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Kae: “To friendship then!”
You lift the vial to your lips and start to take a sip, Loki/Oak places his finger on the other end and tilts the vial forcing the mead down your throat faster then you had expected. You shoot Oak/Loki a sharp glance as the liquid burn your throat, but he and some of your new friends are already laughing at your expense. After a moment you join in, “I guess it was kind of funny...”

[Kae is now officially [Drunk]; your [INT] and [DEX] are reduced, and you are operating outside of the normal scope of Kae's personality.]

As the day progresses into night you never leave the tavern but instead spend it with Loki and the ever growing party of new friends. You try to ease back on the drinks but Loki manages to trick you into drinking two more shots as the night goes on. As time progresses the shots you already had work their way through your system and increase your intoxication. Every time you look over at Loki he seems to be getting drunker and drunker himself, clapping his hands together like a seal sporting a wide grin across his face. He seems to reveal in the attention he gets every time he tells a story. You eventually get drunk enough to even do some table top dancing with the assistance of the bar maid. Not one to be upstaged Loki produces a long cylinder from one of his packs and places it up to his lips; music flowed much to everyone delight...

Oddly enough, no matter how much fun you are trying to have your mind keeps drifting back to Jackson. Even thought he is not with you, he seems to still walk circles all over your mind. God why are you thinking about him now? Should you even continue with him? You should right? He is so dangerous and mean and... you really do like that about him, maybe... Thinking about him is making you crash hard and Loki notices.
Loki: “whats wrong free bird? You look down down down”
Kae: “Its nothing, forget it”
He shakes his head, clearly disappointed
Loki: “free bird, free bird, freeee bird, you cant lie to Loki. Tell us your sorrows”
Kae: “I thought your name was Oak?”
Loki claps his hands together and smiles wide
Loki: “Did I? That was before we were such good friends you see. I am indeed Loki, now tell your good friend Loki your sorrow”
Oddly enough you do, you tell him all about Jackson. Loki just nods his head and rolls his eyes at you.
Loki: “A simple matter, you should leave him.”
Loki wraps his arm around your waist again but this time you don’t mind it, he whispers in your ear.
Loki: “After all, you got me now.”

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Its at this point you finally realize your not right. Something is off about you but what? You look around the tavern and see its not only you, its everyone. Loki, your new friends, and even you have been poisoned. You look down at the empty vials in front of you and realize that everyone here has poisoned themselves on purpose... If you were sober maybe this epiphany would have had some effect on you, but drunk Kae doesn’t mind at all; you are finaly starting to fit in someplace and you don’t want that to end. In fact you start to snuggle up to Loki... Sober Kae found Loki kinda annoying, but drunk Kae thinks hes kinda “cute”. All this fun is his creation after all, there is something to be said about a guy who can create excitement.
Just as you start to get comfortable Loki springs up out of his chair and starts to get everyone's attention.
Loki: “Friends, friends, tonight has been wonderful. You have all been great listeners but its now time for the main event”
Tavern Patron: “More dancing?”
Loki: “im afraid not, but I got something much much better. My dear friend Kae is about to tell us a story of her latest hunt”
all eyes turn to you, looks like Loki has really put you on the spot here
Kae: “I-im not supposed to tell that story...”
Loki: “And just who told you that? Your master? was I fooled into believing that you are a free bird..?”
Loki is not alone, he has the backing of the entire tavern as they goad you on.
[drunk] Kae: “weeeelll... ok”

Your tale starts easy enough, you try to imitate Loki in your story telling and it seems to work. As you get more and more into the story so does every one listening. You talk about the town, then the mayor, then Jackson, then the trails and the tracks. Everyone around you listens intently at your tale of heroism and daring. Then you say it, the information that you were holding back to increase the, As loki would say, “dramatic effect”.

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Kae: “And thats when I saw her, The [/i]witch[/i]”
the moment the words leave your mouth the atmosphere in the tavern changes, not that a drunk Kae would notice. Then you start to describe her skeletal guard, and the pit, and the creeping darkness. One by one the other patrons slip away from the table, you are starting to lose them but your unsure why. So you go into deeper detail like Loki suggested but its doesn’t seem to help. No one is enjoying your story except Loki himself who seems ecstatic, he claps his hands brays like a hyaena; hes on top of the world. You never get to the part where Jackson crushes the womans skull, your audience is gone and you cant help but feel despair.
Loki: “Don’t feel so bad free bird, I thought the story was wonderful” .
Youre not so sure, it seems the once vibrant party has transformed into hushed packs of people standing away from you with looks of disdain on their faces. Your survival instinct starts to itch in the back of your brain, its telling you that its time to leave.
Loki who has taken his place again by your side rubs his face on yours like a cat
Loki: “Forget these mice, come up to my room. I want to show you something” .

>what do?

>>2593338
Ask him to bring whatever it is down to you instead.

Also, welcome back, QM.

>>2593338
It has been described that Kae really wants to go now, but I imagine she would still be very curious what this "something" is
So ask Loki if he could meet us somewhere tomorrow and show it then
Great to have you back by the way journer

Nice to see you back QM

>>2593338
Ask him why everyone else didn't like the story. It seemed like we were really getting the hang of this storytelling stuff.

Also follow him and ask what he wants to show us.

Say, wasn't Jackson supposed to meet us here? Its getting late isn't it?

>>2593338
Loki told us to tell our story, and now nobody here likes us. It's all his fault and he should know it! Rant at him!

>>2593338
Go up to his room.

>>2593389
Seconding

>>2593350
>>2593387
>>2593435

any combination of these, anything but going up really

>>2593596
Yeah. Lets not follow date rape randy up to his room.

>>2593338
Follow him up, but dont forget our survival instinct

>>2593338
Don't go with him, ask for whatever it is to be brought down. If it's so good I'm sure it'll lighten the mood with your new friends

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>Loki thinks he's tricking us into sexy time
>when he wakes up the next day all his valuables are gone

>>2593596
This really.

We will not go up, we are waiting for jackson and he will not find us up there

>>2593596
Got my support

>>2593596
Yeah, why not.

>>2593435
this
ha!

seriously, they all got so bummed out.

>>2593389
I like this one.
Glad to see this is back!

>>2593639
voting for this

wtf is this gay as shit? If your post in this fourm your wrong. GET BACK IN /B where you belong!

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You ignore his invitation completely, acting as if you didn’t hear.
[vsDrunk:Success] Kae: “What happened? Why did everyone leave? I thought I was doing really well...”
Loki suddenly seems very lucid.
Loki: “Were you? Hmmm, the subject matter probably. People don’t take very kindly to the occult, in fact I think they burn people at the stake for that”.
Loki tilts his head to one side
Loki: “those that hunt it are just as bad I hear. tsk tsk, so ungrateful”
[vsDrunk:Fail]Kae: “W-what?”
Loki looks down at you with cold eyes
Loki: “These people probably want to rip you apart now, or worse. Hmmmm, I may have gotten them quite drunk. Oops”
[vsDrunk:Success]Kae: “You set me up, why? I thought you wanted to be my friend”
you reach out to grab a hold of Loki's shirt [DEX:Fail] but find nothing but air, you almost stumble right out of your chair. Loki must have countered and sent you spinning, or is it the room thats spinning? You’re really paying compound interest for the drinks you had now.
Loki: “I AM your friend, I have wanted to be your friend since the moment I saw you my bird. Now come up stairs, besides, where else are you going to go in your state?”
Loki's smiles wide like a piranha
[vsDrunk:Fail]Kae: “Not... not going anywhere with you.”
You seem to have misjudged Loki's level of intoxication, in fact he doesn’t seem to be inebriated in the slightest. He leans in close and puts his arm around your shoulder, in a low voice so only you can hear
Loki: “Well if you prefer I can fuck you right here on this table?”
he studies your face, fishing for a reaction but finds none. You don’t give him the satisfaction of seeing your fear
Loki: “But I would really prefer if you came willingly, because we are friends.”
The room is spinning faster and faster, your eyes keep rolling back into your head and its becoming impossible to focus. You are not sure if you can get out of this chair without falling.
[vsDrunk:Success]Kae: “... Jackson will come for me.”
Loki places his hand on your inner thigh and gives it a squeeze, but you’re too drunk to even feel it.
Loki: “No hes not, you’re all alone my little bird with enemys at all sides... now let me tell you whats going to happen; Im going to go up those stairs over there and youre going to follow me. Your goign to follow me because your only other option is to enjoy the company of these fine village people. Just don't take too long to decide”
[vsDrunk:Success]Kae: “...”
Loki gets up from the table and produces his flute, as he walks away from you he plays a low tune that you can use to follow him.

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You’re sitting alone at a table surrounded by potential enemys drunk out of your mind. Of course, Loki could simply be lying; you still have time to follow him. On the other hand, Jackson is nowhere to be seen, but then again you’re not really sure how late it is or if you can even trust him to save you.

>what do

>>2595843
Fucking called it.

Loki is so full of shit, he doesn't know if Jack is coming or not. Either way there is no way we are following that dirtbag upstairs.

>what do

Outside isn't a great option either, especially in our state. Let's stay near the door where we can make a quick exit and if Jack does show up he can find us.

>>2595843
Trust in Jackson to save us, since it's clear that we're in too big of a pickle to sort out ourselves. Meanwhile, stay downstairs. I don't get the impression that Loki wants us dead, so if the villagers get rowdy, he might try to intervene.

>>2595843
Refuse to go. Either Jackson saves us or we're screwed

>>2595942
What I don't get is why they would lynch us over a drunken story, especially one in which we help track down a witch for a knight to eliminate.

Unless everyone in the setting is a Khorne worshipper, then it's just more of Loki's bullshit. Though if things do start to go south we make like a tree and get the fuck out of here.

>>2595843
start making more drunk ramblings. Hopefully the others aren't so drunk as to not be able to notice


The main idea is that hopefully the rest of the townsfolk think the first story was you being drunk.

>>2596019
Loki mentioned that anyone who deals with the occult is looked on poorly, regardless of whether they were actually doing anything occult themselves. It sounds a bit like how executioners and gravediggers had a bad rep even if they weren't personally doing anything wrong. Maybe the gist of it is that hunting and killing the occult is all good, but talking about it afterwards or worse, boasting about it, is taboo.

>>2596123
Yeah, and everyone thinks we are a weirdo and won't talk to us.

But everything would have to be seriously grimderp levels of fucked up if they would kill us in the middle of the inn for that. This is just a certain sack of shit trying to scare us.

Plus, this is a matter of weighing bad options:

>Go upstairs: Get raped for sure, get handed over to lynch mob anyways if it formed

>Leave: Trust in lady luck, total wildcard.

>Stay: Can leave if need be (easier than if we are upstairs). Can be bailed out by Jackson.

>>2596139

we could flip the script on him. Pretend HE'S the knight.

Make up more stories about the shit he's done.


Honestly it'd be a pretty hilarious ending to the whole story section if one of our stories got the townsfolk to run him out.

>>2596066
>>2596154
We're too drunk for that, we suck too much at diplomacy for that, we need to pretend we don't exist for now and not draw attention to ourselves.

going to bed. Lets hope this isn't the end for us.

Supposing that the villagers are going to lynch us anyway, why would going upstairs prevent that? Well, unless Loki is skilled with words to such a supernatural degree that he can talk us out of the situation, but that comes with its own problems.

Way I see it, either we're screwed whatever we do, or it's all a massive bluff.

>>2595843
Trust Jackson!

Look, the guy is an asshole, but he's an asshole who seems to want to do right by us, even if he's really fucking bad at it.

More to the point, he's clearly dealing with some deep seated issues, but he wants to be better. He agreed to go nonlethal when he was asked, and I'm pretty certain he's been starving himself on the journey, but that's speculation.

He's also just starting to open up, and that's the first step to working through his issues.

Believe in the berserker knight. He'll come.

>>2595843
Wait right here for Jackson. Loki can go fuck himself.

>needing Jackson
As if, just because she's drunk doesn't mean she can't decapitate a peasant or two

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>>2595832
Hahahahahahaha

>>2595843
Stay put, and let the effects of whatever you drank subside. Once you're more sober go find jackson.

drink a refreshing glass of water

We stay downstairs, look for an exit route in case we need it, survival instincts flaring up

>>2596348
Drinking is the best, anon!

>>2595843
Seeing as this is no porn quest I can see exactly zero reasons anyone would go up there, unless they think Kae can swing a weapon well enough to kill the guy (nope).

Hanging out downstairs could be our best bet, but I'm not as optimistic as anons about it. I don't believe the assholes in this tavern would do anything to us, but they also probably won't help Kae. What if Loki just comes back downstairs and drags Kae along next time? She has okay strength but combined with this level of drunk, it's not likely to be enough.

We still get a delay for potential Jackson (or other do-gooder) save by staying though. Leaving might plausibly get us away from Loki if he can't track us in town - a risky bet - but also leave us vulnerable to whoever we might come across. On the other hand not every villager is gonna be a creep and this tavern does currently have a larger number of confirmed rapists than the outside of this tavern at the moment.

I'll go with leave. Maybe we'll meet someone new who's actually nice this time around! And if someone tries to abduct us, well at least any bystanders out there won't have such a dim view of us and might actually help.

>>2596511
another thing.

Kill

we`ve never felt like this against a human, so that`s new, kill, yeah, we want to kill him

>>2595843
Don't go with Loki. Wait for Jackson. Find a place to hide if need be. Be prepared to shank a motherfucker.

>>2595843
Wait for jackson, try and fix yourself up, ask for water.

If this isn't pay back for stealing his sword then im gonna be pissed at loki

Stay at the table and have another drink. What's the worst that can happen?

>>2595843
Huh, so my constant paranoia of everybody in this game has once again be proven correct.
>Kae attempts to read the tone of the room (survival instinct/years of hunting experience in theory allowing better perception of basic actions vs.1st drunken state)
>Attempt to judge how many people are in the bar, how many of them seem to be a overt threat (armed, looking back at us angrily), how far away we are to the bar (we made friends with the bartender a safeish option due to him probably not wanting a massive brawl in his tavern.) & entrance (escape route).
>As well as to properly gauge are current state (attempt to sober up?)
>Stay on guard where Kaes currently sitting

If we leave there's a possibility of being followed by angry crowd/Ajax but we get to drunkenly escape through a foreign city in the middle of the night. If we stay we can get overwhelmed by drunks (how armed are they?) but the fight can be finished quickly by the owners or J. Are best option is to find a strategically best location in the bar. (good cover/close to the bartender/close to the door)

843. Berserk OP full - Penpals - Tell Me Why
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2rV8oKWSdM

>>2598708
Yeah, a few of us saw it coming. the lokifags in the last thread have fucked things up pretty thoroughly.

Were stuck waiting on the cavalry for now.

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>>2596066
>>2596154
An interesting plan, but Kae's current debuffed INT is too low for something so cunning. An INT of 3 accommodates pretty much anything you guys can come up with on most days, but not when drunk.

>>2595832
Since it was so close I regret not rolling the dice on this one, choosing to go with majority. Ah well, you live you learn.

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Betrayed, again. Left behind, again. Molested... again. It doesn’t matter what happens here, you will never follow Loki up to his room, you will never give him the satisfaction of watching you walk into his cage. You are, and forever will be, a free woman; even if it costs you your life. But this won't cost you you’re life, no, this will be a life lesson for you instead, one to carry with you forever throughout the long years you still have to live. As Loki's music slowly fades as he moves further and further away, you remain sitting until it completely disappears before attempting to survey the room. [vsDrunk:Failure] Your attempts to gather information flounders terribly, you cant make heads or tails of the people around you. Everyone looks like a potential enemy, you are sure they are laughing and jeering at you. Bastards, you'll show em, if you could just get your hands on them you'll show them. But the room spins and spins and spins so bad that you have to close your eyes and bury your head into your arms least you vomit from the vertigo. You fumble for the hilt of your sword and grip it tightly once you find it, they wont take you without a fight. You attempt to survey the room again for a possible escape route. [vsDrunk:Success] You spot the entrance you came in from, the stairs that you refuse to climb, and a few windows that you can escape through. Thats it, one of the windows is near an empty table... If you can get there you'll have an escape. So you sit and wait, wait for a moment when your head doesn’t feel like its swimming to change tactical positions. [vsDrunk: Failure] That timing never comes, what exactly you were waiting for no one knows, not even you. So you simply sit where Loki left you, still gripping your sword's handle with all your might. If they come for you, you'll kill them, you'll kill all of them, you'll... “oh Jack... please come soon please” , you almost have yourself a cry. Jackson will come for you, soon he will come...

You sit where Loki left you and you wait, nursing your water skin to your lips every now and then. You wait for what seems like years, but Jackson never comes. In fact no one comes, the entire bar seems content leaving you be as long as you sit in your own little world; no one harasses you and Loki never comes back. Yes, Loki, your friend , thinking about him makes your blood boil. His time will come, maybe not tonight, maybe not tomorrow, but one day. But for now you sit and wait pretending to sleep while listening intently to the sounds around you...

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DEATH
HARVEST
ESCAPE
...
OBEY!

[Kae loses 1 HP]

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You wake up the next day sore, your week old bruises ache... [Grand Destiny] but you are awake, alert, with no hangover to speak of, and a perfect memory of last nights events. In fact you spring awake, when exactly did you fall asleep? Scanning the room around you its almost completely empty. Other drunks seem passed out in their chairs here and there, morning light shines in through the windows and you can hear sounds coming from the kitchen. Where is Jackson? Why didn’t he come? Did something happen to him? Or worse yet did he just abandon you? On a semi related matter, where is that bastard Loki? You have a bone to pick with him, god, you feel so embarrassed about last night. How could you have ever thought such a coyote to be cute? At least you got out without anything happening to you, I guess Loki was just scaring you all along. But what was his goal, why go through all that trouble? As you start to adjust yourself you feel a strange itch on your neck, going to scratch it you find a piece of paper has been stuffed in your shirt collar...

You hear someone about to enter the room through the kitchen, so you duck your head back down on the table and pretend to be asleep.

>what do?

>>2599451
Right, so, asshole trickster rapist, but not psychopath. Better molested than dead.

Fuck.

>Pay for drinks
>FIND JACKSON

>>2599493
[Reminder] You have 4 copper coins

decide to forgive Loki and not pursue vengeance. Don't tell Jackson you were wronged, he'll definitely react badly. Use you new story telling skills to prepare an answer if he asks what happened last night.
leave the bar at walking pace as if you didn't know Loki said you would pay for the drinks.

>>2599451
Decide to never forgive Loki and exact furious vengeance on him.
Look for the ways to slip out of the tavern without anyone noticing.

>>2599496
I'm... Guessing that's not enough to pay for the drinks.

Tell the barkeep that we'll be back once we find Jackson. Maybe leave something here as insurance.

Do not forgive Loki.

>>2599451
Ask around to find out where Loki went, give the barkeep the four copper coins because he deserves some money for the drinks, and then walk out (or run if necessary). It would be nice to get out of this situation without causing trouble, but if we have to make a mess, so be it. We can skip town after killing Loki.

no we must not give into our anger! The path of vengeance will only lead to suffering

>>2599771
To Loki's suffering. That's the point.

>>2599451

do not forgive, bastard will die

>>2599451
Kae can pay for her own drinks. The bartender can bitch all he wants about the others but Loki's word don't mean shit.

No point following Loki around, if we happed across him we can kill him then. We can ask around about Jackson and keep our eyes open in general for interesting events.

>>2599798
but first we have to find jackson

>>2599451
Based Loki. Realistically speaking, Kae would probably remove his scrotum from the rest of him for that bullshit, but I find the whole situation to be hilarious.

Anyway, the whole revenge situation can wait. Kae needs to focus on the things that matter right now: somehow paying for the drinks and also finding Jackson. Kae's attractive, I think it's the best bet on walking out on friendly terms.

I suggest asking the bartender if she can sub as a barmaid for a while to pay off the drinks, and maybe ask if he knows of Jackson and where he may reside.

>>2599451
>Walk out. When/if bartender stops us, tell him Loki was supposed to pay
If that doesnt work we can give him the rest of our money. Worst case, we could work off the debt.

>>2599451
Go find jackson,
Give the guy your money, if its not enough then he can take the sword we stole as collateral.

So loki definitely fucked us over cause we stole his sword.
We're even then, still gonna punch his lights out next we meet.

>>2599562
>>2600026
>>2601026

>Literally tries to rape kae

>Hahaha what a charming joker, he sure got us back huh.

Fuck that. Loki deserves steel in his guts.

>>2601425
more like he asked to bang and left a bad implication.
He's a scummy fuck but come on man, we wronged him first.
Don't fuck people over if you can't take the repercussions

>>2601441
>more like he asked to bang and left a bad implication.

No, he got Kae drunk, while staying sober himself, then tried to lure her upstairs for a "Hot Cosby", and then tried to use threats when that didn't work.

He only settled for molesting her when he couldn't get her out of the barroom.

You have a really screwed up view of the world if you think that's appropriate for nicking his crappy little sword.

>>2593325
>>2599451
I thought this was a slice-of-life quest.

>>2601457
Its not a reasonable scale response but the point is we brought it on ourselves.
We don't get to fuck people over and then whine when they do something back.

>>2601489
It is anon. So what if the life is a little fucked up?

>>2601489
Didn't sojourner loudly advertise this as dark fantasy
anyway some of ya should chill a bit methinks

>>2601495
You really think he wouldn't have done that if we didn't steal his sword?

He was creeping right from square 1. And doesn't really care about losing it anyways.

This guy is a sack of shit through and through.

>>2601425
>Loki deserves steel in his guts.
An appropriate response, but I want to see Loki fuck more shit up. But to each his own.

To point out, there is no evidence that Loki actually did what the letter said, since he's a pathological liar. I wonder if he's just getting a rise out of Kae, though I wouldn't put it past him to actually molest her.

>>2601517
The fact that he mentions it in his letter pushes me to that conclusion, yeah.
He kind of reminds me of that edgar allan poe book about walling a guy inside a sewer

>>2601662
I think >>2599450 is evidence enough. If Loki's grudge with us was over our taking his sword, he could have just taken it back and left us to foot the bill. That would have been appropriate vengeance, but it's evident that he never really cared about the sword. He only wanted to abuse us, and he did, and now we must see that he is punished.

>>2601811
huh, figured that was from kae remembering getting molested when she was at that yearly meeting with all the other hunters.
vengeance is vengeance anon, people dont alway go for appropriate.
I think we can all agree he sucks though.

Im still for letting it go though, If only cause he Wants us to go after him.
He wouldn't taunt us by telling us he molested kae and telling us to go after him

>>2601901
I don't think Loki had any intentions of vengeance at all, or else he'd have taken his sword back too.

I do agree that him telling us to chase him is fishy, but based on his actions at the bar, he doesn't seem very clever or subtle. I'm sure we can handle whatever he has planned as long as it doesn't involve uncomfortable social interactions and we stay sober.

I think Loki is a massive asshole, but at the end of the day he was just playing a really shitty prank and copping a feel.

It's something to punch him in the face about, not something to swear eternal vengeance about. He also didn't take the sword back, so, you know, whatever. Don't let it go, but don't make it the overriding motivation.

>>2599493
This.

He might have ditched us, but why the hell would he drag us all the way here just to steal our lunch money? Especially when he didn't care about the bounty in the first place?

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[Idealist]Well, time to face the music, you're sure the bartender will understand the situation. You rise from your chair, compose yourself, and head towards the bar. Surprisingly, its not the bartender waiting to greet you. Instead you find an Adonis of a man in an apron holding a comically tiny cup. As you size him up ,starting from his waist and ending at his head, you cant help but feel that if a mountain could take the shape of a man, this is what It would look like. But the strangest thing about this man is his empty white eyes, at first you believe him to be blind, but the precision and confidence of his movements forbid you to interpret him as so. You already have his full attention by the time you arrive at the bar.
Kae: “eeer, hello? I would like to attempt to pay for some drinks”
He has already started to shake his head before you started speaking, and you have given him no reason to stop
Ratko: “Attempt? This not so good. Boss, he had this fear, this is why I am here”
You produce the four coppers you have left and place them on the counter, playing your entire hand. You start trying to plead your case in one incredible unbroken sentence not giving the man a chance to interrupt you
Kae: “I don’t know Loki, he is not my friend, he is my ENEMY Ill pay for my drinks but he said he would pay for them im sorry I didnt know He did it to hurt me I can maybe work off my debt? As a waitress maybe? I have some money coming a friend was to meet me here maybe I can leave my sword here as collateral?”
As you unbuckle your sword and present Ratko which causes him to shrink back, an odd sight coming from a man so much larger then life. So you place it on the counter.
Ratko: “This not so good”
He takes your coins
Ratko: “fourteen meads, this comes to twenty eight coins”
Kae: “But I already told you, I never agreed to pay for the drinks”
Ratko continues as if you never interrupted him
Ratko: “Oak pay for his room, Oak pay for his drink, Oak stay her for many days. Oak is good man. You, you are witch hunter. We do not want your ”
he seems to struggle with this next word
Ratko: “Pay-tron-age. I don’t think boss want you, here. He wont want you come around here, he will not want you work here.”
Kae: “...I”
Ratko: “That is massage I am to giving you, I am also to make you pay your bill.”
You eye the sword you just left at the counter while he eyes you with his pale white eyes.
Ratko: “Tell me, is story true? How, It end?”

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Slightly stunned by the swift change in topic you decide to take the high road, this man may be able to explain some things to you
Kae: “yes its true, me and Jackson killed the witch. But honestly, I don’t think she was behind everything.”
Ratko nods, and takes a sip from his tiny cup; emptying it instantly.
Ratko: “Yes, these men of bone, I have seen them. I am from deep south, I have seen many dead man who walk, I have seen much. But these northmen do not understand, they are soft, they are scared like sheep, I keep these storys to myself now. Do you understand?”
You understand, [occult fascination] but its not enough, you have to know more.
Kae: “Why do they fear? Why do they act this way? my companion wont tell me anything...”
Ratko opens his mouth to speak but the shifting of one of the other drunk patrons seems to change his mind
Ratko: “My name is Ratko, come find me at harvest festival. I will answer some questions, but for now you must leave here, and do not come back. It is best.”
Ratko has been so helpful already, you get the feeling he is going to let you leave without paying full price, so you don’t want to press him for more.
Kae: “Thank you Ratko, I dont want to put you out anymore then I already have but do you know where 'Oak' went? And what about a large man wearing a suit of iron? Was he here looking for me?”
Ratko taps the side of his forehead as if remembering something then produces a letter and hands it to you. It is a nenvelope made from a fine paper, sealed with red wax; an image of a crown was pressed into the hot wax before it cooled.

Ratko: “Little dog man left this morning with everything, he spend some time near you. I think he try to wake you up from drunken sleep, where he is now? I dont know. This letter, one of the fort guard deliver it, I was to pass to you only if you pay for drinks. But me and you, we are same, I help you as I can”

You thank Ratko again and promise to find him during the festival at the end of the week. Leaving the tavern with haste [artist] you cant help but feel guilty destroying the beautiful wax seal, so you cut the envelope open with your knife and slide the contents out.

To my travelling companion Kae, I'm sorry but I cant meet you tonight. You should have enough money for a nights stay at the tavern. Tomorrow come meet me at the fortress, this letter should be proof enough for the guards. The commander has invited us to dine with him, this is a good opportunity for you. Be here by noon, tardiness will be seen as an insult. the rest of the letter seems to be addressed to the guards who may bar your way.

Well, that settles the Jackson situation. Its morning now and you have plenty of time until noon.
[Quests updated]
-Meet Ratko during the harvest festival on SolDay (Sunday)
-Meet Jackson before noon
-Revenge on Loki

>what do?

>>2601489
What gave you that impression? Its a bit slice of life, but its mostly dark fantasy.

>>2602740
explore the town, keep an eye for another inn, opportunities to make coin and the fortress.

Worst comes to worst we can camp out in the wilderness for a night.

>>2602740

go meet Jackson, now.

>>2602799

I think the meeting is today anon, I don`t think we will need to camp out if the cammander is planning to offer us a place to sleep

>>2602740
Lets just meet up with Jackson. We should ask if he can give us some more sword training

>>2602740
Let's go meet Jackson. He needs to be on guard if he ever meets Loki/Oak.

>>2602740
FIND

JACKSON

>>2602740
We've fucked up almost every action we've taken so far, Jackson's sticking his neck out here. Lets get one god damned thing right for once.

>>2602740
Explore the town, look for an opportunity to earn some money or food.
Be at the fortress by noon.

>>2603103
my vote is to go straight there now, even if we have to wait there, I'm not taking any chances of fucking this us, fucking up is all we've done since we arrived here

>>2603725
We only did like one thing since we got here, and that mistake was not letting loki smash. It was almost a perfect night

>>2602740
I'm usually all about exploring and such, but Kae's new in town, and from personal experience, it can be pretty hard getting places when you're not familiar with the layout/custom.

Best to travel to the castle, maybe take in the time to sketch out some landmarks and see what's there on the way. Also, check the inventory, make sure everything is there.

>>2603779
>check our inventory
If Kae is missing one of her pairs of pants I'll lose my mind

>>2603782
I kind of expect it now. We shall see!

>>2603761

keep telling yourself that, I can't wait for jackson to make loki eat his own guts

>>2603819
Agreed. I was thinking about it today and I think I have him figured out as a character.

He acts exactly like a coyote, not the lovable rascal you see on looney tunes or in many native legends but an actual coyote: A scavenger and opportunistic predator.

He likely cruises through life on bullshit and petty theft, taking odd jobs of an unsavory nature where he can get them (including paid murder). But he sees something he wants he will use any underhanded tactic to get it.

He even went about trying to get Kae to his room exactly like a coyote will lure a domestic dog to its end. They pretend to play and be their friend until they can herd the dog into a trap that it can't escape. Makes me think Sojourn might be from rural/small town North America to be so familiar with the vicious little cocksuckers.

Excellent job QM, whether it's true or I'm just overthinking everything.

Update delayed until tomorrow, all in all it will be the same amount of updates

>>2602746
Why the bold font?

Your style, community, and shitposting.

>>2603932
[B] Really want to comment on that but I'm not sure I can do so without spoilers. I'm happy to hear you think about the quest even when you are not reading it, creating deep characters is one of my strengths I think [/b]

>>2604931
[B] to be easily recognized as the OP at a glance.

>>2605087
Did you fail to format?

>>2605089
Gotta use [b] lowercase.

>>2602740
>>2603779
This + ask for directions on the way/ & if anybody has seen the furry by chance (It would have been a good idea to explore but were shit out of luck on the money situation).

As much as my revenge boner for J. remains (SOON) Kae should probably embrace J. far more warmly then last we met (considering everything she just went through.). Dog fucker takes a higher note (currently mind you) on are shit list.

740. Coil – Its In My Blood (Post if SHITHREAD)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqBPsaxDSNo

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You cant help but feel violated, after last night everyone seems like an enemy. Holding Jackson's letter in your hand you brush your finger over it lovingly, you want to see Jackson. Now Jackson is a jerk, of that there is no doubt, but he is YOUR jerk. He makes you feel safe, loved, and cared for. Well maybe not cared for, and probably not loved. Now that you think about it, you’re not sure he makes you feel safe either. Why do you like Jackson again? Well, you like him and thats all that matters for now. You decide to go meet up with him right away, forget waiting.

The fort is easy to find, its right in the centre of town and its perched on top of a hill towering over the peasantry. Approaching the gates to the fort you suddenly start to feel awkward about rushing to meet up with Jackson. You're not sure you want to seem so desperate and over eager, the only time Jackson ever opened up to you was when you gave him the silent treatment. So you decide to walk around the circumference of the fort at a few times, yeah, that makes sense.

While walking you notice / hear a few things up and around the town. First of all, the village is small, much smaller then Wilstown. Most of the buildings are actually just single farms that stretch outwards from the fort, the majority of the buildings you have seen already. The “kings hand” seems to be the only building of note and ,unfortunately, the only tavern. No blacksmith, no market, no fletcher, no nothing. Second, on the other side of the fort seems to be a secondary village comprised of converted waggons and tents. Asking a guard about the situation reveals that these people are all refuges from Wilstown, and they are all “leaching” off the fort commanders generosity. He doesn’t tell you much more, but from his tone you can tell he doesn’t seem to like them very much. You decide to avoid this place for now, Loki's letter seems to have effected you more then you like. You are feeling a tad vulnerable and you want to see Jackson sooner rather then later, exploring this shanty town can wait. Third, is the information you get from one of the passerbys that you stopped to ask about Loki. He did in fact see Loki, he saw him heading towards the woods to the north. He also tells you that lots of hunters are going north in search for the great stag. Apparently, this stag is a bit of a legend around these parts and every harvest festival “would be heroes” attempt to catch it and bring it back. The fourth thing is just an odd conversation you hear between two old men who seem to be also travelling to the fort. Walking behind them you cant help but eavesdrop to pass the time...

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“Another harvest, another festival. By the mother I am feeling old”
”You ARE old”
“Another harvest, another festival. By the mother I am feeling older”
”You have nothing to complain about, at least you have a family and a home. What do I have?”
“You should have joined the army with me, I told you to sign up”
”Don't start with that again, When they shipped you out to the frontier everyone was sure you were a dead man. Slayed by some Beastman”
“Beastmen are not real, In my twenty years in the army I never saw a lick of combat.”
”Beastman are real! I saw one myself!”
“You were drunk”

There argument rages on even as you climb the steps to the fortress gates. The gates are wide open and people move in and out without any trouble, you never have to produce your letter to anyone and end up walking right in.
The inside of the fortress is much less grand then you hoped, its mostly just walls. Inside there is a few large wooden buildings to house the soldiers, horses, and the commander and his retainers. You also finally get to see why everyone seems to be heading to the fortress, a market has been set up inside its walls. It looks pretty lively but its not what you came here for. You walk guard to guard enquiring about Jackson, either they have seen him and don’t know where he is or they tell you to ask some one else who sends you to ask someone else ad infinitum . Even with the letter no one seems to let you into any place of importance and everyone seems to be too busy to find him for you. Finally after what has become an annoying amount of time someone who thinks they know where to find him agrees to get a message to him, he tells you it may be a while so you should find a place to wait. Taking his advice you wonder over to where some of the soldiers are sparring and take a seat on a bench under a tree to watch them. You are not alone in this, the towns folk seem pretty comfortable intermingling with the soldiers pretty much everywhere. You even observe a rather large woman reprimand a sparing soldier when he hits another smaller sparring soldier “too hard” much to the smaller soldier embarrassment.

Eventually a man comes and sits on your bench a respectable distance away from you. He looks tired and worn out, his body is covered in many scars, especially his left side. It looks like at some point a bear must have tried to take his arm. The scaring continues onto the left side of his face where even facial hair doesn’t seem to grow, leaving him looking pretty patchy. He eventually speaks, his voice is very familiar.

I saw you from the battlements, was walking in several large circles around the fort necessary?

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>what say / do

tell him to hand over your money

>>2607435
you tell that lazy fuck we were getting to know the area.

>>2607435
Ask him what happened to his beard
I assume Kae's uncle nor other bushmen shave

>>2607435
Just getting to know the area, get a feel for the town.

>>2607661
>>2607691
This right here. And ask about the money.

>>2607435
>I was waiting for you last night. Why couldn't you come?

shit, is that jackson?!

not bad

>>2607661
>>2607435
This

>>2607964
Probably.

I was expecting him to be more terrifying.

>>2607435
Where were you? I needed you last night. And immediatly become madly embarassed when she realizes what she said

>>2607435
Tell him you had a rough night and needed to wander a bit.
Ask him why he's taken off his armor.

>>2607435
Also, if we dont recognize him we say that we didnt want to look desperate so we wandered around a bit
Say we had a terrible night and might even been poisoned.
We remember bad things and when we recognize him we can only hug him and sob.

We were surrounded by enemies last night, we finally feel safe, for now

>>2608392
This.

Kae is a big girl and can keep it together, no need to break down.

>>2608428
Not sure Kae would admit all that to a stranger, as cute as it would be she should keep all that stuff to herself.

>>2608876
pretty much

fuck, kae must really want to draw him now

>>2608428
I, too, am voting for Kae to cry and hug the big guy if she recognizes him.

>>2608428
yeah, I like this

>>2608297
this is good too though

>>2607436
"Jackson? That's about what I expected you to look like."

>>2612024
Anon, I love you dearly but you missed the boat on this one. The script is set in stone

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Of course you know who this person is, its Jackson, you can recognize even even through ten layers of subversion. You assumed he would be more terrifying under his armour, but he just looks like a normal person (who was run through a meat grinder). Without his armour and sword he seems as vulnerable as the next person. Yet now that he finally at your side again your heart starts to race, you feel like there is something you should say or do but you don’t know what.
Kae: “I was getting the lay of the land, is that a problem?”
Jackson: “No I, Sorry. Bad joke.”
Next, you stick your hand out and give him a sour look,
Kae: “Can I have my money now?”
Jackson jolts up from his seat and drops his relaxed expression, his lips form a natural slight frown even though its probably his neutral expression. He walks over to you and places his hand into a pocket
Jackson: “Yeah, Sure, I got it right here”
Jackson places 81 coppers into your hand, a thin hemp string runs through the centre of 70 coins. (Copper coins have a small square hole in their centre, for this exact reason).
Jackson: “I was wrong about the conversation rate, apparently they found another silver mine and it has brought down the value of silver coins to 87 coppers. On top of that I subtracted the six coppers I lent you.”
You start counting the coins in front of him, to make sure you haven’t been cheated. Without looking up at him:
Kae: “So whats wrong with your face?”
motioning to the patchy area of his facial hair. You feel frantic, as if you were standing in front of a large ravine and not sure if you can make the jump or not.
Jackson: “I don’t know. I try not to dwell on it”
Despite his cool attitude his own fingers start to stroke the bare skin on his chin.
Kae: “And your armour? You kind of look stupid without it if we are being honest.”
Jackson: “...I left it with the armourer, he is hammering out some dents for me.”
There is a forlorn feeling in your chest, your heart races faster and your breathing becomes laboured. You start to rock back and forth and your eyes start darting all around, shifting what you are looking at every few seconds. You look at everyone and everything but at Jackson.
Kae: “So is that what why you didn’t come last night? Because you didn’t have your armour or something? Or because you were just having a good time without me, am I just in your way or what?”
Jackson: “...” .
You spring up out of your seat and start hammering the bottom of your fists into Jacksons chest

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Kae: “Dummy, idiot, youre dumb, I hate you, I NEEDED you last night why didnt you come? you, RRRAAAAG...”
Grabbing a handful of his clothing tightly in both hands you bury your head into his chest to muffle your scream.

You start to feel better after letting all of that out, a feeling thats quickly replaced by embarrassment. Realizing what you did in front of all the people in the courtyard and more importantly in front of Jackson. You cant face them, so you press your face deeper into Jackson's chest and hide away from all of them. At first Jackson simply stands frozen with you, without his dose of rageohol he is ill equipped to deal with a hysterical woman. Ever so slowly he moves his hands in an attempt to comfort you but for a while they simply hover over you as Jackson deliberates what to do. Eventually one settles on your lower back while the other rests ontop of your head. He begins to slowly pet you and with every gentle stroke you feel a little better and with every breath you take, you breath Jackson in; he smells of blood, it's asphyxiating.

Jackson whispers down to you
Jackson: “do you want to talk about it?” .
You shake your head side to side. Youre going to Kill that Loki, youre going to murder him, youre going to gut him, youre going to strangle him
Jackson: “well, did you have breakfast?” .
You shake your head side to side. Youre going to dice him up, youre going to rip him apart, youre going to mutilate him, youre going to lobotomize him
Jackson: “would you like to?” .
After a short pause you nod you head up and down. Youre going to extinguish him, youre going to to flay him, Youre going to juice him, youre gonna fucking eat him

Jackson slowly pulls you away from himself until the two of you make eye contact, your face is a bit red but you didn’t cry. Crying is something you do on your own time, when youre alone and no one else can see you. Jackson withdraws his hands and takes you over to the market, and attempts to make some idle conversation to remove the awkwardness.

Jackson: “This fortress is called 'the kings gambit', it was one of the first forts constructed during the expansion of the frontier. There was much debate over expanding out past Solice when the king first proposed it, so all these fortresses were constructed in preparation of attacks from the beast men and ogres. But they never came, this great fortress has never seen a days worth of battle in fact. Eventually as the army men retired they didn’t want to leave their friends behind so they simply settled up and around the fortress. Most everyone who lives here was at some point part of the army, is married to some one who was, or is the offspring of a retired soldier.” .

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>Since we decided to spend some of our free time with Jackson, is there anything you want to talk about / ask him about?

Currently on tap
-Warn Jackson about Loki
-Ask Jackson to practice some sword fighting with you
-Ask about the commanders unforgettable lunchin

ask about beast men and ogres

>>2612569
>Warn Jackson about Loki

>>2612716
We are going to do all three of those things already, the question is do we want to do anything in addition to that

>>2612736
Sounds pretty good to me.

I think there's more than steamed hams planned for lunch, the commander is going to make some sort of job offer to us, jackson or both, so we should make further plans afterwards.

I don't know about whathisname and the harvest festival. I dont really give 2 shits about it personally and its probably just a distraction. I also don't think we should worry about finding Loki, as we probably wont until he wants us to find him. He's just a pest who should be driven off or killed next time he comes sniffing around.

TLDR: Just go with the flow for now, we have a good gig following this one man crusade for now.

>>2612569
I'm with>>2612736
Also might as well ask if Jackson is part of the military himself, and if that makes us part of it by extension.

If Loki is a coyote then Jackson is a big angry grizzly bear.

>>2612822
He's the scariest thing we are likely to encounter on our journey.

>>2612553
Kae confirmed for tsundere.
Even the "B-baka!" is present.

>>2612569
>Make small talk with Jackson. Ask if he ever fought a bear. Or a meatgrinder.

>>2612569
>Apologize for being rude earlier

>>2612569
No need for additional things. Not like Kae is a mood to talk to jackson right now
she's within rights to be angry at him

>>2613093
This

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If Jackson has decided to simply let you walk away from your out burst, then you’re going to oblige him by doing so. “That's Interesting” you don’t find it interesting ”so are you part of the military? Does that mean I’m part of the military too?” He seems confused at the question, mostly the last part. ”No, im not part of the military. But I am a noble, and I carry the title of 'Ser'. Basically, it means I’m privy to certain privileges under the kings law”. He sees that you don’t get it “The take away for you here is that in this world, some people are born with more rights and privileges then others. You, for example, are born a peasant, and a peasant you will remain. When you are faced with the nobility, people like me, you must remember to stay humble, because there is nothing they are not allowed to do to you. you still don’t get it, that doesn’t make an sense. But Jackson seems adamant on drilling this concept home, he goes on to explain to you the divine right of kings and the pecking order. It all seems pretty asinine to you ”Kae, im not telling you this because I want you to understand some kind of power dynamic between the two of us. Im telling you this because I don't want something bad to happen to you, understand? you understand, but you fain disinterest to upset him. You cant help it, you’re still mad at him. Its funny how life is, when Jackson not around you’re always worrying, “wheres Jackson?” or “how can I find Jackson?” but when you are with him, you cant help but be mad at him. So you change the topic of conversation by suddenly running your ringers up Jacksons scars ”did you get these wrestling with a bear? Or did someone try to make salami out of ya?” Jackson is starting to get frustrated with you, and all of Jacksons' negative emotions always end up in the same place. So before he can reach that boiling point, you shoot him your signature smile ”Im sorry about what I said before, I think your scars make you look kinda rugged and handsome”. [Female: Success] He sighs and deflates ”These scars are byproducts of my profession Kae, and a sharp reminder to the folly of mercy”.

While talking with Jackson you make your way to the centre of the market without even realizing. There is much to see in the market and much to buy, after shopping for some necessitates you pick yourself up some breakfast. Then they two of you make your way back to the bench, Jackson has apparently already eaten so he attempts to entertain you while you eat a baked potato.

>[What did you buy at the market?]
>Assorted adventuring equipment (3 charges) = 3c
>Ration(s) x1 = 1c
>Medical equipment x1 = 5c
>Arrows x10 = 2c
>Hunting bow = 18c
>Fishing rod = 5c
>Tools x1= 8c
>clothing = 10c
>Other, its a big market [?c]

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When Jackson suddenly starts to turn the conversation into a lesson about religion you derail hard. “Tell me more about the beastmen Jack, you befriended one right?”. All your practising conversation with Jackson has definitely payed off, you remember your first conversation with a person in Wilstown. You sure have come far, your uncle always said you were a very fast study. ”Ah yes, the 'beastmen'. Well there is not much to tell Kae. Beastmen come in many forms, from trolls to satyers to boarmen. They have always been the enemy of any civilized man. According to the history books, a great tide of them destroyed the old empire and forced the remaining Illelfarii and humans to flee south. Eventually they would create the kingdom we are now part of. It was believed that expanding beyond Solace would bring this great host back. One hundred years later, no signs of any horde. Quite honestly, I believe the threat they pose is all in people heads.” ”and ogres?””Don't know, never seen one. I assume its probably the same thing.

You pop the remains of you potato into your mouth. ”Want to do some sword practice?” ”Forgive me Kae, but I would rather not pick up a sword today.” thats not something you ever thought Jackson would say ”Eh? Whats so special about today?”
[Jackson + 1 trust]
[Jackson's HP is at 5/8]
”It hurts to move my arm higher then this” he lifts his leading arm up about shoulder high “Im trying to let it heal”. I guess Jackson is mortal after all. You want to say something but you never get the chance

Nathalie: “Jackson! I have been looking all over for you! Is this where you have been hiding? Seducing the local peasantry? You look up to see a elegant woman in a silky, skin fitting, dress make her way towards you. She is flanked by some armoured guards, Jackson immediately stands to attention.
Jackson:”Lady Nathalie, I was simply meeting with my travelling companion. This is Kae, I have told you about her.”
He places his hand around your arm and lifts you to your feet with a painful jerk.
Jackson:”Kae, this is Lady Nathalie. She is the commanders daughter, and will be joining us for dinner later.”
he then pulls you down, forcing you into a bow. A great part of you wants to punch Jackson in the gut, but you are mesmerized by the womans elegance and beauty. She looks like how you want to look, compared to her you may as well be a man. The closer the woman gets to you the more you realize that this “woman” is actually just a “girl”, she is probably your age or maybe even younger.
Nathalie: “You never told me your companion was a woman”
she doesn’t like you
Jackson:”I didn’t think it mattered.”

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We still didn’t get a chance to tell Jackson about Loki, but this person has shown up to mudy things up.
>what say / do?
>what attitude do you take for the next part? Spoilers: she is going to be rude and treat you poorly.
>what did we buy?

PS: no update tomorrow, its my birthday so im probably not going to have any time. Sorry!

>>2617337
>Do: try to keep ourselves from strangling this tramp with all our willpower
>Attitude: let Jackson deal with this hoe
>Buy:
>-Arrows x20 = 4c
>-Hunting bow = 18c
>-Assorted adventuring equipment (3 charges) = 3c
>-Medical equipment x1 = 5c
>-Ration(s) x10 = 10c
>-Rope. You can never have enough rope when adventuring = ?c
>40c total, 41 c left not accounting for the rope.

>>2617337
Happy birthday!

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>what attitude do you take for the next part? Spoilers: she is going to be rude and treat you poorly.
Just stay quiet and take the verbal abuse. We'll pay her back at night time by stealing her pretty necklace. I mean we are a rogue after all.

>>2617337
Try to play nice with her. If Jackson was right and people like her really can do whatever they want to peasants like us, then there's no sense in picking fights we can't win.

Also, happy birthday!

>>2617423
This, thats a good shopping list
>>2617337
If she treats us poorly we'll treat her poorly in return. Though refrain from saying anything too harsh, Jackson wouldn't like that

>>2617423
This shopping list

I think Jackson's speech about nobles and peasants Was to protect us against her. Let's try not tô insult her, but Jacky boy is our man, not hers

>>2617337
If what Jackson says is true, then its best not to piss this lady off. I don't think we have anything to fear tho, since Jackson is a noble himself.

>>2617337
>Play nice, keep cool

>>2617642
Jackie boy is a noble but she is the commanders daughter, there's only so much he can do.

I'm pretty fine with what >>2617423
Picked up but I would say add
>Fishing rod = 5c
An alternative to hunting that doesn't gamble our arrows is always nice

>>2617638
Yes. Be polite but Kae would be slightly territorial about Jackson (passive aggressive at the most, no catfights)

>>2617337
Happy birthday OP

>>2617765
This

Just kidding, happy birthday OP

>>2617765
>>2618551

>>2617765
Supporting

>>2617765
+1

>>2617337
>what say / do?
Seduce her like a Rogue you are.
>what attitude do you take for the next part? Spoilers: she is going to be rude and treat you poorly.
BOOBS

today's update will be on Tuesday and Tuesday's update will be on Thursday.

I got several midterms coming up in a few days so i have been pretty burned out on life. I got the images done but im just having a hard time writing something of quality tonight.

>>2621786
>>2620989
>>2620668
>>2618551
>>2617765
>>2617499
>>2617427
My friends thank you.

>>2622658
Take it easy man

>>2622658
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6LovY_DdEE

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The first thing Nathalie does is immediately place herself between you and Jackson. Her body guards follow suit and push you even further away, the clearly don’t want you standing too close.
Nathalie: “Of course it matters! The way you hyped her up father is sure to think shes a man. Hes going to assume you’re playing a prank on him when he sees her.”
Jackson rubs his chin and nods his head in agreement
Jackson: “Perhaps, you’re right. I should have been more forthcoming, Ill take your council on this mater and inform him next we meet. Perhaps I should do that now, tell me where is your father?”
Nathalie: “Oh father is terribly busy right now my dear Jackson, why don't you let me keep you company in his stead?”
Jackson: “A privilege”
Jackson offers her his arm and she saddles right up to him before they take off flanked by the guards. For a moment you believe they are going to simply leave you behind without a word.

Until Jackson calls out to you that is...

Jackson: “Come along Kae, don't lag behind.”
Nathalie: “She seems a bit slow on the uptake. I hear the simple folk stare into the sun to pass the time.”
She whispered it to Jackson, but you heard her anyway. In fact, after a while you start to think she intended it that way because it wasn’t the last potshot you “overhear”. You DON'T like her, but you keep that to yourself.

Jackson and Nathalie seem intent to ignore you as they chit chat about this and that, Jackson talks ins a gentle tone to Nathalie, its a tone you have never heard him use before. After a while the guards accept you as one of their own and let you stand with them. There is a quiet kinship in the ranks of the blank faces employed to follow around more important people as they enjoy themselves. All you can do is follow Jackson around as Nathile walks him all over the courtyard and eves drop on them. Nathalie seems to adore, anything and everything, Jackson says and paws over every little thing he does. God she is so fake, you hate her so much. Even though the storys Jackson tells her are watered down versions of the storys he tells you, expunged of every thug, swear word, and angry face. She's so dainty, you bet she couldn’t even walk a mile in your shoes without falling over from exhaustion. But the way Jackson looks at her and the way he threats her... Maybe that’s the kind of woman he likes?

CONT.
Your hate turns to worry, so you take initiative and interject yourself into their conversation.
[CHA: Failure]Kae: “Um... This is a really nice castle you have...”
Nathalie looks at you and lets out a small laugh cutting your sentence in half.
Kae: “Its really, uh... big.”
Brutal, you want to die. You’re not very good at talking with people, especially so when they make it hard for you. Nathalie gives you a condescending smile and a few slow nodes, she seems to look down on your intelligence.
Nathalie: “Haha, yes quite.”
She turns to Jackson
Nathalie: “You really let your servants, 'run loose' don’t you Jackson?”
She then proceeds to continue her conversation with Jackson, completely ignoring you. Meanwhile, you sink back into the background. You should have really let that bitch have it, you wanted to. But Jackson may have been specificity trying to warn you about this exact situation, so you stay quite. You'll just add her to your ever expanding list of people to get revenge on.
[Revenge List: Jackson, Loki, Nathalie]
Jackson: “Lady Nathalie, how should I explain this... Kae is, well...
His tone and expression changes, to the one he usually uses on you.
Jackson:”Kae is some one I choose to travel with me. Do you understand what im trying to say?”
Nathalie: “S-Ser Stonewalls, I didn’t mean any disrespect to you of course I was ju-.”
Jackson continues speaking over her, but back in his civil tone.
Jackson:”Ah, that came out much too harsh. I have been in the company of lesser men for far too long, will you forgive me?”
Nathalie: “Of course my dear Jackson”
She squeezes his arm tighter and snuggles up even closer to him; they continue along in silence for a while before continuing to make small talk. You feel sick, You don’t know if this is better or worse. But at least she stops making jabs at you.

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Eventually she leads your small party into one of the buildings. Its no more fancy then the mayors house back in Wilstown, simply grander. Fluffy pillows, hanging tapestry, artisan carved chairs and tables, the works. In one of the larger rooms on the ground floor, Jackson and Nathalie sit together on a large sofa while you position yourself on the opposite side of a coffee table. Here You are finally free of the armed guards, they are instead replaced by servants who bring in wine and some cheese. Surprisingly enough, they bring you a glass as well before retiring to stand idly in the next room waiting to be called. You wonder how people can resign themselves to such a life, but then you remember that just 13ish days ago you were on the cusp of starvation. If you had not met Jackson, you may have really starved to death. Are you like these people now? Are you Jackson's “servant”? Sure, you can leave when ever you want. But where would you even go? Back to Wilstown? To some other forest? What ever you do, you will never be like these people. Just running around and making themselves tools to be used by more “important” people. If Jackson ever starts to treat you like Nathalie treats her servants you’re G O N E gone.

Nathalie continues to fawn over Jackson and ignore you. Thats fine, you entertain yourself with eating the cheese and examining your new hunting bow; [Hunting Bow: +1 minimum Dmg; Basic Attack Type: Bow; Range 9]. You drink the wine too, you remember last night well but you don't think you can get through this without it. Nathalie drinks two glasses herself, the only one who abstains is Jackson. After a while, Natalie produces a book of poetry written in some strange language. As she recites the words to Jackson, he for the first time seems legitimately interested. The words are so soft and whimsical, you cant help but find it enjoyable even though you don’t understand it at all. oddly enough, the words begin to sound familiar, like you heard them before yet cant place when and where. Jackson on the other hand seems to understand them, and even helps Natalie translate the text much to her pleasure. Eventually, even that grows dull.

Jackson:”Well, this has been quite the pleasure, but It may be about time for us the leave. We have taken up to much of your time already, you probably want some time to yourself before dinner.”
You lighten up and Nathalie sinks, but she doesn’t insist on Jackson staying longer. And then she remebers you exist, she looks right at you and smiles. Uh oh
Nathalie: “You know Jackson, I just had a grand Idea. Why don’t you leave Kae with me?”
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Jackson:”Leave Kae? Here? With you?”
It looks like she caught Jackson off guard as well.

CONT.
Nathalie: “YES! Why don't you let me take care of Kae? If youre going to introduce her to father it would be just AWFUL if he misjudged her based on her appearance. She could use a bath I think, maybe a dress... And I could use the company of another woman, its been god knows how long. If she is good enough for you im sure she will be more then enough for meeee~”
Jackson:”Hmm... Well Kae, Lady Nathalie has made you very generous offer. What do you say?”
Trapped, but you can still escape.

>It is now noon.
>What Say / do?

>>2623601
lol

>>2622532
Kae has 1 Charisma, success is not outright possible.
but...
>Rules
>-Prompts that are more in depth have a better chance of succeeding. Example: you have a better chance of success if you provide an argument as to why the monster shouldn't eat you then if you simply say "convince him not to eat you".

>>2624736
The last time we were alone with a sketchy character was a disaster. I think this is even riskier, since Nathalie is much more socially dangerous than Loki, and she could potentially turn Jackson against us. She's also been even more overtly antagonistic to us than Loki, but it has mostly been petty antagonism. It's hard to say whether she actually means us harm, or is just being an asshole for kicks.

I say we take the risk and go with her. If we do, there's still the slim possibility that we make it out without too much trouble. If we decline her offer, she'll have an actual reason to take umbrage, Jackson might think less of us, and it could cause us some political harm.

>>2624724
Also:
>dressed like a peasant
>stink like a peasant
>but we're definitely not on fire like a peasant

>>2624736
Tell Jackson that bad things happened last night when he left you and you don't want that to happen again. It's not that Nathalie is untrustworthy, no, it's just that you're not comfortable being in a strange place with someone other than him.

Add in some doe eyes to try to tug at his heartstrings, or at least his knightly sensibilities.

>>2624736
>>2624834
To expand on this, maybe tell him that, just like how the woods were our home and he needed our help navigating them, the halls of a nobleman's castle is familiar territory to him but a strange place for us. So we need his help now just as he needed our help then. You know, as a guide.

>>2624736
>Go with her
>Give her a few compliments. She might go easier on us

>>2624736
Ask jackson if we will not upset the master of the castle, we were supposed to meet him at noon and noon it is.

if he says it's alright and that we can go we accept to go but we add this>>2624852
we try to bring him along as our guide, we don't want to offend anyone as this is a strange territory for us

>>2624736
>This is a generous offer, but we have almost missed our daily bow practice
>A castle as grand as this surely has a range, doesn't it?
>Actually, why don't we teach her how to shoot a bow?
>Be too enthusiastic for her to refuse.
Either we trap her in our element, or force her to abandon her idea.

>>2624889
This. Going with her might be more interesting than not going with her.

>>2624889
This.

We need to step back and reassess, especially the relationship between her and Jackson.

Lets play it cool at the fort, we can figure out what to do after the lunch... unless we get attacked by beastmen (who might come sailing atop that literal ocean of foreshadowing)

>>2626219
>>2626194
>>2624889

do you want to fuck up on purpose, is the suffering amusing to you?

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>>2626618
Nathalie might not be so bad.

>>2626650
at least try to bring Jackson along, please, I can't take Kae fucking everything up on every single thing she does

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>>2626654

>>2626749
safe is my concern

>>2626760
The worst that's going to happen is her being a turbobitch.

She has no reason to do any real harm to us, she doesn't consider us a threat and also would have no need to use trickery anyways.

My vote is just go with the flow at the fort. I think Kaes instincts would tell her to back off and reassess the situation, as well as being a bit closed off after the scare we had the night before.

So let's just play good little weirdo and avoid rocking the boat until we either have lunch or things go completely tits up.

>>2624736
Tell her we have a bunch of errands to do and can't dally.

Speaking of, we should do some drawing in the forest or something, unwind from the thought of loki touching our privates.
Maybe do some drawing of jackson without his helmet on

Thought more about how to approach this today. I might be eating my words next post, but lets see.

When Sojourn said Nathalie would treat us poorly, I was expecting a real nasty piece of work. Instead she just strikes me as thoughtless. I don't think she really even knows what she's doing.

Living out here in this one horse shithole, if there are even any girls her age they sure as hell aren't her peers, or even anyone she'd be allowed to talk to, so she's probably as socially isolated as Kae. Probably why she latched on to Jackson in much the same way, and I think she might have bitten off more than she can chew. There's a lot of good (or at least intriguing) things about the guy, but anyone who gets hitched to him is a battered wife waiting to happen. And due to social constraints she would be completely defenseless, whereas Kae can just up and leave. Not that Jackson seems romantically interested in either, and will probably end up treating her like a little sister.

>>2624731 The pic here shows her as a cat (obviously). That could mean lots of things, but I'm thinking something like a spoiled siamese. She's standoffish and probably mischievous. She might be cruel without even knowing it. Lets just be as patient and kind as Kae can be and see if she warms up to us. Even if that's not the case, she is not outright dangerous like Loki was (unless we hit her or something), so we can afford to take a gamble. The two might be a good influence on eachother, Kae needs some confidence, and Nathalie needs to be brought back down to earth.

We get to see Kae in a pretty dress? Sign me right the fuck up.

[Disappointment abounds]

No update today, and hiatus until next Friday. I just spent 4 hours drawing and coming up with literally nothing usable. Im not going to finish by my dead line and I simply must study for my midterms and complete my assignments. My (you) addiction will simply have to wait.

On the flip side, this is the end of the thread. So if anyone has any questions, concerns, complaints, or critiques ill be happy to take them. Other then that I have been thinking of renaming the quest. Oekaki made sense when I was on /i/, now it really doesn’t. I dont think it helps sell my quest to would be players. Opinions?

>>2630453
Autistic Bushman Adventure
kidding but seriously I'm happy that you have spent so much time drawing and writing such a great story for us. I don't read much but this might make me want to start, Thanks YourSojorun

>>2630453
Question: Do you have a character you enjoy writing/drawing over the others?

Also the art is still on point, kudos for that.

>>2630453
(you)
"Dark Fantasy Quest (Oekaki Quest)" is my suggestion. How strong is Jackson compared to other strong combat characters?

>>2630453
I really like your art and Kae is adorable. And sexy. Adorably sexy. I want to give her a hug and tell her that everything is going to be alright. Though you may want to put in more paragraph breaks. I find it can help with reading. Overall, I really like it and I'm looking forward to when you get the chance to run it again.

For a name, Dark Fantasy Quest is probably fine.

>>2630453
Take your time; you do good work and your dedication is impressive.

As for critiques, it might benefit your writing if you had a copyeditor do a quick pass before you post, to catch comma splices and other things of that nature.

How would something like "Rogue Quest" work for a title?

>>2630453
Rogue quest and Dark fantasy quest sound nice
Do your thing. Can gladly wait for next bread when i know it will be worth it <3

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>>2631188
>As for critiques, it might benefit your writing if you had a copyeditor do a quick pass before you post
This right here. Then versus than (he is bigger than her, he does this and then he does that) is the most common thing I've noticed, but otherwise it's not too glaring.

Good resource for commonly confused words, though by no means the complete list:
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/conford.html

Good resource for common punctuation mistakes:
http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/punctuation.html

I still love ya though. Been following since the inception.

>>2630453
No point burning yourself out. Most good quests that die are from burnout and trying to keep a schedule.

>>2630608
And im happy to do it, quite honestly drawing for myself had grown stale.

>>2630618
I enjoy drawing the female characters more, im not very good at drawing men in expressive poses. But other then that not really, I have come to hate Kae's signature cloak since its so hard to draw her from behind and make it look nice. As for writing, I like Kae the most since she is the only character that has grown.

Im happy you're still enjoying the art, I feel it can be pretty hit and miss myself.

>>2630686
I was thinking of names along those lines as well. "Quest: A dark fantasy" or something like that. As for Jackson's strength, thats for you to figure out yourself. Jackson defiantly falls out side of the realm of average men.

>>2630716
Success, thats what im going for. I hope you do your best to keep her safe.

>>2631756
I don't want to name it Rogue quest in case Kae dies, then ill be in the same situation I am now with a redundant name. Our next character may be a wizard or something.

>>2631188
>>2631844
Ay, writing is hard. Clearly not my leading foot but im doing my best to improve. The biggest issue is that usually when im done writing its late at night and I don't have to much time to proof read. The simple answer is to write my stuff earlier, but then the window closes for anons to give inputs; some people wait until later in the day. Also, it gives me less time to think what should be happening next and how people will respond to your prompts. Its always a struggle to figure out a good balance between having this quest not take up TOO much of my time and delivering quality content.

>>2633023
Well I defiantly don't want to burn out. But I also need to be updating at a respectable speed if I want to keep my readership, every time someone comes to my thread and reads "no update today" I feel the chance of them dropping my quest increases. I think im hitting a good balance, I hope im hitting a good balance.

>>2624889
This.
Get close and personal.