[a / b / c / d / e / f / g / gif / h / hr / k / m / o / p / r / s / t / u / v / vg / w / wg] [i / ic] [r9k] [cm / hm / y] [3 / adv / an / cgl / ck / co / diy / fa / fit / hc / int / jp / lit / mlp / mu / n / po / pol / sci / soc / sp / tg / toy / trv / tv / vp / x] [rs] [status / ? / @] [Settings] [Home]
Board:  
Settings   Home
4chan
/qst/ - Quests


File: ValenQuest-OP.png (226 KB, 640x480)
226 KB
226 KB PNG
Threads of awareness spread ceaselessly through the quieting streets of Carona, allowing a glimpse of its people carrying on their lives. You ignored them; Your time was short and you'd no use for the living. What you sought were corpses, those lost to the banshee's wail... and they would be found under the ruin left in its wake. Your thread unfurled within those ceaseless mounds of wreckage, crafting a web with intrinsic, seeking purpose.

To the people of Carona, this place was a symbol of grief. An unmarked grave, filled by the bodies of loved ones lost. Any hope of survivors buried within had long since faded, leaving the recovering citizens to presume the worst of those who had never returned. To you, however, it was an opportunity. A chance to salvage the dead, and in doing so, appeal to the living. It was a place where you could wrest closure for the people you'd found signed to your responsibility, and perhaps begin repaying a debt to a bloodline that stubbornly refused to stop helping you.

Or it should have been.

You are Irue Valen, and there are significantly less corpses under all these fallen buildings than you had been led to believe. There wasn't a flaw in your web, the mapping was mercifully thorough, but still you were coming up short. You'd spent far longer than you would have liked crossing over yourself, and even had the crazy idea that perhaps your web had missed something! It hadn't, of course - Your web misses nothing - but if they weren't here, then where else would they be? The pile of deceased you found, while sizable, couldn't have been all of them.

Questions for later. You still had an appointment with Kara, and who knows how much time you had spent weaving already. You spared a second to appreciate the breadth of your handiwork before partially emerging from its blissful expanse.
>>
Your eyes drifted open peacefully, feeling as if you'd just leisurely awoken. Before you stood the familiar figure of your maid, a bucket mysteriously held in her arms.

"...Asche."
"Irue."

She exchanged greetings placidly, sea-green eyes meeting your own. "Why?" You skip to the point, glancing down to the smooth surface of water held within it.

"To wake you."

"...I'm already awake." You deadpan, tracking the bucket of water with a renewed sense of wariness as your maid nodded in return and set it down. "Was a bucket of water really necessary?"

Asche opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off as the door to your room clicked open to admit the impatient steps of your flame haired Testament. "Asche it's getting late, if you don't do it, I-" Her gaze shifted from the maid in question to your own perturbed expression. "Good, you're up."

"How long was I out?" You tilt your neck to one side, stifling a groan as the muscles stretched. Your legs had long since fallen asleep, thanks in no small part to Ari, who had similarly fallen asleep on them at some point.

"Most of the day. I tried to get you up half an hour ago, but your maid insisted you would be back soon." She crossed her arms, crimson eyes cutting towards the slight bucket-bearer in a vaguely accusing manner. "We compromised." The bucket sat innocently upon the floor, indicative of exactly what that ominous compromise may have entailed. "Nevermind that, did you make any progress on what you were doing?"

You let the drenching implication slide for now, since you were still warm and dry... Though the tell-tale chill of the Diary of Reflections emanating from Rinnier had rendered you somewhat less for the former. "I found plenty of bodies, but... How many people were supposed to still be missing?"

"I'd have to find the tally to check." Rinnier mused, "Why? Was there something wrong?"

You shrugged, feeling Ari stir back awake as you did so. "I expected... More." You finally give voice to the vague feeling of unbalance the experience had left you with. "Might be nothing. Can you find that tally for me later?"

"I'll ask Fen about it." She nodded easily, "Though if you're planning on going to the Shrine anytime soon, you could ask them directly. They'd have a more current result."
>>
You grimaced at the suggestion, reflexively trying to weigh out the possibility of dodging Mim to do so. Not that you could afford to keep putting that off, considering you'd need to talk to her to see if obtaining a Gnome Adept to aid you was even an option.

"Maybe later. I need to go meet with Kara and her pack." You stretch the kinks out of your muscles and move to stand, clicking your tongue at the pins and needles that ran along the soles of your feet in the process.

Rinnier hummed an acknowledgement, pausing momentarily as she turned to leave. "If that's all, I want to talk to you later about this spider thing... And whatever else you might be able to do that you haven't mentioned."

You tucked a stray lock of hair behind your ear and sighed noncomittally. You were still exhausted after your last talk with her.

>Talk to someone (about what?)
>To the Shrine!
>To Kara!
>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
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm

Misc notes:If anyone was expecting 4X gameplay mechanics to happen, they have since been discarded after a close inspection revealed I was being stupid.


Memo:
1. Rinnier wants you to decide soon on how you'll make a public appearance to capture the hearts of the people. (11/4/2017)
2. Invite Marchovic on adventures next time there's a chance.
3. Mim said "When are you going to tell her?" Tell what to whom?
>>
>To Kara!

If we need to be speedy about it we can get a faster ride back on doggo back.

>Other? (write-in)
Secure that bucket against being used upon you.
>>
>>2340245
>To Kara!
>>
I have forgotten whether my voting windows were 30m or an hour.

Gonna start writing anyway since we seem at a consensus!
>>
File: 1379805764074.jpg (148 KB, 1680x1050)
148 KB
148 KB JPG
Missed the vote but checking in anyway!
>>
With your flame haired Testament retreating to her own business, that just left you to get moving for your own appointment. It was getting a little late, but you don't think it'd been too long since night had fallen. Since you'd never specified when, exactly, you were showing up... It'd be fine, right?

Before that, though...
>>
Fen had lived his entire life as a simple clothier before the Crown's repossession left him, and many others, bereft of a home. It was a stroke of fortune that he and his girlfriend - Now fiancée - had fallen in with Dullem, and found themselves coming together with a purpose again. That purpose had been pretty vague in retrospect, and he still found himself a little amazed that things had turned out as well as they had in the end.

Having seen the sky split apart when that Alouette woman cut down an actual tornado, Fen was rather appreciative of his own mortality. He'd seen that same woman overlooking the ramparts from time to time during their ill-fated siege of Caylen Valen's estate, and it was a humbling experience to realize what could have been. That he had gone on to not only avoid the bizarre fate of the camp, but also survive that nightmarish tree monster's assault...

Needless to say, Fen was happy with his lot in life. He'd some talent at arithmetic and decent handwriting, but lacked the confidence to speak up. It was only at his to-be wife's urgings that he volunteered himself as a secretary for Miss Lamandra, and with a few strange exceptions, he'd found the job much more fulfilling than anything else he'd done. Handling papers, meeting with important people, and working together with some of the biggest movers and shakers in La'Fiel was nothing short of mindblowing.

Although, there were times where he was reminded what sort of divide there really was between a simple serf like him, and the nobility.

Miss Lamandra had asked him to fill a bucket with water and bring it inside an hour ago. It was a strange request, but she asked for nothing which wasn't necessary in some manner, so he did so. Not even five minutes after he had sat back down, did he watch that diminuitive maid walk back outside with the very same bucket.

She wouldn't explain why. She rarely spoke to anyone besides Ser Valen and Miss Lamandra, so even asking in the first place was a futile effort. Still, she apparently outranked nearly everyone, so she must have had a reason.

Some time later, the bucket was brought back in by Miss Lamandra, taken back out by the maid, and then brought back in again, this time with a one-sided argument breaking out between them over where it would stay. By the end, the bucket had apparently been granted occupancy in the house once and for all...

But now, Fen watched from his desk as the curiously attractive noble he'd sworn fealty to waddled out the front door with a familiar bucket of water in their arms, flanked by both the Maid and that wooden monster's master.

He still didn't understand the purpose of the bucket, and at this point he was a little afraid to ask. It was hard to imagine what sort of importance something like that could have to cause so many important people to be fixated on it, and frankly, it was probably above his paygrade.

Now where was that tally Miss Lamandra asked for...
>>
Having properly secured the bucket from being used against you, you set out to finally meet with your demihuman Testament and her pack. Refreshingly cool night air touched against your skin as you moved further from the recovered town's edges, and further from the heat of torchlight and bustling bodies.

The town was starting to wind down for the night, in preparation for another early morning of plinking away at seemingly endless piles of debris. They needed to finish reclaiming the town itself before they could even start to reclaim their disrupted lives... A process you could shorten substantially if your plan to get some raw resources on your own pulled through.

"Yo! Welcome back." A smaller figure distinguished itself from the dark, arms held loosely in its pockets. The voice itself was a dead giveaway of its identity, but Raid's distinctive features quickly revealed themselves as he approached. "Sis said you'd be coming out tonight. Something about renegotiations?"

"You're my guide, then?" You glanced around habitually, finding little else resembling a person in the area. "More of a reassignment than renegotiation. I need to ask her if something is feasable or not."

"Good to know we're not getting trashed already." Kara's little brother snarked, his nose raised to the air as he sniffed curiously. "...What's that smell?"

"I managed to scrounge up some apples for your sister." You motioned vaguely towards Asche, and a small satchel on her back. "Or Asche did, rather. And your sister is my Testament. As long as she's the Alpha, I'll find uses for your pack."

"Good to know, boss." Raid shrugged, turning on his heel as he waved you after him. "Come on, we've set up further out."

>Follow Raid
>Send Raid to bring Kara here
>Talk to Raid (about?)
>Other
>>
>>2340459
>>Follow Raid
He's sleazy, but not outright untrustworthy, it should be fine.

>He still didn't understand the purpose of the bucket, and at this point he was a little afraid to ask.
It's good to have you back.
>>
>>2340459
>Follow Raid
Nothing bad will happen if we show our face to an allied party.
...Right?
>>
File: 1509257543159.png (203 KB, 572x648)
203 KB
203 KB PNG
>>2340475
I'm happy to be running again. Also bracing for the next bullshit reason to crop up that makes the next thread take two months to show up.
>>
>>2340475
Also
>potentially large amounts of missing dead bodies
That's not suspicious at all.. With Dryad properly asleep again, it shouldn't be as likely, but I recall oakenbears come from unburied corpses.
>>
But I haven't finished the archive yet
>>
>>2340459
>>Send Raid to bring Kara here
>>
>>2340514
It's probably not important anon, nothing in the past ever gets brought up again.
>>
>>2340522
yeah but

Irue just keeps making a new problem when trying to fix another and I wanna know what happened
>>
>>2340459
>Follow raid
> throw him an apple
>try to get his opinion on how things are going
>>
>>2340459
>Follow Raid
>>
>>2340240
You came back!

>>2340456
Wow, someone actually find us attractive.

>>2340459
>Follow Raid
>Talk to Raid about the demihuman olfactory sense
Could they find bodies under the ruins?

Reminder that the Web can't get into a closed building. Maybe some of the ruins were too dense?
>>
>>2340565
Flat chest is justice. May as well flaunt it.
>>
>>2340570
You can't flaunt a chest if you don't have a chest.
>>
>>2340475
>>2340476
>>2340539
>>2340561
>>2340565
Following Raid! He's a good boy, nothing will go wrong!

>>2340516
Being suspicious of our friend!

>>2340539
>>2340565
Apples, current events, and sense of smell!

Writing!
>>
"So how do you think things are going?" You hold your hand aside while following the young demihuman, The slight weight of a retrieved apple filling your palm moments later.

"What kind of things?" Raid shot back with a fanged grin, childishly twirling around to walk backwards so he could face you. "Reconstruction's gonna take a while, but you're following me into a trap without a hitch, so I guess I can't complain."

"Demihuman integration." You chucked an apple at his face. Raid's grin momentarily spread after your reaction, but shifted thoughtfully as he regarded the fruit.

"You know how that's going already. That's why we're being reassigned, isn't it?" He sniffed the apple, biting off a chunk of it before continuing his response mid-chew. "What kind of idiot thinks people are going to just accept a pack of demihumans out of nowhere?"

"The kind with the option of making them." You deadpan.

"Worked out well for them, didn't it?" He shot back irreverently. "We're staying out of trouble, at least. That's all you wanted to know, right?"

"There's a mountain of complaints that claim otherwise." You think bgack to the pile tied off next to Rinnier's desk. "So someone is lying."

"Is it the pack of demihumans? Or the town that hates the demihumans they've been forced to work with?"

Raid's eyes sparkled roguishly, but you just sighed and shook your head. For all his taunts, you couldn't feel any real malice behind the barbs. More over, he made the very point you were considering yourself. "I haven't ruled out 'both'. I'd hoped to shed some light on that tonight, but I've got some ideas regardless."

"Well you can always ask my Sis. She'll tell you we're playing nice."

"She would." You agree neutrally, "But she also can't be everywhere. I imagine she elected someone she trusted to help with that."

"Ehehe..." He chuckled at the obvious accusation. "You think I'm playing dirty behind your backs?"

"Are you?" You arch a brow, but the pointed question doesn't so much as flinch his careless smile.

"If I said 'no' would you believe me?"

>Yes
>No
>>
>>2340683
>Yes
>But I'd ask for a little more than just your word
>>
>>2340683
>>Yes
>>
>>2340683
>>No
>>
>>2340683
>It depends.
>>
>>2340601
No
>>
>>2340705
>>2340683
>>
>>2340683
>deflect
Don't give him shit
>>
>>2340683
>Yes
>>
>>2340688
>>2340690
>>2340716
We trust you!

>>2340695
>>2340705
Who would trust a demihuman?

>>2340698
>>2340713
Changing the subject.

This is a suspiciously large amount of votes. I'll get writing.
>>
>>2340731
Almost like you have more than four players, innit?
>>
"If I didn't, would there be any point in asking?" You counter, eliciting a shrug from your demihuman guide. "So what's your answer?"

"Maro may not like you, but I'm not keen on biting the hand that feeds." The apple in his hand crack as his fangs tore off more of its flesh. "He might be causing problems, but not on our watch. The others... Well, it's a task to keep 'em on task, but they're not stupid. They ain't got nowhere to run if things go bad."

"Not even a little pity for your former Alpha?" You tilted your head.

"I know you guys call us dogs, but we don't do 'loyalty'." Raid snorted derisively, "The Alpha is whoever's capable of managing our best interests most effectively. Maro lost the rights to that title when he pissed you off, blondie. I'll tell you everything he does from now on, if you're interested."

He may not have been loyal, but the readiness with which he aimed to throw his former Alpha under the cart certainly spoke towards something else... Though you couldn't quite put your finger on what. Did he blame Maro for what happened to the pack? Did something like that even matter? Or was it more personal...?

"I don't know that it will matter after tonight." You change the subject without addressing the offer, unwilling to play ball while your mind was on other things. "How good is your nose?"

"Good enough to find you." He joked cheekily, "Whatcha need it for?"

"Do you think you could find buried bodies?"

"How buried we talking?" Raid's eyes sharpened, even as his tone remained light. Seems he smelled business to be had. "There's a bit of a sweet spot to finding them."

"Ones still lost in the wreckage. I can lead you to some of them, but there's not as many there should be."

"So you want us to bury more!" He snapped his fingers in faux understanding, snickering at your flat reaction. "Jokes aside, might be tough. That sweet spot I mentioned? It's when they start rotting. They smell awful, and it ain't fun to sniff them out, but it's real easy when it starts happening... After a while though, that smell just gets into everything. I reckon anything still down there positively reeks by now."

"So you'd have difficulty pinpointing any extra bodies..." You muttered in understanding.

"Right-O. Not saying it's impossible, but it'll take some digging."

That might be something worthwhile to put them on while you were confirming expedition arrangements. You needed that space cleared for reconstruction anyway, so the extra digging was a convenient headstart on that. "I'll keep that in mind."

Raid made a face at that, wrinkling his nose disgustedly. "My best interests are suddenly telling me I don't want to smell dead ass for a week."

You didn't bother to respond.
>>
"Yo, 'Rue!" You arrived at a clearing containing Kara and the rest of her emotionally-crippled pack in short order, catching a fanged grin from Raid as he bound ahead to greet his sister. You couldn't help but note the way his knees buckled under the 'gentle' hair ruffling he received - An action that brought back neck rending memories of your own experience with Kara's affection. "Y'made it!"

"I got tied up in something. Is this everyone?"

"Yup!" Kara's chest puffed out proudly as her tail elicited a familiar 'paft'ing. "We're ready an' listenin'!"

Unfortunately, the rest of said pack didn't seem to share that enthusiasm. Her pack hadn't been extensive in the first place, but after their clash with the Revenant, and the ensuing month of depression, only a handful of them really remained... And their mental health was debatable, to put it generously. She'd proudly told you that they hadn't tried to kill themselves recently, which you guess could be construed as recovery... To some degree. Lack of suicidal impulse, however, did nothing to engender any affection for you in their hearts. Or, indeed, any overall happiness about their circumstances at all.

Once again you were forced to wonder about Raid's status as an outlier. He'd suffered the same effects they had, but had snapped back with remarkably more resilience.

"So, whatcha got for us, 'Rue?" Her wagging tail slowed, but refused to fully cease. Enthusiasm or not, it did seem you at least had their attention.

>Whatcha got them, 'Rue?
>>
>>2340827
I don't think the pack should help with digging bodies. I don't think people will appreciate their loved ones dead bodies being "defiled" by demi humans.

So I think all we wanted was to assign them to patrol duty outside the town. The results of that will be interesting.

The other thing was that I wanted to ask what they wanted to do and what they wanted in general. You know to see if there's still some motivation left in them. But I would'nt be suprised if only Kara and Raid give us any input.
>>
File: .jpg (19 KB, 322x232)
19 KB
19 KB JPG
>>2340240
>Valen
It's my favorite time of the season! There will be a summer, autumn and winter thread too this year, right?

>>2340514
>>2340526
Welcome, and ready your aspirin. No matter where you are in the story, it's going to get worse but do try to enjoy it!

>>2340522
That's not funny

>>2340827
Kara, I've found all the dead bodies left in town and we need to dig them up, but there are not enough. Bodies are missing and I want to know why and to where.
After that I want to ask you to patrol outside of the village and later, to the mountains if my plans there pan out.
>>
>>2340827
>You're gonna be punching griffons soon.
>Also we need to find some dead bodies that aren't where they should be.

>>2340840
We can compromise; demihumans dig the ruins, knights retrieve the bodies.
>>
File: Its getting worse!.png (11 KB, 575x109)
11 KB
11 KB PNG
>>2340853
>It's my favorite time of the season!
I am being bullied.
>>
>>2340840
Kara needs to dig, her super strength is like a wrecking ball and construction crane, all in one body. She'll work with the knights and the rest of the pack is on sniffing duty. I'ts not out of the question that the bodies have been taken down into the mine or atelier tunnels or even out into the forest somehow.

Or just eaten by Grues, who knows?

>>2340858
I think we can stand to involve the Shrine too, they do the whole burial business don't they? Having their adepts should soften the blow of Kara's presence in the effort.

>>2340860
Absolutely
>>
>>2340860
No doubt.
>>
>>2340840
>>2340858
>>2340853
Patrol duty, mountain expedition, griffon punching, Kara digging up dead bodies! ...And their dreams!

Writing!
>>
"A change of plans for one. I'm taking you off of the reconstruction effort." You paused for a response, but silence reigned. It wasn't even a tense one, they seemed to just be waiting. "I'd like you to act like a patrol on the borders, keeping us updated on anyone suspicious coming or going."

You'd already discussed this with Kara previously, and she seemed confident in it. "That's part of the plan, at least. I'll also need a few of you to help with an excavation effort elsewhere for the time being. Kara, I'll be relying on you specifically for that."

"Can do, 'Rue!" She tapped her fist against her chest confidently. "S'not gonna be many of us for patrols if we're splittin' up, though..."

True to form, her pack was... Diminuitive. Asking them to patrol the entirety of Carona's borders on their own would leave some serious gaps, much less if you split them up. You didn't even technically have the authority to decide how her Pack would organize itself, so it was a moot point in the end. "As long as you can get it done, I'll leave the details up to you."

Though she nodded, her gaze subtly flickered towards Raid.

"If all goes well though, you'll be leaving Carona entirely." You forged along for now, broaching the topic of your bodyguard plan. "There are potentially raw resources just waiting to be unearthed, but getting them will be dangerous. Have any of you ever seen a griffon?" You looked around the clearing, receiving exactly zero response. Kara herself wore an oblivious expression. You felt this reaction should have disappointed you a little, but at the same time... You'd never seen a griffon either. "Think of them like big birds. They'll be one of the many things you'd be on guard for."

"How big we talkin'?" Kara rocked back and forth on her heels, a note of curiosity lilting through her voice. "Birds aren't so bad."

"Alouette tells me they have a history of carrying off bears."

The first reaction you got out of Kara's pack was the pleasure of seeing their faces jerk in synch towards Kara, with a sense of growing horror matched only by the sheer joy in your demihuman Testament's eyes.

"Y'can count on us, 'Rue!"
"What, no!"

Raid loudly interjected his doubt on the matter. "Sis, we can't fight things like that! It'll kill us all!"

"Aww, no it won't!" Kara whined pitifully, "I can totally take that."

"What about the rest of us?!"

"....Oh." Her wagging tail came to a disappointed stop as her brow furrowed in deep contemplation. For some time the clearing remained silent, her pack's breath held as they waited for Kara to pass down her final decision.

"'Rue," She spoke up somberly, "I think they'll die."

"...That would be a problem." You agree with a straight face, very nearly losing it when Kara nodded seriously. "I hadn't planned on sending you up there alone, though. You would be serving as a guard for the rest of the knights. If a Griffon really does attack, they'll be there to back you up."
>>
"We're supposed to rely on a bunch of humans to keep us from being birdfood?" Maro's dissatisfied grunt joined the conversation. "They're more likely to feed us to the beasts." Unwelcome as his opposition was, it seemed as if he'd spoken what the rest were thinking... The distrust between demihuman and human certainly wasn't a one way street, to be sure.

"If y'just need extra muscle, I could go m'self." Kara suggested after a moment, "Sounds fun, at least."

"Not an option." Your arms crossed steadfastly. "They aren't just humans, they'll be my knights. They will support you."

"Fat lot of good that'll do us." Maro groused. "If they were worth a damn, why send us in the first place?"

"Oi." Kara growled a warning towards the former-Alpha, "If I say we go, we go."

"If you say we go, we die." Maro snarled back, "All because you wanted to be some human's pet bitch."

Kara's lip curled back dangerously, leaving you fighting the instinct to take a step back from the violence you felt creeping closer. There wasn't a doubt in your mind that your Testament would wipe the grassy floor with him in a fight, but the look of her packmates shared his same sentiments. Even though she'd win... It would be useless. This wasn't a dispute she could simply beat into the ground.

"Is there a reason we all have to go?" Raid spoke up suddenly, "Sis is right, if you wanted protection, she's the only one who needs to go." He didn't stray far from his sister's side, but his interference had defused the inevitable conflict... If only for the moment.

>How to answer this?
>>
>>2341024
>I'm not sending you to fight griffons. I'm sending you to scout for griffons so everyone can stay as far away from them as possible.
>Kara can fight one if she wants though.
Those griffons sound a bit bigger than I thought. To protect caravans efficiently, we'll probably need a campaign of preventative griffon extermination (by Kara and/or Adepts).
I think Raid is gunning for the pack leadership. We need to be wary of him and never separate Kara from the pack for long.
>>
>>2341031
Guess everyone else died. Writing!
>>
"If Kara wants to fight a griffon, that's entirely up to her." You take the opportunity to measure your words, "But even with all of you, and my knights, fighting something that big is a death sentence. People would die every time, no matter who won. I'm not interested in wasting lives just for an expedition."

"What can the rest of us do that she alone can't?" Raid pressed, "If it's just guard duty, we both know she's worth more than all of us combined."

"If she were fighting I'd agree, but I'm more interested in your nose. Any one of you would smell something coming well before a human. That forewarning is worth more to me than an extra set of hands, even ones as strong as hers."

"And if we do encounter a griffon? Or anything else?" Kara's younger brother tested the waters tentatively. Or so it would seem. You got the impression he was on board with the effort the moment you explained their role as scouts... So this wasn't for him at all.

"Like I said, if Kara wants to fight it, that's up to her. I don't expect the rest of you to do anything my knights aren't willing to do themselves." You glanced around the clearing, peering through the darkness to get a glimpse of the surviving packmates as you spoke. "As long as everyone stays safe, and you don't take unnecessary risks, handle threats as the situation dictates."

"And that's why you need all of us." Raid concluded satisfactorily, "You're sending all your little knights, so you need us to cover every direction."

"Among other things." You agreed vaguely. "Consider it a training exercise, if you want."

"Training?" Maro scoffed, drawing another snarl from your Testament as her tail bristled. You'd not had time to get to know the former-Alpha before the Revenant had taken its toll, but you knew from his position alone that he couldn't have been stupid. He obviously knew that provoking Kara would end badly for him, but still he toed that line.

...Why?

"Training for what?" Raid picked up the slack again, curiosity evidently getting the better of him. "If it's scout work, most of us have experience already."

Since you had his attention... You may as well secure your grasp on the others.

"What do you want?" You locked eyes with the bandana'd youth, favouring him with a calculated smirk. "What do any of you want?" From one broken demihuman to the next. From Maro's resentful glower, to Raid's lost confusion. To your Testament-

"Can I have those apples?"

"..."
>>
You motion to Asche to turn over her satchel of salvaged fruits, subtly rolling your eyes in the process. "As I was saying, what is it that you all want? You can't have been working with Carona's previous mayor because you agreed with him, and I can't imagine anyone liking the man. He had something. Something you wanted. Something you needed to get what you wanted."

Crimson eyes flashed predatorily from face to despondent face. "You were all bandits and thugs. You lived your entire lives as criminals and outcasts, taking dirty jobs and putting up with the scorn of people - Humans - That you obviously hated as much as they hated you... Why?"

...You didn't get an answer. You hadn't expected one, anyway. What mattered wasn't the response, but the act of saying it in the first place.

You still feel as if the effect would have been more profound if the silence wasn't being dispelled by the sound of apples being bitten apart, and some continuous 'paft' onomatopoeia.

"If you do this well, you'll be better prepared for what comes next."

Maro spit disdainfully, kicking off his tree with little preamble as he wandered from the group. In his wake, where you expected inspiration, or curiosity at minimum, you found only minor changes within the majority of the pack... And cryptic, evaluating expression from Raid.

He smiled suddenly, the shift in gears occuring so rapidly that you had to wonder if there was any legitimacy behind the act at all. "Well, it's up to you Sis."

"Mhmm." She mumbled some manner of acknowledgement through cheekfuls of apple.

>Talk to Kara (about?)
>To the Shrine
>Do something else (what?)
>Other? (write-in)
>>
The skyfire has risen at some point during writing that, so I am withdrawing. Voting stays open till I can get back.
>>
>>2341338
>Talk to Kara
What does she know about the history of demihumans? Do they have any folklore or something?
Also why does she think Raid recovered so much faster.
And about Maro's recent behavior. How does she interpret it?
>>
>>2341338
>>To the Shrine
>>
>>2341338
>>To the Shrine
>>
>>2341338

>>2341447
Seconding this , though include Raid in these questions. Also tell Kara we think Maro is up to something, ask if they're planning to do anything about him and recommend caution.
>>
>>2341447
>>2341829
This is Kara we're talking about. She who is unsubtle and not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. We can ask her about this stuff, but be careful in the asking, and don't expect much in the way of an answer.
>>
>>2341338
I have no idea what is happening.
>>
>>2341991
Something bad, no doubt.
>>
>>2341991
Well better figure it out before it bites us in the ass.

>>2341338
What kind of living quarters does the pack have? I don't think it would hurt their opinion of us if we set them up in something with standards. They need to be rewarded for their work before shit happens.

>Let me know if it looks like Maro is up to no good
And for god's sake, have a human spy on him too and don't take reports at face value without confirmation.

>Prepare for the meeting with the shrine
It's good to be prepared right? We're going to talk to gnome adepts about a geological survey, wisp? About assisting in recovering corpses. Should we reveal that we have magic and mention that there are not enough bodies still in the city? Shade adepts may be suited to exploring the mine beneath the town to look for clues.

Mim... Just look her in the eye and tell her that we must break the promise. What we found was a buried secret and we cannot tell her because knowing will put her life in danger. Her adept powers will show her that we tell the truth. Also make sure that she promise to forget about it.
>>
File: Spoiler Image (499 KB, 1407x300)
499 KB
499 KB PNG
>>2341447
>>2341829
>>2342362
Talking to Kara! And Raid?

>>2341462
>>2341648
Shrineward bound.

>>2342362
I don't know how Irue would prepare, anon. What you're going to do and talk about there is something you guys would have to discuss amongst yourselves.

Writing!
>>
File: 1458581963137.png (1.17 MB, 1488x1137)
1.17 MB
1.17 MB PNG
Going to get this update out and probably take a nap and some tylenol. I feel all fucked up.
>>
>>2342923
I hoped they someone would talk to me. I just want to prevent us from marching up the steps without a clue on what to actually do when we arrive
>>
Well, that was... something. You watched as the motley assembly of demihumans started to split up after it became apparent the meeting was over. "So?" Kara turned away from Maro's previous direction, tail swishing somewhat irritably as she faced you.

"So what?"

"What's your decision?" Your foot tapped patiently along the dew laden grass. "I have Dullem already talking to the knights about whether they're willing to work with you or not."

"Y'think they'll agree?" Kara scratched at her cheek, rubbing away a trace of splattered apple juice. "I don't think they're all sold here, either..."

"Should be fine, shouldn't it?" Raid piped up, "As long as we don't actually have to fight a griffon, it's no worse than anything else we've done."

"...Kinda wanted to fight a griffon." Your Testament grumbled unhappily, "S'pose you got a point though, I think we can handle it, 'Rue."

"If this pans out, don't hesitate to talk things over with Dullem. I'll be relying on the two of you to coordinate things." You thought back to your erstwhile knight captain, and wondered how his own efforts were going. The mistrust was a shared sentiment, and Dullem wasn't exactly a firm hand at arguing something. "We'll talk more about it once I know for sure it's a possibility. I've still got some people I need to talk to before the night's over."

"We're on patrol startin' tomorrow, aren't we?" Kara perked up, "What kinda stuff are we lookin' for?"

"Brigands. Merchants. Anyone suspicious coming or going, really." You weren't sure what there would be to find, but having eyes on the area was better than being blind, and more useful than agitating the townsfolk besides. "Try and keep out of sight, or inconspicuous. Last thing we need are merchants getting spooked." You pinch the bridge of your nose vexxedly at the thought of having to fight even harder to get supplies into the town. "Kara, I'll need you elsewhere for a bit."

You go over your plan to have Kara help dig out the dead. She seemed about as enthusiastic about it as Raid did, but seems confident she can get it done.

"It'll be nice t'have a break, I guess." She stretches tiredly, taking special care not to crush what remained of the apple in her hand. "Nice, easy work. Nothin' to think 'bout. I didn't think bein' Alpha was gonna be this hard."

"Being responsible for people is exhausting." You agree wholeheartedly, "You did what you had to, though. They're still alive, and they've got you to thank for that."

"Ehehehe..." She grinned toothily.
>>
"Speaking of leading, seems like Maro's giving you trouble."

"Ech." She grimaced as if someone'd stuck a lemon in her mouth. "He's been gettin' better lately."

"That was 'better'?" You pose archly.

"Well he's feelin' better, at least." She amended, "An' ain't quit bein' a pain my tail since. He don't approve of me bein' Alpha."

That much was obvious. He'd been against her taking the role from day one, even piss drunk as he was. You wouldn't be surprised if he was forcibly dragging himself out of his own depression out of sheer indignation over Kara's usurpation. "Anything in particular he's got a problem with?"

"Yeah," Kara snorted, "You."

"He could always take it up with me." You offered flatly, recalling your limited interaction with the man. He'd treated you as a nuissance as a first impression, and had his entire life abruptly and thoroughly destroyed because of it. If he held a grudge against you, he had plenty of ground to stand on to do so... Not that it elicited any pity from you over it.

It wasn't a matter of justifying what you'd done to him, or the rest of his - Now Kara's - pack. You crushed them beneath your heel, and would have finished the job had Kara not begged you to stop. You'd do it again in a heartbeat if it weren't for your Testament.

Kara shrugged helplessly, mercifully ignorant of the direction your thoughts had taken. "S'not that simple, 'Rue."

"It's never simple." You sigh, "Your pack's politics aren't really my business, but if there's anything I can do to help..."

"You helping might make it worse." Raid suggested crossly, waiting until he had your attention before continuing. "You're the problem in the first place, you know?"

"What did I do?"

"You don't get it, do you?" His grin stretched out slowly, "Even after that speech earlier? No one throws their weight around like that accidentally."

"..." Your lips pursed, waiting for him to get to the point.

"As long as we work for you, we don't have to scrounge out dirty jobs, or wonder where our next check is coming from. We can walk around in broad daylight, in town, and people just have to deal with it."

"And that's... Bad." You quirk a golden brow at the boy skeptically.

"Coming from the monster that swept in and crushed everything we worked for... Yeah." Raid's eyes glinted impishly, "It's terrifying. You're dangerous, and Maro doesn't gamble."

"He wants out." Kara chimed in bluntly, "Most of 'em ain't too sure 'bout what we're doin', but it seems t'be workin' out? An' if they left now, we're all back at th' start."

Raid wove his fingers together behind his head. It looked like he had more to say, but decided to keep his peace. In the meantime, that left the question of what you could actually do to help Kara... If anything. They appreciated the authority, and power behind your employment but... They were afraid of you? Or they couldn't understand you.
>>
"Keep an eye on Maro. If he's going to do anything drastic..." You let the implication hang in the air. The two before you hummed in acknowledgement, rendering completion moot. "Speaking of feeling better though, you snapped back quicker than anyone, Raid."

"Survival of the fittest!" He sniffed proudly, "I'm-erk!"

Kara physically ripped the smaller demihuman off his feet and tugged him into a headlock. "I am th' best big sister." You watched on in some small amount of concern as he struggled futilely, "I nursed him back t'health an' made sure he'd be fine 'fore I left him alone!"

The struggle continued apace without any ray of hope for the sandy haired demihuman in your Testament's grip, and by the time she'd started nuzzling him, you weren't sure if the red on his face was due to blushing, or the lack of air.

"Didn't you force feed him Faedka that whole time?"

"Yep."

You didn't have the energy to argue over the pros and cons of treating suicidal depression with alcohol distilled from the blood of a psychotic Mana that embodied life. Or the expertise, for that matter.

Still, she had fed the faedka to all of her surviving pack, and while it'd certainly served as a bandage, you couldn't be sure if their eventual recovery was a natural result, or if the drink had legitimately helped heal them somehow. If it were the latter, then Raid's recovery was still an outlier... but even if it was the former, was he naturally just more resilient due to his youth?

"Let... Go of... me!"

You feel like there was some key component you were missing.
>>
"So, I've been curious. Do demihumans have any history?" Your conversation resumed shortly after Raid succeeded in prying his way to freedom. "Like stories, or folklore?"

"I dunno." Kara shrugged expectedly. "no one ever told me about 'em if we do. Raid?"

"Don't look at me." He held his hand out to forestall any questions, retying his bandana in place. "I didn't hear any growing up in the pack. Ask Sasha."

"Sasha?" Your ears perk up at a name you hadn't heard before.

"Aye, you saw him earlier." Kara nodded thoughtfully, "Ah yeah, Sasha wasn't born with us. Guess if his old pack had stories, he might know."

"So you really didn't have any stories about your parents, or famous demihumans in the past?" You tried to imagine what it was like to grow up like that. You'd practically lived in your library, even if it wasn't strictly about history. Your lineage itself was a matter of inherent pride, for that matter. "Nobility must seem strange to demihumans."

"Stupid more like." Raid snarked, "Demihumans decide our packs based on who's the best suited for leading, not because someone raped some important big shot."

"That's... Not how human mating works." You're not sure you want to go into explaining traditional courtship to Raid. "And it's not how nobility works, either. We are the best suited to lead the people, which is why we they put their faith in us to do so."

"Why are you so good at it?" The demihuman queried doubtfully.

"We're trained from birth to do it, by our parents who pass down their experience."

"So what makes you any better at leading than some human out in the country?"

"I have skills and experience they wouldn't, obviously." You frown at the circular line of questioning. "Farmers wouldn't know how to lead a country any more than I'd know how to farm."

"So what's blood got to do with it?" Raid asked flippantly, "Why not just go learn to farm, or lead a bunch of people, or whatever?"

"It isn't nearly that simple." You shake your head dismissively. "Putting aside how long an outsider would have to study to even compare to a family that passes down their skills, there's grooming for temperament, and the importance of social networking to build alliances. Not to mention the process of passing on the responsibilities smoothly between generations - Can you imagine how little would get done if we just arbitrarily changed our leaders every four years?"

Raid just shrugged. "It still seems dumb to me. Demihumans don't care who their parents are."

"Yes, and look which one of us erected major nations across the continent." You deadpan. "The Shrine elects its Representatives similar to the way you're suggesting, and there's a literal child currently in charge of Carona's Luna Dominion because of it."
>>
"Isn't the Shrine a really big deal to you humans? They churn out those Adept freaks, and they're pretty dangerous. Seems like they're doing pretty good for themselves, to me."

"That's because they're overseen by the Mana." You sigh tiredly, "It's very literally run by divine mandate."

"Still seems smarter than rolling a lewd lottery for your spot in life."

"Just... Ask this Sasha about stories for me." You rubbed your temple, rapidly losing the motivation to debate societal structure semantics with Kara's younger brother in the middle of the night. You still had too much to do to be tired this early. "Where are you sleeping, anyway? I thought we were going to meet where you were camped."

Kara shrugged. "We sleep outside, mostly. S'warm enough."

"..."

"Asche, remind me to..." You walked off, sighing as your train of thought came up wanting. "Tell Fen to fix that later."

"Yes."

>How are you going to approach Mim?
>>
File: 1380698715131.gif (1.18 MB, 300x188)
1.18 MB
1.18 MB GIF
>>2343582
>How are you going to approach Mim?
First off, this is a conversation that needs to happen in private. Secondly, we have a distinct lack of martial prowess; if this goes pear shaped, we need an exit strategy. We're literally telling the lead Adept that we're working against their Mana; we need a backup plan. I wasn't in favor of telling her about this mess in the first place, so I'm not real sure how to proceed beyond that.


>>2343578
>You feel like there was some key component you were missing.
>pic related
>>
>>2343600
First of all, I think we need to warn Mim that we learned something Luna doesn't want to be known, and ask her whether she wants to actually know it. Then, we can work from that.
Don't tell her about Ari being infected in any case.

By the way, could we order a landing tower for our teleport to be built right now? I want them to start building as soon as possible, and I don't know when we'll get an opportunity to issue the order.
>>
>>2343600
We are not telling her /any/ details, for both our safety
>>
>>2343673
I don't want to give a child a choice in the matter. Hell if we tell her the is a good chance she will become a vector and infect Luna.

It is too big of a risk, promises be damned. If we are correct and the whole world is in danger and we should act accordingly and at least try to be a responsible adult.
>>
>>2343714
I don't think someone could become infected just by knowing it exists.
>>
>>2343582
Don't share anything, just honestly state up front that we can't keep our promise because it turned out to be something we can't just go talking about, apologize. Maybe mention that it's a Valen family duty to keep our mouth shut but definitely don't go into any more detail than that.
>>
>>2343719
>>2343582
>"I'm sorry, I wish things were different."
>>
>>2343582
>>2343673
I agree with this fag.
>>
>>2343757
Thank you, fellow fag.
>>
https://youtu.be/r_7iRVtxui8

Imprisoned child theme?
>>
If my ID has changed, I am >>2343674

>>2343715
But that's exactly how it works, mate. And remember that the delegation murdered everyone, genocided the Dryad's followers just to be on the safe side. What possible reason do we have to believe that they won't do the same to everyone around us if they get the notion that we are afflicted?

Telling someone affiliated with Luna is the dumbest fucking thing we can possibly do, and especially so if we care about them, or anyone else around us for that matter.

>>2343719
This is good. Her Luna powers ought to show that this is the honest truth.

>>2343673
I second the landing tower. If people need a better reason than that we can make it tall enough to be a lookout tower and like, put a mail pigeon roost at the top.
>>
>>2343673
>could we order a landing tower for our teleport to be built right now?
I don't think so; people are still lacking housing. Ordering a tower built won't go over well.
>>
>>2344018
We can place the order and have the schematics drawn and zone the area so that it can actually be built later. We don't need it built before the restoration effort is complete but we need to prepare.
>>
>>2344018
Simple answer.

Multipurpose construction.
>>
>>2343582
>>How are you going to approach Mim?
Sexually.
>>
>>2344140
>>
>>2344155
What year is it?

>>2343582
>How are you going to approach Mim?
Gently
>>
>>2343600
>>2343674
>>2343719
A private conversation, with an escape strategy! You don't even want to talk to Mim about this.

>>2343673
>>2343757
Tell mim a little, and then let her decide if we should tell her more! But not about Ari.

>>2344140
>>2344372
Please don't take advantage of the child, anons.

>>2343673
>>2344002
>>2344088
We want a tower!

>>2344018
Towers take up precious resources!
---

Looks like we're breaking our promise and making plans for a tower!

Writing!

>>2343856
I thought this was a joke, but laughed harder the longer I listened to it. Good job, anon; Even if it wasn't before, I'm going to remember this song as its theme now.
>>
You'd put it off this long, but in the end you'd still found yourself standing at the foot of the Shrine's stairway. Countless scenarios for how this would go had played out in the back of your mind ever since leaving the Atelier, but not once had they left you with any sense of peace. Not after what you had learned... And what it could mean.

To tell her what happened in the Imprisoned Child's Atelier could put Rinnier and her people in danger. Even the suggestion that they had been contaminated would likely be enough to warrant a heartless sweep by Luna's Dominion, just as they had with Dryad's Dominion so long ago... And by that logic, Ari's very existence as a potential Dryad Adept would almost certainly end in violence. You'd toyed with the idea of telling Mim the risks and letting her decide herself - Of the possibility that she'd keep your secrets, and you could still be honest with her.

You'd never been able to discard it. Not because it was likely, but because it was the only way you could imagine being able to keep your promise to her, and make up with the child that had born the brunt of your wrath and asked only for friendship in return. It was hope that kept you coming back to it; Hope that it was still possible. Stubborn, bruised hope that staunchly refused to throw away the seeds of a relationship you barely understood, but found yourself wanting regardless.

Hope, which had ultimately been buried under the same churning gears and cold logic that had driven you this far. Nothing Mim offered, or represented, could compare to the responsibility you held for your Testament. You couldn't afford to gamble their lives over something as worthless as some vague hope that Mim wouldn't betray you. Even if she didn't betray you, the information alone was too dangerous to be handled lightly; Telling the little Luna Adept may put her in just as much danger as your Testament.

You'd left Ari with instructions to relay to Fen, sending Asche along with her to ensure they'd make it back to headquarters. It was just you now, and the resolve to make the decision you'd slowly come to realize had been the only possible choice in the first place.

"Irue!"

Barely a foot inside the threshold, she'd spotted you. A precocious child sitting under the looming tree which made up the center of the Shrine's interior, otherwise known as the Representative of the entire Dominion of Luna for this Shrine. Was it a coincidence that she had been there watching the door? Or patience?

"Welcome back, what took you so long?"

"Things took longer than expected. How have things been in Carona?"

"Funny." Mim returned your vague answer with one of her own, a mischevious smile alight on her face. "We can talk about it somewhere else, if you want." You blink at the sudden offer, but she just shrugs. "You've been looking around ever since you came in. Let's go somewhere else, kay?"
>>
She took you by the hand, pulling you back towards her office. It was a place you knew would be private, but it was also an ill-fit for you if things were to go badly. There was only one way in and out, and you'd have to dash through the entirety of the Shrine's central clearing to escape.

...But being outside was just as dangerous in its own way. In the end, if you had any reason to have to physically flee the Shrine, you doubted an escape route would avail you much.

Mim scurried through the familiar mess that was her office right after pulling you inside, quickly picking up the pile of books she'd left stacked in one of the chairs and hauling them over to a corner. You looked around the discombobulated room with some exasperation, noting the disorganized pages and scrawled doodles left to the chaos.

It had been messy when you were last here, but nothing to this extent. Where the scent of ink and paper had filled it before, giving the small office the feeling of a library, now you kept catching whiffs of some sort of sweet confectionary. "I'll be done in a bit- Hey, wanna cookie?"

"How many cookies have you had in here?" You sniff tentatively, trying to parse out the flavours. Kara would have had a field day.

"Uh..." Her voice trailed off guiltily, interrupted by the plop of a books hitting the ground. "A lot?"

"Where did you even get that much sugar..." You took a seat in the now cleared chair, looking over some of the doodles left in disarray upon her desk. Scrawls and lines which you couldn't decipher at a glance, but doubtlessly held some meaning. Those blessed by Luna's favour recorded their thoughts in shapes and images as well as words, after all. It was a form of encryption unique to their... Peculiar world view; A cipher born from their own thoughts, translated through Luna's esoteric logic.

"Since Priat's gone, I can eat all the sweets I want." She plopped into her own chair proudly, fishing out a little cloth full of crumbled cookies. "Friends share things, right?"

>Seriously, where did you get all these cookies?
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
>Talk about missing bodies
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
>Other? (write-in)
>>
>>2346385
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
>Seriously, where did you get all these cookies?
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
>Talk about missing bodies
>>
>>2346385
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'

Is it a good sort of funny?
>>
File: 1515385745944.png (303 KB, 600x418)
303 KB
303 KB PNG
>>2346388
>>
>>2346393
We only hurt you because we love you(r writing).
>>
>>2346388
Everything!

>>2346391
Everything-3.

Writing.
>>
>>2346385
>Chastise her for eating so many sweets
You'll get fat!
>...Take a cookie
>Ask about Gnome Adepts for an expedition
Though lets delay this one until after we explain that we're not keeping our promise.
Less rude that way, probably.
>Talk about missing bodies
>Give her a book
>Inquire about what was 'funny'.
Does it have anything to do with us giving Marchovic a "do whatever the fuck I want" licence?
>Ask about Marchovic, does she get on with him?
>>
"Have you really done nothing but eat cookies since Priat left?" You accepted one of the offered confections, nibbling off a piece of it experimentally. It wasn't... Breath taking by any means, but you also didn't know how old it was supposed to be.

"Not only cookies." She denied indignantly, taking a bite of her own crumbled sweets "Just mostly cookies."

"You're going to get fat, Mim." Priat had been gone since shortly after you entered the Atelier... That was a strict diet of baked sweets for at least two weeks... Maybe more. The sweetness on your tongue was starting to make you sick just thinking about it. "Where did you get all of them?"

"I made them!" She beamed at you proudly, "Go on, praise me! I am amazing!"

"That just raises more questions." An exasperated smile forms despite yourself. "Carona's barely feeding itself, where did you find the ingredients for all of this?"

"Shrine storage." She brushed her hands together dismissively, "Used up most of the sugar we had left in there, too."

"...Why?"

"Because you were coming back." She put the little cloth of crumbled cookies on the desk between you. "I tasted every batch to make sure they tasted right, so I'd have something to welcome you back with."

"You didn't even know when I was coming back." You pointed out flatly, unpleasantly noticing the taste in your mouth was starting to turn bitter for reasons unrelated to the cinnamony crumbles. "Where did you find an oven, anyway?"

"Well, with Priat gone..."

Mim quite animatedly began to tell you the story of her adventures after parting ways with you. They were hardly tales of heartpounding bravery and bravado, or dark secrets lost to time... But you found yourself more than willing to listen to her ramble on. Things had changed while you were gone, both in Carona and the Shrine itself.

"...So eventually they figured out I was using the Salamander Dominion's altars to make cookies."

"Mim!"

"Where else was I going to find an oven?" She defended herself, "And they were fine with it after I explained they were for everyone! But then I had to start making more cookies, because now they were for everyone. The Salamander Dominion still smells like cookies."
>>
You'd quickly come to realize the four words she'd started this story with would come to categorize a much greater implication. Priat had mentioned before that Mim was prone to pranks, and you knew from prior experience that he'd been a disciplining influence on her, but as he'd abdicated his position... That left Mim more or less unsupervised, and the Salamander Dominion itself in a state of disarray.

"It's fine though, I made some of the attendants help me." She waved off the minor details of her subversion of a Mana's sacred domain for the sole purpose of learning to bake. "It's not like they were doing anything better with their time."

"Mim, Carona is still recovering. You can't just domineer one of the vital spiritual pillars of the people to bake cookies."

"That's where your wrong!" She shook an aforementioned cookie at you, "Because giving sad people cookies was a great idea, and I am a genius for coming up with it."

She ignored your groan.

"Even as the Representative of Luna, I can't believe you've gotten away with this."

"Who's going to stop me?" She frowned briefly, biting down on the cookie she'd shaken at you with more force than strictly necessary. "Kylo's busy with that new Atelier, Hraes and Penelope are arguing all the time, Liam's swamped with people."

You ran the list of vaguely familiar names through your head as she crossed them off. That really only left... "Marchovic?"

"He helped bake the cookies for a couple days, I guess." She shrugged. "That was only after I caught him stealing them off the trays, though."

"...For what purpose?" Your image of the somber Shrine and its respectable leaders was crumbling faster than the cookies were. On some level you'd known they were still just people, and your meeting with Elly had driven that home, but still...

"Eating?" Mim suggested flippantly, "He called my cookies nasty, so I made him help. And guess what? His were worse! He mixed up sugar for salt on an entire batch!" You very deliberately kept your own ventures into kitchenmancy to yourself, leaving a cookie half-stuffed between your lips as Mim took the ensuing silence as a sign to continue talking. "He's rarely around these days, anyway. Ever since he got permission to get involved with Carona's affairs, he's taken to just doing whatever he pleases. There's only a couple attendants left to tend to Shade's Dominion, all the rest of them are off..."

She flicked her hand towards the door illustratively, "Not that it matters."
>>
"Enough about me though, what happened?" She brushed aside her trailing diatribe with an eager smile. "Did you stop those wood things? Is your Testament safe? Did you figure out anything else about... You know?"

Right... You hadn't come here just to listen to Mim's escapades.

"Well, I've decided to look into giving the people of Carona some closure." You started started with something she hadn't asked, finding it difficult to answer her expectations with your rejection so quickly. "There are still a lot of people left unaccounted for in the wreckage, and I've made a little progress on finding them. Hopefully I can return the bodies to their families... But there's something I'm curious about."

"Is it something I can help with? I've got a report around here of missing people if you want it." She sat up attentively, picking out one such page from the piles of scribbles on her desk as if it'd been laying in plain view.

"That's what I was hoping you'd have."

She handed it over to you, an expectant gleam in her eyes as she waited for you to look it over. There were several pages of names here, only one of which you had any personal recollection of. Thankfully, it didn't take intimate knowledge of the names to realize that the amount you'd found didn't even remotely measure up to the bulk this list constituted. A scowl tugged at your lips as your crimson eyes ran across the pages time and time again, taking in the neat handwriting of the Luna Dominion attendants.

You'd found a page and a half... At most. There was no way your web had missed that many people. You were almost offended to even consider the possibility.

"That list is useless as it is, you know?" Mim teased.

"...What?" You let the papers slip into your lap distractedly, your darkening mood shaken by her sing-song tone.

"There are names on there of people who were found already, and confirmed to be healthy and recovering." She explained with a smirk, "They were taken off the earlier iterations of the list once they were found. That's the most recent one though, I'd planned to send it over in the next day or two."

"...I don't understand." You slid the papers back onto the desk with a frown. "They were put back on the list?"

"They went missing again after being found." Mim's smile widened. "And there are other names on that list that don't belong to anyone who lived in Carona in the first place."

"Mercenaries from the previous mayor?" You hazarded a guess, trying to make sense of the discrepancy. "But what happened to the ones that went missing again?"

"Maybe mercenaries." She allowed thoughtfully, "Maybe they didn't exist in the first place."

"Then why would anyone..." You brushed back an errant hair, glaring at the offending papers as if they'd explain themselves.

"Funny, isn't it?" Mim chirped, tossing the last half of a cookie into her mouth.

>?
>>
>>2346553
Oh my god.
Between this post and playing TLoH: ToCS, I'm having an overdose of comfyness right now.

>>2346554
Someone is faking the tallies? But why? It's not like there's any funds going to anyone that would depend on the number of missing people? Or is there?
Putting existing people on the missing list could be a way for them to go underground to, say, prepare for a rebellion, but non-existent people?
For what purpose could someone try to make the disaster seem even worse than it was?
Wait, if Mim knows all of this, is she the one faking the lists?
If not her, who is responsible for inserting people back, and why does Mim abide by this?
How are the lists even being composed? Where are the names coming from?
>Pose the above questions to Mim.
>>
Oh for fucks sake
>>
>>2346579
Just this, apparently!

>>2346580
Are you okay, anon.
>>
>>2346554
I forgot how... energetic Mim was. Breaking her heart is going to suck.
>>
>>2346626
I'm sure Riz is doubling down on Mim's adorableness to make it us hurt more.
>>
File: 1515362356370.png (652 KB, 1200x1024)
652 KB
652 KB PNG
>>2346600
Did you call the vote there? I just made it home.

Anyway, >>2346579 has the right idea.

If she knows this list is full of bullshit why the fuck do they just let it be?
We need a list of everyone involved in this. We need to know who compiles the list, who the investigators are etc. and start looking into their relations and involvement in crimes.

And I guess add one more item to the list of things we're going to have to take care of ourselves, put together a loyal and reliable team to make an actual tally of missing people.

Why can't it ever be easy?
>>
>>2346739
>put together a loyal and reliable team
We're a little short on normal personnel, never mind good quality people.

We can add this to the pile, but it doesn't currently outweigh all the other stuff that needs doing.
>>
"So someone's faking the reports?"

You catch onto her on-the-nose implication quickly, but it didn't make any sense. To listen to Rinnier, you barely had the funds to ration out food - That was why reclamation was preceding reconstruction, and the whole driving force behind your idea of obtaining iron from the land. There was no way someone could have benefitted from pretending they were still missing... Unless they did so explicitly to try and drop out of public eye.

But even then, that didn't explain the false entries. They were never going to be found, so why... "If you knew the list was like this, why send it to us?"

"Didn't you want updates?" Mim asked rhetorically, "People are more comfortable coming to the Shrine about their loss than a noble they've never met, but it's not like the information is of any practical use to us."

"So you've been knowingly sending us useless lists?"

"We don't curate the list before sending it, if that's what you're asking. Luna's attendants are just responsible for adjusting names based on what Carona's people tell us. If someone comes in and tells us someone's been missing, we add it."

"But... You know they're lying." You struggle to understand how Mim let something like this happen, or more to the point, why. "Were you ever going to tell us?"

"I'm telling you now!" She pointed out defensively, "I'd actually hoped to figure out more before I brought it up. I've only been able to confirm a couple of the names on the list as not being in Carona so far. The rest... You'll just have to trust me on?"

Luna Adepts didn't make baseless guesses, even if it may sound like such. Rather, their entire world view was different; Their favour with the Celestial Mana granting them an almost unfair access to information. You knew this both from your own interactions with them, and the studies you'd poured over for the past decade. As the Representative of Luna, Mim was hands down the most beloved by Luna in the Shrine.

"No," You held your hand up to forestall her explanation, "If you say they're fake, I believe you." The statement alone caused her to visibly relax, a bright smile blooming appreciatively across her face. "It still doesn't explain why it's happening, though. This just makes the disaster seem even worse than it was."

"Mm!" She nodded happily, "So if we assume that's what they're trying to do, the obvious question is 'why', right? but..." She shifted the papers on her desk, trying to line up something you didn't quite grasp among the lines of doodles. "Most things are circles to some degree, so we can go the other way too. Instead of why they're doing 'it', I was more curious about what 'it' was doing."
>>
>>2346751
Yes, I'm well aware. It was a sad little joke.

Unless Mim is just fucking with us because of a wicked sense of humor it means we have political enemies who are already working full throttle to stop us gaining support
>>
"See!"

She very proudly presented a rearrangement of lines.

They meant nothing to you, other than the vague understanding that the doodles you had seen earlier were apparently related to this weird list phenomena. Thankfully, your precocious little companion caught onto the blank look in your eyes before you had to say as much. "What happens when the list looks bigger than it is?"

"The disaster seems worse."

"How?" She pressed.

"The casualties are higher. More loss of life, more broken lives."

"Right!" She clapped her hands, "So it's obvious, isn't it?"

"..." You scratch your head, feeling like you'd just bashed it into a wall. "It's increasing unease and discontent in Carona, obviously. That doesn't really..."

"No, no, no!" Mim stabbed the lines again emphatically, "You said it yourself, didn't you? You wanted to dig those bodies up to give Carona's people closure. Since you replaced the previous Mayor, Carona isn't independent anymore; The Valens both oversee it, and run it. It's a paradigm shift in governance on the heels of tragedy! You wanted to make them like you, didn't you?"

"...Actually it was a favour for someone I know." You explain somewhat irritatedly. Rinnier had jumped to assuming it was a political thing, too. "But the end result would have been that anyway, yes."

"And it bothered you when you couldn't find all the bodies, riiiight?" Mim's verbal poking continued. "So what do you think they'll feel like when the best their new leader can do is find a small fraction of people on that list?"

That you're incompetent. That you did a half-assed job. That you didn't really care.

Any option was as good as the next, because they all led to the same place: A very specific flavour of discontent being sewn amongst a community that already viewed you as an outsider.
>>
"This still doesn't explain the 'who'." You mutter, feeling familiar resentment for this town start to bubble up. "Unless..."

"Bing~O!" Mim cheered, "Those names that appeared and disappeared again later definitely have something to do with it. They were actually what bothered me in the first place." The little Luna Adept flipped over one of the doodled on pages, revealing it to be a much older version of the list. "This was back during the early days after the Mistral's Child, you can see this name... And this one, too-" Another page flipped, "-They were removed here, in the updated report three days later."

"If you don't curate them, how did they get removed?" You frowned, uncomfortably beginning to suspect all of the doodled on papers were old reports.

"You curated them, actually!" She explained, dashing your suspicions as another paper was flipped. "This is a transcript of patient names from the healer's tents back then. When we got this, we removed the corresponding names here, here, and..." She trailed off, gesturing lazily with her hands. "Anyway, later that month, one of them shows back up. Then another later, and another, and then the fake entries."

"People who still support the old Mayor's grass roots rebellion..." You mutter to yourself, narrowing your eyes at the papers. "They'd rather Carona stay a hole in the ground than have me here?"

You wouldn't put it past Carona, considering the kind of people you'd had to deal with from here in the past... But at the same time, it didn't mesh with the people you'd seen in the streets, either.

You lace your fingers together pensively. "I need more information on these people. Their jobs, their friends, their family..."

"I... Can do that." Mim hesitated, sitting back in her chair and awkwardly kneading at the hem of her tunic. "I mean, I can. Personally. The Shrine doesn't keep any kind of records on that kind of stuff, and we're not really supposed to do that kind of thing."

>Do you want to ask Mim for this favour?
She'll do it, just for you.
>>
>>2346759
>Yes
The future hinges upon how much support we have in Carona, we can't afford malcontents undermining us. We're used to failing but that's on us, fuck me if I'm going to let it be because some little shit is lying
>>
>>2346759
>>Do you want to ask Mim for this favour?
No. We can't ask her for a favor right before telling her we're breaking our promise. At best, it's a terrible thing to do to her. At worst, she'll make a bad job of it in revenge.
>>
>>2346762
Then we talk about that first
>>
>>2346767
I mean, I guess we could ask her if she was still willing to help us after we tell her, but that'd require a pair of rather sharp topics changes. I can't imagine that going over well, and it still leaves 'bad job in revenge' open.
>>
>>2346777
I think you're being a bit too dramatic. She is pretty open with how she feels and I don't think it's in her character to do something like that.

It's not a drastic topic change, it's a necessary one. I think that's a weak argument.
"Before we decide on that..."
>>
>>2346759
I'd like us to talk about the broken promise first. We really can't ask favours from Mim.

Also, I wonder who came up with this idea. That's not something people would start doing by themselves, this is a coordinated effort by someone knowledgeable in politics. Someone has inherited the late mayor's position.

Is it time to establish our own secret police death squads?
>>
>>2346759
>No, just give me what you have and I'll try my best

It's pretty clear that she'd rather not do this for us, this is supposed to be a second chance and it seems like this would spoil it. We're about to ask for a favor after this anyway.

Maybe if we have the names we can assemble a small task force to investigate. Raid would certainly be good at investigative work, Ari might function as muscle once she's armed... maybe some of our knights would have an applicable skillset?

>Ask if Priat was upset that we abandoned him on the threshold of the fae forest
>Ask about the possibility of sending him physical mail, he might have an easier time of it if he had a letter lending him authority in our name. We could also point him west as a hotspot for his refugee countrymen if we wanted.
>>
File: LargeStick.jpg (75 KB, 800x499)
75 KB
75 KB JPG
>>2346794
>Secret police death squads
You're already asking for information on their friends and family, anon! They can't threaten your regime if you hold their family hostage!

Also I have something I need to do for the next 30-45m, so I'll close the window then.
>>
>>2346759
>>2346761
I'll change this to
>Change subject

I still think it's best to ask the favor but he's right we have to do it in the correct order
>>
>>2346841
Have you played Trails of Cold Steel already?
>>
File: WhyIsMyPresent.jpg (27 KB, 680x234)
27 KB
27 KB JPG
>>2346762
>>2346794
>>2346800
We can't possibly ask Mim for a favour and then turn around and break our promise to her!

>>2346855
We should break our promise with Mim, and then ask her for favours.

Is this really your choice, anons? It'd be a shame if you immediately went back on this.

Writing!
---
>>2346864
I've actually not played any of the LotH games. I just know what it is because I like Estelle's dialogue. I should try them sometime, because they seem enjoyable.
>>
>>2346909
It wouldn't be going back on anything though, the problem is that we would getting her to agree to something before letting her down, it seems a little manipulative. Also she's apprehensive this idea specifically, asking for her help with finding minerals isn't likely to get the same apprehensive reaction as
involving her in our political black ops.
>>
>>2346909
The LotH series is absolutely great.
When I found out Trails of Cold Steel were ported to PC I squeed like a schoolgirl.
I upgraded my system to 64 bit just for this, clean install and all.

Now waiting for us to fuck up the talk with Mim again.
>>
The clouds I was using for cover have forsaken me. I'm probably going to withdraw after this update.
>>
>>2346909
The series is fantastic but I really don't like the battle system. Slow animations, a lot of waiting and time wasted.

The story and cast is great but at some points the only way to stomach the antagonists is by having watched so much anime as to be immune to how dumb it is. From what I see, most people who hate the games are those who can't process or accept anime logic.

You sure want to spin this in the most negative light possible.
>>
>>2347057
That's because you're using your inferior senses. A Spider's Web would let you see things as they truly are.
>>
You blinked, catching yourself as you started to make impositions. Talking to the little Luna Adept, it had just been so easy to get caught up in the flow and just... Treat her like a partner. Maybe you'd spent too much time indulging in her stories earlier, and forgotten that she didn't have an obligation to help you. Mim was the Representative of Luna, and an important official of the Shrine, not one of your Testament. Definitely not one of your knights.

"No, that's fine. I can handle it myself later, just... Can you mark the names of the ones who showed back up on the list when you send the next update?" You shouldn't get used to relying on the Shrine for your political problems in the first place. They are, as a strict policy, meant to stay neutral in such affairs. "Treat it like a curiosity, I can work with it from there."

"That's fine." Mim beamed confidently, "A little curiosity is a given in Luna's Dominion, after all. Speaking of which..." She trailed off, suggestive of a topic you'd dodged earlier. "What happened after I left?"

"Priat and I followed the golems into the forest. In the end, I had to send him back while I handled the rest myself... He wasn't upset about that, was he?"

"He didn't seem mad about it." Mim replied carefully, "But he's been anxious about the people around him for as long as I can remember." Leaving him like you did would have been ample cause for anxiety, even if it didn't leave him responsible for reporting what had happened to Rinnier. "Do you want me to send him a message?"

"I was hoping you could."

At the very least you could tell him you were alive and well. The possibility of sending him some sort of token tying him to House Valen had admittedly crossed your mind as well, but you couldn't be sure how that would play out with civil war so close to the horizon. As powerful of a key it might have been, you ran the risk of painting a target on his back in the coming days. Was it worth the risk?

"I can get your letters to him, no problem." She boasted with an air of self-importance, "But Priat's not important right now, tell me stories!"

...Seems like there really wasn't a way around this.
>>
You ran your fingers down the worn spine of a book you'd been carrying with you since shortly after you'd left the Imprisoned Child's Atelier. It's title didn't matter, but it'd been one of the pile left behind in your library from Mim's ill-fated attempt to coerce something of value from you.

At the time it had been the final straw, and the only gift you'd given her was a glimpse at how utterly stressed out you were. Or screwed up, if you were being more honest with yourself... Because the things that had driven that particular outburst were rooted far deeper than simple stress. It was only after you'd torn into the child that you'd realized what she was after.

You promised to make it up to her. That you'd tell her everything once you got back.

"...?"

You set it on the table between you with a grimace. Her smile had flinched when she saw it, if only for a moment.

"I didn't really want your books, Irue. Remember? We talked..." She tried to press the book back towards you with a grin - One which grew fragile and confused when you held it in place. "...We talked... About..."

"I'm sorry, Mim."
"No..."

You reached over the book to grasp her hand, barely feeling the little Luna Adept's fingertips graze your own as she recoiled.

"You promised..."

"I know!" You pushed to your feet quickly, hand still outstretched in a one-sided attempt to bridge the emptiness between you. "I know, but things changed. I'm still here, I still want to make up for what happened before, but..." Your fingers clenched on thin air, falling weakly back to your side as Mim's eyes moistened. "...I can't. Not like this."

What stung the most wasn't the betrayal you had braced yourself to justify. It wasn't the screaming and denial you'd steeled yourself to endure, or the hysteria you'd jumped to try and soothe. It was the twitch of her lips that spoke of familiarity in fighting her budding tears. The way her lashes matted together as she tried to blink away the building heat, but lost you in the blur. The way her voice threatened to crack when she asked 'why'.

The pain wasn't sharp, but it made you sick.

It hit you all at once and left your limbs leaden and dull... She wasn't mad at you. She'd known this was coming, and clung to the hope that she was wrong. There was something else buried here, waiting to scream it was right.

>Why can't you tell her?
Think carefully.
>>
>>2347457
>Because She's our friend
I can't
>>
File: 212.jpg (33 KB, 426x341)
33 KB
33 KB JPG
>>2347457
>Because anyone knowing it is in danger, of a mystical sort. We can't unlearn it, but we can try and prevent Mim from learning it.
>We didn't know this when we made our promise.
>We'd rather break the promise than break Mim's life.
>And because we know this will only whip up Mim's curiosity, ask her to promise never, never try to find out.
I personally don't think Mim would use this info against us. But Luna has a direct channel to her after all. And if Luna decides Mim is compromised, who knows what'll happen.
>>
>>2347457
You're a Luna adept, Mim. You know how dangerous knowledge can be. And this is dangerous. Not just to the knowledge keeper, either. I'm not trying to protect just you here, which is why you shouldn't dig into this.

You would have to forsake Luna to know this, and would be hunted by Luna for the rest of your life. Are you willing to make that trade?

We can't tell her about it, and we can't tell her why we can't tell her. Even hinting at it could be toehold for her to start looking.
>>
>>2347457
>because it could get me killed, or get you killed
>friends are supposed to protect each other, right?
>it's my fault for making a promise about something I knew nothing about
>I wish things were different, and I'm sorry

>>2347543
lets not talk about this in a way that concerns or includes anyone outside this room
>>
>>2347719
We need to communicate somehow that
1. We didn't want to break the promise
2. We can't tell her about it
2a. We can't tell her why we can't tell her about it
3. If she tries to look into it, she is risking us, her, and others

3. is important because it discourages her from indulging her considerable curiosity as a Luna adept by looking into this mess. Luna is all about information; if we don't give her a reason to not pry, she almost certainly will.
>>
>>2347813
So tell her it could kill her or us, any extra restraint on her part that this may or may not bring is not worth potentially drawing attention to Rinnier or Ari.
>>
>>2347850
I was wanting to mention 'others' to show that we weren't worried about only ourselves here, but I'm willing to concede it if we can drive home that her learning puts her in danger, and puts us in greater danger than we would be otherwise.

I'm just afraid of her 'accepting the risks' and looking into it if we don't indicate it doesn't just put her in danger.
>>
If telling the truth isn't good enough there is not much we can do. Lying to make her feel better is plain stupid

Things change and no amount of disappointment will change the nature of what we found
>>
>>2348420
Lying was never in the cards; this is how we make her understand why we're breaking our promise, ideally without hurting her further.
>>
>>2348430
I didn't say that that is what we are doing.
>>
>>2347475
>>2347719
We can't tell you because we're friends!

>>2347491
>>2347543
We can't tell you because Luna!

Writing!
>>
"It's dangerous." You needn't tell an Adept of Luna how knowledge posed a threat of its own. They knew it intrinsically, probably even better than you. "I wish things were different, but this doesn't mean I don't want to be friends."

"I'll keep it a secret!" The problem with that understanding, you realized as she fervently pleaded with you, was that familiarity bred comfort. "Whatever it is, I won't tell anyone! If it's dangerous things, I know plenty already!"

But the insistence with which she wanted you to tell her left you confused and off balance. If she wasn't mad at you, and she didn't so much as question whether you still wanted to be friends, what drove this? Why was she so distraught? Was simple curiosity enough to bring a Luna Adept to the brink of tears?

"This is different, Mim. It has nothing to do with how well you can keep a secret..." Even if it was, you couldn't budge on this. "I know you would be careful, but just learning what I did puts your life in danger, and mine even more so. Please, just let me make this up to you some other way."

"You're trying to keep secrets from a Luna Adept..." What may have meant to be a mutter came out more as a plaintive whimper. "If you're in danger, why won't you let me help?"

"Because I'm trying to keep my friend from being in the same danger!" You respond with a stressed hiss. "I'd rather break my promise with you and protect you than drag you into this with me because I did something stupid, and made a promise I can't keep."

"What's the point of being friends if we're still alone!?" The tremble in her voice finally cracked, and the sinking sensation that you were having two different conversations returned in full nauseating force. "If it's so important, you're not going to let it go; Every time you follow it, you'll leave me behind!"

You opened your mouth to retort, but found the tip of your tongue empty and dry. You weren't going to let go of what you learned, and the very nature of pursuing it meant you'd have to keep Mim well separated from your efforts. If you were truly dedicated to keeping her in the dark, then giving a Luna Adept such as herself involvement under any pretense was worse than tempting fate - It was an inevitability.

"...I'm sorry, Mim."

Even still, if her knowing put your Testament in danger...

"Does anyone else know?"
>>
You blinked, the train of thought you'd followed this far screeching to a halt. Something had shifted in Mim's demeanour when you hesitated, some light of bitter realization as if she'd stumbled across the puzzle piece she'd been missing... Or trying not to find. "Because you trusted them...?" Gears sparked back to life in your mind as her low mutters continued. "No, because it was safer? Already involved?"

"Mim-"

"So I'm not involved?" Your voice fell on deaf ears, or perhaps she'd ignored you entirely as her eyes were drawn pensively to the floor. "Or I am? Why am I different?"

"Mim, stop!" Your chair toppled over as you realized exactly what was happening. Desperation and panic propelled you around the desk.

>1d100!
>>
Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>2348683
>Asked to roll
We seem to have really fucked up on this one.
>>
>>2348695
Aaaaaaaaaand rolled really low to boot.
Farewell Mim. You were too pure for this world.
>>
>>2348695
You may also suggest something drastic to do to try and shock her out of what she's doing. It will take effect if your rolls fail, as an act of desperation.

In this case, it makes little sense that Irue would just see the shaking not working, and then give up.
>>
>>2348698
I assume she's trying to use her Luna powers to find out things man ought not to know. In this case, all I can think about is punch her out, then pump her full of Faedka and talk to her while her system is flushed of Luna.
>>
>>2348698
I mean, yes, this is my vote.
>Go berserk and punch Mim out cold before it's to late.
>>
Rolled 90 (1d100)

>>2348684
Christ, just the one?
>>
Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>2348684

>>2348698
I dunno how to shock her. Maybe beat her senseless? We're strong enough to murder oakenbears! Smash her with the book or something!

>Mim is different /because/ you're an adept! It's magical fucking mumbo jumbo
>>
>>2348700
>pump her full of Faedka

>Fill one of Luna's beloved with the physical essence of the sibling it eradicated

I play this quest but even I can tell that this is a bad idea
>>
>>2348730
>>2348731
Where were you before with your rolls anons ;_;
>>
>>2348736
You might be right, but I panicked.
>>
>>2348731
Do you really want to keep giving her hints until she can figure it out without meditation?
>>
>>2348698
I don't know, would the tearing or destruction of her books or notes knock her out of meditation?
>>
>>2348739
I forgot that all we do in these threads is suffer from mistakes and suffer when we think we do the right thing.

I actually believed that voting to rationally explain the situation was the best way to deal with this and defuse the confrontation. Of course what we got was something right out of a Spanish soap opera and we end up having to roll a dice and deal with a magical fucking wonderchild throwing a tantrum.
>>
>>2348695
>>2348730
>>2348731
You did fine, anons. It's the usual "1d100 three times, best of" thing, I just don't call for it often enough to remember how it's done in shorthand.

But christ, everyone voted to beat her.


Out of curiosity, has anyone realized why the broken promise bothers her so much?

Writing!
>>
Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>2348684

>>2348739
I'd say we're a little short on options here. Our hints have to be as minimal as possible, but are you willing to risk the alternative?
>>
>>2348763
How the hell else are we going to shock her? Strip naked? Spit cookie crumbles at her? Flip the table?

Honestly though I'm far from surprised. We have been talking about how to break this to Mim since The Year of Our Lord, 2017 but when it's finally time, all we manage to do is croak out lines to create a scene that'd make Falcon Crest blush.
>>
>>2348770
>Croak out lines that'd make Falcon Crest blush
Should I quote you less?
>>
>>2348763
>has anyone realized why the broken promise bothers her so much?
My guess is no one treats her seriously in the Shrine, so she wanted to be trusted at least by us.
Or, alternatively, she knows that we know and her masters at Artemis ordered her to kill us if we don't confess that we know.
>>
File: kms.jpg (27 KB, 640x279)
27 KB
27 KB JPG
>>2348775
That, and the piss poor way the shitty apology was said it could have been quoted right out of a handbook for condescending adults, which I'm sure she has had more than enough of.
>>
File: relax nigga.gif (1009 KB, 500x712)
1009 KB
1009 KB GIF
>>2348780
>>
>>2348784
in his defense this is the least relaxing quest i've ever seen
>>
So, I must ask this thread: How is punching a little girl adept of Luna going to stop Luna, the Metaphysical Embodiment Of All Knowledge In This World, from learning about anything you're doing? The Mana do NOT need their human worshippers to do their own thing, and have all sorts of creatures, sprites, and elementals to do it for them.
So...?
>>
>>2348830
I didn't come up with the idea, I'm not sure of the reasoning behind it, and to be fair I didn't come up with anything better.

However...

Punching elementals worked. A bit.
>>
>>2348830
I think the idea is to knock some sense into her/knock her out to prevent her from doing anything drastic. I didn't have anything to do with stopping Luna from learning anything, just Mim.

I certainly didn't vote for it though, so who knows.
>>
I just want it on record that, Luna, as the Mana of Knowledge, embodies all knowledge. All of it. As it occurs, is obscured, or erased from human history. Luna knows these things. And Luna adepts, literally any of them, just have to worship and ask to find those things out. The only way anyone is going to stop Mim personally from learning something she sets her mind to, is to kill her.

Or ask nicely, like a concerned friend, but perhaps that's passed.
>>
>>2348830
The idea is to stop Mim from trying to unearth hidden knowledge and potentially being infected and/or offed by Luna.

>>2348837
I voted for asking nicely, but we weren't given a chance.
>>
>>2348837
>I just want it on record that, Luna, as the Mana of Knowledge, embodies all knowledge. All of it. As it occurs, is obscured, or erased from human history. Luna knows these things.

I don't think that's quite right. I think Luna has a vested interest in learning as much as possible, and goes to great lengths to collect knowledge, but it doesn't intrinsically know everything. Remember, Udine is a keeper of secrets. That wouldn't be possible if Luna knew everything.

>And Luna adepts, literally any of them, just have to worship and ask to find those things out.
This doesn't seem right either, though I have no evidence to support it.
>>
You wasted no time shaking the ever living shit out of her, nearly ripping the little Luna Adept from her chair as you grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled. The time for gentle prodding had passed, and you didn't cease your agitated jostling until her own arms had wrapped back around yours in an attempt to steady herself.

"Not telling you wasn't an invitation for you to find out yourself!" You seethe, shaking her once more for good measure. "Are you an idiot?!"

"Well what was I supposed to do? You're not telling me!" She retorted dizzily, wobbling a little in an attempt to reorient herself.

"I'm not telling you because it's dangerous!"
"IF you can decide it's too dangerous for me, why can't I decide I don't care?!"

You shake her some more, this time purely out of frustration. It was a cathartic experience...

"Whyyyyy...!"

...For one of you.

"Mim," Her chair rocked as you thrust her back against it, kneeling down to look the little Luna Adept in the eyes. "Listen to me: This isn't about you. If it were anything else, I would tell you... But I stand to lose too much if I screw this up." You locked eyes with her, feelings of guilt still buried under the adrenaline rush from stopping that potential disaster. "One day, I'm probably going to need you. Eventually, you will figure it out, whether I want you to or not, I know that. You're a Luna Adept."

Your fingers dug into her shoulders for emphasis. "But the longer it takes for that to happen, the better off we'll both be." Did she already have enough information to divine what happened on her own? You weren't willing to take the risk. Especially now that you'd realized first hand that it could happen the moment you walked out of the room. "Promise me you're not going to just force your way into this before then."

"..." She cut her eyes to the side, a stubborn frown setting unhappily on her face. It made you want to resume shaking her until she stopped being so... So childish.

"Mim, please. Don't make me regret this."

"...Fine." Her chin sunk resignedly.

You hung your head with a sigh. "Thank you. I'm trusting you with this, Mim."

"You won't trust me with the secret, but you'll trust me not to figure it out." She muttered bitterly.

"Mim."

"I know, I got it already!" Mim turned away from you with crossed arms. "You sound like Priat."
>>
You stood up tiredly, shaking your head as you waited for something else to exacerbate the conversation. For better or worse it seems like you'd cleared that hurdle, but the memory of it was still fresh in your mind. Whatever comfortable atmosphere that'd been left over from before was well and truly gone by now - Replaced with an aimless tension. Even if her voice wasn't cracking anymore, the sound of her occasional sniffle still punctuated the time you took to fix your clothes.

Fortunately the reasons you'd come to visit were nearly exhausted... Even if that meant leaving on a sour note.

"Is the Gnome Dominion still willing to lend us some help in reconstruction?" You change the topic bluntly, not wanting to linger overlong in that stagnant stalemate.

"Probably." She replied disinterestedly. "Penelope's all gung-ho about recovering after Roderick died."

The name brought a grimace to your face. You'd never gotten on well with Gnome's Dominion, which made the prospect of approaching the Gnome Representative for help a leery one. Even more so if it was being motivated by the memory of the Adept you'd picked a fight with in the first place.

>Do it yourself
>Ask Mim to arrange it
>Other? (write-in)
>>
>>2348886
>Do it yourself
Mim's being childish right now. If she was more mature about this, I'd ask her to help to show that we still trust her enough to ask her for help, but I don't think that'll make a difference here.
>>
>>2348886
>Do it yourself
>Thank for the delicious cookies
>Ask if Mim has ever been to the mountains
God I feel awful. I cherish hope we can at least distract her.
>>
>>2348886
>other
>task dullam with it

I'm not sure why but I feel like Dullam has the best chances of this among our allies, at the very least he's definitely not going to grate against the gnome adepts the way we are.
>>
>>2348922
This is actually a good idea, I think.
>>
>>2348922
Dullam isn't much of a conversationalist, and already has plenty on his plate. Let's not saddle him with more stuff he doesn't want to do.
>>
>>2348886
>>Ask Mim to arrange it but go with her.
>>
>>2348929
He's taking his duty to repair the town very seriously while also feeling like he's incapable of meaningfully contributing to things, a matter not helped by our lack of proper guidance.

This task is both vital in importance and easier for him to perform than it is for us, given his temperament and recent experience with having meetings specifically concerning the reconstruction of Carona.

It's a perfect fit! It shouldn't take that long anyway.
>>
>>2348893
Do it yourself! You're an adult now!

>>2348922
>>2348925
Make Dullem do it, he's almost as manly as Penelope.

>>2348932
Walk Mim out to talk about expeditions!

>>2348903
...Also ask Mim about mountains!

Writing.
>>
>>2348884
>We didn't strip her
Smh senpai
>>
You made a mental note to have Dullem ask on your behalf. After the last couple of times you'd crossed paths with Gnome's Dominion, you weren't interested in starting another fight. Besides that, he'd been looking for more ways to full useful, and the kind of temperament that'd get on well with them.

"What do you want with them?" Mim's curiosity begrudgingly got the better of her once it became apparent you weren't going to explain any further. "Is it about the walls?"

"No, I'm still thinking about how I want to handle reconstruction." You shake your head, idly remembering that you could actually change how the entire town was built if you wanted. That Shade blessed thought of building a giant tower of yourself flipping off Carona promptly emerged from the back of your mind, which - As tempting as it was - was something you had to shake back into the private recesses of fantasy.

Some sort of tower, on the other hand...

"I'm trying to organize an expedition of sorts to get raw resources from the mountains. Good stone, hopefully iron as well. I was hoping to convince the Gnome Dominion to lend me an Adept for divining purposes." You glanced back to find Mim's mood fractionally set aside while you indulged her inquiries. "Have you ever been to the mountains before?"

"Does your house count?"

"No." You blink at the non-sequitor. "That's still pretty firmly in the woods. The mountains are even further north, past th-"

"Forest. I've seen maps before." She cut off your recollections irritably, "The trip to your house was the first time I left Carona."

"Really?" You lean against your abandoned chair, "You've spent your whole life in this town?"

"Where else would I have spent it? I was born here."

You'd never given much thought to where Mim came from, other than the brief conversation you had with Priat en route to the forest. "For someone born here, you don't seem too distraught over the Banshee's wake." You observed clinically, "I was under the impression everyone in Carona were pretty attached to this place."
>>
"Maybe." She offered a noncommital answer, glancing off to the side. "I was never really a part of it, so I couldn't tell you. The Shrine took me in when I was a kid, and we're supposed to be neutral... So even though I was born in Carona, it's not important to me."

You resist the urge to point that she's still a kid. She'd been the Representative of Luna even back when Priat arrived though, which meant she'd held the position... At least since she was in the single digits. In all that time, she'd never once left Carona. It didn't even seem like she left the Shrine itself that often.

Just how beloved by Luna was this child, to have been thrust into such a position that young...?

"Can Representatives not leave for very long?"

"As long as our Dominion's taken care of, we can technically come and go whenever we want... But most Representatives don't stray for very long." She made a face and affected the sternest voice the otherwise unimposing girl could manage before mockingly droning on. "We're meant to be the voice of guidance for those on the path, or in need... According to Priat, anyway."

"You never wanted to go anywhere?"

"Where would I go?" She looked at you quizzically, "All my books are here, anyway."

...

"Anyway, get out." She dismissed you roughly, waving her hand towards the door as she started doodling on the paper in front of her once more. "I have work to do."

It was a much colder goodbye than welcome, but you saw yourself out without commenting on the troubled frown she'd tried to conceal.
>>
Stepping out into the Shrine proper was like reentering the world proper. The sounds of people milling through the adjacent Dominions filtered into your ears almost the moment the door had opened, impressing on you just how thoroughly soundproofed Mim's office really was. Along with it came the flowing scent of fresh air, crisp water, and a nearly unnoticeable trace of incense.

There were still a fair number of people occupying the Shrine even at this hour, though their distribution varied wildly. Jinn's Dominion remained all but abandoned by those besides its attendants after Mistral's Child, which contrasted curiously with the almost tranquil feeling that Undine's empty Dominion gave off, and the robust density of Gnome's. The earthen Mana's attendants seemed to have been a grounding point for Carona's community, a fact made obvious as snippets of some communion sermon drifted out into the commons even as you gave the place a healthy berth.

Salamander's Dominion on the other hand seemed to have become a hotspot for children, and straying too close to its flame-silhouetted halls revealed the cinnamon-scented reason as to why. You weren't sure just how many of those children had parents attending communion, and how many were simply there for the cookies and fire... But if it was any consolation, the Salamander attendants seemed to be taking their sudden popularity in stride.

It was a far cry from the disorganized heap you'd expected of a Dominion still trying to replace its Representative.

Which left Shade's Dominion - As empty as Mim had said - and Wisp's... Which had seen a steady stream of visitors, in search of recovery for both the mind and body. You paused as you looked it over, wondering if its lack of people was a quirk of chance, or simply a sign of how late it had become while meeting with Mim.

However, the halls of Wisp's Dominion seemed anything but quiet. A familiar shark-toothed man could be seen animatedly jabbing his fingers into the Wisp Representative's chest - A fish aggressively out of water, for whom you'd signed a license to do as they pleased.

Whatever they were arguing about had come to a head shortly before you left Mim's office, as Marchovic broke away from the altercation with a terrible grimace written across his face. Your crimson eyes traced the contours of his lithe form as he stalked away; A body of thin muscle, sleekly wound across sharp features, and sharper eyes... More akin to one of East Heaven's darkstalking panthers than a warrior.

Before you realized it, he'd caught your inspection from a sidewards glance, sending a shiver down your spine as the Shade Representative's grimace all but melted away into the carnivorous smile you remembered seeing on him during your first meeting.

A lethargically raised hand was your only acknowledgement as his gait took him out the front doors of the Shrine, leaving you standing alone in the midst of the Shrine commons once again.
>>
Liam, the Wisp Representative, watched on as his peer's steps faded. Milky white eyes betrayed the man's lack of sight as he turned to face you. Whatever they'd been arguing over didn't seem to have left an impression on him though, as he dismissed your presence after a breath or two and returned to his work.

...It was getting late.

>Talk to Liam
>Pursue Marchovic
>Back to HQ (and do what?)
>Other? (write-in)
>>
>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
>Ask if he would like to punch some griffons for the common good.
>>
>>2349216
>>Back to HQ (and do what?)
Sleep, I guess. We've done what we set out to do for today. We could pester someone, but we wouldn't actually have anything to talk about.

>"Anyway, get out."
Well, that's that then.It's a shame, but better to lose her as a friend than wind up dead.
>>
>>2349242
Well, it was her who wanted to be friends in the first place, so I have hope she'll come around.
>>
>>2349245
I hope so too, but that was before the broken promise. If she does come around, it won't be anytime soon.
>>
File: Mim2Robes.png (39 KB, 213x251)
39 KB
39 KB PNG
Probably going to withdraw for now. It's been cloudy all day, so I managed to keep at it, but my sleep schedule is all twisted now.

I've got a lot of work to get through tomorrow, so idk how much I'll get done... But, good news is that apparently I have spring break next week! So depending on how long this thread sticks, we may be running for a long time.

>>2349260
It's easy to say she was being childish, and there's some truth to that, but Mim has a very specific reason the broken promise was so distressing to her.

Of course, you have plenty of information to realize what it is.
>>
>>2349282
>Of course, you have plenty of information to realize what it is.
The curse of Valen Quest strikes again!

Congrats on your spring break.
>>
>>2349260
Knowing us, we'll proceed to ignore her until we need to talk business.

Ask Asche to bake something and we'll go see her again tomorrow.

>>2349242
If Fen is around ask him to send Dullem to the shrine tomorrow, or leave a note on his desk.

Tell Rinnier that this wasn't a complete disaster.

>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
I want to know if he's been making good use of his completely inappropriate level of authority

We can sleep when we're dead
>>
>>2349282
>my sleep schedule is all twisted now.
You have the screwest sleep schedule I've ever seen. I have no idea how you manage.

>we may be running for a long time.
congratulations on making even a positive statement sounds ominous.

>very specific reason
Besides a general 'orphan with trust issues' I got nothing. I dunno where we would have even learned the relevant information; we hardly know anything about her to begin with.
>>
>>2349308
>Mim Stuff
I'm torn between offering to explain it, and... Not.

On one hand it's a been a while, and it's clear people had forgotten their grasp on her character in the LITERAL YEAR since you've seen her.

On the other, I tried to be extra obvious with her stuff because of that, and explaining what was missed feels like cheating. It's not crucial you understand her as a character, so any misunderstanding or erred conclusions (and the decisions you make due to them) are entirely valid, and an important part of the quest.

If anything, if I did explain it, I probably wouldn't let you capitalize on that knowledge when interacting with her later.
>>
So, I think Mim just failed a Forgetting just now.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/514183/
starting around
>>520102

She has many of the pieces she needs already, which means she might put this together sooner than we thought.

--
>why it hurts her so
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/470612/
>>472170
>But after I leave, I doubt there will be many interested in paying attention to her."
>"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."
>Are you sure someone closer wouldn't be a better choice?"
>"Perhaps." He allowed, "But she hasn't taken a liking to anyone closer."
Is all I got.
>>
File: valen quest.png (442 KB, 810x1920)
442 KB
442 KB PNG
>>2342923
After what just happened, I feel like this isn't accurate enough, so I made this.
>>
>>2350287
Ah, there's the soul-crushing despair of failure, wouldn't be Valen Quest without it.
>>
>>2350287
Goddamnit stop
>>
>>2349282
We have to send someone to get the books for Mim that she didn't take. Let her know we do think of her.
>>
>>2349282
So what I found in the archives was:
>Mim suspects the Fae are Mana-related (and it was in fact her who gave us that idea)
>Mim agreed not to go with us into the Fae forest after learning she makes Oakenrues go berserk specifically as a Luna Adept
She might be distressed because we clearly learned something that Luna won't like.
>She put forward two conditions though: books and stories.
>She also stated: "Luna Adepts are obligated to share their knowledge with the Shrine, to help enrich our bonds and prevent horded knowledge. I've learned a lot out here, but Mim's a good girl. As long as she's got a book or sixteen to read, she's a very quiet child." Basically, she offered us to buy her silence
>Also: "as long as there aren't any more dire problems, it's something the Shrine insists on... Of course, it's not my fault if I've got so much new stuff floating around in my head that I happen to forget a couple details".
>As well as: "With a memory like mine, it's hard to forget anything at all. You remember all sorts of dangerous stuff, and then people get mad at you."
We're turning out like all the other people around Mim.

Another hypothesis is that Mim believed us about the danger and now is worried about us.

This is all I could do. Please help me out, anons!
>>
>>2349332
I'm not sorry about not telling her. But >>2350287
and >>2348884

Goddamn dudes. She just doesn't want to be treated like a child.

Honestly why did we make it about how much we lose? We should have just told her that it turned out to not be our secret to share. That just by sharing it, people could be hurt by it even if Mim didn't tell anyone else. That it was a secret that could ruin her relationship with Luna just by Mim knowing.

We should have just told her to suck it up. That being an adult means not always being able to live up to your promises. That being a leader means doing things you don't want to personally, because other people are relying on you.

Heck. We could have just outright told her that we're honestly really shitty as a friend because of those things.

It sucks, but ultimately us not telling Mim about what happened isn't about her.
>>
>>2349282
Wait no, I think I know what's happening.
It's not about the promise of stories. It's about the next thread. When we promised to try to be friends with her after we returned.
Did we try to be friends with her? I think not.
She even baked cookies every day to greet us with.
Now I think I'll go and feel awful for a day or so.
>>
>>2350605
We could summoned Mim a Luna apparition. What could go wrong.
>>
>>2350605
We should tell her about the time we made a sandwich.
>>
>>2349216
>Pursue Marchovic
Ask him he was arguing about, what he's been up to with our letter and if he's having fun with his impunity.
>Tell him we're trying to put an expedition together and need some muscle to fend off the wildlife, try to recruit him.
>>
I think after we talk with Marchovic we need to return to Mim and talk things out. Ask for forgiveness, reconfirm our desire to be her friend etc.
Even if she passively-aggressively sends us away, she'll know we care.
>>
>>2351791
She /just/ dismissed us. We have no reason to go back to her right now except to restate our apologies. Let's give her time to cool off and dredge ourselves up an actual reason to talk to her before we go back to her.
>>
>>2351816
That's the thing, anon: we specifically want to talk to her without an actual reason, because that's what friends do.
And yes, she dismissed us, but that doesn't mean she doesn't want to see us now.
>>
>>2351829
Dude we can't call in for a friendly chat 15 minutes after coming very close to beating her into a sobbing heap. Why can't this wait until tomorrow?
>>
>>2351829
I don't mind talking to her later, but a pretense will get our foot in the door if she's still mad. We go back to her right now, she opens door>sees us>closes door.
And /she/ sent /us/ away, technically the ball is in her court if she wants to make up.

Also, we're not apologizing for our actions, we're apologizing for the necessity of our actions here, which is pretty weak as far as apologies go.
>>
>>2351104
>>2349216
Oh, and
>what's with the teeth?
>do you think I'd look good with shark teeth?
>>
>>2351791
Why not do what we do with our other friends and ask her to follow us into life threatening danger.

We could teleport with her, for instance. Maybe put some padding down first.
>>
>>2351848
>>2351847
You never been in a fight with your friends? 15 minutes is fine, within an hour is proper and sometime during the same day is expected

You know if you actually want to make up otherwise you can let them feel bad for a few days or weeks
>>
>>2351848
As I already said, if she closes the door on us, she'll still know that we care. That's all we need.

And since she was a legitimately offended party in this case, the ball is still in our court.

>>2351847
She doesn't know we voted to beat her up.
Unless she really can read greentext...
>>
>>2350056
>>2350597
You're on the right track, but still overlooking something crucial. From this thread, specifically. You could probably paint the full picture if you had it.

If you actually figured out the root of why Mim was so distressed, something nice could happen. Not that it's impossible to work things out with her without knowing.

"I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry." is pretty weak, isn't it? Right there in the same league as apologizing for the wrong thing entirely... But sometimes it's all you know to do.

In other news, we should be resuming sometime tonight if everything goes well. I don't expect any more serious interruptions after today, so we should be fine for the rest of the thread's lifespan from there.

It looks like we're in general favour of pursuing Marchovic? I won't close the voting window until I'm ready to start writing though, so if anyone has anything else they want to add, you've got a little more time. Though after a day's worth of voting window, I think everyone's said their piece.
>>
>>2352881
I LIKED MY ID COLOR.....

GOD.
>>
>>2352881
>"If you say they're fake, I believe you." The statement alone caused her to visibly relax

Is it this? Does she want us to trust her? Is she hurt specifically by our lack of trust?
>>
>>2352896
We're leaving her behind.

Let's just take her with us around while we're doing stuff. She's lonely.
>>
>>2353161
I'm not opposed to it.
>>
>>2349222
>>2349297
>>2351104
Marchovic!

>>2349242
...Napping?

>>2349222
>>2351104
>>2352025
Assorted conversation topics!

Writing!
>>
Rip
>>
>>2355000
Bad things happened, I'm working on it.
>>
>>2355002
A common occurrence
>>
You lingered in the Shrine commons, the argument you'd just witnessed a stark reminder of the one you'd ended with Mim. She was the one who'd thrown you out, so it wasn't as if you had any need to apologize... And in truth, if you did, it would be for the necessity of having broken the promise rather than the act of doing so in the first place. Even still, part of you hesitated to just leave things as they were. A part which was, ultimately, pushed to the back of your mind as you resigned to return to headquarters for the night.

How would you apologize in the first place? She'd taken it far worse than you expected her to, but it didn't seem like she was particularly mad at you. Not knowing what caused that distress, the best you could do was just try to make it up to her, or beg forgiveness blindly. You'd done a lot of desperate things, but the latter still left your stomach unsettled; Pride alone made you balk at the possibility.

Carona's flickering lamplights stretched out before you from atop the Shrine's stairway, a sight of dimming flames which marked the streets of a recovering town. Softly luminous embers that winked out in the night as time went on, only serving to startle you out of your vacant trance once you'd noticed how many had been extinguished in the meantime.

You'd still yet to descend the stairs, mind still stubbornly retracing your conversation with Mim. Searching for that elusive sign you'd missed; Some other choice you could have made, or thing you should have said, to have made it end better. It left you more frustrated than anything else.

Getting sleep like this was a fool's errand, but it was too late at night to get anything else done... Besides bother Rinnier, assuming her insomnia still persisted. Not that you had anything in particular to talk to her about either.

You sighed, letting your shoulders sag forward in momentary defeat. Things were simpler before you finished the Rite.

"Trouble for the highborn?" Your back snapped straight, a new source of frustration boiling up as you realized you'd gotten careless. The Representative of Shade smiled predatorily when you turned to face him, finally taking note of the way he blended into the shadows cast by the Shrine's hulking doors. A eat aided no doubt by the darker tones of his clothes, but one you shouldn't have overlooked that easily.

"How long have you been there?" Your chin inclined in an effort to save face.

"Long enough." He kicked off the wall languidly, stepping through your bluster with pocketed arms. He wasn't as tall as Kara, nor as overwhelmingly robust as Dullem, but it still burned when you had to tilt your head up to keep eye contact. "This is the first time we've properly met, isn't it? Irue Valen."
>>
"I hear you've been making good use of my authority despite that." You retort guardedly, resisting the urge to take a step back. Even if looking up at him was irritating, retreating wasn't any better an option; Especially not after he'd already gotten the drop on you.

"Give me an inch." He laughed, mercifully stepping to your side to look out over the town. "Did you want to thank me for taking care of your Oakenbear problem?"

"Do you want to thank me for not revoking that license after you did?" You steadfastly refused to turn around, choosing instead to trace your gaze up the front of the Shrine as you stood with your back to him.

"Yes." You blinked at the unexpectedly blunt admission. A number of sassy retorts died on your tongue, bereft of provocation to rally off, leaving you momentarily speechless as he continued. "I have better things to do than sit in the Shrine. That piece of paper was a convenient excuse."

"I don't suppose you would be interested in another excuse?"

Shade Adepts didn't have any specific advantage in combat like their peers. No roaring command over the elements, physical strengthening, or inherent tactical foresight. In truth of fact, they were the Dominion least suited for direct conflict... But if he could handle an Oakenbear, you wouldn't be remiss recruiting him to potentially fight a griffon.

"Is that a date?"

"...What?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." He carried on over your bewilderment, a shrug in his voice audibly lamenting how it couldn't be helped. "Some blind bastard won't clean up his mess, so it's up to me."

"Is that why you were arguing earlier?" Your eyes cut to the side, curiosity urging you to just turn around.

"Mhmm." Marchovic just barely entered the edge of your peripherial as you subtly glanced over your shoulder, cutting a lanky silhouette against the fading pinpricks of Carona's light. "There's bandits around, but Liam's too busy pretending he's a holy man to handle it."

"Bandits sound like my problem." You frown, not feeling particularly compelled to debate whether or not the Wisp Representative qualified as a holy man or not. "But this is the first I'm hearing of it."

And that was explicitly a problem. You had the demihumans and your knights here, stretching their influence as much as you could in order to stay updated on things exactly like this. Rinnier had even been wary of something like this happening.

"Some of them are your problem. One of them is mine. In fact... You've met him, haven't you? You might even have a grudge." Marchovic glanced over his shoulder, baring his teeth smugly. "I know he does."
>>
If it was a problem of the Shrine, it was either an apparition or an Adept. Apparitions didn't have genders, which if it was supposed to have been the responsibility of Wisp's Dominion, then...

A vacuum of air sucking in the world around it, as your vision was obscurred in white.

Your mouth went dry, a myriad of feelings gurgling out of the dark recesses of your mind. Echoes of a near death experience your Doppleganger had clung through, and some vague recollection of your own of a searing light. You turned fully towards Marchovic, forgoing petty social victories as your teeth ground together.

"That's some nice fire you got there." The Shade Representative quipped, swiftly cupping your chin to tilt your face up. "Those eyes aren't just red for show, eh?"

"No more than your teeth." You jerk back reflexively, finally reaching your limit.

He ran a gloved hand along his jawline, nodding appreciatively to himself as he ignored the new gap between you. "They are quite handsome, aren't they? Although..." He looked you over appraisingly, leaving his gaze to trace you from toe to tip in a leisure fashion. "You're coming along nicely as well."

"E-Excuse you?" A frown sets itself uncertainly as your arms cross.

"You deserve more compliments than you get." Marchovic observed clinically, stuffing his hands back into his pockets. "I've seen Shade cripple people for life with smaller scars, but you're sorting through it all on your own."

>?
>>
>>2355197
ShadowRue was the one that got the raw end of the deal, not us. Newly formed and immediately given immense responsibilities that someone experienced had trouble with. Still, she struggled, had
more triumphs than failures, then was killed after being driven to despair by our our maid. Never forget. Rue herself was merely an observer for most of it.
>>
>>2355197
Damn. Unfortunate that he has other things to do.
Well, the next thing on our to do list is checking on the town council. But I guess we should take a break. Time to retrun to base and inform rinnier of the interesting things we've learned from mim.
>>
>>2355229
Oh, and wish Marco luck. If he ever needs help, he knows where to find us. We don't really owe him, but his a really cool guy. And I don't mind helping cool guys.
>>
>>2355197
>Get at least his theoretical position on punching griffons

Also we've failed a Forgetting of something in this very thread. Is this a new low?
>>
>>2355197
Kek, tsundere to the bone.

>A quiet minute for Doppelrue
>Ask about doppelgangers
Irue is way overdue to deal with the loss. It keeps coming back to the surface
>>
>>2355197
Wasn't that adept aligned with the previous mayor? I wonder if we've just found the spanner in the works that Mim told us about? He mentioned that some of them were our problem after all, it might be worth going with him to see sort this out.

>tell me more about these bandits
>why is the wisp adept your problem?
>how long is this trip going to take and when is he leaving?

It's been a while so I think the oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already. We could pick that up and maybe Kara as well, depending on long this'll take and sort this saboteur nonsense out while simultaneously freeing up Marchovic for our outing.
>>
>>2355257
I think I found it.
>"Since Priat's gone, I can eat all the sweets I want." She plopped into her own chair proudly, fishing out a little cloth full of crumbled cookies. "Friends share things, right?"
>"Friends share things, right?"
>>
>>2355197
>>2355287
I think this is a crucial nuance:
>She wasn't mad at you. She'd known this was coming, and clung to the hope that she was wrong.
>If she wasn't mad at you, and she didn't so much as question whether you still wanted to be friends, what drove this? Why was she so distraught?

She isn't mad at us. She is distraught because of something else.
Is this it? Does she KNOW about Dryad?

Otherwise, I'm thinking about these quotes:

>"So I'm not involved?" "Or I am? Why am I different?"
>"What's the point of being friends if we're still alone!?"
>"If you're in danger, why won't you let me help?"
She might be distraught because we're in danger and she can't help.
>>
>>2355299
Or she might be distraught because even getting a friend didn't change her situation in some regard I'm not sure of.
>>
>>2355226
>>2355259
Dopplerue was too pure for this world!

>>2355257
Also, theoretically if you could punch a griffon...

>>2355273
Tell me more about these bandits.

I blinked and an hour passed. Incredible amounts of time seems to be getting lose to the ether. Writing!
---

>>2355273
>oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already.
Correct!

>>2355299
>>2355309
You're close anon. Exactly one step away. A single question is all you need for the entire picture.

I was actually considering saving Mim's issue for a write-up if no one caught on, but you're all making me proud!
>>
>>2355347
I'm feeling like I'm chasing a phantom thief who leaves me notes.
>>
>>2355347
So, what is Mim's situation? She has belonged to the Shrine since a very young age. She never has been outside Carona, yet has no attachment to Carona either. She is mischief-prone, which may indicate boredom and/or need for attention. She never got a liking to anyone except us.

Maybe she is just bored to tears of her current life and wants to experience something else. Wants us to take her places and do things together.

This seems a bit too obvious though, and I think some anons have already put forward this hypothesis. I have nothing else at the moment though.
>>
>>2355347
>>oakenrue might be here tomorrow if it isn't already.
Hey this is entirely unrelated to the current goings on, but are there any cooldowns related to 'Home is where the heart is' or 'Jinn calls me'? Because we've never used 'Home is where the heart is' for fear of where we'd wind up, but if we could use one then the other in short order we wouldn't have anything to worry about, right?

Also, I think the abilities pastebin is out of date; the powers from Dryad's Atelier are missing.
>>
>>2355616
There are no cooldowns whatsoever. Use them to your heart's content!
They came in a pair for a reason.

And everything is out of date. Abilities, lists of forgettings, write-ups, my soul...
>>
>>2355347
Who asks whom?
>>
>>2355625
"One question away" means I could ask you one question, and the answer would give you the last piece you need to make it seem exceedingly obvious. The answer to the question is also pretty obvious.
>>
>>2355635
I'm guessing the question might be "How could we change Mim's situation?"

And the answer to that is, I think, give her a big, exciting piece of new info, and possibly some perspectives for further investigation to boot. Given she had never been to anywhere, an opportunity to learn something new and exciting should be very valuable to her. She did trade us stories when we first met her.

As for why she can't just meditate and learn whatever she wishes, it's probably because she doesn't know beforehand what could be interesting to learn. Or learning things through meditation just takes the fun out of it?

By the way, we could use her help in finding the Tier girls. They are our retainer family, we have obligations to them.
>>
>>2355708
>She did trade us stories when we first met her.
She kinda ripped us off for those stories.

>finding the Tier girls
I'm pretty sure that ship sailed a loong time ago; what faint trail there was went cold months ago. They're either slaves half a world away, or dead in a ditch somewhere.

>And the answer to that is, I think, give her a big, exciting piece of new info, and possibly some perspectives for further investigation to boot.
I'm game. Now we just need a peice of big, exciting info we can actually tell her about.
>>
>>2355635
Is anwser, because we didnt treat her like ours equal?
>>
>>2355708
We can always let her come along when we go to the mountain to survey it. What could go wrong?
>>
>>2355866
Aren't we taking Ari with us?
>>
>>2355873
>Taking a girl who only recently started to walk without assistance along to run away from griffons, oakenbears and Gnome apparitions
>>
>>2355880
She's the only person besides us who can command the oakenrue.
>>
>>2355885
It's still extremely irresponsible. The real question is how we're going to make her stay in the city without following us anyway.
>>
>>2355885
I don't think we should take the Oakenrue either, especially if there'll be Gnome adepts with us.
>>
Wind picked up in the silence, prompting you to curl your arms a little tighter around yourself as it caught your hair. "It suffered because I was a coward." You finally find the words, wrapped in caustic venom as a mechanism of defense. "...And was a better person than me, besides. This is the least I can do."

His perpetual smirk faded with your response. "I won't pry. Whatever it left you is personal... But you've started to realize it, haven't you?"

"..." Your eyes narrowed warily, unease crawling along your nerves. You didn't talk about this with Rinnier, you didn't want to talk about this with someone you barely knew, in a public space no less.

"To leave a scar, a Shade apparition has to have been born from you. Everything it is, came from you. The good-"

"Stop!" You bite out a charged warning.

"-And the bad." He finished despite you, peeling back his lips into a jackal's smile as your ire spiked. "You know what it left you, but do you know what that scar is?"

"I'm leaving." Your nostrils flare as you pushed past him, unwilling to keep putting up with his harassment. A single step was as far as you got before something caught your foot, sending you pitching forward... Only to be jerked to a stop as Marchovic grabbed your hand and held you taught in suspense.

"I'll follow." He grinned down from the steps above, letting you hang half fallen as you glared up at him. The Shade Representative let go without a fuss when you ripped your hand away from him, settling yourself on the steps again as you started to theorize he had deliberately tripped you.

"Why?" Running from him wasn't an option. There wasn't even a reason to run from him, but you felt like it all the same. Anything to leave this conversation behind. "You said it yourself, I'm dealing with it fine on my own."

"You know there isn't an answer that would satisfy you." Marchovic began an unhurried descent. "I want to help."

"You said you wouldn't pry." You shot back accusingly.

"I won't." Marchovic held his hands up peacefully, "What happened between you and the one that left that scar is your business, but I can tell you more about what you're going through now."

"..." You blink. An excuse to divert your eyes into the dark. Indecision warred back and forth, caught between your staunch refusal to discuss your Doppleganger and a decade of study that told you Shade Adepts were the most capable of helping you. You didn't have a bias against them, you didn't. You just...

"I ask the questions." You state your condition in little more than a murmur, reluctantly wrestling with the fact that you couldn't put into words why this scared you exactly.

"That's fine." Marchovic agreed, following you lazily down the stairs. "As long as you're comfortable."
>>
"What do you think I'm going through?"

Even though you'd tentatively accepted this conversation, the first question still came out defensively. As far as you were concerned the worst of it was over. You'd dealt with the initial fall out, and were making your own progress unpacking what remained. Marchovic seemed to take it in stride though, humming considerately before responding.

"A healing process." The answer he settled on was unobtrusive. Something you could roll around in your head, but also something you felt leery of. It made it sound like you were trying to recover from some kind of wound. Of course when you pointed this out, the Shade Representative was quick to remind you that it was called a 'scar' for a reason.

"Then what exactly are these 'scars'?"

"Where do you think an apparition goes when it's been dispersed?" He posed rhetorically, "They can't die, so the only other option is that they return to Mana. An Undine born from the lake will return to its material components. In time, it will likely reform in one shape or another."

A rudementary answer. One you'd known by heart since you were ten years old.

"Then where do you think an apparition goes if it wasn't born from the land?" He continued unphased by your dismissal. "The same principle applies. It returns to its material components, and returns to its parent. That is the scar."

"...So it'll come back?" You ask a little too quickly, cursing yourself silently after it'd slipped your tongue. "Like an egg?"

"In one shape, or another." Marchovic confirmed reservedly. "It will be familiar, but stronger. It's less of an egg and more of a parasite, because the time it spends festering will let its roots spread. When it emerges again, it'll take more of you with it than the time before, and be even harder to put down."

It could come back.

Your heart skipped a beat in spite of the somber explanation. You'd made mistakes with your doppleganger you didn't think you'd ever have the opportunity to-

"I don't... Want to experience this again."

"Will it... Remember everything?"
>>
Marchovic came to a stop when you did, muscles locked stiffly in the emptied streets of Carona. "Even if it does, it's not the same one; Merely born from the same source. A sibling."

"I... See." You drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "So it's not over."

"It might be just a shadow in your mind now, but it will claw you back down eventually." He affirmed. "Dealing with the scar it's left behind is the only way you're going to find any peace."

"And how do I do that?" You sigh, feeling the rollercoaster start to catch up to you. You turned towards Marchovic when an answer wasn't forthcoming, and he offered a careless shrug.

"You're already doing it. Slowly. Just remember that it's not unlike a cancer; If you don't take it all, it will only get worse."

"...Useless." You muttered irritably, turning away from the man.

"I promised not to pry." He defended himself, "And I meant what I said: What happened is your business. Nothing I tell you will matter if you don't work through it yourself. There is good news, though!"

You glance back half-heartedly. "And it is?"

"Scars leave a mark. As you come to terms with what was left behind, that mark becomes physical. Think of it as a memento of the one who gave it to you."

"Memento..." You mutter, feeling as if you were staring down into a chasm at your feet. You caressed the dual rings of your bracelet absently, drawing some measure of comfort from its presence as you pulled yourself back from the edge with a shake of your head. "You saw my 'scar', didn't you?"

"Would you be embarassed if I said yes?"

"What does it look like to you?" You turned back to face him, spreading your arms out for inspection; Curious despite yourself.

"As cute as you are? Devilish and intimidating? Sophisticated and refined?" He was teasing you, and the heat which crept up your cheeks was fueled by frustration and little else. "Which would you prefer?"

>Cute.
>Intimidating.
>Refined.
>I hate you.
>>
>>2355939

>Strong and beautiful... like sister.
>>
>>2355939
>>2355960
Yep. Ariel best role model.
>>
>>2355939
>>Cute.
>>
>>2355960
Reminder that your sister about eight years old when she died. Irue could conceivably remember her as being strong, but beautiful... Not so much.
>>
>>2356010

what about her soul and personality?
>>
>>2356029
Ariel was in no uncertain terms a hellion. I'm not sure a memory of her has ever come in this quest in the entire time it's been run which did not involve her dumping the blame for something on Caylen or dragging you both into some new scheme, adventure, or ill-fated prank.

What she would have grown into is anyone's guess. And now, no one will ever know.
>>
>>2355960

Cross out beautiful and there ya have it.
>>
>>2355939
>cute
>>
>>2356010
Then describe our idealized image of Ariel.
>>
>>2355939
>>2355960
>>2356010
Ok how about this

>I wanted to be like my sister...
>>
Why do you guys want the scar to be like our sister? It's confusing and weird.
>>
>>2356173
Not the scar, the memento it'd leave.
>>
>>2356173
Yuri incest. It's too late.
>>
>>2355939
>>I hate you.
>>
>>2355960
>>2355974
>>2356143
Incest!

>>2355981
>>2356093
Cute!

...Um.

Writing?
>>
>>2356317
stop misconstruing!
>>
>>2356317
Please don't let anons influence you in the wrong direction.
>>
>>2355939
>>I hate you.
>>
File: 2.jpg (78 KB, 316x473)
78 KB
78 KB JPG
>>2356317
>>
>>2356317
Also
>>>>>>Cute

Irue is the least cute person in this quest. Even Dullem is cuter.
>>
>>2355939
> Competent

I'd rather be something than look like something.
>>
>>2356317
Christ Anons have given Irulen self image problems. And they just keep on giving.

You all enjoy the misery don't you.
>>
>>2355960
If we were picking a family member I would have picked our Aunt. But more of a bitch. More like our Mother.

I mean we are working on owning that we're a bitch with balls big enough to tell the world it's wrong and decide we are going to be the one to fix it, right?

Rue pretty much just told Marchovic "The wrong kid died" since we just said we want to live up to an 8 year olds standards.
>>
>>2356531

I sadly cannot recall Irue's mother and know that in character we have a weird relationship with our aunt and she's still active in some part of Irue's life.

Also my intent was to at least recall something sorta good in Irue's past and not something horrific but that's kinda hard to do.

I regret nothing though, the yuri incest was above my intent.
>>
"Forget I asked." You deadpan, dropping your arms as it became clear you'd not be getting a straight answer. You weren't particularly interested in any of those things anyway. If you had to give an answer to something you'd prefer to be... It was probably more like your sister had been.

Not that saying that would mean anything to Marchovic.

"Not curious anymore?"

"I'll find out on my own." You blandly dismiss his taunting. "Did you have a scar as well?"

"Everyone has scars. Some are just bigger than others." He grinned cheekily, "It's rude to pry, though."

"...Hm." You watch the Shade Representative a little longer, snorting at the simple refusal. At the very least, it was interesting to learn more about Shade Adepts than you did before... And left you curious as to how, exactly, they saw the world. "Can you tell me any more about the bandits you mentioned?"

"What do you want to know?" Marchovic slid his hands into his pockets, craning his neck back to regard the sky measuringly. "As much as I'd love to spend a sleepless night with you, I've got other obligations tonight."

Your brow twitched. "How did you find out about them before I did, for one?"

"They haven't done anything yet, for one. I expect it'll be another month or two before they're ready to cause trouble."

"Then... How?" You squint at the man, gaining a sinking feeling his smile was somehow only getting wider in the darkness.

"You could say I found their leader before they did."

"The Wisp Adept." You grouse, "He was working for the previous mayor, too... Supporting some grass roots coup to succeed from my family."

"That turned out well." Marchovic snarked, "One and the same. Seems you and your demihuman friend left quite the impression on him."

"I can't imagine someone like him still trying to support a coup." you mutter, more to yourself than your conversational partner. "Wasn't he a mercenary? ...Revenge, maybe?" It still didn't make sense. If he wanted revenge, why gather bandits? He couldn't expect to seize the town, could he? "Where is he getting the people to pad his forces? There shouldn't be any bandit activity this deep in our lands."

"Most of them are homegrown." Marchovic's smile turned predatory, sending a chill down your spine unbidden. "Most. I'm not interested in them, though. They'll be your problem, sooner or later."
>>
"This may be backtracking, but theoretically, if you were free to fight a griffon, would you be interested?"

"Oh." His eyes lit up for the first time that night. "You know how to win a man's heart, don't you?"

"An offer you turned down once already." You reply flatly, "But presuming this Wisp Adept problem of yours gets solved, you'll be free to leave town for a while, won't you?"

"Depends on what comes up, but if you promise I get a Griffon, I'll be a dog just for you."

"..." You sighed again. You were doing that a lot around Marchovic.

>Help with bandits
>Focus on expedition

And...

>Talk to Marchovic about something else (what?)
>Go somewhere (where?)
>'A Spider's Web'
>Meditate (To what?)
>>
>>2356574
>Help with bandits
>Talk to Marchovic about something else (what?)

Jinns Call or whatever with him. See how he reacts to teleporting.

Just for spite and humerus malice.
>>
>>2356574

>>2356597
T H I S
>>
>>2356597
You can't teleport with people, anon! You had to establish Hearts in Harmony with Ari so she could use it on her own.
>>
>>2356604
So that just means we have to sleep with him, ehn?
>>
>>2356608
You can try! I do not guarantee results.
>>
>>2356574
>>Help with bandits
Let's nip this in the bud. We've got other people working with the expedition.

>>Go somewhere (where?)
Experiment with our teleport abilities. Finally figure out where 'Home is where the heart is' takes us. Maybe grab something we can use as a cushion for the return trip first.


>'A Spider's Web'
No, bad! I see you sneaking in! Go away!

>Meditate (To what?)
...are we trying to get ourselves in trouble?
>>
>>2356604
Lets ask him if we can see his wallet or the equivalent for a moment then teleport away.
>>
>>2356627
>'A Spider's Web'
>Go somewhere (where?)
>'A Spider's Web'
>Meditate (To what?)
>>
File deleted.
>>2356658
I think what we should spider web is to use the spider web to spider web the bandits in a spider web like the spider web they spider web.
>>
>>2356574
>Go somewhere
Back to Mim.
Even a lame apology is better than none, I think.
Promise to take her out to catch bandits, punch griffons and/or fight in a civil war.
>>
>>2356687
dude dont post shit like that

>>2356574
>Help with bandits
Griffons are beasts, bandits are trouble. Pissed off super adepts with a vendetta are even worse.

>Talk to Marchovic about something else (what?)
Ask him for his take on the town and the citizens. He must see the emotional undercurrents better than anyone. He should have some insight on how to go forward.

>Go somewhere (where?)
Mim

>>2356597
>>2356603
That's fun and all but you realize we're going to suffer that damn 100 feet drop again? One of these days it's gonna end badly. BUILD THE TOWER.
>>
File: Spoiler Image (185 KB, 2048x1025)
185 KB
185 KB JPG
>>2356720
>>2356574
Actually yeah. Let's go back to Mim and get Marchovic to help us with dealing with her.

Payment for the cookies.

Or the unfair imposition of a noble. Whatever works. If he feels like he can stand up to a noble, we can also make it an unfair imposition of House Valen. Or a young lonely girl having trouble making a friend.

Whatevskis.
>>
>>2356725
Actually might as well talk about Mim.

>>2356574
>Talk about Mim
>>
>>2356574
>>Go somewhere (where?)
Back to base and build our web sleep.
>>
>>2356574
>Ask how long this'll take
>Help with bandits

>Go somewhere else
>Back to the HQ to-
>arrange a meeting with Dullam tomorrow
>update Rinnier on what we've learned and our plans and give the that overview on our powers that she wanted
>go to bed

I don't suppose we'd be able to make much headway on the whole corpse thing at night? The sooner we get around to that the better it'll be for all involved so I'd like to get it out of the way before we leave. He said they wouldn't move for another month or two so I can't imagine delaying the bandit hunt for a day would be a bother.
>>
>>2356627
>>2356725
>>2356784
Bandits!

>>2356725
>>2356758
Asking about town and Mim!

>>2356627
Home is where the heart is!

>>2356657
Pranks!

>>2356687
Weaving!

>>2356720
>>2356725
>>2356744
Back to Mim?

>>2356765
>>2356784
Back to base and sleep!

Looks like the majority consensus is to talk about Mim, then go back to Mim. You all must have figured out what you were missing! I'm proud of you, so let's get to it!
>>
>>2356842
>You all must have figured out what you were missing!
That's a rather large assumption. I certainly haven't figured it out.
>>
>>2356842
>You all must have figured out what you were missing! I'm proud of you, so let's get to it!

No. This is why we are making Marchovic help. It's how Royalty solves problems, by spreading them around.

At the very least we can tell Mim we're socially retarded unless we're manipulating people or avoiding being manipulated ourselves and ask her to help us with figuring out how a friendship works without manipulation.
>>
>>2356883
So you think he can just solve this problem for us on the spot? This business with Mim is getting more pathetic by the hour, time to mewl another apology through her door I guess.
>>
>>2356842
>You all must have figured out what you were missing!
Uuuhhh.....
>>
>>2356842
>You all must have figured out what you were missing! I'm proud of you, so let's get to it!
...Is that right?
>>
>>2356842
>You all must have figured out what you were missing!
Congratulations, those who voted to go right back to Mim after she kicked us out! You just made things worse!
>>
"Then consider your problem with the Wisp Adept to now be our problem."

You brushed your windswept hair back as enmity crept its way onto your tongue. You didn't want to say it was anything personal exactly, but your Doppleganger's memory of him left... Much to be desired. Both in how he'd treated Kara, and what he had done to your doppleganger. That alone should have been enough, but for some reason the thought of him just made you... "I have my own score to settle with him. How many people should I have ready, and when are we leaving?"

"Bring a weapon you like, and we'll leave tonight!" Marchovic perked up jubilantly.

"No, wait." you held your hand up plaintively. "Just the two of us?"

"Yeah!"

"Against... How many bandits?"

"I dunno, like twenty?"

"...I can't actually use a sword." You admit slowly. "And you said they wouldn't be causing trouble for another month or two. Why leave tonight?"

"The longer we wait, the more reinforcements they'll get." Marchovic nodded towards the empty streets. "More time to spread their cause, and recruit the weary. The sooner we cut off the head, the sooner it ends. And you don't need a sword. Use an axe? Knife? Spear? Bow?" He looked you over for the second time tonight. "hula hoop...?"

"I have no skill in weapons at all." You don't bother to address that last one. "I thought we would be... Routing the bandits, or something. I was going to marshall some of my knights to the cause."

"You were inviting other people on our date?" Marchovic almost sounded hurt, "That's not romantic at all."

"I... This isn't about romance, we're hunting bandits."

"Well yeah. Life and death, mortal combat, back to back in the thick of it all." His chest swelled as he breathed it all in, eyes drifting closed. "Can't you feel it? That thrum in your veins? The thundering in your ears?"

"..." You were beginning to understand why this man volunteered to hunt Oakenbears. "Can we put off leaving for at least a day or two?"

"If you only plan to get involved to throw your knights at the problem, I'm not interested." Marchovic deflated. "I thought it'd be fun to spend some time with you, but I don't want to turn this into some military maneuver."

"Alright... What if it's just a couple others?" You hedge your bets down from a full contingent of knights to something more... Personal. "I have some talents, and can think of a few people who are good for a fight. I'll still need a little time to get them ready."
>>
"Five." Marchovic held his hand out. "You, me, and three others tops. Preferrably less, but..." He shrugged one handedly. "Fair compromise?"

"I can work with that." You agree, sorting through the people you knew. Ari was unfortunately out, most likely. Her only real form of self-defense was the Oakenrue. Even though it was due to arrive any time now, taking it out on an expedition with a Representative of the Shrine seemed ill-advised if you planned on keeping its existence hidden.

As for Kara and her pack... The pack itself barely exceeded two handfuls, but any one of them were likely to be competent in their own right. Kara's potential didn't even warrant example, but could you afford to separate her from her pack to do this?

Then there was Rinnier. You had little idea where she ranked as far as actual combat skill went, other than 'above me'... Which was, unfortunately, a depressingly wide margin. Not to mention that taking her with you would practically cripple the executive power of Carona's government.

That left your knights and... Mim? Literal peasants, and a child that you couldn't figure out how to stop breaking the heart of everytime you turned around. One side was barely better than militia, and the other... Well, Mim had the blessing of Luna to bring to bear, at the very least.

"We'll leave the day after tomorrow, then. Should give you plenty of time to get our little sleepover party together."

"Any idea how long this will take?"

"I'd say two weeks, minimum. Maybe more, if we're unlucky." He casually threw out a much larger span of time than you were expecting. "They could be set up anywhere between here, Sylv, and Murla." He explained after catching your disbelief. "It'll be a hunt to find them, and then we get to figure out how to take them out, and finally get back."

"You wanted us to do that alone?"

"I planned to do it on my own, really." He shrugged, already beginning to wander off into the night. "Make sure your friends are up for a walk."

"Wait!" He paused briefly, half-turning to see what you wanted. "You can see Carona's feelings better than anyone else, can't you?"

"Nope." He shot you down heartlessly. "I deal with people, not mobs. Unless you want to know their average misery on a scale of one-to-ten - It's a six, by the way." ...Slightly more miserable than average? "Ten is suicidal."

"Fine, then people." You noted him glancing at the sky once more, then shrugging as he nodded to you. "I... Screwed up with someone. How do I fix it?"

"Family?" He inquired. "Boyfriend? Girlfriend? sex friend? Friend with benefits? ...Dog?"
>>
"Just friend." You cut him off testily, "...Or, trying to be. I had to break a promise, but I think I stepped on something else in the process."

"Do you know what that 'something else' is?" His brow arched curiously, and you regretfully shook your head. "Then do your best."

...That's it? Your best is what got you into this mess.

"Here, take these." Marchovic fished out a small, but familiar, cloth and tossed it over to you. It was nearly weightless in your hand, with the vague forms of half-crumbled cookies tangible within its thin sheets. He extended his finger towards them seriously. "Don't eat those, they're important."

"Why?" Your grip fastened around the satchel of cloth, tucking it away safely.

"Because there's not many of them left." He explained with an amused grin, "I'm guessing your problem is with Mim... And since you don't know what you did wrong, there's nothing I can say to help you. If making up with her is actually important to you, just be patient."

"She'll forgive me with just that?" You ask doubtfully, wondering if you had just perpetually screwed up your attempts at friendships by trying to fix things instead of waiting it out.

"Shade preserve, no. I'd be surprised if she ever forgave you. That brat's not forgotten the time I ate her pudding when she was six. I'm not convinced she can forget anything."

"...Then what is being patient going to do?"

"People get mad at each other." Marchovic turned his back on you with a shrug. "No matter how much you hurt each other, it's hard to 'accidentally' end a relationship both sides care about."

You watched the Shade Representative carelessly whistle to himself as he jaunted off into the night. It was like a whirlwind had just swept into your life for the past hour or two, and then blown off of its own accord... And speaking of time, Carona was nearly pitch black now, save for the soft rays of moonlight occasionally filtering through the clouds.

If you were going to talk to Mim again tonight, you needed to do it soon. A swift pat confirmed the cookies were secure, and you put your newly developed physical fitness through its paces as you ran back through the streets and towards the Shrine once more.
>>
"Mim!"

The Shrine commons were silent and empty as you slipped into its hallowed halls. You'd spared a harried glance while crossing the building and found the Dominions blessedly empty, save for the Wisp Representative from earlier meditating quietly amidst a cloud of softly glowing lights. Even the Dominion of Gnome's communion had dispersed in your absence, and its attendants retreated to their personal quarters.

...You're not sure where the personal quarters were. You really hoped Mim was still in her office, because that was the door you had been knocking on for a minute now.

"Go away, I'm asleep!"

Dammit, Mim.

You'd rolled this over constantly since leaving her office the first time. Reiterating over your conversation with her, and everything you knew about her. Trying to find that one thing you'd missed. To understand what you'd done wrong.

>Am I forgetting something...?
>>
>>2357508

Hmm...

>Mim's genuine offer of help and the promise we'll tell her things.
>>
>>2357526
>I know what will help! Let's just do the exact same thing we've been doing before!
Fucks sakes.

Marc literally just gave us the answer. Invite Mim out on our little trip to wreck some nerds.
>>
>>2357508
Don't have the faintest idea.
>>
>>2357538

Sure, I'm game with that idea
>>
This was fucking stupid, I can't even stay up to and figure it out.

>just be patient
>next scene we're immediately outside Mim's room in the middle of the night
How frustrating

Stray thought: make the oakenrue transform to look like an oakenbear, less questions asked that way, or less dangerous ones at any rate.
>>
>>2357571
You've got at least 20 or so hours, anon. I've been running through the skyfire all day, I'm won't be updating again until tomorrow night.
>>
>>2357508

>Properly smack your head (not too hard) on the door and start talking about your time in the weird anti-luna hole and your findings of the mana that will not be named. Talk about the powers you acquired, talk about your annoyances like the one you need to deal with right now with the adept. Vent, basically.

And whatever else someone can come up with.
>>
>>2357508
No clue!

But I do know I support this>>2357538

Come on Mim! Let's abandon our responsibilities and go on an adventure!

Oh wait, we have tell Rinnier first. She might get her panties in a twist if we leave without saying anything.

>Mim turned away from you with crossed arms. "You sound like Priat."

If you think Priat's bad, wait till you meet Rinny! Massive killjoy!
>>
>>2357508
> Invite Mim to kill people. Err. Bandits. With us and Marchovic.
>>
>>2357761
Nah. Kill people. Using Spiders Web and the whole razor shade thing.
>>
>>2357761
>>2357508

I can get behind venting so long as we don't talk details about the Atelier.

We could talk about how terrified we are about what we found out. How we're scared we aren't ready for dealing with it, how alone we feel about not being able to share it with people because of how huge the problem is but that we can't walk away from it. Both because of who we are as a Valen and the responsibility of being the heir, but also because SOMEBODY has to do it and we can't fob it off on someone else. Also that even though our position and responsibilities suck we wouldn't give them up if we could because they make us who we are.

You know. Stuff Mim can relate to.

Tell her that we just want one person who understands. Not like Rinnier who always judges us by an ideal that she has the advantage of having people teach her what to do while we're desperately trying to learn while doing and hopefully not fucking up.

Apologize for the oncoming future fuck ups Mim will receive while being our friend too. Because we do that a lot. But goddamn if we don't have stubbornness on our side. Mim said she wanted to be friends and now we're committed to that. So this late night apology probably isn't going to be a one time thing. Sorry about that too. We're a real thought->Action person.

Also if she wants she can come kill a bunch of people with us and Marchovic. It's cool if that's not her thing though. We can make other plans.
>>
>>2358213
>>2357508
Oh also point out that we feel like we have to do something because we ARE good at getting shit done. We solved two Ateliers, defeated an evil mayor and his dickass wisp mercenary and his demi-human mooks. We beat our Trial after decising to make it as hard as possible.

And we ARE committed to making things better for the people of Carona even though we hate this dickass town because while some nobles might just use empty words to justify their position we take our responsibility seriously. If we thought someone else could do better we would make them do it instead. In fact that's like half our relationship with Rinnier.

Doesn't mean that we expect it to be easy. But goddamn it's hard still.
>>
>>2357508
Oh shit nigga did we thank her for the cookies? We should tell her those made us happy too. We scored the rest off Marchovic.
>>
>>2357508
> "I made them!" She beamed at you proudly, "Go on, praise me! I am amazing!"

She literally told us what she wanted.
>>
>>2358213
>>2357761
No venting, anons! Keeping Dryad secret is why we're in this situation in the first place.

>>2357508
We're just one step away, according to this >>2355347
Let's try and get it, anons!
The crucial thing is that Mim is actually distraught by something that's not us.
>>
>>2358673
I specifically said NOT to talk about the Atelier.

Instead talk about how we feel about it and the responsibility we got from it. Mim should be able to understand unfair responsibilities.

Let's talk about our feelings and shit and how we feel about Mim and being friends and tell her that it was nice to have someone waiting for us to come back (with cookies) just because they miss us because honestly we have never had that before.
>>
>>2357508
>possibility of an eighth Mana? Currently it was a secret between you and Mim alone
>mere suggestion of an unknown eighth Mana had been something Mim was hesitant to even imply. This wasn't just a simple discovery, this would drastically change the entire structure of the Shrine's - and by extension the continent's - faith.
>"Mim, do you know anything about Duality?"
>"Reflections. Peculiar dichotomies. Particularly among the Mana?"
>"..." She made a difficult expression, and for a few seconds you simply watched her consider something in the soft light. "Yes."
>"I think I confirmed a few things after you ran, but it's not something we can talk about right now."
>"I could say anything and make it a problem; This entire outing was meant to be private from the start."
> some light of bitter realization as if she'd stumbled across the puzzle piece she'd been missing... Or trying not to find
>"So I'm not involved? Or I am? Why am I different?"
>you saw yourself out without commenting on the troubled frown she'd tried to conceal.
This makes me think Mim suspects at least vaguely what we refused to talk to her about, and the fact that we won't talk distresses her not because it was a promise, but because it confirms her suspicions.
What did we do wrong though? Did we put some sort of heavy responsibility on her by coming but not talking? Is she distressed because we put ourselves in danger?

>"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,"
>"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."
>"She needs more than a home and education."
>"But she hasn't taken a liking to anyone closer."
>"From what I'm told, Mim was taken in as a babe. She's never known life outside of the Shrine."
>"Are stories really that important to her?"
>"Yes. They're the only time she can still be a child."
>"That was more fun than I've had in years, though! You must come more when you've learned more stories!"
Maybe she wants for at least one person to forget she's the Luna Representative, and just treat her like a kid?
>>
>>2358630
>Say thank you
>Spend the whole thread not saying thank you

We're going for a hat trick!

>>2357508
>Am I forgetting something...?
Thank her for the cookies, they were great. We burned down our kitchen when we tried to make a sandwich... she saw the aftermath.

>>2358213
>>2358511
This is good. Like isn't this all more or less what we talked about doing in 2017?
We can always tell her about how we saved Carona, no one actually knows the whole story.

>>2358833
Her nature as a Luna Representative is the whole reason we have a problem... She might have figured it out with what clues we left her and the fact we won't tell her now. But that alone isn't enough to put her in danger, learning the true nature is what risks infection.
>>
>>2357508
>It was the twitch of her lips that spoke of familiarity in fighting her budding tears.
>She'd known this was coming, and clung to the hope that she was wrong. There was something else buried here, waiting to scream it was right.
Did something like this happen to her before? Did we cause her to relive it again?
>>
>>2358845
>we saved Carona
When?
>>
>>2358857
From the evil mayor with a pet behemoth who tried to murder Rinnier as a scapegoat and with his evil mercenaries who are still trying to fuck things up.

It's a matter of perspective.
>we saved Rinnier
is probably a more accurate statement
>>
>>2357508
And just to repeat things I thought were too obvious:

>Mim wants a family
>Mim wants to get out of sitting in the Shrine all day and see the wider world
>And do something together with friends?
>Mim wants to learn more interesting things
>Mim wants conversations and companionship
>Mim wants to be included in things
>Mim wants to be helpful and to be acknowledged for it
>>
>>2357508
Continuing:

>Mim wants us to trust her
>Mim is obligated to share what she learned with the Shrine, but is willing to keep mum just for us.
>Mim never forgets anything. Does she want more good memories to fill her brain up?
>>
I'm not too hot about the fact that we just got roped into a 2 week excursion just from voting to tell Marko that bandits are more of a problem than griffons. How did that even happen? I thought that "help with bandits" and "focus on expedition" was what we were going to ask of him, not what we would do.

I've wanted to go back to the Valen estate and talk to our uncle about financial aid for Carona and the Fae compact and ask if there's other shit they've kept secret from us.

With two weeks, give or take, we can send a bird or messenger tomorrow with a quick run-down and a request for him to visit Carona. We need information on our new demesne and the neighbouring towns, their politics and everything we have on their leaders and Shrine reps. The family ought to have this info.
>>
>>2357508
Okay, this isn't working so well. Let's change our approach.

Riz said we're one question away, one question with an obvious answer. What might this question be? Let's ask questions to each other.

Why was Mim ready inside for us breaking the promise?
Why was our reason for breaking the promise so important to her?

I'm going in circles here, maybe one of you will have the right idea.
>>
>>2358922
That seems like addressing the symptom rather than the problem. Yeah, Carona needs to get fixed, but no matter how good we fix it the sickness is still there.

The only lead we have in rooting out whoever's behind all this, whatever it is, are those bandits.

I know the destruction of Carona is technically our fault, but we wouldn't have had to unleash Mistral's child if these people hadn't backed us into a corner.

If we really want to fix Carona, we need to do this. Were not just some bureaucrat. Were a noble. We're not just tasked with making laws and protecting our people, we also go out and slay dragons.
>>
>>2358944
Oh, and I'm not saying we should tackle the BIG PROBLEMS right now. I know we need to build Carona and the surrounding towns up before we consider going there.
>>
>>2358944
Uh, you realize that we have to plan ahead? And that we have no money? We can't fix this damn place without money and it's not like we can start new businesses to generate income, for many reasons including having zero money and thus no startup capital.

We need money and the only thing I can think of that isn't a long term dream is to borrow from the family. They put this shit in our hands without so much as a penny, the least they can do is lend us something so we can actually DO something.

There is no reason not to talk about the other things either, that stuff is a basic necessity that should be readily available, and would have been had the mayor's mansion not burned to the ground.

Unless you want to do one or the other or neither and then we continue our journey of without knowledge or means, or we end up in another situation where it is already too late to send for help.
>>
>>2357508
Okay, this is a stupid idea, but is Mim jealous of our other companions?
>>
>>2358213
>>2357761
>Venting
>Let's take her issues and make them about me

Anons, we're here to apologize to Mim and fix our relationship, not spew our issues at her. The reason we vented at Tim was because he wasn't real, so we could get away from it with no consequences.
>>
>>2359003
We are also sharing with Mim and telling her all the things we haven't told anyone else.

First of all she has outright told us she wants to hear our "Stories".

Second it's venting about how we feel about Mim. What having friend means to us. And some more apologies.

It's like you've never had a relationship to fuck up and made a late night apology before. It'll be fun.

Just no Dryad biz.
>>
>>2358994
Yes. Especially the fact that we shared with them and not her. She's being treated different again.

She's been treated *different* her whole life. Special compared to other children, but still a child. She's neither been one thing or another and there's always been that wall between her and others.

That's why I support venting. Because I doubt that many people have come to her for actual help before. Oh sure she's been given jobs/chores that were different from the other kids, but do you think anyone confides in a child? Other children didn't even have the opportunity to confide in her. Do you think anyone would leave something of real importance, in the hands of a child?

Meanwhile we came in and saw that the representative of Luna was a little girl and immediately treated her like she was an adult. We didn't ask to bargain with someone else, we didn't try to take advantage of her or bribe her with candy or anything like that. Honestly we just kind of accepted her and rolled with it.

Mim hasn't had anyone treat her like an equal. Part of that is to trust her enough to share our issues with her. Not to explain them like it's a lecture, or to ask her to solve them. Just to ask her to be with us while we struggle through them. Because we need a friend. Because we actually want Mim to be our first friend.
>>
>>2359060
>>2359108
No I think he's expecting Irue to slam her face into the door and act hysterical, which I admit is a legit concern. Looking at you, riz.

You say vent, but what I see is us sitting outside of the door, just talking about things and telling stories.
>>
File: 1456990823900.jpg (331 KB, 1280x720)
331 KB
331 KB JPG
>>2359214
>>
>>2359214
>he's expecting Irue to ... act hysterical, which I admit is a legit concern.
>Looking at you, riz.
I'd actually like to open a discourse on this later tonight. I thought about prompting it now, but I worry it'd distract from the Forgetting at hand, so it can wait.

Just generally speaking, your feedback is important. If you feel like Irue's behaving bizarrely, we can talk about the reasoning behind certain reactions and hopefully it'll foster a little better understanding all around - Both for those not getting why suddenly Irue was a blubbering mess, and for myself if I'm misreading or over dramatizing Irue's state of mind in regards to anon discourse and whatever events they've gone through recently.

Again though, this is for something later tonight. I don't want it to accidentally sabotage Forgetting efforts.
>>
>>2359428
What I'm primarily getting from this is that we still haven't got the Forgetting.

I'm drawing blanks here anons.
>>
>>2359214
Is . . . Is that not what venting is?

>>2359221
>>2359428

To clarify, I mean what that person said about "venting".

>>2359470
We totes forgot to thank Mim for the cookies. But I am archive diving later.

> "If you wanted us to be happy you should have written a short story about Kara Saving Christmas and not allowed write ins." - Anon
>>
>>2359497
It is, but what would you have done if we got a 4 post write-up of hysterics?

You have to be clear on the How as well as on What or we're gonna sit there wondering wtf just happened. I'm still confused on how Riz just set us up with a sidequest far outside the reaches of civilization after a lot of us have been requesting time to have a sit down and work on things that aren't going to kill us. Every time we see respite on the horizon it disappears like a mirage and we're back at 110% tension.

I totally misunderstood that vote
>>
>>2359428
Na, you're fine. Typically when things go wrong it's because thing didn't go the way we expected, not because you misunderstood our intent.
In this case for example, there seems to be a disagreement over the term 'vent'.

>>2359497
>Is . . . Is that not what venting is?
No. That's talking, not venting. Venting has an entirely different connotation, one usually involved in emotional outpourings and anger.

>>2359535
Riz just set us up with a sidequest far outside the reaches of civilization
I wasn't terrible happy about that either, but we have had a much longer time in town than we usually would. I'm not real sure why Marchovic wants along anyway. Despite what's happened to us in quest, we're a social/summoner build, not a combat one. And almost no one knows about our summons. And we can't really control said summons.
I guess we could Web up a massive area to look for them, but it would be quicker to search on foot.
>>
>>2359618
>social/summoner

We can't social and every time we summon we tear our soul to shreds and cause localized natural disasters. The only thing our build can reliably do is teleport 100 feet into the air and shed our humanity to become a magical voyeur.
>>
>>2359635
My point was that we're not build for combat or scouting or anything else useful for hunting and killing bandits, so I dunno what Marchovic is expecting us to do except be a dead weight.

The social issue is on us anons, not on Rue; she's built for it, we just suck at it. We don't know what the cost of summoning is besides some vague comments by our maid and Riz, though they aren't exactly controllable.

I'd really like to test our teleport before we leave town, since we know we can get back to town with one of them.

We do have the Aeon foundation under construction still, maybe that might make us less useless...
>>
>>2359679
I wouldn't be hasty to become an Aeon, since Aeons of Dryad would be on the kill list, and the best way to weaken one seems to be murdering everybody they like.
>>
Dehumanize yourself and face to bloodshed
>>
File: Mixed Signals.png (288 KB, 318x548)
288 KB
288 KB PNG
>>2359535
We can also... not go? The vote was on whether to focus on the bandits or your expedition, and everyone voted bandits. You're still not exactly under any pressure to do stuff or go places, though. It is purely on your whim.

For now.

>>2359679
>not built for scouting
There's little else besides certain Adepts that are MORE qualified for scouting than Irue thanks to 'A Spider's Web'. It is immensely faster than searching on foot, and provides real-time updates. Marchovic doesn't actually know you can do this, though.
>>
>>2359751
>Mixed signals
Different anons want different things, but I think the ones bored in town are in the minority.

>scouting
I was under the impression 'A Spider's Web' was fantastic for /detection/, but it had a poor time invested to area covered. That'd mean it was great for monitoring a couple of blocks, maybe a small city, but would be terrible for actually looking for something in a large area like forest.

That still doesn't explain why he wants us along though.
>>
>>2359751
>A Spider's Web

stop this

The diary could come in handy too, but iirc we lent it to Rinnier already.

>>2359788
A Spider's Web is fantastic, it can do anything we need, unlike our worthless human guise. If only we'd commit, shed our skin and use the web as it is intended we could be so much greater.

Also he said it was a date, maybe he meant just that. Make us swoon when he defeats the brigands singlehandedly and make our heart flutter when he saves us from self imposed danger like a shining knight.
>>
>>2359679
I think it would be valuable to have an experienced adept around when we do a summoning for the reasons you just gave.

And shade is our most familiar mana.

It could also allow a relatively bloodless resolution with the bandits, who are still also related to Carona and people might be unhappy if we actually do just kill them all.

Marchovic can help us with the aftermath and keeping people from becoming suicidal too.

I feel that going out and summoning a shade apparition could be very beneficial overall for the bandits situation.

We could also use horses so the distance isn't really too bad either.

Better to summon now in a practical and somewhat controlled fashion to get a better grasp on it. It would be immoral to subject people to it just for experimenting normally.
>>
>>2359788
Marchovic is a shade adept. Assume everything he does is a test of some sort for himself and others. It's what Shade does.

>>2359751
I still vote to go. It's a practical way to show our capability and also our capacity to command actual force to back up the implied institutional threat of violence that comes with any authority.
>>
>>2359679
Marchovic probably wants to see how we handle ourselves. If he knows about our previous encounter with the Whisp adept he probably heard something about us butchering all those people with the modified Spider Web.

Even though it was Shadow Rue, it still came from us yeah?
>>
>>2360282
I don't think we should go anywhere until we get out of Asche exactly what our bracelet is and how to use it.
>>
>>2352881
>>2358842
>>2358923

I think i;ve got one for you. You pulled together a lot of lines that show off just how Isolated Mim can be, but i think it's simpler than just wanting to be treated like a kid. Looking at one of Riz's posts from way up there, we see a cute little image of all of Mim's friends!

>All of them.

Methinks it's less about being treated like a kid and more about just being...treated, i guess. Hell, judging by that image, i'd say she doesn't have anyone to be even vaguely friends with, which is pretty crushing for a young child to deal with.
>>
>>2360305
We know by now that Mim's been isolated and treated differently than all her peers for her entire life, pretty much.

Taken into the Dominion from a real young age, yeah? So you gotta ask: Why does she have nobody in the shrine of the mana she was chosen by?
>>
>>2360305
She doesn't want to be treated like a kid.

She's too adult for kids her age, but the adults don't treat her like one of them either. That's why she doesn't have any equals.

So we just have to treat her like a person. Not a kid that we're looking after as a favor to Priat. Not as Luna's representative. Just the same as we would our equal.

But Rue also hasn't grown up with equals. We have our testaments, our maid-bot, our family.

And Carona. Fucking Carona.

But remember how Priat had a section where he was shocked at the crazy shit we did that we just took for granted?

Our sense of proportion is all out of whack. We're constantly irritated we aren't perfect because we truly believe we can be and so we are failing when we aren't. Our arrogance is boundless.

Like it's entirely possible to just walk away from all the Mana bullshit. There's more than enough practical concerns around us.

Side note we should totally ask our Aunt for a loan. Come up with a plan to invest it and repay her/ourselves and such. Swallow our pride that we have to do this all on our own. Because frankly proving ourselves that way comes second to getting the job itself done.

If she won't give us a loan, then we can ask a different noble. Maybe even the Royal Family. But with all the instability that could mean we were picking a side and it would be safest to keep it within the family if possible.

We ARE the Heir after all. We can put our Aunt on the spot if necessary regarding the issue.
>>
>>2360327
> Why does she have nobody in the shrine of the mana she was chosen by?

It was a backwater to dump a problematically precocious child in to keep them out of the way while they "grew up" I suspect.

Anyone who went with her would be committing career suicide to have future accomplishments overshadowed by Mim. An orphan.
>>
>>2360270
>have an experienced adept around when we do a summoning
Yes, but that requires showing them that we can summon. It wouldn't be much of a leap from realizing we can make Apparitions on demand to realizing where the one that wrecked the town came from. He might not tattle on us, but he would use it as leverage.

>bloodless
While a nice gesture, what are we going to do with them once we've caught them? They'll be at least several days travel from a town that can hardly feed and house it's citizens. No, they need to die; they would have literally no place in town.

>>2360282
>test
Of what? He maybe knows about the Web, and we could show that off here. We're a squishy noble, we would be an active detriment in a fight.
>actual force
Of 3 people max? Squad tactics aren't exactly our forte. And he wanted it to just be the 2 of us originally.

>>2360299
She hasn't cracked yet, but she'd happily never tell us if it meant we'd stop harring off into danger.

>>2360327
It makes sense, but this can't be uncommon with the Shrine orphans. You'd think there would be some sort of mitigation in place.
>>
>>2360349
> He might not tattle on us, but he would use it as leverage.

Fucking Prove it.

Besides maybe it's not the end of the world to confess our mistake to him. Shade adept, remember? Or tacitly admit by omission, nothing that could be used in court. Regardless I feel that he would be supportive so long as we are honestly trying to fix our massive fuck up.

I mean the other option was definitely letting the guy with a giant monster kill people.

We can't be super paranoid about all our cards. Besides if he's looking into things he should already have an inkling about our possible abilities. We haven't exactly been discrete in the past.

And the Bandits ARE citizens of Carona. They have families and friends etc. You want to just kill them all before they even have done anything and hope we can hide it?

At some point we have to show that we can back up our orders.
>>
>>2360382
>>2360349

I meant Fucking Prove It to mean the ability to summon Aeons doesn't mean we necessarily did. The Mayor was up to real shady stuff himself anyways.

But if we don't outright say we did, it's a question he could tactfully not ask. What motivation would he have to hold it over us anyways, except to ensure that we do our best to make up for it which we already are.

If anything refusing to use our ability to help now, after causing damage with it, is worse.
>>
>>2360382
We had a number of votes where we could dismiss the Jinn apparition, but we never did. So we don't have a justification in "It was that or let the Mayor kill everyone".
>>
>>2360392
Which is why we need someone with relevant experience and knowledge to be there when we practice summoning to prevent that madness from taking us again.

And Marchovic is easily the best choice as someone apolitical as well as being a Shade adept. Both because of the specific skills of a Shade adept as well as our relationship and understanding of Shade be ing our best controlled summons to date and finally his individual personality.

Quite frankly while not ideal, what is? This is our best chance and we should work with it.
>>
We are NOT using the fucking bracelet ever again until Asche actually tells us what the fuck it is, and what it does, and how to prevent it from destroying us from the inside.
>>
>>2360382
>Shade adept, remember?
That's a dangerous line of thinking. Each mana represents a complex mix of elements, emotions, and types of thought. Personally, I'd trust Wisp more; they're healers, among other things.

>We can't be super paranoid about all our cards
We also don't need to be spewing all our secrets to everyone we know. If they gets out, it will cause us a massive amount of trouble. It's not worth the risk of telling him. It doesn't matter if how we tell him or if we 'technically' don't actually tell him, the end result is the same.

Rue has always been secretive. We can open up some, but a 180 flip isn't the solution. Also, other people have agency as well; they have their own goals and motivations. Telling everyone we know our secrets because it makes us feel good opens us up to backstabs and general exploitation.

>And the Bandits ARE citizens of Carona.
And that matters why? We have to prioritize. They are out there to rob and kill people, and we're still in emergency recovery. They will be directly interfering with Carona's ability to feed and repair itself. If we catch them, we don't have the facilities to house them, nor the food to feed them. We can't spare the materials or manpower to use them for labor. There are no other options I'm aware of.

>Which is why we need someone with relevant experience
Or we could ask Asche, and not needlessly risk ourselves.

>>2360419
I've got an idea. We blackmail her into telling us. We tell her since she won't tell us how it works, we'll just have to extensively experiment with it to figure it out for ourselves.
It is worth noting that Rue is unaware of any side effect from summoning; vague comments from Asche aside, that's meta knowledge.
>>
>>2360419
Sez you.

Besides once again Marchovic could have valuable insight. It's been shown that Asche has communication issues and a second outside opinion is worth getting.
>>
>>2360457
> Personally, I'd trust Wisp more; they're healers, among other things.

The bandit leader is literally a mercenary whips adept. Marchovic had a solid reputation. Also he baked cookies with Mim.

> They are out there to rob and kill people, and we're still in emergency recovery.

They haven't yet so it will look like we're just killing outright any dissenters who peacefully left. Think about how you will explain their murder to people left behind.

I'm all for asking Asche first but she's honestly been a terrible source of information.

And even if it does hurt us, don't we have an obligation to let ourselves be hurt a bit if it can heal Carona a large amount? We did it with the Demi-humans for worse reasons after all.

> Blackmail Asche into telling us

Sounds like a good reason to use it for bandit suppression.
>>
>>2360457
The reason we only have vague warnings is that after voting for talking to Asche about the bracelet, we spent like 2 days just walking and only got like 3 lines out of her. The rest of the time was skipped or spent practicing with the web.

>>2360461
Insight on... ancient artifacts? It's not adept magic.

You realize he's not an idiot and can probably figure out the connection between it and Mistral's Child. You have him figured out enough to know how he'll react to that? You are sure it's worth it tipping him off in that direction to ask him about something he most likely has a) no real knowledge of and b) will only give infuriatingly vague answers and questions like he's a two-bit therapist?
>>
>>2360487
Insight on how we act when summoning, and how the summoning acts, and what we do with it, and how it affects the bandits.

Then we can maybe get him to look at our demi-human issue as well.

Remember his skill is reading people, and the knowledge that it messes with our soul is meta.

He doesn't need to explain how the artifact mechanics work, but to help us figure out just what the effects are.

It's worth the risk. Because any serious investigation should have already led him to suspect that we had something to do with the Jinn summons. He knew about our past with the Whisp adept, and he knows about Shadow Rue.

It's silly to hide it from him at this point and sacrifice a "best outcome" resolution with bringing the bandits back to Carona. Making enemies into friends yo. There's a good chance a lot of them are just disaffected and angry citizens and not part of the Mayors actual plot.
>>
>>2360487
> b) will only give infuriatingly vague answers and questions like he's a two-bit therapist?

Also this was because the important thing was that we be able to figure out the Mim problem ourselves. He also outright said that so long as we didn't give up it would work out eventually and that this one error wouldn't ruin everything.

He's smart enough that it's better to have him inside peeing out than outside peeing in.

What else does he already know from Priat talking about us at the Manor with the Salamander summons and the Oakenrues.

It's too late to put the Jinn back in the bottle here.
>>
>>2360487
>>2360479
Also re: trusting Marchovic - both Mim and Priat trust him and gave solid character reference. Being an adept shapes people similar to their mana as well. And finally yes our encounter with him was reassuring that Mim and Priats descriptions we're accurate. He lived up to his reputation and the expectations of a Shade adept.
>>
>>2360518
>Remember his skill is reading people, and the knowledge that it messes with our soul is meta.

Remember when Asche took it from us? Told us not to use it? Made us promise to avoid using it until we have healed? How she told us that each use it took a part of us, or something to that effect?

Irue knows it's dangerous.

And about Markovich I just want to make sure you had thought all things through. I'm inclined to trust him but I rather talk about the bracelet with the one person we know knows something about it before going to him.
>>
>>2360479
>wisp bandit leader
Mana tends in certain personalities; it's not a sure thing. I'd still trust wisp more on these matters.

>we're just killing outright any dissenters who peacefully left.
They're certainly not gathering out in the woods to party, and any who left would likely reform later. They made the effort to go out there. This wasn't a casual thing to commit to.
>you will explain their murder
To who? if we kill all of them, there will be no witnesses. Anyone that stumbles on it later won't think anything of a slaughtered group of bandits.

>>2360487
The reason we only have vague warnings
My point remains, unfortunately. That's still meta knowledge; whatever effect it is supposed to have isn't visible even when we're looking for it, so I wouldn't worry about it overmuch.

>>2360518
Artifacts have almost nothing to do with Mana. He might be able to tell us something superficial, maybe. Technically, Mim might be a better choice; she's more likely to be at least familiar with artifacts from her reading.

>It's silly to hide it from him at this point and sacrifice a "best outcome" resolution
This isn't risk-free; we stand to lose a lot if this goes badly. As in, 'turn the entire town against us' bad. Or we might get lucky and he only tells the shrine about it, and now Jinn adepts hate us for making them the fall guys.

>led him to suspect that we had something to do with the Jinn summons.
how? We've mentioned that to almost no one. Shadowrue could have been a one-off for all he knows.

>There's a good chance a lot of them are just disaffected and angry citizens
Doubtful. They left a city to go live in the woods and rob and kill people; not something you do lightly.
>>
> "Mim, do you know anything about Duality?"

> You paused at the door, glancing back as the little Luna Adept began to fidget with the hem of her shirt. Her face jerked up when you called, jumping reflexively in shock. "What kind of duality?"

>> Riz !y56qKWqxyc (ID: 0yivADZZ) 09/18/16(Sun)02:59:36 No.588878

> "Reflections. Peculiar dichotomies. Particularly among the Mana?"

> "..." She made a difficult expression, and for a few seconds you simply watched her consider something in the soft light. "Yes."
>>
>>2360583

Compare to

> "Priat, do you know anything about a duality in Mana?"

> "Duality?" He frowned, visibly baffled by the question. You had asked him so many questions today, and there were probably more questions you COULD ask him, but even you were getting tired at this point... You can't imagine how turned around he must have been at this point. "In individual Mana, there isn't really?" His answer was expected, but he said it as if he expected you to correct him. You continued to pet the golem as you hummed an acknowledgement, and prompted him to continue. "The only thing I can think of would be... Like, take Salamander for instance. If you think of an opposite, then naturally it's Undine, isn't it?"
>>
>>2360583
> "There is a limit to how many hoops I am willing to jump through to help someone, Mim. I don't have time to play games with each and every person that wants me to fulfill some special condition to fucking help them before they'll cooperate with me; I have enough on my plate, as you should know damn well about that. Yes, me, new mayor of a ruined town - Guess why it's ruined?" You forced your eyes away when it seemed as if the little Luna Adept could sink in on herself no further, shame and frustration roiling in the pit of your stomach like a wellspring of bubbling tar. "A leader for knights without a cent to my name, responsible for restoring the every day lives of an entire town of people that I hate."

Also we already pretty much confessed to wrecking Carona here.

Anyways. To continue on about Mim.

> "...Doubts." You muttered, absently standing from your seat as you felt the tell-tale signs of understanding begin to dawn on you. The books themselves didn't matter, she wanted what they represented. Something sentimental. Something that mattered to you.

> Stepping across the roots, you couldn't help but soften as Mim almost physically shrank back from your approach; The heat in her posture rapidly draining away. She had spent an entire night cooped up in this library, forced to realize she was helpless as something hunted everyone else through the house; Something that you had just told her you were going to follow into the heart of its home. 'Go home', you had told her, as if it didn't concern her. Of course she couldn't help, and you both knew that she would have just gotten in the way, but when her only resort was to watch Priat and you walk away...

> "I'm sorry." A softly-spoken murmur as you stood in front of her, her eyes widening as you apologized. "We're making you worry... But it's going to be alright."

> Slender fingers brushed against her skin as you slid the little Luna Adept's hair back and chastely pressed your lips against her forehead.

> "We'll come back."

> She had pleaded with you to give her something, and so you tried to remember the feelings that had settled your own fears as you smiled.

> "I promise."

We DID come back like we promised. So we keep what promises we can. We came back to a town we hate. But we don't hate Mim.
>>
>>2359221
TL;DR Apologize to Mim for not telling her that her cookies were delicious.

Tell her they were delicious.

Remind her that we did come back to see her, tell her that even if she's mad we're too stubborn to stay away because bulling through is the only way we know how to be friends.

Talk with her about dualities. About Shadow Rue. Ask her what her experiences were, and what Marchovic said about Shadow Rue being part of us.

Talk about our emotions surrounding what we found in the woods.

Ask Mim to come along with us and Marchovic so that she can see one of the many secrets we've been keeping, namely summoning stuff.

Go with Marky-Mark to suppress bandits. Summon Shade of Regret to get them to confess so that we can discern disgruntled citizens from active saboteurs.

Beat up the Whisp Adept.

Get Marchovic to help with beatings, and dealing with the emotional fallout of the people exposed to the Shade Apparition. Also to observe us and help us figure out just what happens when we use the bracelet INSTEAD OF RELYING ON META KNOWLEDGE.
>>
>>2360693
We ain't summoning shit
>>
>>2357508
> All of this wat

I think Mim has shit taste in people.

Also - Is she a Luna Aeon summoned by the real Mim who has a family and all that? That took her over?
>>
And for god's sake she's a child you can't bring her to fight fucking bandits

Seriously
>>
>>2360816
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I mean. She's a teenager. That's prime animu fighting years.

Besides Marchovic will be with us.

She might also always say no. Leave the decision up to her.
>>
>>2360693
>META

For fucks sake dude

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/46275803/
>"Asche, where is my bracelet?"
>"I removed it." She answered flatly.
>"Ah." You sigh thankfully, "I was worried I lost >it... Where did you put it?"
>"Away."

>You blink at the... unexpectedly short answer as she stared you down.

>"Bring it back to me soon then, not wearing it feels..." You didn't notice it when you had first woken up, and even several minutes after that, but it was almost as if your arm was naked. The skin prickled where the metallic, dual-ringed accessory once hung against your skin; It was subtle, a faint scratch that wouldn't leave you, no matter how much you tried to ignore it. It felt wrong.

>"No." Regardless of your inner monologue, her rejection was absolute. "You will hurt yourself."

>"Soon." You grit your teeth frustratedly, "Why not now? The sooner we start the better, right? Why put it off?"

>"You have already hurt yourself." Asche's lips tugged down, her stoic expression slipping dangerously close to a frown as she stood her ground against you, "You need time."

>"Your body is not what you hurt." Asche closed her eyes with a finality, "You are the rightful owner, I will return it to you... Until then, please. Let yourself heal."

>"You tear away a piece of yourself to create them." Asche explained softly, "...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."
>"You tear away a piece of yourself to create them." Asche explained softly, "...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."
>"You tear away a piece of yourself to create them." Asche explained softly, "...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."
>"You tear away a piece of yourself to create them." Asche explained softly, "...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."

Go to fucking bed already, and calm down
Stop shouting and stop trying to make us do dumb shit
>>
>>2360826
Hoping Mim has better sense than us isn't the worst plan I've heard.

I mean it isn't great.
>>
>>2360583
>>2360589
Hmm, interesting, It's not as simple as it seems though; It could be a reference that Luna 'doesn't' have a mirror, or it could be that Luna 'killed' it's mirror.
I'd assume most Luna adepts aren't aware of Dryad's story as a matter of course. She could just be reflecting on Luna's seemingly unknown reason for not having a mirror. Good catch though.

>>2360599
>Also we already pretty much confessed to wrecking Carona here.
Yea, that was foolish.

>mim
That looks promising.

>>2360693
>Talk with her about dualities. About Shadow Rue. Ask her what her experiences were, and what Marchovic said about Shadow Rue being part of us.
Very No and No.
>Talk about our emotions surrounding what we found in the woods.
Very No.
>Ask Mim to come along with us
Eh..Let's not ask a kid to come and kill people with us, bandits or not, Luna or not.
> Summon Shade of Regret
No
>>
>>2360842
> ...Searing the wound shut when they are killed."

So we reabsorb them, not kill them.

> Let yourself heal."

Asche gave us the bracelet back as well, so we're healed now. Good to roll.

It's a better way of fighting than with sharp objects, that's for sure.

And like I said, maybe Marchovic can help us with the summoning so that it doesn't hurt us. What is one more at this point, to confirm if it can become a usable thing.

Like with the Spiders Web. There's a risk and a cost, but the benefits are also undeniable.

It's not like I'm saying to do it freely or without a plan or a goal to benefit from it.

It won't kill us. Much more.
>>
>>2360850
Why "No" to talking to her again about Dualities? She can decide how much she wants to share, but why wouldn't we share our experience with it with her?

Talking about how we're feeling NOW, like how we talked with her about how we felt when we first had a meltdown would be valuable. We could ask her advice on how she copes with having to be the Shrine Representative and all that despite her age.

And once again, all the demi-humans who have been hammer drunk know that we summoned a shade of regret to pacify them. I don't really see how we can hide that from Marchovic, who already revealed he's looked/looking into our past actions.

If it can peacefully bring people back to Carona, I feel it's worth it to show what we can do instead of actually fighting them.

And if necessary, we can attribute it to Marchovic if people ask questions since he's a shade adept. We can even point them to a currently existing Shade of Regret and say that we just controlled it. Or that it was summoned by their collective guilt.
>>
>>2360878
>>2360850
Let's just get through talking to Mim first guys. Then we can decide on whether or not to summon an apparition after talking to Asche.

We should also swing it by Markovich first. I agree it's probably pointless to hide it from him. Creepy dude. But he could probably give us a better idea if it's worth it or how it could turn out. The Demi-humans are also a pretty extreme case since they never felt regret before.
>>
>>2360863
Do you not know what searing means?
Look it up. In this context or is akin to cauterising our soul or whatever the equivalent is.

You are so bullheaded I'm starting to think that you are doing this on purpose
>>
>>2360878
>Why "No" to talking to her again about Dualities?
It links to Dryad. That one is one of our most sensitive secrets.Showing an interest in anything that could be linked to Dryad by those that know isn't worth the risk.

> know that we summoned a shade of regret to pacify them
I don't think they ever made the connection, though I'm not sure.

>I feel it's worth it
I disagree, but I've already made my arguments.
>>
>>2360897
I think you're reading too much into a single word now.

You are so bullheaded I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose.

We have an opportunity to learn more about it, from Marchovic who is a recognized expert, using our most familiar Mana, and for a tangible benefit for our goals for Carona. Even if it hurts us some now, it's not a hurt that won't heal. Even if it doesn't heal all the way, the exchange alone would be worth it to resolve the discontent in Carona + removing the final pawns of the Mayor. That alone would make it worth it. But we also have a chance to maybe figure out how to use it without hurting ourselves, or minimizing the hurt. Yeah we sear our soul, but souls also grow.

Because without a doubt there will be times in the future when we're faced with having to use it again. A little bit of pain now to save ourselves more pain in the future.

I don't understand your argument against that. This isn't an opportunity that will come often, if again.

We also have a chance to bring the issue up to Marchovic on our terms instead of him putting the pieces together and confronting us. He already showed that he has a deep understanding about summoned apparitions from our discussion with him about Shadow Rue.

Yeah it'll hurt and there's some risk. I still stand by it being worth it.
>>
>>2360906
I thought it was more about talking to her about Shadow Rue. The duality of being her, and us.

> know that we summoned a shade of regret to pacify them

They don't have to understand it themselves, they just have to describe it to Marchovic. Or other people who would be able to understand it.
>>
>>2360923
>>2360906

But yeah. I think I've summarized my arguments here too so let's move on.
>>
>>2360906
So how many seconds after meeting do you think Marchovic will wait before fighting Kara?
>>
Closing the voting in about an hour, if anyone has any last minute addendums or guesses at the Forgetting.

And then.... Parsing... All of this.
>>
>>2361425
Actually I think we should preemptively get a punch in before we say anything.
>>
>>2361425
Let's just deal with the Mim stuff first.

The discussion spiralled out of control.

>>2361428

I am mostly sure this is a joke.
>>
>>2361463
Well I think we should definitely still go after the bandits with Marchovic. Just to get him on our side if nothing else.

Gotta pay to play.

He knows we have no combat ability, so maybe he plans on having us pass judgement on what to do with the bandits afterwards?

Or the whole thing is bait to see if we'll summon something.

Still, we already agreed to go with him.
>>
>>2361463
Pros of punching Mim:
>Improve our combat experience
>Wakes her up
>Asserts dominance
>Gets a hit in in case she wants to beat us up
>Beatings teach discipline
>If we use enough violence, she'll turn into Ari 2.0

Cons:
>None
>>
>>2361425
Aren't you at least glad that we care so much?

>>2361489
So long as you are still down with us asking Mim to come beat up currently peaceful dissenters.
>>
File: im ready.png (402 KB, 940x527)
402 KB
402 KB PNG
>>2361493
I was the first person who suggested that
>>
>>2361497
Actually I'm fully switching my vote over to beating up Mim, and then beating up bandits, and then beating up whoever has a problem with us erecting a giant middle finger in the middle of the town.
>>
And thus begins the violence again.

Irue Valen, Class: Ruler
Available this summer.
>>
>>
>>2361524
I guess it worked for Rinnier . . .

No. This is a bad plan. You are bad people. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why.

We're going to get a sad reaction pic from Riz again.

But this vote is compellingly attractive.

No. I say no.
>>
>>2361530
Oh god.

The punching is overtaking us.

Fine.

> Lightly punch Mim.

Remind her that we did keep our promise to come back. And tell her that we want her to wait to bake cookies with us as well as Marchovic when we come back from beating up bandits.

Unless she wants to come punch bandits with us too. Then start punching her playfully again while asking her to come hit nerrrrrrrds.
>>
>>2361532
>>2361552
nononononononononono
Was not ADVOCATING PUNCHING A CHILD PLZ NO
>>
Do not beat the bab
>>
>>2361556
Lightly.

Playfully.

Just like your picture.

Just some girlish roughhousing around the place.
>>
>>2361556
> "If you wanted us to be happy you should have written a short story about Kara Saving Christmas and not allowed write ins." - Anon

Can we somehow run the quest without voting or write ins? I don't think we're ready for the responsibility.

Or just always have Rinnier follow us around with a stick to hit us when we have bad ideas.

And Asche for when Rinnier gets tired.
>>
>>2361566
>Martha
>Playful punching
>>Light playful punching
>>>Girlish roughhousing
>>
>>2361572
What happens if Irulen develops martial arts skills and her hands become weapons?

Do they drop off?

>>2361571
Your solution to too much hitting is . . . more hitting? Now we see the violence inherent in the system!
>>
File: Perfect Noble.jpg (109 KB, 700x716)
109 KB
109 KB JPG
>>2361572
Oh god why have you kept this Martha from me.
>>
>>2361556
>>
File: Riz.gif (220 KB, 500x375)
220 KB
220 KB GIF
>>2361425
I found a gif for you too Riz!
>>
File: CAF1e8SUQAAEHD6.jpg (91 KB, 494x1198)
91 KB
91 KB JPG
Vote closed. Gimme some time to sift through things.
>>
>>2361597
Can I use this too?
>>
>>2361597
This isn't particularly accurate. I'm just happy to see everyone enjoying themselves. All this fate stuff kind of makes me miss LuviAnon though.
>>
>>2361637
Well enjoy the madness.

I have to sleep now. But I hope things go well in the quest and people somehow figured out how to deal with Mim.

With a minimum of punching.
>>
What the fuck are you guys doing

You know he's gonna write Irue beating up Mim now
>>
>>2361667
a
Mim-imum of punching.

God help me.
>>
>>2361697
That'll teach her a lesson.
>>
>>2361697
Girlish roughhousing.
>>
Unrelated, but I think Irue would look good in a suit.

Also the Forgetting was a success.
>>
>>2361734
Huzzah!

And I concur. Since she's boyish as it is.
>>
>>2361734
Am ded at keyboard update soon?
>>
>>2361800
Go ahead and sleep anon, I am struggling.
>>
>>2361801
That's fine there is a lot going on. Take your time. We can always play later.

Thanks for the fun ride as always!!
>>
>>2361734
Oh my god

You're evil, evil person, Riz.
I stayed up until 4 AM local time trying to find something I have missed, when the Forgetting was a success all along.

I hope you're happy.
>>
File: Spoiler Image (361 KB, 640x360)
361 KB
361 KB PNG
>>2361825
You're even the one who got it.
>>
>>2361828
You're getting a kick out of watching people panic, don't you?
>>
File: it is time to stop.gif (959 KB, 480x270)
959 KB
959 KB GIF
Doesn't look like I'll be doing any updating tonight after all. Just... Give me some time to rest. We should have a little more to go before this thread wraps up.

Running through the skyfire was a mistake.
>>
>>2356720
>>2361828

Mim already knows about Dryad huh?l
>>
File: Fate-Grand Valen.png (511 KB, 616x872)
511 KB
511 KB PNG
>>2357538
>>2357764
>>2358127
Invite Mim to hunt men in cold blood!

>>2357761
>>2358213
Venting?

>>2358630
>>2358845
Praise the Mim!

>>2359883
'A spider's Web'!

>>2361428
>>2361532
>>2361552
>>2361698
Beat Mim!

I didn't think that'd actually win, but alright.
---

I'll leave a vote for whether you actually go on Marchovic's Wild Ride a bit later, instead of trying to parse it here.
>>
File: kanna.gif (865 KB, 500x281)
865 KB
865 KB GIF
>>2362778
lel. I'll throw one in for praise Mim
>>
>>2362778
GIRLISH.

ROUGHHOUSING.
>>
>>2362778
Are we mixing roughhousing and an invitation to hunt men?

Seriously I have a vote for everything except Spoder Wob.
>>
>>2362778
I'm feeling trolled here.
>>
In reality the answer was nothing complicated. You'd overlooked it for the same reasons you'd failed to realize she wanted to be friends in the first place; Questioned her motivations as member of the Shrine, and focused only on yourself. In a way, that was precisely what you'd done wrong... But realizing it did little to change the necessity of your actions.

Mim was the Representative of Luna, a position granted exclusively to the one most favoured by Luna in the area. It was a title she had held since her age scantly exceeded a single hand's worth. She was adopted by the Shrine as a baby, and had never once been able to mingle with those around her. Too precocious for her age, she was an ill-fit for other children. Too young for her authority, she was hardly a peer amongst the Representatives. Even within her own Dominion, the leap she'd taken ahead of those who had dedicated their lives to study and meditation kindled a myriad of opinions... But very few of them could be described as 'respect'.

You thought that becoming her friend would change that sense of isolation, but her heartbroken frustration pleaded the contrary. For someone whose life was characterized by the Celestial Mana's overflowing presence and affection, it was a power and favour which had done little more than interfere with every relationship she'd ever had. A wall of status and ability that she'd never asked for, which guaranteed any and everyone she'd ever meet would treat her differently. Treat her accordingly. With distance, and respect.

As anything other than just herself.

"Mim, I know why you're upset."

What was the point of being friends if you were still alone? If Luna's favour was still the deciding factor in how you were treated, was there any difference from before? Mim had been the one to suggest the existence of an eighth Mana, and you'd already put the possibility in her head of duality between the Mana. It'd been a month since then, even if she didn't know what had happened to you in the Imprisoned Child's Atelier, no doubt she'd already concluded what you'd found... And from there, why you wouldn't be able to tell her when you returned.

"...And I can't do anything about it." You finished your explanation lamely... Because no matter how unfair it was, the reality remained the same. Some things you couldn't fix just by realizing what was wrong. Sometimes, the bitter taste wouldn't go away. "Can you open the door? We'll talk about it."
>>
A barely audible click signaled the appearance of Mim's reddened eyes peeking out from between the newly ajarred door. Her baleful stare met the faint beginnings of a smile as you quietly slipped a breath of relief; She was still willing to listen to you.

"I spent what felt like a year trying to think of what I was going to do when I came back." You admitted lowly, wary of the conversation echoing through now empty commons. "Coming up with scenarios and plans, just like you said. Something I could do, or say, to convince you to accept it. It's why I brought you that book. Why I kept telling you that I still meant what we talked about back then."

"..."

"But I'd resolved to break that promise when I came." You continued as the little Luna Adept wiped her face on her sleeve. "Just like you knew I would. For the exact same reasons. Right?"

She sniffed, guardedly nodding as the door creaked open. "Mn..."

"That hasn't changed. It won't change. In fact, this-" You gesture vaguely towards the midnight circumstances you found yourself meeting in. "-Probably won't change, either. I'm going to be knocking on your door a lot like this." The wet hiccup that passed for a laugh passed without comment. "My point is that I did it because I had to, not because I wanted to."

"...It's not fair." She murmured thickly, slender fingers curling white.

"I know. And it's a terrible start, I know, but..." You sighed, struggling to find the words. You hadn't come here with any plans this time, only this vague feeling that you had to set things straight. "Lots of things aren't fair, and there've been worse starts. It doesn't mean it'll stay that way."

"Yes it will!" She snapped. "I was born like this, it's not just going to go away!"

"It's also not that important." You retort, handing over the satchel of cookies Marchovic left you. "We talked for hours and it didn't matter. Luna's favour didn't make you spend a month learning to make these. You're more than a Representative for a Mana."

"Then why won't anyone treat me like that!?" She withdrew a cookie and angrily chucked it into her mouth, chewing it spitefully... Before her face contorted.

"Mim?"
>>
"Ib tashtes luk sult..." She whined pitifully, spitting cookie crumbles out into her hand while her tongue dangled out. "Where did you get these?"

"...I ran into Marchovic earlier." You scratch your cheek awkwardly, deciding to take the salty distraction for what it was and forge along before she could recover her focus. "Being a Luna Adept is part of who you are, like I'm the heir to House Valen. For most people, that title is all they'll ever care about." You knelt down to better face the little Luna Adept. "I had to learn who I was without it. Believe me, Mim: It's not that important."

She hesitated. As much insight as Luna's favour provided her, it did little to aid her in covering the emotions splayed across her face. There was doubt, possibly born of an intuition you'd never fully understand. Hints of rebellion smoldering behind her eyes. She wanted to keep arguing. This wasn't nearly enough to convince her.

But those eyes wrenched shut as she threw herself forward, burying her face in the crook of your neck as she clung on.

"Please be right."

You barely kept your balance, wrapping one arm around her hesitantly as you rubbed the quietly sobbing child's back. You had a horrible track record for being right... But it was enough to dredge out some remaining flickers of hope in your friend.

"Please..."
>>
File: ValEnd.gif (1023 KB, 500x281)
1023 KB
1023 KB GIF
"...Hey, Mim?"

"Mm."

"You want to help Marchovic and I kill some people?"

"...Huh?"

---
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 run again..

To those who did not make it to the end, we will never forget your sacrifice.
>>
>>2363881
We don't have to kill them if we summon an Apparition.

Probably. I mean does it count really if they kill themselves?
>>
>>2363881
I dunno how we managed that, but we did.

Thanks for running. See you in a couple of months?
>>
>>2363884
Only if someone can prove you summoned the Apparition!

Also the thread still has plenty of life left in it, but I didn't see there being much more left to do after that scene with Mim. It felt like a decent place to stop, and we can pick up on things 4 months later.

Sorry that last update took so long. I was mortified it was going to come out cheesy/cringey. It got rewritten a lot.

Since thread's over though, and there's plenty of time till this falls off, doors are open for questions or concerns. Also any problems you guys have with the writing or wanted to bring up and formally address, I'd be glad to go back and forth over.

>>2363888
>A couple months
God I hope not. I'm desperately hoping I can stay on top of things and run again either this coming weekend, or sometime next week.
>>
>>2363891
The write up came out good. A real slow stroker of a piece.
>>
>>2363892
>Slow stroker
I... I don't know what this... Means.
>>
>>2363895
>https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BkgMbU-we1o
>>
>>2363881
>"You want to help Marchovic and I kill some people?"

Y'all buncha regular geniuses
>>
File: 11009312.gif (10 KB, 600x450)
10 KB
10 KB GIF
>>2363903
>>
>>2363881
So, how badly did we almost fuck up this time?
>>
>>2363908
Could you elaborate on the web being faster than searching on foot? I thought a slow speed in covering a zone was the trade off for absolute perception inside that zone, how much time could we conceivably cut off if we used the web? What about if we brought a demihuman or two?

Also didn't you mention you had something to say about Irue being a foam in the mouth nutcase?
>>
>>2363948
He's lying to make us use it. Remember it is addictive
>>
>>2363908
Could we convince a Jinn Adept to find the bandit camp and report back prior to us actually setting out with Marchovic?
>>
>>2363964
Remember also that we get a better resistance to the addiction the more we use the web, and it gets better use at a high rate for every time we've used it.

So the trick is to use it MODERATELY.
>>
File: 0021.jpg (283 KB, 1126x1600)
283 KB
283 KB JPG
>>
File: Weaving.jpg (187 KB, 962x642)
187 KB
187 KB JPG
>>2363931
You did good, anon! You got the hug to prove it, even.

>>2364008
You can if you'd like! Jinn Adepts are great at long range reconnaissance, but their replies are often at the whim of Jinn's apparitions. In other words, you're liable to get a general direction, and vague qualifiers. The Adept in question can (and often will) try to provide better context for it based on what they know of the area, but the source of the information is ultimately an apparition that can't tell people apart and has little interest in human concepts.

>>2363948
>the web being faster than searching on foot
The biggest downside to the web is just that it's easy to lose time inside it. If you tried to weave a web covering a clearing as large as your house was, you risk losing 4-6+ hours as Irue zones out and comes back to something far more thorough than they really needed. Conversely, you may recall that you used the web to excellent result when searching for Asche in the catacombs, mapping out an unholy amount of the labyrinth. A great deal of time was lost here as well, but the sheer amount of space covered far exceeded what you could have possibly searched on your own otherwise.

So you are correct, in that a slow speed in covering a zone is the trade off for absolute perception inside that zone. It's also possible, as with the catacombs, and recently Carona, to focus on expansion over awareness and spread your webs thinner, using them more like a field of tripwires than a net. This is in some ways far superior to Jinn's paltry recon, as you maintain a much clearer picture of the area covered, gain real time updates on what's going on, and can passively track whatever you want inside that space. Not to mention that it can't be subverted by other Jinn adepts! Your web serves you, and you alone.

Bringing a demihuman or two along would probably help somewhat as well. They're better trackers than humans typically are... Although they're basically rendered moot if you've taken the time to weave 'A Spider's Web'. They simply can't compare to the utility and power of your web's surveillance.
>>
>>2364170
Why not all three? Give the Demi-human scouts something the Jinn spirits can use as a know reference point to refer to while they cover a bunch of ground quickly. Then they can come back and we can use the information gathered to triangulate the Bandit location, after which we can spin a web for the precise and accurate detailing to plan our attack.
>>
File: Ice Atelier.png (1.34 MB, 1000x1000)
1.34 MB
1.34 MB PNG
>>2363948
Irue's had a number of notable breakdowns in short order. Once yelling at Mim, once in the Imprisoned Child's Atelier, and then once talking to Rinnier when you got back. Typically speaking my goal in writing Irue is to keep their actions consistent in respect to two factors: Their own mental state, and the tone or direction of your votes. So following that, we can look back to the above 3 major outbursts and follow a similar theme.

>Yelling at Mim
1. High character stress due to Ari being missing.
2. High anon stress taken from write-in votes to fuel the rant.
3. A long series of valid experiences that had been building up until then.

>Tim's Meltdown
1. High character stress due to the Atelier
2. High(?) anon stress and votes that encouraged slipping your self-control to hurt Tim out of spite.
3. The opportunity to actually vent everything to someone who wouldn't use it against you.

>Conversation with Rinnier
1. High character stress due to the overwhelming amount of things you were handling on your own.
2. High degree of anon desire to get help.
3. Weakened self-control after having your walls cracked from the previous outbursts

Yelling at Mim was essentially a tipping point - The first crack in an otherwise well internalized bundle of stress. Being in the Atelier did not help your mental state whatsoever, but cracking again with Tim left Irue well and truly worn out by the end of it all. This all led up to talking with Rinnier, which is an important thing to note - They're not written in the sense of "Irue is upset, time to breakdown", but as a consistent rise and fall. Having talked to Rinnier, you spent an entire day, for the first time in the quest, actually talking over Irue's exhausted emotional state and ostensibly gaining someone to actually support you, rather than just be your ally. It was the transition state between Irue being an island, and allowing someone in - Much like Rinnier's breakdown much earlier when you got into that fight in the library pre-Rite completion.

I don't know whether it was really noted or not, but if we look at Irue's interaction with Mim during the initial conversation, and the way Irue reacted afterwards, we obviously still see displeasure in what occurred, but it's handled in a much calmer manner, closer to how Irue approached things earlier in the quest before stress piled higher. You may have also noted how Irue's instinctive reaction to dealing with the stress wasn't to panic - Be frustrated, certainly - but not panic. Their initial thought was to talk to Rinnier about it.

There seemed to be concerns that Irue being upset just automatically translated to overly dramatic breakdowns, and due to recent events that's fair. Irue is recovering emotionally, but still not quite healthy. This is what I'm paying attention to as a QM when going forward with Irue's reactions. If they're out of line with your expectations as players, please talk to me about it.
>>
>>2364194
This is one option, but it will likely take a lot more time than Marchovic will like. Keep in mind that he told you he planned on doing it himself initially - It's a task he's going to do, with or without you. You were just invited along.
>>
I don't know how to feel about Mim's face coming out unscathed.
>>
>>2364202
Just ask he wants to merely smack bandits around, or go on an adventure.

After he sees what we can do, he'll be able to come up with really fun fights. A Griffin will be almost dull in comparison.

Or we could walk up and swing a big of Regret Apparition dick around.
>>
>>2364202
Besides we can still revoke the letter. Or refuse to invite him to future baking with Mim.
>>
>>2364194
If we're using the web there's no reason for the other two and vice versa. I'd wager that the preferable order would be to get the general direction from the Jinn adept and then head that way with a pair of demihumans so we don't miss it. If we choose not to go along personally I still think we should set this up for March to speed up his trip.

Now if we're bringing Mim then we can't bring the oakenrue which will limit our offense options. I wonder if sleeping with Kara would let us borrow her strength, or maybe the mirror would work too?
>>
>>2364427
Probably not since her strength isn't magical. We might catch her stupidity though.
>>
>>2364427
And if we can figure out again how to tune the Web settings to "razor wire" That would be awesome.

>Never Forgive for Shadow Rue
>>
>>2364427
To be fair, if we use Jinn we get a general location sooner, while the Demi-humans can further narrow down the precise spot by being known reference points.

This results in a significantly smaller area to cover with the Spider Web, if we decide we need to use it at all.

Which we still might both for just making sure not everyone escapes, or to possibly somehow prevent escape.

Ideally a little less horribly and lethally than "cut off everyones legs at the shins".
>>
File: Summon Apparition.jpg (32 KB, 796x758)
32 KB
32 KB JPG
>>2363948
Irue is a person!
>>
File: Scream louder.png (208 KB, 920x402)
208 KB
208 KB PNG
>>2363908
>>
File: QM moving forward.png (269 KB, 750x366)
269 KB
269 KB PNG
>Any problems you guys have with the writing or wanted to bring up and formally address
>If they're out of line with your expectations as players, please talk to me about it
>Total silence reigns for two days
...I guess everyone's happy?
>>
>>2366208
No issues here. It's nice to not be running around with our hair on fire for a change. I wouldn't want to the quest to /become/ what it is at the moment, but it's important to take time to relax and reset every once in a while.

Out of the literal dozens of quests I've read, this is one of my favorites. I often stay up way too late when you're running, vainly trying to help solve things. You do characters fantastically well, especially the little things they do when interacting with each other, or even they're in the same room.
>>
>>2366208
I am pretty much totally happy.
>>
>>2366208
Once the stress leaves my body it's always water under the bridge. You're bad for my health but I can't quit.

One thing though is that, it seems to me, we've been trying to make Irue stop being so obtuse especially on personal matters. I understand why that's difficult for you when even modern medicine can't cure autism. I'm still sore that we had a week long talk with Rinnier and in the end all we got were like a dozen lines of dialogue
>>
>>2366208
I feel like a lot of the social problems that Irue had mostly comes from the inability to communicate, from both sides.
Rinnier's self righteous constant reminder that Irue is trying to win every conversation is so mindnumbingly fucking dumb, and no one talks about it. No one even tries to argue why she's always disregarding context or twisting the basic concept of human interaction and empathy. In fact, I feel like most of the problems that we're forced to deal with have very little conflict in terms of their existence. Everytime someone brings something up, everyone just assumes it's correct, as if they had a perfect grasp of the situation while Irue is left stumbling in the dark to catch up. Even though I love this quest, that's how I feel best sums up the difficulty of the forgetting and interactions. It feels like Irue's fighting Riz, not whatever actual problem is there.
>>
>>2366484
That's because the way Anons vote definitely affects how Riz writes Rue.

All Anons bitter venomous bitching and self flagellation? That's not taken OOC.

If you want Rue to be positive - be more positive.

Anons have consistently tried to roll-play ever since they realized how badly they were out of their depth and fucked up by picking 3 testaments.

And nobody realized we were the voice in Rue's head until way too late. When people pointed out that things were fucky.

Because that also didn't happen until Shadow Rue. And two Ateliers. Also the whole summoning thing which is honestly the least of our soul damaging actions.

But also all the self hatred that Anons have provided for Rue in a steady feed. That's why Rue hates Carona so goddamn much. Not that it isn't deserved. There. We hate Carona a little more now.

It's honestly fantastic. It's like when Joker Quest had an enemy that could read unspoilered text. Which Riz uses a lot for OOC so maybe we should consider thread reminders to spoiler your jokes and bitching.

We seriously had some votes to punch Mim. Instead of disenfranchising the stupidest and most ridiculous votes Riz tries to reflect it all in Rue's actions.

The effects have been constant and habe built slowly to this point. Congratulations on noticing. Riz only explains this every other thread or so since we punched Rinnier.

You're the very essence of Valen Quest thread #37. It's not just fair, it's all our faults. Does nobody remember the thread where we tried to define Irulen? Goddamnit that was a huge chance to change things.

I hate you a little. Because you hate yourself so unrelentingly and lash out rather than accept that you can and should do better. Who am I talking about here?
>>
>>2366484
>Most of the problems that we're forced to deal with have very little conflict in terms of their existence.
>It feels like Irue's fighting Riz, not whatever actual problem is there.
Can you extrapolate a little more on these two points, and maybe provide some examples for me to look back over and see what you mean?

I know I probably have some issues with...
>Everytime someone brings something up, everyone just assumes it's correct, as if they had a perfect grasp of the situation while Irue is left stumbling in the dark to catch up.
Because I personally find it a little exhausting to explain things between characters and then have to argue a point unnecessarily. The first thing that comes to mind being your conversation with Rinnier and how she chained together some things rather quickly - Which is partly just because her character is apt to make said connections, and aforementioned connections are much easier to make when all the information is presented at once, but I imagine it gets grating.
>>
File: Angry Hissing.png (386 KB, 800x448)
386 KB
386 KB PNG
>>2366691
>my ID changed again
>>
>>2366643
>It's not just fair, it's all our faults.
This, I think, is one of the reasons I like this quest so much. We /can/ fail. It makes things much more difficult than other quests, but when things do finally go right, it's the best feeling in the world.

Personally, I actually prefer Rue like this. Not because I enjoy suffering or whatever, but because most protagonists have this blind optimism thing going on. I'm a fan of the reluctant hero, because they have a more concrete reason for their actions than "It's the right thing to do!". Rue fits that mold rather well in some aspects.

>>2366691
>I know I probably have some issues with...
I think that's a "grass is always greener" issue. On one side, we have to take what one person says as fact. On the other, we spent all our time verifying everything. I know it's a pain for you to "argue with yourself" over what you know are facts, but with as paranoid as Rue is, she should be taking some of the more dubious claims with a grain of salt, I think.

I'll add that I'm sometimes annoyed at our choices, but that's on us anons, not you.
>>
>>2366718
>she should be taking some of the more dubious claims with a grain of salt, I think.
For the record, Rinnier explicitly told you she didn't believe what you were telling her. She took a lot of notes on it to think it over and verify herself later.
>>
>>2366721
See? Details.

If people want specific ways to act, use your words and write it out.
>>
>>2366643
>You're the very essence of Valen Quest thread #37.

Crossing a line there pal; that's not something you just up and tell someone. Ouch.
>>
>>2366208
I was very upset that Irue didn't react with confusion and curiosity when Marchovic brought up the topic of forbidden love. Girls can't love girls!
>>
>>2368272
Seeing as Irue is actually a sexless golem, either all the love is forbidden for them, or none is.
>>
File: 1257980331121.jpg (107 KB, 360x274)
107 KB
107 KB JPG
>>2366643
I don't understand why you are condescending.

You're one of the people voting to punch Mim and you for some godforsaken reason thought inviting her to kill bandits was a proper course of action, among other dubious things, and then talk about including stupid and ridiculous votes.

Which has been fairly evident since the beginning, the entire reason we're in this shitshow is because of a deleted troll vote to attack Roderick and the guards way back in what, thread #3? Pretty much every scenario can be traced back to that point plus some extremely suspect actions taken to rectify the mistake.

>>2366691
Speaking of Riz including all our chatter and banter into the characterization, I wonder how long we're going to have to use words like "explain" and "tell them" before Irue learns to speak words. Ever since the fuckup at the mansion and then on into the atelier we've been talking about how to include other people in Irue's life and share her problems, but when we finally get to talk to someone it's still only business that segue into a faux pas that makes someone mad. I don't think we should have to beg and explicitly say "please say a lot of words" but I guess we're going to have to hammer out the autistic chink in our armor one thread at a time. It's like... when updates finally hit, I feel that I am watching a nature documentary about toads where Irue croaks and then the entire cast in the scene begin to jump, colliding in mid air and do those sick somersaults and the whole picture is complete chaos.

You work in every Fuck Carona into a post but a vote to explain turns into an ellipsis. Sometimes that's kind of frustrating. I still think the Rinnier thread was weak and a far cry from what I was expecting. This thread too, but I'll forgive you for Mim throwing a fit I just thought Irue would have had more tact than leading in with "... I'm sorry", even she should know that it would be impossible to have a conversation after that.

I suppose I am going to have to write "thank you" and "how are you" every time I vote from now on, teach Irue some manners.
>>
>>2368389
>A nature documentary about toads where Irue croaks and then the entire cast in the scene begin to jump, colliding in mid air and do those sick somersaults
I want this. Or a comic of this.

>We've been talking about how to include other people in Irue's life and share her problems, but when we finally get to talk to someone it's still only business that segue into a faux pas that makes someone mad.
>we're going to have to hammer out the autistic chink in our armor one thread at a time.
These two things are connected. The general sentiment I feel from you guys is the first bit - You're tired of playing things close to your chest, and want to open up and improve Irue's various relationships. Naturally we started covering this with Rinnier, and made a round-robin of (just about) everyone else you keep close, but as you rightly pointed out, most of those were more business-like than personal bonding or the like. That's where the second thing comes in. All of those meetings were business-like because they were the first time you'd come back to see them in a while (both IC and OOC), which meant that status updates and planning took precedence over focusing on getting closer. Typically those meetings (like with Dullem) only really touched on you including them more in your life in the sense of thinking about how to do that.

In other words, we've only really had time to touch base and catch up with everyone. This is a pacing problem on my end, but not something you should worry too much about. I've just not gotten through things fast enough to proceed to the next stage where you can start actually poking at people without business taking precedence. With Mim's meeting completed you've actually finished that whole "touch base" segment, so we're actually set for casual interaction now.

Am I physically incapable of understanding how downtime works? Signs seem to be pointing to yes.

>You work in every Fuck Carona into a post but a vote to explain turns into an ellipsis.
I'll try to be more mindful of this. It's really easy for me to insert some side-eyed joke about Carona being a shitty place because it's not a vital conversational piece. It's kind of free-floating and can come and go with a single line, where as explanations tend to spiral outward.

I'm not really sure how I'd go about changing "weak" threads. I don't fully understand the criteria behind them, and they seem to vary from person to person, but from >>2368389 and >>2366484 (who never came back!) the general feeling I'm understanding is that you guys are feeling... Kind of silenced? Your voices aren't coming through as clearly as you'd like, and it's frustrating.This is definitely on me, for various reasons - Some of which already mentioned - But I feel like I can do better in these regards since I know they're concerning you guys.

My pacing problems aside for the moment, I'll take more care in letting your voices through.
>>
>>2368481
>I'll take more care in letting your voices through.
For general sentiment things (Fuck Carona, etc), that's always a good thing. Be wary however, of a lack of agreement on things with more weight to them. In many quests, stating a flat disagreement with another's vote is considered rude and is often ignored. Accordingly, I'm inclined to not negatively comment on votes I disagree with.

TL;DR good in general, but don't take a lack of dissent as assent.
>>
>>2366643
Thanks for completely missing my point.

>>2366691
I can give examples. Talking with Rinnier, Furniture maid, and Tim does not feel like talking. It is rarely an exchange. Irue gives, and everyone else reacts. Interacting feels more like probing, or maybe us throwing shit at a wall and seeing what happens.

It feels like we're talking with a facet of Riz, not other people. Mim's bit with the cookies is her giving. She offers change with her own volition, unprompted by Irue. It adds to her character while being wholly independent.

The wall gives us problems and tells us to solve them. The wall lectures Irue on the world and declares things to be truth, even if they may not be absolutes. The wall is uncontested, and any attempts to do so are dismissed. Talking to Rinnier about Carona is like talking to a wall. Talking to Rinnier about the brigands way back then was an exchange.

NPCs do not argue with each other. They are always in agreement with the state of the world, and they have never truly fought with themselves about how to deal with a situation. They are a wall, a united, faceless front.
>>
>>2368783
That's an interesting viewpoint. I think part of what you're feeling is a weakness of quests as a medium vs tabletop games. In tabletop, the "periods during which you excerpt control on the world" (or "speaking stick") are individually short, but are much more frequent. In quests, those periods are longer, but less frequent. This means as a player in tabletops, you control flow, while in quests, you control moments.

There's also a certain amount of narrative conservation of detail. Belaboring unimportant points can be a drag for all involved, though there's plenty of arguments either way.

Anyway, point is I can see why you might feel that way. Out of curiosity, do you have suggestions on how fix to your issues?
>>
>>2368884
My last paragraph was basically my thoughts on how it could be solved. Do everything but that. Friction between characters, maybe.
>>
>>2368783
I completely misunderstood you up in >>2368481 then. I'm sorry!

I was talking about this with another QM relatively recently, and now that you've explained a little I can definitely see where you're coming from. Although it's worth noting that the ability for the cast to directly disagree with each other has become... Hindered. They've all somewhat floated away from each other, anchoring to Irue specifically, rather than each other. An example of which being how Kara never comes around to HQ because Rinnier is there, and how Rinnier uses Dullem as a medium to keep tabs on Kara. Dullem himself doesn't like conflict and keeps his head low, and Ari...

This is deliberate. Irue won their trust and faith, but they never connected with each other.

Suffice to say the opportunities for them to disagree with each other directly are scarce, and they don't often weigh in on the same matters. People like Marchovic and Liam are still arguing with each other, but they're (currently) outside of your direct sphere of involvement. Kara and Maro are in somewhat constant disagreement to some degree, but it's only recently been given any point of light and you don't interact much with Maro as it is.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I feel like this is something I can improve with relative ease, primarily because the cast is already at odds, which was something I was kind of hoping you guys would start picking up on with when you had to track all over Carona to touch base with them and discovered they all basically avoided each other.Can't do shit about the Atelier, though. You are, by definition, talking to a wall in those things. Either you solve the place, or it tries to eat you.

That said, this is a more concerning problem to me than a lack of voice-bleed through. If the characters aren't feeling real and distinct, then I've done something cataclysmically wrong. The world lives and breathes on the integrity of the people inside it, so I appreciate you bringing this up.
>>
>>2368783
>>2369069
Yeah, NPCs do feel like a unified front against which we are having a battle with. Everyone is a problem directly or indirectly. If they aren't a problem to deal with or fix, they present us with a problem to deal with or fix... or they are so far away and out of our reach being a problem we can do nothing about. I am looking at you, Caylen and Maran!
They don't come with solutions or show us that they have already helped us without our prompt. Rinnier as the acting mayor is the only one, I think? No, Thomas too, but we still had to seek him out. Not that it stopped her from heaping us with disproportionate trouble anyway. Markovich you could argue, but it was still prompted by us giving him the letter of marque. Rinnier stepped up because we were bloody useless. We don't see the cast disagree because the cast is never in the same place, but there should be many ways to give them reasons to pass by each other, I mean for all of our fights with Rinnier we never had to schedule an appointment in her office.

We should hunt another fucking snake and have a feast and put all named characters at the same table and proclaim a battle royale for the dessert pudding.

>If the characters aren't feeling real and distinct, then I've done something cataclysmically wrong.
They do, but they're never in the same place and I can understand why that makes people see them as cardboard cutouts. Remember this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjbx6-KQoRg
Don't become the Todd!
Jokes aside I really want to see more interaction that Irue is not in the center of. If the world is living and breathing we need to see the chest rise and sink, you know? You show the world moving on without us but it's mostly at this macro scale where we ourselves are just a little pin needle with a "YOU ARE HERE". This is great at making us feel insignificant and cause stress because we have to reach this macro level where we can do something.

>Am I physically incapable of understanding how downtime works? Signs seem to be pointing to yes.
This is probably true.




Delete Post: [File Only] Style:
[Disable Mobile View / Use Desktop Site]

[Enable Mobile View / Use Mobile Site]

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective parties. Images uploaded are the responsibility of the Poster. Comments are owned by the Poster.