>>262173
>>What's the password?
>Thank her for bringing your spear

Is the spear magical, or unique looking, in any case?

Did Carthac just wield some normy spear, like a chump?

>>262173
>>What's the password?

>>262173
>>What's the password?
>>Ask about your other stuff

>>262210
>Did Carthac just wield some normy spear
I asked Smiley this last time, and he said yes. It was some normy spear. Fucker didn't even think to get us a good one. I mean it could've at least shot flames or something.

>>262270
The Lubrian countryside isn't exactly abundant in magical weaponry...

>writing

>>262276
Yeah, just magical engines

>>262270
Well... doesn't mean WE can't get them enchanted, eh?

>>262307
What would soul chant weapons even be like? sentient swords or such?

"What's the password?" You ask.
"The... password?" She replies.
"Yeah! You can't come in unless you know the password!" Lily says.

"Uhh..." Madelaine says, as she holds up your spear. "Spear?"

You look to Lily, since it is her fort after all. She shakes her head.

"Nope" You say.
"It's pancake" Fran says.

Lily remains silent, but you could swear that you can see her sweating.

"Is it pancake?" Madelaine asks.
"... yes" Lily says begrudgingly.
"Awesome" Madelaine says as she steps into the blanket fort.
"Don't be so mad, sweetie. If you didn't want me to know the password, you shouldn't have made it so easy" Fran says.
"Well I'm gonna have a different one next time!" Lily says.

"Will it be cookie?" Fran asks.

Lily's determined expression drops. "N-no!" She says. "Wh-why would I pick something like that?"

Fran leans over and gives Lily a kiss on the forehead, then leans further and gives one to Daisy as well for good measure. "So who is this?" She asks once she sits back down.

"I'm Madelaine" Madelaine says.
"She's one of the people I was on the ground with" You say.

"Ahhh..." Fran says, before offering her hand to Madelaine. "Well I'm Fran. It's nice to meet you"

Madelaine shakes Fran's hand with her free had, and then she turns to you. "You forgot this on the deck" She says, as she hands you the spear. It's a bit awkward, since there's so little room down here.

>[1/2]

"Thanks" You say. You take the spear and put the unwieldy thing on the ground next to one of the beds so it's out of the way. Hopefully you don't forget it there this time. "Any luck finding the other stuff I lost?"

"There's some bad news there" Madelaine says.
"Uh-oh" Fran says.
"We found your cloak... well, what was left of it" Madelaine says. "It got caught in the blaze, unfortunately"

"Aww man..." You say. "And the hat?"
"Less luck finding that one. We're pretty sure it's stuck underneath that big-a-..." Madelaine pauses, rethinking her choice of words in front of the children. "-arse monster you killed. The hunters aren't planning on moving it, and we weren't about to lift the fu-... stupid thing for a hat"

>Thanks for trying anyway...

>Is there good news?

>Is this thing moving yet?

>Where are the others?

>Other

>>262382
>Is there good news?

Is there anything left to live for?!

>>262382
>>Is there good news?
>Where are the others?

>writing

"Is there good news?" You ask.
"Yes, actually" Madelaine says. "That dude that you came up with said that since there's proof that both of them were lost or damaged in a fight, the Guild will replace them for free"

"Cool" You say.
"I thought that only counted damage caused by a monster" Fran says.
Madelaine shrugs. "The Huntmaster said that he counts Carthac as a monster" She says.
Fran nods. "He's certainly monstrous..." She says.

"He's not so bad" You say.
"He's not?" Fran asks.
"He gets mad really easily" You say. "Me might hit harder when he's angry, but he also does pretty stupid things"

"Wow... that means something coming from you" Madelaine says.
"Thank you" You say.
"I wasn't... nevermind" Madelaine says.

"Where are Meyu and the others?" You ask.
"They're up on deck making sure nobody drops the cart" Madelaine says. "They couldn't get it on board with the anchors, so it's just kinda hanging off the side right now"

"They're worried it'll fall?" You ask.
"Meyu loves that thing... so yeah" She says.
"He loves... a cart?" Fran asks.
"It's his baby" Madelaine says. "he treats it better than some people treat their actual kids"

"Who's it's mommy?" Daisy asks.
"What?" Madelaine asks.
"If it's a baby, it has to have a mommy" Daisy says.

>It's obviously Zaine

>That's not how carts work... I think

>Let Madelaine field this one

>Other

>>262508
>>Let Madelaine field this one

Just lean back... and grin.

File: free shrugs.png (499 KB, 449x642)

499 KB PNG

>>262508
>>Let Madelaine field this one

>writing

Madelaine looks to you, and you shrug.

"It's not really a baby..." Madelaine says. "He just treats it like one"
"Does it have to eat vegetables?" Daisy asks.
"Well, no..." Madelaine says. "Carts don't actually-"
"What about bedtime? Does it have a bedtime?" Lily asks, having taken a sudden interest in the conversation.

"Like I said, carts don't-"
"Or chores? Does it have to do chores?" Lily asks.
"Cart's aren't peop-"

"Mom!" Lily says. "Can I be a cart when I grow up?"
"Yeah! It sounds like fun" Daisy says.

...

>Only if you can carry everyone from Locke to Bell's Run without any breaks.

>When is this airship going to move?

>You can't be a cart

>Other

>>262613
>>Only if you can carry everyone from Locke to Bell's Run without any breaks.

Yuu can't save ALL of his snark for Carthac.

>>262613
>>Only if you can carry everyone from Locke to Bell's Run without any breaks.
Gotta get fit.

>>262613
>>Only if you can carry everyone from Locke to Bell's Run without any breaks.

TRAIN!!

>writing

"Sweetie, you can't beco-"
"Absolutely" You say.
"We can!?!" Lily asks.

"Yuu please don't..." Fran says.
"But only if you can lift and carry at least five full grown adults" You say.

Lly and Daisy nods determinedly.

"And all of their gear"

Less determined.

"From Locke to Bell's Run"

Les determined...

"Without any breaks"

Determination gone.

"I guess we can't..." Lily says.
"I thought you two wanted to be hunters like your dad" Fran says.

Lily and Daisy perk up.
"That's right!" Lily says. "I totally forgot!"
"You do that a lot" You say.
"Lily gets excited too easily" Daidy says.
"I do not!" Lily says.

Fran strokes Lily's hair. "Red devils are a rare breed, and they always have that passionate spark" Fran says with an oddly sad smile.

>Is that a bad thing?

>None of your kids want to be like you Fran?

>When is this ship going to start moving?

>Other

>>262717
>>None of your kids want to be like you Fran?

>>262717
>>Is that a bad thing?
>>None of your kids want to be like you Fran?

>writing

"Nobody wants to be like you, Fran?" You ask.
"No, unfortunately" She says. "Besides, I kind of gave up my work when I had these two"

"What do you do? Err... did you do?"
"I was a scholar" Fran says. "I used to study history with my mother-in-law"
"Sounds... exciting" Madelaine says.

"Right? And then I wonder why nobody wants to take after me" She says. "Seriously, it's not all book reading and note-taking. I have fond memories of visiting ruined cities and old forts and castles with Kieve"

"Neat. Any I might know about?" Madelaine asks.
"The most noteworthy would have to be the ruined city of Kazud... and if you've never heard of that, then you won't know any of the others" Fran says.

"Never heard of it" Madelaine says.
"Me neither" You say.

"And this is why i keep saying that the people need to be educated" Fran says. "Schooling worked so well for Antolia... well, until the Legion swept through... but that sort of thing could work here... not that it would help either of you at this point..."

"I dunno. I've learned a lot just from the stuff Kieve gave me" You say.
"You actually read all of that?" Fran asks.
"Yeah... well, most of it" You say. "And what's not to love about ruin-diving? Who knows what kind of cool stuff I could find?"

"Good luck" Fran says. "They call Kazud the cleanest city in the world, because it's been picked apart by every historian, archaeologist and treasure hunter that ever was..."

>What was Kazud anyway?

>I might find something with my special eyes

>You didn't think I'd read those notes?

>Airship moving?

>Other

>>262846
>>What was Kazud anyway?

>>262846
>>What was Kazud anyway?

>>262846
>>What was Kazud anyway?
>>I might find something with my special eyes

>writing

"What is this Kazud place anyway?" You ask.

A fierce glint appears in Fran's eye, and she opens her mouth to speak. But before she can...

"Mommy" Lily says. "I gotta pee"
"Me too" Daisy says.

Fran looks a little deflated by the girl's sudden needs... and you're pretty sure that they just want to skip the history lesson.

"Sorry Yuu, I guess it'll have to wait for a minute" Fran says.
"I can take them, if you want" Madelaine says.
Fran lights back up. "Would you?" She asks. "Are you two okay with that?"

Lily and Daisy looks Madelaine over.

"I promise she won't eat you" You say.
"Why would she eat us?" Lily asks.
"I dunno... they do look tasty" Madelaine says.
"I-I don't taste good" Daisy says.

"I was kidding" Madelaine says as she stands up... well, as far as one can stand in here. "Come on, I'm not that interested in the history lesson either"

Madelaine heads for the door, and the devils get up and follow her. As the door is closing you hear them talk.

"I hope one of you knows the way, because I don't" Madelaine says.
"Nope" Daisy says.
"Not a clue" Lily says.
"Well... then this might take a while" Madelaine says, as the door finally shuts.

"Alright. Kazud" Fran says, getting right back on topic.

>cont

"Kazud was the capital city of Kazubran" Fran says.
"Where's that?" You ask.
"Here" She says. "For roughly 1000 years they ruled from the northern reaches, to the southern jungles"

"But they aren't here now?" You ask.
"Not for about 450 years" She says.
"What happened to them?" You ask. "Did someone kill them all?"

"Oh, heavens no. At least, not that I know of" She says. "The empire got a little too big for it's britches, and it collapsed. The actual date, and reason are disputed. Some say it was internal rebellion, others say barbarian invasions, planetary alignments, monster surges... there's a whole host of theories"

"Neat" You say. "Which one do you think it was?"
Fran shrugs. "Not enough information to make any claims. Too much has been lost over the years" She says. "Leon was once a port city in Kazud, and it later became the capital. The buildings there are older than Lubars itself, and they've changed hands more times than I can count. Often times that meant lengthy sieges and sacks..."

"Meyu said something along those lines" You say. "Something about the glancing king burning all the books"
"Ah yes... our glorious founder and his pyromania" She says. "God, what I wouldn't give to find some surviving records..."

>I'll keep an eye out

>Where was Kazud?

>Airship moving?

>Other

>>263018
>>I'll keep an eye out
>>Where was Kazud?

>>263018
>>I'll keep an eye out
>>Where was Kazud?

>>263018
>>I'll keep an eye out

>writing

"Where is Kazud?" You ask.
"A bit further south" She says. "It's on this... peninsula... if I had a map, I'd show you"

You smile and reach into your back pocket. "I've got you covered" You say.
"Oh?" She says.

You take out your map, and fold it out.

"This is a hunter's map" She says.
"Vance gave it to me" You say. "Said it'd come in handy"

"It's already got markings?" She asks.
"He marked down the elemental ruins that he knew about" You say.
Fran nods. "You're missing a few" She says.
"He didn't know where they all were" You say.

"Looks like... you've got wind, fire, water, dark and light" She says. "I kinda know where the others are, but not the exact locations... I think I have notes on that in my luggage. If you want, I could get the other 3 for you"

"That sounds good" You say. "But for now, I'm fine just knowing where Kazud is"
"Ah yes" She says. Her tail comes around with a red pencil, and makes a quick 'X' on the map. "It's right there, on the coast where there is a fairly large bay"

"Thanks!" You say. "and I'll have to keep an eye out for anything that'd help you while I'm out there"
"You don't have to..." She says.
You shrug. "I'm kinda curious too" You say. "Plus i have really good eyes"

"Well then... there's always room on my bookshelf" She says. "Though if you manage to find something important, it'd probably go somewhere that's a bit more organized than my bookshelf... like the imperial library"

You nod. "So why did they move their capital north?" You ask.
"Oh, by that time Kazud had already been sacked 3 times by the islanders..."

>cont.

"We're back" Madelaine says, as she enters the room with Lily and Daisy in tow.

"What took you guys so long?" Fran asks.
"We got lost" Madelaine says. "This airship is huge"

"Well, the Archer's Pride is one of the largest in the world" Fran says.
"It is?" You ask.
"Beaten only by the 2 cross-ocean airships" She says. "And hilariously, Archer can't stand to be on it"
"Is it named after him?" You ask.
"No, it's just ironic" She says.

"Oh... What's ironic?" You ask. "Is that like... a sword? Or something made of iron?"
"Ironic, not iron... it's a literary term" She says. "And it's a lesson for another day"
"Why?" You ask.

"Hear that?" She asks. "That's the main engine powering down"

...

You don't really hear anything... in fact, you hear less than before. The hum that you've been hearing throughout this trip is going away.

You tilt your head in confusion.

"It means we're landing" Madelaine says.
"Are you sure? Seems like we'd just crash if we shut the engines off" You say.

"We're crashing?!?" Lily asks.
"No we're not" Fran says, with a pointed glare at you. "The main engines move the Archer's Pride, it's the auxiliaries that keep it up. And those will see us safely to the ground"
"Where will we be landing?" You ask.

"Locke's airship dock ins't all that big... so probably on the outskirts" Madelaine says.

>Go up on deck and see

>Stay here until you know you've landed

>Other

>>263143
>>Stay here until you know you've landed

>>263143
>>Go up on deck and see

>>263143
>>Stay here until you know you've landed
we might as well ask for Fran what to look out for in Kazud...anything special

File: I keep forgetting to post(...).jpg (371 KB, 2458x1303)

371 KB JPG

>writing

filename related

>>263199
>The great Florida empire fell to the Cubans

I see what you're doing there, Smiley. And I'm laffin m8.

"Should we go up on deck?" Madelaine asks.
"Nah. I'm fine staying here until I know we're on solid ground" You say. "How about you two?"

"Yes please" Lily says, as Daisy nods.
"You know girls, this probably won't be the last time we ride one of these" Fran says.
"No please" Lily says, as Daisy shakes her head.

Fran lets out a long sigh, and you pat her shoulder. "I'm sure they'll be fine" You say.
"If they take after their father, yeah" Fran says. "I never thought any man could actually enjoy using those anchor chains... and then I married one"

"So what should I look out for if I go to Kazud?" You ask.
Fran smiles. "If you're serious about going then there's a book that you'll want to pick up. It has a fairly detailed map of the city, as well as translations for all the signs that are still legible, and locations of interest" She says.
"I'll look out for it" You say. "What's it called?"

"Kazud: The Empire's Root" Fran says. "It's called that because in the Hezen tongue- which is what they spoke -Kazud means 'root'"
"Neato" You say.

"I thought the history lesson was over" Lily says.
"The history lesson is never over dear" Fran says. "Not when your mother is a historian"

Lily doesn't seem to pleased about that...

>[1/2]

"Got any 3's?" Lily asks you
"Go fish" You reply.
"Err... I meant 4's. Got any of those?" She asks.
"No cheating, Lily" Fran says.
"It's not cheating, I really meant to say 4's" Lily says.
"Suuuuure you did" Madelaine says.
"I did!" Lily says.

"My turn!" Daisy says. But instead of asking for a card, she simply turns to Lily and holds out her hand.
After a few seconds, Lily reluctantly hands over her 3...
"Yay!" Daisy says, bouncing with glee. "One more time!" She turns to her sister again.

"Seriously?" Lily asks.
Daisy smiles as Lily rolls her eyes and hands over the 4 as well, then Daisy starts bouncing with glee again.

...

Until a loud and heavy THUD puts everything to a halt.

For a moment everyone is silent, until Fran finally speaks up.

"That would be the landing" She says.
"Oh... good. I was worried that it might be... something else" You say.
"You though we were crashing" Madelaine says with a sly grin.
"Maybe" You say.

"Come on!" Lily says, as she stands up and starts pulling you to your feet. "Let's go!"
"Aww, the game's not done yet!" Daisy says.
"You win" Lily says.
Daisy smiles. "Yay! Let's go!" She says, as she stands and starts pulling you to your feet as well.

"Easy now, girls" Fran says.
"Come on!"
"Come on!"

That's all for tonight!

I'll come back to this thread tomorrow night to keep running, so keep an eye on my twitter.

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

>>263330
Great thread, Smiley!

>>263330
Daisy really has a crush on Yuu, huh?

>>263330
Fun quest. I really enjoy it so far.

"You're going too slow!" Lily shouts.
"Yeah! Come on!" Daisy shouts.

The devils pull you forward down the ramp with their tails wrapped around your wrists. Beside you are Fran and Madelaine, the latter of whom has your spear.

All around you there are people milling about. Some of them are hunters, some of them look like soldiers, and some of them are just dock workers. Everyone seems to be helping to unload the Archer's Pride, or get the hunters settled.

"They seem... excited" You say.
"They've never been to Locke" Fran says. "And they're probably happy to be off the airship. I know I am"
"Can you tell them to stop pulling? I think my arms might fall off" You say.
"Girls, Locke isn't going anywhere" Fran says.

"Is that a castle?" Lily asks.
"It's huuuuuuge!" Daisy says.
"Can we go see it? Can we? Can we?" Lily asks.
"I could probably take you guys later" You say. "But only if you stop trying to rip my arms off"

The pulling stops, and the devils seem to calm right down.
Bribery works well on these two. Who knew?

"That did the trick" You say.
Fran leans in and whispers. "Can you... actually do that?"
"We'll find out" You say.

"Look kitty! It's honk!"
"Yuu? Madelaine? What are you doing here?" Ilica says.

You turn to see Ilica carrying little Hella, while holding little Gabriella's hand.

>What are you doing here?

>Honk?

>Gabriello!

>You won't believe the day I've had...

>Other

>>270379
>Gabriello!
>Honk?

>>270379
>You won't believe the day I've had...
>Honk?

>>270379
>>Honk?
>>You won't believe the day I've had...

>>270379
>Honk?

>writing

When you say /qst/ is slow, do you mean the player interaction is down or that the board itself has too few new threads/posts?

"Who's honk?" You ask.
"You are" Ilica says. "She calls you Honk"

"Hiii Honk!' Hella gleefully says.
"Hello" You say.
"I wasn't expecting to see you two here" Ilica says. "How did you guys enp up on the airship?"

"You won't believe the day I've been having" You say. "First there was the red lightning bolts in the cave, then those guys, then that giant monster, then the demons..."

Ilica looks from you, to Madelaine.

"It's been a long day" Madelaine says.
"What happened?" Ilica asks.
"Well, we were just minding our own business when all of a sudden this red lightning came out of no-"
"The red lightning didn't come out of nowhere" Madelaine says. "You were the one that pressed all the buttons"

"You did what?" Ilica asks.
"I wanted to show them the portal" You say.

"You could've been killed!" Ilica says.
"Relax, the lightning didn't even hurt me" You say. "It was actually soul lightning, and it recharged my energy"

"That's not the point" Ilica says.

Gabriella tugs on Ilica's sleeve, and whispers something to her.

"Yeah, where did the bloody spear come from?" Ilica asks.

>Well I was just minding my own business...

>I stole it

>Carthac gave it to me

>Other

>>270584
>>Carthac gave it to me

>>270584
>Carthac gave it to me

>>270584
>>Carthac gave it to me

>>270584
>Carthac gave it to me

>>270584
>Same as the last one

>writing

>>270503
Board itself is too slow. I like to make a new thread when I run, for archival purposes. I can't really do that here.

>>270584
>Well I was just minding my own business...
When
>Carthac gave it to me

"Carthac gave it to me" You say.
"What do you mean 'he gave it to you'?" Ilica asks.
"Just like last time" You say.

"He stabbed you last ti-..." She stops. "Where did he 'give' you the spear?"
"In the back" You say.

Ilica looks to Madelaine again.

"The Hell's Legion ambushed us" Madelaine says. "Yuu was fighting Carthac while the rest of us defended the cart. That's when the hunters showed up and saved us"

"You fought Carthac again?" Ilica asks. "Remember how that ended last time?"
"Minor stabs wounds and an awesome, yet moody spear?" You ask.
"Focus on the minor stab wounds" Ilica says. "You got lucky. It could have been way worse!"

"It wasn't so bad" You say. "If it was 1 on 1 I would have won"

Ilica looks to Madelaine again.

"There were 3 of them" Madelaine says.
"Of course there were..." Ilica says. "Alright, look. I'm on babysitting duty right now, so I can't quite use the strong language that I'd like to... so we'll talk about this later. Okay?"
"Am I in trouble?" You ask.
"Yes" Ilica says.

"Ooooooooooo" Hella says. "Goobiba, Honk"

...

"I have no idea what she just said, but I feel sort of insulted" You say.

Gabriella whispers to Ilica again, and Ilica turns back to you. "She said 'you've been bad, Honk'" Ilica says.

>Ask Ilica why she's here

>Why did that need to be relayed through you?

>Does Gabby speak baby?

>Other

>>270782
>>Ask Ilica why she's here

>>270782
>>Ask Ilica why she's here

wish I could join you for the rest smiley but I have to head off to work

>>270782
>Why did that need to be relayed through you?

>Does Gabby speak baby?

>writing

You let out a long sigh. You're not looking forward to whatever conversation Ilica wants to have...

"What brings you here anyway?" You ask.
"Babysitting duty" Ilica says.
"Last time I checked, babysitters didn't usually bring kids to the docks" Fran says.

"It doesn't, no" Ilica says. "Gabs wanted to come and see her favourite cousin"
"She has a favourite cousin?" You ask. "Which one is it? It's obviously not Hella... big Hella, that is"

Gabby whispers to Ilica again.

"What's she saying?" You ask.
"She says that Hella is cool and all, but she's not her favourite" Ilica says.

"Oh" You say. "Why couldn't she just say that?"

Gabriella steps to the side, partially hiding behind Ilica.
"She's shy" Ilica says.
"She didn't seem shy yesterday" You say.
"That was different" Ilica says.
"Oh..." You say. "How was it diff-"

A sharp squealing sound cuts you off. Gabriella spots the source of the noise before you turn to see it, and a huge smile forms on her face.

>cont

"Stella!" Gabriella says.

Stella runs past you and scoops the little rabbit up.

"Oh my goodness, you've gotten so big!" Stella says. "What have they been feeding you? You were teeny tiny last time I saw you"
"I've been growing" Gabriella says.
"Well stop it!" Stella says. "I'm going to have to start working out if I want to keep picking you up like this"

"Whossat Kitty?" Little Hella asks.

Stella turns and gasps. "Is this Hella?" Stella asks.
Gabriella nods.
Stella bounces with glee. "I'm your cousin Stella" She says.
"Hi Costella" Hella says.
"No Hella, it's Stella" Ilica says.
"Costella" Hella says.

Ilica scratches Hella's head between the ears. "No, it's stel-"
"Oh, who cares?" Stella asks. "Look at how little her feet are!"

Stella breaks into a fit of giggling.

>I'd take Costella over Honk any day

>Ask the devils if they have a favourite cousin

>Is having little feet important?

>Other

>Is having little feet important?

>>270997

>Ask the devils if they have a favorite cousin

>>270997
>Ask the devils if they have a favorite cousin

>>270997
>>Ask the devils if they have a favourite cousin

>writing

"Do you two have a favourite cousin?" You ask.

Daisy looks to Lily, while Lily thinks. After a moment, Lily shrugs, then Daisy shrugs.

"Do we even have cousins?" Lily asks.
"No" Fran says. "Your father is an only child"

Stella's ears perk up, and she turns around. "Oh, Yuu. When did you get here?" She asks.
"I've been here the whole time" You say.

Stella looks surprised. "Sorry! I didn't see you" She says, as she presses her cheek into Gabriella's. "I was too focused on getting my dose of Gabby"

Gabriella seems to like the attention.

"We should probably move" Madelaine says. "We're sort of blocking the ramp right now"
"Yeah" Fran says. "We need to find Lance and get our stuff and figure out where we're staying..."

"And we should go back to the guild" Ilica says. "This one is cute, but my arms are getting tired from carrying her"
"I'll go with you. I have to report in anyway" Stella says.
"I need to find Meyu and the others as well" Madelaine says. "Make sure that they got the cart unloaded all right..."

Sounds like everyone is going somewhere...
"You should go see Altea, Yuu" Ilica says. "She'll probably want to know about what happened"

...

She has a point, but you can always do that later.

>Go with Fran

>Go with Madelaine

>Go with Stella and Ilica

>Go back to the castle

>Other

>>271131
>>Go back to the castle

>>271131

>Go with Stella and Ilica

>>271131
>Go back to the castle
Bring lily and daisy.

>>271131

>Go with Stella and Ilica

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>tie breaking coin flip because I'm tired of waiting for another vote.
>1 for stella/ilica
>2 for castle

>writing

And you will do that later. To be honest you aren't looking forward to telling Altea about what happened, since you aren't sure if she'll be angry for putting yourself in danger, or impressed that you came out on top...

"I'm gonna go to the guild with you guys" You say. "I need to get a new shirt, hat, and cloak"
"You lost the hat and the cloak too?" Stella asks.
"Yeah... the hat got stuck under the monster, and my cloak got burned" You say.
"So there was a monster and a fire too?" Ilica asks.

"I did mention the monster" You say. "The fire wasn't as important"

Ilica sighs. "Come on Hella. Let's go before Honk gives me a heart attack" She says, as she turns to walk away. "See you kids later, and you too Fran. We'll have to meet up some time"

"We'll be here for a while" Fran says.
"You aren't gonna take us to the castle?" Lily asks.
"Not right now" You say. "You should go with your mom. You can come by the castle tomorrow, okay?"
"Kay" Lily says. "Bye!"
"Bye!" Daisy says, echoing her sister as they release your arms from their tails.

"I'll leave your other stuff in the cart, so you can get them from us later. Alright?" Madelaine asks.
"That sounds good" You say. "See you later"
"See you" madelaine says. "And... thanks. I'm not quite sure what that place was, but it definitely adds a few pieces to the puzzle"
"Glad I could help" You say.

Madelaine waves, as she and the devils head back up to the airship.

You turn around to see Ilica and Stella have a decent headstart on you, so you jog to catch up.

>cont

"So what have you been up to, Gabby?" Stella asks.

Gabriella whispers her reply to Stella.
"You have?" Stella asks. "I hope to see that put to use some day"

"See what?" You ask.
"Gabriella's been learning how to dance" Ilica says, as she absentmindedly bounces Hella. "Tian was showing her some moves today"
"I never did get to see Tian's dance..." You say.
"It's impressive" Ilica says. "She was showing us bits of it earlier. I think that if you got half as good with a mageblade as her, you'd be set"

"I'm working on it" You say.
"You were working on it. You're drained, aren't you?" Ilica asks.
"I said that the lightning recharged me" You say.
"The lightning?" Ilica asks. "When was there lightning?"
"In the cave" You said.
"Oh yeah..." Ilica says. "Sorry, I was more focused on the stabbing..."

"Bad kitty" Hella says. "No stab"
"Tell that to him, not me" Ilica says.
"Bad Honk" Hella says. "No stab"

"Not even a little stab?" You ask
"No!" Hella says.
"Okay, fine" You say.

Hella smiles and lets out a little squeak.

"So what actually happened to you?" Ilica asks. "In detail, so I don't miss anything"
"I'm kinda curious too..." Stella says. "I kinda got caught up in my own problems on the airship, I never even asked what you were doing out there..."

>Give them a kid friendly version of events

>Tell them later

>Other

>>271341
>>Give them a kid friendly version of events

>>271341
>Give them a kid friendly version of events

>>271341
>Give them a kid friendly version of events

>writing

"So we went to this cave that we found on the way to Locke" You say. "It's a deep cave with a big pit that has this portal... thing at the bottom, with 3 buttons to turn it on. So I pressed the buttons to show everyone the portal, when all this red lightning started flying everywhere"

"No skeleton this time?" Ilica asks.
"No, just lightning" You say. "So I ended up getting hit by it, but it didn't hurt me. I actually absorbed it, and it refilled my energy. Which really came in handy later"

"When the demons attacked..." Ilica says.
"I'm getting to that" You say. "First there were those other guys. That storm dude from the holy order... or whatever it was called"
"Someone from the holy order was there?" Stella asks. "Why?"
"He's like me and Madelaine" You say. "Apparently he keeps trying to make Madelaine join the order with him, but she keeps telling him no"

"Good for her" Stella says.

"Anyway, one of them had these fluffy white wings, and she sensed that I was a demon" You say. "So they attacked us"
"You fought them?" Ilica asks.
"Well... no" You say. "That fight was pretty much over before I could do anything. Believe it or not, Meyu and his crew are really strong"
"They looked that way" Ilica says. "So what happened then?"

"Then this big monster showed up. Only it was all busted up like the Fedratore, with a bunch of swords in it and a legion banner on its back" You say.
"You mean the Carracore?" Ilica asks.
"Yeah, that" You say. "So I tried to stop it, but it knocked me flying. Then I nabbed one of the swords in its back and... you know"

"That's the Dangol they were talking about?" Stella asks. "Poor thing..."
"It didn't look very happy about anything" You say.
"What happened to it?" Ilica asks.
"I hear that its armor plates were pulled off" Stella says.

Ilica cringes. "Yowch" She says. "It's probably better off D-E-A-D"

"Dead?" Gabriella asks.
"Yes, Gabby" Stella says. "Just a heads up, she can spell"
"Noted" Ilica says. "So what happened then?"

>cont.

"Then the Hell's Legion showed up" You say. "Gerard made some bushes for us to hide behind, but there was a Lupid with them who could smell us"
"That sucks" Stella says.

"Yeah... and then the red devil started setting the place on fire" You say. "So I figured I could buy us some time by challenging Carthac directly"

Ilica covers her face with her free hand. "Yuu... that is the opposite of being careful" Ilica says. "If I were to make a ranking of all the things you could have done there, running out and challenging the second most dangerous demon in Umbria is the least careful"

"Yeah... turns out that I'm bad at being careful" You say.
"So how'd the fight go?" Stella asks. "Aside from the obvious"

"Pretty well, actually" You say. "I made a few bad moves at the start, but by the end I was definitely winning"
"Whoa, whoa. You were winning?" Ilica asks.

"Yeah" You say. "I can't explain it... but I felt kinda calm.. sort of... sure"

"Sure?" Stella asks.
"Like I knew exactly what I was doing" You say. "No... it was like I knew what would happen if I did something, so I could pick the action that had the best result"
"That's... weird" Ilica says.

"I read something like that in Kieve's notes about pure demons" You say. "Something about the future spreading out..."

"So you were winning... what happened?" Ilica asks.
"I was winning against him, but then the Lupid and the Devil joined in" You say. "That was when the Hunters showed up, and the demons left"

"Well, at least you're still in one piece" Ilica says.
"And I got a new spear for my collection" You say, before the realization hits you. "Which I left with Madelaine..."
"You can get it from her later" Ilica says.

"Here we are" Stella says.

You look up to see that you've arrived at the guild hall.

>Find Tian for mageblade training

>Get replacement clothes

>Ask if there's anything that you can help with

>Other

>>271579
>>Find Tian for mageblade training

>>271579
>Get replacement clothes

>>271579
>Go find some food
Then
>Find Tian for mageblade training

>>271579
>Get replacement clothes

>writing

"Well, I've got to go see my sister and my aunt" Stella says. "And then there's a mountain of paperwork that needs to be done..."
"Sounds like a fun party, shame I'll miss it" Ilica says.
"It's not all bad... just a bit tedious" Stella says, as she puts Gabriella down. "I'll hang out with you later, okay Gabby?"

Gabriella nods, and Stella gives her one last big hug before standing up.

"Catch you guys later!" She says, before hopping inside.
"See you" You say.

With Stella gone Gabriella hops back to Ilica, where she tugs on Ilica's sleeve and whispers something again.

"Good idea" Ilica says.
"What?" You ask.
"Gabby's hungry" Ilica says. "We're going to go find some food"
"I'm hungry too" You say. "With all of that excitement, I never had a chance to eat lunch"

"You must be starving then" Ilica says. "Come on, let's see if there's any room in the dining hall"

The 4 of you make your way inside, and the commotion is immediately clear.

"It's been like this all day" Ilica says. "They only got word of the airship incoming this morning, and everyone's been busy organizing for its arrival"
"Is that why you got put on babysitting duty?" You ask.
"Yeah" Ilica says. "Keeps the kids busy, and keeps me out of the way"

You make it into the dining hall, and it looks packed. There are 2 seats open right next to each other, but that's pretty much it, and it doesn't look like they'll be open for long...

>Take those seats

>Find somewhere else to eat in town

>Other

>>271719
>Take those seats

>>271719

>Take those seats

>>271719
>Take those seats
Time to watch the cat be cute with chilluns on her lap.

>writing

>>270667
On the upside, longer threads (as opposed to numerous short threads) are usually more convenient to binge read for people who decide to pick up this quest from this point on.

You nudge Ilica with you elbow, and then point to the two seats you spotted. She eyes them for a moment before nodding, and the two of you make your way over.

When you reach the seats, you sit down first. Then Ilica hands Hella to you, before sitting down herself and putting Gabriella in her lap.

"Hi Honk!" Hella says.
"Hi Hella" You reply.

Hella responds with a bunch of gibberish that you probably wouldn't understand under regular circumstances, nevermind in a room as loud as this one.

And it is loud in here. The sheer number of people in here means that you have to speak up to be heard over the din, which just makes things even louder.

"So is this what you've been doing all day?" You ask Ilica.
"Yeah, pretty much" Ilica says. "Can't complain though. These two are really good kids"

Gabriella looks proud about that, but says nothing.

After sitting for a minute or so, one of the hall's staff approaches to ask what you want, leaving a bottle of milk with you before heading off.

You pick up the bottle and examine it. "What's this for?" You ask.
"Baba?" Hella asks.
"Oh" You say. "Is this yours?"

Hella nods.

"Do I... do I give it to her?" You ask.
"Of course you do" Ilica says.

You bring the bottle closer to Hella, and she reaches out for it. So you let her have it, but she just fumbles with it clumsily and gets nowhere.

"Not like that, silly" Ilica says, as she reaches over with a paw. "Here, let me show you"

That's all for tonight!

Next thread will probably be on Sunday, though that's kind of up in the air at this point.

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

I think someone mentioned that felids tend to be very maternal; is Ilica exceptionally maternal or is this par for the course?

This is probably my favorite quest on the board, always fills me with glee when I see a thread.
Thanks for your work smiley!

>>271869
Yes and no. Felids do have that strong maternal instinct, but Ilica just really likes kids on top of that.

>>271879
Always glad to hear that my work is enjoyed.

And as far as moving back to /tg/ goes, I'm still considering it. After all, the problem of this board being slow won't be solved by another QM taking their quest and leaving.

Thanks for running

>>271885
Just give us a head warning before