>>1100414
Alright, that's super useful to keep the jerk contained. But still, unreliable information is better than nothing... so long as it's something we can confirm with outside sources. I don't think we've caught him in an outright lie yet, but I sure as hell don't trust him.
Bakoth: Will what? What happens if the priest touches the box? Also, what does that curly symbol on the top of the box mean?

...now that we've silenced Bakoth, will he be unable to influence the others? The Geas is still in place, unfortunately, which means they will all try to open the box still, but so long as we are in control of the situation we can keep it away from them. That will of course mean we have to part ways with Mina... and get far enough away from her that the others can't track us down and try to steal the box as we sleep. We can't sleep here, either, because it would be best to leave while those two others are trapped in the jail.

I know we wanted to climb out, but... what about that river exit? If we have the key to that door, we can use that and it will be much harder for the others to figure out where we went, because rivers leave no tracks.

Check his pockets for gadgets and take his weapons. The rest has a low price-to-weight ratio.

Explain to Mina that we were trying to keep Roderick alive, but when it came down to the wire, we'd rather kill him than risk letting anyone else die. Mina had a sword straight through her torso, and every second she was courting true death. We stopped trying then.
We'd rather save someone we know we can trust than try to convert someone who could have been reasoned with.

This is interesting... Just a speculation: it's possible that the same way your cast of detect magic affect us in a way different to yourself, by our association a song from us could have some magical effect because you are a bard.

Ignoring Bakoth is good, but the real prize should be preventing him from influencing others. Ask Evel’yee if she have any invading thoughts.
Don't assume peace is a guaranty of success. It could be a trick: Bakoth laying low waiting for the right time.

When you return say that you found a way to keep Bakoth quiet, ask for confirmation as I said above, explain that you seem more resistant to his influence than others, and request that neither Mina nor Evel’yee touch the box for fear of what might happen to them.
I also think it's time to explain the mental compulsion, but be tactful with what you say because you are not convincing Evel’yee to go against her so it's better if you don't say anything that can make her turn against you. If possible you should explain that Bakoth is inside the box, but don't let Mina say anything against opening it in front of Evel’yee.
Lastly having just experienced the satisfaction of the fulfilment of your compulsion share this understanding with Evel’yee and ask about her perspective since she went with a similar but less intense thing as your temporary friend and now is free of it. Ask what what does she feel about it now. And also if she want to do it again sometime. It could be fun.

To Evel’yee:
Please forgive our girl. She was very happy to have you caring so much about her, even if it was just an illusion.

I feel that here were a few lose topics between us from before things got crazy, like distinguishing us, but they are of little relevance. If any of that is a curious subject you should be the one asking the questions.

>>1100416
>Also, what does that curly symbol on the top of the box mean?
That's the Yellow Sign. Don't dwell on it.

>>1100416

The curly symbol indirectly links to a cognitohazard. Focus your attention elsewhere.

Here's an elsewhere to think about, you looked absolutely adorable holding that box! You were just so happy!

And yea, better to enjoy a high than angst over it, no? That sort of mindset helps you get a good trip!

Anyway, I think you should get out of these ruins soon. Get on the route to some safe place where precautions can be taken and information gathered. I'm still a little hesitant to talk your ear off about things (or flirt with you! Eeee you are so cute when you are happy!) until you're at least out of that dungeon!

>>1100417
probably shouldn't steal from the corpse of a friend's friend.

>>1100414
Damn.
That was cute.

Mhhg. Okay.
To business.
Treat rodericks body with respect.
He paid the heaviest price this night and in doing so you will convey your reluctance to have felled him so.
Predistigitation cleaning. Pose him restfully. Close eyes and drape his cloak over him.
No looting slinky.
Hes got nice stuff, sure, but his status to the others is more important than a smattering of treasure and kit. Examine it, sure, but dont keep it.

Now, bakoth said something as you stifled him.
He was cut off but expressed fear at the prospect of the preist touching him and that it would have an effect on us both.
Possibly both.
It got cut off a bit.
This implies he has a corporeal form which i can only presume is the box barring anything else odd turning up in the search of roddy.
As to whether we let mina indulge in soMe box fondling, im not sure...

I get the feeling he was talking to us.
He could gave been blurting the truth and the jeopardy is either legitimate to us both or hes attempting a lie to leverage our sense of self preservation.
More fool him if so.
We dont have a sense of self preservation, only slinky preservation.

Secondly, it may be a last desperate ruse using reverse psychology.
Until we know for sure who stands to be harmed by such an action, we should exorcise caution.
We can still keep this knowledge in our backpocket if we ever interact with him again.

Tanna.
Dont feel bad about the source of satisfaction you felt on getting where you are.
Geas or not, you deserve a little joy after all that.
Its a good sign you are mindful of where it came from though.
In the full grip of the compulsion you would not think of that at all.
The fact you did tells me you're becoming stronger than the bonds that bind you.

>>1100414

Oh no! She's reached murderous levels of cuteness! She must immediately put on a very serious no nonsense frowny face before she kills us all!

Yeah, no looting. If anyone should get his stuff, it should be his friends.

You know, maybe before you lost your memories, you were able to keep him silenced before, just like now, which might actually put your pre-amnesia self in a better light.

If you get the stuff get it to show his friends and ask what they want to do with it. But hmmm.

Maybe just ask his friends what they want to do with his effects? Don't actually loot their friend?

We could very likely use the same White Magic we used to paralize Vax to resurrect Roderick tomorrow.

>*sniff* No, it's imposs-

It's a power not bound by the laws of physical reality, do not tell it cannot do something.

The only Power that could prevent Roderick from coming back is the Law of Drama, and it's not like we are stuck in a play. Unless...

>I will be part of this story.

Oh ho! So we ARE in a story!

Tell us, Bakoth, what do you know about the Yellow Man, the Thespian King, and his meddling in all this?

>>1101502

Sigh. So some of these mind-bending entities that people are referencing were considered fictional and not a hazard (due to being fictional). But they seem real to you, and to have power. Some idiot went and actually made them or caused them to be made, apparently.

1/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:11 No. 1101791 ID: 9bd6f5
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>you looked absolutely adorable holding that box! You were just so happy!
>Damn. That was cute.
>Oh no! She's reached murderous levels of cuteness!

O-Oh? Heh, I guess I did kinda get a little enthusiastic there, didn’t I? Gosh, now you all got me embarrassed…

>better to enjoy a high than angst over it, no? That sort of mindset helps you get a good trip!
>She must immediately put on a very serious no nonsense frowny face before she kills us all!
>Tanna. Dont feel bad about the source of satisfaction you felt on getting where you are.

A good trip… what I wouldn’t do for some crimson right now. And you’re right, I actually want to feel happy right now, damn the consequences. No frowning here! Guess you’re doomed, Winds!

>Alright, that's super useful to keep the jerk contained.
>Ignoring Bakoth is good, but the real prize should be preventing him from influencing others.

I have no idea how I even did that if I’m being honest. But as I was singing with you all, I started feeling something inside me, some kind of power.

>...now that we've silenced Bakoth, will he be unable to influence the others?

I’m fairly certain, yes. It’s the same feeling from before with Vax. I just kind of ‘know’ that it’s working like that.

>This is interesting... Just a speculation: it's possible that the same way your cast of detect magic affect us in a way different to yourself, by our association a song from us could have some magical effect because you are a bard.

You think so? I won’t lie to you all, I don’t really feel like I ever had any ‘musical’ talent before my amnesia. Like, with all these symbols, this room, poisons and spiders? They felt familiar. Music? Not at all. I really don’t think I was a ‘bard’ before all this.

>You know, maybe before you lost your memories, you were able to keep him silenced before, just like now, which might actually put your pre-amnesia self in a better light.

Maybe…? I… I don’t know.

...No, I do know. The way he was talking to me, it felt as if he was familiar with me, and he seemed genuinely surprised at being silenced. I think we may have been acquaintances.

Well not anymore! Fuck. Him!

>Now, bakoth said something as you stifled him.

He did. Something about not letting Mina touch ‘him’. I can only assume he means the box.

>He was cut off but expressed fear at the prospect of the preist touching him and that it would have an effect on us both. Possibly both. It got cut off a bit. This implies he has a corporeal form which i can only presume is the box barring anything else odd turning up in the search of roddy. As to whether we let mina indulge in soMe box fondling, im not sure...

I’m not sure either, out of all the things he could’ve said, why that? I remember back when Mina was explaining her first encounter with the box, the others prevented her from touching it. I think in Vax’s journal too… he said there were a bunch of runes on it that no one could recognize. I’m not sure what he meant though, I don’t see any runes…

Oh wait, the more I look at…

2/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:12 No. 1101792 ID: ffa44a
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>That's the Yellow Sign. Don't dwell on it.
>The curly symbol indirectly links to a cognitohazard. Focus your attention elsewhere.



>MENTALITY SAVE VS CURSE: 9(4[Roll] + 2[Warning] + 3[Mentality]) > 10 = FAILURE

A-Agh… hold on!

>MENTALITY SAVE VS CURSE: 11(4[Roll] + 2[Warning] + 3[Mentality] + 2[P▒ss▓n▓e░]) > 1▓ = S░C▓▒S▓

▓▒░▒▓ i▒ y░▒ s▓y so. I w▓n’t lo░k at i░ anymore. It kinda glowed f▒r a second there thou▒h… Hmm, I wonder, if Bakoth wa░ genuinely afraid of Mina touching the box, wouldn’t he have kept silent about it?

>I get the feeling he was talking to us. He could gave been blurting the truth and the jeopardy is either legitimate to us both or hes attempting a lie to leverage our sense of self preservation.

Well… I guess you could ask him? Assuming you have the ability to? I know I do, but I kinda don’t want to hear him for a while.

3/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:12 No. 1101793 ID: 9e8c18
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Private Conversation

...Seriously? Oh well if this isn’t the most one-sided bullshit.

>Will what? What happens if the priest touches the box? Also, what does that curly symbol on the top of the box mean?

Hmm...

...We’ll both die, ‘Tanna’ and I. Not what I’m actually scared of, mind you. It really would be a shame though, we have the beginnings of something truly interesting going on here. Tah, well, take it however you will. Out of all the lies a serpent spews, its truth is the most dangerous.

As for that symbol, wouldn’t you like to know? Might I suggest having your stupid doll stare at it again?

>Oh ho! So we ARE in a story! Tell us, Bakoth, what do you know about the Yellow Man, the Thespian King, and his meddling in all this?

Ah, so he does have some connotations from where you’re from. How interesting, you say he’s meddling in things? I do wonder why he took a particular interest in this story?

Well… as for what I know? Plenty! But for now I’ll just say he’s most certainly responsible for YOU all being here. Use what I know as a bit of leverage. I’d love it if you came back and talked with me some more! …Though I can’t imagine you harbor many positive feelings towards myself. Believe me when I say, I can be very patient. I’ll wait for you… hahaha.

4/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:13 No. 1101794 ID: fed219
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Returning back to Tanna.

Ugh.

Guessing you had a conversation with him? I got some kind of ‘empty’ feeling just now. It’s weird, but I could’ve sworn I got that same feeling twice before during that fight with Roderick. Did you have conversations with him earlier? …Ah well, I know your messages kind of come in ‘waves’. Could you regale me with what he said later?

>Sigh. So some of these mind-bending entities that people are referencing were considered fictional and not a hazard (due to being fictional). But they seem real to you, and to have power. Some idiot went and actually made them or caused them to be made, apparently.

I’m uh… not entirely sure what you mean? I got a thought bouncing around about some kind of ‘Thespian King’.

Hmm… something about it does kind of ring familiar, but I’m not entirely sure why… ah well. What does the name mean from where you’re from Winds?

>Check his pockets for gadgets and take his weapons. The rest has a low price-to-weight ratio.

>probably shouldn't steal from the corpse of a friend's friend.
>Yeah, no looting. If anyone should get his stuff, it should be his friends.
>Maybe just ask his friends what they want to do with his effects? Don't actually loot their friend?

Ehhhhhhhh fine. I won’t take his stuff. That’s probably the respectful thing to do.

>The Geas is still in place, unfortunately, which means they will all try to open the box still, but so long as we are in control of the situation we can keep it away from them. That will of course mean we have to part ways with Mina... and get far enough away from her that the others can't track us down and try to steal the box as we sleep. We can't sleep here, either, because it would be best to leave while those two others are trapped in the jail.

As far as I remember, Mina doesn’t have that compulsion, only Evel’yee does. Though to be honest…

>I feel that here were a few lose topics between us from before things got crazy, like distinguishing us, but they are of little relevance. If any of that is a curious subject you should be the one asking the questions.

Distinguishing you all? I know you all are different individuals, it’s just kinda difficult to remember that sometimes. One of you called yourselves Fox earlier when Bakoth was in my head, but if you asked me to identify them now, I’d probably have a hard time. You definitely have mannerism that I can pick up on, but yeah…

Speaking of loose topics though, that stupid rat is still somewhere in this room. I can smell them. How though? The door is closed and there’s no other way out of here. I don’t even see any small holes it could come in or escape from…

>Anyway, I think you should get out of these ruins soon. Get on the route to some safe place where precautions can be taken and information gathered. I'm still a little hesitant to talk your ear off about things (or flirt with you! Eeee you are so cute when you are happy!) until you're at least out of that dungeon!

Flirt with me? A-Ah?

W-well, I don’t see any reason to stick around in this room! I need to get out of these ruins as soon as possible. It’s really bringing down my high from getting the box. Stuffing it inside my backpack and grabbing my chakram, I’ll slowly open the door out.

5/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:13 No. 1101795 ID: 2512ac
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Stepping out of the ritual room. “Mina? Evel’yee?” It’s dark… why is the door down the hallway closed? Their scents are nearby…

Suddenly, moonlight begins to stream in and I can see the two of them… EEK!

“Don’t move, Tanna.” Evel’yee coldly says as her arrow is trained on me. “You’re talking to us. I fucking swear, if I hear a voice in my head that isn’t my own you’re getting an arrow through your skull.”

“Sorry. we just… we’re not sure if you’re safe… or what was going on earlier…” Mina quietly says behind her, dagger in hand. She struggles to maintain eye contact. “We don’t… need to be rude about this Eve…”

“Talking, right! I can do that! Just put your weapons down… please?”

>PERSUASION CHECK: 12(3[Mentality] + 9[Roll] + 2[Effective] - 2[Untrusting]) > 7[DC] = SUCCESS

Slowly, Evel’yee lowers her bow, though she still keeps the weapon well in hand. “Start explaining then. What the hell’s been going on?”

>If possible you should explain that Bakoth is inside the box, but don't let Mina say anything against opening it in front of Evel’yee.

Alright… I slowly go to take out the box again, holding it aloft for them to see… “You’re familiar, right? There’s some kind of creature in here… these past few days, it’s been whispering into you and your friends minds, making you think it was what you were thinking, these awful things and making you want to hurt each other. Its name is Bakoth.”

“And why isn’t… why isn’t it doing that right now?” There’s a bit of a fearful inflection in her voice. Mina shivers behind her.

>When you return say that you found a way to keep Bakoth quiet, ask for confirmation as I said above

“I’ve uh, somehow found a way to keep him quiet. You haven’t heard a voice, have you Evel’yee?” I say as calmly as possible.

“No, but…”

“You’re… holding it. That awful thing. He could just be hiding inside you…” Mina hisses, clenching her dagger. “You could be lying to us. You might be harboring that monster.”

“It could never directly control anyone while they were conscious, otherwise it would’ve murdered you a long time ago Mina. Your friends refused to kill you even while Bakoth was constantly trying to get them to, think about that.” They might’ve hurt her but still… a week down here with that piece of shit manipulating everyone.

>Explain to Mina that we were trying to keep Roderick alive, but when it came down to the wire, we'd rather kill him than risk letting anyone else die. Mina had a sword straight through her torso, and every second she was courting true death. We stopped trying then. We'd rather save someone we know we can trust than try to convert someone who could have been reasoned with.

“I’m sorry Mina. I didn’t want to kill him, but he was trying to take you out with him. Each passing second could’ve been your end. Your life took priority over his.”

“She isn’t wrong about that.”

6/6 Tanna 2024/12/31(Tue)18:35 No. 1101800 ID: 9b5e9d
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Upon saying that, she turns away, tears pricking her eyes again. “It’s not your fault, it’s… it’s… I just should’ve been better.” She lets out a shuddering laugh and clutches at her chest. “Never good enough, haha…”

>Let the others feel their loss but dont allow them to blame roderick, you or themselves. The enemy who did this was beyond retribution this day, but that will not always be so.

“It’s not your fault either, Mina. It’s Bakoth’s. He’s the reason for all of this, don’t blame yourself.”

All those words seem to make her do that hollow laugh even more. Shaking her head, she says, “Heh… I appreciate it Tanna. I trust her Eve, she isn’t that monster.”

Evel’yee doesn’t seem as convinced however, she continues to look at me distrustfully.

>I also think it's time to explain the mental compulsion, but be tactful with what you say because you are not convincing Evel’yee to go against her so it's better if you don't say anything that can make her turn against you. Lastly having just experienced the satisfaction of the fulfilment of your compulsion share this understanding with Evel’yee

“You still feel it, don’t you?”

“What bullshit are you spewing now?”

Holding the box a little higher towards her, “Even knowing what this thing did to you, you still want to open it.”

“No… no, you seriously can’t be… after everything?”

I see Evel’yee visibly stiffen, even she knows it’s crazy. “I’ve got a similar compulsion, I know what it’s like. Unnatural, but I can’t turn away.”

She’s breathing hard now. I can see it in her eyes. “Yeah? Yeah, I do mother fucker. I wanna open it and kill the thing inside, tear it apart for what it did to me. You gonna get in my way?”

Is that how she’s going to justify it now? I can work with that.

>explain that you seem more resistant to his influence than others, and request that neither Mina nor Evel’yee touch the box for fear of what might happen to them.

“No, no! I’m absolutely not looking to get in your way. Actually, I really want to help you with that! Whatever Bakoth was doing to you almost made you do something self destructive… just imagine what he’d be doing now if I wasn’t keeping him silent.” It’s a little manipulative, but she does kind of need me. “As I said before, I’m keeping the monster inside silent, I want him dead too. Also, if I was being controlled by him, wouldn’t he just do what he was doing to you before?”

“STOP… bringing it up.” She snarls at me. She seriously looks like she wants to let her bow loose, her fur is bristling and her hold on the string is shaking. Did I push the wrong point?

Mina bends down slightly to get level with her. With a quiet voice and making note not to touch her, she simply says her name. “Eve…”

A tense moment passes, the two of us just waiting for what she’ll do until she finally snaps. “FUCK YOU! FINE! GODS DAMMIT! Dammit… all to fucking hell… fine.”

Evel’yee lowers her bow seemingly defeated, all the aggression in her little form dispersing quickly. Putting her bow away, she looks up at seemingly nothing. With a sad and self-loathing smile, she shakily says, “Man… man I am SUCH a fucking tool. Just ALWAYS getting yanked around constantly, aren’t I? Like my role in life or something, haha. Pathetic.”

“No… that isn’t…”

“Hah, don’t pretend you weren’t a part of that little stunt with the charm earlier.” She says a little sharply, but there isn’t any real malice behind it. Even still, Mina recoils slightly. “Look, I get why you did it, it just… sucks. Everything about this is such fucking trash. Gimme a sec.”

Evel’yee places her back against the wall and slides down until she’s sitting. Taking a deep breath, she then pats her fist against her collarbone and shakes off whatever bad emotions existed. After a moment to compose herself, she trains her eyes towards me. “Well, fuck it. Guess you gotta hold onto it for now, eh? Wouldn’t be safe otherwise.”

I quietly nod my head at her, a moment of silence passing until I hear Mina speak up. “I don’t mean to ignore all that… but I’ve got a lot of questions Tanna. That monster’s still in there, just suppressed by you somehow?”

“Er… yeah. I kinda genuinely don’t know how I’m doing it to be honest, but I am.”

She narrows her eyes at me. I’m being truthful! “Well, it holds some responsibility for killing my friend, and I want it destroyed. But just what the heck was it trying to do? So many weird motives. Why stick around here in the first place? And also it really seemed like it didn’t want me to touch it. It made the rest of my friends align with that goal as well. Why Eve, what did you feel?”

“I ain’t sure about the sticking around part. I didn’t really question it as much as I should have, Roderick seemed insistent. As for not letting you touch it, it must’ve manipulated me not to let you, though it really did feel like it was my own thoughts. Something about it being unsafe, playing with my head like that…” Evel’yee takes out her dagger and starts to spin in it around in her hand. “It had been weird at the time… even Jacob pulled me to the side and asked me why we did that. The two of us went to ask Roderick, but by the time we got to him, it seemed so trivial. And then the days kept passing, and the thoughts more and more vicious. Just constantly dark and sinister, wondering when the thread was going to snap between everyone. But the one about you touching the box, that one was forefront. I knew something terrible would happen if you managed to. Eventually it got so bad that that uh… it’s the reason why Jacob and I attacked you.”

There’s a visible shiver that runs through Mina when Evel’yee brings up how they were manipulated. It’s pretty creepy honestly. As if shaking something off, she turns to me. “Why though? How come that monster wanted to kill me so badly compared to everyone else? Couldn’t it have just enthralled me along with them? And also… what the heck were those other voices from earlier? Not the… I guess the one belonging to Bakoth, but the ones that seem friends with you.”

Evel’yee’s whiskers twitch upon mention of the other voices. “Ah yeah, shit, I kinda forgot. What was that? They were kinda weird, but definitely not malicious like that cunt in the box.”

I’m starting to think my past self didn’t like talking to others very much, I am quickly getting exhausted of explaining things. Winds, could you help here?

>To Evel’yee:
>Please forgive our girl. She was very happy to have you caring so much about her, even if it was just an illusion.

Classical.

Evel’yee’s eyes go a little wide when the message is sent her way. A small smile creeps up though, first genuine looking one in a while. “Haha, alright. I forgive her for the charm, it was for the best. Though did you really feel that way? They’re just some voices that belong to you?”

“Sorry for yelling at them earlier, I wasn’t in the best state of mind.”

>ask about her perspective since she went with a similar but less intense thing as your temporary friend and now is free of it. Ask what what does she feel about it now. And also if she want to do it again sometime. It could be fun.

“I’m not sure who or what they are to be honest? They only came to me recently. And uh… they’re quirky, alright? Right now, they’re asking me if you’d want to be charmed again in the future?”

Her fur suddenly bristles and her gaze turns wickedly sharp. “No. And I ain’t sure how it works, but let them know never to fucking suggest that again.”

Eesh! That was a bit hostile... “Er… don’t worry, they heard.”

There’s some awkward silence until Mina lets out a small cough. “Ehm, about me having not touched it…” I’m dying here.

“O-Oh, sorry Tanna. I guess I’m kind of barraging you with questions. Maybe once we’re above ground? I really do want to get out of here, but I need to… say goodbye to Roderick first.” Her voice carries a shaky tone as she says that.

Evel’yee pauses in twirling her knife and holds it up to look at her reflection. “Yeah, I suppose I do too.” Apparently she doesn’t like what she sees, because she stabs it in between the cracks of the floor and chips away at some dirt angrily. “...Wish my last words to him had been a bit better.”

>That will of course mean we have to part ways with Mina... and get far enough away from her that the others can't track us down and try to steal the box as we sleep. We can't sleep here, either, because it would be best to leave while those two others are trapped in the jail.

>I know we wanted to climb out, but... what about that river exit? If we have the key to that door, we can use that and it will be much harder for the others to figure out where we went, because rivers leave no tracks.

What should I say to Mina’s question about touching the box Winds? I guess it’d help to know what Bakoth said. And also, should I consider leaving them behind? I could pretty easily do so when they go to pay their respects. I remember the river exit being behind some kinda gate. I never did check whether it was locked or not, though I do have a key in my pack. That water was pretty torrential though…

I dunno, I don’t exactly hate them, even if they’re kind of exhausting to talk to. What do you think Winds?

Fox here again. For your information, I have reason to believe that there are so many competing effects mucking about with you, your mind, your perception, curses on you, etc. that you are going to need some expertise to untangle them all. It's not always a good idea for us to mention them as we perceive them happening, though no doubt some of my companions are about to do JUST THAT unwise thing. For what it's worth, I suggest staying with these people, and bring up the idea that there might be multiple things messing with you in multiple ways. And ask where one might go to begin untangling all of that crap? Also, see if you can cover the box in cloth maybe, without looking at it, so it can be manipulated without looking at any of the facings. That's it from Fox for now.

>>1101793
To Bakoth:
Why the hell should I keep talking to you if you're going to withhold information and give bad advice? You better say something helpful right now or this is the last time I contact you. You're certainly not helping yourself with that serpent thing.

>>1101794
>thespian king
The King in Yellow. The Unspeakable One. Him Who Is Not to be Named... It is an eldritch entity associated with stage plays and faces. We know its true name, but to speak it would invite calamity. Like all Great Old Ones, deep knowledge of it, and its very presence, can drive you mad.
The rat must be someone or something powerful, in disguise. I think they're helping us, since *something* gave you enough of a boost to prevent the symbol's curse from fully taking hold.

>mina touching the box
He said you and him would both die if Mina touched it, and yet that's also not what he was so afraid of, which implies something even worse than death will happen to him. Of course, if that's true, then if that happens inside that room both you and him will experience True Death. ...that implies you have not done that in any other (previous?) iteration of this story. I wish there was some way of knowing if he's telling the truth. I don't think we've gotten any verified lies from him yet, though, and he said something about a serpent's truth being more dangerous than lies. That's certainly true; giving truthful yet incomplete or misleading information can be just as bad as lying.
Hmm, Mina's seen the symbol on top of the box already, right? Ask if she recognizes it. You can tell her about the King in Yellow if you want, maybe she knows something there.

>>1101792
Odd.
Potent symbol.
Hard to focus upon.

>>1101794
We shall slinky, for sure.
Brief preview though, he's every bit as punchable as you remember.

>>1101800

To evelyee : hello there. I apologise for the intrusion but, please, feel no guilt over those words.
What he spoke were not his thoughts given voice but bakoths weapons.
Words like arrows aimed to wound you.
I only know a little of roderick but from what i do leads me to believe he wouldnt have been hurt by your words.
If anything, he'd have been proud to see you fighting back against a most cruel foe.
Prouder still to know you both live and the foe who used him failed.
Feeling guilt here would be giving bakoth a small win.
He deserves nothing.
Victory here belongs to you, mina and even roderick for i can assure you while his fight was not physical, he was still fighting alongside you all.
I...
I'll go now.
Feel loss, feel pain, honour your friend, but feel no guilt. Not for this.

Back to tanna:
What to tell mina?
Truth, if we can.
That bakoth told us letting mina touch the box may start an event chain that leads to his destruction but also tannas and we dont know if that claim is a ruse or desperate self preservation. Until we can tell for sure, we cant know the consequences.
Share that.
Speak with honesty to your friends.

As to our thoughts to share...
I dont know slinky.
I suspect he figured out something ive been sounding out and tiptoeing around for a while.
Unsure of what can be heard and by who, ive been as circumspect as i could be.
What ive been trying to figure out is if breaking bakoths connection, by mina or otherwise, will break our connection to you.
The two seem entwined in some fashion, or of a similar type.
But, yes. If breaking the box and bakoth breaks us?
I think he knows thats a price id pay if you survived tanna.
I suspect im not alone in that.
So...
im wondering if his inclusion of you as a potential victim is him tying his destruction to something, well, someONE we value so we dont pursue that goal.

I... I dont know how to discern the truth here with the resources at hand.

She's alive isn't she? Might be good to remind Evel'yee that being charmed is better than being dead, after she killed you, and then Bakoth killed her. You just wish there was something you could've done to save Roderick too. None of them deserved to get roped into this.

Mina is feeling really helpless right now. She should know that Bakoth wants to kill her because her faith to that fucking butterfly is his most serious threat. She's more powerful than she thinks.

Maybe... don't tell her that she's also your most serious threat. Bakoth didn't sound like he was bluffing, when he said it would kill you too.

Oh also uh, there's a guy you kind of paralyzed back there. Probably don't wanna leave him like that.

>What does the name mean from where you’re from Winds?
I told you not to dwell on it. If you really want to know I can resume like this:
He's a god of love. The path of false masks, madness and death. A king that rule over desolation.

>that stupid rat is still somewhere in this room
Unless you have a wide area of effect attack there is not much to be done. Maybe remind Mina and Evel’yee of it's presence.

>Just ALWAYS getting yanked around constantly, aren’t I?
To Evel’yee:
Well, we can yank you around with the gentlest of touch. What do you say? Cards on the table and the general goal of reaching a happy ending. (Several, if we can help.) Up for more ocasional head nudging and cheering of your sharpshooter skills?

To Mina:
Don't sweat it kitty cat, I understand. This lost must weight heavily on you.
I believe your choice at the time was the best course of actions for the purpose of saving Roderick's live. Unfortunately it was too luck dependent and you were not lucky enough. I hope this help you feel better.
And I'm sorry for going over Tanna with the explanation but I will be brief: The strongest mental influence from the box comes from the king, and the king is above Cassilda. Even if it's undesirable for Bakoth that you touch the box it would certainly still be bad for you to do so.

And Tanna, just to be clear, Bakoth gave an absurd reason for why it would be bad for you but I don't believe a word of it. Still I would prefer if Mina don't get in contact with this thing.

>What do you think Winds?
There is merit in the idea of abandoning them now. They would pursue you, but I can't say for certain that cooperating would bring more benefits than detriments. It may be a selfish choice, but I far prefer if you stay with them. I want you to have friends and to see the end result of all you did for them.

Suggestion 2025/01/01(Wed)14:18 No. 1101830 ID: a671e8
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>Distinguishing you all? I know you all are different individuals, it’s just kinda difficult to remember that sometimes. One of you called yourselves Fox earlier when Bakoth was in my head, but if you asked me to identify them now, I’d probably have a hard time. You definitely have mannerism that I can pick up on, but yeah…

Some adopt names, but for something more reliable that work for everyone I can give you a tip: Pay attention to our ponies.
They are assigned to us and change from time to time. One can have multiple ponies associated but the same pony won't be associated to different people.

>>1101805
Magic Bud.

>>1100417
Rainbow Mountain. For the wind called kome.

>>1101804
Cherry Bee. For the wind calling himself Fox.

>>1100445
Mauve Dusk Daisy. For the wind named Will-O'-Liquid.

>>1101811
Yellow Star Flutter

>>1101810
Rain Buzzer. For the one that goes by Trip.

Mine is currently Sandy Rose.

You've being far less constant in this regard than us. You had an entire stable.

For the winds:
If you know I know why you know.

Also for the winds:
>>1101800
This is a dating game selection screen. Choose wisely.

>>1101830
This is insanely cute, nice job! Will make for a fun response.

Nobody knows why an elder god would have a favorite color, or even pretend to have a favorite color. I've seen his handiwork, though. Street gangs in noble attire. Spare bodies in a drowning city. A willingness to destroy entire worlds even while he sips their tea and wears their fanciest clothes.

The Yellow King, and his minions, the 'little kings', will do anything to get what they want. But they're smart about it, and hold themselves back. For them, winning is just a matter of living long enough to see their plans come to fruition.

He puppets spare bodies, typically males. Shooting one in the head with a future-tech bow does nothing to him. And I'm sure that whatever you think is in that box, it's not their core. Destroying the box seems to be too great a risk - if it's reverse psychology, that's just a shade of the real god and releasing his energy would screw your world over. If there is a solution, we would need the assistance of another elder god, or something of equivalent power and influence, and we'd need to give them the box for study.

So that's the plan. Find a way to deliver this to a greater power who really wants the Yellow King dead, or find a place we can seal it away until civilization Makes Contact on amicable terms.

>>1101830
A pony, eh?
Hmm.
Makes sense.
I talk that much its no wonder im a little horse.
...
..
.
I... I'll just wait over here.
Sorry.

>>1101830

...I completely forgot that was a thing.

1/11 ??? 2025/02/12(Wed)12:14 No. 1103656 ID: 63a958
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>>1101830

…What in the…

3/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:14 No. 1103658 ID: 95e195
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>>1101830

Eh? What the heck? Hey, what are these cute looking ponies? I’m not the one imagining that, am I?

>Some adopt names, but for something more reliable that work for everyone I can give you a tip: Pay attention to our ponies. They are assigned to us and change from time to time. One can have multiple ponies associated but the same pony won't be associated to different people.

Oh! There’s a way to associate you all with… ponies? Hehe, I can see them! They’re all blushing and look like they’re having fun! They have some pretty weird colors for horses, but honestly that makes them cuter! Especially that upside down one, I think they’re my favorite!

But… uhm… I don’t really know what you mean? How do I associate you all with a pony? I can sort of “understand” those numbers in this message, they lead to other messages that I presume are the ponies names and written by those people? How come you get horses assigned to you by the way? Does everyone from where you from get an assigned horse?

Sorry, getting off topic. It’s just super fascinating actually! I didn’t know you all could even do that, conjure some kind of… drawing in my head! It is a drawing, right? It looks like they’re drawn. Also, what do you mean when you say I’ve had an entire stable? Mhm, maybe I’m not understanding properly?

It’s a bit confusing. Do I also have a pony? Or maybe you mean I’ve had multiple? Weird. Also, revisiting this point, I don’t know how to associate your messages with ponies. There doesn’t really seem to be any… indication for that? You’re just messages that sometimes lead to other messages to me.

It’s nice to have your names though. Hi Kome, Fox, Will-O’-Liquid, and Trip! And for those that weren’t named, Magic Bud, Yellow Star Flutter, and Sandy Rose! Hi to you too! Thanks for guiding me!

>A pony, eh? Hmm. Makes sense. I talk that much its no wonder im a little horse.

*snrk*

4/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:15 No. 1103659 ID: 4c3ae8
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>For what it's worth, I suggest staying with these people, and bring up the idea that there might be multiple things messing with you in multiple ways.
>There is merit in the idea of abandoning them now. They would pursue you, but I can't say for certain that cooperating would bring more benefits than detriments. It may be a selfish choice, but I far prefer if you stay with them. I want you to have friends and to see the end result of all you did for them.

Hmm…

Well… hrm, dang. Why am I feeling so conflicted about this? A part of me is saying that I barely know these people, why should I stick around? I have what I want, and it’s kind of tiring to talk to them.

But there’s another part of me that’s also kind of excited? Anxious? Something about it all feels fresh. Mina’s alright, even if she’s a Cassilda worshipping freak, and Evel’yee isn’t too bad either despite her telling me she’d murder me like… three times so far? Not sure.

...I think if it were purely my decision, I’d leave. But uh… I’m not too confident I’ve made good decisions in the past, and you all haven’t steered me wrong yet. So sure, I’ll stick around. Hells, they might be able to help out with all the weird shit happening around me too, as you’ve mentioned.

>Guessing you had a conversation with him? Could you regale me with what he said later?

>We shall slinky, for sure. Brief preview though, he's every bit as punchable as you remember.
>Tanna, just to be clear, Bakoth gave an absurd reason for why it would be bad for you but I don't believe a word of it.
>He said you and him would both die if Mina touched it

What? W-We’d both die? Such a strange reason… how would it kill both of us?

>So… im wondering if his inclusion of you as a potential victim is him tying his destruction to something, well, someONE we value so we dont pursue that goal.

That makes sense, but then why even bring attention to it? Obviously he doesn’t want Mina to touch the box, so much so that he didn’t even want to risk it happening accidentally with him saying nothing.

So he’s either really desperate and lying about it being bad for me, or he’s telling the truth somehow. Ugh… he never seemed that desperate if I’m being honest. Even when he was losing that fight. I’m not sure what to make of his warning.

>implies something even worse than death will happen to him. Of course, if that's true, then if that happens inside that room both you and him will experience True Death

True Death. Is that something he’s really scared of? That room the box was in, it had to do with ‘True Death’. Apparently it was used to kill… beings like us. If he was afraid of something like that, why would he stick around for so long?

5/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:17 No. 1103661 ID: 470e8d
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That term though, the idea of True Death? Winds… I know I’ve said that a lot of things have felt familiar during our short time together, but there’s something about that feels… even more familiar about the term, “True Death”. As if it resonates wholly with me in some way, something intrinsic. It reminds me of that feeling of killing Roderick, that “rightness”. Something different than the way people normally die, no more being reborn, no more second chances. And the idea of having it happen to me feels… strange.It’s terrifying, but there’s some strange comfort associated with it as well.

>...that implies you have not done that in any other (previous?) iteration of this story

Well yeah, I guess if I suffered this “True Death”, I wouldn’t be around, but…

What do you mean by… story?

6/11 Who? 2025/02/12(Wed)12:19 No. 1103662 ID: 47313d
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...This story? That word…

Story… why does that word… I haven’t truly died in this story? What do you mean, what story are you… oooghh. What… what is going on? My head feels like it’s… splitting. What am I… I-I’m seeing… so many things. Different lives, different stories… times as a sightless seer, or a prisoner trapped in the earth, a cast-away princess, an orphaned street-rat. Who am I now?

In all, there are constants. Always hunted… and in many of them, dying. Oftentimes a blessing… compared to some of these, other stories.

Again? How? These aren’t her memories, it shouldn’t be poss- …s-shoot, ignore me!

Hiding Hidden Messages

These lives… coalescing. Tonight, the cliff… running with the box. A narrow path followed to lead me there, but there are others like it. Some succeed, but many of them die. Different paths…

All of them, stories… told… an infinite amount of times. No matter the trail, no matter who I am. Thousands upon millions upon billions upon trillions upon infinite worthless lives… no escape… always ending in the same way… no point to any of it.

..............................

7/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:20 No. 1103663 ID: 870478
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Oh, my head… W-Winds…?

“Moons above, the fuck’s going on with you?” I’m being… propped up by Evel’yee and Mina. What happened?

Blurry… I meet Mina’s eyes. Did I hurt myself, why does she look so worried? “Tanna? Are you okay? You spaced out for a bit there, then suddenly fell and hit your chin.”

I… what? Was I really that tired? I can taste some blood in my mouth. “I must’ve passed out… sorry for worrying you.”

“Okay, good to hear. Was worried you might’ve bitten your tongue pretty badly there.”

With their help, I manage to stand by myself once more. Eaugh, I was feeling pretty energetic earlier, but now I’m feeling… exhausted.

>What to tell mina? Truth, if we can. That bakoth told us letting mina touch the box may start an event chain that leads to his destruction but also tannas and we dont know if that claim is a ruse or desperate self preservation. Until we can tell for sure, we cant know the consequences. Share that. Speak with honesty to your friends.

>She should know that Bakoth wants to kill her because her faith to that fucking butterfly is his most serious threat. She's more powerful than she thinks. Maybe... don't tell her that she's also your most serious threat. Bakoth didn't sound like he was bluffing, when he said it would kill you too.

>I would prefer if Mina don't get in contact with this thing.

Can’t… can’t let her know for now… partial truth.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to touch it for now Mina. There’s just… a lot of unknowns at the moment, too dangerous.”

>To Mina:
>Don't sweat it kitty cat, I understand. This lost must weight heavily on you. I believe your choice at the time was the best course of actions for the purpose of saving Roderick's live. Unfortunately it was too luck dependent and you were not lucky enough. I hope this help you feel better. And I'm sorry for going over Tanna with the explanation but I will be brief: The strongest mental influence from the box comes from the king, and the king is above Cassilda. Even if it's undesirable for Bakoth that you touch the box it would certainly still be bad for you to do so.

>PERSUASION CHECK: 12(3[Mentality] + 5[Roll] + 2[Effective] + 2[Encouragement]) > 6[DC] = SUCCESS

Mina turns about, trying to find you before realizing that you’re all a buncha disembodied voices. A little embarrassedly, she flashes me a small smile and a friendly nod. “Yeah, it’s no problem Tanna. I get it, it’s probably not a good idea right now. I wish I knew why touching it seems like such a big deal, but I’m not looking to cause anymore trouble…”

“And to your voices, thanks for the kind words as well, maybe you’re right… I just wish I could chalk it up to luck myself…” A dull look crosses her eyes before she quickly shakes it off. She tilts her head a smidge as she asks, “Who’s this king your friends-”

“I call them the Winds.”

Evel’yee lets out a scoff. “Ooh, how mystic.”

“I think it’s kinda cool. Did you name them that?”

“No actually… that’s what they called themselves when I first met them.”

“Mhm, alright. Who’s this king they’re mentioning?”

“Eh?”

8/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:20 No. 1103664 ID: 63a958
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>Hmm, Mina's seen the symbol on top of the box already, right? Ask if she recognizes it. You can tell her about the King in Yellow if you want, maybe she knows something there.

>What does the name mean from where you’re from Winds?

>I told you not to dwell on it. If you really want to know I can resume like this: He's a god of love. The path of false masks, madness and death. A king that rule over desolation.

“He’s some kind of… Theotian? Sorry, the Winds are kind of reciting him to me. I think they’re related to this weird symbol, the one I showed you earlier and the one on the box.” Taking out the box carefully, I begin to show it off to…

“Hey, hold on.” Crossing her arms, Evel’yee looks to me and says, “You sure that’s a good idea?”

>*something* gave you enough of a boost to prevent the symbol's curse from fully taking hold.

What?! It tried to curse me?! Oh, no it definitely isn’t a good idea! I shouldn’t show her this thing at all actually! Pulling it back, I say, “Eh, shoot, good catch actually.”

Mina gets an annoyed look on her face, her fur frazzing a little. “Are you serious, we’re doing this again? What’s the big deal?”

“No, Evel’yee is right. The Winds made me realize this thing might curse you if you look at it, it’s better to-”

“Curse me?” She looks towards Evel’yee and seems to realize. “R-Right. Fine. I don’t really get it, nothing shows up when I try to Detect Magic on it. It looks like it’s made of black stone too, you shouldn’t be able to affix any normal Weave to it in the first place.”

Black stone? That’s… I kind of remember. That ritual room was made of the stuff as well, at least, the walls and the door were. It’s a rare material, many consider it divine. Impossible to affect with spells, like lead but even stronger.

“You saw that shit Tanna’s scroll and Roderick did, right?”

Mina shoots me a sharp glance before letting out a huff of air. “Erm, yeah. I guess it could be something like that?”

Getting back on subject, Mina says, “That’s all besides the point. The symbol, right? I’ve seen it on the box before. It’s the triple curly symbol, right? I have no idea what that symbol is or who it’s related to, especially not some king. I guess it’s sort of similar to another Theotian’s symbol? The Primordial Wyrm’s, but that’s only because they both have three prongs…”

“Yeah, who the hell is this king. Give us some more details.” Evel’yee puts emphasis on the word with mock quotation marks.

>The King in Yellow. The Unspeakable One. Him Who Is Not to be Named... It is an eldritch entity associated with stage plays and faces. We know its true name, but to speak it would invite calamity. Like all Great Old Ones, deep knowledge of it, and its very presence, can drive you mad.
>>1101832

Jeez Winds, what the fuck. “He’s like… some kind super bad guy? You can’t say his real name or bad things happen, and he’s something called a great old one? Just knowing about him can drive you mad… some kind of god of love, false masks, madness, and death. And his favorite color is yellow.”

“Erm…”

“Look, the Winds are saying that he’s involved with this box, and I don’t think they’d mess around about something like this. He’s got cronies that help him do terrible things to other worlds, probably this piece of shit Bakoth. And something about future-tech bows…” I think I’m starting to lose them. I feel like I’m losing myself.

Evel’yee purses her lips and looks towards Mina. I don’t think I did the best job at explaining this. “Well, considering tonight it’s not the weirdest shit I’ve been subjected to. What the fuck is a future-tech bow? Is it one of those ‘flintlock’ things I’ve been hearing about?”

I just give her a shrug. No idea what a flintlock is.

>For your information, I have reason to believe that there are so many competing effects mucking about with you, your mind, your perception, curses on you, etc. that you are going to need some expertise to untangle them all. bring up the idea that there might be multiple things messing with you in multiple ways. And ask where one might go to begin untangling all of that crap?
>So that's the plan. Find a way to deliver this to a greater power who really wants the Yellow King dead, or find a place we can seal it away until civilization Makes Contact on amicable terms.

“I just… between my amnesia, the sudden voices, the weird spell I cast earlier, and all the other freak occurrences, I need help. The winds helped keep me alive tonight, I’m not inclined to distrust them. If they say this king guy is involved and he’s as scary as they’re describing… I need to take to box to someone who can…” Remember her compulsion… “...examine and help understand it, and help me out too.”

“Amnesia? Seriously? When you were saying you couldn’t remember before, it was full-on ‘amnesia’?” Whoops… welp, she knows now. My bad.

Mina laughs inwardly, a gallows smile creeping up past the rest of her feelings. “Hah, yeah. Got a real weirdo on our hands.”

9/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:24 No. 1103667 ID: cb5dc7
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Getting a little serious again, Mina continues, “I agree with you though, that box is bad news in some way or another. Getting it into the hands of someone more capable would be for the best. Luckily, we’re not too far from a city called Cosiax, it’s about a few days' travel from here.”

The name sounds familiar, I think… it was some kind of capital? “Are there people there that could help with… all of this?”

Mina nods with more determination now, some confidence returning. “I’m certain. Cosiax houses some of the most powerful organizations in the world, places called the Cosiaxian National Institute of Research and Temple of the Omnifideus.”

Evel’yee rolls her eyes. “You know that shit doesn’t come free Mina. There’s no way a couple of nobodies like us could get an audience with people that high up.”

Mina lets out an annoyed sigh. “Eve, you just heard what Tanna said. You saw what happened tonight. We’re so far out of our league with this, it’s so incredibly dangerous. Besides, this thing killed Roderick. This is the easiest way to desss- open it.”

Despite Mina’s obvious mistake, the fact that she’s even pushing for this Cosiax seems to put Evel’yee on a bit of a bender. “You think they won’t try to use it themselves? Those people are scum Mina, the worst of the opportunistic bastards, and that’s saying something because everyone in Cosiax is one. Such a little paradise, all supported by company towns tucked away in corners where nobody can see the atrocities that happen there.”

Something changes in Mina when Eve says this. She doesn’t seem to disagree, but her fur starts to bristle and her voice takes a hard edge. “You think I don’t know that? That I want to go to Cosiax myself? I can’t stand the idea of going there, but this monster killed Roderick, and from what Tanna’s saying, it’s capable of so much worse! I have a moral duty to see it dealt with, and if that means using the connection I have to do so, I will.”

Evel’yee seems genuinely surprised when Mina says that. There’s something like sympathy in her gaze when she regards Mina now. I let out a small cough, I’m kinda lost. “Uhm…”

There’s a bit of a hollower edge to Mina’s voice when she speaks again. “I can… get us in to see someone pretty high up within the Avlontol branch if we go to Cosiax. People within the institute. They’d be far more equipped to deal with whatever is happening with that box and you.”

“That’s… good?” What’s the problem then?

“The person she’d have to get into contact with to make that happen isn’t a good person, Tanna, and the Avlontol Research Association if composed of a bunch of fucking psychopaths. It’s not an option Mina.”

Mina doesn’t say anything, instead just shaking her head.

>Mina is feeling really helpless right now.

“Hey, there’s no need to rush into things, we can figure it out in the morning.” Not going to open that can of worms for now.

“Besides, we need to figure out how to help Jacob and Vax too…” Evel’yee says, though she can’t seem to suppress a bit of venom in her voice when she says their names. For Mina though, she jolts and bites her lip. “Cosiax is too far away, and I dunno if bringing them with us is a good idea exactly. I think we should stop by Felicol. It’s way closer, and there’s probably someone there that could help. Roderick was pretty close to that mayor guy, maybe he could.”

“You’re right…” Mina is quiet for a bit. When she opens her mouth again, she speaks in nearly a whisper. “Well, I think that's enough discussion for now. I’m going to go see Roderick now.”

An air of solemnity passes over the two of them as Evel’yee wrings her hands together a little bit. “Aye, I think I’ll do the same.”

>Also, see if you can cover the box in cloth maybe, without looking at it, so it can be manipulated without looking at any of the facings

Good idea Winds. “Do you have a cloth or something Evel’yee? I think it’d be a good idea to cover the box up for now.”

“Yeah, here.” She says as she fishes into her pack and produces a simple gray cloth, sizable enough to cover the box in its entirety.

“I think the Winds have something they want to say to you Eve, you mind hearing them out for a sec? They’ve got a way of making me feel better.”

“Are they not a single thing? I guess that’s why you’re using ‘Winds’, huh?” I give her a quick nod. “Sure I suppose.”

>To evelyee : hello there. I apologise for the intrusion but, please, feel no guilt over those words. What he spoke were not his thoughts given voice but bakoths weapons. Words like arrows aimed to wound you. I only know a little of roderick but from what i do leads me to believe he wouldnt have been hurt by your words. If anything, he'd have been proud to see you fighting back against a most cruel foe. Prouder still to know you both live and the foe who used him failed. Feeling guilt here would be giving bakoth a small win. He deserves nothing. Victory here belongs to you, mina and even roderick for i can assure you while his fight was not physical, he was still fighting alongside you all. I… I'll go now. Feel loss, feel pain, honour your friend, but feel no guilt. Not for this.

Her whiskers twitch as your message reaches her, her gaze softening slightly. “Man that’s a weird feeling…” There’s a pause before she continues, “Hard not to feel guilty, it felt good to thunk him with arrows in the moment. Felt like getting revenge for the past few shit days. All just to realize he wasn’t even himself. Have his own ‘kids’ at each other’s throats.”

Evel’yee chokes up, her next words coming out in quavering waves. “I-It’s just… why did this have to happen…” Just as quickly as her voice quavers though, she clenches her fist and forces it back down. “Abyss take it all, things just never seem to get better.”

>To Evel’yee:
>Well, we can yank you around with the gentlest of touch. What do you say? Cards on the table and the general goal of reaching a happy ending. (Several, if we can help.) Up for more ocasional head nudging and cheering of your sharpshooter skills?

With a choked laughing cough, she softly sniffles and nods. She takes another deep breath and manages to catch herself. “Yeah you know what, sure. I am a damn good shot. The best even! Just stop suggesting stupid shit like that charm idea.”

“Eve, chill out. You can’t be doing that.” The mousling shoots Mina with a mean glare, but that doesn’t seem to phase her. “They don’t know what makes you uncomfortable. You snapping at them like that doesn’t help, it just makes you seem antagonistic.”

Evel’yee whiskers twitch and she looks like she wants to snap back, but she ends up just pinching the bridge of her snout instead. “Agh! Fine. I just…” She takes a deep breath and curses under her breath. “Fucking hells… look.”

Holding onto her elbow and exasperatedly sighing, she quietly says, “I didn’t mean it like that. I would appreciate it if you didn’t call me cute, touch me, or suggest things like charming me… Sorry for being a bitch about it.”

Krai’s sake, this constant whiplash. At least there’s some kind of apology there, but I have got to get away from these people. “It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it. I can’t really speak for the Winds, they kind of come in ‘waves’. I’m sure they’ll send a message though, or let me know.”

“Erm… yeah. Okay.” Making quick eye contact, she’ll give a nod. She then moves to the ritual room, and with an awkward wave, Evel’yee enters.

Mina passes a wave as well and lets out a soft laugh. “Well, we’ll be out soon, just need a moment with Roderick. There’s a camp nearby above ground, feel free to rest there if you’d like. Just, please don’t run off?”

Stop tempting me. “Please, why would I think of doing that?”

Mina raises her eyebrows at me. UGH… “Okay, fine. I already had this moral dilemma in my head already.”

She purses her lips and looks like she wants to say something about that. Thankfully though, she instead passes a soft smile. “Alrighty Tanna. If you end up falling asleep somewhere, then have a good night.” Turning away, she closes the door behind her, the only light left coming from the faint glow of the moons from the main hall.

10/11 Tanna 2025/02/12(Wed)12:25 No. 1103668 ID: ec3d26
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Just you and me Winds.

>Oh also uh, there's a guy you kind of paralyzed back there. Probably don't wanna leave him like that.

Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. Gonna stay that way for a bit, at least until we’re far enough away where he can’t hurt us. I wonder if Jacob is awake? Probably. Bleh.

I wonder what Mina and Evel’yee are going to want to do with them?

>The rat must be someone or something powerful, in disguise.

Wherever they are, I don’t smell them nearby anymore, just a faint lingering scent. Wonder what their deal is.

Gosh… I think I’m out of energy Winds. I’m really tired. I’m gonna wait in the main lobby for Mina and Evel’yee, and just… sit for a bit. Need the solitude.

As I walk back and moonlight streams into the main chamber, it seems like the rain’s let up. There’s just a gentle rustle as the moons illuminate the forest above. Don’t wanna be underground anymore, but I also don’t want to climb this damn rope just yet. So I just look up and take a deep breath, closing my eyes and letting the glow from the moons permeate through my eyelids. Finally, some silence, and some calm.

Hey Winds, perhaps it’s a bit selfish, but if you’ve got something to say to Bakoth, maybe now’s a good time? I can see you got a message lined up for him, and I kinda just want to be alone for a moment. I won’t go anywhere, I just need to sit by myself for a little.

11/11 Bakoth 2025/02/12(Wed)12:26 No. 1103670 ID: cfe8a5
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Private Conversation

Welcome back! Quite a bit of melodrama out there, no?

>To Bakoth:
>Why the hell should I keep talking to you if you're going to withhold information and give bad advice? You better say something helpful right now or this is the last time I contact you. You're certainly not helping yourself with that serpent thing.

Something useful? I felt like I’ve said a few useful things already! I mean, you saw how she reacted to the word story! What did you think of that? Hahaha…

Funny what words can do to a person. Apologies for the bad advice though. Quite honestly, I thought you’d realize it as a joke, or as an indication I can still see and hear what’s happening on the outside. Don’t really care to dance around whether I can do that or not, just gets in the way of meaningful conversation.

Seems like your charge is rather exhausted, can’t blame her. I imagine it’s been one hell of a night for the poor thing! Just look at her, needing some alone time. She was always like that, you know? A very asocial being.

Well, you want something helpful, right? Or else you threaten to not contact me again? Oh how dreadful, I certainly wouldn’t want that! Hmm, let me think…

Well, how about some straight on good old fashioned simple information! No riddles or rhymes, yours to do with as you please! As I was poking around in Roderick’s head, I learned that he was actually a secret inquisitor to the god known as Yis, one of the three gods of ‘fate’ here. The old dog was on the lookout for cultists that shared, or well, had shared Tanna’s beliefs. Supposedly there was a small sect within the nearby town of Felicol.

Whatever you do with that is up to you of course. Maybe finding someone who knew Tanna before her memories were sealed might be of help? Or perhaps those are exactly the type of people you wish to avoid? I do so look forward to seeing what you choose.

As for something a little less tangible, more of a guess really, but how were you introduced to this story? Did everything stay consistent? I can’t imagine he got a perfect match.

Chapter 1 is swiftly coming to a close. The next update will likely be the last.

Mhm… is it now?

>>1103661
Oh no. I just realized, since we killed Roderick in that room, he suffered a True Death. We uh probably should've lured him out before fighting him, so that killing him would have still allowed resurrection to be on the table. It should've been possible with the help of the gods, though I don't know how difficult it is in this world. Then again, maybe you wouldn't have liked the idea.

>>1103670
Hmm, good enough.
To Bakoth: I'll be straight with you. I know what that sign is. Why is it on your hand?

"Consistent", he says... well, maybe Tanna could see in the dark a bit better than expected. Not sure what else could've been off. Not that I care overly much. I guess the two characters we saw in the intro don't quite look the same as they did later, but that isn't unusual considering "how" we see things.

I think it is a mistake to think of the King in Yellow as a God.

>>1103678

There are so many definitions of that term. If you're using one of the looser definitions --any being of sufficient power-- than it fits.

Pfffffft.

((I will wait until Tanna is paying attention. I have nothing to say to anyone else))

Fox Here. Tanna? You deserve some rest. And I still want to absolutely talk your ear off (and maybe flirt some!) once you get to a place of safety and can relax and are no longer urgently expecting something horrible to happen to you soon. The sooner you can get some of these forces around you to back off and get this stuff under control and can get some real rest and rejuvenation, the better!

>>1103662
...come on back to us tanna.
Dangerous, deep waters of the mind lay that way.

>>1103663
That's why its good you chose not to leave them.
You fell.
They helped you back up.
Simple as that.
Despite all the unknowns and unresolved things between you, their reaction was to help.
Their hearts are good.

>>1103668
Rest well slinky.
You've earned it.


Oh.
Bakoth.
We're listening.
Cant promise you'll get an answer.
Also, can't promise not to just float here spending all my effort trying to manifest a spectral hand so i can flip you off.

God, this update is amazing.Thank you for this quest, Capitulize, you have gone above and beyond for it!

>Did everything stay consistent?

Funny, I have been meaning to ask who that other dog-folk, the one with black fur and pointed ears that captured Tanna, was and where had gone.

And I swear some of Mina's fur pattern is different.

How stupendously foreboding!

>>1103657
Don't you like it? Tanna though it was cute.
I think it's time we have a little talk. Do you have a reason not want to talk beside shyness?

A festa acabou
A luz apagou
O povo sumiu
A noite esfriou

What now? The original objective of keeping Tanna alive seem to have being a success. What else should we take in consideration moving forward?

In case you can't explain...

To Mina:

As a priestess, could you give us some advice on how we contact our patron god? Would be nice to receive further instructions about what we should be doing at this point. If I knew this would be a problem I would have turned Tanna into a priestess instead of a bard...


Tanna,

Don't think of the King in Yellow as someone that distant (or something you can fight against). You saw him earlier today when you were about to cut Jacob's throat.
Jacob's latter connecting earth to the divine realm...
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.

It's generally better to not acknowledge eldritch things or tell others about it, but if you want to share the important thing for a mortal to keep in mind about the King in Yellow is this:
There is a script for a performance named after him. It tells about Carcosa, Camilla, Cassilda and the stranger (who I believe is death). The first chapter is safe to read but not recommended. Reading anything after seem to doom the reader. Suicide is a likely outcome, but if it doesn't come to that tragedy and madness seem to be almost guaranty.
I didn't mentioned it before because honestly I was already suspecting you yourself wasn't a mortal and past you probable already read it at some point. Since you decided to share, this may be more pertinent information for Mina and Evel’yee. Don't mention the part about Cassilda being part of it to Mina.

For the pony questions:
I'm glad you like them. Yes, you had multiple ponies. The drawing was illustrative. Seem like you can't see the actual ponies or the chosen names. Shy god definitely can, ask him to show you if you want to.


To Evel’yee:

What can I say? I like seeing you angry almost as much as I like seeing you happy. You are charming in either mood. If only there was a conveniente word I could use to describe you as such...

To Tanna, get a fire going by that campsite to get cozy and warm up. Can't imagine this cave has been very warm. Rest up, for you've got a long trip to make with the others!

>>1103883
>black fur and pointed ears
That was Roderick. Except, yeah, his ear design is completely different. That can't be explained by "visual style". So... I guess character generation shunted us into an alternate timeline/dimension that tried to stay consistent but there were limited variations to pick from and it didn't quite get there.

>>1103670
Ok,ok.
Ive visualised flipping you the bird long enough.
Time to nibble the bait.

What evidence is there of rodericks secret allegience and where can it be found?
No good being a secret agent if you cant communicate with your faction.
Passcodes?
Brand?
Sigil hidden in armour?
Supersecret handshake?
What thing marks him as what you claim he is?

As to how i found this.
Thats a secret.
Just in case revealing it compromises something we havent forseen as vulnerable.
Consistency?
Yes. And coherant. Even when things got strange.
What variations and oddities made a kind of sense, especially considering the forces at work.
Right.
Back to my original task...
....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
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............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
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Well, whaddya know?
The visualising worked!