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A sharp intake of breath passes the old woman’s lips as she tenderly undoes her patients bandages, her wrinkles seeming to deepen and the hunch in her spine grow more pronounced as she looks at what lies beneath.

“Not good… not good…” she tuts to herself quietly, clawed fingers rapping against the table as her assistants grimly stand by for their orders. With a long pause and a sigh, she finally delivers. “Galblassa, get the syphon, and Yesh, I need you to start mixin’ up a batch of sap as fast as you can.”

“Is there any way I can help?” you finally interject, taking a few careful steps from the wall in the tiny, over-crowded room toward where Cassandra still lays in a heap.

“Just get the little one, outta here,” Shasa says. “This ain’t gonna be pretty.”

“Mama…”

It’s funny how much goes unnoticed with a preoccupied mind and no sense of touch. You hadn’t even realized until that very moment how a tiny hand had been wrapped around your own for who knows how long, a small shoulder resting timidly on your femur.

You are Lee: bard, lover, fighter, and more recently numbered among the walking dead. Of course, at this point you’ve probably spent far more of your relatively short unlife sprinting rather than walking, whether it was charging head first into a battle versus a squad of holy men or then running through an apparently demon-bear filled forest to acquire aid for an injured mother, you’d had precious little time to spend idle. Now comes another great challenge, how to address the tired, moist eyes now pitifully staring up into your empty sockets.

> What do you do?
>>
>>32839
Panic. Hold breath.
>>
>>32839

So begins Chapter 4 of RE: Animated, this time on a brand new board. For those catching these threads for the first time, previous chapters can be found on sup/tg/ here:.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=RE:%20Animated%20Quest
>>
>>32839
Hope for the best and comfort the girl.
>>
>>32839
BECOME THE XYLOPHONE
>>
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>>32839

“No need to worry, my miniature maiden,” you say, offering her head a gentle pat. “Your mother is in the best hands imaginable. Now let’s the two of us find something to do while we wait.”

“I’m hungry…” she whispers as you shepherd her out. “And tired.”

“Well, then. Let’s see if we can’t find something for you to eat. Do you have a pantry or something of the like?”

“Mama usually goes hunting in the mornings,” Cici quietly confides, “and picks vegetables from the garden.”

> What to do?
> [] Go hunting
> [] Go to the garden
> [] Other
>>
>>33233
> [] Go to the garden

Its fast food and she can be close by for the results. Hunting while distracted is a great way to end up dead.
>>
>>33233
>> [] Go to the garden
>>
>>33233
>[X] Go to the garden
>>
>>33233
>> [] Go to the garden
"if your hungry afterwards I'll go see about getting you some more in the woods. How about a song to take all this off your mind? Would you like to sing with me to?"
>>
Nice to see your going on with this OP. Thanks, its been fun!
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>>33233

“Ah… this garden I’ve heard so much about. Let’s go have a look at it, shall we?”

With an absent nod, Cici begins tugging on your hand, leading you out of the tower proper and around back where a spiral staircase wraps upward. Far from dilapidated, you still note that the steps are not in the best of repair, cracks and fissures running through the stone and generous chips taken out here and there. However, the young girl seemingly pays it no mind as she walks you up to the next level, where a thicket of green can already be seen.

“This is it,” she says, maybe a little more brightly than you’ve heard previously.

And upon one look at the garden you can see why. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables with soft grass under foot, you’d have never thought so many vibrant, living things could be found dwelling atop a shattered tower. You can’t imagine how much more splendorous it might be could you actually smell the fresh aroma of the blooming plants or the fresh mountain air sweeping in from the shattered remains of the northern wall, if you could feel the cool evening breeze as it sweeps the sun over to its final destination.

Beautiful, but for now, you have an empty stomach to fill. So, with a “let’s see” and a number of hems and haws you set about looking for something ripe for the little one to eat, rummaging through tomatoes, peppers, and tiny root vegetables, picking what you believe to be the choicer ones here and there and forming a little pile until you feel you have enough, the little one apparently having gathered a handful of berries while you weren’t looking, which she is slowly chewing through with a decidedly troubled expression.

“Thanks, Mr. Bones…” she mumbles as you set her evening meal down in front of her, but for a long time after all that can be heard is the rustle of the wind through the leaves and the sound of the young girl eating. It’s clear that everything going on around her is still leaving her deeply troubled.

> What to do?
> [] Offer words of comfort
> [] Try to sing
> [] Cast some illusions
> [] Other
>>
>>33546

Thanks. We'll see where tonight takes us, though I may need to grab food in about an hour.
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>>33578
>[] Try to sing.
Let's do what we do best. Just dont think about our lack of vocal chords.
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>>33578
>[X] Try to sing
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>>33578
>> [] Offer words of comfort
>> [] Cast some illusions
"hey chin up, no need to worry. Your family is in there helping your mama. She'll be fine before you know it!"

How old would the child be around?
If she's like 6 or so I say the Three Little Pigs with some illusions to make the story come to life.
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>>33646

If you had to guess, she'd probably be in the 6-8 year old range.
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>>33578
>[] Try to sing
> [] Cast some illusions
We are a bard.
Singing with backup drums and piano is what we do.
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>>33578

“Now, now,” you gently chide. “There’s no need to worry, my dear. Your family is in there helping your mama. She’ll be fine before you know it!

“In the meantime though,
How about dinner and a show?

For beneath the curtain of night
The twilight is calling
The fairies take flight
Tis no time for bawling

The stars are all here
Now isn’t it queer
To worry them so
So let worry disappear

Now then little girl
Let me tell you a tale
Of three little owlbears
And their trials and travails…”

So as evening falls and the stars shine bright, you summon a few balls of light to aid in your show, hovering above the green grass as you begin to narrate a tale from your childhood, about three little misfits and their curious misadventures, watching the reflections grow in the child’s wide, wonder-filled eyes as she watches it all play out in front of her. It never ceases to surprise you how easy it is to get wrapped up in a performance, whether it’s getting the voice or tone just right, but by the time the little owlbears are back home snuggling in Mama Owlbear’s nest, your little audience of one is already sound asleep, knee to her chest as she softly snores in the grass.

> Now what to do?
> [] Check downstairs
> [] Stay where you are
> [] Other
>>
>>33985
>[] Other
Gently take her downstairs and find some bedding and a blanket for her.
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>>34047
Reporting in to vote for tucking in the little garter snake.
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>>34047
+1
>>
>>34047
Agreed.
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>>33985

Well, it wouldn’t do to just leave a young lady sleeping outside. Now, would it?

So with tender care, you slowly sweep one skeletal hand under the small girl’s shoulders and grab beneath her legs with the other. And while you can’t imagine you have the softest pair of arms to rest in, surprisingly, she doesn’t awake as you scoop her up and begin carefully making your way down the stairs. Thankfully, it seems you are also a little bit better seeing in the dark nowadays, so you manage the task without any unfortunate incidents, slowly walking through the entry way and into full view of a rather tired looking Galblassa, the large lizard holding a rag to his arm as he appraises you.

“She lost a lot of blood,” he explains. “And I had some to spare.”

“Transfusions are a risky business,” you note.

“But not as risky as just leaving her there.”

“Point taken.”

“Anyway,” he says, nodding toward the entryway to the inner chamber. “Shasa and Yesh oughta be done patching her up in a second.”

“Excellent.”

Rather than waiting, you simply continue on your way further in, finally coming to the bed chamber where Yesh and Shasa are still hard at work, the latter rubbing an orange-syrupy looking concoction on top of the wound as the former applies pressure.

“Just a couple more dabs,” says the older woman, dropping to a whisper as she notices your cargo, “and then she oughta be done.”

“Will she be alright?” you question.

“Well,” she snorts. “It’s all relative, ain’t it? Living right next door to folks that’d sick a bunch of thugs on her for minding her own business. Living next to a graveyard filled with spooks? For the wounds though, it’s lookin’ better than I feared. Whoever did the stitches on her upper part knew what they were doing, and the wound was clean well down on her waist, though it looks like whoever stabbed her cracked a rib in the process. She sure as heck doesn’t need to be getting up any time soon.”

“Do you know of another bed I could take Cecelia to?” you question.

“Well, pains me to say it, but you’re lookin’ at the only one. Still can’t believe she hasn’t got rid of this ratty thing yet. Anyway, ain’t no helpin’ it, just set the little one on the opposite side of her mama there, and we’ll let the both of ‘em sleep for the night.

“Maybe the rest of us, too,” she grunts, stretching her back with a pained groan.

Following the lizards, you make your way out into the common area, who begin conversing as to how they are going to manage for the night.
>>
>>34576

“She’s going to need someone to help with hunting over the next couple of days,” Galblassa says. “She’ll try to do it herself if no one helps, so I’m staying.”

“There’s much that I can learn from this place,” Yesh chimes in. “So I believe I will remain.”

“Well, my back ain’t what it used to be. So I’ll have to get going,” Shasa finishes. “Reckon I’ll be back in a couple days with some more herbs. Until then, I trust you all well enough.”

With that settled, they begin to disperse.

> What do you do?
> [] Talk to someone. Who?
> [] Practice magic
> [] Study the book
> [] Explore
> [] Practice sword play
> [] Other
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>>34593
>[X] Study the book
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>>34593
>[] Study the book
>>
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>>34593

Surprisingly, you can’t seem to think of much in the way of questions to ask your new companions at this point in time. They seem to have their motivations down-pat. So there’s no need for you to intervene. Galblassa looks to be already dozing with his back to a wall and Yesh seems to be meditating anyway, perhaps communing with the spirits.

That just leaves you, the sole owner of a conscious mind in an ancient dungeon filled with untold mysteries, mysteries which you intend to unwind length by length with no better time to continue than the present. So, you once more make your way deeper into the dungeon, finding the pedestal which had brought about your birth. Today, the altar lies empty, and the book closed. The question then is where to start.

> What to learn? (Roll 1d100 either way)
> [] Mending broken constructs
> [] Temporary attribute amplification
> [] Issuing commands
> [] Altering constructs
>>
Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>35008
> [] Issuing commands.
>>
>>35008

As I mentioned, I will need some time to grab dinner at this point. Feel free to throw in other suggestions of things to learn, so long as they are in line with the construct theme of this book.

Also, while I'm out, feel free to suggest different meeting times for this quest. I know this time hasn't worked well for some people, and at this point, I am finally done with classes.
>>
Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>35008
>[] Issuing commands
The book and dungeon automatically creates new constructs.
A better priority would be to learn how to give them commands since they don't listen to us right now.
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>>35008
>> [] Issuing commands
gon' fix up that tower+garden
>>
Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>35008
>[X] Issuing commands
Do we roll now or after?
>>
Rolled 100 (1d100)

>>35008
>> [] Issuing commands

seems the most useful to help around here.
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>>35262
crap and its best of three isn't it.
>>
>>35262
/thread
>>
Kinda curious about what Altering constructs actually entails. Like adding spikes or extra joints to the skeletons perhaps? Mending is obviously the healing for us.
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>>35262

You know, if you can forgive me a little bit of time to finish dinner, I'll take this one.
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>>35422
I'll love you long time. 5 dorra not needed.
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>>35422
Sure, take all the time you need.
>>
I also don't see why this is a bad time to run. Most quests go on during the evening and usually go to nearly midnight so this is nearly perfect from what usually happens. 8:30 for me at least.
>>
Oh, well...I'm a new guy, I'll be around.
>>
Alrighty so the plan as I see it is to make sure the lamia family is okay. Find out if there is some way to make the other skeletons sapient or at least have some form of will, then go out touring with them to become the worlds first Rambling Band. The tower itself would act as a home base?

Anyone else interested in finding if there is someway to at least make it so we have a facsimile of our old body? Perhaps an illusion that can also feel or be touched?
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>>35715
I think we would need to master illusion magic to trick people into thinking we're human. Issuing commands will help, though.
>>
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>>35715
I was thinking that we could create a performance using a "rival band" of our own making, as part of our narrative and meta-story for our band.

>Karate Metal, the Heavy Metal Construct Band
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>>35804
Ha. Need to get an artificer on the staff list to bling up our on stage appearances accordingly. What are the thoughts on either sending money earned back here or to the downtrodden. Unless we find our I'm assuming great-great-great-great-great-great grandchildren in financial trouble. Don't see much need for a skeleton to have money except for upkeep of instruments or necessary tools.
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dumping a few skelebros before banana man returns
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>>35931
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>>35956
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>>35968
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>>35983
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>>36001
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>>36017
I really like this one.
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>>36038
and to finish it up I present to you a completely unrelated undead!
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Our TRUE nemesis: the jock lich.
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>>36121
God just look at that glistening bone structure.
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>>36121
Look at his bulge.
Couldn't we be friendly rivals or buddies?
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>>36159
Because they were born on the opposite sides of the tracks of course.
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>>35008

You recall Cassandra mentioning how she had reprogrammed some of your clattering crew to do more than just scrape away at the walls for hours on end. A useful skill to have, no doubt, but truth be told, you’d never had much experience with golems in your previous life. You’d really only known the basic concepts that any mage could tell you, that a golem contained an animus, a sort of artificial soul that could be molded like clay to suit the user’s desires.

The actual logistics of carrying that out, though, was anything but simple. How to maintain soul permanence and imbue rudimentary intelligence for long term orders, how to structure internalized magical matrices and rune circles for more complex situations where judgement would be required: it was no secret as to why golem-mancers were among the rarest of formal practitioners of magic. However, in this case, you aren’t “building” a golem. You are simply “imprinting” orders on one.

Unfortunately, the book tells you less than you would like to know, pointing to the head as the source of the animus flow, showing networked diagrams for the flow of mana that keeps the golems somewhat alive and kicking, but otherwise assuming that the user should have the basic idea of soul imprinting down. So, you reach through the fog of memory, trying to scrape up anything from the rolling blackouts that had seen you through so many lectures.

--

Brilliant beams of sunlight break through the window on a lovely spring day, far too nice of a day to be inside some might say. But you were not “some”, and you had a match to win. You weren’t going to let Roderick von Torneck’s head get too big after he’d beaten you the last two times. So today, the board was set, your mind was clear, two dozen tiny figurines of semi-precious metals lying to either side of the table as the hour glass ran down.

3… 2… 1…

And suddenly there was a blaze of motion, your mind and your competitors lashing out to control your miniature armies, urging them on into battle. Your lancers, brave and bold, clashed with his peasants in a battle for the ages, even as his knights came crashing into your sorcerer’s flanks. It was so intense that he couldn’t have noticed that your own peasants had acquitted the field entirely, not until the stout soldiers sent his chair careening to the floor.
>>
>>36242

Wizard board games, so that’s what you had been trying to remember, though how much of this was actually applicable in the present case is yet to be determined. At the very least, it couldn’t hurt to find a volunteer first. Willing would be a tricky argument to settle, so you instead settle for the first skeleton you spy walking down the hall. Like a cat on a mouse, you lash out with your will, driving your desires into the fabric of its soul. The result:

*Tappa-Tappa-Tappa* *Tappa-Tappa-Tappa*

Blank and slack jawed, your puppet rattles out a gentle rhythm as he dances in place, ending in a pirouette with a flourish. Curiosity now peaked, you snare another one…

--

Some hours later, you’ve managed to get five skeletons dancing in time, parsing out a classical musical number, though you can’t help but feel a certain lack of… spirit to their movements. In any case, that seems like something you’ll have to settle on another day. As you hear the lizards begin to stir toward the front of the cave, you realize you likely have other matters to attend to.

> What do you do?
>>
>>35931

Skeletons are always appreciated. Sorry for the delay.

>>35299
Also, you've got the gist of it. Golems can have their body compositions changed to better suit their tasks.
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>>36259
Have the skellies throw together a shitty palanquin and cart us in there, post haste
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>>36259
Gather up our new skeleton crew to gather vegetables and fruits in the garden to make everyone breakfast. If we can;t enjoy food we can make it so that others do at least. Start discussing what the lady of the keep will need for the forseeable future since she is bedridden.
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>>36259
Let's go to the lizards and see what we can help with.
>>
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>>36259

For a moment, you consider making a grand entrance, riding on the shoulders of your recently acquired skeletal brethren. However, there seems to be a lack of wood or cloth to make for a proper palanquin, and riding on another person’s actual shoulders just doesn’t strike your fancy. So instead, you make your way along quietly, well as quietly as a clattering sack of bones can with five others following behind him. It’s no surprise you get odd looks when you round the corner.

“Good morning, gentlemen!” you enthusiastically greet. “So, what’s on today’s agenda?”

“Hunting,” Galblassa grunts, tightening his axe belt and double checking his bow.

“And foraging,” Yesh chimes in, hitching a bag to his waist.

“You gonna join us?”

> Go with them?
> [] Yes
> [] No
> Bring skeletons?
>>
>>36629
>[] Yes
>Bring Skeletons: No
>>
>>36629
> [] Yes
> Bring skeletons?

Maybe? Do we have any knowledge of setting traps? If nothing else they would be amazing ambush hunters to get small game.
>>
>>36629
>> [] Yes
> Bring skeletons?
>>
>>36655

You are not a master trap maker, unfortunately. As for the skeletons, they rattle a bit as they move.
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>>36717
Welp then they can help forage at least. Maybe we'll get lucky and a deer will have a heart attack when we enter a clearing.
>>
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>>36629

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you say. “And I can even bring along a few of my fellows here to help with the foraging.”

“I noticed boar tracks on the way in,” Galblassa explains, wasting no time as he moves out into the morning sun. “If we can bring that in, she won’t have to worry about meat for a bit. Pelt’s also probably worth something.”

“Well then, lead the way.”

So off you go on a merry romp through the forest, two lizard men and six skeletons strolling casually through the majesty of nature, with occasional stops to gather roots, berries, herbs, and other things along the way. It’s after about an hour that even you can catch signs of the prints of something massive, hoof prints large enough to fit your skull in dotting the landscape.

“There,” Galblassa grunts, pointing off in the distance, and after a moment of squinting through the trees at what you thought was a hillock, you really see it, a pig twice the size of the bear you saw yesterday.

“Are you sure about this,” you question.

“We’re gonna need a plan, but yeah,” he fires back, voice calm as he sizes up his soon-to be opponent.

> Propose a game plan. Better plan equals better dice.
>>
>>36905
See about arming the other skeletons. Grab some sturdy Branches or logs and see about giving them an edge perhaps? One of the lizards have to have knives or decently sharpened claws. Set them up in the tree line and then enrage the boar into them by using a few of the other skeletons as bait. Something that big won't run away and boar are arses. Then the lizardmen can drop on it's back from up in the trees.
>>
>>36905
See if we can find a natural pit or drop.
If not, we can maybe have the skeletons dig one.

Then what we'll do is have the fastest of us (probably us) taunt the boar into chasing us, and we lead it to the pit.

The two lizards are up in the trees.
One of them has a rope, which the other end is in the pit.
We grab the rope, the lizard drops down, and thereby pulling us out of the pit while the boar falls and is trapped.
Then we all stab the board from the safety of the pit's edge.
>>
>>36972

The skeletons each possess a weapon, two with spears and two with swords. Galblassa uses an axe and bow. You've yet to see Yesh produce a weapon, but he carries a staff.
>>
>>37012
In lieu of no pits do you think that the spear line would be decent. Brace them in some solid ground and lead the boar into it. Perhaps use illusion magic to hide the pit or makeshift spears. We can even conjure up an image of an even larger predator. I don't know if we could make it have sounds as well though.
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>>37074
The problem with the spear line is that given the size and sheer mass of the boar, I don't think that we have enough or strong enough spears to handle it.
It's bigger than the demon bear, after all.
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>>37012

There are no natural pits that you can find nearby. There are, however, trees.
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>>37118
Then perhaps we can hobble it with the weapons. If the beast is sleeping right now it would be a good idea to strike its joints before running back to the forest.
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>>37152
The boar sounds really stinking big so it probably has some pretty large eyes. Maybe Galblassa can focus on blinding it while we work to hobble it?
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>>37141
Maybe ask Galbassa or Yesh if any of the plants around here can work as makeshift rope and work on setting up a ensnaring area so that it trips up from chasing one of us?
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>>37141
We could run around while the Lizards try to blind and hobble the boar from the trees, while we taunt it and get it to charge into a tree to daze it, for the skeletons to try to hobble it.
>>
Welp seems The only plan is the one I've rambled on about. See about sharpening some logs and brace them into the tree line, illusion them to hide them better. Have Galblassa hopefully blind the boar. Use the skeletons to harry and hopefully cripple the beast. Perhaps we can use our magic to enrage the boar? Hope the sudden case of splinters end it's existence.
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>>36905

“Alright,” you begin, after taking a moment to exercise your creativity. “I’m thinking something to the effect of this: Galblassa and Yesh, you climb the nearest tree. I and my associates will act as bait and attempt to lure the creature out, crippling it however we can before dropping it right underneath you. At that point, try to get the drop on it, literally before the post-battle turns into a game of pick-up sticks.”

*Rattle-Rattle*

“Right… Guess that’ll work,” Galblassa agrees.

“I can disguise two of your skeletal soldiers with the underbrush,” Yesh adds. “They can strike from behind as we strike from above.”

“Well then, let’s make porkchops, shall we?”

> Roll 5d100
> First two represent attempts to do damage. Last three represent attempts to dodge.
>>
Rolled 4, 73, 88, 20, 75 = 260 (5d100)

>>37295
>>
Rolled 47, 70, 100, 28, 2 = 247 (5d100)

>>37295
>>
Rolled 71, 53, 21, 85, 19 = 249 (5d100)

>>37295
please be awesome.
>>
71,73,100,85,75

Bretty gud If I do say so myself.
>>
>>37295

> 71,73,100,85,75

With all settled, the plan is enacted. Two of your soldiers are left behind, hidden in the brush, while the other two follow you to the wooly mountain lying in the distance. Galblassa and Yesh are nowhere to be seen now, hidden safely in the tree tops, waiting for their time to strike. Now all you have to do is piss off multiple thousand pounds of muscle and manage to survive.

The world seems to grow hushed as you approach, every stride bringing you closer to the slumbering beast and making his breathing that much louder. It’s a sound more terrifying than most animal’s roars, its heavy bass filling you with anxiety. Still, you were never a quitter.

Instead you move to the rhythm of his snores, letting those loud snorts disguise you and your allies’ approach, step by step using that natural tempo to inch closer to your prey. Perhaps it’s that you carry no particular scent, perhaps it’s simply blind luck, whatever the case you draw close with nary a sign you’ve been discovered. Now to do something incredibly stupid.

“CHARGE!” you shout to your skeletal minions, jumping forward and bringing your sword to bear with all your might, slashing down on your opponent’s undefended leg with abandon. You feel the vibration as that first strike clatters on something like armor beneath the fur, but don’t let it stop you as you stab in again and again, until you hit a soft spot.

And by then, your target it up, a horrible hissing squeal of hatred thundering out through the clearing as it rouses itself from slumber, a noise that almost held you fixed to the spot as that head swung around and blasted one of your companions into bits.

“Well, seems I have your attention,” you say to the boar as you begin pedaling backward. “Now for the second part of my brilliant plan: run!”

With a rattling laugh, you and the other skeleton take off at full blast, hearing the thunder of hooves behind you growing ever faster. You weren’t going to make it to the tree, you realize, not before the lumbering behemoth trampled both of you down. Fortunately, that’s where your remaining two soldiers cut in.
>>
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>>37636

Running through a pair of suspiciously placed shrubs, a split second later you hear another hellish squeal telling you your soldiers had struck home. The horrid sound of snapping that follows is less than reassuring, but you can’t pay it any mind as you finally reach the base of the tree.

“Hey, you slavering swine!” you yell, raising your weapon high. “Come and get it!”

Beady black eyes, so small compared to that massive form, narrow at you as the beast resumes its charge, leaving your one remaining spearmen with a broken pelvis sprawled on the ground as he rounds his bulk to face you. Then, it’s a sound like rolling thunder, like death itself riding toward you on swift hooves as he reaches a full charge. You could swear you hear your teeth rattling and your heart thundering in your ears. However, the swine was never destined to reach you.

“Blood for the blood god!” roars Galblassa, as he comes storming down from on high, axe connecting with neck in a spray of crimson. “Gyold shall have his due!”

Yesh gives no such entry speech, no indication that he is even there, but all the same, a storm of phantoms quickly descends after, burning blue against the dark forest floor as they dive down on the boar from all sides, stabbing and raking.

Still, such a beast does not die easy and does not forgive. With a twist of its and another roar, it sends Galblassa rolling off and scatters a few of the phantoms, once more turning its hateful eyes on you.

> What do you do?
> [] Attack (3d100)
> [] Flee (3d100)
> [] Distract him (3d100)
> [] Other
>>
>>37646
>[] Other
Climb up a tree and continue to taunt him.
>>
Rolled 44, 22, 92 = 158 (3d100)

>>37646
>[X] Distract him (3d100)
>>
>>37646
>> [] Distract him (3d100)
"whats that over there!"
But seriously illusion up some other skeletons near us? also
>“Blood for the blood god!” roars Galblassa

you cheeky git.
>>
Rolled 28, 1, 65 = 94 (3d100)

>>37694
crap forgot roll
>>
>>37704
...oh
>>
Rolled 80, 95, 3 = 178 (3d100)

>>37675
>>
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>>37646

“That’s right!” you shout. “You putrid potbelly. Come get some!”

With another squeal of rage now mixed with agony, the boar doesn’t charge, but lunges at you, his impossibly massive frame launching through the air, taking a chunk out of the tree as you barely manage to dodge to the side.

“That’s right, you cheeky gi-“

Unfortunately, you are not so lucky on the backswing, as you go tumbling end over end through space, pain exploding through your rib cage and arm as the sound of snapping bone mixes with the thud of your body hitting dirt.

“That’s right…” you mumble, head spinning as you feel the earth shake. “Who’s yer daddy…?”
--

For a time, there is darkness, nothing but darkness. That is until you feel a finger go into your eye socket and begin clawing out the mud.

“Acck,” you cough, trying to rid the dirt from your lower jaw.

“Pretty lucky yer already dead,” Galblassa comments idly as he continues to rub the dirt away. “Else that probably woulda killed ya.”

“No kidding,” you say. “That’s why it always pays to have friends around. You know, somebody to lend you a hand when you find yourself short.”

*Rattle-Ratt-*

Oh god. It hurts to laugh, the vibrations echoing up and down your shattered rib cage like knives in your very soul. At least one of your arms is still in good condition. The other, well, you’ll have to find it first.

Still, the boar is dead and you are alive… sort of. You’re chalking this up as a net win, anyway. Now for your next move.

> What to do:
> [] Find your missing arm
> [] Begin repairing the rest of you
> [] Inspect the boar
> [] Other
>>
>>37933
>[] Find your missing arm
>>
>>37933
>> [] Begin repairing the rest of you
first the repairs so we don't look utterly horrifying. Then the search for the other arm. I swear if it's getting gnawed on by a wolf though.
>>
>>37933
>X]Begin repairing the rest of you
>>
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>>37933

“Pardon, Galblassa,” you say, “but would you be so kind as to lend an old man a hand, or find his old one at any rate. Bits of rib and tybia would also be appreciated!”

*Rattle-Ra-*

“Gah!”

You spend the next hour slowly mending your person, sealing cracks and breaks, occasionally fusing back on pieces that Galblassa brings you, though you can’t truly say what is yours or another poor soul’s. Eventually, however, you being looking much like your old self again, just in time for Yesh to come walking up with your left arm in hand.

“Here,” he says, but you pause.

You had been so eager to get your hand back, you had been mentally gripping it in anticipation, and as you look on curiously, the hand is already doing that on its own, skeletal fingers flexing weakly, then more strongly as you concentrate. Finger symbols, a wave, you don’t get to test much more before Yesh forces you to take your hand back.

“Spoil sport,” you bitterly murmur, popping the arm back into place with a satisfying snap.

> Now what to do:
> [] Tend to the other skeletons
> [] Tend to the boar
> [] Other
>>
>>38106
>[] Tend to the other skeletons
Bros before Boars.
>>
>>38106
>> [] Tend to the boar
Just imagine the skeleton the boar has. Mount Get?
>>
>>38106
>[X] Tend to the other skeletons
>>38146
Do we know necromancy?
>>
>>38153
nope, But a certain book has a tendency of animation.
>>
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>>38106

For a brief moment, your eye catches sight of the corpse in front of you, cleaved and cut, butchered straight down to the bone, a grizzly sight, but the bone itself gets you thinking. Isn’t it just another skeleton, in the end?

Anyway, there will be other times to think over such things. For now, you should tend to the fallen, the ones still twitching in various pieces across the field, to be specific. For some, it’s an easy fix. A fractured pelvis here, a few broken ribs and missing arms there. For the others, however, you will probably need far more time. So instead of trying to dress them in the field, you simply scoop them up in one of Yesh’s sacks and hand it off to the other skeletons. In time, perhaps they will rise again.

“We gotta get this back,” Galblassa notes, looking to the skies. “Smells like rain.”

Of course, that represents its own special difficulties in the end, ones that end up being solved by stringent application of pseudo-undead workforce, your skeletal allies and Yesh’s spirits struggling to tug it by its legs back from whence you came. It’s slow going to be sure, but few things seem willing to contend with you for your kill. So it is, that come the afternoon, you are once again in that familiar graveyard, with meat and herbs to show for your efforts.

> What to do?
> [] Check on the mother and daughter
> [] Begin cutting up the boar
> [] Other
>>
>>38106
>>> [] Tend to the boar

Let's see what we got.
>>
>>38249
>[] Begin cutting up the boar
>>
>>38249
>> [] Check on the mother and daughter
>>
>>38249
> [X] Begin cutting up the boar
Bring a little snack for the Mother and girl later.
>>
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>>38249
> [] Other
Is it possible to just really quickly tell them we went hunting and got some decent amount of meat? Then head back to cutting the boar.

Also I can't NOT post a picutre, chat box automatically has the last one I used in it on some of my posts for some reason.
>>
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>>38249

Meat, that was the whole purpose for which this journey was just undertaken, and so now, it only makes sense to get to the bloody work, not that you know much about butchering animals.

“Yesh,” Galblassa pipes up. “If it’s all the same to you, check in on Cassandra and the little one. Lee and I oughta be able to get this butchered and ready for storage soon.”

“Of course. We would do well to ensure she doesn’t suffer a repeat infection, after all.”

Without another word, the little lizard is off, leaving just you and the much larger man.

“Alright,” he says with a sigh, “Now have you done this sort of stuff before?”

“I’m always happy to learn,” you answer. “Besides, I have a few extra hands with my compatriots here.”

“Alright then. I’ll just need you to watch and listen, then. It ain’t that hard…”

Galblassa begins slowly and walks you through the process methodically, from the incisions to pull the organs, to the procedure to pull back the skin, of how to cut with the grain of the meat to make the job easier. If you ignore the blood dying your bones, it’s a pretty delightful way to spend the afternoon, that is until Yesh comes wandering out of the front door.

“I do not mean to alarm anyone, but it seems Ceselia is not in the tower nor on the rooftop garden.”

> What to do?
> Panic
> Panic!
> PANIC!
>>
>>38398
>PANIC!
>>
>>38398
> PANIC!
Man the stations! alert the press! Sound the alarms! Someone grab the bloodhounds!
>>
>>38398
>Panic
>>
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>>38398

“Well, that’s not good…” you say, not quite sure if the gravity of that statement has really hit home yet.

Next thing you know, your bones are rattling, bloody hands flailing like windmills as you run up and down the corridors of the dungeon, looking for something, anything that could tell you were she’s gone. But there’s nothing, just skeletons and empty alcoves, a surprise garden overflowing with every sort of life except the one specific one you are looking for.

“Cici!” you shout from the rooftops. “Cici! Where are you!?”

Of course, there isn’t an answer, just the whistle of the wind through your eye sockets as you run back down to Galblossa and Yesh.

“Okay,” you say, trying to take a deep breath and failing miserably without lungs. “We need to find her, now.”

> The question is how?
> [] Look for tracks
> [] Skeleton army, go!
> [] Just wait
> [] Other
>>
>>38584
>[] Look for tracks
>>
>>38584
>>[] Look for tracks
>>
>>38584
>[X] Look for tracks
>>
>>38584
>> [] Look for tracks
"I spy with my little eye...wait a sec...that doesn't sound right"
>>
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>>38584

“Tracks!” you realize.

Just like the boar she’d have to have left some. So with Galblassa’s help, you get looking, the tremendous lizard moving with surprising quickness as he traces the doorsteps outward, eventually breaking off toward the nearest treeline.

“This way,” he says, and off you go into the forest, leaping over roots, ducking under branches, with anything too troublesome meeting the business end of Galblossa’s axe before you proceeded.

Through thickets and open fields, down small pathways and over dense underbrush, you eventually come to a clearing that does anything but settle your nerves. Claw marks and bite marks, broken logs and uprooted saplings, scorches in some places where an unnatural heat had cooked the earth. It was the work of a bear, no mistake in the tracks, one tremendous and terrifying, but thankfully, as you sprint after the smaller tracks through the chaos, their paths eventually diverge.

It’s back to tracking from there, past deer thickets and mushroom patches, past a stream and a couple of hills. You breathe a sigh of relief when Galblassa points out you’re now heading back in the direction of the dungeon. Still, the road is long and winding as you march on, a triggered bear trap and an untriggered net doing little to calm your nerves.

Still, finally, as the woods begin to grow thin, you spy her, a pale thing with bronze curls flitting among the underbrush, something large held to her chest as she awkwardly struggles her way along.

“Cici!” you and Galblassa call out, and as though struck she stops, turning back around.

“Cici!” you call out again, now hurdling over bramble and overgrowth to get to her. “Dear lord, you had us all worried to death!”

“I’m sssorry…” the small girl whispers tearfully, eyes cast down to the ground as you draw close. Her simple dress is in tatters now, knees scraped and muddied with one of her shoes missing. It’s at that point you finally notice the nature of her package, a large, fluffy brown rabbit resting in her arms, very much alive and seemingly perplexed by his current situation. “It’sss jussst… M-Mama needsss food to get better. Ssso I wanted to help…”

> What do you say?
>>
>>38782
"I know you wanted to help, but you should have told us first. We were very worried, and from the looks of things, were right to be worried.
"Your mother would have me turned into piano keys if something were to happen to you. Now come along, we need to get you cleaned up before your mother wakes up."
>>
>>38782
"Oh, you sweet, dear-hearted girl. While we QUITE understand your concerns, we're quite capable of handling the situation. Why just now we were preparing some meat for that very reason! On the other hand, we were VERY worried when you went missing. It's quite commendable to want to help, but in the future, PLEASE inform someone of your intentions before you vanish, hm? That was quite the risk you took, and I'd rather not have you looking like me over an unneeded hunt, eh?"

Hug the sweet snake child (or pat on the head, either works) and let's get back. As for the rabbit, she can let that go. Or keep it as a pet maybe, whatevs.
>>
>>38782
>> What do you say?
Oh Cici, it's dangerous out here. What would you think your mother would feel like if you got hurt out here? If you really really want to help your mom you need to make sure one of us know so we can help you to!"

"and besides, we just got down hunting a boar that had a bone to pick with us so you won't have to worry about food for a looonnngggg time"
>>
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>>38782

“Oh, you sweet, dear-hearted little girl,” you say, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder and taking a knee. “I understand you wanted to help, but the world is a dangerous place to go wandering off all on your own. Why, your mother would have turned me into piano keys and your uncle here into a large leather handbag had anything happened to you, which it very well almost did from the looks of things.”

She sniffles quietly as you run a hand through her serpentine locks.

“I’m not angry,” you assure her. “Just be sure to tell people before you run off like that in the future. Wouldn’t want you to wind up looking like me, now would we?” You get a quick, emphatic shake of her head. “Then come now, let’s go home. We’ve plenty of food waiting for us there, not to mention your mother. Now as for that rabbit…”

“C-Can I keep him…?” comes the quiet request, almost too faint to be heard.

“That will be for your mother to decide… after she hears about this little adventure.”

You can see the shiver run down her tiny body as she soaks that thought in, or perhaps it’s just the chill evening air blowing through the holes in her dress. Whatever the truth may be, she never ceases clasping the rabbit tightly for a moment as you lead her back home through the twilight, even when you have to scoop her up and carry her in your arms.

“I’m sssorry, Mr. Bonesss…” she whispers into the twilight.

“Never fear, my little adventurer,” you whisper back. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
>>
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>>38959

And I think that's where we'll end it for tonight folks. Sorry to run a little late. Anyway, the plan will be to run next week, same bat, same bat channel, and maybe a little earlier if I can manage it. Until then, take care.
>>
>>38966
Thank you for running.
>>
>>38966
Thanks for running dude. Actually enjoyed the deliberating before battle to make it easier or harder. I'm guessing we probably missed a extra die by not talking about using Yesh's spirit summoning.
>>
>>38966
Thanks for running.
>>
>>38985

You did fine, anon. Not to mention, there'll be plenty of opportunities in the future.
>>
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>>38966

Anyway, looks like suptg has gone a little wacky trying to deal with /qst/. Here's the direct link to the thread in the new archive.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=RE%3A+Animated

Until next time.
>>
>>39115
omigod that's adorable



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