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Torn between mourning the alleged loss of Hal and investigating Cicero's very good point about his trustworthiness, Rene and co. warp someplace they can properly prepare to storm into bandit territory with the hopes of coming out alive with their leader unscathed. Make sure young Sara (even though she's only a couple years younger than Rene...) is properly equipped for the battles ahead. By now, they're certain, however Methodius' siege of the castle ultimately played out, it's long over by now.

Receiving reports of a boat matching Adam's memory of Alfred's old smuggling vessel, docked on a small isle housing an impressive manor, Samson's group took a brief detour to the island home of the late Director Waldrick. If the appropriated infamously-fast ship was truly there, Adam reasons, it will more than make up for lost time with how much faster it is than even Adelais' flagship. Not that he doesn't trust Adelais to keep her own minions in line, but he's certain to emphasize to them that they are NOT here to rob the place, merely collect a boat that belonged to Adam's old crew to begin with and move on.

Several days earlier, Dyrus and the rest of his mother's now-royal army were storming every gate possible of Methodius' castle, all in the hopes that what they were doing would result in Methodius having zero chance of escape. As they push further into the castle, they grow wary of how few Deadlords have shown themselves, growing ever more certain that Methodius is keeping his most able undead allies to his own side. Dyrus is still caught off-guard by recent familial revelations, but hardly enough to distract at this key moment!

>A. Be Dyrus
>B. Be Samson

>>47881026
>A. Be Dyrus

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>>47881115
Dyrus' group, storming the front door, consists of himself, Via, Laurise, Darren, Fortune, Doran, and Felix, alongside a few of Fortune's men. Flying units storming the castle from higher points and others just taking different entrances to the fortress.

You take over as Dyrus as he fends his way through a sea of bonewalkers, watching over his grandfather to make sure he doesn't die.

As you begin to grow suspicious with how, besides some dracozombies dispatched right at the front gates, your doubts are sated by the arrival of further champions.

You recognize the fell form of Director Cato, even as pale and lifeless as it is beneath her cloaks, and a Sage wielding Arcfire approaches in front of her. Canis and Ovis, you would respectively discover them to be called in time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx-4tBuXb4Q

They waste no time obstructing your paths, and your mages in turn waste no time readying their own spells, Laurise her trademark Dime Thunder and Felix his Aura. Fortune draws her Devil Sword, and Doran and Via point their respective Steel Bow and Silver Knives towards the various approaching monsters, Darren lifting up his Silver Axe. As for you...

>A. Make sure grandpa doesn't try anything heroic again
>B. Keep the little guys off of them
>C. Attack one of them yourself! (specify who/what weapon)
>D. Write-in action
>E. Just watch what happens

(as a reminder, Dyrus currently has his Royal Axe, which is a Wolf Beil clone, a Hand Axe, a Hammer, and a Heal staff)

>>47881420
>A. Make sure grandpa doesn't try anything heroic again
>B. Keep the little guys off of them

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>>47881494
"Alright, grandpa, let's keep our friends safe from interruption!"

Darren nods, not feeling terribly like risk-taking. "Felix, focus on Director Cato's corpse. Light magic has an inherent edge over Dark, and Dark over-"

Felix nods. "I know how magic works, Lord Darren..."

Canis attempts to toss her blasts of Yotsmungand towards Felix, only for Fortune to pull him aside. "Stick behind your auntie, Felix! I'll keep you out of her line of sight!"

"Beware of the looming threat of poisoning," Via warns, attention now split between making sure no one has to endure Cato's preferred poison method and fending off the bonewalkers.

"Yeah!" Doran agrees, taking potshots at Bonewalkers with swords before they can reach you and your axe-wielding granddad. "It'd be a damn waste..."

You swerve and duck out of the way of the Bonewalkers in question, cutting through them after they attempt to strike the two of you.

"Excellent work," grandfather praises, taking another swing at the bonewalkers.

Dodging the Arcfire of Ovis, one, two, three, four Dime Thunderbolts bring the man who was once a defiant poet and renaissance man back into his eternal rest.

A dual strike from Felix and Fortune brings about Canis' easy undoing, and the endless waves of Bonewalkers let up for a moment due to your dilligence.

Exhaling and wiping sweat off your brow, you sigh, recalling the form of Ovis.

When you found his old self facing Director Waldrick, you remember, you could do nothing but run away and leave him and the guards accompanying to his fate. Yet he was able to prove integral in his defeat.

"...we've earned a moment's respite," your grandfather says, looking over everyone. "Is anyone hurt? No? Excellent."

>A. Relay what little you knew about Raleigh in this quiet moment
>B. Simply catch your breath
>C. Press forward!
>D. Write-in dialogue

>>47881786
>A. Relay what little you knew about Raleigh in this quiet moment

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>>47882002
"The... Man who would become Ovis," you start, looking over the fading undead remains. "He was an esteemed Bard in Holmstead, a beloved pillar of his community and culture. He was actively writing, in his final year in his magical academy..."

Seeing where you're going with this and noting your visible sadness, your grandfather interrupts, "we couldn't have hoped to defeat Director Waldrick as we were then. We needed to retreat, and trying to save him would have only killed us as well."

"Would it have?" You ask.

"Most likely," Via says, "Belle analyzed the risk in the heat of the moment, and..."

She doesn't continue her thoughts from there, but you get the point. "...yeah, you're right. I guess I'm just... Really upset, knowing that he and King Augustus alike had to suffer so long under the thumb of the Empire they opposed."

"The work they did in life wasn't in vain, though!" Laurise consoles to the best of her ability. "I-I mean... Look where we are! Look WHAT we are! Look what we've accomplished!"

"Lotta good it did f'r the dead," Doran grumbles, taking a sip of water and offering its bottle to Fortune. "What peace or freedom from the Empire're they gonna see? An' cut it out with that 'peace in death' shit, death's where it all ends."

"I mean, if you prefer to be some kinda pessimist," Fortune shrugs, taking a sip. "I say we celebrate the lucky survivors, pour one out for the lost, and move on, ya know? Least..." Another sip. "That's what my mentor would've done. Wonder how Marion's doing these days..."

"Gerard would certainly not want us thinking of him as a damned soul," Via adds. "People's sacrifices are... Tragic, sometimes could have easily been avoided, but they occurred. While our hearts may remain heavy, is it right that we put our lives on hold for those who might only return as soulless, living dead warlords?"

>A. It wasn't pointless
>B. It was pointless
>C. You don't know how to respond!
>D. Write-in response
>E. ...

>>47882268
>A. It wasn't pointless

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>>47882385
"None of this was pointless," you say with certainty. "Maybe it was awful, could have been handled differently, but the Empire refused to have it any other way. All of the bloodshed and loss on both sides falls to their need to rule the continent for some... I don't even know what reason. They're the ones with no point!"

"That's the spirit!" Laurise cheers you on, giving you a thumbs-up. "This all is what it all is, so let's get this chapter over with!"

The lot of you advance, the brunt of the Lords of Chance holding off a sudden rush of Bonewalkers and Revenant as your group approaches Methodius' throne room.

>character limit, continued next post

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>>47882992
It's dark. None of your party can see a thing.

"You made it in quite fast," an elderly voice rings through the darkness, lights coming on dimly as he rests on his old liege's throne. At his side, you can vaguely make out the figures of two swordsmen, one male, one female, Bovis and Anguilla. You... Swear you recognize the one on the left, but in this light you can't perfectly tell where from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lvtbhtR-MU

Methodius rises, and two more step into the dim, hard-to-make-out lights, a small figure with a staff, and a proud one with a bow.

"I would commend you for it, but I'm not terribly keen on my Emperor's castle falling when he left it in my hands..."

"Spare us one more difficult fight, Methodius," Darren says, stepping forward, "you're not leaving this place alive anyway, so expire easily."

"Oho, but why would I want to do that then, Sir Darren?" He asks. "You know, you never were the same after your son died... I once respected you a great deal."

"Leave the dead out of this," Darren responds, teeth grit, "you will not bait me into a preemptive attack."

"Oh, but my friend, bringing the dead back into things is my specialty! Bovis, show him what I mean!"

The swordsman steps forward, and your grandfather recoils in shock, nearly dropping his axe. "D... Dyrus?"

"Bovis now, actually," Methodius responds. "Fitting that he'll be the one to do away with you."

You look to Laurise, noting that she's frozen in a similar horrified state to your grandfather as your dead father rushes at him with an Iron Blade.

>A. Call out to them!
>B. Attack Bovis!
>C. Step between them!
>D. ...
>E. Write-in action

>>47883013
>A. Call out to them!
>B. Attack Bovis!

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>>47883171
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NmGBbzHDjc

"L-Laurise, Grandpa, get your heads back in the game!" You rush forward, yourself full of anguish as you madly swing your axe, "it... Isn't him! It's a puppet shaped like him!"

Hurrying to intercept and distract Bovis with some violence of your own, you barely cut through him before you freeze up, him turning towards you and swinging his weapon himself.

You're struck, and immediately Darren unfreezes, shoving you away and doing battle with Bovis himself.

Well, more like "being attacked by Bovis and failing to hit him more than once or twice."

You hurry to help, only for Methodius to call out, "Lepus, Anguilla, Draco, stop wasting time~"

The small, staff-wielding fellow, Lepus, reveals himself as the corpse of Omar, himself armed with an Aura tome he never would've used as himself, and the big one with a bow, Draco, as Chief Tien brandishing a Killer Bow and Killing Edge.

"Marion?" Fortune asks, immediately intercepting the horrifyingly swift sword strikes of Anguilla with her Devil Sword, trying her hardest just to parry the blows. "You haven't aged a day since I met you! How's that son of yours doing? Hey, Felix, get over here and help me pay my mentor back for giving me this sword. She saved your life, you know!"

"Swear to the gods, she's fuckin' crazy..." Doran scoffs, entering an archery duel with Draco as Felix obliges his aunt.

"As I recall," Via remarks, opting to trade blows with Lepus, "your host, briefly as Dyrus knew him, detested violence. It's a bit of a kick to his memory to strike people down with his form." Her tone is that... Outright eerie monotone she adopts when she's enraged.

Laurise remains in a sort of daze.

Methodius steps off his throne, walking to Bovis' side and opening his Nosferatu tome.

>A. Attack someone! (specify)
>B. Try to snap Laurise out of it! (write-in dialogue)
>C. Write-in action
>D. ...

>>47883431
>A. Attack someone! (Methodius)

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>>47883665
Switching to your Hand Axe, you toss the weapon at Methodius, deadset on killing him before he can try what you think he is!

You actually do manage to get a sizable cut in through his robe before your axe returns to you, but he simply strikes your grandfather as your father's corpse does, the magical blow of the necromancer's tome clearly alleviating his pain somewhat and driving the less unpleasant old man closer to death.

"You... You mean to turn me into what you did him?" Darren asks, panting and groaning as he turns his axe on Methodius, driving it into his side. "P-please! You're feeble, and you always were. Never cut out for combat."

Methodius laughs, spitting out blood as he does, "y-you know... I'll just take you down with me, and-"

Having none of that, you leap in and give his head an axe-cut dissimilar to the ones in his chest and side, as this one was with the Royal Axe!

Methodius collapses, clinging to dear life and barely breathing, leaving you only to deal with the remaining Deadlords as he bleeds out.

Darren, meanwhile, collapses onto one knee, leaving you to hold off and repel Bovis, knocking him into a wall with your strike, buying you precious seconds to quickly give him with your Heal staff.

As Laurise remains out of it, the reinvigorated Darren goes to take more swings at the mocking likeness of his son.

The sides of Fortune's face are bleeding as Anguilla continues deftly dodging her blows, only occasionally being hit by Felix's attacks as his aunt tries not to soak too many blows. She may have the luck to wield a Devil Sword without fail, but that doesn't make her invincible.

Doran remains locked in a shootout with Draco, and he is... More than a little in over his head, having been hit more times than he's landed blows on the fearsome expert of the valley's ghost.

Via, meanwhile, is mostly focusing on evasion against Lepus.

>A. Attack [x]
>B. Talk to Laurise (write-in dialogue)
>C. Finish Methodius
>D. Write-in action

>>47883955
Vote time renewed.

I hope this fight is as fun to read as it's been to write.

>>47883955
>B. Talk to Laurise (Get it together unless you want all of us to suffer that fate!)
>A. Attack Draco
I'm having fun, at least. Just distracted.

>>47884226
"Come on!" You approach your sister, firmly grasping her shoulders, "we need to beat these guys unless you want more people to end up like that."

"You're... Y-you're right," Laurise clears her throat, readying her tome. "I... It's not dad... It's-it's not really him..!" She rushes forward, slamming her tome open and intervening on her grandfather's behalf, filling Bovis with... Well, odds are you don't even know what volts ARE, but a lot of them.

In the meantime, you save Doran's life from certain death by rushing Draco with your axe, and your close-range+Doran's weakened long-range combination leads to his staying still and eventually falling to your weapons, Doran immediately going to aid the merc of his dreams and her nephew in putting down their savior after a once-over with your Heal staff.

Hurrying to kill Omar a second time, you rush to Via's aid, managing to toss your Hand Axe at him and throw off his balance enough to miss Via once more. Cripplingly distracted by an axe through his noggin, Via is able to finish him off with a simply elegant knife-toss.

"You alright?" You ask her, just in the off-chance some unexpected thing went wrong.

"I'm quite well, Dyrus," she assures you, giving a slight bow of reassurance. "Why, I almost feel left out, with how much damage the rest of you have accrued..."

"What? No, no, I'm..." Okay, pain is settling in from that wound Bovis gave you earlier. You begin to collapse, but Via hurriedly catches you, pulling up her Mend staff.

"Not that I don't appreciate the exclusion..." Via interrupts herself in the middle of... Whatever you call how you two talk lately, looking sympathetic as she notes your stare gravitating towards the forlorn-looking Laurise and Darren, looking quite forlorn. "...will you be alright?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOh7klO3qTk

Everyone's just sort of ignoring him by this point, but Methodius has stopped moving.

>A. Yeah
>B. No
>C. Eventually
>D. ...
>E. Write-in response

>>47884525
>C. Eventually

>>47884525
>C. Eventually

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>>47884578
"I... Eventually," you say.

It's really not in a maid's duties to give consolatory hugs, but Via really goes that extra mile at the best of times, before the two of you disperse to make sure no wounds are left unhealed.

Hauteclere and the rest show up to the throne room soon enough, discovering the situation with the Deadlords and herself briefly growing as silent as your other family members.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziDfl6w8_QU

"...we've come far, and I'm too tired now for speeches," Hauteclere says to her troops. "Clean this place up so we can sort out the situation with the former palace guards... And someone get Methodius out of here before he rots."

"What shall we do with the body, your majesty?" A soldier asks.

"...properly. He was a vile man, and our enemy, but even he deserves that much. Let it be known in death exactly what sort of man he was."

The ensuing days are... Hectic, to say the least, as you all get situated in the castle. The former capital and Wolfskin regions are kept one country, renamed Neir after your family. Wouldn't do well calling it by the regions of an Empire you're stamping from the face of the earth, after all.

The Lords of Chance remain your stalwart allies even now, with Fortune vowing that they won't leave the service of Queen Hauteclere until the Empire threatening her nephew's way of life is eradicated. Doran formally joins them, officially saying 'screw it!' to being a ship's navigator for a crew long killed.

Marduk is given a very impressive rank within Neir's officially-established forces, his sisters also continuing to work dutifully.

Belle and Via remain by your family's side, naturally. Much to everyone's bemusement, Darren continues not actually retiring despite all his talk of desiring it.

Nahuel is officially recognized as representing the Tarvosian Nomads' interests in the Kingdom of Neir.

So in short, everyone's still around to spend time with.

>A. Talk to someone (specify)
>B. Skip ahead

>>47884854
>A. Talk to someone (Felix)

>>47885017
In the days after Neir is founded, Felix seems to shy away from Laurise once more. Considering that she's still more than a little shaken about the whole freezing up thing (come to think of it, you don't think anyone remembered to discuss Rene with her), you figure that the timing can't be worse. You need to go find him!

When you do manage to track him down, it's in the former chambers of Prince Xerxes. Considering what happened to him, people have been feeling superstitious and antsy about converting it into anything, so it's just... An empty guest room with a bunch of books, the only things removed being the old Gerxel imagery adorning his sheets and floors, replaced with more generic ones. He's idly flipping through books, when he looks up at you, a slightly uncomfortable look in his eye. "My... father read a lot of smut." He sounds uncomfortable and confused referring to a dead prince he never met like that, but... You suppose that's a good thing.

"What brings you in here?" You ask.

"I thought I would garner some hints as to what Veiz told us, about... his journal. Where these other children might be. But nothing. There's history, geography, comedies, play scripts... The aforementioned."

"...sorry to hear that," you start, before getting down to the important stuff, "why've you been giving my sister the cold shoulder? I mean, I mess with you two, but you had a pretty nice thing going on, and she's been really hard on herself lately!"

"...I'm unsuitable for her," he says.

"Wha?" You ask. "No, no, we haven't even come close to working out the whole nobility mess enough to care about class and stuff! Don't feel intimidated by your love!"

"No, it's not that, it's my father again. My bloodline." He sits on a desk, rubbing his temples. "I'm of the Empire's bloodline. It... I have a responsibility not to let the Gerxel into power again, even if it means burning bridges."

>A. That's silly!
>B. You get it
>C. Write-in response
>D. ...

>>47885203
>A. That's silly!

>>47885203
>A. That's silly!

>>47885290
"That's... You're worrying too hard, Felix!" You assure him, giving him a friendly pat. "What're the gonna do even if they capture you? Which they won't, by the way!"

"The... controversy that would erupt from a descendant of the Empire doing such a thing, though," Felix says, "if word got out of my heritage, then..."

"Then nothing!" You heartily pat him a second time. "Forget about all the whisperings of nobility! You and Laurise care a lot for each other, you make a great team, and everyone who knows you knows you're great! The only whisperings I heard when we were on the road was 'they'd make such a cute couple!'" Felix worrying about the risks of something, as always, has a tendency to make people more confident that it'll go over just fine.

"I... Suppose you're right, and that I owe her an apology." Felix sits up straight. "Your sister helped me feel confident in myself, begin to overcome my shyness, and I've been a very poor emotional pillar in a very rapid-moving time in her life." Felix cracks a small smile at you. "Thank you, Dyrus."

"No problem, buddy! Ever since I met you with Biff and Byron, I've known you were something special!"

"In the meantime, allow me to pay you back, confidante to confidante, friend to friend. You went out of your way to trouble yourself with my romantic woes, so... Perhaps I can lend you an ear about you-know-who?"

>A. H-he knows about [name]?
>B. He's only saying you-know-who because he doesn't actually know!
>C. ahaha what no there's nobody (roll 1d20 for convincingness)
>D. Write-in response
>E. That's fine, no help needed!

>>47885502
>B. He's only saying you-know-who because he doesn't actually know!

>>47885502
>B. He's only saying you-know-who because he doesn't actually know!

>>47885621
"H-hey, wait a minute!" You protest, "you're only saying you-know-who because you don't know who I think of that way!"

Felix laughs. "Yes, I suppose you're right..."

"You can't outfox me, Felix," you boast, pointing your thumb at yourself. "I'm a lot cleverer than people think."

"...but you also admitted that there is someone," Felix responds, grinning.

"Wait... D'oh!" Your grin fades into a look of surprise at yourself for being read so easily.

"...though honestly, admitting it is only a formality. You're sixteen years old and so many of your close friends are girls of a similar age. Via, Belle, Nia, Winona..." He blinks. "I mean... Assuming you like girls. You've never given the impression of... Not. At least you're certainly not uncomfortable with all the attention. And I'm guessing it's not a cover for-"

"Alright, you don't need to rub it in!" You say, waving your hands. "There is... Someone, yeah."

"I had no idea," he jokes, flipping open some book on pre-Gerxel history, "care to give more details so I can properly pay you back?"

>A. [Give a name]
>B. No!
>C. Tell him to stop pressing
>D. Write-in response
>E. Leave wordlessly

>>47885717
>GAH! I don't know!
I legitimately don't know who to go for with Dyrus. I think they are all good girls, and he has shown that he cares for all of them and that they care back, plus he hasn't really favored one over the other. Except Nia, I think she has fallen into a more little sister role.

>>47885773
"Gah! I don't know, alright?!" You admit, groaning. "They're all so... and..." You shake your head. "Except for Nia, don't be weird."

"...I can see you're having more trouble than I thought," he says, sighing. "The... Most charitable interpretation of my father possible is that he was the same way. Unable to settle his heart. And... It may have been responsible for the Empire's decline."

"I know, I know, I know!" You respond, honestly losing it a bit here. "I feel like such a bad person, and I know that I have to behave more as a prince... And then, even if I could settle for someone, the others might be upset... Laurise has already told me about Winona, and the way Via talks to me lately is just... And I know I shouldn't lead them all on like this, but I just don't want to upset any of them because they're also all really important friends!" You exhale, clutching your chest.

"R-right, I'll... Stop pestering you for answers, let you sort this out for yourself." After a quiet moment, Felix asks, "how long have you been holding that in?"

"Awhile! And..." You sigh, "honestly, I haven't thought too much about it with any of them. It's just... I mean, they are great, and I wouldn't be opposed, but it's stressful enough without giving it heavy thought." You groan. "Why are girls so nice, Felix? I have wars to worry about."

"Even I can't answer that. Anyway, you're a prince, and either you or Laurise is going to inherit your mother's throne and Staff one day, so you can't put it off forever like a commoner might be able to," Felix says, "but... You've got time. Sort yourself out, make time to be a prince. But, uh... Not in the Xerxes way."

"I'll try to contain myself," you joke.

"Ahah," Felix responds. "Is there anything else you wished to talk about?"

>A. (Specify topic)
>B. Go talk to [name] (subject preferred but not required)
>C. Next plot point, please
>D. Write-in response

>>47885983
>Go talk to Winona

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>>47886105
"No, I'm alright," you say. "Er... Thanks for your time."

With that, you go off to talk to Winona. Despite her return to prestige, she's been... Quieter since the battle for the castle. Her wyvern squadron was slaughtered in front of her by the first two Deadlords encountered, and since then you haven't heard a peep out of her. She's just been quietly standing in formations of hanging around while her older brother and younger sister talked.

Not to mention, she owes you flying lessons!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F11NPFk4y54

You find her on a cliffside overlooking the castle, wyvern resting nearby as she sits and contemplates life.

"Y-you know... This would be a much easier hike up if I had a wyvern..." You greet her with some lightheartedness.

"...hey, Dyrus," she responds, not looking at you. "Sorry, I'll... Get to teaching you as soon as I can. They've put me in charge of a squad of pegasus knights now..."

"I... Didn't have the chance to say it the other day, and we've both been busy since then, but I'm Sorry for your loss."

"It... It stung when it was just one of them, on the edge of the desert, but we all had each other to fall back on," Winona says. "We got by. We knew what we were getting into when we first broke Director Belinda's orders to save Nia, but..." She hugs her legs tighter to her chest. "All of them at once, just... In the blink of an eye was too much. I didn't even care if I had Iote's Shield or not, I just wanted to make Gallus pay for hurting them."

"You didn't mean to follow them, did you? In front of your siblings when Marduk had only just come back to you? In front of me, and Belle?"

"I... I don't think when people I care about are hurt. I just act."

>A. She can't keep doing that!
>B. You're the same way...
>C. Write-in response
>D. ...
>E. So, about flying lessons...

>>47886313
>B. You're the same way...

>>47886396
"I'm the same way, honestly. Grandpa talks up my sharp mind in battle, but the second someone's in trouble it takes a lot of willpower not to drop everything for them."

"Hah... Guess we're two peas in a pod, huh?" Winona asks, inviting you to sit with her. You oblige.

"Yeah... Maybe it's why we get along so well. But, uh... It'd be horrible for me if something happened to you, so let's promise to protect each other!"

Winona giggles a bit more, "Dyrus, you're a prince now, and I'm part of the military serving your crown. We can't really... Put my safety on the same level as yours."

"Who says we can't? I'm a prince, and I say you're just as important as me or Laurise!" In the heat of the moment, you grasp her hand, leading her to turn away, flustered. Letting go, you sigh. "I mean... You couldn't ask me not to worry about you, even if we're talking 'stations' or stuff like that that doesn't mean anything to me."

"...alright, then," Winona responds, leaning into your side.

"Alright what?"

"We can both protect each other. You know I can't say no to you..."

That was a nice moment, yeah, but you have far more frustrating political matters to tend to in the ensuing days. You still need to prepare for another march to Central to support Noba and General Taniel in the defeat of Director Belinda, and things are hardly easy for your newly-crowned mother.
>Character limit, continued next post

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>>47886553
"Look," Nahuel says in Hauteclere's court, rather blatantly reading off a paper as he goes, "the Tarvosians supported you and your rise to power because we wished to escape the thumb of Wolfskin oppression. As long as the Garou live freely in the valley NAMED after them, we won't ever ever ever have any hope of escaping that. There are plenty of spacious mountain ranges!"

Your mother, facing intense pressure on this issue, is bound to be met with the first political controversy of her career however she leans. This same meeting is effectively repeated multiple times over the course of a few days, though once it's actually concluded by a notice FROM Director Chiffon, having awoken at last.

"The Tarvosians have been confiscating Beaststones, imprisoning those suspected to have been experimented on by Methodius... And now Director Chiffon's gone to prove some point by eliminating those bandits in the mountain pass. Our army outnumbered them, but against a small party of Wolfskin, Conrad's company would tear them to shreds."

"And we hardly have time to send our combined forces to simply send our whole army to get rid of this nuisance occupying the fastest route between here and the valley," your grandfather muses. "I suppose it's as good an excuse as any for me to avoid the true conflict, simple bandit-fighting. Let me and a small team take care of it."

"Are you certain you could handle it?" Hauteclere asks. "It would hardly take us any time to..."

"You hardly have any time to begin with," Darren answers. "Myself and a fraction of the Lords of Chance should more than suffice, on top of keeping Felix away from the main battle where he might be abducted any moment."

"...can I go too?" Laurise asks. "I... I still feel horrible for freezing up when you almost died against Bovis, and some of the royal family should be in Neir while mom and brother head West."

>A. Then you'll go
>B. Support this
>C. Darren can handle it
>D. Write-in response
>E. No comment

>>47886674
>B. Support this777

>>47886747
Ignore the 777, keyboard glitched out a little.

>>47886747
"I think that'll go great," you say, supporting the decision. "You'll get your own shot at saving Chiffon's life, and maybe then we can actually work out something sane instead of pushing a whole people into the mountains!"

"Right... Taking out a dangerous bandit for the sake of hopefully actually finding some amount of peace. No pressure!" Laurise sighs.

That being settled, you have a long road ahead, a full trip through the desert to mull over the fact that you're an indecisive teenage git.

At least your mother finally addresses the elephant in the room as the brunt of your forces prepares to travel West. You haven't talked about this since before fighting Methodius. "...you know about Rene, then."

"Yeah... Via got grandpa to spill the beans about him, and how dad talked Director Waldrick into adopting her, and..."

"She loathes me," mother says, "sure, she doesn't know the truth, but... If I were her, and found out, that hatred would only fester."

"Well, I mean... Rene has a good heart, under it all! Maybe, if she meets you, she'll..."

"I wish I had your optimism," mom interrupts.

"Er... Do you... What's her biological father like?" You ask.

She shakes her head. "No idea, just... That he was a drifter that I met in a tavern, when I used to make a habit of sneaking out in disguise to places a noble doesn't belong. He wasn't much older than myself, and something about him just... Struck a chord in me. Like we were somehow kindred spirits." She shakes her head, smiling sadly. "Never heard from him again. It didn't matter anyway, since I didn't exactly hear from Rene either."

It's... Well, you guess it's better than YOUR romantic drama.

>To be continued next thread
While harem shenanigans have been fun to BS around with, crunch-time is growing closer. Our hero will have to choose, since ol' Octo is gonna have to use veto power on a "proper" harem end.

Thanks for playing, as always. Ever-question-devoid ask.fm and twitter are both qmgrandflocto.

>>47886958
Thanks for running.

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>>47886983
Always a pleasure.

Sure is comforting to know that Dyrus' twin sister and weakening grandfather are only worrying about some moderately challenging bandits. Not to mention Felix!

>>47887009
I'm sure they'll make it back okay...most of them, anyway.

>>47887198
Surely!

Rene backed the right horse picking up Conrad anytime but last, though.