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You are John Hoelscher, an Artificer operating out of Shirahoro, and the last several months have been anything but boring.

Between the high-stakes firefight on a train in the middle of the night, getting entangled in a complex political showdown between two major mafia families - one of which you spent a few years working directly for - that you helped put an end to, getting into the good graces of the man who, effectively, runs the city's military, reuniting with your oldest friend whose still a Genovese Enforcer, going on a Ruin dive with him, yourself, and a scowling mage that's high up in the local branch of said mafia family, taking an apprenticeship with a cranky dwarf mastersmith, and getting invited to a party among the city's elite, you've been kept rather busy just getting settled in.

Of course, that was all before the covenant of vampires came to crash the party.

Fighting them off was nothing short of brutal, as you had to decapitate one of the stronger ones with your cutting torch just to get her to stop trying to kill, but if there was one good thing that came of it was that it readily galvanized yourself and anyone with half a brain into getting ready for the next attack, whatever that might be. Which turned out in your favor, as after a close round two and less-so round three with the lady vampire, you managed to gather together every heavy hitter in the city in your shop.

The Councilor in charge of overseeing and supplying the city's guard, Sun Woo, and his bodyguard sat down across from the Don of the Shirahoro branch of the Genovese Family Syndicate, and the scowling Archmage, for one hell of a meeting.

It started off tense, but thanks to a few choice pieces of information on your own part and the revelation that the covenant had issued a non-conditional notice to Sun intending for him to surrender himself to them.

The simple fact that they'd threatened his family in the process meant that you were sent off, as an attache to a Genovese hit squadron, to thoroughly purge the hideout of vampires that had sent the notice rather than attempting to negotiate.

(cont.)
>>
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>>2822746

That purge went about as well as you had hoped, which means that you all didn't get killed horrifically, though you did end up with three arrows to the chest in the process. Still, you were fighting five of those 'lieutenant' level vampires, so you're probably lucky to be alive in the first place.

After the purge, the vampires decided to enact their coup in retaliation, dragging most of the city into a bloody battle in the streets and it all started with a mob of the bastards showing up on your front door. Severely outnumbered and outgunned, you made the tough decision to abandon your shop in favor of beating feet just in time to hear the gunshots start.

Thanks mostly to the aid of a particular elven mage with an affinity for fire magic, you managed to collect yourself as well as possible before making a few runs to check that the vampires hadn't overrun the major powers of the city. While it involved multiple fast fights in the streets, you were mostly successful.

Then you got the news that, this entire time, the same mafia group that tried to backstab you months ago were the ones backing this coup. No one was happy about that news, yourself especially given how the Genovese discovered this and didn't tell you until after shit went down, but with the knowledge of a hiding hole of the family being located you all, once again, loaded for bear.

Deep beneath the city streets, you fought your way through no less than two vampire lieutenants and the leader's personal security team. Thankfully, it was all worth it when you got your hands on the slimy, portly bastard. Shortly after securing him, you received news that the leader of the vampires was approaching the Genovese HQ, and as such the lot of you sprinted off to intercept him. It was there, out on those cobblestones of the Water District, that you went toe to toe with the Vampire Patriarch.

Something in you changed that night. Your magic, while normally slightly sinister due to it primary manifesting as a dark gray smoke from your eyes and wrists, expanded far beyond your normally pitiful reserves of power and, after a risky talk with Archmage, you learned that you were lucky to leave that fight with your soul still intact.

(cont.)
>>
>>2822791

Regardless, you were successful in forcing the Patriarch out of the city, and you spent the next few days recovering from the fight and arming yourself as well as possible in preparation for one final purge.

Out in the wilderness, far north of Shirahoro, you had one final showdown with the Patriarch and his 'honor guard', consisting of a mercenary team you narrowly avoided fighting back on that train ride turned into powerful thralls. It quickly devolved into a all out brawl, as you and your allies were forced to quickly respond to a planned ambush, but thanks to your hard work you were able to dispatch of his guard easily enough.

That was, of course, when the head vamp himself decided to bring himself to bear. It wasn't long before any delusions of humanity were cast aside by the Patriarch, in favor of a monstrous, winged form.

Thankfully, while diminished, fire and silver still held their effects, and with some effort your team was able to finally finish off the beast.

Under the advisement of one of the covenant's hostages, an older woman that you haven't seen since, yourself and Dutch performed the messy and tenuous work of going through every one of the vampire's coffins, killing them again with silvered blades, dumping the soil out from them, before breaking and burning all the coffins in the basement.

Then, just to be certain, you burned the whole damn mansion the Patriarch called his home to the ground.

(cont.)
>>
>>2822868

Once returning, you had a nice, long month where the biggest worry on your mind was making sure that you didn't damage the Shirahoro in the process of repairing the power grid. Thankfully, Sun was able to send some aid to your shop to restore it in return. For a time, things were peaceful.

So, naturally, that's when Dutch invited you out to a drink to inform you that you were taking an emergency contract, no exceptions the bastard. Still, he called in a major favor that you owed him so there was nothing you could do but buckle down for whatever storm was to come.

And what a damn storm it was.

A Genovese scouting team found a Ruin out in the wastelands, and no less than three other mafia families decided to go all in with the intention of securing it. Your job in the entire mess was to case an 'airship' that the team had discovered.

As it turns out, the 'airship' was nothing less than fully armed, armored, and moderately functional warship, one that you, alongside the tech-inclined members of your additional help, managed to get repaired to the point where you were reasonably certain you could have flown it out of there if necessary.

The defender's advantage and the chokepoint afforded to you by the Ruin itself, however, was far too good to give up.

Thanks largely in part due to the aid of your additional help, you were all able to wipe out or repel the three enemy strike teams without losing a single person.

It came at the cost of your EXO suit, the mana reactor that powered it, and your Heavy Pistol, which were obliterated around you by the strongest Destruction Mage you've encountered, for the former and the latter, and the reactor is still in the warship's engine room keeping the much, much larger one running properly, and you've still got gaps in your memory from when the Blight decided to rear its ugly head, but you're still alive and that's what bloody matters.

You also came out of everything with more than a few ideas of how to improve your designs and machines, two extremely valuable artifacts, and a feeling of certainty and stability that you haven't felt in years.

(cont.)
>>
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Character Sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lvqwQrtQ_YFvsVdcKJbSEAgpyZi9QrfJfnh_UDzvPKw/edit?usp=sharing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Storyteller_QM
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Artificer%20Quest

>>2822970

[ARTIFICER QUEST PART 21 START]

Pulling your heavy coat around yourself tighter, you navigate your way through the crowded streets of the Earth District. Despite the chill in the air, and the dark clouds on the horizon, there's a sense of cheer among the people that simply hasn't been there since the coup. It's probably due to the fact that Sun's been making rounds around the city, personally talking to the citizens to help calm any remaining tensions from when the vampires attacked, but odds are just as good that it's due to the winter season that's coming around.

Regardless, you're just happy that the last week since you've returned has been calm once more.

Unlocking the front door to your shop, you flip the sign over as you pass it on your way to the back. Dropping a bundle of newly-purchased clothing on your workbench, you take a moment to relax into the chair there. That lockbox, the one that you traded with the hired mercs in exchange for some gear that you made them, sits in front of you from just under the corner of your bundle.

Of all the things you've learned and obtained recently, this is easily the most challenging artifact you've encountered. You're able to understand that it somehow creates some kind of spacial disturbance, but just how it does it in the first place confounds you.

Forcing yourself to look away from the deeply intriguing problem, you look over the projects you've managed to make over the last week.

(Choose Two)
> Advanced EXO Suit Blueprints
> Gauss Technology
> Advanced Targeting Systems
> Automated Assembler
>>
>>2823035
>Gauss tech
>Advanced exo blue prints

i want the targetting systems, really i do for my golem dreams.......but "advanced" means we already have it.

I was torn between the assembler and the blue prints, but better armour just needs to be hand crafted. we need to put our soul in this shit to ramp prices up really make it feel valued by the customer.
>>
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>>2823035
>> Advanced EXO Suit Blueprints
>> Gauss Technology
>>
>>2823035
>Advanced EXO Suit Blueprints

Wonder what's so advanced about it?
>>
>>2823267
it was helped along with insanity and the extrademensional mercs.......if there were still gods, only they would know.
>>
>>2823304
Oh yeah, I checked out during that whole thing. Was it actually good?
>>
>>2823319
yes. it was fun as shit actually.
>>
>>2823046
> Gauss Technology
> Advanced Targeting Systems

nothing beats automated turrets and robots with fine motor skills
>>
>>2823337
Huh. might check it out then.
>>
Oh shit, are the magical girls finally gone?
>>
>>2823609
Yes, you should read it tho, we got a railgun.

and also johns...corruption thing got some more weird details learned about it.
>>
>>2823035
> Advanced EXO Suit Blueprints
> Advanced Targeting Systems
MJOLNIR?
>>
>>2823623

Coilgun, rather than railgun. Similar concepts, though there is a distinction.

As for the corruption, well...

>>2823046
>>2823086
>>2823267
>>2823415
>>2823678

Tallying things up we've got:
> EXO (4)
> Gauss (3)
> Targeting (2)
> Assembler (0)

Exo blueprints and Gauss tech it is.

Writin'
>>
>>2823035
>> Automated Assembler
GUYS, THIS is what John needs before other stuff! We discussed how having it means he can do so much more since he would have automated assembly for everything he has ideas for, which means getting everything else faster! Cmon! Anyone should be able to see the advantage of having faster build time for building more stuff later than otherwise possible!
>>
>>2824076
automated assembly of certain parts you mean right?
>>
>>2824068
Aw fucking hell, argh.... Why is vote time so short....
>>
>>2824083
it was up for 4 hours mate. you were just late.
>>
>>2824093
I highly suggest joining the discord to keep track
>>
>>2824101
no, the choices have been up nearly dead on 4 hours for me. the thread itself 5 hours 32 minutes.

Im pretty sure i got the times right
>>
>>2824093
Yeah well, for me I only saw the notification when I got home, which meant I had about only 2 minutes to read and vote before I saw it was closed already.
>>
>>2824113
Ah, no, I mean more for when a thread has something posted, especially ift you don't check qst regularly. discord can at least give a notification
>>
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>>2823035

Taking up the majority of the wall beside your workbench is a spread of papers. Most of them are your own, though a fair amount of them you owe to one of the merc's, Hidia. She did mention that she wanted to work on rebuilding your armor, but considering her little troop apparently vanished into thin air after you went out drinking with them, you never did get that chance. After dealing with Dutch's little incident, you found a small pile of papers outlining her ideas tucked away on your table.

The biggest issue that you had to tackle in this design was the fact that the servos themselves were physically blown off the armor's superstructure, and considering the entire design philosophy behind EXO's is to have external servos, you had to go back to the drawing board.

Expanding off what you did with regards to Sierra's armor, plus your lessons in creating wiring actually capable of conducting mana itself rather than converting it, you were able to minimize the size of the servos to the point where they can fit beneath the armor plates.

Between Hidia's notes and your own improvements to your designs, you think you've got something solid this time.

Of course, to really test it, you'd have to encounter the Colombo's top Destruction Mage again and, considering that he got his head crushed according to Dutch, that won't be happening.

Surprisingly, the improvements to your armor aren't what's intrigued you the most out of what you've gotten out of the Ruin itself. No, it's that strange rifle that you were extremely meticulous in taking apart that's been the most fascinating.

[1/2]
>>
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>>2824172

[2/2]

The basic design of the rifle is familiar, as it follows the same general style of every other rifle you've worked on, and while you've already learned how it manages to have an automatic action without utilizing Clockwork machinery, it's where it diverges from the norm that catches your interest.

To start off, the barrel itself was an extremely complex piece for what's normally a hollow rod of metal with rifling on the inside. Taking it apart was an exercise in patience, as once you realized there was electronics involved you couldn't just cut it open with your multitool, but it paid off when you observed just what mechanisms were set up.

Three major sections of the barrel contained wiring wrapped around the outside of it, spread out evenly along the length of it, and from the utilization of delays specifically before the coils you gathered that an electric current runs through them in rapid succession as a fired round travels down the barrel.

The next point of intrigue was the rifle's power source itself, a strange kind of liquid crystal power cell that you almost spilled all over yourself when you first opened it up. Even still, it took some time for you to puzzle the system out, but eventually you realized, thanks to what Froste taught you about crystal tech, that it used a very specific isotope of quartz. With some work, you should be able to figure out how they process it into a liquid state a room temperature, but for now you'll be able to simply use your own crystal power setups as a replacement.

You have lost:
> 1 Great Quality Coilgun Rifle!

You have obtained:
> 1 Advanced EXO Suit Blueprints!
> 1 Advanced Gauss Setup Blueprints!
> An intimate understanding of Gauss-based Weaponry! While making a Modify, Build, or Maintenance skill roll while working with Exotic Weapons (Gauss) you gain a +15 modifier!

Standing up, you take the moment to head upstairs and put your clothes away. With that minor task taken care of, you head back down and consider what to do next.
> Stay in the workshop and work on a new project
> Head out and go visit Sun, see how he's been doing since you spoke to him last
> Head out and go visit Archmage, check in with the status of that warship now that the Main Branch has it
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi, it's been some time since you've talked
> Other
>>
>>2824303
>stay in the shop and work in a project

You know this is the only time we are going to have. Also, status report on the golem.

I personally think we should start work on getting a gauss rifle up and running as soon as possible......possibly working to make it a gauss pistol.

after, archmage
>>
>>2824303
>> Stay in the workshop and work on a new project
>>
>>2824303
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi, it's been some time since you've talked
>>
>>2824303
Gauss pistol to replace our old one then?
>>
>>2824303
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi, it's been some time since you've talked
>>
>>2824303
>> Stay in the workshop and work on a new project
Gauss pistol time.
>>
>>2824303
>> Stay in the workshop and work on a new project
We need a new reactor don't we?
>>
>>2824303
>> Head out and go visit Archmage, check in with the status of that warship now that the Main Branch has it
>>
>>2824303
Visit Goo Hwi
>>
>stay in workshop and start working om the new exo
>>
>>2825077
>>2824645
>>2824381
>>2824356
>>2824337
>>2824324

Stay in the workshop it is.

Writin'
>>
>>2824303

With nothing pressing on the horizon, you figure you might as well take the chance to get some work done here.

After all, there's several projects stewing around in the back of your head; no time like the present to start.

Only question is which one to start on first.
> Gauss Pistol
> Gauss Rifle
> Gauss Long Rifle (for Dutch)
> Start work on Advanced EXO
> Other
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>2825511
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm So many good choices

1. pistol
2. long rifle
3. suit
>>
>>2825524
Long rifle
>>
>>2825511
Let’s star with the pistol to replace our vamp destroyer
>>
>>2825511
> Start work on Advanced EXO
>>
>>2825511
>> Gauss Rifle
I don't understand why people wants a pistol, a sidearm, before they make a primary weapon like the Gauss rifle first for personal use. The rifle is obviously better for power, range, rate of fire and stability by being a two-handed weapon.
>>
>>2825511
>> Gauss Rifle
>>
>>2825550
Because we are not a soldier, a hunter or a sniper. We are an artificer and are not going to be lugging a rifle with us everywhere. Pistol makes more sense to carry around for self defense and is more flexible at ranges at which we’re likely to find ourselves in combat situations.
>>
>>2825586
A single rifle is easy to carry on the back with a sling, so I don't see any problems carrying one around self defense.
>>
>>2825511
>> Start work on Advanced EXO
>>
>>2825586
>>2825594

Something that I hinted at in a previous post, but didn't outright state, is that the lockbox that's on John's desk right now is a Hyperspace Bag that he traded with the crossover team for his work.

It's a Bag of Holding with a 1 foot diameter opening.

John's already created a working automated turret design, currently utilizing twin-linked Clockwork Rifles as the main armament, that's capable of folding up to fit inside the opening.

Just something to keep in mind.
>>
>>2825859
Oh right, so he essentially has an inventory to keep things in while walking around now. Well in that case, space and size should no longer be problems anymore for carrying proper sized weapons around.
>>
>>2825524
>>2825528
>>2825530
>>2825541
>>2825550
>>2825564
>>2825806

Currently have a tie between the Gauss Rifle, Gauss Long Rifle, and Advanced EXO.

I'll give it ten more minutes before I roll.
>>
>>2825859
Fair enough.
>>
>>2825524
Gauss rifle.
>>
>>2825933
>>2825564
>>2825550

Gauss Rifle it is.

> Roll me three 1d100+49's for smithing and three 1d100+44's for crafting please

(I'm assuming that you're spending the extra material to improve quality)
>>
Rolled 89 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>2825966
>>
Rolled 54 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>2825966
>>
Rolled 72 + 49 (1d100 + 49)

>>2825966
>>
Rolled 84 + 44 (1d100 + 44)

>>2825966
>>
Rolled 49 + 44 (1d100 + 44)

>>2825966
>>
Rolled 13 + 44 (1d100 + 44)

>>2825966
>>
>>2825973

That's a 138 for smithing and a 128 for crafting.

Success and Success. Add another to the Mastercraft list.

Writin'
>>
>>2826281
we have john patented tech [if not we need to get on that shit]. you would think that our first shit needs to be mastercraft.
>>
>>2825511

Eventually, your eyes settle onto the complete spread of blueprints of that coilgun rifle and the technology that comprises its unique characteristics.

Considering you had to ruin the original weapon to learn all of its secrets, perhaps its only fitting that you recreate it at this point.

So, with that idea in mind, you flip on the arc furnace to let it warm up and begin gathering up the necessary materials from the crate full of 'em. Considering just how sensitive the system involved is, you're definitely going to need to utilize more iron to create that alloy and its a good thing that you're not stuck using Clockwork technology for the firing mechanism.

With the internals laid out for now, you move onto the tedious task of forging the structure and pieces of the weapon itself. Grabbing your protective gear and your forging hammer, you repeat the process of heating up pieces of iron before moving them over to the anvil and folding it on itself, before putting it back into the arc furnace. Time melts away as you perform the repetitive task, though eventually you have enough of the alloy to move along.

Carefully cutting away the forged ingots, you create each one of the parts to make up the rifle, from the barrel to the internal mechanisms. Referencing back and forth between what you've made thus far and the spread of blueprints, you lay out the manufactured parts onto your workbench, pulling your heavy gloves off as you sit down.

Putting together the power source is child's play at this point, but the barrel itself is a far different story. You have to be careful when setting up the wiring, but after a few tries you realize just how simple the circuit truly is. From there, you snap together part after part, smoothly clicking together the firing pin and mechanism that'll allow it to fire at full-auto. Tightening up the final screw, you take a step back to observe just what you've created.

It's practically flawless, the entire thing gleaming in your shop's low lighting. Picking it up, you reach into your lockbox and pull out one of the magazines you discovered alongside the original rifle and, with a moment of hesitation, you cleanly slide it into the breach. Cocking it, you let out a sigh of relief at the fact that you didn't fuck something up in the process of making this.

You have lost:
> 30 Units of Iron!
> 2 Tiny Mana Crystals!
> 1 Tiny Mana Conduit!
> 1 Tiny Mana Converter!
> 0.5 ft^2 of Insulator!
> 0.25 ft^2 of Conductor!

You have gained:
> 1 Mastercraft Quality Gauss Rifle!

After making sure to remove the magazine and chambered round, you're snapped out of your thoughts by the sound of your shop door opening. Placing the newly manufactured rifle back onto your workbench, you slide your modified pistol into the small of your back before exiting the workshop.

[1/2]
>>
>>2826424

[2/2]

Stepping into your workshop, you're a bit surprised to see Archmage of all people standing in the center of your storefront.

"John," He's got his usual scowl across his face, but at least his tone is neutral, "Is this a bad time?"

Your response?
> "Yeah, I'll come to the HQ when I'm free."
> "No, I just finished up a project. What's the matter?"
> Other
>>
>>2826433
>> "No, I just finished up a project. What's the matter?"
>>
>>2826433
>Depends on what news you plan on giving me archmage. But do tell me how the ship is now you cased it, i hope you plan on giving us our power source back.

crack a few jokes, make him comfortable. it won't work but at least we tried
>>
>>2826433
>> "No, I just finished up a project. What's the matter?"
Nope, we just got done with another master piece. it's very nice time. Besides we were probably going to visit you anyways.
>>
>>2826433
>> "No, I just finished up a project. What's the matter?"
>>
>>2826494
>>2826454
>>2826444
>>2826441

Nope, c'mon in it is.

Writin'
>>
>>2826433

Taking a quick glance over his shoulder, you're glad to see that Archmage's is apparently alone this time. You're fairly certain that he wouldn't try to pull anything with you, but considering what little you know about the crimson mage you can't help but feel a bit on edge when he's around.

So, trying your best to favor him with an easy smile, you motion for the older man to follow you, "Nope, you got good timing actually; just finished working on a project a minute or so ago."

Entering back into your workshop, you grab a spare stool to offer as a seat, but instead Archmage walks right past you towards the reinforced back door. Before you can do much more than frown and reach for your pistol, the bolt smoothly slides back and the heavy door opens to reveal an older woman wearing a long, white coat standing there expectantly.

It's been a while since you've seen her, as the last time you did she was informing you how to properly kill vampires.

"Archmage," Moving your hand away from your gun, you still keep the air of threat in your voice, "You mind explaining who she is? And why she didn't just use the front door with you?"

"It was as per my own request," She walks in, taking her glasses off for a few seconds to clean them before looking back at you, "I'm normally not this careful, but I had to revise my modus operandi after my abduction."

You don't immediately respond, glancing over at the crimson mage for any kind of explanation.

Thankfully, he doesn't keep you waiting for more than a few seconds, "It is as she says. Regardless, we're here on a bit of sensitive business; is your shop secure?"

"No one else is here, if that's what you're asking, but give me a second to flip the sign," Leaving the workshop for a minute to do just that, you come back to see the two sitting by your workbench, occasionally looking over your newly created rifle. Pulling out your usual chair, you see both of them turn to fully regard you as you sit down and open your mouth.
> "What's this sensitive business about Archmage?"
> "How's the warship doing now that its out West?"
> "So, lady, what's your name?"
> Other
>>
>>2826711
> "So, lady, what's your name?"
I have no idea who this is.
>>
>>2826711
> "So, lady, what's your name?"

Who the fuck, and WHY the fuck.
>>
Oh, went ahead and read the crossover. Better than expected. And we got sick loot out of it.
>>
>>2826711
>> "So, lady, what's your name?"
>>2826764
What was the sick loot? The Gauss blue prints are good (we should turn scale this up to static canon size and sell it for city defense), although it's not yet been clearly shown they are better than clockwork weapons, the lockbox is an OK utility. The gauss rifle might actually be extremely useful, but we have to do thorough testing on it's ballistic behaviour and ammo usage. Can we easily reproduce gauss ammunition?
>>
>>2826856
gauss ammunition is basically just magnetic slugs...maybe with a powder charge.
as far as better, at the very least it doesn't have as many moving parts (also from a FAR more advanced civ)
>>
>>2826856

The sick loot from the crossover was the Coilgun Rifle and the Bag of Holding, both of which are higher tier than John had before and the latter of the two is Age of Gods-level of technology.

Seriously; I'd never planned for them to come into play in this quest, but in setting you could count the number of BoH in existence on a single hand. So it's a pretty major deal that John managed to get his hands on one from an 'outside source'.

In regards to whether or not they're better than clockwork weapons, the major upgrade there is that John is now capable of producing 'modern' automatic rifles which, since they don't use Clockwork mechanisms to work, are far more reliable and resilient.

On the topic of ammunition, they're the same as regular rifle rounds, only that they're slightly elongated to allow room for the magnetic material necessary in them; John can easily produce more of them, as he's already able to create custom ammunition.

>>2826863

They've got gunpowder in them, as the magnetic coils simply increase the velocity of the rounds as they travel down the barrel.

>>2826725

Part of this is my fault, as when she was supposed to make her original appearance was right after the final Patriarch fight but I ran out of time both IRL and on the board to have the scene occur. I've tried to retroactively write her in, but it's a bit hard to pull off, which is why I'm having this scene now.

If you remember from months ago, this is the mystery contact that Archmage mentioned went missing before the vamp arc really started

>>2826856
>>2826745
>>2826725

So, who's the gal?

Writin'
>>
>>2826711

"So, lady, it's been a while; what's your name?" Settling in, you stare down the older woman sitting across from you.

She easily meets your gaze, which is a rather good sign, but she takes a moment to collect herself before responding, "I'm Catherine, researcher and alchemist. I've worked with this old bastard for some time on a few projects, and he mentioned a new one that I wasn't able to start on before I was abducted."

Archmage reaches into his pocket before pulling out a piece of paper and opening it up on the workbench, "We're here today on the topic of something you and I have spoken about previously."

Looking over it, you're confronted with a rather familiar sigil; one that you roughly sketched out months ago from the memory of what lead to the Blight incursion back when you originally meet Sierra.

"I believe that this is some kind of teleportation sigil, but it was only after I was able to go over it with Catherine that I feel confident about that conclusion."

Sitting back and looking at the two in front of you, you take in the expectant looks across their faces.

Your response?
> "That's interesting, have you tried to replicate the sigil?"
> "I don't see how this has anything to do with me."
> "Is there something else that you wanted to speak to me about?"
> Other
>>
>>2827053
>Yeah, that's the one...
>Please, please, PLEASE don't tell me you want me to go to where it's located, you saw what happened to me the last time the Blight was involved.
>>
>>2827053
>> "That's interesting, have you tried to replicate the sigil?"
Ooook?
>>
>>2827075
Second.
>>
>>2827075
>>2827114
I also second that motion.
>>
>>2827053
>that’s interesting, does it contain information on where it leads?
>>
>>2827075
we don't fuck with blight anymore, supporting
>>
>>2827053
>I'm fucking done with the blight. The end.
>>
>>2827075
supporting this.
We can help by crafting, though.
>>
>>2827366
>>2827321
>>2827235
>>2827229
>>2827125
>>2827114
>>2827084
>>2827075

General Consensus is interested, but not that interested.

Writin'
>>
>>2827053

"I remember the conversation we had about it," Pushing the paper back across the rough wooded table, you give Archmage a probing look, "Any luck on determining where the other end of it is?"

"That's a good question, only its not one that can be answered with what we have," Catherine takes back the paper, methodically smoothing it out before folding it up once more. She hands it back to the man beside her before turning back to you, "Despite how well you've managed to recreate the Rune for memory, teleportation-type sigils are incredibly intricate and as such there is simply no way to guess where it is connected to based on a drawing. Of course, there is a very simple way to discover its destination..."

And that's when the pieces come together.

"You want to go back there," Despite yourself, you can't help the snarl that escapes you as you practically spit out the words. Glancing between the two of them, you can see that they are, in fact, thinking of exactly that, "The hell is going through those heads of yours? How much shit have you given me about not fucking about with these things?"

Archmage scowls slightly at your words, though he doesn't immediately snap back at you, "Don't insult me, John. The only reason we're even considering this is that I got a report that the burn teams deployed to cleanse area are performing their final sweeps this week, and are full expected to deem the area 'clean'."

The lady looks about the room, clearly examining the various items scattered about.

It's nothing important, so you ignore it for now, "Look, Archmage, I can't keep fucking around with the Blight, because every time I do I ends poorly. Hell, this last time I don't remember a damn thing about what happened; all I know is that there's a pair of new scars along my sides that weren't there before!"

The tension between the two of you slowly being to boil, as you both stare each other down. Naturally, it doesn't last that long.

"And you're, as far as we know, the only person to encounter this sigil and survive," Catherine tries to bring thing back into some semblance of civility to things. Considering neither of you don't so much as glance at her despite her words, she eventually sighs before elbowing her partner in the ribs, "C'mon you cheap bastard; show him what you brought."

Without breaking your impromptu staring contest, Archmage reaches into his pocket and pull out something else, "Think what you want, but we are going to be employing safe-guards during our investigations."

He flicks it out at you, and you snatch it from the air without looking.

[1/2]
>>
>>2835706

[2/2]

Unfolding it, you shoot one last glare across the table before scanning the paper. It's another Rune, this one entirely different from the previous one mostly due to the fact that is a complete diagram, and it takes you only a second or so to realize just what it is you're looking at.

It's... some sort of magic destroyer, or breaker, or anti-magic generator. You can pick out the spaces of it for determining the area of effect via a vector and equation. Still, it's not anything like you've seen previously.

And it's right as you're puzzling it over that it's pulled right out of your hand by Archmage,"You can think of that as an advance on your pay, if you take the job; I'm not expecting you to do this out of charity. Consider it, and get back to me."

And with that, the two stand up and walk out the back door, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

...

Now what?
> Work on another project
> Head out and go visit Sun
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
> Other
>>
>>2835847
Let's catch up with Goo Whi
(I'm implicitly assuming we're catching up with Sierra in our free time)
>>
>>2835847
>> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
>>
>>2835847
> Work on another project
Getting some work done can help clear the head.
>>
>>2835847
>Find serria and goo hwi, We need to talk to some friends, now.
>>
>>2835847
>> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
>>
>>2835847
Does anti magic include blight immunity? If yes: we probably want this integrated in our armor.
It is not yet clear whether or not our body is constantly decaying, we might even have to use it permanently.
>>
>>2835847
>>2835865
This
>>
>>2835847
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
> Find Sierra too

Should probably get their input, they're wiser than John.
>>
>>2835847
> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
I want John to see magic, too
>>
>>2835847
>> Head out and go visit Goo Hwi
Nice to see this back, not going to lie I skipped the crossover sections since it wasn't really to my taste. But regardless I really do enjoy this quest.
>>
>>2835847
>> Head out and go visit Sun
>>
I do hope that we get more than just a rune for payment, as nice a rune it is.




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