Power of friendship triumphs over wealth, and strength. You didn't accomplish all these on your own, you accomplished them all with your friends, including Landi. Plus, what would your friends think of you if you just abandoned Landi for power? Landi helped Rae get her out of her depression with Taranis, and even helped save Dotti's life from the giant Mai terrorscale, and would probably leave a bad impression on Dotti if she see's us abandon a friend for power. plus, she might not realize it and acts like Landi is a bad person to her, but Dotti does has some feelings for Landi. And if it weren't for Landi, you wouldn't be out adventuring in the first place.

Also consider this: if you can stand up together with your friends to a giant dragon, the marquess, and a wind djinn, you can definitely stand up to this storm, the censors and your daddy.

No need to be graceful. be stern and let her know that theres no deal. Make it a point that they weren't just your accomplishments, but your adventuring party's accomplishments. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have achieved so much, and without them, you won't be able to make new accomplishes. She can take her panties and shove off.

Now with Dotti's seal broken, maybe she can use her fire power to negate the storm in some way with her stronger fire power if she is gaining new tails? if anything, she can probably keep everyone warm in the storm, including Kayk. Maybe enough to evaporate the rain water around us.

As a spirit I tell you only to be true to your nature. At the end of the day what do you want to be, the noble who did the right moves to get the best outcome or the adventurer who did the right thing?

There isn't a wrong answer in the eyes of the world, only a wrong answer in regards to who you are.

“Anger is such a horrid emotion. It dulls the senses, narrows the sight. No, I am not angry with you,”

Two seconds later:

"Hey Serah, wouldn't it be neat if you kicked Landi out of your party and left her to fend for herself? Just imagine how hard it would be for her to pay back the Marquess without a job. Hilarious!"

I think she might be mad.

This one's a no-brainer, you're sticking by Landi. This isn't even a compelling case for a trade, because you sure as hell don't want to deal with Ventura for a year, regardless of what benefits she may offer. She's a petty bitch. Landi may be irresponsible, but when the chips are down you know that she's a trustworthy companion who will try to help however she can. And she HAS been helpful many times past and present.

Besides, you've got plenty of power and wealth of your own. Your party, your adventuring connections, and your skills are all yours. If you just wanted power, you could have stayed home and played politics. Standing up to daddy was important to you because more than anything, you craved independence.

Ventura can offer you power, but if it it's only through her terms, have you really kept your independence? You didn't want daddy forcing you to get married, but you'll let this authority have a say in your relationships? At that point, haven't you just traded staying under one thumb for another?

Yeah, no shot. It's a shitty thing for Ventura to offer in the first place, it's shittier of her to try and force your hand with the storm and your current pursuit, and frankly she just seems like a bitch. Frankly, the less of her you have to see, the better.

>>1077947
You'll get what you wanted...but you'll lose what you had.

Is it really worth it? I'm not so sure.

We would NEVER betray a friend!


So yeah, we accept the trade.

Is there anything we can do for a minor favor? Like maybe helping us get through the storm while leaving it there to stall the Censors?

Okay, notice how Ventura didn't mention "and to top it off, a spiri-tit-ually-sociopathic spy scion? Oooh, that's [i]double[/s] the 'S'!"
She doesn't know. Forget loyalty or power, you have a trade secret that can forge empires and making this contract would spill it!
Of course, the bad luck side-effect comes into play as well. Worst-case scenario, Ventura finds out and manages a legal means of kidnapping Pierre right in front of you. The moment the panties come off, casually put yourself in harm's way. Quite unlucky for a man of the cloth to endure such... debauchery.

It was terribly foolish of you to accept that contract with Landi, in ignorance of her careless, lazy and manipulative nature, just because you were in trouble at the time. She's been a lot of trouble, and you're incredibly lucky that she was genuinely trying to help you, not malicious or exploitive. You've slowly gained her trust and respect, and she yours, as she fought alongside you and saved your life more than once. Landi might not be the most powerful, but she's given everything she has to protect her friends, and that means something. It was a mistake to contract with her without knowing anything about her, and it probably hasn't been worth it to fight your way through the difficult relationship and reach some sort of mutually beneficial accord, but you did. It's done.

And you don't intend to make that mistake again.

This isn't a decision you can make yourself. Party vote time.

Ventura seems very manipulative, like she would be constantly pushing you to make decisions for her interests, or amusement. Having her around you would need to be always on guard, while Landi, for all her faults, is trustworthy. Usually.

>>1077967
Yes it is. That's a leader's job.

Serah 2023/11/25(Sat)16:23 No. 1077985 ID: 3c2dff
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Ventura’s offer is everything I want, but what do I have to give up to get it?

Loyalty.

I’d lose Landi’s loyalty, both mine to her and hers to me. It’s obvious, but it’s important. Landi doesn’t sound even close to receptive of the idea; Ventura’s no-contact condition is especially cruel when targeted at a girl so upset over losing contact with her sorority sisters.

I might even lose what hard-earned loyalty I’ve won from Raelynn. She says she’s in this for the money, but she’s risked far more than a normal adventurer would. Finally, there’s Dotti, too. I don’t want to plant seeds of doubt in her mind that might sprout later, with terrible consequences for humanity in general. As a leader, I cannot let anyone question the bonds with my party members. That means this is a decision I must make myself.

Ventura doesn’t seem like she’s being entirely honest with me, or even with herself. She says she’s not angry, but the entire reason she’s doing this is (I suspect) to take revenge on Landi. Then of course there’s her promise that I would have her full attention for the year. Has she really not bestowed long-term patronage on anyone? If not, then she’s a flighty, whimsical, untethered djinn without care for long-term commitments. Maybe this deal isn’t as good as it seems at first glance…. or maybe I’m just the first girl that’s caught her eye to try something like this. She is a wind Djinn. It wouldn’t be out of character for her to bestow her favor for fun and whimsy until now.

Ultimately, I have to turn her down. Landi isn’t the best, but she’s trying to be better. She’s trustworthy within her own limits, and we’re both getting an idea of what those limits are. I can’t say the same for Ventura.

“I thank you for your offer,” I say to Ventura, “and hope that we can work together in the future. However, I will not abandon any of my companions, least not the first one to join me when I set out as an adventurer.”

“Are you serious?” Ventura asks, befuddled. “You’d really pick her over me?”

“Yes,” I say. “So long as you demand I break the bonds of fellowship with one sworn to me, I cannot accept your offer.”

Dotti lets out a tiny fox snorf behind me. “I bet that blue lady doesn’t know how to be a Dotti interpreter,” she says, using her magically conjured voice. “It’s a very rare but very handy skill to have. Oh, and thank you, Pierre!”

Pierre looks at Dotti as if she’s grown a second head. Oh. I suppose he would think it quite odd to hear a teenaged version of his mother’s voice coming from a fox. I wonder how that’ll work going forward.

“Fine. Have it your way,” Ventura huffs. “See how you avoid those celestial griffons without me. You’ll be sorry!”

“Thank you for the reminder,” I say to Ventura. I turn to Landi. “Landi, could you please keep giving Kayk health potions from your inventory until she feels battle-ready? It might take most or all of them, but we’ll need to push hard.”

“Inventory magic.” Ventura narrows her eyes at Landi. “That’s how she got out of the party with my panties, you know. She’s nothing but trouble.”

“I’ll return your panties as soon as we’re ready to bear the brunt of the bad luck,” I say. “My robed companion has worn them for about four hours, so we expect approximately four hours of bad luck. We’ll need to be ready.” Of course, I don’t feel like telling Ventura we can avoid the brunt of it as long as Pierre is focused on neutralizing the effect.

“You’re going to fly into a storm, being chased by seven summon steeds and their riders, all battle-ready Church of Censorship clergy, on a dragon that’s as aerodynamic as a barn with wings?” Ventura shakes her head. “I feel lucky you turned down my offer. I’d have hated to be bound to assist someone with such poor judgment.”

“It is regretful that I do not have a guide through the storm,” I say. “Why, with the knowledge of which two directions the griffons are coming from, I could simply choose a course to avoid them.”

“You refused my offer,” Ventura says, “And I won’t work with Landi. I refuse to do anything that benefits her in the slightest, even indirectly. She is undeserving.”

Hmm. I decide not to call her out on her ‘I’m not angry’ childish attitude, not when I’m making progress. This is an opening. She’s clearly put out that Landi is being more helpful than a great Djinn of ‘good fortune.’

I sense an opening to let Ventura find an excuse to flatter herself by favoring me, but only if it has no benefit to Landi whatsoever. What do I propose? I need to be very clever about how I phrase it, too.

>>1077985
Something that doesn't benefit Landi... Oh, you could split up? Landi should be able to get back to town on her own, or with Taranis' help, and the Clergy won't notice that you've split up-- they're following Kayk and Landi is smol. If Taranis is carrying her, she could further reduce visibility by quenching her glow. ...is it even possible for Taranis to fly in these winds? He does have some wind control...

Why, let us remind her of how our chubby dragon lizard friend's mom turned Landi into a dust dispencer when she decided to be impudent to her face. It would geniunely be a pity if Maia heard that her daughter got hurt because of she had to fight nuns riding bird-cats in the middle of a storm.
Let us not forget Landi's mess at the high born party, that was funny as well, or the time she drank mutagens just to see what happened, among other things.

Yes, Landi is a mess, but there is so much room to see her step on her own foot again and again while she is along.
And we can always change our mind later and have Dotti eat her, lol.

can Ventura use Landi's fairy dust in some way to give her some kind of boost in power?

and by Landi's fairy dust, I mean ALL of her fairy dust for today. A dustless fairy is like being naked to them, and letting Ventura get some kind of boost in magic with all of Landi's dust at Landi's expense might work out for her since she'll be stronger, while putting Landi in a humiliating position too.

continue to flatter her by saying "It's a shame too. It would have been great to see the great wind djinn working beyond her max power with all of Landi's fairy dust buffing her against any enemies that come our way, like using Godmother’s Blessing to not get distracted by any attempts to attack her and see her at her full power... But since you're not interested, I guess on the bright side it would would mean Landi won't have to use all her fairy dust and lose her dignity from being dustbusted after all.

Serah: "Oh come on, aren't you curious just how badly Landi could have screwed up-"
Landi: "HEY!"
Serah: "To get an entire army of secretive monks raging for her ass? Even I'm not sure, because she has a drinking problem! You'll have to get the full scoop from them if you want to post the scandal all over the magical super-connected information network that you fairies are always talking about."

Is she really going to let Landi off with just returning the panties? Wouldn't she rather get a heartfelt apology in exacting detail on just how wrong and dumb Landi is? In front of the whole town and adventure guild and not alone out here in the woods?

Huh. How do two different groups of Censors know your exact location right now? They lost visual range long before they realized Pierre was gone. There must be some sort of tracking device on you, because it's not like anyone here would just lead your enemies to you purely out of spite, pretending she was offering you aid while secretly stabbing you in the back to force you to accept her contract.

That would be somewhat... legally questionable.

>>1077997
Okay I got it
Party A: Serah, Raelynn, Taranis, Pierre
Party B: Landi, Dotti, Kayk
Optional Guest Character: Ventura
Pierre can use his Antimagic talent to block the scrying on his party to take the slow path, while the other party composed of magical immortals darts straight to Minga with as many self-imposed magical buffs as they can muster, speeding at rates that would break the necks of even magically-augmented mortals, and acts as a general decoy.
Ventura can also help if she wants to.

Instead of splitting up to leave Landi behind with Raelynn, you could instead give fair winds and fleet foot to other allies to meet you here? Like an envoy of your father, or even the man himself.

>>1077998
That could work, maybe? Raelynn would have her work cut out for her keeping the side party hidden from fliers though.

Here's a counter-proposal: Pierre, Kayk, Serah in one party. Raelynn, Dotti, Landi, Taranis in the other. Dotti can use her illusions to hide Landi and Taranis, while Raelynn can be her usual stealthy self during the trip.

So long as Kayk manages to get through the storm without being spotted directly by the fliers, or the Djinn agrees to help the group that doesn't contain Landi, we'll be golden.

>>1078001

Uh, why would Serah want to hide Landi and Taranis? The only thing she needs to hide is Pierre.

>>1077998

I like this plan because it puts Landi in danger as she has to brave the storm, and the two Censor pursuit parties of celestial gryphons homing in on their location, not realizing Pierre secretly split off to take a slower route. It puts her in awesome danger that involves riding a fire breathing dragon at breakneck speeds through a terrifying storm, so Landi would be cool with it. And whether she helps or not, Ventura would have to admit this plan is not in any way advantageous to Landi. (it's just fucking awesome)

It's also a great way for Landi and Dotti to bond. I'm sure Kayk would be a very considerate mediator.

>>1077998

That's not a terrible idea, but it's a bit risky. I don't know that I can support it.

For starters, Ventura isn't going to help Landi at all, so their group will be flying into the full weight of the storm. Heck, with Landi making up a larger fraction of the group, Ventura would likely slow them down intentionally. That could give the church time to catch up and see that Pierre isn't with them. This causes issues for Serah and Pierre, who even with Rae don't have the strength to fight against a full church army without their magic users. If they get caught, Pierre will be taken back.

That said, I'm not entirely sure what to go with myself. I'll think on it some more.

>>1078002
Because they're co-conspirators?

I strongly think that splitting the party is a horrible idea. Whatever we do, we need to do as a united front. No one here by themselves or even with only one or two people has the power to resist the Censors.

Without splitting the party then I suppose we'll have to find some other leverage. A favor in the future, perhaps? Landi could make it up to her, as well? Surely there's something she can do to be deserving of indirect assistance.

Why don't you offer Ventura Landi's cut of profits for this mission in exchange for her services? Landi's main incentive to be here is profit after all (she certainly won't ADMIT that she cares about Dotti and wants to ensure she's safe), so coming home with an empty wallet is theoretically the worst possible outcome for Landi. It would mean all the time and effort she put in had been a waste. Not only would Landi not benefit, Ventura accepting this job would directly harm Landi.

Emphasize that you will not have Landi see a cent of profit for this job in exchange for the djinn's aid. There won't be any shenanigans of taking pay from others, this mission WILL be a net loss for Landi.

Now, if you give Landi small missions for a higher rate than usual afterwards, that is a completely separate matter, and not one Ventura should concern herself with. Landi simply has every right to negotiate a higher fee for her services, given the recent unreliability of your paying her.

>>1078139
Support. I dont like splitting the party.

1/2 Serah 2023/12/01(Fri)23:52 No. 1078446 ID: 3c2dff
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The Censors have access to plenty of mid-tier divine magic, and from what Pierre hinted at regarding Father Forthill, potentially some high-tier spells as well. If he is, he’ll be flying directly from Giornico on a faster-than-normal summoned mount, though he may want to stay grouped with his other Censors. Ventura said we were only being chased by celestial griffons and not anything scarier or faster, so perhaps the Father isn’t joining the chase personally. Regardless, any extended buff spells he blessed the Giornico Censors with will still be in effect.

I can’t waste time. Every moment I spend on the ground is time for the Giornico censors to catch up. The other group of Censors that Ventura told us about is coming from an unknown direction, and I’m not sure if they’ll intercept us if we go straight to Minga, or if they assumed I’d go to Kensington Keep. Either way, they have divination spells that can hone in on me, Landi, and Kayk. They might assume Dotti is still sealed, and Rae has previously told me that it would be exceptionally difficult to scry on her, if it’s even possible without a having a lock of her hair. The Church doesn’t even know Taranis is with us, and he’s got divine magic of his own, or so I hear.

The most likely way to tempt Ventura into helping me is to send Landi and Dotti forward, riding on Kayk, and using Dotti’s illusory magic to make it seem like Pierre, Raelynn and I are still riding. Pierre could then extend an anti-magic bubble around me and him, hopefully while counteracting the bad luck buff from removing Ventura’s lucky panties. The Censors would probably assume that any lack of a hit on their divination from me and Rae would be from riding so close to Pierre, and would likely fall for our deception. The problem would be that Landi, Dotti and Kayk would be facing the Censors alone. Kayk could rush for Minga, but from here it’s an hour and a half at full speed, worse if Ventura messes with them.

I refuse to leave Landi, Dotti and Kayk to fight the Censors alone. Even with Landi’s summons and Dotti’s full might with four tails, the Censors have had time to prepare for this fight. They’ll be armed and buffed to the teeth, and without me to provide Landi the benefits of our contract, she might be seriously hurt. Not to mention how little the Censors will hold back assuming that they’re facing a full party… even Kayk might be in danger.

I’ll have to try another tactic if I want Ventura’s help. It’s a long shot, but it’s all I’ve got.

“Great Ventura,” I say, “By offering me your aid, you would be harming Landi, not helping.”

“Really,” Ventura says, pursing her lips. “Do go on.”

“I offer you Landi’s pay for this mission. All her efforts spent in aiding me would be wasted, and to arrive back at Minga would leave her with nothing to repay the Marquess, with a new payment due soon. I will not circumvent this deal by allowing her to receive renumeration from other sources; she will have no money when she arrives and her repayment is due. Her share would be given to you.”

“Hey!” Landi says. “Serah, I worked hard here!”

“So focused on money,” Ventura sighs. “So transactional. Serah Kensington, I do what I do out of altruism and goodwill. A good deed done is its own reward, and I would not accept payment.”

“There are other ways to help us without payment that would solely harm Landi,” I say. “You could allow her to use up all her Dust and-“

“You don’t get it, do you, blondie?” Ventura sighs a great gust of wind. “I won’t help Landi by gifting her favorable winds or hindering those chasing her. She accepted these risks and consequences by joining you, and I will not mitigate them, even if you think removing her compensation balances the scales. A deed is a deed, and two actions do not somehow cancel each other out. They are separate.”

I don’t have time to continue arguing, and the one path that might have success- separating Landi from us- is something I won’t do. We ride together or not at all.

“Very well,” I say to Ventura. “As you say, Landi accepted the risks upon setting out. So do I. If you will not aid Landi, then regretfully, we must part ways.”

“Fine! I’ll just take my panties and go. You’re making a mistake,” Ventura warns. “You’ll be sorry! You’ll all rue the day you scorned me!”

“We mean you no disrespect,” I say. “I am bound to aid my companions, Ventura. Perhaps someday you will see the value in commitments. Perhaps not.”

2/2 Serah 2023/12/02(Sat)00:00 No. 1078448 ID: 3c2dff
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Ventura dissipates into a whirlwind and swirls around Pierre’s legs. He lets out a yelp and covers his crotch. The winds die down for a moment but then resurge, twice as strong as before, then a howling, shrieking wind whips the untied Lucky Panties down Pierre’s legs and they fly away into the sky, never to be seen again.

Pierre isn’t looking very good.

“Bad luck!” I remind him gently. He nods, then closes his eyes and focuses inward before he his back luck has time to catch up with him.

I look over to Landi and Kayk. They’re about halfway through my potion stock, and Kayk is looking replenished. I could tell Landi to keep going and supercharge Kayk’s vitaility to allow her to push as hard as she can to go full-speed toward Minga. It would put us ahead of the super-buffed Censors from Giornico, but we wouldn’t have many health potions for a fight with the other group.

A cold, icy hand grips my insides. This could be a very nasty fight, and even if we win, I’ll have fought against the Chruch’s agents. Their healing magic is strong, but if I kill one of them by accident, or if something goes wrong otherwise, the consequences could be much worse than if I could simply escape with Pierre. A fight would be difficult, and I’d want to maximize the odds in my favor. Whether that’s making sure I have extra health potions, or if I get Taranis to somehow contact the adventurers’ guild with his Tweet spell even with its limited range… maybe there’s a religious priest he can reach out to that would hear him from a longer range?

Rae sees me thinking and takes me aside.

“Serah,” Rae says softly. “We’re headed to straight to Minga, but we don’t have to. There’s a place I know. It’s… in my people’s territory. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s unoccupied.”

“Is it safe for us? For Kayk, Pierre and Dotti?”

“I don’t know,” Rae says, looking downcast. “If I’m with you, my people will give you the benefit of the doubt. We could get taken prisoner. Kayk… if she transforms into her lizardfolk form to hide from the Censors, I could get us into a safe shelter. My people would be far less likely to ambush her if they know she’s not as big of a threat as she is in her true form.”

“And the Censors?”

“They know better,” Rae says simply, and her dead-eyed expression tells me all I need to know.

What path do I choose?

1. Rush to Minga. Spend almost all of my health potions to allow Kayk to race to Minga and outpace the Giornico Censors. Taranis might be able to get a message to the Guild if he’s on good terms with a priest or priestess, and we might be able to meet some adventurers halfway to reinforce us.

2. Prepare for Battle. Save the remaining half of our potions and prepare ourselves for a fight. Kayk will take three hours to reach Minga, and we will have plenty of time to buff up and prepare as best we can.

3. Head to Raelynn’s Druidic Shelter. Will avoid a conflict with the Church, but poses other risks.

I think the answer is obvious.
These @#$%s were going to breed an entire army of superpowered spies so they could alter the contents of every piece of scripture they could get their paws on, burying the truths of the world so they could take over. A world at peace... but a world drenched in madness and misinformation.
We. Will. Not. @#$%ing. Accept. This.

Goad the Church. Let them think they've overtaken you. And then weaponize Pierre's bad luck;
Start a war between Elves and Censors. Let his suffering catalyze your victory.

3. It's time for a thread for Rae's character development. Plus, from the sound of things, it looks like she is ready to face her past. This might mean more to her than just escaping the censors.

1 or 3 seem like the best answers. I'm leaning 3, as it gives us a natural lead-in to Rae's quest, finally lets us see elven society from the inside, and will keep our party and Minga friends from potential death.

3. Rae has other motives for doing this, ones we should support.

No no no don’t let her brother have Pierre
Rush Minga! You’ll be closer to reinforcements and have a shorter battle overall. If escape is your priority, then focus on that!

3 seems the best way to avoid combat, and combat would be the worst case scenario.

1. Minga is friendly to you, the druids are not. They can keep Pierre and Rae and kick the rest of you out and there's not much you can do about it.

Serah 2023/12/02(Sat)20:23 No. 1078523 ID: 3c2dff
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If I follow Raelynn’s guidance to the druidic shelter, I’ll be trading one set of foes for another. My first instinct is to trade the Church of Censorship (a politically connected entity that knows Pierre’s abilities and is aiming for him specifically) for Raelynn’s Circle (a military society with no political connections to Daddy that is also unaware of Pierre’s powers, but is hostile to all outsiders).

With Raelynn’s Circle, I wouldn’t have to worry about impacting my family’s political position, and it would avoid a fight with the Church, but I wouldn’t have any political influence over events. In fact, I’d have less than zero political power, since human nobility were the ones primarily responsible for causing elven society on the continent to collapse after the great war almost five hundred years ago. I’m not sure I’d be able to have much of a say in events. I might even become a hostage, if Raelynn’s circle needs gold or other resources.

“If your Circle does find us using the shelter and take us prisoner,” I say to Rae, “There might be very little I could do to stop them from separating us. I don’t like that prospect. I could be a hostage. So could Kayk. Would they try to banish Dotti?”

Rae stays silent.

“Are there any outcomes where us getting taken prisoner ends well?” I ask softly.

Rae thinks for a long moment.

“Yes,” she says, hand resting on her shortsword hilt. “A few. As long as none of you try to break free.”

“You’ll need to tell us more details,” I say, “Once we arrive at your shelter.”

Rae nods.

It’s decided.

“Landi!” I call out. “Change of plans. Stop giving Kayk the health potions. We’re following Raelynn’s directions. Kayk, you’ll need to transform as soon as we hit the ground in order to fit inside a safehouse. The Church won’t follow us inside.”

“A safehouse?” Pierre says, relieved. “I didn’t realize you were so well-prepared to have contingencies all the way from Minga.”

“It’s not mine,” I say. “It’s Raelynn’s.”

“Raelynn has safe house?” Dotti asks.

“Don’t get excited,” Raelynn says. “It’s a well-hidden hole in the ground with food, medical supplies, and shielded from scrying.”

Dotti squeals, getting very excited. “You’re so smart, Rae! You found a foxhole big enough for everyone!”

“I’m gonna be stuck in a hole with her when she’s like this, aren’t I?” Landi groans.

“Try to suffer through it,” I say. “If all goes well, we’ll wait out the storm and rely on Raelynn and Taranis to tell us when it’s safe to leave the shelter. If things don’t go well… Landi, I’ll discuss contingencies with you on the way.”

We mount up on Kayk’s warm back. The wind howls and the rain begins to come down in a thick, heavy torrents. Raelynn thankfully is able to guide Kayk to the safehouse twenty-five minutes away, and we don’t see any griffons as we touch down. The shelter is a nearly imperceptible bunker formed into a hillside, and Raelynn makes us all turn around as she casts a spell to open the door. Kayk transforms into her lizardfolk form to fit inside, and Raelynn shapes the earth behind us to close the entryway securely. Taranis remains outside.

Darkness takes us for a moment, then glowing plants begin to light up the shelter.

And now we wait.

END OF POV 7 Serah 2023/12/02(Sat)20:23 No. 1078524 ID: 3c2dff
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Who Will be the Primary POV of Thread 8?

There may be brief periods when the Spirits can refocus their attention.

A. Moonshine, a.k.a. Landi, a Fairy
B. Lady Serah Kensington, Heir Countess of Kensington, a Human Alchemist
C. Dorothea, a.k.a. Dotti, a.k.a. Foxie, a Fox Spirit, Slayer of Soul-Eaters and Waitress of La Pâtisserie de Minga
D. Ráichéalín, a Wood Elf Ranger, former Warseer of Druidic Circle Uí Liatháin
E. Taranis, a Stormcrow of Odin, Probably Penitent Panty Purloiner
F. The Magnificent Kayk Terrorscale, a Half-dragon Baker
G. Pierre, former Brother of the Church of Censorship, a Human Monk

---
Thread will remain open for one week to count votes.

D or E

D because I feel whatever action Rae will do will heavily influence how the story will go, and we should help her make the right decisions. This does feel like it will be a heavily rae focused thread.

E because he's Rae's animal partner. He'll have a pretty strong role in this too because of this.

Don't go yet, stick with Serah! Unless this is the last thread, then Landi.

I'll set some votes on Taranis and Kayk. Taranis because he's close to Rae, and Kayk because I think approaching elven society from the perspective of a dragon has some interesting potential to explore. Humans fear what elves are capable of a group, but dragons are used to being on top of the food chain. That, and I feel that Kayk has the least involvement with upcoming developments, and so I'm trolling Donut by picking the least fitting character for the upcoming thread.

Rae will be having heart to hearts about her quest and lack of desire to kill her brother, and Kayk willbe sitting there thinking of ways to get elves to start coming to her bakery (they like healthy meals, so perhaps if she started selling protein bars... no, the general public wouldn't accept them without some sweetness in them. Alright, but what if she let you order them "elf style", to have all sweeteners substituted with healthy alternatives such as dried fruit? Ooh, that has potential! She should run it by Rae and- oh right, she's still crying about her brother. Maybe later...)

I vote we guide Dotti. If we're going to deal with the Soul-Eaters, we want to micromanage the one Action Survivor who has relevant combat experience and even kills.

>>1078524
A. This story hasn't actually been about a Lazy Fairy for ages. Maybe we should return to that?

>>1078524
A, been forever since we were in Landi land

Let's go with Rae, she's the most important character now

Good choice, Lady Kensington. This is a better set of enemies for political reasons.

As for next thread, I vote D. Rae is the one who knows what's going on and who will have the biggest chance of getting everyone else out alright. She's also the one who will probably need the most emotional support/help if things go sideways.

D makes the most sense, although G is a poor sheltered soul who desperately needs our lewd useful advice.

I was going to say Landi but..yeah, not every story needs to end cyclically.

Let's go with Archibeard! A hyper competente, emotionally detached straight man is what we need in a time of crisis like this.

If not, Raelynn is my second pick.