Test Pattern 2009/08/26(Wed)00:00 No. 34999 ID: 7eda8b
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>>34993
>By now you should know Aphek's scent, and I imagine you know your own. do you only smell the two of you?
Wait...

Yes, there is definitely a third one!

>>34999
looks like severed sergal heads by the statue's feet. prepare for battel, warn Aphek.

>>34999
and yes that's deffinitly his head

>>34999
FFFFF-

Is it a dustback or a northerner? This could be Bad News.

Get out of the light, keep your senses alert.

>>34999
Er... crap. Scratch my last comment, that's a dead sergal. Crap, bandits.

Yeah, prepare for battle. Hand Aphek a sword, too.

>>34999
Fuuuuck, it's a Sergal head, be even more alert.
Is it southern or northern?

>>34999
Check the severed Sergal head on the statue's platform.

If Southerner, stay, continue searching for the people who took those swords.

If Northerner, don't bother, just leave.

Test Pattern 2009/08/26(Wed)20:08 No. 35204 ID: 7eda8b
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>>35005
>Check the severed Sergal head on the statue's platform.
...

It is... WAS a northerner. Looks fairly fresh. Goshen doesn't recognize its identity.

Goshen didn't notice the smell of all the blood before, due to all the blood that was here already. Plus, the wind shifted a minute before. It's at his back now.
>>35003
>Yeah, prepare for battle. Hand Aphek a sword, too.
"Aphek," he whispers. "Draw your sword. Be ready to run."

"What... what direction?" asks the southerner.

Goshen catches a scent on the wind. Talyxian.

>>35204

Not good.

Tell me she can't see well in the dark, cause we sure as hell can't.

>>35204
...

What direction is its scent coming from?

I suggest getting a move on in the other direction, with the two of you keeping watch in opposite directions. If Shadran is any lesson, they're sneaky bastards.

It... /isn't/ Shadran, right?

>>35204

Well, I hope she isin't crouching on top of that statue in darkness waiting for you to foolishly come closer to inspect severed sergal heads. Because damn that would suck.

Tell the dustback not to run willy nilly and watch your back. She was completely silent last time and we don't want a repeat of that. Move in open ground where nothing blocks your spear movement.

Get Aphek looking in whatever direction you're not and have him holler out at the first sign of trouble. Don't go to the head, it's an obvious trap. They probably hid a grenade under there like the VC would do.

We're downwind, let's stay that way.

>>35204
AAAAAAAAA
WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL STANDING AROUND?!
RUN RUN RUN
DOWNWIND IS GOOD, BUT FUCK
JUST RUN

>>35213
but CAREFULLY, we don't wanna run across any tripwires or mines they may have planted.

Test Pattern 2009/08/26(Wed)20:56 No. 35215 ID: 7eda8b
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>>35212
>We're downwind, let's stay that way.
"Start heading downwind. I'll follow," Goshen says.

He turns upwind. The cache is burning brightly.>>35206
>Tell me she can't see well in the dark, cause we sure as hell can't.
Goshen's night vision is good, but there's no moon. It must be overcast, too, because the stars have been winking out one by one. Up until a minute ago, there was practically no light at all, though there's obviously some now.

>>35215
FFFF- Red eyes? To the right of the fire? Spear at the ready, Goshen.

>>35215

Well, goddamn. That's pretty much the perfect position for her to start because that'll ruin your nightvision for a while. Don't get drawn in the dark again.

>>35215
Last time, she snuck up on you while you were tired, wounded, dehydrated and alone, and you barely were able to hold your own.

Now you know where she is, you are almost fully rested, you are not wounded, you are well fed, and you have fought her before.

The very fact she is here leads to the assumption she will keep stalking you. It is time to show her what you can really do.

Just remember how fast she is, and do your best to give her no time to use that speed. And expect her to possess those two swords, as well as those two daggers from before.

>>35226

Yeah, no. Talyxian's pretty much own sergals one on one. Aphek is not much help and might even be a liability with his fear and inexperience. It's going to be a waiting battle where we hold her at spear point and Aphek stays behind us out of the way. Definately don't try anything fancy like sand kicking or lunging again. I'm pretty worried about there being a *twang* sound and us sporting a brand new feathers where there shouldn't be any.

>>35227
Just because on average Talyxians do better than Sergals in one-on-one fights doesn't mean that Goshen can't beat her. Besides, we can only figure out traps she sets before she springs them so many times before we mess up and she kills us. Might as well do everything we can to put her down now so we can sleep a little more soundly in the future.

>>35227
So as long as they hit us in the butt it should be good.

Test Pattern 2009/08/26(Wed)22:38 No. 35242 ID: 7eda8b
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The flickers of orange was all but lost amidst the flames. It lasted only a moment. By the time Goshen realized what they were, they were gone.

There is no doubt in his mind now.

>>35226
>Last time, she snuck up on you while you were tired, wounded, dehydrated and alone, and you barely were able to hold your own.
Goshen hasn't fully recovered. He still feels sluggish. Can he beat her? He's not sure. Can he run? His heart is racing. He can run. He hopes he can run fast enough.

>>35227
>It's going to be a waiting battle where we hold her at spear point and Aphek stays behind us out of the way.
Waiting for what? No help is coming. Not for them.

"Goshen," Aphek whispers. "It's her. I smell her."

"I know."

Goshen remembers what happened the last time Aphek faced Shadran.

"Start running," hisses Goshen.

"Are you g-"

"Go."

Aphek obeys. Goshen takes a moment to decide if he's following.

>>35242
She tracked you for a week and a half.

There is little reason to doubt she will continue hounding you until she can finally kill you.

She is dangerous, and has a good chance of killing you right now. But better to end it with her now, with steel in hand, then to flee and have her slip a knife in your throat some time later while you sleep.

Squeegy!OeZ2B20kbk 2009/08/26(Wed)22:50 No. 35244 ID: 64d98f
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Let's teach that bitch a lesson.

>>35242
Running is probably your best chance. Assuming the stuff you're carrying isn't weighting you down to much.
You won't defeat her when she gets to choose the battlefield, I doubt she'll risk to engage you directly in the open desert. But she'll keep stalking you of course.

Run dude. You have no chance to survive, make your time.

I am unsure when we will encounter her and she has NOT "chosen" the battlefield, as long as she is tracking us and we are trying to get somewhere, so that's sort of a lousy argument.

Test Pattern 2009/08/26(Wed)23:43 No. 35251 ID: 7eda8b
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>>35246
>>35248
Goshen decides he stands a poor chance against Shadran in his present state. He carefully backs into the statue's shadow, then starts running.

If the Talyxian were on a horse, Goshen would be confident he could outrun her. If.

When he glances over his shoulder, he sees only darkness, and the receding fire.

>>35251
Run until one of you starts slowing noticeably, then start walking. I hope to dear god you two know which direction you are supposed to be going.

>>35251
It's quite possible for you to stay in front of her until you reach friends.
She'll have to carry her own supplies and rest sometimes. Just don't stay in one place longer than necessary.

Test Pattern 2009/08/27(Thu)03:03 No. 35259 ID: 7eda8b
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Far behind, Shadran watches it burn.

She watches for a long time, until the ashes hiss with spilled water, and grow dark.

Test Pattern 2009/08/27(Thu)03:10 No. 35263 ID: 7eda8b
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One week later.

Test Pattern 2009/08/27(Thu)03:18 No. 35264 ID: 7eda8b
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Goshen and Aphek walk out of the desert.

The grass is wet beneath their feet.

Give Aphek a celebratory platonic hug!

How about no. Can we have at least one fucking quest without a pointless romance angle shoehorned in?

>>35267

Only if you take that stick ouf of your ass and don't consider a platonic comrade-to-comrade hug the start of a romance. Which would be ridiculous at best.

Yeah, Goshen sure seems like the hugging type what with the raiding and killing people. Maybe when he's done they can braid one another's hair and watch Sixteen Candles.

>>35269

Now that is a much more valid point why not do it. And I agree.

How about a totally manly ass-pat?

>>35272
A quick assfuck to cement masculine camaraderie?

guys, have you never had a male friend?

the method to make them bond is to make them FOIGHT. start sparing with each-other to train the brown one.

>>35273

ಠ_ಠ

>>35275

How about we get to civilisation first? We must be getting low on supplies by now.

The most Goshen will give to Aphek is an almost lethal slap on the back. Even if you ignore the fact that not everything works like in gay animes, dustbacks are still considered inferior in Sergal society and Aphek can be happy if Goshen considers him even as comrade.

Hells yeah, celebrate! You guys just got out of the freaking desert alive. Even saw Shadran a second time and lived to tell the tale.

And hey, I'm all for platonic buddyhugs.

Okay, you have made it out of the desrt, but do you have any ide of where you are?

Maybe try and figure that out while you hunt something, as those Jerky strips probably leave something to be desired.