>>1296978
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Magical%20Girl%20For%20Hire%20Quest
General Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/u/MGFHQHandler
Character Details: http://pastebin.com/9J70gqM2
Miranda's Techniques: http://pastebin.com/eTu7U2PZ
FAQ: http://pastebin.com/8unLWUjF
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MGFHandler

It’s been a couple of days since you and your friends Izumi and Lorelei recently got out of a subcontracting job with Dynamic Methods; a hunt-and-destroy affair that ended up with you recruiting two new faces to the Intersection, something you hadn’t managed in your many years of working here yet. At the moment, you weren’t exactly flush with cash, but you could easily afford some time off- and boy, did you all need some time off.

The three of you seemed to have the same idea for the first couple of days- forgo the concept of getting out of bed unless absolutely necessary. However, it was an eventuality that the lot of you would get up, and so Lorelei had called you all together in her apartment for the purposes of getting together and roasting the hell out of some old movies. Sounded like a rollicking good time to you.

You weren’t expecting the drinks, though. Even if you really shouldn’t have been surprised at that, nor the fact that Lorelei had clearly pre-gamed. Izumi was responsible for the snacks, and you’d brought the movies.

You’d volunteered for the drinks, but had been shot down in stereo. Your friends have no taste in non-alcoholic drinks- vanilla root beer is great, and damn anyone who says otherwise.

cont.

>>1296980
Izumi was just crunching on some carrots she’d brought as she fiddled with an ornate knife she’d brought along, along with some other more healthy fare. She’d thought ahead, fortunately, and brought a number of salty foods like chips and licorice as well, thank goodness. Lorelei would’ve had a fit otherwise.

“Soooo! What we watchin’ first!?” Izumi begs. “Do NOT skimp out on me, ‘Randa, like, at all. At all. Something GOOD and crappy, too!”

Didn’t have to sound so serious about it…

>’The Monster Mice of Slaughter Hills’: A would-be horror movie about a suburban human town that finds their mice infected with radioactive sludge. They grow to enormous proportions and the town has to fight them off...or something like that. You’d seen this one before and could call out all the stupidest parts.

>’Fate of Burning Iron Power’: Some kinda half-baked martial arts film made by a society of raptor-like creatures. Apparently the main character Dorga has some sort of curse that makes him breathe flames when angry, and an evil warlord is trying to capture him by kidnapping his girlfriend. Never seen this one, but the guy at the rental place assured it was an ‘accidental gutbuster’.

>’Queen of Miracle Night’: Back of the box describes this one as ‘A riveting tale of love and power, as the Miracle Night of Laluza works in bringing souls together in a dramatic night of passion!’ From what you can see, it’s made by some creatures with very long ears and some kinda whiskers on their face- you’re hesitant to call them bunnies, though. The summary SOUNDED decent, but you found it in the bottom of the bargain bin ages ago, so…

>‘Fairies Alight!’: You weren’t sure what this one was, but it had the picture of some tailed fairy creature on the front of it, backing away from some giant shadow with a look of fear in her eyes. The title was the only text on the box; no summary. The rental place guy had gotten it out the back and thrown it in for free as a twofer when you told him what you were going for with nothing but a smirk and a ‘This one’s great. Enjoy your gals’ night!’

>>1296981
That was supposed to be Lorelei asking the question but this is funnier so I'll just say Izumi is letting her hair down a bit.

>>1296981
>>>‘Fairies Alight!’: You weren’t sure what this one was, but it had the picture of some tailed fairy creature on the front of it, backing away from some giant shadow with a look of fear in her eyes. The title was the only text on the box; no summary. The rental place guy had gotten it out the back and thrown it in for free as a twofer when you told him what you were going for with nothing but a smirk and a ‘This one’s great. Enjoy your gals’ night!’

You can never go wrong with the clerk's recommendation!

>>1296981
>’Queen of Miracle Night’: Back of the box describes this one as ‘A riveting tale of love and power, as the Miracle Night of Laluza works in bringing souls together in a dramatic night of passion!’ From what you can see, it’s made by some creatures with very long ears and some kinda whiskers on their face- you’re hesitant to call them bunnies, though. The summary SOUNDED decent, but you found it in the bottom of the bargain bin ages ago, so…
Time for terrible CGI?

15 minutes to go due to start of thread.

>>1296981
>>‘Fairies Alight!’: You weren’t sure what this one was, but it had the picture of some tailed fairy creature on the front of it, backing away from some giant shadow with a look of fear in her eyes. The title was the only text on the box; no summary. The rental place guy had gotten it out the back and thrown it in for free as a twofer when you told him what you were going for with nothing but a smirk and a ‘This one’s great. Enjoy your gals’ night!’

This could go many ways. All of them would be funny.

>>1297013
How many tomatoes would Miranda give Hell Comes to Frogtown?

>>1296981
>Queen of Miracle Night’: Back of the box describes this one as ‘A riveting tale of love and power, as the Miracle Night of Laluza works in bringing souls together in a dramatic night of passion!’ From what you can see, it’s made by some creatures with very long ears and some kinda whiskers on their face- you’re hesitant to call them bunnies, though. The summary SOUNDED decent, but you found it in the bottom of the bargain bin ages ago, so…

I love shitty romance

>>1296981
>‘Fairies Alight!’

>>1297022

"It's not the worst movie I've ever seen by any stretch, but it just tries so hard at everything...and keeps tripping at the finish line or otherwise just ruins the scene with something stupid. It did make me laugh out loud more than a few times, though, so points to it for that. The frog-creatures were hilarious. Three out of five."

(Writing!)

>>1297044
"In particular, when that one frog-girl Mirabella tries her damndest to molest Mr. Hell. That was so stupid it was hilarious."

>>1296981
>>‘Fairies Alight!’
i bet this one came straight from the now abandoned adult section of the video rental

>>1296981
>>1296991
>>1297016
>>1297037

“Welp, got this one free,” you say, holding up ‘Fairies Alight!’ “Figure we could give it a sh-hey!” You’re interrupted as Lorelei quickly snatches the video case out of your hands, giving it a quick once-over.

“Hmmm…hmmmm...nothing on the back, just the name, strangely attractive humanoid on the front, back to the wall...mysteeeeeerious!” She nods in approval, as if she’s some sort of top-level connoisseur. “I deem this WORTHY. ‘Zumi! Put this in!” She says it as she tosses the box to the girl in question, who catches it without looking and scoots up to the player.

It’s barely even past the title cards when you can’t resist speaking up. The backgrounds were...wanting, to say the least, as it ‘zoomed’ over the ‘forest’. “Okay, so apparently this was someone’s drama class final.”

Lorelei lets out a snort. “Did they fail it?”

“This isn’t reassuring.” Izumi quips.

And so the night begins. The fairies, you notice, are rather scantily clad- all having single-piece dresses, but torn up to make them look ‘tribal’ and not a one having one lower than hip length.

Lorelei rips open a bag of chips. “Hey, here’s a game- take a shot every time you see a panty flash.” How’d she get the shot glasses out without you seeing, you’ll never know.

After about another twenty minutes, Izumi calls the game off. “Girls, really, this is...we’re gonna die.”

“Is this porn?” Lorelei asks with a chortle, clearly a bit beyond buzzed. “‘Randa, did you- did you put porn in our movie night? Did you actually do that?”

You shake your head, already a touch tipsy. Lorelei had gotten strong stuff. “No one’s...done it yet. s’not porn. Doesn’t count.”

“BUT THEY SUCK!” Lorelei yells. Neither of you mind. “No, no, look, her! She’s sucking on a tree branch! That’s SUPER porny!”

Izumi shakes her head. “It’s fetishisistic... not porn. I’ve been to places where there’s porn, y’know? Like, ACTUAL porn. Like its all sex all the time. A lot. And it... it sucks. It’s not like inna movies. Or comics. S’not fun.” She shakes her head.

Lorelei goggles as you turn to her as well. “Omigawd what happened! Were you alright?”

Izumi laughs. “No, no, fine, I was fine because people are-are foolish. But it smells. It smells a LOT.” She laughs at her own joke, then stares back to the screen- and jumps in surprised.

You turn back, and see why. One of the fairies met up with another, who is doing...very strange things with its tail to the main character fairy. Lorelei is laughing her head off. “OH, WHOA! IT’S TOTALLY PORN! CALLLLLLLED IIIIIIITTT!”

>Faaast-forward.
>Change the tape. Gotta...yeah, no, not gonna.
>Ask more about Izumi’s...thing she did.
>SHUT UP.
>Other

>>1297094
>Change the tape. Gotta...yeah, no, not gonna.
>Ask more about Izumi’s...thing she did.
There's watching bad movies, and then there's watching bad porn.

>>1297094
>SHUT UP.
>Faaast-forward.

>>1297104
You never quit a movie, that's the golden rule

5 minute warning!

>>1297094
>>SHUT UP.
>>Faaast-forward.

We forge onward! Writing!

>>1297094
“SHUT UP.” You instinctly reply as you reach for the controls. You refuse to just up and quit a bad movie, no matter the...content. But nothing said you couldn’t just find some parts so bad you just skipped over them! Yeah, that sounded perfectly...perfect in terms of logic. Yes.

“Pftthahahaha, oooooohmigawd.” Lorelei’s literally rolling on the floor laughing. “Lit-tle miss ‘I’m so stone cold’ got suckered into takin’ some somethin’ steamy.” She gives you a look you could pour on a waffle as you frown at her, but she just gives you a self-satisfied grin in response. It’s a few more seconds of holding the button before the act is done and it’s back to non-smut. Lorelei settles down, but can’t stop chuckling. Izumi has a massive blush on, but she’s got a grin as well.

One of the main characters is trying to talk to what seems to be the leader. He’s not doing a great job of it, in your opinion. “And next, on today’s news…” you mock in a newscaster voice, just as bland as he is right now.

“You know he’s just going through the motions.” Lorelei snorts. “He wants to get back to the real stuff.”

No duh. “It’s the only stuff he’s gettin’, probably.” Izumi coughs up her drink as soon as that comes out of your mouth, and even Lorelei guffaws.

Fortunately, there’s a bit less smut- although it seems like the longer it goes, the less they seem to care about ‘keeping up appearances’.

“Wow, she just cannot look up.” You note as the MC is yet AGAIN ambushed from above by one of the shadow creatures.

“It has to... be a medical condition or something. Something...arthritis or something.” Izumi blithly states. She’s had a fair amount of beer by now. You too.

“She’d be dead though.” Lorelei.

Izumi shakes her head. “No, she’d be fine. Wings, the-the wings. She can fly, it’s fine.”

“Nooooooone of them look like they want to touch the scenery. They-just-wow. Hoooooly crap,” you notice. It’s been bugging you all movie long. “Ultimate hoverhands.”

And then.

“Ohh noooooo!” Lorelei says mockingly. “More sex! Protect Miranda’s virgin eyes!” She flops over your upper body in a mocking manner, and the noises that leave your mouth as you topple over are...not the most comprehensible, to Izumi’s giggling amusement.

Before long, you get her off you, only to find that the movie’s graduated to...well...it SEEMED to be their version of a fight scene? But…

“That is not good knifework.” Izumi’s face is stone-cold. “That is the worst knife work I have seen in a loooong time. I cannot believe it. She’s holding it wrong- she has no follow through-”

“It’s plaaaaaastic.” Lorelei says, poking the girl. “It’s faaaaaaake!”

“It’s still horrid!” I mean, no!” She shakes her head as she starts to get up, ceremonial knife in hand. “Watch my drink for a second.”

Hm.

>Roll 1d20, best of 3. CRITS ACTIVE

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>1297274
This can only end well!

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>1297274
exploding dice!

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>1297274
Nat 1 incoming!

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>1297274
>Start giving the fairies porny names, Ala Space Mutiny

Sparkle Glowgroin
Flash Nipfly
Zipp Huge-branch
Bob Johnson

Ohoh! Writing.

>>1297274
>>1297281
>>1297289
>>1297292

Something in your head tells you this’ll at least be interesting, so you don’t stop her when she walks into Lorelei’s kitchen, rooting around for only a moment before she finds what she’s looking for- carrying out a watermelon, and then an apple. “Move, I’m going to show you how to make a damn cut.”

“We KNOW how to cut people, ‘Zumi!” Lorelei laughs. You chuckle too- hey, it’s funny.

“Not YOU two! The- her!” She motions to the movie playing- the main heroine has been captured and is...somewhere, you don’t know. “Okay, so, first thing, FIRST thing is to grip the knife TIGHTLY, and she’s using a forward grip which- it WOULD be okay if she weren’t so limp-wristed…”

“JUST DO THE THING.” Lorelei groans out. Izumi glares at her briefly, but says nothing, instead just sighing and looking back to the watermelon. Suddenly with a yell, she starts slicing- her cuts are pretty okay, you think, although you see her pause more than once trying to judge...something. Blade angle? Think that’s it. Either way, it takes her a bit, juices flying everywhere. But in due time…

“Aaand there- damnit!” Oh, wow. She got stuck. “Just...just hold on.” She grips it with both hands and after some tugs, yanks it out- with the end result being a large squirt of juice that lands on Lorelei’s floor and a few pieces as well. Some of it gets on you, but after a small groan, you just lick it off. Lorelei just laughs. Izumi looks annoyed, and throws her hands up. “Forget it! It’s better than HER, anyway. Move, this is the other thing.” Stepping back a few feet, she squint at the apple, before flipping the knife to hold by the handle.

>Roll 1d20 AGAIN, best of 3. CRITS ACTIVE
>Other

Sorry, run paused, will be back later tonight!

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>1297329
Bad times incoming!

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>1297329

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>>1297333
say what?

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>1297329

>>1297335
...this is gonna be hilarious to write when I get back.

>>1297337
But the queen didn't give a single, flying fuck. Damn you, queen.

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>>1297335
!!!

>>1297329
>>1297333
>>1297335
>>1297339
She freezes for about a second. And then her hand flashes forward- and the knife cleanly slices the apple perfectly down the middle, embedding itself in the wall behind.

You clap politely while Lorelei cheers already getting up from the movie. “Woooo! Do that again! I have another orange in there!” You had to admit, that WAS impressive.

The next hour or so is Izumi showing off her knife throwing skills- she slices apples, oranges, kiwis, and several fruits you didn’t know the name of into tiny tiny pieces. You and Lorelei can’t help but be impressed. For the time being the movie is forgotten- playing through as Izumi continues her circus act.

“Hey, ‘Zumi! Can you hit this envelope?” She did.

“What about this this wallet from way back here!” Nailed it.

“Okay, okay, I got something! Hold on!” She runs down the small hallway to her room, looking to get...something. Soon, you hear her again. “Okay, okay! I’m holding something in my hand! Can you see it from down there?”

“I...I think so. I can see SOMETHING between your fingers.” You lean over, not quite certain what it is yourself. All you can tell is that Lorelei’s in her bedroom...

“Hit it! There is...there is NO, NONE WAY you can nail this from across the hall!” Lorelei crows.

“Screw you! Watch me!” You get the vague feeling your mouth is wide open, but frankly you just wanna see her do it.

She holds the knife, aiming with one eye closed, then she motions once...twice...three times...and throws.

“AH!” *thunk*

For a second your heart stops.

Then it starts again. “OOOOOHHHHMYYYYYYYGOOOOOOOODDDDD!” No way.

You get off your feet, running up to where you clearly see the knife embedded in the wall. Lorelei is on her bed, hands over her face in shock and amazement. And pinned to the wall is a square piece of...plastic? Latex?

“Iiiiii can’t ever use that one now.” Lorelei suddenly bemoans. “Worth it though! Hoooooly crap, ‘Zumi, you are like...queen of the knife-throwers.”

“Kneel before me, peasants!” Izumi crows. "MY MASTERY IS UNMATCHED!"

"SHUT UP IN THERE!" someone yells from above you.

"NO, YOU SHUT UP! I JUST LOST A CONDOM!" Lorelei yells back. This devolves into a shouting match between Lorelei and the stranger, and you just sigh and listen to them both. It's pretty funny.

On the whole...It’s a good night.

>>1298413
How much does a condom cost in the intersection?

Can you get birth control pills?

>>1298425

A small mote. Literally, one. One of the cheapest things you can get. Why? Festival District is for ALL kinds of parties. Just depends on where you go.

Yup.

>>1298432
Is there anything resembling a film industry in the Intersection like we would know it? Or a television industry?

Also, we should try to set up a welcoming party for Cylica and Owlia eventually.

>>1298413
Mornings SUCK, though. Thank everything for hangover cures. Even if in powdered form. As you goggly wake up at the foot of Lorelei’s bed, you manage to hold back the headache enough to stumble out of her room and into her kitchen. Knowing her, she’d have at least som- ah. There we are.

She got the economy-sized box. Good girl. ‘Intoxiclear, the perfect drink mix to clear those pesky imbibing headaches away!’ Fantastic stuff, that. It’s slow going due to grogginess, but you eventually manage to fix yourself a small drink of apple juice with a packet of the stuff. It’s just you for a good ten, twenty minutes, simply sipping at your juice and letting yourself wake up. You’ll do the usual routine later- commandeer Lorelei’s bathroom most likely.

As your head clears, however, you rack your head- lightly- to see if there’s anything in particular you said you were going to do while off.

>If there’s anything you wanted to do, whether it be directly related to the job or just want to expand on the Intersection, now’s the time to suggest it. Results will be collected and voted upon formally tomorrow.

Run resumes at 1 PM! Get creative!

>>1298449
Absolutely. Thanks to the wonders of magic, the filming process for movies and TV goes a lot smoother than in real life!

>>1298432
I mean if you're going to be immortal in the middle of nowhere/everywhere you better get a taste of everything and anything.

>>1298450
Well, let's have a welcoming party for Cylica and Owlia. Might as well see how they're taking the intersection, give them the motes from that permission slip/check thing she gave us, go out shopping for clothes, and see if we can pull off the Intersection's version of Sex and the City.

>>1298450
Lets get Miranda's sword treated. Then say hello to our new SES buddies, we're more than likely going to want shot from them later. To finish up the day, talk to Lorelei about her bodyjacking tech And how the patriots were behind it the whole time

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>>1298413
>she slices apples, oranges, kiwis

>>1298450
I guess I can back catching up with Cycle and Owl. And maybe Icey. I would like to explore the intersection more too, it doesn't seem to be all that ... deep at the moment. I mean who else have we met? Izumi's librarian boss, some kid, the ice cream truck guy.

>>1298480
> Lets get Miranda's sword treated.
What does this mean?

>>1298450
A few things I can think on top of my head, listed on personal priority:

>check out futuresight
sal told us to check it out soon, might as well do it now.

>sword treating
iirc it was mentioned that we only have a few mission's worth of time until it went poof. If we aren't strained much on time or motes, we might as well deal with it now.
oh and we didn't forget about returning our borrowed gear to our employers, right? or did Sal take care of that for us?

>check out how Lorelei is doing
might as well visit the local doctor/mage wizard or whatever that counts as a professional in treating magical accidents and stuff, just in case.

>see how Cylica and Owlia is doing
see if they got a job and a house to live in. hopefully they acquired one.

>sort out our own skills before mission
we can always use more refinement in our techniques. speaking of, I wonder if we can modify how we use the flux wave, in a way that can be more directed; focused. into a lighter/heavier effect, and the stuff. which brings me up to...

>try to learn more stuff
since other anons showed interest in improving our techniques, maybe some information on how to manipulate mana in a more advanced method could help.

>inventory check
let's sort out what we have and put them in the right place at our home. maybe having a list of stuff we have stickied on to a fridge would help. and buy more ammo for stuff if we ran out of(iirc we barely used our rockets so we won't need to buy more stuff as of now, unless anons want a different mana condenser or more backup crystals.)

>home improvements(?)
If we need a new/better furniture we could, but I don't know if we need any since we've been fine with living up 'til now. maybe a weapons rack/box/cabinet/closet to neatly secure our weapons could be fine, considering that we have a friggin' rocket launcher now.

>>1298518
the sword is not native to the intersection, so if we keep it around us for long it will dissolve into us. however if we get it treated it will keep it's form. this is also a reason why tech based stuff is relatively less in number compared to magical stuff in the intersection, as tech based stuff needs to be treated lest it go poof and be useless, iirc.

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>>1298480

>>1298480
>Lets get Miranda's sword treated
Well in that case I second this for both our swords (we did take that baron's lazer shooting rapier IIRC)

>>1298450
>Treat Flamebringer

We never did get binoculars / nv goggles right?

>>1298544
We haven't really used the baron's sword outside of the one mission, and it's just a focus like the flamebringer.

Treating is supposedly expensive, so it seems like we should just treat what we use.

It's about time to collect money from the mg team in the intro too right?

>>1298544
would we even need the rapier at this point? it doesn't do anything unique, since we can already shoot lasers ourselves, while the flamebringer can increase it's own gravity(it can also light up fires on itself but we can achieve that ourselves if we want, although it is a unique characteristic). I think we would be better off to just sell it or hand it off to other people. maybe izumi?

>>1298559
Like 90% certain we can't empower shit with fire. Miranda's tech is pure mana emission rather than anything else, nothing as specific as fire.

Not sure about shocking touch

>>1298559
i propose we treat it too.
the rapier can amplify someone's magic abilities... just imagine if we could channel a nova buster trough there, or having the power of the nova buster at a fraction of its mana cost....

>>1298559
>maybe izumi
Yeah I was going to suggest that but figure she already had an armory.

>>1298555
>it's just a focus like the flamebringer
Neither of them are. Maybe they take mana to activate but they do their own thing.

oh, and one thing about skill refinment; we might want to work on the self heal/healing hands if we can. as of now it would be impossible to use unless we were absolutely safe, which is worrying since we don't carry around gear that would patch us up in a jiffy. speaking of we should check out medical options if we havn't already. I really don't know what we have at the home's boxes, shelves, and ourselves, other than the most basic stuff.

>>1298550
don't think so, no.
If we can devise a skill to achive said effects, maybe that will help. if not, or even if we do manage to gain some kind of skill that gives us magnified/nightvision, having mundane gear is still worth it since redundancy and whatnot.

>>1298557
we agreed on a monthly payment. dunno if it's been a month since our first mission though.

>>1298568
of course we can't light stuff up with fire, but iirc at one point we attempted to use shock touch and light the sword up with it. was it at the second mission?

>>1298555
>>1298574
iirc that was just it's own thing, like how the flamebringer can light fire if powered with mana.
you know what? why not ask handler? since we've had it for long we should have at least tested it on how it works on our spare time, we should know what it does; whether if it focuses mana and shoots it out as a laser skill, or an actual equipment that can focus power into a tight beam.

>>1298588
>work on the self heal/healing hands
Yeah we do need to. Finding someone to test on will be fun.

Did we ever ask what Izumi did back at the transport? I mean it's fairly obvious, but still.

After re-reading the skill pastebin, I believe some personal opinions on skill refinement could be useful:

>Magi-blast/beam/wave, power boost
They already do what they are supposed to do, and I really don't see much to improve it unless we can increase it's default power(through refining how we use it or just physical improvement, whatever we come up with/learn) or figure out a way to supercharge it's effects(Nebula blaster is kinda this role for magi-blast/beam, but some kind of middle ground between the two could be useful.) for a decisive, few minutes/uses it would be helpful.

>Hearing boost, Power sense, Zone scanner
information is always good. especially so if it's more detailed. all three of this would be useful if we can extend their range. also, if we can work out a way to constantly maintain and anchor a zone scanner skill on us and extend it's range it could work as a good makeshift radar.

>shock touch, energy channel
if it can't extend it's effects to our equipment then we could try to make it do that as well, other than that not much since it already does what it's supposed to do nicely.

>megaphone
maybe a way to 'throw voice' by modifying this skill could be useful for distraction.

>self heal, healing hands
like I said above, we are really restricted in terms of it's use. easier casting, increased speed of effect, increased mana efficiency, a lot could be useful for this skill.

>Barriers
maybe a weaker, less mana-cost version could be useful for deflecting weak attacks that we are otherwise forced to dodge. we can't dodge in tight spaces, and just relying on power boost is just being careless. should aim to be roughly analogous to how a nebula blaster is to a magi-beam in effect, if we were to do so.

>light trap
like the above, it's kinda overkill in some situations and kinda costly. a toned down version that can be just thrown out everywhere for a cheap cost would be very distracting/annoying for the opposing side.

>sun's flare, flux wave, orbital ring
the nonlethal options. sun's flare is okay, just turns us into a magical flashbang.
you know what? yeah, could be useful if we emit a loud bang when we cast it as well, as that could deafen the victim for a bit(as well as the skill protecting our own eardrums as well). flux wave, we still need to straighten it out a bit, iirc. until we are confident that we can use it well we should practice it a bit. orbital ring can't be improved much and is already doing well so eh.

>Nebula blaster
what else to say? our nuclear option. maybe a method to draw power from nearby sources(be it natural mana, from tools, or willing entities) to overload it could be helpful, but that might not work out well for our safety.


>>1298588
>we attempted to use shock touch
now I'm unsure if it was energy channel or shock touch. let me check the archive...

>>1298619
> Not wanting to upgrade shocking touch into Chain Lightning

>>1298684
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

>>1298684
>Chain Lightning

Now those are words I can get behind.

>>1298684
but the magi- shooty skills already do that job. why toast someone when we can blow them up with a powered up magi-blast?

>>1298736
Because chain lightning jumpes between people. That is what the "chain" part of the name means. Magi blast just blows up on the first thing it impacts. Rather different.

>>1298752
You do realize that we would need to actually figure out how to shoot lightning first, right? Even before we get to the chain part, we need to learn how to shoot lightning and train until we can shoot, then we would figure out how to make it bounce (which might be easier or harder, it could go either way).
Unless you plan on us stauing at the intersection for days, maybe even weeks figuring that out, I suggest to try out the options that would be relatively simple in comparison first.

>>1298752
Oh and hitting multiple people would be less efficient if you just throw a big magi blast to hit all of them. Remember, fully charged magiblast blows up houses. Unless you suggest that we try to figure oit chain ligjtning that chains in a larger area than a household, which would probably be hard to manage.

>>1298779
>hard to manage.
I mesnt hard to manage figuring it out. Sorry realy tired here.

>>1298450
More mundane equipment, like Federation medkits, guns, lock picks and data spikes (for automated hacking, unless our FarSight can do it), non lethal weapons, thermoptic camo cloak.

Check out the FarSight; Sal told us to do it.

Improve our healing magic and get some more utility spells. Maybe look up some magic trainers. Get knockout spells that won't knock us or our allies out when we use them.

Check in on Owlia and Cylica, and other people we know like the vampire librarian.

Get the Flamebringer treated.

>>1298619
I'd actually like to improve our magi-blasts such that they require much less concentration, and we can actively use them while engaged in melee, or else tag a self-homing property onto them similar to Izumi's.

>>1298782
>>1298779
>>1298777
Yeah dude, I can tell you are tired. Because you are getting all defensive and using fallacious reasoning. Having one of our most flexible attacks (taze-to-fry) jump from person to person without obliterating the scenery is a step up from just making a big explosion. The fact that we may hove to put more than one research point into it is no reason to disregard it. Also:

> we could learn chain lightning
> but the magi- shooty skills already do that job
> No they dont
> B-But we would have to learn it! Also, we could just blow everyone up!
Sorry but they are, poor, poor arguments. We are already good at killing people.

>>1298450
can we get info or trivia on the Intersection government?
is there any government?
are there even any prisons? or do they just throw offenders into the void?
how powerful are the beings in charge of the Intersection?
who's the first to arrive to the Intersection when it got built?
who's the oldest immigrant?

>>1298788
I agree with this plan

>>1298808
Okay first off I eever said we should not bother with it, i said we should finish off the skills we would be done in easier or is more needed right now. Like flux wave.
And sevondly you assume that a hypothetical skill will somehow work perfectly as intended. Yes sure if we spent time on it and stuff we would, but remember we have to make a living. Unless we are safe to not go on a few jobs in terms of funds i wont support any time spent here possible. If we have tine yeah sute go ahead but.

>>1298872
>few jobs
Shit i meant few days or weeks but you get what im saying

>>1298788
You're the guy who has been trying to get camo and stuff since last year right

Backing this, it's great stuff to have. I also don't want you to have an aneurysm if we skip it again

>>1299001
I'm not the only one who wanted to get mundane equivalents for most of our magical stuff.
I was disheartened to learn that Miranda has a marked dislike of sniper rifles, since I really wanted to get that Yatamuchy X-3 Countersniper Rifle and a Stigma Rifle.

I mean, the Stigma is considered illegal to own or operate in 3/4 of the galaxy it originated in, even for law enforcement and militaries. That's the kind of ruthless effectiveness that I want Miranda to be known for.

...A bit more to sort through than I expected. Some things I noticed off the bat:

>The Baron's Rapier
It isn't just a focus. It's a straight up amplifier artifact. Baron had shit for magic until he got ahold of it. Basically it overclocks any skill you use when it's in your hand, not just makes it easier to do. It CAN act as a power focus and whatnot, however.

>Upping Skills/Learning New Ones
Absolutely can do this, but don't expect it to just be 'you trained at this and suddenly you're amazing now.' If you're trying to learn something new, its going to be a couple threads before anything comes of it, and you're going to need to train more than once. Flux Wave was always intended to be a 'freebie' because you were halfway there anyway- I'm kinda surprised you didn't work on upgrading it sooner.

Everything else is pretty 'yeah sure why not', unless I missed something. Anyway, I'm gathering up everything for the vote.

>>1299096
Is Miranda's dislike of sniper rifles something that would keep her from getting a countersniper rifle and other long-range solutions?

>>1299096
What format should we suggest skills/abilities in? Just
>Miranda should do xxxxxxx
?

>>1299105
She knows how to use them decently enough and will if requested, but in general she's just not a fan. If a mission comes up where it'd be logically very beneficial to have a sniper rifle (such as an assassination) she'd probably strongly consider it.

>>1299112
> Name- Description, Effects. Depending on how complicated or how powerful it is I'll determine a mana cost for it.

Things to do on break:

>Get weapons Treated.
>Look into an actual welcoming party for Owlica and Cylica. (Will take time.)
>Train (Will require another vote)
>Purchase further long-term supplies.
>Help Lorelei with her new skill.
>Explore the city, just to wind down a bit.
>Other

Of these, what to do today?

>>1299124
>Explore the city, just to wind down a bit
>Get weapons treated
>Help Lorelei with her new skill

We can work on the young blood later.

>>1299124
>Purchase further long-term supplies.
>Get Izumi to come with and offer advice

>>1299124
>Get weapons Treated.
>Train (Will require another vote)
Sooner we start the better.
>Purchase further long-term supplies.

>>1299124
>Get weapons Treated.
>Look into an actual welcoming party for Owlica and Cylica. (Will take time.)
>Purchase further long-term supplies.

>>1299124
In order of priority:
>Look into an actual welcoming party for Owlica and Cylica. (Will take time.)
Everything else isn't as time sensitive, but a welcoming party kinda has to be as soon after arrival as possible.
>Get weapons Treated.
>Purchase further long-term supplies.
Or at least look into costs thereof.

Helping Lorelei is probably pretty important, but not something that can be done with the rest of the day.

>>1299124
>Get weapons Treated.
>Look into an actual welcoming party for Owlica and Cylica. (Will take time.)

Howdy newbies!

>>1298864
Believe I said this in the first thread or so, but The Intersection is ran by a group of Deal-Makers called The Ingenious- so named because they were the ones who first created The Intersection and started all this up. They're a group of six Deal-Makers that oversee all aspects of The Intersection. If everyone in The Intersection are members of a company, these guys are the Board of Directors.

The rules are:
-Don't kill anyone, that's bad for business.
-If you have a problem with someone, take it up with their boss. If it's deemed bad for business, they'll handle it.
-Don't directly interfere with other planes development unless they're giving something equivalent in exchange.
-There are no prisons. 'Jail time' here is 'you get a massive pay dock+you literally pay for your crimes'. The more severe the crime, the more you pay. Murder is phenomenally high, because that's someone else's revenue stream you're fucking with. A lot of potential income due to their work down the drain. Of course, you still need to pay dues, because if you don't...
-You get tossed into the Void.
-The Ingenious are (basically) Omnipresent in the Intersection, but although they're pretty damn god-like, they're not Omnipotent or Omniscient (outside of The Intersection, at least. In it, pretty much.) They CAN see everything that's happening in The Intersection, but that doesn't mean they necessarily notice or care. Just like how you CAN see a tiny any run across a street but that doesn't mean you give a shit unless it crawls over your foot, bites you, and makes you drop the food you just bought. That said, that's why they need the energy from Motes: They want to expand this place, and that's the best way to do it. The scale their power is on is hard to describe, however. I kinda think like the Genie from Aladdin. Semi-Phenomenal, Nearly Cosmic, only less used for jokes.
-A creature named Pheria. A humanoid phoenix character at the end of her many many rebirths. She was the first Outgoer, and is the only creature in The Intersection who holds the legendary, once in an eternity title of 'Retired'. She lives in an area below the Grand Pavilion no one can get to without her explicit permission, is granted clemency from paying dues, and gets seventy-five percent off any service or good she wants, forever.
-The oldest immigrant is a snake of a man called Mal. An extremely powerful and incredibly manipulative and crafty summoner. He refused to accept defeat at the hands of his realm's heroes, and Pheria noticed while on mission. She decided to offer him a deal in the last half-second of his life. He took it. He is now the head of organization of the Grand Pavilion, and his powers have been stripped from him. He still considers it better than what was about to happen to him. (Note: The damage inflicted on him was not Pheria's fault, she simply noticed really late into the beatdown and got an idea.)

Oh dang, I need to write now, apparently. That info dump took longer than I thought!

>>1299124
>Get weapons Treated.
>Look into an actual welcoming party for Owlica and Cylica. (Will take time.)
>Help Lorelei with her new skill.

Also, out of curiosity, can we scan both the Baron's Rapier and our Flamebringer with our FutureSight?

Also Also, any chance we could see the scene where Baron FancyPants learned we got his rapier?

>>1299183
So would chain-lightning be viable?

>>1299285
pls no elemental bullshit. Also if you want to suggest a move to develop just throw that shit out there, Handler gave the format earlier.

Mulling through your mental to-do list, you had a fair bit. First thing on your mind, though, was looking into getting your Flamebringer treated. Maybe some other stuff, too. You still preferred hand to hand combat if you could help it, but you wouldn’t deny that at least the one sword had come in handy. Might be worth looking into keeping around for real.

Next is formally welcoming Owlia and Cylica to the fold. Last you asked, they seemed to have agreed to help out at SES, although what they’d be doing, exactly, was something Sal wouldn’t mention. You presumed they’d be Outgoers, but when you mentioned that, he...demurred, of all things. Strange. Not like Sal, but not like you could really question him. At any rate, you’re pretty sure you could handle that while the blade was getting treated. At least, most of it.

The last thing was always a thing- supplies. You’d used less than expected, but that still didn’t mean you couldn’t look into it. As much as you hated to admit after so damn long, you were starting to see the value in having an armory of sorts. Izumi’d probably love to hear you say that. But, that could hold off for now…

Suddenly, a yawn comes from the hallway, and you soon see Izumi poke her head out, clearly also hungover. “Oh, you’re up before me. Nice to...egh, see for once.” Huh. Seems like she’s not the most eager person in the world when she gets up. Strange, considering earlier on the ship… “Damnit, my head…”

You motion over to the cabinet. “She’s got Intoxiclear.”

Izumi sighs with relief and walks over without another word. Before long, she’s sipping at some warmed up tea and sitting with you. “So a welcoming party?”

“That’s the idea,” you confirm. “Just to make them feel a bit more...well, welcomed. Not like this, I mean.” ABSOLUTELY not. “Just a punch n’ chips affair.”

She nods. “That might be nice. I’ll let Lorelei know later before I go to work.”

Huh. “You got library duty later?” Almost forgot about that.

She nods. “Third shift. I’ll be well enough by then.” Another sip. “We should probably just head out. She won’t be up for a while, I don’t think. Considering how much she drank.” Yeeeah, probably not wrong. You exchange goodbyes, leave a note for Lorelei (which you tape to her forehead) and head out.

cont.

>>1299313
Later, after you’ve properly taken care of yourself and dressed down in a tanktop and jean shorts for once, you decide to get started. First thing’s first, taking Red over to the Crafter’s District. That’s where you got things treated, even IF you think they should be closer to the Outgoer’s District.

The place you end up in is simply called ‘Forever For You- Imported Item Permanancy Treating’. It looks decent enough, nothing too highbrow to cost absolutely everything you own. A smallish one story building, simple and efficient.

The man there is an older sort, heavyset, but fairly jovial. When you show him the sword, he hums a great deal as he inspects it, and puts it under at least three microscopes and two different machines. “Ohhhhh….hmmmm...oh! Ooooooh. Mmmmmmm…”

He does this for at least ten minutes. It’s honestly kind of annoying.

At last he finally seems to finish his assessment, however. “This is a rough one. Inlaid magic, an’ two different TYPES of magics, from two different planes. Hard to sync up here to make ‘em lockstep. Gonna take some time- couplea days just to get it square. Couepla more for the actual treatin’. I couldn’t do it fer less than 25 large.”

Ech, that was half of what you had. The money from Dynamic Method still hasn’t come in yet, though, so...

>You currently have 51.55 Motes.

>Fine.
>No.
>Haggle.
>Other

>>1299239
You can.

>>1299285
Not immediately, but you could work at it.

>>1299317
>>Haggle.
Don't go too low, but this guy's clearly overcharging.

>>1299317
Ask him what the Rapier would cost us.

>>1299317
>Haggle

I don't see what the different planes magic has to do with anything. Not like we won't add more magic onto it.

This is going to be our interdimensional Pokemon.

>>1299317
>Ask about rapier
>Haggle

IIRC Handler said that items wouldn't just... dissolve into us for the duration of the quest, so I gotta ask why we're doing this?

>>1299317
>Haggle.
>If by haggle you mean subtly imply that the commission would be beyond his skill level.
Understood - if it's that complex, we should look for someone more practised with that sort of thing.

In the meanwhile, we do some some other weapons to be treated with less, uh, unique circumstances which might be simpler to treat...

>>1299336
Because he changed his mind.

>>1299317
>Fine.

>>1299324
>>1299336

You frown. You'd heard this stuff was expensive, but. "I was thinking more along the lines of twenty or so."

"Yeah, maybe if it were jus' a burnin' sword, sure!" He laughs, but you can tell it's fake, and it doesn't last very long. "But it ain't jus' the magic, it's gettin' it ta stabilize to the 'section's ways well enough so that you can do it wherever without havin' to worry about natural mana stability anymore! It's not the hardest process, nah, but it's not the easiest, either. Takes patience, y'know. That and a quick hand. Not jus' somethin' anyone can do!"

Sighing, you quickly show him the rapier. "What about this?"

He takes it, and you notice he takes a lot less time to inspect this one. Still does a lot of the ooooohing and aaaahing, though. "This 'un's a lot simpler of a job. I'd say I could knock this out in 'bout two days or so, would only run ya... about 12 large. If'n ya want both together, I'll cut ya a deal, we'll say 32.50 fer the both of 'em? No self-respectin' treater worth his salt'll go below that number."

>Agree
>Disagree
>Haggle (Name a price).

>>1299370
>Agree

>>1299370
>Make it 30 and I'll come back next time I find something interesting.

>>1299370
>Agree

To be extra sure though, We've already payed our dues right?

>>1299370
>Agree
As long as the rapier's treatment can still be modified afterward to accept additional enhancements on top of it afterwards, like what we've done with the sword, instead of having to pay out the nose to undo all his work and get it fully retreated.

>>1299408
Yes.

And sold. Writing!

>>1299417
Also you should be fine.

>>1299370
>>1299395
>>1299408
>>1299447
“Fine.” You get the feeling it won’t get a whole lot better from there, and hand both swords over.

“Not to worry, miss, they’ll be treated right!” He laughs at his own joke. You don’t.

>You have 19.05 motes remaining. Flamebringer will be unavailable for 5 days. Rapier will be unavailable for 2.

Alright. That’ll have to be that for now; it’s just a matter of waiting. Next thing on your list is arranging a welcoming thing for Owlia and Cylica. Wonder where they’re off at? A quick phone call to Sal shouldn’t be out of order…

“Ohhhhh, those two? I sent ‘em off a couple daaaaaays ago to get used to the lay of the laaaaaand. They told me they foooooound a place to stay, but they’ve been spending all their time at the library. Wouldn’t be surpriiiiiised if they were still there.” Yeah, you could see that. “Asking for a reeeeeason?”

“Was thinking about doing a little welcoming thing for them, just to be formal about it.” you tell him. “Make them feel a bit better if they have any lingering concerns.”

“Awwwwwww, how sweet! That’ll dovetail niiiiicely with the little surprise I have for them!” Huh. Surprise? What surprise? “You just tellllll me when you want it to happen and I’ll make sure my schedule’s clear!” Huh. Neat. But now that has you thinking...do you want Sal in on the preparations? He could probably make things go a lot faster if he wanted, but…

...it’s SAL. He’s probably either going to relate it to work or just have something off the wall planned.

>Ask him for help.
>Thanks and hang up.
>Other

>>1299559
>>Thanks and hang up.

>>1299559
>>Ask him for help.
WILD CARD B.B'S

>>1299559
>Thanks and hang up.

>>1299559
>Ask him for help.

>>1299559
>Ask him for help.
It's time to shine baby

>>1299559
>Thanks and hang up.

>>1299559
>Thanks and hang up.

5 minute warning!

We'll handle this ourselves. Writing!

>>1299559
>>1299580
>>1299590
>>1299598
>>1299602
You shake your head, even if Sal can’t see it...or rather could but isn’t paying attention. “Alright, thanks for the info. It’ll be in the next day or so, most likely.” Yeah, no. You’re not letting Sal of all people...things...get into helping plan a party.

“Noooooo problem! See you theeeeen!” Glad he didn’t ask. That would’ve been a bit harrowing. Friendly or not, he’s still your handler and still weird as all getout. Besides, shouldn’t be that hard. Some drinks, some chips, maybe some cake or the like- never been a big sweets eater, but you can make nice about it for one night. In the meantime, though...might as well swing on by the library and see how they’re coming along, if they’re still there.

-------

“Noooooooo!” This was the scene you’d come across after arriving at the library. A struggling little girl, trying desperately to drag a very familiar late-in-their-teens, ashen-faced girl out of the front door trying to cling to everything and anything. To her credit the kid DID seem to be making progress- she’d managed to get her halfway out the doors. “I’m not finiiiiiiished!” Although right now it was the little one that looked more mature…

The kid- Delilah, now you remember her name- was huffing and struggling, but she wasn’t giving up. “I’m- ugh- sorry! Like I said, you- agh, oof- can’t stay in here more than a day at a time! We- augh- we have library cards!”

Owlia stops briefly in her struggles to glare at her impromptu bouncer. “I can’t afford THOSE!”

“They’re only...10 small motes! It’s not that much!” With renewed vigor, she continues her titanic struggle as Owlia continues to wear out the carpeting.

You’re...probably going to have to go over there. Eventually.

>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”
>Let it happen, but... “Where’s the other one?” Maybe Cylica’s up for a talk.
>Just sit and watch. This IS rather amusing.
>Other

Will resume later!

>>1299667
>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”
>Other: You need a loan, Owlia? I can spot you.
She's a co-worker now. It's the nice thing to do.

>>1299667
>>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”

>>1299667
>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”
>Here. I'll spot her. Think of it as a small welcoming gift.

>>1299667
>>Just sit and watch. This IS rather amusing

>>1299667
>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”

She is kind of our problem now.

>>1299667
> help her out
And tell her that Sal is holding her funds.

Mornin' handler.
>>1299096
>but don't expect it to just be 'you trained at this and suddenly you're amazing now.' If you're trying to learn something new, its going to be a couple threads before anything comes of it,
See, told you guys.

>>1299667
>Help her out. “Hey, Delilah, was it? Sorry, but that’s mine. I’ll take it from here.”

>>1299667
>>1299676
>>1299691
>>1299725
>>1299773
>>1299806
>>1299889
Bah, well. She IS a workmate now. Might as well show her what that means.

She doesn’t see you until you clear your throat, and as soon as she does she makes the universal expression of someone who just got caught being naughty. But, you’ll get to her in a moment. For now, Delilah’s looking at you with a mix of curiosity and slight concern. “Hey, Delilah, was it?” She nods. “Sorry, but she’s with me. I’ll handle her from here.”

“Oh, uh, thanks!” She sighs and lets go of the girl unceremoniously, fixing her with what you can only assume is an attempt at a glare. It honestly looks more like a pout to you. “Please come again tomorrow, or, uh, if you have the money for a library card, then...yeah. Thankyouhaveaniceday!” And with that she scurries off back inside.

Owlia just dusts herself off, getting up and walking glumly out of the doorway, which closes with authority behind her. “There was SO MUCH…”

Oy. This girl. “You’ll be fine. I’m guessing you’re broke right now?” She nods, not looking at you. “You need a loan for the time being?”

Her head snaps up. “You’d do that?! But- they said in this place if you didn’t have money for too long-”

“I’ve got enough for the time being.” Mostly true. “If you need a small loan I can give you something until you’re on your feet properly; and if Sal is employing you, then that probably won’t be too long.” You’d hope she’d remember to pay you back…

“Oh, wow, that’d be GREAT, thanks! Especially because some of the stuff I was reading in there about crystal synthesis here was REALLY fascinating, and I’d love to try it myself, but even with my supplies, I’m going to need a few specialized tools here from the looks of things, so-”

Yeah, no. “I’m not giving you my wallet, Owlia. Just enough to keep yourself alive until you start working- which WILL be soon.”

“Of course, of course!” She brushes off your implications. “But anyway, by my calculations, if I budget, I should be able to do fine on 2 Large Motes for the next several day...night...cycles?" Her eyes blank for a second. "Yeah, I’ll just go with cycles. For the next several cycles, if you can spare the expense. It’s all going to furthering crystal development after all! Well...that and food. Food is good.” Hm.

>Give her 2 Large.
>Give her 1 Large.
>Give her (Insert Amount Here)
>Other

>>1302062
>Give her 1 Large.
Food and library card, that's it.

>>1302062
>Give her 1 Large.
Just as an incentive to get on her feet quicker. She can come find us if she needs more. But we'd prefer if she didn't.

Whatever happened to all the stuff they signed over to us before leaving? I'm surprised she's apparently just accepting that it's ours now.

>>1302062
>>Give her 1 Large.
"Focus on getting squared away before returning to research. Research takes money, more than I have to spare."

>>1302069
I thought the money they funneled from their government went into SES pockets, is Sal being a dick or what?

>>1302062
>Give her 1 Large.
I've just had some expenses of my own, so I can't really foot you for your research stuff. Just some food and a library card for now. I can offer you my couch to sleep on for a few days, though.

>>1302062
>Give her 2 Large.

>>1302085
Maybe that money is reserved for their rent and "not being tossed into the Void" tax?

1. Writing!

And the funding thing will be addressed momentarily.

>>1302062
“You get one.” You say.

Her pour returns. “Aw, rats. Well... that’s food at least.”

“What happened to the stuff you signed over?” you ask. You know Sal must have handled it while you were out, but he had said little else about the situations besides that.”

“He’s keeping it withheld as a deposit- and emergency money.” She glumly replies. “Says we’ll get it back after we start earning our own way a bit. Doesn’t want us to blow what we have immediately.” She suddenly perks up, looking to you with a spark in her eyes. “You know, I have this great idea to try some early stuff for synthesis thanks to that little girl, but-”

You just shake your head, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Focus on getting squared away before returning to research. That takes money- more than I have to spare.” A small, despiaring, gurgling noise comes out of her throat, which you largely ignore. “I recently had a few expenses of my own. But I’ve still enough to help- a LITTLE. Now here.” With that, the orb of condensed want floats over to her. “Get yourself that library card, and some decent food. Where’s Cylica?”

>You now have 18.05 Motes remaining.

“Oh, she left to go see firsthand how crystals and other things are constructed here. Said she preferred that to just reading stuff. That was a few hours ago. She said she’d be back later, but…” she shrugs. “Yeah. So I guess I wait here now or something. I hope she’s alright...”

Hm. “Did Sal give you ways to contact each other and him?”

She nods, and holds up a phone. “Hasn’t been answering me.”

She’ll probably be fine, but the folks in the Crafter’s District...well, they weren’t averse to people watching them work...so long as they weren’t in the same business. Rivals trying to peek in on how another company made things was another, VERY delicately handled matter. You don’t THINK that’d she’d be qualified for the latter, but you weren’t sure how they’d take it. But Cylica wouldn’t be so reckless as to try that, would she?

>...yeah, she might. You probably need to get her.
>Nah. She’s a big girl, she can use common sense.
>Other

>>1302214
>...yeah, she might. You probably need to get her.
>Bring Owlia with you. She hasn't much better to do right now, and you may need her in case someone needs to talk sense into Cylica.
May as well. We need to invite both of them anyway. Wasn't that was the point of looking for them?

>>1302214
>Nah.
Come on, let's get you some clean clothes. You've been in those robes for a day or two after fighting in a warzone. Pretty sure they need a wash.

>>1302242
this

5 minute warning!

>>1302214
This >>1302242

>>1302214
>...yeah, she might. You probably need to get her.

>>1302214
>>...yeah, she might. You probably need to get her.
Yeah, she seems like the type to get herself in some trouble here.

Together we ride.

Writing!

>>1302214
...You didn’t like the answer to that question. “Hey, Owlia?” You’re already going back towards Red.

She snaps out of whatever it was that she was thinking about- how she’d lost herself so quickly? “Yeah?”

“Come on.” You motion towards the bike. “Got something I need to tell you both, so you might as well tag along.”

“Oooh! Sure thing!” Without much else fanfare, she hops on, and you’re off. “Any idea where we’re going?”

“Somewhat.” If she was just roaming around somewhere in the Crafter’s District, then chances are she’d get noticed by SOMEONE- her garb wasn’t all that common, you knew. Ideally it wouldn’t take too long, so you could give the news about their little party and be done with it.

“So, how long have you been here?” Owlia asks.

Oh yeah. She didn’t know.“A while. Turning 93 next year.”

“WHAT?!” Yeah, that’s about as expected. The rest of the trip over is spent with you answering basic questions about yourself and dodging questions about your past. Owlia seems intent on learning a great deal about you, but...not like you’re friends yet.

Eventually, you reach the Crafter’s District, and begin the long task of searching through crystal construction businesses. Most of them rebuff you rather quickly, if only because they consider themselves too busy to really have seen anyone or entertained an idea of letting anyone just watch. You DO eventually get a hit, however, when one annoyed craftsworker who overheard you talking to Owlia mentioned that he saw someone fitting her description walking into the warehouse area of Crystalock, one of the crystal designing companies that tended towards more eclectic and fanciful designs of crystals.

It’s not too far from you, fortunately. What you eventually find is a number of people; all of them in white, fullbody safety gear and standing outside of what appears to be one of their warehouses. The way they’re talking says something’s amiss…

“Bullcrap you’re not getting anything out of it- she practically threw herself on you!” One of them yells.

The one this was accused of, a thin, weedy looking fellow with a long face and glasses, glares at the man. “Threw her- what? How the hell did you even come up with that? She PATTED ME ON THE SHOULDER, you paranoid jealous…”

“Look, we gave the challenge, it was confirmed, she accepted, so now we wait. What’s she up to?” A female dwarf asks. She’s got her pink hair tied up and looking at both of them with disdain in her eyes.

“She’s done thirty-two so far.” The first asks.

“Sweet makers, we’re gonna lose so much…” The dwarf lady groans.

>Ask them where Cylica is.
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.
>Ignore workers, just get to looking.
>Other

Will return in a bit. Going out with some friends, getting dinner.

>>1302579
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.
Best get an idea of the situation before butting in. It'd be poor form to interfere in a wager.

>>1302579
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.

>>1302579
>Ask them where Cylica is.
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.

WHAT DID SHE DO?!

>>1302579
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.

>Hey, Owlia... is Cyclia a gambler? That's an awful habit when you are blinked out of existence if you don't pay rent.

>>1302579
>>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.

Stop being such a normie, Handler.

>>1302579
>>Ask them where Cylica is.
>>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.
>>other
Bet 15 large motes thay Cylica's going to defeat whatever challenge they gave her

>>1302646
Don't risk it, might end up rolling for it.

>>1302646
No. We'd be broke.

>>1302680
WORK HARD PLAY HARD

NO RISK NO REWARD

>>1302646
I'd be willing to go up to three at most.

Fifteen is ridiculously dangerous.

Besides, if that bet is going as badly for them as I suspect, I doubt they'd agree to another one.

>>1302691
problem is, the house [b]always[/b] wins. And we aint the house.

>>1302579
>>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.

remember, we don't know her until we know what the fuck is going on.

>>1302579
>Ask them about this challenge they’re talking about.
What in the...

>>1302898
The goobers we're talking to aren't the goddamn house, that phrase refers to the psycological impact of gambling and how to profiteer is always the establishment when gambling is involved.

>>1302988
>psycological impact of gambling
Pretty sure it refers to casinos designing games so that the average is to take more money than the give or for ones with dealer/house has a hand they have a better chance of winning.

>>1303041
That's the scrub-ass surface explanation. Beyond that is the fact that succumbing to the "get rich" mentality of institutionalized gambling is the loss in itself, where no amount of gain can overcome the fact that you're addicted to the idea of winning more money.

This is a bet between regular people, the phrase doesn't even begin to apply.

Suddenly psychology lessons. What next, an analysis of how Miranda suffers from like 3 different psychoses?

>>1302579
>“Bullcrap you’re not getting anything out of it- she practically threw herself on you!” One of them yells.
>The one this was accused of, a thin, weedy looking fellow with a long face and glasses, glares at the man. “Threw her- what? How the hell did you even come up with that? She PATTED ME ON THE SHOULDER, you paranoid jealous…”
>“Look, we gave the challenge, it was confirmed, she accepted, so now we wait. What’s she up to?” A female dwarf asks. She’s got her pink hair tied up and looking at both of them with disdain in her eyes.
Honestly sounds like they are fighting over who gets the girl. Weird.

>>1303090
Not unless somebody's wrong about that specific thing

Back, sorry. Turned into a whole thing. Writing!

>>1302579
What in the world...if she was doing something ridiculous like gambling… “Excuse me!” The three of them jump in shock, looking over to you as you walk up.

It’s the guy you first heard that talks- bigger guy, heavyset, but in a linebacker way. His large brow furrows as he tries to figure out what your issue is. “Hey, uh, sorry, no civilians allowed back here, we-”

You quickly interrupt. “Do you mind telling me what this challenge is that you were talking about?”

The dwarven lady gives you a distrusting glance. “Why ya wanna know?”

...Good question. You're not sure how…

“My fault, sorry!” Owlia quickly interjects. “I saw you guys and she said you were talking about a challenge, and I’m a big fan of crystals, so I convinced her that maaaaybe we could take a looksee over here!” Huh. Quick thinking. You just look at her briefly; her smile’s a bit too wide...it’s actually kinda creepy.

The others seem to think so, too, the two men stepping back a little while the dwarven lady leans away slightly. “Riiiiight...well…” Eventually, she sighs and shrugs. “Heck, we might get our money back. Basically, we’re shapers for Crystalock Developments, and the whole company prides itself on our crystals’ designs and super secret build techniques that lets us get away with the cool designs and still have serious quality. Y’know the company tagline. ‘When it’s Crystalock crystal, you’ll know!’”

Oh yeah. You’ve heard that line before. Kinda dumb.

She snorts. “Well, we’ve had ourselves a runnin’ challenge for some millenia now. ‘The Fifty Crystalock Challenge.’ You got three hours to disable fifty Crystalock crystals, all chosen at random. Rules say you can only use a certain selection of tools in the workshop- same place we build the things. All tools are guaranteed to work. No outside help aside from the tutorial stuff we give ya. If you can trash all of ‘em, we pay you the suggested retail of every single crystal you cracked. You can’t do it, you gotta pay outta pocket for the last crystal you tried to crack.”

“Last couple hundred years, ain’t too many ‘ave tried,” the big guy says dourly, “and the furthest anyone got was twenty-three.”

“But suddenly this girl comes in from out of nowhere,” The lanky guy said, visibly nervous. “Starts askin’ around to speak to a crafter or something, we tell her to buzz off. She starts gettin’ uppity about how good she was with crystals…”

“...and then Mr. Personality here goes and mentions the 50 Crystalock Challenge,” the dwarf says, glaring at the thin man. “She takes it, we think, ‘hey, sucker born every minute, sure.’ We get it all official, aaaaaand…”

“She junked the first one in about ten, fifteen seconds.” The big man finishes.

cont.

>>1303589

The lanky man sighs. “She’s been on a tear since. It was one of the basic ones, sure, but...” He exhales in private wonderment. “Wonder how long she’s been here.”

“It’s just past hour two!” the dwarf complains as she shakes her head. “I dunno how, but somehow she’s figured out a technique. Has to have. No way our production's flawed.”

“Well, she DID slow down a bit on the last two,” the lanky guy notices. “Maybe she’s losing wind?”

>Mind if we go in and see for ourselves?
>Interesting. How confident are you in your motto?
>That’s a shame. Why are you so concerned, though?
>Other

>>1303593
>>Mind if we go in and see for ourselves?
>>Interesting. How confident are you in your motto?
The last one's always some bullshit. Only reason the challenge could stand.

>>1303593
>Why are you so concerned, though?
>Mind if we go in and see for ourselves?
oh. ok. that happened.
dunno if they will let us in though. maybe just spectating is okay?

>>1303593
>That’s a shame. Why are you so concerned, though?
>Mind if we go in and see for ourselves?

>>1303593
>Interesting. How confident are you in your motto?

>>1303593
>That’s a shame. Why are you so concerned, though?
>Mind if we go in and see for ourselves?

>>1303593
>That’s a shame. Why are you so concerned, though?
I don't want to go in there and distract her. That would be a bit of a dick move. Or if they realize we know her they might claim we went in there to help her.

Such despaaaaair!

Writing!

>>1303618
If we fuck over Cylica and by extension SES, at least we'll know which posters to blame.

>>1303766
unless owlia does something stupid, we aren't going to do anything but watch.

>>1303777
>we aren't going to do anything but watch
this was my intention as well. although I wanted to check what's going on we should not do it to a degree that will distract us or look like we're helping us.

Have you passed out again, MGH?

>>1303593
Huh. So she’s wrecking expectations? Can’t say you see the downside, personally. “That’s a shame. But why are you so concerned? Doesn’t affect you, does it?”

“Yes, it DOES.” The dwarf lady moans, her raspy voice sounding sick. “Because losin’ is gonna reflect bad on us, and it’s gonna probably cost us some pay!” At this, Owlia rears back a bit in surprise. Seems like she gets the seriousness of it, at least. “Hopefully not too much, but we always got told that someone finishin’ the challenge would mean that some serious ‘adjustments’ were in order. Don’t even wanna think about what that means.”

“Well, then, I hope you don’t mind if we go in? See for ourselves?” Mumbled grunting is all you get from them, and that’s good enough for you. They don’t stop you when you and Owlia walk past, so yeah. Score.

The warehouse in question is rather large, and connected to the main building off to the left. There’s a small door leading directly to it, however, so no need to have to deal with annoying secretaries.

As you enter, a group of groaning complaints meets your ears, off in the distance. The place is filled with tables with various magitech machinery and tools, set in three long rows. There’s a particular area, however, that seems to be closed off with a white curtain- that’s clearly where the sounds of despair came from- as well as a cocky young, somewhat warbling laugh.

“Bahahahaha! Come now, I don’t believe this is your BEST work, hm? A paltry little cube like that?” Yup. That’s her.

cont.

>>1304104
Being careful to not make too much noise, you and Owlia silently make your way to the back, where along the way you can hear the sound of something twisting, a grinding noise, and some tinking- and another groan-fest. “That’s number thirty-five! Dear me, perhaps I should take a five minute break, hm?”

“Shaddap and keep at it! You ain’t won YET, ya witch!” an older voice yells. “Been keepin’ an eye on alla them crystals! You haven’t even gotten to the real prime stuff yet, I can promise ya that!”

“Oh, how frightening!” You can practically TASTE the insincerity. “A crystal structure that might take me a whole minute to decipher! Scary.”

“Why you…” Okay, okay. You peek your head in under the cloth, to the surprise of several individuals- a handful of workers all in the same all-white garb, and two others looking more business-focused; one seems to resemble some sort of golem, dressed to the nines in a fancy green and black three piece suit, with an ascot. The body itself matches- a slate grey with green lines of energy running across his face and arms in a cracked pattern, with no nose to speak of. Despite that, it just FEELS like he’s watching with a barely restrained irritation down his nose as the upstart known as Cylica does her best to drive him nuts. The other is a younger lady, also in a suit, but clearly human- if it weren’t for the two horns on her head. You can’t see a tail, but…

Regardless, they both watch you wordlessly as she ends her banter with one of the workers- he’d been facing away from her. Without bothering to see who else was there, she immediately turns back to the table she’s seated at, the next crystal in front of her. This one is shaped like a lightning bolt, ruby red in color and brimming with energy. As she begins work on it, all attention is on her again.

Cylica picks it up with a tong-like device, looking it over quickly, turning it this way and that. Suddenly, without fanfare, she picks up a needle-like device with a blue tip and some king of wheel in the middle. She places it in the topmost inner groove of the bolt, and twists the nob. A tiny screech comes out of the device, but nothing seems to happen. Cylica doesn’t seem to look annoyed, though- she quickly puts the tool down and picks up another device that resembles a baster to you. She takes off the top of the knob, exchanging it with another similar one on the side, and then twists that knob as well. She places it flat against the side of the crystal, and pushes. There’s a sudden *crunch* from the crystal as it cracks, right along the groove she’d did something to earlier. The entire thing took seconds. “And thirty-SIX.”

And there’s more groans. “This is humiliating…” one unfortunate young worker mutters to himself.

>Get Cylica's attention.
>Talk to one of the workers.
>Leave her to her work in peace.
>Other

>>1304002
I did. I'll be back later tomorrow.

>>1304111
>>Wait for her to finish the challenge.

>>1304111
>Talk to one of the workers.
>Refrain from getting Cylica's attention until she's fully done.
There's a chance that distracting Cylica might throw her off her groove, waste a few crucial seconds, or allow the workers to cheat somehow, and unfortunately for these workers, this challenge is not something we can financially afford for her to lose.

>>1304111
>>Talk to one of the workers.
Hey, if she's that good at figuring out those crystals, regardless if she wins or loses, maybe you could offer her a job designing crystals for you.

>>1304111
>>Leave her to her work in peace.
Yeah, I'm fine with this. Good on you, Cylica, finding some people to underestimate you.

>>1304111
>Talk to one of the workers.
Don't worry about it. I'm sure she will be willing to consult with you on how to improve your products. She won't be running the company in a week or anything.

>>1304111
>Talk to one of the workers.l
Whatever we do, we MUST NOT distract her unless necessary!

>>1304111
>Talk to one of the workers
let's convince them to hire Cylica, to improve their products or so.

also, as much as I want Cylica to win I want to knock her down a peg or two, her slight arrogance is going to be a headache to work with.

>>1304111
>Talk to one of the workers.

> Get owlia to provide a running smug commentary on her GFs successs

>>1304289
>slight

>>1304328
eh, I was being generous.

>>1304289
I want to add to my vote:
If Cylica completes their challenge, convince the workers to get their best crystal maker with the superior experience and knowledge present to challenge Cylica to defend their pride as being really good at making magical rocks. which can be a humbling and enlightening experience for both participants IMO.

>>1304111
>>Leave her to her work in peace.

>>1304111
>>Leave her to her work in peace.
Do you guys have fucking ADD? Just shut up and leave there is nothing we can possibly gain from speaking now that would be worth distracting her.

Seriously

>>1304111
>Leave her to her work in peace

>>1304158
Wait what why do I have the second option selected
I meant to choose the third one

>>1304111
>Leave her to her work in peace.
Do not fuck this up for her.

It's REALLY late but I'm alive! Anyone else?

>>1306301
Yo! Salutations, Handler!

Don't die on us!

>>1306301
I'm here, but I'm going out in a little bit to the convenience store for cheap carbs. Be back soon!

>>1306303
Not dead, was just spending the day with family, and a traffic jam caused me to get back later than I'd hoped.

>>1304111
>>Leave her to her work in peace.

>>1306301
Before I go, can I suggest talking with the workers OUTSIDE of the tent?

We get to talk to the workers, and Cylica can continue in peace.

>>1306338
People would normally have to back it...

>>1306372
>>1306338
Fine by me. As long as we don't bother Cylica while she's in her element.

Sold enough. Writing for talking to people Owlia can be smug towards. Or something.

>>1304111
Well. You have to admit, it’s impressive stuff. The faces of despair everyone seems to be making (save for the rich looking folks, who seem to be slightly enraged instead) is honestly kinda funny. A couple of them simply shake their heads and walk out of the tent area, clearly unable to take this anymore. Was their fault for putting up such a challenge in the first place, so they had no one to blame but themselves. Another one falls, and you look at one of the younger workers looking like he’s about to cry.

Owlia just looks smug as all getout, like she’s just been vindicated on all her inventions and called the best genius to ever live. Must be nice.

If she’s doing so well, however, you’d rather not interrupt her, even if it DID look like she could probably take a quick lunch break, come back, and still finish in time. Instead you head outwards, figuring to leave her be for now as- “Thirty-Seeeeeven!” -yeah, that. You can’t say you’re not curious what they might be thinking of this, though.

Several of the walkouts are kind of just milling around, in particular one of them back at his workstation and looking over a what seems to be a small glass container, in it a translucent outline of what looks to be a diamond-shaped crystal, held together by a number of clamps, with what seems to be some glowing stripes on the inside of the clamps themselves. They pulse as the clear crystal does as well, giving off a soft white glow as it does.

Another is just grumbling to himself as he leans back on his chair. He’s got what looks to be a finished crystal yellow that reminds you of a rose, with a great number of petals on it. It’s transparent, but otherwise looks very stylish.

The dwarven lady is back in as well, face still a grimacing frown as she stomps back to her station, the other two also slinking back in.

>Talk to the diligent man.
>Talk to the grumpy man.
>Talk to the dwarven lady.
>Other

>>1306564
>>Talk to the dwarven lady.
"Do the rules mention anything about offering employment to the winner, or perhaps letting them design a crystal of their own design to be sold by the company?"

>>1306564
> talk to the diligent man
Ask if they are learning anything from this demonstration. Surely to get this much feedback in one go is a valuable experience.

>>1306564
>>Talk to the diligent man.
Can she get a job out of this or something?

This guy seems like the least pissed of the three...

>>1306564
>>Talk to the dwarven lady.

5 minute warning. A bit late, but I figure to be fair about it.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

I'll have to flip for it.

1: Dwarf
2: Diligent.

Dammit im late

>>1306564
>>1306592
>>1306594

The man overlooking his current work seems to be the most...stable, to talk to. Might as well see about him. He’s got an elongated face, reminding you of a goat. No horns, however. He barely gives you a glance as you and Owlia approach, but the frown on his face tells you he at least notices. “So, word’s gettin’ out, huh? Just great…you know people are going to start talking like suddenly our stuff is trash.”

“Well, I mean…” Owlia tries to start saying something, but she’s quickly interrupted as the man checks some meter, then twists a knob that causes the stripes to glow more.

“She’s got a lotta nerve just waltzing in here. Didn’t even go through the front door! Acting like she owns the place...” He grumbles, but it tapers off as her continues to check his instruments and systems.

“Well, on the plus side, you gotta be learning something from this,” you offer.

He snorts, and although you can’t see him roll his eyes, you can sense it. “Sure, right. We’re learning that some upstart apparently got lucky and figured out a flaw in our development system. Probably a faulty toolset or something. Unique;y made crystals shouldn’t all be breakable like that! But here she is, showing us all up. Bleh.”

“Think she’ll get a job from this?” The man pauses, and looks towards you. You just shrug. “Just sayin’. Seems like something the right people would be impressed for.”

He just stares at you briefly. “Ugh. I hope not. I’ve worked with those smarmy, too-good-for-you types in the past. Pains to the last of ‘em.”

“Hey, she’s not a pain!” Owlia interjects. “She’s really smart, obviously, she’s just logical, and not afraid to show just where people fall short!” She folds her hands as the man looks at her. “If she thinks your work is bad, she’ll say so. If she thinks it’s good, she’ll say so. She just doesn’t sugar-coat it!”

His mouth makes a face like he just bit into something sour. “Cute. What, you know her then?”

Cylica’s jubilant cry interrupts you. “Forty! Shall we prepare the parade now or later?”

The man just motions to the area as he fixes you with a flat stare. “See what I mean?”

Owlica refuses to answer.

There’s a few minutes of silence, simply looking around the area, before you turn to her. She’s clearly taking it all in, analyzing every piece of work that’s sitting on a table or anything the non-gawking employees are doing. Girl looks like she’s in heaven by the ways her eyes practically sparkle.

>Thinking about applying, yourself?
>Is Cylica always like this? Willing to wager, I mean.
>All things considered, you should be in high demand, here.
>Enjoying the city so far?
>Other

>>1306805
>Enjoying the city so far?
>Is Cylica always like this? Willing to wager, I mean.
>Thinking about applying, yourself?
In that order.

>>1306805
>Enjoying the city so far?
>Is Cylica always like this? Willing to wager, I mean.

>>1306805
>Is Cylica always like this? Willing to wager, I mean.
>Enjoying the city so far?

>>1306805
>All things considered, you should be in high demand, here.
>>Enjoying the city so far?

>>1306805
>Is Cylica always like this? Willing to wager, I mean.
>Enjoying the city so far?

5 minute warning.

Does she have a problem? There's helplines for that.

Writing!

>>1306805
>>1306839
>>1306841
>>1306845
>>1306869

It’s interesting to see her gawk, but looking back at the tent, you frown slightly, something pinging in your head. One of the first things she does is go and wager her skills against money in a place where having money is paramount and not having it is a fate worse than death. You’re not exactly keen on that. “Hey, question.”

She shakes like she’s waking up suddenly, looking over to you. “Oh, sorry. Hm?”

“Is Cylica always like this?” It’d be something you’d have to nip in the bud sooner than later.

She just raises an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Willing to wager things,” you explain. “It might’ve been alright before, but here, it’s pretty damn reckless to be willing to do that.”

“Cylica’s just confident,” she waves off. “And she still kinda feels like she needs to prove she won’t be...y’know, helpless.”

“Helpless?” That’s not exactly the vibe you’d gotten from her.

“Yeah, helpless.” Owlia nods. “She’s a real good talker, but she’s constantly been worried about barely scraping by here. I can only guess she figured she’d try to handle something she considered herself good at and make a quick payday in the meantime for us.” She hums. “She’s really sweet like that. But yeah, you’re probably right in that she can’t keep doing that. But hey, it seems to be working out right now!”

“Right now, yes,” you acknowledge, “but that shouldn’t be a common thing if you want to survive here. She got lucky. She might not- PROBABLY won’t- a second time for a long time.” Well, you didn’t know yourself, but it could be the case.

Fortunately, Owlia agrees with you. “I’ll be sure to talk with her later. Probably once she gets done with this.”she turns back to the tent, where suddenly there’s been a bit of murmuring. Not groans, just murmurs.

You nod. So long as she took responsibility… “Fair. Enjoying the city, that aside?”

“It’s AMAZING!” Owlia suddenly gushes, getting glances from everyone nearby. She quickly quiets up. “I mean, all the strange beings, all the technology, all the-the everything! I’m having to stop myself from marveling all the time! I know I haven’t even STARTED to explore yet!”

You nod. “You really haven’t. Do me a favor, don’t get caught in the Festival District trap like most do.”

Owlia raises a ragged eyebrow. “Huh. I was told about that. Did-”

“HA! FINALLY!” Huh? That wasn’t Cylica. “Lil’ Miss Knows Everythin’ Crystals finds ‘erself stuck as rice in a pot!” Oh dear. The both of you give each other a look, before quickly heading back to the tent.

cont.

>>1307087
Cylica has her head in one hand, spinning a glowing stylus-like device in the other, as she gazes down at a crystal disdainfully- it’s purple, with a twisted spiral center, a myriad of spikes sticking out the top and the bottom in a spread flare pattern. Her brow is furrowed, her lips are pursed, and literally everyone is smiling but her, you and Owlia. “If’n ya can’t handle this ‘un, no shame in callin’ it quits, gal.” It’s the older man from before, his voice sickly sweet and clearly patronizing. “Can’t say that forty-five is a bad number ta drop it on, nosiree!”

“Quiet, you.” Cylica mumbles. “I’ve got all of forty minutes left. This is just a hiccup.” She refuses to take her eyes off the stone as she pokes it with the stylus, each time the tip glowing as pressure is applied.

“Ey, whatsamatta, can dish it out but can’t take it? Aheheheh!” The old man’s clearly having a blast.

“Oh no…” Owlia mumbles-

-and Cylica jolts, looking up, and directly at Owlia, jaw dropped. “Oh no…” She rapidly looks back from Owlia to the crystal a few times, as the others stare at you in newfound curiosity. The judges, notably, have a particularly imperious frown on their faces that makes your hackles rise.

>Roll 1d20, best of three.
>Say anything?

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>1307089
> We believe in you!

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>1307089

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>1307089
No words, just a nod and a thumbs up.

>>1307089
>>*Thumbs up*

>>1307089
>I expect nothing less from you than perfection. This is nothing.

>>1307089
Nah. Just look at the crystal.

It is only through challenge that we can improve ourselves.

Writing.

>>1307089
Don't say a goddamn thing. The judges are already looking for an excuse to declare this as outside interference and disqualifying Cylica.

Goddamnit, Owlia, why couldn't you keep your fucking mouth shut.

>>1307089
You don’t say anything, just give her a slight nod and a thumbs up. The judges’ heads both snap to each other, looking at each other briefly, and there’s the sense they’re having a rather intense wordless conversation. Owlia looks at you with concern, opening her mouth in a wordless question, before she closes it, shaking her own head.

A few moments pass, with the golem and horned lady talking, and Cylica staring at the crystal, before you catch the subtlest of head shakes from the golem man before they both return to watching Cylica properly. There’s some grumbles from the crowd, but no one says anything else. Fortunately, she doesn’t seem to notice any of it- or if she does, she makes no sign of such.

It takes a full ten minutes of prodding, poking, and subtle measurements using one instrument that resembled a combination of a sextant and temperature gauge before an eyebrow raises in curiosity. She gentle, tenderly takes hold of the crystal, flipping it upside down so that it rests on its longer spikes. She then grabs a second tool, the stylus again, in one hand, and the strange baster thing in another- she again changes out the top knob for something else- it resembles a golf ball with a hole in it. Affixing the accessory, she holds it on the top, or rather bottom, of the crystal, its opening flush with the bottom centerpoint of the crystal. She gently, ever so gently presses down on it, while applying pressure to an outer edge of the crystal with the stylus, the tip glowing brightly. At first nothing seems to happen…

But then she starts slowly rubbing the crystal along its length, up and down, up and down. Slowly at first, but faster and faster as she applies more pressure on the bottom of the crystal. Then, slowly, increasingly, you begin hearing a strange noise, like a whining. The sound increases as Cylica’s rubbing gets faster, and faster, until her hand is a blur, the crystal itself is shaking profusely; then there’s an earsplitting screeeeeeech-

And the crystal explodes, immediately getting screams out of everyone as it forces all present, save for the two judges, to cover themselves from the high velocity shards. You’re far enough away you can quickly turn your head to avoid any damage to your eyes; you hear a whump and a yell as Cylica falls over, clearly having taken the brunt of the damage. True, she’d worn safety goggles, but as for the rest of her…

“Ugggh…” a groan from her signals her yet conscious state as she clambers back up to the table- you can clearly see a few streaks of red on her face, but even as she bleeds she’s smiling. “Forty-SIX. Give me the next one.”

cont.

>>1307375
As the rest of the onlookers slowly uncover themselves, no one heeding her words, Cylica scowls. “Come now! A little explosion like that!? Get me the NEXT ONE!” The stares that meet her are incredulous.

“...very well.” The golem states. He seems entirely unperturbed- for good reason, you suppose. He didn’t seem to have moved at all, and the lady by his side simply plucks a few shards off her immaculate red business jacket, saying nothing, but looking at you and Owlia in particular.

The crystal next placed in front of her resembles a fancy pair of crossed swords. Those are broken in two minutes.

The next, reminiscent of a bomb, ironically enough. That one was done in forty-five seconds.

Number forty-nine, to the horror of everyone, was laughed at and disabled in eight seconds. “It stands to figure that a weakness of an ice-cream shaped crystal is at the cone.” You didn’t laugh, but it was close. It wasn’t even a funny line, it was just how self-assured she said it.

And at last, number fifty. You can see the sweat fly- not on Cylica’s face, mind you. On everyone else’s. Even the golem. You weren’t sure how that was possible.

It was a simple, five pointed star crystal. But apparently it had been EXCEPTIONALLY solidly made. She doesn’t even try to crack it after an initial attempt or two, merely looking over its construction, conducting measurements, and even rubbing it with the stylus again. You’re kind of left wondering (and worrying) if it’s not doable, as everyone waits with baited breath.

“...you have fifteen minutes remaining.” the golem says. There’s a thin smile on his lips now. It only grows wider as Cylica sighs and puts the star crystal down, looking up at him. “Admitting defeat?”

She says nothing.

“Well, my apologies, but those ARE the rules,” the golem says with a snake’s smile. “If that’s the case, then that’s the Numeria Grand Crystal, one of our most exquisite pieces, and will cost you-”

“-nothing.” Cylica’s smiling.

The golem is not. “Come again?”

“It will cost me nothing, because despite your attempts at last minute adjustment, there's yet a flaw.” Cylica explains, grinning all the while. She then grabs the baster thing from earlier, as well as a new instrument- it reminds you of a sextant, somewhat, only split down the middle, allowing it to clasp to objects. She does so on the crystal, and turns the knob on the baster as she flips a switch on the other device, a lens inside it lighting up and pulsing, the crystal soon matching said pulse. The two judges look incredulous and surprised, not to mention disbeliving-

-which turns into horror when after another five minutes of this, she turns it off...and then ever so gently presses one tip of the crystal against the table edge.

It snaps cleanly, the mana inside bursting out in a rush.

And so there is chaos loosed in the building, and amidst it, the smiling Lord Cylica. Proud and satisfied.

A respectful grin crosses your face. "Think this calls for a party."

>>1307386
CALL UP THE BAD BITCHES

TELL 'EM IT'S ALL ON CYLICA

>>1307386
Oh boy.

>>1307386
Whelp

>>1307375
>But then she starts slowly rubbing the crystal along its length, up and down, up and down.

>Slowly at first, but faster and faster as she applies more pressure on the bottom of the crystal.

>And the crystal explodes

Uh... are you trying to tell us something, MGH?

>>1307476
>and Cylica jolts, looking up, and directly at Owlia, jaw dropped. “Oh no…” She rapidly looks back from Owlia to the crystal a few times

>>1307476
What? Am I missing something?

>>1307386
congrats, enjoy your victory Cylica.
until your inevitable humbling, I guess?

>>1307386
You had to admit it, the gamble paid off.

That didn’t stop you from giving her a bit of a dressing down for making such a risk. The number of motes she got out of it...really REALLY helped, though. 95.30 motes really does help a lot. Owlia straight planted one on Cylica in her victory.

And the end result, aside from a steamingly furious Crystalock company, is yourself, Owlia, Cylica, Lorelei, and Izumi all celebrating more than one occasion at your apartment after a rapid-fire organization and purchase of some foodstuffs and drink.

Oh, and Sal’s there, too. Of course. He’s stuffing his face with cake.

“These funds will go towards the financing of my own crystal development workshop,” she answers without missing a beat. Lorelei had asked her intentions with the money- or rather ‘Whatcha gonna do with all that good stuff?!’ “It was a bit of a ‘desperation dream’ for myself and Owlia, I’m no longer ashamed to admit. We said once or twice that should everything in Mageria go awry, we would flee, change our names, perhaps our faces somehow, and live out small, meager lives proprietors of a small shop, in more crystal-tolerant communities.” She looks around. “Obviously, then you lot came along.” She leaves the rest unsaid, although you do spot a slight scowl on her face.

Lorelei just pats her on the back. “Ey, relax! Miranda saw you had skills, and hey, you gotta admit- you’re already doing just as much here as you were back there!”

“In...due time, I suppose,” she acknowledges. “I can certainly see the potential of this mysterious land.”

“That still will not last you forever,” Izumi notes. “And you’ll need more than that to begin a business here, I’ve no doubt. Have you considered what you might consider doing to build up funds in the meantime?”

Owlia and Cylica look to each other, shrugging. “Well, we mutually agreed to work here for the time being. However, with this lovely windfall, that may be less time than I anticipated. Still...I suppose it is a question that yet needs answering.

“Toooooo right!” You didn’t even see Sal come up. “The soooooooner the better! Of course, you already know myyyyyyyyy recommendations...”

Everyone looks to Cylica and Owlia in question. Cylica’s the one that responds. “We were given a recommendation of Outgoer trader work, Outgoer mercenary work like yourselves, or training in business relations with other companies around The Intersection. Sal seems to think we could do well in any of those areas. We’ve yet to pick, so we’re open to suggestions.”

cont.

>>1307520
Izumi hmms. “The life of a Outgoer trader is a noble one. You can see many sights without having to risk your life, and discover many different technologies at your leisure- I imagine that would be appealing to you.”

“Yeah, but it’s boooooring!” Lorelei laments. “You wanna actually do anything fun, you gotta get your hands dirty! You two got all that cool crystal power, right? I say use it! Sides, chances are you’ll have one of us by your side for your first couplea jobs! I wouldn’t mind goin’ on a couple of milk runs after what we just went through...no offense.”

Cylica just grunts, turning to you. “What about you? Any suggestions in particular?”

Well, Outgoers in general got paid more than people working in The Intersection. The risk factor was big.

>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.
>Mercenary work pays the best, if you want to get out on your own sooner. Dangerous, but worth it if you got the skills.
>If you want to start your own business here, don’t see a reason to not start on it early. Might not get the money quick, but it’ll be safe and steady.
>Other

>>1307515
In time. Especially if the dice decide it so.

>>1307523
>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.
Traveling crystal saleswomen.

>>1307523
>>Mercenary work pays the best, if you want to get out on your own sooner. Dangerous, but worth it if you got the skills.
She's too hungry right now. Needs to get out some of that lust for conquest while it's still there.

>>1307523
>>Mercenary work pays the best, if you want to get out on your own sooner. Dangerous, but worth it if you got the skills. And you can bring whatever weird, exotic technology you find out there.

>>1307523
>>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.
>Other
Wouldn't mind if you'd like to try out mercenary work every once in a while, though.

>>1307523
>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.
You could transition this into you own company too. (Although I don't see why it would be hard to start one here, they must already have a hell of a reputation>)

These two are fresh out of a idealogical crusade against what they saw as a lacking system. I don't think they are ready to be thrown into random mercenary jobs. And if they pick and choose they won't be making much money, much like Izumi.

>>1307496
Not sure if serious or not but...
>>But then she starts slowly rubbing the penis along its length, up and down,
>>up and down.
>>Slowly at first, but faster and faster as she applies more pressure on the
>>bottom of the balls.
>>And the penis cums

Done for tonight. Will run tomorrow- Intermission should be over by then.

>>1307570
Night, MGH. See you around.

File: 1423270697798.jpg (47 KB, 340x259)

47 KB JPG

>>1307523
>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.
I dunno if she would do well doing mercenary work.

>>1307559
Oh. I thought the crystal in question was just shaped like a spiky diamond with just a few swirly bits.

>>1307523
>>I’d say go with trader work. It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first.

then transition to

>>If you want to start your own business here, don’t see a reason to not start on it early. Might not get the money quick, but it’ll be safe and steady.

It'll allow you to learn the trade and supply system quickly, which you'll need to start your business as well as obtaining rare crystals for study

>>1307550

This guy.

They did quite well, all things considering, so they should at LEAST try mercenary work a couple of times.

That arogance is still a problem, and so is hoot's curiousity.
If we can, we should ALL go on a mission together. Might be fun.


Finaly having caught up, I can say that I'm looking forward to our next deployment.

>>1307523
>You might want to set up a business while doing trader work- competition is cutthroat here but I don't think anyone will frown upon corporate espionage outside. There's two of you, take turns.

>Mercenary work pays well, but do you really want to go back to fighting for and against one stupid ideology after another? Sometimes you have to play the bad guy.

Starting in an hour!

It takes a bit of mulling over as they look at you expectantly, but eventually you make a decision. “I’d say go with trader work.” Lorelei immediately groans, while Izumi looks slightly smug. “It pays decent enough, from what I know. And there shouldn’t be anything you can’t handle at first. You could probably transition that into eventually working on your own company, too, all things considered. Knowing what’s desired and what isn’t by the folks around here, I mean.”

“Can’t say it wouldn’t be nice to not have to worry about fighting all the time.” Owlia muses. “Maybe I can sell any crystals I make in my spare time for new technology!”

Cylica seems a bit less eager. “The ways of commerce aren’t unknown to me, as ruler of Ferrosia. I suppose it would be a bit more personal, but similar.”

Next thing she knows, Sal’s nearly wrapped around her, a big grin on his barely-euclidean face. “Weeeeeell, so long as you bring back good stuff, there’ll be nothing for you to worry about! Not to worryyyyyyyyy, I’ll run you through all the particulars.” A warbling on his foreheard you only presume to be his version of an eyebrow waggle, and he’s gone again. Cylica and Owlia just stare wide eyed.

“Does he...is he always that, uh…” Owlia just looks between him- yet again stuffing his face with cake (it’s almost halfway gone now) and you.

You nod, sadly. “Pretty much.”

Lorelei shrugs. “You get used to it.”

Owlia just frowns. “Oh, boy.”

----------

The next day finds you in the OTC- Outgoer Training Clinic. It’d been...a LONG time since you’d last been here, but Izumi insisted the lot of you go, if only for the sake of showing the two newbies around. Well, that, and ‘Every Outgoer needs to have able self-defense capabilities. It’s only reasonable.’ You couldn’t disagree. That, and the two needed to get a license. The OTC was where you did it. They’d be classified as ‘Couriers’, not Enforcers, but they’d still have to pass some tests…

“Is this really necessary?” Cylica complains as she fills out a computerized form on a touchscreen. “I’m rather certain my abilities would grant me sufficient defense in a state of emergency. Owlia as well is more than physically capable of combat.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know that,” Lorelei says. “And if ya want one o’ those neat ID cards with all the nice perks like actually gettin’ to go places, you gotta take the tests.”

Cylica sighs. “Very well. Owlia, dear?”

Owlia leans back. “Just finished.” They both press send, and the wolf-like lady at the desk nods at them both. “Testing rooms are in the hallway behind me, go through the double doors. Ms. Cylica is expected in room 2A, Ms. Owlia in room 2B. NO other individuals are allowed nearby during testing. Good luck.”

“Wait, how long will this take?” Owlia asks.

“Average test time is two hours.” the receptionist says without missing a beat.

“Good luck, you two!” Lorelei says.

“I’ve every confidence.” Izumi says.

>Anything to say?