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In the depths of undeveloped forests, in the shadows of dingy alleyways, in the midst of the glass spires of the rich, forces outside of human ken struggle for dominance over the terrestrial underworld.
This is the world of shadowy wraiths in the backstreets, of eldritch horrors slumbering deep within the sewers. This is a world where sprawling organizations hide behind shell companies, forever conspiring to hide themselves from sight while ancient brotherhoods struggle to uncover their intrigues.
It is a hidden world, a secret world.
It is your world.

Previously on Modern Fantasy Quest
Tristan met the ‘Freelance Competitor Manager’ Delilah, looked through her purse, and asked about job openings in Winterpine City.

Previous Threads
Thread One: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/3356154/
Other Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=modern+fantasy+quest

The boy sat in the dark alleyway, amidst the shadows and refuse and pools of water. Day and night blended together here, the cheap apartments overhead blocking out any light.

The boy felt like he was waiting for someone ...

The boy could not tell how long he had been there, his back leaning against the filth-covered concrete behind him, indistinguishable from the refuse that surrounded him. He tried not to move, movement wasted energy. But the emptiness in his stomach was growing too painful to ignore. He’d need to get up soon, search for food ...

But wasn’t he waiting for someone?

In the dark of the alleyway, the boy couldn’t tell whether he was asleep or awake. The throb of his hunger was the only reason he remembered time was passing … and the feeling that someone should be coming. Someone who should have arrived already …

He felt like he was waiting. He felt like he was waiting for something to happen that always happened. But what?
>>
May 6 20XX

Attention all passengers, we will be landing in Winterpine in 10 minutes. … I repeat, we will be landing in Winterpine in 10 minutes.

With a jolt, you open your eyes. The voice of the Pilot delivering his announcement had woken you up. You must have fallen asleep at some point on the flight.

The light from the window was almost dark. Checking the time, it was almost evening. The sun would be setting on Winterpine soon.

You look over to the seat next to you. Sitting there was Delilah, the Freelance Competitor Manager you had met at the airport.

Delilah was fast asleep. Her eyelids were gently squeezed shut. Her breath came in little puffs.
There was something innocent in Delilah’s sleeping expression. It seemed almost unfair how a fully grown adult like her could seem so childishly careless and unstressed in their sleep.


>You’re landing soon. You should call her name and wake her up.

>You’re landing soon. You should lightly shake her to wake her up.

>You’ve never seen a sleeping woman’s face this closely before. Maybe you’ll just stare for awhile.

>Her cheek looks soft. Poke it.

>Do nothing, just sit still in your seat. You don’t want to upset her.

>Other
>>
Welcome to Modern Fantasy Quest. Updates are once every day, rarely more. Hopefully I won't flake as much as the past few weeks.

I got a lot of cool write-ins last thread as well as some discussion on the logic behind the choices. Let's see if it transfers to this thread as well.

Questions/comments/criticisms are all welcomed at any time during the thread. pls no bully
>>
>>3576036
Pinch those goddamn cheeks.
>>
>>3576036
>Her cheek looks soft. Poke it.

>>3576206
or pinch it
>>
>>3576036
>Cheek poke

Be ready to snatch your hand back and defend yourself so you don't end up with broken fingers tho.
>>
>Cheek poke

[+1 Worldly]

You are struck by how soft Delilah’s face looks. Try as you might, you can’t look away. You’ve never seen a sleeping woman’s face up close before. How could you? You were raised in a dorm with other trainee boys. Even when you travelled around the world with Bentham, you were always under his watchful eye.

Without thinking, you slowly reach out for Delilah’s with one finger. You don’t even know what you intend to do, poke it? Pinch it? Stroke it gently?

But just as your finger reaches Delilah’s cheek, the corners of her mouth twitch. You quickly pull back as Delilah stirs from her sleep.

“Hwaaaah,” Delilah yawns as she sits up and stretches. As soon as she finishes stretching and yawning, Delilah appears to be fully awake. Looking at her, you would never have guessed that she was asleep only a few seconds ago.

Delilah looks out the window. “Oh, we’re landing.”



Winterpine was a small city with a small airport. For a small plane like the one you were on, you were deposited directly onto the parking area for the planes. Climbing down the stairs to the tarmac, you look at the distant horizon. The sun was setting. You shiver. Up north, it was still rather cool in the evening.

You collect your luggage from the steward distributing it from the open cargo bay. It feels reassuring to have the familiar weight of your Portable Atelier in your hands again. Inside were all the weapons you had secreted away for the flight.

You look over to where Delilah was retrieving her luggage. The steward handed her an absurdly large suitcase, even larger than your own portable atelier, although it was a little thinner.

The thin line of passengers slowly progresses towards the airport terminal. Reaching the airport, Delilah turns around to face you.

“Well, this is where we go our separate ways,” She says, “Maybe I’ll see you around Winterpine …”

“Hopefully.”

Delilah bows slightly. “See you ‘round then, Jayden.”

With that, Delilah leaves. Right, now it was time to get on with your assignment to Winterpine.

>Check in to a hotel and establish a base of operations for yourself

>Go to the church Isolde recommended. You’d like to introduce yourself to Father Cullen.

>Get a feel of the city. Winterpine is somewhere new after all.

>Find somewhere to sit down and review the notes Isolde gave you

>Other

And your mode of transportation …

>You’ll just hail a taxi

>You already made arrangements with a car rental service before you got here

>Just because your funds are covered by the Templar doesn’t mean you’ll spend money unnecessarily. You’ll take the public transportation.

>Walking through a city is a good way to get a feel for it.

>Other
>>
Happy Birthday
>>
I would say
>go to the bathroom and check yourself for any possible tracking devices planted by Delilah
But we want to be tracked so
>go directly to father Cullen, take a cab, scan the notes in the cab.
>>
>>3578735

Is this a Super Porp reference?

>>3578429

>review the notes while we walk

Weird things happen when you're not paying attention to where you're walking.
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

Vote is tied so I will roll a 1d6 to decide what we do.
>Odds - Take a cab
>Evens - Walk
>>
>go directly to father Cullen
>review the notes while we walk

You decide it would be best to introduce yourself to Father Cullen first. If you were lucky, he’d even have a base or safehouse prepared for you so you wouldn’t have to set up a base of operations yourself. Besides, as the overseer for the Templar in Winterpine, he’d probably have information that you would find valuable. Supernatural activity, rogue mages, you would probably be able to discern your first few targets from him.

But that didn’t mean you couldn’t do some scouting on the way. Bentham had always said that the best way to get a feel for a city was to walk through its streets and Winterpine was a relatively small city so it would only take you around two hours to reach the Church if you walked fast. You could even scan your notes while you walked.

You find the streets of Winterpine to be rather peaceful. They lacked the stench of vice and crime that permeated the streets of so many other cities at night. You were sure that the city had it’s dark, hidden secrets, but at the very least, the underside of Winterpine wasn’t out in the open.

But there was one problem with the city at night: It was too dark for you to read Isolde’s notes and walk at the same time. When you fish them out of your backpack, you find that the light of the passing street lights obscures the tiny, black print. But then again, you could always just read them whenever you got to Father Cullen’s church. So you tuck the notes back into your backpack and continue walking.

You find yourself climbing a gently sloping hill, passing through a quiet residential area. Some windows had their lights on, some didn’t. By now, almost everyone would be finished dinner.

… Just then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a flicker of movement. Hidden in the shadows of the roof of a house down and across the street, you see a humanoid figure … with arms and legs that were way too long and thin … crawling on all fours like a spider. For a brief second it stares at you, it’s green slit eyes flash in the darkness, before it turns away and disappears into the darkness of the night.

>Open your atelier, retrieve your weapons, and go after whatever that Thing was (Choose Two)

>Open your atelier, retrieve your weapons, and wait for that Thing to come at you (Choose Two)

>There’s no time to open your atelier, chase after it NOW or else you’ll lose it

>NOPE. You’re not dealing with a monster late at night and unprepared. You’ll find another road to the church.

>Other
>>
Tristan’s Weapon List

>Tactical Knife - A versatile Close-Quarter-Combat weapon

>Ritual Dagger - A sharpened stiletto-like blade of sanctified silver, it is a ward against the supernatural.

>Folding Straight Sword - A folding meter-long blade, a standard Templar weapon

>Pistol - Almost useless against some threats, incredibly effective against others

>P̶o̶c̶k̶e̶t̶ ̶G̶r̶i̶m̶o̶i̶r̶e̶ - You’ve already memorized two spells: Sleight of Mind and Minute Exorcism
>>
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>>3580534
Oh right it's nighttime
Oooooh here we goooo
>no weapons, chase it!
>>
>>3580534
>Open atelier, wait for it to come to you.

Folding sword and pistol
>>
>>3580534
>Open the atelier and chase it with the Ritual Dagger
>>
Lol whoops

Go with my first one
>>
Come on hopefully existent lurkers, if I roll a 1d6 every other choice, then there's not much point in giving options at all.
>>
I can pretend to be a lurker
>>
>>3580538
Unfold the folding blade and chase after it.
>>
Wait. Wait wait wait.

>Call out to it. Follow it to where it might have gone--don't run--and ask if it wants to talk.
>>
In all likelihood this thing can tear us to shreds if it wants to. Don't bother with weapons. If it wanted us dead, it's stealthy enough that we'd already be dead. It wants us to follow.
>>
>>3580822
>>3582015
>>3582064
Okay, now we have a three-way tie so like last time, I'll wait until we have a tiebreaking vote
>>
>>3582068
>it's stealthy enough to kill us without effort

>we spotted it without trying

>>3582437
OP I'll back
>>3582015
In the interest of tiebreaking. Let's hope no one nicks the atelier while we're monster hunting.
>>
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>Unfold the folding blade and chase after it.

You can’t let something that suspicious get away. You didn’t have time to lose and you wasted none. You quickly drop your atelier on the ground and open it. It didn’t take much time to find your Folding Straight Sword, it was strapped to the inside of your atelier within easy reach. With a flick of your wrist, the blade telescopes out of the hilt before clicking into place at it’s full meter-long length.

You break off into a sprint straight towards the house where you had seen the creature. But when you get there, all you see is a normal suburban house. There was no sign that anything was amiss.

You recognize what the creature was. Even though you had never seen one before, you had read about them while studying Isolde’s notes before leaving for Winterpine.

Winterpine Ghouls. According to Isolde’s notes, they were humanoid abominations, lightning-fast predators with needle-like teeth and disproportionate limbs ending with claws strong enough to tear a man’s head off their shoulders. They preyed on mammalian flesh, hunting primarily with ambush tactics, and made their nests in underground places.

What had stood out to you about Isolde’s descriptions of the creatures were two things. Firstly was that, despite only recently appearing in Winterpine, the Ghouls were not found anywhere else in the world. They weren’t even really ghouls. True ghouls were corpses resurrected with foul necromancy with their physical abilities enhanced. Winterpine’s Ghouls were more akin to the spawn of some eldritch entity.

The second and more important thing was that, despite then reportedly only having the intelligence of a savage beast, it seemed that the city was somehow actively subconsciously covering for their existence. Missing people went unreported, police cases were mysteriously dropped. The Ghouls even took advantage of host families which provided their homes as places for them to nest without protesting.

But you couldn’t find anything. The house was completely normal. It was as if the Ghoul hadn’t ever been there. Hearing an approaching car pass by, you sheathe your sword and slip it into your pocket. The car passes by and you are still left with no clue to where the Ghoul had gone.

>Climb onto the roof. It might still be there.

>Go into the backyard. It might have jumped off the roof to hide in the shadows.

>Ring the doorbell and ask the family if they’ve noticed anything suspicious.

>It’s useless hunting for an ambush predator unprepared. You’ll come back later.

>Other
>>
>>3583876
>Ring the doorbell and ask the family if they've noticed anything suspicious

Worth a shot
>>
>>3583938
"Uh yeah, I noticed there was a weird ripped guy who definitely isn't a policeman wandering around at night knocking on people's doors and asking them about stuff like he was doing an investigation"
>>3583876
Nice. QM discretion. Let's
>climb onto the roof, because even if it's gone it would be easier to see into the surrounding yards and maybe this thing got back into the house through a window.
>>
>>3584277
What makes you think we're going to do this to multiple houses?
>>
>>3583876
>It’s useless hunting for an ambush predator unprepared. You’ll come back later
>>
>>3584313
Even if we only did this with one house it would suspicious behavior. I guess that's what sleight of the mind is for though. I'm cool with the front door option.
>>
As a second choice, if we brought enough Sleight for the whole family.
>>
>>3584839
Are we resistant to Eldritch influence specifically?
>>
>>3585418
You're resistant to being influenced in general due to mental conditioning combined with wards.
>>
>>3585424
I see.

Changing my vote. Let's go find Father Cullen.
>>
>>3583938
>>3584839
>>3585467
Is this a three-way tie again?
>>
I was trying to avoid that by changing my vote to
>go find Father Cullen
viz Come Back Later
>>
>>3586592
(I am iR0VU2Fn
>>
>>3586520
Let's go find Father Cullen
>>
No update tonight. I'm very sorry.
>>
>>3587322
It's okay.
>>
No update today either, I just finished a massive project. I'm very sorry and promise to update tomorrow.
>>
>>3590269
:( congratulations on the project
>>
>>3590269
Well done on the project
>>
>>3590318
>>3590950
Thanks anons. I hope you're enjoying this quest.
>>
>Go find Father Cullen

It’s no use looking for an ambush predator unprepared and in the dark. Moreover, it was foolhardy. You were vulnerable to being surprised. No, the ghoul would have to wait. Right now, the best thing to do would be to meet with Father Cullen, establish a base of operations with his help, and then begin investigating the supernatural happenings in WInterpine.

You walk back and retrieve your Portable Atelier. Fortunately, no one has stolen it. Now you were ready to leave. You still had a long walk ahead of you.

***

According to Isolde’s notes, Winterpine Chapel, the church Father Cullen operated, was a false church, one without regular services or even a congregation. Really, it was a cover for Templar activities in the surrounding area. Perhaps the area had once been magically active enough to warrant a major Templar presence. The presence of the Ghouls certainly supported that theory.

The building itself was situated on the shoulder of the hill on which much of Winterpine’s residential area was built. It was built in an antique, faux-gothic style, despite being less than a century old. Stepping into the courtyard, you feel a slight chill run down your back. Perhaps it was a premonition. Then again, it was rather windy up on the hill.

Instead of the massive gates you’d expect from a faux-gothic style, the front entrance was a low, narrow portal, barely wide enough for two people to pass by at once. They were made from strips and plates of iron, nearly impregnable if the entrance was ever sealed.

You push the door open with one hand. They swing smoothly inwards, before slowly drifting closed again behind you, pushed by the breeze.

Directly inside was the chapel. You peer around the dark, unlit space. It was exactly like a regular chapel in appearance, if a little narrow. there were pews, and an altar and pulpit, and an organ sitting in the corner. However, to you, the small details that belied the chapel’s original intended purpose stand out to you like daylight, everything from how the windows were tinted to the iron bars over them how narrow the room was. The chapel was obviously designed to be a killzone if any of the Templar’s enemies was foolish enough to challenge their strongholds. But right now, it was empty.

Frankly, you are unsure of where to go. The doors were unlocked, which meant that Father Cullen should still be here … but where would a priest be if not in his chapel?

>Call out his name. Maybe he’s just in a back room.

>Go look for him. There should be doors at the back of the chapel, right?

>Sit down and wait to see if he comes in.

>Other
>>
>>3593563
Find the bread and wine, have a snack. But seriously
>No time like the present, go into the back room and find him.
At least it gets us out if the killzone.
>>
>>3593563
>Go look for him. There should be doors in the back of the chapel, right?
>>
>>3593563
Betcha he's been attacked by a ghoul.

Let's take this opportunity to sit in the chapel and maybe have a bit of prayer time.
>>
So that's

>sit and wait for him and also
>pray
>>
>>3596230
Actually you know what let's
>call his name
>wait and pray
>>
>>3593563
Call out his name. Maybe he’s just in a back room.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

And we have a tie
>Odds - Go into back room and find him
>Evens - Pray and wait
>>
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>Go look for Father Cullen

Father Cullen’s absence immediately makes you suspicious. Was it really a coincidence that someone just go missing in a city that was supposed to be teeming with magical activity? However, you doubt that it was a Ghoul. Even if Father Cullen wasn’t a fully fledged Knight of the Templar, that didn’t mean that he was at least proficient in methods to defend himself. He would never have become an affiliate of the Templar if he wasn’t. Even if Ghouls were dangerous enough in an ambush to be a threat to a fully trained Knight, it was hard to ambush anyone coming through the front door.

You cautiously walk further into the Chapel. Finding nothing inside it, you draw your sword and push into the back rooms.

After looking through the collection of meeting and storage rooms behind the chapel, you find yourself in a courtyard with three adjoining wings. You search through each of them in turn. The left wing was composed of a small kitchen, while the right wing consisted of a small lounge lined with bookshelves. The wing directly across from the chapel was taken up by a small, cramped office, probably Father Cullen’s.

The entire chapel felt off to you. If this was supposed to be a Templar stronghold, then why was there so much missing? Where was the weapons arsenal? The collection of magical lore? There were basic living amenities, there was a kitchen and one storehouse was stocked with food, but where were the sleeping quarters?

And where was Father Cullen?

>Something’s suspicious. Search one of the rooms (which one)

>Obviously, you’re wasting time here. A hotel room will still suffice as a place to operate from.

>Other
>>
>>3596816
Ooh, secret passageway!
>search the office
Peep that unused wall space on either side of the office. There's secret rooms behind there for sure.
>>
>>3597027
Actually, let's search the courtyard first, specifically on those walls.
>>
>>3596816
>Search for hidden rooms/trapdoors, especially in the office.
>>
>>3596816
>Search for hidden rooms/trapdoors, especially in the office
>>
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>Search for hidden rooms/trapdoors, especially in the office.

You walk into the office and flip the lights on. It would be too dark to search otherwise. The most likely place to put the entrance to a hidden room would be the Office. Or at least you think so. At the very least, the dimensions of the office were off. All the other rooms adjoining the courtyard were rather large, so why was the office so small? There had to be something hiding behind it’s walls.

You move the chairs and desk, you tap the wooden floor in search of hidden spaces, you even check every book on the shelf to see if any were levers for a secret door behind the bookshelf. Nothing. There was no trapdoors under the desk or any of the chairs, the floor sounded completely hollow, and all of the books on the bookshelf were real books on theology and evangelism. Try as you might, you can’t find any evidence that this room was anything other than a normal Priest’s office …

Wait … you heard something …

Footsteps … Someone else was in the Courtyard! And the door to the Office was open, the lights were on too! They’d see you for sure ...

>It’s probably Father Cullen. You have nothing to worry about.

>It’s definitely an intruder. Charge outside and confront him. (Roll 1d100)

>It’s definitely an intruder. Wait for him to come into the office. (Roll 1d100)

>It might not be an intruder OR Father Cullen. Don’t act like you don’t belong here. (Roll 1d100)

>Other
>>
>>3599035
There's no way we can peek out at them through a door or window?

>Charge out and confront them

But not aggressive at the start in case it is Cullen
>>
Rolled 47 (1d100)

>>3599035
>>3599253
Forgot roll
>>
Should I have specified for multiple rolls and votes from multiple people?
>>
>>3599035
>**85** pretend to be a priest
>>
>>3600703
So, option 4, kinda.
>>
>>3600707
Walk outside and act natural. Fold up the sword and keep it in your pocket first. It's spring-loaded, right?
>>
>>3600703
So are you going to roll? If you do, please use the Options bar.
I guess I'm going to count >>3599256's roll only then?
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

Just realized that >>3599253 and >>3600703's options are completely different upon closer inspection.

>Odds - Charge out and confront them
>Evens - >85 pretend to be a priest
>>
>>3600723
It's actually friction-based with a catch inside to hold it open.
>>
>Charge out and confront them

Sword in hand, you charge outside, finding a spear-wielding figure standing in the moonlight. Immediately upon seeing you, he drops into a stance you know well, a sideways horse stance, levelling the tip of his spear towards you.

You assess him in a glance. He was a young man, younger even than you. Although he was dressed ubiquitously, you notice that the hem of his pants were slightly flared at the ankle as if to allow for ease of movement. His sleeves were rolled back, revealing forearms tough and wiry from years of combat training. You gauge his spear to be about two and a half meters in length, although it had to be telescopic if he managed to get to the Chapel without attracting undue attention.

At the same time, you notice him assessing you in turn, noting the arrow-stance you slipped into, ready to propel yourself forwards in an explosive charge. He glances at your sword, a look of recognition on his face.

He lowers the point of his spear.
“All scripture is given by God,” He says.

You are sure he will send his speartip darting towards your throat if you answer incorrectly.

>”Are you friend or foe?” Lower your sword and ask him. He might be friendly.

>”Let no man deceive you with vain words.” Test him with a Templar passcode.

>”Where’s Father Cullen?”

>Rush him while his guard is down

>Other
>>
>"Let no man deceive you with vain words."
>>
Why not say the code response and then ask if he's father Cullen?
>>
Are we going to wait for him to put away the spear? He's already dropped his guard. How about this:

>"Let no man deceive you with vain words."
Then
>"Father Cullen?" And lower your sword.
>>
>>3601611
Backing
>>3601651
>>
>”Let no man deceive you with vain words … Father Cullen?”

[-1 Pious]
[-1 Erudite]

A man appears to you, quoting bible verses. He might be Father Cullen, he was young, but Father was only a title after all. But still, it was good to check.

“Let no man deceive you with vain words.” You ask.

The young man answers correctly. “For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” He steps out of his stance, “Well judging by your sword and your question, you’re obviously Templar. But you could have answered my question first, instead of just asking your own …”

Oh … Had his statement been a Templar passcode? There were so many, and his statement had been so mundane for one. You hadn't even realized …

You lower your sword. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness?”

The young spearman grins. “It’s always nice to meet a fellow brother. I’m Ike Lin.”
He reaches out his hand.

You grab it, returning the handshake. “I’m Tristan.”

“So you’re not Father Cullen?” you ask, as soon as you let go.

“Father Cullen … Do I look old enough to be Father Cullen?” He asks sardonically.

“I have never met Father Cullen.” You admit.

“You haven’t? Damn.” Ike swears, “I guess it’s no use asking if you’ve seen him, then?”

“No. Unfortunately not.”

>”I’m sorry … Do you have any ideas where Father Cullen is?”

>”So you know Father Cullen from before?”

>”Did you encounter any of the humanoids on your way here?”

>”So … A spear instead of the standard Sword?”

>Other
>>
>>3603848
>Is he missing? Or did you also just get to Winterpine?
>>
>>3603848
He kisses the archbishop's ring with that mouth?
>"So you're not a Templar? What's your business with Father Cullen?"
>>
>>3605304
How does one prove their Templar status?
I would like to know
>what his business with Father Cullen is
>>
The suggestions fit so I’ll combine them
I’m going to skip over asking whether he’s Templar or not because the passcodes would have told Tristan he was Templar

“Do you know if Father Cullen’s missing?” You ask, “Or did you also just get to Winterpine?”

“No, I have no idea where Father Cullen is.” Ike admits, “Wait … How did you know I just arrived in Winterpine? Oh, you’re stationed here, right?”

“Correct, although I haven’t been in Winterpine long … And that’s how you believe I deduced that you recently arrived in Winterpine, correct?”

“Well, Paris wouldn’t have stationed you in Winterpine if I was already here …”

You find that you are growing to like Ike. There was a certain integrity to a man who disciplined their body to the point all Templar Knights did. Furthermore, his deductive ability was impressive. You feel that, given time to work with Ike, you would grow to develop a camaraderie with him.

“May I ask what brought you to Winterpine?” You ask.

“Yeah, sure.” Ike replies, “A few days ago, Father Cullen called me and asked me to come to Winterpine. He said it was urgent, but he couldn’t tell me much over the phone since it would be too unsecured …”

You nod in reply. It made sense, Father Cullen was only an associate of the Templar, not a fully-fledged member, so he wouldn’t have had access to the protected radio channels the Templar used for their secure communications.

>Do you have any idea why Father Cullen contacted you?

>Do you have any idea where Father Cullen might have disappeared to?

>He contacted you privately … Are you close to Father Cullen?

>Did you see anything … unusual on your way here?

>Other
>>
>>3606850
I think Father Cullen is an exorcist, but it might be worth asking this guy because he seems to know him. Or was that in Isolde's notes?
>" Paris who? I was told this town has a problem with ghouls, it's probably why he called. I noticed...some sort of humanoid monster on my way here. Have you seen anything like a ghoul yet?"
>>
Paris is just where the Main Temple is located

Actually on a side note, would people generally prefer I give exposition whenever something in the lore that Tristan knows but you don't know comes up or would you rather I keep it ambiguous as something only the characters know until it comes up in-game?
>>
>>3607135
I'm getting used to being on my toes. Normally with quests you don't need to use Google. This adds a fun element. If you start doing lore it'll just end up being a worldbuilding thread.
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>>3606850
>Any idea where Cullen is?

>See anything weird on your way here?
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>>3607135
I'd like if you sprinkled in little bits here and there every once in a while.
>>
What I really want to know is, *what* is Father Cullen? Is he an exorcist? Is he a summoner that we're trying to take down? Is he a nonhuman? Is he just a regular pastor who just happens to be the caretaker of an unattended Templar fortress?
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Is he even a real person?

>ask Ike if he's met Father Cullen
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>>3608630
It's just me again OPQM but definitely ask Ike this.
>>
“You’ve met Father Cullen before, right?” You ask Ike. Isolde had told you to seek shelter from him, but you may have gotten your basic assumptions wrong. You had assumed he was, but Father Cullen might not have been an associate of the Templar. For all you knew, Father Cullen might have been a code for a hidden shelter or secret subgroup of the Templar. For all you knew, Isolde might have just been discreetly marking out your first target summoner or nonhuman in a way that no passerby would understand.

“Yeah …” Ike nods, “He’s an old friend.”

So then Father Cullen really was an associate of the Templar … or Ike was in on the code as well. Perhaps he assumed you already knew it. But then again, maybe you were overthinking things. Sometimes a name was just a name, a man really was just a man.

“So do you have any idea where Father Cullen could be?” You ask Ike, “His house? His favorite bar?”

“Yeah … I know a few places he frequents … Did you open the door?”

“No, they were open when I arrived.”

Ike nods, “Well, he wouldn’t be anywhere else other than here if the doors were unlocked ... “

“He really is missing then.” You conclude out loud, “Did you notice anything amiss in the city when you arrived?”

Ike shakes his head. “No, I took a cab here, so I didn’t have the chance to see much … why, did you?”

“I saw some humanoid monsters …They were classified as Ghouls …”

“Only because Paris couldn’t think of a name for them, I bet …” Ike quips, “They’ll label anything vaguely nonsentient and humanoid as a Ghoul … Well, I guess everyone with an ounce of creativity would be working in the field instead of Paris …”

You don’t know how to respond to Ike’s impromptu rant, so you just continue. “So you don’t know anything about the Ghouls then?”

Ike shakes his head, “Sorry, no … It is strange though …”

“What’s strange?”

“Father Cullen’s been in this city for years,” Ike explains, “But he never mentioned anything about the Ghouls to me …”

End of Thread
>>
And another thread is finished. Thank you all for playing this far, I hope things are starting to pick up for you guys.

Questions/comments/complaints before the thread 404's itself? pls no bully
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>>3609695
It's a proper challenge. I don't get enough of those.
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>>3609695
Still confused by hospitality manager and what that could allude to.
>>
New update monday probably



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