...yet as discouraging as those thoughts were, you found yourself dwelling on them all but solely to distract yourself from the report that it was their new leader who had shown tentative interest in betraying you like this.

It wouldn't be the first time Kara turned on you. Having sent her to accompany Asche and try to meet with the Tiers ended in what you could rightfully call a disaster as one of your family's only two vassal families all but fell off the map in a single night, while your own close friend and aide was taken hostage. You had forgiven her for it, ultimately laid the blame at the previous mayor's feet, but there was no telling what precious little else you stood to lose if it happened again. Not with what lay on the horizon for La'Fiel.

Perhaps it was naiveté that saw you ignore Rinnier's caution. And look past your knight's unease. And scoff at Carona's rejection. That despite all of that you had given Kara free reign to move as she wished, and to some extent even now you found yourself trying to think of some excuse that would see her blameless in this. Maybe it wasn't her - Maybe the pack just shifted leadership to someone else and kept it a secret, maybe she was being led along like a puppet for public image. Maybe if you talked to her about it, she'd be shocked and just as betrayed, and you'd root out the real problems together.

Maybe, some bitter part of you offered as a simpler explanation, these were a lot of unnecessary leaps of faith being taken to try and not acknowledge that you had been wrong to trust them in the first place.

Be that as it may, you would be relying on one of them quite soon - It wouldn't be long before you met with Raid to learn what he'd scouted of your course ahead. You also still had this bizarre crystalline branch, purportedly key to speaking with the subversive agent coordinating this rebellious effort within Carona's walls.

"We're taking a break." You turned to one of your erstwhile subordinates, noting with some baleful amusement that their discipline lacked the characteristic flash of confusion and hesitation your own knights often displayed when called upon.

"Sir? We've barely begun moving."

"And I plan to take a look ahead still." You nod, both in acknowledgement and to gesture his attention back towards the people behind you both. "The break may be temporary, it may not. Either way, they need to breathe before we go any further."

"...Understood. I'll spread the word." He cut you a smile, as if to tease you for this act of mercy. Perhaps it was uncharacteristic of the man whose face you wore. You certainly didn't remember the man as anything but a right bastard.

In the meantime, you were alone.

>Meet with Raid
>Tinker with this crystal branch
>Meditate to clear your mind (Which Mana?)
>'A Spider's Web' is more trust worthy than Raid's report.
>Other? (write-in)

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoires - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm

Misc notes:I seem to have forgotten my pastebin credentials.

Memo:
1. Ask Asche what she wants, some time
2. Return and investigate the Dryad Shrine
3.

>>3736975
>Meet with Raid
Valen woohoo

>>3736975
Oh yeah, it's my favorite year of the decade!

>Tinker with this crystal branch
Raid doesn't know that we can change faces, so let's keep it like this.

>>3737320
On second thought you're right. I change my vote to
>Tinker with this crystal branch

>>3736975
>>Tinker with this crystal branch

You came back!

>>3737320
>Raid doesn't know that we can change faces, so let's keep it like this.
Good point.

And A Spider's Web takes ages. And there's no point in meditation at this point.

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>>3737320
>>3737344
>>3737359
Crystal branch! May as figure this out sooner rather than later.

Writing!
---
>>3737320
Valen hasn't even run for a decade! This is bullying!

Tightly bound leather fit between calloused fingers snugly as you withdrew the crystalline branch, setting your whirling thoughts on the demihumans as far aside as you could for the moment. You didn't want to meet with Raid before collecting yourself, much less if it meant revealing the Diary of Reflection's capabilities to him. You'd have to make a decision on that soon - Sooner than you'd like - but for now you had other avenues to pursue. One such avenue was this queer crystalline branch you'd been given to contact Marcus with.

The 'how' to that escaped you, even as withdrawing its deep emerald surface restarted that entrancing thrum in your veins as before. A quickening which all but sung to you, drawing you into and beyond its ornate and delicately crafted surface of twisting curves and currents. Turning it to and fro yielded nothing telling about its purpose or origin, but the longer you held it the more comfortable it felt in your hand. In due time you doubted you'd even realize you were wielding it, so fully acclimated to its rhythmic pulse that you could forget it wasn't the beat of your own heart.

Though, perhaps most curiously, it didn't seem to matter how your grip shifted along its hilt, or what motion you took with the oddly shaped thing, it showed no signs of slipping. No sudden, uncontrollable rejection of even being swung as so many weapons had in the past. You could... Hold it. Use it. If anything, it felt natural.

'Apparition' Yet an unenthusiastic echo clinically supplied itself, clicking into place as a fundamental truth. 'Stillborn Jinn Elemental'

A presence within the branch stirred, its awareness quickened with your attunement. Something depressing and altogether revolting backflowing into your veins as you felt yourself linking up to this thing. This morbid caricature of life and wind, its empty vessel probing at your consciousness to form a shallow reflection in place of its own mind.

'Manifestation Failed.'

it came with a sense you'd long lived without; Through the vacant sapience of that crystalline branch you felt the words upon the wind, with every echo of Jinn's idling attentions focused on you.

'Artificial Slave - Echo.'

You held the branch at length, yet found your fingers unwilling to relinquish its gleaming length. You had the attention of Jinn now, ready and waiting to serve as courier for your every word - A degree of focus which you'd strove your entire life to feel from any Mana, now so flippantly grafted to you without so much as a question. Even now, you felt the near intangible roots of the lobotomized thing semi-risen within the branch sifting through your intentions and translating it into the tell-tale whistle of wind which Jinn spoke.

"...Marcus, report." You spoke aloud, finding yourself greeted with the silence of the night forest. This thing, you hesitate to call it a tool, but can't bring yourself to describe it as an apparition, existed in a state that perturbed you to dwell on yet was morbidly too freakish to look away from.

Fortunately that deeply unsettling limbo was broken with a whisper carried back along the wind. "Paladin, I didn't expect to hear from you again this soon. How have things gone in Sylv?"

You blink, taken aback momentarily. This had been your goal, yes, but you hadn't actually expected to be speaking with the man. What were you going to say?

>Pass on the same cover story that Caylen had betrayed them and the Valens interferred in Sylv.
>Make up something else entirely. (What?)
>Dismiss the question, you called for a report.
>Other? (write-in)

>>3739014
>Pass on the same cover story that Caylen had betrayed them and the Valens interferred in Sylv.

>>3739014
>Say that the Valens interfered in Sylv, but not about Caylen.
>Ask about Caylen's current whereabouts, as if we just suspect that something's not right.
>Order Marcus to not attempt anything until we return, be hasty as if we don't have much tiem to speak.

>>3739105
Wait, not order, ask. Marcus might be above us in the chain of command.

>>3739014
>Dismiss the question, you called for a report.

If we don't panic him we can just have our knights pick him up later, then we can question him at our leisure.

>>3739014
You know what, switching >>3739105 to >>3739149

>>3739014
>>Dismiss the question, you called for a report.

>>3739014
>Pass on the same cover story that Caylen had betrayed them and the Valens interferred in Sylv.
Simpler to keep the story straight.

>>3739398
Yeah but do we actually want these assholes to put Caylen in danger? Auntie is with, or going, to him and we really don't know what he's doing. If they think he betrayed them and they have these walkie talkie things his blood is on your hands.

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>>3739034
>>3739398
Same story!

>>3739149
>>3739173
We asked for a report, not a conversation!

hmm.... I was going to try and get one more update out, but we're tied.

>>3739464
If it's not too late, I change my vote to
>Dismiss the question, you called for a report.

>>3739464
Please note this vote: >>3739154

>>3739799
Noted!

>>3739932
But apparently there was no tie and I was just significantly more tired than I thought I was when I called the vote. Probably for the best I fucked that up and ended up not updating.

Writing!

The thought of passing on your cover story to Marcus crossed your mind, but a moment's consideration was all it took to think better of it. You were the only point of contact this man would have with the group you were leading and so long as he thought there wasn't reason to become suspicious, he'd stay right where he was.

"It goes." You affect a gruff dismissal, "More importantly, what news is there of our work in Carona?"

"Nothing unusual that I've noticed." The wind whispered back, "Is there something specific you were curious about?"

Yes. You were specifically curious about everything. Unfortunately admitting that would probably do more harm than good and you didn't have much of an idea as to where to start... But maybe you shouldn't think of this too strictly as an interrogation. Taking what he knew would probably be simpler if he was given something else to chew on in its place. "Evidently the Valen heir situated in Carona has begun to make their move. I'm just being wary."

"...Heir?" Marcus reply was delayed, taken almost physically for a loop. "I thought Caylen was the heir?"

You pinch the bridge of your nose, biting back the blistering epithet on the tip of your tongue. "It's complicated. Now, the report?"

"Well, your source on that was correct. We lost track of Irue Valen several days ago, not long after they hosted a staff meeting. We're still working to learn just what went on during that, as the information we're receiving on that end is... Conflicting." You felt briefly violated by the idea that an entire faction of people had apparently been spying on your activities, but considering your current conversation it almost felt hypocritical to complain. "The heir's behaviour is irratic. To our understanding the majority of affairs are in fact handled by the Lamandran princess under their employ. The mayor themself seems to lack the necessary skills or interest to manage things, disappearing on sabbaticals or ill-defined ventures with a frequency that would have proven incredibly beneficial to us had the Lamandran's organizational skills been less... Immaculate."

Rinnier had stressed how important it was you made some public appearances back then... All told you'd probably by more indignant over this evaluation if you hadn't somewhat resigned yourself to it already.

"Our best guess at this point is that the heir either doesn't inform their subordinates of their activities, or the circle they do keep updated is small and strictly managed. Given the profile we have of the kid, I'd lean towards the former. We haven't given up on trying to figure out their movements, but all told our job is actually made easier when they're around than after they've left."

You fell silent, heaving a tired sigh as your gaze drifted distantly up through the branches to the night sky.

"Something wrong, Paladin?"

"No. Just... Thinking." You really didn't want to hear this from people working to undermine you.

"The heir's where-abouts aside, tell me more about our operations in Carona. Individually, if you would." You suppose it was heartening that in some ways that they'd written you off as irrelevant. At the very least it did mean that they weren't making any headway finding out what you were up to.

"Cooperation with the demihumans is proceeding without much issue. It's fortunate for us that the heir seems wrapped around their finger, as that's given us a great deal of time to leverage their public presence against the Valen leadership and gain sympathizers. It was quite a windfall that they were still interested in working with us after what happened."

"Can they be used to remove some of the more important people in the chain of command?" Knowing you were being betrayed was bad enough, but you may as well test to see just how literally you needed to wait for someone to stab you in the back.

Still, receiving a negative grunt had to be the most pleasant surprise you'd gotten all night. "They've made it very clear that they will cooperate in helping us undermine the Valen management in Carona, but the beasts refuse to put their necks on the line. Something about the heir has the dogs with their tails between their legs."

Ah, yes. Leaving Kara's family a mindbroken heap evidently did have its perks. "Where do we stand with the sympathizers?"

"That is a more complicated question." You could almost hear the frown in that. "The 'knights', if you would call them that, are uncharacteristically skilled at unknightly things. Investigation into this revealed that the greater majority of them seem to be little more than dispossessed villagers acting under the role of knighthood which, while useful to us in other ways, has put them in the unique position to garner an unexpected amount of comradery with Carona's people. Having the purported knights lifting tools alongside them is difficult for us in several ways. In this, it's been a blessing that the demihumans have remained as prolifically engaged as they have or we may well have lost our foothold entirely."

"Yet we didn't." You interject impatiently, "What are we doing?"

"For the moment we're working on spreading the truth about these so-called knights. Hopefully we can turn more of the public to our side once they realize their protectors are just people picked up off the streets." He began, "And on the topic of this knights, it seems that this Irue Valen's reclusive nature isn't restricted to Carona alone. There's still a chance to sew unrest in their ranks by raising rumours and hearsay regarding their leader's character."

More rumours? Last you heard, at least some portion of your knights seemed to believe you were immune to poison, literally a fae, and commanded the forest.

"How uh... How far on that are we?"

"We haven't started yet. The best lies contain some truth to them, so we're still deciding how to go about this."

...Right. Okay. Dullem had met with you regarding this once already, you were well aware your knights regarded you somewhat strangely. There was something fundamental still lacking in your relationship with them - That element of loyalty or dedication which Alouette had emphasized was so dearly needed for a knight to rise to their potential.

You were working on making that connection with them; Helping your knights understand just who you were, where you stood, and what you expected from them. With any luck your efforts in that direction would bear fruit before these rumours did. Though in regards to Carona's reaction to the origin of your knights... That was another bag altogether.

"Moving on," Marcus drawled, "We've worked to cultivate the public opinion that House Valen has set a cheap value on their livelihood and recovery. While we had initially convinced our contacts in the neighboring towns to offer higher prices in an attempt to gouge the Valen's coffers early, the Lamandran's reluctance to spend at all has created an opportunity to show people just how little the Valen leadership is willing to invest in returning them to their every day life. With the insistence in recovering salvageable material from the wreckage, our information suggests that they are operating on either an incredibly tight budget, or nothing at all... Assuming, of course, they aren't simply pocketing it for themselves." The man paused, chuckling lightly. "Another interesting angle which may hold a kernel of truth to it that some of our sympathizers have been giving a voice to."

Damned if you did, damned if you didn't. It felt a little unfair to have any choice you could have made a poor one, but you couldn't blame Rinnier for her management of the finances so far. This problem had been on the table for a while; You doubted it could have been handled any more gracefully than it had so far. Yet push had already come to shove while you weren't looking, it seemed.

After you returned you had hoped to begin your venture north to obtain much need raw materials which, if successful, would concisely squash this sort of thing in its tracks. Though with the newly gained uncertainty regarding demihuman involvement... That plan may take longer than expected.

"Finally, you asked about personnel removal." Marcus looped back around, snapping your attention to the matter at hand. "The Lamandran is too high profile for an attempt to be made, though doubtless her removal would prove a lynchpin to our efforts. Similarly, the former slave has proven to be untouchable. Initially we suspected her to be a weak point we could exploit, but we've lost more than a handful of our men trying to capture her. I... Have no explanation for this." Marcus admitted with some trepidation, "After the first attempt failed we assigned an observational detachment for the second and third abductions but we can't even get a report back on what's happening, all of them turn up dead."

...Heh.

"Of the two remaining high profile targets, the knight captain is rarely alone. Any attempt made on him would require an accident during the day's work to be made which puts our agents at risk of direct confrontation. The small maid on the other hand has recently left Carona heading west without an escort. We're moving to secure her as soon as possible, hopefully granting us some degree of leverage."

"I see." No, no you didn't see. Where in Jinn's name was Asche going? She hadn't said anything about leaving to you. Did Rinnier send her out somewhere? "What of the less high profile marks?"

"If we begin making a concerted effort it wouldn't be difficult to arrange injuries or disappearances for the knights." Marcus reported matter-of-factly. "None of them seem wary of their surroundings and very few are apt in a confrontation. We currently have plans being made to secure someone of importance to the Lamandran princess' secretary. If all goes well, we'll gain a more direct viewpoint into what's going on in their chain of command from there."

"And..." Your teeth grit, finding the deluge of ways people were aiming to target you and yours less than calming, "When do you think progress will be made on that?"

"Within the week, opportunities presenting." Marcus replied proudly, "We've been preparing this for some time."

>Other questions? (What?)
>Issue an order. (What?)
>End the conversation.
>Spread disinformation of your own. (What?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>3741878
>"Don't move against the Lamandran princess' underlings until you are absolutely ready and don't do it without telling me beforehand. I don't want any mistakes."
>"Also, you said the maid is heading west? Call off your abduction, I have another plan in mind for her. I will update you later about it, there's a pressing matter at hand right now."
>End the conversation
Basically just try to obstruct him from doing kidnappings with delays and vague plans

>>3741878
>>3741892 is good, supporting it.

>>3741878
>Ask about Kara's attitude specifically
>Call off the hit on Asche
>Spread disinformation of your own. (What?)
Claim that things went south with Artemis and that we're trying to figure out where we stand with Caylen. Order him to lay low until we can figure some stuff out.
>Contact Rinnier with the Jinn abortion and tell her everything we've learned so far including the possible imminent capture of Miska. Suggest using her as bait for an ambush? Use Ari as a low key bodyguard?

You know what worries me?
Ari had several encounters with kidnappers which ended in mass murder, and she didn't say a word to us.
It's like that's just a spot of fun to her.

>>3741872
>"I thought Caylen was the heir?"
I wonder where that came from. Assumption, or does someone have ideas above their station?

>but all told our job is actually made easier when they're around than after they've left."
Ouch. I'm not surprised, but ouch.

This is so much worse than it first appeared. When we get back there's going to have to be a purge, starting with the demihumans.

>>3741967
That is alarming, but it's possible OakenRue acted preventatively, without Ari's knowledge.
Also
>Ari was almost kidnapped a third time
We've joked about it before, but maybe we really should properly secure her and free up OakenRue for other tasks.


More proof of Auntie's incompetence. She's letting a major holding rot from the inside because she can't be bothered to properly support us.


>>3741878
>?
>>3741892
this, I guess.

>>3741967
She's a psychopath you know. Glad she's tentatively on our side, at least she isn't killing our allies yet.

>>3741940
he may be the adept and artemis between and saying that could tip him off. Let's be careful when we aren't clear what their communication network is like. This guy sounds like a competent spymaster so let's not leave room for doubt.

>>3741878
>Ask about Kara
>Call off the action against Asche
>Call off the job against Rinniers underling

And how about...
>Ask about the Tiers, any changes? And what about the behemoth?

I have an idea. What do you guys think about telling him to call a meeting in Carona in, say, a week and make sure that Kara is present.

Irue and Ari will tag along with Kara and nail the fuckers with retard strength and oakenrue. We can't shadow kara so let's hope we can get it straight with her. I don't think she's been turned against us again, that'd be silly.

>>3742831
Yeah it seems like there just is no house breaking them. Let's just tell them to fuck off, or make an example of those we can find evidence of subverting us and then tell the rest to fuck off.

Im not sure about Irue having them executed, we still need Kara. We've got some big stuff to talk to her about

>>3742839
>I have an idea. What do you guys think about telling him to call a meeting in Carona in, say, a week
This guy is competent, and will be aware of the dangers of grouping everyone together. We'll need a real good reason to get him to agree.

If we did decide to go for an assault, Ari is unneeded for controlling OakenRue; it still listens to us and she's otherwise useless in a fight. Kara's loyalties are still uncertain, and any theoretical meeting might have some of her pack there, which would complicate things.


>>3742855
Anything short of execution is going to lead to them joining up with this very group we're trying to crush. The people with us are clearly only one element of a larger group.

>>3742839
>>3742855
I'm not so confident we should keep Kara, it might be worth cutting our losses and taking the whole lot of them with us to the ruined shrine. Shes certainly not going to be our ally if we start executing or banishing her pack but we can't just let this slide either.

>>3742873
I don't like it at all, but I tentatively agree. If she has betrayed us, this makes two times now. The first was mostly forgivable due to past entanglements, but there's no excuse for this. Fool me once...

>>3742866
>>3742873
>>3742894
I still want to believe in her and i hope it's only the pack members. It's like, we've made a fundamental error from day 1 and make a mockery of the rite ofy we just merc her. If she is betraying is then we fucked up hard somewhere and if she isn't but we act on the assumption then we are fucking up. You know?

Unrelated but i really want to shout i told you so regarding the money. We should have demanded money from the main estate, we are the head and the family's coffers are ours. We could have done it at any point in time we were in Carona

>>3743991
>If she is betraying is then we fucked up hard somewhere and if she isn't but we act on the assumption then we are fucking up. You know?
I know. But a second betrayal is unforgivable (if it is true), and she's not containable.

>We should have demanded money from the main estate, we are the head and the family's coffers are ours. We could have done it at any point in time we were in Carona
>We are the head
De jure, yes. De facto, Auntie refused to step down as regent after we passed the Testament when she legally should have. Instead, she stuck us in this wrecked backwater, told us to fix it, and refuses to give us any support, which we have asked for on more than one occasion. We have oddly never kicked up a fuss about this, meekly accepting the appointment from the usurper. It's why I'll fight her at every turn; she's stolen our title from us.

>>3744041
After she left i kept saying we need to send a letter or messenger to uncle. Auntie is not here to stop us.

It's so simple to just ask or demand, it's not a side quest but no one even wanted to try

>>3741892
>>3741903
>>3742831
Obstructing kidnappings with delays and vague plans!

>>3741940
>>3742839
Asking about Kara!

>>3741940
>>3742839
Calling off the hit on Asche!

>>3742839
Plz don't kidnap Miska.

>>3741940
Things went south with Artemis! Lay low until we figure this out!

>>3742839
Ask about the Tiers!

There seems to be a consensus to try and stop the kidnapping attempts, but I'm reading a preference towards dissuasion over strictly trying to say not to do it.

There's also a split on whether to try and spread misinformation regarding their cooperation with Artemis, but there don't seem to be many strong feelings on this. As it stands I'll treat it as a "proceed with caution" verdict.

Let's see what I can do!

"Is it wise to make a move that quickly?"

You blurted out the first thing to come to mind, going still no sooner than the words left your mouth. That was a mistake. Your breath stilled as the time between responses dragged out; Should you say something else? Maybe if you clarified-

"Is there reason not to?"

"...The slave girl." Your tongue darts along your lips dryly. Think, you couldn't stop them in time from here, this was your only chance to keep things in order back in Carona. Just convince him to do what you wanted. "If we've lost that many trying to secure her, isn't it safe to assume that the maid is at least equally dangerous? Until the others came into the picture..." Until the others came, it was just you and Asche. "Are we certain we're capable of capturing her?"

"She's been captured once before, though your concern is valid."

"No, last time she was subdued we used the demihuman." Kara had admitted as such. "Can we bring something of that degree to bear against her a second time?"

You were so used to having a body to look at in times like these. Something to read, a way to act to drive home your words; Speaking into the air like this left your pulse quickened, bating your breath with every pause as any number of formless arguments against you raced behind your eyes. You needed retorts, preparation, you needed to push.

"If something goes wrong... We won't get another chance." You forged forward unprompted, unwilling, too impatient to wait for Marcus to make up his mind. "She's heading west alone. That gives us time to observe and prepare. We can't make any mistakes with this one."

"...Very well." A reluctant response carried Marcus' conclusion back to you. "We've not seen anything warranting that degree of caution, but you're right; The target's prior capture was under extrenuating circumstances. It's unlikely to level the beasts to our aid again in this matter, so what would you suggest?"

"Handling it myself." A clear, concise answer. "If we want this done right, then I'll do it myself."

"Is this a personal matter, Paladin?" Marcus' unimpressed observation brought a frown to your face. "We can ill afford to stretch your responsibilities further than they already are. I will agree to preparing more potent countermeasures, but I cannot approve of your involvement in this matter. Rest assured we'll handle things as necessary on our end."

...So that was it, huh? Marcus was a peer in this dynamic, not a subordinate. At this rate all you'd succeeded in doing was ensuring that whoever they sent after Asche would be far and away more capable. An immediate rejection burbled to your lips only to drip back down your tongue bitterly; Arguing any further would just make things worse.

"Understood." A single word which took more effort than you'd care to admit to grit out. "Regarding the Lamandran secretary angle, then."

"That-" Marcus interrupted you with some annoyance, "-Is a simple matter that we have well in hand. As I reported earlier, these 'knights' are hardly more than dispossessed citizens. There's nothing to be concerned over."

...Could you even think of a reason to call off Miska's abduction? Or even if you could delay it somehow, maybe that would be enough? "I..." You spoke slowly, chaining together each word deliberately. "Would prefer you didn't do that."

Luna dammit, what in Shade's name was that? Your mind just blanked mid-excuse.

"Paladin, I'm going to ask you why." Marcus returned with an excruciatingly flat tone. "Both why you have become so interested in how I am managing Carona's affairs, and why we should not proceed forward as planned."

You were pressing too far. It was thin ice you were walking but if you were going to make a difference then you had to toe the line here. "My meeting in Sylv left me wary of trusting Artemis. Combined with the news that the Valen heir left in Carona has made their move, I'm reluctant to give ourselves away any more than we need to."

"I see." Marcus' troubled response brought a sigh of relief. With this you had some foothold to move forward with. "What happened to give you reason to doubt us?"

And everything came screeching to a halt.

>Spin a lie to Marcus, Agent of Artemis, as to why the Wisp Adept's faction distrusts it!
>Am I forgetting something...? (write-in)

Making a note to continue the options regarding Kara and the Tiers afterwards, depending on how this turns out

>>3744797
This is what I was afraid of. We pushed too hard, and now whatever megar progress we've made in backing these guys off just went up in smoke. Shouldn't have tried for so much on such thin premises.

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>>3744821
what have i done

>>3744797
>Forgetting
The Wisp Adept was supposed to meet an Artemis emissary in Sylv. That's all I can think of right now

>Spin a lie: "Well, I believe I can trust YOU, but I think there might be a splinter faction or something in Artemis that is working counter to our plans. The meeting place in Sylv was compromised. Clara Valen is apparently hunting for Caylen. I can't imagine how the Valens could obtain this information except if someone on the inside leaked it to them."

>>3744797
Wow, I simply cannot believe it! We made things worse! What's the worst that can happen?

At least we know for sure that Artemis is in our town and isn't some distant bogeyman, for good or ill.

I'm going to sleep and then work so the forgetting is all yours guys, I'm pulling a blank.

>The heirs observed behaviour when their close friends and allies are put in danger makes her a wildcard. We lose people who are simply spying on a slave girl. The demihuman can't be trusted and it's not certain that she can be maneuvered. The princess as you noted is very competent and will more than likely investigate a disappearance as foul play. We have a whole demihuman pack that is *afraid*of her and you just told me that she has disappeared again. We don't know what the heir is doing nor do we know how they will react if they return to see that we kicked their nest.

>If you want to pull this off it should be when you know where they are and where you are in a position to influence or control their behaviour. Don't be hasty.

I hope this will convince him to delay, but it might just as well make things infinitely worse if we tell our enemy to fight smarter. It depends on how much we care about our knightly couple really.

It is not necessarily a bad thing that this conversation is going bad. If Markovich kills the Paladin and disappear the body they'll need to presume or investigate him for treason if his whole group goes missing. If Markovich fails, then we've sown doubt between them that the Paladin isn't even aware of. It might be small and tenuous but it is a victory of sorts for us.

I'm going now but please debate and refine as much as you can

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At least we told Rinnier to arrest Marcus during the Asche interlude

>>3744797
Ok, the despair has lifted a little. Don't have a clue as to the Forgetting. Nothing even rings a bell, and I've got no idea where to start looking.
>Spoiler
I think we've pushed our luck enough for now. Even if we Remember, let's quit while we're ahead.

>>3745161
>At least we know for sure that Artemis is in our town and isn't some distant bogeyman, for good or ill.
If we get any sort of lead of them, I'm sure the Shrine would love to give us a hand in rooting them out. But without anything to go off of...

Your suggestion is telling him how to do his job again, and expresses sentiments he's already noted as being very different from expected.
Unfortunately, I'm not coming up with anything better.


Sidenote, we're conversing with someone we know (as a member of Artemis) to be infected by an idea-virus. The Wisp's guys are potentially infected, but this guy certainly is. Let's not talk to him more than we need to.

Window will be closing soon-ish so I can try and get an update out before the skyfire is in fullswing! Something like ~3-4 more hours.

>>3744797
>...Could you even think of a reason to call off Miska's abduction? Or even if you could delay it somehow, maybe that would be enough?
Is this what we're supposed to be aiming for with the forgetting, or is the forgetting about coming up with a lie? I dunno, maybe we could use their impending marriage to delay him, spin some shit about how we heard it'll be a private affair and thus a good enough opportunity to be worth waiting for?

I hate forgettings, I never understand what question we're being asked.

>>3747059
And how for we hear that when Marcus is the one in the town and have all the spies?

>>3747083
From one of the villagers in our camp?

>>3747059
I'm not so sure about that. Seems out of place to suggest this now

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>>3744909
Lie: There's a leak from the inside! We've been compromised!

>>3745161
Remind him that they're poking a dangerous nest!

Hmmm....
---

>>3747059
>I hate forgettings, I never understand what question we're being asked.
Is there something you've learned which is relevant to the issue or conversation at hand? Something that could help? That's the general question for every Forgetting. What you consider relevant, or what you think might "help" varies and opens up significantly broader (and more specific) answers.

For instance in this situation, your general question is mentioned above. But what do you think is relevant? What do you think might help? What end goal are you trying to get help towards? You considered Miska's impending wedding relevant to delaying her abduction, but bringing it up wouldn't at all be relevant to explaining why you suddenly distrust Artemis. >>3744909 felt that the Artemis emissary that the Wisp Adept was supposed to be meeting in Sylv would be relevant to why said Adept now has doubts about Artemis. This answer may not help you prevent Miska's abduction, but it may be relevant to covering your sudden misstep and sewing discord.

When I pose a Forgetting as an option I typically have one (or two) specific answers in mind, but they're rarely the only ones and I make a point to consider whatever answers are given to see if one would be viable in the given situation. The bottom line is that you might consider them less specific questions to be answered as they are a pointed prompt that now is a good (or your last) opportunity to use something you've learned.

>>3747196
The Trails series is a treasure.

A misstep, and a dire one, but the fact he was waiting for an explanation meant you hadn't gone so far you couldn't recover. Not yet, at least; Whatever you came up with to cover yourself with would be liable to decide it... But that was so much easier said than done when it was taking all you could to not curse aloud in frustration. Your knuckles shone white around the branch's grip, furiously clenching the tool while calming the tremor in your arm - You couldn't respond yet. Not before you knew for certain your voice wouldn't give you away.

Luna preserve, what were you going to respond with? You had no idea what that meeting was supposed to be about, save that it may have involved Caylen. What... No, there was supposed to be an emissary from Artemis there as well, wasn't there? Caylen, a member of Artemis... No, that didn't make any sense. The last you'd spoken with your aunt she had left to pursue Caylen towards the west, why was he in Sylv? Had your hunch been wrong? No, that was definitely the direction he'd left in, Maran had been leading him to meet with Artemis.

...And no one should have known that. Would have known that if you hadn't realized it when you did.

"The meeting in Sylv was compromised." Your best shot at this hinged on throwing bait and seeing what bit. "I suspect someone in Artemis leaked that information."

All that was left was to wait for a response. A wait you counted in heartbeats, stretching on uncomfortably long; Long enough you wondered if your answer itself had somehow terminated the conversation. When finally Marcus spoke again, your pulse spiked.

"Do you have grounds for an accusation like that?"

The vicious grin spreading across your lips made you, for once, glad there was no way to see one another. "Clara Valen herself moved to intercept Caylen in route to his meeting. The correspondence in Sylv should have gone unnoticed as well, and that's not to mention the complications regarding the Undine Atelier." You may not have known what the meeting in Sylv entailed, but if it was grounds for a leak then you had plenty. Most of them you yourself had been the cause of. Even your claims of their network being compromised weren't unfounded - If they were, this conversation certainly wouldn't be happening. "Once I'll believe a coincidence, but almost every other turn has had direct interference. You mean to tell me that isn't suspicious to you?"

"Be that as it may, what do we have to gain from betraying you?" Marcus retorted calmly. "It's our desire to see your prince reclaim his rightful heritage just as much as it is yours, Paladin. Our goals are one and the same."

"As an organization." You acknowledge, filing away that new information curiously. "But not every member lines up so nicely. Are you so sure that, with everything that's happened in this area these past months, your side hasn't been tapped?"

"...No." Marcus, rather reluctantly, backed down. "It is as you say. Though I struggle to imagine who could have become the weak link in our design, I cannot outright deny the preternatural acuity with which the Valens have intercepted our plans in the region."

"That is why I'm hesitating. The heir's behaviour is irratic, you've admitted as much that your own surveillance has turned up nothing useful on their ventures, yet mere days after they go missing and our correspondence in Sylv is compromised, you're planning to provoke them? I don't know how vast Artemis resources are, but we can't afford to make moves that will casually lose us handfuls of men just trying to spy on a slave." You stressed Ari's former status, stifling the almost manic giggle that threatened to gurgle up as you blessed that flesh abomination you'd left to guard her over and over in your mind. It'd not only been protecting her, it'd given you sorely needed leverage in this argument.

Just... Mana bless that thing, you needed to give it a name or something when you went back.

"You noted the Lamandran's skill in managing affairs in lieu of the heir's presence, even said yourself your job becomes more difficult with their absence. You're earnestly suggesting that you're planning to kidnap a link into the inner circles of a monster that's left a pack of dogs too scared to actively betray them not only while that monster is unaccounted for, but when there's damn proof your plans are being leaked?"

"Your misgivings are noted, Paladin." The wind carried Marcus' grimacing words back to you. "I'll not argue the finer points of our operations with you, but I understand your concerns. With us, and the possibility of our operations henceforth. We had planned to look into this matter on our own, but as it has shaken your faith in our alliance to this degree I will elevate its priority immediately. Rest assured, we will discern the origin of these failures."

Your teeth grit, elation over having salvaged your mistake tempered by what amounted to a dismissal. You had perhaps bought time for Asche, at the expense of strengthening her pursuers, but it didn't sound like Miska's abduction would be so much as delayed. You couldn't afford to break off your plans now to return in time, either. Instead you found yourself stranded out here, knowing what was coming with no way to stop it.

...And whatever burgeoning second thoughts you had about leading this group to their death was swiftly finding itself buried under the black resentment that hateful feeling helped blossom.

"Good."

You spit out a reply, controlling how much venom was let seep in alongside your frustrations. You had so many other things you'd wanted to pry out of Marcus - Information on the Tiers, some hint on the nature of the demihuman's betrayal, maybe even tricking him into letting slip more of Artemis' plans... But not now. You'd pushed the limits too far as it was.

"I'll be waiting for results, then." You continue with a heavy grimace. "For now, I'm relocating our camp. There's no telling if this place is compromised as well."

"Understood." the Artemis agent loosed a beleagured sigh. "Contact me again when you've resettled the camp with details on where to send future sympathizers. We'll halt our operations on that end until your word."

A minor victory, considering what was left weighing on your mind after this conversation. "I'll be in touch." You return, ending the conversation with some finality as you... Realized you still weren't sure how to turn this thing off. The branch had all but seized control of your hand, refusing to let you drop it. With some exasperation you managed to shove the sheathe back onto its crystalline branch, rewarding you with the nauseating feeling of its mental probes shrivelling away in your veins and mind, punctuated by a single, ephemeral feeling of loss as the wind around you seemed to die for lack of a better word.

It was difficult to breathe for a split second there after, almost as if you'd forgotten how, but air rushed back into the empty gap left in its wake and you found yourself once more bereft of the much treasured sixth sense that lilted the wind's idle whispers to your ear.

Left tired by the exchange, emotionally charged and not a little bit uneasy with this thing - Echo, as your mind had so clinically supplied - you collected yourself before moving on. You still needed to meet with Raid tonight... Unless you planned on making good on your lie earlier to scout ahead yourself. There were other ways as well; Ways far more efficient, more informing and more absolute, but losing too much time could make things difficult.

>Meet with Raid
>'A Spider's Web'
>Scout yourself, you needed time to think anyway.
>Other? (write-in)

>>3747469
>Scout yourself, you needed time to think anyway.

>>3747469
>Go ahead, drop the disguise and meet with Raid.
>Keep the branch. If we manage to capture Marcus with his one, it can become an extremely useful communication asset.

>>3747469
>Meet with Raid
Man if we can't find a place to cross why don't we just make all these guys build rafts?

And i hope to god that the atelier will actually kill them, not let any escape to become vectors. and i fucking hope it's still active and didn't go dormant after we solved it

>>3747469
>>Scout yourself, you needed time to think anyway.


>>3747741
>>Keep the branch.
I agree, but do we know how the link works? Is there another side, or can we call anyone with it?

>>3747942
>spoiler
That is one of the many potential problems with this plan, but it's too late to back out now. On the plus side, it appears the atelier needs external information to solve, so we shouldn't have to worry about any of them figuring it out.

>>3748129
>do we know how the link works? Is there another side, or can we call anyone with it?
As far as you can tell, the branch serves as an intermediary between your thoughts and Jinn itself. From there communications aspect functions the same as any long range conversation held by a Jinn Adept might - Ergo the recipient needs Jinn's favor, or failing that, another way to interpret Jinn on their behalf.

I'm feeling a bit sluggish today so I'm going to try and take a nap then call the window later!

>>3747469
>Meet with Raid

>>3747480
>>3748129
We'll scout ourself! This body is pretty handy, after all.

>>3747741
>>3747942
>>3749628
Time to find Raid; You can't put this off forever.

>>3748129
>>3747741
Branch to be kept!

Alright, let's see if I can get this out before appointment time!

While the thought of putting this body through its paces was a tempting one, the Wisp Adept's extraordinary physical fitness didn't exactly come with night vision. Your best option continued to be your initial plan of relying on Raid, regardless of what recent revelations left you feeling on that matter... And in that regard, you knew you couldn't put it off forever. Judging yourself a safe distance from camp and the rest of the mercenaries, you crack open the Diary of Reflections and allow your identity to wash away once more in its rippling pages. You tucked the relic away and heaved a quiet sigh after the familiar weight of your hair had settled in place, leaving you definitively Irue Valen once more.

True to form, you'd barely had time to settle down before Kara's younger brother emerged from the forest. "You don't look near as bad as I thought you would." He began, flashing a fanged smile as he looked you over. "No cuts, no bruises, not a hair out of place."

"Should there be?" You return with a quirked brow.

"I did sorta expect I'd be sneakin' in to save you after your plans went belly up." Raid admitted candidly. "So, things went well on your end, then?"

"As well as could be expected." You'd prepared yourself to be guarded over the finer details of your plans, but the demihuman just nodded and plopped down across from you. "You?"

"I found something that might fit, but I didn't look too closely. You just need a way across the river, right?"

"Far enough north that it crosses over into the right part of the woods." A minor detail, but one which made a literal world of difference. "Unless you travelled far enough north to pass the branch, it's not what I'm looking for."

"Yeah, and I'm telling you there's a spot not far up that could work for you." He insisted, tilting his head a moment later with an amused smirk. "Don't put me in the same category as your 'knights', I don't take weeks to get my job done."

A twitch of the cheek belies your cross retort, not quite finding it worth the time to bicker over your knights. You'd gone rounds with Raid over his thoughts on humans in the past, and at least in this regard you'd be hard pressed to disagree. "You really moved that far up river in just the afternoon? And made it back?"

"My sister could have made laps by now." Raid's chest puffed out, preening before you. "But go on, praise me more!"

"...Maybe later." You catch yourself observing the younger demihuman skeptically, trying to ferret out some sign of duplicity in his lopsided, arrogant smile and relaxed slouch. A fruitless effort - Maybe even a meaningless one - and certainly one you shut down before it could show. "What do you mean this place could work?"

"I mean I wasn't getting close enough to find out." He returned bluntly, "There's a fallen tree stretched most of the way across the river. Probably not great on its own, but with a little effort you could use it to ford across." He stretched his arms apart to try and emphasize the log's girth, "Some rope to hang onto so you don't slip and float down stream and you'll be fine! Probably."

"Uh-huh..." Your eyes narrow. "And you just eyeballed this from the shore because...?"

"Woods are haunted."

"Ex-" You start, "Excuse me?"

"Woods are haunted." He repeated seriously. "Not the good kind of haunted either. It's some shit."

There's a good kind of... No, that's not important right now. Most things considered haunted were just places Shade apparitions had set up roost in; You hadn't expected to find one barring your way into Dryad's Atelier. More over- "Are you alright?"

"Yeah?" Raid perked up, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Demihumans and Shade apparitions didn't seem to-" You began, only for him to shake his head and cut you off.

"No, it's not an apparition, it's haunted. Sasha told me about places like that, I ain't getting near it." He sat back, propping himself at an angle as he made his stance in no uncertain terms. "You should be fine though, I guess."

Sasha... If you recall he was part of Kara's pack. He was an outsider though, born to some other group and joined them later? You weren't entirely clear on how that worked - What you did know was that Kara and Raid had pointed you towards him if you got curious about demihuman stories and history. Seemed he served as some kind of repository for oral folktales and superstitions, or the like.

You'd been far too busy to go indulge in idle curiosities at the time. You gesture weakly for the demihuman to continue. "I'm going to need you to elaborate on that. If it's not an apparition, what is it? And why shouldn't I be concerned?"

"It's a demihuman thing." Raid supplied unhelpfully, catching your expectant gaze in the ensuing silence for several long, awkward moments. "Didn't I tell you to bug Sasha about this stuff?"

"You didn't tell me he was a ghost whisperer." You point out crossly, "And I was busy besides, now out with it."

"Don't wanna."

"Raid!" He stuck his tongue out at you childishly, clinging to his reticence now almost assuredly just to annoy you over anything else. "Don't test me on this." You hiss out warningly, "Not now."

Unfortunately, your deathstare did little but make him chuckle. "Ooh, scary. I might get flagellated by those noodles you call arms."

Your teeth grit, any number of vicious invectives curling upon your lips as his mirth carried on. Insulting him would just play into his game further, and like as you might to strangle him from time to time, his raw physical power far outweighed your own.

In truth there was little you could do to force the matter - A fact you were beginning to seethe over when the boy in question removed his bandana and ran a clawed hand through his mess of sandy hair. "Well if it bothers you that much, how about a trade?"

"Trade what?" You grumble, favoring the self-satisfied brat with an unamused grimace.

"I tell you what it's like. The haunting, I mean." Raid begins, springing forward to pad across the dirt between you on his hands and knees. "And you let me do what I want with you for a while."

You leaned away as he approached, glancing down your nose at his invasion of personal space with some hesitation. "...What?"

"It'll be our secret~"

"Do I want to know?" You deadpan, planting your hand on his face and pushing him back a length. "How about I just make you find a better place to cross?"

"If you just want to stay out here even longer." Raid slapped your hand aside, crossing his legs underneath him as he made himself comfortable in the grass where you'd shoved him back. "There's no telling how much further up river I'll have to go to find another spot... Up to you."

>Fine. Make the trade, he's probably just teasing you anyway.
>On second though, take him on his word. If he says it's not your concern, it isn't.
>Confront him about the demihuman duplicity.
>Other? (write-in)

>>3750361
While I am curios about what how Raid's going to lewd us...
>On second though, take him on his word. If he says it's not your concern, it isn't.

The whole point of is to run into things that are dangerous anyway, right?

>Other? (write-in)
Actually Raid, we could sick the whole camp on you if we really wanted, but nah.

>>3750606
Actually wait I'm stupid. Ignore the write in part.

>>3750361
So I'm wide awake and I've been thinking.
>Other? (write-in)
Raid tell me what the fuck this haunting shit is or else I swear I will meditate on Shade and make you REGRET testing me.

>>3750606
So yeah, ignore this.

>>3750361
>>On second though, take him on his word. If he says it's not your concern, it isn't.

I wonder if this has something to do with our suspicions of the demihumans being of the same line as those kids from the dead zone. A fragment of the zone maybe? Or possibly they have strange reactions to Dryad material?

>>3751413
That isn't any better than your other write-in. iirc, the demihumans aren't aware we were the ones that summoned the first apparition that crushed them so.

>>3751442
>Still, receiving a negative grunt had to be the most pleasant surprise you'd gotten all night. "They've made it very clear that they will cooperate in helping us undermine the Valen management in Carona, but the beasts refuse to put their necks on the line. Something about the heir has the dogs with their tails between their legs."

Even if he wasn't their, I'm pretty sure he knows that we brought his entire family down. Hell you could say we indirectly killed a lot of them.

Actually, if he has no idea how we did it, then that makes threatening him easier.

Do you remember what the forest did when kara "knocked"? The whole thing sprang to life to rip and tear. It's not far fetched to think that guardians especially and apparitions like the undine spiders (they were some different type weren't they) have an enormous hate boner for demihumans if the dead zone theory is correct

>On second though, take him on his word. If he says it's not your concern, it isn't

If it's an apparition Irue is safe ish.

I think if we want raid to heel it comes down to physical dominance. He needs to fear for his life but it won't help if he thinks he'll be able to take revenge.

We need another oakenrue, or take Ari's but that feels like metagaming due to her pov

>>3750361
>On second though, take him on his word. If he says it's not your concern, it isn't.

File: I Refuse.png (813 KB, 1125x885)

813 KB PNG

>>3750606
>>3751442
>>3751529
>>3752006
Has Raid ever steered you wrong?

>>3751413
Threatening Raid!

I'm only a little disappointed! I'll get the update out a bit later, as I'll be occupied off and on for a while!

Annoying as it was to admit it, Raid's estimation was on the mark; You didn't want to stay out here any longer than necessary. However his proposition left you feeling pushed to two extremes, one of which was the inclination to grind the impertinent brat into the ground and remind him of exactly where he and his pack stood with you. If your recent revelation over their disloyalty gave you a bias in this direction you weren't about to admit it, but suffice to say you bit your lip before you could snap at him for trying to strong arm you into his game.

And it was a game, of that you had little doubt. Raid had never made a secret of how little he thought of non-demihumans, and his relationship with you could best be described as a perpetual dance of probes and barbs. This was just another of those, no doubt meant to humiliate you in exchange for whatever information you wanted. There were times you would consider swallowing your dignity for something you sorely needed... But this was neither one of those times, nor something you necessarily needed.

Although... Frustration wasn't the only reason the proposition left you biting your lip. An alarming realization that was thoroughly quashed once you became aware of just where that line of thought was taking you. Despite your misgivings regarding potential betrayal, you were as ever honestly more comfortable around demihumans than most humans; Raid was no exception. If anything, he was the prime example. The constant, low-key push and pull. The sense of wariness that kept you on your toes. You didn't dislike the dance. Part of you - An incredibly traitorous part - was admittedly curious as to where this would go.

You closed your eyes and sighed, head hanging tiredly. Right now wasn't a good time for games, not with everything already on your mind. "I'll take your word for it."

"Just like that?" A faint smile ghosted across your lips at his disappointment. "I could be lying."

"Are you?"

You turned a sincere look towards him. For weeks he'd needled your choice to put faith in him and his pack, openly questioning the ease with which you took them by their word. He was, ironically, even more persistent in his warnings not to trust his kind than your flame haired Testament. In light of what you knew now, more than ever you had to wonder why.

"If you say I'll be fine, then I believe you." You settled the matter concisely, brushing dirt from your clothes as you rose. The dissatisfied scowl on his face made your smile all the more genuine as you held a hand out to help him up - One he looked away while accepting.

Maybe he was right. Maybe you were going to regret this eventually, and you won't be able to say there wasn't ample warning from all involved when you find yourself stabbed in the back. It was something you were preparing yourself for, more so now that you knew for a fact it was coming, but... Even still, you hadn't come this far just to turn back on your decisions. You'd spent the Rite clawing out the loyalty of your Testament, proving you were worth being followed, and you'd heard the doubts levied against you when you set out to integrate Kara and her pack with your knights.

But for now, Raid had yet to steer you wrong.

"So, what now?"

The sandy haired youth fit his bandana back over his messy locks. It took you a moment before the question really sunk in, but all you had initially planned to task Raid with was scouting and he'd performed far beyond your expectations already. Was there any need to keep him on that duty? Did you have something else he would be better served doing?

>New orders! (what?)
>Keep him on stand-by.
>Broach a different topic (what?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>3755402
>Keep him on stand-by.
No time to waste lets go before they miss us

>>3755402
>Keep him on stand-by.

>Other? (write-in)
Tell him the next time he want's to lewd someone, he should probably buy them dinner first.

>>3755402
>Keep him on stand-by.

>>3755402
>>Keep him on stand-by.

Not sure what else to do with him. He either stays a safe distance or go back. On one hand, staying might have him sniff out our secret but on the other I don't want him near people without oversight.

Just make sure he isn't dumb enough to cross the river. I guess he could hunt food for the road back so we don't have to worry about that.

Loot the camp... No, not alone.

>>3755402
>>New orders! (what?)
Go check on the shade guy. I assume he's got it handled, but him hanging around is going to allow him to sniff out our secret.

>>3756577
Yeah there we go, brainfart averted

>>3755402
Changing >>3755530 to buddy up with Markovich.

>>3752253
>I'm only a little disappointed
We all remember that demikids are chest bursters. Big yikes and a nope from me

>>3756577
Seconding

>>3756577
Not a bad idea. Changing my vote to this

>>3755445
>>3755476
stand by forever!

>>3756577
>>3757165
>>3757197
>>3758345
Actually, go talk to Marchovic! Who knows what he's up to.

Votes noted! I will do my best!

"Now you go find Marchovic." It'd barely been a day since you separated but it wasn't inaccurate to say that Marchovic's success was vital to your own. The moment the real Wisp Adept showed up in camp with a grudge was when everything you'd done so far fell through, much less to say about what it would mean for you personally. "Help him if he needs it, but otherwise keep an eye on what he's doing and report back if something goes wrong."

"Can I just... Not, instead?" He grimaced. "I just got rid of Fangs. Do you know how insufferable he's going to be when I show up?"

"Roughly as insufferable as someone making advances on you without buying dinner first." You return flatly, exchanging a smug grin for his scowl. "Now get moving. With any luck, everything will be handled before we regroup."

Kara's younger brother gestured rudely at you as he left, stalking back into the night as he groaned. You expected he'd show some reticence in being sent back to look over the man who'd done nothing but gotten under his skin the whole trip, but it wasn't as if you had anyone else you could entrust the matter to. That it was petty punishment for what he pulled earlier was just a perk, really.

Left to your own devices, you breathed in the night air and solitude... For all of the several, fleeting seconds it took to refocus on the task at hand. Once more the icy pages of the Diary of Reflections were cracked open, washing away your crimson eyes in favor of someone far more imposing. You had your destination now, confirmed and guaranteed to be much closer than you thought. Pushing them could see them there by tomorrow, even. Thinking about that as you moved back towards camp, you began to really internalize it: All of this would be over, if all goes well, by tomorrow. These people who had worked to undermine your house for who knows how long, aligned themselves with Artemis to divide La'Fiel, and were in constant cooperation specifically to attack you and yours - Tomorrow, each of them would be gone.

It was a weight off your shoulders, even though you knew it wouldn't be the end of your troubles. Excising this group of people broke a link in the chain, but after tonight you knew for a fact the roots were tangled deeper in Carona than you'd given them credit for. But it was a start! The first tangible piece of progress you'd made in securing that miserable town as your territory in preparation.

Should have made you happy.

But it didn't.

Mercenaries kept vigil over the broken camp, little more than a respite for the anxious and the weary. They nodded in your direction when you were noticed in turn, tending reports if prompted on the night; They told you nothing you couldn't see for yourself, but it was addicting to hear the words they used.

"Forest's quiet tonight!" - A phrase heard almost invariably. It was the way they looked when they told you that kept it fresh in your mind: The weary grins, the cocksure smiles. They differed and bickered as you passed, arguing over whether the past few weeks of grace were a good omen - "Things are turning up well these days, yeah?" - or a calm before the storm - "Stay sharp, don't take this for granted. We're moving for a reason."

They looked to you in askance if you daddled too long, a voice of authority prodded in mirth to weigh in one way or the other. More often than not you only offered a smile; A vague sentiment that settled nothing, but one they took in stride. Amidst professional grunts to get back to work, some went so far as to set aside your happenstance attention to talk about things which honestly didn't matter. The development of someone's arthritis, with ill anticipated feelings on the coming winter was one such example that you found yourself at a loss of words to respond to.

What could you say? And more personally, was this what it meant to have earned the fealty of your followers? In a single night you glimpsed the surface of a man whose love life was incorrigible, of a woman who'd grown disillusioned with Carona and simply took this arrayment as an excuse to leave and become part of something bigger. Of a... Rocky romance, whose beginnings were already in peril, even as the most recent fight cooled and thoughts of reconciliation were put to seed. Thoughts of Jill flickered unbidden, leaving you stiffling a cringe over past missteps even as you were relieved not to find her here.

When you were hailed for no other reason than to learn someone'd broken out a stash of spirits - Not even to deal with the matter, but in passing invitation to join them for a cup if your night brought you around.

It reminded you how little you knew about the man whose face you wore. How one-sided and vicious your history with him had been. With each new face replacing the last, the common elements which stayed were warmth and respect - An onslaught of solidarity seemingly determined to leave you dispirited; If not for what you meant to fall upon them, then for the realization that even Dullem as your closest subordinate regarded you nothing like this man's entire host.

It was awe you saw reflected in your knight's faces. Intimidation and nervousness as they hung on your words, shirking your gaze. That they would still be found worthy today; Be given something to prove their merit. That your generosity so freely given might not just as abruptly end as their windfall fortune turned.

You were their lord. This man was their leader. They moved under your banner. They followed at his back.

At the end of the day it was that trust which saw them following you now. Allowed you to misappropriate their loyalty for your own ends without question or doubt - Even going so far as to be encouraged on the rare occasion your carefully maintained distance was mistaken for aught else.

If you dwelled too long on the manner in which you'd perverted those bonds then the spiral would take you quickly.

Yet entertaining those thoughts was a comparative mercy through the night as you took in the conversations of those who had sought refuge under his wing from Carona. It distracted you from paying mind to the doubts they quarreled with each other over, and the motivations which moved them to take sides against you. Friends and sometimes families in other territories whose fates had been far less kind than your own as noblesse oblige failed them. An obligational failure which they laid at the gate of your house, at the foot of the Crown, at some nebulous greater who loomed on high and misrepresented their needs, forgot and sneered down at them.

Which of those three rung most true changed with the wind. Which of those three were worse changed nearly as often. What didn't change was the sense of purpose which banded them together against it all. The decision to take matters into their own hands and support a cause that turned them against neighbour and noble to better fill their needs.

Your house had failed them. Your house, an almost whiplash inducing change of pace from you personally, though you imagined the distinction would be fuzzy in most of their minds. At times it was fuzzy in your own, and though an objective part of you quite firmly set yourself aside of this blame - How could it be your fault? You knew nothing of this until recently. You'd had nothing to do with it! - You wondered just how far that absolution could be taken.

Could you rightfully look at the circumstances and shrug it away as your aunt and uncle's failings? If you were to talk to these people openly and earnestly, would they accept that and forgive you? Give you a chance? Or was your name - Your status, beleagured as it was - enough to condemn you in their eyes?

These were the people Caylen would have sided with. Your justice minded cousin had only to meet these people face to face, hear their complaints hurled at him, to take to heart their plight and become the champion they so sorely needed. Artemis would ensure that meeting happened. As frustrating as it was, you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing more was needed; No machinations, no manipulations, no lies or misdirections. As steadfastly as you would fight their every goal, by tooth and nail if you had to, if your cousin sided with the discontent you had no one to blame but him. Or your own family.

Having become privvy to the reasons behind the choices made, perhaps you were just as much to blame as the others. You took up that self-same purpose that your aunt and uncle wore, the one which saw this malcontent spread as an acceptable cost to the status quo being maintained just a little longer - To gaining just that much more time to prepare.

You took your side, made your choices, and were resolved to see this through. You had Rinnier's support. You needed to secure Carona - The first step to securing the rest of the Valen territory - and prepare for the war Artemis would inevitably see tear your country in half. Prepare to face Artemis on as even ground as you could muster. All of that started with this. With consigning each of these people to death not because they were evil, not because of a sin, but for the crime of having believed their future would be brighter in another direction.

This was the taste of civil war, and as your flame haired Testament had warned you, it was ash on the tongue.

Yet if all went well, then tomorrow...

By tomorrow...

The remainder of the journey will be uneventful, but you have one final stretch before the end. What to do?

>Finish it. There's no turning back now.
>Abandon them in the night. You can't do this. Not like this.
>Try to learn more from the people (Something specific?)
>Other? (write-in)

>>3761089
>>Finish it. There's no turning back now.
>Try to learn more from the people (Something specific?)
Dead men walking. try to figure out what was in the tower at the original camp, and if it would be worth taking.

If we will not defend what our aunt decides to grants us of our title, it will be taken from us, sooner or later. We've always been hands on, if we're not willing to kill ourselves how can we demand others kill for us?


>You were their lord. This man was their leader. They moved under your banner. They followed at his back.
Not a physical pain, but it hurts all the same.

>>3761231
>try to figure out what was in the tower at the original camp, and if it would be worth taking.
Suppose I should specify that's low priority, as making waves this late in the game would be silly. Still, the Jinn branch is a very nice windfall (hah), so it's worth seeing what other treasure they might have.

By the way, how are we going to get them to go into the forest without us?

>>3761089
>Abandon them in the night. You can't do this. Not like this.
Whelp. You know those times when we use the web and were given some warning signs? Yeah this is like one of those times. Or that's the feeling I'm getting.

Anyway, regardless of how the vote goes, I was planning on restructuring our Knight corps. We might want to "demote" some people into militia and civil servants or something, only keeping them in service until Carona is all fine and dandy. After that they can settle down in Carona (and will give them as much help them of course). This way they have a future to look forward to and they can take up the jobs they actually want to take.

Then we keep Miska and the other volunteers who actually want to become knights. That should make them easier to arm and train. Were probably going to check on our Aunt after this, so we might want to bring them along and see if we can get them some Knight training or at the very least they can see the house they'll be guarding in the future. Again, a future to look forward too.

Hey Riz, could you add to the memos:

3. Bring Miska and the other "People skilled with arms, with a taste for conflict" with us to the main house.

>>3761089
>>Finish it. There's no turning back now.
Not killing them not only makes this entire venture pointless, it leaves a group dedicated to bringing us down free to continue their work.

>>3761711
Memo:
1. Ask Asche what she wants, some time
2. Return and investigate the Dryad Shrine
3. Bring Miska and the other "People skilled with arms, with a taste for conflict" with us to the main house.

Memo updated!

>>3761711
>We might want to "demote" some people into militia and civil servants or something
They are all we've got, and we've been skirting the issue of their payment for a while now. We've gotta play with the hand we're dealt. Until we can find proper armsmen and a means to pay them, there's no point in demoting our existing knights.
Plus, remember them working for us was originally a was to work around their sentence. I assume they've told others in passing about this, as they've no reason to keep it a secret. Which means it's not something we could just brush off.

>>3761782
>Plus, remember them working for us was originally a was to work around their sentence. I assume they've told others in passing about this, as they've no reason to keep it a secret. Which means it's not something we could just brush off.

Well, yeah they're still serving they're sentences until Carona is okey dokey. We only called them knights for morale reasons. They're conscripts and grunts, and calling them knights is starting to hurt us more than it is helping.

So we stop calling them "Knights", and use a promise of a secure future to boost they're moral instead. We'll call them what they really are, militia and civil servants. This also helps get read of unwanted pressure of having the title of Knighthood.

>>3761782
>issue of their payment
They're doing this so they don't go to jail aren't they? Actually weren't they going to be executed?

>>3761826
>Well, yeah they're still serving they're sentences until Carona is okey dokey.
There is no exit clause in their employment.

>They're conscripts and grunts
Alway have been, always will be. There's no shame in it.

>So we stop calling them "Knights"
> "My judgement is conscription. Effective immediately, your past is discarded. You will work for me, and train to become my own knights."
I suspect it would also cause moral issue among them to change their title, even if their actual duties didn't.

>>3761832
Yes in both cases, but they're not slaves or indentured servants. They still nominally earn a wage same as anyone else we might hire.

>>3761911
>There is no exit clause in their employment.
I suspect when we reach the point that Carona is functioning, it won't really matter. Hell, you know what, you're right we should pay them. I don't even care if the crown comes for them, if they do that than fuck them. Good luck to them trying to suppress revolution without our help. If they wan't to be our allies, than they better stay the fuck away. And I'm pretty sure that we can convince the rest of our family that this is the right way to deal with our knights and their sentences.

>Alway have been, always will be. There's no shame in it.
Exactly there's is no shame in it. SO we should stop trying to hide the fact that they are. We should stop acting like it's shameful that they're not knights.

>cause moral issue among them to change their title
They're afraid they won't meet our expectations and be left to fend for themselves. It probably felt really cool to be called a knight at first, but the implications of that are starting to set in. Now they're starting to feel inadequate and unsure about their future.

Aside from a few who actually want to be Knights, I'm sure most of them don't care. They didn't want to be Knights, they wanted a roof over their heads and prospects for the future.

We don't actually expect that much of them, but us calling them knights is probably messing with their heads. And hell, the fact that were calling them knights even while they're undeserving of the title is going to be used by our enemies as propaganda against us. If nothing else, we should stop calling them knights just for that reason.

>>3761089
>Abandon them in the night. You can't do this. Not like this.
Not after what we did to the bandits.
In any case, if we take out the leaders with haste these guys should not become a problem. But we need to ensure the Wisp Adept has been eliminated.
>Tell them we're going to scout again and if we don't return until the morning, they are to disperse, lay low and most importantly not try to get back to Carona
>Steal the branch

>>3761089
>Finish it. There's no turning back now.
Once you start something, you ought to end it

>>3761089
>Finish it

I guess the skyfire got Riz today.

>>3761231
>>3761753
>>3762378
>>3762675
A leader is tasked with doing terrible things, sometimes, in pursuit of something greater. Become what you must.

>>3761711
>>3762344
Not like this. You weren't a person who would do something like this, much less for these reasons.

Apologies, circumstances have arrayed themselves to keep me under the skyfire these past few days and it's getting harder to push through it. It's going to be yet another one of those days today, but I'll get an update out a bit later today!

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Circumstances have ended as of now. I'm just going to curl up and die in a corner somewhere, but problems should be resolved for the rest of the thread.

Thanks for putting up with this.

>>3767481
*holds*

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>>3767481
It's OK

Come next morning the camp was broken. Breakfast was a swift affair consisting mainly of dried meats and forage and, save for a few, it wasn't a displeasant start to the day. You, to your significant disturbance, were for once not among the select group of people greeting the morning light with scorn and misery; That illustrious group counted itself almost uniformly as the ones who drank a little too deeply the night before. Yet for once in your life you woke with the rising sun and... Simply got up as if it were natural. One of the many marvels you attributed to this Paladin's body, along with its seemingly endless stamina and greater strength.

The man was robust, a trusted leader, and a morning person. Admittedly, When this impersonation began, you hadn't expected the experience would make you hate him more with each passing day... yet here you were. Wide awake at the crack of dawn and feeling fine. How... Loathesome.

Though if you were being honest, the mood which haunted you as the mercenaries heeded your orders to get everyone up and moving had little to do with the man whose body you wore. He was an excuse, a laundry list of little things you could stew over in silence as you spearheaded the journey and watched the river trickle by. You were on edge with each step, taking in every snap and rustle of the wood, expecting something to rear its head and ruin your plans. A paranoid vigilance that proved fruitless as morning turned to noon, and noon stretched out long into the day, leaving you increasingly more irritable with little and less to show for it all.

What you did have however was progress. Slow and inexorable progress without a question to your back by the people who trusted and followed your word as you led them on. Led them back to the fae forest, and within it, Dryad's Atelier. Even under normal circumstances it was suicide to wander haplessly into an Atelier, if not by the emotional contamination then by Guardian, but this was different - The Abandoned Child's Atelier was a cradle of bitter memories. The nostalgic memories of a Mana twisted in grief, and a place that even you had buckled under the weight of. There would be no hope. No coming back. If nothing stopped you before you could get them across the river, that was it.

Something, anything, to stop you. Delay you. Keep you from retracing these steps.
You owed it to your ancestor to retrace the same steps they had taken.

If they had been worse. If they had been trecherous, cutthroat or cruel it would have been so much easier. If they hadn't just been people who had moved against you.
"I can't tell what's right or wrong anymore."

If you weren't pressed so tightly against the wall. If Artemis wasn't the threat that it was. If you had more time, more freedom. If your hand wasn't forced.
"When it comes down to it, I'll have to do something, but... I don't know what."

In the end you stood uncontested on the bank, overlooking the fallen tree Raid had promised would be there. A sturdy thing, more than capable of forming the backbone of your passage - With a little more work.
Taking rope in hand, you began to coordinate the mercenaries to finish this venture once and for all, and you...

You were the first to cross.

Others would follow in your steps, hand joined in hand, with the rope to steady them all. You were their anchor, their final support, and the last one of the mercenaries to offer the people of Carona your hand as they pushed themselves through the current. Those older than you by far, whose callouses and rough hewn palms mirrored your own like a glove. Those who left together, those whose youth drove them to stand for themselves. For each a face; For each face their thanks. Every gratitude punctuated by the grip of their hand on yours, the coiling of your muscles to pull them free of the river's current and into the forest. The sweat of the day's walk, the cool water which washed it all away, and the heartbeat you felt so unnaturally strong in their veins that you'd nearly lost your grip more than once.

But not one of them felt the same.
"You'll do your best."

As minutes wore into hours, and the setting sun cast glimmers of light through the trees, your muscles - Seemingly limitless as they were to a recluse as yourself - wore sore. Your purpose gone haggard and worn raw by persistent, unwanted memories of the time spent in the Abandoned Child's Atelier. Memories which haunted you like a feverish dream with every hand grasped in yours; Every misbegotten pulse resonating painfully with flashes of your time trapped inside.

Your fingers flexed achingly once the last of them crossed, palm left empty and trembling as you stared into it.
"Whatever you do, we do together."

Would he have stood with you for this? Would he have supported you even knowing what you were doing? Could you have told him the truth this time?

Thoughts of the ages past hunter twining through your mind, your attention turned back towards the forest. A dark and silent expanse of towering trees, with branches so thickly interwoven as to block out all of the fading light with its canopy. It was intimidating to look at even without knowledge of what lie within, but your plan in bringing them here all but entirely hinged on said occupant... Or at the very least the entrance to their Atelier still being available.

Though what lay in front of you currently was only a rather foreboding forest. Albeit one which gave even the paladin's mercenaries pause to consider entering, the unease taking root in these people wasn't what you came here to achieve... Just how far in would you need to go with them before you found what you needed? With Dryad lulled back to sleep, was it even possible to access its Atelier anymore?

"Where to now?" One mercenary turned to you for guidance, not bothering to lower his voice under the din of the former Carona natives beginning to realize just where they'd been brought. "If we stay put for too long it seems like they'll get worked up over these fey things."

"STOP!"

Your voice screamed out desperate and unbidden, bringing every head of the group - yours included - jerking towards the river. Every muscle in your body coiled with anxiety as confusion swiftly fled... Because It wasn't your voice which called out. It was his.

Haggard and wounded across the river, the true owner of your identity stood panting. "Jones, William, Erica!" The raw emotion in his voice nearly shook you, much less the ones they apparently belonged to. "That... Thing deceived you! Get away!" He raised an arm to single you out, leaving his other to hang limp and injured at his side. "Get everyone to safety, now!"

But as fervent as his pleas were, confusion trapped the men and women who'd given him their loyalty. Confusion which broke them, bringing the situation to a terrifying stalemate as the two of you stood apart and watched the indecision - The uncertainty - set in.

>?

noooo marchovic what did you do
I'm hopeful that he's not able to use any impressive powers due to his injuries, should we try to bullshit everyone? Maybe pretend he's an apparition, a doppleganger or something and dismiss him casually?

>>3768883
>Send Raid to check up on Marchovic
>Wisp adept suddenly shows up at the spot Raid told us to go
Hmmmm

It's clear that we're not going to win any he said she said style argument because he can prove his identity with wisp powers and we can't, although I do have some other ideas. For one we could try to trick the adept into smashing up some vegetation and invoking Dryad's wrath, though I don't know what we could say to make this happen.
>If you were really me you'd be able to punch this tree in half!

Secondly we could just try invoking Dryad ourselves with the bracelet, its intended use was to communicate with mana and we should technically be in range.

And finally I suppose we could wave the wisp abortion around and conjure a gust of wind powerful enough to blow everyone deeper into the atelier by force. If we could do that without letting the adept close enough to punch us in the face that would be a nice bonus.

>>3768964
> we could wave the wisp abortion
Sorry I meant Jinn abortion, it has combat capabilities right?

>>3768883
Aw hell. So much for his boundless confidence in taking this guy down. I'll have to think on this for a while.

>>3768969
"abortion" suggests no.

>>3768969
It does not! It has a single function which its stillborn lobotomization has ensured it will carry out mindlessly by using its dubious symbiotic(parasitic?) human interface to puppet your every word in an appropriately translated language.

>>3768980
> lobotomization
> dubious symbiotic(parasitic?) human interface
Can you elaborate on this? Apparitions that get skewed towards humanity are unhappy enough without being lobotomised and turned into a cup on a string. Shouldn't we be putting this thing out of it's misery? Assuming we survive this encounter.

>>3769013
>Can you elaborate on this?
No! This is the extent of Irue's understanding of what the branch is.

>>3739012
>A presence within the branch stirred, its awareness quickened with your attunement. Something depressing and altogether revolting backflowing into your veins as you felt yourself linking up to this thing. This morbid caricature of life and wind, its empty vessel probing at your consciousness to form a shallow reflection in place of its own mind.
>>3739014
>Even now, you felt the near intangible roots of the lobotomized thing semi-risen within the branch sifting through your intentions and translating it into the tell-tale whistle of wind which Jinn spoke.

Though you've had context for this thing's existence since before you found it. Or did you forget?

>>3769032
Oh I see, this is what a fragment is like when it has been suffused with mana, right? No wonder Dryad didn't want to touch it. It must be like looking at your own corpse.

>>3769036
Yep! Mim discussed it back in http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3453726/ and it even had a Forgetting associated with it (which you guys also got!)

Infiltrating happened to get you a physical example of that conversation sooner than expected.

>>3769036
How on earth did you figure that out? I figure it was literally the remains of a dead Apriation, somehow forced into this form.

>>3768883
This is exactly what I expected. A perfect snag whether we chose to continue or not at the last vote. Either the Adept would've rallied the conspirators and returned with them, or confronted us like right now.

>"Oh crap, it has found us! Run away, I will hold it off! Quickly! As fast as you can!"

>>3768883
>I am. On this side of the river we'll be free from prying Valen eyes. And what in the name of Wisp are you? An apparition, a doppleganger?

>>3768883
I guess this works, though I don't put good odds on it working. It's better than doing nothing at least.
>>3769659

>>3769945
w-what about my prompt

>>3770099
I figure playing on their confusion and panic is better than stopping and talking with him. All he's gotta do is show off some Wisp magic or say something only he would know and we're toast. Getting them clear robs him of the ability to sway them.

>>3770109
I think it's too drastic to do when the people are having doubts. Instead of stalling or seeing where things might go or what possibilities might arise that's just going "fuck this" and you yourself said you doubt it'll work.

>>3768883
>As minutes wore into hours, and the setting sun cast glimmers of light through the trees
So we're pretty far inside the atelier territory already right? Then lets just try and call Dryad.

>Use the bracelet to call Dryad for help

>>3770357
>Haggard and wounded across the river, the true owner of your identity stood panting.
We're fairly deep in the forest, but only just crossed the river. Plus, Dryad is asleep, we put it back to bed. It's "bodily functions" (for lack of a better term) are running on autopilot.

>>3770216
The alternative is talking it out with the guy, which will quickly expose us. I chose what I did because the odds are better with it than anything else. I don't think anything we try will have good odds though.

>>3768964
>>3770357
Getting Dryad involved!

>>3769659
>>3769945
Get the group to split before any appeals take place!

>>3769695
Finish talking and battle it out over who the real one is!

Hmmm... Well, I'll give it about an hour and then flip for it.

1. Dryad help!
2. Everyone screw off!

>>3768883
>>3769659
This. Dryad can't come to the phone right now, it's asleep.

>>3771163
Alright, vote called! Let's see how it goes!

Should you call Dryad? The thought crosses your mind almost immediately, like a child reflexively checking behind their back for a parent. You were near the seat of Dryad's power this close to the Atelier, if it came to your aid now then this matter would be settled instantly. A tempting option... But with Dryad lulled back to sleep, could you afford to do that? Whether it worked or not, you could only see trouble coming.

"Run." The bracelet left untapped on your wrist, you had to take a gamble on seizing control of this situation now - Before it could slip any further. "I'll hold it off."

"It?" the mercenary you'd spoken to prior echoed back dubiously, not yet having lost its faith in you but shaken all the same. "What's going on? You never said anything about this!"

"Don't listen to it!" The paladin roared from across the river. "I was ambushed returning from Sylv, that monster isn't me!"

For all he should have been able to leap its length with Wisp's aid, he remained suspiciously distant. Something to thank for Marchovic for? Were his injuries so great that he couldn't bring his favor to bear? ...No, that didn't make any sense. It wasn't as if Adepts had any power on their own, it was purely the whimsy of Mana to spoil their requests. No matter how hurt he was, it shouldn't diminish his potency as an Adept any.

Something to puzzle out later. Right now you needed to lie; Lie through your Shade damned teeth... And that gave you decent idea where to start. "It's a Shade apparition, like the one I ran into before." He may not know who you were, but your relationship has gone on too long to keep calling you strangers. "Ever since the Valens got involved with Carona there's been more and more of them."

"Speak for yourself, you Wisp scorned monster!" The paladin seethed, "I put down your master, and now I've come for you! Don't think you'll get away with deceiving my men!"

"Go!" You loose a sharp bark at the mercenaries, starting back towards the river's edge to make your stand. "You'll only be in the way if you stay, get the refugees to safety!" And you doubted you would win this contest of loyalties if it stretched on too long. You had, after all, gotten this far almost purely on bravado and having stolen his body altogether.

"...We'll retreat for now." You fought to keep your grim expression as relief swept through you, the mercenary's unconvinced tenor seemingly finding compromise as he looked to you, and then to the paladin, with equal measures doubt and bitter reluctance. "We won't be far, don't keep us waiting."

You snort, an action mirrored by your adversary, and stare each other down as the footfalls of his companions shepherd away Carona's rebels. That was easier than you'd expected it to be. "So, now what?" A heavy frown pulls at you lips. "You're in no shape to fight."

"Doesn't matter what shape I'm in." His shaking hand clutched at the rags of his shirt, tearing it free in strips with disconcerting ease. You watched on as he slowly, methodically, fashioned rough bandages to stint the flow with his one good arm. "But I guess I should thank you."

Your eyes narrowed as he gripped a strip of cloth in his teeth and pulled it tight, fastening one last sloppy knot. "For?"

"Getting them away." The haggard man grimaced, flexing his arm testingly. "Now I'm going to tear you apart, like the abomination you are."

"I'd like to see you tr-"

You realized very marginally too late that getting baited into trash talking wasn't one of your better moments. It seemed like a good idea at the time, sure, but that was before the adjacent riverbed erupted in a cloud of soil as the Paladin spat on your earlier conjectures and leaped to your face in a single stride.

"-y...?" You staggered back in shock, only for him to reach across and snatch up your wrist. The snap of your bones fragmenting under his iron grip were an incredibly distant second concern compared to your shoulder being ripped out of socket as he pivoted the bulk of his superhuman momentum and ripped the rest of your body like a ragdoll in a circle - Twisting, turning, spinning until the pain finally sunk in and made you want to vomit reflexively... Before finally being released and sailing through the forest in like a limp torpedo.

The landing was no more forgiving than the launch, slamming chest first into the rooted earth as your spine bent and folded over. You tumbled forward, hind over head with little and less understanding of which way was up with every ill fated skip you made across the forest.

...For a brief, blissful moment the world went black. You had no idea how long it stayed that way, and when color and presence of mind finally bled back in you numbly registered that you had, in fact, come to a stop at some point.

"-Up!"

The ringing in your ears made it hard to focus, but the paladin's fury told you all you really needed to know about what you missed as you willed your body to move. A herculean, if futile, effort. "I don't give a damn if you attack me," You braced yourself, shifting dirt and branch alike aside as you tried to rise - Receiving an unexpected, and unwanted, hand in that regard as the Wisp Adept plucked you from the ground and brought you to your jelly-like legs.

"I said Get. Up." He hissed, moving to throw you once more... And failing, if your abrupt lack of airborneness was any indication.

Not that it made much difference, considering you felt something sweep your already unsteady balance a second later. Blinding light exploded behind your eyes as the rightful owner of this body quite helpfully drove your skull back into the ground with a vicious forward pitching spike.

"We aren't your playthings." He growled overhead, slamming his boot down between your shoulder blades. "You're gonna regret toying with my men, Wisp mark my words."

You snorted a large globule of blood out of an almost certainly broken nose in place of a witty retort, groaning weakly under foot.

What the fuck...

>?

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>>3771424
uh. well. it took a while, but reiner quest is go.
our only trick takes time and concentration to manifest. we're dead.

>>3771424
I guess that's it then. Even if we somehow make it out of this, that hand (and likely entire arm) is permanently ruined, and I'll bet the nose is shattered, so facial deformities as well. Medieval medicine is a bitch.

>>3771424
I'm at total loss at what to do.

Maybe I should've clarified in my vote that I intended to send the mercenaries off then run away, not actually hold him off.
Too late now...

>>3771442
Setting aside that Wisp Adepts can (and have, earlier in the quest) act as healers in setting, you're currently utilizing the body of the man you're fighting. Those injuries have no real relevance to Irue Valen and would have killed you outright had it been your natural body that was subjected to it and not this significantly hardier one.

>>3771424
No point in not trying anything, so
>Try to slice him with the Web
The Web takes a long time to cover a significant area, but the guy is right next to us. And he seems like he intends to take his time beating us. Also, the Web disables our normal senses so the pain shouldn't get in the way as long as we manage to start.

>>3756577
>>3771424
>Try to call Dryad with the bracelet
I don't know if this will work or not but it's worth throwing a hail mary before going scorched earth. If it doesn't work...
>Meditate to Dryad without the bracelet and try to kill him with adept powers
We know that Dryad loves us, that's the reason we've never been able to communicate with any other mana so it stands to reason that we have a lot of untapped potential as an adept. This will likely corrupt us but fuck it, we're probably corrupted already and he's forcing our hand by literally trying to rip us to pieces.

From https://lnk.ask.fm/RizQM/answers/146009971990
>Irue's fundamental meditation towards Dryad is wrong.
>Elly taught you how to meditate to Dryad, how to pursue the Clarity Dryad always occupied. In order for her to have done that, you needed to meet her in those memories. In order for those memories to exist, the sealing had to have been completed. In order for the sealing to succeed, Dryad's Clarity would have to have been lost.

We failed to meditate to Dryad before because we were trying to empathise with who Dryad was as opposed to who Dryad is today, luckily we have a good account of how Dryad thinks now. It is already disturbingly close to Irue's mindset of late.

From thread 48
>However, that is where the good news ended. The friendship of Fae, according to your founder's word at least, was a one of unceasing loyalty and devotion. They never forgot their friends, and while it was difficult for them to travel beyond their realm, would occasionally throw themselves into frenzy in an attempt to follow them beyond the border.

>But friendship between Fae was... Anything but healthy. In their zeal to be loved, the Lords of the Forest saw nothing wrong with purposefully setting in motion events to ruin one's life, machinating the self-same strife and despair that they would be there to support you through. It was good natured earnesty which so often led them to acts of unparalleled malice as they tried to think of ways to 'help' the people they cared for.

>Honest loyalty and concern which permeated their every thought, surpassing common sense and becoming a poison that bled through their actions. In a word, the most prominent trait that could be attributed to Fae was 'Jealousy'.

If neither of those things work then lets just go home.
>Home is where the heart is
I'm aware we could cut our losses and teleport away immediately but in that case the adept would just rally his army and escalate his plans to kill us and bring ruin to everyone we care about. I don't want the last six months of Valen to be a prelude to total defeat!

>>3771454
Even if we suddenly became 100x faster at setting up a web and lived long enough to make use of it we cannot use the razor wire aspect of that power without a friend also being plugged into the web. Running wouldn't work either, he just leapt over to us at mach 3 like a dragon ball z character.

I wish we took Asche

>>3771469
I'll support this. Despite my senses telling me to teleport to Carona immediately

>>3771424
All advantages have been lost. Hit the panic button. NOW.

>Home is where the heart is.

>>3771469
>I'm aware we could cut our losses and teleport away immediately but in that case the adept would just rally his army and escalate his plans to kill us and bring ruin to everyone we care about. I don't want the last six months of Valen to be a prelude to total defeat!

Well, they've been hiding for a reason. They might not be able to take on House Valen in a pitched battle.

Yet.

Although with our Aunt wounded, and Caylen rebelling...

Alright fine, we should at least try to meditate something.

I don't suppose we can count on anyone coming to the rescue this time, huh?

Gher told everyone to meet us at the manor... not the fey forest.

>I put down your master
Noooooooo! Aw man.

I just hope Raid is fine.

I'll be closing the window in a few hours! If there are any last minute suggestions or concerns, be sure to get them in!

>>3771471
Next time we're definitely fighting these guys in full force. For know, let's just hope we make it out of this alive.

On the bright side, we got some intel from the enemy. We know the problems we need to fix first now. We went on this expedition thinking, the rebel camp was the most immediate threat, but now we know better. We need to focus on Carona, win hearts and minds, root out our enemies and focus on rebuilding.

We know a lot more of how our pack sees us, and how we should not expect loyalty from them even with Kara there to beat them up for us. We'll unless it's loyalty from fear.

As for Kara, I actually wonder if the pack actually consider her the leader, or if Marcus was talking to a different 'leader'. We definitely need to sort this out since the pack is one of our best assets, really.

Who's excited to play Rinnier?

>>3771424
>>?
Try and call for Dryad. I doubt it'll work, and if we don't get a response in the small window we'll have to punch the teleport back to town. Protect our shattered arm on the return drop, or we might pass out from the pain and bleed out anyway.

But calling leaves a sliver of a chance of not miserably failing this mission. Next time someone wants to take us, a complete non-combatant, on a combat mission let's use our heads and turn them down.

>>3773167
>and if we don't get a response in the small window
*in the small window we have before being pounded into paste

It should be the town we go back to. "home" is a complete unknown, and we have massive physical trauma. If we don't get medical help in the short term we'll bleed out, and without more extensive care reasonably quickly we'll likely lose much functionality of an entire arm.

>>3771452
>Those injuries have no real relevance to Irue Valen
Wait, really? Would Rue know that? That seems very exploitable.

>>3771452
I would have thought our inclination towards shade (which has caused discomfort around wisp adepts) and the fact that these wounds were dealt by a wisp adept would sharply reduce their ability to heal us. I guess that's not a concern here though.

I thought the journal only changed your appearance and bent your mindset. If we take on their physical attributes we should be using it every time we have to do something strenuous.

>>3773212
>I thought the journal only changed your appearance and bent your mindset.
The Diary of Reflections allows you to take on someone else's identity. This grants you everything physically attributed to them from musculature to illness or disease. It will not grant you memories, or any favor the Mana may have given them.

When you change to someone else's identity, whatever state you found yourself in prior is discarded. That damage has nothing to do with your new body.

>>3773201
>Would Rue know that?
I do my best not to tell you things Irue wouldn't know IC!

>That seems very exploitable.
I'm sure constant use of the Relic won't have any consequences at all, anon! What could possibly go wrong treating your identity as a disposable tissue to be shuffled away?

Alright, going to close the window here and see what I can discern.

>>3773339
I guess the changes really are more than skin deep with a frame of mind change. It's not a very good mask, it's a cloned replacement or something similar. I guess the lack of mana's favor caused an assumption that nothing else transferred besides looks.
I wonder where our original form hangs out in the interim.

>>3773167
>Next time someone wants to take us, a complete non-combatant, on a combat mission let's use our heads and turn them down.

And also not leave ourselves alone, without any bodyguards.

I like how we attacked them thinking that they were at their weakest, when the wisp adept fights with no limits separated from his men.

That's definitely something to remember in the future, though. Take note guys, the Paladin loves his men very much. Too much, even.

>It should be the town we go back to. "home" is a complete unknown, and we have massive physical trauma.

Yeah, so falling from the sky doesn't actually help us with our predicament. Unless we can change into Irue before we hit the ground.

Besides, I want to know where our heart is. It'll be another unknown checked off our list of unknowns.

>>3773339
>I do my best not to tell you things Irue wouldn't know IC!
I was just confused, because as far as I know we've had no indication wounds didn't transfer, and it's not something I'd even consider testing for. Especially as it was originally created as a mask, a way to obscure the user's identity, not duplicate someone's abilities or fake their death.

>What could possibly go wrong treating your identity as a disposable tissue to be shuffled away?
I was thinking like you spend the majority of your time as yourself, but if you need to, say do something physical, change to a strongman then back right after.
But the real potential for abuse would be combat. Become someone competent wearing armor and fight. If injured severely enough to hinder combat, bacak off for a moment, switch to yourself then back to the competent person. Free, quick heal, armor/weapon repair, and maybe even an energy refresh. You could also change between the heavily armored tank and the quick ranger, etc. on the fly as needed.
Rue couldn't pull this off though, assuming the bracelet still works even while transformed. Plus, combat reflexes aren't a replacement for combat skill. Still, in the right hands someone would be almost impossible to kill.


>>3773391
>without any bodyguards.
We've got a very competent bodyguard, but it's stuck to Ari now, and with Mim(another non-combatant on a combat mission, why) along, that would have been asking for trouble. I still really wish we could get another OakenRue.

>I like how we attacked them thinking that they were at their weakest
I don't think we got past the "get the group away before we're discovered". I had a vague idea of using the bracelet against him, but that clearly wouldn't have worked.

>Take note guys, the Paladin loves his men very much. Too much, even.
Here's hoping we don't need to take that note.

>Besides, I want to know where our heart is.
If we don't have to worry about bleeding our or avoiding a permanent major injury, "home" is an option. But we've avoided it this long and there's no real reason to go now. Plus, with how thoroughly the diary overwrites our identity, I'm worried it could distort where we end up.

>>3771469
>>3771476
>>3773167
Using the bracelet to call for Dryad!

>>3771469
>>3771476
>>3772723
Home is where the heart is...? Will we finally find out where that is?!

...Why is there a tie on this. Should I flip for it? You're really not in a position to try both at your leisure.
----

>>3773412
It's been mentioned before but Relics are addressed in setting as being extremely powerful. Typically they're turned over to the Shrine for what they represent, but they're something that even royalty such as Rinnier don't expect to see often in their life time.

As noted it wasn't created with being a weapon in mind - That isn't at all the legacy it embodies. However, what it was created to do and how you use it are two separate matters entirely. You should know this intimately after your experience with the bracelet by now!

>>3773432
>It's been mentioned before but Relics are addressed in setting as being extremely powerful.
It's easy to forget, as magic-laden most fantasy settings are. It's a good reminder to experiment at least.
>You should know this intimately after your experience with the bracelet by now!
Actually, the first thing that comes to mind is Reiner misusing the diary to alleviate back pain.

>...Why is there a tie on this.
My suggestion was to try for Dryad, and if it fails to get any sort of response then go for the teleport. Is that viable?

>>3773432
>You're really not in a position to try both at your leisure.

There really isn't much faith in our ability to call Dryad, so unless someone tie breaks for meditating, than you should probably teleport us out of there. I think that's what the other anons would prefer.

>>3773450
>There really isn't much faith in our ability to call Dryad
There isn't, but I'd still prefer to try. If we must, flip for it.

>>3771424
Go for the Dryad call. Nothing ventured... And if it fails, Jin calls me (I think that the name) is always quick. I assume home is where the heart is would also be.

>>3773432
If we really can't try both, then teleport.
Why didn't you register my vote for the Web?

>>3773469
Because it's impossible to cut without a partner. ShadowRue/Rue was the partnership that allowed it to the one time we did it as I understand.

>>3773469
We need to stand still for the web though. And I don't think our good friend here will let us. He's probably going to punch us into another tree.

>>3773467
Alright, vote closed for calling Dryad. Looks like we're-

>>3773469
-Back to.... tied.
Also someone else explained it, you can't use the Web like that without someone else plugged in. That's a two player only function!

I'm going to give this another thirty minutes before flipping for it. You'll either be going all in on staying here and standing your ground at whatever cost, or giving up on your progress here and escaping.

As for why you can't do both simultaneously - The time it would take to see if there's a reaction is going to be dangerous as it is.

>>3773478
Out of curiosity, how long would a person->rue->person swap with the diary take? It might be worth doing if we do stay, to clear up the pain from our shattered wrist and nose so we can concentrate.

>>3773492
Maybe we should try turning into Kara? Her strength doesn't rely on Mana so it's definitely a better form to take.

>>3773492
probably a minute or two. If you were to try and abuse the Diary of Reflection mid-combat, you would be better served skipping the return to Irue and just becoming someone else immediately. After all, the Diary of Reflection likely has no concept of who you were initially, so there's really no reason to treat Irue as your core identity. Just use them as you please.

Though it should be understood that in order to change identities you need to have the Diary of Reflections in hand and opened.

>>3773504
>probably a minute or two.
>you need to have the Diary of Reflections in hand and opened.
hmm. not so useful for 1v1 fights then. For larger group fights where you can step into the back ranks though, you could still use it that way.
>spoiler
oh god, now two of our super handy powers and items are starting to show addictive qualities. This extended time as someone else is starting to have an effect.

>>3773501
While Kara is relatively normal vs all other demihumans, I'd still worry about her mental state affecting us. But maybe for a short swap it wouldn't be a big deal. Something to consider, assuming we make it out of this.

>>3773432
I posted my vote in order of preference so
>Call Dryad

Alright, we're finally settled on calling Dryad! All in, death or glory!

>>3773517
I believe Raid said at one point that we're more demihuman than Kara anyway. But yeah, I don't want to be a potato either.

>oh god, now two of our super handy powers and items are starting to show addictive qualities. This extended time as someone else is starting to have an effect.

Yeah, magic not based on the Mana's favour seems to be very destructive. At least, for a normie like us.

>>3773522
Whelp, get ready to stand and deliver.

I dryad this next update

>>3773557
Kill me

Please

There was still time to run... Even in this state, if you invoked the Ice Queen Atelier's privileges you could get to safety. For a given measure of safety, if you counted the fall into Carona - Would you even survive like this? If you were going to risk your life, it may as well be with the other one. Where ever your heart was, it had to be better than being pinned under this paladin's foot.

You heard, more than felt, your spine begin to creak as his heel dug further in; Pressure lifting for an all too short moment before stomping back down and leaving you in an even worse position than before. Why wouldn't he just kill you? With the power he showed in closing that gap he should have been able to do worse than just brutalizing you like a common dog, yet here you were getting shoved to the edge by a matter of inches.

A wet, gurgling groan escaped as one solid boot sunk into your side and snapped the ribs within, lifting your maltreated body from the earth just enough to roll onto your side. Maybe you should have run with the others... Ah, they said they'd be waiting, didn't they? Did they trust this paladin so much that they just assumed the real one would handle things?

Come to think of it, he never seemed to care about convincing them to turn on you. Getting them away was all he wanted in the first place.

So that's how it was. This was how he'd wanted it from the start.

Staring blearily skyward, finding nothing but the heavy canopy and darkness to greet you, you made an almost depressive peace with the mistake you'd made. One epitomized by the silhouette of this stolen body stepping forward to loom over you, fury warped snarl all but dripping with disgust.

"After that Shade Adept, what are you? No one. Nothing." The paladin cleared his throat heavily, spitting the hacked up mucus onto your face. "Weak. How dare you."

Your eyelids drifted shut, far too heavy to keep lifted. You could still get away. You could abandon this. Pull yourself back together. All this effort would be for nothing, but you'd be alive. There was still time, but Mana knows that time was running out.

"Your master may have done a number on me..."

...But you didn't want to run from this. Every word out of his rough mouth sent needles through your veins. If you could get up, if you could reach out and bite his throat - Even that small defiance would be enough. You weren't a fighter. Every fight you'd ever gotten in had ended with you like this; Beaten, battered and bruised. You knew frustratingly well just how weak you were.

"...But I don't need Wisp's aid to put something like you out of its misery."

But you earned this. One, small fragment that you fought tooth and nail for. This miserable, stubborn, tiny shred that urged you to throw it all away and put. Him. Down. Your lips trembled, choking up words from your aching throat. They formed nothing, gurgling at the tip of your tongue as your fingers weakly clawed at the earth.

But he heard it all the same.

"It's too late for 'help'."

Laying on the ground, you felt your body burning as pride kept you from running. Burning as you threw caution to the winds and begged for Dryad's aid. You felt it all, even as your head was lifted roughly from the earth and cradled in the Paladin's hands. You felt the snap at the base of your skull as bone splintered and snapped, spine twisting apart in one swift motion.

And then there was nothing left to feel.

I wonder if we picked my prompt earlier, things might have worked out better.
Or if we chose to just teleport away.
Is it over? I can't stand the silence

So anons have finally killed us.
I wonder what motivated you to vote for a slow action that was never successful before and would have undefined results even if it succeeded as opposed to a fast action that would reliably save us.

This empty abyss was familiar. Without feeling. Without thought or awareness. In time, even awareness of self would unravel. This vacuumous transition between body and web.

'Precious child...'
'Must you court death?'
'Do you miss us that much?'
'This emptiness is Nothing.'
'Do you know what you're doing to yourself?'

It wasn't your fault this time. You tried.

'...Child?'
'You mustn't linger.'
'What have they done to you...?'
'Our warden?'
'Answer!'

Sorry. It's hard to think right now. This was alright... Wasn't it?

'No! you were...'
'My child!'
'Her child!'
'Mine!'
'Not again!'

Sorry.

"Help."

A single word shook what remained of your dissolving core, lulling you to the edge of sleep as Asche's nostalgic voice finally gave you peace.

...But what answered her call were the voices of legion, roaring hate. Screaming, writhing, and lashing for blood.

'Simulacra Fragment'

Your mind groggily supplied, its meaning lost in the ceaseless jumble of information being fed to you even as the ground quaked.

>̧̢͘͞R̷̶̨͝e̷͜͝ś̴͟i̴s̸̶̵͜͞t́́͡?̀͠͝
Impossible.

'Manifest Nature.'

The soul crushing pressure of being under the eye of a Pillar. A near existential weight that threatened to extinguish you through sheer intensity. It was enough to drown in, washing away the unspeakable agony of your broken body in its terrifying majesty.

>͢P̶̧̢̀͞ú̷̕ŕ̸̶̛͝g̷͢é̡̨͟͠?̶̡̕͢
Impossible.

"You... You were dead!" The paladin's alarm was of little consolation as he turned back to you, barely visible through your fluttering eyes - Silhouetted against the descent of a sea of stars. Amber fireflies marked its coming.

>̴̵̴͟È̸̴̸s͘͡c̀̕͝͞a̛̕͠͞p̸̷̢͠é͞?̵̡
Impossible.

An existence of frightening purity, whose nature had long been twisted and perverted from its Clarity. Where its wrath touched, the gift of life returned whence it came.

"What have you done?!"

'Divine Dryad.'

>̷͢S̷͢͞h͜͞ut̸͢͡t͘͢í̀n̵̷͠g̷̶̵ ̴͝ḑ̴̧͜o̸͞w̧̡͟͡͝ǹ̡̕͡.̢̢

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http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

I'll be in the thread until we fall off if anyone has questions, or wants to pitch something they'd like to see from me in our remaining time.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

How badly did we fuck up?

>>3773664
Unfortunately, if you know this quest, actually killing ourselves is actually the desired outcome.
>>3773666
Goddamit! When will our suffering end!

In all seriousness though, it's been a while since we've got our asses handed to us.

>>3773674
I am waiting patiently for the day "Home Is Where The Heart Is" actually gets used. Today was almost that day.

Instead you roused Dryad.

I feel like I have to take a break from this quest. This scale of ever increasing fuckups is pressing me down.

How much did we disappoint you

>>3773683
>I have to take a break from this quest
Good thing we have... about a century till the next thread. Plenty of time to relax anon.

>>3773669
>wants to pitch something they'd like to see from me in our remaining time.
What, like a new quest?
Yuri Harem Quest when?

>>3773669
>pitch something they'd like to see
Maybe a Caylen write-up?

>>3773669
>pitch something they'd like to see
An AU where we are actually competent

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>>3773687
I'm managing at least one a month! ...Though seeing as this one lasted two weeks, that's basically like running half on/half off, right? ...Right??

>>3773684
Sometimes I'm kind of curious about things, but very rarely am I disappointed when all of you are doing your best. It seemed odd that people were so quick to jump to the nuclear option though, there were smaller scale approaches.

>>3773683
Trust A Goblin quest has cute art! Reading it will make you feel better! Probably.

>>3773692
I really can't run anything else until Valen finishes, or Valen gets delayed even more than it already does. Unacceptable, in all sorts of ways! I don't really know what you guys might want, though.

On the topic of new quests I've been toying with something tentatively labelled Skald Quest where you play a temperamental girl in a world of darkness and snow whose natural pryomancy can only be evoked in song. Her kind are typically raised as priests or priestesses who are taught the full oral history of their clan/area in the form of epics and poems, passing down the accumulated recitation of flamesong to the next generation - But you were cast out as a child. A lovechild, to be precise. Much of the quest would revolve around navigating the dangers of a frozen world with beasts of ice and night, managing your temper and jealousy, and finding how far love will take you.

Valen has the Forgettings as a core mechanic, but for Skald I wanted something a little more expressly cooperative. The composition of your songs - Required to evoke pyromancy - would be determined entirely by the players by expending emotional build up to try and convey a passion, hope, wish or memory. It's my hope it would create a system which allowed for you to build a small selection of poems or arias that mean as much to you the player as they do to the MC.

>>3773696
>Caylen write-up
That seems doable. He's been busy lately! If it's not posted before this thread falls off, I'll try and have it done before the next one starts.

>>3773708
>Skald Quest

A quest where we can make rhymes? Honestly, seems like a fun quest to play. I mean it's literally just rhyming words, how can we possibly fuck that up!?The MC is gonna die.

Can't wait to help make the first rap song written by /qst/.

>>3773680
I don't mind checking out "home" at some point, but only after we've prepared physically and mentally.
>spoiler
At least all this wasn't for naught. I don't even care about it's awakening at this point. We committed to the path of corruption back when we chose Ari over the rest of the world. Maybe we'll even stop getting beat to a pulp in every fight.

>>3773708
>It seemed odd that people were so quick to jump to the nuclear option though, there were smaller scale approaches.
Not by the last vote. We have scant few tricks, and everything but the teleport takes ages to set up and use in combat terms. As far as I can tell, the biggest mistake was trying to hoodwink this entire group solo, with only the diary for concealment. Everything after was just damage control. I wanted to set up traps and ambush them, but we had to go for the slow, flashy option.

>new quests
That sounds pretty neat, but what happened to that other one you used to talk about, the one with the witch and her slave? I'm noticing a theme between them. You've mentioned exploring love and emotions in both.

Thanks for running.

>>3773708
>future quest
That sounds interesting, but it seems like it relies on having enough anons that can write poetry and rhyme their way out of a paper bag. I know I certainly don't qualify.

>>3774054
Witchknight is still around, I have a little folder of ideas I get enamored with. Valen's existence prevents/saves me from running them though, otherwise I most assuredly wouldn't get anything done. In total I've got five of them which have stubbornly stuck around now!

Witchknight, following the MC as the "knight" of a Witch - The contracted guardian of an immortal who brings calamity in her wake. The quest would revolve primarily around traveling through the twelve territories of an incredibly small world as your hikkikomori witch emerges from isolation to tell her 11 sisters that she's returned to take responsibility for her territory. Most of the idea to this quest was to explore the different forms love can take, and letting the players try to sort through whether or not any of them actually applies to their own relationship with their Witch... And whether she feels the same.

Foxfire I've already run a little but I'd like to bring back some day, where you play a little spirit of faith in a world frighteningly short of it. Technology advanced to consume faith as a source of power, revolutionizing humanity right up until they discovered that it was a limited resource and that limit was swiftly approaching. Now the last avatar of humanity's faith, you travel a broken, post-apocalyptic world of ruins, acrid sludge rains, and an encroaching bed of thorns to see what has become of man, discover for yourself the forms faith takes among them and what ends it drives them to. The quirk to Foxfire was that I planned for it to take place in several somewhat disconnected arcs which played up your ageless nature, showing you glimpses of the world years and years and years apart as your presence and actions left gentle ripples in your wake.

Hallelujah, which was a departure from fantasy to focus on the leader of a mercenary company hired on by the 6th (of seven) princess in line to the throne of a nation. Your job is simple: Help her survive the oncoming war of succession between her siblings. Most of the quest would revolve around your mercenary company and a gradually burgeoning relationship with your contractor with a heavy emphasis on deployment decisions, assassinations, tactical operations, and finally how far you're willing to go for a job. And maybe whether this is more than a job for you.

The last was "Faith Wanted", which was a significantly lighter toned quest about the MC jokingly putting up a flier saying they'd believe in anything for a steady paycheck and ending up with a down-on-their-luck goddess taking up occupation in their soul. Gods need faith to live and work their powers and, unless you're popular, these days there's not much to go around! It had ~12-13 episodes/threads planned where the Goddess powers get you in assorted troubles in an effort to lead you to a fate where her rent money somehow falls into your life, expanding your social network (and her followers!) in the process. Whether you like it or not.

>>3774078
> it seems like it relies on having enough anons that can write poetry and rhyme their way out of a paper bag
To be honest, I thought of running this specifically because I suspect many anons can't do that. I hadn't planned on the MC canonically being good at it either, considering it's hardly the highest thing on her priority list while surviving as an outcast. The shared struggle and awkwardness of trying to put together songs with good intentions, lots of heart, and little else felt like it could be something really warm and cozy once people eased into it - Which was important when the songs themselves were something I hoped the players would get attached and invested in for their memories/meaning as well as the character herself.

I don't know if it'd work, but things like sound like fun to me and I think it'd go a long way towards reflecting the MC's own kind of awkwardness putting her thoughts and emotions to words after spending most of her life bereft of social interaction.

>>3773708
So is this the apocalypse? Is Dryad going to rampage forever now?

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Incidentally this wisp adept guy really rubs me the wrong way.

>You are bad, I will rip you to pieces. You deserve this.
>Stand up so I can make you suffer more. I am good.
>You are weak, I hate you more now.
>Oh no!
>How could you summon a scary monster like this?!

Fucking paladins, not even once.

>>3774333
Dryad still can't leave its Atelier. Not directly, at any rate. Its influence is constrained to the fey forest as you've already learned, but the stability and longevity of that artificial ward is dependent on keeping Dryad lulled to sleep so its limits aren't being constantly tested.This was what you went through the whole of the Abandoned Child's Atelier to accomplish, soothing its rage and quelling the nightmare so its fitful sleep didn't cause it to wake.

The singular monster that is its Simulacra Fragment is bound and restrained to within those borders... And will remain so until Artemis' wards can be subverted or broken - Whether what does that is an outside force, or Dryad throwing itself against its cage until the ultimately man-made construct is shattered.

It's inaccurate to say that Dryad is fully awake, as its Simulacra Fragment can be active without the greater whole being conscious, but you have effectively undone your time in the Atelier, and more to the point, it was your call and death which shocked Dryad back awake. This isn't a nightmare that can be soothed away, so... Yes. It's safe to assume Dryad is going to be very angry, for a very long time.

On the bright side, this close to Dryad's Throne - literally inside it, technically - Irue technically can't die. You called for Dryad, and it answered! Your heart can stop, your organs can fail, your bones can break and your body can be sundered, but Dryad's jealous embrace will grant you the curse of inextinguishable life! This offer not valid beyond the confines of its Atelier... Unless you want to free the Mana which loves you so.

>>3774358
Paladin is more of a rank in setting than a moral archetype. Alouette is a Paladin, for example, which would make this wisp adept categorically capable of being considered her peer. He doesn't necessarily consider himself good, but as you've noticed he has strong commitments to specific things and a deeply seated hate for all things Shade. Those are personal qualities, rather than something you should expect of Paladins at large.

>>3774377
>This isn't a nightmare that can be soothed away, so... Yes. It's safe to assume Dryad is going to be very angry, for a very long time.
At least this time I didn't vote for the fuck up option.

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>>3774377
>you have effectively undone your time in the Atelier
Christ that's a hard pill to swallow, this was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I can't even begin to imagine the repercussions of this, I guess I really fucked up this time. I don't think I should play this quest anymore.

>>3774463
You tried your best. You're not the sole fuck-up here, rest assured of that.

Shock reverberated through your arms. A numbing, desensitizing trauma that left your sweat slicked palms clutching desperately at the hilt of your weapon. Not a sword, though its shape was similar, but a branch reinforced by Wisp at your instructor's whim. It could shatter a boulder and not so much as creak; You knew as much because you'd seen her do it just to test it. What had she seen when looking over the destruction left in its wake? What more could she possibly have expected from a simple branch? That disappointed click of her tongue brought out an involuntary flinch, so often had it been directed at your own training.

But a second shock nearly made you drop the stick in hand, scrambling desperately to create distance across the torn up forest floor. For every stumble you took back, your opponent glided three with effortless grace. Escape was impossible, in a moment you could be overwhelmed and the footwork required to prevent that wasn't something you could produce already off balance. You knew that. The moment your focus slipped was when everything was decided. Still you rallied, throwing everything you had into a sideward dive to arrest your own backpedalling momentum and try to reclaim solid footing. Just because you were going to lose didn't mean this would stop; It never stopped. She would catch you, beat you, allow you to break free and then do it over again. And again. And again. And again.

That window of false hope was something you'd internalized as a lie already. It wasn't a mistake - Alouette didn't make mistakes. Each gap you shamelessly seized to pull away and marshall your trembling legs into a defensive stance drove you further into a corner. This was mercy. An acknowledgement that you'd failed, and a strict refusal to let that be the end of it. One more chance. Do it again.

The third shock drove your weapon from your senseless fingers, leaving you grasping at air like an idiot as your hands spasmed. Your eyes widened, scanning the surroundings in a panic for where it'd gone, for something you could use, for anything.

But as her fist sunk into your gut you knew it was too late. You were already crumpling forward as the older woman's body flowed through you, one leg circling around your stance to lock your own while her gloved hand trailed your throat. In another situation, with anyone else, the proximity would have made you nervous... But as your head was forced back and your legs swept, all you felt was vertigo, pain, and the sole of her boot being brought down on your throat.

"Tsk." Your eyes closed, letting out a breath you'd not even realized you were holding as she stepped away. There was little more you could do but will yourself off your back and curl into a crippled mess on the ground. When she spoke again it wasn't to question what went wrong, but a scolding observation. "You lost focus."

A weak groan mewled out of your throat.

"What was more important than protecting yourself?" The rustle of grass from nearby told you Alouette had retrieved your lost armament, such as it was. You didn't bother to point out how one-sided the fight had been in the first place - She'd brooked no room for misunderstandings when you made your decision to meet with Artemis.

A vacuum of air preceeded the stick piercing the earth before you, prompting the premature end of your self-pity as you clumsily grasped hold of it to pull yourself to your knees. "Mother." You were Caylen Valen, son of Clara and Bryn Valen, cousin and childhood friend to the heir of House Valen... And a runaway. Deserter. Traitor. Any of those titles probably applied right now. "Why was she there? How did she find... How did she know?"

"Your mother isn't a fool." Alouette answered evenly. "Her intuition is as sharp as any I've met."

"Yeah. I guess." You press your forehead tiredly against the wisp-infused stick. "...She's going to be alright, isn't she?"

"If Clara survives, she'll be in no shape to pursue us any further."

If. If your mother survived. "I didn't think it'd come to this." Energy fed your leaden limbs as you very literally dragged your body to its feet on the support of the stick. "All we had to do was escape."

"And then?" You glowered balefully at your instructor, your guardian, the woman who had been at your side since you were a child... And she did not so much as flinch under the accusation. A steady, expectant gaze bored back. "Say we escaped. Would your mother retreat? Do you believe she rode out this far to accept returning empty handed?"

No. You both knew her better than that. When your mother arrived she had torn into camp without so much as a preamble and demanded your presence - Hearing your full name roared in the night had nearly made you rethink your course immediately. She came for answers, and when those answers weren't enough, she wasn't leaving without you. And who was going to stop her? Among your group the only one not under her employ was Maran, and she could hardly be expected to fight.

That was the end of your naive crusade... Until Alouette intervened.

"Did you have to go that far?" You insisted stubbornly. "What if..."

"Lord Caylen." She interrupted curtly, "Have you forgotten what we discussed the night I caught you spiriting away with the Jenseits girl?"

"..." Insistence turned to a scowl with a snort of frustration. "I know what I'm doing, Alouette."

"Then you know what the cost of championing their cause will be." No warmth cushioned her words, and there was little you could say in defense. "You abandoned your family for this. To make the change you're seeking, war will come. The same war your mother and father have spent the last ten years trying to prevent."

"I know that." You grit.

"Then you know there will be no compromise." Alouette's even tone was relentless. "Your mother would sooner die than let her son be caught in the middle of it. If you're resolved to walk this path, then you knew what was at stake."

"Then what about you?!" A desperate shout rips from your throat, echoing in your ears as your heart thudded. "I knew what I was doing, I did it-" Your open palm slapped at your chest emphatically. "-I never asked you to get involved!"

"Clara entrusted you to me."

A plain answer. One that explained nothing and only confused you further. "What does that have to do with anything? You may have killed her! You weren't supposed to protect me from my own mother!" Your chest burned as you scraped your heart for words to voice the fire in your veins. "You... Betrayed her!"

Silence stretched on as those words hung dangerously in the air. Too late to take them back, and too venomous to soften. You watched nervously as Alouette's face tightened... Before closing her eyes, a single breath of resignation carrying the tension from her body.

"If that is what you think," The woman acknowledged quietly. "I cannot hold it against you."

"That's it?" you struggled to find strength in your voice, doused in ice as Alouette's somber acceptance offered nothing. "That's all you have to say?"

"I love your mother."

"...Wh-" An awkward croaking reply was all you could manage. "What?"

"When you were born, you became her everything. The pride of her life, and the first thing to take precedence over her rivalry with your cousin's mother." Alouette continued on, heedless of your mounting bewilderment. "When that woman died, your mother became acting head of House Valen... You were young, then. I don't know how well you remember, but for a time she grew distant."

"She spent all of her time with Irue."

"There was more to it, but yes." Alouette nodded, "Her responsibilities as the new head mounted quickly, she was still grieving over her brother and sister in law... Though she would strangle herself before admitting the latter." A faint, intimate smile shadowed across your guardian's face. "Your cousin was all that was left of both of them."

"What does this have to do with anything?" You interrupt irritably.

The strawberry blonde woman fell silent, composing her words with care before continuing. "Clara did not ask to be a leader. All she has done, she did to protect the two of you. When war came, she wanted you and your cousin kept safe and close, beyond as many preparations as she could manage in the meantime."

"That doesn't excuse letting people suffer!" You bite back, "And doesn't explain what you did to her!"

"She entrusted you to me, to protect and guide you where she couldn't" Alouette repeated firmly, "Everything you've chosen to do will destroy her work these past years and thrust you into the center of a war. As the acting leader of House Valen, she can't support you. She can't help you. If she didn't stop you then, then she knew that this war would set you against each other."

"And you stopped her." You growled, feeling the focus of your ire dissipate into a more familiar helpless frustration.

"Your heart was set. If I had let her retrieve you, would you have obediently stayed?"

A painful sigh wracks your chest as you rip the stick from the ground. "No."

"Then it falls to me to protect you where she can not." Alouette concluded with finality. "This is the path you've chosen. Your sense of justice over family."

"And if she dies...?" You wipe the sweat from your brow, mixing it into your sleeve along with the beginnings of bitter tears.

"...Then her blood will be on my hands, not yours."

You knew what you were doing. It wasn't Maran's insistence on you being some Goddess chosen champion that enticed you down this road. Whether or not this was fate, divine providence, or naivety, you couldn't keep turning your back on people suffering... Especially when your family could have stopped it. You didn't need protection bought with the dispossession of your people; If throwing it away was what it took to do the right thing, if following your heart would take you down this path... If it ultimately set you against your own family.

"Again." You grunted, brandishing the stick in hand. Another shock tore through your shoulders as you turned away Alouette's opening slash, rejoined without so much as a word.

A strong moral compass would get you in trouble, or so your mother had said; It led her into it without fail when she was younger. If she had still followed hers, you knew she would have agreed with you - There was no way your mother could stand to see the nation fall apart as it was. But she strayed; Turned her back on it to protect her family... And you don't know if you could blame her for that. Yet when faced with those same decisions, you wouldn't - couldn't - do the same.

Your own compass had no such mercy for you.

Very interesting

I didn't think I'd get that out before the thread fell off, but I got my pastebin working again so it'll be linked next thread for people who probably abandoned thread already. Though I don't think most of the players read the write-ups anyway.

Anyway, I hope this satisfied whoever it was that requested it!

>>3773708
>so quick to jump to the nuclear option though, there were smaller scale approaches.
Out of curiosity, what other options were there? We were alone. Hearts in Harmony is useless. A Spider's Web is slow and takes two for offense. If we had a weapon, we couldn't use it due to the bracelet. The diary was what got us into this mess, and takes time to use. Normal meditation takes time and concentration, and the resultant Apparitions start out weak. He clearly wasn't open to dialogue.
That left us our two teleports, and calling Dryad. Fail, and leave an aware and malicious enemy alive. Or succeed, and hasten the end by undoing an entire arc's blood, sweat, and tears.

Was there another option?

>>3777312
Giving a list of other possibilities seems in poor taste, but your breakdown does highlight something curious!

Can you tell me what the bracelet does? Not what you've done with it, but specifically what it does.

>>3777405
Misuse by meditating while wearing it spawns Apparitions made from bits of our soul, in the style of the Mana we meditated on.
Proper use gives us a direct line to any mana, but it's the equivalent of an address book. It doesn't guarantee they'll agree with what we say or do what we want.

Neither function was useful here. Misuse for the previously stated reasons, and the proper use because why would any Mana but Dryad do anything about our predicament, especially against an actual favored?

>>3777467
Excellent answers!

Can you tell me more about what an Adept is? What's the purpose of meditation? How do they do what they do?

>>3777498
Adept = favored by a particular Mana, usually taken in and trained by the Shrine at some point. They are gifted the ability to manipulate forces within that Mana's sphere to a greater or less degree depending on the amount of favor.
Meditation is aligning your mind with a particular object, usually a Mana. It causes a change of mindset and outlook, in the short term at least. Favored use it as a way to be closer to their Mana, and rarely it allows some sort of communication, as best as I can tell. Without the bracelet, that's all it does. Rue used to do it often back when she was trying to garner favor with any of the Mana, which is why it's so easy for her, and why Dryad meditation gives her trouble; she's not familiar with its ins and out like the others.
With the bracelet does the soul-to-Apparition thing as described above, provided the target is a Mana.
Adepts can do what they do because they channel the power granted by their Mana. The power doesn't come from them directly, but I assume high throughout causes strain.

>>3777551
Not so excellent answers!

>They are gifted the ability to manipulate forces within that Mana's sphere to a greater or less degree depending on the amount of favor.... Adepts can do what they do because they channel the power granted by their Mana. The power doesn't come from them directly, but I assume high throughout causes strain.
This gets rehashed occasionally, but an important point to Adepts is that their abilities, if you want to call them that, have really nothing to do with them. They make a request of their Mana, and the Mana cooperates! Naturally the more a Mana likes you, the more prone they are making a big deal out of it. However, more important is...

>Meditation is aligning your mind with a particular object, usually a Mana. It causes a change of mindset and outlook, in the short term at least. Favored use it as a way to be closer to their Mana, and rarely it allows some sort of communication, as best as I can tell.
This also gets brought up on several occasions, but meditation is an effort to willfully and deliberately retrain your mind and values to mirror a specific Mana. It's meant to create long term shifts in the participant because... Mana can't understand humans. They speak a very specific language, and those words are power. You probably remember that those with a higher affinity for their Mana are more like to reflect that Mana's thoughts and values, because as you've learned on a handful of occasions, to speak to a Mana more fluently requires you to become like them. To that end, meditation absolutely does allow communication... In theory, and given time.

You remember that those particularly favored by Mana are often taken in by the Shrine, though! That's great, because you probably also remember the reason behind it being that people usually don't naturally understand how to communicate their wishes and concerns to a Mana, even if it adores them. It takes time and practice to do that, so you can learn to express yourself - And that expression, that conversation, is where you Adepts find their "powers". The more potent an Adept, the more like their Mana they've become, the more fluently they can converse with their Mana, the finer influence they have over that Mana's associated domain.

But you definitely understand everything to this extent, it didn't take you any time to answer those questions and, for the most part, you were right on the money with those answers!

But maybe you never really considered how they relate? Maybe you forgot what Mint was famous for? Maybe you forgot what Asche told you the bracelet was.

...Are you forgetting something?

>>3777627
If you're angling toward "Rue is a Dryad adept", maybe we are, maybe not, but that didn't matter while Dryad was asleep. It didn't have the power to even keep OakenRue running at full power, never mind grant us any abilities.
...
the connection between your quest ideas is exploring love in its many forms, and relationships in their many forms. Dryad's domains are life and...love, among others. To gain power as a Dryad adept, we have to be more like it. To gain power as a Dryad adept, we have to be more loving. Paradoxically, I suspect being more loving in persuit of power will get us neither. so much for that then. Even if we could shift our entire personality, I don't want to change Rue into that. I've had enough MCs changed from interesting, flawed characters into boring, perfect people.

>they make a request, and it cooperates
That doesn't track. There's no way these Adepts sent a request every time they do something, and no way Gods take the time to listen to every request for every power usage. Even a favorite child only has so much leeway.

>Meditation is intended for long term effects
That doesn't track either. Rue is well versed in Mana lore, and would be aware of that, which is contrary to how she used it before we took the reigns. Plus, afaik there's been no visible difference in outlook after meditating.

>Mint
She was functionally an adventurer I think, and is/was-friends-with the Valen founder. Though I am a little rusty there.
Asche, after much cajoling, cornering and literally threatening finally told us what we now know: the official function of the bracelet, and (iirc) how to properly use it.

>Are you...
At the 11th hour, a surprise visit from our old foe. Almost certainly. I've never been good at the right logical leaps for them.

I'm still not sure how this relates to there being any other options for the last vote.

>>3777627
>Mana can't understand humans. They speak a very specific language, and those words are power.
So the bracelet is less like a phonebook and more like a translator. The problem is the same though. Why would they care about what some non-Adept has to say, even if they can speak the same language?

Surely it doesn't allow you to fake being an Adept? They should be able to tell instantly if you're actually an Adept; adepts are adepts because they have the personal attention of their Mana. That's not something you can counterfeit. And even if you could, Tricking the whimsical pillars of the world sounds like a great way to meet an early grave.

>>3777744
>afaik there's been no visible difference in outlook after meditating.
You're right. Despite ten years of trying, Irue never made any particular headway with any of them. Irue is rather conspicuously incapable of eliciting favor, but that same degree of curiosity applies to just how easily Irue can just slip into any given frame of thought, doesn't it? But this is another conversation entirely, about another thing left in the dark.

>There's no way these Adepts sent a request every time they do something, and no way Gods take the time to listen to every request for every power usage.
Why? This isn't new information by any means, I'm reiterating a summary of what you've always been told. Even setting aside the possibility of each Mana being capable of doing that as a singular entity, you also know as a fact that the consciousness of Mana is naturally multifaceted and divided amongst every apparition, as well as connected to every single one of their Adepts at all times - The latter was a key point in Dryad's Atelier that shaped how Artemis moved their plan forward. For every singular Mana, there are countless smaller fragments operating autonomously. Which is precisely why Simulacra Fragments are terrifying, as they represent a manifestation that some portion of a Mana's conscious has taken direct control of.

>Mint and Asche
Hmm... Well, maybe one of the other three players can fill in the blanks on this.

I understand you're frustrated, and that's okay. You don't need the answers right now, and will be fine even if you don't put things together. I'm sorry I can't be more candid. In the meantime, think of how this is a good thing for you! With Dryad awake, you can finally try to rear more Oakenrues!

>>3777827
>Why would they care about what some non-Adept has to say, even if they can speak the same language?
There's room to think a little more deeply on Mana and language. Not necessarily in relevance to the current topic, but it's an interesting subject that gets brought up and iterated on several times.

Otherwise, I hope I've given you enough of a direction to find the answers. Like many things in Valen, it's not particularly a secret - In most cases you've been told or have ready access to the information you need. It's just a matter of when you apply it!

>>3777851
>Despite year of trying
Hm, there's that "Rue is a Doll" theory rearing its head again.
>Not new info
I'll give you the multifaceted natured of Mana lets them deal with that tedium, but in this last beat down the paladin would have had to make over half a dozen separate requests, without guarantee they'd be answered, then wait for a reply, then use the requested power. Sounds like divine red tape to me.

I'm not frustrated, just depressed. One of our few, hard fought victories, completely erased. I don't necessarily think it was the wrong choice, but it still stings to see an entire arc's worth of work torched. At least we're getting some other minor victory out of it.

Also, if we weren't infected yet, we certainly are now. Might as well embrace it I guess. I wonder if Artemis is hiring?

>>3777851
>In most cases you've been told or have ready access to the information you need. It's just a matter of when you apply it!
Have you ever played return of the Obra Dinn?

>>3777912
I haven't, but after watching a video that looks really interesting! At $20 it looks a little steep, but I'm super curious now.

>>3777903
>Sounds like divine red tape to me.
It takes practice, as Irue is aware of. Though not being an Adept, Irue doesn't really know how it works on the Adept's side. Plenty of people manage it though!

Anyway, I hope things get better for everyone. It seems like a lot of you came out of this questioning a lot of things - Like why you came, why you brought noncombatants, why you abandoned your initial plans to set traps, why you told everyone else to leave and tried to solo it.

For all of those questions, I can attest that the time of each of those decisions, you all chose what you felt was the best course forward! Even with how it turned out, you weighed your options and seemed to decide that destroying these insurgents and refugees was worth the cost, and with Dryad enraged it's unlikely they'll escape now that they've retreated further into the forest.

Every one of you is doing their best to find a way forward, and I have faith in you all.

>>3777851
>Hmm... Well, maybe one of the other three players can fill in the blanks on this.

Here's some info on Mint...

>There had been stories of people in the past who had managed to garner multiple Mana’s interest. The Adept Mint, a name you had nearly chosen for Ari, was said to have acquired the power to call on five different Mana at a time in her prime. She had been strong enough to warrant her very life becoming a legend in its own right, immortalized in history for that accomplishment... alongside her propensity to kick in the doors to a great deal of ateliers and dangerous ruins.

>Scholars assumed that it had been something she found during those ventures which had led to her gaining the unnatural affinity with Mana she had... but this Prophet. Maran had clearly said “Favour of the Mana” – Plural. If it were one Mana, she would have named it. Surely even if it were two or three then they’d have been mentioned, but... Just ‘The Mana’? Had she honestly meant all of them? Even Mint hadn’t managed that. Moreover, what kind of advice were they giving? Was predicting the future even possible?

>And then then the conversation about the, bracelet with Asche. But I don't think this is the one anon was looking for

>"You used the bracelet in an unexpected manner." She answered simply, leaving your frown to deepen. "Unexpected? You knew this thing could do that and you didn't warn me?"

>The accusations hiss venomously from your teeth, a wave of dizziness starting to overtake you like creeping vertigo. You withdrew your petting hand to grasp at your head in an effort to convince the room from spinning... With limited success.

>"...And what's wrong with me?"

>Asche blinked once, "You enslaved an apparition of Shade and forced it to trade shells."

>You draw in another deep breath to steady yourself. Putting aside the first part, you traded shells, so... Ah, right. The Wisp Adept. You winced at the memory, having thrown yourself at his attack in a rage.

>Shade and Wisp Mana were meant to be in balance. Emotional and Physical strength. When the raw Mana comes into contact with each other, they mutually neutralize, that's why you felt like shit.

But I think Riz was expecting us to meditate on shade?

>>3777944
Found the conversation where Asche told us what the bracelet does.

>"...It should not." She shook her head, "The bracelet Calls; Mana answer. When there is no answer, the call... Echoes-" She held her hand against her chest solemnly, "-What is inside."

>If there wasn't a specific type of apparition close enough to hear the call...
>...It echoed what was inside.

>"The Doppleganger." You choked out two words, feeling as if the confirmation you were seeking would be the same as twisting the knife one final time. Unfortunately, you already knew the answer, and Asche's unhesitating nod was purely a formality.

Ah okay, so even if no mana answered our call, we could have still produced a doppleganger? And then trade shells? Then cancel out the Wisp mana? Or have the doppleganger rip the Paladin to shreds with our web?

Hmmm, not sure. Will eat food and get back on it. A better understanding of how to use the bracelet will definitely help us in the future.

>>3777926
>but I'm super curious now.
It's technically a giant murder mystery. A ship, long thought lost, has reappeared after several years with no living soul aboard. Your goal is to figure out what happened specifically to every single person on the original boarding list. All you have to go on is a few drawings, a few seconds of audio from before each death, and a small navigable area around the death, frozen at the moment of death. I suck at it, but it's enjoyable nevertheless.

>>3777944
>was said to have acquired the power to call on five different Mana at a time in her prime.
Maybe the communication bracelet gave allowed her to petition them as an outsider, instead of an adept. If possible, it would be tons of work, and much less reliable. But that's still something. I assume you'd have to actually make your case each time. Maybe if you twisted what you wanted as benefiting an actual adept?

>But I think Riz was expecting us to meditate on shade?
I don't think so. Any meditation would have taken far too long, and with our arm and nose shattered I doubt we could have concentrated enough to pull it off anyway.

>>3777977
>>but I'm super curious now.
Notably, you have a bunch of faces, and a list of names, but no relation between them. A big part of things is using context clues and prior collected knowledge to figure out who's who so you can determine "whose death did I just witness?" and "who stabbed this guy?", etc.

>>3777975
>we could have still produced a doppleganger?
As much as I miss ShadowRue, she was very clear on the matter of resurrection.
>Or have the doppleganger rip the Paladin to shreds with our web?
All Apparitions are weak and confused at the moment of their birth. ShadowRue beat us after her birth because she surprised us, and Irue has all the combat ability of a wet noodle. And the confusion would make using the web impossible, even if we could spare the time.

>>3777975
Okay last bits that seem interesting and relevant to bracelet use.

>Your stomach churned as you leaned over, grasping your bedside basket and heaving into it. Nothing came up, there was obviously nothing in your stomach to relinquish, but the sickening twisted knot in your gut forced you to try.

>Asche stood by your bedside, patiently waiting for you to finish... And in time, you did. Acrid globs of thick yellow mucus that you dimly recognized as stomach acid - The only thing besides water still capable of being forced out of your stomach - floating carelessly in the bottom of the basket.

>"You tear away a piece of yourself to create them." Asche explained softly, "...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."

So the doppelganger was not provided by shade, but ripped from our own soul. This happened because Shade did not answer our call, so the bracelet 'echoed.'

What happens if we 'echo' meditating on another Mana?

Whenever we summon apparitions, it's kind of a mistake, right ? It's suppose to help us communicate with the mana, not summon apparitions (According to Asche). Does that mean every time we've summoned an apparition was the result of an 'echo', a torn piece of our soul? Because the Mana was not successfully contacted?

So, if I'm reading this right, we can just rip up our soul and MAKE any apparition we want? Without actually needing any Mana to answer the call?

The other less important thing I want to mention, was while reading the part where we summoned the banshee, and while we're trying to call Jinn, we started thinking like a Jinn adept. Pretty normal, right?

Except, if we only get apparitions if we fail to call the Mana, how could we fail despite the fact we were thinking like a Jinn adept should?

I mean we've successfully called Luna at one point, and we got a Simulacra Fragment, not an Apparition (Which is the might be the desired effect). Paradoxically, if I was reading the text right, it seems like we weren't thinking like a Luna adept at all.

Just some things to note, I might have just been reading it wrong. I'll have to reread the times we encountered apparition, but I'll leave that for next thread.

>>3778067
Oh whoops didn't properly quote the first bit.
>Any Doppleganger would mimic someone... That wasn't just 'any' Doppleganger. It had been yours. One born purely, specifically, from your own insecurities. Called from within, forced to manifest, and then... Your stomach churned as you leaned over, grasping your bedside basket and heaving into it. Nothing came up, there was obviously nothing in your stomach to relinquish, but the sickening twisted knot in your gut forced you to try.

>>3778071
Okay, yeah I was right. Asche just straight up tells us. Hopefully this the last bit of information on the bracelet and I haven't forgotten another conversation we had about it.

>"The times I've conjured... No, summoned apparitions." It was clear she was struggling, but the fact she had committed herself to try meant you had to meet those efforts. Fortunately, you'd spent most of your life inadvertently studying for this exact conversation. "I called to them." She nodded, "But in doing so, you said I hurt myself. That I was tearing pieces of my soul out, and... Searing the wound."

>Once she had told you that when there was no answer, the bracelet would echo what was inside. If the purpose of this bracelet was to call out to the Mana, and the apparitions you called forth were only ever born from something inside of you... Had there never been an answer?

>...No, there was mana, and Mana. The bracelet had helped connect you to the golem once before, and in that instance it had allowed you to speak with it despite your utter lack of affinity. It needed something more than just ambient mana. A more powerful vestige of the Mana. Something that could answer your call.

>"The echoing." You muttered, piecing together fragmented thoughts in search of a greater picture. "When there was nothing to answer me, it created something." More than something... Or maybe less? Apparitions born from your desires, wrapped in the shell of mana. They weren't facets of the Mana at all, they were...

>"They are the world." Asche's toneless whisper, "In words are will; their will, world incarnate."

>The bracelet was never meant to summon apparitions. With context unsettlingly beginning to frame your memories, you understood why conjuring them like you did had been dangerous... And to some extent, you could begin to theorize just what scars were left behind when you had so crudely destroyed them. You instilled within them the core of their being, the identity which defined them, purely from your own psyche. The emotions and desires you fed into your meditation planted life, which wreathed itself in the form of the Mana you called.

Right, I'm taking notes this time. This is stuff I really should not be forgetting.

>>3778067
If you're talking about what I'm thinking, we didn't call Luna, Luna just straight up showed up and ripped our memories away to preserve the Dryad's secret.

>>3778123
That's not right. We meditated and Luna itself answered. I remember it because was one of the few times Riz was visibly frustrated with us.