>>5903865
Changing viewpoint characters? Huh. Neat! Ramza's pretty boss, so I'm okay with him, but also...
>Gigas
Gigas is a total bro and could be neat.

Hell, even Val is cool. Gigas is my vote, though.

>>5903865
>Val Lasombra. You're great with magic, but even better with a pistol. Not one for words, you think actions speak much louder. The pilot of the group whenever Ramza is busy, and the mechanic.

>>5903865
>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade. The Captain of your little group, for now.
Rather just stick with the MC, honestly.

>>5903865
>Gigas

>>5903865
>>5903865
If I could vote for two, I'd vote for Val and Gigas, just for a nice change of POV.
If not, then it's gigaing time.

>>5903865
>>Ramza Valentine. You're cocky, charming, and killer with a Mageblade. The Captain of your little group, for now.

>>5903865

>Gigas. You've yet to meet anyone that can best you physically, or resist your infectious cheer. The Barrelman that keeps constant vigilance over the area to spot hazards, and the rigger to boot.

Playing from a dummy’s perspective would be fun

>>5903869
>>5903913
>>5904085
>>5904167
>>5904173
>>5904174
>>5904243
We'll be assuming direct control of Gigas for this thread! An excellent choice, brothers. Writing!

You are the core's gift to mankind known as Gigas. Although everyone calls you this, you doubt it is your name - you don't actually know your name anymore. About a month ago, you supposedly got into a fight with a particularly nasty beast that nearly killed you, though you don't remember that either. The earliest memory you actually have is waking up in a bed, covered in bloodied bandages and feeling uncomfortably weak. You never want to feel that way again, and you won't if you can help it. You yearn for the You that was lost, and for revenge against the monster that inflicted you with this condition, but everyone tells you that such things will come with time and can't be forced. You're skeptical, but heed the advice of those smarter than you anyways...it's a policy that has seldom let you down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82mtr-mg15k

While Ramza is in the middle of talking with a dock worker, you're leaning up against the rails of the Flame of Arcadia, casting your gaze out to the city before you. There must be a hundred - maybe even hundreds, plural - at the docks alone, all scurrying about with purpose and direction. You imagine there to be thousands in the city proper, an amount that hurts your brain to think about. Your eyes are drawn up to the towering eye at the center of the city, which you could swear momentarily looks back down at you before flicking away to stare at something in the distance. What a peculiar novelty, what purpose could it possibly serve?

"Seems a little steeper than usual." You hear Ramza's voice over soft breeze. You figure you might as well go support your captain, so you pry yourself from the railing and start to head towards the gangplank to back him up if need be.

"Space competition. The docks can only fit so many ships, and Threespice is a hotspot for trade and tourism. Hence, we have to charge more to keep the numbers reasonable and to ensure the docks remain in tip-top shape." The dockworker replies, which makes sense to you.

"Right..." Ramza says, digging around in his coinpouch and producing a fistful of gold that he starts to count out.

"Ah, right. While we're here, can I get the captain's name and the purpose of this visit?"

"Ramza Valentine, and we're here for a mix of business and pleasure. We're hoping to get an audience with Mr. Silversmith for some important negotiations."

"Ah? Good luck with that, I've heard he only meets with people he's already deemed worth his time."

"So you've never met him yourself?"

The man scoffs. "I just handle docking fees. I'm nobody important. I've met just about every one of his employees plenty, though."

"You're plenty important, you're the first face that everyone coming to the city gets to see. And I bet you know this place like the back of your hand. Speaking of which, do you know a good place to eat around here?" Ramza says while depositing a sizeable amount of coins into the worker's hands. Ahh, now you know what angle he's going for here!

The worker perks up noticeably at the praise, right around when you get to Ramza's side and place an arm on your Captain to lean up against him with an amused grin on your face.

"Well..." The worker drawls for a moment. "Most of the time, I direct people over towards the Treasure Trove. But all the locals know to eat at Gardan's Tavern - the quality is leagues better, and it's cheaper to boot. They just don't want their favorite place to eat at being flooded by damned tourists."

"Thanks, man. I always prefer to get a local's point of view when travelling, so it means a lot. What'd you say your name was again?" Ramza asks.

"I didn't. Harrison Palmer. Tell you what...you guys seem pretty nice, so I'll go easy on you." Harrison says, returning all but ten coins back to Ramza. "The rule around here is to always know the real price of things. Don't let guys like me take advantage of you, ahahah."

"I knew it seemed awfully high!" Ramza laughs with the man, offering a hand out and shaking Harrison's. "Well, it was good to meet you, Mr. Palmer. I'd invite you out to a meal with us, but I imagine your boss wouldn't be too happy if you skipped out on your shift like that, so I'll have to catch you for it next time."

"Indeed! I'll gladly drink you under the table, friend." You speak up so as to not be silent the entire exchange.

"I'll hold you to it!" Harrison says, now seeming a lot more lively despite the dark circles under his eyes. You wonder what the deal with that is...maybe he just works long hours. You stick around a bit as Harrison rattles off directions to both the Treasure Trove and Gardan's, just in case you don't want to take his dining advice, before you and Ramza finally step away from the worker.

With that, you go meet up with Val as he steps off the Gleamrunner. You really are quite hungry, so you hope that you can get a bite to eat soon. Hopefully something that isn't salted meats and pickled vegetables, you're absolutely sick of them after subsisting on nothing but such for the past few days. You need fresh, juicy meat! Preferrably on the bloodier side, but not raw. You're not an animal, after all.

You opt to take the lead from here on, parting the dense crowds with ease thanks to your intimidating size. As a bonus, because you stand head and shoulders over everyone else, you can see landmarks a lot easier than your companions can. Your path to Gardan's isn't too convoluted, mostly sticking to the central path that cuts through the heart of the city before turning down an alleyway not too far from the docks themselves. An unassuming building with a weathered wooden sign, barely readable, marks this as the place you're looking for...so without much ado, you open the creaky door and step inside.

You're greeted by a rush of sounds smells that had somehow been blocked solely by the door. Lively chatter and laughter ring through your ears as hints of spices and cooking meats that more resembles home-cooking than what you'd expect of a restaurant waft by your nose. Your stomach's growl can barely be heard over the loud patrons, a testament to just how hungry you are, and your eyes dart around for an empty spot. You find a couple up at the bar, and quickly make your way over to it, where a muscular bald man seems to be tending to everything.

"Smells like my sister's cooking." You find yourself saying without thinking. Your companions look at you strangely as they sit down beside you.

"You have a sister?" Val asks. You raise an eyebrow at him.

"I do?" You ask, before realizing what you said.

"You just said you did." Ramza says.

"Hmm...curious...it just slipped out." You mumble, mostly to yourself. Was that an errant memory, buried deep in your subconscious? Or just a careless intrusive thought, holding no grounds in reality? The thought troubles you, but with no way to discern the truth of the claim, you try to push it to the back of your mind. "No matter. You there, friend! What have you to eat?" You call out to the bartender.

"Those're three new faces...fresh faces. We've got a hearty deer-meat stew cooking right now, some roast hares, giant salamander burgers, and tuna steaks." The grizzled man says.

"The burgers are giant, or the salamanders?" Val asks, intruiged.

"Both, of course."

"What would you recommend?" Ramza asks.

"The hare. It's a lighter meal, but damn if it isn't tasty. I could eat a dozen of 'em and not get sick of it." He licks his lips as he thinks about it.

"Well, we're much hungrier than that, so that's not gonna work. I'll order whatever Gigas gets, then." Ramza says with a shrug.

"How much for the giant salamander burger?" You ask, intruiged. You've never had salamander before...you think.

"The burger's something of a challenge item. If you can finish it, she's free...but if you can't, you've gotta pay three pieces."

"A challenge?" You ask, a glint in your eye. "How could I refuse? I'll order that, of course!"

"You've killed me, Gigas. I ordered the same thing as you and you decided to get the biggest thing on the menu." Ramza laments.

"Mm. I'll take the challenge too." Val speaks up, Ramza looking over at him like he was crazy.

"Ahahah, that's the spirit, brother!" You clap Val on the back, hearing him wheeze immediately after. You don't know why people always do that, it's strange!

"Hey, what do you have for drinks around here, anyways?" Ramza pipes up next.

"Emberwine is always in stock, of course. Purified water is a given. We've also got Frostbrandy, Tinglespirits, and Gaothian Cider." The bartender lists off.

"Gaothian Cider, huh? Color me intruiged. I'll have some of that." You speak up, while Ramza rolls his eyes.

"Emberwine for me. It's my favorite." Ramza states, while Val holds up two fingers to indicate he wants the same as the captain.

"Righto then. It'll be fifteen minutes on the burgers." The bartender says, immediately getting to work selecting bottles from the shelves behind him and pouring some drinks for the three of you. He sets them in front of you, with the emberwines having a light glow to it that makes it actually look like it had motes of liquid embers within it, and your cider being a rich golden color with bubbles constantly rising up in it and popping at the surface - a very fizzy drink, it seems.

Fifteen minutes of light drinking and merriment later, three absolutely massive burgers are set before each of you, gargantuan patties topped with a variety of vegetables with some kind of brown sauce and a pale yellow substance melted over it. There's no mistaking it, this is no mere burger - this is an entire BEAST. But Gigas does not back down from a challenge, nor does he lose to any mere BEAST. You will fight this beast...and you will come out on top!

>One anon, roll 7d10 for gigas.
>Another anon, roll 5d10 for val.
>The last anon, roll 5d10 for ramza.
(Rather than having you roll best of three, I'll just have you roll once for each character from now on. You support each other, after all.)

Rolled 8, 2, 8, 5, 10, 1, 2 = 36 (7d10)

>>5904556

Rolled 3, 4, 2, 8, 10 = 27 (5d10)

>>5904556
speak not the dice god's name

Rolled 8, 4, 2, 2, 10 = 26 (5d10)

>>5904556

>>5904568
>>5904691
>>5904694
>Only Val succeeded
Hidden depths!

>>5904568
Oh, wait, we for double 8s, too.

>>5904691
Ha, the minute we abandon Ramza's perspective he loses his winning streak. Classic.

>>5904699
Ramza would be the one with the pair of 2s, actually.
But I forgot to mention:
>Difficulty 6, pairs 5 and below are ignored
Because The Beast is a BIG fucking burger. Gigas is the only one to succeed here, but Ramza gives a good effort. Val is a sad man with a tiny stomach.

Sorry about taking so long to pump out this update. I was having a lot of trouble focusing on one thing long enough to write today.
- = = = = -
It was a hard-fought battle, one that felt like it went on for hours. In truth, it only took place over the course of half of one. It was without a doubt the tastiest thing you’ve ever had the pleasure of eating, which made the task of consuming it in its entirety just a bit easier. At the ten-minute mark, Val seemed to drop out, having only eaten a quarter of the thing before throwing in the towel – a disappointing showing from your battle brother. Ramza lasted about twenty minutes, consuming just a bit over three quarters of the beast, making an impressive showing before he too gave up and slumped over the table with a groan.

Where they stopped, you continued, unceasing. Relentless. Indefatigable. Undefeatable. Your head was pleasantly fuzzy as you set down your third glass of cider, now empty, and glanced to your now-empty plate before glancing over to that of your companions.

“Are you going to finish that?” You asked, prompting just about everyone present to look at you as though you just said something incredibly offensive.

“There’s something seriously wrong with you, man.” Ramza complains, shoving his plate towards you.

“I agree.” Val nods, looking a little queasy.

“I haven’t seen an appetite like that in years…” The bartender comments, looking strangely worried. But why should he be worried? You’re merely doing what you always do, eating as much as you can so you have as much energy as possible to work with later!

“Ha ha! I told you, did I not? Nothing can defeat Gigas! Limits are for lesser men, my friends. No offense.” You boast, grinning as you start to cut up some bits from Ramza’s leftovers to continue your feast.

“I believe it, now…” Ramza says, still looking terribly disturbed. What a funny little man.

When you finally feel full, Ramza forks over a good amount of cash for everyone’s meals, save for your own – which, of course, was paid for by the fact that you handily won the challenge. You were shown a wall covered in carved-in names that belonged to other such winners, and you gladly carved yours in amongst theirs. Regretfully, you’re not that experienced carving into things or writing in general, so your ‘signature’ looks a lot like a child’s first attempts at writing their name. You do spot an oddly familiar name, written in a similarly sloppy fashion, amongst the ones on the wall…

“You know, this name is awfully familiar, but I can’t remember where from…” You rub your chin as you contemplate it.

“Dude, that burger fried your brain. It’s Jahwal. You know, the slave captain?” Ramza points out, making things click for you.

“Oh, that Jahwal!” You smack a fist into your palm.

“You don’t know any other Jahwals!”

“I might.”

“Ahh, talkin’ about Jahwal? His name’s on there a few different places.” The barkeeper pipes up as he steps in behind you, hands on his hips. “Lad was dirt poor when he was first starting out, so he came ‘round every day for a damned year to complete the challenge so he didn’t have to pay nothin’. Shame how he ended up becomin’ a Black Pirate, but it is what it is.”

“I, uh, didn’t know that about him.” Ramza replies to the man, a strange tone in his voice you can’t identify. “So why’d he become the Slave Captain if he was so poor?”

“Oh, yer thinkin’ about it the wrong way around. He’s a slave who became a captain. As the story I know goes, he was sold off as a child and killed his master with his own two hands when he was seventeen. Became just as ruthless as the man that technically raised him, he did. There was a time he’d only hit slavers, but around five years back he started branching out and hitting anything that caught his eye for whatever reason.”

“Very confusing nickname.” You agree. “I totally thought he was a captain that enslaved people.”

“Right, yeah. Same here.” Ramza says. “Anyways, we’ve gotta be going now. Thanks for the grub, old man, it was fit for kings.”

“You stay outta trouble out there, y’hear? Tha’ goes for all three a’ you!” The bartender says. You give a hearty chuckle in response.

“Trouble should steer clear of us!” You exclaim, tapping your knuckles together with a grin. “Unless it wants to earn a few broken bones, that is.”

The barkeep shakes his head with exasperation, but you do catch a glimpse of a smile on his face. He ushers the three of you out of the restaurant, where you make your way back out to the hustle and bustle of the main street.

“Where should we start, now that we’ve eaten?” Val asks, tilting his head over to Ramza for confirmation.

“Well…the way I see it, there’s a few different ways we could approach this. One, we split up for a bit and tackle different areas, spread our net as wide as possible to gather information and see who’s who and what’s what around here. Two, we stick together and tackle everything together in a slower but more methodical manner. I’m a fan of two, but I can’t deny that one is more efficient.” Ramza says.

“Well, one or two aside, what would be good places for us to go and check out?” You ask, tilting your head curiously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7_4CbBcvyU
“Good question. The market stalls are always a good bet, especially since Felippe is a merchant king. Schmooze up to some of the traders, see what they know. Maybe even find some good deals on some gear, our loadout is fairly basic if I’m being honest. We could also get in contact with the ‘underground’, the shadier parts of the city that operate outside of the eyes of the guards…anything to do with gambling is gonna be a great way to get in with that lot. We could also make some OFFICIAL inquiries with the guards, but they’re a bit of a wildcard in my opinion – we have no idea if they’re on Felippe’s payroll or not, but uh…with that big ass eye up there, I’m sure they’ve seen just about everything we’d need to know about, so it’s worth checking in some form or another.”

“Hmm…well, Gigas thinks that…” You offer your opinion.

>”We should stick together.”
>”We should each investigate separately.”
And…
>”Talk to the traders first.”
>”Get in touch with the underground elements first.”
>”Try to gather information from the guards first.”
>Write-in?

>>5906319
>”We should stick together.”
>”Talk to the traders first.”

>>5906322

Supporting.

Just caught up, I didn’t realize that Gigas had amnesia?!

>>5906319
>”We should stick together.”
>”Talk to the traders first.”
A simple man with a simple approach. Best not to wander off on our own when we can barely remember anything.

>>5906467
Yeah, he was one of the player character options in thread 1, and it was mentioned as one of the traits if we picked him.

>>5904550
>>5906319
>>5906322
>+1

Excellent music choices, by the way.

>>5906322
>>5906467
>>5906479
>>5906532
Looks like we're hitting up the traders first, eh? Alright, let's try to gather some information from them. And maybe get a good deal on some shit.
For Gigas, roll...uh...2d10. Jesus, he's got a low pool for this type of thing.
For Val, also roll...2d10! Holy fuck, the social autism.
For Ramza, roll 5d10! Finally, a halfway decent dicepool!

Rolled 5, 3 = 8 (2d10)

>>5907242
observe my 2 10s for gigas

Rolled 6, 1 = 7 (2d10)

>>5907242

Rolled 1, 1, 3, 4, 2 = 11 (5d10)

>>5907242

>>5907292
>>5907254
>>5907250
It could have gone worse, but a pair is a pair. It's just not the most elegant of successes, but you do learn some interesting things. Let's find out what! Writing.

"We should stick together, no matter what. I still don't remember much, so I think it would be quite foolish to go wandering off on my own, haha!" You admit, Ramza's nodding along. "And I also think that the merchants are a good first target for us. They're his direct competitors in some cases, or working for him as the bottom line in others, no? I would think they would know the most about his dealings as a result."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Any objections, Val?" Your captain asks, craning his head over to the gunslinger, who just shakes his head quietly in response. You wish Val would talk more, he seems terribly reclusive with how much he keeps to himself.

"Splendid." You grin, showing your pearly whites off to the world. "I shall lead the way again, of course! You can trust in me, but more importantly...you can trust in THESE!" You showboat by flexing your biceps as hard as you can, the muscles bulging out with a size that lesser men couldn't possibly hope to achieve.

"Just get a move on already, you damned meathead." Ramza sighs out exasperated. You can't help but chuckle at the response, but do as commanded.

It doesn't take long to reach the first stall, manned by a wiry man with an incredibly bushy head of hair that keeps brushing the tarp hanging over him to provide shade. He seems to be in the middle of trying to sell some freshly imported fruits to an elderly couple, every word punctuated by exaggerated movement. "Ah, I did not see you there! You are wanting to buy some fruits too, yes yes?" He suddenly diverts his attention, eyes drawn over to your unmissable form.

"Ah, well, no actually, we-" You say, only for the man to hold his hand up to stop you.

"No no, much too busy to talk about anything else. You go now, customers only thank you!" He says. You're taken aback, the sheer force of this guy's personality making you step back a few feet.

"Uhh..." You glance over to Ramza with a grimace. "We might have to find one more receptive to us."

"Yeah. What a cockbite." Ramza scoffs, making a terribly rude gesture at the merchant, who doesn't even acknowledge your group's existence anymore. "Let's beat it to the next one."

The next one...doesn't go particularly well, either. Nor does the next, or the next, or the next. The hawkers of Threespice all seem to be completely and entirely dedicated to their craft, wholly uninterested in conversing with anyone about anything other than the products they're selling. Your group was hardly prepared for the stubborn nature of the bastards, almost having had the guards called on you in a few cases when you tried to push things further despite their demands that you move on if you weren't going to buy anything.

File: Demonic Merchant.png (3.25 MB, 1556x2211)

3.25 MB PNG

Dejected and about to give up, you're near the ass end of Threespice, as far away from the main docks as you can get, when an odd feeling creeps into you. Your chest feels tight, and there's a growing unease in your gut. Your eyes catch sight of a lone stall at the end of the line, all other foot traffic giving it a wide berth - you easily surmise that it must be where this unease is coming from, and your suspicion is confirmed as the unease becomes more intense when you step closer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgSCiMKG5EM
What you thought were shadows clinging to the walls and boxes stacked around the stall shifts, and it becomes readily apparent that you're looking at a dark mass of robes attached to a figure much too large to be an ordinary human - larger than even you. A bone white mask peeks out at you, and a blackened hand tipped with talons more suited to a bird of prey digs into its robes and wraps around a vial. The creature before you pops the cap on said vial and quickly brings it up to its own mouth, quaffing whatever substance appeared to be inside - a brief tingling sensation up your spine seems to suggest it could have been an Ether.

"This one...welcomes you, customersss..." It hisses out, and Val puts a hand out to stop both you and Ramza from moving forward.

"Don't approach it. This thing is a Demon." He warns, one of his hands clearly on his pistol. The Demon in question stares at him for a few moments, before hacking out a mix between a laugh and a cough.

"This one...isss indeed a demon...this one...has sinned greatly..." The profane merchant admits, almost in a forlorn tone. "But this one...poses no harm...to you or any other...as long as no harm is brought to this one..."

"So you're saying, what, you won't kill anyone if they don't try to kill you first?" You ask. It seems to nod at that. "Oh, good! Then we shouldn't have any problems then."

"Gigas!" Val says. "Are you kidding me? Demons prey on humans, just like monsters!"

"Then why isn't this one?" Ramza asks, looking thoughtful. "It hasn't been killed by anyone yet. The guards have let it be. Why's that, you think?"

"You are a sssmart one, indeed...this one has learned from the mistakes of its past...this one knows that it might be capable of killing a hundred humans, but they would slay this one in turn...strength without allies is...pointless..." It hisses out. "And...believe it or not...it is not illegal in thisss country, to be a Demon. Merely to attack humans..."

Val doesn't seem particularly happy about it, but he slowly lowers his arm. He does keep one hand on his pistol though, clearly still wary of it.

"What do you sell, then?" Ramza asks with a frown.

"Magical tools of all kinds...enchantment services...catalysts, plentiful...and a few other odds and ends, depending on your needsss..." It gestures widely at the assortment of knicknacks piled around it.

"Do you have any spellbooks?" You ask curiously, since the Demon seems to be fairly focused on magical wares.

"Of the traditional variety, we have a few. But thisss one can imbue knowledge of a spell directly asss well, if expediency is needed. There isss no need to worry with that process - this one is fully capable of using pure Mana, separated from this one's Amalgam for thy safety..."

"Hoh, interesting!" You proclaim. Imbuing knowledge directly! How novel. You've never heard of that before.

"Kind of like how they give Familiars orders, huh?" Ramza pipes up. Damn it, he must have heard of it before. Now you'll look dumb! "Sounds pretty convenient. But maybe too convenient."

"I think we should talk privately for a moment." Val speaks up, jerking his thumb over towards a secluded area. You and Ramza nod, and stalk off to it with him, huddling together for a moment. "I think we should cut our losses with the merchants and go try something else. I don't really think information or goods gained from a Demon of all things could be considered reliable."

"And just waste all that legwork we did? Come on. Just talking to it isn't gonna kill us...I don't think." Ramza replies.

"You think the goods are faulty? Are Demons bad at handling magic, you reckon?" You ask.

"...No, actually. By all records, every Demon we've seen has been highly adept with magic. It's just the motive I question." Val replies reluctantly.

"If they're great spellcasters, then I would think the goods would be fine!" You reassure him. "But...with all this in mind, I think I'll have to side with..."

>"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon."
>"You, Val. It's not a risk we need to take, at least not until we've checked all the other possible avenues first."

>>5907523
Only illegal to attack humans, but not demons, huh?
Strength without allies is pointless. So it's using it's merchant connections to gather strength, which it'll then use to kill or cause mayhem.

I'd vote to kill him now if we could, but i doubt we could do it.

>"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon."
>"He seems reasonable enough! Give and take, right? Fair trades are fair, so why not?"

>>5907523
>"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon."

>>5907523
>"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon."
I can't help but imagine Gigas being voiced by Bill Fagerbakke.

>>5907527
>>5907523
>support

>>5907523
>"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon."
Well, if the captain says it's alright, it's alright.

"Ramza. We need leads, even if it means consorting with a Demon." You finish saying, nodding to yourself confidently.

"See, this is why you're First Mate material, Gigas. Val, step it up." Ramza jokes, a shit-eating grin on his face as he pats both of you on the back. "Alright, let's go ask this Demon about Felippe's dirty laundry."

Breaking away from the formation, the three of you step back up to the Demon in question. You're certain that Val is frowning or scowling or making some other nasty expression right now, despite not being able to see most of his face. His grip shifts on the pistol, a thumb nervously running along the back, and a bead of sweat seems to drip down his forehead. You've never really asked him about his past, but you imagine he must have had a run-in with a demon before to have a reaction this strong. It makes you wonder if you, too, have ever encountered a demon...

"You have de-li-ber-ated, then?" The demon asks, seeming to struggle to verbalize the one word and having to sound it out carefully. "Splendid...what can this one do for thee?"

"Well, we're somewhat interested in your wares, of course...but before we talk about that kind of business, we're here for a different kind of business first. What do you know about Felippe Silversmith?" Ramza pipes up, taking the lead on the interrogation.

"The Silversmith...this one has never met him, and his associates all scurry like frightened rats when this one approaches..." It replies. "It isss, truthfully, in this one's best interest not to interfere...not to dig where one is not wanted...but this one can do so, for the right price." It holds that hideous clawed hand out, palms facing up to emphasize its desire for payment.

"And how exactly would you manage that if they all run away at the sight of you?" Your captain asks skeptically.

"Through the Lost Art of scrying, of course." It claims, and Val's breath hitches for a moment. "The Core sees all...and through it, we can see the reflections of what was, or is. In rare cases, what will be."

"You expect us to believe that you know a Lost Art?" Val speaks up. His demeanor has shifted a bit, now showing a bit of interest rather than the pure hostility of before.

"I'm not following. What's a Lost Art?" You ask, holding a hand up like a student might.

"It's pretty obvious from the name alone, isn't it?" Ramza rolls his eyes, before turning to Val. "But explain it to Gigas anyways. For clarity's sake."

"You don't know it either, do you?" You prod him in the side.

"Of course I do, but Val would be able to explain it better." Ramza deflects. Sneaky sneaky, Captain...but you can't fool the great Gigas. You know that he's just bullshitting you.

>>5908461
"It's just a fanciful term for knowledge that's been lost to time in some form or another. Swordfighting styles, spells, forging techniques - all of it classifies under the umbrella of a Lost Art. But they're not so easy to find - the records of how they're performed are few and far between, in terrible condition more often than not. And written in long-dead languages or intentionally obfuscated through code by their paranoid inventors." Val says, managing to speak a lot more than you'd ever heard him do before.

"Yes, indeed...the lost arts are troublesome to uncover...and even more troublesome to utilize." The demon speaks once more, the unsettling nature of its distorted voice slowly becoming more familiar to you, easier to ignore. "But the process that transforms my kind...also grants us knowledge...an innate skill with certain elements that resonate most with you...and Scrying is well within my abilities, as a Demon of Water."

"Hoh, that's convenient. Do you have a list of prices for your services and goods anywhere?" Ramza replies, prompting the Demon to produce a dingy scroll that it offers forward. You peer over your captain's shoulder to read it, looking through all the associated costs...

You have 2,000 gold to work with!
Vote for as many as you like. A minimum of 3 votes is needed to purchase something.
>Single-Element Catalyst (Wind, Fire, Water, Lightning) - 200 (Tier 1), 500 (Tier 2), 2000 (Tier 3)
>Ether - 50 (Low-grade), 100 (Mid-grade), 200 (High-grade)
>Spellbooks - 200 (Beginner), 500 (Intermediate), 2000 (Expert)
>Spell Knowledge Imbuement - 200 per individual Spell, no learning or practice needed.
>Scrying - 500 for one use, ten minute duration.
>Write-in?
Spells can be incredibly varied. If you have an idea for a spell you'd want to buy, just detail the general idea of the spell. I'll post a few example spells after this, but you're not stuck to choosing them.

Imbue Element - Unaspected, 1 Mana. Using an aspected catalyst, you imbue matter with the respective element. It bestows various narrative effects on the matter, and when used offensively can confer a bonus to damage of [Width - 1].

Solidify - Water, 1 Mana. Only usable against Manabodies, but makes them harder and stiffer. This grants the target 1 Armor in exchange for losing 1 Dice on all Movement-Involved Rolls for a duration determined by the [Width] of the spellcasting roll.

Sense Mana - Water, 1 Mana Per Minute. Allows the user to detect all forms of mana within their radius. Any changes made to that mana will become immediately noticeable, permitting them [+1 Speed] when trying to perform countermeasures against magic use.

Impart Thought - Water, 2 Mana. Allows imbuing thoughts, emotions, memories, even instincts into a source of mana, be this a manabody or unaspected pure mana. When the imbued substance interacts with (or is) a sentient form of mana, or a pre-prepared mana construct, the entity receives the payload of knowledge. This is a fundamental step in creating any worthwhile Familiar. The process is Slow, and acts at -1 Speed in combat.

Animate - Water, 4 Mana. Imbues motion or a facscimile of life into a source of mana, usually a pre-prepared mana construct. It can technically be used for blasphemous acts of necromancy, but such a thing is highly frowned upon. At a difficulty of 7, you can even use this to override a creature's normal function. This is a fundamental step in creating any worthwhile Familiar. The process is Slow, and acts at -1 Speed in combat.

Alter Memory - Water, 1 Mana. Allows the user to alter memories, working best on fresh un-reinforced memories or particularly old memories that lack clarity. This is a SLOW spell, and acts at [-1 Speed] in combat. [Width] determines just how strongly the spell takes effect, being better able to override strongly reinforced memories, while [Height] determines the overall quality of the new altered memories to make sure there's no gaps in it.

Magnetize - Lightning, 1 Mana. Cause targeted metal objects targeted to become magnetized with a strength determined by the [Width] of the roll. Magnetized objects can be a detriment or a boon to those wielding them depending on the situation.

Disrupt Mana - Lightning, 5 Mana. Interrupts the flow of mana in any spells, enchantments, or manabodies that it impacts. Against spells and enchantments, the Spellcasting roll's [Height] determines the strength of the spell or enchantment it can disable and [Width] determines how many dice the spell or enchantment is reduced by. Against living Manabodies, this is a PAINFUL spell, and so requires a [Guts + Wind Check] vs the used Spellcasting roll to resist temporary incapacitation or temporary reduction of dice.

>>5908469
Anchoring Current - Costs 3 Mana to activate, 1-mana-per-minute to sustain. A Wind-aspected spell that assists the caster in clinging to any given surface they can make contact with. Normally impossible climbing feats, such as hanging from a smooth ceiling, are now Difficult instead of Impossible. Climbing checks can be performed just by having any point of the body contacting a valid surface. All climbing feats now have an automatic Pair equal to the Height of the roll used to successfully cast this spell, in addition to any further pairs you might get when actually performing such feats.
There's more PREMADE spells but I'd have to go digging in some resources to find them.

>>5908463
>>5908469
>>5908471
I... Did not expect such in-depth loadout construction in any of my quests tonight. I'm afraid I'll have to weigh in on this when I'm not toasted.

>>5908469
Magic is gay i want to hit stuff with a rock

>>5908475
No worries lad, you neednt even vote for any magic. I just know that some folks would probably want to know what options look like.
That being said I only seem to update once a day anyways, later in the day, so you should have plenty of time to mull it over.

>>5908463
>Scrying - 500 for one use, ten minute duration.
Felippe Silversmith, greatest weakness and greatest secret
>Spellbooks - 200 (Beginner) x3
Lightning, Wind, and Fire: something with increasing a person's speed or their weapon's, like Val's bullets
>Spell Knowledge Imbuement - 200 per individual Spell, no learning or practice needed.
The same as above if no spellbook is available

Imbue Element - Unaspected, 1 Mana. Using an aspected catalyst, you imbue matter with the respective element. It bestows various narrative effects on the matter, and when used offensively can confer a bonus to damage of [Width - 1].

Anchoring Current - Costs 3 Mana to activate, 1-mana-per-minute to sustain. A Wind-aspected spell that assists the caster in clinging to any given surface they can make contact with. Normally impossible climbing feats, such as hanging from a smooth ceiling, are now Difficult instead of Impossible. Climbing checks can be performed just by having any point of the body contacting a valid surface. All climbing feats now have an automatic Pair equal to the Height of the roll used to successfully cast this spell, in addition to any further pairs you might get when actually performing such feats.

>>5908463
Supporting >>5908538, but with Disrupt Mana instead of Imbue Element

>>5908785
>support
>>5908469

>>5908785
+1

>>5908471
>>5908475 is me, and I like the idea of Gigas using his mighty muscles to deliver mana-disrupting Falcon Punches. what a lad.

>>5908538
>>5908785
>>5908907
>>5908964
Alright, the winning vote would be:
>Scrying on Felippe
>A beginner's spellbook on Lightning, Wind, and Fire, with a preference on books that have mobility-related spells
>Knowledge Imbuement of Disrupt Mana (An Intermediate level spell that wouldn't be included in a beginner's book)
Keep in mind that Disrupt Mana is a Lightning spell, so you need a Lightning catalyst to cast it. Val has one, but Gigas has a Wind Catalyst instead. So I'll open up a quick sub-vote to make sure I get what people want right.

>Imbue Disrupt Mana for who? (You can pick more than one, it'll just add 200g on to your total cost. You can afford to do all three if you want.)
>Buy an extra Lightning Catalyst for those who would need one to cast Disrupt Mana? (Y/N)

>>5909360
>everyone

>>5909360
>Imbue Disrupt Mana for who? (Everyone)
>Buy an extra Lightning Catalyst for those who would need one to cast Disrupt Mana? (Y)

Your group debates with itself a healthy amount, weighing the pros and cons of everything you could potentially purchase. Everyone agrees that scrying would be useful and worthwhile, but the nitty gritty came down to everything else you wanted to buy. Val was partial to a collection of spellbooks, one for each of your elements, to expand your repetoirs when you had the time to study them. You suggested learning something more advanced that would normally be difficult for someone like you to study, through the Demon's peculiar imbuement, which Ramza seemed to approve of. A bit of back and forth between all of you and the Demon eventually had you decide on a spell it knew that sounded particularly useful, one that would disrupt the flow of mana in anything you touched. It did have the caveat of being a Lightning spell, though, so Ramza opted to tack on two common Lightning Catalysts to the order.

Ramza's coin pouch was looking considerably lighter by the time he handed over all of the gold needed, grimacing as though he was in physical pain when forking over the money. "One hundred gold left..." He whispered to himself.

"We'll make it all back in no time, my friend!" You reassured him. "For now, it is time to work your magic, no?" You gesture to the Demon.

"Yesss, indeed...first, I shall prepare your imbuements..." The Demon says, producing three clear vials similar to the one it drank earlier. It pops the corks off of them and dips a claw into each one, and a slight blue glow alights the profane merchant's hand as it begins to alter the substance within. Your spine tingles in that oh-so-familiar way when magic is being used nearby, some of the ominous feelings you get from being near the demon being strangely supressed in this moment. When it retracts its digits, the liquid within each vial continues to glow, and the demon offers them forth.

Taking one, you glance down at it curiously. "Is this just an Ether?" You ask.

"It is...this one stocks many Ethers, for both imbuements...and to stave off the hunger..." It explains. "To use it is simple - simply drink it, and the knowledge will flow into you."

"Ah, bottoms up, then!" You boldly tip it back to drink it, while Ramza and Val look alarmed. Ideas and concepts that were previously foreign to you slowly start to filter into the forefront of your mind, the pace increasing exponentially until you're being downright flooded with knowledge as your body starts to process the altered Ether properly. It doesn't make you dizzy, nor give you any sort of headache as you might have expected it to - it simply finds a space in your GRACIOUSLY spacious mind to settle in, and files itself away in your brain. Quickly, efficiently, effectively.

"How do you feel, buddy?" Ramza asks warily.

"Peachy! Why?" You ask, flexing for him to prove that you're feeling fine.

File: 1543553036215.jpg (349 KB, 695x1000)

349 KB JPG

"...Alright. I guess it's safe enough, then. Bottoms up, Mr. Lasombra." Ramza commands, tilting it back himself. Val reluctantly does the same after a moment's hesitation.

"So, this hunger." You turn to the Demon while the two digest their imbuements. "It's something that Mana can help with?"

"Yesss...and no..." The Demon locks its fingers together and settles its hands over its lap, taking on a serene posture. "We accursed ones...are forever hungering for that which constitutes our Amalgam. Mana is but one component we need to satisfy ourselves...and in the presence of thy mana-suffused blood, it overpowers those of lesser will or malignant disposition. Monsters, derived from animals, bear no will to resist the call of the hunger...but Demons, born of human stock, can resist the temptation to slaughter if recently glutted on a sufficient amount of Mana."

"Impressive that you manage to hold fast in such a dense city, then!" You applaud the demon's efforts, chuckling as you turn to your friends. They're clutching their heads, like the imbuement gave them a headache...well, that must be one more way that the great and mighty Gigas is superior to lesser men. "Are you ready for the scrying, my friends?"

"Urgh...yeah, yeah. Let's get on with it. Show us Felippe's greatest weakness, and his greatest secret." Ramza groans.

At this, the demonic being produces a bowl and taps its claw in the center of the empty basin. Pure, clean water begins to pour from the demon's finger, filling it up steadily until it very nearly spills over - only surface tension keeps it contained now. The demon lifts its claw up and out of the water, and a single drop of glowing blue mana drips down from it, impacting the water and causing ripples through it. Colors swirl within the bowl, and as the ripples settle, an image becomes clear as day...

You see a portly man adorned in more jewelry than you'd see stocked in most jewelry shops, standing in an opulent room of rich mahogany wood with gilded accents. Precious artworks of all kinds line the walls of this room, and displays are set up everywhere showing off a variety of artifacts. Felippe himself seems to be in the middle of setting something into place atop a cushioned pedestal, that being a vibrant and glowing crimson crystal, a shard that looks like it was broken off of something. Even through the scrying waters, you can tell that it thrums with power, and based on the sheen of sweat on Felippe's brow it must be giving off some amount of heat as well. He's quick to insert a key into the stand's base and turn it, causing a protective case to shoot up and cover the strange artifact. The vision seems to focus on that key as he pulls it out and, rather unexpectedly, lifts his foot up to insert it into a hole in the back of his shoe, where it seems to meld with it seamlessly and give no sign at all of its presence there.

"The key to the fortunesss of a king...it will give you total access to everything within his palace..." The merchant whispers out.

The vision changes, to one of a much younger looking Felippe. He's standing at the bedside of an older man that looks much like himself, though with graying hair and a magnificent beard. The older man appears to be holding Felippe's hand, shakily, as Felippe tips a drink back into the older man's mouth. "There there, father...your pain will be gone soon. I'll take care of you, I promise." He says. The vision changes once more, showing Felippe preparing that very same drink earlier, only...he's clutching a Water Catalyst in his hand, and muttering the words to a spell. A black droplet falls from the catalyst into the drink, dispersing into it with no outward sign of the change.

"A dark secret...the heir, unworthy, claims control through betrayal of kin." The merchant says again.

With that, the waters in the bowl seem to evaporate, turning to steam rapidly until the metal is left as dry as when it was brought out. The merchant tucks the bowl away once more, before tapping its claws on the stone floor almost thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Ah, this one almost forgot..." It says, reaching over to sort through some books in its stock. It produces three books, each with a colored cover associated with its element, and presents them forth. "These should do you well, aspiring mages. Now...can this one do anything else for you all?"

>Anything else? Questions, or anything you want to do involving the merchant?

Choose your next destination, as well!
>Get into contact with the city's Underground elements.
>Find an audience with some City Guardsmen.
>You're a bit low on cash, so try to go make some money first.
>Write-in?

Alright, I think I updated the character sheets accordingly after this. Let me know if I missed any items or spells.
Anchoring Current is going to be one of the spells in the wind book, in case you're wondering.

>>5909948
>Thank the demon for his work and ask him if he knows of any other demons in nearby towns or cities that we could deal with
>You're a bit low on cash, so try to go make some money

>>5910081

Supporting. Sorry I’m late, Watcher - busy the last few days

>>5910131
No need to be sorry for a thing, my man! I appreciate the support, but as they say, life comes first. Hope things are going well for you!

>>5909948
>You're a bit low on cash, so try to go make some money

>>5909948
>You're a bit low on cash, so try to go make some money first.
if we ever need to bribe anyone out there, cash would be a good thing

>>5909948
>>5910081
Support

>>5910081
Supporting.

>>5909948
We'll need money to meet with a money-grubber, or to find other ways in via the underground.

>>5910081
Support.

what's an amalgam

"You've certainly done a fine job as it is!" You say with cheer in your voice.

"I do have to admit that it was pretty good work. I've never seen something like Scrying before...but at least we know that Felippe's a bastard through and through now." Ramza follows up with.

"Mm. I was debating over whether we should kill him or not before." Val speaks up. "But not anymore. He needs put down."

"Cheers to that, brother." You wink in Val's direction, holding back one of your usual laughs. People always say you laugh too much, how can they possibly resist it when the feeling comes on? Maybe you just find too many things funny. "Ah, right - do you happen to know any other demons in nearby towns or cities we might be able to do business with? This went well enough, so now I'm curious about other friendly ones like you." You turn to ask the Merchant.

"No..." The merchant shakes its head, in an almost forlorn manner. "I have only met three others of my kind before, and they no longer walk the lands. Their Amalagam was returned to the Core by the hands of men born of low and high blood alike. But that is a story for another day, perhaps, should we ever meet again after today..."

"A touchy subject then. My apologies." You rub the back of your head sheepishly. Wait, can Demons even feel sorrow or remorse over things? Evidently so...but you're not sure if it's an act or not. These things confuse you. "A different question then. What's this Amalgam you keep mentioning?"

"As your people would call it, it is the corrupted essence found within Monsters and Demons. But to usss, it is simply Amalgam. Two substances joined together to birth a new substance." It explains, shifting to hold both of its leathery blackened palms upright. A miniscule blue mote of mana pulls itself out of the Demon's palm and floats up, while in the other hand a red mote of something distinctly different does the same. You can feel nothing from the red mote save for a strange intensification of the dread you feel just being in the Demon's presence.

"What...is that?" All three of you mutter out, entranced by the sight of the red mote. The demon sighs out, and the red and blue droplets drift towards one another and mix into the familiar purple essence of a monster, which the Merchant draws back into itself.

"The natural counterpart to thy Mana, an identical substance we of the occult dub Soul. Your churches would never teach you of such blasphemy, nor would your men of science tell you of that which is obfuscated to them. But to us Demons, it is intrinsically Known. It is what we must learn to create in order to commit the gravest of sins - or be exposed to, for those unlucky enough to undergo the process unwillingly."

"That's...none of what I researched ever suggested..." Val mumbles, clearly struggling to fit this within his worldview.

"There are many things about this world you have yet to understand. But in time, all will become clear to the watchful eye." The demon whispers cryptically, shifting back against the shadows of the stall. It seems to blend in more and more with each passing moment, until you can't even tell if the merchant's there at all.

"...I guess they didn't want to talk anymore." You turn to the others with a shrug. They look disturbed, Val moreso than Ramza, but you? You don't let things like this bother you. There's more important things to do than to ruminate on the nature of the universe or some bullshit like that. "We should probably get a move on now, so we don't burn too much daylight, no? I was thinking we could do with restoring some of our funds. We spent most of what our generous Captain brought with him, after all."

"Hey, that's right! How come neither of you brought any damned money to help with the finances?"

"I lost all of my cut to Celia." You admit, a slight flush to your cheeks. The great Gigas never loses...for long, at least. You'll have to become a better gambler if you want to pull one over on her, though.

"Savings account." Val says.

"The fuck." Ramza looks at Val strangely. "What fuckin' bank do you have a savings account in?"

"The Bank of Lasombra. I hide whatever I don't spend. No, I won't tell you where." He replies.

"Damn, that's a good idea." You say. "Maybe I wouldn't lose so much money if I did that."

"Just don't lose at gambing and it won't be a problem." Ramza smirks. "Anyways, right. Recouping our losses...where to start, hmm."

>"We could find a buyer for that Corrupted Chakra. It should fetch some shiny coin."
>"You've got an entry filled on your Bounty Book, don't you? Let's turn it in."
>"Well...with a hundred coins to our name, we could get ten times as much with the right kind of gambling games. Maybe find someone running something like the

>>5911438
>>"Well...with a hundred coins to our name, we could get ten times as much with the right kind of gambling games. Maybe find someone running something like the
holy shit i fucking cut it off for some reason.
It's supposed to say:
>"Well...with a hundred coins to our name, we could get ten times as much with the right kind of gambling games. Maybe find someone running something like the Ball and Cup game!"
>Write-in!

>>5911438
>>5911441
lol
>"You've got an entry filled on your Bounty Book, don't you? Let's turn it in."

>>5911438
>"You've got an entry filled on your Bounty Book, don't you? Let's turn it in."

>>5911438
>Turn in bounty
>Have gigas do some arm wrestling or other feats of strength. Or even boxing. The boys bet on him. We win we profit.

Like taking candy from a baby.

>>5911758
I like that idea. I'd support it.

>>5911758
+1

>>5911438
>>5911441

>>5911758

Ez money, I support and it’s an IC suggestion

>>5911758
supportan'

>>5911591
>>5911593
>>5911758
>>5911761
>>5911767
>>5911838
>>5911863
Oh yeah, now that's a good write-in.
Roll me 7d10 for Gigas's feats of strength.
5d10 for Ramza trying to draw in more people to participate against Gigas.
And 6d10 for Val keeping an eye out for anyone attempting to cheat you. Because it's bound to happen in Threespice!

>Captcha JK8 KYS
What the fuck.

Rolled 7, 1, 9, 6, 8, 8, 7 = 46 (7d10)

>>5912288
Gigas

Rolled 2, 8, 10, 3, 7 = 30 (5d10)

>>5912288
Do we have a show for you tonight!

>>5912288
>that captcha
lmao What did you do?

Rolled 6, 9, 5, 7, 9, 7 = 43 (6d10)

>>5912288

Rolled 8, 10 = 18 (2d10)

>>5912323
Ramza, wanting to get the maximum amount of money (and exposure) for his crew, will throw in his 2 Relationship Dice dedicated to His Crew.

>>5912306
>>5912323
>>5912347
>>5912341
Two successes for each party member, all of them in the high digits! A most excellent show, my friends. This will pay off quite well.

"I have an idea." You speak up, your companions turning to look at you. "It'll require a bit of setup, but in a place like this? We'll be living like kings in no time, guaranteed. Now, all we have to do is..."

Many, many hours later.

Another bead of sweat drips down your forehead, which was soaked with sweat long ago. You pay it no mind, and stopped doing so at least three hours ago. You're instead staring down the garguantuan man, a tourist of some kind from Gaoth, that you're currently clasping forearms with. Each of you is exerting an enormous amount of force against each other, trying to push the other outside of the simple circle you'd drawn and redrawn in the dirt several times over the day. Unseemly grunts escape from both of you, and you keep your breathing as steady as you can, resisting the urge to stifle a breath like so many do when pushing themselves to their limits. You take a step forward, your opponent's boots gliding back in equal measure against his will. He braces himself and pushes back, making the very mistake you'd taught yourself not to make - and in that moment when his attention is focused too deeply on pushing, you shift your center of gravity down and shove forward with all your migh.

One step. Two. Three. And on the fourth, each made in rapid succession, your opponent has been forced to the other side of the line, earning you yet another victory under your belt. Despite how exhausted you feel from defeating challenger after challenger throughout the day, you feel as though your body has gotten that much stronger. You barely register your victory before Ramza steps up, grabbing you by the arm and raising it up as high as he can.

"Another victory for Gigas the Great! So sorry for all of you who bet against him, but for those of you who didn't...feel free to collect your winnings from Mr. Lasombra over there in the wide-brimmed hat!" Ramza calls out, his voice carrying across the masses that are cheering for you and booing your opponent. You give a tired chuckle.

"My friend, I'm beginning to wane. Perhaps it is time we call it a night." You say to Ramza, who nods in acknowledgement.

"Alright everybody, that's the last challenge of the day! You'll have to see Gigas the Great in action some other day. And remember!" He says, holding a hand up to his ear to hear the crowd's response.

"Nothing can defeat Gigas!" They roar out, a few even throwing bundles of flowers or coins your way. You give your brightest grin, or at least the best one you can manage while so exhausted, and wave to your adoring new fans.

Over the next hour, you and your friends collect all of your winnings and generous donations while cooling off, the crowd slowly dispersing as it becomes clear that Ramza was being honest that there's not going to be any more action tonight. Val is the quickest counter by far of the three of you, and by the end of your tally, he gives a simple number.

"4,900."

"Huh?" You and Ramza ask.

"4,900." He repeats.

"That's more than we had before we spent it all. Are you sure you counted it right?" Ramza prods.

"Yes."

"Hot damn." You whistle. "We're rich!"

"Damn straight we are! God damn, you are apparently wasted as a pirate." Ramza laughs.

"Oh, my friend...this is chump change compared to what we will make. Nothing will resist our combined might! And besides...I am certain we have a veritable fortune to make from a certain job's conclusion, no?" You counter.

"Oh yes...makes me drool just thinking about it. All those valuables locked up in that grubby fuck's mansion..." Ramza says in a quieter tone, so as to not be overheard.

"Well." Val speaks up. "If we ever want to retire from pirating, at least we have a good fallback plan. Circus people."

You wrinkle your nose at that. "Gigas hates clowns."

"Really? Why?" Ramza asks.

"It is unspeakable that so many can fit in such a small object."

"Hah!" He snorts. "I think I wouldn't mind clowns of the female persuasion. Harlequins and the like. It's an exotic kind of taste..."

"You're unhinged." Val insults the captain, shaking his head. "Let's find a place to shack up for the night. The Core went blue an hour ago."

"Don't knock it 'till you try it." Ramza replies, as the three of you finish putting everything away and start moving on.

It doesn't take much looking around to find an Inn that isn't full up, and for the moderately reasonable price of fifty gold, you rent out a room fit for your party. The room has a fourth, unused bed - but that's only because they didn't have one with just three beds for some reason, despite having a one-bed and two-bed room. Skipping over a three-bed just seems like a strange oversight to you, but whatever. You're so tired that you can't bring yourself to care. As soon as you push the spare bed over to the one you've claimed, you sprawl out on all of them, enjoying your makeshift king-sized mattress with a grin. It's with that very grin on your face that you find yourself drifting off to sleep within seconds, the tiredness of the day sweeping you along into the land of dreams.

That's not good enough. Once again! You showed your opponent too much mercy, and that's why you lost. Get back up. Do it right this time. You call that good form? Don't disgrace me. Once again! That pain you feel is the weakness leaving your body. Don't cry, boy. Acceptable. You've grown much, boy. Once again! Finish the job. Leave not your enemy alive, lest they stab you in the back the moment you turn it to them. Kill him. Once again. Are you ready for your final test? Come at me, boy. Aim to kill.

You wake up in the morning with a cold sweat, but you're not sure why. You had a stressful dream, but for some reason you can't remember what it was, memories of a deep and gruff voice fading rapidly with each second. You have no idea what he was saying, but it filled you with dread and fear for the most part. You remember feeling numb at the end of the dream. How unpleasant...

Skill Allocations! Choose ONE per character!
Gigas:
>+1 Athletics
>+1 Wind (Physical Stamina)
Val:
>+1 Notice
>+1 Out-Think
Ramza:
>+1 Charm
>+1 Connive

What will you plan to do today?
>Make contact with Threespice's underground elements.
>Do an official inquiry with the local Guards.
>Shake down some of Felippe's men.
>Write-in!

>>5912517
>athletics
>notice
>charm

Everyone has their specialties, and that's what makes them special.

>Do an official inquiry with the local Guards.
I haven't seen a whole lot of stories involving "noble pirates" who generally speaking stay above board, which might be interesting.
Obviously we can't do that every time, but i'd like to try. Maybe we could even become a famous crew who's popular with the public.

>>5912517
>Do an official inquiry with the local Guards.
And we still need to cash in our bounty

>>5912612

Support

>>5912517
Gigas:
>+1 Wind (Physical Stamina)
Val:
>+1 Out-Think
Ramza:
>+1 Connive

>Do an official inquiry with the local Guards.

We should spend our gold on better non-magic gear later though.

>>5912515
>"I think I wouldn't mind clowns of the female persuasion. Harlequins and the like. It's an exotic kind of taste..."
A man of culture, I see.

>>5912517
>+1 Wind to Gigas
>+1 Notice to Val
>+1 Connive to Ramza
>Make contact with Threespice's underground elements.
Everyone knows a rich guy like this would have the guards in his pocket.

>>5912517
>wind (gigas)
>notice (val)
>connive (ramza)

>make contact with threespice's underground elements
my hunch is that we'd have more luck digging up some dirt on felippe in the underground

>write-in: "Val? Ramza? Do you guys know anything about my past before I joined the blue pirates?"

>>5912517
>Athletics
>Notice
>Connive

>Underground

Time to become top dogs in the fight to the death arena and become the Underground kingpins.

Athletics cause it helps our combat and doing shit that requires stupid high strength.

Notice cause we can't loot or kill someone we don't see.

Conniving because we could be better at lying and thinking of great scams.

As a heads up, I won't be able to update today because my ass has been up insanely long to fix my shit up. I don't want to risk a shoddy update, so instead we will just leave the vote open until tomorrow!

>>5913271

no worries QM, we can wait for quality.

I just caught up.
>>5911437
Does this implies the existance of "Yellow" (like paint mixes) or "Green" (like light mixes) essence?

>>5912517
>Gigas : Wind
>Val : Notice
>Ramza : Charm

>Write-in!

Can we advertize ourself as a starting pirate armada? Ramza as the admiral, Val as Second Ship's captain, Gigas as Ramza's first mate - so we can lure in the forever first mate guy to Val's ship, he might be an interresting lead

>>5913748

I dunno but I imagine that the artificial pillar that is being constructed will almost certainly unleash a demon apocalypse, since it’s apparently mixing mana types that leads to bad shit in this setting.

I’m also a bit perplexed by the cosmology of the setting, have people tried to dig outside to the exterior? Do we really know that we’re “inside” a planet or is this setting completely different from real-world cosmology?

>>5913748
All will become clear to the watchful eye.
>>5913910
As far as everyone in-universe believes, 'earth' extends infinitely. They've tried to dig, but haven't been able to get past a few miles of digging before conditions became too bad to continue. The idea of there being an exterior has been posited, but obviously never proven, and is generally regarded as a crackpot theory.

Now, as for the winning votes, my tally is:
Wind wins 4 to 3.
Notice wins 6 to 1.
Connive wins 4 to 3.
Making an official inquiry with the guards wins 4 to 3.

Time to start writing!

Breakfast appears to be included in the room package your group purchased, a fact that you're grateful for when you're all sitting around a dark wooden table and feasting plates filled with thick sausages, greasy bacon, some kind of flaky and buttery rolls smothered in some kind of fruity sauce, and fried eggs with perfectly semi-runny yolks - just the way you like it, of course. You dig into it with wild abandon, shoving as much of each delicacy into your mouth at once as you can, while your companions take a much more measured approach and watch your display of gluttony with a morbid curiosity.

"It's like watching a starving man eat for the first time in weeks..." Val mutters under his breath.

"Holy shit." Ramza agrees with the man. You just snort and keep eating, of course.

Over the course of the meal, when you finally slow down enough to not be stuffing your face nonstop, your group discusses what the gameplan for the day is. Ultimately, you all decide to play it by ear and take things one step at a time in case new information changes priorities, but you'll be starting with the Guards. One way or the other, you'll need to wrest the information you need from them. That towering eye that watches over the city and beyond has doubtlessly picked up on everything you need to know, which suggests that either Felippe's doings are being surpressed, obfuscated, redirected, or otherwise ignored for some reason - at least, that's the conclusion your much smarter teammates come to.

The streets are relatively empty when you finish up your meals, the morning's chill deterring most from journeying out just yet. All but those who are required to be out, at least - stockboys prepare the stalls for the merchants they work for, and large boxes of goods that no doubt came from the docks are hauled through the streets by floating carriers, tugged along by duos of men. Your group moves past all of them with a purpose, your destination clear: The eye.

In the center of the city, there the base of the towering structure sits, surrounded by a moat of water to deter random people from going where they don't belong. It isn't terribly huge, but it is wide enough to support its own miniature version of the docks, in which half a dozen ships belonging to the Guards themselves sit. If the proximity to their base of operations didn't make it clear enough, the stylized crimson eye emblazoned on their sails remove all doubt. You'd actually seen a glimpse of this area before when moving down the strip to interrogate merchants, but wariness had you avoid it initially, taking side-streets to reach the other end of the city.

Now, with little else to deter you all, Ramza leads you directly to a trio of guards that seem to be getting ready to undock one of the ships, fussing about with the rope that appears to be more stuck than they anticipated.

"You boys look like you're having a rough time. Need a hand?" Ramza speaks up.

"Ech, yeah, that'd be great lad-" One of them says without looking, cutting himself off with a grunt as he gives it a harder pull. Ramza nods towards you, and with a grin you step up to help, seizing the rope and yanking it free with ease. You gently hand it back to the guard in charge of it, who looks intimidated by your size and presence.

"Right, uh...thanks for the help, then." He says, bushy mustache twitching as he takes a subconscious step back. "Best be on your way now, some of the boys get nervous when civilians hang around our docks."

"Actually, we came here to speak with some guards." Ramza interjects, giving off one of his award-winning smiles. "I don't suppose you have a moment or two to spare for us?"

"I really, really don't, lad. We're-" He sneezes quite violently all of a sudden, wiping his nose off on his gloved hand after. "Urgh, damned chill...we're all quite busy, actually. Getting the ships ready for some important business, we are. If a crime's been committed, then it'll have to wait unless it's immediately life-threatening."

"Well, it isn't, but..."

"Then it'll have. To wait." He emphasizes. "I really appreciated the help, but my hands are tied. We haven't got any time at all to spare today."

It looks like you're being stonewalled. Frustration bubbles up in you, the irritating demeanor of the guardsman making you want to punch the man in the head to get him to listen. But you know that'd just make things worse. You wonder if there may be a better way to get the information you need...but if there is, then what?

>Look for a guardsman that's actually receptive to talking. There's no guarantee you'll actually find one, but it's the least risk-averse option by far.
>Maybe you can try pulling a fast one on them. Tell them you've got new orders from Felippe, command them to let you in the tower maybe.
>Try to lead some of them off to an alley, knock them out, and don their uniforms. It's risky, but you'd have virtually unchallenged access to everything inside the tower if you managed it.
>Got another plan? Write it in!

Here's the theme for Threespice in general, by the way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBCSDXVeJgE
Best when played in tandem with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QUYYOXUF4o

>>5914562
>Try to lead some of them off to an alley, knock them out, and don their uniforms. It's risky, but you'd have virtually unchallenged access to everything inside the tower if you managed it.
Classic. Oh wait, we're Gigas.

>Got another plan? Write it in!
Walk up and stare down at him, arms crossed. Intimidate them into giving you the information.

>>5914562
>>Try to lead some of them off to an alley, knock them out, and don their uniforms. It's risky, but you'd have virtually unchallenged access to everything inside the tower if you managed it.

Oh yeah, cartoon time

>>5914562
>let them leave.
>have Val loot the ships as we go
>ramza and gigas the chads will go find some other guards.

I'm going to be horrendously busy for today and tomorrow because of some IRL shit to sort through, so unfortunately I won't have the time to update for a spell. The vote will continue until then! And if you have any questions or theories or future plans or even shitposts to share, feel free to post them.

>>5914562
>Try to lead some of them off to an alley, knock them out, and don their uniforms. It's risky, but you'd have virtually unchallenged access to everything inside the tower if you managed it.
Gigas seems like he'd stand out regardless, honestly, but we can conk a guard out so our scrawnier, less-consicuous friends can play dress-up.

>>5914746
>>5914946
>>5914963
>>5916248
Cartoon hijinks time, huh? Alright, let's do it.
Roll me 7d10 for Ramza pulling people off to a secluded location with Connive.
8d10 for Gigas getting physical to knock them out without a fuss.
And 7d10 for Val to be your lookout in case anyone wises up or goes poking around where they shouldn't at the wrong time.

>>5917883
Dropped me trip.

Rolled 9, 7, 5, 7, 7, 5, 2 = 42 (7d10)

>>5917883

Rolled 8, 3, 2, 3, 6, 7, 6, 5 = 40 (8d10)

>>5917883
Go go Gigas

>>5917896
Lucky 7-trip

Rolled 3, 7, 10, 10, 2, 7, 8 = 47 (7d10)

>>5917883

>>5917896
>>5917898
>>5918035
I think we got 'em.

Rolled 4, 4, 1, 1, 9, 7, 2 = 28 (7d10)

>>5917883

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYaVcFuVGkU

Ramza looks just as frustrated as you, but you opt to place a hand on his shoulder to stop him from making any rash or impulsive decisions. You are a far wiser, more temperate being than him. That's why, after coercing him to step aside with you, you lean in to whisper your newest idea to him. An idea so brilliant that it stands absolutely no chance of failing.

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard." Ramza says after your explanation. "But it's so stupid that it just might work..."

"But...how are we going to find a uniform big enough for Gigas?" Val asks. You each frown as you consider it, before an astonishly large guardsman about the same size as you walks past your group, hauling a massive box on each shoulder. Your heads track the unlucky man in unison, before turning to each other. "Nevermind. Let's go for it." Val finishes with a nod.

It's only about fifteen minutes later when all three of you are now donning the appropriate disguises, your unfortunate victims conveniently stashed away in some boxes you nailed shut. You made sure they had breathing holes, but it'll be a good bit before they wake up, and a bit more before anyone finds them in the boxes to let them out. The whole operation had gone exceptionally smoothly, with Ramza convincing each of your targets over to the ambush location without any apparent issues while Val played interference and actively deterred and distracted people that would have otherwise discovered the operation. You, of course, played the most important role - putting the targets in a headlock one by one until they took a nice long nap. Even the big guy didn't give you much trouble, his armor hindering his mobility enough to make escape from the grapple impossible.

The three of you file out of the alleyway you did your dirty deeds in, each of you moving with an unfamiliar stiffness due to the unusually restrictive nature of the carapace armor you now don. You don't doubt the protection is quite worthwhile, but you value freedom of movement a lot more than the guards do, apparently - you're not sure you could even reach all the way above your head with this! The other guards do seem to take notice of your group, but not in any suspicious way...your ears catch snickers and laughter from the ones you pass, alongside a few jabs about the 'obvious newbies'. The short drawbridge that leads across to the base of The Eye stays lowered on your approach, and the two guards stationed there simply wave you across without really questioning you in any way, so this is already paying off.

About six other guards step across the bridge with you, and you reach the base of the tower, which...doesn't seem to have a door. The more experienced guards don't really hesitate like you three do, though, walking straight into the seemingly solid wall and going through it, the material rippling around them like water as they do so. "Woah..." You comment under your breath, before following their example. The sensation of passing through it is similar to sticking your finger into gelatin, but across your entire body; it fades as soon as you're fully through.

The inside seems to be mostly dark and undecorated, most everyone standing in the center of the thin base of the towering eye for some reason. "Come along now, we won't hold it for you all day!" One of the guards shouts over to your group. You jerk up a sloppy salute and move in next to him with Ramza and Val, while the one that spoke shakes his head. "What, is this your first time heading up into the Eye or something?"

"Yes, actually. We're new recruits." Ramza speaks up on your behalf.

"That explains a lot." He nods knowingly, accepting the bullshit with ease. "You know what you're being assigned to yet?"

>"We were told to go ask the Captain of the Guard about that. Could you point us towards him?"
>"We're supposed to hold down the fort while that operation takes place. Keep watch in the Eye and all that."
>"Taking part in the recent op. Just gotta square some things away in the Eye first."
>"Not at all. Maybe you could tell me where we might be needed?"
>"Of course." Don't elaborate on what that 'assignment' is. Probe for information from this mook instead. "By the way, what's up with the operation everyone's scrambling to get ready for?"

>>5918607
>"We were told to go ask the Captain of the Guard about that. Could you point us towards him?"

>>5918602
>that music choice
Chef's kiss.

>>5918607
>"We were told to go ask the Captain of the Guard about that. Could you point us towards him?"
Get into the halls of power and see if he's in on, uh, whatever bullshit our patricidal monopolist target is up to.

>>5918626

Supporting

>>5918607
>>"We were told to go ask the Captain of the Guard about that. Could you point us towards him?"

If suspicion arise,
"Perks of being assigned with the son of someone important" while clapping Ramza back.

>>5918607
>>"We were told to go ask the Captain of the Guard about that. Could you point us towards him?"

"Well." You speak up now, clearing your throat. "We were told to go ask the Captain about that. Could you point us towards him?"

"The captain...?" The man pauses, an invisible tension filling the air as you and your companions become increasingly ready to spring into action with each moment that passes. "That makes sense, he usually hands out the assignments at shift change, but you must have missed it if you were getting your gear in order." The tension is cut like a string, leaving you to slowly exhale a breath you didn't know you were holding in.

"Yeah. It's a bit of a shitshow out there today, too, with all the prepwork." You admit, nodding with a nervous laugh that the other guard doesn't seem to take note of.

"Right, well, he'd be up in the Pupil right now. Third stop." The friendly man says. With that, he holds his hand outstretched towards the ground and lets a pulse of mana out into the floor, which lights up with a runic array. Moments later, the circular platform you're all standing on begins to rise up, a humming sound permeating the air as it effortlessly lifts your combined weights, levitating through the air by some magical means.

"Woah, that's cool. How's that work? It's not thick enough for a subcore installation..." Val comments, intruiged as always by mechanical works.

"Magnetic array, just gotta charge 'er up Negatively to head up, Positively to go down. The tower itself has lodestones built into certain points to get it over to the right place and stabilize where it needs to be." He explains. "I don't know much about it beyond that, though. The mages what originally built it all are long dead. This level of ingenuity is a bit of a lost art thanks to everything we lost in the war."

The platform makes a stop as it connects seamlessly into one of the upper floors, about two guardsmen getting off, and one stepping on. The newcomer silently points down and tilts his head questioningly, while the main guy controlling it shakes his head and tilts his chin up, causing the newcomer to groan about the extended wait.

"Damned Vodans." Ramza pipes up. "Wasn't enough to kill and pillage, they had to flood everything while they were at it."

"Despicable bastards, really." The talkative guard agrees. "Ain't a single Lumean alive that hasn't lost someone to 'em, I think. Shouldn't have stopped when we pushed 'em back, I say...they're all better off dead."

"Cheers to that." Ramza agrees, though you're not sure if he actually thinks that or if it's part of the act. Conversation lulls at that point, the second stop going by normally, and on the third the guard gestures out to indicate it's your stop.

File: 1594444965506.jpg (201 KB, 821x1248)

201 KB JPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKI6iz9KO5o

The three of you get off and give the friendly man a casual wave as you do so, before you glance around at the surroundings. The 'Pupil' is a bit of a bizarre space to be in, as the floor transitions from stone to a clear kind of glass. The walls are completely and totally transparent, allowing you a perfect view of the outside world, and as you step onto the glass you can feel a tingling sensation as mana seems to connect to your body. Your vision of the outside world sharpens considerably, maintaining a wide view of everything around but providing a massively increased clarity for the details of things.

"Woah..." You can't help but say under your breath, your eyes locking on to a sparrow flying at least a mile out. You can see the individual barbs in its feathers, the reflection of the world around it in its eyes, and still maintain the majority of your peripheral vision. It's such a strange and bizarre way of viewing the world that it actually gives you a bit of a headache. You turn your sight to the interior of the pupil instead, finding the effect to not take place on the inside, and glance about.

Standing right next to the 'window', fully armored and with his arms tucked behind his back, is what must be the captain - his uniform is made of actual metal, and seems more elaborate than that of the other guards. He's watching the outside world keenly, while upon a nearby desk an odd creature resembling an octopus with the head of an owl and a fur much like a mink's focuses intently on scribbling something out on eight different pieces of paper, dipping its tendrils in a jar of ink whenever they go dry. You imagine it must be a familiar, given the unnatural appearance and dedication to its task.

"This had better be good. What is it?" The captain speaks up without turning around, though his head does tilt slightly in your group's direction.

>"Well, we had some important questions, sir..." (Write-in what you want to ask him about.)
>"We needed to report some alarming information about Mr. Silversmith..."
>Give up the act, attack and subdue him. You'll have free reign to look around everything in his office if you can pull it off without drawing attention.
>Something else? Write it in!

>>5919928
>"We needed to report some alarming information about Mr. Silversmith..."

>>5919928
>"We needed to report some alarming information about Mr. Silversmith..."

>>5919928
>"We needed to report some alarming information about Mr. Silversmith..."

>>5919935
>>5919964
>>5920043
Busy, busy day for me lads. Sorry for posting so late.
We're going to need to keep up the act for a bit, so roll for me Ramza's 7d10 to connive. This...will hopefully offset the fact that Gigas has 0 dice to connive, and Val only has 1. But their disguises should work as long as they keep their mouths shut! Right?
Well, go ahead and roll a 1d10 for Val and a 1d10 for Gigas as well, calling out who you're rolling for. On a 10, you can contribute a partial success. On a 1...well, don't roll a 1.

Rolled 1, 2, 2, 2, 9, 5, 3 = 24 (7d10)

>>5921050

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>5921050

>>5921054
Oh no.

Rolled 10 (1d10)

>>5921050

>>5921060
Why oh no? Triples are waaaayyy better than doubles.

We smashed it.

File: thumbs up.png (307 KB, 638x637)

307 KB PNG

>>5921121
Whew.

>>5921121
Uh I'd say this is Val since he was last listed

>>5921124
Ffs meant gigas. Reading is hard >.>

>>5921121
You overflow with boundless power. You have the soul of an emperor. Sacrificial Hero. Blessed by Primordial Luck.
I'll get to writing in the morning, as I have no energy whatsoever tonight with how busy my day was.

"We needed to report some alarming information about Mr. Silversmith..." You take the lead, jumping at the chance to take some action against the bastard. Ramza clears his throat though, giving you a clear sign - he wants to take the lead on this.

"That's right, we've discovered some frankly disturbing things about his doings. Namely that he's been using the damned pirates out there as private assassins and raiders of sorts." Ramza elaborates for you. "Merchants that don't fold under his control find their shipments hit, especially if the merchant themself is onboard."

"And do you have proof of these misdeeds?" The captain asks, tone still neutral.

"We do, sir. Not on us, but we certainly do."

"Then get rid of it." He commands, turning around to face the three of you now.

"Sir...?" Ramza sounds unsure.

"If you care to keep yourself and your families safe, then burn whatever it is you found. Forget everything you discovered, use magic to make it happen if you must." He instructs. "Silversmith's doings are none of your concern. The pirates that plague our great nation will play their part, and soon they'll be gone entirely. The stability of Lume demands sacrifice."

"Sir!" You find yourself raising your voice. "With all due respect, Lume doesn't belong in the pockets of a man like him. He's a snake that will poison everything that makes us great."

"Too right you are. But he's more of a worm, really." He chuckles, seeming to not take the conversation very seriously. "He believes he has everyone that matters bought out, but the Guard has never truly served anyone other than the fine people of Lume. Once he consolidates our economic power under one umbrella, rest assured...he'll be made to pay for every crime he committed on the way there. And when that happens, we'll be there to hold everything together, and make Lume great again." He holds a clenched fist up, speaking with surprising fire in his voice.

You hadn't expected this when you came in, not one bit. A planned military coup once all the Merchant Kings have been eliminated? You don't like the sound of that. It sounds like something that would end up destroying all the freedoms that have been ingrained into Lume's culture. And from what he said earlier, you can easily guess that pirates would face an incredibly harsh crackdown under military rule. Still...he harbors such a distaste for Felippe that you wonder if your group could manipulate him in some way to have him act sooner than later against the man. You don't doubt that the entire Guard backing you would make for a powerful ally.

>You've heard enough. Attack the Captain, end his ambitions here and now.
>Let Ramza do some talking to try to convince the captain into taking action against Felippe early.
>Pretend to agree with the captain entirely, and make an excuse to leave now that you've made your report.
>Shift gears, ask him about something. (What?)
>Write-in!

>>5921483
>>Let Ramza do some talking to try to convince the captain into taking action against Felippe early.

>>5921483
>Pretend to agree with the captain entirely, and make an excuse to leave now that you've made your report.

Yeah, we're not gonna get anything out of or from this guy.
Better to just play it off as being new recruits who don't know any better.

>>5921483
>Shift gears, ask him about something
"But if pirates are disorganzied little bands, aren't they elsa dangerous than Silversmith when he's at max power? Wouldn't it make more sense to manipulate them, sinc ethey'll never be strong enough to resist the same way?"

>>5921483
>Pretend to agree with the captain entirely, and make an excuse to leave now that you've made your report.

>>5921483

>Let Ramza do some talking to try to convince the captain into taking action against Felippe early.

But sir - he’s a sloppy actor, a loose cannon! He’s jeopardizing our plans to Make Lume Great Again! We have to shut him down now and find a replacement pirate who is actually competent! like us, for example

Of course, we can later betray this guy to the Merchant Kings because he is a fucking wackadoodle

>>5921559
>"We have to shut him down now and find a replacement pirate who is actually competent! like us, for example"
>Of course, we can later betray this guy to the Merchant Kings because he is a fucking wackadoodle
That's my ( >>5921495 ) thinking, too.

>>5921483
>"Then get rid of it."
LMAO
Though if I was the captain I'd probably lure the party into a false sense of security before imprisoning them and torturing them for information.

write-in:
>"I assume this plan for a coup isn't yours? No offense, but you don't seem like the thinking kind of person."
desu i think we should try to play the military and felippe against each other for an advantageous arrangement, or at least get more info before acting, as the military probably is a more dangerous faction than felippe and his allies. I'd wager Sato is probably behind this leniency with Felippe, as he's been established to be smart and well connected.

>>5921801
Am I confused, or isn't Sato from a different nation?

>>5921807

I think the anon is suggesting that there’s a secret techno-demon conspiracy (which Sato is a part of) and that this cabal is probably trying to do multiple things before the artificial Core pillar thing is activated.

Probably the technocultists think they can become immortal demons in a controlled transformation process, etc etc

>>5921807
aww shit, you're right, he's eldingarian. forget it then

>>5921559
>>5921483
>Support

If diplomacy fails I say we bash this cunt and forgery a document for the guards to raid silversmith. And lock the door behind us. We can kill silversmith during the raid. And hopefully no one will find the captain until after we finish the raid.

>>5921487
>>5921490
>>5921495
>>5921538
>>5921559
>>5921801
>>5921915
The general consensus appears to be:
>Let Ramza do some talking to try to convince the captain into taking action against Felippe early.
Excellent!
Now let's see if you have the rolls to back it up.
Make the same rolls for me as last time. 7d10 for Ramza, and 1d10 for Val and Gigas to see if they can support in any way.
Oh, and by the way, that 10 on Gigas was pretty clutch. I'll reduce his malus on Connive checks from -2 to -1 for it. He's still only got a single dice to roll for the situation though, so he can't actually make any pairs. He's just more on Val's level of conniving people instead of complete and total suckage.

Rolled 2, 2, 8, 4, 9, 4, 9 = 38 (7d10)

>>5922147
Quints go

Rolled 7, 9, 9, 9, 10, 9, 2 = 55 (7d10)

>>5922147

>>5922152
Damn 3 dubs

Ffs

Rolled 7 (1d10)

>>5922147
Ah, >>5922152 beta me to it. I'll roll for Val!

>>5922153
Fuuuccckkk I should of just did gigas
:(

Rolled 3 (1d10)

>>5922147
>>5922152
>>5922153
Still nice.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5922152
>>5922153
I'm a nice guy, and these are literally seconds apart. So let's flip a coin for it, I think it'll be more interesting that way.

>>5922158
Fuck yes. You're a legend mate. I'm assuming the bro is 2

The giga Chad's are in town boys

>>5922153
>>5922155
>>5922157
Quad 9s! Maybe Ramza really is the reincarnation of the great Pirate King Gaoth. Writing in the morning!

>>5921487
>>5921490
>>5921495
>>5921538
>>5921559
>>5921801
>>5921915
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL7S-NN3srk
"With all due respect, Captain...that plan is about as stupid as it gets." Ramza speaks up. Your eyes go wide and whip over to him, seeing Ramza's fists clenched tightly at his side.

"Is that so...? I suppose you're going to tell me why." The Captain says, surprisingly unoffended by the pushback.

"You're planning to let the second worst thing to ever happen to this country consolidate power, and hoping that he'll somehow be easier to take down like that than random groups of pirates." Ramza says with fire in his eyes. "You're letting a criminal that murdered his own father for the sake of claiming his family's fortunes get away with everything he wants to, on the promise that he'll one day pay for his sins. But all you're doing is letting him trod all over the people of Lume!"

"Mm...go on." The captain crosses his arms, leaning up against the transparent interior surface of the Eye. He seems hooked, hanging on your own captain's words now, considering them more seriously than before.

"We need to bring him in. Sooner, rather than later. Make everyone aware of his crimes so that he has nowhere to run, nobody left to help a traitor like that." Ramza continues, before raising a hand up to his helmet and slowly lifting it up to reveal his face in full. "And if you think that Pirates are a worse threat than men like Silversmith, then think again. All three of us are Pirates, and we want nothing more than to protect our people from scum. We're not so different, Captain. We both risk our lives every day for the sake of Lume."

The captain of the guard breaks out in laughter, seeming to shake his head in disbelief. "Pirates, right in my inner sanctum? I'm going to have to whip my men into shape, it looks like. But...I cannot deny the truth in your words, the fire your voice carries. I'll have to consider your proposal for a bit, of course, but damned if you don't make me want to leap into action right away."

"Sorry about the disguises. We didn't know any other way of getting into contact with you. None of the guards were willing to play ball." You speak up finally, lifting your own helmet up and off your head. Val can be seen doing the same. "I'd much rather be open about everything."

"That settles it, you're definitely a bunch of Blues. The Black pirates take any chance they can get to operate in the shadows. I'll tell you what - you tell me which crew you're with, and I'll look the other way with whatever you and they do for the time being. At least until we bring Felippe in, whenever I decide is best to do that. Consider it an official pardon, amnesty and all that." He says, pushing off the wall to take a few strides forward and offer his hand to Ramza. Ramza considers it for a moment, clearly trying to judge the man's words, before he seems to take a leap of faith and place his trust in the Captain, grabbing his hand and shaking it.

"We're with the Golden Mirage. I look forward to working with you to bring that bastard in - assuming you'll call on us when the time is right, sir." Ramza says. Though you can't see under the Captain of the Guard's helmet, you have a feeling he's smiling at that.

"You can count on that. Now, I'm going to be rather busy calling off a raid on the Golden Mirage, so if you'll excuse me..." He says, going to move past you three.

"Wait, what?" You ask.

"Oh, right. Yes, you came here just on time, actually. This afternoon we were going to head south to their - your - headquarters and deal with them. Silversmith's orders. I suppose he must have gotten jumpy about something...you don't have to worry about it, though. I'll keep my men here for the week, feed him some lines about some unexpected repairs delaying us. I should be able to make a decision on when I want to hit the fat little bastard by then." He explains.

"Looks like we cut it real close..." Val says.

"I'll say. The Core shines on us today, brothers..." You wipe some nonexistent sweat off your brow, as a show of your exasperation. "Let's hope it keeps doing so in the future."

The captain moves over to his desk, brushing his familiar and the papers it's working on aside for the moment to access a Communication Stone embedded in the surface, while your trio moves back to the elevator to head down. You can hear his announcement as you move down, his voice barking out orders to suspend the operation and resume normal activities for now. You both dodged a bullet and made a powerful ally today.

It doesn't take long to get back outside, nor back to the alley where you stashed those guardsmen. You change back out of their uniforms and loosen some of the nails to give them an easier time of getting out once they awaken, before quickly departing from the area, not wanting to stick around the scene of the crime for too long. The only question now is what to do next - because it looks like the Captain will need a bit of time to mull things over before he's ready to act.

>Get in touch with Threespice's underground elements now, maybe try to find this 'Lobo Chisaki' guy that supposedly has tons of contacts.
>Shake down some of Felippe's men, see if you can spend some time dismantling some of his operations or gathering more information on the best time or place to hit him.
>Make a visit to the city's Archives. You might be able to dig around for some valuable information amidst their massive collection of books and scrolls.
>Wander about the city and do some sightseeing, things aren't so pressing right now. (Random encounter - City!)
>Go back to the ship and take a few days to explore the areas outside the city some more, since you're not on as much of a timecrunch now. (Random encounters - Sailing!)
>Write-in?

>>5922782
>Get in touch with Threespice's underground elements now, maybe try to find this 'Lobo Chisaki' guy that supposedly has tons of contacts.

>Need yo get some eyes and ears and maybe new friends. we also go there to bet on some blood sports. Aka Gigas the Chad. Go make money. Then get some more magic from that demon.

>>5922804
>also ask the demon if he can help gigas with his memory or anything.

My overall idea is we get some allies and magic to better prepare for when the guard captain wants to gank silversmith.

>>5922782
>Get in touch with Threespice's underground elements now, maybe try to find this 'Lobo Chisaki' guy that supposedly has tons of contacts.

>>5922782
YEESH that was close.
>Get in touch with Threespice's underground elements now, maybe try to find this 'Lobo Chisaki' guy that supposedly has tons of contacts.

>>5922807
I think the demon merchant sort of faded away and vanished when we concluded business with him, if I understood correctly.

>>5922831
I've got invisible timers for a few different things. The raid on the Golden Mirage was one of them.
In the original tabletop run, the players didn't meet with the guards until they saw the ships returning with captured members of the crew, and had to stage a breakout before the executions happened the next day. They really got it down to the wire. Needless to say, they didn't find any allies in Lume's military forces.

The profane merchant is still at their stall, they just didn't feel like talking more at that time. If you went back with more business, they'd show themself again.

>>5922833
>the original campaign had the MCs ally with the Slave Captain and make enemies of the guards, not meeting Sato for a long time afterwards
>we killed the Slave Captain, met and befriends Sato almost immediately, then made allies of the guards
Next you're going to tell me they were pro-artificial spire and didn't goof off at the after-battle parties!

>>5922836
>Next you're going to tell me they were pro-artificial spire and didn't goof off at the after-battle parties!
They were anti-spire and pro-goofing off, natch. Pretty much the first thing they did when they got to Threespice was enter some local competitions and use their local fame to get some bitches.

>>5922807
You wanna drop a plot bombshell on Gigas right before it’s go time? You masochist

>>5922878
Might help us to know his past. Especially since we are main viewing through him right now. Seems right that we start looking into these slip ups and weird memories/dreams.

>>5922782

>Get in touch with Threespice's underground elements now, maybe try to find this 'Lobo Chisaki' guy that supposedly has tons of contacts.

Seems like a good plan

>>5922804
>>5922807
>>5922815
>>5922831
>>5923380
Time to see what the illegal scene in Threespice is like! Writing.
Sorry it took me so long to post, I slept an entire age away. I must be close to undergoing chrysalis soon or something.

File: Sunken Amphitheater.jpg (219 KB, 1024x1024)

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj7VafCmfrI
After a bit of discussion, your group ultimately decides that you should keep the momentum rolling to try to secure yet more allies - as leverage against the Guard if they decide to double-cross you if nothing else. With that in mind, the best place to look would be in the seedier establishments around town, to get some of the city's criminal elements on your side. Ramza remarks that he needs to meet with some guy called Lobo amongst their number, though you're not entirely sure why.

It really doesn't take long at all to find out where to go. While getting something to snack on at one of the many food stalls around, you unsubtly dropped hints at wanting to try your hand at some bloodsports. The merchant seemed quite familiar with the local scene, and directed you to a once-abandoned amphitheater that can be accessed through some old tunnel systems. You thank him in your usual boisterous manner, and the three of you quickly make your way there while you enjoy a light snack consisting of a variety of grilled meats and vegetables wrapped in one convenient yet thin bread package, topped with some flavorful sauces to seal the deal.

You entered into the tunnel system through a seemingly abandoned and delapitated building that was once some kind of warehouse. While walking through said tunnels, Val suddenly speaks up. "These have been worked on." He comments, gesturing to the walls.

"Hmm?" You tilt your head, looking at them. They look old and cracked to you, so his statement confuses you. "I don't see what you mean."

"The concrete was flash set with magic on the walls and ceiling, causing all of those cracks. But there's no grime on it, and unlike with the floor. Even the edges that wouldn't be walked on have grime. Even some moss growth. And based on the coloration differences combined with where these tunnels sit, this would have been underwater not too long ago. They must have drained it and reworked things within the past few years, I'm guessing."

"No shitting?"

"None." He nods. "The criminals here must be pretty handy."

"All the better for us, then." Ramza says with a grin.

You reach the end of the tunnels, exactly as the merchant told you to, where there stands a bare wall to block your progress. You passed several branching paths and doors on the way here, but you made sure not to go down any of them - supposedly, that would be a quick way to get lost. Instead, you're supposed to keep going straight, and knock on the wall in a specific pattern once you reach the end. You reach out and do so, your group holding their breaths in anticipation...

And the wall begins to slide apart from the middle with a grinding sound, an unseen mechanism parting the way for you. Beyond, you see weatherhed stone columns and an open area, shades of blue light illuminating everything from above. You step out to see that the amphitheater itself is submerged, with a bubble of air surrounding the majority of it.

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A tanned man wearing a bandana gestures out to the open area, a grin on his face. "Some new blood coming to the arena, eh? Welcome, welcome! Are you here to bet, or participate?"

"Participate." You say.

"Bet." Ramza says at the same time. You two look at each other, before switching it up.

"Bet." You correct yourself.

"Participate." Ramza fucks it up at the same time again.

The man chuckles, waving a hand. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're not sure yet. Take a look around first, maybe. See what floats your boat."

"Probably for the best." You say with a chuckle, holding your own hand out to the man. "Name's Gigas, by the way. Do you happen to know a man named Lobo?" You inquire for Ramza's sake.

"Know him?" He clasps your hand and gives it a firm shake. "I've been with him his whole life. We fought in the Stormwar together. I've saved his life countless times, you know. Hell, I even helped him pick up the hottest ladies from here to Eldingar."

"Can you introduce us to him?" Ramza asks, hopefully.

"Sure. Everybody, meet Lobo." The man says, pointing a thumb at his chest.

"You sonuva-" Ramza pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a sigh, dispersing his anger. "Of course you are."

"Works every time!" Lobo laughs, and you can't help but laugh with him. "See, that guy gets it. Glad to meet'cha, Gigas. And the rest of you?"

"Right, I'm Ramza, the Captain of our group for now. We're coming from Ship's Haven." He goes to shake Lobo's hand next.

"Val." The gunslinger says, tipping his hat simply rather than offering a handshake. You get it - he's not a very physical guy.

"So, what'd you want to find me for?" Lobo asks.

"Are you familiar with ancient Zephyrian?" Ramza pulls out that book he acquired from the Merchant Ship that Jahwal tried to raid.

"Not a lick." He admits with an animated shrug. "But I could find you someone who is, with the right motivation."

"Aw, come on, can't you do it as a favor for the Sparrow? You were his first mate once, right?"

"He owes me three favors already!"

"Damn that old man!"

"Hey hey, we're the same age, I can't have you callin him old. Because that means I'm old! And Lobo is in the prime of his life, damn it."

"Tchyea, sure." Ramza snorts. "So what kind of motivation are we talking here?"

"Oh, you know. Either some gold to grease the wheels, or you do me a favor first."

"I'll have to think about it, then. Let's switch gears though - tell me about this arena. What kind of fights go on here?"

"Whatever people are in the mood for, really. We've got man versus beast, man versus monster, BEAST versus monster, man versus man, even team fights. Gotta keep things varied if you want the money to keep rolling in."

"Can you bet on yourself?" You ask.

"Sure. But you can't bet against yourself, for obvious reasons. And if we find anyone trying to arrange for lost fights, we beat 'em until they learn their lesson. We have standards here, all our fights end with REAL results. So don't get any bright ideas about gaming the system, alright? You win or lose on your own merit, nothing else."

"I like the sound of that!" You beam. "It's just my style."

For the fights...
>Tell Ramza that you should do some fights first! (Choose what you want to fight - BEAST, MONSTER, MAN, or TEAM. You can also dictate a specific opponent with MAN, if you wanted to have that showdown with Val over who gets to be first mate now.)
>Tell Ramza that you want to watch a few matches first, get to gambling with the crowd around here.
>Write-in!

For Lobo's "motivation"...
>Pay him off. [-1000 Gold, covers his finder's fee and the translation fee from whoever he finds.]
>Do a favor for him, whatever it is he wants done. [Free, but requires legwork!]
>Write-in?

>>5923868

>Tell Ramza that you should do some fights first! (MONSTER)
>Pay him off. [-1000 Gold, covers his finder's fee and the translation fee from whoever he finds.]
We have plenty of gold anyway, and MIGHTY GIGAS can we some more lickety-split.

>>5923868
Gigas vs Man , then beast then, monster. Then the best fighter you got.

>bet on all of it. Save 1k gold.

>ask what he wants done but we may just pay him if that's easier.

>>5923868
>Fights
Gigas vs Beast.
Then Val vs Man - gunsligger High Noon duel time

On the gold...
>Bet all barring 1k on the two matches

On the motivation...
>Depends if fight bet are won

>>5923876
>>5923878
>>5923917
Looks like we're definitely fighting first. But there's a bit of contention on how many fights, and what the first fight should be, so uh...let's take it one step at a time. We'll vote on our FIRST fight, betting all but 1k on it, and then after that fight we'll see if we want to do more fights at all.
So, sub-vote time!
Choose your first opponent!
>A BEAST.
>A MONSTER.
>A MAN.

>>5924577
>A beast gigas

Next can be Val trying to one up him with a dual with human

>>5924577

>A MAN.

No men can stand against mighty Gigas!

>>5924577
>A MONSTER.
So no man can stand against Giags, it behooves us to fight something MEATIER.

Kek 3 way tie.

>>5924577
>Beast

>>5924577
>A MONSTER.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5924583
>>5924585
>>5924589
>>5924763
>>5924784
Tied again, drrrrat! I'll just have to handle it myself. With random chance, of course.
1: BEAST.
2: MONSTER.

Rolled 3 (1d4)

>>5924886
And another quick roll to determine what primary element for the monster you'll be facing from my carefully curated selection. Fire, Wind, Water, or Lightning.

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"Captain, can I-" You turn to Ramza, ready to beg for the chance to fight something solo.

"Holy shit, Gigas. You're a grown man, you don't need my permission to participate in an illegal underground fighting ring." Ramza cuts you off, shaking his head in an exasperated manner. "For one, I doubt I could stop you if you really wanted to do it."

"That's true. I was definitely going to do it regardless of your answer." You admit, chuckling. "Lobo! Bring the most dangerous monster you have to bear against the great and mighty Gigas!"

"The most dangerous, huh? That'll be a tricky fight for sure, but alright. I'll get the boys to bring in...hmm..." Lobo rubs his chin as he considers it for a few moments. He snaps his fingers once he sorts his thoughts out. "The Flaying Hydra! That should make for an interesting one."

Val goes to speak up, but you hold your hand up immediately, knowing what he was about to say. "Don't. I want it to be a surprise, my friend. It'll be more fun that way."

"...Your funeral." He replies, rolling his eyes.

"I dig the energy. Reminds me of myself when I was younger." Lobo says with a grin.

"Too bad your youth is so far in the past." Ramza pretends to lament.

"H-Hey!"

You, meanwhile, walk out into the center of the arena to wait for your match to start. You see some gold exchange hands between Ramza and some others, likely betting a fair amount of money on your match, and after about five minutes most everyone seems to be seated in the surrounding area. A trio of workers wheel in a sealed wooden box, about ten feet long in every dimension, and park it on the opposite edge of the arena from you. Two of them jam a crowbar into the edges and work it, while the third grabs a pole with an open bottle of ether attached to the top. He dangles it high above the box, wafting it around, when the side of the box is finally pried loose.

A mass of translucent blue tentacles, each ending in a vicious looking barbed hook, surge out of every gap they can find in the box. The vast majority of them reach for the ether, several of them seizing and crushing the bottle, while one or two try to swipe at the workers - thankfully, they seem experienced enough to expect this, and they dodged the underhanded blow handily. While the creature is toying with the liquid ether pouring onto its mass of tendrils, the workers quickly vacate the area. After but a few seconds, it grows dissatisfied with the miniscule amount of mana, and it slams the side of the box down onto the ground entirely as it surges out of its container.

It resembles a gigantic jellyfish, but far more vicious than any you've ever seen. You square up, bouncing on your heels as you get your blood flowing. You extend one hand out, and make a come-here gesture to taunt it. You're not sure if it can actually see such things or not, though, given how it lacks eyes.

>You might be able to end this in one strike, with Disrupt Mana to knock it out.
>Start defensive, get a feel for what it can do. Best play it safe with a possibly venomous cretaure.
>Gigas fears no jellyfish. Rip its tentacles apart, it will be defenseless afterwards.
>Punch this idiot in the bulbous 'head'.
>You could try to break off a piece of the box it came out of, to attack it without using your bare flesh.
>Got a different tactic? Write it in!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAhed4BCm-I If you want some music to listen to while we battle.

>>5925007
>Grab one of the tentacles and use the end as a knife to start cutting it apart

>>5925010
>You could try to break off a piece of the box it came out of, to attack it without using your bare flesh

>>5925007
>You might be able to end this in one strike, with Disrupt Mana to knock it out.
Tentacles aren't vital and can likely regenerate more readily; the central body contains the more useful organelles, I'd wager. Given its ether dependency, it's probably highly magical, too; disrupt its shit!

>>5925010
>>Punch this idiot in the bulbous 'head'.

>>5925062

Supporting, we can default to “Gigas SMASH” if this fails

>>5925062
>>5925010
>Support

Time to blast the mana from this monster

Rolled 8, 10, 5, 8, 1, 2, 1, 8 = 43 (8d10)

>>5925020
>>5925054
>>5925062
>>5925163
>>5925357
>>5925397
Disrupt Mana! A bold choice, considering how Gigas has bountiful reserves of mana but admittedly sucks ass with spellcasting. Let's see if that boldness pays off.
Your dicepool is 3d10! Since your allies aren't allowed to interfere in this one, it's just you rolling.
As for the monster, well...it's going to try to flay you, as in its namesake. Here's its roll!

Rolled 2, 9, 7 = 18 (3d10)

>>5925600

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>>5925610
>>5925600

>>5925610
>>5925613
You failed, but you lads can always add some RD to the end of this, if you want.
Would you like to add 2 Relationship Dice from Being The Strongest?
>Yes
>No

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>>5925616
>Yes

>>5925616

>Yes

Go ahead

Rolled 3, 2 = 5 (2d10)

>>5925619
>>5925620
Alright lads, let's see if that works out for you, then. Adding these two dice to the end of your previous roll!

As soon as you begin to redirect the flow of mana in your body into your fist, the hydra takes it as a sign to jump into action. With surprising speed, it jets through the air, reorienting itself so that the mass of tentacles are all poised and ready to rip into you. The spell in your hand is only half-formed when it comes upon you, and a shout of surprise catches in your throat as you try to sidestep to avoid it.

You're nowhere near fast enough, and no less than a dozen hooks stab themself into the vulnerable flesh of your face. A burning, electric pain immediately shoots through your body, nearly causing you to drop the spell. It's a torturous sensation unlike anything you've ever felt before, and unfortunately your debilitation is only added to by the blood dripping from your head and into your eyes, obstructing your vision. But you trust in your strength to pull you through this, white hot anger taking the place of agony. Anger in yourself for not being quicker, but mostly anger towards the Hydra for daring to inflict such pain on you to begin wtih. You lash out with a bite at the very tendrils that are assaulting you right now, severing a few of them in your fury and causing the creature to write in pain at the unexpected tactic. What's a little more poison to someone like you?

The spell finishes forming in that moment, and you bring your fist up to slam it into the bulbous bell-like head of the monster. With a crackling flash of electricity, almost like a bolt of lightning striking it, the mutated jellyfish shudders and spasms fiercely. You keep pumping mana into the effect until you're almost tapped out, with just the barest reserves left over. By then, the Flaying Hydra seems to almost be boiling from the energy you're pouring into it...no, it's not boiling. Blue bubbles of pure mana are separating from it, alongside a few similar bubbles of dangerous red Soul. Soon, the entire monster pops like it was a balloon you took a needle to, and it dissolves into the sickly purple essence you've come to associate with its kind. It must have been particularly susceptible to a technique like that...

You can't really focus on that, however, your mind feeling hazy from the combined pain and rage. You think the venom coursing through your veins probably isn't helping much. You clutch your bleeding face and stagger forward, looking around like a wild beast for the next monster to slay but finding none. So instead, you roar out a challenge.

"Where is my next foe? Come, and fight me, coward!"

-2 Face! At 0 face! Excess damage overflows to Brains! At 0 Brains!

"Holy shit, Gigas, calm down. You won your fight!" You hear a familiar voice call out, but you can't really remember who it belongs to. You turn to look at the man who said it, but that offers you no further insight with how obscured your vision currently is. "Val, heal the man." You hear the mysterious figure follow up.

"Right." Another familiar voice says, which must belong to this 'Val' character. Your spine tingles, as you can feel him charging up a spell - healing, then, given what the other one said? That doesn't sound too bad right now, so you graciously allow him to cast it without caving his skull in. A few moments later, you're glad you did so, as a wave of relief flows through your body - and your thinking becomes clear again, to boot. He holds the spell a little longer than you'd expect, possibly due to the extent of your injuries.

+1 Brains Healed, now at 1/1 again. +2 Face healed, now at 2/2 again.

You wipe the blood from your face now that it's no longer pouring out of open wounds, aided by the fact that Lobo steps up and offers you a towel to help with the task. Right after, he raises grabs one of your wrists and raises it up.

"Eliminated with a single spell, ladies and gentlemen! Give it up for Gigas!" He announces with a grin, and indeed, the spectators seem to have loved the showing based on their roaring applause. When did that start? You don't remember, but you were so focused on the battle it might have eluded you. "Congratulations, man. Flaying Hydras as deadly to most. I didn't expect you to take it on without any kind of weapon like that." He adds at a more normal volume, just for you to hear.

"I like the feeling of using my fists. But I probably should keep a backup weapon on me, it's true." You offer a tired chuckle. It was a very quick fight, but a surprisingly exhausting one.

"Oh, right. I should probably get rid of that Venom in you before it deals any more damage. Tricky enemy - you can heal the wounds just fine, but the venom stays with you unless you purge it." Lobo changes topics suddenly, snapping his fingers as he remembers something. He fishes out a fire catalyst from his pocket, and focuses his energy into you. A warm sensation fills your chest, rising up to your head as a foul-smelling purple gas escapes from your pores. The purification spell seems to work perfectly, forcing the toxins from your body in a near instant.

"Ahh, that's good...what does their poison do, anyways?" You ask out of curiosity. You know, you feel more energetic now...maybe something to do with the venom?

"It's a soporific, shit'll send you into a coma as long as it's in your system. And it never leaves your system without the help of magic. Those things are pretty nasty - they like to capture people and animals and slowly feed off their mana over the course of several days. If they're especially hungry, they just carve you up wholesale and try to devour you all at once." He explains.

"Ah...that's pretty bad." You agree. Unable to think of anything else to say, you step out of the arena to go meet up with your friends once more, casually wringing the bloodied towel out onto the floor when you get to them. Ramza looks disturbed by it, but Val takes it in stride.

"Feeling better?" Val asks.

"Loads." You nod.

"You went a little crazy there at the end." Ramza tells you.

"Eh." You shrug. "Heat of the moment, I suppose. I just know that I was incredibly pissed off. Bastard's hooks really hurt, you know."

"Right, well...I suppose we now know that you just double down when it comes to pain." Ramza gives a nervous chuckle. "Anyways, I've got some pretty good news. We almost doubled our money thanks to some solid bets. I placed everything but a grand on you there, so good work not dying. I've just gotta go collect the winnings now."

>Stop him, say that you want to do some more fights, and he can bet some more on them.
>Let him collect his winnings, just the one fight was enough for you. You'll be low on mana until an hour or so passes anyways, even if your wounds are healed.
>Suggest that Ramza or Val do some fights of their own.
>Write-in?

In case you're curious, it was a surprisingly close exchange. You'd go down and be incapacitated once THREE of your stats go down to 0. You had two at 0, since that triple 8 it had targeted your face and overflowed into brains, your two lowest stats. It was a dangerously lucky opening strike for it. The venom would have made things even harder for you if it went on, too.

>>5925916
>Let him collect his winnings, just the one fight was enough for you. You'll be low on mana until an hour or so passes anyways, even if your wounds are healed.

>>5925916

>Let him collect his winnings, just the one fight was enough for you. You'll be low on mana until an hour or so passes anyways, even if your wounds are healed

We can always come back later now that we’ve won a big fight to start

>>5925916
>Suggest Val and Ramza go for a round let's double that money again! Team fight!

I think Man would be good.

>>5925917
Lucky GIGAS IS A MOTHERFUCKIN CHAD AYYYY BOIS

>>5925916
>Suggest that Ramza or Val do some fights of their own.
It's fun! :)

>>5925917
Bah, just keeps things interesting for UNSTOPPABLE GIGAS!

Any lurkers wanna help break zis tie?

>>5926508
>>Suggest that Ramza or Val do some fights of their own.

Am >>5913748

>>5925956
>>5925975
>>5926231
>>5926257
>>5926601
>Suggest that Ramza or Val do some fights of their own.
Additional fights, teammate edition, wins! As I'm not going to be able to update today or tomorrow because of being mcfuckin busy yet again, I'll hold a followup vote.

>Just Ramza. (Man, Beast, or Monster)
>Just Val. (Man, Beast, or Monster)
>Ramza and Val together. (Team Fight only)
>All three of you together. (Team Fight only)

>>5926677

>All three of you together. (Team Fight only)

Lets go for maximum showboating

>>5926677
>Ramza and Val together. (Team Fight only)

>>5926677
>All three of you together. (Team Fight only)

>>5926677
>All three of you together. (Team Fight only)

Pfft gigas watching others fight? Nah he's always down

>>5926678
>>5926691
>>5926834
>>5927000
The gang that fights together wins together. Probably!
Thank you for putting up with another one of my breaks, we should be uninterrupted for a good while from here on out, barring unforeseen circumstances. I'll get to writing now!

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"Actually," You place a hand on Ramza's shoulder to stop him from walking off. "I think we should let it ride."

"Hoh? Planning to fight some more?" He turns to regard you curiously.

"In a sense. I think we should do a team fight. All three of us! It'll be fun." You say with a grin.

"...It could do well to show off what we're capable of." Val admits.

"Good points, good points..." Ramza rubs his chin as he considers it for a few moments. "What the hell, why not? If nothing else, it's good practice. One doesn't become the next King of Pirates by slacking!"

"That's the spirit, brother!" You clap him on the back, sending him stumbling forward once again. Damn it, Ramza, you twig - if you'd just bulked up a bit that wouldn't happen ever single time! You make sure not to voice that to him, though - you're sure he's probably sensitive about the teeny tiny nature of his muscles compared to your glorious guns.

"Damn it, Gigas! You're going to make me split my face open on the ground doing that shit one of these days. You really gotta get your strength under control, man." He gripes, making you feel suddenly sheepish. You may or may not have a bit of red in your face now, and you purposefully look off to the side to avoid any kind of eye contact.

"Right." Is all you really say.

Ramza heads back over to Lobo to sign you all up, who seems to be directing people in taking the empty box back out of the arena. Already, a new box is being brought in, and an unfamiliar figure stands opposite of the box, no doubt the next contender in the monster matches. His attire is a mishmash of different elements similar to Val's, though his hat is considerably less pointy than your resident spellslinger's, and he has notably armoured limbs. Rather than a bandana covering the man's mouth, he seems to have a birdlike mask that obscures the entirety of his face, with thick smoky lenses for him to peer out of - you have the feeling that it should remind you of something, but you're not sure what. Your attention is snapped off him with Ramza calls out to you.

"Hey, get over here!" He commands, and you oblige, jogging over to him. Val seems to do the same, flanking your captain's oppsite side.

"What's up?" You ask.

"We...need a name, for our little group, apparently." Ramza states, Lobo nodding along.

"Every group needs a good name. And don't expect to just use the Golden Mirage's, one day you'll be your own crew. I can feel it. Plus, that's kind of Sparrow's thing - he likes to cultivate good talent and set them out to grow into their own. I wouldn't doubt it if this whole mission you're on is part of his plan to make you spread your wings." Lobo reveals.

"No joke?" You ask, and Lobo nods. "I didn't expect that. He really thinks we're good enough to go it on our own, huh?"

"Obviously." Ramza says, that usual smug look on his face as he jerks a thumb towards himself. "We're the best of the best in the Golden Mirage, and he didn't exactly give us any backup for this mission. Just told us to go out and figure it out ourselves, pretty much. Honestly, I thought you'd have known the whole time!"

"You didn't consider it at all before now, did you?" Val gives Ramza an unamused look.

"S...Sure I did." Ramza fails to convince him. "But anyways, yeah. Lobo says we need a name, so we need a name. Let's workshop that shit real quick. But, uh...you know, it might stick with us for quite a while, so let's try to put our brains together to come up with something good.

>What do you want to call your group? Much like the Golden Mirage, this will essentially be what your pirate crew will go by going forward, regardless of what ships they have available to them.

>>5928498
>Trinity
Play on our 3 founders, with different strength.

>>5928498

What about “the Golden Trio”? I dunno I’m bad at this stuff

>>5928498
>The MCs
>Every time someone asks what "MC" stands for, give a different answer.

>>5928498
Th Stormchasers. We go looking for trouble, and it alludes to that epic maneuver we pulled off to seize that wind catalyst a while back.

>>5928498
>Tri-force

Kek

(I'm not super fussed ill back any name.)

>>5928504
>>5928509
>>5928527
>>5928570
>>5928668
Alright, we've got a clear selection, but also no more than one vote for each possibility. I'll compile these into a proper vote, and add a few of my own in case you might prefer a different choice than the ones already voiced.
Vote for whichever one you like the MOST:
>Trinity
>The Golden Trio
>The MCs
>The Stormchasers
>Tri-force
>Serpent's Bane
>Eternal Glory
>Freedom's Apostles

>>5928987
Trinity

>>5928989
>support
>>5928987

>>5928987
>The Stormchasers

>>5928987
Trinity

>>5928987
>The Stormchasers

>>5928989
>>5929124
>>5929142
>>5929261
>>5929276
It's a close vote, but with 3 to 2, Trinity wins! The Trinity Pirates are born today. Their legend is destined to go down in history. Writing!

>>5929142
>>5929276
*Shake hands to Stormchaser gang*
That was a good name. Better luck next time.

File: The Melee Specialist.jpg (127 KB, 900x1400)

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You wouldn't say your discussion was quick. In fact, there was a ton of back and forth between not just yourselves, but Lobo as well thanks to the input he gives. A lot of names are thrown around like "The golden trio" and "Eternal Glory", but nothing quite felt right until you got to two of them. Stormchasers and Trinity, both of which sounded quite good in your opinion. It came down to a vote on it between the three of you - Lobo abstaining because he wasn't actually a member of your crew, citing that it wouldn't be right - and in the end Trinity won out two to one. To be honest, you hesitated on your own vote, and could have easily gone for the other choice if you hadn't decided to say 'fuck it' and pick a side at random.

"Right. That settles it. From now on, we're going to be Trinity." Ramza declares.

"The Trinity Pirates, huh...?" Lobo rubs his chin with a grin. "I like the sound of it. It's got a clear origin point, and lots of symbolism you can bullshit people into believing. Which, if you ask me, is everything you need for a good crew name."

"Exactly! So, now that we have a name, can you sign us up for a team fight?"

"Sure. I've actually got a group that's been waiting around all morning for one to pop off, but they haven't had anyone else sign up for teamfights yet." Lobo says, gesturing over to a different trio. Among them is that gunslinger you noticed getting into a monster fight right after yours, coincidentally. Flanking him is an older man sporting an eyepatch, who looks about as muscular as you are surprisingly enough, and a younger guy that you could easily mistake for a noble with how fancy his clothes are. The younger one actually locks eyes with you as you're checking his group out, giving the smuggest smirk you've ever seen on anyone outside of Ramza and brushing some hair out of his eyes before he refocuses his attention on talking to his teammates.

"They look tough. Great!" You exclaim, smashing your knuckles together a few times. "I can't wait for a real fight. That hydra went down way too quickly!"

"I don't like the looks of that smug bastard. I'm gonna wipe that look off his face for sure." Ramza chimes in. Val, having nothing to say, double checks his weapons to make sure they're ready to go.

Lobo peels away from your group to head over to the center of the arena, throwing his arms wide. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we've got a treat for today! We finally have enough competitors for a Team Fight! Make sure to watch closely, because you won't want to miss one moment of the action. Today, it's going to be the Trinity Pirates up against the Black Rose Pirates! Gentlemen, take your places at opposite ends of the arena!" He announces at the top of his voice, some manner of wind magic augmenting it to be even louder.

File: The Leader.jpg (71 KB, 500x1150)

71 KB JPG

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-ijkmK2xh0

You do as told, flanking Ramza with Val as you step up. You see that the younger looking one seems to be in the middle, while the big guy is staring you down and the gunslinger is staring Val down. You crack your knuckles expectantly.

"Three!"

You subtly shift your stance, getting ready to move as soon as things start.

"Two!"

Val's hands hover over his pistols, ready to use them at a moment's notice.

"One!"

Ramza's hand wraps around his mageblade's handle, while his opposite hand sneaks behind his back to hold onto one of the daggers hidden behind it in case he needs it sooner.

A pistol barks out, a blank shot into the air by Lobo. You spring into action!

Gigas will...
>Charge someone and beat them black and blue. (Who?)
>Hang back and cast Slipstream to make either you or one of your allies faster. (Who?)
>Play defensively for yourself and your allies, as a protector.
>Write-in!

Ramza will...
>Cast Flashfire immediately, while they're all grouped together.
>Throw some daggers at one of them. (Who?)
>Get in and start attacking one of them with your mageblade. (Who?)
>Write-in!

Val will...
>Shoot at one of them. (Who?)
>Try to shoot something specific on one of them, aiming precisely. (Who, and what? A specific bodypart, or an item on their person?)
>Cast Disrupt Mana on one of them. (Who?)
>Write-in!

>>5929652
>Play defensively for yourself and your allies, as a protector.
>Cast Flashfire immediately, while they're all grouped together
>Shoot at one of them (their gunslinger)
If we pin them down and take out their ranged capabilities, then we have them at our mercy! Maybe!

>>5929662

Supporting

>>5929652
>Charge someone and beat them black and blue. (Who?)
Gunslinger. He should be the weakest in melee.
>Cast Flashfire immediately, while they're all grouped together.
>Cast Disrupt Mana on one of them. (Who?)
The smug one.

>>5929652
>Hang back and cast Slipstream to make either you or one of your allies faster. (Who?)

Self let's zerg their gunslinger bet he sucks at cqb.

>Cast Flashfire immediately, while they're all grouped together.

SUPPRESSING FIRE.

Shoot their gunslinger.