Become The Dragon Quest 28
You are Countess Kotijah Imidarius, and you want to be a dragon. You have known since your birth that you wanted to be one of them, to be among your ancestors, a true dragon. Instead you have been confined to something less, something lacking the grace, ferocity and raw power that you deserve.
Last night you celebrated your hard-won victory over the Order of Oak with a party, and after several rounds of drinking and risque games you wound up in bed with Taret. It was... nice. After everything Kat told you, you were expecting your first time to be a hectic and frenzied fuck-fest, but instead everything was careful, gentle and wonderful. You'll probably have to apologize to Taret for what you did to his back, but to be fair, he earned those battle scars for dragging a third orgasm from you before he got done with you.
You awaken to the feeling of Taret pulling you closer. Your hips are still sore and you feel a little hungover, but for a few moments everything else is perfect. Allegiset didn't visit you during the night, either out of disgust or because of your new arrangement with him. You didn't lose your claws or wings, and you can still feel your magic, so it's likely the latter. You snuggle up to Taret for the time being and consider your next step.
You need to press on and claim the White Blade. You've bought yourself time, but you don't know how long, and once you have the blade you still need to travel across the kingdom to find the Red Rose and confront whatever lurks within it. Time is of the essence. That's what you tell yourself as you turn and look at Taret's sleeping face.
>Rise and shine, Starlight Knight, we're moving out
>Let Taret sleep in, he's earned it
>Find the others and discuss the next step
>No time for discussion, load up and roll out, chop chop!
>Other (write-in)
Character Sheet:
http://pastebin.com/hZThyQm7
Thread twitter:
@BecomeQM
Previous adventures at:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Become%20The%20Dragon%20Quest
The rules:
Best of three rolls, critical threat on a 20, confirmed if another roll is 20-modifier or higher. Modifier is Stat being rolled+Relevant skill. You can decide which skill to apply. If no one applies one, no skill will be added on. If you don't have a logical reason to apply a skill, don't do it.
Critical fails are at least two 1s on a roll. May expand this later to increase shenanigans.
Success is on a sliding scale and is situational. Some things are easier than others. Use your head.
Check out the side stories!
Millie's Day Off
http://pastebin.com/9dmr6XWx
Sir Black and the Red Scale
http://pastebin.com/5JMxmEay
Ildareth and the Dragonblood Witch
http://pastebin.com/N83MDEHq
Yes, the story of the night before will be posted when it's done. No, it's not done. Sorry Silver.
>>43955724
>Let Taret sleep in, he's earned it
Glad that an important decision like whether Kot loses her virginity was done as the result of a majority decision in the high point of a thread instead of two suggestions in the dead of night neither of which even requested anything beyond light lewds.
Oh wait.
>>43955732
Yes it is done, dammit.
>>43955792
Alternate ending: Gimbly is an illusionist and an asshat and doesn't like that Kotijah picked someone else over him.
Huh. Totally missed out on the last thread.
Glad we did the right thing and got it on with my husbando Black.
Would've wish we strung it out a bit longer though. I enjoyed teasing him.
>>43955849
Nope. Well, not to my satisfaction.
>>43955930
Glad to have you for this one then.
I wouldn't be too sure of that. The last time I relied on two votes for an important decision it all wound up terribly.
Same here.
>>43955724
>Let Taret sleep in, he's earned it
>>43955792
The suggestion was for light lewds I do believe, and Silver's troll post.
>>43955792
>>43956155
So aside from letting him sleep in, what do? Plan or move out?
>>43956155
It was, which I said, but even that suggestion was indecisive about whether or not it wanted them, and I wouldn't consider what happened to fall under light. What Oliver and Sammy did was light.
There's also the "important decision made by effectively one person in a thread in autosage after most people had fallen asleep" thing, that gets to me more than the actual result.
>>43956323
>>Find the others and discuss the next step
>>43956323
>Find the others and discuss the next step
Neato. Spirit roll
Rolled 3 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43956448
Rolled 10 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43956448
Nothing we could add as a +? Focus? Perception to get context on the roll?
>>43956488
It's a glimpse of something, a sensation, noted in passing.
I feel like we've been in this town forever.
Time to move on!
Also we still haven't learned how to use holy fire.
Might need that against future necromancers.
Waiting on the third roll~
Rolled 14 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43956612
>>43956527
So +Perception?
>>43956680
If it were with your eyes then yes. And considering that >>43956680 rolled high enough to detect it, now I factor in Perception.
And Strength roll please.
>>43956904
To elaborate, this one is raw strength, no skill involved. Except maybe Focus. Yeah, you can add Focus actually.
Rolled 16 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
>>43956904
Rolled 10 + 6 (1d20 + 6)
>>43956904
>>43956934
Oh, then make that>>43956950
+6
Rolled 15 + 6 (1d20 + 6)
>>43956904
You slip out of Taret's embrace as carefully as you can and grab your shirt and pants, slipping them on and exiting the tent. The morning air is cool, but something seems a little bit off. As you exit the tent it feels almost the same as it did walking through that portal into the past. Not exactly, but it gives you a bit of a tingling sensation. You're pretty sure it wasn't there when you entered, but then again, you were also exceedingly drunk last night.
You turn and examine the tent with your sight. There's a spell cast over it, but it's slowly dissipating bit by bit. You know this magic, and after a few moments of studying the remnants of the fading spell you realize how you know it. You turn and walk off towards the campfire and begin cracking your knuckles as you hear the sound of a lute being tuned.
“Gimbly.”
Gimbly looks up at you and smiles a bit. After you turned in for the night he was still drinking and partying. Well, you thought he was at least. Yet here he is, bright and early, up even before you were.
“Kotijah. You're up earlier than I expected. I had a plan to surprise you with a song and dance routine. Did you enjoy the illusion of Taret? You were pretty easy to fool considering how drunk you were.”
You walk a bit closer, one hand calling into a fist.
“Don't play games with me. What was the point of all that?”
Gimbly's face turns serious and he sets down his lute. You've never actually seen his face like this before, and it makes your blood run cold. It's like the air around you is turning into ice. You try to take a step back as he approaches, but you can't get your body to move.
“The point? I'm here because I care about you. Because I desire you. Because I need you. And the moment some tin-plated idiot shows up covered in sparkles you decide to hold his hand and kiss him. And that's how it always is. That's how it always will be for me. Always the tavern wench, never a bride. Good ol' Gimbly Durab, a different girl every night because he's the man without a heart. Well guess what, sunshine, because that's not who I am. So forgive me if I took out my pain on you with a little prank. I'm in pain because the person I'm fond of doesn't give a shit.”
He moves his face an inch from yours. His eyes are red and glistening with tears, and his irises seem to swirl with a purple color that drifts across them slowly.
“Hit me. Go for it. Punch me in my face, prove me right and let me go on my way.”
You feel your muscles tighten, but you manage to hold your fist down. You're not going to give Gimbly, or whatever is controlling you, the satisfaction of decking him like this. You still really want to punch him for his shitty stunt, but you'll be damned if it's on his terms. Gimbly backs off slowly, tears running down his face, and he turns to walk off. The hold on your body vanishes as Gimbly begins to walk away.
>Let him go. Finally showed his true colors, fuck that guy.
>Call Gimbly back over here, then punch him.
>Follow him. As fucked in the head as that prank was, you need him right now.
>Other (write-in)
-
I didn't take away your autonomy on the choice. Gimbly is just a shitty human being sometimes. But it's hard to pretend to be something you're not, right?
>>43957087
>Other (write-in)
Snark.
>>43957087
>Let him go. Finally showed his true colors, fuck that guy.
Think about the spell. Was he WEARING the illusion?
If he wasn't, we're done. He's not welcome back. Our first time with whoever we end up losing our viginity to will always be tainted by this memory.
If he just raped us with that illusion, however, we're killing him, no matter the cost.
>>43957087
"Actually I'm going to go tell Taret what you did and let him sort it out. I'm sure he'll love knowing his image was used in that way."
Yeah....it was a little rape-y.
>>43957252
Just a tad
>>43957252
>>43957208
Personally, I >>43957215 think we need to start acting more draconic. Are we going to tolerate disrespect like this once we complete our quest?
>>43957384
Hell no. I wanna smash that fucking lute over his body until he's a fucking pulp but I think we need to be more reserve about it.
Oh and I guess rape him back.
Let's get Fiona to do it!
AAaaaat Niiiight
So what are the actual votes shaping up to be then?
>>43957497
Let him fuck off and tell Taret about it.
Also think about whether or not we were actually raped.
>>43957497
I wanna go tell our friends on him and have them beat him up.
>>43957586
Oh and get a stiff drink. And grab Kat's pipe.
Because I'm feeling very very emotional for Kot right now.
Anyone getting this vibe from Gimbly now?
You let Gimbly walk away, watching him for a few moments. Your morning has rapidly gone from reflecting on the best night of your life, to wondering just how many lines Gimbly crossed last night. As you look at your hand and flex your fingers you realize that you can't feel the ache between your legs anymore, nor the soreness of your hips. You give his retreating form one last glance and turn away. Whatever he did, it's unforgivable, even if it was all merely a more realistic wet dream.
You head for the carriage and open the door slowly and carefully to find Pirin asleep inside on the floor, with Sena on the seat. You wake them up and move on to Gil and Kat, nudging their tent and swiping Kat's pipe. You can't think of a surer way to get her to untangle herself from Gil than that, and you light it and take a hit while you head for your own tent. You pull open the flap and find Taret curled up with an illusion of yourself. He looks perfectly content right now, but the illusion fades quickly the moment you open the flap. Maybe that's what triggers the dismissal? He clutches the fading form to his chest and stirs a bit before falling back to sleep.
>Wake Taret up, time for a chat before you gather the group
>Leave him be, address the issue with the others, then wake Taret for a talk while everyone else is on a manhunt
>Other (write-in)
>>43957693
I binged that show. I love David Tennant though, so...
>>43957748
I bet Allegiset is laughing is little dragon ass off right now.
>Wake Taret up, time for a chat before you gather the group
>>43957771
He's my Doctor so I love him too.
Is it good? I've only gotten to see previews.
>tfw no netflix
Always liked Jessica Jones tho.
>>43957586
Telling our friends, yeah, we should probably do that, Sena in particular, as much as it will suck to destroy her crush. Don't particularly care for having him beaten up.As scummy and unforgivable as it was, I know those feels, so there's still a shred of sympathy in my heart.
>>43957748
>Wake Taret up, time for a chat before you gather the group
>>43957817
I enjoyed it a lot, but take that opinion for what it is.
>>43957748
>Wake Taret up, time for a chat before you gather the group
Let's get this sorted. We'll have to decide what to do as a group. Illusionists are fucking horrid.
>>43957820
Yeah but you never induced an illusion on someone to have fake fuck fest just because you were jealous they liked someone else.
That's petty as fuck. And fucked up as shit.
He wonders why we don't like him?
THAT'S A BIG FUCKING REASON RIGHT THERE.
>>43957820
If Gimbly took advantage of Sena's crush and slept with her while still only actually caring about Kotijah and taking this revenge of his, he's a dead man.
>>43957865
I knew Pirin was a better choice...
120 days until April 1st
>>43957820
>shred of sympathy
Look at this from the female angle. No amount of feelings justifies that sort of harassment.
>>43957956
From a male angle that's still fucked up. He kinda raped Taret too.
>>43957934
God damn it.
>>43957993
You're going to have to do it and you know it.
You climb into your tent and sit down next to Taret, prodding him gently on the forehead. He grumbles a bit, shifting slightly and rolling onto his back. You grab the blanket and pull it up to keep him from exposing himself, and watch as he slowly opens his eyes. He blushes brightly and gives you a nervous smile.
“Eh-heh... good morning... Dressed already...?”
He sits up a bit and adjusts the blanket a little, holding it steady as he turns to face you. His smile falters as he looks at you, and you realize you've been frowning at him. Well, not at him. At the mental image of your head of your perfect first time being shattered by an illusionist. But you're still frowning, and you shake your head a little to try to clear it.
“Taret, we need to have a talk... Listen, I-”
Taret's eyes widen.
“I know we were drunk last night, but... I meant every word of what I said! I'm in love with you from the bottom of my heart, I wouldn't have... I wouldn't have done all that if I didn't care about you! I'm not like Gimbly, not some womanizer going through tavern wenches... I-I know things moved quickly, I get that, but please don't say you want to give up on us... I wanted last night to be a symbol of how I feel, not some act of mindless passion.”
Alright, poor choice of words on your part...
>Lay it out bluntly, give him the truth, hold nothing back
>Ask him about last night, say you don't know what he said, soften the blow
>Other (write-in)
>>43958015
>>Lay it out bluntly, give him the truth, hold nothing back
>>43957993
MANTICORE DEMANDS IT!
>>43958015
>We were raped Taret. Gimbly raped us.
>HONK HONK
>>43958015
>Ask him about last night, say you don't know what he said, soften the blow
Maybe a little bit of teasing? It's relaxing.
>>43958015
>Lay it out bluntly, give him the truth, hold nothing back
You draw a slow breath.
“...Taret, last night I slept in your tent. This one is mine. I woke up next to an illusion of you that took me to bed and gave me what I thought was the night of my life for my first time. I'm guessing you went to bed thinking you were with me, and had an amazing night, right?”
Taret's expression swiftly turns to confusion.
“Yes, but... So you're telling me...”
You nod a bit.
“Gimbly tricked us. Neither of us did anything last night. We got drunk, played some games, and he gave both of us an illusion to keep us occupied instead of letting us share the same tent.”
Taret looks down. His expression is hard to read. You've never seen him angry before, and frankly you're pretty sure it's impossible. You've seen him determined, sure, but never angry.
“...where is he?”
You look out the tent flap.
“He started walking off. But listen, I...”
You trail off as you notice him grabbing his pants without another word, pulling them on under the blanket. There's a soft light around his right hand, and he heads out of the tent. The light slowly forms into a sword, and Taret begins to walk in roughly the same direction you saw Gimbly leave in.
>Follow Taret, go bard hunting
>Follow Taret, keep him out of trouble
>Stop Taret, don't let him leave without the others
>Let him go, you should probably keep out of what happens next
>Other (write-in)
>>43958184
>Follow Taret, keep him out of trouble
"Taret. We've got bigger problems then Gimbly. He showed us that were we're vulnerable. Illusions, especially while intoxicated can be very dangerous. We need to figure out a way to defend against that type of magic."
>>43958184
>Follow Taret, keep him out of trouble
Feel free to kick his as but no killing.
>>43958219
us where*
He's a quasi-rapist asshole but it did give us something to work on. So instead of wasting our energy on revenge we should channel it to something productive.
Next time Gimbly shows us his face, or tries to betray us because he 'wants us' all to himself, we rip his fucking head off and vomit fire down his fucking throat.
>>43958184
>>Stop Taret, don't let him leave without the others
We should make sure the others are aware before we act as well, to avoid long term drama.
>>43958184
>Stop Taret, don't let him leave without the others
You follow Taret out of the tent, moving to his side.
“We have other things to worry about. People out to kill us, necromancers... Gimbly did one good thing. He showed us that illusions, especially when we're drunk, are a weakness we can't overlook. So if you have to kick his ass then go for it, but don't waste your energy killing him.”
Taret stops for a moment and looks at you. There's that anger. Something ancient stirs inside you, full of fear at the look on his face, the fury of the Starlight Knight. He takes a heavy breath and lets it out bit by bit.
“Kotijah... I am a knight. A knight must fight for justice. He broke no laws with his little prank, but I can't accept what was done to you. I can live with knowing last night was a lie, I can, but... but what he did to you was unforgivable. He will pay the appropriate price.”
For a brief moment you see a flicker in your vision, a hazy scene filling your gaze. A throne room, four robed figures before you, the Starlight Knight battering down your door. One of the figures steps forward, drawing a sword from his hip, a thin, precise blade that you almost recognize.
“I'll take care of this. His fairytale ends here.”
Gimbly's voice.
“By all means, Skin. Show this fool what it means to cross us.”
You blink and the scene vanishes, replaced by Taret's face. He looks down and sighs.
“I'll take care of this. Go and figure out our next move. I'll be back soon.”
You rest a hand on his shoulder and shake your head.
“Wait... At least wait for a second. I... I think I've figured something out. Hold on...”
Allegiset's gaze falls upon you for a moment, and you can feel it, feel him watching and waiting. You can't tell if that vision was from him, or whether or not it's real, but you can tell there's a piece of the puzzle not in its place.
>Let Taret go and regroup with the others
>Bring Taret back and regroup
>Go with Taret, Gimbly is going to cough up what he knows
>Go and fetch the heart from Sena
>Other (write-in)
>>43958456
>Go and fetch the heart from Sena
>Bring Taret back and regroup
>>43958456
>Other (write-in)
>Four Robed Figures
>Sena
>Gil
>Kat
>Gimbly
Oh god.
None of this was a coincidence was it?
>>43958533
I like where you're going with this, but it would be spoilers to confirm or deny your theory.
>>43958468
>Make Taret come with us and go and fetch the heart from Sena
Kiss Taret's cheek. "I appreciate the thought, and we will expand on that, and on what you said when you woke up, but right now I need you to stay next to me while we let my friends know what happened."
>>43958560
You magnificent bastard, I READ YOUR BOOOK!
So...was the illusion Kotijah better then us?
Schmooze roll plus Persuade, +2
Rolled 10 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
>>43958767
Rolled 15 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
>>43958767
Rolled 6 + 2 (1d20 + 2)
>>43958767
You grab Taret's free hand.
“...I appreciate what you're trying to do. And what you said about last night. But for now, I need you with me. We need to let everyone else know what happened before we go any further.”
Taret looks at you, and then off into the distance.
“I want to be able to say yes. I want to be able to stand here a moment longer while he gets further away. I...”
He looks you in the eye, and you shake your head.
“We'll get him. Together. But right now we need everyone's help. I just saw something, and it... It has me worried. The undead that attacked the shop in town were looking to get back at someone they called 'Skin', a necromancer, I think. I had a vision, and someone with Gimbly's voice... Someone called them by that name.”
Taret nods a bit.
“Then... You're right, we need everyone...”
You nod a bit and Taret hugs you tightly as he dismisses his sword, walking with you back to the camp. When you arrive Gil and Pirin are discussing something, Kat is looking for something, and Sena appears to be trying to play Gimbly's abandoned lute.
>Be blunt about what happened with everyone
>Sidestep a few things, Sena is listening after all
>Other (write-in)
>>43958888
>Be blunt about what happened with everyone
>>43958888
"KAT! Roll a blunt. Because its time for blunt talk."
>Be blunt about what happened with everyone
>>43958888
>>Be blunt about what happened with everyone
Nice quads, btw. Just confirms you as best QM
>>43958936
Whoo~
You start from last night and start with a few questions about who saw you and Taret leave, and when the conflicting accounts start to come out you let everyone work themselves into a decent state of confusion before you lay it out plainly. You tell them what Gimbly did and why he said he did it. You can tell Sena's heart is breaking hearing you explain it, but she needs to know who Gimbly is. When you finish, Gil steps forward.
“I guess the only remaining question is, do we move out and head for the White Blade and smite him with that, or do we hunt him down now and deal with this before he gets too much ground between us and him?”
>We do it right now, before he slips away like always
>We wait, there's no time, we have to move out
>Other (write-in)
>>43958994
>We wait, there's no time, we have to move out
>>43958994
>We wait, there's no time, we have to move out
There's no guarantee we'll be able to see through whatever illusions he uses, and he knows our current plans. We should finish those before he has a chance to interfere.
>>43958994
"What he wants is attention, he wants me to focus all my time and thoughts on him because he's a fucking drama queen. So we're not going to give it to him. We've spent too much time in this town as is, and the Order will mark Gimbly down as a target now that he's helped us. He'll be too busy trying to out-run them while probably following me around like some love-sick stalker."
Did we give those garden tools back to that Oak? Did we ever release them from their bindings and send them off?
>>43959095
Oak member*
>>43959095
They're still bound up at the moment. And yes, you gave back the guy's tools.
“We'll have to move out. He wants me to fixate my attention on him, and I won't give him the pleasure. He knows our plans, and if we take too long chasing him and trying to get through his illusions then we won't have a clear shot at the White Blade.”
You can hear Taret turning and walking off, and Gil nods slightly at you, tilting his head in the direction Taret is walking in.
“Go deal with him. We'll pack up here and get ready to move out.”
You nod and turn towards Taret, hustling a bit to get in front of him.
“If you chase after Gimbly you're giving him what he wants.”
Taret nods a little.
“I know that. But if I don't then what am I doing playing at being the Starlight Knight? I'm supposed to be a beacon of hope as the world grows dark. When people do things like this... I'm the one who has to take responsibility and take them down. I can feel it, Kotijah. If I let this go, my light goes out. Then someone else will get blessed by the stars, someone who doesn't care about you at all. I have to protect you...”
>Let him go
>Make him stay
>Other (write-in)
>>43959134
>Let him go
stay safe and ward yourself against illusions!
>>43959134
>"If whoever decides who gets blessed is the kind of being to frown on you for forgiveness, then maybe being the Starlight Knight isn't all it's cut out to be."
>>43959134
>Let him go
But kiss him first.
"Make sure you come back. I'd rather have you lose the light and live than dead somewhere, but we both must be who we are."
We don't want to establish a precident of limiting each other.
>>43959191
I don't think you know what forgiveness means.
>>43959134
>Other (write-in)
"Protect me? Am I that pitiful in your eyes that you have to defend my honor every time someone sleights me? Where were you when my uncle tried to kill me? Nowhere I took care of that myself. Where were you when elemental invaded my home, nearly killed me and I sent myself to the hospital? Huh? I fight for myself. I can kill for myself. Saying you want to protect me is just covering up for your own bruised pride and hiding behind that mantle to do something you feel justified to do is petty and pathetic. I am going to become a Dragon. A goddess on this planet. Gimbly is a pathetic mortal, who thinks this will change everything. He's wrong. Let the sad little man be. The worst punishment we can give him is to exile him from our lives. If he wishes to become my enemy, I will not show him the same mercy I did for the Order of the Oak."
....
Sorry. Taret I love you man, but you just kinda triggered me there. WE ARE NOT WEAK AND HELPLESS. WE DO NOT NEED OUR HONOR DEFENDED. WE ARE WOMAN. HERE US ROAR.
We are not the fucking princess in peril!
>>43959258
You realize that everything you've said is irrelevant now due to changing reasons as to why Taret has to do this, right?
>>43959134
>Let him go
Give him a goodbye kiss first and tell him to hurry back.
>>43959258
Taret's power is demanding he go hunt Gimbly. Protecting us is just Taret's attempt to mesh his geas into logic in his own head.
>>43959134
>>Let him go
"Taret, if you must go, then be smart about this. He fooled both of us with illusions, so brace yourself for this. If he is in league with the necromancers, you must be careful. Return to me alive, dear knight."
>>43959330
Yes, but its demanding that he does this for whats suppose to be his mortal enemy. I think he's breaking a lot of rules just by being romantic with us.
>>43959134
>Do what, defend my honor? Am I suddenly some helpless maiden, incapable of defending myself? Has the strength of my arms and my resolve been dashed to the winds without my knowledge? Are you saying I am somehow unable to go and rip his head off myself if I truly felt it was necessary? Dear, sweet Taret, I am no simple farm maiden waiting for a dashing knight. And I find it offensive that you feel the need to be offended for me in my stead."
>>43959364
Already said that anon.
Doesn't matter apparently. His powers are lawful stupid.
>>43959367
Yeah, but you said it stupidly.
>>43959356
I dunno. We haven't established ourselves as decidedly evil yet. We're just taking power for ourselves.
You laugh a bit and cup his cheek.
“Be you. I'll be me. Go do your duty. I'm gonna go find a magic sword so I can try to kill a monster inside a flower. Well, at least, I hope that's the plan. It's pretty vague, I'll be honest... Come back to me though. I'd rather you lost your blessing and came back to me than died defending your light. If you die, someone else becomes the Starlight Knight anyway, right? So... don't do anything dumb. He's got illusions and might be connected to necromancers.”
Taret smiles softly.
“You know me, Kotijah... I'm a brave and noble knight, but when it comes to you I've been anything but smart... But I will come back, I promise...”
You nod and kiss him firmly before walking past him back to the group.
“See you soon, Starlight Knight.”
Taret smiles at you.
“See you soon, Empress of the Oncoming Night...”
You rejoin the others and Kat walks over to you, nudging you with an elbow.
“Have you seen my pipe anywhere? I think I lost it last night and I haven't a clue where I left it...”
You offer Kat her pipe back and she swipes it out of your hands, taking a long pull from it after a few moments of fussing with a match and sighing.
“That's the stuff... So, how was last night, anyway? I mean, as a preview of the real deal. If he was using that spell on two people at once then it was your own mind piloting the illusion, so it must have been pretty good at least, right? Think positive and all that. Gimbly didn't have a hand in what happened, he just gave it a push.”
>Fair. That does make me feel better about it.
>I'm kinda put off the whole thing at this point.
>If Taret is even half as good as what happened last night, I understand why you and Gil sneak off so much
>Other (write-in)
>>43959395
I think Kotijah would fall into a positive position on the morality tesseract.
>>43959420
>Other (write-in)
...Just pass the damn pipe.
>>43959420
>>43959438
Second. Moping dragon is go.
You wait for Kat to notice your expression, and she swallows.
“...want a hit?”
You grab the pipe from her and close your eyes, taking the deepest hit that you can from the pipe and letting it out a little at a time. You pass it back to Kat, and she starts to repack the pipe.
“Have another.”
You nod slightly, and after Kat gets it going you have another pull and give it back. You can appreciate Kat trying to make light of it for your sake, but it isn't really helping. As you exhale you give your head another shake.
“Thanks...”
Kat nods a bit and hugs you tightly.
“We're all here for you. You're not alone. Let's hurry and get that sword so you're one step closer to roasting Gimbly yourself.”
You nod slightly and sigh softly. Out of the corner of your eye you notice Sena using the heart to make wispy, ghost-like arms to pack things with, manipulating them to fold the tents up and untie the ropes supporting them while the contents are extracted and set aside.
>Talk to Kat some more
>Check in with Sena
>Ask Sena if you can see the heart for a bit
>Other (write-in)
Kat a sativa, or indica kinda person?My buddy is making special banana bread this weekend. I'm so excited. Never had good eatables before, so this'll be a treat. Also obligatory DUDE WEED LMAO
>>43959539
>Check in with Sena
>Ask Sena if you can see the heart for a bit
>>43959539
>It's not about Gimbly. God. See that's what he wants. I don't care about him. He wants me to care, and thats what hurts him most. I wanna kill some necromancers, become an awesome dragon and rule the world. Not worry about some love sick bard who think he knows me, and only wants what he thinks I am.
>>43959540
Hybrid, considering what she packs her pipe with.
Also, be careful with edibles. They're stronger than you think. Don't eat more than your friend recommends. Don't make my mistakes.
Don't spend three hours experiencing tactile hallucinations while the couch eats you and you cling to a cushion for dear life.
>>43959539
>Check in with Sena
>>43959571
Mh. Thanks for the advice boss. We're gonna watch Trailer Park Boys and just have a good ol' time too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLLUexAdrjI
“Sounds good to me. I'm gonna check on Sena really quick.”
Kat shrugs and walks off, puffing away at her pipe as you head over to Sena. As you approach the ghostly hands turn black, before withering away into nothingness. Sena looks at you, her eyes glowing red, and she smiles a little.
“Are you doing alright...?”
You give a slight nod.
“Mostly. You?”
Sena smiles brightly.
“I'll be fine. I mean... it was a stupid crush. I wasn't even in his league, and it turns out that he was that kind of person anyway... Just like that carpenter, really...”
Oh right. You had nearly forgotten about that.
>Write-in
>>43959681
>Yeah, well, some people are just irredeemable fucknuggets. Even when they think they mean well. It's why we have this glorious thing called Alcohol. Have you heard of it?
>>43959681
How things work sometimes, when I was younger I had a crush on farm boy, he hit me with a stick and called me a demon. Sometimes people aren't who you think they are, or have more baggage and issue than meets the eye. There was purple moving across his eyes though, which was strange.
>>43959681
>>43959753
Second.
>>43959753
>So what'd you do about the farm boy?
"I hit him with a bigger a stick and called him a donkey."
>>43959753
Third, and this>>43959789 but don't mention the purple, it's not relevant.
You sit down and motion for Sena to join you, and she does so, gently toying with the heart. You look up at the sky and smile.
“It's how the world is sometimes... There are good people, and there are bad people. Fiona would say that everything is in balance. When I was younger I really liked this one boy. He hit me with a stick and called me a demon. Sometimes... Sometimes people aren't who you think they are. Sometimes people lie, or hide things from you.”
Sena nods slowly.
“I know that, I just...”
You pull her in for a hug.
“I know you know. I'm just thinking out loud. And maybe some of it can help you too.”
Sena shifts a bit and hugs you tightly, and you close your eyes.
“Thank you, Kotijah...”
You smirk a bit.
“No problem...”
You hear a soft hissing and fizzing sound behind you and you pull away from Sena, looking around. The heart is overflowing a bit, the blight bubbling through a small crack as pressure starts to build up inside it. Sena drops it and stares.
“I promise I didn't do it!”
You nod slightly.
“I believe you, Sena. I'm just worried about what it means.”
-
Last post of the night, it's after 1 AM for me, gonna crash for a bit now.
>>43959878
Thank you BTQM. Next thread for this when?
>>43959916
Tomorrow morning when I wake up. Just need to call a lawyer about a speeding ticket first.
>>43959962
Should we keep it bumped for you?
>>43960184
He went to bed, but I say yes
God damn it, i knew i missed something
>>43961535
He'll be back soon.
So do we actually know if Gimbly is being controlled?
Or if he did that prank just because he's jealous?
>>43963088
He's just being jealous. That flashback hinted he lied even more than we thought.
>>43963741
Or that the previous iteration of Gimbly was part of Allegsiets cult.
>Break the heart and damn the consequences
>Try to figure out a way to fix it
>Leave it behind
>Take it with you, no time to deal with it right now
>Other (write-in)
>>43963968
>Become dragon enough to swallow the heart, what could possibly go wrong?
>>43964008
Silver no.
>>43963968
Try to figure how to fix it. Millie!
>>43964018
SILVER YES!
>>43963968
>>Try to figure out a way to fix it
>>43963797
Everything is a cycle, right?
In a game of Hot and Cold, so far, you're the warmest. I'm sleepy enough to think saying this is a good idea and awake enough to second-guess myself. Once this coffee kicks in, I'll probably regret it.
Oh well.
>>43964138
Welp, time to kill Gimbly
You gingerly pick up the heart, holding it so that the blight doesn't get on your fingers. You don't know if it needs an open wound to affect you or not, but you don't want to risk some tiny cut leading to a bad situation.
“I'm gonna get this over to Millie, see what she says about it...”
Sena nods a bit, her eyes returning to normal.
“I'll finish here then... See you in a bit.”
You nod and activate your sight, glancing around and spotting Millie a little ways from camp. You find her staring up at the sky, eyes glazed over, mumbling something about a teapot and a spout. There's a trickle of purple liquid coming from her lip, like she either drank something strange or had a really rough night. You vaguely recall Gimbly getting Millie to try one of Kat's potions, but you don't remember what happened after that.
You kneel down beside Millie and roll her onto her front. Constructs don't actually drink things, as far as you're aware. You're pretty sure, if anything, it just gets burned up as fuel for them. You give Millie a little shake and she starts to cough and hack, and you hold her hair back as she vomits thick purple residue. After a few moments she props herself up, body glowing, and she spits out the last of it with a groan.
“N-Never again...”
You ease Millie into a kneeling position and set the heart in front of her.
“If you're alright, I need a hand with this. I think it's broken.”
Millie nods slowly.
“I'm fine now. I guess I got a little gunked up, like... sugar in an engine.”
Millie smiles cheerfully, though it falters when it's clear you have no idea what she's talking about. You suppose if the sugar were to melt, it would make sense. Millie shrugs and turns her attention to the heart.
“It's not broken. It's just... not made to work right in the first place. The purifying spell has a certain capacity, but the spell drawing in the blight doesn't. It just pulls it all from whoever it got linked to. And now it's building up faster than it can be purified by this thing. It's a big oversight... Whoever made it must have thought the person's condition would never get worse”
You nod slightly and look at the heart. It's starting to form a small puddle. You can't just leave it like this, it'll start tainting the landscape or something. You don't need zombie deer attacking the nearby towns while a blight pump sits at the bottom of a black pond no one can get to. You either need to destroy it or take it with you while you work out how to speed up the purifying spell.
>Break it
>Take it
>Other (write-in)
>>43964273
Consume it!
>>43964285
>Other (write-in)
"Can we use something from the old man's hoard to fix it? I can still open a portal and grab something from there if I want too."
>>43964363
You sure that's safe?
>>43964285
>Break it
>>43964424
It was mentioned it could be done before, but it didn't say if it was safe or not. So 'unno.
>>43964285
Do we still have that spare essence vent ring?
>>43964470
Sena has both the vent items. One vents divine magic and the other vents necromantic magic. They're designed to be worn items, but you also have a member of the party who can modify magical items. I see where you're going with this. The question is, do you want to take away something Sena has been relying on to help manage her power or try to find something else Millie can turn into what you're trying to make?
>>43964495
What other free magic items do we have on hand then?
>>43964511
The stuff you took from the Order of Oak, the boots, backpacks and bows, as well as the stuff you looted from the mages, the robe and the lens.
>>43964534
Ask Millie if she can use any of those things to fix it or make it safe.
>>43964553
Agreed and if that doesn't work i guess we can still try to use stuff from the Hoard
>>43964553
Or at least temporarily safe.
Maybe Fiona would have some ideas...
You look at the heart for a moment, then at Millie.
“We've got plenty of magical items laying around from the Order of Oak. Can we use any of those to make this thing safe?”
Millie shakes her head.
“None of those items are divine, and I can't use divine magic. If Sena had more skill then maybe, but I don't think I could coach her through this. We'd need to get our hands on something that's already a divine magic item, and then I could modify it from there.”
You sigh a bit and nod.
“Well, we can at least stuff it into one of those magic backpacks that are bigger on the inside for now. That'll buy us some time to think it over. We might be able to find something in the hoard I raided”
Millie nods and smiles.
“Road trip into the past! It might set us back a bit on time, but if everyone else heads off we could teleport there, raid the hoard, then teleport back to them once we have what we need.”
You grab the heart and chuckle. Hopefully the portal won't drop you off right as Allegiset comes home from discovering someone was claiming his hoard as her own, but with Millie there you don't think that'll be a problem.
>Break it, it's a hassle and a risk
>Road trip into the past!
>Other (write-in)
>>43964700
>Other (write-in)
Talk to Allegiset before hand.
Tell him we need to do this because the Heart is vital to our quest.
I don't know how yet, but I feel its super important.
>>43964700
>Road trip into the past!
>>43964700
>>Road trip into the past!...again
“I'm gonna go get properly dressed and grab my gear. Let everyone else know we're taking a detour and we'll be back soon.”
Millie bolts away almost before you finish speaking. Seems someone is excited to fuss with ancient magics and roll around in a pile of gold. Not that you can really blame her. You feel pretty much the same way about it. You head back to Taret's tent and grab the remainder of your clothes, this time getting dressed properly instead of throwing on the essentials, and you grab your sword and magic items. You opt to leave the tent for Taret, in case he doesn't catch up to the group. He can share yours from now on if need be, and you don't want him to be out in the cold if his hunt isn't successful. Plus Ruby should be around somewhere, and he can clean up his own mess. You're not a housewife.
You exit the tent and make sure everything is in order. Magic sword, check. Ring that conjures exploding lightning blades, check. Ruby earring for keeping track of your boyfriend, check. Magical gloves for storing your sword, check. Throwing needles and bladed fan for backup weapons, check. You feel like you're forgetting something among the crumpled sheets, but it's probably not too important. You head for the center of camp right as Millie bolts over to you.
“Gil says, and I quote, 'Good luck, boss, and try not to get stuck in the past. I don't think we'll even exist if that happens though, so clearly you can't screw up too badly'.”
You smirk and nod.
“Sounds about right to me...”
>Let's move out, time's a-wasting
>Speak to someone before you go
>Other (write-in)
>>43964885
We got our elemental rings?
>Let's move out, time's a-wasting
>>43964929
I knew I was forgetting something. Yes, you do.
>>43964885
>Let's move out, time's a-wasting
I think we forgot Cenere's core, oh well
Back in a moment folks, one sec
You nod to Millie.
“Let's get moving.”
Millie smiles.
“Just focus on the place you have in mind and the path to get there and I'll do the rest.”
You close your eyes and feel Millie hug you as you picture the portal and the route you took to get there. You feel the tingling sensation of Millie's teleportation spell, though it's quite a bit smoother this time around, and when you open your eyes again you're in front of the cave. Millie releases you and walks over to the entrance, poking and prodding at things here and there.
“It's all kinds of spooky down here! Are you sure you want to go in...?”
You nod and head for the altar. Gil's blood has long since vanished from the bowl, likely right after he was healed, but maybe Millie can do something to trick the portal into opening. Or maybe you can...
>Try using your own blood
>See what Millie can figure out
>Other (write-in)
>>43965371
>Try using your own blood
only a little
>>43965371
>Try using your own blood
Spirit roll plus Focus, +5
>>43965386
>>43965460
maybe we can mix it with water and trick the altar?
Rolled 7 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43965493
Rolled 2 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43965493
Rolled 16 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43965493
i feel like this is going to end badly
You gently run a claw along your wrist and let your blood trickle into the bowl a few drops at a time. The bowl glows and shimmers a bit, but nothing else seems to happen. You remember earlier, how the blood had to be human, and you focus on your tattoo, suppressing your draconic traits. As the bowl fills a bit more you concentrate, trying to create the risk needed to open the portal, the personal gamble, and you feel something inside yourself giving way. For a brief, terrible moment, everything draconic about you feels like it's slipping through your fingers, and the portal comes alive. To keep it open, you'll need to be ordinary for a little while.
You clutch at your wrist to stop the flow of blood, trying a strip of cloth over the wound to keep it closed, and you head over to Millie as she examines the portal. She writes a few things in the soil in front of the portal and nods to herself. The symbols are ones you don't immediately recognize, arcane symbols of some sort, but they look a little like some of the symbols you saw in the castle in the past. Millie turns to you.
“I can stabilize this portal and force it to stay open, but then it would be open for good... That might lead to some problems... But I can alter it a little bit and make it a smoother trip. This thing is pretty cool... Just looking at it, I'm learning a lot about the principles behind it...”
>Let's just get moving, we don't have a lot of time
>Modify it as quickly as you can and see if you can make sure it stays open while we're in there
>Other (write-in)
>>43965803
>Modify it as quickly as you can and see if you can make sure it stays open while we're in there
>>43965803
>>Modify it as quickly as you can and see if you can make sure it stays open while we're in there
So again we're only a puny human inside right?
I have to attend to something. I'll be back in a few hours, likely 2-3. I apologize for the delay, but something has come up.
>>43966299
Bump for great justice.
“If you can do it fast, then do it. We don't have a lot of time. Mostly I'm just worried about keeping it open while we're in there.”
Millie nods a bit.
“Well, it's open now. I can jam it temporarily so that when it starts to close we have some time before it closes all the way. I just won't be able to guarantee anything beyond that. If you have to go all 'rowr'...”
Millie makes clawing motions with her hands and bares her teeth.
“...then we'll have a few minutes at best. Enough time for a teleport for sure though. It might damage the portal if that happens though, so we won't be able to go back if I have to use that.”
You chuckle a bit.
“Go for it then. I don't really plan to go back to the past over and over again anyway. If we need the failsafe, we need the failsafe.”
Millie turns to the portal and begins to cast her spell, and you take a moment to go over the map you've built up in your head of the place. You wonder just how much of the treasure remained after all this time. Maybe after your visit to the past you should double back in the present and scavenge the remainder of the treasure for your own purposes.
With the spell in place the portal turns pitch black before swirls of white and blue begin to form in the center, spiraling out towards the edge and bouncing back to the middle once again. Millie offers her hand, and you take it with a smile, stepping with her through the portal. It feels like a bit of a smoother ride than last time, but you still feel sick to your stomach. At least when you arrive you're not nearly passing out from pain since your draconic aspects are already suppressed, but it's still uncomfortable.
>Head for the castle and grab some sweet loot
>Ask Millie about mental wards now that you're not being watched
>Other (write-in)
>>43968227
>Ask Millie about mental wards now that you're not being watched
>>43968227
>Ask Millie about mental wards now that you're not being watched
>>43968227
>Ask Millie about mental wards now that you're not being watched
You take a moment to assess yourself and the situation. Millie seems a little bit frazzled by the experience, but none the worse for wear. You smile a bit and look at the portal before remembering that Allegiset can't see you right now even if he tries. You help Millie to her feet and head for the tunnel.
“Let's walk and talk. I have something to ask you about.”
Millie trails behind you, her eyes glowing behind her blindfold, and she nods.
“Go for it.”
You look at the tunnel walls, running a hand along the stone as you walk along. You don't know the rules for time travel, what's “allowed” and what would create a paradox, but since you haven't seen the tunnel for yourself in the present, you have no reason to believe that marking the wall a bit would be a bad thing. It's tempting to leave a message for yourself in the future, though there wouldn't be a lot of point to it.
“I want to know about warding my mind against intrusion. Gimbly messed with my head last night, and my ancestor is trying to take me over. I need to improve my defenses until my mind is a fortress.”
Millie nods a bit and smiles.
“That's easy. I used to do that kind of thing for Tirio all the time.”
She snaps her fingers and you can feel her examining every inch of your mind, not in any sort of detail, but the same way the an architect might examine a house before making the blueprints for renovations.
“You've already got a dark spot where you can hide things... If I use a few spells, I can hide your current thoughts and memories you need to file away.”
You smirk at Millie for a moment.
“Can you do it while we're making our way to the castle?”
Millie tilts her head.
“Vein says 'Do you realize who you're talking to?' Also, she says hi.”
Millie removes her blindfold, her eyes glowing as she pockets it.
“I'll have it done in no time at all.”
You relax a bit and let Millie do her work, your thoughts drifting as you pass through the tunnel and descend the stairs, and when Millie is finished you're before the golden castle once more. It's a strange sensation, like you have a locked cabinet inside your head. You will it to open and step inside, and you feel safe and sound, your thoughts hidden from view. You form a mental picture of your plans to fight Allegiset's control, and you stash them there along with all your evidence of what he's been up to, before stepping out once more and locking it tight.
“Alright... Now we just need to get what we came for and get out of here.”
Millie nods and smiles.
“Split up or what?”
>Go with Millie to the vault
>Split up, let Millie scout around for things you might have missed
>Have Millie go to the vault to look for items, roam around yourself
>Other (write-in)
>>43969305
>Last time I came here, a dragon tried taking the place over. We should stick together. Besides without my spirit sight, I really have no idea what I'm looking for.
I guess things are kinda burnt out for this one, huh...
>>43969385
This. Perhaps we had our to have our sites drawn just in case?
>>43969715
Sorry, boss. Had to work at work today.
>>43969730
I figured it was something like that, but even so. Ah well. I suppose while I wait for things to pick up I'll put things to a vote. Shall I continue BTDQ or just do BTVQ? I bring this up only because lately it feels like the plot of BTDQ has been dragging on and on. When I started the quest I had no notes, no system, no anything. It was liberating and fun at first, but the lack of anything resembling direction led to an overarching story that, if I'm being honest, feels stagnant at present. BTVQ, on the other hand, has pages of notes, reference material, characters and setting prep, and the effort, I hope, is showing. It seems to be at the very least. I want to finish BTDQ properly, but as things presently stand I think it was doomed from the outset to be a simple story that I tried to turn into an epic adventure. Thoughts?
>>43969821
Tbh I only pay attention to this quest.
Do your vampire quest until you feel inspired again to do dragon.119 Days until BTGG Quest
>>43969305
>>43969385
Second.
>>43969715
I am extremely distracted.
>>43969821
Continue doing both.
>>43969821
DO BTDQ sorry I fell asleep
>>43969385
>>43969305
this
>>43969821
I prefer BTDQ. I am simply more busy than is typical. That said, you should do what you want.
You shake your head.
“As much as I'd like to scour this place, I don't have my sight right now. I need you with me, just in case. Besides, if we split up it'll take extra time to meet up if we need to use that trick you did with the portal.”
Millie nods and looks at the castle, gingerly touching the gold.
“...I could map this place in an instant but there's a spell blocking me... And last time you were here you got really lost, so your memory of the path is a bit confused... I guess we do it the old-fashioned way?”
You nod a bit.
“The old-fashioned way. Using our visual organs and other light- or object-detecting functions.”
-
Sleuth roll plus Perception, +3
Rolled 13 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43970199
Rolled 11 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43970199
Rolled 8 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43970199
>>43969821
I like both but since i got a new job i've had less and less time following threads, not to mention the difference in time zones
>>43969821
I like both, but I do think BTV is a bit better. If you're feeling meh about BTD maybe take a break and get some notes down? Or maybe reset this one, if you still want to do it, but don't like how it's gone so far?
Also, sorry bout the lack of attention, I work nights, so I just woke up.
You trek through the castle, taking it slow to prevent getting hopelessly lost. You just get regular lost instead, but only for a little bit. You think back to the last time you were here and follow the clues. When you start seeing traces of blood you know you're on to a winner, and you follow them all the way to the entrance to the vault, which is still open. Millie peers down into the hole and whistles.
"I know you can't see it the way I do but there's so much down there... it's beautiful..."
She jumps down into the vault and you follow suit, lowering yourself down as far as you can before dropping and landing among the gold. Millie is already bolting around and inspecting various objects. She picks up two large gold hoops and giggles.
"Mimic bands, ha... They don't make them like this anymore..."
She tosses them aside and dives into a pile of coins, digging under them.
"There's something this way, I think."
>Help Mille
>Leave Millie to her task, investigate on your own
>Examine the Mimic bands, ask what the joke is.
>Other (write-in)
>>43970967
It's not that I don't like what's happened, just that I feel like it needs a jump start. After this thread I think I need to seriously examine what my plan for this story is.
>>43971046
>Help Mille
>Ask about the mimic bands
>Remind her we're just here to repair the heart.
>>43969821
I've been here since the first thread and been enjoying both of your quests. Lately, I have been strongly preferring btvq over btdq. The effort put into btvq really shows and with how btdq was dragging on lately it didn't feel as good to me as in the beginning or as btvq right now. In no way I mean to belittle your writing, you've been entertaining me for a long while now, but I think taking a break from btdq might be good to get your creativity going again.
I can't make you do things obviously, but think about where you want to go from here. I don't think you're doing anyone a favour by burning yourself out on a story you have no motivation for. However if you do decide to keep going with btdq, I will definitely keep reading.
Thank you for running by the way.
>>43971046
>Leave Millie to her task, investigate on your own
Let's find something fun.
>>43971046
>>Leave Millie to her task, investigate on your own
This quest is one of the more polite ones being run.
Its quite nice.
In others its fucking nuts.
>>43971046
>Examine the Mimic bands, ask what the joke is.
>Leave Millie to her task, investigate on your own
You grab the mimic bands and examine them. There's a ring of runes on the inside of each hoop, and a clasp where they can be opened.
"So what do these things do, anyway?"
Millie doesn't miss a beat, tossing away handfuls of gold coins as she explains.
"I feel what you feel what I feel. Great for marriages and apprenticeships. Never worry what your spouse thinks about your performance in bed, know for a fact. Think your pupil isn't giving his all? Find out for sure. Also good to give to your buddy on his way to the tavern. Partake in his revelry without the nasty hangover."
You twirl the hoops briefly and they start to shrink down to the size of rings before expanding once more. With a shrug you set them down and start to rummage. Without your sight you can't tell what's magical and what isn't, but a lot of it just looks cool. You're in the middle of making a pile of little golden ornaments when Millie holds a golden chalice up high.
"Ha! In your face!"
She turns to you and smiles.
"Found one!"
>Awesome. Now let's leave.
>Let's hunt for some bonus loot
>Other (write-in)
>>43971869
>Awesome. Now let's leave.
>>43971869
>Awesome. Now let's leave.
"We've stayed too long as it is. Let's get out of here now."
>>43971869
>Awesome. Now let's leave.
Just lurking.
Apologies for the delay, an attempt was made at kidnapping me to go to a pub.
-
"Will it do the trick?"
Millie nods.
"I can use this to empower it. I can even set it to siphon faster. We might be able to cure this guy completely!"
You grab a few gold coins and slip them into your pocket for future expenses.
"Let's get going then. The longer we wait, the bigger the risks involved."
Millie walks over and hugs you.
"Back outside? Or all the way back to camp in one shot?"
You shrug a bit.
"All the way back, why not."
Millie smiles and squeezes gently.
"Please keep your arms inside the lightning until such a time as the teleport spell has ended.
You close your eyes and smirk.
"Fire at will."
You let the tingling sensation wash over you, only for it to be interrupted for a few moments by a rippling, churning feeling for a few seconds. It passes and you open your eyes as you sail through the sky towards the camp. It's pretty relaxing, actually, though you can't really take in the view.
When you land Millie immediately does a little twirl with her prize, adjusting her blindfold a bit. She begins to chant, crushing the cup between her hands and forming it into a golden disc. She turns and presents it to you.
"One ready-formed magic item repair kit, ready to go!"
You nod and take it from her, examining it. As you let your draconic side out again, you give it a look over with your sight.
-
Spirit roll plus Perception, +4
Rolled 1 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
>>43973762
>>43973252
Carry on, Boss
Rolled 11 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
>>43973762
>>43973762
>Attempt
You died for like two hours.Also I'm terrified.
Rolled 13 + 4 (1d20 + 4)
>>43973948
So terrified I forgot to actually type in the dice roll. D'oh.
>>43973948
I never said it was an unsuccessful attempt. I just managed to slip away is all. I'm not a fan of drinking.
>>43974249
Hear, hear. S'why I stick with the herb.
Mon.
The cup, originally, was made to stabilize some sort of potion or elixer. From what you can tell, it infuses a liquid with divine magic, purifying it and infusing it. Either it was used for healing or some sort of life-extending medicine. And now it's a magical hockey puck that you're going to have Millie use to overclock a blight-destroying artifact. Recycling is pretty cool.
"So what's the plan?"
You pass the disc back to Millie and glance at Target's tent. Everyone else has already moved on, and Taret hasn't come back from his task yet. You feel a small pang of worry, but you know he's not going to just die on you. Gimbly might be older, more experienced, a skilled tactician and illusionist, and Taret might be blinded by his anger, but... Alright, so you're more than a little worried actually.
>Send Millie ahead to fix the heart, find Taret
>Go with Millie to rejoin the others, have faith in Taret
>Other (write-in)
>>43974494
>Go with Millie to rejoin the others, have faith in Taret
Can Milly ping him to make sure he's ok?
>>43974494
>Send Millie ahead to fix the heart, find Taret
If he can't handle Gimbly then he is not worthy of the title, nor of our affection. Simple as that.
>>43974599
GAH! Annex this one.
I meant the other one.
Fucking street sign captchas fuck me up.
>>43974494
>Send Millie ahead to fix the heart, find Taret
I'll be honest, the last thing we need is a dead Taret.
>>43974599
>>43974615
You act like a jackass, don't pay attention to the character's feelings in your statement, failed to even vote properly, and aren't using the word annex correctly.
>>>/trash/
>>43974494
>Send Millie ahead to fix the heart, find Taret
So we have a bit of a tie here (assuming the miscast vote is, in fact, supposed to be "go with Millie"). Tiebreaker vote is?
>>43974797
>Send Millie ahead to fix the heart, find Taret
I don't think there's anything further we can really do in regards to the heart. Millie is the expert, Sena is the one with the appropriate powerset.
Sleuth roll plus Perception, +3
Rolled 3 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43974986
Rolled 1 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43974986
Rolled 9 + 3 (1d20 + 3)
>>43974986
Nope we don't see shit.
Kot did tell him not to bother with Gimbly, buuuut nooo. His stupid ass powers decided to rail road him.
“The plan is that you go ahead and find the others. Repair the heart, upgrade it, make sure it's working properly. I get the feeling it's important. The undead I fought the other day were trying to find it to hurt someone they called Skin, and I think they have something to do with Gimbly. I need to find him and get to the bottom of this mess, and I... I'm worried about Taret. If he can't handle Gimbly on his own then he's not worthy to stand beside me, but... Well, if he needs a little backup then I guess it can't be helped...”
Millie turns the disc over in her hands.
“Stay safe.”
She bolts away, leaving you by yourself. You haven't been properly alone in quite some time, now that you think about it. The last time was when you were recovering from dosing up on that liquid rage stuff. But what are the odds that this time you'd be chasing after two people you know and find them captured by a necromancer for a second time? That would just be silly, right?
You head off in the direction they both went in, following their trail and the signal from your earring, taking flight so you can cover more ground. In spite of the homing signal, you find it a bit difficult to track them down, and you realize why on your second pass over the same area. There's an illusion concealing their fight and hiding them from outside observation. You swoop in low and pass through the 'curtain' to find Gimbly and Taret clashing, Taret's conjured blade of light grinding against Gimbly's rapier.
>Sit back and watch
>Give Taret some backup, draw your sword
>Try to dismiss the illusions
>Tell them to stop, try to get to the bottom of this
>Other (write-in)
>>43975200
>Tell them to stop, try to get to the bottom of this
>>43975200
>Dismiss the illusions
That might not even be Gimbly he's fighting.
>>43975200
>Use our portal to grab the mimic rings, put one on Gimbly and then tell him to stop his shit.
"This is how I feel about you Gimbly. I wanna see what your feelings are, and decide if your legit or just fucking nuts."
>>43975200
>Try to dismiss the illusions
>Tell them to stop, try to get to the bottom of this
Is it time for more flowing magic? It's time for more flowing magic,
Rolled 7 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43975516
Spi + Foc, right?
Rolled 16 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43975516
>>43975643
Bingo
Rolled 14 + 5 (1d20 + 5)
>>43975516
You land on the ground just inside the illusory space and focus. You feel the magical energy around you and you start to draw it in slowly, venting it back out again in random, unrefined bursts to help disrupt the spell around you. It's like mixing oil and water, and as you open your eyes you can see the space around Taret starting to ripple and shift. The Gimbly that he's fighting begins to wobble and distort before popping like a bubble, and the real Gimbly stands there a few feet from him, rapier raised high to stab him. They both turn slowly and look at you, and you clear your throat.
“Taret? Gimbly was about to murder you. I'm disappointed. Gimbly? You claim to care about me, but you were about to cut Taret down in an unfair fight and you know I like him. I'm disappointed in you too.”
Gimbly lowers his blade awkwardly, and Taret turns toward you.
“I knew where he was, I was just pretending to fall for his diversion so I could catch him off guard.”
Gimbly rolls his eyes.
“Of course you did. That's why I was able to knock you around so much.”
Taret narrows his eyes at Gimbly, and you clear your throat again.
“Taret? I came here to make sure that you're alright. If you can handle him, go ahead. But first...”
You turn towards Gimbly.
>Who is “Skin”?
>What's your real aim here?
>Do you really care about me?
>Is anyone else involved in this?
>Other (write-in)
>>43975985
>Who is “Skin”?
>What's your real aim here?
>>43975985
>The reason I never loved you was because I always knew who you were. And you were too much of a coward to admit to it. Taret, at least, is strong enough to be who he is, and for noone's sake but his own. That is the difference between you.
>>43975985
>Who is “Skin”?
>What's your real aim here?
>>43976047
stop
“Who is 'Skin', and what's your real aim here?”
Gimbly looks at you for a few long moments and puts his rapier away.
“There are four great necromancers. Blood, Bone, Spirit and Skin. Blood, lady of the black ichor, mistress of the blight, who transferred her soul into that foul fluid to become immortal by claiming host after host, as infection and pupper master. Bone, lady of the white ivory, mistress of the undead, who etched her mind into bone and shattered herself into dust to become immortal by spreading her will among countless vessels. Spirit, lord of the blue essence, master of the soul, who ripped his soul from his body and made it unpalatable to the natural order, existing as a force instead of a being. And lastly...”
Gimbly laughs a bit, and you can see the purple swirls in his eyes once again.
“Skin, lord of the red flesh, master of the dirge, who saw the others in their elegant immortality and wished to mimic them. Within his veins he took the blight of Blood. Within his bones he took the fragments of Bone. Within his soul he took a portion of Spirit. And so Skin became the fourth, the zombie alive, the eternal man. So very long ago...”
Gimbly lowers his gaze.
“How many cycles has it been... How many times have I watched you fall for him, only to see him plunge his sword into your chest... It's maddening, Kotijah... I waited for you in the capitol, waited for you to emerge while the others prepared for the oncoming darkness... I even tried turning myself human after what you said the last time your spirit had a form, tried to get the blight out, but it just keeps coming...”
Gimbly looks at Taret, his eyes a deep purple and black fluid leaking from the corners of his eyes.
“It won't be long now. I've fought the cycle for too long, and look what's happening to me. To all of us. This isn't how the story is supposed to go at all.”
He draws his sword once more.
“Come, Starlight Knight. She may hate me, but I refuse to let you kill the woman I love when your heart fills with fear of her.”
Taret glances at you, hesitating.
“Kotijah... If I kill him... please forgive me...”
>Stop this senseless fight
>Let them duel, but not to the death
>Walk away. This has nothing to do with you now.
>Other (write-in)
>>43976353
>>Stop this senseless fight
Then break the GOD damn cycle! For fuck's sake, if the story has changed there is a REASON FOR IT!
>>43976353
>Stop this senseless fight
You draw your own sword and walk between the pair.
“No one is going to kill anyone. The cycle is ending. For good. I won't become my ancestor's vessel, Taret isn't going to kill me, and Gimbly... Skin... You don't have to watch me die again. Not from someone killing me at least.”
Gimbly laughs and stabs his rapier into the ground, leaning on it.
“Kotijah... The more we fight these things, the bigger the backlash... Taret is already the Starlight Knight, that's no coincidence. The world isn't veiled in darkness yet, he shouldn't have awakened until after your fight with the rose... You long to break the cycle and the laws of magic, the fundamental forces of this world, are what you're going to war with. The build up of blight in my body means that Blood will be able to take control of me again before too long, ready to serve as your soldier and tool the moment you realize that necromancers are convenient if unsavory minions. There's nothing that can be done...”
You pause, before putting away your sword.
“I went into the past and got a magic cup that purifies things. Right now Millie and Sena are enhancing the heart so that it can handle much more blight, and even remove it completely from the body of the person it's linked to. That's you, right?”
Gimbly freezes in place.
“...I... You what...? I... No, but...”
He yanks his sword from the ground.
“...No...No no no, Kotijah, that's not...”
He stares at you, and the black liquid stops flowing from his eyes.
“That's not fair...”
He falls to his knees and begins to sob, grasping at the dirt as he cries.
“Why...? After everything I've done, just this once I wanted you to kill me... To let him run me through and end me for good... I can never have you, so why are you forcing me to go on living...? Every time... Every time I get so close...”
You walk over to Gimbly and cross your arms.
“My name is Kotijah Imidarius. I am not a pawn of my ancestor, I want nothing to do with necromancers, and I will break the cycle forever if that's what it takes to reach my goals. Taret isn't going to kill me. You aren't going to be a slave to Blood's will. So stop trying to piss him off so he'll kill you, and stop acting like a petulant child. You loved the previous versions of me, right? Grow a spine, grow a pair, and grow up. Because I could never love a man who gave up before he even started.”
>Give Taret a chewing out as well since he almost got his ass handed to him
>Walk away, time to regroup with the others
>Drag Taret and Gimbly back to the others, the more the merrier assuming they can avoid stabbing each other over you
>Other (write-in)
>>43976726
>>Drag Taret and Gimbly back to the others, the more the merrier assuming they can avoid stabbing each other over you
>>43976726
>Slap Taret for being a pawn to that asshole virtue starlight knight bullshit. He's a strong man. If you don't need Allegiset to get the power you need, he doesn't need that fuckery to get the power he needs.
>>43976726
>Drag Taret and Gimbly back to the others, the more the merrier assuming they can avoid stabbing each other over you
You grab Gimbly by the shoulder and drag him to his feet before turning to Taret.
“Go back to camp and get your tent packed and your shirt on. We have to catch up to everyone else.”
Taret looks at you, then at Gimbly.
“Kotijah, I told you already, I-”
You march up to him and look him in the eye.
“Right now we have only a few days to claim the White Blade before the Order of Oak sends their general to deal with us. We need all the help we can get. If abandoning this task, if not killing him here, results in you losing your powers? Fine. You never needed them in the first place. You're you, Taret. You're a dragon-riding knight who never needed to be the Starlight Knight to protect people before now. If someone else gets that power, so be it. But I need him, and I need you, and if you value your new powers and duty more than you value me, then I guess I'm already your enemy.”
Taret's sword begins to dim and flicker as he looks at you, and he smiles.
“They never mattered more to me than you... I only want to keep them so badly to keep you safe. I like being the Starlight Knight for what it represents, but...”
His sword shatters into glowing shards that fly up into the sky, and a wispy golden haze radiates from his body.
“...I love you, and that's what matters most to me...”
He wobbles slightly and slumps against you, out cold. Well, that happened. You look over at Gimbly. The purple swirls in his eyes are gone, but he seems pretty lethargic as well. Getting them both back to the others is going to be a serious chore. Ruby should be somewhere around here though...
>Go looking for Ruby
>Fly them both back, you can make it if you try really hard
>Other (write-in)
>>43977037
>>Go looking for Ruby
