Kaktus 2014/08/30(Sat)08:19 No. 591820 ID: 65a774
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Mmm… Lucrais… Atena… I didn’t know you two…
*Clir…*
What was that? …oh… Arthur? You’re he-
*Crash!*
Ugh, yes mother, I’m awake… wait… what was that?

Insert Good morning, Crono_

And you thought having a plant would be easier than keeping a pet.

Rise and shine, it looks like it's light out. Aaand you might want to be thankful that wasn't your mother. You talk in your sleep.

>>591820
What was that about Arthur? Rise and shine, time to go check for an intruder. Get some pants on and your sword.

Wake up, officer. You can't afford to sleep through a nightime raid.

Shoot! We've only been gone the one night, right? We still need to see if Purple is willing to trade the Hierophant for The Strength.
[Check status of pawns]
...I swear that clock looks like it's glowing.
[Scan for nearest two player avatars]
Should tell us where Hugo Perry and Cedric are. Wait, does a Champion count as an avatar? If not we'll just get an error message for the second scan. Unless the Marine decided to return by now.

Nice foursome you were having in that dream, good thing your mother aint here to hear that!

Kaktus 2014/08/30(Sat)10:22 No. 591832 ID: 65a774
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>[Check status of pawns]
[“The magician”: Tired. “Strength: Sleeping. “The Tower”: Sleeping. “The Chariot”: Eating breakfast.]
>[Scan for nearest two player avatars]
[ERROR!]

>Wake up, officer. You can't afford to sleep through a nightime raid.
Nighttime? Its morning… actually, it’s just ten minutes before I usually go up on a school day…
>What was that about Arthur?
…it was nothing about Arthur.
>Aaand you might want to be thankful that wasn't your mother. You talk in your sleep.
Err… you… y-you didn’t hear anything, right?
>Nice foursome you were having in that dream…
Geez, not even my dreams are safe from your guys… and it wasn’t like that! Honest!

>And you thought having a plant would be easier than keeping a pet.
Plant? What pl- oh, right, the alien! Hugo, right? Better check on him.

Hello? Anyone here? …huh… empty… I should have sworn that I heard some glass break but the window looks whole…

Insert Home alone: Mantis addition_

>>591832
Wait what? What happened to The High Priestess?
[check status of The High Priestess]

How is the window whole when there's a wire sticking through it? Go look outside.

Check out the suit, see if he's in there.

Oh, by the way, Dai, I did some research. The shape of the body, and the fact that it is a plant suggests it may be a species that once called itself Eaggrans. Three eyes and no mouth, it just needs fertile soil, sunlight, and water. The Precursor Eaggrans were capable of speech, though I'm not sure how, so it's probably possible to teach him how to talk. Assuming it even is what I think it is.
[Message Purple: Sorry about that, we somehow managed to fall asleep until just now. Baring any new objections, we're still willing to trade if you are.]
(Y'all better not have any new objections...)
Daithi, if a trade does go through, let him know that it was so we could keep track of your father, okay?

>>591837
By checking the suit... Don't just go opening it up. Try whistling or something to see if he responds.

There's a wire leading out the window and a trail of dirt leading out the door. You ought to investigate the wire first, make sure Hugo isn't making himself known out there.

Make sure to call out in case Hugo is in his suit so he knows you're coming in. If he doesn't respond, go around in front of the suit so you're in it's line of vision, and tap the helmet if there isn't a response. Then you can say Hugo isn't in it.

Take a look out the window at where the cable from Hugo's suit goes. We suspect the suit is charged by solar energy, so I bet there's some kind of panel or device set out there to collect sunlight. Do we have to worry that somebody is going to see that on the roof? And how is that cable going through the window if the window isn't open or broken?

There looks like there's dirt tracks on the floor from the "bed" to the door. Do you remember how much dirt was spilled putting the "bed" in here? 'Cause if there wasn't any, or it was in different spots, then Hugo might have gone out the door.

Hey, wait a second... I thought Hugo's "bed" was a dirt filled metal washtub, not a pottery planter. What gives?

>Geez, not even my dreams are safe from your guys… and it wasn’t like that! Honest!
Hey, we didn't poke into your dreams, we just heard what you were mumbling from outside. We don't go into peoples' dreams without either getting consent or in case of dire emergency, okay. Now, if it "wasn't like that," then what was it, hm~?

And speaking of dreams, you should know that right before we left you last night we saw not only a lot of those scrawled red words on the wall, but there was this really big eight limbed shadow hovering over you; I'm guessing that's the shadow of the Deceiver. Daithi, I have a hunch we're eventually going to have to enter your dreams to find where the Deceiver has got her hooks into you, so I'm going to ask now for your consent to attempt to enter your dreams next time you go to sleep. And it'll only be consent for one time so you won't have to worry about us indulging our somewhat voyeuristic tendencies by dropping in any time.

>>591838
Yes, I have a big fuckin' objection to trading away the only pawn we know of that can sniff out the Deceiver's taint to a player who is a bloody fanatic who's beliefs are most likely going to clash with what we know and who we don't know whether is corrupted or not (seriously, from Cathal's description of Purple, I'm worried we're giving Purple too much leeway.) And on top of that, we haven't even spoken with Nicolas about this! We're not going to trade him away without first discussing it with him so he knows what the hell he's getting into and what we want him to do once with Purple. Hell, I don't even think we have a firm idea of what we're doing this for other then getting Daithi's dad away from Purple.

>>591833
5$ says she was claimed by someone last night, calling it now.

>>591832
[Check number of Pawn Slots]

Say hi to Hugo, it's polite. Be sure to knock on something first so that you won't accidentally scare him... if he gets scared.

Kaktus 2014/08/30(Sat)12:10 No. 591854 ID: 65a774
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>[check status of The High Priestess]
[“The High Priestess”: Sleeping ] Text error last update.
>5$ says she was claimed by someone last night, calling it now.
Pay up…
>[Check number of Pawn Slots]
[You have 5 pawn slots, all filled.]
>[Message Purple: Sorry about that, we somehow managed to fall asleep until just now. Barring any new objections, we're still willing to trade if you are.]
[Purple: If you wish… though I finally started to get through his feeble mind yesterday. Oh, and I’ve also gotten another Inquisitor, an apprentice called Arthur, if you want him instead. I’m willing to trade one of them for the priest.]

>Now, if it "wasn't like that," then what was it, hm~?
It was “This is private, you snooping cur”.
>And speaking of dreams, you should know that right before we left you last night we saw not only a lot of those scrawled red words on the wall, but there was this really big eight limbed shadow hovering over you.
Err… that’s… that really something you don’t want to hear first thing in the morning…
>I'm going to ask now for your consent to attempt to enter your dreams next time you go to sleep.
Hey, keep away from my dreams! As I said… they are private… unless I’m having a nightmare… that one you can mess with…
>Oh, by the way, Dai, I did some research. The shape of the body, and the fact that it is a plant suggests it may be a species that once called itself Eaggrans. Three eyes and no mouth, it just needs fertile soil, sunlight, and water. The Precursor Eaggrans were capable of speech, though I'm not sure how, so it's probably possible to teach him how to talk. Assuming it even is what I think it is.
Eaggran, huh? Are you sure they are called that? I rather not insult it or something… of course, I don’t even think they can pronounce that word so… hmm…
>Try whistling or something to see if he responds.
I’m a mantis, I can’t whistle! I got mandibles and not lips, remember?
>Check out the suit, see if he's in there.
It’s empty… and its backside is open…
>How is the window whole when there's a wire sticking through it? Go look outside.
The window is open, you oaf… hmm… there’s a… weird black carpet out on the roof outside the window…the wire is connected to it… I wonder what it is…
>We suspect the suit is charged by solar energy, so I bet there's some kind of panel or device set out there to collect sunlight.
…that thing collects the power of the sun!? Neat!
>Hey, wait a second... I thought Hugo's "bed" was a dirt filled metal washtub, not a pottery planter. What gives?
...holy crap, you’re right! That’s... I’ve never even seen a planter this big! …and the pattern looks like the one I have on my cactus pot in my room… only bigger.

>There's a trail of dirt leading out the door.
Hmmm…

Ah, there you are! Hey, what are you doing with my miniatures?
.-: ♪
Huh… what are you trying to say… you’re shaking hands with yourself and… wait is that my wine bottle? Did you drop it?

Insert This was supposed to be a surprise, but it isn’t now…_

He might be demonstrating the nature of this world- an enclosed cylindrical space, with us on the inside. Or he could just look guilty because he broke something.

If only we could at least get some measure of speech or writing!..Hey did we try getting him to write something? Or draw?

>>591854
Oh, check it out, he's got cybernetics. Um, artificial limbs. Those yellow parts of him are probably not made of natural materials. I wonder if the hand-shaking gesture is an apologetic gesture? Like, he's sorry he broke your bottle.

[@Purple: Hmm... yes. Trading for Arthur seems like it might work out better for us. However, I would like to speak to Nicholas about it before we finalize anything.]
If Purple is corrupted, Nicholas will be able to tell, and his willpower is absolutely astounding so he won't get corrupted by Purple. Arthur on the other hand has already been a cultist once so his willpower isn't great.
On the other other hand, if we wind up going to war with Purple and have empty slots, Arthur has low willpower so he'll be easier to steal. Trading banks on Purple not turning aggro on us.

Right, um, Daithi, we've also got a concern about Cedric. We saw his tarot card, and it showed two versions of him- one with yellow eyes as normal, and another with red. I am worried he will be corrupted at some point, and that makes me worry about White as well.
[@White: Do you know where your "holy" upgrades come from? As far as we know, there is no such thing as "holy" magic. We've been told only way you can get anti-undead/corruption powers is from a daemonic source. Be wary of being corrupted by the source of your pawn's powers.]

Kaktus 2014/08/30(Sat)16:02 No. 591872 ID: 65a774
File 140943973304.png - (13.61KB , 900x450 , 5.png )

>[@Purple: Hmm... yes. Trading for Arthur seems like it might work out better for us. However, I would like to speak to Nicholas about it before we finalize anything.]
[Purple: Take your time. I’ll gladly wait for you until sundown… Oh, and I do have some interesting information that you should know about. Another player called Yellow has entered the playing field… and I do believe you and that police lady met some of his followers out in the forest yesterday, did you not? He is not clean… he needs to be cleansed…]
>[@White: Do you know where your "holy" upgrades come from? As far as we know, there is no such thing as "holy" magic. We've been told only way you can get anti-undead/corruption powers is from a daemonic source. Be wary of being corrupted by the source of your pawn's powers.]
[White: I don’t know. The remnants of the gods gave me a choice of what to imbue him with and I choose Holy.]

>Right, um, Daithi, we've also got a concern about Cedric. We saw his tarot card, and it showed two versions of him- one with yellow eyes as normal, and another with red. I am worried he will be corrupted at some point, and that makes me worry about White as well.
What? Really? That’s ominous… wait, you said he had two faces? Like he was double faced? Hmm… the moon means deceit too… and so does someone being double faced… is he hiding something? But what? I’ve known him since I was small so what can he be hiding?

>Oh, check it out, he's got cybernetics. Um, artificial limbs. Those yellow parts of him are probably not made of natural materials.
They look like gold… but they can’t be, can they?
>He might be demonstrating the nature of this world- an enclosed cylindrical space, with us on the inside. Or he could just look guilty because he broke something.
…I’m going to guess the later, for obvious reasons.
>If only we could at least get some measure of speech or writing!..Hey did we try getting him to write something? Or draw?
Oh, right! He can draw!

Here you go, fella, draw what you mean…
~♫
Hmm… you… circle… the bottle… arrow… broken bottle… ah, so you did break it… I… err… how in Jove’s name do I tell him not to worry about it? Hmm… wait, what are you drawing now?
-!^♪_♫
…a… lizard? An angry, mean looking lizard? …with one of those guns you had… arrow… hmm… you arrow to a… weird circle? You inside a weird circle? …then another arrow to… oh, an explosion! That one I know… and then… you arrow… a can? …and then… angry lizard… arrow… a crossed over can and a crossed over you? What? So, angry lizard… Hugo inside a circle… explosion… Hugo inside a can… angry lizard means no can or Hugo?
- ♪

Insert Dude can draw_

>a can?
...an enclosed cylindrical space...
>Hugo inside a can…
...with us on the inside.
Hugo is fleeing from the lizards, they're called the Sakkil empire. He believes they will follow him here.

>>591872
Right, he's talking about the space-Lizard we spoke to six months ago. He gave one of our pawns a gun and said to kill the "three-eyed tentacled plant" or something like that, but we just used the gun to kill part of an enemy army. The two species are at war. We have reason to believe that there will not be another attempt on his life, though. The lizard left shortly after we spoke, and I think we convinced him to stop trying to kill Hugo anyway. I'm not sure how you could possibly convey this story to Hugo, so for now tell him we'll try to keep him safe.
[@White: Can you tell us more about these remnants of the gods?]

Ah, fyi, there's yet another player here. Yellow. I expect he is a counterpart to Purple. Last time we had two opposing colors like that, they were polar opposites. I wonder if the same thing will be true this time. I am also still not sure if Purple is trustworthy...
[@Purple: The crazies we fought did not scan as pawns. They were "Demonic Creature (Hostile): Lunatic." I would like to caution you away from jumping to conclusions about Yellow simply based on that. We had a trustworthy ally in the past that surrounded himself and his pawns with a shield of evil men. The only way to know for sure is to witness the actions of Yellow's pawns, but we can still safely assume he has more Lunatics among his forces.]
Time for a refresher:
[display information on currently known players]

Purple was Hard/Manipulator, White was Very hard/Champion... not sure if we can see Black or Yellow's details.
From our experience with prior Manipulator players, they have pawns they can trust, but everyone else is likely just being manipulated.

>I rather not insult it or something…
Good point, the Sakkil do not like to be called Lizards, so the new form of what was once called Eaggrans might not like it, too.
>there’s a… weird black carpet out on the roof outside the window…
Right, that's a solar panel... Think of it like a smooth, fragile version of moss. It feeds off of the sunlight, while being submerged will destroy it. (Moss only needs a small bit of water, right?) The solar panel is giving the energy from the sunlight to the suit, I think.
>…that thing collects the power of the sun!? Neat!
Yes, it is pretty neat, to be able to build something that does what normally only plants can do! The suit, after all, I believe is made of metal or plastic, yeah?
>Ah, there you are!
I was right! That's a "Reborn" Eaggran. I'm going to say Reborn for any species that, well... The old gods died out, but then started coming back, and it's kind of like a rebirth, right? If that's confusing let me know.
>wait is that my wine bottle? Did you drop it?
Might have thought it was water and was thirsty... Eaggrans need a good bit of water, after all.
>and I do believe you and that police lady met some of his followers out in the forest yesterday, did you not?
That's odd. I don't remember anybody we encountered scanning as pawns, did they?
>He is not clean… he needs to be cleansed…
[Reply: Be careful. Cleansing another player is not an easy task, and the main means of doing so is... impossible for you. In fact, it is impossible for any player to perform that method of cleansing except for ourselves. Outside of us, you can convince a God or Daemon to purge them.]
>wait, you said he had two faces? Like he was double faced?
It was more that he was depicted twice. Aside from being corrupted, we've encountered people with red eyes due to being Berserk.
This gives us four statuses that can afflict a person's mind: Corruption, which is from a Daemon, be it good or bad. Purification, which is from a God, which can also be good or bad. Control, which is from a Player (we do not have this power, do not worry). Finally, Berserk, which is from the person themselves, and probably the easiest to fix since it just requires calming them down, and not killing anybody.
>They look like gold… but they can’t be, can they?
[Scan metal arm, echo to Daithi]
Might not tell us what it's made of, but should tell us something about it.
Divine Construct (Neutral): Steel Arm?
>An angry, mean looking lizard? …with one of those guns you had…
That's the Sakkil Marine. After last night, we met him three months into the past. Time travel, son. Apparently, Hugo is guilty of being a "Filthy Plant Monster" and is being hunted down for it. Or was there a real crime reason given? I can't remember. Point is, we cannot afford to destroy the Sakkil Marine, as that would just call more Marines down.
>You inside a weird circle?
He is in this world.
>explosion…
The Sakkil Marine is going to attempt to destroy Hugo.
Dismantling a bit of the God's Devices keeping the world running, but he did say he'd also make sure the world can keep running.
>angry lizard means no can or Hugo?
We need to convert the Sakkil.
And it's Sakkil, not Lizard.

oh yeah, we just got back from when the desert country became jungle and we had an indirect meeting with another "god". We believe him to be a lizard and through him we were able to confirm some of our origins, which I'm not going into because no one listens anyway.

Long story short, Humans, lizards, and mantises use to live together in a very advanced space fairing civilization but over a 1000 years ago a "plague" of sorts killed most life in the universe and all three species were split apart at the fringes of space with much of there history lost. They meet up again but had no idea what they hell they were looking at and now a giant war is going on with all races looking to kill the other for one reason or another. Oh and these plant guys and some other race also joined in the fight at some point and Hugo here is currently being hunted by the second "god" which we have mentioned already. So there's your history lesson for the morning. Now lets see what you have for breakfast since there is no point in starting the day with an empty stomach.

oh also I think I should run this past you but your father and now Arthur have been claimed by purple who is giving off a distinct crazy zealot feel but isn't openly hostile. Since we don't want you to have to fight family or friends (cough)loveinterest(cough) we've been trying to see if maybe purple wouldn't mind trading but he'll only trade one and wants the priest. I personally don't wish to trade as I feel it is kinda demeaning to trade around people like fucking collector cards and whenever we take on a pawn I always feel like we're promising to look after them and to just trade them away makes me feel like we're braking the promise even if it was never said. But at the same time this is going to effect you more then anyone so I thought I should at least run this by you first just so we can get your input.

Kaktus 2014/08/31(Sun)08:58 No. 591970 ID: 65a774
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>[Scan metal arm, echo to Daithi]
[ERROR! Unable to find item in data base!]
>[display information on currently known players]
[Purple (Hard)(Manipulator), White (Very hard)(Champion), Teal (Insane)(Erratic)]

>[@White: Can you tell us more about these remnants of the gods?]
[White: Haven’t you heard it too? The voice that sounds like… um… [This? All monotone and lifeless]? When I leveled up The Moon it gave me a choice of power, including fire, water, air, earth, shadow, biological, martial, Psion and Holy.]
> [@Purple: The crazies we fought did not scan as pawns. They were "Demonic Creature (Hostile): Lunatic." I would like to caution you away from jumping to conclusions about Yellow simply based on that.]
[As I said, his followers, not pawns. So far his goal seems to be tied with that weird light beam we saw yesterday. You don’t happen to know anything about it?]
> [Reply: Be careful. Cleansing another player is not an easy task, and the main means of doing so is... impossible for you.]
[The holy fire can clean any filth.]

>...an enclosed cylindrical space... with us on the inside.
Oh… you mean this world and the world wall surrounding it?
> I was right! That's a "Reborn" Eaggran. I'm going to say Reborn for any species that, well... The old gods died out, but then started coming back, and it's kind of like a rebirth, right? If that's confusing let me know.
…most of the things you’ve been saying are rather confusing, yes.
>Might have thought it was water and was thirsty... Eaggrans need a good bit of water, after all.
That’s possible yes… It probably doesn’t understand our pluming…
>That's the Sakkil Marine. After last night, we met him three months into the past.
Err… what?
>Time travel, son.
Oh… I think…
>Hugo is fleeing from the lizards, they're called the Sakkil empire. He believes they will follow him here.
Right, space lizards are here trying to kill a space plant… this is getting a bit too complicated for my taste.
>Apparently, Hugo is guilty of being a "Filthy Plant Monster" and is being hunted down for it.
Correction: Speciest space lizards.

>oh also I think I should run this past you but your father and now Arthur have been claimed by purple who is giving off a distinct crazy zealot feel but isn't openly hostile.
WHAT!? Arthur is- I mean, my father is being controlled by some insane fanatic!?
>Since we don't want you to have to fight family or friends we've been trying to see if maybe purple wouldn't mind trading but he'll only trade one and wants the priest. I personally don't wish to trade as I feel it is kinda demeaning to trade around people like fucking collector cards.
As much as I want my father to be safe… I have to agree, trading us would be rather… unethical. Besides, you only change one target for another.
>(cough) loveinterest (cough)
Huh? What was that?

>Now let’s see what you have for breakfast since there is no point in starting the day with an empty stomach.
OH RIGHT! I got class in an hour!
Come on! I’ll give you some water if you want for breakfast.
~ ♪

[Choose your destiny! (Choose which pawn to follow).]
[Strength]
[The High Priestess]
[The Chariot]
[The Tower]

Insert Choose wisely, young master_

I want to see how the tower lives on a day to day bases so I vote the tower.

>>591970
[@White: Oh, right, system messages. We're so used to those by now we take them for granted. Sounds like it's just a system ability, then, and should be safe. However I am still worried about Cedric- we saw a portrait of him with two versions, one with his normal yellow eyes and one with red eyes, like he got corrupted. Oh yeah, has Purple told you about Yellow? Supposedly Yellow is corrupt and the lunatics we had to fight yesterday were Yellow's followers. That remains to be proven however. Heck, Yellow might not even exist.]

I vote The Chariot, because we haven't greeted her yet.

[@Purple: Why do you think his goal has to do with the beam of light? The lunatics were drawn to it by coincidence. As for what it was, that's a secret.]

Hmm, let me try something:
[Ally with "Wanderer"]

>[This? All monotone and lifeless]?
[Reply: Ah, we call that those who speak like that the Gods' Golems. We once stumbled into a location which held one such golem, and are lucky to still be alive to tell the tale! They are not fond of Players and Pawns enteringing their Creator's old earthbound residences.]
>[The holy fire can clean any filth.]
[Reply: "Holy" is capable of purging even a Corrupted Player, yes, but I recommend caution. I believe it will purge indiscriminately, meaning it can harm you and us as well.]
>So far his goal seems to be tied with that weird light beam we saw yesterday. You don’t happen to know anything about it?
[Reply: What I will say is that I am surprised there was not greater strife surrounding it. It was "Holy Fire," but it was also Blasphemy. There are currently four sources of "Holy" we know about, and two of them are battling with one another, one might be in hibernation, and the other is too young to know what he is doing.]
[@Purple: Please forgive us our secrecy, but we have found enemies who can know our own thoughts, and it is likely that you, in service with the Inquisition, will face such Daemonic enemies, so what you know should be the necessities, or what is vague enough to leave you guessing. I trust you are intelligent enough to figure things out and act accordingly.]
>We're so used to those by now we take them for granted.
[@White: But then, due to our unique strength that was given when we were first born into the world, we both haven't had a need for their boons... And haven't been allowed access.]
>one with his normal yellow eyes and one with red eyes, like he got corrupted.
[@White: Or berserk. A lot of the scattered voices that make up Player Teal seem to forget berserkers get red eyes, too. However, Berserk is effectively corruption of own's own self, and if not cautious around it, can be dangerous. I trust Daithi's influence can purify any berserk inclinations Cedric may have, however, as they are close friends.]
>[Ally with "Wanderer"]
[Check corruption and purification levels of The Magician]
Let's go with The Chariot.

Kaktus 2014/08/31(Sun)13:41 No. 592008 ID: 65a774
File 140951770161.png - (9.86KB , 900x450 , 7.png )

>[Ally with "Wanderer"]
[ERROR!]
>[@White: Oh, right, system messages. We're so used to those by now we take them for granted. Sounds like it's just a system ability, then, and should be safe.]
[White: Do not worry; I’ll take good care of The Moon…]
>[However I am still worried about Cedric- we saw a portrait of him with two versions, one with his normal yellow eyes and one with red eyes, like he got corrupted.]
[…really? That’s… I have to be on my guard, then.]
>[Oh yeah, has Purple told you about Yellow? Supposedly Yellow is corrupt and the lunatics we had to fight yesterday were Yellow's followers. That remains to be proven however. Heck, Yellow might not even exist.]
[I’ve yet heard about a yellow player… I think I saw a Black one yesterday, though, but I’m not sure.]
>[@Purple: Please forgive us our secrecy, but we have found enemies who can know our own thoughts, and it is likely that you, in service with the Inquisition, will face such Daemonic enemies, so what you know should be the necessities, or what is vague enough to leave you guessing. I trust you are intelligent enough to figure things out and act accordingly.]
[Purple: That’s understandable. The demon filth can easily find their way into feeble minds and steal their secrets, after all.]

>Let's go with The Chariot.
*Sigh* Another day… another problem… why do I even go up in the morning...?
*Chirp*?
…you’re right… because it’s better than the alternative… still… I got hours of paper work ahead of me thanks to yesterday…
*Chirp*!
…yeah, I should be more positive… I got a date after all… a date with a young, handsome mantis with an abdomen to match… but… I’ll just screw it up… as always… *Sigh*…
*Chirp*!
…sometimes I think you’re the only one who understand me, Wally… or maybe you’re just hungry and you want some food? … *sigh*…

Insert The fastest Slug alive_

>>592008
Wh... Atena, you have a baby plant-slug-whatever I don't know what their species name is?! And you can understand it?! Daithi needs your help! An adult is visiting this world and we can't communicate with it! Where did you even find Wally?!

Oh right also hi we're Teal. Welcome to the team.

*Ding!*
Player Teal calling The Chariot, Atena. Do you hear me, Atena?

By the Gods that is the cutest pet slug I have ever seen. It is also the ugliest, but that's an unfair title because it's the only one I've ever seen. It's cute, okay?

>>592008
Is that... are you drinking wine with cereal?

Is everything alright with you? Are you doing okay? You seem a bit... down. It's fine if you don't want to talk about it, we've only just met, but know that we're concerned.

Don't worry, you're not crazy. We might be voices in your head, be we're certifiably real! Look in a mirror, you'll see us floating around!

We have a particular interest in cult activity in the area, what can you tell us about that? Also, do you know anything about an oracle or underground library?

hello Antena, rough morning?

Oh yeah if you're wondering where the voices are coming from don't worry we're teal and we thought we would stop by and see if there is anything you might need help with. If you're wondering "what the hell is teal" well the easiest way for use to tell you is to show you, find something reflective and you should see use.
[dance around atena's head]

[Check status of "The Chariot"] (I wonder if she's depressed.) [Check corruption level of player and pawns, including allied ones] [Show time (both out- and in-game) until next level up, what level up will grant, and how many levels are there left to gain and how] [Show non-AI player count] (I suspect that since the Sakkilian marine is locked out of the admin terminal he might choose to enter the game as a player, so he could be in the player lobby right now.)

Hello, Atena, it's good to finally speak with you. In the unlikely case you haven't figured it out already, we're Daithi's voices. But allow me to formally introduce ourselves: We've been known by many names in our time, but this world has designated us as "Teal" and so that is the name we have taken now. We are a vast and diverse collective of intelligences, which will explain the rather... variable situational knowledge and personalities we'll exhibit; We can "wake up" and "fall asleep," missing what has gone on. Oh, and as proof that we're really Daithi's voices: When you two parted last night, you set a date to meet at six tonight, then you saying "goodnight, cutie," and Daithi responding "goodnight, sweet cheeks..." Seriously, he called you "sweet cheeks?" Geez, Dai... Oh, and get a mirror to see what we look like; I'd advise you to keep a mirror on you at all times as well, for checking for illusions and if there's another player around.

You seem rather down. Care to talk about it? We're pretty good listeners despite how much we gab and more often then not give good advice. You not enjoying your job lately? Feeling rather lonely and isolated outside of it?

Is that a portrait of your late husband on the wall? If you don't mind me asking, what caused his death? We only overheard Ceana saying he died seven years ago when we were with her, but not anything of how he died. What was he like and how'd you meet him?

You said you'd "just screw up" your date "as always," so I take it you've tried to date other mantis guys before Daithi and after your husband died. So what happened to screw them up? And you do realize that it isn't just you that could screw up in this case, right? It could be the other party that's screwing up, or there just wasn't "chemistry" there, so don't blame yourself for all of it.

>I got hours of paper work ahead of me thanks to yesterday...
I assume that was from the incident at Avatar's Descent, right? Or was it something related to the Shape Stealer at the Academy? Both?

That's a cute pet you've got there. Can't say we've ever seen its species before though; What're they called? [Scan Wally, the chirping slug] They common as pets around here? And he's (it is a he, right?) probably hungry since it is morning and you haven't fed him yet.

Hey, have you found out anything more about that missing female mantis cadet? Did the guardsmen you sent to The Crippled Ankwark pub come up with anything? Man, I hope we didn't miss anything by choosing to search the Academy basement instead of going after the pub lead. And has anything come of the search for a forge that could make fake Inquisitor armor or reports of a stolen set of plate armor? Hm... Yanno, maybe the Inquisitor armor the Shape Stealer was wearing was legit and stolen from the Inquisition or off an Inquisitor, dead or alive. Shame we didn't think to get a close look at the armor to see if it was the real deal before the Inquisition arrived.

Ah, and we have some news on the alien "god:" Due to the lack of decent genderless pronouns in your language we've given it the name "Hugo." And Daithi successfully got Hugo to his dorm undetected, but unfortunately Lady Lucrais was waiting there. She's now in on the secret but we're confident she won't tell anybody. That brings the total people who know to three.

I just thought of something we should keep in mind: It's possible there's more than one corrupting daemon in play here. We haven't yet encountered a daemon here opposing The Deceiver on the Rebel's side like The Jailor and Lightbringer respectively did for the Dark One and Blood God. It could be that those "demon hunter" lunatics are from a daemon working on the Oppressors' side and it's being way too aggressive about it... Or if Purple really is corrupted then it could be the source and not The Deceiver.

And I just realized that since our alien friend Hugo has an alien brain and mind to match then he's almost assuredly immune to all forms of psionic or mental attack. So illusions, mind reading, and any other form of mind fuckery will do nothing; Just the kind of ally we need in a fight against The Deceiver.

[@White: Did those powers you were offered have any help or description on them of what they did? 'Cause I'm really wondering what "biological" entails. And were you given a choice at every level up to choose a power or was it just at the first one and that locked in the line you could improve?]

[@White: That "psion" is one of the powers you could choose from seriously worries me. Psionic powers are basically the powers of mindfuckery; Illusions, mind reading, mind screwing, mind control and all that crap. If there's a opposing player who's a champion out there stacking up on psionic levels that spells trouble for us. You may want to seriously consider putting your next upgrade levels into psion so you have some defense against that. And even if there isn't an opposing champion, with the crap that we're probably going to be facing having mental defenses would be a good idea. Heck, you might even get some mind reading ability out of it as well.]

[@White: We're going to grant you permission to switch to and speak with our pawns and we ask that you do the same. It'll be good for at least when we need to speak with your king and don't have the time to relay a message through you. Also, we haven't told our pawns of this yet, so please don't speak with them until we do; I don't want to alarm them when only your voice comes into their head.] [Grant permission to switch to and speak with all our pawns to player White]

Kaktus 2014/09/01(Mon)06:18 No. 592080 ID: 65a774
File 140957748655.png - (10.46KB , 900x450 , 8.png )

>[Check status of "The Chariot"]
["The Chariot": Lonely, in need of love.]
>[Check corruption level of player and pawns, including allied ones]
[No corruption found.]
>[Show time (both out- and in-game) until next level up]
[You don’t have enough experience to level up!]
>[Show non-AI player count]
[Three players found! Player Teal, Player {%^*¤öö43} and ADMIN (AFK).]

>[@White: Did those powers you were offered have any help or description on them of what they did? 'Cause I'm really wondering what "biological" entails. And were you given a choice at every level up to choose a power or was it just at the first one and that locked in the line you could improve?]
[White: It means life magic. You know, tree and plants and stuff… nature stuff. And no, I can’t choose another power; only improve the one I got. There was some special feat for a duel power but I don’t have it.]
>[@White: We're going to grant you permission to switch to and speak with our pawns and we ask that you do the same.]
[I’m sorry, but I can’t agree to that. I rather focus on my dear Cedric completely… alright?]

>*Ding!*
Huh? Ding? I don’t have anything that go ding?
>Is that... are you drinking wine with cereal?
What? No, it’s milk… err… wait, who… Wally?
*Chirp*?
…
>Don't worry, you're not crazy.
… … …because hearing that from voices in my head is so reassuring…
>Hello, Atena, it's good to finally speak with you. In the unlikely case you haven't figured it out already, we're Daithi's voices.
I… wait… Daithi’s voice? You’re some kind of…. What?
>Allow me to formally introduce ourselves: We've been known by many names in our time, but this world has designated us as "Teal" and so that is the name we have taken now.
Teal? Okay, Mr. Teal… what in Jove’s name are you!?
>Oh, and as proof that we're really Daithi's voices: When you two parted last night, you set a date to meet at six tonight, then you saying "goodnight, cutie," and Daithi responding "goodnight, sweet cheeks..."
…wait, d-did you spy on us!?
>Seriously, he called you "sweet cheeks?" Geez, Dai...
…or maybe you’re from Daithi… heh… yeah, he’s such a dork… *Sigh* such a cute dork…
>We're certifiably real! Look in a mirror, you'll see us floating around!
Any reflection is good, right? Hmm… you’re… you’re weird… jellyfishes that are dancing on my head? Why are you dancing around my head?

>By the Gods that is the cutest pet slug I have ever seen.
…thank you… I guess?
>Can't say we've ever seen its species before though; What're they called?
It’s a Derackian forest slug. My… m-my former husband bought him…
>Is that a portrait of your late husband on the wall?
I… I should really remove that one of these days but… yeah, it is…
>If you don't mind me asking, what caused his death?
…he was killed when he was stationed in the untamed lands… a barbarian raid…

>Is everything alright with you? Are you doing okay? You seem a bit... down.
Hmm? Oh, I’m fine… it’s just… I’m… I’m fine…
>You not enjoying your job lately? Feeling rather lonely and isolated outside of it?
It’s been… a hectic week, that’s all… and… I… it’s just… everyone my age already got a family… you now… kids… all I got is a slug…
*Chirp!*
Yeah, yeah, I’ll give you food… take it easy…
>You said you'd "just screw up" your date "as always," so I take it you've tried to date other mantis guys before Daithi and after your husband died. So what happened to screw them up?
…I’m always to forward… I… I always scare them away or… or just make it about… you know… and I’m a cougar, aren’t I? It’s hard to find someone my age and… those younger than me only really want one thing… and it’s not a lasting relationship… May- …um… maybe I should cancel the date tonight? It’s probably for the best… Daithi probably got a lot of girls his own age following him…
>Hey, have you found out anything more about that missing female mantis cadet?
Err… I haven’t been to work since yesterday? I don’t get information through dreams, you know…
>Ah, and we have some news on the alien "god:" Due to the lack of decent genderless pronouns in your language we've given it the name "Hugo." And Daithi successfully got Hugo to his dorm undetected, but unfortunately Lady Lucrais was waiting there.
Lucrais? …hmm… and she promised to keep quiet? Yeah, this whole… alien business is beyond me, really… I mean, what should we even do with him? We can’t just hide him in Daithi’s dorm forever!

Insert She needs to get some D vitamin!_

>Daithi probably got a lot of girls his own age following him
He would if he didn't have a mental psychosis brought on by daemon corruption that made him believe everyone hated him.

Well seeing as you are going to find out anyway we might as well tell you now so you can freak out in the comfort of you own home.
Here's the short version: The world you live in was originally a simulation designed to be a game for people on the outside that you all call gods but almost all of them got wiped, that's why the gods were gone. To make the game more interesting for the players/gods they created artificial players and daemons (who are still around) to play against.
Apparently the different races(humans/lizards/mantis) who were spread out to different sectors of space have met up again and (not remembering each other) went to war. Then according to a lizard who found the simulation one day plant people showed up and apparently attacked a bunch of lizards for no reason and said lizard guy chased one of the war criminal plant people(Hugo) here.
Well that's all for now, I mean there's more about time dickitry and the new gods wanting to dismantle your world but I'll save that for another time.

>Insert some vitamin D!
I agree.

Actually we have to thank you about Dai, he really needed someone to compliment him, someone to help him believe more in himself as thanks to issues he has had major self-image issues through his life, he really, really needed someone to actually confirm that he's not some pathetic being that everyone hates.

He wouldn't want to cancel it with you, nor does he want it for a sex fling either. He's a bit old fashioned in that respect but it means he prefers to be with those he cares about rather then just sort of one night stand.

Also as for the dancing... We like doing it, I mean you float around all day you kind of get good at it with being weightless and all.

>those younger than me only really want one thing… and it’s not a lasting relationship…
Daithi's different. He's a bisexual woman in a man's body--and loving every minute of it. He wants a lasting relationship with a harem of lovers.
He's also a male Mantis in a male mantis body, so, y'know, he's afraid of the women going all crazy out of anger and biting his head off if he actually tries to start a harem, so he's actually trying to go for one partner only.
Daithi is truly interested in you, and... While he admits to being an inverse-cougar over it, he's after your experience and knowledge, in a long-lasting way. He doesn't dare place his hopes on the future in fear that something will go wrong, but if he did, he would hope to be able to start a family with you.
Heh, if something does go wrong, it'll be because of both of you... and damn, will it have to be really wrong to tear you two apart!
>Daithi probably got a lot of girls his own age following him…
If you consider the millenia-old Daemon of Lust to be "Lots of girls his own age," then yes. Seriously, the Mantis girls hate him because, well, he's a Male Mantis who got a whole dorm to himself, resulting in the failure of all the females who would have gotten into that dorm from getting into school at all, and... Actually, I don't know about human and lizard females, but he certainly hasn't noticed any. He has noticed you, Artur, and Lucrais having feelings for him, but that all happened after we showed up and started purging The Deceiver from his mind.
NO HE'S NOT CORRUPT. I don't know how the Deceiver is effecting him without corrupting him, but we've seen her handiwork first hand, so we know it's real.
>We can’t just hide him in Daithi’s dorm forever!
Well, then, have I got good news for you! Hugo (Also known as Hugo Perry) is what we call a Reborn Eaggran. Don't use that name out loud, though, for all we know, they might take offense to it the same way that the Reborn Lizards do--they call themselves Sakkil now, by the way, not sure what the Reborn Eaggran call themselves--and we really don't want to upset the guy with a God Beam. I say "Reborn" because, since the Old Gods died out to a plague, survivors, dropped back to the primitive days, eventually made a comeback.
...That's all really complicated and you totally zoned out during the explanation, didn't you? Oh well, it's not too important for you guys to worry about~
Well, anyways, Hugo is a plant person. Literally. Outside of his suit, he can blend into the forest. Well, except for his [Unable to find material in world!] arm and eye, which are yellow in color... We'd have to either find a spot where yellow would naturally show up at, or paint them green. ...And yes, I was the one who said that unable-to-find-material portion of my speech, I was quoting the Gods' remnants on it. Their remnants are a voice [that sounds like this]. Except, y'know, it's not a whole chorus of voices at once. I call it the Gods' Grimoire, since, although it talks, it's basically just relaying stored information to us, and is incapable of an actual conversation.

Yes, dancing, now if I had been more alert we would have engaged in our patented Beard Formation™. Tough admittedly it might have looked a bit off on a lady.

By the way guys, how are we going to do with the trade? I still think trading The Hierophant for The Strength with Purple is a good idea. Getting both of Daithi's parents would probably be a good thing for both us and for him.

> I rather focus on my dear Cedric completely… alright?
ech, clingy much?

>jellyfishes that are dancing on my head? Why are you dancing around my head?
What else are we supposed to do? We're too small individually to do much damage, and most things could be accomplished more easily just by nicely asking someone else to do it.
>Oh, I’m fine… it’s just… I’m… I’m fine…
You'll have to do a better job convincing us than that.
>Daithi probably got a lot of girls his own age following him…
If you mean 'chasing him down so they can drag him to the stables and throw him into the manure pile', then yeah, something like that. The girl he was originally supposed to be married to burned that bridge so thoroughly I'm struggling to come up with an adequate metaphor you'll understand- I think you arrested her not too long ago- and and a not-entirely-reformed inquisitor. He was with Dai when we found that shapestealer in the basement. Just be good to the poor boy and try to have a nice time, you'll be fine.

(derp I forgot Atena was with Daithi when Hugo arrived)
>>592094
The Deceiver isn't the Daemon of Lust. She's the Daemon of Greed.

>>592080
Yeah let's just say you're not gonna have any problems being too forward with Daithi. As for Hugo, I was thinking as captain of the guard you might be able to get him some more secure quarters.

>>592103
>The Deceiver isn't the Daemon of Lust.
No, but Libby the Librarian is.
>Yeah let's just say you're not gonna have any problems being too forward with Daithi.
Unless, y'know, you're forward about sex. Daithi's after a lasting relationship, as long as you're forward about a relationship, things will go fine, but if he thinks you're just after sex, then he'll get scared away, yeah.

>>592104
Libby isn't either, she's Envy. Steve is Lust.

...oh man, I hope Libby can't corrupt people.

[Show current experience, how much experience required to level up and list sources of experience]

[@White: While we somewhat question your choice to so totally focus on Cedric, it's your choice to make and we'll not press you on it. Now, we would like to know that, even though you don't claim pawns, do you still have a full pool of 100 claim power? Because there's a chance we're going to end up having to seize Cathal and Arthur away from Purple and we'll need your backing then. I hope it doesn't come to that, but can we count on you completely if it does?]

[@Purple: If you don't mind saying, where did you first see Yellow? Was it one of his pawns? And this is unrelated, but have you looked at yourself in the mirror and have you seen any other players in the mirror?]

[Help system query: If a player attempts to seize another player's pawn via the level up menu will the player's allies be able to bring their claim power to aid seizing the pawn?]

Atena, when it comes to "Captain Oblivious" Daithi, being extra forward is actually a plus for you. While you're somewhat right about him having gals, as well as guys, his age hitting on him, he's so caught up in his own world of books, games, wargames, and schoolwork it almost always just goes right over his head, and if he does notice he brushes it off as them just being after his mantis dick. Put all that together and it's no wonder he's still a virgin. So, see, while he does want the "you know," and boy does he want it in spades, he also wants even more to have a good, lasting relationship with someone he loves and who loves him back; Someone who respects him and he respects and trusts. ...In fact, he wants it so much he kinda wants more than one person, but we'll cross or burn that bridge if and when we get to it. Though, you can't say that the guy doesn't have high aspirations, can you?

So, just go out on your date and figure it out from there. You won't know if you don't try, after all. But you already like that he's such a cute dork, so I have confidence it'll go well.

And yeah, we know we can't hide Hugo in Daithi's dorm forever, but we're at a loss to where else we could hide him that'd be better. There's no doubt multiple factions by now looking for the "god" that descended last night, so it'd have to be someplace really good. But Hugo does have means to move undetected in the form of his suit's short-range teleportation ability, so if he has to hide in an emergency he can blink away to... I dunno. Onto the highest roof of the Academy, or into an attic or some dead space in the Academy walls or something. We better look into those and map them out for him.

And this is rather out of left field, but I'm wondering why you and the city guard wear capes as part of your uniform. Don't they pose a hazard in a fight by risking getting hung up on things, grabbed by your opponent or caught under your feet or around your limbs? I remember something about "NO CAPES" from somewhere in relation to crime fighting, but I can't remember where...

>>592097
Yeah, I want to trade to get Cathal out from Purple's influence since he's been under him for longer then Arthur; Get a scan on him for corruption and question what Purple was doing. But I want more to get Nickolas as our "man on the inside" who'll report back what Purple is doing and try to talk Purple down. Nick's willpower is amazing and he's resisted corrupting influence for a long time before, so I feel he can stand up to anything Purple will try. We'll have to talk with Nick before making the trade and tell him what's up, though.

However, before making the trade I'd like to get Nick out to meet Cathal and give him the sniff test for daemonic corruption and ask him what arguments Purple has made that's turning his opinion on Purple's objectives. We'll see if Cathal is starting to talk like a fanatic or something.

I've also been thinking of other ways we can find out if Purple is corrupted and allying with him would allow us to check his corruption stat. It could be faked, but that'll at least rule out the easy stuff. A case to bring to Purple for allying would be to pool our claim power and White's to make a grab for Black and Yellow's pawns. Then if we do get them, then we can watch what they're doing for a bit to maybe get some intel before questioning them; We'd say we should do the questioning, since Purple is rather too... aggressive.

>>592098
Atena didn't actually arrest Lucrais because Daithi convinced her otherwise.

>>592103
He's talking about Libby, who's possessed by the Daemoness of Envy, not the one of Greed and the one we think was of Lust is Steve.

Kaktus 2014/09/01(Mon)13:21 No. 592118 ID: 65a774
File 140960289763.png - (10.16KB , 900x450 , 9.png )

>[Show current experience, how much experience required to level up and list sources of experience]
[Error! Cheaters never prospers! CHEATERS NEVER PROSPERS!!! C¤FAHJ¤% NEVER “¤¤¤¤¤!!!!!!]
>[Help system query: If a player attempts to seize another player's pawn via the level up menu will the player's allies be able to bring their claim power to aid seizing the pawn?]
[If they are CHEATER they can NEVER just like any other #¤””!!]

>[@White: While we somewhat question your choice to so totally focus on Cedric, it's your choice to make and we'll not press you on it. Now, we would like to know that, even though you don't claim pawns, do you still have a full pool of 100 claim power?]
[White: Yes, I have… and if given a good reason I might use it to aid you.]
>[@Purple: If you don't mind saying, where did you first see Yellow? Was it one of his pawns?]
[Purple: I saw one of his pawns skulking in the city, trying to find information about the light yesterday…]
>[And this is unrelated, but have you looked at yourself in the mirror and have you seen any other players in the mirror?]
[Purple: Yes, I’ve seen myself. I am after all the eye that sees all… and the tendrils that reach even the deepest reaches of the shadows… ]

>this is rather out of left field, but I'm wondering why you and the city guard wear capes as part of your uniform. Don't they pose a hazard in a fight by risking getting hung up on things, grabbed by your opponent or caught under your feet or around your limbs?
They are designed to fall off of if someone tries to pull them. They are mostly there to protect us from the elements and make us recognizable.
>Actually we have to thank you about Dai, he really needed someone to compliment him, someone to help him believe more in himself as thanks to issues he has had major self-image issues through his life, he really, really needed someone to actually confirm that he's not some pathetic being that everyone hates.
…really? He’s… well, I guessed that he wasn’t the most self-secure of people but… not like that…
>Atena, when it comes to "Captain Oblivious" Daithi, being extra forward is actually a plus for you. While you're somewhat right about him having gals, as well as guys, his age hitting on him, he's so caught up in his own world of books, games, wargames, and schoolwork it almost always just goes right over his head.
…well, he’s a dork… so much I do know…
>the Mantis girls hate him because, well, he's a Male Mantis who got a whole dorm to himself, resulting in the failure of all the females who would have gotten into that dorm from getting into school at all.
…Actually, when I think about it, yeah, female mantises would despite him for that… wouldn’t they…
>If you mean 'chasing him down so they can drag him to the stables and throw him into the manure pile', then yeah, something like that.
They are what!? I have to put a stop too that at once! …somehow…

>Put all that together and it's no wonder he's still a virgin.
…wait, he’s never… a cute boy like him and he’s never… hmm… deflowering a cute boy like him? …that’s… suddenly the date tonight sounds a bit more… no, I shouldn’t think like that…
>So, see, while he does want the "you know," and boy does he want it in spades, he also wants even more to have a good, lasting relationship with someone he loves and who loves him back; Someone who respects him and he respects and trusts.
…
>..In fact, he wants it so much he kinda wants more than one person, but we'll cross or burn that bridge if and when we get to it. Though, you can't say that the guy doesn't have high aspirations, can you?
Wait, he’s with several people at once? With who? When? Where?
>Just be good to the poor boy and try to have a nice time, you'll be fine.
…maybe you’re right… maybe… maybe I should at least try…

>You'll have to do a better job convincing us than you’re fine then that.
…fine, maybe I just… need a hug, okay? Maybe I just miss waking up being embraced by warm mantis arms every morning after a night of snuggling… maybe… maybe I… forget about it…
>as for the dancing... We like doing it, I mean you float around all day you kind of get good at it with being weightless and all.
Well, good for you, I guess…

>Well seeing as you are going to find out anyway we might as well tell you now so you can freak out in the comfort of your own home.
…wait, what? Tell me wh-
>Here's the short version…
I… what? This is a game for the gods? Then they died? And got back? I… I just… what? Why should I even believe anything in those mad ramblings of yours!?
>Well, anyways, Hugo is a plant person. Literally.
…he’s a plant? Huh… well, he is some kind of alien from across the stars or something…
>As for Hugo, I was thinking as captain of the guard you might be able to get him some more secure quarters.
I’m sorry, but the only thing I can offer him is a cell… I mean, even my own apartment is rather tiny…
of course, the bed is large enough for two… two loving people… including a cute bug with a nice butt… a butt I want to ravish… heh… wai- No, I didn’t just think that loud enough for you to hear! No!

Insert First day at the university, already drunk_

Don't worry we've heard far worse and we don't think less of you for having womanly urges, even if it is for something of that nature.

Infact we may start putting you two closer as a result due to our desire to see those under us happy, prosperous, and filled with a general sense of life satisfaction, we're not fans of seeing those under us depressed or saddened.

>I am after all the eye that sees all… and the tendrils that reach even the deepest reaches of the shadows…
...Shit.
[Message Purple: Were you like that from the beginning? Or did you change as your pawns grew?]
>Error! Cheaters never prospers! CHEATERS NEVER PROSPERS!!! C¤FAHJ¤% NEVER “¤¤¤¤¤!!!!!!
[Help query: How can a player avoid cheaters?]
I suspect Deceiver might have cheated "for" us... It might explain why we were able to level up so swiftly before.
[Message White: Oh dear. The Remnants have taken to calling us a cheater; I suspect this may have to do with the actions of The Deceiver, but even if so, it could be a permanent problem: As you may well be aware through Cedric, Daithi is a major target of hers, and although she has not yet corrupted him, she may have influenced his experience so that he would level up with great speed, only to be kicked out of the leveling system.
I do hope you haven't encountered the same problem? You were leveling up just as quickly as we were.]
>a butt I want to ravish…
ಠ_ಠ This is me. Giving you the glare of disappointment. You'll see what I mean if you look at the reflection again.
>maybe… maybe I… forget about it…
Maybe you'll find that in Daithi~
>Wait, he’s with several people at once? With who? When? Where?
NO, he isn't. He fantasizes about it, but he expects it to be completely unrealistic, and only expects... No, not even that, he hopes that he can get with even one person, and right now, he hopes that person is you.

>>592118
[@Purple: What did Yellow's pawn look like? And what was its pawn name?]
Hey, do you like girls? Lucrais is a female mantis so we could just lump everyone together in her harem instead of anyone having to choose. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was no, but I'm rooting for you regardless. Lucrais doesn't seem to want to get married to him even if there is a mutual attraction, and Arthur seems a bit too wild for Daithi. Plus, Arthur is with the "Purple" player now, so having them together presents a possible security risk.

Relationships aren't our primary goal here though, so... if you're done with your morning routine perhaps we can get to work? What resources are at your disposal, anyway?

Hey, did you take down the portrait? It's not there anymore.

>>592122
I think she turned the portrait around so we wouldn't see it. Our eyes are horrible anyways, all we could see is that it was a Mantis in blue uniform. It wasn't Daithi, was it?~
...Be kind of odd if you already had a portrait of him, actually, unless you keep a portrait of all students.

>>592129
It was her late husband. She's a widow.

>>592130
Wait, he was a Mantis? I thought the other one was her ex...

>C¤FAHJ¤% NEVER “¤¤¤¤¤!!!!!!
*sigh* [scan corruption levels]

>Wait, he’s with several people at once?
seeing several people. Like, he got tea with Arthur yesterday and had a game of warstorm with Lucrais.
>No, I didn’t just think that loud enough for you to hear! No!
You totally did. We totally don't care. Everyone except for his teacher and immediate family have similar sentiments about Dai's abdomen. Just don't be too forward, the attention he's been noticing since the deceiver stopped warping his perception is sending him into denial.

>>592129
>>Is that a portrait of your late husband on the wall?
>I… I should really remove that one of these days but… yeah, it is…

Kaktus 2014/09/02(Tue)10:04 No. 592197 ID: 65a774
File 140967747129.png - (13.07KB , 900x450 , 10.png )

>[scan corruption levels]
[No corruption found!]

>[Message Purple: Were you like that from the beginning? Or did you change as your pawns grew?]
[Purple: I’ve always had the glorious form I possess now. It was created to strike fear in the heretics and non-believers! Filth, all of them!]
>[@Purple: What did Yellow's pawn look like? And what was its pawn name?]
[Lizard… I believe female… she was called the Inverted Strength.]

>Don't worry we've heard far worse and we don't think less of you for having womanly urges, even if it is for something of that nature.
…thank you… even then, it was rather embarrassing… slipping up like that.
>ಠ_ಠ This is me. Giving you the glare of disappointment.
…hey, it was an honest mistake, alright? You guys are rather intrusive after all.
>Hey, did you take down the portrait? It's not there anymore.
…I… I shouldn’t bear to look at him anymore, so I turned the portrait around.

>seeing several people. Like, he got tea with Arthur yesterday and had a game of warstorm with Lucrais.
Ah, like that… I guess that’s alright…
>In fact we may start putting you two closer as a result due to our desire to see those under us happy, prosperous, and filled with a general sense of life satisfaction, we're not fans of seeing those under us depressed or saddened.
While my pride and common sense wants me to tell you to stay away from my relationships, but my desperation tells me to accept your help… and that came out a bit… um…
>He fantasizes about it, but he expects it to be completely unrealistic, and only expects... No, not even that, he hopes that he can get with even one person, and right now, he hopes that person is you.
Hmm… well, who hasn’t fantasied about a harem at one time or another… and he wants me? That’s… I have to remember that…
>Hey, do you like girls?
What!? Where did… how did… that’s in no way really relevant to the topic, is it? I mean… I guess if I was in charge but… that’s not something you just ask like that!
>Lucrais is a female mantis so we could just lump everyone together in her harem instead of anyone having to choose.
…how about no? I rather not get into a relationship with a bunch of people I don’t know. Taking care of one person is hard enough!

>Relationships aren't our primary goal here though, so... if you're done with your morning routine perhaps we can get to work? What resources are at your disposal, anyway?
Resources? Well, I am the captain of the guard of this area of the city so… I guess information and man power a plenty? But yes, off to work… luckily, I live in the same house as the station…

Ma’am, we got some more information about the missing girl… it seemed like she get drunk and accidently traveled with one of the night caravans headed to another nearby city. Don’t worry, she came back this morning.
…how did she ev- never mind… and the case in the academy? In the basement?
The inquisition have order us to stay completely out of it… as well of the accident on the hill… oh, and if you want to know, she was drunk and fell asleep behind some boxes in a half full caravan cart.
wait, they took over the case at the gods decent too? …well, less paper work for me then… so, any news for today?
Well, you did tell us to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and… well… there’s three things… first, there’s first practice with real soldiers for the cadets up at the academy and they have asked us to send a ranked officer and some grunts as extra security. Of course, the interesting part is that two of the soldiers have gone missing without a trace since they got there last night. Apparently they never even visited their beds… it can be just two soldiers goofing around but…
And the other two?
A noble mantis family called Baideal wants to talk to high ranking officer in the force… something about their daughter I believe? …oh, and the last thing, apparently there was big bar brawl down at the Crippled Ankwark pub last night. There was a female lizard there that ripped of the door from it hinged and manages to hurt eight people and an Oxin throwing it… I’m pretty sure that’s impossible to do with brute force so there has to have been magic involved… either way, which one do you want to look at personally… you can only be at one place at the time, you know…
Hmm…

Insert Three roads all leading to the same place… disappointment…_

Whoops hit reply a bit early
>and that came out a bit… um…
Honest? Yeah, it did.
>Taking care of one person is hard enough!
Man, we've only ever managed to successfully form one harem... And that was because three of the people were Mantises to start with, and the other was a deviant human. We did manage to get another deviant human to accept the idea of a pre-existing harem for use, though... Of course, she was highly opposed to becoming a part of it.
WE ARE NOT FULL-FLEDGED GENTLEMEN, WE WILL TELL WHO'S KISSED. Sometimes.
Oh, by the way, the reason taking care of one person is hard is that you're only one person taking care of them. The whole point of Mantis-type quadroamorous relationships is that you have four people taking care of eachother, so it's three taking care of one four times over. And I say quadroamorous because, frankly, every Mantis family I've seen has one Matriarch and three spouses.
>it seemed like she get drunk and accidently traveled with one of the night caravans headed to another nearby city.
ANTICLIMANTICISM!
>as well of the accident on the hill…
...Hmm.
[Message Purple: It's good to hear that's always been your form, but I'm suddenly curious. What's this obsession about "Filth"? What qualifies as filth, and how do you intend to cleanse it? As far as fully corrupted players go, purging them through any direct means is perfectly fine, but partially corrupted pawns and players, I would prefer are cleansed through nonlethal means.
Also, about your Holy Fire, is it related to the system perks? From the "Remnants of the Gods"? Because I have reason to believe that form of holy is less effective than what is directly from active Gods or Daemons. No evidence of such, as of yet, but we've been told that Players cannot gain the direct abilities to kill other Players.]
[Help query: Can players send anonymous messages directly, or do they have to send it through NPCs?]
>I’m pretty sure that’s impossible to do with brute force so there has to have been magic involved…
We've been interesting in getting a look at magic for some time now! That might also be the supposed Yellow Pawn, which is another lead we're interested in following.

>>592197
Inverted Strength matches the description of the door-flinging Lizard.

Baideal is Lucrais' family. They probably want to try to get leverage on her to force her to get married. Lucrais is one of our allies so we would really like to prevent that sort of thing.

...actually I think you should talk to the Baideals. You can rebuff them properly to keep Lucrais out of harm's way, while pretty much anyone can investigate the Lizard and give us info on her, at which point we can follow up on it to see what Yellow is like. The two missing soldiers are worrisome but without any more information I can't say it's important enough to require our intervention.

>that came out a bit… um…
We'll be offering advice either way, but we can jump out if you... I dunno, need a moment.

>Don’t worry, she came back this morning, she was drunk and fell asleep behind some boxes in a half full caravan cart
>two of the soldiers have gone missing without a trace since they got there last night
Be wary for shape changers, now. You may want to sneak in some holy items to their disciplinary hearings or whatever.
>Baideal... something about their daughter I believe?
I'm guessing Lucrais is also hearing voices similar to what we're doing now, and isn't taking it as well as you did. Nobles tend to freak out and make a scene at this sort of thing.
>bar brawl, massive casualties
That also sounds like a pawn. As a bonus to listening to us jabber, you gain skill at a much faster rate than normal. We can't push limits like what he's describing, but we can actually defeat other players.

If all my theories are correct, we should go to the Baideal's place first, then check out the bar brawl, and keep people on the lookout for those guards. If nothing turns up, we can look through their stuff for clues.

as for the two missing solders thing, I'm worried as seeing as how we have already ran into a shape stealer but then again the entire inquisition is there plus actual solders and the new recruits so if shit does hit the fan that place will most likely be the best prepared for it, that and we have others working with us there so we can have them look into things if we really need to. so I don't think you have to worry about taking that one.

As for the noble family, Pretty sure I know who the nobles are but I'm not sure if they want to speak to you to bitch you out for trying to arrest there daughter or if they're going to try to see what information they can pull out of you to use against there daughter to further control her. There daughter is one of our people by the way and we are kind of worried about her seeing as she has been forced to grow up as her mother wants her to and not as how she wanted to.

The last one deals with another pawn from another player similar to us who we've been told is going by yellow. The person we've been hearing this from is another player going by purple but we're a little weary of him seeing how he seems to be the type of guy who'd burn a entire city to the ground with everyone in it just to make sure he killed one heretic, sssoooo we're taking everything he tells us with a grain of salt. But he isn't hostile (at least not yet) to us so he might not be talking completely out of his ass and as such might not be a bad thing to check out just to see if purple's story checks out.

So between the nobles and the bar brawl I'd say the bar brawl just so we can get some eyes on it, we can personally check out the other two scenes while your working if you want us to and then come back later to let you know what we found.

That female lizard from the bar brawl might be the one that Purple saw. He said a female lizard who scans as "Inverted Strength" and is with player Yellow was going around trying to find information about the beam of light from when Hugo arrived. Purple seems to be convinced from just this that she and Yellow are connected with the cultists, but that's a hell of a leap of logic so we're not convinced. So we want to speak with Yellow and figure out what his game is before Purple brings the hammer down on him.

Okay, here's the plan. In addition to sending the ranked officer and grunts to the Academy also send an investigator and some guards with orders to track down the two missing soldiers as fast as they can. We'll message our ally White - the one Cedric is with - about this so she can relay a warning about the missing soliders through Cedric to Daithi, Victoria, Nickolas, and maybe Arthur too. That way they can keep an eye out for any soldiers acting oddly or where they shouldn't be. [@White: We're with Atena right now and just found out that two of the soldiers for the Academy practice today went missing before they even got to their beds last night. Might be something, might be nothing, but we're erring on the side of caution. Atena is sending extra cops over to track down the soldiers. And could you have Cedric tell Daithi, Victoria, Nickolas and maybe Arthur about this so they can be wary of any soldiers acting strangely or in places where they shouldn't be.]

As for the Baideal family, I dunno what Lady Baideal wants the guard to do in relation to her daughter Lucrais, but I doubt Lu or us would like it. We know the Baideal family's attitude is totally hardcore old school nobility, so send someone you know has utmost patience and can stand up to any demands they might make that're beyond what the guard is legally allowed or obligated to do. And tell whoever you send to report back to you what happened at the meeting and any requests made before enacting them so you can decide what to do about them.

You'll be going to track down the female lizard from the bar brawl. We want to find out is she's Yellow's ASAP so we can make contact with him before Purple comes down on them. But make sure to either bring backup or have them nearby; Going by her ripping the door off its hinges and throwing it we do not want you getting close to her. You got anything that can knock her out or incapacitate her from a distance if things go sour? Sleep gas grenades? Tear gas? Stun rod bolts?

Also, going by her designation as "Inverted Strength" and it's meaning in tarot she might be the opposite of Nickolas' "Strength." If that's the case she'll have little of such things as self-control, kindness, compassion and discipline. I do hope that's not the case, but from what she did to the pub's door it just might be.

And always keep in mind there's always the possibility of Shape Stealers. You were there when Arthur was laying out some of what they could do, so I think you heard that they could suck out a victim's brain to get their memories and impersonate them near perfectly. So people going missing and then showing up again like that student from the Academy should still be checked out. A smack with a holy symbol or splash of holy water should be enough of a test to root out all but the strongest Shape Stealers. We'll get a message to Arthur or Nickolas to check the student out. [@White: Could you get word to Arthur or Nickolas to check if the female mantis student that showed up after going missing yesterday is a Shape Stealer. It's unlikely, but we still want to be sure she wasn't killed and replaced.]

Could you tell us more of the Inquisition? What is the extent of their power, where are they legally allowed to apply that power, and what oversight, if any, watches them? I just want to know what'll happen if we get on Purple's bad side and he turns the local branch of the Inquisition against us.

...Oh, crap. I Just realized something. In a previous message Purple said "Another player called Yellow has entered the playing field… and I do believe you and that police lady met some of his followers out in the forest yesterday, did you not?" He thinks the lunatics are Yellow's followers, so that means Purple knows Daithi was out there with you, Atena. But how could he know? Tell us the cover story you gave for what happened out there. But however he knows, he knows we were out there when the beam of light came down and that means he's going to be giving us extra scrutiny and getting all up in our business. Given that I'm afraid that Hugo's hiding spot is going to be found out sooner rather than later, but I don't have any idea where else we could hide him or how to get him there without being seen. Dammit...

[@Purple: From the description Cathal gave I have no doubt your form would be very frightening to the filth; Shame it can only be seen via reflection and then only by pawns and players. Anyway, I'm wondering: What do you think the beam of light from Aerathin's Belt yesterday was? Something divine?]

>>592203
Would you please be more careful when telling Purple things we know about daemons. Saying that "holy" anti-daemonic power can come from daemons might imply things and bring up questions in Purple's mind about us that we do not want him thinking. Just be extra wary of what you say to him, alright.

>>592212
Er... We haven't actually spoken to Lucrais yet, so the chances she's hearing voices are low. And even if she was hearing voices she or her mother wouldn't go to the police about it.

Kaktus 2014/09/03(Wed)06:30 No. 592333 ID: 65a774
File 140975105163.png - (16.49KB , 900x450 , 11.png )

>[Help query: Can players send anonymous messages directly, or do they have to send it through NPCs?]
[Unable to send anonymous messages in an attempt stop greifing.]
>[Message Purple: It's good to hear that's always been your form, but I'm suddenly curious. What's this obsession about "Filth"? What qualifies as filth, and how do you intend to cleanse it?]
[Purple: Heretics, demon worshippers and their ilk. They are unclean! Disgusting filthy beasts that needs to be cleansed… and sometimes even put down.]
>[I'm wondering: What do you think the beam of light from Aerathin's Belt yesterday was? Something divine?]
[You do not know? Were you not there? Hmm… maybe you claimed the police lady after she’s been there? What did she say she saw? Were her eyes even capable to see the divine? What came down there? A weapon? A god? Both? I need to know…]
[@White: We're with Atena right now and just found out that two of the soldiers for the Academy practice today went missing before they even got to their beds last night. Might be something, might be nothing…]
[White: I’ll see what I can do…]

>We'll be offering advice either way, but we can jump out if you... I dunno, need a moment.
No, I’m fine… you’re just something you need to get used too.
>WE ARE NOT FULL-FLEDGED GENTLEMEN, WE WILL TELL WHO'S KISSED.
…remind me to never kiss in your presence.
>Oh, by the way, the reason taking care of one person is hard is that you're only one person taking care of them. The whole point of Mantis-type quadroamorous relationships is that you have four people taking care of each other, so it's three taking care of one four times over.
Well, you still need to take care of four people, don’t you? Four people you need to know as good or even better then you do yourself… four people to love more than anything… four people to please in… hmm…

>Be wary for shape changers, now. You may want to sneak in some holy items to the students and soldier’s disciplinary hearings or whatever.
The Inquisition is already doing that… hopefully they will be gentle enough to not scare the crap out of people.
>Could you tell us more of the Inquisition? What is the extent of their power, where are they legally allowed to apply that power, and what oversight, if any, watches them?
Their power does about equal ours, except that they can operate in all cities while we’re based in one… except if you count the whole guard union. While they can request for us to not go snooping around their business, we can if given a good reason just ignore them… or outright arrest them if they are breaking the law. Problem is, their job is to take care of demon worshippers and the like, which means so far they have the right to tell us to bugger off.
>That also sounds like a pawn. As a bonus to listening to us jabber, you gain skill at a much faster rate than normal.
…really? Wait, when you say skills, do you mean like… um… everything? I’ll become a better Quest master if I plat some Q&Q while you’re with me?
>The last one deals with another pawn from another player similar to us who we've been told is going by yellow.
So… there are more people out there who can commit feats like that… wait, does that mean I’ll be able to commit feats like that!?

>Okay, here's the plan. In addition to sending the ranked officer and grunts to the Academy also send an investigator and some guards with orders to track down the two missing soldiers as fast as they can.
Right, I’ll see what men I can spare.
>As for the Baideal family, I dunno what Lady Baideal wants the guard to do in relation to her daughter Lucrais, but I doubt Lu or us would like it.
Hmm… I’ve heard about the Baideal family before… an awful lot… thinking their “nobility” entitle them to do what they want, even now when their money is starting to dry up. I’m pretty sure one of her oldest is in prison for some petty theft… and their matriarch was almost arrested for trying to bribe pretty much everyone in the court room when he was sentenced.
>We know the Baideal family's attitude is totally hardcore old school nobility, so send someone you know has utmost patience and can stand up to any demands they might make that're beyond what the guard is legally allowed or obligated to do.
I’ll send Jorgen, he lacks the imagination to get mad or bend the law.

>You'll be going to track down the female lizard from the bar brawl. We want to find out is she's Yellow's ASAP so we can make contact with him before Purple comes down on them.
The bar it is then…
>we can personally check out the other two scenes while you’re working if you want us to and then come back later to let you know what we found.
Well, if you want to… I mean, I’m pretty sure I can handle myself out there on my own and if you deem any of the other places are more important.

…

One more cup, bar man!
You know, we are technically closed.
I’m here on business of the inquisition. Very important, yes?
…and that involves drinking?
Yes! Also, I’m paying; it’s… how you say… expense for inquisitors.
Yes, yes… I’ll be right over… just give me a minute.
Wait… Arthur?
Ah, it is the lady of superior posterior, yes? A begum with… how you say… a bum that doesn’t need any bunkum…
Err…
The queen with the fantastic fanny, the ruler of the ravishing, refined, remarkable rump, yes?
…okay, that’s enough. I only understood half of those words but-
A derriere to die for, haunches to hang for, a backside to get behi-
Enough!
I am only complimenting lady police, yes? At least, that what colored jelly fish say… he had very fun with your… how you say… reaction, yes? Much laughter.

Insert important items in interesting something something I can’t do this shit_

>you still need to take care of four people, don’t you? four people to love more than anything… four people to please in
look at it this way, its four people that love you, four people to take care of you, four people to please and pleasure you!

>At least, that what colored jelly fish say
Which colored jellyfish? US? I don't remember telling him to be a horn-dog!

>>592336

Arthur was claimed by purple, he offered us a trade for him earlier. He's also a squiddie.

But yeah tell Arthur to knock it off, it's very rude.

>>592333
Hehe, oh jeez, Purple has a sense of humor too. What a dangerous player.

Ask if he's found any info on the suspect yet. How much has he had to drink, anyway? Should he really be drinking on the job? ...how is he drinking through the helmet?
[scan that Mantis]

>I’ll become a better Quest master if I plat some Q&Q while you’re with me?
Probably. A guy who had no musical talent whatsoever suddenly learned to play the harp really well... even though we weren't even with him at the time. As long as you're still our pawn, we don't have to be speaking to you at the time.
I think you learn fastest when we are speaking with you, though.
>So… there are more people out there who can commit feats like that…
Yes. To be specific, they are "Golem" Players. We (Teal) are not. This does not mean they are not real or that they do not have a soul, just that they cannot kill other players. We, however, can. Golems do get additional attributes that we do not, though.
>wait, does that mean I’ll be able to commit feats like that!?
Your physical strength can grow swiftly and to extremes, yes, but we cannot give you powers you do not have. Do not expect to suddenly throw around fire, unless you have a way of unlocking that power yourself.
>At least, that what colored jelly fish say…
[Scan Arthur, echo to Atena]
That should tell you which player is talking to him. Tell that player, by color, that Teal says Hello. Such as if it's purple, "Teal says hello, purple."

Kaktus 2014/09/03(Wed)10:04 No. 592354 ID: 65a774
File 140976388270.png - (16.59KB , 900x450 , 12.png )

>[scan that Mantis]
[Neutral Creature: Barkeep]
>[Scan Arthur, echo to Atena]
[“The Star” belongs to Player Purple!]

>look at it this way, its four people that love you, four people to take care of you, four people to please and pleasure you!
Yeah, because having four people love you with a fourth of their love is equal as being loved by one person completely… Quality over quantity, you know.
>Arthur was claimed by purple, he offered us a trade for him earlier. He's also a squiddie.
Hmm… so another one of you guys? First Yellow and now this… how many of your kind are there?
>Hehe, oh jeez, Purple has a sense of humor too. What a dangerous player.
…yes, “humor”…
>...how is he drinking through the helmet?
Err… he’s not wearing a helmet?
>Your physical strength can grow swiftly and to extremes, yes, but we cannot give you powers you do not have.
Hmm… so no fire balls then? Blast!
>Probably. A guy who had no musical talent whatsoever suddenly learned to play the harp really well...
…really? Then…. Hmm… very interesting…

>But yeah tell Arthur to knock it off, it's very rude.
While I like a compliment, this is going a bit far.
Oh, I’m sorry… I thought saying nice things to a beautiful lady was good, yes? It’s like… how you say… um… appreciating a piece of priceless art, yes? Show some support to artist, no? Either way, you are very much best shape of woman and I’m envious of your husband, yes?
…
>How much has he had to drink, anyway? Should he really be drinking on the job?
I only have had two drinks. Nothing strong, you need not to worry, yes?
>Tell that player, by color, that Teal says Hello.
Purple says “Greetings, Squiddy.”

>Ask if he's found any info on the suspect yet.
Oh, I can’t tell you that. Superiors orders.
Superior? Who?
Boss inquisitor is here. Ordered me to go here and get info, yes? Then no tell anyone, he said. You might want to ask Bar man… he never said anything about stopping you from doing that.
I’m going to tell you the same thing I told this pathetic excuse for a inquisitor. There was this big lizard broad here asking questions about the weird light yesterday and something about a plant… I think she was talking to some undead? Then she got mad when someone insulted her and suddenly there was a door flying and stuff… That’s it, alright? Now gitt, so I can clean in peace! …oh, and she dropped some trinket… that inquisitor fella got it.
…let me guess…
Superiors order, police lady, no showy.
…hmm…

Insert Superior THIS!!_

>>592354
Ah, his portrait has his helmet on, so I got confused. Also, it sounds like Yellow already knows about Hugo... I think Yellow was contacted by someone that wants Hugo dead.
Maybe you can seduce the trinket off him, if Purple won't tell us.

[@Purple: Would you be willing to tell us what the trinket is?]

ask the barkeep if he knows where we could possibly find the people that the lizard broad was talking to, or maybe even if he say where she went. That and a description so we can pass it around the guard and try and make things a bit easier.

and is it just me or does purple sound less crazy when talking through pawns?

>I thought saying nice things to a beautiful lady was good, yes?
... It's like he wants his heart to be in the right place, but has no idea where that is.
>no showy.
[message purple: you're not going to make us ask for a favor, are you?]

Kaktus 2014/09/03(Wed)13:41 No. 592391 ID: 65a774
File 140977688275.png - (16.66KB , 900x450 , 13.png )

>[@Purple: Would you be willing to tell us what the trinket is?]
[Purple: …not really…]
>[message purple: you're not going to make us ask for a favor, are you?]
[…no, I won’t. I still don’t trust you, so I will keep any information to myself. I should recommend you do the same, as you’ll never know who is tainted by a demon spawn.]

>Also, it sounds like Yellow already knows about Hugo... I think Yellow was contacted by someone that wants Hugo dead.
Hmm… someone knows about the alien… that’s bad- wait, someone already wants him dead?
>... It's like he wants his heart to be in the right place, but has no idea where that is.
…that’s a pretty accurate discretion, actually… I’m guessing he’s probably a nice guy, it’s just that he’s from another culture and all…
>and is it just me or does purple sound less crazy when talking through pawns?
I’m guessing Arthur is filtering out the more crazy stuff.

>ask the barkeep if he knows where we could possibly find the people that the lizard broad was talking to, or maybe even if he say where she went.
Heck if I know! All I know was they were all strangers, probably from outside town… even from outside the empire.
>That and a description so we can pass it around the guard and try and make things a bit easier.
Let’s see… she was kind of big… and I think she had blue eyes? Maybe? I don’t know, you lizards all look the same to us… err… no offence.
None taken… I got the same problem with humans.

>Maybe you can seduce the trinket off him, if Purple won't tell us.
…I’m an officer of the law. I won’t sink so low as some three magpie harlot… unless…
Hmm… Arthur? Does this superior of your outrank my superior posterior?
Oh, of course not… but… err… I can’t ask you to do something like that for… err… that would be wrong, yes? While I would love see your tail shake like- Ow, ow, OW! What are you doing!?
Arresting you for obstructing an officer of the law. You said it yourself, I outrank you superior-
Ow, I get the hint, yes!? Here, take it!
Ah, good… then you’re free to go…
…you should have just asked nicely, you know…
Hmm… it’s a copper locket? With a picture of two lizards inside it? One male and one female? Hmm…

[Purple: Heh… that was rather fun to watch… he deserve so much for being so… rude to the police lady, no? If you give the locket back before you leave I will let this slide…]

Insert Arthur, stop interrupting th-
Though, I like a lady that are willing to… how you say… bring me some good pain, yes? Rawr~
…

>>592391
Alright, that's a pendant with a picture of our culprit's loved ones. I suggest you describe the female on in more detail though, on the off-chance THAT is who we're looking for. Are there any engraving's on it, a name perhaps?

show that to the bar tender and ask if either of those lizards where someone he saw last knight, if so we know have a face for the crime, could be helpful. Oh and purple does want that back when you're done using it and I'm not to against the idea either mostly because one, I'd rather have the Inquisition and the guard at least trying to work together instead of having a dick waving contest. Two, Arthur is just doing his job and I'd hate to see the guy get in trouble just because someone outranked him. And three, the Inquisition seem to be mostly staying to the school, where we have Hugo hiding, and if yellow ever does find out that we're hiding the alien there he might send someone to try get him if yellow really is mad. In which case having the Inquisition knowing who to look for would help us. But in the end it's your call since this is your job and you've been at it longer then us.

>wait, someone already wants him dead?
Did you forget the part where he literally hadn't even been on the ground for a minute before the fanatics attacked him?!?

>a copper locket? With a picture of two lizards inside it? One male and one female?
>probably from outside town… even from outside the empire.
>she was kind of big… and I think she had blue eyes?
Could it be? Mor'kay?

>>592399
Impossible. Mor'Kay is normal sized outside her armor, for that matter she's not Inverted Sun nor is she a pawn of Yellow. Also, Mor'Kay has red eyes. It's possible the undead Yellow's pawn was speaking to was Mor'Kay though.

>>592391
If you can commit the picture to memory then give back the locket, to prevent antagonizing Purple. What are their eye colors, and what sort of markings does the male have? Are they wearing anything interesting? Are either missing part of their horns? As for Hugo, those that want to kill him are... from where he came from, basically.
We've done as much as we can here I think. Let the guard know to keep an eye out for the big lizard and undead person- wait what type of undead was it? Ghoul, mummy, skeleton? Which race was the undead person?

>how many of your kind are there?
Last count I believe was 255? Only an Administrator can make more, but Hugo, the new God, I suppose counts as one, since he's considered an Avatar Player. Otherwise, a player got deleted to make space for him. Scary thought.
>someone already wants him dead?
Another "God," who we don't know the name of, we just know that his position is a Sakkil Marine. Sakkil look like lizards, and their precursors, before the plague killed off all of the advanced civilizations, were Lizards, but don't call a Sakkil a Lizard, they'll take offense to it.
Although, it's odd. I thought we'd convinced the Sakkil Marine to not kill Hugo. Maybe he accidentally Purified somebody--any outside person who takes up the position of "God" can purify people. Thankfully Hugo cannot do this, because purification works exactly like a Daemon's corruption, only under a different name. A person can be both partially purified and partially corrupted at the same time, but once one hits 100%, the other gets erased completely.
Also, when a Daemon corrupts a person, that person's natural way of thinking can corrupt the Daemon right back, chances are it works the same with Gods. If the Sakkil Marine did indeed purify somebody, even by accident, it's possible their methods rubbed off on him and made him a bit more zealous.
>Heh… that was rather fun to watch… he deserve so much for being so… rude to the police lady, no? If you give the locket back before you leave I will let this slide…
Okay, I think we've seen that locket before. Jericho, another one of our Kings, had a locket like that, and his mother, Mor'Kay, and his father, Durach, probably had their own copies, too. Mor'Kay was the King of Red, so it's definitely possible that it was her, she's had plenty of time to grow in strength.
Please return the locket, knowing what was inside is enough for us... Really, that's all we can get out of it.
[Message Purple: Cute~ I am unsure if those words truly were yours, if Arthur misunderstood, or if he was translating... unsuccessfully. Be on the look out for player Red. Red is, or was, trustworthy, but I don't know what has happened in the past three months.
Oh! And if you're interested, I certainly wouldn't mind a dance partner~]
[Message Purple: That was half a joke. I enjoy teasing people, and understand if things want to be kept serious, but if you do happen to agree, I'm well enough able to keep serious and enjoy some fun at the same time.]
>Though, I like a lady that are willing to… how you say… bring me some good pain, yes? Rawr~
...Please tell me that isn't Theen, somehow converted to another title and player for the time being.
>Did you forget the part where he literally hadn't even been on the ground for a minute before the fanatics attacked him?!?
Oh, right, they were Daemonic. Yellow probably encountered a Daemon who just doesn't like the Gods. Daemons were invented -- yes, invented, they are "Golems" the same way most Players are -- to be the enemy of the Gods after all, so while the Daemons have grown spirits and become alive, some certainly would still hate anything from the outside world.
> Mor'Kay is normal sized outside her armor,
What armor? That was an iron golem. She could have had a Flesh Golem made or something that she could control.

*sigh* Arthur... He's like a sexuality wild card; He'd go with and has gone with most everything. ...But, I have to wonder why he still comes on so strong even after living in Amun for two and a half years. Maybe under it all he's just a bit desperate to be close to someone and has been expressing it in a bad way? He is kinda socially isolated in Amun due to where he came from, after all, isn't he?

Could you get a mirror out and take a look-see at Purple, just to confirm that he's as terrifying as Cathal said. And give the mirror to Arthur so he can see what we look like too. Maybe comment that he's taking having a giant purple flying eyeball-laden squid-thing hovering over his shoulder and talking to him rather well.

Hey, last night Arthur told Daithi that he played Q&Q when he was in Inquisition school, and Lucrais also wants to get into Q&Q, so we're thinking that maybe you could dust off your QM stuff and run a one-shot intro game with them, Daithi and Cedric at some point. Though with the Hugo situation it'd have be someplace that isn't Daithi's dorm since Purple would come along with Arthur. Though, if a game does happen it'll probably be a ways off when things aren't so busy.

[@Purple: I'm curious: What's your opinion of Arthur since he's a reformed former cultist?]

>Hmm… someone knows about the alien… that’s bad- wait, someone already wants him dead?
Yeah, the one that chased him here. Weren't you paying attention to the "mad rambling" of a short history my fellow voice told you? Okay, to recap and elaborate: The Sakkilians, a civilization comprised of the descendants of the Old God lizards, are at war with Hugo's species, the Uredo, and have been for the last two years out there. Hugo was being pursued by a Sakkilian marine across the void of space, into the middle of nowhere where on a barren rock of a planet they stumbled upon a grand creation of their Precursors: Your world. The marine shot Hugo's ship down and after crashing Hugo fled inside your world via whatever system is used to insert players while the marine instead went for an admin control terminal; In a very rough Q&Q analogy, that terminal would be the system through which the "game masters" for this world applied their power. From there the marine saw when and where the only player in the game was about to arrive in the Serath desert, manifested there as a floating golden lizard with angelic wings and gave a gun like the one Hugo used to a Serath tribal shaman along with directions to kill the three-eyed "demon" that would show up. Thankfully the information the marine got was wrong, the player that showed up was us, not Hugo, and the shaman was also one of our guys.

Right after the shaman left we messaged back and forth with the Sakkilian marine and that's how we found out what we have of what's going on out there. We also shook the marine's view of the Sakkilian's place and destiny in the universe by pointing out that this world proves that the Precursors were a civilization of lizards, humans and mantis, not just lizards, but unfortunately we couldn't convince the marine to stop pursuing Hugo. Thankfully the marine won't have such admin powers as he used over in the Serath to do so 'cause right after the marine disconnected from the admin terminal the World System finally realized the marine wasn't authorized to access it and locked down "vital admin commands." Unfortunately we don't know what powers that left the marine to use from up there to influence down there.

And some vital bits of information you should know to make sense of some of what we're saying: There's some serious time warping shenanigans going on in this world and around us. On a hunch we asked the Sakkilian marine if time was passing faster in here then outside and it is, by a factor of 720. That means for every day in here, only two minutes pass out there. We've also been shifting around in time, to three different periods so far: Here and now, the Serath three months ago, and Järgien six months from now. We've also found out that the world has been stuck in what's effectively a time loop that starts right before we first appear in the Serath and ends with the opening, sealing, or destruction of the gate to the Daemon Realm; A cycle of death and rebirth that only the daemons and the World itself retain their memories through. And that the one who's caused these cycles is us, because every outcome so far has been unsatisfactory. But this is the last cycle. The final chance to land the coin on edge, to finally make things right...

Sorry for the infodump, Atena, but it'll be needed for you to understand at least part of our reasoning for what we're saying and doing. You can choose to believe what of it you wish for now, but it's likely that we and you will eventually find an outside source that can confirm at least part of it.

>Hmm… so another one of you guys? First Yellow and now this… how many of your kind are there?
Well, we're totally one of a kind in the universe, but within the context of this world and game there's only one other "real" player like us: Hugo. All the other 346 players are "artificial gods;" Artificial intelligences that were originally designed to both fill player slots in the game when a real player wasn't available and offer extra opponents and allies in the game. So Purple, White, Black and all the other players are AIs with varying levels of difficulty, personalties and play styles. And the reason there's 346 AI players is 'cause the last admin on before the death of the Old Gods put them in and disabled the victory conditions as an experiment; However, we weren't part of it and came along much later, long after the Old Gods had died.

As far as we know the only one besides us, you, Daithi, and maybe Lucrais who knows Hugo is a plant person is the Sakkilian marine. So I suspect the marine is somehow connected to this buff lizard gal. We even remember the marine refer to Hugo multiple times as a "plant" in a derogatory way so that lends a bit of credence to this idea since she used the same word here.

...Wait a second. When we checked what non-AI players were on a little while ago it showed us, Hugo, and "ADMIN(AWAY)" But when we checked it before, back in the Serath, it showed only us, one player in the player lobby, and one player in the admin lobby. Could it be that the Sakkilian marine has entered the game as a player using what admin powers were still unlocked? Since there hasn't been another beam of light it'd have to have been via a more discreet way then Hugo did, or the marine is a player more like us, working as a voice. Lemme double-check that we read that right: [List all non-AI players]

There's also the possibility that the marine has the power to insert a new AI player into the world, with special instructions or quests. Better check for that as well. [Show current number of AI players] Even if the marine couldn't do that, he or she might have been able to give an existing AI player a new quest and instructions to find and kill Hugo.

Our king pawn back in the Serath had a copper locket with the portraits of his parents in it. There's next to no chance this is the same locket, but we still have to rule it out. Hold it out so we can scan it and then give us a detailed description of the portraits. [Scan copper locket] Once that's completely ruled out we can continue.

Purple said that if you give the locket back before you leave he'll let it slide, so lets get as much as we can out of it before you leave. Look over the locket thoroughly for any marks, etches, engraving, maker's mark, or other hints as to its origin, specifically any foreign text. Then lay it out on the bar so Arthur can see it as well, get a pin or a pocket knife and use it to lift the portraits out and check if anything is written on their backs or under them in the locket. Once that's all done and you've committed the portraits to memory then put the locket back together and give it back to Arthur.

Ask the barkeep if he can remember what the female lizard was wearing. Were her clothes local in style or foreign? Was she in armor or armed in any way? Oh, and does he remember what the insult was that set her off? Then ask what he can remember of the undead she was speaking with. How many of them were there, what kind of undead were they (ghoul, skeleton, mummy,) what were their species and genders and if they had any other distinguishing physical characteristics or clothing?

What time did the big lizard gal show up and what time did the bar brawl start? I'm guessing she showed up after eleven or midnight. Also, what time do the city gates close and what time do they open?

What's the Amun Empire's stance and laws on undead and necromancy? I'd figure it's a "Hell, no" on the practice of necromancy within its borders, but from the undead that were in the pub that undead from outside will be tolerated if they behave. And do you know of any other place in the world besides the Serath Sultanate that allows necromancy or that a significant number of intelligent undead come from?

Since the lizard we're looking for as well as the undead she was talking to are likely visitors to the city, I think our next step after leaving here is to go around to the inns, lodgings and other places around here with short-term accommodations to ask if anyone matching their descriptions is or has stayed there. Compile what descriptions we have for the female lizard, the undead, and the two lizards in the locket as well, just to be sure, and make copies for the guards who'll be asking around. And also send descriptions to the city gates for the guards to watch for them all; Arrest the gal and bring the undead or the other two lizards to you for questioning.

>>592455
>Could it be that the Sakkilian marine has entered the game as a player using what admin powers were still unlocked?
OH FUCKING SHIT. Purple is the Sakkil Marine, isn't he? Sigh, and we're the only player he saw, so of course he would copy our form, squids with eyes, rather than using his natural form. He thought he would look like a native.
I want to send the following as a message, but I'm going to let you guys have a say in this, since it some of you said to be careful what we say to purple:
Say, we never did ask... Do you have a name? You know, other than "Purple." Some players seem to enjoy their color name, while others have created an alias they would prefer to go by. We have alises, ourselves, but "Teal" seems to be the favored name.
And you asked us earlier if we hadn't heard any mention of what came down in the light. It was a person. Looked kind of like a lizard, but oddly took offense to being called one. He said he was "Sakkil," and something about an AWOL soldier.
[DO NOT SEND THE SECOND PARAGRAPH unless approved of by at least two more votes than those for not sending it; this does not count as a vote]
We should tell purple something, but also check to see if purple is maybe the Sakkil Marine we encountered before.

>>592461
>purple is the marine
No. That makes no sense. We already CHECKED for non-AI players and there are three: Teal, Hugo, and admin(afk) which we can assume means the sakkil got interrupted by the intruders and didn't log out.

>>592461
[Vote negative to sending] ...What the...? How the heck did you make the leap to that idea? There's next to zero chance Purple is the Sakkilian marine. That Purple was here BEFORE Hugo dropped in pretty much clinches that Purple isn't the marine since the marine was in pursuit of Hugo, so he (or she) arrived afterwards. But think: If the marine was at the admin terminal when Hugo entered, wouldn't the marine have descended as the glowing winged lizard here and not back in the Serath like he (or she) did? So it makes no sense that Purple is the marine.

I actually think there's a chance that the big buff lizard gal who ripped the door off the pub is really the marine and she used the admin terminal to insert herself in here as a player without all the hoopla like Hugo's arrival did, as well as hiding what player color she is on the player list behind "ADMIN." Or the marine took over an AI player and is playing like we or Purple are, as a directing voice. But really, this is all speculation and we don't have any evidence that the marine did any of this. We'd best follow the clues we have and locate the beefy female lizard before deciding.

>>592470
What intruders? I don't remember there being any indication of intruders up where the admin terminal is.

>>592495
>[Warning! Unregistered beings detected in main compound!]
>[Warning! Unregistered being has accessed Admin controls! Locking down vital admin commands!]
Those intruders.

Kaktus 2014/09/04(Thu)09:58 No. 592510 ID: 65a774
File 140984993268.png - (17.03KB , 900x450 , 14.png )

>[Show current number of AI players] [List all non-AI players]
[There are currently 346 AI players active! There is currently two Player playing the game: Player Teal and {%^*¤öö43}! There are also currently seven Admins online! There’s one player in the lobby!]

>[@Purple: I'm curious: What's your opinion of Arthur since he's a reformed former cultist?]
[Former Cultist? Don’t be daft; he never became a full cultist. That’s why he reformed, after all. He cleansed himself from filth and accepted our guidance. Oh, and the things he can tell when you ask the right questions…]
>[Say, we never did ask... Do you have a name? You know, other than "Purple." Some players seem to enjoy their color name, while others have created an alias they would prefer to go by.]
[I am the purifier, the purge, the paragon, the peace maker, the purple… you can call me… P… …. …no, wait, that sounds like… that’s not… err… just call me purple for now… alright?]
>[Message Purple: Cute~ I am unsure if those words truly were yours, if Arthur misunderstood, or if he was translating... unsuccessfully.]
[I only said that he would complement the police lady, the rest he did himself… oh, but I was rather impressed with his vocabulary considering… those things.]
>[Oh! And if you're interested, I certainly wouldn't mind a dance partner~]
[…I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t try to dance with me…]

>There Is currently 347 of us.
…that’s a lot, isn’t it… but… it’s all around the world, right? Hmm…
>Did you forget the part where he literally hadn't even been on the ground for a minute before the fanatics attacked him?!?
Well, those where fanatics. They would have attacked anything that came down that beam of light, be it Hugo, Steve from accounting or even a bag of tulips.
>As for Hugo, those that want to kill him are... from where he came from, basically.
Ah, so another alien…
>Weren't you paying attention to the "mad rambling" of a short history my fellow voice told you? Okay, to recap and elaborate…
Err… I… think I got some of… that? So… alien on run from alien who entered our world… or world is a “Game”… something about admins… right…

>What's the Amun Empire's stance and laws on undead and necromancy? I'd figure it's a "Hell, no" on the practice of necromancy within its borders, but from the undead that were in the pub that undead from outside will be tolerated if they behave.
Necromancy is illegal and having mindless undead is the same. Sentient undead is accepted as a person, but their creation is illegal.
>do you know of any other place in the world besides the Serath Sultanate that allows necromancy or that a significant number of intelligent undead come from?
Well, a lot of countries at the southern part of the world are rather lax about necromancy…

>*sigh* Arthur... He's like a sexuality wild card; He'd go with and has gone with most everything.
First animals and now this? I’m getting a bit concerned to be honest…
>...But, I have to wonder why he still comes on so strong even after living in Amun for two and a half years. Maybe under it all he's just a bit desperate to be close to someone and has been expressing it in a bad way? He is kinda socially isolated in Amun due to where he came from, after all, isn't he?
…I… I… that’s… the way he reacted when I tried to arrest him and hurt him was… I’ve seen it before… in children and young adults… it’s… he didn’t like that I made him feel pain but… he loved that I actually paid attention to him… that I touched him… he’s like a attention starved kid… I… I don’t know if I should feel pity or think he’s pathetic…
>Hey, last night Arthur told Daithi that he played Q&Q when he was in Inquisition school, and Lucrais also wants to get into Q&Q, so we're thinking that maybe you could dust off your QM stuff and run a one-shot intro game with them, Daithi and Cedric at some point.
That would probably be fun, yeah… when we get time, of course…

>I'd rather have the Inquisition and the guard at least trying to work together instead of having a dick waving contest.
Well, I’ve seen how short of their “superior” officer here and I have to say… I think you know who would win a dick waving contest between me and him, right?
>I suggest you describe the female on in more detail though, on the off-chance THAT is who we're looking for.
Hmm… golden eyes and... She’s rather thin, I guess? It’s clearly not the lizard we’re looking for.
>What are their eye colors, and what sort of markings does the male have? Are they wearing anything interesting? Are either missing part of their horns?
The male also has golden eyes… and he’s marking are rather large, actually…
>Are there any engraving's on it, a name perhaps?
Nope, nothing.

>show that to the bar tender and ask if either of those lizards where someone he saw last night.
What? No, of course not. That skinny thing doesn’t look at all like the mountain that was here yesterday.
>wait what type of undead was it? Ghoul, mummy, skeleton? Which race was the undead person?
A lizard ghoul, I believe… probably female?
>Ask the barkeep if he can remember what the female lizard was wearing.
She wore leather armor with yellow markings… almost looked like one of those armors those brutes in the untamed lands wear. As for the undead, she wore some kind of red robe that covered her face.

>If you can commit the picture to memory then give back the locket, to prevent antagonizing Purple.
Ah, thank you!
>Could you get a mirror out and take a look-see at Purple, just to confirm that he's as terrifying as Cathal said.
…Big tentacle things with a lot of mouths and eyes? …and a very… large… eye staring right… err…
[Purple: I see you… beautiful…]
>Maybe comment that Arthur is taking having a giant purple flying eyeball-laden squid-thing hovering over his shoulder and talking to him rather well.
I have to admit, I did… how you say… freak the fuck out at first, yes? But then boss told me he was with him so everything is okay, yes?
>I think our next step after leaving here is to go around to the inns, lodgings and other places around here with short-term accommodations to ask if anyone matching their descriptions is or has stayed there.
Hmm… I can send some guards out with descriptions to ask… but there are a lot of inns around here so it will probably take all day… Meanwhile, maybe I should visit the school or the mantis noble family?

[Purple: …I have changed my mind about the trade… The star will stay with me but I am willing to trade the father of your king for… the police lady, if that’s alright for you? Hmm… of course, I’m still willing to accept the Priest but I rather have the police lady and her… assets as my pawn…]

Insert She does have some nice assets, don’t she?

So..You would mind if we danced with you, or wouldn't. Hard double negative.

But yeah, I don't think we will agree to this trade for now, while that might be useful to us to have father for symbolic purposes having Atena might prove better for our purposes within the police task force, which would allow us better use.

>There are currently 346 AI players active!
Oh good lord they're multiplying?!
>There are also currently seven Admins online! There’s one player in the lobby!
WHERE ARE THEY ALL COMING FROM!?
>I am the purifier, the purge, the paragon, the peace maker, the purple… you can call me… P… …. …no, wait, that sounds like… that’s not… err… just call me purple for now… alright?
[Reply: Well, if you want a name that follows the alliteration, Peter or Patrick work well. If you're after a female name, Patricia or Penny would work, too. "Pat" for androgynism. Take your time, though, Purple! An alias is a serious change.
Also, uh, I'm not good with Lizard or Mantis names, sorry to say. Only Human names. I also don't get why they call themselves Lizards and Mantises, they should come up with some fancy name like the humans did. Those Sakkil had it right, I must say--"Lizards" in so much as humans are "monkeys," but gave themselves a fancy name.]
>I don’t know if I should feel pity or think he’s pathetic…
Daithi is trying to be a good friend to him, something he needs desperately. It's up to you if you want to be one for him, as well.
Lucrais likes... something about him. Not entirely sure what, but I think it's that he accepts her authority, while still also acknowledging that it's harmful? It might also be that he treats her like a standard person, and not a Noble... depsite the hardwired belief from her mother that she should be treated as a noble.
>golden eyes and...
Wait, didn't the Serathian sultanate have a lot of golden eyes? We never saw Mor'Kay's actual eyes, but her Iron Golem had golden eyes, and everybody believed that was the real her, so she probably has golden eyes, too. I wonder if she had a daughter, too?~
Wait, why am I saying that so giddily? There was nothing to be giddy about when we found out Durach had other children... Bah, let it be a point of lasting confusion.
>The male also has golden eyes… and he’s marking are rather large, actually…
That's... Huh. Mor'Kay's parents likely both had golden eyes, too, but... Could she have had blue eyes, not golden? Large markings were the mark of "Dragon's Blood," which was basically what the Serathian Sultanate called its royal bloodline.
>A lizard ghoul, I believe…
Mor'Kay.
>As for the undead, she wore some kind of red robe that covered her face.
Mor'Kay.
>I see you… beautiful…
>…I wouldn’t mind if you didn’t try to dance with me…
>didn’t try to dance with me
[Reply: You're sending us mixed messages here! Was the "not" part of "didn't" a slip of the tongue, or do you prefer to stick to flirtations and/or compliments, and not actual acts?
Unfortunately we cannot see you through such a small reflective surface, we have bad eyesight... But from the lady's description of you, you are quite interesting~ Most players take on a modified version of the image of their king, or a mortal-based image that shows their ideals, such as White, while her King is a male human, she is a female Mantis in white.
For so long, I was worried we'd be all alone in having such a unique form... Glad to know we aren't any longer~]
Good lord Purple is making me talk in such a giddy way. This feels weird.
>…I have changed my mind about the trade…
[echo this message to Atena]
Uh. This is getting both interesting and confusing. Purple tries to keep a serious air about himself, but also seems quite flirtatious. I feel he's trying to get at the secret of what was in the light.
Against the potentially better judgement of others, I'm going to impart some info to purple. Vaguely.
>What came down there? A weapon? A god? Both? I need to know…
[Message Purple: We've ignored your question for a while while trying to figure things out for ourselves... While we still aren't sure how to answer it, we can tell you what our assumptions are, but we need to know your answer to a question, first. Both of your guesses suggest something of incredible power, one a god itself, and another a weapon, which would in turn likely be from a god. Do you honestly believe that something decended in a pillar of light would be of grandiose origins? I have mentioned before that Daemons are capable of holy as well, if they drop their Demon (note the lack of an A here!) origins and act in favor of the mortals, but even a Holy Daemon is still not a God.
Tell me, what do you think about these defector Daemons? Are they still corrupt? Do you believe that a God could be corrupt? A weapon from the gods could easily be used by the corrupt, for that matter. It would be a dangerous item unless it was specifically built to only effect the corrupted, and not the clean or the pure.]

[message to purple: yeah we've kinda been talking to our pawns to see if anyone wanted to shift teams but for the most part they don't seem to be to fond of the idea. You know the whole trading them like they're nothing more then trading cards thing kinda makes them a little upset and I kinda have to agree. If someone does want to change teams though we'll let you know]

But yeah we got white (another player who looks like a white mantis) covering the school so we'll go see how the nobles are doing... but hold one one sec I'll see how things are going at the school.
[message to white: hey is anything interesting happening at the school? all we found out was that yellow's pawn is a Large (as in muscle) female lizard with blue eyes and was last seen wearing leather armor... oh and we think purple is starting to develop a crush on the caption of the guard]

>oh and we think purple is starting to develop a crush on the caption of the guard
[Message White: And maybe on us, but he may have intended that message to Atena, not us.]

>>592524
We saw Mor'Kay's eyes. They're red. Anyway, the red-robed ghoul lizard is most likely her. Which means, Red is here, and mingling with Yellow... but is he doing it to manipulate Yellow, or are they true allies?

As for what Purple said, he was turning down the offer. He was basically saying "uh, no."

>>592510
[@Purple: If that trade happened, wouldn't you have control over both the inquisition and the guard? I don't think we trust you enough to hand over all that power. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. There is a second type of corruption. It's called Purification, and is what happens when an admin- or "God" as the game calls them- remains around a pawn for an extended period of time. They basically get brainwashed.]

Atena, I think we might be done here. The red-robed ghoul is very likely a pawn of one of our allies from 6 months ago, come here in search of... something important you don't need to know about just yet. Not sure why she's hanging around with one of Yellow's pawns. Could be to manipulate Yellow, or they could be real allies.

>[Purple: I see you… beautiful…]
Toko, what have you done.
>I have changed my mind about the trade…
[Reply: hmmm... We'll think on it.]
nope nope nope nope nope nope nope

>and his marking are rather large, actually…
That could be some kind of Serath royalty. Ask Arthur if he finds the culprit and the corruption charges don't pan out, to hand her over to you. And just mentioning Q&Q might be a good idea.

Next, you should probably go to the noble family's home. They'll probably already be bitching about you being late, so we should get that out of the way.

>>592539
>Toko, what have you done.
I'm beginning to think more and more that the comment was directed at Atena, not us.
If I'm wrong though, I discovered another player who ignores the fact that players can't do squat and flirts anyways~!

Kaktus 2014/09/04(Thu)13:59 No. 592542 ID: 65a774
File 140986434958.png - (30.58KB , 900x450 , 15.png )

>[Message Purple: We've ignored your question for a while while trying to figure things out for ourselves... While we still aren't sure how to answer it, we can tell you what our assumptions are, but we need to know your answer to a question, first. Both of your guesses suggest something of incredible power, one a god itself, and another a weapon, which would in turn likely be from a god. Do you honestly believe that something descended in a pillar of light would be of grandiose origins?
[Purple: All the legends say that is the place where the gods themselves descended from the very heavens, no? If this is not the gods doing, then who’s? Clearly, they have sent something to help us fight the demons!]
>So..You would mind if we danced with you, or wouldn't. Hard double negative.
[I rather not dance.]
>[Reply: Well, if you want a name that follows the alliteration, Peter or Patrick work well. If you're after a female name, Patricia or Penny would work, too. "Pat" for androgynism.]
[...I need a name with more... hmm... predator... pain... penetra- no, that’s just... err… wrong… geez… I will think about it.]
>[@Purple: If that trade happened, wouldn't you have control over both the inquisition and the guard? I don't think we trust you enough to hand over all that power.]
[…that’s an aspect that escaped me… it seems I was to preoccupied trying to keep a promise…]
>[You know the whole trading them like they're nothing more than trading cards thing kinda makes them a little upset and I kinda have to agree.]
[Trading cards? This isn’t some game, you know! It should be an honor to change players, to know you’re important enough for someone to sacrifice someone else for… of course, it works in reverse to, don’t it… hmmm… maybe it’s a bit humiliating, no?]
>[Do you prefer to stick to flirtations and/or compliments, and not actual acts?]
[I… what? What are you talking about?I haven’t flirted? You clearly have missunderstod my intentions!]
>[I was worried we'd be all alone in having such a unique form... Glad to know we aren't any longer~]
[…this is getting very… err… awkward…]

>[message to white: hey is anything interesting happening at the school?]
[White: The Moon is having classes as usual. Your king was rather nervous about having to train with real soldiers later today… otherwise, nothing.]
>[oh and we think purple is starting to develop a crush on the captain of the guard]
[…last time I checked Player can’t… um… I mean… are you sure?]

>[echo this message to Atena]
He wants to trade for me? Hmmm… well… he can’t be worse than you guys, right? But… he did sound a bit… off there didn’t he? Hmm… Maybe I should do it for Daithi? I’m guessing he would be happy that his father was on the same… err… team, right? More than if I were on it…
>The red-robed ghoul is very likely a pawn of one of our allies from 6 months ago, come here in search of... something important you don't need to know about just yet.
…so, you know her? Good, then maybe she can help us if we can just find her.
>Daithi is trying to be a good friend to him, something he needs desperately. It's up to you if you want to be one for him, as well.
…I don’t know… he’s a bit… um… weird, you know…

>Ask Arthur if he finds the culprit and the corruption charges don't pan out, to hand her over to you.
Of course! If they are not with demons then they are your problem, Mr. Big eye say!
>And just mentioning Q&Q might be a good idea.
Oh, and before I leave… I heard both you and Daithi played Q&Q and Lucrais wanted to try it… so… um… I was thinking maybe trying getting together for a game? …If you wa-
Of course I w-want too! I’d l-love too! Really!
Alright then… I’ll get back to you after I’ve asked the others… (Geez, talk about getting exited…)
>Next, you should probably go to the noble family's home. They'll probably already be bitching about you being late, so we should get that out of the way.
Well, I’ve already sent someone else there but… It’s probably for the best if I look into it myself…

…

[Switching to “The Tower”]
Please, open the door, Mr. Peaucag, I promise to behave!
Your mothers orders, Lady Lucrais, you’re staying in there until you’ve learned some sense.
I order you to open the door, servant!
I’m only letting you out when you’ve learned to behave like a proper lady! Staying out all night and getting drunk with some common people!? Scandalous!! No, you need to learn… don’t worry, those commoners will get what’s coming to them… as for you… the lord of the servant is preparing the discipline room down in the cellar as we speak…
WHAT!?
You’ve seen the effect it had on your brothers… It’s high time you learned some discipline yourself.
YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME, YOU… YOU RUFFIAN!!
Think about this next time you get the bright idea to “Party” with those filthy mud farmers… goodbye, Lady Lucrais!
NO, PLEASE! I DON’T… I CAN’T- NO! …no, please… I… I’ve heard the screams from down there… please…

Insert Nobles, eh?

Pst, lucrais! We're, eh, associates of Dai, we're going to get you out of here! You've got to think, is there any other way you can escape, like damaging those window bars? If there is literally no action you can take, the captain of the guard will be coming soon. If you can get her to arrest you- I believe you already have experience doing so- she'll take you away from here to book you. She's with us, so you can explain what's happened here then.

I'm really afraid to ask, but... what happened to your brothers, and what did that guy mean by 'those commoners will get what’s coming to them'?

>>592542
Screams? Shit. Hi, we're Teal, Daithi's helping squids. We gotta get you out of here, this has gone too far. Do you think you're willing to testify as a witness that your family has been torturing their children? Otherwise we'll have to get some other reason for the guard to investigate here. Atena is with us so we might be able to get her attention on this, but she still needs some valid reason to investigate.

Let's see... bars in the window, nothing available for an improvised weapon aside from the chair... what's through the wooden door? Does the exit door open to the inside? You could jam it with the chair in that case to buy time until we can get Atena here, or some guards. Priority one is to avoid capture so you don't get tortured. Priority two would be escaping on your own.

>>592542
Hello! Welcome to our posse.

We are now going to attempt to bust you out of here, so please, stay calm and cooperate with us. It is of the utmost importance that you do so.

Gotta stop hitting reply early dangit
>If this is not the gods doing, then who’s? Clearly, they have sent something to help us fight the demons!
[Reply: ...I see. Let me fill you in: The Gods created a portal to allow "Higher Mortals" to visit this planet. They have also created other planets, which have grown to their own rates. Although most of the Higher Mortals died out, they made a comeback, and grew to be able to wander the starts once more (The Gods are "Beyond" the stars or something, not entirely sure how to explain it but they aren't among them, don't worry). While the Gods can enter the planet through that light, they are not the only ones able to do so. Mortals who have learned to travel the stars can use the portal, too.
Why have a portal when people can have the power to travel the stars? Because the Gods left this planet protected. It is impossible for a Mortal from another world to enter this one without using that portal. The Gods watch over it and ensure that nothing is brought in that can corrupt their... "Rules," I suppose would be the word to use. Demonic corruption isn't what I mean, this is a different sort of corruption, one that would hurt everybody: Daemons, Mortals, Gods, and Players. It is known as "Glitch."
Do you understand? What if the light was not a God themselves coming down, but a Mortal from another world that the Gods made coming down to visit ours? That would mean the Gods found them worthy... but does worthy mean they will fight for our side, or does it mean they are just here to observe?
Maybe it is a God, maybe it is a Golem made by them, or maybe it is a Mortal they sent down to see how our world works. Hell, for all we know, it could be a mortal seeking asylum from the demons of their own world. What would you do if it was a Mortal, Purple? We would harbor them and grant them asylum. What would you do if it were a God? We would help them so much as they asked, but otherwise let them be. To actively seek out their favor seems like a poor choice of action for us, but if that's what you seek, and it turns out it was a God, and not a Mortal, then we may be able to help you find them, once we understand this ourselves.]
>[I rather not dance.]
[Reply: Very well.]
>[...I need a name with more... hmm... predator... pain... penetra- no, that’s just... err… wrong… geez… I will think about it.]
[Reply: If you want something fancy, "Purghad" maybe? Just make a grunting noise and slap a P to the start of it. Makes you sound gruff and stuff, fits with the approach you're taking.]
>it seems I was to preoccupied trying to keep a promise…
[Reply: If it's a promise you're seeking to keep, letting us know may help us to aide you... Of course, some promises are meant to be kept a secret, so I understand if you don't want to tell us.]
>hmmm… maybe it’s a bit humiliating, no?
[Reply: Perhaps we should inform our pawns of what the other's goals are, and ask if they're interested in changing, uh, "teams"? Your goal is to put an end to the demons and their spawn, yeah? What about the Daemons that hope to reform? Does their reforming count as an end to their demonhood?
As for our goal, we seek to fix the world and provide long-term protection for all the races. I understand that we cannot save everybody, but we're looking more at the big picture... except for the pawns actively under us. We hate when a pawn dies under our care.]
>[I… what? What are you talking about?I haven’t flirted? You clearly have missunderstod my intentions!]
[Reply: Uh... Okay, you were just trying to show a level of politeness to your complinents, then? Sorry, it gets difficult to tell sometimes, especially since we're running on "Mute," anything that we can hear is actually "heard" only through transcription. We have to read it all, so tones and fluctuations kind of get lost in translation... It's even worse when our active pawn is deaf, since we only hear what they think is being said, or what is translated to them through signals. Each time it gets translated, it loses some of its effect.]
>[…last time I checked Player can’t… um… I mean… are you sure?]
[Send that Teal portion to White as well]
[@White: That being said... Well, we've managed to develop some crushes ourselves. We're kind of erratic, though, so maybe that's just part of how we do things erratically; love would influence actions in different ways, would it not?]
>[…this is getting very… err… awkward…]
[Reply: Sorry, must have been a failure in trans...vocalization? Running on mute effects both incoming and outgoing audio, we have to write what we're saying, as well. I meant that as a compliment on your form. You are different, and I find that to be impressive. In a respectful, platonic kind of way.
...You know what, let's drop this subject, it really is just getting all kinds of awkward.]
>[White: The Moon is having classes as usual. Your king was rather nervous about having to train with real soldiers later today… otherwise, nothing.]
[Reply: Ah, I take it you were able to communicate to both of them at once when they were together, then? Or did you, uh, grant your king a break from the heroics? Or whatever it is you supply him with.
What DO you supply him with, in your opinion, anyways? Other than powers, I mean. What does your active presence supply?]
>He wants to trade for me? Hmmm… well… he can’t be worse than you guys, right?
Hold on, I'm going to try something.
[Engage chat channel "Chariot", invite Player purple; echo messages from channel to The Chariot]
[@Purple: That's so you can talk with the Guard Captain about your goals. Understand we'll hear them too, though.]
> as for you… the lord of the servant is preparing the discipline room down in the cellar as we speak…
GOOD LORD we're going to have to have your Mother arrested aren't we? Torture like that is illegal, I'm sure! And holding people prisoner is a form of abuse! Ah, sorry to pop in so suddenly but JEEZ, did not expect all this to happen!

Umm, is it a simple lever-type lock? Because if it is, we can maybe influence the lock, but if it's a key lock, no way no how. We're too big to fit inside a lock mechanism to pick the lock, and too... nonexitant to carry items most of the time, I think? Have we ever actually tried carrying an item outside that one hallucination fight?
[Attempt to lift a leaf or petal from the plant (preferably one that had fallen off already) into the air to test]
Listen, Lucrais, if you've got another way out of the discipline that you would rather take, tell us now. Atena is already on her way here, having been summoned, and would certainly be in a position to arrest your mother or supply some form of asylum to you, if you should ask. There's one problem with both: Both carry the possibility of her deciding to disown you, costing you your nobility.

...eh, hey there teal here. Not going to lie but your family sounds like they fucking suck. What are they bitching about anyways I thought your family wanted you to hang out with Daithi. I can't remember if it was your family or his that called off the marriage but could you have said you were trying to make him come running back to you (if he called it off) or that he was begging for your attention (if you called it off) or something. Just say the wine was his, and the only reason you were even bothered by the law was because crazies are running around and they couldn't tell there ass form the elbow. Hell we can get people to back this up... or burn this place to the ground if you want. I'm good with either at this point.

Hello, Lucrais. It is unfortunate that our first time speaking to you was not under better circumstances, but it is rather more fortunate we came when we did for we can help you. Allow me to introduce ourselves: We are Teal. Ah, but I understand that having a chorus of voices suddenly and unexpectedly come into one's head can be upsetting even at the best of times, so if you feel the need to "freak out" then do so. Though, please be quick about it if you do; Presumably we have but a short time to work in to save you from your mother's "discipline" and thus every second counts.

There's nowhere near enough time to explain what we are and why we're here, so I'll just say this: Daithi is on our side and we are on his. If you need proof we are with him: We were the ones who told him of the beam of light that would come down yesterday, he's hiding the alien that descended on the beam of light in his dorm room, and you helped him fill a metal washtub with soil for the alien's "bed." Oh, and we settled on naming the alien "Hugo," by the way.

Now, if we're to help you we need to know what materials you have available to work with in the rooms you can still get to. I assume the wood door leads to your bedchamber and is unlocked, correct? Go in there so we can get a look at what you have there. While in there you can check in a mirror or other reflective surface to see what we look like, if you wish.

Is there any chance you could escape if you somehow got past that locked metal door? How many staff and guards are there around here? Is there undoubtedly one stationed just on the other side of the door? What about possibly knocking out whoever comes to get you? Because if there isn't a chance you can either slip out if we manage to get you past the door or that you couldn't knock out whoever comes for you, then you're going to have barricade yourself in here and hole up until we get help to you.

Tell us what you can of the metal door. Does it open in or out? Is it barred or bolted from the outside? Does it have a lock and if so what kind of lock does it have? Because if it's the kind of lock with a keyhole all the way through then I think you could jam the lock mechanism to delay them taking you. You could use a lit candle and something to channel the hot wax from it into the keyhole to do that; If you don't have a firestarter to light the candelabra on the table then you could throw a book to knock one out of the chandelier. Or if you have jewelry with fine chains you could stuff them into the keyhole so they jam it when the key is turned. Or you could do both. And if the door opens inwards you can also wedge that chair in under the doorknob and upend the table to block it as well.

Do the windows in here or in the other room(s) you can get to face out onto the front entrance to the manor? Because we know that Captain Atena of the city guard is en route here 'cause were just with her a moment ago. So if you get up to the window and urgently scream for help when she arrives then that'll give her legal justification to bring in a bunch of guards and search the manor for someone in distress; Namely, you. Then it's just a matter of holing up until they arrive. Oh, and are those windows barred or do they just have an odd vertical segmented glazing?

What time is it? We know that Atena left the Crippled Ankwark pub in the merchant quarter at either 8:45 or 9:45; We couldn't tell exactly from the clock in the pub 'cause our vision is bad. Do you have any idea how long would it take her to walk from there to here?

Do you have any idea why your family would request to speak with a high ranked officer of the police about their daughter? Because before Atena went to the Crippled Ankwark that exact request came in and it's the reason she's coming here now, although she did send another officer first.

And Atena mentioned that one of your family's oldest is in prison for petty theft and that your mother was nearly arrested for attempting to bribe the entire court at his sentencing. So from the latter part I'd say this "discipline" room doesn't even work.

There's also a rather drastic way you could keep them at bay: Start a fire in front of the door. After wedging the chair under the doorknob and sticking the table in the way, throw the sitting cushions over in front of it, then climb up the bookshelves and pull down the curtains to add to the pile and knock the painting down on it as well. We know you drink, so if you have any high-proof alcohol in your room, dump that out on the pile to help start the burn. Then apply a lit candle and away it'll go. Throw books you don't care for on top as additional fuel and once it gets really going retreat into your room and stuff some cloth at the base of the door to keep the smoke out. The open windows in here will let air in and smoke out, and that smoke will also draw attention here. Perhaps the fire brigade will come as well as the police.

And remember, after this it's very unlikely you'll be coming back here anytime soon, if ever. If you have any small personal things from your room you wish to keep, get them and keep them on your person. And if you have cash, get that too, along with any particularly valuable jewelry you could take to sell. Even though after this we'll likely get you a place in Daithi's family's home, any money you can bring will help.

>[…that’s an aspect that escaped me… it seems I was to preoccupied trying to keep a promise…]
[@Purple: What kind of promise would call for having Atena as your pawn? Could you share what that promise was with us, or even just who you made the promise to?]

>[…last time I checked Player can’t… um… I mean… are you sure?]
[@White: ...You've already checked if a player can engage in such things with a pawn...? White, are you... attracted to Cedric in that way?]
[@White: And to answer your question: We aren't sure. It was... strange. We were there with Atena, and Purple was with Arthur, and from the way Purple was acting... I dunno. I think there may have been some kind of mental "bleed over" from Arthur to Purple; He was even ending some of his sentences with ",no?" like Arthur does. We've heard how a player influences their king and vice versa, but nothing of a pawn influencing a player like this.]

I have a suspicion that Purple was behaving like he was towards Atena 'cause of mental "bleed over" from Arthur. If that's what it was then him being with "Inverted Sun" would explain why Purple was behaving more like a fanatical demon hunter earlier. And if that's the case then we should really think about trading Nickolas over to Purple for Cathal so Purple gets some of Nick's attitude to offset that of "Inverted Sun's" attitude.

[@Admin: Well, looks like the rest of the squad is here. So, is the marine we talked with among you seven or is he or she the player in the lobby who's going to come down here?]

>>592633
Addendum:
Was Mr. Peaucag speaking of last night when he said you "stayed out all night getting drunk with some common people?" But if I remember right Daithi said you left the Academy in plenty of time to get back, so what's he talking about? You didn't go anywhere else after the Academy, did you? Or was this from another time? And how'd your family find out? ...Lemme guess: They had a lackey tailing you. You think that's how they found out?

He also said "those commoners will get what's coming to them," so what do you think your family will do? Are they going to be coming after Arthur, Daithi and Daithi's family? ...Is this partly because the marriage was called off? Was your mother furious when she found out?

Unfortunately, once you get out of this your family is going to be enraged at you. They're going to be your enemy and will come after you, so you need to do what you can to bury them on your way out. If you know where the proverbial (or literal) bodies are buried, where the evidence of their illegal actions and other misdeeds are, then you can tell Atena and she can either get them now or get a warrant issued ASAP. The only way you're going to be free of your family is to bury them under their own dirt. And I hope you're not totally and inexorably tied to being a noble or a Baideal, 'cause after this your family is almost certainly going to disown you and you'll be neither.

Kaktus 2014/09/05(Fri)10:30 No. 592704 ID: 65a774
File 140993820237.png - (29.58KB , 900x450 , 16.png )

>[@Admin: Well, looks like the rest of the squad is here. So, is the marine we talked with among you seven or is he or she the player in the lobby who's going to come down here?]
[Admin: <:::<<<<<>C We find, we see, we learn-¤¤¤¤!]
[Admin: Experiment compromised! Remove foreign objects immediately! Capture Plant being and foreign lizard immediately! …wait, who is tha- -You have been banned from Admin server chat!]
>[Engage chat channel "Chariot", invite Player purple; echo messages from channel to The Chariot]
[ERROR!]

>[Reply: If it's a promise you're seeking to keep, letting us know may help us to aide you... Of course, some promises are meant to be kept a secret, so I understand if you don't want to tell us.]
[Purple: I’ve promised every pawn I own one wish… if you want the details you have to ask them…]
>[Your goal is to put an end to the demons and their spawn, yeah? What about the Daemons that hope to reform? Does their reforming count as an end to their demonhood?]
[Demons that reform? If it would be possible, would they even be demons anymore? Hmm… but yes, my goal is to rid the world of filth!]
>[Reply: ...I see. Let me fill you in –Info expunged by Admin!]
[…Let you what, Teal?]

>[@White: ...You've already checked if a player can engage in such things with a pawn...? White, are you... attracted to Cedric in that way?]
[White: …what? No, that’s… I meant that we can’t feel those things! We all know that! It’s in the rules when we are born!]
>[@White: And to answer your question: We aren't sure. It was... strange. We were there with Atena, and Purple was with Arthur, and from the way Purple was acting... I dunno. I think there may have been some kind of mental "bleed over" from Arthur to Purple; He was even ending some of his sentences with ",no?" like Arthur does. We've heard how a player influences their king and vice versa, but nothing of a pawn influencing a player like this.]
[White: …that is odd, yes…]

>Pst, lucrais! We're, eh, associates of Dai, we're going to get you out of here!
Huh? Who said that? Are you outside the window?
>Allow me to introduce ourselves: We are Teal. Ah, but I understand that having a chorus of voices suddenly and unexpectedly come into one's head can be upsetting even at the best of times, so if you feel the need to "freak out" then do so.
YOU’RE WHAT!? In my… head!?
What did you say?
I SAID LET ME OUT SO I CAN REMOVE YOUR HEAD!!
>There's nowhere near enough time to explain what we are and why we're here, so I'll just say this: Daithi is on our side and we are on his.
…so… I’ve heard he was… a bit… with voices in his head but… you guys can move!? What in the name of… what!?

>Torture like that is illegal, I'm sure! And holding people prisoner is a form of abuse!
Torture!? No, they would never… It’s an old torture chamber, sure, but… they wouldn’t… they didn’t with my brothers, they just… they just flogged them a bit… you know, like the law says you can do with kids… err…
>I'm really afraid to ask, but... what happened to your brothers.
I… I don’t really know, actually… I do know they were scared shitless after being dragged down there and started behaving rather well most of the time…
>Was Mr. Peaucag speaking of last night when he said you "stayed out all night getting drunk with some common people?" But if I remember right Daithi said you left the Academy in plenty of time to get back, so what's he talking about?
I… um… I got a bit lost, alright? …and… I made up a lie that I was drinking at a pub so they shouldn’t blame Daithi…
>What are they bitching about anyways I thought your family wanted you to hang out with Daithi.
As I said, they didn’t tell them I was with him… I… err… I didn’t really tell them a lot at all, actually… I haven’t even seen mom since I got home…

>He also said "those commoners will get what's coming to them," so what do you think your family will do?
I… I don’t know… those “commoners” doesn’t even exist, for Jove’s sake… geez, I’m starting to sound like Daithi…
>...Is this partly because the marriage was called off? Was your mother furious when she found out?
I… I haven’t talked to her about that yet…
>If you know where the proverbial (or literal) bodies are buried, where the evidence of their illegal actions and other misdeeds are, then you can tell Atena and she can either get them now or get a warrant issued ASAP.
What? We’re not some… some… criminal family! While there has been some back doors dealing and stuff, there’s nothing that wouldn’t get us more than a really hefty fine… that we can’t pay…

>Listen, Lucrais, if you've got another way out of the discipline that you would rather take, tell us now.
I don’t know! I’ve never been in this situation before!
>I assume the wood door leads to your bedchamber and is unlocked, correct?
Why, yes, and as I proper lady I won’t let just anyone in there, weird head voices included!
>Is there any chance you could escape if you somehow got past that locked metal door?
…err… there’s a lot of servants…and some guards… and… I don’t…
>What about possibly knocking out whoever comes to get you?
What!? But that would be assault! I can’t just start hitting people!
>Tell us what you can of the metal door. Does it open in or out? Is it barred or bolted from the outside? Does it have a lock and if so what kind of lock does it have?
It open outwards, it’s got a complicated lock that’s only accessible from the outside… so yeah, it’s to keep people in, not out… but I can still make sure you can’t turn the handle.

>What time is it?
Um… about nine? Maybe fifteen over?
>Do you have any idea why your family would request to speak with a high ranked officer of the police about their daughter?
…err… I don’t know? They can’t arrest me or anything…
>Atena mentioned that one of your family's oldest is in prison for petty theft and that your mother was nearly arrested for attempting to bribe the entire court at his sentencing.
Well, yeah… It’s just… were kind of desperate for funds and… well, he was always an idiot…
>There's also a rather drastic way you could keep them at bay: Start a fire in front of the door.
I’m not burning the mansion down!
>Remember, after this it's very unlikely you'll be coming back here anytime soon, if ever.
WHAT!? No! I’m not… I’m not going to leave forever! I just don’t want to be locked up in my room!
>Oh, and are those windows barred or do they just have an odd vertical segmented glazing?
Those are bars, yes… coated with a royal metal… a gilded cage in its purest form…
>Do the windows in here or in the other room(s) you can get to face out onto the front entrance to the manor?
I can kind off see the courtyard if I get my head trough the bars… Why?
>if you get up to the window and urgently scream for help when Atena arrives then that'll give her legal justification to bring in a bunch of guards and search the manor for someone in distress; Namely, you.
I… I think I can see some guards… and… um… I think someone important just arrived... a lizard?

HELP!! HELP ME! I NEED HELP! SOMEONE!
Daughter!? But they said s-
MOVE PEOPLE!

Score! They got in a real hurry rea-
Dammit! Change of plans! Lady Lucrais!? You need to come with me at once!
*Click* …*Click*Click*
You blocked the door!?
*Crash!*
Lady, this is for your own safety! Please let me in!
(…why is my guard trying to break down my door?)

Insert I don’t even know what’s going on anymore…_

>>592704
Looks like we were right to be worried, but... maybe the reason was wrong. This is really strange. Maybe someone in your family is a pawn of Yellow or Black...

Lucrais, let me say one thing. If they were just going to flog you, they wouldn't need to "prepare" the room in question. Hell, they wouldn't even need a special room for it. So, whatever they did to your brothers, it wasn't legal.

There isn't much we can do from your perspective. Keep that guard out, and we'll pop over to Atena to help her out. Give us directions she can follow to get to your room, please.

If necessary, retreat into your bedroom and block the door there too.

so you haven't spoken to your mother, the people you did talk to just through you in here right away (if I'm hearing this right) and you've been in here ever since, and I think I heard your mother or father down there sounding surprise that you were even calling for help... a lot of things are adding up and am not liking any of the conclusions I'm getting. Might not be a bad idea to barricade yourself further in your room here cause I'm getting a very bad feeling here.

Your own guard is also trying to ram through the metal door itself with a metal object, and as the one before me mentioned flogging is only done with a cane or whip, to prepare something for so long means they might be using full torture implements or something worse.

But yes it seems that something is drastically wrong with the current situation with your guard.

Kaktus 2014/09/05(Fri)12:35 No. 592726 ID: 65a774
File 140994571359.png - (29.50KB , 900x450 , 17.png )

>Lucrais, let me say one thing. If they were just going to flog you, they wouldn't need to "prepare" the room in question.
I… but… they can’t have…
>Looks like we were right to be worried, but... maybe the reason was wrong.
*Crash!*
Oh, shit, he’s almost through the door! How does a freaking human break down a steel door!?
>I think I heard your mother or father down there sounding surprise that you were even calling for help... a lot of things are adding up and am not liking any of the conclusions I'm getting.
I… I’m getting my freaking sword. This isn’t assault, this is going to be freaking self-defense!

>If necessary, retreat into your bedroom and block the door there too.
…the lock on the door won’t hold against the kind of barrage that guard is putting out… but… maybe I can move the dresser in time t-
*Crash!*
Shit!
Lady Lucrais! You’re in grave danger! You need to come w- please, Lucrais, put down your blade… I am here to aid you… You screamed for help, after all?
…

Insert Help, I need somebody…_

>You have been banned from Admin server chat!
[Help query: What are the methods of contacting admins?]
Might allow the filing of tickets instead of talk directly to them. Of course, that relies on them actually checking the tickets... There's probably a lot of them after all these years.
>If it would be possible, would they even be demons anymore? Hmm… but yes, my goal is to rid the world of filth!
[Reply: Well, you see--
>[Reply: ...I see. Let me fill you in –Info expunged by Admin!]
... Great. We're upsetting the Gods now. I'm sorry, it seems I cannot tell you what the light was. Be careful who you trust, Purple, and good luck.]
[Block communications from Purple for one hour]
Give him some time to think over that last statement.
>What in the name of… what!?
We are an entity called a "Player," there's over three hundred different Players, but we collectively are just one, known as Teal. Those of great capacity can be, quote, "claimed," unquote, by us. I say quote unquote because it's not as though you are helpless in the matter, a person who is truly upset with their Player can fight them and kick them out. That, and our desire isn't obedient slaves, but helpful friends. If you feel against something we ask of you, let us know.
>they just flogged them a bit… you know, like the law says you can do with kids… err…
...Oh. Yeah, I guess that's understandable, Mantises are fairly sturdy so a flogging is like a human spanking. Sorry, you kind of panicked with great strength at the idea, so we jumped to conclusions.
>Daughter!? But they said s-
>MOVE PEOPLE!
[Scan that group]
>Lady, this is for your own safety! Please let me in!
[Scan the guard]
[Echo any pawn results to Lucrais]
Lucrais, if you suddenly hear [something like this] it's what we call "The Remnants of the Gods," and it's telling you who all's a pawn. If somebody by the name of Yellow or Purple is mentioned by the Remnants, you need to MAKE THE HELL SURE THEY DON'T GET IN. Purple's of questionable trust, but supposedly Yellow is corrupt. In fact, the only reason to let them in is if a Player Red gets mentioned, as that's the only player we can trust that so much as might have a pawn here.

>>592726
Dammit...
>I am here to aid you… You screamed for help, after all?
Then why did he say that there was a change in plans? He made it sound like he was one of the offenders.
>You’re in grave danger!
And what the hell danger would you be in that he wouldn't have already been helping you avoid?!
[Scan that guard... Echo player/pawn results to Lucrais]

>[…Let you what, Teal?]
Shit, BB is watching! Tell no one!

>It’s an old torture chamber, sure, but… they wouldn’t…
>Daughter!? But they said s-
>Dammit! Change of plans!
*
>…why is my guard trying to break down my door?
Well they obviously had nebulous plans for you in the old torture chamber that didn't involve your mother's knowledge. Those plans have changed, but I doubt that's an improvement on your situation.

[scan that guard, echo to Tower]
> How does a freaking human break down a steel door!?
Corruption, so- er, Lucrais. No way in hell you're fighting him, so keep him at a distance for as long as you can. If he keeps coming, tell him to wait, there's something in your room you need to get first. Then RUN.

[Check corruption level] [Scan all targets within range]

I think I figured out why your mother requested a high ranking police officer come here about her daughter; She thought you had gone missing. The servants told her you hadn't come home last night, so she was going to file a missing person report. That's why she was so shocked to hear you call out from your window and she said "but they said she." So it's possible the servants were running an abduction plot of some kind. Normally I'd say for ransom, but from that guard busting that steel door down so easily I'd say they want you for some nefarious cultist reason.

>How does a freaking human break down a steel door!?
The answer to that is either he's not human or he's a human with magical or demonic enhancement. We'll scan him and tell you what we find. [Scan human guard and echo result to "The Tower"] But whatever he is unless you're secretly a legendary master of the sword you're not going to take him in a fight. With his strength him even getting a hit on you could easily knock you down and out, if not outright end you. While he likely wants you alive, I do not want to risk him being You have to keep out of his reach as long as you can so that help can arrive.

Try to delay him. Tell him that you'll follow him as long as he leads and it's at this distance. He likely won't agree, but if he does then it's likely 'cause there's more servants or guards on his side out there ready to grab you. We'll do a scan of the hallway to confirm it. [Scan all targets in hallway and echo to "The Tower"] So the way you'll handle that is follow him up to about the table, then spin around and sprint away from the doorway.

In the likely case he doesn't agree to you following him, kick that goblet on the floor at him to see just how fast he moves to dodge or catch it or if he just lets it hit him. Then tell him that unless he gives you a damn good reason that you're in grave danger from the POLICE you're not going anywhere with him. And also explain how he could knock that steel door down. Keep backing up slowly and keeping your guard up. And keep yelling for help so Atena knows just where you are.

As a last resort, do you think you could get up on top of the bookcase faster then he could get to you? 'Cause I have the idea to get up there, pull the curtains down over him to obstruct his vision and entangle him, then either jump on his head to break his neck or make a run for the door. But if you don't think you could get up there quick enough then you'll have to retreat back into your bedroom.

Lu, you know just how big the mansion is, so estimate how much time it'd take the police to make it to your room at a run from the courtyard entrance. How much longer do you think you have to keep away from this guy before they arrive?

Atena, if you can hear us, the human guard in Lucrais' room is more dangerous then he seems; He was able to bust down the steel door to her room in short order. He's either not human or human with magical or demonic enhancement. Advise using crossbows and weapons with reach.

[@Purple: Sorry, but we'll have to speak of such things in person.]

[@White: I'm curious: Just what do you think we are? Another like you and Purple?]

>>592729
We've been told not to break the game. Talking about how the world is fake is along those lines. Also stop sabotaging everyone else, you're not the only one suggesting.
[don't block communications]

>>592726
Tell him to stay back, you do not need his help- he should return to his post at the door. Ask him what change in plans he was talking about, anyway.

Kaktus 2014/09/05(Fri)15:02 No. 592764 ID: 65a774
File 140995452262.png - (29.74KB , 900x450 , 18.png )

>[Help query: What are the methods of contacting admins?]
[ERROR!]
>[Scan that group]
[Out of range!]
>[scan that guard, echo to Tower]
[“The Moon” belongs to player White!]
>[Scan all targets in hallway and echo to "The Tower"]
[“The Magician” Status: Scared.]
>[Check corruption level]
[No corruption found.]

>[Reply: Well, you see--... Great. We're upsetting the G-–Info expunged by Admin!]
[Purple: …]
>[@Purple: Sorry, but we'll have to speak of such things in person.]
[…very well, if you so wish…]
>[@White: I'm curious: Just what do you think we are? Another like you and Purple?]
[White: Yes? Well, you’re like us but… different, I guess? Right?]

>...Oh. Yeah, I guess that's understandable, Mantises are fairly sturdy so a flogging is like a human spanking. Sorry, you kind of panicked with great strength at the idea, so we jumped to conclusions.
Wait, don’t human and lizard flog their kids too?
>Well they obviously had nebulous plans for you in the old torture chamber that didn't involve your mother's knowledge. Those plans have changed, but I doubt that's an improvement on your situation.
…
>I think I figured out why your mother requested a high ranking police officer come here about her daughter; She thought you had gone missing.
…mother… I… I can’t let them take me!
>Keep yelling for help so Atena knows just where you are.
No, that would just force them to attack me… Atena got people with her that can guide her here… I hope…

>As a last resort, do you think you could get up on top of the bookcase faster then he could get to you?
Of course not! I’m not that quick!
>Lu, you know just how big the mansion is, so estimate how much time it'd take the police to make it to your room at a run from the courtyard entrance. How much longer do you think you have to keep away from this guy before they arrive?
I don’t know… a minute? Maybe two?

>Lucrais. No way in hell you're fighting him, so keep him at a distance for as long as you can.
Stay back!
Lady Lucrais, please.
I said stay back!
>If he keeps coming, tell him to wait, there's something in your room you need to get first.
…I’ll come with if I… if I can just get something from my bedroom first…
We don’t have time for that! You need to co-
>Ask him what change in plans he was talking about, anyway.
Huh? Oh, Well… err… let me just take off my helmet first…
…wait, you’re… you’re that guy Daithi…
We’re here to save you, princess.
Save me? Fro- Daithi!?
Sorry, Lucrais, but we were planning to get you out of here quietly. But yes, we found some proof that your mother is planning… err… let’s just say something a bit… yeah…
B-but… you’re…
By Jove, your mothers cronies is almost here! Quick! We need to run!

Insert This is a secr- –Info expunged by Admin!

Hmm, is that where the disappearing suit of armor got to?

Shapechangers. If Dai isn't reacting to our presence, it has to be. We've encountered this once before when one imitated Arthur, that pervert-with-a-heart-of-gold inquisitor you've met before. Shape-changers are actually really fragile despite their terrifying true form, so you could probably get the jump on them. But first, see if telling Cedric that his disguise is terrible and doesn't fool you at all gets a reaction. If not, ask for a password. It's a nonsense phrase that should have 'light' somewhere in it.

>>592774
Oh hell, shapeshifters did not even occur to me. That's probably it, yeah. They can fool our scans so I'm not even gonna bother scanning Daithi.

Lucrais... ask for the password. I know you don't know it, but I don't think we can tell you what it is without them picking up on it. Have them say it simultaneously. If they burst into tentacles instead of giving the password, or give two different passwords, grab the chair to block then take shelter in your bedroom, a lady's privacy be damned. While they are fragile, their tentacles are quick and numerous, so you won't stand a chance of getting close enough to kill one, much less two of them.
[@White: Is that really Cedric and Daithi rescuing Lucrais? You could've warned us, if so. If it's not, then welp we've got shapestealer problems. FYI we have claimed The Tower and The Chariot.]
[check status of pawns]

>[“The Moon” belongs to player White!]
What.
[Message White: Did we just find The Moon's Dark Half? Clad in Red, guardian to Lucrais? I think Cedric would have mentioned if he were her guard, but perhaps it just did not come up?]
>We're upsetting the G-–Info expunged by Admin!
Seriously? I was totally in lore that time! These guys are just being actively aggressive now.
>Wait, don’t human and lizard flog their kids too?
Uh, I don't actually know. In a certain human society, the worst that is used is a leather band, folded over to give it a bit of slap, like a riding crop would. No whips though, since they can cut into the skin. A lizard's scales would probably protect against a whip's cut, but a cane could still cause bruises. Mantises are the toughest, with an exoskeleton, and can take the most.
But maybe flogging is just all around allowed anyways? We'll need to ask Atena.
>Sorry, Lucrais, but we were planning to get you out of here quietly. But yes, we found some proof that your mother is planning… err… let’s just say something a bit… yeah…
... >:I I see. Ask him why "Perry" came to you for asylum, when Daithi was supposed to be keeping him safe.

What the fuck? We hadn't found any proof of your mother doing anything of the sort before we left Dai this morning right before he had breakfast. And then right before we parted from Atena and came to you we sent a message to White, our ally that has Cedric, the human guy you see here, to ask what Daithi and Cedric were doing and she said Cedric was in classes and Daithi was nervous about training with real soldiers later today. That was at 8:45. It's now 9:15 and we didn't get any messages from White about this in the intervening time. That means for this to be legit then within the last 30 minutes they somehow discovered proof of your mother's nefarious plans while still at the Academy, hurried over here, slipped into the mansion and stole a suit of your family guard's armor for Cedric Daithi in his full Academy uniform somehow avoiding being spotted by all the guards and servants, and through all that White somehow forgot to send us even one message about it. Put that all together and it adds up to be far too improbable for me to believe.

Lu, I'm near certain these two are not Daithi and Cedric and are actually Shape Stealers. I don't suppose you've heard of Shape Stealers, have you? They're The Deceiver's specialty cultist; Shapeshifters that can take on the exact physical form and voice of anyone of the same species the Shape Stealer was before becoming a Shape Stealer. They can also fake their scan results to match those they impersonate, so our scans won't show them. And while they won't have the memories of those they impersonate at first, if they suck that person's brain out with their proboscis they will get all their memories and be able to near perfectly impersonate that person. Fortunately they can't impersonate metals or non-organic materials and they're rather frail durability-wise, so if you get the drop on one and smash its brain in or stab it in the heart it's easily killed. Unfortunately if you don't surprise one they can form a bunch of tentacles with bone blades on the ends to fight back and it'll be much tougher. For example: When Dai and Cedric fought one who was impersonating Arthur in the Academy's basement yesterday the both of them together couldn't get the upper hand against all those blades. It took Arthur's holy symbol and a strike to the monster's brain from behind with his hammer to kill it.

While it's highly probable they're Shape Stealers we will still do some tests that won't possibly tip them off first to make sure of it. First test is we will check the status of our people and our ally White's, compare it to the scans of these two to check for discrepancies and repeat this information to you. [@White: Please grant us permission to see the emotional status of your pawns. It is for aiding in Shape Shifter detection if they impersonate our pawns. We'll do the same for you and it can be only temporary if you wish, but we need it right now.] [Check status of pawns and allied pawns and echo to "The Tower"] [Scan all targets in range and echo to "The Tower"] If the status doesn't match the scan, they're Shape Stealers.

Then we'll message White to ask where Cedric and Daithi are. [@White: Tell us where Cedric and Daithi are right now. We need to know immediately 'cause we're with Lucrais in her room in the Baideal mansion and Daithi and Cedric just showed up and it's next to impossible it's them.] [Echo last message to White and White's reply to "The Tower"] If she says they aren't here then these two are Shape Stealers.

Next we'll ask Daithi to perform some actions: Daithi, raise your left hand, right rear foot, and stick out your tongue. If he doesn't do all of that right away then he can't hear us and is a Shape Stealer.

Fourthly, we'll attempt to claim Cedric from White. If we get a "out of range" from that then we'll know he's not here and this Cedric is a Shape Stealer, though we might get message saying we don't have the slots for it or that we can't claim a king piece even if Cedric isn't here so this test isn't a sure thing. [Attempt to claim pawn "The Moon" and echo result to "The Tower"]

If they somehow manage to pass all the tests and checks then you can ask them for the password to confirm they're legit as you go with them; We'll confirm if they gave the right one. But in the probable case they don't pass, DO NOT ask for any passwords or question them about anything to check if they're Shape Stealers. They know they don't know the answers and you asking shows you at least suspect they aren't legit. In that case they'll become aggressive or outright hostile and will either move to disarm and haul you away in their current forms or go full tentacle-blade on you and there's no way you can fight off two of them at once.

You're going to have to play along enough to get them in a position where you might be able to make a run for it, with the possibility of taking one of them out in the process. Tell them in your most aggravated noble voice that they should have damn well told you this earlier and to lead the goddamn way. If they try to get you to leave your sword or one or both of them tries to move behind you use your commanding voice to tell them there's no time and to get going dammit. And if they still object, tell them you're invoking the bet you won on both of them and ordering them to go 'cause there's no bloody time for this; They won't know you didn't win a bet on Dai and Cedric, but if they don't act like it they'll give themselves away.

Make sure you keep them in front of you as you go and fairly back from them. And most importantly do not move into a position or let them move into a position where they're on your flanks or in front or behind you; Keep them in your view as much as you can.

You know the layout of the mansion, so what opportunities do you have to make a break for it once you're out of your room? If you get a good one, one where you're sure you can put distance between you and them, take it. But if you also at the same time get the opportunity to get in close to one of them from behind while the other is far enough ahead to not be able to get to you, then take it to behead that one before fleeing.

>>592774
It's not the same style of armor as the suit that disappeared from the Academy basement.

Kaktus 2014/09/06(Sat)05:43 No. 592901 ID: 65a774
File 141000740954.png - (30.38KB , 900x450 , 19.png )

>[Check status of pawns and allied pawns and echo to "The Tower"] [Scan all targets in range and echo to "The Tower"]
[“The magician”: Nervous. “Strength: Content. “The Tower”: Confused. “The Chariot”: Big damn hero. ”The High Priestess”: Intrigued.]
[“The Moon” belongs to player White!]
[“The Magician”: Nervous.]
>[@White: Is that really Cedric and Daithi rescuing Lucrais?]
[Unable to send message!]
>[Attempt to claim pawn "The Moon" and echo result to "The Tower"]
[You don’t have any free pawn slots!]

>Lu, I'm near certain these two are not Daithi and Cedric and are actually Shape Stealers.
…s-shape stealers? Um… like shape shifters!? Someone has sent shape shifting assassins to kill me!?
>Shape-changers are actually really fragile despite their terrifying true form, so you could probably get the jump on them.
…
>Daithi, raise your left hand, right rear foot, and stick out your tongue. If he doesn't do all of that right away then he can't hear us and is a Shape Stealer.
Lucrais, we don’t have time standing around gawking! We need to move!

>You're going to have to play along enough to get them in a position where you might be able to make a run for it, with the possibility of taking one of them out in the process. Tell them in your most aggravated noble voice that they should have damn well told you this earlier and to lead the goddamn way.
DAMMIT, DAI! You should have had told me about this! I’m not prepared for this at-
Sorry, “Princess”, but we simply didn’t have time!
*Sigh* Fine… then lead on…
Cedric, take the rear-
No, you guys should stay in front of me! Now move!
Err… right, that should work too… let’s-
SHIT! The city guard is already here! That’s it, just ki- *Crunch!*
YOU BITCH! DIE!
OW!!

Kaktus 2014/09/06(Sat)05:43 No. 592902 ID: 65a774
File 141000742603.png - (29.88KB , 900x450 , 20.png )

*Slickely*
*Snickery*
*Slice!*
AAAH!!!

Kaktus 2014/09/06(Sat)05:43 No. 592903 ID: 65a774
File 141000743994.png - (30.18KB , 900x450 , 21.png )

You… y-you saved me!
Men, make sure they are dead…
…My hero…
Err… and this just got really weird… first someone tells me my date tonight is due to get married with another woman… then I kill someone who looks a lot like him and save his soon to be fiancé… and now he’s fiancé is making googly eyes at me…
Huh? What- I’m not!

Insert Dying in your arms tonight_

AND SO the brave captain of the guard slew the vicious tentacle beast and rescued the fair damsel, who was now held in the warriors' strong capable arms as they looked longingly-
>and this just got really weird...
OH FINE.

>Someone has sent shape shifting assassins to kill me!?
Or capture you in the basement so shapestealers can take over your life. It may explain your brothers sudden changes in personality. Atena, you ought to investigate that old torture chamber before the inquisition shows up. What did the mother think happened to Lucrais, anyway?

>first someone tells me my date tonight is due to get married with another woman…
That's been called off, I'm pretty sure she's the only one who doesn't know. Mostly because nobody really wants to do it.

>>592903
WOW. Atena, I didn't know you were a certified badass. I think you might be the strongest member of our team right now.

[@White: Two shapestealers just attacked Lucrais. Watch out for more. Oh, FYI we claimed The Tower and The Chariot. The Chariot is really strong, wow.]

How about we investigate the punishment room now? Well, it's either that or we tell the inquisition about there being daemonic creatures here and let them scrub the place down. Not sure if we should tell Purple yet, or wait until we've secured the area. Actually, let's not tell Purple directly- go through official channels about the daemonic presence. Play things by the book so we don't have people asking why the inquisition knew about the daemons before anyone told them.

>and now he’s fiancé is making googly eyes at me…
Behold, the glory of quadriamorous Mantises. But seriously, she just had her very first brush with death, she's bound to be a bit... Googly.

Atena, the fact that there were shapestealers here makes this something for the Inquisition to look into. I'll refrain from contacting purple, however, just in case you want to take a look around... Although if you want us to contact Purple asap, we can do so.
[Check corruption levels]

Welcome to our world Atena, things only get stranger from here on out because shit is likely going to hit the windmill at this point.

>>592922
Oh man we should have told Ilbir to attatch a rune of fire to a horizontally-aligned windmill to make it spin quickly... He'd have invented automated fans, too!

Kaktus 2014/09/06(Sat)10:24 No. 592927 ID: 65a774
File 141002428317.png - (30.06KB , 900x450 , 22.png )

>[Check corruption levels]
[No corruption found.]
>[@White: Two shapestealers just attacked Lucrais. Watch out for more.]
[White: What!? That’s horrible! What do they think they are- Hmm… are they… are they attacking pawns or nobles?]
>[Oh, FYI we claimed The Tower and The Chariot. The Chariot is really strong, wow.]
[She is? Well, she’s bound to have experience fighting…]

>AND SO the brave captain of the guard slew the vicious tentacle beast and rescued the fair damsel, who was now held in the warriors' strong capable arms as they looked longingly-
(Hey… HEY, stop that!)
(…It’s… it’s almost like it’s from a romance novel… err… not that I… you know…)
>WOW. Atena, I didn't know you were a certified badass. I think you might be the strongest member of our team right now.
(Badass? I don’t know about that… I do have some experience fighting brigades and the like… and I’ve been a soldier once in my life time… never saw any real combat though.)
>Behold, the glory of quadriamorous Mantises.
(…well, too bad the glory I want only involves two people.)
(...To bad it’s my mother who’s deciding whom I will marry…)
>But seriously, she just had her very first brush with death, she's bound to be a bit... Googly.
(Hmm… you got a point… actually, this is almost like when I met my… for… first time… err… let’s not talk about that.)
>Atena, the fact that there were shapestealers here makes this something for the Inquisition to look into. I'll refrain from contacting purple, however, just in case you want to take a look around...
(Let me just take a look around first. We’ll definitely want the help of the inquisition for this. Well, help might be the wrong word…)

>Or capture you in the basement so shapestealers can take over your life.
(Oh, by the ever spinning hour glass, they wanted to replace me!? Wait, if they… who have they already replaced!? What if… what if Atena is a shape stealer too! And that guard! And mother!? And… and you! …and even me!? What if I’m already… wait… that doesn’t even make sense…)
>It may explain your brothers sudden changes in personality.
(Err… that happened years ago, when we were young… and it wasn’t a change of personality, it was a change of discipline. They became a lot better behaved around the servants, mother and her guests. So, if they actually were replaced, why wait years to replace me?)
>What did the mother think happened to Lucrais, anyway?
(She just thought she never came home yesterday, so she wanted us to find her.)
>That's been called off, I'm pretty sure she's the only one who doesn't know. Mostly because nobody really wants to do it.
(Really? Are you sure? Because her mother mentioned it just a while ago…)

>How about we investigate the punishment room now?
(While that is one of our top priorities, there’s one that is a bit higher…)
Lucrais!? Are you alright!? What happened!?
I’m fine, mother, thanks to the bravery of the captain…
Everything is going to be alright, lady-
Alright!? My own daughter was attacked by shape shifting assassins in my own home!? HOW IS THAT ALRIGHT!?
Do not worry, we will apprehend those responsible for this.
While that’s all well and good, what about the safety of my daughter!? My safety!?
Well… um…

Insert “Um…” what?_

>>592927
[scan Lady Baideal, also the two guards]
Wait, how did she know they were shape-shifters? Nobody explained what happened, and the corpses just look like tentacle-monsters to those that don't know better. Jeez, is she another shape stealer, or in charge of them? Or did she know what shape stealers were already, and recognized them from the corpses?
If she can explain that, then I guess the response to her security concerns would be "You're screwed, lady." You can't just hire more guards to stop shape stealers. You basically have to set up a password system amongst the guards you already have, and even that's not ironclad. Oh, shape stealers are harmed by contact with holy symbols, so you can set up a security checkpoint with a priest or something. I suspect she cannot afford to do all these things, however. Do you have some sort of safehouse you can put them up in?

Lucrais, you seem to have problems telling the truth. Is the wedding called off or not? Shouldn't you fess up about what you were really doing last night, regardless?
[@White: I have a hunch that these shape-stealers are going after Daithi's love interests. The Deceiver may be possessive of him.]
Atena, if my hunch is right, you might be targeted by shape-stealers in the future. Keep a tight ship.

>It’s… it’s almost like it’s from a romance novel…
...-into each others eyes, hearts no longer racing out of fear of death or thrill of battle, but the closeness-
>stop that!

>Really? Are you sure? Because her mother mentioned it just a while ago…
I'm talking about her mother. I believe Ceana decided to break the news to Baideal herself after discussing it with Dai and Lucrais, but hasn't got around to it yet.
>HOW IS THAT ALRIGHT!?
Well, you could not only in the center of a hotbed of cultist activity, but complacent with a hotbed of cultist activity. I'm sure that's not the case though, It's not like you sent us away to look for your daughter while she was actually securely held in her own room, or a significant portion of your staff was actually shapestealers, and you identified said esoteric daemonic minions as shapestealers or anything. I'm sure the inquisition will understand these discrepancies and go out of their way to ensure you aren't inconvenienced during their investigations. There will be plenty of inquisitors here to ensure your daughters safety soon.

Kaktus 2014/09/06(Sat)14:28 No. 592964 ID: 65a774
File 141003890720.png - (29.90KB , 900x450 , 23.png )

>[scan Lady Baideal, also the two guards]
[Neutral Creature: Stuck up noble.]
[Neutral Creature: City Guard.] x 2
>[@White: I have a hunch that these shape-stealers are going after Daithi's love interests. The Deceiver may be possessive of him.]
[White: Really? That’s… um… are you sure? That sounds a bit… I don’t know… farfetched? Why go through so many problems just too… um…]

>Lucrais, you seem to have problems telling the truth. Is the wedding called off or not?
(Lady Ceana was going to speak with mother about later today… so… um… it’s not yet called off?)

>It's not like you sent us away to look for your daughter while she was actually securely held in her own room…
I… I didn’t know she was here! The Lord of Servants told me she never came home yesterday!
>or a significant portion of your staff was actually shapestealers…
How should I have known about that!?
>Wait, how did she know they were shape-shifters? Nobody explained what happened, and the corpses just look like tentacle-monsters to those that don't know better.
I… err… see, they look like my daughters fiancé and that plebian human he always hangs around with, but with tentacles… so… um… well, at least I think that’s the plebian he hangs out with… the sword wound is making it kind of- either way, as “sir” Daithi can’t sprout tentacles, I hope, I just assumed it was-
You just assumed it was shape shangers in the five seconds it took you to come into the room?
…well, no… err… alright fine… I confess, I have a hobby in dabbling in the occult. Not practicing it, of course, just researching it! I recognize those things from the text; they are shape changers that are minions to the Benevolent one! I… err… it’s not illegal to read about it, just to practice it!
>I'm sure the inquisition will understand these discrepancies and go out of their way to ensure you aren't inconvenienced during their investigations. There will be plenty of inquisitors here to ensure your daughters safety soon.
What!? No, that’s… you can’t let those… those brutes in here! They’ll see my book collection and burn the whole mansion down, with us inside it!
…well, you did confess that you’ve been-
Researching! I got a permit! It’s legal!
Well, then how about this whole mess… it’s rather unlikely that-
If I wanted my daughter dead I would have had them snuck into her room at night, not bash trough protective steel door while the captain of the guard, who I have to remind you I sent for personally, was standing outside the estate!
Hmm… you’re right on that part… so either you’re not part of this plot… or just incompetent.
Why would I even call for you while she was alive if I wanted to hide her death!? …and why would I even want to kill her!? She’s my daughter! We might not see eye to eye on most things but she’s still my sole heir!
You were going to replace her with one of the shape stealers? You know, by sucking out her memories?
That’s a- wait, they can suck out memories!? How do you even know all this!?
…I got my sources...
Well, I’m still innocent! You got to believe me!
…the torture chamber in the basement?
…tortu- That thing haven’t seen use since my grandfather was young! Everything is rusted and broken down there! In fact, we keep the door locked at all times just to make sure that part of our history remain history.
…but, you took my brothers down there…
Just to scare them! We took them down there when they had behaved really badly and explained what everything was… then we used this fake… I don’t know what they are called but they are supposed to break fingers, but this one just hurt a bit. Most things doesn’t even work anymore down there! …but never mind that, what’s important is that you don’t tell those fanatics! I only want my daughter’s safety, and if they should come here…

Insert Some people just want to see the world burn_

Yeah, they are dead…

>>592964
Well that seems like a legit story. Tell her you want to look at it anyway just to confirm it's in disuse. ...hey, we should ask the family's guards if they have any idea where the shape-stealers got in from. Did they just walk in from outside, or what? We'll need to do a sweep of the house, too.
Oh, she let slip she knows The Deceiver's true name. The Benevolent one, eh? Is that it? Ask her if she knows the other daemons' true names. Also, we'd like all the info she has on the Benevolent one, since it's active here. We expect her full cooperation in making sure her house has no other daemonic influences in it without calling in the inquisition.

> (…It’s… it’s almost like it’s from a romance novel… err… not that I… you know…)
Read them for intimate purposes? Don't worry, I won't jump to that conclusion. Really, romantic novels are good reads simply for good story and vocabulary. I mean, some of them get a little... Saucy, but it's not as though that's the reason I'm reading them. It's just that it's not a reason to stop reading them, either, right?
>(…well, too bad the glory I want only involves two people.)
>(...To bad it’s my mother who’s deciding whom I will marry…)
We need to open up communication between pawns...
>That sounds a bit… I don’t know… farfetched? Why go through so many problems just too… um…
[Reply: The Deceiver had him convinced everybody hated him until we showed up and opened his eyes. It's actually quite likely she's kicking it up a notch and having shapestealers replace them to make him think everybody hates him again. She needs him to have that state of mind for something... She's also avoided corrupting any of our pawns, so far, which is very unusual; her Shapestealer children must not be born of her Daemon power.
It may sound farfetched that a Daemon would care about one person so much, but for whatever reason, Daithi has had the Deceiver following him for as long as he can remember, so it's quite obviously the case that she has something in mind...]
[@White: Okay, here's a farfetched theory! What if Daithi is another of her "Children," and is an attempt to create a being of lies that isn't fragile like the shapestealers are? Only, being made of lies, his own past was a lie that deceived him, making him believe that he truly was Daithi, the son of Ceana. "I think, therefore I am." By creating a body that registered under all means as a Mantis, and the child of Ceana, nobody had reason to doubt, and so Daithi became, and therefore now is, Daithi. The Deceiver wants her experiment back, without harming him, so she's trying to make him hate life and run to her motherly embrace... On a scale of 1-100, with 100 being "How do you even come up with this moonspeak conspiracy," how would you rate that?
Oh, and yes, "Motherly Embrace." Those born of Daemon powers have had a tendency to plead for their Mother, her embrace, and her love. I don't know how The Deceiver managed to make "children" who aren't fountains of corrupt energy, but it likely ties into her title.]
>they are shape changers that are minions to the Benevolent one!
"The Benevolent One"? That's odd. Daithi is plagued by The Deceiver, not The Benevolent One.
>I only want my daughter’s safety, and if they should come here…
[Message Purple: Purity question. If a person obtains a permit to study Daemons, and is in fact quite knowledgeable about them, but have no sources of corruption in their home, are they "Filth"?]
That better damn well not be intercepted. I'm going to expect a non-zealous answer, believe it or not. Understanding the enemy is a necessity of war, after all.
[Message White: Hey, don't want to give away too much to Purple at once... Do you have contact with him? Hoping to ask about Daemon minions that don't spill corruption to pawns. Actually, if Cedric himself can find information on that, that too could help. Otherwise, speaking to Arthur should be enough.]

>[Neutral Creature: Stuck up noble.]
Ha ha oh wow.

>That sounds a bit… I don’t know… farfetched?
[Reply: There's been one attempt to 'replace' Arthur and one just now to kill or capture Lucrais. Whatever the reason, they're being targeted. ]

> I confess, I have a hobby in dabbling in the occult.
Waaait a minute Lucrais? didn't your mother discourage your own intellectual pursuits?

Alright, whatever the cultists were planning on doing, it was in that chamber. Leave a guard behind to keep these two protected, take the other one to investigate. Tell Baideal that if you can wrap this up quickly without bothering the Inquisition, that's just fine with you, but if there's something down there we can't deal with, it may become necessary.

Kaktus 2014/09/07(Sun)06:35 No. 593048 ID: 65a774
File 141009693353.png - (14.75KB , 900x450 , 24.png )

>[Reply: There's been one attempt to 'replace' Arthur and one just now to kill or capture Lucrais. Whatever the reason, they're being targeted.]
[White: Well, either they are after people close to him, or it’s just a coincident. We need more information.]
>[Message White: Hey, don't want to give away too much to Purple at once... Do you have contact with him? Hoping to ask about Daemon minions that don't spill corruption to pawns.]
[I guess I can talk to one of his pawns, maybe?]
>[@White: Okay, here's a farfetched theory! What if Daithi is another of her "Children," and is an attempt to create a being of lies that isn't fragile like the shapestealers are?]
[…wait, you think your own king is a demon spawn!? Whoa, you guys are paranoid!]
>[Message Purple: Purity question. If a person obtains a permit to study Daemons, and is in fact quite knowledgeable about them, but have no sources of corruption in their home, are they "Filth"?]
[Purple: Only with Knowledge can you truly eradicate the filth! Knowledge is the ultimate power, after all, but take heed so it doesn’t corrupt you.]

>Well that seems like a legit story. Tell her you want to look at it anyway just to confirm it's in disuse.
*Cough*Cough* Oh, geez, so much dust… alright, this place has clearly not been used in ages… *cough*… even the lock was barely usable…
See, I told you!
But… why did they want me to come here?
They wanted you in the basement so they should kill you in peace and then get rid of the body, probably. Having the excuse that you were going in there would probably be used as an explanation for you being dragged down here against your will and your sudden personality change…
>...hey, we should ask the family's guards if they have any idea where the shape-stealers got in from.
Ma’am, none of the private guards here seems to know how they could have gotten in…
>We'll need to do a sweep of the house, too.
The only thing we found that was of any interest was that this “Master of servants” have simply disappeared. He was last seen mucking about with a guard armor.
Let me guess, he was a human?
Why, yes, how did yo-
Because the reason they can’t find him is because he’s the human corpse in Lady Lucrais room. He was the inside man that was trying to replace Lucrais with that mantis we killed.

>Oh, she let slip she knows The Deceiver's true name. The Benevolent one, eh? Is that it?
True name? That’s her only name. “The Deceiver” is our name for her, you know, those that doesn’t live in the untamed lands.
>Ask her if she knows the other daemons' true names.
Err… I’ve really just read about the ones who hang around near here… you know… The Benevolent one mostly…
>we'd like all the info she has on the Benevolent one, since it's active here. We expect her full cooperation in making sure her house has no other daemonic influences in it without calling in the inquisition.
Um… well… there’s a lot, alright? I mean, most of the information even contradicts each other!
It does? Like how?
For example, her supposed origins. There are myth and legends that range from her coming and brainwashing a bunch of barbarians, that she was a powerful sorcerer that made herself out to be a god, that she was an evil god, that she was a benevolent god that came to aid those in the untamed lands but drove everyone insane instead and even some that say she doesn’t even exist and never has!
>Waaait a minute Lucrais? didn't your mother discourage your own intellectual pursuits?
…you… you hypocrite!
I never said you should have it as a hobby… I just said you needed a more feminine job then… *Ugh* “Scholar”… you know, like in the army or an economist like me!

[ERROR! PLEASE CONTACT ADMIN! ERROR! PLEASE CONTACT AD_### ERROR! PKEAS# CO”TAC_### ERR#R! PL##SE C#N_### ERROR! PLEASE_### ERR_###!!!]
[Player {Centurion Lucius Flavius} has entered the game!]
{New Victory condition set: The first Player to capture either the plant Creature or the golden lizard wins the game!}
{New ability gained: Capture Plant Creature/ Golden Lizard! Just touch one of them and use this ability!}

[White: …what was that!? What is going on?]
[Purple: …I do not like this… is it the work of demons or false gods, I wonder…?]

Insert …wait, wa- but…wait… I… um… wait… err… that’s… but… it’s not… what?_

>Whoa, you guys are paranoid!
[Message White:... He said, moments before the gods started screaming 'error!' ]
[message White and Purple: I'm not even going to try and list all the scenarios where whoever said that doesn't have our best interests at heart, but that's definitely too good to be true. Here's what we know: The 'plant creature', that's the god that entered first, is on the run from the 'golden lizard'. Whoever sent that message is trying to purge both of them. I doubt they'll discretionary in who or what gets removed along with them, though, so let's try not to capture anything right now. And make sure that lizard doesn't make a scene, we should keep him away from black and yellow.]
[message Centurion Lucius Flavius: Hello? Can you hear us? What are you doing here?!?]

Oh boy, a big metal door with a skull sign next to it. Who else is exited?
...Just make sure there isn't any cult activity down there and then we can go. Leave some guards in the house just in case, and then you can go visit the school.

>[…wait, you think your own king is a demon spawn!? Whoa, you guys are paranoid!]
[Reply: Uh, I was just making stuff up, White. I said "This is a farfetched theory" because the likelihood of that happening is essentially nonexistant. Why would the Gods have allowed Players to choose a Daemon Spawn as their King?]
>{New Victory condition set: The first Player to capture either the plant Creature or the golden lizard wins the game!}
WHAT.
>[White: …what was that!? What is going on?]
>[Purple: …I do not like this… is it the work of demons or false gods, I wonder…?]
[Message both: Heh, interesting! Use the manual, query anything about this you can.]
[Query: Capture the flag, similar results]
[Query: Victory conditions, changing of]
[Message both: Actually, did you get the same conditions that we did?]
[Query: Daemons and Gods]
[Query: The Benevolent One]
[Touch transcript, "The Golden Lizard"]

>>593048
[@White and Purple: False gods. Both are outsiders, and are at war. Now their presence is screwing with the victory conditions, goddamn it. What does winning the game do in this case, I wonder?]
[Message to Admin: Hey, hey! What is the meaning of this? What does Capture do to the target?]
[system query: effects of Capture]
[system query: effects of winning the game]
[scan the guard to the right of Atena]

Alright, I think we're done here. Something new has come up- another alien has entered this world, most likely through the beam of light. We need to check it out, but I suspect it would only be safe for a Lizard to approach.

>…wait, you think your own king is a demon spawn!? Whoa, you guys are paranoid!

[reply: White, until you've been trapped in a illusion for 2 months watching your friends die over and over again, you don't get to call us paranoid.}

[message to both white and purple: ... well we have been hearing things about the admins looking for something, and fucking with our messages so we have a hard time talking when we're not in person now so I guess we found out they've been doing. As for the lizard, we've met him... kinda. Back when we were fighting in the desert he contacted one of our pawns asking him to shoot us with a ray gun that destroyed an entire cultist camp in one shot because he thought we were someone else. As for where he is now, no idea, we just messaged him after our pawn told us about him and haven heard hair or hide of him until now.]

Hey Atena, do you need us her anymore cause I'm kinda wanted to duck back to Dei because something of world breaking proportions just popped up.

The multiple and contradictory origins of the Benevolent One does make it sound like the "Mother of Lies" title she's been given is more fitting then not.

Lu, do you think it'd be better if you were here to back Ceana up when she tells your mother the marriage is off or do you think it'd be better if you weren't?

Lucrais, we're about to say things to Atena that aren't going to make sense without knowing what we've told her; She'll have to fill you in afterwards. Atena, if Lu can't come with you when you leave then find somewhere private you can speak with her before you go.

Atena, we just got the message that player "{Centurion Lucius Flavius}" has entered the game. This has to be the Sakkilian marine that's after Hugo, and going by the fact curly braces are around his name instead of the regular brackets he's coming in as an admin player. We need you to find out right away if another beam of light has come down at Avatar's Descent just now. If there hasn't then we'll know Lucius has come in somewhere much more discreet. If there has... then a heavily armed Sakkilian marine has just dropped smack into the middle of a bunch of Inquisitors and there's no way I can think of that that can end well.

But that's not the end of it. Immediately after we got that message we got two admin messages: One stating that a new victory condition has been set: "The first Player to capture either the plant Creature or the golden lizard wins the game!" The second saying that we got a new ability that would capture the Plant Creature or Golden Lizard if used when touching either of them. And then right after that we got messages from White and Purple asking what the heck is this, so it'd be safe to assume that all the players in the region, if not the whole world, have gotten the same message and ability we did.

This is related to what we overheard on the admin message channel right before we were banned from it: "Experiment compromised! Remove foreign objects immediately! Capture Plant being and foreign lizard immediately!" It looks like there are intelligent systems up there that are still following the directives of the Old Gods to keep their experiment going. That's where the new victory objective and ability came from; There's not supposed to be regular players in here, so they're trying to remove them.

However, what worries me the most about this is that there is now a victory condition when there was none before. A victory condition means that the game can now be won, and when a game is won it almost always ends. Put that together with this world originally being a game and you can figure what might happen if Hugo or the Sakkil marine are captured. We can't risk that happening. We can't risk this all looping back again.

Atena, we need you to get to the Academy ASAP to deal with whatever those two missing soldiers was about and then meet with Daithi; We're going to switch to Dai to inform him of what's happened. We also need to speak with White in person 'cause our inter-player messages are being listened in on and censored. Lucrais, if you can come with Atena, please do. Otherwise arm yourself and hole up here. Oh, and Atena, whisper the password Arthur told you last night to Lu before you leave.

[@White: Big trouble, that's what, 'cause a victory condition means this game can now end, and when it ends... What happens to the world and all of us?]
[@Purple: Dunno, but no matter who or what sent that it has to mean big trouble.]

[@White, @Purple: Did you get the same "capture the plant creature/golden lizard" objective and messages that we just did? Could you repeat the messages you got in total to us so we can be sure we got the same thing?]

[@White: We need to speak with you in person. We're going to switch to Daithi. How soon can Cedric get to him?]

[@Purple: We need to speak with you in person. How soon can you get a pawn to the Academy to meet with ours? We want to meet there 'cause our ally White will be there and we'd like you to meet so you can talk.]

>>593071
Remember how when we tried to message Purple to tell him anything of what this world really is our messages were "info expunged?" There's no bloody way whoever or whatever is in the admin seat up there watching the inter-player messages is going to let messages with info like that through from us to any of the AI players. If we're to tell them anything of such things it'll have to be in person, from our pawns to theirs.

And the big metal door with the skull sign next to it is to the old, long unused torture chamber; The one that Atena just stepped out of saying it was so dusty.

>>593073
We've been told that there's no glossary or manual in the game yet. What makes you think that the AI players have one before the regular players?

Kaktus 2014/09/07(Sun)12:54 No. 593106 ID: 65a774
File 141011965128.png - (14.85KB , 900x450 , 25.png )

>[message Centurion Lucius Flavius: Hello? Can you hear us? What are you doing here?!?]
[Error! Target not found!]
>[Message to Admin: Hey, hey! What is the meaning of this? What does Capture do to the target?]
[Unable to send message!]
>[Query: Capture the flag, similar results]
[No query found.]
>[Query: Victory conditions, changing of]
[Victory condition can either be changed as the game evolves or directly by admins. There are three different victory type: Global (Game ends), Personal (Player wins, game goes on), Minor (For side quests). There are currently 2 Personal victory conditions set, as well as several thousand minor ones.]
>[Query: Daemons and Gods]
[Will be added in a later update.]
>[Query: The Benevolent One]
[No query found.]
>[Touch transcript, "The Golden Lizard"]
[Error!]
>[system query: effects of Capture]
[Capture targets on touch and brings them to an external prison zone from where they can be realized from later. No harm can come to a captured target.]
>[scan the guard to the right of Atena]
[Neutral Creature: Officer of the watch.]

>[@White and Purple: False go –expunged- ]
[…]
>[message White and Purple: I'm not even going to try and list all the scenarios where whoever said that doesn't have our best interests at heart, but that's definitely too good to be true. Here's what we know: The 'plant creature', that's the –expunged- is on the run from the 'golden lizard'. Whoever sent that message is trying to purge both of them.]
[Both: This is rather troubling…]
>[@White: Big trouble, that's what, 'cause a victory condition means this game can now end, and when it ends... What happens to the world and all of us?]
[White: …I… I can’t say… this is all so weird…]
>[Message both: Actually, did you get the same conditions that we did?]
[White: Capture a plant monster and a lizard made out of gold?]
[Purple: Something about a creature made out of flowers and a golden idol that looks like a lizard?]
>[@White: We need to speak with you in person. We're going to switch to Daithi. How soon can Cedric get to him?]
[White: He’s stuck in class… so… um… Daithi is probably stuck in class right now too so…]
>[@Purple: We need to speak with you in person. How soon can you get a pawn to the Academy to meet with ours?]
[Purple: The Star will arrive in just a few moments.]
>[make sure that lizard doesn't make a scene, we should keep him away from black and yellow.]
[Purple: …something interesting just happened at the gods decent. A weird armored lizard suddenly appeared and ran as fast as he could right into the forest, then just a few moments later two ------- appeared and gave chase after him… err… wait, it was expunged? What does… err… they were… hmm… like animals, you know… animals without legs that hide in the grass, slithering around… you shouldn’t thread on them? Those kind of animals but they were people, with arms, weapons and really weird armor. Oh, and when I spoke with my pawn there he suddenly forgot any of that ever happened.]

>Alright, I think we're done here. Something new has come up- another –expunged- … We need to check it out, but I suspect it would only be safe for a Lizard to approach.
(Huh?)
>Atena, we just got the message that pl –expunged-
(…?)
>But that's not the end of it. Immediately after we got that message we got two –expunged-
(Are you just messing with me or?)
>This is related to what we overheard on the –expunged-
(Okay, quit it!)

>...Just make sure there isn't any cult activity down there and then we can go. Leave some guards in the house just in case, and then you can go visit the school.
Of course, I’ll leave some of my best men here to protect the ladies and their family and estate.
Even with your extra man power it won’t be safe here… no, I need to take some precautions…
>Hey Atena, do you need us her anymore cause I'm kinda wanted to duck back to Dei because something of world breaking proportions just popped up.
(Yeah, you guys can head off if you want to.)
>Lu, do you think it'd be better if you were here to back Ceana up when she tells your mother the marriage is off or do you think it'd be better if you weren't?
(I rather be with her… you know, this whole thing does concern me a bit, after all.)
>Atena, we need you to get to the Academy ASAP to deal with whatever those two missing soldiers was about and then meet with Daithi.
(Right, I’ll just need to finish up here first…)

…

Really, they found them?
Apparently, they had “accidently” slept in one of the seniors students private rooms.
Heh, that’s not really a surprise… I mean, what kind of girl can resist a handsome soldier in uniform, let alone two of them?
The room belonged to a male lizard…
…oh… well, my point still stand… either way, Daithi, you’re up next! How do you feel?
Freaking nervous, Sir! …I mean, Ma’am.
Don’t be, it’s just practice… and if you’re shaking like that the soldiers out there will never let you order them around. Grow some balls, Daithi… or eggsacks or whatever you guys got… Nic, do you know?
Please leave me out of any conservation concerning those organs, please.
Hey, just because you lack a pair doesn’t… err… that was a bit… sorry for that, Nic.
No harm done…

Insert I lost the thread I was following, so the whole thing is just a big snarl now…_

>>593106
Ah, so... another race of aliens is after the Sakkil and... Uredo, that's the name of the plant race now. This game just got weird.

[scan all those present]

Hello, Nicholas, Daithi. Something has come up. More aliens have entered the world through the pillar of light- a Sakkil and some members of an unknown species which looks like... serpentine creatures. Also, all Players are being given a personal goal to capture either the Sakkil or Hugo. We won't be doing this, because I don't think the personal victory will do anything for us. This is a good chance to further our own goals while other Players are distracted. By the way, Hugo's species is called Uredo. The Sakkil ran into the forest, pursued by the new aliens. I'm not sure if we should even bother going after the Sakkil. I'm more interested in protecting Hugo and investigating those ruins we found out about yesterday. Are either of you free for adventures?
[query: what happens to a player when they win a personal victory?]

Oh, and two new Players have shown up. Red and Yellow. Red is an old ally; Yellow is new and may be corrupted.

hey there Daithi, if you want we can lend you and hand so to speak here. Either way once you're done here we need to talk, so major shit is going down and we need to talk to you about a few things. But later, you don't need to be distracted now so we'll help you speed through this and then we let you know what's going on.

>wait, it was expunged?
[Reply: Oh! So we didn't get that message about it being expunged, only the sender gets that. That explains your previous confusion.]
>animals without legs that hide in the grass, slithering around…
[Reply: It's call them Slither. So, these Slither showed up and chased the Lizard?
> Oh, and when I spoke with my pawn there he suddenly forgot any of that ever happened.
...The Slither have power. We need to talk, moreso now than before.]

Daithi, just so you know, if we suddenly get "quiet" that's... Uh, well, we get expunged. That should be safe to say, Purple managed to say it.
[Help query: Expunging/omitting of communications]
There's a Golden Lizard (We told you about him before, remember?) and the Plant Person (You've met him before, remember?) in the game. Both are being hunted by animal people we're calling "Slithers." They're the kind of animal that has no legs and slithers in the grass. But they've got arms. Slithers have some kind of power that lets them [EXPUNGE] our communications. I feel the need to [EXPEL] these Slither, before they [ERADICATE] our allies. It certainly doesn't help when they [ERASE] our messages and [EFFACE] your memories. Get your [EXOSKELETON] in gear and [EXCEL] at whatever this [EXAMINATION] is about so we can [EXIT] and [ENCOURAGE] our [ENTOURAGE].

Alright Dai, just take some deep breaths and cross yourself. Nothing to be afraid of, right? Just give the first person who starts giving you shit the worst job, you shouldn't have any more problems after that.

> Nic, do you know?
I think he's more likely to know a way to invoke the protection of the gods or something. That'd be helpful.

> Really, they found them?
...They aren't Shapechangers, right?

Kaktus 2014/09/08(Mon)03:16 No. 593297 ID: 65a774
File 141017136320.png - (20.84KB , 900x450 , 26.png )

>[scan all those present]
[“The Magician”: Nervous. “strength”: Content. “The Forsaken Lion”: Content.]
[“The Hermit” is currently unclaimed!]
[Neutral Creature: Student.] x6
>[query: what happens to a player when they win a personal victory?]
[Either the player is removed from the game until it ends and is then proclaimed winner / second place / third… or is rewarded with extra experience, items and / or skills.]
>[Help query: Expunging/omitting of communications]
[Admins can delete communication as they deem necessary.]

>[Reply: Oh! So we didn't get that message about it being expunged, only the sender gets that. That explains your previous confusion.]
[Purple: That would explain it, yes.]
>[Reply: Iet’s call them Slither. So, these Slither showed up and chased the Lizard?]
[Yes, they chased the lizard in weird armor… and… hmm… snake… they were snakes… they were ----- …so, I can say snake but not creature? Weird…]

>Daithi, just so you know, if we suddenly get "quiet" that's... Uh, well, we get expunged.
Wait, what? Someone is… removing things you say?
Hmm… that’s rather odd…
>...They aren't Shapechangers, right?
We’ve already checked them. No, they are just a bunch of horny soldiers.
>Oh, and two new Players have shown up. Red and Yellow. Red is an old ally; Yellow is new and may be corrupted.
Corrupted? Let’s not jump to conclusions, shall we?
>Once you're done here we need to talk, as some major shit is going down. But later, you don't need to be distracted right now.
Err… that doesn’t really help! At all!

>Ah, so... another race of –expunged- is after the Sakkil and... Uredo, that's the name of the plant race now.
Another alien race!? Isn’t this weird en- wait, Uredo? Hugo is an Uredo?
>An unknown species which looks like... serpentine creatures.
So, space snakes, huh?
>They have some kind of power that lets them [EXPUNGE] our communications. I feel the need to [EXPEL] these snakes, before they [ERADICATE] our allies. It certainly doesn't help when they [ERASE] our messages and [EFFACE] your memories.
I should recommend that we try to talk to them. Attacking them outright will probably just make things worse.
>Get your [EXOSKELETON] in gear and [EXCEL] at whatever this [EXAMINATION] is about so we can [EXIT] and [ENCOURAGE] our [ENTOURAGE].
…if it was that easy…

>Alright Dai, just take some deep breaths and cross yourself. Nothing to be afraid of, right? Just give the first person who starts giving you shit the worst job, you shouldn't have any more problems after that.
Right… calm… deep breath… I can do this…
Daithi, you’re up. Go get them, commander!
…
So then I shopped his ugly head from his shoulders and said, “Let me give you a nice haircut!”.
Ha! Like that ever happened, you’re so full of Oxin sh-
Shh, the commander is… err… is that…
…
Um…
Are you sure this is the commander?
He is wearing the uniform…
But he’s a male mantis!? Isn’t that against the law or something!?
Is this some kind of joke!?
Begin when you’re ready, Daithi.

Insert Yay, sexism!_

Cripes!
Okay, what exactly do we have to do here Daithi?

Attention! Serious, call them to attention. That's like, the first thing a commander does. Unless this is supposed to be a wartime simulation, then call them to line up, too. If they still decide to chitchat, tell them you did not dismiss them yet, so they can keep the smalltalk on hold.

What is the standard punishment for a soldier who falls out of line?

>>593297
Get them to line up properly, one of them is off to the side.

Get them to clear their small talk, get them to stand at attention, any who disobeys gets shouted at for disobeying an officer.

For those who are insulting their superior at command, punishment is allowed one has to be STRONG and FILLED WITH WILL and not allow their troops to question them or insult them, whatever beef they have with you is to be quietly shut away because otherwise it could cause MORALE ISSUES and TROUBLE.

Kaktus 2014/09/08(Mon)10:43 No. 593314 ID: 65a774
File 141019819222.png - (20.78KB , 900x450 , 27.png )

>Okay, what exactly do we have to do here Daithi?
Victoria will give me a task to complete, and I’m supposed to use these guys to complete it…
>What is the standard punishment for a soldier who falls out of line?
Well… um… latrine duty or kitchen duty, I guess? I can’t really order them to do that though so… um… push-ups maybe?

>Attention! Serious, call them to attention. That's like, the first thing a commander does.
ATTENTION!!
…so this is re-
I ordered you to stay in attention, soldier!!
…”Yes, sir”…
>Get them to line up properly, one of them is off to the side.
Now Fall in!
Sir, yes, sir…
You know, there’s more sun on the other side of the court yard, don’t you think so, commander?
You heard the lady! About, FACE! Forward, MA-
No.
W-what!?
I’m not going to let some greenhorn, especially a male mantis order me around! I’ve been thought all too well that we males are worthless scum so to hell taking commands from one! I demand a real commander, someone that was actually meant to lead!
Hmm…

Insert Welp, the implications here are staggering…_

Bark bark, full on drill sergeant style. Confidence is the only thing that can carry you through.

The enlisted don't have the privilege of choosing their COs, soldier! If you want to pick who you work for than you should have stayed a civilian!

You want a choice? You can resign your commission! You can face a court marshal for disobeying a direct order! Or you can follow! Your! Orders! Is that clear soldier? Choose!

Quickly soldier, before I choose for you! 3!... 2!... 1!...

And if they fail to put a 'sir' at the end of their response, be sure to go "<response>, what, soldier?!"

>>593314
A soldier that won't follow orders shames their country and family. Does she think this is just a test for YOU? No, she is being tested as well. And failing, so far.

>I've been taught too well that we males are worthless scum.
"So, instead of working with the one guy that's trying to prove otherwise, you sit down in the dirt and prove that's all we are!? GET MOVING SOLDIER!"

time to go full drill Sargent on her thorax.

don't show any fear, don't let hesitation full your voice at any point, and remember we are hear by your side.

You are in command here and if she doesn't like it tell her she can go back to her barracks, remove her armor, and quit. This is the army lady, you don't get what you want in the army, you join the army to serve others, your family, your country, your home, not yourself. If she can't get over herself then she can go back home, see if her mother can tuck her back into her crib and then she can throw her little temper tantrum in front of someone who gives a shit. NOW FUCKING MARCH SOLDER.

Don't panic, this is part of the test. Now, you've GOT TO GET MAD. get MAD AS HELL, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE BULLSHIT FROM A DAMN PUPA.

Get less than an inch from their face and don't stop looking them in the eyes. It doesn't matter if you shout them down or get real quiet, this part is important. Never say 'I'm in charge', it means you aren't, but want to be. But you are, and need to show it. First, ask his name. He's on the shit list.

Soldier, I don't believe I heard you correctly. You DEMAND? Is that why I'm here, to take care of your fucking demands? You have Five seconds, EXACTLY FIVE FUCKING SECONDS to respond in the affirmative and march to the other end of this courtyard before I rip the insignia you have so shamed today off your chest and use it to raise your voice an octave.

ABOUT. FACE.

>>593318
>Does she think this is just a test for YOU?
>she
That's a male mantis. These are grunt soldiers, not leaders. Males make good grunts, females make good leaders.
>You are in command here and if she doesn't like it tell her she can go back to her barracks
MALE MANTIS.

[List active personal victory conditions and their rewards for completion] [List two minor victory conditions at random from all currently active ones]

Oh, it's fuckin' on. He wants a "real commander?" Someone that's "actually meant to lead?" Well, demand fuckin' fulfilled 'cause you're a commander and are meant to lead! You know it, we know it, your mother knows it, the Academy knows it, Victoria knows it, Cedric knows it, and by Jove this maggot of a soldier is going to fuckin' know it!

Time to get in touch with your feminine side and get right pissed off. Get fuckin' mad! Don't back down! You are the one in command here! YOU, not him!

Do you know who decided which soldiers which cadet would command? 'Cause if it was Victoria for you I suspect she chose an all male mantis squad to see how you deal with the entrenched sexism and she might even have chose soldiers that are particularly sexist.

>>593321
Uh... They're male mantises, not female. See, they're roughly the same height as Dai and the soldier even said "we males are worthless scum."

>>593325
"Males make good grunts, females make good leaders?" Excuse me, but why the fuck are you repeating that sexist and speciest bollocks? Especially when we have Daithi as our king?

>>593326
ops, well just change a few words in >>593321 and it get's the same message across. I just kinda assumed seeing as all the mantises we've met in the school so far have been female, my bad.

>>593324
I almost forgot- If they break eye contact, stop to give them shit. LOOK ME IN THE EYES YOU OVERGROWN MAGGOT. ARE YOU SOME KIND OF COWARD? DO YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?

Lastly, DI's are bad at math, so skip numbers when counting down.

Wait, if he's male... does he think he's worthless too? A true commander has to see into the hearts of his soldiers and raise morale. Don't be too tough on him.

>>593326
>Excuse me, but why the fuck are you repeating that sexist and speciest bollocks?
The sexist balderdash is one of the methods of telling the genders apart for those who cannot see it based on their appearance. Daithi and Lucrais are expections, yes, but apart from them we have not seen a single mantis fall outside of that stereotype.

How 'bout you ask this soldier to explain just how you, as "worthless scum," was accepted into the Amun Commander Academy and then made it all the way through the first year needed to even be standing before him. Just what is he implying here, eh?

>>593335
I do want to point out that we have seen at least one male mantis in a leadership position: Captain Andrzej of the Order of Light. He is, or rather, will be, a male mantis in a military leadership position.

Kaktus 2014/09/09(Tue)09:20 No. 593426 ID: 65a774
File 141027963534.png - (17.75KB , 900x450 , 28.png )

>[List active personal victory conditions and their rewards for completion]
[Capture “Plant Creature” alive – Reward: Victory when the game ends.]
[Capture “Golden lizard” alive – Reward: Victory when the game ends.]
>[List two minor victory conditions at random from all currently active ones]
[Find “Lesser Rune of Earth” – Reward: EXP and Lesser Rune of Earth.]
[Defeat the dreaded pirate Lizard king “Kalypso Roli” located somewhere in the Erathian seas. – Reward: EXP and a random magical item.]
[Locating local minor quests… one minor quest found!]
[Find the vault of the forgotten in the city of Stone Heaven – Reward: Knowledge meant to be unfound.]

>Confidence is the only thing that can carry you through.
…just the thing I lack right now…
>Time to get in touch with your feminine side and get right pissed off. Get fuckin' mad! Don't back down! You are the one in command here! YOU, not him!
…yes… YES, I’M IN COMMAND! I CAN BE JUST AS GOOD AS ANY WOMAN!
>Get less than an inch from their face and don't stop looking them in the eyes.
err…

>YOU'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE BULLSHIT FROM A DAMN PUPA.
DID YOU JUST SAY WHAT I THINK YOU SAID!?
I-
A soldier that can’t follow orders shames not only themselves, but their family, empire and the very concept of soldiers!
Bu-
The enlisted don't have the privilege of choosing their COs, soldier! You want a choice? You can resign your commission! You can face a court martial for disobeying a direct order! Or you can follow! Your! Orders! Is that clear soldier?
Y-yes, sir…
This is the army kid and you don't get what you want in the army, you join the army to serve others! If you don’t have what it takes then you can go back home and let your father tuck you into your web where you belong! Is that what you want, soldier!?
N-no, sir!
Then You have Five seconds, EXACTLY FIVE FUCKING SECONDS to respond in the affirmative and march to the other end of this courtyard before I rip the insignia you have so shamed today off your chest and use it to raise your voice an octave. ABOUT. FACE.
YES SIR!!
And while you march use that damn head of yours! Do you really think you mantis guys are worthless!?
Err… Y-yes, si- I mean, NO, SIR!?
Then prove it! Instead of sitting in the dirt pretending to be worthless grubs work with the guy who is trying to prove otherwise! To prove you mean something!
YES SIR!
If you were worthless you wouldn’t even be in that uniform, soldier! No, you’re better than that! You matter, soldier! So prove it! Show those “ladies” that we matter and are just as good as them!
YES SIR!!!

…
---
…

Good work, soldiers, I’m proud of what you’ve done today… you’re dismissed!
:UnknownKAN: THANK YOU, SIR!!
… … … *gasp*, oh crap… I… I-I can’t b-believe I just did that…
Excellent work, commander! I have to say, you really impressed me with taking control, raising morale and getting them motivated. You’ve clearly earned a gold star on this assignment, Daithi.
>Do you know who decided which soldiers which cadet would command?
Oh, no one decides, it’s randomized.
So that I got four mantis guys who were…
Chances were actually rather good, as 95% of the soldiers we got were mantises, all of them male. You know that about 80% of the lower ranks of our army are mantis males, right?
Oh, right… I… I should have expected something like this…
…Oh, and just a secret between us, one of them had orders to try and fight back a little, to test out if people are ready to take command over real people… but you handled it well. Either way, take the rest of the day off, Daithi, you deserve it… oh, and happy weekend.

Insert Captain K? Where are all the barrel throwing monkeys when you need them?_

>>593426
Hooray! Now let's go investigate some ruins, shall we?
[message to Teal: Okay, new admin. I know you're listening, so why don't you give us an explanation for what's going on? Do you think the two aliens are disrupting the game, or are you just using the game mechanics to get at them, causing a larger disruption than would otherwise occur? What would you do after they were captured, anyway? Also, please give us the name of your race so we can stop calling you serpentine or whatever.]

>*gasp*, oh crap… I… I-I can’t b-believe I just did that…
Well you did. Congrats. See, you can be confident and in command, if you want to be. It's kind of self fulfilling!

[Excellence] in [Exoneration], Daithi! [Exhilaration] is [Expected] now. You had quite the [Effect] on that [Endomorph]; keep it up and you'll get your own [Effigy], you know. We did get a quest to [Exhume] some lost knowledge nearby, so that's something interesting.

Also I'm too [Ecstatic] to stop with the E's it seems.

Great job man, we knew you could do it, Now for the thing we wanted to tell you about. There's a bounty on Hugo now. For whatever reason the system is going ape shit and not only is censuring some things we say but has actually started to put words into mouth make us sound even more crazy then we are, which pisses me off, we don't need any help being crazy! But yeah if we start shouting randomly at every other word chances are someone is jacking our speech pattern.

Oh and about Hugo, if any pawn so much as touches him he'll get sent to some kind of prison via teleportation bullshit so you and pretty much everyone we can trust can't touch Hugo... which given the fact that nether of us speak the same langue is going to be interesting to try and tell him. Oh and the lizard guy that was sent here to hunt him down, he's being hunted now as well by a third party. I kinda want to try and save him as well as at least he can actually tell us what the fuck is going on outside. Last we heard of him he was described as a golden lizard that was running into the woods. Not saying we should drop everything and track him down but if nothing comes up I wouldn't be against looking for him.

Kaktus 2014/09/09(Tue)12:23 No. 593440 ID: 65a774
File 141029061830.png - (13.86KB , 900x450 , 29.png )

>[Message to Teal: Okay, new –expunged-. I know you're listening, so why don't you give us an explanation for what's going on? Do you think the two –expunged- are disrupting the game, or are you just using the –expunged- to get at them, causing a larger disruption than would otherwise occur? What would you do after they were captured, anyway? Also, please give us the name of your race so we can stop calling you serpentine or whatever.]
[Teal: Okay, new ---. I know you're listening, so why don't you give us an explanation for what's going on? Do you think the two --- are disrupting the game, or are you just using the --- to get at them, causing a larger disruption than would otherwise occur? What would you do after they were captured, anyway? Also, please give us the name of your race so we can stop calling you serpentine or whatever.]

>[Excellence] in [Exone-
Hey! Stop that nonsense! It’s getting kind of silly!
>Well you did. Congrats. See, you can be confident and in command, if you want to be. It's kind of self-fulfilling!
…Maybe you’re right… maybe I’m more confident then I think?
>Hooray! Now let's go investigate some ruins, shall we?
…err… wait, what ruins? There aren’t any ruins around these parts?
>We did get a quest to [Exhume] some lost knowledge nearby, so that's something interesting.
Well, that’s great and all but… um… where? There’s not like there’s a big vault of ancient knowledge buried beneath the school- well, there are those ancient catacombs but they are rather well searched by now…

Are you sure?
We searched the dorm, your highness, and we found nothing…
Hmm… then they must be hidden somewhere else in the school… assemble a team and search every nook and cranny.
Yes, my lady.
(Um… who are these people and why are they standing outside my dorm?)

>[Scan targets]
[“The Empress” belongs to player Black!]
[Neutral Creature: Imperial Guard] x6

Insert Hey, that’s private!_

that it would seem to be The Empress controlled by player black.

{message to Purple: Black's empress is in the school, in fact we're looking at her right now and she seems to be searching the school for something. Oh and we see about 6 guards around her if that's important at all.}

This is your dorm isn't Daithi? All the dorms look alike to me.

>>593440
Shit, it's Black. Get away from her! You are in no position to risk being abducted by a potential enemy, and you're outnumbered. Go see if you can find Hugo- I have a hunch they're looking for him. Dammit I was hoping we could just lie low and investigate the catacombs Lucrais found the entrance to. It's kindof important we do that, but it looks like Hugo's safety is more important at the moment.
[@Purple: Black's pawn The Empress is in Daithi's dorm. We will stay out of the fight between you two, but she's essentially invading our territory right now so it'd be appreciated if you'd evict her somehow.]
[@White: Spotted player Black's pawn The Empress, in Daithi's dorm. She's got a bunch of palace guards with her.]


I'd like to preemptively block communication with Black until Daithi is away from her for a while. It would be best if Black did not know Daithi is one of our pawns. Well, I'll rescind the block if Black contacts us first, because that'd mean Black got off a scan just as Daithi showed up, just like we did.

>who are these people and why are they standing outside my dorm?
Is there any answer to that question that doesn't mean you should leave quickly?

Don't draw attention to yourself. If they didn't find anything of note, that means Hugo's gone with all his things. By the way, another few gods entered the world today. One wears golden armor and is chasing Hugo, and two more of... nebulous description that might be chasing him. They will all likely be hostile because a new goal came up saying that any player who captures one by touching them will win a unknown prize. We think 'win' in this case means removed until the end of time, so don't to that.

Kaktus 2014/09/09(Tue)14:58 No. 593455 ID: 65a774
File 141029989796.png - (13.92KB , 900x450 , 30.png )

>{message to Purple: Black's empress is in the school, in fact we're looking at her right now and she seems to be searching the school for something. Oh and we see about 6 guards around her if that's important at all.}
[Purple: BLACK!? Do not trust him! He is a lying knave! Lying filth! He needs to be exterminated for the good of the Amun empire!]
>[@White: Spotted player Black's pawn The Empress, in Daithi's dorm. She's got a bunch of palace guards with her.]
[White: …Black? Who is black?]

>Is there any answer to that question that doesn't mean you should leave quickly?
…um… I just won the lottery and they are here to give me the prize?
>There's a bounty on Hugo now.
…wait, what?
>By the way, another few –expunged- today. One wears golden armor and is chasing Hugo, and two more of... nebulous description that might be chasing him.
…err… more aliens?
>They will all likely be hostile because a new goal came up saying that any player who captures one by touching them will win an unknown prize. We think 'win' in this case means removed until the end of time, so don't do that.
That’s not a price at all!
>Don't draw attention to yourself.
A bit late for that… I did just walk right up to them, after all…
>Go see if you can find Hugo.
Um… where? I have no idea where he should be hiding!

>Get away from her! You are in no position to risk being abducted by a potential enemy, and you're outnumbered.
Right, turning right around and-
HALT!! Who are you!?
Um… a student?
…a male mantis commander!? HA! Like that’s ever going too happened! You’re clearly an enemy spy! PREPARE TO BE EXECUTED!!!
Guard, stand down at once! While it is an odd occurrence, it doesn’t mean he’s a spy. In fact, the dorm probably belongs to him. That’s why it only had one bed.
My apologizes, your highness… you, don’t you dare disrespect the high lady! Avert your eyes and bow at once, because you’re in the presence of Judicator Ealasaid Nrrillinthas, the eight daughter of the empress herself!
No need for formalities, guard. So… a male mantis commander… how peculiar. Times are truly changing, aren’t they? Hmm… can I ask you for your name, Commander?
Her highness asked you a question, scum! Answer or die!
GUARD!
…I must apologize, my lady…
Please, control yourself. We need to be more accepting and open if we are to thrive in the future to come. So please, Commander, do not feel alarmed by my presence her- wait, did you hear that? I thought I heard a voice inside the dorm? Are you sure you checked everywhere?
Of course, my lady!

Insert Judge, jury and executioner! SHE IS THE LAW!!! THE LAW!_

>>593455
Better introduce yourself. Be respectful. Ask if they're looking for someone or something.

[@White: You forgot? We told you yesterday- Purple wants to take out Black and take over the empire. He claims Black is corrupted.]
[scan player Black]

>…um… I just won the lottery and they are here to give me the prize?
If that were the case, they'd have a big cardboard check to give you. Observe your surroundings use your head, commander.
>…err… more aliens?
Exactly. Sorry, BB is watching.

>you’re in the presence of Judicator Ealasaid Nrrillinthas, the eight daughter of the empress herself!
Well this shit just gets better and better doesn't it. You'd know, as a noble, the proper respects that must be given to someone of a- I dunno, superior rank? Just don't look like a slob, if only so that hack-happy guard doesn't get any ideas. Also your mother would have a conniption if you embarrass the family name.

>wait, did you hear that?
It could be Ced climbing through the window. No, you have no idea why he's doing that when it's not after hours. Why is she here though? She's looking for someone, and it isn't you.

>>593455

...Well, she doesn't seem so bad. In fact, she seems kind of nice. I'm going to hold on to the miniscule doubt that Black is misjudged, however small it may be.

Now, here's my advice to you Daithi. Don't act scared, Try not to be fazed by her no matter how intimating she may be. Of course, it's a given that you don't disrespect her authority/become as intimidating to her as you were to those troops.

Secondly, I want you to introduce yourself, be respectful and courteous. Now, and this part is important, I want you to ask her if she's okay. If she asks why, say you think she seems a bit overworked, or at least has her hands full, and you were just a tad bit concerned.

If this goes well, her mind will have now been taken off of the noise in the room, and is instead now focusing on you. If she claims there's nothing wrong, tell her okay, but she should try to take it easy once in a while. Then enter the room after bidding her farewell.

Should she try to make casual conversation after we ask about her well-being, roll with it. Trust me when I say this will do you good later on.

If she DOES ask about the noise, tell her it's probably Cedric trying, and failing, to occupy himself while he waits on you to give him his homework. If, for some reason, the noise is made again, excuse yourself and "give Cedric his homework".

That should have covered everything as far as I can tell, goodluck Daithi.

[Scan player Black] [Check pawn status and echo to "The Magician"] Man, I hope one of our people didn't climb through the window into your dorm right now... Actually, Lu climbing through your window would be alright since that'd be easy to make up an excuse for.

Well, Ealasaid doesn't sound bad. In fact, she actually sounds rather sensible and progressive. Not at all like what you'd think Black's pawn would be from what Purple said. We'll hold judgment on Black for now until we learn more. And what does the title of "Judicator" mean, anyway?

Dai, you'd know better then us the proper etiquette when meeting a Judicator who's the daughter of the Empress, so you handle it. But if you don't then do whatever you think is appropriately respectful; Ealasaid'll keep the guard from taking your head off if you do something wrong. Hm... As a member of the military, do you bow or salute in this situation? Actually, are you even considered a member of the military while in the Academy? Well, whatever. Though, do make sure to give her your full title, name, the "Xth son of" bit followed by your mother's full title and name; Maybe she'll have heard of your family.

Dai, Ealasaid is quite the looker, wouldn't you say? Real nice, shapely abdomen and long, long legs; She looks even taller then Lucrais, and Lu is pretty tall. She definitely looks like the daughter of an Empress, right?

...Wait a second. "Nrrillinthas?" Isn't that the surname Arthur gave when you introduced him to Lucrais? How come he has the same surname as Ealasaid, daughter of the Empress? If you get the chance tell Ealasaid you know somebody who has the same surname as her but you don't know how he could possibly be related, then tell her of Arthur.

Aw, geez, the guards searched everywhere in your dorm room, which includes your porn stash. Better hope they didn't just toss the place and dump everything out for anyone to see.

>the eight daughter of the empress herself!
Geez, how many children does the Empress have? 'Cause just from her being the eighth daughter there has to be seven more plus, like, 16 to 32 sons. Big family, that.

Okay, lets think about what Ealasaid is looking for. She said "they must be hidden somewhere else in the school," so that's plural. And she arrived yesterday, before Hugo arrived, so she must have come here for something else... Maybe the keystones to the Vault? Or something else? Well, whatever it is, it very likely isn't Hugo or related to him. But now I'm wondering what it is and why she thought it'd be in your dorm.

[@White: Didn't we tell you of Black last evening? About how Purple considers Black his mortal enemy for being "lying filth" and corrupted and how he needs to be exterminated for the good of the Amun Empire? I thought we told you. Anyway, it looks like "The Empress" is not THE Empress but in fact the Empress' eighth daughter, Judicator Ealasaid Nrrillinthas. Also, Cedric isn't climbing through the window of Daithi's dorm right now, is he? 'Cause Ealasaid is just outside and heard a voice come from in there and her guards just searched the whole dorm so she might be coming in with them.]

[@Purple: For the benefit of those of us squids that have just woken up, could you recap EXACTLY, in detail, what the basis is of your distrust of Black and the claim he's corrupted; How do you know he is? And no vague answers! We're fuckin' sick of vague answers! Give us something solid! Something we can check ourselves to confirm your claims, 'cause all we have now is your word.]

>That's not a price prize at all!
Well, it was a prize when the game could end. See, what it is is a "personal victory" quest, which could either grant the player a reward of EXP, items or skills, or remove the player until the end of the game whereupon they'd be ranked based on performance. But since the game now has no win condition and never ends completing this capture quest would effectively be the death of the player. Now, I dunno how much of that got through, but I bet you can figure out whatever got cut.

>Well, that’s great and all but… um… where? There’s not like there’s a big vault of ancient knowledge buried beneath the school- well, there are those ancient catacombs but they are rather well searched by now…
So were the crypts under the capitol of the Serath Sultinate, and yet nobody found that the entrance to the Vault of the Grand Elemental Rune of Fire was down there until we did three months ago. We have a lead that it's down there, we just need to take a closer look at the catacombs; Preferably with Lucrais since she's been down there and knows what meager history there is for this region. Plus, she'll be absolutely ecstatic if we find it.

>wait, did you hear that? I thought I heard a voice inside the dorm?
Daithi, ask her if she just heard a guy calling himself Black.
[Message Black: I take it that was you? Tell her your name, Black.]
Otherwise, she may have just heard Cedric, I suppose, since he likes to climb up at random.
[Message Black: Hello! A pleasure to finally meet you. We've heard about you from a... Questionable source. I'm going to assume anything we heard about you was about somebody else and just start you off with a clean slate, okay? We're Teal, the "Voice of Many."]
[If "Voice of Many" is expunged, Message Black: What? They expunged that? Why? Okay, sorry about that, Snake seems to like to hide certain details.]
[Message Black: If you see Snake, a large person sized one, then beware! They're "poisonous."]

Wait. Daithi, I just had a realization.
Alien, dot. Daemon, dot. God, dot. Eaggran, dot. Sakkil, dot. Uredo, dot. Player, dot. Religion, dot. Angel, dot. Deity, dot. World, dot. Stars, dot. Space, dot. Xenoorganasm, dot. "Xeno," dot. Extraterrestrial, dot. Ship, dot. Vessel, dot. Magic, dot. Science, dot. Wizard, dot. Technology, dot. Advanced, dot. Higher being, dot.
Any silence between a "Dot" is an expunged term. This should tell us what they don't want us to say.

>>593466
Personally, I don't exactly approve of contacting Black this early. If Purple is to be trusted, then Black may have an instant negative reaction, which is not a good thing for us overall- and this is coming from the anon who believes Black may be a good person.

What I'm saying is, do it if you want, but I'm pretty sure that's not a good idea, not yet.

>>593469
If Black is hostile from the getgo, they'll be hostile whether we contact them or not.

>>593484
The difference is that we're currently in the presence of one of Black's pawns. He could immediately engage hostile actions, and our King is alone, surrounded by guards loyal to Black's pawn.

>>593469
While I don't approve of contacting Black with with what's in >>593466. [Block outgoing messages to Black from >>593466] Really, we gotta be careful what we say to Black at first; First impressions and all. We do not want to let on we've heard of Black from anyone before now, nor do we want to sound like we're crazy like that snake thing does, nor tell him what to do 'cause that's just rude.

Instead we'll send a greeting and something more neutral: [@Black: Greetings, Black. We are Teal and we're wondering why you were searching our pawn's dorm room; It is quite an invasion of his, and thus our, privacy, after all. Ah, but we will let it pass since you could not have known he was a pawn, let alone ours. Now, is there anything you care to ask us?]

Also, Daithi, don't ask if she heard a guy calling himself Black; That'll make you sound crazy if Black hasn't spoken to her at all yet.

>>593463
Addendum:
Oh, gods! Forget about the guards possibly dumping your porn stash over the floor; What about your WarStorm stuff?! They can't have been gentle with your miniatures if they tossed them!

And for that matter, is it legal for them to just come into your dorm room and search it? Or is the Academy technically a Amunian military facility and thus Ealasaid can search any part of it with, or maybe even without, notifying the Academy?

>>593495
And I really, really doubt that Black isn't with "The Empress" right now, hasn't already scanned Daithi and doesn't know he's our pawn. So if Black was going to go hostile to us out of the blue he would have done so by now. But so far we haven't given him reason to. And to meta it up, I really, really, REALLY doubt Kaktus would pull such a totally bullshit move as you're worried about without ample warning that contacting Black would do something like that.

>>593501
Okay, now THAT message seems a tad bit condescending. Since it seems like most of us can agree that first impressions are key at this point in time, I still believe that silence is currently our best policy as of the moment.

As I stated earlier, in the end it is not my decision as to what goes out to other players. I simply voice out my belief as to what should be the best option, whether that truly is or is not the best option is for others to interpret on their own.

>>593501
> [@Black: Greetings, Black. We are Teal and we're wondering why you were searching our pawn's dorm room; It is quite an invasion of his, and thus our, privacy, after all. Ah, but we will let it pass since you could not have known he was a pawn, let alone ours. Now, is there anything you care to ask us?]
>Okay, now THAT message seems a tad bit condescending.
Not going to block the message, but I am going to send another.
[Message Black: I apologize if that message sounded rude. I believe it was an attempt to "Break the ice," as it were. We have multiple voices, as our form is a swarm of small squids, giving way to an erratic nature. You may see our form, if you have a reflective surface readily available.]
And since you guys don't want me sounding crazy, one of you make an "If expunged" message.

>>593513
Okay, on second thought, you're right. We should keep quiet for now and see how Black and his pawn or pawns behave before sending any messages to him or see if he sends us one first. Thus I retract sending the message to Black from here >>593501 while placing a block on messages to Black for the time being. However, if there isn't enough to block messages and they go through, then send the message from >>593501 as well.

Kaktus 2014/09/10(Wed)09:12 No. 593586 ID: 65a774
File 141036557634.png - (15.04KB , 900x450 , 31.png )

>[scan player Black]
(Impossible)(Conqueror)(Level 25)
>[Check pawn status and echo to "The Magician"]
[“The magician”: Nervous. “The high priestess”: Warm fuzzy feelings. “Strength”: Content. “The Tower”: Annoyed. “The Chariot”: On the move.]

>[@White: You forgot? We told you yesterday- Purple wants to take out Black and take over the empire. He claims Black is corrupted.]
[White: Oh, right… that… I forgot about that… just be careful around him, alright?]
>[Anyway, it looks like "The Empress" is not THE Empress but in fact the Empress' eighth daughter, Judicator Ealasaid Nrrillinthas.]
[…still a pretty important person, no?]
>[Also, Cedric isn't climbing through the window of Daithi's dorm right now, is he?]
[Err… of course not? He’s still in class.]
>[@Purple: For the benefit of those of us squids that have just woken up, could you recap EXACTLY, in detail, what the basis is of your distrust of Black and the claim he's corrupted; How do you know he is?]
[Purple: He is the man who has ruled this nation for the last fifty years! …and look at it! It’s teeming with corruption and ignorance! And the cults in the untamed lands are getting worse and worse while he ignores them! He’s either corrupted or incompetent, either way he needs to be removed!]

>–expunged-, dot. Daemon, dot. God, dot. Eaggran, dot. Sakkil, dot. Uredo, dot. Player, dot. Religion, dot. Angel, dot. Deity, dot. World, dot. Stars, dot. Space, dot. –expunged-, dot. –expunged-, dot. –expunged-, dot. Ship, dot. Vessel, dot. Magic, dot. Science, dot. Wizard, dot. Technology, dot. Advanced, dot. Higher being, dot.
...
>So were the crypts under the capitol of the Serath Sultinate, and yet nobody found that the entrance to the Vault of the Grand Elemental Rune of Fire was down there until we did three months ago.
Really? Then… um… actually, going on treasure hunt down there sounds rather compelling…
>We have a lead that it's down there, we just need to take a closer look at the catacombs; Preferably with Lucrais since she's been down there and knows what meager history there is for this region. Plus, she'll be absolutely ecstatic if we find it.
Yeah! Lu would love that! Hmm… maybe I have time before the date? I mean, the clock is twelve now so…

>Now, here's my advice to you Daithi. Don't act scared, Try not to be fazed by her no matter how intimating she may be.
That’s easy for you to say… she can… well, it’s not like the old times when they should just wave a claw and my whole family would disappear, but still…
>What does the title of "Judicator" mean, anyway?
A hundred years ago it was a traveling law maker who bestowed justice to people… generally trough a hammer or sword. Today they are more like agent handpicked by the empress, who can bend to laws to suit the empress will.
>And for that matter, is it legal for them to just come into your dorm room and search it?
Well, I’m pretty sure they can so long they don’t break or take anything… of course, the school does belong to the Empire so… um…

>Dai, Ealasaid is quite the looker, wouldn't you say? Real nice, shapely abdomen and long, long legs; She looks even taller than Lucrais, and Lu is pretty tall.
…those are some real nice legs, ar- AH! NO! She’s the daughter of the empress! I can’t… not her!
>...Wait a second. "Nrrillinthas?" Isn't that the surname Arthur gave when you introduced him to Lucrais?
…are you sure? They didn’t sound the same but that should have been Arthur just mispronouncing it…
>Geez, how many children does the Empress have?
Let’s see… I think it was something around thirty… she have had 6 batched of eggs, where eight were females and the twenty two… or was it twenty three? Either way, rest where males, yeah…
>You'd know, as a noble, the proper respects that must be given to someone of a- I dunno, superior rank?
…err, I’ve never really been good with the whole… I’ll try, alright?

>Better introduce yourself. Be respectful.
I am but a simple cadet in this school, your highness, known as Daithi Cathal Baeronvar, the second son of Lady Ceana Aimil Baeronvar, Vicar Cathal Baeronvar, Scholar Cormac Baeronvar and the tailor Crisdean Baeronvar, my lady.
As I said, no need for formalities…
Oh… um… in that case, Dai is fine, lady…?
Call me Eala… you said you were the son of Ceana? The old war hero?
…yes?
I’ve heard a lot about her… and you being here speaks a lot of her skill in negotiations too, don’t you think? Either way, it is quite interesting seeing someone like you here.
>Ask if they're looking for someone or something.
Um… my apologies for asking but… you seems to be looking for something?
Oh, it’s your dorm, isn’t it? You have to excuse us for the intrusion, but you have my word that we didn’t break anything in there. And where are in fact looking for something. You haven’t seen anything strange recently, in fact? …an orange lizard perhaps?
…I can’t say I have… and an orange lizard? What, you mean like painted?
…no, but… if you do see anything the empire would be grateful for your cooperation, Dai.
>Now, and this part is important, I want you to ask her if she's okay.
Um… are you okay?
…I… I’m fine? Why do you ask?
It’s just… you seem a bit overworked.
… … …really? That’s… I… hmm… I’m fine as it is, Dai, but thank you for your concern. Now, I must regretfully take my leave, but I would love to converse further in the future. You seems to be a rather… interesting person, Daithi.
Err… you too, Eala? Goodbye?
Goodbye.

>Then enter the room after bidding her farewell.
…honestly, I have no idea what to make out of that meeting…

-stop un- … … … -one will hea- … … … -ive me that! …wait, how does this th- HE- …
…what?

[Message from Black: Greeting, Master Teal. Are you an ally to our mighty Empire, or are you an honorable enemy to be vanquished on the battlefield? …or are you just a third party, a neutral outsider?]

Insert He’s called black? RACISM!! …nah, just fooling_

>>593586
[@Black: Master Teal? Wow, nobody's given us that sort of honorism before. I would say we are a neutral outsider. Purple sure isn't, though, he's aiming for your head. He says your empire is "teeming with corruption and ignorance" and the cults are getting worse so he claims that's why he thinks you're corrupted by daemons, or something. But, you know, he's a Manipulator type so we're looking for some evidence to back up his claims or refute them before we take sides. Also he's weird so it's possible he's the Corrupted player here. Or the Purified one, which may as well be corruption. He acts like a zealot.]
Something just occurred to me- we can use the new victory condition to force a player out of the game. All we have to do is lead them to the Sakkil and let them capture him. Considering Black's difficulty level and position of power that's probably our best bet if we need to get rid of Black. Purple can be defeated in the usual manner.

Daithi, I think I see something... where the suit was. Is it camouflaged? Also, it sounds like someone's outside the window, go look. I'm thinking Lucrais is struggling to keep Hugo out of sight.

make sure that black's group left first and then point out that you can see them behind the pot. If it's an orange lizard ask why he's in your room, if it's Hugo ask when he learned to speak your language? If it's something else grab your sword and get ready to run.

Oh and if it is the lizard say you're working with the guy who he spoke too after giving his weapon to the one lizard in the desert before getting freaked out by the mantises and humans that lived there as well.

Is someone speaking from outside the window? Where's that coming from?

[reply to Black: Put us down as neutral, subcategory 'truth seeker'. We can offer you some advice, though; Before you continue looking for that Lizard, say 'query: what happens to a player when they win a personal victory?'. You can decide if you really want to stick your hand in that cookie jar, but we'll be staying out of it.]

I'd also advise against mentioning Purple. They're either already on bad terms, or we'd just be ruining Purple's element of surprise.

>>593603
If you tell Black about the true meaning of victory then we won't be able to use it as a weapon against him!

Kaktus 2014/09/10(Wed)13:12 No. 593611 ID: 65a774
File 141037995056.png - (14.73KB , 900x450 , 32.png )

>[@Black: Master Teal? Wow, nobody's given us that sort of honorism before. I would say we are a neutral outsider, subcategory 'truth seeker'.]
[Black: Ah, then so long as you stay out of my way we will be the best of friends… and truth seeker? I have to warn you, the truths you seek often aren’t the truths you want.]
>[We can offer you some advice, though; Before you continue looking for that Lizard, say 'query: what happens to a player when they win a personal victory?'. You can decide if you really want to stick your hand in that cookie jar, but we'll be staying out of it.]
[…so, it’s a trap then? But who laid it? Hmm… thank you for the warning, I will remember that.]

>Is someone speaking from outside the window? Where's that coming from?
I… I don’t know. It sounded like it was something right in the middle of the room when I opened the door…
>Daithi, I think I see something... where the suit was. Is it camouflaged?
Hmm… I… I think I can see… the light is reflecting kind of weird there, isn’t it?

>Make sure that black's group left first and then point out that you can see them behind the pot.
Hey, I know you’re there? Hugo? I’m a friend, remember, no need to-
-on’t touch it, you fool! It’s the his- See what you did! Now that Hiver can see us!
~♪
You idiot! Who know what this primitive creature will do!?
>If it's an orange lizard ask why he's in your room.
Err… what are you doing in my room… invisible… with Hugo… err… I mean the plant alien?
I follow this stupid shrubbery. I was guessing it had to have found somewhere to hide from those… those things!
^♫
Oh, shut it!
You understand him?
Of course I don’t understand the bush! It’s a fucking whistling plant, you fool! It just feels good yelling at it. Now, this building seems to be some kind of dead zone for the world above. I noticed that when I tried to track this thing before those snake creatures attacked. It will be an ideal hiding place until I’ve come up with a better plan. So, I know proclaim that this building belongs to the Empire!
Wha- you can’t just-
I was just joking, you moron. No, I seek asylum in your primitive tribal building, Hiver, and I’m sure I can find some pretty stones or something to pay you with.
…oh, great, so now I have to babysit two weird aliens…
Well, Bo freaking ho! My whole species is so close to going extinct thanks to a bunch of monkeys that we’ve been forced to bend over and kiss giant insect ass to survive! Of course, it doesn’t help that your kind is getting it ass kicked too… then these shrubberies came and started torching colonies for fun with those freaking weird goo creature with parasites inside them… and now there freaking metal snake monsters trying to kill us too! What is wrong with this universe!!
Err…

Insert Don’t touch it, you fool! IT’S THE HISTORY ERASER BUTTON!_

>>593611
Wow, that interstellar war is pretty fucked up. Tell him not to worry. Teal will fix things outside this world as well as inside it. He's spoken to us before, remember? We told him about the shared origins of all the races. We forgot to mention one thing though, we saw the Uredo before, back when we were guiding the mantis lich. They were called Eaggran back then.

Ask him if he's got any weapons or other technology. Hugo seems to have a powerful raygun and a solar panel to power his suit.
[scan the Sakkil]

> this building seems to be some kind of dead zone for the world above.
'a place where the gods have no power'! The library that daemon talked about must be here!

Who doesn't care about what happens in the simulation now, eh Lucius?
What, don't remember us? Serath desert? Handing out energy weapons to the tribal warbands? Good times. You pulled our nuts out of the fire with that one, so I guess we kinda owe you.

Let me get this straight- the Sakkil are tentatively aligned/cease-fired with the 'Hivers', the humans stand alone, the plants called Uredo and goo creatures called Cibic are working together, and some snakes came out of freaking nowhere, who's goals and allegiances unknown.

Okay Dai, some explanation- outside this world, the different species were all separated on different worlds for hundreds or even thousands of years. They're just now starting to rediscover each other, but pride seems to be getting in the way of the coexistence you see every day here. For that reason, try not to call him a lizard to his face, he's sensitive like that. Also, tell him not to touch you. A mass message went out, saying that any player that can capture a 'plant Creature or the golden lizard' by touching them will win the game, but we don't think the reward is worth it.

>What is wrong with this universe!!
Whelp, it's the only one we've got.

>>593616
Oh right, the touching thing. Wait, does that refer to pawns too? I figured it was just players. I mean, we can nibble on people, so I figured other players are able to move on their own too.
[query: can pawns touch capturable targets without capturing them?]

Dammit Kaktus you had to start updating when I was at work :(
Doesn't mean I'm going to hold it against you, you update when you update.
> My whole species is so close to going extinct thanks to a bunch of monkeys that we’ve been forced to bend over and kiss giant insect ass to survive!
Wait, the humans drove you to being endangered?! That's horrible! I thought humans were supposed to be the sexual deviants that tried to breed with everything instead of trying to kill them...
Ask this fellow if he's the Sakkil Marine who spoke to the Shaman Durach in the desert, followed by Player Teal. If he asks how you know that, well, Player Teal his here now. Or even if he verifies that yes, he is that guy, we're here now. Pretty much only if he has no idea what you're talking about should you not mention us.
>we saw the Uredo before, back when we were guiding the mantis lich.
"Oh, and Teal did see Uredo before... It's just, they were rare. Really, really rare, but still allied with the other three races. Teal never did see the snakes or the parasites, though; and as far as golems--" in case that gets expunged, a monster made of rock, you know the name of those, right? "--go, only saw human type." Wonder if they've found evidence of Lizard/Sakkil and Mantis/Hiver golems now?
>[query: can pawns touch capturable targets without capturing them?]
[Echo to Daithi]

[Scan all targets in range and echo to "The Magician"] [Show player count]

>What is wrong with this universe!!
Plenty, but unless he has the address for the Creator's complaint department he should stop bemoaning what's wrong and do what he can to either fix it or deal with it. Sheesh! If this is the kind of attitude Sakkilian marines have then it's no wonder the Sakkil are getting their tails kicked.

Okay, gather up your confidence and make a few things clear to Lucius: First, he should keep his goddamn voice down; I wouldn't be surprised if there are people in the courtyard who heard him just now. Second, you are not a "Hiver," you are a mantis and a citizen of the Amun Empire; Your species is not your nationality nor civilization. Third, your name is "Daithi," not "Hiver," "you fool," or "you moron." And lastly, ask him to be a bit more polite to you, the guy who's dorm he'll be hiding in for the foreseeable future and who'll be smuggling him his meals.

Now, ask Lucius if he has a mirror and to get it out if he does. If he doesn't then bring out your own or take him and Hugo to one. Then show both of them us and tell Lucius that Player Teal says thanks for giving our shaman in the Serath desert that gun three months ago; It made all the difference in the decisive battle that day for the fate of the Serath. *Wave to Lucius and Hugo and spell out "Thanks!" in squids with a heart symbol in the exclamation point*

Tell him that we checked the player count a little while ago and there were seven occupants in the type of terminal he used before (I hope that isn't censored;) They're presumably snakes like the two that came in after him. Then warn him that about three hours ago two new personal victory quests came down for every player in the world: To capture the "golden lizard" or the "plant creature," both of which came with a new ability that when activated on touching either target would capture them. Tell him not to worry about us doing that; We checked what the "reward" is and it'd basically kill the player by removing them from the world until the game ends, which it never will.

Ask Lucius what commands he can use as a player down here. I believe he can either think or say "list available commands" to find out. Does he have access to the scan, status and show player count commands like us? Oh, can he ally with us then allow his pawns, which is just himself, to hear us so we don't have to relay through you?

Then give Lucius the tour of the dorm so he knows what's where and where not to go. Maybe comment along the way that he can be thankful he came down in a place that has indoor plumbing, showers and toilets, even though these ones are built for mantises.

End it in the game room so you can get out some paper and ask Lucius to draw a simple image of the snake people that were chasing him to show to Hugo; Maybe he'll know who they are.

So Lucius is actually golden scaled and it's not some form of armor, clothing or paint. We haven't seen lizards with that scale color before. There was a race of desert lizards with red scales ages ago but they interbred with the more populous green scaled lizards and the red scale trait went effectively extinct. Hm... Though, maybe the golden scales are a cosmetic alteration that Lucius took. Ask if all Sakkilians have golden scales like him.

Does that visor he's wearing look like it's grafted to his head? If it is then it's probably cybernetic; A machine replacement, usually with enhanced abilities relative to what was replaced. Even if the visor isn't cybernetic it likely has enhanced vision and sensors so he can see things beyond what normal vision can see like heat, low-light vision and other things; Probably has the sensors he used to track down Hugo too. Ask him what that visor can do.

>My whole species is so close to going extinct thanks to a bunch of monkeys that we’ve been forced to bend over and kiss giant insect ass to survive!
...Wait, what? He told us that the Sakkil had warred to a standstill against the Humans and Hivers up until two years ago when the Uredo and Cibic showed up. He didn't say anything about the Humans having beaten the Sakkil so much that they had to ally with the Hivers against the Humans. Ask him what the heck is that about.

Ask just how much time passed out there between when he logged off from the terminal and when he entered into the player lobby to come down here now. We talkin' minutes or hours? And were there any other Sakkilians up there besides him? Oh, and did he manage to fire off a radio message back to the Sakkil Empire before the snakes showed up?

>…those are some real nice legs, ar- AH! NO! She’s the daughter of the empress! I can’t… not her!
Oh, why not? She may be the daughter of the Empress, but that doesn't automatically mean she's like Lu and her mother is deciding who she'll be with. And even if her mother does, that doesn't rule out you having "relations," now does it? So aim high! Shoot for the moon! ...And for now fantasize about it. Just imagine her and Atena and you together~ Then add in Arthur and Lu~ ...Oh my, your imagination is going to need a bigger bed~ Hehehe...

...Wait a second. You said your family name is "Baeronvar?" Then why did you introduce yourself to Arthur as "Daithi Guaire" then said you were the son of "Cathal Guaire" when Arthur asked if you were family to Cathal?

[@White: Heads up about those two personal victory quests: We checked into it and the player's "reward" for completion would basically be no different then death. You can query the "gods' remnants" about the reward for the quest to confirm it.]

Oh, hey, wait, Lucius resulted in a lot less errors than Hugo did, maybe he will result in less errors than Hugo did... We just need to figure out his player name, I think.
[Message Lucius/Orange Lizard/Gold Lizard/Sakkil Marine: Hello, old buddy ol' pal! Remember us from the desert?]
[>[…so, it’s a trap then? But who laid it? Hmm… thank you for the warning, I will remember that.]
[Message Black: I find myself a bit curious. What is your pronoun and title of preference? Sir, Master, Lady, Madame...? Also, a word of warning: We are a "Group" player, our body is many small ones, each with its own mind, and may result in some unwarranted messages. I do apologize in advance if anything "Presses your buttons," as the saying goes, as that is rarely our intent.]

>>593630
His full player name from back here >>593048 is "{Centurion Lucius Flavius}" with the curly braces probably denoting a non-AI player since Hugo has them as well. So try his full name and title as well as his full name. However, do remember that inter-player messages are being censored which implies they're being monitored to a degree we do not know. So from now on when sending messages them like someone you don't want to see them is reading them. That's the reason why I didn't want to try to message Lucius directly here and instead have Dai relay, as well as suggesting Lucius ally so he can allow us to speak to him directly.

>>593611
so Lucius, what color are your scales under the armor and do you have any cybernetics that are easily visible? Because if not and you're green then it's going to be a hell of a lot easier to hide you. Also did you come here alone or where you part of a team, I think I remember the one guy we talked to back in the desert saying he had some guys that were going to try and tear apart the outer layer of the "world". If so what happened to them?

Kaktus 2014/09/11(Thu)09:47 No. 593696 ID: 65a774
File 141045404427.png - (14.21KB , 900x450 , 33.png )

>...Wait a second. You said your family name is "Baeronvar?" Then why did you introduce yourself to Arthur as "Daithi Guaire"?
…well, crap, I missed that when I was browsing the last thread. So text error! His name is Baeronvar, not Guaire. Just pretend he said that to Arthur too.

>[Scan all targets in range and echo to "The Magician"]
[&??¤???”#!]
>[Show player count]
[There are currently 346 AI players active! There is currently Six Player playing the game: Player Teal, {%^*¤öö43}, {Centurion Lucius Flavius} and three Admins! There are also currently thirteen Admins online! ]
>[query: can pawns touch capturable targets without capturing them?] [Echo to Daithi]
[To capture a target you need to have a pawn touching the target and then use the “Capture” ability.]

>[scan the Sakkil]
[Unable to find “Sakkil”]
>[Message Lucius/Orange Lizard/Gold Lizard/Sakkil Marine:]
[ERROR!]
>[@White: Heads up about those two personal victory quests: We checked into it and the player's "reward" for completion would basically be no different than death.]
[White: …it did sound like a trap, didn’t it?]
>[Message Black: I find myself a bit curious. What is your pronoun and title of preference? Sir, Master, Lady, Madame...?]
[Black: …Emperor.]

>Whelp, it's the only one we've got.
Next time save the receipt so we can trade it back.
>Unless he has the address for the Creator's complaint department he should stop bemoaning what's wrong and do what he can to either fix it or deal with it. Sheesh!
If I knew where the creator lived I would leave a number two in his mailbox, not some complains!

>Let me get this straight- the Sakkil are tentatively aligned/cease-fired with the 'Hivers', the humans stand alone, the plants called Uredo and goo creatures called Cibic are working together, and some snakes came out of freaking nowhere, who's goals and allegiances unknown.
Basically, yes. See, there has been a war between the Glorious Sakkil Empire, the Humans United Solar Federation and the Hivers Free Hives ever since we met about three hundred years ago. I don’t know what exactly started the war but there’s a lot of bad blood between us now… but even then we’d have to “ally” with you insects… well, it’s more of a cease fire but even with both of us focusing on those monkey we’ve only been able to fight them to a standstill, which will end with most of all three sides dead if it continues. I don’t know how those monkeys can beat us, but even with our superior numbers and industry and the Hivers ferocity and bloodlust they are still kicking our asses. It’s like every time we invent a new weapon or tactics they not only get their hands on it but makes it better, but also invents a counter tactic within days. As for the bushes… we don’t know what their motivations are either. Our first contact with them was when several of their warships attacked a Sakkil colony and two Hiver colonies, burned them to the ground and took the survivors as slaves. We lost a lot of men trying to save those civilians. Then the only time we’ve met them since then was when we found the ship this shrub was on. We was able to board it as it had surprisingly little weaponry compare to the other ships we’ve met of the same kind, which means we were able to take most of the crew prisoners… except for this thing who escaped with some kind of emergency pod who led us here. Oh, and the snakes? Let’s just say I met them for the first time half an hour ago!
>Wait, the humans drove you to being endangered?! That's horrible! I thought humans were supposed to be the sexual deviants that tried to breed with everything instead of trying to kill them...
…we’re at war, killing things are what we do. But, I was probably exaggerating when I said extinction. They will probably let us live as second class citizen or something…

>Who doesn't care about what happens in the simulation now, eh Lucius?
I still don’t care what happens to it! I just want out of here in one- wait, how did you-
>What, don't remember us? Serath desert? Handing out energy weapons to the tribal warbands? Good times. You pulled our nuts out of the fire with that one, so I guess we kinda owe you.
…wait, you’re…
Um… well, not me personally, but I got this… well, they are called Teal…
>Tell him not to worry. Teal will fix things outside this world as well as inside it.
…HA!
>Pkay, gather up your confidence and make a few things clear to Lucius: First, he should keep his goddamn voice down; I wouldn't be surprised if there are people in the courtyard who heard him just now.
What courtyard!? It’s just a bunch of stupid trees out there!
>Second, you are not a "Hiver," you are a mantis and a citizen of the Amun Empire; Your species is not your nationality nor civilization.
Excuse me for being cautious, but the last time I saw someone call a hiver “Mantis” to their face they got… well, their face ripped off.
Yet still you insult me…
Because you’re an idiot.
>Third, your name is "Daithi," not "Hiver," "you fool," or "you moron."
...Daithi? Right…
>Lastly, ask him to be a bit more polite to you, the guy who's dorm he'll be hiding in for the foreseeable future and who'll be smuggling him his meals.
First, I don’t actually need to eat… for the next week at least. Second, why would I even what some of your primitive food anyway? What do you guys eat? Bugs?
Well, it’s Friday so… um… I think it was barbequed Ankwark steak seasoned in some kind of spice mix with sweet potatoes and stir fried vegetables.
…what the hell is an Ankwark? …and… and that did sound rather… you know what, if you get me a plate of that stuff I might actually respect you and stop with the insults, Daithi.

>Ask him if he's got any weapons or other technology.
Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand. I have things which can shatter your finite knowledge of real-
Is that visor a cybernetic?
…how did you-
Teal told me.
…yes, it’s grafted into my skull… and I got a lot of different toys which I rather not disclose to you anyway.
>Now, ask Lucius if he has a mirror and to get it out if he does.
…why would I need a mirror?
…too see Teal, he’s i-
Teal squids that are flying around? Trying to… have… um…. I think that’s a T but… um…
>Tell him that we checked the player count a little while ago and there were seven occup-
Yes, I know, those snakes probably hunted me here and are using the admin terminal to track me down.

>Ask Lucius what commands he can use as a player down here.
…I can scan things… and ask stuff… that’s about it. Oh, and I can do an emergency exit, but I’ll probably just end up in the belly of one of those snake things if I do.
>Ask if all Sakkilians have golden scales like him.
Of course not! Some are green and others even red! …and I’m orange, not golden!
>so Lucius, what color are your scales under the armor and do you have any cybernetics that are easily visible?
I’m completely orange… and you can see my freaking visor, can’t you!?
>did you come here alone or where you part of a team?
We were a group of twelve when we got here… now it’s just me, as the rest was captured by those snake things. We didn’t think there was any danger here so we let our guard down… that’s a mistake I won’t do again.
>Then give Lucius the tour of the dorm so he knows what's where and where not to go.
Right, keep out of the hallway… got it… and what are these? Some kind of… war game? Interesting…
>Ask Lucius to draw a simple image of the snake people that were chasing him to show to Hugo; Maybe he'll know who they are.
Ha! Like he’d know… here, you stupid scrub, what is this?
-♪
See, I told you he wouldn’t-
-was here first!
I don’t care, lady, my matters are a lot more important than any of your businesses here… and why are you wearing a commander uniform?
More important!? What can be more important than my safety!?
Shit! More people! Quick, make us invisible… dammit, you left that thing in the other room, didn’t you!?

Insert TEXT TEXT TEXT TEXT MORE TEXT FOR THE TEXT GOD! MORE LETTER FOR THE LETTER THRONE!_