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"My, my, it's been awhile," Marduk remarks at the sight of Dyrus and Belle. "I didn't realize you two were acquainted. Small world, huh?"

"...hello, Marduk." Belle responds, rather tersely.

"Hear you two were around Rene awhile," the eldest wyvern-riding sibling says. "She mad at me?"

"Enough to lash out at Omar a little," Dyrus responds.

"I see..." Marduk shuts his eyes. "Understandable after I literally put a spear in her back, I guess... No turning back now, though. Know I wouldn't for the world..."

Samson, meanwhile, continues doing as he has been doing: doubting himself and his worthiness as a commander. Still, though, he's set to meet up with Adelais Dory. "Play nice" with her certainly means his fleet will be turned over to her in all but name, and he still has no idea what to expect out of her as a person.

You are now Samson, set to arrive at Eyve Island, an isle about as far Southeast from Briggid Island as one can get without being considered outside of the subregion, in a few short hours.

For your father, you tell yourself, for your father...

Fabrice is keeping to himself belowdecks, planning plans, Edwyg and Dinah are training together, and Adam is regaling Millie and Norman with a seafaring anecdote.

>A. Talk to a party member (specify)
>B. Skip to arrival

>>47511933
>A. Talk to a party member (Fabrice)

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>>47512061
You seek out Fabrice, figuring you could stand to either brainstorm or act as a sounding board for his ideas, whichever works out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83X7HGHIGWU

"Ah, Samson," he says, "hold a moment, I just need to reapply my face... I said don't come in!" He glares, in the midst of applying something or another before a hand-mirror. At a table below him is a map of the Coastal region at large, coupled with one of the Briggid subregion. Tiny flags, pins, markings made in some sort of makeup or another...

"Relax, man, I've seen you in prison locked away from all your pretty-making things," you say, a bit snappier than you might have intended. "Now, I'm here to talk longterm plans, not bother you about-" Your eyes widen as you finally become aware of the aroma of some very strong perfume. "Gods, man, these ships have windows!"

"Sorry, sorry... I did warn you not to just barge in when I'm not yet beautiful."

"Can we move past this now? Alright, cool, what're you puzzling out here?"

"Merely weighing out the pros and cons of this little... Venture you've set us on. Setting my biases for getting onto the mainland quickly, we need to anticipate just how long Oswald Dory intends to hold his hostage. Certainly, the earliest will be the signing of Hera's death warrant, but he may improvise any number of reasons to prolong Lazare's involuntary visit..."

>A. Not much you can do if that happens
>B. You won't let him squeeze more demands out
>C. What would [Fabrice] have us do about it, huh?!
>D. Write-in response
>E. ...

>>47512374
Er, vote time renewed. Bit late to the punch of saying that, but yeah.

>>47512739
And renewed again.

>>47512374
>B. You won't let him squeeze more demands out

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>>47513082
"If this Oswald Dory tries to push us any further than he already has, then our alliance is off. We're supporting his daughter's campaign until Director Hera, a mutual opponent, is defeated, he's returning my father to us, and then we're never associating again."

"And... if he doesn't, I'm saying."

"Then... I'm sure father would understand."

Fabrice goes to pat your shoulder, only to spot some sort of stain on your clothes right where he was about to pat, hover his hand over it awkwardly for several seconds, and then wipe his hand off on a handkerchief anyway. "Yes, good. Do not let them squeeze any more out of you." He groans. "Honestly, it's troubling enough that knights such as myself and Dinah can only sit idly by and negotiate with these mobsters... At least Dinah's enjoying herself with the axe-knight, I suppose." Fabrice sighs. "Semi-but-mostly-unrelated point. Should I lower my standards? Sometimes I think love might be lost to my high-strungness."

"Who would you be if not a high-maintenance neat freak?" You ask. "A high-end tactician of the scrappy young kingdom, I'm sure the uh... Er... yeah, back home they'll be all over you!"

"What was with the pause there? You weren't being facetious, are you?"

"Er, what? No, no, I was just not sure if..."

"Not sure if what, Samson?" Fabrice asks, cocking an eyebrow.

Lord, you could use a diversion right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiGE2j5AXFM

A pegasus scout bursts in.

"Gods, can people not KNOCK anymore?" Fabrice asks.

"Sorry, sirs," she says, "but... Eyve island is under siege."

"Wait, what?" Fabric asks. "Who is-" He interrupts himself to clasp closed his mirror-"oh, that's a silly question. How many of Hera's people are down there?"

"Er... None, sir," she responds. "From what we could see, it's mostly... Skeletons?"

"Bonewalkers," Fabrice says dejectedly.

>A. How many?
>B. Let's hurry!
>C. No need to rush
>D. Write-in response
>E. ...

>>47513433
Renewed again. I keep not noticing when 15+ minutes have passed.

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>>47513433
>A. How many?

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>>47513781
"How many are we talking?" You ask.

"More kept... Popping up, so we couldn't get a solid headcount," the scout answers.

"You said 'mostly skeletons,'" Fabrice notes, "so does that mean there were other things among these legions of the damned?"

"Well, er... There... Looked like bael, floating eye monsters of some sort, and... Weird shambling decomposing types?"

"Revenants and entombed, on top of monsters... Then we've got a summoner AND a necromancer on the scene, skilled ones at that."

"Did you see anyone human-looking fighting alongside the monsters?" You ask.

"I... We couldn't get close enough to say for certain."

"I'm... Honestly getting tired of that nonagenarian necromancer nuisance," Fabrice alliterates.

"...Methodius is ninetysomething?" You ask.

"Probably not, but when do you get to use that word?"

"Eheh, yeah."

"Anyway," Fabrice says, "we don't even necessarily know it's him, and the identity of the Summoner accompanying the necromancer is an outright mystery... But either way, we'll need to locate these monster-masters and either neutralize them or otherwise force their retreat, while also ensuring the safety of Adelais Dory, who would likely be holing up with her elite entourage here, where their boat is moored," he points at a lipstick smear on the edge of the Eyve Island section of the map.

>A. Let's emphasize the protection of our "allies"
>B. Let's emphasize hunting down this summoner and necromancer
>C. You'll let Fabrice figure this out
>D. Write-in dialogue

>>47514030
>B. Let's emphasize hunting down this summoner and necromancer

>>47514266
"Well, Adelais is a big girl who must know how to protect herself from some zombies, but the only way to stop more from coming is to hunt down the bastards summoning them. By the sound of things, both of them are on the island, so let's not waste any time taking care of them."

"You just want revenge, don't you?" Fabrice asks. "The necromancer might not even be him."

"No, I'm saying we need to hunt down the guys making possibly-infinite monsters before they can overwhelm us, and that playing defensively will just end in that happening."

"I'm not denying that. Both explanations can coexist, you know. Anyway, if we're to be hunting down humans in a sea of vaguely-humanoid and inhuman beasts, we'll need to split our crews into small, specialized groups, but also large or skilled enough to fight through the veritable swarms. Perhaps dedicate a few of our men to aiding Adelais' ship anyway, in the off-chance that they need the help or are outright being accosted by our targets."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4QJiKNL2pA

So while you delegate the find-and-protect task to some nameless allies, you need to figure out how to split the rest of your people into hunting parties. Depending on just how small your "small groups" are, there'll be more danger in the short-term, but you're also likely to find the summoner and necromancer sooner.

>A. You're fine in a group of three (pick two party members)
>B. You'll take three people along (pick, natch, three)
>C. Seven strong is still a pretty small group... (entire listed Samson party comes along)

>>47514650
>B. You'll take three people along
Edwyg, Millie, Norman

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>>47515072
"Alright, then. Fabrice, you and the other Noban knights can form a group. I'll take Edwyg, Millicent, and Norman."

Before you can even split up upon landing, you find yourselves accosted by some two dozen floating eye monsters, accompanied by as many bonewalkers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkJ0dyp-2lA

Norman, backed by you, Fabrice, and several of your army's archers, takes to trying to shoot the eyes out of the sky, Millie, Dinah, Adam, and Edwyg clearing through the bonewalkers as swiftly as possible, a few more allied fighters holding off and whittling through the enemies.

More keep popping up, however, so eventually some of your allies are forced to pretty much slash open an opportunity in the undead waves for the lot of you to break through, though as your allies begin to cut them down at similar rates to which they can appear, more and more of the prospective search parties pass through.

"There's... Not very much to Eyve Isle," Fabrice notes, preemptively itching himself with anxiety as he looks to a small jungle. "If our targets aren't somewhere along the shore, they'll be... somewhere in there."

"What's the matter, scared o' some trees?" Edwyg mocks.

"The forests of Noba and Holmstead are far less... Dense and possibly monster-infested," Dinah agrees.

"Perhaps it would be f'r the best if the group o' four checked out the woods instead of three," Adam adds.

"Pah, buncha chickens," Edwyg scoffs. "Hunter, Samshrimp, fancy-feet, you gonna chicken out too?"

>A. Plenty of shore for two groups to scour! Send some other (read: more expendable) party woodsward!
>B. Our group can check out some dark trees just fine
>C. Write-in response
>D. ...

>>47515392
>B. Our group can check out some dark trees just fine

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>>47515466
"Right," you say, nodding. There's a lot of negative things you could call yourself, but 'scaredy-cat' is hardly one of them.

"I didn't take you as someone who's afraid of the dark, Adam," Millicent remarks.

"It's woods, moreso," he admits, "wouldn't'a had a problem if I absolutely HAD to go, but I'm glad we're takin' the shores."

"You've... Brought antitoxins, right?" Fabrice asks. "You're dealing with bael here, not to mention whatever creatures may lurk this isle naturally..."

"Of course!" You say. "We overcompensate for a lack of staves around here, you know this!"

"...I wonder if you could kill a summoned bael fast enough to eat it," Norman thinks aloud.

"Well, we got plenty of mystery to speculate on an' on about, so let's go!" Edwyg directs. "Oh, an', uh, take care, Dinah."

With that, the four of you push on in, Norman keeping his eyes on the treetops and aim ready, you pondering whether Wind or Elfire is more appropriate for the situation, trying to recall half-remembered lessons about whether or not certain spells could affect nature...

"Edwyg, look out!" Millie calls, prompting the axe-cavalier to swerve out of the way of a bael's pincers. It vanishes as Millie slashes through it, and climbing down a tree just to the left of where Edwyg wound up is one more for her to chop down.

More and more just keep climbing down from the treetops, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, leading you all to the idea that it would be VERY wise to run further in, figuring you must be getting close to SOMEONE.

This bit of retreating leaves you face-to-face with two Elder bael, six more spiders riding in from behind you to surround your party.

>A. Attack the elder baels! (specify weapon choice)
>B. Attack the smaller ones!
>C. Sing for whoever may need it
>D. Write-in action
>E. Try to run through them! (dice+1d20, 14 or greater needed to succeed)

>>47515724
>C. Sing for whoever may need it

>>47515724
>C. Sing for whoever may need it

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>>47515770
You figure that right now a more support-based role might be more important, being ready to sing as Edwyg strikes and Norman shoots.

Edwyg is quickly pierced by both of the bael, though she is able to slice one's head off with ease. "Gah, shit... I'm comin' down with somethin'."

"Fall back~" You singsongily order, "take an antitoxin!"

"Urgh, fine..." Edwyg rides back close to you and Millicent, the latter of whom dances so her brother can finish off the other Elder Bael.

Rather abruptly, the rest of the bael disappear, and out rings a young woman's voice. "Fuck!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wOPQePxOT4

A young woman of medium height, with short brown hair and a foul expression on her face, steps out. Tucked under her arm, a light tome. "You're not even Dory company. You're those... Prison rats gramps rambles on about."

>A. And she's just left herself open! (attack!)
>B. What's her point?
>C. Who? What?
>D. Write-in action
>E. ...

>>47516181
>B. What's her point?

>>47516181
>B. What's her point?

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>>47516237
"What's your point?" You ask, not really sure why she's stopped. Is she... actually unaffiliated with the Empire after all?

"My point is you pretty much spat in Oswald Dory's face and killed his son, took over Nedata Island! I know you probably just saw a buncha monsters attacking some ship on some island, but we've got REASON to work together!"

"Wait... Who are you, anyway?" You ask.

"Kristina," she answers. "Now, are you helping me or getting stuck like pigs?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Millicent snaps, glaring at Kris. "Why should we want to help you when you just threatened us like that?"

"I just explained why, dumbass!" She curses again. "Gramps and I have beef with the Dories too, so it's us or them."

You wonder just how prudent it would be to politely inform her that you've already selected a side, but Norman nudges your arm. "Those eye things are all over, a huge radius just a few meters away..."

"Your buddy's pretty observant," Kris shouts, "and even if you get past those, gramps and I'll just throw more monsters at you!"

You wonder if she has ANY illusion that you'll actually agree to her terms, or intent to actually work alongside you should you somehow agree.

>A. Nah, you're good
>B. Distract her with some conversation! (suggestions STRONGLY recommended)
>C. Count on Norman to strike her down
>D. Try to attack Kris yourself! (specify weapon)
>E. See if you can't bluff this along... (words may help)
>F. Write-in action

>>47516444
>B. Distract her with some conversation!
"What's your beef with the Dories?"

>>47516444
>B. Distract her with some conversation! (suggestions STRONGLY recommended)
Can't think of precisely how to phrase it, but mentioning that we currently have to work with the Dories due to them having our dad captive might help.

I'm almost hoping we can convince them to back off and lie low 'til our dad is freed, then join us and crush the Dories.

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>>47516580
>>47516643
"So, you and your grandfather... What do you have against the Dory family?" You ask.

"Honestly, jack shit for me," Kris answers. "Gramps said I could test out my powers on this island if I came along."

"So that makes two of us not terribly invested in this nonsense," you say. "See, I'm just here because the bastards are currently holding my father captive. Forcing me to work with them until the end of this damn war..."

"Shit, sorry to hear that," she says. "But it is... Pretty educational, actually."

"Educational?" You ask.

"Nothing much..." Kristina shakes her head. "Shit, though, now I'm not all too hyped up to crush you like goddamn bugs... Y'know what, lemme just go find gramps, tell him to lay down his zombies. Gonna end up exhausting all his essence and kicking the bucket at this rate, I swear..."

The foul-mouthed summoner conjures up a Mauthe Doog and rides off through the dense woods.

"H-hey, wait..!" You reach out, tripping over some vines as you try to chase after the summoner.

"...the eyeballs are gone," Norman notes.

"Er... What just happened?" Millie asks.

"We... Might've just made some powerful allies for when our business with the Dories is over," you say, smiling a bit. "At least, an enemy of theirs is still standing..."

"An' this girl's grandpa, what're the three things we know about 'im? He's old, probably the necromancer to her summoner, and he has more reason to give a shit fightin' Adelais than she do. Not to mention runnin' off like that so sudden..."

"...let's not. Er, let's not jump to conclusions," you say, absolutely jumping to conclusions internally.

Word from around the island is that all of the monsters and undead patrolling it seemed to abruptly vanish minutes later.

>A. Let's get meeting this Adelais out of the way...
>B. Let's check on the rest of the gang first
>C. Try to probably-futilely search for Kris and her hopefully-just-some-stranger grandfather

>>47516832
>B. Let's check on the rest of the gang first

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>>47516928
You hurry out of the woods to check on your shore-seeking allies, thankfully finding them alive and well.

"I was right about to slash a cyclops in two when every enemy just... Disappears," Dinah retells. "I take that to mean you vanquished their masters?"

"Heh, not really," Edwyg pulls you close with her arm. "Shrimp-for-a-brain here just told the summoner about his dad's situation so old bones could find out about it an' they both bailed."

"...well thank the gods it'll probably take awhile for ANYONE to locate Oswald, Imperial or otherwise," Fabrice says, shaking his head before grumbling something inaudible.

"Hey!" A much higher-pitched, but much more commanding girl's voice calls out from across the beach.

A tall, slender blonde girl in light armor, clad also in a green headband, with a scar along her lip and thick, hateful eyebrows, struts over to your group, accompanied by a trio of axe-brandishing pirate girls. "So... You're the one who killed my brother." Right over to you, the tall one struts, drawing her sword.

>A. Do the same!
>B. Double back!
>C. Stand still, stand silently
>D. And if you are?
>E. Sorry about that (dice+1d20 for earnesty)
>F. Write-in response
>G. ...

>>47517228
>D. And if you are?

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>>47517295
"And if I am?" You ask.

"Then..." That retort leaves a Wo Dao pressed up against your cheek, a slight flick away from a very painful situation. Everyone else, aware of the gravity of who this person is, only watches in painful anxiety. "You've got a hell of a debt to work off, bard..."

Okay, not EVERYONE stands idly by. After a moment, Millicent steels herself. "Hey! I don't care who you are, you can't just... Hold swords up against your allies like-"

Adelais swerves around, now pointing the Wo Dao in Millicent's direction. "Do you KNOW how many times the forgers of this sword folded it? More times than can even be counted!"

Adam just starts... Snickering. "G-gods, swordmasters really ARE all like that..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QugbLVh9Pd4

"Stop laughing!" She shouts. "Daddy said you would all play nice! If you bully the dragon, you'll be roasted alive, you know!"

So... Dory's daughter is as volatile as she is easily lost in her fantasies.

"Er... Forgive my companion, Lady Adelais..." You try your hardest to keep a straight face as you pull yourselves out of this. "He was struck with some... Temporary madness at your... What's the word, crew?"

"Radiance?" Fabrice offers.

"Willful aura?" Dinah suggests.

"Hm..." She taps her chin, sheathing her weird foldy-critically sword and nodding. "Yes, I do have those things... My radiant, willful aura and strength could drive anyone mad!"

>A. It'll be... A pleasure working with her
>B. Make it clear that this partnership is only temporary
>C. Remind yourself that the ramifications of just cutting her down here are NOT worth the catharsis
>D. Write-in response

>>47517600
>A. It'll be... A pleasure working with her
>C. Remind yourself that the ramifications of just cutting her down here are NOT worth the catharsis

>>47517649
"It'll be... a pleasure working with you, Lady Adelais!" You say, clenching your fists for a moment. In those few seconds, you swear you almost draw blood with your nails alone.

"Just fall in line like daddy asked and we'll get along great~!" She says, bouncing slightly and smiling. "This island has some nice aesthetics without all the monsters, and it's getting pretty late as it is, what with the skirmish... We're camping out here, boys and girls!" Turning back towards you and your named allies, she also adds, "daddy asked me to keep a close eye on you all, so... You'll all be staying on my own ship from now on! Notify the next in the chain of command of your prison dinghy, alright?"

After she leaves earshot, Millicent is the first of your not-including-Adelais allies to speak up. "She pointed a sword at us!"

"I know, Millie... Just tell yourself it's not worth it to kill her. This phase of our life'll end soon..." You clench your fists again.

"Sam, are your hands bleeding?!"

"Yes, Millie. Yes they are."

>To be continued next thread
Of all the places for levity to come in the continuation of Samson's Darkest Hour™.

Thanks for playing, as always. Update twitter/ask.fm are qmgrandflocto, and I'll be around in-thread to chat/answer questions awhile.

>>47517817
Thanks for running.

>>47517843
Always a pleasure.

I always feel like I'm meandering pointlessly at the start of Samson threads before picking up the slack by the mid-late-thread. Comes with the territory of his story having the most improvising, I guess.

>>47517899
A bit, thinking about it, but I think it works fairly well for Samson as a prelude to the mission of that chapter.

>>47518102
His disconnect from the main plot and the general uncertainty of writing him add to his appeal in the greater picture, honestly.