>>63233
First things first: check injuries. Force eyes open and make sure we aren't blind. See if arms can be moved and if doing so alleviates some of the pain. Try and lean forward, checking for discomfort that could be a broken rib. Unless we can't move at all which might mean broken spine, in which case we're pretty boned.

Let's try the eyes first. It's hard - the pain in your skull is actually causing you to wince, and the sheer effort it takes into opening one eye is enough to leave you dizzy. The bright, noonday sun fights the glazed shapes as you blink open the other one and-

...that's probably not good. One eye is slowly starting to pull into focus, but the other is seeing only red. You can still see, but it hurts to keep the red-colored eye open. Maybe that's the reason your head hurts so much: It might be cracked!

What feels like a superhuman amount of effort goes into moving your arms. Your fingers tighten around the objects in your hands - The left holds a portion of your cloak, the other has a ROLLED-UP PARCHMENT clamped tightly. Bits of colored glass and what look to be a few tiny fragments of metal cling to your shirt (in some cases, ringed in red) as you try to roll to your side.

Your vision turns from sky to a wall of buildings and side streets. Glass is scattered near you, and to you your left and behind you is an ominous looking tower. Another cry can be heard shouted from high up.

"TRAITOR! THE MAGUS IS DEAD! MIANNA'S SON IS DEAD!"

There is no unusual pain in the front of your chest. The large dent in your HALF-PLATE seems to have ensured that. Your back, on the other hand, probably should be looked at. It's hard to move you as it is - everything feels slow and heavy, and while you can still twist your head, it doesn't have the range of motion you once thought it did.

The throbbing in your skull gets faster as blood begins to pump again. You let go of your cloak to wipe at the red colored eye. Looks like it's just some blood, probably from the head wound.

After taking another breath to regain enough of a grip on your body, you look down to inspect for any further injuries.

The worst of it is your left leg. You don't know why, but you've seen that kind of injury before - It's been dislocated. An easy fix, barring you knew what you were doing. The right has a large piece of glass jutting out of it, cutting into the calf.

That's not the worst part, though.

The worst part is the blood splatters that are covering your torso.

Your head starts to fog again, you aren't sure what's happe-

"CAS! CAS ARE YOU THERE?!"

You look left just as a man comes into view. He appears to be a fighter, and looks worried. He seems familiar, but you're not sure why...

>(Small bump. I hope people will take a chance and give this a try. I promise to give one hell of a quest, but I can only do that with you guys. If anyone wants a quick synopsis of what the hell just happened, I'd be willing to give it to you.)

"Still breathin'. How bad is it?"

Inquire about possible injuries on your back and the blood on your torso

if we need it, get help poppin our leg back in, remove the glass shard and give our neck a roll to loosen up

Incidentally this quest has a lot of promise, i think the text only bit puts people off though, so ill reiterate.

>this quest has a lot of promise, to those with more than half an imagination.

Oh i went there /quest/

>>63249
>The worst of it is your left leg.
>That's not the worst part, though. The worst part is the blood splatters that are covering your torso.

... wut?



It sounds like we need to focus on getting out of here though. Your sitting in a pile of glass with leg injuries, with a large tower behind you and someone yelling from the tower that someone in the tower's been killed. And it doesn't take as big a leap as the one we probably just took to realize we had something to do with it.

tl;dr - GTFO of there!

>>63642

>"Still breathing. How bad is it?"

Your entire body is shaking as the man turns and bolts into the open square. As he gets closer, you do recognize him. A little. He's your old friend, that much you know. Tajri. You're not sure why you'd forgotten him. Probably the headache.

"Goddess preserve, Cas. You look like hell had it's way with you. For the last week." Tajri's hands move to remove the glass in your one leg. "Just breathe. You remember how this works..." He yanks the shard out as you let out a pained grunt, keeling forward into his shoulder as you try to and muffle the scream.

>"G-goddess...Why is it always that bad?"

"Because you're a wuss, Cas. C'mon, we need to get you out of here." Your body doesn't like the idea of standing, especially since your legs are stabbed and dislocated, but with Tajri's help, you manage to get back onto your feet. "We need to get off the street. Get you out of that armor." He pauses, goatee'd face shaking while he starts to laugh a little. "Did you really jump out that window? There are stairs, you know."

>"Not fast enough. The guards were quicker than you said."

You pause, starting to stumble with Tajri out of the open town center and into the more secure alleyway. After stumbling for a few moments, you come to a crossroads. Left will take Tajri and you the long way, which has less of a chance of running into the guard. The right is shorter, but there's a greater chance you'll run into the city guard. You're tired, and you're not sure you could survive a fight.

(Up to you now, guys. Left or right?)

>>63663
>Swords of Virtue
Why the hell did the subject field carry over? It never does that when I want it to. >_<


Anyway, let's go right! Caution never served anybody any good except for all the times it did! Besides... actually I can't think of any other good reasons. Still, we might be in a time crunch and the longer we take the more chance they cut off exits and whatnot.


Also, we forgot to check. Who are we? Let's do a memory check here. Full name? Gender? Profession?

>>63659

(I like to leave a lot of details up to the reader. I've always read like that, and it opens up an idea of painting an image of each and every person and scene as it comes.)

>>63663

(My bad on that. I had to step away midway through, and I forgot to edit out the first bit. I'll be more careful in the next few.)

>>63669
shit so we are directly involved in this

well i vote left

unless theres something distinguishing about the right that will allow us to get past any guard.

What about alleyways? Disguises? etc

>>63675

Just who the hell are we?

While stumbling along towards the right path, you manage to take a moment to take stock. Your name is Cas. You've heard it from Tajri enough to be sure of that. You are male, human, and incredibly exhausted. You're not sure how you ended up in the town square, on a pile of glass, and with cries of 'traitor' echoing the streets behind you. As for more recent memories?

>"Tajri? What happened?"

Tajri looks at you with a quizzical smile. "You delusional, Cas? You went up there to kill the Magus. Did you get the object we talked about?" Your hand twitches as you tap his shoulder with the ROLLED-UP PARCHMENT. He laughs as he ducks you into a doorway. "Good, good. We'll open it up once we get somewhere safe." You breathe a little and lean against the door wall as Tajri leaves you alone for a minute to look out on the more open alley. "You might not get a chance to set that leg... Couple guards are heading this way. Whaddya think, ambush or see if we can't fool 'em?"

You're chances would be good both ways. Ambushing the guards with your HOLDOUT DAGGER and Tajri's ELEGANT SHORT SWORD would make quick work of the lightly armed and armored guard. Fooling them isn't too hard either - Intimidation or a quick pay off would allow them to turn their heads the other way while they walk past, but only long enough to get to safety.

>"How close?"

"Minute or two they'll be turning the corner. A decision would be nice, Cas..."

(I'm going to come right out and offer something. Any part that ends in an ellipses is a decision for you guys. Keep it up!)

>>63701
I say we ambush them, before that though we should at least try to fall back into a tighter alleyway or doorway where our short weapons will have the advantage

after this, loot like crazy
disguises would be good

>>63722

>fall back, ambush

Falling back's not much of an option on your leg, and it's a little too late to try and race them into a smaller throughway. Tajri bumps an elbow against your arm, hand already drawing his ELEGANT SHORT SWORD from it's scabbard. You quickly draw your HOLDOUT DAGGER, bumping his shoulder with your hand to catch his attention.

>"Close," you say silently, pointing to yourself.

Tajri nods, and waits. Shadows come into view of the doorway, and three busied guards run past...

And out you both dive, Tajri jamming the blade of his weapon deep into the man's torso while you shove the steel of yours into the other man's throat and twist. Your knees buckle, causing you to tumble and catch Tajri and the now dead guard off balance. The third guard turns, horrified to see his two comrade's dead. He turns his head towards the tower, bellowing out, "HERE! I'VE FOUND THEM! THE LIEGE KILLER IS HERE!"

Tajri's on his feet again, weapon pulled free from his victim's corpse. He's at a disadvantage - The guard were carrying RITUAL POLEARMS (Halbreds) - and it's going to take a distraction in order to fool this man. Perhaps you could hurl your HOLD OUT DAGGER at him? Both dead guards have BACKUP SHORT SWORDS, so the loss of your weapon wouldn't be so bad. As for a disguise, you'll have to wait until you make sure this guard is dead.

Or you could try something else. Play dead, and try and signal Tajri to pull him closer to you. That way, you could stab him in the calf and Tajri could close in for the kill.

Or maybe there was something else in mind...?

Throw the dagger, then rearm yourself with a short sword.

The whole playing dead thing has too many ifs and maybes in it.

Throw the dagger, but throw it hard, i mean its not like we're gonna stab him with it, so we should at least try to KO or distract him.


Also if in the case that we're on the ground, and the enemy decides to charge, why not reach for a halberd?

>>63867
>>63883

>throw dagger, oh look a halbred

Why the hell not? You remember seeing something at the Festival of Blades the other year (Or maybe your mind is playing tricks on you again?), and the motion comes back to you. Grabbing the blade tip of your HOLDOUT DAGGER, you flick your arm and wrist in a single motion, sending it flying right into the man's foot. Not precisely where you were aiming, but it does the job of distracting him long enough for Tajri to sweep his weapon aside and move in for a strike. Tajri's ELEGANT SHORT SWORD explodes out of the man's back in a shower of ichor and blood, and the guard goes limp as your friend attempts to set him down.

"Nice throw, Cas. You might want to stick to the short bow, though. Let the pro's handle the knife wileding," Tajri taunts, pulling your HOLDOUT DAGGER from the man's foot and twirling it in his hand.

>"Just shut up and help me get this armor off. We can set up one of the guards to look like me and stop the pursuers for a bit."

Tajri nods, stooping forward to grab the myriad of BACKUP SHORT SWORDS and tossing them into the doorway. You may not be much help with your bum leg, but the two of you manage to loot the following from all three:

SLIGHTLY DAMAGED LEATHER BRIGADINE and LEATHER PAULDRONS
3 BACK UP SHORT SWORDS
RITUAL HALBRED
3 BAGS OF SILVER (Approximately 17 pieces)
GUARD'S CLOAK

"So you were saying something about..."

>"Yeah, put this body over here, and put the Halbred in his neck... Little harder, like you mean it, Tajri."

"Eeeehhww! What a mess. At least this way they'll be distracted for a bit."

A few moments of body repositioning (And redressing yourself into a more suitable disguise), You and Tajri admire a doctored crime scene. The three guards now lay awkwardly about - Two of them are stabbing the third in the head with their RITUAL HALBREDS, while their hands have been placed against their bellies to stave of a 'magical' evisceration.

>"A masterwork. I think it's better than a dwarven hammer."

"Oh, you know, I've had some practice. C'mon, the Inn owner's probably gettin' antsy. We'd better hightail it over there."

Using Tajri and the RITUAL HALBRED for support, you quickly exit back out on to a side street, stumbling towards the BLACK OAK INN.

"We'll get up to the room, then we'll set the leg. Just try and fake a limp or something."

You give Tajri a dour look before the two of you enter the Inn.

>>64620
Sounds like something id do, impromtu crime scene

shame modern games dont let you do this

>>64668

(I just had this great image in my head of the two of them standing over these three absurdly and awkwardly positioned bodies, nodding and going "Yup, that'll fool 'em!")

The BLACK OAK INN is little more than a hole in the wall. No wonder Tajri chose it when you made plans... You think you made plans. The pain in your legs is starting to subside a bit more, but your headache hasn't let up yet. As the two of you stumble in, you tilt your head down, trying to avoid eye contact with the Inn's only two patrons at the small bar.

"Oi, Friedrek! You got that room ready yet?"

The Innkeeper is busily wiping a stain on the counter, chancing a glance up at the two new comers. An impatient sigh drifts up from him as he mutters something under his breath. You can't quite make it out, but you're sure you heard the words 'trouble' and 'stupid addition' and 'should have never'-

>"Why's he bitching so much? Did you pay him yet?" You whisper to Tajri, who offers a shrug.

"Usual price for the back room. I guess it's because we ah... You know."

Ah. Right. Killing a Son of Mianna. Your mind wanders as Tajri catches the KEY TO THE BACKROOM, and the two of you head behind the bar. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice one of the patrons stand, and turn to leave. You motion to Tajri with you head, and he turns his to watch the figure walk out the door.

"...They shouldn't find us. The room's spelled, and it's not easily found."

At this point, you're a little too tired to care. Jumping out of a building and a two on three fight has left you rather exhausted. Soldiering on, the two of you Take a left behind the bar and head into the more secluded back room. You abandon Tajri's grip and stumble to the bed while he locks the door, turning the a small lever as he does so.

"Alright. Let's take care of that leg."

...KRIK-KRAK!

Moments later, the sickening pain and sound of your leg being reset (Along with your muffled, agony-filled screams) quiet down enough to test the results. You're still a little weak on it, and you won't be able to sprint for very long, but at least it's a start. You remember that you needed to check your back and neck for any other extraneous injuries you might have missed. Shrugging off the BRIGADINE and the PAULDRONS, you start rubbing your forehead. Damn this headache is-

You stop. That's odd. You don't remember having a bump like that on your head. Doesn't feel like flesh, either.

>"Tajri? Before you check my back, can you tell me what's on my forehead?"

Confused, your friend walks around in front of you while you lift your unkempt bangs out of the way. There, you witness several things happen all at once - Tajri's face goes from confusion, to shock, to anger, and again to confusion. He bats your hand away, index finger scrapping at the top of the bump while his thumb scratches the bottom.

"No, no, no, no, no! What the hell did you do?! This isn't how it was supposed to happen!"

This is all very confusing. The odd part is that the bump on your head doesn't feel like it was apart of you before you woke up. You remember the ROLLED UP PARCHMENT you were clutching in your hand (And had stuffed safely away until you got here), and raise the question to Tajri.

>"This have anything to do with that parchment I picked up?"

Tajri blinks, then practically dives to rip the parchment from your belt. Your left feeling a little out of the loop as he opens the thing and stares.

"The hell is this!? It's nothing but Ancient Language!!" He tosses you the parchment, which flutters numbly down to your lap. "You weren't supposed to use the SHARD OF MEMORY! You were supposed to give it to me! That was the plan, Cas! Kill the Magus, and take the Shard! What happened?!"

Tajri's anger is apparent now. His hand is on his ELEGANT SHORT SWORD, his face is bright red, and his lip twitches with unrestrained fury. You swallow, knowing that in your current condition (And from what you actually remember), that you're by no means going to win in a fight.

>"I don't remember."

"What do you mean you don't remember!?"

>"I mean I don't remember, alright!? I barely remembered who you were when I first got up! I hardly remember any of the plan, I don't even know who the fucking Magus was, let alone why we had to kill him! Goddess damn the notion, Tajri, I hardly remember my own past!"

Your friend's features go from angry to unreadable. You chalk it up to the idea that he's probably just as shocked as you are. Not remembering one's actions a few moments ago might relate to a spell, but to have it affect so far back?

"Alright. Alright, let me think a minute," Tajri states, hands going to the back of his head as he turns to pace the room. "What can you remember? Anything about the plan, what we were after?"

You remain silent, thinking quietly to yourself. Sifting through the corners of your mind only brings a few events forward - The Festival of Blades (You now remember it was from last year that you had seen that knife juggler), Something you can't quite remember from your travels to the south (As far as the southern Continent, but you weren't sure why you were down there), A fleeting memory of some woman (Probably a 'friend' of Tajri's - You do remember him to be something of a womanizer, which always made you uncomfortable), and a term that echoes through your skull in someone else's voice.

Princple Weapon-

You think there's more, but you can't recall the rest. You've got a few options here, as well.

You can opt to tell Tajri everything you remember all at once, or you can reveal one at a time and gauge his reactions. It might not hurt to ask a few questions as well. Judging by the concerned look Tajri's giving you every few moments, maybe you'll get a better sense of just what's going on around here.

>>64674
We can tell him about the Festival of Blades and the memory of the woman, but leave the rest out of it for now.

As for questions... "What is the Shard of Memory and what does it do? What were we going to do with it once we got a hold of it? And what is this thing on my forehead?!"

>>64678

>"One or two things come to mind. The Festival of Blades. I remember the knife jugglers. And a woman."

Tajri stops, turning to you with a raised eyebrow. "Woman? What woman?"

Taking a moment to gather the memory again, you try hard to remember the girl. The only thing that pops up is the woman's image again. It's fuzzy, and you can't make out that many details.

>"I don't know. Thought it was one of your girls. Blonde or brunette, I can't remember..."

Tajri offers a harsh laugh. "You just described all of Solus, Cas. You sure it was a girl?"

You nod. You also resolve not to mention going down south, nor the notion of the idea of the Principle Weapon. Maybe you were hearing someone say 'primary weapon' instead, anyway? You shake your head, heaving a sigh as you nod to your back.

>"Could you at least check for more glass? I've got this horrible kink in my neck."

While he rolls his eyes and goes around behind you, you think of how to ask the more important questions on your mind.

>"The SHARD OF MEMORY sounds kind of familiar. What's it do? And is there any connection to what's on my forehead?"

Tajri pauses from pulling a sliver of glass from your shoulder. You can feel the corner of his TRICORN HAT brush against your neck.

"...You really don't remember, do you?"

You shake your head. Tajri lets out a measured breath, removing another piece of glass as he starts talking, ignoring your protests of discomfort.

"The SHARD OF MEMORY is a very powerful Artefact of Mianna. Only Royalty is allowed to posses it. It's said to be able to conquer armies and subdue nations with only a thought from it's wielder. That," He says, grabbing your head and forcibly twisting it to the left until there are several loud -cracks!- "Is total bullshit. What it actually is," he continues, twisting your head to the right for a few more agonizing cracks, "Is an ancient, magical weapon capable of far more than that. It's a Weapon of Principle. That of the Mind." Tajri lets go of your aching nogging and neck and walks back in front of you, collapsing into a chair. "What the plan was was to use it to find the rest of them. The Principle Weapons, that is. What with all the disappearances and the cult activity, our plan - our job, as it were - was to make sure these artefacts were safe. As for how a magic super weapon got onto your forehead?" He shrugs, lounging deeper into the chair as he steeples his hands over his chest. "I really don't know. Something must have happened up there when you killed the Magus. You did have a lot of blood on you. Maybe it mistook you for a ruler?"

You're sure why, but that doesn't make sense. The blood had nothing to do with it. You try to recall more of why it wasn't that particular option when you start thinking. There's a lot more questions to ask, and a lot of stuff to do. INVENTORY would probably be a good thing to do before you go to sleep. You might have other questions about where you are, who Tajri is, who you are, what the Weapons of Principle are, and what's all this about a cult? And why do you remember a war? It's all terribly confusing as you hold your head and think of what to ask next...

>>64719

You're not sure why,*

This thing is not deleting my posts and I suspect it to be deleting words out of my prose.

Or maybe my mind is skipping them. Sorry for the bump.

>>64719
just ask what ever come to your mind

>>65391

>What's on your mind, Chap?

You really should organize your thoughts better. While Tajri broods in his chair, you take stock of what's most important on your mind. In a fit of delusion and perhaps paranoia, you start to take stock about what you remember about yourself.

You know your name is Cas. Your family name does not immediately come to mind. You feel old, but still able to fight. 30 something, you tell yourself. Maybe younger, maybe older. You were born in Mianna, and you've known Tajri since Childhood. You fought in the war together. What war that was, however, escapes you. Perhaps it's time to ask something else.

>"Hey Tajri... Mind helping me remember something?"

Tajri gives you a quizzical look before kicking his feet up again. "Sure. Ask anything."

>"How old am I? And did we fight in a war together, or am I just imagining things?"

Tajri blinks. After a pause to mull over each simple question, he asks, "That thing really messed with your noggin, didn't it?" You nod. Not knowing who you are is rather disquieting, and seeing as Tajri's you're only link to your past at the moment... Tajri shifts again in his seat, laying his head on the back of the chair. "You're 35. And we fought in the Reunification Wars about 5...maybe 6 years ago. If you don't remember, that's when Solus tried to take her colonies back, with little success." He tilts his head, waiting for the next question.

>"Tell me more about us. And the Cult. And all this business about the Principle Weapons."

Again, Tajri doesn't answer immediately. If you didn't know better, you'd think that he was trying to censor his answers. "We've been buddies for the last 20 years. We met when you were 15, and I was 12. You caught me stealing from a shop vendor, and forced me to pay the man. Then you took me to where you were going and we started training together. I swore that day I'd murder you for putting me in a class with boys three years my senior..." Tajri's laugh sounds warm and fond, and his smile etches his face with a permanence that looked like it belonged there. "We were inseparable after that. We'll, besides your daily devotions to Asktatosh and my other business. As for the Cults?" Tajri's smile fades, and he leans forward a bit, bringing his hands together in his lap. "They call themselves 'Cult of the Eternal Heartbeat.' They've been going around preaching something about earthquakes and Dwarven Miners to the east. I thought it odd when I first heard about them. Just another silly little cult, nothing to worry about. Then people started vanishing. I don't mean they wound up dead or kidnapped. Just simply vanished. Gone. The Cult claimed that had been taken by the Eternal Heartbeat, to the very heart of our world, to keep the world's blood pumping by adding their hearts to the world's. It's all a bunch of nonsense to me," he says, shaking his head and wiping his face, "but then they started to mention something very similar to the legends of the Principle Weapons."

Tajri looks up at you, twisting his chair and bringing his feet to the floor as he turns his full attention to you. "Legends said very little about these weapons. History's practically forgotten about them, and those that are surviving are said to be nothing more than family heirlooms of one kind or another. Like the SHARD OF MEMORY." He points to your forehead. "That shard is actually part of an Orb. The Orb of the Mind. There are three shards that I know about... from the legends, that is," he hastily adds. "They are held by royalty of Mianna: The Magus, the General, and the Ruler. We had to kill the Magus in order to get that shard. And now, I'm not even sure how it's going to help us." He pauses, licking his lips as he lifts a finger to halt the story a moment. "You want anything to drink or eat? You need the energy, and I could use something to drink."

You nod, watching him leave the door and leaving you alone in the room. Perhaps now would be a good time to take stock of what you've personally got on you? You shrug, and start laying out the items.

Weaponry:
3x BACKUP SHORT SWORDS
1x RITUAL HALBRED
1x HOLDOUT DAGGER
Armor and Clothing:
1x CITY GUARD LEATHER BRIGADINE (Slightly Damaged)
2x CITY GUARD LEATHER PAULDRONS
1x CITY GUARD CLOAK
1x COTTON UNDERSHIRT
1x LEATHER LEGGINGS
1x BAG OF COINS (Silver-17)

You decide to wait for Tajri to come back as you pack everything back up. It's not much, but you'll have to wait until you leave the city and find a trading outpost in order to get rid of any excess items.

Tajri returns just as you are finishing up with wrapping everything you're not going to need for the night away. "Hope you don't mind stale bread. It's all Friedrek had." You show how much you care by tearing into it and gulping the clear water out of the mug. Tajri slips back into his seat and starts sipping his own drink. "Anyway, the Shard is supposed to be able to locate the other weapons. I was worried that the cult was trying to use them, and since they suddenly vanished from Mianna as well..." He shrugs, looking back at you while you work on the bread. "I thought we might have more luck with that thing than anything else. So. I guess we'll have to see if we can't find someone who might be a little more knowledgeable than either of us are. We can't really go to anyone in Mianna, but I've got two leads we can follow. One's to the south, near the Ancient Ruins. The other's a bit trickier, since it's actually in the Goblin Merchant Fleets. Last I heard, they were gearing towards Vilous at full tilt. Either way, the first thing we'll have to do is get out of Mianna and get to Port Boca Rata." Tajri settles himself in the chair again, eyeing the door. "Either way, we both could use some rest. I suggest we stay the night, unless you'd like to try and slip out while the guard's still in disarray. You won't have mush time to heal your leg, but it might be a bit easier for us to avoid capture."

>>65523

(I'd like to also apologize for any spelling and grammar grievances. I am not good at self editing at 1 in the morning.)

>>65523
sneak out while bringing rations, sleeping bags, first aid kit and black cloaks

>>65833
>Gather supplies, Sneaking Mission

>"Maybe we should move when it's dark. Right now, I don't think I should be moving on this leg, but perhaps we should get some supplies together? We'll need darker cloaks in order to blend with the dark alleys."

Tajri lifts his head and nods, getting up once more. He moves over to the small bundle of loot you'd managed to organize, and plucks the small BAG OF COINS up from the mess. "Seventeen, eh? I can get us some cloaks with this. We really should load up on anything until we get to the midway point. Did you decide what we're going to do?" You shake your head.

>"I'll make that decision once we get to the port. Better there when we have an idea of the time it's going to take to travel to each place."

Tajri turns a little, offering a wry smile. "You, the cautious one? That's a first. Maybe that Shard's good for ya." He laughs a little more while he strolls over to the door once more, and leaves.

You are alone for a time. You take the opportunity to try and remember more about the Reunification War and yourself. Closing your eyes and lying back on the bed, you relax enough to fall into a fitful sleep...

______________


Your dreams are strange.

You dream of figures and shapes. Colors and sounds you cannot hear. Most of them are familiar in one way or another. A memory flashes past - Ah yes, that was your induction into the Knighthood of Askatosh! How could you have forgotten that. And there is you and Tajri causing trouble for a street vendor when you were young. The appearance of the woman returns, and this time, you make out more. Her hair was a darkish blond, almost brown. The memory was of a kiss, but you don't see anything else that sticks out immediately. More memories surface from the Festival, and you recall Tajri trying to outpreform the knife thrower. You recall a lot of surprised cheering, but nothing beyond that.

Other memories surface. The War in particular - You recall leading a group into the fray at one battle, and facing Cavalry with a lance group and some other men, and Tajri was calling out as you were hit by a berserker. The scene shifts to the aftermath. The stink of bodies, the ghostly cries of the wounded, tending to your own wounded shoulder-

"Cas. Wake up."

You wake, hand going for a weapon just as fast as Tajri grips your shoulders to halt you.

"Cas. Cas! Relax, it's me."

>"Tajri...Where did we fight berserkers?"

Tajri's face goes blank for a moment as he processes the information. "Berserkers? What kind? Vilousian, or Human?"

After a moment of thought, you shake your head. Details from the memory are no longer in reach as you look at the bag of supplies he brought in.

"It's dark now. Get dressed, we should get moving."

You hastily get up, and get everything ready.

>NEW INVENTORY! NEXT POST.

CAS' INVENTORY:

1xDARK CLOAK
1xGUARD LEATHER BRIGADINE
2xGUARD LEATHER PAULDRONS
1XCOTTON SHIRT
1XLEATHER LEGGINGS
1XHAVERSACK (Food for three days travel, basic adventuring gear, rope, and a COIN BAG [Silver-17])

WEAPONRY
1XRITUAL HALBRED
2XBACKUP SHORT SWORDS
1xHOLDOUT DAGGER

__________

TAJRI'S INVENTORY:

1XDARK CLOAK
1XLEATHER CURIASS
1XCOTTON SHIRT
1XCOTTON LEGGINGS
1XLEATHER BRACERS
1XHAVERSACK (Food for three days travel, basic adventuring gear, rope, a MAP, a COIN BAG (Silver-14, Copper-22)

WEAPONRY
1XELEGANT SHORT SWORD
1XBACKUP SHORT SWORD
1XBOOT STILLETO

You and Taj take a moment to work out all the bells and whistles. Tajri works out a final addition by covering the blade and point of your RITUAL HALBRED with a spare scrap of cloth. The two of you walk out of the undetectable room, surveying the place. The patrons that were here earlier have vacated, and Friedrek is not there. Tajri doesn't seem terribly worried about this as he strides to the door, motioning you to hurry up.

"C'mon. We'll need to keep to the alleyways to avoid detection."

Tense moments pass. You and Tajri keep moving, and stay out of sight long enough to reach the high-walled gates of the city.

"Ah, shit. I see another three from here. Maybe four."

>"You got anything to distract 'em?"

Tajri's head shakes as he looks around. "Maybe we can distract a two of them away, and sneak around the others?"

Searching the small alleyway produces a few WOODEN STAKES, a TARP, a BARREL, and some BOTTLES OF OIL.

"Enough to make a rudimentary firebomb," Tajri offers, nodding to the bottles.

>"Or, we can light the barrels and the tarp on fire and toss it at them. They might scatter enough to let us run through."

"Or we could 'accidentally' burn down a residence."

You punch Tajri in the arm for even thinking of such a thing! You may not remember being all that great a Knight of Askatosh, but damned if you aren't going to go around killing innocents! But what to do? Maybe Tajri can aim it at a building that isn't occupied. There is one, though it's a little further back towards the city.

You hold your head as your headache from earlier resurfaces, heralding stranger thoughts...

(Your go guys. And those are only ideas I have. Throw anything out there you might be able to think of!)

A distraction?

Cause some harmless chaos, divert. If you're careful about it, a blaze in the right area will divert anyone after you to the crisis. Light the barrels, and roll them AWAY from your position, making them into something like torches: burning bright, lasting a while.

Other than that, I can't think of anything, unless we can pull some crazy shit and leap from rooftop to rooftop.

Paranoia Agent 0 2009/10/19(Mon)21:56 No. 67119 ID: de913c
File 125601460026.jpg - (12.02KB , 500x400 , MOP001.jpg )

>>67067

(For the purposes of direction and general 'where the fuck are things', I will be including rudimentary top down images. Hope they clarify some things. Cas is indicated by the Grey Dot. Tajri is the Maroon dot. Enemies will always appear as black dots.)

>Leap from building to building

You don't recall having any magical scrolls that give you unlimited flight. Or ever wanting any.

Tajri wraps the TARP around the BARREL and douses it in oil. He saves one of the smaller bottles, and stuffs a small amount of the TARP he separated from the corner into the mouth. "We'll roll it to that abandoned building, then throw this at it. Hopefully, that should distract 'em enough."

"'Hopefully' being the keyword."

"Hey, we've had worse, right?"

You fail to answer that as you help to quietly roll the barrel to the entrance of the alleyway. Tajri silently counts to three before you both kick the barrel towards the empty building. It makes a wonderful clattering sound that causes the guards to turn their heads and ready their weapons. You quickly light the small bit of oil soaked TARP in the OIL BOTTLE, and Tajri tosses it high and out the sight range of the guards. The BARREL comes to a stop in front of the abandoned building, not a moment before the BOTTLE of OIL comes down, crashing into the side of the barrel and the side of the abandoned shack. Flames spread out across the ground and the walls, and four of the guards immediately run towards the fire, calling out while they begin to shout for a mage.

"Now or never, Cas. C'mon!"

You and Tajri leg it towards the gate. The other two guard were a little too busy watching the flames lick higher onto the building. It would prove to be a fatal mistake. Tajri bull-rushes the furthest guard, driving his shoulder into the man's gut while you slip off slightly to the left, impaling the other guard in the neck. Your momentum carries you into the door, which catches the pointed tip and sticks the man and the weapon fast. You grab the guard's dropped RITUAL HALBRED and slip past the large double doors as you hear Tajri slip behind you, pushing you out and onto the road. "Head for the treeline! Go, go, go!" The two of you bolt for the trees near the forest.

As you get closer, you hear a familiar, yet startlingly unpleasant sound whiz by your ears.

>"Archers!"

This could be bad. Your on open ground, and a cursory glance behind you marks at least ten archers firing at the two of your running. Mianna's bowmen might not be renowned for their accuracy, but if ten fired on the two of you...

Alright, so you decide this is very bad, and try to think of something to do to distract them. The fire you lit earlier isn't helping, as it's now grown to the point where they could pick you out amongst the dark background.

(Smaller update, but I'd like to experiment a bit here and hopefully get some more suggestions in. Thanks for your time!)