>>26254625

“Hi there.” I say cheerily. “Why are you looking so serious?”

He starts to say something, then he looks at me and stops dead. He blinks a few times and the look of confusion fades from his face and he manages to actually speak.

“Hello there, serpent. What do you mean?”

I shrug, it seems obvious. “You are looking altogether too serious for somebody at a party, you’re all dour and moody. Maybe drink that wine you’re holding and relax a bit, you look like you need it.”

His mouth tightens into a crease. “I simply do not feel like it right now. I have things on my mind.”

“What kind of things?” I ask, curious.

“Important business. And personal business.” He says.

“Maybe I could help?” I offer. I’m not sure if I’ve made a joke, but he seems to find this very amusing.

“You?” He asks between his small laughs, really morel like grunts. “How could you possibly help me? With anything?”

I frown, I’m not sure I like this man. But still, making connections. “I am an adventurer!” I declare proudly, striking a martial pose. “You don’t think this saber is for show do you? My companions and I have stopped master criminals and raided ancient tombs together, I’m sure we could assist you. For a nominal fee, of course.”

>>26254647

Sir Aquitaine actually sips his wine and seems to consider my offer. “Perhaps you can be of some assistance then. You see, I have recently suffered a theft, a valuable item as stolen from me not days ago.”


“Excellent.” I say, “My team has experience in the recovery of stolen goods.”

Aquitaine nods, seeming slightly annoyed I interrupted him. “Then you should be suited to the task. I do not currently know who is behind the theft, but I am investigating, I am hoping that my time here at this function will help me narrow down the thief. Though I have a few good ideas.” His voice drops low for that last sentence.

“Sounds good, just tell us what needs doing when you have more information. What can you tell me now? I don’t speak for my party you see, I shall have to discuss this with them.”

Aquitaine looks conflicted about speaking of the incident any further, but the idea of hiring a group of experienced adventurers to help him solve his problem seems to convince him to divulge some information.

“Very well, the item that was taken was a magical staff of great power. It was stolen from my armed convoy by forces unknown scant days ago. I suspect that one of my rivals may have orchestrated the theft, in fact they are probably in this room right now.” He looks around the room, as if expecting someone to jump up and down yelling “I did it!”

I nod. “Thank you for confiding in me, I shall speak to my fellows about this matter.” Aquitaine gives me a curt nod before going back to his business of staring moodily around the ballroom. As I slither over to Sloane I review the facts in my mind. A magical staff had been stolen from an armed convoy a few days ago.

Magical staff.

Armed convoy.

A few days ago.

…

“Sloane!”

>>26254667

The paladin turns to me, drink halfway to his mouth. Seeing me coming he raises his glass quickly and downs the rest of it.

“Sloane!” I repeat, rushing closer.

“What now Solaron? Did someone talk to you about the clothes, now I did warn you that,”

“No it isn’t the clothes!” I say impatiently, “We’ve got problems, hurry up there isn’t much time!”

“What then?” He asks, seeming to become more worried by the moment.

“I was just talking to Sir Aquitaine about the possibility of getting a new job, and he just confided in me that he recently suffered a robbery, some of his property was stolen recently.”

“Another one?” Sloane interrupts, “That seems like too much to be a coincidence, perhaps the ones behind the action with Sir Barkley were involved here as well?”

“In a manner of speaking…” I say awkwardly. “Aquitaine said that an unknown group of attackers ambushed a convoy working for him and stole a magic staff that was bound for his estate. This happened within the week.”

I see the wheels turning in the paladin’s mind, as he processes the information. Then a look of dawning horror creeps over his features.

“You don’t mean?”

I nod solemnly, “We’re the bad guys.”

>>26254681

Sloane looks around the reception hall, as if afraid armed guards are about to descend upon us. He grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the hall. We hurry back up to our room, paranoia making us look over our shoulders every other step of the way. Finally we make it back to the paladin’s room and he locks the door.

“Okay, how much does this Aquitaine know?” He asks.

“Only what I have told you already.” I say, “At least, that is all that he told me. Only that his convoy was robbed a few days ago by forces unknown, and that his staff was stolen. Sloane, we were hired by Sir Barkley to rob that caravan, he told us it was his stolen property.”

“All the while knowing full well who’s it was and using us to do his dirty work.” Sloane growls.

“Can we be sure of that?” I ask, “What do we really know about this mess? Not that much.”

Sloane is pacing back and forth now, his hands moving nervously, as if to try and snatch the tattered threads of this situation from thin air and force them to make some sense.

“Right, you’re right of course, we barely know anything about what has happened. Solaron, if we’re at fault here, if we killed innocents.” His look of frozen fear says it all. “But no, no I used the vision of Pelor, I could tell those were evil men. But then that would mean that Aquitaine hired them and they really did steal from Barkley. Or perhaps he took it from someone else and Barkley wanted us to steal it for him. Or they really did steal it from Aquitaine and Barkley wanted to get it before Aquitaine did.”

>>26254695

“Sloane!” I throw up my hands to stop him, “Stop it! You aren’t helping and you’re only making yourself nervous.”

With what looks like a herculean effort, Sloane manages to stop pacing, though he can’t bring himself to sit down.

“We need more information.” He says, “Gather the team, inform them of the situation, and start gathering as much information as you can, we need to know what is really going on here.”

“Right boss.” I say, rising on my coils and heading for the door. “Talking to people is what I do best!”

>>26254706

Turns out there is more to an investigation than just talking to people. Rather, I had to talk to people in a certain specific way. Sloane was somewhat at a loss of what one is supposed to do in this context, so we turned to our resident expert on criminal affairs. Blake had explained it all very clearly.

“Right, usually I’m on the other side of these sorts of investigations, so I can tell you what it feels like to be on the receiving end of an interrogation. It feels very unpleasant. Thing is, when people feel like that, they don’t really like to talk about things, especially incriminating things. So the idea is to make it not feel like an interrogation. Instead, soften them up with some small talk, flatter them, make them like you. Then you start to guide the conversation to what you want it to be, get them on the topics that give you the kind of information you want, without directly acting them something like ‘where were you on the night of the seventeenth’ or something equally stupid.”

Right, so I had to get someone to admit their guilt, without actually asking them to do so. Okay, I could do this. Our two main suspects were, of course, Sirs Barkley and Aquitaine, though we were unable to rule out the involvement of their wives as well. This just left us the task of figuring out which one of them all was responsible for the orchestration of the theft. Our primary suspect was Aquitaine, as we had the most direct case against him. He stole the staff from Barkley, and is now lying about trying to recover his own goods in order to trick us into getting it for him. Though, as we discussed, the situation could be horrifically complicated.

Being an investigator isn’t easy.

>>26254715

Since I already promised to send Sloane to meet with Sir Aquitaine, the paladin honors our promise and goes to discuss our future employment. As well as try to pump him for information. The idea of Sloane trying to subtly ply a noble for private information was enough to make me laugh in front of him, so I sent Galen along as well. Blake jumps at the chance to talk to Mrs. Barkley, with Buri heading along after him. Sal’vir is going to talk to Sir Barkley, ostensibly about learning the history behind the staff he had taken possession of. That leaves me to discuss things with Lady Constance. Lucky me.

I find her sipping some wine alone as she sits off to the side of the party, all alone at a little table. I look around the room, trying to figure out some excuse to strike up a conversation. I can’t just exactly slither over and start talking at her, I don’t think that would really go down well with what I know of her personality. Still, I have to find something. I see her sip the wine again and a thought comes to me. I slowly creep over and lurk in concealment, awaiting the right moment to strike. I see the opportunity present itself, and I move on it.

“Hello there.” I say, as I slither up from the side, wineglass in each hand. “Offer you a replacement?”

She sets down her just emptied wineglass and looks at me.

“And what are you, the entertainment? You certainly look a little too smart to be a pet.”

I bristle under the half insult, but bear it as well as I am able.

“I suppose you could say that I am the entertainment, I am a bard after all.” I set the glass down beside her and take a small sip of my own.

She looks at me with her oddly cold eyes. “Really? Just what can you do?”

I make a face like I have to spend a moment considering it. “I tell stories, I sing and dance, recite poetry.”

“Play any instruments?”

“Not terribly well.” I admit.

She makes a small unpleasant noise.

>>26254743

“Well then you’re not much of a bard are you?”

“I like to think I make up for it with my charming personality.” I shrug easily.

I’m not getting anything in the way of useful information of course, but I must built a rapport with Lady Constance if I am to have any hope of getting anything usable.

Her eyes flicker up and down. “I’m sure you do. Well then scales, entertain me if you are so good.” She goes back to sipping her wine and looking at me like a cat sizing up a mouse.

I take a bracing sip of my own wine and coil up next to her. I start to recite the tale of the necromancer, and of our journey down into the long silent crypt he called home. I have gotten better at telling this story, hours of practice and a few tellings paying off, at least I hope they are. I don’t throw myself into the performance like I usually do, no voice work or physical acting, rather letting the slow, even tones of my voice carry her away. At least that’s what I’m trying to do, she honestly doesn’t seem that impressed. I am at least holding her interest though, if her intent gaze is any indication. All in all, I think things are going rather well.

>>26254748

I finish my story a little while later, the tiniest hint of a smile creeping across Constance’s face. Right then, not a total loss.

“And did you say you danced as well?” She asks.

“And sing.” I confirm, “But I hardly think this is the proper venue for a performance like that.”

She gives me another one of her frightening smiles. “Yes, hardly the correct venue for a bardic performance. In any case, thank you for the story.”

“Perhaps I could entertain you again sometime?” I ask. I know I’m not going to get anything else out of her tonight, and trying to push the issue would only destroy my chances in the future. Better to secure good terms now rather than cutting ourselves off from the possibility of getting information later.

“Perhaps.” She says, thinking about something. “Perhaps another time.”

Then she goes back to sipping her drink and seeming to pretend I’m not there. I turn and slither off, finishing my cup of wine and giving a little shiver. Something about that woman makes me uneasy, but I cannot tell what exactly. Probably that she’s just not that pleasant a person to be around. A shame really, I imagine she would be much more beautiful if she would just smile, at least, smile normally. A little disappointed by the lack of progress, I return up to our rooms for some rest.

FUCK YES SOLARON

that aside, I saw the shitstorm of thread 9, if you want critic from me, is that you might need to tone down the accidental seduction/smut part. Also maybe another BIG conflict with his friends, maybe this time with Buri, also works to reveal his past/flesh him out

>>26255123
I appreciate the input, I'll try to keep as many viewpoints in mind. That said, the accidental innuendo has been the source of some of the best humor thus far, so I'll just see how it goes from here.

And I definitely plan on having more conflict between the characters.

>>26255236
Dunno man, after the Xth time it gets old for me, just an opinion

>>26255528

There's probably going to be some in this story arc, but after this it's back too more traditional adventures.

>>26254795

Before I can find my way to bed, I smell my friends in Sloane’s room, so I stop in to see what’s going on. The party jumps when they see me enter, as if expecting a legion of armed guards rather than a single tired bard. They settle down after they see it’s just me. Everyone looks tired and twitchy, which is understandable. Finding out that you might be a criminal is something which can certainly ruin your day. Except for Blake that is, who almost seems disappointed he didn’t know he was breaking the law at the time.

“Learn anything lad?” Buri asks.

“Not really.” I reply sadly. “Though I did sort of get along with Lady Constance. Any of you learn anything?”

The dejected feeling in the room tells me everything I really need to know.

“Depressingly little.” Sloane says, “Though we have made some inroads in laying the groundwork for future investigations. Blake may have spoiled our relations with Mrs. Barkley a little though.”

I fix the diminutive rogue with a hard stare. ‘What did you do?”

>>26255528

[screaming internally]

carry on

>>26255621
??? Clarification requested good anon.

>>26255587

Blake is about to say something when Buri claps a heavy hand on his shoulder to quiet him.

“The tiny one decided it would be a good idea to drink himself silly in front of the lady.”

“She offered me some wine!” Blake protests, earning another glare from Buri.

“And you accepted it, and then the next four, and then you demanded more.” Buri says, “This wouldn’t be a problem if you could actually hold your liquor. But no, you had to get improper with the lady, almost got the guards called on you.”

“Worth it.” The rogue says. I can now detect the distinct smell of alcohol on his breath. “Almost, anyway.” He says before blinking blearily at Sal’vir.

“And what did you come up with most esteemed wizard?”

Sal’vir adjusts his robe and avoids eye contact with the rogue. “I attempted to engage Sir Barkley in a conversation regarding the exact nature of the staff we recovered. Unfortunately he was exceedingly unhelpful, and did not want to discuss it. I did tell him that I could probably help identify or study the artifact, but he was still being evasive. I don’t think we’re going to get much out of him.”

“Shame.” Blake says, “That you couldn’t get him to talk I mean, he’s probably the most important person in this entire investigation.”

I glare at Blake. “So, if I eat him, would the alcohol affect me?” I ask the room.

thread's quiet today, let's change that...

but what do we talk about while writefriend does his thing?

>>26256720

Thanks for the effort, I'm getting dinner right now.

Can't think of a discussion topic right now, sorry.

>>26256016

We continue talking for a little while longer after that, but nothing comes of it. Blake stumbles out first, trailing the smell of wine all the way to his room. I make my excuses to leave a little while after that, heading back to my room. I lie awake in bed for a long time, trying to sleep but too alive from worry and anxiety to get any rest. Eventually I fall into a restless sleep, images of prison doors and grabbing hands haunting me late into the night.

I awake as restless as I went to sleep, feeling irrationally afraid. It is as if everyone already knows I’m guilty and are just pretending not to in order to prolong my discomfort. I still feel as if something else is wrong here though, some silent unease gnaws at the back of my mind. I try to brush it off as an after effect of the startling revelation yesterday and go on with things, heading downstairs to get some breakfast. I gulp down my food without comment, then head out to try and figure out what to do to try and piece together the puzzle that has landed upon us.

I aimlessly wander the corridors for a little while, trying to collect my thoughts, when a familiar scent crosses my path, Blake has been here recently. I have a little silent debate about whether to pursue the small rogue. On the one hand, he’s the most experienced of us all in criminal affairs, and would probably know what to do. On the other hand, it’s Blake. With nothing else to do, I give in and decide to follow the trail.

>>26257372
Back, should be more soon.

>>26257372

Blake is still smelling of old wine when I catch up with him a few minutes later, a scent I try to ignore as the little rogue turns to me. “What’s up scales?”

“Not much quarterling, just trying to think of how to figure out what exactly we have gotten ourselves into this time around.”

Blake makes a ‘harrumph’ noise and shrugs.

“Don’t see why it matters honestly. We did a job, we got paid, now we should probably be focusing on leaving the area before any serious consequences arrive to ruin what could be a perfectly good day.”

“Of course it matters.” I say, “We might have committed a serious offence. Who knows how deep this mystery could go, we have to find out.”

“No, we don’t.” He says, “In fact, finding out is probably a very bad idea. If we find out what’s going on here, then it could have some very serious repercussions for us, someone might think we need to be silenced, others might decide to attack Barkley for the staff and we’ll get the blame. Or worst of all, we find out we’re really at fault here, and then the paladin puts us all in prison.”

I frown down at him. A lot of instincts in me are saying to either ignore him or confront him, but no. The gentle approach will get me what I want with much less hassle.

“You sure you don’t want to know?”

“Quite sure.”

“Think about it, one of those nobles stole that staff from the other. If we uncover the true owner, and ensure that they are protected from any legal ramifications, I am sure they would be most grateful.”

Blake tries to look as though he is not listening.

>>26258040

“And when the wealthy are grateful, they tend to express their gratitude with their purses. Think about it, you would be all the richer, have new friends in high places, and the paladin would have no reason to object.”

I can tell that Blake is mulling it over, despite his attempt to ignore me.

“Think about it, when you make your decision, come and find me.”

I turn my back and leave him to contemplate his choices, letting a grin creep over my face.

>>26258050
Am done writing for the night.

Anyone here care to chat or comment?

I'll be here late tonight.

bump

bump

bump for a while

bump

>>26258050

I wait in an easily accessible corner of the main hall, in plain view of the passing servants, sipping some tea. I enjoy the view of the bright, clear morning out the window as I sit and wait, wondering how long it will take. In the end, it doesn’t take as long as I would have thought in the end, and I scent Blake on the air approaching from behind. I don’t bother to turn around, simply looking out the window as I hear him sit down beside me. I glance in his direction, raising en eyebrow questioningly.

“I thought about what you said.” He begins.

“And?” I ask, not wanting to make this too easy for him.

“And I think you have a good idea, we could certainly become a lot richer for all of this if we play our cards right.”

I nod, “Excellent, don’t see how I could do this without you. Honestly you’ve made the right choice, this way you’ll get paid and nobody will be able to complain. Well, nobody but the guilty party, and honestly I don’t think we care about them at this point.”

“Still could end badly if we don’t handle this well.” Blake says, moodily.

“Which is why I need your help to pull this off.” I say, hoping on flattery to lighten his mood, “You’re our expert on criminal affairs. You said it yourself, you’ve been on the receiving end of an investigation like this in the past, you know how a guilty mind thinks. That’s what we need right now, your experience to help us plan a strategy to figure out what is going on here and figure out this whole mess.”

He still seems apprehensive about this idea, but in the end flattery and the allure of wealth seem to win out.

“Alright, fine, let’s get to work.” He says, and I lean in, grinning.

>>26267791

My confidence and bluster aside, I know nothing of criminal enterprises, or how to thwart them. Nothing in my prior experience or anything I could remember from my more boring lessons seemed to be of use here. So I listened with rapt attention to Blake, while trying to seem as though I was not hanging onto his every word like a drowning man might clutch a lifeline.

“Well, the easiest way would be to get our hands on some hard evidence.” He begins, flagging down a passing servant to demand some food.

“What kind of evidence would that be?” I ask, requesting some soup for myself.

“The hardest evidence of all is money, I know these noble types, they don’t like to do anything for themselves. Don’t want any repercussions coming back to hurt them you see, so they usually make use of their power and influence to hire someone out to do their dirty work for them. And the less the hired muscle know the better.”

“Like us?” I ask, not liking the idea of being hired muscle.

“Exactly,” Blake says, nodding like a professor to an astute student, “Find someone with the equipment and the experience to get the job done, and hope they move on afterwards so you can avoid any connections with the deed itself. But, people like that, or like us, usually don’t come cheap. If you want the job done properly, you have to pay somebody enough money to risk life and limb to get your mission done. Oh they can try to hide something like this, cover it up or divert attention elsewhere, but eventually the act has to be done. Some of their money has to leave their possession and enter into that of their henchmen.”

>>26269472

“And if we can find the proof of that transaction, that proves they hired the bandits to steal the staff.” I say, following along.

“Exactly, something like a private ledger or bill of payment, some private record of how the money really flows around a nobles house.”

“Sounds like that would be tough to get, especially if they’re working hard to keep it under wraps.” I reason.

>>26269507

“Exactly, if such a document exists, it is likely under lock and key in some deep dark vault, or hidden carefully away where nobody could ever find it without knowing where to look first. Hard evidence is often really difficult to find, believe me I know how well hidden things like this can be. Since we probably won’t find anything like that at first, then we turn to soft evidence. These are things from various sources that don’t really seem incriminating on their own, but when you put them together then they point out who the guilty party is fairly clearly.”

“So, if we can’t find a ledger that proves one of the nobles paid a group of bandits, then we find someone who can tell us that a group of bandits visited the noble, or that they were seen in the same town as the noble. Or perhaps that the noble dispatched one of his servants at the same time the bandits were in town.”

“Exactly!” Blake says, beaming, “Things that indicate who is to blame, but don’t actually prove it. Then you confront them with what you know and get them to confess.”

“And then?” I ask.

“Then Sloane bursts out from wherever he was hiding and hits them over the head with his sword.” Blake shrugs.

>>26270968

“Sounds like a plan.” I say, “But how do we go about making it work? Who do we talk to first?”

“The women.” He says simply, “Not like the two good sirs are going to openly tell us, but their wives probably know something, we should talk to them first.”

I nod, “Even if they don’t know it’s important, they could know something that could incriminate one of their husbands.”

“Exactly, which is why we need to talk to them straight off.”

“There is one problem with your plan.” I point out, “You already made a fool of yourself in front of Lady Rowena.”

“Then I’ll start with Lady Constance.” He says simply, “Besides, now that she’s been mad with me, you have an in, an opportunity to console her over what happened. Think of me as a pre-wingman for you.” He smiles cheerfully before he hops down and runs off, leaving me to sip my soup and wonder what a wingman is.

>>26272100

After I finish my soup, I decide to head off to find Lady Rowena. First though I decide to dress the part, and don my formal garb from last night, throwing the scarf over my shoulder in a manner which seems tolerably dashing. After that I head out into the halls of the house, searching for Lady Rowena. It doesn’t take me as long as you might think, even with the house this big, to catch her scent wafting on the still air. I follow it through the halls, passing by some of the other noble guests who have risen late.

I find Lady Rowena speaking with two other noble ladies, who engaging her in a discussion about some new fashion from the large cities to the west. Lady Rowena seems quite bored with the conversation, but doesn’t seem to want to leave, looking around out the windows and trying to change the subject. She attempts to get her compatriots to start talking about business or political news, but with all the inevitable force of a great wave they turn back to their vapid discussion about this dress or that color scheme. Cringing at the conversation, I decide to offer my assistance to the lady in distress.

“Lady Rowena, may I have a word, it involves my business with your husband.”

The lady looks at me as though I am her only salvation and quickly disengages from the conversation, horrified when they try to follow her.

“Sorry ladies, this is a private conversation regarding family business, you must please excuse me.”

Even with that they pursue us, attempting to draw my eyes from the lady at my side, though I ignore them as best I can. Finally Lady Rowena and I enter a side room and I close the door behind us.

“Thank you.” Rowena says, “One more minute in their company and I might have done something distinctly unladylike.”

“Always glad to help a lady in need.” I say, bowing dramatically.

>>26254625
AW YISS, MORE SOLARON.

OP, I just want to say that I found the 1d4can page, then went on the archive and read the whole thing in less than a day. I've really, really enjoyed this so far.

This thread is enticingly too quiet! even with the fact that it's a slow day.

What on earth could we talk about though? We've already discussed sols tail, and by extension his ability to eat people...

anybody actually here right now? or am I all alone...

>>26273593
Glad you like it!

Honestly it's hard to write when met with stony silence, even though I know people will read and enjoy it later. Fun like this is best shared.

>>26273570

“Noted and appreciated.” She says, “Now, were you actually going to discuss my husband’s dealings with you and your friends, or did you just make that up to save me the embarrassment of breaking their noses?”

“A little of both.” I say playfully, “I know what it’s like to feel cornered by someone like that, but I also wanted to discuss your husband’s fascination with that staff.”

The smile droops a little from Rowena’s face, and she goes to find a seat, me coiling up next to a table. Rowena interlaces her fingers in a businesslike fashion.

“Now, what did you want to talk about?”

“Your husband, namely his fascination with the staff. You mentioned it a bit when we talked earlier, mainly that he believed that it would secure your family’s position of power, but that you had your reservations.

“This is all true.” She nods, “But why do you want to know?”

“Perhaps what you want to know is, why you should tell me?” I ask, smiling to seem less threatening.

She seems taken aback, but nods.

“Well, despite what the short drunk one may have led you to believe, we actually do care for the wellbeing of you and your family. I personally want to make sure that nothing bad happens to you or your husband. But, despite my significant experience in getting difficult jobs done, I cannot do anything without information. Namely, what exactly the staff does, and why you don’t think it will help.”

She pauses to consider my words, leaving me hoping that I haven’t pressed too hard.

>>26273619
entirely* too quiet

>>26273675
Yeah, just catching up with this thread at the moment, about halfway through.

File: 1374966958636.jpg-(56 KB, 600x450, MonitoringThisThread.jpg)

56 KB JPG

Where has OP gone?

>>26274236
Dinner, but I am back now.

Also, Star Trek and X-Com are very distracting.

Rolled 24

>>26274282
Fair enough. Do you still want criticism?

>>26274325
Also had a d100 ready to roll for some reason.

>>26274325
I'm not demanding it, but I am always open to it, or any suggestion/discussion my audience cares to engage in.

>>26273680

Thankfully it seems I have not overstepped myself, Lady Rowena nodding and speaking up.

“Very well, I will tell you what I know, but my husband does not tell me very much about this latest venture of his. What he does do is brag to me, trying to show how wrong I was by trying to oppose him in this plan to acquire the staff. He bragged that his new tow has the power to create wealth and glory as if from nothingness, and that with it we would never have to worry about things like business dealings again, that we would simply make whatever we needed, conjure it from the ether.”

“Sounds like a powerful artifact, and dangerous in the wrong hands.” I say, cautiously.

“I imagine so.” She says, “It could have serious repercussions if something goes wrong, if it has the power to make, it could just as easily unmake things as well.”

“Has he studied the staff? Does he know how to use it?” I ask.

“Not really, on either point. He has spent some time trying to turn an apple into a lump of gold, but so far nothing has happened.”

“Perhaps he should get some professional help.” I say. Then, as if the idea just suddenly struck me, I add “We have a wizard in our party, an elven mage of not inconsiderable ability. Perhaps he could assist your husband in understanding the staff better. That way perhaps it could actually help you, or at least stop him from blowing up the house on accident.”

Well, here's a couple of things I've noticed:
Firstly (and I've seen the complaints about this earlier), the characters so seem a little two-dimensional, but this is a relatively simple matter to fix.
For example, Sloane: all we really have about him is, 'I'M A PALADIN OF PELOR AND I LIKE SMITING THINGS'. Something of an oversimplification but you see my point, yes?
What I'd suggest is we have some time dedicated to finding out about the character. Perhaps Solaron and Sloane (or whichever party member) get kidnapped by the big bad of this episode and while in captivity they open up to each other a lot more. You'd have to not make it all cliché though.

Secondly, you tend to repeat words a lot. I can't think of any off the top of my head because it's half past midnight and I haven't gotten sleep in the past two days, so I can't be bothered to go find an example.
In any case, try to vary your word choices a bit. If you do find yourself repeating words a lot, you can try online thesauruses and the like.

Hope it helps, and I don't mean to offend.

>>26274505

No offense taken, I like to hear some polite input, it's quite nice to get alternate viewpoints.

As for Sloane, believe me, I know this character has layers that are yet unseen. He seems really flat and boring now, but this is intentional, you will find out there is more to him than meets the eye.

>>26274362

The possible threat of her manor hall being reduced to char and kindling seems to motivate her a bit.

“Perhaps an expert opinion would be wise, I shall speak to him about this.”

I nod judiciously, “Yes, it seems for the best. Incidentally, does your husband know where the staff originated from? It could be useful to know how he came to learn of it, or who might have made it. Wizards often have personal styles and disciplines you see, and if it was made by someone we know about, or we know where it came from, then we might have a better chance of analyzing it.”

“I don’t know where it came from or how my husband learned of it.” She admits, “But I shall make a point of asking him as soon as I am able.” She rises from the table, clearly signaling that this conversation is over.

“Well, it was a pleasure speaking with you Solaron, though I wish it was on a more pleasant subject matter.”

I nod, “Perhaps later we could get together in more entertaining circumstances.”

She smiles but says nothing, heading for the door. “Oh, they’re probably still outside.” She says regretfully.

I glide over and sense through the door, feeling the tremors in the floor and scenting the air. “Yes, they’re there. Let me handle this.”

I throw open the door and slither out into the corridor, rather surprising the two ladies there.

“Ladies!” I say jovially as I link each of my arms to one of theirs, pulling them close to my side. “I have overheard you are followers of high fashion, let me tell you about some developments from my homeland I think could interest you.”

Powerless against my strong body, I pull the two startled ladies down the corridor away from Lady Rowena, who flees in the opposite direction.

>>26274869
>powerless against my strong body

Oh Solaron.

>>26274869
smooth save that will help him with the lady later

>>26274972
I know that sounds suggestive, but tail isn't applicable, since a snake's tail is just the itty bitty nubbin on the end of the body. Technically, most of Sol is like a human torso, one that he uses to move.

Couldn't really think of any other way to word that.

>>26275016
I know, it just sounded funny, is all.

>>26275090
Which was the intention.

>>26275099
I need a reaction picture for 'Oh Solaron' instead of 'Oh you.'

>>26274986
>>26274972
Oh hey! There are actually people here!

>>26275186
Maybe the fine artists who have helped out this story with fanart can oblige you.

>>26275195
On the subject of that, the picture of Solaron being carried off by the female orc... That killed me, man.

Anyway it's half past one and I need sleep. I'd archive this thread but I don't know how, so somebody should get on that so I can read it when I wake up.

Oh, and again, good work,

>>26275339
I archived it the moment I posted the first part.

Sleep well.

File: 1374971857354.jpg-(714 KB, 1920x1080, Solaron has no idea.jpg)

714 KB JPG

>>26275376
Have this as a parting gift.

>>26274869

It takes a while, but I finally manage to out talk the two ladies hanging onto my arms. I keep them interested for a while with descriptions of various Yuan Ti formal garments, which makes them giggle for some reason. Then, once Lady Rowena has had enough time to get to a safe distance, I switch over to an extremely boring talk about formal custom and respectful manners of addressing people, whereupon they became suddenly very less interested in me. I contrived to look disappointed when they came up with some trivial reason to part company, but smiled to myself when they went on their merry way.

Right, that done, it was high time to catch up with Blake and see if he’d learned anything. I scent the air for a while, trying to find some trace of the little rogue. It takes me a little while to pick up on his scent, but I do eventually, also recognizing a hint of Lady Constance. I look down the hall to see Blake walking towards me, seeming a bit annoyed. As he draws closer I see a large red welt on his cheek, roughly the shape of a human hand.

“So, did you do that wingman thing again?” I ask.

“Not another word.” He says, pointing at me.

“That woman is insane.” He grumbles, “Lead me on for half an hour and then smacked me down when I actually made a move.”

“I’d say she smacked you quite hard.” I say, examining the injury.

“Anyhoo, I got some sort of useful information out of Lady Rowena, let me tell you what I found…”

>>26275841

Calling it for the night. Been a pleasure writing for you, should have a good deal more tomorrow.

Thanks for reading.

Shit, I thought the Tale of Solaron was dead. Glad to see it isn't.

>>26276488
No, I was just trying out a different writing style, write up over the week and then dump.

Not sure if it worked very well.

>>26276624
Still here.