>>175389
Very well then. Let's get going, shall we?

...Sometimes you really can anticipate everything you would be learning from an experience. Being broiled alive is probably one of the things it applies to.

A truly sensible choice! What could possibly go wrong?

RML 2010/05/10(Mon)22:34 No. 176030 ID: ab583e
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Day 2, entry 3:

The right path has led me down a calm and rather quaint road. I can see the rows in the path made by wagon wheels, however I have not yet come across any merchants. There is not yet been a fellow traveler since I met with Jeena and Huml.

Still, my legs do not yet tire. I have never before ventured this far from Rou, so it has come as somewhat of a surprised that the woods grow thick here.

It is a bit darker than I would have thought.

Still no traders. Is it common for the mind to convince itself to hear sounds? The whisper of the wind in the trees bears and unsettling sentience, and I feel an unfounded sting of surveillance upon me. The day is still light, yet the humid haze of woodland and the ambiguous mesh of mundane colors bids the sensation of walking into a living void.

I would sit beside myself for company at this time, or at least some assurance of security to blanket this helpless chill that I feel.

Well, there is no turning back here. I must remain single-minded.

Hooded figure at four o clock. Call out to them.

Hey, I don't mean to worry you or anything, but you might want to look behind you.

>>176030
Hey, who's that?

RML 2010/05/10(Mon)22:56 No. 176044 ID: ab583e
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>>176032
>>176033

What? WHAT?!

Please do not speak lightly of such illusion. Where did you see a figure? I do not see anything!

"Hail! Make yourself seen!" I cried out to the obscuring foliage. I waited a moment, my legs growing antsy. No one offered any reply. I felt a tension at my every blind side. I think that it is time for a jog!

What should I do?

>>176044
Run like a feathery bitch.

Quick! After him!

...when that doesn't work, continue down the path and hope nothing bad happens.

>>176044
I guess you could tentatively check over there, but I doubt you're going to find anything. :V

>>176044
Perhaps it would be better to go through the desert.

>>176044
run away flapping your arms while squawking

>>176044
Remember that even though the Great Evil is gone... there are Lesser Evils that will always exist.

And perhaps they will try to fill the place of the Great Evil. Also with the route you are taking there may those who wish to waylay travelers. Do keep your eyes open for those who may seek to steal your goods at best... your life at worse

Take out your knife, but not at the expense of not paying attention to your surroundings.

>>176783
>>176044
Your mysterious observer may simply be taking your measure. Pulling a knife may leave a bad impression, and imply readiness for a fight you have no desire to actually take part in.
Continue on your way. Be ready to ditch your pack and run. Your life is more important than anything material you have, even if they could be missed dearly.
Maybe pull out your lute and play it a little. Distract yourself and appear even less threatening.

RML 2010/05/21(Fri)21:02 No. 181075 ID: ab583e
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>>176048
I will certainly pick up my pace! Hup hup hup!

>>176782
That is utterly fallacious! No one who has seen or heard of the atrocities of the past could ever thank themselves to repeat them. Still, it is quite dark... oh, if only I was alone. If only I was alone!

>>176811
These are the fruits born of an able headpiece! Sweet-sired thoughts so dear to my heart! I had best not be so hasty to regard my living fellows with ill prejudice. They may simply be curious, and this is something to which I can unfalt'ringly drink.
I'll keep brisk my pace. These legs are narrow but they carry my litter with giving fealty.

>Distract yourself and appear even less threatening.

If only I could possibly appear less threatening. I modestly admit to a BARELY DETECTABLE degree of daintiness.

Each breath was a feat of its own. As the dim forrest flew by me, I heard undeniable rustling about my flanks and my timid heart responded with due accord.

Please refrain from suggesting until another spoiler tag signifies the end of this cutscene. Thanks!

RML 2010/05/21(Fri)21:15 No. 181080 ID: ab583e
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Day 2, entry 4 (unwritten):

Fortune, again your wheel flounders, and again its spinèd cursor points to Troki! Oh fear, fear! It strips me of scholarly thought. What are these star-eyed monsters?

Three of them encroached upon me as I jabbed my feet to the graveled road to halt myself.

"Stop running, bird!" It was a male voice which reverberated flippantly from the tree stalks behind me. I froze, and my stance at once weakened. I relied on my walking stick to be composed. "Why are you out alone?"

I could not think to speak until he demanded again with greater harshness. Then, I replied, "I am traveling to Gold Ring."

RML 2010/05/21(Fri)21:26 No. 181088 ID: ab583e
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"No you're not," he replied at once. I wondered who he was to state my business, but I dared not argue. "I will not see another life lost between here and Raminklat."

A thought came to me immediately. Huml and Jeena has just come from Raminklat! What danger could this strange possibly have been referring to? My tangent was cut short as he brought his hands to his cheeks and unveiled his face.

"We've been watching this stretch. You are the first person to come through in two weeks or more. Those before then were all taken or killed." The speaker was a fair Talyxian, though his cohorts remained obscured. My knees rattled at his deathly suggestion, my head swimming with anxious inquiry.

"What of a young Nevrean woman and husband?" The words slipped from my beak, and the Talyxians gaze, even in the bitter shade of trees, narrowed.

"We saw no one of that description. Come with us, bird, or you'll be killed on this stretch. Take this grace, or you'd be a damned fool."

Cutscene ends.

>>181088
Say yes, but ask further on what the nature of the danger is.

If they wanted to kill you they wouldn't bother to lie to you about it first.

>>181089
yes, that have you out-numbered they could of easily killed you if they had wanted to, since they have not they must not mean you harm.

>>181075
History has shown that to be wrong. Akani's Field itself is proof that there is STILL Darkness in this world. Perhaps this time it won't be made manifest in such an obvious vessel as a Sergal.

For all you know... the next Great Evil could be of your kind.

Ask how they knew the others were killed, unless they saw it themselves, in which case, why did they only watch?

>>181093
New mission, we're turning Troki into the next Great Evil.

>>181088
Why should we trust someone that has golden eyes like the great evil?

>>181088

...Did your friend totally sell you out?

>>181088
Follow them. They seem to know some interesting stuff that would be good to know and maybe worth to write down for future generations.

>>181088
Never trust a smiling Talyxian.

>>181088

Are these Talyxian the same as some other Talyxian we might know? Very warlike and rather mean generally? What do we know about this race?

>>181339
They're supposed to be quite nice. Shadran was just a rare exception.

>>181341

GUD!

Troki 2010/06/19(Sat)20:38 No. 196065 ID: ab583e
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Day 2, entry 5

They led me farther from the trade road than I ever would have willingly ventured. It was a mystery how they were able to keep their bearings. These woods may as well be endless. What could anyone be hiding from? Privacy is a boundless commodity, perhaps, but their shifting eyes and intent gaits further puzzled me.

What did Huml and Jeena forebear to inform me of? Did he lie to me? It is a nightmare to my nature to raise a dozen questions while answering none.

A scholar learns nothing in the comforts of his own mind alone, but... dare I raise my voice to accost these strange people?

No. They're not talking for a reason, just go with them until they start.

Troki 2010/06/19(Sat)21:18 No. 196085 ID: ab583e
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We've come to the white cliffs at the edge of the forest. Behind these steep clefts sprawl the foothills and the mountains. It would be a feat to pass them.


>>181339
There were few Talyxians in Rou. There were two families in residence, and a number of traders. I never did get out of my study during the market seasons. It was a frightfully busy time for me. For some reason which I never did fully grasp, my wife did not show me in public. She would leave for work and keep me at home to my work.

Sometimes I regret my many missed opportunities to have mingled with Talyxians. I am sure that there are many fine friends to be made among them.

>>181093
Well, it is a testament to shameful ignorance and hatred, but those were the days of the war. Rou is no longer a military outpost. We were once blind as citizens of the world, but now at last we can see.

>>181110
What is this...? I don't even...

Troki 2010/06/19(Sat)21:41 No. 196109 ID: ab583e
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There seemed to be a gate here, obscured in one of the numerous cave mouths along the cliff side. There is a dim light shining through. It looks ancient - ruinous even.

I followed the three people inside, watching the jagged cave walls turn to smooth stone. This is remarkable! Who would believe me to hear that there is a pass through the cliffs right under our noses? Who constructed it, and for what purpose, I still wonder. My curiosity seems tainted, still, by the thought that I may have been betrayed.

Troki 2010/06/19(Sat)21:51 No. 196118 ID: ab583e
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The unveiled Talyxian's voice shook me from my furrowed stupor.

"I find that it would be very shortsighted of my to simply trust you. I am not taking you into our quarters without conditions. If you did not look so much like a pilgrim who had no idea what he was doing, I would have you under arms right now."

His great boots clacked against the masonry. What peculiar feet these Talyxians had.

He continued, "The people that you saw must not have come through the woods. They are as dangerous as we have ever seen them. There have always been bandits, but there is something different. They have been organizing themselves over months. Congregating. Training. We had the mind to match them."

He looked back at me with those glowing, yellow eyes.

"It has been spoken to us that these woodlands would give birth to a great evil. I ask to give your fealty to us right now. Not to your home, not to Clan Shigu, and not to anyone else who hands you a tear of bread. To me, and to us."

>>196118
Consider this an opportunity to learn something of great importance. Still, see how much you can learn from them before you declare loyalty to a group you know next to nothing about. Voice your concerns.

>>196118
Tell him that you're a scholar. And your only loyalty lie with the scholary pursuits. To learn more of the world and its history. And as a scholar your place is to observe and record, not to affect the course of actions or even pass judgement on the actions of others.

Rule 1: Never agree to anything without knowing what it entails. Say that that is a -lot- to ask of someone who doesn't know anything about their motives or what they're even doing.

>>196118
I think you should probably agree to the terms.

>>196118
The Great Evil would use such tactics. Force those to serve them out of ignorance and fear. Take the sudden offer of alliance without being told why as being quite suspicious.

>>196118

"I don't even know who you ARE."

Tell him you don't even know who he is. Say that an oath made under duress doesn't typically count anyway.

Troki 2010/06/20(Sun)12:47 No. 196333 ID: ab583e
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>>196233
>>196149
>>196192
>>196302

I drew a breath as to bring my numb and befuddled limbs to rest, then coughed. "I... I am afraid that I cannot bring myself to pledge allegiance to your cause if I do not know what it is. I do not know even who you are. I do not mean to be disrespect-"

He remained silent. This was, perhaps, more daunting than any response that he could possibly have voiced.

>>196183

I decided to speak for my cause, "I am a scholar, you see... I mean to make my home in Gold Ring to extend my teachings to the students there. It is not my intention to become involved in any matters aside from that. I am merely an observer and a scribe."


There was a light at the end of this lengthy tunnel. I could see it as if a pin had breached the dullness. The Talyxian responded with such severity that even the other two, who had since removed their own hoods, recoiled in trained submission, "You are a scholar? Is that what you call yourself? You are an ignoramus. You cannot simply expect people to afford you the luxury of choice. If you want a choice, then you must have power. You are lucky that I am offering you help, so I will say this only one more time," he raised his voice again, "You would be damned and a fool to turn away this mercy."

He looked over his shoulder once again, seeming to recognize that I was trembling in fright by then. "You are weak like a child. I understand that you are fearful and confused. Just keep your beak shut, and things will be explained to you."

>>196333
Wait for the explination. Take notes.

>>196333
Stay silent, be reassured by whatever happens next, then agree.

Resist the urge to remind him that adult nevreans are like this, not just children.

>>196333

"You need to lighten up."

He is kinda rude don't ya think, anyhow just listen for now but don't get pushed into anything, remember you are light that shall bring knowledge to the Gold-ring so just stay calm.

"You do realize that finding random people and threatening them with harm unless they join you isnt a very good recruitment strategy. Unless you want everyone to hate you. Including me."