When you wake up, you are a bit disappointed to see that Joana has already gotten up. Though seeing as you went to sleep nearly three hours after she did, you can't say it's entirely unexpected.

Almost immediately, however, Joana walks in carrying a plate. "I brought you breakfast," she says happily, setting down the plate and utensils in front of you. On the plate sits a steaming omelet. "Arthur told me that you'd already made pancakes last night, so I figured I'd make you something special. It is sort of the day after your birthday, after all."

You grin and give her a quick kiss before digging into the omelet, and let out a little moan as you eat the first bite. It's quite possibly the most delicious thing you've ever eaten, and you savor every bit of it. "So I see you've already gotten acquainted with Arthur," you say as you eat.

"Oh yeah," she says, nodding. "He seems like quite a nice guy, and he's pretty good with that sword as well. He even showed me a few tricks that I can use!" She swings her hands around a bit, as if wielding a sword. You chuckle at this display.

With Joana right here and Arthur out in the living room, you figure that if you have something private that you want to talk to Joana about, you should do it now. What will you do?

>Talk to Joana about something. (Please specify.)
>Finish your omelet and head into the living room.
>Other.

>>32854265
>Talk to Joana about something. (Please specify.)
Talk to her about our visit to the neighbours, about what James has found out about artifacts and his hoverboard and how our lightning helped it and then sneak in how we got hit on by Melissa

Is... is anyone else posting?

>>32854621
unfortunately does not look like it, might want to try advertising in the QTG if you haven't

>>32854314
>seconded
just read the archives

So whats the go OP?

>>32854757
yay, fellow anon showed up, welcome friend

Ah, writing now.

While you eat, you tell Joana about your visit to her neighbors. She nods when you tell her about what James found out, and grins when she hears about the hoverboard.

"So you can make it work just by zapping it? That sounds so cool!" You can practically see the squee. "Maybe we can talk James into giving it to you! Then we can ride it around the city and it's a freaking HOVERBOARD!"

You chuckle at her adorableness. "So apparently the Ponds' are a bit low on food, and they asked if they could have some for now. I figured I'd wait until you were awake to ask you."

"Oh sure, that's fine," responds Joana almost instantly. "Mel and James have been great friends ever since I moved here. I couldn't refuse them in a time of need like that! What kind of superhero's sidekick would I be then? A lame one, that's what."

"Ah, and… um… Melissa may have hit on me a little bit."

Joana goes silent suddenly. "You're talking about Melissa Pond, right? As in, breasts the size of bowling balls Melissa?"

"Well… I mean, they're not that big…"

"Brenna, I have lived next to those breasts for over a year now." Joana says, a serious look on her face. "Those things are so big that they could win at a watermelon growing competition with them. They are so big that I have suspected Melissa of having superpowers, because I don't know how else they could be that big. Please tell me you didn't turn her down."

"Well no, I didn't… wait, aren't you unhappy about this? Aren't people supposed to be unhappy when other people hit on their girlfriends?"

"My… what?" Joana suddenly, blinking.

"Girlfriend?" you offer.

You are fairly sure that the resulting squee can be heard from the other side of town.

>>32854894
>You are fairly sure that the resulting squee can be heard from the other side of town.
Jo a cutest

>>32854944
damn right anon.

OP is having internet issues.

>>32854894
>posting this for OP

"So let me get this straight," says Joana as the two of you walk out into the living room, after Joana finally calmed down. "You told Melissa that you're my girlfriend, and she proposed a threesome?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," you say, putting your dishes into the dishwasher. "I mean, she said spice things up, but I'm pretty sure that's what she meant."

"Oh my god, that is so amazing. Why is everything in my life so amazing all of a sudden?"

You grin but say nothing as the two of you return to the living room. Where you realize Arthur is still sitting.

Arthur raises an eyebrow at you and Joana, and Joana blushes. "As much fun as it is hearing you two discuss your sex lives, we seem to have a bit of an issue." He stands up and goes over to the kitchen, where he gestures to the refrigerator. "We simply don't have enough food to sustain five people for much longer than a day or two. We need to find a source of food."

You nod. That was already an issue before you had decided to share with the Ponds, and now it is just a much more urgent one. You consider the options. You could try heading out alone which would be faster, or you could bring along Joana and Arthur, which would probably be safer.

>Head out alone to search.
>Bring Joana and Arthur.
>Check on the Ponds.
>Other.

>>32855257
>Check on the Ponds.
Let them know whats up and that we're going for supplies, they should hold down the fort, then:
>Bring Joana and Arthur.
And any artifacts they think will be useful and can carry

>>32855257
>bring arthur and ask the pond's if we can field test the hover board
just arthur because he has a sword but if joana has a weapon of some sort we can bring her too

>>32855294
>field test the hover board
interesting idea, with some modification we could turn it into a hover cart or something to carry supplies with us powering, hey, maybe we could supercharge one of those artifact infinite batteries and use that to power the hoverboard

>>32855257
>Check on the Ponds
We need to explain the situation, and two extra pairs of hands searching wouldn't go amiss.

>>32855355
>and two extra pairs of hands searching wouldn't go amiss.
very true, but I'd much prefer is we had people holding down the fort and making sure our apartments are safe

"Let's check in with the Ponds before going," you say, "let them know that we're heading out. And I'm thinking that borrowing the hoverboard would be a good idea, since it'll let us get around faster."

Arthur and Joana nod, and Joana goes to grab another blue pipe while Arthur clips his sword to a small buckle on his waist. Soon enough, the three of you are knocking on the Ponds' door.

Melissa answers the door. "Oh, hey Jo, Brenna. You guys heading out?"

You nod. "Could you ask James if we could borrow his hoverboard? It would be extremely useful in getting around more quickly."

Melissa nods and heads inside for a second, and returns carrying the board. "James says that it's fine, but be careful. He's still not sure if it'll hold up if you keep boosting it like that."

"Don't worry Mel," Joana says. "We'll be alright. We're probably three of the strongest people in town right now!"

Melissa looks like she's about to say something, then shakes her head. "Alright, you just stay safe out there. I won't forgive you if you don't bring Jo back safe, Brenna." She looks to Arthur. "That goes for you too, glasses."

Arthur nods, and the three of you take the board and head down the stairs, down to the ground floor.

You peer outside, but it doesn't look like anyone's outside. Slipping out, you mount the board, pumping a steady stream of lightning into the fans. You almost fall over a couple of times, but you're quickly able to get the hang of keeping the board upright. The other two hop on as well, in front and behind you, and with a lean forwards you're off.

It's not very long before you notice that something's wrong.

"We're being watched," whispers Arthur, apparently having noticed as well. You grunt in response, but you're only able to continue on.

A few minutes later, you brake the board as you see a group of people ahead of you, blocking the street. A line of men and women, all wearing simple black shirts, is standing in front of you. Almost every one of them is carrying some sort of grey artifact, ranging from grey wrapping paper to a grey rubber duck. You might even think it was funny if you didn't already know what the weapons were.

You try to pull up quickly, but by the time you've stopped, you can already see another line of black shirts filing out of the alleyways behind you. Already there's so many of them that you can barely count, black shirts both in front and behind you, and buildings to your left and right. Trapped.

One of the black shirts steps forwards. "That's a mighty interesting board you have there, missy," he says, addressing you. "Now, you might not know it yet, but this here's Black Queen territory. And if you wanna go passing through, you're gonna have to pay a toll. I think that there board would be sufficient, don't you think?"

What will you do?

>Give him the board.
>Refuse, but don't attack.
>Tell him that the board wouldn't do him any good.
>Attack.
>Other.

>>32855601
what did grey artifacts do again?

>Tell him that the board wouldn't do him any good.
then stop powering it, we're gonna want all our energy for these guys if they start shit

>>32855620
Grey is fire. In this case, grey artifacts are assumed to have come from smoke or smog.

>>32855639
right, good thing Arthur has his Black (which was water IIRC) sword to put out their fires.

we did bring out winebottle plasma canon right?

>>32855671
Yes

>>32855601
Just fly away. Tell Arthur to shoot down any fire projectiles that come too close for comfort.

>>32855671 here again

some quick and easy paint chart that could keep track of the different coloured artifacts and their effects would be cool, maybe something to work on and slowly update when we learn what combining them does or something

>>32855678
excellent, I just had a stupid mental image of our winebottle in a shoulder holster

>>32855671
what does iirc stand for?

>>32855714
If I Remember/Recall Correctly

>>32855726
a lot of things make much more sense now

where'd the 3rd anon go?

You start reaching for the belt loop where your own gray wine bottle is. "It wouldn't do you any good anyways," you say, stepping off the board. Arthur and Joana follow your lead, leaving the board hovering barely an inch off of the ground.

The man who spoke narrows his eyes as he sees the three of you draw your weapons. "Alright then, you asked for it. ATTACK!" he cries, and the entire mass of black shirts attacks, swarming at you from every side.

You narrow your eyes, considering the scene. There are an awful lot of black shirts, and even you might be out of your league this time. But you have Arthur and Joana by your side, and a promise to Melissa to remember. There's only one thing to do.

What will you do?

>Attack with Lightning.
>Attack with the Bottle.
>Other.

>>32855957
>Attack with Lightning.
leave the bottle as a last resort, and have Arthur focus on negating their fire artifacts

>>32855957
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1sNUYbK4gpZ

>>32855957
>Attack with Lightning.
>Attack with the Bottle.
Both are once. No holding back.

>>32856003
Oh my god this is amazing.

Alright, roll 1d20 for attacking.

Rolled 18

>>32856051
RIDE ZE LIGHTNING!

Rolled 15

>>32856051
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0busrUtU1SN

Rolled 12

>>32856051

18(roll) + 2(magic) = 20

You seize the initiative, gathering charge in your free hand and pulsing it towards the black shirts. The lightning snakes from body to body, dropping nearly a fifth of the force in a single attack. While you gather up charge for a second shot, however, the remaining black shirts attack.

Fire spews from all sides, and the raw heat forces you back, able only to shield your face with one hand. Then suddenly a geyser of water erupts from next to you, and you turn to see Arthur, a grim smile of determination on his face. To your other side, Joana uses the openings provided by Arthur's geysers to dart in, smashing her metal pipe into the heads of black shirts one after another.

You turn back to your own side, throwing another bolt into the fray, and carefully guiding the bolt away from Arthur's water. To finish, you swing your bottle up from where you've been charging it and release the beam of lightning and fire towards the largest mass of remaining black shirts. Suddenly the attack stops, and you look around in surprise to see that the only ones left standing are the three of you, and the one black shirt who was commanding the attack.

"Please," he says, cowering. "Please…"

You walk over to the man. "We're not going to kill you," you begin, but his wail cuts you off.

"Oh god please, please don't make me go back there," he cries. "I didn't even want to do this, I had no choice! Please, you have to understand! I'm just a normal guy, I didn't want any of this!"

You look at him, confused, but suddenly you hear a sound to your right. You turn to see a man dressed entirely in black, from his leather jacket to his black choke collar, striding purposefully towards you.

>>32856299
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0N7Mz38GTQJ

OP's having more internet issues, not helped by 4chan being uncooperative with him.

"You will come with me," he says, not as a question but an order.

You narrow your eyes, while Joana points her metal pole at the man. "Why should we? Your people just attacked us!"

The man glances up at Joana and seems to wince, before hardening his eyes. "I would advise you to comply…" he says, and before any of you can react he's inside your guards, his hand almost grasping Joana's throat. Your eyes widen in shock.

His hand is wreathed with flames, the wisps filtering between his fingers, almost pressed against Joana's neck. "…or you might get burnt."

What will you do?
>Attack.
>Give in.
>Other.

>>32856359
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1Pwx9xCppdc

>>32856359
>Other.
Give in until Jo ain't in danger, then press him for answers, but be ready to unleash our winebottle at him

>>32856379
unleash the fire wine bottle at the man made of fire?

>>32856388
well with lightning powering it its a fair bit more than just fire

though Arthurs sword is more useful in this situation

I am somewhat conflicted on how to proceed, hence my slow and safe vote, what do you think we should do anon?

>>32856359
>Head tilt
>"Sun? Is that you? No offense, but you're not doing a great job of endearing yourself to us right now. I mean, how do we know we won't get burnt if we do go with you?"
>Attempt to hide panic
>Attempt to distract for water torrent

>>32856404
i thought it made it into plasma or something, so basically super hot fire. anyway, slow and safe is the right thing though.

>>32856379 here

I'll change my vote to seconding >>32856415

>>32856422
Yeah, plasma is a fair bit different to fire...

But yeah, we don't want any of our friends getting hurt and we've no idea what this guy wants though him not using an artifact and the fire coming from him would suggest he is like us.

>>32856437
It's pretty obvious he doesn't actually want to hurt Jo. I'm just waiting for us to not be in a disadvantageous position before we start negotiating.

Here's hoping no one's stealing our board while we're distracted.

>>32856359
Hey, cool, I'm awake before it ended this time.

>Give in.
I expect he actually will hurt her if we don't.

You do your best to quash down your panic for Joana. You instead take a nonchalant pose, feigning superiority. "Sun?" you say, "Is that you? No offense, but you aren't doing a great job of endearing yourself to us right now. I mean, how do we know that we won't get burnt even if we go with you?"

While you are speaking, you attempt to gesture to Arthur. He makes a barely perceptible nod, and starts to move slightly so as to get a shot around you.

"Sun?" the man asks. He seems to be quite confused as to why you aren't afraid of his flames. "Ah," he finally says. "So you are aware of the existence of humanoid artifacts then. Perhaps you could introduce me, I would be quite interested in meeting another-" he cuts himself off, wincing. "It is of no matter. You may discuss this with my Queen." He pushes Joana forwards with his non-burning hand, still holding the other to her neck.

Suddenly, a blast of water jets forwards from Arthur's sword, splashing over the man. The man blinks, then winces again. Suddenly the man's arm is around Arthur's neck, and he has Arthur's sword arm twisted behind his back, forcing Arthur to drop the weapon. Arthur struggles to get loose, but ultimately fails. "I suggest that you do not try that again. My Queen wishes for you to arrive unharmed, and is willing to forgive your attacking of all these pawns. However, an attack on her King will not be treated so lightly."

You swallow, but nod. "We'll go with you," you say, knowing that you can't let him hurt Joana or Arthur. The man nods and releases Arthur, but continues to stand behind all three of you. Joana runs to hug you, and Arthur joins more solemnly, picking up his sword and rubbing his shoulder where the man violently twisted it. The man picks up the hoverboard as he passes it, and guides the three of you down a street. You don't know where you're going, but at least you know that wherever it is, you won't be going alone.

"We're here," the man announces, but he really didn't need to. You had guessed that this was your destination since it first came into view. Queens College is the most noticeable thing in the vicinity, and the tower rises high enough that it is the most noticeable thing in the local area.

As the three of you enter the college grounds, you notice that the sports fields have been closed off, and that a variety of artifact animals have been enclosed within. The man doesn't let you stop to look though, so the three of you are quickly pushed to the College's main office.

Inside the room sits is a large throne, and sitting on it is a woman who too is dressed entirely in black. She wears a black dress, black gloves, black heels, and even a black scarf, thrown casually around her neck. She smiles at you, but you can tell right away that this isn't a smile of warmth. It's a smile of desire, of want.

"Hello my dears," she says, looking at each of you in turn. "How are you today?"

END OF SESSION FOUR.

Questions!

>>32856791
Thanks for the thread OP, cya in the next one.

>>32856791
>It's a smile of desire, of want.
>Questions!
Sexual want, or the 'you're and object I wish to own' want?

>>32856835
The second, though Brenna doesn't know that yet. It will become quite obvious next session though, when you're properly introduced to "Queen" here.

>>32856791
...we didn't try to incapacitate him while he was stunned from the water? I am disappoint. Oh well, life's not about winning every battle and we'd probably be screwed over in the future if we'd killed him which we probably would have done if we'd electrocuted him while he was wet.

Anyway, looks like he isn't the Sun. A smog cloud, perhaps?

Anyway, which type of black is the woman wearing?

>>32856888
Black. Like, the kind black dresses are made of. A bit sparkly I guess?

As for the first point, he was presumably fast enough in recovering that you didn't have a chance. Remember that Brenna's lightning powers, like a storm cloud, need to gather charge before she can discharge.

>>32856910
Ah. I was under the impression that they were artifacts.

And that is true - but with proper coordination, we could possibly have, for instance, pinned him with Jo's help, and continously sprayed his flames with water while we charged. The point being that a fighter, no matter how skilled, should have some trouble when fending off three opponents.

Regardless, I understand that from a storytelling standpoint, this encounter was intended such that we would meet this Black Queen character. I'm just wondering how much chance we had to avoid her and how much you had planned out in the event that we did.

>>32857017
Had you managed to escape the encounter, you likely would have simply encountered her again at a later point. She has enough control over the area that not meeting her at some point would have been very difficult.

Really, the biggest thing that would have changed had you escaped the encounter is that you would have lost some in game time, probably.