- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)12:54 No. 353311 ID: d46048
File 131715326958.png - (25.27KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-222.png )

>thousands possibilities
... just my two silvers here, but really -- how do we even kill her? I wouldn't say reincarnated, but what if she just.. didn't die the first time the hive was raided?

... man, thats why you never talk to monsters. It only makes things complicated.

--Gentle traveller, are you unwell? I believe I caught that confusion smell.--

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)12:55 No. 353312 ID: d46048
File 131715333082.png - (25.93KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-223.png )

"I.. think the whole 'gift' thing just hit me."

--A daunting task. I understand.--

"Its just... isn't there anything I can do for you, anything else? Get you out of here, maybe?"

--Ah, my dear guest. Thoughtful and kind. I blessed you with sight. Let it present you my plight.--

"What do you mean?"

It's obvious:
Look around.

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)13:01 No. 353317 ID: d46048
File 131715367382.png - (18.61KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-224.png )

"All I'm seeing here is..." what am I looking at here?

I think that's an exit behind the.. um...

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)13:01 No. 353318 ID: d46048
File 131715368987.png - (21.14KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-225.png )

...

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)13:03 No. 353320 ID: d46048
File 131715383814.png - (29.62KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-226.png )

...

--The others hold me too dear. They would not approve. And if I were to leave. Where would I go?
Light does me no good. Stronger is worse. Down leads me back. They wont welcome me there.
The one thing you can do. I have asked of you. Will you gift me now? Or is there more you must do?--

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)13:06 No. 353321 ID: d46048
File 131715396382.png - (28.58KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-227.png )

"... any idea why the other ants attacked my face?"

--Your eyes, dear guest. They're a lovely shape.--

"... not really what I expected to hear."

--A confused fighter makes easier prey.--

- Player 2011/09/27(Tue)13:11 No. 353325 ID: d46048
File 131715430139.png - (27.93KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-228.png )

"How did you get this dagger?"

--Your friends left it here. Kept with me since.--

"Because -uh- if death is all you want, you could have 'gifted' yourself long ago with this."

--I... Ain't the nature of a gift? To be given by another?--

>>353325
She makes good arguments. Bow to her and cut her head off.

so.. there seems to be more then one queen somehow. and they wont let her leave.

and yes a gift is given by someone else, but she could of used the knife on her neck and removed her head herself.

ask if the light hurts her body or just her eyes. if her eyes then she could go to the surface blind and follow the smells. could become a traveler herself.

We've established that cutting her head off would not necessarily be the quickest, least painful death. I'd say the best way would be to find a major blood vein or whatever and just make an incision there. Low pain, high blood flow. Bleeding to death isn't so bad.

If we knew where her brain was this'd be easier. Or you could just ask her how she wants to die.

>>353325
"Where would it be best to put the gift? I would hate for you to suffer for my lack of experience."

>>353325
Well she seems rather convinced that this is what she wants. Lets get this on the road then, ask her where to strike to make it as painless as possible and then do it.

With any luck you might even level up from this. Fighting through a demonic ant hive and killing the queen should be one of those milestone events.

Ask her to close her eyes,mercy kill her then say a prayer for her when she's bleeding out. Be respectful the entire time.
,
After she's dead, light a torch and loot the room. Take a trophyfrom her corpse too. We'll need evidence we kill the ant queen

Welllll maybe we should ask a few more questions first. Does she know anything about the demons or their plans?

- Player 2011/10/01(Sat)05:09 No. 354483 ID: d46048
File 131747098496.png - (26.42KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-229.png )

>knife, neck, head, herself
Man, you have no idea the guts it takes to pull a ritual suicide.

"Whats your problem with light? Does it hurt, or blinds you, or something?"

--It.. does me no good.--

"Have you ever been exposed to light?"

--Long ago, with the others. Always clear, always bright. Since then... here I am. No more rest under a candle's light.--

- Player 2011/10/01(Sat)05:11 No. 354484 ID: d46048
File 131747107732.png - (25.73KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-230.png )

"... what can you tell about the other demons?"

--I apologize. I remember too little. I did not know then you would ask me now.--

"what you Do remember?"

--... hanging from a roof, with fire at our feet. Rooms of wood, tools of steel. They cared for us, my sisters and I. Then I became last, and here I was left.--

Wait. Sisters? Does that mean--

--Worry not, guest of mine. Of my kind, there is only I.--

>>354484
Sounds like she doesn't really know much that could be of help to you, probably due to having been trapped in here for a large portion of her remebered life.

Ok, now lets ask where to strike to make this as quick as possible and then get to it. It's not nice to keep a gift away from its recipient like this.

>>354484
Hand us to her for awhile. We have things we wish to discuss. When we're done we'll have her say "The golden dawn approaches".

Leave us on for awhile after you strike, since we would like to talk to Amanda - er, the kitty who unweaves souls.

>Down leads me back. They wont welcome me there.

what if we changed that? made it so she would be welcomed back.

I think leaving us with her is a bad idea. Don't do it.

>>354500
Nope, nothing good will come from that. It will just lead to lots of bullshit and attempts at trolling the gods and then they will just be even more pissed.

>>354892
I'm sorry, what?

That was actually a good idea.

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:09 No. 355415 ID: d46048
File 131766897846.png - (26.46KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-231.png )

".. so, where should I... deliver your gift?"

--Gentle Traveler, so concerned. I would not dare to do such thing. Your craft is yours, so natural. My word would spoil what comes to you.--

... no easy way out, eh?

Actually, I think I know how to start.


Its an idea that's not going to happen; I'm not in the capacity to draw an Inky/Amanda sequence, nor have figured a way to improvise it satisfactorily. We'll do anyway if you insist, but you have been warned.

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:12 No. 355421 ID: d46048
File 131766913694.png - (24.26KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-232.png )

"Goodbye, Queen."

--So long, gentle adventurer. Take care of yourself.--

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:12 No. 355422 ID: d46048
File 131766917068.png - (24.94KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-233.png )

>schlk!<

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:16 No. 355428 ID: d46048
File 131766937404.png - (24.26KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-234.png )

Ant Queen takes Damage: -1 HP

--Traveller...--

"Shh. Don't fight it."

>ssssSSlllghk<
--Why... but...--
"Don't fight it. Just calm down."

Ant Queen takes Damage: -1 HP

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:17 No. 355430 ID: d46048
File 131766942395.png - (20.70KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-235.png )

"You'll be blacking out soon enough."

give her a kiss goodbye.

- Player 2011/10/03(Mon)12:21 No. 355436 ID: d46048
File 131766971552.png - (13.35KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-236.png )

Its monster anatomy basics. Something her size can't be killed cleanly; half of her body must be secondary hearts and whatevers. She might even be able to.. keep making children when headless.

I can't have her awake for what I'm actually going to do.

Now, you were talking about trophies... fine, just say the word. But I don't think I'll be bringing her head.

Maybe one of the huge antennas?

In any case you should make sure she is actually dead first.

let's wait until we can see clearly. if the darkness is her spell then when she dies it should break.

>>355445
There is both the magical darkness (which might have ended) and the current lack of a light source. I guess we could re-light the torch.

Ok, now I'm beginning to get some second thoughts about this.

>>355428
>--Why... but...--

I get the feeling she was talking about some other form of gift maybe?

>>355449
Bring out the mushroom.

>>355495
yeah, it does seem odd.

>>355495
I believe she was expecting it to be painless.

>>355436
Put us on her for like two minutes before you start cutting her to pieces. We have things to discuss.

>>355548
Like what?
Lets hold off on the screwing with dying people until the next time we come across someone who actually doesn't want to die.

>>355436
Some part that is recongnisably from her. And don't put us on her. That's just going to lead to annoying stuff. Anyway, have to find some sort of exit once you're done here.

- Player 2011/10/04(Tue)10:36 No. 355828 ID: d46048
File 131774980957.png - (11.39KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-237.png )

>recongnisably from her
>one, huge antennas

Might as well.
>krk-slkt!<

Player acquires Demon Bodypart (Ant Queen's Right Antenna)

Now I think about it, its funny how she's the only one her with these.

>wait, darkness, spell
... well, I don't know how these magic things work, but -- shouldn't it have ended as soon as she passed out? I mean, I still can see in the dark, and this probably was her too, and yet I see here here... bleeding..

>second thoughts
Okay, I'm gonna end this already, the last thing I need is--

- Player 2011/10/04(Tue)10:39 No. 355831 ID: d46048
File 131774996985.png - (3.54KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-238.png )

>splark!<
Critical Hit: Head
Ant Queen falls

-- right, that did the trick. Where's that torch....

Seriously, sorry -- the last thing I need is to start thinking-- Imean, its just -- here it is.

- Player 2011/10/04(Tue)10:39 No. 355832 ID: d46048
File 131774999533.png - (54.78KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-239.png )

>tschfrrrsh!<

And we have light!

Was she a coin-construct? Or did she transform into that small dead thing behind you?
Is the antenna still there?

that is pretty odd. look back at it, does it look like her but shrunk? do you see anything that could be another egg, don't want her to accidentally leave a daughter in the same situation. the upper door looks like it leads out, but i see no easy way to get there.

>>355832
She looks smaller than she seemed. Oh well, lets see if there anything worth to loot in here and then start making our way back up to the surface again. That should be enough for this jaunt.

- Player 2011/10/04(Tue)17:33 No. 355981 ID: d46048
File 131777479839.png - (54.80KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-240.png )

>coin-construct, small dead thing
>look like her
... I have no idea. It looks like a pitch-black corpse, waist up. Can't really identify, looks like its face got smashed by a sword.

Probably my fault.

>egg, daughter
Can't see anything like that around. Now you mention it, the entire.. place seems quiet now.

- Player 2011/10/04(Tue)17:36 No. 355982 ID: d46048
File 131777496980.png - (54.71KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-241.png )

I guess I'm too tired to do a double-take.

>loot
Here, nope.

>exit
I can climb these clay walls, remember? Those tools we got are pretty handy.

>antenna
Still got it -- which means this whole thing makes even less sense...

it has a bit of wood at the top though, climb that? if so then sure you can try it. peek through the other opening to see what's over there, don't want to miss a treasure room or something.

>>355982
I would say bring the entire corpse, but that's not possible. Cut off the corpse's head so you can bring it with you. That way you can try to identify who she was and give her as much of a proper burial as possible.
Also, making Lia tell us what the crap just happened.

Sadly, we didn't get to ask her about the magic she used, so...
[Source Protocol #44F524-MICROWAVE]

>>355991
[oh god no if it works he is in bright light it could burn his eyes out. if it doesn't it will just hurt]

>>355991
Also voting to cancel command.
And close your eyes in case the command goes through.

>>355992
[...because torches totally give off RADAR, right?]

>>356041
It is likely that using that she used the same effect that caused light to be painful to her.

>>356044

>>--It did me no good. So I took it away.--

Didn't say light hurts her, just that it doesn't do her any good.

>>355982
Well there appears to be a tunnel in fron of you. It might lead to the surface, or to some palce interesting. Lets check it out and find out.

>>355991
[Nope, we're not going to do that. These commands only seem to end up hurting Player]

>>355982
You remember that crap people mentioned earlier about ants having a hivemind? Well, we're about to see if these ants behave the same way.

If that was their queen, they're probably all flipping out; you've essentially cut the head off of a great beast and now you just need to wait for the body to die.

- Player 2011/10/05(Wed)08:27 No. 356142 ID: d46048
File 131782844696.png - (44.37KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-242.png )

>wood, top
The platform? Doesn't seems to be anything there form here. If its the other one, I think that's the way down from where I came.

>tunnel
I don't know. I can't feel any airflow around, but it feels warmer towards the lower tunnel.

>treasure
Well, a peek won't hurt.

>hivemind
I don't know; how the other ants would even know their queen is dead? They might just go around doing their business until one of them comes to feed her or something.

- Player 2011/10/05(Wed)08:28 No. 356143 ID: d46048
File 131782851329.png - (43.74KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-243.png )

Well, there's the chance the queen sent some kind of kill signal when it died, Cats might now how they talk to each other.

Hmn, only more corridors and a pile of garbage down this way.

>>356142
Go back and smash the eggs real quick.

Ants don't look so angry currently,
they look rather stunned actually.

yeah head back and peek down to the eggs.

>>356143
Cool, free kills, get out your halebard and start smacking them as you pass by.

>>356304
That might just wake them up.

- Player 2011/10/06(Thu)05:41 No. 356316 ID: d46048
File 131790490628.png - (55.24KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-244.png )

>stunned
They do? I can't see from here.
I'm more worried about how long it'll last.

>back, smash, eggs
>head back, peek down
Allright, but there's a problem to that.

- Player 2011/10/06(Thu)05:43 No. 356317 ID: d46048
File 131790500121.png - (70.66KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-245.png )

Namely, getting back there.

>>356317
Hmm, doesn't seem worth it to go down to smash the eggs. A shame you don't have any grenades. Lets start up for the surface instead.

that rock you are standing on looks like it could collapse at any moment. back off of it onto the dirt and pick away at the dirt holding it on. with luck it will break away and smash a million eggs.

>>356142
They don't talk with words. Think of what they do kinda like telepathy. They know she's dead because they can't, "hear," her anymore.

It's more complicated than that, but also kinda confusing.

- Player 2011/10/06(Thu)16:54 No. 356415 ID: d46048
File 131794524932.png - (66.55KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-246.png )

>rock
Its a bit slippery, but she's pretty solid here. Digging loose would take an awful lot of time. Now, if I could -- Idunno -- apply an overwhelming amount of force or leverage, maybe with a pickaxe?

Nah.

>telpathy
... that would explain how I could talk to her at all, actually.
I agree with the other one, messing with the ants might give them focus again. Focus on me.

go as high as you can and throw the DU-core down at it. if that doesn't loose it nothing will.

I know I'm late here, but... odd. The queen was huge. We could see her rear end, and that was enormous... too large for any of the other exits. According to her it didn't even sound like she could escape her chamber.

So where did the rest of her go? What really just happened here?

It's annoying, because she clearly requested to be killed, and then when you actually did the deed she seemed to... be surprised? Dismayed? Worried? Cats if I know, but either her 'gift' was more painful than she expected or something didn't quite go according to her plan. While the ants look stunned, all you have for your efforts is that antenna and a blackened corpse... seemingly just a part of the queen... unless that, somehow, is the entire thing. Which can't be discounted, of course.

Now, there is a possibility you haven't killed the entirety of the queen, just her 'reasoning' parts, but that doesn't explain how the rest of it got away.

Ah well, we lack the necessary knowledge to just guess ourselves to the correct answer. Maybe someone like Lia or Sun would know more. Could you climb up the path just ahead of you, the final exit from her chamber? Use your climber's kit.

- Player 2011/10/06(Thu)19:51 No. 356461 ID: d46048
File 131795589162.png - (39.54KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-247.png )

>throw the DU-core
... no, there isn't a place around here high enough, it would just drop into the next. Humn. Maybe make a hammer out of it? They gotta be good for something.

>on the Queen
... I don't know. Hopefully, it was just some kind of elaborate ant-based hallucination, and I got here thanks to my undiscovered powers of flight.

There has to be a simple explanation of how she got down here.

- Player 2011/10/06(Thu)19:53 No. 356462 ID: d46048
File 131795600688.png - (33.80KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-248.png )

... eh. Air's stale, but... it doesn't smell like ants here.

I wonder how the Queen breathed, this should be her ventilation; instead, I think I've found a basement.

i see a gate above those rocks. if it's locked then just sit there hitting the lock with the core. it should be tougher then any lock.

>>356464
We do have shovel. Speaking of, drop the rock with the shovel.

>>356462
Ohhh, looks like a ventilation grate over there. Lets go check it out, maybe it's another of those neat hidden exits.

- Player 2011/10/07(Fri)04:26 No. 356543 ID: d46048
File 131798678653.png - (39.12KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-249.png )

... hum
The grate's unlocked, the hinge suggests it opens downwards. And the only think keeping it closed is a length of wood.

This has to be some kind of trap. I can feel it.

then open it from a distance. hook it with the halberd and yank the wood.

>>356543
Open it with the Halbard while making sure you don't stand under it, in fact stand as far from it as you can.

What can you see through the grate?

If you want a lot of distance, tie the rope around the wood and pull it out from the other side of the room.

Can you see anything through the grate?

>>356543
Examine the grate itself. Can you see what's on the other side?

- Player 2011/10/07(Fri)15:44 No. 356597 ID: d46048
File 131802744964.png - (40.29KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-250.png )

>see trough grate
Nope. Pitch black.

>halberd, yank
>rope
I'll go with the rope here.

- Player 2011/10/07(Fri)15:45 No. 356598 ID: d46048
File 131802751059.png - (44.94KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-251.png )

Angle tells me its solid on the bottom, so this should work.

One and two and HUP!

>ktak!<

- Player 2011/10/07(Fri)15:45 No. 356599 ID: d46048
File 131802753733.png - (44.36KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-252.png )

>KTHUMP!<

Holy crap!

- Player 2011/10/07(Fri)15:46 No. 356600 ID: d46048
File 131802760954.png - (44.35KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-253.png )

W-whoa! Close call.

And this was a pretty obvious one! I'm kinda surprised we've seen no traps until now, really.

Enterrrrr

proceed.

Forward!

>>356600
Well lets get in there and explore it, see what we find on the other end.

- Player 2011/10/08(Sat)05:09 No. 356718 ID: e2e514
File 131807575091.png - (34.44KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-254.png )

Well, up we go then.

- Player 2011/10/08(Sat)05:10 No. 356719 ID: e2e514
File 131807580806.png - (31.67KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-255.png )

Uff! It smells like old and... what is this place? It looks like some sort of library.

Let me get up in there fir

- Player 2011/10/08(Sat)05:18 No. 356725 ID: e2e514
File 131807633311.png - (89.33KB , 800x600 , r001-0009-257.png )

went silent again eh? I wonder why sometimes you

id like to report a bug, several hundred ants actually

>>356726
Wait, how did you end up there? Also, did you level up?

I was guessing it would lead to Ms. K's house.

That's the cellar/back storeroom of the church. And that's Lia. And... what we just went through is an unreported, unguarded entrance to the dungeon.

The queen said she had spoken to others like Player. Who didn't kill her, but left her a dagger.

A physician's dagger would be the tool of a physician, not a warrior.

Acolytes of the host are the closest we can think of as physicians in this village.

I guess things are starting to make a little more sense now.

And I guess someone's been doing something they shouldn't have been.