(I don't need anything.) you finally think after a quick deliberation.

(Nobody needs a birthday present.) she thinks as she kicks you playfully. (But do you want one?)

(Maybe a hat?) you shrug.

She laughs. (Alright. Maybe a hat. Thank you. I was afraid there for a moment I might have to interrogate you for an answer.)

(Knew I should have held out a bit longer. Now I missed out.) You wink at her as you drain your fifth glass of Blackburn's best wine.

She quirks an eyebrow. (I did say “something I can wrap”) she admits.

(See, now I'm rethinking my gift idea.)

(Too late. You're getting a hat. We'll save that idea for later.)

(Not right now?)

(No, right now you need sleep, Alan. How long have you been awake?)

(Uhh . . . Thirty-six hours, about?)

(Hell, Alan. I appreciate everything you've done and trying to get shit sorted out for me, but you can prioritize your own needs.)

(Pretty sure that's what I was trying to do just now.)

You meet her disapproving look with laughter. She shakes her head.

(I'm leaving the room. Go to bed.) Rowe drains the last dregs of her glass and picks up the now empty wine bottle to dispose of it. She opens the door and whistles for Sif to pad after her.

An idea crosses your mind. A passing thought to tell her – SHIT

Rowe swivels back, hand still on the doorknob. (Yeah Alan, what is it?)

(Nothing, just – tired is all. Weird thoughts.)

(Weirder than bondage?)

(Much weirder. Dumber too.)

(Alright, well your mind will probably be back in order once you give it time to recharge. By sleeping!)

She emphasizes that last thought before closing the door shut, leaving you alone in the room. You grab your ring and slip it back on your finger. That could have gotten very awkward if she had heard the end of that confession. Maybe it would be best for all parties involved if you gave time for things to breathe before dumping more drama into the mix.

You yawn. You are pretty tired right now. Exhausted both physically and a tad emotionally as well. A good half or maybe three-fourths a night's sleep might do you some good. Though you would be upsetting your sleep schedule slightly. You'd probably wake up maybe two to three hours after midnight if you fell unconscious right now. You have a few options for what to do.

>Just go to sleep
>Use magic to talk to Pascala
>See if you can pull off meditation
>Something else? (write-in)

>>251667
>Use magic to talk to Pascala
>See if you can pull off meditation
Gotta try both.

Fortunately, we assimilated the elven ability to replace sleep with a few hours of meditation a while back, so we should be okay without a full 8 hours of sleep.

>>251667
>>Use magic to talk to Pascala
>>See if you can pull off meditation

Alright, roll me 1d100 + 50, best of 3!

Rolled 30 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>251810

Rolled 17 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>251810

Rolled 81 + 50 (1d100 + 50)

>>251810
rolling for third

Writing!

File: Pascala.jpg (181 KB, 764x1280)

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Well, first thing's first. You look over to where Pascala is lying down on the floor. Her ears stand up as she notices you giving her attention. With a quick wave of your hand and an uttered incantation mimicking Eve's actions earlier you feel a spark of your own magical reservoirs and the spell takes hold.

“Pascala?”

“Yes, Master?” she asks you, cocking her head to the side. You find yourself momentarily stunned despite expecting your dog to talk to you.

“H-how are you?”

“I'm doing fine.”

“Great job with stopping Etriarch and bringing that bird in. You're a . . . good girl.”

“Thank you, Master!” She begins to wag her tail.

>Just call me Alan
>So, you and Sif, huh?
>Ask Pascala advice about the Rowe/Gabby situation
>Stop talking to the dog and meditate already
>Say something else? (write-in)

>>252013
>Say something else?
"How are you getting along with the other familiars? I mean, not just Muffin, Tornado, and Sif, but the ones in the rest of the Circle."

>>252013
>>Just call me Alan
>So, you and Sif, huh?
>Ask Pascala advice about the Rowe/Gabby situation

Writing!

>>252034
I'm actually against telling her to call me Alan.
It goes against the hundreds of years of genetic tinkering that we've subjected the canine races.
Let her call us Master.

>>252034
>Ask Pascala advice about the Rowe/Gabby situation
Oh, and about this:
You are asking a dog for human/half-elf relationship advice.
Given the differences between dog and human societies and relationships, her advice, while well-intentioned, is likely to be completely inapplicable.

>>252051
I dunno. Just wanted to be friendly and all.

>>252061
this was just me being curious as to what she thought.

>>252066
>Just wanted to be friendly and all.
I admit, it would depend on the instinct of the dog breed.
Border Collies, for example, have a herding instinct so strong that they are not recommended for families with children.

So depending on the instinct that's been reinforced for the breed, Pascala might either feel uncomfortable with not calling Alan as "Master", or she might not care that much and it's just something that she picked up from the other dogs that she grew up with.

I'd rather let her naturally come up with what she wants to call us, rather than giving what could be construed as an order (again, depending on the obedience instinct of her breed) to force familiarity.

File: Muffin.jpg (75 KB, 600x423)

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“You can just call me Alan, Pascala.”

“Alright Master Alan!”

“Uh – . . . never mind. You getting along with any of the other familiars in the Circle?”

“Chester's an asshole,” Pascala growls in distaste. You're fairly sure that's Quissonce's owl's name. “Other than him, there's this one sloth it's fun to play with. I don't know his name though. Most of the ones I knew well died or ended up going away after the attack. That was sad.”

“Yeah, it was.”

A few seconds pass in silence.

“So, you and Sif, huh?”

“Yes?”

“You're . . . together.”

“We are mates, yes. Like our masters!”

“So is the relationship good? Are you happy together?”

“I think so. I'm always happy though because you're a good master, Master Alan.”

“But Sif is a wolf. Do you like him because he happens to be Rowe's pet or do you like him for him.”

Pascala aroos in confusion. “I don't understand.”

“What if, for instance, there was another dog – another Muller Shepherd – who was around and interested. Who would you choose?”

“They would fight and I'd be with the winner.”

“Just like that? If Sif lost you'd be with the other dog?”

“Yes. But Sif wouldn't lose.”

You go to speak but realize she probably has you there. Sif is big fucking animal compared to a dog. He'd probably kick its ass.

Gabby would probably beat Rowe in a straight up fistfight. Although you really don't think that's fair or applicable to human relationships.

“Master Alan?” Pascala asks. “You seem upset. Would you like to cuddle?”

“Sure.” Pascala hops up onto the bed and curls up next to you. You scratch her behind the ears and begin to pet her.

“I think I'm in a situation like the one I mentioned,” you tell her. “With two females.”

“Gabby and Rowe.” Pascala barks definitively.

“Yeah, I guess you would know. What do you think I should do?”

“Breed both of them! Alpha males can have more than one bitch.”

You feel a wriggling sensation as Muffin begins clambering up your chest. “Alright, you just lost talking privileges.”

“No I haven't!” Pascala barks indignantly, right as the spell wears off.

“Yeah, no, stop talking.” Muffin turns to you. “Alan, forget Gabby. She's an unnecessary distraction. You're happy with Rowe. Don't fuck this up.”

>Pascala, I think you have the right idea
>Muffin, your sage counsel is something I will take heed of
>Maybe I should get Tornado's opinion about this
>Meditate already!
>Something else? (write-in)

>>252177
>>Meditate already!

>>252177
>Maybe I should get Tornado's opinion about this
Time to have an animal council like any sane individual

>>252177
>Meditate already!

>>252187
Knowing how horses breed?
He'll tell us we need to get some other guy to take the heat off of us when the girls are angry, and otherwise go for both.

>>252198
>need to get some other guy to take the heat off of us

Ooh baby, is that some support for EdxAlan?

Writing!

Tornado would have reminded you that Gabby seems much sturdier, in his opinion.

>>252209
>Ooh baby, is that some support for EdxAlan?
next thing you know it, Rowe and Gabby will be writing yaoi fanfics together about this.

>>252177
>Maybe I should get Tornado's opinion about this
Tornado has important opinions.

>>252209
>Ooh baby, is that some support for EdxAlan?
Considering how sturdy Ed is due to being half-orc?
He'd definitely recommend Ed as Alan's fluffer.

File: Spire of Fire.jpg (507 KB, 1920x1084)

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Alright this is getting a bit ridiculous. You usher Pascala off the bed and Muffin scurries away to his spot in your room near his food bowl and water.

You cross your legs and sit up on your bed. Sleep deprivation is getting be an annoying burden upon you. It's making you loopy and it has a proven track record of causing you to do silly things that you end up regretting long after.

You've assimilated a lot of elven abilities. Some from Quissonce, maybe some from Rowe and most recently you drew out a nice chunk of it from Etriarch. Maybe you've progressed enough inhow much elf you've integrated to completely pull off removing sleep from your list of needs permanently.

You try to center yourself and focus on the Elven lifestyle and what you've heard of them in stories about them during the Ancient Times. Your mind becomes still and you shut out all the outside stimuli distracting you.

However no matter how hard you try to let yourself drift into a meditative state of zen you feel the pressure of your desire to sleep and rest assaulting you like a never ending barrage. How easy it would be to just roll over and let yourself drift off. This is an alien problem that the elves don't have to deal with. No, the skill set that would help you combat this issue is what you've learned from Gabby.

Resisting and moving past the limits of your own body by your strength of will alone. That comes from the mental discipline and training Gabby helped impart to you. Your mental and physical fortitude working together to combat the Earthly limits of the body. Ascend to a plateau of a higher and more enlightened state of being. With elven inspiration and the bedrock of mastering your body – your mutable, everchanging body – you channel all the ki you possess into relaxing your muscles, your brain, your soul. You achieve it. You find the rest you can achieve merely via meditation. Still lucid to some extent. You find you can complete your daily prayers while in this mental lull and still recharge your mind's fatigue.

You will never have to sleep again. You begin to stretch your limbs as you feel your mind snap back into focus as your body urges you back into wakefulness and productivity. You'll never have to worry about resting for too long with an internal clock like that. It's around midnight. Rowe will probably be coming to bed soon.

BONG! Pascala rears her head up, immediately awake. The bell. You feel your stomach sink.

BONG! You hop out of bed and look to the window, your eyesight as sharp as ever even in the dead of night. You don't even need that though to spot the spire of fire raging outside the walls of Seaside.

BONG! This isn't a false alarm. Shit, again?!

BONG!

>Go straight for the walls
>Grab Eve, Quissonce, Ed and go
>Look for Rowe
>Find a guard outside and ask what's goin on
>See if Essentia knows what is happening
>Something else? (write-in)

>>252381
>>See if Essentia knows what is happening

Well, let's see if she's on top of things and up to date.

>>252381
>See if Essentia knows what is happening
>Something Else: Send Muffin to go and do some recon.
He's a flying squirrel, he should be able to get there and back pretty quick. Or get a ride from Pascala.

Writing!

File: Archmage.jpg (18 KB, 236x329)

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You throw open the window and look back to Muffin, who has roused himself from sleep.

“Ready to do some recon, buddy?”

“Shit is on fire, Alan,” Muffin explains. You give him a look and he relents, jumping into your hand. You toss him out the window and he begins gliding towards the source of your alarm.

You whistle for Pascala to follow you and throw open your door. You begin striding down the hall. You walk past Eve's room as she opens her door and you spot her rubbing her eyes and yawning, wearing a night dress.

“Hero time?” she asks still sleep addled.

“Probably,” you tell her and she huffs before closing her door again.

As you make it to the staircase that goes up to the seventh floor, Essentia comes walking down the steps round the corner. You almost run into each other.

“Oh, Alan. You heard the bells I assume?” You nod your head. She begins walking down the hall towards the central meeting room. You follow her

“Do you know what's happening?” you ask.

“A very powerful conjuration spell was just cast recently roughly twenty miles inland of Seaside. It seemed to briefly open portals to four different planes of existence and I believed lured something across from each one. At least that's my guess from what the tower is telling me and my own rudimentary investigations.”

“Would one of these beings likely be able to conjure a giant pillar of fire?” you ask her. She stops in her tracks and looks to you, her face grim.

“No. One of these beings likely is a giant pillar of fire.”

Oh.

That doesn't sound good.

You hear footsteps behind you and turn to see Eve approaching hastily adorned in her signature red robes and the golden sash displaying her rank in the Circle. She holds the Blessed Decanter of Endless Water and shakes it as she approaches.

“We going to need –”

“Yes.”/“Yes.”

“Alrighty then.”

>Plan? (write-in)
>Go to the wall
>Something else? (write-in)

>>252557
>Blessed Decanter of Endless Water
i keep forgetting we have this thing.

>Go to the wall
and check the status of things, then come up with a solid plan.

otherwise, have Eve and Quissonce get their spells ready. Something to snuff out fire with and to spray the decanter if nothing else.

Can we make remote contact with Muffin so he can describe what's going on?

>>252557
>Plan?
First, rouse the rest of the Circle Magisters.

Look, we're the motherfucking Circle; we can do magical recon first. While doing so we can get a plan ready.

>>252588
ok, plan then wall.

Writing!

File: Circle of Mages.jpg (89 KB, 900x600)

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You, Eve and Essentia reach the central meeting room at around the same time that Quissonce and Ed do. Even though they technically aren't Circle Magisters, it seems they have access to the floor and really it doesn't matter right now. Both look a bit flush and out of breath, probably from running up two flights of stairs so quickly. That's certainly the reason for it.

“I'm surprised you were able to rouse yourselves so quickly,” Essentia commends them.

“Oh they were already roused,” Eve comments dryly, a slight hint of disgust in her voice.

“Regardless, maybe I need to talk to the others about promptness in a crisis.”

“You think you could try scrying, Quissonce?” you ask her.

She shakes her head. “It would take an hour at least. Ten minutes if I started scrying in the Archmage's Domain. I doubt we have that kind of time.”

The Sculptor, Flid and Azdor enter together as Quissonce finishes telling you that. Essentia quickly goes to the head of the table and begins bringing them up to speed.

“A very powerful conjuration spell was cast recently roughly twenty miles inland of Seaside just a few minutes ago. It seemed to briefly open portals to four different planes of existence and lured something across from each one. I believe they've been drawn from the Elemental planes, which is corroborated from our eyewitness report.” She gestures to you.

“A roiling, possibly living spire of fire is outside our walls,” you tell them. “I don't need to tell you mundane soldiers can't fight that.”

Flid rubs his chin. “Well if bad guys love symmetry – and they always do, we're probably looking at elementals of the air, water, and earth varieties too.”

“Standard summoning spells only draw such creatures for a limited amount of time,” Ed points out. “Could we wait this out?”

Azdor shakes his head. “Even an extremely powerful caster would only be able to keep perhaps one or two of those creatures under control for a minute, maybe two. A caster powerful enough to keep four under control for roughly five minutes would be so ungodly powerful they wouldn't need to summon such beings in the first place to accomplish their goals. Much more likely this was a simple case of opening the gate and letting something powerful walk through.”

“So they aren't under control?” Eve asks rhetorically. “How does the caster know they'll attack us?”

“They don't, I assume,” Quissonce chimes in. “They're probably hoping they decide on their own to destroy us. Like putting someone in a room with a rabid, hungry bear and expect the natural conclusion to things.”

The Sculptor writes something down before passing it to Essentia, who reads it without the inflection or emphasis it probably deserves. “Sounds shitty for a coordinated offensive.”

“It does,” you agree. “I didn't get eyes on the other three,” you admit. “Although that's because it's night time and only one of them is radiating light.”

“Shit,” Ed mutters. “The earth elemental can travel through the ground. The air elemental can fly. The water elemental can attack from the sea. We could end up dealing with all four of these things in different parts of the city.”

“Not to mention we still have a caster on the loose,” Flid points out. “Who quite clearly does not like us.”

The meeting descends into momentary silence.

>Plan? (write-in)
>Go to the wall?
>Something else? (write-in)

>>252698
>Other
Who here can speak the elemental languages?

Maybe we can turn the elementals against each other.

Or maybe we can banish them.

>>252720
interesting. Let's go with diplomacy first and look for banishing spells.

>>252698
Trick, what kind of weaknesses do we know about elementals?

>>252733
You haven't studied them at all so nothing. You're going with the assumption you can probably hurt the fire elemental better with water or cold stuff. Alan's smart enough to consider maybe lightning spells would work well on the water elemental. Earth might be affected by The Sculptor's powers. And air you have no clue.

Writing!

And by writing I mean, who you trying to diplomacize?

>Fire elemental
>Search for earth
>Search for air
>Search for water

>>252741
hm.. if I were to guess...
Fire, angry
Earth, stubborn,
Air and water are fluid, so probably most open to discussion.

I think... Air. We can convince it to deprive Fire of oxygen or something to snuff it out? and then that'll just leave us with earth and water. we can freeze water, and have sculptor deal with earth.

>>252741
>Air
Fire is too destructive.
Earth may not like the way we've created structures.
Water might be open to negotiation, but the problem is that both water and air are considered mercurial.

Alright, give me a 1d100 +25, best of 3.

Rolled 17 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>252768

Rolled 1 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>252768

Rolled 19 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>252758
>>252777
welp, I made things worse. Seriously, did I start off by telling it its mother was a hamster or something?

well, rolling for third anyways

>>252777
>>252779

If it makes you feel better, even if that wasn't a crit fail, you still rolled really low. So it's not like you fucked things up too badly.

I'm gonna write something. You all should roll a 1d100+ 22.

This is for defense and thank The Great Will you have uncanny dodge!

Rolled 80 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>252768

Rolled 3 + 22 (1d100 + 22)

>>252789
could we use his>>252790
roll for this?

Rolled 46 + 22 (1d100 + 22)

>>252789

Rolled 58 + 22 (1d100 + 22)

>>252789
rolling third, if the other one doesn't count.

>>252806
I'll count the 80, might as well.

File: Sky over Seaside.jpg (4 KB, 275x183)

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“Can anyone here speak their language?” you ask the crowd of mages.

Quissonce raises her hand. “I can speak Aquan; language of the sea.”

“I know Terran,” Essentia informs you.

Azdor coughs. “I have one cast of Tongues prepared which I'm willing to bestow upon you, if you need it. Let's you speak and understand any language.”

“I'll take it,” you tell him. “Can we banish these things back to their home dimensions?”

Essentia sighs. “We had a summoner powerful enough to do as such, but he passed away during the attack. Unfortunately it is a very intricate, complicated and powerful spell. Without specializing in the field myself even I'm unable to cast it.”

“Then that just means we'll have to try and talk them down,” you decide. “Maybe turn them against each other. I'll talk to the Air elemental, see if it's willing to negotiate.”

“We should split up,” Flid says.

Essentia nods in confirmation. “Ms. Helbot and I will search for the Earth elemental below. Quissonce, you and Ed should make your way to the sea and search for the Water elemental. Alan and Eve should search for the Air elemental in the skies. Flid and Azdor, you two should make your way to the walls and prepare to unleash every water or ice spell you know on it if it tries to make its way into the city.”

“What about the other casters in the Circle?” Azdor asks.

“Let's not get them killed. We can handle this ourselves.”

And with that the eight of you break off to your assigned duties. Azdor taps you on your shoulder with a short incantation and you feel the magic sink into your brain and tongue. Eve hands him the decanter.

“Can you understand me?” Eve asks you in Gnomish.

“Yep,” you reply right back. Eve taps you on the shin and you feel the ability to fly overtake you. It's an odd sensation. You feel like your legs no longer need to obey gravity. You can just think and push yourself in the direction you wish to go – whichever direction you want. She casts the same spell on herself and the two of you find the closest window, open it, and float out into the skies over Seaside.

The two of you begin your search of the night skies for your rogue Air Elemental. Thankfully the speed you're able to go at makes your journey across Seaside quite quick. Done in a minute or two. And despite the light spells Eve continually casts to light your way, or your own flare spells you fire off every few seconds to pierce the darkness you can't seem to spot it.

“Hey, Alan,” Eve asks from where she flies beside you. “What does an air elemental look like?”

“I . . . don't know,” you admit. “I'm not entirely sure there actually is one out here.”

File: Air Elemental.jpg (18 KB, 250x272)

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“True. Maybe Flid was wrong. Or maybe he was right and the thing just fucked off. Wouldn't it be silly if the thing flew too far away from the Island and just disappeared or something? Or maybe it isn't affected by whatever's limiting the rest of the planet. Wouldn't that be crazy?”

Right as you're about to voice your own opinion you suddenly feel a tugging sensation on your legs. You panic for a moment, fearing the fly spell cast upon you is about to run out. But soon instead you you hear the raging sound of swirling wind and the sound of thunder begins to boom into your ear drums.

You manage to turn yourself on your side to look behind you. How the fuck did that thing sneak up on you? You see a dark cloud-like creature with hollows that are reminiscent of eyes and a mouth. Crackling lightning within seems to animate it as the now howling wind that comes with its presence begins to whip at the creature's outline.

You manged to find it at least!

You quickly feel yourself lose control over your body as the rapid spinning of the creature's tail begins to overpower the spell. You are jerked backwards into the creature and see the same thing happen to Eve.

“AAAAAAAAAAA,” she screams in a pitch higher than you thought possible as you spin through the air, being tugged around to the other side of the elemental. Eve is tumbling in the air end over end as the two of you are drawn into the spinning power of the whirlwind-like motions of its body and limbs. You manage to keep your wits and the dexterous control you have over your fine movements to salvage some sort of autonomy over what your body is about to do.

>Try diplomacy? (Shout what?)
>Grab Eve's hand
>Throw Eve out of the whirlwind's power
>Teleport yourself away
>Shoot the elemental with an arrow
>Get drawn in and try to punch the thing to death
>Something else? (write-in)

>>252992
>>Throw Eve out of the whirlwind's power
>Try diplomacy? (Shout what?)

"Stop! STOP! We don't want to fight you! We just wanted to ask you a few questions! Just, calm down, ok?"

>>252992
>Try diplomacy
"HELLO THERE! WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?! CAN WE TALK THIS OVER?!"

1d100 +7, best of 3.

Rolled 77 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>253042

Rolled 66 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>253042

Rolled 62 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>253042
also, rolling for third.

Writing!

Rolled 73 + 7 (1d100 + 7)

>>253042

File: Spoiler Image (14 KB, 250x302)

14 KB JPG

You grab Eve by the ankle and bolster yourself with a Bull's Strength as you chuck her as hard as you can against the wind current. She goes spinning end over end, successfully thrown out of the elemental's power. You yourself however continue spinning through the air round and round the creature's body.

You turn towards the facsimile of an angry face and begin to shout over the stormy booming sounds and the shrieking wind whipping your hair.

“STOP! STOP!” you find yourself shouting in a very foreign tongue as loud as you can possibly manage over the creature's own constructed background noise.

“FOOLISH MORTAL!” It booms back at you. “YOU THINK TO COMMAND ME!”

“NO! We just wanted to talk, I promise!”

“YOU SUMMON ME FOR THE PURPOSE OF IDLE CHATTER?!” The lightning in its mouth explodes and crackles down to the earth.

“We're not the ones who summoned you!” you shout. “I promise.”

As you prepare for the violent rebuttal of this angered air you slowly feel the intensity of the wind die down slightly and the swirling power of the whirlwind slows just enough for you to regain control of your movement.

“You aren't?” It asks imperiously.

You float towards the face and see the clouds have shifted so its angry eyes are less so and happen to look like they're fixed squarely on you. Even as you shift, so does the wind to alter the clouds to keep its gaze locked with your own.

“No. That was someone else who unleashed you upon our town so you would unwittingly do his bidding by destroying it.”

“AS IF I COULD BE TRICKED BY SUCH AN AMATEURISH PLOT!”

You do not feel the urge to argue that statement. In fact. “Of course you wouldn't attack us, doing what he wants. That would be beneath you. So I came to ask you what you wanted. To apologize for whichever mortal tried to involve you in our petty bickering.”

“I WISH TO RETURN TO WHERE IT IS ENDLESS SKY AND THERE IS NO SUCH BEFOULED SIGHT BENEATH ME!”

“That's good,” you assure him. “That's what we want too. Is it alright if I ask you a few questions.”

A small crackle of thunder and a gust of wind blows directly in your face, blinding you momentarily. You think that was it scoffing.

“YOU MAY NOT BE THE INGRATE WHO SUMMONED ME, BUT IF YOU THINK THE RULER OF THE SKIES WOULD LOWER ITSELF TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS OF SOME TINY, INSIGNIFICANT –”

You suddenly feel a gust of wind rock into you from the side, almost being powerful enough to steer you off course. It also screws up the clouds forming the face on the air elemental and seems to discombobulate him enough to stop his very loud, angry speech. The elemental's face begins to reform on the left side of it's form. Angry eyes seem to be coming back in full force. That probably wasn't him

If he didn't cause that gust of wind, who did? You look to your left and . . . Oh. Oh shit.

“Hey there,” she says in a deep, menacing growl of Draconic.

“Fuck you.”

And now I'll be taking a break to watch Game of Thrones. We're entering the downtime period of this quest, where I will be waiting for two to three posts and then updating whenever I feel like it.

>>253187
do we get options right now or later?

>>253176
Dammit, Eve, and the negotiations were getting to a good phase right now.

Write in any questions you wish to ask.

>>253209
Ok.

"How can we help you return?"
"Can you describe any details or facts about the one who summoned you?"
"Do you know of the other elementals who are currently in this town?"
"Can you help us defeat them?"

>>253209
How about "Can we please converse in a civil manner as the fully mature sapient beings we all are?"

Eve's ire is directed at the air elemental, and not us, right? What with the throwing her around like a ragdoll we did.

>>253209
So, is Eve somehow keeping the Air elemental in check, or are you letting us ask questions so that the air elemental goes into a rage again?

>>253227
It's not my fault if you write in questions that would make the Air Elemental go into a rage.

>>253176
Whatever questions we ask, we need to appeal to its ego.

That's a . . . Eve's a . . . you're looking at a dragon. Shiny red scales. Pointy spines, razor sharp wings. Even from this distance you can feel the heat radiating off of it, smoke trailing from the mouth. It's a lot smaller than you'd come to expect – maybe roughly around your height and not much longer than Sif. The wings make up most of the intimidating parts of the creature but holy shit Eve actually became a dragon and they're actually a thing. On the surface you already accepted their existence but seeing one in reality is so jarring. You're struck dumb as you watch her flap her wings to keep herself afloat.

“You just woke the dragon, bitch!” Eve snarls. That breaks you out of your awestruck reverie. Dragon or not she's fucking up the progress you've been making right now.

“Eve!” you snap at her in Draconic. “Not helping.”

“Who's Eve?” It asks of you. You stare at her wide-eyed for a moment before she starts snickering. “Yeah it's me. Whattaya mean I'm not helping?”

“Negotiations are working. We don't need to fight this thing.”

“Of course we don't. I'm scaring it!”

You look back to the Air elemental. Sure enough, the cloud shapes around the eyes have shifted from anger to what looks like horror. A bit weird. Sure, you know Eve has some powerful magic to back herself up in that form but considering her size you find it odd the much bigger elemental is truly intimidated by her.

One eye slowly drifts to the side to look to you.

“Is that one of Burn's progeny?” it asks you.

“What's it saying?” Eve asks as she flies to your side.

“What is it saying?” The air elemental pleads with you as it comes back to face you while simultaneously floating away from you ever so slowly and subtly. “IS THAT ONE OF BURN'S PROGENY?” it repeats in a loud windy shriek.

>Yes!
>No
>Who's Burn?
>Wait, Eve are you permanently a dragon now?
>Something else? (write-in)

Your questions will be asked soon.

>>253871
>Something else
"Eve, you know of any dragon named Burn? It wants to know if you're related."

>>253871
>>Who's Burn?
Probably not, though.
>>Wait, Eve are you permanently a dragon now?

>Something else
"Eve, you know of any dragon named Burn? It wants to know if you're related."
>Wait, Eve are you permanently a dragon now?

OP is kill?

>>255226
Nah, I'll get the next update our within the hour

You turn to Eve who's looking at you expectantly. "Eve, you know of any dragon named Burn? It wants to know if you're related."

“Burn . . .” Eve says pensively. “Nope! Wait, uh, maybe he's the dragon at the volcano? I do know that dragons don't breed often and there aren't that many of them, so who knows. Maybe I am related to Burn.”

“Wait, Eve are you permanently a dragon now?”

“Yep! My metamorphosis is finally complete. Now all I have to do is let time do its work on my body and let me grow in size.”

“IS THAT ONE OF BURN'S PROGENY?!” The air elemental interrupts.

>Yes
>No
>Who's Burn?
>It doesn't matter, just answer our questions please

>>255373
>Other
"Quite possibly, you know how they are about their lineage. Better to act like she is, just to be on the safe side, right?"

>>255401
On second thought, considering the air elemental's arrogance, and the unlikelihood that it will talk with Burn to confirm or deny Eve's heritage, is there really much of a danger to saying that Eve is a progeny of Burn?

>>255373
>>Who's Burn?

>>255373
>Yes
It showed fear. That means it'll listen to our demands.

>>255658
I'm taking this as a vote for yes.

Writing!

“Yes, she is,” you tell him. That's absolute bullshit, but not a lie technically. It could totally be true. You don't know what the truth is and frankly right now you don't care very much.

Its cloud-like body shudders from multiple wind currents created the instant you confirm its fears.

“TELL HER I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY DISRESPECT!”

You turn to Eve. “He apologizes for disrespecting you.”

“Good,” she hrumphs with a quit snort of fire. You turn back to him.

“She accepts. Now will you please answer some of OUR questions,” you emphasize nodding to your dragon.

“Of course.”

"How can we help you return back to your domain?"

“I don't know! Open a portal?”

"Can you describe any details or facts about the one who summoned you?"

“No, I did not see the one who summoned me. I assumed it was you.”

"Do you know of the other elementals who are currently in this town?"

He slowly turns to look towards the large fire elemental lighting up the night at your walls. “I know of one.”

"Can you help us defeat them?"

“Anything for one of Burn's children. I've never and never plan to cross Burn or his lineage. I'd gladly help to repay the debt I've accrued.”

>Alright, go attack the (Fire/Earth/Water) elemental
>Actually, just go away and never come back
>Ask more questions (what)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>256160
First ask for info on the Elemental it does know. Information is half the battle. The other half is violence.

>>256160
confirm which elemental he's talking about.

also, where was he summoned? We could look in the vicinity for any traces of the summoners.

>>256160
>Ask more questions (what)
"What can you tell us of the fire elemental."
Let's try to not get caught in whatever business Burn has with this air elemental.

Remember that we can't kill these guys; we can only send them back to their plane if we kill them here.
And if the air elemental goes back to its plane and tells Burn about us, said Burn could be mighty annoyed that someone is impersonating someone from his lineage.

>>256189
>also, where was he summoned? We could look in the vicinity for any traces of the summoners.
That's not really something that we need to ask this elemental about, for two reasons.

1. the fire elemental would have left a very, very noticeable trail from where the portals were cast (Essentia said that they were in close proximity to each other)
2. it's an air elemental, it hates the ground, it wouldn't have paid attention to something that disgusts it.

File: Fire Elemental.jpg (116 KB, 1680x1120)

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“Could you tell us about the elemental you do know?”

“THAT FIRE ELEMENTAL? I KNOW ITS A GRAND ONE. PERHAPS THE LARGEST OF ITS KIND. I KNOW IT IS WEAK FOR WHAT IS FIRE WITHOUT THE AIR. I HAVE THE POWER TO SNUFF OUT FIRE OR RAISE IT TO GREAT HEIGHTS. IF IT WAS SMART IT WOULD WORSHIP ME FROM ITS PRISON!”

“Is that it?” you ask, disappointed. A lot more bluster and ego in that than usable information.

“FIRE ELEMENTALS ARE CRUEL COWARDS. THEY ENJOY TERRORIZING THE WEAK AND FRIGHTENING MORTALS. THEY SPREAD THEMSELVES IN A SHORTSIGHTED DESIRE TO BURN BRIGHTLY UNTIL NOTHING IS LEFT. THEY CONSUME AND CARE NAUGHT FOR THEIR OWN FUTURE! A LARGE ONE THAT LIKE IS MOST LIKELY TAKING DELIGHT IN YOUR FEAR OF ITS POTENTIAL FOR DESTRUCTION!”

“What's it saying?” Eve asks.

“That the fire elemental likes burning things.”

“Eh, I can relate.”

>Alright, go attack the (Fire/Earth/Water) elemental
>Actually, just go away and never come back
>Can't you just die to return to your dimension?
>Ask more questions (what)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>256515
Ok, so let's set him loose on the fire guy.

>>256532
This but also tell it we'll look for a way to send it back to its plane of existence.

>>256515
>Can't you just die to return to your dimension?
Letting it think that it has lessened its debt to Burn sounds like it is likely to come back to bite us.

“Alright, well go destroy that Fire elemental then,” you point down to it. “Outside this city however. She lives here and doesn't wish to see it harmed.”

“OF COURSE! PLEASE INFORM THE YOUNG MISTRESS THAT I HAVE DONE EXACTLY AS YOU HAVE ASKED AND WITH MUCH ENTHUSIASM!”

“I will. And I promise I'll look for a way to get you back to your own plane of existence. If you were to die here would that send you back?”

“WHAT? NO! I WOULD JUST BE DEAD HERE!” A little bit of that anger comes back in the form of a few sparking lightning bolt in the air elemental's mouth.

Well there goes that plan. “Sorry. Well, anyways. Thank you for your help.”

The giant storm cloud bows to you and then to Eve before it speeds away as fast as it can to the Fire elemental's location.

“Where's it going?” Eve asks.

“To deal with one of our problems.”

“So what are we doing then?”

What are you doing now?

>Check on the Water elemental
>Check on the Earth elemental
>Go to the wall, watch the fight
>Go back to the Circle
>Go inland and find where they were summoned
>Something else? (write-in)

>>256922
TrickQM approved!

>>256922
>Go to the Wall
>Something Else: Let Azdor and Flid know that the Air elemental is on our side (and that the story we're rolling with is that Eve is a progeny of Burn) so they don't attack the air elemental as well.
Being a dragon and being able to pass as a progeny of Burn, Eve should probably not meet with the water elemental. Unless Quissonce and Ed need muscle to convince the elemental to back off.

>>256922
>>Check on the Water elemental
maybe we could use diplomacy here, too.

>>256938
>>Something Else: Let Azdor and Flid know that the Air elemental is on our side (and that the story we're rolling with is that Eve is a progeny of Burn) so they don't attack the air elemental as well.
yeah, this, too.

>>256922
>Go inland and find where they were summoned
Guys, there might be a clue on how to send the elementals back. Our friends can handle themselves.

I'm also agree with the write in: >>256938

We could send Eve to deal with one of the other elementals while we diplomancy the water guy.

File: Desden Grimwold.jpg (59 KB, 480x631)

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“Well, we should inform Flid and Azdor about what's going on first, I think.”

“Alright, to the wall then!”

The two of you fly your way down to the southernmost section of Seaside's defensive wall. You quickly spot Flid, Azdor, Gabby, Dolah and Desden all standing around together atop it. While they have been keeping the raging, approaching fire elemental in their sights, they quickly shift their attention to the two of you approaching from the sky.

Dolah unslings her weapon and Desden loads his crossbow while Gabby rips a chunk of stone off the wall and adopts a thrower's stance.

When you get within shouting distance, Gabby yells “IS THE TINY DRAGON FRIENDLY?!”

“WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU CALLING TINY?!” Eve shouts back in the common tongue.

Gabby lower her rock and relaxes. She turns to Dolah “Yeah, it's Eve. Crazy little bitch actually pulled it off.”

The two of you gingerly land on the wall. You land on the walkway but Eve deigns to land on the crenel and stretch her wings to their full length, raising her head and adopting the most regal posture you could imagine from a man-sized lizard with wings.

Gabby laughs to herself as some of the surrounding guards who didn't notice her approach recoil. Dolah begins the boring but necessary process of explaining the situation.

“So are you a fucking dragon now?” Gabby asks.

“Yeah, I am! Now bow before your betters, mammal!” she mockingly declares.

“She's kidding, she's kidding,” Dolah continues explaining to the very spooked guards. Some of them were probably around or have heard the stories of that dragon attack that burned half of Seaside before.

“We're about to be assaulted by a being born of fire, could the two of you be a bit more serious and attentive,” Desden nags as he shakes his head and unloads his crossbow.

“Dolah, seriously, is this guy like the love child of you and a school marm?” Gabby asks her as Dolah returns having completed keeping the peace. “He's more dour than you are.”

“I treat my duties to the faithful of this world with respect,” Desden responds. He turns to Dolah. “Why do you associate with a drunkard, Dolah?”

“I'm not a fucking drunkard, asskiss!” Gabby retorts angrily.

“I can smell alcohol on your breath,” he says with a roll of his eyes.

“Fuck you! I was drinking. Or should I stay sober every single fucking second in case Firedick McFuckface decides to pop up?”

“Yes,” he answers simply. Gabby 'tsks' audibly and waves him off.

“It's called compromise, Desden,” Dolah lectures.

“Compromise.” he says the word with derision. “Compromise sounds sweet until you realize one inch given soon becomes a mile. The drunkard would be enough compromise for the most patient and lenient of our order. The dragon worshiper? The demon-tainted abomination? That isn't compromise. It's defaulting on the principles we stand for.”

File: Flid Havrang.jpg (36 KB, 487x788)

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“As much as I love the theological debate,” Flid interrupts, pushing Desden aside. “Alan, is there some reason you came here for?”

“We convinced the air elemental to fight the fire elemental for us. The story is that Eve is the progeny of some powerful fire dragon named Burn, who this air elemental apparently respects and owes a debt to.”

Azdor nods. “Good to know. We'll watch and wait here, intervening if it looks like the fire elemental is winning. Good work.”

“And why does this air elemental believe that story?” Desden asks, curiosity mixed with judgmental condemnation.

Gabby rolls her eyes. “Fuck off!”

Desden turns to Dolah. “He lied. That strictly goes against the vow he gave to the man our Chapel is named in honor of. You can't condone that.”

“It's not a lie!” Eve exclaims. “We just don't know or care if it's true.”

“Semantics,” he comments.

“Actually,” Dolah interjects stretching out the word in a bit of a sing song tune. “That technically is not a lie.”

Desden laughs derisively. “I can't believe you! All this good you stand for and you ignore the growing rot right beside you!”

>Go inland and find where the elementals were summoned
>Stay and watch the fight
>Go check on the water elemental
>I'm the rot?
>Demon-tainted abomination?
>What do you want, Desden?
>Something else? (write-in)

>>259407
>Go check on the water elemental
Here's a draft of what we should say to Desden:
"You really need to loosen up. Following regulations and protocol is all well and good, but you shouldn't blindly adhere to the rules. Otherwise, you're just an automaton, and your decisions will lack any kind of empathy or compassion the Great Will is supposed to offer."
also, another thought for the day:
"Water which is too pure has no fish." (I remembered that from that Bullet Proof Monk movie)

>>259407
>Go check on the water elemental
>Something Else
"Dolah, could we talk after this is handled? I have some doctrinal subjects I'd like to talk with you about."

Dolah needs to keep an eye on Desden because he's going to become a fanatical thorn in our side and basically give everyone a bad image of the Church.

>>259494
No, let's not talk with Desden at all. He won't listen, and he doesn't respect us. What we need to do is talk with Dolah and make sure that she keeps on eye on Desden and people he associates with, before he creates a Great Will version of ISIS.

>>259407
>I'm the rot?
>What do you want Dresden?
Man, fuck this guy. I want to know what his deal is. We're busting our ass to save people and preaching to us while doing nothing to help.

>>260083
>I want to know what his deal is
He's a cop who got the power to see people's souls and what they've recently done (without context, just what happened).
On top of that, he's gotten a religious power backing him and giving him footsoldiers and grunts to order around.
He's got the backing of a god, a divine right to judge (which he told us, though we never did follow up with the Great Will after that).

I think his deal is very plain to see.

File: Ring of Mental Shielding.jpg (74 KB, 607x600)

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“You really need to loosen up,” you tell him. Desden looks at you like you insulted his mother. “You shouldn't blindly adhere to the rules.”

“You shouldn't have joined if you can't follow our rules. They exist for a reason and I obey them not because I'm blind but because I can see where bending them will lead.”

“You speak a lot about rules, but what about the tenets that speak of the empathy and compassion offered by The Great Will. You are sorely lacking in those.”

Desden huffs. “I am one of His Inquisitors. I represent His judgment. Dolah as one of His paladins represents His justice. If you desire His mercy, empathy, compassion – seek out a priest.”

“What do you want, Desden?” you ask, deflated.

He quickly jolts from where he's standing to come face to face with you. Gabby tenses like she's ready for him to attack you and respond in her own violent fashion.

“I want you to take off the ring!”

You chuckle and look downwards, instinctively clutching the ring. “So you can demonstrate that I'm the rot you say I am?”

“So you can prove you aren't,” he corrects, a glare on his face.

>Take off the ring
>Go check on the water elemental
>Say something? (what?)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>260368
>Take off the ring
Yep. Just a power-mad cop that wants to throw his weight around.

>>260368
Had this bit written up, not sure if it's appropriate:
>>Take off the ring
"Here, honey, this one's for you. Just let me find another one to put on so we can exchange our vows."
"Dolah, you want to consecrate this marriage?"
Turn to Gabby "Want to be best man? Or, woman, in this case?"

>>260553
I'll second the banter.

>>260553
Don't really like it, and I want to get to the water elemental before Quissonce and Ed drown.

Fine, if he really needs proof of your sincerity then you'll give it to him.

“Anything for you, honey,” you chime in sweetly as you slowly loosen the golden ring and pull it off your finger. As you gingerly place it in his hand, you look over to Gabby.

“Promise to be my best man?” you ask her.

“As long as I get to watch you fuck him in the ass,” Gabby offers.

Eve sticks out her tongue. “Eww, gross.”

Desden seems to have tuned out your banter as he clutches the ring tight absentmindedly. His eyes scan up and down your body. You feel him switch through various magical abilities as his eyes flicker different shades of colors. Red, gold, black, white. A few short seconds pass and his sight comes back to normal. He releases the grip and extends his hand out for you to take it.

“Well?” you ask him as you take the ring back and slip it on.

“You're not evil,” Desden informs you with a cluck of his tongue. “But you certainly aren't good. You consort with demons and violate the minuscule standards you're held to. I recommend leaving the church or making a change.”

Gabby chortles. “If you got a problem with evil then I have bad news for you buddy.”

Desden turns his head to look at her. “What?”

“If you thought Alan was rotten you certainly haven't been paying attention to me.”

He squints. “Yes I have. What are you talking about?”

Gabby looks surprised and crosses her arms a little self-consciously. “I-I-I'm evil,” she declares, rocking back on her feet a bit.

Desden grimaces and you feel him go through his sight again. “No you're not. You're a hedonistic, crude, disrespectful drunkard. Not evil though. Not yet, at least.”

“Uhhhhhh, hate to say this kid, but you're experiencing some performance issues.”

“No I'm not.”

“Dolah, can you please tell . . .” As Gabby trails off you follow her line of sight to Dolah who is currently studying the floor, sighing out heavily.

File: Fire Elemental 2.jpg (49 KB, 286x468)

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The fire elemental suddenly flares up. You all take a moment to look out and spot the air elemental causing a miniature storm to rage. A whirlwhind whips the fire elemental's body in different directions. What sounds like a high-pitched crackling of fire accompanies the violent exchange as jets of fire shoot off into the night sky, lighting up the horizon.

“Think we should help out Azdor?” Flid asks as a way to quickly exit this conversation.

Azdor just sighs and jumps off the wall. Flid rolls his eyes and follows him.

There is a moment of silence among those of you that remain upon the wall. Even Eve is picking up on the slowly growing tension. Gabby clenches her fists. Desden looks to Dolah.

“Dolah, what is this woman talking about?” he asks. Dolah shakes her head and looks up. Her and Gabby look at each other.

“Gabby, you aren't –”

“HOW LONG?” she demands. Dolah physically flinches.

“Not since New Years.”

Gabby puts her hand to her mouth. She looks around before coming to some internal decision and staring back at the paladin. “What happened to not being able to lie?”

“Technically I've never – ”

“Fuck off with that shit! Y'know what, you and the no fun dry cunt here can fight all the fire fucks and watery shits you want. I'm going home.”

Gabby jumps off the wall on the interior side and slides down to the bottom. She begins storming away.

Desden looks down at his feet. Dolah puts her face in her hands. The silence is only broken by another raging surge of fire from the not too distant battle.

“Awkward,” Eve states.

>Go after Gabby
>Tell Dolah to go after Gabby
>Go check on the water elemental
>Why did you keep that secret?
>Say something? (what?)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>262924
>>Why did you keep that secret?

>>262924
>Go after Gabby

>>263250
this, too.

>>262924
>Tell Dolah to go after Gabby.
Or at least tell her to follow us since we're definitely going after Gabby . Amends need to be made.

>>263495
Not so sure this is a good idea. Gabby's currently pretty pissed at Dolah, so I think some time away from her would be a good thing. Wake both of them up tomorrow morning for amends might prove to be less problematic.

>>263495
That's a pretty bad idea, considering both Gabby and Dolah's relationship, and the hit that it already just took.

“Y'know what, I'll go check on the water elemental, see if Quissonce and Ed are doing alright with their task.” And with that Eve takes to the skies, heading north to the beach.

“We'll stay here and make sure things go right against the fire elemental,” Dolah tells you a bit dejectedly.

“Why did you keep that secret?” you ask her.

“I thought telling her or praising her might . . . cause her to regress. I figured I would let whatever happens happen naturally without any potential interjections from me.”

“Well that turned out well,” you sarcastically comment. You hop off the wall after her, sliding down the walls with your own ability to slow your fall.

You quickly sprint after her to catch up. She's making a beeline for her shack.

“Gabby!” you call after to get her attention.

“Fuck off Al!”

“I know you're upset!”

“How'd you gather that? You're a fucking ace detective.”

“Yes, Dolah hid something from you –”

“She tried to convince me I was a shitty fucking person and didn't have the balls to admit when she was wrong. I hate her and her fucking god and her shitty lapdog.”

“I know you feel betrayed right now but maybe this is a good thing. You haven't been deemed . . . 'evil' for quite a while. So you can –”

Gabby swivels on her heels and stops. “Do what I want because it doesn't fucking matter and it's all bullshit and I regret spending a single fucking second worrying about the way I choose to live my life. Dolah is a cowardly, deceiving shit. Desden is a stuck-up fanatic cunt. And you –”

She jabs a finger into your chest. “Only pretend to care because you want one thing. And y'know what?”

She grabs you by the shoulders and slams you into a nearby brick building. Rather harshly too.

“I want it too.” She presses her mouth to yours violently. You can taste the alcohol on her breath. You try to shift, but she reaffirms her grip and holds you against the wall.

>Kiss back
>Try to break free
>Energy drain (just a tad)
>Something else? (write-in)

>>264422
>Kiss back then break free

>>264611
I'll back this up. Gabby was never my waifu of choice my waifu already won the Alanbowl but Alan probably would kiss Gabby back before realizing he's taken, she's drunk, and this is a bad idea. Seaside is being attacked, again.

>>264422
>>Kiss back
>>Try to break free
>Only pretend to care because you want one thing.
"I am NOT fucking pretending."


"Gabby, I didn't know Dolah was keeping that from you, either. I'm sorry."


Why you do this to us, Trick?

Alright, roll me 1d100 + 4, best of 3.

Strength Check.

Rolled 5 + 3 (1d100 + 3)

>>265155
Alan needs to work out more.

Rolled 74 + 4 (1d100 + 4)

>>265155

Rolled 15 + 4 (1d100 + 4)

>>265155

Writing!

>>265144
I'd rather say
"Gabby, I'm not pretending. But I still love Rowe."

>>265177
ok, yeah, that's good, too.

You do want this. You kiss back, your lips naturally reciprocating your desire. Your hands find their way to her hips and your tongue finds it way into her mouth. She presses her body into you, emboldened by your positive reaction.

Only as your legs begin to intertwine does the context of the situation overpower your urge to stay and enjoy the moment. You stop kissing. You pull back. You look into her eyes.

“Gabby I'm not pretending. I do care.”

She chuckles. “Yeah, you have a real, righteous, moral imperative. Right here.” One hand comes off your left shoulder and glides between your legs, firmly grasping something no longer soft.

You take advantage of the shifting of her grip to push her off of you. Its a bit of a struggle, but a short one.

She stumbles back a bit, although you can tell she purposefully isn't utilizing her skills to re-balance herself. She leans against the building opposite of the one you were pressed up against.

“I still love Rowe,” you tell her.

“Yet here you are in a back alley making out with a drunken slut.”

“You're not a slut.”

“You're right.” She points at you. “You're the slut. Slut.”

>Go home and try not to drink yourself to death
>Seaside is under attack still and I could use your help
>I love you as well
>Try not to hold a grudge against Dolah
>Gabby, this can't happen again
>Would you be alright with a poly amorous relationship?
>I knew you weren't evil
>Something else? (write-in)

>>265371
>Would you be alright with a poly amorous relationship?
>I like you, too
It's Gabby, so she'll appreciate a blunt question, especially when it deals with emotions.

What she won't appreciate, is getting into another argument about Good and Evil.

>Alan is a slut
What, she expects Alan to go around bare-chested and with torn shorts, oiled up, with his hair combed and coifed?

>>265371
>>I love you as well
>Would you be alright with a poly amorous relationship?
"Gabby, I didn't know Dolah was keeping that from you, either. I'm sorry."

>Seaside is under attack still and I could use your help
>Try not to hold a grudge against Dolah.

>>265393
>>265409
actually, having second thoughts about asking her about the relationship right now. She's angry right now and a little bit drunk, so she's probably not thinking too straight. That, and it may be better to broach the subject with Rowe first before bringing in Gabby.

>>266612
This nigga using his head.

>>265409
>>265393
Yeah, we should probably retract that part about proposing a three way relationship.

Ok, Trick apparently wants one more person to vote before going through with stuff.

>>265371
>Seaside is under attack still and I could use your help
>Try not to hold a grudge against Dolah
"Fuck this Good, Evil shit. You do you like you always have."

>>267785
Last time we said that to Gabby, she got real angry because Good and Evil are actual physical forces and not just relative social constructs.

>>267797
Scratch the write in tidbit then.

Fuckin DnD/PF making things complicated.

I think... maybe we should just give her a hug and let her cool down. I think she needs it.

>>267901
I'll second that. Maybe make a joke about being a slut. But also,
>Seaside is under attack and I could use your help
Alan is all about protecting people, and he definitely cares about the people of the city.

Alright about to update. So I'm doing

>Seaside is under attack still and I could use your help
>Try not to hold a grudge against Dolah.

Plus an

>I like/love you

but no

>Would you be alright with a poly amorous relationship.


This might take me a while, so throw in your opinion on whether to use like or love in the meantime or correct me if I'm not correctly representing the majority here.

>>268174
Keep it at like, because we're not completely sure what our relationship with Gabby is, and we know what love feels like because we're already in love with Rowe.

>>268174
Sounds good, Famicom.

Gabby slides down the side of her building until she is in a sitting position. She hangs her head, perhaps in thought or in shame of her previous action. A cool silence descends between the two of you for a moment.

You eventually gather your thoughts and clear your throat, barely rousing Gabby's attention.

“Listen Gabby. I didn't know Dolah was keeping that from you and I'm sorry. But try not to hold a grudge against her, OK? It sounds like she was attempting to keep out of your affairs by not bothering you with that information.”

“Too late,” Gabby spits. “Introduction of all this God shit and how your morality's being tracked like a running fucking bar tab. It changes shit, permanently. I'm watched and judged and all I want to do is spit in the face of everybody who thinks they know me. Fuck trusting people though, that's for fucking sure. High horse cunt thinks she's such a big person by staying out of shit while I have to . . . justify why I am the way I am. Should have kissed my goddamn boots and apologized for . . . for everything.”

Another few moments of silence follow that rant.

“Hey, Gabby. Seaside is still under attack and I could use your – ”

“Seaside isn't under attack!” Gabby shouts. She gestures with her arms. “Does it sound or look like we're under attack?” It is rather silent and peaceful despite how active the town is at the sound of the tolling bells. Even the guardsmen who have rallied themselves and patrol the streets seem not to be in too much of a rush.

“There's potentially still an earth and a water elemental on the loose. Somebody summoned those.”

“Yeah, well then this was the shittiest plan in the history of attacks. We're all up. We're all ready and on the lookout for these things. It was visible from literally miles away giving us time to prepare. And they aren't even coordinated to hit us where it hurts.”

“You're right,” you admit. “This seems pretty amateurish.” The whole jist of the plan seemed to have been open portals and let big giant monsters through, hoping for the best. You have no idea what this was meant to accomplish.

“So you don't need my help. You can do your own shit and let me slink off back to my shack.”

“Yeah, but I like you. So I'd appreciate your company.”

“I like you too, Al. And I'd appreciate your company. In my bed.”

“Gabby . . .”

“Oh fucking please, I already threw you against a wall and grabbed your dick. That was a step back if anything.”

“So are you coming with me or not?”

“Fine, let's get back to saving the town from incompetent faggots.” Gabby gets up off the ground and stretches. “Where are we going?”

>Check on the water elemental
>Check on the earth elemental
>Go somewhere else? (write-in)

AND

>Anything you feel you have left to say right now? (write-in)

>>268247
>Go somewhere else?
The Archive. Because Gabby's right, this seems like just one big distraction while the summoner goes and completes their objective.

>>268351
what place would currently be left unprotected and undermanned?

>>268247
Uh, guys? how's this?

>Should have kissed my goddamn boots and apologized for . . . for everything.

You may very well get your chance. I think she feels guilty about this.

>>268247
check the prison this feels like a prison break

>>268529
how about the place where the succubus is being held?

>>268532
didn't think of that but that's a good idea

>>268247
>I'm watched and judged and all I want to do is spit in the face of everybody who thinks they know me. Fuck trusting people though, that's for fucking sure.

honestly not sure what to say to this, but it kind of hurts.

I want to say "Don't say that, Gabby. Just because Dolah made a mistake shouldn't mean losing trust in all of us."
But, that would be rather futile wouldn't it?

>>268687
>honestly not sure what to say to this, but it kind of hurts.
I think it's understandable, considering how Gabby consistently has to shoot down what the players think about her.

And instead of saying that Gabby shouldn't lose trust in the party because she lost trust in Dolah, we should be saying "Does that mean that you don't trust me anymore, too?"

You purse your lips together and think. Gabby studies you while you stand there in silence before waving her hand in front of your face to get your attention.

“Hello? Al?”

“You're right, Gabby.”

“. . . Huh?”

“This seems like one big meaningless distraction. We have our best looking underground, in the skies, at the beach and out at the horizon. It's all external. What place is currently being left unprotected and unmanned while we pursue these things?”

“My shack,” Gabby offers.

“Places of important strategic value, Gabby. Something someone would want to hit. God, I should have seen this sooner. This feels like a prison break.”

“We don't have a prison, Al. Just a couple holding cells at a couple guard stations for drunks to sleep off their hangovers. Unless you're talking about the Research Library. A lot of the specimens were killed in the siege, but maybe Gilda's gotten some new ones worthy of being stolen.”

Gilda did recently receive that orc who was magically experimented upon. “We're holding a succubus in one of the interrogation rooms at the Overseer's Complex as well. Perhaps one or two doppelgangers too.”

“You're holding some sort of informant there as well, right?” Gabby asks, vaguely recalling your interaction earlier today.

“I asked Blackburn to move him somewhere nicer.”

“Then he was probably moved to the Research Library. We don't exactly have nice hotels around here. Also this sumbitch has to be a caster, right?”

“Right.”

“And is the entirety of the Circle's top echelon out running after giant monsters.”

“. . . yes.”

“Alright, that sounds like three pretty important, relatively unprotected targets. We split up and we can hit two of them quick.”

>Let's split up
>Let's not split up

AND

>The Circle
>The Research Library
>The Overseer's Complex

Choose one or two, depending.

AND

>Something else? (write-in)

Votes regarding what to say will be addressed next post.

>>270467

>Let's split up
We got to the Research Library, Gabby goes to the Overseer Complex.


Ok, guys, thoughts on this?
"Gabby, I know you're angry, and I know it's justified, but don't let Dolah's mistake discourage you. Trusting people, it's not all fun and roses, but it's better than sleeping with one eye open all the time."

(If her answer is still pessimistic) "Do you not trust me or Rowe? Do you think I'd betray you?"

(before departing)
"Hey. Watch your back, alright?"

>>270960>>270467

Alternatively, just ask her this>>268793

>>270467
if no one else jumps in, just use these statements.
>"Does that mean that you don't trust me anymore, too?"
(before departing)
"Hey. Watch your back, alright?"

>>270467
>Split up
We'll take The Research Library and Gabby can go warn the others so it's not just the two of us against whatever this mystery threat is. Plus it'll be good knowing we have additional backup if we ever need it.

>>271863
We could also ask her to get Rowe and link up with us at the library.

>>270467
>Let's split up
>The Circle
&
>The Research Library
We only need to swing by the Circle and put the students still there on high alert and tell them to get a signal off if someone tries to break into the 8th Floor's Sealed Room.

>tell Gabby
"Hey, as much as I stick my foot in my mouth sometimes, I'm still worth trusting, right? And Rowe?
"Stay safe out there."

Yeah, pretty sure this is the rescue team Etriarch was talking about. Probably heading for the research library as we speak.

>>270467
Oh, wait. Switch >>272114
to
>The Research Library
>The Overseer's Complex

With Alan going to the Library and Gabby to the Complex.

Ok, so we go to the library,

And we have Gabby notify people and go to the overseer complex?

We should tell Gabby not to kill the Succubus, no matter what she says.
Death for a summoned creature like a succubus or a demon is just a "Get Out of Jail Free" card that they use to go back to their home plane.

“Alright, I'll head to the Research Library. Gabby, you check out the Overseer's Complex.”

Gabby gives you a thumbs up. As she's about to duck around a corner to pursue her own objective, she stops and looks back at you, deadpan.

“By the way. You tell Rowe I kissed you and I tell her you kissed back.”

“Are you threatening me, Gabby?” you ask her seriously.

She shrugs. “If my relationship with Rowe tanks because of my shitty behavior then I'm not going down alone. And you're the one she's fucking, so –”

“You don't trust me?”

“I'd like to trust you, Al.”

“I know I put my foot in my mouth sometimes, but –”

“Yeah, yeah I fucking know! Time and time again you've had my back and proven you give a shit about me. Frankly . . . you're the best friend I've ever fucking had. But y'know the one thing I figured I'd always be able to trust Dolah with was to be honest with me.”

“Dolah feels guilty about how that went down and is going to apologize to you about it, profusely. Maybe you should forgive her 'shitty behavior' and trust that Rowe might do the same for you?”

“I don't know there Al, betrayal's a thing people tend not to forgive.”

“And you think I'd betray you?”

Gabby takes a deep breath.

“No, I don't think you'd betray me. But as it turns out, those are the only people who truly can. Better to take the dogs for wolves than the other way around, right?”

“I disagree,” you say softly.

She opens her mouth like she means to say something in response, but decides not to voice it. She turns to resume her mission. “Stay safe,” you call after her.

“You, too!” And she's out of sight.

You sigh once before breaking into a sprint through the city to the Research Library.

On the way you make sure to contact a guard and tell him to get in touch with Dolah, Rowe and whoever remains at the Circle about your fears and concerns.

As you approach the large complex that makes up the Research Library you notice the front door is open and slightly ajar. You quicken your pace as you push the door open and begin striding down the hall.

Everything seems hunky dory as usual on the inside. You pass a few old friends. Rusty, that fire beetle, the sedated form of that mutated orc.

Eventually though you hear the sound of rustling and muffled grunts. It causes you to pause and adopt a stealthier approach as you try to specifically locate the sound of the noises. You eventually find the small corridor offshoot to the main hall and peek your head inside. The dead body of a Seaside guard slumped against one door does little to comfort you. The rustling sound comes from inside the door opposite the dead guard, which again is open and slightly ajar. You sneak up to it and peer into the room.

Two more dead guards – one decapitated while the other has a large bloody gash down his fronts. The walls are stained red with the telltale signs of sudden violence. Very much unlike the one outside whose cause of death you still don't know. Further back in the room is a nicely furbished living area partitioned by a set of iron bars. It's quite clearly a cell, but one most likely designed to keep a prisoner well taken care of.

The source of the noise – a trussed-up Gilda. Legs and arms tied behind her back with rope. A gag in her mouth. She is currently struggling to exit the room via awkward crawl.

“Shit,” you utter as you rush to her side. She looks up at you and you see relief in her eyes as you fish out your dagger and begin to cut her free. A big black shiner mars her pretty face and makes her left blue eye puffy.

“Thank you Alan,” she tells you as you pull out the gag. “Etriarch –”

“Has been taken. Did you see who did this?”

“No.” She gets up on her feet, wobbling a bit. “I was in the main hall examining the new specimen when I heard the front door get thrown open and heard footsteps running over here. I found Rowe standing over the bodies of the men stationed here reading something and Etriarch missing.”

“Rowe? Wait, Rowe was here?”

“Yes, she was. And when I asked her what had happened, she did this.” Gilda points to her black eye. “And then tied me up.”

You pause, an odd new sensation of dread entering your stomach. “It must have been a doppelganger or a spell.”

“Probably,” Gilda concurs. “Probably.”

File: Blue Jay.jpg (327 KB, 2400x1600)

327 KB JPG

You catch sight of the bastard as you glide through the sky. How he escaped you have no idea. As you prepare to bank and retreat to inform Alan, a green bolt arcs from the ground to the sky and strikes you in the side. You feel your arms and legs seize up. You begin to fall.

This can't be how it ends you have so much to live for!

Suddenly you hear a sharp whistle and the very same birdbrain you were spying on darts after you. He nabs you out of the sky, flapping his wings in a great, strenuous effort to slowly lower the two of you to the ground. By the time she plucks you from the beak of the bluejay you're frozen stiff. It's Rowe! You feel the urge to chitter to her for help, but you seem incapacitated at the moment. The bluejay lands on her shoulder.

“We should kill it,” he chirps callously. “The squirrel will report back to him soon.”

“No,” she responds sadly as she places you as gently as she can manage atop a windowsill. “I've done enough to him for one night.”

>End of Thread

>>272771
I don't know what to think about this situation. I can believe that Rowe frees Etriarch and that she refrains from hurting Muffin, but killing guards? On the other hand, she wasn't at home when the attack began and we never heard about Etriarch being able to polymorph. I'm looking forward to the next thread, thanks for running.

>>272771
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!

why you do this to us, Trick?

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26 KB JPG

>>272771
The red rider will ride again

>>272771
Welp, looks like Gabby wins the Alan bowl after all.

>>272771
As far as I know you can only have one animal companion and that isn't Sif. And those guards were killed by slashes with a lot of strength behind them which isn't really her forte.

But then the fact that Alan said 'it's probably a doppleganger or magic' makes me think it's neither cause lolnarrativetropes.

And thus through innocence lost, Alan shall conquer hell