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Her quest brought her to an ancient sunken fortress, where the Swinemen who had stolen the scepter delivered it to a mysterious red-skinned and winged woman named Gwyn.

The larcenous Swinemen were paid handsomely for their deed, and when the Unicorn Knight had defeated them, their ill-gained gold was used to hire a guide, for Auralie had learned that she must delve the dungeons beneath the sunken fortress to recover the Noble Scepter.

With Kallyat's help, Auralie subdued the winged woman - no easy feat, for the strange woman named Gwyn had learned magic from the wizard who dwelled in the dungeons.

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As Auralie would discover, the winged woman had in turn delivered the scepter to the loathesome and cruel Brain Peeler, a strange being which dwelled in the deepest part of the dungeons. The Brain Peeler had sought to use the scepter for its own ends, to combat a foe to which it had referred to as "the threat above".

Though Gwyn escaped, Auralie faced the Brain Peeler in its lair, and succeeded in recovering the Noble Scepter. Yet she surely would have been lost had it not been for the wizard's creation, Hobby, who nearly sacrificed himself to return the kindness that she had shown him.

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The three companions were soon reunited, but a mere moment after the wounded Kallyat awoke from her slumber, Auralie was struck down by the fishwhip of the Brain Peeler.

Hobby, eager to prove his esteem, was quickly dashed to pieces by the vicious fishwhip, but with a single flash of her blade Kallyat disarmed the beast and sent it slithering back to its master.

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"Hobby go with?" croaked the legless creature as Kallyat bound the Noble Scepter into her sword-sash.

"No, Hobby, you must remain here and watch over Auralie while I find these spirits, Pestia and Leprosa," replied the Nekja. "I'll take her scepter with me in case the minions of the Brain Peeler return. It's the scepter they desire, not you or Auralie."

"Hobby help!" the lumpish thing insisted. "Hobby go with!"

"You've helped us a great deal already," Kallyat said. "Saving me, rescuing Auralie-" Kallyat smiled at Hobby and held up the Goblet of Falsehood. "And showing me this. If your brother hadn't been so eager to trump you, I'd have never known its secret." She saw that still the creature was eager to prove himself a hero. "But you must stay and watch over Auralie," Kallyat said, "and guard her, and keep her safe until I return."

"Hobby guard!" came the thing's answer at once. "Auralie safe!"

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Kallyat left Hobby and the still body of Auralie near the wizard's doorway, and disappeared into the darkness beyond the reach of the candleflame's glow. In one hand she carried her sword, and in the other she carried the Goblet of Falsehood, with which she hoped to save the fading life of Auralie. In his vanity, the Perfect Man had revealed that the goblet would transform anything poured within into its utter opposite.

He had also revealed that the once-captive spirits of the wizard were poisonous.

The Nekja slunk through the shadowed halls, but as Kallyat approached the doorway to the antechamber, she slowed, then halted, for her eyes had caught the flash of a blade reflected against the stone floor. Nimbly, she slipped to the far side of the doorway, and raised her own blade to strike.

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Quickly, the Nekja sprung into the antechamber, but just as quickly as her blade sliced through, so did that of the other. Even in the near-darkness of the dungeon, Kallyat's eyes could see that while his form was human, he was certainly not. A muscled tail shifted beneath the fold of his cape, and his bare chest, while well-sculpted, was armored with plates of a hue halfway between his red scales and his sandy hair.

"You!" Kallyat hissed as the two locked swords. "The one behind the door!"

"You!" growled the one-eyed man in return. "You're the ones who tried to capture Gwyn! Well, you won't sacrifice me to the Brain Peeler!"

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The pair maneuvered around and around, and their blades grew more daring with each step, for the more agile Kallyat had found herself well-matched against the brawny and scarred man.

"Your sister attacked us-" spat the Nejka as she spun and found herself facing off with him yet again.

"You two chased her down here-" he grunted, "-tried to sacrifice her to-" but suddenly he fell silent, for Kallyat had paused. "What? What is it?" demanded the man.

"Quiet," Kallyat hissed. "Do you hear something?"

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An acrid scene assailed Kallyat's nose, for before her reared up a clanking wave of corroded armor, held together by a viscous shape. Before either could react, the obscene mass lunged between them, and the red-scaled man was knocked aside, for the thing had chosen Kallyat as the target of its rage.

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

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CURRENT LOCATION:

LEVEL 2

ANTECHAMBER BEFORE LARGE DOORS

Previous thread:
>>4126096

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>4161490
Wow OP, I i've been sick (no, not corona) so I forgot about this quest. glad part 1 got concluded and is continuing. I'll read up on part 1 in entirety later, but for now
>Kallyat attempts to step back from the creature and then thrust with her blade towards its head, seemingly its only weak point

Poor auralie

>>4161551
awful roll, someone else save the day please

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4161551
Seconding this!

>>4161608
...Oh no!

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Kallyat had faced many foes before she brought Auralie into the dungeons beneath the sunken fortress, and her skills had been honed in many battles. She reacted with a swiftness of instinct, slashing her blade through the dim air and beheading the strange menace.

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Yet the creature flowed like water, and when the helm tumbled against the armored cluster, it quickly rooted once more, and settled itself before turning to regard the Nekja.

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Then, before Kallyat's eyes, it began to ripple and pulse, and from its hand extruded a lengthening section, outward and outward until it seemed to hold a wavering mirror of her own blade.

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Quickly, Kallyat threw herself aside, and just in time, for the molten, ichorous mass slammed its erstwhile weapon against the floor where she had been only a moment before. Spatters flew from the impact, and the stone began to steam where they landed.

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>4161662
Can we scoop up some of its goop with the goblet and throw it back at him? Stay defensive though: we can't risk breaking the goblet.

>>4162060
This stuff seems like the extremely deadly poison that we're looking for, so if we scooped it up in the goblet, it'd definitely become a healing potion.

Would that heal the spirit, or would it take damage from healing magic as an undead?

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Smoke from the sizzling droplets parted and swirled about the armored pile as it slid across the floor toward Kallyat. The thing seemed intractable, unyielding, and impossible to strike dead.

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Then in an instant the Nekja seized upon a bold idea, for while her sword may not have been able to slay the oozing monster, that which she held in her other hand might be used instead.

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"Let's see what's the opposite of you!" she cried, and scooped up a glob of steaming ichor, but even before she could fling it, the Goblet of Falsehood glowed and Kallyat saw the menacing, boiling mass in an instant begin to smooth and calm.

The thin liquid that now glistened with a cool light from within flew from the rim, and flew true.

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The quivering armored mass bellowed a noise that was nearly below Kallyat's hearing, a deep rumble that she felt more in her bones and heart, for the transformed liquid had splashed against the viscous sword-club and boiled it away.

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Its anger renewed, the clumped mass of armor surged once more, and pushed out another stalk to replicate its weapon, yet Kallyat saw that it had drawn a bit smaller for the loss.

Behind the thing, she saw the face of the red-scaled man emerge once more from the shadows. "I can't let our swordfight be interrupted by your premature death," he called.


>Accept his help
>Fight the armored blob on your own
>Scoop up some ichor and run back to Auralie
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>4162213
>Accept the assist, but scoop up a glob of the stuff and save it. Explain that we weren't trying to sacrifice anybody.
We might be able to avoid a fight.

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"If it's a fight you want, then you'll have it," growled the Nekja from behind her veils, "but we have no quarrel with you or Gwyn now that the Noble Scepter is out of the clutches of the Brai-"

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The heaping pile of armor, however, had begun to learn the tricks of its opponent, and so it thrust its quavering mass through the metal and out the other side, and the Goblet of Falsehood was battered away out of Kallyat's hand.

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"If there's anything left of you after this!" the red-scaled man laughed, but his laughter was cut short for the armored blob swung its distended blade overhead and he was driven back.

Roll a d12 for whatever you do, please! And roll another d12 for whatever the red-scaled man does as well! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>4162428
Kick the blob guy in his armored chest to push him back and buy time so we can grab the goblet and get some breathing room.

Rolled 5 (1d12)

>>4162936
this but rolling

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"It's like trying to fight a mudslide!" shouted the red-scaled man, as he scrambled away from the hissing spatter.

Suddenly, the hulking armored shape was thrown forward, knocked off-balance by a high kick from Kallyat. "The goblet!" she cried. "Grab the goblet!"

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Distracted by the Nekja's attack, the heaving mass slithered about, and in the chaos the red-skinned man dived forward, snatching the goblet away from the encroaching spread of hissing, steaming slime.

"I have it!" he called.

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"Now what?"

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>4163349
>Tell him to scoop up some of that stuff and throw it back at the slime monster while we try to press the attack.
I think it's more acid than poison, but I'm not sure. Regardless, it might heal Auralie IF we can get out of here alive, so we'll worry about scooping up some extra when we make some headway in the fight.

>>4163717
I've been mulling over this one a bit, and I think the opposite of poison would actually be antidote rather than healing potion, so I fear we might be on a wild goose chase either way.

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Kallyat made to shout a command, but the acrid smoke seared her throat and she could barely whisper. "Scoop it up!" she coughed. "With the goblet! Throw it!"

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"The goblet?" questioned the red-scaled man, as Kallyat began to falter. "What's so special about this goblet?"

But Kallyat could not answer him.

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"If we both get out of this, you'll owe me an explanation, at least!" he shouted, and dove forward. The momentum of his slide carried him into the cloud, and as he flung a clump of the gelatinous knight's spatter upward at it, he saw that what flew from the lip was something else entirely.

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Whatever it may be, however, was of no concern, for the liquid splashed only against the thing's helm, and the red-skinned man was driven stumbling backward into the thickening clouds.


>Run away
>Stay and fight
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>4165720
Try to catch the ghost's "sword" into the goblet.
please please work

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"So," the red-scaled man coughed, "You're watery enough to be affected by this goblet!"

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Siezing on the revelation, he lunged forward, coughing, and parried the armored thing's protrusion against the Goblet itself. As it struck the glass, the thick mucousy ooze was transformed in an instant to a thin pink-purple splash.

The thing groaned again, so deeply intoned that dust fell from the stone blocks of the ceiling.

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The helm shifted, and the rude approximation of its face glared at the stump, seeming to comprehend what had been done to it.

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Then it turned, and discovered once more the source of its rage, as the red-skinned man coughed above the prone body of the Nekja.

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>4165927
Do it once again, but this time push the goblet all the way to ghost's hand.

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"Don't think me beaten yet, filth!" coughed the red-scaled man. The armored blob groaned another roar, but as it moved to strike its opponent leapt into the air, propelled by his swordpoint, and at the zenith of his vault he raised high the Goblet of Falsehood.

"I'm still thirsty for battle-"

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"-and I've yet to drink my fill!"

With that, he plunged the Goblet against the slimy heap, downward with all his might, and his scaled chest was splashed again and again with the sparkling liquid. Underneath him, the armored ooze thrashed and groaned, so deeply emanated that it made his bones begin to ache.

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The thing glared up at him and frothed, helpless to hold its cohesion before the strange power of the goblet. When the clank of metal upon stone finally echoed through the room, neither Kallyat nor her savior could see it, for the room was filled with the burning steam.

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"Let's get out of here before it melts through the floor and brings this whole place in on itself!" coughed the red-scaled man as he burst through the cloud with Kallyat slung over one shoulder.

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"I'm telling you, she's perfect!"

"Then why is she lying on your bed unconscious?"

"This was a fluke! You should see how she handles a sword!"

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Kallyat rose to consciousness and shifted nearly imperceptibly, and flit her gaze about the room, but her vision swam with eyes burned by acrid steam.

"This is the best chance we're gonna get!"

"Forget it, I already told you she's friends with that Unicorn Knight!"


>Pretend to be asleep
>Ask them about their plan
>Ask them to help Auralie and Hobby
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>4166141
>Pretend to be asleep
We are not in position to confront them yet.

Rolled 5 (1d12)

>Rolling to ask them about the plan

Also just binge read this whole quest and wanted to say I'm utterly impressed with how you're conducting the legos and storytelling together.

Really brings the quest to life!

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"Fine. We'll let the cards tell us her fate," Gwyn said at last, and opened a heavy chest that slid down the wall to meet her waiting hand. Inside was a stack of cards drawn with strange sigils and figures.

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The first card was drawn. From her place on the bed Kallyat peered through her veils as Gwyn spoke for the benefit of the other. "The Apprentice."

"You mean like you?" the red-scaled man asked.

"Maybe," Gwyn conceded. "But the Apprentice indicates a need to gain knowledge before a task may be overcome."

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"It's upside-down," he volunteered as the second card was drawn.

"The Prisoner," Gwyn replied. "Inverted, it signifies an escape, or release from servitude."

"You mean the wizard?" he asked.

"No," Gwyn said, and shook her head. "At least, I don't think so. The transformation into a fishslave is permanent."

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The red-scaled man, drawn by his interest to the act, stepped closer, and Kallyat could only listen to the flap of the cards and the lull of Gwyn's words.

"The Hunter," she said, as the third card was turned.

"What does that mean?" the other asked.

"Hunger," she replied. "Recklessness that leads one into inextricable trouble."

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The fourth card was drawn.

"The Nymph," Gwyn said. "Distraction. Temptation."

"What kinda temptation?" he asked as he peered lecherously at the card.

"Being led away from something," Gwyn explained, then added, "Or being led to something for someone else's ends."

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"How many more cards are there?" he asked as she reached again for the deck.

"This is the last one," replied Gwyn, and drew a card on which a pair of figures held each other tightly. "The Lovers."

"I thought you already drew that one," he chuffed.

"This is different," Gwyn cautioned him. "The Lovers signifies pureness. Wholeness."

"But it's upside-down," he said, pointing at the card in her hand. "That mean it's rotten?"

"No," she replied after a moment. "It means there is unresolved turmoil."

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"The only thing unresolved is why exactly I should help you two do anything," Kallyat growled, for her eyes still burned with the acrid steam of the armored menace.

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At that, Gwyn threw the cards at the chest, which swallowed them eagerly, and flung herself from the bed, restrained only by the other. "Maybe as payment for trying to kill me, you- Marden, let me go!"

"What Gwyn means is you should do it to thank me for saving your life!" the man - Marden - said, smiling broadly. "And to repay me, you can help me slay the guardian in the wizard's lair so I can grab something I've had my eye on."

"The guardian?" Kallyat laughed. "You mean the P-"

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"I know, we should just take what we have and leave," he continued. "We don't have much time, and we already have more than we can easily carry." Then Kallyat saw that Marden's remaining eye gleamed with avarice. "But we can't just abandon it! Gaaah- if it wasn't for that damned alchemist!"

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Kallyat's temper had grown short listening to Marden's ranting. "What do you mean, you don't have much time?" she hissed. "Time for what? What alchemist?"

"Don't you know?" he asked, suddenly becoming aware of the Nekja.

"If you have the Noble Scepter, then the Brain Peeler's plan has failed," Gwyn said. "Pestia and Leprosa are too dangerous to fight. And whatever they're planning-"

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"Whatever's about to happen, it's gonna kill all the kingdoms around here," Marden cried. "Every living thing!"


What will you do now?

>>4167479
Saving Auralie and Hobby is a priority. Unless Gwyn and Marden promise to help them, don't expect any help from us.

Rolled 11 (1d12)

>>4167612

Sounds like a plan.

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"I don't know anything about the Brain Peeler's plan-" Kallyat began to say, but her attention was drawn to the wall behind her, where half a dozen blades were hung along the wall. Each was a work of art, though some of their forgings seemed impossible, and the Nejka wondered if they were truly even functional.

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"I don't know about any plan," she continued, as she fished her own blade from a crate stuffed with a riot of armaments. "All I care about at the moment is rescuing my employer and repairing Hobby so we can-"

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"Wait," Kallyat said, as she began to turn over the pile of weapons. "Where is the goblet?"

"Goblet?" asked Gwyn. "What goblet?"

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"Oh, this?" Marden chuffed, and withdrew from the fold of his cape the Goblet of Falsehood. "I was just holdin' onto it for you-"

"I'll hold on to it, if you don't mind," Kallyat said, and reached to snatch the goblet from his hand. "And unless you can heal the Unicorn Knight and fix Hobby, there's nothing more to discuss."

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Gwyn shrugged. "I don't know about your Unicorn Knight, but it shouldn't be a problem to fix Hobby," she said.

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"If you help Marden defeat the Perfect Man so we can take all of the wizard's things. Or should I say, the rest of the wizard's things," she added with a sly smile.

>Agree
>Don't agree

>>4168919

Deal.

>>4168919
Agree on the condition we save them first before looting

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Kallyat raced down the corridor, and as she entered the circle of the candle's glow, Hobby reared backward, and raised one fist defiantly. "Hobby guard Auralie!" croaked the truncated creature, but at a glance its face softened.

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"Kallyat save Auralie?" he asked pleadingly, as Kallyat knelt beside the fallen Unicorn Knight.

"Her breathing has slowed," muttered the Nekja. "She doesn't have much time."

"Kallyat save Auralie!" Hobby croaked.

"I can't do anything to help her right now, Hobby," said Kallyat, "But I've made a bargain to help us."

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"Is she still alive?" Gwyn asked as she glided out of the darkness and swooped above them.

"For now," Kallyat replied. "We must hurry!"

"Gwyn save Auralie!" croaked Hobby.

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Gwyn alighted upon the stone floor and retrieved the broken pieces of the wizard's malformed creation. "I can't do anything for the Unicorn Knight," she said, as she held the pieces above Hobby. "Hold still."

Kallyat said nothing, for it was plain that the winged woman was deep in concentration. Hobby stared transfixed, and Kallyat saw that it was not Gwyn at which he stared out at from beneath his lopsided brow, but at his own shattered legs. The creature and his broken pieces seemed to be bathed in moonlight, though the stone ceiling above them was dim as ever.

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And then, as though it had never been any other way, Hobby was whole.

"Hobby fixed!" exclaimed the creature as he raised one foot, at first tentative but then teetering it more vigorously.

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Her work finished, Gwyn suddenly flapped her wings and carried herself aloft. "Wait here until Marden arrives," she said.

"Why can't you both help?" Kallyat asked.

"That's none of your business!" Gwyn spat, and disappeared into the darkness.

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"Kallyat save Auralie?" Hobby croaked.

"Yes, but first I need to deal with this debt," said the Nekja in a low voice, and behind her veils, her eyes shifted toward the doorway of the wizard's lair.


>Rush in with Marden and engage the Perfect Man in combat
>Use your thieving skills to clandestinely loot the wizard's lair
>Extend the hand of friendship and ask the Perfect Man to join your party
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>4169270
>Extend the hand of friendship and ask the Perfect Man to join your party

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Suddenly, Kallyat's posture shifted, as a strange expression flitted across her eyes, and she made for the doorway to the wizard's lair.

"Kallyat help Auralie!" Hobby croaked.

"I will!" she said, turning backward to face him. "Tell Marden to wait outside for me! I have an idea!"

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But when Kallyat stepped into the room, she found the Perfect Man was nowhere to be seen. "Hello?" she called. "Are you here? I have returned to-"

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"Stop!" bellowed the Perfect Man, as he sprang out from behind the wizard's throne with a glass bell in hand and stalked forward toward her. "I will not permit you to take any more of the Master's things!"

"Wait!" Kallyat cried. "Your master is dead, and I come to offer you my hand in friendship! Join us, and-"

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"Lies!" the Perfect Man spat, and lifted the glass. "The kindle-beetle will put an end to you!" he shouted. The moment that the seal was broken, the trundling beetle inside suddenly began to glow from within, and blew forth a searing flame that roiled through the air toward Kallyat.


>Turn the other cheek and offer him friendship
>Turn the tables and slay him
>Surprise attack from Marden
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 9 (1d12)

>>4169655
>Turn the other cheek and offer him friendship

Rolled 6 (1d12)

>>4169698

Perhaps expertly dodge the flame first and then turn the other cheek?

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"Please!" Kallyat cried, and threw herself across the room away from the burning flame. "I won't fight you! I want you to join us!"

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The kindle-beetle had seemingly begun to run dry, for it sputtered out as the Perfect Man slowly lowered the glass bell once more. "You... you will not fight me?" he asked, though his eyes still fumed with mistrust.

"No!" Kallyat exclaimed again.

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"Then... I suppose you were also telling the truth when you said that the Master will not return."

The Perfect Man sealed the glass bell and stood motionless, until Kallyat spoke.

"Come with us!"

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"Come with you?" he asked. "And Hobby? Why?"

"We could use your help!" the Nekja said, raising her hand in supplication. "You have many talents, and you may want to face the foe that your master had attempted to vanquish."

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"No," the Perfect Man replied, as he placed the glass bell of the kindle-beetle back in its spot upon the table.

"I know this room. I do not wish to venture away from here," he continued. "But you may take what you like. After all, these things belonged to my Master, not to me."

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"I don't know how you did it, but nice work," Marden grinned, though caution still drove him to grip the handle of his sword tightly as he spoke.

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Kallyat turned then, her bargain concluded, and stepped across the threshold. Immediately, Hobby turned and pleaded, "Kallyat save Auralie?"

"Yes," she said, "but I'm... unsure where to go," the Nekja confessed. "I faced a foe that was too powerful for even Marden and myself to overcome. Your idea to use the Goblet of Falsehood was made with good intent, but I don't know what I can-"

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She cut her words short, for behind her Marden strode from the doorway, now bearing the Sword of Glory.

"Gwyn will want the wizard's books," he said to Kallyat, "but you're free to take anything else you like before she returns."

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"Thanks," Kallyat replied.

Marden stopped, and tilted his head back toward her. "Oh, and by the way, I heard that there was an Essence of Immortality somewhere in the dungeon. None of my business, but that Unicorn Knight doesn't look like she has much time left."

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>Go upstairs and spend your fee on an Essence of Immortality for Auralie
>Ask Marden to help you find the other Essence of Immortality
>Go back in the wizard's lair and collect the treasures

First choice to receive two votes will be selected

>>4169912
>Go upstairs and spend your fee on an Essence of Immortality for Auralie
I don't think we can delay it any further. And hopefully Gwyn won't take everything, so we can still loot the room later.

>>4169912
>Go upstairs and spend your fee on an Essence of Immortality for Auralie
We owe her one, time to repay that debt.

>>4169912
>Go upstairs and spend your fee on an Essence of Immortality for Aurelie
Sounds good to me. We owe her.

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In a moment, the Nekja and the wrought creature were once again alone in the hallway. "Kallyat save Auralie?" Hobby pleaded.

"Yes," she said, and took up her sword. "There's a merchant above us who has an Essence of Immortality," she continued. "Don't let Gwyn, or anyone else, touch Auralie or any of these things. I'll be back soon."

"Hobby guard!" he croaked, and raised his ape-like arms.

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"There is a face I had not expected to see again!" The merchant seemed amiable as ever, and beside him the chansonnier kept her steady string-plucking.

"Have you perhaps come desiring my Cabezan oil?" the merchant asked.

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"I'll give you this bag of gold for your Essence of Immortality," Kallyat said, and held up the purse that Auralie had taken from the vanquished Swinemen.

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"Essence of Immortality!" boasted the merchant as his chansonnier strummed. "Such a wondrous thing, and of course, this is all I possess," he said, and he continued his recounting, oblivious to Kallyat's impatient shifting. "My alchemist made this precious amount just before he ventured into the dungeons beneath us, you see-"

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"-and as I told the Unicorn Knight, if he does not return by the closing of this day I must depart without him!"

At this, his chansonnier plucked an ill note, then quickly resumed her strumming.

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"Your alchemist," Kallyat began. "Someone in the dungeon spoke of an alchemist-"

"Aye," called a voice from across the room.

Kallyat's gaze flicked from the merchant's carpet to the corner, where three rough-cloaked men hunched around their cups.

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"If you see him again, give him one for me!" spat the first.

"And me!" added the second.

"And me!" agreed the third.

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The cloaked men drew back into silence, and Kallyat was again left with the pleasant string-plucks of the chansonnier and the eager expectant smile of the merchant.

>Haggle with the merchant for extra items
>Just buy the Essence of Immortality for Auralie
>Converse with the merchant
>Converse with the other patrons
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

>>4173366
>Just buy the Essence of Immortality for Auralie
Time's of the essence, but put a pin on that alchemist tidbit: could help Auralie with the things going on topside.

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>4173366
>>4173590
Forgot the roll.

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"Perhaps you will also be interested in my eternal lamp?" said the merchant with a grin.

"Just your Essence of Immortality, if you please," Kallyat replied, and held out the sack of gold. The merchant's smile somehow broadened even more.

"Of course!" he said, and the two made their exchange beneath the watchful eyes and tense hands of the guards.

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"There is one more thing I have to say to you, Nekja," called the merchant as Kallyat hurried for the doors.

"Speak quickly, for time is short," Kallyat said, and though she did not stop, her pace slowed.

"Know that if you bring me back the deepflower Nerdry sought, I will reward you handsomely!" he said to her fleeing back.

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The antechamber still fumed with thick smoke, and Kallyat rushed through it as quickly as she was able, staying pressed against the wall farthest from the great ironbound doors.

Any hope that she may have arrived before Gwyn was dashed as the red-skinned woman flew out of the darkness carrying a wooden basket. "I left the kindle-beetle for you," she called as she glided past. "I have no need of that creature."

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"Kallyat save Auralie!" croaked Hobby as the Nekja entered the circle of candlelight.

"If I'm not too late," Kallyat said, and dropped to her knees at the side of the Unicorn Knight. Even in the dim glow of the candle, the Nekja could see that Auralie had grown pale and still.

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"Hold her head gently, Hobby," Kallyat said as she upcapped the Essence of Immortality. "She must drink this."

"Hobby help!" agreed the creature, and carefully cradled the fallen Unicorn Knight in his lanky arms.

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"And she must drink it all," whispered Kallyat.

As the strange liquid inside touched Auralie's lips, it began to sparkle and glow, illuminating not only the glass but the anxious faces that swam in the darkness above her.

The final drop passed her lips, and Kallyat stared at the still body of the Unicorn Knight, eyes darting about for some sign that she lived.

"Kallyat save Auralie?" Hobby croaked.

"I don't... I... I'm sorry, Hobby... I was too late."

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Suddenly, Auralie's eyes flew open. "Look out!" she gasped, and surged upward with a strength that surprised the Nekja.

"Auralie!" rejoiced Hobby.

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"Hobby! Kallyat!" cried Auralie with delight. "You're alright!"

"And so are you, now that I'm working for free," Kallyat laughed.

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"Whatever designs the Brain Peeler had for your monarch's scepter might concern us all," explained the Nekja as Auralie quickly donned her armor. "Marden told me that the threat would kill everyone in the land."

"Marden?" asked Auralie, for the name was unfamiliar to the Unicorn Knight.

"The man behind the door," Kallyat explained. "He saved me from a creature in the antechamber. And he said something about an alchemist."

"The merchant above us said his alchemist had gone into the dungeons," Auralie said, helm in hand.

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"Yes," agreed Kallyat. "I think the alchemist may have something to do with the spirits that escaped from the wizard."

>Ask Marden and Gwyn about the alchemist
>Ask the Perfect Man how the wizard's aril was broken
>Look around the dungeon (choose an area)

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4173985
>Ask the Perfect Man how the wizard's aril was broken

Rolled 6 (1d12)

>>4174118

Rolling for option 1 in case this goes badly.

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>4174118
rolling also for this option

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Having heard Kallyat's words, Auralie turned and stepped across the threshold into the wizard's lair. "Hello?" she called, for the place seemed darker now that it had been stripped nearly bare. "I come in peace seeking knowledge of your master's aril-"

"My master..." came a voice from the shadows.

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Auralie turned at the sound, and saw the Perfect Man perched in the great chair of the wizard.

"I need to know everything about it," Auralie pleaded. "How your master made it, how it was broken, and how we can-"

"I am afraid I know nothing of the aril," he said. "I was not made until long after its creation," said the Perfect Man, and glowered at the dagger in his hands.

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"Do you know the first thing our Master taught me about magic?" he asked at last. "It was the inversion of might between this world and the land beyond. The more substantial something is in this world, the more fragile its counterpart. That is why the most powerful thing in the land beyond is one's own memory. The aril was a thing of spun glass, no thicker than a soap bubble. A child could have crushed it. Yet it formed the mightiest of prisons for Pestia and Leprosa."

The Perfect Man raised the dagger up and ran his fingers along the blade. "You have already seen that Hobby is not easily slain by blows," he continued, "for Hobby has no soul. He is a thing worked by our Master's hand and imbued with the echo of our Master's memory. It is the echo of our Master's memory that you see when he walks and speaks. I have these echoes too. The memory of walking, of speaking... of thinking. Mine are more refined, more subtle. Yet, it is this very imbuement which allows me to see the limit of our Master's work. I am the Perfect Man, but I see now that man is not a perfect creature. That balance which is carried as a burden in this world becomes the vessel that will carry you to the land beyond, as your substance is stripped away."

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"I am... very substantial," he said, and held the dagger until its point was pressed against his abdomen, "because man is a creature of substance, but I fear that I am perhaps... too substantial. I am afraid I will not carry my own memory to the land beyond. I will remain... forever a substance of this world."

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"No!" Auralie cried, for she saw what he meant to do.

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"Watch over Hobby," he said. "See that he is cared for."

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Auralie stood in the darkening room - for she was sure it was becoming darker by the moment - but the only sound was the slight ticking of the kindle-beetle as it trundled about its bell.

Then she gathered herself, and strode from the wizard's lair, for she knew what she must do.

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"Hobby help Auralie!" croaked Hobby as Auralie emerged from the doorway.

"What happened? Where are we going?" Kallyat asked.

"Stay here," the Unicorn Knight commanded. "Both of you. I will return."

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Auralie rapped the pommel of her sword against the banded door three times, and a moment later a partition swung open.

"Oh, it's you," Gwyn said from the other side of the door.

"I come in peace," Auralie began, when she heard the clatter of the door unbolting.

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"I don't doubt it, now that you have your scepter back," Gwyn said. "You may as well come in. We won't be here much longer. What do you want?"

"You were the wizard's apprentice," said the Unicorn Knight. "I need to know about this alchemist. The one who broke the wizard's aril. Is it the merchant's alchemist?"

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Gwyn stepped back into the room and eased herself back against her bedpillows. "I don't know anything about that merchant," she said after a moment. "But there were two men. The alchemist and another." Gwyn began to laugh. "The alchemist wore a ridiculous bow-"

"Who was the other?" questioned Auralie.

Gwyn shrugged. "I don't know. He wore the emblem of a wolf."

"What happened to them?" the Unicorn Knight asked. "Where are they?"

"The alchemist was overwhelmed by the spirits," Gwyn said. "They took him with them when they fled the wizard's lair."

"And the other?" asked Auralie.

"I don't know," replied the red-skinned woman. "He fled from the spirits."

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"If you were smart, you'd be fleeing too," interrupted Marden. "Tell that Nekja that she's welcome to join us. I could use someone like her."

"I'll bet," Gwyn smirked.

"In my warband!" Marden growled.


What will you do now?

Rolled 5 (1d12)

Make a speech about futility of running away. Surely we can prevent the disaster if we work together.

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>4175184
>>4175610
Rolling for this.

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The Unicorn Knight knew that she could not face these dungeons alone, and she knew also that her companions had become bound to her quest through their own deeds and thoughts, yet even they might not be enough to overcome the task.

"Please," begged Auralie. "You cannot hope to run from this. By your own words, this terrible thing will strike everyone, near and far."

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"You must aid us in this strange endeavor," Auralie pleaded. "You are capable, powerful, resourceful-"

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But Marden would not hear her. "That's exactly why we ain't gonna stick around," he snapped. "We can take a boat and be leagues away from here before any real trouble-"

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"Auralie!" croaked Hobby, as he swung wide the banded door.

"I thought we might find you here," Kallyat added.

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"On second thought, maybe we oughta stick around for a little bit," Marden said with a grin.

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"Someone will have to keep you idiots in line," Gwyn moaned, and looked away, then turned and faced the group. "Oh, why not. This might be more interesting than running away."

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Kallyat held her candle high, for this room was darkening as well. "Time may be growing short. What is your plan?" she asked.

All eyes were upon the Unicorn Knight. "We must find the alchemist, but I feel his friend has a part to play in all this," Auralie said. "I propose we split into two groups. One group will seek out the alchemist, and the other will seek out his friend, wherever the two of them may be. When we find them, we will meet back here and plan our next move."

Marden nodded. "Not bad," he said.

"Hobby find!" croaked the misshapen creature.

"Which of us will go together?" asked Gwyn.

"Well..."

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FORM 2 GROUPS AND ASSIGN DESTINATIONS FROM THE MAP >>4169912

(max. party members per group: 3)

Assignments will be open until consensus seems to be reached

>>4176557
I would suggest Auralie partying with Gwyn and Marden goes with Nekja. It leaves Hobby probably more suitable for the latter one (mostly because of Deeper Basket).
As for directions - first group goes to explore "Unknown hallway or room" on L2, second - on L3.

>>4176557
Is the last map posted up to date, or has new information come to light? Also, do Gwyn and Marden have any info that could be used to fill in some gaps in our information/map? They've been here longer than us, and we got all the info that Kallyat knows already.

>>4175160
>>4174118
>anon 1 rolls so hard the important NPC kills himself
incredible

>>4176557
I agree with >>4176629 in regards to Auralie+Gwyn and Marden+Kallyat.
Corridor on L3 is dangerously close to brain peeler, so whichever group goes here should also take Hobby with them for extra help. But I'd rather avoid this altogether and explore whatever is behind the large doors on L2.
>>4176674
I am sorry ;_;

>>4176661
>Is the last map posted up to date, or has new information come to light?
The most recently-posted map is still up to date.

>Also, do Gwyn and Marden have any info that could be used to fill in some gaps in our information/map?
No; they have kept to the area around their room and the wizard's lair.

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I just realized that I misspelled filigreed on the party selection screen. That's what happens when I try to write immediately before bedtime

>Party 1: Auralie, Gwyn
>Destination: Large Doors on L2

>Party 2: Kallyat, Hobby, Marden
>Destination: Unknown hallway or room on L2

CONFIRM Y N

>>4177028

Y

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>>4177028
Wait, I got that mixed around. Should be

>Party 1: Auralie, Gwyn
>Destination: Unknown hallway or room on L2

>Party 2: Kallyat, Hobby, Marden
>Destination: Large Doors on L2

I'll give this a couple hours for any more discussion, then we'll get rolling.

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When the band had made their preparations, they moved as a group to the edge of the great antechamber. The Unicorn Knight peered from the edge of the doorway, and saw beyond the bubbling, spitting mass that Kallyat and Marden had faced.

"Still it fumes," Auralie whispered to the others, "yet we must pass through."

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Each in turn went their way, Marden veering to the left, with Kallyat and Hobby on his heels, and Auralie lightly treading to the right, until she reached the doorway that Kallyat had said once lead to a charnel house.

When she arrived, she paused, Gwyn close by. Still, the pile did nothing but smolder.

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Gwyn stepped across the threshold into the dark, but Auralie lingered, watching the others."Come," Gwyn said. "They'll be fine without your worry."

"I know," replied the Unicorn Knight.

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And then they were gone into the darkness.

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"What can you see?" hissed Marden as the three skulked along the wall towards the great ironbound doors. The fumes from the bubbling sludge were nearly overwhelming.

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Kallyat pressed her watering eyes against the doors and peered into a crack, but the room beyond was choked in thick billows of smoke, through which she could only catch fleeting glimpses of some strange work.

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"There's too much smoke to see anything," whispered the Nekja. "There's some kind of strange object on the far side of the room."

>Send Kallyat in alone to scout around
>Everyone go in together
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 11 (1d12)

>>4177655
>Send Kallyat in alone to scout around

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"Hobby, take my candle," whispered Kallyat.

"Hobby come with?" croaked the lumpen creature, but Kallyat shook her veils.

"No, you two stay here. I'll go by myself and look around."

"Be careful," Marden hissed. "Gwyn said those spirits were dangerous."

"I'll be fine," the Nekja asserted.

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When she pushed open the door and slipped through, however, she thought that perhaps she had spoken too soon.

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Before her, across a room covered with iron benches upon which were heaped piles of glass bottles, glass jars, some with stoppers made of glass and others with stoppers of iron, some empty and some full of strange enchanted or concocted brews.

At the center of it all was a huge cacophony of hissing brass pipes, iron castings, and immense glass bells slicked with ichor and held aloft by spindly pipes like the legs of a dead spider. The entire thing rattled and shook, spitting gouts of noxious vapor into the air.

The walls were black with tarry residue.

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And in front of an iron workbench Kallyat spied a thing like a man long dead, yet held up by the sickly glowing force that permeated the room. In his hands were two glass bottles, from which he transferred a measured amount from one to the other and back again with shaking hands.

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"The alchemist," Kallyat whispered to herself. "But where are the spirits?"

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"Nerdry!" shrieked a vapor, as it congealed into the form of a comely woman, yet below her waist was nothing but a trail of putrid mist. "What is taking so long? Have you not everything you require? Why do you tarry so?"

"I-I am s-s-sorry!" the alchemist pleaded. "I-it's j-just that I am s-s-so t-tired!"

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"Is it finished? Is it ready?" came a voice from the fumes, and suddenly the smoke thickened into a second woman, equally as comely yet just as vile. The two pressed themselves close, the alchemist betwixt their bosoms, and their fingertips raked against his ribs.

"Y-yes, I mean n-no, not quite," came his shaky reply. "It j-just needs to be refined a f-f-few more times."

"Did you hear, Leprosa?" asked the newest apparition. "He is almost finished!"

"Yes, dear Pestia!" came the exhilarated reply. "Imagine it, sister!"

"A-and then you will love me?" ventured the alchemist.

"What?" asked the first spirit, Leprosa. "Oh, yes, yes, Nerdry... we will both love you... forever and ever. And you will make such wonderful things for us!"

"Such a handsome... strong man... And so intelligent! Look at what you have made for us!" cooed the other, Pestia.

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"Nerdry, my darling," she whined, casting her sickly gaze upon a glass near where the Nekja hid. "Do you still need the awful Waters of Rebirth?"

"N-n-no, I j-j-just needed to distill a s-s-small amount from it," replied the alchemist, becoming more engrossed in his work by the moment.

"Leprosa, get rid of it!" demanded Pestia.

"You get rid of it!" shrieked Leprosa. "I will not deign to touch such a thing!"

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Beyond them, unseen, the Nekja watched with eager eyes, for it was said that the Waters of Rebirth could raise the dead.

>Steal the Waters of Rebirth
>Don't risk it and just sneak back out
>Something else

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>4178271
>Steal the Waters of Rebirth

>>4178274
Welp, mistakes were made.

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4178274
rolling for this

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4178376
>>4178278
Third time lucky, lads?
Otherwise, we might want to stop rolling...

>>4178376
oh no

>>4178378
...I'd say burn the dice, but it's digital...
Well, Kallyat, it was nice knowing you..

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>4178271
>Steal the Waters of Rebirth
Rolling to support!

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4178378
>>4178407

4th/5th time lucky hopefully.

>>4178473
jesus christ we're doomed

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>4178271
I'd have gone for going back out so we could at least update the others on what's going on before rushing the room, but it looks like I'm outnumbered.

>>4178274
>>4178278
>>4178376
>>4178378
>>4178407
>>4178473
Re-rolling to try and prevent a bloodbath

>>4179034
Probably best that we stick with this roll then >>4178274 It's going to take a lot of luck to save Kallyat

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"I told you to dispose of it, sister!" Pestia shrieked, and flung herself at the other, raking and clawing her fingers.

"I will not!" shouted Leprosa, raking the other with her own hands. "Imagine, making your own sister touch such a thing!"

"I-I will dispose of it-" the alchemist said, when both spirits shouted at once.

"KEEP WORKING!"

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"Fine!" whined Pestia. "I will- wait, what is this? A thief!"

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"Sister, look!" cried Leprosa, rearing back in disgust. "She carries with her the Noble Scepter!"

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"It is the only thing in this world that protects one from our magic!" raged the spirit. "What is it doing here?"

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"If you'll allow me, I'll dispose of this for you and take my leave-" Kallyat began, but the spirits only began to laugh.

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"Oh, no, my dear," Pestia said with a cruel smirk, as a flicker of greenish flame sprouted from her hand and began to take a shape of its own.

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"This just means we will have to slay you ourselves!" she laughed, and the flame grew solid, and in her hand was a barbaric blade, curved and pitted.

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And then, like billowing smoke, the spirits set upon the Nekja.

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 5 (1d12)

>>4180046
Acrobatic dodge! Time to get out of here.

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>4180092

I agree. The Waters might come in handy later.

Hoping for a better roll this time.

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Kallyat leapt across the smoky room, dodging and blocking the furious spirit's attacks, but though the Noble Scepter protected Kallyat from their magic, the fumes were cloying, searing, nearly unbearable.

"Confound this mortal!" shrieked Leprosa. "She moves too quickly for my blade to find her heart!"

"Your wits, dear sister!" scolded Pestia from behind. "Why strike at her blade-"

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"-when one may simply remove the scepter from her presence!"

Before Kallyat could act, Pestia appeared from the smoke and swung her blade, slicing the Nekja's sword-wrap, and the scepter tumbled away through the putrid air.

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Leprosa saw beneath her the Noble Scepter, and looked up at Kallyat with a chilling grin.


Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 8 (1d12)

>>4180317
Hide behind the smoke and try to retrieve the scepter.

>>4180334

With my terribad rolls, I'll just nod and agree.

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>4180334
hope we rolled the ones out :p

>>4180477
holy shit what is this thread

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Kallyat dropped to one knee and slashed her saber backward, and the thick smoke flew from the path of the fanning as her legs tensed to launch.

Leprosa saw that the Nekja had readied herself to strike, and laughed. "You cannot mean to attack me without the Noble Scepter!" she cackled.

"NO?" roared Kallyat, and shoved her foot against the stone behind her.

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"Then you're not as wise as you think!" cried Kallyat, and flung herself into the air. Leprosa hissed and charged, swinging her blade while green fire spat from her palm.

Yet the spirit had been tricked, for the Nekja's bravado had been a bluff, and Kallyat's leap seemed to fall short.

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"What?" cried Leprosa, whirling about. "Where did she-"

"Stop dawdling and slay that mortal, Leprosa!" whined Pestia.

"I am trying, sister!" huffed the other.

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"Where are you, mortal?" Leprosa sung sweetly, while behind her Kallyat crouched silently in the smoke, the Waters of Rebirth in one hand and the Noble Scepter in the other, the Nekja's saber stuffed as best she could within the wraps of her severed sash.

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>4182070
Sneak away!

>>4182120
Holy hell, I hate this dice roller.

Rolled 9 (1d12)

>>4182120
Supporting this.
Please roll high, please roll high...

I hope someone is archiving this. This is an amazing piece of internet folk art.

>>4182308
Don’t worry dude, this guy has been running these for ten years.

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"Never mind, dear sister," Pestia said with a smirk, and silently raised her gruesome sword.

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"I will take care of her myself!" With that, the spirit exploded from the smoke, but the Nekja was too quick, and raced forward. In one hand she held the Noble Scepter, and clutched in the other arm was a bottle.

"You will never escape, mortal!" shrieked Pestia.

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"Maybe I won't have to!" shouted Kallyat, and flung the bottle in her hand at the spirit.

"NO!" cried Pestia.

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"Aiiiiiii! The Waters of Rebirth! Sister, help me! Help me, it-"

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"What?" gasped Pestia as she touched her fingers to the sticky liquid. "This is scuttlepede bile!"

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Kallyat quickly scooped up the rolling bottle that she had sent out into the smoke, the true bottle that contained the Waters of Rebirth, but no sooner had she done so than Leprosa was upon her.

"You are very clever, mortal!" laughed the spirit. "But your cleverness will not save you! Your soul will be ours!"

"I'd rather keep it for myself!" shouted Kallyat.

"You would tresspass in our domain, steal from us, and flee from your just punishment?"


>Try to lose her in the smoke
>Make a run for the door and get help

Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

>>4182308
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=lego%20quest

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>4182445

Lose her in the smoke

>>4182465
nobody else roll, lol

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Kallyat raced through the smoke, but she knew that she could not outrun the spirit. The cherub's bite still throbbed, angered by the stinging smoke, and her steps began to flag.

"You are mine!" shrieked Leprosa, and raised her pair of conjured swords.

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It was then that a wondrous thing began to happen.

Kallyat saw the Noble Scepter begin to emit an eerie light, more and more brightly with each footfall.

Behind her, Leprosa slowed her pursuit, for she had noticed the scepter's light as well. The spirit grimaced and charged forward, when the scepter suddenly flared even more brilliantly.

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"Aaaah!" Leprosa cried, and Kallyat raced forward with her eyes cast down, not daring to look at the blindingly luminous scepter.

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Half-blinded, clumsy with rage, Leprosa clawed at the fumes. "Where are you, you little-"

But there was no trace of the Nekja.

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"Sister!" shrieked Pestia from the workbench of the alchemist. "Forget about that mortal and come here! Nerdry is nearly finished!"

Leprosa scowled. "But she-"

"SISTER!" came the second beckoning, and at last Leprosa turned away.

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While Kallyat had discovered the spirits, Auralie and Gwyn had disovered that something stirred in the charnal house.

"Listen," whispered Auralie. "I hear voices from around the corner."

Carefully, the pair slipped to the edge of the baluster, and leaned forward to peer into the gloom beyond.

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Near the other end of the chamber, past a row of low benches, were two beings. One stood hunched with a bag of bones slung around his neck, while the other was dressed ostentatiously, and picked through the bones that littered the floor.

"Look at this. This one is no good." he said to the other. "None of these bones are any good. Do you know what this means?"

"That, uh... you're gonna let me go?"

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The creature in the peaked cap glowered at the other, and uttered a single word.

"No."

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"What do you see?" hissed Gwyn.

"Quiet!" Auralie whispered back.

"Did you hear something?" asked the creature in the peaked cap.


Roll a d12 and link to this post for whatever you do, please! To roll, put dice+1d12 in the Options field!

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>4184280

Rolled 3 (1d12)

>>4184280
Duck back and be sneaky

Rolled 12 (1d12)

>>4184379
>>4184401

Eh. Third roll can't be that bad this time right?

Sneaking about in full armor and all.

>>4184280
Backing these guys up but also listen in and see what we can learn about them. They might not be foes.
>>4184379
>>4184401
>>4184679
Not going to bother re-rolling with my awful luck and all.

>>4184961

Well, at least we 'should' be fine in this case at any rate.

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Auralie stumbled backward against the red-skinned woman.

"Quickly!" Gwyn hissed. "Into the alcove!"

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Yet as the pair turned to hide, the creature stepped from the shadows, impossibly yet undeniably somehow behind them.

"What is this?" he asked. "More servants-to-be, I see. A dragonate, and-"

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Auralie spun about, but found her way blocked on either side, by the creature or its hunched minion.

The minion raised his own blade, and Auralie saw that he held it with a practiced hand.

"Uh... looks like a Unicorn Knight," he spoke.

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"A Unicorn Knight?" the creature asked, and his eyes widened like a shark's as he scented the air.

"Yes," he agreed, more to himself than his companion, and drifted closer to the pair, just out of sword's reach, and he stared unblinking at Auralie. "Did you know that the blood of a Unicorn Knight has special properties? It is a very rare treat. Very fortunate for me to have found you with such little effort!"

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Auralie stepped back until she butted up against the wall, and raised her sword. "My blood is not for you or anyone to take, monster!" proclaimed the Unicorn Knight.

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The creature darted forward at her, and Auralie threw her shield between them. As he struck the filigreed shield, he hissed and drew backward.

"Leave us be," Auralie said in her boldest voice, "and release this one that you have enslaved!"

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"Him?" the creature asked, momentarily baffled by the demand, then touched a gloved finger against his chin. "Perhaps you may be useful to me in another way."

"Below is another like me," the creature explained, gesturing toward the stone floor at their feet. "He hoards all the good bones for himself. He is too powerful for me to defeat on my own, but with your aid, I may be able to best him."

The creature straightened his jacket. "Accompany me to his presence, and if I am successful, I will give you this servant."

Apologies for the lag in updates; this week kind of got away from me!

I'll be back a little later to officially wrap up the thread, but for now, thank you to everyone for playing so far!

>>4190016
Thank you for running, LQ, it's always a pleasure!

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>>4190361
Thanks anon!

I guess I'll start with my usual plugs:

If you liked this episode and want to see more, the past ten years of Lego Quest are more or less all archived on suptg along with all the images:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=lego%20quest

The official Lego Quest wiki has writeups for Auralie and Kallyat, and will eventually have them for everybody else that appeared in this episode:
https://legoquest.fandom.com/wiki/Lego_Quest_Wiki

And if you follow me on twitter you'll get a tweet whenever a new episode goes live:
@EndmanOfFuturon

And now for the rest of the story