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>>5952624
"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing to my cat!?" Sakura shouts as she storms into the kitchen. She falls immediately into a ready stance to attack.

The stance looks strong, and the younger girl looks very confident. There's no doubt in her mind that if she was forced to fight, she'd win. There is not one iota of recognition in your little sister's eyes. Your cat squirms in your arms and meows pathetically for help.

"Dat stupid bitch ain't alone! There's a kid somewhere in the house!" The NHK man sputters as he struggles to remove the ropes binding him. While you were scrambling to grab Kizaemon the cat, it's clear that Sakura had taken the opportunity to untie the ropes on your would-be victim.

There's no way to smooth things over and talk your way out of this.

But it's your main go to solution, even in the face of a situation this hopeless.

"Sakura, uh, I can explain!" You blurt out and watch the younger girl eye twitch in disbelief.

"I don't know who you are but talk is useless!" Sakura declares and charges forward to grapple. The movement is smooth and swift...

>Ward her off by using Kizaemon the cat as a shield "I HAVE A HOSTAGE"...
>Kick the kitchen table into her...
>Use your ice power to make her slip... (generates backlash, and the World is a WATCHING...)
>Toss the cat in the hallway leading to the library... (leaves you vulnerable to Sakura's attack)
>Bullrush her with the cat in your arms, hopefully you can escape...
>write in....

>>5952626
>>Bullrush her with the cat in your arms, hopefully you can escape...

>>5952626
>>Ward her off by using Kizaemon the cat as a shield "I HAVE A HOSTAGE"...

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5952747
>>5952770
I guess I'll roll.
1 for bullrush, 2 for hostage taking

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A thought flashes in your head as you instantly react to your sister's charge by counter-charging.

You're pretty sure Sakura likes Kizaemon too much to risk hurting her. That surely would stymie any truly aggressive maneuver since you hold the cat. In fact, you could take advantage of that by using the cat as a... What are you even thinking? Using your cat as a shield!?

Your best bet for escape is to knock Sakura aside and get out of the house!

Kizaemon, safely locked in your arm, squirms and struggles to escape in vain, all while yowling in protest at the sudden acceleration of your advance.

You feel a strange sensation. Everything seems very slow, like a trickle of molasses wending a ponderous trail down a pane of glass. You can even see the eyes of your little sister widening with shock in slow motion at your sheer speed and the audacity to attack.


You carefully aimed your shoulder towards her chest to better shield your cat from the shock of impact. Then ram it into her body and knock out the very breath from her lungs.

Automatic success

Well trained in martial arts or not, your little sister is only 14 years old, and you've gotten quite a power boost. It is remarkably easy to knock your sister back and rush past her afterwards. You step into the living room and aim to exit.

"This is payback!" The NHK man grabs you around the waist. He barely slows down your escape though; you are strong enough to drag him along to the hallway where Yatagarasu is busy jumping into his shopping bag to pretend he's a stuffed doll.

At first, it annoys you that he isn't escaping under his own power, but then remember that anyone witnessing him move and speak causes additional backlash.

The World is watching. What happens if more backlash is generated? The answer is unclear, and you get the implication that it would be deeply unpleasant.

"Yatagarasu, hold onto Ki-chan!" You shout and drop the yowling cat into the shopping bag. A startled Yatagarsu grabs on to the ball of hissing feline violence at your command. The cat is a tornado of claws and fangs; scratches and bites clearly hurt the goat, but Kizaemon cannot escape his grasp.

"Who the hell are you even talking to!?" The portly man screams, unable to see from his position, what you're doing.

"None of your business!" You say this while easily prying the arms off with your superior strength. Your fingers dig into the soft flesh of the older man, the bruises will be gigantic. Also, the pain is clearly too much for the attacker, as he gasps in agony and lets go. With a powerful shove, you throw him back into the living room.

You reach over to grab the backpack and shopping bag.

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>>5954081
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Sakura attempts to grab you again but misses. She ends up grabbing the backpack instead. Irritation gives way to horror, as this is clearly too much force for the fabric of the backpack. A small rip forms in the mesh, and small items start bulging in the gap. If this keeps up, things will start spilling out.

And small things do start spilling out!

"Damn it, Sakura, I don't have any time for this!"

You have no choice. You give Sakura a quick kick to the guts to make her let go, but the force of the blow and her refusal cause the rip in the backpack to become gaping wide.

"Your Majesty, we need to find a Gate! Try a shrine or unique location!" Your guide yelps out as he tries to control the wild cat in his arms. He is struggling to stuff Kizaemon into his knapsack within the confines of the shopping bag.

A unique place...

>Try Hachiman Shrine...
>Try the house owned by an alleged cultist...
>Try the local playground...
>Try your school....
>Try the kendo dojo...
>Try the local koban police box...
>write in

>>5954084
>>Try Hachiman Shrine...

>>5954084
>Try Hachiman Shrine...

>>5954084
>>Try your school....

>>5954084
>Try Hachiman Shrine...

I kinda want to see the cultist house but maybe not when we're chased by our sister.
Though Yatagarasu did yell shrine so we might expect to find some policemen milling around if we're not quick enough and Sakura calls the police.

>>5954186
>>5954169
>>5954111
>>5954102
Shrine it is.

>>5954084
>>Try the kendo dojo...

Will post tomorrow.
Got distracted reading up on Vikings for King Lot lore.
Picts and Celts for research too is next.

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You don't know exactly what the guide means by 'unique place'. Unique in what sense? There's no time to ask, and quite frankly, the general terminology of the Baphomets is too ambiguous and imprecise. You've already had the pleasure of experiencing that. 'Quests' for any type of sortie within and without Avalon, or 'Relics' which could mean things that can be broken down to yield Mana or items that simply don't melt away into nothingness when brought into Avalon.

You can't assume your definition of 'unique' is the same as what Yatagarasu deems 'unique' for his purposes.

But a shrine. Well, that's very well defined. Tokyo has thousands of shrines! Shrines in strange hidden alleyways, corners, large parks, on rooftops, and more. In your neighborhood alone, there are several, and they're close to your house. Shoving your feet into your shoes with practiced ease, you make your escape. Despite the burden of carrying the torn backpack and Yatagarasu in his shopping bag with the cat, your superior strength and endurance shine. You've never run so fast in your life; the physical power gained by becoming King is eye-opening. Walking students and other pedestrians are startled at how quickly you run and dive out of your way.

"YOU ARE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Sakura screams in rage and chases after you. There are some things that just don't change, it seems; your little sister's stubbornness remains untouched by your disappearance. Fortunately, she's not capable of keeping up with your running. If you keep up this pace, there is no way she'll catch up to you.

You soon have to eat your words.

A teenage boy appears around a blind corner, and you are not able to dodge in time. Your eyes lock with their startled eyes, realizing the inevitable crash to come. It is a mighty one. You tumble head over feet, barely keeping a grip on your bags. Yatagarasu yelps in pain. When you finally come to a stop after rolling a few times, you look up to snarl at the obstacle you ran into.

The words die on your lips.

You know him. Goddamn it! Why is your older brother coming home at this hour?
The World hates you.

Well, if that's the case, you hate the World right back!

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>>5956009
"Big bro, stop her!!! She kidnapped Ki-chan!" Sakura screams from a distance away as Touma struggles to rise back to his feet.

"What? Who took the cat?" Your older brother groans in confusion and looks at you with annoyance. There is no recognition in his eyes.

It hurts to see that your older brother has no memory of you. You can't bear to imagine how your mother and father would react if they saw you. Will it be the same neutral face? An oblivious distracted air of a person walking by another stranger on the street?

You can't stick around. You get back up on your feet and start running down a certain alleyway. The twisting and turning path will hopefully lose your pursuers. You are on home ground; you know the way. And the way leads towards a certain small shrine of Hachiman, the Shinto God of War. It is a puny shrine, the size of a closet. It is also very easy to miss, even with the banners hanging just outside it. There must be some sort of caretaker; the shrine is always cleanly swept, and the coins are collected by someone.

When you come to a stop in front of it, Yatagarasu hops out of his shopping bag. He's injured; the scratches on his face are deep and bleeding, and there are bruises from the crash earlier. Yet he does not hesitate to bring out his chalk and start marking up the pillars of the shrine with strange runes and drawings.

"Hurry up, my good goat; my brother and sister are pretty damn stubborn people. They won't easily give up," you keep a nervous look out.

"Aye, I know it. But I must write it all out correctly, meep." The little goat man curses under his breath as he eyes his runes to ensure they are correct. The strange drawing and runes glow faintly red, then start squirming as though alive.

At the end of the alley, you catch a glimpse of your furious sister running by. You hope, in vain, she didn't see you, but backtracking foot falls show that she is doubling back to your alleyway.

"THERE SHE IS!" Sakura shouts, and soon your brother joins her at the entrance of the alley. Together, they charge towards the shrine.

"Tis done! Pray, your Majesty!" Pray to the Gods!" Yatagarasu shouts as he points towards the shrine. The scribbling make no sense to you, it is all over the pillars and shrine doors.

>three anons, roll 1d20

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>5956010

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>5956010

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>5956010

>>5956130
>>5956154
>>5956165
so a total of 21
got it

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Of all the things you imagined being requested to do by your guide, praying to a God is definitely not one of them. The unusual request causes you to pause and gather your thoughts when time is of the essence. Your siblings are hellbent on getting back Kizaemon the cat, and they aren't going to be gentle about it. Especially given that they are martial artists! Spending a few seconds baffled is not an optimal decision.

But...

How do you appeal to a Kami in this situation? Do you just do the bog standard kashiwade? Should you attempt to figure out how to purify before praying? Should you give an offering? Wait, do you even have anything that you can part with as an offering?

"MEEP MEEP MEEP!" The panicked Yatagarasu throws his hands up in the air and starts running around like a headless chicken. There's no place for him to hide in time before being seen, and that will build up more backlash.

Or perhaps trigger it since the World hates you. Specifically you, somehow.

Two bows, two claps, and a final bow.

Humble prayers from a humble girl. There breaks on me, burning upon me, a blaze from the hateful World. Deliver me to Avalon, God of the Eight Banners.

When you finish your prayer, nothing seems to happen. Did it fail? The shrine looks the same as always; should there be a portal opening up? What are you going to do now? Yatagarasu monitors the pillars where he wrote the runes carefully, sweating and shaking with tension. Then suddenly you see the runes and pictures start twisting and changing. They rush up to the roof, they bury themselves into the ground, they enter the sacred inner sanctum or reappear else. You have no idea what's going on, and there's no time to think. Your older brother, Touma, grabs you by the collar of your shirt.

"Got ya! Where's the cat?!" Touma shouts at you as he manhandles you. You barely keep to your feet from the sudden dragging and pulling. He's too focused on you; he doesn't realize Yatagarasu is standing in the shrine.

Unfortunately, your little sister has the luxury of surveying the surrounding area and immediately notices the Baphomet and the strange chalk writing schizophrenically rushing around the shrine.

"What the hell is that?" Sakura stares at the goat man and moving runes—her first glimpse of the supernatural.

The World has been waiting for that moment. It pounces.

HATE UNLEASHED! BACKLASH TRIGGERED

"What?! How is that possible!? It's too early for that!" Yatagarasu shouts in disbelief.

"Fuck my life." You're good with words, but no amount of eloquence and wit can change what happens to you next.

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>>5956751
Pain. A pain that completely annihilates rational thought as you burst into heatless flames. Your older brother immediately lets go of your shirt and backs off in panic. But this isn't a typical fire; there's no choking black smoke, unbearable heat, or the smell of charring flesh. It doesn't even spread to other things.

But it is very painful.

You must be screaming in pain. Your throat feels raw, but you don't hear your own voice. You must present an unnerving sight to your shocked siblings. The appalling sight leaves them rooted on the spot and leaves them utterly aghast at your pain.

It's as Yatagarasu says, the World will chew you up. When it will spit you out to Avalon is unknown. You collapse on the unyielding concrete

"MEEEEEEEP!" Yatagarasu rushes forth and grabs you despite the flames. With his meager strength, he starts dragging you roughly over the ground towards the pillars of Hachiman Shrine. The shoulder strap of the backpack your guide is using to drag you along snaps, causing the goat man to trip and flail on to the ground. He gets up immediately to grab you by the arms; the backpack leaves a trail of fallen items before sliding off your body. It lies abandoned and alone; the supernatural flames have burned nothing. How long is it taking him to drag you away? Seconds?

You think your siblings are trying to say something; they are now moving towards your flaming body. They waited too long; Yatagarasu is too far ahead. Though it felt like an eternity until the Baphomet dragged you through the pillars.

The pain stops in an instant, and the fire goes out. The clear skies of Tokyo above are replaced by the gray clouds of Avalon. Rain pelts you and wind whistles in your ear as gravity works its magic of drawing you back to the earth.

"MEEP! Your Majesty, can you hear me!? MEEP! We're falling down to the cruel seas."

The wind is so strong, it's hard to make out the words. Yet, you heard him. So out of hellfire and into the ice-cold sea, is it? Your prayer to Hachiman must have sucked; he is, after all, a War God. Hearing a desperate plea to escape probably wasn't very appealing to such a brave martial Kami.

When you hit the water, you don't recall much. Darkness, water, white bubbles of air, the gigantic parting of water, and its suffocating return to smother you. You feel very alone. Where did Yatagarasu go?

Your slack body floats upward to the surface. Breaching the divide of water into air, you draw a deep breath and simply float. The waves heave around you, and the rain continues to fall. It's a rough sea, and feels as though it is getting rougher.

You need to swim; find your guide.

Ah, you are so tired

>2 anons, roll 3d6 each!

Rolled 3, 4, 5 = 12 (3d6)

>>5956753
JAPANESE JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL

Rolled 4, 3, 5 = 12 (3d6)

>>5956753

>>5956906
>>5957007
2 successes

Tired or not, you need to find your guide. Without him, you're lost in Avalon and forced to look for a way back to Camelot by yourself. Who knows how long that will take on your own.

The waves block your viewpoint at times as they heave upwards and downwards. You bob on the surface, catching glimpses of the horizon and sky in between each undulation. There's a dark shape off in the distance to the left, but you are not interested in that quite yet.

"Yatagarasu! Where are you?" You shouted out. The wind and crashing water seem louder than your voice. Yet out there is a series of distressed 'meeps' that can only come from a Baphomet. The crest of the wave rises upwards and shows a frantic goat man attempting to swim towards you.

With powerful strokes of your arm, you close the distance despite everything working against you.

"Your Majesty! Mmwaapep!" The guide attempts to speak but instead gets a mouthful of cold salt water. If you hadn't found him, it's likely the Baphomet would have drowned. You grab the exhausted goat man and get to climb onto your back to rest while you swim.

The next few hours in the water are an exhausting journey through swelling waves, relentless rain, and roaring winds. There are moments when you hallucinate that the land ahead is drifting further away, but with each armstroke, the land draws nearer and nearer. It is a craggy, exposed black rock, a tiny island lashed by the salty waves. But it's solid ground where you can rest from your weary journey without fear of drowning, so it might as well be a paradise at this moment.

When your weary foot touches the solid rock beneath, you stagger onto the island, exhausted. When you get to the middle of the lonely island, where the waves cannot reach, you sit down to rest. The rain isn't likely to stop any time soon. The weary Baphomet struggles to grab a tarp from his pack to try and keep the rain off you.

Opening the flap of the backpack was a bad idea. The infuriated Kizaemon the cat leaps out from the darkened depths, screaming and yowling her displeasure at being stuffed away. The yowling gives way to pathetic mewling and meowing at her sudden contact with rain.

"BWAH! HISS! MEW! HISS! I'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS! AAAAAH WATER! HORRIBLE HORRIBLE WATER!"

Your cat is talking. In fact, she sounds exactly like the dream you had of her. You are too tired to feel shocked. Avalon grants strange abilities to those who are accepted into its embrace. So why not grant a cat the ability to speak? It wouldn't be the oddest thing in this world.

>>5957630

You set up the tarp with Yatagarasu and huddle underneath it, shivering with cold. Kizaemon barely hides her dismay that she must share the flimsy shelter. She sits in the middle and glares with displeasure.

"Look, Ki-chan, it's either being stuck here with us in Avalon or you get 'corrected' by the World. Cut me some slack; I saved your life." You sigh at the unrelenting glare of the wet feline.

An imperious snort is the answer back. You reach out to try and pet her, but she swats your hand away.

"Forsooth, the Relic creature has been embraced by Avalon. She'll be in no danger of disappearing. Though I wonder, as a living creature, mayhap the rules of Avalon are different?" Yatagarasu speculates as he lies on the wet sand, unable to move. He is waiting for the stars to come out so he can figure out your general location.

As you wait...

>You see a strange ship off in the distance...
>Something is swimming around the island...
>A gigantic raven flies overhead...
>You try to get as much rest as possible, while cuddling your cat...
>Talk to Yatagarasu about what happened in Tokyo...
>You take a look at your tea bowl Relic...
>Yatagarasu offers you a leaf of Mana to heal up...

>>5957633
>>You try to get as much rest as possible, while cuddling your cat...

>>5957633
>You try to get as much rest as possible, while cuddling your cat...

>>5957633
>>You take a look at your tea bowl Relic...

>>5957633
>>You see a strange ship off in the distance...

>>5957757
>>5957836
>>5957837
>>5957898
We shall attempt to befriend our cat... again.

>>5958227
A fruitless endeavor we have no food to offer.

>>5958296
True.

Also, I got delayed. Will post tomorrow.

>>5958333
ran out of time...

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When will this unrelenting storm end? Howling wind, cold waves, and mucky sand make for a truly uncomfortable time on the island. How Yatagarasu can sleep in this is beyond you. His salt-soaked fur must be uncomfortable. The soft, meepy snores of the little goat man at rest are steady. It's best not to disturb the guide's sleep; he'll need to be alert to see the stars and moon tonight.

This leaves you in an awkward situation of being left alone to deal with Kizaemon, who is warily eyeing you. It's strange to have your cat so meek. She is the embodiment of 'a borrowed cat' at this moment, acting all quiet because she's in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar girl and goat.

You can't sleep despite your exhaustion. Everything you wear is soaked. The most you can do is sit quietly and rest.

Oh, and talk.

"Hey, Ki-chan," you begin.

"Address me by my proper name," the cat answers sharply and attempts to stiffen with dignity to convey her royalness.

Right. When you dreamed of your cat, she was particularly huffy and touchy about being addressed by her diminutive nickname.

"Lady Kizaemon, won't you bend to come a bit closer? It's drier and warmer. Also, we are going to be together for quite awhile after this too."

The cat is tempted; you can see it in the way she tenses her body. She wants to move closer but is still very distrustful.

"Together for quite awhile after this? Hmph, what an arrogant assumption! I shall be the one deciding that. Make no mistake, I shall return to my rightful domain," Kizaemon declares with a conviction that only a cat could possess. It is remarkably hard to keep a straight face. Hearing this imperious declaration from your pet is hilarious.

"Until that day you triumphantly return to your realm, you will be an honored guest of Camelot. The seas surrounding it are rich with fish, and my servants ensure a comfortable stay. Why am I not offering now the bounty of my generosity? Sit on my lap and get off the damp, cold sand; it'll be better for you."

You cajole, flatter, concede, and offer scritches under the chin.

It takes very little time for the cat to realize that even if you are lying, she has very little to lose in accepting your offer for comfort right now. So you succeed in convincing your cat to sit on your lap as she used to do back at your home and accept gentle pets all the while.

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>>5959836
It takes hours for the rain to abate and the clouds to part a bit. You had to poke your sleeping guide awake so that he could take his bearings. It is a pitch black canvas with twinkling bright stars in formations unknown to you. Familiar sights like the Big Dipper, Cygnus, or Orion don't belong in this sky. Not even the moon is the same as your planet...

"Ah, Luna shows her face. Oh, and her husband Rehr is visiting her tonight." Yatagarasu sounds incredibly cheerful at the sight of the other moon.

You, on the other hand, find the additional moon to be eerie. It clearly has a fucking face with fucking eyes and a fucking mouth that looks like it was stitched together with thread.

"That's the husband of the moon?" You ask just to get further clarification.

"Moon? Oh, you mean Luna. Yes, her husband occasionally visits when he feels like it. He's rather unpredictable like that," Yatagarasu hums as he looks at the stars to get the bearings. It is clearly a commonplace occurrence for denizens of Avalon, given the way the Baphomet acts.

Soon enough, your guide announces that you are on a rock somewhere to the south of Dragon's Run. One of the nameless tiny rocks that poke out from the sea in the vast emptiness. You remember that the map Mordred drew had a particularly large empty space south towards an island called 'Cader Idris'. Actually, the 'Cader Idris' had three question marks right after the name. Does that mean that Mordred was uncertain if that was the name of the island?

"We must immediately leave this rock. Who knows when it will sink back under the waves. Meep."

Under the careful instructions of your guide, you drag rocks of various sizes to create a circle of stone. Then the mysterious ritual of the Gate begins. A portal of green energy forms in the circle, and you are instructed to jump straight in.

So you go with your cat and arrive on a familiar island. The twin island of Logres where Camelot stands. The familiar, broken white walls never seemed so welcoming until this night. Fires shine from the city, and wood smoke fills the air.

The bells ring! They know that their King has returned! An entourage of Baphomets rushes out to greet you and take you to the castle. You wearily march past the broken walls and past derelict houses as cheering goat men spread the news of your return.

You are too weary to deal with this. A warm bath, dry clothing and dinner first before rest. You have just enough energy to do one thing before dropping off to rest...

>You listen to Hanbei's census report...
>Show yourself to your vassal on the castle balcony and show that you have returned safely...
>Order Hanbei to invite important Baphomets to a council meeting tomorrow...
>Wash out the salt in Kizaemon's fur and dry her...
>Order Yatagarasu to explain about Avalon...
>Request Argeste to speak with you.... (success is unlikely)
>write in...

>>5959837
>>Wash out the salt in Kizaemon's fur and dry her...

>>5959841
Support, we must be gracious hosts to our guest.

>>5959837
>>You listen to Hanbei's census report...

>>5959837
>Show yourself to your vassal on the castle balcony and show that you have returned safely...

>>5959837
>Show yourself to your vassal on the castle balcony and show that you have returned safely...

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5959841
>>5960430
>>5960436
>>5960514
>>5960547
Hm, tied between cleaning a talking cat and showing yourself to vassals.

Let the dice confirm what is chosen

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You give some short orders to the servants to tend to Kizaemon the cat as an honored guest. The calico cat insists on her own room, and you grant her one where she can repose. The cat won't let anyone go near her to clean her fur. Despite warning her of the salt in her fur, she insists that she can handle washing herself.

You aren't in the mood to argue against the stubborn cat. Nor are you in the mood to talk to your servants. This must be very obvious to the Baphomets who prepare your bath and lay out your cleaned and dried personal clothing. While you eat your meal, Hanbei gives a basic outline of the past two days in Camelot. As Seneschal, it seems he has taken the initiative of setting up a bare-bones bureaucracy, among other things.

All has been quiet in Camelot. Well, as quiet as a wrecked city full of aimless Baphomets can be. When you went on your Quest back to Japan, you didn't leave any specific instructions or orders for your vassals. It seems they went about doing their own thing according to their skills and trades. Fishers fished, farmers farmed, preachers preached, and the Anarchists argued.

You'll have to figure out how to best use your servants later. There's a pile of things to do in this city if you want to fix it up or improve things.

"Tell me, Hanbei, why did you send me on a Quest with a fully stuffed backpack? It was full of Relic clothing and items, and I lost them all while out in Tokyo. It won't be easy to replace." You mop up the last of your vegetable soup with a piece of bread. You prefer rice, but it seems that servants are only capable of cooking European-style food. It's a dietary change, which will be hard to get used to.

"Meep. It seemed wise to send you out with a fully stocked pack with all the human essentials. If you got lost without your guide in Avalon or out in the World, you would need it. Also, not everything in it was Relics. We swapped out items that can be replaced with spare items from Avalon. For example, we took the Relic knife and replaced it with a knife from Avalon, and some pieces of clothing remained in Camelot for repair and drying."

Ah, so that explains why you are wearing the same clothing you wore on the first day of Camelot. It wasn't packed into the backpack. You lost the Survival booklet with your name in it in Tokyo.

Did the World erase it?

No.

You are Kuroda Haruka. You remember. A True Name can't be taken from you or erased once you get it back.

The servants lay out what Relics was left behind in Camelot. A pen, a hunting knife, two Survival booklets, some of Fushimi Miki's clothing, two bungee cords, a set of camp cutlery, a metal mug, a towel, a cellphone charger...

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>>5960989
Oh yeah, your cellphone was in the zipped pocket of the jacket you wore. The servants bring the waterlogged piece of electronic equipment and lay it out before you. The damn thing must be dead; you fell into the sea, and the salt water must have infiltrated the delicate circuitry. You push the button on the cellphone and discover that you were wrong. It boots up like nothing happened to it.

Wait, where's your tea bowl? It must still be Yatagarasu; you should ask him to bring it up.

"Where is Yatagarasu? He forgot to hand over something I left in his safekeeping." You can't wait to get some rest.

"Yatagarasu is outside, regaling the others with his time in the World and boasting of his rewards. Is it true you gave him all of it and told him he could do whatever he wished with it?" Hanbei sounds very skeptical.

"I did indeed. I gave him the first harvest."

"MEEP!? A name and an entire harvest? I would recommend taking back a portion of the Mana for your own use. It's a complete waste on such a lowly servant. If you summon him here, you still have time to order him to give up the Mana," Hanbei protests and shakes his horned head.

"Bushi ni nigon nashi... In other words, a King doesn't go back on their word. No vassal will ever trust me again if I casually betray my word and steal something I gifted to them. There will be other Quests and opportunities to reap Mana." You reprimand your Seneschal's shortsightedness and lack of sense. If this is the extent of Hanbei's political acumen, then you're better off never allowing him the opportunity to make important decisions on his own.

You hear the yees, meeps, and hubbub of many Baphomets in the castle grounds. An idea occurs to you that you should show yourself to your vassals and let them see you. Those Royals from England are pretty savvy with the smile and wave; it might be to your advantage to do the same. Getting up from your chair, you open the doors leading out to the balcony. The night air is warm and gentle; below are hundreds of Baphomets milling about and gossiping. Upon seeing you on the balcony above, the Baphomets below begin cheering.

"Your Majesty!" Yatagarasu calls out happily and waves to you. He is in the middle of a crowd of Baphomets who have been hanging on every word of his. The lanterns and open fires barely illuminate the masses looking upwards at you.

>>5960990

Hm, you'll get Yatagarasu to hand over the tea bowl tomorrow. This night is his night to shine and boast amongst his comrades about your generosity and steadfastness during the Quest. You calculate that it's worth letting him circulate amongst his fellows.

It is best to show that you are of a different mettle from Mordred and Rodomonte.

You withdraw to the sound of cheers and go to bed.

You can give orders to your Baphomets to do a task or something else for the week...
>Clear debris and repair streets...
>Repair aqueducts and fountains...
>Focus on the food supply...
>Harvest lumber and quarry stones...
>Build a foundry and kiln...
>Focus on repairing the docks...
>write in

You also need to decide what you'll do for the week. Choose only two options...
>Sparring and training, Argeste is willing to fight you...
>Explore the island and map its resources and features...
>Listen to tales of Avalon and the islands across the seas...
>Take your Tea Bowl Relic to the crucible and melt it down for Mana...
>Learn about using the Gates and the Tourney Stones....
>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper...
>Set up your government for Camelot, you can't do everything on your own...
>Write in

>>5960992
>>Clear debris and repair streets...

>>Learn about using the Gates and the Tourney Stones....
>>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper...

>>5960992
>Clear debris and repair streets
>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper
>Take your Tea Bowl Relic to the crucible and melt it down for Mana...

>>5960992
>Repair aqueducts and fountains...

Without water a settlement dies overnight.

>Sparring and training, Argeste is willing to fight you...
We need to get better so we can hunt on Avalon and defend our title.

>>5960992
>Clear debris and repair streets...

>Sparring and training, Argeste is willing to fight you...
>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper...

I'll be leaving the voting open for tonight. Post will probably happen tomorrow

>>5961207
+1

>>5960992
>Clear debris and repair streets...

>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper...
>Set up your government for Camelot, you can't do everything on your own...

>>5961207
+1

>>5960992
>Repair aqueducts and fountains...

>Sparring and training, Argeste is willing to fight you...
>Learn to summon your Mana Reaper...

>>5961138
>>5961175
>>5961196
>>5961207
>>5961401
>>5961431
>>5961633
>>5961730

So we'll order our minions to fix up the streets and get rid of debris.

As for personal actions, we will learn to how to slit the throats with our Mana Reaper and fight Argeste.

Will post tomorrow as it's extra long.

First we'll do the city section.
Then we'll do the mana reaper and Argeste fight

File: kizaemon.jpg (34 KB, 479x309)

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The servants awaken you at dawn again.

It's not as if you ordered them otherwise, so they cheerily throw open the wooden shutters of the bedroom and let the cool morning breeze in.

It's a rustic and very effective way to wake up. Unfortunately, you still haven't recovered from your little adventure of going back and forth between Avalon and Japan. It must be the result of the backlash and being forced to swim for your life in the cold Avalonian sea yesterday.

"Invite my guest, Lady Kizaemon, to dine at my table for breakfast. Make sure to serve fresh raw fish and not something cooked for her," you groan out an order.

The cat marches in through your door; it's clear she has seen better days. She must have spent the night trying to groom herself and choked on the salt permeating her fur. It's a clear disaster, and Kizaemon's whiskers twitch to show she's aware of it, so it's surprising that the cat accepted your invitation to dine with you for breakfast and reveal her condition. Luckily, diplomacy and tact are strong points of yours. It won't do to say 'I told you so' to a guest so early in the morning.

"Twas a fine evening of rest," Kizaemon pronounces in her distinct TV samurai lady voice and neatly begins to chow down on the finely minced fish flesh the servants bring in on wooden platters.

"My servants will be available for your needs within their abilities; I shall be busy with work. But rest assured, you will see me again at dinner." You give Hanbei a significant look, and the Seneschal nods solemnly. There's much to discuss and do today, even if you are sore and tired.

You meet the five clerks whom Hanbei selected from the Baphomets. You had a faint suspicion about your Seneschal from last night that now cements itself clearly. Hanbei is a natural-born bureaucrat, which, for purposes of enacting your orders, is good and efficient. It also means that he gets bogged down on processes and bean counting; he is not good at inspiration or leading. Well, at least you have a measure of his worth, and he's loyal.

You work with the goats you have.

You look over the map of the city and consider the monumental work ahead to get the city up and running. There's already one aspect you consider a high priority.

The streets need to be cleared of debris and repaired. From the window of your room, you are able to see that the main arteries of travel within Camelot are blocked by ruined houses and debris spilling over the road, it forces the Baphomets to make detours when going about their business. Or worse, if they have cargo-laden carts or wagons and the street is impassable to wheeled traffic, then the goat men have to make a very circuitous route around the obstacle or unload the cargo by hand and transport it onto another waiting vehicle to continue on.

If there's an attack, defenders will have difficulty reaching their positions to counter.

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>>5963486
"That settles it. We must at least clear the main thoroughfares of Camelot. If possible, repair the streets too," you carve 'KING' in English with your knife on a piece of wood with strange runes etched on it. Paper is a precious commodity, so you're reduced to using clay tablets or flat pieces of wood for writing out minor things like orders. The clerk chiselled out the Runes, you just needed to sign it. Why it's necessary for you to write out orders on a piece of wood is a mystery.

Can't you just tell the Baphomets their orders?

"Your Majesty, there are too many of us in Camelot to do that effectively. Sheer numbers overwhelm individual effort. Typically, we would gather the leaders of the Guilds responsible for the work you want done... Or we used to be able to gather the leaders of the Guilds. The old ways have been disrupted because the previous Kings had killed off or took higher-ranking Baphomets away on their Quests. If we ring the bells to gather the Baphomets in the castle plaza and use these Runes, your orders will be transmitted." Hanbei explains as one of the clerks scampers off to the bell tower.

The bells of the castle are different from the other bells in Camelot. It is a rich, sonorous ringing that reaches every corner of Camelot. You can even feel the vibrations in the air shake from the tolling. From your window, you see the denizens of Camelot stop their work and down tools before running straight to the castle.

There must be hundreds of them. If every single Baphomet is on the castle grounds, who is on watch? What about essential workers who should remain at their jobs and ignore the bells? It'll be a problem to solve at another time.

From your balcony, you survey the numbers and wonder if you've waited long enough. There must be stragglers, but you can't wait for every Baphomet to arrive. You go forth to reveal yourself to the vassals while carrying the order tablet in your hand.

"Long live the King!" A roar of hundreds of childish voices shatters the air the moment the goat men see you.

Following instructions, you cast the wooden tablet into a lit brazier. The smoke from the burning tablet forms runes in the air, clear and concise for all the vassals to see.

"WE SEE AND OBEY!" The childish voices of hundreds of Baphomets ring with delight. They have a King who is interested in repairing Camelot; what a contrast to the previous Kings. Yet from where you stand, you can see a few dissatisfied faces in the crowd.

That won't do.

>>5963489
"Know, my faithful subjects, these orders are to your benefit! Fulfill your duty, and no longer will you have to scramble and turn around on blocked paths nor carry heavy cargo on your weary backs because blasted streets impede your carts." You shout at the top of your voice to carry over the crowd. It's hard to know how many heard, but there are a few cheers in response.

The next few days have the city buzzing with work crews, and you aren't idle either. To perk up morale, you go and do a shift of debris clearing too. It's remarkable how hardworking and fast the Baphomets are. What they lack in combat abilities is made up with sheer industriousness and craftsmanship. They never seem to tire at all.

The main problem regarding the entire thing is...

>The Anarcho-Syndicalists forming a small protest at one of the major city junctions to press labor demands...
>A Baphomet interrupting work with his hyperreligious sermons and rants...
>Constant petitions from various Baphomets, whether it's to return to their original work and suggest other projects instead...
>Hanbei constantly interrupting work teams in a misguided attempt of bureaucratic fussing...
>A new faction is forming amongst the Baphomets, it seems the guides are up to something...
>The worker teams won't go near a certain section of the city because of 'vengeful ghosts'...

>>5963490
>The Anarcho-Syndicalists forming a small protest at one of the major city junctions to press labor demands...

>>5963490
>The Anarcho-Syndicalists forming a small protest at one of the major city junctions to press labor demands...

>>5963490
>>The worker teams won't go near a certain section of the city because of 'vengeful ghosts'...

>>5963490
>The Anarcho-Syndicalists forming a small protest at one of the major city junctions to press labor demands...

>>5963490
>>Hanbei constantly interrupting work teams in a misguided attempt of bureaucratic fussing...

>>5963561
>>5963684
>>5963807
>>5963835
>>5963854
We have labor action by Anarcho-Syndicalists

ran out of time, hopefully posting tomorrow

File: strike.jpg (54 KB, 721x630)

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The Anarcho-Syndicalists are making things difficult at a major street junction. The town square, to be more precise, where Baphomets have to transit, as it's the most centralized location of the city and home to the largest fountain still functioning. The water that sputters intermittently from the spouts is clean and pure, excellent for drinking and other needs of the goat men.

"Comrades, are we to submerge the true state of society under the insidious authority and tyranny of external government? Remember how much better it was without Kings coercing cooperation from us free goats? The liberation from class domination and exploitation!" The Baphomet stands on a raised ledge of the fountain with some sort of speaking trumpet made of brass to carry his voice. Around him are seven Baphomets carrying wooden placards with Runes written upon them. To your surprise, the speaker is not the 'Chairman' but a different one of the denizens of the Watch Tower. You check over the protesting Baphomets and note that the Chairman with his distinctive broken-off horn, is nowhere to be seen.

From the looks of things, almost every Baphomet transiting through the public square ignores the speech. A few make rude gestures and meep with annoyance if the placard carrying goats gets in their way to the fountain for water.

"Out of the way, ya lazy bastards."
"I can't believe it; you managed to agree to do something together."
"So felt like coming out of your Tower at last?"
"I'm not listening to a herd of treacherous goats who use fancy words."
"What the hell are you trying to say?"
"I just want to get some water!"

It's relieving to know that this faction is unpopular with their fellow Baphomets and that they are hobbled by their sheer incompetence in convincing fellow Baphomets. If you start using words like 'class consciousness', 'socialism', or 'proletariat', you need to actually make sure the audience understands what the hell you are trying to say. Their feudalistic-minded colleagues are not going to care much to listen to weird terms they don't understand.

But you still wonder: just where did these Baphomets learn such things? Eventually, you ask Yatagarasu when you meet up with him again to learn how to summon your Mana Reaper.

He had this to say: "Ah, those queer Baphomets, they're all former Guides. In fact, they were the most experienced Guides of the Wayfarer Guild back in the dark days of Ser Rodomonte. I was a junior guide at the time. I believe Lord Mordred repeatedly went on a Quest to a place called 'Commune' to acquire Relics. Meep. Ended up stealing a bunch of odd books and magical items called DVDs. Those Relics managed to retain their properties for a day or two, but eventually Avalon rejected them. Be aware, Your Majesty, that sometimes you will bring false Relics that, at first glance, will endure their time in Avalon, but they eventually fade away."

File: menpo.jpg (41 KB, 553x551)

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>>5965499
"What about my cat?!" You are terrified at the thought of Kizaemon fading away into nothingness.

"Ah, do not worry. Avalon has embraced the Relic creature; she speaks! Proof of Avalon's touch and that she's gone widdershin. Speaking of Relics, I have your Tee Bool. It's lasted a night, so it appears to be a proper Relic." Your guide produces from his extra-dimensional pack the Oribe-yaki tea bowl. It hasn't faded away. "Oh, and I have this too!"

The guide brings out a black lacquered mempo face guard. It has to be the one from your house. It has transformed.

"I didn't tell you to steal this," you sigh with annoyance and take the piece of armor into your hands to look at it. The face mask has horns on it instead of a mustache.

"Meep. But you have no harness on your back, Your Majesty. I thought it wise to take it."

'Harness'? Wait, does that mean armour? Well, you can't really argue about that. Gawain gets super cool-looking Knight armor as a magical girl, but you don't? It's an injustice. You place the mask over your face and note that it is a perfect fit. Another clear sign that Avalon has modified it, this armored mask was originally made for an adult man and was too big to fit. You set it aside; you have a Mana Reaper to summon.

Or so you had hoped. The lessons in summoning your Mana Reaper have been an exercise in futility. You burn the daylight hours fruitlessly, attempting to reach within to grasp it until the evening hours. Your frustration at the slow progress is enough for Yatagarasu to suggest an alternative.

"Mayhap we shall have to go to the Sickle Tree to pick a Reaper tool."

For a moment, you imagine a tree with many branches bearing upside-down sickles like ripe fruit. Surely, you heard wrong.

A Sickle Tree?

It sounds ridiculous, but then Yatagarasu takes you just outside the walls of Camelot to show you the tree in question. It literally is a tree, and it has kama sickles pinned all over the knotty bark blade first. Some of these kama sickles look very new, and others are rusty to the point of deterioration. You boggle at the sight of it and take a moment to circle around the tree to see it from all sides. There are at least five of these sickles driven into the tree, and there's a small wooden sign with 'Kamahachiman' written in Japanese. Wait, why is there Japanese writing?!

"Tell me, what is this tree?" You ask Yatagarasu, who begins to pull out the farming implements.

"The Sickle Tree, of course. We harvest sickles from them. Sometimes we reuse the sickles, but other times we melt down the metal and reuse them for other purposes. There's also the Iron Caves, the various Stone Trees, and such."

"This tree is the Kamahachiman altar. The sign literally says that. Sanada Yukimura prayed to Hachiman and.... Wait, can anyone read Japanese?"

File: manysickles.jpg (48 KB, 285x396)

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>>5965502
"I believe that only a few Baphomets can read the runes from the World. I am not literate in anything but the Runes of Avalon. The Sickle Tree has been around for a very long time. Sometimes we discover new caves and trees around Camelot or discover that they moved elsewhere on the island."

You have to throw away your preconceived notions of where the denizens of Avalon get their resources. It wasn't just Mana that fabricated all of the things used by the Baphomets. It is obvious that this island can't possibly have the natural resources necessary for a thriving city. The island of Logres apparently has resources to take, which simply appear in random locations. Like a videogame with random resource drops, sometimes things just appear for the Baphomets to pick up and take back to Camelot.

Of the sickles, there's one in good enough shape to train with. You take it in hand and concentrate under the instructions of Yatagarasu. The weight of having something in your hand makes it easier to form the translucent magical blade required to reap Mana.

You have a Reaping tool. You must carry the tool to use it.

Success! It only took you a few days. As you walk back with Yatagarasu to Camelot with the harvested sickles, your guide speaks up.

"I have a favor to ask, Your Majesty."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I'd like to have the feast of my Mana take place at the castle in five days. The grand hall is the only place where there's enough seats for all the Baphomets to sup."

"Granted, I shall tell Hanbei to have everything ready."

Ah, yes. You had forgotten that Yatagarasu wanted to feed his gift of Mana to all his fellow Baphomets. Solis is about five days from now. Plenty of time for preparations for the party your guide wants to apparently throw.

In any case, there's another thing you want to focus on while the city is bustling with its tasks.

You have been dreading this self-imposed task. But you need to get better at fighting; there are only so many tricks and feints you can pull in combat before the enemy wises up. Hanbei mentioned that Argeste is a very powerful warrior. So it might be possible to catch the Herald's attention and maybe learn something about combat.

You need to get Argeste's attention. Being nice about it won't work, so...

>Insult the Herald, he does nothing all day...
>Arrogantly challenge the Herald to a duel...
>Start vandalizing the stone gate to get his attention, it'll annoy him...
>Demand Argeste to come down and fight you...
>Tell Argeste you have a bet to make with him...
>Order Argeste to train you in the art of war...
>Stand in the Gate quietly, maybe Argeste will appear before you...
>write in

>>5965504
>Stand in the Gate quietly, maybe Argeste will appear before you...
Makes the most sense to me for the moment.

>>5965504
>>Order Argeste to train you in the art of war...

>>5965504
>Stand in the Gate quietly, maybe Argeste will appear before you...

>>5965504
>>Stand in the Gate quietly, maybe Argeste will appear before you...

Vote will remain open tonight. Will post tomorrow instead.

>>5965504
>>Stand in the Gate quietly, maybe Argeste will appear before you...

>>5967435
>>5965749
>>5965707
>>5965699
>>5965625
So we're going for a passive tactic

post tomorrow

Hm, a bit of writing block.

>>5968514
Just caught back up with this quest.

I'll vote for
>Order Argeste to train you in the art of war...
if someone else wants to change their vote to make it easier for you to write.

If not, maybe we stubbornly sit in front of the gate for days on end until a perplexed Argeste comes to see what we want? Through driving rain and harsh winds, cold nights and lonely days, in the extreme case if we are feeling particularly melodramatic.

File: grandmain.jpg (14 KB, 545x307)

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You're in a bind. How do you grab Argeste's attention and get training from him? You remember the first night in Camelot, his stone face appeared on the wall when you asked to speak to him, and he emphasized that you did not command him.

So you can't order him around like you do with the Baphomets...

You cudgel your brain to figure out an alternative. Being a massive history nerd, your go to is to think about the Sengoku period of Japan. Is there an example from the Warring State period that could help you out?

Hm.

What's that old idiom about the three unifiers of Japan again?

Ah yes.

If a bird doesn't sing, kill it.
If a bird doesn't sing, make it want to.
If a bird doesn't sing, wait.

You aren't anything like the demon lord Oda Nobunaga; you simply aren't blood thirsty and powerful enough to just start something against 'Dread' Argeste and force him to obey you. Given that you've been told that the stone man fought against King Arthur and Merlin at the same time and was winning handily, his fighting ability must be top-notch.

That leaves two options: making him interested in fighting or waiting for him to fight you.

Why not both? Standing in the main Gates quietly will surely attract the Herald's attention and tempt him to talk to you. Once you've captured a moment to converse, you're sure to convince him to train you.

So you stand under the crumbling main Gates of Camelot. There are several other sally ports and gates to exit the city, but they're redundant in light of the massive gaping holes in the walls. Several areas have trampled grass, revealing that Baphomets exit and enter at various points as they please without bothering with the original points of entry. When you first arrived in Camelot, Argeste looked out from the main gate out of boredom, which is how you realized he resided within the stones of the crumbling edifice.

An hour passes, then another.

No reaction. Could it be that the Spriggan isn't home today?

The evening bell tolls, a faint cheer from the Baphomets can be heard at the ringing announcement of the end of the work day. There's no result today, you'll try again tomorrow.

At the castle, you discover a small pile of work that Hanbei insists that only you can resolve. It's really pressing your 'hanko' seal on some requests and reports. By 'pressing you seal', you mean carving your name on wooden tablets with Runes on them. It annoys you to be presented with things you can't read, so you grab the bottom tablet and then order one of the clerks to read it out loud.

"Meep, do you not wish to start with the top tablet instead, Your Majesty?" The clerk fidgets with the tablet you took from the bottom of the pile.

"Did you bureaucrats put the troublesome requests you don't like on the bottom of the pile? Hoping I won't get to them? Read it!"

>>5969291
It is a demand from the Anarcho-Syndicalist faction, which turns out to be surprisingly level-headed. Mandatory ten-minute breaks for every two hours of work, a lunchtime break of an hour and the same for supper, and a twelve-hour work day....

Wait, twelve hours?! Then again, the Baphomets aren't human and clearly have a lot of endurance and strength. You ask your clerks and confirm that the goat men are actually capable of working up to twenty hours nonstop in an emergency before getting truly exhausted. They only really need six hours of sleep, though they do like luxuriating in more sleep if they can. Presently, they work about fifteen hours with no breaks.

You take your knife and start carving 'Lot' in English on the wooden tablet, to the shock of the clerks and Hanbei. You order one modification, 'a twelve-hour work day barring emergencies' to give yourself flexibility.

"Your Majesty, is it wise to approve a demand from the traitors? Not that I do not mind a shorter workday, but for others, it may not be ideal. Idle hands are the devil's tools." Hanbei reluctantly takes the approved tablet from you and reviews it.

"Trying to kill my vassals through 'karoshi'? I don't want them keeling over dead from overwork. Also, I prefer a Kingdom that works smarter, not longer. Who knows, maybe with the free time, a Baphomet might discover something that will make things easier for everyone."

There's a report regarding disputes over metal. As the debris is being cleared, the work teams are assiduously combing through the debris to see if they can find any nails or metal fixtures to reuse. It's causing arguments and fights since there's no agreement on how to reuse them. Some want to melt it down to make tools, weapons, or other such necessities. You order it to be put in storage for now and put off making a decision until later.

There's a request to use the reclaimed debris and dump it near the port as in fill to expand it rather than reuse it to repair the streets by the Longship Meeps faction. You reject it; you want the streets repaired first.

On and on, it goes.

Who knew that running a Kingdom would be so time-consuming?! You have to make decisions on major and minor things, and there's no one else to share the responsibility. At least when you were Class President you could rely on another class representative to ease the workload, and they could make decisions without your input. Here in Camelot, though? You are the King, and heavy is the paperwork that it entails.

Kizaemon joins you for dinner, but you feel like a poor host. You must eat your meal while listening to reports and learning more about Camelot's situation. Food is fine; there's plenty to eat. Metal is scarce; quarried stone is nonexistent. Lumber is abundant, but supply might run low. There are enough spears to arm a hundred Baphomets in the storehouse, but barely any metal tools. The population of Camelot is estimated at around four hundred Baphomets!!!

>>5969292
Can Yatagarasu's meager harvest of Mana really keep everyone running for weeks without recharge? Hanbei is very confident and states that it will be more than enough. The great hall will have the most important Baphomets sitting within, and the rest will be divided into the other halls to feast. There's apparently some sort of class hierarchy amongst the Baphomets; it'll be interesting to see who is regarded as 'nobility' or important in their society.

"I hope that you will join me at the high table, Lady Kizaemon. How have your days at Camelot been?" You smile at your cat, who now looks quite presentable. Apparently, Hanbei has assigned a servant exclusively for the talking cat and has been taking good care of her.

"I shall grace your table with my presence. The castle is a strange place, as is the city. I have had the honor of marking portions of the wall with my presence. I shall be busy tomorrow doing the same."

"You went into the city? Found it interesting?"

"It is very interesting indeed. The southern wall is accursed with a presence."

"Accursed? What do you mean, accursed?"

The cat flicks her tail and gives you a serious look. The servants pause in their work and listen carefully too.

"A tragedy has happened there. I could not bring myself to get any closer. But mark my word, it is enough to make my fur stand in fear," Kizaemon shivers and grooms herself to ensure her fur is not out of place.

You note it, but you don't have time to follow up on it. There's just too much to do and decide.
The next day, at dawn, you work a little with the Baphomets to clear the streets. Then, once again, go to the main Gate and stand beneath it.

Three days of this. At times, in the cold morning, in the heat of the afternoon, under the wet, rainy sky, in the silent evening hours, and on random occasions... and STILL no reaction from Argeste. It feels silly to keep standing and waiting for the Herald to react when there's so much to do! Surely the stone man is curious as to why you keep returning to the main Gate and standing around like this.

Did you make an error in judgment? You review what you know about the Spriggan and find it woefully inadequate. The Baphomets dub him 'Dread' Argeste and spoke of his wrathful nature. It was he who decreed that anyone who renounces Camelot shall never have a chance to rule over it.

When you think about it, you consider that passiveness from a King would only make him contemptuous.

You chose the wrong tactic to get his attention. Why should he care about the Ruler of Camelot wasting their time standing around and doing nothing? He wants someone to possess Camelot.

Your choice did not entice Argeste out of the main Gates.

Damn it.

>>5969294
At least you can look forward to the feast tomorrow. During the night....

>The cellphone rings! Someone is calling you?...
>The Watch Tower suddenly lights up and starts clanging an alarm...
>You have to judge on two Baphomets who disrupted street repair work with their dispute...
>The Society faction keep asking you to come to the Temple for a sermon...
>Several Baphomets petition you to get a seat in the Great Hall rather than the secondary Hall...
>The Captain of the Longship Meeps proposes a plan to do depth sounding of the harbor...
>A Baphomet rushes in to report the discovery of a cave while clearing debris...
>An explosion is heard in the bay...

>>5969296
>The cellphone rings! Someone is calling you?...

>>5969296
>The cellphone rings! Someone is calling you?...

I kinda want that conductor's hat now that we know the man isn't dead. It might even be a relic! Our tears were spilled in vain!

Anyways, lets see if there's anyone aside from creepy dark magical girls or whoever on the cell lines.

>>5969296
>>A Baphomet rushes in to report the discovery of a cave while clearing debris...

>>5969296
>>The Society faction keep asking you to come to the Temple for a sermon...

>>5969296
>A Baphomet rushes in to report the discovery of a cave while clearing debris...

>>5969703
>>5969501
>>5969421
>>5969363
>>5969303
Hm, cave or cellphone.
There's won't be a post tonight as I read over some material, so voting will remain open until tomorrow.

>>5969899
Phone! Unless I already voted.
I can't remember if I did.

>>5969296
>The cellphone rings! Someone is calling you?...

>>5969296
The cellphone rings! Someone is calling you?...

>>5970316
>>5970468
Seems these are the last votes in. So we get a cellphone call

halfway done.
Will post tomorrow

Arrived home too late to write. Will post hopefully tomorrow

It's amazing how quickly you've gotten used to living in a drafty castle without electricity or running water. Heck, sleeping isn't much of a challenge anymore. The boughs and rushes spread over the floor to form a layer to sleep on by the Baphomets took some getting used to as it's nothing like the tatami mats. The smell of fresh boughs is faintly spicy and refreshing, but occasionally a little scratchy.

You take the opportunity to look out and gaze upon Camelot. The work crews have long since stopped for the day, and the goat men mingle in the newly cleared streets and squares of the city. Almost a week of hard work from virtually the entire population has done wonders; traffic circulates through most thoroughfares without the old obstacles and impediments.

The only issue is that certain streets still need major repair, and your ambition to lay down some newer, more efficient routes has been stymied. The city is suffering from a lack of tools. When you went to see the storehouse and watch what was passed out to work crews, most Baphomets went away empty handed while the lucky few with tools could go about their work productively. Handcarts pulled by the Baphomets still need to take various detours to reach certain parts of the city.

Camelot is easier to navigate, your servants can travel more quickly and transport goods more easily. But there's still work to be done to allow more efficient travel within Camelot!

It's a problem for another day.

You reflect. A sort of meditative review to order your thoughts and assess how you're feeling. Work does wonders to distract you from the insane situation you are in. Kuroda Haruka has been erased, and the World will like to keep it that way. Apparently, it also likes to set you on fire while doing it too. The Backlash is definitely a result of using your True Name while out and about on a Quest. In the future, you will try to refrain from using it anywhere.

Thoughts of other things swirl and bring your spirits down. You miss your family, your friends... Well, you don't really miss school, but you do need to go back and study. At the very least, you want to get into university and do all the stuff a university student can do! This present existence as a raider attacking Japan to acquire resources is simply too depressing.

'Does this make me the same as those villainesses in the old magical girl shows I enjoyed?'

Depression settles on you so heavy that you almost ignore the cellphone when it starts ringing. It's the same unnaturally real ringing of a metal bell as the first call you received in Avalon from a person. That creepy voyeur girl who called you a 'Lost Child', gone widdershin.

Still, it's worth trying to see who is calling. You are the only human in Camelot and you know there are others out in Avalon somewhere.

"Hello?" You tentatively answer the phone.

>>5972579
"Oh hey! Guess Avalon decided to allow us a one-on-one conversation. Usually it's more like leaving a message in voice mail." The boy on the other end sounds almost happy but mostly surprised at hearing an answer. It's the 'you're so fucked' guy on the other end. You are surprisingly thankful it's not the 'I saw you crying' bitch. The first day you arrived in Avalon, you received seven phone calls, and not everyone declared their names.

Of the seven, only four did.

Rodomonte, Vivian, Escanor, and Lucius Hiberius.

This boy is one of the three who didn't introduce himself by name. The other was the 'let's be friends' girl and the 'I saw you crying' bitch. You suspect the 'let's be friends' girl is Mordred, but you aren't a hundred percent sure. That leaves the mysterious sadist bitch unnamed.

It takes all your willpower not to just burst out with a series of questions. One-on-one interaction is give-and-take. You also need to make sure you give the utmost minimum information about yourself to the other. There's no telling what sort of guy he is. Maybe he's like Rodomonte.

"Not going to introduce yourself? I am Lot."

"Where are you? I have no idea where in Avalon I am. Pro tip: don't jump through weird portals at the recommendation of rando Quest givers."

This guy totally tried to dodge saying who he is. It's pretty transparent, though the tidbit about 'Quest givers' is pretty interesting.

"When a girl introduces themselves, a gentleman should return the favor. Otherwise, I have no idea who I'm trying to address."

"Says the girl who won't declare if she's a King, Knight or Lady. Whatever. I am Guin." The snark in the boy's voice is thick. Hm, so you weren't as clever as you thought with your barebones introduction.

"Nice to meet you, Guin."

"You're not going to make fun of me?"

"Why would I make fun of you?"

"... Quick question to you, what does my name call into mind?"

You aren't sure if you should answer that, but figure it can't hurt. You know all about Guin.

"The Guin Saga by Kurimoto Kaoru. You know, King of Cheironea? Leopard headed warrior man?"

There is a pause at the other end of the phone, and you can sense the other boy is desperately trying not to burst out laughing. Is it because you think his name refers to a half-clad, muscle-bound warrior running around in a leopard mask? So his name is not a reference to the Guin Saga. You loved that fantasy series as a kid. So Guin is referring to some other fictional story—King Arthur and his Knights, likely. Damn it. You barely know anything about those stories.

>>5972582
"Ah, you remind me of a fantasy nerd girl I went to school with. Listen Lot, if we ever meet----"

The cellphone goes dead.

Why!?

With more force than necessary, you whip the phone away from your ears and look at the dead black screen. You tap the power button and wait for the phone to turn back on.

For a moment, the screen brightens as though it's going to come back to life but the light of life in the electronic is deceiving.

0%

That is the terrible number that flashes at the top right hand corner of the cellphone screen before it immediately shuts down. The black inky depths returning and reflects your shocked face in the screen. The cellphone is a Relic, perhaps it received an enhancement of durability. It might explain why this damn thing survived an entire week with you and getting soaked in salt water, but apparently, durability does not extend to battery life.

You put the cellphone down on the table and try not to scream in frustration. Instead, you take the hunting knife to start carving into a wooden tablet to mark down Guin's name and update the list of names you know.

Rodomonte - Asshole
Mordred - Missing. Ally?
Vivian - Gave advice. Ally?
Escanor - Unknown. Ally?
Lucius Hiberius - Roman emperor? Ally?
Bitch - Unfriendly
Guin - Ally?

If only you could meet the others and ally with them. Well, not Rodomonte or the Bitch.

You turn in to sleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, you feel something is off and awaken in the dark...

>Open the window shutter and look out...
>Call for a Baphomet servant...
>Summon your spear and check the hallway...
>Lay in bed and listen very carefully...
>write in

>>5972585
>>Call for a Baphomet servant...

>>5972585
>Summon your spear and check the hallway...

>>5972585
We'll have to charge it when we visit the World.

>Lay in bed and listen very carefully...

If something is wrong, better to try and deceive anyone observing us into thinking we are still asleep while we try and ascertain what's going on. If we hear nothing then we can go peeking out windows and skulking through the halls, spear in hand.

>>5972585
>>Lay in bed and listen very carefully...

>>5972585
>>Open the window shutter and look out...

>>5972585
>Lay in bed and listen very carefully...

Post will be left open tonight.
More tired than expected

>>5972585
>>Open the window shutter and look out...

>>5973646
>>5973109
>>5972765
>>5972754
>>5972719
>>5972703
>>5972680
We shall lay in bed, pretending to be asleep, and listen

Sorry. I ended up playing Civ 2... I literally didn't write anything.

>>5974123
I can respect that level of honesty

>>5974123
It's okay, I do the same thing with Alpha Centauri.

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What awakened you?

This question pierces through the fog of sleep and nails your brain into awareness and consciousness.

It takes all your willpower to not jump out of bed to investigate what is bothering you. You lay on the bed of boughs calmly, acting as though you were still asleep while straining your ears to listen.

The bedroom is hushed. Somewhere, a duo of Baphomet guards are patrolling the castle with spears lent out to them. The wind blows softly and subtly, causing the wooden shutters to quiver against stone. Some sort of night bird sings in the distance, the dawn still hours away.

Was it your imagination?

No.

You hear it again.

A rattle of wood on wood.... within the room.

Keeping your eyes shut, you subtly flex your hands under blankets to prepare to summon Frostbind. Something must be in the room. Could it be an invader rummaging through your belongings? The items on the table are Relics after all, they endured the journey from the World into Avalon and survived.

Yet, you sense no bodily presence within the bedroom. People in an enclosed space have this strange presence that triggers awareness—a sort of primitive sixth sense implying you are not alone. There's no such sensation of someone breathing in the bedroom other than yourself.

Carefully, you open an eye and survey the darkened room. The only source of light is through a thin crack in the wooden shutters, which weakly illuminates your small round table. There's no one in the room, but something is moving on the surface of the table.

You leap out of bed, fully armed with Frostbind, and stab the empty air around the table, just in case there's an invisible enemy of some sort. The blade of the ice spear pierces only air. Surprised and wary, you approach the table and look down to see what is happening.

The thin moonlight falls on the source of the noise. The culprit is a Relic. More specifically, it is the transformed black lacquered menpo mask Yatagarasu had taken from the Kuroda home. It is trembling on the surface of the table. You stare at the unnatural phenomenon, unwilling to come any closer. The mask dances slowly across the table through its trembling until, at last, it reaches the edge and falls with a clatter onto the floor.

It trembles no more. Like a corpse, the armored mask is still.

Creepy.

Bending down, give the mask a quick poke with the butt of the spear.

Nothing.

It should be safe to pick up and look at carefully. The black lacquer is luminous, almost glowing in the blackness of the room by being darker than darkness itself. Originally, it was a bright red lacquered menpo mask with white bristles serving as a moustache. Avalon has transformed it into a black fanged one perfectly fitted for your face and apparently has given it the magical power to 'tremble'.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

>>5974874
A bell furiously rings somewhere in Camelot. And is soon quickly joined by other frantic bells and a crescendo of distressed meeps from Baphomets.

"WYVERN! WYVERN!"
"Slings out, make space!"
"Meep! Meep! Meep!"
"It's heading towards the Castle!"

'An attack?' You immediately dismiss Frostbind and drop the mask onto the table. First thing to do is get your shoes on, but the damn things have disappeared. Furious and puzzled, there's something else that attracts your attention.

'My clothing is melting???... NOOOOO!!!!' You are mentally screaming as you witness holes forming in your shirt. This is what Yatagarasu must mean by false Relics! Things from the World that only endure in Avalon for a while before fading away into nothingness. You were so sure that everything you brought into the Avalon was a Relic since it survived for days in this strange place.

The bells continue to toll at a fever pitch, and their ringing clangor brings all of Camelot awake. Shouts of various Baphomets heading to their stations and the armory doors thrown open to pass out spears can be heard.

A bloodcurdling scream rises above the chaotic din. The death scream of a Baphomet.

An enemy has just killed one of your vassals.

"Your Majesty! Enemy attack!" Hanbei bursts into your room with a clerk. The evolved Baphomet looks terrified and doesn't notice the disintegrating clothing hanging off your body.

You are already barefooted, and soon you'll be half naked at this rate. Where is your magical girl costume!? Maybe the mask will help you transform? Grabbing the armored mask off the table, you put it against your face to see if something happens. The mask fits perfectly over your face, as though it had been molded by Avalon specifically for you.

But nothing happens.

You slam the mask onto the table in anger.

You need to go out and fight...

>Spear attack!
>Ice attack!
>Rally Baphomets!
>Berate the Relic mask!

>>5974876
>Ice attack!
A Wyvern? Let us bind its wings with ice and bring it down to the ground. Our vassals can swarm it once it's in range.

>>5974876
>Ice attack!
Ice armor perchance?

>>5974876
Stupid mask! I was hoping Relics were good for something besides Mana, but at this rate we may as well melt em down. Though I kinda want to keep the tea bowl for ritual purposes. Something to do besides fight, play manager and explore.

>Berate the Relic mask!

Take the time to give the creepy trinket a piece of our mind! Yelling costs nothing but air. Then do >>5974884

>>5974876
>Ice attack!

>>5974876
>>Berate the Relic mask!

>>5974876
>>Ice attack!
Fighting nude is a proud Camelot tradition

>>5975256
>>5975060
>>5974926
>>5974923
>>5974917
>>5974884
Ice attack!

I have deleted Civ 2 as it basically turned into a 'one more turn' trap and I have a quest to write. It was fun but killed productivity.

>>5974876
>Ice attack
The mask is a warning bell, isn't it? Bring it with us everywhere,

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You are glad the Baphomets aren't humans and don't have genders. Mentally though, you've designated all the goats as 'men' and it's hard to get over the sensation of shame for being so scantily clad in front of them.

However, the sense of shame pales compared to the rage you feel towards the useless trembling mask.

"By the saggy tits of the winter hag, ye gormless mangled..."

Before you can finish the sentence directed at the mask, you chew off the last words and focus on the more important crisis.

The Seneschal leads you to the courtyard, all while gabbling away with terror about the 'Wyvern' slithering around in the castle. It had flown in from the south and been spotted by the Watch Tower while the city was sleeping. Now it's crawling about and stalking the darkened halls of the white Castle or flying somewhere above. The goats had lost sight of the enemy, which isn't too hard in the darkness of night. Lanterns and torches held by the Baphomets can only illuminate so much.

And dawn's light is hours away.

It's too easy for something the size of a horse, has two heads and a poisonous stinger for a tail to disappear. All in all, a seriously dangerous monster has invaded your domain.

"Right, form up into herds of at least 3 goats! No one goes off alone, meep." A Baphomet with a very rusty helmet on his horned head barks out orders. You nickname this Baphomet the 'General'. Though it's too grand of a title for a goat who only organizes the guards of the Castle, it will have to do.

"Right, my meeps. Time to go worm hunting! Where was it last seen?" You bark out with authority and desperately try to ignore the inexorable destruction of your clothing.

The Wyvern is airborne and probably still lurking somewhere in the vicinity. The beating of wings can be occasionally heard, but the inky depths of night prevent everyone from seeing it. The thing is an opportunist; it is waiting for one of its prey to be alone before it swoops down to eat.

Already, it has killed two Baphomets and gulped them down its throat.

'Damnation take it.'

A desperate scream pierces the air. Another Baphomet, though it seems that the little goat man survived the attack unseen. Chaos erupts around a corner of the courtyard.

"MEEP! MEEP!"
"Dat was close!"
"Slingers fire!"

The air is filled with the swoosh and whoosh of stones and wings.

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>>5976404
With your party of Baphomets, you speed off to assist the harried guards engaging the Wyvern. At the very edge of the dim lantern lights, you see a hovering two-headed thing. It's twin heads have more mouths and teeth than a proper head. A strange ichor oozes down its leg, and you can see that it is injured. The sling stones of the guards have scored a few hits and injured it slightly.

More eerie than the creature is how silent it is. There's no roar or growl coming out of it. The stomach of the beast is distended, as though something within it is weighing down the skin.

Must be the dead swallowed Baphomets.

You need to bring that damn thing to the earth, where spears can strike at it.

Something within you stirs, and you open your mouth to pray.

"Winter's rage I call, oh Queen of hidden wisdom. Come, I pray to thee, let hoarfrost and ice strike my enemies."

>Three anons, roll 2d6 each!

Rolled 3, 6, 2 = 11 (3d6)

>>5976405

>>5976406
Ignore the last dice

Rolled 4, 4 = 8 (2d6)

>>5976405

Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)

>>5976405

>>5976406
>>5976454
>>5976483
Do we wanna use No Insult?
It could potentially finish this encounter in one go. Or at least set it up for EXTREME harm.
3 Successes vs 5.
I'm for it, personally.

>>5976724
+1

>>5976724
+1

Yo OP I'm reading and catching up on your quest on a whim. Good stuff. I hope Kuroda eventually gets her hands on the "I saw you crying" bitch and makes her cry in return

>>5976724
Unfortunately, our touchy prideful character hasn't done her mental gymnastics to justify feeling insulted by the existence of the Wyvern yet.

Ironically, she could justify it against the Mask because it fooled her into thinking it could be useful.

>>5976916
Then I'm fine with fighting the wyvern normally. Is it really insulting if it's a wild animal following the vicious instincts of a lizard to go after small and furry things?

>>5976916
On the contrary. The wyrm has DARED to threaten our kingdom and attack our people.
That's insulting!

Right 3 successes!

I am exhausted from a 50 km bike ride on a mountain bike. I need to rest.

No post tonight. Tomorrow I have to go to work. So hopefully I can finish tomorrow.

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The last echoes of your prayer reverberate as snaps of cold crackle around the Wyvern. Ice forms around the wings, robbing the membranes of the flexibility to billow and uplift the monster. The strange skeletal flying lizard with two heads pauses in confusion and begins slowly sinking downward despite the frantic beating of its wings.

Then, like a marionette with its string cut, the beast plummets downward onto the ground. Despite the crash, the thing doesn't make a sound. No growl or roar emanates from either head. Instead, the eyeless beast scrambles to get up.

"Right kids, keep your distance and stab away!" The 'General' shouts orders as groups of Baphomets rush forth with their long spears and stab at the Wyvern.

The goat men are... weak. No better than an average human in terms of combat ability, perhaps a bit worse because they're so small. Their strength and endurance give them a slight edge to even things out. But the most outstanding virtue is their bravery. It is clear from the reactions of the attacking goat men that they are scared out of their minds, yet they still continue fighting.

And they need that bravery because the Wyvern lashes out, biting at the sharp spears and moving about to catch the scampering Baphomets. Sometimes the damn thing lashes out with its poisonous stinger tail and almost catches a surprised goat off guard.

If you do nothing, your vassals should be able to kill the creature with a minimum number of dead and injured. You don't intend to let that happen. Two dead Baphomets are digesting in the stomach of the foul creature; no more shall be added to the belly of the beast.

"Thrice damned wyrm, awa' with ye."

You charge ahead with Frostbind in hand. The shout was to gain the attention the damn thing.

The tail of the Wyvern lashes at you!

>2 anons, roll 3d6!

Rolled 2, 1, 2 = 5 (3d6)

>>5978830
Tear its stomach open and rescue our goats! Like what Little Red did to the wolf!

Rolled 6, 1, 4 = 11 (3d6)

>>5978830

>>5978833
>>5978882
1 success.
Also, we'll end the thread on this note!
I have ran out of possible ideas and need to generate some more.

>>5979391
How is that 1 success? We got one 6. Is the 4 not enough for 2?

>>5979405
Only if we can use that no insult perk.

>>5979418
This thing barged into OUR kingdom and ATE two of our goats. That is an INSULT

I plan on starting up again next week on Apr 25. Though after a few days when in May I'll be on a trip.

Delayed. I just got home after work. So hopefully everything will be up tomorrow

>>5987004
It's been a while, I hope you're doing OK

>>5987004
no worries, thanks for the heads up

>>5987729

made a new thread