>>46883150
>Fight

Quick throw a rock at his head!

>>46883150
>>Fight

>>46883150
>Fight

>>46883150
>Fight
We have an emitter, we're competent now

>>46883150
>Fight
Kill them. I want some blood on our mageblade by the end of this.
Let's cut out the Inquisitor's heart; we've never seen one before, so it will be a learning experience.

>>46883150
>>Fight
To the pain!

Here's the thread's name, considering this situation: no harems edition 5: stayin' alive.

>writing

Rolled 69 (1d100)

You activate your mageblade and step up next to Derrick. If he wants to fight, then you're down for a fight.

"Hang on... aren't you..." The Inquisitor says.

Derrick spots you next to him, and you give him a nod.

"We only need a clear path for everyone to get to the cart" He says quietly.
Emi slithers up next to Derrick as well. "I'll try to cover you from up here" She says.

"Good, as soon as there's a path I'll give you a signal" Derrick says.

"Well, there's your crime" The Inquisitor says. "Harbouring a demon, and a known escaped prisoner"
Derrick looks at you. "Do you know him?" He asks.

"Kind of" You say.
"I must ask, though. How in blazes did you get out of Mortifas?" He asks.

This guy is stalling, even you can see that.

>Roll 1d20 with focus

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>46883743
The focus roll seems a little off.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>46883743

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>46883743
>Roll 1d20 with focus
>against 69
I assume you mean d100?

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>46883743

>>46883813
I did mean 1d100, yes. My bad guys.
Here I was wondering why all the rolls were so bad...

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>46883743

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>46883743

File: fc,550x550,silver.u2.jpg (31 KB, 550x550)

31 KB JPG

>>46883846

>writing

In the future, just disregard any fuckups I make like that. Rolls will always be d100

>"I must ask, though. How in blazes did you get out of Mortifas?" He asks.

>... Your hat is stupid.

Attention deficit.

>>46884070
The Front Door.

You put your foot up on the railing, and leap down towards the Inquisitor. He backs off as you slash him, but he only has so much space. The guards filing in behind him have left him with no retreat.

You step forward and thrust towards his chest. He deflects it with his own sword to your right, so you reach in with your left hand and punch him in the face.

He reels back clutching his nose, and his big, annoying hat falls to the floor.

Derrick jumps down and onto a guard to your left, while a guard to your right gets hosed down.

"Press forward, Yuu!" Derrick says, as he turns to face another attacker.

You grab your hat and throw it up to Emi. Then you rip your cloak off over your head, covering the head of a nearby guard as you knee him in the stomach as hard as you can.

He goes down, but there are still quite a few of these guys... can you and Derrick really break through?

As you think that, one of the guards gets hit by something from above... it's web. With a yank, he gets pulled up over the fighting. Then the web hits another

Tian jumps down with you, holding her mageblade out in front of her. It splits and widens until she has what looks like a big wedge in front of her.

"You need a path cleared?" She asks. "Stand aside"

Tian rushes through the crowd. The quick guards move aside, the slow ones get moved.

>cont.

You and Derrick lock eyes, and shrug. The two of you move behind Tian, keeping the path she cleared clear while Ilica, Hella, Ariadne, and Emi move through.

Before You go to the cart, you pick up the Inquisitor's hat. You figure it'll make a nice souvenir.

"What are you doing? Stop them! Seize them!" The Inquisitor shouts.

The crowd starts to close just as you and Derrick are getting to the end of it. You end up having to fight your way through the last few feet.

As you do, you notice something: Derrick is a much better swordsman than you are, and not by a little. Attacks that you would be forced to dodge, he's already positioned to block. Openings you would be too slow to take advantage of, he's already in.

...

You may have to ask him to show you how he does that.

"Derrick! Yuu! Get in!" Ilica shouts.

Oh... is Ilica in the driver's seat?

She is... oh dear.

As you break through, the ground behind you is covered in a thin sheet of ice. Before you can make it though, the cart starts to move.

But Emi's tail whips out from on top of the cart, picking up both you and Derrick and bringing you to safety.

"Thanks" You say.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have to get out" Emi says.

You look back, and see that there are already guards on horses following you...

>Roll 1d100 with focus

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>46884740

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>46884740

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>46884740

>>46884740
Forgot your focus roll, Smiley.

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>>46884740

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>46884808
Today is an off day

File: 3840779-intensify.jpg (37 KB, 574x480)

37 KB JPG

>>46884773
>>46884844

>>46884773
>>46884844
nice

>writing

The cart rumbles along more slowly than usual, since Ilica is at the wheel. Thanks to that, the horses start to catch up rather quickly.

Emi lets you and Derrick go, and the two of you look back.

"Shit..." Derrick says. "Can you hit them, Yuu?"
"I can try" You reply.
"Good. Give us some cover, Emi" Derrick says.

Emi nods, and holds her hands out. They start to glow blue, and a screen of water covers the rear of the cart.

Meanwhile, you focus on your blade. You're still bad at changing the shape of the blade, but with the emitter you find that it's much easier. Before long, you have a blade long enough to hit the horsemen...

So you stand up, and swing it. It catches the lead horseman right in the head. While it doesn't manage to get through his helmet, it does knock him off his horse.

Before you can swing again, a bump knocks you off your feet. You fall off the cart, but Emi manages to catch your feet. You hang upside down off te back of the cart, and without pause you swing again.

You swing again as Emi starts to drag you up, and again once you're on top of the cart.

"Thanks again" You say.
Emi sighs in relief, before turning to the front of the cart. "Ilica! Be careful, you almost killed Yuu!" She shouts.
"I'm trying! It's not like these streets are clean" Ilica says.

>cont

Derrick goes to the front of the cart to instruct Ilica, while you and Emi stay on top to keep the horsemen away.

Ariadne pitches in on that as well, occasionally shooting webbing into a guard's face, or tying up a horse's legs. Tian helps as well, with her mageblade shooting out from below, striking the heads of the guards with a level of precision that you lack.

"We're coming up on the gate!" Derrick says. "Shit, it's closed!"
"What do we do?" Ilica asks.
"Keep going!" Tian shouts. "Go at it, as fast as you can!"

"Seriously?" Ilica asks.
"Just do it!" Tian says.

You swipe down another guard, and then turn to see what's happening at the front.

Tian's mageblade is creating another wedge at the front of the cart, much larger than the one from earlier.

...

Is she planning on-

"Brace yourselves!" Derrick shouts.

>Roll 1d100, no focus

Rolled 54 (1d100)

>>46885472
This is fine.

Rolled 86 (1d100)

>>46885472

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>46885472

>writing

You get down, and grab onto the edge of the cart. Emi does the same, but she also wraps her tail around you. Smart, this way if one of you falls, the other can pick you back up.

Then the cart hits the gate, and you hear the sound of wood cracking. Looking forward, you see the wooden bar on the gate splitting and breaking. Then the wedge digs into the center, forcing it open far enough to get the cart through.

"Is everyone alright?" Derrick calls back once you're past the gate.

"We're good" Emi says. "Right?"
"Yeah, we're good" You say.

"I think we might have broken Hella" Ariadne says.

You lean over the back of the cart to look in through the back door. Hella is on the bench, leaning on the wall, looking kinda out of it. Ariadne seems fine. In fact, it almost looks like she's having fun.

>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright

>Ask Derrick how he's so good at swords

>Apologize to Tian for leading the Inquisition to her house

>Compliment Ilica's driving

>Other

>>46885869
>>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright

>>46885869
>Apologize to Tian for leading the Inquisition to her house
>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright
>Compliment Ilica's driving

>>46885869
>>Apologize to Tian for leading the Inquisition to her house

>>46885869
>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright
>Apologize to Tian for leading the Inquisition to her house

>>46885869
>>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright

>>46885869
>>Go make sure Hella and Ariadne are alright

>writing

You swing down into the passenger compartment, and sit down next to Hella.

"Are you okay?" You ask.
"Just give her a minute and she'll be fine" Tian says, as she sits on her other side. Tian makes a little fan out of her mageblade, and uses it to fan Hella. "Right Hella?"

Hella lets out a nervous chuckle, but says nothing.

"How about you?" You ask Ariadne.
"That was sooo coooool!" Ariadne says. "Did you see me nail those guys in the face? Did ya? Did ya?"
"Yes we did" Tian says. "That was good work. I didn't know you were such a good shot"

"I practice lots!" Ariadne says.
Tian sighs. "That explains why there are so many cobwebs around my house..." She says.

"I'm sorry" You say. "I think we may have lead them to you"
Tian waves you off. "Don't worry about it. It was only a matter of time" She says. "I would've liked to bring more with me, but all I managed to grab was this-"

Tian pats a suitcase that's on the bench next to her.

"What's in it?" You ask.
"Something for you" She says. "Practice blades"

>Can I see?

>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>Where do we go now?

>Other

>>46886191
>>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>>46886191
>>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>>46886191
>>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>>46886191
>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>Taking a short food break, will get to writing when I return

>>46886191
>>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>>46886191
Pull out hat, put it on Tians head. Then:
>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

>>46886191
>Where do we go now?

>>46886191
>>I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better

"I stole the Inquisitor's hat, if that makes you feel any better" You say.
"You did?" She asks. "Where is it?"

You look around. It's not in here. Did it get lost?

Emi's tail comes into the passenger compartment from above, the hat is on the tip. "It's here" She says.
You take the hat. "Thank you Emi" You say. "How did that get there?"

"You put it there when I grabbed you, remember?" She asks.
"Maybe" You say. "Which time? You've grabbed me a lot on the last 5 minutes"

"When I pulled you onto the cart" She says, as the rest of her enters the passenger compartment. "I thought you knew"
"I did not" You say. "Thank you again, for saving me, and the hat"

"Now that you mention it, I was impressed by your focus there" Tian says.
"Where?" You ask.
"When you fell off the cart" She says. "A fall like that would've broken mine, but you just kept swinging"

You shrug. "It was nothing" You say.
"I wouldn't say that" She says. "What let you keep your concentration there?"

>I knew Emi would catch me

>I barely noticed the fall

>Other

>>46886771
>>I knew Emi would catch me

>>46886771
>I knew Emi would catch me
To ignorant to doubt

>>46886771
>>I knew Emi would catch me
plus
>>I barely noticed the fall

>>46886771
>I barely noticed the fall

>>46886771
>>I knew Emi would catch me

>writing

>>46886771
>I forgot to remember that I was falling.

"I knew Emi would catch me" You say.
"Aww, that's sweet" Emi says, giving one of your cheeks a pinch. "But in the future, could you maybe rely a little less on me when you do something crazy?"

"You haven't let me down before" You say.
"For my sake, not yours" She says. "At this rate I'm going to die young from the heart attacks that you give me..."
"Oh... okay" You say. "Wil it... will it really kill you?"

"She's kidding" Tian says. "Still, it's good to have people you can rely on"
"Well, Yuu's never let us down either" Emi says.

"No kidding" Tian says. "So... Mortifas, huh?"
"Yes" You say.
"You guys were in there?" She asks
"We were" You reply

"How did you guys get out?" Tian asks.

>I'm special

>The front door

>Other

>>46887189
I beat the chaos engine up.

>>46887189
I broke everything

>>46887189
>Why is everyone so interested? We just used the front door.

>>46887189
>The front door

>>46887189
>The front door

>>46887189
>>The front door

>writing

"Why is everyone so interested in that?" You ask. "We left through the front door"
"She didn't ask where we got out, she asked how" Emi says.

"So you walked out the front door?" Tian asks. "Now I'm even more curious"
"Yuu is a chaotic" Emi says. "We're not sure how or why, but he has no mana in his body"

"Seriously?" Tain asks. "Is that why your blade is red?"
"Yes" You say.
"The Inquisitor also called you a demon..." Tian says.
"Also true" You say.

Tian suddenly looks nervous.

"Not a normal demon" Emi says. "Yuu is... special. His heart didn't melt away, but rather... uhh..."

Emi reaches over to you with the tip of her tail, hooking it under your shirt and pulling it up.

"Is that... possible?" Tian asks.

Emi's tail pulls away, and you pull your shirt back down. She could've asked you to show her...

Tian asks Emi a few things, and you peer out the back of the cart. The gates of Sherton are still in sight, for you at least.

...

You recognize those. The inquisitor wasn't the only familiar thing here. You remember that gate, those walls.

You swing up to the top of the cart and stand on it to get a better look. There's no mistaking it. Bell's Run is where you were arrested. This road is the one you walked...

And you're being chased.

"We have company" You say.
"They're chasing us?" Derrick asks. "Dang... can we get away?"

>I know a place where we can hide

>If we speed up, we could probably lose them

>Other

>>46887607
>The gates of Sherton

Bell's Run

I meant Bell's Run. Fuck I'm bad at this today.

>>46887607
>I know a place where we can hide
it's where I woke up from.

>>46887607
>If we speed up, we could probably lose them

>>46887607

>I know a place where we can hide

>>46887607
>I know a place where we can hide
Lets go to the homecave. We probably missed clues when we awoke.

>>46887607
>I know a place where we can hide

>>46887607
>>I know a place where we can hide

>writing

"Keep going, I think I know a place where we can hide" You say.
"Y-you do?" Ilica asks.

"Yeah, there should be a cave on our left. It'll be big enough for the cart to fit in" You say.
"Is it safe?" Derrick asks.

"Probably" You say.
"Good enough" He says. "Keep an eye out, let us know when you see it"

You look out in front of the cart. There are a few rocky outcroppings along the side, but no sign of the cave...

"There!" You say. It's sort of hidden from view, but it's definitely there. "Turn now!"

"Now? We'll hit the wall" Ilica says.
"Just do it!" You say.

The cart makes an abrupt turn, nearly sending you flying off. But you manage to hold on. The cart goes right into the hidden cave, and rolls to a stop a few meters in.

"Holy shit" Ilica says. "There actually is a cave"
"I said there was" You say.

"Remember what I said about heart attacks?" Emi says.
"Sorry Emi" You say.

You look deeper into the cave. You can sort of make out some things deeper in, but there is too little light for even you to see by.

>Go deeper in

>Tell them how you knew it was here

>Stay quiet and wait out the horsemen

>Other

>>46887988
>Stay quiet and wait out the horsemen

>>46887988
>>Stay quiet and wait out the horsemen

>>46887988
>>Stay quiet and wait out the horsemen

>>46887988
>>Go deeper in
>>Tell them how you knew it was

>>46887988
>Stay quiet and wait out the horsemen

>writing

You're curious about what's in here, but right now there are more pressing issues. Like your pursuers...

It's agreed that you should all stay quiet until the horsemen pass. That doesn't mean no talking, just no loud noises.

"How did you know this place would be here?" Ilica whispers.
"This is where I first woke up" You whisper back. "I came out of this cave and went to Bell's Run. I recognized the gate as we were leaving"

"Is that why you got on top of the cart?" Emi asks.
"I wanted to get a better look" You say. "It was Bell's Run where I was captured, and that Inquisitor is the one who did it"

"Is that why you stole his hat?" Tian asks.
"Yes, and because I thought it looked silly" You say.
"They do look silly..." Emi says.

The group grows silent as the sound of hoofbeats grows louder... and louder...

Looking out of the cave, you see them ride past. Like Ilica, it doesn't look like they saw the cave...

"Sounds like they passed us" Derrick whispers
"Yeah" Ilica says. "What now?"
"I dunno... I don't think we can go back to Bell's Run" Derrick says. "And they'll be coming back once they think they've lost us..."

>We could explore

>Camouflage the cave entrance and wait them out

>Break through them from behind and go to Locke

>Other

>>46888494
>>We could explore

>>46888494
>Camouflage the cave entrance
>Explore the cave while waiting them out

>>46888494
>Break through them from behind and go to Locke

>>46888494
>We could explore
>>Camouflage the cave entrance and wait them out

>>46888494
>>We could explore
"I think I was born over there"

>writing

"I want to explore" You say. "But we should cover the entrance first, just in case"
"Good plan" Derrick says.

Tian suddenly starts looking around. "Where's Ari?" She asks.

You look over to the cave's entrance, where Ariadne is setting up a web. "Way ahead of us" You say.

You, Derrick, and Tian leave the cave to find and cut off branches to use as cover. When you come back, Ariadne has finished creating a web right at the cave's opening.

"Nice work" You say.
"I practice lots!" Ariadne says.

You look over to Tian. Her tired expression says everything.

The 4 of you place the branches over the opening to cover it, and make it look like a tree growing against the rocks.

"Looks good" Derrick says.
"They should ride right by, hopefully" Tian says.
"And if they don't, then they get caught in the web" Ariadne says. "Then I get to bully them"
"Sounds like a plan" You say. "Let's head inside and see what's in this place"

You go back into the cave through a hold in the bottom of the web, and walk back to the cart.

"Finished?" Emi asks.
"Yeah" Derrick replies. "Let's head further in. I'm interested in seeing why Yuu was in here..."

>[1/2]

Emi and Tian stay behind with Hella, who is still not feeling well. The rest of you go further in.

Derrick lights his sword on fire as you get past where the light reaches. With the light source, you can see just about everything.

The cave is deeper than you thought, and it certainly goes deeper than you remember. After going a ways in, the messy cave rock gives way to cut stone.

"Strange..." Derrick says. He holds his sword out to the walls to get a better look.

There seems to be some sort of writing on them, but no one recognizes it.

"It must be old..." Derrick says.
"We should write some of this down" You say. "There might be someone who knows the language"

"We'll grab paper when we go back" Derrick says.
"I smell blood" Ilica says, as she clutches her nose closed.

Derrick holds his sword closer to the floor, revealing a trail of blood drops.

"Creepy" Ariadne says.
"It's probably mine" You say.

The blood trail leads further in, to where the cave opens up into a massive pit. There is a stairway leading down, and a large pillar running up the center...

>Go down

>Go back

>Other

>>46889103
>Go down
does our mega blade make light?

>>46889103
>Go down

>>46889103
>Go down

>>46889103
>>Go down

>writing

"Are we going down there?" Ilica asks.
"Of course" You say, as you start on your way down the stairs.

It's so deep that you can't even see the bottom...

"Did you drag yourself up these stairs?" Derrick asks.
"I don't think so... why?" You ask.

Derrick holds his sword to the floor again, and there's blood on them as well...

"Huh" You say. "I don't remember any stairs... maybe someone carried me up?"
"Dragged you up" Ilica says. "If you were carried, it'd just be drops. These are drag marks..."
"I was in a lot of pain when I woke up" You say.

"Less talking, more walking!" Ariadne says. "I wanna see what's at the bottom"
"Alright, alright" Ilica says. "No need to rush, we'll get there eventually"
"Eventually isn't fast enough" Ariadne says. "Go! Go! Go!"

You start moving down the stairs more quickly, since they're just wide enough for one person and you're worried that Ariadne is going to start pushing...

The stairs continuously down the walls of the huge, circular pit. And they seem to end right underneath where they started.

Down here, you see the bottom of the pillar, and a small tablet at its base. From the stairs you could kind of see a circular stone thing in the wall on the other side...

>Check out the tablet

>Check out the stone thing

>Other

>>46889565
>Check out the tablet
>>Check out the stone thing
see if we can't find our missing heart

>>46889565
>Check out the tablet

>>46889565
>Check out the tablet

>writing

You walk over to the stone tablet, as Derrick and Ilica check out the wall, and Ariadne scurries into the darkness.

It's a bit hard to read when Derrick's sword isn't there to light it, so you pull out your own. Your mageblade isn't as bright, but it's enough to read by...

The tablet has a few different things written on it, and several buttons.

"Divided we stand" The writing on the very top of the tablet says. It's not the same language as the one Emi taught you, but you can read it nonetheless.

"Beneath this pillar is sealed: MALTERIS, for crimes against humanity, and this world we love" The words beneath that say. Strange... you thought that Malieria was the evil guy...

The rest of the writing is a warning, and a list of Malteris's actual crimes... he sounds like a bad guy.

At about arm level, there are a bunch of stone buttons. Above each of them is written, in turn: Press for lights, Press for camera, Press for action.

...

What is that supposed to mean?

>Leave the buttons alone

>Press for lights

>Press for camera

>Press for action

>Other

>>46889924
Press for lights, press for camera
Tell the others that whatever this language is, it seems to be your native language.

>>46889924
>Press for lights
>Press for camera

>>46889924
>we're an eons old super evil
>we've at most flirted with a bunny girl so far
kek

>>46889924
>Press for lights

File: I failed you.gif (1 MB, 245x172)

1 MB GIF

>We're just a splinter of the BBEG's soul.
We're Erebus 2.0
ShadowQuest 2 Electric Boogaloo

>>46889924
>Press for lights

>writing

>>46890092
We haven't fucked up that bad yet.

You push the button that says 'press for lights', and hear a clicking sound coming from behind the pillar.

Then a red light spirals up the pillar in the center of the pit, going up all the way to the top and casting the whole pit in a red glow.

"Yuu! What did you do?" Derrick asks.
"I pressed the button for lights" You say.

Derrick and Ilica rush over to where you are, and check out the tablet.

"How did you know it's thebutton for lights? Can you read this?" Derrick asks.
"Yes" You say.
"You can?" Derrick asks. "What does it say?"

You read the tablet out to the two of them, right down to what the buttons say.

"What's a... camera?" Derrick asks.
"I dunno" You say.
"How can you read this?" Ilica asks. "It looks like gibberish"
"So did your writing when I first read it" You say. "It's just different letters. The language is the same"
"Hmm..." Derrick says. "When we get back up, can you make a cipher for it? This might not be the last time we encounter this language"

"I guess" You say. "But that can wait, I wanna-"

>See what these other buttons do

>See what the stone circle thing is

>See where Ariadne ran off to

>Other

>>46890329
>>See what the stone circle thing is

>>46890329
>See what the stone circle thing is
>Tell them about the "MALTERIS" being stuck under the thing.

>>46890329
>See what these other buttons do

>>46890329
>See what these other buttons do

>>46890329
>>See what the stone circle thing is
>>See where Ariadne ran off to

>>46890329
>See what the stone circle thing is

>See where Ariadne ran off to

File: What does this button do.gif (3.19 MB, 640x360)

3.19 MB GIF

>>46890329
>>See what these other buttons do

>writing

-go see that other thing" You say.
"What other thing?" Derrick asks.
"The stone circle" You say. "It's on the other side of the pillar"
"I didn't see it... but then your eyes are better than mine" Ilica says.

You walk around the now lit pillar to the other side. You must say, this place looks a little creepy in the red glow...

On the other side is the stone circle up against the wall. It didn't look quite so large from above, but down here you can see that it's at least 2, maybe 3 stories tall.

"What is this?" Derrick asks.
"I dunno" You say. "Looks like some kinda... portal"
"To where?" Ilica asks.

You shrug. Several meters away from the circle is another tablet. This one has no writing, only a bunch of slots...

Coming from the bottom of the tablet are lines in the ground. 16 in total, with 8 going to the pillar, and 8 going to the circle...

And there's Ariadne... She's in the circle, making a web.

>Examine the tablet more closely

>Examine the circle more closely

>Get Ariadne to stop making webs everywhere

>Other

>>46890771
>Examine the tablet more closely

>>46890771
>Examine the tablet more closely

>>46890771
We should cut our palm and sprinkle some blood on it! If there's one thing ancient seals of no-no love, it's blood!

>Also, examine both the circle, and the tablet, preferably in that order.

>>46890771
>Examine the tablet more closely

>>46890771
>Get Ariadne to stop making webs everywhere

>writing

>>46890771
<Ariadne completes the magic circuit with her web, opening the portal to hell and releasing the most evil demon of all, who had been sealed to prevent his return as nobody was able to actually kill him.

You lean in and look at the tablets. Each of the slots have a different shape, and a line running down from them to the floor, where they connect to the lines leading to the pillar.

On the back of the tablet, there are simple circular indentations where the slots are on the other side. Again, lines run down to the floor, and then to the stone circle.

You move back around to the front to get a closer look at the shapes of the slots. They each seem to have a circular base, with bits that come out of that. They're shaped like: A flame, a teardrop, a spiral, a bigger circle, a lightning bolt, a tree, a star, and... something else. The last one looks like an upside down 'T', with the circular bit at the top...

"They look almost like they represent the elements" Derrick says.
"They look like keyholes to me" Ilica says.

"But where are the keys?" You ask.
"The ruins?" Derrick asks. "8 keyholes, 8 elements, 8 ruins... it's too much to be coincidence"

"Maybe we should check them out" You say.
"Yeah, we might even run into Maaaaadelaaaaine!" Ilica says, as she nudges Derrick with her elbow.
"Would you stop that?" Derrick asks.

Ilica giggles, as you step away from the tablet and walk towards the circle...

>cont

>>46891175
last one chaos probably?

Between the tablet and the circle, you find the beginning of the blood trail.

It starts with a big splat a few meters away from the circle, then continues towards and up the stairs...

"It looks like I landed here" You say.
"Landed?" Derrick asks. "Hit might be a better word... but where did you come from?"

"That?" You ask, pointing towards the circle.
"How?" Derrick asks. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this"
"I dunno... there doesn't seem to be anywhere else I could've come from" You say.

While you're talking, Ariadne finishes her web and skitters over to you. She then looks back at her work, looking proud of herself.

"A masterpiece" She says.
Ilica looks over at the web. "Why did you build a web there?" She asks.
"I saw the opportunity, and I took it" Ariadne says. "You don't get perfect, hollow circles like that every day. I practically HAD to make one there"

"You know that's never going to catch anything, right?" Derrick asks.
"Does it matter?" Ariadne says. "Art is art, it doesn't have to be functional"

>Anything else you guys wanna check out?

>>46891476
>Go back and push buttons

>>46891476
Tell them about the guy sealed here

>>46891476
>illica

>>46891476
think we could push the button that matches the symbol of the circle that yuu crawled out of?

>>46891476
go push the other buttons.

>actively trying to unleash an ancient evil

>>46891476
>Those buttons might be worth checking out

Seems like they affect the portal

>Mfw someone pops out, when it's open, and flies right into the webbing.

>>46891476
Go back to the tablet at the pillar and push the "Camera" button.

>>46891476
Push ALL the buttons

>writing

>>46891551
There is only a single stone circle, you idiot.

>>46891588
The buttons are labeled
>Press for lights
>Press for camera
>Press for action

The tablet with the lines going to the pillar and the stone circle has keyholes, not buttons.

"We should probably get out of here" Derrick says.
"Wait" You say. "I wanna do one more thing"

"You want to press the rest of the buttons, don't you?" Ilica asks.
You nod.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Derrick asks. "I mean, if there really is an ancient evil sealed under the pillar..."

"It'll be fine" You say. "When has pushing buttons ever been a bad thing?"
"I could argue so hard with that logic..." Derrick says.
"Relax Derrick. I somehow doubt that whoever made this seal would've made opening it as simple as 'push button to release evil'" Ilica says.
Derrick sighs. "You're probably right..." He says. "But if something comes out and kills all of us, it's on you"

"I can live with that" You say.

The 4 of you head back to the tablet with the buttons, and you press the button for 'camera'.

A blue light spirals up the pillar, taking up the space that the red light doesn't. It now looks like a giant blue and red candy cane...

Then you press the button for action... and nothing happens.

"What gives?" You ask.

Ilica says something, but her voice is drowned out by a loud boom. A bright light comes from the other side of the pillar.

You run around it the pillar to get a better look, just in time to see the a swirling, shimmering light inside the circle shoot something into Ariadne's web, and then disappear.

...

Is that a person?

>What do?

>>46891936
New friend. Go say hi.

>>46891936
go see person

>>46891936
go say hello to the new person and poke them if their asleep.

>>46891936
Oh shit what did we do

>Check on person, see if they're okay

>>46891936
Check it out. Don't free it right away.

>>46891936
Check out if we did end up releasing the great evil.
Then Derrick can go "I told you so" while Ilica scratches us.

I'm really glad you all decided to release the guy who literally tried to end the world

>writing

>>46892095
You're welcome.

>>46892095
Hey, I just wanted to check out the camera.
Everyone else voted to push all the buttons.

>>46892095
Hey, it's not our fault! They buttons didn't say anything about 'This button to release horrible evil, these ones for candy cane lights'. And they shouldn't have just made it a button in some random ass cave, with writing nobody in that world can read!

>>46892149
>THERE IS ANCIENT EVIL SEALED HERE
>surly mashing the buttons wont release him!

>>46892149
It did say that the evil was buried right beneath the pillar, and the button said "Action".

>>46892174
This.
Holy shit, this was stupid. And if whoever just came out turns out to be benign then I'm gonna call it a mistake on Smiley's part.

>Show players prison for ancient evil
>It literally says, here lies so and so, slayer of kittens spreader of legos
>lol, press all da buttons

And then there are no consequences?

I mean, nothings happened yet so I'm just yelling into a void really.

>>46892310
There's easily a good chance of it summoning the next person on the pure demon element list.
One of them has rock, the other i forget what they had, we have water. There's more pure demons to be made.

>>46892310
It said action.. that could be like movie set stuff.

You walk over to the circle to get a better look at the person.

...

Not a person. It looks like it's made of wood.

"What is that?" You ask.
"Is that... a dummy of some sort?" Derrick asks.

You step up to the web to look more closely at it. There's something burned into its chest, in the same language that was on the tablet...

"Not...time... yet" You say, reading it out loud. "Come back... when ready"
"What was that?" Derrick asks.
"It's written on the dummy" You say. "Not time yet. Come back when ready"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ilica asks.
"I dunno..." You say. "We should-

>Get the hell out of here

>Cut it down and get a better look

>Press the buttons again

>Other

>>46892421
let's annoy the great evil by pushing the button repeatedly.

>>46892421
>Cut it down and get a better look

>>46892421
>Cut it down and get a better look

>>46892421
Alright, I had my fun pushing the buttons
>Get the hell out of here

>>46892421
>Cut it down and get a better look

Huh. Did the bbeg just tell us to come back, after we level up?

>writing

>>46892548
No the qm told you to fuck off and stop trying to fight the bbeg at level 1

-cut it down to get a better look" You say.
"You can't really cut spider silk" Derrick says. "Not with the stuff we have"
"Oh..." You say. "Really?"

Ariadne puffs up with pride. "It's the strongest!" She says.
"So how do we get it down?" You ask.
"You might be better off climbing up there to go and look at it" Derrick says.
"Okay" You say.

You take off your cloak and your hat, and walk towards the web.

"Wait!" Ariadne says. "You don't know which ones are sticky"
"There are not sticky ones?" You ask.
"I can pull it off" Ariadne says. "Gimme a second"

Ariadne goes onto the other side of the web and climbs up. You're still surprised by how quickly she does that. You sometimes have trouble coordinating your limbs, and you only have 4. Ariadne has 10, and she moves with a nimbleness that you lack...

She gets up to the dummy, and sets her legs around it. Then she gets her hands on its midsection, and pulls. It comes off with some effort, and then she brings it back down and throws it down in front of you.

When it hits the ground, the dummy breaks apart. Looks like it was only a wooden casing... for a skeleton.

When he sees this, Derrick looks at you. "We should go" He says.

>Yes

>Absolutely

>Other

>>46892774
Take the skeleton, its ours now, put the inquisitors hat on it

>>46892774
>Yes

>>46892774
"Are bones good for anything?"

>>46892774
>Absolutely

>>46892774
Okay.

>>46892804
Not gonna lie; that made me chuckle.

>writing

Ilica crouches to get a better look at it "Is-... is that a sk-skeleton?" Ilica asks.
"Looks like it" You say.

Ilica nods, stands up, and then screams and runs away.

"Hey, Ilica! Wait!" Derrick shouts as he runs after her.

Ariadne looks confused. "It's just a skeleton" She says. "I wonder who it belonged to..."
"I dunno" You say. "We should probably go after them"
"Kay" She says. "This place was pretty boring anyway, but at least I got to make a nice web"

You put your hat and cloak back on, and then you and Ariadne start heading back to the stairs. "It was pretty nice" You say.

"Ilica! Wait up and stop screaming!" Derrick shouts.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ilica continues screaming.

You glance up the stairs at Ilica and Derrick, then turn back to Ariadne. "So how do you make them like that anyway?"
"It's not easy" Ariadne says. "First you gotta lay the base threads. That's the most important part..."

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will probably be tomorrow night

As always I'll be sticking around for question/suggestion time

>>46893111
thanks for running

>>46893111
Great thread, Smiley!

>>46893111
thanks fer da thread smiles
Stay snug,smug

>>46893111
Night dude.

>>46893111
Sleep well, and dream better comrade! Also, what would have happen if we didn't press the buttons? Were you planning on us pushing them? I'm assuming because of the web we had the option to stop we got lucky, right?

>>46893594
There were a bunch of things that could have happened there. The dummy/skeleton was just one outcome. Had you continued to press buttons you would've seen more of them.