>>3932766
Charles, at one time many people thought you were no one of importance.” Henry said.

“But not anymore Henry! Thanks to you I’m important!” Charles said, still giddy with the rush of victory.

“They would be saying the same things about you too. You’d do well to not get carried away like this again. Stop and look real good at what is going on in front of you, Charles. If you don’t something worse will MAKE you face it, and you might not come back from that.”

“Okay Henry…” Charles said, not even remotely convinced. The boy didn’t have the nerve to talk back, and Henry realized he was probably worried he’d toss him out if he gave him too much lip.

Henry didn’t know if that was the truth or not. He stood up shakily and followed the boy back towards the others. He began to remember exactly what Johnny had told him about how the boy would soak up his actions rather than his words. Fucking hell he really was starting to doubt himself now.

“Oy Henry!” Larry said, running up to the man. “Man I really can’t believe we fecking did it. I thought one of us might… heh.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Thanks for getting us all through this yeh?”

“We ain’t thru it till we get back to Avignon, Larry.” Henry said.

“Right right.” Larry said. “Well, help me dig this hole then, Rosa is insistent that we do a proper six feet.”

Henry sighed. “Well digging with your hand’s ain’t gonna cut it. We should lay her in one of the graves in the cemetery for the time being.

“Out of the question!” Rosa said, stomping her foot down.

5. (write in)

>>3932768

A couple of ghiests floated by overhead, testing the womans resolve.

“Right, we should make camp for tonight somewhere safe, then head for town when the gates are open.” Xavier said. “We can probably borrow a shovel from a villager or something. Rosa could probably do it, she has her healers robe’s after all.”

“We could burn her right?” Charles asked. “That way nobody would come sniffing and the animals wouldn’t get to her.”

“OUT OF THE QUESTION!” Rosa said.

“Right, we can’t burn her, ESPECIALLY given the fact that thing might still be inside.” Xavier added

“Well he has one point, we shouldn’t put her corpse right on top of the fucking leyline, you morons.” Ophelia said.

Everyone took a few moments to ponder the possible disaster that they’d almost created.

“R-right, well we can’t burn her, might create an entirely new ghiest.”

“What do you mean?” Charles asked.

“Seriously? Even I know you shouldn’t feckin burn corpses.” Larry said. “You need to let em sleep proper.”

“Charles, if you burn a corpse more often than not a flame ghiest is born, not to mention the spirit of the departed will be driven into an uncontrollable fury. The flame ghiest is incredibly destructive while the human ghiest can be even more dangerous. Its one of the reasons those paladins in Avignon even exist, to quell that sorta stuff.”

“Well wouldn’t it be a good idea to create it as a distraction?” Charles asked.

“OUT. OF. THE. QUESTION.” Rosa said, beating every word into the boy.

“I agree, horrid idea, especially after that horrid business.” Xavier said.
“I’m for it, anything to get us distance and a distraction from this mess.” Ophelia said.

“I say we burn it and leave.” Charles said. Rosa looked like she was going to strike the boy. Ophelia had already positioned herself well out of harms way.

“I ain’t picking a side here, feck that.” Larry said.

Of course, all eyes turned to Henry.

Decisions:
1. Burn the girl, run, and hope the ensuing distraction is sufficient
2. Try to find a suitable way to bury her
3. Head out and leave her for the crows, nothing to be done about it at this point.
4. Make camp and bury her in the morning, you still can’t believe you didn’t bring a shovel

>>3932769
>>3932768
both of these are from the prior thread, but nobody voted so I reposted them

>>3932769
>4. Make camp and bury her in the morning, you still can’t believe you didn’t bring a shovel
We could camp near the cemetery and use the warding stones to keep away the ghiests, but then we'd have to worry about the necromancer coming back. Or the angel patrols showing up and thinking we dug up the bodies.

>>3932790
Would they trust Rosa to vouch for us though? Would they instantly sense Xavier is a vamp and Alice is a bug though her glamour? Might be highly risky.

>>3932769
>4. Make camp and bury her in the morning, you still can’t believe you didn’t bring a shovel

We need to talk to rosa about raising Charles before he becomes a monster. It's time to confirm that Charles have black mana. Her sermons won't do shit for him, it's Henry who need to take lessons

>>3932769
Do we have a spell or charm or something that let's us open graves?

>>3933219
you actually do, a gravediggers amulet.

>>3933316
I would suggest using it but I cannot help but wonder how much would Rosa freak out if we used it to dig a grave

>>3933933
oh they're pretty illegal to own

>>3932790
>>3933216
writing

>>3932769
“We’re setting up camp tonight, in the forested area to the south of the cemetery. Larry, Ophelia, Alice, I want you two to grab some of the runes from the cemetery to use for protection.” Henry said. The forested segment would hopefully provide them cover from angelic patrols. They’d have to move the corpse as well, and he was damned sure he didn’t want anyone to see him with a decapitated child’s corpse.

“Henry?!” Rosa asked. “We’re going to FURTHER desecrate a cemetery? It almost sounds like you’ve done this before.”

“We’ll put them back in the morning Rosa. Right now I’m not going to have us camp out on top of a cemetery especially after all of this unpleasantness happened. Right now the angels and inquisition are on a hairpin trigger. I don’t want to give them any reason more to harass us.”

“Alright, fine I suppose. Our situation demands it.” Rosa said. “But I’m going to personally ensure that the runes are properly returned.

“Great, backbreaking labor.” Larry grumbled.

“So what about the body, won’t it start to decay?” Xavier asked. “

“I have some ice runes.” Ophelia offered.

“It wouldn’t decay that bad even given a handful of hours. Long as we bury it before a day has passed we’ll be fine.” Henry said.

“How would you even know something like that?” Rosa asked.

“We’ll I know it too, it’s not exactly forbidden knowledge to know how long a body takes to decay, is it?” Ophelia asked.

“Well… no but….” Rosa said.

“Come Rosa; let us find a place to set up camp.” Xavier insisted.

Alice shrugged and followed after them. Henry wondered if she’d even been paying attention to their squabbles.

The group departed to their work while Henry grabbed the dead body. He had Charles carry the head, the boy seemed only slightly grossed out. Charles said that was just due to the fact the thing was still warm but Henry hoped he had something in his head telling him why it was wrong. Henry didn’t really have that part himself, beyond the fact it was a child’s corpse. If it had been an adult he could’ve cared less. He didn’t consciously understand but he was too tired to think.

>>3934988

“She’s going to figure us out, Henry.” Charles said. “What’re we going to do when that happens?”

“What?” Henry asked, half asleep.

“She’s going to figure out exactly what kind of magic we’re doing, what kind of work we’ve done, Henry. It’s dangerous for all of us.” Charles said, nervously. “Johnny won’t talk about it, he’s too happy seeing you happy for once. Larry and Ophelia are either too nice or too scared to bring it up, and Alice is too new. I think Xavier realizes how much of a problem this is going to be but he knows he has no right to speak to you.”

“Why do you care all of a sudden?” Henry asked, rubbing his temple and doing his best to balance the corpse on his shoulder.

“Because if she finds out and tells the church, we’re all gonna end up on a rope.” Charles said.

“No Charles, they don’t hang Necromancers.” Henry said. “They bury them alive, the tree is only meant for those who can be redeemed. The church doesn’t see us as redeemable. Same reason they slap vampires on a wall and let the rising sun take care of them.” Henry said.

Charles’ eyes widened and he clammed up for a second.

“T-the point is, the second she finds out… she’s going to tell them Henry… we might need to…” Charles said, trailing off.
Decisions:
1. “What were you going to say, Charles?” (very very serious tone)
2. “I’ll. handle. it.”
3. “Why do you think you have any right to talk to me about this, apprentice?”
4. “Is me being happy that big of a deal?”
5. “She isn’t going to find out, trust me. She’s always been suspicious of everyone.”
6. (write in)

>>3934991
>4. “Is me being happy that big of a deal?”

Charles is not wrong though, we need to figure out a way to either get her to come along to our way of thinking or break up with her.... Which would break Henry i imagine, so too would killing her.

>>3934991
>1. “What were you going to say, Charles?” (very very serious tone)

Christ on a stick...

We need to speed up our plan to tell Rosa about Henry, we are so close to the point of no return, if we haven't passed is already.

And I'm not sure what do to about Charles. At the very least we should explain our reasoning for being the one to kill the girl.

I didn't think going mercenary would end up like this, but it's all par for the course of Henry's life I guess... We need to change employer because the cult is fucked up in the head. I say we start working with the church or keep to mundane monster and gheist contracts, or resaddle as a private investigator.

As long as we work for fuckers like this we'll keep gettinh stuck between morally reprehensible and a morally wrong choices. Whatever happened to Henry trying to be a better person and lead a better life after he found Charles? He's slipping and falling down hard.

>>3935413
Would it be better to reveal black mana to Rosa back at the seaside cliff by Henry's house in Rally? Or should he say the N-word there instead?

>>3935415
Well, the lighthouse is a safe location with good memories and she will be in a better headspace there, but the atmosphere at Henry's old home will add a heavy dose of bad mojo if we're going the pity party route.

Perhaps we should go to rally and show the black mana and explain how Henry got it by being kidnapped and forced to watch his family get killed. Later at the lighthouse after she's digested the story we can get him dead drunk and tell her how they forced him to torture his brother. We should not drop the n-word until we've established a good foundation.

Thoughts? Should we include Charles? He still doesn't know and has expressed anger at Henry for pitying himself when he tells Charles to suck it up when the boy complained about his situation

>>3935444
Charles needs to learn and mature, but a second time. At the start of the quest, he was immature royal brat, but developed and learned from hardships on the way and after he was stopped being chased. But he's yet to learn and mature in other ways, like all this shit with Henry and moral dilemmas and other things he's been too overeager and presumptuous on, thinking he knows better when he doesn't. I guess this is more realistic than anything, which is fine. We still gotta get Rosa on the same page as Henry too though.

Too much to do, why not do it all at once?

>>3935448
Because she is supremely upset right now and her reaction is going to be bloody murder. We need to redirect her emotions, it's better to get her to swing to pity or compassion then reveal that we're a criminal, a heretic and a liar when she is barely a hair's trigger from exploding in anger and outrage. channel them into something it's easier to calm down from.

She needs a delicate touch at the best of times, and right now... Lol

>>3935476
OK then let's go with your plan

>>3935480
>>3935476
>>3935448
>>3935444
>>3935415
>>3935413
>>3935160
reviewing

File: Spoiler Image (1.1 MB, 277x320)

1.1 MB GIF

>>3935626

>>3934991

“What were you going to say, Charles?” Henry asked. He held his anger down, making sure his ton was serious but not emotional. He watched as Charles froze in place and then stomped on the ground, trying to work up the nerve to speak.

“Henry, if she reacts bad, we might need to erase all her memories, right?” Charles said. “I mean, couldn’t we get Ophelia to do it?”

“What?” Henry asked.

“What did you think I was going to say?” Charles asked.

Henry laughed a little bit before shaking his head. “Charles, memory alteration ain’t an exact science. Do you really think Ophelia would do a good job? Lord, I’ve seen me fair share of botched jobs, the results aren’t pretty Charles.”

“Oh.” Charles said.

“We’ve been with her for a few months now Charles, we’d need to do heavy editing… lord what am I even saying. Is me being happy that big of a deal?”

“Not when it puts the rest of us in danger Henry. If she talks to the church all of us end up dead.”

“Fucking hell, how the hell did I go from being a loner to leading a small band of dumbfucks in the space of a few months?!” Henry asked.

“D-dumb?” Charles stuttered.

Henry ruffled the kids hair and proceeded onwards towards the rapidly developing camp. They’d need to get moving as soon as dawn broke.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>>3935686
Agatha nursed a swollen forehead while reviewing what exactly had gone wrong. They’d managed to gather a bit of evidence but at this point it would only be circumstantial. Barstow was speaking with one of the Paladins of Lanterns while that bratty apprentice of Vensers’ sauntered around like he was above it all. How he could be so cavalier when the paladins had taken the bulk of the deaths was beyond her. They’d lost five inquisitors in that raid on top of it, and apparently three of the angels had been desantified and would have to go into the tower back in Avignon for resantification, if that was even possible anymore. One more had been completely killed, or destroyed. Even Agatha wasn’t sure if they qualified as alive. They were like kinder demons made of white mana, though she kept such thoughts to herself. She thought back to that Henry fellow, what about him had seemed so familiar. She briefly wondered if he’d been involved in part of this, but figured him a hapless pawn. Rosa was more interesting, Barstow continued to tell her to be kinder, like hell she would.

This wasn’t a job for the kind hearted. This was a job for those who could get things done. She remembered escaping the demonic cult she’d been forcibly raised in as a child, managing to convince some Cathars to investigate, then watching as her former captors and family were carted off to be hung or dealt with. She identified every single one of them by name. She had taken a good deal of pleasure in it, their faces when they realized what she’d done, signing their death papers. Agatha bit her lip as she remembered her older sister, trying to beg her to lie, to say she had been forced into it too. No, she’d watched her sister gleefully cannibalize travelers, she still remembered the beatings she received when she’d refused the tainted flesh, even with the starvation and beatings that’d bring. She told the truth, oh how she’d told the truth. Agatha wished she’d been able to hang them all herself.

She sighed, after that, nobody trusted her but the church, and even then… a cultist who betrayed her own “family” whatever the hell that word meant.

She’d had nowhere to go, eventually having to beg for food, always trying to find a job but always being turned away… until she ended up at that hospital, not even fully set up back then… Matron Glensa took her in, for no other reason than kindness. She was the mother Agatha had always wanted… damn them all, damn Rosa, damn all the other sisters. Cowards and weaklings.
Agatha shuddered when Barstow placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Do not touch me.” Agatha said, icily.

>>3935691
“Look, Agatha, Venser is heading out with his people, nothing left for em here. We’re probably going to need to head back to Avignon now.”

“No.” Agatha said. “We’re not done yet.”

“Agatha, it’s over, this mission, and your career.” Barstow said.

Had the man chuckled?!

“I’ll continue myself if I need to.” Agatha said.

“Fine. I’m heading back to Avignon to try and smooth this mess over, inquis… former inquisitor Agatha.” Barstow corrected.

“Out of my sight you lout.” Agatha said.

“Hmph, the last order you’ll ever give, fitting.” Inquisitor Barstow said.

The woman stewed for a moment, glancing at her silver inqusitioral badge. For once in her life, she pondered what exactly the eye on it symbolized, it sure as shit wasn’t watching over her.

“Inqusitor Agatha?” a familiar voice beckoned.

“Paladin Ashur, correct?” Agatha asked. “As much as I hate to believe it, my former colleague is right, my time in this order is done with this cock-up. Unless you’re offering me alcohol I think you’ll need to bugger off.”

“Really, I’m here to offer you the chance to make a difference, Venser wants to speak with you.” Ashur said.

“Fine, not like I’m doing anything else anymore.” Inquisitor Agatha said.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>>3935695
Henry had horrible nightmares that night, all of his normal demons, a few screaming children, what else was new at this point. He woke up in a cold sweat. The group prepared breakfast while Rosa and Larry went off to procure a shovel from a neighboring farmstead. They’d all agreed that Larry was the most normal looking of the group, and Rosa had her church robes on, the two stood the best chance of not causing panicked screaming.

In the meantime Henry kept his eyes traced on the sky while Ophelia occasionally poked at the corpse.

“Would you stop that?” Xavier asked.

“We have a scientific marvel in front of us and you want me to let it be?!” Ophelia asked.

“Often times leaving things be is the safest option.” Xavier said.

“Oh you church people and those stupid ingrained ideas.” Ophelia muttered.

“You seem to have knelt a bit too close to those so called fires of progress dear.” Xavier retorted.
Ophelia sat in stunned silence while Xavier skulked off. Charles did his best to stifle a laugh.

“Henry?” Alice asked.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for keeping me around.” Alice finally said after a couple minutes of quiet. Henry had almost gone back to work by the point she had spoken up.

Decisions:
1. “Finally some gratitude.”
2. “Yeah, you fit right in with us freaks.”
3. “Happy to have you on board.”
4. (write in)

>>3935696
>2. “Yeah, you fit right in with us freaks.”
Sigh
4. (write in)
"I appreciate you hanging around, that way there's at least one person with common sense here."

>>3935696
>I'm surprised you can say that after all this bullshit

>>3935696
First >>3935951
then Henry stops to consider what he just said
then he looks around at everybody else
then >>3935729

>>3935951
>>3935729
>>3936141
writin

>>3935696
“Yeah, you fit right in with us freaks.” Henry said offhandedly.

He sighed and turned in surprise when Alice giggled.

“You’d be surprised how quickly I’ve gotten used to this body. I’ve never been one to feel too sorry for myself for too long. But I want to work on a cure, Ophelia said she’d be willing to help, she said you were holding onto Del Mar’s journal right?” Alice asked, hope in her eyes.

“Yeah, I dunno what the hell he even did but there was some real fucked up shit going on. I can’t even begin to guess if its reversible, but its worth a shot.” Henry said.

“Thank you Henry.” Alice replied.

What had he just agreed to?

“Honestly I’m surprised you can thank me after all this bullshit.” Henry said.

“I’m happy you didn’t let that lover of yours wring my neck.” Alice replied.

“We’re not…” Henry started.

“Well, close enough anyways.” Alice replied.

“Least there’s one person with some common sense around here.” Henry said.

He stopped to have a look at everyone else. Yeah….

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

>>3937362
The body was buried and a small service was held, nobody really felt like saying anything, except for Xavier who gave a small touching speech about a life thrown tragically out of balance. Rosa teared up during it while Larry and Alice looked solemn.

Ophelia and Henry just wanted to be out of there. Henry due to anxiousness and Ophelia due to boredom.

None of them stuck around long, with Rosa heading out only to return the shovel she’d borrowed. The group made tracks south towards Rally, where hopefully some update, or maybe an actual bed, would be waiting for them.

“So this is a lovely throwback.” Charles said.

“What?” Larry asked.

“Us on the road again, reminds me of a few months back when we were on the run from the church.”

“I still can’t believe that was what was going on.” Rosa said, chuckling nervously.

“Well, the sooner we get back to civilization the sooner we can all laugh about it.” Henry said.

“So what was that thing exactly?” Larry asked.

“Some sort of advanced flame ghiest, maybe a town burned down and spawned the thing, maybe a ritual. I wasn’t able to get a real good look at it but those are my guesses.” Ophelia posited.

“Well its dead.” Henry said. “Thank fuck.”

Decisions:
1. *head back toward Rally*
2. *try to stop back in that small cult of progress village to see if you can ask for direction on what to do next*
3. (write in)

>>3937364
>1. *head back toward Rally*

>>3935691
>She thought back to that Henry fellow, what about him had seemed so familiar
>She remembered escaping the demonic cult she’d been forcibly raised in as a child
The same one as Henry then?

>>3937438
actually believe it or not there are a LOT of demonic cults. There are 3 demon princes and a lot of lower ranking ones too.

>>3937441
Hmmmm. Wonder how Agatha would react if she ever heard Henry's story?

>>3937364
>1. *head back toward Rally*
We're done here.
WAIT
WAIT
DID WE FUCKING SECURE THE MONEY YET? WE NEED TO DO THAT ASAP

>>3937447
you get paid back in Avignon, i.e. yer job is done all thats left is pay and possibly a party if you're into that sorta thing.

As for the Lic'toron. They ain't just a demonic cult, they're THE demonic cult. Easily the most powerful and wide reaching one. The church does a pretty good job at destroying and dismantling smaller ones like Agatha's. Cannibalism is a fairly common practice and its a big no no with the church.

Writing

>>3937457
writing tomorrow

>>3937457
Why cannibalism though? Foot what purpose?

And i know there demons and all, but why are they and their cults so comically evil?

>>3937697
the cannibalism part serves as the sacrificial rite that every demonic cult has. It actually serves to strengthen both the demon and the cultists themselves. The church views these rites, rightfully, as abominations. I could go into further detail if you really want.

>>3937942
Yeah it's all stuff Henry should know right? It would be helpful to know

>>3938043
intimately, you're welcome to have the man 'think to himself' during moments of quiet if you want to learn more about the world.

>>3937364
The group trekked through countryside and farmland as they made their way back towards the coast. The farmland gave way to marsh and the path turned to a slog. There were planks thrown down haphazardly as they got within viewing distance of the town. Henry saw foot and cart traffic as they drew close but he didn’t feel even the slightest bit safe until he was well beyond the gate and the walls. Church run towns had stopped charging entrance fees around thirty years back, and Henry was glad for it. It made travel so much cheaper.

The paved, salt stung streets of Rally ran with merchants, scamps, church goers, healers, priests, Cathars, and Cult of Progress Cultists. All mingling and overseen by a couple flocks of angels. A fairly standard town all things considered.

The group found their way back towards their lodgings and collectively collapsed into whatever available bed or bed like surface they could find. Xavier made an excuse to leave and Henry helped the man into the basement so he could rest. Fortunately the inn building was high up enough that it could have a basement. Henry handed the vampire a lock and key and turned around once he heard cellar door lock from the inside.

“We’re alive!” Larry said, laughing and then nodding off.

Ophelia got to work compiling notes while Alice collapsed into a nest made of straw. Charles sprawled out onto a hastily made cot while Henry staggered upstairs. It took him a few moments to register that Rosa hadn’t followed him, it seemed he’d be sleeping alone today.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He woke up several hours later when Charles shook him awake. The boy seemed excited and Henry quickly removed the hand from the dagger he’d hidden under his pillow. The church hadn’t come to hang him just yet.

A sort of brunch was had, where everyone sort of pretended the prior night hadn’t exactly happened. Everyone except Rosa. The woman didn’t exactly look like she was ready for the talk she’d promised, in fact she looked like she wanted to leave. Henry knew he’d have to tell her, and soon, but he didn’t want to ruin such a good mood. Everyone was more or less happy, and alive, yes that was pretty important.
“So Henry, how are we going to contact the cult of progress?” Charles asked.

Decisions:
1. “We’re going to figure out where they’re located in town, regularly I wouldn’t wanna be seen near em but just want to have this mess behind us.”
2. “We let them come to us.”
3. “We head back to Avignon, we get paid, then we’re done with them. No more jobs.”
4. “I was hoping we could put it to a vote, figured that’s been working pretty well for us.”
5. (write in)

>>3938935
>3. “We head back to Avignon, we get paid, then we’re done with them. No more jobs.”
Sigh as you may have to move, again.

>>3938935
this >>3938943 but also
>"Why can't people contain themselves from being dumb? Anything good the Cult of Progress actually comes up with ends up losing out to stupid shit like this, or being turned into stupid shit like this. It's so frustrating!"
>"No, we're honestly better off on our own with these things. After what happened, I'm starting to agree with Rosa. We just go, secure the payment no matter what, then that's it."
>"Then... we might have to relax for a bit. Get ourselves sorted out nice and easy, then consider what's next once we're ready. Sound good?"

>>3938955
>>3938943
writing

>>3938935
“We head back to Avignon, we get paid, then we’re done with them. No more jobs, no more dirty little tasks. We need to find some respectable work I figure. Maybe something that doesn’t involve us covering up horrific crimes against nature, all agreed?” Henry asked, turning from Charles to the others.

“Thank the lord he sees sense!” Rosa exclaimed, utterly relieved.

“I hardly care, as long as we can continue working on the ticky project.” Ophelia said.

Henry winced. Why the hell did she have to bring that up with Rosa still in the room.

“Won’t they be mad at us for this?” Larry asked.

“We haven’t really done anything to wrong em, but I see you’re point Larry. No we aren’t too deep into this yet.” Henry said.

“We should go to the church and explain everything!” Rosa said.

“Horrid idea Rosa, they might have people in the church.” Charles explained. “Then we’d be round up and dealt with.”

“I’d even argue we leave, throw their dirty money back into their face.” Rosa said.

“We should probably get paid for the work we did.” Alice said.

“Agreed.” Henry seconded.

“So we go back to Avignon, secure our payment, then we break off contact with the cult. Worst case we’ll need to secure some blackmail material or something to keep them off our backs.”

“I just wish you hadn’t gotten involved in the first place.” Rosa said.

“I’m starting to agree Rosa, I really am.” Henry said.

“Thank you.” Rosa said, finally smiling.

Henry felt a bit of warmth in his soul, she was too good for him.

Decision:
1. *perform final actions*
2. *end case*

>>3938974
The way I see it we have two option: we could either talk with Rosa outside now and have that conversation as promised or we could try and sweep the whole thing under the rug/wait for her to broach the topic.

Mabye we should hang on to the conversation until we are back at the lighthouse?

Also, before departing, we should probably say goodbye to the family

Rosa can suck my nuts.

>>3938974
>1. *perform final actions*

Go see Henry's grandfather and the rest of his extended family. Later in the evening take Rosa to the old house. Show her the black mana and explain why he's got it. No n-word yet

>>3938974
This >>3939577
The black mana reveal would be a great way to end the case off.

>>3939276
not before marriage anon

>>3939244
>>3939577
>>3939652
writing, this is probably going to be several scenes mind you.

Who do you want to bring along to meet with Henry's family, if anyone?

>>3939737
Rose and Charles?

>>3939737
This >>3939745
Our soon-to-be-wife and pretty-much-adopted-son

>>3939737
rosa and charles

>>3939770
>>3939752
>>3939745
writing

>>3938974
“I’m going to be meeting with my Grandfather, Edgar today.” Henry announced.

“Going to meet your family?” Larry asked.

“Yes, I think they deserve to know I’m still alive, and well, I think this is the right thing to do.” Henry said. “Rosa, Charles, I’d like you two to come with me.”

“Hrmph.” Ophelia muttered. “Have fun with your day trip.”

“You’ll be too busy researching the samples you gathered right? Not like you’d want to come.” Alice responded.

“Feh.” Ophelia muttered.

“Knock em dead Henry!” Larry said.

Henry finished up brunch and headed out with Rosa and Charles. Charles was becoming something like a son to him, the boy had certainly outdone himself as an apprentice. Rosa… was he really ready to make her his wife? Well, yes… soon. They were his family. Hell everyone else was too but that would’ve made too large a group.

“So Henry, who are the Fisher clan?” Rosa asked.

“According to my grandfather they helped grow Rally into a proper town, so merchants of some renown. I don’t really know what to expect.”

Henry and the group continued toward the docks and met up with an incredibly joyous Edgar. Apparently the man had heard a bit of what had happened and had been worried sick about Henry and his friends. Henry felt a bit awkward considering the fact that his grandfather was employed by the cult. Henry decided to omit the fact he planned to cease further employment.

The group were led by an extremely talkative old man towards a rather large looking building. Apparently one of Henry’s cousins was the mayor of Rally. This of course came as a rather large shock, to everyone. Finding someone that the majority of the town would put their trust in, someone who was related to Henry, was quite surprising. Rosa commented about how Henry truly was a black sheep, then clamped a hand over her mouth and cast a worried look in Henry’s direction.

Henry couldn’t help but smile.

Charles said little and paid close attention to his surroundings as Henry tried to reconnect with his relatives. His family members were either excited or suspicious about Henry. Charles couldn’t blame them, it wasn’t unheard of for commoners to claim to be long lost nobility or nobles who’d disappeared, he figured it was something similar.

By the time it was over the three of them were left out in a fancy waiting room, the kind with decorative wallpaper and hard wood lining the walls.

Rosa twiddled a strange of her hair while Charles did his best to not look bored. Henry tapped his foot against the ground and checked over his pouches. Charles knew that the man did that when he was nervous.

Rosa occasionally tried to make eye contact with the man but wasn’t able to hold it. It had been a long couple of days for all of them. Charles smiled, he knew that this wouldn’t be easy.

Decisions: (Charles)
1. *give the two some alone time*
2. *try to give Henry some encouragement*
3. *Tell Rosa to say what she thinks already*
4. *Tell Henry that he’s acting weird, and that he should just act more normally*
5. (write in)

>>3940641
>4. *Tell Henry that he’s acting weird, and that he should just act more normally*

Cmon Henry you can do it!

>>3940641
>4. *Tell Henry that he’s acting weird, and that he should just act more normally*

Also offer to:
>1. *give the two some alone time*

>>3940641
This >>3940916
Maybe Charles can go contemplate stuff about the latest job, things he saw, the way people reacted, etc. Maybe he can try to learn a thing or two, or figure out some things that might have seemed off to him at the time.

>>3940838
>>3940916
>>3940962
writing

>>3940641
“Henry, you’ve been acting weird since we got here, what’s wrong?” Charles asked.

“No I’m not.” Henry replied. “Stop imaging stuff.”

“You’re tapping your foot against the ground Henry, you’re nervous.” Charles replied. He watched as Henry winced slightly.

“Are you that scared of meeting your family?” Rosa asked.

“Course not. I’m fine, really. Just a bit wound up from last night.” Henry said.

“Honestly I don’t think you were as scared of the queen as you are now.” Charles slyly replied.

“Shut up.” Henry playfully retorted.

The two laugh a bit, the tension broken.

“Honestly I’m not really sure why I was brought along.” Rosa said.

“Well can’t really have a wife without my family’s blessing now can I?” Henry said.

Rosa tried babbling a response but she was too flustered to be capable of coherent speech.

Charles got out of his chair, carefully dropping to the ground off of his seat. He headed out of the room into a stairwell. Stopping when Henry called out to him. He explained that he was giving the two of them some privacy and was going out to get some fresh air. Henry grumbled that he was getting abandoned by his apprentice.
Decisions:
1. *think about the girl you helped murder*
2. *think about the future*
3. *think about the cult of progress*
4. *think about the royalty*
5. (write in)

>>3941690
>4. *think about the royalty*

>>3941690
4. *think about the royalty*
2. *think about the future*

>>3941690
>*think about the royalty*
>*think about the future*

>>3941690
>1. *think about the girl you helped murder*
About her family, and her dreams.
Understand what Henry was talking about.

>>3942235
>Naw, that's too easy

>>3942248
we could always try

>>3941868
>>3941966
>>3941987
writing

>>3941690
Charles took the time to think of the remaining royalty. He hadn’t shared this with Henry, but he felt the church had taken defacto control of everything. The way the Baron of New Haven had handed them over so quickly instead of trying to use him. It felt that way now. The time of the royals may have well been over. If the claims against his family was at all true, then there would likely be a succession crises. There probably already was. He wondered if that was why the church was searching so badly for him. He wondered if they’d try and use him to fill the seat.

He’d rather stay with Henry, he wanted to. The man was what Charles believed a father would be, even with the man’s flaws. The alcoholism, the temper, and the paranoia.

He thought about the future. Would he actually be safe with Henry? Especially now that the man was going to throw away everything they’d been working towards? They had the cult exactly where they wanted them… maybe they could even get Sophie to steal blackmail material. Then they’d be rock solid. As it stood the cult would probably pay them very, very well. So what if a few randoms got hurt?!

Charles grit his teeth. Why did one stupid girl have so much damned power over Henry? In fact, the man was weak whenever kids were involved, right? What was the deal with that?!

He thought about Rosa… it was all her fault, wasn’t it? Everything would be going perfectly if it weren’t for her. But she made the man happy… but she would hold him back. Maybe…. Maybe he could convince Johnny… no that wouldn’t work… maybe… maybe he could show the woman something she shouldn’t see… but that could go so wrong…

Charles ended up bumping into a cultist of progress and landed on his rear. He quickly apologized and proceeded on his route. Noticing that there were several cultists working on pillars of metal which flanked the docks, he eventually ended up asking someone what they were doing.

“They’re trying to rig something up to keep the geists out, the runes aren’t working that well so the geists have been moving into the town.” The fisherman said.

“Really?!” Charles asked.

>>3942828

“Yeah they got one working last week, it wasn’t as good as the runes but the mayor paid for a bunch more to get built. It’ll grant us some relief, thank god. If only the church could be so proactive. We pay them tithes and they can’t even keep us safe anymore!”

Charles nodded. He wondered if this situation would get any worse. If the church lost the support of the commons… the royalty would probably attempt to step back in. A civil war could break out, right? He shuddered. All that political training his brother had forced upon him might very well come in handy.

Charles sighed. He remembered finding Henry up on the roof one night, hopelessly drunk. The things the man had uttered had chilled Charles to his very core. He remembered leaving the man a blanketed and then fleeing, covering his ears to block the words out. Henry had something deeply wrong with him, Charles worried that they’d all end up suffering for it. But he had nowhere else to turn to…

Charles sighed, he had to do something about Rosa, fix this, get things back on track so they could earn money again. He doubted anyone would pay them nearly as well for so little work.

Decisions: (Charles)
1. *You need to do something about Rosa*
2. *You should ask Larry for advice, maybe he can help you*
3. *maybe you should ask Ophelia…*
4. *You have no idea why but you decided to ask Xavier*
5. *You should leave well enough alone, just keep on as things are… everything will work out…*
6. (write in)

>>3942832
>1. *You need to do something about Rosa*
A noble should be decisive and proactive, solving problems that arise!

>>3943124
I am ok with this, supporting

>>3942832
THIS >>3943124

>>3943310
>>3943227
>>3943124
was sick last night, will try to write tonight if I ain't too drunk. Happy thanksgiving!

>>3944653
Happy Thanksgiving Lorekeeper! Party for me starts soon aswell

>>3943310
>>3943227
>>3943124
actually writing now

>>3942832
Charles found a log to sit atop and began to formulate a gameplan. While he may have had little care for people he didn’t personally care about, Rosa was different. He couldn’t just… well, he had to figure out something less… direct. The woman had been good to him, even if her continued presence was incredibly dangerous. There were two distinct options… well, three. That Charles could think of.

The first was to get rid of her somehow, which was likely the easiest of the three options. He figured he could run her off if he revealed enough to her without giving her too much. Worst case she went to the church and got everyone hung, maybe even herself in the worst case. He figured Ophelia could do something to her memory, but his own knowledge of memory magic was nonexistent and from what Henry had told him the entire school was considered even more dangerous than necromancy with good reason. Only very skilled mages could perform memory alteration without leaving lasting damage, Charles wondered if Ophelia met the definition of ‘skilled’.

Then there was figuring out how to let Rosa know without having the jig be up. The easiest method would be blackmail, but Rosa, beyond being nosy, likely had nothing he could use. Then there was using her as a catspaw. But could he really stomach making her commit a crime that serious? He doubted he could get her to accidentally commit necromancy… perhaps disturbing corpses? Maybe that inquisitor from the prior night knew something… that might be worth looking into… she had mentioned a hospital.

Lastly there was the worst case scenario. Rosa finding out and someone having to … well… kill her. Charles gulped and shuddered. Henry would go ballistic… he might even end up killing people… Charles shuddered. He had no illusions that this would utterly destroy the man. He had to avoid this situation if at all possible.

Thus were the choices he could figure.

Decisions: (Charles)
1. *decide to try and get Rosa to leave, through trickery, magic, conversation, etc*
2. *Try to figure out a way that Rosa can stay, hopefully something that doesn’t get you all killed.*
3. *leave this entire topic alone, you aren’t qualified* (you know you are)
4. (write in)

>>3945825
>4. (write in)
DANGET CHARLES

>>3945825
this >>3945830 but
>*leave this entire topic alone, you aren’t qualified* (you know you are)
>Consider that maybe Henry knows something you don't about all this, and maybe go ask him yourself?

>>3945830
>>3945832
writing

>>3945832
Supporting

>>3945825
Charles thought about things for a long time, but eventually realized he had no idea what he was trying to do. If he acted alone then everything would just go wrong. He spat on the ground and then got up from his seat. He spent the next several minutes working his way back towards the bank and Henry’s location.

Charles got to the street were the bank was located and took a moment to look around, both to ensure everything was normal and that he wasn’t being followed. He smiled when the coast was clear, then snuck into a side entrance, ascended a flight of stairs, and passed a bored looking guard. He found Henry speaking with a couple of men who looked vaguely like him, but much older. Charles guessed the first was in his forties and the other in his sixties. Henry seemed a bit choked up and was being supported by Rosa.

Charles wisely waited to speak, he knew better, this wasn’t the time or the place. He sighed and resigned himself to a long wait. The group was led into a large dining hall and Henry explained that some more members of the family were going to come together for a celebration. They were celebrating the fact Henry was alive.

Charles smiled, that explained the emotional display. Things had worked out far better than he expected.

Henry threw his hands around the 60 year old and said “Thank you Grandpa Leon.”

“God bless you.” Rosa said.

“Fortune smiles upon us.” The younger man said. “What a wonderful day, so close to Two Suns.”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The group returned to the inn a couple hours later. The biscuits and tea that had been prepared for them had been wonderful. Charles was happy he’d managed to get something out of this event. Only Henry and Rosa were being invited to the dinner being held later that day.

>>3945847

Henry got to work the second he could, talking with Ophelia and then grabbing a few books to write in. He explained that he was tallying expenses incurred during the whole debacle, and was trying to figure out the best price to demand of their employers. Henry explained to Charles that the cult wasn’t going to just let them walk away. He figured they’d potentially try and silence them due to what they knew. Henry then explained that the two of them would need to figure out a plan to keep everyone alive. Worst case they’d continue to work for the cult a little while longer until they could break away cleanly.
Charles nodded along as Henry explained that the long con was often a much safer bet. People rarely expected it, especially when you started out truthful and earnest.

Decisions: (Charles)
1. “I think we should stay with the cult, they’re our best possible employer Henry!”
2. “I don’t think the church would let us work for them.”
3. “Maybe there are jobs around the blood border to the east? I don’t think anyone would mind killing vampires.”
4. “We need to talk about Rosa.”
5. “Maybe we should break the group up Henry… I think we have too many people now, its dangerous for us.”
6. (write in)

>>3945848
What would have happened if they put that angry fire spirit in ticky MK II?

>>3945848
>“Maybe there are jobs around the blood border to the east? I don’t think anyone would mind killing vampires.”
>“We need to talk about Rosa.”

>>3945848
>3. “Maybe there are jobs around the blood border to the east? I don’t think anyone would mind killing vampires.”
>>3945857
Pretty sure we tried to broach that subject before and got shot down.

>>3945857
>>3945858
writing

>>3945848
Charles tried to ask about the obvious before backing off, he decided to discuss a different subject for the time being.

“Maybe there are jobs around the blood border to the east? I don’t think anyone would mind killing vampires.” Charles offered.


“No, I normally wouldn’t but things are getting very very bad over there. It makes the problems were dealing with here look like nothing.” Henry said.

“What?” Charles asked.

“I got a letter from Gerald the other week, a very good friend of mine. You met him during our stay in New Haven. Well, the amount of bloodsuckers that have been launching raids into angel territory and the sheer damage they’re inflicting is unbelievable. Most of the Seers and the active militias have been called to arms. Gerald thinks the Lunarch and Solarch are going to declare another crusade. I want no part of that meat grinder.” Henry explained.

“Why do you think this is happening now? The angels weakening?” Charles asked.

“Well, yes… and also no. Based on my time with that son of a bitch back in celeste. I figure the elders have been too successful in bolstering their numbers. I guess they’re sending neonates across into our territory in an attempt to get them combat experience and weed out the weaker ones. But other than that sort of guess I have no clue. I figure once their numbers dwindle a bit things will go back to normal.”

“But won’t the angels weakening make things worse?” Charles asked.

“Yes.” Henry replied. “A lot of people are going to die, and I imagine the vampires will expand their territory. I feel bad for the commons, farmers forced to stay on their land or starve. Poor bastards. Nobody should have to pay the sorta taxes vampires would levy.”

Charles couldn’t put it off any longer, he had to ask.

“We need to talk about Rosa, we can’t keep putting this off, Henry.”

Henry winced. “I thought I told you…”

“Please Henry. Before things go wrong, before you lose your life due to her, please.”

Henry was quiet for a long time, simply staring at the sky. Charles didn’t move, partially because he needed to hear an answer, partially due to fear.

“Alright Charles, let’s talk about it.” Henry said, after what felt like an eternity.

Decisions:
1. “It can’t work Henry, stop leading her along!”
2. “Henry, she’s going to get us all killed.”
3. “I don’t think the world wants either of us to be happy, Henry. Why did you fall in love with a member of the church?”
4. “Henry, let her go before you break her heart.”
5. (write in)

>>3945889
I don't remember charles developing into a little shit.

>>3945889
>4. “Henry, let her go before you break her heart. You are sabotaging your own life!”

Light a fire under Henry so he finally gets on with telling her

>>3945889
>4. “Henry, let her go before you break her heart. You are sabotaging your own life!”
this >>3946303 gotta speed up the reveals somewhat

>>3945931
“Henry, let her go before you break her heart. You are sabotaging your own life! I don’t want you to lose it because of her!” Charles said. He held back from yelling and acting overly emotional, but the undercurrent was there. He didn’t want Henry to die because of Rosa.

“Charles… thank you.” Henry said. “Having someone care about me again is a good feeling. But Charles, it’s my life to live. I love Rosa, and she loves me. Just running away from her would break her heart just as bad as anything she could possibly find out.”

“But… but…!” Charles stuttered. “But what happens if she finds out!”

“I’m going to be telling her soon, when we get back to Avignon. I need to find the perfect time and place, and right now is not the best time, she’s still angry at the two of us for working with the cult. You saw how relieved she was when I said we’d stop.”

“R-right.” Charles said. “Well…she’s making you act weird Henry.”

“Charles, you’ve know me for a little under three months. You have no idea how the hell I normally act.” Henry responded.

Charles looked down to the ground, Henry was completely right.

“Well, like I said before, I’m happy you care enough to tell me, and I’m happy you had enough tact and smarts to do it privately. I learned that you can’t treat people you care about like enemies. You shouldn’t be afraid to tell them the truth either. I need to tell Rosa… I think we should start by revealing Johnny. Work from there.” Henry said.

“Right.” Charles said.

“Remind me next time I have a moment, I think we should treat ourselves to a good lunch and some more magic practice. How has that been going by the way?”
“Really good. I’ve been learning more from Rosa. She said I would be able to keep someone stable for a couple hours!” Charles said, excitedly.

“Excellent.” Henry said. “Charles, good work.”

“Thanks.” Charles said, beaming. The kid jumped up and down a couple of times and then ran out of the room. Revealing an annoyed looking Ophelia, clutching a book full of notes.

“Henry, I think it’s time I had a talk with you.”

Henry sighed, it was just one thing after another. He really should’ve requested a lock on his bedroom door.

“Henry, I wanted to talk about the Ticky Project.” Ophelia said. “I think I could get it functional based on what I saw with that girl. If we could get a gheist into a similar possession state where control was maintained by ticky, then we potentially give it access to mana. The soul of a human giving it life, and then a gheist acting as a mana source.”

Decisions:

1. “There isn’t much of a point continuing the project Ophelia, we’re going to be ceasing employment with them.
2. “I ain’t making something that powerful Ophelia, it isn’t worth the risk.”
3. “Great work, finally something goes right.”
4. “Was that all you wanted to say?”

>>3947446
>4. “Was that all you wanted to say?”

>>3947446
>“Was that all you wanted to say?”
>"We're going to be ceasing employment with the Cult of Progress, Ophelia. But I still don't want to abandon the Ticky project."
Muh mech bros!

>>3947542
I, too, want the mech.

>>3947542
This

>>3947526
>>3947542
>>3947558
>>3947943
writing

>>3947446
“Was that all you wanted to say?” Henry asked. “I never said we were canceling it. In fact having a small army would be pretty nice right now.”

“The funding?” Ophelia asked.

“Ophelia were going to have more gold than most people see in a lifetime after we get back to Avignon. Money ain’t an issue. That’s one thing I’m very good at acquiring. I just never needed this much before.” Henry said, grinning.

“Well, we’re going to need a test subject.” Ophelia said. “I had a couple ideas… well we could use Rosa if it comes to it although I really don’t think she’d be a suitable candidate…” Ophelia said.

“I’m going to assume she wouldn’t be suitable because she’s going to be my wife.” Henry said through gritted teeth.

“No its more to do with the fact that she’s crazy as hell.” Ophelia said. “It only makes sense you fell for her.”

“Right… ouch, you don’t hold anything back.” Henry said. “Do you think it’s okay to say this stuff because I let Charles?”

“Yes? Anyway, I think we should use Ludvig as the subject. I think he’s the one that caused my father’s experiment to go wrong.”

“Are you sure?” Henry said, suddenly very attentive.

“I’m about sixty percent sure, which is more than enough to try it.” Ophelia said.

“O-oh…” Henry replied. Ophelia was being Ophelia again.
“I figured out that the mushrooms ARE the slimes.” Ophelia said. “They’re extremely similar to the point I think they’re grown from the slimes or the slimes hatch out of the mushrooms. Perhaps they pile corpses on top of them as a form of fertilizer…”

“Now’s not the time…” Henry said

“Henry… I might as well ask. Why are you keeping me around exactly? Most of the other people I’ve worked with just wanted me to work on their pet projects, nobody has EVER considered anything I’ve made to be useful. I don’t think its money you’re after so what is it?” Ophelia asked.

Decisions:
1. “Yes why wouldn’t I want an army of perfectly loyal undying soldiers who can punch the lights out of an angel one on one?”
2. “I needed a hobby that wasn’t corpse mongering.”
3. “Because I figured you were too dangerous to leave alone and Charles took a liking to you.”
4. “Because Larry is head over heels with you and I owe him a favor for helping me reconnect with my family.”
5. (write in)

>>3949104
>5. (write in)
>Sigh
"I told you I'd help you. So here I am, trying to keep at least one of my promises"

>>3949104
this >>3949114

>>3949114
>>3949498
writin

>>3949104
“I told you I’d help you. So here I am, trying to keep at least one of my promises.” Henry said.

“That’s hilarious coming from the man who tried to kill me earlier this month.” Ophelia said. “Unless you count that as someone else, because you sure behaved like someone else when you lunged at me with murderous intent.”

Henry winced, he’d almost forgotten about that little incident. He remembered waking up under Rosa’s care…

“So why are you still here?” Henry asked.

“I’m like most of the other people here, I have nowhere to go.” Ophelia said. “The church still wants me dead, you want me dead but not nearly as badly, so it’s a fairly easy choice between two bad options.”

“So you just came in here to tell me this?” Henry asked. “You thought it was a good idea to tick off the man who tried to kill you?”

“W-well… n-no.” Ophelia stammered.

“I can tell you want my help with something so out with it already.”

“It’s about Larry..” Ophelia said. “I don’t know what he’s trying to get from me… he’s shown an awful lot of interest over the past couple of weeks, I don’t know how to respond to him.”

“Oh?” Henry asked, suddenly interested again.

Decisions:
1. “And you didn’t think to just ask him?”
2. “He’s head over heels with you, everyone else is pretty much aware. Surprised you figured it out this quick.”
3. “Caring enough about other people’s feelings to ask about it? Holy hell the world really is ending.”
4. “I have no idea, sorry.”
5. (write in)

>>3950314
>5. (write in)
Smile largely
>2. “He’s head over heels with you, everyone else is pretty much aware. Surprised you figured it out this quick.”

>>3950359
writing

>>3950314
Henry grinned, this of course made Ophelia back away a few steps as a sort of cautionary maneuver, but it was completely unneeded.

“He’s head over heels with you, Ophelia. Everyone else is already aware, surprised you figured it out this quick.”

“What?” Ophelia asked, dumbfounded.

“The poor bastard is in love with you.” Henry said.

“O-oh…” Ophelia said. “That would explain a lot…”

“Well what’re you going to do?” Henry asked.

“Nothing? Am I supposed to do anything?”

Henry stared at the woman before realizing she was serious.

“Well what do you think about the man.”

“He’s… um…” Ophelia said. “I’m not really good at these sorts of things…”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Henry remarked.

“Shut up.” Ophelia sputtered.

“He invited me to dinner tonight, since you’ll be with your folks… I don’t really know what to do, or how to act. I know you’re good at lying to people so I figured you could help me keep him from getting mad. I’d rather not have multiple people trying to murder me while I attempt to scrape by.”

“I really doubt Larry would try to murder you… unless he got very drunk.” Henry said. “And even then it’d probably be by accident.”

“You didn’t seem very drunk to me.” Ophelia muttered.

“That’s different.” Henry said. “Let’s stop talking about me.”

Decisions:
1. “So go with Larry, he obviously enjoys your company, somehow.”
2. “Keep me the hell out of this, I got enough headaches already.”
3. “Look, you must care about the man if you were willing to suck up your pride long enough to talk to me. That means a helluva lot.”
4. “Let’s be real, you want things to go well tonight, Ophelia”
5. (write in)

>>3950419
>3. “Look, you must care about the man if you were willing to suck up your pride long enough to talk to me. That means a helluva lot.”
"Hell, he's seen you as you work and how you get when you find something interesting, and he's still willing to be with you. So everything else is up to you."

>>3950419
“Look, you must care about the man if you were willing to suck up your pride long enough to talk to me. That means a helluva lot.”

“Really?” Ophelia asked.

“Hell, he’s seen you as you worked and how worked up you get when you find something interesting, and he’s still willing to be with you. So everything else is up to you.”

Ophelia chewed over the words for a moment before nodding as if she’d solved some complicated problem.

“I’ve decided to take him up on his offer… thank you, you’ve been tolerable Henry.”

“Gee thanks.”

Henry waited till the door was safely shut before getting back to budgeting. He had a lot of math to do. He actually enjoyed doing this, as it always made sense. He had always had a head for numbers even back when he was a kid. There was something pure about it all.

Decisions:
1. *get your work done and head over to the party with Rosa*
2. *maybe it’d be a good idea to go shopping for some better clothes*
3. *perform some other actions* (write in)

>>3950466
>1. *get your work done and head over to the party with Rosa*
We can go shopping later with Rosa

>>3950466
>1. *get your work done and head over to the party with Rosa*

Shopping after all this seems wrong

>>3950466
this >>3950587
no shopping now, that can wait until we secure the MONEY

>>3950587
>>3950477
>>3950719
writing

>>3950466
Henry did his work diligently, completing his inventory, his budget, and a basic plan for escaping from the Cult Of Progress. He would meet with Ludvic and figure out what to do from there, of course. He expected to be given another job… something stupid probably. He remembered that he’d promised to help Sophie… the fuck was she even getting him involved in, and why the fuck had he agreed? Maybe she’d used a spell on him.

Yeah, she didn’t have to use magic to wrap him around her little finger.

He sighed, closed his books, and headed downstairs to find Rosa waiting for him in cleaned and pressed robes. The woman grumbled about how Henry hadn’t even bothered to clean his clothing but he assured her it would be fine. He didn’t really know whether that was going to be the case, but no matter.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry smiled as he walked back out into the nighttime air. The sun was already setting and he had a partially drunk Rosa hugging his shoulder. How he’d managed to convince the woman to imbibe wine was beyond him, but he was now a rather happy man.

The party had gone far better than he’d expected, and while it had been emotionally draining he’d managed to reconnect with his family, and quite a spread out family at that. Apparently he had a couple of cousins in Avignon who worked as accountants. He also learned that there was another uncle who owned a farmstead up north… and…

He rubbed his head. He’d drank quite a bit and for once in his life it was during a happy period. Rosa giggled and said that he looked handsome in the dusk light.

Decision:
1. *head home*
2. *reveal your black magic to her, find a good place, you know this will go well.*
3. (write in)

>>3951525
>*reveal your black magic to her, find a good place, you know this will go well.*
NOW OR NEVER

>>3951581
You can roll for it if you want :), or not

>>3951581
We need to be in a position to fuckin run like hell with charles afterward. Just in case. Don't think she'll turn us in, but she'll go to confession or get counselling and they'll deduce from us hanging around earlier and suddenly not.

>>3951596
>>3951581
writing in a bit

>>3951599
That wasn't an agreement
OH GODS
OH GODS WHY

>>3951525
Henry sighed, taking Rosa out towards the bay, where a glowing wall awaited them. He saw a couple members of the cult of progress working on pylons through which the wall snaked. He sighed, he had to find somewhere private.


“Heeenry…” Rosa complained.

“Rosa I want to talk to you about something important.” Henry said, his head clear from the salt air.

“A-alright.” Rosa said, suppressing another giggle.

The woman was a pretty happy drunk, though she had only drank a bit of wine. Henry wondered if her tolerance was low or if she had drank more than he’d thought. Maybe he should wait… no it was now or never, he had drunk a good amount of liquid courage, he was going to do this.

He continued down the quay until finding a small pier, secluded from everything else.

“So what is this about?” Rosa finally asked. “Henry… this must be important.”

“It is, it’s incredibly important Rosa.” Henry said.

He winced as the woman bit her lip and looked pained. This was hurting her, god damn it. He had kept all of this from her, it was hurting him too, now that he thought about it.

The setting sun reflected off the ocean, they were but silhouettes to anyone observing them on the empty pier. This would be as good a place as any, Henry reasoned. Off in the distance, Henry could make out his family home. He didn’t have the courage to go back there, nor did he have the right.

Decisions:
1. *Show her your mana*
2. *say something* (write in)
3. (write in)

>>3951608
:)

>>3951614
>1. *Show her your mana*
But do it in a very suggestive way, just to destroy the mood for the rest of eternity

>>3951630
Don't actually do it suggestively, do it seriously.
I was just joking about doing it suggestively.

>>3951634
>>3951630
I mean... Henry did have some alcohol...

>>3951638
OH NOES

>>3951614
I still think it should be done within sight of the old home... Just go for it. Don't be defensive when questioned, just have the explanation on hand

>>3951614
>*Show her your mana*
"Remember when I've said I've been through a lot? That my parents and my brother were taken from me that day? Guess what I've got in return for that." Rueful laugh, expressing EXACTLY how little he likes it. "Then again, I'm pretty sure you've suspected already, Rosa. The way you started looking at me after you found out Charles had it, it wasn't hard to figure out. We've both been through a lot of the same in our own ways, but he hasn't come close to the full of it, thankfully."

>>3951849
This is good. If she starts pushing for too many implicating details deflect with the hundred yard stare. Talk to her but leave the really bad shit for next time, like let's not go further then that Henry was kidnapped too.

>>3951747
Henry can see it from the pier

>>3952284
>>3951849
>>3951747
roll 1d100 to start out.

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>3952957

>>3953137
thats a purdy good roll, writing tomorrow.

>>3951614
Henry spotted an old beaten up bench that was still somehow in one piece, after testing it for strength, he took an uneasy seat and started working up the strength for his grand reveal. This was going to be the easiest of all of them, of course. Having black mana may have been stigmatized by most civilized folk, but it wasn’t illegal. Certainty not punishable by hanging.

He felt Rosa’s hand on his back, knocking him out of his thoughts. His cold eyes were reflected in her concerned ones. What a caring woman, she had just as many problems as he did, yet she paid him mind. He was so lucky to have her, to have been given the chance.

He sighed, and turned his gaze across the water, to where he could make out the cove where his family home had once stood, now abandoned to time. When he was a kid Rally hadn’t even been half the size it was now. One day his home might be swallowed up by construction, a horrid thought. Or perhaps for the best, better to move on.

“Henry?” Rosa asked. “It’s okay if you need more time, but we should head in before the ghiest tide.”

“Right… right.” Henry muttered.

Henry opened his palm, holding it out towards Rosa. The woman placed her hand underneath and tried to clasp it around his as best she could. Henry slowly let a stream of black mana leak out of it, and braced himself for the woman’s reaction. When it didn’t come he released a larger amount, to make sure she could see it. He wanted to go off on a rant, to just complain and sputter, but he couldn’t think of the words, not to her, not right now…

“I already had an idea Henry, just based on the kind of person you were.” Rosa said.

Henry picked his head up to find the woman smiling warmly.

“If you were worried that I would run away because of this then you are sorely mistaken. It takes more than a little mana to get rid of me.” Rosa said, pulling closer to Henry.

>>3954242

“I…” Henry stuttered.

“Henry, I know what kind of person you are… you are selfish, stubborn, reckless… but you care about those who mean something to you, I’ve seen how you’ve built this little family of yours up. I want to be a part of it Henry. I want to be a part of your family. It’s been a very long time since I could say that to anyone.” Rosa said.

“That inquisitor from before?” Henry asked.

“She was someone I called family once, an older sister… but that was the past. Henry I’m sticking by you, I’m not going to run, I’m going to stay. I love you too much to just turn tail.”

Henry smiled, he knew she meant it, she wasn’t one to say sappy bullshit unless she truly did.

“And Charles?” Henry asked.

“He’s a troubled child, I don’t blame you for the mana he channels. How could I? You’re probably the only one who can really understand him… all I can do is teach him how to better use it… like a weapon…” Rosa said. “You can teach him how to survive, maybe we can help him together.”

She was so hopeful, even after everything, Henry felt a bit choked up.

“We have both been through a lot, although I’m afraid he might take after me a bit too much.” Henry said, managing to laugh.

He heard Rosa giggle.

“Yes, I’d say he takes after you far too much. But I need to be there to make sure he learns all those lessons you’ve been desperately trying to teach him.” Rosa said.

“Yeah.” Henry replied, simply.

“You know, I didn’t know what to expect, but I hadn’t realized how long it had been.” Henry said, suddenly.

“What?” Rosa asked.

“My home, you can see the cover across the water, that way, where the cliffside bends.” Henry said, pointing.

Rosa looked, squinting and craning her neck.

“I didn’t expect it to have fallen apart so much.” Henry said. “I guess it makes sense, it’s been what… fifteen years?”

“At least nobody has desecrated the memory.” Rosa said. “You were able to properly mourn. At least I hope. Some people never get the chance to, Henry.”

“Yeah, I know.” Henry said.

>>3954245
Decisions:
1. *Kiss the silly woman*
2. “Well, when we get back… when I offer to marry you proper… I’ll tell you a few more secrets.”
3. “One day I’ll have the strength to tell you everything, I promise you that.”
4. “Where the hell did I ever find you?”
5. (write in)

>>3954249
>3. “One day I’ll have the strength to tell you everything, I promise you that.”

>>3954300
then
>1. *Kiss the silly woman*

>>3954249

I still want to give her the bare basics of what happened. It's too much to drop it all at once and it gets worse the longer he waits. Then,

>3. “One day I’ll have the strength to tell you everything, I promise you that.”

>>3954594
>>3954305
>>3954300
writing

>>3954245
“One day I’ll have the strength to tell you everything, I promise you that.” Henry said.

“Yeah, I know you will.” Rosa replied. “And I promise I’ll support you every step of the way.”

Henry grinned despite everything. He hoped more than anything that she would.

The two drew closer in the fading sunlight, eventually within a hairs breath of each other. Rosa looked beautiful. Henry wrapped his arms around her and drew her into a kiss. He hoped it would last, he needed it to last, for something to finally go right in his fucked up life. He wanted Charles to find the right path, for Larry and Ophelia to be happy. For Alice to be returned to some semblance of normality, and for Xavier to find some semblance of peace. He realized, finally, that he cared about every single one of them. Rosa was right, he had made a family. He was determined to protect it this time.

Rosa thought about her past, about the hardships and heartaches. About her teacher, Matron Salazar. How the cracked bell incident had set her entire life ablaze. How she’d wandered the countryside. How she’d helped so many people, whoever they were. She remembered the lashing she received from Agatha… after she’d healed pagans, and people who’d denounced the church… she remembered how Agatha had stayed the hand of far more radical inquisitors who wanted her hung. She regretted none of it, yet still wished she hadn’t drifted apart from the person she considered an older sister. She remembered how much hatred was stored up in the commons, and she remembered her worries about how the country would be set ablaze due to recent events.

The two broke off their kiss, full of hopes and regrets. For once they thought about nothing but each other.

They were both happy, if only for a little while.

=====================================(END OF CHAPTER)================================
=====================================(END OF CASE)====================================

>>3955741
==============(Mana Amounts)=================
RED (CURRENTLY 6)


BLACK (CURRENTLY 8)


BLUE (CURRENTLY 4)

This is a per day basis, these will reset after a long enough period of rest


>(You have 3 upgrade points, so 3 additional points of mana to allocate any way you see fit)

====================(Spells)================================

Silence: Will completely stop you or a targeted person or object from making any noise at all, from any action. You can cancel the spell at any point of time. (Costs 1 bar of blue mana)(can be snapcasted for 1.5 bars of blue mana)


Undead Rush: Will cause any undead DIRECTLY under your control to break out in a run, allowing them to quickly close distance and overwhelm opponents. They will also be able to leap onto opponents as well. Effect lasts several minutes. (Costs 1 bar of black mana to cast)(can be snapcasted for 1.5 bars of black mana)


Minor Scry (May be changed a bit if it makes it more fun to use): Will let you scope out a room or a small area of space and will allow you to detect both living and magical beings. Those who are using cloaking magics will of course be out of your sight, and you will not be able to control exactly where the spell will end up (costs 1 bar of blue mana to cast)(can be snapcasted for 2 bars of blue mana)


Cancel: Will prevent a mage from being able to cast spells unless that mage can manage to overpower it. Basically you cut them off from the mana bank for a minute or two. Differs from dispel in the fact that it works BEFORE a spell gets cast. (Costs 1.5 bars of blue mana to cast)(is always snapcast)

Mind Rot: Can temporarily (or permanently if powerful enough) cause an opponent to lose their concentration for a period of time and be left slightly insane. Effects can vary WIDELY, ALSO CAN CAUSE PERMANENT MENTAL DAMAGE TO THE TARGET, USE WITH CAUTION. (Costs 1 bar of black mana, 1 bar of blue mana, and one bar of any mana to cast)(is always snapcast)

Internal Combustion: Destruction of a different sort. Dislike buildings? Weapon or armor getting in the way of a killing blow? Gargoyle getting you down? Not anymore! With this little spell any unliving material can be blasted from the inside, assuming you can get close enough to give it a little love tap. The effect can be instant or delayed, allowing you to set traps in certain areas! (Costs 1 red mana to cast)(costs 1.5 red mana to snapcast)(EFFECTS MAY VARY)

>>3955759
Swerve: Pesky spells aimed at you constantly? With this little spell, you can grab those spells out of the air and make choose a new target for them for each spell affected! (Costs 0.5 red mana, mana)(always snapcast)


Dark touch: will kill an opponent dead, assuming the spell connects and the opponent is alive, unlike a bolt spell does not damage the body (uses 1.5 black mana, can be snapcast for 3 black mana)

Undead Vision: Lets you move your sight into one of the undead you control. You need to have a general idea of their location, and the undead needs to be under your control for this to work (costs 1 black mana per cast, can be snapcast for 2 black mana)

Blight: An old favorite. Creates an area of blight in which opponents will have to fight off your will, can take out a swath of opponents if used correctly (uses 1 black mana + X black mana. The higher the ‘x’ amount of mana is, the greater the area of effect and the overall killing power is)

Minor Telepathy: Seems that Alice is able to teach you a fairly useful technique, allowing you to maintain contact with other members of your party for small amounts of time, further research into this upgrade will allow for longer lasting effects and greater range. As it stands you must have contact with the member you wish to maintain a connection to and their consent. The effects last for one hour. (Costs 2 blue mana per use, Alice must teach you the trick)

Think Fast: Sometimes thinking normally isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, with this spell you can increase the amount of actions you can perform per round. Ups spellcasting actions to 2 for 3 rounds, allowing you to lay on the damage or provide more support. Can only be casted on yourself. (Requires Ophelia to teach you.)(Costs 1 red and 2 blue mana, lasts 3 turns)
Grapeshot: Like bolt spells? Have a lot more of them! Allows you to fire off up to 4 bolts at once if you have the mana for it. (Initial spell costs 2 red mana, every additional bolt spell costs 1 red mana, for a total of up to four shots.) (All grapeshot bolts count as an single action, giving you a heck of a lot more damage potential than a normal bolt spell)

>>3955761

Trick Bolt: Something Ophelia managed to cook up. Mask your bolt spell as a relatively harmless blue mana spell, once it comes into contact with something solid it will shed its blue mana covering and launch a normal bolt spell at the opponent. (requires Ophelia’s help to learn, costs 1 red and 1 blue mana)
Lighting Rod: With your further mastery of red mana sorcery, you’ve gained the passive ability to dissipate red mana attacks, red mana attacks against you will have reduced potency
Shadow Crawl: Allows the user to manipulate shadows to increase their movement range. Will open the way to greater manipulation of shadow
Fireblast: a basic bolt of fire that deals splash damage, with Henry’s abilities with red mana, it will have increased potency
Icy Grip: A basic ice magic spell, allows Henry to coat a medium sized area in a coat of frost, penalizing anyone who attempts to cross it, also opens up the ice magic skill tree
Custom: (create a custom skill, the Lorekeeper will edit it if needed)
>Henry gains two new spells/passives

>You should choose your top 3 choices for spells, the first choice gains 3 points, 2nd choice gains 2 and 3rd choice gains 1, the two spells with the most points get picked

>Henry gains 1 more special point, for a grand total of 2, use these to modify or upgrade existing abilities, can be used during battles or story events.

thanks for sticking around boys, the next arc will be Henry/Johnny/Sophie focused, as the big heist will be happening. Expect some new characters/locations/and maybe some actual effort from the GM

Yeah we all need a joke from time to time.

>>3955774
oh and before I forget, upgrade voting will be left open for 72 hours, in the meantime I'll continue the plot once some more people show up.

>>3955768
shadow crawl costs 1.5 black mana, fireblast costs 1.5 red mana, and icy grip costs 1 blue mana

>>3955759
>Black, Red, Blue

>Silence
>Cancel
>Lightning Rod

We've got a good set of offensive abilities already, spending one level on disables/disrupts won't hurt.

>>3956300
I'll support this.

>>3956300
>>3957477
24 hours left on the big vote, gonna start writing the next part

>>3955768
“Some may call us radicals, but only a radical can create the change needed to guide humanity forwards.” - Ludvig Vaun Braun

==================================(Chapter Start)=============================

Henry awoke groggy, they’d managed to get back into Avignon right around sundown the prior night and had quickly returned to their home base. Johnny had regaled them of his side of things, apparently the children had opened up one of Ophelia’s ghiest jars and had caused a hell of a lot of trouble for the skeleton. Luckily he’d managed to convince the local authorities that it had just been another angelic rune failing. So they still had a home to return to.

As for what Henry described, the skeleton said little. Simply saying that Henry looked tired and that he should get some sleep. Henry agreed, but tossed and turned all night. He eventually cast close mind on himself and managed to get to sleep, with his own thoughts deadened

He got to breakfast and found the table swarmed by everyone. Ophelia and Larry sat noticeably close together, and both of them seemed a bit too cheery. Henry was… happy for them? He shrugged. Rosa had returned to her rinky dink little church.

“So sir, how goes everything?” Johnny asked. “I believe you wanted to have a talk with everyone?”

“Don’t call me… ugh.” Henry muttered.

“Well I still think we should stay the course.” Charles mumbled.

Henry eyed up Xavier and Alice, the two newest members of their little group. Everyone had agreed that the man had earned his place with them, and Alice really didn’t have anywhere else to go. Henry wasn’t exactly keen on having a vampire under his roof but Xavier was good people… or eh, was.

Him and Johnny had already set up a miniature church on the unused side of the warehouse, much to Ophelia’s chagrin.

Mark and Nina were busy playing under the table, eventually Johnny put his foot down and dragged them back to the smaller children’s table they’d set up. The two bug children sure acted like normal human kids, even if they were awfully quiet. Ophelia had discovered they had a natural telepathic link, and had continually and rather excitedly shared that fact. Alice sighed and asked for her to be quiet. Ophelia stuck out her tongue at the woman. Charles seemed awfully proud of the fact he got to sit with the adults, hell the kid had earned it.

“Children, please.” Johnny finally said. “The master of our little house wishes to speak.”

Decisions:
1. *talk about the cult of progress, you still need to visit Ludvig and tell him the ‘good news’*
2. *Talk about the job you decided to take with Sophie* (can be done privately with only a few people)
3. *talk about future plans for the group*
4. “Does anyone have any ideas? (roll 2d100)”
5. “I’m going to visit Rosa after breakfast, she deserves to have a say in this”
6. (write in)

>>3959616
>3. *talk about future plans for the group*
Then
1. *talk about the cult of progress, you still need to visit Ludvig and tell him the ‘good news’*
And finally
5. “I’m going to visit Rosa after breakfast, she deserves to have a say in this”

>>3959662
+1

>>3960126
>>3959662
writing

>>3959616
“Look, we need to figure out what we’re going to do going forwards.” Henry finally said, after spreading some butter onto his toast.

“You should probably start by stating our options. Unless our brief time away dulled your memory.” Johnny dryly added.

“Right, first of all, fuck off its early in the morning. Second off, we already discussed it. We either stick with em and try to curry as much favor as possible even if we need to turn our noses. We ditch them immediately, which means we’ll probably never be able to come back to here or any other major coastal city. Or we figure some way to safely break off. Right now we know too much for them to let us just walk away. Not to mention it’d be equivalent to spitting in their face.”

Charles coughed and then stared at Ophelia for a moment. The woman was busy scrawling notes down, related to the aforementioned telepathy. She had been talking about that and the conveyance runes she and Alice had been working on, apparently she thought that it was a viable approach. Henry was a bit wary of letting that woman have anything to do with something that unstable. But it kept her busy and out of everyone else’s hair.

Ophelia eventually got the message after Larry gently elbowed her. She looked up like a deer caught in a shine rune. Before quickly adjusting herself.

“I think we should stick by the cult, their resources and experience are invaluable.” She said.

“That’s quite the shift.” Johnny muttered, glancing down at Charles. The boy tried to shy away from Johnny’s gaze.

“It’s the truth. They are our best bet. Nobody else is going to hire us, certainly not the church given some of our members.” Charles explained. “That leaves what? A noble family? Really? Twice now that’s backfired. Once in Yorkshire Proper and once during that evening party you attended.” Charles said.

>>3960669

“Well, kid does have a point, the cult is probably the least likely group to try and screw us…” Larry said, almost a whisper.

“I don’t have any opinion on this, stop looking at me.” Alice said, trying to just quietly enjoy her meal.

“I don’t think you need to ask me or Johnny’s opinion on the matter.” Xavier said smugly.

“Actually, I don’t have an opinion on this matter either. I’ve been privy to abuses in the church that rival the little catastrophe that you described to me. The fact of the matter is, everyone there made a willing sacrifice. That is far better than some of the things I witnessed during the last vampric war, or some of the things people get up to in the various swamps and bogs around here. As bad as the cult might be, they actually have improved people’s quality of life in this city and beyond. More than can be said about most of the other factions outside the church.” Johnny said.

“They’re a bunch of murderers and heretics!” Xavier complained.

“So are we, essentially.” Johnny replied. “You live in this glass house now, Xavier. You must learn not to throw stones. Neither you nor Henry are really able to claim the high ground here.”

“You’re really fucking doing this?!” Henry said, raising his voice.

“I’m playing devil’s advocate. The church has its own problems. However, I can tell you based on personal experience that THEY don’t have much influence within the cult. I’d even go so far as to say that they act as a counterbalance, and one that doesn’t despise humanity or treat them as livestock. Or would you rather throw in your lot with the vampric barons?” Johnny said, coldly.

“Well, Rosa should be here as well, she has as much right as any of us!” Xavier said.

“I agree, the lass has been with us through thick and thin, even saved Henry’s life once or twice. She’s earned the right. Sides she’s gonna be Mrs Fisher soon.” Larry said, chuckling.

Charles tried to raise an objection but clamped his mouth shut after being hit by a withering stare from Henry.

Decisions:
1. “Well I guess this is a voters decision now, fucking hell.”
2. “Look, I make the decisions here okay? We’re going my way.” (additional decision after this)
3. “We will have to work with the cult in the short term, let’s just do that for the time being and see how it goes, once we get a better idea of how it’ll work we can figure out what we want to do.” (delay the decision)

>>3960674
>3. “We will have to work with the cult in the short term, let’s just do that for the time being and see how it goes, once we get a better idea of how it’ll work we can figure out what we want to do.” (delay the decision)