round out your reserves, but since you can't you'll just have to make what you've got last until you raid the prison.

"Then let's go" Madelaine says. "Before there are more evil lightning storms"
"Up the stairs..." Meyu says. "I don't supose you're feeling energetic enough to carry an old man up these, are ya?"

"You're not an old man" Madelaine says.
Meyu grunts. "Yeah... talk to me when you're my age. See how good you feel then" Meyu says. "Damn stairs... would it have killed these ancient builders to put in a damn lift?"

Meyu trudges up the stairs in front of you, leaving you and Madelaine to hold up the rear.

As you start walking up, Madelaine turns to you. "So uhh... thanks... for the save" She says.
"The save?" You ask.
"With the lightning?" She says.

Oh right... that save.

>You would've done the same

>I kinda knew it wouldn't hurt me

>That was just my reaction. No biggie

>Other

>>229022
>That was just my reaction. No biggie
>I kinda knew it wouldn't hurt me

>>229022
>I kinda knew it wouldn't hurt me

>>229022
>That was just my reaction. No biggie
>I kinda knew it wouldn't hurt me

>writing

"I kinda knew it wouldn't hurt me" You say. "I figured that red meant chaos, and I could maybe absorb it. But even if I couldn't, that was just... how I reacted, I guess"

"A natural hero, huh?" Meyu calls back. "Be careful there, kiddo. That'll either get you far, or stop you dead"

You shrug, even though he can't see you. "I'm sturdy" You say.
Meyu bellows with laughter. "Sturdy enough to carry an old man u-"
"No" You say.

"Dang..." He says.
"It was worth a try" Madelaine says.
"Next time I'm setting up a lift" Meyu says.
"That would be helpful" You say. "But I don't think it would be as funny to see Ilica go up the lift while screaming"
"Right, where was that skeleton anyway?" Madelaine asks.

"It was there... probably" You say. "I didn't see it walking around, so I assume that it was where we left it"
"I didn't see it" Meyu says. "But then, I was distracted by the threat of imminent death"

"What if it escaped?" Madelaine asks.
"It probably didn't" You say. "But that's not going to stop me from telling Ilica that"

Meyu chuckles. "Jeez, with friends like you..." He says.

>cont.

After walking back up for a time that feels much longer than the trip down, you finally reach the top of the stairs.

You head through the cave, until you meet up with Zaine and Gerard.

"You guys stop to wait for us?" Meyu asks.

Zaine holds up a finger to silence you. "I can hear someone out by our cart" He says.

Meyu's face turns serious. "Who?" He asks.
"I can't tell from here" Zaine says.

You look down to the cave's entrance. He's right, there are people out by where the cart is (badly) hidden.

"Looks like... 4 people" You say. "A dude in black... a girl with white wings... the others are behind the cart" You say.
"You can see that from here?" Zaine asks.
"I have good eyes" You say.

"Demon's eyes are like that" Gerard says. "Anything else you can see?"

Madelaine draws her sword. "It's Storm" She says.
"You think so?" Meyu asks.
"A guy in black with an Angel" She says. "It's him. He followed us here"

"Is that bad?" You ask.

Zaine scowls. "I thought we'd lost them after the tower..." He says.
"Me too" Gerard says.
"Mikaela has probably been tailing us" Meyu says.

>Do we go say hi?

>Should I go beat them up?

>Other

>>229239
>Should I go beat them up?

>>229239
>Should I go beat them up?

>>229239
>>Should I go beat them up?

>writing

"Should I go beat them up?" You ask.
"It's worth a try" Madelaine says. "We have the numbers advantage"

"We'll talk to them" Meyu says. "As much as you don't like the guy, they don't seem like bad people"
"Yeah, just stalkers" Gerard says. "I'm starting to dislike being tailed 24/7"

"So talk... and then beat up?" You ask.
"Not if talking doesn't work" Meyu says.

"You guys go on ahead. I'm going to close this off so it looks like a dead end" Zaine says. His hands glow light brown, and you see the walls start to move.

"Gotcha. Let's go" Meyu says, as he heads to the entrace. "Zaine does good work. When he's done, you'll never know that the cave continued"
"What if I need to get in here later?" You ask.
Meyu shrugs. "Smash it?" He asks.

"Works for me" You say.

When you exit the cave's mouth, the winged girl is the first one to see you. She's different from Kieve, in that she has both arms and wings. Her hair is long and blonde, and she has big blue eyes that currently look surprised. She wears a white robe that matches her wings.

"G-guys" The girl says.

The man in black is the first to turn. In contrast with the girl, his hair and clothing are almost all black. Strapped to his back are a pair of fancy looking axes with broad heads.

"Look who decided to show up" The man in black says.

You turn to Madelaine and whisper. "Is that Storm?" You ask.
"No..." Madelaine says, as another person comes out from behind the cart.

This guy looks to be about the same age as you, with brown hair and eyes. He wears heavy looking, well decorated, shiny armor, with a well kept blue cloak. Around his head he wears a gold circlet, and around his neck is a chain with what looks like one of the knight's emblems.

"... That is" Madelaine says.
"I was hoping we would run into you again" The armored guy says in a friendly tone.

You don't get a bad vibe off this guy at all, but you can feel the tension coming from the rest of your group.

You look to your left at Madelaine, then to your right at Meyu, then back at the armored guy. "Hi, I'm Yuu!" You say.

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will probably be tomorrow or something. I'll try to let you all know when I'll be running 1-2 hours in advance

As always I'll be sticking around to take questions/suggestions

>>228634
Going back to this because I meant to respond, but then it slipped my mind.
I'm always glad to hear that someone enjoys my work, as badly as I might have fucked up at times.

But I always try to improve upon my mistakes, since that's why I dove into QMing in the first place.
And I always appreciate you all for coming along on the ride with me.

Also, I have never actually watched RvB. It's been recommended to me a thousand times, but I've never gotten around to it.

>>229347
Thanks for running.

>>229357
Great thread, Smiley!