>>612754
Huh huh.

>>612754
Okay...think a bit. How best to shake someone awake from a mental fog like this? There might be a way you can use mana to snap her out of it, but you're unsure, and you don't want to test it right now. Maybe you can force her to snap out of it herself…but first you need to see if she's even responsive. “Hey. Hey, girl. Can you tell me who you are? You need to focus.”

“Iiiiiii’m Charlotte!” She giggles, “And thank youuuuu! I’lll do it!” It's strange how you say she appears to be. She sways from side to side, and it's as if her bones are made of rubber. “What else d'you want me to say?”

Okay. Right, then. You clap in front of her face without any warning. She simply giggles and laughs. “Oh wooooow… should I try that…?” before you can say no, she raises her hands and loudly claps once. “Woo! That felt so niiiice…what else?”

Okay. Very reactive and responsive, seems to be very susceptible to suggestions, like you figured. If anyone got ahold of her in this state, she’d be probably end up following anything that vaguely sounded like a command instantly...at least until it wore off. IF it wore off. You know it was partway, but you're still not sure how far. She's malleable, but accepting any commands, not specific commands, or been ordered to 'act normal'- because anyone acting like this, you're SURE would have been given an order to hide it... although, thinking of that fact... Hm. You wonder if you could use this. It might be too risky, though. For now… “What do you last remember?”

“A very nice man by the name of Mister Tavis wanted to talk with me!” She answers clearly; no lilt or anything in her voice. “He said he was worried for my spiritual health and wanted to perform an emergency cleansing ritual on me! I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I heard of him before, so I said okay. He pulled out what he called an 'emergency cleansing crystal', and then he told me to focus inwardly on the mana the stone radiated, and to clear my head of thoughts.

Ugh. Figures that’s what he'd say he was doing. Or heck, maybe he actually thought it.

>Did he say anything else?
>Continue trying to snap her out of it.
>Other

>>612803
>Continue trying to snap her out of it.
man, that crystal fucked her up real good.

>>612803
>Continue trying to snap her out of it.
Reiterating trying to get her to focus her thoughts on Voldin and the attendant emotions it would cause.

>>612803
>Did he say anything else?
Specifically about what was being cleansed?

>>612803
>Did he say anything else?
>Continue trying to snap her out of it.
>Other
"Listen, what he did was a very bad thing. Like, illegal bad. If he comes towards you again, scream rape, and run away as fast as you can to someone you trust."

Because it's really hard to look good if you're chasing after a woman who's screaming rape at the top of her lungs.

>>612849
and she's not even wrong!
mindrape is still rape!

>>612803
>Continue trying to snap her out of it.

He's not gonna have told her anything incriminating. We should try to get her back to normal, if we can do so that may help us get others back to normal as well.

>>612803
>>612849
"Not somebody affiliated to the Church."

>>612849
We should tell her that after we've snapped her out of whatever this is. In her current suggestible state, she'd only scream until he yells at her to stop.

>>612803
>>Continue trying to snap her out of it.

>>612858
>"Not somebody affiliated to the Church."
Shit. Should have added that in here >>612849
.

Still trying to get the operator, not an automated helper.

Writing.

>>612893
Just wanted to say, your quips amuse me every time.

>>612905
Aha, thanks.

>>612803
Well. Different tactic, then. Maybe... “Charlotte, remember the baron?”

She's still smiling. “Uh huh…”

“Do you remember what happened to you because of him?” It’s not exactly the cleanest or flashiest way, but sometimes remembering trauma was just the best way to get someone to snap out of a mental cloud like this one.

To your mild surprise, you can see her lips twitch downwards a bit. “Y-yeeaaah..”

Gotcha. Seems like it’s working, then. “It didn't feel nice, did it?”

She's trying desperately to keep smiling. “Nnooo…”

“I want you to focus on that feeling.” and now her face droops as you know she’s practically forcing herself to remember. She starts to speak, shivering slightly, but you interrupt her. “No complaints, just focus on me and that feeling.” She nods as you can start to see tears forming in her eyes. “What's happened to you is bad. But what's happening to you now is worse. You don't want to feel worse than you do now, do you?”

She rapidly shakes her head no.

“Then SNAP OUT OF IT.” You half-yell, giving her a slight pop on the jaw. She squeaks, and tilts over far more than he really should have, nearly lying on the bench face down. Honestly, you didn’t hit her hard at all- even for you. That was barely even a feather tap. Then again, she seems to be the sort with extreme reactions even when not half brainwashed.

It's a minute or two, but she remains face down. You’re starting to wonder what other tactics you might be able to try...but soon you hear gentle sobbing. “I-i-i just wanted t-to try and b-be a good hero…” Ah. At last...

She gently raises her face, now tear-lined. “I-i can't believe I had to g-get saved twice…I must suck at this…”

Well, at least you managed to shake her out of it. “I doubt you expected anything like that. But you have to pull yourself together. I’m working on dealing with this...issue. In the meantime, if he comes at you again...just run. Run and scream ‘rape’ or something. Pretty much what he did to you. And find someone that you trust- as long as they’re NOT from the Church.”

“Wait, why not?” She asks.

“Because they’ll just do the same thing.” She gasps in horror, and opens her mouth to argue against it. “Tavis is well involved with the Church. And he did that,” you interrupt. “Think about it. You’ll see.”

> Bring her to the Prince.
> Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
> Keep her around you personally, as a witness for later.
> Other

>>613051
>Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
Take her to the Prince after our fight, that's when we're blowing this whole thing wide open.

>>613051
>Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
Ask her if she'd be willing to testify, if needed, later, to prevent this sort of shit happening again. For now, no one should know that Tavis' brainwashing failed, or else they will almost certainly try again.

> Ask Geegee to look after her for now.

If we keep her around us a lot, they'll just try to discredit her as a witness. Geegee's a decent enough third party for the moment, and has a good head on her tiny shoulders.

>>613051
>> Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
We put someone martially competent next to someone whose generally savvy. Win-win.

>>613051
>> Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
Still need to find Sorina and Basil.

>>613051
>> Keep her around you personally, as a witness for later.
No need to pool our noncombatants.

>>613098
Kids not a noncombatant, just had a bad string of luck. She's a trained fighter, remember.

>>613051
> Bring her to the Prince.

Geegee ain't back with those potions yet as far as we know, and that'd just make them a big target, that's a no-no. They'd be too vulnerable and 100% reliant on those potions to get out. Plus they could easily accuse Geegee too since she ain't a hume.

Keeping her with us is safe-ish, but also instantly alerts the church that we know basically everything. They'd accelerate their schedule even more, we need everyone back before they strike.

Giving her to the prince and having her explain what just happened is the best option then IMO since he ain't gonna like the idea of the church subverting citizens from his control. This is gonna give us the best shot at more support for discrediting the church.

Plus the prince is in his box, almost certainly somewhat isolated from the masses and guarded, it's the safest she'll be other than strapped to our back.

>>613051
> Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
Best Gobbo waifu on this plane, even if she's not ours.

I suppose she's back from her run, as from her estimates she wasn't sure she'd get to see the finals at their original set time. We healed the girl and Adel has put the tournament on hold.

>>613098
The question is wether we move to intercept Tavis, find Sorina and Basil or something else. Can't have the girl weight us down at these. This would also get a bodyguard for Geegee.

>>613104
She's a trained fighter that just got mind raped and skewered over the course of like 25 minutes. She's a mess right now and isn't gonna be combat capable for some time.

>>613114
Wouldn't be a bad idea to riffle through the Church registers for people with royal bodyguard as their career.
Hell, check for the Prince, the King and consorts.

Random fact: Geegee has considered the possibility of children. She's yet to bring it up with Zarach yet because she's terrified of his possible response, and she's not even sure if it's possible for them to interbreed, let alone the other logistical problems. She has considered adoption as well.

Writing.

>>613051
> bring her to the Prince
Just say she is holding your seat

>>613143
Zarach is a total mad scientist, he will be up for an experiment.

>>613143
Has Miranda ever considered the possibility of children?

>>613051
>Ask Geegee to look after her for now.
I'm torn but this seems to be the safest option.

>>613114
you've got a point, but we don't know if the nobility is in with the church or not. and we don't have enough time to check either, at this point it's too late.
we're better of with sticking with who we know ISN'T a church lackey, and sticking with it, as far as I can see it.

>>613156
!!!

>>613129
Physically, she's completely healed or close to it.
She's on the edge mentally, but she's fully concious. If she needs help right now, it's as emotional support. Geegee provides, Prince does not.

>>613154
I doubt he'd have the boldness to do that. He's (likely) an autist, and from the quips when he described, any experimentation he does is on himself.

>>613174
You're right, especially since giving her someone to protect will probably help her get to herself faster as it'll help her feel both useful and like a hero.

>>613051
She doesn’t seem to respond, instead just curling in on herself a bit more, trying to prevent herself from tearing up. Unfortunately, you don’t really have time for all of this. “Look, I know someone who can keep an eye on you for now...or maybe you could keep an eye on her.” She looks up at you in confusion. “Can you stand?”

She nods, and gets up shakily. Seems like she’s not really all quite there yet. “Alright, let’s get going.”

It’s only a few minutes before you arrived back at the scene. As you look around, you're dismayed Geegee doesn't seem to be back yet. Well, you'd rather not sit around and be the subject of stares and gossip, but you still do have to meet her out here, so waiting it is.

It's a few more minutes before she shows up huffing and puffing with a box under her arm. She skids to a stop in front of you, looking up at you with a petulant scowl as she pants in exhaustion. “You...betta...appreciate this...did…” She pauses to swallow down some air. “Did I miss the finals since you're out here?”

You shake your head. “They're holding it up a bit to allow Adel to find his friends.” You take the small lock box she gives you, and lift the lid to find it padded, and in snug holders are five vials of a silver liquid. You quickly stow them on your belt pouch. “Thanks. I mean that. Now, though, I'd like to introduce you to Charlotte.”

Geegee gasps ask she recognizes the girl in front of her. “Oh, sweetheart! You doin’ alright?” You can't help but notice that her voice seems oddly softer than normal. “I'm not meaning to bring up bad memories, but I can't help but be concerned…”

“I...I'm recovering,” She says. “Ms...Violet, was it? She's helping me.”

You look towards the direction of the Mages’ College. “Actually, I need to go check up on a couple of things. Can you keep an eye on her until later, Geegee?” Honestly, the way she's looking at Charlotte, she hardly needed any convincing anyway. Geegee begins leading her off into the stands casually waving you goodbye as she starts talking to Charlotte, occasionally patting her on the hand reassuringly.

> Wait around for Adel. He has to be back soon.
> Search for Tavis and confront him directly.
> Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…
> Other

Eeey Internet went out so one phone post, and I'm off to bed! Night.

>>613340
>Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…
It would be really embarrassing if it turns out all we nicked were the monthly kitchen budget and Janice from Accounting's boy love slashfiction.

>>613340
>“Ms...Violet, was it? She's helping me.”
Huh. Wait. When did we tell anyone our name, besides using Violet as a fake name when we were in the College?

>>613363
Announced at the medal ceremony.

>>613365
Ah, thanks. It slipped my mind.

>>613365

In short, plot hole that I didn't notice.
In retrospect, I JUST NOW realize another way I could've written that end scene. If you want, I can just delete the post and do a quick rewrite. Sorry, I'm tired anyway, so...slipped.

>>613340
> Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…

>>613349
Very embarassing indeed. For Janice.
We already know it's the register for Church agents, the secretary even told us before a Bonk(tm) into unconsciousness.
The question is, how deep it goes, and how high the parasite vine crawled.

>>613340
>Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…
Get our facts straight, then start flinging accusations.

>>613340
>> Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…

Hopefully they will be fine. They are heroes after all.

>>613340
>Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…

>>613365
Surely we would have used a different public name from the fake one we gave when infiltrating the Mages' College, so it can't be traced back to us as easily?

>>613340
>> Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…

>>613370
I think it's alright if we let it as is. No point in using other aliases, as I'm pretty sure it is the one publicly used in Tenimbaum, such as with the Librarian, Lilian (?) and others.

>>613380
Yeah, probably. Like I said, I didn't think that end scene through, and finding out my net is out gave me a burst of just wanting to put the scene up. I didn't give it my usual once over.

>>613340
>Find a private place to go over those documents you hid in your armor…
It's about time. strange, I figured that we would have at least checked them out before we went to sleep yesterday.

>>613375
murphy's law still applies. everything could go wrong when we don't expect it. as son as we check out the documents, I want to find Adel&co. ASAP.

>>613385
Just retcon it such that we used another name?

>>613380
>>613396
There's likely more than a woman going by the name of Violet in a big city.

In the College, the name has been used twice, once towards a person that only saw us as a cloaked and shy young student and another where we stroke the teach's ego.

>>613392
Yes. Know the enemy (by name and station), then search for the peeps

>>613409
>There's likely more than a woman going by the name of Violet in a big city.
Perhaps, but you'd think someone as overly paranoid as we're playing Miranda right now probably wouldn't take even that risk.

>>613340
Head to the mages college and see how it's going, the tournament is irrelevant compared to exposing the church.

Thanks for running boss!

>>613370
Change the name.
I don't think that Miranda, after more than 70 years of merc life, would be as careless as to use an alias that's been involved in a crime in the same city.

Can't delete the post. Revised scene:

“I...I'm recovering,” She says. “Ms...” she trails off as she realizes you didn’t give a name.

“Meda.” you say. It’s the first thing that pops into your head. Well...part of the first thing.

“Ms. Meda, right!” she nods. “She’s helping me.”

NOW I'm going to bed.

>>613409
>then search for the peeps
for a moment I read that as 'search for the pepes'. I'm in shame.

>>613451
thanks for runnin'

File: 17f.jpg (201 KB, 743x1000)

201 KB JPG

>>613514
We can still search for them at the Intersection, might find a rare one.

PEPAY!

We should seduce Tavis.

>>613996
You mean Sorina.

>>613996

Longshot harem when?

So, officially:

Doing some peer review. Writing.

>>614155
Welcome back, OP. How're you doing?

>>614171
Actually kinda sickly. I've already begged off of work later. Hopefully I won't be so messed up as to have to cancel the run, though.

>>614076
Never.

Charlotte and Merida, on the other hand, would make a good start.

>>614184
Oh, that sucks. Sorry to hear about that, hope you're feeling better soon. Just let us know if your going to turn in early if you still feel off and decide to turn in early, okay?

>>614184
Did the interview mess you up that much?

>>614197
Ahaha, nah. Just bad timing.

Well, if the finals are about to happen, then your fight is coming up, and you need to make sure you're ready for the event AFTER that. Hopefully Adel won't randomly show up so you have time to look over those documents.

As you search for a quiet spot, you mentally go over what you have. You know what you have personnel records, and expenses for weaponry- presumably for the church's usage that was hidden from the crown. The first pieces of documentation you got, however, was the mystery. You managed to glance at it before, and you knew that it was some sort of report, but report of what is the question. Hopefully it wasn't anything stupid, like simple meeting minutes. At the very least, if it was, then ideally the minutes were about something horribly incriminating, like explicitly saying that they brainwash people or something.

What you find isn't exactly your first choice. An outhouse isn't what you prefer, but you suppose you couldn't really argue about the situation, and to be frank, you've had to deal with worse.

It doesn't take more than a couple of moments sufficient to get out the documents on your person. A somewhat unexpected plus to having padded armor meant that you didn't need to worry that much about sweat ruining the ink.

As you look over the files, you come to learn that what the report was about was, in fact, a report of recent actions taken by perceived criminals and heretics in the city. There aren't any specific names in the paper, just statistics based on reports and observations. Places where they seem frequent, active times of day, and in some cases money spent at certain stores or facilities. You can only guess that that last bit of information was given by owners who were members of the church. These papers seem to record these actions throughout the last two months.

You had kind of hoped for something more explicitly incriminating, but it'll have to do. Got to just figure out how to-

“Hello! Hey, who's in there? Can you hurry it up? I kinda really need to go!” Rats.

s you exit the outhouse, and the little kid rushes in, you walk your way back towards the front of the Arena. It seems like some people are starting to get antsy, and wondering what's the holdup, judging by what you're hearing.

At least, until you see Adel running back towards you a minute later. He doesn't look particularly happy, however. In fact he looks downright serious. You can't help but notice his jewel is cracked. Really, you'd be somewhat impressed if you already didn't know him a bit. When he sees you, however, he does smile a bit. “We’ll talk about it up in the Box,” he says.

Interesting. Almost as interesting as the fact that there's the smell of blood on him.

When you finally get up there, to many cheers, he turns to you, and in a low voice, whispers.

‘Sooo...There might be some trouble coming soon.’ Well then.

> I take it you found them? Are they alright?
> I'm aware of that. I caused most of it.
> What kind of trouble?
> Other

> I take it you found them? Are they alright?

>>614246
> I take it you found them? I presume that they are alright since you came back alone and only relatively upset. I'm already aware that trouble is brewing and I have been preparing for it on my end.

>>614246
>> I take it you found them? Are they alright?

>>614246
>Other
"I take it you found them. Tavis was doing to that girl what that crystal on your chest would have done to you, I stopped him but he'll probably try again."

Excellent. By waiting, and letting Basil and Sorina get into danger, we let Adel 'come to their rescue at the last moment', and let him realize on his own that the Church really is trying to brainwash everyone using the focusing crystals.
And by telling him that the girl he was concerned over was being mindraped by Tavis, hopefully we'll be able to keep Adel sidelined or on our side when we kill the acolyte.

>>614263
Hm. We should just explain what happened to the girl, that we intervened and how it worked. If Basil and Sorina didn't tell him him about Tavis we'll drop his name at the end of the explanation. That's when he will be the most upset and it will have a greater impact.

>>614263
We actually have no idea what the crystal he had on his chest does. Lets not presume.

>>614271
I suppose that may have a greater impact.

>>614272
I concede that we shouldn't assume, even though signs point towards it.

So just say that we saved Charlotte from being brainwashed, and that it was Tavis doing it, so Adel should be on the lookout for him too?

>>614272
It is perfectly reasonable to presume that his crystal is detrimental either to us personally or to our goal. It doesn't matter what it actually does, even if it's a simple combat buff for him or something more insidous. What matters is that there is a chance it will adversely affect us. Nip potential problems in the bud.

>>614294
Whether it's detrimental or not, I was referring to the assumption that it's mind control. Without active mana flow and the pedestal and someone to provide suggestion, it couldn't work like either of the mind control crystals we've seen the church and college use. So we shouldn't assume it's purpose was mind control. Thats my point.

"You...you said that you didn't like playing mind games..."

"Yeah, but that's a lot different from not knowing HOW. Easier than you think sometimes."

Writing.

How possible is it that Adel has been completely suborned and he didn't save Basil and Sorina, but actually killed them?

>>614341
yo man, loving this quest, was thinking of compiling it into a pdf(and maybe fix up a few of your lack of sleep errors too) or something for people who want to catch up and not having to ctrl+f all the threads, but i might wait till this mission is done

>>614246
“So, I take it you found them?, and they're alright?” you ask. It's fairly clear that he did, or else he would be likely a lot more angry or sad. Still, it's polite.

He nods as the prince announces the finals. “Yeah. They were at the college all right, but they weren't there to enroll. You're probably not going to believe it but-”

“I'm already aware of potential trouble,” you interrupt, cheers going off behind you. “And I've been preparing for it on my end.”

“Wait, you knew about this?” He says incredulously.

“In a sense,” you lightly lie. “But in general, I am entirely aware of the church's...indiscretions.” You turn to him fully after the Prince sits back down. “What you may not be aware of is that I was witness to one of those indiscretions while you were gone.”

Adel’s eyes bug out in surprise. “What? How?” He whisper-yells. The Prince looks back at you both, but otherwise just shrugs and turns back to the arena where they're about to begin the fight.

“Well...as for what, it seems to be an attempt at a quick wipe wipe. As for how…” Oooh boy. “Tavis no doubt could tell you. He was the perpetrator.”

Adel is silent for a solid ten seconds.

“THAT'S BULLSHIT!”

The Prince turns back in a hurry. “Whoa, now, what's going on here?”

Adel looks back between you, and the prince. He definitely looks like he wants to hit something now. “I...it's fine.” He lowers his voice, shying away. “Just a disagreement.”

“On a bet,” you assist. The price raises an eyebrow, but he nods and turns back to the fight. Part of you is annoyed you're missing it, but priorities.

Adel is quick to continue once he's sure the Prince isn't focused on either of you any more. ‘Okay, you know Tavis is like, my best friend, right? Do you have ANY real proof he's been messed up like that? How do you know he isn't playing them from the inside?’

> I suppose I don’t, aside from heresay.
> You don’t think documents showing the church’s membership would be enough?
> Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him…
> Other

I'm just wondering now. Regardless of how this all goes, the longshots are basically finished as a possible threat to KotM.
We're most likely gonna do some serious damage to the church, do some serious collateral damage to the city, or a mixture of both. This could greatly weaken one of KotM's enemis greatly either way, due to this being their biggest source of mages.

So what on earth will they use us for next?
Our big abilities are ourunparalleled mobility and power. Companions will only hamper us in this way, so I assume that this city will either be the end of our time with the longshots or it will end when we deliver them to the KotM.

There's nothing on the horizon for us to deal with, it feels like the end of this plane's arc. We do our job, get the Knights a huge advantage and then leave with a hefty bonus due to our power not being needed at the moment. Then maybe get a call back at a later date if the QM decides that's a thing. I mean I'd imagine they'd love repeat customers or the ability to have magical girls on retainer.

>>614350
Thanks! Go ahead whenever.

>>614433
>> Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him…

>>614433
> Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him…
Keep in mind, if he was raised by the church from a young age and was taught that meditation under those crystals was meant to bring him closer to Orind's grace, he might not realize that what he's doing is brainwashing. But if you need some more proof, I'll bring you to Charlotte. You can ask her what he did to her, at least.

>>614433
>Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him…
>Other: And you think that he couldn't have used this to get Church members to give him the evidence to expose the truth, but he could use it to brainwash the girl I rescued?

>>614433
> Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him… which is strangely similar to yours. He was using his sword to increase suppleness of her mind, we stopped him midway.

We could also ask Geegee to bring Charlotte. She seems good at guessing our intentions.

>>614436
I think that ending it with the Longshots completes our contract. So to the Intersection?

>>614433
>How about you hear it from the victim
Take him to Geegee and what's-her-name. Adel is the hotheaded, womanizer braggart of the team. If there is anything to make him turn on his his best friend it's seeing the traumatized young woman explain to him that said best friend tried to mind rape her.

However I don't know if we'd be able to leave the box now that the matches have resumed. If not then show him the crystal and tell him what Tavis did as well as promise to show him the victim ASAP.

>>614460
I'm sure Geegee would prefer the superior view at the Box. She's our ticket to the city, might as well show her our appreciaiton.

>>614433
> You don’t think documents showing the church’s membership would be enough?
>>614453
>Well, there’s this crystal I retrieved from him…
>Other: And you think that he couldn't have used this to get Church members to give him the evidence to expose the truth, but he could use it to brainwash the girl I rescued?

I don't see how mentioning both the crystal and the papers are mutually exclusive here. No point in hiding either of them from him, we have to hard sell this right now.

>Other: "If this is not enough proof for you, my friend is with Charlotte. We can go to them right now and you can listen to the victim's own account."

>>614436
There's still Horinth to deal with, and the Flameguard, who also seem to be collecting the Great Creations themselves.

The Knights will likely keep us on until both Horinth and Alban have been defeated, or all of the Great Creations are in their hands.

>>614460
>>614466
I don't mind inviting either of them to the box, but we have no idea what Tavis told the prince. If he said something dumb like we were planning to assassinate him or that we have a bunch of unknown collaborators and what not he might get a bit antsy.

>>614433
>I suppose I don’t, aside from hearsay. But from my perspective, these are the details I know:
>He has been raised and trained by the Church, and instilled with the Church's beliefs since birth. He is tied sufficiently with the Church to hold the rank of Adept. And, of course, I personally witnessed him using this crystal to effect mind-altering magic on someone.
>I understand you may have faith in his strength of character, but surely you must realize that it is often those with the strongest, most unshakable morals that will commit the most extreme of acts because of them.

He was blinged out, but girl wasn't dazzled. Man had no chill.

Writing.

>>614480
And geegee has invisibility potions on her, meaning that whatever Tavis told the prince, a search of our new guests would make the prince highly suspicious. Thus why it's safer to just take Tavis to them.

>>614490
he tried to netflix and chill her, the bastard!

>>614495
We have to potions on us. She has none.
I'd prefer having those at a spot easier to get than in the crowd around the church cronies.

Geegee is the one responsible for us, it's an excuse for her to be there. Charlotte seems well-known enough in the Arena to be a top contestant, both a rep a background.

>>614490

Ask again if Adel thinks we could ever be a demon.

>>614515
By "those" I meant the ladies.

>>614501
He tried a Cosby on her.

As a side note, I'm gonna be pissed as all hell if we are cheated out of our arena fight. I've been too pumped for it since it was first mentioned to forfeit it for something so stupid as more important matters.

>>614523
He's going to be traveling with us and given his character he's going to demand rematches constantly.

>>614543
Naw I don't care about Adel, I just want to impress an audience.

>>614543
He'll be lucky if we dont make him carry us on all fours.

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2.43 MB JPG

>>614523
>to forfeit it for something so stupid as more important matters
Anon.

>>614433
“Well, if it's proof that you want…” you quickly fish out the broken pieces of crystal that you took from Tavis. “He was utilizing this, as well as his sword in order to make her mind more malleable.” Adel simply squints at the crystal, like he doesn’t believe it’s there. “Although from what I was told, he believes he's doing something else.”

“Wait… I saw a couple of those back with Basil and Sorina. Some sort of ‘heavy study aids’, I think they called them.” You raise an eyebrow, and he explains. “I found Sorina snooping around a couple of the teacher offices. A couple of them had those crystals in a box labeled ‘emergency use only- heavy study aids’.”

“A cute name for what’s more than likely some sort of variant mind control crystal,” you note. “If they're labeled that, then my guess is that they are intended to be a sort of supercharged version of what they normally use.” Although, now you're wondering why they would restrict usage of them. Maybe some sort of dramatic side effect? When you saved the girl in the underground, she seemed no worse for wear. Charlotte, however, seemed to be completely out of it…

“Tavis, man…” Adel shakes his head. You check up on the match- it seems that both the Barbarian and the Staff man are quite evenly matched. Neither of them even really seem to be winded yet. You're sure you'd be impressed if you didn't have to deal with this. “He had to have some kinda plan in mind. He's too strong to fall for junk like this…”

“And he got that from the church, right? Look, I can understand you don't want to believe it, but if you can't, then I can introduce you to the girl who lived through it.”

He looks at you in shock, and you can see his eyes dart around as if he's not quite sure what to say.

So you'll say it for him. “Prince, do you mind if I invite some guests up?”

A minute later, you can see Geegee and Charlotte both being approached by an usher, and pointed towards you. They both nod, and both start heading up. Finally, maybe you can-

“STOP THIS TOURNAMENT!”

...Who the-

Standing across at the competitor’s entrance, with his cloak torn, hat bent, his face having dried blood on it, and surrounded by at least seven other men in that strange armor- including the Baron- is the High Priest.

cont.

>>614634
>“STOP THIS TOURNAMENT!”

I fucking swear...

>>614638
totally agree, corrupt churches are the worse, always trying to get you burned by the stake or what not just for trying to prove they are corrupt

>>614634
Piece of shit. Fuckers are asking for a nebula buster enema.

>>614645
No forget the damn church I wanted to fight our match goddamn it.

At least he's banged the fuck up
>his cloak torn, hat bent, his face having dried blood on it

I bet there's a full scale riot or revolt outside the grounds right now

>>614655
nah, its more likely faked, i bet he is going to say that we did this, when( i think) didn't kill any of the church soliders or monks

>>614655
Hahaha!
I bet that's just cow's blood or plain makeup on the Head Priest's face, and he's going to blame Miranda/Basil and Sorina for being heretics and attacking him.

The only riot is that of the faithful wanting to purge the city of demonic influence.
Because even if the Church is corrupt, most people are still devout followers.

>>614667
>>614672
You forget that Adel smelled like blood when he returned. There is some real shit going down believe you me

>>614655
Unless Adel somehow dies we will get our match after the fact. He's not the type to leave it hanging, especially with the bet.
We will make an intern out of him yet.
Looks like we just have to murder some high ranking members of the ecclesiarchy beforehand.

>>614667
>didn't kill any of the church soliders or monks
Miranda, Basil, and Sorina did kill Church enforcers during the breakout of the prisoners.
They weren't members of the secret police, so they're probably openly members of the Church, and their deaths at our hands will be used against us.

>>614674
>There is some real shit going down believe you me
We'll see.

>>614634
His voice carried over the entirety of the arena; at your guess magically amplified. Just by the way he moves, and his tone, you can tell he’s furious, although speaking as calmly as possible. “I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DEMAND THIS TOURNAMENT CEASE AT ONCE. FOR THERE IS A GRAVE MATTER THAT HAS COME TO INFILTRATE OUR FAIR CITY! A BEFOULER THAT EVEN NOW WHISPERS AND CORRUPTS US- TAINTS US INTO DENYING MOST HOLY TRUTH.”

“What is the meaning of this?!” The Prince yells. “You were not supposed to interrupt the tournament! Is this truly so vital?!” The Prince’s volume is a lot lower than the Priest’s, but it can still be heard in the quiet, at least.

“YES IT IS. AND IT IS DUE TO THAT FIEND BESIDES YOU! THE DEMON IN HUMAN GUISE!” He points squarely at you, and you can see his face. His rage.

Some holy man. Well then, time to-

“HOLD IT!” Oh, okay, so everyone’s interrupting your thoughts right now, fantastic. At least this one’s a bit more welcome, being Sorina and Basil. They’re also a bit bloodied up, Sorina even having some on her cane staff. Wonder what they’ve been through. Whatever it was, seemed like it might’ve been fun, at least.

“He’s...he’s lying! THE CHURCH IS CORRUPT, AND I CAN PROVE IT! HERE AND NOW!” Sorina yells.

"Ohhhh, crap, oh crap oh crap..." Adel's up, and he's looking nervous, inching towards the door and back, as if he's not sure whether to force his way down there or not. You can see two door guards regard him carefully, and bring their swords up to a defensive position when his eyes linger a bit, nearly making a decision.

“THEY ARE TAINTED BY DEMONIC INFLUENCE! DO NOT LISTEN TO HER WORDS!” The High Priest warns.

Oy. You look to the Prince, who’s been looking at you as well. “I...he’d said that there was a heretic, but…ngh...” He looks like he’s not sure what to think, and takes a step back from you as you regard him coolly. Before you can say anything else, the four guards on either side of the room step closer to him, forming a solid barrier between you and he.

"OUR HOLY CHURCH OF ORIND HAS BEEN UNDER ATTACK. EVER SINCE THAT ONE-" he points at you again- "HAS ARRIVED, WORD HAS GROWN ABOUT HER STRENGTH- HER UNNATURAL STRENGTH. STRENGTH THAT IS BY RIGHTS AND BY NATURE ONLY FOR ORIND'S FAITHFUL! SHE HAS COME IN, WHISPERING SELFISH WORDS, AND CAUSING CONSTERNATION AND STRIFE. IN A TIME OF WAR, NO LESS! SHE SEEKS TO DISMANTLE US, TO BREAK US IN TWAIN WITH DEMONIC POWER BOTH SUBTLE AND OVERT!"

"You've already done that!" Sorina yells back at him, her voice still nowhere near as loud. "You've been twisting people using the school into your perfect church mages against their will for...for practically ever!"

"NONSENSE!" The Priest scoffs. "WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS ASSAULT ME IN A PLACE OF LEARNING IN YOUR SELFISH MADNESS! WELL AGAINST THE WILL OF ORIND!"

> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)
> Wait until they've had it out, then reinforce her.
> Try to show the Prince the papers despite the guard.
> Other.

>>614638
Ya know, I don't think we've let rip with our full power yet. Why don't we just burn the capital to the ground and call it a day? Mission accomplished 'n all that

>>614754
Because the capital is east of here- Albania. Tenimbaum is the second biggest city.

>>614762
Right, I forgot.
>>614751
>Other: Enough bullshit, burn it all down

>>614751
>Wait until they've had it out, then reinforce her.
I think that taking her side now would undermine her position.

>>614751
>> Back up Sorina now. Give her the leg up she needs to reach beyond the priests noice.

>>614767
Things have not escalated to the point where putting up with this bullshit is not worth the bonus of successfully recruiting members of the Longshots.

>>614751
> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)
Yeah megaphone her.

>>614751
>> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)

Hell yeah, Megaphone her. SHOUTING MATCH.

>>614751
> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)

>>614771
seconding

>>614751
> back up Sorina
If we can do a cone of silence I would rather do that, but if not then megaphone away!
Ask how Orind would feel about cults in his name based on illegal mind control magics, and also on battles public slander.

> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)

Is anyone up for a ruse? From two threads ago:

>I was struck by a thought just now- magic isn't easy to perform in this world because you need incantations right? What if we use the megaphone spell and ad lib incantations to the moon? Maybe not quite "Moon Prism Power, Make Up" or "Moon Tiara Action" but I can see how this will lend credence to the knights of the new moon.
>The moon is a worldwide symbol, it is something a little fancy rhetoric will be able to rally the more spiritual people around.
They don't seem so big on inventing a new fairy tale religion but we can just lie and say that magic and mana is channeled down to the earth from the moon. Orind was powerful because he stole and denied mana to the common people and that the clergy has knowingly, willingly and maliciously held on to this secret in their pursuit of rulership.

>>614751
>>614789
I like the way you think.

>>614771
True. But on the other hand, who cares? We're not here to expose the church, we're here to recruit the longshots, and having revealed the church's shenanigans to them has essentially guaranteed we get everyone but Tavis, and who wants him anyway?

Let the chips fall how they may. Maybe we can bust the church, maybe we can't, but either way we can certainly evac Sorina.

>>614751
>Back up Sorina now. (Megaphone across the entire arena)
>"You claim she is tainted, yet she herself is but a human, no demon. If her words are false, surely the faithful will see them for lies. If her words are true, then surely they deserve to be heard. If you are as guiltless as you claim, what have you to fear from the truth? Let her speak."

>>614789
Nah, let's just have a shouting match about how they're hypocritical dicks, then murder the shit out of Baron for his sword. Doing a ruse just complicates shit right now.

>>614802
I think that Sorina, Basil, and Adel will be more likely to join with the Knights if we did everything to help them against the Church and they still lose public opinion.
Undermining Sorina may make her and Basil decide to go Independent instead of allying with the Knights.

We're a professional, so don't do half-measures.

>>614814
No

>>614751
> Back up Sorina now. (Maybe Megaphone her?)

>>614822
I think it's less important we expose the church and more important she sees us as supporting her, whatever the outcome. That way she's more inclined towards our faction if she loses her original one.

>>614789
No. First shitting on their god will not go over well with anyone.
Secondly that is just making up too much shit on the fly and is too likely to blow up in our faces.

Make me wanna shout! (In frustration, that is.)

Writing!

>>614826
Back atcha, bud

>>614843
I dont feel its necessary to clarify why your idea was a bad one. I suspect you know it already.

>>614827
Woah Clipboard misfire

Was meant to reply to >>614835 and say sure

>>614838
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj4Heuz3TOQ

>>614853
The idea you are toting as a good idea isn't one because it's literally making shit up on the fly, without any planning or forethought whatsoever. Furthermore, it involves dissing a god that, while the church is doing corrupt shit in his name, a lot of normal, non-brainwashed people are still following. Saying we get our powers from the moon and that Orind stole it's secrets is going to push them away.

Next time, when you want to refute people, don't type out "No" and leave it like that.

>>614890
I didnt say his was good. I just said your alternative wasnt better.

>>614991
Same guy, btw, work ip changed my trip.

>>614890
>>614991
What I don't understand is, instead of making shit up on the fly or arguing like a faggot, why are we not simply preventing the High Priest from talking over Sorina, who seems to actually have some credible evidence, and trying to get the audience to actually consider the merit of her words.

>>615021
Isnt that the point of megaphoning her?

>>615021
We are, the vote wasn't to but in, it was to amplify Sorina with magic to put her on level with the priest and make her voice heard.

>>614991
>>615001
Fair enough. I was going for a smart-ass take on what we were going to do, not what we should do.

You've got to admit, though, that my alternative wrecks an asshole who deserves it and gets us a fancy new sword to bring back as a souvenir. It's still tactically dumb, but there's a silver lining.

>>615035
I dont think anyone could contest that this lot deserves a brutal asskicking. But lets see where sorinas going with all this.

>>615035
Sure, killing the Baron and taking his stuff is something I can get behind.
But I don't want it endangering our potential bonus.
Basil and Sorina don't share our detachment from the ultimate fate of the people of this world, or casually murdering people for money and loot.

>>615064
I didn't think that letting Sorina say her piece and kicking Baron's ass was mutually exclusive. I just figured there was still going to be a fight.

>>615073
Oh believe me, I don't want our meal ticket to bite it at all, especially since Sorina and Basil kind of grew on me.

>>615102
Much as i hate to say it, adel is kinda too. Still needs a beating, but afterwards maybe only work him half to death instead of 3/4ths.

>>615116
I wanna make an intern out of him.

He'd make a good foil.

>>615130
I Hope you're not planning to bring him back with us to the Intersection; then we have to be responsible for him getting a job that pays the rent.
It's all the responsibility of being a parent with none of the rewards, plus he'll just annoy the shit out of our coworkers by hitting on them all the time since we're a magical girl company.

>>615130
More a fan of Sorina, honestly. She's shown some good investigative skills and initiative, as well as a willingness to call people out on their bullshit. Still, hiring them would work for fulfilling our contract.

>>615161
Hmm, well, according the Sal, the profits from the original bargain (of which we've essentially doubled) are going to be substantial enough to up our lifestyle by a good margin. We could scout them/make them into our assistants.

>>615178
Getting a new apartment was before we add to the employee roster.
We have get them housing, food, and new equipment.
On top of those expenses, they'd be starting off getting shit-tier contracts that barely turn a profit, since they don't have the decades of experience or pure magical might of the rest of SES.

>>615191
Plus years of training, lifting magical dumbbells to increase mana capacity and shit

>>615191
They'd probably work jobs around the intersection. I doubt everyone starts out magical powerhouses like us, even there. Even useless kids made it. Plus, Sorina at least has a very unique and interesting skill in her magesight.

I like the Longshots, but the multiverse isn't lacking in people for Miranda to get semi-attached to before abandoning them forever. Better to get our current coworkers some screentime and become friends with them.

Just adding my two cents, I think it is competently fucking stupid to start collecting people from other worlds and making then into "assistants". Why don't you just call it what it is and say you want a waifu.

>>615204
Agreed, but I also can't wait for the inevitable multiverse-scale threat that has Miranda calling on all her past allies and contacts from every single world she's visited in the past (getting peeks at how their worlds have progressed several years down the line) and form a gargantuan army in order to combat it.

>>615212
It's mostly just random musing while we wait for the update. Chill. Amusing an option as it would be, I would never actually vote for taking anyone unless they, like, specifically asked to be taken there.

>>615212
We're waiting for The Big Post, this is the crescendo. We're not in the middle of something we can plan ahead for right now so we gotta jump and discuss stuff for far in the future.

Sorry, I had a sneezing fit and took a breather for some food and medicine. Almost done.

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>>615245
Superman couldn't save you in time..

Ugh. This guy’s starting to get annoying. And frankly, talking over everyone else is just rude. Then again, you can do it too. ...And actually, thinking about it, that might be the best way to give Sorina a helping hand.

Inflicting spells on others isn't as easy as some people might want to believe it is. Especially in cases where the spell was primarily intended only for the user. However, you found it very very useful to be able to cast I still like this on a distant person at will. It was good for situations like this, and in cases where sometimes a well-timed Megaphone could completely ruin somebody's whispered plans.

In this case, however…

“THE WILL OF ORIND?” Sorina yells- and then pauses briefly as she realizes how loud her voice has gotten. She shakes it off, however, and continues, realizing her new boon. “YOU’VE BEEN SUBVERTING THE WILL OF ORIND FOR YEARS! EVEN NOW, YOU ‘MISREPRESENT YOUR STRENGTH!’ REMEMBER THAT ONE?” She’s glaring at him, giving off a thin smile. For a bookish waif of a girl, you’re impressed by the strong posture and body language. “BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU’RE LYING ABOUT BEING INJURED!”

He scoffs. “ARE YOU BLIND, GIRL? DO YOU NOT SEE THE BLOOD THAT FLOWS FROM MY BROW? THE BLOOD THAT I SHED TO PROTECT WHAT WE HAVE KEPT SO SACRED?”

“YEAH, BECAUSE YOU SHED IT ON THE WAY OVER HERE! BUT THAT’LL COME LATER.” She’s actually smirking now. “I...LEARNED THAT SOMETHING WAS WRONG WITH THE SCHOOL,” she announces to the crowd. “SO I INVESTIGATED. AND I FOUND OUT SOME VERY INTERESTING PIECES OF INFORMATION.”

It’s only then that you realize that Basil has a knapsack of some kind on his back, that he now slings forward, and starts pulling out various papers, quickly handing them to Sorina.

“I HAVE PROOF THAT THE ENTIRE FACULTY OF THE MAGES’ COLLEGE HAS BEEN MENTALLY CONVINCING PEOPLE TO ONLY OBEY THE CHURCH’S WILL. WRITTEN PROOF!” She holds the documents up high. “HERE!”

The Priest laughs. “YOU ARE DESPERATE IN YOUR EFFORTS, TAINTED GIRL! ANYONE CAN FORGE PAPERS.”

cont.

>>615297
Flew to another universe and vaporized a solar system with a sneeze? OP plz nerf

>>615357
Good old silver age supes. Back when you could turn back time by flying fast enough to reverse the Earth's rotation.

>>615361
That was because Earth was the centerpoint of this universe at the time.

>>615335

That’s when suddenly, Basil tosses something glinting at Sorina, who catches it, dangling it in front of him. Before she can say anything, however, you see a body running into the arena...Tavis. He’s silent, but people do notice...

“Aw, man, now what is he doing!?” Adel wails. Before anyone else can do anything, however, Charlotte suddenly breaks off from Geegee- they’d been frozen in place halfway from the box, watching the drama unfold. Without warning she leaps clear over the barricade, lands in a solid three-point stance, and before Tavis can even get any words out, she absolutely blasts him with an impressive rugby tackle. There’s shouting and yells before you know it, Charlotte’s dragged into a fist fight with Tavis suddenly- but the Head Priest tries to take advantage.

“HOW DARE YOU!” the Priest yells. “YOU COME IN HERE, ACCUSE THE CHURCH OF SUCH FOULNESS, AND THEN HAVE THE AUDACITY TO SHOW ME SOMETHING AS MEAGER AS A HEAVENLY FOCUS CRYSTAL? THIS IS YOUR PROOF?”

“NO.” she says. Then suddenly, she points to Adel. “THAT IS.”

Ahhhhh. You think you can see where she’s going with this. The Priest looks up, but his face remains impassive.

“THAT STONE AND THIS ONE ARE THE SAME MATERIAL. THIS CAN BE PROVEN WITH AN ALCHEMICAL TEST. AND THIS STONE IS USED NOT FOR FOCUS. IT’S FOR DRAINING THE MIND OF THOUGHTS AND SELF, AND ALLOWING IT TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO OUTSIDE INFLUENCE!” More murmuring, and Charlotte and Tavis cease their fight. “It’s true!” Charlotte yells. “THIS guy did it to me, and it was horrible!”

“AND THAT’S NOT ALL,” Sorina continues. “WHAT I’VE DISCOVERED- WHAT YOU JUST DISCOVERED...IS THAT IT CAN HOLD COMMANDS, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.”

Wait. “What?”

Adel stands up. “What?”

The Priest frowns deeply, but says nothing.

“THERE’S A REASON YOU SUDDENLY WANTED TO STOP THE TOURNAMENT EARLY, ALL RIGHT! IT'S BECAUSE NOW THAT I KNOW, YOUR PLAN IS OBVIOUS!” Sorina yells, then looks up to Adel. “ADEL! YOU JUST NEED TO FIGHT, NOW! ”

“NO!” The Priest exclaims. “IF YOU FIGHT THAT DEMON, YOU WILL BE DOING NOTHING BUT GIVING HER POWER!”

“Don’t do it, Adel!” Tavis yells, still struggling with Charlotte. “This is just part of her plan!”

Adel stands unsure. “I got this armor as a gift. The note just said it was from ‘a big fan’...”

The Prince is...wary. “I...I cannot say if I want to risk it, but…”


Sorina looks to say something else, still looking at Adel, but- “THIS CITY, THIS NATION, HAS ALREADY SEEN ENOUGH STRIFE FROM WITHOUT," yells the Priest. "I WILL NOT LET IT OCCUR FROM WITHIN!” And suddenly he points, and his soldiers run towards Sorina and Basil.

Yeah. Real annoying.

> "Alright, then. I won't fight HIM." Intervene physically on Sorina's behalf.
> Keep out of it still.
> Other (Any plans?)

>>615395
>> "Alright, then. I won't fight HIM." Intervene physically on Sorina's behalf.

AWW, YEAH

>>615395
> Encourage Sorina to yell what she has to say!
Sorina has something to say.

>>615395
>Other
>"Adel, you wanna save Sorina?"
>be ready to jump into the arena to back him up in case this goes horribly wrong

How poetic, the command he strapped into the crystal on Adel's chest may just be the one that will destroy his soldiers and himself.

>>615395
> Other (Any plans?)
Can we fire off an amazing pyrotechnic display of never before seen magnitude to make these people sit the fuck down? Like just aim at the sky and make it go boom where it's relatively harmless.

>>615395
>>615431
Change of plans!

>Target the soldiers and the Priest with Orbital Ring. Make them sit the fuck down and play nice, yell at Sorina to keep talking.

>>615431
Iiiiiif you really want to, presuming you mean what I think.

>>615395
>Other: "Don't think you're getting out of our fight, Adel." Clear out the Church rabble so that the arena is clear for a fight with Tavis and/or Adel. "You're eyesores, get out of here."

>>615456
>>615449

Oh. Yeah that's also an option.

>>615429
This. It is fitting way to do this.

But let's do so in a way that shows our power is absolute. So no swords, just fists and magic.

>>615395
> Keep out of it
Let this zealot dig himself into a bigger hole
Maybe offer the Prince your assistance in keeping his favorite heroes safe.

File: NMljk8i.gif (1.32 MB, 720x404)

1.32 MB GIF

Literally sitting here with a bag of popcorn.

>>615395
>>615427
Let Sorina explain it to the crowd (and to us), then we'll see.

>>615431
It's likely to make the people panic more than they already do.

>>615449
>>615464
Isn't it too powerful for these plebs?

>>615462
Those Blue balls again? Wait it out, the fight will come.

>>615429
But the command won't go off?
Sorina just said that it's safe for Adel to fight Miranda now, and the crystal is obviously cracked.

>>615456
I was thinking of something like shooting delayed blast fireballs into the sky... another thought, would it be possible to use the megaphone spell to amplify a spell? To make it REALLY go boom?

I think I am leaning towards the Orbital Ring unless people want the other thing. That way we can show off our superiority while maintaining our "nice girl totally not a demon" persona.

>>615449
Support

We get our tourny match, sorina proves her point. Perfect.

>>615480
Sorina said that Adel "YOU JUST NEED TO FIGHT, NOW!"

While it would probably "work" to have him fight us, I imagine depending on the order, if we can persuade Adel into fighting the High Priest and Soldiers the command will go off the same.

>>615478
>Isn't it too powerful for these plebs?

The description only says it was designed for high power enemies, not that the spell itself is a trash compactor.

>>615415
Changing to this >>615449, please.

>>615497
>If it is broken, it unleashes a powerful explosion
If by some miracle they end up breaking it, or Tavis actually runs and dispels the ring, it'll be messy.

>>615481
I think us taking control of the situation will just support the priests case of us interfering.
Maybe we should encourage the Prince to restore order?

>>615496
The High Priest doesn't want Adel to fight Miranda anymore.
Isn't that enough to show that the crystal is broken and it's not going to affect the Church soldiers?

>>615395
>> Orbital Ring

>>615511
Yeah it wouldn't hurt to warn them.

Handler can you clarify? Is Miranda able to adjust the strength of the Orbital Ring and its explosion?

>>615515
We ring them up, turn to the Prince and tell him to stand up and "take charge, we've set the stage"?

>>615518
Maybe I just misread it, but even so this seems like the sort of thing where the less we interfere the better. Adel can probably handle some soldiers just fine.

Better to have the "longshots" vs the church, than Longshots + 1, we give the church less of a leg to stand on by not being involved, while they're busy calling us a demon, Sorina can disassemble their faith without the church properly targeting her.

Using this chance to talk to the prince seems like it's probably a good idea.

>>615529
Only to a certain extent, otherwise the ring itself won't hold together well. As mentioned, she made it for high strength, high energy individuals, not normal folk and the explosion is basically a dead man's switch just in case it fails. It's really fucking strong, though.

>>615395
>Other (Any plans?)
make the prince restore order. demonstrate.
tell the prince that whatever happenes will show who's right.

>>615529
>We ring them up, turn to the Prince and tell him to stand up and "take charge, we've set the stage"?
this would work. agreed.

>>615542
I guess just make sure that they understand that they will turn into bloody mist if anyone tries to break it. Sit still and nothing will happen.

Ring around the...well, they certainly aren't roses. Or have posies.

How about loop de loop. Yeah, that works better. Writing!

>>615551
I think the idea is that the Orbital Ring is incredibly difficult to break even by Miranda's standards. The explosion is just an added "fuck you" to anyone strong enough to do it.

>>615542
How about a cube of light barriers?

>>615560
Yeah, I get that but it's unprofessional to let accidents happen due to oversight or carelessness. Besides, a show of force and intimidation go hand in hand to cow opponents.

>re-read thread
>let's take longshots with us to the intersection!
what?

>>615395
All right, you've got an idea. You quickly clap your hands together and focus your energy into a ring shape. The Orbital Ring it's something you came up with a while back to placate those particular clients who, for whatever reason, want their quarry back alive. It took some effort to do, but that's mostly just because the actual ring was so secure. Ah, there we are. You quickly spread your hands out and a dark blue ring ring appears between your outstretched hands, much to the shock of the crowd.

With a quick gesture, you send it out into the arena, and before they can react, it's widened, placed over the group of soldiers- which at least had the good grace to stay in formation, making it easier for you to ring them- and tightened. Almost as one, they start struggling against their bonds.

“WHAT IS THIS, DEMON?!” The Priest yells. “HOW DARE YOU- AHH!” That last bit is due to him getting looped in his own ring.

Sorina looks at you concernedly, and Adel looks at you with surprise. You meet her gaze easily. “Keep talking,” you say calmly. Then you turn to the captured people. “And you lot, sit down and shut up,” you say loudly. “I doubt you all can break that ring, but I wouldn’t recommended trying. It’ll end messily, and loudly if you do. Sorina WILL speak.”

“VILE DEMON! I WILL PERSONALLY SEE TO CASTING YOU BACK TO THE DARKEST OF PLANES-” The man is ranting and raving, and even his hat falls off, revealing his bloody, balding head.

“THE ONLY ONE HERE THAT COULD BE CALLED A DEMON IS YOU!” Sorina yells. “AND ADEL AND THIS CRYSTAL ARE MY PROOF!” Silence.

“IT TAKES MANA TO UTILIZE,” she explains. “YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CERTAIN FREQUENCY TO USE IT...BUT WHEN YOU HIT THAT FREQUENCY, YOU CAN INSTILL COMMANDS THAT ARE RELEASED WHEN A STRONG, CONCENTRATED BURST OF MANA INTERRUPTS THAT FREQUENCY. LIKE THE KIND THAT WOULD BE OUTPUT WHEN FIGHTING.” Here she looks at Adel, who’s glancing at his chest worriedly. “OTHERWISE, THE CRYSTAL RESONATES WITH THE ORDER'S FREQUENCY, AND SLOWLY SHIFTS INTO THE FREQUENCY OF THE CLOSEST SOURCE OF MANA. THIS IS HOW THE CONTROL WORKS! THE PERSON’S NATURAL MANA THEN RESONATES WITH THE CRYSTAL’S, WHICH HOLDS THE ORDERS! AND SOON, THE ORDERS THAT THE CRYSTAL WERE GIVEN WITH THE OLD MANA ARE INTERNALIZED INTO THE RECIPIENT.”

Huh. Complicated. And that makes sense as to why it took so long to work in the normal cases…

cont.

>>615865
“ADEL! YOU NEED TO FIGHT BECAUSE YOUR MANA LIKELY HASN’T INTERNALIZED IT QUITE JUST YET! IF YOU RELEASE IT EARLY, YOU WON’T BE FORCED TO DO IT MORE THAN ONCE!” Ahhhh...Elaborate.

“YOU IDIOTIC GIRL!” The Priest yells. “THIS- THIS IS SLANDER! FALSEHOOD! YOUR LIES ARE AS EMPTY AS YOUR SOUL AND YOUR HONOR IS AS ABSENT AS-”

“YOUR WOUNDS?” Sorina calls. You take another look- and suddenly you see it just as everyone else does. “BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE THEY’RE SMUDGING!”

…Oh wow, it is. You can cleanly see that there’s no scar or anything. “B-BECAUSE I HEALED MYSELF, OF COURSE!”

“THEN WHY WOULD YOU MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE?” Sorina calls back. “WERE THEY REALLY SO LIGHT?” Then she lowers her voice. You’re not sure anyone aside from Basil heard it...but you could hear it clear enough. Or at least you could read her lips well enough.

”Or maybe you’re getting a little senile, gramps?”

Seems he heard it too- he suddenly roars and there’s a sudden bright light from him...but then it fades out- sizzling against the bonds. “YOU’RE RUINING EVERYTHING, YOU DAMNED GIRL!”

“ENOUGH!” The Prince yells. “I WILL NOT JUST SIT HERE ON THE SIDELINES!” Huh. Impressively loud, even without the spell. “Soldiers! Remove the High Priest and his men, AND the girl and the boy. Sit them aside! We will discuss this, LATER!” His men move to do so, then he turns to you, heaving a deep breath. “Now...we have to test and see what she says is true. Otherwise, it is as the High Priest says. It’s hearsay and deniable papers. So, then…”

>Anything to say?

I honestly forgot about the Orbital Ring and had a whole thing planned, but y'all cut that off right quick.

>>615888
"I will volunteer for the duel. Could you please hold these deniable papers for me? They'll make for great reading later, if you'd like to peruse them."

>>615888
>Well Adel do you want to give these people a show?

Players: ruining gm plans since forever.

>>615888
>sure. it would be a shame to keep people, and adel, haning.

>>615903
>>615906
wonderful. this too

>>615888
> no, looks like he found his spine
Let's not give him our papers because then he might ask where they came from.

>>615888
Well, that was a mess. Shall we give them a show then?

>>615919
Agreed. Our evidence is be circumstantial at best, whereas we have a method of firmly putting the lie to everything the priest is saying right in front of us.

>>615938
We do have the personnel records, so that the prince could see if any of his own men are infiltrators.

>>615918
supporting,
Yeah, we really don't want to keep Adel waiting if eventually the orders are going to just "become" part of him.

>>615965
We have personell records, we might be able to pull some of the prisoners that haven't left town yet as witnesses, the High priests fake injuries, as well as the spy reports, and whatever Sorina has. There's a bit of evidence heavily piling up, and all the church has is really "that girl is a demon, and we're the church".

Turn up the lights, it's showtime!

>>615888
>"I will volunteer for the duel. Could you please hold these deniable papers for me (weapons expenses)? They'll make for great reading later, if you'd like to peruse them." Add a few names.

What about Tavis? Surely he's to be detained too?

We have read the personnel roster. We should be able to name those directly under the Prince.
The weaponry expenses are a good first read for him. And not much use to us.

>>615965
Maybe we could skip then to the other two accusers, or to gg or someone who could pass then on.

>>615998
Tavis is being addressed in the next update.

>>615998
>What about Tavis? Surely he's to be detained too?
isn't he locked up in a brawl with that girl he tried to mindrape?

>>615888
You look out at the whole mess. Tavis is still trying to get out of Charlotte’s grasp- she has him in a full nelson restraint hold and is hanging on for dear life, while he does his best to shake out of it. Sorina and Basil are both looking on sadly while the soldiers place their hands behind their backs and escort them to a side area, still in view of the field. Soon, a large grouping of soldiers come in to restrain Tavis as well- they strip him of his sword as well, and Charlotte retains her hold on him as a handful of soldiers leads him to an area opposite of Basil and Sorina.

Adel can only still stare in astonishment at the entire proceedings. “This is...this is just unreal. Why did...how…was it all a lie?”He looks lost.

You turn to Adel. “I couldn’t tell you. But now’s not the time for that, I’m afraid.” You motion to his chestplace, the cracked- but still in one piece- gem still there, and ominous. “Come on. Don’t worry about it too much. Let’s go give ‘em a show and prove that if anything, you’re still Adel.”

He nods resolutely. “Right! Let’s do this thing!” As you’re both leaving, Geegee bursts in, bewilderment written all over her face. “What the- who the- why did! What was the-” she mimes a ring. “-and the glowing and the-the…” She shakes her head, lightly slapping it to get herself straight. “Just...what’s going on here?”

“Well, we’re about to have that fight. But I invited you up here earlier, so enjoy the room. It’s all yours.” You wave her goodbye as you jump over the box railing once again, land, and take your position. Adel comes out the normal way...except he cuts down the wooden doors with a quick one-two-three slash of his blades, kicking the pieces away as he steps onto the field.

...Guess he wanted to look intimidating, too. Surprisingly, you can still hear cheers coming from the crowd. Guess they REALLY wanted that fight. Although you can’t blame them.

You’ve been kinda looking forward to it, too.

Adel flashes his twin blades, swinging them several times in an impressive display of swordsmanship and intimidation. He’s fast, his movements are fluid, acrobatic. You can tell he’s learned in his art.

As for you…

>Brandish your sword.
>Keep it sheathed.
>Plant it.

I have long waited to write those last three options.

>>616165
>>Keep it sheathed.
We only need our fists for this.

>>616165
Can we cover our hands in mana to protect us from sword-blows or would that come with the armour we're wearing? Either way.

>Plant it

Things are serious, let's not show disrespect by inhibiting ourselves by using a weapon we're not as proficient with. Let's hope Adel can live up to our expectations.

>>616165
>Keep it sheathed.
If he loses control, use shock touch +the sword. It's simple enough to use the weapons and armor natural conduction.

>>616194
And risk losing it? Nah.

>>616220
I mean, we're probably giving it away anyway. We're better with our fists, and we probably can't take it with us back to the intersection anyway.

>>616165
>>Plant it
"Who said I was a swordswoman?"

>>616165
> Plant it.

>>616235
No, OP said we could keep it with us when our contract is complete.

>>616165
>Plant it.
Time for fisticuffs!

>>616235
A few threads ago I think this question was asked.
The answer was that we could.>>616257

I don't want to risk losing the one high-tier item (for its plane) we got our paws one, especially as we got it from the same person that had a Greater Creation .

Another reason to train something, as we've close to maxed the magic power level.

>>616257
Oh ok, must have missed that then. Still a fan of planting it, it's more of making a show.

>plant it

Dont forget its there during the fight tho.

>>616165
Cast Zone Scanner in Geegee's vicinity.

>>616288
Jetstream Sam this and pick it back up mid fight? Also if Adel forgets it's there we can use it for a surprise bonus reach.

>>616296
Potentially. Its also good bait, since we know adel is interested in it, he may make a move for it mid fight. Options on the field will help us not just win, which we are likely to do, but win stylishly.

Swords are fun, but there's something that's just so satisfying about crunching a dude's face in by hand.

>>616274
Worst comes to worst, we can always find another Horinthian General and beat him up.

Writing, of course.

Alright, time to go full Jetstream Sam

goddammit I keep coming back too late to put in my votes.

>>616274
I remember something about this.
there was some saying that if we kept something with us for a long tie, it would be fused with the intersection's energies, and will be absorbed into us as stat boosts. however it would take so long that it probably wouldn't happen withing the span for this quest.
this was the response to a question that if we can return to the intersection to gear up all tactical style with the payment we'll be getting.

>>616323
are we even allowed to do that?

>>616397
>long tie
*long time
goddammit fuck this laggy connection

>>616397
Im pretty sure it would take us a day from any point in the continent to find and beat up a Horinthian general. And they are enemies of our current client. You tell me.

Unsheathing your sword, you take a good look at it. Although it wasn't originally yours, it's served you fairly well throughout the time you've been here. The only problem with it however...

“You know,” you find yourself saying, “you've always struck me as the type to want their opponents to fight at their best. If I'm being honest, I'm not the best with swords.” you admit.

You plant the sword in the ground with a toss to the side, the force of the throw embedding the blade at least an inch deep. Everyone's shocked, letting out gasps of bewilderment, and as you assume a fighting stance, you give him a nod. “So if you want me using my best weapons...well, here they are.”

To his credit, he simply grins and nods. “Hey, whatever you say. Show me what you can do, lady!”

And he charges, his blades immediately going wide to either side of him.

>Meet him head up, use your speed to try and get in on him physically.
>Play elusive, don't let him get close unless it's on your terms.
>Keep at range, try to pepper him with magi-blasts.
>Other

You guys have waited a long time for this, so these entries might be shorter than normal so you have more control over the fight.

>>616457
>>Meet him head up, use your speed to try and get in on him physically.
Let's do this.

>>616457
>Play elusive, don't let him get close unless it's on your terms.
>Keep at range, try to pepper him with magi-blasts.
combination of these two. we should soften him up before risking melee.
he asked us to be at our best. we will respond honestly in a serious, professional manner by doing how we did from before.

>>616457
> Play hard to get
get him all hit and bothered, make him work for it

>>616457
>Meet him head up, use your speed to try and get in on him physically
Let's end this quickly

>>616457
>Play elusive, don't let him get close unless it's on your terms.
>Jump up and over him, then give him a good kick in the back.

>>616483
I like the cut of your jib, sir. Support.

>>616457
While I am a fan of rushing him because starting with both sides just raining high speed blows on eachother at close range would be pretty cool.

I have to put full support in >>616483. Also, we do need to basically have him use a shit-load of mana this fight to fix the crytal's effects.

>>616457
>>616483
Supporting so hard.

Dip, dodge, duck, and dive. I'm pretty sure that's not the whole quote, but I think I'm close.

Writing.

>>616580
Kinda. It's "Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and... Dodge."

>>616580
If you can dodge a political incident, you can dodge a magical nuke?

>>616457

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fl27wKaGFw

I have to admit, this song fits Miranda a bit better than it should.

You quickly slip the first of his slashes- he’s remembering the rules, so he’s not swinging for the head. His followup doesn’t hit home, either, and you back out of the range of the stab that follows that. He pursues quickly, lunging forward and taking another high slash at you- you bend backwards, letting the swing pass over you.

He seems to cotton onto your tactics rather quickly, however, and his second blade comes in far lower from the opposite direction. You twist, and end up corkscrewing through the air as the blade flies under you. An attempt at a pincer attack has you ducking, driving a quick fist into his gut, right below the crystal, and you use his slight doubling over as an opportunity to leap up, a hand on his head for purchase as you arc over him, and drive a foot into the back of his head- not enough to seriously injure, but it throws him off balance enough for you to gain a bit of space.

He turns around, simply smiling, and charges again, this time spinning gracefully- and bringing his swords in at a horizontal parallel slash. You see it coming, however, and there’s a bit too much space between them…

It’s close timing, but you back handspring through the gap, much to the shock of the crowd, and you deliver another light shot to his side, jumping away as he reorients himself.

“Ahaha...alright, I getcha.” He brings in his blades tighter against himself, one in a guard position, one more outward. “Even as fluid as I am, just swinging won’t do much, huh?”, he says as he begins a much slower- but careful- advance.

>Keep on the defense. Let him come to you.
>Test out his approach.
>Try to go on offense now and crack his shell.
>Other

>>616704
>Test out his approach.
Make him work for it!

>>616704
> test his approach
Since he has two swords like an idiot he will have trouble catching himself if he falls. Can we sweep him or blast his legs and roll dice for a faceplant?

>>616704
>Test out his approach.

>>616704
>>Try to go on offense now and crack his shell

>>616704
>Try to go on offense now and crack his shell.
Hmmmmyes

>test out his approach

>>616704
I guess it's our turn now
>Go on offense and test his defenses

>>616704
>Test out his approach.

>>616704
>Test out his approach.
you need to work for it, boy!

Keep at it, kid. You might get somewhere.

Writing.

>>616704
Now I wanna go back and play MGR:R (not really, I just wanna play the boss fights again), so thanks for that.

>>616704
“Probably not,” you admit. You toss a minor blast at him- to his credit, he tanks it well, the blast being too fast to avoid at that range. He gets pushed back about half a step, but doesn’t falter. Still, he recognizes the danger, and has a sword up, trying to close in. You keep taking hops back, trying to keep him at a good space where he can’t dodge well, but he’s moving a lot more erratically now. Good. He nearly manages to get into striking distance with his serpentine movements, and you’re steady leading him around.

Although, you have to give him credit- you can see what he’s trying to do. It’s not even just a matter of avoiding your blasts- he’s trying to herd you with the occasional leap-in and threat to attack, towards the more narrow end of the arena- the place is somewhat oval shapes, which means there’s two ends that have less real estate for you to move side to side. Smart kid. Shame you’ve got a plan for that.

As you start to get closer to the thin end of the arena, he suddenly quickly jumps to his right again, veering in, and quickly low hops a blast from you- barely avoiding being knocked off his feet by the low blast. He comes in with a wide right inward swing, and you step in with a ducking full sweep, which he jumps- and halfway through the sweep you kick off with your other foot while still in a low profile, cause you to tumble backwards under his arms to get some distance.

As you quickly spring up, you’ve barely righted yourself when you suddenly see him flying through the air, sword outstretched. A quick pivot and movement to the side causes him to sail past you-

-though you clearly hear the scraaape of metal on armor as he manages to hit a glancing blow on your upper torso. You leap back a bit as he quickly lands and comes around with a wide swing- more meant to get you away than hit.

He’s grinning. Seems like he heard it, too. "All you do is dodge, you're bound to get hit eventually!" He quips.

> You guys get the idea by now.

>>616898
>Time to go on the offensive
use the information on his fighting style we gained from the last two turns to completely break his guard and hit him with a few good magical blasts to send him flying.

>>616898
Let him come to you, let him take the bait, then start a full offense barrage of fists.

>>616898
Put the lie to his words
>kamehameha bitch (spelling?)

>>616898
Dropkick him!

>>616898
>Hit and run while backing up to our sword
>surprise attack with the sword disarm him

Let's see if we can work out how he fights with one less sword.

>>616898
time to go on the offensive. juice up the shots with more power, activate the electricity buff we have.
continue doing what we are doing, shooting from range, but when he commits too much dive INTO his reach and start smacking. do not let him gain distance unless we can disengage without taking a hit.

>>616898
>Time to go on the offensive
Let's rise some dust and make him taste him!

>>616898
>Go on offense
Time to show off some real magical mojo!

>>616953
>>616974

I can see it fine...

>>616974
>>616979
Ayup.

>>616979
ffs fuck this shitty internet
sorry handler. deleting.