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‘’I see… yeah it’s getting pretty bad, especially without the Sorceress, you’ve seen for yourself how the Onis and Lizards are just about ready to tear themselves apart again.’’

The briefing surrounding the purpose of our coming down south took a good thirty minutes to put in full perspective after moving away from the debate room (which still look like something of a senate hall in my view) – I didn’t quite mind the possibility of being overheard but the little chief insisted on departing quickly.

What passed as chamber for Amarantha was more than large enough to welcome the group alongside the green creature that started to give off the aura of a pet as it lowered itself near the large doorway (absent of doors), easily taking a good third of the entire room; that’s how massive the royal bedroom was, this entire place felt more like some kind of general, all purpose spot for the pyramid monarch as, beside the furniture, I saw alchemical appliances lying around and there was even enough open space for sparring with some corridor leading further inside, unfortunately making a sharp leftward turn, blocking off any view of the destination.

It really felt like the chieftain had an entire floor to herself, the only way out was down back the stairs as seen by a pair of Onis-servants (or at least something close to it, I don’t quite know all the intricacies of their society) delivering late night food and drinks in the form of fruits and strange, sweet tasting purple colored beverage called ‘’Ojom’’- something made by the Onis with the fermentation of some strange local fruit…

Let’s just hope nobody get drunk, we don’t have time for this.

‘’You’re…’’

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Right as I tried to speak I fumbled over my words, everyone knew that the entity was the actual mother of Amarantha Amisi but alas I feared I already made a faux pas with this hesitation, Zech and Sylphis tried their best to ignore us as they ate and drank they fill with the slime bugging them for some attention.

‘’She’s my mom, you can call her that. She’s a telepath somehow, I think it’s because of something that happened thirty years ago…’’

The horned girl interrupted herself momentarily as she obviously glanced toward Zechariah who was holding the tiny girl near his face while Sylphis grew some interest in the worm.

‘’…It’s very easy to interrupt; all you need to do is resist the newly added pressure inside your head and that’s that, she can’t unearth your secrets, but it’s also the most effective way of searching someone’s memory that I know of anyhow – if souvenirs can be manipulated however, I can’t say.
I’m no expert in geas or all of that nonsense but you’ve got to allow my mom to search inside your
memory’’

Sitting beside Amarantha was the current biggest suspect of being a pawn or unwilling agent of Deruella, the Tanuki information broker Tanuya ‘’Tanu’’ Hoaxl had been silent and solemn ever since I’ve stepped inside the senate to make my case and just now opened her eyes and visibly stiffened as she crossed my own gaze, making her bouncy tails and nervous fuzzy ears twitch simultaneously, she was nervous to an almost comical point yet was still trying to desperately save face.

‘’Don’t worry, think of it as looking at some big… green bear’’

‘’Right’’

I’m not helping at all. I heard a rude «Snrk» coming from the chieftain who quickly jumped out of the oversized bed, however I came to interrupt her, the Tanuki didn’t look –quit- ready enough to step closer to the worm and would most likely refuse entry in her mind.

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‘’I’ve got something else to ask, concerning my incoming duel’’

This time, Zechariah, Sylphis and Aurore grew silent; everyone exchanged a few mixtures of newly worried emotions. I knew my place in all of this, my sword arm is gone and the demonic arm I’ve used as weapons as also disappeared and from what I remember of my previous fight the Champion isn’t a pushover (even if the woman was thoroughly manhandled by Hadraniel).

‘’…You don’t plan to leave tonight, right?’’

Even if I wanted to, I knew fully well that Amarantha would fight our entire group, war be damned, so I can fulfill the promise I’ve made.

‘’Of course not; I’d like to ask you something else instead, I would like to convene with an ancestor’’

The total silence I was rewarded with was quite pressuring; having the giant worm turn to stare at me with its many glowing eyes was just as unsettled as that time I…mistakenly dirtied Ame-no-Uzume tails with paint.

‘’They wouldn’t sit still over this injustice and I could honestly use the help.’’

‘’That’s a strong assumption Athena, ancestors are sacred for Onis and have been since time immemorial, most of them lost their individuality but still respond to the call of blood and family, you do not have a familiar body for them to identify and, unless I’m mistaken, your family hasn’t mingled with Onis, right?’’

The little chieftain didn’t seem morally opposed, simply thoroughly unconvinced.

‘’Hey, hey I can help!’’

By now I came to understand that Zech little slime was a very spirited girl; I heard a very distinctive splotch as she landed aground form (most likely) the young man shoulder and quick glance their way confirmed it as there was a nice, small blue puddle in front of the man who crouched low to the ground, now poking the…biological material that quickly reformed itself into a head of messy gelatinous

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The entire existence of this slime was so bizarre, she simply stole everyone attention right then and there.

‘’Just attach me to your body and nobody will be the wiser, I’ll help ya out during the duel and after too! Give those lizards a ripe pounding!’’

‘’Aurore… that’s cheating’’

These kinds of duels aren’t common down south, most of everything is resolved with either first blood or submission but what’ll happen tomorrow is a thorough insult to sacred practices and in those case, death isn’t out of the question but most of all is the fact that either combatant can receive some form of help in the means of weapons or items to take into combat (including magical) – a slime attached to one body might just be blurring the lines a little too much.

‘’Not necessarily’’

Surprisingly the little chieftain was the one to speak up and for a moment I saw her face harden as her eyes crossed with Zech. Her entire expression changed to something… almost sulky.

‘’Sacred Combat is hard to describe, nobody tend to agree on the rules and lizards complain all the time about our ancestors. Using them is akin to relying on outside help but they don’t leave our bodies; we also live and die side by side in combat and became very important part of our culture and the way we fight, your opponent would complain if you had welcome a wraith into your body, they’ll also complain if you were to use this…slime as attachment.’’

Sylphis stepped closer, nudging my side as she took the long way around to stop beside me.

‘’I can fight in your stead’’

She whispered, her eyes telling nothing but the truth; I felt a bit of a sting on my pride and decided to indulge the anger by petting the spot between her antennas.

‘’I’ve got to do this myself, beside I fully intend to have you cough out the reasons why you have those tattoos, you’re no mage’’

‘’Well… I had some help.’’

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Having pushed the issue of the slime away for now the gelatinous girl had now taken to pout, a loud rumbling however, caught everyone attention as the giant worm shifted its stance, its mass climbing upward as it settled in something of a sitting position, looking downward, observing Tanuya straight in the eyes. It seem the beastwoman worked up her courage silently and the operation was over as swiftly as it started, the worm being the first to break stare as it wiggling it body and turned upward whilst the Tanuki massed the sides of her head.
I immediately walked in their direction, accompanied by Amarantha. Tanuya was quick to trot toward us as the worm calmed down, slowly putting back its giant body on the ground and waiting for her daughter – the two exchanged a glance while I took care of the merchant.

‘’It’s done’’

She was trying very hard to avoid looking and sounding dejected.

‘’Wasn’t that hard, right?’’

‘’Athena’’

The little chieftain beckoned and I followed, sparing a quick glance behind me to see Tanuya silently sitting on the bed, twiddling with her staff.

‘’Look into my mother’s eyes’’

Following her instruction, I looked upward, observing the giant, open-mouthed worm, its set of glowing blue eyes growing dim and bright at irregular interval; I saw its inner mouth close before concentrate on the middle circle and that’s when I felt the ‘’buzz’’ in my head, just like that time I shared my memories with the entity, this time however was a gift, something came through this invisible, momentary link and I had to allow it – just like the dulled Soul Link.

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An image sprouted in my mind as if appearing by a sudden influx of inspiration. It was the moon, or at least it had to be. A large sphere of white glowering in a sea of darkness, on its own it just appeared to be a fantastic memory of a full moon but there was…something off, something I could quite put my finger on that brought a most eerie feelings in my guts, the mere act of remembering this thing filled me with a strange, uncharacteristic dread.

It was as if trying to remember everything that happened back in that swamp, the mere act of looking and recalling this ‘’moon’’ raised a near-traumatic experience in my psyche and I quickly found myself out of breath.

‘’What?’’

That’s all I could say, with Amarantha just about as confused as I was we looked toward her mother for answer and only found a lazy, giant worm lying down soundlessly, obviously she was much more apt at dealing with this kind of situation. Still, that was the only memory she pulled out and it certainly didn’t answer anything concerning the Tanuki.

>I don’t have much time tonight, what should I do? Concentrate on preparing for the duel? Try to puzzle out this strange memory?

>>35613172
Concentrate on the duel. We won't be able to leave until tomorrow anyway, so secure the full support of the oni and lizards tomorrow then puzzle out the memory after the duel.

>>35613172
Concentrate?

>>35613172
The memory is puzzling. Figuring it out may boost resolve or cause something to happen.

What do preparations entail?

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>>35613346
>>35613321

Will do, I have to step away for a spell before continuing the thread so feel free to debate in the meantime.

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>>35613384
Choosing which path to take for your prep and getting some details on your enemy and perhaps a little bit of exercise before resting for tomorrow morning.

>>35613394
If only we could tell everyone who mommy really is. Damn traitor, so long as they're around I fear for her safety. Friggin' Shiki knife with the turboslut is boosting my paranoia man.

>>35613172
I say try to puzzle out the memory.

>>35613433
Then I'd rather gather some info on the enemy then focus a bit on the memory. It sounds important.

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>>35613475
Still, nothing prevent Siggy from telling people Mana is Mother Earth.

>>35613631
>>35613638

So I take it we have two votes for the memory instead of prepping for the duel? Do note that you won't be locked out of the later but you also won't have as much time

>>35613751
That damn knife having a way to find itself lodged in mommy's torso is what's keeping my mouth shut.

My vote was basically to try and do both essentially.

>>35613751
No, one of those votes wanted to get info on the duel first then work on the memory.
The problem is that such a vote is fucking useless because the choice is to either prep for the duel, which is getting info on the duel, training, and communing with the Ancestors.
You need to explicitly state that people must prioritize one or the other, and that the choices are mutually exclusive.

You can't allow this kind of ambiguity, especially at the difficulty level you're running at.

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Why the moon? Why is it making me feel so afraid? White, dark and a big spherical shape, a particularly large full moon that somehow make me feel very, very afraid by simply recalling the image projected into my mind, as if this simple, brief memory was akin to remembering some kind of traumatic experience but of course there weren’t any details.

‘’Say, Amarantha’’

I made sure to whisper at the chieftain, her puzzled face already told more than enough but I didn’t felt like alienating Tanuya, obviously she was observing me rather intensely whilst Sylphis, Zechariah and the slime were busy trying to pretend everything was alright.

‘’I think emotions can transfer when sharing memories but it’s not common, right?’’

Some kind of low growl came from the giant worm in response to the demon query, most likely an agreement since the short chieftain nodded back at me, still obviously puzzled by this reveal.

‘’It’s the only thing my mother managed to extract, she didn’t felt like being pushed either, that squirrel of yours probably has some kind of magical protection for her memories’’

This isn’t helping her case to avoid being a suspect at all, short of actually confronting Tanuya there is, alas, absolutely no other way to gain something with this strange scary moon – I may not have the time to do so tonight.

‘’I’m going to tell you right now; trying to contact an ancestor for help is going to be very dangerous and your chances of success are slim, the closest sacred mound is about two days of march from here’’

I know the slime offered to help but how? I don’t think I could vanquish the champion without some support; I may have regained some confidence but a crippled warrior shouldn’t overestimate herself and, looking at the small girl bouncing in Sylphis hands, I had quite a lot of trouble imagining her trying to harm anyone.

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[It is now 9:25 Pm. Each choice will consume times. Also sorry for the short update, had to take care of some stuff.]
>Find out more about how Aurore could actually help me out, she and Zech are a very puzzling duo.
>Demand some more details about the ancestor’s rituals.
>Concentrate fully on extracting some info from Tanuya memory.
>Something else?

>>35614545
>>Find out more about how Aurore could actually help me out, she and Zech are a very puzzling duo.
i got a feeling that she can give great tactical advice

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>>35614342
None of them are mutually exclusive but you'll simply not have enough time to get full details, exercise with potential new abilities and rest before the duel

>>35614545
>Demand some more details about the ancestor’s rituals.
Wait, if the Sacred Mound is two days away, and the duel is tomorrow morning, doesn't that mean that getting an Ancestor is already impossible?

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>>35614703
There's a way to brute force a ritual but it's going to be very risky and potentially useless.

Seem like we've got 1 for 1 right now

>>35614514
>>Concentrate fully on extracting some info from Tanuya memory.

>>35614545
>Concentrate fully on extracting some info from Tanuya memory.

I just got a bad feeling about this, but truth is until she's exonerated somehow I just can't trust her. If she's the traitor she could fuck things up in any number of ways.

>>35614747 here.
Changing my vote to >Find out more about how Aurore could actually help me out, she and Zech are a very puzzling duo.

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>>35614839
>>35614794
>>35614588
>>35614703

So overall we've got 2 votes for the slime and one for the other two

>>35614794
We know that there was some kind of magical protection around the memory. That's enough for us to have Tanuya put in restraints and under guard until we get back and can have Daiyu breach the charm.

>>35614514
>afraid of moon

I'm betting were-something?

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Voting for worming the Tanuki. I thought that was why we came down here, anyways.

>>35614934
Werewolves are a thing here. Hell our berserker hero had to fight one without silver. They're such a bitch without silver.

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Well then I'll write about the slime

>>35614896
You guys want to cuff Tanuya? I'll need a consensus on that as it's a pretty drastic action.

>>35614934

Maybe, maybe not - I won't reveal anything

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>>35614971

She's already been wormed, Ama mother wasn't able to extract anything but the moon and wasn't acvitely rejected either, there are protections inside Tanu head.

>>35614978
No cuffing Tanuya.

>>35615117
Cuff tail to our wrist.

>>35614978
At any rate she needs to be kept under watch by at least two guards. Inform them they are not to look her in the eyes, ever. No, not even through a reflection. Just to be safe.

>>35614978
I don't like advocating for it, but we're looking for a geased sleeper agent or Deruella herself, and memory wards are exactly what she would use to protect against a mind probe.
We can't take the chance that Tanu isn't who she thinks she is.

>>35615140
>>35615131
Half measures aren't going to help us. If we suspect her, go all out. Don't go cautious route and make it clear to her we suspect her while not doing anything about it since you're just going to make things rough with her working with us in the future if she is clean. She was a free agent before this remember. I feel like acting on paranoia atm is a wrong move.

>>35615031
As the person from >>35614896
>>35615187
I want Tanu to be taken away from Ama and her mom, told that we found something troubling in her mind, and we can't take chances now. Have her blindfolded and cuffed, with at least two guards on her at all times. Comfortable cuffs, but cuffed all the same.

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>>35615333
Again this isn't something I can simply agree on without consensus, I'll change my text accordingly if this does become the chosen option.

>>35615469
Well, I'm voting against it.

>>35615469

I'll vote for it, while making it absolutely clear to Tanuya that we're only restraining her because evidence of the possibility that she's been geased/brainwashed is fairly strong at the moment and we need to be careful.

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>>35615756
seconded

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>>35615773
>>35615756
>>35615592

Hm, I see. I'll finish what I'm writing then I'll alter accordingly.

>>35615803
Didn't Tanuya say that she wanted to come in order to prove her innocence?
We never asked her what she would do if she was found guilty.

Can we do that, ask her what she'll do if she's guilty, before we put her in cuffs?

>>35615841

Restraining her =/= Saying she's guilty.

You do understand this, yes?

>>35615841
The problem here is that Tanuya may be totally innocent and got geis'd hard by the perp and/or their associates.

Oh fuck, make double damn sure there is no way she can suicide on us. If that's true there's probably a failsafe geis to kill herself if something incriminating the traitor is about to be uncovered. This is as much for her safety as it is for ours.

>>35615895
Of course there's a difference, you patronizing fuck, but she came down here to prove that she wasn't geased and wasn't involved in the assassinations.

But here we are with evidence that her memory is warded and even with her not resisting, Amarantha's mother was only able to pull a single memory.

So we've got evidence suggesting that she's been compromised, and we're putting her in chains.
How else is she going to take this?

>>35615992

>you patronizing fuck

You need to calm down because you seem like you're way too riled up over the fact that we might end up restraining the fluffy tail.

That's why we're explaining to her why we need to restrain her in the hopes that we can make her understand that she might, unknowingly, be a threat to us and herself. If she still winds up feeling that we have it out for her anyway, then that's her own problem.

She's still innocent until proven guilty, regardless.

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Hmm I was going for an info dump but I'll slow down o nthat else the update take another three page.

>>35616188
It was an unnecessarily patronizing post that of course would provoke an angry response.

>>35616262

It wasn't unnecessarily patronizing. I wanted to know if you understood the difference because you appear to be way too adamant on making sure you don't hurt Tanuya's feelings when we're in a situation where we know there's an enemy spy and we need to proceed with the utmost caution.

Even if it does turn out that she's been geased, it's not like we have to hold it against her. Deruella's influence is a hell of a thing. We can still talk things over with Tanuya when the storm's passed, so to speak.

>>35616469
I would think that, in the event of charm or geis magic making you do something, it's the guy who did that to you that's responsible. After all *you* didn't have much of a choice after that point.

And I said it earlier, this is for her safety as well. If she's got anything juicy in the headcase there's probably a suicide geis to fix the "problem" for the traitor. We must therefor make it so that suicide is impossible.

>>35616569

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying as well. But thank you for elaborating further. We need to ensure that she doesn't endanger herself as well as us.

>>35616469
>because you appear to be way too adamant on making sure you don't hurt Tanuya's feelings
You completely misread that post, because that's not it at all.
Asking Tanuya what she planned to do if she ended up being guilty is meant to get her to consider the possibility that she was actually guilty that she believed to be impossible before. That would be followed by informing her that there are memory wards in place in her mind, suggesting that her memory has been tampered with.

Asking her what she planned to do if she was wrong is supposed to make her understand that she is the one who asked for this, including her being restrained.

>>35616634
>Asking her what she planned to do if she was wrong is supposed to make her understand that she is the one who asked for this, including her being restrained.
Which, in turn, will make her more compliant.

>>35616634
>>35616692

But the option to also explain to her why she's being restrained, provided that she gets cuffed, has already been advocated.

I mean, all you initially said was "Can we ask her what she'll do if she's guilty before we put her in cuffs?" What CAN she do if she's found guilty after we already have her restrained and in custody? She's not a child. I'm pretty sure she'll already understand what this means after we've explained to her the reasoning for why she's being cuffed in the first place.

>>35616863
It's asking her what she had planned to do if she was found to have been compromised, to have been guilty of assisting the assassination.
It's to see if she had even considered the possibility that she might be compromised.
It's to see, if she turns out to be geased, how well prepared Deruella made her charms.

>>35617151

But if she wanted to come along in order to prove her innocence, then it means she was honestly convinced she was innocent. She couldn't possibly have planned for any other outcome or possibility. If Deruella's charms serve to essentially turn Tanuya into a sleeper agent, then asking her if she had any plans were she to be found guilty doesn't make a difference. A sleeper agent won't know that they're a sleeper agent.

We, or maybe Siggy because he might be better at affecting these sorts of things, would have to undo the charms ourselves.

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‘’Your entire group is welcome to stay in my room for as long as you like, I can have some beds moved here for your leisure too, there’s more than enough space’’

Amarantha replied with a friendly thump on her chest and a smug smile, having recovered from the vision while the giant worm slowly lowered itself on the ground, going back to its previous leisure of lazing around; maybe my bear comparison wasn’t that out of place, still it’s hard to avoid being intimidated by such a massive creature with big, murderous open mouths.

‘’Could you go fetch some loyal warriors? I want her under arrest right now’’

‘’Eh?’’

Amarantha was already on her way toward the Tanuki and swiftly whirled around at my whisper – the display felt suspicious of course and gathered everyone eyes so I quickly gestured for her to come close and gave her some a headpat, which elicited an growling ‘’oi’’ from this slightly overeager little chieftain.

‘’She accompanied me to prove her innocence and all we’ve got is a scary moon, you’ve said it yourself, her memories are warded; I want her restrained for ours and her own good because it’s entirely possible there’s a failsafe of some kind that could push her to suicide, we don’t know what kind of geas she has, if she even has one’’

Amarantha gave me a hard stare but quickly tiptoed to look past my shoulder toward her mother; I heard the worm grunt again, a low guttural sound that reverberated in the entire room like a lion roar.

‘’My mother would have made us know if she was under hypnosis or anything like it’’

…then Tanuya is either truly innocent or our foe was somehow competent enough to fool a telepath.

‘’I still want her restrained, this is my responsibility, I just need a favor from you in manpower and security’’

--
I wish I had more time.

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My incoming duel wasn’t something I could ignore despite current threats, it didn’t took much convincing for Amarantha to leave the room and I made my way toward Sylphis and Zechariah, both were crouching to observe the tiny blue creature on the ground, exchanging some words about today’s altercation with the lizard, I could feel some kind of mutual respect as warriors although, Sylphis was definitely aching for a rematch, it was so easy to see in her eyes.

‘’Ah, Athena!’’

Aurore greeting came with a strange wet ‘’splotch’’ as she jumped in place and slowly wormed her way toward me, thus I decided to scoop down and allow her to climb upon my palm. It’s a strange feeling to hold such a small slime; her entire body was pumping like a living organ yet her translucid blue colored ‘’skin’’ wasn’t wet in the least, simply protected by some kind of elastic outer membrane preventing her liquid from seeping out; all the time people got stained by her fluids must have been voluntary on the girl part. Now she had joined her stump-like arms together while peering up at me with a smile so radiant I simply had to look away else a blush crept on my face and that’s when I saw Zechariah holding a pair of ofudas in his hands.

‘’So you want me to help ya out, right?’’

I felt my heart leap upon looking back at the adorable creature standing in my palm, a warm buzzing emotions spread inside my chest and of course my cheeks kept on straining a smile despite my best efforts; I want to keep her for myself!

‘’Well… Amarantha mentioned that calling for an ancestor would be dangerous and most likely unsuccessful, I’m curious how you’d help.’’

Aurore clapped her arms together and immediately announced.

‘’Easy! I’ll become your arm!’’

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I suspected something like that, Sylphis and Zechariah shared an awkward smile as I looked at them; obviously they knew about her ambition, Sylphis tough, stepped forward, giving the tiny head of the blue entity a finger rub.

‘’I know it sound dubious but she’s onto something, it’s-‘’

Unfortunately the chieftain return forced the conversation to a close; a newly formed trio came marching inside the room with the big worm growling its disapproval, Amarantha Amisi was flanked by a pair of towering blue skinned Onis holding heavy duty chains alongside the clubs fastened at their hips and the formal uniforms for guarding inside the most important structure of the South; grave faces giving everyone a hard look, each sported a pair of tiny horns protruding out of their forehead, there wouldn’t be any funny business with them – their sudden intrusion was enough to completely freeze the atmosphere and I also saw Tanuya jump to her feet, arming herself with the staff and that’s when I handed the slime over to Sylphis and immediately made my way toward the nervous beastwoman, unarmed and she also lowered her stance, but I certainly didn’t miss the whitening knuckles of her closed fist.

‘‘So that’s how it is’’

She growled in a low breath, stripped tails bouncing as she fidgeted slightly.

‘’Your memories were warded; I know its poor timing Tanuya but tell me, what would you do if you were guilty of helping Zipangu traitor?’’

‘’I’m not…’’
She protested immediately but cut herself midway, then angrily threw her staff on the bed before visibly wincing and massing her shoulder, obviously still sore and wounded; all the bandages on her body weren’t for show.
‘’I wouldn’t do anything because –I- know I’m not guilty. I don’t remember doing any kind of magic rituals to shield my mind, but I’m not going to doubt myself. I came to prove my innocence, I’m not simply going to accept being chained wordlessly.’’

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Tanuya spoke with more vigor now, obviously her pride was wounded and she was standing her ground; an interruption came behind me however, I heard a few big steps as Zechariah walked in front of the demonic trios that had also encroached closer toward the Tanuki.

‘’Hey whoa now, what the hell is happening here?’’

Sylphis also protested, albeit without talking, she simply held the slime in her hand while stopping midway to my side, little Aurore also very perplexed, looking toward Tanuya with bouncing expression.

‘’Tanuya, facts remains that your memories were shielded – I’m not saying your guilty but you might be under geas and it’s entirely plausible that’d you’d be forced to do something regrettable, I’m not arguing your belief, but your mind itself might be betraying you’’

‘’So you’re going to haul me out of here?’’

Looking back, the chains the Onis came with were anything but inviting and I could tell they were growing increasingly impatient; Zechariah was also looking confused, now walking toward me instead of impeding trio’s path.

Nothing I say will sway Tanuya mind; I understand why she’s upset, it’s perfectly normal no matter how much I try to reason, I’ve suffered my own injustice and feel very upset about it today.

>Should I reveal to everyone why I’m doing this and if so, what should and say?
And
>Should I have Tanuya hauled into a secure location, or simply cuffed and kept here?

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>>35617331
>then Tanuya is either truly innocent or our foe was somehow competent enough to fool a telepath.

Not necessarily true. Deruella obviously planned for the long haul on this one. She's been putting pieces in and making/preparing new ones for decades with a meticulousness that'd make Tzeentch proud. Tanuya wouldn't have to be hypnotized *right now* to take her own life later. She may not even be hypnotized at all. She could be riddled with alternate personalities that activate upon specific triggers.

Conspiracy Theorists go on about something called Monarch Mind Control and how it works (i.e. how the slaves are used) is essentially how I just described it. You trigger the personality you want right now, then send it on a mission.

Worst part is it'd be almost undetectable here with the proper wards and the alters would be totally malleable as you're doing actual mind control over a long time period over simply traumatizing and breaking them psychologically. Though with subtle charms you could eventually break them down as well. Supposed victims claim that they had no idea what they did at night. Someone else, you see, was driving.

Layer them in over long periods of time, to the point where they remain even after the spells wears off, where you've woven it all irrevocably into their psyche, and you have quite the pawn the play around with. If that's the case, poor Tanuya.

>>35617426
We should tell her we fear for her life. That if she does have something in her mind that could lead to the traitor they may have put a spell on her to make her commit suicide before it gets revealed. This is for her own good.

>>35617426
>Should I reveal to everyone why I’m doing this and if so, what should and say?
Reveal that there was blood magic involved in the assassination which occurred back at the Rahal lands. That it was used to allow a master of charms to create assassins and agents in people without even contacting them.

Ask Amarantha if her mother is sure that Tanuya is not under a charm, like what Amarantha herself was under. If a memory ward like what Tanuya has is different from Charm magic.

And reveal that Tanuya has memory wards in place. Ask her if she had a policy of using memory wards to protect the identities of her clients, or used them in her line of work.

>Should I have Tanuya hauled into a secure location, or simply cuffed and kept here?
Simply cuffed and kept here.

If memory wards are different from Charms, and Amarantha's mother can detect Charms but not break them, and she didn't detect any Charms in Tanu, then we'll apologize.

>>35617426

We should reveal the reasoning why we're doing this by letting everyone know that Tanuya has some rather flexible, yet potent, means of memory protection in place on her. Confirming further details about that protection with Amarantha's mother, while also asking if Tanuya typically employed memory protection for the sake of her business would not hurt either, but we should make it clear that it does implicate that might be under mind control that might be putting Tanuya herself at risk along with ourselves.

As for either putting her in a secure location or keeping her with us... That's a tricky decision. On the one hand, keeping her secure and under surveillance might prevent some kind suicidal failsafe from triggering. But if whatever mental trigger flips to cause her to take action, she's out of sight from us and who knows how much damage she might inadvertently cause. However, keeping her with us also presents the risk of those same triggers from happening at a very inopportune time for us as well.

I don't know. I'm tempted to lean more towards the idea of keeping her there, because if she DOES trigger, we have a better chance of doing something about it.

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I wasn't expecting to be so damn tired tonight, regardless I'll proceed, you guys offered juicy stuff.

>>35618100
Why haven't we asked Tanuya directly about the moon?
It's the only unshielded memory, so it must be important.
Assuming that it's the key to a failsafe which will unlock a hostile personality when questioned about it, be wary when asking her about it, before having her put in chains.
Be ready to tackle her and prevent her from biting her tongue off.

Also ask Amarantha to confirm that her mother detected no charms or geases, like the one she was under, and only the memory ward.
And ask if the memory ward seems like it's only preventing her from looking for other memories, or if it feels like the memories behind the ward have been modified.

>>35618100
INH, did our Blood Magic primer mention memory manipulation as something that could be done by Blood Magic?

What was the process that Daiyu used to hide as Yuyu? Because she hid inside a body, and made her mind completely that of another person, good enough to fool everybody. Possibly good enough to fool a telepath.

What do we know in-character about memory manipulation magic? Shouldn't we have had a chance to stop our course of action when Amarantha said that despite coming up against the memory protection, her mother didn't find any evidence of a geass?

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>>35618546
>INH, did our Blood Magic primer mention memory manipulation as something that could be done by Blood Magic?

No, that's the realm of Corruption.

>What was the process that Daiyu used to hide as Yuyu? Because she hid inside a body, and made her mind completely that of another person, good enough to fool everybody. Possibly good enough to fool a telepath.

It's using the ritual to put her mind in someone else body, overwriting their ego and souls then replacing it with her own. But again that's only a thery, it's the most ''common'' way to go about it but, as you've saw with the Demon Lord mascarading as Yuria, there's lots of possible rituals.

>What do we know in-character about memory manipulation magic?

As much as you do now.

>>35618662
And Amarantha's mother attests that Tanuya is free of geases and Charms?
She only has the memory protection?

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>>35618715
As far as she could tell, yes. The memory protection impede her trying to search, she'd need to brute force her way inside Tanuya mind like she did with Amarantha but here there's some serious potential for disaster because wards are always much, much harder to undo compared to geas

>>35618662
So YuYu literally got deleted from the world, likely consumed by things man was not meant to know... man that's sad, I liked her.

>>35618758
Then why not do >>35618228
Ask Tanuya why the image of a large white sphere in a sea of darkness was the only unprotected memory.

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>>35618809
Not quite, Yuria = Deruella.

Also sorry for being slow tonight, I'm drained but I'll continue tomorrow too

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>>35618878
>Yuria=Deruella

I am confused, how does that make any sense?

>>35619344

I think he meant Daiyu.

>>35619344
magic son aint gotta explain shit

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>>35619344
I meant Daiyu.

Confusing you is fun

>>35619411

>Confusing you is fun

Nice way of saying "Whoops, I made a typo."

>>35619411
Okay, so, are we going to actually ask Tanu about the moon, or going straight into the explanation for why we're doing this and clapping her in irons?

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>>35619498

Both, I'll close the thread in my next post and continue tomorrow but all of this focus o nTanuya cost you some precious time to prepare for the duel. So for now I'll try to explain waht I can with her.

>>35619617
>but all of this focus o nTanuya cost you some precious time to prepare for the duel.
Goddammit, people are going to lose the duel because they can't prioritize right.
If we lose the duel, besides having Athena die, would that cause the Lizards to pull out of the alliance?
Or at least, a third of the fighting force?

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>>35619694
I won't say anything about that.

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>>35619617
Athena is a potent warrior one wave ride away from becoming a mage. She'll be able to handle herself, I hope. Siggy's life kinda rides on hers now with the Soul Merge thing.

And get her fully restrained BEFORE we ask her about the moon. That has trigger flags all over it. Even if innocent she could be a Monarch Mind Slave and, if Conspiracy Theorists are to be believed, they have suicide alters in them ready to go if someone starts asking questions that hit too close to home. They're close to the guys behind the scenes, can't risk them spilling the beans.

>>35619694
Have faith in the skills of our scaly waifu, who is pretty much an emotional outburst away from gaining Siggy's Gate of Ice Spikes, now with handy magic immunity!

>>35619754
Having your plans based on a "I hope" statement isn't wise. Athena lost before. Not taking time to prepare for the duel is stupid.

>>35619779
She was also drugged out of her mind. Try fighting someone when your high as a kite or drunk off your ass against a sober trained warrior. Yeah, you're fucked.

>>35619718
Seeing as how the Champion we're fighting represents the Salamander who leads a third of the Lizards and wants them to pull out of the Commonwealth.

If she wins, it's very likely that her faction will gain majority and hamstring the entire Commonwealth war effort on the eve of their most important battle.

>>35619754
You hope?
Athena can only swing a shield, we didn't take the time to try to get an Ancestor spirit to merge with her, and using Aurore as a replacement arm hovers dangerously close to outright cheating, since she's an independent entity, not one that is bound to Athena.

You say to have faith, while you've done nothing but get the deck stacked against us.

>>35619825
The Champion is also an accomplished warrior that Athena has admitted was a near-equal when she had both arms.
Now Athena doesn't have her sword arm, and can only wield a shield.
She is still fucked, even without being drugged.

>>35619779
>>35619825 again. I'm also counting on a bit of GM mercy. I don't think he'll kill us off unless we do something *incredibly* stupid and/or fail the combat rolls hard. I know I'm being naieve, but hey this quest is basically "You're Fucked, Monstergirl Edition." Tis why I like it mind you, but he could have easily, justifiably killed us many times before.

>>35619876
She is now close to an awakening given the Soul Merge. Suddenly being able to into Magic can easily make up for a lost arm and then some.

>>35619943
You are being incredibly stupid, leading Athena to her death while thinking that INH will bail you out just because you have faith.

Instead of actually working to come up with a better plan or taking a choice that doesn't lead to a higher chance of death, all you do is be as stupid as you can, declare that you have faith in the characters to not die and in the GM to not kill the characters, and then excuse your failings by blaming the difficulty setting.

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>>35619943
Same guy, I'd like to now ask if Siggy ever talked about magic with the girls. We haven't experienced every minute of every day when he was in contact with them. I know I'd ask about magecraft during traveling and the like.

It's a subject that gets the attention. They know how monsters do it but now here you are walking around with what amounts to a human archmage. Why not ask about what it's like? How it feels, how it works, maybe entertain us a bit with some frivolous shit. Mages are scholars, and if there is one thing scholars like to do, it's talk about the stuff they study. Everyone loves to talk shop, why not teach the ignorant? Hell, if they learn and remember it's a joy of life for them.

Or at least it is for me. I love telling people about the stuff I know and others seem to share in that joy. Happened enough times I think it's only human to be like that. Everyone has at least a guilty pleasure of indulging in exposition it seems.

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‘’I’m going to make you know- alongside everyone else here- that I’m neither arresting you, Tanuya, nor am I hauling you out of here!’’

I had to at least calm down Zechariah; I’m not going to pretend I can do the same for the Tanuki but the swordsmen –did- save her life during the angelic attack and I suppose he’s not the kind of person to stand by for injustice…beside I shouldn’t give my sister a bad example, there’s also a cute impressionable slime to boot.

‘’Tanuya, we might be dealing with a geas – somehow your memories were protected, warded, despite your own agreement to share them with Amarantha mother. I don’t know the proper way to go about it, but I’ve decided some restraints would be the best way to avoid self-harm in case a defensive geas activate and force you to do something drastic. We’ll get to the truth, but you are no prisoner’’

And so silence came to the large room, I spoke strong and clearly, directly facing my beastwoman friend and her eyes kept on glancing left and right whilst an obvious blush colored her cheek in an adorable shade of red, obviously not used to being the center of attention she let out a soft mumble then stomped the ground in frustration, finally backing down and allowing the Onis to clamp the chains on her wrists and ankles – Zechariah seemed at least convinced enough to let the demons pass and with a few very tense minutes, the merchant took the large bed of the chieftain as nest while fiddling with the chains, round fuzzy ears bouncing constantly while her face fell in a very obvious pout.

my question is were we not promised Mylen lewds since we slept with her at daiyu dessert base

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That’s when I invited myself at her side as she kept on clicking the metals; everyone else gave us some space and tried their best to ignore the elephant in the room (that wasn’t the worm, for once). I’ve no idea about the intricacy of magic, geas or hypnosis but if, maybe, asking could trigger a violent reaction I simply –had- to make certain Tanuya would be safe, her body is already wrapped in solid, silk bandages; I don’t want more injuries for her, I really want to believe she’s innocent.

‘’There’s one thing I need you to tell. Try to imagine a big sphere of white hovering in pure darkness, looking at it fills you with dread yet there shouldn’t be any danger upon observing this phenomenon yet the mere fact of remembering is enough to churn your stomach and cool your back in terror’’

I feared being too obvious would be falling in a trap but I doubt my words were subtle (I’ve never been too good with flapping my gums); Tanuya grimaced in confusion before saying.

‘’The moon?’’

She asked the honesty of her voice and expression was almost enough to convince me.

‘’I think so; it’s the only memory we pulled out of you’’

Werecreatures are often described as bloodthirsty monsters during full moon but could they also fear and dread the phenomenon? Again, I kept a very close watch on Tanuya and she simply appeared completely lost.

‘’I…don’t understand, I’ve never had any strong memories tied with a full moon, I don’t even know why I got a magic ward in my mind – it’s not common practice to have those, really, unless you’ve got talents in magic or corruption and I’m a perfectly normal, healthy person.’’
She interrupted herself, struggling against the heavy cuffs then stared toward Zechariah, Amarantha and Sylphis; the little chieftain kept on glaring at Zechariah and it’d seem the slime had enough since she charged the girl out of nowhere, creating a little chaos in the otherwise silent room.

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‘’I don’t know what to tell you’’

In the end there is no easy answer for Tanuya, and I feel I’ve spent more than enough time on her case; if the duel wasn’t happening… then perhaps I could gain some inkling of truth by speaking to her a little more; there is however, one thing I simply can’t keep out of my head. Why do I feel so afraid when looking at this white sphere? It’s like the few time I came close to death; a nearly overwhelming feeling of instinctive fear that seem to scream ‘’you will die!’’. Only true discipline allowed me to details the moon, remember the image that’s been implanted in my mind; if memories carry emotions then there’s certainly a story behind this, but I also can’t shake the feeling that these emotions – this fear- is my own.

>Stopping here for now. I should be better rested tomorrow.

>>35619779
Well forgive me for thinking we're the good guys. Good guys don't slay a potential innocent because it's "safe" or "prudent" or anything like that. Tanuya is likely the traitor and would have already been mined for info in the most assured yet morally grey ways to do so. We could try to kill her right now and that would end the questions, along with everything else as while I doubt Deruella would allow herself to die if the Racoon isn't her she'd just die and we'd lose any and all potential leads.

There is a saying about evil, it has every advantage, every bonus, except one. It cannot imagine, it cannot see every angle regarding a thing. Good is weak, good is fragile, but good sees things that evil cannot due to its nature. This is its critical downfall, its Achilles Heel...

>>35620334
You crazy dude. I wasn't talking about killing anyone.

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>>35620132
There's a potential to awaken Athena tomorrow depending on how things goes, but as for knoweldge of magic, Siggy did share many thing but it's, ultimately, a very subjective experience that is very hard to describe and graps without feeling it yourself.

>>35620334
You dumb shit, we could have safely held off on the memory and instead gotten Athena ready for the duel tomorrow. Instead, she's going in with no preparation, no right arm, none of the advantages or even proper equipment that's expected of her.

Your shitty rant about how good is better than evil has absolutely nothing to do with this, except where you equate our assured victory simply because we're the good guys.

You are a constant detriment to this quest; are you honestly unable to tell how irritating you are to others?

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>>35620582
>Instead, she's going in with no preparation, no right arm, none of the advantages or even proper equipment that's expected of her.

Whoa now, that's not true. You'll have time to prep up, just not as much if you'd focus sorely on doing it, you might jsut not have the time ti get good equipement or synch up properly with the slime (I'm pretty sure she's the path you guys chose)

I've also yet to see anyone being a detriment in here, nobody is blatently trolling.

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>>35620453
Good thing she's about to grasp how it works for him thanks to us, ironically, being pretty damn stupid. We fucked up in the soul world almost as hard as we could have. We had to merge with her to save her, our bleeding heart may work out for us yet.

>>35620582
I may irritate you, but that is largely irrelevant. I act as I will, if that pisses you off well...

I REJOICE to your bitching. Best option is thus to not respond to posts you think originate from you with such virulence. Don't feed the trolls, as they say.

>>35620692
*originate from ME

Damn I need to go to sleep.

>>35620634
>(I'm pretty sure she's the path you guys chose)
She's the ONLY path now because we wasted time with the memory instead of getting ready and trying for an Ancestor.

>I've also yet to see anyone being a detriment in here, nobody is blatently trolling.
You honestly don't notice how all he does is pontificate about how he loves REJOICING and using the same Fate/Stay Night and Edward Elric images?
He's blatantly obvious, does nothing but self-aggrandize while contributing little to nothing, and when his votes are called out on making a bad situation worse, says that the consequences aren't his fault.

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>>35620582

Must you be so rude? Sure, his rhetoric about good's advantage over evil being that it is capable of imagination is a tad unfitting, but it's still an interesting way to view things, and the choices he makes in regards to the quest will determine whether or not that philosophy will be proven true. Just because he thinks differently from you doesn't make his contributions a detriment.

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>>35620746
>She's the ONLY path now because we wasted time with the memory instead of getting ready and trying for an Ancestor.

Fair enough, I should have, maybe, made it a little more obvious. The Ancestor was the hard path to try and gain something.
As for your other comment, are you accusing him of sabotaging the quest?

>>35620853
>are you accusing him of sabotaging the quest?
I do consider it a detriment if, after you indicated that there are no safety rails or plot armor that will magically let us win, and he goes on about how he loves that kind of struggle, he then votes as if all good needs to win is a bit of imagination and faith instead of hard thinking and thinking choices through.

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>>35620927
I see.

While losing is very possible just know that you DO have allies, they are great safety net. I welcome all players unless sabotaging trolls and I don't see it here.

Difference of opinions are fine, so far we haven'T landed any bad ends, right?

>>35620767
Glad to see a GM with an open mind. Thanks.

And it is a kind of a thing for me. I love to get people thinking. Is this or that the only way, is this best path, isn't there something I'm not seeing here...

Can't we all be civil? Can we not come to some kind of agreement even if our alignments mirror and thus oppose each other on damn near every little thing? I love, *love*, complex questions like that.

Part of the joy of RPG's is exploring stuff like that. We are all telling a kind of story here, To think our personal preferences on storytelling won't affect decisions is truly dumb. This story is obviously bent towards the darker end. To shadows wrought in the night and such.

Anyone seeking a bright and happy end is thus working against the forces of the nature of this quest. Like trying to run a WoD game where it's all sunshine and rainbows. Could work, but really, you're working up a pretty steep hill.

>>35620927
Dice are the True Fae, I don't trust them for shit. We're fucked dude, and I accept that. I want the happy go lucky true end, but I just KNOW we ain't gonna get it. Going for a harem end was a mistake. Yet we did, and that has problems. Problems we will come to regret.

Siggy.... He's an empty shell already even if he survives, he just doesn't know it yet. Small price to pay, if we land true co-existence with monsters...

>>35621017
But we will, we're fully capable of fucking ourselves over and will do so I fear. Siggy will regret most all soul sacrifices in some form, I just expect that you'll make us feel it all.

>>35621017
>so far we haven'T landed any bad ends, right?
We've only missed them by the skin of our teeth.

>>35621098
And you pontificate and self-aggrandize, and consider that to be civil discourse? You expound irrelevant rhetoric, and expect to be taken seriously?
And you blame the dice, say you want the happy ending, but instead of actually working towards it, you actively choose the choices that lead to a bad end, and you cover yourself by saying that it's inevitable.

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>>35621256
>We've only missed them by the skin of our teeth.

And I love it.

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>>35621256

...What bad options were picked?

You keep saying this over and over again but you haven't exactly said where they fucked up. So far, it sounds more like you're saying that only YOUR options are the right ones and everyone else is a detriment to the quest if they think otherwise.

>>35621310
Indeed. You is trying to fuck us over. Love ya for that. I love to defy fate, show it whose our bitch and shit like that.

>>35621485
The Oomukade episode, we practically walked into his hands on that one. Saved the fucking Demon Lord with a link, didn't get that the whole Us vs. Beast was a trap in the soul world despite multiple warnings that we can't take that fucker without backup which we clearly lacked I could go on...

Point is, we've been rather suicidal. That has consequences. Fuck ups have cost us, as they should. But as they say, close a door, open a window. Only time will tell if we have made the "correct" choices. Hindsight is 20/20, a pity we can't know for sure if we truly did make a good call ahead of time.

Part of what makes it all exciting. You grasp for straws, pleading to gods that may or may not exist that you grasped correctly despite how wrong of a turn you may feel you have made. Thin line between genius and insanity you know...

>>35621675

Hanging on by the skin of our teeth. That's the way it's always gonna be, I think. Even if we do everything right, there's still going to be a cost extracted. Because for every good thing we accomplish, something else will have been overlooked that will come back to bite us on the ass.

I don't know about the rest of you, but knowing this makes me much more content in sticking with a decision and being prepared to deal with any potential fallout as a result, because I know it's coming. There's only so much we can do.

>>35621734
>>35621675
the problem is we are kinda walking blind and the path has a lot of holes to fall in

Mylen POV story when?

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>>35621842
I don't know when, what I DO know is that my sidequest with Mana will have a story involving Mylen

>>35621822

So how can we proceed without being spoiled about whatever's to come?

>>35621734
>implying I don't love that

We gonna win this by the edges or our sorry hide, with barely a shred of our soul remaining I fear.

We will remember their names, but little else. Such is the price, the price of a truly happy end where all live and love as one.

I only hope they understand, what price we paid so that they could enjoy such a world. It's all for them in the end. Siggy is, in the end, apparently a bleeding heart. He wants those who care for him to be happy, and he doesn't seem to care about the personal cost.

Call it a consequence of the loops, but he knows them, he loves them, and all he desires is them to smile. No. Matter. What. It's sad, but if he lands it, I'm sure he'd accept it.

>>35621485
There's this time with shortening the time Athena has to prepare.

Trying to get Ame to come with Athena down to the South, and away from the Commonwealth strategy meeting, instead of just getting a pair of teleport scrolls.

Continuing the fight against the Beast when we tried to tell Tsu about it.

Those are just the ones that I remembered and went back to confirm. Shall I provide more examples?

>>35621970

I never asked overall. I asked in regards to the individual you've been targeting.

>There's this time with shortening the time Athena has to prepare.

I can't see this as being objectively good or bad. It's just a consequence. We DID need to find out about Tanuya, after all.

>>35622073
Those aren't overall mistakes.

Those are the specific actions he voted for.

>>35621891
How much time does Athena have to prepare?
3 actions?
2 actions?
Only enough time to get 1 thing done properly, or 2 things if we accept that they won't be done well?

Since we've lost the one trump card we were hoping would both win us the duel, redouble the commitment of the South to the war against the Crusade, and help to support Amarantha's leadership, will Amarantha still need to compete in a duel of her own?

We were already told that the lizards may consider Aurune's participation to be borderline cheating; what about the Oni?

>>35622120

So you're right that he's picked some bad choices here and there.

But it happens. This is a quest. For those actions to have happened means they were supported by more than one person.

We screw up, we pay the price for screwing up, and we move on. Long as we're still hanging in there, it's fine.

>>35622182
You'Ve got a good amount of time, we'll have to decide o nwaht to concentrate after talking with Aurore & Zech. There's going to be a whole lot of talking with the slime, prepare yourself.

As for cheating, do remember your foe may be given magical items, Onis aren't. really going to mind as long as aurore doesn'T detach herself from Athena body

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>>35622250
So so long as she doesn't take advantage of her nature and make her like a kind of Enkidu Chain weapon or try to ape the original faker in some way we're pretty much good?

For that would be glorious news. Especially if she's kinda in synch with Athena. Able to tell where and when she wants to swing the blade and such. I do still wonder about this girl's potential, would love to see it line up with Athena's and land us a solid victory.

>>35622212
He also never admits that he screws up.
If the choice works out, he says that it was because he's such a deep thinker who thrives on struggle and leading the good guy to victory against overwhelming odds and the natural order, in his signature purple prose.

If it fails, he says that it's because we're fated to failure and that Siegfried's fate is inevitable, again couched in his purple prose.

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>>35622315
I'm tempted to spoil the slime strength but I think it's much too soon for that.

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>>35622375
Hey, so long as she serves as another arm non-augmented it seems like she's the solution to our problems. I get the sneaking suspicion that she's far smarter than she should be. Zech doesn't seem to be the type that's into dumb bimbos. He seems to like them as smart as they are sexy.

Of course, being a male he has PLENTY of women to choose from. Fathered Amarantha if I'm not mistaken. But he seems rather attached to this slime. Rather very attached, given how he warned Siggy that she was essentially his, not our Archmage demigod's in spite of her joy in the prospect of "tasting" him and seeing us as a golden boy almost as if she saw us as a kind of Gilgamesh.

One should never underestimate the power of an "idiot" savant. They may only have one thing, but they fucking OWN that one thing. Challenge them in that arena at thine own peril.

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>>35622522
>Of course, being a male he has PLENTY of women to choose from.

Yes...maybe... not all males are manwhore

>>35622892

You trying to imply something with that image?

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>>35622905
Do I need to imply?

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Bump. Insomnia went and fucked with my sleep today but I should be good to continue the thread

>>35625621
When will you be starting tonight?

>>35626484
I'd like to aim for around 4-5pm

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Page 10 bump

so that puzzle involving the mom is probably because of Ame like she knows some thing about her and she hid it inside her mind

so that puzzle involving the moon is probably because of Ame like she knows some thing about her and she hid it inside her mind

Just a head up, I'm not sure if I can continue the thread but I'll still try

>>35630356
thanks for the warning hopefuly you can make it

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>>35630975

Precious INH is sleeping like a babby right now.

Thread will probably get dropped for tonight and picked back up with a new thread at a later date. Just a heads up.