Kaktus 2014/03/08(Sat)10:36 No. 565645 ID: 549d6c
File 139430381191.png - (8.49KB , 900x450 , 2.png )

Ahh… *hum hum* oh, you old, you free, you mountain high north~

Insert Oh god! Nudity! Quick, call the soccer moms! This is an emergency!_

[ding]
Brad's being kidnapped by cultist

Well, I guess now we see where her body image issues come from. That's a lot of scars.

...let's not freak her out, shall we? Wait till she won't be as bothered by our intrusion.

[Remain silent]

>>565645
Oh, if only we could appreciate the view for longer. The scars are depressing though. Alex, Brad's been/being kidnapped by cultists.

>>565647
I concur. She was mad enough at us for barging in on her with just her face exposed. Us jumping in here will make her furious, and in the future may make her scared to take off any clothes at any time lest we see her. Besides, I think we're too late to intercept Brad's abductors. We checked piece status the same time he was being taken and it showed Alexandra was asleep. This is likely later, so we can wait a minute or two until she's clothed to reveal ourselves.

[Remain silent]
[Check piece status]

Kaktus 2014/03/08(Sat)11:54 No. 565650 ID: 549d6c
File 139430845729.png - (8.04KB , 900x450 , 3.png )

>[Check piece status]
[“The Savage” Status: Unconscious. “The hunter” Status: Depressed, tired. “The priest” Status: Tired. “The Alchemist” Status: Drunk, Disappointed, horny, sleeping. “Sister of Wisdom” Status: Tired. “Sister of Power” Status: Tired. “The Valkyrie” Status: Depressed, Tired. Current Corruption level: 0%.]

>[Remain silent]
Ugh… I hate early mornings… why did they force us to get up this early?
>[ding]
Hmm? Oh, you guys… wait, you didn’t actually see any- never mind. How can I assist you?
>Brad's being kidnapped by cultist.
What!? Right now!? Err… why didn’t they do it in the middle of the night instead of in the morning? Never mind, let’s… err… let’s… let’s do… something? I don’t even know where his room is so…

Insert Scars both inside and out_

think it was last night actually, we just got pulled into the past and couldn't get back till now, anyways yeah, grab whoever you can find, your bug friend is drunk still/again, and we may have to track down Brad.

Hmm.
[check gender of pawns]
Or, being Swedish as you are...
[check biological gender of pawns]

>>565650
Jeez, all our pawns are tired.

Yeah, Brad got kidnapped last night. Go find out why you're up so early, and ask if anyone saw where Brad was taken to. Brad's still knocked out so we can't switch to him to find out.

...Dammit. Of course the time warp couldn't drop us in before Brad was taken.

Brad was kidnapped last night, right in front of us. We would have alerted everyone right then if we hadn't been suddenly kicked up the tallest Pillar of the Heavens and nine months minus a week into the past, then bounced back to the Serath nine months ago. We only just now got back to this time and place.

Get down to the dining hall, tell everyone else in our group there that Brad was taken last night, then get his room number from the innkeeper and ask if anybody else asked for his room number yesterday.

Alert any Order paladins that Brad has been taken. They have the tracker spell on him, so they ought to be able to find him if it hasn't been removed. And if it has then they have rangers that can track him.

Brad's still unconscious from whatever the kidnappers gave him, so it must be powerful stuff. Go kick Jal out of bed and get him over to Brad's room to give the air over his bed and out the window a sniff. There might be a unique scent we can track. We may also need him to make an antidote to wake Brad up quick when we find him.

And thinking back, I don't think the three that took Brad were cultists. They were talking about him being worth a lot of coin to "those religious freaks." It's sounds like they were hired by the cultists to get Brad. Might be locals we can track down.

Unfortunately we don't have a good description of them. They were wearing full white robes with hoods and white cloths over their mouthes. We only know they were a human male and female with light skin and... Brown eyes? And a lizard of unknown gender with yellow eyes.

Kaktus 2014/03/08(Sat)13:08 No. 565661 ID: 549d6c
File 139431290624.png - (19.63KB , 900x450 , 4.png )

>Or, being Swedish as you are...
...Um… I have no idea what you’re actually implying here…

>[check gender of pawns]
[Error! Unknown command! Please check for spelling errors and try again!]

>Yeah, Brad got kidnapped last night.
…well, crap. Someone stole our big muscular killing machine of doom.
>Jeez, all our pawns are tired.
Of course we are. It’s freaking a quarter over the dawn of the universe here.
>Go find out why you're up so early.
Because we’re supposed to train with the Order? They said something about fighting practice.
>Go kick Jal out of bed and get him over to Brad's room to give the air over his bed and out the window a sniff.
Yea… let’s go wake someone up that I know have a mean hangover about three to four hours too early for him... I rather not have him glaring daggers at me for the rest of the week again, thank you very much.

>Get down to the dining hall, tell everyone else in our group there that Brad was taken last night…
Good morning, Alexandra! Have you thought about what we talked about last night?
Um… yes, but now is not the time, Vlad.
Well, I for one have been thinking and you were right. I should keep trying even if… um… dad didn’t like it. I even got to borrow an old harp from Sten here!
Just play something nice on it sometime and I’ll let you keep it, lad.
Guys, Brad has been kidnapped.
..Wait, what?
>then get his room number from the innkeeper and ask if anybody else asked for his room number yesterday.
Ah, yes, of course. His room number is four and… here you go… a spare key. And no, no one has asked about his number.
Stop right there!
>Alert any Order paladins that Brad has been taken.
If this is true then it’s a crime that’s under the jurisdiction of the Order. Please leave this matter to us. Give me the key.
But… we’re part of the Order too!
By the look of things, you aren’t even officially sworn into it yet. No, go about your business as usual and we’ll deal with this.
Um… so… Alexandra… breakfast?

Insert Stop right there, criminal scum! Pay your fine or serve your sentence! …then pay with your blood!!_

I meant the whole "If he thinks he's female, he's a she" deal. Common with the Swedes. And you're a liberal, anyway, isn't that a thing with you?
[check sex of pawns]
Or... Hmmmmmm...
[help]
[commands]
[help commands]
Find a command to check the biological sex/gender of the pawns.

Well, crap. Just pretend that was all spoilered.

not sure they'll believe you but last we saw cultist we're doing the kidnapping and they were wearing white robes if that means anything. But yeah since it seems you guys can't really help yet because of pointless bureaucracy
[switch to sister of wisdom or power]

might as well help out someone who they will actually let help.

There's no reason you can't follow them up as 'backup' or whatever. Once they've done their official stuff, we can have a poke around ourselves.


>I meant the whole "If he thinks he's female, he's a she" deal. Common with the Swedes. And you're a liberal, anyway, isn't that a thing with you?
I think that's more of a 'being a decent human being' thing than specifically a Swedish thing.

>>565661
Okay, so only official Order members can do police work? That makes sense I suppose. Good thing the Sisters are already members of the order, and we have a connection with them too. Hand the key over and we'll switch over to one of the Sisters so they can be our inside women for the investigation.

>>565663
That's common with everyone.

>>565666
Not really against it. Just had to make sure the author wasn't gonna twist it around, since I think Alex might be... You get my point.
>>565667
>common with everyone
hahahahahahaha nope

Oh, so we need someone who looks like they're in the Order, eh? Alright, give them the key, enjoy your breakfast and we'll jump over to Anna to intercept them. She's probably already in her Order armor. We'll see if we can check the room out through her and keep an eye on these two. I'm a little suspicious how they were right here to jump in as soon as you asked for Brad's room number.

Also, don't tell them anything we told you about last night. That'll just make you a suspect. Ah, and I see you got your makeup back; Almost missed that. When did the Order return your luggage?

And it's wonderful you play the harp, Vlad. It's a beautiful instrument and I wish more people played it. Just keep up practicing no matter what, okay.

...Geez, does that guy in the helmet ever leave the tavern? He's been here every time we've... been... here... Hey, guys! Look at the guy at the bar! He looks just like the Lightbringer's manifestation, minus the light and blade-y wings! Coincidence? I think not! Don't know what to think beyond that, though.

[Switch to "Valkyrie of Courage"]

Kaktus 2014/03/08(Sat)14:51 No. 565672 ID: 549d6c
File 139431910879.png - (14.21KB , 900x450 , 5.png )

Posting answers to all the spoilered replies in the dis thread so we don’t clog up the quest.

>[commands]
[Common commands: Switch, Connect, Message, Status, Scan, Dance…]
>Find a command to check the biological sex/gender of the pawns.
[Error! Unable to find command! Warning! You have shown sympathy with your pawns above the recommended level! Please remember that all pieces in the game aren’t alive or sentient. If you are starting to feel sympathy for the pieces, please contact your local therapist or message the Admin (ErrorERROR) ¤sjkg#lgdsERROR4441Q8!]
[Automatic message from Admin (ErrorERROR) ¤sjkg#lgdsERROR4441Q8!: I’m sorry, but I am currently unavailable. My daughter has gotten this new epidemic sickness and I’ll need to take out a few sick days for her, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon. In the meantime, the Beta for “Sims of civilization 14: Civ harder!” will be put on hold for the time being, at least for normal players. I will have a simulation going with some AI players to te- heh, sorry, got a bit sidetracked there. Anyway, I’m not here at the moment so please either call me at home or leave a message. (Message written (Error! Number exceeds 999 years!) ago)!]

>it's wonderful you play the harp, Vlad. It's a beautiful instrument. Just keep up practicing no matter what, okay.
(Will do! I’ve always wanted to be a Bard… but Dad wanted a hunter… so… )
>Ah, and I see you got your makeup back; Almost missed that. When did the Order return your luggage?
(They came by with it last night, just as I was going to bed.)
>I'm a little suspicious how they were right here to jump in as soon as you asked for Brad's room number.
(There’s always been two of them standing around in here… I think they are hired muscles in case someone gets rowdy in here.)
>Also, don't tell them anything we told you about last night. That'll just make you a suspect.
(I’m not stupid, at least… not that stupid.)
>There's no reason you can't follow them up as 'backup' or whatever.
Don’t you have some training to do?
>Alright, give them the key, enjoy your breakfast and we'll jump over to one of the sisters.
Right, Bartender, some breakfast please.
Coming right up, my lady.

>[switch to sister of power]
-are we clear? So to abridge what I just said, go and see what you can find out about the break in in the toll office.
Shouldn’t you have just have said so from the start? Um… sir?
…just go arrest whoever the thief is, okay, Drina?
On it, sir!

Insert With all due respect, Sir!_

>>565672
Great, they already have you two on an assignment. I was hoping we could get you to join in the investigation to find Bradford, who's been kidnapped. Probably unwise to say that out loud since you're not supposed to know and it's not like people around here know about your mysterious guiding voices.

I guess we'll just have to wait until he wakes up? Or we could get this job done really quick then join in the investigation. Let's talk and walk though, make your way over to the crime scene while explaining the details to us, please.

>>565668
Don't start one of these idiotic wankfests here. Use the BDA thread. That's common among most civilized countries and so is opposition, leave it at that.

Oh. Well. So that confirms it. We are playing civ, and the original creators died from a sudden plague they underestimated.

>I think they are hired muscles
That explains why they jumped right in, then. They're bored.

>hunter versus bard
They both have their uses. There's honor in being a provider, or being a keeper of culture and stories. The soul needs food as much as the body.

*beep*
Hello, Drina. We were hoping you'd be free to help us, but it looks like you're going to be busy today. If Dooriya is nearby could you head over to her so we can speak to both of you at once. If she's free then maybe she can help us.

Oh, and before you go, could you collect Bradford's eyebrows from the front of the spear rack; They got stuck there yesterday. And point out to Andrzej there's a couple mannequin chunks in front of the sword rack he missed.

How you liking the Lightbringer's sword? Fair sight better than standard issue is it?

Okay, here's what happened: Bradford was kidnapped from his room at the inn last night. Drugged unconscious and taken out the window by three people that were likely hired by cultists. We saw it and would have alerted everyone except we were unexpectedly yanked away and only got back a little while ago.

Alexandra already told the paladins stationed in the tavern Brad was taken, so the rest of the Order should be on the case soon. We just wanted to see if you could add some extra help on that, and to check that whatever tracker is linked with Brad's tracking spell is still pointing at him.

(Using parenthesis for internal messages now since spoiler text gets missed.)
(That auto-reply message confirms what we heard from B4T3: This world is a game. However the "gods" are not who we thought they were. But that still leaves the question of what the daemons are. Are they part of the game or from outside?)

(Also, check the spoiler text in >>565671 about the Lightbringer and the guy that's always in the tavern. I think it got lost among the other spoiler texts about irrelevant things.)

Alright, lets see what sticks...
[Display help for: Scan, Dance][Query: Are "switch" and "connect" linked to the same function?]
[Display version and build number][Display about page and copyright]
[Display current game starting parameters and win conditions][List game saves][List network connection status]
[Request new beta tester info packet (bug tracker address, server rules, etc.)][List bannable and kickable player actions]
[Display current number of active AI and real players][Display starting number of active AI and real players]
[Display this player's history, stats and info][List access levels][Display this player's access level]
[Access bug tracker database; Select for this version and build; Query unresolved issues; Sort highest priority to lowest; Display top 10]

Kaktus 2014/03/09(Sun)06:58 No. 565710 ID: 549d6c
File 139437349622.png - (13.43KB , 900x450 , 6.png )

>[Display help for: Scan, Dance][Query: Are "switch" and "connect" linked to the same function?]
[Scan: Scan pawn status, Daemon corruption and player loyalties in either your own or a nearby pawn. Dance: Bonus for Kickstarter backers, makes the target dance.] [Switch: Switch viewpoint to another piece. Connect: Take direct control over the chosen piece (Error! Unable to take direct control!)]
>[Display version and build number]
[Current Version: V 0.7.2 BETA: Optional sexual encounter patch. (Note: Next patch will tone down the optional sexual encounters because of popular demands.)]
>[Display current game starting parameters and win conditions]
[Current game is endless: There are no winning conditions. The only way to win is not to play.]
>[Display current number of active AI and real players]
[Current number of active AI’s: 346. Current numbers of active players: 1 (Player Teal)!]
>[List game saves][List network connection status][Display about page and copyright][Request new beta tester info packet (bug tracker address, server rules, etc.)][List bannable and kickable player actions][Display this player's history, stats and info][List access levels][Display this player's access level]
[Error!]

>*beep*
AH!! By the light, you guys scared me!
>Hello, Drina. We were hoping you'd be free to help us, but it looks like you're going to be busy today.
Well, it’s called work, you know. Catch me when I’m off duty and I’ll see what I can do.
>If Dooriya is nearby could you head over to her so we can speak to both of you at once.
I… I don’t actually know where she is, but I’m sure she’s busy too.
>I was hoping we could get you to join in the investigation to find Bradford, who's been kidnapped.
…He has? That’s not good… that’s not good at all.
>Alexandra already told the paladins stationed in the tavern Brad was taken, so the rest of the Order should be on the case soon.
Good. Let the professionals deal with this.
>How you liking the Lightbringer's sword? Fair sight better than standard issue is it?
It’s very well balanced, but I haven’t had the chance to really try it out yet.

>Let's talk and walk though, make your way over to the crime scene while explaining the details to us, please.
Um… apparently someone broke into the Toll office yesterday but… we haven’t found what they stole yet. Everything seems to be like it was right before the break in. So my job is to find out why they broke in when they didn’t steal anything. My current theories is that either they didn’t find what they were looking for or that it was just some kids wanting to be rebellious.

Come on… contraband! Aw man… it’s empty… and this was such a good spot to hide it in too! What a waste…
You know, not everyone is a smuggler. Now stop goofing around and get to work.

Insert This quest now has more black bars then a censored Hentai_

It may have enough black bars but it doesn't have near enough tentacles. Ask about how the intruders got in also if nothing was stolen is it possible someone was checking the paperwork to find whether or not someone in particular had passed through the checkpoint and then just left the papers there once they had the info they were looking for?

by toll office do you mean toll as in collects taxes or toll as in this is a building you have to get in or out of this town? Cause if this is the latter maybe there weren't interested in stealing things, maybe they we're trying to find a way to get themselves and others across freely. If this place has any kind of paperwork maybe check that, see if someone has messed with it or whatnot.

Get the introductions over with so they'll know you're here to investigate the break in and you'll get their names. Ask if they were the ones to discover the break in, and if not then by whom.

Now, how did anybody know there was a break in if nothing was taken or even moved? I see no windows, so I assume the only way in here is via the door. So was the door lock broken or unlocked when it shouldn't have been? Was anybody seen going into or fleeing from the toll office who shouldn't have been here?

There's also a problem with knowing if anything was taken from here because it's a toll office. The contents of the luggage and cargo passing through here would only be known to those who packed them. The toll officers could only say for sure if office items or whole crates or pieces of luggage were taken. We won't know if something has gone missing from the outgoing luggage or cargo until it gets to the recipient, they see something is missing and come back to complain. All three of those will have to happen for us to know anything was missing.

I have a number of theories in addition to yours, first one being that the burglar broke in here to look at or mess with the toll office paperwork. Ask the officers to show you where their paperwork is. Before touching it ask them if there was any signs somebody looked at or rifled through them, then look at it with them for any irregularities. Stuff like fresh ink where it shouldn't be or entries in handwriting that doesn't match the rest.

Second theory is that the burglar broke in and planted contraband in the luggage or cargo to incriminate somebody. Ask what contraband they found since the break in and if they've worked through their backlog from the delay yet.

Third theory is that some form of contraband was in the luggage or cargo and the burglar intercepted it before the diligent toll officers would find it. Either the contraband was hidden in some unsuspecting person's luggage or cargo, in which case that person never knew it was there and won't report it missing, or the person is in on it and won't report it missing for obvious reasons.

Fourth theory is that the burglar didn't enter here at all. He or she make it look like there was a break in to delay the passage of a particular piece of luggage or cargo. Ask when the break in was and how long was the delay in inspections afterwards.

Kaktus 2014/03/09(Sun)10:23 No. 565731 ID: 549d6c
File 139438583277.png - (13.64KB , 900x450 , 7.png )

>It may have enough black bars but it doesn't have near enough tentacles.
Hopefully that will change in the future~
>By toll office do you mean toll as in collects taxes or toll as in this is a building you have to get in or out of this town?
As in checking all the goods going in and out of town.

>Get the introductions over with so they'll know you're here to investigate the break in and you'll get their names.
Ah, they said they would send someone over. I am Hans and the cute lizard girl over there is Lubov.
Don’t make me break your ribs again, Hans.
>Ask if they were the ones to discover the break in, and if not then by whom.
No, that was the evening patrol. I can’t say were you‘ll find then, though.
>Now, how did anybody know there was a break in if nothing was taken or even moved?
Didn’t you see the main door?
Err… oh right… the lock was broken out there.
Indeed, and apparently someone had dragged a lot of snow with them inside. Going by the snow whoever came in here never left the main hall as both the bigger storage and the archives, which is to say this room, didn’t have any snow in them at all.
Hmm… I saw a lot of boxes behind bars in there. What’s in them?
The things on the left is smaller things we haven’t searched yet while those on the right are set to be delivered later today.
>There's also a problem with knowing if anything was taken from here because it's a toll office.
True, but all the luggage and boxes are where they should be. We’ve checked more than once.
What if they open one up?
As you saw the smaller storage is behind bars which are locked tight while the door to the larger storage was still locked after the break in.
>Ask the officers to show you where their paperwork is.
Our archive and current copies of all paperwork is right next to you, in those locked armoires. …and no, they have been locked the whole night and we haven’t detected any kind of disturbance in It.
You said copies?
Oh yes, the current forms we fill out are out in the storage for easy access… and yes we have compared them with the copies we have and no we didn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
>Ask what contraband they found since the break in and if they've worked through their backlog from the delay yet.
Actually… none. And we didn’t get any delay in our work as it happened after our working hours. The only thing that was delayed was the delivery of stuff that’s already been searched.
>Ask when the break in was.
Right after we went home for the day.
I mean… they’ve open up this secret compartment more than once… why not store anything in it?

Insert Objection! That was objectionable!_

...what's on the paperwork or records that were available? It's possible the break-in was after information, not material. And you don't need to take the paper once you've read it.

Hang on, there could easily have been contraband hidden in the yet-to-be-searched items that was stolen, and it would not have been logged so wouldn't be noted in any of the manifests.

so from what it looks like (based solely off of the snow) the broke in to the building, only want as far as the main hall and then left? I want to say they entered to maybe plant something in one of the outgoing boxes to have something delivered that wouldn't normal get through but I don't see why they would as they would attract attention to it when there would be easier or quieter ways to do the same thing, unless they're trying to frame someone.

If these two got this room under control could we maybe check out the main hall?

Wow, that shot down all my theories. I was expecting some crack to follow. Commend them for being so on the ball here.

Was there anything in the main hall at all during the break in? Any paperwork? Or was it all locked up? Does he know what path the burglar took in the main hall? Did they pass near anything like the doors to the storage and cage?

I only have two theories left: 1) They broke in to case the joint for a future, much more professional, break in. 2) They broke in to hide something in the toll office itself, where nobody would think to look for it. That latter one is so out there... I dunno. Other than that, I'm stumped.

Hey, ask Lubov who owns that chest she's so focused on and take a peek in the secret compartment yourself. How can she tell it's been opened more than once? Can she tell if it was opened recently? Maybe they took whatever was in the compartment out before reaching the town and hid it to retrieve later 'cause they knew it would be found otherwise.

We better check to see if Brad's woken up yet. [Check status of "The Savage"]

If someone was stealing information or contraband, there is no way to tell if anything is missing. Unless you can find small traces of evidence on secret compartments or papers, our search needs to be expanded outside the building.

Also, I just realized that 'light bringer' is English for Lucifer. So try not to make any deals with Steve, okay?

Kaktus 2014/03/09(Sun)13:21 No. 565750 ID: 549d6c
File 139439646095.png - (16.21KB , 900x450 , 8.png )

>I just realized that 'light bringer' is English for Lucifer.
…who’s Lucifer? …and speaking of the light… I had this really weird dream about him last night… I can’t remember exactly what it was about but… I remember being freaked out about it…

>...what's on the paperwork or records that were available?
The item number, when it arrived / will depart, if it’s clean and if it isn’t anything special in it, a brief summary of its content.
>Commend them for being on the ball here.
Only doing our jobs, ma’am.
Ha! I’m doing all the work, you lazy slob.
>Hey, ask Lubov who owns that chest she's so focused on. How can she tell it's been opened more than once?
It belongs to a Mr. Case… first name Justin. It contains mostly old clothes and seems to have been barely opened… but the secret compartment in the back on the other hand… Look, it got markings around the edges which show that it’s been removed and put back several times… at least, more times than the main container has been opened.

>If these two got this room under control could we maybe check out the main hall?
I’ll come with you, ma’am...

…

As you can see, all the items are securely locked behind bars. The pile here is the things we haven’t searched yet while those over there to the right is everything that’s clean and will be moved later today.

Insert May I call him Lucy?_

>who’s Lucifer?
A fallen angel from an old, forgotten religion.

>The pile here is the things we haven’t searched yet
...if the presumed thief removed something from one of the containers you haven't searched yet, how would you know if it was missing?

Justin Case? Just in case? Either "Mr.Case" or his Parents had it with cheesy namejokes.

>>565758
...or it's an alias. Which might explain the secret compartment, or why the package should be of interest.

You were freaked out by the dream? That's strange. We checked everyone's status last night when Brad was taken and both you and your sister's was "Sleeping, Blessed dreams." That doesn't sound like something that'd freak you out. Either you or us should ask Dooriya about his next chance we get.

"Justin Case?" "Just in case." Gods, such an obvious fake name almost makes me think he's a decoy of some sort. The Order still should bring him in for questioning about the luggage with the secret compartment.

Hmm... How widely spaced are the bars? Because to me it looks like they're wide enough that somebody with a pole with a gripper on the end could slip it through the bars on the incoming cage, pick up one of those narrow parcels, then slip it through the bars on the outgoing cage. That could bypass the inspection, but only if they had a way to falsify the paperwork.

...Wait a sec. Why is one of the bound parcels in the outgoing cage on the floor? And one end of it looks like it might have been opened. And is that... Water? There might be water on the floor next to it. And there's two other specks on the floor next to it too. Better ask to be let in there to inspect it right away.

(I think Lightbringer might be making moves on the sisters in their dreams. He does like to take mortal wives, and we've seen evidence that daemons can slip into dreams when Bob showed up in Jer's mushroom spore induced hallucinatory dream in the ruins.)

Kaktus 2014/03/09(Sun)15:03 No. 565763 ID: 549d6c
File 139440263680.png - (9.14KB , 300x150 , 9.png )

>You were freaked out by the dream? That's strange.
Well, not freaked out, I just felt… uneasy…
>We checked everyone's status last night when Brad was taken and both you and your sister's was "Sleeping, Blessed dreams."
…It didn’t really feel that blessed to me but… wait, sister had one of those dreams too? Hmm… but she was so… upbeat this morning… she was humming and everything… I haven’t seen her so happy in ages.
>A fallen angel from an old, forgotten religion.
I don’t really see how that has anything to do with the light…

>...if the presumed thief removed something from one of the containers you haven't searched yet, how would you know if it was missing?
We have the weight of the packages. If something disappears then we’ll know.
>"Justin Case?" "Just in case." Gods, such an obvious fake name almost makes me think he's a decoy of some sort. The Order still should bring him in for questioning about the luggage with the secret compartment.
Just in case? Why didn’t we catch that!? Right, let’s send someone too… let’s see… 29th of Thun’s street.
Um… there’s only 28 houses on Thun’s street, Hans.
…Son of Freya herself! Someone snuck in with a false ID!

>Hmm... How widely spaced are the bars? Because to me it looks like they're wide enough that somebody with a pole with a gripper on the end could slip it through the bars on the incoming cage, pick up one of those narrow parcels, then slip it through the bars on the outgoing cage.
Of course it would be possible, but we would notice a package missing from the incoming cage, wouldn’t we?
>...Wait a sec. Why is one of the bound parcels in the outgoing cage on the floor? And one end of it looks like it might have been opened. And is that... Water?
It still got some snow on it… melting away…
Look! It’s filled with Moon Leafs! Those are some highly illegal drugs! Not only that but the delivery address is to a well know run down vacant house down in the poorer districts. Good job! You solved the case!
No I didn’t.
…what do you mean?
Why would they break in and leave some drugs in here if they’ve already entered the city with it? That would be pointless!
I… I guess that’s true… but… why did they leave some contra band they’ve already successfully smuggled inside?
Guys! I found something! The chest is weighting 10 kilo grams less today compared to yesterday!
...so… they broke in, took something from a secret compartment in that chest and then left some illegal drugs? That doesn’t make any sense!

Insert If only she had a Magatama_

>>565763
>Moon Leafs
Option 1) What they were smuggling in was bad enough that finding drugs would be better than finding what they were really hiding
Option 2) Whatever Moon Leafs' other uses are were needed for whatever was contained in the package.

Tiny image is tiny.

>We have the weight of the packages. If something disappears then we’ll know.
...unless they leave something of the same weight in place.

>so… they broke in, took something from a secret compartment in that chest and then left some illegal drugs?
Maybe the drugs are meant to be a decoy, to distract us from what was taken?

...I don't suppose we can check the drug package for forensics? (Do lizards and mantises even have fingerprints?).

>>565763
It could be a set up. Perhaps the original contents weren't contraband and the thief just felt like getting their victim in trouble with the authorities, a more thorough investigation will probably be needed.

Drina, if you agree to it we could try to enter your dreams next time you sleep. Maybe we'll be able to see exactly what is causing you unease.

Hmm... Perhaps the person who broke in brought an empty package addressed to that vacant house. They popped the chest secret compartment open, took the moon leaves from there, put them in the package, and slipped the package into the outgoing cage.

But there's also the possibility the moon leaves are meant as a decoy to lead us into thinking they came from the chest to cover for something much worse. The fact that the snow wasn't wiped off the package, and that it looks like it was tossed into the outgoing cage, make think it's that. Someone drug running would be a hell of a lot more careful, lest their package not arrive and a hit get taken out on them.

Weigh the moon leaves. Are they ten kilograms? Are they wrapped in another package inside the addressed package? Was Mr. Case's chest near the bars of the incoming cage with the secret compartment facing them? And is there a physical description of Mr. Case written down anywhere in the paperwork?

What kind of effect do moon leaves have? I assume not good, but can they be processed into or used as an ingredient in something that's beneficial? Perhaps the Jal could use them to make something actually good.

Maybe suggest to the officers that they put in a request for a night shift to be added to the toll office so something like this is much less likely to happen again.

>>565763
Oh hell. Steve has "mortal wives". It probably tried to seduce you/did things to you in your dream. Your sister liked it, you didn't. I say you should confront Steve about it later, with us present so he can't weasel out of it.

I say we need to find the owner of the package that got stuffed with drugs, and ask them what was supposed to be in that compartment.

>I don’t really see how that has anything to do with the light…
First off, Lucifer was not any fallen angel, he was THE fallen angel. Takes people's souls, leads people to damnation, ruler of hell, crap like that. Impressive resume', but it does not bode well with additional information we got on the light. Like the fact that he may be some kind of dictator, he lied about how demons feed on emotion, and the whole mortal wives thing.

Honestly We don't care what he's doing in some alternate dimension as long as he keeps demons from invading; but if he's molesting our pawns, it's going to put a serious strain our professional relationship.

>>565780
That's a different universe entirely. This universe has no myths based on Christianity. Also, don't forget Uther the Lightbringer... and that Lucifer means "Light bringer" because the devil used to be an angel.

The name means very little.

>>565774
...I wanted confirm what Steve was up to in Drina or Dooriya's dreams before saying anything, but since you're blowing the lid off...

We found out that Lightbringer took mortal wives back during the ancient daemon war and presumably still does. We didn't think much of it until now.

I really don't like that you have no memory of what happened in the dream and can only remember the emotion from it. That makes me think Lightbringer blocked the memories to hide something. And I'd guess Dooriya enjoyed the dream more than you because she's more devout and Lightbringer loves devotion.

And this does cast an... unsettling light on Lightbringer calling you and Dooriya "beloved" and such back in the chapel.

(I have a guess at why Steve was a bit embarrassed about the offering for his summoning ritual: The offering is mortal women; Possibly sisters or twins. This makes the sisters the offering for Steve's summon back in the chapel. And the Archbishop wanted them to come there and pray, so he was likely in on it.)

>>565780
That was Bob, not Steve, who lied to us and who might be a dictator.

Kaktus 2014/03/10(Mon)09:40 No. 565866 ID: 549d6c
File 139446961255.png - (15.09KB , 900x450 , 10.png )

>Drina, if you agree to it we could try to enter your dreams next time you sleep.
I…I don’t know… someone entering my dreams makes me feel a bit… uneasy…
>Steve has "mortal wives". It probably tried to seduce you/did things to you in your dream. Your sister liked it, you didn't.
…w-what? B-but… I… I…
>I say you should confront Steve about it later, with us present so he can't weasel out of it.
Yes! We have to confront him… and my sister! We can’t let something like this slide!

>...I don't suppose we can check the drug package for forensics?
I’m going to send it to our forensic team… but it will take a few days for the results to be ready. Especially when it’s from a low priority case like this.
>Perhaps the person who broke in brought an empty package addressed to that vacant house. They popped the chest secret compartment open, took the moon leaves from there, put them in the package, and slipped the package into the outgoing cage.
…why? Why not just take it with you in the first place? Why leave it here?

>Whatever Moon Leafs' other uses are were needed for whatever was contained in the package.
The only known use of moon leafs is it’s hallucinating effects. It’s drugs, nothing more.
>What kind of effect do moon leaves have?
As I said, it’s highly hallucinate, addictive and it will rot your brain. It’s illegal for a reason.
>Weigh the moon leaves. Are they ten kilograms?
about 8,5 kilos. 1,5 to little… and that’s including the package.
Wait, how did you know what was in the package?
It was already open when we found it, see?

>...unless they leave something of the same weight in place.
Hmm… true, but that we weight all our packages isn’t really common knowledge.
>Was Mr. Case's chest near the bars of the incoming cage with the secret compartment facing them?
I can barely reach anything trough the bars. There’s no way someone opened up that secret compartment from outside the bars.
>is there a physical description of Mr. Case written down anywhere in the paperwork?
Let’s see… Human male, blond, blue eyes, big nose… nothing really stands out…
Hmm… So, Mr. Case comes to the city with a chest that had something hidden inside it. Someone breaks in and takes whatever is in there and then leaves a package of opened drugs? …hmm… so… either someone is framing someone or… the drugs weren’t what the thief was after? Maybe there was something else in there… something weighting 1,5 Kg?
Beats me, Ma’am.
…and the only things I have to go on is an address that doesn’t exist, a false name and an address to an empty house.

Insert Elementary my dear Drina_

>Yes! We have to confront him… and my sister! We can’t let something like this slide!
...yes, but keep a little doubt in mind, please. We did get the main thrust of that intelligence from someone who considered Steve an enemy. It might not be wholly true, even if it looks pretty convincing now.

>the only things I have to go on is an address that doesn’t exist, a false name and an address to an empty house.
Hey, it's a shot in the dark, but I wonder if we can locate him this way.

[Switch to "Justin Case"]

>>565866
Opened drugs? Hmm. Well, keep in mind it was weighing 10kg less than it was yesterday, and we have no indication of what else was in there. So either they took out 10kg of moon leaves, or there was something heavy in there, or they took out some moon leaves AND something else, or they took out something weighing 18.5kg and left the moon leaves behind for no reason at all. That last possibility seems unlikely.

Why don't we go and round up some people that fit that description?

>>565867
Yeah, also, keep in mind it's possible Steve hasn't done anything unwholesome. Maybe he just went out on a dream date with your sister and she enjoyed it, but you thought Steve was freaky so nothing happened aside from a chat or something. You could just ask your sister what sort of dream she had last night, and if it's something worrisome you can take the time to confront Steve. Otherwise I'm thinking we can just stay with you tonight and find out for ourselves.

Let's hold on confronting Light until we have a bit more evidence. At the least we'll talk with Dooriya first. And I'd like to eavesdrop on one of those "blessed" dreams as well to confirm what Light is up to in them.

Attempting to frame someone for drug trafficking doesn't make sense because the address on the moon leaves is to a vacant house. Plus the package looks like it was just discarded behind the crates after being opened and the 1.5 kilo item removed. But why discard it here? The person could have ditched the moon leaves anywhere in the city and not left a sign they even had it. So... Maybe the person doesn't care if they'll be caught up to in a few days? They'll have done what they needed to do and be gone by then. Hmm...

There's also the question of how whoever broke in gained access to Mr. Case's chest while it was in the locked cage to open the hidden compartment. Without that step the whole theory grinds to a halt. So... Telekinesis? Magic tentacles? A tiny golem placed through the bars to open it? Oh! There is one way we know of for sure that could have taken it without opening the compartment: Shadow magic.

Our thief in the Serath wielded that kind of magic and could pluck a dagger from a scabbard at five paces using it, so removing the cover from the compartment, emptying it, and closing it would be no challenge. The trouble with this is we only know of one source of shadow magic: Gray. Our thief originally was with her. She's also likely on the Order's side, so it makes no sense for one of her pieces to do this kind of thing. But the possibility is out there.

Mr. Case being a human male does rule out about five-sixths of the population, and he's a traveler so he likely stayed in an inn. Run his description around to the innkeepers and ask if he checked in last night. And does the Order have records for people leaving the city as well? Those could be checked for Mr. Case's description.

While I very much doubt Mr. Case was the one who broke in, but there's a small chance he made contact with whoever did to tell them the chest had arrived. I say "small" because if this was setup well then Mr. Case would never have made contact with the person who broke in or know who they are.

Did the evening patrol note down what kind of footprints the person who broke in left? That would rule a mantis in or out right away.

Hey, isn't the Serath sultan due to arrive today, if she hasn't already? I'd like to see what she looks like at some point, as well as get a look at the Serath airship... Wait... It's probably just my paranoia acting up, but could this be related to the sultan being here? The 1.5 item is for an assassin, perhaps? Probably not, but when odd things like this happen when a foreign head of state is visiting I get paranoid.

>>565867
Artemis also said Lightbringer had a mortal wife, so the only source on that isn't just one of Lightbringer's enemies.

>>565875
Forgot this: How strong or distinctive a scent do moon leaves have? I highly doubt we could track who broke in here by scent since it's been so long, but we could check suspects for scent? We got any tracking dogs (or whatever animal is used in this world for that kind of thing) we could use for that?

Kaktus 2014/03/10(Mon)13:28 No. 565882 ID: 549d6c
File 139448329736.png - (20.29KB , 900x450 , 11.png )

>[Switch to "Justin Case"]
[You don’t own the pawn “The Dealer”!]

>Let's hold on confronting Light until we have a bit more evidence. At the least we'll talk with Dooriya first.
…yes, let’s not do something hasty… especially if we’re dealing with some kind of god like thingy.
>And I'd like to eavesdrop on one of those "blessed" dreams as well to confirm what Light is up to in them.
…fine… next time I’m dreaming feel free to disturb me. Rather the devil I know and all that.
>also, keep in mind it's possible Steve hasn't done anything unwholesome.
…it’s not the unwholesome things I’m concern about.

>Hey, isn't the Serath sultan due to arrive today, if she hasn't already?
I… I believe so. I don’t know when but… I do know everyone is busy preparing for her. That’s why I got this job in the first place.
>Why don't we go and round up some people that fit that description?
There’s a lot of blond humans around these parts, rounding them up would lead us nowhere.
>Attempting to frame someone for drug trafficking doesn't make sense because the address on the moon leaves is to a vacant house.
...Hmm… but is it really vacant? I know the register says it’s empty but… I just got this feeling…
>There's also the question of how whoever broke in gained access to Mr. Case's chest while it was in the locked cage to open the hidden compartment.
…um… while you’re theories are… interesting, might I suggest that maybe you should theorize something a bit more… simpler? I mean, the simplest answer is usually the right one.
>Does the Order have records for people leaving the city as well? Those could be checked for Mr. Case's description.
Of course they do… but I have to go back to the cathedral to get access to those records.

>Mr. Case being a human male does rule out about five-sixths of the population, and he's a traveler so he likely stayed in an inn. Run his description around to the innkeepers and ask if he checked in last night.
Justin? Blond hair, big nose? Why, he’s a regular here. He lives down at the 29th of Thun’s street.
…there’s only 28 houses on that street.
But there’s 29 mailboxes there. I don’t know exactly where he lives but I do know he gets his mail from there. I’ve had to send him some of his unpaid tabs a few times… his economy seems a bit… wobbly at best.
Why, this morning is just getting better and better. Greetings, fair maiden… Drina, was it? Might I buy you a drink so you can quell that thirst of yours?
I’m on duty.
In that case, how about a non-alcoholic one? My treat, angel.
…let me stop you right there. I don’t play on that team if you know what I mean.
Oh, really? Then it’s settled, I won’t try to bed you… but still, a drink for friendship? We do, after all, share a bit of a… shall we say, voice?

Insert Gasp! He’s buying her a drink! RAPE!!_

>>565882
Well, alright. Ask him about Moon Leaves. Does he have any way of identifying addicts? Oh, by the way "Justin Case" is also known as "The Dealer", so we're dealing with a drug dealer, I'm thinking. So yeah, the locked cage? He picked the lock then locked it behind him after he left. Duh. We can visit the "vacant" house next, and the mailbox. Let's read his mail. Alternatively, we could loiter near his mailbox and apprehend him when he comes to get his mail today... unless he's already picked it up.

Is your sister a lesbian too?

It's alright, Drina; He's with us. Order whatever you please. Jal, you get the news that Brad was kidnapped last night? The Order's on the case so hopefully he'll be found soon.

Drina, could you fill Jal in on the case you're working. He works for the Order so it ought to be alright. Maybe he'll have some ideas on it. Oh, and Jal, do you know of any use for Moon Leaves other than as an addictive strong hallucinogenic that'll rot your brain?

You going to be busy today, Jal? We could use your help on this if you aren't. You're much less conspicuous than Drina, so you can do a walk by of the mailbox or the vacant house with much less chance of raising suspicion. I also have a hunch you might know how to approach a drug dealer without spooking him.

And "Justin Case" is the guy's real name? Dang. I'm feeling a bit of pity for him now. And he lives in this city and put his real address down? Cripes, he's terrible at smuggling too.

Jal, don't tell Alexandra this, but we inadvertently dropped in on her as she was getting out of the bath this morning. We saw what looked like scars on her back and arms. And from last night we already know she's utterly convinced she's hideous, so what the hell happened to her? And how do we handle this? We want to help but don't want to accidentally knock her into the abyss.

Would one of you ask Sten who that guy at the bar in the full helmet is, 'cause he's been in here every time we have. Doesn't he ever leave? ...Wait a sec... Drina, take a good look at that guy in the helmet for us. He look familiar at all? 'Cause to me he looks like Steve did, minus the light and wings. Lemme try scanning him: [Scan man behind "The Alchemist"]

>>565883
Except it doesn't fit 'cause there was no snow tracked over to the cage entrance or into the cage. And if he could pick locks, then why smash the lock on the entrance to get in?

You know what? Let's start scanning every blonde guy we come across.
[Scan that blonde guy over there]

Kaktus 2014/03/10(Mon)17:03 No. 565899 ID: 549d6c
File 139449619405.png - (20.60KB , 900x450 , 12.png )

>[Scan that blonde guy over there]
[That blond guy over there is just part of the background and should be ignored.]
>[Scan man behind "The Alchemist"]
[Eric the Stout, unimportant.]
>Drina, take a good look at that guy in the helmet for us. He look familiar at all? 'Cause to me he looks like Steve did, minus the light and wings.
(…um… I can’t recognize him at all… and… for some reason I’m picturing the light as an mantis guy with golden eyes…)
>Would one of you ask Sten who that guy at the bar in the full helmet is, 'cause he's been in here every time we have. Doesn't he ever leave?
That’s Eric the Stout, an old regular. Doesn’t speak much but he pays on time.
>Is your sister a lesbian too?
(Because sexuality goes in the family, doesn’t it? Of course she isn’t.)

>Jal, don't tell Alexandra this, but we inadvertently dropped in on her as she was getting out of the bath this morning.
(A bit of a peeping tom, eh?)
>We saw what looked like scars on her back and arms. And from last night we already know she's utterly convinced she's hideous, so what the hell happened to her?
(Oh… um… I… I shouldn’t really tell you… I think it’s for the best if she spoke about it when she is ready to. Err… let’s just say that her family is a bit… strict…)
>And how do we handle this? We want to help but don't want to accidentally knock her into the abyss.
(Don’t ask me. If I knew how to help her I would have done so ages ago.)

>It's alright, Drina; He's with us. Order whatever you please.
Water, please.
Water is free of charge, here you go.
>You going to be busy today, Jal? We could use your help on this if you aren't.
Well, I do have some… test I have to do but they are so simple that I can take some time off.
>Ask him about Moon Leaves.
A potent Hallucinogen drug. Makes for wicked parties but fries the brain after extended use. Had some friends who did that stuff back in school… most of them dropped out… never tried it myself.
>Does he have any way of identifying addicts?
Depends on what they are addicted to. The usual symptoms are white skin, baggy eyes and jittering. If you mean Moon leaves then look for black teeth, smoking that stuff does a number on them.
>I also have a hunch you might know how to approach a drug dealer without spooking him.
…
…
…I have no idea what he’s talking about… honest…
If you say so.
I’m an alcoholic, not an drug user!
Takes one to know one…
>We can visit the "vacant" house next, and the mailbox.
Hmm… I don’t think that’s my job but… it can’t hurt to work some “overtime”… but I shouldn’t go alone… Maybe I can pick up one of the recruits under my care? Let’s see… Anna… Vladimir… that priest guy and the farmer or… um… Alex?
Alexandra. Can’t you just ask all of them.
Alexandra… and no, they need their training. I can’t pull all of them from that all the time… one has to be enough.

Insert Choose your starter (Tips: The flame lizard becomes a wicked cool dragon later!)_

Hrrrm...Hard to call that. But I'm for Jai here coming along.
This is, to some degree, his field of knowledge, and the lazy bum doesn't look like he'd be doing anything either.
And hey, Jai, if you get bored, you can try pumping her for secret tips on wooing her sister XD!

>>565899
I hadn't assumed your sister was a lesbian, I was asking because you would know, and the subject came up. Anyway, I thought catching this guy was our job?

How about you bring Vlad. It's not like he needs more archery practice, and having a capable tracker on hand would help.
[check status of Bradford]

Oh no we weren't thinking you were a drug user, we thought they might have been useful in your various alchemical workings.

Ah, so Lightbringer can make his manifestation appear different to different people. He showed himself to you as a mantis guy for reasons you can probably guess, but I wonder why he even bothered with "dressing" for us, especially as just some dude from the tavern.

Er... Sorry, Jal. It wasn't that I thought you were a drug user. I just suddenly got this dumb baseless idea that you occasionally purchased illicit drugs for use in alchemy experiments because there wasn't a legit way to get them otherwise.

Jal, are there any things about Alexandra that we should be extra careful about or specifically avoid? Other than her appearance, that is. And I have to ask: What's the odds somebody from her family is going to show up looking for her? 'Cause I have this feeling they're abusive control freaks who aren't going to let her go on her merry way.

Oh, and if you're looking for a roll in the hay, Jal, I think Doctor Vadoma would be up for it. You may come out of it with a bit less blood than you went in with, though.

Now, who to take...? Anna needs all the training she can get, so not her. Alexandra could probably use more training as well. I think Vlad's the one who can afford to miss training the most, so lets take him. Perhaps on the way there Jal can warn him what to be careful about with Alexandra, and maybe we can take a detour on the way back so he can pick up those flowers and white chocolates for her.

There's also a couple things I forgot to check earlier: [Display on-lose settings for real players] (To see if we respawn) [Display player lose conditions] (To check there's no ones other than losing our king or self-destructing.)

SUMMON THE PIZZA ELEMENTALS.

>>565930
NO, YOU FOOL! THEY'LL SMOTHER THE WORLD TO DEATH WITH DELICIOUS CHEESE!

Silliness aside, that does remind me of a question I keep forgetting to ask: Do mantises still get high from eating cheese? They did ages and ages ago, but that could have changed by now.

Kaktus 2014/03/11(Tue)10:39 No. 565970 ID: 549d6c
File 139455956805.png - (16.03KB , 900x450 , 13.png )

>SUMMON THE PIZZA ELEMENTALS.
*And so it began, the summoning of the end bringers… it’s too late now to stop it… there is no hope left for this world. With just a few incantations you’ve become Death… destroyer of worlds… with just a few words you’ve sown despair… vanquished all hope… doomed all that you hold dear. Watching, as they live their lives, ignorant of the fate that awaits them, you can only envy them… envy the bliss of not knowing the terror that is coming… not knowing that it was all pointless in the end. As you feel them getting closer, a single tear descend along your cheek as memories of the old days haunts your mind… and then came the knock… and a voice said “That will be 10,99$ for the pizza, sir”*

>[check status of Bradford]
[“The Savage” is unconscious!]
>[Display on-lose settings for real players][Display player lose conditions]
[Losing condition: Death of current King piece. On-lose: Booted back the main menu.]

>Hard to call that. But I'm for Jai here coming along.
JAL! It’s Jal, dammit! J-A-L!
Either way, even if you come I need someone who can actually fight to back me up… and you don’t really look like the fighting type.
I’m a lover, not a fighter…
>We weren't thinking you were a drug user, we thought they might have been useful in your various alchemical workings.
(Yea, I don’t deal in illegal stuff, alright?)
>Do mantises still get high from eating cheese?
(We get drunk… well, kind of drunk. It’s like drunk but not drunk drunk.)
>hey, Jal, if you get bored, you can try pumping her for secret tips on wooing her sister.
…you’re just going to bang her and leave, right?
Well, I’m just here for the intercourse if that’s what you’re asking… doesn’t have to be just one time…
Yeah… how about no, I won’t tell you shit about my sister.
>if you're looking for a roll in the hay, Jal, I think Doctor Vadoma would be up for it. You may come out of it with a bit less blood than you went in with, though.
(Um… I’m not that desperate… I rather keep the blood inside me, thank you very much.)
>Jal, are there any things about Alexandra that we should be extra careful about or specifically avoid?
(Just treat her as a proper lady and you’ll be fine… or at least as a lady.)
>I have to ask: What's the odds somebody from her family is going to show up looking for her?
(Hopefully None… they weren’t really happy the last time I saw them…)

>I thought catching this guy was our job?
My job was to investigate and get clues and stuff… not actually arrest anyone. But why leave out the fun part, right?
>How about you bring Vlad.
Right, the hunter it is.

…

Nonono… like this! Geez, have you even held a sword before?
Sorry…

*Harp music*
In places deep, where dark things sleep~ In hollow halls beneath the fells~
Alright, you two, break time’s over. Alex-
Alexandra.
Alexandra, go over there and heal the farm boy. Vlad, go to Blondie and learn some melee combat.
B-but… I’m supposed to be a ranger!
And what if someone comes into melee range of you? Besides, you’ve already proven to be an excellent archer… what with you hitting bulls eye on the doll… three times in a row…
…fine, but I’m going to wield an axe.
Choose your weapon carefully, maggot.

[You now have control over ”The Hunter”, ”The priest” and ”The Valkyrie”…]

Insert In the end… there’s only Pizza…_

>…fine, but I’m going to wield an axe.
If that's what you want. If you're already lugging a harp and a bow, I'd think you'd want a smaller weapon for your melee holdout.

>Geez, have you even held a sword before?
Hey, everyone starts somewhere.

if the end has pizza then I look forward to the end. Also [check how long we've been playing]

I say we go with Anna because she has a mean looking gash on her.

Vlad, you need something that's quick to draw and easy to parry with. I'd think your first priority when getting in melee combat is to delay the opponent until one of your allies can take them out. Don't choose an axe just because Brad uses one.

[Vlad]
I concur with these other voices. What works for Brad may not work for you. Unless you're more familiar with Axes than Swords, it's probably a better idea to go with the Sword.
[Anna]
Hunh, you look like you're having some trouble there. Anything in particular we can help you with?

Dang, Vlad. You really sold your archery skills short to us. If you handled harp strings as well as you do bow strings you'd be the best bard in the Northlands.

As for a weapon: You're a ranger, not a fighter. Mobility is your strength, so if an enemy gets into melee range of you what you want is to parry or dodge their hits so you can get away. So the weapon you get should be quick to draw, built for parrying, and light so you aren't weighed down. Either a short sword with a wide hilt or an axe built to catch sword strikes, paired with a wide hilt dagger in a scabbard across your chest for your off hand. Draw the dagger for opportunity strikes or combined with the sword/axe to parry heavier hits.

You have a lovely singing voice, Alexandra. May I ask what that song was, and what it was about?

And don't let this setback get you down, Anna. Only the rare few ever learn a skill effortlessly. Everybody else has to work hard for it. Just stubbornly keep at it until you get it and you'll do your father's memory proud.

Now, Drina will be over here soon to get you Vlad. You're going to be backing her up if and when she makes an arrest for the toll office break in.

Kaktus 2014/03/11(Tue)13:44 No. 565988 ID: 549d6c
File 139457068830.png - (16.29KB , 900x450 , 14.png )

>[check how long we've been playing]
[4 months, 18 days, 2h, 32 minutes, 3 seconds.]

>I say we go with Anna because she has a mean looking gash on her.
(It’s just a flesh wound.)
(She got it when she fell on the farm boy. Those armors can have some sharp edges.)
>Hey, everyone starts somewhere.
(Well, most people actually try to take time and learn. She’s seems to believe that flailing wildly will make an expert swordsman… probably read too many books, if you ask me.)
>Hunh, you look like you're having some trouble there. Anything in particular we can help you with?
(Unless you can teach me how to sword fight, then no.)
>don't let this setback get you down, Anna. Only the rare few ever learn a skill effortlessly. Everybody else has to work hard for it.
(Don’t worry! I’ll be the best swordsman… err… woman that this country has ever seen soon enough! HAVE AT YOU!)
Dammit, I told you to stop flailing wildly!

>You have a lovely singing voice, Alexandra. May I ask what that song was, and what it was about?
(Err… can’t remember the name… but It’s about a dragon or something. I just sang it because it’s easy to play too. Vladimir is still a bit of a novice when it comes to the harp, you see… but if he master it like he mastered the bow... and some… other things bards are famous for then… mmm…)
>Dang, Vlad. You really sold your archery skills short to us. If you handled harp strings as well as you do bow strings you'd be the best bard in the Northlands.
(Thank you… but no, I’m still rather bad with the harp string… I’ll need a lot of training before I can even call myself a musician.)

>Vlad, you need something that's quick to draw and easy to parry with.
(B-but… axes are so cool and… you can use them to do a lot of other stuff… like… err…)
>I'd think your first priority when getting in melee combat is to delay the opponent until one of your allies can take them out.
Fine, I’ll take a short sword with a wide hilt that’s good to parry with and a dagger for my off hand.
Hmm… interesting choice. I would recommend that you skipped the dual wielding but… if you really want to go through the trouble. Well then, maggot, what are you waiting for? Get y-
Req. Vladimir? Sgt. Drina needs you for a special mission.
Wait, what about my training?
Kid, you’re the best fighter of this whole group. You’ll survive missing out on one day of training. Now, I would recommend that you only bring a dagger with you as melee weapon as you don’t have any training yet… but it’s your call.
Ah, man… who will I be singing with on the next break now?
I’m still here…
We’ll force you to skip your next break too if you don’t focus, Anna!

Insert Step one: Hit them with sword. Step two: ??? Step three: All the bitches!_

>Unless you can teach me how to sword fight
Wild reckless flailing won't work. I suggest calming down, and making more deliberate, practiced, actions. Which means right now you need to pay attentio. and learn the motions / actions you're going to need to practice from your instructor.

ok when it comes to sword play the basic jest of it is to find an opening and strike, don't just flail your sword as that leaves you open to attacks because every time you attack you leave yourself open to being attack. From what I know the best thing to do is to attack with small quick strikes to keep your enemy of balance then wait until you see an opening to attack and take it. There's more to it then that of course but them the starts.

Also it said the last time the admin was over 1000 years ago and we've been here for 4 months. [check real player log to see when the last person other then us played]

Vlad, bring the sword but keep it latched in its scabbard. That way you'll have it on hand if things go down and you lose your dagger.

Okay, Anna, here's my advice to you: First, forget everything you've read about sword fighting. You're in the real world now. Out here they're fiction, even the supposed non-fiction, and will get you killed.

Next, know you know nothing. That you're from a long line of master swordsmen means fuck all. None of them were born swordsmen. The potential may be in the blood, not the skill certainly isn't. Every one of them learned to wield the sword from another and built on that. You're no exception.

Third, listen to your teachers, goddammit! They know more than you. They have more experience than you. Do what they want you to do and learn from them. Get the basics down and you'll have a chance at living long enough to become a real swordswoman.

Fourth, you will not become a swordswoman, let alone a sword master, in a few days no matter how much energy you throw at it. It will take time. There's no way around that, so stop throwing yourself about willy-nilly and waving that sword like a feather duster.

Now, Alexandra, would you consider singing duet with Anna next break? How's your singing voice, Anna? You know any songs? ...Let me rephrase that: Do you know any songs that aren't excessively lewd or bawdy?

>>565988
Anna, here's some advice. Control your arm movements, get used to the way the sword feels in your hand, and pay attention to how it's oriented to make sure the edge is going to hit your opponent and not the flat. A skilled swordsman uses the sword as an extension of their arm.

Kaktus 2014/03/12(Wed)10:25 No. 566045 ID: 549d6c
File 139464510544.png - (16.94KB , 900x450 , 15.png )

>[check real player log to see when the last person other than us played]
[Error! Value exceeds 999 years!]

>Now, Alexandra, would you consider singing duet with Anna next break?
Well… I dunno… it’s not really the same…
>How's your singing voice, Anna? You know any songs?
Oh, I know a lot of songs!
>...Let me rephrase that: Do you know any songs that aren't excessively lewd or bawdy?
I… um… know a considerate fewer songs like that… yes… err…
I got a deck of cards… we can play that instead…

>Anna, here's my advice to you: First, forget everything you've read about sword fighting.
But… that the stuff that’s cool!
You rather be alive or cool?
>You're in the real world now. Out here they're fiction, even the supposed non-fiction, and will get you killed.
…I…I guess…
>Next, know you know nothing. That you're from a long line of master swordsmen means fuck all.
But… that’s genetics, right? It goes from parent to child?
Genetics is that you’ll get blue eyes or blond hair, not fighting prowess!
Um…
>Third, listen to your teachers, goddammit! They know more than you.
…yea… I guess they do know more than me, don’t they?
Who are y-
Shh, shut up, she’s learning something!
>A skilled swordsman uses the sword as an extension of their arm.
An extension of my arm…
Um… while learning stuff by talking to yourself is fine and all… we’re supposed to spar.
>When it comes to sword play the basic jest of it is to find an opening and strike.
…Fight!
Have at you!
…um… teach said you aren’t supposed to flail around like that… you’re supposed to find an opening and strike… like th- OH GODS MY SPLEEN!!
…did she just fake him out? Holy crap, she’s learning!
Ha! Take that, you c- Wops!
*Crash!*
M-medic…
…and she slips as soon as she wins… great…

>Vlad, bring the sword but keep it latched in its scabbard. That way you'll have it on hand if things go down and you lose your dagger.
Right, time for action then!

…

Ah, Rec. Vladimir. I need some extra muscle for an investigation I’m doing.
…muscle? Then why is Jal here?
Oh, I’m just here to watch the train wreck that’s coming… just like your flirtations with Alexandra. This whole thing smells, if you ask me.
Hey! Alexandra doesn’t smell! She got this lovely aroma of strawberries…
…that’s her perfume… and not what I meant at all, Einstein.
…she got way to much of that stuff, if you ask me…
…wait, what’s an Einstein?
Right, we don’t have time to bicker right now… let’s go!
…where are we going?
Err… right… should we take the mail box first or the house?
If you ask me, then you shouldn’t just march there like you owned the place. We need to be a bit more… discreet.
…and you have a plan?
What? No, of course not. I’m just warning you because I still want to bang your sister. That’s not something that’s fun to do while she’s crying her eyes out because her dear sister died… believe me, I know.

Alright men, keep it up! One two three four! That includes you, “princess”!
B-by the e-eight, it’s c-cold…
That’s the point, dung shoveler, now move it or lose it!

Insert How I banged your Mother_

Who are those purple knights behind Jal?
And do we need to worry about how quickly he can take cover?

and these guys would be?

But yeah, unless you think there would be something in the mailbox I'd start with the house.

Oh hey, spellswords. We heard about these guys overseas. They're basically combat mages that can kick your ass in melee too. They're probably here to meet Jericho.

Congrats, Anna. A step in the right direction.

>wait, what’s an Einstein
A human scientist I'm surprised any of you have even heard of.

Jal is right about being discreet. We stomp in and our quarry will either vanish or lay in wait to ambush us, neither of which we want.

Drina, you're known in town to be Order, so you'll have to hang back at first. Don't even be seen leaving the Order compound with Jal or Vlad. In fact, you all should leave separately and not be seen together anywhere near the mailbox or vacant house.

I believe we can message any of you directly, so we can relay info and call you in when the time comes. Lemme just test that: [Message "The Sister of Power:" You getting this?]

Jal, your monocle and finery will look out of place in the poorer part of town we're heading to. You got any plain clothes you could wear?

The mailbox sounds like it could end up being a lot of waiting around for Justin to show. I don't want to leave the vacant house alone for that long in case the trail there goes cold, so we should check the house first.

We'll have to scout the house before approaching. Vlad'll do a walk by on the opposite side of the street from its front to scope it out, followed by Jal doing the same from the rear. They'll meet back up with Drina far from the house and share what they saw so we can figure out a plan of approach.

Also, I have an idea that might get Justin for us while we're at the vacant house. Swing by the tavern first and ask Sten to write out a note to Justin calling in his tab. Have Sten deliver it right away to the mailbox via the way he usually gets such notes to Justin; Jal or Vlad can't deliver it 'cause that might raise suspicion. Then we tell the paladins on duty in the tavern to haul Justin in if he does show, and if there's a shift change to tell the next shift to do that.

...Are those Spellswords? What're they doing on this side of the Great Sea? I mean... I assume they're allied with the Order of Light, but why are elite warriors like such as them here and not fighting over there? They reinforcements for the Order against the undead scourge or something?

Hey, Drina, could you satisfy my curiosity and tell me the words of the prayer you and Dooriya used in the chapel yesterday?

Kaktus 2014/03/12(Wed)13:15 No. 566077 ID: 549d6c
File 139465532054.png - (23.35KB , 900x450 , 16.png )

> Hey, Drina, could you satisfy my curiosity and tell me the words of the prayer you and Dooriya used in the chapel yesterday?
Um… basically telling the light to look after us and guide us?
>A human scientist I'm surprised any of you have even hear of.
Of course none of this uneducated fools have heard of him. Anyone who’s actually read a book in their life instead of using it as kindling on the other claw would know about Einstein and the marvels of magic theory he created.
>Jal, your monocle and finery will look out of place in the poorer part of town we're heading to. You got any plain clothes you could wear?
No, I don’t… end of discussion.
Actually, I can probably get you a-
NO! I refuse to go back to wearing filthy rags like some… *cough*… no, thank you, I’m fine with the clothes I have…
>Who are those purple knights behind Jal?
I’ve never seen anyone with those colors before.
They are Spell Swords, I believe. Magic wielding knights. Of course, they are from across the great sea so… I have no idea what they are doing here of all places.
>They're probably here to meet Jericho.
I don’t know what this Jericho is but it sounds very mellow.
They probably came with the Serath Sultan… which means she finally arrived.
>Drina, you're known in town to be Order, so you'll have to hang back at first. Don't even be seen leaving the Order compound with Jal or Vlad.
Right, I’ll hang back then.

…

>Unless you think there would be something in the mailbox I'd start with the house. We'll have to scout it before approaching.
We’ve checked it out. Didn’t see any moment inside, though.
It barely looks like a house! No way anyone is living in there!
Wanna bet?
…sure, I bet one Swallow that there’s no one li-
There was smoke coming out of the chimney.
…son of a-

Insert –a very classy lady._

Son of a man who sired an excellent hunter!
but all jokes aside, I'm thinking...Hrrm. Yeah, Vlad, hang back at about that tree or so, while Jal goes to the door, Jal, maybe stand off to one side to make any shooting Vlad might need to do easier.

alright then who's going to go knock? Vlad is more ranged then anything, Jal isn't fighter, and Drina would probably scare anyone inside off seeing as she's a caption for the Order. Jal you got anything on you that could be used in a pinch or are you practically helpless here? Because if you can actually defend yourself I think you'd be our best bet for opining the door. Or we could just sneak in through a window.

>alright then who's going to go knock?
...hey Jal, how do you feel about posing as a door to door snake oil salesman? Just add a skeevy tophat and that finery you insisted on wearing would fit the role.

>princess
We should have asked about that. Oh well.

>Smoke coming out of the chimney
Climb over those boxes onto the roof and plug it up. The house fills with smoke, disoriented and confused criminals pour onto the open for quick and easy detainment. Just be really quiet and don't fall through the roof like an idiot.

Nice one, Vlad. Jal, pay up. And you do know there are levels of clothes between "filthy rags" and "fancy finery," right?

The "Jericho" we were referring to is - or likely "was," since we're here - Lord Jericho Drah'kon the Second, our king piece back when we were in the Serath. He was also the first antipode mage in this world since the old gods died. That sounds like big news to me, so I'm slightly surprised you haven't heard of him.

Oh, I just got a wicked idea to flush whoever is in there out: We smoke 'em out! Plug the chimney and they'll have to come out eventually. Then Drina lies in wait and nabs whoever comes out.

The chimney is as tumbledown as the rest of the house, right? Is so then here's the plan. Vlad gets up on the roof of the neighboring house nearest to the chimney; Not the vacant house since that'd make noise or risk him falling through it. He then leans on the chimney top and pushes steadily harder. The old mortar ought to give way and the whole thing collapses in. And if the vacant house's chimney isn't close enough, then Vlad can take a pole up to push it over.

Alternate plan if the chimney is tougher than it looks: Tie up a plug of straw just big enough to fit snugly in the chimney. Vlad goes up, Drina hands the bundle up to him from the back of the house. He gently lowers it into the chimney until it can't be seen from below, then gets down from the roof. And if the chimney is too far away then get a pole and tie the straw plug to it.

And alternate plan if Vlad can't handle the weight of the straw: Vlad places a wooden board over the chimney and weighs it down with a brick.

Kaktus 2014/03/12(Wed)14:49 No. 566092 ID: 549d6c
File 139466098539.png - (20.84KB , 900x450 , 17.png )

>Nice one, Vlad. Jal, pay up.
Yeah, give me my coin!
Coin? I wasn’t betting a coin.
…you said a swallow… if you say you meant the bird I will pu-
Nono… I meant I would swallow when you come by my room later tonight.
…huh?
…you know… after you realize how awesome mantis tongues are…
I… I don’t quite follow… what do you mean?
…I’m talking about giving you a blo-
Just give him the damn coin and stop with the gay jokes.
Fine… but the offer still stands, kid.
…geez, you’re such a whore…
Hey! I take offence to that.
…I have no idea what’s going on…

>You do know there are levels of clothes between "filthy rags" and "fancy finery," right?
…and I’m not wearing anything worse than fancy, alright.
>antipode mage.
Oh, I read about that… didn’t catch his name tough… Jericho, you say?
>Oh, I just got a wicked idea to flush whoever is in there out: We smoke 'em out! Plug the chimney and they'll have to come out eventually.
…there’s no way that roof will hold for anyone.
I’m pretty sure there isn’t even enough smoke to… “Smoke them out”… whatever they are burning in there it can’t be big. You can barely see the smoke.
>...hey Jal, how do you feel about posing as a door to door snake oil salesman?
Ha, like a snake oil salesman would even look twice at this hovel.
>Jal you got anything on you that could be used in a pinch or are you practically helpless here?
Hey, I already said that I’m a lover, not a fighter.
You’re a whore.
Excuse me, princess, just because my standards are a bit low…

>Jal, knock on the door.
*Knock*Knock*
…
*Knock*Knock*
…no one’s home…
>Or we could just sneak in through a window.
All the windows are bared… but there are a lot of holes in the walls and roof… let’s see… um… guys? I think I can see some… mushrooms?
More drugs!

Insert Drugs for everyone!_

>>566092
The door on the second floor is open... the guy's probably up there. It means he can probably hear your conversation so we don't have the element of surprise. Unless you've been whispering.

Do either of you have the capability of getting up to that door? We really should have more people to cover all the exits so he can't make a run for it...

Hey Jal, know what those mushrooms specifically DO?
Because you two getting close only for someone to toss a match at them because they're flammable and blowing you two to kingdom come is not a perferred outcome!

Vlad, I think somebody is coming out the open door on the second floor. Get down and out of sight.

Yeah, Jal, that was his name. He was also an undead lizard; a mummy, to be precise. That match with what you read? And how long ago did you read it?

Jal, it looks like the mushrooms have a green stem and their caps are red on the lower half with green on the upper half. They're also in planters exposed to the cold. Can you ID them from that?

I think we lost the element of surprise when Jal knocked. Lets get in position to bust in.

Vlad, get to the roof across from the back of this dump and cover the exits. Anybody tries to run give them a warning, then shoot to disable if they don't heed. Try to avoid killing.

Drina, get to the front. I don't trust that there isn't a trap on the front door or somebody laying in ambush, so position to breach through the wall. I'd guess there's at least one weak spot you could smash in without the whole place coming down.

Jal, take cover out front, watch and call out anybody who makes a run for it.

>I have no idea what’s going on…
He was attempting to offer you a sexual favor in lieu of monetary payment. If you stop and think about it, I'm sure you can figure out what he meant he would swallow.

>no one's home
Someone lit that fire.

possible way in through the second story if you can find a way to get up there. if no one is coming through that do how high do you think you could throw Vlad Drina?

>>566100

And if you've never had sex education, he means your penis. He would devour it and swallow it.

Kaktus 2014/03/13(Thu)08:21 No. 566161 ID: 549d6c
File 139472409720.png - (21.01KB , 900x450 , 18.png )

>Yeah, Jal, that was his name. He was also an undead lizard; a mummy, to be precise. That match with what you read? And how long ago did you read it?
It was some mummy prince from the Serath deserts… and I read about it a few weeks ago… something about a royal wedding down there.
>Hey Jal, know what those mushrooms specifically DO? Because if they're flammable…
I’ve never heard of a mushroom that can make mushroom clouds.
>it looks like the mushrooms have a green stem and their caps are red.
Hmm… if we’re continuing on the track of drugs… then I do believe I know what those are. Can’t remember what they are called exactly but they are highly toxic so don’t eat them. But if you boil them in a special kind of solution you can create a liquid capable of making you high without killing you. I don’t know the solution myself but that’s what I’ve learned from alchemy class.

>He was attempting to offer you a sexual favor in lieu of monetary payment. If you stop and think about it, I'm sure you can figure out what he meant he would swallow.
...oh… OH! …I…err… I-I… um…
I’m just teasing you, buddy. I know you don’t swing that way… at least, I don’t think you do.
Err… heh… um… of course… I… don’t… heh….
>And if you've never had sex education, he means your penis.
I’m not a complete idiot. Pa did tell me about the flowers and bees and… wait…
>He would devour it and swallow it.
…yeah, I’m going to call bullshit on this one.
Well… technically I would devour it but only swallow the-
Dammit, guys! You’re supposed to sneak inside the house, not loudly discussing blowjobs!
>They can probably hear your conversation so we don't have the element of surprise. Unless you've been whispering.
Err…
You guys are idiots!
Um… shutting up now…

>Vlad, I think somebody is coming out the open door on the second floor. Get down and out of sight.
(Shi- I… I don’t think he saw me… hmm… looks like one of those scavengers… or homeless or whatever you call them… Pa used to say they were all thieves and scoundrels. Hmm… It doesn’t look like he got any weapons… he’s probably just checking out the ruckus Jal and I did… hopefully Jal has moved away from the door.)

Insert Clearly, they are just like [Insert racial stereotype here], always stealing and taking away jobs from [Your race here]._

>Dammit, guys! You’re supposed to sneak inside the house, not loudly discussing blowjobs!
But we didn't even get to the interesting bit where we question if getting sensitive naughty bits close to matis mouthparts is terrifying or tempting!

>noise
Yeah, there's someone looking out from the second floor now, Vlad. I don't think he can see you from that position though, the wall you're up against should block line of sight.

...unless they've got a player helping them too. Did we ever confirm that the others see the world in the same way we do? Question for Pink, later.

*facepalms*
I'd like to apologize for this Drina, but I don't think it's over yet. Long story short? We can get very perverted at times. This apparently is one of them.
NOW THEN!
I'm torn between having Drina just go up there since we've totally lost the element of surprise, or having her go and get reinforcements so we can be sure we can catch these guys.

well we now know there is someone in here, and that this is a drug operation. If we wait for the guy to leave, grab one of the mushrooms, and then get Drina to bring the evidence to the order, think we could do a raid on this place?

Vlad, hold position. We'll wait a bit to see if the guy heads back inside. With the loud talk of blowjobs and the knocking on the front door maybe he'll decide you two were just drunk or high or something. Plus, he doesn't look dressed well for this weather - not even a cover on his tail - so the cold will likely drive him inside soon.

Jal, switching from the drugs track; What about poisons? You did say the mushrooms are highly toxic, so are they anything special for making poisons? Oh, and in the future just think at us and we'll hear you; No need to speak out loud.

That sounds like good news about Jericho; He survived to marry Prince Eliraz like they wanted to. Though we can't be certain of it until we get another source, it's a good sign. I do wonder how we separated from him without him dying. Maybe we released him? Would that even be possible to do with a king piece?

>>566161
That's not a human male. If there's more than one person involved here maybe we shouldn't try raiding the house.

That said... Vlad, could you shoot this guy in the leg at that angle? It looks very difficult. On the other hand you could just pop up with your bow drawn and tell him to freeze.

Jal should get away from the house. Drina, get ready to take down anyone that runs out the front door.

Kaktus 2014/03/13(Thu)11:28 No. 566189 ID: 549d6c
File 139473528324.png - (5.87KB , 900x450 , 19.png )

>Yeah, there's someone looking out from the second floor now, Vlad. I don't think he can see you from that position though, the wall you're up against should block line of sight.
(As I said, he doesn’t seem to have notice me. Hopefully he’ll think we were just two drunks arguing.)
>That said... Vlad, could you shoot this guy in the leg at that angle?
(Err… aren’t we supposed to be some kind of city guard? I’m pretty sure I can’t just go around shooting people. If anything, I should get someone that actually knows how to arrest someone.)
>If we wait for the guy to leave, grab one of the mushrooms, and then get Drina to bring the evidence to the order, think we could do a raid on this place?
(See… that’s more like it… and speaking of the Thane, he’s leaving. I’ll grab a mushroom and give it to Drina as evidence.)

…

Good work! This will be enough to get a drug raid going.
Um… don’t you guys need a warrant?
No one is officially owning that house so it is owned by the city and thus… the order. If anything, it’s a crime just living in there without our permission. Well, our job here is done… the rest is for the task-force to deal with.
>Jal, switching from the drugs track; What about poisons? You did say the mushrooms are highly toxic, so are they anything special for making poisons?
(Unless you eat one whole you’ll probably just get really sick and puke it up. There’s cheaper ways to make worse poisons.)
>But we didn't even get to the interesting bit where we question if getting sensitive naughty bits close to matis mouthparts is terrifying or tempting!
Err… do we really have to-
*Click*Click* …oh don’t mind me… I’m just stretching my mandibles a bit… my sharp yet very strong mandibles…
Err…
And watch this! I can nearly reach my foot claws with my long, dexterous and nimble tongue… it’s just perfect to take a hold of something and squeeze, massage and lick all ove-
*Click*Click*
Not you to, Drina.
What? No. I’m just imagining myself becoming a stereotype and eating Jal’s head if he doesn’t shut up about blowjobs.
…I’ll be good.

…

Is it really necessary to put two runes of weakness on him?
Let’s not take any chances, he’s dangerous. I’ve heard that he killed a whole army of undead Vildmän with his bare hands before ripping a wolf pack and a wild bear into pieces with his teeth… of course, that’s probably bullshit bu-
He’s waking up, chief.
Good… then we can finally find out why those freaky cultist will pay so much for him alive… and why they keep calling him “Broken”.
Uhn…?
Ah, welcome! Welcome to our glorious hovel! Let me introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste, and I’ll be your host this fine evening, “Mr. Beard”. Now, are you feeling alright? We can’t have one of our esteemed guests feeling under the weather, now can we?

Insert He’s more beard then man… he’s… BEARD MAN, savior of the universe!_

Only two runes of weakness? Pffffth, you can break those cuffs right Bradford?

Okay. Nice to see you're alright Bradford. As far as the situation goes...
Good news-this guy isn't a cultist. Bad news-he's doing business with the cultists- so we need to bust loose before that happens.
I've got a crazy idea-
call him Justin Case, and say that the Order's on to him. He'll either think you're crazy or he's gonna flip out.

>a man of wealth and taste
I'll tell you once you son of a bitch, I'm the best there's ever been.

Okay, we've established that whoever captured you can cast magic, and somehow knows you put 'von beard' as a last name on that entry thing. "chief" is also an odd term to use instead of boss; do you know of any criminals or organizations that use or go by that title? Perhaps that guy who supposedly died 2 years ago?

Can you see beyond the lantern? We cannot spot anything in the pitch darkness.

Ah, you're finally awake. I was beginning to worry they'd keep you drugged under forever.

The Order knows you've been kidnapped. If we're lucky these assholes didn't remove your tracker spell and the Order will be busting down the door any second. But in case we aren't lucky we'll have to string 'em along until the Order picks up the trail. Maybe we'll be able to get enough hints from them about your location to pin it down and relay that back to the Order.

Tell "Chief" that you're feeling like you've been drugged, kidnapped, and chained up, but other than that you're just peachy. Then ask for a drink of water to wash the stale drug taste of your mouth. Maybe they'll oblige and we'll get a look at one of them when he brings the cup.

Tell him you'd like to know why they're calling you "Broken" as well, then ask what the cultists are willing to pay for you. No matter the amount say it's not nearly enough.

Ask how the fuck they got you out of Ängladal. It'd be hard enough to duck the Order normally, but with the sultan coming in security was extra tight. Appeal to their egos and maybe they'll spill something we can follow to your location.

>>566191
Don't give them any reason to drug you up or slap another weakness rune or set of chains on you. Keep the acts of strength back to surprise them with at the best possible time.

>>566189
Can you see anything? I can't see the floor or anything past the light. If you're suspended above a pit, trying to break out of those restraints might be a bad idea.

Be honest about how you feel. Then ask them who they are and what they want.

[scan nearest non-Bradford person]

Kaktus 2014/03/13(Thu)13:47 No. 566204 ID: 549d6c
File 139474364907.png - (6.12KB , 900x450 , 20.png )

>Only two runes of weakness? Pffffth, you can break those cuffs right Bradford?
I… I can barely move…
… I would advice you to not try and break free. You’ll have a friend here in the shadows watching over you at all times with a poision tipped crossbow. Do anything and it’s bed time.
Y-you can’t… kill… me… you need me a-alive…
True, but they didn’t say anything about damage. As long as you’re alive they don’t really care.
>"chief" is also an odd term to use instead of boss; do you know of any criminals or organizations that use or go by that title?
I… I can’t say I do.

>Tell "Chief" that you're feeling like you've been drugged, kidnapped, and chained up, but other than that you're just peachy.
Marvelous! Can’t have our guest being unhappy about our service, now can we? Now, just between you and me, you’ll give this nice hotel five stars when you leave,
>Then ask for a drink of water to wash the stale drug taste of your mouth.
Ah, of course. My lady, a drink for our guest of honor! Give him our best water at once!
*Glug*Glug*
>Ask them who they are and what they want.
We are simply entrepreneurs doing our jobs. Nothing more.
>Tell him you'd like to know why they're calling you "Broken" as well, then ask what the cultists are willing to pay for you.
Ten whole dragons …you seems confused, so let me enlighten you. That would be 100 Wyverns… or 1.000 eagles… 100.00 doves… 1.000.000 crows… 10.000.000 magpies… 100.000.000 swallo-
Yes, I g-get it… it’s a lot of money…
>Ask how the fuck they got you out of Ängladal. It'd be hard enough to duck the Order normally, but with the sultan coming in security was extra tight.
That would be a professional secret, my dear.
…ha, we p-probably didn’t even leave the c-city… admit it, y-you can’t get out, can you?
...
>Call him Justin Case
…why do I recognize that name?
It was the name of the deadbeat we stole the stone from, chief.
Ah… right… the stone… The cultists are paying a fortune for it… just like you. Hmm… let me ask you something, Beard… a cyan stone? Have you ever seen one before? It clearly magical but I don’t know what it does… and I don’t like selling things I don’t understand… so, my friend, what do you know about stones?
I… I can’t…
Oh, and one last question… just between us gentlemen…
[Message from Player Green: What is your king worth to you?]

Insert As long as Mr. Green winters here doesn’t send you out to slay a dragon_

>>566204
[message to Green: Bradford is worth quite a lot to us, and we have very rich allies. We would probably pay that ransom, depending on who you would give him to if we didn't pay, and if you even have the ability to give him to them. Why aren't you allied with us against the demons yet, anyway? As for the stone, it is one of the keys to the Words of the world. Do not let it fall into the hands of the demon cultists. Nor the paladins, as Light is a daemon too.]

[scan the white-robed man]

my question is how the hell does everyone find out who our fucking king is every god damn time while we have to wait for others to tell us who there's is? I mean we came into the town with a whole bunch of people that could hear us so it's not like Jericho where he was the only one talking to us and the others just kinda funneled in. It's probably a bluff, I mean I'm pretty sure he knows Brad is one of our pieces, that's as easy as a simple scan but he's probably just guessing on whether or not Brad is our king.

Also as for something to ask, Why doesn't Green know what those stones are, we really don't even know what they are just that every player seems to want them, or did want them, sorry time shenanigans kinda make things confusing from time to time.

You can't even get out of the city, numbnuts. Your bargaining position is crap.

The cultists will probably use it to destroy the world, like cultists ALWAYS TRY TO DO WITH OBJECTS OF POWER. They're attempting to corrupt other players, and have successfully done so with Grey. Not that I'm surprised, but they tried it on us too.

Oh also what the fuck is going on in the Serath desert? Everyone is being super vague, clueless or evasive.

>>566209
Shh, don't tell them her color!

Kaktus 2014/03/13(Thu)14:39 No. 566212 ID: 549d6c
File 139474676860.png - (15.47KB , 900x450 , 21.png )

>[message to Green: Bradford is worth quite a lot to us, and we have very rich alli-
[From Green: This isn’t about monetary gain.]
>Why aren't you allied with us against the demons yet, anyway?
[From Green: …against them? You’re working for them.]
>As for the stone, it is one of the keys to the Words of the world.
[From Green: …Interesting.]
>Why doesn't Green know what those stones are.
[From Green: Why would I?]
>You can't even get out of the city, numbnuts. Your bargaining position is crap.
[From Green: …Do you even know where you are?]
>Oh also what the fuck is going on in the Serath desert? Everyone is being super vague, clueless or evasive.
[From Green: Err… I… wait, what does the Serath kingdom have to do with anything? Your king is about to lose conscious again… maybe we’ll speak later when he reawakens.]

…

Well then, ladies, it’s time for lunch. Just follow the signs to the mess hall and eat your food. Just remember to keep away from the west wing. We got royal company there and it’s completely off limits.
Roger dodger! …hey, Alexandra, do you want to ogle some hot royal princes?
…I got a feeling you have a problem accepting authority.
Pfff… authority smorithy. Let’s go have lunch then, party pooper.

Insert And now, for someone completely different_

you know if they catch you back there, there is a good chance that you'll be kicked out of the order.

>>566212
Well good news is that Brad woke up and he's not in the hands of any crazy cultists, or anyone allied with demons apparently. Bad news is that he's completely helpless and his captor wants something from us.

[message to Pink: Hey, future-us here, if you're in the northlands could you perhaps send Artemis out to say hi to our new pawns? Two of them will be in the mess hall.]

Well he picked the perfect time to start asking questions. I guess he's vague, clueless AND evasive.

We have reason to believe Brad is still in the city. He's in a stone brick building described as a 'hovel'; does that ring any bells? Also, his kidnappers acquired something that the cultists want from Justin. Can you say '2 birds with one stone'?

Don't bother looking for princes there, Anna. Since they're next in line to the throne protocol very likely states that they not travel together with the sultan on foreign trips. Now the sultan's harem, that's a whole other thing. If the sultan is who I think she is, then it's a sure bet she brought some of them along.

We just got back from Bradford. Had a bit of a chat with his kidnappers before he passed out. Good news is they're not cultists; They're just in it for the cultist's coin, and it's a hell of a lot of it: Ten dragons for Brad delivered alive. The kidnappers are holding on delivering him 'cause they want to know why Brad's so important to the cultists first, but no idea how long they'll wait.

We didn't get much of a look at where Brad was. He was chained to the wall at the end of a hall made of real thick stone masonry; Big honkin' slabs. We think he's still in town, or under it, but he could also be anywhere around the town that has stone construction.

Also, the kidnappers are pawns of another player: Green. No idea what his agenda is, but strangely he says he's not out for monetary gain, and he's not any any daemon's side.

And we need to find out where the Order is on tracking down Brad and ask them why the tracking spell on him isn't working, 'cause if it was working they'd have him by now. Can you speak with Captain Andrzej or whoever is in charge of the city guard about that?

Now, where's Drina? We need to speak with her right away. We found out from Brad's kidnappers they were the ones who broke into the toll office last evening. They took a mysterious magical cyan stone from the package of moon leaves that was addressed to the vacant house. They said the cultists would pay a fortune for the stone, so obviously we don't want it getting into their hands. But also, if the stone was meant to get to the vacant house then the house or it's occupants may be more than meets the eye. We need to warn Drina about that before the raid on the house goes down. We also need to get our hands on Mr. Case to find out how he got his hands on that stone.

Alexandra, what's the deal with Jal? We brought up him wearing something plainer to be less conspicuous while in the poorer part of town and he nearly freaked out. Told us he'd never wear anything less than finery ever again. What's going on there?

Oh, and Anna, we found out what we are: We're a god, or an amalgam of gods, like the gods of old before they all died.

[Message to Green: Basically? These 'cultists' guys increase our corruption level, which is bad, because we apparently had gotten 100% before and lost our memories and craziness occurred. That said...'Steve' gave us a Spear of Light that helped us strike down Wraiths and even a Demon in the Serath Desert, and they seem to be linked to the cultists of here in the north.]

>>566221
We never got to 100%. We're only using Brad as our king right now because we hopped into the future, it's not because we died in the past-future.

>>566221
Could we not send that? That's not even completely accurate, and I don't see how throwing everything crazy at Green all at once will help anything.

>>566233
Don't send this! Let's not let Green know we are jumping around in time just yet.

Kaktus 2014/03/14(Fri)08:47 No. 566287 ID: 549d6c
File 139481207532.png - (18.84KB , 900x450 , 22.png )

>[message to Pink]
[You’ve yet met player pink in this time!]
>Well good news is that Brad woke up and he's not in the hands of any crazy cultists, or anyone allied with demons apparently. Bad news is that he's completely helpless and his captor wants something from us.
…well, that sucks.
Hmm…
>Also, the kidnappers are pawns of another player: Green. No idea what his agenda is, but strangely he says he's not out for monetary gain, and he's not any any daemon's side.
Power, maybe? Power is pretty normal motive…
>Now, where's Drina? We need to speak with her right away.
Didn’t Vlad go out on a mission with her? That’s the last I’ve heard about her.
>Alexandra, what's the deal with Jal? We brought up him wearing something plainer to be less conspicuous while in the poorer part of town and he nearly freaked out.
I’ve already told you. He was the bastard son of a poor thrall woman. You can imagine how his childhood was.
>We found out what we are: We're a god, or an amalgam of gods, like the gods of old before they all died.
I find that hard to belive.
So you aren’t tiny demons! You’re tiny gods! Just like Brad said!

>And we need to find out where the Order is on tracking down Brad and ask them why the tracking spell on him isn't working, 'cause if it was working they'd have him by now. Can you speak with Captain Andrzej or whoever is in charge of the city guard about that?
Oh, the captain should be in the west wing so…
Anna…
>You know if they catch you back there, there is a good chance that you'll be kicked out of the order.
That’s if they catch me-
Is it really worth the risk?
Hmm… maybe not… but I can take a detour to the mess hall and just follow along the west wing. They can’t throw me out if I don’t actually enter it, can I? And who knows… maybe I’ll find the captain… or a cute prince~
You have fun doing that. I’ll just head to the mess hall directly for a snack… man, I’m hungry. I should eat a whole spider!

…

(Hey, look! It’s the captain… oh… and is that a… ah man, he’s undead… pooper…)
HALT! No one is to pass this point!

Now look here, I ca-
He is a threat to the legacy of the Von Zolner family name! Bah, I knew one of your kind wouldn’t be intelligent enough to understand.
…my kind?
Bring me a real person to talk to… not a… filthy insect or primitive monkey…
…I’ll see what I can do, “my lord”…

Insert Specism at its finest_

yea we found a A-hole, can't wait till he becomes an stick up our ass.

All right. So planning in advance for when we next talk to Green:

>This isn’t about monetary gain
Well, your pawns seem to think it is. But that raises the question: if you're not asking us to outbid your buyers, what is this about? What do you want of us?

>against [the demons]? You’re working for them
You're misinformed. That or you're much better informed than us and someone has done a very good job of deceiving us.

>the prince is undead
Is that Eliraz? He died? Dang.

It would be useful if one of you could find a way to talk with him.

...and who's the obnoxious speciest, anyways?

You know we might be able to talk to him ourselves..

*Float over, perch on Eliraz head and nibble*

...Oh dear... That's Prince Eliraz. He was our queen piece back in the Serath, but he wasn't undead then. We failed him... Well, that's something we'll endeavor to prevent from happening when we get back.

Wave to Captain Andrzej to get his attention. Ask what the heck is that guy's problem; What threat was he talking about? Then ask how the search for Brad is going. They having trouble with his tracking spell?

Suggest that if Andrzej needs a lizard to talk with the speciest jerk that he could get Alexandra. She's a lady so she should know how to speak with stuck-up nobles.

Anna, you got any idea who the Von Zolner family are?

Hey, would you be up to giving Vlad some instruction in just how wide the world of sex is? Vlad's dad told him the very basics but he didn't even know what a blowjob was until an hour ago. I'd be good if he knew a bit more before getting that far with Alexandra.

Let's do a scan check here: [Scan angry lizard speciest douchbag] [Scan undead Eliraz]

So Green might want power... Aw, crap. I just realized that he could force us to do his bidding by holding Bradford hostage, threatening to kill him or turn him over to the cultists. And if Brad goes, we go.

Call out to Eliraz, tell him some old friends would like to have a chat!

Kaktus 2014/03/14(Fri)11:48 No. 566303 ID: 549d6c
File 139482293457.png - (17.62KB , 900x450 , 23.png )

>[Scan undead Eliraz]
[“The Thief” is currently claimed by Player Teal (past)… this pawn is currently is suspension and will be reclaimable at a later date.]
>[Scan angry lizard speciest douchbag]
[Neutral Creature (Hostile): Supremacist. Neutral creatures are unclaimable and can’t ally with any player.]
>*Float over, perch on Eliraz head and nibble*
[Error! Out of reach!]

>yea we found a A-hole, can't wait till he becomes an stick up our ass.
If I know my heroics… which I do, this guy is going to become a minor villain that the Hero, that is to say me, kills off half way through the story just to show off how badass I am is.
>Hey, would you be up to giving Vlad some instruction in just how wide the world of sex is? Vlad's dad told him the very basics but he didn't even know what a blowjob was until an hour ago.
I… err… I… I can d-do that… I guess?
>Is that Eliraz? He died? Dang.
…um… sorry for your loss?

>Call out to Eliraz, tell him some old friends would like to have a chat!
Um… Eliraz? Prince Eliraz? I got some of your old friends that want to talk to you… err… he’s walking away chatting with that stone lizard guy… how rude.
>Wave to Captain Andrzej to get his attention.
Private, Escort “Lord” Von Zolner here to a private chamber and send out a message to the ranger lord.
Yes, my lord!
Finally, a person instead of an animal to talk to…
…Anna? What are you doing here?
>Ask what the heck is that guy's problem; What threat was he talking about?
That would be Alexi von Zolner, a… noble from a very influential family here in the higher Järgien. He wanted to put up wanted posters for a certain individual but as this individual haven’t actually done anything illegal I told him to go fuck himself… err… not in those words, of course.
>Suggest that if Andrzej needs a lizard to talk with the speciest jerk that he could get Alexandra.
We have a lot of lizards in our organization, so let’s keep the trainees out of this… that includes you, lady.
>Then ask how the search for Brad is going. They having trouble with his tracking spell?
Hmm… I shouldn’t tell you but… you are a friend of the victim so… we’re dealing with someone that has a vast knowledge of runes. Whoever did this was able to set up a rune that’s redirecting our tracking spell. As long as it’s functional we won’t be able be able to track him.
Can’t you just destroy it?
…if we were able to destroy it we would already have found Bradford. Now, please, I’m very busy here… unless there was something else I really need to be going.

Insert I’m getting some far left vibes from this game…_

They have two weakening wards on Brad and there's a chance he's still within the city. His abductors are wearing white robes and they plan to sell him to the cultist along with a small blue stone but since they can easily take off the robes when not being scum do think we'll be able to find them by simply walking the streets.

Also please tell me that Prick lord over there has no control over any military forces like the spell blades, I really don't like it when dicks like him are given real power as it never ends well.

>>566305
Hmm, yes, I suppose we can trust this guy enough to tell him our inside information. Let's do it. It's currently important enough to find these guys that we can risk Anna looking crazy.

>>566303
I'm fairly certain at this point that time itself is conspiring to keep us from getting any direct information about the past-future. That's two tidbits of indirect information so far though- Eliraz dies at some point within the last 9 months, Jericho is still around and Artemis is fine. That's who that stone lizard was: a reactivated golem who has allied with us.

Okay, Anna, if we're going to get what we know to Andrzaj you're going to have to look crazy for a bit. Just keep giong and it'll sort out eventually. I hope.

Tell the captain that you have knowledge about Brad's kidnapping and the toll office break in. If he wants to know how you know tell him that you'll only say so in front of Lieutenant Dooriya or the Archbishop. They can corroborate your source.

The kidnapping was done by three people. Two humans, a male and a female, both with light skin and brown eyes, and a lizard of indeterminate sex with yellow eyes, all wearing white robes with hoods and cloths over their mouthes. They drugged Brad unconscious with a dosed cloth then hauled him out the window.

The kidnappers are not cultists. They kidnapped Brad because the cultists are offering ten dragons for delivering him to them alive.

Brad currently has two runes of weakening on him and is chained to the wall at the end of a dead-end hall made of thick stone block masonry. He likely is still in the city due to the increased Order security from the sultan's visit stopping the kidnappers from taking him out.

The toll office break in was done by the same people who kidnapped Brad. They took an unidentified magical cyan stone weighing 1.5 kilos from a package of moon leaves hidden in a secret compartment in Mr. Justin Case's chest. They said the cultists would pay a fortune for this stone.

The moon leaves package was addressed to a vacant house that Drina just investigated and will call for a drug raid on. Since the stone was intended to arrive there, the house or its occupants may not be who or what they seem.

And I misjudged you, Anna. I'm sorry. Forget I suggested doing that for Vlad. He can find out such things from elsewhere.

Hey, Anna, how much you wanna bet that Alexandra's real last name is "Von Zolner" and Alexi wanted to put wanted posters up for her? ...Wait. Alexi said "he," didn't he? ...Now that I think about it, did you ever notice that Alexandra's tail isn't wide at the base? Hmm... We best warn both her and Jal about Alexi soon, and ask her about her tail.

I'd guess Eliraz is intentionally ignoring you. According to our scan he's still claimed us... Well, our future selves. We probably told him not to interact with anybody with us at this time to keep from mucking things up.

Kaktus 2014/03/14(Fri)14:13 No. 566309 ID: 549d6c
File 139483161708.png - (25.97KB , 900x450 , 24.png )

>I misjudged you, Anna. I'm sorry. Forget I suggested doing that for Vlad. He can find out such things from elsewhere.
What? Oh, no, it’s just… you took me off guard, that’s all… um…
>Hey, Anna, how much you wanna bet that Alexandra's real last name is "Von Zolner" and Alexi wanted to put wanted posters up for her?
Err… he said “he”… last time I checked Alex is a she… and she doesn’t seem like a racist asshole either.
>...Wait. Alexi said "he," didn't he? ...Now that I think about it, did you ever notice that Alexandra's tail isn't wide at the base?
…I’ve never actually seen her tail… she got that cloak on her all the time. Wait, are you suggesting that’s she’s… nah, that can’t be true, can it?

>Please tell me that Prick lord over there has no control over any military forces like the spell blades.
The Prick lord and his family is rather rich and have private guard force in their employ. It’s completely composed by lizards and, might I say so myself, thugs… but they are untrained and wouldn’t be match against a trained military force like the order. Of course, they do great against their intended targets, that is to say thieves, poor people and other… “undesirables”…
>Hmm, yes, I suppose we can trust this guy enough to tell him our inside information. Let's do it. It's currently important enough to find these guys that we can risk Anna looking crazy.
Um… This is going to sound a bit crazy but… hear me out…

…

-and she’ll be here any minute requesting a drug raid on that house.
…you’re right, that did sound crazy… but I’ve already gotten a message from Drina describing exactly what you just said so I guess… I guess I have to take what you said into consideration… how do you even know about this?
Um… I’ll only tell you if either the Archbishop, Drina or Dooriya is here.
…Very well, I guess I’ll have to call a meeting later today then.

…

…So, where is this mysterius mail box, then?
Look, there’s an mailbox right between every house on that street.
So?
That includes the last house on the street and the road… on both sides… which means that street have 29 mailboxes but only 28 houses.
Oh yeah… so… what now? We just wait for him to appear or what?

Insert Everything there is to know about the waiting game_

>>566309
Jal, there's a "Lord" Von Zolner here that wants to put up wanted posters about a lizard, because "He is a threat to the legacy of the Von Zolner family name!". Is this relevant at all to Alexandra's past? If it is, should we do something about it? We may have some resources at our disposal in the future-present that we could use to convince him to stop.

If the lizard in question is Alexandra, you should know we have dealt with gender identity problems in the past and will not judge her. Though I'd also be curious as to how it's possible Alexandra has no facial markings. We did see her without her makeup.

well you could mingle with the crowd so you don't stand out so much, we could also scan everyone nearby to see if we can find someone called "the dealer"
[scan all those nearby for pawn "the dealer"]
and because that guy in the one stand has a white robe or what I'm going to call a white robe because I don't give a damn about what it really is and all we really know about Brad's kidnapper's are that they wore white robes
[scan the fruit vendor in white]

>that can’t be true, can it?
She said to the near-omnipresent voices in her head.

Try to blend in; shop around, and maybe ask that vendor on the left about news from the Serath desert.

Kaktus 2014/03/14(Fri)15:15 No. 566318 ID: 549d6c
File 139483532644.png - (25.65KB , 900x450 , 25.png )

>[scan all those nearby for pawn "the dealer"]
[Targets found: Neutral creature (Neutral): Civilian. Neutral creature (Neutral): Merchant. Neutral creature (Friendly): Paladin.]
>[scan the fruit vendor in white]
[Neutral creature(Neutral): Serath Merchant.]

>Jal, there's a "Lord" Von Zolner here tha-
WHAT!? SHIT!! I mean… err…
Shit what?
>Is this relevant at all to Alexandra's past? If it is, should we do something about it?
(They can’t have… they are probably just searching in all the cities nearby and… um… next time you talk to Alex warn her to keep her head down, alright?)
>If the lizard in question is Alexandra, you should know we have dealt with gender identity problems in the past and will not judge her.
(That’s… that’s her thing to talk about, alright?)

>Try to blend in; shop around, and maybe ask that vendor on the left about news from the Serath desert.
Greetings friends! I have many exotics goods for sell. Real cheap!
Actually, I was wondering if you had any news of your homeland, the Serath desert?
Desert? Nono, no desert. Big tree. Many big tree. Like march to the south. And new sultan. Real pretty. Real nice. Real good. She make peace with savage people. Very good, yes? Now, you want to buy? I got lots of tasty stuff. Here, dried apricots, try one! Real cheap!
Don’t mind if I do!
And you, lizard, how about some Choco bean square for lady friend behind you? Real good gift, yes? Will make sure you get bed fun tonight, I guarantee, yes?
Err… she isn’t my lady friend…
Oh? Shy? I see how she looks at you, friend. You should ask, and then give Choco bean square, yes?
Mmm… these things are good… I think I’ll buy a bag!
Thank you, come again~
…guys, a blond guy just walked up to the mailbox.

Insert Eat Choco Bean Squares or be a square!_

>>566318
Watch him for now. We'll confirm that's the target first. Upon confirmation you can just grab him I guess.
[scan blonde guy at mailbox]

Vlad fyi, Drina's not interested in guys. So the merchant was lying or imagining things.

...looks like more details are being confirmed. The Desert is a marsh again, and Elizah made peace with the tribals as we planned.

Vlad, ask the merchant if he has white chocolate and buy some if he does. That'll be Alexandra's gift. ...And buy the choco bean squares for yourself. They sound good.

Okay, we'll try to scan the guy from here to see if he has Justin's pawn-name "The Dealer:" [Scan blond guy at mailbox; Echo command output to local allied pawns] But if that doesn't work one of you needs to get within about forty meters of him so we can see and scan him. Jal, we're gonna need Vlad and Drina to get into position to box him in, so that means you're the one to approach.

Vlad, Drina, split up and take alleys and back routes to get into position to cover the ends of the street. Stay out of sight and hang back whenever possible.

Whenever you see Justin keep thinking at us what he's doing and where he's going and we'll relay that to the rest of the team.

Drina, FYI, we jumped to Brad after leaving you earlier. Had a chat with his kidnappers. Dropped Justin's name and it turns out they're the ones who broke into the toll office. The 1.5 kilo discrepancy is a cyan stone with unidentified powerful magic that they said the cultists will pay a fortune for. This also means the stone was supposed to get to the vacant house, so things there could not be what they seem. Also means we can't let Mr. Case get away. He knows where the stone came from and who paid to have it delivered.

>>566322
I think it's a jungle now, like it was before it turned to desert. Maybe the game had a biome error that was fixed. That'd explain why metal was rusting in the Serath desert like it was a jungle.

so should we just bust the guy or should we trial him and see where he goes? I mean the guy was the one that got robed(even if he is a drug dealer) so I don't really think he'll know where brad is... but at the same time he might know something about those who took him. But at the same time we're all in the order (excepts for Jal but he does support it) so if there's a chance we could stop the town's whole drug operation I think it could be very useful to tale this guy... If he's the dealer that is, I mean you did say there are a lot of blonds around these parts.

Kaktus 2014/03/14(Fri)17:03 No. 566327 ID: 549d6c
File 139484182292.png - (25.83KB , 900x450 , 26.png )

>[scan blonde guy at mailbox]
[Unclaimed Pawn “The Dealer”. You are already at maximum pawn capacity!]

>Vlad fyi, Drina's not interested in guys. So the merchant was lying or imagining things.
(Um… okay… I wasn’t really asking but… err… right…)
>Vlad, ask the merchant if he has white chocolate and buy some if he does.
Ah, you mean white Choco bean square? For girlfriend, yes? Let me put it in cute package.
…um… I’m pretty sure you mean cacao beans?
That what I say, yes? Here, gift for girlfriend. Thank you, come again~
>Drina, FYI, we jumped to Brad after leaving you earlier. Had a chat with his kidnappers. Dropped Justin's name and it turns out they're the ones who broke into the toll office.
(Really? That would explain some things, yes…)

>So should we just bust the guy or should we trial him and see where he goes?
Right, we’re tracking this Justin Case just in case he leads us to something… interesting. Now, here’s the plan. Me and Vlad will split up and follow the alleys on bo-
*BOOM!!*
…and he just blow up, didn’t he?
The mailbox just blow up, yes…
BY THE GODS! What’s happening!?
Someone set us up the bomb!
Learn to speak Järgiska, you foreign freak! Go back to your dead wife in your stinking desert!
‘oy, laddie, don’t make me smash your bloody ‘ead, ya racist git!
You wouldn’t dare, you ginger freak!
What did you call my friend, little man!?
Why won’t anyone think of the children!
Calm down, people, everything is under control!
Aahh… the complete lack of concern from the onlookers for an explosion… how I’ve missed you.
He’s dead… ID says he was called “Justin Case”…
Ha! His parent’s must have hated him.

Insert Expecting panic? TO BAD, RACIAL SLUR TIME!_

>>566327
Shit, Brad's kidnappers just tied up a loose end. I think we'd better check to see if there's anything left of the mailbox. Also if there's anything resembling a corpse we may be able to get it reanimated which would let us find out from Justin what's going on.

...well shit, competent kidnappers, almost makes me wish Brad was kidnapped by sex crazy cultist as they're usually shit at covering there tracks.

Oh well nothing we can do about it. check the body and see if there's anything we can use to find out who he really was. Also anyone know of anywhere in town where someone could pick up some things to make a bomb? could be worth asking around there to see if we can't come up with some more leads since right now our only lead left is the drug house, which I would not be surprised at all to find it's been burned down before we could do the raid on it.

...Dammit. Can't ever be easy, can it? Vlad, you aren't gonna lose your lunch, are you?

Drina, go over to the guardsmen and tell them Mr. Case was connected to your investigation of the toll office break in. Then bag everything from his corpse's pockets. There might be a key or a clue to where he's staying we can follow. Oh, and ask what time the mail is delivered on this street. The bomb will have had to have been planted after then.

Jal, get a whiff of the explosives' smoke and examine the residue. Can you tell us if it was an improvised from ingredients easy to get in town or if it's something harder to get? Or is this outside your area of expertise? Well, whichever way I'd say it was made by somebody skilled in bomb making since it only killed Justin and didn't so much as injure anybody else.

I don't think this bomb was from Brad's kidnappers. It adds unneeded complexity and risk to kill Justin, especially this way, and there's no benefit to it. Not like he could go to the Order and report that the illicit goods he was smuggling were stolen, right? Right. Instead I think this bomb came from whoever hired Justin to smuggle the stone in. Either to tie up loose ends or as punishment for failing to deliver it. But I could be wrong. We'll ask the kidnappers next time we jump to Brad.

Jal, I take it you came from somewhere random explosions on the street are not uncommon, yes?

Hmm... This reminds me: Nine months ago when we were in the Serath we heard there was some civil war going on up in the Northlands. Might have been among just the vildmen, but I'm not sure. What was that about?

And there's something else I forgot to ask about: The desert tribe's horde had Vildmen in their ranks back then, which is very odd. We heard they were a "gift" from vild männens kung to warlord Mor'Kay because she made some kind of alliance with "the giants of the north." So who is this person Mor'Kay allied with?

Kaktus 2014/03/15(Sat)09:47 No. 566385 ID: 549d6c
File 139490206209.png - (25.01KB , 900x450 , 27.png )

>Vlad, you aren't gonna lose your lunch, are you?
(Huh? Why would I- I’ve seen blood and guts before, you know… besides, it’s not that gruesome. The explosion wasn’t very big, after all.)
>Jal, I take it you came from somewhere random explosions on the street are not uncommon, yes?
(Well, I did spend a lot of time in alchemy school.)
>Nine months ago when we were in the Serath we heard there was some civil war going on up in the Northlands. Might have been among just the vildmen, but I'm not sure. What was that about?
(Oh, I’ve heard about that. In Vildmännens country there was a civil war going, yes. Something about a new king trying to dispose of the old… I think he said something about hearing the voices of the gods or something… anyway, the new king won and suddenly those giants have a new leader, the end. Don’t have any more details then that, sorry.)
>The desert tribe's horde had Vildmen in their ranks back then, which is very odd. We heard they were a "gift" from vild männens kung to warlord Mor'Kay because she made some kind of alliance with "the giants of the north." So who is this person Mor'Kay allied with?
(Hard to say… probably the New king… though I can’t imagine how those desert tribes would help the giants take down their old king.)
>Jal, get a whiff of the explosives' smoke and examine the residue.
(That’s a bit… outside my expertise. What I can tell is that going by the size of explosion; it was either homemade by amateurs or accidental. I mean, if I would make a bomb the explosion would be way bigger… That Justin fella only died because he was unlucky, getting that mailbox piece lodged in his head.)
>We may be able to get him reanimated.
First off, we don’t have a lot of necromancers with that kind of skill up here. Second, he got a metal slab lodged in his head thanks to the mailbox, so his brain is probably completely gone. Otherwise… hmmm… the explosion itself didn’t even touch him if you don’t count the fragments from the mailbox, even though he was standing right next to it.
>Ask what time the mail is delivered on this street.
The mailman was delivering mail just ten minutes ago, ma’am.

>Bag everything from his corpse's pockets.
Let’s see… A pair of unmarked keys, a wallet with some coins in it, a few dried apricots… oh, a note saying: “4 x Night Tree Ten Birds Each. 4 x Liquids Combo Five Birds Each. 4 x Liquid Mushroom Five Birds Each. Leave at usual place. – J.C” …the hell does that mean?
Ma’am, we’ve found a lot of broken glass around the mailbox… and… something brown?
It’s pieces of corks. Look, I found a whole one!
Glass… cork… weird letter… hmm….

I would go with this… it really brings out your eyes.
You really think so? …wait, who are you?
Oh, just an admirer… I just have to ask, would you hold it against me if I told you that you had a beautiful body?
…get lost, creep.
…worth a try…

Insert It would look even better on my bedroom floor, hun._

>>566385
Sounds like there were a bunch of potions in the mailbox. Ask Jal if any of the stuff described in the note is explosive.

Jal, are you looking for a relationship at all? We could try to help you if you want something long term but if it's just a quick bang then it'll be pretty low priority for us. How long has it been since you've gotten any, anyway?

well the letter sounds like a drug list JC here was dropping off so I'm guess this mailbox was a simple drop off zone for the drug operation.

As for the glass and cork... it sound like there was a flask in there. Not sure if that was what went boom or it was something just caught in the blast. I mean yeah it isn't that hard to put something explodey into a flask, hell we've seen Jal do it when he was fighting off zombies earlier, but how the hell do you get a flask to explode when you want it to? I mean they could have wired it so there was a string or something that would remove the cork when you opened the mailbox and the chemicals in the flask react violently when mixed with air. It could have already been in the middle of a chemical reaction and was more of a time bomb then anything meant to destroy evidence more so then kill someone, I mean how the hell would you be sure someone would be in front of the mailbox right when it explodes and that it would even by your guy. Or maybe magic of some kind.

And the explosion itself, You said it was a low blast so whoever made it probably didn't want anyone else nearby to get hit by the blast. But the bomb itself almost sounds like a shrapnel bomb, a bomb where the explosion isn't meant to kill you, whatever the explosion picks up and throws around is (like the mailbox). But if it's the first one then I don't think it was meant to kill JC actually, just erase evidence and JC was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If it was the second one then JC was really unlucky that he was hit or all the people around him were just lucky not to get hit.

Eh, perverts and long term. We don't care either way, though it might help if you could focus a bit more.

From the note, and the timing after the mailman left, I'd say Mr. Case was making a drug drop for somebody in this mailbox. Did any of you see him carrying bottles or putting things into the mailbox?

"Night Tree" sounds like it could be "moon leaves;" Perhaps some form of liquid extract of them? Jal, is that possible? "Liquid mushroom" could be what Jal said is concocted from those mushrooms from the vacant house. Dunno what "liquids combo" could be. Maybe a combination of the two? Could that be explosive?

Jal, take a look at that brown stuff the guardsman found. Can you ID it? Take some of the larger glass bottle fragments and sniff what was the inside to try and ID what was in them too. Better bag all the glass as well for later lab analysis to confirm their former contents.

...And Jal, how do you ever get laid? 'Cause with the ladies you're about as smooth as sandpaper.

From that "voices of the gods" thing I'm pretty sure the new Vildmännens king is a player's piece. Could be Red's, same as Mor'Kay, or Red made an alliance with the new king's player back then. Might be important if Red is still kicking around.

Kaktus 2014/03/15(Sat)11:57 No. 566399 ID: 549d6c
File 139490986698.png - (25.48KB , 900x450 , 28.png )

>Jal, are you looking for a relationship at all?
(Of course not. I’m a free man for now, baby. The only thing I’m looking for is a narrow hole for my one eyed snake to bury into and lay its eggs for the night.)
>How long has it been since you've gotten any, anyway?
(Hmmm… about a week. Visit and old friend right before I started the journey here. Of course, I would have gotten some yesterday but Anna never showed up… dunno if she forgot or if something came up but she should at least have said something… quite rude, if you ask me.)
>...And Jal, how do you ever get laid? 'Cause with the ladies you're about as smooth as sandpaper.
(Might not be the smoothest fellow but I do have good looks and lots of coin. And besides, Alcohol has always been the great equalizer, hasn’t it?)

>Ask Jal if any of the stuff described in the note is explosive.
Sounds like a bunch of gibberish to me.
>well the letter sounds like a drug list JC here was dropping off so I'm guess this mailbox was a simple drop off zone for the drug operation.
Hmmm… that would explain the note, yes. He was probably on his way to pick up the stuff in the mailbox and then leave the note for his next order.
>Did any of you see him carrying bottles or putting things into the mailbox?
He wasn’t carrying anything.
>"Night Tree" sounds like it could be "moon leaves”.
…that would work, yes.
>"Liquid mushroom" could be what Jal said is concocted from those mushrooms from the vacant house.
Hmm… there’s also the possibility it’s the liquid you’re supposed to boil the shrooms in to make the drug.
>Dunno what "liquids combo" could be.
As everything else was a drug I’m guessing a pure chemical drug of some kind.

>Jal, take a look at that brown stuff the guardsman found. Can you ID it?
It’s pieces of Cork, just like the- wait… is that… moon leaves? There’s a bunch of those leaves spread all around the mailbox.
Make sense if there was a package of moon leaves in there.
>Take some of the larger glass bottle fragments and sniff what was the inside to try and ID what was in them too.
Hmm… hard to say… there’s at least five different liquids here… and going by the markings on some of the glass they were marked 1-4 and the last one being some kind of… mushroom, I think? I’m not sure, I’ve only found a 1 and a 3 so far. Oh, and the mushroom.
And the liquids?
I can’t really say. Chemicals of some kind.
Paladins, take samples from everything here and deliver it to our labs as soon as possible.
Yes sir!

Insert It’s more dangerous than a one eyed snake!_

>>566399
Oh hey it's Lord Douchebag showing off a painting of the mystery lizard. Is that legal, considering he was told he can't put up wanted posters?

Hey Jal, does that wanted poster look familiar? because if it does, I have a sneaking suspicion we'll need to get back to base before Alex finishes her lunch.

he the prick lord is showing posters of the lizard he wants around, so Jal if you don't want him seeing you just keep walking somewhere other then you just were. Knew this guy was going to be a stick up our ass.

Well, looks like we're done here. The only thing I can think of to do next is hunt down the locks Mr. Case's keys go to. One of them is probably to wherever he lives, so low rent apartments and boarding houses would be the first place to check. The other might be to wherever he cooks the drugs up. Jal, how smelly would you guess cooking this junk up is? There might be an odor complaint we could follow, or check out locations that are always smelly to look for his "kitchen."

Jal, don't look, but Alexi Von Zolner and his goon squad are in the market right now, showing around a poster of the lizard they're looking for. The lizard on the poster is male and looks a lot like Alexi... Same eye color as Alexandra too... Anyway. Jal, I'd suggest you take a circuitous route back to the lab right now to avoid Alexi possibly spotting you. Get on the samples taken from here as soon as they arrive.

Vlad, walk through the market past Alexi. He'll almost certainly get your attention and show you the poster as you go by. Stop and get a good look at it and ask who's this person he's looking for and what they did, and if there's a reward for info leading to him. Just don't sound too interested, otherwise he might get the idea you know something. We'd ask Drina to do this, but Alexi dispises "filthy insects."

We'll get back to Alexandra and give her a heads up right after you're done here, Vlad.

Kaktus 2014/03/15(Sat)13:08 No. 566408 ID: 549d6c
File 139491413494.png - (15.66KB , 900x450 , 29.png )

>Oh hey it's Lord Douchebag showing off a painting of the mystery lizard. Is that legal, considering he was told he can't put up wanted posters?
(That’s not a wanted poster. It’s not illegal to ask about people, after all.)
>Hey Jal, does that wanted poster look familiar?
Err… of c-course not.
No offence, but all you lizards looks the same to me.
Hmm… I dunno. It looks kind of like the guy holding it, so I guess they are family? But… I can’t shake the feeling I’ve seen that guy on the poster somewhere before.
>Jal if you don't want him seeing you just keep walking somewhere other than you just were.
Um… I’ll head for the inn, alright? We’re done here after all, right?
…Jal, tell me, why are you so afraid of them?
Oh… um… no reason? I just need a drink, that’s all.

>Vlad, walk through the market past Alexi. He'll almost certainly get your attention and show you the poster as you go by.
Sir, what if she already left the country, sir?
Father told me to search this city, so I’ll turn over every rock here before I give up. I will find my brother and I will take him back home. Now shut up, someone is coming. Excuse me, sir, You don’t happen to have seen my dear beloved brother, have you?
…I can’t say I have. Why are you looking for him?
He has simply gotten lost and we need to find him again. Are you sure you haven’t seen anything?
…I’m sure… so, is there a reward for this or something?
Of course there’s a reward, my good sir, we’ll reward you with fine coin for any information that help us find him.
Well, I guess I’ll keep my eyes peeled then.
Thank you for your time.

>We'll get back to Alexandra and give her a heads up right after you're done here, Vlad.
Hum hum~

…where’s Anna gotten off to? Our lunch break is ending any minute now…

Insert Too tired to written an Insert_

>>566408
Alexandra we have some terrible news. "Lord" Von Zolner is in town. Don't freak out, please. You just need to keep your head down. I doubt anyone will recognize you, since he's looking for a male lizard, facial markings and all. Which you don't have.

*sigh* how shall we put this...

A guy named "Alexi Von Zolner" is looking for someone he says is a relative. When Jal learned of this, he told us to warn you to keep your head down. The implications are not lost on us. Under other circumstances we wouldn't give a damn about anyone's checkered past, but Alexi said he would turn over every rock in the city before he gives up. Now, we'd rather you not get carted off by a bunch of supremacists, so could you please work with us on this?

>>566426
You're gonna freak her out even more if you tell her we saw her naked.

*beep*
Alexandra, I think I know where Anna is. We had her spill everything we knew about Brad's kidnapping and the toll office break in to Andrzej. Also had her say she'd only reveal her source in front of the Archbishop, Dooriya, or Drina so they could corroborate we exist and are the source. He said he was going to arrange a meeting for that later today, so I assume Anna is still with him. However, we'll switch to her and confirm it after we're done here. You could also ask the instructors if they got any notice about Anna being delayed.

Now, keep calm for what I'm about to tell you... Alexi Von Zolner is in town and looking for somebody. We first saw him hassling Andrzej to allow him to put up posters of who he's looking for. We then brought it up with Jal and he nearly freaked out; Told us to tell you as soon as we could. Which is odd considering the poster Alexi is showing around town is of a male lizard he said is his brother. ...And he and the poster happens to have the same eye color as you.

You should also know we overheard Alexi say that his father told him to search this specific city, and he's not going to give up until he's turned over every rock in it. Needless to say, he's going to be here for awhile. If he's staying at the inn you and Jal might have to move into the barracks to avoid him.

Kaktus 2014/03/15(Sat)15:24 No. 566429 ID: 549d6c
File 139492227146.png - (14.81KB , 900x450 , 30.png )

>Alexandra, I think I know where Anna is. We had her spill everything we knew about Brad's kidnapping and the toll office break in to Andrzej.
Oh, great, so they hauled her off to an insane asylum, then?
>Had her say she'd only reveal her source in front of the Archbishop, Dooriya, or Drina so they could corroborate we exist and are the source. He said he was going to arrange a meeting for that later today, so I assume Anna is still with him.
Hmmm… well, that might actually make him believe her…

>*sigh* how shall we put this... a guy named "Alexi Vo-
NO!!!NONONONONONO!!!
>Which is odd considering the poster Alexi is showing around town is of a male lizard he said is his brother. ...And he and the poster happens to have the same eye color as you.
I’MNOTGOINGBACKI’MNOTGOINGBACKI’MNOTGOINGBACKI’MNOTGOINGBACK
>You should also know we overheard Alexi say that his father told him to search this specific city, and he's not going to give up until he's turned over every rock in it.
*Sob*…

Um… Alexandra? Are you alright?

Insert Blue screen of death_

>>566429
Alexandra, we will do everything we can to keep you from him. Even if we have to kill him. Calm down. It's gonna be okay.

Also, you should know that there are ways to make you look prettier, if that is what you really want. Enchantments, necromancy... We have access to that. Please, have hope.

Alexandra, focus on our voice! We will not let you be taken back! We will do everything in our power to keep that from happening! You have our word that you will be safe.

Now, we need you to stop drawing attention to yourself right away. Drawing attention is bad! Anything that draws attention may get back to Alexi. Stand up, compose yourself, tell the instructor you're fine, and continue on as normal. Keep that facade up. The facade is your shield.

It might help us to help you if we knew the backstory here; Who you are, what happened to you and why your family is so intent on finding you. But if you are not comfortable with telling us yet it's not necessary. However, we do need to know everything you know about Alexi. We already know he's a lizard supremest asshole, but what else is there? Knowing that will help us figure out how to keep him away from you.

We also need to know everything you brought with you that Alexi or anyone he brought with him might recognize as yours. Same goes for anything Jal brought. And will any of them recognize Jal?

There is one "rock" in this city that Alexi has already turned over you could hide under: The cathedral. Once training is over find someplace in it that's out of the way and hide there.

Try to avoid interaction with other lizards. Alexi won't approach non-lizards with his poster, and non-lizards also have a tough time telling lizards apart, especially females. That'll protect you.

We'll have to find out where Alexi is staying in town. If it's at the inn then you can't go back there. Jal's there so we'll switch over to him once we're done here and have him ask Sten if Alexi checked in.

I think they're staying in private quarters in the (what is this place? temple? compound?); at least that's what we overheard from the west wing. You should be safe in your room in the Inn if you have someone to answer the door for you. Jal is already headed there now; you should get there as soon as you can. Stay away from main roads if you can help it, and try to be discreet.

Would you rather we stay with you or should we tell Jal where you are?

>>566451
Oh, geez, you're right. I forgot that Andrzej said Alexi was given a private chamber in the cathedral to stay in. We'll need to find out where that is ASAP.

But even if they're not staying at the inn, the tavern attached to it will be a big problem. It's a major congregation place, so Alexi will likely go there more than once to show the poster around to the locals and travelers.

Alexandra, with Alexi and his goons roaming who knows where in the city, right now the best place for you to be is here in the cathedral compound. Finish your training for the day, then hide, wait until they return and head up to Alexi's chambers, then head back to the inn. If anything changes in that plan we'll jump back to you.

Kaktus 2014/03/16(Sun)07:05 No. 566539 ID: 549d6c
File 139497875709.png - (16.24KB , 900x450 , 31.png )

>Alexandra, we will do everything we can to keep you from him. Even if we have to kill him. Calm down. It's gonna be okay.
C-calm… calm down… calm down… everything will be alright…
>Now, we need you to stop drawing attention to yourself right away. Stand up, compose yourself, tell the instructor you're fine, and continue on as normal.
T-that’s not the instructor. That’s another recruit… um… Malus or Magnus or something… we usually just call him farm boy.
I’m fine… really… no need to worry.
…if there is anything you need then we’re here for you, alright?
Err… thank you?

>It might help us to help you if we knew the backstory here; Who you are, what happened to you and why your family is so intent on finding you.
I…I… I guess you have the right to know. Just… d-don’t tell anyone, alright? My name is… Alexander Von Zolner and… I’m a man… a man born without markings. My family is a bit strict so… so when I fell in love with another man they… they tried to beat it out of me. The same thing they did when they found me wearing women’s clothing… or tolerating non-lizards. Then… one day… I overheard a conversation my father had. He had grown tired of my “Shameful” ways so he was… he was… he was planning of murdering me and then frame some poor people he didn’t like… so I ran… I ran and didn’t look back.
>However, we do need to know everything you know about Alexi. We already know he's a lizard Supremacist asshole, but what else is there?
He’s… father’s favorite son and does whatever father tells him to do… He has a giant ego but neither the smarts nor the skill to back it up. He’s mostly bark and no bite… at least, as long as the other dog can bite back, that is.
>Will any of them recognize Jal?
I… I don’t think so… they would beat me if they ever saw me hanging out with him in the open so…
>We also need to know everything you brought with you that Alexi or anyone he brought with him might recognize as yours.
The only thing I have left that’s originally ours is some coin and some of my cosmetics. I don’t think they’ll recognize any of it.
>I think they're staying in private quarters in the Cathedral. You should be safe in your room in the Inn if you have someone to answer the door for you.
I’m kind of sharing my room with Jal so… well, I’m sharing the hall between the rooms but it’s on that door you knock so…
>But even if they're not staying at the inn, the tavern attached to it will be a big problem.
Then I’ll keep away from the tavern.

>Alexandra, with Alexi and his goons roaming who knows where in the city, right now the best place for you to be is here in the cathedral compound.
…maybe you’re right. I’ll probably be safe he-

Excuse me, have you seen this lizard? His name is Alexander Von Zolner.
(…oh, are you fucking kidding me!?)

Insert Do not tempt fate_

how well trained are your families guards? from what I hear they're nothing more then thugs in a shiner wrapper.

But for what to do just do what the others are doing, don't try to stand out, if they ask you if you seen the guy on the poster say sorry but you haven't. Just answer his questions without giving yourself away and don't stutter as that could tip them off.

>he’s walking away chatting with that stone lizard guy
Gal, actually. Artemis. She might be easier to approach than the prince, actually. Since there's more likely going to be times you can find her not surrounded by guards. Plus that might allow us to get back in contact with Pink.

>so they hauled her off to an insane asylum, then?
Nah, we gave them some stuff that could actually be corroborated, too.

>Will any of them recognize Jal?
Considering they can barely stand to acknowledge non-lizards, I doubt it.

>backstory
So... just to be clear then: are you wearing women's clothes for the disguise, because you like to, or because you identify as female? No judging here, just like to be sure I have my pronouns right.

>Excuse me, have you seen this lizard? His name is Alexander Von Zolner.
Best play might be just to bluff, hard. No, we haven't seen anyone like that. Especially if these guards are dopes, or were hired after you left (how long have you been gone?) and/or haven't been fully briefed on your situation.

...Dammit. ...Wait a sec. Alexi isn't here, so this might actually work in our favor. He's the only one who'd know you don't have markings. These thugs definitely wouldn't have been told that, so they won't be looking closely at females. You play this right and pass off as female and they'll mark off the recruits as checked, making this a relatively safer area for you to be.

It's imperative you be Alexandra now. You have to act just like she would. Put on that persona, walk next to "farm boy" as if nothing is wrong, look over the poster, and say "nope, haven't seen him" right to the thugs' faces. You've got nothing to fear since you're Alexandra.

And don't you worry about us blabbing. Though I can't say we won't eventually tell, but if we do it'll be long, long after you're dead and gone.

If you don't mind me asking, how do you mask your male scent? We know you wear a strongly strawberry scented perfume, but it wasn't available after your bath yesterday. So how did Vlad not notice your scent? Was it just that you didn't have any scent because you'd recently taken a bath or something else?

Kaktus 2014/03/16(Sun)10:54 No. 566559 ID: 549d6c
File 139499246666.png - (15.01KB , 900x450 , 32.png )

>Just to be clear then: are you wearing women's clothes for the disguise, because you like to, or because you identify as female?
Um… I feel beautiful and graceful wearing a dress… and I like it when people call me lady…
>How long have you been gone?
Just a few days. I left about a day after Jal left.
>If you don't mind me asking, how do you mask your male scent? We know you wear a strongly strawberry scented perfume, but it wasn't available after your bath yesterday. So how did Vlad not notice your scent?
Um… I used a bunch of that thing humans uses in their hair. It smelled like honey so it was good enough to match my sent when I didn’t have my usual stuff. Oh, and my clothes smell of strawberry too… just in case…

>Do what the others are doing, don't try to stand out, if they ask you if you seen the guy on the poster say sorry but you haven't.
I can’t say I have…
Hmmm… I don’t think so.
You there, the bit- lady in the back?
I’m sorry, I haven’t.
Aw man… we’ve been asking around all day and no one has seen the freak!
Um… actually, I think I recognize him now…
Err… a-are you sure?
Yes… I think I saw him down at the tavern…
…you mean “Hård’s Ale and bedding”?
No, the one that’s… err… that’s on the other side of town.
…OH! You mean “The crippled spider”! Yes, now when you mention it, I think I saw him in there too!
…did you hear that!? We finally got something! Let’s report this to Lord Alexi at once!
I knew that the freak would be in the poor district with the other freaks. I don’t know why we even bothered looking around here in the nicer part of town.

…so… Alexander?
…you’re a dude?
May we ask why those thugs were looking for you, Alexandra?
Holy shit… you’re a fucking dude! I can’t… not to judge but… um… and not that’s there anything wrong with that but… Aw man… I was fantasizing about her yesterday and now she got a penis!?
…We really didn’t need to know that.
Y-you heard!? I mean… err… I didn’t say anything! Nothing at all!

Insert It’s like I’m wearing nothing at all… nothing at all… nothing at all_

it's up to you if you want to tell them but as you can see you do have friends here, and we'll all look out for you... speaking of which we really hope we got some more news on Brad. We really dropped the ball on that one.

>>566559
Remind me why you have self-esteem issues again? All the guys seem to think you're smoking hot.

Tell them if they find you your father will kill you. That should be enough of an explanation.

>I feel beautiful and graceful wearing a dress, I like it when people call me lady
Fair enough.

>May we ask why those thugs were looking for you, Alexandra?
...leave it at me family is kind of really terrible and I'd rather not be found by them. They... don't really approve of who I am. At all. Thanks for covering for me.

Shush them both; Especially the priest. We really don't want them talking out loud about this. You never know who might hear. Keep it to whispers.

Thank them greatly, then I think you can tell them a bit of the truth. Say that your father was planning to murder you, and that those men, and anyone sharing their raiment, are his goons. Gesture to yourself and say you had to take drastic measures to hide from him. They don't have to know that you actually prefer being female.

Give the priest a Look for speaking that comment out loud, but thank him for confirming that your disguise is working that well.

Ask if you can count on them to help keep your disguise up by still treating you as if you were "Alexandra." And maybe ask if they might keep an eye out for the comings and goings of your father's goons for you; Especially Alexi. Knowing when he enters and exits the cathedral compound would be great.

And tell them you'll tell Sten to put their next order there on your tab as extra thanks for them covering for you today. You just need to get their names for that.

Um... It's probably not the time to bring it up, Alexandra, but... There is a way you could have real female parts. The Serathians have a new necromancy operation that can attach and reanimate parts from other people. We knew someone who was in the experimental phase of its development who successfully went from female to male using it. So, that's something you can look into if you want that badly enough.

Kaktus 2014/03/16(Sun)13:03 No. 566594 ID: 549d6c
File 139500020203.png - (15.70KB , 900x450 , 33.png )

>Remind me why you have self-esteem issues again? All the guys seem to think you're smoking hot.
Being called a freak and beaten by people that are supposed to love you does that to you… and it’s the makeup. Without it I still look like man… a girlish man without markings, but a man none the less.
>It's up to you if you want to tell them
…why?
Because you’re our sister in this brotherhood?
Besides, those Von Zolner guys are fucking assholes!
Oh, yeah, that too. They are rather… rowdy bunch. I still remember one of them spiting me in the face when I was smaller…
…well, there you have it. They are looking for me because they are assholes. They don’t like who I am so they rather see me dead.
…they’ll do that to one of their own blood?
They are psychopaths. Don’t questing their insane logic.
…thank you… for covering for me…
Don’t mention it. It was the right thing to do. That’s what being a paladin is all about, after all.
And fucking with assholes.
>Give the priest a Look for speaking that comment out loud, but thank him for confirming that your disguise is working that well.
Err… right… no problem… not at… all… no… heh…
>Ask if you can count on them to help keep your disguise up by still treating you as if you were "Alexandra."
Of course, you are whoever you want to be.
>Maybe ask if they might keep an eye out for the comings and goings of your father's goons for you; Especially Alexi.
Well, we usually don’t hang out at that part of the cathedral but…
Hey, anything for messing with those bastards. We’ll tell you if we see anything.
>Tell them you'll tell Sten to put their next order there on your tab as extra thanks for them covering for you today. You just need to get their names for that.
Magnus Eklöv, and a free drink is always welcome.
Nikolay Popov… we really need to do you more favors, honey.

>Speaking of which we really hope we got some more news on Brad. We really dropped the ball on that one.
Alex! Hey! Drina wants to see you. You’re going a special mission… something about Brad.
Oh, hello Anna… um… a mission? For us?
…no, for you. They said I still need more combat training before I see any missions… and… and I agree… um… anyway… err… nice tail?
…what do you mean?
Err… well… um… never mind…
…Anna, what’s wrong?
Nothing, honest!

Insert FUCK FUCKING FUCKELY FUCK FUCK FUCK!_

Anna, tell us, we're your friends, we'll help you any way we can... Did you rat out Alex or does Amdrzej think you're crazy? Please tell us so we can help.

>>566594
Oh hey, portraits. [scan those two]

Anna, fill us in please. What prompted this change in behavior?

>Without it I still look like man… a girlish man without markings, but a man none the less.
That doesn't mean you look hideous without it, though. Maybe you don't look like who you want to be, and you do have the right to decide that, but it doesn't make you ugly.

>err… nice tail?
Haha, smooth, Anna. It's okay, though. Just don't make a big deal out of it.

Kaktus 2014/03/16(Sun)14:06 No. 566611 ID: 549d6c
File 139500398669.png - (14.31KB , 900x450 , 34.png )

>Oh hey, portraits. [scan those two]
[Neutral Creatures (Friendly): Those two guys.]
>That doesn't mean you look hideous without it, though. Maybe you don't look like who you want to be, and you do have the right to decide that, but it doesn't make you ugly.
Well, I think I’m ugly without makeup and that’s final.

>Anna, tell us, we're your friends, we'll help you any way we can...
Oh, it’s nothing. Really…
…nice tail?
Well… err… the voices said… um…
Oh gods, did they already rat me out!? I just told them a-
Nonono… err… they just commented that your tail is a bit… err… wait, so it’s true? You’re a… um…
Yes. Don’t tell anyone, right?
Of course not!
Well then, Drina wanted to see me so…

…

*Whistling Happily*~
Drina, the vagabonds you helped arrest have spilled some interesting information. If what they said are to be believed, then they were just a bunch of homeless that Justin Case hired to cook up his drugs.
Err… what does that have to do with Bradford? You said this had something to do with him?
*Whistling Happily*~
There’s more. Apparently this Justin have been in an argument with another group of bandits about a certain blue stone.
Blue stone?
Err… yes, and they also told me they are hanging out in one of the ruins near the city.
So… do you think they got Brad?
*Whistling Happily*~
There’s a chance that they do.
Then what are you waiting for? Send out a team and get them.
Well… they don’t actually know which ruins they are actually in and… well… we are rather low on available personal right now… anyway, that’s why I told you to send for a healer. You, Dooriy- stop whistling, dammit!
Sorry…
You, Dooriya, a healer recruit and that savant bowman you have under your command are to scout out a fort nearby to see if they are hiding there. Others will take the other locations. Oh, and one last thing… here, this came addressed to “Bradford’s Master”… I guess it’s for… well… those things…
“Cultist, bring only pawns, releasing the beast, three o’clock?” Written in green ink?
Don’t ask me.

Insert Stop being so damn cryptic, dammit!!_

>>566611
Aha. Dooriya, what happened to make you in such a great mood? Was it the dream you had last night? You should know Steve had a hand in that. Please tell us what he did in your dream- this could be important.

The healer recruit we pick has to be Alexandra. That would mean the group has only our pawns in it, which is what the message is about. What time is it? 3 o'clock could mean a specific time, or it could refer to the ruin east of the city.

>“Cultist, bring only pawns, releasing the beast, three o’clock?” Written in green ink?
>riddles!
The voice guiding those who kidnapped Bradford is Green. We're Teal, by the way. As for "cultist", he's also under the impression we're working with demons, although I don't know why. Pawns refers to people who can hear us. (I know that's kind of an insulting way to refer to people choosing to cooperate with us, but hey, we didn't define the terminology).

Going by the green ink I'd say that's from player Green. In case you didn't know, his pawns were the ones who kidnapped Brad. You can tell Andrzej all that for us.

First thing to note about this note is that Green didn't have to send it at all. He could have handed over Brad and the stone to the cultists with nary a peep to us. He wanted to tell us something, or have us do something.

I think Green's telling us that the cultists will arrive at three 'o clock to collect Brad, him being the "beast," wants us to be there at that time with only our pawns. So we have until three 'o clock to find the hideout. Better get going.

I'm guessing Green figured out that handing Brad and the stone over to the cultists would be very bad. That or he figures they never had those ten dragons and they're just going to kill his pawns to get Brad. Either way he wants us to take them out.

Do we have Brad's blessed warhammer from his room? We should bring that along to hand over when we find him.

Oh, Dooriya, you mind telling us what was written in that book Lightbringer gave you?

[Scan Captain Andrzej] Just to see if he's taken by anyone.

>>566618
We are working with daemons. Steve and Bob are daemons. I don't think Green knows that Steve and Bob are working against the other daemons, which is to our advantage, at least for the moment. I consider it a temporary alliance now, because of what we've learned about daemons in general. We should explain this as soon as we can talk to Green again.

well he either thinks we're cultist or he's telling us we're going to run into cultist. Either way when we go looking for Brad be ready for a fight cause Green is sorta neutral to us but he did kidnap Brad and him setting up an ambush isn't that unlikely, so have our bowman and healer stand back from you and your sister so if we are jumped we're not all encircled and if they attack the two lagging behind at least they won't be alone and can hold there ground until you and your sister can pull there asses out of the fire.

Kaktus 2014/03/17(Mon)11:12 No. 566742 ID: 549d6c
File 139507994473.png - (14.16KB , 900x450 , 35.png )

>[Scan Captain Andrzej].
[“The Knight of Spades” belongs to player gray.]

>Aha. Dooriya, what happened to make you in such a great mood?
(Huh? Oh, I… I just had a-)
>Was it the dream you had last night? You should know Steve had a hand in that.
(-wait, how did you- that’s private!)
>Please tell us what he did in your dream- this could be important.
(Humph! We had fun together, that’s all you need to know!)
>Oh, Dooriya, you mind telling us what was written in that book Lightbringer gave you?
(A lot of things… actually, most things… I’ve read it for hours and I’ve barely passed the first page… I can’t imagine how much knowledge is in that thing…)

>What time is it?
(Half pass twelve.)
>Do we have Brad's blessed warhammer from his room? We should bring that along to hand over when we find him.
(His gear is probably still in his room. I’ll retrieve it before we head out.)

>Going by the green ink I'd say that's from player Green. In case you didn't know, his pawns were the ones who kidnapped Brad.
Hmm, another voice, then? But… Green does fit… according to the information we’ve gotten the leader of this gang called himself green, so they are probably the same.
>I think Green's telling us that the cultists will arrive at three 'o clock to collect Brad, him being the "beast," wants us to be there at that time with only our pawns.
And that would be a perfect place to spring a trap. No, you’re not going in there alone. Remember, this is a scouting mission. When you find them report back and we’ll send out a detachment of professionals to clean up this mess. Don’t worry, we’ll have all the ruins nearby scouted out before three… if we hurry…
>I'm guessing Green figured out that handing Brad and the stone over to the cultists would be very bad.
Hmmm… that’s a possibility, yes… though… if I was Green I would simply trick you and the cultist fight. You did say he disliked both you and the cultist so… an enemy of my enemy is a piece to be sacrificed, after all.

>We are working with daemons. Steve and Bob are daemons.
THEY ARE WHAT!!!?
…err… what?
B-but… they… he… he’s a… but… this whole…
…just to repeat myself: what?
EVERYTHING WAS A LIE!?
HE LIED TO ME!!!?
…one more time: what?

Insert Everything you know is a lie. Up is down and black is white. (Also, An Insert is actually the start of an update)_

oh for god sakes, ok lesson up. Stop think of deamons as evil beings for a second and think of them more as nations. From what we gathered there are two nations of deamons, Steve and Bob's side which are trying to protect the everyday normal people like you from the other nation of deamons that see you as nothing more then cattle to be used and thrown away as continent. Both sides have conflicting ideas of what is best and naturally both sides are at war with each other. That one war why the fuck back when where they sealed the deamons in the mountain that is now glowing, that was Steve's nation of deamons locking away the other nation that wanted to enslave humanity, lizanity, and mananity. The cultist work for this side.

Also question, why did the caption act like we're crazy when we had anna tell him the information we got on Brad because of head voices when he himself is allied with Grey?

>>566742
You should keep in mind "Daemon" is a term separate from "demon". Daemons are a race of emotion-eating beings from another dimension that have great powers when manifested in this world. They are like gods. So what Steve said to us was not necessarily a lie. He is, in fact, the bane of darkness, for he opposes the corrupt undead. He was created during the birth of the world. I suspect the other Daemons were as well, but it's also possible they were created later by some other process.

I'm not sure what he said to you in your dream, Dooriya, considering you're not talking about it. You should know he approached your sister in her dream too, but we're not sure what happened exactly because she can't remember it aside from being freaked out.

Gah! Not the best time for this, but we'd have to tell you eventually. Just don't spread it around without us agreeing, okay. And tell Andrzej we dropped a huge metaphorical bombshell on you two and it's a private matter.

First, forget everything you've learned about daemons. All the negative connotations attached to the word.

That done, here's what daemons really are: As far as we know, they are powerful immortal extra-dimensional beings that experience time non-linearly and subsist on mortals' emotions. Negative emotions are bland but nutritious, positive ones tasty but not nearly as nutritious. Without enough emotional nutrition daemons wither away to powerless, mindless husks; Effectively death for them.

Lightbringer Steve and Gatekeeper Bob are part of the daemon faction that feeds primarily those tasty emotions and keeps the rest of the daemons underfed and enslaved. The Blood God and the Dark One want to overthrow that faction and free the rest of the daemons, and to do that they need lots of negative emotions to feed their brethren. And to get negative emotions in quantity... Well, take a guess how they'd generate them.

So daemons are not evil, or good, or anything but powerful. They all have their own personalities, motives, and agendas. They can tell the truth, they can lie. But when it comes down to it, they can't ever be totally trusted.

And if we had the opportunity to seal away all the daemons from this world and stop their meddling in it, we would. But as it stands we'll back the daemons who're against the ones who'd turn this world into Hell to power their overthrow of the other daemons. Nothing more. We get a better option, we'll take it.

Dooriya, you can check something for us. Crack open Lightbringer's Book and look up daemons. Just look for anything on them, but specifically what they eat.

Let Andrzej know he's one of Gray's pieces. She hasn't spoken to him, so he was probably taken by her as a precaution to prevent another player from taking him, and also so she could jump to him and perch on his shoulder. In fact, I'd bet she's here right now. Shame we don't have a mirror to check that.

Also ask if we have means of instantaneous communication to report back for this mission. 'Cause if we don't then Andrzej should have an Order messenger hang near Anna and Jal so we can switch back and report through them.

Now lets get going. Clock's ticking on saving Brad.

Got anything else we don't need to know, Dooriya? I guess we've all got some explaining to do.

Yes, demons. We thought that Steve and Bobs' goals aligned with our own. We all wanted to keep the other daemons from turning this planet into a world of suffering and anguish which daemons feed on. We then learned they were doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Apparently Steve and Bob are running some kind of oppressive dictatorship in the daemon realm, where they get all the good emotions and the other daemons starve and work. Yeah it's shitty, but if it's keeping the monsters that eat suffering and shit Wraiths in check, we can go on without the moral high ground. The thing that bothers me is that he lied to all of us. We learned most of what we know from another daemon who's fighting against us. Now that he's, ahem, 'having fun' with our pawns, I think our leniency is coming to an end. We already have plans to confront him, I'm guessing you'd like to join?

What I want to know is, what are the other daemons being enslaved to DO? What even needs doing in whatever weird dimension they normally exist in?

Kaktus 2014/03/18(Tue)07:28 No. 566836 ID: 549d6c
File 139515292450.png - (17.36KB , 900x450 , 36.png )

>Tell Andrzej we dropped a huge metaphorical bombshell on you two and it's a private matter.
Oh, I know that feeling…
>Let Andrzej know he's one of Gray's pieces.
I know.
Then why did you act like Anna was crazy?
It’s called acting, you know. Most people would believe you’re crazy if you say you’re hearing voices.

>You should keep in mind "Daemon" is a term separate from "demon".
(An “a” doesn’t really exempt them from the things they’ve done.)
>Stuff about Daemons.
(So… we’re in the middle of a war. A war between super powerful entities and we’re the prize… this is some alarming news…)
(Dammit, you’re making things so complicated! It was easier when they were just bad guys that needed smiting… now… now they almost sound human.)
>I'm not sure what he said to you in your dream, Dooriya, considering you're not talking about it.
(It’s more what he didn’t say, that’s what.)
>We already have plans to confront the light, I'm guessing you'd like to join?
(…yes, let’s. I really need to talk to him.)

>Dooriya, you can check something for us. Crack open Lightbringer's Book and look up daemons. Just look for anything on them, but specifically what they eat.
(Hmm… let’s see… emotions of the living world. The emotions we feel seeps through to their world and there can be consumed by them to regain power. Emotions like pain, regret and despair is nourishing while feelings like hope, happiness and love on the other hand is a delicacy.)
>What I want to know is, what are the other daemons being enslaved to DO? What even needs doing in whatever weird dimension they normally exist in?
(Says here that they are made to do things a lot like thralls in this world. Build, collect food, process it… things like that…)

>Now let’s get going. Clock's ticking on saving Brad.
Right, Alexandra and Vlad should be waiting for you outside… together with Lord Ranger Mikhail who currently instructing you Vladimir. Apparently, the young boy has impressed her.

…

-and you can also use these kind of herbs to mask your smell from the wild life.
Very good… I’m impressed; you’re more knowledgeable about the art of not being seen that I anticipated. Though you’re yet a bit green, so don’t expect to be one with the shadows like Garret, the master thief. Know your limitations. Only a fool thinks himself wise, but a wise man thinks himself a fool.
Err… Garret who?
It’s a reference to the book “The Metal Age”. It’s a classic. It’s about the balance of good and evil, order and chaos. How embracing a cause, to grow fond or spiteful, is to lose one balance and how no action can be trusted after that.
Um… right… anyway… excuse me for asking but… isn’t Mikhail a boy’s name?
…my parents was… let’s just say, book fanatics.
Let me guess, you’re named after the Albino Troll in Richard Mobey’s works?
…yes, yes I am… and that’s the mask I have to wear, isn’t it?
Bah, What’s in a name? If we call the sweetest of nectars something else, doesn’t it sill taste the same?
Just remember, Alchemist, Honesty is a legacy who’s richness is uncontested.
Me, honest? If I was an honest man I would call myself a liar and a scoundrel, but alas I’m not an honest man, now am I?
…By the Thane, are you two hitting on each other with book quotes!?
Well, they say books is food for the mind and music is the food of love…
Jal’s been eating books all life and he’s still a fool, if you ask me.
Oh, you wound me, Alex.
Better a witty fool then a foolish wit, no?
Err… are we… interrupting something?

Insert Better to be then not to be… wait, no, that was…_

>By the Thane, are you two hitting on each other with book quotes!?
Welcome to nerds, Alex. It happens more often than you'd think.

I think Mikhail is just getting to know the recruits. Anyways mission time
[scan Mikhail]

Just a pair of flirting nerds, Drina. Give them the chance and they'd talk in quotes like this for hours.

So, Jal, is Mikhail gonna be next on the list to try and woo into bed? 'Cause that might have issues, given she's kinda your superior in the Order. May want to just leave her as someone you can talk books with for now.

Alexandra, you look like you don't approve of Jal hitting on Mikhail. Don't think it'll end well, do you?

Dooriya, I don't think we've asked you this: What do you think of Jal?

Hey, Vlad, "music is the food of love." As if you needed another reason to practice your harp, eh?

Has Mikhail been informed about us? And is she coming on the mission or are just a few of her rangers going to be on this?

There anything more about the mission we need to hear? Because if there isn't and everyone has been briefed then we'll head out.

>>566836
Hang on. She's an albino? Wow, her scales are like ivory. I would've expected something a bit more pink, really.

Jal I think you're in trouble. This girl seems like a perfect match for you, not just a fling.

Kaktus 2014/03/18(Tue)11:08 No. 566853 ID: 549d6c
File 139516610227.png - (6.24KB , 900x450 , 37.png )

>[Scan Mikhail]
[“The White Death” belongs to player Gray!]

>Alexandra, you look like you don't approve of Jal hitting on Mikhail. Don't think it'll end well, do you?
(I think it’s annoying, that’s what… and I got my room right next to his and I rather not hear a bunch of moaning tonight.)
>So, Jal, is Mikhail gonna be next on the list to try and woo into bed? 'Cause that might have issues, given she's kinda your superior in the Order.
(Pfff, like that has ever stopped me. Besides, that albino butt of hers just demands to be filled with eggs~
>Jal I think you're in trouble. This girl seems like a perfect match for you, not just a fling.
(Ha, like that would happen! No, I’ll just fill her a few times then it’s over.)
>Dooriya, I don't think we've asked you this: What do you think of Jal?
(Who? The Alchemist? Err… well, the only time I’ve met him before he was drunk so… I guess he sound rather intelligent when he’s sober?)
>Hey, Vlad, "music is the food of love." As if you needed another reason to practice your harp, eh?
(“Vlademir the master Bard”… hmm…)
>Has Mikhail been informed about us? And is she coming on the mission or are just a few of her rangers going to be on this?
(Of course she doesn’t know about you… and no, she’s not coming. She’s sending out all the rangers we can spare to scout out the other ruins nearby but the fort we’ve been tasked to explore it’s only going to be us… Me, my sister, Vlad and Alex.,, Alexandra…)
>Anyways mission time.
Alright, people, break time is over! Time to move out!
Remember, this is a scouting mission.
Hey, what to debate “The Metal Age” over some coffee?
Well… I just went on break… eh, what the hell, why not?

…

-here for the broken one.
ngt…?
B-but-
Hey, we never said we wanted him in one piece, just alive. Now, get out and guard the corridor or something, Mr. crossbow.
I’m going, I’m going… sheesh…
*Door closing*
So then… then it’s only you and me left, big boy… you know… It’s a damn shame that we have to cut off those big, muscular limbs. Mmm… maybe we should use them one last time, just the two of us… eh? One last dance? …okay, stop staring at me like that, it’s starting to creep me out.

[Message from Green: One rune of weakness has been deactivated… have fun…]

Insert That’s the kind of gift that keeps on giving_

>>566853
One of the runes is deactivated. Accept the flirtatious offer so you can get out of those cuffs without a struggle, then SMASH.

[message to Green: You know Steve and Bob are fighting the other daemons, right? You should know that our alliance with them does not have to be permanent. We realize they are still daemons and not working for our benefit, but theirs. It just happens that an alliance with the lesser of two evils is the most likely way to save the world right now.]

[Scan cultist]

[Message to Green: Thank you, but what's the purpose of giving us an opening, now? You said this wasn't about money before (although at least one of your pawns rather thought so). What is it you want from us?]

Brad, one rune is down. You might be able to break free. ...although you might have an easier time of it if you played along with the creepy cultist who thinks you're helpless.

You heard the cloaked figure Brad, have fun with your limbs.

[message to green: I don't know what to make of you, that makes you fun. Tell next time]

Brad remember all the bull crap you went through since you got kidnapped... now add on everything else that pisses you off... you got all that? Good, now unleash it on this little hooded bastard.

Come on Bradford von Beard, are you going to let him take your arms? Are you going to let him deny you the chance to get your vengeance? Are you just going to hang there or are you going to fight!?

Kaktus 2014/03/18(Tue)11:59 No. 566864 ID: 549d6c
File 139516914662.png - (7.31KB , 900x450 , 38.png )

>[Scan cultist]
[Daemonic Creature (Hostile): Female lizard Cultist.]
>[message to green…]
[Message sent!]

>One of the runes is deactivated. Accept the flirtatious offer so you can get out of those cuffs without a struggle, then SMASH.
If you let me down then I’ll make you into a real woman…
Let you down? Ha! You’re way too dangerous for that! Besides, who ever said that I would be the women? Oh, I do love to make big boys like you cry out for mommy~
>Brad remember all the bull crap you went through since you got kidnapped... now add on everything else that pisses you off... you got all that?
>You heard the cloaked figure Brad, have fun with your limbs.
Now, let’s get you turned around so I ca- MFFF!!!
*Crack!*

(Well… that one is dead…)
Hey, you alright in there? You didn’t start without me, right? Open the door… wait, I got the key here somewhere, one sec…

Insert Those arms got some killer muscles_

quick remove the other rune and then wait behind the door, when the other one comes in beat the shit out of him, then find something that can be used as a weapon and lets get the hell out of here.

Quickly lower the cultist's body to the ground, undo your leg shackles, and if the remaining rune of weakness is on your body then pull it off.

Take the saw; It's no good as a weapon, but it could be useful as a tool. Then hang the lantern up so it's lighting the doorway instead. That way the cultist won't see you're free and this cultist is dead right away.

If the door looks like it opens inwards then stand next to the wall where you'll be behind it when it does. Wait for the cultist to unlock it and walk in, then push it closed, reach out and snap his neck. Otherwise, if it doesn't open in, then wait in the darkness behind the lantern and lunge at his neck when he steps in.

The Order should almost be here, if they're not here already. They figured out Green's bandits were using a ruin near the city as their base. They ought to have checked them all by now, so expect backup soon.

>>566864
I think you can use that saw as a weapon for now until you get a real one. Unless the dead cultist has a real weapon already?

Be careful. You're unarmored, still weakened, and alone. We have help on the way but we don't know how long it'll be until they get here.

We can't be sure we have help on the way, knowing how we have sorta time-hopped. Though we can hope we're being linear right now and this isn't the far future where the help failed or the past where they had no idea you were gone.

Find and remove the second rune. If the cultist has a weapon on her, take it. If not, just kick the door off its hinges and into the face of whoever is trying to open it. If you can't destroy the rune or the door is just too sturdy, put out the lantern and lie in wait for the enemy to come in.

Be sure to say something clever like 'KNOCK KNOCK' or 'Welcome to the party, *expletive of your choice*'

>The emotions we feel seeps through to their world and there can be consumed by them to regain power. Emotions like pain, regret and despair is nourishing while feelings like hope, happiness and love on the other hand is a delicacy.

So, either the book has wrong information or Steve and Bob lied, which wouldnt be surprising.

Kaktus 2014/03/18(Tue)13:48 No. 566875 ID: 549d6c
File 139517571226.png - (12.19KB , 900x450 , 39.png )

>Quickly lower the cultist's body to the ground, undo your leg shackles, and if the remaining rune of weakness is on your body then pull it off.
Done.
>I think you can use that saw as a weapon for now until you get a real one. Unless the dead cultist has a real weapon already?
Hmm… it’s probably only good for one strike… it wasn’t meant to be a weapon. Can’t find anything else lethal on her.

>Then hang the lantern up so it's lighting the doorway instead.
There, now we ca- Ow, what’s with the light?
>Be sure to say something clever like 'KNOCK KNOCK' or 'Welcome to the party, *expletive of your choice*
In light of recent events, I have to say that you aren’t exactly all sunny about my- *Glarg*
I saw what you did there..
HOLY SHI- FREEZE OR I’LL SHOOT!!
Hey, it’s not my fault that your friend here got a splitting headache. If anything, he’s probably ahead of you when it comes to ending up a head shorter.
…one more pun and I’ll shoot you anyway.
Fair enough.
Now lay down on the ground with your hands on your head.

Insert Clearly, Brad is a cut above the rest when it comes to sharp wit_

>>566874
I'm starting to think the only thing that separates Steve and Bob from the other Daemons is ambition.

>>566875
Say "Hey, I see your point, don't loose your head." and use the torso or sarcophagus as cover. After he's fired, kick the head at him and bum rush the guy before he reloads or takes out another weapon.

Hmm, he isn't dressed like a cultist. [scan cloaked human]

>>566875
That is a poisoned crossbow. DO NOT GET SHOT. If you think you can take cover behind a sarcophagus do so, then throw something lethal at him once you have an opening. If that's not likely to work, then surrender.

Actually come to think of it, that guy isn't wearing cultist robes. Is he not with the cultists? If he's working for your captors, then he's not going to kill you. In which case, you can just let him recapture you and wait for rescue before more cultists get here.

>>566874
Steve didn't say what emotions were tasty. Only Bob told us that, and I'm pretty sure he lied.

use the corpse as a meat shield and throw something at the crossbow guy and rush him. The corpse is meant to protect you from arrows and whatever you throw at the guy is more just to throw off his aim then anything else. If you can get in close tear away the crossbow. and hold him. We might as well ask him where we are.