Rolled 4 (1d6)

Last thread ended on a tie so I'll roll a 1d6.

>Odds - “I don’t know much about your teacher, but I’ve heard of his teacher.”

>Evens - "My own teacher was a student of Thomas the Dragon"

“My own teacher was a student of Thomas the Dragon,” You mention to Ike.

“Really? He studied under him?” Ike exclaims.

”It’s a shame that films back then were so hard to make, eh?” Your master said, clapping you on your sword arm. Sweat dripped down your brow from hours of training in the classic forms The Dragon had outlined, a break from your usual routine of the more standard Templar bladework drills.

“Oh, what I’d give to have seen the man in action …” He ruefully said ...

“No, he’s not that old. He studied the Dragon’s written work and theory extensively though. He even traveled to Mengcun to retrace his steps.”

“Your teacher was a Bajiquan practitioner as well?”

“Yes, he was very experienced, only a small degree below complete mastery.”

“But you asked me why I focused on Bajiquan.” Ike points out, “Wouldn’t he have taught you Bajiquan instead of the Hybrid style?”

You shake your head, “My tactics tend towards what a Bajiquan practitioner might use, but that’s the extent of my study of the martial art. He still thought that the Hybrid style was more suited to the present day and age.”

Ike nods, “I can see his point. Bajiquan is the bodyguard’s style. It’s less useful for troublemakers like us.”

“I would hardly call our work ‘troublemaking’” You object.

“Really?” Ike says, “Well, we’ll find out what it is soon - look! We’ve arrived!”

…

As soon as Ike pays the driver, the two of you get off the taxi, emerging into a dark and deserted part of town. Ahead of you loomed the tall hill. You could barely make out the steeple of Winterpine Chapel, sitting on the hill’s shoulder. If the two of you were to walk the distance, it would take two hours, give or take. But if you ran, it would take just under half an hour.

>Walk. You’ll attract less attention and be able to take in your surroundings better.

>Run. You’ll get there faster.

>Other

Welcome to Modern Fantasy Quest, the tale of Tristan, a modern-day paladin in a not-so-secular world.

Questions/Comments/Criticism is welcome at any time pls no bully

>>3931586
>Walk

We aren't ready to be noticed even by Nathan, let alone Jung.

Questions: what made The Dragon so powerful? How would he measure up against modern powerhouses like Isolde/Delilah?

>>3931586
>Walk. You’ll attract less attention and be able to take in your surroundings better.

>>3931586
Walk

>Walk

You and Ike slowly walk up the winding path leading to Winterpine Chapel. With your current equipment, the two of you could not afford to be noticed. Going slowly, even if it took longer, would allow you to pay attention to your surroundings and be that much safer. It would also be easier to notice if anyone started tailing you.

The hill was mostly suburban. You and Ike were surrounded on both sides by tall, old apartment buildings built closely together. Higher up the hill, it would give way to family homes. So far, you hadn’t seen any Ghouls. Nor did you feel that the two of you were being followed. If you were lucky, the trip up the hill would be without incident.

But then you saw it. The thin ribbon of blood in your path, running along the cracks in the sidewalk into the gutter. It flowed out from between two apartment buildings …

>Investigate. You went out on this foray to investigate this city, didn’t you?

>Keep walking. It’s a bad strategy to look for trouble when you’re a fugitive.

>Call the police. Someone might be hurt. Even if you can’t get involved, you can’t just let them be either.

>Other

>>3931832
The Dragon was powerful because he mastered many martial arts to the absolute limit of what was possible for humans, then augmented it more with mind conditioning. He was about as powerful as a human could get without extremely liberal usage of magic.
But that's not the reason why he's respected by the Templar. The real reason is that he was a visionary who could look at martial arts from a purely kinesthetic point of view, and separate their single most effective techniques from the surrounding body of tradition and strategy to integrate into his own, Bajiquan-based fighting style. Most Templar fight near the limit of human capability, and The Dragon's work was instrumental in laying the groundwork for raising that limit.

It's hard to say how he'd compare to Isolde and Delilah since those two draw their power from very different sources. Isolde is an exorcist, and is able to access abilities and conditioning a non-exorcist simply wouldn't be able to while Delilah is massively superhuman in terms of physical ability, unlike The Dragon.

>>3933149
>Investigate

We're too young to be jaded.

>>3933149
Investigate
Did we at least bring a biger sword?

>>3933584
No, you still only have your folding straightsword. But Ike brought his spear.

>>3933623
Ok lest we can team work it.
Still need a better wepon.

>>3933745
I think the folding sword is fine, we just need to git gud. Practice our dodge roll and parries and all that.

>>3933751
Its not just that, i mean the dice has fucked us with those since forever.
Its just dealing with the grouls you need to completely hack them apart to real kill them and our wepon is made most to deal with humans and things that can fill pain. We need some bloodborn wepons.

>>3933899
I don't think we have the videogame strength required to wield bloodborne weapons

>>3933905
Magic my good friend or just get a chainsaw

>Investigate

You make eye contact with Ike and gesture with your head as to not make noise. Ike nods, silently agreeing to investigate whatever was between the two buildings.

You slip your hand into your pocket, grasping the hilt of your folding straightsword in your palm. Ike unslings his duffel bag from his shoulder and draws out his spear, extending it to it’s full length with a powerful swing. The two of you step into the space behind the two buildings, with Ike taking point. The trail of blood led quite far into the shadows.

The two of you slowly advanced deeper and deeper, straining your senses for the signs of any threats around you. Until you heard a splash.

Ike had stepped in a puddle of some sort. There was some kind of lump ahead of the two of you. The moon broke out of the clouds in just the right way …

“What the hell?” Ike swears out loud.

“Good God!” You bite back stronger expletives.

Exposed by the moonlight was a woman lying in a puddle of her own blood. Chunks of viscera clung to the alleyway. Her head was at a strange angle to the rest of her body. And the entire front side of her body was … gone.

>Examine the body

>Examine the rest of the alleyway

>Call the cops. You need to report a murder tonight.

>You’re not ready for this. You need to get out of this alley now!

>>3934664
>Examine the alleyway

Entire front of her body is gone? Doesn't sound like a cop issue.

>>3934664
>Examine the rest of the alleyway

>>3934664
Examine the rest of the alleyway

>>3934949
And people have beening dieing my cops havent been doing anything about it.

>Examine the rest of the alleyway

You walk down the alleyway, looking for clues for what had happened. What you do find is a dark red mess of pulped flesh with some broken ribs sticking out. You had found the front of the poor woman’s body. It was almost five meters away from the rest of her corpse.

“Hey Tristan,” Ike said, “The woman’s insides are gone.”
Ike was crouched over the corpse. He had pulled gloves out of some pocket and was prodding and examining her body. You walk over and take a look. Ike was right. The chest cavity was empty, cleaned out.

It was … horrible. There was no other way to describe it, other than an affront to God, an insult to the natural order of things. People weren’t supposed to die like this. You shivered with disgust, not only at the poor woman’s fate, but also how you had seen so many scenes like this that instead of swearing or vomiting or releasing words of pity, all you said next was:

“This isn’t a Ghoul kill. If it was, there wouldn’t be a corpse left. They would have eaten everything.”

“But it isn’t a common homicide either,” Ike replies. There was no denying that either. Not when the woman’s chest had been torn open so easily and brutally. Not when her neck had been broken so cleanly, but with no sign of trauma to her head …

>Recite a quick prayer for the woman

>Leave before you contaminate what will soon become a crime scene

>Hide the body. It’s a sign of the supernatural and you can’t have anyone finding it.

>”Ike, what do you think could have done this?”

>Other

>>3936019
>Recite a quick prayer for the woman

>>3936019
>Pray
>Hide body
>Ask Ike what he thinks could have done this

>>3936019
Recite a quick prayer for the woman

>Recite a quick prayer for the woman

You had learned all you could from this scene. It was time to leave. But you had one thing you had to do. Before you left the body of the slaughtered woman in seclusion, you close your eyes and solemnly recite a prayer. “Oh Lord, have mercy on this soul whose soul you have ordained to pass from this world. Grant your servants the strength to bring judgement in death upon those blasphemers who desecrated your children in life. Your righteous name I invoke for I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. May there be grace in the land of the saints and righteousness in the land of the living. Through Christ, our Lord, Amen.”
“Amen,” Ike echoes. The two of you cross yourselves, before turning and leaving.

The two of you walk the rest of the way to Winterpine Chapel in silence. The trip was uneventful. You didn’t see any signs of Ghouls or Nathan or anything that might have been pursuing you. Before long, you’re at the front of the path leading to the main entrance of the chapel.

>Roll 1d100 for a perception check. The first three rolls will be counted.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>3937709

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>3937709

Rolled 78 (1d100)

>>3937709

>Rolled 50
>Ike’s roll: 21

The night is completely quiet as you and Ike walk up to the entrance of Winterpine Chapel, save for the faraway sounds of the city below you. In the distance, you can hear the blare of police sirens, but it didn’t overly concern you. Police sirens weren’t an unusual sound in many cities.

You’re about to walk off the sidewalk when you catch a strange glimmer from the corner of your eye from across the Chapel’s lawn. Instinctively, you leap away from where you’re standing while simultaneously drawing your Folding Straight Sword. You pause. There had been no gunshots. You had thought you had seen the glint of a gun’s barrel, but it seems you had been mistaken.

You look over at Ike. He was about a dozen paces from where he had been standing, his spear half-drawn. Presumably, he had moved as soon as you had dodged the gunshot you had thought was coming.

The two of you sheathe your weapons as soon as it is obvious that no threat was present.

“What was that?” Ike asks.

“I saw a glint across the field. I thought it was a gun.” You explain to Ike.

“Where?”

The two of you walk over to where you had seen the glimmer.

It had been a camera.

It was a wireless security camera, painted black and hidden in the shadow of Chapel. Any ordinary person wouldn’t even have noticed it.

“I didn’t even see that.” Ike confesses.

It was worse that you had seen it. Now, whoever this camera belonged to would have seen your abnormal reflexes, seen you draw your weapons.

>Destroy the Camera

>Pocket the Camera

>Leave the Camera where it is and keep walking the way you came. There’s no proof you’re connected with the Chapel.

>”There’s no possibility this belongs to Father Cullen, is there?”

>Other

>>3938995
>Destroy the Camera

>>3938995
>Pocket the camera, after removing the battery.

This way we can try and trace it.

>>3938995
Pocket the Camera

>Pocket the Camera

“Ike, is there room in your bag?” You ask.

“Yeah, tons … Oh, you want to take the camera back with us?”

“Yes.” It was an invaluable clue back to your pursuers, and since you had most likely been caught on it, you needed every advantage you could get. It isn’t long before you find the battery. You remove it, deactivating the camera and removing any possibility of it serving as a lead back home when you take it back.

“We should sweep the lawn for any more cameras.” Ike says.

You nod in agreement. “Cover the north side. I’ll cover the south.”

…

“How many did you find?” You ask Ike.

“Two. You?”

“I found one. Is there still room in your bag?”

“Yeah.”

You remove the batteries from the cameras you and Ike found. When you knew what you were looking for, the cameras were easy to find. They were all the same model, identical to the one you had first found from the glint of moonlight off it’s lens.

“So, are we still going to check inside the Chapel?” Ike asks.

>You need to check the chapel. You know someone visited since you were gone.

>You don’t have time to visit the chapel. You need to leave, your pursuers may know you’re here right now.

>”Do you think it’s a good idea to check the chapel, Ike?”

>Other

>>3941010
>No

I want to, but if Jung had his boys set these up he's probably coming over right now.

>>3941010
>You don’t have time to visit the chapel. You need to leave, your pursuers may know you’re here right now.

>You don’t have time to visit the chapel. You need to leave, your pursuers may know you’re here right now.

“No,” You decide, “If Ike had his men set up these cameras, they will most likely be heading here. We are not ready for a confrontation ”

Ike takes a second to respond, as if weighing some other option against what you considered an obvious course of action.

“All right,” Ike nods, deferring to your decision, “Let’s get moving then.”
It was about time to start moving too. With the time spent gathering the cameras, if Jungczant’s men, or whoever set them up, were anywhere close, they could be seconds away from arriving.

The two of you sprint a few blocks to put some distance between any arriving pursuers before turning into a cul-de-sac twisting across the hillside and stopping. You strain your senses for signs that you might be being followed, listening for the clap of footsteps against the sidewalk, the rumble of an approaching engine.

Nothing.

“Hear anything?” Ike asks.

“No.”

The two of you continue listening for several minutes. It would have been suspicious to see two figures out so late at night standing so still on the sidewalk. But you doubt that anyone this late at night would divert themselves from their own compartmentalized, private lives to look out the windows long enough to realize how long you and Ike remained stationary. Even if they did, you doubted that they would be concerned enough to do anything other than feel annoyed at the two of you’s eccentricity. That was a luxury you secretly envied, the chance for such a peaceful and blissfully ignorant life where you didn’t always have to be on the alert for life-threatening risks …

>But it was a false peace. The people you envied weren’t any more safe from the horrors and blasphemies you fought in their ignorance. There was nothing to envy.

>But that’s why you fought, wasn’t it? So that the innocent could live their lives in blissful ignorance. Their peace was a cause worth fighting for.

>You shake your head. You had to rid yourself of such thoughts. Not only was envy a distraction from your duty, it was a sin.

“So what now?” Ike asks you, breaking you out of your thoughts.

>Find somewhere to wait until you can be sure the two of you are safe.

>Split up and follow a circuitous route back to Ike’s home.

>Find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel, see if you can spot any pursuers and glean some insight into their nature.

>>3941991
>But that's why you fought, wasn't it? So that the innocent could live their lives in blissful ignorance. Their peace was a cause worth fighting for.

>Find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel, see if you can spot any pursuers and glean some insight into their nature.

>>3941991
>“If Ike had his men set up these cameras..."
Well, that's concerning

>But that’s why you fought, wasn’t it? So that the innocent could live their lives in blissful ignorance. Their peace was a cause worth fighting for.
>Find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel, see if you can spot any pursuers and glean some insight into their nature.

>>3941991
But it was a false peace. The people you envied weren’t any more safe from the horrors and blasphemies you fought in their ignorance. There was nothing to envy.
Find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel, see if you can spot any pursuers and glean some insight into their nature.

I'm very sorry but because I'm busy tonight, I won't be updating.

>>3943291
No worries OP

Sorry for the wait

>But that's why you fought, wasn't it? So that the innocent could live their lives in blissful ignorance. Their peace was a cause worth fighting for.
>Find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel, see if you can spot any pursuers and glean some insight into their nature.

But at the same time, that was why you fought, wasn’t it? So that the innocent could live their lives in blissful ignorance. You battled against the rogue mages like Jungczant and non-human monsters like Nathan so that they wouldn’t trespass into the lives of the innocent. In your heart, you knew that was a cause worth fighting for.

“So what now?” Ike asked. It was clear that no one was pursuing you. It was safe to act now.

You ponder what course of action to take.
“We’re going to find a vantage point from which to observe the Chapel.” You decide.

…

You and Ike quickly climb the hill, ascending upwards until you are above the Chapel. Here, the slope of the hill was too steep to build on and was left undeveloped and overgrown with bushes and small trees. It was a perfect hiding place from which to observe the chapel on the shoulder of the hill below you. If anyone had come to investigate you from the cameras, if they weren’t pursuing you, they would be here.

However, you couldn’t see any activity in front of the chapel. There were no vehicles outside either. Either they were inside or they had never arrived in the first place …

>They may not have arrived yet. Wait a while longer.

>They might be inside. You’ll have to investigate inside the Chapel.

>There’s no point in continuing your observation. It’s time to end your foray.

>Other

>>3944394
>There’s no point in continuing your observation. It’s time to end your foray.

>>3944394
>They may not have arrived yet. Wait a while longer.

Guess we didn't need to run so fast, but better safe than sorry.

Rolled 5 (1d6)

Tie, so rolling a 1d6 to decide what Tristan will do.
>Odds - End foray
>Evens - Wait a while longer

>There’s no point in continuing your observation. It’s time to end your foray.

“No one’s coming. We’re wasting our time.” You mutter.

“Time to leave then?” Ike asks from his perch on top of a tree.

“Time to leave.”

Ike drops down, casually stretches, and ambles back to the road. You give the chapel one last stare before following after him

…

“We saw a lot tonight,” Ike comments as soon as the door to his room closes.

“It was a productive investigation,” You agree. For a second, the sightless, staring face of the woman you found in the alleyway flashes in your mind’s eye, but you push the memory away. You didn’t have time to be distracted by the woman’s fate.

“So what do you think killed the woman?” Ike asks straight up, summoning sickening images into your mind all over again …

>”It’s probably related to Jungczant in some way.”

>”I have no idea … what do you think?”

>”We need to find that out as soon as possible.”

>”God damn it, whatever it is.”

>Other

>>3945231
>”I have no idea … what do you think?”

Pretty sure Jung doesn't kill random women. This city is just horrifying.

>>3945231
>”I have no idea … what do you think?”

>”I have no idea … what do you think?”

“I have no idea,” You cross your arms in thought. You hadn’t seen anything in Winterpine that would have killed in that way. It was not a Winterpine Ghoul’s kill. According to Isolde’s notes, they consumed the entire body, bones and all. And because they traveled on all fours, you knew it wasn’t a Winterpine Ghoul that had been chased off from it’s kill due to a lack of a trail of blood away from the corpse.

And as for what it potentially could be discounting what you knew was in Winterpine, the possibilities were endless. There were many varieties of unique monster that had the strength to tear open a ribcage so casually, that would leave their victim with only the entrails eaten …

“Ike, what do you think? Any theories?”

“I do,” Ike says, “I think it was a manifested demon, probably a female one. The body was defiled in a sexual way, the breasts were removed. However, there were no signs of rape so I doubt it’s a male or hermaphroditic demon so the defilement is a sign of contempt from the killer. The degree of strength exhibited to tear through a body so easily as to pulp the affected area shows that it’s not a mere possession, as even the strongest possessed humans wouldn’t have the strength necessary. But such strength would mean that whatever committed the kill would have the strength to completely dismantle and consume the body, but it didn’t so the kill wasn’t motivated by blind hunger. And only a demon would have the intelligence to evade notice in a city that has a Templar presence, as well as a resident mage … although Jungczant might be involved as well …”

>”A fully manifested demon? The odds of that are incredibly low … my notes would have mentioned something about this …”

>”You were hunting a demon before you came here. Might you be slightly biased in your deduction?”

>”If it is a demon, then we’re massively underprepared. This will be something beyond even an execution team … We’ll need an exorcist …”

>”What do you mean Jungczant might be involved as well?”

>Other

>>3946329
>>”If it is a demon, then we’re massively underprepared. This will be something beyond even an execution team … We’ll need an exorcist …”

damnit isolde

>>3946329
>”You were hunting a demon before you came here. Might you be slightly biased in your deduction?”

>Combine Options

“You were hunting demons before you came here, correct? Might you be slightly biased in your deduction?” You point out.

“No, I’m sure it’s a demon,” Ike firmly insists, “I’ve seen kills like this before.”

You were still skeptical. You had seen kills just as brutal as well, but they had never turned out to be caused by a demon. But you didn’t have any better ideas.

“Let’s assume that it is a demon,” You say, “We would be massively underprepared for operating in this city then. Dealing with a fully manifested demon would be something beyond even an execution team. It would be a task for an Exorcist. Paris, the Main Temple, would need to know about this.”

“But we don’t have enough evidence yet to call in an Exorcist. We need to find more. We need to track down the Demon.” Ike insists, “A demon’s much too dangerous, much too smart and marlevolent, to just ignore.”

>”A demon’s too dangerous to even consider dealing with. If we were to encounter it while tracking it down, we would probably die, and it would be a useless death.”

>”I’m still not convinced we’re dealing with a demon. I can’t waste time on something like that, I need to deal with Jungczant and Nathan first.”

>”We’ll consider the possibility of a demon being in Winterpine and notify the Main Temple of our suspicions. But I would like to continue investigating Jungczant as I would have before.”

>”You may be correct. We’ll try to find this demon’s trail and see where it leads. I pray that you are incorrect.”

>Other

>>3947673
>”You may be correct. We’ll try to find this demon’s trail and see where it leads. I pray that you are incorrect.”

If the past few threads are any indication, Nate and Jung aren't gonna bite bait so easily. Plus I'm pretty sure a demon is everyone's problem.

>>3947673
>”You may be correct. We’ll try to find this demon’s trail and see where it leads. I pray that you are incorrect.”

>”You may be correct. We’ll try to find this demon’s trail and see where it leads. I pray that you are incorrect.”

“Your plan of action may be the correct one,” You concede. Even if Ike’s bias had led him to a hasty conclusion, Jungczant and Nathan were proving too elusive for you to find leads for. The cameras were a start, but it would take time for them to be dismantled or traced. In the immediate present, the possibility of a demon was the greatest threat you had a means of dealing with. What’s more, if there was a demon, chances were that Jungczant and Nathan would be too busy dealing with it as well to continue pursuing you. “However, I pray that you are wrong. A demon is a terrible foe to face.”

“I know it’s a demon,” Ike insists with the conviction only someone greatly biased towards their conclusion could muster, “But I wish no one ever had to fight something so powerful and cruel.”

…

“Ike, there’s no way there’s a demon wherever you are,” the exasperated voice of Ike’s operator crackled on his radio, distorted by it’s journey from the main temple all the way in Paris. After you and Ike’s conversation, Ike had powered on his radio to make his report to the Main Temple. You had stayed in his room, in case news involving you came your way.

“Just notify the overseers that I’ve found signs of one and will be acting accordingly,” Ike impatiently replies.

“You see signs of demons wherever you go!” Ike’s operator sounded female. By the way the two of them spoke, you could tell they shared a close familiarity to each other, just like you and Benjamin. Albeit, it was one that expressed itself … differently.

“And the trails I find are all solid,” Ike mock-patiently reminds her, “Isn’t that right, Camille?”

“Ike,” Ike’s operator, Camille, sighs, “Surely you don’t think this is connected to your … investigations … at all?”

Instantly, Ike’s tone changes, becoming much more guarded. “I have … no reason to believe that. There’s no evidence for it.”

“Really?” Camille sounds cautious, as if Ike making a connection between his investigations and his elusive quarry was common, to the point where the fact he didn’t insist there was one was suspicious. “Well, in any case, a courier will arrive in a few days to pick up the cameras you found … as well as deliver a package. Tell your friend Tristan we’ve got a new portable atelier for him. It’ll arrive by tomorrow.”

“I will, thanks.”

Ike flicked his radio off. “So, Tristan. You’re finally getting a new portable atelier ...”

>”In a few days, you’ll be sure I don’t have mercury poisoning. Things will be back to normal for me.”

>”You sound like you know your operator well. Were you raised in the same Orphanage?”

>”I’d like to hear more about your hunt for that demon of yours.”

>Exchange some small talk, but don’t initiate a long conversation. It’s late and you’d like to rest for tomorrow.

>Other

>>3949463
>"I'd like to hear more about that demon you're hunting."

Also since Nate isn't in a hurry to off us and we have a safe base we might as well redo our conditioning. Either tomorrow when the new gear comes or right now by borrowing Ike's.

>>3949466
>”I’d like to hear more about your hunt for that demon of yours.”

>"I'd like to hear more about that demon you're hunting."

The corner of your mouth twists upwards in a small smile. “At long last.”

However, as good as the news about your replacement atelier was, there was something else on your mind, a question that Ike’s conversation with his Operator had raised in your mind.

“Ike, I’d like to hear more about your hunt for that demon of yours.” Listening to what Camille had said, you had realized that Ike’s pursuit after his demon was more than just a task he undertook. It was something he was overly invested in, perhaps an obsession, perhaps even something personal. If anything, hearing about his past work would give you some insight into your companion’s character.

“Ah, you want to hear about that, don’t you?” The contrast between Ike’s solemn tone and his normally energetic tone was startling. But he did not refuse, swinging his chair around to face you, “Hunting this demon … it was the life work of my mentor, Tadeo Sahagun. He learned quite a bit about it, even almost catching up to it several times … although I was always left behind when he went out to confront it, as a mere apprentice, I would have been less than useless on that battlefield.”

“You talk of your mentor as if he was dead,” You comment.

“He is,” Ike confirms his suspicions, “But it was in a classified mission, so I don’t know the circumstances of his death. He did leave me his notes on the investigations on the demon, but by the time I followed the trail he found, a lot of what he found out was outdated. I’ve had to find my own leads.”

>”Tracking a demon sounds like an incredible challenge. The work you’ve done is impressive.”

>”You spoke about not trusting the Overseers. Does the classification of the circumstances of your Master’s death have anything to do with it?”

>”What have you discovered about the Demon you’ve been tracking so far?”

>”You have experience in hunting demons. Where should we look for a lead for the one you think is in Winterpine?”

>Other

>>3950410
>”What have you discovered about the Demon you’ve been tracking so far?”

>>3950410
>”You have experience in hunting demons. Where should we look for a lead for the one you think is in Winterpine?”

>Combine Options

“What have you discovered about your Demon so far?” You ask.

“It’s old and it’s female,” Ike answers, “I’ve found records of unsolved murders just like the one we saw tonight dating back at least two centuries … as well as signs of disturbances in the arcane world. Everywhere it goes, there’s a trail of well-known mages being murdered, secret cults or small organizations uncovered and slaughtered, whole local populations of unnatural monsters going extinct almost overnight. I’ve followed this trail across Latin America to Europe, all the way to India where I was before I came here … The kills I can confirm it’s responsible for are always the same: Brutal, backed by immense, unnatural strength. Sometimes there will be deaths by curse or some other form of magic, but you can tell where it passed by from how brutal the kills are … Maybe it sometimes makes alliances to kill alongside other monsters of the arcane world, but I have no idea why a demon like this one would ever do that.”

“But how can you tell it’s your demon that’s responsible for these disturbances?” You ask.

“There’s always a pattern to the disturbances it causes,” Ike explains, “Bodies are found in the morning, neither hidden or publically displayed, just left somewhere secluded. The cause of death is always extreme blunt physical trauma, and the corpses are always missing large parts of their guts, as if they were torn away. Chunks of flesh which could only be torn away by a human jaw will usually be missing as well, and there will also usually be bite marks on exposed bones. At the same time, there will always be a disturbance in the arcane world around the same date as the murders.”

You had to admit, there was a clear pattern in what Ike was describing.
“I am beginning to understand the pattern you see ...” You admit, “Your experience in hunting demons is impressive, so I’ll rely on you to come up with a plan to track down a type of monster I have no experience with.”

“You can count on me to locate the Demon.” Ike brags.

“So. How [i]do[/i] you plan to locate the Demon you think is in Winterpine?”

Ike smiles. “Do you have any way of getting into contact with your friend, Delilah?”

>”You … don’t suspect her of being the Demon, do you?”

>”Even if she was the demon responsible, we’ve been ordered to avoid her at all costs … and for good reason.”

>”I know where she’s staying, but I will stress how foolish it would be to investigate further without a foolproof plan.”

>”You’ve selected a dangerous quarry for us … what’s our plan?”

>Other

>>3951857
>"Uuuh, you don't think she's the demon, do you?"

Oh no

>”You don’t think she’s a demon, do you?”

“You don’t think that she’s a demon, do you?” You ask Ike.

“Well, you can’t say she’s not.” Ike counters.

“But Delilah …” [i]Saved my life![/i] You almost said, before stopping yourself. You couldn’t let yourself get personally involved, it would affect your judgement. Still, why would a demon save your life, as Delilah had done? You hadn’t seen a trace of maliciousness from her, if anything, at worst a professional cold-bloodedness. But what did you really know about Delilah, other than the fact that she was unexplainably physically powerful, was affiliated in some way with Jungczant and Nathan, and in Winterpine to exterminate the ghouls by the request of an unknown client? And the pattern Ike noticed in the incidents where the Demon he was tracking appeared in … Bodies with their entrails consumed … Populations of unnatural monsters exterminated … They definitely fit Winterpine.

>”There’s no way she’s a demon. She’s definitely not entirely human, but she’s displayed too much kind-heartedness for a demon.”

>”She can’t be a demon. The Templar would never allow a confirmed demon to remain in this world if they knew she was one. They would never order for her to be left alone like they’ve done.”

>”If she is a demon, we won’t receive any help from the Main Temple in dealing with her, and confronting her with what we can individually access might be suicide if her file is anything to judge by.”

>”It seems improbable to me, but I cannot deny the possibility. I know where she’s staying already, we can build our plan from there.

>Other

>>3953445
>”She can’t be a demon. The Templar would never allow a confirmed demon to remain in this world if they knew she was one. They would never order for her to be left alone like they’ve done.”

>"Also I'm not sure how we can beat her. I was worried about Nathan and she trounced him like it was nothing."

>>3953445
>”She can’t be a demon. The Templar would never allow a confirmed demon to remain in this world if they knew she was one. They would never order for her to be left alone like they’ve done.”

>”The Templar would never order for her to be left alone like they’ve done.”

”She can’t be a demon,” You insist, “The Templar would never allow a confirmed demon to remain in this world if they knew she was one.”
The entire reason for the Templar’s existence was to eliminate supernatural dangers of humanity. If Delilah was one as grave as a demon, then to not eliminate her by any means necessary would be tantamount to abandoning the organization’s entire mission as a whole. It would be the same as allowing darkness and blasphemy a foothold, to allow innocent deaths in their power to prevent.

“They might not know it’s a demon though,” Ike counters, “As far as we know, it’s file could be entirely based on an incidental encounter on the field. We might know something that the Overseers in Paris don’t, something that will change their classification of Delilah completely. We have to investigate further in case that’s how it is ...”

“But are we prepared enough to deal with something whose file explicitly commands to stay away from if at all possible?”

“If all goes well, we won’t have to,” Ike says, “But if we do, we won’t have a choice. But I need to know since it will affect the way I prepare, Tristan. Will you tell me where Delilah is staying?”

>”Yes, and I’ll assist you in your investigations as well. I was assigned to Winterpine to keep it safe, and anything less would be to abandon my duty.”

>”Fine, I’ll tell you where she is. But what you’re about to do is reckless, foolhardy, and very, very dangerous.”

>”No, I won’t be responsible for your death. The Demon’s probably not her anyways, don’t you have any other ideas on potential leads?

>Other

>>3954586
>”Yes, and I’ll assist you in your investigations as well. I was assigned to Winterpine to keep it safe, and anything less would be to abandon my duty.”

I don't think she'll kill us if we're just poking around, and this way we can guide Ike away from the more dangerous paths of action.

>>3954586
>”Yes, and I’ll assist you in your investigations as well. I was assigned to Winterpine to keep it safe, and anything less would be to abandon my duty.”

>"Will you tell me where Delilah is staying?”
>"Where Delilah is staying?"

Sorry, wtf, why does Ike know Tristan knows where Delilah is staying? This should say

>"Do you know how to contact Delilah?"

Should probably stop writing updates so quickly. Feel free to roast.

>”Yes, and I’ll assist you in your investigations as well. I was assigned to Winterpine to keep it safe, and anything less would be to abandon my duty.”

“Yes, and I’ll assist you in your investigations as well,” You inform Ike, “I was assigned to Winterpine to keep it safe and anything less would be to abandon my duty.”

“Great,” Ike nodded, “I knew I could count on you. We’ll leave tomorrow night then … so how [i]do[/i] we get in touch with Delilah?”

“She’s staying in room 227 at the Shangra-La Motel, although her presence there can’t be counted on,” You inform Ike.

“Well, if we know where she’s staying, we won’t even need to get in contact with her,” Ike muses, “... Hey, isn’t that where you were staying?” Ike asks.

“Yes, when she saved my life, she took me there. That’s how I know where she’s staying.”

Ike nods, “I see why you wouldn’t want to consider whether she could be a demon or not now … Also, just checking, but I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine …”

>Don’t fuck this one up, anons

>>3955888
>John 10:14

thanks google

>>3956010
Proceeding with the following verse seems like the safest bet: "As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."
That being said, bring up this particular passage in this context seems strange. Jesus had just healed a blind man, a feat which, as far as I'm aware, had never been done before. Prior biblical passages would suggest that such a feat is exclusively in God's domain, implying that Jesus' powers are divine in nature. At the same time, this was done on the sabbath, which, according to long-standing Jewish tradition, would imply that Jesus' miracle was diabolical in nature. The Jews in this situation are left with a bit of a dilemma: trust in some rather ambiguous portions of God's word, or in the unambiguous teaching of the Rabbis -- highly respected and intelligent teachers of the community.
Ike may be trying to tell us that we are deceiving ourselves: one may not expect a demon to act as Delilah has in her interactions with us, but such expectations are the result of narrow-minded attempts to remove ambiguity from a complicated situation.
Or he could be telling us to remain skeptical: Jesus' abilities come from God, but many saw his acts and assumed him to be doing the work of a demon.
Or I could be looking too far into this and Ike just wants to check our conditioning or for demonic influence real quick: according to some traditions persons under demonic influence cannot recite The Lord's Prayer without stuttering at least, and it wouldn't surprise me if that extended to other passages.
If the context of the passage is relevant, there is a hint in there that perhaps some amount of our trust in the Templar order is misplaced.

>>3956140
Now I feel like a chump

Nice speculation anon

You reply finishing the passage, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep … I approve of your caution Ike. Your reckless approach to Delilah almost led me to doubt you didn’t have any.”

Ike smiles mischievously, “You’re not older than me enough to tell me to be more cautious, Tristan … But yeah, I was checking if anything got cast on you since you said you stayed with that Delilah. You responded to the passcode correctly, so you’re conditioning hasn’t been subverted at least, even though it’s got a few holes in it.”

Templar Passcodes were intertwined deeply within your conditioning, the removal of one meant the removal of the other. If you had been under foreign influence or control, you wouldn’t have had been able to respond correctly to Ike’s prompt. That being said …

“Something felt … off when I responded to you though,” You admit to Ike, “It wasn’t as automatic as it should have been.”

“Yeah, you were a bit slow,” Ike admits, “But you already said you needed a bit of reconditioning. You should do that while you have the chance.”
The correct response to a passcode wasn’t only the mere recitation of a verse, it demanded subtle and exact intonations and emphasis on certain words and syllables. The kinds of differences in recitation that could only be registered after years of having the passcode recited and embedded in one’s consciousness, combined with hypnosis and other forms of mental conditioning.

“Yeah .. could I borrow your texts of reconditioning?”

“Sure …” Ike says, “They’re in my atelier, you won’t miss them.”

You grab a leatherbound sheaf of paper from inside Ike’s open atelier. You’d spend a few hours tonight reinforcing the areas of conditioning that needed it, then you would rest for tomorrow … And then …”

“So, confronting Delilah is only a few hours away …” Ike says, just before you walk out his door for your room.

“It’s only reconnaissance,” You reply, “Keep our distance and we’ll be fine.”

END OF THREAD

Another thread finished! Soon, Tristan and Ike will have a close encounter with Delilah ... Hopefully it will be the kind where she doesn't notice. Hope you guys didn't miss her too much.

New thread will probably be up Monday. Until then, questions/Comments/Criticism are welcome at any time pls no bully

>>3958024
Thanks for running! As requested, I won't bully over the triple closer post. You might want to delete the first two though.

I'm so ready to get noticed by Del before we even see her.