Last night you just ignored it, flopping into bed and resolving to deal with it in the morning. Now that it’s morning though… You figure either you’ll need to move one or more of these things outside, or you’ll need a bigger house.

You squeeze yourself past the sofa to the door. It’s a nice sunny day outside, and a warm breeze blows through the trees. Your feet feel nice in the shadow-cooled grass, and all around you feel the town’s day beginning, people heading to their shops, opening up, and getting ready for the day ahead.

Your name is Leo, and you’re the recently appointed Mayor of Whiteport. You’ve had a quite packed couple of days, and you’re still trying to understand this apparently not-so-quiet town. You feel like you’re getting close, though.

Over the past couple days you’ve started town development, discovered and gained both Earth and Water Magic, learned to fish, met a Light Magic wielding Shrine Maiden who you then deputized, discovered fossils and donated them to the town museum, found a magical legendary locket and a sword, found out that you’re pretty good at video games, and learned of an ancient darkness hiding beneath the town. Kaluga claims that there’s a Dark Mage hiding amongst the citizens, trying to destroy this town by awakening this Darkness, but you can’t believe that. There’s got to be some other explanation.

You’re not sure what to do about it, though. Kaluga says that only Water Magic has enough range to deal with this threat, so maybe you should be focussing on improving your Water Magic skills? Then again, though he said that Mika couldn’t help, there must be something she could do.

What will you do?

>Go find Mika. Probably at the Temple, you suppose.
>Go find Kaluga. You still have things to talk about.
>Go find Velour. You didn’t exactly part on good terms last night, so maybe you can go talk to her.
>Head to the Plaza. See what’s going on.
>Head to Town Hall. Maybe Poppy has some news for you?
>Head somewhere else.
>Other

File: ACMap9.png (56 KB, 640x400)

56 KB PNG

QM Twitter: https://twitter.com/CubedQm
Quest Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Yagreth
Leo’s Stats and Inventory: http://pastebin.com/icbFDUjA
Whiteport Citizens: http://pastebin.com/7Ke76Vw4

----------

For any newcomers, this Quest is based on Animal Crossing, with elements from Rune Factory as well as completely original elements. The MC is a human boy named Leo, and he is mayor of a town called Whiteport, the map of which is attached here.

As always, there is a 20 minute voting period after every update (except the OP, which gets as long as it needs). If you just barely miss the window, though, I’ll probably still count it.

Today’s thread question is: How do you feel about the direction this quest is taking? Would you rather more Slice of Life, or more Adventure? I’m always willing to take you guys’ suggestions into account (I wouldn’t be a QM otherwise), so feel free to make your opinions known.

>>42337030
I think I mentioned getting all the elemental magic people all in one place for a meeting? Like sure, one of them might be this darkness guy, but this is still something that needs everyone's input on.

And if we're being such a hypocrite in terms of keeping secrets like this, tell them about Jet Fasion, too.

>>42337030
>Head to the Plaza. See what’s going on.

>>42337059
It still feels a little to say in which direction the quest should be going. Slice-of-life encounters are inextricable from the Animal Crossing experience, so that's non-negotiable. That said, a bit of action could be used to give a taste of what can be expected down the road, especially since you mention there are smatterings of Rune Factory involved. It's already unique enough from the default Animal Crossing experience with all the magic and prophecy flying around. The closest we've had was the encounter with the zombies in the quest prologue.

Of course, all things in due time. No need to rush unnecessarily.

>>42337030
>Head to the Plaza. See what’s going on.

>>42337172
>>42337059
Agreeded, I like the slice of life in this, but we could go for some more action too.

You decide to head for the Plaza. If anything’s going to happen, you’re sure it’ll happen there. The walk to the Plaza is much easier, thanks to the stone road Velour has created. The road is still rough, but despite your lack of shoes you’re able to walk comfortably on it. Something to do with your Earth Magic, you suppose.

As you arrive, you notice what must be the beginnings of a fountain in the center of the Plaza. You can sense some activity both in Shelby’s as well as Hops, and with a simple look around, you can see Flint already lighting up his forge.

That reminds you. Mika said she suspected that Flint was a Fire Mage, and you’re inclined to believe her. Especially with… whatever it was he did the first day you were here. In that case, you wonder if you should ask him about it, or if it’s something better left alone.

Hmm. It seems like, somehow, most of the Mages in this town don’t know about each other. You wonder, maybe someone else could help with this Darkness thing? After all, Kaluga doesn’t know about Earth Magic, and you were able to use it to sense the Darkness on your own. Maybe… you entertain the possibility of getting everyone together. Would getting everyone’s secrets out be for the best?

In that case… You shake your head. There’s no reason for them to know about Jet. It’s irrelevant, and more importantly in the past. It’s not really a secret if there’s no reason to tell people about it, right?

Well, for now you’ll just have to figure out what to do. You’ve never been too good at this whole ‘leadership’ thing. But now, you suppose you’ll have to make the decision.

>Go talk to Flint. Ask him about Fire Magic.
>Go find Mika. Better to have your Deputy with you.
>Go find Velour. We need to talk.
>Go find Kaluga.
>Go to Shelby’s
>Go to Hops
>Go to Nook’s
>Other

>>42337995
>Go talk to Flint. Ask him about Fire Magic.

>>42337995
in this order
>Kaluga
>Flint
>Velour
>Mika
but the meeting is at the beach, with the mermaid listening in and deciding if she wants to show herself or now.

>>42337995
>Go talk to Flint. Ask him about Fire Magic.
Don't be immediately up-front about it. Ask him to walk you through the creation process of one of his works.

You head over to Flint’s shop. This is, at the very least, one possible secret that you want to figure out. Plus, you’re sure Flint would be a good ally to have, if you needed one. The only question is, how to go about figuring him out?

You could always just ask him, but you’re not sure how successful that would be. For now you decide to ask him about how he makes things. Maybe it’ll come out then?

As you enter the forge, Flint notices you and waves. “Hey there Mayor Leo,” he says. “I’m just starting up the forge. Is there anything you need?”

“There is, actually,” you say. You notice that Flint has a number of metal bars lying around, and is stoking the fire with a poker held in his bare hands. “I’m going to take you up on your offer, from yesterday. I’ve been thinking of learning Metalsmithing as well, so could you show me the process of making one of your projects?”

Flint raises an eyebrow. “Really? I didn’t actually expect you to take me up on it. Well, alright.” He sets the poker down again and heads over to grab a flat piece of metal from near the anvil. “Let me warn you, though. Metalworking isn’t easy, and it isn’t quick. I’ve already started work on this one, so it won’t take as long, but you should be prepared for long hours of hammering if you want to properly make something.”

You nod. “Alright. So, what’s that you’re working on?” You indicate the flattened and slightly shaped piece of metal he’s placed into the forge.

“A sword,” Flint says. “I… it’s practice work, really. I might have learned from Hesperatus, but that doesn’t mean I’m even close to his level of ability yet.” He shakes his head. “Well, for now, look at the metal. See how it’s starting to glow? That means it’s heating up. You can’t smith cold metal, don’t even bother. You need something like this to heat it up first.”

He pulls the metal out of the forge, placing it quickly onto his anvil. “I’ve already shaped the metal into a blade shape, but now I need to flatten the edges and create a fuller down the middle.” He draws a line down the middle with his finger. “A fuller is the thin indentation in the middle of swords. It lets the blade take up less metal, while still being just as strong. That way, I can make it even longer, and it’ll be just as light.”

“So it’s a bit like those I-beams they use in construction, right?” you say.

Flint nods. “Just like that, yes.” He grabs a small tool, and begins shaping the red hot blade. Suddenly, you realize something. Flint’s not wearing any gloves! You might not know too much about metalsmithing, but one thing you do know is that you have to wear gloves to work with metal that hot.

“So Flint,” you say, as he works the metal. “I was wondering, don’t you need to wear gloves to work with metal straight out of the forge?”

He freezes for a moment, still looking down at the blade. “I… that’s true. You need to wear gloves, or else you risk getting burnt.” He pauses for a second. “What I’m doing is… it’s hard to explain. It’s a technique that Hesperatus taught me, that lets me do things like this.”

Well, you’ve reached the crux of the issue. What will you do?

>Ask him to teach you this technique.
>Ask him outright if it’s Fire Magic.
>Tell him that you think it’s Fire Magic.
>Ask him what else he can do with this technique.
>Other

>>42339821
>Ask him outright if it’s Fire Magic.

>>42339821
>TRY IT
hold my beer

uhh, gotta go OP, so good luck with that.

>>42339910
...
I like it.
We can probably heal it with water magic, right?

>>42339910
>>42340066
In that case...

>Try touching the metal (Roll 1d20)

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>42340266

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>42340266
Luck be a lady

>>42340347
Luck is an absolute cunt.

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>42340302
>>42340347
Just to round out the rolls.

>>42340302
>>42340347
>>42340466
Wow, the dice are weird today. Writing.

------[1]------
[CRITICAL FAILURE]

You’re pretty sure this is Fire Magic, and based on how it went the last two times… maybe you have innate Fire Affinity as well? Yeah, that sounds right. You’re sure absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong here. Plus, even if something does go wrong, Mika can just heal it, right? Before Flint can react, you grab the metal.

“AUGH!” you cry, as the metal burns your hand. It burns like nothing else you’ve ever felt, and almost immediately you see the skin on your hand burn. You drop the metal almost instantly, but it’s too late. Your skin is burnt to black, and you can think of nothing but the pain. You drop to your knees, feeling the absolute burning heat invading every corner of your mind.

[Will: 16]
[Insufficient]

You try desperately to hold on to consciousness, but you fail. The pain is simply too strong. The last thing you see before you black out is the form of Flint running towards you as you fall.

----------------

For the second time in two days, you find yourself waking after a blackout. Around you, you hear yelling. As your consciousness slowly returns, you begin to make out the words.

“-grabbed the metal before I could do anything!”

“What in the world were you teaching him? Wait, were you doing that thing? With your hands?”

“I didn’t mean to, I forgot I didn’t have my gloves on! I told him not to do it, but he did it anyways!”

“Oh goddess. I know what he was doing, the idiot.” You recognize that one. It’s Mika. “Flint, your technique is Fire Magic, right?”

“I… yeah, it is. Don’t tell anybody though. It’s not technically supposed to exist.”

“Ugh. This idiot probably thought he could somehow manifest Fire Magic just by touching the sword.”

“What? How would he even know about-”

“There’s more than one sort of ‘secret magic’, Flint. And Leo here has had surprisingly high affinity for the last couple types of magic. Come on, wakey wakey.”

You open your eyes, seeing Mika and Flint standing over you. They seem both worried and angry, though Mika is distinctly more angry than worried. With a look around, you see that you must be somewhere in the temple.

“Oh good,” says Mika. “You’re awake. Well then, I’ll feel a lot better about this.” With that, she punches you in the chest.

You wince. Mika packs a punch, and she didn’t hold back. “Wha…” you say, then sigh. “Yeah, I deserved that.”

Mika shakes her head. “Wasn’t the entire reason you made me Deputy yesterday to stop you from doing dumb stuff like this? What was the point of making me deputy if you’re going to run off without me, huh?”

Yeah, there are so many things you could have done better. Once again, you didn’t think through things before doing. Maybe you’re just suited better to being a follower than a leader. You look at the hand that was burnt.

Mika shakes her head. “I was able to heal most of it, but you burnt your hand really badly. It’s going to be more difficult for you to handle things with that hand for a while. On top of that... ” She indicates Flint, who is avoiding looking at you.

Flint flinches at the attention, and averts his eyes.. “I… Mayor Leo, I really do want to be your friend, but… I can’t, not right now. I’m sorry for letting this happen.” With that he leaves, closing the door to the room before you can say anything.

Mika shakes her head. “Flint hates it when people get hurt around him. He always blames himself, whenever it happens. It’s why he only has us three as friends. Because some way or another, all of us can take care of ourselves. When he agreed to be your friend… he was trusting you, to be strong enough to keep yourself safe.” She shakes her head. “Leo, we here at Whiteport care about you, but you’re making this awfully hard for us. What happened to having me there to keep you out of trouble? Did you forget about that, or did you just run off without thinking about it again?”

“I…” the worst part is, you have no excuse. At every point along the way, you could have done something to prevent this. Even at the forge with Flint, there would probably have been a better way to find out if you had Fire Magic or not. But no, you went for the risky stupid tactic.

What will you do?

>Apologize
>Defend your position
>Ask Mika what you should do
>Other

>>42341595
>Ask Mika what you should do
WAY TO LOOK LIKE A RETARD, MC. Holy shit.

>>42341595
>Apologize
>Admit that it was a retarded thing to do
>ask if there's a way to make amends with flint.

“Mika I… I’m sorry,” you say. “This was a stupid thing to do, and I… it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. I…” you hesitate. “Mika, what should I do? Is there any way for me to make amends with Flint?”

Mika sighs, shaking her head. “Flint will come around, in his own time. All you need to do is show him that you’re not going to be an idiot, you got that? Just… I mean, how hard is it to consider the consequences of your actions?”

You sigh. “Apparently, harder than I can manage. What should I do, Mika?”

“At this point?” Mika asks, “It feels like we need someone monitoring you all the time, just to make sure you don’t keep doing stupid things.” She shakes her head. “You’re not invincible, Mayor. You have to realize that. Maybe…” She sighs. “Okay, there’s a couple things we can do. For one, actually come see me every morning. There’s a reason Pepper told you to get a Deputy, and this is exactly why. Second… there are a couple of methods of making you less likely to get badly hurt. Light Magic is one, and for the others, you’ll have to talk to Charlie and Est. I’m not sure how useful any of these will be, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try.”

She narrows her eyes. “But I’m coming with you, because if you can’t be trusted to take care of yourself, then I guess I’ll have to take care of you for you.”

You… suppose that’s fair.

What will you do?

>Ask Mika about Light Magic
>Go find Charlie
>Go find Est
>Go find Flint
>Go somewhere else
>Other

>>42342547
>Ask Mika about Light Magic

>MC needs a nanny now
Fuck.

>>42342547
>Ask Mika about Light Magic
I mean, as long as you're playing guardian angel.

>>42342547
Back for one last vote.
no regrets. I mean seriously, i even said hold my beer. This was within expectations.

>try light magic

“Mika… I…”

Mika rolls her eyes. “Dont’ beat yourself up over it, alright? I knew this sort of thing would happen back when I took the job. I mean, I didn’t expect it to happen so soon, but whatever.” She shrugs. “Ultimately, it could have been worse. We’re all still fine, and I’m sure Flint will come around soon enough. So cheer up, it’s not like you to be this down in the dumps.”

You… suppose she’s right. You take a deep breath, looking Mika in the eye. “Alright, Mika. I may have screwed up this time, but I’m not going to let it happen again. Can I depend on you, to keep me safe?”

Mika nods, smiling. “That’s more like it. In return, will you promise to listen to what I have to say?”

You nod. “I promise.” And you mean it. “For now though, you mentioned Light Magic as a possible way of helping me out?”

“Ah, yeah,” Mika says. “See, here’s the deal with Light Magic. It’s traditionally a female-only pursuit, since for whatever reason women are able to channel Light Magic better than men, but sometimes guys are able to channel it too. Those guys are called ‘Shamans’. The question is, are you one of them?”

You shrug. “It wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?”

“No,” says Mika, “in this case, in a controlled environment, it doesn’t hurt to try. But had you tried to just channel Light Magic in a less controlled environment, the results could have been disastrous.”

“Ah.” You didn’t even think about that. “Isn’t Light Magic all about healing though? How could it be dangerous?”

Mika frowns. “Cancer. Cancer is what happens to people who try to channel more Light Magic than their bodies can take.”

Oh. Well, good thing you didn’t try, you suppose.

Mika nods. “I can make sure that only the smallest amount of Light Magic passes through you, so that even if you can’t channel Light Magic, you’ll be fine.”

What will you do?

>Ask her to do it. (Roll 1d20) [Critical Failure Removed, 1 doesn't override]
>Tell her that you’d rather learn about the other methods first.
>Other

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>42343490
>Ask her to do it. (Roll 1d20) [Critical Failure Removed, 1 doesn't override]
Light magic is a carcinogen?

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>42343490
>Ask her to do it. (Roll 1d20) [Critical Failure Removed, 1 doesn't override]
Come on, give a crit!

Rolled 15 (1d20)

And let me just roll a third die.

[Best of 3: 19]
[Success]

Mika has you sit cross-legged on the floor and close your eyes. You do your best to empty your mind as she walks around you and places her hands on your back.

“Now, just let the Light flow into you. If you can feel it, move the Light towards your heart, and let it sit there, deep within you. Each Light Mage can create their own magic, but you need an initial spark to begin. I’ll be giving that spark to you, a small piece of my own magic. Don’t lose it.”

You nod, and focus only on where her hands rest on your back. After a few moments, you begin to feel it. The warmth, once only in her hands, begins to flow into you. You reach out with your mind to touch it, to understand it. It’s a warmth entirely unlike that of a fire. Instead, it’s more like the warmth of… people, you suppose. Something about it is uniquely, and distinctly, linked to Mika. And within that, you can feel it linked to someone else, likely whoever gave Mika her spark. And within that, even further, something more. Down and down, the chain must link all the way back through all of the history of Light Mages. There’s something simultaneously amazing and daunting about being part of a history this long.

You instead focus on the task at hand. Carefully, you navigate the Magic into your heart. You feel it settle, deep inside of you, a warmth that doesn’t go out. And soon enough, you feel it begin to surge with your own brand of magic, collecting and merging with the rest.

You open your eyes, and look up to see Mika smiling above you. You grin in return. You’ve done it.

“Well, looks like you’re a full fledged Shaman,” Mika says. “What are the odds?”

You chuckle. “I don’t know, but I’m glad it succeeded. So, what now?”

“Now?” Mika grins. “Now, you have to learn. From the feel of it your affinity is actually pretty strong, which is usual of Shamans. That doesn’t mean you can just go around using Light Magic though. No, you need to hit the books.”

You groan, and Mika pats you on the back. “There there, Leo. We all have to learn sometimes. I know you might not be the most enthusiastic, but this is good for you,” she says. Then she grins. “Plus, it means someone else gets to feel the pain I had to go through! Hahahaha!”

You sigh, but really you’re happy. After the thing with Fire Magic, you didn’t have quite the same confidence this time as you did then.

Well then, what will you do?

>Hit the Books
>Go find Charlie
>Go find Est
>Talk to Mika [About what?]
>Other [Write in]

>>42344649
>Talk to Mika [About what?]
What was Whiteport like before I showed up and ruined everything?

“So, what was Whiteport like before I got here?” you ask Mika. You already have some idea about this from Poppy, but it doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion.

Mika shrugs. “It was more or less the same, mostly. I mean, I didn’t know about this whole Elemental Magic thing back then, but mostly things haven’t changed all that much. I’d say the biggest change is the lack of festivals.”

Ah yeah, you’d heard about this too. “So the previous Mayor liked to organize festivals?”

Mika nods. “Pretty much. It seemed like we’d be having a festival or a party or something just about every week, if not multiple times a week.” She shrugs. “Don’t worry, you’ve been a great Mayor so far, if a subpar decision maker. The decisions you make about town development have been alright though. Though I wonder, have you considered building stairs here, instead of a ramp?”

You shake your head. “No, I can’t say I have. But I can look into it, if you tell me about it.”

“Ah, thanks a lot, Leo,” Mika says. She seems quite happy about this. “See, our Temple here is up a slope from the rest of town, and that’s kind of inconvenient, especially when it’s rainy and that slope turns into a mud slide. Plus, it makes the Temple a bit out of the way to get to. So, I was thinking we could have stone steps installed instead, to make things a bit easier for everyone. What do you say?”

Well, this must be one of those town development ideas Poppy was talking about. “I’ll have to ask Poppy about it first, but it’s a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion, Mika.”

Mika seems quite pleased with herself. “You’re welcome, Leo. Now then, we should either get started on your education, or go see the others about their stuff. What do you want to do?”

What will you do?

>Hit the books
>Go see Charlie
>Go see Est
>Other [Write in]

>>42345566
>Hit the books

Since it's getting pretty late, I'll post this last update as the OP for Thread 12.

[End of Session 11]

Thanks for everyone who came, and I hope you all continue to support me. This story wouldn't exist without your suggestions, and I'm glad to have you.

Next thread will probably be Wednesday, but check my QM Twitter ( https://twitter.com/CubedQm ) for the most up-to-date information.

For anyone who wants to stick around, I'll do some Q&A. For everyone else, have a good day.