For those of you who missed last time, we had dinner with High Master Blaine and Khan, and he said he would pay us to assassinate the ever loving shit out of Master Richards because he's kind of a dick. We would've planned our attack out, but he got the drop on us by gassing us in our sleep and sending 100 guards to capture us. Next thing we know, we're awake in his tower about to be experimented on. We busted out, wounded him, and stumbled across Jeanne, the girl we fought in the tournament.

Here's a list of moves you know and can learn: http://pastebin.com/3bUwNDW2
Feel free to reference it whenever.

Inventory: 5 wooden shurikens, 1 dose of Heaven Berries, 385 gp (9914 in the bank), a pendant of Ward Fear, 1 emerald gem, two medical kits, about ten feet of rope, 3 healing potions, a watch, and a compass, 5 masterwork throwing daggers, belt of GO FAST (+1 to attack and defense).

NOTE: You don't have your bag on you, so you don't have any of this.

NOTE NOTE: My computer is totally fixed now. Huzzah!

ADDENDUM NOTE: >mfw purple archived thread

I watch them bring him into the Room from behind the bars. Him. The one who beat me.

He’s bleeding, his insides are almost spilling out, his dark skin shining in the dim light of the hallway. Is Master going to save him, like he did with me? I try to remember, but… No. No, he told me not to. He’s brought to the Room, the safe Room where Master saves people. But if he saves them, then why do some of them scream? Aren’t they happy to be alive? I sit in the stony corner, looking at the shadows. He used shadows to beat me. But Master said I was the strongest there ever was.
So he was wrong?

Master could be wrong?

It’s all I’ve been thinking about since I woke up. He’s never been wrong. Never. Even when I was a child and he beat me and I thought he was wrong, he wasn’t wrong. I owe him my life. But… that man. Shun? Is it Shun? He proved Master wrong. Wrong.

When you think about a word a lot, it makes you think. Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

It doesn’t even look right anymore. I hear yelling. That’s not new. It never was. But… wait, was that Master? Is he okay? His throat was cut! Master!? He doesn’t hear me… he never does. I slump back into my corner and look outside. Footsteps. What? A shadow passes over me, and just as quickly as it was, it isn’t. But… it comes back. It’s him.

The one who beat me. Who proved Master wrong. He stands in front of me, tall and broad. His black eyes look into me… He came back for me. For… me? Why? No one’s ever done that before… I don’t mean anything. I just fight. That’s… that’s all. Isn’t it? I look at him. The one who beat me. And I feel something strange inside of me… what is it? Why do I feel like I’ve done something right? Was it because I lost to him? Is that why I feel…

Pride?

You look down at the slender brunette behind the bars, slumped in the corner, blankly staring at her. What on earth is Jeanne doing here? Is she an experiment? Was she captured like you? You have so many questions… but Richards is getting away. On the other hand, you have no idea about what’s in this tower.

Should you free Jeanne?

>>19067266
"Jeanne? What are you doing here?"

"Do you want to get out?"

Watch her reaction if she doesn't seem to be very eager to leave this place, I'm not sure that we should risk freeing her before we deal with Richards.

You blink and call out to the dazed girl. "Jeanne? What are you doing here?" She stares at you, blue eyes drifting in and out of focus. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but nothing comes out. She quickly shuts it and continues staring at you. It’s a little creepy. "Do you want to get out?" Her eyebrows crease as her eyes look at the ground. She keeps her mouth shut. Well, dammit. It was worth a shot. You walk down the hallway to confront Richards while he’s still weak…

And a ratting from behind startles you. Facing the noise, you see Jeanne up against the bars, hands white from clenching the metal so hard. She stills says nothing, but her eyes look… faintly pleading.

>>19067308
Also, smile warmly.

>I'm so used that the opening post of this quest always has to do something with Shun's backstory that it took me a while to get that these >>19067247 were not his thoughts.

"Jeanne, who is Richards to you?"

>>19067379
Speak to her warmly and pleasantly.

"Jeanne, you cannot speak or does not want to?"

"If you promise not to hurt me now or in the future, I will free you, alright?"

>>19067397
>"Jeanne, you cannot speak or does not want to?"

Fuck. "or DO not want to?"

Anyway, maybe we should free her? I really want to, hopefully she will not start obeying Richards the moment she sees her.

>And a ratting from behind startles you. Facing the noise, you see Jeanne up against the bars, hands white from clenching the metal so hard. She stills says nothing, but her eyes look… faintly pleading.

Come back to her and then >>19067397

"Did Richards hurt you? Are you imprisoned against your will?"

Smiling fondly at her, you speak to her like a brother would do to a little sister. "Jeanne, who is Richards to you?"

Again, she opens her mouth, and closes it, shaking her head. She puts her hand on her arm and rubs it, facing the corner. Hmmm…

"Jeanne, you cannot speak or don’t want to?"

Gazing back at you, she shrugs. You’ve heard her before, why isn’t she saying anything now? You weigh your options. She could be useful, but Richards might have some sort of hold on her. The torch behind you makes shadows dance across her strangely beautiful face. Maybe you should set her free.

"If you promise not to hurt me now or in the future, I will free you, alright?"


Still emotionless, she nods. Your paranoia tells you that this is a bad idea as you slice the bars open with a shadow knife. Oh well, you can deal with the consequences later. Stepping out of her cage, Jeanne looks around, taking the hallway in. She looks at you and shies away for a moment. Man… Richards did a number on her. All the better reason to kill him.

(Jeanne has joined your party.)

>>19067441
Look at other cells and say
"...Richards is going to pay for what he did to you, me and all other people he made suffer."

"Jeanne, I do not know what he did to you but I can tell that it wasn't anything nice. I can guess that you have been here for years being experimented on by that monster.
Look, I'm going to make him answer for what he did. I would like your help, you were an amazing opponent and I would be honored to have you by my side but if you wont help me, I hope that at least you will not impede me.
Now, lets go. We're wasting too much time already!"

Follow Richards trail. Pick up the pace even more.

Is 4chan wigging out for anyone else?

>>19067477
Yep.
Is wonky at the moment. Lets hope its just temporary.

You look around at the other cells… abominations, screaming men, body parts… it’s disgusting. A deep, dark rage wells up from inside you, but you stay calm and focused. You need to. "Richards is going to pay for what he did to you, me and all other people he made suffer." Still, Jeanne just stares. What’s going on in her head? "Jeanne, I do not know what he did to you but I can tell that it wasn't anything nice. I can guess that you have been here for years being experimented on by that monster.” She slowly blinks. “Look, I'm going to make him answer for what he did. I would like your help, you were an amazing opponent and I would be honored to have you by my side but if you won’t help me, I hope that at least you will not impede me.” Nodding, she stays where she is, ignoring the monstrosities in the cells around her. “Now, let’s go. We're wasting too much time already!"

You take off down the hall! Coming out of the hallway, a set of stairs goes up and down, a trail of blood leading up. It’s Richards’. Sprinting upstairs, you run past a window and glance outside. You can see for miles, you have to be close to the top…!

Busting down the wooden door at the top of the stairs with a kick, you enter just in time to see Richards undoing a chain… that leads up to the collar of some massive ball of… what the hell is that? It looks like an orb with six eye stalks coming off of it, a massive eye in the middle of it.

Richards, covered in blood but healed, yells out to it. “Handle him, my beast!” He doesn’t seem to have noticed Jeanne, who still hasn’t entered the room. A quick glance back shows that she’s cowering.

Shit.

launch a bunch of knives at it's eyes and richard

>>19067541
A beholder?
FUCK.

Whisper to Jeanne. "There is no need to be afraid. Fear is just an obstacle that must be overcome."

Is there any way to bypass the monster and go directly after Richards?

>>19067565
Yeah, just run around it. The room's pretty big.

>>19067567
"Jeanne, can you take care of that beast while I deal with Richards?"

Hmm... she doesn't have weapons, does she? I don't remember if she summoned them during the tournament or if she had them beforehand.

If she agrees, ignore the beast and go directly after Richards. I assume we already have shadowburst mode which, along with other things, gives us speed boost. Shoot shadow needles while running up to him, aim for the legs after catching up, go for the kill without hesitation.

>>19067586
>along with other things

What other things?

>>19067594
>>19067594
Strength, endurance? Wasn't it an overall, minor stat boost?

Also, if the Beholder attacks us use the blinding strike on it. Wait, actually use the blinding strike on it and then go after Richards, Jeanne will have it much easier when it is blind.

>>19067629
Silly me, I thought you meant extra speed from your belt. Oops.

>>19067637
Heh. But we don't have that on right now, do we?

>>19067646
You ain't got SHIT, son.

>>19067594
He's probably talking about the Belt of Speed, which we don't have.

As interesting as all these pep talks for Jeanne may be, we're kinda pressed for time right now. Obviously this multi-eyed beast is in our way. The most obvious answer is to blind it. We have no reason to hold back anymore, so throw a shitton of shadow needles in its eyes.

Also, I will be dipping in and out of the thread since I'm busy moving between dorm rooms (more like apartment suites) on campus. Fortunately, it's a very short walk between my new and old place. Still, my responses will be a little delayed.

>>19067650
>>19067650
Damn.
After the previous thread, I realized that we should have at least spent few seconds looking around the surgery room to see if they brought our stuff with them.

Also, Student, the character sheet is not updated.

>>19067541
Leave the Beholder to Jeanne, our priority is to screw with Richards, more specifically chop his hamstrings into little bits, given the experimentation he's done he might be hard to kill, but I doubt he can walk with his tendons shredded.

>>19067675
SHIT Word didn't save it on Monday.

>>19067650
And now I remeber your words from earlier.

>Get as much as you want, it will make it even better when I take it all from you.

>>19067661
Talking is a free action!

>>19067682
Yeah, that's why permanent stat upgrades are always better than equipment, even if said equipment has much better boosts.

You look back. “Jeanne, can you take care of that beast while I deal with Richards?" She says nothing and curls up into a ball. Goddammit, at least she isn’t in your way.

Richards smoothly taunts you, “Do you like it, Shun? It took quite some time to engineer, but it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” It roars and its spindly stalks wave around, before they all look at you! You take off, darkness empowering your every step! Around you, rays and beams fire off, but you’re too fast! It’s going to run out of juice soon…

Shit, it’s spraying beams everywhere! One of them hits you square in the chest as you leap up at the beast, hand black, ready to strike! But… shit, you can’t feel any connection to the shadows anymore! What just happened? Instead of blinding the beast, you just smash it in the central eye with your palm, and it bellows in pain! Where are your shadows? Why aren’t they answering you? “Ooooh, your shadows are magic, are they? I’ll have to note that while I’m picking your brain apart!” What’s he talking about?

Wait… did it dispel your magic?

>>19067744
Well screw you Richards.
Put out the light source, in complete darkness it will be hard to dispel our magic.

Also, are there things around that can be used as weapons? Chairs or other shit.

If we can't take out the light source, then we should evade and take cover, I think we will be able to regain control of shadows in few moments, then we should turn on the Shadow Burst mode, forget about the magically immune Beholder and go directly at Richards.

>>19067769
There's a number of medical instruments, and some weird magical stuff.
There's also the chains on the ground.

>>19067780
Lets grab that chain and swing it around the monster. If we cant blind it, we can bind it. If need be grab up some of the medical equipment for close range. A syringe or a scalpel in Dick's face would be nice.

>>19067780
How does the magical stuff look like? General description. Anything we can use as a weapon?
Medical equipment? ... Eh, I doubt anything useful among those... a scalpel, perhaps?

Now chains, those are good. Lets grab them.

>>19067816
Books, vials, weird sticks. You know, magical stuff.

>>19067824
Man, I'm want tempt fate by picking up the magical sticks..... but perhaps we shouldn't.

Lets take the chain. I still say we retreat till we regain Shadow Burst mode and then go after Richards. Also try to snuff out the light source.

>>19067815
Swinging da chain. Swinging da chain.

Tactical retreat? Or fuck niggas with a chain?

>>19067881
>Or fuck niggas with a chain?

Well, if you put it that way.
Grab the chain a fuck them up. Targets of opportunity, whichever we think we can deal most/best damage to (Richars or Beholder) we will go after them. If beholder, then fuck up its massive eye.

>>19067881
Richard is black? Huh. Pictured him, looking like Hojo or something.

Tactical retreat, with the chain.

>>19067910
>>19067907

Well shit.

>>19067910
>>19067936
Guess Ill retract my tactical retreat.

Though I suppose it will not end well.

rolled 2 = 2

>>19067936
>>19067952
mfw I just wanted to retract my assault suggestion.

You know what? Lets leave it to fate.
1: attack
2: retreat

>>19067984
>>19067952

And we got nothing done here.

>>19067996
The dice have spoken.

Otherwise we'll get nowhere.

Grab the chain while retreating though.

grab something sharp, stab the eye, jump inside and tear shit up

>>19067984
Really? You're letting a coin dictate our actions in a potentially lethal fight?
Why retreat to regain our Shadow Burst if we can kill time by killing someone in the process? Grab a chain and be an all-around nuisance. Maybe rip an eyestalk out with a good swing. Either way, we'll be doing damage AND stalling for time until our shadows return to us.

Funny, I thought our shadowkinesis was more inherent in nature.

>>19067984
Why are we so indecisive? Heh. I'm fine with that.

>>19068012
>Really? You're letting a coin dictate our actions in a potentially lethal fight?

Because we're not getting anywhere. It is a viable tool for DM to use to break ties.
I'm fine with either option, that's why we can't reach any decision.

If you want I'll back your suggestion to get things moving.

>>19068017
I swear, I can't leave you people alone for two minutes.

>>19068035
I'm aware of a coin used to break ties. Still, it's kinda bothersome seeing it come to that in situations like this.

>>19068057
I KNOW.
But we are again at impasse. I'll just stop posting after this till the next update.

You need to press this while you’re close! Grabbing the chain, you swing it at the beast, which swiftly dodges your strike! “Are you really trying to fight my Gauth? You’re even more moronic than I thought!”

Whatever, you’ll show him. You swing it around, dodging the blasts while Richards cackles manically, not even bothering to help his creation. After a few seconds, something in your head clicks. Instinctively, you kick off, shadows augmenting your jump! You’re in the air above the Gauth, and you swing your chain down…

It wraps around the orb! Pulling hard on the chain, you crash down into it, smashing it into the ground! Dazed, it levitates back up, and you jerk the chain hard to the right… and it moves with you. You pull to the left… and it follows.

You are now riding a beholder.

>>19068083
Hell yeah, son.
Now let's point our new mount at Richards and kick our beast of burden in the head to fire beams at him, at least for as long as we can keep up the rodeo.

>>19068083
CCCHHHHAAAAAARGE!!!

Steer the Gauth towards Richards at top speed making it crash into him, drop off it and attack him.
If we pass near the chandelier, snuff its lights out.

>>19068083
We shall name him Frank.

Ram him into Richards.

"You hungry boy? Look over there! A nice tasty, chicken!"

Oh, we have shadow control back?
Shoot shadow needles while charging at him. No need to hold back.

You look to your left at the hanging lamp, the only source of light in the room. Glancing down at a very worried Richards, you grin evilly as you snuff out the light, bathing the area in total darkness. Beneath you, the Gauth snarls. Kicking it, it yelps and lights up the room as it starts spraying beams of magic wildly in every direction! Snapping the chain, you make it charge at Richards, who jumps to the side, causing you to smash into the wall! You’re fine, but your Gauth is bleeding pretty badly. Behind you, Richards’ arms are crackling with energy as he starts to make strange movements with his arms…!

>>19068173
Shadow needle to his face!

Also Frraaaaaank!

>>19068173
Blast him again, Sparky! A beholder death is still a win in our book.

>>19068173
Don't let him finish his magic mojo.
Shoot needles and charge at him.

Attack with shadow feint for maximum damage.

You’ve got to interrupt him! Kicking the Gauth (who you have now named Frank), your shoot a torrent of shadow needles at Richards! There’s no way he can dodge this! As your barrage sails towards him, he explodes into light, and he quickly dashes out of the way, leaving an afterimage!

Shit, he’s fast, and you can hardly see as it is. Fortunately, he should have an even harder time seeing you…

>>19068253
>Fortunately, he should have an even harder time seeing you…

Time to shadow cloak. There must be a reason why he doesn't have that super speed all the time. I think he cannot hold it for a long time. So we either wait it out, lure him into a trap or try to off him in a sneak attack.

>>19068282
Shadow cloak time. But what do we do about Frank?

>>19068253
The entire room is bathed in darkness, and we can control shadows that are in-a-way connected to us, right? The most straightforward response, assuming we know where Richards is (which I assume we do), is to manipulate the shadows directly surrounding him and pierce him from all sides with giant spikes.

Shadow Iron Maiden.

>>19068335
Oh right. We have tried to use shadows to slow down opponents before by entangling them. We should do that.

>>19068335
If we ever get the chance, I say we should learn how to sense people that are in the shadows. Like...shadow sonar.

He can’t move if he’s pierced, right? Summoning up all your power, you command the shadows around you to spike everything in the room…

“AAAGGH!” Success. Looking into the darkness, you see Richards on the ground, screaming, bleeding, holding his leg in agony. A massive hole gapes in his thigh. “You bastard! How could you do this to me!?” You gaze at him with pity. What a stupid question from a stupid man. He frantically looks around and remembers Jeanne outside. “Jeanne! Help me!” She looks up from the ground at him, face confused.

This could be a problem.

>>19068411
"Help you? You experimented on her. You don't deserve the right! How could you do this to them. To her!" Finish him!

>>19068411
"What has this man done to you but leave you in a cage to rot, only to come out once a year to kill others in the Gold Tournament? I imagine I'm totally wrong, so I want you to tell me yourself. You want to correct me, don't you, Jeanne? Tell me about yourself? That's all you want, isn't it? To tell someone about yourself? Again, I could be wrong, which I why I want you to be alive. I want you to live so you can tell me all about you, to tell me I'm wrong about all these assumptions. Is that what you want, Jeanne?

"If that's what you want, then leave this man to rot. He has kidnapped people, he has experimented on people, he has KILLED people. He doesn't save them like you might think.

"Talk to me, Jeanne."

shadow spike his heart before she can react

>>19068411
Jeanne ought to take a bit to make her decision given her state. If we take him down fast and permanently now we should get him before Jeanne makes up her mind and can move to intercept. Take him down now, slice his neck open and remove his head from his shoulders.

>>19068411
"This man discards you as a filthy rag when he does need you and only calls you to use you as a tool. Do you really want to help him?"
"He clearly does not care for you and only about himself"

Move after saying these words in case she can locate us by the sound.
We're in shadow cloak mode, right? Doesn't matter if she wants to help him if she cannot see us. We don't even need to get near him, now that we know where he is (or at least the general direction by his voice), concentrate the Shadow Iron Maiden on him and turn him into a pin-cushion.

Your vision goes red at his words. He wants her help?! How DARE he. "Help you? You experimented on her. You don't deserve the right! How could you do this to them. To her!"

His arm goes up in a plea. “Jeanne, please!”

"This man discards you as a filthy rag when he does need you and only calls you to use you as a tool. Do you really want to help him?" You leap down quietly onto the ground, and begin to focus on his voice so you can impale him from every angle. You aren’t leaving this to chance!

“Jeanne, I saved your life! You must help me!” At these words, her cerulean eye twitches and she stands up lifelessly and begins to walk into the room. Shit, this isn’t good!

You need to stay concentrated. You calmly say, "Talk to me, Jeanne." She stops dead in her tracks as a conflicted look grows on her young features. Using the hesitation, your shadows pierce Richards and he lets loose one final scream as the life drains out of him. He’s more blood than body at this point. Looking up, Jeanne stares at the corpse of her master. Emotionless.

>>19068583
dat trip

>>19068583
"I'm sorry, Jeanne. I imagine you looked to him as a father of sorts. Someone you took care of you, in a way. It was for the good of others, though. He hurt people. He did things to them that should not be. He was a danger to others, to innocent people. I'm sorry, but it's for the good of the innocent."

>>19068583
Make sure he is dead. I mean, he is an alchemist, he might have some more tricks left.

Talk with Jeanne.
"Don't feel sorry for him. Even if it is true that he saved you once, which I cannot believe, he has manipulated, hurt and made dangerous experiments on you. Don;t think for a second he cared about your well being.
When he brought me here, he was full set on doing the same to me and then replacing you, as you he did not deem you useful anymore."

Pat her shoulder.

"I cannot imagine what he did to you all these years but from now on, you will be free and be able to lead your own life. Smile (even if she cannot see it)."

And after that... looting time? LOOTING TIME!

>>19068630
We're not a sociopath. Chill the fuck out.

>>19068657
>not looting

>>19068657
Not like those ADVENTURERS.

>>19068657
>>19068657
the shit are you talking about?

>>19068583
Confirm the kill, just in case.

Then comfort Jeanne. Tell her that he was not a good person, he harmed the innocent. He may have taken care of you, but only for his own ends, he locked you up when he didn't need you. He didn't help people, he only brings death and pain. Come on Jeanne let me take you outside, the place you rarely get to see.

>>19068662
You really want to loot from the study of a noted mad scientist, a man known for turning men into aberrations? What items of value could we possibly find here?

>experiments dsamily

>>19068684
Pretty fucking much everything.

A simple endurance potion costs 1000 gp. Who knows what kind of crazy shit he has here. Of course, we will not use it and have Erin confirm but fuck, are you honestly suggestion against looting?

Besides, this is a massive tower, we could find old fashioned gold in the levels that are not mad laboratories.

You look at the teenage girl, her dirty hair falling around her face. "Don't feel sorry for him. Even if it is true that he saved you once, which I cannot believe, he has manipulated, hurt and made dangerous experiments on you. Don’t think for a second he cared about your well-being. When he brought me here, he was full set on doing the same to me and then replacing you, as you he did not deem you useful anymore." She looks at you, and a sign of life… something… stirs in her eyes. You smile warmly. That stops when you hear grumbling behind you. Shit, the beholder is still alive, and you’re still at the top of this tower, which you know has guards in it. You’re stuck in between a rock and a hard place…

>>19068708
Shun isn't a materialist, last I checked, but fine. If you think you can find something in this totally cracked tower of this totally cracked guy, then go right ahead, assuming Blaine doesn't decide to take our spoils off our hands later.

>>19068721
We'll have to euthanize Frank, then. He's already terribly wounded, so use the Shadow Iron Maiden to finish him off, then see if we can find a way out.

ok, go back to chaining that beast with the chain, have the girl ride with you and ride it all the way down to the first floor.
oh, um, see if you can find your back of stuff before finishing off richard with a thorned piano wire to the neck and riding out of the tower

>>19068721
"FRANK, you're alive!"

>>19068729
Hmm. Well, lets at least go back to the holding cells and see if we can save more people.
Also go back to the surgery room at the off-chance that he brought our bag here... that would be convenient.
Ah, and grab every potion and magical things we can find. Don't know what they are but they will might be useful... at least we could pawn them off or something.

>>19068729
Well, for starters our pack is somewhere in the damn tower.

and secondly, a man has to make his way through the world somehow, Shun did not seek to be dragged into the tower but now that he has been he may as well take from one who no longer has a use for these items so his own way is easier. Remember that he wants to get to the holy city, which means either saving up 100k gold per person he takes with him (which may be a few people) or crossing the highly dangerous deadlands.

>>19068764
>>19068769
>>19068782
Well, yeah, finding our bag kinda went without saying. I'm just hard-pressed to think of anything we could find in this tower that wouldn't also be a black mark against human rights and the Geneva convention.

And we go make sure Frank is okay. And..if we can keep him.

>>19068816
Hey, hey... we're not the ones that made them and if those things are truly dangerous then we wont use them at all.

SOMEONE is going to clean this tower afterwards. don't think it will stand here empty with no one ever visiting it till end of times.

>you guys actually want to keep the beholder
>the spiteful, malicious beast

dude what

>>19068823
We're not keeping Frank. As interesting as it'd be to keep a semi-domesticated beholder, it'll be more trouble that it's worth.

>>19068845
But MOOOOOOOM, we will look after it
We prooooooomise!

So... do you guys really want to try and keep this thing?

>>19068845
don't be a pussy, shun.
you got this shit

>>19068899
>>19068899
No. I'm just joking.
Lets put it out of its misery quickly with the Iron Maiden.

>>19068899
I thought we'd just ride him over the guards and leave him at the entrance.
How big is he? cause i've been imagining one the size of two refrigerators stacked on top of each other

>>19068816
There's probably a good chunk of gold and or other valuable materials in the tower somewhere, the man may have been horrifically evil, but he also had to pay for his ingredients somehow.

>>19068927
More like two fridges next to each other.

I noticed that we didn't actually double check if Richard is dead or not. Do it.

>>19068940
He's swiss cheese. He's dead.

well that's manageable
i'm sure shun could train him or something... does seem like a bit of a hassle though

>>19068927
Guards are not going to be a problem, especially since Jeanne is with us and since we are not going to try to fight them in the first place.

It is took much of a risk and removes any chance of decent looting.

>>19068951
We're NOT KEEPING FRANK. He's hurt too badly, anyway. We have to put him down.

>>19068946
Hey, can't blame me for being paranoid.

...Also, do we need to bring any evidence that he's dead.... like, his head?


Fuck! I just remembered, we need to grab shit from his study in case he actually has something on Sifu (doubtful but never hurts to check)

>>19068976
We've probably tied up that loose end of the Sifu story, but yeah, it can't hurt to be a little extra thorough.

Turning around, you throw a sword made of darkness at Frank, embedding in his central eye, killing him instantly. A shame you couldn’t ride him out of here. Grabbing Jeanne’s hand, you guide her downstairs and go back to the room you were contained in, looking for your bag. After a few seconds of looking, you see it! Opening it up, it looks like everything’s still here. Excellent! You have no idea what these potions do, but you stuff them into your bag anyway (Got 10 unidentified potions). It doesn't look like there's anything else here. You take Jeanne and run back out down the stairs… To your surprise, it leads to an elevator just like the one in Blaine’s tower. You hope it heads to the ground floor…

Standing there, white walls gleaming, rays of dawn shining through the windows, Jeanne looks at you in silence, as if waiting for you to say something.

WHY DOES THIS TRIP DO THIS TO MEEEEEEE

>>19069045
See >>19068614
Not to auto-fellate or anything, but that's my answer.

>>19069064
I dunno, I feel like it was more loyalty born of fear and obligation than her actually liking him, so going on about him being a father figure might not be the best response.

I'd say ask her what she plans to do now, and say she's welcome to stick with us for a while if she'd like until she figures out what she wants to do.

You put your hand gently on Jeanne’s shoulder. "I'm sorry, Jeanne. I imagine you looked to him as a father of sorts. Someone you took care of you, in a way. It was for the good of others, though. He hurt people. He did things to them that should not be. He was a danger to others, to innocent people. I'm sorry, but it's for the good of the innocent."

She looks at you, sunlight streaming down her angular face, and says, “I…” before trailing off. You wait a while, hoping she would follow up, but she remains silent for the rest of the trip down. When you reach the ground floor, two heavily armored guards stand in your way. They don’t look augmented, though…

“Halt! You are under suspicion for cheating at the Gold Tournament!” Is that what they were told so they would capture you? Fucking really?

>>19069045
Smile at Jeanne.

"You should try to talk, it feels strange to have one way conversation.
I suppose you have no where to go? You can hang around me if you want to"

>>19069143
Make this face.
No, seriously.

>>19069143
"And by who's accusation?"

"Doesn't matter. Direct your complain to Master Blaine, I have a special message for him that cannot be delayed.... unless YOU want to explain to him why a his report was delayed?"

>>19069143
So that's why they nearly DISEMBOWELED us earlier: because they were told we cheated in a bullshit deathmatch tournament?

cheated?
in an anything goes tournament?

fuck off!

You make an incredulous face. These guys are kidding, right?

"And by who's accusation?"

One of the guards picks up his spear and slams it into the ground. “Master Rich-“

You cut him off. “Doesn't matter. Direct your complain to Master Blaine, I have a special message for him that cannot be delayed.... unless YOU want to explain to him why his report was delayed?"

He looks at the other guard, who shrugs. “What is your report?” Are they really falling for this?

How could we cheat, when the only rules where ' Anything goes.'

>>19069282
Oh wait. This.
How the fuck do you cheat at such tournament.

>>19069284
"The matter has been discussed and squared away with Richards himself. He has called off any such investigation himself, as he found the claims were false and misconstrued. He said all further inquiries are to be sent to High Master Blaine himself. Master Richards is sorely tired from the ordeal and wishes to be left alone. If you'll excuse me."

Swag on past them, Jeanne in tow.

>>19069284
>>19069284
"It concerns illegal experiments. I cannot disclose it to you, since it is a special mission. In fact I said more than I should have already, I suggest you don't spread this information.
You can escort me to the tower if you so wish.

Also? Cheated at the 'anything goes' tournament? Care to explain how I could manage to pull that off? Because I'm trying to figure it out and drawing blanks here."

>>19069315
This says too much. We don't know if the city guard is in on Richards and his experiments. I think it's best to be a little vague and nebulous.

You wave him aside. "The matter has been discussed and squared away with Richards himself. He has called off any such investigation himself, as he found the claims were false and misconstrued. He said all further inquiries are to be sent to High Master Blaine himself. Master Richards is sorely tired from the ordeal and wishes to be left alone. If you'll excuse me." You begin to walk past them, Jeanne following you. Before you leave, you turn around and ask, “Also? Cheated at the 'anything goes' tournament? Care to explain how I could manage to pull that off? Because I'm trying to figure it out and drawing blanks here."

One of the guards mumbles something, and you demand him to speak up. “They… said you paid off some of the fighters.” You blink at him.

These people are idiots.

>>19069392
"Do I look like I'm made of gold pieces, sir? Never mind; don't answer that." Shake head and walk off. We'll have to return to Blaine himself.

>>19069392
"That's ridiculous. If I had money to pay off such fighters, I wouldn't have participated in the first place. I needed the prize money, you see.
Now, this matter cannot be delayed any further. Good day to you, sirs. You will find me in the city if you need me, I wont be leaving for the next few days."

Then stride out like you own the place.

>>19069392

Huh. Attacking people with money. We may have to do that next time.

Also who do you think could identify the potions? Blaine most likely, but I doubt he would take the time to do it.

Maybe our girlfriend (if we can call her that. We still have that other date.)

>>19069431
Erin is still an apprentice, so I'm not sure she could handle anything of Richards's caliber.

>>19069439
Then again, thinking on it, it may sharpen her skills if she actually could separate them into their components and figure them out and whatnot.

You shake your head at the stupid men. "Do I look like I'm made of gold pieces, sir? Never mind; don't answer that. You will find me in the city if you need me, I won’t be leaving for the next few days.” Striding out the door, you ignore their commands and head over to the obsidian spire of High Master Blaine, sun raining into the street. Surprisingly, he’s already waiting for you when you enter.

“Good morning, child of shadow.” As calm as ever, you see. His head turns towards Jeanne. “I heard about the raid last night. Judging by your appearance, you’ve escaped. I assume the job is done?” You nod. “Excellent. I shall have to peruse Richards’ experiments, see how we can make them safe. Now, I surmise that you wish to come to an agreement on your payment, yes?”

>>19069503
"This might sound odd.... but can you teach me something? A powerful technique or a skill that could be useful for my style?"

>>19069503
Assuming we're going with permanent stat buff:
"Something of the sort. What do you know of permanent amplification of the body's potential?"
>>19069518
I honestly doubt even Blaine of all people has something that matches our skillset.

>>19069524
>>19069524
>I honestly doubt even Blaine of all people has something that matches our skillset.

I'm not banking on it but it doesn't hurt to ask, right?
If he hasn't got anything then I support your suggestion.

>>19069524
"Naturally, nothing of the sort that Richards pursued, mind you."

>>19069503
"One of your artifacts. If you have something that will always come back to me, that would be superb. Having all my stuff stolen left me in a bit of a pickle. Also if you don't mind, I found these potions. Could you or someone of Richard's caliber identify them?" "Please."

Something made out sapient pear wood, would be nice.

Caught up guys. Some wicked shit going on :D

>>19069543
That sounds rather niche. We could just get a bag of holding anywhere. Unless Blaine can teach us some manner of dimensional distortion skill so we can store all our stuff in a pocket dimension and "draw an item from the shadows," as it were.

That'd be a hell of an idea, come to think of it.

>>19069594
Yeah, that's a pretty sweet proposition.

>>19069594
Supported. We wouldn't have to worry about dragging our equipmrnt around in a bag.

You cradle your chin in your hand. Hmm. This is a good opportunity to learn something crazy. Maybe so crazy… “Do you think you could teach me how to pull and store items out of shadows, like from another dimension?”

His rusty face leers at you. “That would be child’s play. It would take several days of private tutoring, but it is far from difficult.” He sure is confident, isn’t he? “Are you sure that would be adequate payment?”

>>19069648
Heft the bag on our shoulder.
"Unless you think carrying this all hours of the day counts as sufficient muscle training."

>>19069656
"If you believe it to be so simple as to be negligible, what else would you include as reasonable payment, Master Blaine?"
Let's not cheat ourselves out of anything.

>>19069648
Having recently found myself separated from several items that would have helped me kill Richards that much faster, as well as security from those who would rob me, yes I think it would be quite the useful skill to have.

>>19069648
Honestly I'm not sure yet. Given that it'll enhance my understanding of shadows. Can it also store other things than items, perhaps let me reach through the shadows from point A to point B.

If you don't think it would be reasonable I would be happy to accept more. What manner of items can you create and what other lessons you can impart?

>>19069648
"I wouldn't shy away if you threw something else in there but that is a skill that I'd really much like to learn."

We could store all manner of shit in there. Heck, we could start putting in situational equipment, like camping gear, bombs, nets, etc...

>>19069676
We'll just end up storing everything in there, like our extra clothes and stuff. Then when we want something, we just grasp at air, our hand disappears in a shadow portal, and we just pull the item(s) in question out.

Shadow Inventory would make life pretty simple. Plus, we can get away with "packing light."

You’re pretty sure you can swindle something extra from him. "If you believe it to be so simple as to be negligible, what else would you include as reasonable payment, Master Blaine?"

He stands motionlessly and says, “How does seventy-five thousand gold sound?” Oh. Oh goodness, that’s a lot of gold.

ask for info about the shadow plain and shadow properties as well but in a way so it doesn't count as payment for the job

oh fuck yeah, take it

>>19069695
SHIT, dog. You'll just throw money at anything, eh?

"Interesting offer. Still, according to Richards, my shadows are intrinsically magical in nature. I should wonder if there are any other 'tricks' a high-and-mighty wizardly type like yourself might know."

>>19069695
That is a great amount of gold, but I can get gold, perhaps in no quite as large quantities, from many places. Is commissioning equipment in lieu of the gold off the table that or picking your brain for more knowledge and learning aside from the shadow pocket. A man can lose his money and his possessions but he never loses his knowledge.

>>19069688
God damn, it would be so useful.
I hope it does not have space restrictions though.

Also we wouldn't run into the problem of breaking our potions during fights.

>>19069695
"That sounds excellent"
We shouldn't dawdle, barter or browse too long. Blaine seems like a busy man who values his time

>>19069715
It'd be a good chance to learn something like Shadow Stepping and things like that.

>>19069729
>He stands motionlessly
The dude's got nothing better to do than stand around like a badass and be all mysterious and aloof and shit. I'm pretty sure he's got time.

>>19069733
>>19069739

Well... okay. I personally prefer new skills and techniques over money too but I'm afraid to offend him somehow.

>>19069750
You'll know when you do,

>>19069695
Perfectly acceptable, I thank you for your patronage, and I hope you'll keep me in mind if you have any further need of my particular skill-set.

>>19069750
He seems difficult to offend, especially since we just did him a pretty important job for him. As long as we don't ask about the mask too much and don't threaten his city, I think we'll be ok.

>>19069761
Either way, let's filch for some extra techniques.

>>19069695
Try to wrangle more skills, knowledge and so on from him. Money isn't the biggest deal for us, hell we might enjoy wandering through the darklands instead of taking a boat.

>>19069800
I'm still of a mind that we should fix the boats first, just to make the entire continent's life easier.

>>19069695
"Master Blaine, up till recent months I did not know what money even was. I was born and raised being taught new skills all my life. While gold is always a good alternative, I will prefer new skills, techniques and improvements over my body to it without a question.
If there is anything else you will be able to teach me, I will gladly accept it."
"Can you teach me how to deal with magical attacks better?"

>>19069813
I'm pretty sure we can eventually deflect entire magic attacks with our shadows. Hell, we used a shadow shield at our feet to stop the dickass wizard's fire pillar during the tournament.

You’d love to know more about your shadows. "Interesting offer. Still, according to Richards, my shadows are intrinsically magical in nature. I should wonder if there are any other 'tricks' a high-and-mighty wizardly type like yourself might know."

That horrible glowing starts back up, as you feel Jeanne behind you shrink away. Fuck. “Tricks are what an apprentice does. I decorate the fabric of reality on a whim.”

Erm. Uh. Shit.

>>19069824
Be unflinching. Give no visible fucks.
"Wrong word choice, then. Sheesh. What *techniques* and *skills* and *not cantrips* can you show me?"

>>19069824
Haha, that was horrible choice of words, MAA.
I wanted to point that out when I saw it but then it slipped my mind.

you should have used >>19069813 Student.
Far more neutral approach.

>>19069839
Neutrality isn't fun.

>>19069824
Bad choice of words I suppose, I did not mean to offend, but I wasn't really given a etiquette primer on how to refer to magical deeds when I was living in the woods.

Are there any teachings, techniques and skills that one such as yourself would consider valuable for me to learn?

>>19069845
You can't blame us for being raised in the woods and not knowing what the hell to say to arguably one of the most powerful wizards in the setting (and a noted sorta-PC of yours, Student). I bet if Tong were the one saying it, Blaine wouldn't be so hoighty-toighty.

>>19069838
NOW you are trying to piss him off
Downvoting this.

"I apologize, Master Blaine, I meant no disrespect. All the people who called themselves mages that I have gone against in the past left much to desired and have skewed my perception of it."

You stand unflinchingly. If you show any weakness“Bad choice of words I suppose, I did not mean to offend, but I wasn't really given a etiquette primer on how to refer to magical deeds when I was living in the woods.

Are there any teachings, techniques and skills that one such as yourself would consider valuable for me to learn?”

He stands resolute. “No.” You wait for him to go on.
He doesn’t.

>>19069874
I feel like I forgot half a sentence there.

>>19069874
>>19069877
You might've.
Well, he said he doesn't have anything that would be valuable *to us* (whatever that's worth), so we'll take the Shadow Inventory and the 75k gold.

>>19069874
Well, that's good to know. I'll take the 75k.

We should probably talk to Blaine about Jeanne and secure her a place to live, safety and care. We can't really take her with us as taking an emotionally damaged and abused alchemist on journeys seems kinda iffy, that and we aren't leaving for a bit and I'd rather not have her live in an inn, though with 75k we can probably get a better place. We ought to be able to get him to agree to this and to continuing to keep her safe, and ensuring her freedom when we leave.

>>19069845
Yeah, but being an idiot and clearly using words that can easily offend even the friendliest of people is stupid.
So, I'll take neutrality over "fun".

>>19069874
>>19069877
Welp. Good job, MAA.
Try to understand during which situations it is okay to SWAG and when to not. Don't say "but we were raised in the wood blah blah", we managed to speak with women properly and even successfully flirted with them even though we had never met females before in our life. Blaine simply oozes with power and intimidation every time we see him. Every description of his is of a incredibly scary, terrifying man.
One would have to be brain dead to NOT choose every single word carefully when speaking to him.

So, take the 75k?

>>19069988
y-yeah?

We blew our chance at getting anything better, so what else is there to get?

>>19069988
Money is nice, though see if commissioning something from his workshops is still an option.

>>19069988
also, I assume that means we will at least get eh shadow space, right?

You try your best to not show your fear. “Could I commission an artifact?”

“No.”

Fuck.


“Then I would like to have the gold, please.”

“Consider it done.” Barely moving his head, he gazes at Jeanne, who is doing her best to not be noticed and failing miserably. “Why is she here?” You’re not sure what to say.

>>19069988
plus the shadow inventory thing. yes
maybe ask about shadow planes and magic while he teaches us

>>19070048
She seems to be following me for lack of anywhere else to go, not that I mind, she was a formidable opponent so having her journey with me would certainly make things easier.

>>19070048
"She was imprisoned at Richard's tower, I freed her."

>>19070067
this one

>>19070048
She was held by Master Richards. It seems that she has been there for quite a long time, where he imprisoned her and presumably experimented on her. I brought her with me as I was in a hurry to report back to you.

Did you even know that the three time arena champion was a brainwashed prisoner? Because honestly when someone becomes a three time arena champion, you should probably look into them.

>>19070086
>>19070086
>Did you even know that the three time arena champion was a brainwashed prisoner? Because honestly when someone becomes a three time arena champion, you should probably look into them.

SHHHHH
don't piss him off even more

Well guys, it's nearly time for me to head out for work. I'll be back at the same time as always.

>>19070152
>>19070152
Alright. See you later.

>>19069913
I can't help it if ONE word pissed him off. I thought of these things as neat tricks that we can use to get an upper hand, but apparently Blaine is highly offended by a word Shun uses semi-regularly. It's not like he had a list of "WORDS TO NOT EVER SAY AROUND ME" readily available.
What's done is done, but sheesh.

>>19070116
Even I'll agree with this. Go with:
"Jeanne, the three-time grand champion of the Gold Tournament, is, or was, Richards's greatest project, it seems. Now she is without a home and a caretaker. She is with me for the time being."

>>19070341
Really?
Come on, you know what mighty egos mages have. Sure, Blaine is not a mage and is not a prude as they are but it should have been obvious to not equate his powers with words that are used to describe street magicians. And please don't "I did not have list etc etc", somehow Shun knew to not point out and compliment what big boobs Erin has. He should be able to discern what things are appropriate to say to powerful people, considering he was raiding by an extremely powerful man. I doubt even Sifu would tolerate his skills being called "tricks"

Either he is a socially awkward kid or not. We established that he is a great dimplomancer who knows what words to use. If he managed to talk down a terrorist intent to kill innocent people then he should know how to speak and behave to powerful people.
That sentence you used was clearly in condescending tone, whenever you intended to or not.

>>19070460
Fine, fine. What's done is done. At least we're still getting stuff out of it.

>>19070485
I'm not that bothered that we might have lost more skills (it is unclear if we could have gotten more anyway) I was fine with shadow pocket space and money. Hopefully Blaine will not hold it against us.

Hey, sorry if I sound too pissed off. I do not intent to, it was other players' (me included) fault too for not giving better option and I can understand being high on excitement after such a badass mission could skewer perception a bit.

Thread archived.

Midnight bump.

Hey guys, start archiving threads with the tag "Shattered Sun" since it's where I got the setting. Some people might be interested in it later.

You glance back at the slim girl behind you who tries to stay out of the conversation. "Jeanne, the three-time grand champion of the Gold Tournament, is, or was, Richards's greatest project, it seems. Now she is without a home and a caretaker. She is with me for the time being." You turn your attention back to Blaine, who passively looks at her, the same way he looks at everything.

“She appears to have significant mental issues. I can only imagine the horrors Richards put her through.” At the mention of Richards’ name, you feel the air behind you grow tense. “I believed that she was a quiet being, or intimidated by me, not that she was mute.” Blaine crosses his arms in contemplation. “Is there anything about her that I should know?”
Hmm. Good question.

>>19074346
"You likely know as much as I do right now, High Master."
Maybe not mention that she isn't actually mute. If she wants to defend herself, it'll be in due time.

>>19074346
I really know about as much as you do. Aside from her being a scared girl whose life was torn apart by a mad scientist I can't really think of anything.

Given that she won three times in a row, and it's an annual tournament Richards must have been doing his experiments for over 4 years. Someone should have been there for her.

You shrug. "You likely know as much as I do right now, High Master. Given that she’s won the tournament three times in a row, those experiments must’ve gone on for… at least four years.” You look behind you at the teenager. “Someone should’ve been there for her.”

Blaine nods. “Do not worry, we will be. It is a deep shame that Richards engaged in such experiments, but this is perhaps his greatest offense. The greatest mental health diagnostics in the world are at my disposal, and I shall ensure that she will be looked well after in our care. I…” Blaine trails off as you feel two female hands clenching on your cloak, holding as if their lives depended on it. Craning your head, you see Jeanne grasping your dark blue cloak, trembling…

Dammit, Richards, what did you do…?

>>19074513
Sigh.
"With your permission, High Master, it's probably best I stay with her for now. I'm the only other familiar face she has left."
I'm tempted to add "No offense," but I know Blaine will get pissy.

>>19074513
Aren't we wearing our gi since last night?

>>19074547
Oh dicks, you're right.
Whoops.

>>19074513
I'm going to be staying with her. It seems like I'm the only one she trusts and I'm not going to leave her like this. I appreciate your help, given what little I know of alchemy and magic there would be so much of it I didn't understand.

While care is necessary we must remember not to take her freedom in our efforts to help her and keep her safe, she has spend too long in captivity already.

>>19074564
Let's not lecture the single most intimidating man in the setting just yet.

>>19074513
Well, I don't mind looking after her either, she'd certainly be helpful on my journey specially if I cross through the deadlands.

>>19074585
>she'd certainly be helpful on my journey specially if I cross through the deadlands.
>already seeing her as a tool

You fucking disgust me, mongrel.

>>19074585
Let's not say THIS, either. It makes her sound like a tool, and that's the last thing we want to do. Quit being selfish, mang.

>>19074585
We should probably put travel plans on hold while we're taking care of her, as much as I like being a wandering monk, I'd rather not take her with us anywhere until she is at the very least willing to talk to people, other than us, using full sentences. Then if she wants to come with us she can.

We're not dragging her straight from Richard's tower to the fucking darklands, I mean dear fucking god.

>>19074592
All things are tools when you boil it down to it.

and when considering the journey that Shun is looking at he cannot drag around dead weight, and therefore companions must be useful.

>>19074634

>>19074564
>>19074569
It could use some rewording, we need to get across that we're staying with her, his help is appreciated and that her freedom is to be of the utmost priority, while remaining polite, respectful and non-lecturey towards Blaine.

It's probably for the best that I stay with her for now as her primary caregiver given her trust of me and my sense of responsibility towards her.

Your offer of help is greatly appreciated, I do not have the expertise to help her in all the ways she needs.

Perhaps now we can show her Terec in the sunlight and let her see it as a magnificent city rather then the prison it has been for her.

>>19074634
1. This assumes we're crossing the Deadlands anytime soon, which we're not.
2. I'm still interested in Shun taking up naval carpentry for a bit.
3. She's a socially-hamstrung, fragile, unstable sixteen-year-old. Grow up.
4. You're probably just trolling at this point, so 4/10.

>>19074660
1) he's still almost 20k gold short of crossing the sea.
2) carpentry is a trained occupation, which Shun has not in fact been trained in.
3) If she can't help Shun in his travels then she should not in fact be traveling with Shun.

You can’t just leave her behind. You don’t think she could handle it. You turn back to the dark mask. "With your permission, High Master, it's probably best I stay with her for now. I'm the only other familiar face she has left."

For a moment, the room is silent. “She seems to have a fixation on you.” He pauses. “Very well. It is her choice to accompany you, and I have no power to stop her.” Wow. You were expecting some sort of resistance, but he seems very acquiescent to her wishes.

You crack a smile as you feel Jeanne behind you lighten up. “Perhaps now we can show her Terec in the sunlight and let her see it as a magnificent city rather than the prison it has been for her.”

The mask glances at Jeanne. “Perhaps you can show her the world, student of darkness.”

Perhaps you can.

There’s still something nagging at your mind, though. What is it? Oh, dammit… the orb from last night! Did Blaine see it, too?

>>19074700
I thought that was just Richards tracking us. But since you brought it up:

"There's one other detail I still can't explain, though. Before I was...accosted last night, there was a strange pale orb floating in the sky high above Terec. It seemed to...regard me, in a way. I thought it was Richards attempting to spy on me, but I haven't seen anything confirming that. Did you see anything of the sort last night?"

>>19074700
Blaine, last night did you see a dark orb in the sky, around when I left your tower? I have no idea what it is, is there any record of dark shards or anything like that?

It felt ominous, like that weird prickly sensation on the back of your spine when something just doesn't seem right.

You bring the orb up. "There's one other detail I still can't explain, though. Before I was...accosted last night, there was a strange pale orb floating in the sky high above Terec. It seemed to...regard me, in a way. It felt ominous. I thought it was Richards attempting to spy on me, but I haven't seen anything confirming that. Is there any record of dark shards or anything like that? Did you see anything of the sort last night?"

Silence reigns in the obsidian room. The mask speaks. “I did see it. It felt wrong. Evil, in a sense. But… there are no records of it. Whatever it is, it must be investigated posthaste.” Wow, it gave this guy the chills? Damn, that can’t be any good. You hope you don’t see it anytime soon. “Investigate I shall.” Blaine pauses. “Only after I handle this mess with Richards, however. The public will be outraged at his actions and attribute it to the Guild as a whole. I must be ready.” This guy’s always five steps ahead of everyone around him, isn’t he? You hadn’t even thought of the consequences it’d have on the city.

>>19074788
>You hadn’t even thought of the consequences it’d have on the city.
No, I'm pretty sure it crossed our mind at least once. But since we're not a citizen of Terec, it wasn't an immediate concern.

"Is there anything else you would have of me?"

>>19074788
e should get the money deposited into the bank.

"If you need more jobs, done let me know sir."

>>19074788
Is there anything you wish my help with just let me know. Then ask to leave as we've had a very long night.

Ask Blaine to deposit our reward in our bank account as I'd rather not have to drag 75k to the bank ourself.

Is our inn room large enough for two? If not we'll have to find new lodgings.

>>19074834
Your room is.
Your bed isn't.

>>19074855
This'll be awkward. Fuck it, we'll sleep on the floor. Jeanne gets the bed.

>>19074788
So next we should probably check our room at the inn and pay for the possible damages. Then we should work on introducing Jeanne to Khan,since all three of us are going to be traveling together, which hopefully won't end too horribly

>>19074855
We'll sleep on the floor of course. If we can get a new room for her, or a bigger room if she doesnt want to be alone or something.

>>19074855
Given our current finances we could get a bigger room with either two beds or a bigger bed we're pretty flush on cash right now. That or just get a futon and toss it on the floor for us.

>>19074879
And Erin. She seems a likely member of our odd little troupe as well.

As unfortunate for the Alchemist’s Guild as the news will be, it’s really none of your concern. "Is there anything else you would have of me?" He shakes his helmet. “Very well. Please deposit the funds in my bank account. By your leave.” You bow and turn around, Jeanne meekly following you.

“Child of Shadow.” Why does he call you that? You aren’t a child. You have a name. You know he uses names, why the hell is he so flowery about this? “Be here tomorrow at noon. You instruction begins then.” You nod and continue leaving. As soon as you get outside, you feel a tug on your sleeve. Looking over, Jeanne’s icy eyes dart from the ground to your face.

You hear her mumble something. “What is it, Jeanne?”

A whisper. “Thank you.”

Somehow, being abducted in the middle of the night seems worth it now.

>>19074909
MONTAGE!
Training to learn the Shadow Inventory, introducing Jeanne to Erin and Khan, explaining her origin and circumstances, the whole nine yards.

>>19074909
Woo!

We have a Waifu now!

Adventure Party Go!

Form of: Super Fun!

Erin, Khan, Jeanne and Shun, off to repair boats and kick asses.

Also, 3 way with Jeanne and Erin. Its gonna happen.

>>19074926
Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

>>19074926
>Also, 3 way with Jeanne and Erin. Its gonna happen.

>>19074881
Or we make like a...shadow hammock. Something like that could allow us to train our ability to constantly mold our shadow, or even subconsciously control the shadows, without direct thought.

>>19074930
Think of all the Alchemical sex aids she would know of!

Its a University of Alchemists, you know they would have developed something.

Joking aside, we should try to introduce Jeanne to Erin at some point, but make a point to show erin that she's just someone we're helping.

Probably nothings gonna come with Erin, but damn, Shun's a super virgin, he's gotta be awkward as fuck with stuff like that.

>>19074948
>he's gotta be awkward as fuck with stuff like that.

Somehow Shun hasn't been nearly as awkward as he should be. You know, given that he lived with a lazy old man for 15 years of his life and never met anyone else.

>>19074952
Well we did turn upto a date in full armor ready for battle.

We're kinda lucky Erin seems to be pretty into us, or atleast enjoys talking to us.

>>19074952
We'll just chalk that up to "being a quick learner." If push comes to shove and someone asks for Shun's v-verification, we'll see what happens.

So... I'm getting tired pretty early tonight. Tell me what you want to do and I'll hammer out what I can before I conk out.

>>19074909
Give her a hug. Get some food into us as we've had a long night. We're going to want to introduce her to Khan and Erin. We can ask them to look after her when we're busy with lessons and whatnot.

>>19074952
I blame that on Sifu regaling us with tales of his misadventures in diplomacy and his tales of attracting women. Once it gets beyond talking to them we'll be completely lost and confused though.

>>19074971
See >>19074925
Just to get it all done at once.

>>19074973
>Once it gets beyond talking to them we'll be completely lost and confused though.
"STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER!"
"Shun, it's me, Erin."
"I NEED AN ADULT!"
"I'm pretty sure you are one."
"Well, that's terribly awkward."

>skirts ucheqa

>>19074975
Seconded.

>Shun's face when seeing a vagina for the first time

>>19074992
"You're joking, right? It's a funny prank right? Ha ha ha ha."
"..."
"...You-you're not joking."

>>19074985
Once her shirt comes off. Erin, I may have come off as suave, but honestly I have literally no idea what to do from here. Give me a second, I think my Sifu put some notes about this sort of thing in the training manual. After 10 minutes of thumbing through it, nope, nothing here that can help. I'm completely lost could you give me some pointers?

That or we end up asking Khan for relationship advice and end up worse then before.

>>19074932
damn, for a brief second i thought you were seriously saying there was gonna be a threeway with shun, alchemy girl and our new companion

>>19074992
>Shun's face when realising women don't have penises

>>19075006
>That or we end up asking Khan for relationship advice and end up worse then before.
Are you TRYING to get us killed and end the quest early?

>>19075023
>implying Khan isn't gay for Shun's shadowdildo

>>19075023
>Hahaha Shun, it's simple, women love it when you protect them!
> Show them your muscles while protecting them!

And then we turned into a Chauvanistic Pig

>>19075023
I was thinking he'd give vague advice about showing off your manly burning spirit, which wouldn't help, and suggesting techniques that more closely resemble suplexes than anything you would actually do in bed.

You bring Jeanne back to Ingrid’s Inn, which is as busy as ever. Surprisingly, Jeanne doesn’t seem to mind being in crowds at all. She acts like it’s not there, but it’s better than her freaking out, right? You decide that checking in the new guest with Ingrid might not be the best of ideas at the moment. When you get to your room, you realize that your bed is only big enough for one of you.

You don’t even think as you pick up Jeanne and put her on the bed. Throwing the blanket on her, she seems to understand what you’re trying to do and puts up no resistance. Good. Settling into the comfortable mattress, she falls asleep whispering a thanks to you. It warms your heart as you try and nap on the wooden floor. It’s far from comfortable, but you’ve slept on worse. You wake up a few hours later, light streaming through the empty pane where the glass window was. You’re a little glad Ingrid already took care of it.

So. Frank the beholder wasn't a good pet. If we did get one, I say some sort of shadow panther thing...

>>19075074
We're a monk, not a ranger. Still, anything can happen.

huh, she didn't yell or blame us for wrecking her place?
yeah, we should switch to a two bed room when we wake up

>>19075061
We should probably cover the costs for having the guards trash the joint, unless they already paid?

It's going to be amusing when we get Shadow Storm. Honestly at the point we get that we can just turn the battlefield into a shadowy hell that we can literally disappear into and come out elsewhere. That or pull of a shadowy version of Unlimited Blade Works.

>>19075095
>It's going to be amusing when we get Shadow Storm.

My nigga, did you know that each Fist of Shadow is required to invent a technique after they pass the (???) requirement?
Guess who made that one.

>>19075081
Eh. We're a shadow dancer meets monk. I don't see why we can't take a few points in ranger.

>>19075106
Given how you're putting it probably Sifu Tong. Though getting to that level will be a long term thing, a very long term thing.

Now we have to start thinking of a technique to invent, my first thought is something similar to Shadow Blink or One with Shadow and is a reasonable place to take getting the new shadow pouch thing. Literally melting into the shadows and walking through them, popping out of any of them that sort of thing. We'll probably think of something more interesting when we get to that point though.

>>19075110
We already have the wilderness survival bit down pat.

>>19075061
Check on Jeanne, acquire breakfast. Once that is taken care of find Khan and Erin and have a talk with them.

You stand in the obsidian tower, its owner lecturing you yet again.

It’s been six days since you started coming. The first thing you did when you woke up was get a two bed room for you and your new companion. Ingrid insisted that the damages were fine, the guards paid for everything. You’re glad that you didn’t have to worry about it.

Jeanne accompanied to your lessons you most of the time, but she seemed independent enough today to stay at the inn. That’s a step, at least. “You must reach into the elemental plane of shadows and shape a compartment to your will. Use your superior strength to force an emptiness in their universe. The plane will remain static, I assure you, few shift enough to destroy your items. The plane of shadow is more similar to its earthen counterpart than its smoky companion, surprisingly enough.” It makes sense; your shadow constructs always were remarkably solid. “You already can reach into it, now bend it. Mold it. It is yours to command.” Your arm digs into the shadows of the room. Your hand feels cold, deathly so, but for some reason it doesn’t hurt. Focusing your mind intently, you clench the darkness, forcing it to move around your hand… and it slowly budges.

Slowly, you reshape a universe you have never been in contact with. You bend it. You mold it. Soon enough, it is yours to command. To test it, your put a wooden shuriken in it and close the portal. You walk across the black room and dig back into the darkness. Hands closing around splintered wood, you pull out your shuriken! Hell yes!

The dark master of this domain nods at you. “Success at last. The next step is to open simultaneous portals and travel through them, but I am not the one who shall teach you that. Your training is done, shadow adept.” What, he won’t do any more? Eh, a deal’s a deal.

Without a word of goodbye, you go your separate ways. Blaine- to deal with the rising outrage of Richards’ experiments, the accusations of deceiving his people, and the death of one of the five Masters. You, on the other hand, depart to introduce Jeanne to Khan.

You chuckle as you head outside. You know this could end very poorly, but knowing Khan, it’ll just be funny and not anything serious in the long term.

>>19075166
Yes, this opens up so many doors for the future, and once we get it down it'll open literal doors.

There is so much we can potentially do with this. I wonder what the limits are for storing stuff and how well things keep there. We should experiment some time with mice and the like. Given the amount of experimentation here we ought to be able to find some rather easily.

>>19075191
Oh god, what have I done.

>>19075196
Given people access to a power where the limits and details have not been fully explained.

Better to test it with a mouse now, when it's not needed, than trying it with a person later when it seems necessary.

>>19075196
We now have access to the dark dimension!

Time to go alm Nightcrawler on people.

Bamf bamf bamf

hmm, did we meet alchemy girl after the tournament?
would love to get praised a bit for it since we didn't get first place

>>19075208
Let's at least start by throwing all our inventory in there first. Our spare clothes, our armor, the potions, et cetera. Make it look like we carry nothing on our person.

>>19075212
It's been a whirlwind of activity since the end of the tournament. We haven't seen Erin (and introduced Jeanne).

>>19075196
We spent a lot of times in the woods hunting animals for meat, we probably don't have many moral compunctions about it. I wasn't planning on using any animal that was actually intelligent/sentient but lab mice, guinea pigs and so on. We'd start out by storing inanimate objects, them move on to meat and seeing what happens. We will not even consider moving on to anything beyond a mouse before we have explored it fully. People are out of the question until we have full understanding, have tested it out first and even then I'm iffy about it, most people probably wouldn't do well with interacting with the plane of shadow. But given that it could help us save people perhaps we could try, once we determined it was safe. Also if we get that down we could have Khan DYNAMIC ENTRY from a shadow we create.

You gave us a power with potential creative uses, this is /tg/ we'll see how far we can take it.

Techniques updated!

Technique added: Shadow Inventory – You can store and grab items from a pocket dimension accessible through shadows.

Technique changed: Shadow Storm – Your shadows stretch as far as the eye can see, allowing you to manipulate it as you see fit. All cooldowns are reduced to one second.

>>19075219
Withdraw Dosh from bank.

We can never be robbed again.

Also, Student, you gonna do the meeting of our 'party' or you heading off?

>>19075219
Well, yes we were always going to do that, that's not really a "test" though, we already know we can do that.

>>19075229
Holy shit Shadow Storm is even more impressive now. I will probably need new pants once we see Sifu Tong get serious and have to lay the smack down.

>>19075231
I think I've got a second wind.

You guys wanna introduce Jeanne to Khan, and Khan to Erin, and Erin to Jeanne?

Or do you just wanna go "fuck it" and be like 'hey guys meet me here for lunch I got some shit to discuss' ?

>>19075238
What did the original look like?
>>19075239
Let's just have a big group hootenanny.

>>19075239
Meet me here for lunch. Just get everything out of the way. We'll cover ourselves, Jeanne and Erin, Khan can pay for himself. He just won the tourney and we've seen him eat.

>>19075242
All I did was add the cooldown reduction.

>>19075239
I'm voting for bringing everyone together at once and introducing everyone.

Then we proposition going to fix boats to travel across the sea!

introduction with them

fuck, can we still learn a bit from the phoenix school before leaving the city?
i can't help but regret that we might have beaten khan if we learned a bit from the phoenix dojo

>>19075255
I think 15 years of Shadow training is more important than a few weeks more training at a non magical assasin school.

>>19075255
Our core is and always will be the Fist of Shadow. Everything we learn elsewhere is supplementary and will be assimilated.

>>19075255
We never did see what the master of the phoenix style could do.

well we're an assassin that values speed and thinking over strength
moving like that girl we met in the temple + speed belt seem like a great idea

It would probably be best to travel in a group since you learned the hard way that going it alone is a bad idea. You find Erin in her shop, as always. She aced her finals and is ready to be promoted to Journeyman any day now. She praises you on your fighting prowess and hugs you, telling you not to put yourself in so much danger from now on.

You can’t make any promises.

You ask her to meet you for lunch in a couple of days. After you have lunch tomorrow, of course. Just the two of you.


Khan is a bit more tricky to find, but after wandering around the outskirts of the city for a few hours, you hear the passionate screams of a man in the middle of his daily regimen… which is apparently punching a boulder. You aren’t even surprised to see that it’s got a massive crack in it. Interrupting Khan, he jubilantly greets you and makes small talk for a few minutes. It’s rather nice, but you’ve got business to handle back at the city. You ask him to meet you for lunch in a couple of days.

What’re you gonna do in the meantime?

>>19075249
That means pretty much all of the abilities are going to be constantly up, free blinding, weakening, Wraith's fist, One with Shadow, and Shadow Blink. It's a very very distant goal but it does an awful lot.

Also, updated another technique.

Shadow Channel – You force your shadows into your target, causing their limbs and organs to fail. 24 hour cooldown.

It's a subtle change.

>>19075296
Talk to Jeanne. Make her comfortable. Give her a primer on Khan and Erin so she knows what to expect. We don't want Khan scaring the piss out of her in the first two minutes.

>>19075300
It's overpowered as fuck.

You'll need it.

>>19075296
We should get those potions identified.

And that muck touched emerald.

>What’re you gonna do in the meantime?
phoenex dojo and hanging with 3 time former champ girl

>>19075296
Talk to Jeanne, give her a description and basic understanding of Khan and Erin. Khan could kinda scare her and making sure she knows that he's a nice guy with no impulse control or inside voice. Spend time with her, show her the city, some of the more beautiful sites. Also hit up the Phoenix Dojo and see if we can get a sparring match with Enkidu, check if he knows anyone named Gilgamesh.

You head to the shops. Along the way, you stop at the bank and withdraw everything you’ve got and stuff it into a shadow portal, as well as everything else in your bag. It feels good to get rid of the raggedy old thing.

An appraiser values your emerald at 2000 gold value. A Practitioner at the Alchemist’s Guild determines that your 10 strange potions are all untested prototypes, and she doesn’t really have any idea as to what they could do. Somehow, you know that some of them aren’t’ good.

>>19075342
If a professional alchemist can't identify them, then junk them. See if Jeanne knows what they do first.

>>19075342
Show them to Erin, then ask her what we should do. If she asks where we got them, say something along the lines of, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you, but thats probably for the best.

>>19075357
We're already going to tell her where Jeanne came from, so it can't hurt to come clean.

>>19075342
Guess we could sell the emerald.

Is there anything else we could use it for? Any reagents or anything beyond decoration?

>>19075365
Er, not really.

>>19075324
We should take Jeanne with us to spar. Could be a way to show her that fighting can be a choice, a passtime, not something that must be done because someone told you to. Make sure to point out it is NOT a fight to the death.

>>19075364
And tell our future travelling companions we definately are an assasin? I think Khan and Erin would be not that happy with that.

>>19075369
So I guess we just sell the emerald and add the total to our reserves.

>>19075350
Blaine could probably figure them out, but he'd probably take'em, for Shun's safety. May as well not waste them.

>>19075378
>I've never played a roguelike

>>19075371
Well, not EVERYTHING-everything, but how do you intend to explain where Jeanne came from? We'd probably tell them everything up to the point where we killed Richards. Just say "I helped her escape from him."

i'm against telling them we're a shadow fist assassin.
if they ask be vague about it

>>19075371
Well, Khan ought to know given that he was there when Blaine hired us for the assassination of Richards. We should definitely tell Erin. Also Richards being dead is pretty well known, Khan knows we were hired to kill him. Don't stay Fist of Shadow but do say that we were the one who killed Richards.

>>19075382
But that mutant tentacle arm could be amazing Student!!!

>>19075389
Dude's got a point. Blaine was blazingly obvious in asking us to kill Richards. If anything, Khan knows our true nature more than anyone. Erin hasn't seen us beyond the tournament, but Jeanne saw us kill Richards ourselves.

>>19075399
So really, Erin's the only one not in the loop about our style's nature. If we're going to tell her, at least explain it when we're outside Terec.

>>19075407
We kinda let some of that out of the bag during the tournament. Also given that it's Khan, if we don't tell her he'll say "GOOD DAY MY SHADOW WIELDING FRIEND!". Given the company we keep, the amount we've already shown and the amount we're going to have to say to explain stuff we may as well come reasonably clean. As in don't go spouting off about Sifu Tong, the name of our style and so on, but do let people know that we manipulate shadow, killed Richards, saved Jeanne.

>>19075407
Actually, come to think about it, we did kinda uphold the instituition she has been training at's values by killing someone who nearly turned the entire city against Alchemists.

Changing my vote to lets tell them. But yeah, somewhere that random's can't hear us.

NEW THREAD
>>19075436

>>19075425
"You've seen my technique. Until you are ready, however, you shan't learn its name."