Satisfied, you flick away and sail across the continent to Kaza once more. Returning to the tower, you are surprised to find half of Laressa’s bodyguard present yet she herself conspicuously absent. As you ponder returning to Melport to search, however, a portal opens in the throne room and she strides out, flanked by Stella and her half-orc bodyguard, “--sure that the information is accurate before we move.” Whatever she said doesn’t appear to sit well with Stella, however, “Lessa, I’m impressed by what you’ve done but don’t you think that’s reckless? Ranor is going to be pushing the nobles to invade and kill you in a ‘preemptive strike’ you know, I’m not entirely sure it’s the best time to potentially start a war over a cook.”

Your elf smiles before giving her reply, “Oh, I think it is. Besides, we won’t need to go to war as long as your team isn’t caught, right?” As they reach the throne and Laressa sits Stella simply sighs and places a hand over her eyes. “Fine, whatever, you’re the boss, boss. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With that she turns and snaps her fingers, pointing to two of the others, “Let’s go, you heard her.” The two elves jump to their feet and stride through the portal after the red-haired elf, leaving Laressa and two elven guards (plus the half orc) alone in the chamber; the only sound her quill scratching on the stack of reports.

Part 1: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14304400/
Part 2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14309655/
Part 3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14330103/
Part 4: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14365301/
Part 5: http://archive.easymodo.net/tg/thread/14397582/
Part 6: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14420843/
Part 7: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14452357/
Part 8: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14474488/
Part 9: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14498610/

Fuck yeah Omnipotence quest! Isn't this a little early though?

Regardless, can we get a status report on the druid quickly? One or two lines just to let us know what he's up to?

>>14524604
You checked in before you hopped over here, it seems he's attempting to retrieve one of the Orbs. Even the least protected one, however, is very heavily protected and swarming with abominations. He's having some trouble.

>>14524624

Alright, I don't want to spend too much time on the druid. However, can we send him a little bit of aid, perhaps some sort of elemental spirit under our command to make sure he doesn't die?

I would like to investigate our elf a little. Figure out who her mother is and who these new friends are.

>>14524703
>Find out X
I swear to god...

>>14524703

Let's just go right to the elf.

>>14524732

Shit I forgot about that. Find out through observation and non-deadly mind reading! No corpses or veggies or anything like that!

I think it's finally time we tried to learn something about Lanessa, how these elves play into her life, how well she's holding up with the pressure of rulership, et all.
This should be a much easier task than with the Kamada because she has a fairly bureaucratic mind. She may have fairly detailed records we could look at stored somewhere.

Let's take a look around the area and see if we can find any. If not, we can look for someone Laressa mind controlled and ask them. Since we designed the enchantment, we should be able to have one answer our questions without much risk of causing bodily death.

Let's leave the druid alone for now. He's supposed to be fairly intelligent, I doubt he'll get himself killed any time soon.

ah. What's this about a war over a cook?

>>14524732

Hey Vedibere, I thought the next quest was going to run Saturday. Did I miss something?

>>14524779
Nah, I always run M/W/F at 18:00 server time. My bad if there was confusion.

>>14524364
investigate where the portal goes, follow the team of cook snatchers

>>14524883
Also, just wondering here, but if we visited Laressa and told her that we were planning her demise she would likely go insane or what-not, no?

Newcomer here. I very recently read all of the quest in two sittings, very hard to put down, so to speak. Kudos OP. Now that thats out of the way, time to move in and put in my 2 cents. Ugantu. I know he turned out to be a failure, but perhaps it's not too late? I say we bring him back as some kind of undead. This way, he wont get decadent, and he'll have a great motivation to take down Laressa (revenge, his motivation for killing the archlord, remember?). I'm not sure how to give him an army or anything though. We would have to pair him with the druid or the blood mage or the other guy or something, perhaps to be their bodyguard. I was thinking, you could maybe give him to the blood mage and say "Hey, heres an antimagic dude that could defend you from a god, enjoy," or something. Just brainstorming. Let me know what you think.

>>14524927

Let's keep that idea on the backburner for now. We should figure out what our elf has been up to before any other actions.

It has been too long since you took more than a broad overview of Laressa’s dealings, you decide. Hovering low, you first look through the reports she is currently reading and signing; standard rulership items for the most part. Minor unrest here and there across the island, growing pains as her new territories are incorporated into the Imperial bureaucracy, and some funding issues for the enormous army she has constructed so far. The last is not a particularly troubling issue you note as you shift to the backdated reports in a record room lower in the tower. Instead of the usual economy it seems your elf has begun transforming to a state-run force of producers. Clothing, weaponmaking, horse breeding, shipmaking, and even farming have all been slowly shifted toward a command structure. To facilitate this your elf has ordered the construction of entirely new suburbs for each labor division around the capital, self-contained production sites. Not only have costs been cut by over half, but production has skyrocketed as long transport times are eliminated and disputes are resolved quickly.

The relocations and shift have, sadly, not proven entirely popular with the peasantry from what you gather in the reports and brief overflight of the territory. That has hardly been a concern, however, considering the now battle-hardened force and constant air presence she maintains above every major city. Her inquisitors, now a force almost twenty thousand strong with unlimited powers, roam the country in search of dissent -- usually backed by at least one airship and a force of 2500 crack troops. Overall the measures have worked extremely well and the underclasses are slowly adapting. In a hundred years they will have not known any other way and react violently to any attempt to return them to the old way, you imagine. Unfortunately, there is one drawback you note: godly intervention.

It seems that several gods do not take kindly to the revolution your elf has undertaken. Blanketing her lands and falling especially heavy upon her are several curses of misfortune, bad harvests, and reduced productivity. Though her new economy far outproduces any of the neighboring lands -- even larger ones -- it could be much more so without such power working against her.

Satisfied with your inquiry, you shift to following the elven team that was just dispatched. Just to see where it goes, you hop through the portal... to find it exits into the royal palace back in Melport, the throne room to be exact. Many changes have happened here as well from what you can see, Laressa’s austere elegance replacing the baroque displays that were present last time you were here. The “emperor” stands among the servants to either side of the throne, you note with a small measure of levity. It is indeed oh-so-clear who truly runs this state. Annoyingly, though, you don’t see the elves.

Casting about, you note that they are nearly outside the city already... and moving quite fast, a great distance above the ground. Curious, you snap to their location and find an invisible airship with them aboard. The most interesting thing of all, though, is that it appears to be on a direct course for the city-state you placed the archlord’s daughter in. It seems word of her talents spread quickly.

Quite an intriguing state of affairs. You wonder now, however, what your next course of inquiry should be... Follow the three elves? Investigate the country further? Speak with your elf in person? Or perhaps flicker over to the elven nation and make inquiries there? Hmmm.

>>14524894
Insane? Wut?

This isn't CoC. "Two legs" doesn't provoke suicide, it just makes people go "Huh... weird."

Holy shit.
...
We made a fascist

>>14525404
>implying she wasn't already a fascist

>>14525477
>Implying its fascism and not a normal medieval ruler setting up a totalitarian regime.
This is less nationalistic fervor and more just her setting herself up as a dictator.

>>14525524
Nah, this is textbook Fascism- at least economically.

Incorporation of private enterprise by the state, domination of public works projects, heavy manufacturing.
I wouldn't put it past her to copy the idea of giving her beaucracy positions taht often have overlapping fields so that competition remains a constant and no one group is ever likely to consolidate power

>>14525544
Fascism is a political ideology, though, not just an economic state. Hell, looking at just the state-command economics and secret police you could call this communist or stalinist too.

No, this is just state-directed economics under a totalitarian dictator.

>>14525599
No she's a political fascist too-
She's resurrected the idea of the old Parthanian empire, and has used that as a rallying banner and excuse to begin her subjugation and expansion.

So we are in agreement in following our strike force in their quest for the cook?

Hmm, who do we know that wishes to over take the gods. See if we can not call in a favor with our dear friend to team up with our blood mage to lighten up some of these god curses. Or the druid, Gods making the land sick? He would hate that kind of thing.

I, for one, welcome our new Elf Overlords.

>>14525271
>Follow the three elves?
I don't know if this is the most productive thing, but it's definitely the coolest. The elves are all set to go all stealth mission action adventure, and I'd rather not miss the kung-fey.

Are we going to start weakening Laressa at any point? I know people want tto tone down her enslavement knives, or at the very least make them a little less exacting

Ahh, the joy of a fast and slow posting quest on at the same time.

Had trouble tracking down the quest today.


Once she has the Chef I think we should Invite all the gods working against ther over to a dinner party to discuss our differences.

By Invite I mean ask them nicely the first time, then force them.

Give the elf pre-warning and let her try to convince them of her good intentions. We will adjudicate the meeting. If they don't agree to leave her alone then start putting pressure on them.

Never explain exactly who we are to any of the powers.

We'll probably bring some of the anti-magic field stuff the assasins were using

>>14526311
I should mention this will be over a dinner serving.

We will be fulfilling our promise and giving her a large help as well. Say we can have another one without them around if she does well and wants to.

>>14526311
>>14526338


Do this.

Follow the elves untill then, don't expicitly help with the capture but prevent it from becoming a war because of them.

This is because she preformed well at entertaining us last thread, right?>>14526311

I would advise against this. We already have two god trapped in our office because they annoyed us. Do we want to risk all the gods here knowing what we are doing so soon? I would just mention that other gods have taken to suppressing her very impressive empire and see what kind of plan she puts into place with that information. Also mention the man that wants to become a god as a way to direct her attention to possible options.

>>14526373
when did this happen?

I thought I had red through all the quests.

>>14526373
How about we leave it up to her?

Instead of just doing it, ask the elf which she would prefer at our dinner. Just the two of us, or for us to bring those gods working against her as "guests" so they can have a chat.

Note: mention that we will put countermeasures in place to prevent her from simply soul-sucking them. If she finds a way to stab one then good for her though.

>>14526373
What? No you don't.

>>14526382
That one blood mage that runs the tavern. I forget his name and don't want to bother looking back for it yet. Heck, I think the druid wants to become a god as well. Unless I have gone crazy and made the whole thing up, which is just as likely.

>>14526373
We have a god in a bottle and a lich for a pen I believe. The god in the bottle is not from this world.

Did we not have a god that is a quill and another god stuck in a jar? From a different dimension? Ahhg, I think I am going crazy, checking back in the history for the posts about the office.

>>14526454
Ahh, sorry that is what i was thinking of. My brain is messed up from overworking this past week.

>>14525276
Bit late here, sorry, but let's say you dedicate your whole life to someone/something, only for it to stab you in the back. You would at the very least be incredibly traumatized.

>>14526415
this sounds like the most interesting choice.

I want to see which she is more interested in.

Us or her empire. Or if she thinks she can handle the gods without our help.

>>14526498
I don't think she's dedicated her life to us, shes just got a crush on us.

Ugh. My net is dying on me guys, I can barely even refresh the page.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to pick up tomorrow at 18:00. I feel horrible about this, but I'll be sure to make it up to you by being extra awesome.

Oh noes, also yay. Extra awesome post sometime tomorrow. I guess we can try keeping this thread alive until then?

Lets follow these elves. I want to watch their opp and perhaps interfere.