16th day of Prophecy, Athena Pàla of Zipangu.

Nobody knew how the glowing magical flowers wilted all at once overnight, aside from the dozens dried corpses littering the garden no hints remained of these artefacts, making a somber backdrop for this meeting of agents; people dealing in vital information’s for their countries wouldn’t be too keen to sharing even if it was the very first step for the very ideal of the Commonwealth and I like to think my and Kyorn presences allowed the two intelligence factions to cooperate amiably.

‘’Currently, our prime suspect is with us right now, let’s summarize everything we know’’

As much as I’d like to talk details Kyorn insistence had some wisdom; retreading old ground will avoid overlooking anything and Tanuya nodded and braced herself to speak as the Redcloak and mantis’s attention fell upon her; compared to the stern blond, the guildmaster of the bugs looked actually friendly.

‘’I was the one that provided the booze for the soldiers and invited them into a party yesterday night because of my history with the police force; the ritualistic suicide was performed by someone I knew and I opted to try my best to change my mood during the events, the fact it lowered the general vigilance and guard around the dojo wasn’t something that crossed my mind, I probably didn’t care if it did either.’’

Her sentiment was easy to understand; the entire city suffered a sudden, uncalled for angelic invasion and many other people must have similar stories, things would have been much worse without Gwynedd timely wyvern-knight counter strike. Even so, Tanuya story can’t exonerate her completely because she could very well be an unwitting accomplice or lying to us right now; I don’t have Tsukiyomi or Ame’s eyes for lies but I like to think Robert and that mantis… Cianràn have some competence to stop it and apparently, Tanuya story must have something solid because neither pressed the issue.

‘’Each of the individuals inside the dojo were killed at roughly the same time; the first layout of the corpse made it seem like the man and mantis turning onto the Yukionna matriarch but that’s a red herring, the wounds on the young man and the monsters tell of their struggle; she was the enemy and he defended Cadhla but a fourth assailant managed to kill her regardless with some kind of potent artefact – a knife no doubt due to the wounds still present on the frozen body. We’ve asked around and nobody seen anyone else ventured inside the dojo after the Yukionna even at the time of the murder during the corruption ritual.’’

Robert crossed his arms, letting out a quick sigh as he eyed the shorter monster; our presences in the garden counted six peoples but the near-full body of the Redcloaks were present alongside a good seven mantises standing very obviously out of the forest, both organisation were obviously trying to flex some muscles and I had to contain my laugh, especially when Kyorn rolled his eyes the first time the girls stepped out.

‘’Yes, thank your for making this clear and just like I’ve claimed, the aggressor in my order must have been under an hex for she would never have done something like that; the two other sentries sent to supervise this place needed to be called back because the priests grew very, very agitated, which must have given our culprit the vital chance they needed, our own groundwork yielded much of the same although there’s one thing for certain. Nobody exited the mansion during the night and morning up until nine am where the first detachment of the militia went into the city as scheduled and every one of our exits were thoroughly watched and –my- express demand, therefore we’ve started a record of everyone coming and going.’’

Again I have to admit to liking her voice, soothing yet strong and warm giving me the impression of an older sister despite the fact she was not only of Sylphis height, but just about her twin in physical appearance save for… slight difference in features, really – they even had the same eyes colors. Now that I think about it, she was glancing toward me; obviously my escapade was recorded, but there was some definite interest as well.

‘’One thing of note; after the ritual I’ve personally installed a surveillance rune in the entrance of the library and condemned the area afterward, it was activated three time. Twice in a twenty minutes interval, meaning that someone likely went in and out for some purpose and the last time occurred very early in the morning, around four to five am. It vibrated only once, so someone must have deactivated it’’

And that was it, all the information we had so far – a good chunk for makeshift, improvised investigation between two different organisations – but for now, what should be made of this? There’s still one more clue with the captured werewolf but that’d mean making her talk.

>>34891011
Hi INH

Damn I have to leave in half an hour for school but I will be back in an hour

>>34891011
Was anyone observed in the area of the library immediately preceding or after the rune's activation?
As far as I can tell, that doesn't coincide with any of Siegfried's main party's movements.

The knife is probably the artifact. I don't think Athena knows that, but there is a way to tease some information forth without being completely meta.

"The knife wounds; how were they placed, and do they indicate instant death? There didn't seem to be any wounds on Cadhla aside from the fatal wound.
"Could the wound have been inflicted by a magic weapon to get through the Yukionna's defenses? Is there any way we could track such a weapon?"

During Sieglinde's lecture, did she mention any way that blood could be tracked?
Blood on the knife would still be on the blade unless the knife were to be cleaned properly, rather than simply wiped off.

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>>34891109

Evening.

>>34891143

That's fine, friend. The thread will still be here as long as I can keep up

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>>34891155
>Was anyone observed in the area of the library immediately preceding or after the rune's activation?

Niet, that was the next move of the mantises before this meeting.

>During Sieglinde's lecture, did she mention any way that blood could be tracked?

She hasn't mentioned anything but it could easily be handwaved that she did, its only possible for ''Sensible'' people, failing that there's science but it's not advanced enough for that.

I'll answer the other questions in update.

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>>34890954
reminder that mylen is and always will be the best girl

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>>34891155
As good a set of questions as any. Looks like we'll probably have to interrogate the werewolf at some point to get the vital info though. At least we know she won't pop the cyanide pill.

And here it is folks.

‘’Say…’’

I was tempted to clear my throat when all set of eyes fell on me, I know breaking silence tend to do that but dammit people..!

‘’The knife wounds on Cadhla body; where were they placed and how do they indicate instant death? I know we’ve got a new company of ghost today but even I know that spiritual beings can’t be killed easily’’

They were probably even tougher than angels in term of sheer endurance – spirits being what they are – their very wills shape their bodies even more than the winged, single-minded fellows. To think a knife could strike a matron of all things and subsequently kill her in seconds is… preposterous.
I know the Redcloak share the same opinion but Robert didn’t let emotions warp his face, his sharp gaze shifted toward me and Kyorn once the marauder step closer to my side.

‘’Three wounds’’

He proclaimed loudly, undeterred by possible spies whilst gesturing the number with his fingers.

‘’A stab in the right kidney, another in the middle of her back and the last one behind her neck. Now, ignoring human and monstrous biology, these wounds wouldn’t be fatal for a Yukionna if the murderer was using a silver blade; so they’ve been armed with something strong enough to outright kill a matron within seconds’’

Nothing is immortal; one may beat old age but in the end, there’s always a way to kill anything; it’s a damn shame that Cadhla became victim of this traitor but at least Ame and Siegfried salvaged the situation.

‘’So, a magical artefact managed to murder the previous leaders of the ice ghosts; its magical projection was most likely obfuscated with the projections of the rituals, I suspect there’s no way to try and track it now?’’

The next one to speak was the guildmaster of the mantis who seemed more interested looking in direction of the castle than the discussion, but at least possessed enough presence of mind to turn her head toward the group while speaking.

‘’Magical artefacts always project a certain wave akin to someone entering focus and using a light to medium amount of spells; the only way to counter is to stifle it in a proper sheath which can be as mundane as leather, were it enchanted with a proper rune’’

‘’Hrm, I see; then at least we know one thing. Our perpetrator somehow possesses something fearsome enough to outright kill a ghost’’

‘’Which mean we ought to double security on our leaders and pick men from our orders; we don’t know if we have anymore posers but our own people could be trusted’’

The woman beside Robert spoke last, mirroring her brother gestures; waiting for anyone to agree or not, which by the look of things, seemed to become unanimous, I wonder... are the cloacks really going to trust the mantises after one of their own did (willing or not) help a traitor?

>Anything else to ask, or is it time for action?

>>34891818
The rune enchantment: what would it look like? Is there any way to trace it or track it, since the rune itself must be magical (like how a Protoss Arbiter can cloak everything around it but cannot cloak itself).
Have either of the spymasters been able to examine the wounds and get a rough size of the knife in question?

>>34891891


Tracking it might be possible only in very close proximity because the rune let out a minuscule amount of magic; it’ll be like trying to hear a whisper in the mansion. As for the wounds, they were roughly sized toward a stiletto/large dagger, hence Robert suspicion of a knife.

>>34892024
Do the Redcloaks and Mantis, put together, have enough manpower to comb the mansion?
Multiple teams starting from the corners of the mansion, moving in towards the center, may be able to catch the knife's wielder. We can also keep an eye out for anyone trying to avoid the scans.

At the very least, the security checkpoints around the leaders should now also implement checks for knives in a runed sheath.

>>34892154

>Do the Redcloaks and Mantis, put together, have enough manpower to comb the mansion?

There's about 15 Mantis and 5 redcloaks while the Mansion easily possess twenty rooms on its first floor alone, not enough people to look through everything in detail and not everyone of those are mages, too.

Updating the checkpoints for this is feasible, aye.

>Do you guys think it's a better idea to work out the details in this sort of discussion (since we carefully expect these to be ironed out with the characters anyway) or would you prefer for me to do it in character with updates?

>>34892286
>work out the details in this sort of discussion
I would personally prefer to do that.
I expect the characters to act professionally and to take basic precautions, and to tell us if we're missing anything.
Athena, by us, can provide some outsider perspective and possibly new paths of inquiry, but we still expect the two professional spymasters to do the bulk of the investigation.

>>34892357

Of course, right now the two orders ae cooperating and that'll mean some results regardless of our own success or failures.

So I think I've got a graps for the course of action; a general investigation of the mansion by the Redcloaks and Mantises for the possible location of the hidden artefact?

>>34892417
Cadhla did fight against her assailant; is there anything at the crime scene to suggest she or the guy could have marked Deruella's flesh disguise somehow?

>>34892620

Nothing at all, the scene showed several walls iced over and the blood of the man and mantis turned frigid, aside form that, nothing else.

I think Its about time I make an update with what we've got.

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Suffering a ten minutes interruption or so, I'll be back with another update to progress things.

>>34892660
Does Kyorn have anything else to add?

>>34892784
He's probably just nodding respectfully at things that are going on.

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>>34893351

I'd prefer not.

Discussion flowed surprisingly smoothly despite the rough edge of both leaders; their willingness to cooperate was at least as palpable as their paranoia yet they shared information without reluctance and answered my own questions. Possible projection of the runes, hours of certain patrols, names of the lieutenant of the nights guard; most of it all came from Cianràn and in turn Robert absorbed everything like a sponge up until a brief silence reigned, which finally offered an opportunity to speak up.

‘’Let me offer a possible course of action; the artefact responsible for the matron demise is likely put into a sheath dampening its magical projection, since we can’t trust anyone else and use the manpower of the mansion for a grand search without alerting our perp I propose to join force and inspect every room for possible magical projection; how many mages do you both have in total?’’
I expected some kind of silence from the leaders but instead they answered swiftly without so much as grunting; I felt kind of proud by this promptness, people motivated only by results are good company.

‘’Five of my girls are mages’’

‘’Three agents of the Redcloaks have the gift; me, my sister and the elven gentleman who’s about to return’’

Without waiting the guildmaster was the next one to speak.

‘’Then let me propose this: allow two of my girls to accompany your duo of gifted men whilst the rest of my order comb the mansion. Some of them already know of hidden stashes and other peculiar areas but they wouldn’t be stopped by security. The same couldn’t’ be said for your people, if they weren’t accompanied’’

For a moment the blond looked toward his sibling and she silently nodded.

‘’Very well, let’s begin in earnest; Koa, Jan, come here’’

Then both leaders started to give directions to their subordinate; my eyes shifted toward Tanuya standing alone and awkward in the garden up until Kyorn grabbed my attention, speaking low for my ears only.
‘’What do you think about that fluffed one? Should we have her tag along?’’
‘’She’s an information broker, right?’’
I’m ashamed to admit she actually flew out of my mind; my question was answered by a silent nod from the marauder.
‘’I personally think we ought to, if only for appearance sake since she’s been hired by the Rahall leadership as… probable spymaster, I guess but I’m not really convinced about her yet, hell your about the only person I trust in this lot.’’
Tanuya ‘’Tanu’’ Hoaxl; a most peculiar woman, she’s been trying to keep suspicion of her character down and came forward to explain her side of the situation instead of being hunted down, so at least she deserve some benefit.
>Keep her around, or send her away?

Either way, I’ll have to speak with her later because Robert and Ciaràn stepped back in our circle as their men scampered off into the mansion, all of them about as tense as a drawn bow due to the new mixture of foreign agent in their midst; let’s hope they learn how to play together, fast.
‘’So we have only one option…’’

‘’Two, actually’’

Ciaràn waggled her finger with a smile but my eyes were only drawn to the rested scythes on her lower arm.

‘’The mansion has a map detailing every little secret passages and room stashes; it’s only been for my, the regent and my liege eyes but given the circumstance I think we ought to ask Rhy permission and take it with us for an investigation of our own... I don’t think torture would help us much’’

All this while, the Tanuki had been left completely out of our discussion; Robert was in favor of getting something out of the werewolf but the other option could be just as valuable - if successful.

>What should be done?

>>34893719
Sad fact of the matter is that Tanu is still a suspect who just heard some valuable intel. We can't afford to let her out of our sight, nor can we allow anyone to be alone with her in the event she really is the felwhore.

>>34893816

It's hard dealing with a shapeshift infiltrator isn't it?

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What should be done for the second option?

>>34893877
They are the most infuriating, annoying kind of infiltrator. We can't even "spy check" in any appreciable form.

Maybe we should ask Tanu what she thinks about all this. She is supposed to be a kind of criminal, surely she's had to deal with things of this nature due to her info brokering. Nothing gets a noble by the balls quite like knowing who they hired to carry out a hit.

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>>34894001
>>34894014

For now we could just tell Tanu that she'll be staying with us for the time being given that she is still a suspect and knows what our gameplan is, so we can't let her go. The fact that this will let us keep a fluffy tail in hand is just a side benefit.

>>34894081
Like I said, so long as it ain't just Athena and Tanuya alone. Quick question, does laying down a charm require entering trance? I'd think it would but I'm just making sure.

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>>34894081

pls.

>>34894014

Well then we can put our course of action on hold for a little discussion with Tanuya

>>34893719
Let's keep Tanu with us and get the map.
Ask Tanu what resources she has available to her now.
Anything that can help with the search.

>>34894014
Might be worth a shot to ask her.
>She is supposed to be a kind of criminal
Just don't mention or even allude to this part.

>>34894122

Some charms (weakest ones) don't need trance, it's all in the eyes.

But for pwerful ones you could do something of a ''flash'' sudden entrance and exit of trances.

>>34894155

So what do you want to ask and hide? Just her opinion about shapeshifting infiltrator?

>>34894183
I think he meant insinuating she was any kind of criminal was to be avoided. Seems sensible, no need to be rude to the girl even if she's the prime suspect.

>>34894001
Seduce the Tanu.

‘’Put that on hold for a spell’’

I don’t know how many breach of conduct I just did but my little sentence earned me a three point stares that I’d prefer to avoid describing as I made my way out of the leadership inner circle toward Tanuya standing by her lonesome who greeted me softly with a wave and a honest smile and I replied in kind, minus the smile – I’m too awkward to fake them.

‘’Something up?’’

Her tail bounced and I stopped my walk to avoid stretching my hand and cup it, those lines of brown, green and white are just begging to be squeezed…

‘’You’ll have to come with us, you know that right?’’
Instead I (tried to) satisfy myself by squeezing my own tail, faking a discomfort in placement by swinging it lightly out of place.

It’s just not the same.

Daiyu face fell slightly but she nodded without remonstrance; she knew her spot well enough.

‘’I’ll do what I can to clear my name’’

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‘’Yeah; say I’d like to ask you something, unrelated but still I value your opinion. What’s your take on our situation?’’

‘’Finding that infiltrator?’’

‘’It’d hard dealing with spies, its nightmarish when it’s one that can change faces’’

Silence fell between us as the beastwoman crossed her arms, falling in deep thought which consequently, provoked a few inviting twitch from those nervous round ears atop her head – Tanuya didn’t need long to come to some consensus unfortunately, preventing me from reaching up.

‘’Don’t allow yourself to be bogged down by others; you’re the only one that can do anything about it, someone like that, infiltrating this mansion while wearing someone else face, can’t be reached easily and is obviously very apt at sowing discord. You might have to fly close to the sun on this one’’

That’s… rather vague and unique, it I could tell Tanuya was serious; her golden gaze peered unto me without straying, barely blinking and words died in my throat as I pondered her words… things did seem to be going well with the Redcloaks and mantises but… maybe that simply was face value.

>What should be done?

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>>34894842

>Daiyu.

Wait no, I meant Tanu. Dammit my tiredness is already creeping up. Damn body always shut down between 7 to 10 pm every single time, sorry for this embarrassement

>>34894859
The Mantises and Redcloaks to proceed as planned.
Kyorn, Athena, and Tanu will work independently on alternative avenues for finding the infiltrator; perhaps the closing net will force Deruella to act in some way that we can catch.

Also, we should move the werewolf to somewhere more secure, or use her as bait in a trap.
Deruella may either attempt to free her or silence her; we should have a trap ready there just in case. Maybe even check on her.
Did they go through her personal effects, and the belongings of her cover identity? We should do that, if they haven't yet.

Finally, how did Deruella get the knife without using teleportation of her own?
She must have a lieutenant who can teleport people for her, and some kind of magical communication device since she can't use magic without destroying her disguise.

>flash Trance/Focus
Wouldn't this still be enough to cause the disguise to fail due to the magic circuit being activated, even if only for a brief moment?

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>>34894859
She has a kind of point, as it can be damn near anyone we may have to accuse someone high up.

Also:
>Instead I (tried to) satisfy myself by squeezing my own tail, faking a discomfort in placement by swinging it lightly out of place.
>It’s just not the same.
I lol'd.

>>34895048
Got the knife the day we offed Ahriman. Hire a courier or something. She didn't need it the instant fryface grabbed it.

>>34895126
>Got the knife the day we offed Ahriman
It's only been 2 days since then, and from the distances involved, it would take more than that unless teleportation is involved.

>>34895048

>Wouldn't this still be enough to cause the disguise to fail due to the magic circuit being activated, even if only for a brief moment?

Yes, but don't forget Kyorn hypothesis; Deruella may very well have foudn a way to enter Trance without ruining her disguise. If that's the case, this open up a whole new set of possibilities.

>Did they go through her personal effects, and the belongings of her cover identity?

Aye on that front, there wasn't really anything of note aside from something burnt in her chamber, a scroll by whatever remnant they found.


>>34895126

>Got the knife the day we offed Ahriman. Hire a courier or something. She didn't need it the instant fryface grabbed it.

That, too.

>>34895187

A Maiden that wasn't Fryface could ahve taken it to her back in the mansion

>>34895224
>A Maiden that wasn't Fryface could ahve taken it to her back in the mansion
Still, that would have created a burst of Corruption from the opening of a portal that it should have been detectable.

>don't forget Kyorn hypothesis; Deruella may very well have foudn a way to enter Trance without ruining her disguise.
Wait, when Kyorn put forth his hypothesis, he only said that Deruella might have found a way to alter the eyes along with the body for a complete disguise. He didn't mention the ability to continue using magic while disguised.

>>34895269
>Still, that would have created a burst of Corruption from the opening of a portal that it should have been detectable.

It would of, if they ported inside the city. Outside, it's quite a bit harder.

>Wait, when Kyorn put forth his hypothesis, he only said that Deruella might have found a way to alter the eyes along with the body for a complete disguise. He didn't mention the ability to continue using magic while disguised.

Oh fuck that's right. Sorry I got it mixed up, forgot to read my own notes on that subject. I was thinking of osmething about Trance not breaking disguise; that rule hold true, any instance of it warp the disguise but some weak geas don't require alot of magic and thus, onyl activate in the eyes. Thing is, geas can be cumulative...

Anyhow I think it's time to proceed; what's the course of action?

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>>34895322
>Geis can be cumulative
Well now, that's a nice clue. We need to find the identity of the mantis that was in that room. Then we need to find out who she liked to spend a good amount of time with. One of them is very likely to be the traitor.

>>34895322
>Outside, it's quite a bit harder.
>course of action
Ask Tanu about her network of contacts outside the city, if any of them are still operational after the attack. Have them search around for any evidence of a Maiden opening a portal, such as reports of a Corruption spike, or investigating any place that a meeting between the infiltrator and handlers/couriers from the Demon Realm could meet.

Did Athena learn about the Knife from Siegfried or Mylen yet?

The Mantises and Redcloaks to proceed as planned.
Kyorn, Athena, and Tanu will work independently on alternative avenues for finding the infiltrator; perhaps the closing net will force Deruella to act in some way that we can catch.

>>34895322
>geas can be cumulative
Have the Mantises checked who the Mantis that was used as an assassin frequently had contact with? Have they checked her circle of associates and coworkers?
Does a weak geas require the target to look right into the eyes of the charmer for an extended time, or is a quick glance enough?

>>34895522

>Have the Mantises checked who the Mantis that was used as an assassin frequently had contact with? Have they checked her circle of associates and coworkers?

This is to be answered in character, do you want to ask the guildmaster alongside the scene change?

>Does a weak geas require the target to look right into the eyes of the charmer for an extended time, or is a quick glance enough?

A quick glance is enough; it's about the strength of a flash, in an and out. Remember Siegfried experience with the agent? It's the same speed, with alot less intensity.

>>34895438
>Did Athena learn about the Knife from Siegfried or Mylen yet?

The Knife is privy information that was, thankfully, shared by Ame and Tsu so yes, she knows, as do all the other girls.

>>34895438
>Kyorn, Athena, and Tanu will work independently on alternative avenues for finding the infiltrator

So you'd like both options to be used? Questioning the prisoner alongside going for the map and searching? Or something else? There's not a whole lot more than can be done aside form shaking down passerby asking ''Are you who you say you are?''

>>34895565
>do you want to ask the guildmaster alongside the scene change
Yes.

>A quick glance is enough
Then that means that Deruella could be anyone who worked in the general area of the geased Mantis. It doesn't have to be a friend or co-worker, just someone in the area.
The Mantises will need the names of everyone who worked or visited frequently the same areas as the geased Mantis.
Trying to get that information, and to sift it for a list of possible suspects, will require quite a bit of effort.

>>34895689
I thought that the spymasters were going to be assisting in the search for the Knife, and they were telling us to use the map.

Questioning the prisoner doesn't seem like it will produce usable results, but I feel that we should check on her and the protections around her cell to make sure she can't be busted out.

Also, there's asking Tanu about the status of her information network outside the city and having them look for likely meeting places that the infiltrator could have used.

>>34895750

>Questioning the prisoner doesn't seem like it will produce usable results, but I feel that we should check on her and the protections around her cell to make sure she can't be busted out.

The lizards and Onis pretty much took that assasisnatio nattempt personally and are making DAMN sure she's not going ANYWHERE at all.

Anyhow I'll proceed now, I've got more than enough material.

>>34895834
So to reiterate:
Ask Tanu to get her information network mobilized outside the city.
Question the werewolf while the guildmaster gets the map (she made it sound like she has to go and ask the Rahal for it, and she won't need us there because she already had it once before).
Get the map and begin searching the secret tunnels.

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>>34895834
So she's in the equivalent of a medieval supermax security prison cell. Glad to see the NPC's are competent, prisoner like that, you take no chances.

>>34896020
I'd take a rain check on proclaiming them competent until this is over and they actually prove to be so.

>>34896020
If we were taking no chances, we should have cut off her arms and legs and cauterized the wounds with molten silver dust, then encased her head in a helmet lined with silver leaf on the inside, and suspended her from the ceiling with a silver chain.

>>34896086

What use would a catatonic prisoner have?

>>34896116
Seduction.

>>34896116
Bait for whoever sent her.
I mean, we don't have the magic to simply rip the needed memories from her mind, and it's unlikely that she has any useful information for us.
Of course, we could cut off her arms and then threaten the other things unless she talks.
Or waterboard her with molten silver.
She's a werewolf, she'll be fine with her regeneration.

We could always have a male-patterned golem simply rape her to near-death as well. That's what Deruella gets off on, right?

>>34896086
That crosses into the cruel and unusual punishment territory. Thing about being the good guys is that you have restraint. If we did something like that, we'd have a very hard time calling ourselves the good guys.

Besides, that might break her completely. A totally broken prisoner is useless.

>>34896116
None, which is why I'd like to avoid putting her in that state.

>>34896232
>A totally broken prisoner is useless.
She's useless as-is.
She's got no up-to-date intel, everything that she has is either stale or false, we can't trust her to be suborned, and whether she's catatonic or not doesn't affect her usefulness as a blood sacrifice.

>>34896212

But then what if the agent doesn't bite?

>>34896281
Then we let the populace vent their anger and pain on the prisoner. That's pretty much all she's useful for at this point.

She should be told that her death is going to be long, drawn out, and filled with pain. Because she's of no use to anyone except as a receptacle for people who want to hurt someone.

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>>34896332

>Then we let the populace vent their anger and pain on the prisoner.

Tsu might allow that, hell even Gil might agree, but ame wouldn't. At all.

>>34896358
Then we feed the werewolf to Ame while she's sleepwalking.

>>34896272
We just need to get Daiyu in there and Charm the fuck out of her. We don't need her smart, just need her to recite everything she knows.

Quite frankly anything she has to say at this point will be useful in regards to the state of demonic politics. We're 30 years behind the times, anything better than that is an improvement.

There may be other ways to get at her as well. Appeal to her lost... half-elfiness or something? A small cinder of her former self must burn somewhere beneath all that black tar else she'd be a rape zombie.

Perhaps get her to believe we'll kill her if she doesn't talk? She pussed out last time she thought she'd die, why not expect an encore?

>>34896358
Despite being a kumiho, she's against that kind of thing? Bet she hates torture too. Dang, why does the one who goes full evil mode while sleeping have to have the most potent conscience?

>>34896410
I think she'd kill whoever fed her the meal, then cry a lot in guilt or something like that. I don't want to do that to her.

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>>34896332
We are better than that, our side's integrity shouldn't be dragged through the mud just because a prisoner is useless.

Actually, we do have a telepath that might be able to root around in the werewolf's head to get our answers even if she doesn't cooperate.

The previous Oni leader (whose name I can't remember) gained telepathy as a side-effect of her transformation. She could root around in the prisoner's head for useful intel.

Of course, there's the problem of getting the werewolf to her, or bringing her to the werewolf, what with all of the vampiric-oni supersoldiers that escaped their cells still being loose within the dimensional prison/fortress.

>>34896457
>We're 30 years behind the times, anything better than that is an improvement.
But her information is at least 10 years old, probably closer to 20.
Sure, it's an improvement, but you'd still be working with very outdated information and might end up trying to ally with the wrong person.

>>34896492

Actually that big worm was brought back into the Oni household by Kyorn and amarantha pretty much forced everyone that was very upset over a big, fat worm in the place to deal with it.

Currently, both of them are holding fort and politic over the fact Mebuchednazi is in convalescence; she still has a duel to do hwoever.

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>>34896492
Oh shit I forgot about that! We even got her out of there while we were with the church.

Ok, new plan, the wolf gets the mind probe. She may have made a deal with Deruella in the past, but I doubt she knew about/has countermeasures for a true telepath.

>>34896575
>Actually that big worm was brought back into the Oni household by Kyorn
I forgot about that.

Still, she's way over in the Oni Lands while we're here in the Rahal capital, a journey of at least two to three days through contested battlefields, right?

>>34896637

Make that about 1 week on foot since the headquarter is placed in the central battlefield.

You can just ask Tsu or Ame for a portal, easy peasy.

>>34896457
>We just need to get Daiyu in there and Charm the fuck out of her
We'd have to go where she's attending to Siegfried, and pull her away from that. That could have bad consequences for how well Hadraniel will be able to handle the immense damage she's going to receive.
Also, possible causality problem if she's not there when Siegfried awakens.

>>34896695
>You can just ask Tsu or Ame for a portal, easy peasy.
I thought they were in high-level strategic meetings that shouldn't be disturbed?
Or that Ame shouldn't be pushing herself because of her wounds.

>>34896744

Tsu is currently fussing over Siegfried hemorrhagic fever and Ame is in a pretty important strategic meeting, yes. So you'll have to disturb them or send someone to do so in order to get fast travel for the telepathic worm.

>>34896744

As for Ame wounds, she'll be pushing herself alright but there wouldn't be any other choice if you go for her.

>>34896795
>>34896819
We'd either have to leave the telepathic interrogation to someone else as we search the secret tunnels, or we go to the Oni lands, or we wait until after the tunnels have been searched.

Maybe we should wait until we've finished searching the tunnels.

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‘’Thank, say I got one last thing; what’s the state of your network outside the city?’’

Tanuya first answered with a sigh.

‘’Pretty much dead or at least in stasis; our recent invasion sent a whole lot of refugees outside the city and all the surrounding nobles levied their entire armies and have pretty put a lockdown on the entire territory so everyone is laying very, very low.’’
Criminals can only ply their trade in time of leisure; with the vigilant eyes of the army it’d be very hard to smuggle drugs and even if they did – being caught could easily bring accusation of conspiring with the enemy and a subsequent execution would follow. Zipangu is a land that offer much rights to its citizens but that doesn’t extend for war.

‘’I see… well, stick close then.’’

Tanuya competence would definitely be very useful after the war but for now I’d be best to keep her around as suspect and of course, once I walked back toward the spymaster I was greeted by a grunt from Robert and I interrupted his words, turning toward the guildmaster.

‘’We’ve yet to establish the identity of the Mantis, please tell us who she is’’

‘’Hmm…’’

A sad smile grace the short woman features but she complied after a few seconds of enduring Kyorn and Robert stares.

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‘’Emnatiel, a girl with a very bright personality without too much talents for conflicts but she was still one of us; we sent her regularly to negotiate with people outside our orders, particularly with the militia; she had a gift of humanity and people took a shine to her. I knew that, thank to her, we managed to alleviate some suspicion with the militia and managed to work together because of that and she’s also been in contact with Tanuya since her arrival a few weeks ago although, I can’t pretend of knowing their relationship. I allow my people to have personal lives so I don’t quite know her entire circle of friends, but we can at least rule out the leaders of the police force.’’

Hmm, so the Tanuki actually omitted that? Curious indeed.

‘’Right…My vote is to explore the mansion, you said asking Rhy for permission so we ought to do that as fast as possible’’

‘’Why not separate and accomplish what needs to be done?’’

Right as we began marching, Robert already spoke but his tone didn’t held any anger; he wasn’t arguing, merely asking and Kyorn was the one to answer was demurred anger and actually keeping his irritation in check.

‘’I fought with her, Robert. She’s all beasts with just enough animalistic minds for self-preservation, reason why she actually allowed herself to be captured; do you know why it’s common sense about making damn sure you don’t fight a werewolf without silver blade? Those that didn’t soon found themselves with a frenzied maniac of a monster; if you go torture her mindlessly she’s gonna turn and I doubt the Onis will need more excuse to stomp her dead. IF you even live, the reason why I’m still in one piece is because she didn’t turn. Look.’’

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We all stopped at Kyorn words, he was obviously beyond annoyed and well on his way toward anger yet, at the very least, still possessed enough mind to keep calm… probably because of the rosy girl beside him who had been dutifully clinging to his side silently, as if acting like a dam to the tide of his anger. The Marauder pulled off one of his gloves, his hands were always covered by something and I never really gave it any mind but now, I saw the flesh of his hands; it was a pure glassy white, the skin didn’t even strain as he flexes and moved his fingers.

‘’I fought a werewolf and he ate my goddamn hand before I killed the bastard. Believe me when I say I want her to talk JUST as much as you do, but you don’t torture a goddamn Lycan, it’ be even better to avoid scaring them stiff to the point they have nothing to lose anymore, we’ll need something else; I know some of the ladies that lead us are talented in rooting inside people noggin but they’re… indisposed at the moment, so we need another idea, alright?’’

A potent flap of wings brought an end to the discussion while the Redcloak leader trailed his finger on the pommel of the sword at his side, sky blue eyes nearly hidden by squinting eyes as he observed the Marauder silently…their stares was intense, filled with the kind of bravado and exuberance you’d expect of two young man and I was just about to step in when Robert gave a sigh.

‘’…sire, I do believe our gentleman Hero is in the right’’

An elegant came from the end of the field, a mesmerizing sight from a handsome elf waving to us with smug sarcasm, he was just distant enough to go back the way he came and he didn’t wait for his leader approval to speak.

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‘’As you’ve sent me on a fetch investigation I come back with my result; Tanuya room held only one suspicion thing, a hidden compartment in the area she instruct me to look at holding funds – quite a bit of it – in an easily transportable bag. I’ll now carry out your instruction, do be patient with our friends allies’’

‘’Rainy days funds’’

Our suspect said quickly, redness creeping up on her cheek.

‘’Say Kyorn…’’

Something kept on nagging me; a fogyish white concealing an image yet not the shape. Young man, young girl, another one and a strange cylindrical, large shape – it brought with it a strange sensation, a pinch in my heart that went and disappeared as suddenly as it came.

‘’…rooting inside people noggins, right?’’

The half-elf gave me a strange stare while the two other leaders observed silently, sharing the same interrogation.

‘’Weren’t you sent inside a closed world…?’’

‘’OH!’’

And then he slapped his hands together.

‘’That telepathic worm! Shit that might JUST be what we need!’’

‘’What?’’

‘’Worm? The creature Amarantha brought back? It’s telepathic…?’’

Hush, you two – that’s a new development alright and something that might just allow us to take all possible paths for the truth; for some reason when I crossed eyes with Tanuya confused and impressed face I felt a sense of accomplishment.

>Will you take the chance of bringing Amarantha and her monstrous mother inside the mansion?
>If so, who shall go?

>Athena[Alone/Kyorn/Robert/Ciaràn]
>Ciaràn[Alone/Kyorn/Athena]
>Kyorn[Alone/Robert/Ciaràn/Athena]
>Robert[Kyorn/Athena/Alone]

>>34897644
So Kyorn had to get a prosthetic hand? Damn, no wonder he said she wouldn't break. She doesn't "break" so much as "go feral" which yields no results anyway. Damn Lycan.

>>34897676
>for some reason when I crossed eyes with Tanuya confused and impressed face I felt a sense of accomplishment.
So Tanuya IS Deruella, then.

Ciaran, as the Guildmaster, needs to stay here in order to get the map of the secret tunnels.
Maybe if Robert, his sister, and Ciaran check the secret tunnels, Athena and Kyorn can go get Amarantha's mother.

Is Tanu going to be with Athena regardless?

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>>34897872
>So Tanuya IS Deruella, then.

How so? She's the only one that openly showed her emotion over your accomplishment.

>>34897872
>Is Tanu going to be with Athena regardless?

You want her to come with you for the worm? Well, I guess it could do, if highly unorthodox.

>>34897927
>You want her to come with you for the worm?
I'm ambivalent. It's just that it was ambiguous since she wasn't mentioned though she was told that we would be keeping her with us.

>>34898100

Oh, I just didn't mention her because I simply assumed she'd be staying behind, under guard of the party that wouldn't go.

>>34897872
Not necessarily, she's just still in an incriminating position. We still need to keep an eye on her, but we can't say for certain as of yet. We do need to scan her with the worm ASAP though.

>>34898134

So I assume you guys want to fetch Amarantha and her dear mommy?

Any idea on who you'd like to go?

>>34898239
Athena and Tanu, with Kyorn staying behind with Robert and Ciaràn to search the secret tunnels.
Amarantha's mother can simply scan Athena's mind to be assured that we're who we say we are, and she can take the opportunity to scan Tanu and vet her.

My one concern is that we might need Kyorn to convince the other Oni to even meet Amarantha. Though him assisting the mansion's search might be more useful.

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>>34898239
We really have to at this point, a reader is *just* what we need to solve our issues.

My only real fear is that the felwhore is/was far more competent than even a Lord of Change could be in that even the worm might have a charm or two still active planted upon her during her deal. Hopefully a will that remains under the weight of such corruption can break them in this time of need. Fly close to the sun indeed.

i say before the reader arrives we get all the suspects in the same room and in form them of what we plan they will do 2 things not care or panic they will be found out

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>>34898393

>Fly close to the sun indeed.

Hohoho, Athena is doing quite the gamble.

>>34898340

>Athena and Tanu

Anyone else okay with this?

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>>34898512
Hey, her sis has rubbed off on her a bit. Isn't Sylphis a girl who has always favored the big gamble over more rational actions? Her entire fighting style is based on "High Risk, High Reward" tactics is it not?

No matter how stacked the odds, sometimes you just have to take a chance.

>>34898632

Quite.

Since we've approached the end of our little night, I'll asume Athena/Tanuya duo will be the ones sent to the Onis.

I'll try to squeeze as much brainjuice as I can for a closing update.

>>34898512
>Anyone else okay with this?
Give them another 15 minutes to see if anyone actually votes or not.
Now, does Athena have anything that she can use to declare her authority? A seal of some kind?

>>34898632
i like hedging my bets tho any way that's possible

>>34898693

No. You'll have to crack a few skulls at the worst to make them understand you mean business.

Hell they're likely to disregard any seals of authority anyway, but Amarantha is a reasonable Onis at the very least.

>>34898792
Considering the culture of the Oni's, if Athena were to go in there, demand to see Amarantha, and when denied, punch the offender in the face, would that be considered rude, or simply respecting the Oni culture?

>>34898701
I would like to hedge my bets by ensuring nobody is truly alone with Tanuya, I assume Ame will accompany Athena and thus ensure a potentially felwhore Tanuki has more than one target to worry about.

You can easily off one without incident, but can you off target number two before they see it coming? I want this whore questioning everything. Warn everyone not to look ANYONE in the eye period. No. Not. Even. Then.

>>34898870

You'll earn a few friends doing that. But your business better be important.

>>34898935
>I assume Ame will accompany Athena
Why the fuck would that be a valid assumption?
We're interrupting Ame during a high-level strategic meeting that her attendance is vital to, and she has wounds which will be aggravated by opening this portal, making her ability to fight compromised, and at the very least affecting her readiness for the big battle in two days.
Do you even think things through at all?

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>>34899023

Er, I got it wrong, I meant Tanuya.

Calm down. Calm down.

Here have a moo as make-up gift.

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>>34899126

Oh wait I got it wrong AGAIN, I thought I mentioned taking Ame with us somehow.

I'll jsut... go back to writing. Yeah.

>>34899126
>>34899152
No, this isn't your fault, INH.
It's an anon thinking we'll bring along Ame when you made it very obvious that she's in an important meeting that we would need a very good reason to interrupt, and that opening the portal, while not being dangerous to her, would be strenuous in a time when she needs rest to be as healed up as possible for the endgame fight coming up.

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>>34899023
Er... She IS the only one around we got that can form the portal needed to fast track the worm into our vicinity. Thus, she's going with *someone* and that someone would be those who want the worm here rather than there.

Do not dare to accuse me not thinking things through mongrel, for I have many times over.

>>34899235

You can be given a scroll for the back trip, laternatively, Onis also have their means of portals.

>>34899235
Then why do you never vote, or actually put forward useful ideas?
All you do is comment on the inane and the obvious, letting empty platitudes vomit forth without any suggestions or interesting thoughts.

Not to mention, portal scrolls are a thing that Ame and Tsu can create and use, and with Bletsia here we can have quickly made.
So, no, we don't need to bring Ame along and make things worse here.

Not the least to mention that if you were so worried about Tanu being Deruella, or Deruella using the Knife to try to kill Amarantha's mother when we get there, Kyorn would be the better person to bring than Ame, since the Knife still has to be wielded as a melee weapon (something which Kyorn is well suited to combating), while Ame is a spellcaster and therefore weaker against the Knife is capable of slicing straight through magical defenses as if they weren't there.

So yes, I will continue to accuse you of not thinking things through, because you haven't.

>>34899235
>mongrel
Seriously? Avatarfagging now?
Why not get a trip if you're going to be such a shit?

>>34899366
Cool down man, and think. Say she uses it. The use of the knife of induced death will *immediately* reveal the user as the infiltrator, or at least, the direct agent of said infiltrator.

The latter, BTW, will give us an opportunity to retrieve it for ourselves. Thus giving us the very tool we'd love to have to deal with Orion? The one we were supposed to sacrifice Leila to attain. Deruella isn't that stupid, especially in the worst case scenario. That being, she knows about the loops too. She won't just hand us that card on a silver platter if she can help it.

South.

There’s about four main headquarters for the alliance; here in the mansion, inside Tsukiyomi and Ame-no-Uzume castle protecting the body of the water dragon, the capital of the Lizard-Onis tribes and finally the main battlefield against the Faith, I know Mebuchednazi was busy going back and forth between down and up because the South of Zipangu is big, busy, wild place now being permanently overlooked by Amarantha – more than likely doing last minute preparations – if someone were to attack the middle land fort we’d be in quite the pickle indeed but right now both side are preparing, I know that, but most of all…

I’ve got history with the lizard side of that place, an old, old stain going from childhood to adulthood; the moment I was accepted as daughter to the Flaming Chieftain up until my betrayal of the united tribes because I believed in cooperation with the Church. I’ve never forgotten about it, never forgave myself for my foolishness and face trial by combat, accepting the judgement of the sedative; the women down there want me dead, but I dead the Onis give two shit about it and…

‘’…Athena?’’

My missing arm hurt.

Last week I would have given anything to avoid going back there but now…

I felt a jolt running through my body, a sharp crisp pain disappearing as quickly as a heartbeat as my lisps curled upward beyond any measure of control.
Yes…I’d like to go back, a chance maybe; show them all they haven’t broken me, that when my liege came into the arena to save my life and lifted me in her arms I can come back on my own two legs. It took a while but Siegfried, Ame, Tsu, Hadraniel and my dear sister managed to make me understand one thing; my life is precious and worth living and the embers of pride I kept repressed are just about burning up again.

‘’I’ll go, I’ll bring Tanuya as well; the telepathy of the worm will be the perfect method to prove her innocence’’

‘’Eh…you want me down there…?’’

‘’Yes’’

My tone held no place for counterargument and the girl went to rub her forehead, murmuring a strange plaint sounding like a whistling «lalala» but didn’t mouth further.

‘’Onis are quite violent, wouldn’t it be best to send Kyorn? He’ll make himself understood fast’’

Robert asked a valid question and I crossed eyes with Kyorn…and he immediately put his hands in the airs, shaking his head sideway.

‘’Dragon’s sake, hell no’’

‘’Alright, I’ll go to Ame right now, you three fetch Rhy’’

No time to linger, I just can’t –wait- to go back south.

‘’…goddamn fire out of nowhere in that girl…’’

--

As Tanuya tried her best to collect her nerves, I stood silent under the stairs leading upward, before proceeding to disturb my liege and subsequently arm myself for the little journey ahead; I had one last question to ask myself.

Should I bring my sister with me?

>A Tale of Monsters -128- end.

>>34899523
>think
That's what I did, and why I'm not considering that Deruella would try to attack Athena while getting Amarantha and her mother.
This post >>34898935 assumes that Deruella, if disguised as Tanu, would be likely to attack if it was just Athena alone going to the Oni's (when that would be a waste of the Knife's usage and blowing her cover).
On top of that, the poster wanted to bring Ame along, and I already detailed why having a spellcaster fight against a spellblade like Deruella equipped with a magic-piercing Artifact like the Knife is a fucking stupid idea.

So, really, you're arguing that Deruella isn't stupid enough to attack, to the person who accepted that Deruella is unlikely to attack Athena right now and said that bringing along a spellcaster to an anti-magic fight is stupid.

You should be directing your arguments to >>34899235
They're the one who believes that Deruella attacking Amarantha and Athena is a credible enough threat to drag Ame along.

>>34899668
>‘’Dragon’s sake, hell no’’
Is Kyorn unwilling to fight Oni's because he's afraid he can't control himself if he gets into a fight?
Or that, given his reputation as a great warrior, all of the Oni women want to fight/mate/both with him and he doesn't want to deal with all of that?

>>34899774

No, he got spooked by Athena's glare..

>>34899813
I thought that the lizards and the oni's were still separate, even if working together as part of the Zipang alliance.

When did they start working closer together?

>>34899869

The Onis were subjugated by the Lizard when the ycame to the island; msot of the population is seperate but the leaders are more or less forced together, it's pretty uneasy and tense, both side take care of their problem on their own but the fact Onis lost their lands does means the lizards are leaders right now - yet - with Mebuchednazi currently recovering, the one leading them all is none other than Amarantha.

That make alot of people unhappy and others happy, thsi is about the perfect opportunity to fix the South and make it stronger for the coming battle -if- you decide to linger a bit.

Regardless Athena is out for a little payback, because the leaders of the lizards wronged her pretty bad back at the begining of the quest.

Also there's also the remaining question at the end; Will you bring Sylphis?

>>34899915
>Will you bring Sylphis?
If we don't bring her, will she be working with Ciaràn, Robert, and Kyorn on searching the secret tunnels?
Or will she be staying by Siegfried's side?

>>34899956

Brooding by Siggy's side.

Oh also, this jsut in; Ame will force Athena to have Zech accompany you on the trip in case ''things go wrong'' so expect this in the next opening.

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>>34899813
Athena managed to spook our Berserker!? I guess he really is a softie deep down, no wonder the plant girl (refresh my memory as to her name will you? Think it starts with an "I") and Masa are head over heels for him.

I feel for the plant girl though, for from what I've seen, the ghost has already won. Poor Alarune...

>>34899974
>Brooding by Siggy's side.
The emotional support for Siegfried and Hadraniel would be nice, but I'm not sure if that would actually be as useful as having a Mantis as extra muscle to the fights we're going to get in down south.

Would the fights down south be 'first blood' or will they demand duels to the death down there? Would Athena have the right to refuse fights to the death and downgrade them to first-blood, because we have a war going on and someone she defeats will get plenty of chances to die on the battlefield?

I'd like a refresher on Lizard and Oni culture before we go down there, since it's been a while.

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>>34899980

Can't find my notes for the name of the plant, but I do believe it was Idà but I might be wrong.

But Kyorn really is a big damn softie bear.

>>34900106

>The emotional support for Siegfried and Hadraniel would be nice,

Just remember that Sylphis is a girl of action.

>Would the fights down south be 'first blood' or will they demand duels to the death down there? Would Athena have the right to refuse fights to the death and downgrade them to first-blood, because we have a war going on and someone she defeats will get plenty of chances to die on the battlefield?

You could choose both depending on how things goes and if she actually step inside the arena; it isn't unheard of to -impose- a duel to the death tough if people get pissed off enough but that can be overuled in time of war, like now.

>I'd like a refresher on Lizard and Oni culture before we go down there, since it's been a while.

I'll write up a quick summary, give me a few.

>>34899980

>I feel for the plant girl though, for from what I've seen, the ghost has already won. Poor Alarune...

Ah! Nowhere close, the girl is playing nurse and literally saving the lives of people on the battlefield time and time and time again, everyone is loving the girl really big for that and it hasn'T gone unnoticed by the Berserker, but I'm not putting his romances on the timelight now because we've got our own to deal with, but I like to think I'm giving some hints of his own events here adn there.

>>34899974
>Athena is out for a little payback
Does this extend to any Oni leaders, or just the Lizards?
And we should learn which Lizards in particular Athena wants revenge on, and what they did, before we go down there.

>>34900162
>Sylphis is a girl of action.
Which is why just brooding by Siegfried's side isn't going to sit well with her.
Unless those new tattoos of hers can help in some way, and you said we wouldn't find out what they do until you finish her sidestory.
And I'm afraid that the next session will come before we have that information, and we'll have to make a choice without information that Athena would ask of Sylphis before deciding.

>>34900219
>Does this extend to any Oni leaders, or just the Lizards?

Lizards, Onis were bros down there.

I've been having some major block with Sylphis sidestory but I should, hopefully, be done by next thread, if not I'll list the new capabilities then.

>we'll have to make a choice without information that Athena would ask of Sylphis before deciding.

To be a bit unfair, Athena doesn't quite know what her power up does either. But yes, thsoe tattoos WILL help in battle.

Tremendously. QM word on that.

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>>34900162
Ifè was the title you granted her before the berserker had to fight the lycan. Gave him a rejuvenating drink made just for him. Poor Alarune was pulling out all the stops in her tipsy state.

Going off the archives though. All names and such are ultimately in your hands for side characters. Even in the swamp arc she was obviously dedicated to him, and once again not hard to see why.

For all his rage and hate, he's really a decent guy in the end. Not hard to see why a girl or two would fall for him. A real pity, that males are a dying breed in this setting.

We're fighting against that trend, but we have two Badass Boss level assholes (Bonus and Final level no less!) who are trying to deny us our happy end. Glorious, hope we show them all!

>>34900290
>thsoe tattoos WILL help in battle.
Ah, but all the combat strength in the world is useless if you're at the wrong battlefield.

So we still have to figure out whether to bring her or not.

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Bit of a rundown on the Lizard-Onis

The Lizard-Oni culture more or less mesh on the surface; both were highly martial and valued the pursuit of strength and honour in all form, be it the distinction of the mind through discourse and debate or the sacredness of battles, everyone is very encouraged to pursue path of fitness and combat from childhood and that result in fight settling a whole lot of matters unless the other party is very visibly weaker, that’s where ‘’wise-women’’ step in. Legal matters now tend to be settled on the arena through force of arms with champions which is what happened with Athena since she’s pretty good with a blade; appearance don’t matter much only results but there’s a whole cultural divide between Onis and Lizards.

Lizards tend to be a bit more rigorous; they suffered a tremendous loss and most of their mindset pretty much changed to shape this in order to grow stronger through any and all means. Discipline. Duty. Order. Honor. Martial. Give to the clan, stay united; they try to pursue a higher purpose in intellectual and martial prowess but have rejected the use of slaves since skilled laborer should work willing, all people should be loyal to fight for the clan and people who wronged them should never be forgiven – only the Onis influence made the trial by combat an acceptable alternative.

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Pretty damn uptight bunch down there, but they are the most fearsome army of Zipangu in term of discipline.

Onis are similar as they pursue the same ideals but go about it very differently; all their tribes have united through necessity after the previous chieftain (Big Worm) first conquest, that wasn’t supposed to hold – but it did. They are a naïve people, all of them being big and strong they are taught to be moderate in general life but to be extreme in conflicts; the essence of strength is to be the very best in sacred battle and mental joust so Outsiders are welcomed because they bring new perspective, new ways of combats and can become permanent resident before long.

They revere STRONGLY their ancestors and call upon them all the time, hell the ghost of dead Onis even come back as labor force if needed and everyone, from prince, pauper, child and old, pay respect to shrine, allowing these spirits to sleep until roused. Their belief of sacred combat hold true up until a point; if someone commit a great crime and they are very strong, they must win a battle AND a mental joust with all the wise-women that wish it, for all the tribes to hear, even if it take two entire days- and finally their ancestors give their own judgement which is not all-mighty.

Most of all, they believed that in a ‘’sacred opposition’’ there comes a day in everyone life that someone – something- will oppose their very beings and nobody has the right to deny that, or there simply will not be anyone to help them; so they train to be ready for the greatest conflicts of their collective or individual lives.

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>>34900490

Oh yeah I forgot to add.

Onis seen outside their clans are usually much more brutish than their pair, giving one hell of a bad first impression. These aren't usually banished, just out there seeking some fortune or for some other reasons that are, ultimately, their own.

Considering that Athena has been with Ame for a while, does she know a bit about Zecharia?
What history does he have with the south?

>>34901744

She doesn't know much, only that he was the previous Hero of the demonic war 30 years before this Crusade and he was pretty chummy with the previous Oni chieftain.

As for his relationship with Ame, let's just say that's kep between them. For now.

>>34901831
Mylen backstory with Siggy?

>>34903046

Mayyybe. That could be a big one.

>>34901831
Oh so Zechariah was a friend of Amarantha's mom?

Does Amarantha's have to fight a large number of contenders? How good is she in a fight anyway?

>>34905389

>Oh so Zechariah was a friend of Amarantha's mom?

He's her dad

As for people to fight, politics is getting in the way and the ywant her to fight the Oni champion.

>>34903065
You said to remind you every post thread, I almost forgot

>>34905458
Oh, so Zech can give us political advice regarding how to act while with the Oni's?
Who to punch, who to talk to, who to punch then talk to?

>>34905728
Careful with the asserting physical dominance stuff. We don't need any accidental engagements.

>>34905728

Zech Didn't go south in decades, he couldn't really tell you anything about the political situation.

>>34909981
What about how we should act, or how a course of action is likely to be received?

>>34910078

That's more feasible but do remember the Onis lived through a big change with the coming of the lizards, so he may not be 100% accurate.