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For any newcomers, this quest is based primarily on Animal Crossing, but with elements of Rune Factory, as well as completely original elements, mixed in. The MC is a human boy named Leo, and he is the Mayor of a coastal town called Whiteport, the map of which is attached.

As always, there is a 20 minute voting period after every post (except the first post, which gets as long as it needs). However, if you just barely miss the window, I'll probably still accept it.

How close are we to Flint's shop? If we are in shouting distance call him, since Mika mentioned he helps protect the town from gangs. Otherwise just examine it, don't touch.

>>41857366
Have we shaken any trees yet? If not, hop to it.

>>41857785
We don't know that IC.

>>41857602
Seconding this.

You figure that if anyone knows swords, it’s Flint. You aren’t sure if he’s within shouting distance, but this town isn’t too big, and his shop is quite close. You run across the bridge and up to the plaza, making a beeline towards the Smithy.

Inside, Flint is cooling down a piece of metal, but you aren’t sure what it’s supposed to be. You arrive, panting, and he turns, concern on his face when he sees your exhaustion.

“Leo! Are you alright?” he says, putting his tools down.

You nod, taking a second to catch your breath. “I’ve just found something, but I’m not sure what exactly it is. I need your expertise.”

Flint nods. “Alright, lead the way.”

You lead him back to where the sword is still sticking into the ground, on the Chip. It looks like nobody else has come upon it yet. When he sees the sword, Flint rushes forwards, crouching down near the sword.

“Hmm, it has excellent craftsmanship, that much is clear,” he says, looking at the blade. “For one thing, the blade edge is perfectly smooth. This sort of edge is normally very hard to get, unless you had… a…” he pauses. “A giant hammer. Hold on, I recognize this work. The smooth edge, the twist in the blade, and…” He points to the designs carved into the pommel. “These designs weren’t added later. They were molded directly into the metal of the blade itself, while it was still molten hot.” He shakes his head. “Only he, or students of his, could have done this. Where did you find this, Leo?”

You wonder if you should tell him. Unlike with Earth Magic, or Water Magic for that matter, you aren’t protecting anyone’s secrets this time but your own.

What will you do?

>Tell him about where it came from, and the Locket
>Tell him that it fell from the sky, but don’t mention the locket
>Tell him you don’t know, and you just found it
>Other [Write in]

>>41858209
>tell him it fell from the sky, and about the locket

>>41858209
>Tell him about where it came from, and the Locket

>>41858209
Mentiom the locket

“It fell out of the sky,” you say. “Nearly hit me, too.”

Flint raises an eyebrow at that. “Fell out of the sky? How could that have happened?”

You take the locket out of your pocket. You’d rather not keep secrets from Flint. “It’s probably because of this. I found this locket earlier, while fishing, and based on the text on the front, it’s attracting lost things to me.” You hold the locket out to let Flint read the writing on it, but make sure to keep hold of it. After all, you’d rather not lose it that quickly.

“Hmm. I’ve never heard of this locket before,” says Flint, “but I believe you. There aren’t many ways this could have arrived here, after all. Most of his weapons are either locked up, or lost.”

You nod. If a bunch of his swords are lost, you hope they don’t keep showing up so… dynamically. “Who is this ‘he’ anyways? Someone who trained you?”

Flint hesitates, then sighs. “Alright, you deserve to know.” He sits down beside the sword. “His name is Hesperatus. He’s the one who trained me, and I doubt there’s a blacksmith in the world better than him. He lives by himself, far away from here. Not many know that he even exists, let alone how to find him. He prefers to keep it that way. He only makes weapons for an exclusive few, chosen by his own hand.” Flint shakes his head. “I met him when he came to my village one day, bringing a sword to someone. When I saw him, I decided to follow him. He seemed like someone with power, and I wanted a part of that. Besides, I was an orphan, so I didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go.”

You grimace. You can’t say you know exactly how it feels, but you can relate.

“I’m lucky he didn’t throw me out,” says Flint. “I was… admittedly, not the most well behaved back then. I demanded that he teach me how to smith, and after a while, he agreed to teach me. It was hard, and he was unrelenting, but as you can see I learned, and here I am.” He shrugs. “And that’s about it. He’s probably had some other students, who could make something like this, but there’s an easy way to tell if it’s his or not. Just try picking it up.”

“Hold on, pick it up? What if it’s cursed or something?” You’re not too keen to get inflicted with a thousand year old curse. You’ve read those books!

Flint shakes his head. “It’s not cursed. Silver resists curses, so you actually couldn’t curse this sword. Don’t worry, just give it a pull.”

Alright, what will you do?

>Pull out the sword (Roll 1d20)
>Have Flint pull out the sword
>Refuse to pull out the sword
>Other [Write in]

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>41859070
>Pull out the sword (Roll 1d20)
It's not like we can just leave it in the dirt.

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>41859070
Pull

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>41859070
>Pull

[Best of 3: 9]

You grab the sword by the hilt and pull, but no matter how hard you try, the blade won’t even budge. The sword doesn’t feel heavy, per se, it’s more like the sword is simply… fixed to the ground.

Flint nods. “That’s one of his, alright. See, Hesperatus’s weapons can only be drawn by those of great power. Heroes and gods. To everyone else, you’d be better off trying to lift a mountain.” He shakes his head. “And since last I checked, our town is a bit short in the Legendary Hero department, we’re probably just going to have to leave this here.”

You sigh, letting go of the blade. You weren’t sure what exactly you had expected out of this sword, but to be told that you straight up can’t use it? That’s certainly not it.

“Well, maybe we could call this one of Whiteport’s attractions? ‘The Sword in the Ground’, challenging people to come try to pull it out.” You may as well try to get something out of this, and Whiteport is in need of more attractions anyways.

Flint nods. “It’s not really doing much good anyways. Hesperatus might be able to do something with it, but I don’t have any way to contact him.” Flint shrugs. “Well, I’d better get back to my shop. Be careful, alright Leo? Maybe have Mike check out that locket of yours, or something, if you think it’s cursed. He’s pretty good with that magic of his.” With that, he leaves.

Oh yeah, he still thinks Mika is a boy. Well, this sword business hasn’t really come to much. Maybe you should talk to Odwin about adding it to the Museum’s displays? You’re probably not going to be able to move this sword to the Museum anyways. Hmm. You’re not exactly sure how to get this to be an attraction.

What will you do?

>Go somewhere
>Visit someone
>Do something
>Other

>>41860090
>>Go somewhere
To check that locket with the magic goy

>>41860090
>Visit someone
Ask Poppy about local legends surrounding Whiteport. There seems to be more going on around here than is obvious.

You decide to head to Town Hall, then the Temple to see Mika. Weird things have been going on recently, and you think you know exactly who to ask about them.

“Poppy!” you say, arriving in the Town Hall. “Are you here?”

Poppy stands up and salutes as you enter. “I’m here, Mayor! What can I do for you?”

You raise an eyebrow. “A salute?”

“Eh heh, I’m trying to go for a more official look for our Town Hall,” says Poppy. “I know you’ve been pretty casual about it, but you’re my boss, so it’s only proper to salute, right?”

“Ah, it’s okay, Poppy,” you say. You suppose you are technically her boss, but... “I’m fine with your regular greeting. Even if I am your boss, you probably know more about leading Whiteport than me anyways. Oh, that reminds me. Poppy, are there any local legends surrounding Whiteport?”

Poppy considers it for a second. “I can’t think of any local legends about Whiteport, but I can think of quite a few stories. How about ‘The Dark Beast of Whiteport’?”

You nod. That does sound sort of like what Persia was talking about. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

Poppy looks around conspiratorially, then pulls the blinds shut. “This is a story that’s only been told once before, in years long past. They say that a long time ago, in the town of Whiteport, a Dark Beast lurked, terrorizing the town. It all started late one night, when the town Cook heard a noise while taking out the trash. ‘Oh, I wonder what that sound could be?’ she said, as she rushed forwards to see who it was. But by the time she got there, the Beast was gone, leaving only torn bags of trash. The next time it was spotted, it was on the farm, where the Farmer heard a sound in her garden. ‘That had better not be Morris again,’ she said, getting out of bed. But when she arrived at her garden, the beast had disappeared again, leaving only bite marks in her produce."

>>41860090
Check out the local legends. Maybe we'll find something in particular to dig for

"The beast was spotted one final time, by the owner of the fish shop while he was fishing. As he prepared to pull up a fish, he heard a rustle behind him. ‘Ah, that must be the ‘Dark Beast’ Poppy was talking about,’ he thought, as he reeled the fish in. Suddenly the shadow bounced towards him, but the fisherman was too fast, catching the beast in his arms. Looking at his face, he knew that this could only be… a wild raccoon! And so he gathered the rest of the town together, and they released this Dark Beast of Whiteport back outside of the town. The End.”

Well, that probably isn’t the “beast” Persia is trying to quell. “Interesting. Where did that story come from, anyways?”

Poppy chuckles embarrassedly. “Well, every year our old Mayor hosted a Scary Stories Festival at the end of October. That was my entry to the festival.” She sighs. “I guess it wasn’t too popular, or it would have been told more than once before.”

Well, that certainly wasn’t what you came here for. Ah well, Poppy did try her best. “Thanks for the story, Poppy. I need to get going though.”

Poppy nods. “Alright, Mayor. See you next time.”

With that, you leave Town Hall. It seems like Poppy doesn’t have the information you need.

What will you do?

>Go Somewhere
>Visit Someone
>Do Something
>Other [Write in]

>>41861029
>Go get the locket checked out

>>41861029
Get digging, we need that revenue

>>41861029
>Go Somewhere
Visit the Shrine to see if we can get hte Locket ID'd. If not, try the museum.

You decide to head to the Temple, as you planned. Flint suggested Mike, that is, Mika, might know something about this Locket, so you head up the ramp to the Temple by the river.

There are no goons here today, luckily, so you proceed directly into the Temple and use your Earth Magic to seek out Mika, who is in a back room. You navigate your way through the temple to her, knocking on the door to the room she’s in.

“Ah, hold on,” she says. You’re pretty sure you heard some noises from inside, but you aren’t sure what. Some sort of… beeping? Mika opens the door, and you see that this must be her room in the temple, with clothes, a bed, and a TV inside. She herself is still in her Shrine Maiden outfit. “Oh, hey Mayor Leo. What do you want?”

You pull the locket out of your pocket. “I found this inside the mouth of a fish earlier today. There’s a small inscription on the front calling it the ‘Locket of the Lost’, and since I got it, I’ve been finding all sorts of lost things.”

Mika reads the inscription off the front. “Ah. So it’s both a blessing, and a curse. Very traditional. I’ll see if we’ve got any records of something like this.”

You nod, following her to a different room of the temple. This room is quite clearly the library, since it’s filled with shelves of books. “We may be a small temple, here in Whiteport,” says Mika, “but we’ve still got the whole collection of records. Mostly due to Serena, though. The big guys would never let their poster girl manage a substandard temple. Ah, here we go, ‘Artifacts beginning with L’.” She flips through the book. “Lance of Leagues, Levitating Rug, Lid that Covers All… ah, here we go, the Locket of the Lost.”

She puts the book on the table. “The Locket of the Lost is a mysterious artifact, showing up very occasionally before disappearing again. Those in possession of the artifact attract lost objects to them, including objects thrown into a Bottomless Pit or objects lost to an Infinite Pocket. Users usually summon random items to themselves, but factors such as location or thoughts of the user seem to subconsciously impact the target of the summoning. One user was described as able to summon items at will through great mental concentration, however they could only summon items that were truly lost, rather than stolen or left behind. The mysterious ‘Ire of the Locket’ described on the face of the artifact most likely referred to how users who misplaced the locket would disappear, likely becoming ‘lost’ themselves, as punishment. The origin of the locket is unknown, and the locket has never been in our possession for long enough to be studied extensively.”

“Ah,” you say, frowning at the locket. “So I guess I’d better make sure not to lost this, then.”

“Hold on, Mayor Leo,” says Mika, grinning. “Here’s the thing, we Shrine Maidens are trained in the art of curse breaking too. If the curse on that locket were broken, it would probably become just a Locket of Summoning Lost Things, rather than having that whole ‘Ire’ effect as well. What do you say? Want to let me try?”

What will you do?

>Let her try to break the curse
>Decline her offer
>Ask her if there’s someone else who could do it
>Other [Write in]

>>41861880
I'd rather find out what the intent was behind its creation before trying to meddle with it. Respect the original owner, and everything.

>>41861880
>>Let her try to break the curse

>>41861880
>Other [Write in]
Save the ritual for when Serena comes back or until we get a better idea of what we're dealing with. If we're gonna do any curse-breaking, I want to make sure we're in the best position to do so. I wouldn't want to lose Mika all people. Besides, all we have to do is not lose it, and last I checked, we're not THAT scatterbrained.

“I’d really rather not,” you say. Mika seems disappointed, so you quickly add on, “it’s not that I don’t trust you, but this is a strange locket of unknown origin. For all we know, it could fight back, causing you to get lost instead! I just got it this morning, and I don’t really know much about it. I’d… really prefer to err of the side of caution, until we can get a better understanding of this locket.”

Mika still seems a bit disappointed, but shrugs. “Makes sense, I guess. In that case, you’d probably want to find someone who specializes in curses and artifacts. We don’t have anyone like that here in Whiteport, unfortunately, so you’ll probably have to visit…” she shudders, “Treeton.”

“Treeton,” you repeat. “That’s the town nearby, right? The one those guys from last night came from?”

Mika nods. “It’s not all owned by the Pack Rats, but it’s still not a pretty place. But they’ve got a pretty big Temple there, bigger than ours, at least. They’ve probably got an artifact expert too, or at least know one. The problem is… Carmine.”

>Carmine? Who’s Carmine?
>I assume there’s some history between you two
>We don’t have to go, if you don’t want to
>Other [Write in]

>>41862296
>Carmine? Who’s Carmine?

>>41862296
>We could just study it as it is, if you're so reluctant.

>>41861880
>Let her try and break the curse

>>41862296
>Carmine? Who's Carmine?

>>41862296
>who's carmine?

“Carmine?” you ask, “Who’s Carmine?”

“Carmine’s the Head Shrine Maiden of the Treeton Temple,” Mika says. “She and I have… well, let’s say a history. She doesn’t like me because I’m out here in Whiteport, instead of working under her in Treeton. And I don’t like her because she’s a jerk who uses her position of authority to boss people around. On top of that…” Mika sighs. “That’s not to say I won’t take you to Treeton. If you want to get that locket looked at, Treeton Temple is still your best bet, unless you want to take the train all the way to Atlantis and try your luck there.”

You grimace. “I’d really rather not head back in that direction,” you say, “at least for now. How about Serena? Does she know anything about artifacts?”

“Yeah, don’t hold your breath there,” says Mika. “Serena’s… she’s off on her ‘Holy Journey’, which as far as I can tell is just her taking an extended vacation.” She pulls out a stack of postcards from a drawer. “Here, look at this. It’s the last card she sent me.”

You take the card. On the front is a picture of a chipper female dog, presumably Serena, alongside a mask-wearing cat and a long coat wearing mongoose, all standing in front of a gothic looking castle. You turn it over and read the writing on the back. “Hey Mika! Are you holding up okay in that old temple? I’m here in the Dark Ancient Castle with Kid Cat and Belton. We were called for a bat extermination, but all I want to do is enjoy the view! Best wishes, Serena!”

“See?” says Mika when you’ve finished reading. “She’s out there exploring old castles, while leaving the work to me.”

You… aren’t too sure about that, but you let it go for now. “Alright, so waiting for Serena to return isn’t really an option. In that case…”

>I still want to go to Treeton
>I could always go to Treeton on my own
>I don’t need to go to Treeton
>Other [Write in]

>>41862765
>I don’t need to go to Treeton
Not right now, at least.

“In that case, I don’t need to go to Treeton, at least for now,” you say. “The Locket should be fine as long as I don’t lose it, right? I’ve never been one to lose things, and I’ll wear it around my neck, just to be sure.”

Mika nods. “That’ll probably be fine, yeah. Just, you know, don’t lose it. We don’t want to have to find another replacement Mayor this soon,” she says, grinning. “After all, I’ve already met you, so I don’t want to have to memorize some new guy’s name already.”

“Yeah, alright,” you say. “Besides, I’m sure whoever else you got wouldn’t be nearly as great a Mayor as I am.”

“Yeah yeah, get out of here,” says Mika. “Unless you want to stick around for some games or something. I’ve got that new Nintendo console, and a few games to play. Est and Charlie are probably dropping by later, so you could probably stay and meet them if you wanted.”

“I’ll think about it,” you say. You’re not quite sure what else you have planned for today yet, so you should probably sort things through.

Mika nods. “Well, I’ll be in my room. See you next time I see you, Mayor Leo.”

You nod as she heads off. You’re currently still in the Temple Library, so you suppose you could look some things up, if you wanted to. Some of those things Mika mentioned seem interesting. Or you could go take up Mika’s offer. Or, you could do something else entirely.

What will you do?

>Take up Mika’s offer of games
>Research something in the library [What?]
>Go somewhere [Where?]
>Visit someone [Who?]
>Do something [What?]
>Other [Write in]

>>41863346
>Take up Mika’s offer of games
Now I have to wonder what game we'll be playing...

ded quest

>>41863346
>Gotta digdig, gotta dig
Or read up some stuff about town development. What materials we need and how to use them, etc.

You know what? You may as well take a break. With all this stuff about magic and artifacts and swords falling from the sky, you haven’t really had a chance to really sit back and relax. It’ll be good for you.

You think about Whiteport. It’s only been about two days since you came to this coastal town, but you had thought you’d be spending all your time here, living a peaceful life. Now you’ve got magic, artifacts, and immobile swords, and people are calling you out all over. There’s a gang ruling that city, Mika said, but you’ve dealt with their type before. Not by yourself, mind you, but…

You think about the sword from earlier. Can only be drawn by legendary heroes, huh? You suppose you’d always entertained the idea that you might be a legendary hero, that your life was leading up to some momentous event that would set you on the path of destiny. It sure would make all that stuff from your early life sting a bit less. Now… you suppose if you want to be a hero, you’ll have to figure it out yourself.

You arrive at Mika’s room, opening up the door. She looks up as you arrive, and grins. “So you decided to come, huh? Good choice. But be warned, spend too long with us cool dudes and you might get absorbed into our little posse.”

You sit down on the floor next to her. “I think I’ll take that chance. So, what do you have?”

She sets up the console, plugging it into the TV. “Well, what do you want to play? I’ve got Marios Kart, Super Marios 64, Marios Party…” She pauses. “Nintendo sure do release a lot of Marios games, huh?”

“What about that one?” you ask, pointing at a cartridge with a house on the front. “Monster Forest?”

Mika shrugs. “It’s a ‘life simulation game’, apparently. Charlie and Est find it pretty fun, so they come over to play it pretty frequently. It’s pretty low key, but if you want I’ll put it on.”

You think about it for a moment. “Nah, let’s play some Marios Kart.”

Mika grins. “Alright, you’re on!”

[End of Session 7]

As always, Q&A if you want to stick around. If not, I'll be running the next thread probably Saturday, but I'll announce the exact time on my Twitter ( https://twitter.com/CubedQm ).

Thanks for reading, all, and I hope to see you again next time.

>>41863807
How much architecture does Leo and/or Flint and/or farmer Lion person know?

>>41863830
Not much. Leo probably doesn't know much about architecture beyond "things hold up the roof, right?". Flint isn't architecture, he's blacksmithing. Not too much crossover there. Velour, the lioness who runs the farm, probably knows the most of them all, seeing as she's probably raised barns (and also houses), but is still not a real architect.

You could probably contact a real architect though, if you ask the right people. (Hint: Who was it that built you a house?)