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You are Irue Valen, blood heir to House Valen and currently the mayor of the (ruined) town of Carona. Reconstruction is continuing smoothly, and you expect to have a windfall of liquid resources falling into your hands just as soon as Kara finishes getting her pack together to go dig it up. This was particularly important, as you had just gotten finished rejecting various offers from the Shrine for additional aid in the reconstruction! On one hand this kept you as independent as you could feasibly be in the situation... On the other, you didn't actually have money of your own to throw around, and reconstruction did not come without a price.

...Though that could be said for everything in your life, these days.

Every decision you had made came with a price, and you had been obligated to pay it whether you had the ability to do so or not. The reward had been well worth it in some cases, and you count the slowly progressing relationship with your Testament and knights as some of the few things you unreservedly feel were worth your every effort. In other cases however...

You adjust the bracelet on your wrist, catching the reflection of your crimson eyes in the dull gleam of its dual rings.

paper before you slides away; A report from one of your knights of the current progress. It had been a day since you returned to Carona, and though you had been immediately presented with a small variety of tasks that needed your personal attention, the reason for your initial trip was still weighing heavily on your mind. Your goal to get Ari back from the wood golems remained as steady as ever, even as your understanding of what exactly was going on continued to slip further and further away.

What were the wood golems? What kind of connection did they have with the Fae, and why Ari? If they had been back there all this time, what had spurred them to only make an appearance recently?

And now, before you could strike an expedition back into the Fae Forest to try and reclaim Ari a second time, you would first need to handle taking back your own house from the unnerving wooden dolls that seemed so content to wear your face.

You had things to do, and every day you spent in Carona was another that Ari was left to the whims of whatever had taken her.

>Assemble a team to prepare to extract Ari.
>Go investigate your house.
>Issue an order regarding Carona (what?)
>Other? (write-in)
>>
Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Current Abilities - http://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoires - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE

Misc notes:QM Failed You Edition!.

So a lot of the Memoires are now complete, with only a few of the character biographies left to go.

In other news, the sun is also out hot and heavy today, so if I need to cut thread short then you can expect it to pick back up off and on through sunday and monday.

AND FINALLY!

I've been giving some thought to the common problems you guys seem to be having, and recently realized that I've been writing VQ for a year! While going through the memoires I realized the world is terrifyingly huge and I don't remember when it got this way, so when the content begins to intimidate the QM it's time for a change.

As such, I'm going to be implementing a Memo system for a bit, just to see how it fares. The concept is pretty simple, but I'm also open to suggestions as to how to improve it.

You have 3 slots on a "Memo". At any time during the quest, you can ask for me to record something in one of those slots - Be it information you found interesting, or a goal you're interested in but may forget later.

I'll keep these memos around and remember them for you, until you overwrite them with something else. They will be posted at the start of each new thread, as a reminder for all 3 of you to look over at a moment's notice.

Sound good? Here's your empty slots:

1.
2.
3.
>>
>>470612
>>Go investigate your house.
>>
>>470612
>>Other? (write-in)
Discuss happenings with Rinnier first before we decide to up and leave again. Particularly Priat's decision regarding her people.

And then, if nothing else comes up, leaning towards
>Go investigate your house.
Since the wood golems could be a problem if we try to rescue Ari right away.
>>
>>470816
Seconding!

Also, afternoon Riz! I hope the sun doesn't get you too badly today.
>>
>>470738
>>470816
>>470819
We want our house back.

>>470816
>>470819
But first, a talk with Rinnier.

Writing!

>>470819
Thanks! Welcome back, and I hope you guys get some enjoyment out of the memoires.
>>
While I'm thinking about it, here's a list of potential write ups. As usual, you can only get one of them.

1. The Bridges We Burn
2. Brick by Brick
3. Friends Forever.

I'll tally up votes... At some point. Either at the end of today, or the end of monday, depending on when the thread is closed.
>>
>>470816
I know voting is past, but I want to add my 2 cents anyway. Backing the write-in, but if we don't peaceably remove the golems from the property, someone is going to have to guard the house when we move to get Ari back.
>>
>>470973
We don't actually have to return ari to the house. We can take her straight to Carona and leave the golems hanging dry

.>>470612
Hi Riz. Have a piece of shitty fanart.
>>
While your first reaction was to simply march into the Fae Forest and retrieve your Testament, you couldn't exactly do that without going directly past your recently abandoned house. The situation there was a currently a conspicuously blank spot in your plans, as for all you knew it could have been overtaken by the wood golems entirely.

You're not sure why they would try to take control of your house. If you knew more about why they were doing this in the first place then maybe you could formulate an answer, but until then... It would probably be easier to treat them as if they had a tactical reasoning for it, which meant that retaking the lost ground swiftly would be in your best interests.

Besides, it was your bloody house. It's where you lived!

If you were going to go about retaking it, then you'd also need to keep in mind how you were planning to hold said ground... Assuming that the wooden golems couldn't be convinced to just relinquish it willingly. You'd need to figure out-

"Did you finish dealing with those things yesterday?"

You chin jerks up as a mutter interrupts your train of thought, its owner standing in front of the uncomfortable desk you had commandeered. Your conversation with Rinnier yesterday hadn't gone nearly as well as you would have liked, and you couldn't stop the slight frown that slipped your control when you glanced at the frayed tips of her bangs. "It's been handled." You finally answer, "I rejected the Luna Adept's proposals, and had a talk with the Salamander representative."

She blinked tiredly, one hand rubbing at her eyes as her mouth parted in confusion. "You rejected their proposal? Why?"

"I'm not comfortable indebting-"
"Does anyone look comfortable to you?!"

The desk shook as her hands slammed down upon it, a heat in her voice that felt milder than you recall it. "The town is in ruins, do you have any idea how many people don't even proper homes right now, and you're worried about being comfortable?"

"Rin-"

"When people are relying on you, you have to do things you're not comfortable doing, Irue! It's your responsibility to them, it's what they look to you for!"

"Rinnier it's handled-"

"How?! I've seen the ledgers, I made the ledgers, how are you saying anything is handled? Where are you getting the resources? The work force? The materials? How are you paying the workers?"
>>
You press your lips together, waiting for her frantic words to crawl to a halt. Arguments like this were expectedly par for the course when it came to talking to Rinnier about managing things, and if she had been in better condition then it may have been enough to rouse a heated reaction of your own in turn... As it stood however, you could see the way that just getting angry was starting to sap her reserves. You don't know how long she'd gone without a full night's rest, but it was clear to see that anything more than light physical activities would quickly take their toll on her.

"Dullem and the rest of my knights aren't just brigands, they were all villagers before being dispossessed." You begin calmly as you established proper eye contact. "They've more than enough expertise among them to help in reconstructing Carona, and they had already started to do so of their own accord. Yes-" You raise your voice slightly to forestall her response, "-It will take longer this way, i am aware. However, it gives the knights a chance to make a place for themselves in Carona, and for the citizens here to get used to us."

"...There's only so much a handful of knights can do." She sighed, eyes drooping down as her head shook lightly. "And what about paying them? They won't work for free, either."

"I've left that for Kara to handle." You answer carefully, watching as the gears in your fiery haired Testament's head began to groan back into motion. "When I said the citizens needed to get used to us, I meant all of us." You confirm preemptively, "When it comes to physical labor, there aren't many who can compete with demihumans... And that's not even mentioning Kara herself. They're going to be splitting up under Dullem's supervision to help reconstruction."

Rinnier drew in a breath, and for a moment you waited for some kind of rebuttal - A familiar, scathing retort - Only for her to hang her head. "And the funds?" murmured flatly.

"Probably already dug up and in route." You gave her an answer specifically to bait a request for clarification... Only to come up empty as she tiredly muttered an her understanding and turned away.

"I thought you should know, the Salamander representative was from Teranford." You called after her, moving to stand. "The offer for aid was a cover, to tell me that he was leaving to look for your people."

"I see." She answered flatly, pausing with her back to you.

"We made an agreement to share anything we learned in regards to your people, so with any luck..." You trailed off, "Rinnier, are you okay?"

"Just tired." She answered after a moment, shaking her head wearily as if to ward away her doldrums. When she turned back to you, the smile you saw afixed to her face was born of what dregs of genuine appreciation that could be raked up from beyond her exhaustion. "I'll... Keep things running while you're gone, as usual."
>>
You nodded as belatedly as she left, subsequently leaving you to your own thoughts as the door clicked shut behind her.

...There was nothing you could do for Rinnier right now. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but you understood full well that your chance for that had passed. For now, all you could do was focus on getting Ari back and the wood golems dealt with.

Hopefully that would help.

To that end though, you still needed to decide how to handle investigating your house.

Dullem and his knights were indispensable to Carona right now, and you had just assigned Kara and her pack to the reconstruction effort. Rinnier was in no condition to come with you, and even if she was, you needed her here to handle Carona's overhead. Asche would doubtlessly be willing to go, but that would mean putting more of a load back on Rinnier.

...You really were pouring your resources fully into Carona. Having rejected the Shrine's aid, you were stretched pretty thin.

>Go to the house yourself
>Entreat the Shrine for help (Who?)
>Other? (Write-in)
>>
>>471318
I love it! Irue's choker is very cute, and the eyes are an adorable shade of red.

This alone makes the effort I put into the memoires feel completely worth it.
>>
>>471384
>>Entreat the Shrine for help (Who?)
Our only real options are Jinn and Gnome right? The rest are busy one way or another.

I vote Jinn, since Gnome probably wouldn't help us with what amounts to a personal affair.
>>
>>471384
>Entreat the Shrine for help.

Mim, in exchange for seeing this shit with her own eyes. There's a probability it's all new to her.
>>
>>471440
I actually hadn't considered Mim/Luna. That might be a better idea since our biggest problem isn't fighting them, it's not knowing what the fuck they are.

Tentatively changing my vote.
>>471432
>>
>>471384
Going by ourselves is right out. We lack any serious combat abilities, besides summoning giant forces of nature. Just yanking someone from the Shrine seems off, especially after we rejected their help with rebuilding. Not sure we have anyone else we can tap for help here.
>>
>>471440
>>471452
Mim!

>>471460
But anon, when has summoning forces of nature led you wrong?

Unfortunately this is where Irue stands currently. As of last thread, you've assigned all of your allies to doing things, which leaves just you.

If you can think of some one besides the Shrine who you would rather have with you, then you're welcome to suggest that! I'll wait about 10m or so then call it for Mim and start writing, if there's been no discussion about alternatives by then.
>>
>>471494
What about Priat? He hasn't left yet so there's nothing stopping him from going out on an adventure, surely? Marchovic may also be willing to go if he isn't too busy punching bears.
>>
>>471494
I wanted to propose to take Kara, but I don't know to what extent her pack is capable of functioning without her.
>>
>>471508
She'd be a great choice, but she's not just overseeing, but actually helping with reconstruction.
>>
>>471507
But of what use would Priat be in this situation?
>>
>>471507
Marchovic was busy with the crypt last I checked, but we could probably take him or another Shade adept.

I dunno, still think Luna's a good option though.
>>
>>471508
>>471515
I fear if she leaves now any budding leadership she has over her pack will be gone.

>>471516
He'd be about as much use as us, thus doubling our effectiveness!
>>
>>471507
Marchovic formed a squad of Shade Adepts at some point. They've dealt with the Oakenbear issue already, and last you heard they were having problems with a crypt near Carona.

Which is also your fault.

But you're welcome to ask him.

>>471508
You could pull Kara personally away if you'd like. Technically Dullem is in charge of overseeing the Demihumans.

Kara is just in charge of keeping them in line.

>>471507
>>471516
Priat has not left yet, and could be talked into this venture.

You'd be taking a Salamander Adept into a forest though, so be careful with that.
>>
>>471530
That's why I ultimately proposed Mim.

Though another option would be to find Jill and give her the adventure she wished for.

If she's alive.

If she'd even talk to us.
>>
>>471530
Alright sounds like Marchovic is getting really good at cleaning up our messes. This bodes well so ask him, Priat and Mim because why not.

How busy is Lium likely to be, just out of interest? I can't remember a single thing about him but he might be worth asking, just on the off chance.
>>
By the way.

Could the Oakenrue invasion be related to the pet tree Rinnier bought? The time more or less matches.
>>
>>471545
It's kinda funny how we just got done explaining that we were happy to let the town lick its wounds for longer than it had to if it meant not having indebted ourselves to Mim, then turn around and do exactly that for personal reasons.
>>
>>471590
I'd like to avoid indebting us to Mim, thath's why I proposed to enlist her help strictly in exchange for new info. Helping in Carona didn't provide for such an opportunity.
>>
>>471590
>"No, I don't want your help rebuilding the town, I don't want to owe you anything. By the way, can you come along and help me clear out my house?"
>>
>>471573
Lium is kept occupied from day to day, as he is the Wisp representative. Among other things, this means he's in charge of overseeing healers working in Carona, as well as sharing the burden of helping console the victims with Gnome's Dominion (and thus, Penelope)

At any rate, I'm seeing Marchovic as an option and some interest in Priat. Tempting Mim with new information will basically guarantee her trying to go, but I'll warn you now that Marchovic and Priat are mutually exclusive.

So, I'll start Writing for Mim and
>Marchovic
>Priat
>>
>>471605
>>Priat
second chance for info, no current assigned dutues.
>>
>>471605
>Priat
Even if he's useless, we can ask him questions on the way.
>>
>>471605
I really did want to take Priat and prod him about things but you did just warn us about taking a fire adept into forest sooo lets spend some time with
>Marchovic

Are they mutually exclusive due to some history, or is it because only so many can be absent at one time?
>>
>>471612
>>471633
I have a vote for our first memo slot.
>You'd be taking a Salamander Adept into a forest though, so be careful with that.
>>
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>>471642
Priat would go with you if you needed him to go, but as he mentioned when you spoke last, he tends to shirk responsibilities and not get involved when he feels like someone else (Marchovic) has things covered.

Similarly, Marchovic is always up for adventure! Especially if it involves getting to fight something weird, and he's been literally ecstatic since he got to form a vigilante group of Shade Adepts to go around kicking Shrine Sanctioned Assâ„¢... But he does have a lot of Shrine Sanctioned Asskickingâ„¢ to do these days, so if Priat was covering it then he does have other matters he needs to attend to more urgently.

>>471652
1. You'd be taking a Salamander Adept into a forest though, so be careful with that.
2.
3.

Anyway, writing.
>>
>>471669
M-muh magic batman

I hope we get to interact with him some other time, you make this guy sound like the perfect party member.
>>
Since I got busy and missed the chance to advocate it, for #2 in the memo, can we remember to take Magic Batman on adventures next time there's a chance.
>>
Ah! I just remembered I wanted to ask Rinnier to put some of our funds towards arming and outfitting our knights. Fuck.
>>
The more you thought about it, the less of an option you really seemed to have. With all of your personal allies occupied, the only options you actually had in checking out the state your house was in - and possibly reclaiming it - were to go yourself or ask the Shrine for help.

...The Shrine you had, literally the day before, finished rejecting the aid of because you didn't want to be indebted to them.

You hadn't expected Rinnier's lecture about having to do things you weren't comfortable with to come back to bite you in the ass this early, but it seemed like you going to have to grit your teeth and go back to ask them for help anyway. Unfortunately, unlike the aid they had offered in reconstructing Carona, what you were aiming for was little more than a personal issue. Perhaps if you tried, you could angle it in such a manner as to argue it was a preemptive measure in Carona's best interest, but you doubted the Shrine was in the habit of humouring stretches of logic.

Which meant you needed a different approach. There were specific people in the Shrine that you knew may be more receptive to a request like this than others.

Priat came to mind immediately. He had already agreed to work with you once, and while you did have reservations about his actual ability to help, you knew that he was planning to leave the position of Salamander representative soon regardless. If anyone in the Shrine, getting help from Priat was probably going to be the easiest and most debt-free course of action for you.

Obligatorily, you considered Marchovic. From the moment you had met him, you got the feeling that the two of you would get along famously, and you doubted the man would be able to turn down the opportunity to potentially start brawling with an entire forest... But the report you read over yesterday reminded you that he was still likely to be occupied dealing with the mausoleum in the graveyard nearby. Labyrinthine tunnels wound out beneath it, expanding far further than you believed any subterranean structure had a right to spread, and you vaguely recall having 'fixed' a flow of Mana down there. That had been a month ago, and it seems like its recovery had come along nicely!

Unfortunately, it also seemed like the Shade Mana that had manifested because of it was still offended that its domain had been used as a hotel slumber party for a bunch of mercenaries. Given that your current goal was to kick out a bunch of squatting trees from your house, you find it difficult not to empathize.

Among the remaining individuals you knew of in the Shrine, that narrowed your remaining choices down to..

"You... want to talk to Mim?"

You nod, and the Luna attendant looks at you in concern before leaving to retrieve the precocious little Luna Adept whose proposals you had turned down not long ago.
>>
You barely had time to wait before being called back to the same office you had met with Mim in once before, when you had been wearing a disguise via the Diary of Reflection. It had served its purpose in keeping your identity secret, but given the way she had acted back then, you wonder just how much of your deception had actually fooled her.

"Irue!" The Luna Adept in question nearly bound out of her chair when you entered, idly waving away the attendant who had led you back. Said attendant looked between you almost pityingly before taking her leave. "Change your mind already?" If the little Luna Adept was concerned about the way the attendant had been acting, she certainly didn't show it.

"No," you drawl flatly, "But I do have something you might be interested in."

"Ho? A new story?" A bright smile spread across her face, "I guess that means you'll wanna know something?"

"I actually wanted to know if you would come with me to check something out." Mim's excitement visibly stills as she blinks, "Do you know anything about wooden golems?"

And like that, you knew she was hooked.

Recruiting Priat afterwards was a simple matter.

"Irue, what brings you to-"
"Priat we're going on adventures!"
"Pardo- Wait, Mim, I cannot just leave-"
"Adventures!"

Made simpler by your companion, who didn't actually bother telling Priat the details of your expedition until after he had been harried into agreeing. Once on the road however, he seemed agreeable to it - Partly because he had technically taken it upon himself to keep Mim under control during his tenure in the Shrine. Given the agreement between the two of you, and his responsibilities regarding Mim, he saw little reason not to lend his aid.

It was only after Mim had taken to running back and forth as you travelled did you get a chance to talk privately.

"I've informed the other representatives of my intent to leave. Unofficially my duties in the Shrine are being redistributed... Though I won't officially be able to leave for another couple of days." The two of you watched the road as Mim plucked up a dandelion from the cool grassy hill, "I hadn't expected to hear from you again this soon... But perhaps this is convenient after all."

You hum curiously, affirming that he had your attention.

"Seeing as how I'm helping you with this, would you be willing to do me a favour in return?"

>Yes
>No
>Other? (Write-in)
>>
>>471750
1. You'd be taking a Salamander Adept into a forest though, so be careful with that.
2. Invite Marchovic on adventures next time there's a chance.
3.

>>471785
Your dug up funds have been funneled into Carona reconstruction, which you are now single handedly fueling the working force and material acquisition there of.

So once again you are broke.
Not that anyone would be making arms or armor with the current state of Carona. That would have to be imported from another town.
>>
>>471803
>depends on the favor, but generally yes. I do hope you understand I am rather busy though.
>>
>>471803
Of course we'd like him to explain first, but agreeing with
>depends on the favor
>>
>>471803
>Other? (Write-in)

Well we're not committing to anything unless he tells us what it is first but yeah we're probably willing to help him out.

Also ask the two of them if they know what's happened to Jill.

>>471815
Shit, I was hoping Rinnier wouldn't have to spend all of it. If only it was as easy to clean our messes up as it is to cause them.
>>
>>471803
>What you have in mind?
Also, this is rather nitpicky, but how does one drawl flatly?
>>
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>>471815
W-wait. There was an assortment of weapons buried in the rubble near where our chests of gold will be dug out, we found Rinnier's stupid staff amongst them.

Cool.
>>
>>471901
There is always that, yes! You could salvage them for your knights.

>>471859
>How does on drawl flatly
with liberal application of sarcasm.

>>471818
>>471836
>>471844
Sure, but what is it?

also apologies, but there appears to be a kitten related emergency or six inside of this cardboard box. I need to pause the thread for a bit to make some warm milk and get them to stop crying.
>>
Update: Kitten related emergency mostly defused. Looks like I'll be running thread in tandem with keeping them content though, so expect some delays.
>>
"Depends on what it might be." You hedge tentatively, "I'd like to think that after our previous agreement, helping each other out to an extent would be par for the course." Luna knows you could do with some more allies, having recently realized that it was going to be completely possible to have more things needing done around you than people to do them.

A far cry from when the most distressing thing you needed done was dinner.

"I will assume you aren't aware of the circumstances regarding Luna Adepts in the Shrine." He began, only for you to cut him off with a shake of your head. "...You are aware, then?"

"Since the split between Artemis and the Shrine, they've been kept under a watchful eye. To be honest, they have always been set slightly apart from the rest the Shrine, so it isn't unexpected that the schism brought the matter to a head." You rattled off the information easily, having read over the matter during your study of the Mana. You had been through so many situations where having studied history or warfare would have served you better, but in situations like these it was hard not to feel a little proud about the otherwise private knowledge you were privy to.

"...I did not think the nobles kept up with such things." Priat murmured appreciatively, "Until I became a representative of the Shrine, I myself wasn't fully aware of the history behind it. Still, this makes it easier - It's about Mim."

"Wouldn't it be better if someone else from the Shrine kept an eye on her?" He had always served as something close to a leash for the excitable little Luna Adept, one whose presence and absence in the room you had even felt through letters. Priat shook his head, "The others in the Shrine will watch her regardless... But after I leave, I doubt there will be many interested in paying attention to her."

You miss a step, stumbling lightly along the road as the conversation comes to a temporary halt until Mim's attention once more found a mark well away from the two of you.

"Mim is an incorrigible child, and her curious nature has made her a particularly affectionate suit for the Celestial Mana... But, ultimately she is still a child. The Shrine provides her a home, and by Luna's grace I wouldn't be surprised if she knew more than anyone else in Carona."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

"She needs more than a home and education." Priat nodded, "She would be the first to disagree, but I don't doubt that she will find herself in more and more mischief if left to her own devices."

>I'll look after her.
>If she disagrees, I respect her decision.
>Question? (what)
>>
>>472170
>>I'll look after her.
Dunno how often I'll be around though.
>>
>>472170
>>Question? (what)
What was her situation like before you became a representative? And what kind of "mischief"?

Let's just get Marchovic to babysit her.
>>
>>472200
sure!

>>472201
So what was it like before you came?

Writing.
>>
>>472201
shade + knowledge = water?
>>
"When you say mischief..." You weren't terribly keen on children in the first place, but the idea of one specifically beloved by Luna enough to have achieved Representative status before even being old enough to live on her own... "Mostly harmless things." Priat answered unconcernedly, "Stray words at the wrong time, doors to specific places being left unlocked. Childish pranks, except..."

"She's an Adept of Luna." You surmise, getting a vague idea of the kind of strife that had ensued after whatever 'coincidences' subsequently lined up as a result of her pranks. When your patron Mana's job was literally to know things, you tended to have certain advantages when it came to instinctively knowing the most (in)convenient things - A sentiment which had passed mere superstition when it was eventually confirmed that those who immersed themselves in Luna's embrace would eventually find their very perception of the world beginning to warp.

"Her pranks did little to endear her to the attendants." He agreed, "Pranks which she is still prone to pulling to this day... Assuming I have been too busy with my duties to spend time with her."

"Which is where I come in." You roll the thought around in your mind experimentally. "Unlike the last mayor, I can't say how often I'll actually be around Carona. Are you sure someone closer wouldn't be a better choice?"

"Perhaps." He allowed, "But she hasn't taken a liking to anyone closer."

...

You frown as you think back to your interactions with the precocious little Luna Adept.

"I'll try."
"That's all I can ask for."

The rest of your trip through the woods went uneventfully, even after Mim was called back to your side after you entered the woods themselves. If you had come expecting a fight, or an ambush, the peaceful stroll along the road to your house would have been a sorely disappointing event... Or lack there of.

All the same, you felt the ambient heat begin to rise as Priat's attention began to shift around between the rustling leaves. Mim had been humming an aimless tune to herself for the past several minutes, unconcerned with both the rising heat at her back and the potential of the woods around her coming to life. In fact, it had been the promise of exposing her to the wooden golems which you dangled in front of her that had so easily secured her company on this trip in the first place.

Finally your house had come into view, and with it the empty yard that you had left behind.

If there had been a number of wooden golems out here at one time, there certainly weren't any more. Or at least, none that you could see. The path to your front door was clear as far as you could see, though from a distance it looked as if your door had simply been left ajar.

>Settle in, wait for night.
>Circle the estate
>Make a direct run for the door
>Other? (write-in)
>>
>>472386
>>Circle the estate
>>
>>472386
>Circle the estate
>>
>>472269
Can we also add

> Why the interest in Mim? Just because she's a child, because she's a prodigy, or is there some sort of connection with Luna?

> What do you know about her anyways, what's her family like, where's she from, how an apparent prodigy ended up somewhere like Carona as opposed to being groomed within the temple?

> For that matter, why isn't there anyone else from Luna's sect watching over here, so that the duty ends up falling to a half-hearted priest of Salamander from another land with not much else to do in his apparent semi-retirement.

I mean, twofold. I'm suspicious he's grooming her to be a later contact within the shrine as part of his general spy/politico demeanor, or that he's protecting her because of a personal connection, or that he's doing both because of politics of some sort.

Seriously, it's kind of weird that someone so young and talented would get sent to Carona, where you would expect someone established and, well, capable sure but not exceptional to be. A young prodigy might come out to learn or prove themselves but doing that alone is odd. An older prodigy might come out to improve it or cover it temporarily. An established prodigy might be sent there to get them out of the way if they have disruptive views or as part of internal politics or they might choose to do so for personal reasons.

But it's just weird that she's here. And it's weird that Priat has taken exceptional interest in her, it's not like he's been big on interfering if it seems like people could handle themselves.
>>
>>472386
>>Other? (write-in)

Cast a web. Do it now while we have lots of time, then we can move within it and not only look to see if we can find anything but detect if anything moves around in response to us looking.
>>
>>472401
Hello, timewarp anon!
>>
>>472402
Seconding this.
>>
>>472386
>>Circle the estate
If it looks clear
>Make a direct run for the door
>>
>>472392
>>472399
Ciiiircling the estate.

>>472402
>>472418
After making use of our reliable and objectively superior senses gained A Spider's Web.
>>
>>472444
>>472402
changing to this. Apparently I'm blind.
>>
>>472405
What;'s up, it's been a while haha.

Hey, anyone remember that Luna took something from us when we were first traveling to see our Cousin about the Rite? I believe we had already gotten the Golem at that point, hopefully whatever she took from us isn't related to the Fae.

I wonder if now that we're the head of the Valen Household if there's some sort of ritual or pact that we're supposed to renew.

Guess I could try to trawl the archives.

Anyways, for any new players, I highly recommend trawling the archives both because it's a good story and because Riz actually makes the details pretty important in his quest and works WITH the narrative mechanics, as opposed to it being "choose your own adventure", and write-ins are always an option as far as I remember.

Also sorry in advance, I am on goooood painkillers.
>>
>>472447
Can we use the third memo slot for a reminder to ask Priat about Teranford and Rinnier?

>>472460
I always thought Riz was a girl
>>
"Priat, can you keep watch for a while?" Seeing the open space before you was an inviting opportunity for you to do some sleuthing... But what you were up against here wasn't other people, or even wild creatures, but wooden golems. They could blend into the forest itself, because when it came down to it, there really wasn't much difference between one of them and a tree. Just because the way looked clear, didn't mean it was...

...Your eyes were, after all, an inferior sense. Compared to the spools of thread that began to unfurl from your fingertips, what use did you have for eyes?

"I don't think anything is near by, but may I ask what you're planning to do?"

Abandon this limited and worthless point of view.
Embrace omniscience that came with your absolute territory.

"Get a better perspective." Words finally leave your lips, and with them your sight is already falling away into an infinite black; The transition period between disconnecting your senses from your body and your awareness weaving its way along the expanding web. When you see the world again, it's not because you've opened your eyes, but because you had finally returned your awareness to 'A Spider's Web'. Your threads laced themselves outward, expanding and enclosing in a pattern you were quickly becoming familiar with. You had done this how many times now? That the act of recreating the scope of your web almost seemed like second nature.

No, this was how it should be.
Why delegate something so complete to second nature?
It should be First.

You split a fraction of your attention towards Priat and Mim, locating both your own unnecessary body as well as the two of them as you committed their presence to memory. You could feel them speak, their feet scuff at the ground, and more importantly, you knew that there was nothing but nature in the surrounding trees.

A fact which was admittedly less useful to you than it seemed, considering nature was what you were being wary of, but it would have to do. At the very least, this perfect and infallible web would serve a dual purpose as a field of trip wires to alarm you of any sudden movements.

Given your company, the last thing you wanted was an ambush.

"The area is clear." You report slowly, stirring Priat back into motion. At some point he had stilled, even as Mim continued her short-leashed wandering investigations. It took you a second to realize that evening had already come, and night was swiftly approaching. How much time had you lost this time...? No, it didn't matter. You still had some time before the sun was out.
>>
"Can you see inside?"

You had prioritized the outside, given the amount of trees and blindspots surrounding you, but if given time you could expand your web to be woven within your own home. A home within a home, even - How quaint.

But that would require time, and time was something you so very easily lost track of within this precious web. There was only a couple of hours left before dark, was it worth it...?

>Weave till dark
>Have them move in.
>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.
>Other? (Write-in)
>>
>>472566
>>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.
Yeah no more using web for a bit, not until we get training.
>>
>>472566
>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.
Time's not something we have a lot of to waste, I feel.
>>
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>>472566
>>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.

>look in window
>pic related
>>
>>472563
The Web starts to scare me.

>>472566
>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.

That someone being us. And walk carefully to not disturb the potential tracks on the ground.

Also I have a question: how old is Mim? In the archives she's described as a "bookish woman", yet here she comes off a s a kid.
>>
>>472566
>>Send someone to check the windows; You can't see what your web can't touch.
Moderation in all things, I guess. We need to use our useless body eventually, can't be completely incapacitated.
>>
>>472566
>>Other? (Write-in)
Whew, I guess ShadowRue WAS the one who used the web a lot, we were more . . . the actual web, in a way as I recall.

I say we try to stabilize the web so we can move around inside the house while being aware of it, while someone goes up and checks the windows.

We have ShadowRues memory of stabilizing the web, hopefully that disconnects us a bit from it.
>>
>>472577
>How old is Mim?
I went back to make sure I hadn't messed something up. The initial description of a bookish woman is accurate, save for where it should have said 'young'.

Because the only typos I seem to make involve entire words being missing or doubled up on..

Sorry for the confusion; I'll set the record straight now and place Mim in the range of 13-14 years old - Though she's always been fairly childish. The only time I see her acting mature was during your first formal meeting, and then that facade subsequently deteriorated more and more with each visit, right up until she was actually being physically restrained during a meeting and screaming about words meaning things.

I'm kind of worried what else might have gotten buried over time, though. Maybe it's a good thing I'm filling out the character bios in the memoirs now.

>>472570
>>472574
>>472576
>>472577
>>472579
Let's go look in a window!

>>472586
After stabilizing the web.

Writing.
>>
>>472577
>>472607
...First impression had me thinking she was middle aged or even elderly, and it gradually got younger with her behavior, but never below like, 30.
>>
>>472614
I hope you realized Marchovic was a little over sixty.
No that's a lie, I'm sorry.
>>
Even though you could have spent the time to fill your house with your web, time was something you felt less and less comfortable spending freely. You needed to move still, and to do that, you would need to make use of your body again. Even if it was... Entirely inferior. You pulled your consciousness back from the web, strings of feelingless will attempting to reel a portion of yourself back into your body.

Why return? Surely you could puppet it from here.

A traitorous thought surfaced during your attempts, and though you felt like you should disagree with it... It made a good point. What was the purpose of even using your body directly? This web was all you needed, after all. It let you see, hear, feel the world in ways your body simply couldn't.

No. This was wrong. You needed to detach yourself from the web, and stabilize it first. You can't abandon it. Luckily you had some practice doing just that, and all it would take was the first step of splitting your focus between both web and web.

...
..
.

Your web was stable now. The threads were tightly woven, comfortably woven, and should hold just fine once you stepped back into your body.

You just... needed to step into your body.

>1d100 to let go of the web, best of 3.
>>
Rolled 49 (1d100)

>>472643
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>472643
>>
Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>472626
What do you mean my waifu is - Oh.

>>472643
>>
Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>472643
How troubling.
>>
>>472646
Oh dear.
>>472647
well that's-
>>472655
I read a quest where 1-10 was crit fail territory once. Isn't that horrifying?

Writing.
>>
>>472643
Is it just me or having to roll in Riz's quest is a BAD SIGN?
>>
>>472658
That's worse than rolling crits on a d20 without having to confirm.

I mean, if it's d100 with degrees of success even you do 2-10 is "failure with penalties" but that's still going to be modified by how many degrees of failure from the difficulty threshold (usually 30 for an easy action, 50 for a normal action, 70 for a skilled/complicated action, 80 for a difficult action, 90 for a improbable action, and then modifiers to the DC and to your roll) so it might not be too bad, or you were attempting something high risk or very complicated and did really bad and deserve those penalties.

But it's still 1 and 100 for crits. Like, for combat I usually have a crit success be a malus added to the opponent and fluff it as crippling or dazing or something like that, and obviously a malus for the player if it's a crit fail. Have it last until the end of combat. So you do min/max damage for the hit and then affect the difficulty of the encounter itself.

Crit successes for fellowship/diplomacy rolls and the like give extra information or other types of help. Maybe the tell you about their shopkeep friend so he'll give you a discount, or they'll let you borrow something to help disguise you, or tell you not only general info they would normally have but mention that one of the guards at place has a drinking habit or a weak bladder, or is seen gambling and losing a lot lately. Not the exact guard, but a description. Rarely, they'll help them fight or get past something directly if it makes narrative sense.

So, yeah. Guess that's my rule, crits don't make your action more or less successful, but they affect the metagame and make things easier or more difficult for specific parts or periods of time.

Don't know why I went on about that. probably the painkillers.
>>
You struggle with your own reluctant consciousness, feeling a burning sensation distantly begin to close in on you as you worked to force yourself back through the web and seal the sense of awareness and self-identity that composed Irue Valen back into your body - Where it rightfully belonged. It was only after you had managed enough to physically 'wake' back into your body did you realize that burning sensation had been the nerves along your body, and the painfully chilly grasp of the icy threads wound in place of your once aetherial web.

Your fingers flexed and all at once your body was alive again; The shattering of icy threads like a release from the chains which had kept you wrapped along through the web so tightly....

...But the pain was immense, and even as you began to mentally grope for what small strings remained to guide you to the web, it was a trial just to readjust to your dreadfully inadequate body. The world was once more dull and hampered, too muted by the limits of flesh and blood to properly feel. Only once you had found the piece of your mind still blissfully feeding you information from A Spider's Web did you finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you still well?" Priat's warmth radiated beside you, a blessed feeling to chase away the frigid burns which had temporarily lined your arms and hands. You nod, neck moving stiffly as muscles unused for the past few hours finally got a much needed flexing. "I'll trust you on that. Could you make out what was inside?" Though clearly unconvinced, he seemed content to accept your word for it.

"No, but it shouldn't be too difficult." You mutter, pushing yourself up off your knees - Had you fallen down at some point? - you took several unsteady steps to find your inelegant balance once more. "There's nothing outside, so its safe enough for us to circle around." And while circling, you could make use of the large hallway windows which you had so many memories staring out of. If nothing else, you could safely say that there was no part of this estate you didn't know like the back of your hand after ten years.

And as the three of you began to make a preliminary circuit, you did get to stare into the sides of the house; Easily viewing the interior which had been denied to your web by something as insignificant as a pane of glass. The halls remained empty, abandoned and unwalked since your Testament had declared everyone leave for Carona.

You had come expecting a fight, but had they all just simply left the place alone after driving your knights and Rinnier from it? ...Or was it simply because the sun was still out? Rinnier said they had come at night, but nothing you remembered during your experiences with the wooden golems even remotely indicated some manner of sensitivity to the sun.
>>
These thoughts wracked your mind, finding questions and curiosities without answers as you cautiously worked towards the back door - A door which was notably left closed tight, unlike the haphazardly opened one at the front.

You had only begun to wonder if that was simply a product of someone's laziness in leaving, when you happened to notice a familiar face frowning at you from between the scarcely parted curtains along the back. With the same ivy-like hair you had become accustomed to, a chill ran down your spine upon recognizing that unhappy face.

Notably, it was your unhappy face... But it looked... cracked? As if the once smooth wooden body which had sculpted it had been chipped at, creating rougher textures along the features and edges.

>Approach the window
>Have Priat firebomb it
>Retreat
>Other? (write-in)
>>
>>472695
>>Approach the window
>>
>>472695
>Approach the window
>>
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>>472698
>>472703
....Aight.
>>
You recognized that frowning face, no matter how battered or chipped it seemed to have become since your last encounter. It had been the face of the surviving wooden golem, which you had gifted to Ari to hold onto... And if it was back here, then maybe Ari was as well? Or if not, maybe it knew where she was.

But as you approached, the face seemed to slip. Its uncharacteristically rugged appearance sliding to one side as if the expression would fall right off the skull. It gave you pause, and the unnerving slip nearly made you take a step back. By then it was too late, and you were close enough to glimpse unblemished wood underneath the macabre wooden mask - A cheerful smile peaking out from beneath the stricken and cracked scowling face.

Priat had shouted something, but it was lost in a shower of glass as wooden limbs and ivy hair surged through the window pane.

A rote mimicry of your own voice ringing out from behind the smiling wooden golem as you were pulled beyond the concealing curtains and into the house you had hoped to reclaim.

"you came back!"
>>
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http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

And we are archived.

I'll lurk the thread for a bit to try and answer some questions if I can.

Apologies to all anons who participated in Valen Quest but died at their keyboards wondering when QM would finally stop.

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.

Hope everyone enjoyed our 50th thread!
>>
>>472732
Oh. God.

>>472733
Thanks for running, Riz! I'm glad you survived the sun today.
>>
>>472732
Oh good, it's just our friend.

I'm more concerned where it learned the words in our voice.
>>
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Wait holy shit I just realized, is that the one we fucking killed way the fuck back before meeting the bandits

And it even disguised itself as the one that lived, that we had protecting Ari?

What have we done
>>
>>472739
>It even disguised itself as the one that lived?
The face was notched because it had been carved off to be worn as a mask.
>>
>>472740
>>
>>472733
Wooh, missed the last vote because I am late like usual. Was catching up on the other narrative quest I read, DLQ Dungeon Life Quest.

Maybe you've seen it? Actually, if you have kind of curious what you think. There aren't really any other "serious" narrative quests on /qst/ or /tg/ at the moment and he's got some unique things going on.

To be honest, I think yours is run better. And you remembered me from my consistently late voting! But I do tell him once in a while he should really read your quest. DLQ is his first ever, and his first posting of things on 4chan as well, so you know. I don't want to say he HAS to learn or that his quest isn't fun, but I think you've got a more polished, balanced system that's easier and more usable/consistent/versatile than the kind of waffling around he used to do. Total digression, not throwing shade, but it seems like he's just doing what worked well enough if not even just what worked first, and isn't interested in changing it to work better with 4chan, or even organize an off site update log like twitter, or even tumblr, or just a blog or anything to organize threads. Just running them random amounts each day, erratic voting times, "Oh, this big vote is left open for 16 hours. Seems contentious, lets do a final destination in the next 10 minutes (not even actual final destination, just "only this 10 minute period counts, fuck you if voted earlier but aren't here now!".

So, uh, maybe a little shade and frustration at the refusal to work with or around the limitations of 4chan forum posting, or to use tools to improve the experience. I mean, it's not that "he's a newfag, boo hiss" but that he just seems to refuse to deal with the board culture or UI.

So, thanks for running a narrative quest, which isn't common enough. Thanks a TON for running it so well for both narrative format, and the medium you're using (4chan.) Vox has things he does well, but I don't think anyone does it as well as you do overall, and at honestly you don't need him as a comparison or uniqueness in format for your work to stand out as a real piece of quality work, consistently from the beginning to the end.

Although I will say that people's general unfamiliarity with narrative quests, especially good ones that use actual mechanics like "Are you forgetting something" or allowing write ins to create unique or unexpected and unplanned for plans. I can't imagine what your notes are like, I hope they're super organized and detailed history with flexible outlines for the future. That's what the impression is so far at least, don't tell me if it isn't true, I don't need that reality.

Anyways. Random vent/morale boost motivation rant over. If you read his quest, I'd be interested in your opinion of it if you want to share since I think you have a good seat to examine it from.

Or we could talk about other games and things, interact like humans. I'm crippled indoors for some time so I'm kind of craving contact.
>>
>>472740
Nevermind, I have questions. Like did I miss a part of the quest where that happened? Is that something we noticed IC, or can notice? Because I'm voting next time to examine the wear on the face. Don't tell me, but I'm curious now if it looks like it was carved FROM the golem and worn, or carved and worn and then placed on the golem or the golem was grown maybe from or into it.

Because that will affect my hoo-doo voo-doo creepy factor for reasons I don't understand.

Or I'm a moron and you just said that the face was carved off of the first one to be worn like a mask by this one. In which case I definitely plan on trying to remove it, maaaaaaybe putting it on to see if that lets us talk with anyone or share sensations or communicate with/order the golems.
>>
>>472747
Had to have happened off-screen, if it's somehow the same happy-oaken-rue that captured us way back when.

Because we blew that one up.

It sounds like it's getting revenge on us in some fashion, and even against Ari and the other oakenrue. Your guess is as good as mine as to what it's... "thinking"?
>>
>>472746
That is a whole lot of unexpected DLQ related text. I've actually not read it, but I am aware of it! (It's difficult not to be, considering how large it got). It's actually on my To-Read list, and I've heard a lot of good things about the quality of writing... But, as you've mentioned, not a whole lot of good things as far as the consistency or execution of mechanics.

I'm hoping I do enjoy DLQ when I get around to it, but I'm thrilled you've enjoyed Valen so far! It's been mostly a labor of love, so hearing people enjoy it, or getting little bits of fanart, legitimately make my day. Week. Sometimes month.

I'm still happy over the Atelier art.

>Imagine what your notes are like.
The memoirs are a light summary of my world building notes, condensed to contain the information Irue would personally know/has found out via the quest so far. There is SO much history for Valen Quest that's just kind of laying around, and a lot of it has direct influences on the present (and future) in regards to why various factions are moving or doing what they're doing.

Also I adore write-ins. I was surprised when you remembered we even had the Web to make use of.

>Did I miss a part of the quest where that happened?
Not explicitly. You left the frowning oakenrue in stick form with Ari. She still had it when she was kidnapped, and thus it would have been with her.

As for noticing it IC:
>Notably, it was your unhappy face... But it looked... cracked? As if the once smooth wooden body which had sculpted it had been chipped at, creating rougher textures along the features and edges.
This wouldn't have told you specifically that it was a mask, by any means, but I had left it there so that someone might be more wary in just outright approaching it.

> you just said that the face was carved off of the first one to be worn like a mask by this one
Yes, this is what I meant.

>>472751
>If it's somehow the same happyoakenrue
Feel like you're forgetting something...?

Your fist clenched, staring down the familiar wooden caricatures of your own smiling face as they crawled bonelessly from the riverbed and onto shore with their distorted and warbling pleas for you to return. Mimicked words, which to this day you were unsure whether they even knew the meaning behind their parroted utterances.

The only oakenrue you've seen come from the forest at all have worn smiles. Not a single one of them was scowling.
>>
>>472754
...Shit, Rinnier even said the ones that invaded were smiling ones, and I never put that together. I think I just stopped at "that's creepy" when thinking about them at all. Mistakes were made.

...This explains nothing about why exactly one of them is scowling and the rest are smiling. We smiled at the scowling one like once, and they all copied that. Where are the ones that copied our panicked faces when we ran from them?
>>
>>472757
This is a decent time for me to bring up something that's funny to me, and might be interesting to you.

You have every piece of information needed to figure out what the Oakenrue are. You've had it all for quite some time.

You lack a small piece of information, which could be covered by taking a logical theory leap based on things the players know, to figure out things about the Fae and the Shrine.

There are actually a few "mysteries" that Irue has had all of the information needed to solve for a while now. Not counting the above mentioned two, I could name two more off the top of my head, but that would be cheating.
>>
>>472762
On a similar note, since I'm thinking about it...

To >>471844
When I say you're broke, I mean you've no liquid currency (as what you dug up was literally just Big Chests O'Money). You've actually got a resource that could be liquidated for money to help outfit your knights.

Or used to possibly augment the equipment you plan to salvage.
Or help aid the reconstruction of Carona.

You've had the resource for a while, but I won't say what it is.
>>
>>472754
>The memoirs are a light summary of my world building notes, condensed to contain the information Irue would personally know/has found out via the quest so far

I have to say, I appreciate that. It limits knowledge to prevent metagaming in a way that is immersive and builds rapport with the character so we play more like "what would 'Rue do?" and less "What would I do if I suddenly found myself in this situation with what i currently know about the setting and situation". I mean, regardless you as the writer and voice of the MC filter our decisions through her character and flavor the reasoning and expressions and all that, contextualizing it as it were so that it's still 'Rue having the idea and acting it out the way she would. Actually, one area I find narrative systems to be more flexible, accurate, and OBJECTIVE than dice rolling since something genuinely out of their capability or an idea they wouldn't be able to havesuddenly, your character knows how to make gunpowder! No, well, roll to see if you can figure it out from first principles, or if you once heard about it, or worst of all NAT 20 you get to punch the moon because crits mean anything succeeds!. So you can write something as them trying and failing (Knock the guard out! "You fume, unable to contain your anger any longer. Forming a fist you call the guard until he finally looks at you and not at his note book, and then punch him as hard in the face. Ow. Well, you definitely hurt him, there's blood. A little bit from his nose. He's definitely still conscious and pulling out his club now though. *beating ensues*). Or (You stare at the wreckage. A half formed idea comes to you, the conviction that somehow it should be possible to use this to build a device that could harness the power of . . . fire, and water. Maybe the fire could scare the water spirits, or if you could have one vanquish the other the spirits would treat it like a prayer and move the cart for you. But as much as you feel there should be a way to do it, you can't think of anything. Forget it, you're a priest not a tinker or an alchemist, or some sort of laborer that works with their hands!)

Given, of course, a reasonable ST or in this case QM.

Also, I always try to think of what I might be missing. Sometime your suggestions are simple and straightforward and I feel "hey, we can try this first and see if that affects what we can/should do".

I do like that unless they're contested or incompatible with other votes, you try to work in all the write in actions. Especially with the low player count at any one time resulting in it being hard to support write ins if people vote first.

>>472762
I mean, I assumed the Okenrue were like, Fae avatars that can go past their borders. Or a missing piece of ourselves that was given to the Fae as part of a contract. Or that they're somehow a gift and are the "protection" the Fae are giving us.
>>
>>472767
Well, we have the books in our library. We have the land of our Manse. We've got the resources there as well, the lumber and all. I wish I had been here for the vote on the Faedka because honestly magical fuck you up Fae booze sounds like something that would go for a really high price and we were practically drowning in that shit. Drowning our sorrows, our worries, our responsibilities. Karas pack almost literally drowned themselves and I wouldn't be surprised if one or two demihumans actually did die choking/aspirating on it
>>
>>472772
>hard to support write ins
Write ins are very important to me, because I feel like one of the most important things about narrative heavy quests is the player's ability to effect that narrative.

>Especially with the low player count
I love all three of my players!

>>472778
I suppose you could use those things as well, but they weren't the resource I was talking about. Certain events in the quest actually made this particular resource more valuable over time.
>>
>>472767
Also, sorry, minor point of confusion. You liquidate ASSETS. You HARVEST Resources.

So, I mean, I'm trying to think of assets we could liquidate. Land (expensive, high value, very limited and usually worth more to keep over time if it has resources, or even just so it appreciates over time sometimes that's generations though. Also kind of a pride thing to have, important for nobility for status and possibly legalities.) We have the books. Maybe clothes? Can't think of many actual assets we have though that we don't need for use ourselves, or that would be considered for a noble to sell, or that we could sell to anyone in Carona or maybe even anyone except another noble given the Royal Families current crazy laws. Whom we have no contacts for, reputation with, or possibly even legitimacy as the Heir to house Valen - although we WERE to wed a Royal family member if a distaff one.

Resources? Lumber from the woods, sketchy though because of unknown agreement with the Fae. Useful for rebuilding if we allow Carona to harvest it at cost, definitely not for free. We could delay payment for it if it's for critical infrastructure and offer payment plans in installments for anyone with cash for non-critical or urgent construction. Incentivize rebuilding as opposed to leaving, kickstart what economy they have there, maybe even draw in people looking to expand established businesses or start their own somewhere.

Get some money now, have a known income for the future to budget and plan with, get our name out there as we start to set up deals and meet people, or at least improve our local reputation as the patron of Carona, and have people there owe us money which is better than favours almost always and can be repaid in exchange for services if we need them more than the gold.

Still, it's limited and actual lumber operations take time and care to be sustainable.

Don't think we have any other crops or grazing land. Do we have orchards? We could "hire" people if they're harvestable. Come and harvest what you can to either eat or to sell, we won't charge people if they eat there but if they want to do the labour of harvesting we'll sell at a price that guarantees they'll be affordable for locals. Harvesting person makes some money, we make some money, the fruit doesn't waste and can be a symbol of our aid. People have weird connections to food.

Marketable skills? I mean, we are pretty decent at magic if self taught, and have OP shade affinity, and the magic boosting bracelet. Can't think of how to monetize that with our other skills. Don't have the credentials to teach and it's beneath our position, something for daughters to do before they marry or wives to do after the kids are raised, or Masters at their craft and Scholars recognized by the Court and/or official institutes whether guilds or universities or college associations.

Troops and Demihumans are already being used. Faedka it is.
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>>472783
>Do we have...
>Crops
>Orchards
>Land we could sell
>Any ability to use Mana
>A Shade Affinity
>A magic boosting bracelet
No.

>Fuck You Up Fae Alcohol
Asche put together a report recently that implies it's not even alcohol, but a potion used to cause Mana Purge; A forced 'cleanse' of all internal mana, which carries with it the side effects of nausea, memory loss, and sensitivity to light.

[spoilers]Which if you didn't know the difference between a potion designed to cause that, and alcohol, you would likely just chalk up to being a hangover.[/spoiler]
>>
>>472779
And we love you. Although it was hard when people voted to suicide ShadowRue when her whole thing was "Never give up", which was just so very Irulen.

Anyways, checking through I have to say "Small estate, barely worth the name consisting of a simple (but still a) mansion with a small courtyard.

> Hidden away in some remote corner of the lands owned by House Valen

So, I mean, I guess the question is it literally just the mansion we have direct ownership and control over? Or do we now have control of the lands surrounding it since we passed the rite of passage, or is it just Carona?

Questions to leave behind for next time, something for Irulen to investigate - Deal with the Fae, between individuals of a lineage who are the head of house valen and are renewed with each individual as they change? Between the Fae and the position/title "Head of House Valen" regardless of who holds it? Between the Fae and "House Valen" as a whole, or our family as a whole regardless of our status? I want to know just who can represent us, or if our Aunt can/is involved and if not can we use this as a personal power base?

Also, sneaking suspicion that our Aunt may have isolated us for our own good, since while she's a manipulative bitch and difficult and smug and tried to screw us out of our position and inheritance - it has to be said that there are also risks with all that. And that our Aunt seems to live in a pretty dark and political world, that she's trying to keep her own son out of as well. And, I mean, she hasn't exactly been helpful but she hasn't directly hindered us. I mean, the Rite of Passage yes, and she put obstacles in our way, but she didn't knock us down or sabotage use beyond forcing us to make it on our own.

And given our start, hammer drunk, ignorant of our responsibilities as much as we were our privilege, our first step towards meeting them or even exploring them at 17 years of age being when we were backed into a corner to be married off and lose both responsibility AND privilege. And honestly, we're kind of a jerk. I mean, pre quest, but I don't see us negotiating so much as making a series of demands. Getting pissed. Deciding to SHOW THEM ALL and going full "Invoke ancient Rite".

Which we then chose to do insanity mode out of spite and chutzpah.

Yeah. I can see her thinking "holy fuck, this kid is going to get killed by either saying the wrong thing, probably to the wrong person, then repeating it loud and slow to make sure they heard her and understood".

FYI - I love your quest. I don't particularly like Irulen.
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>>472786
Well. Whatever. It's a drink, it gets you intoxicated, and it hurts like booze.

It's exotic, it's free (? Hahahahahahahaha, free, from the fae, hahahahha. But we haven't had to pay money for it.) I'm assuming it's not terribly common. It's not reproduceable by people, oh sure maybe someone can make a forced mana purge drink, and maybe they can even find out how to replicate the flavour, but it won't have that Ireallyreallyhopeit'shand made quality and guarantee that you get from the Fae.

Ideally, we would share some of it with merchants and ideally any nobles who come by, and make small gifts of single bottles while playing up the scarcity and origin. Special occasion stuff.

Hopefully someone will take a liking to it, or be a Faeaboo, or know a Faeaboo market to sell it to. It might already have a reputation as an exotic drink.

The only other thing we have that I can think of as significantly fungible is our library. I mean, we're a noble, and a nerd, so we kind of take it for granted because it's always been there. Since we've never had our own budget and bills, we've probably never even considered the value of books in the realm. I'm guessing with the current situation, temples or private tutors for rich merchants as educators and a combination of whatever the fuck a noble wants to pay for with either of those plus probably access to leisure education outside of a trade or inheriting Dads business. Maybe some rich merchants can afford to indulge non-inheriting sons that don't go to the temple or the military, or happen to be particularly gifted and receive patronage to such organizations/institutions.

Not really sure of the set up there. But the important thing is that books are definitely not mass produced so even replicas and non-ornamental books will be expensive with good retention of value. And the difficulty with storing books, lack of mass production, large time investment for copying, all that assuming the books is one that IS copied enough times that what copies currently exist are missing parts due to age and fading, in complete disrepair, partial copies from damaged originals or initial copies, or the original was damaged and some complete copies were made but were sold to individuals and nobody knows where they are now etc.

Yep. TL;DR No books are cheap, being secondhand or copies won't significantly affect the value since the most common ones are still in limited numbers and restricted to higher classes and incomes. Access to books that aren't devotional or the crudest of pamphlets and propaganda is probably quite limited both socially and even physically.

It's not unlikely as well that we have rare books in the library of the oldest and richest and most powerful and prestigious house of the realm even if we aren't the rulers. If not the only known copies or originals, the only complete or undamaged copies or originals, and likely many originals as well that people would want for status, or to compare copies to.
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>>472789
>saying the wrong thing, probably to the wrong person, then repeating it loud and slow to make sure they heard her and understood
I'm going to make this an option one day.

Also, I'm not sure how long it's been since you read the Reclaimed Doll (or if you ever did), but this describes Irue's mother as equally as it does Irue.
Clara finds her sister to be much cuter now that she is well above having to deal with that particular flavour of shenanigans.

At any rate, I'm going to leave off for now. I'll keep an eye on this thread for any other questions or comments dumped here.

And finally, no one ever actually commented on >>470930 , so I'm forced to assume the chosen write up was

>4. None
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>>472786
>>Any ability to use Mana
>>A Shade Affinity
>>A magic boosting bracelet
>No.

Wait what? We have these things, don't we? DON'T WE? Isn't our unusual affinity with mana due to the bracelet?

I mean, do we actually not have a shade affinity, it's from the bracelet, and it doesn't boost our magic but instead completely does it for us, because we have no affinity and can't use mana?

Man. I really need to re-read Asche telling us about our sisters bracelet.

Well, at least we have the Berserk trait and surprisingly effective unarmed . . . I hate to call it skill. Style. We have a surprisingly effective unskilled style of hand to hand combat that appears to mostly rely on us being excessively violent and cruel. Pic related.
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>>472803
Friends Forever! Do that one!

I like to force you to write happy and positive people doing wholesome things that end well.
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>>472803
I hope you compulsively checked one last time.

Anyways, after reading Reclaimed Doll I feel like hoping that Asche is a homonculus. I suspect she is at least the first one. I fear that we might be a later production model, possibly made to grow up and be "programmed" along with our sister and that our Aunts attitude towards us is based partly on that knowledge. Hopefully our existence sits somewhere between "Official person and heir who is finally and surprisingly growing and might actually be useful/worth more than a political marriage/less of a stubborn thoughtless bitch like my sister in law." and "artifical creation, real person for whom there is some familial fondness based in her being the creation of my Brother and his Wife, plus oddly nostalgic in how willing she is to face danger head on and dare it to do its worst because if that's all it has, then it doesn't have enough to take her on. Even when there odds aren't just against her, but when she's already lost, and for no other reason than a general "fuck you"."

I mean, adopted kids get treated as family, people care for dogs as much as people they don't know and only slightly less than family members. It's best if you don't ask your friends if they would choose you or their dog. A homonculus is like a human shaped dog you adopt and teach to be a person.

Shadowruns Shadowruns Shadowruns.
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I'm just hazarding a guess here, but I suspect Oakenrues are actually linked with Ari, not with Irue.
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>>472804
We don't actually have an affinity with mana. If we did at any point, the Faedka probably purged it the fuck out of us. The bracelet is a relic like the journal, it's power is unrelated to Irue.

>>472803
And apologies Riz ! I spaced out a little bit last night, I wanted
>The Bridges We Burn
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>>472806
Friends Forever

>>473228
Bridges We Burn

I got a vote for Friends Forever on my twitter, but as I'm not sure if it was just timewarp anon trying to make sure I saw the vote or not, I'm leery of counting it.

At any rate, If there isn't a majority vote for write-ups by tonight, I'll roll based on these two and see what comes up.
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>>476586
Damn, they're both equally appealing, I guess I'll go for
>Friends forever
on the off chance that it gives us a clue about Ari.

>in b4 Bridges we burn is the Ari choice

>>472806
>Implying

It's a trap, Riz doesn't want us to be happy!
>>
I'm catching up with the archive now, almost here! Riz, your writing is fantastic and I love the world and the tale you spin. It's really sad to see that there are only one or two people who actually care to play. It has also been extremely frustrating, with the stupid choices, the dice rolling and to sit there and realize that I knew the right answers to some of the Forgets...

Now I just hope that I am in the right time zone to actually participate once I catch up. Fingers crossed!
>>
>>476798
Hi, new friend! Lend us your powers of having recently read through the archives to solve these: >>472762


In other matters, I was rereading some archives and it stroke me how similar the Fae are to Mana in their jealous favor. Maybe Fae are another, reviously unknown Mana, and Oakenrues its apparitions?
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>>476586
I guess I put in for
>Friends Forever
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>>476824
I'm at the part where we finished the Atelier and are swapping stories with the Luna attendant.
I'm pretty sure the Oakenrue are fae, up to where I am it hasn't been confirmed one way or the other. Beyond that, I don't want to speculate.

Did anyone figure out what we forgot when Maran knew about Ari's name? She had asked about a doll, that you forgot to purchase. Went back through all threads and searched for doll and maran because suddenly I wasn't sure if Riz told us or not. I didn't find the post but I'm still second guessing myself.
>>
>>476855
>Did anyone figure out what we forgot when Maran knew about Ari's name?

No... Though as I'm rereading that part now, I think we should have noticed that Maran knows much more of the prophecy's contents than she admits. A bit earlier she was sure it's Caylen who's come to the bandit camp, and Irue and Ari should still be at home.
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>>477000
I think that every time you failed a Forget prompt, you strayed from the prophecy. If you had remembered to purchase a gift for Ari (the doll), different events would have been set in motion. I believe the prophecy expected you to not bite Roderick, then personally go to the Triers.
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>>477010
One more thing I noticed is that the ruins we found in the brigands' camp had a tree growing in the center under a domed ceiling, which is the same setup as a Shrine building. Maybe that was the frogetting we failed about the ruins.
>>
>>477044
Yeah, I hope there is a chance to revisit it and make a second attempt. I honestly haven't a clue what is happening in the story, in this thread. I want to avoid spoilers.
>>
>>476754
>>476828
>>472806
Looks like majority vote is Friends Forever!

>>476798
Welcome to the quest! I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far, and we'll be happy to have you around.

I hope you enjoy Dopplerue's character development!
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>>477199
You're a horrible person Riz. Horrible, horrible person.
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>>477199
>I hope you enjoy Dopplerue's character development!

I told you it has been frustrating to read but why does it have to keep getting worse...

If anyone from that thread is still here, punch yourself in the face for me, what the fuck
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>>479150
I feel you man. I caught up just in time to be late to that vote...
>>
Has everyone abandoned thread already?
>>
Oh whatever.

>>476855 >>477000
I was doing some reading back through the threads where we failed the Forgetting with Maran in the woods. I still don't know what we forgot, but I think I did find some interesting things we missed!

When we found Maran initially, she didn't even seem to recognize us at first.

>"...Who the hell are you?"
>"...Hello, Maran Jenseits."

And immediately afterwards, she mentioned what >>477000 noted

>"You should still be at home with Ari."

but we were CARRYING Ari when she said it. Maybe I'm reading it weird, but it seems like she didn't recognize Ari even though she somehow knew her name? Then later that thread, when we met back up with Rinnier..

>"...The Lamandran?" You caught Maran muttering under her breath as you passed her

When she met us, she said we should have been at home with Ari, right? She never mentioned Rinnier at all, (and I'm not entirely convinced she recognized her either) but she was clearly surprised to see Rinnier there, so if we were supposed to be at the house, where was RINNIER supposed to be?

Then later we confronted Maran on how she knew Ari's name.

>"It's her name. I just happened to recognize her from before, back when I met you at the Initiation rite." Maran laughed, "She and Rinnier were pretty notable, you know?"

Maran was inside when we met our Testament for the first time. I went back to double check, but our actual choices weren't announced at all. There's no way she could have recognized someone she'd never seen before.

Back to Ari's name though, she said she learned it from Caylen via the prophecy.

>"Like I said," she frowned, meeting your accusing stare steadfastly, "I heard it from Caylen. If her name is really all that special, then I've no idea how he found out. Maybe it was foretold by the Prophet?"

At this point we had a Forgetting... But I still don't know what we could have been forgetting. Maybe it had to do with the things we missed? I don't know, but what I DO know is that later we met with Caylen...

>"You called the Prophet for a consultation purely because you were worried about me?" Your eyes soften as Caylen's confidence picks up. "Yes, but it was unnecessary. I had faith you would pass easily, of course, and they only confirmed it. Even taking two Testament for the rite wasn't enough to phase you."

Two? We only showed up with Rinnier and Ari, so it would make sense if he just assumed they were our only Testament, further supported by when he seemed confused as to what the two of them could have done to cause a problem with the guard.

>"...Dispute?" Caylen repeated curiously, "Did..." He glanced between Ari, still timidly using you as something of a safety blanket as she looked around the room, and then to the politely dignified Rinnier setting in the chair next to you, "...One of the guard cause a problem?" he finally finished, evidently drawing a blank on what either of them would have done.

cont.
>>
>>483634
I caught up (at work) a few hours ago, I'm idling and jotting down some thoughts on how to proceed at the moment.
>>
So I think it's safe to say that Caylen didn't tell Maran shit. But there's something else that bugs me:

>"I recognized these two as your Testament"

>"You called the Prophet for a consultation purely because you were worried about me?" Your eyes soften as Caylen's confidence picks up. "Yes, but it was unnecessary. I had faith you would pass easily, of course, and they only confirmed it. Even taking two Testament for the rite wasn't enough to phase you."

Two? We only showed up with Rinnier and Ari, so it would make sense if he just assumed they were our only Testament, further supported by when he seemed confused as to what the two of them could have done to cause a problem with the guard.

>"...Dispute?" Caylen repeated curiously, "Did..." He glanced between Ari, still timidly using you as something of a safety blanket as she looked around the room, and then to the politely dignified Rinnier setting in the chair next to you, "...One of the guard cause a problem?" he finally finished, evidently drawing a blank on what either of them would have done.

Is Kara just not part of this prophecy?

Going back to Maran though, >>476855 mentioned Maran asked about some kind of doll.

>"It's like... The things she asked me about never happened? I'd.." Her head dropped away as she spoke, gradually finding the floor more and more interesting, "I'd never forget those things."
>"Like what?" You press mildly, "Can you give me an example?"
>"A doll." Ari corrected faintly, "That you gave me."

I thought I'd spend more time than I did to find this, but after opening the first 10 threads or so CTRL+Ffing for as many variations of "doll" or "stuffed" or "wog" I could think of, I found it (in the third fucking thread, what the fuck Riz) but it only gets more bullshit from there. The mention of the stuffed animal? Never something Irue thought of, or even anything Riz mentioned. It was an aside comment by an anon during the after-thread conversation.

>"Do you think it might be a good idea to get a stuffed animal or something as a gift to the Despondent one"

It was never mentioned or brought up again after that. To even know about this, she'd have needed to have meta knowledge (Maybe this is what the prophecy is?), and while that would normally be even MORE bullshit, this isn't the first time Riz has played with the fourth wall - Remember when we were trading stories with Mim and she called us an idiot when Irue started listing possible courses of action? It's fucking Luna! Or Luna Adepts, at least, which means either Maran is also a Luna Adept, or she knows one.

And we basically confirmed at this point that she's working with Artemis, which is an organization MADE OF LUNA ADEPTS.
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>>483638
>So I think it's safe to say that Caylen didn't tell Maran shit.

No, he definitely didn't- it's the other way around. It's part of the prophecy, she told him. It's just that by Forgetting Things and _attacking the guards_ when it wasn't an option, taking all 3 slaves and picking the dumbest possible teams for going to Tier and Caylen means we've messed it up at probably every opportunity. We even set them back immeasurably by forging on and solving the atelier that we found by being dumbasses about the whole thing.

> this isn't the first time Riz has played with the fourth wall - Remember when we were trading stories with Mim and she called us an idiot when Irue started listing possible courses of action? It's fucking Luna! Or Luna Adepts, at least, which means either Maran is also a Luna Adept, or she knows one.

Adepts can read unspoilered posts, at least in their immediate vicinity.
>>
We still don't know what happened to the Tier sisters by the way. I think we didn't even read the Tier diary.
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>>483645
>that spoiler
Where did we learn this? Did I miss something? Or forget?

>>483645
Why do you think this? And even if we were screwing it up, what is the prophecy? It's been mentioned since the first thread, but I don't think we've ever actually found out what's up with it.
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>>483638
>"You called the Prophet for a consultation purely because you were worried about me?" Your eyes soften as Caylen's confidence picks up. "Yes, but it was unnecessary."

That was a bold-faced lie. Maran had said earlier that the Prophet is too important for even royals; no way could Caylen just "call" them.
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>>483654
We read it, it was boring stuff about business transactions. We did not read the final pages however, or at least if we did it wasn't specified.

P.S, Roderick dying felt like shit. That guy was so genuine. Even though we tricked him into going with the mayor. When we heard them in the barn we was all righteous business only trying to do good... and then he died helping others. He was such an honest man he even refused to let a wisp heal him so that he could show the bite wound on his hand as proof. He had his main hand maimed for half a year only because it would show that he was not lying.

>>483655
I made it up, because it makes sense. How else would she know what we were thinking of saying or doing?

>Why do you think this?
Maran is a part of Artemis, a splinter group of Luna who are obsessed with knowledge. What could Caylen possibly tell her that she didn't already know, especially regarding a prophecy? The way she lords him around there is little doubt that he is a pawn- sorry, The Chosen Hero, and she is guiding him. The amount of assumptions and double takes from her side at least makes me sure that we're fucking with her, her plans and the prophecy. What it actually is, I haven't a clue but I'm quite sure that it is related to the awkward border tensions and tense diplomacy between this little group of nations.

What I DO have a clue about and that I am almost certain of is that Irue's sister's bracelet is an heirloom that was either created by or "conquered" by Mint, the Lavender Sage. From what we know of the mana and their inherent jealousy means that having favor of more than one is extremely difficult and up to four is simply impossible. But when we use the bracelet, we can do just that. Now that we know its function of forcing ambient mana to materialize, and the ability to enslave the resulting apparition there's little doubt that Mint is the Valen founder's rival and he took the bracelet as a keepsake. Think back on the riddle to enter the inner family archives.
Speaking of the riddle, I think the uncle lied about the reason for the renovation sign... he and Clara wanted Irue to solve the riddle. They're not nearly as antagonistic as some would like to think.
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>>483691
> their exploits alongside East Heaven's Lavender Sage paved the way for the bestowal of an unprecedentedly large grant of land
That's what is written about the Valen founder in the memoirs
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>>483731
That wasn't really the meat of the post though. Do you have any thoughts on the bracelet?
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>>483746
I think it's a sort of emotional amplifier that uses the user's emotions to call to Mana. As far as I noticed every time Irue summons an apparition they feel the apparition's constituent emotion. The bracelet also is mentioned pretty much every time Irue goes berserk, so possibly it can do more with emotions then just transmit them to Mana.
>>
I've also had a thought on The Reclaimed Doll. It's a homunculus whose appearance can be changed and personality programmed, it's not a long leap to assume that you can fill its head with information.

In the vision at the beginning of thread 42, with the blonde, braided woman reading a book while we were suspended above an abyss, she says "Repairs finished already?" as Irue wakes up and is shaking Asche after grabbing for the woman. Asche was not in need of repairs while Irue was wounded and bed ridden for a week, but we wake up immediately after, so logic dictates that it was Irue's repairs that were already done. The grabbing of Asche was a trick by Riz.

In thread 28 where Doppelrue uses the diary to change her face we first meet with this braided, blonde woman.
>The pages ripple again as you utter a silent apology to the Relic in your hands. What emerged... Was yourself? You tilted your head to the side, observing the thick braid of familiar blonde hair that wrapped your normally free-flowing hair into a tight lock. Your features weren't quite as sharp, and though you were older, the crimson eyes you had prized as a member of the Valen family were conspicuously absent.
Before that, it reads:
>"Intimidating. Someone who could have found the Atelier in the first place, a force to be reckoned with. Someone no one would be able to light shrug off the words of! Someone-"
All we have to do is read The Reclaimed Doll to know that this fits perfectly with her mother.

The important line here is
>"the crimson eyes you had prized as a member of the Valen family were conspicuously absent."
This takes us back to The Reclaimed Doll, where we can read this line:
>"This, Mr. Valen, is a doll." She announced proudly, holding her hand out towards the white haired thing in front of her.
Not very interesting on its own, but in the previous paragraphs where we read about the engagement ring and the soon-to-be husband, we know she married into the family. I don't know about how red eye hereditary works but let's just assume that red is dominant since it is the proof of Valen blood. We know the story is about her mother because Riz said so in this thread. We know we had a twin sister but considering the house's importance, the birth of twins would have made news across the country. Why would you deliberately hide one of the children from the time they were born? Looking back, aunt Clara has known what Irue's parents were up to for a very long time and there is a lot of trust shown between father and Clara. She must've been in on it at an early stage, whether it was because she forced herself in or if she was invited, I cannot say. What we know is that she has kept Irue hidden deliberately and I believe that we can surmise the reason behind this is that her parents, creators?, wanted or needed her to be.

Why can't Irue recognize her own mother's face?

Hopefully I didn't write all that for it to be something completely obvious to everyone.
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>>483970
I had this same theory for a while.
Yet we should take into account that Irue is humanlike enough that a professional doctor hadn't noticed anything strange. Nor did all the Wisp adepts they came into contact with.
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>>483970
>Why would you deliberately hide one of the children from the time they were born?
I don't think we were hidden that long? Irue only moved into that house after becoming an orphan around ten years ago, so at most it only happened directly after our parents and sister died. Maybe trying to hide the survivor? But then why the political marriage?

>Why can't Irue recognize her own mother's face?
I think this goes back to how long we've been there. Our parents probably died when we were young, and if we assume Irue is 16-18 now, and we lived here for ten years, that puts them dead around 6 or 8 years old. Ten years since then would make the details of someone's face hazy.

Or maybe it's something to do with the Diary itself? We know we can disguise ourselves as other people with it, but what happens if it's just working off of vague intentions or old memories?
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>>484059
>and if we assume Irue is 16-18 now, and we lived here for ten years, that puts them dead around 6 or 8 years old.

Doesn't that bring up the other question, who in their right mind puts an 8 year old in a mansion alone with a robot maid? A mansion that is one month of walking in either direction from the nearest neighbor?
Even if you retort with the fact that Aunt and Uncle visited and that she spent time with Caylen, why wouldn't they put her in Caylen's household if they just wanted her to be out of the way? They're still out in nowhere at the ass end of the country.
It doesn't make sense no matter what angle I view it from.

As for the diary, every face Doppelrue used was one she had seen before, or in the case of mother and Clara, had Irue's memories of.
>>
I think I've figured out what resource riz is hinting at. The only thing we have that isn't a natural resource is information. We've given away a lot of it to the shrine and they never showed an interest in paying for it with gold. The only contact we have that would actually pay for information is the royal family, and the only thing we have that they would pay for is info on Artemis and their activity within la'fiel. Basically, we sell out Maran (and Caylen). Pbackstabbing.

I don't think it's even a bad idea actually. Cara and uncle know about the prophecy of that I am quite certain, looking back at the reclaimed doll. So if Caylen is the chosen hero, why did they need Irue as a leash to keep him in one place? Why was Caylen hiding it from us? He didn't want to risk our aunt finding out that he has learned of it.

Clara supports, or at least acts as if she wants the status quo, the royal family. If she knows the prophecy there is a reason for this, so I think it's in our interest to aid her.

Let's do it.
>>
>>485583

But I don't want us to be the asshole family member. Also we're Caylen's childhood friend who's very possessive of that status.
>>
>>485642
No one knows that we know.
>>
>>485583
Why would Clara support selling out her own son? I don't think she's as militantly objective oriented as we all might be assuming; given our last few interactions with her, it sounds like she's more protective of us and Caylen than she is pushing some political agenda.

Besides, we didn't know about that connection so early on. If it's information that's been valuable since the start, it's not this.
>>
>>485974
I don't think Clara support selling him out. Aren't they saying that Clara is working against the prophecy and that tagging royals on Maran's ass is helping that.
>>
>>485583
I thought it was pretty clear that Riz wants us to sell our body to foreign merchants in exchange for goods.
>>
>>486083
>Implying our body is worth anything
>>
>>485974
I meant that Clara scrambled of to stop him meeting with Artemis, it has to be because it spells trouble one way or another.

1 She doesn't want Caylen to meet Artemis
2 maran is the one who is taking him to them
3 selling out maran/Artemis movements will help Clara.

Is that an odd leap of logic? I post from a phone and it's hard to be eloquent and going back to rephrase is a lot of trouble, I'm sorry if the other post ended up causing misunderstanding.

Riz only says it was something we've had for a while, not since from the beginning. It's the only thing I can think of that we possess, has had its value change over the course of the quest, and can be sold.

Do you disagree it have a different idea?

>>485642
We use the diary and no one will know it was us.
>>
>>487882
>We use the diary and no one will know it was us.

We will know anon. The depths of our assholishness will be laid bare before us.



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