>>1067611

Without much internal struggle, you slip over to the locker as quietly as possible, and flit inside- it’s at least sizeable enough to just barely close the door on yourself, and you find yourself pressed against a bunch of free standing books and a pistol. Fortunately, you can at least see outside through a single air slit.

A couple seconds later, you can hear the door opening, and you’re blinded for a brief moment as the guard comes in, immediately sighing as he looks at the man asleep. He quickly taps him on the shoulder, and the man stirs after some groaning. “W-whaaaat? What is it?”

“You fell asleep again, boss.” Sounds like this is common for him.

The man slowly, lethargically raises himself up. “Did I, now? Blast it. Too much paperwork. He shakes his head, trying to clear out the cobwebs. “Look, I’ll be there in a minute, just need to finish signing off on this shipping and receiving order. Big thing, it is. Some of these need to go to Jensen’s desk, too. I’ll pop by there, then I’m out. That fair?”

The guard nods, and heads out, and the man returns to writing, although he’s standing while he does it. A few minutes later, and he straightens up, putting a few of the papers in his desk, while holding on to some others as he quickly heads out.

You quickly exit and rifle through the desk- and quickly find the order mentioned. Figures Cains is the one he was sleeping on top of, but you at least have knowledge now of what to expect. Seems like it’s a freight transport full of...huh. It’s not metals, as you expected, but some kind of ‘repair glue and general craft materials.’ Wonder what that means? But, hopefully it wouldn’t be as difficult to haul off as you thought.

What’s more, you can see that indeed, there’s planned to be at least eight guard personnel onboard, all listed as ‘highly trained and armed’. You don’t know if they’ve been told anything or not- probably not considering it should be here in the morning, so you’ll have to play gentle with them.

Getting out proves to be a simple affair- really, this was an easy sneak in and out. But importantly, you needed to figure out a good way to get that transport. It’d be easy enough to get on the train, detatch the transport, but…how to move it? Well...the night is still young. It’s a bit last minute, but...

>Find some help; place like this is bound to have some folks looking for easy pay, right? (Will require a roll)
>You’ve got a new trick- you think. If you can apply the idea behind your Featherfoot to other things...Well, the question is how effective will it be. (will require a roll + mana expenditure).
>Just deal with it when you get there. If you can just split the transport from the train itself, you should be fine...right?
>Other

>>1067613
>You’ve got a new trick- you think. If you can apply the idea behind your Featherfoot to other things...Well, the question is how effective will it be. (will require a roll + mana expenditure).
As much as I hate spending more mana, it doesn't feel like a good idea to involve others or go completely planless, so I'd say go with this for now and then we can change plans later if a better one presents itself.

>>1067613
>>You’ve got a new trick- you think. If you can apply the idea behind your Featherfoot to other things...Well, the question is how effective will it be. (will require a roll + mana expenditure).

>>1067613
>You’ve got a new trick- you think. If you can apply the idea behind your Featherfoot to other things...Well, the question is how effective will it be. (will require a roll + mana expenditure).

>>1067613
Writing!

>>1067613
Alright...you’re going to need to spend some time on this one...which means you’re probably not getting a ton of sleep tonight…

You manage to find yourself something heavy once back out on the streets, what looks like a very large container- although it appears to only contain hay and the sort. Still, a decent test- you nudge it with your natural strength, and as expected, it doesn’t budge. You enhance yourself- and you’re able to tilt it- you could probably flip it over with effort. But, that’s not what you need. You need to lighten the load a bit…

And so you concentrate. There has to be a trick to transferring mana efficiently, right? Maybe think light thoughts…

>Roll 1d100, best of 5.

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>1067736

>>1067746
...

I'm gonna still have to ask for four more, just for fairness' sake.

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>1067736

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>1067736
Come on, 100!

Still got two rolls, if anyone else is out there. Otherwise I'll just take these three in the next 10 minutes.

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>1067736

Alrighty. So I was thinking, and I'm pretty sure considering my personal loathing of crit overrides when they happen to me as a player, having them in my quest would be hypocritical. So I won't have crit overrides in this quest.

At any rate, writing.

>>1067763
Hahaha, we run out of mana, drop it on ourselves and get abducted by natives.

I still think we should give up in the heist plan and just fuck up the tracks

>>1067736
Alright...concentration. Focus. You’re not really a fan of those things, but you can certainly DO them. It’s easy when you want it to be. And you know how to make your body light. That’s easy, too. So pushing that feeling elsewhere should be just as easy!

...You’re not sure if that’s actually how it works (you get the feeling that it’s not) but it seems to work- in due time, and after some trial and error you place your palm up against the container, push...and feel it slide along the ground as though it were on a greased surface. To your pleasant surprise, you don’t feel like you need to spend much mana on it, either. It’s similar enough to your Featherfoot that the same amount of mana applies- although you imagine that the cost WILL be slightly higher depending on the size of whatever you’re touching. This is more than likely to come in VERY handy…

>Learned Feathertouch- Lorelei can touch a freestanding object, and make its weight negligible, allowing her to lift, push, and pull objects many times her size with ease. It requires similar mana as Featherfoot, requires a consistent contact with the object, and a steady influx, and it does not make objects any more brittle or easy to destroy.

Current Mana: 4350/7500

Well! That’s fantastic. You didn’t even take that long to figure it out- as far as you can tell, only an hour or so has passed. You’ve even got some time to get in a nap…so you make sure to, after heading back to the inn you were staying at.

cont.
-------

Soon enough, however...it’s showtime.

Well before the dawn breaks, you find yourself riding out of town, in the way of the train tracks, going through Sunlight Valley. It’s a rather narrow canyon- you barely have much room on either side of the tracks, but it’s enough. Although now that makes you think…better to strike here, or further out?

>Strike right as they’re going into the valley; you’ll have less time, but they’ll be hard pressed to see you coming.
>Get beyond the valley; you’ll have more time, but they’ll likely know you’re here before you even board.
>Other

>>1067983
>>Strike right as they’re going into the valley; you’ll have less time, but they’ll be hard pressed to see you coming.

>>1067983
>Strike right as they’re going into the valley; you’ll have less time, but they’ll be hard pressed to see you coming.

>>1067983
>Strike right as they’re going into the valley; you’ll have less time, but they’ll be hard pressed to see you coming.

>>1067983
> get beyond the valley
Eh, we might need the time. If we take too long to stop the train they might get support from town.

I wanna dress up as hamburgler and run away with a train car over our shoulder.

It would be worth disguising ourself anyway, since we have probably been seen with Cain at some point, not that our resistance employers seem to know that.

>>1067983
>Strike right as they’re going into the valley; you’ll have less time, but they’ll be hard pressed to see you coming.

Checking if anyone's alive and around.

>>1072853
here

>>1072853
Yo.

Hm. I think what I'll do is continue tomorrow, and I'll start the run extra early and make it a full day thing. I won't lie, I kinda want to wrap this arc up, so I'm wondering if it can happen in a day. Keep an eye on Twitter for when it starts.

>>1067983
It’s been about an hour. You decided it was best to hit the train right as it was heading into the valley- you’d be able to get in immediately, despite possibilities with the train trying to get to the depot. If it all went well, they wouldn’t get the chance. Shame they couldn’t be informed ahead of time, but, thems the breaks.

There’s not a whole lot of cover or the like to keep you hidden, but a single outcropping works well enough. Your horse is kept back, and you keep yourself low.

Before much longer, you can hear the train’s whistle- that loud, bellowing sound coming closer and closer, and you raise your head just enough to take a look to see the train barreling down the track- doesn’t quite look like a traditional steam train- though with the stones in this world, you figure that makes sense enough.

Nearer the back, you can see several cargo transports. Not sure which is which, as they’re all in roofed containers. About as expected, really, considering the guard presence. Alright, then, showtime in three...two...one…!

Now!

You leap as gracefully as possible towards the train, and manage to snag onto an outside ladder, the suprise impact making you grunt a bit.- as you stabilize, you can’t quite hear what’s being said, but you can hear someone muffled suddenly talking in the cabin itself. Did they hear that?

>Try to stay on the outside of the cabins.
>Work through the insides one by one.
>Other

>>1077114
>Work through the insides one by one.

>>1077114
>Work through the insides one by one.

>>1077114
>>Work through the insides one by one.

Fair. Writing.

>>1077114
>Try to stay on the outside of the cabins.
Would a combination of Power Boost and Featherfoot enable Lorelei to traverse the underside of the train?

>>1077216
Featherfoot wouldn't do much, if you mean climb on the undercarriages close to the tracks.

>>1077114
Well, no use in waiting around for them, you suppose. You grab onto the nearby door handle with one hand, and pull as the...

…

...Oh, whoop. Wrong way. PUSH- there we go. The door flies open, and the burst of wind surprises the three men inside- you immediately hop in, decking one in the face, and quickly lower yourself as you feel a heated shot go off above your head- you quickly turn to him, grabbing the man you punched and slinging him towards another man charging with a wicked looking blade as you take out your own pistol and fire to his kneecaps. Wouldn't do to kill your employer's employees, after all.

He was already on the move, however, and while you connect, he seems to ignore the pain, him take out a SECOND pistol, this one far bigger than most you’ve seen, filled with tubes and wires, and fires.

>Roll 1d10

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>1077244

Rolled 6 (1d10)

>>1077244

Rolled 9 (1d10)

>>1077244

Rolled 2 (1d10)

>>1077244

>>1077244
Sorry, forgot to mention best of 3 this time. Need to remember that stuff...

Anyway, writing!

Also, as long as folks stay present, I'd hope to keep voting times to 20 minutes, if possible.

>>1077244
The gun, unfortunately for him, seems to jam out, and he looks at it in confusion before you’re on him, tackling him to the ground and giving him a single punch to knock him out, him only managing a partial yell before he’s down for the count. A quick look around the cabin- seems like this one only has a few crates in it near the back and sides. Let’s flick one of these open...bah. Just various lumber and junk. Fine, moving on.

You quickly get out the back; neat! Looks like the alarm hasn’t been raised yet, and that means a chance to peek in the next doorway once you slip between hitches. There’s a small window slit and everything!

THIS one seems a lot more packed with crates- not to mention it’s got four guards as best you can see, all with guns. Good money says this one might be what you're looking for.

That might could cause a couple of issues if you just barge in- you’re strong, and fast, but you’re still plenty allergic to bullets, even if it might take more than normal to down you.

>Suggest an action!

>>1077344
We ought to first check through the pockets of the guards we just took down for anything useful.

Failing that, we'll probably have to fall back onto our spells. How quickly can we cast multiple Magic Limbs, and can we cast it through the slit in the door?

>>1077386
You can rapid fire them if need be, and they can get half the size of your hand, or large enough to grab the front of a car with- that'd take more mana than normal, obviously.

The guards are in a square position, all of them with visual line of sight on at least one other. Two in the back are playing cards, but they keep looking up from the game rapidly, just in case.
The container is pretty large; there's room to run if need be, and the number and size of boxes is large and varied enough that there's a couple of places you could call cover if a shootout happens.

>>1077399
Can we take the guns from the guards we took down, set them up through the slots, use featherfoot to lightly move to the opposite side of the car, and then use magic hands to fire of the guards and when their attention is on the front, we slip in through the back door and knock them out?

>>1077448
Clever. May require a roll, but that sounds doable.

>>1077399
Are they seated at a table, or standing? How many weapons do each of them visibly have?

Are they paying much attention to the ceiling and floor, or are they just glancing up to make sure everything's in the same position?

What are the two who are not playing cards doing to prevent themselves from going insane with boredom?

Regardless, I'm still going to suggest that we first check the unconscious guards for any useful equipment, so that we can conserve mana where possible.

Seems like there's not many people on at this time of day?

>>1077448
supporting

>>1077453
They're all standing- the 'table' for the two playing is a crate about chest height. No other visible weapons besides the single guns you've seen.

The two not playing seem to be consummate professionals, although one seems to be slightly tired, judging by his slumped posture.

Yeah, seems like. Still gonna run all day, though.

>>1077448
Going with this. Writing!

>>1077448
I'll support this.

>>1077344
Alright, you’re going to need to think for this one. Quickly jumping back to the other cabin, you rifle through the fallen men’s belongings- a quick pop to the jaw for each of ‘em juuuust in case they tried to wake up- at least one was coming to, so. You pick up three guns- one rifle, one pistol, and the crazy looking gun.

Now you just needed to get them set up properly...none of them are looking directly at the door, so as long as you’re quiet...careful...there! That’s the first part done. Now for the second part- you quickly cast Featherfoot to mask your steps, and hop to the top of the cabin, march across, then drop down.

Alright...that was the easy part. Now the hard part. That weird gun had jammed once before, and in general, you weren’t sure HOW they’d react...but! You focus, concentrate, and your twin magic hands soon sprout from your real ones- with a flurry of thought (you only had seconds before you had to resummon them), you quickly direct them to the front of the cabin, using nothing but memory, and they quickly grab the nearest two they can and start pulling triggers.

>Roll 1d100, best of 3.

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>1077532

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>1077532

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>1077532
Doubt it will matter, but here's one more to round us off.

Well...she IS a professional, to be fair.

Writing!

>>1077532
The shots go off in a snap- seems like you’ve got it a bit better than the earlier guy. You hear one normal shot go off, and a second that sounded like a cannonball- along with a cacophony of pained grunts. Actually, that sorta worries you- if you’d accidentally killed any of them...well, that might be a bit inconvenient. You quickly fling open the back door and roll in, pistol at the ready...but there’s no one even up, it seems.

You raise up slowly nonetheless, and move to the front of the cabin carefully; what you find are four bodies, moaning and groaning, one sprawled on top of the other, the bottom one bleeding lightly out his legs, if conscious. The other two seem to only have cuts and bruises, but seem decent- you quickly knock them both out entirely- and the last one is face down. Alright, let’s just see if he’s okaaaaaaahhh no. No he’s not okay.

Whatever’s in those guns, it’s heavy stuff. The man’s face looks almost mashed up. You can hear breathing, but it’s clear most of his face is broken in. He’ll survive, but... Ugh...you’d never really bothered to learn anything beyond basic healing. Not like you got super injured enough to ever need it...bah, maybe you should change that one of these days. Maybe after this job. Who knows.

At any rate, they’re all down for the count, quick, clean, and easy! Good job, you. For a while you were worried it might be tougher, but maybe you just need more confidence in yourself!

Time to check the loot here- aha! Jackpot. You can see smaller cans of that weird repair glue, and other such stuff. This looks like the place! Now you just need to detach it, and Feathertouch it away. Just a quick jump over to the front door to detach the hitch to it...

>Roll 1d100.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>1077689
Let's hope for 98.

Rolled 98 (1d100)

>>1077689
Not having anything other than basic healing ability is kind of, well, lazy for mercs who have worked as long as the SES girls have.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>1077689

>>1077695
You got your wish.

>>1077737
It's really just Lorelei. Miranda learned healing fairly fast, as did Izumi.

>>1077689
Easy peasy! Oh- wait, want to get these guys outta here...there! You make sure to toss the guards in the room with the others as well. After that, though? A quick snap of the line, a tug, and soon enough you’re waving bye-bye to the upper cabins. As you look around, you realize that you’re...probably a bit less than halfway through Sunlight Valley. That’s not too bad, all things considered. Now you just need to get this thing out of here before anyone starts to really notice…you also notice that you got a second cabin, along with the caboose. Well, to be honest, you couldn’t really help that.

Feathertouch is a bit tougher on you than before- it’s a lot more stuff you have to transfer through, but thank goodness, it works! You give the an experimental shove- and yep, it glides along the tracks easily, so long as you keep in contact with it. You’re gonna have to do a lot of pushing, but hey, you managed to pull this off seamlessly! You can feel plenty proud of yourself! And you do, even giggling to yourself a bit as you push the cabin back down the track towards your horse. You had just the place to stash this for now, until Cain’s men could come back to find it…

>Grace (Lorelei): Current Mana: 4200/7500

Although now you’re wondering what the plan there is for after you get back. Part of you wonders if you can find Miranda before the other two get too antsy...she SHOULD still be in Last Light, right? Wonder what she’s up to...

>Try to find Miranda when you get back. Never hurts, just in case she knows something new.
>Just get back to the siblings ASAP. You aren’t sure what they’re planning, and you’d rather hear from the horses’ mouth.
>You did this way easy! Probably deserve a little reward...maybe you can get some quick cash on the side.
>Other

>>1077911
>>Try to find Miranda when you get back. Never hurts, just in case she knows something new.

>>1077911
>Try to find Miranda when you get back. Never hurts, just in case she knows something new.

>>1077911
>>Try to find Miranda when you get back. Never hurts, just in case she knows something new.

>>1077911
>Just get back to the siblings ASAP. You aren’t sure what they’re planning, and you’d rather hear from the horses’ mouth.

Writing, then. Back yet again to Miranda!

>>1077911
Nah. Let’s not forget the overall goal here...for once. Best to head back to Miranda first, and get her take on things, if she has any. Knowin’ her, she’ll be pissed if you don’t, really. Girl can be uptight beyond uptight sometimes; seriously. It’d be kinda depressing if you didn’t have your own issues. Not like anything would solve them right now, thoug- oh bleh. You’re getting introspective again. Screw that. You’re gonna get this job done, get paid, and then get fuckin’ PAMPERED.

Thaaaat’s a lot nicer to think about, and the image of spas, wine, mani-pedis, and massages swim through your head until you get back to Last Light.

Oh, almost forgot; probably shouldn’t be in the same duds as you did the deed in. Let’s see...boring leather jeans, long sleeve jean shirt and vest, decent boots, no hat. Good enough. Copycat time! NOW you need to go and find her. Just need to figure out where she is...instinct says...thataway.

Mind you, ‘instinct’ basically means ‘educated guess with what you know about her.’ Even if you don’t find her, she can’t be that hard to find, right? Miranda was never really all that much of a party animal or a heavy drinker, so chances are she wasn't at the saloon...hmm...

>Roll 1d100.

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>1078067

Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>1078067

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>1078067

>>1078070
wew

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>1078067

Wow. Well, writing!

>>1078067
Welp, alright, then. Not at the weaponsmith’s...or the in...now where could she have gone? Ugh. Okay, no big deal. You’re just gonna have to search the old fashioned way- wait a tic.

“Hey.” You spin around, and there she is. How she guessed it was you from the back, you’re not sure of- this disguise is great! “I’m guessing you pulled it off?” She’s surprisingly stone-faced; you’d think she was disappointed! Either way, you nod once. Don’t want to be too conspicuous out in public. “Good work. That’ll be some comfort for him.”

The way she said that makes you raise an eyebrow. “Something up? Didja finish up with the last monster?”

She nods once. “Sure did. Had to tell it a joke to get it out in the open.” And she looks away, not bashful, but clearly not enjoying talking about it. You wait for the end result, but she doesn’t say anything, simply focusing on some point in the distance. Meeeeh, you’ll let it slide.

For now. “So, that’s the major bit done. And I’m guessin’ the big guy doesn’t want us to get lost just yet, like you said?”

She nods. “He’s managed to find out some things- come on; I’ll talk more about it once we’re alone. We’re not gonna have much time.” Ugh. Sounds ominous. “Found a familiar face, too…”

“Ooh! Sniper girl? You found ‘er again?” Her face drops juuuuust a smidge, as though she wanted to keep you guessing a bit; pft. That was elementary stuff. “So, what does she want this time? She’s not getting my share!”

Miranda just snorts. Well, it was a valid question to you!

---------

Soon, you’re...not in an inn, actually. You’d both rode some ways out of city limits, for whatever reason she’d deemed worthwhile. “Okay, so. What are we dealing with here?”

“He thinks Abigail has some kind of...mental conditioning agent in products she’s been selling.” Miranda starts. “Drugs, tonics, salves, and the like. Probably going to call it something in the water to the people back on the coast, was his guess. We’re not sure how they’re planning to trigger it, but that stuff could seriously impact Cain’s plans for the area. He wants us to lead some of his people to stop it, in at least Saint Augustine and Gaugetown. Redrock would be nice, but she’s got far more influence there than he does, so he’s not expecting much.” She leans back a bit. “It’d mostly be me, you, Isabelle if we agree to bring her, and a bunch of his elites, and as many of his Metallos as we can field against whomever is addled by that tonic. He’s agreed to the Collateral Damage rider, so be sure to avoid wrecking any houses.”

Whoa. That’s...a lot.

>Wait, what about those other guys? From Flashpoint! They aren’t helping?
>Shouldn’t I go back and report in, first? Or are we going loud n’ proud now?
>”Fiiine. Which town do ya want me to take?
>Other

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>1078302
>”Fiiine. Which town do ya want me to take?

>>1078302
>>Wait, what about those other guys? From Flashpoint! They aren’t helping?

>>1078302
>Wait, what about those other guys? From Flashpoint! They aren’t helping?

>>1078302
>>”Fiiine. Which town do ya want me to take?
TBQH I never want to change perspective to a non silver-eye member ever again.

I've learned a surprising amount from this arc, honestly. I can tell you that things in the future will be better, in a number of ways.

Hm. I can do both. Writing!

>>1078302
You’re about to agree when something hits you. “Waaaaait a minute. What about those others? The Flashpoint team. They aren’t gonna help with this?” This would all go a lot faster and a lot easier if they could be coerced into pitching in…

“Actually, yes.” Oh. “But it won’t be much; Flashpoint put its foot down, so to speak.” Ohhh. “They’ve agreed to hit a few smaller targets, so soon, if not nowish, they should be trying to find and destroy any caravans of goods that might have a Dr. Sullivan, Mrs. Grace, or Mr. Simpleton in the name. Don’t expect it to last long, though. They’ve agreed to just two more days and that’s it. Sal agreed, at least according to what he tells me.”

“Not like he tells ME that much…” you grouse.

Woooould have if she didn’t, I swear!” you suddenly hear. If you could mentally stick your tongue out…

“Fiiine.” you lean back, only remembering there’s no chairs out here when you’re nearly off-balance. “So what town do you want me to handle? I can do either.”

“I’m not exactly well liked in either city...” she admits. “...but I’d imagine I’d have a slight bit more leeway in Gaugetown than Saint Augustine, if I’m coming to keep them from being overran by people going crazy.”

“Cool. Done!” You sit up, already set to go. “Then we can ride to Gaugetown, you’ll stop off there, and I’ll head up to Saint Augustine…”

“After I check in with Cain. Which won’t be long.” Indeed, she’s already standing up, looking out. He’s hiding out here since he has the most influence. Even trying to get most of those products off the shelves. I told him I’d be looking for you and that he should be out here...ah.” Sure enough, you can hear hoofbeats in the distance, with your enhanced hearing.

Some minutes later, he arrives, flanked by a group of his men, tilting his hat to you both. “I see you two have reacquainted yourselves.” He looks to you. “I trust she’s already informed you of the severity of the situation, then?” You nod, and Miranda and yourself recap the events. “Excellent. Now look, you two have aided me greatly so far, and I expect similar greatness in the time to come. Normally, somethin’ like this might end up being a long, costly battle, or worse yet get the larger folk involved, so to speak. But with you two...I suspect we can put to rest this matter in a day or so, considerin’ Miss Miranda’s showin’ at Motlay.”

She simply nods in acknowledgement as he continues. “You two wrap this up and ruin that lady, and we’ll be square, and you can head out with quite the payout. Any last questions from either of ya?”

>Anything to ask him about?

>>1078533
Nah

Hm. Well, presuming no one else has anything, writing, I s'pose. Still gonna be running for a while if there's anyone present.

>>1078533
anything particular to watch out for? potential surprises they might pull out?
other than that I'm fine with it.

>>1078533
No, except are we gonna get to see the giant tank in action? And has he heard the natives prophecy about these very events?

...Well, NOW I'm writing.

Seriously, that exact same timing.

Miss Miranda? Thought they used code names when off world. And best friend? Is that a self professed thing?

>>1078726
Mistype. Again. I can't believe I can't keep that in order. This entry has them being called their intended names.

Uggggggghhhhh.

As for the best friend thing? Sorta kinda.

>>1078737
oh and one thing. the maximum sighted enhancement for people that used these drugs could be helpful as well. if we can know what we could encounter we could watch out in ways we would have been unprepared.

>>1078533
“Welllll...I’m guessing you dunno if they got anythin’ nasty waitin’ for us?” You can feel some of the joie la vive seeping back in again, your words regionally flavored, colored and artificially sweet. “Wouldn’t be quite favorable if’n something sprung out at us what we weren’t aware of.”

“Can’t say as I know too much more beyond whatever it is what Glory’s toldja, miss.” He nods apologetically. “Believe you me, I’d love to tell ya more. Anything what to trash that Abigail…” you can see his fist clench, but you decide not to point it out- whatever issues he had with her were his own.

Miranda simply sighs and nods. “Fair enough. If that’s the case then we’ll get moving now, be sure to set up sooner than lat-”

“Ooh!” Oh yeah, you almost forgot! “That there big tank thing I had to take down- issat gonna show up?” If only because, c’mon! That’d be AWESOME!

He simply grins. “Well...put it like this. You do very precise work, Miss Grace.”

Awesome.

“Now, then, girls, considering you’ll need to be at your best, allow me to get you both a ride near the settlement limits…”

Oooh, carriage travel again!

--------------

You end up pulling an all day/all night ride just to get to Gaugetown without sacrificing mana, but get there you do.

There’s a vibrancy in the air once you get closer to Gaugetown- a strange one, not exactly positive. Judging from the look on Miranda’s face, she can sense it, too. As she exits, planning to travel the last bit on foot, she gives you a wary look. “Be careful out there. Cain’s sending his forces up soon, but it’ll take some time for them to get there. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to hold out the day or longer.”

You just make a show of rolling your eyes. “Pft, I got this, don’t worry. I’m no brawler like you, but I know when to hit without getting hit when it really counts.” And you did. You were confident of that. But maybe… “I’ll see you back home when all this is said and done. We’ll get drinks!” She nods, and heads off to prepare. You settle back in your seat- you’ve still got a ride to go...

>Continue with Lorelei.
>Switch to Miranda.

>>1078867
> switch to Miranda
Tempted to stay with Lorelei in case she gets the opportunity to do sparkles and dramatically reveal her subterfuge.

>>1078867
>>Switch to Miranda.

>>1078867
>Switch to Miranda.
time to crash some stuff.

Miranda it is, looks like. Writing!

>>1078867
Geez. You can FEEL the buzz in the air. Kinda like if someone dunked you in cherry cola and left you there for an hour. You don’t even like cherry cola, really, which just makes it that much worse. It’s not even high noon yet- by all accounts it’s still morning times, and you’d expect a lot less energy coming out of the city. But you can see people walking fast, talking a bit quicker; it’s like everything’s not quite fast-forward.

You decide to do your best to keep an eye out for anything...well, not suspicious, because right now just about everything is suspicious; but rather more suspicious than before. You’re not sure when this whole thing would trigger, or how, for that matter…

After about an hour’s passed, you decide it’s probably better to get a quick drink of your own, and keep to the side streets. So much jittering was bound to make something pop before long.

And that’s when something does. “Ngghh…” The voice comes from on the other side of the street you’re in. A man in his middle aged years, strong beard, bright green eyes, groaning and coughing. That’s not what tips you off, though. What tips you off is the sudden shift in his scent. You’ve had your danger scent on this whole time, and his just jumped from ‘absolutely nothing’ to ‘sorta burned bread’. He doubles over briefly, much to the shock of some bystanders, and two of them try to help him up. As soon as he raises his head, though...his eyes are a dark, blank silver. Here he looks at the other two people trying to help, who seem to have noticed, and he quickly grabs one closer.

She seems to realize something is amiss, and does her best to fight the man off, but his grip holds strong...and then he starts to drag her off to who knows where. The man there tries to interject, but the man grabs him by the neck and throws him away, sending him tumbling down the street in broken yells.

And then someone else coughs, further down the street. And more...and more. Soon half the street is filled with coughing citizens, and people are scrambling for the doctors or other such medial people.

...Alright, then. You think that’s as good a sign as any. Keeping in mind the collateral damage rider, you’re gonna try and approach this:

>Efficiently. Even if it means killing these people immediately, this will solve the problem, and Cain probably wouldn’t care too much, you think. It’ll be quick, fast, maybe needing to wash a few things, but hey. You’re not dragging it out.
>Orderly. As long as things don’t get too out of hand, you’ll do your best to keep things calm, people alive (though you won’t go out of your way) and when Abigail tries to step in, you’ll focus all your efforts on HER.
>Brutally. The more serious you show you are about destroying everything Abigail stands for (at least in Gaugetown) will help get the picture across; if she’s smart, she’ll realize the city is a lost cause and retreat.
>Other

>>1079144
>Orderly, you called for a doctor? *bonk* I think I see your problem.
They don't seem to be killing people so it looks like we have time to be gently with them.

brb off to get some cherry cola.

>>1079144
>>Orderly. As long as things don’t get too out of hand, you’ll do your best to keep things calm, people alive (though you won’t go out of your way) and when Abigail tries to step in, you’ll focus all your efforts on HER.

>>1079144
>>Orderly. As long as things don’t get too out of hand, you’ll do your best to keep things calm, people alive (though you won’t go out of your way) and when Abigail tries to step in, you’ll focus all your efforts on HER.
if we just start killing it would just cause even more panic. showing off that we are 'helping' would prevent that, probably.

Keep it solid, keep it orderly. Writing!

>>1079144
>>Brutally. The more serious you show you are about destroying everything Abigail stands for (at least in Gaugetown) will help get the picture across; if she’s smart, she’ll realize the city is a lost cause and retreat.

phoneposting so hopefully this gets up in time

>>1079144
Yeah, in a careful, orderly fashion. So long as they don’t try to kill people, you won’t do the same to them, where it can be helped, at least. And it’s odd, yes- they seem to be trying to drag people off somewhere; you’re not sure where, but you also aren’t sure if you really care to find out. At any rate, you quickly dart over to the first one you saw- he doesn’t seem to register you flying at him and delivering an underpowered shot to the jaw- that should still be more than enough to rock him a bit...but his grip doesn’t waver, nor does he say anything to you about it. He seems to be singularly focused on taking that girl somewhere…

Welp, sucks for him. You grab his wrist, and actually SQUEEZE.

His hand is forced to open to try and stifle the pain, although interestingly enough he still doesn’t verbally react, nor does he show any pained expression on his face. The woman, once hysterical scrambles away on all fours before getting up, looking at you, and running for cover. Great. You look back at the man- he’s now growling at you, and he takes a swipe at you with his free hand. You grab it, toss it away, and punch him again, this time at quarter-strength. THIS time his head snaps back and there’s a visible grimace before you toss him down as he floats off to dreamland.

Looking down the street, seeing men and women grab people recklessly, you come to an interesting realization: you’ve got a lot of punching to do.

-------------

The first few of them are easily dispatched; they’re not paying attention to you, trying to haul off whomever is nearest to them and not infected, it seems. Anyone that gets in their way gets the attention of their rage and anger- why, you’re not sure. But it’s still weird. You’ve also noticed that the longer this goes on, the more...angry? they seem to get. Like they’re barely holding themselves back from severely injuring or killing their captures. You find yourself having to hit quickly sometimes before they do something to injure the innocents.

Soon, however, you hear a rumbling...no, more like a rhythmic stomping. It takes but a second to get up to higher ground via a rooftop, and take a gaze out at the frontier. Something then strikes your notice from the northeast.

You can see dozens and dozens (maybe some hundred?) of shiny copper robots, all in lockstep, are marching across the frontier towards Gaugetown. There’s a couple specks of grey leading them, you notice. Cain’s personal guard. And interestingly enough...from the northwest, you can see what looks to be a caravan; a good number of carriages heading your way all with the hurried frenzy of a group or a team late to a performance. Dollars to donuts that’d be Miss Abigail’s sort.

Fantastic. Which group to say ‘Hi’ to, first?

>Approach Abigail’s caravan.
>Approach Cain’s forces.
>Ignore them both, keep at the situation groundside.
>Other

I can't survive much longer- I gotta get to bed. Was really hoping, too...

BUT.

I will be running tomorrow again, hopefully starting at 12 PM CST. As usual, eye on Twitter.

Thanks.

>>1079635
>Ignore them both, keep at the situation groundside.
Fuck it. Tempted to and defuse Abigail's charge (?) to give Cain a better opening but he (and me) might want to give his robots a proper test. So just make sure the town is in order while keeping an eye on the fighting.

>>1079644
Thanks for running, pity I slept through most of the run.

>>1079635
>Approach Abigail’s caravan.

>>1079635
>Approach Abigail’s caravan.

>>1079635
>>Ignore them both, keep at the situation groundside.
Punch all of the people.

>>1079635
supporting >>1079703, but if things start to go bad for cain, intervene.

>>1079635
>>Approach Abigail’s caravan.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Hm. Seems like a tie. Considering the voting timeframe, I'll have to roll for it.

1: Ignore
2: Abigail.

>>1079635
Meh, you’ll keep out of it for now. They’ll meet each other soon enough, and you’ve got enough trouble down here to worry about. You hop back down, keeping both encroaching parties in mind, and proceed to continue your efforts at delay and cleanup. It’s proving a bit annoying, all things considered, but you’ve got enough in you to see it through, you’re pretty sure.

At one point, you can see the sheriff and his group trying their best to keep the uninfected away from the large masses, herding a number of them to what looks like outside the city limits. He sees you briefly as you punch three more faces in, but doesn’t react apart from what looks like a thankful nod before he keeps going.

However, you can hear the rumbling of wheels coming in sooner than later. Seems like Abigail got here first...you quickly turn to the first of several covered wagons as people start leaping out of them, in a rush. You quickly move to an alleyway to prevent being easily spotted- but you’re still close enough to hear voices. “Careful, now! Make sure they don’t go too out of sorts, and make sure the control agent is ready!” Young voice, but she wasn’t coming out from under the covering. You can see people running towards infectees, or otherwise tossing what seemed to be strange, fragile canisters of something towards them. One of them shatters on impact, as an orange cloud billows up, engulfing the once-human and some nearby folk, and almost immediately the infected ones let go and stand at attention, much to the confusion of the released innocents.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be safe,” you can hear one of the smartly dressed men say. “Just stick close to us and we’ll explain it after everything’s done.”

Great.

Suddenly, you hear what sounds like gunfire go off near the other end of the town. Great. Just about the same time, too. Well, they should know you if you got near them.

>Approach the voice that spoke in the wagon.
>Try to keep an eye on the workers.
>Get to those bots and hope they’re worth it.
> Other

>>1081122
>Approach the voice that spoke in the wagon.

>>1081122
>Try to keep an eye on the workers.

>>1081122
>>Approach the voice that spoke in the wagon.

>>1081122
> Approach the talking wagon
I kinda tight those two groups were going to meet up outside of town, oh well. I hope she isn't going to pretend to heroically come to the rescue.

agh, passed out by accident. Writing!

>>1081122
Alright, whatever was going on, the person in that wagon clearly had some measure of control over it. You frown a bit, figuring that it might be a good idea to have yourself a bit of facetime with the lady. Darting out of your hiding place, you quickly approach the wagon in question, moving around to the back-

-And freeze about five steps from her as you smell something suddenly flare up; before you can react, you can see a large human stumbling out the back; with a large gas mask of sorts on, and rather muscled and defined. He calmly looks around, as the lady speaks. “Now then, Arden, be careful. That serum won’t last forever…” and he locks eyes with you just as she finishes speaking.

He lets out a low growl, but doesn’t move towards you, instead stepping back a half-step in what’s clearly a defensive posture. “Arden?” you can hear the voice ask. She seems less worried and more curious. “Something the matter? Is someone there?”

Hm. The way he was standing, there’d be a fight if you so much as took another step forward. He smells like burnt fish- you could take him, but it might actually take effort on your part...

>Say something. (What?)
>Say nothing and engage Arden.
>Say nothing and step away.
>Other

>>1081391
>>Say nothing and engage Arden.

>>1081391
>>Say something. (What?)
THERES ONLY ROOM FOR ONE MEGALOMANIAC ON THIS FRONTIER.

AND ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LITTLE CRAMPED WITH YOU SHOWING UP

>>1081391
>Say something. (What?)
Tell her to surrender. If she refuses, kill the guy quickly. We got a paycheck to earn.

>>1081391
> engage
If he is trouble for us he is real bad news for Cain.
Maybe she injected him with a big guy serum.
Don't we have a devastating laser sword with us? Just pew him with that to the face.

>>1081391
Arden's not a fun guy. Even before the serum. Writing!

>>1081391
“Hey!” you call out. Arden doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t do anything. “Giving you one warning, lady; drop this whole thing and get out of here, or you’re going to regret it in the next few minutes.”

“Oh?” She sounds vaguely amused. “And you’d just let these good people here go mad without someone to bring structure? Order? We’ve been studying this little issue for some time now, you know. And we know how to bring their minds back in order. We’re the good guys, I assure you, and we only want to help.”

“Don’t care.” You really didn’t. “Leave it, or I’ll gut you myself.” It’d been a bit since you really got to use that sword of yours…

She just sighs. “I wonder if you’re one of mother’s particular enemies…Arden?” He growls. “Take care of her.”

Immediately, Arden kneels down in a three-point stance, then charges you like a linebacker trying to make a sack.

>Meet his strength with your own. He’ll think twice when he experiences what you can do.
>He’s too low to the ground; he’ll never adjust in time if you dodge…
>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.
>Other

>>1081563
>>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.

>>1081563
>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.

>>1081563
>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.

>>1081563
>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.

>>1081563
>What was that sword style Izumi told you about? One swing, one kill, something like that?.
Is this when we get to go full Balkan War Crimes?

>>1081563
A memory of yours flashes in your head briefly; Izumi had occasionally mentioned something about how drawing the blade, cutting to kill, and replacing it all in one swing was one of the more graceful and higher arts or somethin’ like that. She’d often said that charging opponents rarely seemed to expect it…

You’re already stepping back, the memories reminding you of the example she’d given. Eh, why not put it to the test?

While you’re sure he’s moving fast for just about anyone else, you can still time it easily by his footsteps; the loud thumping and rumbling as he charges for you, hands outstretched like he wants to grab you and tear you in two. You hold your breathing for a precious few moments. Careful...careful…

Now!

You draw, going full strength as you step forward, underneath his enraged grab attempt, and use your full force to bring the blade into his stomach. To your legit surprise, you can feel some resistance as you impact; he reaches back even as you’re attempting to carve through him, and you can sense his hand grab ahold of your neck and SQUEEZE…

He yanks, just as you yank, eyes bulging, but you’re stronger- the resulting mess is incredible as you light up your blade and finish shearing through him, his upper and lower halves separating in a spray of blood, gore and a cry of anguish as you wrench yourself from his upper half’s death grip. You do spare a moment to look back; he’d nearly torn your shirt in the process hell, he HAD torn your shirt. Your neck wasn’t feeling the best, either- he hadn’t had enough time to really crush it or anything, but you still didn’t like the feeling.

“Arden!?” You hear the girl yell; and at last this seems to convince her to show her face; pretty, young, blonde, dressed to the nines. “What’s goi-AAAAAAAAHH!!!” Her shriek is high and explosive as she sees the results of the very short fight. She looks at you- and you can see a familiar expression in her eyes: that unique cocktail of rage, bewilderment, and fear that usually comes about whenever someone realizes they made a major mistake in threatening you.

“Warned you.” Is all you say. She tries to say something, but it seems like she’s suddenly dried up when it comes to words as she breaks out in a cold sweat, unable to stop her eyes from meeting yours. Seems like she's never been faced with this.

You can still hear the sounds of battle in the rest of the town as Cain’s bots continue their efforts towards pacification- at least that’s what you’re presuming.

“P-p-...pl...oh...plea...no…I....n...” she's crying, frantically shaking her head...she’s going to pass out at this rate, considering her heavy breathing, too. Wonder if you might could get a little something out of her in this state. Cain might appreciate some extra knowledge, if there’s some sort of cure or immunization for this…


> “Tell me everything I want to know, and I’ll consider you a loose end.” (Honest)
> “Too bad.” Kill her. Time to catch up to Cain’s bots.
> Other

>>1081717
She just told that guy to kill us without giving fuck who we were. Some tears aren't enough to earn her mercy.
> tie her up, interrogate her, take her to Cain to use as a bargaining chip
It sounded like she was Abigail's daughter.

>>1081717
> graceful
Maybe we won't tell Izume about that but.

>>1081717
Supporting >>1081792.

>>1081717
>Other
Lightly beat her to interrogate her. Don't kill her, though, and avoid the face. Cain might pay more for her alive so that he can personally kill her himself.

If not, we can see if we can sell her to a brothel.

>>1081717
>“Tell me everything I want to know, and I’ll consider you a loose end.” (Honest)

>>1081792
Also supporting this one

>>1081717
>>1081792

>> tie her up, interrogate her, take her to Cain to use as a bargaining chip

>>1081717
>>1081792
Supporting.

>>1081792
Yea this I guess

Love how the net went out. Writing.

>>1081717
An idea comes to you as you grab her with both hands- one to drag her out of the wagon, the other to silence the inevitable screaming that comes out of her mouth when she realizes what you’re doing.

It’s not very hard to find some spare rope, and you quickly leap up to a rooftop in order to hog-tie her properly; considering her squealing and squirming beneath your hand, you figure it’s apt enough. Funnily enough, the thought of leaving her on some train tracks crosses your mind in a sepia tone for some reason.

Soon enough, she’s bound, and while you’ve a gag on hand, it’s not what you need right this second. “Alright, so here’s how this is going to go. Seeing as you like life, we’re going to play a game of ‘I ask, you answer.’” You lean closer, to which she shivers. “Rules are simple- I ask a question, you answer it honestly. I think you’re lying at all- which I am very good at determining, mind you- and you die. Answer everything well enough and you’ll keep breathing.” You give her a steady look. “Sound fair?”

She looks around for all of a second, as if begging someone to save her from this fate. Seeing none, she swallows nervously and nods.

“Alright, then, first question. Who are you?” You had an idea, but…

“Audrey Adams.” Yup.

You nod. “Alright, so you’re Abigail’s kid, then. That’s good. Next question: What are you doing here?”

She hesitates for a half-second before speaking. “I...Mother s-said it’d be easy to handle; I-I just needed to make sure everyone did their jobs, and-and that things would be fine. She said, she said I needed to know this side of the company well before I inherited. We’d be seen as saviors, and- and I thought that’d be rather nice.”

You roll your eyes at her stammering. “Cute. Third question. Is there a cure? Counter-agent? Anything like that?”

“...” She’s silent. You sigh quietly, and simply draw your sword without fanfare. She follows it as you rear back, and you manage to actually begin a swing when she finally shouts. “YES! There is! I don’t know it but I know mother’s mentioned it but she swore me to never tell because the control agent was supposed to be called the cure I’m sorry!” That’s all in a rush, and her eyes are closed during the whole diatribe. You’d stopped the actual strike as soon as you saw her mouth move, but she opens her eyes after a second, only to see the blade less than an inch from her neck.

She jerks violently at the sight, and bursts into further tears, dribbling snot now, wow. “P-ple-please, I’m sorry I’ll leave I’ll I’m sorry please please please please!” Ugh. Honestly, she’s just making a mess of herse-

...wait, what’s that smell? It smells like piss...

...oh. That’s because It IS. Man, this girl’s probably never seen a day of hardship in her life or something, seriously. That’s just sad on some levels.

>Any further questions?

>>1082994
>Any further questions?
What was given to Arden? It seems more extreme than just a control agent for him to almost crush our windpipe.

If I took that mask off, would you die?

Where is your mother right now?

>>1082994
>Where is your mother right now?
>What are her plans to deal with the robots
Because I'm sure she has something in mind.
Hopefully we won't have to deal with finding the right drugs now the the saviour plan has been shut down, it can wait for Cain's clean up.

Just a bit more. Let's hope she holds together THAT long.

Writing.

>>1082994
Where is your motherat?

>>1082994
You sigh and nudge her. “Alright, then. Let’s keep this up for a bit longer. That stuff in that ‘Arden’ fellow. What was it? Doesn’t seem like it’d fit the bill for a control agent.”

Audrey can barely look at you. “It-it was a special serum. M-m-mom and her scientists made it. I-it was supposed to be a super strength inducing serum, and with the mental clearing we’ve put in our tonics...” she trails off, but you get the gist.

Strength tonic that powerful? That might be a problem. “Any more of it?”

“I-I don’t know! She told me Arden, that he was a special case so I guess he was the first or something? I swear I don’t know, just that he always listened to me no matter what!” She shakes her head intensely, and you’re inclined to believe her.

“Alright. Keeping yourself alive for now. Next question, where’s your mother?” You hear a small explosion going off in the background- seems the fighting’s gotten fiercer. Wonder what all Cain brought?

“...She’s not here. She’s hiding.” Huh. Got a bit more solidity in her voice now. “She sent me and some of her best people to handle things…but this was supposed to be easy. Even with Cain trying to stop us...” Ugh. Yeah, REAL cute. “You...you’re never gonna find her, I-I don’t think. She didn’t even tell me where she was- just that she wouldn’t be where we met last.”

“We’ll find her.” You state it as though it’s undeniable fact. “So, then, last question. Does she have a plan for dealing with those robots? I have to imagine she did.”

And here, she frowns. “I...think so. S-she mentioned something about setting up a surprise for Mr. Cain. Said he would be busy with other things before too long, but...but that’s all I know! I swear!” She struggles a bit, looking worried as you stand there and take in the information. “Is that all? Can you let me go now like you said?”

You just raise an eyebrow at that. “Let you go? Never said anything like that.” You pick her up and start leaping. “Way I figure it, Cain’ll pay decently to get his mitts on you in person.”

Her screaming, you reckon, was probably audible across the entire town, especially considering you SWEAR everything stopped for a second.

cont.

>>1083583
Soon enough, you can see that the battle’s gotten a lot fiercer, but the Metallos seem to be doing a fair job of things. Interestingly enough, you can see one of those silver figures darting around, rather skillfully, in fact, chopping at any infected that gets in his way. Judging by him and the few other silver shrouded ones doing similar, they’d be your point of contact- you can see one much further back, near the back of the city, apparently speaking orders into something. Considering it worthwhile, you take a roundabout path towards it, hopping across buildings.

He looks up, his face obscured, but says nothing as you land nearby. “Cain here?”

The man shakes his head. “Will be soon.” He notices the bundle in your arms- she’s long passed out from fright. “Take it that’s why?”

You nod. “Abigail’s kid. She might be worth something, if you get my drift. Also gave me a lot of interesting information. Not immediately relevant to the battle, but...” you look back. “Probably helpful to know once the fighting’s done.”

“Fair.” He nods, then holds his hand out. “Allow me to take the child. I’ll bargain for a good price for her in your stead, if need be.”

>Let him have her.
>You’ll hide her yourself, just in case…
>Other

>>1083608
>Let him have her.
I don't think Cain is going to try to go cheap on us at this point, he seems quite intimidated. And I really don't want to have to worry about her during whatever else is coming up.

> chopping at any infected that gets in his way
Are these mindwiped civilians the only opposition or do they have conventional militia too?

>>1083608
>Let him have her.

>>1083608
>Let him have her.

>>1083608
>>Let him have her
Since we haven't been too frivolous with our mana usage, we can still nebula blaster no less than 2 times.

If Cain tries to fuck up our deal, we can literally destroy anything he's ever owned in retaliation.

>>1084438
I'm ok with this. This is the first time we haven't worked for a clear good guy (those moon guys were just jaded). Wel except we haven't been focussing on loot because we have been expecting a good payout.

>>1083608
>You’ll hide her yourself, just in case…
I'm not trusting someone who doesn't know us to give us a fair price, where we can't see the negotiation.

>>1083608
>Let him have her
With a reminder that Abby probably won't pay for damaged goods - and if he does something stupid, we'll know.

Back. Anyone here?

>>1086371
Not for long. It's 2AM.

>>1086371
Yee

>>1086371
You got one more.

Yeaaah, I was intended to run earlier than this, but life happened. Still gonna try, though.

>>1086371
I'm here

I live as well for an hour or two, at least.

>>1083608
“Fine.” You hand the girl over, keeping a steady eye on him. “Just watch her. Don’t do anything stupid to her or I’ll know. I doubt damaged goods would be preferable.” The man just nods, and takes the unconscious girl from you easily. After he’s safely got her in hand, you look back out in the direction of the carnage. “Anything in particular troubling you with this fight?”

“There’s been some word from the west end of town that a lot of these turned people are following some commands of some oddly dressed folks.” His voice is quick, a bit raspy, and direct. “All of them apparently have some kinda mask coverin’ half their face. Smart folk, too, and they’re causin’ issues. Two of mine have already been lost there.” He shakes his head. “I was about to direct some folks to get over there and handle it, but unless you’ve got somethin’ else to worry about, I’d prefer if you could so I could handle pacifying the rest of the town.”

“Fair enough.” You nod. “I’ll be on to that, then.”

“Fair luck to you.” With that, he turns with Audrey to place her somewhere secure, and you’re off to handle that problem.

And you can see it is a problem, when you get there. The robots are getting mowed down with tactics like pincer techniques, chokepoint suffering in alleyways, and other tactics- and you can see these men with masks- normal folk, clearly, and they’re easily directing the hordes.

Even the silver shrouded men are getting overwhelmed as well. You can see two fighting from a losing position inside a small building, each armed with both a rifle and a pistol they alternate in firing as humanoid and smaller Metallos do their best to assault the corrupted men and women. The corrupted are doing their best to trash the machines, and with the advanced strength and durability they were given, that’s more possible than it’d be normally. The bots are resilient, and more numerous, but their AIs aren’t the best, and it shows.

You’ve got to step in here, and soon.

>Help the two shrouds fight out of their position. Get them back in the fight and they can help turn this around.
>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.
>Evacuate the men and get to a more defensible position.
>Other

>>1086619
>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.
Efficiency is key

>>1086619
>Help the two shrouds fight out of their position. Get them back in the fight and they can help turn this around.

>>1086619
>>Help the two shrouds fight out of their position. Get them back in the fight and they can help turn this around.
>>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.
We're pretty fast.

>>1086619
>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.
It's pretty clear on what we should do right now.

>>1086619
>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.

People are in danger here, end this quickly and efficiently

>>1086619
>cut the heads off of the snake

>>1086689
Let's start by cutting the heads of whoever is overwhelming those shrouds, that shouldn't be mutually exclusive

I'm wondering if I should make that option literal or not. Writing.

>>1086619
>>Cut off the heads of the snakes- assassinate the order givers.

>>1086619
Alright, the best route here, from the looks of things, seems to be obvious. Those shot-callers go down, things get a whole lot easier to deal with. You end up leaping above the fray for the most part, and ending up in front of an alleyway where one of the men was barking out orders. He’s swiftly silenced with a stab to the throat, and from there it begins.

As you proceed in your work, you can tell that little by little the order’s breaking down- there’s more of them that are just swiping at anything in range, running after targets that weren’t closest or what you’d call priority, the shouts of the remaining commanders getting louder and more panicked. At one point, you had to look back, and you saw one of the silver shrouds had managed to find a discarded sword and was now using both sword and pistol with fair proficiency. The other was nowhere to be found.

And in due time, the numbers started thinning in favor you the machines; to the point where one or two of the remaining commanders called to retreat. You begin to give chase, but before you can, you hear an unfamiliar voice.

“Hold on, gal!” While at first you’re worried, you turn back to see the shroud again. “We’ll take care of things from here. You get back to the south edge of town. Get to Twelve and tell him we’re good on this end.”

“Twelve?” Hadn’t heard any name like that…

“He’s leading the force here. Just shout for him.” Ahh. You’re pretty sure that was the one who sent you here, then. You nod in confirmation. “Good. And make sure that-”

And that’s when a strange sense of unease crosses your body. It seems like it happens to the guy, too, as he quickly quiets up.

And that’s when you hear a strange, warbling roar as the air shimmers and seems to roll...

~wuwuwuwuWUWUWUWUW~

“What on earth…?” The man wonders. You just get to the nearest rooftop and look out in the direction of the sound. You can see something in the distance, waving and shimmering like a mirage at first, but soon coalescing, forming into something...big. Humanoid, with strange, porcelain white face, as if it were wearing a mas-

…

…wait, you KNOW you...

...Oh, FUCK those little guys.

>Tell the metal militia to refocus, and get ready for this...thing.
>Fuck it. Angry now. Time for explosions. (Input appreciated)
>Other

>>1086985
>Tell the metal militia to refocus, and get ready for this...thing.
then blow it up. blow it all up. I'm assuming their weird voodoo head magic stuff won't work on the automatons so have them close in while we pelt them at range.

>>1086985
>>Fuck it. Angry now. Time for explosions

Boom shaka laka boom

>>1086985
>Fuck it. Angry now. Time for explosions. (Input appreciated)
Run and find those little fuckers and start murderizing them.
The thing may dissipate once the fucks summoning it are dead.

>>1086985
Actually can we call our back up, or are they still monster hunting?

>>1087041
Oh true, get sal to send them over if they are close by.

>>1086985
Supporting >>1087020
They are doing a ritual to make a super saiyan god, we just need to disrupt that.

>>1087041
>>1087055

They're currently indisposed around Redrock.

>>1087099
Might as well call them in for the big finale then

How much mana do we have? Enough for a buster and then some without getting mana sickness?

Thinking we bullrush the little shits and use sun flare for easy mass murder and nebula the colossus, or use a flux wave instead of flare if we can afford it.

>>1087123
Your current mana is 9300/9999.

Also writing.

>>1087166
>9300/9999
Seems we always forget how ridiculously powerful Miranda is.

>>1086985
Alright, whatever’s up with these guys, you’ve had quite the hell enough of it. You quick move to confront the damn thing- or at least whatever it is they’re making. Those little crapheads tried this illusion crap on you before and you managed to bullrush through it- you’re not sure what them trying it again on you would accomplish. The thought runs through your head that it might NOT be an illusion this time, but you’d hope that’s not true. Meh, even if it is.

You quickly get closer, and the thing gets more visible. It’s at least a couple stories tall, but its mask is all too familiar. Well, in a sense.

You can’t even remember that little idiot’s name, but whatever. Clearly did this to be ironic or something. You can also see some moving, wiggling spots around it, coming forward and chanting some sort of ridiculous mess. Welp. First thing’s first, then.

You tense, and leap; shooting into the air like you’ve rarely done here. You’ve got an excellent view of how things look, now- the giant creature seems to be surrounded by a number of these guys in a semicircle, going around the back of it, instead of the front. Your hands go out, and you let rip a number of magi-blasts around the edges- you can see the impacts set off as you descend, and several screams tear through the air as the owners perish. Much to your delight, the construct wavers- although it doesn’t fade.

However, the chanting gets stronger, and the wavering lasts for only a second. The NEXT second involves it trying to bring a fist down in order to crush you, which you dodge handily- although the shockwave from it makes you think that yeah, it’s more solid than you were hoping for.

>Tactics?

Figured I'd give an explicit chance since there's more details now.

>>1087282
Magi-wave the chanters if it can cut through multiple targets, otherwise nuke em with Nebula Buster

>>1087282
On the one hand using a nebula buster and giving this world something to realy rember us by would be fun I don't want to give these guys the satisfaction of having us fight their big guy directly.
>Keep dodging and magi-blasting the ritualists
use Suns' Flare if they are able to jump out of the ritual and shield then go back in
use light barrier if we can't dodge

>>1087282
Use a Flux Wave to disorient the little shits, then use rapid-fire magi-beams to kill them as we run through their group.

>>1087330
Supporting this

>>1087330

Seems like this has support, rolling with it, and writing!

>>1087330
will support this, kill off the ones that is the source(or not?), but the big guy can wait.

>>1087282

Well, it’s not the first time you’ve taken on a giant.

To be honest, it’s not even the hundreth. Giant monsters are really fucking popular, no matter what world you end up in. One of those things you’ve never really understood- but then again, never really put too much thought into it, either. Either way, standard playbook might work here- with a bit of a variation.

Those idiots that are keeping the thing going are the real targets- you fire a few magi-blasts their way towards the right hand side, watching them go up in smoke and ash. It doesn’t last long as the giant beast takes a club out of nowhere, however- you quickly duck under the swing it tries and continue you blasting; three more light up and are practically vaporized. You can see several start to scatter, but the majority hold position- at least as far as you can tell- another hand comes down in your direction, and you’re forced to leap backwards some ways to avoid it, covering your mouth from the massive dust cloud it kicks up.

As you’re quickly trying to clear the air, that’s when the chanting changes. At least, in part.

~wuLAwuLAwuLAwuLA~

And the dust clears...but suddenly, they all seem to vanish...and then reappear...and vanish, and reappear, like a giant fucking shell game. Fine, you can do that.

There’s hardly any time between the charge up, and the blinding release of light- Sun’s Flare is always good for a little disorientation. Even if you didn’t have a direct line of sight.

The flash goes off, and it fades, you can hear some squawks of surprise; seems like it worked as intended.

You weren’t expecting the giant backhand on reaction to getting blinded, though.

With little time to brace yourself, the palm impacts, and you feel a blunt pain shoot through the whole of your body- and the all-too familiar weightlessness that lets you know you’re sailing through the air at really ridiculous speeds. You’re at least a little ways out of the town, so at the leas-

Fuck. You just went through a building-

Fuck that was another-

Fuc-

DAMNIT!-

Finally, blessedly, you impact a wall at a low-enough speed that it holds- you feel something on your head, something wet- and as you slump down to the ground, you let out a breath, letting the rubble settle around you as your brain quickly resets. Hadn’t been thrown like that in a minute, but it’s hard to forget the feeling.

Meh. You’re gonna need another long soak after this. Maybe a massage or something.

You at least have a clear view of the beast coming closer, and it seems to be picking up speed, possibly emboldened with what it just did to you. That was...what? Five buildings it sent you through?

Meh. That’s not even a sniff on your record, if you’re being honest. Not that you want to BEAT your record anytime soon. Right, then.

>Action?

>>1087574
Keep dodging blows till we can make a break past it and continue working on the chanters.

>>1087574
Use a bunch of Light Rings to bind it, and hopefully have it break them and explode.
As soon as the rings are in place, don't wait for it to break them, take off immediately after the chanters and start killing them as quickly as possible with magi-beams and magi-waves.

>>1087574
Flux wave the gobbo's, that should disrupt the conjuration long enough for us to rules of nature these dweebs.

>>1087574
How many of the fuckers are there? Assuming they are not following or keeping up with the giant just
>Dodge past/over it, land in the middle of the natives and suns flare to disorient them that a few quick magi-waves in all directions.
That should get most of them. Unless I am misunderstanding the field.

>>1087591
I don't think it would be able to break out of an orbital ring anytime soon, and if you were to use multiple you might as well use a nebula buster for cheaper.

>>1087617
Supporting

Flux the goblins and when the giant has turned and is far enough from turn number it with a nebula

Hey, at another area for now, but I AM available and will be writing in about a half hour.

>>1088580
nice

>>1087574
You breathe a sigh. Alright, then. Time to break out the big guns. Or rather, the experimental ones.

You plow through the rubble you made (you’re pretty sure that was tomato sauce or something like that that fell on you but whatever), and charge back out into the vast lands, the giant construct barreling forward with its etheral warbling cry. This time, you’re not even going to let them have the opportunity to react.

It’s STILL kinda hard to ‘randomly’ flex your mana, but in a few moments, you can feel it roiling, like waves in the sea during a storm. It’s already making you a bit ill, but...

It’s less that the beast tries to tackle you, and more that it tries to punch downwards while still running- but the way it ends up as you put on the brakes just long enough for it to whiff its shot right in front of you and keep moving anyway reminds you of a linebacker trying to bulldoze a defender. Well, you’re a bit better than that; you immediately shift to the left, then to the right, juking the giant fist and zipping forward between its legs- you can see a large number of the short, squat tribals with their magic sticks in the air, chanting as quickly as possible to adjust their creation.

Yeah, no. With a vocal effort, you focus inwardly, grabbing all that waving, roving, swishing mana...and PUSH, physically stretching your arms out on both sides of yourself if only to mentally reinforce the idea to yourself so that it actually WORKS.

And the mana comes. Your eyes are closed for a brief moment- you can’t see it being expended, but you can certainly feel it- and it doesn’t feel good. There’s a bit of swimming behind your eyes as well, and when you finally open them, you have to blink away some shakiness as your body moves on instinct honed by years of combat.

The results are worthwhile, though- you quickly turn towards one side, aiming for the nearest of the conjurers, and you quickly cut three down, them having still been affected sorely by the single Flux Wave. They don’t even quite seem to register you as they’re split in twain.

They are merely the first of many.

cont.

>>1088796
One by one they fall, their construct having dissipated entirely when the Flux Wave hit, and now too panicked to resummon it. You spin, slice, and cleave, and it reminds you all too much like wheat against a thresher- it seems like these were the mages of the tribes- most of them older, from the looks of them. There’s not much of them in the way of physical might- but then again, you completely understand why that was the case, considering you pretty much destroyed their entire warrior caste earlier.

You make sure to be just as thorough with their mage caste. In perhaps a minute, maybe two, they’re down to a handful, having tried to flee when their numbers were whittled down too far. You simply made a single leap to cut off their escape. To your surprise, they’re just angry, not afraid.

“You would have us wiped out, then? Destroyed utterly, with none left to even curse your name to the heavens? That would not please you?!” He shouts with spit and bile. You’ve heard this kinda diatribe before.

“Not really.” you admit. “Wouldn’t hear it anyway.”

Before he can retort, he’s blasted away, along with the handful of his fellows near instantly. The only things left of them are one of the masks. Spare one, maybe.

It’s pretty ugly.

When you get back to Gaugetown, you can see that the fighting has definitely turned in Cain’s favor. The infected people are now being corralled to one area of the town- the northern area. You can see one of the silver shrouds barking orders to several others- but he seems to detect your presence as you approach and turns around. “Ah. I take it you’re responsible for that massive thing’s defeat. You have our thanks.”

You shrug. “Just as long as I’m paid for it.”

He nods. "I suspect Mr. Cain will be well pleased with your performance. He will be along in a day or so, if you wish to remain here. He intended to assist your compatriot; whom we were informed will be a touch longer than we were, considering her travel time.”

>Go ahead of him. Lorelei might appreciate the backup.
>Wait on him here. Lorelei’s got this.
>Other

>>1088806
>>Go ahead of him. Lorelei might appreciate the backup.

>>1088806
>Go ahead of him. Lorelei might appreciate the backup.
>Other: Pick up some guns and stones as well. They may be useful if we bring them back to the Intersection as trade goods.

5 more minutes. It does have some consequence.

>>1088806
Go ahead

Any worthwhile loot around? Lorelei might have use of spare guns and ammo

Right then, quick loot and then catching up to Lorelei. At the speed y'all were going, she should be close to there by now, especially if she got impatient...

>>1088806
You’re already looking to the horizon. “I’ll be moving along, then. Lorelei might like the backup. Tell him I’ll be there.”

You turn just enough to catch a nod. “Very well then. I would ask that before you go, you help with some minor corralling issues, please. There’s still a bit of annoying resistance with the infected peoples, as well as the few discontents ordering them.”

You stop yourself from rolling your eyes slightly. Could’ve asked before you said were about to leave...

It’s fortunately not very long- mostly just FINDING them and herding them towards the containment areas. It at the very least allows you an opportunity to filch a few weapons from fallen folks- mostly guns and the stones. They might fetch a price back at The Intersection.

That last bit of busywork done, you leap off. Time to get back to Saint Augustine!

Honestly, going under your own power is way faster than a horse. You do wonder if Lorelei’s made it yet, even, or if she doing alright. Sounded confident enough, but confidence didn’t always do the job…

You’re surprised how much time your own efforts took- it seemed like mere minutes, but judging from what you can tell by the sun’s position, it’s been a few hours since you and Lorelei parted ways. You know she was capable of moving fast when she really wanted to- it was possible she could’ve gotten almost there if she decided to hop like you did.

Some time later, you can see the town on the horizon. Good- that means there’s-

That was an explosion. Alright, yeah.

You pick up the pace, and soon arrive at the town proper- and it’s...surprisingly less chaotic than you expected. There are still several infected- a good deal of them, in fact. But they’re fewer than even in Gaugetown. Although looking around, you quickly see what the source of the explosion was- SOMETHING was set off near the center of the town.

As you get closer, you can see there’s bodies. There’s...a LOT of bodies. Most of which you can’t quite tell apart. And some kind of massive crater in the center...and nothing else. Whatever it is LEVELED at least a block or so. You’re certain that if you saw it from the air, there’d just be a giant spot in the middle of the town.

“HEY! HEY GLORY!” You look up- only to find Lorelei sitting on top of a building a few houses away. “Didja see it? Didn’t think a carriage could hold that kind of a charge, huh?! Gotta admit, I didn’t!”

>Why.
>...No. No I didn’t.
>That’s going to COST US!
>Other

>>1089152
>What could possibly have made you think that doing that was a good idea

>>1089152
>That’s going to COST US!

>>1089152
>>Why.
GODDAMNIT LORELEI

MY MONEY

>>1089152
>That’s going to COST US!
Collateral Damage Rider fucks us again.

>>1089152
>>...No. No I didn’t.
>>That’s going to COST US!

In my mind, Lorelei is kinda like a loyal but overactive puppy. She'll follow instructions so long as someone is holding a leash, but the second she gets set free, something breaks. She doesn't mean it, but it still happens and you have to deal with the mess.

>>1089152
>Why.
Why.

>>1089152
>Why.
It may not even be her fault, or at least not her intention anyway.

>>1089152

>>1089173
Supporting this with some >Why. thrown in.

Back and writing!

>>1089152
>>Why.

"This is coming out of your share, Lorelei."

>>1089152
“...You...the...why.” You hate being lost for words, but lost for words is about an apt description of your state at the moment. “Seriously, WHY. That’s going to COST US PAY.” You’re not really a fan of raising your voice like this, but sometimes situations call for it. “WHAT ON THIS OR ANY OTHER PLANET COULD HAVE POSSIBLY MADE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!?”

“Whoa! Hey, now!” Lorelei backs up a bit. “Like, over half the town or something was zombies, I swear!”

“They’re NOT ZOMBIES.” you stress. “And-”

“-Aaaaand there were waaaaaay way too many for me to fight, even WITH robo-backup!” she insists. “I made the most of the situation! I just told the driver to get clear, charged the carriage, ran around and baited every zombie I could real quick into following me, then blew it up when they thought they saw me!” She points at the wanton destruction. “I mean, critique the method if you want, but ya can’t deny the results were effective! Even if it took me a bit more mana than I’m comfortable with...” She grouses the last bit under her breath.

You just sigh heavily. “There’s a cure.” You state flatly.

She blinks owlishly. “Beg pardon?”

“There’s a cure. I was told by one of the...call her one of the higher ups in the company, who was at Gaugetown.” you explain. “I thought YOU were the one doing the infiltration stuff. Shouldn’t you know this? Or at least have an idea?”

“Hey, I was basically a gofer! I got as much info as I could while basically being a new hire. Not like I’d be let in on all their biggest secrets ASAP.” You hate that you have to concede that particular point. “And I DO know some juicy stuff like the locations of some of their secret bases. You GOTTA imagine Cain’ll pay for that, even if we cleared out some space in Saint Augustine.”

“‘We’?” you raise an eyebrow.

She just sighs in response. “Fiiiine. I’m guessing this is coming out of my cut?”

You roll your eyes. “Duh. Come on. We need to wrap this up.”

(cont.)

>>1090340
And wrap it up you do. Saint Augustine is wider, but less dense than Gaugetown, which leads to you playing quite the game of hide-and-seek with your opponents. Still, this session proves to be very similar to your combat in Gaugetown- the roving bands of infected peoples are nowhere close to as big a threat as the organized ones, and it’s those commanders you target first. You notice, however, that Lorelei’s a bit...lethargic.

Oh, sure, she still moves and fights with superhuman strength and speed compared to anyone else, but you notice the ever-so-slight delay on shots, movement speed just a millisecond slower than her norm, small things like that. Her mana depletion must’ve been serious.

“It kinda sucks. I wanted to see that giant tank happen. Wonder why it never showed,” Lorelei asks as she splatters the brains of an escaping commander with her pistol. “Maybe it got delayed?”

“Dunno. Cain was supposed to be dropping by Gaugetown first before getting over here to make sure everything was in order. He probably wasn’t expecting you to just blow everything up.” You still give her the stinkeye for that, and she physically reels back in time for you to send a fist square into a charging infected’s mouth.

She barely spares a glance at the bouncing body. “It wasn’t EVERYTHING, gosh.” For a girl her age, she doesn’t act it. “It was just like, the center of town or something. They can rebuild it. On your left.” You simply turn and extend your arm, clothslining the poor sod that felt inclined to close the distance to you. This is quickly followed up by a punt from Lorelei as soon as it gets to one knee, blasting him away through ANOTHER building.

You sigh. “Thanks. And that’s not the point. He’s going to dock our pay for this.”

“Meh, I think it was worth it. That fireball was pre-tty fun. Just some things you can’t put a price on, y’know!”

You can’t help but muse on the reality of your existence, hearing that one. It’s not the first time, won’t be the last. But it still stings a bit, for reasons even you’re not sure of.

You don’t answer. You just punch the next infected in the face harder.

It’s late into the night when Cain does arrive- and in his tank, no less, and backed by a great number of robots. Or at least in a contained bubble on the top of it that Lorelei notes wasn’t there before. You both can hear it coming a mile away, and you wind up meeting him on the outskirts of town. “Well, butter me on both sides and call it crispy!” His look of wonder is actually mildly funny as he pops the glass top. “Here I was expectin’ a roaring fight! And here the both of you are lookin’ like it’s all been daisy-pickin’! I know y’all were good, but what the ‘eck happened?”

You just look toward Lorelei. She just looks at you, shrugs, and turns back. “I got creative.”

cont. x2

>>1090383
Fair enough. You nod your affirmation. Cain is silent for a time...but then breaks out into a guffaw. “Ahahahahaha! That so? Well, then, allow me to thank you both for quite the excellent piece of work! I daresay that if I can’t handle things from here, I don’t quite deserve to run this here frontier!” He slaps the front of his machine as though telling a grand joke. "So I daresay you two have performed your services admirably. I tip my hat to ya both." And he does so.

“Did you get my package?” You ask.

Cain’s eyes brighten, then turn thin as his smile does the same, and when he speaks, his voice is dark, and full of promises. “Oh, I sure did, and it was quiiiiite the present. That lass’s...assets will do me well in the future, I assure you.” And suddenly back to normal. “I also understand you were hopin’ for a bit extra for ‘er, hm?”

“That, and some information of mine…” You’re quickly elbowed by Lorelei. “Ours.” you correct.

He waves his hand nonchalantly. “Sure, sure. Look- tell you gals what. Here’s a bit o’ something to whet your whistles-” and to be sure, he tosses you a pair of briefcases, which you both catch. They’re both full of bills. “Now, as for the rest of this. You let me get myself settled inta town here over the next...say, two weeks or so? and then we can talk fees and payments and all that jargon.”

>...No. Payment is due upon the completion of the contract- FULL payment.
>I'm sorry, but I can’t allow that. Our time is rather valuable.
>Fuck you, pay me.
>Other

>>1090391
>I'm sorry, but I can’t allow that. Our time is rather valuable. Payment is due upon the completion of the contract- FULL payment.

>>1090391
>...No. Payment is due upon the completion of the contract- FULL payment.
Professional, but firm.

>>1090391
>>...No. Payment is due upon the completion of the contract- FULL payment.

>>1090391
>...No. Payment is due upon the completion of the contract- FULL payment.
>other

I don't make the rules Cain, but I'm damn sure not about to break them.

>>1090391
>Other
Preeeetyyyy sure Sal would have specified payment already. So unless you wan't to work out a finince plan...
C'mon, we offered those first girls we worked for a payment plan. Of course there will be interest.

>>1090436
They were literally a bunch of teenagers. This man is a goddamn mega-tycoon bent on ruling the frontier, he had better be prepared to pay us.

>>1090445
So we can charge him more interest, he knows damn well we can collect and if wants to put himself deeper in debt to us then good for him.

>>1090391
>Other
"I'm sorry, but unless you're going to be paying us for those two weeks, or providing additional objectives with appropriate bonuses, then we will need FULL payment. Now."

>>1090404
>>1090410
>>1090414
>>1090429
>>1090436
Guys, why aren't you trying to squeeze him for two more weeks worth of pay?

>>1090486
BECAUSE TIME IS MONEY MOTHERFUCKER.

And if he wasn't planning on spending that 2 weeks trying to dispose of us it would just be dissapointing.

This is how it goes down, like it or not.

Writing.

>>1090486
>>1090493
Eh. Guess he will throw us at what remains of Abigail's men in hopes that we are weakened enough for him to try. Though I'm not sure any of his men will have the stones for it.

>>1090391
“What!?” Lorelei is about to do something stupid, but you stop her with a hand on her shoulder. She just looks at you incredulously, but you keep your eyes firmly focused on Cain as you speak.

“No.” It’s simple, firm, and direct. “Payment is due upon completion of the contract. FULL payment, not partial.”

“Well, dears, you must understand- I’ve every intention to pay you what yer owed.” He’s slipped into that smooth, dealer’s voice that you’d heard him use a couple times before when you were just starting out here. “Simply that I weren’t able to get quite all of it out my coffers before, well.” He motions to his device. “Large thing like this requires a good deal of startup n’ focus. Now, what you got in there is quite certainly a majority of yer base pay, n’ you can feel free to count it out to the dollar. But what with all the rambunctiousness y’all have caused, I’m gonna need to take me a bit of time to get everythin’ else squared away, y’hear?”

“You’re a damn business mogul, I KNOW you’ve got enough cash lying around somewhere!” Lorelei grouses, pointing at him and everything. “Look, you REALLY don’t want to reneg on payment, TRUST me. You’ve seen what we can do. You really want that flipped on YOU?” She regards him with a wary side-eye as you can see his face deepen into a frown.

“Well, now, y’all are just bustin’ my chops here!” he harrumphs. “Lookie here, I get what yer ol’ man told me, but y’all can’t be expectin’ that much all at the once!”

“FULL payment,” you remind him.

He’s silent.

You can hear Lorelei muttering under her breath. “Ohhhh, this son of a bitch…” You yourself are starting to ball your hand into a fist.

“Aheheh…” Hm?

“Ahahahahahahah!” Cain suddenly breaks out laughing. “Eehhahahahahah! Whew! Alright, alright, you two got me.” He shakes his head. “Can’t say as I’m much happy about it, but alright. I didn’t get where I am by pissin’ off the wrong folk- and I think you two would qualify as that.” He presses a button, and roots around in his seat for a bit, looking for something.

After a minute or two, he comes up with an ‘ah!’ and brings out yet another suitcase. “There here’s my emergency funds. T’was meant for if’n I had to evacuate yon frontier quickly due to, well, catastrophic failures.” He tosses the last suitcase down. “Suffice to say that has yet to happen, so I doubt it will. That said, it should clear my ledgers.”

It takes a minute or two to check- but nope, he’s right. Mostly. It’s a bit under, but considering Lorelei’s stunt...eh, it’s acceptable.

’Barely, superstar.’ Right.

cont.

>>1090635
You shut the briefcase, and nod to Lorelei before turning to Cain. “Well, before this all ends, you should know if you don’t already that there’s a cure that Abigail has, if you want to endear yourself to the people more.”

He leans forward. “That so?”

You nod as Lorelei picks up. “That, and they have a couple of secret locations you can probably find their people skulking around.” She quickly relays the general areas- and you notice him press a button, likely some kind of recorder or the like, as she speaks.

“Well, now, that’ll be quite the useful details.” He grins and nods again. “Much obliged to you both. I take it our business here is done?”

You look at Lorelei one last time. “I’m really needing a bath and a nap.” is her response. You look back at Cain.

“Pleasure doing business with you.” And in a wink of twin lights, you’re both gone.

JOB COMPLETE

-PRIMARY SERVICE RENDERED- PRIMARY PAY DELIVERED IN FULL

-SECONDARY SERVICE PARTIALLY RENDERED - BONUS PAY DELIVERED IN PARTIAL

-TERTIARY SERVICE PARTIALLY RENDERED- BONUS PAY DELIVERED IN PARTIAL

= TOTAL LOCAL CURRENCY TO MOTE EXCHANGE: ESTIMATED 17 MOTES (LARGE)

TOTAL MOTES: 52

DUES OWED: 35% OF TOTAL MOTES

YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PAID DUES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUING CONTRIBUTION TO THE INTERSECTION’S GROWTH.

HAVE A NICE EXISTANCE

TOTAL MOTES: 31 (LARGE) / 80 (SMALL)

God, you hate having to pay dues.

Keeeeps you nice and honest, though!'

>>1090638
>Secondary: Partial
>Tertiary: Partial
Gah, I hate leaving things unfinished, when we could have gotten paid more.

>>1090664
On the plus side we get to do Team Building now

>>1090672
I want to go equipment shopping so that we're not stuck with being conservative with our mana in a low-mana world again.
We should get those guns, mana condensers, mana crystals, enhanced imaging goggles, and a real Federation battlefield medkit.

Aaaand finally.

Done.

Done done done.

Thank goodness.

Next run will be Friday, 1 PM CST. It'll be another Intersection Interlude, so yeah, decide on what you want to do there! It's The Intersection, and very very little is impossible to get here.

Might be expensive, though!

Also, thanks for sticking by throughout the weird runtimes. Appreciate it. I've learned a lot, and I feel like I have some work to do in regards to learning more about writing. BUT! I've got list of missions, and I'm VERY interested to see which you'll vote for when the time comes.

>>1090694
Can we get that mana condenser array and mana crystals?
What about the Yatamuchy X-3 Countersniper Rifle or the Stigma Rifle?

>>1090694
Does SES take non combat missions?

>>1090680
We weren't really hurting for mana though, just being very cautious

>>1090708
You can get similar stuff. I'm trying to keep everything relatively original content.

Where did you get that condenser array concept from? I mean I like it, I just dunno where it originated. If you just made it up, I'm stealing it.

>>1090711
Yes. SES is a general-purpose merc organization; simply the vast majority of their jobs tend to involve combat one way or the other.

>>1090694
Thanks for running, this arc was pretty fun!

>>1090733
Can we opt to take different missions with different characters?

I'd like to see Lorelei in a less combat-oriented situation, just because her tech seems much more oriented towards subterfuge and intrigue.

We got some of that this time around, but like, I want some private-eye type shit.

>>1090733
I can't say it's too original, since there's a bunch of similar concepts floating through different works and settings. I would suggest you just use it.

Assuming we can create/buy ammo stones, I propose we keep one of the guns and play around with our gravity sword a bit.

>>1090746
I've been considering something along those lines. Miranda's the main character, but I'd been thinking about giving Lorelei a thread all her own kind of like Izumi got, despite her appearance in this one.

Switching POV made us miss some good stuff. The breakout (I assume the trial went south), the warrior caste massacre (little shit got what was coming to him), that other group getting their shit rekt by a mob so they put their foot down.

>>1090708
We need a magical/scientific extra dimensional portable storage device. I hear the high quality portable EDS go for like 8 to 10 motes.

>>1090760
If Miranda is a B then how strong are the A ranks? Dear god, are there S ranks?

>>1091279

Rankings are a combination of things; not just power- although that is a part of it. An Outgoer's rank is determined by the following:

-Total Job Completion
-Job completion rate
-Job completion speed
-Job completion thoroughness
-Relative power strength, not necessarily sheer destructive power.

Your rank determines the 'general risk' level of missions you can go on. Ranks are from E to A. There is an S-Rank, but no current Outgoers have reached it. Ranks are less sheer difficulty and more a general expectation of resistance + payout. It's not too uncommon for someone of C and B Rank to continue to take E or D Rank missions if that's what they prefer.

E-Rank: Jobs that are generally between two or so people, and are usually simple and non-violent in nature.
D-Rank: Jobs that involve smaller organizations, but again are generally non-violent, aside from minor resistance.
C-Rank: Jobs that can directly affect a region, and are generally violent.
B-Rank: Jobs that affect continents. Heavy resistance is expected.
A-Rank: Jobs that can affect worlds.


Lorelei, for thoroughness' example, is D-Rank.
Izumi is C-Rank, but this is largely due to her overall mission count being lower.

>>1090694
>I've learned a lot

I hope one of those things is telling us every time you call a vote and perhaps tell us when you leave for the day, so we don't sit and wait because it might be another 2 and a half hour update. I appreciate the quest but my vacation is over.
I know you've said that you've got a hectic situation at work since a while back but does it really stop you from posting that there will be a delay?

It's been difficult to keep up the enthusiasm to participate when it has been so erratic, at least for me since you usually only get in two or three updates before midnight.

>>1091663
No, you're right. I'll do my best to be a lot better about that going forward.

>>1091628
What rank was the first mission we went on? It seems like it could have been anywhere from C to A.

Also how is Miranda only B rank? Isn't her success rate absurd, with the only failure being that time she was ambushed on the extra magic-heavy world?

>>1092173
C Rank.

And Miranda's mostly B Rank because her completion speed isn't tops, her relative power level could be higher, and because Sal's only just getting around to putting it up for consideration. There are VERY few A Ranks.

This is intended to be addressed in plot sooner than later, so don't worry.

>>1092370
When Miranda brought up her rank and title, she mentioned that she was a B rank enforcer. What other classifications exist besides courier and enforcer?

I just cant wait to assemble our funbag when we get back.

>>1092790

Operative: Your 'basic' Outgoer. No real specialization, just someone fairly good at getting shit done in general. Usually just average mortals with strong willpower.

and

Provocateur: Specialize in indirect action and non-violent manipulation; super-spies, masterminds, and the sort are classified under this. Lorelei is this classification.

Man we really should have thought to bring Geegee back to the intersection with us.

>>1094393
No, we really shouldn't have. We'd either have to send her out to fend for herself with the constant threat of being ejected, like the librarian vampire, or we'd have to pay her startup and maintenance costs and be financially responsible for her.

>>1094426
Do you really think an experienced merchant goblin would have trouble setting up in the intersection?

Also, if we did have to pay for her startup, that's debt. We get free potions for life if we get her set up properly, which would 100% even out to being worth more than the like 5 large motes it would take to finance.

>>1094426
OP said that the potions were rare and useful.

if Sal can see geegee as a profitable asset I think it won't be difficult to talk him into getting her here.

>>1094641
I can agree with this. We ask our superior if it could work out, then we ask her if she is willing to come here. Hopefully this will stop the 'bring geezee back to intersetion' suggestion being brought out for the... how many time was it? Either way, you get what I mean.

New thread up!

>>1095150

Start making those suggestions.