1/2 Heretic 2019/05/06(Mon)16:49 No. 932154 ID: a451fc
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YOU: ...You really want to die that badly? Fine.

Nolan let's go of your collar and crumples back to the ground. You put your finger up to his head and do a little shooting motion while making a bang noise with your mouth.
YOU: There! You're dead now. All of this is gone, and now you can be someone else. You can get away from Channing and do something worth while with your life.
NOLAN: ...Do you honestly think it's that simple?
YOU: Hey man you think dying will just fix all of your problems, don't get on me for my "simple" solution. Constantly comparing yourself to your brother and following all of his orders even if they make you unhappy seems like the real source of your issues. What's more is you lack support from anyone, I didn't get this way on my own y'know. Going through life essentially alone is a terrible way to live.

You kneel down to his eye level.
YOU: I know you're scared of your brother he sounds like a terrifying guy, but is this anyway to live? You need to ask yourself what you really want? because what you're after right now seems to be making you miserable.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/06(Mon)16:49 No. 932155 ID: a451fc
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NOLAN: I didn't come here to be lectured
YOU: You didn't come here to lose either but it still happened. If you don't want to listen to me then fine, but I'm not going to kill you.

You stand back up.
YOU: If there's anything you should take away from this it's to stop by Channing's brother Nolan, and start being just Nolan.

There's a long silence before you can offer him help or something for his wounds he turns back into thin air and floats away. You're left the victor, with the shards of Nolan's mask in your possession. Not really sure what to do with it, you have no intention of wearing it as a mask, making a necklace out of the shards sounds like a good idea though your dad's neckerchief already has your neck slot reserved, so maybe a bracelet? It's not really important right now. What's important is you return to Flint and wrap this training up.

I say just glue the pieces together and keep it as a trophy on your mantle.

>>932155
>What's important is you return to Flint and wrap this training up.
Then let's get back over to Flint and ask him what you need to do next.

>>932159
Exactly what I was thinking.

"See you later."

Time to go, honestly.

I say when we get the chance we should modify the mask to me something useful, kinda like we did for our flamethrower but more utility.

Anyway head back up and declare your victory.

Rude ass mother fucker, at least say "bye"!
Anyway, task complitet, trophy gained. Let's see what the lazzy master thinks of our fight.

We can think what to do with the mask later.

Before you leave these caverns, get some of that aura sensing water! It might help you make a demon-detecting thing along with the meteorite chunk. Seriously that water is useful.

Before you leave these caverns, get some of that aura sensing water! It might help you make a demon-detecting thing along with the meteorite chunk. Seriously that water is useful.

>>932155
Let’s get back to Flint.

>>932159
Good idea!

>>932176
>water
Don’t we first have to take that to Flint?

>meteorite chunk
Speaking of which, did a Flint take that from us? I know he took our weapons, but I’m not sure if he took that.

But if it reacts to demons, maybe it reacts to their aura? Could we see what happens if we run a tiny amount of our own aura through it?

>>932178
I think we left the chunk at home, we didn't have much reason to bring it with us.

Also, we touched it to our barrier and it reacted, so yes, it does react with aura.

We should ask Flint about the chunk.

>>932179
>Also, we touched it to our barrier and it reacted, so yes, it does react with aura.
That was back when we had Vol’s mark, so technically it was his demonic magic we were using, not our own aura.

Now that we’re not borrowing Vol’s magic anymore, I’d like to try using our aura on the meteorite chunk to see if we get a different reaction this time.

>>932181
I think we already did and he said something along the lines of, "Hey, don't ask me. You're the researcher, do some research." or something like that.

... We just used an energy construct as a parachute...

We can use energy constructs as limbs...

Roland Should be able to make flight capable wings!
What's more, since Energy is weightless, sure, they'd have to be big, but not massive.

A two wing setup could provide massive speed and power, a four wing setup could provide precision control and perhaps even hover capability.

Of course, this'll take practice but....
I think our boy Roland should get on this!

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)14:27 No. 932297 ID: a451fc
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>>932176
You still have the waterskin with some of the water.

>Return
After the whole ordeal you trudge back to the tree stump. There your three tutors are waiting for you. Wick and Daisy seem to immediately relax upon seeing that you've returned relatively unharmed while Flint nonchalantly eats a rock hard apple, the sound of the crunching is absolutely disgusting.
WICK: Congratulations kid, you passed!
DAISY: I'd say with flying colors. Right Flint?
FLINT: Eh, I'd say it's more of a C minus.
YOU: Seriously?
FLINT: You took longer than I expected. Don't be too down 'bout it though its still passing so, Good job!

Flint gives you a small round of applause semi-sarcastically but Daisy and Wick join in with applause that feels actually genuine.
FLINT: Progress no matter how small is progress, kid, remember that.

As he says this to you he tosses a bag at your feet. Inside is a change of clothes along with some other stuff.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)14:28 No. 932298 ID: a451fc
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The clothes are similar to your original ones, but a bit better quality. On the back of the poncho is three triangles stacked on top of each other. Inside of the bag there's a knife and a smaller sack of 10 ball bearings.
WICK: Even with all of your trainin' carryin' silver on you's always a good idea. So there's a silver knife along with some silver ball bearings. Personally I feel like guns can be kind of unreliable so it's better the fling those if you need them.

Next to the silver stuff there's a phone.
DAISY: Flint told me you didn't have a phone, so I got you one of my old Tombstones. They can work without a network, but not gonna lie it's kinda shit. No camera, the audio can be spotty and it loses signal sometimes. it can still be useful though.

Finally there's a sheaf of paper along with some pencils and an eraser
FLINT: In case you run out.

After you change into the new clothes Daisy and Wick say their goodbyes, both wishing you luck in whatever you do. You climb back up the stump with Flint and enter his car as he starts it up.
FLINT: So! How ya feel now that you're all used to this stuff?

>>932298
>Cellphone
I can't believe I didn't actually realize those existed until now. Like, even though Nolan used a phone, I still didn't think they existed.

>How are you feeling
I'd say I can see why you expected me to get my ass kicked in the tournament if a lot of the people who entered are capable of this kind of stuff (good thing we didn't run into many of those). I can think of a few situations where this power would have probably made things a lot easier.

Hey, what does the symbol on my back represent?

I feel like everything is more easier but complex at the same time. Like i just took this big step on a journey, but i can't even see the end of it. And it feels great. I want to keep walking.

>>932298
>On the back of the poncho is three triangles stacked on top of each other.
Ask what that represents.

>Silver
Those will help!

>Cellphone
Now you've got an excuse to ask Ada for her phone number. ;D

>Paper, pencils, erasers
Seems like he's expecting you to fill out your demon journal quite a bit!

>How do you feel?
I feel like I'm a little more prepared for whatever comes at me.

By the way, did Flint give you back your things that he took from you at the start of the test?

>>932298
Ask what the symbol means.

I feel like I'm a kid who just beat the shit out of a hitman...

It only gets crazier from here on out, doesn't it?

>>932298
>cellphone
What numbers are already installed on it?

Since this is Daisy’s old phone, do we need to worry about someone calling it and looking for Daisy?

>So! How ya feel now that you're all used to this stuff?
I feel like showing off to everyone when I get home! But I’m not sure if I should.

Are there any rules when it comes to this aura stuff? Like am I not supposed to tell anyone about it or don’t go trying to teach anyone or something?

>>932316
And Wick mentioned that it’s possible to fly with aura and I kinda want to do that after I get better at controlling my aura.

Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)20:22 No. 932337 ID: a451fc
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YOU: Prepared! Excited! Really I feel great!
FLINT: Glad to hear it, but don't get cocky just cuz you're a fast start. You're still a rookie, and I'm nowhere near done with you kid.
YOU: 'Course you're not...Hey what do these triangles on the back of my clothes mean?
FLINT: Seeking Knowledge. I thought It'd be fitting for you.

Flint drives out of the cavern, into the wasteland and back to your house dropping you off. Before he leaves, he puts his number into your Tombstone phone and makes sure to give you back whatever else he took.

You walk over to your house where Vol is playing darts at the front, You call his name to get his attention.
VOL: Roland! Finally! I was worried I'd hafta stay up waitin' all night fer ya to get back! Did ya get new clothes while you were...where eva' ya were?

>>932337
Real quick, before you get distracted with talking to Vol, use Aether Sight to look around and see if you can spot Peaches before he ends up tackling you while he’s invisible.

Once you’re sure that Peaches ain’t gonna sneak up on you, excitedly tell Vol where Flint took you for your training! You actually went to a big jungle in the Aether!

And then show Vol the new trick you learned and summon up a few aura arms!

.....then tell him about Naos unexpectedly showing up and your fight with him. Tell him Naos’ real name and show him his mask that you got as a trophy for beating him. You didn’t kill him, even though he really wanted you to, and he kinda just.....left. You don’t know where he is or if you’ll ever see him again.

>>932337
First, let's see what a demon looks like in aura vision. We should also use aura vision on that stone and silver to see just how aura reacts to them.

"You won't believe what happened, Vol! I got to go to a satellite in the Aether! Oh, and word of advice, don't dare Flint to eat anything, at least nothing we own."

>>932338
Don’t forget to show Vol the triangles on your back and tell him what they mean.

>>932343
>Oh, and word of advice, don't dare Flint to eat anything, at least nothing we own.
Specifically anything made of metal.

>>932338
jungle is kind of pushing it.

--

Well, now that we are done with that, lets put Vol through a gauntlet until something interesting happens.

"I was off learning to do THIS!"
Demonstrate your increased control of Caesura.

Ask him if he's made any progress with his own magic, now that he's not weakened from the pact or whatever.

Hmm.. we should find Troy and tell him not to go anywhere alone for a while.
If Nolan doesn't report back, Channings gonna throw everything he has at him.

The final battle with Channing will soon be upon us.

>>932337
Did your replacement clothes include a neckerchief? If so, since you're not gonna replace your dad's neckerchief, what did you do with the replacement one?

>Vol
Tell him everything that happened and where Flint took you for training. Then show off your new skills because why would you not want to show off?!

We should also explain what happened with Nolan to Troy.

I WAS IN A CAVE! AND I WAS PUNCHING THINGS! WITH MY AURA! DID YOU KNOW WE HAD AURAS? SO COOL! I HAVE A NAME FOR IT! AND THEN THIS TWO GUYS APEARED AND TOUHGT ME THINGS! AND I HAVE TESTS, AND I PAS THEM, AND THEN NOLAN APPEARED, AND I BEAT HIM UP TOO, AND THE HE GOT SAD, BUT I DIDN'T KILL HIM! AND THEN THEY GAVE ME FREE STUFF AND now i am here.

>>932417
We've got a master storyteller over here.

>>932417
Seconding this.

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/09(Thu)16:13 No. 932420 ID: a451fc
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YOU: You won't believe what happened, Vol! I got to go to a satellite in the Aether!
VOL: You went to da Aether??
YOU: Yeah but it wasn't too dangerous, and look what I found.

You show Vol the worm you found in the Aether.
VOL: Oh, one a' d'em things. Rol you didn't go all dat way to collect bugs did ya? Ya coulda done dat here.
YOU: No! I went to learn this!

You showily flex an arm and at the same time materialize a Concerto Caesura arm behind you, then another and another, much to Vol's surprise.
VOL: Holy shit!
YOU: Holy shit right? I learned a lot when I was away...I uh also got something important to tell Troy.
VOL: Free-loada's at da side a' da house listenin' to garbage.
YOU: He pays rent Vol.
VOL: Wat eva'.

>Let's see what a demon looks like in aura vision
You close your eyes, Demons look like a slightly brighter red smear of energy.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/09(Thu)16:13 No. 932421 ID: a451fc
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You walk over to Troy, who is sitting on a bean bag by his truck, wearing headphones. You tap his shoulder to get his attention.
TROY: Hey! Sup Roland! Have fun a Pagan school? Make any new friends?
YOU: Uh, Yeah actually, to both of those.
TROY: Well that's nice to hear. I tried playing darts with Vol but he cheats.

Vol shouts from around the corner of the house.
VOL: JUST CUZ' I MAKE DARTS OUT A' MY BLOOD DON'T MAKE ME A CHEATER! YOU'RE JUST BAD!
TROY: SAY WHAT YOU FUCKIN' WANT YOU GOURD GOBBLIN' GOBLIN.
YOU: ...Gourd gobbling?
TROY: Yeah y'know like a pumpkin eater...Like cheater cheater pumpkin eat- Whatever. Did you want to tell me somethin'?

You show him the shards of Nolan's mask.
YOU: Me and the mask guy, Naos or Nolan, had a run in.
TROY: ...Well, from context clues I can assume you won.
YOU: Yeah.
TROY: And he's dead?

>>932421
I'm afraid I couldn't really kill him, even though he was literally begging me. Guy has some problems, man. He lives in fear of his own brother. I felt like he was a bit of a victim of this whole thing, so I tried to convince himself to leave the gang, but I'm not sure how much effect it had.

>>932421
Just say "probably".

No.
He begged me to kill him when he lost but... I refused.

He might end up not going back to Channing.
If he does... I can see him doing something stupid that could wind up with him getting killed anyway.

Either way, we're going to have a major fight on our hands soon. Especially since if they tracked me to the aether it won't be long before they find this place.

If there's anything you need to do to prepare, now's the time.

I guess the only question is, do we go about business as usual and wait for Channing to come to us, or do we bring the fight to Channing?

>>932421
Explain that Nolan was a Saint with the power over the wind. Then explain the bet he made with you: if he won, you tell him your full name, because he only knows you by your middle name “Gallows”, and if you won, you get to take his mask. It wasn’t a fight to the death, just a “friendly competition”, as he called it.

You guys fought for a while and when you had clearly won, you told him to hand over the mask and he refused, saying you had to kill him for it.

You thought he was just being a sore loser, until he broke down and said that he wasn’t getting anywhere in life. Then he grabbed you by the collar and said, “If nothing I do leads to anything, than my life is worthless! I was a failure of a brother and I'm an even worse bandit! So just end me Gallows!”

You didn’t kill him and just lectured him on how if his life felt worthless, then he should get a new life that would help him feel like he was worth something.

Then he just turned into wind and blew away. You’re not sure where he is right now and you’re not sure if he’s left Channing’s gang or not.

Also, he’s Channing’s older half brother.

No, i just couldn't. He was just there, ready to take it, practically begging me to kill him. Channing fuck him up real bad over the years. He just follows him trying to surpass him, but fail miserably all his life. I know he has done some bad too, don't know what, but i asume the worst. Yet i couldn't bring my self to do it. Call me naive, but i think he can be "rehabilitated". Make him start again, away from his brother and his gang. I would like to think that.

"no, but I think I broke him" is a good summary. Maybe don't go into too much detail about letting him go right away. Let Troy get used to the idea first, in the likely event that he flips out about it.

1/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:34 No. 932539 ID: a451fc
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You explain everything that happened with Nolan at the Pillar Tree Cavern. The fight, his break down, and how he isn't dead.
YOU: Sorry Troy, I couldn't do it.
TROY: ...
YOU: Troy?
TROY: It's fine...I wasn't expectin' you to kill him really, and I'm glad ya didn't. Even with this little break down he's had, He still needs to answer for what he did, and I want to make 'em pay for it.
YOU: I'm also worried about Channing.
TROY: Man who here ain't?
YOU: You shouldn't go anywhere alone for a while.
TROY: Yeah...Things are gonna get a lot worse...

2/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:35 No. 932540 ID: a451fc
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...

3/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:35 No. 932541 ID: a451fc
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NOLAN: ..."start being just Nolan"...What does that even mean?

4/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:38 No. 932545 ID: a451fc
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???: What does what even mean?
NOLAN: Christ!
???: Oh sorry! Did I startle you?
NOLAN: Y-yes! Fuck! your hands are freezing! Why are you out here?
???: Really I oughta be asking you what you're doing here, aside from getting drunk in the middle of nowhere. C'mon you know why I'm out here!
NOLAN: It's Troy right?
???: Well yes, and no! I need to meet someone else first, I don't think Troy'll be going anywhere though.
NOLAN: How many are left?
???: Enough.

5/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:39 No. 932546 ID: a451fc
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NOLAN:...Hey, you ever wonder happened to-
???: Anyone who doesn't make it back isn't worth thinking about.
NOLAN: ...Right
???: Anyway, it seems like you had a rough time doing...whatever you were doing here. So you can head back if you want, you're lucky I love ya or I'd hate how much you waste time.
NOLAN: Sure Channing...Who are you going to meet anyway?
CHANNING: Someone important is all. Don't worry 'bout it.
NOLAN: ...Hey why are your hands so-
NOLAN: ...
NOLAN: cold.


D3: Slight Return - End Episode 6

>>932546
Oh, good, Channing has disarmed himself. Now he’s not a threat to anybody anymore!

.....those are someone else’s arms and not his arms, aren’t they?

>>932555
Yeeeap, wonder who tho. And who is this guy that might have not make it?