Modern Fantasy Quest is back!

Questions/Comments/Criticisms are welcome any time throughout the thread pls no bully

>>3794669
>Hide in an alleyway until the sun sets

I HAVE AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE

... Ahem.

Throughout the past eleven threads, I've been inserting certain questions to measure what kind of character traits you play Tristan with and here are the results.

>Pious: 2
>Idealistic: 2
>Erudite: 1
>Pragmatic: 1
>Worldy: 1

So from now on, I will be writing Tristan as a pious and idealistic man, especially in regards to his inner thoughts which have been largely missing so far.
As a person, Tristan is one dedicated to the beliefs of the Templar, but also one with a loyalty towards more secular ideals of chivalry.

>Hide in an alleyway until the sun sets

The best thing for you to do would be to hide in the closest alleyway. Any other option would require you to walk through the public. You didn’t want to attract any attention, you were conspicuous enough as is.

You had plenty of alleyways to choose from. You duck into the closest one. Once you’re safely in the shadows, you lean against the wall, feeling waves of exhaustion wash over you.

Once you finally relax, the absurdity of your situation hits you. Here you were, in a situation you never expected you’d fine yourself in, let alone have to prepare for. Father Cullen was missing. Jungczant had turned traitor against the Templar. You had many duties to attend to in this city. More than that, you feel called to rise to the challenge.

But all of that would have to wait until sundown.

>Sleep. You need rest.

>Rest, but don’t sleep

>Spend your time healing yourself

>Burn another cantrip into your mind (which one)

>>3796698

>Spend your time healing yourself we can get an monster drink to stay awake

>>3795752
Would you keep up dating this as the story gose on to show tristans growth and exp?

>>3796786
Not on a point-based system.
But his personality will definitely begin to change depending on what you put him through.

>>3796788
Nice

>>3796698
>Sleep. You need rest.

Another tie. 1d6 time.

>Odds - Spend time healing yourself, go get energy drink
>Evens - Sleep

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>3797458
Shit

>Spend time healing, go get energy drink

You decide the first thing you needed to do was heal your leg so you could walk normally. But a healing on the scale of an entire ankle would be strenuous since you had already cast the spell to ease your older wounds today.

You steel yoursel.f Then, again, you actualize the spell engraved in your mind. Again, you struggle against the natural function of your nerves as you force them into a state which can conduct magic. Again, your spell manifests with a soft green glow, easing the throbbing in your ankle little by little. After a few dozen castings, you lean your head against the brick wall behind you and sigh, rubbing your temple. You had barely begun, and a killer migraine had already developed behind your skull. It would be many more continuous castings of Minor Healing before your ankle would be healed.

…

…

The clerk leaned against the counter, bored out of his mind as he stared at the muted TV in the corner. The inside of the corner store was empty and his coworker was in the washroom. It was a slow day today, just like the day before, and the day before that. Tomorrow would also be … wait, no, he was off tomorrow. But the day after that would be the same as today, another shift spent between being bored out of his mind and struggling not to nod off, or both, again and again for as long as he was stuck in this godawful job.

THUNK!

With a start, the clerk’s eyes fluttered open. He hadn’t even realized they had been closed.

“Excuse me, I would like to buy this please.”

On the counter was a plastic shopping bag, containing … one ... two ... three cans of Monster Energy. The hand holding the bag was a rough and calloused one. The Clerk had never seen such a lethal looking hand, he hadn’t even known a simple hand could look so dangerous. He looked up at the customer, wondering what kind of man would possess a hand like that.

The hand’s owner was tall, lean, and powerfully built, a man who held himself with a calm, centered and balanced poise. He looked like a man accustomed to violence of the most terrible kind. He had a dour expression on his face and wore a black windbreaker which seemed to have been turned inside-out. The fabric inside looked strange, a dense and inflexible weave. Who the hell even wore a windbreaker in such hot weather?

“Sorry, will you please take my purchase?” The customer asked. His voice was low, slow, and measured, as if he carefully considered every word he said, almost as if he was speaking in a foreign language that he knew extremely well.

“Y-yeah. Sure.” The clerk said, scanning the cans, “That’ll be Nine Fifty.”

The customer pulled out a wallet and handed him a ten dollar bill. “Keep the change.”
With that, he grabbed his purchase and left.

A few minutes later, his coworker came back from the washroom.
“What’s wrong?” She asked, “You look startled.”

“Huh? nothing … just a strange customer … anyways, what took you so long?”

…

…

You exit the corner store with the drinks you bought in hand. There had been many nights you had spent on a stakeout, staying awake using energy drinks. Depending on how risky the next few days were, you might not be able to get any sleep. So you had covered your bloodstained body with your turned-inside-out windbreaker and purchased energy drinks instead. They would have to suffice until you found somewhere safe to stay and sleep.

But for now, an alleyway would have to serve as safe harbour.

… Wait, what’s that? … there, down the street, was that a patrolling police cruiser?

>They might not have seen you. Hide in the nearest alleyway.

>They might have seen you. Run away as fast as possible.

>They definitely saw you. Wait for them to try to arrest you then knock them out like last time.

>They might not be looking for you. Stay calm, keep walking.

>Other

>>3798315
>Hide in the nearest alley.
We need to find a place where we can avoid other people. Maybe an abondoned building somewhere?

>>3798315
>They might not have seen you. Hide in the nearest alleyway.
Act homeless

>Hide in Nearest Alleyway

You inconspicuously slip into the nearest alleyway, the motion so smooth that to anyone watching you, it would have looked like you simply disappeared from the street. You crouch in the shadows behind an abandoned garbage can, making your profile as low and unnoticeable as possible.

You glance out, watching for the police cruiser and waiting to see if it will pass by …

>Roll 1d100’s to see if Tristan escapes notice. The first three will be accepted.

Rolled 52 (1d100)

>>3799031
This reappeared earlier than expected

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>3799031
Can we at the very least hide behind a dumpster?

Oh, and remember that you have a free reroll if you wish to use it.

Let's see how the third roll turns out first. If it's also <10 then there's no point rerolling just one.

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>3799031

Rolled 78 (1d100)

Ok yea reroll

You’d pass anyways without the reroll so I’m not going to count it..

Thankfully, the police cruiser passes by without noticing you. As soon as it leaves, you stand up again. You’ve realized that simply hiding in alleyways won’t be enough. You needed to find a more secure hiding spot, such as an abandoned building.

But to find one, you would need to walk in public again.

>Take the risk and find a more secure hiding spot

>Don’t take the risk and continue hiding where you currently are

>Other

Regardless, roll 1d100s to see if anything bad happens. The first three will be accepted.

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>3800280
>Don’t take the risk and continue hiding where you currently are

Rolled 81 (1d100)

>>3800280
>Take the risk to secure a better hiding spot.
Can we find something in the dumpster to hide ourselves with? Maybe wear our shirt on top of the jacket.

>>3800416
I would which but dont want to be cadhing the woning roll,
Il change to this if no one eils rols

>>3800416
The reason you're wearing your jacket is because your shirt is soaked from the driver's arterial spray.

>>3800509
Let's go buy a jacket or something from a store, put some dirt on it, and dress as a hobo. Beanie included.

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>3800280
>Don't take the risk

They just passed this area, we've got some time. I don't think they're gonna be searching too hard for some dude on a crutch, ain't like we're armed and dangerous (to their knowledge). The police officer we KOed is probably getting mocked at the station for getting kung fued by a cripple.

>Continue hiding where you are

2-25: You are discovered by the police
26-40: You are discovered by someone else
41-100: You successfully hide

As bad of a hiding place the alleyway was, it was even more of a danger to be spotted in public when the police were on the lookout for you. By now, the cop you had knocked unconscious had probably regained consciousness. He would be able to give a good description of your physical appearance, especially the fact that you had had your windbreaker on you.

It looked like you’d be crouched behind the garbage can for a while now. As quietly as possible, you open a can of Monster Energy. Still, the hiss of the can being opened sounds painfully loud to your overcautious ears.

You needed this drink. The entire day had exhausted you, from your escape from your captors, to your exhausting hobbling around the city, to both mentally straining times you had continuously cast healing spells on yourself. All of that had left you in a state of drowsiness.

But at least the edge to your fatigue is dulled by the invigorating drink. You can feel your thoughts growing sharper throughout your worn-out brain. Now, you were confident that you would be able to stay awake to hide until sundown.

But what would you do until then.

>You’ll make a quick prayer.

>You need some time to seriously think about what’s going on in Winterpine (Choose what Tristan ponders)

>Thought and Prayer will only wear out an already tired mind. Focus on staying awake and wait for sundown.

>Other

>>3802537
>You’ll make a quick prayer.

Didn't we still need some healing to fix up the ankle? We could put more work into that, unless we're too tired.

>You need some time to seriously think about what’s going on in Winterpine (Choose what Tristan ponders)

What the fuck are we gonna do now that we lost the one supposedly friendly contact we had in the city, the local Father is mysteriously missing, Nathan with strength exceeding ours is out for our blood, and world class assassin Delilah is cooperating with Jung to abduct us. Did Isolde leave an emergency number?

>>3802801
Usually, you would contact the Main Temple and ask them to relay a message to Isolde, but she isn't called the Maverick Exorcist for nothing.

>>3802801
Surwts go with this.
Is there any way for us to get in contact with our peoples without our stuff?

>>3802859
All you need is a radio and something to draw with

>>3803853
Well then we better work on getting those things.
And calling old mate to see if his goten our gear

>Seriously think about what’s happening in Winterpine
>Make a quick prayer

Crouching in the dark with nothing but your thoughts, you begin to seriously reflect on what’s going on in Winterpine. One of your contacts was missing. The other was actively trying to capture and detain you for an unknown reason. A dangerous non-human was after your life and would probably eventually try to hunt you down. If you really were unlucky, Delilah would be hunting for you as well.

You had many questions. Was Jungczant, now a known traitor, involved with Father Cullen’s disappearance? When Isolde had asked you to not disturb the Status Quo, had she accounted for Jungczant’s betrayal, or the disappearance of Father Cullen, or the arrival of Delilah? If she hadn’t, were you free to deal with them as you wished?

But regardless, the biggest issue still remained: You were being hunted by figures with vast resources at their disposal. Your only answer was to confront them with all your gear with a safe location to operate from. At the very least, you had a concrete immediate goal.

But it would have to wait until sundown, when you could feel confident about being able to move stealthily. Until then, you would have to wait.

And if you were going to wait here long, you might as well pray. You take a few minutes to compose your thoughts.

God in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, be with me as I do your will this night in this city. Have mercy on Winterpine, for them grant deliverance from the shadows and the blasphemies that lurk within. Arm me with faith so I may be the sword and shield against the dark in this City. Let all I do be in your name, for your Kingdom, and for the innocent in this city. In the name of Jesus Christ and by your endless Grace, Amen.

…

Was the ground flooded or dry? Was there a moon overhead or was the sky obscured? The wall you leaned against … was it brick or concrete? You couldn’t tell. All you could tell was that you were alone, crouched in an alleyway, halfway between wakefulness and dream.

Where were you? Who were you? Tristan the Knight of the Templar, or the nameless street urchin from the backstreets?

… And why did it look like there was something crawling in the shadows?”

…

“Tristan? Heey, Tristan?”

Groggily, you wake up to the sensation of someone gently prodding your cheek. The finger felt … strangely soft.

You open your eyes to the sight of Delilah’s amused-but-concerned face bent over yours.
“Oh! You’re awake now!”

You swear and roll into a crouched position as fast as you can, ready to run away at the slightest provocation. When had you fallen asleep? Questions begin to flood into your confused, sleep-addled brain.

>Why are you here? How long were you here?

>Are you going to bring me to Jungczant?

>Don’t waste words, run away as quick as possible.

>Other

>>3805253
Why are you here? How long were you here?

>>3805253
>Say hello sheepishly.
She could've killed us but didn't. Good sign.

>>3805253
>"Are you going to bring me to Jungczant?"

If OP really hates to combine dialogue options I can back
>>3805289

>Combine options

“Well … hello, Delilah.” You say awkwardly. Well … she didn’t immediately kill you or try to capture you. That was a good sign … right?

Delilah giggles lightly, “What are you doing sleeping in the middle of an alleyway, silly silly?”

“I don’t know myself …” You admit, “Why are you here?”

“Ah, I was clearing this area of Roof Stalkers.” Delilah replies. Just then, you notice that lying on the ground at her feet was a massive Cleaver. It was your first opportunity to get a good look at it. It was a savage weapon, almost a meter long that flared outwards to a spike almost a third of a meter wide. The entire hunk of iron curved forwards slightly, the inside of it’s curve serrated with vicious dull-looking teeth. The teeth of Delilah’s Cleaver dripped with the grey ichor that ran through the veins of the Ghouls. She had already been using it tonight.

“So you haven’t been here long then?”

“Nope,” Delilah shakes her head, “I woke you up as soon as I found you.”

“Ah …” You pause, “So are you going to bring me to Jungczant?”

“Not unless you want me to.” Delilah smiles, “I’m not getting paid to deal with you, you know? I’ll let Jungczant handle it.”

>”I’m sorry … I have no idea what the time is …”

>“So … (gesture at cleaver) … You’ve been hunting the Ghouls?”

>”Wait … you’re seriously not going to bring me to Jungczant? Won’t your client be upset if I escape?”

>”Um … sorry for lying to you about my name …”

>Other

>>3807055
>Um... Sorry for lying to you about my name."
I think she'll understand at least. Followed by
>So you've been hunting the ghouls?
Now would be a good time to join her and find out how to properly kill these things.

>>3807055
>"Um, sorry for lying about my name. Secret organizations, covert missions, you know how it is."

>"You seemed to know Nathan. Any idea how long it'll take him to recover from that broken leg?"

>Combine options again

“You seemed to know Nathan. How long will it take for him to heal his leg?” You inquire politely. It seemed like an appropriate question to you. If Delilah knew, or was close to Nathan, it might be good to have her discuss his well being.

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Delilah answers, denying the ulterior motive of your question: learning how long you would be safe from Nathan from, “I don’t really know him well though, I was only involved in one job with him.”

“Ah, I see …” There was a long, awkward silence.

“I see you’ve been hunting the Ghouls in this are?”

“Yup … I was almost finished clearing this area when I found you …”

There was another long, awkward silence.

“Umm … sorry for lying to you about my name,” You sheepishly broach the subject, “It was a necessity for my organization and mission … I hope you understand …”

“I understand!” Delilah reassures you, “But I really wish you would stop lying to me … Is there anything else I should know about?”

>”Well, you seem to know about the Templar so … not really. I think you know everything important.”

>”Yes there is. You might want to know this …” (Write-in)

>”Wait ... what do you mean you’re almost finished clearing this area? Are there Ghouls still around?”

>Other

>>3807589
"Well, you seem to know everything already. I can't think of anything I know that would be news to you, except that I left your name and other details out of my reports so far."

>"How about you? Anything I should know? Tips for surviving my hopefully brief stewardship of this city?"

>>3807589
>”Well, you seem to know about the Templar so … not really. I think you know everything important.”
Il be on way now to get my stuff

>>3807589
>Tell her we know some minor magic and that we have an ally from the temple going to get our stuff.
Other than that, she should know everything.

Rolled 1 (1d6)

Two options are contradictory so I will roll a 1d6 to determine which to take.

>Odds: >>3807855
>Evens: >>3808383

>”Well, you seem to know about the Templar so … not really. I think you know everything important.”
>"How about you? Anything I should know? Tips for surviving my hopefully brief stewardship of this city?"

“Well, you seem to know about the Templar so … not really. I think you know everything important.” You reply to Delilah.

“Okay, that’s good to hear!” Delilah laughs. Truth be told, you felt that it was a bit strange that such an unrestrained figure would be privy to knowledge about the Templar. Not to mention a bit unsettling.

“How about you? Do you have any advice for surviving my stewardship of this city?”

“Advice? Hmmm,” Delilah strokes her chin thoughtfully before replying, “You’re not strong enough to survive on your own here, especially with Jungczant looking for you. Right now, they might not seem like much trouble, but you’ll be tracked down quickly once Nathan gets back on his feet. If you want to survive, you should either turn yourself in to Jungczant or find friends to shelter you. If you can’t do that, then your safest bet would be to leave the city … What will Tristan do, I wonder? I’m feeling kinda impatient to find out! Ahahaha!”

>”Thank you for your advice. Hearing what you have to say, I think I’ll get by.”

>”Thank you for your advice. In that case, could you lead me back to Jungczant?”

>”Thank you for your advice … By the way, do you know what happened to my belongings?”

>Other

>>3808471
>"Thanks for the advice. Do you know what Jumgzcant intended to do with me? If I choose to go to him, will I find him at his office or has he relocated? "

>>3808471
>”Thank you for your advice … By the way, do you know what happened to my belongings?”

>>3808471
>”Thank you for your advice … By the way, do you know what happened to my belongings?”

>Combine options

“Thank you for your advice.” You say, “By the way, do you know what happened to my belongings?”

Delilah sighs dramatically, “Just because I’m not catching you doesn’t mean I’m going to give you information to help you escape, you know?”

“All right then,” You relent, “But could you at least tell me what Jungczant intended to do to me?”

“Well, I don’t think that he was planning to kill you, but I’m not so sure about now since you killed three of his men to escape.” Delilah answers, “Wait … I guess it’s not safe for you to turn yourself in anymore then … I was wrong about that! Silly me! Ahaha!”

>”Thank you for your help. I’ll be leaving now then.”

>”Well, I said earlier that I was interested in seeing you hunt Ghouls …”

>”If I were to decide to turn myself into Jungczant in the future, would I be able to find him at his office?”

>”I’ll take my chances. Could you lead me back to Jungczant?”

>>3809100
Do we still have the ankle sprain? If not,
>”Well, I said earlier that I was interested in seeing you hunt Ghouls …”
If so,
>”Thank you for your help. I’ll be leaving now then.”

>>3809139
You healed your ankle to the point of basic functionality.

>>3809100
>"Thanks for the help. Later. Good luck exterminating these monsters."

Gotta get our shit.

>>3809100

>”Thank you for your help. I’ll be leaving now then

Hi guys, I'm sorry but it's really late so I won't be able to update today.

However, expect multiple updates tomorrow.

>I’ll be leaving now then

“Thank you for your help,” You say, “I’ll be leaving now then. Good luck exterminating those monsters.”

“Thanks, Tristan. We’ll see now if you can survive, won’t we? Good luck then!” Delilah laughs before walking off deeper into the alleyways.

Now your were alone. You cautiously peak outside of the alleyway, checking for any threats …

You don’t see any. In fact, the entire street was empty. It was in the middle of the night.
You were amazed you hadn’t noticed as soon as you had woken up. Maybe it was because you had hid deep in the darkness of the alleyway.

But if that was the case, then Ike would have been expecting a call from you for hours by now.

>You need to get to a public telephone as soon as you can

>Climb onto a rooftop and scout for any threats

>Actually … maybe you should catch up with Delilah and tag along to stay safe

>Other

>>3812122
>Scout surrounding area from rooftop

Sorry Ike, but if we're already hours late a few more minutes to determine our immediate safety shouldn't hurt.

>>3812122
>>3812131
I'll support this. It's better not to get caught by an ambush predator or have to worry about Nathan.

>Scout surrounding area from rooftop

The biggest concern you have about nighttime is the possibility of being ambushed. Since you had only recently awoken, your situational and environmental awareness were not great. Therefore, you had to remedy that.

Walking a little bit back into the alleyway, you find a wall cobwebbed by metal pipes. You pull on one to test its sturdiness before hauling yourself up. On your way up, there were some worrying groans and creaks but you manage to reach the roof safely. You look around, surveying the landscape of rooftops sprawled out in front of you. As far as you could tell, there was nothing out of the ordinary … there! On a faraway rooftop was a bone-white shape.

>Go investigate. It’s probably a Ghoul.

>You’re not equipped to deal with Ghouls tonight. Go the other direction.

>Hide and observe it. As soon as you’re sure it hasn’t seen you, you’ll leave.

>Other

>>3813657
>You’re not equipped to deal with Ghouls tonight. Go the other direction.

>>3813657
>Stay and observe it.
I don't want the ghoul following us.

>>3813657
>Hide and observe

I'm sure it's gonna get Delilahed soon

>Hide an observe it

As soon as you see the Ghoul, you lie down as flat as you can against the roof. The last thing you wanted was to be spotted. You weren’t prepared to tackle one with only your Straightsword. You already knew how that fight would turn out.

But neither did you want to hastily run away and be potentially followed. Besides, the Ghoul wouldn’t remain alive for long if Delilah was in the area. In fact, this may be your opportunity to see how she dealt with them.

As covertly as you can, you peek at the Ghoul. It seemed to be sprawled on the roof it was on, completely motionless. Suddenly, moonlight breaks through the clouds, illuminating the rooftops in ghostly light. You squint … Was it …

The Ghoul was split in two. You hadn’t noticed at first, but now you could see that what you had thought was a Ghoul was only a torso of a Ghoul, it’s lower body was missing.

>Take a closer look. This is probably Delilah’s handiwork.

>It might still be alive. Get away while you still can.

>You may not be completely sure of the situation yet. Continue observing the Ghoul.

>Other

>>3814307
>It might still be alive. Get away while you still can.

>>3814307
>Yeah it got Delilahed. Go make your phone call.

She killed the last one with a simple chop, no way can they survive bisection.

>>3814307
>Take a closer look but be wary that it's feigning death.

>Leave

You decide to leave. There were only two scenarios here: That the Ghoul was alive in which case you should get away while you still could, and that the Ghoul had gotten killed by Delilah in which you had no reason to stay here. Frankly, you were leaning towards the Ghoul being dead. The last Ghoul you had seen Delilah kill had died simply by being impaled by her cleaver. If Delilah had been the one to bisect that Ghoul, it was very, very likely that it was dead.

But just before you’re about to leave, you hear the metallic clink of an object landing on the roof behind you.

Suddenly, smoke envelopes the entire rooftop. You’re blind!

>Roll off the rooftop into the alleyway below

>Get up and ready yourself for attack

>Stay completely still. Whoever’s responsible for the smoke is as blind as you.

>Raise your arms above your head in surrender

>Other

>>3818555
>Roll off the rooftop into the alleyway below

Can't stay here, they wouldn't use smoke if they weren't prepared for it. Make sure to land on the good ankle.

>>3819291
Agreed. This is probably an ambush. We only have the one weapon too.

>Roll off the rooftop into the alleyway below

Without getting up, you roll as fast as you can to the edge of the roof, before taking the plunge into the dark below. Crouching like a cat, you land as softly as you can, but a spike of pain still shoots up your bad leg. You probably shouldn’t be treating your leg so harshly. But you grit your teeth, blink away the tears from your eyes, and burst out into a run.
You had been distracted by the Ghoul on the roof. That, combined with the ambient noise of the city, had been why you hadn’t noticed the sound of footsteps in the alleyway below.. You knew it wasn’t that your attacker was especially stealthy. If they had been, they wouldn’t have let the distinctive sound of a smoke grenade give away their attack.

You dart through the narrow passageways, hoping to lose whoever was after you in the shadows. Who was even after you? It wasn’t the police, they wouldn’t use a smoke grenade. It wasn’t Jungczant’s men, they were too amateurish to have approached you with even a modicum of stealth. Besides, they would have no way to know where you were … unless Delilah had tipped them off. You sure hoped it wasn’t Nathan.

You stop running and lean against the alleyway wall, not out of any exhaustion. In your present state, you could continue running all night. You just needed a second of complete concentration to see if your attacker was following you without being seen yourself.

You reach into your pocket, feeling the familiar weight of your straightsword’s hilt before stretching your senses to their absolute limit. Your excellent night vision was capable of making out the alley walls clearly. You can hear a passing car about five hundred meters north … although the alleyway walls distorted the sound … as well as the sound of water spilling from a burst pipe ten meters down the alleyway.

But no pursuer.

>You need to get moving. Continue running.

>Be patient. You’ll wait a little to see if someone’s following you.

>You might have time to memorize a spell. Step into the moonlight so you can read your Grimoire.

>Other

>>3821789
>Be patient. You'll wait a little to see if someone's following you.

These guys are making it really hard to make a phone call.

>>3822047
I'll go with this. The human eye was made to capture motion so staying still should assist with stealth.

>Wait a little

You stay perfectly still, staying as flat as you can against the wall and minimizing your profile. Hiding in the darkness, even your quiet breathing seems painfully loud to you. You still couldn’t hear any pursuer, but you continue to wait …

What was a few seconds turns into minutes. In the dark, minutes felt like hours. You couldn’t hear any pursuers until … There! The sound of soft footsteps. And was that a whisper? It was distorted into a state of being barely comprehensible by the enclosing walls of the alleyway.

“I’m telling you, Khaled, I can’t find him … Yeah, I lost him. I didn’t expect him to be that fast, alright?” It seemed your pursuer was talking to an ally on a radio, “Maybe update his status to Class Alpha … Look, don’t be impatient, I’m trying to find him, okay?”

The voice was coming from around the corner. If he continued straight, he wouldn’t even enter the alleyway you were in …

>Stay where you are, let him pass you by

>Wait for him to pass then follow him

>Edge over to the corner so you can ambush him

>Step out into the open and confront him

>>3823530
>Stay where you are and let him pass
We need to get our stuff first.

>>3823530
>Stay and let him pass

I wanna take him out and get info, but if they're smart they have regular reports on that radio so we'd get found out and definitely upgraded to class alpha.

>Stay and let him pass

Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t have been safe attacking your pursuer due to his radio introducing the possibility of regular check-ins you were unaware of. Someone would notice if he went missing and you didn’t want any more attention when you only had your Folding Straightsword. In any case, you had been delaying the safe retrieval of your gear for far too long.

So when you heard the footsteps of your pursuer draw closer to your hiding place, instead of springing out to attack him or tensing in preparation to follow him, you stay perfectly still. Your pursuer steps into a beam of moonlight. You see a rugged-looking man in a crew-cut, wearing thick, protective tactical body armor around his torso. He looked ex-military. A pair of pistols hung at his waist and he was holding the distinctive shape of a M4A1 Carbine in his hands. Of note was a bandolier of assorted grenades around his waist.

Your pursuer glances down the alleyway ...

>Roll a 1d100. The first three rolls will be accepted.

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>3825047
aw fuck he's a professional

they're taking us way more seriously than we deserve to be taken

>>3825063
You guys are playing a magic-using Kung-Fu Monk-Knight who's bullshit-skilled to the point that offing a car full of armed guards while handcuffed is trivially easy. How seriously would you take a guy like that?

>>3825047

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>3825047

>>3825106
Less than multiple grenades

Also hot damn these rolls

>>3825202
Did you by any chance forget to roll?

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>3826284
I got this last one senpai

Rolled 77 (1d100)

>>3826284
Aye, sorry about that chief.

>86

Apparently satisfied with what he sees, he continues down the intersection.

You weren’t seen! Your pursuer didn’t even set foot in the alleyway you were in! You stay still until you can no longer hear his footsteps. Then, you silently slip through the alleyways to your destination, the telephone booth.

***

“I expected you hours ago!” Ike exclaims.

“I’m sorry. I was … delayed.”

You were standing just outside a small telephone booth in a large park strangely situated in the middle of the city. It was the nearest public phone you could find.

“So did you retrieve my belongings?” You ask Ike.

“You were in room 406, right?”

“Yes, I was.” That, indeed, had been the room Delilah had checked out for you. Of course, you doubted you would be returning there since you didn’t know whether Delilah would have told Jungczant about it.
“At the Shangra-La Hotel, right?”

“Yes.”

You heard Ike sigh. “Well, you probably won’t like this, but that room didn’t have anything in it other than bedsheets. Sorry.”

>”Did you find anything else? See anyone suspicious?”

>“In that case, do you have extra gear?”

>”We need to rendezvous.”

>”Where are you now?”

>Other

Just realized I counted the last three rolls instead of the first three rolls.

Doesn't matter, y'all would have passed anyways.

>>3827077
>”We need to rendezvous.”
Other than our radio, have we lost anything that might put other Templars at risk?

>>3827138
There's a lot of magic lore that the Templar would like to keep out of other people's hands, but it's all magically encrypted.

>>3827077
>"We need to rendezvous"

And contact/update home base

>>3827077
>We need to rendezvous.
Time to tell the temple that Jungczant has turned traitor.

>”We need to rendezvous.”

“We need to rendezvous,” You tell Ike.

“Eh? Sure, of course we can. Is the situation on your end that bad?”

“Some would say,” You admit, “Your assistance may be greatly appreciated in the next few days. Regardless, I have some things I need to report to the Main Temple as soon as I can.”

“You talking about Jungczant?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, so where are we meeting?” Ike asks …

>”Come meet me where I am. Bring a cab.”

>”We’ll meet back at the Chapel.”

>”Just tell me where you are right now. I’ll come to you.”

>Other

>>3827755
>"We'll meet back at the chapel."

>>3827755
>”Just tell me where you are right now. I’ll come to you.”

>>3827755
>"We'll meet back at the chapel."

>Meet back at Chapel

“We’ll meet back at the Chapel.” You tell Ike. You didn’t want to stay in the area. Neither did you want to venture into unknown territory to find Ike. In situations of uncertainty like this, the safest thing was almost always to regroup in territory that was already known.

“The Chapel? Got it. I’ll see you there.” Ike promises, before hanging up. Just as well, you hadn’t wanted to talk much longer, it was only a matter of time until you were found if you did.

The only problem was that Winterpine Chapel was halfway across the city from here. Walking was out of the question, so how would you get there?

>You’ll have to call a cab. It would be the fastest way.

>You’ll take the public transit. You’d be out in the open, but that will also be a shield against covert activity.

>Actually, you’ll have to walk. On a vehicle, you’ll have no way to run if things go wrong.

>Other

>>3828792
>You’ll take the public transit. You’d be out in the open, but that will also be a shield against covert activity.

>>3828792
>take a cab

Public transit is probably being watched. Try to find an idle cabbie rather than flagging one down.

>>3828792
>Call a cab
Let's make sure to get dropped off a few blocks away from the chapel. We don't want the cabbie to know exactly where we're going.

>Cab

You decide to find a cab. A private cab would be the best option. You wanted to minimize your exposure in public, since transit would become the first thing to be watched. If possible, you wanted to find an idling cab instead of calling one to your location since you could never truly be sure of the safety of someone approaching you.

You start walking in search of a cab …

***

A black SUV with tainted windows had been tailing you for some time now. It had been subtle, disappearing every few blocks only to reappear later. Whoever was following you was good.

>And you had to lose them. Start running.

>Walk into the alleyways, the SUV can’t follow you in there.

>Just continue like you hadn’t noticed and find a taxi.

>Stop walking, lean against a wall, and force them to either confront you or drive away.

>>3830131
>Stop walking, lean against a wall, and force them to either confront you or drive away.

>>3830131
>Stop walking, lean against a wall, and force them to either confront you or drive away.

Alright. Jung is extremely committed.

>>3830131
>Act like you hadn't noticed them and find a taxi.

>Lean against a wall, and force them to either confront you or drive away.

You had to admit, the amount of resources Jungczant was willing to devote to you was impressive. He was definitely committed to catching you. But you had already thought of a method to shake them off your tail, one you doubted they would have anticipated.

You continue walking as usual to the nearest intersection, one where the lights were red. Then, you lean against the brick wall of the building and the corner. And you wait.

The black SUV pulled up beside you, stopping for the red light. You already knew the black SUV was tailing you, but they would be forced to pass you as soon as the light turned green. If the went against the flow of traffic here, they would have to abandon any semblance of subtlety. It would have been the same if it had swerved down another intersection before reaching the red light, but reappeared while you were staying still, they would have revealed themselves as well. And sure enough, as soon as the light turns green, the SUV drives away.

You had shaken your pursuers for now. But that was only temporary. You held no illusions about how long you would last on the streets without safe shelter.

END OF THREAD

Another thread finished! How did you guys like it? Questions/comments/criticisms will be greatly appreciated and taken until the thread 404's itself pls no bully.

Also, new thread on monday probably.

>>3833181
Thanks for running!

I might have asked some of these before, my memory is horrible.

How bad are eldritch invasions? Since Delilah was willing to watch us die, and then all of a sudden cut Nathan off us when we mentioned his involvement in one?

Isolde vs Delilah who wins?

How secret are the Templar really? Delilah either already knew about them and was able to deduce our membership after a single brief meeting, or was able to track them down through us in like a day. Are her detective skills as good as her giant cleaver skills or do the Templar kinda suck at hiding?

>>3833228
Hey, thanks for playing! You haven't asked any that I remember answering, but my memory is pretty bad as well.

>How bad are eldritch invasions
About as bad as it gets. Upon entry into our reality, most eldritch entities aren't any more dangerous than any other magical creature. The difference is that eldritch entities infect local life, and they only grow in infectiousness and insidiousness as time passes. Theoretically, if one were to leave one alone, it would adapt to this reality until it becomes a permanent part of the local biosphere. However, they're usually noticed before that happens on account of them tending to eat things.
tl;dr the problem with Eldritch Entities is that, unlike any other form of magic, they self-propogate on their own given enough food, and always become harder to completely exterminate as time passes.

>Isolde vs Delilah
I see I've been partially successful in setting a small hype train into motion. That's always good for the health of a quest.
To answer your question, keep playing to find out. Personally, I'd like to hear your own thoughts, but we haven't seen enough of Isolde for me to expect you to have an opinion.

>How secret are the Templar really?
As secret as high-tier memory erasure spells can make them. They're not a secret at all if you have the means to counter their magic, but anyone who does is already a big player in the magic world who would end up interacting with them often anyways.

>How does Delilah know about the Templar
You really should search for the answer to this question in-game. I hope I don't sound like I'm trying to bait players, but the answer to this question has a lot of very plot-important implications.

>>3833547
So ask her the next time we see her. Got it.

>>3833547
If eldritch entities can become part of the local biosphere then that's probably already happened in some portion of the world, most likely Australia.

>>3836043
Kek. It kinda would be like Australia if everything in Australia is the extension of a single entity, has tentacles and extra eyes, and looking anywhere in the area ends up with you seeing something you shouldn't and being mindraped.

>>3836504
Sounds like Australia to me

New thread here
>>3838400